He looks up through the roofless club, through the animated sparkles, fairies, ribbons, and other light displays to the top of dome rock. Still nothing. He looks up to the glass floored mezzanine and sees Gono, alone, leaning on the banister watching the crowd below. Andee uses the sides of the steps to climb back up, and walks up next to Gono.
"Have you seen Nayaa?"
"No, have you seen Dirin?"
Andee shakes his head. "Man she's pissed at me."
"Nayaa? Why?"
"She doesn't like Silestra, and saw us kissing."
"Oh-wait... but you guys aren't dating."
"I know, but she... actually I don't know. She's just very protective."
"OK, I guess. Maybe they're both downstairs. I looked for Dirin everywhere but he's not up here."
"And I looked for her downstairs and she wasn't there."
"Well, there's hardly anyone here. She's either downstairs or outside. Lets go back down." Gono suggests and Andee nods in agreement. The crowd waiting for autographs is not as thick up the steps any more so both use them like civilized people. Just as they step down Dirin rushes up to them. He looks agitated.
"Dude why did you leave VIP?" Gono asks.
"I didn't! I got kicked out."
"What did you do?"
"Noting! It's those damned pilots. They're jerks." Gono frowns looking at Dirin with distrust. "I didn't do anything man."
"You must have done something."
"I was talking to Gavor, praising him. He loved it. Then I told him Nayaa was my girlfriend, and the dude tore up the picture he signed for me, and kicked me out. The bouncers sent me down here and wouldn't let me back up. He must've been jealous or something."
Gono turns to Andee with a frown. Andee shrugs his shoulders with a smirk. At same moment Nayaa steps up. She looks furious, and stares at Andee with cutting eyes. Just as Andee is about to speak, she grabs Dirin by the sides of his head, pulls him in, and starts kissing him. Andee and Gono stare jaw-dropped. Both are speechless. A moment later, Nayaa lets Dirin go, turns to Andee with an angry glare, and grabs Dirin's hand.
"Come on lets go. I'm leaving with you." And she takes off dragging Dirin behind her.
"Nayaa! What are you doing?" Andee shouts then chases after her, grabbing her by the shoulder. She snaps round to him.
"Go away."
"Come on don't be an idiot. I turned her down. You were right. She's not good for me."
"Hey man. Mind your business. She wants me not you!" Dirin counters aggressively stepping between Andee and Nayaa, severing her hard eyes on Andee. Nayaa lets Dirin's hand go and takes off. Dirin rushes after her and puts his arm around her shoulders. They walk towards the exit together.
"Nayaa, don't be dumb! Don't do something stupid you'll regret!" Andee shouts after her, but she and Dirin disappear into the crowd. Andee turns to Gono flustered, but poor Gono looks devastated. His head is hanging low, eyes staring at the ground in front of his feet. He seems to have no energy to say or do anything.
"Come on. Lets get out of here. This night's been crazy."
It's about an hour before noon. Andee is climbing up the east side of dome rock. He finds a spot and takes a seat at the very top. He is sitting in a meditative style looking deep into the southern horizon. He looks to his left, at table mountain. Halfway up he can see the outline of the outcrop, but at the top is the giant blackstone wall. Behind it, the great mystery of his life. Grand Bitania. The city. The mysterious stronghold of the Bitani. The city just an arms reach above his own, but that he has never seen, and by birth destined to never set foot in. The one place he always dreamed of seeing, but realistically, most likely never would.
Andee studies the great blackstone wall. He can see the individual stones even from this distance. He realizes each must be gigantic. Some bigger than his house yet staked like bricks into a hundred meter high wall, at least. What a strange way to build a city he thinks to himself. He imagines it all to be built from the same blackstone. Homes, factories, and whatever other buildings the Bitani have, all built from blackstone, and all locked into darkness by that massive black wall. At least that's how he has always envisioned it. 'It must be ugly.' The thought flashes through his mind. He turns around and stares north, at the distant mountainous horizon. He looks at the Carpati Township up the north slope of table mountain. He thinks about the view. The setting giant sun. Last horizon and the beautifully purple twilight. In a way he feels lucky. It's one of his favorite things to do. To sit on the wall of their upper terrace, feet dangling over the lower, and simply stare at the view ahead. That beautiful view of the jagged and massive North Mountains, with Crest Peak directly ahead and across from his eyes.
