

### Pilot

### Book 1 of The Channel Rider's Series

### By Valerie Gaumont

Copyright 2013 by Valerie Gaumont
License Statement

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

### Chapter 1

Elena woke curled in a ball beneath her covers. Only her nose was sticking out into the cool morning air. Bad dreams chased her through the night and left her with only vague shadows and a raging headache. Deep in her comforter cocoon she groaned.

'At least it is Sunday,' she thought. The store was closed on Sundays. Today was the one-day out of the week where the clamoring of customers was silent. Briefly she toyed with the idea of rolling over and trying for a few more hours of sleep, but let the thought drift away as insubstantial as smoke. The pounding in her head would never allow it.

She sighed dramatically for her own benefit and sat up in bed. Her covers thumped around her waist exposing her t-shirt clad form to the morning chill. Fall was fading fast and soon Elena would have to break down and turn on the heat, watching her electric bill soar higher as the temperatures crept lower. She rubbed her goose bumps, slid out of bed and began gathering her supplies. A clean pair of jeans, a warm sweatshirt, and thick woolen socks formed a bundle in her arms. She topped it off with clean underwear and trudged into the bathroom.

Elena glanced at herself in the bureau mirror as she passed. She could almost see the headache pounding behind her black eyes and making her cap of chin length black hair bounce in time to the beat. She absently ran a hand through her hair, still surprised by how short it was. For most of her life she had worn it long in a braid reaching nearly to her waist. She shook her head, dismissing the thought before it could fully form and continued on to the bathroom.

Her headache pounded drum beat echoes of her footsteps. 'It just isn't fair', she grumbled to herself as she turned on the water in the shower. 'If I'm going to suffer in the morning I should have at least had the benefit of a wild time the night before to go with it.' Somehow she didn't think a night balancing her business receipts counted. As Elena stepped into the spray, flashes of her nightmares danced in her head. There weren't enough images to make a complete picture of what haunted her night so she let the water wash them down the drain with the suds.

The old pipes began to rattle and whine. Elena glared at the tiled wall, knowing the sound signaled the death of her hot water supply. She decided to save washing her hair for later and reached down to turn the faucet. The hot water failed as her hand reached the tap and she yelped as icy droplets rained down on her back. She quickly shut the water off as her headache mocked her.

Once dry and dressed she headed to the kitchen knowing from experience that caffeine would dull the pounding. She opened the freezer only to find that all but three lonely little coffee beans had already given their lives for her morning cup.

"Damn," she said to the open freezer. She had forgotten to go shopping again. The freezer didn't answer and she slammed it shut. Elena glanced at the kitchen wall clock. 9:12. The coffee shop around the corner opened at 9 am on Sundays. Visions of vats of freshly brewed coffee swam through her aching head. She could also buy a new bag so Monday morning would not see a replay of this scene. She smiled, shoved her feet into a pair of leather clogs and grabbed her purse. She checked to make sure her keys and wallet were inside and headed out the door.

The street had that peculiar Sunday morning quiet to it. Everyone going to the early service at church had already left and everyone else was either still asleep or dawdling over his or her first cup of coffee. She took a deep breath of the cool air. Fall winds were definitely getting some bite to them. Bare black trees stretched cold fingers to the sky and sighed for their lost colors as the wind skritched through them and whispered over the parked vehicles lining the street. Elena hurried her steps without sparing them a glance.

As she rounded the corner, the scent of fresh coffee beckoned her forward and into the shop. With the exception of the sleepy eyed clerk, the shop was empty. Elena grabbed a bag of coffee beans as she crossed to the counter.

"May I help you," he asked.

"I'd like this," she said indicating the bag. "And a large coffee please."

"Regular or decaf?"

"Regular"

"Columbian or French roast?"

Elena dimly wondered if it mattered.

"Columbian."

"Any flavors in that?"

"No thank you just the coffee."

"How about a shot of espresso?"

Elena ground her teeth.

"No thank you."

He poured the coffee and rang up her charges. She paid and walked out of the store, her newly acquired bag held under her left arm like a football while the cold fingers of her right hand gripped the steaming cup. At the door she paused to pry the lid off her cup and drop it into the trashcan. The clerk's belated, 'have a nice day' drifted towards her as the door swung shut behind her.

As much as she wanted to gulp her hard won cup of coffee, the liquid's temperature was too high for her to do more than take delicate sips. She walked slowly, trying not to spill and hoping the cool air would steal some warmth from her drink. She felt tiny bites of heat as she sipped, the heat, rather than the taste, registering on her tongue.

She looked up from her cup and saw two men walking towards her, no doubt heading to the coffee shop, as it was the only business open on this street at the moment. There was a similarity to their appearance that marked them as coming from the nearby military base. After seeing so many of the military personnel around, the sight no longer surprised her as it did when she first moved to town.

She dismissed them as they passed, her mind beginning to run through her household chores for the day. She heard a shuffling behind her and thinking one of the men had tripped she started to turn towards the sound. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and before she could raise a hand to the sting, Elena felt her knees crumble. Strong hands caught her as she fell but they missed her cup of coffee as it slid from fingers that refused to work. She watched it spill on the white concrete sidewalk as darkness took her.

### Chapter 2

Elena opened her eyes and her first thought was that her headache was gone. Her mind felt filled with cotton and she struggled to find her last memory. Coffee spilling down the cracks in a sidewalk... A sharp jab into her neck...

Her thoughts formed a pattern and she bolted upright. She was slumped in a large cushy chair on wheels. As panic drove her to her feet the chair rolled away and softly thumped against the wall.

Her gaze jerked around the room, pulling in images of the décor the way her mind struggled to fit the memories together. She was in a conference room. It wasn't opulent, but it was large, comfortable and well appointed. Understated, was the word that flew through her mind as her eyes danced across the comfortable office chairs neatly arranged around the table.

There were two large mirrors one at either end of the room. A designer would have said they created the illusion of space. To Elena's mind they seemed like the mirrors one would find in a police station merely decorated with heavy frames to fool the eye, although that was probably her innate paranoia speaking. There was one door. Elena rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes. Even with the adrenaline flowing she was feeling sluggish and slow like her brain was wrapped tight in a wool blanket. Her purse and coffee were nowhere to be seen.

Elena leaned on the glossy surface of the table and took a few deep breaths. 'Everything in the purse is replaceable,' she thought to herself. 'I am not.' The thought steadied her. She pushed away from the table and stood straight. Her first few steps were a bit creaky, but she got herself moving towards the door. She edged around the table using the backs of the chairs for support when her vision seemed to fuzz.

"This is what happens when I don't get my coffee," she muttered to herself. "I'll have to get another cup." She tried to encourage herself with the words as she moved. "Different coffee shop though." She reached the side of the table. From here to the door she would have no more support. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Not so bad," she complemented herself. She took another step, feeling steadier. Each step pushed the fuzz back and made her feel more normal. The wool around her brain was beginning to fray at the edges and the sharp bite of cold reality was beginning to sting. Panic started to bubble through her system helping to bring her into sharper focus even as it sped her pulse. Someone had grabbed her off the street and brought her here.

'Why?' she asked herself. 'What is happening?' She reached for the doorknob, praying the door was unlocked. Her hand was a few inches from the knob when she saw it turn. She stared stupidly as the door opened and a man stepped into the room. She ducked into a defensive crouch, really wishing she had learned some sort of fighting style. Somehow her 'kick him in the crotch and run away' method seemed inadequate to the situation. He stared at her in puzzlement as he entered the room.

"Good morning Ma'am," he said. Elena noticed he was carrying a tray and that he had the same haircut she associated with the military. Short on top and almost nonexistent on the sides. The rest of his features were rather non-descript. He wore a camouflaged suit with the pants and jacket and the combat boots she also associated with the military. The tray contained several ceramic coffee mugs and a carafe of what smelled like coffee. Packets of instant creamer and sugar were heaped in one corner. Lack of caffeine or not, there was no way she was taking a cup of this brew.

"Morning," she replied, straightening her posture as a struggle did not seem imminent. "I wouldn't go so far as to say good." He smiled and she put his age as early 20s at best.

"If you'll just take a seat, the others will be along shortly. Your meeting will start then."

"Meeting?"

"Yes, didn't you come here for the meeting?" Uncertainty flickered across his face. Behind him an older man filled the open door.

"Of course she's here for the meeting." The younger man looked stung and quickly walked past Elena to place the tray on the table. He stepped around the older man, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Please sit down Ms. Calabrese." Elena stared at him. He had hard lines around his mouth and eyes and the look he gave her made her feel untidy. She started to run a hand through her hair, figuring it was probably a mess, but stopped her hand before it could move more than an inch from her side. If she looked unkempt it was his fault anyway. She clenched her teeth, her temper burning away the last of the mental fog. They had no right to bring her here.

"Is this routinely the way you get people to your meetings?" She said, a snap of temper edging into her voice. She decided anger would serve her better than fear. This man also had a military haircut. Elena almost expected him to be in camouflaged clothing but he wore a black t-shirt and a pair of loose black pants with more pockets than seemed rational. He was wearing combat boots to match the haircut.

"Not usually, but you are a special case. Please have a seat."

"And if I don't want to?" Elena asked, knowing she sounded like a petulant child, but unable to help herself. The man crossed to the table, poured himself a cup of coffee, and added one packet of creamer and two of sugar.

"You can of course remain standing if you wish. We only want to talk with you. Present a proposition of sorts. A business proposition. Then you will of course be able to leave." A tight knot in Elena's throat loosened. She would be able to leave. Or so he said now.

Elena stepped back to the table and pulled out the chair at the head of the table.

"A business proposition," she repeated.

"Yes," he confirmed settling himself in a chair.

"You wanted to suggest a business proposition to me so you kidnapped me?"

"Ms. Calabrese, this is hardly kidnapping." Elena's eyebrows shot up.

"The hell it's not!"

"Please calm down, Ms. Calabrese." Elena took a couple of deep breaths. The sooner she found out what he wanted the sooner she could leave.

"Why didn't you just come to my office if it is business?"

"We did not want to risk the possibility of being overheard. All of this is highly confidential."

"Highly confidential." She repeated, wondering what highly confidential thing the military could want her for.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you just ask me to come to your office?"

"Well, Ms. Calabrese, your kind doesn't exactly have a history of cooperation with the military. If we had contacted you there were a number of things you could have done other than come here. None of them would have suited our purpose." He answered, leaning back in his chair. Elena felt a tingling of warning start in the back of her mind, like distant alarm bells. She swallowed hard around the thought that was beginning to form. There was only one reason they could have grabbed her and these were dangerous waters.

"My kind?" she asked, keeping her suspicions from her voice.

"Yes."

"And what kind would I be?'

"Let's see, what did he call you...Ah yes I remember, The Pilots." In Elena's mind the bells grew louder and she could feel her stomach begin to knot into big greasy twists. The thought solidified into reality. There really was nothing like swimming with sharks to keep your mind sharp.

"Pilots?" She asked, trying to keep her voice calm. "Like in planes?" She tilted the end of the word up in puzzlement.

"No Ms. Calabrese," he said with a smile, "You know the kind of pilots we mean." His words came out with a certainty that sped up her pulse.

"I'm afraid I don't," she said.

"There is no need to play dumb. We know all about you."

"I'm afraid you have the wrong person.

"I don't believe we do. He said he took a long drink from his mug and Elena desperately wished for a long drink of water. She willed her face to calm.

"Who do you think I am?" she asked.

"We think you are Elena Bastianne Calabrese, a Pilot of the Calabrese family. The pilots as you know have the ability to navigate the world gates." The man sat back in his seat and silently sipped his coffee as he studied Elena's reaction. She kept her expression calm with a forced effort, but felt the blood drain out of her face.

This man was speaking of the channels. She had no idea where he had gotten the term world gates although the term did tug at the back of her mind. She was pretty sure she had heard it before, but not where. Right now she couldn't spare the brainpower to search for it. Whatever he called them, he was talking about the channels. She opted out of that world more than five years earlier and had not looked back. But even for one who stopped riding the channels there was punishment for revealing family secrets. Talking to the military of any nation about the channels was forbidden. In the Law of the Families, forbidden was always enforced, usually painfully.

"I'm afraid I do not know what you are talking about." Elena stated. It was a statement she decided she could not afford to deviate from. Punishment for an exile was likely to be even harsher than normal.

"Ms. Calabrese, there is no need to keep up the pretense. We are well aware of the world gates. We know where they are, where they lead and how to access them."

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said. Her voice was rough and came out as less strong than she would have liked. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I have never heard the term world gates and I am not a licensed pilot. I know nothing about planes."

"Ships, Ms. Calabrese, ships, as you well know. The Pilots, well, pilot ships across the world gates. Or they did anyway. Now we have a more advanced mechanism. You see the Pilots, their guild and their secrecy have become obsolete. We have ships that can take us through the world gates with out the special skills of a Pilot." Butterflies swirled in Elena's brain. A question began to form and she wondered if she could ask it without stating that she knew about the Pilots and the channels.

"I am a bit confused sir," She began, weighing each word before it left her lips. In here words had meaning. "I do not know what these world gates are, but you seem to be able to deal with them just fine. And I wish you luck with whatever that is. But if you can deal with them better than these Pilots then why would you need to kidnap someone you thought was a Pilot? Or are you just telling me this so that I can be certain that I don't need to keep a secret that is apparently not a secret?" Elena forced a puzzled expression to her face, not a difficult task given the situation.

"Ah, well that is the business proposition we have asked you to consider. Obviously, the world gates are a military concern. Therefore since the Pilots are already working with them we thought you might like to work with them and us." He gestured towards Elena with his cup. "You are about to be obsolete. This would be some way you could be still involved with the world gates. Sort of keep your hand in." Inside Elena snorted. Her stomach began to settle. His contempt was oddly reassuring.

"If this group is about to be obsolete then why would you want them to work with you?" The man took a deep drink from his mug, finishing his coffee. He reached forward and poured himself another mug. This time he didn't bother with the sugar or creamer.

"Oh, we really don't," he said. We just thought it would be good for you to remain in contact and maybe give the project a sense of history. Maybe you could teach the history of the thing or something since your skills are no longer needed."

"I see," Elena said. "So you are being gracious to an out-moded group. That is very generous of you." The words fell heavily from her lips, weighted with meaning and import. Elena could almost feel them hit the table between them. "So you want these Pilots to teach history?"

"More or less," he replied.

"Well, I wish you the luck with that. I'm afraid you are mistaken about my being a Pilot and I really don't have any inclination to be a history teacher. So I guess I would have to decline the position." She let the silence stretch while she mentally counted to five. "May I leave now?"

The door opened and Elena started as the man in front of her shot to attention nearly spilling coffee down his shirt in his haste. His lazy manner evaporated.

"That will be enough. Be seated." The man sat back down. Elena turned her attention to the newcomer. I am Macmillan and that is Smith." He gestured to the seated man before walking around the table and seating himself. He thumped a large file on the table. "I think we can cut through some of the bullshit here." He opened the folder. "We have ships that can go into the world gates. It is a new project. We have one that is completely operational and one that will be online in three months. We have recently run into a snag. We believe that while rather limited and out dated, your prior experience may prove helpful in this instance. Our fully operational vessel, The USS Navigator went through the world gate at precisely this location." Macmillan unfolded a map and shoved it towards Elena. It slid across the slick wood and she stopped it from sliding off the edge out of reaction. She looked down at the map in her hand and frowned at the location marked.

"How long has it been missing?" She asked.

"It went missing on August 25th of this year at approximately 1400 hours." Mentally Elena translated the time and added that data to her mental files, several things were not making sense, but to ask would clearly state that she knew what was going on, a statement she was not inclined to make.

"I'm very sorry sir, but I am afraid you have the wrong person. I have no idea what world gates are or what you expect them to do or what you expect me to do about them."

"Twenty-six people were aboard the Navigator, Ms. Calabrese. Our second ship will not be operational for another three months. Your involvement could save their lives." Macmillan pulled out a sheaf of pictures, laying them out on the table in front of Elena. Bright young people in uniform stared out at her. Inwardly, she sighed. She looked at the pictures, committing the smiling faces to memory. Her mind put the facts together as only a well-trained Pilot could do and she knew that not one of those people were still alive.

"They have families who miss them and who want them home. You can help get them home."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't help you." Smith looked as though he wanted to say something, but Macmillan silenced him with a look.

"Will you at least think about it and give us your answer in a few days?"

"I can give you the answer in a few days if you'd like, but nothing I can do could help those people. I'm sorry." Macmillan's eyes narrowed and for a moment he studied her. His eyes made her think of one of her high school math teachers. Everyone believed he could stare at you and tell if you had ever even thought of cheating. Elena reminded herself she was no longer a student. She met his gaze.

"I only ask that you think about it. We will contact you in a few days." He stood and Smith leapt from his seat. "Smith will return you to your home." Macmillan held out his hand and Elena stood holding hers out for him to shake. "We will contact you in a few days when you have had time to think. Oh and Ms. Calabrese, one of the reasons that you were brought here was to illustrate a point. We can find you whenever we want." Macmillan walked around to the desk, opened the door and let himself out with out a backward glance. Elena felt goose bumps rise on her arms from his words.

"If you will come with me," Smith said stiffly. Elena followed him out the door. The young man who had brought the coffee was waiting outside the door, her purse in his hand. He passed it to her as she walked out.

"Thank you,' she said automatically. He smiled and turned away. She didn't ask him about her coffee beans. Smith escorted her through the hallways and out the main door. Elena found herself blinking in the sunlight, the relief at being allowed to be free of the building washed over her. She was not being held. She looked around amazed at how beautiful the world was. As she turned her eye caught the profile of someone familiar. She blinked hard, the oddity of seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar environment momentarily jarring her. She blinked again as if clearing her vision.

"Ian?" she said her voice tilting up to make the name a question. His head turned in her direction at the sound of his name and his eyes went wide when he saw her standing there. Smith cursed under his breath and stepped between her and Ian.

"This way ma'am." He pointed in the opposite direction. Elena felt her jaw clench. She knew who she had seen. She didn't really need to see him again, and at the moment talking to him was probably not the smartest of ideas. But at least she knew how the military came by their information. She allowed Smith to lead her from the base and into a car.

He was visibly relieved and she was surprised he couldn't hear her teeth grinding. More was becoming clear every second she thought about it. Elena managed to keep herself calm until Smith dropped her off in front of her apartment building. She stepped out of the car closing the door without looking back. If Smith minded he didn't show it. He simply sat there and watched Elena enter the building before driving away.

### Chapter 3

Elena went up to her apartment, her brain racing as she put things together. She unlocked her apartment door and was relieved see it looking exactly as it had when she left. The day, however, was worn thin. She left in the morning, but now late afternoon rays were slanting through her windows in a warm buttery yellow that belied the cool shadows creeping in around the edges.

Elena locked the door behind her and leaned on it for a while. She couldn't tell if anyone had been in her apartment. 'How did someone tell?' She thought to herself, it wasn't like she could dust the entire place for fingerprints. There was one thing she could know for certain that the military would have taken had they found it. Elena crossed the living room and flipped up the edge of her carpet.

When she moved in she devised a secret cache for herself, just in case. The boards did not appear to be moved. They appeared to be nailed down just as before. Elena went to the kitchen and pulled her hammer out from under the sink. When she moved in she pried out most of the living room floorboards to create a safe haven for anything she didn't want found. It didn't look like it had been tampered with because she had made sure to un-nail all of the floorboards so they all looked like they had been re-done at the same time. She then laid her secrets between the joists and nailed the floorboards back into place. In the five years since, she had never once taken them back up.

Elena pried up the boards nearest the couch and reached into the dark hole, retrieving the leather satchel she had stored there. She sighed with relief when she saw the papers peeking through just as she had left them. She placed the board over the hole and emptied the satchel's contents on the floor. She sat Indian style on the rug behind her and counted. It was all there. She sighed with relief.

Now she had to figure out what to do. Slowly, she placed the papers and maps back in the satchel. As she picked the last map up, she realized it was very similar to the one MacMillan had shown her earlier. It was coated with a sealant to make it waterproof and had creases and markings from heavy use where his was a fresh, crisp sheet, but it was the same section of water.

Elena unfolded it and put her finger down where MacMillan said the USS Navigator had disappeared. With her other hand she placed a finger where she knew the Marta Channel entry to be. On a map it didn't look that far. In reality, it was a lot of open water.

"And it makes no sense," she said aloud to the room. "Marta is variable; no one uses it this time of year." Like many of the channels, the depth varied from season to season. Marta's peak season was between February and late May. By mid June few captains would risk their hulls and by August 25th, when Macmillan stated the USS Navigator was lost it would be a noteworthy feat to get an unmanned life raft through without scrapping bottom.

"And the USS Navigator sounds big." She said aloud. Actually anything with a twenty-six-man crew was substantially larger than anything she had ever piloted. Most ships were built along the lines of either an old fashioned cutter or a schooner depending on the captain's taste, and crewed by three to five people, including the pilot. Elena shook her head and refolded the map, tucking it back into the satchel. She placed the satchel back beneath the joists and nailed the boards back down. She adjusted the throw rug to make the floor look undisturbed and sat on the couch, her mind twirling with a thousand thoughts. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with the heels of her hands until red spots danced inside her eyelids.

"Focus," she said dropping her hands into her lap and opening her eyes. The specifics of the channel were not important right now. The images of the twenty-six crew members floated through her mind and she sighed.

"No," she said. "I can't help them." She stopped riding the channels and what happened there was not her concern. Her primary concern had to be self-preservation.

"Ian," she said. Such a short name, it sounded like it belonged on a soap opera and not involved in this well organized life she crafted. Ian saw her with the military. It didn't matter whether he was there because the families sent him there or if he was a traitor to the Guild. He saw her as she saw him. Her eyes drifted towards her cell phone sitting next to the couch. She placed it there to charge the night before and did not bother grabbing it for a quick run to the coffee shop.

Elena reached over and picked it up, unplugging it from the charger. If she called now she could tell her side, perhaps even warn the Guild of military interest if they did not already know. If they found out on their own, things would not be pretty. She dialed her grandfather's phone number from memory, realizing as she pressed the little buttons that this situation wasn't going to go away on its own.

The last words her grandfather said to her as she packed to leave echoed through her brain as the phone began to ring. 'You can walk away from the life, we will not stop you. But you cannot walk away from the blood that flows in your veins. Sooner or later it will call you back home.'

The call rolled straight to his answering machine. 'Of course,' she thought as his voice rumbled out inviting her to leave a message and call back number. 'It's Sunday.' The one day of the week where her work addicted grandfather refused to do business. She stifled a short burst of panic laughter. On Sundays he turned the sound down all the way on his machine so he could not even hear the message. Monday morning he listened to them all and called everyone back. His voice rolled to a halt and the beep sounded.

"Grandfather, its Elena. I... um had a really odd day today with some men from the military base here asking me about some of their lost captains or pilots or something that they seemed to believe I knew something about for some reason. I saw Ian while I was there. Maybe he told them something about me. You remember how crazy his sense of humor is, all those practical jokes he used to pull when we were kids. Anyway, I was just calling because I wanted to hear your voice after a bad day." Elena paused and decided there was nothing else she could add that an outsider could hear with safety to the family. "Okay, well I'm sorry I missed you," She concluded.

Elena hit the end button on her phone and stood staring at the dark screen. She oddly enough found the words she said to be true. She missed her grandfather. The thought of dealing with the military terrified her. Whenever she was scared her grandfather always made the bad things go away. She may have been the pilot, but since she had first taken the wheel, he had been her captain as well as her grandfather. Voice tap or not she found herself wishing he had been answering his phone.

### Chapter 4

Elena jolted awake with her alarm, her hand reaching out to slap it off even as she sat up. She blinked hard, puzzled by the light from the overhead lamp. As she struggled out of the covers, memory began to catch up with her and she remembered leaving the lights on in lieu of a nightlight to repel the military and other boogiemen in the night.

She shivered, not entirely from the cold and hoped her grandfather checked his messages early today. Elena tugged open her underwear drawer and reached in to grab a clean pair for the day. Her hand struck the bottom of the drawer. She leaned over looking in and blinking with surprise. Why was her underwear drawer empty? Her mind flashed on Smith and MacMillan.

Why would the military take her underwear?

Visions of camouflaged panty raids began to dance in her head. Before they could begin an organized tango, her morning-fuzzed brain began to wake up. The military had not stolen her underwear. They just derailed her Sunday afternoon laundry plans.

Elena stretched her hand to the back of the drawer and came up with one overlooked set of underwear. She whooped in triumph until she pulled it out of the drawer. It was a nice lacy set of date underwear; the kind that was very pretty and meant to be admired but not comfortably worn. She sighed.

"This does not bode well," she said to the empty room as she shut the dresser drawer and walked over to her closet. Elena tugged the closet door open, expecting the pickings to be slim. Most of the hangars were empty, but towards the back of the closet she found a white cable knit sweater and grey woolen pants that were a little too thick for early fall. Resigned to a day of discomfort she dressed, and ran a comb through her short cap of hair. Elena made her way to the kitchen and stared stupidly at the empty coffeepot, wondering why the automatic brew cycle had not kicked in. She ground her teeth.

"Of course not," she thought. "They stole my coffee. Maybe I could go back to bed and try again tomorrow." Images of her employees danced in her head. TJ with his intense need to have everything lined up in neat regimented rows, Max with his desire for artistic chaos and Emily, six months pregnant and watching the silent, polite and inevitable battle that would ensue between them with a giggle from behind the register. Elena rubbed her eyes.

They were a good crew, each contributing in their own way, but without a supervisor her customers would probably run screaming from the store. It wasn't that they were inept. Just very different from each other and very strong willed. They needed a referee to function effectively. For the good of all, she would have to see this day through.

Elena retrieved her shoes and sat on the couch while she put them on. She looked around her while she tied the laces. A casual observer would not be able to tell that her living room was the center of upheaval the day before. Or at least that's what she told herself as she left for work. Her stomach dropped down to her toes. What would happen when her grandfather got her message? Would Ian have reached the Families first? Elena walked down the three flights of stairs to the street entrance and opened the door to the outside world.

She looked around to see if anyone was watching. Her eyes scanned the street and a couple of people gave her odd looks as they passed. Elena rolled her eyes at her own behavior, realizing she was acting crazy. Even if Ian had reached the Families first, she would be held accountable to a tribunal. She wouldn't be gunned down in the streets.

Probably.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and drew in the scent of fresh coffee. Her head automatically turned towards the smell, a smile tilting the corners of her mouth. Her eyes lit on the coffee house she visited the day before. Her smile fell and she turned grumpily from it, purposefully walking away from the coffee shop and towards her store. Maybe she could send Max on a coffee run later.

The sight of her shop brightened her considerably, as it always did. It was a classy, old-fashioned storefront done in rich browns, gleaming glass and artfully faded gold lettering. As she let herself into the store her fingertips traced the lettering. Calabrese Imports. She smiled and her world started to steady. Elena tucked her purse behind the counter and began the process of opening the store for the day. Max and TJ soon joined her, with Emily shuffling in a few minutes later.

"Sorry," she called, stowing her bag beside Elena's. "Got halfway to the elevator and had to pee again." She confided in Elena.

"Not a problem," Elena said quickly, cutting off all talk of bodily changes before Max and TJ headed straight to the back. "We've got a lot going on today. New merchandise just came in and we'll need to start switching out the fall displays for the holiday ones. We've got two scheduled corporate clients coming in today. One at 10 and the other at 2. Max would you mind doing a coffee run? It's going to be a busy day and I think we could all use a bit of a wake me up. My treat of course."

"Decaf for me, but with plenty of cream and sugar," Emily said quickly. Elena smiled, knowing the coffee would send Emily running to and from the bathroom for the rest of the morning.

It was a good day, customers coming so thick and heavy Elena had no time to even think of anything existing beyond the confines of her own four walls. More mundane considerations shoved everything else to the side. The holiday shopping season had barely begun and they were already swamped. Personal shoppers were drawn to the store in droves and everyone in the city seemed taken with the notion of something new for their own homes or offices before the expected holiday company arrived. By the end of the day, she felt she walked several hundred miles.

Elena closed up the shop and walked the short distance to her apartment, promising her tired feet a rest once they got there. They would need more help at the store, that was a given. At least one, possibly two more people, one for heavy lifting in the back and another to help Emily at the register. Elena noted the out of order sign on the elevator with little surprise and began to climb the stairs. It was rare that the elevator worked for any length of time. She climbed the stairs slowly while her mind ran through lists of possible holiday helpers. As she crested the stairs and reached the plateau of her landing, she blinked in surprise and stopped cold, one hand still reaching for her house keys.

"I thought you'd be home a bit earlier than this," the rangy man standing beside her door said. He had a half smile on his face and despite the tailored pants and shirt he still managed to look windblown and casual. His hair, which had been salt and pepper for most of her life had now gone completely gray, but was still lush and thick. She felt a smile tug to her lips.

"Hello Grandfather."

### Chapter 5

Elena hugged her grandfather, and deeply inhaled. To her, he always smelled of the sea just before a storm. It was the scent of home. She let him go and unlocked the front door.

"You've cut your hair," he said as they entered the apartment.

"It's actually grown out quite a bit," She told him, absently running her hand through her chin length hair. "There was no reason to keep it long enough to tie back any more." A look of sadness crossed her grandfather's face at her words. She wished she had the power to pull the words back down her own throat. "Um, you are looking well," She said with a bit of a wan smile. He smiled brightly back at her.

"I feel well," he said. "And the family sends their best. Therese says hello." Elena swallowed the sharp retort, reminding herself to keep things pleasant. Her cousin Therese was never her favorite person and took great delight in the fact Elena left. Therese was more likely to send a swift kick to Elena's head than a polite hello, but heading down that particular pathway would do no one any good.

"I hope she is well," Elena said. Her grandfather settled himself on the couch while Elena locked the door behind them and settled into her favorite chair. Her heart was beating as fast as a rabbit hiding from a coursing hound. Manners dictated the polite small talk, but they both knew the reason he was here.

"I stopped by your store today," he said. Elena's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I didn't see you," she said.

"No, you were very busy and I just wanted a quick peek around. Calabrese Imports," he spoke the name and Elena felt a sense of pride in the words. She smiled. Naming her store with the family name she did partially for herself, partially to irk Therese and mainly because she knew it would be a sign to her grandfather that she had not completely left the family behind. Ceasing to pilot did not make her any less a Calabrese, regardless of Therese.

"It is a nice space," he continued. "Elegant, charming." Elena felt a warm glow of pride, which she tried, without success to tell herself was foolish. "Imports?" he said with a laugh behind the words.

"Imports," she repeated, the same amusement in her voice. "It is in the blood." He nodded.

"It certainly is. You seem to be doing well with it."

"It was slow getting started, but things have been picking up now that we are a bit more established."

"Your father was always good with the business end of things, got that from his mother, God rest them both. I could never make anything but a mess of it. It is good that you inherited that as well as her smile. I'd like to see a bit more of the place if there is time."

"I'd like that." She said. "If we have time." Elena took a deep breath as silence fell between them. The unacknowledged elephant in the room had just reared its head. Deciding that enough small talk passed that courtesy was served, Elena decided to move matters along.

"I didn't expect an in-person visit," She started. "I thought you might call me back."

"Yes," her grandfather said slowly. "The Council is feeling a bit edgy based on the players in our current drama." He leaned forward and his eyes met hers. She realized that he was no longer her grandfather, but a representative of the Council. This was no longer a family conversation, but a Family one.

"I can see that," she said carefully. He nodded, realizing she had noted the change.

"Because you have left the Guild there are some things you are not privy to." Elena swallowed, surprised to find the words stung. Such a sentiment she would have expected of Therese, but not of her grandfather.

"I understand," she said, carefully keeping her tone neutral. She saw a flash of pain in his eyes before they hardened, Council sharp.

"By bringing this information to our attention without promise of personal gain you have been named as Friend to the Guild. This does allow us some freedom in discussion." Elena nodded although privately she had to admit that not having the Council suspect her of treason and hold her accountable would be a substantial personal gain in her books.

"It was not known that Ian was working with the military. He left the Guild approximately three years ago. As you are well aware this matter would be between him and the head of his family and not a public concern. However, once he left the Guild he disappeared." He stopped and watched Elena, judging her reaction to his words.

She blinked hard and took a deep breath. The Council was harder to shake than the IRS. They always knew where those carrying the bloodline were. That they lost Ian meant he was very careful or had substantial help. Thinking of Smith and Macmillan she was betting on the latter as the more likely possibility.

She knew the Families knew where she was and what she was doing. She was hardly hiding when she used the family name in the name of her business. Foot high letters were not generally viewed as subtle. Unless it became a matter of public importance, why he left the guild would be no one's business but his and his blood, just like it had been with her. So Ian had left and was involved with the military on a large enough scale that two ships were built without council knowledge.

"Good," her grandfather continued. "I see you understand. The Council is pleased that you have brought this information to our attention and assures you that you are in no danger of reprisal at this time." Elena raised an eyebrow at the phrasing of the sentence and sensed a giant however looming around the corner.

"The information you provided was, due to the manner in which it was conveyed, rather lacking in details. We would like to hear all of the information you have on this matter. The entire Council would like to question you first-hand. Obviously, there is too much danger involved for the entire Council to appear here, so transportation has been arranged to convey us to a more secure location." Elena stared at her grandfather, wondering if she had the right to say no. Somehow she doubted it.

"I see," she said. Her brain was working fast. "And when would we need to leave?"

"Shortly," he responded.

"You do realize it is the beginning of my busiest season?"

"We understand the complications." Elena sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"How long will I need to be gone?"

"Three days should prove sufficient."

"Three days." Elena tapped her finger against her lips. "I'll need to make arrangements." She stood up. "Please make yourself comfortable," she told him. "There should be some drinks in the fridge if you are interested."

"Thank you," he replied. Elena pulled her phone out of her purse. She walked back into the bedroom so that she could pack as she talked. She dialed Susan's number then pulled a small duffle bag from the floor of her closet. Susan usually managed the store when Elena left on buying trips and she fervently hoped she was up for a three-day stint. Elena tossed a few of her clean clothes into the bag and once again bemoaned the lack of clean underwear. She would have to stop somewhere along the way and buy a few new pairs since there was certainly no time to do laundry now.

Susan picked up the phone on the third ring and to Elena's relief was more than happy to fill in. Elena promised to leave instructions at the counter before she left town then quickly arranged for two of her seasonal employees to begin work so the place would not be swamped.

By the time she zipped her bag closed, all of the arrangements were made. She returned to the living room and found her grandfather staring at one of the few personal photos she kept out. She didn't have to see it to know it showed her and her Grandfather on the deck of his ship, the Wind Dancer. She cleared her throat as she entered the room and he hastily placed the framed picture back down on the table and turned around.

"Everything set?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I just need to stop by the store before we leave." He nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open and dialed a number from memory. It was answered almost immediately.

"We are ready." He said and flipped the phone closed again, cutting off any possible reply. A knock sounded at the door and Elena opened it to find Marcus filling the doorframe with his bulk. Marcus had been her grandfather's muscular shadow for all of Elena's memory. She had not expected him to appear here because she didn't consider her home dangerous. He nodded at her greeting and reached down to pick up her duffle bag.

"Marcus will take your things so it does not appear to anyone watching that you are going out for anything more than the evening."

"Ah," she responded, not certain what else to say. Marcus turned and disappeared down the corridor. No doubt he already found the back staircase. She shook her head realizing that she had been away from much more than the ship in the time she had been gone.

"Let us now go see your store," her grandfather prompted her.

"Sure," she said ushering him out into the hallway and locking the door behind them. Elena wondered when exactly her life had catapulted itself into a spy movie. 'Just my luck to get one without the dangerously attractive leading man,' she thought.

### Chapter 6

They stepped from the shelter of Elena's apartment building and onto the street. Both shivered in reaction to the brisk wind tugging at the edge of their clothing.

"I should have worn a coat," her grandfather said with a bit of a rueful smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything that would fit you," she answered. He waved away her concern.

"It is not far and I have endured much worse." She smiled at him. "It is good to see you doing so well out here on your own. The family was concerned." Elena felt her smile slipping into a bit of a sneer and turned her face from her grandfather. With the exception of her cousin Mateo there were few members of her family she spared a thought for. And while Mateo was friend as well as blood, to keep in contact with her after she had left would have proved extremely problematic.

"Not concerned enough to visit," she said. Her words puffed in the air. Therese declared Elena shunned by the family when she left and none of them had bothered to call or drop a post card in the past five years. "How worried could they be?" She asked.

"It has been quite busy," Her grandfather answered. Alexandro Calabrese never admitted to the rift between Elena and Therese and she didn't expect him to start now. When pressed he would simply claim they were both passionate women and often held differences of opinion, nothing more. They were blood and there was love, at least to his mind. Elena shook her head letting it drop. Once his mind was made up, changing it was often more trouble than it was worth. While she had very few feelings towards Therese, her cousin actively hated her, of that she was sure.

"There is to be a marriage soon," he continued. "Nathanial has found a mate."

"That's nice," Elena responded. Nate was Mateo's older brother and not a bad sort of person. He was about fifteen years her senior and so their paths rarely crossed. "Is she a Pilot?"

"Yes, of the House of Carloti," he answered. He smiled, pleased that she had bothered to ask. "The wedding will take place next fall, at the end of the busy season so they can take a nice long honeymoon. You'll be coming of course."

"I'm invited?" Elena asked with some surprise.

"Of course," Alexandro said. "You are family." Elena saw the calculated gleam slide through his eyes before he blinked and smiled. "All of the family will be there."

"I see," Elena said. She had the feeling her grandfather would bring pressure to bear to have her invited and a grumpy time would be had by all. She put tomorrow's troubles away. Today's agenda was already more than full.

Luckily the store was but a handful of steps away. Soon they could pause the family chatter and with luck the Council would be meeting close enough that she wouldn't have too much catching up on family matters to endure. Elena tugged her keys from her pocket and reached towards the door handle. Her grandfather reached out and grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him over her shoulder.

"They do love you." His face was serious and his eyes pleading. Elena sighed.

"I know," she said. "In their own way. I'm sure they have been busy." She kept her tone neutral. He let her wrist go.

"Yes, for all five years," he said softly. There was a sadness in his voice that made Elena swallow hard. She turned back to the door, unlocked it and pushed it open.

"I have to leave some details for while I'm away. Feel free to look around; just don't open the back door. Those alarms are still active." He nodded and turned to walk around the store. His slow measured stride let her know he was taking in all the details. Elena smiled as she took Emily's chair behind the register. They worked hard this afternoon and the store showed their efforts, even in the dim half-light. She was proud of what she built and even with the inner turmoil it caused, she was proud he could see it. Elena slid a notebook out and began to make a list.

She usually dealt with the details surrounding corporate client purchases. While she knew any of her staff were more than capable of dealing with the clients, the logistical arrangements were usually left to her. She jotted down notes for the ones booked for the next few days as well as a few suggestions.

Between Max and TJ she knew all would be well. Even Emily would do well with the clients if she didn't let the scale bother her. The individual clients she could handle. The ones seeking large-scale purchases frightened her because she thought there was too much at stake. Elena planned to work on that with her, but doubted this would be the time for a road test. She finished her notes and left the open notebook on the counter. She stood up and her grandfather circled over to her.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded.

"Just finished. Have you seen everything?"

"I doubt I could see everything if given a week locked in here alone. This is quite a fine place. But it is time we leave. I will call Marcus." Alexandro pulled out his cell phone and pressed the needed buttons.

"We are ready to leave," he said. There was a pause as he listened. "Of course," he replied. He turned off the phone and tucked it into his pocket. "Do you need assistance locking up?"

"No," she replied. They went to the front door and after shooing him outside she reset the alarms and locked the door. "So where do we go now?"

"This way, if you please," he said leading her away from the store. They walked in silence, for which Elena was grateful. She didn't think the quiet was necessary as her grandfather was muttering under his breath as he walked. She smiled and kept her thoughts to herself. His sense of direction was not the greatest in the world and no doubt he had simply memorized his instructions from Marcus. She was content to follow along and not derail them. He sighed with relief as they reached the street corner and Marcus pulled a car to a halt in front of them. He opened the door and Elena slid inside. He followed and Marcus led them out of the city.

"You shouldn't laugh at your elders," her grandfather said peevishly. Marcus laughed, a deep, low, rumble of a laugh.

"Was he muttering to himself again?"

"Yes," Elena replied.

"I have no need to learn my way around. On ship I have a pilot and on land I have Marcus. I need only know where I want to go, not how to get there." Elena smiled and shifted to get comfortable in her seat. A few minutes of silence passed.

"I greatly liked your store," he said.

"Thank you."

"Tell me how do you come by your goods?" Elena smiled at the question.

"I travel, Grandfather. We are small and somewhat high end. I go on buying trips and sell what I find."

"From companies?"

"Sometimes. Most of the time I talk to individual or small scale artisans and craftsmen who need outlets for their goods."

"Interesting," he replied. She could tell that his thoughts were circling around and he was trying to place her comments into one of his schemes. She sighed knowing it was inevitable.

"These last five years have not been kind to us," he began. "Our world is changing."

"Oh," Elena replied. "I thought I wasn't supposed to know details?" He waved the comment away with a twisted smile.

"That is politics. This is business," he replied but she could tell he was thinking more about his words before he said them. "The world in general has changed. Before when we brought a shipment in we could invent stories to cover our supply lines." His voice slipped into a singsong type of tone as he imitated one of the merchants.

"Come see our wares, Signore, taken from the far-east, from the distant kingdoms at the edge of the world." He chuckled to himself and his voice dropped into its normal range. "Now they want to know what Province it came from, the year it was built, the artist who designed it and exactly what sort of materials went into it. Sometimes they even ask how the materials were harvested to make certain it was done in an Earth-friendly way." He snorted. "We can hardly tell them the truth can we? Of course Signore, it is earth friendly, neither the materials nor the artist are from the Earth. I am certain that would go over well." He shook his head.

"And these shows the televisions are so fond of making," he continued, clearly on a roll. "The crime investigation ones where they use microscopes and testing on the least little things." He shivered theatrically. "It is not good for business. What if one of them tests a rosewood cabinet and discovers not only that it is not rosewood but not really any type of wood at all?"

"You could pass it off as synthetic in some cases." Elena commented, but only half-heartedly. While her grandfather was known to go over the top about many things he did raise a point. He waved his hand in the air and blew a razberry with his mouth.

"And the locations of our suppliers? Do we show them the bill of sale? The provenance? Or did the goods just drop out of the sky like gifts from an over generous God?" Elena grimaced. She knew her grandfather well enough to know what he wanted her to say and where he wanted to lead her. She shook her head. Some things didn't change.

"Well logically, for a price you could probably get some of the artisans in some of the far off places you say you import from to sign off on the items and give a bill of sale for the records."

"Ah," he said, obviously pleased she had gone along with him. "But to do that we would have to have a network of trusted artisans with whom we had built relationships."

"Yes, you would." She answered simply. He looked at her, his eyes piercing, willing her to say something. Elena kept her mouth shut and stared right back at him, reminding herself that she was no longer a part of the Guild and therefore not a part of the business. Alexandro smiled and chuckled beneath his breath.

