Lightship Chronicles Chapter 4 : Sacred Warriors

by Florin Nicoara

Andee retorts.

  "OK, even though I don't know what that is." And Mirceu laughs out loud.

  "Young Mykee, if you like tech so much why haven't you come around more often? Andee started about your age." Old Tom asks.

  "Dun'no. I never thought of it before. I guess when I was younger, all I saw was junk. But now, now I see parts. Maybe I will. You know, looking at all these... I'm telling you... with all the parts you got around here, it might be possible to put a lightship together." Mykee nods his head up and down as he talks and visually inspects the parts. You can almost see the cogs in his head turning.

  There is a moment of silence. Everyone is still, all watching Mykee. He on the other hand is moving, mostly just his head and torso, like a bird, as if trying to pierce the parts with his thoughts. The old man watches him for a moment, than picks up a white panel off his work table.

  "Hey. I got a little enigma for you.. Come here, let me show you something." Mykee turns and looks at Old Tom who lifts up the panel. "I pulled this out earlier. It was sitting in that piece of bubble there." Nudging to a partial section of transparent material on top of the other parts in the cart. "What do you think it is?"

  Mykee rushes to Old Tom who hands him the part. It is a rectangular white panel the size of a large book. One side is smooth, with a matte black surface encased in a solid but beveled silverish-white metal frame, about a centimeter thick. The back is uneven and grated, made of a very solid and stern white plastic. From one corner there are three wires dangling out, all with ripped ends.

  "It kind'a looks like a vidrom." Mykee squints as he runs his fingers over its smooth matte surface. "Especially this black side."

  "I was thinking the same thought." Old Tom responds.

  "And you said it was in the bubble? Can you show me where.?"

  "Sure." Old Tom walks with Mykee to the cart and shows him the smashed up glass bubble, but it is half buried under other parts.

  "You two strong boys. Why don't you unload the wagon so I can catalogue these parts." Old Tom asks turning to Andee and Mirceu.

  The two guys get moving. They're fast and efficient, and quickly lift out the larger parts. They place the broken piece of bubble on the floor. Mykee eagerly squats down to inspect his prize. Andee and Mirceu continue unloading the rest. They arrange the pieces on the floor in neat rows, separated by type to the best of their discretion. Some pieces are obvious structural sections, while others mechanical. They are each placed in the according row. Unidentifiable parts are placed in a third row. After grabbing a binder, Old Tom starts cataloging each item.

  It takes the two guys no time to unload and arrange. Once done Andee focuses on one of the pieces in the structural row. He stares at it for a moment than picks it up and takes it to Mykee.

  "This looks like another section of that bubble." As he places it next to the other one.

  "Yeah, look at that." Mykee points to the glass portion of it. "The break matches this one." And then slides them together. They are a match, and the new piece is less glass and more control board, but badly damaged.

  "See, I know my tech too." Andee responds with a smirk to Mykee, but he is ignored. The young tech wiz is completely absorbed by the parts. Andee walks away to Tom's work table and picks up another binder, then joins Tom with the cataloging. Mirceu leans over Mykee, who is now fiddling with the white panel, trying to figure out how it would be positioned inside the bubble.

  Andee stops his cataloging for a minute and starts studying the parts again. He is really concentrating on a few specific pieces. He then looks at the rest, one by one, visually inspecting them all. He walks back to a curved triangular piece, shaped like the tip of a talon that he had noticed earlier, and turns it over. Its other side is gleaming white and smooth.

  "Hey Mykee. Look. I think this is a piece from ship 1." Mykee quickly looks over his shoulder then bolts to Andee, white panel in hand. He looks at the part. Turns it back and forth.

  "It was the only white ship. Oh my god! What if we have parts from that ship here?" Mykee's voice rises with both excitement and shock.

  "They could all be from that ship." Andee adds.

  "Ho-lly crap!" Lifting up the mysterious panel in his hand. "This part! It's white!"

  "Young man, your language." Old Tom warns, then continues on a different note. "What's so special about that ship?"

  "It belongs to the pilot I rescued. It was the most amazing lightship we'd ever seen." Andee answers while Mykee bolts off back to the broken bubble.

