6

Chapter 6

Kelwarin had never spent long periods of time traveling alone outside of the Fleet. While he had plenty of friends and acquaintances aboard the fleet who enjoyed spending time with him, he preferred to stay with others of his own rank during off hours. When it was just the two of them, Tallulah had usually stayed behind when the ship was preparing to depart, while he continued the journey. It had been several days since he had seen her and he realized that he had missed her company badly, but now that he was alone again with only her memories to accompany him, his heart sank slightly. Even if he tried his hardest to distract himself, he could still not stop thinking about her.

As Kelwarin continued to walk along the endless corridor, his thoughts kept returning once more to the mysterious girl with the bright orange hair. The sight of her had been haunting him ever since their earlier meeting, but somehow, seeing her again had helped him calm down and focus on the task at hand, distracting him temporarily from her.

When he thought back on their brief interaction, he was shocked to learn that the woman sitting beside him was the same person whom he had met only an hour previously. It seemed like she had completely changed over the past few days, becoming someone totally different than the cheerful little girl he had seen the last time he had traveled to Taris. Then again, he reminded himself, he'd never really known her. Her personality and mannerisms were entirely alien to him, and it was unlikely that he would ever recognize her again unless he ran into her face to face. If she was to be believed, they were in for an extremely unpleasant trip to the Outpost.

"How do you feel about flying?" Tallulah suddenly spoke up.

Startled, he turned toward her sharply, almost losing his footing. His companion's sudden question was definitely unexpected and brought him no small amount of alarm, especially knowing that there was obviously a purpose to it. "Flying?" he responded, trying to sound nonchalant but sounding anything but. "It sounds like fun," he answered truthfully, wondering what could possibly be wrong now that he finally had some peace and quiet. "But I have never done it before."

Tallulah regarded him with a puzzled expression. "So you've never been sent to Taris before?"

"Not that I know of."

"What do you think about it then?"

He hesitated for a second, not sure exactly how to respond. It was difficult to give a proper answer without letting any doubt slip through, but he suspected that she didn't really expect an answer anyway. "Well," he began slowly, "I've flown ships before, but I don't really remember doing so. I suppose I must've done it in my dreams, but that doesn't explain why."

Tallulah shrugged. "Maybe it's like riding a broomstick. Just imagine yourself riding your broomstick through the air, and then picture that you're standing on top of it. Once the memory comes to you, you can ride that broomstick anywhere that you please. That should help explain why you've never done it."

Kelwarin shook his head. "That doesn't explain why I haven't done it before," he pointed out.

She shot him a look that told him that she knew full well that this was exactly what he wanted to say. "There were many factors involved. First, the fact that it required concentration on your part. Secondly, having to concentrate on something like a broomstick isn't an easy feat, especially not when you happen to be sitting on top of a giant flying beast."

"It isn't?"

Tallulah laughed lightly. "In fact, that particular ability might even be considered an acquired skill. It's also possible that you have only recently experienced being able to fly for yourself, even if it has been a while."

Kelwarin frowned slightly. He knew there must have been something he had forgotten about during his years serving the Imperial Army.