Broken Wings (18 page)

He brushed his hand over his face to
make a show of wiping a smile off.

Oh, right. Raea faced forward and made
an effort not to smile at the thoughts of home. She couldn't help
it; she was so close now and yet there was so much to see. Not only
was this Elis's homeworld but her mother's. Excitement raged
through her so she had to force herself to slow down and march with
a stern face.

The people they passed let
their gazes linger more than a moment sometimes. Warmth rose from
her uniform.
I'm Shirukan now, but it's
only temporary. Soon we'll all be out of here.

Raea took a deep breath and continued
through corridors now lined by glass that looked out over vast
chambers of people in various activities. Through the glass on her
side, she gazed out over an expansive, high-ceilinged room full of
people flying through moving hoops.

Oh. My. God. Josh would so
love this!
She wanted to stare, but could
only catch bits from the corner of her eye as she passed. Leksel
and the others passed without a second glance. They were used to
it. She wasn't. This was all new, a whole different
world.

They passed the flying room and
entered another series of corridors and corners, until they arrived
at a large bay with several open ports the size of airplane hangar
doors, on two levels. Good God! A couple ships landed at that
moment, one on the top deck and one on the main deck; the top deck
one smaller and both rounded over the top and flat on the bottom
with small wings. They hovered in place over the deck floor and
doors dropped into steps.

Among the crowds of hundreds—or was it
thousands—of people in colorful clothes, random black uniforms
stood out.

Shirukan. They had passed others in
the corridors, but no one gave them a second glance. Here, someone
might watch long enough for her to screw up. She swallowed,
self-conscious suddenly of every move she made.

Leksel led them to one of a row of
circular kiosks along the opposite wall. ["Stand here."]

He meant her, by the look he gave, but
not the others. Whatever. Fine, she would stand in that spot, where
she couldn't see the screen. Corsa took a step away, but Cris
stayed with her, a coy smirk up one side of his face.

She had her chance now to take in the
wonders of the dock and the variety of people. What a sight! She'd
never imagined anything like it. Stranger than the wing and hair
colors—from gold to brown and black to a rare red, blue, green, or
silvery white. Some had black points, others white, most none at
all. She never would have imagined it.

The ships were simple, with only small
wings, likely for maneuvering in atmosphere. They had rounded noses
and bulging bodies in a variety of shades of black, silver and
white with markings on the sides. Nothing like the ship from her
vision. These couldn't be starships. Could they?

["All right."] Leksel
stepped back from the screen. ["We have a shuttle in bay
Shorun
seven."]

["Not here?"] she asked.

["No."] He tucked something inside his
jacket too quickly for her to catch and motioned them to follow
him.

Yes, sir.
She made a face to his back and caught Cris's
smirk beside her. At least someone was enjoying this.

They left the bay and the open sky
behind, passing the flying room again and leaving that corridor for
another. A group of Shirukan passed quickly behind them, freezing
her breath in her lungs for several steps.

Did Leksel walk faster or was it her
imagination?

They entered a small, circular room
and the door closed behind them, much to her relief. When Leksel
and Corsa turned to face the door, Raea took her position at the
back.

["
Shorun
section,"] Leksel said. The
computer beeped.

Cris leaned close to her. ["Transport
tube."]

She figured something like
that.

Leksel turned, the muscles in his neck
tightening like his wings. ["They're onto us. We make this fast and
we get out. No questions. No staring. Understand?"] His eyes fixed
on her with a momentary shift to Cris.

Then she was right; the
Shirukan were closing in on them. Her heart pounded at the narrow
escape. That
was
close, closer than she thought possible. They had almost been
caught. More than ever she wanted to get out of that city and off
that world. She would never argue with Dave again if she found her
way home.

How did they know where they were?
Unless… ["Your computer access alerted them."]

His expression lightened. ["No. We
have current access codes. It was you."]

["Me?"] How? Was it her behavior? What
had she done?

["The Starfire gives off a unique
trace radiation. Another scan and they'll know where we're heading.
They don't know we're dressed as them. We'll have to hurry,"]
Leksel said.

Cris moved close to her. ["You're
thinking like one of us. I must be rubbing off."]

In his delusional dreams.

The computer double-beeped and the
doors opened.

["Let's go."] Leksel led them through
another corridor.

Raea cringed at the number of men and
women in uniforms, many of them Shirukan. The glass walls over the
walkway gave her a view of towering, rounded city structures, one
of them ahead. From the view of clouds below and around them, they
strode through a tunnel connected to a small section of the city
separate from the large city proper. Through the glass ceiling, she
made out a flat area ahead where a large, sleekly curved ship rose
straight up. Some of the ships like she had seen in the docking bay
they had left flew among the clouds outside.

A grasp on her arm pulled her
attention ahead. Cris let go when she hurried to catch
up.

Leksel and Corsa led them into a
different docking bay, this one with three tiers on each side and a
dozen open doors to the sky around each tier. The smell of fresh
air filled her lungs, despite the crowds of plain-clothed people
and Shirukan. The smallest ships resembled oversized beetles with
windows and small wings.

Leksel rushed them past several empty,
red cross-hair sections on the main deck where there should have
been ships. He stopped at a panel on the wall next to one of the
shuttles. At his touch, a holographic display lit up before him in
a pattern of colors.

Corsa tapped her shoulder and
pointed.

Raea's heart froze. Oh, hell
no.

["Uh, oh."] Cris stepped up beside
her. He could say that again.

