Gift of Flight

by S. W. Gunn

  Not wanting them to get too close Jarron called out, “Hello out there.”

  The three raised their weapons and aimed them towards the door. Jarron could not see which one was which except the youngest one was smaller.

  After a bit of a pause one of them said, “Who are ya an why are ya on my farm.”

  “We aren’t on a farm, we’re in a refinery.”

  “Its my land.”

  “Ya sorry about that. We got stuck on this planet after an incident with Magial and none one in town had refined Erunium. They told us this refinery could make some so we’re here. We will leave once we get what we need.”

  “No you need to leave now. This building is mine and I didn’t give you permission to come here.”

  “I know but we didn’t have a choice. We just wanna go home.” Jarron told them.

  He was becoming very concerned because they did not seem to be listening to anything that he was trying to tell them at all. Jarron slid slightly over towards the door and slowly began to pull it towards himself.

  “I’m givin’ ya a warnin’. Get your things and leave.”

  “We’ll be gone in about 15 minutes.”

  “Now.”

  As one of them began to take aim at Jarron he pulled the door all the way closed. There was a loud pop from outside before something thumped roughly into the door. Jarron paused for a moment before he realized that they were using projectile weapons! Nobody used projectile weapons anymore. They were ineffective in so many ways. Although if one of them hit him it would do the job. Several more projectiles thumped against the metal doors of the building. Jarron decided that he needed to send them scurrying for cover or they would eventually get through these old doors. Poking his arm out, he fired several blaster shots into the ground near the men. He then took a peek and saw that his plan worked. All three of the men had ran backwards and took cover. They were re-positioning to fire again. Jarron saw several more light sources coming from off in the distance. They were moving quite rapidly. He knew that they would get there very soon. The projectile fire cut off for a moment. Either the others got there or they were reloading their weapons. Once again the sounds of the projectiles striking the door started again. The door was starting to take quite a beating and he was not sure how long it would last under this withering attack. In fact it seemed as though the number of projectiles hitting it increased.

  Turning towards Hain Jarron yelled out, “How much longer?”

  “Almost there lad. A few minutes or so. I’ve gotta pack it safely.”

  “Well hurry it up. They’re really letting this door have it and it won’t be long.”

  “Distract ‘em lad.”

  He grunted. Quickly flipping open a smidge of the door Jarron fired a bunch of shots out at the men, trying not to hit them but force them to retreat. He kept firing for a moment while getting close enough to hopefully scare the men off. They ducked down out of the way when he started firing, which made him happy, but Jarron realized that these men were not going to be scared of a firefight. He remembered that they were once rebels, no doubt they were out manned and outgunned and yet still held their own. Jarron flipped the door shut. He heard them yelling at each other instead of returning fire. Taking a moment to crack the door slightly open he peeked out to see that they started to split up. They were planning now to encircle the building and perhaps attack on all sides. He jogged back briefly and saw that there was another door on the other side of the building. It was closed and barred shut but if they decided to force their way through he would not be able to fight them all off.

  “Hain we’re running out of time here.”

  “I know I know. Keep em busy for a few more minutes.”

  Jarron groaned before going back to the front door again. He peeked out and spotted only two men waiting in front. They saw him open the door slightly and fired at him. He ducked down to avoid the weapon fire. One thumped into the door and the other echoed into the building as it slipped through the crack. It struck along the back wall behind him. Jarron aimed his weapon through the crack and popped off a few shots. Suddenly the building rattled violently. He panicked. Something smashed into the back of the building where the other door was. The building rattled once again. Jarron turned and fired off a few more shots through the door. He turned to look back at the other door and saw it was starting to give in.

  “I’m done.” Hain stated as he was tucking a large tube into the box he had brought in beforehand.

  “Let’s get the heck outta here.” Jarron announced.

