*****
Ready by the shuttle pad in the morning, Keelic saw something soaring toward him. Its lines were vaguely familiar, sleek, and alien. As it circled the house, Keelic recognized it as the shuttle that always sat in the bay at Mr. Hallod’s. The craft landed smoothly, but Keelic didn’t step up to it. It didn’t seem to have any windows. A loud hum vibrated the air and he could see layers of force distorting the air around it. A hole appeared in its side, and Leesol stepped out smiling at him. She pushed through the distortions by leaning into them. He could see her clothing and unbound hair pushed back as though she were walking underwater. Her slacks were dark green and her billowy blouse was the purple of an Ermolian sunset. A chill started in Keelic’s back, spread down the back of his legs and up to his hairline, which was already prickling from the effect of the craft’s fields.
"Hi, Keelic," she said cheerfully.
She was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.
Leesol was starting to look uncomfortable, so he quickly grabbed his bag and pushed against the first field distortion. He felt a powerful, prickly pressure against his flesh. It slowed him down and he pushed harder, but that didn’t seem to help, and he almost couldn’t move. A small tendril of fear crawled over his skin, but a warm hand on his arm stayed it.
"Don’t force, just move slow but strong."
Keelic did, and felt himself pass through. She kept her hand on his arm to guide him and he reveled in the contact. The circular door was perfect for their height. A short tunnel ended in a low ovoid room. He pondered the lack of apparatus and windows in it. Leesol watched him, then seemed to remember something.
"Where’s your friend?"
Keelic turned from the room to answer, but wasn’t sure what to say. He could tell her that the alien was almost as close to him now as if he were here, but he didn’t feel like telling her right then. She wouldn’t understand or, worse, it might make her afraid.
"He’ll be okay."
She nodded, and stepped down into the oval chamber. Keelic looked also. He saw that everything was covered with darklight cloth, and much finer than in the simulator. The walls were smooth, with pleasing patterns flowing beneath the surface. A circular couch dominated the center of the chamber. He looked up, but the ceiling was featureless.
"Is it Vewbon?" he asked.
"Yep."
"Where does the pilot sit? Is everything automatic? Where’s the engine? We’re in the center of the ship."
Smiling, Leesol took his pack and bag and touched the wall. A hollow appeared and she put his things inside. Then she gently moved him away from the tunnel leading outside, and it vanished. He’d never seen an entryway like that before. There was no door; the hole had simply vanished. His contact with the alien was dim now, almost gone. He carefully touched the wall where the tunnel entrance had been. It was cool and soft to the touch. His friend echoed his wonderment, but faintly.
Leesol walked onto the couch and lay down. She motioned for Keelic to do the same, indicating the place next to her. He lay down beside her and the ship began humming. He tensed as he felt the volume of the room shrink—felt because he couldn’t really tell the distance to the nonreflective ceiling.
Then the ship disappeared. Keelic flinched in the light of day and sat up. Leesol tried to stop him, too late, and he banged his head against something he couldn’t see. She started to laugh but controlled herself. He lay back and felt his forehead, muttering a curse.
"I’m sorry," she said. "I thought you would like the surprise." She looked worried, and the outside disappeared.
In the faint interior light, Keelic turned his head to her, feeling foolish, and said, "It’s okay, I’m fine, do it again. I’m okay."
Leesol nodded. The ship vanished again, except for the couch they lay on. He reached up, feeling for what he had hit. Faint lines appeared in the air, outlining a console.
"This is the main control," said Leesol. In front of her, she touched what looked like air but was obviously solid. The view of the world rotated until it looked like they were hovering five feet above the landing pad looking ahead.
Keelic swallowed.
"It takes some acquaintance," said Leesol in a reassuring tone.
Keelic looked at her and shook his head, but he couldn’t speak, afraid his voice would betray his emotions. He wanted to be near her forever. Everything else was meaningless. Only he couldn’t express it. Leesol studied his face for a moment, then touched the sky again.
They shot upward into the dark blue. Keelic gasped as the ground fell away. There was a faint sense of movement, but not much. Then they were moving toward the mountains. In seconds the distant slopes resolved into ragged, rocky detail. The ship shot into a narrow canyon at what couldn’t be less than a thousand kilometers per hour. Mountain peaks whipped past as they wove up valleys. Keelic instinctively grabbed for something to hold on to, and found Leesol’s hand.
Banking sharply up a curved valley, they headed for a peak rising at its head. Keelic squeezed Leesol’s hand as the peak approached. They went straight up the mountain face and into the deep-blue sky.
Keelic eyes were wide and he gripped Leesol’s hand tighter.
"Ouch," she said.
He tried to drop her hand, but she held on to him and smiled that she was fine. She touched the panel with her other hand and said, "Ermol Station, this is Haffna requesting an approach vector for docking."
