Gift of Flight

by S. W. Gunn

  "Next I think it might be in your best interest to have those false charges against myself and Elyse dropped immediately. We're still on our honeymoon and it would be a shame for poor Elyse here to actually have to commit a real crime."

  Tiberius turned to Drusilla and stated, "Drop all of the charges against them. They are to be released immediately."

  She nodded at him. It was clear to Jarron that she was now fully convinced about his story.

  Jarron reached out and patted Tiberius's cheek softly before saying, "Good man, I was thinking that since you so kindly gave us a wedding gift of a week that we should give you a week. In that week you'll reconsider your plans to capture us, perhaps use that week to consider this piece of information. Elyse and I went to the home world of the Eal'tain and we found out some very useful things… They do not let focal points work with the same person who has the Gift because it will cause them to bond to each other permanently. Once bonded the focal point become unusable by any other person with the Gift. Also they become extremely more powerful, so much so that Elyse easily defeated multiple pairs in a testing duel."

  Tiberius asked curiously, "Why share this information with me?"

  Elyse then interceded, "Because if you don't leave us alone we'll come back to this colony and rip every Lucascorp building down and when we find you, which we will, I'll bounce you so hard off the surface of the dome that they'll have to scrape you off of it."

  Jarron was impressed by both her tone of voice and intensity when she spoke. He was fully convinced that she would fulfill her words. Jarron could tell that Tiberius was equally convinced.

  After a brief pause he finally spoke, "Fair enough, Captain please release them and ensure no one else disturbs them."

  She nodded at him and then gestured towards the door. As Jarron and Elyse began to walk towards the door Tiberius reached out to grab Jarron's arm firmly.

  He said with a smile, "I've almost figured it out. If you'd just come back we could figure it out together and then part ways."

  Jarron shook his head before saying, "Sorry I've got a wife now and we just want to settle down and have a family in peace. We don't want anything to do with whatever you're doing."

  Tiberius shrugged at him. Jarron turned away and guided Elyse through the door. Jarron chuckled as the GDF people watched him and Elyse intently as they exited the building. Jarron made sure to get his few items that they had that taken from them when they arrived on the Lunar Colony. Reflecting on the whole thing, the loss of his guitar was disappointing but he could easily buy another later. He was glad to have escaped that mess cleanly and to watch Elyse bounce the man off the shield was a nice piece of revenge.

  Once they got far enough away Elyse said, "He isn't going to stop is he?"

  Jarron shook his head. He had known fully well that the man would not but at least they were free, and Drusilla knew the truth so he suspected they would not have to worry about the GDF for now.

  "I wanted to kill him." Elyse said sadly.

  "I know, but we can't lower ourselves to that Elyse." Jarron replied.

  Elyse stopped walking, tightly hugged him and then whispered, "Thank you."

  Jarron just softly ran his hand over her the back of her head. He could kill if he had to but he would not let her kill someone if he could avoid it, even if it was a man like Tiberius. After she released him they began walking again. Jarron had not been to the Lunar Colony in a very long time. It still had the same dull gray and glass buildings it had the last time he was there. Jarron thought it reminded him of a space station, except on a moon. He glanced up and saw that a massive clear dome still covered the whole colony. While New Timbuktu was the capital of Terra's government, the Lunar Colony was home to the financial capital, the biggest business headquarters and many other organizations. After Terra was struck by the asteroid the Lunar Colony became the home of the humans. Even with all of the businesses, the Lunar Colony still had the same seedy underbelly that everywhere else seemed to have in the Galactic Union. Jarron had thought to search out one of those sorts of people for a lift to the Mars Base but he decided to just take a normal shuttle there. Even as confident as Tiberius was, Jarron could see the fear and concern in his eyes after Elyse bounced him off the shield one time. Jarron had no doubt that it would shake the man on some level for a while.

  "Do you think we can go visit Ramona?" Elyse asked.

  Jarron shook his head and replied, "That would only put her in danger. After we resolve our problem with Tiberius we'll go and see her."

