"Once a Spacer, Always a Spacer." That's what my father used to say. It runs in the blood. Those of us bound to a planet always yern to return to the stars. I never realized that was true until my "retirement". But let me start at the beginning.
2074 was a good year. Not only was it the year of my birth, but space exploration was just beginning to bloom. The first jump drives were being tested which were protested by the Coalition of Planets Against Deep Space Exploration (COPADSE) [by this time Venus, Mars, and several moons of the outer planets had been colonized]. Their complaint was that humans have no right to venture out beyond the solar system. That they would find nothing and die in the process. It was not a strong enough argument to shut down the program. Two years after the first deep space ships went into mass production, Cryogenics was perfected. These systems allowed the crew to live longer and go farther than they had previously gone. COPADSE quieted down after this achievement.
When I was about 5, Sivmak Lypos, my father, became head designer at Kamouri Corp. in Anchorage, Alaska. He wasn't allowed to say what he designed, but it didn't matter too much at that age. It wasn't until I was 11 that I found out more about my father's job. Kamouri Corp. had been tracked down by COPADSE for attempting to take man further into the stars. That is, they were developing a warp drive. My father said they were beginning tests soon and the new "product" would be available to all very soon. He didn't know I already knew what the "product" was. It didn't matter. I was proud of him and his work. I couldn't wait for the day I would be able to travel to the stars. How soon that day would come.
Two weeks into the tests, a couple of picketers outside of the Kamouri Facility found their way into the test zone. They hid and setup a live broadcast of the next test that was to start soon. Due to the extreme forces being produced, they got pulled into the field and were never heard from again. Everything went down hill from there. COPADSE found a sympathetic judge to shutdown the program. Before the court order was to be enforced, my father gathered up my brother Rucan and I and took us to the underground launch facility to the test ship. Along the way, I met many of my friends doing the same thing. Half the town was there [Kamouri Corp. owned most of the town] and we all boarded the ship. The first thing we passed on our way to the passenger area was the huge warp drive in the cargo bay. It was being bolted and welded down, but by the looks of it, they weren't going to have time to hook it up before the launch. This was the last chance to save the program. It was also 3 days before my birthday.
We lifted off within an hour of boarding. The Earth Security Patrol (ESP)[The Federation didn't exist yet] was right behind us. Our departure was unannounced and was in vioation of the Orbital Flight Control Act. Not a big matter usually, but they quickly found out of our evasion from the court order. The captain of the ship decided to head for Jupiter and hope to hide in it's dense atmoshere. A suicide attempt if the pilot wasn't a former Scoop Captain. Still, a weakly prepared ship like ours was going to be beaten to hell before it was over. It was the only option until the warp drive could be readied.
ESP had radioed to Mars and Jupiter Control once we left their jurisdiction. We were at full speed and showing no signs of slowing down. MSP left us alone for the most part. As we reached the asteroid belt, we slowed to go though and evade as much as possable. it didn't help much. Even the Mining drones were sent to try and tear apart the hull. Several impacts rattled though the ship. the sound of fusion cutters hitting the hull began to raise panic though the ship. Minutes of these sounds dragged on, leaving everyone hoping this wasn't the end. Just as soon at it started, we reached the other side and went to full speed. The quiet and peaceful hum of the jump drive returned to the foreground. We were on our way to Jupiter.
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Jupiter's emense size was easily noticable from Mars, but now being so close, it filled my entire vision. The Orange and Yellow swirls of gas was calming...particularly after all that we had gone through. Suddenly, Yellow lights start flashing. "Warning, Ship being Scanned," is heard throughout the ship. JSP had found us. Still too far for them to intercept, but lady luck found us. Castillo was about 10,000 klicks and closing fast. There was still hope in reaching the safety of Jupiter. Into the depths of Callisto's shadow we went, with no light, it became harder for them to find us. A sharp change in course worked as we came around the Southern pole. The colonies knew not what was happening so close above them. JSP lost us until we were almost to Ganymede. A close call none the less. They still had the ability to catch up with us, but not before we reached Jupiter.
Entering the dense atmosphere was like slamming into a brick wall. The nearly instant reduction in speed and the turbulance there after made everyone uneasy. Finally after 15 minutes of shaking, we came into a powered orbit 10 km below the cloud surface. Ammonia Crystals quickly formed on the windows and small cluncks on the ship's hull signified rock debris in the atmosphere. Work had begun on preparing the warp drive. With nothing better to do, us kids looked on with awe and curiosity as our parents were hard at work. The navigation computer was yet to be tested since no flights had been done. Still hopes were high as coordinates of known sectors were inputed and tracking software updated. After several hours of hooking the drive up to existing systems, the preflight check had begun. If it worked, a new era of man would begin. If not, then they would never be heard from again. Errors kept coming up as the preflight check went on. The Great Red Spot was getting closer as we moved to avoid detection and severe damage. Only 5 minutes until we reached it and then we had to leave our protection. The errors continued. The minor ones were being skipped for the time being as talking became faster and the check list shorter. Time was running out and they needed to make sure all the system were in good enough working order to launch.
