by Drew Seren
When Skylar caught up, he discovered the platform was part of an observation tower on the surface of Stars’ End. The tower came up along the edge of the central passageway, and provided an unobstructed view of Yeldona Three, the gas giant Stars’ End orbited, and past its bulk, the rest of the system and beyond.
“Over there.” Del pointed away from the planet.
Skylar turned and his breath caught. Several dozen huge ships, most nearly twice the size of Stars’ End, flew through the system. Smaller ships darted between the large ones. He could see why they hadn’t been able to use the stargate system. They were just too big. That also added to the theory they’d been flying for a long time. Any species that used the stargates knew to make their ships small enough to get through. Stargates were what had helped speed up interstellar travel. Without them, it would take years to get from star to star.
“Look.” Solaria pointed a claw toward the closest ship. “See all those gouges and burn marks? These ships have definitely been in space a long time. I wonder why!”
“No idea,” Del said. “I’d love to get a closer look at them. They might be antiques, but I bet they have some interesting tales to tell.”
There was a crackle of a speaker, then Principal Fuspatula’s, Old Fussy Pants, voice rang out. “All students. There’s nothing to worry about. We have been unable to reach anyone on the armada, and there are no life signs or brain activity coming off the ships. We’re sending probes to follow their path, but do not believe there is anything to worry about at this time. They are not close to the stargate, so they will not impede your departures. Please return to your quarters and continue your preparations for break. Your families will be advised to stick to standard flight paths and avoid the armada as they arrive and depart. We are going to let it continue its journey unmolested.”
Solaria frowned. “Well, so much for spending a while watching them go by.”
“They remind me of whales,” Del said. “Whales like to swim past slowly, never really getting in a hurry for anything.”
“We’d better get back to our rooms before the teachers come looking for us,” Skylar said, reluctantly starting for the ladder that would take them back to the base of the tower. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay and watch the huge ships fly by. He wondered, if there was no communications, or life signs and brain activity, why there were smaller ships flying among them. That didn’t make much sense.
His friends followed him down.
“I bet everything’s automated,” Del said as they reached the door leading them back to the main part of the school. “Those smaller ships. They might be repair bots or something similar. You know, if I remember right, some of the first ships to ever leave Sol Three didn’t use the stargates. They were huge things that were just trying to leave the planet due to some war or something.”
Skylar chuckled. “You know, Del, if you’re going to intern in a museum, you might want to brush up on your ancient history.” He couldn’t wait to hear about all the information Del came up with. He’d probably talk about it for weeks after break was over.
“Hey, maybe I can look up stuff while I’m there,” Del said cheerfully as they started down the hall. “I bet they have a lot of information that we don’t have in our history classes.” It sounded like he had a cause—a subject he could devote himself to. Nothing made Del happier than having something to occupy his mind.
Del went on about the armada and the vast array of knowledge he was going to have access to at the museum as they headed back to their room. The hall slowly filled with students returning from wherever they’d gone to witness the armada, and the noise level increased as everyone speculated what race their crews might be and where they were going.
Right before they split off from Solaria, her com beeped. She motioned for everyone to stop as she answered it. “Sure. We’ll be ready…that soon?” She glanced at Skylar. “Uncle Phil’s running early. Can you be ready to fly in an hour?”
That was before break was supposed to start. “Will that be a problem with the school?”
Solaria shook her head. “This is Uncle Phil…he’s got pull with Ms. Grissom.”
The idea of getting out of school before the corp-brats made Skylar grin. “My bag’s packed. I’ll be ready.”
“We’re good to go, Uncle Phil. See you soon.” Solaria tapped her com off. “Okay, you’ve got forty-five minutes. Go get your stuff. I’ll let the others know and we’ll meet you in the docking ring. Uncle Phil said he’d be at airlock five.”
“Cool.” Skylar glanced at Melody. “Well, I guess we’ll see you in a couple weeks. Have a good break.”
