Yet it did not look like any rock she’d ever seen. It appeared porous, flaky, and the walls were the same. She stepped closer and reached out to touch the blue-grey rock, only to have her hand sink into a spongy growth.
Janlin snatched her hand back with a gasp. “It’s not rock!”
Falco trilled, which the ear-cell did not translate. Laughter? A new word? She decided that even with translation all this first contact stuff was exhausting.
She peered closer, daring to touch it again. It was like a springy algae growth, like a moss or thick lichen. She pinched it, but it did not break away except for a few dry flakes that fluttered to the floor.
“Buildings grow, and we program them to be harder here,” he pointed at the floor, “or softer here.” He touched the wall with what Janlin took as reverence. “The result has a natural . . .” and here the translation beeped.
“I’m sorry, that last word isn’t coming through to me,” Janlin said, tapping her ear.
Falco thought a moment. “In dark halls, or at night, buildings glow, shine, not bright like sun, but with many colours.”
Janlin remembered the nightglows she’d seen in the field outside the village. “Ah, a natural phosphoresce! Very cool.”
Falco patted her shoulder. “So pleased you fly. Now all of you may travel, visit, and we can sharing learning.”
So much for her worries of being kept like a pet. Now she just needed to learn how the shields were run, and where the central control was. Janlin frowned. They almost made it too easy.
The other Huantag dispersed, the spectacle over. As they moved away from the opening, the same light glows they had in the village came to life, and Janlin thought she saw colour flicker out on the walls.
“Falco, how do you power these?” Janlin asked, pointing at the round glowing bulbs.
“By our sun. We took power from our planet for too long before we saw that the sun waited there for us to use for free, without harming the planet.” He led her around into a room with chairs like bowls and strange apparatus protruding from high counters.
Large windows graced the one side of this room. She went over and gaped at the stunning vista below. Huantag flew everywhere, all different, all beautiful. She didn’t know how they harvested the sun’s power—she didn’t see anything resembling a solar panel or collector anywhere.
For that matter, she didn’t see any pollution, mining, or industry of any kind. Instead she looked out on a lush world of green flowing water, clear and clean, waving trees and clear skies, and lush growth undisturbed by the Huantag’s lifestyle.
“Sure wish Earth could look like this.” She leaned her head against the glass, overwhelmed by homesickness.
A light touch on her shoulder brought her around. To her amazement, three smaller versions of Falco stood regarding her.
“This is my group. My mate,” and he indicated the tallest of the three, “and my children.”
Janlin bowed. “It is wonderful to meet you.”
Falco repeated this to them for her.
“May we touch it?” asked one of the children. Falco gave a sharp chirp of admonishment that translated as a firm negative, but Janlin laughed and patted him on the arm.
“It’s okay.” She stepped closer and reached out her hand. “Come and touch.”
The one that asked came first, followed quickly by his sibling. Janlin looked for clues to tell male from female, but with their thick plumage, there was no way for her to be sure. As they explored her hands, hair, and arms, Janlin asked Falco.
“Boy or girl?” She pointed at the bravest one.
“Boy,” he answered. “Both boy.” Even though she was sure he felt pride in them, emotions too were hard to discern in the Huantag.
Soon Janlin squatted on a narrow bench that felt more like a perch, not surprised when that was precisely what the others did. The design left ample room for them to stretch out their wings and tails, which reached to the floor and balanced them. Falco’s mate brought her a steaming plate of what appeared to be giant bugs, so she pretended to nibble and claimed a nervous flying stomach when she hadn’t eaten any of it.
Janlin watched them together as a family unit, dancing that fine dance of love and nurturing clearly universal. She liked Falco, despite her determination not to. Anaya’s comm-unit pressed into her leg, hidden in her pocket, and weighing on her mind.
Night fell, and the city became a fascinating display of colourful phosphoresce. Janlin stood watching at the window for a long time while the family went about their routines of cleaning up from dinner.
When the family retired, and she was finally alone with Falco again, she began her questioning.
“How do you collect the sun’s power?”
Unfortunately, the translator couldn’t pick up half his words, so finally he pointed at the wall. “This growth, it absorbs energy from the sun, and we direct it.”
Janlin realized this would be much harder than she thought. “What about the Imag? Aren’t you worried about them?”
“No. Be calm, rest assured we are safe here, shielded from any harm the Imag could bring.”
“Shielded?” She put on her best look of curious innocence.
“Yes. The best sun energy is captured in space. The stations use most of that energy to operate the shields, ensuring the Imag cannot come here.”
Janlin’s heart sank. “There is more than one station?” she asked, pointing up.
“Yes.”
“And the shields operate from those stations?”
“This is almost true. Some operate from there and some from here, depending on what needs done. Please, do not worry, we are safe.”
Of course, the Huantag would expect them to still fear the Imag, so Falco would read her concern that way. Still, it was heartbreaking to discover she never needed to come down planetside at all, and devastating to find out she may need to get back to the stations to help Anaya.
It would be better if she could somehow gather the humans and return to the stations to complete her part of the mission. She wouldn’t need to take down any shields then. She needed to make Falco understand that and help them. More and more, it became impossible to consider leaving them defenceless.