"You would make me ask?" He said teasingly. Elena made her eyes wide and tried to look innocent.

"Ask what?"

Marcus's chuckle rumbled from the front seat. "She is your granddaughter." He said.

"Therese never gives me this much trouble and she is my granddaughter." He replied. Marcus shrugged.

"Elena is not Therese," he said simply. Alexandro snorted.

"I can tell the difference, you know. I have eyes in my head do I not? Very well," He continued, turning his attention back to Elena. "You have a connection of artisans that you presumably trust and are more than likely located in the right districts for our purposes. Would you be willing to work with your family to assist us in making these connections?" Elena braced herself to say no. To tell him that when she could no longer be of use to them as a pilot they ceased to take an interest in her and they could therefore rot for all she cared.

"I don't know." She replied, the words surprising herself even as they tumbled from her lips. "I'll have to think about it." Elena leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. What had she done? Silence filled the vehicle.

"Therese would have instantly said yes," her grandfather said. Elena opened her eyes and turned towards him.

"As Marcus pointed out, I am not Therese." A strangely thoughtful look passed over his face.

"No, you are not." He stared at her as if deep in thought. "You should try and get some sleep. We will have to drive through the night to reach the arranged place in time for the meeting." Elena nodded and turned away from her grandfather to stare at the dark world beyond the window glass.

The wind whipped the treetops into a frenetic dance and they cast odd shadows when they passed in front of the streetlamps. Rain began to tap on the glass and slide down in diamond droplets. In the reflection Elena saw her grandfather tug his briefcase from under the seat and pull a leather bound volume from its depths. He placed the notebook on top of the briefcase and pulled out a pen, writing as if the briefcase were a laptop desk. Marcus switched on the radio and something soothing and classical filled the dark spaces between them all.

'I'll never fall asleep,' she thought to herself leaning her forehead on the cool glass and closing her eyes. 'There is no way I could fall asleep.' It was her last thought before sleep claimed her.

### Chapter 7

Elena blinked her eyes open, momentarily confused by her surroundings. She slumped in her seat while sleeping and could feel the seam in the leather car seat pressed against her face. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, yawning hugely. Elena looked around at her grandfather. He was sitting, as he had been when she drifted off, notebook open and pen scratching away. He looked well rested and crisp as if the journey had not affected him at all. She frowned in his direction.

"We will be there shortly," he commented without looking up. His movements were smooth and easy, but Elena had known him all her life and caught the snap of tension in his voice. She suddenly felt queasy. Elena pulled a compact out of her purse and grimaced when she saw the seam line running down her cheek from where it had been pressed into the seat.

'Great,' she thought. 'I get to meet the high and mighty Council while looking like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.' She ran her hand through her hair in an attempt to instill some form of order. As they pulled up to the docks she gave it up as a lost cause and resigned herself to looking travel worn while possibly being held accountable for treason.

"What time is it?" She asked. Her voice was thick from sleep and she coughed to clear her throat.

"Nearly ten local time." Elena put her compact away as her grandfather tucked his pen and notebook back into his briefcase.

"I suppose asking if local time and my time are the same as well as where we actually are would be pointless?" Alexandro smiled at her petulant tone.

"We are at the docks." He opened his door and Elena followed suit. The scent of the sea was strong and she took a deep breath with a smile before she thought to look around. They were in a parking lot by a set of docks and there were warehouses behind them with no distinguishing skyline features she could see. Elena shrugged and followed her grandfather and Marcus as they began walking down the docks and towards the individual piers.

The air was brisk this close to the water and Elena hugged herself for warmth as they walked. She wished she had a warmer jacket, but was thankful that the cold air slapped the last of the sleep from her. They reached the last pier and were greeted by a man who rivaled Marcus in size but had a blonde crew cut instead of a brown one. He was even dressed identically to the big man and she wondered if there was a bodyguard uniform of which she had previously been unaware. There was no talk as the man led them to a small skiff tied up at the end of the pier. Her grandfather didn't seem to expect any conversation, so she let the matter lie as she settled into a seat.

It didn't take a genius to see where they were going once the motor was started and they aimed at open water. There appeared to be only one ship anchored off the coast. The yacht gleamed white on the dark water and Elena caught flashes of light winking from the brass fittings as the sun kissed her. She didn't have much knowledge of pleasure craft but she could easily tell those wanting their tastes for luxury indulged designed this beauty.

By her estimation the ship would be able to hold several hundred passengers on an ocean going voyage with ease. It was easily the largest ship she had ever been on and wondered if it had started life as a member of a high end cruise line. As they approached, the name of the ship came into view. She read the large, black scripted letters and felt some of her panic ease.

The Lorenzo was a Council owned vessel, paid for by contributions from all of the Families. Even though she had never seen it, she knew of it. The jointly owned ship was held in trust by the Council and served as neutral ground. Violence of any kind was not allowed on neutral ground. No matter what the Council ruling, she would be safe while on board. Her relief was tempered by the booming reality the ship represented. She could enjoy seeing her grandfather again and be amused by his lack of directional sense, but this was serious business.

The skiff pulled along side the ship and docking clamps were lowered and attached to the bow and stern. Slowly the machinery turned and the little skiff was lifted out of the water and hauled up to the deck. The wind caused the skiff to rock like a cradle and Elena resisted the urge to look over the side to see the receding waterline.

Once the skiff was secured, the large, unnamed man jumped out. Marcus did as well, with her grandfather following at a slower pace. Elena stood and prepared to do the same. She was surprised by the hand Marcus offered for assistance, but took it gratefully and smiled. He smiled back and squeezed her hand in reassurance. The distance was greater than Elena anticipated and without Marcus' support she would have toppled.

"This way please," Her grandfather said indicating the open door the other man had used before Elena could look around and get her bearings. She took in his stance and tone of voice and realized that he was purely a Council representative here and she would have to behave accordingly. She swallowed hard, belatedly realizing that was what Marcus tried to tell her with the hand squeeze. Elena took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She crossed the deck to the open door and descended the staircase.

The staircase let out into a room that fully lived up to the opulence she expected from such a pleasure craft. Everywhere wood gleamed and fittings shone. The fact that the people arrayed around the room were just as well acquainted with the smaller merchant craft as she was had no bearing on the power she could almost see pulsing through the air. The room they entered was turned into a Council chamber and Elena sifted through her memory to place names with faces. The names she had grown up with, but only one other besides her grandfather had she seen before.

Her eyes scanned the room, her mind working quickly. The seven small tables had been arranged in an arc with an empty chair in the center. At the far edge of the arc sat a small boned woman with black hair, liberally streaked with white and neatly trimmed in a layered cut still long enough to tie back when needed, and a very no nonsense air about her. Elena guessed her to be Siobhan Connelly. She was dressed in an off white cable knit sweater and camel colored slacks. Her legs were crossed at the ankle and neatly tucked under her. On her desk sat a small teapot and a mug of tea. Both were bold red in color and Elena remembered hearing Siobhan preferring bold colors in everything, but her clothing.

To her left was a large man with thinning brown hair styled in a comb over so thin the hairs looked like pencil lines across his scalp. He had a bushy mustache that more than made up for the lack of cranial covering and was a large walrus of a man who no doubt looked even larger between the two ladies. Elena was betting that he was Robert Anders. His appointment to the council had only taken place two years before Elena left. It had been somewhat of a surprise for reasons Elena couldn't recall.

Politics was never her driving interest as it was with Therese. He wore a brown suit and his feet appeared to be planted firmly in front of him indicating that he would not stand for any tomfoolery. Elena personally thought he would be the kind of man to actually use words like tomfoolery in a sentence and not think it at all silly.

Inoue Riko, the only other woman on the Council, sat to his left and was as delicate looking as a china doll. Her black hair was neatly bound behind her head and even though she had not a speck of gray, Elena knew her to be nearly of an age with her grandfather. The lines were starting to show around her eyes though even though the rest of the face was not heavily lined. Those were the kind of lines one would get from too many years as a Pilot, squinting into the sun. Siobhan had them as well. Even at her age, Elena had already seen the faint tracings on her own skin.

Next to Riko was the only one of the six she had met. Peter Baranov. He was young compared to the rest and had come into the Council when he was a little younger than Elena. He was about the same age as her cousin Nate, possibly a little younger and he smiled at her as she walked in. Peter was wearing a black three-pieced suit and dress shoes. The thought of dress shoes on a ship almost sent Elena into fits of nervous giggles. She was used to much smaller working vessels where the shiny gloss would soon wear off and the owner would curse their lack of tread. With a ship this large though she supposed that wasn't much of a concern. He had soft brown hair that was neatly trimmed yet always managed to look slightly mussed.

Continuing around the arc she found John Havers, a man so black he seemed blue. The suit he wore was also black and it made the white collar of his shirt seem to glow. His face was completely blank. He was built like a linebacker, which contrasted sharply with Alex Barton on his left who was milk pale and gaunt almost to the point of painfulness. Alex had long tapered fingers that reminded her of a cave spider she had come across while spelunking one year and somewhat frightened her just as the spider had. It didn't help that he was scowling at her.

'He would be the head of Ian's family,' she thought to herself, realizing that was probably the reason for the scowl. Her grandfather nudged her towards the central chair and left to take his seat in the semi-circle, filling the one unoccupied desk. Marcus fell in neatly behind him, taking his place in the back row of standing bodyguards. Elena took her seat, her pose unconsciously mimicking Siobhan's as she tucked her feet underneath her and clasped her hands loosely in her lap. She willed herself not to show any outward signs of panic or tension.

Elena had no clue about Council protocol and decided the wisest course of action would be to keep all her answers polite and to not speak unless asked a question. Peter rapped his fist on the desk, calling everyone's attention to him. Elena heaved an inward sigh of relief that Alex was not in charge of proceedings. Peter may have had the more ruthless reputation, but he at least was not facing her with open hostility. The trick would be to keep it that way.

"Elena Calabrese, thank you for joining us today. The Council recognizes that you have left the Guild and have lived as an independent for five years time." Elena caught a tone to his words, realizing they were important, but not quite understanding their full meaning. "We thank you for returning to us now to bring potentially damaging information to our attention." Peter paused but did not really seem to expect a response from her so she kept her mouth shut. He cleared his throat and continued.

"We realize that the reasons a person may choose to remove themselves from the affairs of the guild are often times quite personal. Due to their personal nature, the reasons are usually only given to the head of the family and if the head is satisfied it remains a family matter." Elena felt her eyebrows rise in surprise and blinked hard. If she had given it any thought she would have supposed the Council already knew why she left.

"However, in this case we must pry into what is essentially only a family matter to determine if it has any bearing on the information you bring." Elena saw Alex lean forward in his seat a little and she realized he was hoping for something that would discredit her potential accusations of Ian.

"The answer you give will not leave this Council, but I must ask, Elena why did you leave the Guild?" Elena felt heat in her cheeks and took a deep breath.

"About seven years past I began to feel The Calling. It was growing stronger and five years ago rather than endanger my ship by risking The Calling growing strong enough to cause me to pilot the Wind Dancer out of the channels and into the black, I left the Guild." Siobhan and Riko winced in sympathy even as Alex leaned back in disappointment.

"You are awfully young to have The Calling come upon you," Siobhan said, her voice filled with understanding. Elena recalled The Calling grounded several of her family's pilots as well. It wasn't something that was ever talked about and Elena tried to swallow the embarrassment of having it discussed in such a public way.

"If you please, Elena," Riko asked, her voice whispery soft with a steel blade edge, "When did you begin your training?"

"When I was about seven." Elena answered.

"Ah, that would have been before the deaths of your parents?" Elena's gut clenched with the question.

"About a year before," she said, swallowing down emotions.

"You went to live with your grandfather then, correct?"

"Yes."

"Where did you primarily reside during this time?"

"Mostly at the Docking Facility," Elena said. Riko and Siobhan exchanged a heavy glance Elena could not interpret.

"And who was your primary instructor?" Siobhan asked taking over for Riko. The men stayed silent; there was not much they could say, after all they were not pilots.

"Deana Lang," Elena said, "of the House of Felini."

"And do you still have the headaches?" Elena blinked hard.

"I didn't realize they were related. I thought the dreams might be, but thought the headaches were just the aftermath." Riko and Siobhan exchange another glance and Elena wondered if the nightmares were common. That they were a symptom of some larger ill and not something unique to just her would make her feel marginally better about the scenario.

"We would like to discuss this further with you, but that can wait," Riko said. She turned towards Peter. "We are satisfied, you may proceed," she said with a rather imperious wave of her hand. Peter inclined his head in her direction.

"Are there any more preliminary questions?" Peter asked. Alex leaned forward, nearly popping out of his seat like a living Jack-in-the-box. Somehow Elena knew he would and thought she could probably guess the question.

"Can you tell us how you know Ian Jensen?" It was the question she expected.

"I went to his cousin Eliza's sweet sixteen dance. She and I are the same age."

"You are friends with Eliza?"

"We are on friendly terms," Elena responded. "We were a small class and everyone was invited. I haven't actually seen her in well over 10 years."

"How would you describe your contact with Ian?" Alex's eyes gleamed.

"I believe someone introduced him and I said nice to meet you. He was ten years old at the time I believe so I didn't really give him much thought. I saw him once again a few years later at a lecture my cousin Mateo was giving. I think I said hello." Alex leaned back in his chair, his face blank. Peter waited to see if Alex would comment. No further comments arose from him.

"Any further questions?" Silence was his answer. "Very well then. What has been spoken remains a private matter and not a part of the public record." Peter looked towards the man behind Siobhan who nodded. He left his position and opened a door opposite the one Elena had used to enter the room.

"We are ready for you now," he said and then returned to his place, leaving the door open behind him. The man who entered was rather non-descript. He was not too tall, and not too short and had a face you would forget moments after he had left the room. He wheeled in a small cart with a machine that bore a keen resemblance to a court recorder's typewriter. He then went back for a chair, closing the door behind him. He settled himself at the machine as though quite aware everyone was watching him. When he was settled he looked up at Peter. Peter nodded.

"Let the official recording begin."

### Chapter 8

The Council recorder sat with his hands poised above the keys of his machine, not looking at anyone. Elena realized that the Council respected her enough to give her the privacy to answer personal questions without a witness. It was not a courtesy she would have expected of them and she felt grateful.

The recorder began clacking away at his machine and as no one was speaking Elena assumed he was recording the filing information that stated date, time, and location. He clattered to a stop and looked up at the Council.

"Please state your name for the record," Peter said.

"Elena Bastianne Calabrese," she responded.

"Our records show that you have been absent from the Guild for five years. Is this correct?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Let the record show the Council has been satisfied that the reasons Elena Calabrese chose to leave the Guild have no bearing upon the current matter. The Council is satisfied with her account." Peter shot a look at Alex who frowned at Elena, the grooves on either side of his mouth deepening into canyons, but he remained silent.

"And during this time did you receive any form of financial support from members of your family still associated with the Guild?"

"No," Elena replied wondering where this was actually going. All she wanted to do was pass the problems Ian and the military represented and go home. Riko smiled encouragingly at her and her grandfather refused to meet her eyes. It was clear he was here for the Council, but would not interfere. She was on her own.

"And did you return to the Guild for reasons of monetary gain or reward?" Peter asked, interrupting her thoughts. She focused solely on him allowing everything else to slip away.

"No," she replied. Peter nodded.

"Then let the record show that Elena Bastianne Calabrese has stood as an independent two years past the required three and proven she is a Friend to the Guild and has chosen to return without promise of monetary gain, nor under duress. She is therefore under Council law regarded as the Head of her own family." Peter finished and the recorder click clacked the words into Council record. Elena swallowed hard.

Essentially, she was now only bound by official Council law and allowed to run her own affairs as she saw fit while operating with the Guild instead of being bound to her grandfather's will. Normally such an honor and responsibility would not be placed on someone's shoulders until they had much more age on them than she had.

Elena also realized that she had effectively been brought back into the Guild with one easy step. She fought back a snap of temper at the assumption that she would want to return. After all, they had not asked her. However, a sly thought whispered in the back of her mind, there might be some benefits to being a Head of House in the eyes of the Council.

The only benefit she knew of was that Therese could not hold her choices against her in public or she would risk the direct censor of the Council. Therese would no doubt find some way around it, but it would annoy her to no end. No doubt there were other benefits besides discomfiting her cousin and at some point she would have to find out what they actually were.

"On the fifteenth of this month, Elena Calabrese contacted her family's Councilmember advocate and mentioned that the military had taken an interest in both herself and Ian Jensen, a former Guild member under the House of Barton. Given the relatively public way in which this information was conveyed details were few. The Council would like to hear a more complete account from Ms. Calabrese at this time." Peter inclined his head towards Elena, indicating she now had the floor.

Elena took a deep breath and related her Sunday morning adventure to the Council. She noticed her grandfather's knuckles go white when she mentioned her street corner abduction and caught the look of surprise on both Riko and Siobhan's faces when she reached the USS Navigator.

"They passed to me a map showing the stretch of water where the Marta Channel is located, although Macmillan did point to a location on the map that was at least three leagues off."

"Had you been in the vicinity of the Marta Channel recently?" Peter asked.

"No," Elena replied.

"Yet you know he was off in his estimation of the Channel's location?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I am a Pilot," Elena responded with a frown. "I don't have to actually see the channels to know where they are." Riko leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at Peter.

"Let the record show, Inoue Riko wishes to raise a question." The reporter clacked away recording Riko's name. She didn't spare him a glance, but transferred her gaze from Peter directly to Elena. The weight of those eyes made Elena want to squirm. She tried to resist.

"How far can you stand from a channel and tell its location?"

"I have never had a problem locating them anywhere I have gone on this side of the channels. On the other side, a day's journey can tell me where each Earth-bound channel rests. I have a harder time with those leading to channels on other worlds but if I have been there once, I can usually tell within two hours before entering the channel where on that world the channel is located and make the necessary adjustments for the ship."

Riko's eyebrow once again rose in surprise and she began calling out the names of Earth's channels; the Marta, the Felecia, The Gerta, the Yolanda, the Mei Ling, each named for the first woman known to pilot a ship through their waters. Elena closed her eyes and pictured her mental map of the Earth's oceans, each Channel clearly marked in her mind as if etched in fire.

As each name was spoken, Elena called out the latitude and longitude of the channel. As she spoke Siobhan pulled a blackberry from her coat pocket and began scrolling through. Elena opened her eyes. Riko ceased listing channels well before the list was exhausted and turned towards Siobhan. Her fellow council member nodded in confirmation and Elena guessed the blackberry to contain the current known locations of the channels.

"Can you also tell the current depths in the same manner?" Riko asked.

"Yes," Elena prepared to list the current figures, but Riko waved her to a halt.

"Incredible," Riko said. Elena frowned.

"Just because I no longer actively pilot doesn't mean my skills faded completely away." She said, realizing that her pride had been pricked. She had been a damn good pilot, one of the best if truth were stated. Having her skills dismissed so easily simply because she fell prey to the Calling hurt more than she imagined it would.

"Of course not," Peter said soothingly. "No one here meant to imply otherwise."

"My questions are complete." Riko informed Peter. He nodded and turned back to Elena.

"So you believe the military took a ship through the Marta Channel?" Peter asked. Elena frowned at the question.

"No," she replied.

"Why not?"

"Even if Macmillan was lying about the location in order to trick me, by August 25th the Marta Channel would have been too shallow to allow passage for even a regular channel rider. The USS Navigator with a twenty-six person crew sounded substantially larger than would be normal."

"So you believe they did not take a ship through as they claimed but were trying to gather information?" Peter continued. Elena thought of the pictures of lost personnel and shook her head.

"I have thought about it and I believe the military did manage to take a ship through. I can only guess at the size, but I believe it was large. The only Channel it would have been able to pass through would be the Blood Channel and they would have had to go at least a month earlier than the stated date to still allow passage through. Any time after mid July and even the Blood Channel would be too shallow to allow entry."

"The Blood Channel has been closed for over 100 years," Peter said. "How is it that you know if it?"

"The blockade placed on the other side of the channel to prevent completed passage would stop anyone from using it, but it is still a Channel and I can sense it like any of the others." Peter nodded.

"Ian has not been mentioned yet." Alex said, his desire to hear how his family fit into the scenario overriding council protocol.

"This is true," Peter, said, annoyance flashing briefly across his face. "Elena would you please state how and when Ian Jensen became involved."

"As I was being escorted from the building I saw Ian with others from the military."

"You are sure it was him?" Alex shot out.

"I called out his name and he turned towards me. He recognized me."

"Was he being coerced?" he shot the question out.

"I do not know," she responded.

"Could the others have been guards?"

"Possibly."

"How did the military react?" Peter asked, cutting off Alex's rapid-fire questions.

"Smith was escorting me and he stepped between me and Ian and tried to hustle me towards the gate. I had the impression he did not want me to see Ian."

"Is it possible that he did not want Ian to see you?" Peter asked and Alex turned red with suppressed comments. Elena thought about it, running the scene through her mind.

"It is possible." She said. Peter looked at his fellow council members.

"I believe the matters of earlier this fall need to be brought up at this time. Are there any objections?" Silence met his question and he nodded, turning back to Elena.

"The Council routinely sends ships to check on the barrier at the Blood Channel, to make sure it is still holding and that no one from either side has attempted to tamper with it. Earlier this year, in July," he said with a smile, "Debris was found floating by the entrance to the Channel. Evidence suggests that it was much larger than a normal Channel rider and it was believed that someone tired of the weight restrictions enforced by the usual commercial channels tried to gain access to it. It seems logical now to assume that it was the remains of the military ship we found."

"It is logical," Elena agreed, "But it doesn't make much sense."

"Logic does not make much sense?" Peter asked. The laughter in his voice brought a blush to Elena's cheeks.

"No pilot would attempt the Blood Channel, even for a deeper drought. Within ten miles of the Channel any pilot would sense the blockade and know that it was impassable. The blockade was meant to be as discrete as a blinking neon arrow in a Bugs Bunny cartoon."

"This is true." Riko said. "It was meant as a glaring warning. A pilot would have to be crazy." She blinked a few times. "Maybe they have a crazy pilot."

"If that is so then they have no pilot left as the pilot and crew would have been killed when the ship smashed into the barrier and all on board were sent drifting into space."

"You are correct then," Peter said. "In this case logic makes no sense. The only ones who would know the truth of this matter would be the military and Ian. In this case I suggest that Ian be brought in for an accounting. All in favor?" Peter raised the motion and in half a breath it passed with Alex abstaining in the face of the yes votes. "Are there any changes to what was decided earlier?" Silence met his question and he nodded.

"Very well, in the morning I will accompany Elena back to the military base and we will settle this matter." Elena fought not to roll her eyes. Peter could have just come to her apartment in the first place and saved her a trip. But the council had operated as it had for centuries and was not likely to change now.

"I call this meeting officially to a close. Thank you Ms. Calabrese for your assistance."

"You are welcome," she answered as the reporter clattered to a halt, stood up and wheeled his machine out of the council chamber, closing the door behind him.

"I believe brunch is being served in the dining area," Peter said. The council members stood and Elena was momentarily unsure what to do. "Will you join us Ms. Calbrese?" Peter asked.

"I would be delighted," she said rising to her feet. Now that she had finished her interrogation, Elena's butterflies had calmed and her stomach was intent on reminding her she had skipped both dinner and breakfast. Her grandfather smiled at her and for a second the stony mask of the Council member crumbled and she could see the relief written large in every line of his face. He offered her his arm and they followed the rest of the council up the stairs. Elena shook her head. The Council was about to go up against the military. 'It might be fun to watch,' she thought to herself. 'Even if it does get me killed.'

### Chapter 9

Elena was led into the dining area of the ship. The aroma of bacon and syrup stained the air and her stomach rumbled in response. Heat crept up her cheeks. "Sorry," she said. Her grandfather laughed.

"I suppose we did miss dinner last night," he said. "My apologies at the oversight." Elena looked around the dining room. A central table was laid with snowy linens and sparkling crystal. Around the sides were various stations where one could have waffles or an omelet prepared by the person manning that station. Remembering her favorite Sunday morning weakness, her grandfather led her directly to the waffle station. "They have strawberries," he said teasingly. Elena smiled.

"Of course they do," She replied. "You can't have a waffle without strawberries." Alexandro left her to have her waffle made. By the time the chef handed her a warm plate, Alexandro had returned with his own plate. Elena looked at his dish.

"I guess they had mushrooms," she commented, looking down at his omelet.

"Of course," he replied. "You can have an omelet without mushrooms. It would be uncivilized." They made their way to the table and took their seats. Other Council members loaded their plates and did likewise. A starched and pressed waiter appeared to Elena's left.

"Would you care for a beverage madam?" He asked.

"Coffee would be nice," she replied.

"Regular or decaf madam?" he asked.

"Regular," she said. She waited for the other questions usually accompanying a coffee order, but they never came. Instead a simple cup of black coffee was placed beside her plate. The others around the table were not asked for their preference, drinks were simply placed in front of them by the efficient staff.

"It's because you are new," Peter said taking the seat across from her.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Yes, most of us dine here often enough that our tastes are known."

"I see," she said. "So you travel aboard the Lorenzo often?" She asked, as she cut a small bite from her waffle and raised it to her lips. The strawberries smelled sweet and fresh, complementing the warm waffle. The melted butter filled the square holes and completed it. She took a bite, smiling at the taste. It brought back images of lazy Sunday's spent with her grandfather.

Waffles were the only things he was ever able to cook with out risking a fire. Personally, she always thought this was due more to the built in timer than his skill with a griddle.

Sunday was also the day Marcus and Carla took off. Carla was the cook and general housekeeper at Alexandro's house. Elena could still see the faint lines of worry that would crease her forehead as she left on Saturday evening. Leaving a reckless child and a crazy old man alone to wreak havoc on the orderly house she left behind never set well with her. Thinking back on all the damage they wrought over the years when it was just she and her grandfather, Elena found herself sympathizing with Carla's assessment.

"The Lorenzo is the primary gathering vessel for the Council and we have had to meet a bit more often as of late." Peter answered.

"Is it?" She responded, pulling her mind from her memories.

"You didn't know?" he asked.

"Therese was always the one who paid more attention to politics," She said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the muscles tighten in her grandfather's jaw. Her lack of political interest had always been a sore point between them. "I'm just a Pilot." Her grandfather sighed and asked a question of John Havers who was seated on his other side.

Elena took a deep breath and let it go. Sore points were a matter of private family discussion. She turned her attention back to Peter. She noticed his eyes slide between her and Alexandro and realized he had not missed the exchange. Luckily, he was too polite to mention it.

"Hardly just a pilot, I would say." Peter commented. He broke his scone in half and picked up a knife. "Many pilots are still trying to break a few of your records." He spread clotted cream on his scone. Elena smiled, a bit uncomfortable with the implied praise. She hadn't set out to break any records, at least not intentionally. A matter which usually raised Alexandro's pride and Therese's ire.

"I believe I've met your cousin Therese." Peter continued. "She favors you in coloring a bit although I remember her being a little taller."

"Yes she is a good three or four inches taller than I." Elena said. In truth Therese was exactly three and one quarter's inch taller than Elena, a fact Therese made certain Elena knew.

"And her hair is longer."

"It would be hard not to be," Elena commented with a smile, running her hand through her hair. Most pilots either kept their hair long so that it could be tied back and out of the way while ship board or cut it nearly as short as the men's hair. Elena's chin length bob was quite an anomaly among the pilots.

"I saw her last month at Danvers." He said. Elena nodded and smiled.

"That makes sense. It quickly became her favorite haunts once she was old enough to get in the door." Long before Elena was born a man named Michael Danvers established a bar of sorts at the Docking Facility where people could come and talk council politics, possibly even snagging the ear of a councilmember or two for a few minutes. Michael Danvers had long since turned to dust, his grave lost and forgotten, but the bar he established still played an essential part in the unofficial daily business of the Guild. Absently Elena wondered if any of her accomplishments would be remembered in such a way.

"Have you ever been there?"

"Once," Elena answered. "It wasn't really to my taste." On her right she heard her grandfather's snort of laughter and knew he was monitoring her conversation with Peter. She frowned in his general direction, but couldn't fault his derision for her massive understatement. Her first trip to Danvers had ended in what could politely be termed a brawl. As Therese later pointed out, the first ever brawl Danvers had ever seen, earning Elena yet another record-breaking feat. Elena disliked fighting and regretted the embarrassment it caused her family, but could not find remorse in her for breaking Troy Anderson's nose.

"I see," Peter said. Idly she wondered if he did or if he would find a way to ferret the old story into the light. To her relief, he let the topic of politics drop. "Alexandro tells me you have built quite an impressive enterprise in the years you have been gone."

"Calabrese Imports," her grandfather said, giving up all pretense of ignoring the conversation. "It is magnificent."

"Thank you," Elena said. "I don't know that I would refer to it as an impressive enterprise but I am quite proud of it." Elena's empty plate was whisked away and her coffee cup refilled. She took a deep sip of the fresh coffee, unsure what else to say about her business. She knew Peter would just as easily see the links for his business as her grandfather had and the thought made her uncomfortable. Thinking about working with her grandfather was one thing. She knew and trusted him. He may be Council, but she tried very hard not to delve too deeply into those details of his life.

Peter was a different matter. The stories involving him were always dark and usually frightening. 'Would I find those same stories about grandfather if I looked?' she wondered silently. 'Perhaps,' she was forced to admit. 'Which may be why I don't look too hard at the politics.'

"From what stories I have heard you are being quite modest," he said. Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Stories from who?" She asked. "Grandfather first saw my place when he came to pick me up and he hasn't had time to relate what he saw as we went straight into the council chambers." Elena narrowed her eyes and cut them towards her grandfather. He once again appeared to be deep in conversation with John Havers. John had a slightly bemused look on his face. Elena looked back at Peter and saw the tips of his ears had reddened.

"Yes, well I believe my brother Nicolas was passing through your fair city a while ago and stopped to take a look. His description was quite favorable. Perhaps there will be time for me to have a look inside while we are taking care of this situation."

"Perhaps," Elena said allowing the subject to drop. After all nothing more needed to be said. Nick was his brother's right hand man and as her home was far removed from the normal course of Guild business, Peter would have had to send Nick specifically to see what she was up to. While a part of her understood the suspicion, the fact she was spied upon rankled. At the other end of the table Siobhan stood and walked over to them.

"Elena," she began. "Riko and I are retiring to the library. Would you care to join us or would you prefer to see if Peter has another foot he would like to try swallowing?" Elena smiled and realized the question was more rhetorical than anything else. Her presence was requested and required. She stood up.

"I would be delighted, thank you. Mr. Baranov should finish his scone before trying another foot." Elena turned towards the table. "If you gentlemen would excuse me, Mr. Baranov. Grandfather." Elena stepped away from the table, following Siobhan out of the dining area and into the corridor.

### Chapter 10

Elena followed Siobhan to the library. They arrived to see Riko sitting comfortably in one of the leather chairs and stirring a cup of coffee taken from the tray set off to the side. Elena did not realize she left the dining area. Siobhan took another of the seats and gestured for Elena to take a third.

The butterflies were once again swirling in Elena's belly and she wished she hadn't added quite so much waffle to their dance floor. She politely declined another offer of coffee. Riko stirred her cup while Siobhan poured for herself. The small silver spoon made little clinking noises as it circled through the black liquid and Riko's eyes were focused on Elena. When Siobhan was settled she smiled at Elena.

"The Calling is hard upon a Pilot," she began softly. "A difficult choice, do you risk your crewmates or do you forsake the only life you've ever known. Many choose the risk." She paused to take a sip of her coffee.

"Easier to build a new life than to justify the possible deaths of friends." Elena said. Whatever they thought, walking away hadn't been brave. She hadn't even told the other crewmembers or the bulk of her family why she was leaving. She told her grandfather, as she was legally required to do, that's it. She then skulked off and tried to pretend that part of her life never existed.

"Who diagnosed you?" Riko asked, her voice low and hard.

"I diagnosed myself," Elena replied. "When the Calling started it was easy to ignore, the longer they whispered the greater the urge became to follow them. So I left." Riko and Siobhan exchanged glances.

"There are many who study The Calling," Riko said.

"Are there?" Elena asked, unsure where the conversation was going.

"Yes and many things have been learned," Siobhan added. "Such as once the Calling manifests, a pilot will start having dreams they can not remember and awakening with a very nasty headache."

"So I have learned," Elena commented. Both older women nodded.

"As you have also learned that caffeine will dull the throbbing of these headaches nearly instantly, with hot caffeine working better than cold caffeine."

"I hadn't tried the cold caffeine," Elena added.

"We have also had those who study dreams and the subconscious working with some of the Pilots experiencing the Calling," Riko said. Siobhan smiled.

"We are also getting quite adept at sifting through actual usable knowledge and idiocy regarding suppressed desires." Siobhan added with a mocking lilt to her voice. Elena absently wondered how esoteric some of the subconscious sciences had gotten. Picturing the council consulting an infomercial psychic made her smile.

"I see," Elena said cautiously, her gaze shifting between the two of them.

"There are now two schools of thought about The Calling. Some maintain that it is as it has always been an affliction that more often than not grounds our best Pilots." Riko said as her gaze focused on Elena, her eyes catching her like a snake. Elena was unsure if she would be capable of turning away. In the weight of Riko's gaze, she didn't feel like she could even blink. "Many before their time," she concluded, breaking her gaze. Elena let loose a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Others," continued Siobhan, her gaze no less piercing than her fellow council member's, "have come to believe that it is a natural process. An evolution of ability if you would." She set her empty cup down on the end table. "A study has been done on the pilots known to be affected and it is as Riko has said. Usually it is the best pilots afflicted with the disorder. We believe the headaches may be brought on in much the same way as growing pains are during the teenage years. They seem to be increased as a result of the Pilot's fighting the process. Many of the grounded Pilots have started paying attention to the dreams, noting down images, trying to remember, trying to figure out what the dreams could mean." Siobhan tilted her head to the side. "They haven't found the meaning of the dreams yet, but the headaches have lessened as a result of their not shunning them. Perhaps that would be of use to you." Elena thought about the pain of the eye blurring morning migraines.

"Less pain is always appreciated," she answered. Both women smiled.

"Would you keep track of the dreams as you pay attention to them?" Riko asked. "Your impressions, your gut feelings as well as the actual images? A good Pilot often steers on instinct as much as learned skills."

"I will do my best," Elena said.

"Good," Riko said. "That is all we can ask." Both Riko and Siobhan stood and Elena scrambled to her feet. The two council members started towards the door.

"Another side effect of paying attention to the dreams might be of benefit to you Elena," Siobhan said.

"Oh?"

"The pilots who paid attention to the dreams found their urge to strike off into the black and away from the safe channels at the urging of the Calling greatly diminished. A few of them are no longer grounded."

The two council members left Elena standing stock still in the library. She no longer saw her surroundings and the events of the past few days faded in importance. Slowly, she sunk back into her chair. The effects of the Calling diminished. She would be able to pilot again. Just by paying attention to her dreams. She shook her head.

"Crazy," she whispered out loud. "It can't be that easy." Still deep inside hope flickered. One cold thought nearly blew the flame out, "The council doesn't give something for nothing," she whispered. And they had given her quite a bit. "What could they possibly want from me?"

### Chapter 11

After brunch Elena didn't see much of the council members, including her grandfather. A preliminary search found the door to the meeting room closed and Elena could hear the murmur of voices on the other side of the wood. She didn't test the door to see if it was locked as she had enough of council politics for the moment. The council was probably taking care of business she had no interest in. Elena turned away from the door.

Spending some time with her grandfather would be nice, but she was also relieved not to cautiously tread the verbal minefield of family relations. In the dining area the wait staff were completing the clean up from breakfast. She watched them and wondered if interrupting would be a good idea.

"May I help you miss?" A voice said from behind her. Elena turned, startled. "My apologies, I didn't realize you hadn't seen me." The voice belonged to a woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing a dark blue shirt with a golden L emblazoned on the breast pocket. It made Elena think of the shirts Laverne wore in the old television show. The show's theme song began playing in the back of her mind.

The woman's shirt was tucked into a pair of khaki pants. White canvas shoes completed the outfit. Elena recognized it as the staff uniform.

"Yes actually, I need to run an errand. I don't suppose there is a phone to call a taxi?" The woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry Miss. You are allowed the free run of the ship while you are here, but for your own safety we were asked to keep you aboard. If you let me know what is needed I could secure it for you." She looked apologetic and Elena sighed. "It really is for your own safety Miss."

"I understand," Elena said, knowing that the Council was trying to help her as well as being paranoid. She also knew no one on board would go against the direct order of the Council. She sighed. "It's sort of personal." Elena felt her cheeks flush red. "Um, you see I didn't have time to do laundry before coming on this trip and I am running low on undergarments. I suppose I could just rinse these out in the sink and let them dry overnight." The last comment she uttered was more for herself than her uniformed companion. She bit her lip thinking of wearing the date underwear for an extra day, but not seeing another way. "Well I suppose I'll have to make do."

"Oh no miss." She seemed offended at the mere thought of a passenger's discomfort. "That won't do. If you give me your sizes I can arrange for the items to be in your room." She pulled out a small notepad from her back pocket. A golf pencil was stuck in the spiral binding. The woman slid it out and flipped to a clean page. Elena gave her size requirements to the woman and they were quickly jotted down. Elena pulled her wallet out of her purse. "Oh no Miss. That isn't necessary."

"Oh I'm sorry," Elena said, afraid she had offended the woman. She waved away Elena's concern.

"Not a problem. I'll make sure these are delivered to your room. And you have further need, please let me know. My name is Regina."

"Thank you, Regina."

"My pleasure Miss." Regina turned back down the corridor and walked briskly away. Her underwear problem taken care of, Elena decided she could take advantage of the Council library and try to find some answers to a few of the questions that had arisen during the last few days. She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and walked towards the library. The first question she wanted to have answered dealt with the details about being named Head of her own House. She was sure there would be benefits and just as certain there would be requirements made of her. Finding those out before the Council brought them up would be helpful.

She also wanted more information about being named Friend of the Guild. Elena shook her head as she entered the library. Those were two of her most pressing concerns. The first lesson her parents taught her about the Council was that they never gave without taking, giving every privilege some responsibility. In some cases Elena actually agreed with the concept. She spotted a computer in the corner and walked over. With a touch it sprang to life and the electronic card catalog was at her disposal.

The concept of paying for what you got helped keep everyone from getting too greedy or from having unchecked power. The higher the power, the more responsibility was a concept drilled into each of them at every stage of their training. However, dealing with the Council always left her feeling paranoid and questioning the motives of everyone around her. Elena sighed and clicked open a search window. She typed her question and prepared to wade through tons of useless information before finding anything relevant.

"After all it's not like Council law and Head of Household are that uncommon as phrases go." However before clicking the go button she noticed a box where she could check and only search the Guild archives rather than the entire library. She ticked the box, blessing whatever librarian had spent the time coding the documents separately.

"Besides, I can do a general search later," she said as the computer pulled up a list of resources. The list was pretty long, but nowhere nearly as extensive as a general search would be. Noting that all of the documents listed were located in the same general vicinity, she didn't bother copying the titles down onto one of the little slips of paper thoughtfully stationed next to the computer. She just walked over to the shelf listed.

Luckily, it was one of the lower shelves so she did not need to get one of the rolling ladders. As it was close to the floor, Elena just sat down, cross-legged on the floor in front of the books. The fat tome simple entitled Council Law looked promising. She pulled it off the shelf and flipped to the back hoping there was an index. There was none. She flipped to the front of the book and found the table of contents. Elena slid her finger down the page, allowing her eyes to follow. She mumbled the chapter titles to herself as she looked for something of interest. Several things caught her attention as she scanned the table of contents and she had to remind herself to focus. Once her questions were answered she could indulge her curiosity about the other elements of council law.

She turned the page and continued scanning. The fifth page of the table of contents held the title to a promising chapter and she turned to page 246. Mired in legalese and other official sounding verbiage she found that as a listed Head of House she was allowed to run her business as she saw fit as long as it did nothing to jeopardize the other families of the Guild. She was only answerable to the council member who headed up her regional families and to the council itself. She was now also eligible to vote in general elections whereas before she could only offer her opinion to her Head of House. And should a council seat open up, she could potentially be a candidate, depending on her individual qualifications. There were a few other perks, but those were the big ones.

"So there's the carrot," she muttered to herself. "So where's the stick?" She found it buried a few paragraphs down. "Not too bad," she said. She would now owe an annual tithe to the Guild, but the amount didn't seem too excessive. The tithe was not a set amount, but rather a percentage of her annual income, revised every year. As sticks went it wasn't a particularly heavy handed one. Elena weighed the thought of paying the Guild and realized it didn't bother her that much. She smiled at the page as she thought of Therese realizing what Elena had been given.

"Cheap at twice the price," she decided. Elena flipped back to the table of contents and continued scanning for a reference to Friends of the Guild. She spent an hour flipping between table of contents and pages in the Council Law book as well as several others. By the time she reached the end of the shelf, the only thing that she had learned was that a Friend of the Guild was someone who acted on behalf of the Guild and to whom the Council was somehow beholden.

She sighed and looked at the stack of books heaped on the floor beside her. Elena began re-shelving them. She was pretty sure her act on behalf of the Council was tied to Ian and the military, but could find no reference as to how the Council was beholden and what that actually meant. That was something she found strange. The Council may always take something when it gave you something else, but it was always a very straightforward business transaction. Benefits and responsibilities were always clearly marked.

"Maybe there aren't that many people who actually help the Council out, so they haven't really thought about it." She mused. All of the books except Council Law were re-shelved. She picked the book up and deciding she didn't really have a better way to spend her afternoon, she stood and took the book over to one of the comfortable chairs. She settled herself into the chair and opened the book. Idly she wished she had a notebook to jot down key points, but let the thought go as she began to read.

### Chapter 12

Elena may not have been a fan of politics, but the way the Council Law book laid everything out in black and white detail was fascinating. She found herself drawn into the book and the afternoon passed swiftly.

'Council members are based on population,' she mused. Not population of pilots, but the general population of a home region. The book explained that it was felt if representation was based on the number of pilots a region had there might be some efforts to increase the number of pilots. 'And that could lead to some nasty battles,' she thought, summing up the large words into their basic concept. 'And nasty battles get noticed.' A discrete cough from the doorway startled her from her thoughts and she looked up.

"Dinner will be served shortly in the dining area Miss," a short dark haired main wearing the staff uniform told her.

"Of course," she said. He inclined his head, then turned and left. She ran a hand through her hair realizing that a night spent in a car followed by a day absently twisting strands while she read was not going to improve her looks. She wished she had time for a shower.

"Oh well, no help for it." She said aloud. She uncurled her legs and stood up, only to realize her right leg had gone completely to sleep. "Oh hell," she thought. She tapped her rubbery feeling foot on the floor, trying to regain feeling. After a few minutes she was rewarded with a pins and needles feeling. She tried not to look as though she were limping as she made her way out of the library and down the corridor. By the time she reached the dining area she felt she had the trick of it and tried to look nonchalant.

"Why are you limping?" She frowned at the question and looked over to Peter. The tone was demanding and she saw him shoot a questioning glance towards Alex.