  He poked his blaster out through the opening of the door and fired a whole bunch of times near the two men there. They dove away from his shots. He pulled on the door to open it enough for their conveyance to drive through. Turning back around, he dashed to the conveyance. Hain yanked on the cables that connected the conveyance to the computer, which caused the computer to immediately shut down. The building rattled once again. The door probably had one more left in it before it came down. Once Jarron climbed into the conveyance he put it in reverse, since they had pulled in facing the other way, and waited for Hain to climb in. It seemed to take Hain forever to get in before he was finally fully in with his door closed. Jarron pushed the pedal to get the conveyance moving and right as they started to back away the door in front of them slammed down towards them, barely missing the conveyance they were in as they reversed direction. Jarron was finally able to see what the farmers were using to slam into the door. It appeared to be a bulky looking conveyance that was probably used for farming or hauling gear. He pushed down on the pedal harder and the conveyance shot off. Jarron turned his head to watch behind them as they drove. The two men who were there ran to get out of the way.

  “Lad ya need to turn around.”

  “I know.” Jarron stated.

  Looking back in front of them he saw that the large conveyance had drove through the building and was chasing them. It was not moving very fast but fast enough to catch up with them driving backwards. Slowly but surely it was gaining ground on them. Jarron kept going while pushing the pedal down as hard as he could. He decided to risk spinning around so he could turn and drive off. Shifting the wheel of the conveyance as hard as he could, he spun them sideways. Right as they got turned around the farmers following them slammed into the rear of the conveyance. Jarron was jostled roughly.

  “Lad that wasna the smartest move.”

  Shifting the stick that controlled the gears he moved it to forward and slammed back on the pedal to move forward. The conveyance moved ahead of the large one rapidly. Jarron grinned. The escape was a bit easier than he had hoped it would be.

  “Look out on the left!” Hain yelled.

  The conveyance rocked as something slammed into it from the left. Jarron glanced over and saw another conveyance with a pair of farmers in it. This conveyance looked much sleeker and faster than the one Jarron was driving. He pushed the wheel to the left to give them a nudge back. The farmer’s conveyance did not budge. He realized that they were in trouble since their conveyance seemed to be both faster and bigger. The farmers slammed into his conveyance once again. Jarron’s teeth rattled. He swerved to the right to try and evade them. It did not work as they shifted to keep right up with him. Jarron decided he was going to have to use superior maneuvering to escape. Spinning the wheel hard he spun them right and in a wide circle. The farmers initially did not move but eventually they spun around with him. It gave Jarron a slight lead but the farmers were gaining quickly. He spotted the other farmers’ conveyance slowly lumbering towards them.

  “Jarron?” Hain said with a bit of usual nervousness in his voice.

  Clenching his teeth Jarron aimed the conveyance right at the large one coming at them. The other conveyance was following behind him and gaining quickly. Jarron pushed the pedal of the conveyance down as hard as he could to push it forward. Right as they were a few meters away from slamming into the front of the large conveyance Jarron slammed the braking pedal and shift
ed the driving wheel hard to the right. It caused the conveyance to spin wildly around the larger conveyance. As they spun to the side of the large conveyance the farmer driving it looked at them.

  Jarron reached out with his hand and while smiling gave a wave before saying, “Bye.”

  As they continued to spin the farmer looked forward and yelled out pulling up his hands as the smaller conveyance of the farmers that was following him spun sideways in an attempt to avoid each other before hooking the front of the large conveyance into the side of the smaller one. It caused the smaller one to spin wildly before coming to a stop. At the same time Jarron continued to push the brake pedal, which caused their conveyance to come to a smooth stop.

  “That… was insane.” Hain said with a very stunned look on his face.

  Jarron just chuckled. He had a lot of practice running from police back on Terra, although there was something about all the dust being kicked up that made these wheeled conveyances more fun.

  “Let’s make sure they’re okay before we head out.”

