Paress and Casten both stared in silence for a moment before Paress said, “Uh, whoah.”
“Yeah!” Casten said. “Did you see that? I mean, of course you did. But like, she actually said your name! She was actually talking to you. She likes younger guys…”
“I’m twelve!” Paress said. “Like, is that even legal? How old is she?”
“Uh,” Casten began, “I feel like I should know this since I’m a Companion and all. But well…I think she’s like, nineteen or twenty. She’s only been a Space Knight for a couple years.”
“Yeah, Dr. Behlen said her Machine was a couple years old. So if she graduated at seventeen or eighteen, yeah, you’d be right,” Paress said.
“As for it being legal, who knows with Space Knights? I’ve heard all kinds of wild things,” Casten admitted.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“Nah, I grew up at my Creator’s place. I’ve never spent much time at the Academy. Definitely not any time with young hot Space Knight girls.”
“Hmm,” Paress thought. “She was in the promo vid Dr. Behlen showed me the first time we met. He probably saw me checking her out because she’s pretty hot. But you’d think he would’ve tried to give this to me before I made my decision. It’s kinda pointless now that I’m not a Space Knight.”
“He probably couldn’t find the right moment,” Casten said. “Your family’s been close by the whole time. You don’t want your mom seeing that. He probably just figured it’d be a cool souvenir.”
“But how in the world did he even get her to do this? I can’t believe she even knows who I am. I can’t get normal girls around her to look at me twice and here’s some really hot Space Knight girl doing stuff to herself while saying my name? I dunno...”
“Me either. Maybe Dr. Behlen asked her as a favor and she thought it’d be funny to do something to blow some kid’s mind. I’ve heard stories about wild girls. Maybe she’s one of them.”
Paress realized even more how little he knew about life, girls…pretty much everything. “Geez, we sound like a couple of dumb kids.”
“I dunno. Yeah. Maybe,” Casten said, sharing a look of dejection with Paress. “Oh well...”
Paress jumped when he saw a shadow move past his doorway.
“I don’t want any of them to see it,” he hissed.
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
As Paress put the photo in his pocket for repeat viewings later when he was alone, he said, “By the way, you don’t have to hang around me all the time. I don’t think you’ll need to be my bodyguard while I’m in my own bedroom.”
Casten laughed. “I know. I just figured I’d stay close so we can get to know each other. We’re gonna be together for a while, ya know.”
“For the rest of my life apparently,” Paress said.
“Yeah. But it’s gonna be the rest of my life too. When you die, I’ll die too.”
Paress was shocked. “What? Why? I thought that only happened to Space Knight Companions. If I’m not a full Space Knight, and we don’t have to do all that synchronizing stuff, are you still gonna be stuck to that whole Leaving thing?”
Leaving was the term given to when a Space Knight died. As his soul left his body, so too would the Companion’s, who would accompany the Space Knight into the afterlife in the same role as he did in life: as a close friend, colleague, or lover.
“I don’t know,” Casten said. “Maybe we still synch up over time just because of the Blessing or something. Maybe it’s different than it is for a full Space Knight, but either way, I know that when you Leave, I do too.”
“Well damn, I didn’t know. I thought maybe you’d just go and help somebody else out or something when I’m gone,” Paress said. “For a Companion to die so soon seems like a waste.”
Casten’s smiling face grew somber. “Yeah, I think so. But it’s part of what I am. Can’t get away from it. But at least we’re kids. This stuff won’t happen for a long time.”
“Yeah,” Paress said. “But I always hear older people say the years go by faster as you get older, so what happens when we’re suddenly there?”
“I guess we better make sure we live a good life until then. Don’t waste it.”
“Yeah. But still, I’m sorry you got stuck with me. I’d be pretty mad if I found out my life was tied to some guy I didn’t even know– and then found out that guy was volunteering to live only like, a third of his actual lifespan.” Paress had a hard time looking at Casten.
“I’m trying not to think about it too much,” Casten said. “But maybe there’s something in my programming that helps me to cope because I feel like I should be a lot more angry about it— but I think I’m doing pretty good.”
“Well I guess that’s a relief,” Paress said. He slowly got up out of bed and waved away Casten’s attempts to help. “Nah, I’m okay.”
When Paress managed to stand up straight, Casten bowed and said, “I think this is gonna be fun. I’m glad we met.”
Paress returned the bow. “Me too. It sounds weird, but having you here, I think that’s why I feel like I’m gonna be okay. Thanks.” He held out his hand to Casten and the two shook hands.
Chapter Four
Three months went by and Paress and Casten had become good friends. And like any good friends they also bickered about various things, usually minutiae of various comic books and animated TV shows, but they generally resolved things peacefully. Paress enjoyed a bit of fame for a short while as the only kid around who had his own Companion.
This was followed by a bout of teasing that Paress was too chicken to be a Space Knight. That ribbing finally disappeared thanks to Paress and Casten being more than willing to use their surplus of strength to intimidate their tormenters. Then there were the inevitable rumors that the two were actually a couple, but considering that Casten was far more popular with the girls than any of the accusers, that rumor also faded away. Once in a while somebody would try to resurrect one of the insults, but it never lasted for long.
