Sing a song like Lenny would

            Quest sang out into the sudden silence that filled the space. The echo of which resonated around him as power filled the Shipstone. She realized that sky had filled the windows and then she caught a glimpse of the airport shrinking away as they banked around. The plane turned away from the sea that she had been so sure they were going to cross and headed back inland.

            “Sing for me, my children.” The Freya said as Quest sang.

            Vanessa smiled- who wouldn’t like a plane that liked music?

            Quest stepped away from the stone, held out his had to her which she took by reaching out for it. She wondered if it was to steady him.

            “Di Loyw Chy Sim Eloi Hym.” Quest sung. His voice clear and deep like one of the Oak Ridge Boys.

            “Chy Sim, Chy Sim, Chy Sim.” The crews voices echoed. The tune of it pulled a memory loose in her head and from there she was not sure if what they sang was anything different than what she was hearing in her head.

“I want to fly like the Dragon out to the Sea,                                                                                                     Fly like the Dragon let your spirit come carry me!”

Then the crew sings:

“I want to fly like the Dragon- until we’re free                                                                                                                Aos, come and empower me.”

Vanessa was sure it was the same tune to another song she had heard a few years back- still it didn’t matter as the feelings of flight and freedom flooded her senses and she could imagine being on the back of a powerful Dragon flying away into the night sky.

Quest sang again:

            “I want to fly away into the sky, so very very high                                                                                                                                Just hear the Dragon’s cry.”

All sing:

            “We want to fly like the Dragon over the Sea                                                                                                             Fly like the Dragon- let its wings come carry me                                                                                                 Fly away until we’re free.

            We want to get away, we want to fly away-                                                                                                  Yeah, yeah, yeah…”

Michelle sings:

            “I want to fly above the trees, over the clouds and the seas                                                                                   go to the lands I would never see. If the Freya would just carry me?”

All sing:

            “We want to fly like the Dragon over the sea                                                                                                            Let the Freya make us free                                                                                                                                  we want to soar away, flying until the break of day.”

Quest sings:

            “Dey Low Chi Sim Eloi “

Then the sound fades away and Quest and the crew fall silent. The song still floating in her head.

            “Wow.” Vanessa breathed.

            “I know.” The Freya said. “That is my favorite song.”

last farewells to the Bay.

Vanessa sat as Michelle swung into her own and turned to the console picking up a headset that looked very much vintage. She flipped some switches as Flynt went into action as well beside her.  She felt the plane come to life and begin to move as the hum became more audible. As the plane turned the evening sky came into view and the plane taxied out onto the tarmac.

            “North Bay Ground, B-17G 743D05, requesting taxi from Dwight Hangar E.”

            A response comes back on her headset and she says:

            “North Bay Ground, B-17G 743D05, acknowledged, proceeding to taxi toRunway 4.”

            Michelle nodded at the controls and Flynt presses the throttle forward. The Freya moves out into the light between hangars. Then down the tarmac to a yellow line on one side.

            “North Bay Ground, B-17G 743D05 holding short of runway 4, ready for departure.” Michelle leans back and waits.

            “Wards are secured, all children are accounted for and safely aboard.” The Freya said, her voice melodic surrounding Vanessa. “My Queen, let me say that it is a enormous pleasure for me to bear you home.”

            Vanessa glanced around looking for somewhere to address. “Thank you.”

            “My Queen, I hold you in my embrace. I surround you.”

            “You hold us all.” Flynt intoned as he continued to prep for flight.

            “I do hold you all.” The Freya agreed.

            “Amen to that.” Quest said as he and the other members came onto the flight deck. Kat dropped into her designated seat and gave a very feline stretch. Vanessa half expected her to start licking her paws- hands. The woman watched Vanessa give herself a shake and then winked at her slyly. Severin and Stonegrim climb into their own seats as Quest comes to stand next to the Shipstone. He gave her a smile before reaching out and laying his left hand on the top of the Shipstone.

            “North Bay Ground, B-17G 743D05, understood, and Godspeed to you as well.” Michelle said as she pressed her throttle forward and the world begins to pass by the windows faster and faster.

            Quest speaks three words in very strange language, Vanessa feels herself go back to that day in her office when he had spoken to her desk.

            “Sing to me.” The Freya asks as she begins to give lift. 

The Shipstone

Vanessa looked down in shock at this sudden act of devotion and humility. Suddenly she realized that she didn’t know what to say or do. She shot a glance at Flynt who nodded at Michelle and grinned.

            “This would be your first oath of fealty, Milady. There will be many more. Tell our captain that you accept your chair –the rest will fall into place.” He said. “Seriously, walk up to her, place your right hand on her head- your other right hand.”