  After Hain gave him a nod Jarron pulled the conveyance up to the ruined farmer’s vehicle. Both of the farmers appeared to be fine so Jarron shot off. At first as they pulled away the larger conveyance tried to follow them but eventually they were able to pull away safely. Jarron sighed. They still had about four or so hours of driving but at least they had their refined Erunium.

  After driving for some time Hain announced, “I donna think we’re gonna have enough fuel in dis thing to git us all the way to that town.”

  Glancing at the gauges Jarron noted that it was well under halfway.

  “I guess we’ll be walkin’ once it dies on us.” Hain stated.

  “Ya.”

  They rode along for another three hours before the conveyance finally died. He guessed that they had about an hour of walking left before they would make it to the town. In fact Jarron could see the lights coming from the town off in the distance. He climbed out of the conveyance and met Hain right in front of it before they began walking. Hain had the box with the Erunium resting on his right shoulder as they walked along.

  After ten or so minutes of walking Hain stated, “That was quite the adventure.”

  Giving a chuckle Jarron replied, “Yes it was.”

  They continued to walk along for some time before Hain solemnly said, “I’m gonna miss my time with ya lad.”

  Jarron frowned. He had not realized it but Hain was right. Most likely once they got to Terra they would be parting ways, for what could be forever. Hain was probably going to work for Dalain and Jarron was going to stay with Elyse on Terra. It made Jarron feel a little sad. He had spent the last few years with Hain.

  “I’ll miss you too Hain.”

  Hain reached out with his free hand and patted Jarron on the shoulder. Jarron looked down at him and gave him a grin.

  “I doubt there’ll ever be a pilot like ya lad.”

  “Thanks Hain. I know this is going to sound a little corny but you’ve been like a father to me.”

  Hain gave him a grin before stating, “An now Mara’s talkin’ bout makin’ little ones of my own.”

  Giving out a hearty laugh Jarron stated, “Elyse too.”

  “Life’s gonna be changin’ for the both of us.”

  “Ya.”

  They continued to walk towards the town, which was fully in view. Finally the Keg came into view and Jarron sighed in relief. Jarron was quite happy when he walked back aboard the Keg. His feet hurt a bit from the long walk and he was very tired. The sun still had no come up yet but they would have to launch as soon as Hain finished his repairs. Hain told them that it would take a few hours so Jarron decided to take a nap so he would be a little refreshed when it was time for him to fly. Elyse kindly massaged his feet before he dozed off to sleep.

  Chapter 20

  “Jarron wake up.” A soft voice said through Jarron’s sleep.

  He recognized it as Elyse’s voice. He felt someone pushing lightly on his chest, which forced him out of his sleep.

  “I’m awake.” He stated.

  “Hain said its time to launch. He ran all the tests and he said the Keg is ready.”

  Sitting up and stretching, he was still a bit tired and his feet hurt, he was ready to go. Once he stood up he used the bathroom before slipping his boots back on and heading to the cockpit. As he sat down he let out a sigh. It might be the last time that he would be piloting the Keg. Flipping several switches to get her warmed up Jarron grabbed the sticks and activated the engines. He held firm as the Keg launched off into space. It was a nice change of pace to see an empty field of space in front of them.

  Hain walked into the cockpit with Mara and said, “Once we git to Terra could ya come wit us to the civil affairs office?”

  “Uh sure.” Jarron answered.

  “We’re gonna take care o’ the marriage thing there. Then we’ll let ya head off to see your family.”

  “I’d like you to meet them too Hain.”

  “Nah lad. Ya havena spent much time with ‘em. We’ll come in a few days if’n ya want. We’re gonna go to the Lunar Colony for our honeymoon den we’ll come back. After that we’re headin’ to Kala-al-Drakal. My cousin’s lined up jobs for the both of us.”

  “Alright Hain.” Jarron said before turning to Feligrin and asking, “Could you set our course for Terra?”

  “Sure!” Feligrin stated before playing with the nav computer.

