This is a fantasy tale,
somewhat in the same vein as the episodes of Voyage that had leprechauns and
ghosts - not to mention mermaids. Just consider it another very
Alternate Universe. J
Just Another Hole in the Wall
by Storm
Lt. Commander Chip Morton
looked out through the windshield of his rental car at the lowering
greenish-black clouds to his southwest and felt a growing sense of unease.
Lightning flashed repeatedly, stabbing at the earth below, accompanied by the
incessant rumble of thunder. The rising wind brought with it heavy curtains of
fat raindrops that were starting to swirl across the road in front of the car,
closing in his field of view. Leaves and twigs torn from the trees took flight,
plastering themselves against anything in their path, including the windshield
of his car. He thumbed the wipers to their highest speed and let off on the
gas, but found that the rain had become heavy enough to still obscure his view.
Letting the car slow even further, he cracked the door window for a better look
and caught the odd sharp scent of ice on the wind.
He didn’t like it one bit.
Having grown up in northern
Illinois on the edge of the Great Plains, this kind of weather was something he
had occasionally encountered as a child. The smell of ice in the wind this time
of year could only mean one thing - hail. He cast a wary eye over his left
shoulder again at the clouds and swore silently to himself. Although it was
difficult to make out through the rain, the rotation of the clouds was
increasing and the bottom layer was still dropping. He amended his earlier
thought - hail and a tornado were probably in the offing. A car on the
road was no place to be in these conditions. His gaze swept the areas adjacent
to the road, looking for a place to pull off and take shelter.
Movement on the road ahead
caught his eye as he rounded a curve. Vehicles. Lots and lots of vehicles. All
turning onto a small road that led off to his right. He couldn’t help gaping in
astonishment as he saw fire trucks, ambulances, patrol cars - city, county and
state! - all pouring down the lane and disappearing into the woods.
Intermingled with them were crowded school buses, cars, pickups, pickups
pulling stock trailers crammed with horses and cattle, three tow trucks and
even a couple of eighteen wheelers. They were obviously fleeing something; he
cast another glance back over his shoulder and glimpsed the black cloud
starting to elongate towards the ground. Probably the storm, he decided. Well,
since they were local, that meant there must be a place down the lane where
they could take shelter. Just what he was looking for. Picking up speed he
hurried down to the turnoff just in time to fall in at the rear of the
procession.
It was a bumpy ride. The
heavy trucks ahead of him had churned the gravel lane into an uneven morass and
hail began to fall - hail that was rapidly getting bigger and more prevalent.
At least the speed was slow enough that he could keep up even if he had to
abandon the car and follow on foot. The only question in his mind was how far
they were going, for as he glanced back into the rearview mirror, he saw that
the funnel behind had touched down and was starting to grow. It was also
appeared to be heading straight for the spot the convoy now occupied.
The lane curved to his left,
revealing a low bluff ahead that was only slightly higher than the treetops. He
could see the vehicles ahead disappearing into a black hole at the base; it had
to be a cave. Heaving a sigh of relief, he picked up the pace, closing the gap
between his car and the pickup ahead.
BANG! He flinched as a
softball sized hailstone slammed into the hood, making the car bounce and
leaving a dent the size of a dinner plate. If that had hit the windshield… He
shuddered and crowded the truck ahead of him a little closer. Another sharp
bang as another large hailstone impacted on the roof and then his car was
inside the entrance to the cave. He blinked, blinded by the sudden darkness and
hastily flipped on the headlights as he frantically braked to a halt. Looking
out he realized that what he’d thought was a cave was actually a tunnel - and
the vehicles that had entered ahead of him were moving away from him. He licked
his lips uncertainly. He had no idea where this tunnel led to; even more
uncertain was his reception at the other end.
The rattle of debris against
the rear of his car jerked him upright, breaking him out of his ruminations. He
was too close to the entrance. With reluctance he put the car in motion again,
once more following the vehicles ahead, but at a cautious distance.
The lights ahead vanished.
Morton’s heart leaped into his throat as he once more brought his car to a
quick stop. Turning off the headlights, he realized that there was still light
ahead; the tunnel had apparently taken a sharp turn. Heaving a relieved sigh,
he sternly told himself that he was getting spooked for no reason. Putting the
car back in motion, he crept forward despite the prickling hairs on the back of
his neck.
