Richard P. Henrick
Flight of the Condor
Dedication
This story is dedicated to the U.S.S. Blueback (SS-581), the last and best diesel attack submarine in the U.S. Navy.
Diesel boats forever!
Epigraph
“Once you have tasted inner space, you will walk the earth thinking of the ocean’s depths. For there you have been, and there you long to return.”
Chapter One
For the third consecutive morning, Andrew Weston’s dreams woke him from a sound sleep. Each time, the vision was the same. He found himself in a lush, pine-covered valley. A single, thin trail cut through the rolling hills. With not another human in sight, he walked down the path with a brisk pace, drawn by an unknown goal. It was just as he passed over a tumbling mountain brook that a booming peal of deep thunder resonated from above. Directing his attention skyward, he searched the crystal-blue heavens for any sign of an advancing storm. When he saw no known source for the thunder, a heavy, ponderous feeling possessed his limbs and, for a second, he swayed back dizzily. It was then that his eyes sharpened their focus, picking out a single, massive creature circling high overhead. It was larger than any bird he had ever viewed before, and he knew in an instant that it was a condor.
Soaring effortlessly on the thermals, the powerfully built bird sported a lean body and a glossy, black feathered wingspan well over eleven feet in length. As in each of the preceding dreams, Andrew continued looking upward, completely mesmerized by the creature’s huge size, as the condor swooped down and passed only a few hundred feet overhead. A loud swish of air accompanied this movement, and Andrew got an excellent view of the bird’s long, hooked beak, which grew almost straight out from its flat forehead. Curiously, its head was completely bald, yet the top of the scalp was a bright yellow. The rest of the condor’s body was covered by black feathers, except for a strip of white ones situated under the front of each wing.
With a smooth, graceful motion, the bird rolled upward and initiated another low pass. Once more, Andrew looked on with awe. Unbelievable as it may have seemed, he could have sworn that the condor met his inquisitive glance directly. Then, for the briefest of seconds, the two creatures traded a rare moment of silent inter-species contact. Appearing wise beyond its years, the shaggy-feathered bird, which represented the last of its species in the wild, transferred a mental picture telling of its lonely struggle to survive at all costs.
As in the two previous mornings’ dreams, it was at this point that Andrew awoke. Still curiously affected by the bird’s sad plight, he reluctantly merged back into waking consciousness. With the vision still fresh in his mind, he vainly attempted to identify the lush valley he had been crossing before spotting the condor.
Unable to place it, he stirred uneasily, his concentration broken by a rustle in the sheets beside him.
A familiar, sweet scent met his nostrils, and Andrew quickly reorientated himself. Reaching out affectionately, he grasped the warm, soft body of the woman he had been living with these past two weeks. In a matter of seconds, thoughts of his dream were soon far from his mind, to be replaced by physical longings of a most primal nature.
Wendy had been sound asleep and Andrew’s gentle hands nudged her abruptly awake. Without a second’s hesitance, she allowed her lover’s sensual touch to rouse her completely. A minimum of foreplay sent their hearts pounding, and all too soon the two were merged as one. An intense, passionate coupling followed.
Though they had known each other for just a few short weeks, Andrew and Wendy were most compatible.
Each knew precisely what the other needed to insure complete satisfaction. This morning proved to be no exception.
Mounted side by side, Andrew started slowly and soon had his lover sighing in utter ecstasy. As his own need rose, his pace likewise increased, until both parties were shuddering in shared pleasure. Temporarily spent and exhausted, they parted. With hands still linked and shoulders touching, each savored the tingling warmth that coursed through their bodies.
This delight was amplified, as both realized that they would not have to immediately part and run off to work, as had been the case too often in the past. For this morning signaled the beginning of a joint three day leave. Andrew would never forget how difficult it had been for them to manage this mini-vacation together.
As a ten-year veteran, senior technician with NASA, he certainly had these days coming to him.
He couldn’t begin to count the hours of earned leave time due him. Yet his current assignment at the Kokee tracking station on Kauai, Hawaii’s northernmost island, was a unique one to say the least.
Perpetually overworked and understaffed, the Kokee facility managed its operations with a minimum of trained personnel. Because of this, Andrew had to practically beg a coworker to assume his shift times.
This would cost him dearly in the weeks to come, in the form of taking double shifts himself, yet Wendy had so anticipated this time together and he didn’t dare disappoint her. As a Navy ensign stationed at Kauai’s Barking Sands missile test-range facility, Wendy had to pull in a few favors herself to get her own pass.
Since meeting at a base cocktail party less than thirty days before, their relationship had progressed most rapidly. Attracted to each other from the very start, they were lovers in a matter of days.
Two weeks before, their relationship had taken on an additional degree of permanence when he had agreed to move into Wendy’s one-bedroom apartment in Waimea. As it turned out, this had been a decision Andrew had yet to regret.
Not only was his present habitation more comfortable than the cramped trailer he had been sharing with two other NASA technicians, his entire outlook on life had been broadened. An avowed bachelor, he had sworn to keep his life free from the complications a woman would necessitate. Yet, in Wendy’s case, it was certainly worth the trouble.
For the first time in months, he began taking an interest in something other than his work. Although he had been stationed on Kauai for over six months, he had seen little of the magnificent sights the island was famous for. Since Wendy’s duties at Barking Sands had kept her equally as busy, both had agreed that they would spend these three days together, exploring the island’s natural beauty.
Only when Wendy rose to shower and then prepare breakfast did Andrew reach over to the end table to pick up a road map of Kauai. With anxious eyes, he began charting the course of their wanderings.
Spouting Horn would be their first stop. Located on the southern edge of the island, this beach side attraction derived its name from a lava tube that directed the Pacific waters into the air in a high, surging column. Then it would be on to nearby Koloa, a quaint shopping area that had — once held the headquarters of Kauai’s first sugar plantation. Continuing to the east, on the Kuhio highway, they would make their way to Wailua Beach. There they planned to cruise the Wailua River inland to view the magical Fern Grotto. Proceeding to the northern shore of the island, they would tour the Kilauea Lighthouse, picnic on the white sands of Anini Beach, then go on to explore Princeville and historical Hanalei. If time permitted, they even considered jumping on an inter island flight for a quick ride to Oahu, Maui, or the big island of Hawaii itself.
The smell of perking coffee and sizzling bacon redirected his attention from the map. For the first time in much too long, he found himself really anticipating the day’s events. Jumping from the covers, he made his way to the bathroom. No sooner had he brushed his teeth and begun shaving than the shrill ring of the telephone sounded. His gut tightened when the ringing stopped to be replaced with Wendy’s high-pitched voice.