I Am A Flyer

II: Enemy at the Front

Finding the small button on the end, Jett pressed it. The glowing blade slid silently inside its own hilt, becoming nothing more than a black, cylindrical object. He hefted it, surprised that it wasn't as heavy as he'd thought it be. Flipping it over, he peered at the opposite end, the end that had swallowed up the blade. There was nothing more than a slit, a half inch wide, and one and a half inches long.

What a strange thing. Jett turned the weapon over in his hands. And it's mine, now.

Now, as he stared at the dark weapon in his hands, he knew that his world had suddenly become so much bigger. There were so many new things; he'd been dropped into a strange, frightening new world.

He gripped the sword tightly. Raven. . .I've never been on a battlefield before. But I will survive, I promise you that! I'll survive, and I'll become stronger!

First things first, however. . . .he needed to find someone to show him how to use a sword. Having gathered some courage, Jett broke into a easy sprint, heading back towards the tents. Surely Scares knew someone who could help him.

XxX

Harris was not a patient man. Nor was he a friendly one. And he hated kids. But despite these faults he was an excellent swordsman, having used the weapon almost before he learned to walk. So. . .why was this little black-eyed brat standing in front of him?

"Go away," he growled down at the kid. He frowned, hoping to make his ugly face look even more uglier in an attempt to scare the kid away.

"Scares said you can help me," Jett said, not in the least scared. Well, actually, he was a bit nervous, but this big swordsman really had nothing compared to the flyers.

"I don't want to. Now go away." Harris abruptly turned his back to the boy.

Jett simply stepped to the side, around the big man, and stopped in front of him – in less than a second. To Harris, it seemed as if the boy had teleported there.

"This," Jett held up the black cylinder with both hands, "was given to me by Raven. He says I need to learn how to use it, and to ask somebody to teach me. So, can you help me?" He looked up at the man with hopeful onyx eyes.

Raven? Harris' frown deepened, as he regarded the boy. That black marking on his cheeks – that was a Talon marking, all right. And just below that. . .he inwardly sighed. He should've recognized Raven's mark – it was how that man signed every single piece of paperwork that involved him. Leave it to Raven to put his signature on a kid.

I am going to regret this... "All right, kid. I'll help you – but just for today, got it?"

Jett smiled wide. "Got it!"

XxX

Quark nodded grimly at the two Kairg guarding the heavy steel door. Unlike himself, who was a simple foot soldier, the two guards were actual flyers. Their suits were actually ugly, he thought, being a mottled mess of black, grays, and dark greens. Good camouflage, everyone said. He thought it was stupid, since flyers easily spent more time in the sky than on the ground. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the type of colors that would enable them to blend into the sky? Of course, he would never voice his thoughts though, since he was just a lowly soldier, a speck of dirt amongst Ra'Skevvor's ranks.

"I've a report to deliver," he said.

The Kairg flyers seemed to stare menacingly at him, but he couldn't be certain since their heads were swallowed up by the black helmets. Their visors weren't even defined. Quark felt like their heads were giant black orbs, staring, always staring. It never failed to send cold fingers crawling down his spine.