A large group of Shirukan
entered.

["Leks,"] Cris said.

No answer.

["Leks, you better see
this."]

["Crystal fire!"] Something pounded
behind them.

Leksel tapped on the colored keys in a
air, a scowl on his face.

["Leksey, we have trouble."] Cris
grabbed his arm.

["Leave me alone!"] Leksel yanked his
arm away. ["It's not taking the code."]

["Leks. Shirukan?"]

At that, the big man looked
up.

A large number of Shirukan followed a
woman with her dark hair pulled back. Those already in the bay
lined up as if for an inspection.

Corsa pulled Cris forward with her.
What was she thinking?

Raea caught her breath at a sudden
jerk on her arm.

Leksel pulled Raea around the nose of
the shuttle pointing out to an open sky. A stiff breeze blew in
through the open bay door. It would be so easy to fly out, but he
held her close to him.

He put a finger to his lips and peeked
around the shuttle. Raea leaned close to see around him. Standing
against him felt strange, but she didn't mind any more. Besides,
his attention focused on the mass of black-uniformed Shirukan. It
wasn't like he did it because he liked her, although that thought
lingered in the back of her mind. Corsa should never have suggested
it.

All the Shirukan, and Corsa and Cris,
lined up in neat rows on either side of the center, where the woman
stood.

["We traced the Crystal
Keeper to this location minutes ago. She's here now. No one leaves
until every person is searched, and I expect—"] She raised her
voice. ["
Every
civilian to cooperate fully. You will be free to leave after
you've been scanned."] The woman met the eyes of several of the
Shirukan. Her stern face settled into a frown and her eyes lingered
on Corsa and Cris before passing over others.

Next to Raea, Leksel's muscles
hardened. If she thought him tense before, Raea was way off. That
was nothing to being able to bounce a quarter off him.

["Do I make myself clear?"]

A chorus of voices in unison rose up:
["Yes, sir!"]

At that, the Shirukan
scattered.

["Crystal fire!"] Leksel muttered
under his breath and straightened at the nose of the shuttle. ["And
they've locked out the release codes for the shuttles."]

This couldn't be happening. ["How do
we get out of here?"] It couldn't end like this. They were so
close!

["If we drop, we may not be noticed,
then we can fly low to the nearest island."]

A tingle of excitement passed through
her at the thought of flying again and her wings lifted slightly,
until her stomach rumbled. Flying on an empty stomach didn't appeal
to her, but escaping did, hungry or not.

["We're all hungry, and tired."] So,
he'd noticed. ["As soon as the others—"]

[Leks."]

He spun so fast, he bumped her. She
hadn't noticed how close they still stood. Only a couple days and
she was comfortable with him, but it felt like a lifetime had
passed.

Cris joined them. Corsa glanced back
and crossed to Raea's other side.

["Now what?"]

Leksel glanced at Raea.

If he wanted her opinion, she couldn't
give him any, except to agree with him. She wanted to spread her
wings and catch the air. She missed flying. ["Sounds
good."]

His jaw muscles flexed.

["What sounds good?"] Cris looked from
her to Leksel.

["We fly."]

["Are you insane?"] Cris's wings
lifted slightly.

["Maybe,"] Corsa said.

The sound of voices and footsteps grew
louder.

["Go!"] Leksel shoved Cris towards the
bay door.

["You can't bypass the
lockout?"]

["No. Go!"]

Cris looked like he wanted to argue
again.

To hell with it. Raea didn't want to
wait, or to be caught, and she didn't care what Cris thought. At
least Leksel made a decision. She rushed into the open air and
plummeted through puffs of clouds, momentary blocks of fog that
left her shivering.

A sense of freedom rushed through her
as the ocean spread out below. Above her, the city loomed enormous.
Three shapes fell her direction.

["They're onto us!"] Leksel's voice
came through clear on her tri-comm. ["Fly, Raea! Here they
come."]

She opened her wings. The sudden
parachute effect strained her muscles. A sharp pain twinged in her
back, but she couldn't falter.

Once level, she searched the sky
around her. Leksel leveled with her, Cris flew above and opposite.
Corsa followed slightly behind and above.

Behind them, black shapes formed a
wedge in the sky.

["How are you in a storm?"]

She didn't like the sound of that.
["Um…I don't know."] What did Leksel have in mind?

Oh, no. A dark cloud piled up to their
left. He had to be joking.

He angled towards it. Not
joking.

Raea followed Leksel. He must be nuts
to think she wanted to go into what looked like a thunderstorm. She
was nuts to follow, but what choice did she have?

["You really
are
insane!"] Corsa's
voice rang over the tri-comm. ["Flying into a storm. You'll get us
all killed."]

Killed? Raea's stomach
knotted.

["Better killed and the Starfire lost
than in their hands."]

["You could have asked us first."] And
Corsa could have come up with a different plan, but Raea didn't
hear anything better from her.

["Stay out here and get caught!"] He
growled the statement. ["Raea. It's your choice."]

She didn't want it. ["Isn't there
another way?"]

No one said anything. The wedge behind
them closed in.

A sigh. ["No,"] Corsa said. ["Damn it,
Leksel!"]

They followed him into the cloud.
Moisture collected on Raea and the fog diminished her view of the
others. Winds swirled, destabilizing her. Raea struggled to keep
from falling. At least she knew one thing—down. Gravity pulled her
that direction, the direction she didn't want to go.