by S. G. Basu
“It can’t be true,” he almost whimpered, holding his head in his palms. He sounded devastated. “How can this be happening?”
“I don’t know if any of this makes sense either, Ren,” Maia said, toiling to find the strength to keep on talking. “I, too, had hoped it was all a terrible mistake, that my mother wasn’t responsible for destroying the heart of the Sedara. I thought I could forget it all. But with everything that’s happening around us now, I’m convinced that it’s indeed true. And I have to accept that.”
“Why did you ask Mahswa about the Afterlight?” Nafi asked sharply.
“Because my mother had said the Xifarians would be looking for it,” Maia explained. “And I had also heard of it before . . . at the meeting of the Order of the Fyrstell.”
She recalled the conversation she had overheard at the secret meeting of the Order of the Fyrstell on Xif. The Order had been plotting to use the stolen Chrysocolla Key to disrupt the flow of energy to the Jjordic settlements by decoupling the Jjordic channel from the Stabilator. The chief of the saboteurs had also mentioned the Afterlight, but neither Maia nor any of her teammates had understood the meaning of it then. Now, at least this much was clear to Maia—the Order of the Fyrstell was struggling to restore the same object her mother had destroyed.
“Maybe we should tell someone about this,” Dani suggested.
“And tell what?” Nafi shot back. “Who will believe that Maia doesn’t know anything other than the heart of the Sedara was broken? They will hound her for things she doesn’t know, they will torture her for something her mother did.”
“You’re right. We can tell no one.” Kusha paced the room. “But now we know for sure that the heart was broken and the pieces have been scattered.”
“Hey, we could try to find the pieces ourselves,” Nafi exclaimed.
“Really?” Ren scoffed. “You think finding them will be that easy? My whole nation is looking for them, and you think we can beat them to it?”
“You never know,” Nafi retorted. “We could get lucky.”
“What if we do get lucky? What then?” Dani asked. “What do we do when we find a piece?”
“Give it back, of course,” Ren said. “So the heart can be restored.”
“We can’t do that,” Nafi argued. “It would mean the end of our world. Didn’t you hear what Maia said?”
“Maybe it’s not true,” Ren muttered wistfully. “Maybe the Sedara doesn’t destroy the sun—maybe it’s just a myth.”
“And maybe we can all live happily ever after,” Nafi taunted.
“It’s too early to fight over that, guys,” Kusha said as Ren turned away crossly.
“Right now we should get back to our session,” Dani reminded, forever the voice of reason.
Ren walked over to Maia, held out his hand, and smiled. “Come on, Maia. We’re a team, remember? We’ll figure this out.”
Maia took his hand and got to her feet. Although she knew this problem could not be solved as easily as Ren hoped, the warmth in his voice was reassuring. A smile escaped her lips as she looked at the group. The kinship she felt with her teammates gave her more courage than she could ever have alone. She was never going to hide anything from her friends again, she decided. Together, they marched toward Dill’s classroom.
25: First Strike
Maia had hoped to escape Aerika’s clutches that day, but those hopes died a violent death the instant the team slinked into the classroom. Aerika stood near the pool with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the doorway—she was ready to pounce on her hapless prey the moment they set foot inside. At the forefront of the luckless group was Kusha. He slowed to a halt at the sight of Aerika, and behind him Maia could almost feel his urge to turn around and flee. But Kusha stood his ground and so did his teammates as Aerika strutted up to them, Dill in tow.
“There they are.” She pointed a skeletal finger at the huddled group. Everything felt like a dizzy blur of distant action as Aerika thundered on, “You finally have the time to show up for your training session. You think that arranging all this for your entertainment is easy for us? That you can come and go as you please? That you are here on a pleasure trip? Or maybe you think being the top team in the last round gives you an excuse to be disrespectful?”
Kusha shook his head vehemently. “N-no . . . no we don’t,” he stammered. “We . . . we had to—”
“Keep lying, maybe that’s the only thing you’re good at,” Aerika said coldly. Kusha turned a bright crimson and looked away in haste. “I don’t know how you managed to get top honors in the first phase with such low regard for rules.”
