Peggy Sue (The T'aafhal Inheritance) by Doug Hoffman Page B

extending her hand, “Olaf, so good of you to come!”
    “Is that you, Ludmilla? My goodness, you look wonderful for someone supposedly killed by a solar flare.” Olaf stepped forward to meet her and warmly grasped her hand. “I truly did not know what to think after you called. Even after seeing Dr. Saito here, alive and well, I was afraid to hope. My God, this is wonderful!”
    “Believe me, Olaf, I’m as glad to be talking with you as you are with me. Yuki and I had been beyond hope when the Peggy Sue rescued us from the ISS.” Managing to reclaim her hand from Dr. Gunderson’s grip she turned to Elena and said, “You must be Lucrezia Piscopia, it is very nice to meet you.”
    “ Grazie, ” the Italian astronomer replied, shaking Ludmilla’s hand in turn. “Please, call me Elena.”
    “And you must call me Ludmilla, since we are all going to be colleagues.” Then Ludmilla spotted Kim, half hiding behind Dr. Gunderson. “And who are you, young lady? I was not aware that Olaf was bringing a date.”
    Both Olaf and Kim blushed, while Kim managed to stammer, “I’m Kim, Kimberly Lawson, Professor Gunderson’s assistant.”
    “Your assistants get younger and prettier every year, Olaf,” Ludmilla said with a knowing smile and sideways glance of her eyes. This caused Olaf to turn even redder and Kim to look both confused and upset at the same time.
    “This is all perfectly innocent, Ludmilla!” He managed to say. “In fact, I don’t even know how Kim got to Australia.”
    “Hmm, so you say,” she said, not letting him off the hook just yet. “Now you, Miss Lawson, what do you know of the purpose of this trip?”
    “I,” she started, “I overheard Prof. Gunderson on the phone, something about the ISS astronauts being alive somewhere in Australia. It sounded mysterious and dangerous and I didn’t think he should be going alone. So I followed him.”
    “Well you are here now. We will just have to see what the Captain wants to do with you.”
    * * * * *
    Meanwhile, the Captain had walked over to the cluster of crew, to be greeted by a chorus of “good evening, Sir,” from those assembled there.
    “Lt. McKennitt, I see you were able to collect all our lost sheep,” Jack said to the young pilot, Then, turning to the young man standing beside Sandy, he said, “you must be Nigel Lewis, good to meet you in person.”
    “It’s good to meet you, Sir,” the man said, shaking hands. His accent was English, not Australian, his hair black and curly, eyes gray and complexion fair. He looked every inch a young Royal Navy Lieutenant, which is precisely what he had been up until a few months ago.
    The Captain then shifted his gaze to the three muscular men standing beside JT and Billy Ray. “And these must be the Chief’s acquaintances.”
    “Yes, Sir,” JT replied, “may I introduce Petty Officers Bud Jones and Phil Kowalski and Chief Petty Officer Rick Morgan?” The three drew themselves up to attention and stiffly shook hands with the Captain.
    “Welcome, gentlemen, I’m Captain Jack Sutton, commander of this three ringed circus,” Jack said, smiling. “I wanted you all here together so I could meet everyone at the same time.”
    “Good to meet you in person, Sir,” said Chief Morgan. “You gave us a lift to a job once off Somalia a few years back.”
    “Ah, Chief Zackly did mention something about our paths having crossed previously.” The Captain nodded to the three SEALs. “Welcome aboard, gentlemen. Rather than force you to sit through an evening with a room full of scientists and officers, I’ve asked Mr. Vincent to take you below and explain what we are all about here. After that, since you will undoubtedly feel more comfortable in the canteen, Senior Chief Zackly will join you there and you can catch up on old times.”
    “Aye aye, Sir,” the three replied as one.
    “With your permission, Captain?” Billy Ray drawled. Jack acknowledged and Billy Ray led his charges away, headed