Part 1B: Monday

Chapter 11: Tiffany

Science class went as it usually did. Jacob and Mr. Schuman got into a deep argument again on the fundamental interactions of density as it related to forces within reality. They went at it for ten minutes again, losing the rest of us 3 minutes into the argument.

I did sit next to him though. I didn't do anything else to get his attention. I just watched him scribble the answers to the science experiments in the lab book before Mr. Shuman finished explaining.

In other words science class went as it usually did.

After class I headed to the doorway where our clothes were.

Diane caught up with me. "Ready for practice?"

"Yep. But those dark clouds out there have me worried. I have to practice naked, you know."

"Miss Asder will bring us inside if it starts to rain. Program or not, she does not want her cheerleaders to get sick. See you there."

"Hold up. I forget, will my clothes be at the front door box, or would they have it at the area we'll be practicing at?"

"They'll be at the front door."

I went to the front door. The crowd was a bit smaller than I expected. I wondered why, while a couple of students asked me to pose. The poses became lewder and lewder and a few of the poses included hands between my legs and on my breasts.

The lack of a crowd could not have been because of Jacob's speech outside the principal's office. The effect of that speech on teenagers would have ended about lunchtime. And the entire school was not in Ms. Q's class when he dropped his bombshells.

And there is no storm possible that would distract men from wanting to see a naked cheerleader.

Something is up.

I took my usual shortcut to the stadium. I cut across the track fields, past the soccer fields and ducked though the area where the girders held up the stands.

There was a bit of rumbling in the sky. It looks like a thunderstorm was about to start. Moment's later rain started to fall.

Then I started to fall.

Hands caught me.

"Thank you..." I started.

Two voices said "Your welcome." They spoke in unison.

Oh no. I didn't trip. I was tripped.

Kevin helped me up, and then he pushed me against the support girder. It felt cool and stiff against my back.

Then he kissed me hard. No request, no look that seemed like it was asking 'may I?'

Two boys had been hiding behind the stadium where they knew I would pass. One trips me right into the arms of the other, who was already in position to catch me before I even knew I was going to fall.

I was not too sure I liked this.

Then Fred spoke up. "Fuck the little slut hard. All cheer leaders like it that way."

Correction. I was certain I did not like this.

"No," I protested. "No sex. I don't have to go that far. Even the Program rules say that." I was terrified, barely able to speak. I shook more then a bowl of jelly.

This could not be happening to me. Not here on school grounds. When did I ever do something to deserve this?

Kevin bit one of my breasts with his teeth and put a finger up my pussy. His weight pushed me uncomfortably into the girder.

Chapter 12: Jacob

Personal log (voice), J. J. Stone, captain of the Flying Dutchman, October 27th 2006.

If nothing else does it, this log entry will show that I'm not the living legend people think I am. I nearly blew an operation that could have cost me the woman I had fallen in love with.

They say I always know what I'm doing.

They are right.

What they do not know is that this self-awareness does not stop me from making mistakes. It just makes it so that I'm far more aware of my mistakes.

Ignorance may not always be bliss, but comprehension can certainly hurt.

Anyway, this log entry shall start with me sitting in detention after school.

"Well Jacob, what are your plans for the dance this Friday?" Mike asked.

Mike was another of my confidants. He was accepted by most everybody and was possibly the most popular confidant I had. As such he became both my friend and my information pipeline. He would also talk me into the occasional school function to help me feel like I had some high school life. He wants to help me, but everything I did from simply being there to what I said and did only fed the legend I was rapidly growing to hate.

"I'll help set things up, but I'm probably not going."

"Why not?"

"You might say it is because I will have spent the week doing the male version of Lady Godiva."

"You are not to happy, are you?"

"I'm not sure anymore. I've two women on my mind. One I have fucked, the other I'm falling in love with."

Mike could not hide his surprise. "Fucked?? Falling in love with??