  “We’ll be in the engine room lad.” Hain said before spinning about and leaving.

  Mara followed closely behind him. Glanced behind his chair and saw Elyse strapped down into her chair. She gave him a soft smile which he returned with a cheesy grin. She chuckled at him. After a few moments the nav computer beeped letting them know the course was ready.

  “Here we go.” Jarron said as he activated the fold.

  The ship lurched into the fold with stars whipping by their window. He released the sticks and settled back into his chair. The nav computer indicator had this trip taking about five hours.

  A loud crackling sound came through the comm as Hain announced, “Lad I’m gonna take a nap. Lemme know when we’re ‘bout there.”

  Pushing the button Jarron responded, “Roger.”

  Once he let go of the button he asked Feligrin, “What will you do once we get to Terra?”

  “I’ve got an offer from Dalain to work with him and I think I’m gonna take it.”

  Jarron nodded at him. Feligrin was as nice a person as he has ever met. He hoped that everything would work out for him there. Jarron felt a little bad about leaving them but he knew it was time to move on with his own life with Elyse. As they sat in mostly silence Jarron reflected on what was about to come. His mother’s reply to his message that he was coming home could have only been described as extreme excitement. She let him know that his sister was on call to come home when he arrived. Jarron was surprised to find out that she got married while he was gone. She never told him in the messages that she had sent to him. His mother made it clear that she did not tell his father that Jarron was coming. He could only imagine the negative reaction he was about to receive. Shrugging it off Jarron listened as Feligrin and Elyse started to talk about Brumbar. Elyse was grilling him for information. Jarron was lost in thought as they continued their trip. He had not been paying attention to the conversation around him.

  “Jarron?” Elyse said.

  Shaking out of his own thoughts he said, “Yes?”

  “Are you okay?”

  Giving her a firm answer he said, “Yes.”

  As soon as it left his mouth he realized that he was not. He was finding himself filled with a mixture of nervousness and confusion. Feligrin was looking at Elyse before nodding and standing up. He then walked out.

  Once he was gone Elyse said, “You know I can feel your emotions like you can mine.”

  Jarron grumbled before finally admitting to her, “I’m a little wary about what’s gonna happen when we go there.”r />
  Elyse stood up and knelt down next to him before saying in a very soft tone, “Everything will be fine and I’ll be with you the whole time.”

  He turned to look at her before taking one of her hands. She reached out with a hand and rubbed the side of his cheek.

  Suddenly a grin crossed her face before she cheekily commented, “I’m glad your facial hair is coming out nicely.”

  “Why’s that? I’ve found most women aren’t a fan of facial hair.”

  “You look like a teenager when you’re clean shaven.” She replied with a snicker.

  He laughed loudly at her because he had heard that many times before. It was part of his heritage. His mother’s ethnicity tended to make them look very youthful and all of her children had the same youthful appearance. People had always assumed Jarron was younger than he was, it was one of the reasons that he grew out the goatee. The nav computer beeped as the Keg dropped out of the fold. Off in the distance Jarron spotted all of the planets of the system that surrounded Terra. Feligrin came back into the cockpit and took his seat.

  “Feligrin request permission to land on Terra. I’ll plot the course once they assign us a landing pad.”

  Giving Jarron a nod Feligrin began tapping out the request for the landing pad. It was all automated by a computer so the response was pretty quick. Jarron glanced at the computer after Feligrin entered the coordinates into the system. Pushing the sticks of the Keg forward he headed towards the path. Once they were moving he activated the autopilot. It would take them on the prescribed course and then set them down on the landing pad. The Keg rolled along on autopilot for about an hour before it settled down on the assigned landing pad. Jarron stood up and went into the quarters that he was sharing with Elyse. He was surprised to see that while they were away getting the Erunium she had packed all of their possessions. He popped open the secret compartment of the Keg and pulled out all of his hidden items, which he tucked into a pocket. Better to be safe than sorry.