When it was over I lay drained of everything, feeling her heartbeat subside slowly against my ear. We rested, but again and again in the night we were like wild animals, coming alive to the frenzy of youth and desire. When morning came at last I slept in Amanda’s arms, peaceful, comforted, sated. Whole.
It was never so fine again. Perhaps the newness was gone; perhaps some subtle tides failed to mesh. In the stillness of the nights we came together, loving, tender, eager to satisfy. What we gave each other was good, and pleasing. But the first night remained a loving memory, never equaled.
Derek surely knew what we were experiencing. At least he must have heard Amanda cry out. But during the daytime we were a warm and friendly threesome, enjoying each other’s company, relaxing together. Only when dark fell did the two of us shyly retreat to our haven while Derek crawled into his solitary cot.
A dawn came when, Amanda’s head resting lightly on my shoulder, I woke with sadness, knowing our togetherness was drawing to a close. Amanda stirred in her sleep. As quietly as I could I slipped out of bed, gathered my clothes and crept out of me tent.
It was bitter cold; I threw some sticks on the embers and was at last rewarded with a sputtering flame. I fed it until it provided some warmth. I put a cup of coffee in the micro and when it heated, I held it between my two hands inhaling its vapor.
Restless, I wandered beyond the edge of the campsite toward the lightening sky, found a place to sit at the crest of a hill looking down into the valley below. Sipping my blessedly hot coffee I watched a moody yellow sun hoist itself over the peaks opposite, casting roseate hues on the bleak gray of dawn. The fog in the valley below began to lift. Across the glen, an eleven-hundred-foot waterfall threw itself endlessly over the cliff into the waiting valley.
Never had I seen a place so magnificent. Dawn brightened into day. Below, a smaller falls became visible as the night mists evaporated. The greens, yellows, and blues of the foliage brightened into their daytime splendor.
I had to leave this peaceful planet, and with it, Amanda. I must sail on to Detour, return briefly to Hope Nation to board passengers, then endure the long dreary voyage home to face an unforgiving Admiralty at Lunapolis. I knew they’d never give me command again. I knew I would never again come to this place. I knew I would lose Amanda to light-years of forgetfulness.
It was my lot to be banished from paradise.
Overwhelmed by despair amid the stark beauty of the Venturas, I mourned for Sandy Wilsky, for Mr. Tuak, for Captain Malstrom, for Father lost forever in his dour hardness. For the beauty I hadn’t known and would never know again. I cursed my weakness, my pettiness, the lack of wisdom that made tragedy of my attempt to captain Hibernia. Then Amanda, sweet Amanda, came from the glade and enveloped me in her arms, caressing, hugging, rocking, lending me solace only she could give.
After a while we walked together back to the campsite, my soul clinging to the gentle warmth of her touch. Derek, wearing short pants, shirtless, was just starting off to the stream with a bar of soap. Seeing us, he went on his way, mercifully silent.
“Nicky, those terrible events on Hibernia weren’t your fault.”
I sat brooding near the firepit, waiting for the micro to heat my coffee. “No? My talent is to hurt people. I killed Tuak and Rogoff; you know it wasn’t necessary. At Miningcamp I killed the rebel Kerwin Jones and his men, yet made a deal to spare his cohorts on the station. What was the difference?”
“You’re too harsh on your—”
“I was cruel to Vax for months. I sent poor Derek to the Chief to be caned for nothing at all. Even Alexi—if I’d been a better leader I wouldn’t have had to send him to the barrel. The way I treated the Pilot I can’t even discuss. I think of them all the time, Amanda. Lord God, how I hate being clumsy and incompetent!”
“You’re not, Nicky.”
“Tell that to Sandy Wilsky.” My tone was searing.
She was silent for a time. “Must you always do everything right?”
“Not always. But I’m talking about losing my ship and killing my midshipmen and brutalizing the crew!” Again the miasma of despair closed about me.
Amanda sat near, her arm thrown across my shoulders. “You’ve done your best. Give yourself peace.”
“I don’t know how.” I lapsed silent until Derek returned, his skin pink and briskly scrubbed.
