["Here."] Corsa did something and the shirt fell off her wings. One of her favorites too. Debbie wasn't going to like her leaving an expensive sweater behind, as she hadn't been happy when she tore it to fly the first time with Elis.
It was gone now.
Corsa helped her fasten the back piece of the jumpsuit between her wings and showed her how to slip the jacket on over them. With the center piece open and her wings folded, Raea had only to lift it over the top joints and stretch her wings slightly to free them. The last part was the flap of material that came up between her wings and secured on the collar behind her neck. She finished fastening the front and the belt as Cris pulled on his second black glove.
Wait until Elis heard about this—if she saw him again.
["Last part."] Corsa handed her the gloves from the woman who lay dressed like the man in only a body suit.
Raea pulled them on. ["Done."]
["Not quite."] Leksel made an adjustment to the collar of her flightsuit, two fingers along her throat. After a moment he stepped back and adjusted her belt, gave a final tug of the jacket and grimaced. ["A bit big, but it'll have to do."]
The boots were another matter. Cris already wore the same black boots as the rest.
Leksel held up the woman's boots to her. ["You'll have to hide your clothes, and probably leave them. Shirukan don't carry bags, except on special assignment, and then rarely."]
How did he know all this?
Raea sat down to take off her shoes and put on the boots. Oddly, they fit almost perfectly. She strapped them on like she had seen Corsa and Leksel do earlier and stood up.
Leksel gave an approving nod, or at least she thought he looked satisfied with her. ["Now, say nothing—your accent would raise too many questions—and stay with me. You and Cris are tyros, cadets. It's not unusual for cadets to shadow officers as part of their training. You will obey Corsa and me without question. Understand?"]
And what if he asked her to do something questionable?
His dark eyes burned through her. ["Understand?"]
["Yes."]
He stared unblinking. Oh, for heaven's sake. Did she have to say it? Fine. ["Yes, sir."]
["Cris?"]
["Yes, sir."] The mocking tone made Leksel scowl, but he turned to the door. He and Corsa set their tri-comms on their cheeks, the detail they had forgotten when they rested last.
Raea's stomach grumbled. Easy stomach. They better eat soon.
["Follow me."]
Corsa picked up a step beside Leksel, and Raea matched Cris's stride behind them.
* * *
Valdas caught her reflection in the black screen above the panel. Only a faint scar, but a scar she couldn't hide. Damn him!
Footsteps halted behind her. ["Sir."]
Now what? The rebels had escaped minutes before she arrived at their last known location. She had arrived in time to find the Shirukan stunned but recovering by what could only be a Starfire blast. A neutralizer would have knocked them out for hours. This left them dazed for some time, but not nearly the effect of a neutralizer. The regular soldiers had been another matter but no worse off.
She wanted those rebels, not just the Crystal Keeper.
["We received a message from Lieutenant Hourall. It cut off."]
What? She turned to the woman in the gray and black uniform. Could the rebels have attacked? No soldier—Shirukan or not—would have cut off their message voluntarily. ["Where did it originate?"]
["Blue four-niner, sir."]
Blue sector. Near the south dock. It had to be them. Now she knew the area where they were, and they likely had the Crystal Keeper. They had come up from the recycling area, where the materials blocked all scans.
She could track the Keeper now.
["Scan the area for traces of Starfire."]
["Yes, sir."] The black-winged captain passed the message to a young man at one of the panels circling the room. Valdas waited while a three-dimensional grid of that section of the city formed in the air above his hands.
A green wall passed through it, highlighting clusters of yellow dots, three of them around one green. Found her.
[Heading for the transport dock…] They intended to smuggle her out of the city.
Not if Prime Commander Alshouan Valdas had anything to do with it. ["Stop all outgoing traffic. No one takes off unless I directly authorize it."]
["Yes, sir."] He keyed in the command and passed the message on through the tri-comm.
Now, she had them.
