Gift of Flight

by S. W. Gunn

  “Right, we’ll summon ya when we’re ready to go out. For now stay outta sight. I donna need more of them assassins causin’ trouble in my city.” The King said firmly.

  Dalain was quick to respond, “Yes Your Magesty. I’m gonna keep em in my personal residence til its time to head out.”

  The King nodded at Dalain before he strode confidently out of the room. Everyone around Jarron bowed deeply so Jarron copied them. Even with what Elyse had recently done for the King he was not planning to offend him or other Kalan by not bowing. The Kalan were notoriously fickle about their routines. They had gone to war several times with both the humans and Eal’tain before the Galactic Union was formed over petty issues. Once the King left those around Jarron rose and started to carry on with whatever they had planned.

  Dalain turned to Elyse and stated, “Right well, lemme get ya back to my residence. We’re gonna tuck ourselves in before we’re called for battle. It’ll prolly take a day or so to finalize the plans an then it’ll be another day to get the plans out. Maybe another day til we’re called to the battle party. Til then you two are gonna stay locked away an safe. If’n something happens out in the city the King’ll have my head.”

  “Seems reasonable” Elyse stated before Jarron could object.

  He knew that they could handle themselves but Dalain was right. It was best to disappear until the battle party was ready. As Dalain began walking the rest of their party followed closely behind them.

  Pimi leaned into Elyse’s shoulder and whispered, “Whatever you did was quite impressive.”

  Stating as a matter of fact Jarron said, “She has the gift.”

  “I ain’t ever seen someone with the gift do that.”

  Elyse calmed explained the whole situation to Pimi as they walked along. He could tell that she was both shocked and impressed with the whole story. No one said a word once Elyse finished the tale of their joint adventures. It was not long before they made their way back to Dalain’s residence.

  As they entered Pimi stated, “I have somewhere to be. I’ll see you guys later.”

  Elyse let go of Jarron’s arm and then bent over to hug Pimi.

  “It was nice to meet you.” She told Pimi.

  “You too as well lass. Keep him outta trouble, he’s a magnet for it.”

  She laughed at Pimi’s joke.

  Jarron awkwardly gave her a hug. Feligrin offered a hand, which Pimi shook.

  Dalain told her, “See ya later cousin.”

  Pimi nodded at him before turning away and strolling off. Jarron was quite relieved with how Elyse and Pimi got along.

  After Pimi was gone Dalain announced, “Let’s go eat some supper.”

  Jarron’s stomach rumbled. With all that had happened he had forgotten to eat lunch. Reaching out to grab Elyse’s hand he walked with her as they followed behind Dalain into his residence. He was impressed with the design. It was as opulent as any home Jarron had ever been in, even more so than Dalain’s home back on Kala-al-Drakal. The walls were made of pure white marble and had veins of rich gold that swirled about within it. Several very old looking paintings of Kalan men in armor in various poses hung on the walls. He guessed they were ancestors of Dalain. Jarron was very much under the impression that Dalain was one of the wealthiest beings alive. Maybe even richer than Tiberius Miramar? They left the large entryway, which ended with a large pair of doors. These doors were massive and made of a thick white wood. It had what appeared to be a battle scene carved into it. All of the Kalan on it were wielding hand weapons. It was clearly from a long past historical event of some kind. Dalain opened the doors, which led into a huge dining hall. The dining hall was as big and opulent as Jarron suspected it would be. The only surprise was the return of Hain. Sitting next to Hain was a blonde-haired Kalan woman. She was sitting much closer to Hain than Jarron was used to seeing others sit near him. Hain was notoriously grumpy. So much so that he almost had an aura about him that let everyone around him know to leave him alone. She was wearing a plain green tunic, and a flowing white skirt. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail.

  “Aye there ya are.” Hain said as he spotted them enter the dining hall.

  Dalain gave him a nod before grunting. Jarron was very happy to see Hain again and his best guess was the female Kalan sitting closely next to him was probably Mara. With all that had happened with the King’s brother Jarron was a bit distracted and had forgot where Hain went off to. Once he saw her he immediately remembered.

  Hain stood and gestured towards her before announcing, “I’d like ya to meet Mara.”