To Mike's surprise I leapt to my feet as he was finishing his questions. "Damn it. And I nearly forgot!"

I started moving towards the door with the attitude of a man who seriously expected the world to end if he did not get where he had to in four minutes.

My world would end.

And it would be my fault.

The teacher monitoring the detention wanted to know where I was going.

"To stop trouble." was all I wasted time saying.

Damn this Program for getting me so distracted that I couldn't even keep track of one simple problem.

I was running now. Very fast. I was dodging people and ignoring everything said at me. Only one thing mattered. And if I had to give myself a heart attack getting to her I would gladly do so. I was moving like a track star with radar.

Somebody was opening the front door of the school.

I ran them over with absolutely no guilt whatsoever. As soon as I cleared the stairs I started moving to where I parked the hovercraft. Things like the cold, the starting thunderstorm, and the other moving cars in the parking lot, these did not attract my attention.

Stomach heaving, I entered my code into the door. It opened. I raced in, threw myself into the command seat, and grabbed the situational helmet and shoved it on my head. Overkill or not, I had blundered this mission enough. I ignored the preflight checklist completely as I activated the engines, turned on the computer and slid up the power on the hoverjets to maximum.

Both hands slammed on to the flight controls as I pulled out of the spot I was parked in. I swerved in and around the parking lot traffic with the same sort of disregard for common traffic that I usually held for the rules of normality.

As I was pulling around the stadium I heard a scream.

Her scream.

A knife to the lungs could not have hurt me more.

As I came around the corner I went to navigating with one hand. The other hand was stretching for the engineering panel. Then and there I realized something else I should have done during lunch to set up for this. I hectically rewrote the capability parameters to a pair of hoverjets to convert a couple of them into high-powered air guns.

My left hand was still navigating by itself.

Note to the readers. Even if you built your transport from the ground up, it's not a wise thing to steer without even looking at the controls. Steering by the force is something out of fiction. Luke Skywalker I never claimed to be, but I think I gave a passable imitation of his steering over those fields.

As Tiffany and her attackers came into view, I switched my attention fully to the situational helmet. I was most certainly not going to blow this shot. I targeted the ship's new air guns at Fred first. He was standing clear and therefore an easier shot.

Steady... Steady... fire!

Fred flew back a foot.

Nowhere near enough. I upped the power to quarter strength.

Fred saw me by now. He had no idea apparently what was going on and stood there like a deer in a trucker's headlights.

Thank you Fred for making the shot easier.

I jabbed my finger on the appropriate button.

The air jet fired. Fred flew back about 15 feet.

I smiled beneath the helmet.

Then Tiffany pushed Kevin away. Then I saw her kick him a little further away.

Perfect. A quick check of the numbers and angles showed he had been pushed just far enough away.

I pushed my button again. The shot must have got him just right, because he flew back about twenty feet.

Next I hit the exterior communications grid. Or speakers for the non Dr Who/ Star Trek fans among you. "Tiffany, get your sexy ass in here." I hit the button to open the door.

Tiffany gave the hovercraft a befuddled look.

You'd think it was the first time she saw such a vehicle.

Kevin and Fred started to come after her.

Tiffany decided that the two angry would be rapists were far more worrying then the odd craft in front of her. She scurried through the door.

I hit the button again.

The two attackers got pushed back about 16 feet this time. They picked themselves up as I spoke again. "Now might be a wise time to run away... before I see what full power can do." I sounded quite conversational.

Even they were not that dense. They started to run away.

Tiffany started to relax. She had a sneaking suspicion that she knew who the man under the helmet was. She even looked around curiously.

I spun around in the chair. "Welcome to the Flying Dutchman, Captain Jacob J. Stone commanding." I switched the data function to the various screens and pulled of my helmet off.

That helmet was not to be worn by a naked man.

Chapter 13: Tiffany

I screamed. Very, very loudly.

Kevin moved his hand from my breast to cover my mouth.

