"A human, awake and travelling inside the ethereal realm is dragon business."
"One of ours?" Elvin moved closer.
"Yes. The girl. Without instruction she moved through space to Orek and then back to her ship."
"Impossible." Jenska grunted and paced.
"Are you sure?" Elvin stepped out of his friend's path. "Perhaps she dreamed and followed your trail?"
"No. She was already in space. Lost. Cut off from her physical form. And yet she retained knowledge of her true self. When I questioned her she spoke of Orek. The word transported her to that world."
"Jenska, this is what you've waited for. What you've tried for millennia to accomplish!" Elvin deliberately stepped in front of the other dragon, putting an end to the pacing. "Look at me. This is a good thing."
"Maybe. It could be a fluke. One human that can travel the ethereal realm does not mean the species is ready."
"Then let me test them!" Jewel reigned in her emotions. Calmed her voice. "You've created worlds without me. Let me keep watch over these two. I'll keep you posted on their progress."
"Yes." Elvin nodded his head.
"No!" Jenska growled again. "It's a waste of time."
"Jewel has spent most of the last seven thousand years on Sendek. She's not needed here. There are enough others to form this world and help with creation. Let her go."
"Why do you want this?" Jenska looked into his friend's eyes.
"Why do you want to prevent it?"
Jewel wisely kept quiet while the other two stared each other down. She could see the tension ripple through their shoulder muscles. Wings twitched, as if itching to stretch. As the solar system's lonely sun rose above the horizon, Jenska relaxed.
"You're right. I'm being irrational. Jewel may shadow Sendek. Learn more and bring us word. Perhaps we are closer than we realized. If so, we will continue with the same pattern for life here."
"Now you are being wise. For a moment I thought you were giving in to fear." Elvin lowered his head in a sign of respect for his friend.
"No, fear is what made me give in. I think I'll have more peace with Jewel gone than if I make her stay."
"Ah, yes, I knew you were wise." Elvin winked at Jewel. "Perhaps she was alone far too long. Let me talk with her, and I'll see what I can do to tame her."
"You forget that I knew her power over you before you joined the dragons." Jenska chuffed a laugh and launched himself into the air.
Jewel watched him fly away before turning to her husband. "You still think you can tame me?"
"As if I'd ever try."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Everyone took a seat on the flight deck. They remained quiet as they approached Orek, the Vis Vires cloaked and running on silent mode. With any luck they'd slip down, search the Wizard's Mountain and leave without anyone on Orek knowing they'd ever been there.
That hope died when they passed the planet's nearest moon. Alarms wailed and system failure messages flashed across every screen. The computers automatically rebooted.
"What happened to the cloak?" Talia hissed.
Craig' fingers flew over the console. "I don't know. It stopped working."
"Spaceship Fryola class, state your name and destination." The harsh voice echoed across the cockpit.
"What do we do? The cloak should be functional in another five minutes." Craig continued working at his station.
"It doesn't matter. They know we're here so we need to re-evaluate our strategy." Cooley narrowed his eyes as he glared at Craig. "We go to plan B--the descendants contingency."
"Spaceship Fryola class, you are not authorized to land on Orek. State your name and destination, or prepare to be boarded."
Landry hit the COM button, anxious to see if Craig's language tech would work. "This is the spaceship Vis Vires, requesting permission to land on the northern continent."
"Hold." A minute passed before the speaker continued. "What is the purpose of your visit?"
Landry relaxed. The people on Orek had understood him. "It's my ancestor's home. We've traveled a long way to see where our people came from."
"Where from?"
"My great grandfather left on a diplomatic mission to Corallah before the Dragumon attacked. He stayed, married and died there, but he passed down some great stories about Orek. We wanted to see it for ourselves. Didn't think anyone else would be here."
"You thought wrong. Reroute to the capital city of Ulla. Bargoron Kalto will wish to speak with you personally."
"Who?" Landry asked.
