Swift

Swift

Swift

Copyright © 2018 Myles Songolo

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-387-94614-3

Chapter 1

Attention. Attention.

Lufkal lowered his prism as the announcement rang clearly through the empty observatory, maintaining a forward gaze while the shimmering silver particles of the holographic interface dissipated. His vision dimmed briefly as the protective membranes of his eyes slid in and out, their horizontal motion allowing his eyes to readjust to the natural light that flowed in through the room’s sole window; the vast expanse of which was dominated by a swirling mass of grey and white.

All crew prepare for atmospheric descent. The serene, female voice of the ship’s VI stated, finishing the announcement.

Taking it as his cue to leave, he rose to his feet; taking one last look at the turbulent atmosphere before stepping into the passageway that lead to the deck below. 

Dozens of white uniformed crew members skirted past him as he retraced his steps through the pristine hallways, their elegant attire blending all but their faces with the white panels that tiled the walls. A few of them gave him a puzzling glance as they dashed past, but the majority wore focused expressions, maintaining a steady gaze on whatever destination they were heading towards.

It was becoming increasingly tempting to see where else in the ship he could manage to get into as he continued travelling against the flow of the ship’s apparently uncaring crew. But his planning got cut short by a sudden, short burst of sound.

Lufkal Sidilve! I shouldn't have to tell you where you need to be right now. A familiar voice said through the ear implants of his prism. The particularly snappy tone brought a mischievous smile to his face.

Using the last name, Sis? What have I done to earn that? I’m not even late yet! Lufkal chided back.

His smirk faltered slightly when his sister responded with a long, exasperated sigh.

Lighten up, Sis. He said lightly, all the while increasing his pace back towards the ship’s hold.

Just get down here! I want to get started soon! She snapped.

Yes, Ma'am. He replied with mock formality, breaking out into a flat-out sprint.

...

A few minutes later Lufkal had launched himself through the threshold of the ship’s central elevator, forcefully tapping the lowest deck on the selection screen as he screeched to a halt. He took a brief look at the floor as he paused to catch his breath, noting eight hairline scratches that now sullied the glistening floor. They probably won’t even notice he thought to himself, relaxing the grip his talons were still exerting as the elevator continued its downward journey.

A light ping sounded as the elevator came to a gentle halt. And with a soft swish, the doors quickly slid open to reveal the ship’s cavernous hold.

A warm smile spread across his face as he swept his gaze through the towering space. Several rows of black, collapsible work benches – haphazardly arranged into a ring – sat between the stacks of silver containers lining the walls. The surfaces of each table littered with tools and parts that twinkled under the glaring overhead lights.

The familiar forms of his teammates were scattered amongst the cluster of tables, their assorted choices in styles of dark grey tops making them easy to distinguish in the bright space. Some remained in place, working away at some task or another, while others flitted between the edge of the ring and the components of his disassembled zephyr that sat in the ring’s centre. The latter group occasionally added a splash of dark red to the hold, as light bounced off the block letters SRT – the Sidilve Racing Team logo – emblazoned across their chests. 

As he started towards the tables, Lufkal shot glances at each of his busy teammates to try and figure out who was doing what, and where he could lend a hand.

Closest to him, hunched over a table laden with segments of wings and body panels, was Grauf; a fellow Vaseran and the team's aerodynamics specialist. The jet-black prosthetic he sported in place of his right arm gleamed as it swept across the table alongside it's tan, organic partner. His dilated black pupils, with their amber irises and black sclera, were directed towards the loose parts he was securing. Their intensity matching his furrowed brow and the stiffness of his spiky brown cranial plumage.

Lufkal could see Alvens in conversation with Izi a row of tables behind Grauf. As usual, Alvens was leading the conversation; the Noval coach’s stern voice carrying clearly over the clamour of clinking parts floating out from the centre of the ring. The bronze light of his prism danced through the air as he pointed a pale-yellow arm at various tables. And though Lufkal could only see the thin yellow spines that topped Alvens’ ears and the shoulder-length straight, white hair that fell between them; it was not hard to imagine the piercing glare his four silver-white eyes were directing towards Izi.

However, Izi – the lead mechanical engineer and one of the team’s two Tzilus – was barely paying any attention to Alvens. She was merely nodding and shaking her head at her long-standing teammate as she looked towards the centre of the tables with concern. All the while fixing the short ponytail her thin, central band of black hair was pulled into.