As he eased around the turn
he found himself looking down into an enormous cavern with a soaring arched
ceiling - and a vast, eerily glowing lake. With a submarine floating serenely
just offshore from the nearest beach.
Morton’s mouth fell open in
shock as he braked his car to a sudden halt. He could see heads down below
turning to look and realized that his actions had just revealed him to be a
stranger. The prickle on the back of his neck spread down his spine. Glancing
behind as he reached down to shift the car into reverse, he abruptly froze in
consternation. The tunnel that had been behind him was gone; there was now a
solid rock wall just behind the rear bumper.
Trapped.
He swiveled back to look
again at the people below. None of them appeared to be moving towards him,
though he could see many of them pointing in his direction and putting theirs
heads together in anxious conversation. He licked his suddenly dry lips. Surely
they wouldn’t be considering…
A sudden tap on the window
jerked his attention back to the car. Alarmed, he twisted frantically around to
the door and realized there was a figure standing there. For a brief instant he
felt panic, but a second look showed him the woman that stood there didn’t
appear to be armed. Not that she needed to be, he thought to himself. He wasn’t
going anywhere. Taking a deep breath and getting a grip on his jittery nerves,
he gave the woman outside a thorough inspection.
She wasn’t tall, but she was
broad and he could tell that not much of it was fat. Her hair and eyes were
gray - exactly the same shade of gray as the rock around them - and her
clothing was all in shades of gray as well. He couldn’t help a shiver, for it
appeared to him that she wasn’t entirely human; his first thought was that she
must be at least part dwarf - of the mythological kind. She grinned at him and
motioned for him to roll the window down.
After a momentary hesitation,
he complied. With no exit, a confrontation wasn’t going to get him anywhere and
he doubted the car would provide much protection.
“It’s not often we get
strangers here,” she said to him, putting out a hand. “I’m Shenandoah
Stonesinger and this is my property. Most folks just call me Stoney.”
Morton gingerly took the
offered hand. “Lt. Commander Chip Morton.”
The woman’s eyes gleamed. “I
thought that’s who you were,” she stated with obvious satisfaction. “I’m a
great admirer of Admiral Nelson.”
Morton felt his eyebrows
climbing into his hairline. An admirer of the Admiral? Most of the mythological
and supernatural types he’d ever encountered before would have been happy to
have the Admiral’s liver for lunch. Along with the rest of the crew. On the
other hand… He looked back down to the lake where the submarine floated. The
boat did bear more than a passing resemblance to Seaview. She noted the
direction of his gaze and laughed.
“Sojourner,” she told
him, pride evident in her voice. “Crafted him myself.”
“Him?” Morton turned back
with a puzzled expression. Ships were usually referred to as she.
Stoney gave him a wry smile. “I
know most ships are considered feminine, but, well, I’ll introduce you and you’ll
see why he is appropriate in this case.”
“Introduce me?” This was
getting weirder by the minute.
“Yeah.” The woman actually
looked slightly embarrassed. “Earth Elementals like me aren’t usually in the
business of creating things, so we don’t have a lot of practice at it. So when
we do get the urge, sometimes the results can be … interesting. I was trying to
make a computer and … let’s just say that Sojourner somehow wound up
with a mind of his own.”
Morton looked back down at
the submarine. This had gone beyond weird, but he had to admit that his
curiosity was growing. “If you’re sure it won’t be an imposition.”
“Heck no, Commander. It’ll be
nice to be able to talk submarines with somebody. Most folks around here think
I’m a bit daft for building one.”
“Er… speaking of folks around
here - are they all like you?” He sure hoped not. One Elemental was plenty.
“Oh, no.” Stoney grinned at
him. “They’re human, like you.”
That was some small comfort. “Er…
do they know what you are?” Personally he couldn’t see how they wouldn’t know,
but stranger things had happened.
“I suppose they do,” she
admitted. “I don’t rub it in, but I don’t keep it a deep dark secret either.
Most of them just prefer to ignore it. It doesn‘t fit in with their world view.”
Obviously they didn’t inhabit
the same world he did, Morton thought wryly to himself. In the three years he’d
been XO aboard Seaview, he’d encountered far too many creatures and
beings that weren’t supposed to exist to have any illusions left. His
expression must have reflected his thoughts for Stoney placed a hand on his arm
and said, “Commander, the entities you have encountered on Seaview don’t
represent the majority of my sort of beings. Most of us prefer to live quiet
lives, just like anybody else. The ones that go out and stir up trouble for
humans tend to be troublemakers among their own kind as well.”