            She was doing as he suggested, she suppressed an urge to giggle and carefully laid her right hand on Michelle suddenly bare head. The woman’s hair was so soft. Her own hand trembled and she searched for words.

            “I accept your fealty Michelle.” She carefully took away her hand and looked down into Michelle’s face as it turned up to her.

            “Thank you Milady.”

            “As long as it is the last Milady I have to hear from you. My friends call me Van and I want us to be friends.” She said suddenly, then she reached out her hand and pulled as Michelle took it in her own. The woman came to her feet and they were standing face to face. “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”

            Michelle’s eyes lit up as she returned. “Permission granted, Van.”

            “If you girls are ready?” Flynt quipped.

            They ignored him as they looked into each other’s eyes carefully. Vanessa felt the bond between them snap into place. She was not sure if it actually made a noise, but Flynt grunted and stood and sat back in his seat without looking back.

            Michelle started with a smile as if she too now realized that something had formed between them that was more than just friendship. She stepped back and gestured at the large oval stone device that sat in front of the center chair. It looked like a azure blue egg resting on its side, narrow point forward in a large egg holder flush with the flight deck.

            “This is our Ship Stone- the heart and soul of the Freya.”

            Vanessa looked at the stone in awe, it was after all the first object she could remember seeing that she was sure was magical or something like magic. The Azure hue of the stone glowed faintly and seemed to pulse with an inner life. There were ornate carvings around the outer edge- no not carvings but markings that seemed to flow across the surface as if on some strange kind of feed. Michelle reached out and took Vanessa’s hand, guiding it to the stone.

            “Place your hand next to mine.” She said and she turned to look directly at the stone. The flight deck filled with an audible hum as the azure hue deepened to an agate color. Vanessa was sure now that it had been humming the whole time she had been standing on the deck.

            “Freya, This is Michelle- are we ready to fly?”

            The stone pulsed in a bright flash of light and Michelle smiled and nodded.

            “Yes, it is.” Michelle said. “Freya let me be the first to introduce you to the Queen-apparent- Vanessa Morgraine. My Queen, this is the First Flight Freya.”

            Vanessa felt a warmth spread through her hand and into her body from the stone. Then the flight deck faded from view and in a vision she was sure that Michelle was sharing they stood in an open field touching the stone, touching the sky, she could feel the other crewmembers and knew that the Freya thought of them as her children as tey went about their work inside of her. That she was experiencing the plane as what the airplane felt about her crew and life and the eternal expanse of sky. Vanessa wondered if the Freya has started life as a bird before becoming a air plane. The vision faded and she looked over to Michelle who grinned back.

            “Freya likes that idea, but she began life as a stone cut from a rock high in the sky above the world in which we will be traveling to.  The shipstones are cut out of these floating rocks by a group of people who call themselves the DeSomer- Stonegrim is one of them.”

            “The Freya was fitted into this plane and took its name as her own. The bomber was rebuit around her by Stonegrim’s people and Stonegrim himself had a hand it it. She does think of us as her children though.”

            “Wow.” Vanessa managed “This is so amazing and almost impossible- but I am standing here touching her- touching the sky and wow….wow.”

            “I know,” Michelle said. “I felt much the same way the first time I touched her as well.”

            “What does she do exactly?”

            “She does a lot, but primarily she gives us lift- which is no small thing; since it keeps us from smashing into the ground. Scientifically speaking she is both our power source and provides fuel from her excess energy she expends- which in turn drive the engines on the plane.”

            “Lift?”

            “It’s a Desomer term for aerial buoyancy- meaning that the rock she is made from is lighter than air and causes the plane to stay aloft when fully charged.”

            “Charged with?”

            “Light- which is good for us as it is the most abundant fuel source in the Universe.”

            “And completely un-trappable.” Flynt says “Although some have tried.”

            “The Freya can recharge herself quickly in sunlight or direct starlight and even slowly in moonlight. But mostly at night we land somewhere and camp when we can land of course.”     

            “This is so much to take in.” Vanessa said releasing the stone, the warmth of it remained in her though.

            “It is a lot for me too.” A voice said. Michelle laughed.

            “I am sorry Mother, we have been rude and talked about you indirectly.”

            “Quite alright, my daughter.”  The Ship said, it voice resonating in the cabin- in her head. “I gather from Quest that we are now ready to depart.”

            “Well then.” Michelle said and gestured to the central chair. “Time for you to take your seat Van and see what this bird can do.”

The flight deck

            “Another story for another time.” Michelle said turning to face her. “Now this is the heart of the Freya.”