"My leg fell asleep while I was reading," she admitted. Did he really think Alex would do something to her? On a Council ship? That was a chilling thought.

"Ah, I see," he relaxed a bit and smiled.

"There you are," her grandfather said coming up to her. "I'm sorry we were in meetings so long. I had hoped to spend time with you. Did you occupy yourself well?" She smiled at his phrasing. Alexandro did not like wasted time.

"I occupied myself well, Grandfather," she told him Peter snorted in amusement and walked away. "I did some reading in the library." Her grandfather's left eyebrow rose in question.

"I see, and did you learn anything of value?" He led her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Apparently dinner was not a buffet style meal. She sat in the offered chair while he took the seat next to her.

"I did learn some things of value," she replied with a smile.

"Really? Anything you care to share?"

"Nothing you don't already know." She told him. She knew everyone at the table could guess that she had spent the afternoon looking up the details of her new status, but she didn't really want to discuss the details of other things she learned. Some of the information made her queasy. The fact that she now held the minimum requirements for a Council member was not something that sat entirely comfortably with her. The discomfort was not due entirely to her dislike of politics.

When reading about how the council members were chosen one fact became glaringly obvious. There was no council members for North or South America. The entire western hemisphere was divided into regions and assigned to European, Asian and African regions. She looked over at her grandfather. He may have been her council chair, but his base was in Milan. Old thoughts began to stir as everyone took their seats and the salad course was placed in front of them.

She picked up her fork and speared a roma tomato. As young as she was at the time, she remembered the excitement before her parents' deaths. Her mother had reached council member status. As her mother's family immigrated to the United States under William Penn they were officially classified as a US family with no possible doubt. For the first time the New World would have a council member solely looking out for their interests. Regional boundaries around the world would have been re-drawn. Power would have shifted. Three days later both Elena's parents were dead, killed in a random accident.

Elena shifted her eyes around the table. She had been wrapped in her grief, but remembered the fragments of suspicion that were never cleared away. How many of those at this table knew details of the accident? Did any of them have a part in it? And when they realized she could effectively take the place her mother would have taken, would she become a target?

She shook her head and took another bite of salad. The vinaigrette stung, the bite being more prevalent than the taste. Perhaps her disinterest in council politics was known well enough to help keep her safe.

"Something wrong?" Peter asked her. Once again he was seated across the table from her. She wondered if he was keeping an eye on her. With his reputation he could easily have a hand in her parent's accident. He would have been in his late teens or early twenties at the time. She fought not to narrow her eyes in speculation.

"No not at all," she replied. "I was just thinking how fresh the tomatoes are." She speared another with her fork. "Usually at this time of year they all have that slight off taste that lets you know they have been shipped a long way."

"Our chef keeps a hydroponics garden in one of the lower decks," Peter replied. "This way we are always assured of the very freshest of vegetables."

"I wouldn't think you would spare space for a garden like that on such a ship," she commented.

"There are many more rooms than are needed," her grandfather commented. "It is best to make use of them for more practical purposes than simply allowing them to lie empty."

"I see," Elena replied. She continued eating her salad. Small talk with the council was not one of the skill sets she had been trained to use. Mostly her ties to them would lay in common business interests. Business conversation at the dinner table was considered rude however. "Have you tried growing off world foods in the garden?" She asked. Elena figured it might edge into business a little, but if she kept it grounded in the culinary it might pass.

"I don't believe so," Peter said. Her grandfather just shook his head.

"Too bad," Elena said. "It would be nice to have fresh treel around." The salad plates were whisked away and the entrée was placed in front of her. Roasted chicken stuffed with some sort of blue cheese mixture and placed on a bed of wild rice. A mound of creamy mashed potatoes and fresh green peas completed the plate. She inhaled deeply.

"Smells delicious," she said. She took her first bite. It tasted just as good as it smelled.

"I've never had treel," Peter commented. "Do you like it?" On her left her Alexandro laughed at the question.

"When she was eight she made herself sick on it. I'm impressed she could even stomach it after that." Elena frowned at her grandfather for a moment, then laughed.

"For a few years after I couldn't," she admitted. "But a few every now and again are fine."

"What do they taste like?" Peter asked.

"They have a sweetness like grapes but a bit of a tart taste to balance that out. I don't know how else to explain them. I'm surprised you never had them. I thought every kid got a bag as a rule. Like strawberries or watermelon in the summertime."

"Well we never dealt with the Varosh colonies so they weren't really that common in our household."

"I see." Elena commented. The conversation ebbed and flowed around her. Occasionally she made a comment, but for the most part simply listened and watched. It was with some surprise that she noticed Peter watching her throughout the meal. It wasn't a leering look as if her were trying to figure out a way to get her naked. It was more calculating than predatory. It reminded her of the way a man might look at an expensive bottle of wine when he was trying to decide whether he wanted to sip the one glass he could afford of the expensive stuff or buy enough cheap wine to just get drunk. It was not exactly a comfortable look.

Elena also caught her grandfather watching Peter during the evening. He had what she liked to call his scheming look. It was a look that told her he might not like Peter's interest in her but as he could do nothing about it, he would try to turn the situation to his advantage. Elena found she had a bit of a headache, one she was certain had nothing to do with The Calling. It was with some relief that she greeted the desert course, dark chocolate mouse topped with raspberries.

With the desert course cleared away, everyone stood and began filtering into a well-appointed room fitted with large chairs similar to the ones in the library. Her grandfather led her into the room and to a chair. Various paintings, all centered on nautical themes, decorated the walls. With a start Elena realized she was being allowed into one of the famous brandy hours. She smiled a little as she was passed a snifter. The last time she was around when the council had one of their brandy hours she had been deemed much too small for such an event and had been shooed off to bed by the housekeeper.

'I would have been twelve at the time,' she thought. With a start she realized that many of the current council members would not have been in power at that time. Only her Grandfather and Riko were of an age. She had not seen the council at that time, only moving shadows and low pitched voices. Elena glanced over at Riko. It was hard to imagine her as anything other than Council. Elena found she could easily see the older woman piloting her ship and acting as both pilot and captain but found it difficult to imagine her as serving under another captain.

'Yet there was a time when she did,' she thought. That was standard training. All pilots started out under a trained captain. But for Riko that time was long past, over before Elena was even born. Elena stopped trying to see the younger Riko as she realized the rules about not discussing business were relaxed after dinner.

'They are still restrained,' she thought as she listened. They were just talking general business not the specifics, as she would have thought. She suspected her presence was the reason for the restraint. 'Well, restraint in all but one,' she realized. While Alex Barton stayed far from her previously, now he took a seat nearby and while everyone else discussed general business, he dropped broad hints that invited her to inquire about Council business.

Absently she wondered if he thought she was that gullible. His questions seemed very movie villain-esque and she thought the effect was slightly ruined since he didn't have a moustache to twirl around his finger as he cackled. Not that he actually cackled, but there was a gleam of evil glee in his eyes that Elena did not care for. She had the impression that as soon as she asked what he was talking about he would deride her for her inappropriate curiosity. She sighed inwardly and ignored his comments as best she could. Others appeared to be doing the same.

Elena wondered if being able to pilot again was worth all of this nonsense. She thought about the way the ship felt under her control, the thrill of seeing the outline of the channel's narrow passage in her mind and placing it over the image her eyes could see in the real world and guiding the ship safely through. The strength she could feel in her as she skillfully maneuvered her ship through the channel that no one else on board could even see and the trust of her crewmates believing she would not get them killed were some things she missed.

But the sheer beauty and joy of seeing the ship slide from the oceans of this world and into the black of the deep space, with a thin ribbon of water drawn along beneath them and a little behind, drawn in to the vacuum and held in place beneath them as the moved, gliding through stars. She thought of the fun of negotiating with races of people from planets in solar systems few on her planet would ever know existed and of the sheer adrenaline rush as one of the ships that preyed upon lone merchant vessels targeted them and she had to guide her ship around their traps, sometimes outsmarting them and sometimes just plain out running them.

"Elena?" Peter said and with a start she realized he had been talking to her. He had a bemused look on his face and she wondered what her face had shown as her thoughts drifted.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I must be more tired than I thought." She set her still half full snifter on the occasional table next to her as Alex dropped yet another obvious hint. "I don't suppose you would mind if I excuse myself a little early?" She asked. "I'm afraid I am not very lively company when I am this sleepy and it seems fairly obvious you have council business you wish to discuss."

She cast her eyes towards Alex as she stood up. She was pleased to note a light blush grace his cheeks. Several of the men stood as she excused herself. Elena turned from them and walked back into the dining area. As she stood staring at the purposefully moving staff she realized she had no clue where her room actually was. Luckily, they did and one of them led her through a maze of corridors to her suite. She thanked him and entered the room prepared for her.

### Chapter 13

Elena stood in the doorway of her assigned suite and blinked. For a moment she felt as though she stepped into a 1950s movie set. Looking around she half expected Marilyn Monroe or Jane Russell to walk by. She shut the door behind her and began taking stock. Everything was polished to a high gloss. To the right of the doorway was a wet bar inset into the wall. She opened the cabinet above and found a wide assortment of liquors. They had been poured from their store bought containers into crystal decanters of varying in shapes and all had little silver nameplates proclaiming their contents. The decanters themselves were fitted into cushioned forms to provide stability and to keep the bottles from clinking together even in rough weather. Elena closed the cabinet.

In the corner sat a mahogany desk. It had a leather edged blotter, with matching penholder. Stationary emblazoned with a raised golden L sat atop the blotter. Elena pulled a pen from the holder and tugged off the cap. As she suspected the pen was a fountain pen rather than a ballpoint. She replaced the cap and returned it to its holder.

"Apparently they aren't really worried about the guests stealing the portable items." She said picking up a large silver lighter. "More like a paperweight," she mused flicking the lighter on. "Looks like something Humphrey Bogart would use." She replaced it on the desk. Elena didn't bother to open the cigarette case beside it, but the small canister behind it interested her. It was the size and shape of a cotton swab holder. It was silver, like the rest of the smoking set and had a little knob on the top of its lid. She pulled the knob and the lid rose. It had a rod attached to the center of it and leading to a fitted base. When it slid up, matches fanned out around the center rod.

"Interesting," she said closing the match case. She vaguely recalled seeing something like it in The Maltese Falcon. "I think that one was for cigarettes though. I wonder why you would have matches and a lighter?" She flipped open the box placed at the corner of the desk and found it full of cigars. Dimly she recalled her grandfather saying something about always lighting cigars with matches. "Something about the taste," She muttered. Elena shrugged, closed the cigar box and moved away from the desk. As she didn't smoke either cigarettes or cigars, they were of little use to her.

She opened the door next to the desk and found it to be a closet. Padded satin covered hangers were placed on the bar and a rack for her luggage was placed below. The few clothes she brought for this trip were hung up on the hangars and her empty bag was on the rack. It looked rather deflated. Elena knew they meant nothing personal by unpacking her bag and were in fact helping her keep her things from wrinkling rather than rummaging, but it still felt like an invasion of privacy.

"Next time I'll have to remember to put anything personal in my purse," she said closing the closet door. She took two steps towards the bathroom door and stopped herself. "Next time," she repeated. Elena rolled her eyes at the thought, hoping there really wouldn't be a next time.

She pushed the bathroom door open and found her toiletry bag placed on the built in vanity. The modern waterproof travel bag looked out of place next to the silver containers filled with cotton swabs and cotton balls and cut glass perfume bottles. The bathtub was nearly big enough to swim in and the toilet was tucked discreetly behind a half wall. A silver rack piled high with fluffy towels sat next to the bathtub, as did a small rack containing bottles of bath salts, oils and bubble baths.

Elena decided she would try out one of them in a long soak before bed. She picked up each bottle and pried the cap off to test the scent. She decided on some pink crystals that smelled of rose. Elena turned on the tap and tossed a handful of the bath salts under the pounding water. She returned to the bedroom while the tub filled. The only item not investigated was the bed. She fervently hoped it too was not a hold over from the 1950s. She sat down on the bed and sank into softness. Apparently the Lorenzo had followed the trends of other more commercial cruise lines and gotten top of the line bedding. Elena glanced over at the two items on the bed with her. The first was a leather bound notebook with a hot pink post-it note attached. She reached over and pulled the notebook towards her. The post-it note was short and to the point.

"For recording information about your dreams," she read aloud. There was no signature. "Apparently they aren't wasting any time." She set the notebook down on the nightstand and pulled the second parcel over to her. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. She shook her head wondering what store other than a meat counter actually wrapped up parcels like that any more.

"And with the meat they use stickers instead of string." She untied the string and opened the paper. Inside the brown paper was lavender colored tissue paper that smelled of violets. She folded it back and found she was holding the underwear she had asked Regina to secure. It was a matched set festooned with black lace and had pink accents running through it.

"At least the lace is soft and not scratchy," she commented. She walked over to the closet, opened the door and set the underwear on top of her empty satchel. "And at least I brought dark clothes for tomorrow so the bra won't show through the cloth." She closed the closet door and decided a long soak in the bathtub was in order.

By the time she crawled out of the bathtub she felt boneless and sleepy. The exhaustion of the last few days swamped her and she wearily pulled the covers back and climbed into bed. Elena snuggled down into the softness and closed her eyes, unsure if she wanted to dream or not. Within moments she was asleep.

Elena awoke from her dreams, with her head pounding. She pushed her hands to the side of her head as if trying to keep her brains from exploding out of her ears.

"I wonder how long I have to pay attention before the pain clears?" She muttered. The dreams as usual were a jumble of flashing images. Already they were slipping away like water through her splayed fingers. Remembering her promise, and the promise of possible pain relief, she slid out of bed and picked up the provided notebook. She walked over to the desk, sat down and picked up a pen. Elena stared at the notebook and ran her fingers over the leather of the cover. Somehow the book looked official. She almost wished the council had given her a simple spiral bound notebook to jot down her thoughts.

"They wouldn't seem as real," she thought. Elena opened the cover and began to jot down her thoughts. It didn't take long as the images were just random snapshot of places she had never seen jumbled together. 'It is as if I were looking at someone's holiday photographs through a cheese cloth,' she wrote. 'I had the impression that all I had to do was pull the cloth aside and I could see down the pathway the same as I could with a regular channel.' Elena looked at her words and thought about scratching them out. They seemed so silly. After all that isn't the way the channels worked. A pilot didn't just create channels; they piloted the existing ones.

The paragraph she placed in the notebook was brief and somewhat disappointing. She shrugged off the disappointment. She knew better than to think all of life's great mysteries would be solved in one sitting. Elena closed the book and decided to see if any coffee was available to dull the pain in her head. She dressed in the new under garments and the clothes she had brought with her. She packed the rest of her belongings and hefted the bag to her shoulder. Elena figured they would soon be leaving and she could just as easily tuck the bag under the table during breakfast.

"Not that I actually feel like eating," she muttered to herself. Along with the usual headache, the morning had re-awakened all her nervousness about the upcoming military confrontation. Elena made her way to the dining area. The coffee area was set up but no one had yet arrived. She poured herself a cup and settled into one of the chairs. The caffeine worked its magic and her headache began to slowly ebb. By the time she was halfway though her second cup it was almost completely gone.

"You might want to get a to-go cup for that," Peter said walking into the room and gesturing towards her. "The car is ready and we need to be on our way." The muscles in Elena's stomach knotted.

'Great,' she thought, 'not only do I have to deal with the military, I have to spend the entire day alone with Peter and his bodyguard.' She set the cup down on the table. 'This should be interesting.' She picked up her bag and followed him out the door.

### Chapter 14

Elena followed Peter onto the deck and was handed into the skiff she had come to the ship in by the same unnamed man who had brought them. Peter introduced him as Thomas and she got the impression he served Peter in the same capacity as Marcus served her grandfather. The ride to the shore was quiet, and Elena basked in the scent of the sea. When she ceased piloting, she moved inland, away from the temptation the sea represented. She missed it.

She looked around as they moved but could still see no markings to tell her exactly where she was. It was simply a port. Elena was certain their approach was intentional. Once on shore, she followed Peter and Thomas to a black sedan. Thomas took her bag and placed it in the trunk while Peter opened the door for her. She slid into the back of the car. Peter joined her while Thomas got behind the wheel to drive. Elena felt her nerves start to jump. He may have been nice to her and technically on her side at the moment, but Peter had a ruthless reputation.

'Best not give him a chance to show me if the rumors are true or not,' She thought.

"There is no need to be nervous," Peter said with a smile. She wondered if he could read her mind.

"So you know exactly how you are going to deal with the military? You have some sort of clue as to how you will manage to get them to back off?" She asked.

"Of course," he replied.

"I don't suppose you would care to share this information?"

"Its really quite simple," he said with a smile. The smile didn't make him look friendly. It somehow made him look dangerous, like a shark smelling blood. "We are going to give them just enough information to let them know their plans are not feasible."

"And they are just going to look at you and say, Golly, gee thanks Mister for setting us straight. We won't be bothering you any more."

"Not exactly," Peter said laughing. "Especially as I don't think anyone would actually say golly gee without a sarcastic undertone. We are going to invite them to join us on a trip through the channels."

Elena stared at him, dumbfounded. "Could you repeat that?"

"We are going to allow them to go through one of the channels," he repeated slowly. "And that no one says golly gee." Elena frowned at him.

"I thought that is what you said," Elena tapped her thumb on her knee. "And this is going to make them not want to go back into space? They are going to see our ports and the trade routes and they are going to want no part of it?"

"Oh, I'm sure they will want a part of it. But we will show them that for the purposes they are no doubt trying to use the channels, they are completely unsuited."

"I see," Elena said hesitantly. Obviously, she was in the presence of a madman.

"You are humoring me," he said. "Don't worry it will all be taken care of." Peter cleared his throat. "I should warn you though, we would like you to be the pilot for this excursion."

"Me?" She asked, nearly squeaking.

"Yes. We figured since they already knew you it would be pointless to let them see another pilot. Besides, your record is quite astonishing. And you are one of the few adult American pilots. We thought it would be best to keep this in one country. No use getting everyone's military involved."

"And you are not worried about The Calling?"

"Not really," he said waving away her concern. "I have studied the research and do not believe The Calling to be an illness. I believe it to be more of an evolutionary process."

"Growing pains," Elena said, remembering what the two council members had said. Peter didn't comment. Elena shook the thought away and looked at Peter. "And if I decide I don't want to take a ship through with the military in tow?"

"You won't decide that," he told her. She raised an eyebrow.

"You are certain?"

"Yes," he said.

"Because if I don't you will slice the muscles in my thumbs to make them useless?" Elena asked. Peter laughed.

"Where did you dig that story up?" he asked.

"Is it not true?"

"Oh yes it is quite true, but it was long ago." Peter thought for a minute. "Besides, you are not stealing from me and while you no doubt use your hands, your trade does not depend on them."

"Oh," Elena said, unsure what else to answer.

"You will pilot the ship because it is the only way to get the military to leave you alone," he said, clarifying his earlier statement.

"So you say," she replied.

"I say because it is true."

Elena decided to let the conversation drop. Personally, she didn't see how confirming that she knew how to pilot would get Smith and MacMillan to back off, but she could hope Peter was right. Her only other option at this point would be to leave everything she had built and disappear. Not exactly her favorite option.

"We do have another offer we would like you to consider," Peter said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh?"

"As I said before, your record as a pilot is quite remarkable. Even if you didn't want to return to piloting you have many skills. Skills that could be used to train others. We have a shortage of trainers."

"That would require that I pilot," Elena said thinking of her training under Deana Lang.

"Not necessarily," Peter said shaking his head. "There are many skills that can be taught without setting foot on a ship."

"True," she answered.

"I'm not asking you to decide now of course. Just something to think about in the future. When things settle back down. After all you will be quite busy. Not only do you have a business to run, but you will be acting as an intermediary for the council. I have no doubt that would take several months."

"Months?" Elena squeaked. Peter laughed.

"Of course. You didn't think this business would be over so quickly did you? After all they will want to talk and try to explain how they are right and we are wrong. They will not truly understand it is the other way around until they are shown and to show them we must take them through the channels. It is, as you pointed out yesterday, far too late in the season to do so now. It will have to wait until the spring."

"Spring is usually when I schedule my buying trips." Elena mused. Of course if she were to take her grandfather up on his offer of a business partnership some of those buying trips might be off world. So far she had put off thinking about that. Too many things for her to think about.

"Really?" Peter asked. "I was going to ask you about that." There was a gleam in his eye and Elena knew he was on the same page with her grandfather. Perhaps though, he simply wanted her connections and not a business partnership with her.

"Were you?" She asked.

"Yes, when my brother visited he told me that many of your wares were from distant places and not many were from large scale business operations. Many were from individual craftsmen or artisans. Is this true?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I like dealing with them more than the corporations."

"No doubt your grandfather has spoken to you on the subject of business arrangements?"

"He asked if I would be willing to consider it."

"I see," he replied. "And are you willing to consider it?"

"Yes I am willing to consider it." She said warily.

"Then I would ask a favor. A personal one rather than a Council one." He smiled and Elena realized he was trying to be charming. She also realized he was quite good at it. He had the kind of looks that danger sat well on. "I would like for you to consider adding me as a partner as well. It should be a grand enterprise and I would like to get in on the ground floor as they say. Since the territories my family's ships trade with are different than the ones your family trades with there should be little overlap. Will you consider it?"

"I will consider it," she told him. "However I would like to get this pesky little problem taken care of before I start a new venture."

"Of course, of course." They lapsed into silence. She looked at him wondering what else needed to be said. Peter started as if he had just received a jolt then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Vibrate," he told her. "Do you mind?" he asked before answering.

"No go ahead," she told him, pleased that he had the manners to ask before answering. Very few people did anymore. He answered the call and began speaking in rapid Russian to whoever was on the other end of the line. Elena didn't speak Russian, but figured even if she had learned he would be going too fast for her.

Elena turned to look out of the window. They were driving down a long stretch of highway with tall trees lining both sides of the road, making it a long corridor of greens and browns with no distinguishing features. Secretly Elena hoped Peter's call took a long time. They had several hours left in the car and her head was already too full to take any more. Besides, what exactly was she supposed to talk to him about? Random questions popped into her head, but they weren't the sorts of things she could ask. She doubted he would answer anyway.

'And if he did, the answers wouldn't be ones I would want to hear.' She thought. While it might be interesting to know how to keep a torture victim conscious throughout the process, it was not comforting to be locked in a car with someone who had that knowledge. She shifted her sight so that she was looking at Peter's reflection in the glass rather than the outside scenery.

'Well I did ask for the dangerously attractive leading man,' she thought. 'I ought to be more careful when sending wishes out into the universe,' she thought. 'You never knew when it was actually listening.'

### Chapter 15

To Elena's relief Peter passed the rest of the journey in phone conversations and typing e-mails. She relaxed as much as she was able and simply watched the landscape slide by. The monotony of the drive let her slide into a dull haze where many unsettling futures loomed.

"We will be there soon," Peter said interrupting her thoughts.

"I know," she replied. "I can see the skyline."

"Of course," Peter answered, flushing slightly around the neck. Elena smiled at him. Who knew the council member could blush?

"Your accent thickens a bit when you have been speaking Russian a while," she commented. He looked surprised and sucked air in through his mouth as if washing his accent down his throat.

"We will proceed straight to the military base," he told her. His voice held no trace of an accent now and it was Elena's turn to be surprised.

"Straight there?"

"Yes. No doubt they have noticed your absence overnight and have your home watched for when you return. Your place of business as well. If we go to one of these places first they could grab you and have the meeting at their convenience. If we go straight to them, beard the dragon in its den so to speak then the time is of our choosing."

"I see," Elena said. Her stomach dropped down into her toes and she could swear her heart stopped in her chest.

"I will be with you, there is no problem," Peter reassured her. "Just think of me as your legal council. I am there to negotiate on your behalf. You do not need to say a word." Peter reached across the seat and patted Elena's knee. Privately Elena thought Peter's priorities were first the Council and then himself followed by his family's wellbeing. Her welfare was only of importance as it related to the other priorities.

'Although I'm not sure that's the correct ordering of his priorities,' she thought. 'At least as long as I am a potential business partner with council sanction then I should still fall under his safe range. The trick is to keep it that way.'

Thomas wound the black sedan through the city streets, negotiating traffic and taking turns like a long time resident.

'Either he has been here many times before or he has some kind of GPS unit up front.' Elena leaned forward a bit to peer into the front seat. She didn't catch sight of any electronic direction producing equipment. She leaned back in her seat.

"Something wrong?" Peter asked.

"Does Thomas drive only for you?" she asked.

"Thomas does many things for me." Peter replied with a smile. In the rear view mirror Elena caught the edge of a slight smile on Thomas' face. It was not a smile that made her think of sunshine and daffodils.

"I meant does he drive for anyone else other than you, not what his general skill set included."

"Oh, well yes he drives only for me. Just as Marcus drives only for your grandfather."

"So you never loan him out?"

"Are you thinking you need a driver for something Ms. Calabrese?" Peter's voice was slightly mocking. "While Thomas is an excellent driver I'm sure we could find someone else suitable for you should you like."

"I was not thinking of myself actually," Elena replied with a slight smile of her own. "But your brother."

"Nicolas?" The name burst forth from Peter's lips with a laugh. "Why on earth would you be thinking of him?"

"Well Thomas knows his way around my city so well, I would have thought you might have loaned him to your brother when he came to visit here." The smiles dropped from the faces of both men.

"As I said, Thomas has many skills."

"Of course." Elena turned to look out of the window as they drove. She caught Peter's expression in the glass and saw he was looking at her with the same calculated appraisal he had given her at dinner the night before.

'I should have kept my mouth shut,' she thought to herself with a sigh. 'There was no reason to point out I knew he had been here routinely.' She could admit to herself it was the 'don't worry little girl, I'll take care of everything' attitude that had gotten under her skin. 'Never mind that I hope he does take care of everything, he didn't have to be so snarky about it.' The sedan left the busy city streets and headed down the road to the base built just west of the city. Elena swallowed hard and reminded herself not to bate Peter. 'At least not until he deals with the military.' The sedan pulled up to the gate and Thomas rolled down his window. They were asked their business.

"Elena Calabrese and guest to see Smith and Macmillan," Peter told Thomas, who repeated the information for the guard.

"Smith and Macmillan?" the guard asked, skeptically.

"Those were the only names I was given," Elena replied with a shrug of her shoulders. The guard stared at her over Thomas' shoulder for a moment and then retreated to his guardhouse. Elena assumed he was calling someone else who would either have enough information to let them pass or give him confirmation to tell them to go to hell.

"This is a bad idea," she muttered under her breath. Peter just smiled and patted her leg. A few seconds later the metal gate began to slide open and the guard popped out of his house like a little cuckoo.

"Head straight down this road and take a left at the intersection. It will be the third building on your right. Someone will meet you there," the guard informed Thomas. Thomas thanked him and when the gate was sufficiently wide enough he drove through. Following the guards instructions brought them to the same building in which she had awoken a few days earlier. A man who was neither Smith nor MacMillan awaited them outside its doors. Thomas stopped the car in front of the building.

"Stay with the car," Peter told Thomas. Thomas nodded once and turned off the engine. Elena exited one side of the car and Peter the other. They walked around the car to where the man stood.

"You will please come with me," the man said. He turned and led them to a gray metal door. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, trusting Elena and Peter to follow him. Peter stepped in front of Elena and held the door open for her to pass then followed her into the building. They were led into the same conference room and Elena felt sick to her stomach, wondering if she would be as easily able to leave this time.

"They will be with you shortly," the man said. This time he held the door for both of them and then shut the door behind them. Elena had the feeling if she tried the door handle it would be locked. She reached for it anyway, twisting the icy cold stainless steel knob.

"Yup, locked," she muttered. Peter calmly walked to the conference table and took a seat at the center of the table and facing the door. He looked like a king awaiting the arrival of merchants with a proposal. Clearly, he had decided to grant them an audience.

'And that's probably how he thinks of this too,' she thought. Elena took a seat to Peter's right.

"They will make us wait of course." Peter told her as she settled herself in the chair. "They wouldn't want to look too eager." Elena simply nodded.

Worry, not only for herself but for what might have happened in her absence tangled in her mind. Were TJ, Max, Emily and the rest okay? Had they been harassed while she was gone? Had her store been bothered, her customers driven off? She pictured her apartment. Had it been torn apart when the military went looking for her? Had they found her satchel beneath the floorboards?

'Why didn't I think to take that with me?' she asked herself. In the back of her mind she knew she feared the council would take those few things she kept with her away to protect themselves. She was not ready to give up the things in that satchel to the military or the Council. 'And now that there is a chance I will be piloting again I'll need them,' she thought. She shook the thought away, returning to the channels was something to think about later.

Elena resisted asking Peter how long he thought the military would make them wait. She knew the answer anyway. They would make them wait as long as they felt necessary to get their point across. There was no need for her to sound like a petulant child. She glanced towards the large mirrors. 'Especially with an audience.' Time ticked past and Elena fought to look as calm and serene as Peter. There was no need for him to see her falling apart either.

As she waited the nerves quieted a bit and anger began to seep in. 'Childish,' she thought to herself. 'Isn't it enough that I am here?' The door opened and Smith entered the room, shutting the door behind him. He was dressed identically to the other day and Elena found herself thinking his closet must be a very drab place.

"So Ms. Calabrese, who do I have to thank for the honor of this little visit of yours?" Smith started, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is this merely a social call or can I dare to hope that you have come to your senses and have decided to render aid to the brave men and women missing in action?"

"Your people are dead," Peter replied before Elena could open her mouth. His voice was flat and cool and held no trace of an accent. "And harassing Ms. Calabrese will not bring them back." Smith frowned at Peter.

"And who the hell are you?" he asked, his hands balled into fists on his hips.

"I am a member of the Council of the Guild of Families," Peter informed him. "And if you would be so kind as to take a seat I will explain a few things to you." Elena thought the words very combative and wondered at the intelligence of antagonizing Smith. To her mind it was rather like slapping a bear when he had you backed into his cave. Smith jerked a chair away from the table and sat down in it. He steepled his fingers on the table and narrowed his eyes at Peter.

"So why don't you go ahead and explain things to me," Smith replied. His voice was deadly soft.

"In trusting Ian Jensen you have made a grave mistake," Peter began.

"And why is that do you believe Mr. Councilman? So far it has worked out pretty well for us."

"Really," Peter replied, a question in his voice. "Twenty-six dead is working really well? Interesting." Peter cleared his throat. "Your first mistake in trusting Ian is that he is not even a pilot."

"You may have grounded him but he is still a pilot," Smith proclaimed. Elena let out a bark of laughter she was unable to stop.

"Sorry," she apologized as Smith turned storm filled eyes to her.

"Ian Jensen is not a pilot, nor has he ever been a pilot," Peter said in a very patient voice. "And because he did not receive the training a pilot receives he did not know that the channel he tried to access had been sealed for over 100 years. A channel I might add that is far from the area of water you pointed out to Ms.Calabrese on your map. Anyone attempting to access the sealed channel would slam their hulls into the barrier and the entire crew would be lost."

Peter folded his hands flat on the table and stared at Smith. Smith was clenching his jaw with such intensity that Elena thought his teeth would crack. She wondered if he would spit them out at her like bullets from a machine gun.

"Now, when Ms. Calabrese was informed of the incident, she knew that very little of the information you provided her with was accurate and she was at a loss as to her course of action," Peter continued. "After all, if she had said she would help, she would have given false hope to the families of the men and women who died aboard the USS Navigator, something she felt to be unconscionable, and any information she gave to you would potentially put more of your people at risk as you attempted faulty implementation. Therefore, she determined the best course of action would be to report the matter to the Council and follow proper channels to see its resolution."

Elena was beginning to feel like the well-defended client of a high-powered attorney. At this point Peter paused again and Smith looked at him in surprise. His gaze flicked over to Elena and turned speculative. Elena resisted the urge to scowl. She was getting rather tired of people looking at her and wondering how they could use her in one of their schemes.

'Maybe I ought to get my own schemes and see how they like being caught in them,' she thought grumpily.

"Now, as you asked Ms. Calabrese to help you deal with the matter of the missing crewmen and she has, I fail to see what further business you have with her," Peter continued. "I would however suggest that you think seriously about what you are doing before listening to any more of Ian Jensen's 'technical information'."

"This is a military concern, a matter of top priority and national defense," he bellowed.

"How," Peter asked. Smith sputtered unaccustomed to people questioning him especially on matters of national defense.

"Who do you think you are, questioning matters of National Security," he demanded. Elena could practically see the words National Security come out of his mouth in capital letters.

"I am someone who knows the channels, their history and their usage," Peter calmly replied.

"Are you a pilot then?" Smith asked.

"No," Peter replied with a bit of a laugh. Elena smiled. "And the fact that you would even ask that is further proof that you know too little about the channels to go mucking about in them. Ms. Calabrese as you have been told is a pilot, one of our better ones as you may have deduced."

"So you believe you know better than us about these channels?" he asked stiffly. In addition to the clenched jaw, Elena could see his face becoming suffused with splotches of red, which she could only assume, was repressed rage. She wondered what would happen if he had a heart attack while they were speaking to him. Would it be considered aggravated assault?

"Quite frankly, yes. Do you intend to abandon this project or go ahead with it?" Peter asked. Smith's attention was focused on Peter and Elena felt she might as well not even be in the room. She wondered if either man would notice if she just slipped out and let them continue.

'Of course it isn't like I have anything to add. Peter is doing very well with it. Besides,' she thought. 'This is why people hired high-priced attorneys in the first place.' She also found it fascinating to watch Peter work. 'Not at all like Grandfather.'

Sending her grandfather into this discussion would have been an unmitigated disaster. He was a captain, plain and simple. Used to giving orders and having them followed. A discussion like this needed the skills of a politician, which Peter had. Elena had the feeling any discussion between Smith and her grandfather would quickly degenerate into a shouting match that would end only when one asked the other to step outside. Debate did not seem to be either of their strong suits.

Even though Elena had a vague sense of where he may be going with his conversation she was not sure how Peter would end up getting there. She decided this was a match best watched instead of interfered with. She would no doubt get her turn.

"We have no intention of giving up something that is of such importance to National Defense," he sputtered in indignation. Elena got the impression that he really liked using those words. It made what he had to say sound important rather than petulant.

"Very well then" Peter said. "I can see we must therefore reach an agreement."

"An agreement!" Smith practically screamed. "You want to reach an agreement? You will do what is needed."

"You haven't actually told us what it is the military requires," Peter calmly pointed out. "Ms. Calabrese was asked to help determine the fate of the missing crewmen and if possible to assist with a rescue. Despite misinformation we have determined that all of the crewmen are dead and no rescue mission is actually needed. You have not asked us for further use." Smith's red face had darkened to nearly purple.

A slight tapping sounded at the door before he could retaliate. Smith spun in the direction of the door and ground his teeth. He glanced to the mirror and Elena's earlier paranoid fears about the mirrors being two-way glass were confirmed. He got up and walked to the door where he was given a note that he very quickly read. Smith let out a long breath and turned back to Elena and Peter.

"Please excuse me for a moment." He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"And the bell rings for Round 1," Elena muttered.

### Chapter 16

"I suspect Smith will come back with a list of what is needed from us," Peter said with a smile. "My apologies for monopolizing the conversation." Elena turned towards him.

"I didn't really have anything much to add," she replied, and then caught the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "You're enjoying this," she said incredulously. She shook her head. "How could you be enjoying this?" She asked. He chuckled softly.

"How could you enjoy outrunning a Matoveran raider?" He countered. She smiled back at him.

"Adrenaline high." She answered. He laughed and shook his head. The door opened and they both turned. Instead of Smith rejoining them, the young man from the front desk wheeled a cart in. On it was coffee, mugs and all of the accoutrements one would assume would come with a coffee service, sugar packets, creamer and little red plastic stirring sticks.

"We are sorry for the interruption to your meeting. It may be a little while before your meeting can resume. We thought you might enjoy some refreshment." He turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him. The coffee smelled great and Elena realized how draggy she was after the long trip and the nerves. She eyed the tray dubiously, remembering the fuzzy feeling around her brain from her last visit.

"I doubt they would poison it," Peter said "Go ahead and have a cup. If you start looking crazy, I'll know." She turned towards him and saw his smile was slightly mocking. She frowned at him but decided to have a cup anyway.

"They might not poison it, but I have no doubt that they would have no qualms about slipping something into it." She crossed the room to the coffee service and picked up a mug. She peered inside the mug and then wiped it out with the tail of her shirt. Peter laughed outright at her behavior, his laughter echoing in the small room. Elena felt the heat rise to her face.

"You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one they drugged on the street in broad daylight," she replied grumpily. Peter stopped laughing.

"Perhaps not," he conceded. Elena poured the coffee into the mug and avoided the sugar and creamer packets. "I thought you usually added something to it," Peter commented, indicating the cup. She grimaced.

"Usually all but the first cup has sugar and cream." She resumed her seat.

"Ah," Peter replied. She could tell from the amusement in his eyes that he still found her behavior funny. Personally she thought that given the circumstances she was being quite practical. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him with a Herculean effort and sipped her coffee in silence. Elena was halfway through her cup when Smith returned, a folder in his hands. Elena could feel the amusement drain from Peter and felt him focus. Smith ignored the coffee and sat back down at the table. He cleared his throat as if calling their attention to him, which Elena found ridiculous since they both turned towards him as he entered.

"We would like you to tell us everything you know about the Channels." Even though she had expected something of that sort of request she burst out laughing and Peter smiled. Smith scowled at them both. "I fail to see the humor of my request." He said dryly.

"I'm sorry," Elena said. "But do you know how many years that would take? And that is only the bare surface of things." Smith pressed his lips together in a thin white line.

"You are determined to continue with this project then?" Peter asked.

"Of course," Smith answered stiffly.

"Very well," Peter replied. "We can obviously not allow you to go off with misinformation. Why don't you share with us all you know of the channels and we will correct your information? We would of course request compensation for such an act as private contractors." All thoughts of humor left Elena in a flash at Peter's words.

"Compensation," Smith practically spit out. "I suspect it should be expected from people like you. I don't suppose you would do anything for the good of your nation." Elena snorted.

"The best good I could do for my nation is to walk out of here and not tell you a blessed thing," Elena retorted. "A few of the military may be killed, but it would leave the mass of my nation in tact." Smith stared at her and she realized he had mostly dismissed her and had been talking to Peter.

"And I am not an American," Peter replied calmly. Smith opened and closed his mouth a few times. Elena could see he was trying to control his temper. She realized he had been told he had a mission and an objective to complete and he was not about to let it go undone even if it meant reigning in his temper.

'Interesting,' Elena thought. She and Peter sat quietly while Smith calmed down.

"And exactly what sort of compensation would be required." Elena was actually curious as to this point as well since they had only talked about how far the Guild was prepared to go and not what they would ask in return. She had no clue what they would ask.

"What the Guild would ask for such a service would be quite simple," Peter replied, knowing everyone listening was his eager audience. "We request that Ian Jensen be turned over to the Council for questioning." Smith narrowed his eyes.

"Why that would be your request?"

"He has given the military obviously false information that has lead to the deaths of several military personnel. The council wishes to find out the motivation behind these actions and to determine the extent of the damage done."

"What would be done with Ian?" Smith asked.

"Ian will be allowed to speak on his behalf in front of the council and provide information about his motivation. If he believed the truth of the information then he will merely be chastised and his information corrected. If he did so with a malicious intent he would of course be sent to a disciplinary hearing." Peter paused and smiled at Smith. It was a cat in the cream smile. "At such a hearing the military would of course be allowed to send a representative, since it was their personnel who were killed." Smith was momentarily non-plussed.

"That actually sounds decent and very un-like what we know of your Guild."

"And what you know of us comes primarily from Ian, who we have already established as a faulty source of information at best," Peter answered. Smith blinked hard a few times and sort of cocked his head to the side a little. Elena noticed that he now had a small earpiece in his ear and was no doubt listening to instructions from the other side of the glass.

'I wonder if he will repeat it verbatim or translate it into something of his own?' Elena wondered.

"How are we supposed to know that the information provided by you is correct and Ian's information isn't?"

"A very good question and as one would not expect the military to work on faith, we are prepared to take up to two people of your choice through the channels on a trip so that they can see exactly what is truth and what is not." Peter stated. Smith's eyes opened wide and his eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline.

"You would be willing to do this? Smith asked. Elena could hear a slight buzzing and she realized that some one was talking very rapidly into Smith's ear. She could almost feel the waves of greed pouring off him. The offer was much more than they had expected to get from Peter and Elena or the Guild in general and she imagined they were somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with it.

"Why would you do this?" Smith asked, his natural suspicion rising to the surface.

"The reasoning is again simple. We would be willing to take the two people you designate on an excursion since that is the easiest way to convince you that the channels are not a military concern and not a matter of national defense." Peter gestured to Elena. "Ms. Calabrese would of course be your pilot. We feel that you will be most comfortable with her at the helm." Smith's gaze turned towards Elena and he studied her as if she were a bug.

"Is this true," he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"You would be willing to take us through the channels? In your ship?"

"I am a pilot, not a captain so the ship won't be mine, but I would be willing to pilot the ship the council provides for the trip under the direction of whatever captain she sails under," she replied. Elena sensed the approval of her words from Peter and figured letting the military believe she did not have access to a ship on her own was a good thing.

'It helps that it is also true,' she thought.

"When," he asked, the word barked out more as an order and less like a question.

Luckily, Elena had been prepared for the question. She figured there was no harm in answering it.

"As soon as the channels have opened again for the season," She answered. Smith snorted.

"So the channels are like amusement parks?" He asked sarcastically. Elena looked over to Peter.

"They have not agreed to the terms, but I do not suppose this bit of information will harm them," Peter told her. She nodded and turned back to Smith.

"The channels vary in depth from season to season. During much of the winter they are of too shallow a depth to allow passage for even the smallest ship. Some of the channels are really only passable for a few short months out of the year." She explained. "They don't all close down at once but from Mid October to the end of January the channels are all more or less impassable. There is nothing we can do about that."

"So February we would be able to go out with you?"

"Yes, if the council has a ship available," she replied. "During the off months most of the ships are hauled out for repairs anyway. And time is needed to prepare for a trip of any length." She added. Smith nodded and tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. He tilted his head sideways again and they waited while he received instructions.

"And in the intervening months you would work with us. Correcting Ian's information?" he asked. The question didn't sound like something he would say and Elena guessed he was simply repeating questions verbatim. Elena turned to Peter. He nodded.

"Yes I would," she answered. "However you must realize I have a business to run and would have to do it in the evenings." Elena didn't mind working with the military but she was not about to let her own business suffer. Peter smiled and she knew he understood exactly what she was thinking.

"Piloting is your business Ms. Calabrese." Elena shook her head.

"It was," she told him. "I retired. Now I run a business and have several people counting on me for their paychecks. I will not dismiss them just to assist you in correcting your information when I can just as easily do so after business hours." Smith sat quietly listening for a moment, a frown creasing his face in heavy lines. He sighed as if accepting the inevitable and then nodded.

"I suppose this could be arranged," he conceded.

"And Ian?" Peter asked.

"Much of our designs come from him so he will have to assist in going over them with you so that you understand what we are doing."

