SHANNA eyed Cally with some trepidation. The old Scout looked her up and down, then took her time inspecting Storm and Twister. Old Mirror prowled around them in a fashion that reminded Shanna of their first encounter with Satin, except that this time, Satin had been subject to precisely the same inspection. She’d been hard pressed to avoid giggling at the emerald toned cat’s slightly indignant expression. Mirror’s ruby tidemarks had flickered in patterns that Shanna had never seen before as she paced around Satin. Then the two starcats had spent some time staring at each other. Satin had finally ducked her head briefly, before fixing Mirror with her unblinking stare once more. The old starcat had returned her stare levelly, then with an amused hum brushed herself up against Satin in a greeting of equals. The green tidemarked cat had hummed in reply, then watched with narrowed eyes as Mirror began her inspection of the other starcats.
Cally and Mirror finished their respective inspections, then as Shanna stood there trying to ignore the feeling that she was in trouble again, the two turned their attention to the other cadets and Allad. Allad was only the Scout with them at the moment as the others were at a strategy meeting with Peron and Cerren. Apparently Cally had coopted the Starlyne training facilities for herself and was there to help find out how they’d done what they did.
“You’ve done some good things with your cats, I hear,” Cally drawledy, “so let’s see if you’re as good as I’ve been told. Follow me.” The group stood bemused for a moment, until Mirror hummed impatiently, and followed her partner. Storm and Twister both flicked anxious eyes towards Shanna, and with a slightly nervous snicker she took a step forwards.
“Coming?” she asked the others. There was a general shuffle – even Allad had been caught slightly off balance by Cally – and they all followed Shanna down the tunnel out of the habitation.
Two hours later, Shanna collapsed on the ground, dirtier and sweatier than she’d been since returning from Below. The Starlyne obstacle course had been revamped in their absence and it had been a revealing test of partnership between starcat and human. Cally and Mirror had insisted that they work together in a group, and not as individual pairings. Skills developed Below had helped, but Shanna knew that Cally had revealed some previously undiscovered cracks in their teamwork, particularly when they had to work with someone else’s cat. Storm plonked himself on the ground next to her with a sigh, and she groaned slightly as Twister laid his head on her chest and the weight of it interfered with her puffing.
“You’re heavy, cat!”
There was a slightly plaintive grumble from Twister, but he moved his head slightly, and Shanna took a deeper breath, starting to relax.
“Up you get,” came Cally’s imperative voice. “Go and get clean, and we’ll talk.” With that, she turned and vanished down the hallway to the common room, Mirror pacing by her side.
“I don’t think I can get up,” Zandany sighed. “And I thought I was fit.”
“I thought I was too,” replied Taya, “but apparently I was wrong.”
“I ache,” said Ragar.
“And me,” Amma’s voice was an exhausted sigh, and Shanna opened her mouth to add her own comment, when Allad’s voice interrupted them.
“And if we want to eat, I’d suggest we get moving. Cally’s well known for her unusual approaches to teaching. If we’re not back there shortly, clean, neat and tidy, it’s entirely possible she’ll cancel dinner.” Even Allad sounded tired, mused Shanna. She was tempted to stay lying on the soft ground, but her stomach rumbled, and the thought of missing her meal spurred her to movement. It was hard to roll over, and even harder to push herself upright, but she did, sighing as her joints creaked.
A bath and food later, and the seven of them were clustered around Cally’s small table in her private quarters. ‘And just how had the old Scout managed that?’ wondered Shanna. The six of them were still sharing the one room, and Patrol Ten’s arrangement was still the same. Cally pushed a small bowl of nuts across the table, and then sat back in her chair, propping her feet on the edge of the table. “Your cats are quite well trained, but I think we can improve upon your teamwork. And Master Cerren’s briefing has told me that there are other things you’re able to do as well.”
“You know about the spark of course?” Allad said.
Cally nodded, and for a moment, there was a ball of light floating just above her palm. It was smaller than Spiron’s, but well-formed and bright.