  "And to think, a few days ago we were dreaming about it, and now parts of it are right here in our hands." Mykee muses in amazement then snaps his head back towards Old Tom. "You sure you pulled this from the cracked bubble?" Mykee asks holding up the white panel.

  "Son, I just picked it out from where it was lying. I think it was on top of that bubble." Old Tom responds but Mykee quickly turns to Mirceu.

  "Where did you find this?" Still holding up the mystery panel.

  "To be honest, I don't remember. It was dark, and couldn't see what color they were and...." Mirceu loses steam, but Mykee is already focused somewhere else. His eyes are locked on the broken bubble. He's staring at it so hard it looks like he could set it on fire with his glare. A moment later his eyes go back to the white panel in his hands. He inspects the wires.

  "Were these cables connected Old Tom?" The old man just swings his head from side to side in the negative. Mykee then turns to Mirceu. "And you don't remember if this was connected to this bubble when you picked it up?"

  "I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Them pieces of bubble had nothing hanging from them. I remember picking them up, cuz I was thinking maybe I shouldn't, they were all so broken up." Mirceu responds a bit more confided. Old Tom is no longer cataloging but watching the trio hovering over the broken oval bubble on the ground.

  "Look." Mykee points to the metal edges of the transparent bubble. "These edges right there, they're blue, see. Ship 9 was blue, and it crashed to piece, just like 1. I can't find any which way for this panel to fit in here. In fact, it looks like a bigger version of that right there." And points to a small palm sized matte black surface that's cracked like glass, and surrounded by buttons and a control stick. "I think this panel is from 1." Mykee states confidently lifting up the white panel in his had.

  "But the bubble separated. If that thing is from the bubble..." Andee cuts himself off and turns to Mirceu. "Did you climb up the mountain and collect the bubble where I rescued that pilot from?"

  "No. I didn't climb nothing. I collected what I found around me, then hightailed back before I might get caught."

  "I don't know man, if that piece fell out of that bubble..." Andee stops his words.

  "I'm sure of it. I bet this is a display from inside the bubble and works just like a vidrom. Look." He points to the shattered mate-black piece inside the blue bubble. "See this cracked piece here. It looks just like the black screen on this panel, and it's right next to the control stick. And look how big this control panel is to that one. It's not from this ship."

  "You might be right little brother. We could go get the bubble. I'm sure it's still up there."

  "I don't think so." Mirceu interjects. "I went out there yesterday but I couldn't find nothing. The Bitani cleared everything, probably right after me. I really got lucky getting there first the night before."

  "Wait no!" Mykee yells excitedly. "It shouldn't matter. We don't need that bubble. Even if it doesn't fit these are machines. The parts should work on either one, it just needs to be connected right." He twirls the panel in his hands. "Look, this thing has no damage. I bet all it needs is electricity. I bet that's what these wires are for. If we connect it, I bet it will work."

  "That's a lot of bets there brother."

  "We have to try it, what do we have to lose? What do you think Old Tom?"

  Old Tom has been watching them this whole time. He cautiously approaches, binder still in hand.

  "I'm an old man that's s
een a lot, but that kind of tech talk is not in my vocabulary."

  Mykee looks like he is itching from the inside out. He seems to be on the verge of something, but it is just not connecting.

  "Generators!" Mykee blurts out. "The ships must have their own generators. Some kind of generators that make the electricity to power the controls. He rushes to the laid out parts. Starts inspecting each one with great concentration.

  "Andee help me with this one." Andee rushes and gives his little brother a hand flipping it over. Mykee studies it. A minute later he starts shaking his head either displeased or unsure. He goes to the next part. This goes on for a while.

  "I don't understand how you think you'll find something when you don't even know what it's supposed to look like." Andee finally breaks the silence.

  "It's a machine... I have an idea. Help me Andee. Look for all the lose wires you see and show them to me." Both of them start looking for wires. Mirceu looks to Old Tom and gives him a 'I have no clue what's going on here' smirk. Old Tom stares at the boys with no reaction.

  "There!" Mykee shouts. "Three wires. Black, red, and blue. Just like on the panel. I'm going to try it."

  "Old Tom you think that's safe?" Andee asks turning to Tom.

  "Hold on there boys." Tom walks to his table and picks up a pair of heavy gloves, and nudges to Andee. He rushed to the old man and grabs them.

  "Those are insulating gloves. You always need to wear those around