Borne On Wings of Steel

by Tony Chandler

  And as they laughed together, slapping each other on the back, all four made their way out into the bright tropical sunlight. But instead of heading toward the interior of the island where the sound of music wafted on the morning breeze, heralding another day at the Taste of the Quadrant, the four headed straight for the beach. As they reached the soft sand, they threw off their sandals and ran for the endless rows of waves that marched toward the shore.

  As they ran, each one stripped off his shirts and shorts, revealing the bathing suit he wore underneath, and dove among the frothing surf. Shouts of pure pleasure rang out as they swam in the crystal clear waters of the Emerald Sea.

  They swam far out into the middle green lagoon bounded on each side by high hills covered with palms and dense tropical foliage. The four enjoyed the feeling of the warm water on their skin and floated or swam for a long time. After a while, they tired and returned to the beach and collapsed on their towels to let the hot sun dry their bodies.

  Rok stirred, his energy renewed, and found a nearby booth that rented facemask-breathers and fins. Soon all four were snorkeling out where the purple reef grew beneath the waves at the far edge of the lagoon. The facemask-breathers worked great as they breathed in oxygen directly from the water through the filtered grills.

  They gazed down in awe at the wondrous life under the waters.

  Exotic, colorful sea creatures swarmed everywhere while numerous shafts of light pierced through the upper depths. It was like another world—miniature mountains and valleys of coral stretched out as far as the eye could see toward the deep waters beyond the lagoon. And like the Mejadic themselves, the fish and other sea creatures sparkled like electric rainbows with various patterns of exotic colors.

  For more than an hour the four observed, each mesmerized by the aquatic life that danced before the eyes. After that, now thoroughly tired from all their exertions, they dragged themselves up on the lavender and white beach. They rented lounge chairs and fell exhausted into them with the red sun still below its highest point in the sky. But midday was not far off.

  They lay there soaking up the sun until time seemed to stand still under the tropical sky. Slowly, each fell into a light slumber.

  Finally, the roaring of the surf caused Jaric's eyes to flutter open.

  “Hey, what's that?"

  Kyle lazily glanced up at Jaric's excited cry.

  To his amazement, the waves of the bay that had previously broken against the beach with clockwork regularity had changed. The tide had obviously gone out and the beach was now a wide-open expanse—more than twice the width of when they first arrived.

  And now the entire nature of the surf changed.

  Towering waves rose like small mountains and exploded with raw fury and plumes of frothing spray. Dozens of surfers floated on their boards in the middle of the lagoon, peering intently as they waited for the next perfect wave.

  But there were others who floated above the waters—each also peering for the same perfect wave.

  “I've seen surfers before, but what kind of boards are those guys riding above the water?” Jaric asked as he shielded his eyes from the bright sun now almost directly overhead.

  “The Mejadic call them Fiarri boards,” Inaha said matter-of-factly. “Most aliens in this sector call them that."

  “The Kraaqi call them lightning boards,” Rok added with a glint in his eyes as he watched a rider suddenly shoot straight up into the air.

  “How do they work?” Jaric and Kyle asked together, excitement in their voices.

  “They have a small, but powerful anti-gravity unit. And very sensitive controls,” Inaha explained.

  “Look there,” Kyle said, as he pointed farther out over the water.

  A wave began to rise. But this wave was larger than the others.

  The surfers in the water suddenly turned and paddled furiously as they began to position themselves so they could catch the rising wave.

  The aliens hovering over the water on their Fiarri boards simply stood upright and leaned back with a confident look.

  Jaric noticed how they subtly used their feet as if controlling some mechanism on the board's surface in order to direct their movements.

  Several surged forward on their Fiarri boards, at first matching the speed of those paddling their surfboards in the water. They sped up just as the wave's crest curled up behind them.

  The wave was twice the size of any they had seen so far.

  Most of those paddling their surfboards had not gotten up enough speed in which to catch the huge wave and simply rose and fell back with it on the other side—left behind.