Allad nodded back at the aged Scout. “Shanna, show Cally, please, and then the rest of you one by one.”
Shanna concentrated, and faded. She felt the others fade one by one. She dropped the fade, explained briefly about seeing through her cats’ eyes, and then watched as Taya made the walls mirror her hair, and Ragar and Zandany balanced flames on their fingertips and described their fireballs. (She was rather glad that they had decided description was better than demonstration.) Allad picked up the table rather casually, so that the bowl of nuts nearly fell off one edge, and then Cally turned her eyes on Amma and Verren.
“And what do the two of you do?”
“I fly, and always know what the weather’s doing,” said Amma quietly.
“And I always know where I am,” said Verren. His voice wobbled slightly, and then he went on. “And apparently I can sense sliders.”
Cally’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline and Allad took the opportunity to explain the multiple talents of a few of them. He finished by describing the assault on the Garsal ship and the subsequent dropping of the cliff face on top of their pursuers.
Finally, Cally turned her eyes on Shanna. “And that picture in the Starlyne images – the one of you and your cats? What’s that about?”
Shanna shrugged uncomfortably, and dropped her eyes briefly before replying.
“I’m not sure, really. I can do most of the things the others can, but some of my skills aren’t as good as theirs – take Taya’s ability to stop stuff, for example. I can do it, and I’m better when the boys are helping, but I don’t have her finesse. And I can sort of sense the sliders, but not like Verren can. I can fly, though, and I’m fairly good at knowing where I am.” She stopped.
“Hmmph.” Cally’s tone was thoughtful. “Well, while you’re here, I’ll think on it. Tomorrow you can all show me what you can do. There’s somewhere near here you can fly from?” She dropped her feet off the table as Allad nodded, and pushed her chair back. “In the meantime, I’d suggest you get to bed early. We’ll be busy tomorrow, and I have much to discuss with Spiron and Barron.” With that, she left the room, limping for the first few steps before her gait smoothed out into the gliding walk of the experienced Scout.
“Well, you heard her,” said Allad. “I’m tired now, and it’s a sure thing that we’ll be even more tired after tomorrow.” His mobile eyebrows wriggled expressively, and Satin added a hum that sounded suspiciously amused.
Lying in her soft bed a little later, Shanna ran a hand idly down Twister’s soft flank. Storm had laid his head on her middle, and the weight of it was comfortingly warm.
“So, what do you think the Garsal are going to do next?” asked Amma.
“I’d like to know what we’re going to do next,” replied Taya. “Look, I know we’ll learn heaps from Cally, but really, aren’t we meant to be the planet’s first line of defence?” She sounded frustrated, and Shanna lifted her head in surprise and looked across the room. Taya had her chin propped on one hand, and was staring into space, her face fixed in unhappy lines. Shanna reminded herself that the other girl had just lost the majority of her family, and had more right to be angry than any of them.
“I know, Tay,” said Amma, “but if we’re still uncertain about how we do what we do, then how can we be the first line of defence? What if it doesn’t work again?”
Shanna rolled onto her side, eliciting a slightly annoyed hum from Storm, to watch the other two girls.
“I know, Amma, but if we were out there doing the defence, I’m sure we’d figure it out.” Taya let out a frustrated sigh. Shanna sympathised with Taya; she wanted more than anything to be doing something. Something that seemed more productive than training, even if it was training with one of the legends of the Scout Corps. It seemed stupidly anticlimactic.
“Maybe we’ll learn more from Cally than we think,” she said, hoping that was true. “I’m sure we’ll be out there soon, doing more. There has to be some reason that Master Cerren wants us to work here with Cally.”
“I know,” replied Taya with a sigh, “it’s just...you know.” She broke off, and Shanna knew. She’d heard the other girl crying quietly at night. They’d all tried their best to help, but what did you say to someone who’d lost so much so suddenly, except to be there? Taya dimmed the lights and lay back on her bed, and as the light faded, Shanna deliberately closed her eyes.
