◾This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. [The White Raven, Chapter 3, Troubled Beginings] "Hey Raen, where are you?" "Hey Clap, I'm at the coffee shop studying." "Is Moeth with you, she's not answering her Com-link?" "No, they got her taking the Priestess exam again." "Maybe she won't spill the wine on Lady Raven this time." "Don't count on it, she doesn't want to be a Priestess anymore. What's up?" "Our ships are missing, Gini's asking the Duty Sergeant, and our names aren't on the duty roster either. All it says is 'Special Assignment'." "I figured we would be taken off the roster now that we are on White Raven guard." "I found our ships," whispers Gini on the Com-link. "They are on the ready line." "Makes sense. Hey, I got to get back to studying." "What in the crack beaked hell!" whispers Vas. "Raen, you need to get over to our apartments, we've been kicked out." "Vas, don't kill the manager," whispers Raen. "I knew that was going to happen, just not so soon." "Where are we going to sleep, in the street?" whispers Vas angrily. "Naw, we're being moved closer to the airfield." "How close?" Mergan joins the conversation. "Well…." "Oh for the love of the ancestors," whispers Vas. "They are putting us in the barracks at the airfield, aren't they? Blast it all! I don't want to live with Ring again, he leaves his stuff all over the place." "Don't be a hater, brother," whispers Ring. "Hey guys, Big Bird is on the move," whispers Aliaen. "Would you find a new code word for her already," whispers Vas. "Big Bird sounds stupid." "Guys, I really need to study. Aliaen, do you need back up?" "We're good, just letting you know. And those two hatchlings look ridiculous, and you won't believe this, they're both carrying a Demonian Ungula." "Oh great, they are going to cut their feet off," whispers Vas. "I'm not sewing them back on," whispers Mergan. "I knew it!" whispers Vas. "What?" "She chose Demonian weapons…remember the rumor she always goes to that Tarlock apprentice whenever she has a heat cycle," whispers Vas. "She has a thing for Demonians." "You should mind your own business," Rip growls a whisper. "He didn't mean anything by it," whispers Raen. "Is there something to the rumor?" asks Mergan. "We're on her Guard Detail now,"" whispers Rip. "You'll find out soon enough, and if anyone flaps their beaks about it, they'll answer to me." "Okay, Okay, calm down big guy, you'll break a horn," whispers Vas. "Sheesh, you Demonians are touchy." "What are we arguing about?" whispers Moeth. "Hey Moeth, did you pass your test, are you the High Priestess yet?" "No, I tipped a candle over and caught the alter cloth on fire." "Retest?" "In a week, they aren't ready to let me off the hook yet." "Hey Moeth, they kicked us out of our apartments." "I know, you should see the dress uniforms they are going to make us wear." "Oh crap, Big Bird is headed into the train station," whispers Aliaen. "Who's at the airfield?" whispers Moeth. "We are," whispers Gini. "Take your ship and get over there for backup," orders Moeth. "Anyone else near the train station?" "We're a couple blocks away," whispers Tear. "Get over there and backup Aliaen and Caedon, everyone else clear the chatter and meet at the airfield, let's go Ravens, we're on the clock. And Aliaen…" "Yes, Moeth?" "Come up with a different code name, I am not calling the White Raven 'Big Bird'." ***** "Papa, I want to help." "No, Pesa, you haven't broken any laws yet. I'll find a stolen cargo pod and get it inserted." "I don't want to go take the test." "You're going, my little swan." "I'm not a Swan, Papa, I'm a Sparrow." I giggle. Papa always says I'm more beautiful than any Swan and could make better Vid-movies then any Swan could. I envy the Swans, being a Vid-Star and having people flock around you for autographs would be awesome. I have a few Swan posters on the wall in my room--Dartarian is soooo dreamy. Sometimes I pretend Dartarian meets me at a Spaceport and chooses me as his mate and we move into a big house in the mountains on Darai. I have all his Vid-movies. "Your mother is waiting to take you over to the Space station to catch a transport down to the Falcon Base." "Okay, Papa." I pick up my pack and Papa walks me to the airlock where our tiny tug we use for shuttling is docked, but then stops me just outside the docking tube. Papa looks around like he's making sure nobody is watching. The only other person on our ship is Mother. Papa takes me by the shoulders, bends down, and whispers in my ear. "Beware the pen," whispers Papa and then pushes me into the docking tube and gives me a good shove to get me across the weightless distance to the tug. What did he mean, beware the pen? What pen? I don't have time to think about it, the grav-plates in the tug pull me down to the deck and mother is pushing me into the passenger bench and strapping in. Mother seals the airlock and then we release from the ship. I can see Raunu below us, it is a very big planet. There are planets our tug could land on, but not Raunu. The tug would be ripped apart in the upper Raunu atmosphere. The clouds are swirling and I can see a thunderstorm in the southern hemisphere. "Oh Mama, look, there's a Battle Carrier, and a Drop