Chapter 3

Karkabun is the capital of this planet and there was an announcement that freighters were heading in that direction so they can be prepped for departure. I held on to my personal possessions as I jumped on board one. There were a few other stowaways. They introduced themselves as Jordan Coreman, Warf, Aurora, Nova and Bridges. All of them are stowaways running from one problem or the other. We sat down and talked about why we ended up here. I had a feeling that one of them is not to be trusted so I made up a story. I said that my family was trying to set me up with some rich guy to clear off their debts so I bolted. The others gave me a silent round of applause for my bravery. As the ship lowered itself I heard them speak in Karula. An ancient language that is barely studied or even spoken since it is a mouthful. I know a few words in Karula thanks to my other Granny. She was Pashtoan. But she was also partially Karulan and also her best friend was an intergalactic translator cyborg. I inherited a few of her traits as the rest of the family. But unfortunately they are all dead. The funeral traditions on both sides of my family is cremation so there will be no DNA testing to prove who I am to begin with. I was sure that I am going to get busted so I grabbed my bag and made myself invisible. The others let out an audible gasp as they started to grope around looking for me. I simply used the divets and indents to climb the wall and stayed quiet.

I quietly snuck out as a cyborg walked in to scan the inside for stowaways. The others were caught instantly. They were dragged to the mining colony as slaves. I knew that leaving them behind is a huge mistake. So I hopped on board and waited till the machine came to end. The walls were facetted like those on diamonds. Some walls were transparent. These were where the slavers held. These people got some sort of tag inserted into their bodies. A sound was heard from a distance and I turned to see a truncated pentagonal pyramid shaped building in a not so far off distance. A human walked in from a hover craft and he was ordered to introduce himself as Goi which means monster in Karula. Then a demonstration was given to prove that they will explode if they attempt to escape. The plan was to wait till he left. But the moment they went boom I scraped it. I used my gifts and went to work. I used my earth abilities to remove the metallic explosive devices from my friends. Then I used fire to melt the weapons. Then earth again to bury everyone down to their necks. Then I made a point to run towards a quad zoomer. A eight seater space gunship that is supposed to be seriously fast in space travel. We flipped a few switches and got as far as possible.

When we were satisfied with the distance we opened the space portal to go over the star bridge. I introduce myself as Flora. The nearest introduces herself as Nonna and the person next to him introduces himself as Gorg. The others introduced themselves as Jordan Coreman, Warf, Aurora, Nova and Bridges. I got us to Hakuryu the forest planet in the Taiga system. Every planet including the moon has dense foliage. Rare medicinal plants and other useful flora and fauna. The thing is this place has no fueling stations. Which why we had to travel to Escala in the Minoan system. This civilization was all high-rise and zero plantation. Automobiles are seen hovering and zooming all over. The lanes were busy ignoring us as though we were gnats. As we were lowering ourselves the communication unit started shouting demanding a form of identification. Nonna introduced herself. She was the daughter of the mayor. The man on the other end said that she was sent to pay off a debt so in a manner she is dead to them. The city has held a funeral for her honor so now she is no longer a citizen of this planet but an outsider. She was heartbroken by this sentiment. The man said that he will give five minutes to turn around or he will open fire. So we had no choice but to turn around and go in the direction of the desolate area.

We had to go to snowy north where we stopped in front of a gated tunnel. Nonna and I got off as the others left to go off world. She and I walked yeets and other forms structure to talk to the nice Minoan and he opened the gates and got us transport to the city. The entire ride Nonna cried and I was the shoulder on which she cried on. She and I were introduced to an Acropolis called Mana. From a distance it looked like a lonely odd building. But up close it looked like some crazy architect had lost his marbles and built a row of buildings facing east then immediately built a row of houses facing west, north and south and fused them at the corners. The building was so condensed that it resembled a single mismatched building. Then he did the mother of all stupidity where he built houses one on top of the other as though the ones on the ground were foundation till he ran out of raw materials. I must have blurted something out because Nonna hiccuped a few times before she laughed a little. She asked me nicely why I chose to stay when I could go. I said, "I will help you restore your life before I go anywhere. Us Nins have a policy. We don't leave friends behind. We will stay here till spring then we will penetrate the city and find a way to restore justice." She started crying as she kept saying thank you on repeat. I hugged her and stroked her hair as we walked out of the transport. The weather is less harsh than the permafrost planet I worked in. We had to pay rent for a two room apartment. I paid in valuta and moved in. She asked me where I got the finance. I happily explained my job in Antar. I had a feeling that I could trust her so I told her about my Draconian history. She promised to keep my secret.