Elena realized the military did not want to turn Ian over to the council. They may have gotten some misinformation from him but without him they would not have known of the channels. They would not want to have to give up what might be perceived as their one advantage and a practical resource. Elena thought they would probably get over it since Peter was offering them so much more.

'But that is Peter's fight,' she thought. 'And not one he intends to lose.'

"I agree that he should be able to go over his designs and explain himself here, however the fact of the matter is that his actions have lead to the death of several good men and women and that must be explained to the Council." Peter stated. Smith listened for a very short while and then nodded again.

"Very well. We will have Ian explain his concepts and ideas to you and then agree to send him temporarily to the Council." Peter looked at Smith squarely.

"I believe we have an understanding. You may have a contract drawn up to firm up the deal. Both of us have had a long journey today and would appreciate a fuller discussion tomorrow. As there will no doubt be much to discuss, perhaps Ms. Calabrese can be persuaded to take one more day away from her business and agree that all future meetings will take place after business hours?" Peter turned towards Elena.

"I can accept that for one day."

"Thank you," Peter said and then turned back to Smith. "Ian will explain all of what he has designed for you and explain his concepts. At the end of the meeting, he will leave with me and accompany me back to the Council where he will explain his actions. In the event a disciplinary hearing is deemed necessary, you will be informed and be allowed to send a member of your organization to represent your interests. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes that sounds acceptable," he replied. Peter stood and Elena followed suit.

"I would also expect you to bring a calendar to the meeting. Ms. Calabrese will do so as well and arrangements will be made for future meetings as well as a trip through the channels scheduled. You will of course understand that the holiday season is a busy one for those with businesses such as Ms. Calabrese's and a schedule will assist greatly for planning purposes." Peter reminded Smith. Smith stood to face Peter. Elena was both impressed and flattered that Peter had thought of her schedule by giving her business equal importance with both the needs of the military and the needs of the council.

Elena glanced at Peter. She was beginning to realize that she was now considered as once again part of the Guild. This was not the kind of consideration that one gave to an outsider. It was something that you only gave to a member of one of the families. She was a little unsure about how she felt about being automatically welcomed back in but over all she suspected that given the situation it could have been a lot worse.

Elena and Peter made their good byes and to Elena's relief they were allowed to leave with no problems. The military agreed to the terms at the start, but she wondered how long this condition would last.

'Probably just until after the trip through the channels,' she guessed. 'I suspect my world is going to be a lot more interesting than I bargained for.'

### Chapter 17

They left the gray building and were greeted by a nod from Thomas and an open car door. Elena climbed in gratefully with Peter following. It was not until they cruised through the gates that Elena felt the tight coil of tension wound around her spine loosen.

"Did you think they would change their minds?" Peter chided her. She frowned at him.

"They could have."

"It would have done them no good," he reminded her. Elena dropped the argument. "I suspect you might want to run by the store?"

"Yes, if you don't mind. I need to see if everything is okay and then let them know I won't be in tomorrow either." She glanced at her watch and realized the day was only edging towards four o'clock. This day seemed to have lasted forever. Peter nodded and gave directions to Thomas. Elena quirked her eyebrow up, surprised he knew where her store was located. He looked at her expectantly and she decided questioning him about it would be of no use.

'Besides,' she thought. 'If he actually answered at all, I still wouldn't know any more than I do now.'

"After we stop by the business would you mind joining me for dinner, there are some things we need to discuss."

"All right," Elena agreed, a nervous feeling dancing in her belly.

'I've already been asked to lead a military expedition. What more could the Council possibly want from me?' she asked herself trying to calm her nerves. It didn't work. They reached the store and Thomas glided to a halt in front of the building. It was a no parking zone so Elena quickly hopped out. To her surprise Peter joined her.

"I merely wish to see what sort of business you run," he told her. "After all if we are contemplating a business arrangement, is it not fitting that I see your business first hand?" he asked. Elena let the question go, knowing he had more than likely already seen her store.

"Feel free to look around," she said turning away from him and towards the front door. "I shouldn't be long though." She tugged the door open and stepped inside with Peter following. While he wandered off to browse, she stood for a moment watching her people work. At the moment all of them were helping customers and from the looks of them they had a busy day. She could see the signs of fatigue and noticed even Max with his bubbling energy was starting to drag a little. Emily finished with the customer she was helping and looked up.

"Someone will be around to help you in a moment, feel free to browse..." Emily cut off her customer spiel as she realized it was Elena and she fairly bounced off of her stool. Elena waved off her excitement and walked over.

"Oh my God, are you okay," Emily gushed. "I mean is your family okay? Do you need help with anything?"

"I'm fine," Elena told her with a smile. "No one died, just one of those family deals where my presence was needed." Elena was touched by the concern. Max and TJ finished with their customers and Emily rang them up as Elena repeated the same bit of info with the two men. After the careful considerations of the Council, the simple caring of her staff made her feel welcome and warm. Emily spotted Peter browsing and followed him with her eyes for a moment.

"Hey he came in with you didn't he?" she asked. TJ and Max turned to look at Peter. Peter calmly ignored the attention.

"Yes," Elena confirmed, drawing their attention away from Peter. "He is an old family friend and he is looking for some outlets for his merchandise and a potential business partnership." She figured this was probably the best and simplest explanation for Peter that she could come up with even though she knew that Peter would probably find such an assessment amusing.

'But,' she thought 'When does Peter not find me amusing?"

"Well he is a mega hottie," Emily told her. "You should totally turn on the charm and maybe end up with more than a business partnership." Emily wiggled her eyebrows in what was supposed to be a suggestive manner and Elena laughed.

"I think we will just stick to business thanks," she told Emily with a laugh. Privately, she agreed with Emily. Peter was definitely attractive, but it was the tiger in the wild kind of attractive. Pretty enough that you wanted to touch, dangerous enough that you knew trying would more than likely cost you a limb. The seasonal help and the temporary manager wandered over as the people they were helping finished. Elena dropped the line of thought and moved back into business mode.

"I'm going to be out most of tomorrow in a business meeting," She said. "Susan are you still able to stay through tomorrow?"

"Of course," Susan replied and Elena smiled with relief.

"Great," She said. A knot of customers had the bell over the door jangling and her staff scrambled to deal with them. Elena walked around the store as they worked and took note of the gaps in the displays and made mental notes regarding her inventory and what needed to be brought down. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Peter watching her and the look on his face was something she couldn't quite place. When Susan finished with her customer Elena called her over.

"Every thing looks great," she said.

"Thanks, you have a great group of people here. And business has been pretty steady the last few days. If that's any indication this season's holiday rush is going to be insane."

"It certainly seems like it," Elena said. She glanced at Susan and realized it might not be too early to start planting seeds. If she was going to do any work for the Guild than her business trips were going to be more frequent. She would need a more full time manager.

"If this business deal goes through," Elena began. "I would need to be out of the store more often. While all this is very preliminary, I was wondering if you would consider taking a more full time roll here? I don't need an answer now obviously, as the deal has not even been made but it is just a thought."

"I'll definitely think about it," Susan said thoughtfully. Elena let Susan get back to work and finished making the rounds and met back up with Peter.

"It looks very nice," he commented.

"Thank you," she said.

"Have you concluded your business?"

"Yes," she replied. Her stomach gave a slight rumble and she realized she had not eaten that day. Heat flushed her cheeks.

"Then I suggest we leave." He said. Peter held the door open for her and they exited the store. She never saw Peter signal Thomas and wondered if the man just had a good sense of timing because the black sedan glided up to the curb just as they were stepping out of the door. Thomas was behind the wheel. She shook her head realizing that this bodyguard minion thing could come in handy. She thought of all the things she could use someone like that for and wondered how you advertise for someone like that.

'Do you take out an ad in the yellow pages? Send out postcards to bodyguard's r us or maybe just go around stapling flyers to telephone poles and hold an open audition?" She laughed at her own thoughts and climbed in the car.

"So what restaurant would you recommend?" He asked as they pulled away from the curb.

"Kind of depends on what you like to eat," she replied.

"The food I leave in your hands entirely. However, I would prefer something slightly more upscale as our conversation will require some degree of privacy and the tables tend to be further apart in places such as those." He told her. "In booths one can not see over to determine who is listening in."

"Somehow I can't see you in a place that has booths."

"I have been in my share of greasy spoons." He sounded somewhat offended.

"Of course," she replied. Personally, she thought the ones Peter would frequent would be more small family run greasy spoons and not chain fast food joints. Somehow she couldn't quite see him ordering a happy meal.

"Enzos," she decided would fit the bill. "My grandmother would have pronounced it hideously Americanized, but I like it."

"I can accept that," he replied. Elena gave the directions to Thomas. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Thomas dropped them at the door and drove off to wherever it was he waited when Peter didn't need him. Elena shook her head. The restaurant was mostly empty and it had just gotten dark enough for the wait staff to begin lighting candles on the tables. There was a soft glow about the place and Elena wondered at the wisdom of bringing Peter here as it seemed more romantic than business like.

'Nothing can be done about it now,' she thought. 'At least the possibility of being over heard is slim.'

### Chapter 18

Elena pushed open the door and entered the restaurant. Peter followed and looked around the room. A look of approval crossed his face. Elena couldn't decide if the approval meant the restaurant was upscale enough to suit his tastes or if the tables were far enough apart for their conversation. She shook her head.

'The last place I want to be is inside a council member's head,' she told herself. The hostess walked towards them with a smile.

"Elena," she said reaching out both hand and pulling Elena in for a peck on the cheek. "It is nice to see you."

"Hello Maria," Elena said returning the smile. She noticed Maria's gaze travel to Peter. "I'd like you to meet Peter Baranov. He is an old family friend in town for a few days on business."

"A pleasure to meet you," Maria said.

"And you as well," he replied with a smile. From the twinkle in his eyes Elena was fairly certain he found his introduction amusing. Maria escorted them to a table and told them the waitress would be right over.

"You seem to rank a very nice table," Peter commented. Elena raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly around the room, taking in the only two other occupied tables.

"All of the tables at Enzo's are nice tables, but an early dinner meant there are many more choices."

"Of course," Peter said. "And I'm sure everyone gets as enthusiastic a greeting as well."

"Maria is a friend of mine," she said. "There is nothing wrong with having friends."

"Nothing at all," Peter said. "Just as there is nothing wrong with having employees who care about you."

"You do not like my staff at the store?" Elena asked stiffly. Peter waved off her offense.

"I didn't mean that," he said. "I merely found it of interest that you are so well liked."

"Because I am not worth liking?"

"No, I didn't mean..." Peter sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Elena found watching Peter trip over his words to be an interesting experience. "May I begin again?"

"If you think it would help."

"Thank you," he said, inclining his head slightly. The waitress interrupted Peter's restart to ask for their drink choices. She handed them menus and recited the specials of the day. Elena barely listened to the specials and didn't bother opening the menu. Today she wanted comfort food and that meant chicken Parmesan. The waitress left to bring their drinks.

"Most people in the Guild tend to be insular," Peter began as she left. "We tend to associate with only those we can safely tell about our exploits. Which means we associate closely with pilots and other family members. The pilots are often the most insular. I did not expect that you would have..." Peter searched for the correct word and Elena got the impression he was trying not to insult her again. She took pity on him.

"Blended so well with normal society?" She finished the thought.

"Yes," he said with relief.

"When I left the Guild, I ceased having exploits to hide," she said with a shrug.

"Those who leave the Guild are often the worst at blending in. It is as if to do so means that they must fully acknowledge that their world has changed. They often return after only a year or so, more often less."

"Ah," Elena said, unsure how else to comment. The waitress set their drinks on the table. Elena squeezed the lemon into the water and dropped it into the glass. She took a sip while Peter perused the menu.

"So what is good here?" he asked.

"Everything," Elena replied. "I am partial to the chicken Parmesan though." She turned towards the waitress. "I would like to order that please." The waitress nodded and turned towards Peter.

"I believe I will have the same," he said. She left with their menus tucked under her arm and their orders tucked into her head. Elena sipped her water and looked at Peter. The soft lighting suited him. It softened his edges and made him seem more charming than dangerous.

'But maybe that is just the atmosphere,' she thought. The mood of Enzo's had always struck her as romantic. The soft lighting, warm colors, low candles floating in small bowls of water all combined to have a romantic feel. 'Which is why they are always booked three deep for Valentine's Day.' Even though the room was a large one it didn't feel overly large it felt as though each table were it's own separate world. 'Perfect for a romantic liaison. Or,' she thought wryly, 'The perfect place to have a private conversation in a public venue. Just my luck I got the second option.' She sighed realizing how long it had actually been since she had a real date. 'Too busy for my own good,' she thought.

"So," Peter began. "Normally, all business discussions would wait until after the meal, but I wonder if you would mind discussing business during?" Peter asked. "If you are uncomfortable with this we can of course wait." Elena thought of spending the next hour maintaining idle small talk and thought that would make her more uncomfortable than a business discussion over food.

"I'm fine mixing business with food on this occasion," She said. "The circumstances are unusual enough to warrant a bending of the rules of etiquette." Peter sighed with relief and Elena wondered if he was having problems thinking of small talk as well. She was a bit nervous about the discussion and figured comfort food might help it go down easier.

'Although they have asked a lot,' she thought. While she could easily see them asking for more she had a feeling the Council was also in her debt. 'It was that whole Friend of the Guild thing. It would be nice to know what that entailed.'

"Thank you," he said. "The first thing we should deal with is the military."

"I agree," she said. To her mind they were far and away the largest of her current problems.

"We will try to keep them to a minimum of meetings, after all your time is quite valuable."

"And fewer meetings limit the amount they can learn," Elena commented as the waitress returned with two loaded plates.

"Exactly," Peter said.

"Thank you," Elena said to the waitress as the plate was placed in front of her. A basket of fresh breadsticks was placed between her and Peter. She asked if they needed anything and left when they said they didn't.

"You will however be given great leniency in dealing with them and allowed to use your own opinion as to which topics are too sensitive to mention. There are a few we will ask you to avoid in discussion."

"And if something comes up that I am uncertain about?" She asked.

"I will serve as your point of contact and will give you my numbers before I leave." Peter smiled and picked up his knife and fork to cut a piece of chicken. "While we know you can easily call your grandfather, politics at least this particular sort, is not his strong suit and the Council felt it was more beneficial for me to serve as your advisor in this."

"I can understand that," Elena said, cutting her own bite of chicken. "Putting Smith and Grandfather in the same room would be like throwing gasoline on a fire. And as an advisor I think he would naturally object to giving the military any information."

"True." Peter took a bite of his meal and smiled. "This was an excellent recommendation," he said after swallowing.

"Always my favorite," she told him taking her own bite.

"I have the feeling Smith will want you to meet with them nearly every night so I would suggest penciling in a few random evenings before tomorrow if you wish to keep them free."

"Good advice."

"I think once a week or once every two weeks should be sufficient. And if done on week nights it should still leave your weekends free." Elena smiled.

"The store is only really closed on Sundays," she told him. "I rarely get a full weekend off."

"Do you have the same rule as your grandfather about Sundays?" he asked.

"It isn't as hard and fast as his, but I do like to have at least one day to myself."

"So you still allow that the rest of the world exists on Sunday then?"

"Sometimes," she answered with a grin. Amazingly she actually felt quite comfortable with him. "I didn't realize you knew him that well."

"Everyone knows of Alexandro's rule," he told her with a smile

"Would you be willing to give up at least one other night a week as well?" he asked.

"I suppose I could. Why?"

"Business," He replied. "Even if you chose not to be in business with me I would like to talk with you about your connections and how you made them. The choices you made and why, that sort of thing. It seems as though it might be a good business model for many of us in the future."

"I suppose I could do that," she replied thoughtfully. She was seriously considering working with him and her grandfather on expanding the business and had already begun making a mental list of requirements. 'But no need to tell him that yet,' she thought.

"You would of course be compensated for your time. The Council has a standard consultant's fee schedule. It could be adjusted if it does not suit you. I will have someone send it to you for your approval."

"Thank you," she replied, unsure what else to say. He looked pleased by her response and she let it go.

"So will you be looking forward to working with your family again?" he asked. "It must have been difficult leaving them all."

"Since you might be working with me in the future, you should be aware there is some family friction," she told him with a grimace.

"Oh?"

"There is friction between Therese and me. I am certain she will not like you working with me."

"I see. Well the Baranovs will survive her bad feelings I am certain. You cousin Mateo, is he in bad graces with you as well?"

"No," Elena replied. "Mateo and I get along quite well."

"That is something then," Peter replied. "I have seen much of his work. He is quite gifted."

"Yes he is. Actually," she said thoughtfully, "I might ask him about some of Ian's workings on the military ships. He is much better at the mechanics of things than I am."

"Sounds like a good idea then. Will he be working with you as you secure your own goods?"

"My own goods?"

"Yes, as your grandfather has secured another pilot you are of course free to pilot your own vessel. Many of our best pilots become both captain and pilot after they have matured. Or does this not appeal to you?"

"It has great appeal, providing the Calling can be tamed, however there is one problem. I don't have a ship and the money I saved to purchase one when it was time to strike out on my own I invested in my store. I now have inventory, not a ship."

"I see," he said, a small smile playing around his lips.

"Besides, it takes a long time to build and outfit a ship properly. Even if I commissioned one tomorrow I would have a long wait ahead of me. And that is assuming I could get on the waiting list."

"Sometimes the list is not so long," he said. Peter set his fork down on his plate and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a leather packet that looked to hold papers. He set it on the table next to Elena's plate and then picked up his fork to resume eating.

"What is that?" she asked, gesturing to the packet.

"Papers," he replied.

"Papers for what?"

"For the Storm Chaser."

"The Storm Chaser?" She asked, her loaded fork frozen halfway between her mouth and her plate.

"Yes, just off the line and fully tested, as the papers certify. They are in your name of course."

"My name," she repeated feeling stupid.

"Of course. You are now the owner of the Storm Chaser. I believe she is berthed with the Wind Dancer at the moment, however you are free to designate a port of your choice and the Council will send it there."

"I own the Storm Chaser?"

"Yes," Peter said with a chuckle. "Did you really think the council would require so much of you with out providing adequate compensation?"

"I expected something," she said feeling breathless. "But this was certainly not it."

"You are going to lead a team including two members of the military on an extremely politically charged trip through the channels, you have also agreed to take time out of your already busy schedule to act as Guild liaison, which should ultimately lead the military to the conclusion that it is a completely impractical endeavor for them to even bother with the channels and you warned us of Ian's betrayal. This is not something that should be cheaply reimbursed. Inadequate reimbursement would send a message throughout the Guild that the Council does not care about its people."

"And high compensation would bring more information. I'm not so sure about the military though," she warned him. "I can see where they would find the channels to be very useful." She forced herself to resume her meal even though her fingers itched to grab the papers and pour over them like a greedy child. Elena tried not to look at the packet as if she had just been offered the moon and several of the stars to do something she would have done anyway.

"You will not be allowed to take them on your ship of course," he cautioned her.

"Isn't that why you gave me the Storm Chaser? If it is a new ship then it is a blank slate no history or old log books to deal with."

"It also has the latest technology," he reminded her. "The military is all about high tech. The Wind Dancer has been volunteered as the ship to make the trip. It is older, you are familiar with it, the Calabrese Family owns it and its entire crew is Italian. All very good points."

"That makes sense," she said. "Will they all be speaking Italian for the duration of the trip?"

"Of course," he said with a wink. "We don't plan on telling the military that and with luck the person or people they send will not have the language and only be able to speak to you. Besides if they continue to believe that a pilot must sail under the direction of a separate captain it will be safer for you."

It was logic she could not dispute so she let it pass and they finished their meal in companionable silence. As they left the building the black sedan pulled up to the curb and as far as Elena could see Peter had not summoned it. She chalked it up to mental telepathy and got into the car. They drove directly to Elena's apartment building without her having to provide directions, a fact she restrained herself from commenting on. As she got out of the car she wondered if she was expected to put the two men up for the night. Somehow she couldn't see them sharing her pull-out couch.

"We will pick you up at nine," Peter said, laying her fears to rest.

"Sounds good," she said. The car stayed where it was until she entered the door to her apartment building, something she also appreciated. She climbed the stairs with the leather packet clutched tight in her hands. Soon she would see the details of the Storm Chaser.

"My own ship," she said to herself with a smile. Elena took the stairs two at a time.

### Chapter 19

Elena leaned against the closed door and stared at the packet of papers in her hand. It was covered with oiled leather to protect against the wet of the sea. She could hardly believe that she had just been given her own ship. Elena was still torn about the Calling and whether or not she would be able to once again pilot, despite Peter's confidence. Elena traced a finger over the leather in thought.

"Most ships are designed so only one person could theoretically sail them," she mused. It was considered a safety feature not a design requirement. Most pilots did not sail alone. During an attack by raiders, the pilot was always the most protected crewmember. With the pilot alive and conscious there was always the possibility of escape. Without the pilot a ship was dead. If the entire crew was incapacitated a pilot could still sail the ship to a safe port. Elena tapped the packet.

"It might be wise to sail alone a few times," she said. "I'd have to do that the first time out anyway." Eventually if she went back to piloting she would need to hire a crew. She would have to stay in the safe lanes and travel them alone to get to the Docking Facility. A person could not hire a crew landside. The crew was usually advertised for at the port. It was safer that way. Anyone at port would obviously already know about the channels. "Of course Ian already let that cat out of the bag."

Elena shrugged off the thought and opened the packet while she was still leaning up against the door and looked at her ship. Her hands were shaking and she knew that once she saw all of the particulars she was going to want that ship. Already being involved in the world of the pilots and channels she wanted to be back on the sea. She grew up on deck and when she was piloting there was nothing else. It was as if she were meant to be a pilot. The ship may sail under a captain's command, but when she was at the helm the ship was a part of her. That was the way it had always been. To leave had been almost like cutting off her own hand.

The first thing she saw when the leather parted was a set of pictures that had been tucked inside of the packet. It was her ship. The Storm Chaser was beautiful. Elena flipped through the pictures slowly. She could see the loving craftsmanship that went into her design. The wood gleamed in the sunlight. Elena felt the ship take hold of her. The figurehead was an angel with full spread wings that folded back along the prow making her look as though she were in full flight.

"You know just how beautiful you are don't you?" She said to the angel, her fingers tracing the lines of the ship. Just looking at the ship made Elena ache for the sea. She tore her eyes away from the set of pictures to glance over the particulars. It was being held in the same port as her grandfather's ship and at the moment that was fine. She would have to find a harbor closer to where she lived obviously and she began running through the list of possibilities.

The problems with safe harbor of course were the relatively few American ports that were considered safe by the Families. At the back of the ship's particulars was a list of possible ports for her consideration. Choosing one would require some thought.

The ship could berth six. That would normally be the captain, pilot and four crewmen. She could save some of the weight by being both captain and pilot and the style of the ship was the sort that she could manage on her own. She would realistically need to hire about three folks though for the season.

A four-man list would lighten the load and enable more merchandise to be brought in while still being of poundage suitable for riding the channels. That was one of the things that made the dual role of captain and pilot so appealing. The elimination of one person from the necessary crew not only eliminated that person's weight, along with their personal gear, but it eliminated the supplies needed to feed that person for the duration of the trip. As any captain could tell you, food, freshwater and other supplies were heavy commodities.

The papers dealt with all of the ships particulars and she was delighted to find that the ship had been somewhat tricked out. It had all of the latest equipment. Elena read through the list of equipment with a little bit of awe.

Her grandfather's ship was old and while the Wind Dancer had been upgraded, the systems were not totally integrated. They were retrofitted onto older models and its systems had a bit of a cobbled together feel to them. She was looking forward to the thought of using a system that was put together at one time and all functioned as a unit. At the same time she could see why Peter and the rest of the council did not want the military on such a ship as this and why an older model would be used.

Much of the equipment would be startling to many of the military. The military rarely steered by the stars anymore; their navigational systems were somewhat different. They would be more familiar with equipment like radar or sonar, which was a part of this system, but only used before entering the channels. And while the ship did contain a GPS system, it was not as big an assistance as the star charts.

"Of course, many of the star charts were not of this solar system," Elena said thoughtfully. In fact, many of the charts came from places that NASA had not even seen with their unmanned spacecraft. Another factor was that some of the technology was not originally designed on Earth, but had been picked up from other sources and adapted for human use. Earth was not exactly considered the cutting edge of technology in the places their ships went.

"We are more like the backwoods yokels," she said with a smile. "Luckily we are good at adapting other people's technology to our needs." Earth had always been considered pretty much a backwater world. After all humans had a hard enough time getting along with each other. Throw in some alien species and bad things would occur. She would hate to see what some of the religious extremists would do.

"Exporting televangelists through out the known universes would not be beneficial for the human race," She said with mock gravity, shaking her head. "We would be really unpopular then." The images that formed in her head were more disturbing than amusing so she brushed them away.

"I have the feeling the military would love to get their hands on the technology from the Storm Chaser," she said, reining her thoughts away from intergalactic televangelists.

"But they should be safe enough on the Wind Dancer." Elena folded the leather packet back up, with the pictures tucked inside. She thought about putting the oiled leather packet of papers with the other papers, but decided that she really didn't want to go to all the trouble of prying up floorboards. She had laundry to do.

Elena moved to the back of her apartment. She tossed the packet onto her bed and picked up her laundry basket. While she sorted out her first load of laundry she wondered if she should take anything with her in the morning. She mentally rifled through her maps, but decided against bringing them.

"They can use their own maps," she said, turning the washing machine on. Ultimately she decided to bring an empty notebook and her calendar as the only items extra for the meeting. With a start, Elena realized that once her ship was in port she could easily store her papers aboard the ship and would not really have to worry about them being taken or accidentally viewed by others who should not be privy to their information. The ships the pilots used for riding the channels were very well protected and the docks were not exactly places that were easily accessible to the general public. The council took care of security for a cut, but no one really minded since cheap security put them all at risk.

The types of people guarding them were not exactly inclined to trust government officials. In fact most of the people that the Families worked with were in a similar set of Families as well. The docks they used were always well protected by Union men of the old school. Any military personnel wishing to pay an unauthorized visit would find a very unwelcome reception. As she was pretty sure the military did not wish to open fire on civilian dockworkers and cause a very public incident, she would not need to fear for her papers' security.

"No more prying up floorboards for me," She said as she went about her household chores. With that thought in mind Elena walked back to the bedroom. She tucked the papers under her pillow kind of like one would a tooth for the tooth fairy. She knew she was being a little silly, but she didn't want to pry up the boards and she really didn't want to leave it out on the table.

"Besides," she said to the empty room. "Who would actually look there anyway?" Elena made sure the clothes she washed included clothes for her morning meeting. The clothes she chose for the meeting were classy as well as comfortable. Her dress slacks were a cotton blend that fell just right and felt butter soft. The sweater she paired it with was also soft and fuzzy. Both were suitable for a meeting and considering she had once been kidnapped by these men, she really did not want to put on one of her power suits she used when talking to bankers and other true business meetings.

After deciding on the important matters of clothing and comfy shoes Elena did some work on business matters. She started off with thinking about the gaps she had seen in her own store and the immediate concerns, things like shifting merchandise around and bringing more back room stock to the front, but as the evening wore on she began thinking about some of the other business.

"The business that might be," she termed it in her head. It really wouldn't be too hard to set up. Several if her business associates, the craftsmen and the people she imported from would be more than willing to act as more or less a front for the goods as long as they knew it was not stolen and not of shoddy workmanship. The food might be a little more difficult to manage but it would still be do-able.

The guild had long ago made up lists of potential allergens so she could be reasonably safe on that account. She didn't know all of them, just some of the more common ones. If a person was allergic to peanuts they shouldn't consume trascot. If they were lactose intolerant they might want to stay away from merdonosol. Procuring a full list would not be that difficult. Elena pulled a notebook close and began making a list of needed things.

"It would be better if the foods were processed," she mused jotting down test kitchen and processed food in her notebook. She tapped her pencil on the notebook and stretched out on the bed instead of sitting on it. Currently, she didn't sell food products.

"Perhaps it could be its own separate store." She thought. The business could also do on-line sales as well and that would help increase sales. Elena realized that it was definitely do-able and she started working figures around on the paper in front of her. There was a building for sale next door to her and she had been thinking of buying it for expansion and had been torn between the cost of expansion and the worth of such a move. She was not sure she had a large enough customer base to branch out quite that far. She really liked the cozy atmosphere of her own place as well and thought expanding it might make it feel more like a warehouse. Keeping it a separate store would help.

In her mind, she began to flesh out the building, using furniture from her own stock or pieces that were not quite kosher on their provenance; she could have a very attractive display area and give promotion to the existing imports store. And since she would be working with both her grandfather and Peter she could give it a name that did not tie it to just her family. It would be an interesting model to create and if the Families could expand it, then it would be beneficial to all. The ringing phone interrupted her thoughts and she rolled off of the bed to answer it.

"A little birdie told me you were seen having a very cozy dinner with a very attractive man in one of the most romantic restaurants in town. Spill." Elena laughed recognizing her friend Tina's voice. She put away her future business concerns, please to have a normal conversation that didn't involve her walking a dangerous tightrope.

"How exactly do you get gossip that fast?" She asked.

"My natural talent. You still haven't explained your date or why I did not know about this date in advance."

"It wasn't a date Tina," Elena said sensing ruffled feathers. With a laugh they settled into a conversation and Elena felt the tension of the last few days ease.

Elena went to bed after her laundry was done and laid out for the morning. She had the feeling that her world was no longer the same as it had been when she woke up. For the second time in her life the cozy and comfortable world she inhabited had been shattered and she was left to recombine elements in new and interesting patterns. As she snuggled into the sheets she thought that at least this time it was good things happening as opposed to her leaving to prevent bad things from happening. That had to count for something.

### Chapter 20

Elena's thoughts of once again riding the channels followed her into dreams. She was on board the Storm Chaser this time and could feel the ship moving under her command. The feeling of being one with the ship was back and she laughed in the face of the spray as they moved. The day was clear, the sky an azure bowl above her. Off the lee side dolphins danced in the waves, drawn to the magic a channel rider left scented in the water.

Elena turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes for a moment feeling the sun on her closed eyelids. She smiled and opened her eyes, scanning the open water. To her physical eyes only leagues of open water met her gaze. She smiled again and saw the world with the sight of a Pilot. The entrance to the channel appeared as if it were an opening between two massive rock formations. She tested the depth and feel of the channel.

"Easy passage," she said to herself. She steered the ship to the center of the channel and with a bump left the open sea for the open sky. Azure sky bled to black and stars twinkled where once only the sun held sway. The ribbon of water, drawn into the channel with her ship gleamed darkly. Elena breathed deeply. The scent of the sea remained on the ship, as much a part of it as its riggings, but the air no longer held the tang of the breeze. Instead, the recyclers kept air inside the shield fresh and clean. Her hair stirred a little in the currents. The currents were more for comfort than use. Early pilots found without the currents, sailors found the air too still and sailors were an easily spooked lot. The currents helped prove that the ship was moving to those who could not feel. Elena realized she was dreaming.

"Dreams are better than nightmares," she thought and lay back watching the stars drift by, enjoying the sensations. "I'll have to take this route if I pick up a crew," she thought, recognizing the constellations. At the moment being alone in the great expanse of night was not something she wished to give up. "Besides," she thought, "If it is just me then there is no one else to risk should I give into the Calling." As if on cue, small sections of space around her began to ripple like the air above a blacktop road in the summer.

"Odd," she thought. The Storm Chaser sailed close to one of the heat spots and Elena stared at it wondering what it could be. Images flashed into her mind the way they sometimes would just before entering a channel. A cold chill raced along her spine.

"That isn't right," she muttered. Elena turned away from the heat spot, her stomach felt queasy. As her attention left the simmering space, pain exploded inside her head. She woke up and clamped her hands to either side of her head. Her stifled scream came out as a moan. For a few moments she could only rock back and forth slowly and wait for the pain to subside. Gradually it began to recede to the proportions of a normal migraine and Elena let her hands fall to her lap. Slowly she eased her way out of bed wiping the tears from her eyes. She moved cautiously, afraid to jostle her head too much and bring the pain screaming back. She walked over to where she left the leather dream journal and cursed soundly when she realized she didn't have a pen with it.

"I should have stolen the one from the desk," She thought sourly. She stood in the center of her bedroom and tried to puzzle out where her pens actually were. "I keep buying the stupid things," she said. It didn't help. Pens were simply one of those commodities people were always buying, but constantly searching for.

"I'm sure there is some sort of metaphor in that, but right now I can't actually bring myself to care." Her eyes locked on the notebook she had been making work notes in before bed and whooped in triumph as she saw the pen on top of its cover. She instantly regretted that decision as the sound cut through her aching head like a knife. She retrieved the pen and took both journal and pen back to the bed. She didn't turn on the bedroom light, but used the light coming in from the outside streetlamp. Its glow was bright enough to work by and didn't hurt her head. She jotted down what she remembered of the dream even though she was certain the first part of the dream was an actual dream and not part of the Calling.

"Or was it," she mused. The two fit so well together, as if one were the extension of the other. "The dream made me feel a bit like Christopher Columbus or maybe Magellan, striking out into uncharted waters and still afraid of falling off the edge of the world or being eaten by sea monsters," she wrote. Elena realized she was working the situation around in circles and capped the pen and closed the notebook.

She put the notebook aside and curled up letting thoughts of exploration flow through her. The dreams weren't scary, just odd. The channels didn't work that way. They were established pathways not heat spots in space. She slipped into dreams, flashes passing by with no cohesive whole. A flower, a sunset, a tree, all images of places and things she had never seen. It was a kaleidoscope. She woke in the morning more tired than when she had gone to sleep.

### Chapter 21

Elena pried herself reluctantly out of bed and got ready to face the day. She glanced at the closed notebook as she dressed and tried to think of anything she could add from her dreams. She shook her head and tugged her sweater on. Aside from the dream that woke her there wasn't much to report. The rest of the night contained flashes like she had seen at the end of the non-existent channel.

"I think I was too afraid to fall deeply asleep," she thought. A few seconds after the images began to play she would start awake. Elena rubbed a hand across her eyes and wished she could crawl back into bed. Images of Peter and Smith breaking in to come get her danced on her mental view screen.

"Well maybe Peter wouldn't," she corrected. "Smith probably would though." Elena left the bedroom and walked into the living room, giving her kitchen a scowl as she passed, knowing there was no coffee. The headache throbbed behind her eyes, but it was not nearly as bad as it had been in the night. She thought about her dreams as she waited for Peter.

Elena closed her eyes and pictured herself standing on the deck of the Storm Chaser. She replayed the dream and when it reached the point where she turned away she flinched, expecting the pain. Elena opened her eyes.

"What if they are right?" She asked the empty apartment. "What if it is an evolution of abilities? Could I open a new channel?" The thought sounded idiotic to her own ears. That simply wasn't the way the channels worked. The thought kept circling though as she grabbed a blank notebook and slipped a pen into her purse. A knock sounded at the door, interrupting her thoughts.

"Good morning," she said, opening the door for Peter. In his hand he held a cup of coffee from the local coffee shop. He held it out to her and she reached for it automatically.

"And good morning to you," he said. "I did not know if you would have time to make a pot of coffee so I brought some."

"Thank you," she said, taking a delicate sip of the hot brew. He had added a dollop of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. It was exactly the way she fixed her cup when on board the Lorenzo. Obviously Peter was paying attention. She picked up her purse, calendar and notebook. She slung the purse strap to her shoulder and tucked the notebook and calendar under her arm so she could lock the door. She followed Peter into the hallway then shut and locked the apartment door. As she tucked her keys away and followed Peter down the stairs she wondered if the lock was any good. Had the military been in her place while she was out? She shook the thought away and got into the waiting car.

"You seem pre-occupied," Peter commented as Thomas navigated the car through morning traffic.

"Just thinking about my dreams," she said.

"Ah," he replied. "And the Calling?"

"Yes." Elena sipped her coffee.

"My brother has been studying it for quite some time and often uses me as a sounding board for his theories and thoughts."

"Is he fond of the evolution of ability theory?"

"As a matter of fact yes, I believe he is."

"And has he theories about nature of this evolution?"

"Several," Peter said with a smile. "But none he is really pleased with."

"I see," Elena said thoughtfully. "Do any of his theories deal with a pilot's ability to open new channels?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, looking Elena over thoughtfully. She cringed a little. Giving Peter another reason to speculate in her direction was not a good plan. She turned away from Peter to stare out the window. "I will have to ask him and let you know."

"That would be nice," she said turning back towards him. The speculative look was gone, as if he realized her discomfort. A cheerful, helpful smile greeted her. She smiled back, not at all fooled by the change in facial expressions. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Elena took a deep breath when they reached the guard station and almost wished they would be refused entrance. Apparently they were cleared because as soon as Thomas gave the guard Elena's name he agreed to allow them entry. Once again they were told someone would meet them. Thomas pulled the car into the same spot and Elena and Peter got out of the car. She was expecting the same man to lead them to the conference room instead however Smith was waiting by the door.

"Good morning," Smith said.

"Morning," Elena and Peter replied automatically.

"Ian is giving a lecture this morning and we believe it would be beneficial for you to hear the lecture and then sit down in conference."

"You want us to hear what he says while he doesn't know we are here," Elena said with a smile. "Sneaky."

"Not at all," Smith replied stiffly. "We merely feel you need to hear the presentation in its entirety before discussions begin."

"Of course," Elena said. Peter hid a smile. Smith opened the door and let them through a series of hallways. Doors lined the hallways and through the doors that were opened Elena could see they housed offices. The hallway ended at a double door, Which Smith held open. Elena stepped into a small auditorium.

"Your seats are this way," Smith said leading them to the back of the seating area. Elena and Peter took their seats and Smith left them. As if his leaving was a signal, people started to enter the room and fill up the seats in front of Elena and Peter.

"I think we broke the dress code," Elena said noticing they were the only ones not dressed in a military fashion.

"I doubt anyone will really notice," Peter said. He pointed up to the lights above them and Elena could see that several of the light bulbs over them were removed to place them more in shadow. Elena snorted.

"Good thing Smith doesn't want to be sneaky," she commented. "I imagine if he tried he'd be quite good at it." The seats around them filled in and when every seat was filled, Smith led in Ian. Ian smiled at the audience as he ascended the stairs to the stage. Even from the back row it was clear he liked having an audience. Once he reached the podium, the house lights dimmed and a spotlight was brought up on Ian. He seemed momentarily surprised, but if anything his smile grew wider.

"I think he likes that," Peter whispered. Elena nodded. The first part of Ian's lecture described the channels in their basic sense although he used the term world gates, and Elena studied him as he spoke. There was an arrogant lilt to his voice and it sounded like he was talking down to his audience, the way one would do with a small child.

'They can't be too fond of that,' she thought. Beside her Peter had slipped out a small tape recorder and turned it to record the lecture. Elena had the feeling it would be brought up when Ian was brought to face the council.

'That alone will sink him,' she thought, turning her attention back towards Ian. He was winding up the history of the channels section and branching out into new territory.

"And so for centuries these world gates have been exploited by the Families of the Guild with no thought of the greater good they could provide to the rest of the world. These merchant pirates reap the benefits of commerce and hold tight to their secrets so that others can not do the same."

'And so that we didn't get burned as witches in bygone eras,' Elena mentally added.

"Now we have the technology to spread the knowledge of the world gates beyond a few hand selected, pampered, guild member pilots." Venom dripped from the words and Elena wondered why he felt such hatred for the Pilots and the Guild. She frowned not really liking the fact that she was being called a pampered pirate.

'Isn't that a contradiction?' she thought. 'Pirates are usually pretty rough.' Ian's diatribe continued and she added selfish and xenophobic to the list of terms used to describe people like her. Elena noticed that Ian managed to glaze over the dangers of piloting. From his description it sounded as if space was vast, and entirely unpopulated. There were no mentions of raiders, hostile populations, political negotiations or even the general dangers of travel. She wondered if he knew things like meteors even existed.

'I wonder who he thinks we trade with if no one is out there?' Elena frowned and began listing the very uncomplimentary things she wished to say to Ian when they were out of earshot of the military.

"And now we are reaching a new age," Ian said grandly. He picked a remote control from the podium and pushed a button. Images were sent from the projector to the blank wall behind him. Elena leaned forward as images of various mechanical apparatus flashed on the wall. The bits and pieces gradually came together to form a whole. It was a squat and rather unimpressive steel box. What Ian had created was in essence a mechanical version of a pilot.

'It would make an interesting safety feature,' she thought. 'If a pilot was injured the crew could still make it to port safely.' Watching Ian talk though Elena realized Ian would never be happy creating something like a safety feature. It wouldn't net him the kind of audience currently listening to his every word.

"And the channel locations are programmed into the automated pilot," Ian said gesturing to the screen. Elena's frown deepened as she waited for the rest. "This ship is then fully equipped to go through the world gates." Elena's eyebrows rose and she looked over to Peter. He was frowning at the stage. Ian had mentioned nothing about seasonal variations or channel depth. From Ian's words she got the impression the location of the channel was only entered once and then forgotten. She wondered if he had the locations marked on the space side, what they called skyside, as well as the earthside since the coordinates would be quite different.

'That would explain the mis-marked map Macmillan had,' she thought. 'They marked the channel one time and concluded it was always there.' Elena ground her teeth. Either Ian had not bothered to learn too much about the channels or he was holding back information. 'Either way twenty six people died of it.' Ian began listing the benefits of his system, mostly concentrating on the fact that actual pilots were not needed and that the military could run the operation themselves.

"And the practical applications are endless. These ships can move troops and supplies with ease." Elena snorted in derision and Peter shook his head. An image of a ship's blueprint came up and Elena sucked in her breath. The ship was designed to hold over one hundred men. She blinked hard at the image and bit back an exclamation.

"As you can see, the USS Reconnaissance is designed for just such a mission." Ian flipped the slide and an image of a half built ship appeared. "In three months she will be complete and ready to launch." Ian paused and let his gaze slide around the audience. They slid over Peter and Elena without pause. "Are there any questions?" Peter put a hand on Elena's knee reminding her that there would be time for her questions later. She kept quiet and no questions arose from the audience. Ian thanked them for their time and walked off stage and out of the door without looking back. Peter turned off the recorder.

"And Elvis has left the building," Elena muttered as she stood up.

### Chapter 22

Peter and Elena looked at each other as they waited for the crowd to clear. Most of them disbursed in a quick, orderly fashion, filing out as they had come in. Elena noticed a couple of others stood to the side of the doors waiting.

"God that was a mess," Elena said. "Didn't he ever ride the channels?"

"I don't know," Peter replied. "I'll have to check when we leave. For security reasons I did not bring any electronics. A request for information will be sent when we have left the base. If he does have any experience riding the channels I doubt it amounts to much." Elena nodded and turned as Smith walked into the mostly empty room. He stopped and spoke with two of the men standing to the side of the door.

They stayed while the rest of their little group filed out with the rest. Elena noted they were younger than Smith and closer to her age and that they were both dressed in the same black on black Smith wore as opposed to the normal fatigues. She was sure that meant something but didn't really care what. They followed Smith over to where she and Peter stood.

