Borne On Wings of Steel (21 page)

"You have a good ship and crew, Captain,” Inaha said with sincerity. “It's a privilege to sail with you."

"I thank you."

They nodded to the each other in a silent salute of mutual respect.

"Well, I need to get my things stowed.” Inaha paused one last time as he gazed with open wonder at the view-screen. “I love to watch that first jump. Thank you for allowing me on your bridge. It has been too long since I was last on a fast starship."

"My pleasure.” Rok watched the huge Hammatt leave.

"So, Mother told us to be on the lookout for a Paum warship,” Jaric said as he stepped beside Rok. “That's interesting. We heard about the Paum from that Mrad Security Officer. That name seems to be popping up a lot lately."

"It may not mean anything,” Rok commented. “But, we are forewarned now. I have my ship on elevated alert status in case we encounter any hostile ships en route."

"Good idea.” Jaric looked around the bridge. “You know, I need to find Kyle. I'll meet you later at dinner."

Rok nodded.

Jaric found Kyle lying in his bunk—idly staring up at the ceiling. He grabbed a chair and sat down. A smile flickered momentarily on Kyle's face as Jaric entered, but otherwise Kyle continued to lie there in silence.

Jaric waited a few moments, deep in thought, before he finally spoke.

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but this is the first time we've been alone since that food incident."

Kyle chuckled. “Food incident, eh?” He looked at his friend. “Go ahead, what is it?"

"You know, back on RahajMr. Well, when Rok was trying to talk to us. And well, you said we were just a dysfunctional family—at best.” Jaric's eyes narrowed. “That kinda’ bothered me.” In the next moment Jaric smiled broadly. “But you didn't really mean it, did you, Big K?"

Kyle looked away without saying a word.

"Right?” Jaric added.

Kyle shook his head as he sat up. “I just was talking,” he said without conviction. He looked at Jaric with a somber expression. “I was just talking. Don't let it worry you."

Jaric watched Kyle while the other continued to avoid his direct gaze. Jaric felt his heart sink with sadness. It pained him to realize how Kyle felt, to realize that he felt their family wasn't normal, or that it was somehow
less
of a family compared to others.

Inside his own heart, Jaric felt their family was as good and normal as any he had heard or read about. He felt proud and happy to be a part of it. Every single day he heard Mother's voice, or when he sat down with the others at meal times or when they watched a holovid or listened to music—he felt a part of something—part of a family.

It didn't bother him that it wasn't the ideal family. It only mattered that they were
family
. And he wanted with all of his heart for Kyle to feel that way too.

"But you feel that we are a family?” Jaric asked after a long pause.

They looked at each other deeply.

"Sure ... sure.” Kyle took a deep breath. “I mean, I love Mother. And you like a brother. And Rok too. And the others are good...” Kyle grew silent.

"But,” Jaric coaxed.

"But,” Kyle repeated. He shook his head slowly. “But we're certainly not a
normal
family by any stretch. There's no real mother and a father—we have an AI starship instead. And we have a
clone
for a sister—if you want to call her our sister."

Kyle eyed Jaric, but Jaric remained intent. Kyle cleared his throat. “And the rest are alien warriors, an alien geek, and a Mewiis with a hyperactive head-tail."

Kyle's eyes met Jaric's. He noticed a hint of a smile on Jaric's face now as he concluded, “I don't know, does that sound like your average run-of-the-mill,
normal
family to you?"

Jaric reflected a moment. He focused on the humor in Kyle's last statement and the mischief in his eyes. He smiled—at first.

Then Jaric began to laugh, his eyes sparkling with humor. “Hey, maybe you have a point there!” He laughed. “Maybe the
real
problem is that
we're too normal
for this bunch!"

Kyle had to chuckle at that. For several minutes, their laughter echoed in the air as their spirits lifted.

"You know,” Jaric finally said. “We kid a lot. And we mess with Rok too. But, Rok said some important things back there—like we really should appreciate what we've got—while we have it."

"I know,” Kyle agreed.

"But I'm like you. I think if we found more human survivors, it'd be great. It would be super-cool.” Jaric smiled.

"You got that right."