“You too. I’ve heard Pantheria is a beautiful planet.” She grinned, then her com beeped. “I guess a lot of folks are getting clear of the armada and heading in. See you.” She tapped her wrist and headed off as she started talking to whoever had just called.
“Let’s go get your stuff, Skylar.” Del started toward their hall as Solaria headed toward hers. “Luckily I’ve got a couple of days before the shuttle from the museum will be here to pick me up. I’ll miss the rush out of here.”
If he was going to get to head out an hour or so early, Skylar was hoping Del was too. The sooner Del left for the museum, the less time he’d have to sit around and worry about things.
Even as he opened the door, Skylar was thankful they were leaving early—he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done for the extra time himself. They might’ve spent it trying to start researching the armada, but they didn’t really have much time to even get started on that, unless Del was able to get lucky and put in just the right word to get the search going and found what they needed in minutes instead of hours or days. He really hoped Del found out everything about the armada while he was at the museum, and could tell them all about it when they got back to the station after break.
5
Pantheria
WITH HIS duffle bag thrown over his shoulder, Skylar made it to airlock five right behind Solaria, or at least he hoped it was Solaria. After mistaking Mutanio Leapanno, one of the male Pantherians at school, for her on the trip to the museum, Skylar made a point to not call out again unless he was sure the person he was yelling for was the right one. Solaria hadn’t said anything about anyone else catching a ride with Phil—but that might’ve been an oversight on her part. They had all been really busy getting ready for break.
“Skylar!” Solaria shouted from behind him.
He turned and there she was, hurrying down the corridor from the main hall with two of her roommates in tow. “Hey. I’m surprised I beat you here.”
“Sorry we’re running a little behind.” She caught up with him easily, then passed him to get to the airlock.
“Leonada had trouble finding all of her family gifts after the excitement of the armada,” Felicianna Palas said.
In the past months, Skylar had met Solaria’s roommates, but hadn’t had much interaction with them. He kept getting the feeling that they weren’t real fond of him, since he was a human and they weren’t. It might’ve been something as simple as they were girls and he was a boy—but then, Mutanio treated him the same way, so he wasn’t sure.
“I still think you moved things around on me,” Leonada said, running her fingers through her short golden fur.
“And why would I do that?” Felicianna looked slightly offended, but a faint feeling of contrition rolled off her, telling Skylar she probably had done something to make things harder for Leonada to find.
A soft chime rang and the airlock opened with a hiss. All conversation stopped as Philaneo Clawson, Solaria’s Uncle Phil, walked out.
He scanned the group with his slitted yellow eyes, then a grin split his furry brown face. “Very good. Looks like you’re all here. Everyone knows the drill. Go in, stash your bags and get comfortable. I need to go speak to Fiona…ah…Ms. Grissom for a moment, then we’ll be on our way.” He gave Solaria a quick hug. “Why don’t you and Skylar grab seats on the flight deck?�
�� He looked over her shoulder as he released her and gave Skylar a quick wink.
Skylar’s heart raced. He’d hoped he would get to fly where he could watch what was going on, particularly with the strange armada floating past, but he wasn’t sure. The last time he’d flown with Phil, on the way back from Armstrong’s Rings, he’d had to sit in the back with Solaria, Del and Melody. The fact they’d all been in a lot of trouble then might’ve had something to do with that, though.
Ignoring the looks from the other Pantherians boarding Phil’s ship, Skylar and Filzbalm followed Solaria into the cockpit. Where there’d been just three seats the last time Skylar had been there, now a forth had been added.
Solaria walked over to the seat and pushed on it. It didn’t move. “Looks like it’s maglocked.” She tossed her bag in the corner, then plopped down in it. “Sometimes Uncle Phil surprises me.”
“What do you mean?” Skylar dropped his bag on top of hers and took the seat he’d ridden in before. Filzbalm hopped off his shoulder and onto the back of the seat, then rested his head on top of Skylar’s.