"Times up!" we heard over the intercom. "It's do or die."
Just a few things left on the list. We broke orbit and headed out. Bad luck struck us hard. The Jupiter Refueling Station was right within range of us and our appearance alearted them. Pirates have been known to try and raid the station for fuel, so heavy defences had been in place since the station's creation. "Warning, Target Arming Weapons!" Red lights were flashing everywhere. The batteries of cannons began to turn toward us. This was it, this was the end.
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With a resillant white flash, everything disappeared. Nothing but stars were out the window. All signs of Jupiter and the station were gone. A high pitched whine was getting deeper and slower. With in moments, the whole ship was quiet. Even the jump drive engines weren't making a noise. Scientists and Technicians began clapping and cheering as they realized they had succeded. I had been so transfixed on the station before, that I had not noticed the Warp Drive powering up. Now only one question remained. Where were they?
The next couple days were spent answering that question and looking over the warp drive systems. Despite the success, damage to several buffers and coils was found. Probably due to the unsolved errors before launch. Nothing worry some, but definately something to fix and avoid before the next warp.
Calculations put the ship in sector 78. Coming this far in only a matter of seconds was thousands of times quicker than the best jump drives created by man thus far. The navigaion was off by .078%, however. They were lucky not to find themselves in a planet or star. Quick projections showed that if we were on course, we would have arrived somewhere in Sector 80...Right on the fringe of known space.
There was a small outpost in sector 80 where some fresh supplies could be gotten. A Starport or Planets would have been nice but the outpost was better than nothing. We headed for it the next day. Since we left so quickly, I figured I wouldn't be getting anything for a present. So, I had spent the better part of the morning exploring the small areas of the ship with Rucan when my father tracked us down. Things were about to get underway, and he had a surprise for me. So I followed him to the bridge and Rucan tagged along wanting to see the surprise himself. Other kids saw the small parade and looked on with curiosity. Following from a distance but weren't allowed onto the bridge.
When we got there, the captain greeted me and told me that I would be taking the ship to the outpost. I stood there for a second flabergasted. This had to be some kind of joke. "Are you ready to depart Pilot Lypos?" He asked me again. I hadn't heard him the first time. My father had a grin on his face almost as big as my own and Rucan stared on in envyous disbelief and awe. The real pilot stepped away from the console as I approached. It was like a dream. Somehow, my father had gotten the Captain to let me pilot the ship for a birthday present. I sat down and was given a brief review of the controls. After a 5 minute lecture, I felt ready to go. My father was right behind me looking on and the pilot was right there beside me if something were to go wrong.
With a little unease, I charged up the jump drives and had help punching in the navigation coordinates. Tension swept through the ship, as word got out what was happening. Not that anyone thought something would go wrong, but the tension was still there. With a low and heavy thwump, the ship took off. I took it to full speed and soon after reaching it, I dodged through a small asteroid field. Miners in the area would have said they saw a ship flying recklessly fast much too close to the area. A bright star was up ahead with a jupiter sized planet orbiting around the star. I bolted right toward the planet to see what the ship could do. The captain, I found out later, was white knuckled when I pulled the ship around the planet. The ship began to rattle as we picked up gravitational speed. We were going so fast and so close to the planet, a firey white stream of gasses on the top of the atmosphere blew off and incinerated behind us. I was in my zone. I hadn't realized that I had twice nearly killed everyone on the ship. However, I manuvered with such ease, that after we reached the outpost, the captain said I was a true natural in flying, but that he never wanted to fly with me again. I was exhilerated and went out to meet all the kids who looked on from the otherside of the door. Later that evening, I thanked my father for letting me do that and that is was the best present ever. Rucan wanted to do that for his birthday, but father told him not until he was older. I don't think father wanted to go through that experiance again so soon.
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The repairs to the ship would take several days to complete. Rucan decided to stay and help father with the repair and learn how the warp drive worked. I doubted that he would understand it, but I wasn't going to argue and left to explore the station by myself.
The station was alot larger than it looked. A holographic lay-out board showed 65 sections. most were processing and factories, but residencies were common as well. My mind drifted off as I began to ponder life on a space station...or just in space. I realized soon after, that what I was pondering would most likely become reality. Our narrow escape from Earth told me we would never see home again. Feeling a little depressed, I headed for the food court.
Upon arriving, I froze in my tracks. In front of me were at least a half dozen alien races talking and enjoying themselves. I went over to the bar tender and asked him what were these creatures. Right away he noticed I had never been away from Earth. "Kid, you ever hear anything about aliens? I mean real life aliens?" I shook my head. " That's 'cause if news ever reached Earth, it would cause chaos. People would either hate them or praise them as gods. That and most traders out here from Earth don't go back for one reason or another."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"Most traders that actually have tried to go back either get denied or are attacked. Both 'cause of the upgrades and unknown technology. So they stopped trying."
After a few moments and a root beer on the house, I noticed something in the bar tender's ear. " What's that thing in your ear?"
"It's a universal translator. It takes any language and turns it into the one you know. Quite a useful gadget really. If you want one, go to the shop district and look for Kaine's Workshop. He sells them for 50 credits a piece." With that and a thank you, I left for the shop district.
