They checked the secureness of each other’s harnesses, then she grasped his hand and squeezed. “I love you.”
“Prove it. Fly with me.”
Brandishing a spirited grin, she stepped aside to create space for the six-meter span of the gliders. The wings unfurled at her side; she slid her hands into the pockets and felt the material tighten reassuringly. She nodded.
“3…2…1…Go!”
She took a deep breath and leapt.
The second of free fall ticked by in a thousand transcendent nanoseconds. The rush of vertigo spinning her stomach. The stronger rush of wind forcing its way past her layers of clothing to bite into her skin like needles of ice. The feeling that she could fall forever as frozen land and endless starshine rushed past her vision in a blur.
The rush.
For an instant the force of Valkyrie’s exhilaration had overwhelmed her thoughts—had come dangerously close to overwhelming her actions. She blinked and reasserted her own will into the forefront.
Keep on like that and you’ll let us plummet to our death.
Perhaps I became carried away by the experience.
We need to talk about you and your ‘perhapses’—later.
Alex spread her arms, and with a reassuring jolt the wings locked…and she was soaring.
Now, isn’t this better?
There was no response.
Valkyrie?
I find I am at a loss for words.
Finally.
A shadow grew overhead as Caleb crossed above her. It had been years since she’d used a glider, and she tweaked the wings a couple of times before finding the proper adjustment to gain altitude and draw up beside him.
Cut it a little close there.
I was in the moment.
He shook his head, but thankfully let her off the hook. They veered to the left, leaving Khione behind to sail above the fullness of the plains.
From above, the sunlight roused the emerald ice into sparkling a fiery, brilliant green. Any imperfections in the tundra vanished as it washed out to a pure white. If only the sun on her back held any warmth whatsoever, it would be perfection.
She laughed in delight as an aurora swirled beneath them, its elusive rays seemingly just out of reach.
Her focus on the colorful show, she didn’t notice they had company until she glanced in Caleb’s direction—she instinctively jumped in surprise, which very nearly sent her tumbling through the air. She jerked her arms level and kept them stiff until the wings stopped teetering.
An animal, the same breed as the one that attacked them, flew barely fifteen meters beyond him. It maintained an altitude and speed to match their own.
Jesus!
It’s okay.
Caleb tilted his head in her direction. She looked to her right as two additional creatures banked in to take up positions beside her.
What are they doing?
We’re no longer prey. I think they’re saying ‘hi.’
Here in the air, they projected a far less ferocious and far more graceful manner than one had on the ground. The membranes turned out to serve as true wings, and the extensive connections meant all their limbs were pulled up into the span, giving them an appearance closer to an ocean ray than a many-limbed reptile.
Valkyrie’s voice took on a high-minded tenor in her head. A reminder that danger can often be disguised by beauty, and beauty by danger .
She rolled her eyes. Thanks for the insight, Confucius.
I was talking about you.
Smartass.
Well, yes.
The creatures accompanied them for another several seconds before dipping lower and slowing. As she checked behind her to confirm they were departing, she noticed dark streaks of discoloration and an open wound on the chest of the one that had first joined Caleb.
It was the same one they had confronted on the ascent. I’ll be damned.
She murmured a quiet gasp of wonder and exhaled against the wind. With the next breath in she allowed the sensations to consume her fully. This freedom, this embracing of the wild unknown and meeting it on its own terms…this was her life. Now, this would be their life.
She acknowledged the quiet voice in the recesses of her mind, the one whispering it was all a lie—all a contrived creation by its masters beyond the portal—and put it aside for later. Its refrain had become a common one, but it could wait a while longer.
Far in the distance the terrain began to darken into the rocky, uneven crags they had flown past on the way to the village.
We should start descending.
Agreed.
As one their wings dipped, and the icy expanse rose to greet them.
The sensation of motion, of velocity , returned as the ground sped by, and it occurred to her she was moving rather fast and the ground looked rather hard and unforgiving. She rotated her shoulders to create drag on the wings—too much, her altitude dropped precipitously. She decreased the angle. Better.
Down there.
They aimed for a wide area of unbroken ice. When the surface was two meters below and her speed had slowed sufficiently, she drew her arms in and disengaged the wings’ locks. Her feet hit the ground at a run; then abruptly she was tumbling head over heels. After many bruising revolutions she lurched to a stop lying on her back. Yep, definitely hard and unforgiving.
A heavy thud signaled Caleb’s arrival to her left.
“Owwww….”
She was laughing, raggedly and in mild exhaustion, as he crawled over and collapsed beside her. When she decided she was capable of movement she tugged her mask off and shifted to rest on his torso. Then she shoved his own mask off and kissed him zealously, high on adrenaline and oxygen and adoration.
He tried to wrap his arms around her, which led to their unfurled wings getting tangled in one another, which led to a more fulsome state of entanglement. Which worked out fine.