"But,” Jaric added. “Maybe we've got it pretty good right now—better than we think. And we might not be the ideal, ‘normal’ family,” Jaric emphasized. “But hey, we are family."

Jaric looked hopefully at Kyle.

Kyle started to laugh and then reached over and slapped Jaric on the shoulder playfully.

"Maybe I should think about what I have—we have—more.” He raised his forefinger. “And I have been giving Rok's words some thought since he said it back there.” Kyle stood up and stretched slowly. “You know, most of the time I am happy. And I like being with Mother and all of you.” He clenched his eyes shut, almost as if he were in pain.

Jaric looked at him with concern.

"But sometimes I get so bummed—just like that.” Kyle snapped his fingers. “And Rok just set me off that day—bad timing. I was so happy, so excited. And then he just set me off."

"But he was right. And our search failed once again. He was just trying to get us to think,” Jaric said.

"I know.” Kyle sighed. “I know."

"And, now we need to keep a watch out for the Paum,” Jaric added.

"And I didn't like those other aliens either, those Harg. I didn't like the looks of them the minute I set eyes on them."

"Why the Harg?” Jaric asked.

"I remember one of them grunting during the fight that they wanted to take us to their ship,” Kyle said.

"Kidnap us?” Jaric said with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know.” Kyle's eyes lit up with humor. “Hey, maybe they'll grab Elise and take her off our hands.” Kyle chuckled.

Jaric laughed a moment with him, but then his face grew serious. “Maybe we need to re-think the cl ... re-think our view on Elise too. After all, she is human."

"Yeah, there seem to be precious few of us left in this universe. Maybe we should.” Kyle nodded.

"Anyway, we'll be at this ocean world paradise in a few days,” Jaric said enthusiastically. “Islands and oceans and food and aliens everywhere all having a good time! That ought to be some fun!"

Kyle nodded. “Well, if we can't have fun there, we might as well give it all up."

Jaric stood up, laughing heartily. “Yeah, let's have some fun on this planet, Big K. No searching, no trouble. Let's just have ourselves a great time."

"Sure,” Kyle agreed. “Let's just have fun—what a concept."

[Back to Table of Contents]

THE BLUE AND green beauty of Meramee filled their eyes.

Elise, Jysar and Krinia looked in awe at the planet that floated on the main view-screen.

Mother herself was impressed. Within seconds, she ran through every image of every world she had either visited or which was stored within her long-term memories, and few indeed compared with the natural beauty of the island-planet Meramee.

The sentient starship reveled in the fact that the mere image of a planet could elicit such emotions in biological beings. And no other word described their careful scrutiny except pleasure—or perhaps sheer joy.

It seemed certain visual stimuli—works of art, well-kept gardens and beautiful flowers, pristine natural settings as well as wild animal life—stimulated this emotion. Mother analyzed Meramee in detail, scanning every aspect of the visual spectrum. She discerned the color combinations of cloud and blue-green ocean mixed with the tiny dots of islands created pleasant symmetries and patterns which intrigued her. But it seemed odd that this same image of Meramee elicited such emotional responses in the others.

She observed a similar effect with music, an aural stimuli, on the children in her own early years of life. She came to realize that music could produce a wide variety of emotional responses depending on the rhythm, melody, or lyrics in varying combinations. It made for a fascinating study that she enjoyed to this day.

It appeared humans and biological beings in general gained not only factual knowledge from their senses, but also gained emotional stimulus as well—and one seemed as important as the other.

The planet, laced by wisps of mauve clouds overshadowing several shades of blue and green ocean depending on its depth, grew beyond the boundary of the main view-screen as Mother entered the atmosphere. As Mother flew lower, the sunlight from the large red star which Meramee orbited glistened off the waters below, and individual islands took shapes. Krinia, Jysar and Elise pointed from one island to another with expressions of delight.

Mother searched and discovered that Meramee possessed over one hundred thousand islands. And while it was a planet covered entirely by a single ocean, there were vast stretches of water that were quite shallow. In fact, the famous Emerald Sea averaged only ten meters deep over its entire expanse. And this beautiful sea alone covered most of the western hemisphere.