She wondered when she’d see the three Starlynes who’d travelled with them again. She missed their friendly presence and was curious what they were doing. She hadn’t realised how used she’d become to their silent conversation and insightful comments. And she wondered when she’d finally meet Fractus’ daughter, the young Starlyne of the vision.
Thoughts and images danced in her mind as she lay there in the dark, and once more, she felt that the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. What was it about her and her cats that the Starlynes felt was so important? There was no doubt that her ability to fade was unsurpassed, and her multiple skills with ‘the spark’ were in a greater quantity than anyone else’s. But she’d spent hours thinking about whether that made her, Storm and Twister more powerful, or clever, or prepared than anyone else, and she couldn’t see how. In fact, she could imagine being stuck trying to decide what she’d do with so many skills at her fingertips. She could see it clearly in her imagination. Hundreds of Garsal pouring towards the plateau as she stood on the edge trying to figure out what to do. It wasn’t as if she could fade the whole plateau, or make the Garsal vanish in one enormous fireball. There were limits to her abilities. She might have many, but her skills were surest when she faded, or when she flew, but even then, Amma was a better flyer.
Shanna rolled over restlessly and punched her pillow into a better shape. She could see the muted tidemarks of the cats in the darkness. Close by, Storm and Twister were a puddle of blue and violet on her bed, with Spider not far away, and Spinner glowed faintly, like a partially banked fire. The boys’ cats’ marks reflected faintly on the far wall.
Shanna wriggled, trying to get comfortable. Her pillow seemed to be developing lumps, or maybe it was just that she’d slept for so long without a pillow that she was struggling with it. No, it hadn’t bothered her at all the first few nights. She was forced to realise that despite her fatigue, she was in for a restless night. There was a quiet hum from the bed, and Storm’s tidemarks brightened slightly. “Sorry boys,” she whispered, and the tidemarks dimmed again. What was it that was so special about the three of them? Shanna ran the images through her mind again. Her, her two starcats, and then a myriad of others in the background. Her memory refused to show them clearly, no matter how much she reran the image. Finally, she heaved a frustrated sigh, deliberately closed her eyes and began to count her breaths. It was rare that she had a restless night, but when she did, counting her breaths usually helped.
The next morning, Shanna felt scratchy eyed, tired, and unaccustomedly grumpy. Cally had dragged them out of bed unconscionably early, even by Scout standards, pointed them at the breakfast table and then herded them out to the bluff where they’d had their initial flights. She’d had Verren show her precisely where they were on the map every kilometre or so. Then, when they’d struck a bare patch of rock, she’d asked Ragar and Zandany to toss a fireball or two, before requesting Allad pick up the largest rock he could. Shanna had been rather impressed at the size of it – almost as big as a horgal wagon. As the echoes of the rock hitting the ground died away, Shanna had wondered if perhaps the Starlynes had made an error about her. She could imagine Allad mowing down hundreds of Garsal with a rock that size if he managed to toss it far enough. And then she remembered how tired everyone became if they use their abilities for any length of time; even Allad wasn’t exempt. The Starlynes had replenished the energy patches, but they’d cautioned them all against overusing them. It appeared that they were difficult to manufacture, and required a number of specialised ingredients that were hard to find.
By the time they’d climbed the small spire, some of the cobwebs had cleared from her mind. There was a light breeze, and the flying conditions looked perfect. As she, Amma and Allad removed their wingsuits from their packs, Cally and Mirror watched intently. Verren, Ragar, Taya and Zandany assisted with the final checks and the three flyers prepared themselves to launch.
“We may as well use the flight for a recon,” Allad said. “We’ll sweep in three directions – Amma, you take due south, Shanna you’ll head southeast, and I’ll take the southwest. Look for anything unusual. For Cally’s benefit, we’ll fly in formation for a few minutes, normal arrowhead, Amma in front, and then we’ll separate on Amma’s signal. Half an hour out, and half back.” Shanna and Amma nodded. Shanna readied herself as Amma leaped into the air, dropping carefully into that odd vision that allowed her to ‘see’ the air currents.