“Man, that’s cold!” He plunged into the firesite and stood warming himself by the flames. He glanced at me with concern. “Are you all right, Mr. Seafort?”
“Fine.” With an effort I lightened my tone. “What would you people like to do today?” It was to be our last full day in Western Continent.
Over breakfast, we decided we’d hike across the valley to the waterfall. I packed my backpack and set out with the others, hoping physical exertion would help banish my melancholy.
It took only a couple of hours to descend our side of the slope. But the valley was wider than it had appeared from the heights, and we had to pick our way among fallen trunks and viny growths that fastened to every crack. At last, weary, we reached the far side of the glen. A short hike brought us to the base of the waterfall where, to our delight, a pool was hidden in the dense undergrowth. Hot and sweating I began to strip off my clothes. After a moment Amanda did likewise. Derek hesitated, ill at ease.
“Come on, middy! It’s no different from the wardroom!” My annoyance was evident. His shyness was from his aristocratic past, not his Navy present. Perhaps, groundside for three weeks, he’d forgotten he shared a bunkroom, head, and shower with Paula Treadwell and the other middies. Blushing, he took off his clothes and waded in.
I’d forgotten how wonderful were simple pleasures. A cold swim after our long hot exertion had a marvelous restorative effect. We cavorted and splashed like small children until our energy was spent. Finally we dressed, had a snack from our packs, and prepared to go back.
“Hey!” Derek pointed to the ground at the pool’s edge, where a sandaled footprint was outlined in the mud.
“We’re not alone.” Amanda was crestfallen.
I said, “Just some other tourists.” They’d come to see the spectacular waterfall, as we had.
“We didn’t see anyone.”
“They’re not here now,” I said impatiently. “Who knows how long ago they left that footprint?”
Derek stared at the mud. His voice was quiet. “It rained hard two nights ago.” The hairs rose on the back of my neck as my imagination brought forth an alien creature sipping water from this very pool. Then I laughed at my foolishness. Aliens wouldn’t wear sandals like our own.
“So, someone else is around,” I said. It didn’t matter.
Derek jumped up with enthusiasm. “I’ll bet they’re down there!” He pointed to a wooded area past an open field farther down the valley. “Let’s find them!”
I didn’t want to disturb the other group’s privacy, but I had little choice but to follow unless I asserted my authority and demanded that we turn back. My sour mood returned. We scrambled across rocks and through broad-leaved vines until we reached the thicket. We walked along the edge of the field toward the woods.
“Good heavens, that’s corn!” Amanda stopped to examine it. Several rows of stalks stood above low-lying vegetation that covered the meadow.
“It can’t be; there’s no native corn.”
“Don’t tell me about corn, Nicky.”
Ignoring our conversation, Derek ran ahead, out of sight.
“Wait,” I called, to no avail. Uneasy, I hurried after him. “Let’s go, Amanda.”
I stopped so suddenly she caromed into me. Derek, his hands raised, backed slowly away from a ragged man waving a laser. “All of you! Stay right there!” The scarecrow waved his arm back and forth between Derek and the two of us. Casually, I stepped between Amanda and the laser. The man’s eyes darted among us. Deeply tanned, he wore cutoff pants with ragged edges.
I cleared my throat. “Good afternoon, Captain Grone.”
>
The gun wavered. “Who told you my name?”
“How many other settlers are hiding in the Venturas?”
“There could be more. How did you know my name?”
“The heli service told us about you.” Not exactly a lie. They’d mentioned him in passing.
He waved the laser, sounding glum. “I can’t let you go knowing where to find me.”
Time to gamble. “Did you bring a recharger for that pistol, when you fled Centraltown?”
He glared, then dropped his eyes and lowered the gun. “It’s been out for months,” he admitted. “Damn the thing.”
“It’s all right, Derek,” I said. “Put your hands down.” Sheepishly, the middy let his hands fall. I stepped forward. “Nick Seafort of U.N.S. Hibernia.” I offered my hand. After a moment the ex-Captain took it. “May I present Miss Frowel, and Midshipman Derek Carr. Midshipman, you salute a Captain!” Derek snapped his fanciest salute, which after a moment the fugitive sailor in his ragged shorts and torn shirt returned.