We got jobs at the permafrost herding the snowflocks. A huge thick wooly beast with large antlers. If it wanted it could crush us with one blow. But for some reason they liked us. So we had no trouble whatsoever. We would take to the frozen river and I would use my ability to manipulate water to crack a perfect hole so they could quench their thirst. Nonna would watch me as I would escort these creatures to drink. Afterwards we would walk back to the tunnel. The gate is open at five in the morning and closes at eleven. If you don't make it in by then you will have to wait till the gates open in the morning. Most people die before the sun rises. So we were extremely careful. We made friends and avoided certain crowds to avoid jail. Also there are no roads. No straight path in the building. One wrong move and we had to spend an entire night roaming around looking for directions to go back to our apartment. The law enforcement was found near a gambling and underground fight club. A few coins were exchanged for a simple escort back to our floor. The days became shorter and the night started to become longer. Then the polar nights began. It would be twelve in the afternoon but still it would be pitch black. The days ticked by and finally spring was about to arrive. The sun began to show up again. We had a whiteouts. But that didn't deter me from completely my job. We were told that the path to the city will clear in a week but right now the store manager needs assistance with inventory. We help the store manager to secure a pass to the city.

We were escorted to a transport that stopped at a huge wall. The men on the wall had us declare our possession but didn't bother with faces. The transport zoomed past a building resembling a Ziggurat. Nonna's face clenched as she saw the mayor. For some reason she declared him her uncle. Saying that her father had exiled him last year. So the truck was to find her father to clear her name. That was a slightly difficult task as some places were heavily guarded and if anyone suspects that a person was following them the authorities would shoot them. I was barely able to hold on to my invisibility as I took Nonna from one place to another looking for her dad. After a week of searching we finally got the jackpot when we snuck in the mayor's royal yacht. Apparently the cyborgs were still loyal to her. So they helped her get in to the estate. They showed which direction to go to rescue her parents. It was a hexagonal stairway leading deep into the earth. The door opened to let us in then bolted shut behind to say we come out in a different route. The conversation that the guards had with each made it made it easier to find them. We had to go past the mess hall to the dark cold tunnel to a winding and spiraling path downwards to the cellblock. I used fire to melt the door and I air manipulation to cool it down. Now the difficult task of exoneration began. The first take was to escape the dungeon. There was a fearsome leviathan living in the bowels and it is always hungry. The guards were scarce so we first had to find a safe route out. Going in is easy but going out is hard. The doors lock as a person enters the place. Opening new pathways to entice hope but mostly death awaits. Since Nonna's father was the architect of this structure he escorted us to the leviathan's den and calmly walked very slowly. Apparently they are attracted to fast moving things. We got to the other end and he opened a passage that led to the top.

The imposter was giving an interview when the showdown happened. Obviously he tried to escape the accusations but the cyborgs confirmed he is fake. People loyal both sides stepped forward and then an intense shootout occurred. Artifacts fell with a crash or a clatter. Glass shattered and rained down. Screams were heard over the blasts. I had to spend what felt like an hour lying on the floor with my hands protecting Nonna. After the ringing in our ears ended we quietly rose up and the hugging began. I quietly snuck out and was stopped by the cyborgs and was forced back into witness the reunion. The family paid me handsomely with Valuta and gave me the latest model of a one seater spaceship to go wherever I needed to. I gave Nonna a communication unit and told her that if she ever needed anything then she should use it and I will come running. Nonna promised to do so. But her parents promised me that it is not needed. As I hopped into my ship I punched in the coordinates to my next destination so I can track down the infamous moving library. But like I said it is illusive. But no matter I will have to get there. I put my mask back on and flew it out into the outer atmosphere. I flipped the radio searching for news of the floatilla. But I heard nothing but static. Soon I was given the green light to leave the planet. There was a cheers and waving and an escort to the ionosphere after which the escorts went back to security detail. I pressed a few switches and took hold of the steering column as I was sucked into a space bridge that took me somewhere I have no clue exists. But good luck.