Galactic Gale

Chapter Three

The City's Newest Guests

An hour later, the Rapid was still being patched. Kael sat in the captain's chair, legs crossed and a book in his hand. He had been devouring a chapter concerning steering controls when Amara returned. She looked pleased with herself, but he could tell she was tired.

"Last time I checked, that was my seat," she jeered. Dumping sleek cases of credits on one of the crew chairs, Amara slipped into the co-pilots spot and pried the book from his hands. "Oh, so it's not just my seat you're trying to steal, but my whole ship."

An uneven laugh escaped Kael and he shook his hands. Trying to free himself of the feel of Amara's skin on his was harder than it should have been. "How did the game go?" He nodded towards the credits, desperate to have her eyes shift from his face to her prize.

"Ridiculously well. I'm starting to think there's no one on my level anymore."

"Was anyone ever on your level?"

Amara snorted. "There I was thinking you considered us to be equals. It's good to know your aware of your place." She turned the book the right way up and narrowed her eyes at his notes scribbled down the side of the page. "Your handwriting is pretty."

"Thanks," Kael said a little too quickly. Sensing her eyes drifting to meet his again, he stood and strolled across the room. "We should go find a new boarding ramp. Or you could. I can stay here."

"Valour is resting in his cabin." Amara waved her hand, a grin forming. "Lazy old man. Meri has gone to one of her art clubs. Ry and Cyre are drinking somewhere. Don't tell me there isn't somewhere you want to be."

Uterca, Kael thought rather guiltily. It had been months since he had seen his family. But it was too dangerous to go back. Queen Telion considered him to be a rogue – as she did with Amara and the rest of his friends. Should he be spotted in the city, he would be arrested and sent to trial. Nothing fun would follow.

"A walk," he said simply. "I'd like to go for a walk."

With a roll of her eyes, Amara swept from the seat and brushed a spec of dirt from her trousers. Ramerela might have been a bright city, but it was far from a clean one. "Alright, let's walk. We can buy a ramp while we're out and about."

They took their credits to the back of the landing bay and slotted each of the coins into a flat machine. A churning sound broke the silence as the credits were transferred onto a card, making them easier to transport and spend.

Done, Amara held the card up to inspect it in the light of a nearby sign. "So much money," she mussed. "All in one little place."

Credit cards were no strange thing to Kael. He had grown up with one in his back pocket, directly linked to the royal funds. The thought of having millions of credits all in one place did not bother or surprise him.

Walking back up the bay, Kael and Amara admired the cruisers and searched from afar for their owners, then took a straight path into the centre of the city. For larger ship parts they would need to find a store, not a side vendor with spare scraps for sale.

Ramerela's central district was filled with billboards, market stalls and tall buildings with slight bends to their structure. Mechanical creatures with no arms but dozens of legs swept the gutters. Aliens and humans alike lingered in the shadows, begging for spare change.

There was no place like Ramerela. No city with as many flashing lights. No place with nearly the same number of clubs and bars, or illegal dealings. Where the Celestial Watch did roam the guards turned a blind eye to all the chaos.