Gift of Flight

by S. W. Gunn

  “La la la.” Elyse said with a wicked little twinkle in her eyes.

  “Aye lass. It can be borin’ to sit out here but you’ve gotta do what ya gotta do to see the King.”

  As they approached the actual doorway into the building Jarron saw what could only be described as a carved mural that was etched deeply into the doors of the building. It appeared to be the scene of a drinking hall. Jarron noted that the drinking hall was big, with many tables all surrounding one very large throne. The drinking hall was full of Kalan and upon the throne appeared to be an elderly Kalan man. Jarron suspected he was one of the many previous kings from the past. The doors slowly swung open and Jarron, while holding Elyse’s hand, followed closely behind Dalain. Pimi and Feligrin followed behind them. He was duly impressed when he saw the dining hall itself. He had assumed it would be like most dining halls, with a long table and many chairs and possibly some sort of throne at the end of the table. That is not what greeted him upon their entry. The main pathway through the dining hall was about ten meters wide and empty. Flanking each side of the pathway were two very long tables, each going from almost one end of the dining hall to the other. They ended just before the back wall of the dining hall, where standing against the middle wall was two thrones, one slightly larger than the other. The walls, ceiling, and carpets were all elegant and obviously made from the finest materials possible. Jarron has no doubt his face was plastered with awe. Sitting upon the slightly larger throne was a Kalan male, who was plainly the King, that Jarron guessed was slightly older than Dalain and in the smaller throne was a Kalan woman that appeared to be slightly younger than the Kalan male. Jarron paced behind Dalain as they made their way through the dining hall.

  In a loud booming voice the King spoke, "I can't believe it. I was told ya brought an Eal'tain on my planet but to see that you dare bring it into my hall Dalain Stonefist is unacceptable. Just getting here was a test and you have failed. I should have ya drawn an quartered. Per Kalan tradition I'll give ya a chance to defend yourself. Speak."

  Jarron became very concerned. He was not expecting any sort of conflict and as the man spoke he sensed overwhelming fear emanating from Elyse.

  Dalain fell to a knee and slightly bowed his head before he said, "Aye your Majesty. Before a few days ago, I'd have completely agreed with ya. Things change as just one day ago I died. So killin' me now wouldn't matter as I am livin' on borrowed time anyways."

  The King rubbed his beard thoughtfully for a moment before he asked, "Died?"

  Dalain continued to hold his gaze downward as he answered, "Aye your Majesty. There was an attack upon my home in Kala-a-Drakan. During that attack I was shot right in my chest. I died."

  The King raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Then how are you standin' here?"

  Staying on his knees, Dalain gestured backwards and towards Elyse before saying, "She resurrected me from the dead your Majesty."

  Jarron heard several gasps from the audience around them. He could only imagine the shock of someone making such a claim. Before meeting Elyse, he too would have disbelieved it. The King rose from his throne angrily.

  Almost yelling he said, "You mock my intellect? No such thing is possible."

  Still kneeling, Dalain said, "It's true your Majesty. I wouldna believed it myself if it weren't me who was here cause of it."

  The Kalan woman, who Jarron guessed was the Queen, rose from her throne and whispered to the King. They stood there for quite some time, both whispering back and forth to each other. Their whispered conversation turned passionate, clearly they disagreed about something. A few moments later the King’s facial expression shifted to almost surrender before he turned away with a nod and gestured towards another Kalan who was standing nearby.

  The King announced, "Summon my brother from the hospital."

  Without saying a word the man bowed and left.

  The King turned back to Dalain and announced, "If you speak the truth we shall know soon enough. My brother was struck by a mining conveyance while off planet. He has been in a coma for about a month now. If your Eal'tain friend here can heal him then I'll believe your words. If not, well let’s just say you donna wanna know."

  Both the King and the Queen moved back to their thrones and took a seat. Dalain rose from his knee and moved next to Jarron and Elyse.

  He said in almost a whisper, "I hope ya can heal this laddie."

  Elyse nodded confidently at him. Jarron could only hope she was right. He doubted something could be done if the man was too far gone. She must have sense his lack of confidence because she squeezed his hand and as he looked at her, she gave him a sly wink. Jarron could only grin weakly at her in response. They stood quietly for some time before a slight raucous came from outside of the throne room. He turned to look at the entrance of the room to see a male Kalan enter through the door. The facial expression on his face made it clear that he was very unhappy. He was wearing a white jacket and a white tunic with black trousers. He had a neatly braided brown beard that was held in place by several pins and his brown hair was pulled back tightly into a bun. On his breast was a small medical icon. Jarron deduced that he was probably a Kalan doctor.

  “Your Majesty you canna be serious about movin’ your brother. He can die if’n we aren’t careful with him.”

  The King rose up and stated, “Ya cause what he’s doin’ now is livin’. Either he’s gonna be revived by this lass or his time will come to an end. His honor’s been stained enough by my emotions. Bring him now.”