            Michelle came to stand in front of her.

“The deck is laid out as thus, my chair- the pilots seat is to your left immediately behind me.” She signaled with her thumb at the empty seat to Flynt’s right. “Flynt is my copilot and his seat is next to mine.” Flynt waved.

“The seat to you left is one reserved for the engineer- Stonegrim’s and damage control.” Michelle pointed at the empty seat left. “The seat behind Flynt’s is the Navigator’s seat. Severin usually sits there.”

She pointed to Vanessa’s right. “That’s Kat’s seat to your immediate right. Traditionally it is our communication/auxiliary seat. Quest will be sitting there when he comes aboard. To your far left it our weapons station” Michele pointed across the deck to the strange console and chair that sat with it. “Kat will sit there this flight.”

Michelle then pointed to the chair right in front of Vanessa, sitting on a small dais above the others on the deck. “This seat is the Queen’s seat.”

Michelle knelt and after a moment Flynt followed. Vanessa stood there in the silence.

“That’s your seat Milady- it will always be your seat.”

Inside the Freya

Vanessa was expecting a tight cockpit, but what she found was a disproportionate room that looked more like in belonged on a spaceship then a WWII style bomber. She stood there for the first becoming aware of the entire ambiguity of the entire aircraft. Michele stood calmly by her, a look of pleasure on her face as they surveyed the flight deck.

            “What kind of plane is this.” Vanessa asked in awe.

            Michelle laughed. Vanessa shot her a look. Michelle stopped and grinned back and shrugged.

            “The Freya started life as a B-17G “Flying Fortress” Bomber. She was actually a prototype model so they dropped the G from the B-17 part and gave her a variety of names and code names. She saw action over German back in World War II and my father flew her at that time. He named her the Freya whom he thought was the name of one of the Valkyries. There was some confusion and the name stuck mostly since no one like Brunhilde as it sounded uncomfortably Germanic. When the war was over, my dad left the Air Force but never forgot the plane.”

            “Oh. Then how did you come by it?”

            “Well my father could not let the Freya go, so over the next 10 years he tried everything he could to track the plane which saw little action following VE- Victory in Europe. Boeing- that’s who made her, took her back to use her as a prototype for making a bigger more powerful plane. Dad always suspected that Boeing wanted to get it to carry Fat Boy but he never got a straight answer.”

            “Fat Boy?” Vanessa looked at Flynt who sat in a chair that was now turned towards them. He just shrugged.

            “It was the name for one of the first Nukes, I don’t remember which. The idea was scrapped and the Freya was sent to the Airplane graveyards out west. Dad eventually tracked her down and then with a bunch of markers and favors and money he managed to get her. By that point she had been stripped down to her bolts. But that didn’t deter Dad. He brought her back to Ulysses and begin rebuilding her.”

            “Ulysses?”

            “Think of the smallest town you can imagine and then halve that-“ Flynt interjected, “Drop it in the middle of Kansas way out of the way and you might find it.”

            Vanessa laughed.

            “Okay it was a bit small.” Michelle said as she made a face mostly tongue at Flynt.

            “It was so small that it took me and Vhurress an entire week to find it.” Flynt said.

            “Maybe that dragon should have gotten a GPS.” Michelle shot back.

            “Wait- did you say dragon?” Vanessa interrupted “In Kansas?”

this a a B-17 Flying Fortress (the Freya started out looking like the this

Inside the Freya

            The interior of the plane was cramped in the way she had imagined it being. Behind the hatch door was a narrow hallway leading forward into a tight compartment housing several rows of narrow bunks. There were eight in all four per side- stack 2x2, stretching along the fuselage. Each one had a few mementos and nick-knacks taped to the inside wall. Each one had its own curtain to give the sleeper some privacy. Vanessa wondered which one was hers; Michelle shot her a smile and shook her head. She pointed to the sign over the door. It was a crude hand painted sign that read “Man Cave.”

            Through the next hatch she found herself in a room lined with narrow lockers and foot lockers. There were also hanging racks with flight suits and something that looked like wings you would see on a superhero like Hawkwoman. Michelle identified this compartment as the armory Vanessa peered at the inscriptions on the lockers but they were impossible to understand being picto-glyphic in nature.

