The Elementalist

33. Journey to Jeanru

Journey to JeanruThe plan, as Milia explained the night before Voi’s return to Kippoli, was for Voi to carry only flight-essential items aboard the MR-6. Meanwhile, Milia would ride the train to Jeanru along with the rest of Voi’s clothing and gear. Andre was to leave the same night for Jeanru. Ronny was likely doing the same.

The following morning, Voi caught a ride to the base with Troy. Easing herself into the back of his car, Voi asked, “Aren’t you disappointed you won’t be coming with us to Jeanru?”

“Disappointed?” said Troy, clearly appalled. “Heavens, no. Between you and Ms. Furlan, the past few months have been absolutely frightful! After fleeing assassins with her back in Darmoil, followed by the last ones you encountered at the inn, I’m quite happy to be left out of the loop this time around. The further away I am from you two, the less likely I am to see one of the Haran, or Soryul’s henchmen. Or assassins. That’s a win-win scenario in my book.”

“Emissaries.”

Troy leaned forward to look at Voi in the rearview mirror, knitting his brow. “I beg your pardon?”

She smiled. “Those men at the hotel were emissaries, Troy. Not assassins.”

He scowled. “If you say so.”

Voi leaned back and shook her head. Why was she the only person convinced of this?

* * *

While a few grey clouds currently hung over Hangar 12, Voi couldn’t sense any atmospheric trouble stirring overhead. Lester hadn’t received any warnings of disagreeable weather blowing in from the sea or northward, either. Still, the clouds were good for cover, he told Voi, and the Manta Ray Project had to remain ‘undercover.’ Any rumors that did manage to spread would likely be relegated to the talk of superstitious country folk, for Voi’s route would surely take her over some of the remotest regions in Borellia.

The people who did live between Kippoli and Jeanru were notorious for regularly making wild, officially unsubstantiated claims about unusual sightings. Whereas some country folk put these things down to the return of fantastical creatures long relegated to myth—elementals, sprites, and such—the Jeanrusi, also attacked by pirates during the war, were forever claiming it was only a matter of time before the Haran resurfaced.

With the League’s apparent success in reestablishing peace with Darmoil, however, hardly anyone outside of Jeanru took heed of their warnings. But thanks to Milia and Sector One, Voi was on the case.

Back at Hangar 12, Lester reviewed his flight plan with the aviatrix while the crew performed a preflight check of the aethercraft, ensuring that the plane was filled with enough fuel to last the journey. Lester knew of the safe house’s approximate location though believed it to be a simple touch-down point for the half-way leg of the test. If he suspected any hidden elements to Voi’s flight, he didn’t show it. As far as he knew, they were simply following orders left by Captain Neverri.

When it came time to hop into the cockpit, many of the Neverri Aeronautíq crew members gathered around to see Voi off, wishing her a safe flight and “Faera’s speed” for a swift return home. Home. Voi looked into the crew’s eyes, realizing she’d become a part of their clan—that they were actually hoping to work with her again.

She sighed.

Just as she was reaching to slide the canopy shut, Lester came by. “You aren’t worried about me, too, are you, Lester?”

He smiled. “Just making sure you’ve got what you need.”

“I think so. My bag is in the back compartment, and I have my sandwich here with me,” she held up a paper-wrapped wedge, “in case I get hungry.” She slid this into a pocket on the inside of the plane’s hull. “I’ll report as planned: once when I reach a safe altitude, again when I fly over the forest, and finally when I reach Jeanru.”

“Sounds good.” Still, he lingered.

“Was there something else, Lester?”

He took a deep breath, looking off to the side. “You know when you get that feeling that something bad is going to happen? Well, for some reason, I’m getting that feeling about this.”

Of course, Voi had her own reservations about the mission. At the same time, she hadn’t sensed any impending threats herself. “I’m sure things will turn out fine. A thousand miles isn’t so a long distance. I’ve flown further before and in worse weather conditions, too.”

“Well, I guess that counts for something, right?” Lester patted the MR-6’s wing then stepped back, giving her a half-smile before clearing the hangar door.

Voi pondered on his sentiments briefly before sliding the canopy closed and pulling on her goggles. With a flick of a switch, the craft whirred to life, inciting Voi’s aetheric senses. She smiled then took a deep, steady breath and closed her eyes, basking in the glory of the sensation.

Since first learning to fly the Manta Ray, Voi had acquired a better sense of control over the manifestation of her abilities while experiencing heightened emotions. She was still working on limiting the effect that aetheric surges had on her pupils, though even this had improved, according to Andre. In any case, some dilation was a normal emotional response, he reminded her, so it wasn’t something she could entirely control.