__________
Escape from Naviketan
Raea followed two steps behind Leksel through the corridors. A blue line ran along the top of the walls now, and they passed other Inari. In fact, the crowds thickened as they went. Inari everywhere!
Raea wanted to stare, but she had to pretend to be a Shirukan. They wouldn't stare. But to think she was on a different world and not one human in sight! Josh would be gawking at everything. Oh, man! He'd love it there.
She missed him, and the way he always talked about his Dark Angel. She should have told him about Elis, and her, being different, being "angels". He deserved to know. It was his obsession and she was his friend. If she ever made it home, she would tell him. Or maybe she'd let Elis show him. He'd like that.
Cris nudged her arm. Now what?
He brushed his hand over his face to make a show of wiping a smile off.
Oh, right. Raea faced forward and made an effort not to smile at the thoughts of home. She couldn't help it; she was so close now and yet there was so much to see. Not only was this Elis's homeworld but her mother's. Excitement raged through her so she had to force herself to slow down and march with a stern face.
The people they passed let their gazes linger more than a moment sometimes. Warmth rose from her uniform. I'm Shirukan now, but it's only temporary. Soon we'll all be out of here.
Raea took a deep breath and continued through corridors now lined by glass that looked out over vast chambers of people in various activities. Through the glass on her side, she gazed out over an expansive, high-ceilinged room full of people flying through moving hoops.
Oh. My. God. Josh would so love this! She wanted to stare, but could only catch bits from the corner of her eye as she passed. Leksel and the others passed without a second glance. They were used to it. She wasn't. This was all new, a whole different world.
They passed the flying room and entered another series of corridors and corners, until they arrived at a large bay with several open ports the size of airplane hangar doors, on two levels. Good God! A couple ships landed at that moment, one on the top deck and one on the main deck; the top deck one smaller and both rounded over the top and flat on the bottom with small wings. They hovered in place over the deck floor and doors dropped into steps.
Among the crowds of hundreds—or was it thousands—of people in colorful clothes, random black uniforms stood out.
Shirukan. They had passed others in the corridors, but no one gave them a second glance. Here, someone might watch long enough for her to screw up. She swallowed, self-conscious suddenly of every move she made.
Leksel led them to one of a row of circular kiosks along the opposite wall. ["Stand here."]
He meant her, by the look he gave, but not the others. Whatever. Fine, she would stand in that spot, where she couldn't see the screen. Corsa took a step away, but Cris stayed with her, a coy smirk up one side of his face.
She had her chance now to take in the wonders of the dock and the variety of people. What a sight! She'd never imagined anything like it. Stranger than the wing and hair colors—from gold to brown and black to a rare red, blue, green, or silvery white. Some had black points, others white, most none at all. She never would have imagined it.
The ships were simple, with only small wings, likely for maneuvering in atmosphere. They had rounded noses and bulging bodies in a variety of shades of black, silver and white with markings on the sides. Nothing like the ship from her vision. These could
n't be starships. Could they?
["All right."] Leksel stepped back from the screen. ["We have a shuttle in bay Shorun seven."]
["Not here?"] she asked.
["No."] He tucked something inside his jacket too quickly for her to catch and motioned them to follow him.
Yes, sir. She made a face to his back and caught Cris's smirk beside her. At least someone was enjoying this.
They left the bay and the open sky behind, passing the flying room again and leaving that corridor for another. A group of Shirukan passed quickly behind them, freezing her breath in her lungs for several steps.
Did Leksel walk faster or was it her imagination?
They entered a small, circular room and the door closed behind them, much to her relief. When Leksel and Corsa turned to face the door, Raea took her position at the back.
["Shorun section,"] Leksel said. The computer beeped.
Cris leaned close to her. ["Transport tube."]
She figured something like that.
Leksel turned, the muscles in his neck tightening like his wings. ["They're onto us. We make this fast and we get out. No questions. No staring. Understand?"] His eyes fixed on her with a momentary shift to Cris.