  The doctor frowned at the King before bowing and replying, “Yes Your Majesty.”

  He spun on his feet and turned away before marching off. Jarron could tell that he was not very happy at all. There was a slight murmur of the crowd of Kalan around them, no doubt they were doubting what was about to happen. He was curious what the King intended to do if Elyse could not heal his brother. He said that his brother time had come so it left Jarron to wonder if the King planned to kill his own brother if Elyse could not heal him. He was more concerned about what would happen to them if she could not heal the Kalan. He certainly did not want to have to fight his way out of the King’s hall, although with Elyse there they probably could. He glanced around and examined the crowd. The majority of them were watching Elyse closely, no doubt curious about her. The doors of the throne room slammed open. A gurney holding an unconscious Kalan was wheeled it. The doctor was with him and he still looked quite unhappy about what was happening. Attached to the rear end of the gurney was a large panel of medical devices, none of which Jarron had a clue what they were. There was tubes coming off of the panel and going into the mouth of the Kalan laying on it. The Kalan was an older male with peppered grey long hair, which was resting on the pillow around him, and a matching loose long beard. He was wearing a light blue robe and a blanket was resting over him from his waist down.

  As the gurney approached Elyse the King announced, “There he is. If Dalain is right then you should have no issue restorin’ my brother to good health.”

  He paused for a long moment before declaring, “And if you can’t we’re gonna have some issues.”

  The tone of his voice was quite ominous. Oddly enough Elyse seemed perfectly fine as she stepped up to his brother and began to examine him. The Kalan looked very pale and sickly, clearly he had been injured for some time. His cheeks were shallow and he had dark bags under his eyes. Jarron reached out and touched his arm, which was cooler to the touch than it should have been for a living being. He looked up at Elyse and she seemed almost gleeful as she was touching her index and middle finger on the man’s neck.

  Glancing up at him she stated, “This one is going to take a bit out of you. Maybe Dalain should be nearby in case you black out?”

  Her advice seemed wise so he gave her a quick nervous nod.

  Dalain tromped over next to Jarron and stood slightly behind him before stating, “I’m ready lass.”

  Elyse tenderly reached out with her hands and placed them on the che
st of the King’s brother.

  Her face shifted to a serious look as she looked over towards the doctor and declared, “Get ready to remove those tubes from his mouth quickly.”

  The doctor looked puzzled by her comment but before he could ask anything Elyse turned back to the unconscious Kalan. Jarron could feel her powers overwhelm him as he froze up. He felt waves of electrical force throb through him while he was standing there. She seemed to be drawing from him at a level that matched the power needed to save Dalain. His body did not twitch wildly like that time but he did feel himself twitching a little bit. After a few seconds the Kalan on the gurney gasped loudly and sat up with his eyes opened in shock. He was gagging on the tubes in his mouth. The Kalan doctor recovered from his stun and pulled at the tubes in the Kalan’s mouth to remove them. As Elyse released her control over Jarron he stumbled and fell back slightly. Dalain caught him and kept him from hitting the ground before setting Jarron down on his rear. He was pleased that he was able to avoid blacking out.

  “Brother!” The King called out excitedly as he dashed off of the throne pedestal and up to the gurney.

  One the King was standing next to his brother he embraced him. His brother looked quite confused. Jarron recovered enough to get onto his feet, with Dalain’s help. Taking a moment, he glanced around and looked into the crowd of Kalan around them. There was a loud murmur of stunned conversation. He had no doubt that the crowd did not believe what had just happened would happen.

  Elyse appeared out of nowhere and braced Jarron’s arm before asking, “Are you okay?”

  Turning towards her he gave her a nod and a cheeky grin before saying, “I’ve been worse.”

  The King, who released his brother and turned to face them, asked, “How did you do it?”

  “Its the gift.” Elyse told him.

  “Nae I have a cousin with the gift and she kinna do that. I know cause she tried to help.”

  Jarron interjected, “Its a long story.”

  “I’m all ears lad. Tell me everythin’. I’ve gotta know.” He stated firmly.

  Jarron looked at Elyse, who nodded at him before turning back towards the King. He told him everything from the moment they opened the crate that held Elyse all the way up to right as they entered the King’s hall. The facial expression of the King shifted from initially boredom to confusion before shifting to anger and finally resolve.

  “So she’s nae a proper Eal’tain but a victim o’ circumstance?” He asked.

  “Yes,” Jarron answered before continuing, “And as long as the man who attacked Dalain’s home is around he will not stop until he recaptures us.”

  Elyse interjected, “Or find the secret to our powers out for himself, then who knows what kind of evil he’d use it for.”

  The King looked thoughtful for a moment before stating, “I’m now in your debt so what can we do to help?”

  Dalain answered before Jarron could, “We’re seekin’ permission to form a battle party to tarry forth inta the scoundrel’s base and deal with ‘em directly.”