            The next compartment was what Michelle called the auxiliary hold and contained to enshrouded shapes that were clearly not boxes. Each one was a little over 8 feet in length. Michelle glanced at them, paused to tighten a strap that held them down and winked conspiratorially at Vanessa. Vanessa winked back having no clue what they could be and apparently the Captain was not going to let on anyway

            The following compartment was identified as the hold by Michelle and contained many boxes, crates and her luggage. Severin was there with a rather short stocky man who was too short to be a short human, but too tall to be a “little person.” The short man looked over at Vanessa, then his mouth proceeded to fall open and a cigar thing drop out down through the open doors in the center of the floor onto the Hangar floor. He absently wiped the sweat away from his eyes, brow and thick curly red beard. Severin noticed, gave his companion a jab to the ribs. The short man howled in surprise, glared at Severin then turned back to Vanessa and swept off the cap he was wearing and bowed so low that his beard touch the deck.

            “This is Stonegrim, our flight engineer.” Michelle said pausing long enough to get Vanessa’s attention before touching her arm signaling her to continue on. The moment the two of them exited the hold, Severin and Stonegrim began speaking in excited but hushed tones. “There will be time for introductions at dinner.”

            The next room turned out to be fairly long and open with windows along it outer edge. Michelle smiled in pride at it.

            “This is the galley and stateroom.” She said with a sweep of her hands. “Well that is the galley.” She pointed to a small staircase going up into the ceiling of the room. From the hole where the steps disappeared came sounds of pots clanging and machines grinding. The stateroom as Michelle had was grand like one found in a Pirate movie on a ship. It was oval and very nice piece together. The floor was this parquet type wood very tightly wedged together in intricate patterns with a very high polish to it. Around the walls were seats that slid in grooves about halfway across the floor. At the center of the floor was a large flat and smooth surface. Michelle tapped a panel on the wall and this large surface rose out of the floor to become the table as each of the ten chairs slid into place along the sides of the table.

            Vanessa let out a whistle, clearly impressed which drew a smile of pride on Michelle’s face. She pressed the panel again and the chairs retreated back to the walls as the table descended again into the floor. Michelle led the way forward. The walls were decorated with weapons, and pieces of armor, photographs most of which were black and white. It all looked like a museum of collectibles and booty.

            At the other end of the room there was a stair case. In the center the step rose steeply upward to a hatch door and then on either side there were stairs going down. Michelle pointed to the one on the right as said.

            “Those go down to what was the bombardier’s deck but has since been converted into my quarters.” Then she pointed to the other one. “Those go to another set of quarters that are behind mine- Quest uses them when he’s with us. Kat usually gets them when he’s not on board and sometime they bunk together.”

            “Where am I bunking?” Vanessa asked.

            “You can bunk with me- if you like?” Michelle said grinning. “I got a lot more room than it looks like outside.”

            “Whew.” Vanessa made a show of relief. I was afraid I would have to sleep with luggage.”

            Michelle laughed. She had a great musical laugh.

            “I would love to share your Quarters, Captain.”

            “Let’s head up to the flight deck.” She pointed at the central staircase.

            They went up the short flight side by side.

Enter the Kat

            A young woman jogged up as they laughed and spoke to Quest. He looked down at her and replied in another strange language. Together they looked at the two laughing women and shrugged.  The young woman poked Quest in the ribs and held her slender arms wide and he picked her up and spun her around.  The young woman was slender in a feline way, wearing a flight-suit like she had seen on Star Trek, a one piece getup with lots of pockets and tools hanging from a utility belt. The suit was black with silver stripes. The most striking thing about the young woman was that she had one blue eye and one green, that along with the platinum silver hair made her particularly odd in Vanessa’s view. After a moment, Quest sat her down and they looked back at Michelle and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

            Michelle nodded after a moment and turned to Vanessa.

            “Shall we go aboard; those two will go on for awhile. They will open the hangar doors as we get the Freya ready for takeoff.  Let’s get you settled in and introduce to the plane and the rest of the crew.”

            Vanessa watched Quest and the young woman walk away- the young woman already chattering away in that strange language. Quest nodding every now and again. Then she turned to follow Michelle to the same hatch door that Flynt had just entered.

Today I fly my flag at half mast

I pause today, to thank all the people in the world who remember that Love can conquer all if we will only let it into our hearts and minds.
                                                "Time is precious, do not waste it." In Memory of the man who inspired me to blog all of this. Ray White. 1913- 2012.

time for the next chapter.

At the airport exit, the car turned into the freight entrance and cruised down to the non-commercial terminal. Vanessa looked over at Quest who smiled back at her and shook his head. She watched as they circled the terminal and then drove casually through the gates into what turned out to be row after row of hangers for smaller planes.

            “We aren’t leaving on a 747?” Vanessa heard herself ask.

            “No, we are leaving via a Peter, Paul and Mary song.” Quest answered.

            “Actually, I was think Carol King but that’s okay.” She quipped back.