An hour and a half later, I arrived at Kaine's. Not that it was hard to find, but all the different things in the store windows made it hard for me to concentrate on my original task. I was in no hurry to go anywhere, so I didn't feel guilty taking my time.
Kaine, to put it mildly, was a strange guy. He was short and plump. Clean shaved and small round glasses defined his beady eyes on his round face. He wore a sweater vest that looked like something my granfather used to wear. He greeted me with a warm welcome and mumbled to himself as he studied me for a moment. Then, "AHHH!! I know what! A Tri-ludo speeder!" "What's a---" "No, no, no. That wouldn't do. You don't seem like the type." "I came to g---" "You are looking fooooorrraaaaa halo-tap!" " No I---" "A Veri-Sen Leaper? Those are quite popular these days."
"The bar tender told me that this was the place to find those translator things"
"Ah, yes! The UT-250. Best model yet. I'll sell for 80 credits."
Sensing a hard bargin, "The bar tender told me 30 credits."
"70 credits." "35." "65." "45 and not a credit more" "55."
I started to head for the door.
"WAIT!! ok, it's a deal."
"I have a few friends too that might be interested. I'll tell them about this place if you sell it to them for no more than 50 credits"
"55 and I'll take them. I'm a busy man you know."
"They are my friends and I could just not tell them."
"Those things don't make themselves."
"Ok, 53."
"Deal."
It took me 3 hours to get back to the ship. I was having so much fun with the translator that I lost track of time. Since it was getting late, I figured the shops would probably be closed for the night. I told my father and brother about all that I saw a learned and asked if I could give them a tour of some of the station. I didn't tell them about the translator. I wanted to let them think I actually learned several languages miracously overnight. We were in no big hurry and some parts for the warp drive had to be specially made in the factories. Father decided to accept the offer. Tomarrow would be a great day, and a good laugh for everyone.
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Persuading my father to get the translators was easy. He was estatic about my sudden knowledge until he saw the translator. Still he was impressed with my findings. After we visited Kaine's Workshop and purchased several more translators, (and a geo-shere game for Rucan) father took us to the factory sector to see the replacement parts being made. It was so cool to watch the liquid metal be poured into the mold. Several pieces had to be perfectly polished by machines so they didn't wear apart against the extreme pressures created in the containment unit. Plans were being made to increase the range of the warp drive, but with a limited income that would have to be put on hold.
Two weeks went by before the ship was ready to fly again. There was more damage than expected and parts were taking a while to be manufactured. I got to know the bartender better (his name was Jesix), Rucan actually was learning something and had father test him every now and then. He often talked about the warp drive systems while playing a game of geo-sphere with me. Father and Captain Sakor had found information on a lightly populated planet within the Free Trade Space. It was a little surprising after such an adventure had started, that people wanted to go back to land. Some had already left on a freighter heading that way, but others wanted to see the planet first before making it their permenant home.
True, a place to call "home" would be nice to have. And if I were to do any official training, it would have to be done through a planet system. In the mean time though, using the ship for trading would be the only way to get money. A fleet of warp drive equiped ships would allow our family and collueges to prosper.
We arrived at the planet an hour after we left. The navigation computer was still off but within tolerable limits. A small artificial ring had been constructed around the planet. It was the Lifter Station. Over 100 struts went down to the planet. Each strut had a giant lift inside used to transport supplies into space. Not the fastest way, but it protected ships from degrading plasma damage since they didn't need to enter the atmosphere. In case of an emergency, each strut also had a mass driver on each side for quick evacuation to and from the planet. Definately not the most plesent experiance to go through, but it would get the job done quickly.
The group that left for the planet on the freighter was planning on greeting us when we arrived, but they weren't scheduled to arrive for another two days. We would be giving them quite a surprise. The next lift wasn't going to arrive for another 25 to 30 minutes, so we found a tour ride that went around the whole station. The amazing thing was, it only took 20 minutes. What great timing.
The tour ride used a modified jump drive and a mag-rail to allow for the high speeds. It brought us by shop districts, workshops, factories, food courts, and more. There were very few living quarters throughout the station, but cannon batteries were found almost everywhere. They were used for mining, meteor defence, and planet defence. Attacking the station or planet would be a futal attempt to say the least. The tour ended where we began and we decided to go see if any nearby shops had anything good to offer. We spent the rest of the time looking, but nothing struck our interest. We got back to the lifter dock just as the doors opened.
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The lifter was anything but empty. Families of alien races stepped through the doors with luggage and the sorts. It was a half hour before we were allowed to board. But it wasn't 5 minutes into the wait before Rucan became the center of attention. With a resounding yelp, everyone within earshot turned to see what had happened. As it turned out, Rucan was bitten by a small spikey lizard (most people called them gremlins because of their nature). Blood was dripping from his hand where he was bitten. A medic arrived and just as Rucan was being treated, the gremlin tried again to bit him. The owner saw it coming and stopped it in time. Once the crowd cleared, and the medics patched Rucan up, we noticed that the Lifter was about ready. We gathered a few of our things and climbed into the lifter.
