-The Full Moon Retreat-
Episode: The First Search and Rescue Mission
To the reader:
Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Wow! Tough crowd out there. Ok, I hear you. You don't like square brackets. Looking back on chapter one, I take your point. The square brackets are a bit much and the situation exacerbated by having to break up the paragraphs for the website. So, starting in chapter two, I shall apply them, in the main, to scene shifts only.
As for the technical content being distracting... Chapter one was written post scriptum to flesh out the Dawsons as characters. It did that, I hope. I saw the glossary of terms as a regrettable necessity. Flying is a very technical environment that exists in its own universe. For someone who has occupied the "left seat," and did not need the glossary, the story should have flowed much more smoothly. Although, he or she will, also recognize how much was actually glossed over in the telling of this portion of the story. Unfortunately, that reader would be the exception. The most that I can hope for is that the average reader came away with a bit better understanding of the pilot, Aaron, and the situation in which he found himself. We live and we learn.
Now, moving on to chapter two... There exists a partially written "prequel" telling of the origins of the Full Moon Retreat and its wolves. For now, it is sufficient to know that the retreat was set up at the behest of the Were Council as a unique pack to serve as a vacation resort for Weres of all "stripes" and to mingle Weres with the mundane human population and demonstrate their value to society. The retreat is operated by a normal Were pack as their principle industry. It is at once a "nudist" resort for the mundane, a vacation resort, and a social gathering point for Weres. The retreat is also charged with offering volunteer services such as search and rescue and disaster relief to the public, where the unique abilities of Weres can best be displayed. The cost of these services is entirely picked up by the Were Council.
In my editing of this chapter, I have reduced the "square bracket" use to scene changes. I have kept the character attribution at the beginning of a character's monolog. I will have to see how this plays with my readers, but in later chapters, there will be multiple scene locations in play with multiple characters contributing to the dialog. I think that this much may be necessary to keep track of who is speaking and where they are.
Again, special thanks to my Wife, Diane for proofreading for me.
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[06:20, Tuesday, balcony, Alpha's quarters of the Full Moon Retreat]
The day dawned clear and warm with blue skies and a pleasant breeze out of the southeast. Jack sat on the balcony of the alpha's quarters, Mari at his side, sipping his first cup of coffee of the morning. From their high visage, they watched as the compound began to stir. The kitchen crew had been hard at work for a couple of hours, now and the fragrance of bacon, sausage, fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls wafted on the breeze.
Jack McClintock:
Gawd; I love sitting here watching the sun come up and the camp come to life.
Mari McClintock:
How did yesterday go?
Jack:
Oh, pretty well, all things considered. We had a couple of young pups end up in the infirmary squalling like they thought they were going to die. It seems they found a nest of ground wasps and thought it would be great fun to chase those big ugly bugs. They both got two or three hits to the snout before they realized their mistake. George came at a run when he heard all of the distress howls and squealing, grabbed them up and took them to the infirmary, then went for the parents.
The pups were so scared and in such pain, that the parents couldn't get them to concentrate long enough to shift back and tell them what was wrong. But... by that time, their muzzles had begun to swell and Doc figured it out. He gave them both a shot of antihistamine. Of course, that set them off again. It was a damned circus. I'll bet that they leave the wasps alone from now on, though.
And... Jerry and his helper caught three teens in the wolf-run around the adult area, last night. Stupid kids. Just following where their dicks lead them, I guess. They didn't realize that when they went over the outer fence, they tripped the alarm in the guardhouse. Jerry was standing there, on the path, waiting for them when they broke through the tree line. They were in human form. Jerry said that they stood there like they had been sucker punched, cocks as hard as iron rods. They finally fessed-up, said that they just wanted watch through the inner fence and jack-off. He took them to their parents, but they weren't much help. They didn't see what the big deal was.
Mari, I'll tell you... If I didn't have to bow to the mundane human's sense of social prudishness, I'd tear down those damned fences and just let everyone fuck wherever the notion struck them. Most packs don't have any restrictions. I have to tell people that they can only screw in the secrecy of their rooms and cabins. That, just, isn't the way of our wolf. Our wolves don't care who's looking. They don't understand this social stupidity. Aw well... I guess I should be glad that's the biggest problem I have, just, now. What about you? What were you up to, yesterday?
Mari:
Oh, nothing, really, major. The omegas were chased out of the laundry room yesterday, when one of the big, commercial washing machines tore off of its mounts and went hopping across the room. Someone let the load get out of balance, and for some reason, the machine didn't shut down. Well, not before it jumped across the room far enough to tear the power cable out of the wall. Anyway, I called the company to come out and see if they can put the washer back together. And, I called an electrician to fix the electrics.
And, a couple of the female guests got into a catfight. Kicking and scratching. A couple of our betas put a stop to it. When I talked to them, it seemed, pretty, minor. I didn't throw them out... didn't think it was worth taking a hit to our rep. They promised to behave and I sent them on their way. That was about it for yesterday.
Jack:
Yeah, I'm sure that was a good call. As much as I don't like it, we can't really enforce discipline on small issues. If we throw someone out, then it creates a voice that will diss us every time we come up in a conversation. That goes against one of our major objectives. We need the human population to think that we're the greatest thing since the invention of sliced bread... Hell, we need the Weres to think the same thing, too. So, good call.
Hey, let's get on down to the dining hall. Breakfast really smells good and I'm hunnn-gry!
Mari:
Oh, well, we can't have any hungry Werewolves on the loose. Let's go.
[07:20, Tuesday, the Dining Hall]
Jack:
Damn, Mari, that was good. Be sure to give my compliments to the kitchen crew. Well, I guess I'll get a cup of coffee and make my rounds. Meet n' greet, so, maybe, I won't have beat n' eat!
[08:05, Tuesday, the retreat's compound]
While chatting with a couple of guests, Mari hails Jack over their bond...
Mari:
Jack, Vickey, on the receptionist desk, is holding a call from the State Emergency Management Agency.
Jack:
Ok, Mari. Would you have her pass along that it will take me a minute to get to a phone, but I'm on my way.
Jogging to the nearest building with a telephone, the grounds keeper's office, Jack finds Larry Wheaton, head of facilities management, at his desk...
Jack:
Larry may I borrow your phone. I need to take, what might be, an important call.
Larry Wheaton:
Of course, Jack. Here. Have a seat.
Larry bolts from his chair and offers Jack his desk. Jack sits down, picks up the handset, and dials the front desk...
Jack:
Vickey, this is Jack. Would you, please, transfer that call that's holding for me, over to extension 21?
Vickey Grear:
Sure, Jack. Hold on.
