and walked out into the misleading calm of a Sunday evening . The sun h u ng lazily near the horizon . A new, streamline d military airplane with a wide cargo door on the side was being loaded with men and supplies. They were each given a backpack and instructions as they were ushered to seats lining the walls of the plane . The plane took off a few minutes later . A n anxious ninety minutes after that, they were nearing the first milestone in the trip .
Here, the plane began to shake vigorously . A strong head wind, caused by the fierce storm off shore, began to slow their progress. The other men on the plane did not seem overly concerned ; but to both Ben and Vin , each minute ticked by like an hour ; time their wives could ill afford to lose.
Vin knew they were flying low enough that the cabin was not pressurized because he enjoyed the cool relief provided by a breeze whisking its way from the front of the plane and brushing his cheek as it continued by . Vin readjusted his position in his seat and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He had not used his gift significant ly in months; he was not even sure it would work on a large scale storm , but he intended to try. If Vin could divert the head wind to regain their speed, it would be helpful. He was going to make the effort and hope for the best. From the tale Javeed once shared with him , Vin was optimistic that it w ould work.
" Ben, keep an eye out for me. I a m going to try to clear the air, so to speak, " Vin whispered, glancing at him through partially closed eyes.
Ben nodded, having seen firsthand Vin's unique, almost telekinetic, ability to manipulate the wind.
Vin closed his eyes fully and concentrat ed on the breeze wafting from the front of the plane. He followed it backward to ward its source , out to the plane's exterior, where strong gusts were pushing against the plane's forward momentum. Vin took a few moments to assess his skills , finding that reviving the talent was not difficult at all . The wind, however, almost seemed to have a mind of its own. It was as if there was someone on the other end pushing the wind in his direction. Vin , unfamiliar with that sensation, had to quickly adjust his tactic and , after a small struggle, managed to change the flow of the air around the plane.
Finding relatively easy success with his first attempt, Vin decided to take the next step to see if he could push the plane any faster by increasing the tail winds. He caught one of the air currents outside and turned toward the rear of the plane. He tugged on several of the streams of air until at least a dozen of them were flowing toward the back of the airplane, and a few along the side s to help stabilize the flight. That would be more than enough to gain some speed, but not enough to cause the pilot any difficulty in keeping the craft airborne. With any luck, they would shave perhaps thirty minutes off the estimated flight time, which could make a life or death difference in the rescue operation.
Vin slowly opened his eyes and looked over at the smirk on Ben's face.
" Looks like you've done it, L ad. I could feel the difference as soon as you worked your magic up front . The ride became much smoother. W hen you added the wind in the hindquarters, everyone seemed to take notice of the sudden surge of speed . Of course, they ha ve no idea they were admiring you r handiwork , but they were excited to have a positive omen. They beli eve it bodes well for the ir mission . I'm of a mind to agree with them, " Ben remarked quietly.
" You sound like C a eli. She always finds the good in a situation. She could be stranded on the moon with no hope of returning home and still be happy that she had the opportunity to travel in space. Me, I woul d be hurling moon rocks at the earth and cursing the idiot who forgot to pack enough fuel for the return flight ; well , at least until C a eli calmed me down .
Here, the plane began to shake vigorously . A strong head wind, caused by the fierce storm off shore, began to slow their progress. The other men on the plane did not seem overly concerned ; but to both Ben and Vin , each minute ticked by like an hour ; time their wives could ill afford to lose.
Vin knew they were flying low enough that the cabin was not pressurized because he enjoyed the cool relief provided by a breeze whisking its way from the front of the plane and brushing his cheek as it continued by . Vin readjusted his position in his seat and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He had not used his gift significant ly in months; he was not even sure it would work on a large scale storm , but he intended to try. If Vin could divert the head wind to regain their speed, it would be helpful. He was going to make the effort and hope for the best. From the tale Javeed once shared with him , Vin was optimistic that it w ould work.
" Ben, keep an eye out for me. I a m going to try to clear the air, so to speak, " Vin whispered, glancing at him through partially closed eyes.
Ben nodded, having seen firsthand Vin's unique, almost telekinetic, ability to manipulate the wind.
Vin closed his eyes fully and concentrat ed on the breeze wafting from the front of the plane. He followed it backward to ward its source , out to the plane's exterior, where strong gusts were pushing against the plane's forward momentum. Vin took a few moments to assess his skills , finding that reviving the talent was not difficult at all . The wind, however, almost seemed to have a mind of its own. It was as if there was someone on the other end pushing the wind in his direction. Vin , unfamiliar with that sensation, had to quickly adjust his tactic and , after a small struggle, managed to change the flow of the air around the plane.
Finding relatively easy success with his first attempt, Vin decided to take the next step to see if he could push the plane any faster by increasing the tail winds. He caught one of the air currents outside and turned toward the rear of the plane. He tugged on several of the streams of air until at least a dozen of them were flowing toward the back of the airplane, and a few along the side s to help stabilize the flight. That would be more than enough to gain some speed, but not enough to cause the pilot any difficulty in keeping the craft airborne. With any luck, they would shave perhaps thirty minutes off the estimated flight time, which could make a life or death difference in the rescue operation.
Vin slowly opened his eyes and looked over at the smirk on Ben's face.
" Looks like you've done it, L ad. I could feel the difference as soon as you worked your magic up front . The ride became much smoother. W hen you added the wind in the hindquarters, everyone seemed to take notice of the sudden surge of speed . Of course, they ha ve no idea they were admiring you r handiwork , but they were excited to have a positive omen. They beli eve it bodes well for the ir mission . I'm of a mind to agree with them, " Ben remarked quietly.
" You sound like C a eli. She always finds the good in a situation. She could be stranded on the moon with no hope of returning home and still be happy that she had the opportunity to travel in space. Me, I woul d be hurling moon rocks at the earth and cursing the idiot who forgot to pack enough fuel for the return flight ; well , at least until C a eli calmed me down .
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