The lifter was very roomy and fitted with headsets, halo-screens, and a variety of reading material. Comfortable chairs were available as well. With this set-up, it looked to be a long ride down. I wasn't far from the truth either. Once everyone was aboard, it took a good 3 hours to reach the bottom, but it was worth the wait. The moment the doors opened, the fresh air overtook the recirculated air. The sweet aroma of all the colorful plants filled my nostrals as I took a deep breath. It looked like a paradise. The coast was nearby and a large waterfall could be heard in the distance. A village of grass huts was near the coast and larger, more modern buildings were on the hills partly hidden in the thick brush. I couldn't wait to start exploring. I had been reading some of the tourist info on the way down and many caves are found in the area both on land and under the ocean. I still couldn't get over how unpolluted and sparcely populated the planet was compared to Earth.
The sun was beginning to set over the bay. One moon was already clearly visable in the darkening sky. Two more were beginning to appear over the horizon. A small moon began to stand out as it rose off the waterfall, the light green tint cast a calm glow that made the waterfall seem all the more soothing. A blue tinted moon didn't come out until later and rose directly behind the village. The light from the large moon was oddly dim for it's closeness. In fact all the moons seemed much more dim than they should be. I later found out that the atmosphere reflected alot of light away from the planet. The sun as well should have been much brighter than it already was. Finally, once the light was almost gone, the faint line of the station ring stood out. I remember thinking that for such a large construct, it seemed to looked like it should be there. The great tower of the lifter went up high in the sky and dissappeared in the ambiant light making the station seem suspended and alone around the planet.
By the time we had unpacked, it was just past 2600 hours local time. The only thing I couldn't get confortable with was the 39 hour days. Sure it was nice to have the long days, but I knew I was going to have a hard time going to sleep during the night and not when it was light out. But that thought would be dealt with when the time came. Right now, it was time to sleep.
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Morning came at my normal time, but is was still dark out. The station was more visable than the night before and the moons had become more vibrant. The stars and the reddish hues of a nearby nebula gently illuminated the sky. Looking down at the beach it seemed that I wasn't the only one awake this early. The quiet movement of distant torches bobbing up and down along the beach looked melodic and after watching for a while and taking in the fresh ocean breeze, the faint sound of a drum was heard. Looking up from my position, the torches had stopped and formed a circle. My brain fully awake now, I realized that a festival must be beginning. I went back inside the home we rented and decided to wake Rucan up. My father was snoring loudly in the other room and decided to let him sleep. Rucan was a little grouchy getting up, but after I told him what was going on down on the beach, he was up and ready to go with me. I left a note for father and we went out the door.
There weren't many vehicles around the area and walking seemed to be the fasion. So down the hill and along the trail we went, going as fast as we dared to go. We stubbled and stopped, but each time we did, the music was getting louder. A flute or something could be heard now. A fast melody played seeming to match the pace of our movement down the hill. A second flute began and was playing the harmony. More and more instruments were heard as we came closer. A large fire began to blaze lighting our path somewhat. Faster and faster the music played giving us an excitement and vigor we never felt before. Without realizing it we were almost at a sprint. Our curiosity getting the best of us, we raced down the hill that was seeming to go on forever, but with each step the music became more and more lively and more and more festive. The fire raging higher and higher, brighter and brighter until at last the music stopped with a loud thump from the drums that echoed over the beach. We were there at last.
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Standing at the edge of the pavillion, we gazed at the great feast before us, illuminated by the burning fire. Various fruits and salads were set out on a large table. In the middle of that was a large cooked beast. No one had touched the food yet, but things quieted down as people gathered in front of the fire. Out of curiosity and politness, Rucan and I joined the crowd to hear what was happening. A village elder was speaking to everyone, telling of a story from long ago when an element found nowhere else in the galaxy peppered the cliffs near the village. It was said that the luminecent shards held power over the stars and planets. It was also said that possesing such a shard gave the owner untold power assuming they knew how to unlock it first. Whether it was true or not, I couldn't say, but it made for great entertainment.
The sun was still well under the horizon, but the faint glimmer of sunrise was beginning to show. The fire was still crakeling strong by the time the feast began. Feeling the need to eat, we joined the quickly forming line. Everyone was conversing and we felt a little out of place since we didn't know anyone. Rucan however, ignored what was going on around him and gawked at all the food and telling me about what I could already see. We filled our plates high with all the delacacies and went to find a place to sit. Not knowing anyone and finding there was still plenty of room to sit, we choose a place just to the left of the fire so that the bay was in plain view. Several minutes passed before a girl and her family sat near us. I kept eatting, but I could tell she knew we weren't from around here as she kept glancing over at us. She looked a little nervous and hesitent to exchange greetings. I have to admit, I was feeling the same way as I glanced at her every now and then. Her long brown hair fell behind a flower by her ear and she wore a small but beautiful necklace. It wasn't until I went up for seconds that she joined me in the line and from behind me came "Hi there." Turning around she continued, "I couldn't help but notice that you're new here. Is that your brother you're with?"
