by S. W. Gunn
Legenda:
Gift of Flight
S.W. Gunn
Legenda: Gift of Flight© 2020 by S.W. Gunn
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Design by S.W. Gunn
Cover by Vlad Bolotov and S.W. Gunn
Print ISBN 978-1-7336988-4-9
Digital ISBN None
FIRST EDITION 2020
For my older sister Tina. The first one to read one of my books and tell me I should publish them. Without her push I would never have done any of them! Thank you sis!
Timeline
2032:Lunar Colony settled.
2060: Mars Base established.
2065:Earth struck by a large asteroid.
2071:Lucas Miramar invents the Humidifying Air Reprocessor.
2072:Earth (now called Terra) is reclaimed by humankind.
2081:First contact with the Kalan.
2082:The first human with the Gift appears.
2086:A human and Kalan exploration team discovers the Brumkin.
2097:Galactic Union between humans, Kalan, and Brumkin is formed.
2101: First contact with Eal’tain is made.
2106:War with newly discovered Magial barely averted.
2109: Grokmal war lasts three months after first contact.
2137:The crew of the Keg hired for a special delivery assignment.
Prelude
Smuggling an unknown package to a strange planet, Jarron Moynihan and his friends discover their delivery is a young woman trapped in an unusual box. In a brief fight with their benefactor, who betrays them as part of his research, they escape with the now awake young woman. Her name is Elyse Duramon. Jarron finds himself drawn to her and what he initially thought was just infatuation turns out to be a unique mystical bond between a person with the Gift and an ultra-rare focal point. The man who hired Jarron and his friends now pursues them in an attempt to capture Jarron. After returning with Elyse to her home on Cantua, Elyse is captured by bounty hunters and taken to the man who hired by Jarron. Hunting her down Jarron is captured as well and after several days of experimentation his friends, Hain and Feligrin, save them from the man.
Dedicating himself to Elyse, they marry at her home before deciding to respond to a message from her father. Jarron takes her to a space station Whitmire 5 where they go to the Eal’tain embassy to contact her father. From the space station they part with Hain and Feligrin to travel to the planet Sethinalor, the home of her father. After her father discovers that Jarron is a focal point they prepare to head to the home planet of the Eal’tain to meet their leadership and learn more about themselves.
Chapter 1
Jarron awoke the next morning to an initial stun. He was unused to waking up on the floor. The Eal'tain did not have beds like the other races; instead they had heavily padded floors. Jarron was not sure he liked it but he found it did give the room much more space for other things. He also found that making love to Elyse on that same floor was quite enjoyable. She was sleeping soundly with her arm draped over his bare chest. He was still a little surprised how easily he made the transition from single ladies’ man to happy husband. He paused to take a deep breath. No matter how hard he tried, he could not figure out the smell that the whole home of her father seemed to have. It was a cross between some sort of burning wood or pleasant fruit, he just was not sure. The smell was subtle and pleasant but constant.
Elyse slowly awoke and as soon as their eyes met she said, "Good morning."
He chuckled and replied, “Good morning to you. It seems that our relationship is always upsetting someone isn't it?"
She giggled before replying, "So what. I'm happy with it and that's all that matters."
With a wide smile Jarron replied, "I agree. Let's get up and go greet our hosts. It would seem that we have another space flight to a different Eal'tain planet ahead of us."
Elyse nodded and slowly rose from the floor. Jarron climbed to his feet and they both got dressed quickly. With only one bag of things with them Jarron had hoped they would be able to survive. Before they had went to bed her father gave her a package that contained a dark blue version of the dress that the Eal'tain wore. After she put it on Jarron had to admit that it just looked right on her, of course the dark blue really accented her skin color nicely as well. He smiled as he admired her.
She spun slowly in the dress and said, "It's very comfortable to wear."
He nodded at her and reached out his hand for her to hold, which she took immediately. She opened the door and as he grabbed their bags then went through. The oldest of her Eal'tain siblings was waiting. Jarron thought for a moment and then remembered her name was Yeavi.
She said, "Sister come with me, we are about to eat the morning meal. I hope you are well rested, we heard unusual noises coming from your room."
Elyse blushed. Jarron chuckled at her words. He had known that Elyse was unusually loud last night; he just assumed it was because she was so happy to have met her family. Yeavi turned and began walking. They followed closely behind.
Elyse leaned towards him and whispered, "I'm so embarrassed that they all heard us."
Jarron whispered back, "It wasn't me they heard."
Elyse poked his side.
Jarron released her hand and said, "Don't make me tickle you."
Elyse responded by running past Yeavi and saying, "You wouldn't dare, not here!"
"Well keep that in mind the next time you poke my side." Jarron said evilly.
Elyse pleaded, "Please don't tickle me Jarron, I'm begging you."
Jarron laughed and finally said, "Well I can't make any promises, but for now I'll behave."
She cautiously approached him and finally took his hand. Jarron knew for sure that he would have to tickle the heck out of her at one point, just to see just how ticklish she truly was. He grinned evilly at the thought of it as they walked.