When my scream ended and my eyes opened I saw something I never saw before outside of the movies.

Then Fred seemed to fall back. I could not see a reason why.

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind.

Unnaturally strong.

Fred flew back a good distance.

Kevin slackened his grip as he turned to see what caused it.

I pushed with all my might. As soon as there was space enough, I raised my foot to kick/shove him away. I started running.

There was another strange burst of wind. When I got the nerve to look back, Kevin had been pushed back a good distance too.

Then I heard somebody say "Tiffany, get your sexy ass in here." A door opened in the side of the craft. The voice seemed familiar, but I was just too stressed out to place it. And I was not getting into anything that looked like it escaped a science fiction movie.

I saw Kevin and Fred coming after me.

Suddenly leaping into an odd craft was not such a bad idea. Especially when compared to those two guys coming after me. I jumped though the door.

Then I stopped. I knew that I was in some craft at school piloted by my rescuer. But I swear it looked like something out of a science fiction show. There were buttons, knobs and switches in patterns that made sense obviously to the guy flying it. There were several screens that were blank, but that did not seem important. The guy was wearing a large helmet. He sounded like he was speaking into a microphone. "Now might be a wise time to run away... before I see what full power can do." He sounded as though this was a completely normal thing to say.

There was only one man I knew that could say something like that and sound normal. And didn't I see him park some sort of hovercraft before school started?

I relaxed a little. I started to look around a little more. They were right with what they said to me at lunch. I was smart. Maybe I should start using my brains to do more than just keeping my skull from imploding.

The man spun around in his chair. "Welcome to the Flying Dutchman, Captain Jacob J. Stone commanding." He flipped a few switches and pulled off his helmet.

I really should have known.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked me.

"He would have had I been a virgin." I tried to be flippant, I really did.

I do not know why I wasted my time. He read me like a textbook.

"You are not that good a liar. Sit down while I take this thing to a parking space near the principal's office. We have to report this."

I asked plaintively "Do I have to?"

"Yes, Tiffany, you do. If not, they will only get away with it. Then they will think they can attack any woman they want."

Jacob steered the craft to a parking spot near the main entrance. After shutting it down he helped me down to the ground.

He looked around sadly. "A shame. All that just happened and still it looks like a quiet country school. At my old school by now there'd have been a crowd of people asking questions and helping you."

"Let's go inside then." I led him into the building and to the principal's office.

We walked into a meeting. The cheerleading and football coaches were there, looking at the principal. So were Kevin and Fred.

"The bully and his girl return." Fred said.

Jacob had no expression on his face.

But I was learning to guess what was cooking in his head. Despite the legend we all know, he is all too human.

The coach Koke, the school football coach glared at him. "Say something. Is what my star players said true? You set them up?"

Jacob just looked at him. His lip twitched slightly.

The football coach pressed him for a response. "You used the fact that Tiffany was naked because of the program to lure them out behind the stadium to attack them. They told me you snuck up in that tribute to science fiction and attacked them."

I reached for Jacob's hand. "I'm ok, remember." I whispered. "Let's just deal with the reports and get on with our own lives."

He spoke evenly. I could feel his body trembling slightly, but his voice was completely even. "Now why ever would I do such a thing?"

Kevin told him it was because he was an un cool geek who could not get a date normally, so when he got partnered with a cheerleading slut, he saw a chance to get even with the cool people of the school by setting up a trap to ruin them.

He just shook his head. "You are truly an ass." He spoke in the most even tone I've ever heard.

I really wanted to know how he was able to stay so calm.

Because suddenly I could not. All my suddenly discovered love exploded into a need to defend Jacob. "Have you any idea who you are challenging?"

Ms. Q. raised an eyebrow.

Mr. Bacon started to look stern.

Coach Koke glared and started to angrily retort.

Jacob held my hand, trying no doubt to calm me down.

He might as well have tried to calm an erupting volcano.