"I trust you found the lecture informative," Smith said. There was no questioning overtone to the words. Elena smoothed the frown from her face.

"Very," she said dryly. Smith nodded.

"Then if you will come with us to the conference room we will bring Ian in for discussion." Smith turned sharply and led the way back out of the auditorium. Elena and Peter followed with the two as yet unnamed men following behind. Elena wondered if they were some sort of escort. Her mind was too preoccupied with Ian to devote much of her attention to them.

"If you will make yourselves comfortable, I will return shortly," Smith said, opening the conference room door. Elena and Peter entered. Elena was surprised when the other two entered as well.

'Apparently not just escorts,' she thought as she and Peter took the same seats they had taken the day before. The two men took seats as well, both on the same side of the table as Elena and Peter so that all four faced the door. The two men now flanked her and Peter.

'Odd,' she thought. 'It isn't like we are going to run.' The man to her left had splashed on some sort of cologne or aftershave for the meeting and its spice tickled her nose. She resisted the urge to rub the scent away from her nostrils. Neither of the two men bothered to introduce themselves. Peter ignored them, although she could see a bit of a smile playing across his lips. She determined to ignore them as well. 'It isn't as if I am here to make friends anyway.' The door opened and Ian walked in with Smith right behind him. Elena thought that good planning as Ian turned ghost white at the sight of Peter and turned to leave. With Smith blocking the doorway there was nowhere for him to run.

'Stupid,' she thought, resisting the urge to say the world out loud. 'Did he think no one would find out?' She mentally shook her head at the stupidity. 'Of course not completely stupid,' she thought again noting the fear on Ian's face. 'If I had pulled something like this, left to Peter's tender mercies would be the last place I would want to be.' Of all the Council, rumors of his deeds were the worst. Other council members were talked of with awe and respect. Tales of Peter were told around campfires in the dark of the wilderness, in hushed voices designed to shiver your spine.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Jensen," Smith said in a calm voice. "I believe you know everyone here." Smith stepped into the room forcing Ian forward to avoid being bowled over. He closed the door behind him and Elena could hear the snick of a lock as it shut. A look of resolution crossed Ian's face and she knew he had heard the sound as well.

Smith pulled out the chair directly across from Elena and gestured for Ian to take it. Ian sank into the chair and stared at Elena. She got the impression that it was less as interest in her and more that he was afraid to look at Peter and had to focus his eyes somewhere. She frowned at him and realized that she was angry with Ian. It wasn't the anger of his betrayal of the Guild, but rather that he tried to be a pilot without the slightest clue how do to it and his incompetence got twenty six people killed. Ian noted her anger and a cocky smile appeared on his lips.

"So I guess you have heard you have been replaced," he said. "How sad for you." Abruptly the anger flooded her system. A pilot's first job was to assure the safety of her crew. She shot to her feet, the chair slamming into the wall behind her. She leaned forward, placing her left hand on the table for support. Her right hand she drew back an open palm and swung it down to slap into Ian's face as hard as she could muster. Behind Ian, Smith stared at her in surprise, but made no movement to stop her.

"You bastard," she said with vehemence. "Your stupidity sent those people to die." Elena placed her right hand next to her left on the table and glared at Ian. Her handprint was a red welt across his cheek and he stared at her stunned. Smith cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we could discuss this a little more rationally," he said. His eyes had narrowed from shock to speculation and Elena realized he had not really factored her into the day's equations. She was just someone he could use to get what he wanted from the Council. She could see in his eyes he thought Peter was the one he was going to deal with. Elena straightened up, sliding her hands from the center of the table to its edge. The man to her left stood and retrieved her chair from where it had collided with the wall.

"Thank you," she told him calmly. Elena sat down and he reseated himself. Smith sat down on the same side of the table as Ian, but made sure to place an empty chair between them as if already distancing himself. She was certain no one in the room missed the significance. Ian swallowed hard.

'That probably wasn't one of my better moves,' she thought. Elena took a deep breath and swallowed her anger.

"My apologies," she said to the room. "Violence should never be used as a first means of expression, but merely as a last resort."

"Considering he baited you, I believe your response was acceptable," Peter said, his eyes trained on Ian. Ian let his gaze flick to Peter. His eyes began to dance around the room, taking in the other men before resting again on Elena. She could see by the look in his eyes that he finally realized he had no friends in this room. She watched the fear slide behind calculation while a flash of anger danced around the edges as he looked at her. Smith looked as though the meeting had not gone according to his plan and he was not certain how to get it back on track again.

"Is it me particularly or all pilots you hate?" She asked into the silence of Smith's uncertainty. Ian snorted.

"I don't hate pilots," he said. "I just think your time has passed. Your Guild rules and restrictions. Your exclusive little club restricting the pilots numbers so that only a few can actually get in. It's all in the past. Now anyone can be a pilot. The Guild can't control everything anymore." His voice didn't sound panicked, but triumphant and the gleam of the shark was in his eyes.

"Exclusive club?" she repeated. Understanding dawned on her and she let out a short bark of laughter. "You wanted to be a pilot," she said. "This whole thing is because you can't be a pilot." Ian narrowed his eyes in rage.

"Wasn't allowed to be you mean. I wasn't one of the precious few allowed in. And because you wouldn't let me in, I created another way to let myself in." He radiated smug self-satisfaction and Elena tilted her head in thought for a moment. While all members of the bloodlines carried the genes for piloting in their DNA code and could pass it down, the ability to see the channels only manifested in females. She thought of her dreams and the possibility that pilot skills were undergoing some sort of evolution. 'Perhaps the rest of the bloodline is too.'

"Can you see the channels?" she asked Ian, her voice even. Beside her Peter turned slightly towards her, an eyebrow raised in question.

"You don't need to see the world gates to know where they are," he said dismissively. Elena leaned back in her chair. Apparently, Ian had not evolved.

"Yes you do," she said. "If you can't see them, then you don't know when they have shifted or if they are deep enough for your ship to be allowed passage. If you can not see then than you can not pilot."

"My machine works just as well as a pilot," Ian shot back defensively.

"How?" she asked.

"It is programmed to know," he told her.

"With set coordinates?"

"Of course."

"And the seasonal variations?" Elena asked. Across the table, Ian swallowed hard and pinched his mouth shut. "What about weather conditions?" she continued her questioning.

"The ships aren't meant to be taken through the world gates in stormy weather. Even your ships wait for clear days to sail."

"A good storm can shift a channel two meters, sometimes even more, off course for days after, even if the weather is clear on the day you sail. Are your machines programmed for that eventuality?" Ian remained silent.

"Why weren't you on board the USS Navigator?"

"I was needed here to calibrate and record information to continue to refine the system." Ian frowned at Elena not sure where the conversation was going. He darted his eyes towards Peter and then Smith. Both men remained silent. Ian glanced at the other two men and Elena remembered Smith had said Ian knew all of the people in the room. Knowing them didn't seem to help him as neither man responded.

"Wouldn't it be better to take measurements from the ship? That way you could make adjustments to the mechanism as needed to ensure the safety of the crew."

"The crew is fine," he said. "They are all experienced sailors and the AP385 is simple to use," he informed her. Elena assumed the AP stood for autopilot and wondered if he had chosen the number at random or if he had gone through 384 prototypes before. Images of fleets of toy sailboats manned by dead lab rats sailed across her mind in time to the theme song for the Pinky and the Brain cartoon. She shook her head to dislodge the thought.

"They sailed through the world gate perfectly and all that is needed is for someone to pick them up because something went wrong." Ian looked at her as though a light had just gone off in his head. "That's why you were called in. As a rescue mission." He stiffened up. "Hardly necessary as I would have retrieved them myself in a short while."

"How?" Elena asked. "Your ship won't be completed for another three months."

"I have access to other non-military ships," he said stiffly. Beside her Elena could feel Peter tense and she knew the thought of having more than just Ian involved did not sit well with him. She was sure questions would be asked.

"Then why haven't you gone?" She asked.

"I was needed here to complete the work on the other military ship," he said. Elena watched a look of disgust cross Smith's face. Apparently he didn't like losing a crew either.

"Did you anticipate having to run to fetch the missing sailors?" She asked

"Of course not. It should have worked perfectly. I don't know what they could have done to get it so off course." His voice sounded petulant and Elena got the feeling he had to resist stomping his foot like a spoiled child.

"I thought you said it was simple to use?"

"It is simple," he said. "All they had to do was sail through and then sail back. How difficult could that be? They are after all sailors." He let out a huff of air and Elena tried not to ground her teeth. Her palm itched to slap him again but knew it would do no good.

"So you programmed the return coordinates?" she asked instead.

"They are the same coordinates," he said.

"No they are not," she told him. "Did you not take any of the classes?"

"Didn't you hear me before? You wouldn't let me be a pilot so why would I take classes I couldn't use? Or did you want me to sit through the classes just so you could mock me because no matter how well I did on my exams I would still never be allowed to pilot one of your precious ships?"

"I took the classes," Peter said his voice level and even. "And I am not a pilot."

"Well no one is going to mock you," Ian responded sullenly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I don't believe anyone was ever mocked in my classes," Peter said. "After all very few of the students were pilots. Many like yourself became mechanics or merchants, some even captains after working their way up through the ranks, depending where their skills and desires led." Ian flushed at being called a mechanic. "I can also add my assurances to Ms. Calabrese's that the coordinates for returning a ship are quite different from those leaving."

"They have GPS systems and know how to change the coordinates if they have to. It was a safety precaution," Ian told them. Elena resisted a snort of laughter at Ian finally mentioned a safety precaution.

"It wouldn't have worked," she said. "GPS means global positioning system. Once through the channels they wouldn't be on the globe. Besides if the units were on when they went through they would be fried by the passage and be unusable on the other side." Elena told him; surprised he didn't know this basic fact. He stared at her dumbfounded for a moment.

"Well then it is good you are here to mount a rescue mission if nothing else." Ian said stiffly. Elena looked towards Smith. Apparently Ian had not been told anything from their previous meeting. Smith sighed.

"The captain and crew of the USS Navigator are dead," he said. "No further mission to recover the lost ship will be made." His tone was gruff and matter of fact.

"I am sorry," Ian said. "They should have been safe. But we will need to retrieve the ship to find out what went wrong." Smith's eyes narrowed.

"There is no ship left to recover," Peter said. "It was destroyed on impact when you tried to send them through a channel that is blockaded."

"The blockade must be recent," Ian stammered.

"Relatively," Peter told him. "It was installed in the early 1870s."

"You mean 1970s," Ian said.

"No I do not," Peter said. Ian looked around sensing that any allies he hoped to gain by still seeming useful were quickly evaporating.

"Do you have any further questions regarding the information Mr. Jensen provided us?" Smith asked. To Elena's surprise the question was directed at her and not Peter.

"I would like to see a list of the channel locations he provided you with as well as the schematics of the AP385 and whatever documentation you have been provided." Smith nodded; after all she was here to correct Ian's information.

"Of course," he said. "We will get copies to you before our next meeting."

"Those designs are mine," Ian said. No one paid him any attention. They set the date for the next meeting and Smith rose to his feet.

"Mr. Baranov I am releasing Mr. Jensen into your care. I am assigning a man to him to keep him safe while he is in your care." Elena's eyebrows rose in surprise and she waited for the arguments Peter would no doubt provide.

"Of course," Peter said. "We welcome your associate. He will of course be blindfolded en-route to the preliminary hearing and remain in the observation room while the hearing is underway. From there he will be able to view the entire proceedings to assure you we have no intention of harming Mr. Jensen." Smith seemed just as surprised as Elena about Peter's acceptance. So surprised, she noted that he didn't even argue the conditions.

"Very well," he said. Privately Elena wondered how the council was going to pull this off. With a start she realized it wasn't really her concern. Her concern was here, walking a very fine line when teaching the military about the channels. Elena almost wished she were going back to the Lorenzo with Ian. Everyone stood except Ian who slumped in his seat, a greenish cast to his skin. Smith nodded to the man standing beside Peter.

"Ms. Calabrese, I realize you came here with Mr. Baranov. Jonathan will be happy to drive you home." Smith indicated the man standing to her left. Elena looked at him and he smiled. It was the sort of smile she associated with car salesmen and the television news reporters. Too much teeth, not enough humor. Elena looked to Peter. He nodded.

"I think that will be excellent as with Ian and your man in our vehicle things will already be a little cramped," Peter replied.

"Very well," Elena said, figuring anything Peter had to say to her would be transmitted later. She turned back to the toothy Jonathan. "I would be happy to accept your offer," she told him, even though it was Smith who had offered him. 'At least we have moved from Smith and Macmillan to Jonathan,' she thought resignedly. The meeting broke up and they all trooped down the hallway and out of the door. A car was parked beside Peter's car and Thomas eyed it with distain. She couldn't blame him, it looked like a stripped down cop car. Jonathan steered her towards it while everyone but Smith piled into the car with Thomas.

"We will follow you out," Peter told Jonathan as he slid into the passenger's seat beside Thomas, relegating the unnamed man and Ian to the back. Elena inwardly sighed with relief. Even if the car ended up circling around, someone would watch to see her get out of the gates. Jonathan nodded his acceptance and steered them towards the entrance. As advised, Thomas followed. Elena gave directions to Jonathan and glanced around the car. It had a freshly cleaned smell and no personal belongings at all inside, including a pair of sunglasses, she noted as Jonathan squinted into the sunlight.

"I think your boyfriend is worried about you," Jonathan said with a smile. Elena frowned. "Mr. Baranov is following us," he clarified.

"He isn't my boyfriend," Elena said automatically. Jonathan smiled.

"Really?" he asked with interest and Elena realized that wasn't exactly the right thing to say. She turned to look out the window for the short drive. Jonathan dropped her off in front of her apartment.

"See you soon," he told her as she got out of the car. She wondered if he was going to be in all of her meetings. He pulled away from the curb and Thomas slid into his spot. Elena looked down as Peter rolled down the window. Thomas got out of the car and opened the back seat. He blindfolded Ian, shut the door walked around the car to open the other door and blindfold the military man.

"Who keeps blindfolds in their glove box?" she asked as he finished. Thomas shut the door and turned a smile her way. The eyes were laughing.

"We do," he said. He returned to the driver's seat and she realized it was the first time she had heard him speak.

"These are my contact numbers in case anything comes up," Peter said, handing her a business card. She took it from him. "Do not hesitate to contact me for any reason great or small as I will be your Council contact through this ordeal." She nodded and tucked the card in her purse.

"Safe drive," she told him. He nodded, rolled up the window and let Thomas speed them out of town.

"I wonder what the other drivers are going to think about the blindfolded men in the back seat?"

### Chapter 23

Elena watched for a moment as the sedan disappeared around a corner. Her feelings were mixed with Peter's departure. Part of her was relieved not to have a council member watching her every step, yet she felt a little abandoned now that Peter was gone. Elena sighed and turned to her apartment building. She went in, climbed the stairs and unlocked her apartment door. Elena tossed her calendar, notebook and purse on the couch and deciding it was close enough to lunchtime to warrant it, she went into the kitchen to make a sandwich. As she smeared peanut butter and jelly on her two slices of bread she wondered if the military had gone as far as searching her apartment while she was gone.

"If they did they would have probably bugged the apartment too," she muttered pressing the two slices of bread together and taking a bite. She eyed the light fixture in the kitchen. Was that dark spot on it always there or was it the shadow of some sort of spy equipment. As she looked she realized it was just a worn spot on the plastic. She rolled her eyes at herself and took another bite of her sandwich. If there were bugs she would more than likely never find them and looking for them would just drive her crazy.

"Besides," she said. "It isn't like they are going to overhear anything. I live alone." She shrugged. "All I have to do is stop talking to myself and they'll never hear a thing." Elena finished her sandwich and wiped up the few crumbs on the kitchen counter. For a moment she was at a loss as to her next steps. She wasn't used to being home so early in the day. She thought about going into the store, but decided against it. She retrieved the notebook she had started jotting notes in the night before. The notes were a jumbled list and needed to be clarified into a cohesive plan before any steps could be taken. She started listing the steps needed and the order they needed to occur in order to make the business function.

"Definitely need to start getting a proposed budget together," she muttered thinking of the presentation she would need to make for Peter and her grandfather. She was certain that Peter was quite business savvy, but her grandfather tended to not really worry about the details of the business end. She was fairly certain he believed all that was needed was to have a false bill of sale and that would be the end of it. Her plan called for a little more finesse.

"And a lot of capital," she muttered. She tapped the notebook with the top of the pen as she thought about it. To the side of her steps she began listing some of the expenditures needed to get the venture off the ground. A few of the items she had a fairly good estimate of cost and she jotted down numbers next to them. When she reached building space she thought of the building next to Calabrese Imports.

Elena set the pen down and retrieved some papers from one of the kitchen drawers. She flipped through and found the particulars. Figuring the building cost wouldn't have changed much since the spring she marked it down on her sheet. The building would need some work done however and mentally she started adjusting the interior to suit her needs. Again her estimates were jotted down on the page. When she finished with the building her thoughts shifted to the merchandise.

"Several are already prepared," she muttered thinking of some of the items the Wind Dancer routinely stocked. It was true however they were often packed plainly. Many of them had alien lettering and advertisements on them. Repackaged they could be sold Earth-side.

"We would have to rename them though," she said thinking of the puzzlement of consumers at alien languages. "Generic names would be best." Elena thought of the gadieoc jelly they usually picked up on Hediaon. It was spicy and best served on hot bread. Elena remembered holding a jar of it up to the light the first time she had seen it.

"It sparkled like crystals," she remembered with a smile. Elena flipped to a new page in her notebook and jotted down gadieoc and next to it wrote, crystal preserves. Several more items were added, each with similar nom de plumes. Fesha became Star Gazer dip, and tolog was listed as meteor bites. Some had space themes while others followed the stone and jewel themes.

"They will have to look like the come from different companies," she said tapping the page. Elena flipped back to her previous page and added graphic designer to the list of expenditures. They would have to design several different product lines to create diversity in the store otherwise it would simply look like an outlet store. She was certain other products could be developed for sale and she added test kitchen to the list.

Elena flipped back to her list of merchandise. Cookware would not be out of place and several of the pieces she had seen on various worlds would sell well as artistic or novelty pieces. She added a few to the list as well as some small items that could be useful for kitchen use, table settings and cocktail parties. When she finished she smiled at the page. It was quite a tidy list. It was of course heavily centered on the type of items she normally saw in the Wind Dancer's travels. Peter and his family traveled different shipping lanes and would no doubt be able to add to the list considerably.

Elena looked back at her list of expenditures and began adding. She tried not to let the high cost scare her. When she was satisfied with the preliminary list of figures she mentally divided it into three parts. With the division she heaved a sigh of relief. The cost was still high but a third of the cost was manageable.

"Assuming they both want to go in with me." Elena flipped to a new page and began fleshing out the business proposal she would be giving to her grandfather and Peter. The rest of the day passed relatively quickly. Elena had a second peanut butter and jelly sandwich while she worked and called it dinner. By the time she was ready to head to bed she was happy with the preliminaries she had created. She decided to take the notebook to work with her and type it up on the computer in her office there. The card Peter had given her was on the table next to her pen. She picked it up and tucked it into the front of the notebook. When she had the typed proposal she would call and see how he wanted it sent to him.

"For all I know he might still be tied up with Ian when I call and tell me to hold onto it for a while." Elena thought of Ian and wondered what was happening. She glanced out at the darkened street and realized they would have reached the Lorenzo by this time. Would Ian have an immediate trial or would they make him wait a while? Somehow Elena couldn't see Ian being given the same comfortable suite she had been given on her visit to the council vessel. Elena showered and readied herself for bed. She grimaced when she realized she still had not picked up coffee.

"I'll pick it up on the way home tomorrow," she told herself. "Even if it means going back to the coffee shop." The restless night before drained her and Elena snuggled into her covers and curled up into a ball. Almost immediately she drifted off into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

### Chapter 24

For the first time in a long while Elena woke without a headache. She dressed quickly and headed out to her store, taking her notebook with her. She was earlier than usual and the street still had the hushed feel of the early morning hours that made her think the rest of the world was still asleep. She resisted the urge to tip toe so she didn't wake it. Elena unlocked the door and re-locked it behind her.

Deciding to take care of Guild business first, she went straight back to her little office and typed up the proposal she intended to sent to her grandfather and Peter. She tweaked a few details and saved it when she was happy with it. Later, she would call Peter and ask what to do with it.

That little task out of the way she left the office and circled through the store. There were many gaps left in the displays and she smiled happily at them. Apparently, they had a very good couple of days. She began to hum to herself as she pulled merchandise from the stock room and filled in the displays. When TJ and Max arrived she unlocked the door and let them in.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Max commented as he tugged off his coat.

"I am in a good mood," she commented, realizing it was true. She wondered if it was the thought of once again piloting or the adventure of a new enterprise that lightened her mood. Max went to put his coat in the break room and then he and TJ helped with the displays. Emily arrived a few minutes later followed by the two seasonal workers, Janine and Michael. Once the displays were complete Emily filled Elena in on the local gossip she had missed while she was gone. Apparently Rick, the man who owned the sandwich shop on the corner had broken up with his long time girlfriend and Eric from the hair salon had been in an accident.

"He's perfectly fine," Emily reassured her. "Just a little shaken up. The car was completely totaled though." Emily shook her head. "The other car just ran straight through that red light. I don't know what some people are thinking." While the misfortunes of others were never cheering, Elena liked listening to the normal gossip from the world around her. She thought about Peter's comments on her fellow pilots, but dismissed them. There were ways to cover up the piloting and still allow herself to mix and mingle with the everyday world. After all she often went on buying trips. Channel riding was no different; she would just have to leave out a few of the details.

"So how is that business venture with the hottie going?" Emily asked. All of the ears in the room perked up at the question and Elena found herself the center of attention.

"It went pretty well," she said. "I'm going to be sending a business proposal today. So we will see how things go from there." The news was greeted with nods and smiles. A few minutes later the bell over the door jingled and Elena's first corporate buyer meeting of the morning began. The morning rolled past quickly and between the scheduled appointments and everyday shoppers she didn't have much time to think about Peter. It wasn't until mid-afternoon when she found a lull in which to call him. Elena ducked back into the office and pulled the business card from the notebook. She dialed the first of the listed numbers. Luck was with her and he picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" he said cautiously into the phone and Elena realized he must not have her business phone number.

"Hi, it's Elena."

"Oh, Good afternoon," he said, his voice warming considerably. "Has something come up?"

"Oh, not really," Elena said, trying not to be charmed by the warmth in his voice. "Or at least not with the military. I put together a preliminary business plan and I wanted to send it to you and grandfather and I was unsure the method you preferred."

"Of course. I think that e-mail would be best. Alexandro is of course here with me so you can send it once and have both of us receive it."

"Okay," Elena responded. The computer was already on so she clicked to open her e-mail. "There are two e-mails on this card do you want me to send it to both or do you have a preference?"

"Both will be fine." She typed the two addresses on the e-mail, attached the proposal and clicked send.

"There you go," she said. "Let me know when you have had a chance to look over it." Elena resisted the urge to ask about Ian. If Peter wanted to tell her he would.

"I will, thank you." Apparently he did not feel the need to share information about Ian. She said good-bye and hung up the phone. There was a slight nervousness in her belly as if she had just set into motion events she could not control. She shook the thought away and went back out to the front to assist with customers.

The last customer of the day left and Elena shooed her staff out of the door while she locked up. She set the alarms, locked the door and turned towards the street. She had to stifle a scream when a man carrying a mailing tube stepped out of the shadows.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you," the man said. He stepped into the light and Elena identified Jonathan.

"Then you probably shouldn't lurk in the shadows." She told him crossly. He smiled his toothy grin.

"I just came by to drop off the schematics and papers for Ian's work so you could look over them before the meeting."

"I see," she said and held out her hand. He placed the tube in her hand and held out a fat file folder. She took that from him as well. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Would you care to join me for some coffee?"

"No thank you," she said politely.

"Perhaps another time then."

"Perhaps," she said non-committally, wondering if he was under orders to try and make friends with her. "Have a good evening." Elena began walking towards her apartment and Jonathan fell into step beside her. She sighed inwardly. They moved in silence for the first few steps and Elena found herself thinking she was very glad she didn't live too far away.

"It is a nice evening," Jonathan began.

"It is," she replied. He paused as if uncertain how to make small talk. Elena felt vaguely sorry for him but was not interested in helping him out.

"Looks like we are in for a cold winter. We might even get snow this weekend."

"Really?"

"Yes, I heard it on the weather report this morning."

"I see," she said. They turned the corner and she could see her apartment building. She was on the home stretch.

"Do you like snow?"

"Sometimes." Thirty feet left to go.

"I like snow. Except to drive in on my way to work. I guess you don't have that problem."

"Not really." Elena actually liked walking in the snow to work on mornings when big fat flakes drifted down from the sky. A snow like that was good for business too. The first snow, if it was a pretty one, put people in mind of the holidays. She always set up a hot beverage station for customers in weather like that. Hot cider worked well. It also served to slow the customers down. They would walk around sipping their cider and take a little more time to look at things as they thawed out. She would have to get giant stainless steel coffee pot out of storage in the morning.

'Damn I was going to pick up coffee on my way home.' She glanced at Jonathan and resigned herself to another coffee-less morning. At this rate she was going to kick her caffeine addiction in no time. Finally, she arrived at her building door.

"Have a nice evening," she told him. She shuffled her mailing tube and folder around so she could open the door.

"Yeah, you too," he replied. He turned and walked away as Elena entered the building and went upstairs. She let herself into the apartment and walked to the kitchen. She placed the folder on the table and tugged open the mailing tube. She pulled out the rolled up papers and flattened them out.

They were the schematics for the autopilot Ian had created. She paged through them, the diagrams meaning very little to her. As far as she was concerned the drawings could be of the autopilot or the inside of an ATM and she wouldn't know the difference. She used equipment; she didn't design it. That was Mateo's specialty. Under the first set of schematics were ship diagrams. Here she was on a little better footing, but not by much. These were not the small schooners she was used to dealing with; these were all out military vessels.

"And all far too heavy for the channels." Elena shook her head and placed them to the side. She pulled the file folder to her and opened it. Much of the information contained inside was similar to Ian's speech. She slowly turned the pages as she scanned the words. Very little of it was of practical use. It seemed more like the beginnings of a manifesto rather than a practical lecture.

"A lot of anger though," she said. "Ian must have really wanted to be a pilot." She wondered if he actually wanted to be a pilot or if he just wanted it because he was told he couldn't have it. She flopped another page over and came to a map. Four channels were marked on the map. The locations were off for this time of year, but the general locations gave her an indication of which channels they were.

'After all,' she thought, carefully keeping her thoughts inside her head incase her apartment was bugged, 'There are only twenty seven channels and a lot of water on our planet. Few of the channels are anywhere near each other.' She had to admit it was a bit of a relief to find only four of the channels marked.

'I wonder if he didn't know the others?' The four channels marked were the Marta, the Evangeline, the Amalie and the Blood. The Marta was a general channel used by most of the families near the Atlantic Ocean and above the equator, while the Blood was a channel of legend every child had heard of, pilot or not. Elena didn't often travel the Evangeline or the Amalie but she was more than willing to believe Ian's families did. Elena set the map aside and continued looking through the folder. There wasn't much to be found. No other maps surfaced and all of Ian's so called technical information she heard before. She closed the folder.

'Either the military removed some documents or this is truly all they had.' While she wouldn't put it past Smith to remove documents, it was somewhat of a relief to see how sketchy their information was.

"Should make our little lecture series interesting," she said. Elena rubbed her eyes and stood up. 'When we take the trip through I'll have to use the Marta to avoid giving them more information.' She walked over to the refrigerator and tugged open the door. The contents were not promising.

"Apparently I am out of more than coffee." She closed the refrigerator door and reached for the stack of takeout menus she kept for occasions such as this. Elena was debating between pizza and Chinese when the phone rang. Since she hadn't yet determined a preference, she put off the weighty concerns of dinner and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Elena, how have you been?" The familiar voice made her smile.

"Mateo," she said happily.

### Chapter 25

"A little birdie tells me you have been very busy," he began.

"Oh really?" she asked her cousin with a laugh.

"Yes, busy enough to have earned your own ship from the council. I worked on the Storm Chaser. Top of the line equipment. Very posh."

"So the records indicate," she answered.

"Uh huh, and then Grandfather calls and tells Dad you have rejoined the Guild."

"Did he now?"

"He did and now there are all sorts of rumors flying about you."

"Are there?" She asked innocently. Mateo gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Oh, come on. You know that as your cousin I am one of the people they ask first. Are you going to force me to make something up? Besides, Therese has already started making comments."

"Oh?" She asked, the humor leaking away.

"Well nothing major, but you know Therese. She was really happy you were gone Elena. In her eyes, you leaving more or less left her as the heir apparent. She hates that not only did you come back, but you didn't have the decency to come back quietly, the way you left."

"Ah," Elena said. "Well no one told me anything about keeping this a secret from the Guild but you might want to keep some details low key until after the trial."

"Trail? What exactly did you do?" He asked. Elena laughed.

"Do you know Ian Jensen?"

"Met him a few times. Didn't really care for him. He has a bit of an attitude to be honest. Kind of an 'I'm better than you' sort of thing. He always kept his work to himself as if we were all trying to steal his brilliance. No one was sorry when he left the Guild. Did you run into him?"

"In a manner of speaking," she replied. Elena filled Mateo in on the adventures of the past few days. She could almost see him shaking his head, the unruly tangle of black curls he habitually forgot to have cut, the small scar through his left eyebrow and the black eyes wide with surprise. No one could pull off wide-eyed surprise like her cousin Mateo. With his looks he could open his eyes wide and pull the wide eyed innocent look on just about anyone, a fact that had gotten both of them out of trouble more times then she could recount.

"Only you could entangle yourself in such a mess," he replied.

"It could have happened to anyone," she said defensively.

"Uh huh. The fact is Elena life is always more interesting with you around. Just look at the one time you went to Danvers. I had been nearly a dozen times before, but the night you show up..."

"That was not my fault and you know it," Elena said with a laugh.

"Uh huh, so now that you have your ship and have rejoined the Guild what are your plans?"

"I have a potential deal with Grandfather and Peter Baranov," she started.

"Black Pete?" Surprise etched the words.

"He isn't that bad," Elena thought about it. "Well at least he hasn't been so far." Elena explained the concept of the potential business and Mateo let out a low whistle.

"You never did do things by halves. I don't suppose you would be looking for a technical guru in your schemes?" Elena caught the almost wistful tone of the question and her thoughts turned speculative.

"Who are you working for these days?" she asked.

"At the moment my mother, but she has been making some noises about retiring. Now that Nate is getting married there is another pilot for the family. So when she retires my options were to see if there were openings with my new sister-in-law's family, openings with any of my father's family or the delightful option of working for Therese. Of course now that you are back..." Mateo let the comment trail.

Elena knew her cousin was on friendly terms with his father's family, but wasn't terribly close, would rather cut off his arm than work for Therese and that Nate and his new wife would probably spend the first year or two of their marriage consolidating the two families business ventures, a process which might forestall Mateo's hiring even if Nate wished it.

"Well I don't know how all of this is going to pan out yet, but if Aunt Catherine could spare you for two projects during the off season I would appreciate it."

"And what would these two projects be?"

"Well the first would be looking over some schematics and breaking down some details for me. You know other than the basics I tend not to pay much attention."

"I know, in your world all technology is a magic box with a button to push, you only care how much it weighs and if its circuits will fry going through the channels," he replied with a laugh.

"Well those are the important parts."

"Says you. Are these Jensen's plans by any chance?"

"They are, so there is some rush, my next meeting with Smith is in about five days."

"I'll talk to Mom tonight," he promised. "What was the second project?"

"Did grandfather tell you why I left?"

"No he told us that it was your business and you would return when it had been completed."

"Ever the optimist," she muttered shaking her head. She took a deep breath. "I left because of the Calling." She told him about the discussion she had had with the two council members as briefly as she could. She also told him about her dreams and her theory. "So I was thinking of trying to figure out a way to test this theory. I would perhaps like some sort of security and recording information, that sort of thing. I know it is an odd request, but it is very much up your alley."

"I knew working with you would be fun," he replied. "Have you filed the plans with the Council?"

"Not yet," she answered. "I've got some leeway there. We only have to file once we actually have flight plans. I'm going to be talking to the Council though as soon as the Ian Jensen mess is cleared away so it will be all legal and above board. No piracy for me thanks. Right now you would just be research and development."

"And all perfectly legal then. Definitely sounds like a plan. I'll talk to mom as soon as she gets in." They finished up their conversation and Elena hung up the phone. She was smiling. Unless her Aunt Catherine had other plans for Mateo, she would more than likely be inclined to agree.

"In that case I better have a copy ready to send." She picked up her coat and put it on, dropped her cell phone in her purse and picked up the schematics. She slung the purse over her shoulder and headed out the door. Luckily they were close enough to the college campus to have a 24-hour copy center within walking distance. Elena set off at a brisk walk, the movement keeping her warm as she moved.

'We just might get that snow,' she thought to herself. As she rounded the corner she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. Still paranoid from her abduction she spun around and caught Jonathan by surprise before he could duck around the corner. She stared at him and he walked sheepishly towards her. As he walked she replayed the conversation she had just had with Mateo in her head. If the apartment was bugged Jonathan would have heard it. Her eyes narrowed as he approached. Perhaps this could work to her benefit.

### Chapter 26

Elena stopped and fixed a pleasant smile on her face and waved to Jonathan. 'No need for him to think I caught him following me,' she thought. He half jogged to catch up with her. It took him no time to cover the block separating them.

"I would be completely winded if I tried that," she told him noticing his breathing was still relatively even as he stopped in front of her.

"I run marathons a lot," he admitted with a grin. He was still too toothy for her taste, but this time the smile seemed more real. She shook the thought away. Thinking of him as a person was not a benefit.

"I only make coffee runs, and usually then I send out one of my employees instead."

"Seems fair," he answered.

"Do you live around here or were you just going out?" she asked indicating the neon signs that were just beginning to hum to life in the cold evening air. The day workers had all gone home, the happy hour crowd still lingered and the partygoers would soon be arriving.

"No," he said. "I was just having coffee before I headed out." Elena glanced at her watch, noting that several hours had passed since he had asked her out for coffee.

"Still? Wow you must really linger over that last cup."

"Well to be honest I didn't really want to go back out in the cold. So I more or less kept drinking coffee until I could face it. I probably slosh when I walk by now."

"So I guess you aren't from around here?"

"No ma'am, just stationed. I'm from Florida, out by Tampa."

"Ah," she said. "Are you going this way?" She indicated the street she had turned on.

"Um, yes ma'am." There was a slight hesitation in the voice.

"Good then we can keep walking. It is a little too cold to be standing in one place very long as long as that wind is up." A gust swung her hair across her face for emphasis. She shoved it back with her hand and turned into the wind.

"I think that is a good plan," he replied. They began walking. He seemed inclined to walk slower than her rapid pace despite his longer legs. She slowed to match his stride. She was pretty sure he was lying about just sticking around for coffee. Of course the coffee shop near her place had taken on ominous overtones in her mind at this point.

'Like the lair of the mad scientist where his minions receive their orders so they don't have to go into the laboratory.' She thought for a moment. 'I bet you could see my apartment entryway from there as well.' Elena frowned a little. 'Perhaps I should start using the alternate exit in the back.'

"Something wrong?"

"No," she said. "Just thinking about your earlier snow prediction. I think you might be right." They made a little small talk about the weather and Elena wondered how to test him to see if he had heard any of her conversation with her cousin without giving anything away.

"So," he began as the small talk ebbed. "Would those be the plans for the ship you have there?" He indicated the tube she carried tucked under her arm. She had been wondering when he would ask.

"Yes," she answered. "I wanted a copy I could jot notes down on while still keeping the original clean."

"I see," he said. "Are you sure you aren't just passing them along to someone else?"

"Like who, a rival ship builder to undercut your production?"

"No I meant someone in the Guild."

"There are no other Guild members around here. They all left with Ian."

"You could be sending a copy on," he commented.

"I could."

"But you are not."

"There is no point," she said. If Mateo passed a copy back to the Council that would of course be another matter. She might even suggest it.

"Why not?"

"Because they are of no use. They can't ride the channels and contain no useful information."

"Oh." He sounded deflated and she laughed.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said. "But I was telling the truth in the meeting, not trying to get a copy of the new and better plans to build a ship of my own."

"So you have your own ship?"

"I have never sailed my own ship. I am a pilot, not a captain." She waited for anything that would lead him to believe the Storm Chaser might be hers. He didn't bite and she wasn't sure how else to lure him into letting something slip so she would have a definitive answer.

'Things like this seem so much simpler in the movies. It's not like they teach this in school. Unless of course there is some sort of Interrogation 101 I could take as a continuing education class at the college.' She mentally laughed at the idea. 'Maybe they also have Minion Recruiting 101 as well and I could go ahead and get my own version of Marcus or Thomas while I'm at it.' Personally she would lean more towards someone like Marcus. He didn't keep blindfolds in the glove compartment. At least she didn't think he did. Her thoughts started to drift down a trail she had no desire to walk and she reined them in.

They arrived at the copy center. Even at this hour customers buzzed around the lit glass box like fireflies caught on a hot summer night. Like the bars a block over, the clientele had switched with the hour's passing. Gone were the business suits and corporate lackeys. In their place were students, frantically making copies for some project or another or lazily making conversation as they waited for machines. She smiled at Jonathan.

"This is my stop. Thanks for the conversation."

"No problem. Do you want me to stick around so you don't have to walk home alone in the dark?" As if on cue the streetlights buzzed to life overhead.

"I'll be fine. It is only a short walk, and it is well populated and lit at night. But thanks. Have a safe drive home." She pulled open the glass door and a puff of heat scented with toner greeted her. Jonathan looked a little lost and she couldn't help wondering if he was trying to figure out how to get to back to his car from here without looking like he was doubling back. 'His problem,' she thought.

Ignoring the machines, Elena walked up to the line at the counter. It was relatively short and each person in front of her had a counter from the machines. With luck none of them were planning on doing anything more time consuming than paying for their copies. Her turn at the counter came quickly enough.

"How may I help you," the bored clerk drawled. Her eyes kept shifting towards the wall clock and Elena guessed it was nearly the end of her shift.

"I need two copies of this made, please," she said thinking they would now be looking for a copy with her notes scrawled across it.

"I'll have to keep it overnight, our large format operator already has a queue."

"That will be fine," she answered. She wasn't in a rush. The clerk took her name and gave her a pick up time. She said thanks and passed the roll of drawings over. With her business transaction complete she walked out of the copy center. She barely made it out the door when her cell phone rang. She stopped, tugged it out of her purse and continued walking as she answered it. The wind had a biting edge to it.

"Hello."

"Elena? Its Aunt Catherine," her aunt's voice rolled out or the cell phone.

"Hi, how are you?"

"I'm fine, just fine and so glad you are back. Now I won't keep you because I know it is late and you must have a million things to do, but Mateo mentioned working with you on the off season and possibly on the on once I retire."

"Yes, we had talked about that. He wanted to run it through with you before he gave me an answer."

"Well he did and I think it is a wonderful idea. He isn't all that close to Tomas' family and well he and Therese don't exactly get along well. You were always his favorite cousin. All in all I think this is a wonderful idea. Dad mentioned you had officially been listed as your own Head of House so we can use the off season as a testing pattern to see if things will work and if so then later we can draw up the official transfer papers."

"That sounds like a plan," Elena said. She had forgotten about the transfer papers. In her mind she would just be working with Mateo on various projects, the same as they had always done. But she was the Head of a House, albeit a house of one. That meant Mateo, who was not would be transferred to her. He would no longer be answerable to his mother in matters of the Guild but to her. That would take some getting used to.

"Don't worry honey," her Aunt said reading her mind, "You'll get used to it."

"Sure," she said nervously. Catherine laughed.

"So you will be coming to the wedding?" She asked.

"Nate's wedding?"

"Of course, who did you think the invitation was for?"

"I didn't receive an invitation."

"Really? Let's see." There was a shift in Catherine's voice as if she had tucked the phone under her chin and was fumbling with something. "They were mailed on the 18th." She sounded as if she were talking to herself. Elena imagined her aunt flipping through her pocket calendar and smiled. Scrawled into it were notes on tides and lists of goods, occasionally actual dates made their way in. "Yes," she said more distinctly, talking to Elena this time. "They were mailed on the 18th. It can't take that long to get to you. Can it?"

"It shouldn't," Elena commented. She realized she was grinning into the phone. She had not been forgotten, the mail had simply gotten lost.

"Do I have the correct address?" She rattled off Elena's address.

"That is correct."

"Good grief, no wonder you hadn't RSVPed yet." Catherine gave an impatient snort and Elena giggled. "I'll put you down as a yes and make sure a second invitation gets sent so you have all of the information."

"Thanks," Elena said. They chatted a few more minutes and then hung up. Elena felt warm in spite of the cold wind. She continued walking and was a few steps away from her apartment building door when the phone rang again.

"Apparently, I am popular tonight." She said as she pulled the phone back out. The number was one she didn't recognize, but deciding she was on a good streak with phone calls she answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"How dare you!" The words were spoken with both venom and heat. The voice was of course familiar.

"Hello Therese." Elena answered. She stopped outside the door to her building. She would not bring this call in with her.

"That's all you have to say to me? You sneaky, underhanded little thief!" Therese spat. Elena rolled her eyes. This conversation was maddeningly familiar. When she had taken first place in a competition, Therese accused Elena of stealing her victory. The fact that Therese was often not in the competition was usually a moot point. When she had been accepted into early training and Therese had not, she was of course accused of stealing her cousin's place. The words rolled off Elena with no impact.

"And what have I stolen this time Therese?" There was no heat to her words just a heavy tiredness. Therese raged, sometimes sputtering into incomprehensible babble. Elena managed to catch the gist of it and sighed. She rubbed her temple.

"I take it you just left Uncle Tomas and Aunt Catherine's house?" She asked.

"I did. They are after all my family. I'm invited over quite often." Elena caught the emphasis on the words my and I'm and silently wondered if Therese had anything to do with the missing wedding invitation. "And if you think you can trick Mateo..."

"There was no trickery involved," Elena said cutting Therese off before her tirade could continue. It was cold out here and her nose was starting to go numb. "He asked if I could use his help and I said yes. Aunt Catherine agreed. That is the end of the story and I can't see honestly how it involves you. Besides, Mateo is a person not an object to be stolen."

"It is not the end of the story. If you think you can just waltz right back into our lives..." Elena grimaced and pulled the phone away from her ear. She could still hear Therese. Elena shrugged and pressed the end button cutting her cousin off mid rant. She tucked the phone away and opened the building door.

"I wonder how long before she notices I hung up," she wondered aloud. She let the thought go deciding the choice between pizza and Chinese food for dinner was after all, of much greater import.

### Chapter 27

By mid afternoon the next day, the copies of the schematics were ready and Elena took her lunch break to swing by the copy center to pick them up. She dropped one in the overnight mailbox the copy center had on hand and took the other two back to the office with her. Back in the store she tucked them into the office and promptly forgot about them. Other than that her day was the normal mix of daily business worries. There were no phone calls from relatives not seen in years or drop bys made by military personnel. It was somewhat a relief to face the day surrounded only by normality.