“This chair for one thing.” She ran a finger along one of the control panels, then looked at it, frowning slightly. “He’s not prone to getting new things. Intergal Rescue doesn’t pay great and this chair wasn’t cheap. Plus, did you notice it looked like he cleaned up in the back? This ship is normally a mess. It’s like he’s trying to impress someone.”
“Do you think it’s Ms. Grissom?” Skylar had been excited enough about getting to ride where he could see out that he hadn’t noticed the back area look like Phil had cleaned up.
“Could be.” Solaria let out a long breath and tapped a claw against the arm of her chair. “Uncle Phil has always had a soft spot for Ms. Grissom. Makes a point to stop in and see her whenever he picks me up or drops me off.”
“Does he normally give the rest of the Pantherians a ride too?” Skylar was still amazed nobody had told him there were going to be others on the flight, but he didn’t want to say anything since Pantherians were so easy to upset.
“Sometimes. It depends on if he’s free or not. Sometimes we all have to take the community shuttle.” She bent over the control panels again as if inspecting them for dirt. “He’s definitely been cleaning.”
“So you guys don’t have your folks come pick you up?” Somehow Skylar thought most of the students had parents that came and picked them up.
Solaria chuckled. “Most of our folks can’t afford a ship of their own, or the stargate fees. You know we’re not corp-brats. Pantheria has a community shuttle for various off-world trips, including getting us to and from Stars’ End. But since I’ve been coming here, Uncle Phil normally gives us all a ride, although we’re more than a few students now and things are getting a bit cramped.”
“And that’s not a problem,” Phil said as he came through the cabin door. “As long as we’ve got room to squeeze a couple more seats in, I’ll help the community out.”
“Thanks for the ride, Phil,” Skylar said as Phil settled into the pilot’s chair. “I really appreciate the opportunity to see more of the galaxy.”
“Glad you could make it, Skylar. I think this is going to be good for you.” Phil tapped his com. “This is Philaneo in Rescue Paw One, preparing to leave airlock five.” He flipped some switches and the control panel came to life. He pushed a button and the ship shook just slightly as it pulled away from the station. “See you in a couple of weeks.” Then he took hold of the yoke and steered for space.
Another ship quickly came in and took his place at the airlock.
The unknown armada still floated along toward the side of the solar system opposite the stargate. The ships appeared about half the size they had earlier.
“Do you know anything about those ships?” Skylar asked, hoping to get some interesting information he could take back to Del.
Phil pursed his lips before replying. “I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised you kids are interested in them. You’re interested in everything, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Solaria said before Skylar could. “They look old and battered.”
“So they do.” Clearing the traffic around the station, Phil turned the ship away from the armada and toward the stargate. “Fiona didn’t have much information. Professor Aduncus wasn’t able to get more than a bit of mental emptiness from their direction. The station’s probe drones didn’t do any better. It’s not an armada that’s shown up on the space charts before. Most of those, particularly ones in well-traveled space, have been plotted and alerts are issued when they fly through populated areas.”
“Wait, there are other ships like this out in the galaxy?” Skylar wished he could still see the armada as they flew toward the stargate.
Phil shrugged as he made a minor course correction to avoid a flashy ship that was flying a bit erratically. “Yes and no. There are several fleets of old ships that have been found traveling between solar systems. Most of them are from fairly primitive civilizations, and we leave them alone if they have crews in cryogenic suspension. Depending on which race they are, the Galactic Council might decide to wake them up or not. The more dangerous ones we keep an eye on, but let them float away in hopes they never become a problem. But in the cases of cryo, there’s still brain activity. Aduncus was amazed that there isn’t. The school’s not equipped to dispatch a survey mission over to the ships, so they’ve put in a request with the Council to send one out. There’s a possibility that since we’re so far out on the edge of everything here, it may have come from another galaxy and have technology we don’t understand.”
