FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #4

With the recent turn of events, the happiest person is Uncle Orewen who finally gets the chance to do his regular job. As my aunt puts it, since he heard Father's decision to answer the distress call he has been grinning like the day he officially entered our kennar. He and his team are standing ready at the hatch, prepared to launch as soon as we docked with the Nua vessel.

Orewen is massive and loud. He is easily bored and if nothing exciting is happening around him, he will do anything to get some action started. He is also in charge of my and my cousin's combat training. Despite his usually demanding and overwhelming presence, he is a kind person and keeps a cool head. Otherwise, he and my father would never have been best friends.

Eyuran is definitely following in his father's footsteps. He looked very determined when I accompanied him to the hatch. My cousin is four years older than me and already considered an adult in many ways; this is not the first time Orewen has taken him on a mission. With his sandy-blond hair, bronze skin and clear grey eyes, Eyuran is the spitting image of his father, though not as tall. But he'll eventually get there.

I looked at my aunt, Rifa, who was calmly seeing off two of her dearest men. That demeanor and unruly flaming red hair—right now she has never looked more like Father. Unconsciously, I copied her relaxed yet firm posture. Of course, as usual, my big mouth was way ahead of me. Right before Eyuran sprouted his helmet on, I decided to loudly proclaim, "If you bring me a gift, I will make you my consort!" and then proudly watched his face and ears turn bright red under the outburst of everyone's laughter and approving whistles. Someone even patted him on the back.

The outer locks dully clanked, marking the completion of the docking maneuver. Now in pressure suits and fully geared, the rescue team started moving out.