Hi thanks to Becci, K. Presson, Theresa, Jules, Christine, Sara, Kiddo,
Lucy, Denise Patterson, Sash, Diena Taylor, Pearlrosess, Shadow, Kas, Dani,
Kathy, Karren, - and any one else who read and/or reviewed.
See Chapter 1 for all - purpose disclaimer. Plus, I have never been to Russia, so sorry for any details I get wrong (unless they can be put down to a way things could be by 2018 - in that case, I intended it to be that all the time), also, no offence is intended to any one who may live in the places I've mentioned.
Chapter 2.
Ben Krieg closed his eyes as he felt the snow chains skid on the black ice. He heard Miguel utter something, which sounded very descriptive, in Spanish. Ben peeped out of one eye at Katie. She seemed perfectly calm, and was humming along to the old Abba song on the radio.
"Commander," a small voice came from the back. "Can we slow down? Just a little bit? Please?"
"Don't worry so much Ortiz. I'm a good driver - I've never so much as got a speeding ticket."
"Only because the traffic cops can't catch up to write you one." Ben muttered - but not too loudly since he knew from experience that Katie would only put her foot down harder if she heard him.
"I don't doubt your abilities as a driver, Commander, but the driving conditions are pretty hazardous." Miguel tried again.
Again Katie reassured Miguel that she knew what she was doing. Finally Ben, very carefully released his death grip on the dash board, and turned, making a great show of looking over his shoulder at Fords transport which was trailing slightly behind.
"Katie, I think you should slow down, not because you're a bad driver," he explained hastily, "but I think Ford is having trouble keeping up, he obviously not as skilled as you are in these conditions."
Katie Hitchcock didn't look happy, but slowed down enough that Miguel and Ben both felt able to breath normally again.
***** ***** *****
Everyone in the second transport let out a sigh of relief when they saw Katie's transport slow to some thing approaching a sensible pace.
Silence descended upon them.
Ford felt out of his depth. He didn't know either of his companions that well, and didn't expect to have a lot in common with either of them, but the silence was getting to him. He cast his mind around for a suitable topic.
"So, are you looking forward to giving your lectures, Lucas?"
"No."
Ford looked at Tim wondering if he'd said something wrong, but Tim looked as confused as he felt.
"How come?" Tim asked, after a moment's silence.
"I just don't like giving lectures, why the third degree all of a sudden?"
Ford put Lucas's reaction down to teenage mood swings, but Tim wondered if there was more to it than that. Either way, before they could say anything else, Lucas pulled his earphones out of his backpack and put them on - turning the volume on the MP3 player they were connected to up to full.
Then he pulled a bundle of notes out of the same bag, and started to look through them - pointedly ignoring the two officers in the front of the transport.
Ford sighed - it was going to be a long trip.
***** ***** *****
"Ben, sit down." Katie said, after getting dizzy watching him walk back and forth in front of her for the last half an hour.
Ben continued to pace nervously up and down in the dilapidated airport terminal. The pale green paint on the walls was peeling, and they'd been told that they'd have to check with the information desk frequently since the electronic message boards hadn't worked in the last three years.
"There's a problem with the plane, I know it." Ben replied.
"Ben, there's no problem with the plane, it's just a little delay, that's all." Katie said, again.
"Look at this place - it's falling apart!"
"Ben, it's no worse than most of the smaller airports back home, all the smaller airports made cut backs after the new legislation came in, but that doesn't mean they're not safe."
"I'm telling you, there's a problem with the plane, they're probably sticking it together with gaffer tape as we speak." Ben said, pacing more rapidly.
"Calm, down, Ben. There's no need to panic."
"Who's panicking? Why do you think I'm panicking? I'm not panicking!" Ben said, all in one breath.
"Relax, Ben. It's perfectly safe. Millions of people fly every day, and none of them come to any harm." Miguel tried to reason.
Katie sighed, next time, Commander Ford could stay with Krieg, and she would go and find out what the delay was all about.
"Ok, all sorted." Ford said with forced cheer, as he and Tim returned. Ford looked around the group. Ben couldn't stop pacing, and it was beginning to look like they would have to sedate him just to get him on the plane. At least Miguel looked reasonably calm - although he was still a little off colour after sampling Katie's driving skills.
Tim on the other hand was almost hopping up and down with excitment, after getting the chance to test his skills in no less than three different Russian dialects already. Katie looked ready to strangle Ben, but that was normal enough. Lucas meanwhile still hadn't taken his earphones off, and was still going through his bundle of papers.
In short, Ford considered, we're not going to be the most perfect ambassadors the UEO has ever sent to the conference.
"The plane is being re-fuelled, we'll be boarding in a few minutes."
"Back or front?" Ben asked.
"Pardon, Lieutenant?" Ford said, not following.
"Are our seats near the back or the front of the plane?"
"I don't know, why?" Ford asked warily, not being completely convinced that Ben's fear wasn't a con, and that the Lieutenant wasn't planning some kind of grand scale practical joke.
"The back of the plane is safer."
