Page 7 of Shadow's Chosen

"Not the ones we are looking for, unfortunately," the lygin said, and in that same moment, the map on the slab changed to that of Irosa, tiny but still visible. Not far from it, just outside its orbit, was a steady pulse slowly making its way closer. Silfres gestured toward the pulse. “But new ones just arrived."

The team went silent. They looked to Nezka, and his eyes flickered to each of them. He looked down at the small pulse for a long moment as if it were a signal calling to only him. He traced a finger along his neck, across the beaded necklace that hung close to his skin, and smiled. "Gear up. We are going down."

Three

Elise's seat jolted and shook as her team's ship hit the atmosphere. A dull roar deafened her as they fell and the engines fired, tendrils of flickering sparks hitting the glass.

A nice way to wake from a nap.

The halo-shaped device that had rested firmly across her head lifted slowly, and she blinked several times, coming out of her sleep. The others sat in rows on each side of her, all facing the window that gave them a clear view of the vast city coming in fast before them. The ship began to slow, and, from the corner of her eye, Elise saw the ship's controls being taken over by an unknown pilot. Likely those at the city terminal making sure the ship landed safely at the docks. When they hit the ground, it was with a soft bump and nothing more. Smooth landing.

They waited for the ship to decompress and power down before unlocking from their seats. Though the flights were faster now than they had been some years ago, Elise still felt like she'd been sitting in the seat for months, even though it had only been a few days. She stretched her legs and unhooked from her seat then slowly rose, watching the others do the same.

A few groaned and cursed. Bruce immediately did a few leg lunges.

"I still hate flying," said Jerico, not far away. "My stomach feels inside out."

"I told you, you should have taken a pill, man," said Reese, groaning as he bent his back.

Helen came around and checked their vitals. "You all will live. As usual. Jerico, don't throw up in the empty storage again. Use a waste box." Helen aimed her little scanner device at Elise and nodded her head. "All clear."

The doors opened with a hiss, and they each took up their bags and gear and stumbled out onto the docks. The area was huge, larger than any of the docks at home, spanning several football fields in length. But surprisingly, Elise saw few other ships parked with theirs. Only one other was stationed close by. A large, black ship, sharp and ominous. As they gathered outside on the platform, Elise couldn't help stare at it curiously.

"Whoever owns that one must be a scary son of a bitch," said Tom, next to her.

Elise eyed the ship seriously for a second longer then shrugged. "Or they're just edgy," she said as she swung her bag over her shoulder.

From a doorway not far ahead of them came a set of drogin. They bowed their heads once as they approached, and Elise and her team did the same.

"Welcome to Tyrminis," one said, a tall drogin with pinkish brown skin, caramel colored eyes, and tufts of fur-like hair across her skull. By the slender build, Elise was certain it was a female. The woman greeted them slowly, but Elise and the others could understand perfectly well. Sia, with the help of the city official, Qorey, had linked their headsets to the drogin language program. While they traveled, they learned and memorized the drogin speech. The technology was advanced and brilliantly impressive. What would have taken a few months with Earth’s tech took only a few days, preparing them to interact with the people of Irosa without issue.

"My name is Toni. Please follow us." As Toni turned back toward the door, the two other drogin at her side helped carry their bags.

They entered a large burgundy building made of a steel Elise could not identify but that reminded her of the chrome of a car. The doors slid open for them just like the ones at home, but the glass making up the windows and walls of the interior were of a darker shade. Some, Elise noticed, were darker or lighter depending on what rooms they were trying to hide. Everything seemed to be made of glass or metal, even the floor and ceiling. The lights which made up the frames of the ceiling and walls brightened as they walked by. When they came to a circular main foyer, Elise stretched her neck up and saw a kaleidoscope of colors and lights at the very top, basking the area in reds, blues, and purples.

"The energy they would need for all this has to be insane," whispered Amy, close by.

"And we thought our cities were wasting power," Elise mumbled. As her eyes studied the various levels above, shaping the interior in a cork-screw design, she noticed no plants or fountains which usually adorned human foyers. Just many lights and a few screens displaying neon-lit images advertising strange products.

"Your rooms are prepared." Toni gestured to the floors above. "My two assistants will guide you to them, and you can get settled in. When you are ready, please return to this floor. Come midday, the city officials will call a meeting with all active teams. There are others who will be joining you at this meeting, all whose mission involves the undercity."

Before any could question her about anything else, Toni left them, and her assistants beckoned them to follow.

***

Their rooms were far more luxurious than what was necessary for a team that was likely only spending one night in them. No one complained, of course, though Elise felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of sleeping in a bed that was twice her size and having what was equivalent to an apartment all to herself. As she cleaned up in the obnoxiously large bathroom then dressed out of her flight suit and into a simple pair of leggings, T-shirt, and slim jacket, she observed the cityscape outside her bedroom window. There was no doubt that it was breathtaking. And intimidating. The smallest buildings she could see were taller than the ones on earth. And the largest looked like they touched the sky, clouds sweeping past them indifferently. As Elise looked down, she saw a web of bridges and streets. Surprisingly, they were not bombarded by cars but what seemed to be trains. Overhead were several flying vehicles going in and out of the towering skyscrapers. It seemed their main sources of transport in the higher levels were trams or small ships. One railway was partially hidden by a series of tunnels, and when she saw the train speed by, she almost missed it. It flew by just as fast if not faster than the bullet trains on Earth. What cars did hug the roads were very small—most even looked like bikes. The streets and bridges were crammed otherwise with people. When Elise focused in on the cityfolk, she was shocked to find some were not drogin but other species, those from other far-off planets. A few looked like cats, others like lizards. All were colorful and unique in a sea of moving bodies, walking along a backdrop of neon lights and brightly colored words.

She stared down at the scene for a long time, thinking about the people below and those at home. How strange and vast the universe was. And how little she felt within it.

Her hand instinctively reached out beside her but caught at nothing. She turned her head and looked at the empty space with disappointment.

She wished her sister were there.

A knock came at her door. Taking a deep breath and putting on her tough girl face, Elise turned from the window and headed over to the door to let whoever was on the other side enter.

Jerico smiled back at her, his hand resting on the side of the door. "Adrien is calling us down." He entered the room and whistled. "Wow, you got a way better view than me. All I got was the side of the building over."

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Elise said, shaking her head as she peered back out the window. "It's so..."

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