*jumps into room with a door-bang* I SURVIVED! Despite the cliffhanger last week, I managed to avoid the wrath of readers and am now entering your domain again to present you with a peace offering: Part 1.3 of The Caretaker. *grins*
And don’t worry – there’s not much of a cliffhanger this time. 😉
Recap
Lasha has a mission: find the Children of the Forbidden, confiscate any Portal Stones she comes across, and train an apprentice.
Oh yeah, and a lurking shadow has heard every word. 🙂
The Caretaker – Part 1.3
Base wasn’t on a planet. Instead it was built years ago by the canchins – people who breathed the light of the stars and so lived in the Universe as a whole instead of on a planet or moon. After they’d located a meteor big enough to suit their needs, they’d hollowed it out and built what equated to a small city inside. Then it was filled with oxygen and plants and sealed up again with no external entrance. No one could access it but Leapers and canchins, making it the most secure place Lasha knew of.
Good thing, too, she thought as she surveyed her surroundings. Goodness knows how many enemies Leapers have.
The portal she’d created had deposited her in Station 5, for Leapers returning from Outcast planets, who often needed to change their appearance after getting back. Lasha knew she didn’t have time to bother with that, though, so she threaded her way through the busy halls to the LHC, ignoring the occasional odd look she received from someone who wasn’t used to her odd garb.
The noise of the hub greeted her even before she exited the hallway and overlooked the entire floor from the balcony. People talking, footsteps clicking across the tiles, machines beeping, distant roars from ships taking off – all of it was there.
The Leaper Hub Central, or LHC, was easily the busiest place on the meteor. Tables to Lasha’s left sported holograms of maps and charts, many with four or five Leapers gathered around each one, solemn looks on their faces as they talked. To Lasha’s right were fifteen to twenty clear globes, hovering about five feet off the floor. Six of them were being used – deep green holograms of people floated inside, their mouths moving as they spoke with those in the LHC.
Yet of it all, the most impressive thing about the LHC was what was directly in front of Lasha, towering above the busy people dashing to and fro across the gleaming white floor: a gigantic sphere of pure, unblemished white that hovered above a dip in the floor known as the Gravitar. Lasha had only recently completed her training on its uses, and could hardly remember all the complex things it was capable of. All she knew was that if she was ever forced into the position of High Commander, someone else would have to be in charge of that thing.
Turning to her left, Lasha descended the stairs at a brisk pace, headed for a table to the left, which sported an older man and younger girl. The man had salt-and-pepper hair dangling in jagged bangs across his brow, a dark green jacket signifying his rank as Commander of the Summer Realms, and calm black eyes that stayed focused on Lasha as she strode up.
“Commander Avith,” Lasha said by way of greeting as she slid into the only vacant seat, ignoring the girl to her right and the way she stared at Lasha’s Earthish clothing.
“Lasha,” he replied with a slight tip of his head. “You’ve been notified?”
She nodded. “How are your worlds?”
“Safe and mostly ignorant, for now.” His brow furrowed ever-so-slightly. “Lorelei reported a slight disturbance in Rendar due to a stolen InterWorld piece, but that was quickly settled.”
If Lasha knew Commander Jokshan Avith, that had probably been quite the disturbance for him to even mention it. “Who’s this?” she asked, tilting her head at the girl.
“Your apprentice, born in Velia and raised on Rendar,” he answered, shifting his gaze to the girl. “Lasha, meet Calah Yob.”
Wrap Up
*grins* See? Not nearly so bad of a cliffhanger. 🙂 What do you think of Commander Avith? What about Calah? Who was that mysterious shadow in the last snippet? Do I still need more internal dialogue for Lasha? 😛
Also, apologies that this is out so late. I had some setbacks today that I struggled to work through in a decent amount of time. XD
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! 😀
~Joelle
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