[The White Raven, Chapter 20, ] [Stuthio Medical Center, House Struthio, Planet Darai] Cala opened his eyes, but there was no comprehension or understanding of what was happening, just the beginning of consciousness after weeks under a drug induced sleep. His brain was still clouded as he fought to return to the land of the living and comprehend his surroundings. Someone was at the very edge of his awareness, but he didn’t know who. The wall played tricks and he saw it moving towards him… no, not the wall… something beyond the wall… something so deeply terrifying he had to get away. “Nurse, his heart beat is too fast,” says the White Raven alarmed. “What’s wrong?” The nurse looks up from his chair in the corner where he was reading a book, but he didn’t bother to get up. Instead, he reached over and pulled at the cord attached to the blinds over the window and pulled them shut. “Think about what he can see from his position,” says the nurse calmly. The White Raven follows Cala's gaze towards the window… Oh… how could she be so stupid, Cala can see out the window at the ocean beyond. In his drug induced stupor the sight of the ocean must have been horrible. She checks his pulse again and breathes a sigh of relief as the pulse returns to normal. Kata hasn’t begun to stir yet, but she will soon. The White Raven removed the drugs that had kept them in a coma while they recovered, by the doctors orders. Cala’s waking was an indication it was time to move him from the intensive care to a normal room, but until Kata was ready she would wait. Both of them should be moved at the same time. Cala closed his eyes and fell into a normal sleep, and she used the opportunity to check his bandages. The wounds were healing nicely, but he would have four ugly scars on his chest from the bullets that had struck him. Kata was only shot once, but she had been in more serious condition than Cala. The bullet that struck her nicked the artery next to her heart. One of the bullets that struck Cala had lodged at the base of his right wing-blade. The bullet was removed, but the damage was such that Cala would never be able to use his wing blade again. Cala would never be able to fly, unless she could find a way to buy him a set of the bio-mechanical wings like Raen. But, Demonian forges had been silent for six years, and it was unlikely the Demonians would ever be able to build wings again. Raen had visited several days ago. He came into the room, and gently kissed both hatchlings and laid his hand on their foreheads. The visit had done wonders for them, even if they didn’t know he was there. But, they had begun to heal better after Raen visited. She was surprised at how fast both of their wounds started healing after Raen’s visit. There was little doubt Raen had the blessings of the Goddess and enjoyed a favored place with her. And, Raen was a good leader, he would take good care of House Eagle. She had already decided she wouldn’t be staying with House Eagle, she would take Cala and Kata and continue her travels. They wouldn’t let her go alone, but she only needed one Dart ship, the Moeth Alliance could rotate duty taking her where she wanted to go. In time, Cala and Kata would grow up, and they would be her guards and her pilots. There were other places she wanted to go; every House maintained Libraries that would be opened to her because she was the White Raven. She could put the weight of the world aside and return to quiet study. The White Raven had quite convinced herself that she wasn’t running away from House Eagle, but there was a small part in the back of her brain that knew better. She had done the right thing leaving Cala and Kata, but also had done the wrong thing. The truth was she couldn’t face House Eagle knowing that in her heart she had intended to betray them. In the end it didn’t matter, the Eagle wasn’t on this continent and never would be, but the Orphan collection annexes was an excellent idea. She would travel, and ensure that each annex was being well cared for by the Struthians. Lord Struthio had a surplus of young Struthians doing nothing more on this barren continent than finding new and interesting ways to cause trouble. They would now have all the Annexes to put in place, maintain, and search for new orphans and transport to House Eagle. She couldn’t yet see what the profit for Lord Struthio would be, but she was certain he had something up his sleeve. She pulled the bandage back on Cala’s chest and… what? She checked the other three bandages and found the same thing. “Nurse, come here,” says the White Raven. The nurse sighed and got up to see what the White Raven was looking at. He pulled the bandage away, and then the other bandages, and then moved over and checked Kata. “How can this be?” asks the White Raven. “You’re the Priestess with the power of healing,” says the nurse. “You should be telling me.” “I can’t heal something this serious, their wounds were far beyond my abilities,” says the White Raven. “I tried, but it didn’t work, I can repair simple torn tissue, or even a severed artery, but not such trauma as a gunshot wound.” “I’ll go get the doctor, she’s going to want x-rays,” says the nurse. Cala and Kata became a flurry of activity as doctors flooded into the room to examine the miracle. She followed the doctors and nurses to the x-ray room and watched from the other side of the thick glass, and waited for the results. “Look at this,” says the doctor pointing at