She giggled against his lips. “That was spectacular.”
“It was. Should cure our restlessness for at least a week.”
“Maybe even two…” her eyes gleamed in only partially feigned playfulness “…but what then? What’s next? Dare that supernova to erupt on us?”
He regarded her intently. “You know what’s next. The sooner you say it, the sooner we can get started.”
Her protest lodged in her throat. Of course she knew. She’d known for weeks; part of her had known from the moment she sent the Metigen fleet slinking home.
“We’re going back through the portal.”
“Damn right we’re going back through the portal.”
“I mean, what are all those other universes? Are they like ours? Why were they created? What game are the Metigens playing? What are they—”
His mouth smothered hers to halt her rambling, and it was some time later when they came up for air.
She crossed her arms on his sternum and propped her chin up. “We should probably get married before we go. I doubt they’ll have the necessary bureaucracy on the other side.”
“Excellent point.” He had managed to untangle his left arm and reached up to softly caress her cheek. “We should. Let me check my calendar…two Fridays from today looks free. ”
“Does it now. Okay, February 2nd it is.”
“I like this plan. And I suspect there are a few other things we’ll need to take care of before we leave.”
“A few.” Her mind was already racing around the implications. Valkyrie was the biggest source of complications, but she’d also need to find a way to obtain the new engine and…his chest rumbled beneath her as he started chuckling. “What?”
“You’re as happy as a kid on Christmas morning right now, aren’t you?”
“Unh!” She punched him lightly in the shoulder and rolled off onto the ice. It was late afternoon in the daylight cycle, and the auroras flitted with increasing luminance above them.
“So, um, how do we get back to the Siyane ?”
“We walk.”
“You�
�re kidding.”
“I am.” He wrangled his pack off and repositioned it to serve as a pillow. “I contacted Dr. Becnel as soon as we landed and humbly requested a pickup, noting we weren’t technically on Khione any longer. Somebody will be along in a vehicle. Eventually.”
“Terrific.” She curled her hands behind her head and stared up at the sky. “We can start planning while we wait. First, we’ll need….”
FOUR MONTHS LATER
EARTH
EASC H EADQUARTERS
The gleaming façade shone in the late morning sun, radiant and glittering in a way only newness could exhibit. Tiers of steel and glass rose in staggered, winding levels to soar into the sky. A work of functional art, the offset floors allowed for both gardens and landing pads to blend seamlessly into the design of the structure .
It was, Miriam had to concede, a far more attractive building than the one it replaced.
Construction of the new EASC Headquarters Tower had been completed while she was away. It didn’t officially open for business until the next day, but most of the equipment and furnishings had already been transferred from the temporary quarters in the Logistics building, and her new office reputedly awaited her presence.
She almost walked in the entrance brandishing a smile. Luckily she realized her error at the door and donned a stern countenance.
A lieutenant sat behind the front desk testing the functionality of a control panel, but on spotting her he leapt to his feet with a salute. “Admiral Solovy! Welcome, ma’am. We were told you wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. Allow me to show you to your suite.”
“I assume I take the center lift until it goes no higher, correct?”
“Um, that does sort of cover it. But—”
“Then I shall show myself up, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Beginning tomorrow there would be two additional security checks between the lobby and the top floor, but this trip required solely her personal security code. She stepped off the lift into a bright, open atrium. The marble floor felt suitably firm beneath her feet; the secretary’s station loomed with appropriate intimidation over prospective guests.
Beyond the atrium was her office. She entered her security code a final time and stepped inside.
The desk she’d ordered had arrived ahead of her, as had the matching shelves. Everything had arrived, down to the white-silver tea set she’d purchased a few days earlier. Her favorite visual of David, Alex and herself—taken in 2298 on the lawn of their home in San Francisco—was even loaded into the display atop the desk.
The chair wasn’t new, for she’d become accustomed to the one she’d claimed in Logistics. She eased into it and spun slowly around—then was quickly back on her feet and moving to the window.
Except it wasn’t a window; it was a door. She had a garden .
Well, perhaps ‘garden’ was stretching the term a bit. She had a patio decorated in shrubs, flowering morning glories, astilbe and a small table with two chairs.
Beneath her the entirety of the EASC complex spread out. Tiny forms scurried about from one building to the next, and in the distance ships landed at and departed from the spaceport with ordered regularity. Ahead of her the waters of the Strait crashed against the parapets.
Well. This was simply lovely.
“I heard you were in the building.”
She turned and motioned Richard out onto the patio. “I only just arrived.”
“Word travels fast, especially when it’s in panic. They were expecting you tomorrow, I believe.”
She draped her arms atop the railing as he joined her. “I wanted to get settled in while it was still quiet. We’ll see how the practicality holds up under duress, but I have to say so far I’m pleased.”
Richard chuckled lightly. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you.”
“How was Romane? More to the point, how was your first vacation in…ever, was it?”