“Honey, come out!” he called over his shoulder. In a moment a lithe, well-tanned young woman emerged. Amanda quietly looked her over, with a glance my way; I pretended not to notice.
“This is my wife Jana. Jana, this is Mr. Seafort and his friends Derek and Amanda.”
“Hi, everyone!” Jana Grone seemed pleased at our company. “Come join us for coffee.” As if it were an everyday occurrence, she turned and led us into the woods. We came to a simple hut, hidden under the leafy canopy. A precarious mud-bricked chimney rose from one side. She took a kettle from an iron grate and poured coffee into several glass jars. Ceremoniously, she handed them around.
“To our first guests,” she said.
“And our last.” Her husband was morose. “He’ll report us and they’ll come for me.”
“As far as I’m concerned,” I blurted, surprising myself, “you’re a deranged joe who thinks he’s the missing Captain Grone. Until I see proof, I’ve got nothing to tell Admiralty.”
Hope flashed in his eyes. “You’d really do that?”
I thought briefly of impressing Grone back into the service to sail Hibernia, and decided the ship was safer even with me. “You’re a local problem. I have nothing to do with it.”
“You mean that?” He probed my expression. “Then we have another chance! Still, I suppose we’ll have to move inland. You’re the second group to camp within sight of the falls.”
“We can move next spring,” Jana told him. “Plant a new field farther away.” She added wistfully, “We could still hike to the pool sometimes.”
Amanda inspected her glass. “Two questions. Where do you get coffee?”
“We plant a little of everything,” Grone said, as if proud to show off his accomplishments. “We, uh, borrowed a couple of coffee plants from Hopewell, along with the other vegetables. They grow quite well here. See? They’re in the seventh row over.” I peered. It all looked the same to me.
“And your other question?” Jana.
“What are you people doing here?”
The two exchanged glances. Jana said, “Tell her.”
He glanced about with caution and dropped his voice. “The meteors.”
“What meteors?” Derek and Amanda, as one.
Grone spoke in a whisper. “It was night. I was piloting the ten-seater shuttle, helping out a friend. I was almost through the ionosphere when they came. Dozens of them.”
“Meteorites,” I said. He needed hormone rebalancing. A case for the psych wards.
“Yeah, meteorites. Some real ones, but others too. The ones that sprayed.”
“What in hell are you talking about?” My shoulder blades twitched with the same eerie feeling as when I’d confronted Darla’s glitch.
“My trajectory almost matched the meteorites. I rode with them a long while. I saw them spray something.”
“Oh, come on!” For a moment I’d actually considered putting him on Hibernia’s bridge. I shuddered.
“No, they did! Long trails of vapor. You know what it reminded me of? Insecticide.”
“So you jumped ship and came here?” My tone was wondering.
“I got out as fast as I could. After I landed I got Jana and we took a heli and a whole bunch of supplies and stopped at Hopewell and got some plants and we took off.” His words tumbled. “I smashed the transponder so they couldn’t track us.”
“But why?”
“If you’d seen the spray you’d know!”
He was starting to bore me. “Know what?”
“They were spraying us, I told you. And you know what happened right after? The epidemic. Some bug nobody’s ever seen, that breaks down cell walls and kills whoever it hits. We listened on our radio before it went.”
“Who sprayed you?” Amanda was tense now.
“They were,” he said darkly.
“Water vapor.” My voice was reassuring. “Ice in the meteorites boiled into steam and vaporized. That’s all.” She studied my face, relaxed a trifle.
Vehemently, Grone shook his head. “Don’t give me that goofjuice; you think I’m some groundsider doesn’t know the difference? I’ve been around! I went interstellar three times and ran interplanetary for five years before. How old are you, sixteen? You joeykids think you know everything!” He subsided, grumbling to himself. His wife gave him an encouraging pat. After a moment he smiled at her.
“We’re safer out here,” Grone said softly, his voice calmer. He looked up to the sky as if for more meteorites. “If they think they’ve got everybody, they’ll stop spraying.”
