Alpha One - Chris Burton [86]
The yacht joined the space way, within twenty-five minutes of take off. Jake placed the vessel on autopilot and joined Carla in the kitchen area. They sat down and enjoyed the lunch Carla prepared. Jake was hungry. More importantly, he wanted to know what would happen next with their relationship.
“Carla, we need to talk.”
“About us, you mean. Yes, we do. Let’s finish lunch and then we can have a proper chat.”
* * * *
As Jake and Carla enjoyed their lunch, the AUSWAS research vessel exited Titan control space and powered up its stellar drive. On board, Professor Nigel Winterburn and five of his fellow Collective members, including Joely, waited patiently for the commander to complete his pre-stellar speed checks. Satisfied, the commander set course and engaged the stellar drive. The AUSWAS vessel was en route to the Tri-Star System.
No one—Carla, Jake, nor the five collective subordinates—knew the true reason why Winterburn took this flight. If they had, they would certainly have tried to stop him.
* * * *
Jake asked Carla if they could sit in the cockpit to have their chat. He felt uncomfortable with self-shift auto pilot and, in a busy shipping lane with a non-Alpha maintained ship, he couldn’t risk leaving the ships NAVCOM to deal with the whole spectrum of problems that could manifest in this environment. Jake liked to fly himself and, if he was not flying, he wanted to see what went on.
“So how do you feel about us?” Carla asked.
Jake exhaled. “I don’t know…it feels so right. It’s like it has always been this way. We are friends Carla. Are we spoiling our friendship? Then there’s Steve.”
“Yes, but I am not with Steve. I know we are on a ‘temporary split’.” Carla emphasized the words mockingly. “That is only to pacify Steve. To be honest, I have felt like this about you for a long time,” Carla breathed a sigh of relief. “There, it’s out.”
Jake was slightly taken aback and paused before replying. “I guess I knew something was going on, even before Maria. I tried to read the signs, but, hey, I am only a man, what do I know?”
“This the age of common emotional awareness,” she said as she put her head on his shoulder.
They embraced and Jake said. “Yes, you are right and I feel the same way. The question is: what are we going to do about it?”
“Well, I don’t want it to stop. We will just have to be careful.”
“Are you suggesting we don’t tell Steve?” Jake asked.
“Yes, we can’t tell him. It would break him thinking his best friend and his ‘girlfriend’ are seeing each other behind his back. We need to keep it to ourselves until after graduation.”
“That is nearly six months away, Carla. We can’t creep around like this for half a year…can we?”
“Yes and no. We can, but it will be difficult. Steve thinks we are not together, and I will have to break it to him that the split is permanent, which I must do before too long. That will hurt him, I guess, but it’s unfair to keep him hanging on.”
“How do you feel about him? You have been together for three years. Are you sure the relationship is over?”
“Yes, I am. I have known for some time. I love him, but not like that; not anymore. I care about him more as a friend. The passion ended in our relationship a long time ago. I just wish he would wake up and grow up a little. This is a serious game he is playing. Flying jump ships is a grown up and dangerous profession. I don’t need to tell you that.”
“To be fair to Steve, he has bucked his ideas up lately. He really knuckled down with his Geometrics and caught up with most of his other classes.”
“I know, but you still get the impression he could let rip suddenly…at the wrong time and endanger himself or others.”
Jake paused before commenting further. “Do you think your feelings for him are on hold because he is too much of a risk taker?”
“No, it’s not just the risks. It’s his overall attitude. He needs to grow up. The ‘Steve’ I know will never come back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He is immature sometimes and takes too many risks.