  But most of the riders on the Fiarri boards found themselves flying with the wave—their boards speeding just over the top of the water and their bodies just under the curl of water. For long seconds, they balanced themselves on their boards as they matched the speed of the great wave, bending their bodies forward for more speed as the wave caught up to them and began breaking just over their shoulders. They shot farther ahead of the wave where the water was only just beginning to break.

  “How fast can those things go?” Jaric asked as he stared with admiration.

  “Top speed is about thirty-five clicks,” Inaha replied. “They could easily outrun any wave. But the sport here on Meramee is to match the wave and try to ride just inside the pipe with the water all around you. That's the trick.” He laughed to himself, remembering all the times he had done the same thing. “It's great fun. But it requires skill, just like regular surfing. And only Fiarri riders can ride the really big waves—they have the speed to catch them."

  In the next instant, several ventured too close inside the curl and the mighty wave smashed them down into the frothing waters, covering them and leaving them behind. The boards and riders reappeared, bobbing up and down after the wave passed.

  But three skillful Fiarri riders managed to ride it out all the way to the beach.

  Cheers broke from onlookers along the beach as they continued their ride over the sand, weaving their boards in and around swimsuit-clad aliens. In a flash of movement, the three rose as one high into the ocean breeze until they were fifteen meters above the treetops. They picked up speed and soared across the cloudless sky.

  “Wow! Look at them over there!” Kyle shouted as they all watched with intent fascination.

  Jaric whistled with appreciation.

  Other Fiarri riders rose to join the trio. Together the group sailed with carefree joy far out on the ocean breeze. All of a sudden, it seemed as if the sky was full of wind surfers. Some sailed straight ahead at high speed while others bent their bodies and dove with well-practiced ease in acrobatic maneuvers. Others soared down to the wave tops—riding wave after wave without ever quite touching them. But they flew close enough to get drenched by the spray as the waves crashed on toward the shore.

  A few of the more skilled riders performed bold and daring acrobatics. As they squatted low with one hand gripping the edge of their board, they set off twirling in a series of barrel roll maneuvers across the wide-open expanse then straightened out to soar away to another part of the sky. Still others raced at top speed before suddenly dropping into a crouch and tilting their bodies far over into a hard turn until they and their board were completely horizontal—one hand gripping their boards. The turn seemed to last forever to the wide-eyed observers on the beach—but then the sky rider would come out of it and shoot off with a sudden burst of speed.

  What really amazed the onlookers were those riders who screamed along just over the wave tops in a normal wind surfer crouch until they reached a spot far out over the bay. Suddenly they would bend their knees as deep as they would go while leaning back until their entire body weight was on their back leg.

  They soared straight up into the sky—muscles tensed, arms stretched out wide to each side and screaming out in pure joy as their boards pushed the upper limits of performance.

  “Looks like you can ride the wind even better than the waves,” Kyl
e said with amazement.

  “How do they do that?” Jaric stared in awe as another rider threw himself into a loop. “They should fall off once they're completely upside down!"

  “Centrifugal force mostly,” Inaha explained. “You've got to keep your speed max'ed out all the way through, or else you could wind up falling. Not a good thing."

  “But, there are weak gravity pads on their feet to help,” Rok added.

  “Super cool,” Kyle murmured enthusiastically under his breath.

  “Yeah, they're great fun,” Inaha said with an appreciative glance as two more riders sailed past them.

  “How hard are they to learn?” Jaric asked, his eyes stilled locked in wonder on the riders in the sky.

  “If you have good balance and a fair amount of dexterity, they're not hard to ride."

  “And, you're manly enough,” Rok grunted, comically indicating doubt that either Jaric or Kyle had that quality.

  Jaric and Kyle glanced at each other with Rok's challenge.

  “Let's go!"

  The two lads jumped up as one and began racing down the beach.

