Read The Last Airship for Free Online Page B

the military that once Sam
had tasted the awful realities of war, he had used his father’s influence to
bring him home again.  
    To
this day, Tom had never discovered the real reason behind his mate’s sudden and
early departure from the Marines, but he doubted very much that Sam had been
incompetent and Tom was incapable of believing his friend to be a coward. Sam
had returned to MIT to complete his Master’s in Oceanography, and the two men
usually met several times a year to go cave diving together. It wasn’t much,
but it was all the off-time that the Marines would give him, and all that Sam’s
studies would allow.
    He
was surprised to see Sam at the door on the very day that he had received his
honorable discharge. It might have been sheer luck that their two lives were
about to collide once again, but, although he believed in luck, Tom also knew
that Sam was often the precursor to its development.
    It
wasn’t a coincidence.
    Sam
must have known what was going to happen.
    Tom
still remembered their conversation fondly, despite his current position, and
the irony of all that he’d been offered.
    It
occurred just over a year ago now. 
    “I
was formally discharged from the Corps today,” Tom said.
    “So,
I was told.” Sam looked cheerful and then said, “I’ll bet your dad was stoked.”
    “Mom’s
already called to give me the heads up that it will take him a while to cool
down after this one. Anyway, that’s about all with me. I have no reason to feel
sorry for myself. The truth is, I gave the Corps six years of my life, and
three tours of duty in some of the most hostile conflicts in recent history.
I’m glad to be out. I never had any aspirations to be an Admiral in forty
years’ time like my old man. Now, since I doubt that you’re here to cheer me
up, what do you want, Sam?”
    “My
dad has convinced me to return to the family business.”
    “I
thought you hated what your father does?”
    “No,
I’m indifferent to the whims of an overly rich hyper-intelligent man child.”
Sam smiled again as he described his father. “Despite what he wants, I won’t
ever become Global Shipping’s next Chief Executive Officer.”
    “So,
you’ll become what, a tugboat Captain?” Tom said, incredulously knowing that
his friend wouldn’t find that interesting either.
    “No,
he wants me to take over one of his smaller auxiliary companies, Deep Sea
Salvage.”
    “Salvaging
big ships and tugboat driving?”
    “Not
exactly, but I suppose we might be responsible for something like that. He’s
offered me the position of Director of Special Operations, which is a fancy way
of saying that I pick the work that I want to do, which is primarily ocean
research, deep sea salvage operations, and water quality studies.”
    “What
did you just say to the offer?” Tom asked.
    “I
said, it depends whether or not I can convince you to leave the Marines and
join me.” Realization slowly dawned in Tom’s eyes, as Sam continued, “My old
man told me not to worry about it. You were thinking of quitting anyway.”
    “I
got a phone call at 8 a.m. today, telling me that the paperwork had finally
gone through! When did you speak to your dad, Sam?”
    “We
talked at about 7:30.”
    “That
bastard! He’s the only person who has ever gotten the best of my father, and he
controls the world’s largest Navy.”
    “Yeah,
not to discuss whose is bigger, but my dad controls the world’s richest one.
So, what do you say, do you want to have an adventure or do you want to find
out what other bureaucracy your father intends for you join?”
    “You
know I hate the ocean!” Tom knew that this wasn’t an entirely true statement.
Since he’d nearly been killed by a hurricane during his boyhood, he’d
subsequently had a number of nightmares regarding the sea and so, when he met
and befriended Sam, he’d spent years being dragged out into the ocean on
adventures with him. Hurricanes still scared the shit out of him, but he