Free Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life by Adrian Fulcher Page B

vulnerable to attack. I want to make sure you’re not going to be in any danger.’
    Zoren felt very important, even if it was only because Kalrea seemed to care about his wellbeing.
    ‘Please, take a seat,’ Kalrea said.
    Zoren glanced around the interior of the shuttle. He was in the passenger compartment and towards the front, through an open door, was the cockpit with two seats in front of a control panel. The passenger compartment had two rows of three seats facing each other and with their backs to the two side walls. He sat in the nearest to the external door, while Kalrea went and sat opposite him. The external door closed and he was taken by surprise when he felt the shuttle lift into the air.
    Hold on a minute, there’s no pilot!
    ‘Kalrea, who’s flying this?’ he said urgently.
    ‘I am,’ she replied.
    ‘Oh! Ok,’ Zoren said. ‘Why does the shuttle have no windows? I would have liked to have seen where I was going.’
    ‘That can easily be sorted,’ Kalrea replied.
    The lights inside the shuttle dimmed and then rectangular sections in the front and side walls of the shuttle appeared to become liquid. A ripple of white light flashed across their surfaces, making them transparent. The sections were now like windows, allowing him to see outside.
    Cool! he thought, as he gazed, over his shoulder, outside the shuttle.
    The shuttle was still in mid-air within the Aurora’s cargo bay. Two massive doors in the ceiling of the cargo bay were now sliding apart, revealing the space outside. He glanced up at the black space and then down at the many ships neatly arranged. As he stared intently at the nearest ship, the cargo bay lights were switched off. There was now just darkness.
    In under a minute the shuttle had left the safety of the Aurora and was heading towards Xim’gu.
    He looked back and straining his eyes, he could just about make out the silhouette of the Aurora , which was standing like a cold smooth stone in the shadow of the moon.
    For the very first time, Zoren felt very insecure. He was on his own, sitting opposite a stranger; in fact, a drone. He knew Kalrea was back on the Aurora and wondered what would happen if the shuttle was threatened.
    What if Kalrea abandons me? After all, she’s safe onboard the Aurora, I’m the one here on this shuttle heading towards a planet I know nothing about. He gulped. What am... I... doing here?
    He noticed Kalrea reach into her pocket and pull out a small device.
    ‘Here, I want you to wear this,’ she said, reaching over and passing it to him.
    Zoren took it.
    ‘What... what is it?’
    ‘It’s called a telementor. You’ll need to fasten it on your wrist.’
    Zoren examined the jet-black device, which felt very light and warm in his hand. The device was similar to a watch, it had a metallic strap and on its face was an embossed ellipse with a symbol inside it, which looked like a letter “A” without the right leg.
    She mentioned this was a device to allow the pilot to communicate telepathically with her. So why is she giving it to me?
    ‘What’s it for, Kalrea?’ Zoren asked.
    As he placed it on his wrist, he felt a tingling sensation run up his arm. ‘What a strange feeling,’ he commented.
    ‘That will soon pass,’ Kalrea replied. ‘If you were a Qinant, the telementor would now allow me to read your thoughts and communicate with you, but it’s designed for a Qinant, not an Agonian, so I’m not feeling any connection will you at all.’
    ‘So what’s the point of wearing it then?’
    ‘Because I can use it to protect you, by channelling some of the Aurora’s power through it.’
    Zoren had to shield his eyes with his hand as a bright light flooded into the passage compartment, from the front window, through the open cockpit doorway. He got up from his seat to look out the front window. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the planet Xim’gu looming large in the distance with brilliant light reflecting off its surface.