  Rok chuckled to himself as he watched them run through the crowded beach. “Our lightning boards are very similar. And quite popular. But we ride them mostly over land and up into the lower part of the sky. We even invented a sport called sky-ball. And there are professional teams."

  “Do you ride?” Inaha shaded his eyes with his big hand as he looked at the Kraaqi.

  “Of course."

  Inaha smiled widely. “Well, let's go show the boys how it's done then, eh?"

  They caught up with Jaric and Kyle as they were making final arrangements at a booth that rented the boards.

  The palm grass-covered booth was located at the far end of the beach, away from the crowds. This was mainly for safety reasons, the Mejadic on duty explained, so the riders could start their flight and not worry about bumping into anyone walking around nearby. The Mejadic also informed them that riding a Fiarri among pedestrians was a misdemeanor offense, especially when done on a crowded beach, punishable by up to a night in jail.

  However, you could fly above them—at least six meters above them.

  In addition, extreme or reckless flying which endangered the rider or other riders was strictly prohibited.

  “Well, not too extreme,” the Mejadic added, with a knowing smile.

  “All right, let's do it!” Kyle said with a gleam in his eyes.

  “Have you ever ridden one before?” the colorful Mejadic asked as he finished his obligatory safety speech.

  “Uh, no,” Kyle admitted grudgingly.

  The red and blue Mejadic picked up one of the one-and-a-half-meter boards from off the shelf behind him and tossed it toward the sand in front of Kyle. It fell normally at first but suddenly stopped a few inches above the sand, hovering right side up and ready for Kyle to step on it.

  Which Kyle promptly did.

  “Place one foot in front of the other,” the Mejadic began. “If you lean your body to the right or left, you'll naturally place extra pressure on the side of your feet in which you are leaning. That pressure steers the board in the direction you want to go—press the side of both your feet toward the right—and you go right. The pressure must be held a moment, and the more firmly you press, the tighter the turn."

  “Cool,” Kyle replied as he stood on the board with both arms straight out as he balanced himself with jerky motions of his body.

  “Yes, it's hard to balance yourself in a still position,” the Mejadic laughed.

  “How do I go forward?” Kyle asked.

  “You lean forward for speed. The front part of your feet press into the grooves on the board and you gain speed..."

  The Mejadic stopped speaking as his eyes opened wide.

  Kyle leaned forward with the Mejadic's last instruction.

  He leaned way forward.

  In a flash, the board shot out from under his feet and disappeared into the nearby brush.

  Kyle's body floated horizontal a meter in the air right before their eyes—his legs splayed straight out, his arms stretched out wide to each side as if he were resting on thin air.

  In the next instant, Kyle fell flat on his back onto the sand with a loud whoosh of air.

  Jaric, Inaha and Rok roared with laughter.

  The Mejadic covered his mouth with both hands, fighting his own urge to laugh at the hilarious spectacle.

  “Actually,” he said, a red and blue hand still hovering over his smiling lips, “that happens a lot to first time riders."

  Jaric and the others laughed even louder.

  “What if we fall off from a hundred meters in the air? What then?” Kyle asked, a scowl on his face.

  The Mejadic held up a thin white belt in his webbed hands. “Safety belt. It too has an anti-gravity unit, but only powerful enough to slow your fall. You still hit the water with a big splash. And we have belts for use over land that will stop your fall completely about three meters from the ground and then allow you to fall gently the rest of the way."

  “Hand me one of those for use over land. I expect to fall off a few more times before I get the hang of this.” Kyle rose slowly, brushing the sand out of his hair as he stared with a hurt look at the others.

  Jaric hooted with laughter again.

  “I'd like to see you try it,” he said to Jaric. “I bet you fall off twice as much as I do!"

  Jaric nodded his head at the Mejadic. “Give me a board. And the same type of safety belt."

  In the next moment, a second board was tossed from the shelf and floated just above the ground. Jaric grabbed the belt tossed to him and quickly fastened it around his waist.

