Aetheran Child (35 page)

Lexan did not reply.

“I'll lend you however much you need,” Solan started, “Just get it back to me as soon as you can.” The boy turned and left to go outside.

“How will I pay you back?” Lexan shouted, knowing well that only Solan could hear him.

“Get a job,” Solan walked into an opening at the end of the breezy platform and jumped down. Lexan watched him go and commanded Joshua to ask for a larger grant for Sun Surfing. Seconds later, it was approved and the boy used that money for the boards.

Withing minutes, the Aether bought the cheapest board as well as the cheapest suit available. It's necessary, he told himself. The skies outside stirred in anticipation of another storm.

Solan sent him a quick message, “Meet me at the port.” Lexan took the board and suit. With no other luggage to bear, other than a short sword he started carrying, he quickly made his way down the Spheres and into the port.

With Solan already there, carrying a couple bags, they boarded the cruise ship.

“Welcome to Star Cruise. The one and only Cruise company that allows its visitors to see the Stars right up front,” A sweet female voices echoed throughout the enormous Sphere. Half of the ceiling was cut out so that the Sphere stood only three-quarters way covered. Through the cutout, numerous bridges extended toward the stand-by ships.

The one that Solan and Lexan headed to resembled a sort of a fish. It had a large spherical front with tightly drawn tail. Numerous fins stabilized the sides and the top. Small circular windows protruded through the mass in the likeness of a star field in darkness.

“There you are, you got enough credits for the Cruise?” Solan's face darkened in half humor and half seriousness.

“Yeah, I have a full grant for it,” Lexan answered cheerfully, trying to ignore Solan's remarks. The place teemed with thousands of people that awaited their ship. Invisible speakers announced arrivals and departures to place all over the galaxy.

Solan nudged Lexan in hopes of brightening up the mood, “Man, look at all those hotties that are going to cruise with us.”

Lexan looked over and indeed saw many attractive females as well as males. He smiled to himself but then his look became grim as he realized that he had lost one of those “hotties” just two days earlier when he kissed Nivua. Or when she kissed him. What did she see in me? He frowned at the inexplicable question.

Solan took it as a sign, “Oh right, I forgot about you and Bloo. Well, at least you can mine for some rebound.” he laughed lightly. Lexan returned the laugh as a courtesy. He breathed in and exhaled, closing his eyes, the calm washed over him like a solemn wave. Aether training had its nice applications in real life.

The two boys left and walked up the high ramp that floated in mid-air. Below, Lexan saw the intricate network of Spheres and lines connecting them. They must have been at least a hundred kilometers up in the air. As they neared the small entrance at the side of the great Cruise Ship, a number of Sky Surfers flew out of nowhere and jumped the line. They directly Surfed from the surface.

Lexan came up and walked through the entrance, noticing that the system automatically took care of the charges for the ride and his permissions. One thing struck Lexan as odd, every single name field which was directed to him stated the name [Muray]. Perplexed, the boy ran a verification, but still, the name came up as [Muray]. He even asked Joshua, “What is my name?” questioningly as to what the databases say, Joshua answered “[Muray]”, single name. No first, no last. Just [Muray].

Does this name mean anything? The boy thought, Joshua answered negatively. Solan led both of them to their expansive cabins that were akin to their dormitories save the single circular window with the diameter of half a man. Their journey began momentarily and the ship fired its main engines. With a loud roar, the fish-like vessel flew out of the atmosphere into space. The sweet lady announced that the trip will take two days. It was a Cruise Ship after all. The Ship had only two stops, one at a natural satellite of the School Planet, and another at the space station that encircled the whole of the star.

Solan motioned for “[Muray]” to follow him into the game parlor and practice Surfing in simulation.

V

Just one more hour, Lexan thought. Just one more hour and the Cruise Ship will dock with the orbital station by Eir, the enormous star in the mids of the Aether system. The last two days had been fun, the boy noted as he lay down on his bed. Solan taught him how to Surf well enough in the simulation so that he would be ready for the real thing.