            The car pulled to a stop in front of a non-descript hanger at the far end of the row. The hanger did not inspire confidence as it was a bit run-down and had an unused look. Vanessa’s spirits sank. She climbed out of the car and shook her head as she studied the peeling paint and dirt on the side of the building. She had the distinct impression of an old house in the country filled with old furniture covered in drop clothes. She looked back at Quest who said something to the driver who nodded blankly and tipped his hat to her before rolling up his window and driving away into the coming dusk.

            “This is it?” She asked partly to fill the sudden silence, and half in hope that she was not going to regret this.

            “It is just a hanger, it is not the plane.” Quest said

            Vanessa thought the blush was going to burn off what little makeup she had put on at her parent’s house.

            Quest grinned suddenly and tossed her the backpack. She caught it smoothly and slung it over her shoulder in time to catch the other bag. She made a face and turned as Quest gathered up the last bag and gestured to the door which swung open on approach as if commanded to. She glanced once at Quest before ducking into the darkness of the interior.

            Vanessa gathered her thoughts and pushed aside her doubts as she stood inside the door finding only darkness therein. As Quest closed the door behind them shutting out the last of the daylight, she felt a shift in the room. The first was the vast emptiness of the space. The second was that from the looks of the outside of the hangar there should have been holes in the roof letting in quantities of sunlight. The last was a growing awareness that a light was emanating from within the hangar but not from a light in the ceiling but rather just above the floor.

            Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and the new light began to surround her and she found herself standing in a huge empty hanger surprisingly free of debris or anything that had just filled her imagination moments before. The interior was completely clean; no dust disturbed the floor of the hangar. She knew at once that she and Quest were not alone in the building and that these others had made the building to appear unnoticeable because of what it housed. Definitely got the “nothing to see here” impression.

            It was then she felt a presence, something large, very large was in the room. It was like walking into the Aquarium and finding herself face to face with the sperm whale housed there and having it considering you and you alone. She looked into the dark gloom and felt it look back at her. The shivers began at the base of her spine. The sense of overwhelming intelligence and power swept over her even as the enormous construct of steel plates and rivets came into focus. It wasn’t 747 Jet big but the presence of the plane felt bigger than anything she had ever encountered up until that moment in the darkened hangar.

            It was without a doubt the most impressive collaboration of wings, propellers, wheels and sheet sheeting she could imagine on a plane. It was like something that had flown out of an old war movie. There were glass and steel turrets on the top and bottom and rear and front of the massive plane. There were four large engines with even larger propellers astride them. All of it rested upon massive wheels like large feet. In her mind’s eye she might as well have been gazing upon a dragon from myth and legend.

            Her eyes focused on it metallic hide and on it she saw the interwoven picture of the very dragon she had just imagined mixing with a the flowing feminine form of a woman and the hunt. The colors of hunter green, spread out in a mixed of steel blue and gray scales cut with red and gold tiger stripes along its fuselage. The front of the airplane was a massive cyclopean arrangement of a central cockpit like a multifaceted eye surrounded a bulbous head. All it lacked was shooting fire and billowing smoke.

            “That comes later.” Quest said pausing beside her. She realized that they had been walking up to the dragon-like plane the entire time as she had gazed at it in wonder and horror. She became aware of a thin man walking up to them. She spared a glance at him as he reached out and took her bags. It didn’t register that he was abnormal until Quest held out three fingers and said something completely foreign to him. He held out three fingers and touched them to Quests and responded in kind, the language sounded like a song.

            “I am Severin.” The man said and bowed at the waist to her.

            “Vanessa.” She said in response noting his slender but muscled frame, his long nose, narrow face, sharp features and pointed ears. Her mind raced and the only word that came to mind was elf. She blinked and he nodded slowly. “You’re an- I mean are you an elf?”

            He sighed at the word and shook his head. She didn’t feel disappointed but giddy she had just met her first non-human being it didn’t really matter what he was as much as he was.

            “I prefer that you call me a Elohim.” He said.

            “Elohim are like what this world has described as elves.” Quest said. “Yes, you share many similarities” he continued even as Severin shook his head.

            “Don’t listen to him, my Queen, he makes such broad generalizations.”

            She must have looked shocked, because Severin stopped smiling and looked a bit embarrassed.

            “I am sorry.” He said and bowed again but this time he did not rise back up. “I meant no offense.”

            She licked her suddenly dry lips and spoke shakily. “No offense taken. It’s just that I…” she trailed off not sure what she should say, she looked over at Quest who was laughing. Damn him.