  Giving a cheeky grin Jarron was the first to reply, “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Releasing his arm from Elyse he reached out with his hand for her to shake. Mara shook his hand and grinned. She seemed as though she was quite happy.

  “Aye its nice to meet ya too laddie. My dear Hain has told me all about ya.”

  Jarron gave her a grin. Elyse was next to offer hand hand.

  She said to Mara, “I’m Elyse. Its nice to meet you. Hopefully he’s not as grumpy to you as he is to us.”

  Mara laughed heartily before declaring, “While Kalan men are known for their grumpiness, our women folk are known for bein’ the opposite. Its a pleasure to meet you too.”

  Giving out a hearty laugh Elyse reached out to give Mara a hug. Jarron chuckled along as well. The Kalan men and women were renown for their differences.

  Dalain grunted at their mirth before stating, “Mara.”

  Mara’s face shifted to a serious expression as she replied, “Dalain.”

  Dalain then announced, “I’ve gotta go meet some of the military commanders. You enjoy supper. Donna leave the compound. I’ll call for ya when I need ya.”

  He stomped off. Jarron took a seat next to Elyse. Feligrin introduced himself to Mara before happily taking a seat. He could always be counted on being excited for any meal and he did not fail as he greedily rubbed his hands together before serving himself a large plate of food and an ale. Taking a moment to glance at the options Jarron spotted plenty of meats, bread, and cheeses. He spotted only one broiled vegetable, the Kalan were well known for their disdain of vegetables. Before he could serve his meal Elyse picked up the plate from in front of him and started to select a few items. Thankfully all of the space travel had taught Jarron never to be picky about what he ate. There was light conversation throughout the meal. He was not paying attention because his mind wandered to what would happen once the battle party attacked the planet and were victorious. Jarron had no doubt that the forces the leaders of the Kalan mentioned would overwhelm Tiberius’ forces easily. He suspected that Tiberius himself would not be easily captured or slain. He was very intelligent and shifty. Even if he did escape Jarron had no doubt that the Kalan would continue to hunt the man down. It was probably time for him to return home. Once they finished with this mess he decided that he would take Elyse to meet his family. Even if they captured or killed Tiberius. The group around him finished eating, Jarron stood along with the rest of the party. He was still lost in thought as the group chatted during a tour of Dalain’s residence.

  As they entered the small flower garden of the residence Elyse asked, “Are you well?”

  Giving her a nod he answered, “Yes. I was just thinking about the whole battle party thing.”

  Elyse gave his arm a squeeze before stating, “Everything will turn out fine.”

  Chapter 14

  It had been two days since the meeting with the King of the Kalan and Jarron was itching to get the whole thing done with. He had never been in a proper battle and based on what the Kalan around them were saying the upcoming fight was not even close to an actual battle. It was close as Jarron had ever been with only a few space battles that ended up with him running away or evading. Really only when he assaulted the Grokmal around the same planet they were headed to was the closest to actual combat. He had heard so many times how he would have made one of the best fighter pilots due to his skill bu
t honestly he just enjoyed the freedom of space that could be felt nowhere else. He imagined how he felt about space was how the ancient mariners of Terra must have felt sailing the oceans. The time to head to the Savilus Prime had finally come. The plan set out was for the fleet of Kalan ships to take the space around the planet before Jarron and Hain would arrive on the Keg. Once the planet was secured Jarron would land near the base to verify if Tiberius was either captured or killed.

  Hain grunted loudly before stating, “T-minus 10 minutes until we’re called to go.”

  Jarron nodded. He was slightly nervous but being back behind the controls of the Keg with all his friends helped greatly. He was quite surprised that even Mara was there. Jarron could only guess that since he finally agreed to marry her that she was not willing to let him take off without her again. She seemed to have a very positive influence on Hain’s personality. Hain was grumpier than most Kalan but with her around he seemed to be more pleasant, almost even jovial at times. Jarron had what was probably the closest relationship with Hain that he had with anyone outside of Elyse. They were best of friends. He identified almost within a few minutes of meeting Mara that she had a positive influence on him. They had not discussed when their wedding would take place although if Jarron had to wager a guess he would think it was probably after they concluded the current business at hand.

  The comm buzzed loudly with a voice that was clearly Dalain’s say, “Initiate your approach. The system is secure.”