Janlin felt a cold chill. Did Anaya orchestrate this? Shaking off her paranoia, Janlin forced the image of a chess pawn out of her brain.
Chapter Thirty-One
NEXT DAY, HER flight gear back on and ready to fly, Janlin stood on the launching ledge.
“You will teach the others, yes?”
Janlin blinked. “Me?”
“Yes, teach them to fly.”
“Of course,” Janlin said, feeling a new excitement bounding through her. “I’d love to.”
“Good. Come, follow.”
He leapt off the edge, spreading wings wide to catch the wind and soar off into the busy skies.
With a prayer regarding the overnight repairs to her wings, Janlin plunged from the heights of Falco’s home and followed him in a dive. “Look, Ma, no thrusters required.” She stretched full out and laughed with joy.
Falco led her down to the edge of the city towers. Counting quickly, Janlin estimated four to five hundred Huantag lived in Falco’s building alone, and the structures lined the river for miles in each direction. They engaged a fantastic design, truly utilizing space to the best effect. She saw open markets on middle floors, and groups flying with nets, presumably to hunt for food.
The ground rushed closer, and she applied her back wing technique along with a sharp boost from the suit’s thrusters, and thrilled herself with a near perfect landing except for the stumble-run she had to do to keep her feet.
“Beautiful, Janlin,” Falco said despite her faltering. “You will be good teacher.”
“Thank you,” she said, still a little breathless. “Why are we here?”
He indicated a path leading into the trees and beckoned her to follow.
Glorious flowers bloomed all around them, spanning all the c
olours of the spectrum. She wondered if any of them would bear edible fruit, and her mouth watered. The breakfast she’d been offered had again looked very buggy. When it moved in her mouth, it took all she had not to spit it back in the dish. After that, hunger seemed a better option for the moment.
The trees were a mix of brilliant neon green with nearly black bark, bluish green needle leaves like spruce trees only different, and brown dead-looking things that twisted and curled as they grew. As in any ecosystem, she noted groundcover plants, flowering bushes, vines that climbed the trees, and, of course, trees. That said, nothing looked Earth-like from down here.
They came to an open meadow of waving blue grasses. Woven structures shaped into domes like their village huts, but much bigger, dotted the area. At the bottom of the frames, the blue-grey algae grew, covering the stick mesh.
“Soon you will have new home here if you choose. Down low, not high like us.” He trilled, and Janlin decided it must be laughter.
“This is wonderful, Falco.”
“They will take time to grow, then you will have all we have.”
Janlin shook her head in amazement. Everything she’d expected, thrown out the window. Everything she’d been taught by Anaya—should that be thrown out the window, too?
Soon she flew once again, heading north to the human village. She may not have a clear plan for the future, but she’d gained her freedom and a new friend, and that was enough for now.
JANLIN FULLY ENJOYED her triumphant return, especially since Gordon was one of those who turned out to greet her.
“How did it go?”
“Did you see their city?”
“What do they eat?”
Janlin put both hands up, palms out. “Whoa, everyone. Let me get out of this gear first, okay?” She smiled at Gordon. He still appeared unimpressed. “I’m sure I can tell the story better once I’m free of all these straps.”
Falco cried out from above, where he circled to be sure she was home safely. “Farewell, farewell!” he called, and Janlin waved.
“Thank you!” she cried, not sure if he’d even be able to hear her. Already he flew south with great beats of his wings.
Gordon helped her undo all the straps.
“These are fascinating buckles,” he said. Janlin was just happy to see him out and about.
“Yeah, sometimes I tighten when I want to loosen, and vice versa.”
“When do we get our own gear like that?” Tyrell asked.
Janlin grinned at him. “A group is coming tomorrow to help me train you, five at a time. They’ll bring everything we need to adjust them to fit.” She glanced at Inaba and Stepper. “We might want to draw lots or something.”
“That’s a good idea,” Inaba said. “I will get something together once we have heard your report.”
Janlin did her best to describe the glowing city, the stone towers that weren’t stone, the crunchy-crawly meals, the amazing hospitality and kindness. “And the best part? They’re growing us houses, too, only not towering into the sky like theirs. It’ll be awhile before they’re ready, but the weird algae they grow seems to be some kind of solar power collector.”
“Space me,” Gordon said. “Is that how they power all this lot then, too?” He waved his hand at the glowlights and cooking grills.
“Seems like.”
This only brought on more questions, most of which she couldn’t answer. The general consensus was that the science minds would have to travel to this city and investigate, giving them a fine chance of being bumped to the front of the line for flight training.
Finally, her gear set aside and a plate of more palatable food in front of her, Janlin sat with Gordon enjoying some peace. She’d asked everyone to just give her some time to eat before asking more questions. Now they all clustered around Inaba and three others she didn’t know. They seemed to be running the show, and Stepper had a front row seat. “Who are Inaba’s friends?”
