Page 2 of 3 Secrets to Love
By the time the tube stopped moving, I was convinced we had traveled to another building several blocks away, though the tube had no windows, so the entire ride had been dark except for the light in the car we rode in.
Chikada stepped out into a long, artificially lit hallway ahead of me and greeted two more guards.
The only time I had ever seen this much security on one of my assignments, we’d met with Tier One celebrities or politicians. But the security was never for the children. Who were these kids? And who were they meeting for their wish? I rarely received that information ahead of time, learning whom the children would meet at the same time as them and their parents.
“This way.” Chikada gestured down the hall. As I walked in that direction—my escort trailing me by only a few steps—clear doors slid shut behind us. I felt like I was walking into somekind of secure lab rather than a meeting room. Was that why there was so much security around these kids? Were they so ill that they had to be kept far away from others? Would I have to go through a sterilization process before I met with them? It wouldn’t be the first time, yet the assignment still seemed very different.
Chikada brushed my side as he raced ahead, opening the next door on the right. “This is where the children are waiting.”
I didn’t have to be disinfected before entering a clean room. Instead, I walked into a meeting room and immediately came face-to-face with the three Kalpierenes, lab-made, genderless, and highly intelligent beings who rarely lived anywhere but their home planet, Kalpier. What were these three doing on Jenegath? And why were there three? I’d only heard of the planet creating bonded pairs, never trios. Though the process had stopped many star cycles before I was born. That explained some of the secrecy and security, but not why they were suddenly going public as part of their wish fulfillment.
“Miss Xacalla, I would like you to meet Ago, Igo, and Ogo.”
I nodded to each of them, not sure if I was even allowed to shake their hands. I didn’t know enough about Kalpierene customs, hadn’t had any time to do proper research.
With friendly smiles, they waved at me with gloved hands. That meant no touching. It was a silent message the organization had ingrained in us from our first day.
“Are you ready to grant their wish?” Chikada asked.
“Oh, yes.” I’d been so surprised by who the children were, I’d temporarily forgotten why I was meeting them. Plucking the chip I’d been given for the assignment from my pocket, I slid it into the room’s comm unit.
The Kalpierenes whispered amongst themselves as the screen lit up with the presentation. As was the custom, the video shared the purpose of the Four Corners Wish Foundationand the rules and obligations of those traveling with me for the granting of the wish, before revealing where we would travel and who we would meet. Most of the time, I could guess who we would meet or where we would go based on clues from the family’s home, or any of those in attendance simply telling me what had been wished for. But when it came to these Kalpierene children, I had no idea. Would they want to travel to an outpost at the edge of the quadrants? I’d never been to any of them before. Or maybe we’d go to some undisclosed colony on an asteroid. That would explain the secrecy even more.
Yet, when the screen revealed the who and where of the children’s wish, its simplicity surprised me more than anything I’d imagined. We were going to Eurebly, the planet I now called home. And we were going to meet Phalon, an aerobatics pilot and former space racer who used to fly on the same team as my oldest brother.
The Phalon I remembered had tan skin, dark fur, and a hard time fitting into a racing jet due to his size. Though shorter and less hairy than most others from the planet Yatak, his heritage was evident to everyone he met. When I had learned he’d left space racing to join an aerobatics team, I wondered how he managed to cram himself into a smaller jet. He had always been super nice to me whenever my parents would take me to a “family and friends” event on Eurebly to visit with my siblings who had all been on a space racing team. Yet, even though he and I now lived on the same planet, I had never run into him. I hadn’t expected to see him again, at least not so soon.
Had the foundation chosen me to grant this wish because I knew Phalon? Though I didn’t really. Not the way my brother did. So many star cycles had passed since I’d last seen him, before Zander had left the team. Why did these three children want to see him when they had the chance to see any of the current and popular space racers? I had to know.
“So, are you a fan of Phalon from when he flew with team Yimij, or do you prefer when he flies aerobatics with Reena?”
“Oh, we do not watch him fly,” Igo said.
Ago leaned forward. “We are simply to meet him.”
“Yes, we have a—”
“It’s time to go.” Chikada cut off Ogo before they could finish their sentence. “The shuttle is ready.”
Every moment of the assignment left me with more and more questions. Why would the children want to meet Phalon if they didn’t watch him fly? And why was the shuttle ready when we weren’t close to the spaceport?
I didn’t have time to ask before the children were escorted out of the room by two guards. I’d barely had time to chat with them. Would I on the shuttle? There was still so much I didn’t know about my assignment.
“Let’s go.” Chikada stood in the doorway, waiting for me. “Your bag is already on board. We must take off while it’s still dark.”
I grabbed the chip then rushed down the hallway after him. The children had already caught a tube with their security, and Chikada and I caught the next one. Once again, I couldn’t tell where we were going while inside, yet we seemed to be heading up during the times we weren’t traveling horizontally. I held onto the grab bar, prepared for the tube to stop suddenly. When it finally did, I hadn’t expected the sight when I stepped out of the tube. We were high above the city, the muted streetlights far below. If not for the glow from the shuttle, the view of the sky would have been incredible. Though I barely had time to glimpse any of the nearby stars and planets, Chikada rushing me from the tube to inside the shuttle.
“Miss Xacalla, we must hurry.”
I didn’t know if I would ever learn the reason behind all the secrecy of this assignment, but I looked forward to seeingPhalon again. As the shuttle took off, with the children in their own private cabin, I tried to recall everything I could remember about him.
Chapter Two
Phalon
It was raining. Of course. But it wasn’t as if Reena and I had a lineup of fans waiting for autographs. No, they were down at the space racer tents instead. Where I used to be. Sometimes I still missed that life, the cheer of the fans, the adrenaline rush from the race, and even the constant practicing. I didn’t think it would be such a drastic change when I went from a space racer to an aerobatics pilot. I still flew a jet and performed technical stunts along with my partner. But fans preferred the pilots who went fast.
Reena sat beside me, her wife in the doorway of the building across the path with her arms crossed and looking as impatient as ever. It was another “family and friends” weekend for the USRA, and though we weren’t space racers anymore, we still belonged to the organization. It was our obligation to perform on these weekends and then sign merch and digital photos after. I didn’t know why Kareen didn’t stay at home. Did she think I would try to steal her wife from her if she wasn’t there? I usually ignored the woman’s constant glares, but sometimes her presence became too much. Even our technicians felt the heat of her stare.