“How do you know about that?”
And just exactly how much did she know about the boat?
She sighed. “We share
information and news, just like your people do. We try to keep track of the
troublemakers so we can minimize any damage they may do.” She gave him a
sideways look. “Of course, when they’re foolish enough to cross swords with
your Admiral, there’s frequently nothing left of them to sweep up. Only the
ones who are crazy or stupid try anything with Seaview. We make a point
of trying to deal with as many of them ourselves as we can, but every once in a
while one still gets through. Sorry about that.”
Morton shook his head, not
quite believing what he was hearing. On the other hand, he had commented on a
couple of occasions to Lee Crane that it seemed like a lot of the entities they’d
encountered weren’t - as Sharkey would put it - the sharpest tools in the shed.
“I guess that makes your
people not all that different from mine,” he admitted. “And crazy or stupid
does accurately describe the ones I’ve seen.” He shrugged and glanced back down
at the crowd below. Most of them had begun to settle, now that it appeared
Stonesinger had things in hand. “I guess I should drive down and join everyone
else, shouldn’t I?”
“It would probably make them
a lot less nervous.” She walked around the front of the car to the passenger’s
side and let herself in. “Especially the Sheriff.”
“We can’t have that, can we,”
he answered in bemusement. Stoney chuckled and Morton found himself not only
losing his fear, but discovering that he liked this particular Elemental. She
seemed to have a wry sense of humor that matched his own - and it was obvious
that she loved submarines as much as he did.
The drive to the lakeside was
short, but Morton found himself the object of much scrutiny. When he parked the
car next to the small boat drawn up on the shore, he found himself confronted
by a tall dark haired man in a tan uniform with a badge on his chest and a
pistol at his side. He reminded Morton a great deal of his captain, except for
the startling blue eyes. This had to be the sheriff.
Stoney confirmed it. “Sheriff
Carl Hines, this is Commander Chip Morton from the Seaview. I’m going to
give him a tour of Sojourner. ”
The sheriff’s face was a
study in contrasts. It was obvious that he had heard of Seaview - not a stretch given what was
floating in the lake behind him - but it was clear he couldn’t decide if this
was good news or bad news. Morton kept his own face cheerful - it wouldn’t do
to antagonize the man. He put out a hand, giving the sheriff little option but
to shake it, or appear obviously rude; he suspected that most folks around here
would far prefer to NOT antagonize Stoney, despite the fact that she appeared to
have made herself a part of the community.
“I’m happy to meet you,
Sheriff,” Morton told the obviously disgruntled cop. “I sure was glad to see
that convoy obviously headed for shelter.”
Hines gave the Elemental a
sour look as he unenthusiastically shook Morton’s hand. “You seem to be taking
all of this better than most folks would,” he drawled.
What to tell him? Morton
decided a partial truth would probably serve best. “Stoney isn’t the first, ah,
person like her I’ve ever come across. Seaview has encountered a lot of
things most people would dismiss as legend and fantasy.” There was no point in
telling him that most of those creatures and assorted entities had been dead
set on destroying the boat and her crew.
A startled look flickered in
Hines’ eyes, followed by a dawning respect. “I see. In that case, welcome to
McDonald County, Commander.” He paused briefly, then added, “You’re a long way
from the ocean.”
It was now obvious to Morton
that the sheriff had feared that Morton’s encounter with Stoney would produce
unwanted and possibly messy repercussions. The fact that his boat had
encountered such things before and kept them secret had come as a huge relief
to the other man, but it was clear he was also wondering just what had brought
the Seaview’s executive officer to the Ozark Plateau on the western edge
of Missouri.
Morton didn’t see any point
in not telling him. “The airliner I was on had a mechanical problem and was
forced to make an emergency landing at Highfill. And because of the weather
there wasn’t going to be anything headed in the direction I needed to go until
tomorrow. They told me I could probably get a flight out of Joplin, so I called
my boss to let him know what was going on and he said to head north. If I
couldn’t get a commercial flight, he’d send somebody for me. So I rented a car
and here I am.” He glanced over at Stoney. “I’d probably better let him know I’ve
been delayed, or he’ll have everybody from the FBI on down out hunting me.”
