The Quest

Chapter 1 6 years, 7 months and 11 days later…. J.T. climbed down from the cockpit and walked back to where Heather was disembarking. Was difficult to believe that in 7 days he was going to have his 5th anniversary. The time had flown by, but it was filled with love, joy and peace. He and Heather were enroute to the Council for a final meeting now that the construction of the Seeker was complete. He was here to give the Council the lowdown on the maiden voyage, a shakedown cruise to be more accurate, and they had waited for almost 7 years for this. Heathers’ part of the project, the health of the colonists had proved a little easier than originally thought. She had, at this point, 2634 cleared colonists, enough for the first flight and by the time they got back for the second flight, the last number needed should be ready to leave. The biggest issue was getting all the Coulter people screened, treated and cleared, kids included. Fortunately, there were not a lot of diseases present in the villagers so that whole process took less than a year. Her meeting with the Council would inform them, and it was time to get everyone together and get ready to leave. Heather and J.T. headed home where they could relax, shower and get appropriately dressed for the meetings. “It will be so nice to finally move home permanently. I have missed sleeping in my own bed every night,” Heather said. She truly was glad to be home. It had been 9 weeks since the last time the 2 of them had gotten off the base long enough to come home for a few days respite. Deep down, she was glad this aspect of the project was ending. Truth be told, the upcoming part was going was going to be far more exciting than the last 6+ years had been. Sure, there have been some really amazing scientific discoveries and breakthroughs, but those breakthroughs had been made by someone else. Her contribution paled by comparison and would not be brought to fruition until twenty or more years down the road. She knew she had patience, but 20 years was a long time to wait to see if you have succeeded, but she really had no other recourse, she wasn’t able to move time ahead any faster than it already moved. She undressed and stepped into the tub bath she had drawn. She threw a handful of bath salts into the tub, stretched herself out, then stepped in and sat down, leaned back and took a sip of the white wine J.T. had poured for her. The bath accomplished exactly what it was supposed to do, it allowed her to relax and melt away her cares and tensions. J.T. set his drink down on the floor and undressed. He took a sip of his drink, set it back down on the floor next to the tub, stepped in and took a seat. It had been months since he and Heather had a chance for something intimate and romantic like sharing a bath. He was going to enjoy every second of it. They played footsies under the water before noting the passage of time and the nearness of their appointment hour, so they climbed out and dressed in a hurry. Heather took a little longer because of hair and makeup. The trip to the Council Building took a little longer than usual because of heavier than usual traffic flow. They parked the car in the parking lot and walked to the front door, where J.T. was surprised to see the same Sergeant of the Guard that had been there for the last 6 years. The Sergeant snapped to attention and said,” General Coulter, good day, wonderful to see you again, Mrs. Coulter, you are looking lovely as ever. Guess marriage is agreeing with you.” “Sergeant or should I say Sergeant Major, wonderful to see you. I had missed you the last few times I was here. I would have thought you were retired by now.” “No, Sir, this is such a cushy job I couldn’t pass it up just to go back to ground pounding.” “Well, it is still good to see you,” J.T. said. “General, you know the way. I believe Charles is waiting at the elevator for you.” the Sergeant Major said. J.T. and Heather held hands as they walked across the lobby to the banks of elevators. They pushed the button and the door to two cars opened. They entered and the elevator told J.T. to step up to the retinal scanner, get scanned and the door closed. They felt the downward pressure as the elevator rose rapidly to the top floor. J.T. saw Charles, standing to the right, as the door opened. Charles stepped up, almost in front of J.T. and said “General Coulter, always a pleasure. Dr. Coulter or do you continue to use your professional title? I can never keep up with the current trend in names.” God, she hated his smarmy voice. ” I have changed my name to Coulter, so it is Mrs. Coulter or Dr. Coulter.” “Of course, Dr. Coulter, it is lovely to see you again,” Charles said. “Please follow me.” Charles stepped out and started down the hallway.