  “Aye well, that’d be the least I can do for ya. I’m thinkin’ somethin’ a bit more aggressive be in order. After all, they did save my brother. I’m gonna go ahead and give ya full permission for your battle party an on top of it, I’ll be personally joinin’ ya in dealin’ with these people. Let us convene in my war chamber so we can get to plannin’.”

  Chapter 13

  Even after a long break he got from the whole conversation, Jarron was still a little wobbly in the knees. Elyse’s healing of the King’s brother took a lot out of him. While the Kalan appeared physically well, the King’s brother did seem a bit fuzzy between the ears. Jarron had no doubt that even with healing his body, the man would probably take some time for his mind to recover. Elyse hooked her right arm around Jarron’s left arm as they began following behind Dalain, who was following the King’s personal escort out of the throne room. Jarron could hear the King talking to his ministers as they went but the sound of echoing boots made it impossible to hear what they were talking about.

  Elyse leaned her head on his shoulder before stating, “I wonder how much stronger you’ll get. Before that would have put you off your feet.”

  “I don’t know but honestly I’d prefer not to find out. I’m pretty tired.”

  Giving him a light chuckle Elyse retorted, “I know how to restore your strength.”

  Laughing heartily Jarron told her, “True but we can’t just dive into some closet in the palace. I wager the King will have us kicked off the planet if we did.”

  Elyse gave a hearty laugh in response to Jarron’s little joke. He felt her hands squeeze his arm where she was holding him. Turning his face towards her he got a sniff of whatever perfume she was wearing. It was a very light smelling flower scent and was nice.

  “Jarron do you think we’ll be free of that crazy man once the Kalan are done?”

  “I’d like to think so. I’m thinking even if we aren’t we’ll still head to Terra. I think we can sneak in through some back channels and secretly contact my family to meet them somewhere other than their normal places. I have no doubt he has someone watching them closely.”

  “I’d really like that. I want to meet your family so badly. I am confident that once your father sees how you’ve changed he’ll realize that he was wrong.”

  Jarron was not as sure about his father’s reaction, especially since he really did not feel as though he changed that much. Well okay, maybe he was done stealing people’s conveyances but he really did not feel as though he changed much. Now he just found someone special and was going to settle down with her. Even though he planned to find some sort of close piloting job so he could keep flying. Maybe there would be something exciting he could find to do, although he knew that being with Elyse was more exciting than anything else he had ever done. Jarron had not paid attention to where they were walking but as he looked away from Elyse he noted that they were in a large room decorated with very old looking paintings of what appeared to be Kalan rulers of the past. The floor was made of a speckled black and white marble that was highly polished. A massive table that appeared to be made of the same marble as the table sitting in the center of the room. Jarron spotted a holographic generator embedded into the middle of the table. Jarron stopped walking several feet away from the table. His time with Hain let him know that few people were allowed to be physically close to the King.

  The King asked Dalain, “What’s the name of the planet?”

  “Savilus Prime.” Dalain answered.

  Playing with the controls of the holoprojector for a moment the King set it to project Savilus Prime. Jarron immediately recognized it from the multiple trips there.

  “Describe their defenses.” The King commanded.

  “I donna know their defenses your Majesty.” Dalain stated.

  Jarron had a pretty good idea of what was there so he coughed before stating, “I’ve been there twice.”

  “Well, tell me whatcha know lad.” The King ordered.

  Jarron told them everything that he could think of. From the types of ships that they encountered every time and the troops that he saw on the ground, Jarron told them about it all. He also included the numbers of ships they ran from, along with Tiberus’ special ship, after they had made their escape from the Lunar Colony. The King rubbed his beard thoughtfully as he listened to everything Jarron said.

  After a brief pause the King announced, “It seems to be that this would be an easy maneuver.”

  One of the other Kalan there interjected, “A trap?”

  The King nodded before answering, “Possibly. Admiral what do you suggest?”

  The Kalan who interrupted answered, “Your Majesty I’d suggest a third tier strike. We can have a fleet come in from the star, a fleet come in from 120 degrees and a third one from another 120 degrees. All three stop from outside the range of the small moon to prevent a counter-attack. Once we’ve control the space around the planet a fourth fleet wil
l come in with a landin’ force that the primary forces will coordinate the landin’ based on scans to discover the lout’s fortress. From there General Bargi will take over.”

  The King turned to another Kalan and nodded.

  That Kalan started speaking, “Your Majesty once my landin’ forces arrive in the sector we’ll launch our landin’ forces in quadruple waves along lined points that work inwards of the enemy base to prevent a counterattack that would leave our forces opened at once. Each outer ring will set up a defensive perimeter to protect the next level. Our inner ring will strike the base from all sides to spread out their defenses. We’ll aim not to kill when possible with the goal being to capture all enemy forces.”

  Giving the Kalan a nod the King said, “Sounds like a solid plan. Get it all set up. We’re headin’ out once everythin’ is ready.”

  The Kalan who had put together the plan nodded at the King before turning towards several others and quietly talking to them. Jarron could not hear what they were saying.