The sheriff’s expression
plainly said he’d just as soon not have to explain either Shenandoah
Stonesinger or Sojourner to any agency of the US government. Which was pretty much Morton’s sentiment as
well, so on that subject he and Hines were in perfect accord. A glance at
Stoney’s expression confirmed that it was a pleasured she’d just as soon forgo
as well.
“I’ve got some communications
equipment on the boat you can use to call,” Stoney hastily told him. “With the
weather, the phone lines will probably be down and it’ll take a while for
everything to get put back to rights - this is a fairly rural area, after all.”
Morton nodded. Stoney headed
for the small boat; it looked a great deal like a Zodiac, but he wasn’t quite
sure what it was made of, for it didn’t look like rubber. For one thing, it had
an iridescent sheen that completely changed color every time he looked at it
from a different angle. He was suddenly reminded of the scene from the movie The
Wizard of Oz and the Horse of a Different Color. Well, he supposed this was
another of Stoney’s Craftings that hadn’t come out quite right. Or perhaps it
had. He had to admit that the effect was rather striking.
As the boat headed out into
the lake, he became aware that Sojourner’s hull displayed a similar
effect. However, rather than all the colors of the rainbow, the color play over
the sub’s hull appeared to be limited to dark shades of blue, green and black.
It was definitely different. Nor was that the only unusual characteristic that
the boat displayed. As they drew closer, he could see that the hull actually
looked like the skin of a marine creature. There were no seams, no welds, no
rivets; the entire hull was smooth and seamless. Now that, he had to admit, was
impressive.
The Zodiac - for he couldn’t
think of any better designation for it - bumped gently up against the side of
the sub. As he wondered how they would get aboard, a ladder simply extruded
itself from out of the hull in front of them. Morton’s mouth fell open in
shock. It was only when he heard Stoney’s chuckle that he collected his wits
about him enough to reach for the ladder and clamber aboard. He couldn’t resist
reaching out to feel of the hull on the way up. To his astonishment it wasn’t
smooth; rather it felt very much like sharkskin - and it was slightly warm to
the touch.
Once on the deck, he gave an
experimental hop, testing the firmness of the material that formed the surface
of the hull. Like the skin it resembled, it was pliable. Not so much perhaps as
a living animal, but far more than even the experimental exteriors Nelson had
been experimenting with. He looked
around for a hatch. None was immediately visible, but as he further examined
the exterior of the boat, one formed in the side of the sail. Stoney led the way
through as he followed. As he glanced back on the way down the ladder into the
control room, he saw the hatch disappear. He couldn’t help but shiver and
fervently hoped that his feeling that he could trust Stoney wasn‘t misplaced.
“Sojourner.” Morton stopped
on the last rung of the ladder as Stoney called out. There was a sudden
prickling at the back of his neck as a feeling of being scrutinized swept over
him. She’d said the boat had a mind of his own. He hadn’t dreamed she’d meant
that the boat was itself a living entity.
For that was what Sojourner
was. There was absolutely no doubt in Chip Morton’s mind that the boat was as
intelligent and free willed as he himself was. He cleared his throat.
“Lt. Commander Chip Morton,
SSRN Seaview. Permission to come aboard?” He addressed the boat, not
Stoney.
The feeling of scrutiny
changed to one of approval. “Permission granted, Commander Morton,” responded a
male voice out of the air. Or maybe it was in his mind. Morton wasn’t sure at
this point. He took the last step off the ladder to the deck and looked around.
The control room was unlike
anything he’d ever seen before. Well, he noted to himself, it wasn’t like the
boat actually needed one. He had no doubt that most of the time Stoney simply
told Sojourner what she wanted done, leaving the boat to decide how to
execute those requests. And he was pretty sure they’d be requests, not orders.
The feeling of power behind Sojourner’s mind was unmistakable even to
him and didn’t feel in any way subservient. Most of what he saw here was
instrumentation that would let Stoney see what was going on outside, rather
than control mechanisms. He had to admit privately to a certain amount of envy.
“Soj,” Stoney was speaking to
the boat again, “Commander Morton needs to call his boss and let him know that
he’s been delayed getting to Joplin by the weather.”
“Sure,” responded the boat. “I’ll
set up a relay for you. Got a phone number?”