Several other smaller areas of water that dotted the vast, turquoise ocean were even more shallow. And it was in these shallow sections of ocean, which covered almost half the planet, where the densest population of islands existed.

Although by the strictest definition of most planets there were no individual seas on Meramee, the Mejadic designated various bodies of water bordered by island groups as seas: the Emerald Sea, the Majestic Sea, the Sea of Lights, the Marble Ocean and the spectacular Sea of Showers.

Because of the planet's irregular orbit—it tilted both its poles towards the red star several times each circuit—polar ice caps existed at neither pole. And yet, the tops of the mountainous islands at each pole remained snow-capped most of the year and the ocean water remained warm enough for swimming only a few short weeks.

For long seconds, everyone took in the beauty of Meramee as it beckoned them closer. Mother refrained from vocal communication so as not to spoil the mood. As Elise and the others stood entranced, Mother received final landing instructions.

"I love to walk on a secluded beach at night,” Jysar said with a sigh, surprising both Krinia and Elise. “Hearing the waves in the darkness, feeling the sand between my toes—breathing the clean, salty air.” He breathed deeply and held it, as if he were already there and savoring the moment.

"I can't wait.” He sighed again.

"I thought Hronosium was a single planet-city which covered every centimeter of the natural planet in your youth?” Krinia asked in surprise. “When did you ever walk on an open beach?"

"I was born on Jorrdannd, far away from the homeworld of the Hrono. That world has large oceans embracing temperate continents. It is the newest and least developed planet of the Hrono kingdom. I lived among its natural, untamed beauty during my childhood. I only lived on Hronosium the last seven years of my life,” Jysar said. He suddenly smiled. “And remember, the first parts of the planet-city have been opened up to allow nature a place in which to grow on that world once again."

Meramee grew continually larger on the view-screen. Now only a small section of the planet was visible—in the center hundreds of small islands created a whimsical arc nestled in a bright green sea. Details such as beaches and mountains grew visible on individual islands.

"Are we landing?” Elise said as she became aware of her surroundings.

"I-I believe we are,” Jysar stammered as he rubbed his eyes.

"What is our destination?” Krinia's head-tail swished with interest. “I'm suddenly in the mood to get out and walk on a beach somewhere ... but I'd like to know where exactly we're landing on Meramee."

"Me too!” Elise said, her voice bubbling with youthful exuberance. “It looks so good from up above, I can't imagine what it'll be like actually being there!"

"We will land on Leyloi—Queen Island of the Maiden Isles. Geographically speaking, this string of islands is located on the western border of the Emerald Sea. Their origin is volcanic, which explains their mountainous structure. But their secluded and pristine beaches are famous throughout this quadrant.” Mother's words sent a chill of excitement into the room.

"Oh, Meramee.” Jysar sighed again. “I think I may never want to leave you."

Elise and Krinia began to laugh as they watched the expression on Jysar's face—an expression of profound joy that seemed more appropriate for two young lovers about to profess their undying love to each other.

"Have any of you noticed something missing on Meramee?” Mother asked out of the blue.

Three sets of eyes studied Meramee.

"The cities are very small.” Jysar looked at the others with a questioning look.

"Actually, the only dwellings on the surface of the islands are for the tourists. All of them hotels, shops or other entertainment centers."

"Where is their industry? Or where are the original inhabitants?” Jysar asked.

"The Mejadic are an aquatic race. Their cities and industry all reside under the shallow oceans. That is another reason why the surface is still so pristine, and why there are such small centers of habitation on the islands."

"Are the Mejadic a space-faring race?” Elise asked.

"Yes, for many years now. You will be greeted by them when I land. It is a quaint Meramee custom."

"Cool,” Elise said with growing excitement.

"I think we'll just make our way to the beach, mingle with the aliens, soak in a little sun, and then maybe take a swim in the Emerald Sea. Not necessarily in that order,” Krinia said with a business-like tone, as if she were reading off a daily to-do list.

"Sounds terrible.” Jysar laughed. “I think I'll join you.

"Maybe we'll meet some nice alien boys, too!” Krinia smiled at Elise.

"Not like Lama Kama von Dama, right?” Elise laughed, remembering the alien Romeo back on RahajMr.