Destroyer, and look over there, a Galaxy Ship." The Galaxy Ship can push four-hundred cargo pods and carry 8.5 million barrels of raw oil. It's the largest ship in existence and there are only fifty-four of them. Some people say that's not true though because the Galaxy Ship is actually several super hulls combined and can remove a section or add a section. The Super Tankers usually only carry cargo from planets outside the known worlds. And that's not accurate either. There are twenty-seven habitable Major Worlds, and twenty-two habitable Minor Worlds. Habitable worlds are rare and a new one hasn't been found in four-thousand years, but non-habitable worlds are plentiful. When people say the known worlds, they are talking about the habitable ones. The Galaxy Ships are bringing resources from worlds that could never support a permanent colony, but are fine for mining their resources. I don't think I would ever want to be on a Galaxy Ship. The habitable worlds discovered are all fairly close to each other. There was a really big nebula that existed billions of years ago in this part of the galaxy. When gravity started pulling the dust together, the nebula broke apart and became many smaller nebulas. Those nebulas formed planets, and for some reason all the right things happened to create a cluster of planets that all formed in the sweet-spots around their stars. But, the planets the Galaxy Ships go are very far away, and there are people on the Super Tankers that were hatched a thousand years ago. Relativity in TDS travel causes them to age normally, on their ship, but in our time, we seem to age faster. Not really though, it's all relativity. I couldn't imagine going on a trip that only lasts two years but everyone back home has aged one-hundred years. Everyone you knew would be dead. "If you would like a tour of the Galaxy Ship, I can get you aboard," says Mother. "Really?" "When you're done with the exam I'll take you over there as a treat." The space station is one of the largest stations, and a bustle of activity. Mother navigates the maze of corridors with ease. I'm glad Mother is taking me to the transport, I would never have found the docking gate. We have thirty minutes before the transport leaves, and we sit in the waiting area and go over the exam material. I'm confident I can pass the test, I've studied. An attendant opens the docking tube and announces boarding seats. "I'll be right here when you get back," promises Mother. I give Mother a quick hug and follow the other passengers into the docking tube. This docking tube has grav-plates and I walk to the waiting transport. I have a window seat and can see other transports at docking tubes waiting. The attendant helps everyone find their seats and strap in, and then goes over emergency landing procedures. There is a little pouch in the seat in front of me with magazines to read. I find a catalogue full of fascinating products to purchase, though I have to wonder why anyone would need a poodle shaped water purifier, or much of the other available novelties. The transport pulls away from the space station and we head for the planet. It takes twenty minutes before we are ready to drop into the atmosphere. The attendant instructs everyone to put the magazines and other objects we might have away. My pack is tucked into an overhead compartment. I've never landed on Raunu before and it is nothing like any of the other planet's atmospheres I've been through. The turbulence is tremendous even for me, and even though I've lived in space my whole life, the descent is terrifying. The clouds are thick and I can't see anything except the flashes of lightening. We are in the clouds for fourteen horrible minutes, and then clear blue skies. The pilot announces our landing and short enough we are pulling up to a huge airport terminal. The passengers take their time getting off, I'm not used to waiting in lines and don't like it. Finally I'm walking up a docking tube. I don't think they call it a docking tube, but it's the same thing. I'm worried how I'm supposed to find my way to the Falcon Base but quickly get an answer. There's a man holding a sign that reads, 'Sparrow Academy Candidates'. I didn't notice the other Sparrow kids on the transport, but six others are already standing next to the man. I introduce myself and am told we will leave in a moment. Four more Sparrow kids get off the transport and we are led over to a… thing. I don't know what it is. I just follow everyone else and we get in these cargo pod like things on wheels, I guess. The man gets in the front one and the whole thing rolls through the terminal pulling all the little cargo pods behind it, with me sitting in one and amazed at this transport vehicle thing. This thing would be so handy when you have to walk all the way up to the front cargo pod our ship is pushing. I wonder if Papa knows about this thing? We stop at other gates and pick up more kids. I count twenty-six kids total before the man driving zips away from the last gate and we speed past people walking on…What the heck?...the sidewalks are moving. The man stops at a door that leads to a train. I know what a train is. Our cargo ship is a type of a train. The train moves off