There was no way I could have stopped what was coming.

And you know what? I didn't want to.

"This is Jacob Jehosophat Stone! His actions in the sciences defy belief, the legend we forced him to live up to is worthy of Hollywood. That he tolerated this much stupidity in one meeting is a testament to the concept of patience. If I were in his shoes I would have..."

Jacob put a finger on my mouth.

What the hell? I was just getting into it, defending him!

Then he showed me how such speeches should be done. "You epic examples of stupidity. You dare question the methods by which I, Jacob Jehoooooosophat Stone choose to act?" Then he let his temper loose. "How dare you? With luck and a group of MIT graduates the lot of you could possibly put together a replicar kit, you think that the builder of the Flying Dutchman is a fool? Does my reputation mean nothing to you, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Q? My time as a political activist would not have been possible if I had no ethics. And at least two people in this office should know enough about my quixotic nature to know I would never use a woman as bait in such a clumsy plot. Damnation!! I fucking love her and you think I'd just offer her up as enticement to an attack by those pieces of shit? How can anything that stupid manage to survive infancy?" He paced a bit. "A plan was under way. I'll grant you that. I overheard those two planning to assault Tiffany after school. And I had to set this up! You want to know why??" Jacob was shouting, his self-control gone out the window, "Because of Debbie Kutzman. I do not know if the lot of you remember her, but she was the last girl in this school I fell in love with. I heard though my methods of some kids plans to beat her because she got the part in the school play that they wanted their friend to get. I told Mr. Bacon, who promptly set up protection for her on school grounds. So they went and attacked her at home. Beat Debbie into a coma they did. Then they managed to disappear. Three months on life support she spent just to spend the rest of her life in assisted living because I made that mistake before. Never again. Never fucking again. I admit I cut it far closer than I wanted to, but now it will be much harder for those two to escape the penalties. In this case, do not question the actions of Jacob Jehoooosophat Stone." He stormed from the room.

My cheerleading coach moved to my side. "I should have known. You go catch up with your new boyfriend."

I went outside, caught up with him, and asked him if he'd wait and give my coach and I a ride to our practice field.

He agreed. Jacob sat at the controls and set things up for take off. Then he got up. "I'll be right back."

I was flabbergasted. He left me alone in here! Talk about trust, I've known friends who would not let their partner/significant other drive his or her car even after they were married. And he left me alone in here, already.

He is a trusting fool. If I pushed the wrong buttons, nobody knows the damage I could do. I decided to look around anyway.

The ship had three seats. There was a center seat with controls, that according to a post - it note, were to be wired into the rest of the system to control the ship from that seat. The right chair had buttons and what looked like one of those squeezable toys you toss to your dog. The screens had the exterior view, a map system down to little symbols for traffic directions and one screen that had current speed and such on it. To it's right there was a bunch of switches with controls labeled according to ground flight, sub orbital flight and orbital flight. Also present on this wall was something labeled communications.

Orbital flight? Maybe he is really crazy after all. I'll grant he can build a hovercraft. After all, I've ridden in it. But how does he expect to have this thing reach space?

The left seat had a few more controls. Most of them seemed to be labeled relating to engineering details. Environmental controls were here as well. The sidewall had digital readouts for multiple engines.

What's this? Density drive? What in the name of NASCAR is a density drive??

That's it. At some point I'm going to demand a lot of answers about this thing.

Jacob came back at the point. He was carrying our clothes.

"Why do you have them? We can't get dressed yet. You have soccer and I have cheerleading practice."

He looked concerned. "They have friends. Are you really in the mood to run any more of a gauntlet then you have to?"

"Good point. When is soccer practice going to be over?"

"Between four and four thirty."

"Cheerleading ends at 5pm."

"Then I'll wait for you."

"Good." I smiled sexily at him. "Did you hear what my coach called you?"

He smiled hesitantly. "I did. Words I never expected to hear I heard her say."