Because he hadn’t had them for very long, the loss of his more powerful abilities didn’t bother him so much. But not having any telekinesis took some getting used to. Paress had never realized just how much he’d been subconsciously augmenting his sense of touch with his low-level telekinesis until it was gone.
Even so, life had settled into a good, happy rhythm and Paress was glad to have someone who could be counted on to be like his brother. He and Casten went on different adventures together by bicycle, but always made sure not to stray too far from home. Galarisa was a massive metropolitan area, the biggest on the planet, and they knew it’d be quite easy to get lost if they weren’t careful. That said, as more time passed, Paress couldn’t help but start to feel that maybe he had missed out on something big and perhaps he’d made the wrong decision. But his family seemed so happy to have him home…
One day, Paress’ mother called them in and said that she needed them to go get Jane and Iona from the local spaceport. The two little girls would be coming back from a school field trip and both parents were stuck in commitments that would be hard to break away from. Of course, they could have just sent the girls home with one of the chaperones were they would wait to be picked up by a parent later. But better to have Paress and Casten simply travel to the spaceport and bring the girls home themselves, saving everybody else the trouble.
The two boys had been walking for a little while when Casten finally said, “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet.”
“Yeah, just thinking about life,” Paress said.
“Huh.”
“Well, it’s just…this,” Paress said as he waved his hand. “I mean, life is really great here. I’ve got a good family, a good friend. Everything’s safe and there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I think I know where this is going,” Casten said.
“I know I’m a jerk for thinking like this when there are so many people who would love to have my life. But really, it’s all just kin
da…nothing…y’know?” Paress asked. “Geez, I sound so…uh, typical? What’s the word?”
“Cliche,” Casten said. “The old ‘there’s something big and amazing if I can just get out of here’ thing. Except you were actually given the chance to do something about it and then turned it down. So you’re starting to think you made the wrong choice when things are going so well.”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Paress said. “Geez, I’m such an idiot.”
“Well, you know, there’s also the whole ‘I had a shot at greatness and turned it down’ thing,” said Casten. “So you’re a combination of two cliches.”
“Great,” said Paress.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Casten asked.
Paress sighed. “Nothing. I made my decision and my family seems so happy to have me here. I can’t take that away from them, you know?”
Casten nodded, “I hear ya. But maybe if they knew how you feel, they’d let you go because they’d know how much it means to you.”
“You sure you’re not just saying that because you’re a Companion, and when it comes down to it, this kind of life isn’t exactly what you were created to do?” Paress gave a crooked smile.
“Heh, is it really me talking or am I programmed to say this stuff to support the Space Knight Academy agenda?” Casten looked sly. “Do I myself even know what I’m saying? We may never know…”
Paress groaned, “Now that’s all I needed to hear.”
Casten laughed, “Nah, I’m sorry. But really, of course I want you to get out of here! We’ve got a shot to make some big stuff happen. But when it comes down to it, you have to feel good about the choice you’ve made.”
“That’s the problem! Maybe when I’m like, thirty or forty or something, I can make a good decision about the rest of my life. But doing it at twelve is crazy!”
“Yeah, I know,” Casten said. “And even though I’m saying all this stuff, if I was in your place, I don’t know what I’d decide.”
They walked for a little while longer in silence and boarded the train that would take them on the quick trip to the spaceport.
After a little while, Casten said, “Hey, remember, you still have almost a year to change your mind. Well, less than that since some time’s gone by, but the point is that you’ve still got some wiggle room.”
“Yeah,” Paress said. “It’s just I don’t think I’ll have any better idea if I’ve made the right choice if I say something six months from now or what. It’ll always be a thing hanging over me my whole life.”
They continued along in silence and the train came to their stop at the spaceport. Since Galarisa was the capital city of the entire Francescan Star Empire with a population of almost twelve million, it was home to some very large spaceports. Since Paress and his family lived in one of the more suburban areas of the city, its spaceport was one of the smaller ones, although still gigantic compared to the facilities many other planets had to offer. They walked along, admiring the various small shuttles, sleek starliners, private ships, and military craft at the port.
“This place is incredible,” Paress said. “We should come here more often and just hang out and walk around.”
“Yeah. You know, this is where I flew in when I came to live with you,” Casten said. “This is my first time back of course.”
Paress checked his watch to pull up his sisters’ flight information and then checked a local kiosk for the gate. “Let’s go.”
About twenty minutes later, Paress and Casten were standing at the gate and looking out the giant windows to the airfield as an announcement let the gathered people know the ship was on the approach. Soon, Paress could see the white ship slide into view. It circled the airfield and touched down gracefully. As it taxied up toward the gate, an explosion suddenly rocked the ship, knocking it sideways.
Paress felt like all the blood was draining from his body as he watched the starliner crash onto its side and then start to lurch across the runway as one of its engines suddenly fired to life again for a moment, sending the ship spiraling across the asphalt and into the path of another ship that was just landing. The other ship’s pilot tried to pull up, but was too late as the rear landing gear was clipped by the body of the liner containing Paress’ sisters.