“Ummm, yeah.” Morton rattled
off the number to Nelson’s executive secretary’s office. Soj? He guessed that
was easier than saying Sojourner all the time.
After three rings Angie
answered. “Nelson Institute, Admiral Nelson’s office, Angie Barkley speaking.”
“Angie, it’s Chip…,” he
began.
“Chip! Where are you?” she
demanded. “The OOM has been pacing the floor.”
“Ah, about halfway to Joplin
from Highfill. The Admiral told me to drive up there and try to catch a flight
on to Hartford.” Morton’s tone was puzzled.
“That was before he found out
the whole trip was a setup by the People’s republic to try and grab you for
information about the new sonar system.”
“What?!”
“When you called to say the
plane had made an emergency landing and would be late, he called Admiral
Jenkins in New London to let him know and found out nobody there even knew you
were supposed to be coming. He‘s got the Flying Sub on the way with Lee, Pat,
Ski and Sharkey. They’re afraid the plane being forced down might be part of
the plot and that they might be following you.”
Morton turned startled eyes
to Stoney. Surely the whole county wouldn’t be involved in such a plot? Could
they?
The Elemental was looking
thoughtful, which eased Morton’s fears. “Commander,” she told him, “if there
are any people in this county who don’t belong here, I can find out for you.”
“Who is that there with you?”
asked Angie, anxiety coloring her voice.
“One of the locals,”
responded Morton. “I had to take refuge when a tornado developed.”
“Oh.” A pause. “Are you sure
they‘re safe?”
Morton reflected for a brief
second on where he was before answering. “If they’re part of the plot, we may
as well all just surrender now.”
“What was that, Commander?”
Nelson’s voice filled the air, worry making him sound gruff.
“Admiral,” he gulped,
thinking frantically about how to explain where he was.
Stoney came to his rescue. “He
means, Admiral, that he took refuge in what for all practical purposes is the
county storm shelter. There’s several hundred people here. If these enemies of
yours could gather up that many people and stage a tornado to drive him in
here, they’ve got numbers and technology this country couldn’t hope to counter.”
There was a pause. “And you
are?”
“Shenandoah Stonesinger,
Admiral Nelson. Better known to my neighbors as Stoney. I happen to own the
property where most of the folks in this part of McDonald County go to ground
in bad weather. Your Commander Morton simply followed them all in when the
storm hit. And before you ask, he‘s the only stranger here. Everybody else is
local. If there was anyone following him, they lost him in the storm, because
he was the last one in.”
“If there is a tornado, I‘m
surprised he was able to call out,” said Nelson, still sounding unmollified.
Stoney gave a small cough. “Er,
well, I have an unusual setup here because I frequently work with the local law
enforcement.”
“Indeed? Are you a police
officer?”
“No, I’m a civilian - but I’m
something of an expert in certain … fields.”
Morton had to stifle a laugh,
because he certainly didn’t want to try and explain to the Admiral why he found
that statement funny. Having met Sojourner, it had occurred to Morton
that Stoney probably could get information simply by asking the rocks.
Literally. It might not be evidence admissible in court, but knowing what had
really happened could go a long way towards a cop being able to find evidence
that was. No wonder Hines didn’t want the Feds coming in and causing problems.
With Stoney to back him up, he probably had very little in the way of local
crime he couldn’t solve.
Nelson didn’t - quite - humph
at her reply. “Very well. I’ll trust your judgment then, Mr. Morton. When the
weather clears, call me back so I can tell Commander Crane where to find you.”
“Aye, Sir.” What else could
he say?
As Sojourner broke the
connection, he looked over at Stoney. She and the boat were apparently deep in
conversation; he had a feeling they’d just put out a personal APB on any
possible foreign agents lurking about. Shaking his head, he couldn’t help but
wonder how the Admiral was going to react to this when he finally found out.
The search didn’t take long. “There
are three men who appear to be the ones Admiral Nelson was concerned about who
took refuge under a bridge about three miles back south from the turnoff. My
information is that right now they bear a more than passing resemblance to
drowned rats. And their car looks like a losing entry from a demolition derby.”
She gave him a grin. “Soj has informed Sheriff Hines, who even as we speak is
making a discrete call to an FBI agent in Joplin who is … ah …. aware of the
status quo down here.
Morton couldn’t help but grin
in return. “The Feds will come get them then?”