"Yeah. we just arrived and haven't gotten used to the long days here. My name's Da' Liv."
"I'm Hokina. So what brings you here?" Her eyes shone a deep, almost mystical, blue as she spoke.
"We fled from Earth when my father's jump drive project was on the verge of being destroyed. We took the prototype space craft and left in a narrow escape. After that, we went to a port where we got repairs and were told that this was a safe place to come. And well... here we are."
She paused for a second gathering all that was just told to her. "Wow! So you made it all the way from Earth to Gaia in just a matter of weeks? I take it that drive thing really worked then?"
"Yeah, but we had some difficulties with it. It still needs some work on it."
There was a short silence as we walked back to the table. As we sat, "So you've been to Earth?" I asked.
"No. I only hear stories from a few old pilots that were once from Earth, In fact you're the first kids from there that I've seen." With that, Rucan turned to pay more attention to the conversation. "Actually, there really aren't too many kids that come around here. Most, I guess, just stay safely on their planets."
"So I take it you've never been off the planet?"
"No. The Lift is here, but only my parents ever go up when they do go. They say it's too unsafe for a kid like me to go there."
"It isn't that bad really." I looked around and seeing that her parents had left to talk to another couple, "Maybe I can take you on a tour sometime? Of course, we might have to do it without your parents knowing."
"That would be great. I'd love that."
Another silnce came in as we watched the now dying fire.
Rucan was the first to break the silence with a question. "So what's the festival for?"
"It's to honor our ancestors and to give praise to Tukra for the harvest and Gaian Harmony"
Again with a question, "Who's Tukra and what's Gaian Hormony?"
"Tukra is our Goddess. She watches over us and protects us from harm. Gaian Harmony is the balance of life in all the ecologies. The lack of harmful pollutants is one of several good indications that we are doing our part to maintain Gaian Harmony."
"So without Gaian Harmony, this world would fall apart?"
"Not really, but it wouldn't be a very enjoyable place to live compared to now."
The fire was down to coals now and a good thing too. Looking out over the bay, the darkness could be seen retreating from the sunrise at a rapid pace, racing closer and closer. This was the first time I had ever seen such a sight. In just a few quick moments, the sun burst into view over the horizon with a resiliant redish-orange light which became more yellow-white as the early morning unfolded. The feast seemed to end there. The coals were groomed and arranged as the next meal was being prepared for that night. The white sand beach was being prepared for games and activities to be held throughout the day. Musicians began practicing as Rucan and I looked around. Hokina was also watching the setup on the beach. "I think your father is calling you."
A bit disorianted as I fell back into reality, I looked up at the house we were staying in and sure enough I saw father waving for us. Grabbing Rucan's attention, I bid farewell to Hokina and her family, then left for the long walk up the hill.
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Two weeks came and went and I continued to get closer to Hokina. Rucan made a few friends as well and we spent a little less time together as we became more comfortable with the place. That and he said he didn't want to hang around with all that mushy stuff going on between me and Hokina. So we left it at that and enjoyed our time.
Father helped the new arrivals from the original crew find places the live. They hadn't expected us to be waving to them out of the ring's large windows as they finished docking. We all told of our adventures on the way back down to the planet. Hokina had stayed behind on behalf of her parents requests. I suppose it was for the best too. I was so caught up talking to the other kids that she had fled from my mind since I entered the station.
Hokina and I would get together every morning before the sun rose and before anyone else was up. Sometimes we would sit on the beach and I would tell her of what Earth was like and tell her about my friends, some of which had come with us. Hokina told me stories about her people and tales of mysterious creatures and wonders around the planet. Once and a few times after that, we spent a good portion of the night traveling to the top of the waterfall, guided only by the light of the moons and stars. There were rocks and plants we passed that glowed when something came near them. Hokina told me it was bacteria that reacted to heat. It was a beautiful walk and the ground seemed to glow in a circle around us as we journied through the jungle. The sound of rushing water became louder as we got closer to the waterfall. Finally, we found the river and followed it to the edge. We sat down and looked out over the ocean with our feet dangling off the side of the cliff. It was peaceful despite the rushing water only a few meters away. Hokina had told our family stories about the moons and how each one had a purpose in the life of the planet. Percies (the blue moon) was still high in the sky while Floris (the green moon) was just beginning to set. Cirmaas (the yellow moon) had set earlier in the evening.
We sat there staring off into the horizon for an uncounted period of time. The longer I looked out the quieter things seemed to become. Without realizing it I was looking deep into Hokina's eyes. Her eyes matched the color of the moons still out. I hadn't noticed that before. Time seemed to stand still as we sat there looking into eachother's eyes. It was almost as if I could read her thoughts. We kissed. Our lips touched and a long soothing kiss prevailed for another countless moment. The stars seemed to shine brighter that night, not that I was paying much attention. Everything about that morning was perfect. The sun had just broken the horizon before we stood up to go back. The stars had faded away; as well the moons. I looked into Hokina's eyes once more and saw them sparkle more brilliantly as if to say "those moons are gone, but we're still here."
