FALAHA'S JOURNEY Into Pleasure | 18+

21. FALAHA

Five weeks had passed since Baro's awakening and his Node implant.

I came to observe the last cargo loading and do the final checks. Yet I wasn't alone. My crew had been in their assigned positions, waiting for me already: both Eaters, Baro, Leru, Tagai with Nayat on his shoulders, Tarrenat, Neve, their twins, Ato and Goto with Asa, the daughter of the prominent scientist family. The latter trio shared a steady indulgence in planetary sciences, adding to our team accordingly.

Done with the cargo, we stood waiting until the giant hatch completely closed, hiding the ship's enormous cargo bay. I felt a slight tingling in my fingers and toes—a sure sign of being both excited and nervous.

We weren't the only people around. Per our tradition the crowd was gathering to watch the departure. People flooded the designated watch spots at a safe distance, some arriving as early as the first hours of the morning to get a better observation place. Such huge ships were a rarity and Gal Runagh was surely a magnificent sight to behold.

Arann, as usual, was boasting about his new crew, now theoretically consisting of my brother and some other folk, and had his eyes on another potential subordinate—Eyuran's younger brother, who was still too small to give a shit about all of those grand plans and was interested in his big bro's ship instead. At such tender age Daren had already found a way to hurt Arann's overly expansive ego, scoring bonus points from me. They had no ship of their own anyway, and the Rjg was patient enough to let the heir to the main Korredhann household fly with her on some occasions.

After a session of squeezes and kisses, our family and friends returned to the crowd. At a moment when all of us were looking at them again, the ones seeing us off raised their hands in synch, palms open towards us in an array of 'safe journey' signs. When several kennar of people started doing the same, I couldn't hold back my smile and soon was laughing out loud.

Wen was in the crowd together with Grandfather, yet I wouldn't be surprised if at some point he popped up on my ship for whatever reason he might think of.

I turned to my crew: it was time.

The shipyard operators were online and I gave them the green.

We heard an alert, warning everyone to keep away from the block and surrounding spaces. When the safety clearance was given, I heard a long dull clang and we started moving up.

Slowly, heavily, powerful.

Then came whistles, handwaving and applause from the crowd: cheers to the engineers who did their jobs well and to a young crew brave enough to go into the great unknown. Emotions were pouring out from the people below and reaching us, as if these people themselves were trying to lift us to the stars, making me short of breath for a moment.

The giant platform holding our ship was rising up to pass through the massive gateway in the shipbuilders' hangar ceiling. From there Gal Runagh would make his way into the main dock of the Inner Bay on the Outer Rim. Before we boarded the ship, we stood gazing at the vast part of Kan Diona's huge shipyard opening before our eyes. Something so enormous was only a tiny dot in our Enclave.

Tomorrow morning, we would be setting out on our long-awaited journey.

~~~

In the morning I discovered that Arann had left a present for us: several crates with the dry space snacks I had come to hate so much. My jaws hurt every time I saw one of those grinders. So I called him to inform him about the return.

"Arann, I don't want it! I've sent all of it back!" I didn't bother with my soma, voicing my call instead.

At this moment the doors to the Bridge opened and Baro entered, looking sharp in his new uniform and with a silly smile on his after-sleep face. I left Orewen to greet him.

"Why?" Arann asked with genuine confusion at my angry rant. He actually believed he had done a good thing.

"What do you mean, why?! Those dry space snacks taste like something I wouldn't want to see for the rest of my life!"

"Oh—"

"Anyway, it's time for our departure. Later," I said through my soma. "Goodbye, Arann. See you around and take care of my little Ainne."

"Sure thing, Falaha. Good luck and hope to see you one day. We already miss you and your big ship."

"I knew that!"

Arann laughed and disconnected.

Of all annoying things, this man never quit being a person who sowed discord amidst the regular order of things by his actions or words, deliberately provoking people to emotional response.

Yet torture would have been pointless for he would have enjoyed it too much.