Then she was right; the Shirukan were closing in on them. Her heart pounded at the narrow escape. That was close, closer than she thought possible. They had almost been caught. More than ever she wanted to get out of that city and off that world. She would never argue with Dave again if she found her way home.
How did they know where they were? Unless… ["Your computer access alerted them."]
His expression lightened. ["No. We have current access codes. It was you."]
["Me?"] How? Was it her behavior? What had she done?
["The Starfire gives off a unique trace radiation. Another scan and they'll know where we're heading. They don't know we're dressed as them. We'll have to hurry,"] Leksel said.
Cris moved close to her. ["You're thinking like one of us. I must be rubbing off."]
In his delusional dreams.
The computer double-beeped and the doors opened.
["Let's go."] Leksel led them through another corridor.
Raea cringed at the number of men and women in uniforms, many of them Shirukan. The glass walls over the walkway gave her a view of towering, rounded city structures, one of them ahead. From the view of clouds below and around them, they strode through a tunnel connected to a small section of the city separate from the large city proper. Through the glass ceiling, she made out a flat area ahead where a large, sleekly curved ship rose straight up. Some of the ships like she had seen in the docking bay they had left flew among the clouds outside.
A grasp on her arm pulled her attention ahead. Cris let go when she hurried to catch up.
Leksel and Corsa led them into a different docking bay, this one with three tiers on each side and a dozen open doors to the sky around each tier. The smell of fresh air filled her lungs, despite the crowds of plain-clothed people and Shirukan. The smallest ships resembled oversized beetles with windows and small wings.
Leksel rushed them past several empty, red cross-hair sections on the main deck where there should have been ships. He stopped at a panel on the wall next to one of the shuttles. At his touch, a holographic display lit up before him in a pattern of colors.
Corsa tapped her shoulder and pointed.
Raea's heart froze. Oh, hell no.
["Uh, oh."] Cris stepped up beside her. He could say that again.
A large group of Shirukan entered.
["Leks,"] Cris said.
No answer.
["Leks, you better see this."]
["Crystal fire!"] Something pounded behind them.
Leksel tapped on the colored keys in a air, a scowl on his face.
["Leksey, we have trouble."] Cris grabbed his arm.
["Leave me alone!"] Leksel yanked his arm away. ["It's not taking the code."]
["Leks. Shirukan?"]
At that, the big man looked up.
A large number of Shirukan followed a woman with her dark hair pulled back. Those already in the bay lined up as if for an inspection.
Corsa pulled Cris forward with her. What was she thinking?
Raea caught her breath at a sudden jerk on her arm.
Leksel pulled Raea around the nose of the shuttle pointing out to an open sky. A stiff breeze blew in through the open bay door. It would be so easy to fly out, but he held her close to him.
He put a finger to his lips and peeked around the shuttle. Raea leaned close to see around him. Standing against him felt strange, but she didn't mind any more. Besides, his attention focused on the mass of black-uniformed Shirukan. It wasn't like he did it because he liked her, although that thought lingered in the back of her mind. Corsa should never have suggested it.
All the Shirukan, and Corsa and Cris, lined up in neat rows on either side of the center, where the woman stood.
["We traced the Crystal Keeper to this location minutes ago. She's here now. No one leaves until every person is searched, and I expect—"] She raised her voice. ["Every civilian to cooperate fully. You will be free to leave after you've been scanned."] The woman met the eyes of several of the Shirukan. Her stern face settled into a frown and her eyes lingered on Corsa and Cris before passing over others.
Next to Raea, Leksel's muscles hardened. If she thought him tense before, Raea was way off. That was nothing to being able to bounce a quarter off him.
["Do I make myself clear?"]
A chorus of voices in unison rose up: ["Yes, sir!"]
At that, the Shirukan scattered.