Nevertheless, Voi remained calm as she taxied the MR-6 out of the hangar, preparing for a conventional takeoff. She smiled at the sight of Neverri’s crew waving in wild hoopla as she accelerated down the runway then lifted towards the sky.

After punching through a thin layer of stratus clouds and leveling out, Voi touched the microphone at her throat and called, “Home Base, this is Dove. Do you read?” Andre had insisted upon the necessity of code names, as opposed to their real names, before he departed for Jeanru himself.

“Dove, this is Home Base. We read you loud and clear.”

“Copy that. I’m currently cruising at an altitude of six thousand feet, just above the clouds.”

“Airspeed?”

She checked the indicator. “Four twenty.”

“Well, at that rate, you’ll get there before lunchtime! Even with the time zone difference.”

As per his plan, Voi would stay well above five thousand feet to avoid military and civilian space—especially when passing over larger cities. She looked off to the side, spotting a break in the clouds. “There’s nothing but miles and miles of endlessly boring desert down there,” she said. A terribly easy place to lose one’s bearings. She would have to rely on her own calculations, as well as her compass and time readings, along the way.

Lester responded calmly, “Just stay due east until you see more trees before the Sal Rieú below, and you’ll be fine. From there, you should be able to find your way to the sea then skirt the coastline past the Fambrach River. Easy.”

Voi knew it would be faster to cross the sea, assuming the coastal winds were on her side, though she couldn’t rely on any radio reports from Borellian ships to help with navigation because the flight was to be conducted ‘under the radar,’ as Andre had put it.

“You’ll get your trees soon enough, Dove,” Lester assured her on the radio.

“Copy that, Home Base. I’ll contact you again once I spot the Sal Rieú.”

“Copy that, Dove. Looking forward to it.”

* * *

In less than three hours, Voi came across what appeared to be a city situated near the sea at the foothills of a mountain range, whose jagged peaks jutted far beyond her current altitude of six thousand feet. Seeing this, Voi began her descent, circling around to make a southward approach towards the village against the sea’s winds, coming from inland rather than the water.

Now came the challenging part: spotting the safe house and landing.

Voi kept an eye out for the red s***h Ronny had mentioned on the rooftops. Amongst the scattered collection of tiny structures along the green foothills, there was precious little else to navigate by. After about twenty minutes of searching, Voi located a rooftop with red markings—all the while wondering how many people may have already spotted her from below. The MR-6’s grey exterior could only do so much camouflaging with the noise of the turbine engine at a thousand feet.

Just as Ronny said there’d be, a secondary structure with the appearance of a barn sat beside the marked farmhouse. Voi tried to contact the safe house team over the radio.

“Dove, this is Safe Zone. You’re good to land.” It was Ronny speaking. “Glad you made it safely.”

Voi considered not responding, then said curtly, “Thanks.”

Circling around for the last time, Voi approached the landing zone, decreasing her speed while keeping an eye out for telephone lines. Disliking the rockiness of the surrounding area, she opted for a vertical landing and applied reverse thrust until she came to a near stop just before the barn. She then decreased output from the aether drive. Once she was low enough to hover close to the ground, she carefully set the MR-6 down.

Andre was up ahead, opening the door to the barn. It was just large enough to fit the aerocraft. Voi taxied the rest of the way in then shut down the MR-6’s controls. Satisfied, she slid the canopy open.

Andre appeared by the left wing, a big smile on his face. He offered a hand just as she stumbled down—“Oh!”—though he caught her before she could fall. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“You’re very welcome.”

Voi stared at him, recalling her mentors’ warnings to keep her distance from the Borellian. Eventually, she cleared her throat then let go of Andre to dust herself off. “Are the others already inside?”

“What? Oh, yes.” He chuckled. “I think the nurse has been looking forward to seeing you again.”

“The nurse?”

“Voooooi!”

Whirling at the sound of her name, Voi spotted Laura running towards her in her bright plaid coat. The smaller woman seized Voi in an exuberant embrace. “I’m so glad you made it.”

“Me, too,” Voi managed to croak out.

Laura gasped, pulling away abruptly. “Oh my goodness, you’re freezing! Come on, let’s get you warmed up. We gotta nice fire going in the living room. I’ll get you a cup of tea!”

“Alright, just let me get my things out of the—hey wait!” Before she could finish, the nurse had grabbed Voi by the hand then whisked her off towards the farmhouse. Voi glanced back at the captain.

“Don’t worry!” he said. “I’ll get your things and bring them with me.”

Satisfied, Voi turned just as Laura led them down the rocky hill. “Laura! Why are you going so fast?”