with all of us staring out the windows, then we're underground, and when we come back up we are at a different airport; this airport is definitely military. I've been to a lot of Space Ports, but this whole thing is like nothing I've ever seen. I try to talk to one of the other Sparrows but she turns away. I notice nobody is talking to each other. We follow the man out of the train and down some stairs. Everyone walks silently, and then we are at a building; a Sparrow Priestess is waiting at the door. "Gather around," says the Priestess. "Listen very carefully to the instructions. This is your last chance to turn around and choose a different path in life. Once you enter this door, you will not be permitted to leave unless you have passed the exam. Do you understand?" I look around at the others, nobody moves or says anything. I would very much like to turn around and choose a different path in life, but Mother would just bring me back. "Very well then, drop your packs here against the wall," instructs the Priestess. "You will be searched, and then you may enter and sit at a desk." I drop my pack with the others and wait in line. The Priestess takes a pencil I had in my pocket away and throws it in a box, and then motions me inside. The room is well lit, and I count twenty-six desks. I guess it doesn't matter which desk I sit at, but before I sit down I kneel and look under the seat. I don't see any machines, or injection needles, or anything that looks nefarious, it just looks like a regular desk. There is a test booklet on the desk with a pen lying across it. The booklet has printing on it that reads, 'Do not open until instructed'. The other Sparrow kids take their seats, and a few look under their desks as well. The Priestess waits until everyone is seated and steps in front of the class. "There is no time limit, you do not have to work the problems in order, you must finish a problem before moving on to another problem. Once you move to another problem you may not go back to a previous problem. Each problem will be graded when you move to the next problem. If you provide the wrong answer to three problems, the test is over for you. If you look at someone else's answers, the test is over for you. If you speak, the test is over for you. When you have completed the exam, close your booklet and go outside. You may begin." Okay, sounds easy enough. I pick up the pen and open the booklet, and look at the first question. Oh ancestors, what is this? I don't even know if this is math. I don't know the answer. ***** The hatchlings are attired properly and it is time to continue my journey. The Seamstress has done a magnificent job with the two mischievous miscreants. The male hatchling, Cala, argued with the Seamstress for the better part of a full evening as to how much we owed her for services. Cala felt he got the better end of the negotiations and turned over the correct amount of money, and then I pressed another bag of coins into her hand when neither hatchling was watching. Keeping one's safe house happy is more important than fair bartering. I discussed an idea I had with the Seamstress later that evening after the hatchlings were fast asleep. I recalled an obscure account I read in a faded scroll several years ago that Lord Meloa Raven, about twenty-five hundred years ago, had a secret network of Stable Masters. Lord Raven used his network as a message route, spy network, early warning system, and series of safe houses he frequently used. Technology of the time was still more advanced than humans of today, and the use of horses was only a novelty. But, because of such the Stable Masters that maintained the beasts were over-looked as a possible use of intrigue and went un-noticed by opposing Houses. My thought is that a Seamstresses would never get a second look by anyone either, they are quite invisible. Moeth and Raen chose their safe house wisely, but I think we could expand on the idea and put a system in place that would give us possibly dozens of well placed safe houses throughout the provinces. The Seamstress likes the idea and will begin preparing a list of potential recruits that I can have Moeth approach. The hatchlings are walking ahead of me arguing. Cala has a terrible habit of pulling at the backside of his breeches. I am certain in time his new leathers will conform correctly, but I really need to put a stop to that habit. "Cala, stop pulling at your breeches," I scold. "Yea, Cala, I told you that was disgusting, and stop waiving that thing around, you're going to cut something off." "Don't worry, Kata, I was hatched for this weapon." "Mmhmm, that's why you've already got a cut in your new breeches." "I feel silly wearing this, and your hair is awful." "You look worse, how are we supposed to hide dressed like this?" "I look like the yard gnome at our foster parent's house." "Do we ever get to see our foster parents again?, asks Kata turning around and skipping backwards. "They are really nice." I had already planned to seek out and speak with their foster parents. The practice of sending First Eggs to foster parents on holidays to keep them from plunging into depression has been a long standing practice in the Temple. I am hoping their