"Proceed to coordinates 32.50 by 80.25. If you deviate from that course you will be shot down. Out."
Cooley folded his arms across his chest. "Well, here we go."
Landry eased the ship into a shallow approach trajectory even though it could handle the pressure and heat of a direct descent. The ETA calculations increased by almost ten minutes.
"How are we going to pull this off?" Talia stood by his chair.
"We prepared for this. My guess is they don't know much about Corallah. Use all the information we learned and fill in the gaps with what you know about home. As long as you believe what you're saying they will too."
"The one thing we must remember: do not mention Sendek. Ever." Cooley walked to the cockpit door. "I'm going to get a few demiblasters from the locker. Who else wants one?"
"I doubt we'll get to keep them for long." Landry paused. "Get me one too."
"Thought so." Cooley smirked and disappeared.
"I think I'll go with him," Craig followed Cooley out the door.
"You're going to be careful, right?" Talia watched her husband. "We have no idea what these people are capable of."
"That's why I can't go unarmed." He opened a small compartment over the bulkhead door and passed a utility belt to her. "Put this on. They're fully charged."
"Which button is which again?" She asked as she wrapped it around her waist.
"The one on the far left is the one with bio cloaking. The right is the COM," he handed her the ear bud, "the inside left is a cloak and distress signal."
"But we're not going to get separated, right?"
He put on his belt and grabbedtwo more for Craig and Cooley. "Of course not."
Cooley returned and passed a demiblaster to Landry. It fit in the palm of his hand, easily hidden, but powerful enough to get the job done. He slid it into a holster close to his ankle.
"Craig is having second thoughts about leaving the ship. Says he might be more help on board than off." Cooley narrowed his eyes.
"If he can't handle the story, that might be best. I'm getting the feeling these guys aren't the friendly type." Landry sat at the helm and checked their ETA. "Five minutes."
"Maybe your wife should stay behind too?" Cooley avoided eye contact with any of them.
Landry glanced at Talia. Her lips pressed together and her fingers absent-mindedly rubbed the side of the pendant necklace she wore. For a moment he hoped she would choose to stay on board, and then her eyes focused on his.
"No way. You promised we wouldn't get separated. If we stay together the dream can't come true."
"What's she talking about?" Cooley looked from one to the other but they ignored him.
"You don't know that our staying together will prevent it." Landry spoke quietly. "Maybe it happens because I'm trying to save you."
"Don't you dare try and twist this. You promised." She dropped the necklace and stood with hands on her hips.
"View screen on." He turned from his wife as the front bulkhead turned opaque, giving a clear view of the planet in front of them.
The sky held tints of pale violet, like the highlights in Talia's eyes. One sun shone low in the sky, but they knew Orek resided in a binary system like Sendek.
"Must be sunsset." Cooley looked over their shoulders.
"It's the place in my dream. At least the sky from it." Her face paled and she gripped the armrest of the chair so tightly her knuckles drained of blood.
&nb
sp; "Talia, you're not going to lose me." Landry tried to calm her.
"Are we doing the right thing?" Talia twisted her necklace between her fingers.
"Hey, after the Dragumon this will be a piece of cake. These guys don't have body armor or superhuman strength to contend with, right?" Landry encouraged. "Think of all the mages at home. They need to be trained. The non-mages need to know that we can blend magic with science. We have to get through this interview and reach the Wizard's Mountain."
"You're right." She squared her shoulders and turned back to the screen. "We can do this."
The crew sat in silence as they each dealt with their nerves in their own way. At the designated coordinates, another air controller pinged them, breaking up the silence.
"Starship Vis Vires, proceed to the air strip on the city's south side, pad twenty-four."
"Yes Sir." Landry cringed at the military tone in his voice.
"Smooth," Cooley chided him.
"I've got it." Maybe it's been longer than I want to admit since I had to go undercover. Landry shook his head and concentrated on getting into his role.