“Actually, Agent Banks will
confirm your Admiral’s story, then have Carl and his deputies make the bust as
soon as the storm clears enough for them to safely do so.” She gave a shrug and
added, “I make Agent Banks nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of
rocking chairs, but he likes the results Carl gets.”
“I’ll bet he does,” rejoined
Morton dryly. He’d be willing to bet on it - Shenandoah Stonesinger was the
sort of informant most cops would just about kill for. “So now what do we do?”
“Nothing,” answered Stoney as
she leaned back in her seat. “Carl and Agent Banks both prefer I maintain a low
profile, which suits me to a T. I have no desire to have a bunch of idiot
scientists who don’t believe creatures like me exist coming in here trying to
prove I don’t. Or a bunch of even more lunatic religious types convinced I’m
some kind of ‘demon’ trying to exorcise me from this world. And above all I don‘t
want scientific types who are convinced I exist to try and study me.”
She gave a theatrical shudder. “I’ll pack Sojourner up and leave.”
Her tone was emphatic.
Having dealt with more than
one idiot scientist aboard Seaview, Morton couldn’t help but laugh. “I
do know what you mean about the science types,” he said with a wry tone. “For
people who are supposed to be so smart, too many of them can really be
brainless about some things. I‘ll warn the Admiral not to bother you, but you
know he‘ll be curious. I don‘t want to lie to him or Captain Crane about what
happened.” He sighed as he added, “Lee can always tell when I‘m not being
completely honest, so I‘d rather not even try.”
“Well, if you absolutely have
to tell them about me, try to downplay my role in all this.” She looked rueful.
“So long as Admiral Nelson doesn’t tell anybody else and doesn’t expect me to
perform tricks like some kind of trained animal, I suppose having him come and
visit wouldn‘t be too bad.” Brightening, she added, “In fact, I wouldn’t mind comparing notes on
some things with him. Provided you’ll come too to keep him in hand.” She gave
him a small grin. “And speaking of such things, since the good sheriff has
things in hand with our enemy agents, why don’t Sojourner and I give you
the grand tour?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Morton’s grinned in delight as another seat morphed out of the deck. He settled
himself and watched with wide-eyed fascination as Sojourner began to
move through the water - and passed straight into the solid rock wall of the
cavern as easily as Seaview cut through the waters of the oceans.
He was impressed, and a bit
intimidated as well, as he watched solid stone swirling on the view screens
like it was liquid. The kind of power Stonesinger wielded was nothing short of
awesome…. and she’d said there were others of her kind. Which led him to the
question - with all their power, why weren’t they running the world? Did he
dare ask?
Before he could find the
courage to put the question into words, an odd shimmering yellow barrier
appeared in the distance. He felt Sojourner slow to a stop as all the
hairs on the back of his neck stood up and tried to crawl. There was something
about that obstruction that just looked dangerous. The fact that Stoney had
brought her boat to a halt rather than charging right up to it seemed to
confirm his instincts.
“What is that thing?” he
asked.
“A fault,” she responded,
frowning. “It’s active - and it’s not supposed to be.”
“A fault? As in earthquakes?”
“Indeed. Although this isn’t
a very big one. You‘d barely feel it one the surface even if it went off.” She
shrugged, adding, “I’ll put a shunt on it to drain off the stress, then we’ll
go in a different direction.”
“You can’t go through it?”
“Oh, we could, easily. But
that might trigger it.”
“Oh.” Morton sat back,
looking thoughtful as he watched Sojourner
spin out a greenish gold ‘rope’ that wove one end of itself into the yellow.
Once firmly attached, the other end detached from the boat and groped
downwards, heading out of sight. As the ’rope’ lengthened, he could see
currents of yellow flowing from the fault into it.
“Where will it end up?”
“Hmmm. Oh, the shunt? In the
mantle. It’ll take a couple of weeks to drain off the stress energy, but doing
it any faster could also trigger a quake.”
“Could you do something like
that with the San Andreas?”
Stoney snorted. “Not a
chance. That one could eat me and Sojourner for lunch and never even
burp. Far too much energy for me to handle. The only way we could even cross it
would be to run through the soil at the surface and pull in all our energy as
tight as possible.” She gave him a sideways glance and grinned. “I suspect
somebody would notice if we did.”
