Lindsay hurried out of her room only to see the rest of the team passing through the hallway. Bradley gave her a cheerful smile.
“Good morning!” his eyes shone as the woman rolled hers.
“Morning. Ain’t nothing good about getting up this damn early…” Lindsay half uttered, making the man laugh.
“I thought you military folks were used to this…”
“You know how long it’s been since I had to get up this damn early? Wasn’t a fan of it, then; not a fan of it now!” Lindsay complained.
“You’ll get used to it! Whelp; ready for training, partner?”
“As ready as I will be… partner…” she finally smiled back at him, clutching his hand in a firm handshake.
Malik and Yoji were behind the two as they made the short walk to sector twelve. Malik glanced down at Yoji, who gave him a polite smile.
“I’m sure we’ll make good partners.” Yoji pointed out. Malik nodded.
“Yeah. It’s just, trying to keep those two safe? Don’t think it’ll be easy!” he gave a hasty nod towards the pilot and his artillery specialist. An uncomfortable sensation built as he watched them bond; for that reason, he was not a fan of Lindsay and Bradley paired together. Malik realized it couldn’t be helped; it was what the assessment tests confirmed. He had this depressing sense that Bradley was flirting and according to the rings on her left finger, Lindsay was married.
It took them a few minutes to find sector twelve and, although they arrived early, Keith was there, ready to hand everyone a keycard.
“I’m glad to see that everyone is here on time. If you find out anything about me, you will learn that I don’t accept failure as an option… and tardiness is unacceptable.” he made clear. Lindsay leaned towards Bradley.
“What, we in school, now…?” she murmured as low as she could, making Bradley snort. Keith glared at the two as Bradley covered his snort with a cough.
“Do not lose these cards. You won’t get anywhere without them. Now, behind this door is the IR you will become familiar with.” Keith continued and let the security pad scan his keycard. When the door glided open, the team looked on in total astonishment.
“Holy…”
“… Shit!” Steve finished for Tim. Inside was more extensive than the door led people to believe. In the center of the room stood the Earth team’s IR, a silver machine that rose nearly twenty feet in the air. Its wings were two circular-designed air ventilators and the cabin sat between and above them in a slim half-oval frame with a clear panoramic windshield. A sphere at the base served as the gunner’s pit: mounted multi-barrel guns were set up on each side of the sphere. The shield was panoramic as well but tinted.
“This is our IR: the Silver Stallion.” Keith announced as the others gaped at the machine.
“I truly think we’re gonna need more mechanics!” Malik realized. He didn’t realize Keith heard him so the older man laughing surprised him.
“Four is actually more than enough. The Stallion looks massive but the components are simple once you’re fully trained. Speaking of; your first training lesson will be on getting to know the Silver Stallion.”
Three weeks later, the team learned all there was about keeping up with maintenance and operating the Silver Stallion. The group didn't find out how they would cross to the next galaxy until the day they departed; the entire team gawked at the massive Esperian spacecraft. Large enough to accommodate everybody in the training building along with the Silver Stallion, the Royal Magistrate assured that his shuttle was “one of the smallest” in the fleet. It proved to be far beyond Earth’s present technology; what would’ve taken them eons was reduced to an hour after teleporting to their destination.
Emuh put his spacecraft to autopilot and gazed at the humans aboard with a pleasing look.
“Welcome to the Ecilavi Galaxy. I hope you will enjoy your stay.” he stated as he took down the protective cover. An enormous window displayed the view of the smaller galaxy; while the Milky Way's planets were far apart, the worlds here seemed crowded together. Lindsay mustered the confidence to get out of her seat and stood near the tall alien. Her eyes remained wide as she took in the scene in front of her; these planets donned more vibrant colors than the ones she was used to seeing.
“Oh; what’s that dark thing over there? You guys have black holes?” she asked, pointing to their left. Emuh looked at the ominous smoky planet she was referring to.
“We do have black holes but that is not one. That is the planet Irazor. It is home to the Qees, a rather volatile species. Their entire existence is for conflict and destruction. They will have plenty to prove during these races. It is their initial year taking part as well,” Emuh nodded to himself. He glanced down at Lindsay, who looked bewildered. “Please assure me that Bradley and yourself are on guard.” he didn’t intend to fill his voice with fear but Lindsay caught on. The team had seen more of the alien in the three weeks they trained. Bradley and herself discovered that the Royal Magistrate had come to like the team although his son would contend against the Earth team. It was strange but Lindsay believed Emuh's favoritism was more towards herself and Bradley. Lindsay swallowed the slight fear down and nodded at the alien.