Ford raised his eyebrows in query. "That's because the plane doesn't often reverse into mountains, right?"
Ben looked confused for a moment. "If the plane crashes, most of the passengers who survive are usually seated near the tail, because the tail often breaks away from the rest of the plane." He explained carefully.
"It's not a joke, Commander," Katie supplied wearily, "When we went on our honeymoon, he said the same thing then, we had to take a later flight so we could sit near the tail - he won't board her if he has to sit in the front."
"So where are we sitting?" Ben asked again.
Ford sighed, "I'll go and check." He signalled for Tim O'Neil to go with him, to translate.
***** ***** *****
"What did she say?" Ford asked, wishing he'd opted for Russian, instead of French at school.
"She says we're sitting near the front."
"Can she move us?" Ford asked, and Tim translated to the woman behind the desk.
The woman said something in Russian, and shook her head.
"She says no-"
"Thank you, Lieutenant, I understood that bit."
Disappointed, they made their way back to the others. They tried to explain to Ben, but the supply officer was just getting more and more wound up.
***** ***** *****
Lucas sat in the terminal, a little bit apart from his friends, and listened to his music. He stared down at the notes he was working on and tapped his pen in rhythm to the beat. When he heard shouting he took his earphones off, and stared at the scene in front of him.
Ben seemed to be having some kind of panic attack, and was shouting something about reversing into mountains. Every one else was trying to calm him down, but failing miserably. Ben backed away from Ford, stepped on Miguel's foot, tried to regain his balance by grabbing hold of Tim, but in the end only succeeded in causing them to all land in a twisted pile of arms and legs on the tiled floor.
Ford had his eyes closed, and was obviously trying to block out the sound of laughter arising from the other passengers who were all watching the foreigners with amused interest. Once he had regained enough composure to open his eyes, Ford started trying to untangle the three men, and get them all back on their feet.
Katie stood a few feet away, and tried not to laugh, believing, quite accurately, that it would prove to be the final straw for Commander Ford if she did. Lucas approached cautiously, and asked her what was going on. She quickly explained the gist of the problem, before going over to help the untangling process.
Lucas watched for a moment, deep in though, not about the problem - he could see the solution to that already. What Lucas was trying to work out, was why none of the other crew had come up with the same solution before.
Finally they were all on their feet; no worse for wear, well, except Ben, who'd managed to collect a black eye from Tim's flailing elbow during the fall.
That was then that Ford looked around and noticed that Lucas had disappeared.
To Be Continued...
***** ***** *****
That's all for now - any and all reviews or comments you feel inclined to give will all be gratefully received :o) Next chapter should be up in the near future.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1 :o)
Cadi.
See Chapter 1 for all - purpose disclaimer. Plus, I have never been to Russia, so sorry for any details I get wrong (unless they can be put down to a way things could be by 2018 - in that case, I intended it to be that all the time), also, no offence is intended to any one who may live in the places I've mentioned.
Chapter 2.
Ben Krieg closed his eyes as he felt the snow chains skid on the black ice. He heard Miguel utter something, which sounded very descriptive, in Spanish. Ben peeped out of one eye at Katie. She seemed perfectly calm, and was humming along to the old Abba song on the radio.
"Commander," a small voice came from the back. "Can we slow down? Just a little bit? Please?"
"Don't worry so much Ortiz. I'm a good driver - I've never so much as got a speeding ticket."
"Only because the traffic cops can't catch up to write you one." Ben muttered - but not too loudly since he knew from experience that Katie would only put her foot down harder if she heard him.
"I don't doubt your abilities as a driver, Commander, but the driving conditions are pretty hazardous." Miguel tried again.
Again Katie reassured Miguel that she knew what she was doing. Finally Ben, very carefully released his death grip on the dash board, and turned, making a great show of looking over his shoulder at Fords transport which was trailing slightly behind.
"Katie, I think you should slow down, not because you're a bad driver," he explained hastily, "but I think Ford is having trouble keeping up, he obviously not as skilled as you are in these conditions."
Katie Hitchcock didn't look happy, but slowed down enough that Miguel and Ben both felt able to breath normally again.
***** ***** *****
Everyone in the second transport let out a sigh of relief when they saw Katie's transport slow to some thing approaching a sensible pace.
Silence descended upon them.
Ford felt out of his depth. He didn't know either of his companions that well, and didn't expect to have a lot in common with either of them, but the silence was getting to him. He cast his mind around for a suitable topic.
"So, are you looking forward to giving your lectures, Lucas?"
"No."
Ford looked at Tim wondering if he'd said something wrong, but Tim looked as confused as he felt.
"How come?" Tim asked, after a moment's silence.
"I just don't like giving lectures, why the third degree all of a sudden?"
Ford put Lucas's reaction down to teenage mood swings, but Tim wondered if there was more to it than that. Either way, before they could say anything else, Lucas pulled his earphones out of his backpack and put them on - turning the volume on the MP3 player they were connected to up to full.
