Awoken (12 page)

“Maybe we will find clues about Eol there; he might have had something to do with it,” Oa suggested. Ohm nodded, deep in thought.

“I’m going to go see if Kai needs any help,” Oa said as he walked over to the door. He was knocked back as Kai and Susan rushed back in to the chamber.

“Oops! Sorry, Oa,” Kai said quickly, brushing imaginary dust off of Oa’s tunic. “The ship is ready Ohm, so you sit back down and power the ARI while Oa and I go to the front and fly our way to some photorbs,”
she
commanded, eager with anticipation.

Ohm snapped stiffly to mock attention, then nodded and sat down into the power hub. Fred whirred and clicked as the pack reconnected to the ARI. Oa shook his head at Ohm’s quirkiness then followed Kai through the corridor at the other end of the chamber. Orange light panels led them in a short arc around a corner into a cockpit. The ceiling dipped down, curving into a wide window panel that wrapped around the front end of the room.

“Welcome to the bridge!” Kai said proudly, motioning to two comfy looking seats in front of them.

She grabbed the chair on the right and spun it toward her. Kai sat down then whirled back to face the complex flight console in front of her. Susan came floating in. She brushed past Oa, winding her way into a small alcove behind the bridge. Oa realized that the hallway they had come through curved around the antechamber Susan had floated into. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the room were dotted with minuscule metallic nubs spaced out in a hexagonal pattern. He looked closer. Each nub was composed of an array of shiny rings stacked on a tiny pole.

“Oa, pull the lever on the side there,” Kai said, pointing to a blinking green switch next to the alcove entrance. Oa pulled the lever down into
on
position. It stopped blinking and remained lit. The room sparked and crackled as arcs of violet hued energy bounced around, shooting randomly between the nubs on the walls.

“I built it for Susan so she can rest better,” Kai explained as Oa sat down in the pilot’s chair next to her. “It reminds her of the sky knots she would nest in if she wasn’t following me around. Lighting varls enjoy the energy dense spots in the sky. It took a lot of work, but I turned that wasted storage space into a storm simulator and tuned it to Susan’s frequency. I was barely able to power it with the generator back at my cave, but she liked it so much I didn’t care if it made the lights go out.” Her face plate glowed at the happy memory.

“It was actually a hat closet,” Ohm interrupted. His voice seemed to come out of nowhere, startling Oa and Kai.

“Ohm, I thought you were in the power hub,” Oa said, spinning his chair around to see if Ohm had walked into the bridge.

“I’m still in the hub with Fred. Kai, you may not have realized the full functionality of the ARI when you rebuilt it. The seats contain cerebral audio feeds. If you’re sitting in one of the piloting seats, we can hear each other’s words no matter how noisy things get. So we don’t have to shout down the halls at each other,” Ohm explained.

“The accurate relaying of information can be vital while piloting this vessel during dangerous situations,” Fred added curtly.

“I love my ship!” Kai said enthusiastically. “So where do we go to find a photorb, Ohm? Also, what is that?” Oa leaned back in his chair, bored at the thought of another one of his mentor’s informative lectures.

“You must have found the ARI’s flood lamp intact, then, to not notice its custom inner workings,” Ohm reasoned before continuing to answer Kai’s question. “The flood lamp is not lit by heated loops of alloy like other lamps from this craft’s era. A living luminous creature powers the ARI’s flood lamp. Fred and I named it a photorb.”

“We have to stop asking questions he can drone on about,” Oa whispered humorously over to Kai.

“I heard that!” Ohm snapped. “Pay attention! Photorbs zip about, racing through the energy of the lightning forests. Most photorbs are too fast to catch; but when they get old, they grow weary of their pace. They become slow enough that we can see them. Photorbs can’t stop moving until they’re dead; but if you catch one, you can give it a peaceful way to rest its remaining weebles, comfortably fed by the ARI. Photorbs are incredibly radiant. They last a long time, even though they are relatively near death by the time they can be caught.”

“Oa’s right. That’s definitely the long answer. All I learned was that we need to go to a lightning forest,” Kai teased, flicking switches and adjusting knobs on the control board in front of her. “Oa, you’ll be having your second lesson in flight while Ohm and I navigate us to a nearby forest,” she said warmly.

“I thought you would want to fly the ARI first,” Oa said, surprised at the gesture.

“Don’t worry about it. There will be plenty of time for me to fly later. Besides, I’ve never piloted this exact model before, so you’re the test dummy,” Kai admitted cheerily.