            “Severin, my friend, it is thus- Vanessa has never been addressed as Queen- she is unfamiliar with the title.”

            Severin immediately straightened and nodded. He smiled as well. He held out his hand and she took it. He was at once very soft to touch and quite cool. “you will get used to it in time.”

            “She had better and soon.” Came a new voice from the direction of the plane.

            Vanessa looked up at the airplane and watched as woman came into view, she was older than herself but not by more than ten years or so. Brunette with her hair pulled back into a tight pony-tail and green eyes. Her face was oval and quite lovely. She would be what Vanessa would term a rough beauty, probably hard and soft in all the right places. She at once envied her on that level. The woman was dressed in jeans, army boots, a flight shirt complete with mirrored shades and a WWII bomber leather jacket rolled up at the sleeves.

            “Captain.” Severin spoke and left after a nod from the woman.

            Vanessa made herself look back at the plane as the “captain” walked around to stand at her side opposite to Quest. She felt rather than saw the woman inspect her. After a moment she nodded and tried to grunt but caught a glance from Quest and broke down into laughter. Vanessa immediately relaxed. After a moment, she too looked over at the plane and sighed contentedly.

            “She’s impressive.” The Captain said.

            “Well, not my first choice of words but I would probably say more.” Vanessa began.

            “She may not look like much.” Quest said putting his arm around her shoulders. “But she’ll do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.”

            “What?” Vanessa made the mistake of asking.

            “She’s the fastest ship in the Galaxy, even outran a star destroyer or two.” Quest continued unabated.

            “What?”

            “Don’t mind him.” The Captain said. “Star Wars.”

            “What?”

            “It’s always Star Wars with him. It’s like one of his favorite movies of all time and he has to quote it every time he brings in the new guy- or girl.”

            “Oh.” She said and looked at Quest who winked down at her. She didn’t really get it. She should have watched that movie instead of Lord of the Rings. She cursed silently, she had been sure that she was going to end up in Middle Earth not some Galaxy far away- wasn’t that how that movie logo went?

            “Your education, my young apprentice is sadly lacking.” He said with as much of a straight face as he could hold.

            “Fine. I admit it, I never thought to see that movie!” She harrumphed.

            “You, my dear child, have missed much indeed.” Quest intoned and gave her a slight hug. “And it’s the second best movie in my list of excellent movies made on this planet.”

            Vanessa looked up at him and then over at the Captain, who stopped laughing and rolled her eyes.

Severin came back and looked at them for a moment. He sighed and held out his hand to quest who obliged him with the other bag. Severin shook his head.

            “I can see where this is all going.” He said.

            “What?” Vanessa asked and felt a pit of dread appear in her stomach.

            “This is the beginning of the endless stream of Movie and Book quotes from these two.” Severin said as he slung this bag over his shoulder.

            “Oh, is that bad?” She asked and smiled at Severin who started to make the universal “don’t go there” hand gesture.

            “Oh, only as bad as waging a land war in Asia.” The Captain said.

            “Now you have done it.” Severin said and shook his head at her before walking back under the plane.

            The captain gave Vanessa a crooked sardonic smile.

            “Et tu?’ Vanessa said and immediately liked the woman.

            “Yes, me too sister.”

            “Van, this is Captain Michelle O’Connor. The pilot of this much beloved hunk of junk, the Freya.”

            “Hello,” Vanessa said and held out her hand. “I am Vanessa Schumpert –“

            “The Heir apparent.” Michelle finished for her.

            “Oh, well I guess I must be.” Vanessa said and looked up at Quest.

            “Yes, She will be Queen.” Quest said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

            “Oh.” Was all Vanessa could manage at that. She looked from Quest to Michelle.

            “Don’t let him fool you. Vanessa. You are already Queen in my book no matter what the Lords of the Landstraad have to say. You always were and always will be- but it is just a title and titles are what you make of them.”  Michelle said with a slight shrug.

            “Just wait.” Severin said from somewhere under the plane, his voice clear and musical. “Soon everyone will be bandying titles about.”

 Michelle grimaced and Quest laughed.

            “Go on and laugh. Lord Funspoiler.” Severin replied.

Vanessa shot him a surprised look.

            “Yes that is a real title our Mr. Quest has earned from the Elohim.” Michelle said.

            “You have several too.” Severine continued “Is that not right Lady O’Connor, Gaurdian of the Five Keys of Farreach?”

Michelle grimaced again and Quest laughed again.

            “Thank you, Lord Darkstrider.” She said making a thumb jerk in Severin’s direction. “he’s only the First Knight of Alanis Tree- or as I like to call him Lord Ruin the mood of the dood.”