  Elyse nodded and they continued walking through the pathways. The colony was large enough to allow conveyance use easily. Jarron had not driven a conveyance in years, specifically when he was sixteen and totaled a bunch of them. They went back to the landing pads and found the first shuttle leaving for Mars. He noticed several times that they were being followed, just not very closely. With a small amount of gold Jarron got them both first class seats on the next shuttle to Mars. Jarron could not wait to be back aboard the Keg. He felt the safest strapped into the pilot's chair. Jarron and Elyse just wandered the small shops around the shuttle's landing pad while they waited. He was convinced they were still being watched but as long as they were unmolested he could not complain. After an hour or so of waiting the shuttle arrived and they boarded.

  Jarron was very thankful that the shuttle flight to Mars was very painless. They had been through so much it seemed like something would pop up around every turn. He wrapped an arm around Elyse as they exited the station and through the spaceport of Mars. Soon they would be back with their friends. Jarron saw that the red planet hadn't changed a tiny bit either. Unlike the boring grays and glass of the Lunar Colony, the people who designed the base had the idea to honor some of Terra's past. The base was segmented into zones that each honored the architecture of some group or another. Jarron was surprised to find that the humans of the past believed each little group to be racially different based on their skin color of all things, once the Kalan made contact with Terra that all went away quickly. Jarron always struggled to remember the names of each area. He knew that the place they were headed was called the Victorian sector. He loved the distinct vertical look of the buildings but that was all he knew about them.

  Jarron chuckled as he watched Elyse stare at the buildings. He was confident they were nothing like anything she had seen before. The sector outside of the spaceport was called the Ming sector. Jarron knew only that it was based off the long gone area once known as China. Most of the area that once inhabited Terra was now underwater. Jarron was impressed with the buildings here. They started out with a sharply pointed roof that swooped outward and ended on each corner with a small wooden point that extended out past the building. They all have a similar style but came in a wide variety of browns and greens. Jarron had always wondered just how accurate they were. They passed through another sector that Jarron could not remember the name of. The buildings were column shaped with a circular dome atop of them that had small spires on top of the dome. It was definitely a unique design.

  After a few more minutes of slow walking they finally arrived at their destination. It was a small pub nestled away in the seedier part of the base. It was the perfect place for those performing activities of a less than legal nature. Jarron was confident that if Hain was not here yet, he would be soon. Jarron fully expected the delay with the GDF to allow Hain to be there first. Jarron was not disappointed when he and Elyse entered. Hain and Feligrin were sitting in one of the far booths waiting patiently. Jarron chuckled when they did not react to his arrival, after all Jarron and Elyse both looked very different now. They walked up to the booth and the reaction to their new appearance was immediate.

  "Damn lad, what happened to the both ya?" Hain almost yelled.

  Elyse giggled at his response.

  "We've had some issues." Jarron said.

  Feligrin stood from his seat and moved over next to Hain before saying, "Take a seat and tell us."

&
nbsp; Jarron shook his head and replied, "Let's leave. I'll tell you everything once we get on the Keg."

  Hain nodded and then stood up. He tossed a small bit of gold on the table. Hain led them as they slowly worked their way back through the base and to the spaceport. Jarron noticed a lot of unusual activity with the security forces. Jarron deduced Hain had noticed it as well since he picked up his pace to the Keg. As soon as they went through the door of the Keg Jarron ran. Hain, Elyse and Feligrin moved quickly behind him. Jarron strapped himself into the pilot's chair and started the warm-up. There would be no playing around today for him.

  Chapter 6

  Jarron quickly pushed the controlling sticks of the Keg to launch it off the pad and into space. The sensors immediately began to ring wildly. Jarron knew right away that Tiberius had recovered from his initial stun and was fully after them again. Jarron sighed. This time it was about a dozen ships, all of a variety of types, and one very large unusual looking ship.

  The comm buzzed and Tiberius' voice kicked out, "Jarron I cannot let you leave. You have ruined the secrecy of my plans by discussing your abilities with that GDF Captain. No doubt the GDF will soon be interrupting my experimentation. So either you surrender to me now or I'll have no choice but to disable your ship and take whoever survives the attack."

