little bit of a head start for the moment, which was good, since they were nearly completely out of fuel and needed supplies.
Nathan brought the ship down into the atmosphere of the world of Flora.
Centuries ago, Flora had been another dead planet, devoid of life. But an ancient, unknown people seeded the world with Loira'lei trees. Loira'lei could grow in the harshest of circumstances and created their own ecosystem by producing a type of oxygen through nexra-synthesis; other plants and life were soon able to thrive. With the introduction of water, strange new life found a way, and soon Flora was a fertile planet upon which plants and animals of all kinds flourished; one of the busiest spaceports was housed there due to the lack of tax rates. Flora's name derived from the colorful and rare flowers that grew so abundantly there.
Flying through flocks of Cumera, a type of flying squid, Nathan zeroed toward the ground. The landing pad was packed, like it usually was, when they came through. The cityscape rose to meet them with spires and tall business headquarters. Nathan had to take vectors around as other ships took off. As soon as their landing gear touched ground, a ground crew rushed over to refuel them. Flora was all about getting you in and out—for a price.
After powering the ship down, Nathan gathered everyone in the passenger compartment. Before he spoke, he went through the list in his head again to be sure he didn't forget anything. They had a dead alien in the cargo hold; he had an encrypted data pad in his pocket; there were two Ruveran battleships after them; and he still needed to get his passengers to Mara VII, a two day journey.
Trevor passed out hot cups of coffee as they waited. The hairs on the back of his neck were upright, like when he was about to have an attack. He focused on his breathing and remained calm.
"All right," Nathan began. "I know you weren't up front when everything unfolded, so I'll just say that Ruvera was out to capture the alien. For what, I'm still not entirely sure. But the fact of the matter is, by helping him, we have endangered you."
Trevor knew his uncle was lying about not knowing why Ruvera was after the alien. His uncle never lied.
It looked like Ruvera’s pursuit wasn't news to anybody except for Daphkalian, whose face lost a little color. "Wait. You mean they're still going to come after us?"
Nathan nodded. "Yes. They will hunt us down for as long as we live."
Daphkalian's expression grew dark. "I had no idea I was getting myself involved in stuff like this."
"I told you there would be risk when I hired you," Kaida spoke up.
"Not like this," Daphkalian huffed. "My brother was right about you when—"
Trevor had had enough. He knocked the coffee out of Daphkalian's hand. "Clearly, you're not paying attention. You would have died in that rift if not for us. If that ship hadn't crashed and we hadn't rescued that alien, we would've been on the surface of Aquaria and been sucked into oblivion."
Daphkalian's much larger form towered over Trevor's. There was a considerable size difference, but Trev was scrappy, and for a moment, things were tense enough for a fist to fly, but the moment passed when Kaida put a hand on Daph's.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault," she pleaded.
Daphkalian stared them all down. His tail whipped about furiously. "I'm over this." He turned and stormed out through the back.
Nathan's eyes searched the ground for a moment, and then they came back up to Kaida. "The Ruverans were looking for someone else besides the alien. They were out to kill that person. I don't think it was Daphkalian."
Kaida was quiet for a long moment. She searched his eyes for a way out, and when she didn't find one, she looked away. "I can't say."
Nathan breathed out through his nose. "That's what
Nathan brought the ship down into the atmosphere of the world of Flora.
Centuries ago, Flora had been another dead planet, devoid of life. But an ancient, unknown people seeded the world with Loira'lei trees. Loira'lei could grow in the harshest of circumstances and created their own ecosystem by producing a type of oxygen through nexra-synthesis; other plants and life were soon able to thrive. With the introduction of water, strange new life found a way, and soon Flora was a fertile planet upon which plants and animals of all kinds flourished; one of the busiest spaceports was housed there due to the lack of tax rates. Flora's name derived from the colorful and rare flowers that grew so abundantly there.
Flying through flocks of Cumera, a type of flying squid, Nathan zeroed toward the ground. The landing pad was packed, like it usually was, when they came through. The cityscape rose to meet them with spires and tall business headquarters. Nathan had to take vectors around as other ships took off. As soon as their landing gear touched ground, a ground crew rushed over to refuel them. Flora was all about getting you in and out—for a price.
After powering the ship down, Nathan gathered everyone in the passenger compartment. Before he spoke, he went through the list in his head again to be sure he didn't forget anything. They had a dead alien in the cargo hold; he had an encrypted data pad in his pocket; there were two Ruveran battleships after them; and he still needed to get his passengers to Mara VII, a two day journey.
Trevor passed out hot cups of coffee as they waited. The hairs on the back of his neck were upright, like when he was about to have an attack. He focused on his breathing and remained calm.
"All right," Nathan began. "I know you weren't up front when everything unfolded, so I'll just say that Ruvera was out to capture the alien. For what, I'm still not entirely sure. But the fact of the matter is, by helping him, we have endangered you."
Trevor knew his uncle was lying about not knowing why Ruvera was after the alien. His uncle never lied.
It looked like Ruvera’s pursuit wasn't news to anybody except for Daphkalian, whose face lost a little color. "Wait. You mean they're still going to come after us?"
Nathan nodded. "Yes. They will hunt us down for as long as we live."
Daphkalian's expression grew dark. "I had no idea I was getting myself involved in stuff like this."
"I told you there would be risk when I hired you," Kaida spoke up.
"Not like this," Daphkalian huffed. "My brother was right about you when—"
Trevor had had enough. He knocked the coffee out of Daphkalian's hand. "Clearly, you're not paying attention. You would have died in that rift if not for us. If that ship hadn't crashed and we hadn't rescued that alien, we would've been on the surface of Aquaria and been sucked into oblivion."
Daphkalian's much larger form towered over Trevor's. There was a considerable size difference, but Trev was scrappy, and for a moment, things were tense enough for a fist to fly, but the moment passed when Kaida put a hand on Daph's.
"I'm sorry. This is my fault," she pleaded.
Daphkalian stared them all down. His tail whipped about furiously. "I'm over this." He turned and stormed out through the back.
Nathan's eyes searched the ground for a moment, and then they came back up to Kaida. "The Ruverans were looking for someone else besides the alien. They were out to kill that person. I don't think it was Daphkalian."
Kaida was quiet for a long moment. She searched his eyes for a way out, and when she didn't find one, she looked away. "I can't say."
Nathan breathed out through his nose. "That's what
Similar Books