Morton laughed. “I bet they
would too. And probably blame it on Admiral Nelson and Seaview.” At
least that meant there were limits on her powers. He had to admit that was
something of a relief. “So does that mean there aren’t any Earth Elementals in
Southern California?”
“Actually, the entire West
Coast is full of them, because there’s plenty of energy to feed on. You’ll
seldom see them though, because with that much ambient energy, they have no
need to convert themselves to matter and mingle.” At his perplexed expression,
she chuckled and said, “Energy conservation. Matter is the lowest energy state
in the universe. And most of my folk can do the E=mc2 equation in
reverse. But I gotta tell you, M=E/c2 is a helluva lot harder to do
than the other way around.”
“Is that why you…?”
“Only partially. I could go
east to the New Madrid Fault Zone and be like most of the rest. But I like
people. I like music and art and books and all the creative things that people
do.” She paused for a moment, looking reflective. “Because my people are energy
entities, we don’t procreate the way you do; we evolve as individuals. I guess
I’ve evolved more than most of the rest - I’ve acquired curiosity and a desire
to learn.”
“How many are there like you?”
This was all new information to him; he’d have never dreamed anything quite
like Stoney existed despite - or perhaps because of - his previous encounters
with the odder beings the universe had produced. Perhaps he should have
realized that they might not represent the majority of their kind any more than
the human wackos that Seaview seemed to attract represented the
preponderance of humanity.
“Worldwide? Probably no more
than five hundred. A couple of thousand more who could if they wanted or had to.
Perhaps two hundred thousand of slightly lesser intelligence that are strictly
energy forms. The really stupid got eaten by their fellows before the dinosaurs
ever roamed the earth. If more people knew about what we really are, I suspect
we would be on the Endangered Species List.” She reflected for a moment. “Well,
sensible people would put us there, but the religious lunatic fringe would
probably put out a bounty on us. Anything that threatens their perception of
the universe and their place in it - which they are firmly convinced is at the
top - is a threat as far as they’re concerned.”
Morton chewed thoughtfully on
a fingernail. He could see why she was rather wary of strangers - which made
her reaction to him all the more puzzling. “Aren’t you afraid I might be a
threat? You’ve never met me before today.”
“Nah.” Stoney gave him a
genuine smile that was echoed by Sojourner’s deep chuckle. “Your
reputation precedes you. I’ve heard good things from another of my folk whom
you’ve worked with before.”
“Somebody I’ve worked with?”
He blinked in bewilderment; he’d worked with an Elemental and hadn’t even known
it? “In the Navy or at the Institute?”
“A former employee at the
Nelson Institute. In fact he helped me design Sojourner.”
“He?” Morton quickly ran
through his mind all of the former employees who might know enough about
submarines to help design one - and the list was extremely short. And suddenly
realized who it had to be - and why he’d left.
“Curley Jones.” His mouth
formed a round O of astonishment. “The Admiral invented a device to detect
energy fields that he wanted added to the security systems. Curley resigned
just before it was installed.”
Stoney nodded. “Curley is a
water Elemental. With the problems the Seaview had had up to that point,
he wasn’t eager to be exposed. He did tell me he thought Admiral Nelson
would have accepted the idea of what he was, but he was afraid if anybody else
found out there’d be big problems both for himself and your Admiral. Especially
from COMSUBPAC. He figured Jiggs Starke would have a cow - and the calf too.”
Morton had to ruefully agree.
“Admiral Starke can be ….” He searched for a suitable word.
“Excitable?” offered Stoney, one eyebrow cocked in question.
“Er, I guess that’ll do,”
admitted Morton, not wanting to call one of his superior officers an idiot -
even if sometimes he was - while wondering just how much Curley had told her. “But
if Curley is a water Elemental, how did you meet him?”
“In Mystic, Connecticut. It’s
easier for me to cross the faults in the eastern half of the continent, because
they aren’t nearly as active as those on the west coast, especially if I drive
or fly like anybody else. Unlike a lot of my kind, as long as I don’t try to
use my powers, I can go just about anywhere. So I travel to New England on
occasion, particularly to some of the old seaport towns. I knew what Curley was
the first time I laid eyes on him, just like he knew what I was. He was a bit
surprised to see someone like me prowling the decks of a tall ship, even one
moored to a pier. Intrigued him too. We got to talking - and, well, the rest is
history as they say.”