foster parents would be willing to take them for longer periods. I cannot imagine it necessary to keep them with me during the long months when I winter at various Temples. "Of course, Kata, I will send you there over the Festival Day celebrations." The train station is only another two blocks, it was built close to the Temple to ensure easy access for distant travelers. There is a long line of taxi cabs waiting in a line and a healthy size crowd moving to and from the train station. Kata and Cala walk ahead of me holding their Ungula's in the air and shouting at the crowds. "Make way for the White Raven!... Make way for the White Raven!" I really didn't want to attract attention, but the hatchlings are adorable and I don't want to squash their exuberance. A nice man holds one of the many doors open for us and we enter the busy train station. I am immediately taken back by the clamoring echoes of hundreds of people talking, and the sound of trains, and voices from loud speakers announcing arrivals and departures of trains. There are shops selling every manner of merchandise, food courts, ticket counters, newspaper stands, shoe shine stands... and just everything. I've never been to the train station before, this is amazing. The hatchlings are busy making a path through the crowds when a man approaches from the side, deftly avoiding the Ungula waiving Cala a dozen paces ahead of me. "Greetings, Priestess, taking a train? Traveling abroad? Searching for convenience?" purrs the man not even waiting for me to reply. "Then you've come to the right place. I have tickets, yes I do, half price for you." The man opens his coat and shows me pockets full of tickets to all manner of destinations. Kata notices first that I am no longer following them and quickly walks back to me, followed by Cala. "Where are you going?" asks the man pulling a fist-full of tickets from one of his pockets. "No doubt First Class for you, I have tickets for all the best coaches." "Well, I guess I need three tickets for the Sparrow Temple," I reply. "Excellent, excellent, special pricing for you, nothing less than that, my honor to provide only the best." The man holds out three tickets. Kata steps between me and the man and shakes her head. "The Priestesses always walks us here when we are getting on a train to visit our foster parents," says Kata. "They told us never to talk to strangers and they always buy our tickets over there." Kata points at the ticket booth. "Wise little hatchling, most wise, always listen to your Priestesses," interrupts the man. "But no reason to wait in those lines, cheaper and more convenient with me, yes it is. Here you go, three tickets for Sparrow Province." A crowd is starting to gather and push in, Cala is doing his best to keep them back, but each time he pushes back one side of the crowd the other side pushes back in. Another man appears on the other side of me and grabs my arm. "We will keep you safe," the man words strike me as oily. "You should come with us." "Yes, yes," says the first man. "Lets go to my office, we can complete our business there." Kata tries to strike the man holding my arm with her Ungula stave but the man easily brushes it aside. "Now, now, none of that hatc..." the man starts to say, and then both men are lifted off their feet and thrown aside like sacks of litter. Two Demonians press against my sides, it's Rip and Tear. I almost cry at the relief of seeing them. Two more Ravens, I can't see their faces, descend on the two men crumpled on the ground and they disappear under the wings of the two Ravens. "You, guard our rear," Rip shouts at Kata, and then looks at Cala. "And you, clear a path ahead of us that direction." Rip points towards a train platform. "Yes, Master Raven," shouts Cala and springs into action. With proper guidance the years of training clicks in the young hatchling's head and he leaps forward hissing at the crowd and brandishing his Ungula threateningly. "What's happening?" I cry out. "You're safe, those were con-men," replies Tear. I look back to see what has happened to the two men. "Don't worry, Priestess, they won't bother anyone again," says Tear. "Aliaen and Caedon are disposing of them." The Demonians lift me, and carry me towards the platform, my feet don't touch the ground once. I notice a Grackle News Crew filming the incident. Great, I'm not even a mile from the Temple and I'm going to be the opening story on the evening news. Tear breaks off and shouts at Kata to stay with me and then turns to block anyone from coming down the platform after us. Rip pulls me along until we are at the far end of the train platform. There is a Dart ship hovering at the end of the concrete platform and I can see Gini kneeling at the end of the Dart ramp. Rip pushes me onto the ramp and Gini pulls me inside. Rip pushes the hatchlings in next, taking their Ungulas from them as he does. "Don't give these back until I teach them how to use them," orders Rip handing Gini the weapons. "We'll meet at the cabins." The ramp raises, leaving the Demonians on the train platform, and races away to some destination my Guard must have already predetermined. I feel my independence slipping away. This is not how I planned the day to go.