["Crystal fire!"] Leksel muttered under his breath and straightened at the nose of the shuttle. ["And they've locked out the release codes for the shuttles."]
This couldn't be happening. ["How do we get out of here?"] It couldn't end like this. They were so close!
["If we drop, we may not be noticed, then we can fly low to the nearest island."]
A tingle of excitement passed through her at the thought of flying again and her wings lifted slightly, until her stomach rumbled. Flying on an empty stomach didn't appeal to her, but escaping did, hungry or not.
["We're all hungry, and tired."] So, he'd noticed. ["As soon as the others—"]
[Leks."]
He spun so fast, he bumped her. She hadn't noticed how close they still stood. Only a couple days and she was comfortable with him, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Cris joined them. Corsa glanced back and crossed to Raea's other side.
["Now what?"]
Leksel glanced at Raea.
If he wanted her opinion, she couldn't give him any, except to agree with him. She wanted to spread her wings and catch the air. She missed flying. ["Sounds good."]
His jaw muscles flexed.
["What sounds good?"] Cris looked from her to Leksel.
["We fly."]
["Are you insane?"] Cris's wings lifted slightly.
["Maybe,"] Corsa said.
The sound of voices and footsteps grew louder.
["Go!"] Leksel shoved Cris towards the bay door.
["You can't bypass the lockout?"]
["No. Go!"]
Cris looked like he wanted to argue again.
To hell with it. Raea didn't want to wait, or to be caught, and she didn't care what Cris thought. At least Leksel made a decision. She rushed into the open air and plummeted through puffs of clouds, momentary blocks of fog that left her shivering.
A sense of freedom rushed through her as the ocean spread out below. Above her, the city loomed enormous. Three shapes fell her direction.
["They're onto us!"] Leksel's voice came through clear on her tri-comm. ["Fly, Raea! Here they come."]
She opened her wings. The sudden parachute effect strained her muscles. A sharp pain twinged in her back, but she couldn't falter.
Once level, she searched the sky around her. Leksel leveled with her, Cris flew above and opposite. Corsa followed s
lightly behind and above.
Behind them, black shapes formed a wedge in the sky.
["How are you in a storm?"]
She didn't like the sound of that. ["Um…I don't know."] What did Leksel have in mind?
Oh, no. A dark cloud piled up to their left. He had to be joking.
He angled towards it. Not joking.
Raea followed Leksel. He must be nuts to think she wanted to go into what looked like a thunderstorm. She was nuts to follow, but what choice did she have?
["You really are insane!"] Corsa's voice rang over the tri-comm. ["Flying into a storm. You'll get us all killed."]
Killed? Raea's stomach knotted.
["Better killed and the Starfire lost than in their hands."]
["You could have asked us first."] And Corsa could have come up with a different plan, but Raea didn't hear anything better from her.
["Stay out here and get caught!"] He growled the statement. ["Raea. It's your choice."]
She didn't want it. ["Isn't there another way?"]
No one said anything. The wedge behind them closed in.
A sigh. ["No,"] Corsa said. ["Damn it, Leksel!"]
They followed him into the cloud. Moisture collected on Raea and the fog diminished her view of the others. Winds swirled, destabilizing her. Raea struggled to keep from falling. At least she knew one thing—down. Gravity pulled her that direction, the direction she didn't want to go.
Through the heavy fog of the cloud, she caught sight of Cris and Corsa to her left and down, further apart than when they entered the cloud. Where was Leksel?
["Stay close."] He emerged directly above and ahead of her, his wings jerking from the strong air currents. ["Corsa, do you have their frequency?"]
["They're following the storm's path, waiting for us."]
Silence followed from the connection, but not from the cloud. The air sizzled with the buildup of electricity and the flash of its release with a deafening crack. That couldn't be safe. Then, again, Corsa had warned it could kill them.
["Leks, I can't fly all night, and Raea's hungry. Crystal fire. I'm hungry. And I'd rather not die here,"] Cris said.
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