Elyse must have seen him grinning because she said to him, "I know what you're planning and just remember I'll have me revenge if you do it."
Innocently he replied, "Do what?"
Yeavi laughed at them before saying, "You two are funny."
The young Eal'tain’s comment made both of them laugh. They continued walking until they were once again in the large circular room in the middle of the building. Iaeth and his whole family were sitting on the floor eating. Jarron followed Elyse as she sat down. Two of the younger children had insisted that they both sit next to them. Jarron honestly had forgotten all of their names, he felt bad about it but there was just too many of them. As he sat Jarron saw the breakfast. Almost all of it was fruit with the only exception was some kind of thick white colored liquid. One of the few advantages of his lifestyle was the wildly different types of foods that he had been exposed to. He would eat almost anything, although he always drew the line at insects or anything that had eyeballs still intact in the meal. That was just too much for him.
Her father said, "Good morning to the both of you. I know you did not sleep well but hopefully you are ready for our trip."
Elyse blushed and replied to him, "I apologize if we kept any of you awake; Jarron and I were having a discussion about something that I accidentally left on our ship."
Her father must have seen through Elyse's very transparent lie because he said, "It must have been a very important item to have had such a passionate discussion. Either way, please enjoy the morning meal. Once we finish I'll be taking you to the landing tree."
J
arron took a moment to watch those around him eat; he did not wish to embarrass himself. The children were first to eat, they picked up a thin wooden skewer and used it to stab a piece of fruit and then eat it. One of them lifted the cup of the liquid and drank from it. Jarron picked up his skewer and tried some of the fruit. It was light and sweet to the taste. He liked it quite a bit because it had reminded him of a strawberry. He turned to Elyse and saw that she too was enjoying the fruit. As Jarron picked up the liquid and as he brought it to his lips, he saw her watching him intently. He had no doubt that she was curious was it was. He took a drink and was surprised. It tasted exactly like yogurt. He could not tell what the fruit they used with it, but it was just a type of yogurt. He smiled widely since it tasted very good. Elyse saw his reaction and immediately drank from her cup.
"What is this?" She asked.
Her father responded, “It is called Umi, the closest thing we have found to human food is called yogurt. They are made very similarly."
She nodded sullenly. That was exactly as Jarron suspected. He decided it was probably best not to know what animal they got the milk from for it. After they finished eating breakfast they all rose.
"Will we be coming back here after we finish with the Green Council?" Elyse asked.
Her father shrugged and replied, "I do not know. It will be up to the Green Council to decide."
Jarron grew concerned. He did not like the term decide. It made things seem as though their freedom was in question.
"Decide?" He asked.
Her father nodded at him and said, "Indeed, it will be up to them what we should do with you two. It is not wise that you have bonded."
Jarron shook his head because he had no intentions of being decided over in that manner. He turned to Elyse.
In a serious tone he said, "Elyse I don't like the sound of this."
She shook her head at him and said, "My father wouldn't put us in a harmful position Jarron."
Jarron was not as confident as she seemed to be. How well did they really know the man? After all Hain deeply distrusted the Eal'tain and he rarely did things without cause. Jarron sighed. He was trapped as long as Elyse went along with them.
Her father rose from his seated position and said, "Well, let us go. The flight to Alathia is not long but the Green Council is expecting us."
Elyse immediately stood up. Jarron begrudgingly stood as well. He was not pleased about the possibility of who knew what was coming their way.
Elyse asked, "I know you culture is different than ours but I was wondering if I could get hugs from my siblings since we aren't sure if I'll be coming back this way."
Before her father could respond to her question, all of her new siblings raced to hug her. Jarron thought it was adorable to see them react without being prodded. They all seemed to legitimately like her, which he knew was easy to do because she was a very warm and caring person. After they broke the hug with Elyse they all stepped back to reveal that Elyse was crying. Jarron could sense her joy and it had actually threatened to overwhelm him. He had to fight back the tears that were caused by her emotions. After a bit he was able to gain control of himself and looked at her. She smiled at him; no doubt the emotions she had projected to him had been evident on his face.
In an attempt to shift the moment away from himself Jarron said, "Alright let's go then. We'd hate to keep the leaders of the Eal'tain waiting on us."
Uaera walked up to Elyse and gave her a soft hug. Her father nodded at then and guided them out of his residence, through the clearing that her father lived in and then back up to the landing pad. The same ship that brought him and Elyse was still sitting there.
Her father turned to Jarron and said, "My mate said that you claimed to be a pilot."
Jarron nodded at him.
Her father nodded at her and then asked, "Can you fly this?"
Jarron grinned. He had always been able to fly anything and he had no doubt that he could fly it. He looked the ship over to get an idea of what it could do. It looked much more nimble than the fighter he used to find Elyse. Jarron again nodded at her father.
Her father said, "Very well, I will have to program all of the routes but I am curious what you can do. I heard that people who are focal points tend to be extraordinarily gifted in many ways."