The ship sill managed to fly high enough to avoid any more damage and crashed down farther down the runway as, to Paress’ surprise and horror, the ship with his sisters continued to lurch sideways on an arc that brought the ship on a collision course with the gate Paress was standing at.
Screams filled the air as people all around him ran to escape the looming starliner. At that moment, Paress was struck by three things: his hope that his sisters were alive and okay inside; a Class F starliner was actually pretty damn big despite being on the smaller end of such things; and that he was surprisingly calm. Through all of the noise of people screaming, warning sirens, and the deafening screech of the oncoming wreckage, Paress could clearly hear Casten say, “So what do you want to do?”
Paress turned to look at his Companion, both of them oddly serene. “As soon as it hits, and gets wedged against the gate, we’re gonna take care of things.”
“Alright,” Casten said.
“Follow me.” Paress ran off to the side of the gate where an escalator led to an upper floor that overlooked the entire area, Casten following.
No sooner had the two of them reached the floor, than the liner came crashing through the gate with an earth-shattering crash. Glass and debris flew everywhere as people still scrambled to find safety. The heat from the flames erupting from the liner’s body came in like a whirlwind and set furniture, plants, and to Paress’ shock, people, on fire. Luckily, the anti-fire systems in the building kicked on immediately and began to put the fires out. Paress could see emergency vehicles in the distance coming to put out the larger fires of the liner, but for now, the engine that was pushing the starship sideways was still going strong.
Slamming into the gate and the sturdy structure of the spaceport itself had slowed the liner almost to a stop, but it was still slowly pivoting around a main support. The sound of the engine was deafening and Pares wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hear again after this. He noticed one of the doors on the ships’ side, now facing upwards was coming up under where he and Casten stood.
Paress pointed, “We gotta jump down and go in through that door! If we don’t stop the ship, it’ll just spin off the support and keep going until it explodes.” He hoped Casten could hear him or read his lips or some other bit of Companion magic to overcome the noise and was relieved when the other boy nodded.
As the door approached, Paress counted down, “One…two…three!” and he and Casten leapt on to the slow-moving liner. I can’t believe I’m doing this, he thought. Only because my body is stronger and tougher or this would kill me.
He and Casten each got on one side of the door. He reached down and pulled the emergency release and the door’s seals released with a hiss. A holographic warning appeared around the door telling them to stand clear because explosive bolts were going to blow the door off. But after the countdown, nothing happened. Paress and Casten waited a few seconds more and when still nothing happened, Paress said, “Okay, let’s do it.”
At Casten’s nod, Paress reached down to get a grip on one side of the door and Casten the other. After another count of three, they both heaved and in a motion that Paress hadn’t expected, easily tore the door off and sent the heavy thing flying off into the air. The two boys exchanged a nod and jumped through the opening and down into the starship.
It was much quieter inside than out, although plenty of noise poured in from the door opening and other noises could be heard coming from the back. None of this registered in Paress’ mind though, because he was too busy thinking of his sisters and how to find them. The interior was dark and foggy as if some kind of steam had been let in. Red emergency lights shone but often flickered. There was a steady soundtrack of crying punctuated with some scre
ams from the passengers who had all been thrown sideways and had to slowly, painfully, reorient themselves to the reality that their ship’s right side was now their floor.
“Jane? Iona?” Paress called, but was only greeted by more cries of distress from some nearby children, likely classmates of his sisters.
“Paress, we’ve gotta stop this thing from moving and shut the power down or the whole thing’s gonna explode,” Casten said.
“Okay, you get on that and I’ll find my sisters.”
“Right.”
Casten turned to make his way to the front of the starship where the cockpit was, and Paress started slowly going deeper into the dark cavernous body. “Jane?” he called. “Iona?”
“They’re back there,” somebody said in a weak voice and Paress made his way over to a woman pinned to the side of the ship by a crumpled bulkhead hatch.
“Hang on, I think I can get this off,” Paress said, but as he started to pull on the hatch, the woman screamed. He quickly let go. “I’m sorry!” He saw a name tag on the woman’s chest. She must have been one of the chaperones. “Mrs. Ness, I’m Paress Handrel,” he said shakily. “Tell me what to do to help.”
“Leave the hatch alone,” she gasped, stating what Paress now knew to be obvious. “Handrel…I guess you must be Jane and Iona’s brother?” She winced from some new pain and said simply, “Farther back.”
Paress could tell it was best to let the poor woman save her strength and not to talk, so he said his thanks and pressed on. The steam was getting thicker and the red light more dim as more wreckage obscured what was happening. Dark, moaning forms moved around in the haze and Paress gently pressed past them.
“Jane…” he called tentatively. Oddly, he didn’t want to shout too loudly for fear of upsetting the passengers even though the sounds of internal engine explosions were growing louder. “Iona?” He walked a couple more steps and nearly jumped when a hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed at his leg. It was a small hand that held tight and as he bent down, he saw that the hand emerged from under a group of bodies that were either dead or, he hoped, simply unconscious.
Space Dragon Allepexxis Page 11
