Galactic Gale

Chapter Eighteen

City of Scales

The trip from Uterca to the grand city of Yolkemi was brief.

Amara made only one stop at an old fuel station where Cyre and the rest of their crew had been waiting for them. In less than an hour, she had informed them of their new task, everything Nona had told them, and what they had found in Uterca's newest waste dump. Kael had tried to catch a moment with the captain alone to discuss her condition, but Amara had made sure she was kept busy and out of reach.

Just by mentioning Kael had access to the royal funds, Amara had her crew onboard. No one complained about working for Nona or getting involved with Retch's affairs – not even Cyre, who seemed to have a problem with everything.

They had paid for the second ship to be taken and stored in Ramerela. Kael made sure the transporter was given more than enough credits for the task, then left the ship in the stranger's hands and waved goodbye to the station.

From there, the crew had returned to their jobs aboard the Rapid. Ry had lovingly made minor repairs, Cyre had reclaimed her seat by Amara's side, Valour polished the turrets' controls, and Abe made himself at home in the medical bay.

It would have been cruel to leave Abe behind at the rusty fuel station. He had proven himself to be a valuable member of their crew. With an impressive aim and more than enough experience patching wounds, Abe was slowly starting to turn the others' views about him around.

He might not have been Meri – the hot-headed girl they were used to working with – but Abe had talent. On this job they would need every scrap of that they could get.

"Coming into landing," Amara called from ahead. Even from where he was, sitting on the steps with a book in hand, Kael heard the click of the landing gear button.

There was no need to strap in with Amara flying. Kael stayed where he was and closed his book, swapping the yellow pages for a view of their destination. Yolkemi was a city worth admiring.

Endless spirals of silver towers, grey skyscrapers, and glass buildings loomed over the Rapid as Amara set the ship down. Further from the sun than Uterca but still within range of the burning star, Yolkemi was a warm city with an array of solar panels and other devices harnessing energy on the sapphire rooftops.

"Care to give us a lecture on the locals?" Ry joked, swinging under the metal railing to bypass Kael.

"Leave our prince alone." Valour knocked Ry aside and sent his balance astray. "Cyre does enough picking on people to let us retire from quibbling for good."

Holding up his hands in surrender, Ry headed past them into the kitchen. "I'm just saying, he always loves treating us like we've never been places before."

Although Ry had not meant to hurt Kael, the comment struck him hard. Kael sealed his lips and trapped the information about Yolkemi he had intended to share with them inside his mouth.

Ry was right. A habit had emerged each time they reached a new destination. Kael found it unavoidable to tell his companions the history of the city, the local population, languages and its current standing in the economy. He did not do so because he thought his companions needed to hear it, but because he had needed to do the same to Nona when they had travelled together.

Gone were those days. Kael needed to remember that. He wasn't travelling with people who refused to take interest in the world around them. The Rapid's crew were keen eyed. They knew what they were doing – most of the time.