  “I would warn you, press your feet ever so slightly the first few times,” the Mejadic advised, still smiling. “It's a finesse thing. A little bit of pressure goes a long way."

  “And how do you stop? Or slow down?” Jaric asked as he stepped up on his board.

  “The pressure by the heels signals the board to slow or come to a complete stop—a consistent pressure. Again, you'll need to get the feel of your board. Practice slow stops and slow turns. And especially...” The Mejadic's eyes twinkled with humor as he glanced at Kyle. “Especially slow starts."

  Jaric moved his upper body forward a fraction and the board gently moved forward.

  “That's it!” the Mejadic shouted. “Take it easy until you get used to controlling the board. And fly it over water your first few rides. Don't try it over land to begin with."

  “Water is a lot softer to fall on.” Inaha chuckled with a glance over at Kyle.

  “No kidding!” Kyle shot back.

  “Once you get the hang of it, then you can try to set some speed records,” the Mejadic said as he tossed two more boards and safety belts for Rok and Inaha.

  “Go find your board and let's go fly some waves!” Jaric yelled back at Kyle as he zoomed over the treetops.

  Kyle's eyes lit up with excitement. He ran for the bushes where his board disappeared. “I'm right behind you!"

  “To the water!” Jaric shouted, turning for the sea.

  “Not bad,” Inaha said as he stepped onto his own board and flew after him.

  “Watch a pro.” Rok laughed and flashed past both Jaric and Inaha as he sailed out over the waves.

  Kyle and Jaric loved it from the first moment they sailed into the air.

  It was like nothing they'd ever experienced before.

  The wind caressed their skin, tousling their hair and giving them a sensation that they were really sailing on the breeze where in fact their boards were their source of flight. Higher and higher in ever widening circles, they urged their boards into the clear sky until the beach was a distant crescent below them.

  Next, they soared down toward the waves until they were skimming the waters just like the others.

  It was great.

  The next hour was full of shouts and cheers as the four raced through the sky and out over the ocean waves. At fir
st, Inaha and Rok raced way ahead of the boys as they turned into hard circles and put on bursts of speed whenever Jaric and Kyle caught up to them. Laughter laced the air as the four chased each other around the sky.

  But Kyle and Jaric were fast learners.

  Soon they were keeping up with Rok and Inaha's maneuvers, the four of them in tight formation. And even when Rok and Inaha urged their boards into sudden bursts of speed, Kyle and Jaric were now right behind them—shouting with sheer joy as they rode the wild wind.

  They now rode their boards just over the tops of the waves like the best of them, their boards skimming the top of a wave and then down into the trough—up and down, wave after wave, again and again.

  Kyle even tried his hand at catching a wave and trying to ride just under the crest of breaking water.

  He came up coughing water and laughing but was soon back on his board and sailing with the others back across the cloudless sky.

  They returned their boards when the rental period expired and walked back to their spot on the beach just in time to collapse with utter and complete fatigue.

  “We've got to get Elise on a board soon.” Kyle yawned as he returned his sunglasses over his eyes.

  “Yeah, maybe in a few days. When she's better,” Jaric agreed.

  “We've got to ride those boards every chance we get while we're here.” Kyle smiled with appreciation. “They're just too much fun."

  “Every day we're here on beautiful Meramee.” Jaric closed his eyes as the sun warmed his skin.

  Before long, a new urge began to gnaw at their stomachs.

  Rok raised his sunglasses and squinted at the cloudless, lavender sky where the red sun had now climbed past its zenith. He sniffed appreciatively.

  Riding the eternal ocean breeze, the tempting aromas from the food booths finally reached them.

  “What a wonderful aroma,” Rok grunted as he replaced his dark sunglasses, making sure the looped ends were around the base of each horn to hold them in place.

  “Yes! We should eat soon!” Inaha shouted. “Let's wait until the sun has grown hot. The booths are among the shade of the big palms."