The last hour seems to last longer than the whole trip, Lexan thought to himself. He felt strangely claustrophobic inside his cabin, alone. The world pressed down upon him. The boy put his hands in front of him and let the nano-constructed computer form in his palms as a pool of liquid. It swirled and Lexan gazed down upon the gentle yet beautiful face of Alary. The young girl radiated with calmness and sincerity, “An angel,” the boy whispered. A set of new conflicting feelings raged through the young Aether's mind. One seemed to pull him away from Alary, because she did not deserve to be endangered like this.

The young Earth girl did not deserve to have a fate such as this, “If I could, I would take the quest all upon myself,” the boy spoke slowly, the liquid shimmered with each word.

Another force pulled him closer to the woman, “We will save the galaxy,” Lexan said. He and Alary would be the saviors, and they could even invite Nangern. He would surely comply.

“Such fate,” the boy spoke again. He remembered the dreams, the series of dreams he's had for the past two years. The dreams about the strange men, the burned beings, the angelic figures, and the symbols. We are destined to be together Alary, the boy thought, “Destined,” he said. All of it led up to this moment. He would see her in her beautiful dress, and they would dance in the Great Hall. The two would embark on a ship and fly thousands of light years to Nangern.

The weight of the world pressed down on Lexan again, “What if I can't do this?” he asked the motionless picture of Alary in his hands, “What if I cannot help?”

Suddenly, the boy's pent up energy eased and left behind a panic attack. Wrecked, completely drained, Lexan laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. The cool NCC liquid flowed down his arms onto his chest and formed the symbol from his dreams, the one that naturally came to him all through his stay. It was the symbol he pre-programmed into his NCC as HIS symbol. The half-ellipse cut through by a single double-pointed line with a torn in the middle. His NCC always pooled over his shoulder or arm as a temporary tattoo in form of that symbol.

“What does it even mean?” the boy said out loud but still no one would hear him outside his helmet, “So many questions.” His heart quickened pace.

“What if I had misunderstood?” he asked, his pulse rising. The quiet beats roared in the boy's ears. A strange pain resonated inside the Aether's skull. He closed his eyes and let a gentle stream of sounds infiltrate his helmet.

The slow and quiet beats accentuated some kind of foreign instrument. The music seemed to resemble a visual pattern. Lexan's mind opened up and let the healing music in. It healed and smoothed the boy's worries and troubles.

Aetheri are known for their endurance, and Lexan was not about to fail. His resolve hardened. An enormous shudder through the ship reminded the boy that they had docked. Solan had already left with his luggage, that is, his Surf board. The foreign music subsided, and the boy took his own board under his arm. As he walked down the now empty hallways, the heat rose considerably. Finally, he reached the scorching doorway.

There, he stood shocked for what seemed like minutes. A thin bridge connected the Cruise ship and the star station. The star blazed hot upon the surface. Lexan looked left and right to see purple magnetic fields holding the ship in place. Every now and then, a lightning discharged along the field. But there was no cover, the boy realized. The bridge did not have a ceiling, it did not form a hallway, nor a portal, it was just like a side-walk in space, only thousands of miles away from the hot star.

Yet, as the young Aether walked down the metal, scale-covered bridge, he did not feel panic nor fear. The bridge was stable, it did not sway, nor did it scorch the boy's feet. When the Lexan implored with a thought question, Joshua switched the boy's view to include visual elements that could not be seen without special equipment, visual elements that make some travelers feel at ease. An enormous shield rose up and covered the bridge and its surroundings. The star station floated mighty and proud in its red aura that symbolized electromagnetic counter fields which diverted the star's energy elsewhere.

Several other details added to the safety feeling, a myriad of holo-projections resembling a line of droids stood by the edges of the walkway, ready to catch him. Lexan smiled to himself and walked swiftly toward the Space Station. At first glance, it seemed completely flat, looking left and right, but Joshua informed the boy of the slight curve. The massive black ring surrounded the enormous star, it stretched for countless kilometers, numbering in several millions. The young Aether stepped inside and was overwhelmed by the bright interior. The walls shone white as did the floors and ceiling. Thin blue fluorescent lines pulsated inside the walls. They rounded the corners and enveloped the doors.

