The Worlds of the Sheaf

Veglia - Part 8

     The Galtalista was achingly similar to the Hummingbird, and looking at the iridescent sails bulging with the wind he could almost imagine that they were back over the forests of Tas Lannea or the unexplored expanses of Trefallia. It was strange to think that he'd been back in time to the Agglemonian Empire since then, and helped to explore all the planets of Tharia's solar system. All of those exciting events were suddenly telescoping together in his memories so that it seemed as though only a day or two had passed since the battered Hummingbird had returned in triumph to the forests of Lourell and been handed back to the shae folk who had created it.

     Thinking back on those times, lost in deep thought, he failed to hear the stealthy approach of someone creeping up behind him until a pair of cool, slender hands slipped across his eyes. "Surprise!" cried the voice he knew so well and he spun around in delight to find Lirenna grinning up at him, her hands remaining in place to link around his neck.

     "Lenny! I didn't know you were aboard!"

     "Wanted to surprise you," she grinned, pulling his head down to peck his lips. "I've been hiding in the orb room. You should have seen your face!"

     "I thought you were just looking after the big orb, aboard the Jules Verne. I didn't know you knew how to operate the little orbs as well."

     "They're exactly the same, just smaller, and I'm as good as anyone now. Sune says I'm a fast learner."

     "That you are," agreed Thomas and they kissed again, ignoring the leers and cheers of the other crewmembers until Matthew shut them up with a few fast words. He came over to the embracing couple and cleared his throat until they broke apart to look at him.

     "Er," began the embarrassed Flight Leader, "do you think you could do that out of sight somewhere? You're affecting the men's concentration."

     The husband and wife looked around at the other crewmen as if seeing them for the first time, and hurriedly broke apart. "Sorry," Thomas apologised with an embarrassed grin, "but this is the first chance we've had to be together since we left Tharia."

     "We'll try to curb our passions while we're on duty," promised Lirenna solemnly, and Matthew nodded his acceptance, still smiling as he moved away to give them some privacy.

     "He's right," said Thomas, more soberly. "A lot of the men have been away from their wives and families for months. Even a couple of years in some cases. Seeing us together must be making some of them jealous. We'll have to watch ourselves. While we're on duty, we're just two officers doing our duty."

     Lirenna nodded. "I keep forgetting that Matt's married now. When was the last time he got to go home to her? Not since he came to the valley, that's for certain. He must be terribly homesick by now, but he never says anything. We have to be more responsible in our behaviour."

     They looked out over the railing at the dense forest passing by below. "It looks just like Tharia," said Lirenna. "I suppose all trees look much the same from up above."

     "It's not just the trees," said Thomas. "Wizards have been walking the planes for thousands of years and many of the worlds they visit have animals and plants just like those back home. Horses, pigs, sheep, and people. Men and women. Different races, different cultures and skin colours, but people nonetheless. Just like us." He turned to face his wife. "Just like humans, I should say. Trogs and the shae folk seem to be unique to our world."

     "You told me that all the humanoid races are thought to share a common ancestry," Lirenna replied. "Maybe humans came first, and the other races are descended from them, but only on Tharia. On other worlds, evolution took a different course."