“We’re never ever late for sessions,” Dani chimed in. “Trainer Dill knows we’re always on time. But today, we . . . got waylaid.”
“Waylaid?” Aerika frowned and then broke into a jeering laugh. “You got waylaid? Well, I think a mistake of that proportion deserves some special treatment. What is your opinion, Trainer Dill?”
Dill seemed utterly helpless in front of Aerika’s towering presence. He rubbed his hands together, smiled a little, and mumbled something rather incomprehensible.
“Yes, I think so too.” Aerika turned around and faced the group. “Count this as a first strike against you.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Ren exclaimed.
“I just did, young man. Do you want to try getting another strike?” Aerika was in no mood to be argued with.
As Maia stood quietly with her teammates, her head and spirits drooping, Aerika walked over to the center of the room and addressed the crowd.
“I got distracted by the disappearance of your fellow mates, but I was here for another reason,” Aerika said as everyone stood in hushed silence. “There have been several reports of unusual activities in this city. Strangest things have occurred in the past few days, incidents that are unheard of in the history of Zagran. I will advise you to practice extreme caution while walking about on your own; we do not want any of you getting into trouble. Please do not venture off into unknown areas, stay in groups, and if you notice any suspicious activities, please alert the authorities immediately.”
“What strange incidents, Supervisor Aerika?” Loriine inquired.
“Fires,” Aerika replied.
Dani gasped along with all of the other Jjord in the room.
“And that’s a big thing? Why?” Nafi asked.
Aerika fixed an annoyed stare on Nafi.
“I did not come here to be quizzed by you, but to warn you of what might befall you if you are not careful. If you choose to get waylaid as you did, no one can stop you from getting into trouble anyway,” she snapped before clip-clopping her way out of the room.
“Come on, kids, let’s get settled,” Dill said to Maia and her teammates. He seemed to have found his voice as soon as Aerika left. “We have a lot to learn today.”
Loriine and Baecca seemed to be enjoying the whole situation immensely. Not only did they make fun of Aerika’s warning, but they also snickered and laughed gleefully as Maia and her friends walked to their seats. Karhann seemed oddly disinterested in everything. He looked bleary-eyed and tired.
“One down and four more to go,” Loriine mocked as the five passed by.
Nafi made a face and was about to reply when Maia pulled her away. Ren leaned toward Dani as soon as they reached the privacy of their corner.
“What’s it about fires?” he asked anxiously.
“Fires don’t happen in Zagran,” Dani whispered. “Or in any of our settlements. It’s considered a terrible calamity, a misfortune, a bad omen.”
“Why is that? I mean, I know fires can be dangerous, but why is it a bad omen?” Maia asked as dread filled her heart. She had suddenly remembered her nightmare from a few nights ago, with the fire blazing across the room.
“Because we’ve had a history of terrible tragedies that occurred from a fire,” Dani explained. “So now, every corner of every Jjordic city is monitored by the most sophisticated temperature-regulating system
s. It’s almost impossible that a fire alert could be missed or ignored.”
“Then how is it happening now?” Maia asked again.
Dani shrugged listlessly. “I have no idea.”
“Did you see Karhann?” Kusha said in a very low voice, and Ren nodded. “Looks like he hasn’t slept in ages.”
“Why do you care?” Nafi asked sharply. “Is he your new best friend or something?”
“Maybe,” Ren replied curtly, not even throwing a glance at the peeved Nafi.
“No, it’s not that,” Kusha clarified. “We’ve seen him slip out of the dorm every other night, leaving around midnight and not returning until the morning.”
“Every other night? Where does he go?” Maia asked. “Do you think he might have something to do with these fires?”
Kusha shrugged. “We can’t ask him, given that we aren’t exactly friends. So we’re doing what we can do, keeping a close watch.”
The sound of clapping brought their attention back to the trainer again. Dill stood at the center of the room waiting for everyone to listen to him.