I saw him looking at me. It was as if he wanted to say something, do something more. Just as he started to move, I heard a knock on the outside.

"Damn." he muttered as he reached over and flicked a switch.

My cheerleading coach was outside. She did not look happy.

"Come aboard." Jacob said as he went to the controls.

Coach Cane, my cheerleading coach came aboard. She looked around a bit.

Jacob told her to sit in the empty chair and touch nothing. He then squeezed the ball with his right hand, and with the left hand he started keying in things.

The hovercraft started moving. It was such a smooth ride that I started thinking something very interesting.

For all our feelings, we still have not told each other directly what we feel. I fell in love with him this afternoon in Ms. Q's class. He stopped trying to resist his feelings for me this afternoon. We needed to talk. We both are feeling the love, we just needed to tell each other.

As we arrived at the cheerleading fields, my coach looked really uncomfortable.

Jacob parked as close to the building as he could. He obviously did not want the worsening thunderstorm to get me anymore wet then it had to. "How did it go?"

"Nothing happened."

I beg your pardon?

Jacob echoed my thoughts in a shocked tone. "Nothing???"

"Nothing happened. Despite the evidence and all, that football coach talked the principal out of suspension. It seems they are vital to our attempts to winning the championships."

To tell you the truth I expected this. This school is so sports proud that unless those two were caught over my dead body with knives dripping blood, nothing would happen to them.

Jacob seemed to have heard only a few of Coach Cane's words. "Suspension??? It should have been expulsion. That they got away with it makes me ashamed to be connected with any sports program. But no matter. The school board meeting is coming up this Thursday. I'll let loose on this decision. They are about to learn that I do not make good speeches only to them."

Cane looked at him. "What are you planning?"

"Simple. I'm going to attend the meeting with evidence and all but destroy those two."

"You can't do that!" she gasped.

Poor fool. You really do not know him, do you? Only one day into the program and he has done more things I've reserved for Hollywood movies to doubt that he would do anything. I cannot let her set him off. I doubt he's got his control back yet.

"Coach, I wouldn't say that if I were you."

"Why shouldn't I?" my coach asked.

"Because I can." There was a hint of warning in Jacob's voice.

I saw the two of them about to get head to head. "Please, let me decide." I begged. I figured that would prevent any further fights.

Jacob parked the craft. "Would you like a ride home?"

"Certainly."

Perfect. Gives us some talking time.

Chapter 14: Jacob

Personal log (voice), J. J. Stone, captain of the Flying Dutchman, October 27th 2006.

I really hate those interruptions. I was so ready to take her in my arms when her coach came back. Ah well. I just have to arrange things so that we are alone sometime. I have to find out whether she loves me, or do I write today off as another quixotic episode in my growing legend.

I'll tell you this much.

If I lose her, if I find out that I never truly had her, I'm going to give up on love. I'll make it sink though my thick skull that no girl could every love me. I will also despise my life.

Suicide, you readers ask?

It could be a course of action, except for several reasons. One, it would be the easy way out. And I can count on one hand the number of times I took the easy way out. Two, I seem to be doing some good in politics. I used to think that if only one person's life had been improved, changed for the better, then all the pain I'm going through was worth it. Hmm. I just have to keep reminding myself of that. My constant helping of various groups are giving others the benefits and joys I do not permit myself. Why should I enjoy my life? I'm only living it for the benefit of others anyway. And now for the other reason I muddle on. I seriously believe all the Gods got together and voted me too annoying to die. They'd much rather torment me on this earth.

Those who the gods would destroy, they first make lead my life.

Enough with thoughts nobody gives a damn about anyway.

We left off with me parking the Flying Dutchman by the door near the cheerleading field. I then walked to the soccer field.

More proof that I had way too much on my mind. What student, sane or otherwise would want to walk across three fields completely naked?