She leaped in turn, allowing the cool air rushing past her face to blow out the last of the grumpiness. She dropped neatly in behind Amma, admiring as ever, the effortless way the other girl flew. Allad flew much as he moved – gracefully, but purposefully – and as he joined Shanna behind Amma, the three of them flew in careful formation in a rising spiral. Amma took them past the top of the spire several times at various altitudes, and then directly over the top of it and arrowed south. At Amma’s wing waggle, the three separated, and Shanna headed southeast.
It was hard to concentrate on the task at hand as the sheer joy of flying overtook her. It had been weeks since she’d been in the air, and Shanna was pleased to note that none of her hard won skill seemed to have left her. She scanned the ground conscientiously, noting the varicoloured vegetation of Below in all its deadly, beautiful majesty. She ‘felt’ carefully for Twister and Storm, waiting on the spire with the others, making sure she knew precisely where they were in relation to her position. Her direction sense, although not as good as Verren’s, told her that she would be shortly nearing the site of the battle with the four Garsal vehicles. She estimated how long she’d been flying, and figured she had another ten minutes or so before she needed to turn around.
She soared contentedly, enjoying the sensation of flight, watching Below unroll before her. She could see the miniature plateau where they’d first made contact with the Garsal and her stomach roiled momentarily as she recalled the astounded amazement at encountering aliens, here, on her home world. Below was a place that repeatedly called her to explore, and she longed for a return to the peaceful days she’d envisaged when she first joined the Scouts. Days spiced with the adventure of exploration and study. She’d seen Below from the edge of the plateau all those months ago when they’d found the Garsal ship, but now, from high above it, she was struck all over again by its deadly mystery. The deep green of the vegetation touched a buried longing that she was almost unable to explain, and she repressed an urge to keep on flying just to see what she might find.
In her head, the time ticked by. She flew southeast steadily, trying to estimate exactly how far over Below she was. She could ‘feel’ Storm and Twister like anchors behind her, steadfast in their waiting, and decided to gain a little more height before turning back towards them. She was halfway through her turn when she was buffeted suddenly by an air current she hadn’t ‘seen,’ and a thundering boom. It tumbled her over in the air, and she was completely disoriented, not knowing whether she was up or down, her arms and legs quivering with the strain of a tumbling, turbulent patch of air. Her head spun, and she blinked her eyes furiously, trying to figure out what was happening, when she realised that she was dropping rapidly towards Below. Panicked, she forced her arms and legs into position, shaking with the strain, and slowly began to level out, checking the downward plummet. Her sense of her two cats was the only thing that kept her mind to even a semblance of rational thought.
Finally, she gained control, feeling one of her shoulders aching fiercely, and looked around to estimate her height. The ground was way too close, and she searched the air currents frantically for one that would take her higher, and with a thankful sigh, angled sideways into a rising thermal. It sucked her high into the air, and she looked around to see what might have caused the boom and her tumble. Perhaps there were air currents invisible even to her enhanced vision. She spiralled higher, scanning, and to the northeast of her, spied a glint of metal, flying high in the sky. Her heart sank. At least one Garsal aircraft was in the vicinity.
Shanna was torn. Should she chase the aircraft? Should she head straight back to the spire? What was the best plan of action? She had no idea what the best choice would be, and worst of all, she could feel her shoulder beginning to throb more intensely second by second. It was 30 minutes flying time back to the bluff where Storm and Twister waited, and in that time, who knew where the aircraft might end up? At the speed it had passed her, it would probably be near the plateau in a few minutes. She took a deep breath, and began to consider her options. The aircraft would be at its destination before she could arrive. Her arrival would make no difference to the outcome, except to separate her from her cats and her team. She could ‘feel’ Storm and Twister in her mind, now drawing her back to the spire and she deliberately turned in the air towards them and began to speed as fast as possible towards them. She imagined she could hear sounds on the wind, awful sounds of destruction, but she kept her eyes towards her starcats.
