Delmar stood and crossed the room and looked out through the small window onto the courtyard below. Everything seemed so peaceful now. It had been just barely over a year since the whole turmoil had begun. He couldn’t believe that so much could happen in so short a time. His parents were both dead, his mom killed in a car accident and his father lost while on a mission on a closed planet somewhere. He had run away from home to escape Dorn, his abusive older brother, and now his brother was dead, killed while a fugitive from the law. The only stable family life he had was with Robert and Agnes Hassel, and now they were billions of miles away on another planet.
Delmar took a deep breath and sighed, turning back toward Jake.
“It just seems like I’m running in circles, Jake,” he complained. “I joined the troopers in part to escape Dorn, but now he’s gone and I never got a chance to tell him how much I really cared for him. My parents are dead, and I sold my farm, so I don’t have a home to return to. Don’t get me wrong, Mom and Pop Hassel are wonderful. I just don’t feel like I’ve got any roots and everything is spinning out of control.”
“You’re not doing very well in school either, are you son?” asked Jake.
“How did you know?” replied the bewildered young man. “Did Stan . . .?”
“No, nothing like that,” answered Jake. “But I’ve been in caught in enough rain storms to tell when someone’s stuck in the mud. Besides, your application to change career fields is a pretty clear indication that you’re not doing well.”
Jake lifted his artificial left leg up onto a small ottoman to relieve some of the pressure from his old combat wound. “The situation probably isn’t as grim as you think,” he said. “Computer theory is a lot harder than operation. I mean, look at me,” he added more light-heartedly. “I can barely turn mine on!”
Delmar sat back down in the overstuffed chair and leaned forward toward Jake.
“If I tell you about what’s been bothering me, do you think we can try to fix it?”
“If it’s fixable, sure we can,” answered Jake. “Tell me and let’s see.”
Delmar nodded. Why not? he thought.
“Ok, here goes,” he said. “You know about me being put off of the Malibu after landing for repairs at Port Mulvey.”
“Yes,” Jake answered.
“Did I tell you that a Mican Port Authority guard chased me?”
“No, I don’t think so,” answered Jake. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing special,” Delmar said. “An old space pirate tried to shanghai me at the spaceport, but this giant Mican guard rescued me. When I couldn’t prove I was on the planet legally, he started to take me in. Then some kind of disturbance caught his attention and I was able to escape.”
“I never knew that,” Jake said. “That’s some story.”
“I know,” answered Delmar. “So when I got away from him, I found myself running down the road toward what I hoped was the nearby town, but it turned out to be farther than I expected. I got tired and cold. No one would stop to give me a ride.”
Jake could see the hurt in the boy’s eyes.
“You must understand, Delmar that a port city isn’t like a small rural town. We get all kinds of riff-raff drifters and space bums through here, and not all of them are good people. We’ve had more than a few citizens seriously hurt or killed by hitch-hikers they’ve picked up on the port road.”
“That’s what I figured,” Delmar answered.
“But you were saying something about breaking into someone’s property.”
“Yes sir.”
“Then go ahead, tell me the rest.”
“Well, it got dark when I was still a few miles outside of town,” Delmar continued. “I was cold and hungry and needed a place to rest.”
Jake nodded.
“Anyway,” continued Delmar, “I saw an old storage shed in a field and it didn’t look like anyone was in it, so I walked across some farmer’s field to get to it. The door was locked and I couldn’t get in.”
Jake nodded again. “So that’s when you . . .”
“That’s when I found a piece of metal pipe and pried the hasp and lock off the door and let myself in,” Delmar finished Jake’s sentence. “There was some kind of weird tractor inside, and there was a light bulb that I was able to warm my hands with by standing on a fender.”
“Delmar?” Jake said. “It wasn’t right that you broke into that shed.”
“I know,” answered Delmar. “That’s what I’m trying . . .”
“But neither is it a felony.”