After work she went grocery shopping, restocking her fridge and her coffee pot as well as running a couple of other errands. She checked her e-mail when she got home and received a reminder of a housewarming she had agreed to go to Friday night. She smiled smugly at the bottle of wine and flowerpot of miniature roses she picked up while she was out in anticipation of the event. She frowned at the fact that there were no e-mails from either Peter or her grandfather, but figured they were probably still pre-occupied with Ian. Idly she wondered what was happening to him. She wondered if Smith would ask when she met with him.

"Maybe someone will tell me by then?" she asked aloud. Elena bit her lip at the sound of her own voice and looked guiltily around. She was trying to remember not to talk to herself in case the apartment was bugged. In fact, she hadn't realized how much she normally did talk to herself until she tried to stop. Now without her own voice the apartment sounded too empty. She sighed, shut down her computer and walked over to her stereo. She ran her eyes down the stack of cds next to it and decided the Pixies would be an excellent way to fill the silence. She placed it in the stereo and let it play. She smiled at the sound.

"Silence all gone," she said softly, wondering if the music would cover up whispers. She decided to use the lull between all-encompassing events to once again restore order to her apartment. Elena put away the laundry she washed the day before and not yet gotten into the closet and tidied up the apartment. Papers were filed, sheets were folded, and dishes were washed. When the Pixies ended she replaced them with the Dead Kennedys and tackled the bathroom with a foaming scrub. By the time the last note clicked into silence her apartment was clean and she was ready for bed. She showered, slipped into her pajamas and slid into bed. She sighed, there really was nothing like a little normality after several days of whirlwind chaos.

Two more days of normality passed and instead of feeling relieved Elena was beginning to feel anxious. Had something happened? Was that why no one was calling her? Images of the Lorenzo being sunk by a torpedo swam through her vision. The man sent with Ian could have had a tracking device on him, probably did. Why wasn't he searched as well as blindfolded? She snorted at the stupidity and re-arranged a display that didn't actually need it. Perhaps the Council made a ruling the military didn't like. Mentally she replaced the sunken ship with a ship being swarmed by armed men intent on taking prisoners. Her grandfather could be hurt in the struggle, taken to a hospital or interrogated. Why wasn't anyone calling her?

"I'm sure they are going to love the business plan," Max said interrupting her thoughts of gloom and doom. "How could they not?"

"You didn't even see the business plan," she commented with a smile, letting thoughts of evil slide away. Max snorted.

"I don't have to; I remember when this place was just an abandoned wreck." Elena glanced around the store with a tender smile. It hadn't been much more then four bare walls when she took it over. Now it was a place of her own that filled her with pride.

"You are right Max," she said with a grin. "After all who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to sell mini slug monsters from the planet Krypton?" Max rolled his eyes.

"Superman was from Krypton, slug monsters are from Krull," he informed her.

"I thought conquerors were from Krull," she replied.

"No. Krull was a conqueror. I don't know what planet he was from."

"Well, it is good you were here to clear things up for me," she replied. "I'd hate to mis-mark the bill of sale." The coil inside Elena relaxed a bit with the by-play. No evil had befallen the Council. They just didn't consider her important enough to update. She wasn't due to meet with Smith and company until Monday evening. Tonight was only Friday. If they didn't call by the close of business Monday she would call one of the numbers Peter left to see what it was she needed to say to Smith about Ian's fate, should they ask. Besides, tonight was Bob and Lisa's housewarming.

Seven thirty rolled around and Elena locked up for the evening. Normally they were open later during the week, but no one was really out looking for her stores wares on a Friday night. Closer to the holidays they would extend the hours, but for now this was late enough to work on a Friday night. Elena waved a farewell to her departing employees and strode off briskly towards home. They hadn't gotten the snow Jonathan predicted, but she could feel it still in the air, waiting. With luck it would hold off until a bit later.

As she walked, Elena thought she saw someone out of the corner of her eye but decided not to turn. She didn't have time for plots tonight. With a quick pace and some good fortune she could manage a quick shower before jumping into her party dress and not be too late. Lisa knew Elena was going to be a little bit late as the party started at seven, but that didn't make her feel any better. She had too many years moving with the tides to feel comfortable being late.

"And it only matters to me anyway," she muttered as she tugged open the building door. She took the stairs two at a time. Once inside her apartment she stripped on her way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.

"Quickest shower in the west," she said. Still wrapped in a bath towel she called for a cab to come and pick her up. The dress was already laid out on the bed and she redressed, added a little make up to her face, and was downstairs with her bottle of wine and pot of roses in time to see the cab glide around the corner.

"Good thing too," she thought as the cab stopped in front of her. "Too long outside in these shoes and my toes would fall off." The strappy, open-toed heels were perfect with her dress, but not for winter weather. She was going to have to look into some serious shoe shopping for the holiday season. There were several parties she was already scheduled to attend and her feet would not last the season in her current footwear.

The cab already had the address and let her out in front of a well-lit high-rise. She glanced up at the long stretch of it and shook her head. The sleek glass was a far cry from her old brick apartment building and she would have been uncomfortable with it as her living space. It suited Bob and Lisa to a T. She paid the driver and stepped out, her evening bag clutched in her hand with the roses.

The doorman opened the glass doors for her and she took the elevator to the 10th floor. The entire building had a hushed quality too it and she imagined each of the apartments was heavily soundproofed. Her heels didn't make a sound on the carpeted hallway and after the sighs and creaks of her building she found it to be a little disconcerting. She knocked on the door to 1053 and the door opened spilling light and sound into the vacuum of the hallway. She smiled, signs of life at last.

"Elena," Lisa greeted her, enthusiastically pulling her into a one armed hug. "You made it."

"Of course," Elena said, handing over the wine and roses. Lisa smiled over the wine and cooed over the pale pink of the miniature roses, exactly as Elena knew she would. 'And that's why I avoided the more vibrant scarlet ones I preferred,' she thought with a smile. Lisa was barely half an inch over five feet and built with the bones of a ballet dancer. Everything about her was designed to be delicate. Rather than counter balance the image, she used it, embracing delicacy as Genghis Kahn would a battle-axe. 'And wielding it just as well.' Lisa was well known as one of the sharpest defense attorneys in the state. Lisa placed both the wine and the roses on the counter.

"We are just tossing the coats on the bed in the master bedroom right now," she said as Elena shrugged out of her coat. "Come on, I'll give you a brief tour of the place while we take it back." Lisa chatted about the apartment as they went. They were the first tenants in the space, which pleased Lisa, as she didn't have to overthrow a previous tenant's décor choices. "We got to modify it from the floor plans on," she said. Elena nodded and smiled, commenting in all the right places. As they passed through the living room she noticed the bulk of the party seemed to be comprised of men or women she didn't know. 'Bob's friends and their wives or dates,' she thought. 'Lisa must not have gotten to show off the place yet.'

"Thanks for letting me get that out of my system," Lisa said as they reached the master bedroom. "I know I can be an awful bore."

"Hardly," Elena assured her. "It is a great space and you've done so much with it." Lisa beamed.

"With several pieces from your shop," Lisa commented with a smile.

"Just the whipped cream on top of the sundae," Elena told her, tossing her coat onto the bed. Lisa laughed. Elena looked for a place to stash her purse without having it get lost in the mound of coats.

"On the vanity would be a good place," Lisa suggested. Elena nodded and walked over. As she set the purse down her phone rang. She could hear the muffled tune rattling her keys. She sighed.

"Never a dull moment hum?" Lisa commented. "Why don't I leave you to answer that and you can find your way back when you are done."

"Thanks Lisa."

"Don't take too long though. There are several cuties you just have to meet." Lisa stepped into the hallway before Elena could comment. She shook her head and pulled the cell phone from her purse. She flipped it open.

"Hello?" she said.

"Elena sorry I haven't had a chance to speak with you before now," Peter's voice rolled out of the phone. "Things are somewhat delicate here at the moment."

"I understand. When you get a moment though I would like someone to fill in the blanks for what I am supposed to say on Monday regarding Ian if I am asked."

"Ah yes, Ian," Peter replied. She could hear the tiredness in his voice. "We are still debating that actually. He had his hearing and, well to be completely honest half of the Council was automatically out for blood."

"That I could understand," she said. It wasn't really much of a surprise.

"Unfortunately with the military looking over our shoulders that has become something of an issue. We've decided that his actions do require a disciplinary hearing, but that is where we are stalled." Elena ran through what little she knew of this sort of thing it took little effort to see why they were stalled.

"If you pronounce judgment of a disciplinary hearing you have to release him to the Head of his family until then. You are afraid of an accident." Once Ian left the Lorenzo the Council would no longer protect him. Even his family might arrange for an accident to prevent loss of face within the Guild. And the Council would be held accountable by the military. A light snapped on in Elena's mind.

"Is there any reason you can't release him to the military until his hearing?" She asked. "It would go a long way towards helping them believe everything was on the up and up and they would then be responsible for his safety. I doubt they would just let him disappear when they have so much to gain by good relations." There was silence on the other end. "Peter?"

"Yes, I'm still here," he said. "You know that might not be a bad plan. You know you are almost devious enough to be Council Elena."

"But no desire to be," she pointed out quickly. He laughed.

"Of course not," he said. "And I have no desire to press you to be, especially when I stand to make a bundle off this new venture of ours."

"Does that mean you read over my proposal?"

"It does. Actually both Alexandro and I have read over it. I think it is brilliant and he is about to burst with pride. I'm sending over some paperwork for you to go over. We hashed out a good deal of the legalese over here. That is what took so long. It should be to you in the morning sometime before noon."

"My apartment or the store?"

"The store, we figured you wouldn't be home during the day. I liked your list of goods and the way you've presented them. Obviously they come from the Calebrese travels and

there are several from our end we would like to see incorporated."

"Of course, however that is going to have to wait, I'm afraid I am not in a place to discuss business." Lisa escorted another guest back to drop off a coat and Elena caught the sound of her friend Tina commenting on the décor.

"You are not at home?"

"No, I'm at a party. Is there a time maybe tomorrow evening or Sunday that would work for you?"

"Sunday would work, around 2 pm your time?"

"That would be great," Elena said as the two women entered the room. "I'll talk to you then." She hung up on Peter as Tina broke out into a grin.

"Please tell me that was the devilishly attractive man from the restaurant and not a business call."

"Can't it be both?" Elena asked with a laugh, giving her friend a hug. "You look great, love the dress."

"Uh huh, trying to change the subject," Tina commented to Lisa.

"So I see," Lisa said with an eyebrow waggle. "Must be juicy."

"Not juicy, Business." Elena said. "I have a new business venture."

"Really?" Lisa asked. "Details, we want details." The doorbell rang and Lisa rolled her eyes. "Okay, I want details later." The three of them walked back into the living room. Mentally Elena juggled facts and figures in her head. She could rejoin the Guild and still maintain a place in the non-guild oriented world. It would just take some serious word considerations. She accepted a glass of wine from one of Bob's friends who had been dragooned into playing bartender for the night. Elena smiled. She always had liked a challenge.

### Chapter 28

Elena walked to work the next morning pleased with herself over the party. She managed to skate through conversations about what she had been up to and what her new business venture entailed without having the conversation feel stilted.

"Of course," she thought as she unlocked the door to Calabrese Imports, "The only thing I have to watch out for at the moment is the military. Compared to that everything is gravy." She grimaced at her reflection in the glass as she pushed the door open. She really couldn't think of a way to explain why the military kidnapped her and why she would now be required for meetings once a week for the next few months.

"And any reason the military would logically be interested in an imports store owner would probably be something illegal like smuggling," she muttered, turning on the lights and readying the store for opening. "I can't see that being good for business." Tactfully she left all mention of the military out of her small talk. With luck they would behave for the duration of her involvement with them.

The store hummed to life as first staff and then customers walked through the doors. Around mid-morning the over-nighted bundle of papers Peter sent arrived. Elena signed for them and took a look around. All of the customers were being helped and none of the staff looked overwhelmed. Emily had the morning off and Janine was manning the register.

"I'll be back in the office if anyone needs me," she told Janine, slapping the papers against her leg. The urge to read through them immediately was too great to ignore. "If we get a rush give me a yell, I'm just dealing with paperwork." Janine nodded her understanding and turned towards the approaching customer. Elena ducked back into the office. She left the door open a crack so everyone would know she could be interrupted if needed.

Once seated, she pulled open the perforated edge of the mailing envelope and slid the papers out. One section was a contract including all of the legal details forming the new company the three of them created. There were four copies; one for each of them and one for the legal folks. All four copies were already signed and dated by both Peter and her grandfather.

"I guess they don't want to waste time," she said. On top of the contract was a basic outline. It was the plan she had sent. There were a few tweaks. She read over them and couldn't find fault. The final changes made her raise her eyebrows. Peter and her Grandfather had increased the amount of capitol available for the venture as a cushion. At the bottom of the proposal was the break out. Her amount of funds given to the project remained the same. Peter and her grandfather's contributions however increased substantially.

"As the bulk of the leg work and organization will be done by Elena Calabrese, Peter Baranov and Alexandro Calabrese shall be seen as primary investors," Elena read. "Sounds reasonable." She set the paper aside and began working her way through the legalese of the contract. At the end she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was her plan and she felt it could work. Butterflies danced in her belly. Elena swallowed hard and unearthed a blue pen from the desk drawer. Quickly she scrawled her signature and the date on each of the copies. Elena realized she was holding her breath and slowly let it out.

"Well that's done it," she said folding her copy into her filing cabinet and placing the other three into an envelope to be sent back. Rather than dwell on the concept of being a part of a newly formed corporation, Elena pulled the real estate agent's card from her files. She answered on the third ring.

"Ruby Michaelson, how may I help you?"

"Hi Ruby this is Elena Calabrese."

"Elena, hi how are you?"

"I'm fine, and yourself?"

"Couldn't be better."

"Glad to hear it. I am actually calling about the Reynolds building you showed me a few months back. Is it still available?"

"Why yes, I do believe it is still on the market. Are you interested?"

"Yes," Elena said simply. She could practically feel the interest of the realtor sharpen. "Is there a way I could look it over again and discuss price?"

"Of course, I happen to be in your area later this afternoon, would that work?" Elena blinked in surprise. She had expected a date sometime later in the week. Apparently, Ruby worked Saturdays.

"That would be fine," Elena said. "I'm in the store so just pop in when you get here." Business complete they ended the call and Elena put the phone down.

"Well," she said pushing herself to her feet. "When the fates decide to align they don't go half way." Elena tilted her head towards the partially open door. No shrieks or screams of terror. Apparently the world had not gone awry while she was away. She tapped her fingers on the desk. Perhaps she had time for one more call. She sat back down and pulled the notes toward her. Included in the new outline was a suggestion for a graphic designer who also did web work. With the last name of Baranov she figured Andre was a relation of Peter's and already knew something of the channels.

"That would help prevent further leaks," she said. "And ensure Peter has a family member around to keep an eye on the business." She shrugged. It wasn't an unexpected move. "As long as his work is good and he can get along with everyone here, I don't see how it really matters." She dialed the phone number somewhat surprised to see the area code was not that far away.

'Of course the college here does have an amazing arts program,' she thought as the phone rang. 'Perhaps he attended here and got a job nearby after graduation.'

"Hello," a voice said as the phone was answered. He sounded out of breath.

"Yes may I speak with Andre Baranov?"

"This is he."

"Good morning," Elena began. "I'm Elena Calabrese I was given your number by Peter Baranov."

"Oh," he said. He had caught his breath and there was a wariness to his tone. She smiled, appreciating the caution.

"Yes, I was looking for a graphics and web person for a family business and he suggested you." She placed a small emphasis on family and let it be.

"I see. You are of the Guild then?"

"Yes, I am. I'm going to be working with Peter and my grandfather on marketing some of the goods brought back from travels. Items such as foods, cookware and table knickknacks and as you can imagine there will need to be substantial repackaging. Especially with the food items." There was a short bark of laughter.

"I imagine so. Are you really going to sell food?" She could hear the interest in his tone.

"That is the plan. Are you interested?"

"I could be interested." There was a pause. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is my cousin requiring you to hire me?"

"No it isn't a requirement. He just made the suggestion because he thought you had the necessary skills and were already familiar with the Guild. I have final say in this. And to be honest examples of your work will hold more weight than your bloodline."

"I can send samples if you like. Would e-mail work?"

"Definitely," Elena gave him her e-mail. "I don't suppose we could set up a meeting? Personality and whether you can get along with the type of people you will be working with will also play a role. And you would more than likely have to re-locate should you take the job so it would probably be a good idea to see the place." Elena gave him the location of the store.

"That's only about two hours from here." He paused in thought as if he were rearranging his schedule in his head. "I can send work samples and a resume in the next couple of minutes. Would you be able to look over them by Monday afternoon?"

"I would, but I have a 7 pm meeting Monday night so it would have to be a fairly early meeting."

"Well we just wrapped up a major project so it shouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to take a half a day on Monday. That would put me at your place around 3 ish if that works." They finished out the details and Elena hung up the phone.

"When the fates align," she muttered. The noise level outside her door had risen slightly and she pushed thoughts of future businesses out of her head to deal with the one she had. Elena walked back out onto the floor. While the customers hadn't overwhelmed the staff yet, her assistance would be appreciated. She smiled at a woman frowning over a set of end tables. "May I help you?"

Luckily, by the time Ruby appeared the crowd had thinned and Elena felt her absence could be tolerated again. With a brief explanation she ducked out the front door and followed Ruby back to the street. The wind whipped her hair into a strange dance around her head and she shivered, wishing she had grabbed her coat. Ruby quickly unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Even without the heat on in the building the lack of wind made the building feel almost warm.

The building was as Elena remembered it. The first floor had been cleared out and was one gigantic room with only metal support poles breaking up the space. The board floor had a few water spots and her questions to Ruby revealed that a new roof had been added, so no further damage would occur. Mentally Elena added shelves and counters. She segregated off a portion of the back of the room for a check out counter and storage.

'It could definitely work,' she thought slowly strolling through the center of the room. The pressed tin ceiling was in good shape as well; a new coat of white paint would bring it back to life and lighten up the space. She glanced at the hanging florescent lights. Those would have to go. Mentally she replaced them with something a little more upscale.

'Actually I think I have some in storage that would work,' she thought. "The electricity was not turned off?" she asked Ruby.

"No, neither were the other utilities," Ruby answered her. Elena smiled thinking Ruby considered a functioning building easier to offload than an abandoned one.

'And she'd be right.' The tour led them up the back stairs. There the space had been divided into two apartments. They were very basic and Elena thought the back apartment could be transformed into a meeting space and larger office. 'Keeping the Guild business separate. It might be nice to leave the front as an apartment though. Possibly offer it to Andre as part of an incentive package if he works out.' She nodded at the thought. Not only would the idea help her move him in, but it would also ensure someone was around should the military try to investigate. Elena turned and smiled at Ruby.

"Let's talk details." After some negotiation and a brief telephone conversation with the owner, Ruby left with a conditionally accepted offer and a smile on her face. Elena returned to the imports store. The rest of the day passed fairly quietly in a steady stream of customers. When the last had left and everyone started gathering their coats, Elena asked them to stay a few minutes.

"I mentioned a few days ago that there was a possibility of a new business venture," she began when they were all gathered. "Well the paperwork was signed today and I have made arrangements to buy the building next door."

"Woo hoo," Max said. "We're expanding."

"Not exactly," she explained with a smile. "It will be completely separate." She explained the concept, leaving out the off- world aspects."

"I can see how that would really play well with what you already have," TJ commented.

"So the end result is that we are going to be doing a bit of a shuffle around here for the next little while. I probably won't be around here full time every day for a while until things are settled. And if any of you feel you might be interested in working with the new store on a full time basis please come and see me." With that pronouncement she let them go locking the store behind her and wondering how things were going to end up shaking out.

### Chapter 29

As Elena walked home, fat flakes of snow began to drift down. She smiled as she stopped and tilted her head up to watch them spin lazily to the earth. The flakes caught in her hair and brushed against her face, melting as they came into contact with her skin. She stuck her tongue out and caught one, letting it melt down her throat. She pulled her tongue back in and closed her mouth. She smiled, turned to look at the street in front of her and continued walking home.

The first snow of the season was magical to her. It was the fifth and sixth snows of the season that wore on everyone. As she neared home, the flakes began to fall faster. Gone were the lazy spirals, as snow fell in thick waves making the world seem like a television screen full of static. The world felt muffled by the snowfall, like a bell boxed in cotton. Elena shivered as cold drops of melted snow trickled down her scalp. She hurried her steps, wishing she had thought to wear a hat.

Once inside, she shook off the wet and went up to her apartment. She draped her damp coat over one of the kitchen chairs and decided to change into an old t-shirt and yoga pants. Pleased that she had no plans to go out that evening, she decided to make some hot cocoa and curl up with a book while the snow fell.

She pulled her favorite reading chair towards one of the windows. The chair was close enough to see the snow falling, but not close enough to feel one of those sneaky cold drafts that snaked in around the cracks. Elena set her mug of cocoa on the flat arm of the chair and wrapped a heavy lap blanket around her curled up legs. She settled into the chair with a smile, and sipped her cocoa while reading and occasionally taking glances out of the window. Somewhere along the way she fell asleep.

The dreams once again took her from a world of bright to the dark of space. Again she rode the Storm Chaser and saw the ripples of heat where there should be none. She remembered her lesson from the previous dream and instead of turning away, Elena studied the spot. Vague images, such as she would get at the beginning of any channel passed through her mind. These were a little different however as if they were muffled, as though behind a curtain. Elena took a deep breath and mentally ran through the old piloting lessons that had been her among her first. She could hear Deana Lang's voice in her head. She repeated the words to herself.

"Never ride a channel blind. Always look down the path first. See not only what is on the other side, but the nature of the channel. Any fool can see what is on the other side and get greedy enough to chase it. Only the smart ones come back."

Elena decided if she was getting images as if it were a channel, perhaps she should check its nature as if it really were a channel. She shifted her inner sight, not to follow the path of the channel, but to see specifically the channel itself. It was nearly the same as when she took one of her ocean's channels into space. Just as the open channels whispered to her, so did this one and what she learned told her it would be a one-way channel. She shook her head.

"I can't take one-way channels," her dream self said. "I don't know the system connecting them back to my space. I need a two way." Her ship continued to sail and she focused on a different shimmer of heat. She repeated the process and this time found a two-way channel. Elena stared at it a moment.

"At least it would be a two way channel if I knew how to open it." Elena frowned in thought. She pushed the fact that logic said she couldn't open a channel away. "After all," she said aloud. "This is my dream." The dream began to fade, as if acknowledging it as such stripped it of its power. A thud started her from sleep and Elena blinked her eyes blearily open. She looked around and saw her book on the floor.

"Must have slipped," she muttered. Luckily the cocoa had been finished before she fell asleep and the mug was already placed on the floor. Elena stretched, shivering when her limbs peeked out of the warm cocoon of air beneath her blanket. She wrapped the blanket around her and stood up. Elena glanced out of the window and saw the world wrapped in a thick blanket of white. It looked as though several inches had stuck already and the snow was still falling.

"Good thing I don't have to go out tomorrow," she muttered as she shuffled towards the bedroom. "No matter how many years they have lived with snow, people always forget how to drive on it the first time out." She brushed away the visions of car wrecks that she figured would feature on tomorrow's evening news. She glanced at the leather notebook and briefly thought about writing down her dream, but decided it could wait until morning. She shrugged off her blanket and crawled into bed. She curled up and let herself relax. As she was drifting off, a thought occurred to her.

"I didn't get a headache that time." Elena smiled and drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.

### Chapter 30

Elena stretched herself awake and smiled. Waking up without an alarm clock screaming in her ear was her favorite part of Sunday morning. She glanced over at the clock. 9:38, a decadently late hour for one used to rising early. Elena sat up and rubbed her eyes. The room seemed brighter than usual and she slid out of bed and looked out of her bedroom window. She winced at the blinding wash of sun bouncing off of the white blanket coating everything.

"I wonder how much snow we got?" Elena's belly rumbled, reminding her she had ignored dinner the night before. "Yeah, yeah," she told it. She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on a thick pair of socks. Her eyes rested on the leather notebook and she remembered her dream from the night before. "No headache this morning either," she said thoughtfully. Elena picked up the notebook and took it into the kitchen. She set it on the kitchen table while she measured coffee and filled the carafe with water. She sliced a bagel in half and popped it into the toaster.

'Maybe it was a real dream and not a part of the Calling,' she thought. It was possible. Not everything had to have deeper meaning. 'That would explain the lack of headache.' Her bagel popped up and she spread a thick layer of cream cheese over it. She placed it on a plate, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. As she ate she dissected the dream. It had all of the earmarks that linked it to the earlier dreams.

"Perhaps paying attention actually helps," she said aloud. "Who knew?" Elena finished her bagel and set the plate aside. She pulled the notebook to her and began recording the dream. "After all it can't hurt," she muttered. When the recording was complete, Elena closed the notebook and refilled her coffee mug. A rumble outside startled her and she walked towards the window. A snowplow was making its way down the center of the street, pushing heaps of fluffy whiteness to the sides. Elena felt a moment of pity for those who were parked on the street.

"They are going to have fun digging themselves out," she said. She was pleased that her seldom-used car was safely parked in the garage at the rear of the building. "Hopefully someone will dig that door open by tomorrow night." She thought of her meeting with the military and then deliberately shifted it out of her mind. Today was her one-day off. She may have to go through a business call with Peter and review Andre's resume and portfolio, but she was not going to think about Smith.

Elena walked over towards the television set and picked up the remote control she hat left on top of it. She clicked the set on and turned it to the weather channel. Information spread across the country. Florida got rain. New Mexico was sunny. North Dakota was colder than she cared to contemplate. Finally, her weather popped up. They had gotten eight inches of snow in the night and it looked like more might be heading their way.

"Pretty impressive for the first snow of the year," she said. She glanced out of the window and looked up at the sky. The bright sun she had seen upon waking disappeared behind a wall of gray. Oddly enough the sky looked like the color of slush while the snow still looked like white puffy clouds. "That won't last." She turned from the window, thinking the weather channel was probably right. Given that sky there was a good possibility of more snow on the way.

"I'll need my snow gear in the morning," she said, walking to the kitchen to refill her coffee mug. She mentally rifled through her closets, trying to remember where she stashed her boots, hat, gloves and scarf. She thought they were in the front hall closet.

"I'll check later so I'm not scrambling in the morning." She took her fresh cup of coffee into the living room and curled up on the couch. She clicked through the television channels and came across the movie Bringing up Baby. It had just started. Elena set the remote control down and settled into watch.

"Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn," She said. "Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning." Elena snuggled into the sofa and let the hilarity ensue.

When the movie was over, Elena stretched, turned off the television and picked up her empty coffee mug. "Time to actually get some stuff done," she said. She refilled her coffee mug in the kitchen then went to the small desk where her computer sat. She settled herself in the chair and turned the computer on. It hummed to life and Elena pulled up her e-mail. As she had expected a large file from Andre was the first item in her in-box. She opened it.

The first document was his resume. She opened it. His work record looked promising. She had actually heard of both the company he had interned with and the company for whom he now worked. Mentally she added years and realized he was actually about 3 years older than she was.

"I wonder why he'd be willing to shift?" she asked herself. After all he would have to leave his current job. She didn't think the firm he was with would allow him to freelance to that degree. She added the question to her list for Monday's interview and hoped that Peter had not brought pressure to bear on Andre. The last thing she needed was a resentful designer. Absently she wondered if she could ask Peter without having him get too offended. She shrugged it off as impossible to guess and began to click open the graphics files of Andre's portfolio.

She was even more impressed by the work than the company. Andre seemed to be able to tailor his talents to other people's visions to create a wide range of styles, a very useful trait for the current project. Andre's notes with each piece let her know how it was created and why. She appreciated the notes. Some of the pieces were spec pieces, done when the client hadn't the foggiest clue of what they really wanted.

"Also handy," she muttered to herself. Elena pulled her leg up into the chair and rested her chin on her knee. This was really good work. She could see why Peter would recommend his cousin even beyond the family connection. Elena took a sip of her coffee as the phone rang. She swallowed as she reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Elena," Peter said. "Thank you for agreeing to a Sunday afternoon call." Elena laughed.

"I guess it is afternoon isn't it," She looked down at herself and realized she was still in the t-shirt and yoga pants she had gone to bed in the night before. She shrugged. 'It isn't like we have video phones,' she thought. "Besides, I don't know when else we would have the time."

"True," he answered. "Did you have time to go over my list of potential products from the Baranov sources?"

"I did," she answered, reaching for the notebook she had brought home with her. The information Peter sent was tucked away in the back. She slid it out. "I must confess some of them I am not terribly familiar with."

"I was afraid of that when I saw your list contained many items unfamiliar to me as well."

"I think I have a solution though."

"Wonderful."

"You really shouldn't call it wonderful until you hear it," she cautioned.

"At least you have an idea which is better than I have at the moment."

"Well whoever we get to help with the marketing, whether it is Andre or someone else, it is highly unlikely they will know all of the products on both of our lists. What I would like to do is call around and see if we can get at least one sample of each item on our list to start working on an inventory list. I know it might be difficult this time of year, but I figured as the Channels just closed for the season we might get lucky."

"This is a very good idea. I can talk to my family here and see what is available and as you are tied up with the council interests there perhaps Alexandro can get samples from the Calabrese line." Elena breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't be the one calling everyone. Besides, he would know better who had what as the head of the family.

"That sounds great if you can get Grandfather to agree."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I would need the physical address."

"It would be best to send it to the store." She gave him the address.

"May I ask if you have spoken to Andre or if you have looked into another designer?"

"I did actually. I was just finishing looking through his portfolio when you called. The portfolio is impressive and I have a meeting with him scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds like you have a busy Monday morning ahead of you."

"Yeah," she sighed, thinking about the military meeting. "Should be a real hoot." Peter laughed.

"I am certain you will do well."

"Thanks. I would like to ask you a question though."

"Of course," he replied.

"Looking at Andre's resume it looks as though he is currently working for quite a good firm. Yet he agreed to meet with me about this job." Elena paused not quite sure how to ask if he had threatened Andre. Peter laughed.

"I assure you I have not brought any family pressure to bear."

"And the other members of your family?"

"Nor have to my knowledge any other members of my family. You know you really are beginning to think like the Council." Elena froze. She forced herself to breathe.

"I have no interest in being Council." She was proud that her voice remained even.

"Of course, of course. And if you want to know Andre's reasoning for agreeing to an interview I am afraid you will have to ask him."

"Very well," Elena said still willing her heart beat to slow.

"Good, I have been looking for facilities where the labeling and repackaging could be done and I believe I have found one. I will be sending Nicolas to check into it this week."

"That is great," Elena commented feeling better that they were back on the business at hand.

"And I had a thought."

"Oh?"

"Yes, while getting started with some of the prepackaged food items already available is a wonderful plan. I have in the past had some wonderfully inventive meals aboard the Docking Facility that combine earth foods with non-earth foods. There is a chef I know, very inventive, who might be able to expand our range of available goods."

"That sounds like a good idea." Elena said warily. She could hear Peter smile through the phone.

"And you are leery of expanding before we even get off the ground. But the experimentation for making these acceptable for the non-guild might take some time. May I contact and approach in a preliminary fashion the chef I mentioned?" Elena realized he was asking her permission as the person in charge of decision making for their enterprise. The thought left her dizzy.

"That sounds like a good idea, for preliminaries," she answered cautiously. "May I ask who you have in mind?"

"Consuelo McCracken," he answered. Elena blinked.

"The head chef of Grazos?"

"The former head chef of Grazos," Peter corrected. "She had some sort of family issue earth-side and needed to be closer to her family for a while. Apparently the limited range of ingredients is making her a bit cranky. I thought this might be a good solution."

"I see." Consuelo McCracken had not been born of the families. In fact, no one was certain where she was born and most suspected the name was assumed. She was a large, rather eccentric woman and her hair color changed with her moods, green and purple being the two most often featured. She had piercing blue eyes that rarely missed a detail and was more than willing to use a cooking implement to rap someone across the knuckles. The owner of Grazos, one of the finest eating establishments in the Docking Facility, had come across her one evening, sampled her food and offered her a job instantly. Or so the story went. Elena had trouble picturing the family of this woman. "I didn't know she had family."

"Neither did anyone else actually. I will be able to let you know how these ventures fair later in the week. Also I would like to hear about the outcome of the first military meeting. It would help to know where their line of reasoning takes them. Perhaps it will enable us to keep one step ahead. Or at least break even. Is there an evening that would work for you?" Elena thought of her schedule in her head.

"This week Thursday should work. Around 8ish maybe?"

"Sounds fine to me. I will call you then." Elena hung up the phone and heaved a sigh of relief. Having people thinking she was gunning for a Council seat was very high on her Not to Do list. In fact it was circled in red and underlined. Twice. Elena shut down her computer and went back in the living room.

Thinking about the unthinkable was not a good way to spend the rest of her day off. Elena made herself a sandwich and took it to the living room. She pressed the power button on the remote control and the television sprung to life. It was still on the movie channel and midway through the Philadelphia Story. They were running a Katherine Hepburn marathon. Elena settled in, willing to enter someone else's reality for a little while.

### Chapter 31

Elena dressed for the snow rather than for work the next morning. She knew that by the time she had plowed through the snow from her apartment to her office she would probably be soaked completely through. So into a small duffle bag she placed a nice set of pants, sweater and work appropriate shoes. She clothed herself in faded jeans, thick socks and an old sweatshirt. On top of this she added coat, scarf, hat and gloves, not to mention the snow boots that always made her feel like she was impersonating a yeti.

"As long as no one sics the fashion police on me I should be fine." She said slinging her bag of work clothes over her shoulder. At the street level, Elena's inner child grinned with delight. She was early going into work and much of the snow to the sides had not been disturbed. In a little while she knew building managers would be out clearing the sidewalks in front of their buildings, just as she would have to do when she got to hers. But for now she had a barely marked swath of snow.

"I guess a lot of folks decided to stay in yesterday." Elena restrained herself from making snow angels, but she took great delight in plowing her way through the snow. As expected, she arrived at the store wet from the snow and a little out of breath from her exertions. Elena unlocked her door and set the bag inside. Before grabbing the shovel to clear her sidewalk, she poured cider into the waiting stainless steel pot and turned it on. It would be a treat for her customers as well as herself.

She quickly shoveled the snow from her sidewalk and sprinkled the city approved mix on the cleared sidewalk to prevent melted snow from becoming sheets of ice. Elena wasn't quite sure what was in the little pellets, but had been told it was less corrosive than salt and neater than sand. To her it looked like white and pink balls of Styrofoam. She shrugged. The stuff did the job. She wasn't going to question it.

Elena went inside and stomped off the snow clinging to her boots. Luckily she had thought to bring the floor mat in to absorb the wet. They would still have to watch for drips on the floor. Towels were placed behind the counter to help stop pools of melted snow from forming into hazards. Elena grabbed her bag of clothes and went into the back room. She changed into work clothes and hung her jeans up to dry on a make shift clothesline. She had no doubt other clothes would soon join hers.

The cider was ready and she poured herself a mug to warm up from the cold. She wrapped her fingers around the steaming mug and felt them thaw a bit. She watched as her staff trickled in, each bundled against the cold and carrying work clothes. Apparently, the fashion police had granted an exemption.

As expected the first snow brought the holidays to mind and the customers came in droves, worried that time was running out to find the perfect gift, to set up stunning displays to impress the in-laws, or to trump someone else in their social circle's display. Elena shook her head. She had lost count of how many people seemed to be planning more for interior design combat than any holiday she had ever heard of. She smiled her way through it, knowing their competitive streaks would help keep her in the black. As expected the cider helped with the customers as well. People came in half frozen from the chill and lingered over their cups, warming up and taking a deeper look around.

After lunch, snow began to fall. The fat flakes spinning in lazy circles added to the holiday feel and didn't seem inclined to get heavier. Elena hoped it didn't complicate Andre's drive too much. She glanced over to the clock on the wall and realized it was quarter to two. With luck he would be almost in town and the snow would stop before he had to drive back. As Elena finished helping Emily wrap up one of their client's purchases in tissue paper, Max came up to her with the cordless phone from the office.

"It was ringing as I went by," Max said handing it to her. They had a standard policy with the phone that whoever was nearest answered it, which was why the office door was usually kept open. With staff moving between the floor and the stockroom on a more or less constant basis, few calls were ever really sent to voice mail.

Elena took the phone thinking it might be Andre calling with a delay. Instead she found a breathless Ruby who sounded like she was bouncing with excitement. Apparently Elena's offer had been accepted, the bank had agreed and the paperwork was being drawn up. All was right in the world of real estate. It probably helped that she didn't need to borrow money from the bank for the transaction. The bank was only involved in the current owner's end. Once the paperwork was signed, the keys would be turned over to Elena and work could begin.

Elena hung up the phone feeling like she was riding a whirlwind. As she placed the phone on the counter, the door opened and a man bundled into a thick over coat and a scarf wrapped around his face pushed open the door and stepped in. His hat was pulled low and earmuffs covered his ears. Except for his blue eyes, Elena could see no distinguishing features.

"May I help you," she asked as he began to unravel his scarf. He pulled off his earmuffs and hat and stuffed them in his left jacket pocket. The gloves he tucked into his right hand pocket. What emerged from the bundle of wool was a man in his early thirties with blue eyes, a thick shock of black hair that looked in need of a trim and an amused half smile. There was a vague resemblance to Peter. "Are you Andre?" she asked before he could answer.

"Yes I am. Would you be Ms. Calabrese?"

"Elena please, and yes I am." She held out her hand and he shook it. His fingers were like ice. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?"

"The place no. Parking was decidedly interesting."

"Retail's busiest season has begun," she answered with a smile. "Would you like some cider to warm up?" she indicated the silver pot.

"That would be great," he answered. She dispensed a cup for him and handed him the mug. She then poured one for herself to be sociable. He seemed to huddle around the warmth of the mug and she wondered how far away he had to park. He unzipped his heavy coat and looked around a bit. Off to the side TJ cleared his throat. Elena glanced over and nodded.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" She asked Andre.

"Of course," he responded. "I know I'm a little early."

"It won't take long. Please feel free to look around while you warm up." Elena stepped away and Andre stepped out of the doorway and began to browse while taking sips of his cider. He didn't have any of Peter's dangerous charm, but Elena had to admit he was quite attractive.

"Mr. Killian wanted to know if we had any more pieces from the Dewer collection. I know we had a couple of pieces on hold but it says hold only until today. There wasn't a name on it just one of your personal notes." TJ told her. She rolled her eyes.

"Sorry about that, I meant to go back and add the name, but got sidetracked. We're holding them for Gillian Mahoney. Her number is in the file under the counter. I believe she is trying to get her client to make a selection. Go ahead and give her a call to see if she will be in later today and if not then release them for sale. Oh and when you are done, keep the phone out here if you would while I have my meeting. Thanks." TJ strolled back to the counter to retrieve the phone and number and Elena walked over to Andre. He looked less frozen and more comfortable.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "The office is back this way." Andre followed her back into the office. He shed his coat and took the offered seat. He smiled as he looked around the office but kept his thoughts to himself.

"I really only use the office for paperwork and not meetings," she explained rolling her chair from behind the desk so she could face him.

"Not a problem, although it is quite a change from the front of the store."

"Yes," she admitted. "Rather a disgrace really when you think about it. Many of the items we sell here go to make office spaces more decorative, but I can't ever seem to manage more than a cork board for invoices." The corkboard in question was covered in layers of paper so thick it was hard to tell there was cork beneath the surface. 'I really ought to do something about that,' she thought.

"It wasn't a complaint," Andre said. "Just a surprise. I guess I expected something, well, more like Peter's office to tell the truth." Elena smiled.

"I've never actually been to Peter's office, but I can imagine." Elena said with a smile. "I had a chance to look over your resume and portfolio. I must admit I was impressed by both." Andre straightened and she could see him enter business mode.

"Thank you."

"I am curious though, the firm you are with is quite a prestigious one. Work with us won't quite be that glamorous. Are you actually willing to consider working with us or are you simply humoring me by agreeing to this interview?" She asked. Elena was pretty sure there was a more delicate way to approach the topic, but she wasn't sure she could find it. Andre smiled.

"You have been working with my cousin." He said. "While I am willing to go on an interview to keep the family from being upset with me, I am actually willing to leave my current position."

"May I ask why?"

"Well," Andre said running a hand through his hair. "Like you said it is a good firm, well known in the industry." Andre ran his tongue over his teeth and Elena got the impression he was trying to choose his words carefully. "As low man on the totem pole, so to speak a lot of the more challenging clients get passed up the food chain and I end up doing mostly routine work. As you might suspect leaving such a large firm for another might look odd."

"However, if you left for a family venture it wouldn't look quite so strange?" Elena asked, sensing where Andre was going. He seemed relieved when she got their first.

"Yes," he said. "And if this turned out to only be a temporary position, then when I did go to look for another firm it would be more acceptable."

Elena nodded. "That sounds reasonable."

"And I have to admit. This sounded quite interesting." The quick grin made Elena's breath catch. Yes, even without the danger he was quite attractive. "After all, I would get to market alien goods for the general public. Now that is a challenge."

"You would be required to be on hand here," She explained. "Especially during the initial phases."

"I have no problem re-locating."

"Actually the building we are going to be using is the one next door. The upper floor has a couple of apartments. One I was looking at converting into work space, since we will need much more space to do layouts and hold meetings." She waved her hand through the air. "Obviously this won't do. We can have one of the apartments fitted to your use. You are welcome to stay there or look elsewhere once you feel a little more settled."

"Talk about a short commute," he said. "It would save me a bundle on gas and I wouldn't have to worry about car problems making me late. Sounds like a great deal." Idly, Elena wondered what was wrong with his car. He had to be making enough at the firm he was with to afford an upgrade. In her experience, men usually ended up spending their disposable income on automobiles and electronics. She decided to hold the question. "I'd have to see the place first."

"Of course. Although I have to say there will be work going on to get the building ready for opening." He shrugged off the construction and they settled into salary negotiations. The terms weren't that difficult to work out. She had a feeling she was paying less than his current employer, even with the apartment thrown in, but he seemed happy with the arrangement.

"I'll have to give two weeks at the firm," he told her. She smiled.

"That should give us enough time to set things in order and get the items you are going to be working with together. I'm afraid I am not quite certain what goes into outfitting your workspace. If you could send me a list of needed supplies I would appreciate it." They walked out into the front of the store. There seemed to be a bit of a lull in patrons. Most of the staff was busy replacing missing elements in the display cases. Elena introduced Andre and let them know he was going to be working on the designs for the new store.

"Speaking of which," Emily said. "Ruby dropped these by." She handed Elena a stack of legal looking papers and a set of keys. Elena thought that was awfully trusting. 'But then again, they have all my bank information and it isn't like my store is going to disappear over night like a gypsy wagon.'

"I can show you the apartment if you'd like." She told Andre.

