Chapter 22
The Baltic Sector
Having the Warman as a friend here in this sector was evidently acceptable for space faring personnel. No one raised the roof or panicked even though some looked at them out of curiosity as Scott and Fortried entered one of Jacque’s local taverns. Scott was sorry and apologies to Fortried as he realized Fortried could have shared his experiences while here on Jacque’s world. He would make up for some of it by at least having a few beers with him and Jacque. They would be saying goodbye to Jacque for a short period as their plans included returning here after their visit to the Baltic Sector.
The bar was quiet with just a murmur of conversation from the occupants sparsely spread throughout the room. The patrons were of many different ethnicities and there dialog mixed together left little that was understandable but no hostilities were apparent. Actually, Scott thought, it was such a pleasant sound it would be easy to forget that a short time ago their life was in such peril from patrons just like these.
The bartender pulled a couple of beers and placed them on the bar in front of Fortried and Scott. Scott’s glass was a chilled 20 ounce crystal with the bar logo on one side while Fortried’s container was more like a glass bucket. It held almost a gallon of the golden liquid, no logo but it had an arrow pointing up with “This End Up” stenciled just below the rim. On the bottom in small print “Tipped to empty” could be seem as Fortried drained the contents.
“I serve drinks according to the size of the customer.” The bartender said as he smiled at Fortried. “You are gorgeous and one huge individual if I may say so myself.”
After draining the large container without lowering it and with that deep booming voice Fortried said,. “You may.” This was followed by an enormous burp that caused many heads to turn in their direction.
“Pardon me.” Coming from Fortried caused some good natured comments from patron of the bar with a smattering of applause.
Jacque sauntered in with his favorite customer style greeting smile plastered on his face. “Wow, nice volume.” Jacque said as he added a couple of hand claps of his own.
“Scott, who is your enormous friend?” Jacque asked as he craned his neck back while looking up at the towering individual.
“Sorry, my bad. This is Fortried, he was watching my ship while I’ve been here.” Scott said as he touched Fortried’s elbow presenting him in introduction.
Extending his hand up toward Fortried Jacque said, “Good to meet you, I am Jacque the owner of this establishment. I am also a good friend of Scott’s.”
The three of them spent the next two hours as Fortried and Jacque got to know each other. The three of them tried to decide on what avenue Scott should now take to continue his investigation on the recent attacks.
They had previously agreed that the Baltic Sector was the next logical stop or step. What to look for and how to approach the locals there would be instrumental in any knowledgeable gain that might be derived.
After the three shared a good meal, Fortried and Scott spent several minutes saying goodbye to Jacque. Taking their leave they headed back to their ship. Preparations to launch were few as Fortried, an excellant pilot, had accomplished most of the pre-flight checks before joining Scott at the bar.
Giving the destination to Nard was the final step before the ship was put into motion. The monitor changed rapidly as the voiced instructions were entered with the results placed on the screen. The current sector seem to pull away and the galaxy and spread out to include more stars and sectors of known space. Soon the dots signifying small planets were all that was left of the screen. A small white circle surrounded their current location with a false dark blue line that spanned the monitor ending at another white circle. A small tag identified the area that was circled. Baltic Sector labeled the one end of the dark line. Satisfied with what he saw on the screen Scott said, “Nard please engage.” Unseen by Nard Scott had pointed his index finger at the monitor as he said engage.
The tug of acceleration pulled on Scott as the ship lifted and left the atmosphere of the small planet. The blue, representing the atmosphere, that surrounded Jacque's home was clearly visible and it made things seem so friendly and inviting. Suddenly the small world receded, dwindling quickly to a small bright dot before blinking away as the stars blurred with the entrance into warp. Leaving was always emotional and Scott’s thoughts were on his friend as they sped away from that sector. He was already looking forward with fun remembrance of their visit in anticipation of their quick return.
Scott looked back at the monitor. The dark blue line was bending as warp speed bent space and the distance between starting and ending points simply moved closer together as he watched. Of course the display was an animated picture but the actual effect in reality was true.