“I know that,” the youth agreed. “But I left there the next morning and didn’t leave the man a note or anything. What’s more, I was on Mica long enough to have gone back out there to make it right, but I didn’t.”
“That’s it?” asked Jake. “That’s what’s been eating away at you?”
“Yes sir,” answered Delmar. “What I did was wrong. The end doesn’t justify the means if it harms another person or his property. No honorable trooper would have ever done such a thing.”
“You’re right,” answered Jake after a moment. “You weren’t a trooper yet but your point is well taken. Besides, we can fix it.”
“How?” asked the bewildered trooper. “I don’t know who owns the property, so how can we contact him?”
“Do you think you’d recognize the place if you saw it again?”
“I suppose so. It’s been a while, and it was pretty dark.”
“But you think you’d know it if you saw it again?”
“Yeah, probably,” Delmar answered. “What do you have in mind?”
Jake Sender lifted his artificial leg down from the ottoman and pushed himself up from the desk chair. “I’m thinking that I’ll exercise some of my military rank,” he answered. “See if I can help you fix this little problem of yours.”
Jake crossed the room to the telephone on his desk. After quickly flipping through a list of phone numbers he removed from his briefcase, he dialed a number and spoke to someone on the other end of the line. Delmar could not hear the conversation. After hanging up, Jake came back over to the youth. “Go get your uniform on,” Jake said. “I’ve got an idea. Meet me outside in thirty minutes.”
Delmar glanced back out the window. The sun was shining bright and there was only a slight breeze rustling the leaves of a tree in the yard.
“Yes, sir, if you say so,” he answered. He’d known Jake Sender long enough to know that when he said it was time to move, you’d better be ready.
A half hour later two military flitters settled down onto the temple parking lot. One of the flitter pilots stepped out of his craft and approached Jake, who had changed into his own uniform and walked outside, Delmar close behind him. The pilot saluted Jake as he approached.
“Major Sender?”
“That’s me,” Jake answered.
“Just don’t break it,” the pilot requested as he tossed the flitter key to Jake. Without another word the pilot saluted, turned, and walked to the second flitter. Jake and Delmar watched him climb into the passenger seat of the flitter. With a wave, the pilot of the flitter accelerated the craft up into the clouds and they disappeared from sight.
Delmar looked from the remaining flitter to Jake, then back at the flitter.
“You called for a service flitter?” Delmar asked in astonishment.
“Yep,” answered Jake.
“And you can fly it?”
“Yep,” Jake repeated. “You don’t think I spent all those years in space alone in a scout ship if I couldn’t fly, do you boy?”
Delmar didn’t know what to think. He’d learned by surprise that both Mom and Pop Hassel were flyers, and now Jake. Was there anything these people couldn’t do?
“Does Sherry fly too?” Delmar asked.
“Only when I’m driving,” Jake answered straight-faced. Delmar nodded.
“Now, if I can get you to the spaceport outside of Port Mulvey, do you think you can recognize that shed you broke
in to?” Jake asked.
“Sure,” Delmar answered. “I guess so. It was dark and cold . . .” His voice trailed off into silence.
“But you said it was only a couple of miles outside of town on the port road, right?” Jake asked. Delmar nodded. “Then there can’t be that many sheds to choose from,” Jake continued. “I’m sure we’ll find it.”
“Then what?” Delmar asked.
“Then you do whatever it is you think you need to do to set your conscious at ease,” Jake answered. “I’m just the taxi driver. The rest is up to you.”
The two men started toward the flitter when Sherry’s voice stopped them from behind.
“And just where do you two think you’re going?”
Delmar and Jake turned to see Sherry and Stan walking toward them. “We’re just taking a little trip.”
“Without me?” Sherry asked.
“Or me?” interjected Stan.
“Yes, without either of you,” Jake answered before Delmar could say anything. “This is private ministerial business. You two go shopping or something. We’ll be back in a little while.”