Now he turns right to look at the wall of the city. They must have no view at all. They may have tech, but they are missing out on the beauty and majesty of that world, locked behind that giant wall. For the first time he suddenly feels fortunate. 'What if I'm free, and they're in a prison behind that giant blackstone wall?' The question reverberates in his mind.
Andee turns back southwest looking at the distant Salt Sea lying beyond the Crags. 'What a beautiful world this is.' The thought flashes through his mind. Maybe the city was a distraction. He can no longer imagine it being that great. How can it compare to the views of the Crags, and the North Mountains, and the sunset.
Sitting on top of dome rock Andee is lost in thought. He casually looks down to the north-west side of the dome where the club is. It's quiet. No more lightships. In fact no sign of life at all, not even the club. Andee does a double take, and leaps to his feet. At least the far edge of the club should be visible, but he can't see it. He gets closer for a better view. Everything is gone. The carved stone that is the driveway up to the entrance is there, but the club isn't. None of its structure is visible. He climbs down on the north-west side of dome rock where the club should be, but there is literally nothing there. He looks around and finds a little bit of trash, but that's it. Nothing more. Andee studies the place perplexed.
He spends the rest of his time walking around, like a detective looking for clues. It's clear that people were there. There are foot prints in the dust. Some indentations where the club was, as the cut into the rock for the back stage area of the club is obvious. It's not particularly shocking, but it is surprising. Andee can't help but feel impressed by the skill and efficiency of the Bitani. It can't be that easy to build a club, run it all night, and tear it down, all before daylight.
"So that's why I never saw it from the outcrop." He muses out loud. As he gets further lost in his thoughts, a sound snaps him back to reality. It startles him, but it's approaching so fast, and it rounds dome rock so quickly, Andee doesn't have time to think as he turns. He sees it out of the corner of his eye as it comes into view around the rock. It's a lightship, and it is speeding right at him. Not just any lightship, but the Silver Sickle itself. He knew who he was expecting, but he never expected--the thought never even crossed his mind--that he might show up in the elegant racer itself.
His body is frozen in shock, but his eyes are drinking in the object fast approaching. His view goes to the transparent bubble, which doesn't look transparent at all from up close. In fact, it is completely mirrored and shines with a silvery glare. The ship pulls up the stone drive way, and stops in front of Andee. He is dumbfounded stiff. The ship rises up in the air slightly, and the bottom of the bubble opens by lowering like an upside-down clamshell, at the same time lowering the seat. Ricio is sitting there without a helmet. It takes him a moment to get out. Andee just stares mesmerized. Ricio leans down and comes out from under the ship with a smile. Poor Andee stares at him still overwhelmed.
"Well, what do you think?"
Andee's throat is petrified like the stone around him. Only his eyes react, aglow with wide excitement. He looks enamored with the sight. Rico laughs as he studies poor Andee.
"Come on, I'll show you the ship." Without a word Andee follows him. Ricio goes over the ship. Describes various
features, the general shape, and it's classic design inspiration. Andee can do no more than nod his head. Eyes wider than they have ever been. His mouth open but in a happy grin. He stares enamored at the piece of tech art in front of him.
"You want to go for a ride?" Ricio asks with a satisfied smile.
"I-I don't even know... how... how can I respond. Yeah, but... I don't know what to say. I'm... just." Rico pats him on the back with a satisfied laugh.
"I felt the same way when I piloted my first racer. My dad owns quite a collection of personal lightships, most people in the city do. You saw a bunch out here last night. So I'm used to them, but these racers are a different breed. I was besides myself the first time I got to ride in one, so I can imagine how you feel. It's exciting. Very exciting."
"Are you sure? Is it OK?"
"You need to stop asking that. We'll make it ok."
"Wow." Andee still looks speechless and in a daze as the looks at every angle of the ship unable to focus on one spot. "Is there room for me?"
"It's a two seater." Ricio points to the obvious fact since there are two seats, side by side, lowered. Andee, so overwhelmed by it all, never noticed. "Back in the day the racers would have a pilot and a navigator. Now it's pilot only. This ship was built in classic style, so it has a navigator's seat as well. Come on, this is how we're going up to the city. But before we