            “Pax.” Quest said.

            “Pax.” Michelle and Severin responded each in turn.

            “Severin? Is the gear stowed?”

            “Yes, it is Quest Heromaker.” Severin said from his spot under the plane. Vanessa watched him climb into a hatch in the fuselage.

            “Are we ready to fly, Mike?” Quest asked without missing a beat.

            “Yes, we are ready to go wheels up as soon as you get the hangar bay doors open, Myle.” Michelle responded in turn. “Flynt is not back yet, neither is your Kat- I sent her over to file our flight plan- at her insistence but not without a divine promise to behave human first.”

            Quest sighed and made a showed of looking at a non-existent wrist-watch.

            “Flynt won’t be late- he never is. Kat begged- well as much as her kind does anyway.”

            “Let’s hope she learned from the last time you let her out into public.” Quest said.

            “The last time I let?” Michelle made a fist and shook it at him. “As I recall you and Flynt didn’t object and even said it might be a good idea so I went along never suspecting what would happen.”

            “True enough.” Quest held up his hands in surrender. He walked over and put his hands on Michelle’s shoulders. “But you should have stopped us.”

            “I should have stopped her.” Michelle said smiling up at him. “I should have kicked the two of you out the hatch when we got back to altitude for that “Good idea.”

            “It was a Good Idea.” A handsome man jogged up, very suave and very black. He was six foot three, and very lean and muscular. He was Will Smith meets Billy Dee Williams- Vanessa thought and did the math and decided he was better than both. “It was the wrong city though.”

            “This is our man Flynt, co-pilot and all around Scoundrel extraordinaire.” Quest said by way of introduction. “This is our lady of the moment, Vanessa.”

            “I remember her.” Flynt said and gave her the smolder. “Milady.”

            Vanessa was sure she was blushed all the way down to her toes.

            “Ok old man.” Michelle cut in. “You are old enough to be her grandfather.”

            “Age has never stopped me.”

            “I would like a final flight check, so would you please go wake the dragon?’

            “Aye Aye Sir!” Flynt saluted and gave Vanessa a wink and jogged over to the fuselage and opened the rear hatch.

            “Men.” Michelle said not without some admiration.

            “Men.” Vanessa agreed.

            They both looked at Quest suddenly and laughed.

On fathers

            Later, as the car drove away from her parent’s house she had flashes of memory of her comings and goings from there. She would remember the each time her father had said goodbye and reassure her that she should feel free to call or come home at anytime. That he always smiled when she came through the door on each visit and was the first to meet her at the door. He was the last one she saw as she looked out the back window of the car.

            Her mother was always in the kitchen making cookies each time she came home as a girl. How could anyone make that many cookies? She would come in with a plate of fresh baked cookies and a glass of milk or juice each time Vanessa came home for a visit. Her mother always looked so surprised that she had come back and then would insist that Vanessa spend the night and rush off to prepare a room for her.

            She had the distinct memory of her brothers and sister playing with her in the yard whenever they all got together. There always had to be an event to mark their collective visits. Now she watched them fade away feeling guilty that they had not even got to play one game of catch before she had climbed into the car and drove away.

            Her mind returned to her father waving goodbye from the curb. She looked over at Quest and considered him a long time. What was she looking for? Something she could recognize in his face perhaps, something she could call her own.

            “Are you my father?”

            It was a moment of time before she realized she had asked it aloud. She looked at him in profound embarrassment and opened her mouth in horror.

            Quest laughed. When he was done and her horror and chagrin complete he gently shook his head.

            “No. Vanessa, I am not your father.”

            She blew out a sigh of relief.

            “No, I am not even your uncle other than in name anyway.”

            Vanessa’s surprise and shock had to be palatable.

            “We are not related by blood only by experience and oath.”

            “Wow, I cannot believe I just asked you that!” Vanessa said.

            “You will meet your father soon enough.”

            She stared at him in renewed shock. She did have a father  after all.

            “It is hard to explain, since he will not know that he is your father.”

saying goodbye

Saying goodbye this time was as hard as she could have imagined it. She hugged each of her brothers in turn and hugged and kissed Anne on the cheek. Anne smiled and wept openly for the first time in memory. Kevin and Tom kept looking at Quest suspiciously while she was saying her goodbyes.

            Her mother held her tightly and kept apologizing over and over again for not telling her about the adoption. She held onto her mother as tightly reassuring her that the apologies were unnecessary. Her mother held her at arm’s length for a time with the family looking on and shook her head.

“I feel like we are losing you Vanessa.”

“Mom.” Vanessa replied but could not find the words to go on.