  Jarron nodded to no one in particular before initiating the fold drive. The Keg rocked forward as it shot into space. The trip was a brief twenty minute fold from Kala-a-Karum. The whole crew sat in silence as the fold whipped around the cockpit of the Keg. The ship rocked slightly as the fold ended and the planet came into view. They appeared right into orbit and were surrounded by a massive fleet of ships. Jarron jaw dropped in awe of the number of vessels. The only other time he had seen numbers close to the Kalan fleet was the GDF’s defense force around Terra, which was maybe a third the number of vessels.

  Feligrin commented, “That’s a lot of ships.”

  Jarron interjected, “I guess they decided against any sort of trap when they saw how many ships the Kalan brought.”

  “Aye.” Hain stated before pointing towards the planet and instructing, “Put her down where ya were at.”

  Jarron began to guide the Keg down. The sensors easily spotted the only significant building on the planet. The ship shuttered roughly as they passed through the atmosphere. He immediately spotted the building they were headed towards. Once they got close enough Jarron spotted the Kalan military forces, which had completed surrounded the building. He set the Keg down on the landing pad. It was the same one that the bounty hunters who had attacked him and Elyse on Cantua used. After landing Jarron, Hain, and Elyse went out to meet the leader of the Kalan land forces. He immediately recognized the Kalan as one of the beings at the planning meeting.

  Approaching the group the Kalan announced, “We met some resistance when we hit orbit and when we assaulted the building but nothing we coulda handle.”

  “Where there any injuries?” Elyse asked.

  “A few of the mercenaries but once they saw how many of us there was they surrendered.”

  Hain was the first to ask the question Jarron wanted to know, “And their leader?”

  “No sign of ‘em.”

  Jarron frowned.

  Elyse then interrupted to ask, “Did you find any strange boxes?”

  The Kalan answered, “Ya lass.”

  In a panicked tone she asked, “And did you find anyone in them?”

  “Nae lass. They were all open and empty.”

  Jarron frowned.

  Elyse stated, “That bastard.”

  “The Kalan will continue to hunt him. No one is more stubborn about a point of pride than the Kalan.” Jarron stated.

  “Well, I guess we should go.”

  “Okay.” He responded to her before turning towards the Keg.

  As they walked she asked, “What will we do now?”

  “Its time to head to Terra.”

  She beamed a smile at him before asking, “To see your family?”

  He simply nodded at her.

  Giving him a hug she stated, “Finally. I’ve wanted to meet them so much.”

  As she let him go she then asked, “What about him?”

  She gestured towards the building that they had just left. Jarron shrugged.

  “We’ll deal with him if we have to but I’m done living my life in the shadows on the run from him.”

  “Agreed, especially since when we’re together we’re very potent.”

  “Yes but easily neutralized. We still must be extremely cautious.”

  Elyse solemnly replied, “I know.”

  “Let’s go.” Jarron stated before taking her hand.

  Jarron followed Hain as he boarded the Keg. Once they settled down in the cockpit Elyse told Feligrin and the others what had happened. Once they were done Jarron announced his intent to go home. Hain was a bit grumpy since Tiberius had not yet been captured but once Jarron explained that he could not keep putting his life on hold Hain agreed to take them to Terra.

  As Jarron began to launch the Keg up into space the comm crackled with Dalain’s voice, “Hain we’ve sent out feelers to find the target. The King has ordered the fleet to sections in order to search for ‘em.”

  Hain reached out and activated the comm before saying, “Cousin we’re takin’ a detour to Terra. Jarron needs to take his lass to meet his family.”

  The comm crackled a response, “Just be careful.”

  Pushing the button again Hain said, “Aye cousin we will.”

  Jarron turned to Feligrin and asked, “Could you plot the navigation?”

  Feligrin began playing with the nav computer.

  After a few seconds he frowned before announcing, “The fastest route passes through Magial space. Do you want me to plot a path around?”

  Jarron rubbed his chin. The Magial were a very aggressive lot. He had never seen one, or even one of their space ships, but from what he heard they stuck to their own space. He also heard that they would attack on sight. It was probably wise to avoid them if possible.

  “Let’s go around their space.” Jarron stated.