“Not ever , merely the last decade…or two. And it was very relaxing. That’s what vacations are supposed to be, right? Relaxing?”
“That’s the rumor.”
She nodded. “Then yes, it was relaxing.”
“Did you spend the entire visit meeting with the governor and her administration?”
“Only half the visit. I also toured several art galleries, attended a horrifically tawdry circus performance and spent a great deal of time…not worrying.”
“Otherwise known as relaxing.”
“Yes.” She straightened up from the railing but kept her hands atop it. “And now it is time to get back to work.”
“Much of the unrest on the hardest-hit colonies has eased with the improvements in services. Now it’s mostly squabbling over what to build next, where and for who’s favor. ”
“What about the Order of the True Sentients?”
Richard grimaced. “They will be a problem, I fear. They’re extremely well-funded, and we haven’t yet managed to find out by whom or what. But after all we’ve faced, they and their ilk seem like pests rather than real trouble.”
“I gave the subject some thought while I was…relaxing. We confronted the greatest threat to our existence humanity has ever seen, and we defeated it. But a year ago we couldn’t see it coming; our most skilled forecasters could never have predicted it. What else is out there on the horizon that we can’t see?”
She shifted to lean against the railing and meet his gaze more directly. “You and I know the true extent of what Alex and Caleb discovered beyond the portal. I fear we’ve seen but a small glimpse of the dangers which may await us—dangers for which we are woefully unprepared.”
“Granted. So?”
“So, I intend to see to it that we get ourselves prepared. We can’t sit on our laurels and be caught unaware a second time.”
“True enough. I’m glad the task is in such capable hands.”
“Flatterer.”
“I’m trying to hone my skills. Speaking of, have you seen Alex recently? I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks.”
“We had a nice dinner before I left for Romane, in fact. She and Caleb have been on Seneca the last week or so helping his sister move into a new place, but I believe they are headed to Atlantis to meet Kennedy and Noah for a long weekend.”
“Good. I’m glad they—”
Miriam held up her hand to silence him. She stared at the message that had come in, searching for the correct reaction. Anger? Fear? Pride? Exasperation?
She settled on the last one, went to the little patio table and sank down in one of the chairs.
“Miriam, what is it?”
She shook her head and laughed. “I’m going to kill her.”
At Richard’s questioning look she called him over and projected the message to an aural.
ATLANTIS
I NDEPENDENT C OLONY
Kennedy sighed in contentment and curled up against Noah’s chest. The sun’s rays streaming in through the open windows warmed her bare skin, and she kicked the sheet off so as to give the rays more fulsome access. “Mmm…can we not leave this room today? Or even the bed?”
Noah’s chest rumbled beneath her in a soft chuckle as he played with her hair. “We’ve got drinks, so we’re set there. Eventually we’ll need food, but this is why room service exists. So yeah, I think we’re good. Who needs sun and sand and surf when we have this .”
“Not me. Besides, we have sun—and we can see the sand and surf, should we manage to approach the windows.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” His hand trailed lazily down her back, evoking a pleasant murmur from deep in her throat.
“Alex and Caleb will be here today…sometime. They would probably appreciate it if we put clothes on.”
“Probably. Have you heard from them yet? I’d like a little warning, say, three or four hours, so I can….” She shuddered beneath his hand as it drifted lower.
“Not yet. I’m sure they got distracted by—” As if on cue, a m
essage from Alex arrived in her eVi. She opened it with only a fraction of her attention, the rest being occupied by Noah’s increasingly roving hands.
Then she bolted upright in the bed. “I’m going to kill her. I mean it this time. I am well and truly going to kill her.”
Noah raised up on one elbow. “They’re not coming?”
She rolled her eyes at the ceiling and flopped onto her back with a groan. “No. No, they are not. And you won’t believe where they are heading.”
SIYANE
M ETIS N EBULA
The Siyane hovered in the thick nebular clouds at the edge of the clearing, out of sight of the Alliance and Federation vessels patrolling the perimeter.
The portal was closed, occupying an invisible point at the center of the empty void in the heart of the Metis Nebula. Its activation would give the watching ships an extra few seconds to prepare for their destruction of any alien vessel that might emerge. The patrols gave the area a wide berth lest they get caught in the explosion of metal and plasma which would accompany such activation.
A few modifications had been made to the Siyane in the months since the Metigen War ended. For one, the cockpit had been rearranged a bit. Caleb’s chair received an upgrade, hers moved to the left, and they occupied their seats as equals. Many of the sensors and scientific equipment received upgrades as well and now included a number of new features.
They had even made room for Caleb’s bike down in the engineering well. It turned out Division secured it after Volosk’s murder as part of the crime scene, at first as evidence then later for safekeeping. And who knew? They may need it. On a planet’s surface, perhaps. Or on a space station….
Short Stories of Aurora Rhapsody Page 9