“Can she come back?” Her father suddenly asked.

All eyes turned to Quest.

“Will she be able to come back, Mr. Quest?” He asked more directl

Quest nodded. There was a collective sigh.

“I still don’t understand why she cannot just pick up a cell phone and call then?” Her mother complained.

Vanessa considered this, her own mind understood that it was not possible, that where she was going was so far that it was beyond the reach of anything her world knew to communicate. She shot Quest a hopeful look. He walked across the room to the cleared dining room table and beckoned then to come over. Nervously, hesitantly they came to stand together opposite him across the table.

            Quest pointed to the candelabras and placemats and Kevin and Tom removed them.  Quest reached inside his shirt pocket and produced a vial of blue liquid. He held out the vial, ceremoniously uncorked the topper and slowly turned the vial until a single drop of the blue liquid dropped from the container. It dropped in slow motion towards the table top.

            “The distance between what you know to be here and what Vanessa will know to be there is vast like an ocean that separates to distant islands.”

            The drop of liquid hit the table top and splashed outward in a ring of blue liquid which spread quickly over the entire table. Her mind had trouble grasping that there was enough liquid in that drop to compensate for covering the table but she accepted it as real. Abstractly she wondered if anyone else had a problem with the physics of what was happening then she saw that Quest was looking directly at her. Without knowing she was doing anything she reached out and placed her left index finger in the liquid at her end of the table. Around where she touched a beautiful little version of the city sprang to life becoming a composite of an island and the city itself. It was improbable but her mind accepted it.

            Quest did the same at the opposite end of the table, and another island appeared.

            “The ocean that separates the two islands is vast and largely uncrossable by ordinary methods of travel. Communication as you know it on your island will not be able to navigate the distance but there are routes known to those who cross this ocean between these two Islands and so many many more beyond them.” Quest gestured out beyond the table and she got the impression that the ocean was more vast, more eternal than what she could see on the table top.

            “The crossings of this ocean are few and can only take place at certain times each decade or eon. We call this the Ways. Traveling the Ways is difficult and a crossing is never done casually. Vanessa will cross the Ways with me and a group of companions that came to fetch her. In time she will have the opportunity to return via the Ways or at least send a message to you. There is no instant communication like what you enjoy here through the ways known to any of us who have navigated them in my knowledge. This was the reason I brought Vanessa here to grow up. This was why her birth Mother requested the promise from me. Now I have to fulfill that promise not only to Allisandra but also to Vanessa as well.”

            Quest made a show of corking the vial and at once all of the display on the table faded away returning the wood to the table top and the room to normal light. Kevin reach forward and touched the table as if to prove to himself that it was just wood under his fingertips. He left his hand there as if to anchor it.

            Her father walked over to Quest and shook his hand.

            “Thank you, for bringing her to us.” Her father said. “She has meant so much to me, to raise her as my own. I doubt I can ever express what an honor and privilege it has been to have her as my own daughter.”

            Vanessa felt tears on her face as her father turned and pulled her into his embrace. She hugged him fiercely and held onto him not wanting to let him go. She soon realized her entire family had joined them in the embrace.

Dinner party

Things went better than she had expected. They all sat down and ate a nice meal and everyone was cordial to Quest and asked no questions. Vanessa wandered if her father had coached everyone on what to say. During the meal she would catch her father- and her mother peering at Quest as if he was someone they had once met. Neither of them looked like they could place him but as the idel chatter of her siblings took over she soon stopped looking at them. Kevin was being his usual humorous self and kidding Anne.

            Vanessa was impressed Anne took all this well and in stride reminding Kevin that he was not great success either. Dad finally interrupted them and made his signature hand cut and warble to indicate that it was time for silence. Slowly conversation died down and everyone got still to suit her father. Her father stood and raised his glass to Vanessa. Suddenly she felt all eyes turn to her and had the sudden urge to sob. Instead she blinked back her surprise and raised her own glass to him.

            “Look I know this must seem very strange to all of us, least of all you my dear daughter but I feel that I must say something.” He considered the glass then looked at each of them in turn. “To say that I am proud of all of you- despite how you may feel about yourselves at this moment, is to say that I am proud, very proud to have been the one to raise each and everyone one of you. I know that you must leave Van, but I want you to know that this is your home and will always be your home-“ He held up his hand to stop her from interrupting. “No matter where you have to go, it will be your home. That goes for all of you kids, this is your home.” He paused long enough for everyone to nod. “Now it may be your home but that doesn’t mean you can move back in.”

Vanessa laughed as did the others and toasted her father again and knew that this was the only father she needed to have known. It was enough to have him.