“I… I honestly don’t know what to expect but… we’ll be careful,” she stared back into outer space, attempting not to imagine the reason Emuh would deliver such a forewarning. Lindsay wanted to think about something else and cheered up when she did. “Your highness-”
“Oh, Lindsay. Please, call me Emuh. I admire your courtesy however it is not required at the moment. Forgive me if I speak out of term but… you are considerate for a human being. I have examined your team, and I have established you have the heart of an Esperian. Because of that, I remain positive my son would delight in your company very much... as I do, presently,” Emuh smiled at Lindsay. The words froze Lindsay in her place as she gawked at the alien, blood surging to her face. She looked down at her feet, pondering what to say because mere thanks didn’t seem it would fit for that moment. Lindsay had no idea how to take what he said. “I apologize. I did not intend to interrupt. There is something else you wish to speak about?” he went on. She still blushed but forced herself to look at him and shook her head. Her wanting to know if he had telepathy wasn’t significant after that.
“Oh! Yeah: which planet is yours? Es… peria, right?”
“Correct. That is Esperia,” he pointed towards a purple and blue planet that appeared smaller than Earth. “And here is Buno. As much as I delight in speaking to you, you will have to take your seat, now. I do look forward to another lengthy conversation. Please prepare for landing.” Emuh called to everyone else.
“I… m-me, too. Thank you,” Lindsay stuttered and returned to her seat. She watched as Bradley strapped in beside her; he offered her a smirk. “What’s with that look…?”
“You’re rosy. What was that all about, between you and the Royal Magistrate?”
“Oh, my God; it was nothing!”
“Oh, really?” he sounded as though he wasn’t convinced. The woman sighed as she harnessed herself in.
“… He said that I have the heart of an Esperian. Just… took me off guard, is all.”
“He gave you a compliment?”
“I… guess…”
“Heh…”
“What, now?”
“You’re acting like he’s trying to get in your pants…”
“W-W-W-W-What?! S-S-S-Shut up…” she snapped and twisted away from the man as he laughed louder.
Additional ships and alien travelers swamped the docking bay of Buno, which made the Earth team gaze on in sheer excitement. A few of the others took notice and peered back at them but ultimately went on their way. Emuh approached Keith as everyone unloaded from his ship.
“There will be a team here shortly to take the Silver Stallion to your IR bay. Another team will escort you to your quarters. The other participants are arriving today as well; there is to be a grand feast later. I am off to meet with my son; I will speak to you at the feast.”
“Looking forward to it.” Keith said. Emuh nodded and joined the crowd of characters. The Earth team noted that everybody paused and bowed as he made his way through. Keith turned and looked at his wide-eyed team.
“I understand that this is all foreign to you but try to act calm and civilized. They’re all going to stare at you; this is the first time any of them have seen a human in person.” Keith explained as the crew Emuh spoke of flew towards the docking bay.
None of them anticipated what they saw but the creatures looked like rather large rabbits with hands and feet. Their wings were large compared to their small, furry bodies. As they watched, the Earth team determined which ones were to help with the IRs and which ones were to lead them to their quarters: the “workers” wore dull white blouses with deep green slacks while the “guides” donned flowing orange robes. One guide landed in front of Lindsay and stared up at her; she guessed that the creature was no bigger than a two-foot toddler.
“So, you are a… human? Did I say that right?” its high-pitched squeaky voice fascinated her. Lindsay smiled.
“Yes. What are you…?” she couldn’t think of a better way to ask properly.
“We’re called Legooms. I’ve never seen a human before.” the Legoom busied itself by studying Lindsay.
“Well… I’ve never seen a Legoom before so I guess we’ll call it even!” she answered and the two laughed. The Legoom stuck out its small, furry hand; the sleeve of their robe slipped to reveal more of their arm. The move prompted Lindsay to crouch down to shake their hand.
“It’s true, then. This is the way to greet a human! My name is Naav.”
“Lizzie. That’s my name.”
“… Are you a female human?”
“Yep! Are you a female Legoom…?” Lindsay asked and Naav giggled.
“Of course! I’m sorry; I lost track of time! Now, if you would; follow me, please!” she took flight and patted Lindsay on the cheek. The woman glanced back at her team, who all gave her particular looks.
“What…? He said to be calm and civilized!”
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