Chapter 26
Kevin’s point of view
I just stood staring wide-eyed at my
old friend, barely recognisable from his new uniform, deeper voice and matured
attitude.
Flyer himself looked nervous. He
obviously couldn’t recognise me, as I was not in physical form and so just
looked like a hazy silhouette.
I snapped myself out of it, and
materialised my physical self.
“Flyer, is that really you?”
I stepped forward, and into the beam
of who I guessed was Dommur’s flashlight.
“Kevin!” Flyer gasped. He sharply
looked between my crashed ship and me a few times, his jaw dropped. “But how-”
“What are you doing all the way out
here?”
He gave no reply, and continued to
stare blankly.
“Captain Richardson?” Monsoon’s voice
stated in disbelief.
“But….. the Armband, sir? It…..”
Dommur stuttered.
“They took it off for me.” I grinned,
motioning to the other Soul Creatures behind me.
Flyer darted forward and had barely
landed on my shoulder when he threw both his wings around my neck happily.
“I knew our paths would cross again!”
he laughed in joy. “I knew it!”
I pulled him off my neck and hugged
him back. Dommur, Monsoon and the two other unfamiliar pilots – a Valedron and
a Small Gecko – had gathered around me.
“We thought ya died! Ya ship is wrecked
over there!” Dommur exclaimed.
“I survived the crash and then the
others found me.” I explained. “And Flyer was right: they’re not evil. Not
anymore.”
Solin came towards us, and even I
became cautious.
“What are you doing, Kevin?” she
snapped. “This is totally out of custom.”
“So what? I haven’t seen these guys in
months!” I patted Flyer’s head as he sat on my shoulder – he way he always did.
She paused a moment in disdain. “Fotuf
will want to meet them!” she turned and motioned for the others to head back to
the mountain. “Come on, then!”
Remaining in physical form, I talked
to Flyer and the other pilots fondly, remembering their company.
“These are our new pilots – the ones
who replaced you and poor Forkar. This is Junarn,” he gestured to the Small
Gecko, who bobbed his head in greeting, “and this little fellow is Tailflit.”
Flyer’s short description was
accurate, as Tailflit was quite small and looked pretty young. He sat shyly on
Junarn’s shoulder.
“Nice to meet you guys.” I bowed my
head as a return gesture to them both.
“Junarn is a technical expert: he’s
made the Interceptor engines 25% more efficient. And Tailflit is the youngest
pilot in the Air Force. He’s an excellent pilot, but some people think he’s
just been lucky.”
I patted him on the head with
admiration. “You have to be pretty good to get transferred to Alpha Wing!” I
stated. “You must be quite an achiever.”
Inside the mountain complex, there was
not ventilation or light, as we Soul Creatures didn’t need either, so the five
pilots had to return to their ships to get breathing equipment and oxygen
tanks, as well as retrieving their flashlights.
Fotuf was there to greet us.
“Ah, these are our new mortal
friends,” he smiled warmly as he took on physical form too. “Welcome to
Karnak.”
I knew he was glad inside. He had told
me he didn’t hate the mortals like Solin did, and so he must have been relieved
that they were beginning to see the Soul Creatures for who they really were
now.
“We’ll take you to meet some of the
others,” Fotuf stated. “You two Small Geckos must be carried down, but the
Valedrons can fly. Kevin, help me with them.”
I nodded, remaining in physical form
while changing into a dragon. Fotuf picked up Dommur, and I carried Junarn
down. Flyer, Monsoon and Tailflit flew behind.
The mood was tense – most of the Soul
Creatures hadn’t been this close to a mortal, or at least not in a good few
decades, and my old team-mates had never seen any other Soul Creatures other
than me. But, Fotuf and I both trusted them, and that put them at ease.
Basic introductions were made, and a
few words exchanged between mortals and spirits. After that, Fotuf invited them
to stay for as long as they needed and were always welcome to come back.
I sat down heavily, back to my normal
human form.
“Looks to me like you’ve started a new
friendship.” I told Flyer. “Maybe they’ll see now that the Dragon Empire
doesn’t call Soul Creatures the enemy.”
“I hope so.” Flyer commented. “I don’t
want to be your enemy. You guys may not be evil, but you have more power than
we do – you know, the whole psychic power thing where you have telekinesis and
can change into anything and stuff.”
“So how are things back at New
Nosteran?” I asked casually.
Flyer shifted slightly. “Seems like
the Valedron Empire is getting more active. I don’t know for sure because, as
usual, its all been classified way beyond my level of clearance, but I think
something’s stirring them up. Maybe its their new leader – the last one was
overthrown in a duel remember? Like I said, though, it’s not official.”
“They must be up to something.” I
muttered. “They must have been lying low over the last few years. Better watch
your backs.”
“Erm… Captain? I-”
“I resigned. It’s just Kevin now.”
“Well, Kevin. I should tell you why we
came here.” Flyer began.
“Uh huh…” I said, gaining interest.
“You don’t travel for 2 and a half months in unexplored space for nothing.”
“Well, remember I told you about
Zakkar Draconis?”
“The greatest warrior of the three
races, yeah.”
“Well, it became a title after the
Zakkar Draconis died. It’s given to the greatest warrior of the three races,
and since the Dragon Empire is the only current Empire to consist of the three
races, we’ve begun to name our best warriors by that title again.”
“And….?”
“And we’ve chosen a new Zakkar
Draconis.”
I looked at him oddly. “You came
light-years across empty space to tell me that?”
“Yeah,” he stated innocently.
“Well you came all this way, so who is
it then?” I questioned.
He grinned: “You!”
***