He opened the hatch that led into the cockpit and then gestured for Jarron to enter, which Jarron immediately did. It was configured with the pilot's chair center and forward of the cockpit with the panels to control the ship in front of the chair. There were three seats behind the pilot's chair. Jarron noted that one of the chairs was for weapons and the other was navigation. He took a seat in the pilot's chair and took a moment to look at the controls. The biggest surprise was the use of four controlling sticks. The Keg had two and the fighter had one. Usually two was standard for a normal ship and one for a fighter. Jarron knew that some of the more maneuverable ships might have more to allow superior engine control. He also knew that the average pilot would never be able to fly this ship. It was a good thing he was not the average pilot. As he strapped himself into the seat he took measure of the panels. Everything was written in an indecipherable language, most likely Eal'tain. That did not matter to Jarron though. He, as if on instinct alone, knew what everything did.
Her father asked, "Do you need assistance?"
Grinning Jarron replied, "Nope, buckle up."
Jarron flipped the engine activation ship to begin the warm up. He had no doubt it would only be a minute or less until the ship was ready to go. Jarron took hold of the two lower sticks. They would be the primary engine controls. From the look of the ship Jarron knew it would have a rotating engine design that allowed supreme maneuverability. The top two sticks would be for delicate and detailed control of the outer thruster engines. Jarron was thrilled at the prospect of taking this ship out.
"Jarron are you okay?" Elyse asked.
He turned back with a grin and said, "Yes why?"
"I can actually sense excitement from you." She replied
Jarron was a little surprised by her response. He did not even realize that all this time she was as able to sense his emotions as he was hers. He wondered when and what emotions she had actually sensed from him. He decided to ask her later.
With a wicked smile he replied, "I'm about to have a lot of fun."
She laughed at his comment and then said, "Which means that I'm not about to have a lot of fun doesn't it."
Jarron just laughed and then quickly pulled on the controlling sticks. The ship responded by wildly racing upwards. The sudden movement elicited a gasp of shock from Elyse. Jarron was impressed with the ship's responsiveness and speed. It had only taken a minute for them to make it quickly off of the landing pad and into space. Jarron glanced from side to side before spotting a nearby asteroid field. An evil idea struck him. He took the Keg through an asteroid field one time to avoid a GDF patrol; he barely made it through because of the size of the Keg. This ship should easily handle the task. Pushing down on the sticks he guided it towards the asteroid field.
"Where are you heading to?" Her father asked.
Jarron replied, "I'm gonna see what this thing can do. Elyse whatever you do, stay calm, we'll be fine."
As the ship got close to the asteroid field Elyse said, "Oh no."
Jarron laughed wildly as he plunged the ship into the field. Spinning the ship madly, Jarron's hands bounced between the four sticks at a rapid rate. He twisted the ship over and under, even threw one asteroid that was round but had a hole in the middle. The ship allowed so much control that Jarron was able to skim the surface of several asteroids as they whipped by. The whole time he could sense sheer terror coming from Elyse but his own excitement and joy seemed to neutralize her emotions. Jarron took the ship into a total spinning motion before looping it around the final asteroid in the field. They exited safely through and Jarron howled with glee. He turned back to see that both poor Elyse and her father's faces were pale. Elyse even looked as
though she might get sick.
Jarron turned back forward and said, "Navigation to our destination please."
There was no initial response but after a longer pause Jarron could hear Elyse's father working at the navigation panel. Jarron took another look back and saw Elyse's skin color had returned to normal.
She said, "That was insane."
Jarron laughed and said, "But it was so much fun!"
"No it wasn't Jarron because you could have gotten us killed!" Elyse said loudly.
Jarron chuckled and responded, "Elyse what do you mean, we missed every one of those asteroids by several meters."
Finally her father spoke, "That was the most impressive display of piloting that I have ever seen in my life. How did you learn to fly like that?"
Deciding to mess with him Jarron replied, "Actually I'm one of the worst human pilots."
His joke must have done the trick with Elyse because she laughed loudly. She reached out and gave him a soft punch on his arm.
"Don't listen to him father, he is gifted like no other pilot. Unfortunately along with being the best pilot in the galaxy, he's also a scoundrel."
Jarron laughed. He decided he liked the term scoundrel. It made him sound possibly dangerous but not so dangerous that people would lock him up and throw away the key.
Her father replied, "Well it was impressive. I was told that human would have trouble navigating our ships and yet you not only flew it with ease but you did so without being able to read the instrument panels."
Jarron shrugged. He had always been able to do that. He reached out and flipped the switch to activate the ship's fold engine. It responded by jumping forward into the fold. He spun his chair to look back at them.
"How long will the trip be?" Jarron asked.
"A little over an hour." Her father replied.
Jarron took a moment to look at Elyse. Even with her recent terror she still looked beautiful as ever. She grinned at him, which he returned with a wide smile. If her father was not there he would have made love to her right there in the cockpit.