“Now, we are about to begin with a demonstration of a water craft. As you have already heard from my counterpart, Trainer Palak, you will need to master this vehicle for your first challenge. So without further ado, let’s bring up the Aqumob.”
A gray water vehicle bobbed up at the center of the pool as if by magic. Eager groups gathered around quickly. Dill took turns speaking to every team and soon he came over to Maia and her friends.
“You may want to read the operating manuals before you try your hand at this, all right?”
“We’ll be quite comfortable handling one even without the reading, thank you. My brother owns a Biterrmob and I can recite the manuals in my sleep,” Dani replied, in a surprisingly dismissive tone.
“A Biter-what?” Ren blurted.
“It’s a bi-terrain version of the Aqumob,” Dani explained to her gawking teammates.
Dill’s eyes grew wide. “Ah, a Biterrmob. Fancy that! Excellent! Please wait for your turn then.”
“I dislike that man,” Dani scowled the moment Dill left to assist other teams. “I can’t believe he wouldn’t say a word in our defense to Aerika.”
“Let it go, Dani,” Ren said. “Tell us more about Hans’s Biter—”
“The Hansmobile,” Maia interrupted eagerly.
“Say what?” Nafi’s eyebrow shot up.
As the team awaited their turn on the Aqumob, Dani told everyone about the Hansmobile. Dani turned out to be a great instructor as well—by the time the gang had completed their tour of the demonstration vehicle, everyone had a good idea of the basic controls.
That afternoon, Maia and her friends ran into Joolsae outside Dill’s classroom. Maia’s heart sank immediately. She vividly recalled their encounter with Miir after the team had been taken to task by Master Kehorkjin on Xif. Miir had been furious, to say the least. She was sure Joolsae had heard about their strike and she was here to shout at them.
“Oh, hello.” Joolsae showed no sign of anger or disappointment. It did not seem like she knew of the strike at all. It almost felt like she was not even expecting to meet them.
“Haven’t seen you in a while, Joolsae,” Kusha remarked. “Is everything all right?”
“Sorry,” said Joolsae. “I’ve been so busy with my coursework that—”
“That’s no big deal,” Ren replied. “Will you set up some meetings to prepare for the challenge? We used to have one every other week during the first phase.”
Joolsae seemed startled. “Y-yes. Of course. Will . . . soon.” She took off right after, waving a hasty goodbye.
“That girl is weird,” Nafi declared. “I still can’t figure out if she is a fake or plain stupid.”
As Maia stood watching the mentor leave, she realized something— Joolsae was nice without a doubt, but no matter how friendly she seemed, Joolsae simply did not care enough.
26: The Wild Ride
It was late in the evening when Dani’s Urso buzzed for the millionth time that day. Maia had become quite used to it now, the buzzing and the beeping, the notes from Hans and Dani’s zillion other friends. Nafi barely lifted her head up from the thick history book she had been reading, and across from her, Anja continued to nap. Loriine and Baecca, however, rolled their eyes, sighed loudly, and made their annoyance known. Maia shot a quick glance in Dani’s direction, noting her bright smile as she read the latest message. Clearly, something other than the usual had happened. She was right. Dani rushed over as Maia propped herself up on her elbow.
“Hans wants to take us for a ride,” Dani said breathlessly.
“Ride?” Nafi shut her book noisily and shuffled on to the floor.
“The Hansmobile?” Maia asked; feeling the excitement rush to her head as Dani nodded.
Nafi frowned as the two girls squealed with joy. “We can’t just waltz out of here, can we? Bones will kill us if she knows.”
“Don’t worry, he has gotten her permission already,” Dani assured. “Let’s go now. Hans is waiting for us outside.”
The trio scooted out of the room, ignoring icy stares from Loriine and Baecca who had been listening intently to the conversation.
Hans stood at atrium, grinning. “There you are,” he said. “See there, Maia, I haven’t forgotten my promise.”