Fifteen minutes later, she could see the spire and a speck that was either Allad or Amma mirroring her path. She concentrated on flying as well as she could for the next ten minutes and carefully gauged the wind direction as she headed in for a landing. As her feet touched the rock, she gasped her news even before she’d lowered her arms.
Cally’s seamed face hardened “Verren, go straight back to the Starlyne habitation and pass the message. We’ll wait here in case Amma and Allad have further information.”
Shanna’s shoulder throbbed dully, and she realised that Ragar was busily unsealing the wingsuit, and she began to shrug out of it, automatically telescoping the extensions as she folded it into her pack. There was a crunch, and Amma landed neatly, having apparently dropped vertically the last half metre. She was undoing her wingsuit almost before she landed.
“Garsal ship!”
“The message is on its way,” replied Cally. Taya and Ragar helped Amma stow her suit as fast as possible, and then they began the wait for Allad. Remembering her own tumble, and near fall, Shanna shivered slightly, and looked at Satin. The green toned cat sat completely composed on the edge of the spire. She wasn’t the least bit worried as far as Shanna could see, so she decided that Allad must be all right.
“Did you have any trouble, Amma?” she asked.
“It nearly scared the living daylights out of me,” replied Amma, “It came so close it knocked me all over the sky. Took me quite a while to sort myself out, and for a moment I thought I was about to die.” She shook her head.
“Me too. I think I’ve wrenched my shoulder as well.” Shanna wriggled her shoulder. It was uncomfortable no matter where she put it, but not nastily so. Just enough to be annoying. There was a shout from Zandany, who was perched on a rock.
“I can see Allad. Looks like he’s in a hurry!” Allad’s form neared the spire at full speed, turned into the wind, and landed with a thud. Sweat covered his face, and he dropped his arms with a sigh of relief.
“Garsal!”
“The message is sent,” said Cally. “but I need the three of you to tell me where you were when you saw the ship, and what direction it was going in.” They crouched over the map, and Shanna put her finger on her estimated position.
“It was heading towards Watchtower as far as I can tell.”
Allad’s face blanched. “I must have seen a different one in that case. Mine was heading northwest – in a pretty direct line towards the coastal settlements if it overflies the plateau.” Amma’s finger shook slightly.
“The one I saw was moving due north.”
“So,” Allad said, “We have three aircraft going in three different directions. And no idea where they’re going, except for a compass heading.”
“Well, they’re certainly not on a sightseeing tour,” replied Cally, her voice dry, and her expression hard. “I’d say they’ve embarked on a guerilla campaign. I suspect it’ll be a hit and run type raid – the maximum amount of destruction in the shortest amount of time. Ideal for spreading fear and damage. They hope to panic us.”
There was silence as they all contemplated the implications. Shanna’s mind imagined the destruction that just one of those ships could be visiting upon some of the small settlements on the plateau right then.
“Come on,” Cally said. “We need to be back at the habitation. The Starlynes will send a representative immediately I’d guess, and there’ll be planning to do. Dependent on what happens, our tasks may change, so we’ve little time to work on the things we need to.” She nodded grimly at their surprised expressions. “Cerren knows the value of the things I can teach you. He’ll leave you here if he can, but our time will be short.” She stomped off down the spire, and the three flyers and other cadets followed in her wake.
Shanna’s mind began to worry about her family again. They had been safe. Surely they still were. They had to be. And then she felt guilty, why should her family be safe when so many others probably weren’t? It was selfish, but she still clung to the thought. Kaidan would be somewhere carrying messages – he’d be all right. She pushed the worry about her parents down, and followed Cally. She wondered what the rest of Patrol Ten might have been doing. It seemed odd that Spiron wasn’t demonstrating his flying skills along with the rest of them.