On our way back down, we talked a little. Not about the night, but about other, less important things. The walk back was nice, the birds were awake and openings in the trees shown bright with the morning sun. We passed a spring and drank some water from it. I made a small breakfast to tide us over until we got back to the village. I thought to myself, as we approched the village, that it must be destiny's doing bringing us together. Only a couple days later we would find a way to be together in more ways than one.
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We got word that a large group of off-worlders were coming planet-side which wasn't too common in this area. Particularly when tourist related. One of the tourist programs used was a trip through some of the larger caves in the area. To the locals it isn't anything special. Anything that was useful was found already so cave tours were allowed in the larger and more safe caves. My father thought it would be a great way to spend time together as a family since we have more or less been out doing our own things everyday. I invited Hokina along, which fusterated Rucan a little. He didn't like when we were all mushy with eachother. I made a promise we'd keep it at a minimum. Besides, it was a family outing and it would just be rude to ignore Rucan and my father. Rucan invited one of his friends he'd made as well. The next day we set off to join up with the tourists and explore the caves.
Hokina proved to be a good guide herself, pointing out the smaller details and deeper history of the caves when the actual guide wasn't talking and was out of earshot. A couple of times he must have heard us because he gave Hokina a glare for doing his job. The third cave we came to, called Sukari Muni Tiana, went deep underground. As we traveled, the flickering light of the torches illuminated paintings and small creatures. Near the deepest part of the cave, "growing" rocks appeared. They formed over many centuries from water dropplets carrying mineral deposits then dripping down. They looked like overflowing ice cream on top of a cone, only upside down. We kept going deeper and a sharp turn to the right was coming up. The guide warned us hold onto the shoulder of the person in front of them. Almost as soon as he said that, the torches blew out as they passed though a strong current of mysterious wind. He then explained that the Sukari Muni or "Spirit Wind" traveled though this part of the passage. In fact, Sukari Muni Tiana meant "Cave of the Spirit Wind". It's orgins were still unknown, but several theories existed.
We continued around the turn unaided by any light. Ooo's and Ah's could be heard from further up, so we kept continuing on in anticipation. It was obvious Hokina knew what was ahead, her grip on my shoulder felt differant than what it should have felt like given the situation. I didn't bother asking what lay ahead, because just then another turn to the left opened into a very large underground pool of water. and all around us the familular glowing bacteria grew, but they were a little more blue than the ones we walked through in the forest. They also seemed to react to the the glowing around them so that the entire cavern was aglow in a greenish blue hue. Even underwater the bacteria glowed, illuminating the submerged cracks and crevises and islands. The Sukari Muni was still a gentle breeze, which made the rather musty cavern a bit more tolerable to be in. The guide allowed us all to explore the cavern since it was the last destination in the cave complex. Rucan and his friend were already off on their own and father was listening to what the guide was telling those who wished to hear more and ask questions. So Hokina and I went off on our own.
Some younger kids dared to go in the shallow parts of the water, careful not to get too wet. We watched and decided to go out onto some of the small islands pocketing the pool of water. The water itself wasn't too terrably cool, but still left you with a chill. We wadded around a few of the islands until we found a way across the pool to a secluded peninsula that couldn't be reached from any way following the rim of the pool. It also looked like there was a collapse of an old tunnel. The rocks here were't glowing. It was as if something kept the bacteria away. Things looked settled and the guide was only an echo and wrapped up in his speech, so I climbed up the small pile of rocks and tried to peer into the small opening near the top. Once I secured myself up there, I had Hokina hand me our torch and I squeezed it and my arm though the opening. There wasn't much to see. There were a few broken and rotting wodden beams, but nothing much else showed.
Without warning, the rocks I was standing on gave way. Hokina dodged out of the way as I started to fall. The torch fell behind the rubble when I let go to try to control my fall. The racket boomed around the cavern as I crashed and tumbled across the hard rock floor. Hokina and I were safe, but wet. The only escape from the falling rocks was into the water, and it was relatively deep where we ended up. After the noise from the crash calmed down, the Guide yelled for everyone to come over to make sure everyone was safe. I got up and went to get the torch, still lit suprisingly. The tunnel was now alot more open, and getting the torch wasn't a problem. Upon climing over the rubble on my way back out, I noticed a dark blue glowing half hidden in the rock pile. I quickly disloged it and put it in my pocket to look at later. Hokina had waited for me so we could get back to the group together. We were already wet, so we decided to take the straightest path back across and swam in the water where it was too deep to walk. We were the last to get back with the group, but everyone was safe. The guide decided it best to head back now in case other places had become loose. On the trolly car back to the village, I took out the stone I found. It was now glowing a deep but resiliant blue as I held it.
"Where did you get that?" Hokina asked.
"I found it when I was getting the torch after the landslide. Excepts it wasn't the same color as it is now."
"Let me see." Before I could say anything, she reached out to take it in her hand. I could have sworn as her hand got closer, the stone became more and more white. But it happened too fast and I blacked out.
