The Treasure of Lei Fong Wu

Chapter Sixty-Two

DELTA TEAM LEADER -30:15

The engines screamed a belligerent tone from behind the cockpit of the fighter-jock, encapsulating him in a persistent mechanical war-cry that connected him to his machine like some ancient warrior was connected to his steed as he altered course to intercept the first of his deadly foes. The great pale globe of the gas giant that hung to his starboard side was a single baleful eye that would bear witness to the carnage and destruction wrought by his deft flight skills and expert attack. Already the whine of the laser capacitors was oscillating towards a supersonic epiphany, promising to be ready with twin hot lances of coherent photonic death when called upon. The missile racks on either wing were full to capacity with self-guided minions of destruction, eager to leap to his command and convert his mindless, deadly enemy into a cloud of scintillating particles and energetic plasma. The cockpit chair seemed to grow out of his back, making the entire ship an extension of his central nervous system, a part of his body, inseparable in the cold, empty reaches of the Black from his essential being. He and the Marauder were one, beating heart and pulsing reactor united in a death-pact of destruction and utter obliteration. Only one burning question remained . . .

“Wash, where did you put the toilet paper?” crackled Kaylee’s voice over the radio.

“What?” he asked incredulously.

“The toilet paper! You stowed it when it came aboard.”

“Isn’t it in the cleaning supplies locker?”

“We went through that case already! There were three cases. Where are the other two?”

“Did you check bulk storage in the cargo bay?”

“First thing. Nothin’.”

“Well, we’ve got a lot of people on board. Stuff gets moved around.”

“Well, most of ‘em are out there in the ship somewheres or dead. Hate to disturb ‘em over somethin’ like this.”

“But asking me while I’m on a desperate quest to save us all is OK?”

“But you’re Wash! The front end!