the Vid-screen displaying the x-ray. “The surgeon at Clapper General removed three of the bullets, but I removed the one they were afraid to remove that was lodged under his wing-blade.” “I’m unsure what I’m looking at,” says the White Raven. “This is were the fourth bullet was,” the doctor circles an area on the screen with a red circle. “The bullet shattered this bone and I removed the fragments, but now… the bone is intact. If I hadn’t performed the surgery myself, I would swear this patient has never been shot. His wing-blade is perfectly healthy.” “Will he be able to fly?” asks the White Raven. “Yes, but he will need new wings,” says the doctor. “I took measurements of his wing blade to have the Prosthetic Department begin making a faux wing for him. But his wing blade is perfectly capable of supporting glider wings now.” “We have plenty of Raven Wings that House Raven donated, I’m sure we have a set that will fit.” “No, I don’t think you understand,” says the doctor, shaking his head at the x-rays. “Doctor?” “His wing blades, and the girls, are a full twenty-five percent larger than they were when they arrived,” explains the doctor. “If I hadn’t seen this X-ray being taken myself, I’d tell you these are the wing blades of a hatchling Hawk.” “The Goddess has chosen to bless them,” says the White Raven. “I will not question this blessing, when can we leave?” “They can be discharged as soon as they wake,” says the doctor. The White Raven stares at the X-ray, she didn’t think the Goddess had anything to do with this. Raen had done something. She remembered the rumors from several years ago that Raen had a power to heal that far exceeded hers - This was something worth researching. ***** [House Eagle, Cargo ship landing Site, Eagle Cliffs, Planet Darai] “Anyone know what Ring is so excited about?” asks Raen looking out the back of the cargo ship. Many of the cargo ships had already returned to House Struthio, but some remained, the ones that Lord Struthio had leased to House Eagle. They needed the cargo ships for electricity generation, lights, cooking, water purification, and basically just a place to base their operations while they planned and built the new camp. “Not a clue, he just said he needed to talk with everyone,” replied Vas. “Something has his knickers in a bunch, mate.” Raen raised his brow and fluttered his wings slightly, a wry smile on his face. “Seriously?” asks Raen. “You’ve been spending way too much time with the Struthians, now you’re starting to sound like them.” Vas laughed. “Sorry, didn’t even realize.” “How you feeling?” asks Raen turning to the High Priestess sitting in a chair someone had fetched for her. “You should be resting.” “Don’t patronize me, boy,” scolds the High Priestess. “I know when I need to rest, hand me those food supply reports.” Raen pushes the reports across the make-shift desk and the High Priestess flips through them. “We are nearly out of milk,” says the High Priestess. “Send Aliaen and Caedon to House Cassoway to negotiate for two hundred head of dairy cattle and three hundred head of beef cattle. The Cassoway High Priestess has indicated she is willing to sell them to us.” “We’ll have to bring them here the old fashion way,” says Raen. “That’s nearly 1,500 miles.” “Rip and Tear are doing nothing but sulking, they can help,” says the High Priestess. “Yea, I can’t believe that,” says Vas. “Two of the Demonian's princes are half-breeds but they still won’t let our own half-breeds help.” “Prejudice dies hard,” says the High Priestess. “Don’t worry about it, we’re used to it,” says Rip. “And we’re not sulking.” “Excuse me, High Priestess,” interrupts Caedon. “I’ve watched some old movies about cowboys on Corvus. I don’t think four people can do a cattle drive.” “Take two Darts,” says the High Priestess. “That’s two Darts in the air and two people on the ground.” “You didn’t really think this through, did you, High Priestess?” asks Vas. “I’m surrounded by flip boys,” says the High Priestess. “Do I look like a cowgirl, of course I didn’t think it through. House Cassoway has five hundred cattle to sell us, figure out how to get them here.” “I think we should send Avocet and Sander too,” suggests Vas. “That’ll be two in the air and four on the ground.” “Hold on,” says Moeth. “That doesn’t make sense, the Darts will frighten the poor creatures.” “I don’t know anything about driving cattle,” says Sander. “But, umm… don’t you use horses in a cattle drive?” “Does House Cassoway have horses?” asks Raen. “I can ask,” says the High Priestess. “What do we need… six horses?” “More than that,” says Rip. “If we can’t use the Darts, we will need a wagon for one of those… what do they call them?” “Chuck Wagons?” says Raen. “Yea, we need a Chuck Wagon,” says Rip. “And horses to pull it.” “Okay, so we send Aliaen, Caedon, Avocet, Sander, Rip, and Tear?” asks Moeth. “We should still send one Dart ship for support,” says Raen. “It can leap frog and prepare a night camp.” “I guess that means, Willet and I are going too?” asks Teal. “Yea, you can take everyone there in your Dart, then they buy the horses, wagon, and cattle, and bring them back here,” says Vas. “Okay, we have a plan,” says Moeth. “How hard can it be?” “Has anyone rode a horse before?” asks Vas. Everyone shrugs. “I’ve never even seen a horse before,” says Willet. “We should download an old cowboy movie,” says Vas. “Good idea,” says Raen. “Then we’ll know exactly what to do.” “Hey, I think we