Gordon followed her gaze and scowled. “That’s the Leadership Circle,” he said, and Janlin was surprised at the animosity in his voice. “Stepper’s just in his glory now, isn’t he?” he added when he noticed her questioning look. “Wants to be a leader too, no doubt, but he’s forgotten all about getting home . . . forgotten some of us left loved ones behind.”
Janlin watched Stepper as he interjected an opinion to the general approval of the listening group.
“He promised so much,” Gordon continued. “What if we can never return?” His voice cracked on the inflection. “What if—”
“Gordon.” She pitched her voice so only he would hear. “I might have a way.”
He went completely still and stared at her, waiting.
“Walk with me,” she said, setting her finished plate aside. They pushed off the low, flat rocks they’d sat on to get away from the bustle of the common area.
Gordon brought his food, offering her some. She nibbled on a piece of what seemed to be a root vegetable, and the taste of sweet earth filled her mouth.
“Is all of this locally grown food?” she wondered. “I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
Gordon glanced down at his plate. “Seems right,” he said. “But I worry about running into some germ or mineral or something we won’t be able to handle. Has anyone thought of that?”
“We’ve been eating Imag food for a while without adverse effects.”
“Just dammed lucky, that’s all,” Gordon growled.
“Wow, you are on edge.”
“Yeah, I am! Everyone’s so glad to be here just ’cause it’s better than the Imag’s sheer abuse, but they’ve forgotten why we’re here in the first place. Even Stepper. Especially Stepper! I swear the guy’s ready to settle in and play house!”
Janlin let him rant.
“What are you smirking at?” Gordon demanded.
Janlin pulled him aside, checking for onlookers. Once she was sure of privacy, she pulled out Anaya’s comm-unit.
“I wasn’t a stowaway,” she said, handing him the device. He stared at it, then at her, hope and confusion warring on his face. “When Stepper—when I thought he was dead and they carried him away, I attacked my guard and knocked him out. Then I ran. We were down on hull deck, so I found a lift and went in search of an airlock, and hopefully a ship.”
Gordon turned the device over and over in his hands, checking every angle, but she could tell he listened intently.
“I did find an airlock with a small shuttle-style ship docked there. Turned out they were there uninvited, looking to make friends with a human. In fact, they’d done it before.” She watched Gordon’s face. “The captain of this ship spoke English.”
Gordon’s head shot up, eyes wide, and his hands stilled. “Space me,” he whispered.
“No kidding. They brought me here to gather a crew while they go steal the Hope. I guess it’s still sitting in one piece in the hangar bay of the Imag ship.” She looked back at the gathering. “It’s almost too good to be true how all of us are here.”
Gordon frowned at this. “You trust her? She’s an Imag, right?”
“Well, she’s of the same species by looking at her, but she calls the ones that enslaved us ‘Imag’, and her own kind ‘Gitane’. I think they’re either different families or maybe even races.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Janlin shook her head. “What if she gets caught, or can’t get the Hope? What if the Hope is dismantled by the time she gets to it, or she can’t get it to fly?” Gordon’s shoulders sagged. “See? I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up. Besides, everyone here is crazy for this place, as you’ve noticed.” He snorted. “You, on the other hand, needed some hope. Now you have it.”
Gordon threw back his head and laughed. “I did,” he said, clapping Janlin on the back. “So, my friend, what’s the catch?”
“What do you mean?”
Gordon crossed his arms. “There’s always a catch, Janlin. Especially with you.”
Janlin
groaned. “How did you know?”
Gordon laughed again, and it did Janlin more good than anything else could have to see him this way.
“I can read you better than any bloke alive.”
“Fine. There’s a catch. But we’ll worry about that later—if she really shows up with our ship. Okay?”
Gordon tucked her arm through his. “Hmm, I don’t think so,” he said as they wandered on through the balmy night. “For now, tell me about these Gitane. I want to know everything.”
Janlin told him of Anaya and Yipho, and her impressions and conversations with her new friend. When she got to the plan they’d agreed upon, she hesitated.
“The catch, right?” Gordon was too smart by half.
“Yeah. See, the Huantag—”
“The who?”
“That’s the name of the Birdfolk . . . at least that’s what Anaya calls them. Huantag.”
Gordon quirked an eyebrow. “Right, then, carry on.”
“Well, they won’t let the Imag or Gitane onto this planet, at all, ever again. They were here for a while, when their own planet became unliveable, but now they are forced to survive in space. Anaya is super bitter about this, but I wonder what the other side of the story is.”
“Bloody hell, sounds like SpaceOp with Mars.”
Janlin nodded. “Doesn’t it, though. Anyway, the Huantag have this amazing shield technology that has prevented the Imag from bullying their way in.”
“And we have to disarm it.”
Janlin, not surprised at his deductive abilities, nodded. “It’s the only way Anaya can come get us.”
Gordon looked sceptical. “Why can’t we ask the bird guys to take us out to her instead of destroying their only protection from the Imag?”
Janlin shook her head. “I’ve thought about that, and hedged around it a bit with Falco, but they have some pretty strict philosophy about not leaving the planet.”
“From what little I’ve seen and heard so far, they’re pretty amicable. Seems to me we should at least try and explain the situation.”
Jumpship Hope Page 17