about. All of you here understand that. That is all I was doing today. But there also is another in this room who deserves your praise more than I. What is more important, I would not have reached the ground in one piece if he had not helped.” Akiko turned to face Peter. “Captain Peter Griffin, I thank you.” And with that, she bowed respectfully again.
Instead of moving toward her, Griffin reached toward the bar and produced a round tray. It had a small white china carafe and two smaller white china shot glasses with a yellow lily painted on them. He offered her a glass of the warmed sake and took the other glass. As he started to turn back to the bar, Akiko stopped him, reaching out with her free hand to grab the small carafe that still had liquor in it. She turned to the room, held up the carafe of sake, and smiled. “The first round is on me!”
The men in the room cheered, and Akiko looked at the bartender. “That is, if my credit is good here.” He smiled and nodded.
Activity and conversation in the bar returned to its normal level. Griffin motioned to Doug who was still standing at the bar. He looked at Akiko and patted Doug on the shoulder. “This is Doug Garder, my copilot.”
She looked at Doug and could tell he wasn’t sure what to say. She bowed politely to Doug. “Please call me Sam. You have a very skilled teacher. You will learn much by studying under Captain Griffin. Also, you were making me very nervous today reading out our altitude. I wanted to tell you to shut up, but I knew your role was vital to our success.” Doug wasn’t sure how to react, and he glanced at Griffin who was smiling. Akiko placed her hand on his cheek. “I deeply thank you also for your help today.”
With that, she turned to Griffin and smiled. “I have something for you.” She placed the sake on the bar, reached inside her tunic, and pulled out an envelope. When she handed it to Griffin, he held it in one hand, and by lifting the opening with his thumb, he could tell it was money. Even without counting it, he could tell it was a lot of money.
He handed it back to her. “Samurai, I don’t want your money. Today was not about payment. Today was about helping a pilot in trouble. That’s all. Please take this back.”
“Captain Griffin, I do not mean to insult. Your aid allowed me to bring my cargo back. It will fetch a very high price, and you deserve a portion of the profit. They called it ‘salvage’ in the ancient sea days, and you earned a share. I only mean to be fair.”
Akiko’s cargo would sell at a handsome profit. She knew what it was worth, but there was one thing she wasn’t saying to Captain Griffin. In fact, she didn’t even tell Musica in her debriefing earlier. That was the real reason she wanted to land safely, an alien piece that was especially interesting. She took it from a wrecked Naylean cruiser that had crashed on an asteroid. When she picked it up to examine it, she knew it automatically sent out a beacon signal, and that was the reason the five Naylean gunships came after her. She didn’t know what it was, but it must have been important to them because the Nayleans fought hard to get it back.
It was a silver alloy and had odd markings she didn’t understand. It was the shape of what is called a Torus knot, a metal ring, but it looped back into itself that formed the shape of a sailor’s or boy-scout knot. It was about six inches long, and it weighed about one pound. The more Akiko thought about it, the more she knew it was important. Especially because of the way Nayleans were prepared to die for it.
Captain Griffin smiled and answered, “Please call me Peter.” He placed the envelope back in Akiko’s hand. “I helped you because I was aiding a ship in distress. That is also an ancient custom of the sea. I helped because you had a need. Perhaps you will respond in the same way someday when I am in distress. Your friendship is payment.”
She placed her hand on the envelope and took it back. “Very well, I understand, but before you return it, I give you fair warning.” She leaned close to him and spoke, “My gratitude does not include the removal of my clothing.”
Griffin looked at her and chuckled. “You are very attractive, but I assure you, I am not looking for anything in return.” Then smiling warmly, he added, “I am most happy we have lived to tell the tale, and we meet face-to-face.”
Chapter 8
Boot Camp
“Ms. Wildfire, please follow me.” An army corporal stood in front of me.
I guess I have to do this. I have to go with him, but I better be careful because I’m in boot camp now. Yep, that’s what I said, boot camp. Nobody here calls it boot camp. Everybody here calls it “military orientation,” “basic training,” or “survival training.” But from where I sit, it sure looks like boot camp.
I was at an army base. Men and women everywhere in military fatigues, that’s army talk for camo work clothes. There were big concrete block buildings everywhere with huge guns and cannons on them, all aimed at the sky. The buildings that didn’t have guns on them had big satellite dishes also aimed at the sky. There were vehicles of all kinds parked in neat rows, from little things that looked like jeeps or dune buggies to enormous trucks and tanks. Some trucks were personnel carriers, but some had big guns mounted on them. They’d painted all the buildings in the same camo color as the trucks. There were even groups of guys running around in neat rows holding rifles in front of them and singing little songs while they were jogging. I ask you, would you call this “Camp Wigwam’s Orientation Week,” or would you call it “boot camp”?
It started back at the hospital. That’s where they first used the word “orientation.” Okay, I got it; this was a hostile frontier planet, and I was not that familiar with my newly installed abilities. Everyone at the hospital thought it would be good for me to learn how to use all my high-tech skills in real-life situations. But this, I was in the army? But on the other hand, I imagined going on a weekend campout with Jane; Dr. Philippe and Mike would be a bust. Jane would not want to get her business suit dirty; Dr. Philippe would order the animals to be quiet and not understand why they were ignoring him, and Mike would wander off looking for a plug for his computer. No, you can bet that they sent me here alone and that the good doctors would not do this “orientation” with me.
At least, Jane came with me and dropped me off. She held my hand and gave me encouragement, but she sounded like a mother. She was all “Try to be nice and make friends. Don’t let that sassy mouth of yours get you into trouble. Don’t talk back to your superior officers and don’t show off that you can do things that the others can’t. And remember, the others are trying the best they can.” It sounded like “Play nice, share your toys, and let others play in the sandbox with you.”
Before the corporal called my name, I was sitting in a room with about fifty other people, a mix of both guys and girls. Most came in buses but some separately. Those had been sent here by their employers, usually mining companies, to get survival training. It looked like I was the oldest person in the room. Almost everybody else were just kids, eighteen or nineteen, and they looked terrified. I couldn’t say I blamed them.
