Scene 33

Aboard the Saltire

The flight to South Carolina was relatively uneventful. The only irritation was Grant’s sulking. No one had thought to stock any Ontario wine in the larder.

Upon crossing the South Carolina border, Jaime announced that anyone not part of the crew would have to pass the remainder of the flight within the dining room, so as to safeguard the secret location of the Great Hall.

I had gone through this drill before, so I started towards the dining room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jaime asked.

“To the dining room, like everyone else,” I answered. “You don’t want me to see the location of the Hall, do you?”

“Drop the innocent act,” he told me. “We all know that your team discovered our location. While we don’t like it, I suppose we’ll have to live with it. By the way, that Ms. Swan is quite the investigator.”

I chuckled a bit, knowing that my secret was out. “Well, she just can’t stand to leave a mystery unsolved.”

As the Saltire approached the mountain upon which the Great Hall stood, I watched closely. I had seen the hangar from the inside, but had never watched the airship dock. We seemed to be flying straight towards the side of the mountain.

Then, the side of the mountain opened with two great doors swinging out. Within I could see the hangar where several people were waiting to secure the craft.

“Impressive,” I said to Jaime. “With the doors closed it looks just like any other mountainside.”

“It’s a combination of modeling and holographic imagery,” Jaime told me. “David worked up the idea one afternoon.”

As the airship slipped into the hangar, mooring lines were thrown to the men waiting inside. These men helped guide the craft to the hooks mounted on the floor.

As I looked around, I saw a small control booth set up off the floor, near the doors. As the airship passed completely within the doors, the man in the booth activated some controls and the doors started to swing closed.

The instant the doors closed completely, I noticed the lights come up. Apparently, they remained at a minimal illumination when the doors were open to reduce the chances of detection.

As soon as the Saltire was secured, Jaime ordered everyone to disembark.