A male voice said, "Haffna, vector granted," then admonished, "Leesol, no acrobatics on approach."
Leesol rolled her eyes and said, "Affirmative, Stan."
She knew the Station-Announcer personally. Of course she would, Keelic thought; she was basically a Pathfinder already. Feeling inadequate, Keelic looked away from her at the planet, now far below. Leesol rolled onto her side close to him. He loosened his grip on her hand again, but she held firmly, and his heart warmed a little. They watched Ermol together, then the approach of the station.
They flew into a small docking bay, and Leesol led Keelic off the ship. Compared to the planetary surface, the station air smelled sterile. They walked to a white wall lined with cargo-loading chutes. A small one opened, and Leesol hefted out a carton.
"Thank you, Stan," she said.
Stan answered, "You are welcome. Keep your speed down on reentry, wild one."
Leesol smiled but didn’t reply.
Keelic helped her push the carton through the force fields around the ship. He no longer thought of it as a shuttle. He wondered if it was armed. Probably not, since the Vewbon preferred to avoid conflict and built their ships with other abilities. It certainly looked like it should be armed. All sharp edges and smooth lines, it had a presence greater than its size.
As they stowed the case, Keelic asked, "Is she superluminal?"
"No, but she’s fast. Point nine two one c," Leesol said proudly and, frowning in memory, added, "It’s enough to set off anti-superluminal mines."
"Cold," said Keelic.
Leesol backed the ship out of the bay and turned it around. Her hand closed around his, and he felt self-conscious, as though everyone on the station could see them even though he knew they couldn’t. Could they?
Leesol’s fingers danced on her panel, and the ship said in the muffled voice of a Vewbon, "I recommend adjustment."
Space and planet lit up with hundreds of dots and lines of light. Red dots of ships were labeled with flight plans shown in thin red tracery. Thousands of green dots that were not labeled showed in the atmosphere, as well as a few tens of white ones. The traffic lanes from the station to city were outlined in blue.
The ship said, "A wing of fliers is passing over the southern range of the Kglin Mountains near your landing place. Further restrictions have been effected since the flier incident of—"
"I know the regulations," said Leesol, "How long will it take them to pass far enough away?"
"An hour at their present speed. This, only if you insist on your reentry maneuver. There are ri
pe stalks at their altitude, so they may stop to feed."
She looked at Keelic, "Want to take an orbit?"
Without looking at her, he nodded.
"Ermol Station, this is Haffna. Give me an orbit, please. I’m going to take the scenic way."
"Registered, Haffna. Enjoy."
Leesol seemed so adult that Keelic nearly forgot that she was almost his age. What could she want with him? She had everything, even her own ship. What would happen when she found out he was just himself?
The planet rolled slowly beneath them, and he had a brilliant thought. The simulator! He had personal access to Alpha Base. Keelic rolled to look at her, and found that she wasn’t looking at the planet, but at him with wide beautiful eyes.
What he was about to tell stuck in his throat.
She smiled at his discomfort, but kindly.
He rolled away so she wouldn’t see the wave of emotion in him, but he held her hand tight.
They passed into the shadow of the planet, and Keelic was surprised to see no lights. Pesfor 3’s night side was nearly bright enough to read by from orbit. They finished the circuit and hung suspended over the sunlit planet, side by side looking down.
The planet grew larger and its horizon crept up on all sides of their view. A mountain range approached, its detail resolving faster than Keelic could interpret. Swooping in a hard turn, they blasted over glacier fields with deep, blue crevasses, and maneuvered through the highest mountain peaks at extreme speed.
The ship arced into the sky, then dipped downward into a glacier-filled valley. Leesol let his hand go and put her fingers on the image in front of her. The feeling of the vessel changed, and Keelic knew that she was flying it herself. He really wanted something to hold on to.
They slowed and dipped into a glacial rift thousands of feet deep. Blue ice formations soared past, and he almost sat up in wonder to look at them. The rift ended and she flew them down the valley until the glacier gave out into a milky blue river. The rocks of the valley started to show vegetation, and a lake appeared ahead of them, surrounded by forest.
The lake passed under them, then the valley floor dropped away. He looked back and saw the cliff where Leesol lived. She came around smoothly, and into the shuttle bay.
Inside the house they made lunch, played a game of chess, which Keelic nearly won, then returned to Keelic’s house in Haffna.
On the landing pad at Keelic’s house, he stood watching her fly away until she disappeared into cloud. The alien came rushing down the path and leapt on Keelic with exuberance, knocking him down.
He realized that he had been completely out of contact with his friend for most of the trip. It didn’t seem to bother either one of them as they shared their memories of the day while walking up to the house.