| Chapter 15 Nick settled himself in bed. He was back in the medical wing. The nurses were hooking him up to some sort of IV as the doctor examined him. Ana stood back, giving them room, but she was never far away. Nick sighed, looking around. He thought this looked like the same room he woke up in when he was first taken, but he wasn't for sure. All hospital rooms on earth looked the same, so maybe they did here too? He started scratching and the doctor grabbed his hand, "Try not to do that. It'll make it twice as bad." Nick nodded, needing to find something to take his mind off the constant itching. Ana seemed to sense it and walked over, "We can continue your lessons here if you like?" Nick glanced at the nurses and the doctor, "It's OK to in front of them?" Ana smiled, "Yes, they can't understand us, and they realize you have to learn about our world." "Alright," Nick said. Ana sat down next to the bed facing him. Nick turned over on his side so he could see her better. "OK, I think we were on the council," she said. He nodded. "The council is made up of the rulers of the three provinces. They advise the King on matters of foreign policy and domestic disputes," she said. "So they're like the presidents cabinet," Nick stated. Ana nodded, "Yes, they are. Your uncle, Count DeGrafe is one. Then there is Count Nathaniel Marcave. He's the ruler of Mardica. And Count Joseph Dumal, the ruler of Aqualystine." "Are we going to visit Aqualystine when we get there?" Nick asked. "I'm sure you will," she replied. He smiled, "Cool. I've never seen a city under water before, I can't wait to see it." "The cities there are breath taking," Ana said, "I miss them." Nick studied her for a moment, "Are you from there?" "Yes, I was born in Fremont and moved to Dacadia when I was still young," she answered. "So where do you live now?" he asked. "In Cystaleia near the palace. My job requires me to stay there most of the year," she said. "Oh .... do you get to go back and visit though?" he asked. "I haven't in a long time," she said, gazing down at her hands for a moment. "When I go, I want you to come with me," Nick said, "You can show me all the sights." Ana laughed, "Your own personal tour guide huh?" He shrugged, "Why not?" She smiled, entertaining the thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, if I can, I will go with you," she said. "So what is the counsil like?" Nick asked. Ana thought for a moment, "They are like most politicians. They want what is best for their region, and sometimes that leads to long discussions that lead nowhere." "In other words they argue a lot," Nick said. Ana laughed, "You said it, I didn't." "So how do they ever get anything done?" he asked, settling more into his pillow and stifling a yawn. "Your father. He finds some way to make them compromise, and most of the time the compromise benefits them all. He is a good King, your father. He's always fair, and seeking the truth in everything," she said. "You said he was ill, right?" Nick said. She nodded. "So what's wrong with him?" he asked. "We don't know. He fell ill just before we left. The doctors aren't sure what it is, but he's steadily gotten worse. They fear he won't last until our return," she said, solemnly. Nick yawned, "I hope he does. I want to meet him." "He wishes to meet you too," Ana said, as she watched Nick fight to stay awake. "Sleep now, we can continue this later," she said. Nick nodded, and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Bert, I really don't wanna do this," Brian protested. "Aww come on squirt, it'll be fun," the older man laughed. "Yeah I bet it will," Brian said sarcastically. "What are you chicken?" one of the piolets said, laughing at him. "No, but ...." Brian began. "Then come on. I bet you won't last a minute," the man taunted. Brian looked around, seeing a crowd forming. It looked like everyone that was in the docking bay was waiting to see if he would do it or not. He took a deep breath and looked at the cocky piolet, "Alright, what are we betting?" Several ohhhs and awws came from the crowd. "If I win, I want that chain you have on," the piolet said. Brian reached up and fingered his gold chain. It probably cost more than this man's salary for an entire year. "And if I win?" he asked. The piolet laughed, "Like your gonna, I'm the best we have." "And if I win?" Brian asked, with more force behind his words. "If you win, you graduate from grease monkey to fly boy, how's that?" the man spat. "Fine," Brian said, none to thrilled, "So what are we doing?" "One run, me against you, anything goes," the man said, walking over to what looked like a large box on hydraulics. One of the mechanics pulled Brian over to an identical box. "I don't guess you've ever flown one of these before?" he asked. Brian laughed, "Are you kidding? I've never even seen one before." "You better kiss that chain goodbye then," the man said, helping Brian into the simulator. As Brian strapped in, the man tried to explain the controls to him. He handed Brian a helmet, "Good luck, you're gonna need it." "Thanks," Brian said, wondering how he managed to get himself into this situation. He put the helmet on and glanced over the control panel, trying to remember what was what. "OK gentlemen," a voice said through his helmet, "Power up." Brian punched the button and the panel came to life. Suddenly he was staring out into space. He forced himself to calm down, this was just a fancy video game, he kept telling himself. He pulled the straps holding him