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“Let’s fly!”
PART II:
OUTWARD BOUND
(January 11, 1899)
[ 50 ]
The Argent was several days into the mission and everyone had settled into a routine of calm alertness, with time for rest, conversation, and reading. Edgar didn’t rest much, but instead he often stayed near the command post just to be able to see the red planet and watch it grow steadily larger from the pinpoint speck he first saw. It would be several more days before Mars filled the viewing window, but he was thrilled at seeing it even this small.
“What do you think of it, Eddie?” Billy asked.
“I’m not sure Mars is an adequate name for such a marvelous orb.”
“The name of the God of War doesn’t fit?”
“I can’t put my finger on why I feel that way. I think it may be because we are hurtling through the ether faster than the fastest meteor, and now, to me, the universe seems limitless.” He held his head at the temples and said, “When I think about it, my cognitater feels like it is going to explode from too much imagination filling it.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Use it to your best advantage. You’ll never go back to seeing things the way you used to, and you should enjoy the new perspective. And, Eddie, none of us will see things the way we used to.”
Eddie took one more look, then said, “I guess I’ll go check below, make sure things are okay there.”
“Locate John and Ian, and send them forward.”
“Yes sir.”
[ 51 ]
Eddie found the two soldiers of fortune in the weapons room. Ian was sharpening his rose-bladed claymore, while John worked on an enlarged lever ring for a Winchester.
Eddie said, “What are you doing with that, John?”
“Making it easier for rapid firing. I can work the lever faster, and this little screw here?” He pointed to a small, adjustable set-screw in the lever that would contact the trigger when the lever was closed, “It’ll fire automatically when I close the lever, or I can give it a tweak to back it off and that will allow me to fire using my finger on the trigger.”
Ian said, “He had one of those once when we were in a wee bit of a fix one dark night near Mombasa. He worked that thing so quick there was only one sound comin’ from it, and the fire jumpin’ from the muzzle lit the entire area. Fast as a machine gun, and bonnie accurate John is with that darlin’.”
“I’d like to see you shoot sometime.”
John said, “When we are through with this adventure, I’ll teach you how.”
“That would be great!”
Ian asked, “Did ye come down to see us for somethin’ special, Eddie boy?”
“Yes, Billy wants to talk to you two.”
Ian wiped his blade with a cloth after sharpening and held it aloft. The blade’s color was like the first red of dawn.
Edgar asked, “What sort of metal is that big cutter? I’ve not seen anything like it.”
John said, “You’ve got a good eye, Eddie. That is a one-of-a-kind blade.” He glanced across at Ian, and the Highlander nodded, telling John to go ahead with the story. John said, “One clear winter night, Ian saw a red piece of star fall from the sky and it hit so close on a nearby hill that the concussion knocked him on his back. Ian walked to the impact area and found a large, smoking hole. He camped by it until the hole was cool enough to walk into, and he dug at the center. At the bottom he found a red piece of metal. He took it to a swordsmith and asked him to work some magic with the star metal. Six weeks later, Ian returned and the smith handed him this sword. He told Ian that it was the best blade he had ever made and that there would never be another like it.”
Ian said, “He also told me that it had a little bit of Heaven and Hell in it. I feel he was right as rain on that measure.” The Highlanger grasped the claymore with his left hand at mid-blade for balance and ran the red blade down his right forearm. Hairs curled up like the rind on a peeled apple. He used a cloth to wipe the blade again, then slid the claymore home in its scabbard. “Is everyone else asleep, laddie?”
“I think Bixie is awake, but everybody else is sawing logs.”
John said, “They need it. That was a tense time we got through.” He placed his Winchester on the bed and he and the Highlander exited the weapons room to talk with Billy.
