Alex was pulling the coffee pot out of the storage cabinet near the back counter when Jade got to the canteen.
Rachel and Morgan were sitting at one of the tables while Ro got the can of coffee from the small refrigerator, and cups from the pantry. Rachel looked up as Jade came in.
“No luck, huh,” she remarked.
“Well, no, I didn’t find the USCOMS. But, did you know there are aircraft in a hangar located on the other side of the ship on the tenth deck?”
There was a chorus of “No kiddin’!” “Wow!” and, “Huh?”
“Yes,” she went on as she sat down at the table, “And they’re fueled too, as if someone was going to come right back and fly them out.” She shook her head. “Sure is strange. I thought all aircraft had been removed before the Big Sleep.”
Morgan eyed Jade, and said, apologetically, “You’re sure of this? I don’t want to be the doubter here again, but the records said nothing about aircraft left onboard, and this esa of yours is something you’ve just discovered you have.”
That didn’t faze Jade at all. “One way to find out - we go look and see if they’re actually there.”
She understood how he felt. Even though she’d had it all her life, she hadn’t been aware it was an ability until yesterday and still had no clue as to how it worked. She just knew that it did. And in unexpected ways.
“How many are there?” asked Alex. He set the coffee maker down and plugged it into an outlet on the back wall. He had no trouble believing Jade.
“Five - four small ones, one larger one.” She checked that inventory file in her head again to verify.
Ro added coffee to the maker and turned it on. She sat down next to Alex.
“We should go see ‘em,” she said. She didn’t doubt they were there, either. “After we have our coffee,” she added, with resolution.