"That would be great," he answered. She led him around to the front, unlocked the door and led him upstairs.

"I was thinking of converting the back apartment and leaving the front," she said leading him up. "It would of course be cleaned and re-painted by the time you moved in." He seemed pleased with the place and she was relieved. They left and she locked up behind them. He was bundled up in his winter garments, but Elena once again forgot to grab a jacket for the short hop next door.

In deference to her shivering they made their farewells short. She watched him walk away for a second, just another shapeless mass of dark hurriedly moving through a world of white, before she darted back inside to warm up. She had a meeting with Smith and company and she had a feeling calling in sick would not be a possible option.

"Even with a doctor's note," she muttered under her breath, reaching for the mug of cider Max held out to her. "Thanks," she said, pleased he either hadn't heard her mutters or was willing to ignore them. She mentally checked meeting with Andre off her to do list. Unfortunately that really just left her with one big thing on the day's list. She tried very hard not to think about Smith and the potential verbal landmines that were waiting for her after work. Instead, she took the papers Ruby had left for her back to the office and focused only on the legalese.

### Chapter 32

Elena navigated the nearly empty road as the snow continued to swirl. Getting her car out of the garage had been an interesting feat as the snow melted around the door, reformed as ice and did it's best to glue the garage door shut.

"Maybe next time we could meet at a coffee shop downtown," she mumbled to herself as she slowed for the gate. The guard quick-stepped over and she rolled down her window.

"Elena Calabrese," she told him. The wind threatened to pull her words away. He caught them and went back to the guardhouse. She rolled her window up as the gate opened. "Here we go again."

At the building, Smith opened the door for her and led her back to the conference room. She shook her head. This scenario had gone from nerve shattering to nearly routine. 'As long as I watch my words anyway,' she thought as she unwrapped her scarf and unbuttoned her jacket. Inside the conference room she was unsurprised to find Jonathan already seated. He rose when she entered and pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you," she told him as she sat. She placed the original set of schematics and her 'to write on' copy on the table and shrugged out of her coat. Elena looked around. "I expected more people."

"Really," Jonathan asked, giving her his toothy smile. "Why?"

"Well for Ian's lecture you packed an auditorium. Of course that could have been for creative camouflage. But then again you weren't being sneaky." She turned a smile towards Smith, who frowned.

"If anyone else is needed they will be brought in at the time."

"Of course." Elena watched as Smith seated himself. Both he and Jonathan brought notebooks with them and she wondered if they expected her to give them pop quizzes. She glanced over towards the glass and had the sneaking suspicion that these sessions were being recorded.

"Well, shall we begin?" Smith asked.

"Of course," Elena responded. "What would you like to start with?" For a moment Smith looked non-plussed. Elena's smile went from politely pleasant to amused. "I didn't exactly have a lesson plan."

"I see," Smith thought for a moment. "Why don't we start with Channel placement?" Elena was pleased to see that he had dropped the term world gates for the more prosaic channels. Elena unrolled the documents given to her and unrolled the map marking the locations of the four channels the military knew about. Her goal in this conversation would be to keep them from learning the fact that in reality there were twenty seven channels.

Elena tried to hold the document flat on the table, but it threatened to roll back up at any moment. She placed the other documents on two of the corners and hoped for the best. Taking a mechanical pencil from her pocketbook she pointed to each of the dots in turn. Showing true imagination, the military had named them one through four.

"Now each of the channels have names," she began. "This is the Marta, this the Evangeline, the Amalie and that is of course the Blood."

"How did they get their names?" Jonathan asked, as he wrote the names down in his notebook.

"Each is named for the first pilot known to have taken a ship through."

"There is someone out there named Blood?" He asked. "Not sure I'd like to meet him in a dark alley."

"Her," Elena corrected. "And the Blood is the only one not named for a pilot."

"How was the Blood channel named then?"

"Well, The Blood as you have already found out, has been blocked off. It leads to an area of space that is shall we say, hostile territory. Everyone who went through ended up dead." Privately she added the 'or worse'. None of the stories relating to the Blood channel were pretty. "So it was blocked off and re-named Blood."

"What was it before then?"

"I think it might have been the Mila, but I'm not really sure." The name was something she vaguely recalled from an old book.

"You said her before. All of the channels are named for female pilots?" Smith asked.

"All of the pilots are female," she said. Both men stared at her.

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"Why do you only train females to be pilots?" Jonathan asked. He sounded almost offended and she smiled.

"The gene for piloting can be carried by both males and females, but the ability only manifests itself in females," she explained.

"Are you sure that isn't just superstition?" Smith demanded.

"Quite sure. The boys are tested as well as the girls and so far none of the males have been able to see the channels or even sense them."

"But there is training?"

"Yes, it is quite lengthy."

"And this training is needed to be a pilot?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes."

"But you can have all the training and still not be a pilot if you aren't female?"

"Yes," Elena said. They sat quietly for a moment and Elena fought not to shake her head at them. It was if they couldn't wrap their heads around the concept that there could be a skill that was uniquely female, yet had nothing to do with giving birth.

"What do you mean see the channels?" Jonathan asked.

"I mean I can see the channels. It is as if there is a passageway or channel between two land formations. I guide the ship through them."

"You said they change depth. Do you use sonar to detect depth?"

"No," she said shaking her head. "I simply see the channel and sense how deep it is." They seemed almost as uncomfortable with the low-tech approach as they were with the female aspects.

"Okay, so tell us what will happen when you take us out in a channel, step-by-step." Jonathan said. Smith nodded. Elena got the impression that they would dissect her narrative to see where she might be leaving out her technology.

"The Wind Dancer has been chosen for this trip out. It is a seven berth Schooner style ship." Jonathan's pencil rapidly scrawled notes but Smith peered at her.

"Seven?" She had been expecting that question.

"Yes," she said nodding. "The Channels are not that deep. By keeping the crew small, more room is available for merchandise. These are merchant ships after all." Smith nodded slowly. Elena had the feeling he was translating merchandise weight into the weight of troops.

"Continue," he said, imperiously.

"As I said it is a seven berth ship. My grandfather is the captain. I am the pilot. It has been agreed that we will take up to two military personnel on this trip. This leaves space for three crewmen." Elena paused while Jonathan caught up. He finished and looked up at her. "Each person aboard is allowed up to 50 lbs of gear. No more. And trust me Grandfather is a stickler. He will weigh it at the dock." Smith pursed his lips and Elena got the feeling that only 50 lbs of gear came as a bit of a nasty surprise. She mentally shrugged. It really couldn't be helped.

"But you aren't picking up merchandise," Smith said. Elena laughed.

"It is a merchant vessel. There is no reason it can't pick up goods while taking you on a sight seeing tour. There isn't any profit in it otherwise." Personally she thought her grandfather would have an epileptic fit should anyone suggest he make a trip without securing a cargo. "Besides as we pointed out before, there is only a limited amount of time that the channels are open per year. No captain is going to make a trip and come back empty handed."

"Okay so we have our gear and we are aboard." Jonathan said as Smith continued to steam about the weight requirement. "Then what?"

"We sail to the Marta channel, enter the channel and sail to the Docking Facility. Peter has arranged for a tour of the facility. Beyond that I am not sure what the details include. I will ask for a clearer itinerary closer to the travel date so you can plan accordingly."

"Docking Facility?" Smith demanded. "You mean to tell me you people have a space station?"

"I suppose you could call it that." Elena said carefully. She wasn't so sure she liked the throbbing vein in Smith's forehead.

"How is it that this Docking Facility in no way appears on our satellites? How has it remained undetected for so long? Would you care to explain that?"

"Well it isn't exactly in orbit around the Earth," Elena pointed out.

"What is it in orbit around?"

"Well, the closest planet would be Luras. But it isn't actually in orbit." Elena thought a minute and realized getting into the alien technology the guild had adapted to create the Docking Facility was probably not the best idea. Besides, science was one of her weak points. "At least I don't think it is. I've never really messed with the tech stuff." Smith huffed for a few more minutes. He really didn't like the concept of a space station. Elena figured it was probably a military thing.

"So we leave through the Marta channel," Jonathan said while Smith digested the space station information. Elena got the feeling this was going to be a pattern. "Then we go to the Docking Facility."

"Yes."

"How long a trip is it?"

"Well it should take about three days to reach the Marta and once in the channels another four days."

"I see," Jonathan said tapping the map.

"Actually, that isn't where the Marta is," she told him. "At least not at the time of year we are going to be traveling." Elena sketched out a circle on the map. It was about an inch in diameter. "The Marta should be somewhere in that region at that time." The channel had shifted over four inches from where Ian had marked it. Elena glanced at her watch and realized the time earmarked for this meeting was almost up. She nearly sighed in relief as Smith's anger level seemed to have cranked up higher with each minute.

"Do you have somewhere else you need to be Ms. Calabrese?" Smith asked dryly.

"Not especially," she told him. "But the roads weren't that great coming in and are bound to be worse leaving. And we are nearly finished with our set time."

"But we haven't really covered anything," Jonathan said.

"Perhaps next time you could have a list of your questions ready rather than just going randomly into the information," she suggested, smiling sweetly at the man.

"Yes," Smith said. "Perhaps that would be better." He had a thoughtful look on his face. In some ways it was more alarming than his anger. It meant he was thinking. "Yes, a list we could go through..." His voice trailed off. Elena had a feeling she had better call Peter and figure out what exactly she could tell them about the Docking Facility before she got herself into trouble.

Somehow she thought the concept of alien technology would be something the military would be most interested in obtaining. She was even willing to bet it would be claimed under National Security. Elena shrugged and began putting her winter gear back on. It was Jonathan who walked her back out to the car. About an inch of snow had accumulated on her car while she had been inside. Luckily, it was light and powdery.

"Thanks for coming out on such a night," Jonathan said. Elena snorted before she could stop herself.

"Somehow I didn't think a rain check would be appreciated." She tugged open her car door and slid inside.

"You know we aren't the enemy," he said before she could close the door.

"I know you aren't," she said.

"Perhaps once you get to know us you won't think so badly of us."

"Maybe," she said keeping her voice even.

"Maybe you'd care to get a drink some night after work?" Elena wasn't certain if he was asking her out on behalf of the military or on his own.

"Perhaps," she said. "It is our busy season though."

"Of course."

"Good night," she told him with a smile. She closed the door after hearing him echo the sentiment. He walked back inside as she turned on the heater and let the windshield wipers clear away the snow. It wasn't until she was halfway home that she realized she left the schematics and other papers on the conference table.

### Chapter 33

"It tastes a bit like honeyed pears," Elena said taking a sip from the paper cup. The bottle the drink came out of was clear glass and showed off the golden liquid well. Alien letters were inscribed across the glass in black. She scraped her nail against the glass and was pleased to see part of the lettering flake off.

"That was my take as well," Andre said. The adaptation to the upper floors had been complete and they were sitting at the conference table. Various goods surrounded them and they were trying to figure out names, and details for the new products. Products they had already been through lined the shelves off to one side and a stack of potential labels and advertisements mounted to press board were leaning against the wall. In the past ten weeks Andre had done an amazing amount of work.

"It is a bit too sweet to drink on its own," Elena commented.

"Yeah," Andre agreed. "Whenever we had it we always mixed it with either vodka or club soda. Sometimes it was added to a dry champagne if it was a festive thing."

"You know," Elena said thoughtfully. "We have several drink concoctions that would make good mixers. Perhaps we could have a selection of cocktail additives." Elena stood up and retrieved several different bottles from the shelves. The bottles were similar, but the drinks they contained differed. One tasted a bit like strawberries, one was tart like cranberries with a dash of lemon. She arranged the bottles on the table. "The shapes of the bottles are nearly identical."

"And we could put notes on the label about mixing for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic consumption." Andre made a note. Elena attached a tag stating the flavor of the drink in the bottle and began setting them back on the shelves. From downstairs the steady pounding of hammers thudded and a buzz saw whined. The air was heavy with the sharp tang of freshly cut wood. While the upstairs had been completed the downstairs was still under construction. The work was almost done. Nibbles, as the store would be named would soon be ready to open.

"I think that's the last of what we have," Andre said looking around. "I should have some ideas for the drink labels complete by the time Peter and Mr. Calabrese get here." He stood and stretched. Elena admired way the material stretched across his chest before deliberately reminding herself he was off limits. Andre smiled and reached for the coffeepot to refill his cup. He refilled hers automatically as well before setting it down. Elena had been pleased to find he was as big a caffeine junky as she was. Elena took a sip.

"That will be great," she said. "That way we can get a consensus before we go to print. You have worked really hard on this. Thanks for putting in all the extra hours."

"Like you haven't put them in as well," he said with a smile. "At least I didn't have to work the floor during holiday rush as well as work with this. And thank god I didn't have to meet with Smith and Co." Elena smiled.

"True, this wasn't exactly the best timing. But Valentine's Day would make the perfect opening." She sipped her coffee. In truth between the holiday rush, military meetings, taste testing and all the little details needed to open the store Elena was feeling a bit worn thin. Christmas day had been the only day with nothing scheduled and she had basked in the idleness and solitude with the one call to her grandfather the only interruption. Squeezing details about printers in between Smith's briefings was not an easy chore.

"Last week I asked Smith if his ships were in full color or just black and white," She commented. Andre snickered.

"What did he say?"

"He asked me if that was code for anything." Andre laughed and took another sip of coffee.

"Jonathan still asking you out?" Andre tilted a half smile her way at the question.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But he is only doing his job." Elena shrugged. She had decided to take Jonathan's multiple coffees, drink, and dinner invitations in stride. Andre laughed.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I'm sure taking you to the movies is a military directive." Andre shook his head at her.

"Probably not," she admitted. "I wouldn't put it past Smith to suggest it though. And I can't see him being displeased." She gestured with her coffee mug at Andre.

"Fair enough," he admitted. "So when is everyone getting in?" he asked letting the subject of Jonathan drop.

"Next Wednesday," she said. A secure port had been located about three hours away. Her grandfather would be bringing the Wind Dancer, Peter would be on his ship, Gregori's Dream and a crew from the council shipyard would be bringing the Storm Chaser. Both the Wind Dancer and Gregori's Dream would be heavily laden with goods bought from the families to go directly to the repackaging area located a few miles from the docks. These would be the first goods on the shelves of Nibbles, with replacements soon to follow once the channels reopened. It wasn't the thought of the new store that made her grin though.

"A pilot through and through," Andre said.

"What?" Elena asked.

"That grin. You can't wait to be on board the Storm Chaser."

"Well it is my ship," she said. "My very first ship." Her voice took on a dreamy quality and Andre laughed and shook his head.

"Pilots." Elena stuck out her tongue at him. "So have you told Smith when the ships are getting in?"

"No," Elena said shaking her head. "He would insist on coming down to the docks and then more than likely demand to search all three."

"I can imagine how well that would go over," Andre said thinking of his cousin. Elena grimaced.

"I imagine missing limbs would be the end result of that."

"Probably," Andre agreed. "Peter can sometimes be..."

"Black Pete?" Elena suggested. Andre snorted.

"They don't call him that for his hair color."

"I suppose not. Anyway it will be several more weeks before the Marta will be passable so they will come into town and we'll get all of this business settled. Then on the appointed day we will drive down to the docks where only the Wind Dancer will be in sight."

"Sounds like a plan. Are they staying with you?" Elena let out a bark of laughter at the question.

"No thank god." She said. "There is no way all of us would survive that. Besides I don't think Peter and grandfather would enjoy sharing my pull-out couch."

"Definitely not." Andre thought about it a minute and a grin split his face. "Oh most certainly not." The smile dropped from his face abruptly. "They aren't staying here are they?"

"They are staying in a hotel," Elena clarified.

"Good. Would you mind if I rode down with you?"

"Not at all," she commented. "I'd like the company."

"Good." Andre smiled and Elena had to again remind herself that Andre was off limits. Their relationship was only a business one. Which in her opinion was a damn shame. Elena was saved from finding a response by the ringing of her cell phone. She glanced at the number and saw it was the store. Immediately, she felt guilty. The store was still quite busy and her she was pseudo-flirting with an off limits guy. Reminding herself that she had hired a manager so she didn't need to be there all the time didn't stop the feelings of guilt.

"Hello," she answered.

"Elena, this is Emily. There is a man here to see you."

"Oh," Elena said. "I didn't think I had any appointments today. Did he say who he was with?" She stood and mentally rifled through her files.

"I don't think he is a client," Emily said. "And he looks kind of mad."

"Mad?" Elena asked.

"Yeah he said his name was Smith." Elena sighed. This could not end well.

"All right, I'll be right down." Elena looked at the racks of good on the shelves. Luckily the shelves were on wheels and could be rolled out of the conference room. "Do you think we can move those out?" She asked Andre. "Smith is apparently here and looks mad. Although that is his normal state, I would rather not have a conversation with him in public."

"Sure I can do that. Do you want me to hang around?"

"That would be great," Elena said. She didn't really like the thought of being alone with Smith any more than she had to be. Elena went downstairs as Andre began removing the alien goods from the room. She passed the workmen who gave her a friendly wave. A couple of them were putting together some shelves and display cases. Already with the ceiling and walls painted the pace looked more welcoming. The same could not be said for Smith. He was standing by the counter frowning at Emily.

"May I help you," she said. The voice had more snap in it than she used for customers. She did not like the man glaring at her employees.

"I most certainly hope so, Ms. Calabrese." Several of the end of the day customers had stopped their browsing to pay attention to the exchange and Max and TJ started forward.

"Perhaps you would care to have this conversation in a more private space?" she asked icily. Smith seemed to notice the attention for the first time. He nodded and Elena gestured out the door. Max started to open his mouth.

"Andre is upstairs," she told him. "I won't be meeting with him alone." She could see both Max and TJ relax a bit. 'Men,' she thought fondly. Smith was tapping his foot outside the front doors. Elena hoped the brisk wind would cool him down. She stepped outside and led him back up to the conference room. Several pairs of eyes followed her and Smith narrowed his eyes in assessment.

"You seem to have collected quite a following of protective individuals," he said as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.

"It certainly seems that way," she said, smiling to herself. "I wonder how that happened?" They entered the conference room and Andre sat sketching out designs in his notepad. Elena could see they were for the drinks line they had talked about earlier.

"I like the sort of art deco lettering," she said looking over his shoulder. "Makes it seem a little more glamorous. Like Old Hollywood. Andre this is Smith. Smith, Andre." Andre put down his pencil and extended his hand towards Smith. Smith shook it briskly and then stared at Andre.

"What was it you wanted to speak with me about?" Elena asked, seating herself at the table. She picked up the coffee she had left earlier and took a sip. She winced as the cold coffee hit her tongue and reached over to add more to add more heat to the cup.

"I suppose he is of the Guild?" Smith said pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"After a fashion," Andre said pleasantly.

"He is aware of the current situation if that is what you are asking," Elena informed him. Smith nodded once.

"Then I suppose he knows all about Ian Jensen?"

"I know he sold you shoddy designs." Andre commented. He picked up his pencil and continued to sketch. Andre had been present when Mateo called to comment on Ian's designs. Elena had put it on speakerphone since Andre was in the room and he and Mateo had crossed paths a few times in the past. Both men had found Ian amusing and seemed to find the fact that he had scammed the military even more amusing. Since Elena had to deal with the fallout, she was less amused.

"So I've been told," Smith said tightly. Mateo had also sent over a copy of the schematics she had sent him with many comments scrawled over them. Smith had not been amused. Production work on the second ship had been halted indefinitely, or so she had been told.

"You needed to speak with me?" Elena prompted. The anger returned to Smith's face.

"Yes. About Ian Jensen."

"What about him?" Elena said, puzzled. "The council decided since it was military personnel he had gotten killed that you should be in charge of any disciplinary hearings. They released him into your custody weeks ago."

"And that is the end of the matter?" Smith asked. His eyes looked hot enough to spark a fire.

"As far as I'm concerned. Why?" Elena had a sneaking suspicion something bad had happened.

"And can you account for your where abouts last night and early this morning?" Elena raised an eyebrow at the question.

"I don't see why that's relevant."

"Indulge me," Smith said. Elena shrugged.

"I went with some friends to grab a couple of drinks and dinner, you know a girl's night out sort of thing last night and then I've pretty much been here all day. Does that help you?"

"And you?" Smith asked, swinging his gaze towards Andre.

"Well I'm sorry to say I missed the girl's night out. I sacked out with a pizza and some bad horror movies. Other than that same as her."

"Care to tell us why the Perry Mason act?" Elena asked. Her stomach was twisting into knots. She kept her voice calm and her hands folded neatly in front of her, carefully not clenching her hands to make the knuckles white. Her grandfather made her practice the calm face for negotiation purposes from the time she first moved in with him after her parents died.

"Ian Jensen was found dead this morning."

"How did he die?" She asked, her voice level.

"Apparently, he slipped in the shower and bled to death."

"And you think one of us was in the shower with him?" Elena asked. Smith's eyes narrowed.

"You are the only two Guild member's in town."

"As far as I know," Elena said, although personally she wasn't willing to bet on it. No one in the Guild would have liked Ian's release without punishment. She also knew no one would have told either her or Andre about Ian in the event this sort of questioning came up. "Has his family been notified of this accident?" Smith's eyebrows rose in question.

"You believe it was an accident?"

"I don't believe he would slip in the shower and bump his head on purpose," Elena responded.

"Was he drunk?" Andre asked.

"There is some belief that he had ingested a chemical concoction before the incident."

"I thought it took a while to get a coroner's report," Andre said. "At least it seemed that way on the cop shows."

"He died on base. We have our own doctors."

"So Ian was stoned and fell down in the shower. And you think somehow we snuck onto a military base and pushed him?" Andre asked. "Did your doctor suspect foul play of some sort?" Smith grimaced.

"I don't like the timing."

"Which means that everyone else thinks it was an accident, but you still want to blame us."

"I'm not a killer, Mr. Smith," Elena said. "And I think you need to leave now." Elena stood. "I'll walk you out." She walked around the table and out of the door. She didn't look back. Behind her she heard Smith get to his feet and follow her. She led him to the front door and opened it.

"I will see you at our next meeting." She told him. He stepped outside and she closed the door. For a second she leaned on the closed doors with her eyes closed, knowing the paper covering the glass would block the sight of her from street view. She had little believe that Ian's death was accidental. "And I don't want to even guess how they got on base." She opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" One of the men, James, asked her. She smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just don't like being blamed for things I didn't do."

"I hear that," he said. Elena opened the door and stepped back outside. It was a little past closing time and all of the customers had gone. Her staff was circling idly. TJ was adjusting a lampshade that didn't need adjusting. And Max was sweeping an already swept floor. She shook her head and smiled. They really were a great crew.

"He's gone now," she told them.

"Who was he?" Emily asked. Elena had known the question was coming.

"Someone who is not terribly thrilled with my family," she told them. "He was angry with one of them and couldn't find him so he decided to yell at me. No big deal."

"Well I personally don't like him," Emily said in a huff as she struggled to button her coat over her bulging belly. Elena thought she looked almost ready to pop.

"That's what I like about you Emily, your open mind. You're not still driving are you?"

"No Steve insisted, even though I still fit behind the wheel," she answered somewhat grumpily. As if summoned, Steve pulled up to the curb. Elena gave a wave to him as Emily struggled into the car. One by one the rest of the staff left. She locked up and returned to the second building. The workmen were packing up and calling it a day as well. She watched them file out and then locked the door behind them. Elena returned to the conference room where Andre was once again drawing. He looked up as she walked in.

"You know it wasn't an accident," he said.

"Yeah, I know."

"This is why I went to art school," he told her leaning back and running his fingers through his hair. "I always hated this crap."

"Me too." Elena looked out of the window for a moment. "I suppose we should call and tell someone to tell Alex Barton."

"Who?"

"The council member who heads his family."

"You think he doesn't already know?" Elena turned towards Andre and let out a sigh.

"He probably does. But still I suppose it should be called in." Elena picked up her cell phone and stared at it for a second wondering if she should call her grandfather or Peter. She decided to call Peter. Technically she could say it was because he was her contact while dealing with the military and that her grandfather rarely remembered to turn on the phone when he wasn't expecting a call. The real reason however was that she didn't want to hear if her grandfather wasn't surprised by the death.

"Peter," she said as he picked up the phone. "Ian Jensen is dead. It is believed he was high or drunk or something and slipped in the shower."

"Really," Peter said. His voice sounded vaguely amused. Elena ground her teeth.

"We don't know if the family has been notified, but figured you would tell Mr. Barton who could convey the information where it needs to be."

"They harassed you over this," Peter replied. All of the humor had drained from his voice.

"Both of us yes," Elena replied.

"I see. This will be dealt with. Think no more of it." Peter hung up the phone. Elena pulled it away from her ear and listened to the dial tone.

"I don't think I like the sound of that."

"What did he say?" Andre asked. Elena relayed the conversation. Andre frowned at the humor and then turned a speculative gaze at Elena.

"He likes you," he informed her.

"What?"

"He likes you."

"He finds me useful," Elena clarified.

"True," Andre agreed. "But he also likes you." Elena frowned at him and Andre held his hands up. "He never gets ticked off when I'm hassled over Guild business."

"And how often are you hassled over Guild business?"

"Not often," Andre admitted with a smile. "Wanna stay and order pizza for dinner?"

"Didn't you have pizza last night?"

"You can never have too much pizza," he told her. "You can also not have too many bad horror flicks. I think I have a couple I didn't get around to last night. Nothing erases a bad day like a grade b horror flick."

"True," she said nodding. "That sounds like a good plan."

### Chapter 34

Wednesday arrived and Elena decided to put Ian Jensen out of her mind. Smith had not brought up the incident at their Thursday evening meeting and she hoped he considered it a moot issue. She also hoped he would keep himself out of her daily life, but had little hope of seeing that wish fulfilled. Still he hadn't been by the shop since. Elena was willing to take that as a good sign.

She and Andre headed down to the docks. Today was the day she would see her ship. It would be a good day. The sun was a bright circle in the deep blue bowl of sky. Elena and Andre chatted aimlessly, the conversation ranging from bad horror flicks to politics and art. With a start Elena realized they had become friends. She smiled to herself as she took the exit off of the highway.

"Something amusing?" Andre asked.

"I was just thinking how nice it was to talk to someone I don't have to hide Guild business from," she told him. He nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Even when you are just talking normally you have to always watch that something doesn't spill out that you can't rationally explain."

"True, but sometimes that can be fun as well," she told him, thinking of the housewarming she had attended. "Kind of conversational tight rope walking."

"Yeah but when you slip you really end up going splat." The exit led them to a split in the road and Elena turned left.

"I don't know, some of those last second saves are quite interesting. Sometimes you don't know how fast you can think until you have to avoid a free fall." The road led them towards the water. Not many ships were docked here and the area seemed to be more warehouses and empty berths.

"Looks like this dock has seen better days," Andre commented as he shifted his gaze out of the window. A few of the buildings had fallen into disrepair. To Elena it seemed like a place where the bulk of the shipping industry had gone elsewhere, but the warehouse district was too far from the city center to become a popular haven for those seeking trendy lofts and clubs.

"Well it certainly looks like a place that would be used for smuggling." Towards the end of the docks she spotted three ships unloading goods into two waiting trucks. "Guess this is the place." She parked near the trucks and they got out of the car. She took the leather satchel from the back seat. All of the papers regarding the Storm Chaser were inside as well as the maps from under the floorboards. She would be stashing them on the ship, leaving nothing behind in her apartment to be found in the event of a search. Elena was careful to stay out of the way of the workers. Her grandfather stood off to the side watching the men work. Peter stood next to him. As she and Andre made their way to the two captains, Elena took a good look around.

Although many of the buildings looked to be in a state of slight disrepair, brand new surveillance cameras had been installed so that no part of the docks was hidden from sight. Elena was certain many other security measures she couldn't see had been taken care of as well. She could also tell that the docks were not fully abandoned. Several warehouses were still in use by those other than the guild and the end of the wall of warehouse buildings let off into a surprisingly pretty marina where little white boats, toys for the rich, were nestled in the water. Surprisingly the channel riders did not look too out of place, riding that middle line between commercial and pleasure craft.

"Well, you made it in good time I see," Alexandro said as Elena reached him. He pulled her into a hug. She breathed him in and smiled. "It is good to see you," he said as he released her.

"It's good to see you too," she told him. "How was the trip?"

"Fine, fine. We got a very good deal on the merchandise and should have enough for the opening. With that and our first run of the year, we should be off to a very good start. Providing you can pull this off." Her grandfather beamed down at her and she could feel the waves of pride as a nearly physical thing. He had no doubt she could pull this crazy stunt off. It was nice to have someone believe in her.

"Construction is nearly complete. They should be finished in a few days. Andre has pulled some wonderful designs together and we will go over and finalize our choices when we meet tomorrow. The printers are standing by and I believe Mr. Baranov has managed to secure a re-packaging facility where alien goods will be turned into respectable merchandise." Elena turned towards Peter.

"I stopped by yesterday and met with Nicholas. Everything seems to be in order."

"So I am told," Peter said with a smile. "Have there been any more issues with Smith?" To her left she could feel her grandfather stiffen. He had not been pleased by Smith's accusations.

"No things have been fairly quiet. In our last meeting they were still trying to get around the 50 lbs of gear rule, but I think that is merely for form sake at this point. I have a feeling they are going to wait until the trip is done to ask more questions." Elena thought for a second. "And I think they believe I am telling lies about the low tech aspects. I think they really want a magic box that zings them into the channels rather than an actual human pilot doing the work."

"Speaking of pilots," Peter said as a woman stepped from Gregori's Dream. They watched her descend the gangplank. She walked with the rolling gait of someone more familiar with shipboard than dry land. Her long ash blonde hair was pulled into a long braid that reached nearly to her waist. Elena was reminded that her own hair would soon be more of an annoyance on shipboard than she was accustomed to it being. Her own long braid had been chopped to chin length, too short to tie back, but long enough to get in the way. Elena wondered if it would be better to cut her hair shorter or let it grow out again.

"I would like you to meet Anna Savinkov, my pilot," Peter concluded. Anna reached the end of the gangplank and held out her hand to Elena and smiled.

"The infamous Elena Calabrese, I'm told," She said, the whisper of St. Petersburg dancing in her words. "It is a pleasure to meet the pilot shattered Narou's record." Elena laughed.

"That was quite a while ago," Elena said.

"And she was grounded for quite a long time afterwards," her grandfather rumbled behind him. She tossed him a grin over her shoulder before turning back to Anna.

"I have to admit Ms. Savinkov, it was well worth the punishment to see her face when we rounded Luras," she told Anna. Anna laughed.

"Please, you must call me Anna."

"Of course."

"Well if it isn't the missing link," a pleasant voice said. Elena turned towards the voice to see a woman with a dark brown braid and the same rolling walk step towards her.

"Maria," Elena said, pulling the woman into a hug. "I didn't realize you were piloting the Wind Dancer."

"I am, and have been since you left. Dad finally retired and I didn't want to bother with my own ship, so I signed on here."

"It is so good to see you," Elena said. Maria, who was about 8 years older, had always looked out for Elena when their paths crossed or Therese made life difficult. They were family in a complicated way. Maria's father was some sort of third cousin to her grandmother's brother-in- law. It meant there was no blood between them but the world of the Guild was not a large one and family was family.

"And speaking of owning your own ship," Peter said, drawing Elena's attention back towards him. "I believe they are finished unloading yours. We had enough goods that we needed the extra space to bring them."

"I see," she said. Her eyes drifted towards the Storm Chaser and she felt a shiver of anticipation run through her.

"The last person has left the Storm Chaser Captain," a strange man with blond hair said to her. He gave her a half bow. "The Council wishes you fresh winds and a safe harbor." He stepped to the side, nodded to Peter and walked away. By custom only the pilot who tested the Storm Chaser would have been on it before it was delivered.

"Captain," she repeated. Elena let out a heavy breath. "That is going to take some getting used to. I suppose I'll need to get a cat." Her grandfather chuckled.

"Boots had kittens a little while back. They were old enough to leave their mother so I brought one with me if you would care to have her." Elena smiled. Boots was the Wind Dancer's cat and had spent many nights curled up on Elena's bunk.

"I would like that," she told him. "Very much." Elena thought of the brand new bag of kitty litter and cat accouterments she had picked up on her last shopping trip. 'At least I won't have to stop by the pound to pick up a cat to go with them,' she thought.

Alexandro signaled to the Wind Dancer and Anthony, one of the sailors trotted down the gangplank cupping a small grey ball of fur in his hands. He passed the ball to Elena with a wink. In her hands the ball of downy soft fur stretched and yawned, its little pink tongue darting out between sharp white teeth. She stretched her paw and little claws extended. No channel rider ever left port without a cat.

"She hasn't been named yet," Alexandro told her. Both pilots and the men moved away from her as she turned towards the Storm Chaser. Custom dictated that only she and the cat be on board for the first walk through. Elena walked up the gangplank and stepped onto her ship for the first time. In her hands the kitten sat up and looked around, almost as if she realized what a momentous moment this was.

Elena walked the deck; the feel of the boards beneath her feet welcomed her like an old friend. She found her steps naturally shifting to meet the sway of the ship. The Storm Chaser still gleamed with newness reminding her of a toy on Christmas morning. The galley gleamed brightly and smelled only of wood and resin instead of lingering meals. The table was smooth and unscarred. The crew's berths were completely empty. There were no items tucked into corners or decorations tacked to the walls. The standard bedding was folded neatly at the end of the bed. Elena found it a little eerie. The crew berths on the Wind Dancer had always looked lived in and more like home than any of the ports the crew visited.

Elena crossed the corridor and found herself standing in the pilot's room. The pilot was always given a separate room from the rest of the crew. It was small, but private. It had been explained as a privilege for the pilot, but Elena always figured it was more for practical reasons. After all, the pilot was always female and usually the daughter, sister, wife or niece of the captain. The crew was usually male. It didn't take a genius to do the math. With a start Elena realized this wasn't her space. She left the pilot's room and went to the captain's quarters. The door swung open silently. The kitten mewed and Elena set her on the floor. The gray cat stalked silently into the room as if she knew where she belonged. Elena followed her, somewhat less sure of herself.

The space was larger than that set apart for the pilot, but it was not cavernous. The bed was larger and a chest of drawers was built into the wall. A small bookcase with a rail was also built into the wall. It already held several volumes a captain would find useful. All of their spines were crisp and uncracked.

"Factory fresh," Elena said. Her bed contained only a mattress and she made a mental note to buy sheets, pillows and a comforter. The closet, when she slid open the pocket door was also empty. She would need to bring all of her own gear. Off to the side of the room was a table. The surface was inclined and placed in the center was a logbook. Elena ran her fingers over the cover. She opened it and paged through the empty sheets.

"I wonder where we will go," she said closing the book and thinking of the dreams where she opened new channels. The dreams had become clearer since she had been paying attention and the headaches had completely faded. A few weeks before her dreams had shown her opening the new channels and Elena was almost sure she understood how she did it.

"In theory, of course," she said closing the logbook. She hadn't had a chance to test that theory and had promised Mateo she would not do so until he had completed his safety devices. He was making progress though. The excitement in his voice when she spoke with him fairly bubbled through the phone line. Mechanics had always been his gift and he felt about it the same way she felt about piloting.

To the side of the table was a stand of rolled up maps placed in a gridded box to keep them organized. Elena pulled one out and stretched it across the table. It was a weatherproofed nautical map. There were no markings on it; no dots, lines or notes, just an untouched map. Elena re rolled the map and tucked it back in its little square. She swung her leather satchel on to the table.

Next to the newness, her scuffed and salt stained satchel looked quite disreputable. Elena smiled. It made her feel somehow better about the space. She glanced over to the kitten. She had her head inside the padded alcove always installed in the captain's quarters for the ships cat. Boots never slept in hers and Elena wondered if the kitten would be any different.

"Does it suit you?" she asked. The kitten backed out of the alcove and looked at Elena. Somehow Elena got the impression that the kitten considered the quarters inferior, but would tolerate them if she had to.

"There is nothing as regal as a channel rider's cat," she quoted an oft-heard guild saying. The kitten mewed. "I suppose you'll need a name," she told the kitten. Elena walked towards the door to continue her tour of the ship. The kitten followed. Elena turned kitten names over in her head as she walked. She would need to announce the kitten's name when they stepped off the Storm Chaser for the first time, after all tradition must be served.

Elena finished her tour, noting the top of the line equipment in the pilothouse. She ran her fingers over it like a greedy child. The Wind Dancer's systems had been compiled over time and placed wherever there was room. Here everything was installed at the same time.

"That will change eventually," she told the kitten thinking of the steady advancement of technology. "Actually it might change pretty soon," she corrected herself thinking of Mateo's current projects. "I might as well enjoy this as long as I can." Elena finished her tour and picked up the kitten before starting down the gangplank. She walked towards the group clustered on the dock.

"I'd like you to meet Spin," she said, announcing the kitten's name. Peter seemed amused by the name. Her grandfather merely reached out and gave Spin's head a rub.

"Pleased to meet you Spin of the Storm Chaser."

### Chapter 35

Once the cargo had been sent off to the repackaging center what looked to Elena to be a fleet of vehicles arrived. At the head of the train was the black sedan driven by Thomas. The following vehicles were less glossy and the various crewmembers, after being dismissed by their captains, piled in without hesitation. Each of them carried a bag of gear and Elena assumed they were being taken to their hotel. Anna and Maria stayed. Elena looked around and didn't see Marcus.

"No Marcus?" she asked.

"He will be meeting us in town. I figured you might not want to drive back alone."

"Of course," Elena said. Andre gave a little wave to her as he followed Peter and Anna over to where Thomas waited. Elena waved back and led Maria and Alexandro to her car. The drive back to the city and the dinner at Enzo's that followed was filled with talk of family and long absent friends. Her RSVP to her cousin Nate's wedding pleased her grandfather, who now felt as though everything was once again right in the world. Maria rolled her eyes and quirked up the side of her mouth in a suppressed grin as Alexandro repeatedly ignored any possibility of bad feelings between Elena and Therese.

"Some things don't change," she said to herself as she drove home after dropping Maria and her grandfather off at their hotel. She tucked her car back into its accustomed place in the garage and walked around to the front of her building. She passed a couple of men who looked to be from the military base as she headed towards the door. She tensed and sidled by them, keeping them in sight and out of grabbing distance. One looked at her with an innocently surprised look and the other looked at her like she was crazy. They went their own way and Elena pulled open the door to her building just as Jonathan was walking down the stairs.

"Hello," he said flashing a smile. "I stopped by since I was in the neighborhood to see if you wanted to catch a flick, but you weren't home."

"Yes, I was out," she said. Her mind linked the two men outside with Jonathan inside and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It is kind of late though and I have an early meeting."

"Oh well," he said with a shrug. "Maybe next time." He strolled out of the door and Elena climbed the stairs. She went into her apartment, closed the door behind her and stood in the center of the living room looking at the things around her. Had he been inside with the other men standing watch?

The corner of her living room throw rug was flipped up. Had she done that when she had removed her satchel of maps or had someone else been searching? She slowly walked through her apartment questioning every detail. Was that book where she left it or had it been moved? She stopped in the kitchen and looked at the small lamp that sat on her kitchen table.

Dusting had never been one of her big priorities. She remembered to do it when company was coming, but only sporadically at other times. Lately she had been too busy to have company and there was a light layer of dust around the edges of the part of the kitchen table she didn't use much. Not a heavy layer, but enough so that she could see the dark crescent of clean wood at the edge of the lamp base where the lamp had been shifted. Spin, the kitten mewed from the bathroom where Elena locked her after dropping her off.

'I could have knocked it a little earlier,' she thought without any real conviction. She reached out and picked up the lamp. Elena turned it over and was not surprised to see a little metallic dot attached to the bottom of the base. She left the dot in place and set the lamp back down. It made sense to bug her kitchen since it was in the center of the apartment and she often talked to herself while she cooked or ate.

Elena let Spin out of the bathroom. The cat walked delicately past Elena ignoring her presence. Elena tried not to think of where else the apartment might be bugged. After all there was no practical point to bugging her bedroom or shower. Was there? Elena shook the thought away and prepared for bed. At the moment there was nothing she could do about the bugs. She could get rid of the one in the kitchen of course, but there was no telling if that was the only one. Elena frowned as she pulled back the covers. She didn't really care for being spied on.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the leather journal she had been keeping on her dreams. She slid into bed and pulled the volume over. Elena flipped through the pages, wondering if Jonathan had done the same earlier. The journal was only a record of her dreams and wouldn't give them any tactical information or any true journal entries about her opinions of current events so she hadn't taken it to the Storm Chaser. She placed the book back on her nightstand as Spin climbed into bed and curled up on the spare pillow. Apparently Elena was to be forgiven for the bathroom imprisonment. The thought of Jonathan reading her dream journal made her very angry.

"Dreams are supposed to be private," she muttered darkly as she curled up in bed. Her dreams were angry and unfocused that night and there was nothing useful she could add to the journal the next morning. She arrived at the store the next morning as Susan, the manager was beginning the process of opening.

"I still can't get used to that," Elena told her with a smile as she walked in. Elena liked that she could count on having Susan take care of the day to day operations, but still found herself missing having the store to herself for those few moments of the morning.

"Ready for your big meeting?" Susan asked.

"As ready as ever," Elena replied.

"So far everything looks great."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah," Susan confirmed. "The outside looks fabulous and the early buzz you've got going has really gotten people interested. We get at least ten people asking about it every day. The opening is going to be a huge hit. I just know it."

"Thanks," Elena said. The phone rang and Elena picked it up.

"Calabrese Imports," she said in her best cheery voice. That voice was never easy for her to do first thing in the morning.

"Hi this is Steve, Emily's husband. Is this Elena?"

"It is. Good morning. I hope everything is alright." Elena quickly did the math in her head. Emily's due date was still three weeks away, but the baby could have come early.

"Everything is fine, Emily is just a bit under the weather today." Elena smiled. Emily had developed a bit of a guilt complex about taking time off when she knew she would be taking maternity leave soon.

"You tell her to go ahead and take a sick day," Elena said. "We'll be able to manage." In truth, Emily rarely took sick days and really only took time off for doctor's visits no matter how lousy she felt. Elena soothed Steve's conscious and hung up the phone.

"Emily sick?" Susan asked.

"Yeah, she is going to take the day off. If things get hairy give me a ring on the cell and I'll be down to lend a hand when the meeting is through."

"We'll get by," Susan said. The bell over the door rang and Elena saw her grandfather walk in while Marcus drove off down the street. No sooner than he had pulled away from the curb than Thomas glided into his place and Peter stepped out of the vehicle.

"Hey, hey the gangs all here," she muttered. "Good morning," she said in a louder voice. "If you'll just let me get my papers we can go on up." Elena went back to the office and grabbed the information she had put together for this meeting. Andre would be pulling the drawings together. She just had to concentrate on everything else. Elena led the two men up to the conference room and was delighted by the smell of a pot of fresh coffee. Andre was stacking the designs in different groups on the table as they entered.

"Thanks for making coffee," Elena said.

"No problem," he replied with a smile. Elena poured out the cups and everyone settled.