The air space above the city of Ulla differed from Joharadin. Instead of air transports filling sky lanes, the ground streets bustled with vehicles zooming along grooves cut in the surface of the street. They looked a lot like mini trams speeding along their tracks. They also had crowded motorized walkways. All of the people appeared to be military.
"This doesn't look good," Cooley muttered under his breath.
The airstrip came into view and Landry let out a deep breath. There were hundreds of other ships. At least Jaron's ship would blend in.
"What is it?" Talia asked.
"When I didn't see other ships this size in the air, I feared they might try to take ours," Landry replied.
"They still could," Craig spoke up.
"Yeah, so let's play this right." Landry set the ship down on a large cement circle marked with a giant twenty-four in red numbers outlined in black.
Craig waited for them in the common room and handed each of them a small metal pill.
"What's this?" Cooley asked.
"I've been studying the onboard computer. This is a nano-immuno pill. It should protect you from the common bacteria and viruses found on this planet." He waited for them to swallow before continuing. "Be careful out there. I'll keep things locked tight so they can't get in."
"Yeah, but don't go running off without us." Cooley tugged on the bottom of his tunic.
"You know I can't, that's why we have the voice key requiring at least two of us to activate the drive."
"Like you don't have a way around that? I know I do." Cooley stepped up to the airlock door.
"Concentrate, Cooley." Landry didn't waste time filling them in on Talia's connection to the engines. Instead he grabbed Talia's hand and followed Cooley. Once they were inside the outer chamber, he sealed the doors to the living quarters. "Let's do this."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The exterior door opened, the last ray of sunlight streamed through a gap in two buildings, blinding them for a moment. Landry shielded his eyes and saw four heavily armed men at the bottom of the ramp. Weapons still in holsters.
That's a good sign.
Landry stretched his mind outward and picked up on the soldiers' interest. He concentrated on the tall guy in front and pushed a little harder, trying to hear his thoughts the way he did with Talia. There were no words, but the guy's emotions created fuzzy pictures in Landry's mind. The image of the three of them, combined with the hardening of his eyes, showed he questioned the farm boy story based solely on the way Landry and Cooley carried themselves.
"Wow, this is quite the welcoming committee. Great Gramps never talked about Orek's military. Are we in trouble?" Landry tried to relax his shoulders and slouch a bit. He heard the soft click as the door sealed shut. Reaching over, he punched Cooley lightly on the arm. "This will make for a great story back home."
"You're not in trouble yet, but it looks like you're the kind to find it." The head soldier never took his eyes off them as they stepped to the end of the ramp.
"Think this story will convince Yanora to go out with me." Cooley laughed and winked at Talia. "Arrested upon arrival at new world."
"My sister will never stoop that low." She rolled her eyes, completely in character.
"When can we explore the city and find Gramp's place?" Landry tried to calm down but he wanted to keep things moving.
"Not until after the Bargoron releases you. He has some questions about Corallah. There are also a few laws you need to be apprised of." The man nodded to the others. "Search them."
The soldiers surrounded them, patted them down and lifted both blasters from the Landry and Cooley. The leader examined one.
"Interesting equipment choice for an exploratory trip."
Landry shrugged and tried to get a glimpse of the weapon peeking out of the soldier's utility belt. What would they be up against? Ballistic or energy? "We heard the planet was deserted and planned to hunt for food."
"Weapons are restricted to military personnel." The lead soldier pointed to Talia. "Start with her. Scan for other regulated items."
Another soldier held out a device. He started at her feet, slowing moving upward. Nothing happened until the device passed her waist.
"Ow!" She jumped and clawed at the belt.
"What's this?" Their leader took the smoking piece of metal from her hands. He inspected the underside before passing it to the same soldier holding the demiblasters. "Interesting. We'll take the other two as well."
Talia stiffened. "We shouldn't have come. We've already lost our weapons and defenses."