  Hain grunted loudly before saying, "Like hell he's gonna take my ship."

  Jarron pushed the comm button and said, "Perhaps you forgot who I am? You think your goons can disable us before my nav computer shoots me outta here?"

  The comm buzzed loudly with a laugh and then Tiberius responded, "Well you see that one large oddly shaped ship there, it is an Intervention class ship. It is designed to block all attempts at folding space in an area, which means that your ship will not be going to the fold unless we let it. Can you avoid my fighters forever?"

  Inspiration hit Jarron. No doubt this ship could not work everywhere. Jarron glanced at the sensor and saw immediately what he wanted. Between Mars and Terra lay a massive asteroid field. Jarron had no doubt if he got on the other side of it they would be able to make enter the fold.

  "Hold on tight folks, this ride is about to get bumpy. Elyse, please get my musiphone, Hain get to engineering to be ready for any damage. Feligrin calculate a folding from the other side of that asteroid belt."

  Hain yelled out, "Lad have ya lost your head? This asteroid field is too thick for the Keg!"

  "Perhaps Hain, but either we’ll escape or we’ll die because that man isn't going to get us." Jarron replied grimly.

  With a rough twist of the controls Jarron forced the Keg into a spinning dive directly towards the asteroid belt. As they started to close in on the asteroid belt Jarron could sense nervousness from both Elyse and Feligrin. They all immediately followed his directions.

  The comm again crackled with Tiberius' voice, "Jarron do not go in there your ship is not nimble enough to make it. If we lose you it will be virtually impossible to replace you."

  Jarron chuckled and then pushed the button before saying, "I guess you shoulda thought of that before you decided to harass me. I love my chances of making it through my third asteroid field."

  Beads of sweat began to form on Jarron's brow. He had known that this was going to be his roughest run but he would be damned if he was going into another cell to be experimented on. Jarron glanced at the sensors and saw that the pursuing ships all stopped following him and began a route around the asteroid field. If he made it through the field then he would be clear to make the fold. He was just glad that ships could not fold through asteroid fields. By the time they went around the field he would be long gone.

  Jarron guided the Keg towards the largest gap he could spot, although he knew it would shift quickly. Jarron had expected to feel panic coming from Elyse but he felt nothing. Either she had become adjusted to his flying or she was confident in him, either way he was happy to not have her emotions overwhelming him. As soon as they began to enter the field the shields began to flicker. This field had a massive number of tiny asteroids that would just deflect off the shields, well for as long as Hain could the shields up anyways. If the shields went down those same asteroids would rip dozens of tiny holes through them, killing everyone aboard instantly.

  Jarron took deep breath as he twisted the controls to force the Keg into a spinning dive around one of the bigger asteroids. He jerked the controls violently on instinct, which caused the ship to swirl sideways around a smaller asteroid that was directly alongside the large one. The sudden appearance of the smaller asteroid caused both Feligrin and Elyse to scream out in fear. Jarron kept his focus and spun the ship again, this time back towards the direction he was headed before the appearance of the smaller asteroid. He kicked several of the thrusters on the right to rebalance the ship, which eventually realigned them. Another large asteroid approached them. Jarron felt inspired to loop upwards and then perform a tight spin downwards on the opposite side of it. Once he finished the maneuver he saw why, on the other flanks of the asteroid he just passed were three smaller ones following closely behind. Jarron took the Keg through a wide loop. As he finished the loop, with the exit of the field closing quickly on them, the Keg shuttered violently.

  Feligrin called out, "Direct hit from a small one, the shields are weakening Jarron."

