Crystal Guardian

14

'NO!' Aldric leapt forward and nearly toppled out of the side of the ship. He would have done if Evie hadn't have slammed the door shut. It didn't matter anyway. Raiden had disappeared through the clouds.

'I'm not having anyone else throwing themselves out,' Evie yelled, standing over Aldric who had crumpled against the door. K made a sobbing hiccup noise. Her hands quivered as she stared at the envelope.

'Floyd-Rainard Strelazia,' she said after a moment of silence.

'What?' said Aldric as he got to his feet and prised the envelope from her fingers. He looked down at it and noticed that he too was shaking. Floyd-Rainard Strelazia was the name scrawled across the envelope. A letter that Aldric assumed Raiden had wanted them to deliver.

'LendoZiya,' he said plainly. 'We'll do what he wanted us to do.'

He sat back down, face in hands, and hoped that there was something of use in their new mission.

Two days rolled by, but to the inhabitants of The Flower Child, it felt like so much longer. Things were quieter without Raiden. Aldric remembered that he had often wanted him to shut up but now, he just wanted to hear that voice again. Nobody knew what to say. Evie spent most of her time trying to keep the place clean and habitable. Meanwhile, K kept an eye on the controls. By the time they were nearing the end of their journey, she had turned into a wide eyed, black eyed trembling wreck.

'Do you have to do that?' she groaned, clutching her head. Aldric had been doing star jumps.

'I need to move,' he told her, continuing. Evie, who was sitting close by, shoved him aside.

'Stop,' she said, standing up to face him. 'I think what K means is that if you must exercise, can't you do something a bit quieter?' She placed a hand on his shoulder and the two of them started dancing. Aldric had never danced before and it was obvious. Evie laughed at him when he banged his knees into the arm of the chair but then she looked down as if she was laughing at something she shouldn't. Silence fell once more.

***

The descent began.

'It's not Atarikka,' said K, levelling out. 'So it should be okay.' Her usage of the word should did not inspire them with great confidence.

Aldric felt a little queasy as he was bounced up and down in his seat, the metal buckle digging into his stomach, creating its stamp in his skin. They slowed. The Flower Child was abiding by its instructions perfectly and so they hovered downwards before landing with a soft scuff. At least she could land better than Raiden ever could, thought Aldric.

They all unbuckled and went to ponder by the door, none of them daring to be the first to investigate what was on the other side.

'What do you reckon is out there?' wondered Evie.

Strangely excited, Aldric pulled the latch and let the door float open.

'A port,' said K as the world was revealed to them. She jumped out onto the dry pale ground. Wooden steps led up to a raised walkway that spread across an entire field of ships. Most of them were trade ships with the odd unmarked vehicle left to the side to go rusty. Aldric breathed in the air gladly as it welcomed itself inside his aching lungs. Evie rushed by and leapt out of the ship, welcoming the feel of land beneath her feet. He followed on warily and turned to examine The Flower Child with his own eyes. Their work had been first-class. He had not expected it to do so well and was relieved that they had not fallen out of space due to poor handiwork.