I fully expected to see everybody had been sent inside. I should have known better. What, in all that I've ever overheard about sports makes me think they would be smart enough to come in out of the rain during a thunderstorm?

At least Tiffany gets to be inside for practice. So long as I'm inside something warm by 5:30pm, I should avoid being sick.

"Afternoon, Coach Bromby." I did my best to sound like I was completely unconcerned to be standing naked in a heavy thunderstorm.

"Where the hell were you, Stone?" he demanded.

That's what I liked about him. He did not care if you were a living legend or a pile of padding. Your skills mean less to him then who you were, your development. Of all the adults in the school, he was the one I truly trusted.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." I said as I looked at the crowd of muddy soccer players. "There was an incident involving a cheerleader, two football stars, and in the end also including the principal, a football coach, the cheerleading coach and Ms. Q."

"Why can't you have any small incidents?"

"Often I have asked myself that same question." I responded. "The gods seem to be amused by tormenting me." The team members went through their routines. As far as I could tell, the fish in the river were dryer then these players.

Bromby looked at me. "Ok. Spill it. Why and what happened?"

I thought about telling him. I was no longer running it as a quiet operation. In fact, with all the people involved, I'd be surprised if it was not making the school gossip circuit even now. What the hell? Maybe he would let slip some information I can use. "Ok coach. It all started just before lunch when I overheard Fred and Kevin talking about assaulting and using Tiffany. They said that because she was naked, in the program and a cheerleader, she was fair game for fucking. I did not agree. But last time I ran to the school staff for help, the villains just waited till they could get her at home. I was not going to risk Tiffany getting beaten into a coma, so I set them up. Problem is I was so distracted by my increasing feelings for her that I lost track of the time. I had to run out of detention naked, race to my hovercraft, race to her, building a weapon with almost no materials and using it to drive Fred and Kevin back. Next we headed to the main office to report it. The football players made it first and tried to accuse me of setting a trap. Their coach backed them up. In the end, from what's her name, Cane, that's it, coach Cane told us afterward, the players got off without any punishment."

"None?"

"None at all." I had no energy left for anger. I did all I could and it was not enough. I'm going to have to live with the bitter results of that for some time.

Bromby seemed like he had something to say. He looked like he was trying to find the words to tell somebody their beloved pet was dying. Finally he shook his head. "I can't. I want to, but the rules prevent me. Please don't ask me, Jacob."

Fair enough. What I need to know, I tend to find out in the end.

I went over to where Bob and Megan were talking. In addition to being my friend, Bob was an excellent goaltender. Even slipping and sliding in the heavy rain, he was doing a great job of stopping the shots.

Megan was the bookkeeper. She kept the records of the games, the shots and angles and who scored what. She was standing off to the side of the goal posts. "Hi Jacob."

"Hi Megan."

"What was the talk with coach about?" The coach called a break at that point. Bob came over to where we were standing. "What are you two talking about? Hi Jacob."

"He was just about to tell me what he and the coach spent so long talking about over there."

"I was?" I asked with some humor. Someday people will stop being so confidant forecasting the unpredictable.

"You were." She sounded unshakably certain.

Could it be that she sensed I was in a mood to talk? Could it be that those in love lose their ability to hold secrets? What will this do for my life as I know it? The hell with it. Maybe they might be able to help. Something I must still do about those two football players. But at the very least, I'll try to keep it like a quixotic game. I toned down the importance of a few of the feelings and changed a couple words, in the retelling of the rescue attempt.

Bob looked at me as though I was hiding something.

No surprise there. I do not choose my confidants because of their stupidity. Roughly 18 other reasons, yes, but not their stupidity.

All I said was "As it stands I'm not happy with the current results."

Megan looked at Bob. "Tell him." She went off to give us some privacy.

He watched his girlfriend walk off, then he looked at me. "Look, I'm no expert with words, so I'm just going to have to tell it straight. There are a lot of people around here that think coach Koke sexually harasses his girl students."