in his seat a little tighter and waited for his next instruction. "Move about six lengths from each other and wait for my signal," the voice said. "Um, what's a length?" Brian asked. He could hear laughing outside his box. "A length is about seven hundred feet," came the voice. "OK, that helps me a lot," Brian muttered, steering his ship away from that of the other piolet. He stopped where he thought he should be and turned it back around. "Alright, on my mark," the voice said. Brian said a quick prayer and took a deep breath. "Go!" Suddenly the other ship was coming at him, firing its weapons. "Crap!" Brian yelled, banking his ship to the left then to the right. He frantically searched for his weapons, and found them. He armed them, feeling his ship shutter from a hit. Brian looked around, finding his attacker right behind him. He weaved back and forth, trying to make himself a harder target. "Shields! Are there shields in this thing?!" he asked. More laughter. "Yes," was all he heard. "Fine, don't help me!" he spat, as an idea formed in his head. He stopped weaving and lowered his altitude so he was just below his pursuer, then he slammed on the breaks. His ship stopped on a dime and the other piolet overshot him. Brian was back on the power the instant the other ship went over him. Now he was the pursuer. He fired mercilessly as the ship in front of him, not letting the other piolet shake him. Brian felt his ship shutter from another hit and looked over. There was a third ship out there. "Hey! That's not fair!" he protested. "Anything goes," another voice said through his helmet. Now Brian was angry. "Fine, anything goes huh?! I'll show you anything goes!" he yelled, banking hard to the left. He pulled the stick as far as it would go. The G forces threatened to tare him apart, but he held on, forcing his ship to turn tighter and tighter until he was flying head on with the other ship. He found his missiles and fired just as he straightened out, then threw the stick in the opposite direction to move away from the doomed vessel. He heard an explosion, but didn't take time to look back. He was searching for the cocky piolet. He knew he'd hit one of his engines before the other ship showed up. He had to be around here somewhere. Brian saw him, sitting perfectly still. "Are you done, or do I have to finish you?" Brian asked. "Oh I'm not done," came the over confident voice. "I was afraid of that," Brian said, turning his ship toward his target. Suddenly the other ship was racing toward him, firing again. Brian pulled the stick back and forced his ship straight up. The other piolet followed, right on his tail. Brian hit the power and pulled back, circling over the other ship. The other piolet broke his pursuit once he saw what Brian was doing, which is just what Brian was waiting for. As the other ship leveled out, Brian came from behind and fired. The light from the explosion was blinding, and Brian squinted as his ship flew through the fireball. Then the simulator went dark. After a moment, the door popped open and Bert helped him out, with an astonished look on his face. Brian handed him his helmet and jumped down, looking at everyone, "Did I win?" "You not only won, you just bested two of our senior piolets," a man said. Brian grinned. He couldn't help it. "How did you learn how to do that?" another asked. "Many hours of playing video games with my best friend," he answered. The two piolets he flew against walked up. The cocky one didn't seem so cocky anymore. "So?" Brian asked. "You got lucky," the man said. Brian sighed, running his hand through his hair, "We can go two out of three if you want? I don't think it'll change the outcome though." Several of the men laughed. "Fine, you win," the piolet said, "Welcome to the flight crew." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin watched as Brian came into the dining hall with the piolets. They were laughing and cutting up as they walked through the line to get their food. A.J. leaned over, "What's up with that?" Kevin shrugged, as Brian came over and sat down. "Well you look like you made some new friends," Howie teased. "Yeah, the hard way," Brian said, taking a bite, "Oh my God! This actually tastes halfway decent." Howie beamed, "Thanks to me." Brian stared at him, "What'd you do?" Kevin laughed, "He got into it with the chef. Told him he didn't know the first thing about cooking, so he quit. Said if D knew how to do it, then he could just have the job." "You're kidding?" Brian laughed. "Nope," Howie said, "You're looking at the new chef." "Cool," Brian said, continuing to eat. "Rok, fill us in on your new found friends over there," A.J. reminded. "Oh, yeah," Brian said, "Well Bert started making fun of me. Calling me squirt and all. I couldn't stand it, so I kinda mouthed off to him. The next thing I know, I'm being challenged by one of the piolets. So they stuck us in the simulators and I ended up beating him." "No fucking way!" A.J. said. Brian laughed, "Way. Anyway, we had a bet and since I won, I'm now part of the flight crew." "That's great cuz," Kevin said. "Yeah Bri, good for you," Howie added. Brian looked at them, "We now have an opening for mechanic if any of you want it." Kevin and A.J. glanced at each other. "You take it Kev, I'm perfectly happy with my mop," A.J. said. "You're sure?" Kevin asked. "Yup," he said, "I have no desire to be picking grease out of my orifices, thank you very much." They laughed. "Alright, I'll take it," Kevin said. Chapter 16 |