“That’s cool.” Skylar suddenly wished he could have the option to go explore the strange ships. To be the first human to encounter something new and interesting would be great. But even if they weren’t about to take the stargate halfway across the galaxy to Pantheria, he doubted the school would give the students the opportunity to volunteer to go somewhere potentially dangerous. They’d just finished up their punishment for stealing the school ship and going to Armstrong’s Rings. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to do anything like that anytime soon.
He wasn’t sure how much trouble he could get into before he’d get kicked out of school, and if that happened, he didn’t have anywhere to go. He and Filzbalm would probably end up back on Armstrong’s Rings, never to leave the planet again. Solar Drakes weren’t supposed to be out in the universe, and it had taken renegotiating an old treaty with them to let Skylar and Filzbalm leave the first time.
“Maybe, maybe not.” Phil looked like he was going to say something else, then he glanced over at Solaria. “So, what all do you have planned for Skylar? Anything I should be worried about?”
“Why would you be worried about something I did?” Skylar asked. The sudden change of subject bothered him, but he was going to let it go.
“Ms. Grissom has put me in charge of your safety,” Phil said. “If anything happens to you, she’s going to skin me alive.” Then he smiled. “Even orphans need someone to watch out for them.”
His statement made a warm spot in Skylar’s chest. He often felt like he and Filzbalm were alone in the universe. Sure, he had Del, Solaria, and Melody, but knowing that Phil felt like he should watch over him made him feel better than he had in a long time. He wasn’t ready to take on the universe on his own, and it was good knowing he wasn’t going to have to. A happy smile spread across his face. “Thanks, Phil.”
“If it’s okay, I was planning on taking him on a Belesk hunt and showing him some of more scenic places, like the ice falls and fire plains,” Solaria said, drawing attention away from Skylar.
“Sounds like a good idea. The ice falls are just starting to melt, so it’s the perfect time of year to see them,” Phil said with a thoughtful nod. “The fire plains should be breaking out in flowers in the next week or so—if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see that. Your mother and I will be happy to go out on the hunt with you. It sounds like you’re going to try to make Skylar into an
honorary Pantherian.”
Solaria chuckled and shook her head. “I think it’s going to take more time than we have on this break for that to happen. But he’s a predator too, so he should get more in touch with his inner hunter.”
Phil laughed, then turned to Skylar. “Just remember Skylar, you don’t have to run around a strange planet naked if you don’t want to.”
Although the Hummassans he’d grown up with weren’t as stuck on clothes as most humans, their planet was tropical. He couldn’t imagine running around naked on an ice world like Pantheria. “I don’t think I’m going to this time.”
“If you’re going to be an explorer, you might have to think about going native from time to time.” Phil turned back to the instrument panels. “It’s a good way to make friends. But I can definitely say that things can get awkward when you do.”
Solaria went back to tapping the arm of her chair with her claws. “I’m not going to have to stay dressed the whole time, am I?”
“I guess that’s between you and Skylar,” Phil said. “If he’s okay with you being naked, then it should be fine. However, I’d also suggest you take it up with your mother. She might have something to say on the subject.”
“Yeah.” Solaria rolled her eyes. “Mom normally has something to say on most subjects.”
Skylar repressed a laugh. His mother had been the same way, and at the time, it got old fast, but now he wondered how she’d react to him going to spend a couple of weeks on an ice planet with cat people who preferred to not wear clothes. She’d probably throw a complete fit and decide it wasn’t something he was going to do. But then, she’d been so terrified of psychics, she wouldn’t have let him go to Stars’ End either. When he’d left Hummassa, his life had changed dramatically, and he wasn’t sure his mother would recognize him anymore. He reached up and stroked Filzbalm’s muzzle. He would give almost anything to have his mother back, anything but Filzbalm. The little Solar Drake filled his soul in ways he could never begin to explain, and he never wanted to do anything that would hurt their bond.