Lexan put his hand against the line and it shone brightly. The line swerved and surrounded the boy's fingers and palm. The blue pulsated strongly and the line widened until it became a full wall-screen. Flickers of random colors entranced the boy until a comprehensive blue and white menu showed up.

“Hello, [Muray]. What can I do for you today?” A female voice announced itself when the lines conformed to show a face.

“Can you tell me where I am?” the boy asked.

“Sure, you are in the forty-fourth quadrant of the Orbital Star Station,” the female voice answered.

Lexan stared at the blue-lined portrait and asked for directions to his room and to the Surf Simulation room. Solan had left him a message to meet him there for practice. The computer obliged and Lexan was rewarded with instantaneous knowledge of the forty-fourth quadrant, one at the relative “beginning” of the circular station. He walked down the bright-white pathways, the blue lines of light followed him and occasionally guided him and informed him of an interesting fact about the place.

The boy's room was small, as was expected, with a single Closet entrance. He put down his surf-board and realized that he barely had any space to move around. Frowning, he picked up the board again and opened the Closet door. Surprised, in front of him blazed the Sun, or the Aether Star. The yellow gem seemed to emit no heat. Cautiously, Lexan stepped forward into the space, he floated. The Star seemed to be the right relative distance away as the Star Station was, making the sight even more believable. As the boy neared the apparition, he realized that he could not have been outside, simply because his suit would not be able to shield him, and as he looked back, he realized that the Star Station was absent. The door way stood open but there was nothing else. Lexan floated around for a bit and switched his view to see magnetic and suspension fields.

Immediately, he recognized hundreds of shelves created with pure forces. He placed his Surf board on one of the closer transparent blue holders. He realized that a warp in reality created the large Closet space, and also, created the illusion of being in the same reality he just left within the station. The boy left back into the room. Solan wanted to go ahead and enjoy the star for a couple of hours before starting training, so Lexan decided to chip away at the weaknesses of his plan.

His ultimate goal was to bring Alary, him, and Nangern together. First step was to convince Alary to join him which should not be hard. Second step is the travel.

The boy ordered Joshua to pull up a visual interface, under much protest the MPI obliged and Lexan was presented with a list of flights out of the Aether system. All of them grossly over-priced, I'll need a job, he thought and money. But that would take time. Lexan tried to come up with another way. He could get on a star ship, and fly across the galaxy in the cargo or he could work ON the ship. Alary could do the same. He thought hard but could not make sense of it. The situation seemed to have so many solutions but none of them nearly comfortable to be plausible.

Either he could travel as a stowaway, a hitch-hiker, or work off the transport charges. Not many transports were headed to the Independent Outlying Nations, and even less of them planned to stop near the Nether invasion sites. Maybe Alary will come up with an idea, he thought.

With a distant thought, the boy sent Alary a message that he wanted to meet up. Still clueless about who he was, she agreed and told him to meet her in the hundred and fiftieth quadrant. Quickly, he replied with agreement and made arrangements with Solan who had apparently forgotten about the meeting and was currently surfing the blazing fireball.

“Meet me in the simulation room,” Alary sent Lexan a message and their contact broke off again. The boy felt an adrenaline rush building up. He smiled and without haste, he ran to the nearest in-station transport circuit. A special type of carrier cut through the entire Star Station and enabled its residents to circumnavigate the station within a single hour.

At the end of one hall simply stood a door, once it opened, it revealed a small room that could hold about ten people standing. Cushioned benches encompassed the walls of the room and in the middle materialized a wide table. Lexan sat inside and gave the room a command to take him to the hundred and fiftieth quadrant. As soon as he gave the command, Joshua informed him that they had arrived. The boy checked the time and realized that they had, indeed, traveled for about twenty minutes. He also realized that several other passengers had appeared within the room.

After a long troublesome walk with his Surf board, Lexan arrived at the simulation room, a cylindrical tall room. Its white walls were lined with blue pulsating lights. He jumped into the middle, the door seemed to open in mid-air, half of the room stood below and the other above him. He landed in the middle and floated gently. Positioning the board below himself, Lexan activated the simulation.