need to buy some special clothes, like cowboy hats,” says Teal. “You’ll look like a Gunslinger, someone would shoot you,” says Vas. Ring comes up the ramp of the cargo ship and looks confused to find everyone in the cargo bay. “Hey guys, what’s everyone doing?” asks Ring. “You sent a message to meet you here,” says Raen. “I did?” says Ring. “That’s odd, I have a lot of work to do, I’ll see you guys later.” Ring turns around and heads back down the ramp while everyone looks at each other dumb-founded. Ring stops at the bottom of the ramp, shakes his finger, turns around, and climbs back up the ramp. “Oh yea, I guess I did call you here,” says Ring. “How silly of me.” Raen and Vas share a glance. When has Ring ever used the words ‘silly of me’ before. “Well, I’ve got lots of work to do,” says Ring, and turns back around and heads back down the ramp. Raen looks at the High Priestess and shrugs. The High Priestess stands, tipping her head to the side and watching Ring. Ring stops at the bottom of the ramp, shakes his finger again, and then turns around and climbs back up the ramp. “Hey guys, what are you doing here?” asks Ring. “Ring, are you okay?” asks Vas. “You called us here.” “I did, how odd?” says Ring turning around and heading back down the ramp. He stops at the bottom of the ramp, shakes his finger again, and climbs back up the ramp. “Hey, what are you all doing standing around?” asks Ring. The High Priestess comes around the make-shift desk and approaches Ring. “Ring, dear,” says the High Priestess. “Did you have something important to tell us?” “Oh yea, of course,” says Ring, and then turns around and starts back down the ramp. “STOP!” commands the High Priestess in a loud voice. Ring pauses and turns around, a confused expression on his face. “I’ve seen this before,” says the High Priestess. “We had a young Hawk boy we thought had gone mad until the Mother Hawk came to see the boy. The Mother Hawk figured out that the boy was on a mission for the Goddess, but every time the boy tried to tell someone, he did the same thing Ring is doing now.” “I don’t remember any mission,” says Ring. “I’ve never met the Goddess.” “You will remember when you walk away,” says the High Priestess. “The Goddess won’t allow you to tell anyone, at least not yet.” “If I am, and I called you together, I must need help,” says Ring. “I am going to ask you a question, try not to think about what the mission is, you should be able to answer the question the way I ask it,” says the High Priestess. “Yes, of course,” says Ring. “What would you like me to give you?” asks the High Priestess. “I need a cargo pod for my Dart, lumber, glass, gardening supplies, research supplies, and a place to build my research facility as far from this camp in our Province as possible,” says Ring. “Very good,” says the High Priestess. “Go back to your ship, write out a list of supplies on a piece of paper, then leave the list in your Dart ship and go to the river and clean up.” “Yes, High Priestess,” says Ring turning around and going back down the ramp. The High Priestess turns to Vas after Ring is gone. “Wait until he has gone to the river, then go into his ship and get the list. This has something to do with the Naylocliano seed, the Goddess must be helping him but doesn’t want us involved, other than basic support. Raen, the research he is doing must be dangerous, find a safe place we can build a greenhouse and a research laboratory for him.” “Yes, High Priestess,” says Raen. “And Rip, I want you to start getting ready for our cow drive,” says the High Priestess. “Cattle drive,” corrects Rip. “Whatever, just get us the cows,” says the High Priestess. “And if you find a place to buy those cowboy hats, I want one, this sun here in Struthio is killing me, is someone planting those apple trees Prince Hawk gave me?” “Yes, High Priestess,” says Moeth. “Vel is supervising a group of hatchlings planting them along the river, but they spend nearly as much time lying under them as planting them, the heat is brutal on the hatchlings.” “We’ll all get used to it, and we need the shade,” says the High Priestess. “What kind of place doesn’t have trees?” ***** [House Eagle, Arae River, Eagle Cliffs, Planet Darai] Cody dangled his feet in the shallow river, the water bubbled over the rocks and splashed on his legs. The coolness was a welcome relief from the blazing sun. He had stayed and helped pass buckets of water for the Demonians, and then they had waffles. Papa was still busy flying water back and forth and Cody was enlisted to help plant orange trees. Other Daraian hatchlings from the Demonian camp were being dropped off too, maybe twenty so far, and someone said more were coming. It was too hot for the hatchlings in the deep brush-desert of Struthio, they were being sent to House Eagle where it was cooler while the grown-ups helped the Demonians. Cody thought planting the trees was funny. He had traveled a gazillion miles from the farm, through space and back, and then to a strange place where everyone was building a new town, only to end up doing chores on apple trees again. After they ate waffles in the morning they had all gone flying over the cliffs. He like that, but he was careful not to do any flying tricks the other hatchlings couldn’t do. “Hey, Cody,” yells a hatchling from the middle of the shallow river. “Come on, take your wings off and get in the water.” Cody shakes his head. “It’s not deep,” yells the hatchling. “See, only