I shook my head. “You’ve gone around the bend.”
“Think so?” He looked cunning. “Then there’s no point in reporting us, is there?”
Jana clasped his arm. “Peter took the time to save me before he ran for safety. That’s how much he loves me.” She squeezed his biceps and he rewarded her with an approving smile.
“The epidemic is over,” I said. “Didn’t you hear? We have a vaccine.”
“They miscalculated this time. Next time will be worse.”
I realized logic couldn’t reach him, and changed the topic. How did they manage to survive in the wilderness? That set them both off. With pride, they took turns describing their inventions and accommodations. After a while I thought it safe to suggest leaving.
“I promise I won’t mention you,” I told him. “Good luck. I hope you make it through the winters.” On the Western Continent, winter brought frigid winds and heavy snows.
“Oh, we have to,” Jana said. “We have a baby coming.” On that forlorn note we parted.
Climbing back to our campsite took most of our breath. When we finally dropped our backpacks near the firepit it was almost dark. Derek and Amanda consulted on a farewell dinner and broke out a bottle of wine they’d saved. We dined on steak and potatoes, hot bread, coffee and wine. A lovely meal.
In our tent, knowing it was our final night together, Amanda and I were tender and solicitous, but our passion was muted. A bittersweet moment, but I cherished it nonetheless.
In the morning we packed our tents and equipment into the heli, carefully doused the remains of our fire, and lifted off for the long flight home. Once again I was the only pilot. From time to time I let Derek handle the controls and he was as pleased as a child.
Near home our conversation turned to Captain Grone and his pathetic state of mind. Amanda said, “Imagine the two of them trying to nurse a baby through a mountain winter.”
“They’ll be all right.” I shrugged. “They’ve already been through it once.”
“You seem pretty callous about it.”
“Am I? Maybe it comes from being in the Navy. People make their own beds, then have to lie in them.” I recalled saying the same to Pilot Haynes, and quickly changed the subject. “It’s what can happen to a Captain under too much stress. Sitting alone in his cabin brooding, imagining everyone is out to get him ...” Derek shot me a thoughtful glance, and I hurried on. “Having no on
e to talk to is the worst of it. That’s probably why Grone snapped.”
“Poor man.”
“That’s why I’m so worried about going on.”
“About what?”
I should have been more cautious. Instead, I said with disgust, “Didn’t I tell you? They can’t find a Captain to replace me. I’m still senior. I’ll have to sail to Detour and home again.”
“You can’t!”
“I have to,” I said. “It’s my job.”
Her voice was ominous. “How long have you known about this, Nicky?”
“Since I reported to Admiralty.” I made a helpless gesture. “There’s no way out.”
“You could resign!” With an effort, she took the edge from her tone. “I know you tried your best, Nicky. But you were very lucky; you know that. You could have lost the ship.”
“More than once.”
“But you’ll still go? Is glory so important to you?”
“Not glory,” I said shortly. “You know I can’t break my oath.”
It seemed to anger her more. “All this time you knew you would go again as Captain, and didn’t tell me?”
“That’s why I was so upset all week!”
“I’m the one who has a right to be upset. I hate dishonesty!”
“Dishon—Amanda, I’d have told you if I thought about it. I figured everyone in Centraltown knew. And what choice did I have? I—”
“You have one honorable choice! Resign!”
“He’s senior officer,” Derek said. “It’s his respon—”
“Midshipman, stay out of this! Amanda, that’s not fair.”
“I hate having gone with you under false pretenses.” Amanda’s tone was harsh. “And I hate you more for tricking me. I won’t discuss it further!”
Enraged, I throttled as high as the motor would allow, indifferent to engine wear. After an hour of mutual sullen silence I spotted the coastline and followed it north to Centraltown.
Amanda, still refusing to speak to me, stalked off with her gear to find a taxi. I remained with Derek to return the heli and sort out our belongings. Late in the evening I saw Derek to the shuttle and thumbed a ride to Amanda’s house on the edge of town.
Midshipman's Hope (The Seafort Saga Book 1) Page 34
