The Lost Colony

Chapter 26

Even their kayak outing turned into 'kayak racing' when Calista spoke of it. Sparr explained that he simply wanted to show her something beautiful on the water. "Okay," she had said, "we'll race, see this mysterious sight, then race back, right?"

But tonight, finally, Calista dropped her guard. The two rocked and bobbed, their boats sometimes drifting apart, sometimes pulling together. The night breeze grudgingly turned cool. Sparr could sense some of the tension between them ease. Gaps began to open in the wall that Calista otherwise so readily hid behind.

"I found this spot in the months leading up to my first mission," Sparr said. "Used to paddle down here at dusk, just like this. Farther, actually, most evenings."

Calista kept her eyes on him, but said nothing.

"I needed the exercise, and I like being on the water. It's soothing."

"So what's special about this particular spot, then?" For once, Calista didn't challenge or mock him.

"I'll show you," he said. "The current, when it turns this point, concentrates the plankton."

"And?"

"And this," Sparr said. He dug his paddle into the water, and with a sudden motion, stirred the surface.

"Oh my god!" Calista said. The surface of the water, where Sparr had stirred it, flashed alive with blue and green sparks of light.

Sparr did his best to conceal his smile. "And this." He repeated the move, this time sending a whorl of sparkling light toward Calista.

"What is it?" she gasped. The blonde's eyes were wide.

"Bioluminescent plankton," Sparr said. "It's actually everywhere, but just off this point the effect is particularly strong."

"It's beautiful," Calista said. She flashed a smile.

"Try it."

With surprising gentleness, Calista mimicked Sparr's motion, and was rewarded with a small stream of aquatic sparks. She giggled, and repeated the trick. "I had no idea," she said.

"They were almost extinct, if you can imagine that." Sparr watched as Calista dipped her paddle into the water with ever more dramatic results. "Three hundred years ago we had almost killed off the oceans."

"What changed?" Calista was half listening, half distracted.

"Well, when we stopped shipping chemicals across the oceans things got a bit better. When we stopped producing those chemicals altogether, that was the real turning point." He sighed. "By that time we had lost so many species."

"I know," Calista said somberly, but continued to play. "I can see why you were drawn to biology."

Sparr savored the rare, unguarded moment between the two. It wasn't just that Calista thrived on competition, there was something else, something that stood between them. To see her giggling and relaxed was a treat he had no intention of interrupting.

When both had their fill of the simple, yet magical, experience, they headed back. Side by side, they teased their way through the swell, any thought of racing forgotten. The only sound was the splash of their paddles against the gulf stream. Sparr was content just to enjoy the night, but Calista held one more surprise.

"It's a sub," she said.

"Ahhh, what?"

"It's a sub. The mass exception that we're negotiating with the Alliance."

"A sub? Wow, why?" The unexpected revelation left Sparr off guard.

Calista didn't meet his gaze, choosing instead to focus on her paddling. "We know Kaybe has liquid water," she began. "K2 Mineral believes there may be chemical elements found only in suspension in seawater, or possibly in abyssal environments. The sub will let us explore them."

"Well s**t!" It was the best Sparr could manage. His mind raced. "Is there any way we can partner on this? I mean, could we attach-"

"Alain," Calista said, cutting him off. She chuckled. "Get your own sub!"

***

The attack weighed on the pilgrims. Tuck and Drian were thrilled to be named guards, proudly wearing the Governor's colors. They strode up and down the line of the caravan self importantly, resting their hands on the pommels of the short swords that Kern had given them. But for the others, the festive mood had turned grim.

Liette did her best to refocus the party's concerns. "Omm was tested," she reminded the group. "So too have we been tested on this journey."

"The guards certainly were," muttered Toph.

The ambush, and subsequent burial, had slowed the group's progress. Only after an over long day on the road did they reach the first of the spiritual stops. While Kern instructed the youths how to keep a watch, most of the party settled down for an uneasy meal around the fire. Silla served the Kaybe equivalent of comfort food, a lentil-like bean stew with root vegetables, Kaybe 'onions', and a gamey meat that Sparr chose not to enquire about.

"A toast to the fallen," said Lord Affan. He stood, and raised his glass.

"The fallen!" the group repeated. They drank, and for a time, all were quiet.

"What sort of beasts would do that?" asked Lady Gast. She had been badly shaken by the attack.

"They were starving," Sparr said, drawing surprised looks. "Did you see them? The one I grappled with was mostly bone."

"And no plan," said Lord Toph. "Two of them tried to steal the supply wagon, but the road was still blocked. Plus, they left their friends to fight without them."

"Yes," agreed Sparr. "They weren't bandits or slavers. More like hungry villagers. They were desperate."

"Well," said Lady Gast, "that may be, but there's no cause for violence!"

"You're absolutely right." Liette spoke to Lady Gast soothingly, but shot Sparr a warning glance. The meaning was clear. He was Animal, allowed to defend the caravan and perform in bed only, not weigh in on temple business. He turned his attention back to the stew.

As dinner came to a close, Liette once again raised her voice. "Traditionally, we reach this stop before dusk, but Omm's will was otherwise. No matter." She stood. "The princes have lit the way. If you will follow me, we will visit the site."

Lord Toph several days earlier had mentioned that the pilgrimage would visit another fallen airship. By means of a guttering ring of torches, and the light from both of Kaybe's moons, Sparr could see that he was correct. The clearing that Liette led the group to was shaped like a tiny amphitheater, with several rows of rough wooden benches on one side, and the looming hulk of an airship on the other.

"When we say that Omm cast down the machines, you will see that this is more than a metaphor! Before you is one such machine, just as Omm left it. I remind you of his second step in the journey..."