Chapter 42

Raylay adjusted the settings, and the shield activated. The sky grew above them, and the ground receded.

"So," Relda said, clapping her hands and rubbing her palms together. "Where are we going?"

She curled her lip at Raylay's deep gulp. It just sounded gross.

"I--" Raylay began, but the flashing of his viewing screen cut him short.

Relda took it in her lap. Incoming transmission. ID: Aks. It read.

"Transmission from Aks," she relayed.

"Accept it," Raylay instructed. "Haven't heard from him in a good bit. Hoping he's good."

Relda tapped the accept configuration on the screen. Aks waved from the other end.

"Greetings!" He exclaimed. "Is all well?"

"All is well," Relda said. "Is there anything I can pass onto Raylay?"

Aks scratched his head and said, "He asked about using the port. I've been retired for many years. Still keeping the database, but business owner I'm not anymore."

"Using the port?" Relda echoed.

"For the training station," Aks replied.

"Thanks, buddy," Raylay said, clearly not needing Relda to take messages.

"See you when you get here," Aks concluded.

"Alright," Relda said. "See you soon."

"Bye."

After an alert informed her the call had ended, the viewing screen returned to the home image. Relda tucked it into its place.

"So that's where they're going," she said. "We're going, rather."

Raylay stroked his beard and leaned toward the door.

"That's for training," he confirmed. "After that…"

He angled his rearview mirror at the girls in the passenger cabin.

"... They're going to the battle station. On Jucardi."

Relda was unable to move for as long as it took to process that. Jucardi. Home. A thousand memories took her mind over. She imagined what it looked like now. Three decades after the plague. What races lived there now? Suppose there was no one. Her beloved Jucardi - what if it was a wasteland? She emptied her mind. This was more than she could cope with.

Light years stretched on, and too soon the port porous with openings came into view. Raylay glided into an opening.

"Here we are," he announced. "Please get your blasters from the ceiling compartments."

There was a collective clicking sound as the compartments open and hands grabbed the blasters.

The war had begun.