"Why don't we start with the graphics since they are already laid out," Elena said. She indicated that Andre had the floor. Andre walked everyone through the different design layouts for each of the product lines. Each type had a couple of different versions. Elena had already seen them all and knew which ones she preferred. Slowly the options for each were whittled down until a final plan was chosen. The same was done with potential web layouts and print advertisements. It took less time than Elena had planned. She had anticipated a lot more debate, but over all they were willing to defer to her on many of the options. It was a distinctly odd experience.

Once the design decisions were made, Andre gathered his materials and notes into a pile at the end of the table and sat down, ceding the floor to Elena. She passed out the information packets she had prepared and went over all of the little details needed for this venture from the meeting of FDA requirements to the grand opening planned for the Saturday before Valentine's Day. By the time she was finished both men looked impressed.

"You two have done quite a bit of work," Alexandro said. "And it shows. I see no gaps or missing elements. I am satisfied. Peter?"

"I am very satisfied as well. If one good thing has come out of Ian Jensen's betrayal of the Guild it is this," Peter said. Alexandro nodded and Elena took a sip of coffee, swallowing any comments she might have made. "Have you begun looking at staff?"

"Yes, interviews were conducted last week and I believe we have some good people ready to step up. We have a great manager who can be trusted to run things fairly independently since I will be away much of the time. Andre is going to continue handling the marketing." Elena smiled at Andre.

"He has also agreed to take on the task of marketing for Calabrese Imports as well which will be paid out of a separate fund. You can see the breakouts on the budget page. Not only is Andre very good at marketing, but it will look better publicly to consolidate these two aspects." Peter nodded.

"I agree. It would look strange to have two separate marketing specialists for each of your businesses." The meeting concluded with everyone in a well-satisfied frame of mind. Elena watched Peter and Alexandro leave with a shake of her head.

"Just business as usual," she said. Andre came to stand next to her at the window as the two sedans pulled up to pick up their charges.

"Yup," Andre said. "Just a normal day wheeling and dealing with two of the most powerful council members." Elena glanced over at Andre.

"Grandfather?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Andre said. Elena shook her head and waved his next comment to silence.

"I think I'd rather not know." Andre lifted an eyebrow.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Elena said with a sigh. "I know sooner or later I might have to know. But right now, I'd rather I didn't have to."

"I understand," he said. "Peter was just my cousin before I heard the stories of Black Pete. I thought people were joking at first. I mean it was Peter." Elena almost asked if her grandfather's reputation was as bad as Peter's, but bit her lip instead. There was always time to find out about that later.

"I suppose we better get the PDFs of those to the printer," Elena said indicating the stack of approved designs and firmly changing the subject.

"I suppose we had better," Andre said, allowing the subject change.

### Chapter 36

Elena stood next to Andre and watched her grandfather and Smith square off. Jonathan stood a few feet away from Smith and looked eager to blend into the background. The discussion hadn't moved past words yet and Elena wondered if one of them would actually take a swing at the other.

"And you get to be stuck on a ship with them," Andre commented. Elena shook her head.

"Aren't you sorry you are going to miss it?"

"Well I could take bets on how far out you get before one pitches the other overboard if I were coming," Andre commented. He turned his head slightly. "Looks like the cavalry is about to arrive." Elena followed his gaze and saw Peter walking quickly towards the fracas.

"I suppose we could have stepped in," Elena commented as Peter began settling things down.

"Do you actually think either of them would have listened?"

"No," Elena said. "That's why we stayed out of it."

"You were told that only 50 lbs of gear would be allowed per person," Peter said calmly. Each of the bags had been weighed. Smith was three pounds over the limit and had been asked to remove items to bring the weight down. Smith had contended that since Elena's bag had been seven pounds under the limit he should be allowed some leeway.

"I tried to tell him Grandfather didn't bend," Elena said. Her bag had already been stowed as had Jonathan's who came in at exactly 50 lbs. She wondered what would happen if he decided to bring something back with him. That possibility had not really crossed his mind from everything she could tell. The only ship visible from where they stood was the Wind Dancer.

The crew was already aboard and ready to go. Elena knew they had been down at the docks over an hour before she, Andre, Smith and Jonathan had arrived. By the time the military arrived it looked as though the Wind Dancer had just come into port to pick them up and leave again. Both the Storm Chaser and Gregori's Dream had been docked in the enclosed areas used during the off-season to shelter the ships from winter storms and to make repairs.

"How soon is Peter leaving?" Elena asked Andre. She kept her voice soft so her question wouldn't carry.

"About four hours after you," I think he is going to skirt around the coast to the Yolanda and have Anna ride that channel in." Elena nodded. That would put Peter about a day behind them in reaching the port facility. Maria would be a passenger on Gregori's Dream.

"We are losing the tide," Elena heard her grandfather yell. "Lose the extra weight or stay here." He turned and stalked off towards the Wind Dancer.

"That would be my cue," Elena said. "Thanks for taking care of Spin while I'm gone."

"No problem," Andre said. "Take notes. Cause I know someone is getting shoved overboard." She smiled and followed her grandfather towards the ship. Jonathan cast a nervous glance her way.

"Would he really leave without us?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Mr. Baranov, good to see you again. Safe journey."

"Elena, please I thought I told you to call me Peter." Elena nodded.

"Of course, old habits."

"Safe journey to you as well."

Elena continued past the men and walked up the gangplank and boarded the ship. She inhaled deeply and smiled. The Wind Dancer would always smell like home.

"Should be some trip," Anthony said watching Smith tug a few items out of his bag and hand them to Peter. The comment had been made in Italian and Elena remembered to answer in the same language. For this trip Smith and Jonathan would believe only she and her grandfather spoke English.

"Andre's taking bets that one of them will be shoved overboard before the trip is through." Anthony snorted.

"That is a sure thing. The trick will be whether they get thrown off into the water or into space."

"True." Anthony resumed his pre cast off regime. Elena only hoped if Smith ended up a frozen blob in space, she wasn't the one who had to tell the military. Peter re-weighed Smith's bag and approved it for boarding. Smith and Jonathan boarded and Elena went to the pilothouse. Smith and Jonathan followed closely on her heels. She received the go ahead from her grandfather and piloted the Wind Dancer out of port and towards the open water.

"You know there are three days before we even get to a channel," Elena told them. She pointed towards Smith's bag. "You do have time to go stow that." Smith frowned, but didn't move. They watched as Elena worked and twice Elena bumped into them as they crowed close. Each time they stepped back, only to crowd in once more when it looked like she had done something that might be of interest.

'This is going to be a long trip,' she thought to herself. As they hit the open water and less attention had to be paid to maneuvering around stationary objects she relaxed a little. This seemed to be the sign that she was ready to answer questions. Jonathan pulled out a notebook and began taking notes as both he and Smith questioned every piece of machinery in the pilothouse.

The first day of school nervousness faded under the barrage. She answered clearly and concisely and tried not to roll her eyes as Smith pulled a digital camera from one of his many pockets. Elena wondered if she should tell him that if the camera was on when they entered the Marta the memory card would fry. Once again she had to elbow him back out of her way. She decided not to remind him.

As the questions continued Elena got the impression that neither Smith nor Jonathan had ever spent much time aboard any form of ship, or if they had they had been solely a passenger and not part of the operations. Many of the things they questioned were standard on a ship of any size and more than likely had been since man first took to the seas.

The weather remained clear and, despite the continuing questions, Elena felt her body ease into the rhythm of the journey. As expected Smith and Jonathan were less than thrilled that the other crewmembers would only speak Italian and since her grandfather tended to ignore them, Elena was the only person they could talk to. When either man wanted to ask something of the crew Elena had to go though the translation routine, at which time she could see the spark of humor dancing in each of the crew's eyes at the charade. She had to admit though that the translating routine did give them plenty of time to think about their answers before sending them out for Smith to hear.

Jonathan, who had been sick the first day out was looking a little less green and managed to keep a full meal down by the time they approached the Marta. She hoped he managed to stay that way when they entered the channel. Elena signaled the crew that the approach to the Marta was eminent and she began preparations for entering the channel, as expected Smith and Jonathan raced to her side.

"You'll need to stay back for this. I need some space," she cautioned. This was not the time to be bumping into them. They hung back to watch. Elena went around the pilothouse meticulously following the routine of switching off all of the ships electronics. If any one of them were left on there would be a chance that not only that piece of equipment could fry in the passage, but when the other components were turned back on it could spark a system-wide melt down. That was not something she wanted to contemplate.

Smith barked out questions and Elena blocked his voice out as she went through her routine. With the electronics off Elena turned her sight towards the water. Clear as a mountain pass the channel rose before her eyes. The depth was right. She smiled tightly and made a few adjustments to their course, aiming the ship to the center of the channel.

"Brace for entry," Elena called out to the crew.

"What?" Smith said, waiting for the translation. All of the crew moved away from the railings and towards the center. The entry wasn't always that rough, but it was a safety precaution all ships followed.

"You are going to want to hold on," Elena told Smith and Jonathan.

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

"Cause we are going in," She told him. Elena focused on the channel. With a jarring bump the Wind Dancer slipped from the ocean and into the mouth of the channel. The first minute of entry felt like the first downward dive of a roller coaster. Light blurred around them in a sickening rainbow that bled to intense white. Smith and Jonathan gasped and grabbed for the wall. A railing had been placed along the inside for just such a reason and both men clung to it. Alexandro stood firm on the deck, his feet planted wide for balance as his ship slipped into the sky.

The Wind Dancer leveled out and the world around them bled from the dizzying blast of white in the channel entrance to the deep black of space. Stars surrounded them and Elena smiled. God she had missed this. She let out a peel of laughter and steered them through the stars, a blue ribbon of water glistening beneath their hull.

### Chapter 37

"What do you mean you didn't use any of the instruments?" Smith demanded. Elena ground her teeth and calmly answered him for what seemed like the millionth time. They were only three hours into the passage to the Docking Facility and Elena dully wondered how many times she would have to answer it.

"I mean that I didn't use any of the electronic instruments in the pilot house to see the channels." Tiredness pulled at the edges of her voice.

"That is impossible," he bellowed.

"That is a Pilot," Alexandro said. Smith jumped, not realizing the man had joined them. "Elena your shift ended half an hour ago."

"Of course," Elena said. She turned to leave. She hadn't really expected Smith to believe her anyway. The only technology still running was built into the hull of the ship and would have been below the water line when the ship was earthside.

'And that doesn't even look that impressive,' she thought. The system when viewed from the outside looked just like fine lines tracing the ships hull. She knew they worked and left the details to Mateo.

"And you will refrain from yelling at my pilot," he told Smith.

"Your pilot is supposed to be answering my questions," Smith insisted.

"She has done so. You just don't want to believe her. I believe that makes your lack of knowledge your fault and not hers." Elena knew it was cowardly, but she wanted nothing to do with this argument and kept walking away.

"You were telling the truth weren't you? They are something you can just see," Jonathan asked. Elena looked over to where Smith and her grandfather were glaring at each other. She was too far away to make out the words.

"Yes I was. That is why I am a pilot. Now if you will excuse me. I am only off duty as long as there is no trouble so I need to rest while it is quiet." Elena turned and walked away, ducking behind Anthony and Marco as they went about their tasks. She knew full well they had overheard. They discreetly moved to block Jonathan from following.

Instead of going to her cabin Elena found a quiet stretch of deck and sat down, her head resting against the exterior wall of the cabin. From here the ship was at her back and only the dark was in front of her. The entry into the channels always tired her out as if sensing as well as guiding the ship took more of her energy than it seemed. This trip out Elena felt the tiredness, but there was also a jumpy sort of energy that made the thought of sleep sound silly.

'Perhaps it is being on a ship after so long being gone,' she thought. Elena waited for the whisperings that she remembered from the Calling. They didn't come and she felt a little of the jumpy tension ease. She rested her head against the wooden wall and watched the stars slide by in the distance. With a start she realized it hadn't been so long since she had seen these particular stars.

This was the section of space where her dreams always took her. Elena looked around. By now she knew exactly which sectors of space to look for the heat ripples. Elena focused her sight as they passed one such area. For a second the spot remained the same. Then slowly it began to ripple as it had in her dream. Elena sat up straight and leaned forward.

"No not like my dreams," she whispered. The heat shimmer was different. Instead of rippling as if it were hot air above burning asphalt it looked more like the heat was behind the stretch of space and that the heat was slowly melting the fabric from behind, like a lit cigar held up to a piece of over exposed film. In the center it looked as though the heat was starting to melt a hole. Elena blinked, not sure what would happen if a hole formed.

At the edges of her hearing she could make out the angry tones of Smith and her grandfather. More clearly she could hear scraps of information leak through the small tear. It didn't sound like the Calling, but more like the sounds and images she got from the other side of a channel before she had decided whether or not to take it.

"Perhaps it's not a good idea to experiment with the military on board." For a moment Elena wondered what would happen if she turned away. Would the hole continue to form or would it stop? Would her headaches return as they did in the dream? A hole was definitely starting to form. Elena decided to try shifting her sight so that she was not using the inner sight she used to see the channels.

Instantly the hole stopped growing. She could still see the heat shimmer, but it was fading and the hole was being repaired, as if patched from the other side. She could still catch vague images and sounds from the other side but they were faint, as if they were being muffled by the intervening space.

Elena blinked hard and leaned back against the wall. A wave of exhaustion rose up and made her dizzy. She closed her eyes a moment to allow the dizziness to pass. Behind her eyelids she replayed the incident. For a moment, she could see how the new channel could be opened. She could see where it led and that it was a two-way channel. She could even sense its depth when opened fully. If she could succeed in opening it, she could go through and come back.

"Not this trip though. I promised Mateo." Elena opened her eyes and realized keeping them open for much longer was going to be a problem. Obviously opening a new channel took much more out of her than piloting an existing one. That was a fact that would need to be taken into consideration. She smiled, the exhilaration still managing to bubble through the exhaustion.

"I could actually do this," she realized. She also realized the argument had grown more heated now that she had nothing else to distract her. Elena dragged herself to her feet and wondered if someone was about to be thrown overboard. Smith was bellowing, apparently not realizing that when on board, the only law was the captain's law.

She was sure he would be set straight. Elena couldn't really work up much interest as she could barely keep her eyes open. She made her way to her cabin, one hand braced on the wall for support. No one noticed. She was completely upstaged.

"They can tell me what happened when I go back on shift," Elena thought. With great effort, she pried her door open and stepped into her cabin. She closed the door behind her and fell into her bed fully clothed. Within seconds she was sound asleep.

A hard knocking on her door woke her. She mumbled something incoherent, but loud enough to let the person on the other side know she was awake. The knocking stopped and Elena pried herself out of bed. She still felt groggy and stiff in the joints. A splash of cold water on her face helped, but not a whole lot. Elena went up to the pilothouse even though her stomach rumbled at the smells from the galley. Breakfast would have to wait until she had checked their course.

Everything was well and the ship still retained its course towards the Docking Facility. Inertia was a beautiful thing. A course correction would be needed in half an hour, but that was expected. It was always the unexpected that threw you for a loop. Between Earth's channels and the Docking Facility was usually a quiet run. Enough ships made the trip with enough frequency that the passages were kept pretty clear. It was the space between the Docking Facility and other ports that things sometimes got tricky.

"And they think earth's politics are bad," Elena muttered. The scent of breakfast intensified and Elena turned to see Marco enter with a covered plate. His eyes held a twinkle of mischief and she wondered what had happened after she crashed.

"Please tell me you came to share," she said.

"I already ate," he told her. "You slept through breakfast and since it would not be right for you to become faint, I bring it to you."

"Purely a self serving gesture," she said taking the plate from him and setting it down on top of one of the machines that still remained turned off. There was no danger in turning it back on, but no practical point in doing so either. With Smith and Jonathan aboard, Elena was leaving off as much of the equipment as possible. She had run the plan by both her grandfather and Peter and both approved. It meant her breaks were shorter, but the military's belief in technology might be shaken, at least in regards to piloting a channel rider.

"Of course," Marco said. "They are the only kind I do." Elena smiled as she uncovered her tray. Marco's willingness to offer assistance without hesitation was one of his better-known traits. Only slightly less known was his love of gossip.

"I don't suppose filling me in on what happened after I crashed would fall into that category? Perhaps relieving you of the burden of secrecy?" Elena said. She picked up the fork and began cutting small pieces of her omelet to eat.

"I can't believe you slept through that." Elena continued to eat her omelet. "The Captain and the Bear hurled names and threats loud enough to shake the masts." The Bear had become the crew's favorite term for Smith. Jonathan had likewise become known as Smiley.

"And which one came out on top?" Elena asked. Marco looked shocked.

"No one outranks the captain," he told her sternly.

"Of course," Elena said. "I merely meant to ask if Smith actually made the captain give him any lee way or if he was now confined to quarters."

"Ah, of course. There is no confinement. The Bear received no special favors and is grumbling, but accepting of the realities of life." Elena nodded and finished her omelet. She picked up the coffee and took a sip.

"Thanks," she said as Marco picked up the plate and cover. He shrugged.

"It was my turn in the galley today." He left with the empty plate. A few minutes later Elena saw Smith stalk across the deck and had to admit the crew's description of a bear was quite accurate. He was grumbling as if he had been awakened from hibernation too soon. He reached the pilothouse and to Elena's surprise he was relatively polite when she expected him to snap.

Apparently he decided discretion was the better part of valor, at least in this instance. Elena turned away from Smith and looked ahead. Alexandro stood on deck surveying the daily operations. As his eyes turned towards her, she winked. He smiled and nodded and continued on his way. Elena wondered how long the cease-fire would last.

### Chapter 38

To her surprise the remainder of the journey was calm. It was also very strained as both Smith and Alexandro reigned in their tempers. Smith allowed Jonathan to ask the questions and she was quite sure it was some sort of male face saving maneuver.

"Then again there really isn't much to see on this leg of the trip," She muttered to herself. The stars were still beautiful and gliding through space was always exciting in her mind, but she didn't have to do a whole lot in the way of abnormal navigating. And thus far neither Smith nor Jonathan had commented on the completely alien constellations.

"Of course I have a feeling that's about to change." Elena smiled. Smith and Jonathan were strolling out on the decks observing the crew and no doubt searching for the hidden equipment allowing their trip to occur. There was a silver shape on the horizon and it had been growing steadily and noticeably larger for the past hour.

Elena wondered when she would be questioned about it as the ship was clearly aiming towards it. She bet on another hour. Slowly the shape resolved itself into something resembling a gigantic child's spinning top. The kind with a pointed bit that rested on the ground and a round knob on a metal pole that was pressed down to make the top spin. This top was perpetually spinning.

"At least the round knob doesn't go up and down as if someone is continually required to press it." That thought didn't sit to well with her so she let it slide away. A thin ribbon of water ran around the top's edge with small pools forming under the ships docked at the station. 'Not that you can tell they are ships yet,' she thought. At the moment they were just dots surrounding the giant spinning edifice that was the Docking Facility.

"What exactly is that thing?" Jonathan asked. Smith hovered in the background carefully pinching his mouth shut. Elena almost felt sorry for him. He wasn't used to not being in charge.

"It is the Docking Facility," she told them. She glanced up at the clock. An hour and twenty-two minutes. She had been so close. "We should be arriving soon. You might want to stow the gear you plan on taking dock side."

"But won't we miss you, um, docking?"

"Not if you pack now," she said with a smile. The two men exchanged glances.

"We will return shortly," Jonathan said.

Elena nodded. "I promise not to do anything interesting until you return."

They hurried off and in less time than she would have expected they were back. She hoped their clothes were all the wash and wear variety otherwise they would probably be quite wrinkled. She was standing in relatively the same position as when they had left, but she saw them do a quick scan to determine if any more equipment had been turned on in their absence. She mentally snorted and decided not to tell them part of her training had been learning to fly blind in case of electronic failure. She could dock the Wind Dancer with no more technology than a similar yet earth-bound ship would have had in the 1850s.

The Docking Facility grew larger as they approached and even though Elena had spent much of her childhood here she had to admit it was impressive. They approached the ribbon of water circling the Docking Facility and the water they brought with them merged with the larger stream. Some of the water would stay in the stream, some would pool around the ship when it docked and some would return to the earth with them. To give Smith and Jonathan a full view of the place she allowed the Wind Dancer to make a full circle.

The council made certain that only the smaller vessels would be docked during the military visit. The larger vessels designed to stay either at the facility or to use some of the deeper off world channels would remain elsewhere for a few days. The two men beside her were completely silent for the first time since the trip began. Elena knew it was only a short reprieve, but hoped that by the time they had regained their ability to question she would have turned them over to their council designated tour guide. Elena was thrilled she would not be expected to lead them around the place.

The Wind Dancer's port flashed green and Elena eased her way into it. The clamps took hold and the crew fastened the end of the landing tube securely to the deck. Everyone moved in a well-orchestrated routine. The tube would allow passage to the Docking Facility from the ship. The time it took to walk through the tube would allow the body to adjust its internal pressure from ship to docks. Elena reached down and grabbed her bag from where she had tucked it in preparation for docking. From the front pocket she slid a packet of chewing gum. Elena slung her bag over her shoulder and offered each of the men a stick from the pack. They both refused.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "It will help when your ears start popping from the pressure as you adjust." She popped a piece of gum into her mouth and offered them the pack again. This time they each took a piece. She led them down to the deck where the rest of the crew was gathered. Alexandro had already given the crew their instructions and with a few simple words he dismissed them. They made their way towards the docking tube and began their decent.

Elena waited for her grandfather to gather his bag. When he was ready, they made their way down the tube with Smith and Jonathan following closely behind, still mute, but drinking in the details. As expected their ears began to pop and Elena felt the familiar feeling of her body adjusting from the ship to the Docking Facility. Eventually the tube ended and they stepped out into an open area.

Normally, there would be many people milling about, waiting to see who had arrived. The dock may have been one for the families associated with the Calabrese line, but all ports were more or less public areas. Elena noticed that even the venders had been cleared from the area. Today only one person waited for their arrival. As he walked towards their group, Elena realized she recognized him. He was the person the council had sent to deliver her ship. She smiled at him but he gave no indication that he had ever met either her or her grandfather before. He walked briskly past both of them and held his hand out to Smith.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," he said with a smile. "I am Talbot and I will be your escort while you guest with us. Please let me show you to your quarters where you will be able to freshen up after your journey. I do hope it wasn't too strenuous." Elena did not hear their reply as Alexandro gripped the elbow of her free arm and led her away once Talbot had moved past them.

'Slick,' she thought. 'Very slick.'

"I think we can leave them in Talbot's very capable hands for now." Alexandro said. "No doubt they will search you out later because you are a familiar face, but for now they are someone else's responsibility. You have done very well with them."

"Thank you," Elena replied. While her grandfather was often very proud of her accomplishments, open praise was not something he often dispensed. They walked towards the family quarters and instead of proceeding as normal, Alexandro stopped her in front of a different door.

"As Head of House you are allowed your own set of rooms rather than being required to stay in a suite attached to others." He pulled out a pass code card that had more in common with a flash drive than a hotel key. The magnetized cards just ended up de magnetized far too often for practical use.

"I don't really need that much space," Elena said automatically taking the electronic stick from him. Alexandro smiled.

"You will," he said. "If not this trip, then in the future. Or were you expecting to conduct all business from a table in Danvers?"

"Do you think Danvers would even let me in?" She asked with a laugh. "I don't exactly have the best of track records."

"That would be something to work out later. But for now the public space attached to the front of every Head of House's set of rooms might be your best option. I am still just down the hall if I am needed. You have the schedule?"

"Yes," Elena answered. "Not written of course." After finding the bug in her apartment she had become very careful of her extra information. "Talbot will escort Smith and Jonathan around. Maria will be arriving with Gregori's Dream sometime tomorrow. She will pilot the Wind Dancer when you leave to pick up the needed merchandise. I will make sure to be in public spaces for most of the time you are gone so that our two guests believe the ship is still here and that all business is conducted here. Then you return and all of us leave."

At first Elena had been somewhat confused by the plan, but had to admit, allowing Smith and Jonathan to see the larger scale of the operations, the trade between various elements in various galaxies as well as the war like aspects that the raiders could bring out was not a very good plan. She shuttered to think of some of the Guild's defense weapons falling into the hands of any nations' military.

"Good," he said. "I'm certain it will be a very busy couple of days for you."

"And for you as well. Good trading," She hugged her grandfather and let him go. He walked towards his suite and disappeared around a curve. It was odd to think of him going out without her.

"Maria's a good pilot," she told herself as she unlocked her door. "There is no reason to worry just because I'm not the one piloting the ship." She knew Maria was just as capable of out running raiding parties as she was, but the thought was still unsettling. The door slid open in front of her and closed behind once she had stepped inside, a feature that always made her think of the television show Star Trek.

Personally she thought the Docking Facility's designers, at least the earth based ones, had been big fans. "Although once we went to DVDs the recording technology was fairly compatible and transferable to other systems. Digital downloads made it even easier. Quite a market." Star Trek had quite a high popularity although many of the alien species thought of the show as a comedic spoof. "With apologies to Mr. Roddenberry of course."

Elena looked around the suite. It was fairly generic and felt very much like a cross between a high-end hotel room and a pre-furnished corporate apartment, unlike her grandfather's space, which had been adjusted over time to suit his tastes. Elena shook her head. Both the Storm Chaser and her Head of House rooms still had that just out of the box feeling; nice but too new to be comfortable.

"We will just have to adjust that as soon as possible." Elena crossed the public space and entered the private rooms. She tossed her bag on the bed and mentally calculated the amount of credits she had in her account. "Enough for a couple of trips into the bazaar," she decided. The blank, off white walls were just a little too confining for her tastes. A bell sounded at the door to the public rooms and Elena re-crossed the apartment to answer it. A messenger stood with a thick envelope of cream-colored paper held lightly in his hands.

"Captain Elena Calabrese?"

"Yes," she responded. Apparently her address was already in the phone book. The messenger handed her the envelope and then stood with his hands clasped behind his back. She stared at him for a moment.

"I was told to wait for a response," he clarified.

"Oh, of course, please come in." She stepped aside to allow him into the public room and gestured for him to take one of the provided chairs. Elena split the wax seal with her thumb and inwardly smiled. So many of the guild dealt with high-end technologies and still insisted on many old fashioned accoutrements.

'We fly through space, use weapons our home planet has never dreamed of and still tend to prefer hand written notes with wax seals over e-mail. No wonder we confound the military,' she thought as she unfolded the letter. To her surprise it was an invitation from Council member Inoue Riko for dinner that evening if she was available.

"What does one wear for that," she mused aloud turning the note over.

"I believe the dress is casual, Madam," the messenger said. "Especially given the constraints of your current circumstances."

"I see," Elena said, swallowing nerves. "How thoughtful." She glanced again at the time and then at her watch. She had forgotten to adjust it to the set standard. "Local time right now would be what exactly?"

"5:08 madam." That left her enough time to shower, change clothes and reach the other side of the station where Riko's rooms were located without too much of a hurry.

"I would be happy to accept the invitation." She told the messenger. He stood.

"Thank you madam. I will convey your acceptance. Will you require direction?"

"No, I believe I can find it."

"Of course. We will make certain you are cleared through security."

"That would be nice." She escorted the messenger out. Once the door slid shut behind him she ran her hand through her hair and let out a sigh. What on earth could Riko possibly want?

"Only one way to find out," she said. "At least I threw one good outfit in just in case." The time when she had kept a wardrobe on the Docking Facility had long since passed and she was rather limited by what she had brought. "Apparently I'll have to look into that as well."

At the appointed time Elena found herself crossing a rather dramatic corridor decorated in black and gold. In the corner a golden dragon stood watch. Despite the gold it looked remarkably life like. 'Like a gilded alligator with wings just waiting,' she thought as she sidled past it. A large man with a long black braid popped up like a genie in the doorway.

"You have been cleared for entry Ms. Calabrese. Please follow me." He turned and walked off down the hallway. Elena followed, after all she had been invited to dinner, it would seem strange to run now. The door she was led to had statues of dragons placed to either side of the doorway. They matched the one in the main hall, but were naturally of a smaller scale. Privately Elena wondered how they didn't interfere with the opening mechanisms of the doorway but figured someone else had already come up with something to solve the problem. Her guide announced her and led her into the room.

'There are no blank walls here,' Elena thought. The room was done in a tasteful manner that managed to convey a sense of space. Plants gave the illusion of the out doors and Elena wondered how Riko managed to keep them alive.

"Elena. So good of you to accept my rather impromptu invitation." Riko was seated in one of the chairs grouped around a small red lacquered table. She didn't rise to greet Elena, but merely gestured towards one of the empty chairs facing her. Elena took the gesture as invitation and took her place in the chair. Riko's gaze slid over Elena, measuring her as a small man in a black three-piece suit wheeled over a tea tray and poured out for both of them.

Elena hoped her black turtleneck, dressed up with three long, slim, silver chains and gray dress slacks measured up to Riko's opinion of casual. As the woman herself was wearing black dress slacks and a green scoop necked top Elena felt she was fairly safe on that account. It didn't make her feel that much more comfortable, after all there were so many other things to worry about.

"It is my pleasure to be here, although I must confess I am a bit surprised by the invitation," Elena said. Riko reached for the steaming teacup, a smile tilting her lips. The servant disappeared behind a screen without a whisper.

"Such an honest reaction," Riko said taking a sip of tea. "How refreshing. Many others would have assumed that since I had invited them they were naturally worthy to be here and tried to determine why with subtle conversation instead of a simple question."

"Would subtle conversation have worked?"

"No," Riko said, her smile widening.

"Yet it seems open questioning does not either," Elena said politely. She picked up her cup and breathed in the steam.

"And you believe you have a right to know?"

"Yes, I do," Elena, answered simply.

"How do you find working with Peter Baranov?" Riko asked. Elena blinked at the alteration of the conversation and the shift in tone. Riko's voice had taken on a sharp edge under the silky politeness.

"He has proven to be an adequate advisor during the time I have been dealing with the military." Elena responded.

"Has he? Well that is Council business. I believe there is now other business?"

"Yes," Elena said catching the emphasis on other. "My grandfather and I talked about using my existing business to expand the placement possibilities for some of the channel goods. Peter believed it would be a profitable venture and asked to be included in the partnership."

"And you agreed to work with his cousin Andre?"

"Andre is an excellent graphics designer. Peter suggested him and when I interviewed him, I found him to be exactly what we needed and hired him."

"Peter?" Riko said, her eyebrows rising in question.

"He corrects me when I call him Mr. Baranov."

"Oh, I bet he does," Riko said with a laugh. The laugh had a hard edge to it that Elena was not too comfortable with. She reminded herself that council members were dangerous people. With a sigh she realized when she returned she might ask Andre to tell her some of the stories about her grandfather. Knowing them might help her remember that fact, as she seemed to find a council member around every corner. Elena could find no comment for Riko and took a delicate sip of the hot tea instead. Riko's eyes narrowed in thought.

"I imagine he is quite happy with you right now."

"He seemed pleased by the progress we have made." Elena responded not rising to the bait. Riko smiled and tossed it to her anyway.

"You know Andre is a few years older than you and thus far no one has ever been able to get him interested in working for the Guild in any capacity. Until Peter sent you, of course."

"Did they try asking him to use his skills as an artist?" Elena asked calmly. Inside she planned to have conversations with both Peter and Andre. 'And won't that be fun,' she thought.

"You know, I don't know," Riko said, a surprised look flashed across her face for an instant.

"Perhaps that is the difference."

"Perhaps. So how are you finding your non-council arranged partnership with Black Pete going?"

"Thus far it is fine."

"And his reputation? It does not bother you?"

"I do not plan on giving him reason to show that part of his character to me," Elena responded. Riko let out another hard laugh.

"Yes, I believe it wise to do that."

"Does my partnership bother you or the Council?" Elena asked.

"My, you are blunt," Riko said.

"My apologies if my question offends."

"Offends, no. Surprises, yes." She tilted her head. "It is of no true concern of mine or the council's what business arrangements have been made. I was merely assuaging my curiosity."

"I see."

"And how is your dream journal going?" This time Elena did not even blink at the topic change.

"Well actually. The headaches have completely stopped."

"And the dreams?"

"They have become more vivid and I believe I understand them better."

"I am told your cousin Mateo is to become an adherent to your household."

"Yes," Elena responded, deciding to keep her details to a minimum.

"He is quite gifted."

"Yes he is."

"It appears he is already working on a major project."

"Does it?"

"Yes." Elena sipped her tea and decided not to comment. The same servant who poured the tea began setting up for dinner. Not so much as a plate clattered or silverware clinked as he set the table for two.

"This is quite a lovely tea," Elena said as the silence stretched. Riko smiled a shark's smile.

"Thank you." They sat quietly for a moment as the servant completed his task and left. "Does the project Mateo is working on have anything to do with your partnership with Peter?" Elena raised an eyebrow in question. "I can be blunt as well, when the situation calls for it."

"No. Mateo is not working for Peter."

"That doesn't answer my question as you well know. I am aware Mateo works for you and that you have a partnership with Peter. Therefore Mateo does not have to be working for Peter to assist him."

"That partnership is separate from Mateo's current project," Elena clarified with a hard smile. Riko seemed pleased.

"Does it have anything to do with the Calling?"

"Perhaps," Elena hedged.

"Anything you would like to share?"

"Not yet," Elena said. Riko watched Elena for a moment as a dinner tray was wheeled into the room. A large silver dome topped the tray. Riko glanced at it in irritation and Elena remembered the etiquette of not discussing business over dinner had become near law in some of the council households.

"I have the feeling your venture will prove a profitable one. I would like to become involved in it when you are ready to share. A partnership of sorts."

"Many others have been looking into this a lot longer. Why would you not seek a partnership with them? It would seem a safer bet." Riko laughed at the question and rose regally from her chair. Elena stood as well.

"The others have been studying it longer," Riko admitted. "However none of them have moved beyond theories while you have given one of our best mechanics a list of concrete goals. You are one of the best pilots I have seen with your instincts sharper than many, and it has not escaped my notice that nearly every venture you become involved in becomes rapidly quite profitable. Are these not enough reasons to become interested in a partnership?"

"They are good reasons," Elena said carefully. "If I reach a point where it might be feasible to form a partnership I would consider it." Riko smiled at Elena's answer.

"That is all I ask," she said. "Now let us put business aside and get to know one another over a delicious meal."

### Chapter 39

"I hate politics," Elena muttered to herself as she made her way through the corridors and back towards her quarters.

"So I guess some things never change," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"Angie," Elena said throwing her arms around her friend.

"Did you think you could sneak back dockside with no one noticing?" Angie asked when Elena released her. "Especially with everything going on."

"I suppose not," Elena said with a chuckle. "So how's life?"

"Good, good. Several of us are down in the Aerie. We heard you had a reprieve from babysitting duties so I was sent to find you."

"That sounds like heaven," Elena sighed dramatically. "You don't suppose they have a glass or two of Draxio around do you? I could really use a drink."

"As long as Lucy and Rowan haven't gotten into one of their philosophical debates recently there should be a glass or two left."

"Tell me the truth, they aren't still debating the Varcas war are they?" Elena shuttered and Angie laughed.

"Nope we put a gag order on them over that. They have managed to find several other almost as annoying topics to fill the gap in the time you've been gone." They headed off to the Aerie, one of their group's favorite watering holes. Elena was more than happy to shuck all talk of partnerships and have conversations merely to enjoy another's company.

Across the bazaar she spotted Talbot leading a frowning Smith and a note taking Jonathan. Jonathan waved when he spotted her and looked like he wanted to call her over. She waved back and continued on her way unfazed. Tonight was about catching up with old friends. She walked into the Aerie to enthusiastic greetings from friends she tried very hard not to miss and she broke out into a grin. It was the start of a fun evening.

"This is not the way to start a good morning," Elena told herself the next day as she fought to keep her brains from leaking out of her ears. "At least this headache isn't from the Calling." There had been more than a few glasses of Draxio around last night, although Elena was pretty sure it was in scarce supply this morning.

"Just how many toasts did I drink last night?" As she dressed she tried to count. Laura's wedding, Karen's first ship, Dina's new ship, her own new ship, Angie's partnership with the House of Havers, Haley's securing a trade agreement with the Otrasal. The list continued long past Elena's recall. "Apparently a lot has happened in five years." Elena knew from experience that a nice tall glass of icy cold wanoc would settle her stomach and banish the hangover quicker than anything.

"Besides I have to make appearances anyway." Elena made her way down to the bazaar and saw Angie nursing a cup of wanoc. She slid into the chair opposite her.

"You look as bad as I feel," she told her friend.

"You don't look so great either," Angie told her. "Why did you let me drink so much?"

"Why did you keep proposing toasts?"

"Wanoc?" a waiter asked, sidling up to the table. Elena nodded and tried to keep her head from snapping off of her neck. "Thought so." He whisked a glass from behind his back and Elena mentally tripled his forthcoming tip in her mind. The man was obviously a god in disguise. The two of them sipped their drinks, keeping conversation to a minimum until they could take effect. At the halfway mark, Elena found she had become human again and sighed with relief. Draxio had never been intended for human physiology.

"I think we ought to canonize the first person to put this stuff on ice," she told Angie.

"Amen," her friend said reverentially. "The red haze over everything is fading away. And just in time too it looks." Elena looked to see what her friend had spotted and found Smith and Jonathan walking towards her. Talbot was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit," Elena said, but there was no force behind the word.

"I have some questions," Smith said in his customary demanding way. Apparently nice stopped at the docking tube.

"If you'll excuse me," Angie said standing. "I need to be elsewhere." She mouthed the word 'Sorry' at Elena before fairly turning on her heels and walking quickly away. Elena didn't blame her. She had the suspicion that everyone who didn't have to talk to the military was told to avoid them at all costs. Unfortunately, she didn't get that memo.

"When do you not have questions?" She asked Smith. He and Jonathan took this as an invitation to sit down. She glared at them to no effect and took another sip of her drink.

"The goods here are not earth goods. They are from elsewhere, but all of the people here are human." Smith stated. Elena stared at him.

"Was there a question in there?"

"Why?"

"Because the Docking Facility is a human place. Our home away from home. We trade and bring stuff here where other people can buy it." She didn't tell him that all of the non-humans had been asked to remain hidden for the next few days. If Talbot hadn't mentioned it then she wasn't about to spill the beans.

"That makes more sense," Jonathan said.

"More sense than what?" Elena asked.

"Then Talbot's version."

"Oh." Elena didn't ask what Talbot's version was. She didn't want to know. "Where is Talbot?"

"Around," Jonathan said evasively. Elena frowned realizing they had probably deliberately dodged Talbot. Her suspicions were confirmed when a red faced and panting Talbot appeared on the edge of the bazaar and practically raced over when he spotted Smith and Jonathan.

"I think he found you," Elena said dryly. Both men looked over and scowled. "I suppose I had better leave you," She told them.

"Why," Smith demanded. "Do you have more important secret Guild business to attend to?"

"Actually," she said. "I was going shopping."

"Then we will come with you." Elena looked to Talbot who had joined them. He nodded.

"If that is all right with you, Ms. Calabrese."

"Fine," Elena said shrugging. "I could use some people for the heavy lifting." Elena gulped the last of her drink and paid up, leaving the large tip she had already decided upon. The bazaar was as always a wondrous place of the glittering and mundane. Dazzling artwork produced by people whose names the human tongue could never pronounce pressed side by side with phony star charts leading to lost cities built of precious gems. Fruit vendors vied for space beside fortunetellers.

Elena smiled as she made her way through the exotic, yet familiar mix. Talbot seemed content to let her answer questions since she kept things simple and chose not to elaborate. He wore a small smile and Elena couldn't tell if he was pleased with her responses or if he was just happy he didn't have to answer the questions. By the end of the day she had accumulated quite a tidy pile and led the group back towards her rooms. Smith and Jonathan, as expected placed their parcels down and began examining the room. She shrugged as Talbot shook his head. The rooms were new, what could they learn?

"It's similar to ours," Smith said. He sounded disappointed.

"Did you expect it to be different?"

"It doesn't have any pilot things," Jonathan said. He too sounded disappointed. Elena chose not to ask what pilot things were.

"I believe we have imposed upon Ms. Calabrese long enough. If you will follow me please. It is nearly dinner time and your dinner has been arranged. Ms. Calabrese, thank you." Talbot efficiently herded Smith and Jonathan out of her rooms and she sank onto one of the chairs in exhaustion.

### Chapter 40

The next few days passed in an odd game of tag. Elena appeared in the bazaar as she was supposed to, letting Smith and Jonathan catch sight of her. Then she would do her level best to disappear before they could catch her. If she escaped, the day was hers. If they caught her she would spend more time shopping. By the time her grandfather returned and the Wind Dancer was ready to return, Elena never wanted to go shopping again. Although she did have to admit her rooms now looked a little less industrial.

"I suppose it is for the best," she thought as she ascended the docking tube and once again took he place on the Wind Dancer. She dropped her bag off and readied the Wind Dancer for departure as every one else settled. As expected, Smith and Jonathan saw her and made a beeline for her location. Smith however seemed to have left his demanding questions back on the Docking Facility and returned to the silent appraisal that he adopted after the fight with her grandfather.

'Here's hoping it lasts,' she thought. The docking clamps released and Elena guided the Wind Dancer back to the encircling ribbon of water. They circled the Docking Facility once and then headed off into the black, a ribbon of blue trailing beneath them. Jonathan was taking pictures and Smith was once again studying the instruments.

Elena shrugged philosophically and figured it was pretty much going to be a repeat of the trip out. This time however, safely stowed below decks was a large shipment ready to be unloaded at what was now her homeport and repackaged for sale in Nibbles. A few days later, Peter would be returning with a similar load and the military would be on its own once more.

'No more meetings,' she thought happily. 'No more rapid fire questions and accusations.' Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jonathan snap pictures with his digital camera and wondered if anyone had told them that. Elena had only been asked to meet with them to correct their information and take them through the channels once.

She had been told any further meetings would go through Peter and Peter alone. Elena glanced at Smith. She couldn't see him enjoying that. 'Add to that the fact that we are all going to be running the schedule of the channels for a while and none of us will be available and he is likely to go insane.' Once Nibbles was up and running, the Storm Chaser would be making supply runs during the season as well. 'So I won't be there for him to fuss at anyway.' The thought brightened her.

'And the Wind Dancer won't be around for them to study either since grandfather is taking her right out of port after dropping us off.' The ship would be circling back to unload cargo later. 'This is the last run I'll make on the Wind Dancer.' She realized abruptly.

Elena patted the ship affectionately. She would miss it. She had grown up on the Wind Dancer's decks. Boots, the ships cat circled around her ankles. Elena thought of Spin and the Storm Chaser. The melancholy faded a little. Across the deck Smith and Jonathan prowled still looking for the instruments she had hidden. Since they were built into the hull and below the water line, she didn't have much hope for their quest.

She could almost feel sorry for them. No ship, the only pilot they knew off where they couldn't reach her and only Peter for a contact, when they could reach him. She had a feeling happiness would not reign supreme. Feeling slightly petty, Elena smiled. She adjusted the Wind Dancer's heading and turned the ship for home.

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Follow Elena's continuing Adventures in Storm Chaser, Book Two of The Channel Riders