"Relax, you've still got me and Cooley. We've been in worse situations than this."
The leader pointed over his shoulder. "Let's go."
Landry reached for Talia's hand. They followed the soldier down a path, weaving through the landing pads with the other soldiers behind. The ships they passed were unfamiliar. They came in many sizes and shapes with varying degrees of wear and tear. Some were rusted so badly they probably weren't flyable much less space worthy.
Talia observed everything. Landry sensed her push her fear away by categorizing each item she could name. They approached a large building surrounded by lookout towers. He marked the distance between the last ship and the door. Two hundred or so feet of open space. No cover. The soldier pressed his thumb into a box beside the door and it swished open. Landry scrutinized the man's face. If needed, I'll take that thumb from him.
Talia stumbled and Landry replaced some of his mental barriers.
"Only if our lives depend on it." He amended his thoughts for her sake.
She closed her eyes and swallowed. When she opened them again, Landry recognized the wave of acceptance roll off her as she stepped through the door.
The hallway glared brightly from the florescent lights lining the ceiling. It bounced off the stark white walls and reflected from the metal doors. There were no visual cues to mark location. Landry nodded slightly to the left, indicating Cooley should count doors on that side. He then glanced back and took note of the door they'd entered through.
It looked like the others, no markings or numbers of any kind, but it stood at the end of the hall. Each door, including the one to the outside, had a box for the thumbprint key code.
No handle or knob. Clearly they'd need permission to get through the doors.
Or someone's hand.
The guard behind Landry waved him forward and through a door on the left. The room was bare, except for a table in the middle surrounded by chairs. The lighting, as bright as the hall, reflected off the floor to ceiling mirror on one wall. Landry and Cooley exchanged glances and did their best to relax.
A standard interrogation room.
Landry strengthened his mental walls to keep Talia out. He didn't want her viewing memories of things he'd seen and done in rooms similar to this one. She looked at him curiously, but didn't try to b
reak through his barriers as they sat. The senior officer stayed with them, but the other three left. The door slid shut with a subdued click.
"Now, tell me your names." The soldier remained standing. "And how you know our language so well."
"My grandpa taught us. He always hoped to find more survivors from here." Landry answered.
"What else do you know about this planet?" He walked to a chair on the opposite side of the table.
"Great Gramps told stories. Things like how the wizards and scientists worked together to make amazing things. We don't have stuff like that on Corallah."
"You'd best forget about the wizards." The guard growled at him and turned to Cooley. "And what about you?"
"Everyone calls me Cooley. I'm looking for an adventure. Sort of wanted to see some big cities before I settled down to working the rest of my life." He leaned forward with an eager expression on his face. "Since you guys are here, maybe I can find me a girl or two. You know?"
The man scowled. "And you?"
Talia let her eyes grow wide. "Me?"
"Yeah, what are you hoping to find here?"
"Nothing. I wanted to stay with him." She spoke softly and stared at the table.
"Why is this a big deal? Gramps said Orek traded with lots of planets. That people traveled back and forth all the time. Are you guys even from Orek?" Landry leaned back in his chair, the two front legs coming off the floor.
"I'm more Orekian than you'll ever be." The man stood and glared down at the three of them. "We have strict laws here and I can tell you're going to be trouble."
"Nah, we're looking for a good time," Cooley reiterated.
"This isn't a vacation planet. No one gets a free ride, and I guarantee you can't pay the price."
A tremor of fear moved through Talia and Landry picked up on it. He squeezed her knee under the table.
"Then let us leave. We can fly over Gramp's homeland so I can take a picture for my mom and we'll be on our way." He winked at Cooley. "I bet the planet Jyndarrah would be more fun anyway."
"It's not that easy. Like I said, Bargoron Kalto wants to speak to you." He walked to the door, pressed his thumb into the box. "Wait here."
Dawn of the Mages (The Magic Wakes Book 2) Page 12