  “Alright.” Feligrin replied.

  After playing with the computer for a few moments Feligrin nodded at Jarron. Reaching out Jarron activated the fold. The ship rocked forward slightly before it began the fold. Glancing at the timer he saw that they had about a ten hour fold.

  Hain announced right away, “I’m gonna head to engineerin’ to keep an eye on things.”

  Feligrin left without saying a word leaving Jarron, Elyse, and Mara alone. Elyse moved into Feligrin’s seat next to Jarron. Once they were gone Mara said, “So you’re the famous Jarron?

  Giving a soft chuckle he replied, “I don’t know about the famous part but yes, I’m Jarron.”

  “We didna get a chance to properly talk with all the plannin’ and such. Tell me all about ya.”

  He spun his chair to look at Mara. She was sitting in one of the rear chairs of the cockpit. She gave him a grin when their eyes caught.

  “What would you like to know?”

  “How did ya meet my Hain? What caused ya to get into business together? Where did the halflin’ come from? I already know whatcha told the King but ya left out these details.”

  Giving her a nod Jarron told her everything he could about the adventures that Jarron and Hain had been on. He tried to leave out a bit of the more dangerous details so he would not startle Hain’s future wife.

  Mara rubbed her chin before declaring, “It sounds like ya both have been on quite the adventure. Can I guess since ya got a wife now your adventurin’ days are done?”

  “Yes.”

  Elyse interjected, “We’re still stuck on an adventure that will hopefully be done soon. I never thought I would say this during my time in the mon
astery but I miss the boring simple life.”

  Jarron chuckled. He had not had a boring simple life since he left his parent’s home. He doubted that even after this whole issue was settled he would still not settle into a boring life. Probably a lot less adventure but he doubted it was going to be boring.

  Mara asked, “Did Hain tell ya about our weddin’?”

  “He kinda hinted at it but did not really give details.”

  “Always been a stubborn one. Hain beat five other Kalan and subdued me durin’ our weddin’. Not because he didna wanna get married but he couldna let himself be beaten. He’s full o’ pride like that.”

  Elyse then asked, “How are you going to get married if he’s just going to fight off a crowd again?”

  “We’re gonna elope this time. We’ll skip all that nonsense an just go right to bein’ married. He’s already got a job lined up workin’ as one of the King’s primary maintenance engineers. Hain’s one of the greatest maintenance engineers in the galaxy. He can turn a few strands o’ wire an a tube into a function’ rifle.”

  Jarron already knew about Hain’s skills as an engineer. He had fixed the Keg a million times on the fly during their many shipments. The three of them had been quite a team. Jarron flying, Hain fixing, and Feligrin doing everything else they could not. He already knew that he and Hain would be settling down but he had no clue what Feligrin would do. He had mentioned something about buying the Keg from Hain but Jarron was not sure if Hain would sell it. After all, even an engineer could probably use his own personal spaceship. Jarron knew if he owned the Keg he would not sell it. Jarron himself had considered buying it. He could probably start his own piloting school back on Terra if he had a ship.

  Suddenly Elyse asked, “Mara what do you do for a living back on Kalan?”

  “I’m a teacher. I work on teachin’ Kalan history in the junior academy.”

  “Junior academy?”

  “Aye for small children when they’re old enough to go.”

  He had known about the academy from a few of the many conversations he had with Hain. The Kalan fascinated him. They were so different than humans in so many ways and yet common just enough that both tended to get along swimmingly. Really the Brumkin were the only ones who got along with nearly everyone. They sat there chatting for an hour or so about whatever came up before Jarron realized he was hungry. Once he excused himself Mara left and Elyse followed him. They ate dinner from the meal dispenser before heading off to their quarters. Jarron decided to send a message to his mother to let her know that he was coming home and he had a surprise. He wanted to surprise his family with Elyse so he did not mention her. The only good thing about having been kicked out was the fact his mother had made a secret messaging account that only Jarron could contact her through. She made it so his father would not find out but it was perfect for this exact situation. Once he finished sending her the message he decided that they should probably get some sleep. By the time they arrived at Terra it would be early morning there so he decided to get some sleep now instead of trying to struggle through a whole day. He knew that he wanted to be sharp and fresh when he returned to his old home.