Morton could only shake his
head. It did, however, explain how a man as - for lack of a better word -
rotund as Curley was had been the best damn diver on the Seaview. They’d
often teased Curley about being a Selkie, never dreaming that they weren’t that
far from the truth! Made him wonder about the Captain though…. Nah, he didn’t really
want to know.
Sojourner made a throat clearing sound, drawing their attention.
“Sheriff Hines just radioed that he has the three men in custody and a search
of their car revealed that they clearly were enemy agents and had every
intention of kidnapping you, Commander Morton. He also said there was evidence
they did sabotage the plane to force it down - however the pilot didn’t land
where they thought he would. Apparently they thought he’d land much further
south in Fort Smith and had laid plans to snatch you at the airport there -
seems they didn’t realize that a new regional airport had been built in
Highfill or that it was closer. They had to scramble to try and catch up with
you and never quite succeeded. He also said to tell you that he’s heard from
your Captain Crane and that the Flying Sub will be landing at the local
airstrip in about thirty minutes. I believe from what he said your Captain
expects you to be there.”
Morton closed his eyes and
groaned. “Is there time to get back so I can get my rental car and get to this
airstrip?”
“No,” came in unison from
both Sojourner and Stoney. “But I can call and have somebody there drive
it for you, while we take you directly there,” said Stoney. “We should have
just enough time.”
“Thanks.” He heaved a sigh of
relief. This had been an adventure he was going to have to give considerable
thought to on just how he wanted to divulge the details of. He sank into his
seat, thoughts turned inward as the submarine angled away from the fault and
turned north. He felt the energy levels rising; a glance at the view screens
showed that the boat was running a great deal faster through the earth than it
had been before.
They made it with only
moments to spare. One of the local county road crew supervisors had barely
pulled his rental car to a stop in front of the lone hanger located to one side
of the small dirt strip when Morton heard the familiar whine of FS1 in the
distance. He heaved a sigh of relief, for Sojourner’s sail had just
vanished below the surface of the soil only feet from the side of the hangar.
Fetching his bags from the trunk of the car, he walked out a few feet away from
the building so Crane would be able to see him. As he expected, the Flying Sub
circled once, just barely visible through the bottoms of the clouds, checking
the place out. Morton knew from past experience that every sensor FS1 possessed
would be probing the scene below. He just hoped Stoney had taken Sojourner
deep enough that he wouldn’t show on any of the instruments.
Apparently she had. FS1
pivoted and came to a hover directly in front of the hangar where Morton stood.
No sooner had the craft settled firmly on the ground than the aft hatch opened
and Lee Crane, wearing his gunbelt, stepped warily out, followed by Pat and
Ski, who had rifles at the ready. Morton shook his head. They must not have
told Lee the villains were in custody. He waved an offhand salute at Crane,
their secret signal that all was well, and saw the dark haired officer visibly
relax.
“Geez, Lee, didn’t they tell
you they caught the three who were after me?” asked Morton.
“There could have been more
no one knew about,” pointed out Crane tartly. Well, if it had been anywhere
else, Morton admitted to himself, but not here, not with Shenandoah Stonesinger
and Sojourner on the prowl. He shrugged. No point in getting into that
just yet. He figured once they got back to Santa Barbara, and he had Crane over
for a couple of six packs of beer and an extra large pizza or two, that he
could safely broach the subject of his recent host and not get his ears pinned
back. Then after he’d gotten Lee calmed down, they could figure out how to
broach the subject to the Admiral.
“I suppose that’s true,” he
told his friend and captain, “but the law enforcement here is very efficient.”
Crane gave him an odd look. “It’ll be good to get back to Santa Barbara,
though, The people here are nice enough, but the weather doesn’t have much
appeal.”
Crane narrowed his eyes and
glanced skyward. Morton could tell from his expression that Crane knew there
was more going on than met the eye, but it was also obvious that another line
of thunderstorms was approaching from the northwest. The rumble of not so
distant thunder punctuated the thought.
“Speaking of the weather, we’d
best be going, Mr. Morton. The Admiral is waiting to hear from you.” Crane’s
voice had that note in it that plainly said ‘There’s something going on here
Mister and I want to know what it is.’
Morton sighed to himself as
he carried his bags aboard FS1 and stowed them. Maybe he ought to try and talk
Crane into that pizza and beer before they got back to Santa Barbara.
Otherwise it was going to be a very loooong flight.
END?