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When I woke up I was back at our house with a pounding headache. I waited for the room to stop spinning, but after five minutes it didn't, so I decided to get on the floor and crawl to the bathroom. Still, I had a probelm doing even that, but I managed to take the resemblance of a shower and that seemed to help. I took some medicine for my headache and looked at the clock. 10:57. I spoke to myself "Guess I slept though the night." "g-g-guess-s-s i-i s-slept-t-t through t-t-the-e-e n-n-night-t-t", echoed around the room as I spoke. Or at least it seemed to echo through the room. My headache came back harder again and I collapsed back down to the floor. Everything I tried to focus on looked glassy and swayed. I crawled back over to the bed and passed out.
Only a couple of hours had passed from when I first woke up, but this time father was in my room. "You're up finally. You had me worried there for a while." I started to try to get up. "Just lie there for a moment. You still don't look to hot. You've been out for quite a while now. 3 days to be exact."
"H-H--Hokina..." I was still hearing myself in triplicate, but obviously it was only me.
"She's fine. She was in the same condition as you. She woke up a couple hours ago while we were visiting her. I rushed back here just as soon as I could to see if you were up too, but you weren't."
"I w-w-was-s....f-for a l-l-lit-t-tl-l-le b-bit-t-t"
"I figured that, since I saw that you stirred the bed since I left. You've been still since the ride back from the caves."
"The r-rock-k-k..."
"Rock? The blacks ones you and Hokina were holding when we found you? It's right next to you on the nightstand. Don't worry about anything. Just get some rest. I'll bring in some food in a little bit."
Father left the room and I looked over and sure enough there was a smooth black rock sitting on the stand, but when I looked at it, it began to glow faintly. A barely noticable violet light emited for the center. I fell back to sleep once again.
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It was another few hours before I woke up again. This time, everything looked normal and I felt fine. The crystal next to me on the nightstand was again black. So black, that it seemed to absorb every light particle that touched it. I got dressed and put the crystal in my pocket. It felt warm to the touch as if someone had been holding it for a time.
I found father out back looking at schematics of the ship. "I made a sandwhich for you, but you were out cold again when i got back to you. It's in the fridge if you want it."
"Have you heard from Hokina lately?" I asked as I walked inside for my food.
"Her parents called a little while ago and said she was doing alot better. Maybe you should go over and see here now that you're up and walking around."
"After I eat I will." I looked around and listened for a second, "Rucan around?"
"He couldn't stand sitting around worrying about you and doing nothing. He's been out with his friends for the past couple days. Guess the whole incident reminded him of your mother..." He trailed off..thinking back to when she was alive. It's only been 4 years since that fateful car accident. She was in a coma for 5 days before a severe stroke left her braindead. Even now I still find it hard to talk about her. Rucan still hasn't quite forgiven father for allowing the doctors to pull the plug, but he was still too young to really understand what was happening.
The long silence that filled the room was broken when I finally got up and cleaned up my dishes. I told father I wouldn't be out too late and left to go see Hokina.
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It was a good walk to Hokina's, so I half jogged. By the time I got there, she was already up and was just about to come and find me. I talked to her about all the crazy stuff that was happening since the tour. It was after I got done talking that I asked if I could see her stone. She reached over and gave it to me. It looked exactly like mine. No marks to show it was cut of broken. The stone was perfectly smooth and blacker than black. I wanted to show her my stone to have her see that they were exactly the saem. When I gave it back to Hokina, we were in my room as suddenly as a blink. Her stone was now in her hands and now a deep violet. I looked over on my nightstand and my stone was glowing deep violet as well. I picked it up and in a blink, we were back in Hokina's room. I had just let go of her stone with one hand and when i opened up my other hand, my stone was there and both were deep violet still. "Why is my stone glowing?" she asked.
"Didn't you just see what happened?" She shook her head no. "We were suddenly in my room and I grabbed my stone then I blinked and was back here with my stone." At that time she noticed my stone, also still glowing violet, but it was much brighter.
"I thought you said you didn't have yours?"
"I didn't, but I was thinking I wanted it and suddenly we were in my room getting it."
"We? The only thing that happened was you giving my stone back. Besides, you live clear across town. How-"
"I don't know how, but that's what happened. I swear."
Hokina looked at her stone again, now back to it's normal blackness. When I blinked we were sitting on the shore next to the bonfire pit. I looked at Hokina who now had the biggest grin that I've ever seen. I knew what had happened and i could she she knew I knew. With a menacing grin, I took her to the top of the waterfall. Hokina looked suprised, but in the next instant we were in the middle on the underground pond. There was an odd glow this time, but before we could register what it was, I took her to the one place she's never been to...the space ring.
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I wouldn't exactly call it a time dialation, but thats the best description of what is experianced between arriving at the destination and appearing at the destination. When we arrived on the station and still in the time dialation, I walked around to find the best place to appear that was away from other people. Everything was moving so fast around me but I felt like I was taking forever to move. When we appeared, there was a bright white flash and i stumbled to the floor dizzy and disoriented. After half a minute, I managed to regain enough composuer to look around. Hokina seemed to be having the same problem I was. Our stones were an irridesant white and slowly dimming. It took another minute before the dizziness went away and I felt sure enough to stand up. The stones were still too bright to get a good look at them, but they seemed to be different somehow. I put mine in my pocket to dim the light and to make us look less conspicious. Hokina did the same and we walked up to the window in front of us. "It's beautiful" Hokina remarked. And she was not far from the truth either. From our position, Percies and Floris were in front of us with Floris being farther away than Percies. Their color was even more vibrant against the richly populated starfield. A distant nebula could be seen in the exreme right side of the window. The gentle pink reminded me of our stones.