  Jarron nodded and using one of his arms attempted to wipe some of the sweat running on the side of his face. In a rough motion Jarron forced the ship into a diagonal loose spin to the left, which he slowly hit the thrusters on the right while cutting his left thrusters. It caused the ship to loop in a slightly tighter spin and then he cut both thrusters and forced the ship up to the maximum acceleration. The ship bounced roughly off the last asteroid and began a wild uncontrolled tailspin. Jarron initially struggled to force the ship out of the tailspin but finally got control of her by forcing the opposing thruster to kick on and off briefly. Feligrin howled with joy from their final escape and as if on cue the nav computer beeped to confirm the route.

  Elyse reached over Jarron's head and pushed the common button before saying, "You forgot my words Tiberius Miramar. I'd suggest you sleep with an eye open because someday in the future... I'll be coming for you."

  Jarron was shocked by her tone, she was deadly serious. She released the button and then sat back down. Jarron pulled the level for fold engines, which the ship responded by lurching forward.

  The comm crackled with Hain's voice, "Lad we took some serious damage that'll require some time to fix. When ya get a chance head to my cousin's place, we can birth there for a bit to fix it all."

  Jarron turned to Feligrin who said with a broad smile, "Already done, we're on our way to Kala-al-Draken."

  Jarron grinned at him and nodded before releasing a heavy sigh and slumping in his chair. Jarron was exhausted from the effort, flying through that asteroid field had to have been the hardest flying he had done in his life.

  They sat quietly for some time before Feligrin finally spoke, "Jarron that was insane."

  Jarron could think of nothing to say, it was insane even by his standards.

  Elyse asked calmly, "How long until we arrive?"

  Feligrin glanced at the nav computer and said, "Four hours."

  Elyse stood and approached Jarron sitting in his chair. She reached a hand out to help him stand. Jarron clicked off his seatbelt and took her hand before standing. She looked at Feligrin, who nodded firmly at her. She then slowly led Jarron through the ship and to their quarters. She guided him to the singular chair in the room and had him sit before she sat herself down on their bed.

  "Are you okay?" She asked.

  Jarron nodded before saying quietly, "I'm just tired because it was much harder to fly the Keg through that. I almost got us killed."

  "But you didn't" She replied softly.

  Jarron nodded solemnly. He and his friends would live another day. He was just relieved to have escaped Tiberius however he wondered how long they would continue to be so lucky.

 
; "Elyse, were you serious about what you said to him?"

  She looked downcast before saying, "Yes. That man won't quit, I can see this now. If we don't deal with him then he'll eventually catch us and when he does we won't know what'll be the end result for us would be. I'll have to hurt him permanently to stop him and I dread it deeply."

  Jarron reached out and softly touched her hand. She looked up and smiled at him. Jarron knew immediately that even the idea of killing someone saddened her greatly. He decided right then and there that he would do anything he could to prevent it from happening. Somehow he would have to find a way to stop Tiberius, he just did not know how.

  The comm buzzed with Hain's voice, "Lad I got the ship stabilized. Once we get to my cousin's we should be just fine. That last hit really took out our shields an stabilizers so be careful landin' us."

  Jarron stood up to push the comm button before saying, "I understand Hain."

  He removed his shirt and announced to Elyse, "Lemme take a quick sonic shower."

  She nodded at him solemnly. Jarron walked into the small restroom attached to their room and undressed. After that little misadventure even the sonic shower felt wonderful to him. After the shower he walked back into the room to get some clothing to find Elyse had moved from sitting on the bed to lying underneath a blanket with her back towards him. Jarron had not realized that she was tired. He slowly walked over to her and gently leaned over to apply a soft kiss on her head before leaving her to sleep. As soon as his lips touched her head she spun around, reached out and pulled him onto her. Jarron laughed loudly and then kissed her.

  Chapter 7

  Jarron was thoroughly convinced that the bond he shared with Elyse was a lot more reciprocal than even the Eal’tain knew. It would usually take very little for Elyse to make him feel better about anything that seemed to come their way. She could give him a soft smile or even gentle hand on his shoulder and that alone would greatly cheer him up. Lovemaking seemed to restore him completely, almost as though she recharged him like the battery that Tiberius called him. Jarron shrugged it off because it could have just been his enjoyment of sex that did the trick in that regard.