just above my ankles.” Cody wasn’t afraid of the river, or even the big ocean. He didn’t know why everyone was afraid of the ocean. The paleontologists could have explained it, if they had known of the exact period in Daraian history that Cody’s genetic memories came from. His memories were from a time when the ice age still gripped the planet in a frozen embrace. The water off the Eagle Cliffs at that time were still too cold for predators, he didn’t have the later memories of the Daraians when the predators started coming north from the southern pole. The later Daraians knew that the deep water of the oceans were dangerous for their kind. Very few of those early predators still existed, but the memories remained in the modern Daraians. The ocean was dangerous. The hatchlings played and splashed in the river until that game became boring. Cody was content to sit and watch, he hadn’t had other hatchlings to play with before and this was wonderful just to be part of. “Come on, we’re going for a fly,” shouts a hatchling stomping out of the river and splashing Cody. “Okay,” says Cody starting to pull his boots on. “Leave ‘em,” says an older hatchling. “We fly barefoot, you know the rule, every ounce counts.” The other hatchlings repeat the phrase in a sing-song voice, ‘every ounce counts’. Cody repeated the phrase with the others, but he had never heard it before and didn’t know it was a common singing phrase every Daraian that had ever attended school knew, but he had never attended school. Even the wild orphans had attended a few days of school here and there. School was a place to go and get a small lunch, it was Daraian law, no school in any Province could turn away a wild orphan that showed up at the door to attend, but there was a danger to it, the unwary orphan could find him or herself captured and pressed into a work gang. The orphans quickly learned which schools were friendly, and which were not. The hatchlings ran along the edge of the river and leaped over the cliff edge into the thermals. Cody followed and spread his wings, rising much faster than the others. He trimmed his wings to slow his ascent, though he knew he could, and wanted, to go much higher. He was certain he could touch the top of the sky if he wanted. The others twisted and played in the air, but Cody was content to float on the warm air. He hadn’t notice how high he had risen until someone called his name. “Hey, Cody,” shouted a hatchling. “You heading for orbit?” He looked down, he was already higher in the sky than anyone else. Mergan stood on the cliff and watched the hatchlings flying, then a scream caught her attention, and a hatchling was falling. She spread her wings but Kit laid a hand on her arm and shook his head. There was nothing that could be done, these accidents happened. The hatchling’s harness or a wing had broken, and the hatchling was falling. Mergan calculated the trajectory of the fall, the hatchling would fall onto the rocks somewhere near the edge of the ocean. She would have to bring the broken body up from the rocks. A screech brought her head around and she saw another hatchling falling… no… not a fall… a dive. There wasn’t a glider wing made that could handle the speed and angle of dive the second hatchling was performing. “He’ll never be able to pull out of that dive,” says Kit. The first hatchling fell past the edge of the cliff, she could see the broken wing now, twisting in a sickening spiral in the wind, and then the second hatchling, still screeching, dived past the cliff. The second hatchling in the dive put out his arms and legs and less than two hundred feet from the rocks caught up with and grabbed the falling hatchling with the broken wing. Mergan, as every Daraian, had spent time watching the birds of the sky, and she had seen raptors, real hawks and falcons, hunting before. The way the second hatchling grabbed the falling hatchling and then beat his wings and pulled up before smashing into the rocks reminded her of the way raptor birds hunt. “Is he beating his wings?” asks Kit. “Glider wings can’t beat like that.” Kit glanced up at the sky, the angle of the fall and the cliff blocked the view of the other hatchlings in the sky. Only Kit and Mergan had seen the rescue. “More than that,” says Mergan. “How did he pull out of that dive, and with the weight of a second person?” “No, look, he is beating his wings,” says Kit. “What in the name of the ancestors is going on?” The hatchling rose over the edge of the cliff, holding the rescued hatchling, and then landed and dropped the rescued hatchling on the ground. Kit rushed over and knelt next to the hatchling, a girl, and began checking for injuries. Mergan stared at the other hatchling, and then put her hands over her mouth. He wasn’t wearing a harness. “I’m sorry,” says Cody. “It was a disguise, but I had to rip it off, it was in the way.” “Oh Goddess preserve us,” says Mergan. “Are you who I think you are?” Cody nods and looks down at his torn shirt. “Please help me,” says Cody. “It’s a secret, it’s not my turn yet, I’m going to mess everything up.” Mergan is a doctor and used to making quick decisions and looks at Kit. “Say nothing and take care of that hatchling, she’s in shock and won’t remember anything,” says Mergan. “I’ll take care of the Eagle.” Mergan wraps a wing around Cody and pulls him away with her. “Come on,” says Mergan. “I’ll find you another harness before anyone finds out, you’ll be safe.”