Then he pulled a bundle of notes out of the same bag, and started to look through them - pointedly ignoring the two officers in the front of the transport.
Ford sighed - it was going to be a long trip.
***** ***** *****
"Ben, sit down." Katie said, after getting dizzy watching him walk back and forth in front of her for the last half an hour.
Ben continued to pace nervously up and down in the dilapidated airport terminal. The pale green paint on the walls was peeling, and they'd been told that they'd have to check with the information desk frequently since the electronic message boards hadn't worked in the last three years.
"There's a problem with the plane, I know it." Ben replied.
"Ben, there's no problem with the plane, it's just a little delay, that's all." Katie said, again.
"Look at this place - it's falling apart!"
"Ben, it's no worse than most of the smaller airports back home, all the smaller airports made cut backs after the new legislation came in, but that doesn't mean they're not safe."
"I'm telling you, there's a problem with the plane, they're probably sticking it together with gaffer tape as we speak." Ben said, pacing more rapidly.
"Calm, down, Ben. There's no need to panic."
"Who's panicking? Why do you think I'm panicking? I'm not panicking!" Ben said, all in one breath.
"Relax, Ben. It's perfectly safe. Millions of people fly every day, and none of them come to any harm." Miguel tried to reason.
Katie sighed, next time, Commander Ford could stay with Krieg, and she would go and find out what the delay was all about.
"Ok, all sorted." Ford said with forced cheer, as he and Tim returned. Ford looked around the group. Ben couldn't stop pacing, and it was beginning to look like they would have to sedate him just to get him on the plane. At least Miguel looked reasonably calm - although he was still a little off colour after sampling Katie's driving skills.
Tim on the other hand was almost hopping up and down with excitment, after getting the chance to test his skills in no less than three different Russian dialects already. Katie looked ready to strangle Ben, but that was normal enough. Lucas meanwhile still hadn't taken his earphones off, and was still going through his bundle of papers.
In short, Ford considered, we're not going to be the most perfect ambassadors the UEO has ever sent to the conference.
"The plane is being re-fuelled, we'll be boarding in a few minutes."
"Back or front?" Ben asked.
"Pardon, Lieutenant?" Ford said, not following.
"Are our seats near the back or the front of the plane?"
"I don't know, why?" Ford asked warily, not being completely convinced that Ben's fear wasn't a con, and that the Lieutenant wasn't planning some kind of grand scale practical joke.
"The back of the plane is safer."
Ford raised his eyebrows in query. "That's because the plane doesn't often reverse into mountains, right?"
Ben looked confused for a moment. "If the plane crashes, most of the passengers who survive are usually seated near the tail, because the tail often breaks away from the rest of the plane." He explained carefully.
"It's not a joke, Commander," Katie supplied wearily, "When we went on our honeymoon, he said the same thing then, we had to take a later flight so we could sit near the tail - he won't board her if he has to sit in the front."
"So where are we sitting?" Ben asked again.
Ford sighed, "I'll go and check." He signalled for Tim O'Neil to go with him, to translate.
***** ***** *****
"What did she say?" Ford asked, wishing he'd opted for Russian, instead of French at school.
"She says we're sitting near the front."
"Can she move us?" Ford asked, and Tim translated to the woman behind the desk.
The woman said something in Russian, and shook her head.
"She says no-"
"Thank you, Lieutenant, I understood that bit."
Disappointed, they made their way back to the others. They tried to explain to Ben, but the supply officer was just getting more and more wound up.
***** ***** *****
Lucas sat in the terminal, a little bit apart from his friends, and listened to his music. He stared down at the notes he was working on and tapped his pen in rhythm to the beat. When he heard shouting he took his earphones off, and stared at the scene in front of him.
Ben seemed to be having some kind of panic attack, and was shouting something about reversing into mountains. Every one else was trying to calm him down, but failing miserably. Ben backed away from Ford, stepped on Miguel's foot, tried to regain his balance by grabbing hold of Tim, but in the end only succeeded in causing them to all land in a twisted pile of arms and legs on the tiled floor.
Ford had his eyes closed, and was obviously trying to block out the sound of laughter arising from the other passengers who were all watching the foreigners with amused interest. Once he had regained enough composure to open his eyes, Ford started trying to untangle the three men, and get them all back on their feet.
Katie stood a few feet away, and tried not to laugh, believing, quite accurately, that it would prove to be the final straw for Commander Ford if she did. Lucas approached cautiously, and asked her what was going on. She quickly explained the gist of the problem, before going over to help the untangling process.
Lucas watched for a moment, deep in though, not about the problem - he could see the solution to that already. What Lucas was trying to work out, was why none of the other crew had come up with the same solution before.
Finally they were all on their feet; no worse for wear, well, except Ben, who'd managed to collect a black eye from Tim's flailing elbow during the fall.
That was then that Ford looked around and noticed that Lucas had disappeared.
To Be Continued...
***** ***** *****
That's all for now - any and all reviews or comments you feel inclined to give will all be gratefully received :o) Next chapter should be up in the near future.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1 :o)
Cadi.