Jake kissed Sherry on the cheek and squeezed her hand. “It’s personal, honey,” he said. “Boys only.”
Then with a wave, Jake and Delmar turned and climbed into the waiting flitter.
“You sure you know how to fly this thing?” Delmar asked Jake, strapping himself into the passenger seat.
“Just watch me,” Jake answered as he scanned the flitter systems and buckled himself in.
“And Delmar?”
“Yes sir?”
“Hold on to your hat!”
The canopy of the small craft closed tight, and at the same time, Jake spun the axis ball with his left hand while accelerating the throttle bar with his right. The flitter shot straight up into the air, the ground falling away quickly beneath them.
Port Mulvey was only a few miles out of town, so the flight was only going to take a few minutes to get there. Jake knew he could have driven his ground car and found the shed just as easily, and he even thought he knew the property that Delmar had referred to. He’d driven the port road many times. But he wanted some private time in the clouds with Delmar. There was just something special about flying that helped him get closer to the Unseen One. He hoped Delmar would feel the same closeness while he worked through his inner turmoil.
The air traffic was slow this time of day over town. They were delayed only twice by ambulances rushing to or from accidents, and only once did they see a Mican patrol craft signaling a reckless pilot to land.
Jake flew the flitter flawlessly while Delmar wondered at the sites around him. The field at Port Mulvey loomed over the horizon and he could see hundreds of ships of every description. As they approached the expansive spaceport, Delmar craned his neck to see if the Malibu, the independent freighter he had first come to Mica on, might happen to be in port. She wasn’t, but Delmar hadn’t really expected to see her. He found himself praying that both ship and crew were all right.
Jake swung the flitter around on a new vector and Delmar saw that they were flying directly over the road he had walked down so long ago. He began to feel nervous at the thought he would soon face a total stranger and confess to breaking into his property. He had no idea what kind of person he might be. Would he have filed charges with the police and have him arrested? Would he seek restitution? Was it possible that he might even face disciplinary action from the service for conduct unbecoming a trooper, even though he wasn’t a trooper at the time of the incident?
All of these questions coursed through Delmar’s mind. Then again, assuming they could even find the shed, there might not be anyone there. Unless the farmer lived somewhere close and someone could direct them to him, their trip could very well have been in vain.
“It shouldn’t be too far,” Delmar said to Jake as he got his bearings. The road below looked so different from this point of view. It had been less than two years since he’d walked that road in a desperate attempt to escape his abusive brother. It had been dark and cold, and he’d been so alone.
Now the sun shone bright from above and cast a whole different light on a world that he’d feared coming to might have been a mistake. Was it possible the unseen hand of a higher power was guiding his steps? Could the Unseen One really care about one person’s problems? Was Jake’s faith really that tangible?
Delmar remembered the sermon he heard Jake preach the day he’d inadvertently wandered into the temple. He couldn’t remember the whole thing, but he recalled Jake saying the Unseen One watched over every small life. He’d been holding a baby in his arms at the time, dedicating it back to the Unseen One while its parents stood by. Could this have been the Unseen One’s way of telling him that his life wasn’t a mistake and he wasn’t alone; that a higher power watched over him even though his faith was weak? These were things he’d have to ponder in private.
Before long, the buildings on the outskirts of the town hove into view, surrounded by lush fields of grain, with yet other fields still under plow. Jake brought the flitter down low and slow so Delmar could watch the fields pass below them.
“There,” Delmar said, pointing at a field with a shed in the middle of it. A farmer was working in the field, riding an odd-looking eight-wheeled tractor.
“You sure?” Jake asked.
“I’m sure,” Delmar answered. “I might not know one shed from another, but I could never mistake that crazy eight-wheeled, two-engine tractor.”
The tractor Delmar indicated was strange-looking indeed. Jake was certain he’d never seen anything like it in all the years he’d served as a minister on Mica. The strange machine had two engines that sat side-by-side each other on an extra-wide frame. Both engines were puffing smoke from individual smokestacks, but the machine was surprisingly quiet. That thing must have an incredible muffler system, Jake thought as with practiced eye he pondered its other peculiarities.
