Where Loyalty Lies
When shipments from a mining station suddenly stop, Lotor's generals look into the reason and get more questions than answers. At the same station several days earlier, the Blade of Marmora encounters a surprise when they try to take out the operation.
Chapter 7
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Varok is sitting on the floor, his helmet thrown aside, a long-suffering expression on his face as Vrani struggles to climb up his back. “Don’t move this time, okay?” she says, bracing her knee on his shoulder. “Last time you messed me up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Varok grumbles, and grimaces as she grabs onto his ears to support herself. As she pushes his face to the side to stand up, he sees Keith, and opens his mouth to say, “Vrani, wait--” before she leaps towards the machinery.
Startled, she looks around, already in midair, and only half-catches the ledge she’s trying to grab hold of. “Careful!” Keith shouts, and she yelps as her claws skid off the metal. Before she slips any further, though, Varok is on his feet to catch her, hoisting her up to his chest with both arms.
“I think it is time to be finished with this game, kitten,” he tells her, turning towards Keith. “Vrani has told me all about her new friend who plans to take her somewhere there are no soldiers. Of course, she tells us about many new friends, but most of them have been her own invention.”
“Is it time yet?” Vrani asks, squirming to get out of Varok’s grasp. “Are we going?”
“Yep, we’re going,” Keith says. “You wanna come down to the docking bay with me?”
Her face lights up, and she looks up at Varok with wide eyes. “Oh, can I? Can I?”
“The others are going down to their quarters to get anything they want to bring,” Keith tells him as he grabs his blade from the console and straps the sheath back onto his armor. “You should probably go do the same.”
“Understood,” Varok agrees. “You better tell Izan what’s happening, though, she won’t like it if she doesn’t know where Vrani is.”
“Come on, kiddo,” Keith tells her as Varok sets her down. “You ever been on a shuttle before?”
She shakes her head. “I’m not allowed. Avka says it’s too dangerous.”
“What’s too dangerous?” Izan asks as they’re leaving the room. “What trouble are you getting into?”
“Keith said he’s gonna take me to the docking bay!” Vrani says cheerfully, and grabs onto his hand.
“I’m coming with,” Izan says. “Stick close to me, and don’t touch anything.”
“Aw, no fun,” Vrani pouts.
“You’re about to go into space,” Keith tells her. “Won’t that be exciting enough?”
“Well,” she says, considering that. “I guess you’re right.”
“If you behave, I’ll let you watch what I’m doing,” he tells her. “Maybe someday when you’re older, you can be a pilot too.”
“Will you teach me?” she asks, tugging on his arm. “Atka teaches me about the machines sometimes when he works. I can’t touch them but he says maybe when I’m older, will you show me how to fly a shuttle so I can do it when I’m older?”
“Your father should not be teaching you how to run the mining machinery,” Izan says, glowering at the technician she’d called Martek. “And your new friend will not teach you how to fly a cargo shuttle. Martek, I trust you to get Vrani’s things, and mine.”
“Yes, dear,” Martek replies, nodding. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Go,” Kolivan says. “I will finish the task you started in the control room.”
“Thanks,” Keith replies, and heads for the lift, Vrani still clinging to his hand and Izan close on his heels.
—
The hangar’s outer edge overlooks the canyon running alongside the base, two bay doors side by side at one end, a curved docking station for imperial cruisers at the other. Keith’s eyes dart around the room, taking in the stacked shipping crates and the four angled cargo shuttles with red lights along the sides lined up and waiting to be loaded.
“Whoa,” Vrani says as he pulls her towards the shuttles, her claws digging into his palm through his glove. “It’s big.”
“A lot bigger than the rest of the building, huh?” he says, smiling faintly at her, though he can’t help thinking that as big as it is compared to the other sections of the base, this little loading area would fit easily twice over into the castle’s hangar.
“Don’t wander off, Vrani,” Izan warns her gently.
“Avkaaaaaa,” she complains. “I’m not doing anything. And Keith’s holding onto me, anyways.” She pulls halfheartedly at his hand to demonstrate.
“Any difference between the shuttles?” Keith asks, glancing back at Izan. “I don’t want to take one that’s damaged.”
Izan shrugs. “This third one has the newest engines. They’re fast, for a cargo shuttle, but very loud. The first is the quietest, but it’s slower, and shakes a little, and the second has a bad thruster so it can’t get up to full speed. The fourth lists left, but it goes the farthest on a single fuel cell.”
“How’s it compare to the others for speed?” Keith asks. “We might need that kind of distance.”
“It’s about the same as this one,” she says, gesturing at the nearest shuttle. “Perhaps a little slower.”
“Let’s get it ready for takeoff,” he says, continuing past the first shuttle towards the end of the loading bay. “I want to be ready as soon as the rest of your crew gets here with their things.”
“Aw,” Vrani complains, looking longingly over at the third shuttle as Keith pulls her past it. “I wanna take the fast one.”
“Didn’t you say you’ve never left the base before?” Keith asks, laughing. “I think this one’s gonna be more than fast enough for you already.”
“But,” she protests, digging in her heels and pulling back on his hand to stop him. “The other one’s more fast.”
“And you will not know the difference, Vrani,” Izan tells her firmly. “I thought this rebel was your new friend? You should stop arguing with him.”
“Yes, Avka,” Vrani mutters sullenly, slinking after Keith again as he pulls her ahead and boards the shuttle at the end of the hangar.