Her lack of interest was made more apparent by the circuitry that lined her light-blue skin. The dim, red light the circuits emitted matching the soft glow of her optical implants and the hexagonal circuit-stem embedded within her forehead.

Lufkal was not keen on joining in with whatever Alvens and Izi were talking about and knew better than to try to help Grauf when he was busy. So he was glad to see that Ved and Tik-Shud were just working on bolting down the larger parts of his zephyr in preparation for descent.

Ved – the team's mechanic and technician – was adjusting the worn, grey mag-locks that were keeping the machine's skeletal frame in place. The lighthearted Tzilus wore a calm smile that matched the cool-white circuits on his grey-blue skin as he shifted the cube-shaped devices into place around the table-length trellis frame. He was meticulous in his work, making sure they formed a sturdy and balanced magnetic pull on the machine with each adjustment, and checking that none of the devices were pulling at the free hanging wires and cables that poked through the zephyr’s skeleton.

As Ved crossed over to the opposite side of the machine Lufkal’s eyes jumped to the diminutive form of Tik-Shud, who was scrambling around the anti-matter drive core that had been stripped from the vehicle. A blur of moving sleeves surrounded the Hyperactive Asparach as he ran diagnostics, made some final adjustments, and began securing the core simultaneously – each of his three pairs of arms performing a single task.

Tik-Shud’s head whizzed from side to side as he worked, showing off the white and dark red stripes that decorated the sides of his tarnished, grey safety helmet. The speed at which he flicked around the top third of his body made it clear why he needed the protection – though Lufkal was sure that underneath the helmet’s opaque visor, the nine eyes of Izi’s apprentice were glinting with excitement.

Dismissing the nagging thoughts about the lack of his sister’s presence, Lufkal began making his way towards Ved and Tik-Shud. But not without shooting a wary glance at the rough line of tarnished crates and containers at the far edge of the tables.

There, silhouetted against the hold’s massive bay doors stood a pair of serpentine figures he knew to be Sevyr and Vyssr – the Palyx twins that formed the team’s security crew. The back of their armoured-vest clad torsos undulated up and down in unison as their muscular, brown-scaled tails coiled beneath them. On the left, Sevyr was flexing his shoulders and bearing his arms menacingly as if preparing to strike. His brother on the other hand had only crossed his arms, though he still seemed to be anticipating trouble.

Judging by the twins’ body language it probably wasn't the best idea to go looking for his sister. Sighing to himself, he tore his eyes away from Sevyr and Vyssr, and stepped into the central space.

Anything I can help you with? Lufkal asked Ved and Tik-Shud.

Yes, actually! Ved replied jovially, his cheerfulness accentuating the metallic undertones of his voice. Do you mind grabbing the last couple of mag-locks to secure the tail section? he added, pointing at the table where the devices were being kept.

Sure thing. Lufkal answered, already moving towards where Ved had indicated. He returned seconds later with the last two devices in a precarious stack. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ved chuckling and shaking his head. Lufkal replied with a shrug, only barely managing to catch the mag-locks before fighting further against gravity to set them on the floor without damaging them. He laughed off the mishap once the heavy cubes were safely on the ground. And with a reassuring wave at Ved’s relieved expression, he set to work placing and calibrating the mag-locks.

Great job on Mina to land us a sponsor like this. Ved announced several minutes later as they finished up their respective tasks. It's been nice to work out of a new ship for a change.

Tik-Shud – who was now sitting on top of the secured drive core – nodded in agreement.

Ye, Mina have been good help to team. Tik-Shud said, both his broken GSD and the clicking of his pedipalps muffled by his helmet. And good help to Lufkal too! No Mina, no more arms for Lufkal! He added with a cheerful triple clap.

I guess that’s true. Lufkal said sheepishly as he eyed the matte gunmetal prosthetics that had replaced the forearms he had shattered only two months ago. It was still slightly jarring to see his pale grey skin give way to the nanofibre plating stretching from his elbows to the tips of his clawed fingers. Although the crimson red lights that dotted and lined each prosthetic’s aggressive plating had started to grow on him.

Where is she anyway? Lufkal asked, hoping that the answer was not what he currently suspected.

"She was helping Astraka with packing up some