“Thanks … I will try not to crash us,” Oa replied.
I hope I do better at this than the glider
, he thought to himself.

“Kai, if you will monitor the readings on the scanners for lightning forest energy signatures, I will pinpoint which branch has the highest concentration of photorb wakes. Don’t worry, Oa. You probably have the programming to fly. You will do great,” Ohm instructed encouragingly, knowing that Oa and Kai were slightly nervous about piloting the newly refurbished vessel.

Oa looked at the controls in front of him. To his left was a lever with a crosspiece handle on the top. On his right was a dome-shaped controller with a slot made for a hand to fit into.

“Activating restraint harnesses,” Fred informed the crew. Harnesses sprung out from the chairs snapping together across the crew’s waists and chests.

“Place your right hand into the navigation dome and grip the handle inside. It rotates in all directions, and the ARI will mimic the movements your hand makes. To adjust the power of the engines, push that lever forward with your left hand. It’s sensitive so you might want to start out slow,” Kai instructed Oa.

Her last words were strained by the force of acceleration as Oa thrust the speed adjustor forward. He slid his hand into the navigation dome and gripped the handle inside, rotating it down and to the right. The engines roared to life; and the ship arced down in a spiral, following his guidance. He let out a whoop as the ground seemed to rush up toward them. Just as they were about to hit the dirt, Oa halted their spin, leveling the craft out upside down as he raced across the surface of the world. He hovered close to the ground, weaving through the jagged terrain.

“Flying is way better than walking, Ohm,” Oa joked.

“This is amazing,” Kai agreed.

“I find they both have their rewards. Just don’t crash my ship. Kai probably can’t rebuild it again,” Ohm countered, bating Kai.

“Don’t tempt me old one. I will crash us just to prove I can rebuild MY ship,” Kai retorted. Ohm laughed.

Oa dipped the controls down as they went over a cliff enjoying the sudden drop. A solid looking wall of rock was ahead so he flipped the ARI right-side up and sent it rocketing back toward the sky before they crashed into the stone. They sailed upwards, drawing closer and closer to the sky. The beautiful dark clouds glowed with a bright golden hue. The light filled the cockpit as an especially grand coil of energy burned overhead. Oa leveled the ship off, flying directly beneath the clouds. He pushed the speed adjustor even further, taking care to dodge through arcing energy beams that flared out from under the clouds. The young Awoken was elated at how natural flying felt. He charted a course straight toward the peak on the horizon.

“Swing around to the right a little. I see a lightning forest up ahead on my scopes,” Kai instructed.

Oa brought the ARI into a hard turn rolling the ship end-over-end a few times for added fun. “Is this good?” he asked.

“Just get us there in one piece,” Kai said, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Oa dropped down out of the edges of the clouds and pulled the speed adjustor back slightly; casually winding the ARI back and forth as he followed the glorious vein of light in the sky.

“There it is,” Kai said, pointing to a glowing spot on the horizon. The land below was flat and desolate. Not a gust of wind stirred the dust on the smoothly-cut rock floor. Oa raced over the dry and desolate wasteland toward the deep green light Kai was pointing at. It appeared to rise up from the ground to meet the sky. Oa watched in wonder as they neared the pillar of light. Gradually, the blurry image sharpened into a green energy stream that rose up from a great fissure in the rock. The trunk split into numerous branches of lightning that danced and jigged as they tangled with the gold tinged veins in the sky. The sight was beautiful. Oa reached over and slowed the ship as they neared the forest.

“Do you see this, Ohm?” Oa asked in awe.

“I do. No matter how many times I have seen one, they never cease to amaze me. Head into the thick of the branches, up close to where they meet the sky. You have quick reflexes, but take care not to run into a branch. They tend to move about a bit,” Ohm replied, respect for the fierce natural beauty of the forest filling his voice.

The ARI cruised up into the forest. Gold and green light danced about in the cockpit and played across the metal paneling.

“Bring us further in toward the center,” Ohm commanded.

Oa weaved in and out of the branches gracefully, guiding them deeper into the forest.

“Bring us to a stop in the clearing ahead, Oa,” Ohm instructed.

Oa reached over and pulled the speed adjustor back, reducing the engine power to a crawl. They quietly glided into a clearing in the center of the forest where Oa brought the ARI to a halt. Around them, beams of energy crackled with life. Pinpricks of light drifted together, swirling around the branches and chasing each other through the forest.

