Mindee Arnett - Avalon

“We’ll meet you at the Cerulean Metagate,” Jeth said over the comm line to Dax’s ship. “ Avalon hasn’t been out in a while. I want to stretch her wings.”

“Have at it,” Dax replied. “But wait for me before queuing up.”

“Right,” Jeth said, and he disconnected the link. He maintained a steady pace until he was clear of the spaceport’s restricted zone, the area clearly marked on Avalon’ s nav system. Then he let her go, pushing her as hard and fast as she would go.

“Hey, whoa,” Flynn’s voice called from the engine room on the ship’s main comm line. “Take it easy up there. The old girl ain’t exactly in shape, you know.”

Jeth pressed the mute button. He didn’t care if Flynn was right or not. He didn’t care about consequences. A wild recklessness had come over him. Avalon felt like something alive, a massive bird of prey. She had so much power and force, yet smooth, graceful control. Jeth had flown dozens of ships the last few years, and none of them had come close to making him feel like this—as if the entire universe awaited his command. The planets and stars would flee before their path or risk being blown apart in their wake. He could fly her forever.

They came into range of the Cerulean Metagate some time later, and Jeth was finally forced to slow down as the nav system flashed a warning that he was entering a zoned area. Speed limits were regulated around the gates due to all the ships traveling in and out. At the moment, the place was so congested, Jeth couldn’t have sped even if he wanted to. Twenty ships were waiting in line to use the gate ahead of them.

“What the crap?” said Lizzie. “Why’s it so backed up?

Jeth turned the ship to port, flying aimlessly as they waited for Dax to arrive. “The ITA closed down the Lateritus Gate for repairs a couple of weeks ago.”

Lizzie made a face. “Another one? They still haven’t reopened the Aurelius Gate. What the heck is taking so long?”

“Don’t know.” Jeth pulled up the nav system, prepping it for connection with the metagate’s Master Control. “But don’t complain too loudly. Shortage is good for our business.”

“Yeah, so long as it doesn’t turn into a none available anywhere situation. Just imagine the lines then.”

“Good point,” Jeth said, picturing the Montrose’ s metadrive. “All right, here’s Dax.”

Dax piloted the Citation in behind Avalon, and they headed to the line.

“What’s the holdup, Boss?” Shady said, entering the bridge a few minutes later. “Errr, or should I call you ‘Captain’ now, seeing how this is your ship and not Hammer’s?”

Jeth ignored the question and waved out the front window. “Traffic.”

“What else is new?” Shady sat down at the comm station to the left of the cockpit.

Lizzie sighed. “At least they’re pretty to look at.”

“What are?” Shady propped his feet up on the comm station’s instrument panel. His big boots made a loud bang as he set them down.

Jeth winced. “You break something, and Flynn will kick your ass.”

“Heh,” Shady said, flipping his shaggy hair behind his shoulders, “like to see the little weasel try. So what’s the pretty thing we’re looking at?”

“The stars,” Lizzie said in her most sarcastic tone. “The metagate, you moron.” She paused. “It’s the strangest thing to see colors like that in the middle of space.”

Jeth nodded, fixing his gaze on the nearest edge of the gate, still several thousand kilometers away. The thing was so large that you could only see one section of it when you were this close, but Jeth knew its shape was mostly conical, like a giant malformed doorway in space. Similar to the Montrose’ s metadrive, the gate was mostly comprised of that same rough, colored material, with a metal frame surrounding the outer edge and inlaid with wires and conductors and other tech. This one was colored in varying shades of blue, and it glowed bright enough to illuminate all the blackness around it in an aurora display.

“Why do you suppose they come in different colors?” Lizzie asked.

Nobody replied. It was the kind of question people voiced out of habit. The most anybody knew about metatech was that the material that came to make up gates and drives had been invented by ancient First-Earth scientists more than five hundred years ago.

The dazzling light hurt Jeth’s eyes, and he looked away.

“Finally,” Lizzie said some time later as the nav system beeped, indicating an incoming request from the Cerulean Metagate’s Master Control. Jeth opened it, the message the usual payment prompt. He did a double take at the amount.

Lizzie whistled. “Damn, that’s high.”

Shady stood and walked over, taking in the fee as Jeth started to key in Hammer’s account number. “Ouch,” Shady said. “Sure that’s not the rate they charge Independents?”

“I’m sure,” Jeth said, finishing.

Shady scratched his head. “Why are we bothering with the gate at all? We should’ve just used the metadrive.”

“It was supposed to save us time.”

Shady grunted as he returned to his seat.

Jeth switched on the main comm line. “We’re getting ready to head through the gate, people.” He picked up the safety goggles from the dashboard and slipped them over his head as Lizzie and Shady did the same. Then he piloted them into the large, yawning mouth of the gate until the Master Control took over, propelling them through it.

The familiar dead—not dead feeling came over him, the state seeming to both last forever and no time at all, as if the seconds it took them to travel though metaspace were seconds stolen from a different timeline, a different existence.

They came through the other side a moment later, emerging into a vast expanse of empty space, with nothing but the Belgrave awaiting in the distance.

NOT LONG AFTER THEY FINISHED THE JUMP, AVALON’ S comm beeped with an incoming call from the Citation, which must have just completed its jump. Jeth switched on the video screen to find Dax once again grinning at him.

“There are no ships on the radar right now, so we might be in luck, but give me a ten minute head start to make sure. If I run into any ITA patrols, I’ll get their attention and lead them away from your path. But get in there as quick as you can. You should be undetectable once you pass through the border.”

“Yeah, okay,” said Jeth.

Dax killed the link between the two ships, and then piloted the Citation away from them. Ten minutes later, Jeth followed. It would’ve simplified things if they could’ve made a metaspace jump directly into the Belgrave, but it was impossible due to the unusual energy signature that marked the Belgrave’s border. A ship could jump within the quadrant but not into it.

Keeping an eye on the radar and proximity scans, Jeth set Avalon to autopilot. They arrived at the border without any sign of Dax or the ITA. A good omen, Jeth decided.

“We’re at the border,” he announced over the main comm.

Moments later, everybody congregated on the bridge for the crossing.

“It doesn’t look any different,” Celeste said from the copilot’s chair, which she had commandeered from Lizzie. Celeste seemed calm enough, but she sat unusually rigid for someone normally as languid as a cat.

Behind them at the nav station, Lizzie snorted. “What’d you expect? A big neon skull and bones?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” said Shady. “I thought it would look all weird and scary, but it’s just more space.”

“That’s because that’s all it is,” Jeth said. “Just another little bit of space.” It was more pep talk than denial. An odd mixture of excitement and dread churned in Jeth’s belly, all of it infused with the wanderlust vibrating harder than ever inside of him.