“Thank you,” Maia replied, grateful for his thoughtfulness. However, other matters kept popping in her mind. She desperately wanted to ask Hans about the Council and the fires, but no one brought them up, and Maia hesitated to be the one to disrupt the happy atmosphere.
“Shall we start from the Upper Docks?” Dani inquired.
“Yes, let’s head upstairs,” Hans started in the direction of the elevators and beckoned the group to follow.
“You sure you got permission from Bones?” Nafi asked Hans, her face puckered with worry.
“I did, Nafi, don’t worry,” Hans replied, chuckling loudly at Nafi’s nickname for Aerika.
“And what about the boys?” Nafi asked again as they scampered along, clearly still a little in doubt.
“We can’t fit everyone in at the same time—my vehicle isn’t that big,” Hans explained as they zoomed upward. “Since I promised Maia that I would take her out for a spin, I thought of getting you girls first. I’ll come back for the boys sometime soon.”
They came to a stop at the 550th floor, the topmost level of the city. As the group filed out, Maia felt a sharp nudge on her elbow. She looked inquiringly at Nafi, who had now resorted to an insistent poking.
“Just wanted to check if you were really blushing,” Nafi smirked, and then skipped ahead to join Dani and Hans. Maia was stumped for a moment at that comment; then she shook her head and picked up her pace.
“These are the Upper Docks,” Hans said. “It’s basically a private launch area for Aqumobs, much smaller than the bigger public ones you’ll get to see later.”
“The Hansmobile stays at the safest corner of the Upper Docks,” Dani filled in the details. “It’s almost impossible to get a docking slot in here, but Hans found one after a year of persuading the officials. Wish you could’ve seen him celebrate after they gave him a pass. I doubt if he’ll ever be so happy again.”
“Keep in mind that she exaggerates,” Hans remarked, smiling.
The Upper Docks consisted of numerous launch bays, and Hans led them to Bay15. This was a large circular room, with a wide ledge running around the circumference of the sparkling water at the center. The roof was domed, the center rising in a high arch and dipping down at the edges. Aqumobs were anchored all around the ledge. There were large ones and small ones, some looked new and some older, but all of them were clean, shiny crafts that were well taken care of. A strapping young man walked out to receive the party and led them to one side of the harbor. Maia spotted the silver body with blue stripes peeking out from in between two larger Aqumobs.
“There,” Maia said to Nafi, “that’s the one.”
&
nbsp; It was just about then that Maia felt a sudden heaviness weigh her heart. This was a rare and wonderful opportunity, Maia knew that, but oddly her excitement ebbed. Once inside the vehicle, Dani and Hans insisted that Maia take the seat next to Hans, and Maia had to oblige. But the strange feeling persisted. Something bad was about to happen, Maia was sure.
The craft dipped into the water gracefully and entered a tunnel that led out of the city and into the open waters. It shot out of the spout like an arrow and seemed to stay motionless for a while in the vastness that engulfed it from all sides. Then it inched upward again.
“That is the Ridge of Artemis, it connects Mount Setna to the rest of the Ourean Range,” Hans said, pointing at the huge wall of rock that rose behind them. “The city is on the other side of this wall, hooked into Mount Setna much like a cluster of clams. Let’s head over to the front and take a look at the city.”
Instead of going around the massive wall that seemed to stretch endlessly in front of them, Hans took the Aqumob over its peak. Rising above the top of the city, the craft briefly hovered overhead before it rose even higher and a little away from the sparkling Zagran.
The city was a sight to behold from there, a view that they had totally missed when the Aquiccela had crept into the middle of the behemoth. Now, as the structure shone in front and below them, the lights within it almost bringing to life a page from a fairytale, Maia sat wordlessly gazing at its ethereal magnificence.
“Don’t the lights look a little dim to you?” Nafi’s voice broke her trance. “It’s still bright but—”
“You’re right, they are,” Hans replied. “The bubble meshes screen out certain frequencies to minimize the impact the city lights can have on marine life. It’ll get even dimmer as night falls.”