The thing Jake found most odd about the machine were the eight wheels. It sported two small wheels in front that were apparently connected to the steering mechanism in the driver’s cockpit. Jake couldn’t see a steering wheel, so he assumed the machine was controlled by hand levers and foot pedals.
Six more wheels lined the sides of the vehicle, three on each side. They appeared to consist of an interlinking offset axle system that paired the center wheel like a friction cog between the other two. Jake hoped he would be able to get a closer look at the machine.
The color of the machine was another oddity. Jake was certain he’d seen almost every color in the spectrum, but he’d never seen anything like this. The main body of the tractor was almost iridescent azure. He could tell the tractor was very old, but the paint looked to be factory fresh. The sunlight caught the paint with such brilliance that the tractor seemed to disappear for a moment, leaving only the wheels visible along with just a silhouette of the tractor body.
The fenders of the machine were at least four feet wide; wide enough for a man to stand on. They have to be that wide, thought Jake, to house those enormous wheels.
“A locomotive,” Jake said aloud.
“What’s that?” Delmar asked. “Did you say something to me, Jake?”
“I was just thinking that crazy tractor looks like an old steam locomotive without the tracks.”
“It sure does, doesn’t it?” Delmar agreed. “I told you it was weird.”
Jake set the flitter down in a clearing opposite the field. Both he and Delmar exited the craft and started making their way through the rows of grain toward the tractor.
The farmer, an old man with a long peppered beard and gray hair, saw the two uniformed men approach. He stopped the engines on the tractor, climbed down from the seat and waited for Jake and Delmar to reach him.
“You boys lost?” he called to them when they were close enough to hear him.
“No sir,” Jake answered. “We’ve come to see you.”
“Me?” the startled farmer asked. “Why me
? Don’t tell me I’ve been drafted.”
“No sir,” Jake laughed. He already liked this old guy.
“My name is Trooper Chaplain Jake Sender. I’m a minister in Port Mulvey. My young friend here is Trooper Delmar Eagleman, formerly of the planet Erdinata. He has something he wants to say to you.”
Jake turned to Delmar. “Okay, son. It’s your ballgame now.”
“Sir,” Delmar began, addressing the farmer. “I’ve come to apologize to you.”
The farmer looked Delmar up and down, inspecting his uniform and his posture. He’d seen troopers many times but had never served in uniform himself. What could this boy from another planet need to apologize to him about?
“Boy,” the farmer said, hooking his thumbs in the straps of his stripped over-alls, “I don’t know you from Uncle Pete’s old tomcat. What do you need to apologize to me for?”
“This is difficult for me, sir,” Delmar continued. “But over a year ago, I broke into your shed to get in out of the weather. I damaged the hasp on the door of your shed, and then left without leaving you a note or fixing matters. I’m sorry, and I’ve come to make it right.”
The old farmer took a large blue handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped the sweat from off his neck.
“Well, if that don’t beat all,” he said. “I just figured some of the kids in the neighborhood did that tryin’ to get at my rig over there.” He motioned with this thumb toward his tractor.
“That’s some rig,” Jake said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s the only one like it for a thousand miles around,” the farmer answered. “My daddy imported it from an agricultural planet near the core when I was just a kid. Come to think of it, it may be the only one like it on the whole dad-gum planet.”
“It’s a beauty,” Jake said.
“It is until I need a part for it,” the farmer answered. “Then it’s like looking for a spaceship part in a caveman store. Everything on the thing is custom built, right down to the lug nuts on the wheels.”
Jake laughed. “Well, either way, it’s still a sight to see, especially from the air.”
“Wouldn’t know. I ain’t never been up in one of them crazy flying machines and I don’t ever intend to get in one.”
The Horicon Experience Page 20