After gazing out the window and trying to point out some of the stars we could recognize, I took out my stone. It was still a light blue, but not nearly as bright as it once was. I could see now that the stone took on a harder appearance. not as smooth as I remembered. That had to be the differance I couldn't quite grasp earlier. Hokina's had done the same. I didn't know what it meant, but it had to symoblize something. "You feeling alright now?"
"Yeah"
"I think we over did it on all our jumping around"
"It was different when comming here though. I saw you walking around here for a brief instant before we appeared here and got all dizzy."
"well I did take alot longer to find a place to appear since I knew people would be around here. I figured suddenly appearing out of no where into a crowd would cause mass hysteria."
"What ever it was, I don't want to do it again any time soon. Maybe we should take the lift back down"
"Maybe, but I think these stones get brighter with usage. So long as we don't let them get too bright, I think we'll be alright."
"Come to think of it, the pond was glowing wierdly for the moment we were there."
"How about a tour, we can look around while we wait for our stones to return to normal then we can go back home"
"Ok." After a brief moment, "You think anyone would believe this? The stones I mean?"
"I highly doubt it. Well, my brother maybe, but I'm not planning to tell anyone anyway."
"Then it'll be our secret"
With that, we walked around and found the tour ride and decided to take it around the station. We stopped about halfway though to go look through the shop district. There were countless gadgets and foodstuffs as we walked around. I found a food replicator to use. I had never seen one before., much less used one, but all those science fiction shows made it look real easy. I pushed a few buttons and finally got a list of instructions to appear. After a few minutes of making little practive drinks and fods, I decided to make my own favorite. I had to program meal into the machine since it know what it was. After about 5 minutes it was done and i handed a piece to Hokina.
"This is good. What is it?" she asked.
"It's one of my favorite foods on Earth. Pizza."
"What's all in it?"
"I managed to find some replacement ingrediants, but the ones I liked the most on Earth had several different cheeses, sausage, mushrooms, and onions."
"We have cheese on Gaia, but I'm not familar with the other things. what are they?"
"Well sausage is ground up meat from an animal we use for food. Mushrooms are a spongy kind of plant that good to eat with other foods, but isn't that tasty alone. Onions are kind of a sweet tuber that has a strong after bite to it. I tried to get it the same here, but i don't know how to work that replicator very well and had to use what was already programmed into it."
"It's still really good. I hope it saved it because I might just have to sneak up here and get myself some more" Her smile made me feel warm inside again. Especially since she liked my food.
we walked around some more, but nothing caught our eye. It was getting late and things were quieting down so we went back to where we appeared and got ready to go back home. We really didn't need to ready anything since it wasn't like we were going to fly down there. But after making sure our stones werent glowing anymore, we had to mentally prepare ourselves for another possable dizzy spell. We decided to go back to the beach and out of view. We concentrated on the beach and in a blink we arrived without being dizzy. I looked around and I suddenly couldn't find Hokina. I began to fear that maybe she didn't make it or she appeared somewhere else. quickly I moved myself through the time dialation to the otherside of the beach. Not finding her, I moved myself to the otherside. Just as I was about to go back to the station, she appeared behind me, and fainted.
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Although she recovered after a couple minutes, I felt completely helpless. I wasn't strong enough to pick her up and move her, much less up the hill to my house. I didn't want to use the time dialation either since that would probably make things worse. When she did recover, great relief washed over me. The beach was deserted. No one was even in the festival hut from what I could see. The sun was just beginning to set before I was comfortable enough to leave her on the beach and get some help from my father. i didn't tell him anything when he started asking questions, but I showed the urgency in which I needed his help that he let it go for now. We got her up to the house in into a spare bed and some food for her to eat before father took me aside with all sincerity and asked "What exactly happened, son?" I couldn't think of a lie that would sufice and with me hesitatiting he added "Tell me the truth."
"Well..." I started, "You know those stones Hokina and I have?" And I told him everything I could remember about the days events. When I was finished, I could see he didn't quite believe me about the power of the stones so I took mine out of my pocket, grabbed his arm and in an instant, we were outside the house. "I want took keep this as much a secret as possable. I don't even want Rucan to know just yet."
"And if something were to go wrong?"
"I'll tell who ever would need to know. I'm not that stupid father."
"I'd disagree. Tell who about what?" Rucan had just walked up hearing what I had just said, but obviously didn't know what i was talking about.
With a grudging smirk,"None of your business. You glad I'm finally back to normal?"
"If you can call yourself normal." And with that Rucan ran inside to hide before I could retaliate.
After a pause and a look out over the bay, "Just promise me you won't tell anyone ok?"
"I won't. lets go inside and eat"