“The ship is immobile. Releasing restraint harnesses,” Fred informed the crew. The harnesses retracted from around Oa and Kai to return into the seats.

“Come on, Oa. Let’s go take a look,” Kai said, jumping out of her seat. She ran out of the cockpit, flipping off the power switch to Susan’s storm simulator as she passed. Susan immediately perked up and flew out of the room in pursuit of Kai. Oa was not far behind the pair as they ran through the empty power hub chamber and out onto the open deck of the ARI. Ohm was already outside, leaning with his hand on the railing as he gazed out into the forest of light. He turned his head slightly as the excited trio came up beside him.

“You can see a herd of photorbs there,” Ohm said, pointing with his bandaged stump to a nearby branch of pulsing green energy. Numerous little balls of light flitted playfully about the branch. “I will go and wrangle one. Susan should come with me. It’s time she followed in her parents’ wake and caught the ARI its next beacon,” the Traveler said, his voice mysteriously reminiscent as he leaned down to pat Susan on the head. She bobbed lightly in the air, tongue lolling out happily.

“Susan, please follow Ohm now and go get us a big, bright light,” Kai encouraged the varl. Susan barked an affirmative. Her body exploded in purple light and she threw her paws up, soaring over the edge of the deck railing. She plunged off the ship and sped up toward the stream of photorbs. The varl’s body fluctuated in size as she tried to decide what form would be best to take for the hunt.

Kai’s curiosity was piqued by Ohm’s words. “Did you know Susan’s parents?” she asked.

“I have been around for a long time. I know everyone,” Ohm replied vaguely. He took a step back then vaulted forward over the railing. He dropped a bit before Fred activated the aqua jet, sending them rocketing after Susan.

“It would be more efficient to warn me of your sudden urges to leap from high places, Ohm. Then I could time the aqua jet better,” Fred informed Ohm as they rose up toward the deep green tendril of energy.

“My spontaneity keeps your programming sharp,” Ohm retorted.

“That sounds like an excuse to remain reckless,” Fred replied evenly.

“Stay focused, Fred. This is no time for you to make valid points. We clearly need to teach Susan how to catch a photorb,” Ohm said, amused at the sight of the varl attempting to hunt one of the stray photorbs. She reeled through the air chasing after the speedy ball of light.

Oa and Kai stood on the ARI’s open deck, leaning against the railing. They stared out at the beautiful streams of green energy flowing upwards. They watched as Ohm flew over to Susan. The duo floated in midair together, plotting. Ohm leaned in close to Susan, imparting his plan to her. The photorbs continued to dance around the branch in ignorant bliss.

Ohm made the first move as he slowly advanced towards the living cloud of light while Susan stalked down a branch to where it met with several others. Her body shrunk down to half it’s normal size as she crouched low in the energy. Her own smoky purple aura interlaced with the deep greens of the forest. Ohm slowly jetted up to the pack of photorbs which were now spinning around a single spot. He drew ever closer until all at once the photorbs took off, shooting straight up the branch. Oa heard the Traveler shout, “Now Fred!” Then the aqua jet shot out a geyser of water, sending him rocketing up after the creatures. Ohm was slowly gaining on the photorbs. He stretched out his hand to snatch one from the tail of the pack, but the balls of light rapidly shifted tactics and began to corkscrew around the branch.

Ohm did not follow the evasive path. Instead, he let the aqua jet cut out. He sailed upwards, slowing down but still keeping pace with the photorb cloud as they began to corkscrew tighter and tighter, decreasing their movement up the branch with each rotation. Impulsively, the swarm changed directions and shot straight down; but Ohm was ready. Almost out of momentum, he flipped over and Fred reactivated the aqua jet, throwing them down after the photorbs. This time Ohm did not try to close the gap as he chased the cloud down the branch to where Susan had crouched in the energy waiting.

“Where is she?” Kai asked, scanning the branch.

Oa peered into the area directly ahead of the speeding cloud of photorbs. “Right there,” he said, pointing as Susan charged out of the energy. Ablaze with excitement, she rolled through the cloud, jaws snapping and tail whipping about. The photorbs dispersed chaotically for a moment before reassembling at another spot on the branch to continue their dance. Ohm caught up to Susan, and the two of them returned to the ARI. The lightning varl lightly pawed through the air, pleased with herself. Oa could see a bright light shining out from between her clenched jaws.