Mahingga

Chapter 10: Taken

Ako sat at the dinner table staring at his food. Tatam had arrived home late, and Taiyo hadn't even shown up yet. Perhaps Taiyo had gotten in trouble, or maybe even lost his job—the entire object of his research had just been stolen by other aircrafts.

Amidst such thoughts, Ako couldn't help but pin some of the blame on himself, and the feeling was gnawing at his insides.

Ako's Palam was tingling almost every minute, but if he even glanced at it, Tatam would just say, "Not at the dinner table," staring at him with those stern, dark eyes of his. "And eat your food," he added, pointing his spoon at Ako.

How could Ako eat when his whole future had just changed? He'd been hoping to work on the aircraft for at least a couple years before working at Tsugari Ley. Still, under his father's eyes, he forced a spoonful of rice and pork into his mouth. Though seasoned with spices and coconut milk, the food had no flavor. He felt a flood of relief when Tatam placed down his utensils with a sigh. His own Palam was vibrating even more than Ako's.

"Alright, let's see what this is about," Tatam said. "Taiyo might have lost his job," he mumbled to himself. Tatam pushed back from his seat, rose to his feet, and headed to their living room where their projector screen was.

Ako jumped up without hesitation and followed after, his mother, Inay, right on his heels. Tatam flicked on the Ley receptor, activating a few dim Leylights around the rectangular room, rife with plush seating. Tatam waved his Palam in front of the scanner and a list of information was portrayed on the far wall. He tapped a button on the screen of his Palam and a news report directly from Taiyo's division in the Department of Science and Engineering appeared.

A man's voice spoke, his face appearing in a three-dimensional image, "As many of you are aware, five unidentified aircrafts approached Mahingga today. From what we can gather, they did nothing more than recover the aircraft which has been here on the island of Mahingga for forty-three years.

"During the extraction of the aircraft, there was an unfortunate circumstance where two of our engineers were still aboard the vessel. One of them was the head of the department, Talino Midhara, and the other was one of our lead engineers, Taiyo Tsugari."

Inay gasped, Tatam folded his arms, and Ako's heart felt like it stopped. He staggered and grabbed onto one of the chairs to keep himself on his feet.

The reporting engineer continued, "We have not received word or response from either of these engineers, and it is unfortunately unlikely that we will, since their Palam's are now disconnected from the ground. Since even communication between our islands is difficult, it is probable that we will not be able to receive any information from them.

"From what we understand of the situation before the aircraft was taken, Taiyo and Talino were researching the possibility of the use of an ancient technology involving electricity onboard the aircraft. Their research into this possibility was inconclusive, but they may have triggered something that engendered a response from the Pawid nation. Still, we have no way to confirm this. Research into flight will continue, though without the aircraft to aid our study, the division of our department focusing on this area will be diminished. That's all for tonight, thank you."

The news report finished, leaving them in silence.

Tatam took a big breath and muttered something to himself. "The aircraft didn't run off Leypower anyway. Taiyo probably should have focused his time on something else," Tatam said, his voice deep and quiet.

"Tatam!" Inay said in obvious disapproval, tears slowly streaking down her cheeks.

Ako spun and left the room. He went straight outside and ran back to the mango tree. Panic struck hard and then disappeared a million times a second. He didn't feel like he was going to cry—he didn't know what he was feeling—but he knew that he wanted to do something.