Devotion (Chosen by the Karal #5)(17)
“Hold position.”
“This never happens,” Okil said to Darl. “What the hell is going on here?”
“I think our Earth friends have an agenda,” Darl said bluntly.
“With the boy? Why?” Okil asked, risking a look back behind them at where the woman he loved was sitting with the child next to her.
“I don’t know. But I think it was a mistake for us to believe they would just sit still and not do anything.”
“Do anything?” Okil asked.
“I know you love humans and Earth. But they are not all good people, and I think that we have ended up in the middle of something that will impact our world.”
“I agree. What I am unsure of is what to do when we get to Karal.” Okil had thought of their predicament from every angle. There had to be a way to get Charlie on and off the space station and through decon’ without being seen.
“We have to get there first. Escaping Earth may be our first problem. And I think I should ask if we are planning to blast out of here if they don’t allow us to go.”
“Yes. I think we are,” Okil said, although it risked a diplomatic nightmare for Karal. It also lessened their chances of getting Tikki and Charlie safely to Karal. If Earth made a complaint to Karal, the cruiser would be stopped at the space station, Okil and Darl would be arrested, and Tikki and Charlie returned to Earth.
“Cool. I have not been on an adventure since I was six years old and my dad took me to the vast plains of Scremi. He got us lost and I thought we were going to die of thirst.”
“I’m glad you are enjoying this, Darl,” Okil said testily.
“Sorry, that was insensitive. You have a lot to lose, Okil. I understand that.”
“It’s not just leaving Earth, although that is our first hurdle. However, then we have to go through decon’. Now, I am willing to bend the rules, but I am not breaking them. Decon’ is what keeps Karal safe.”
“I know.” Darl nodded, pondering the same question that had been bugging Okil for hours.
“Although I might have a plan.” It was both simple and terribly risky, but he could see no alternative. “First, we have to get out of here.” He leaned forward and pressed a button, starting up the engines of the cruiser.
“You are making a run for it?” Darl asked, buckling his seat belt.
“No. Hopefully not, anyway. But I am going to call their bluff.” He pressed the communications button on the control panel and spoke. “Control we are powering up. The wormhole will only be stable for another hour and then a turbulent period of two days begins. We are on a tight schedule here.”
“Understand. Please hold.”
“I have had enough holding. This airport is rarely used. There are no planes in our vicinity. I request a detailed answer to why we are not allowed to leave. My leader will be most upset that we have been detained.”
No answer came for a few minutes. Okil began to inch forward, pressing the controls for the gates to open for them to use the runway. Still no answer. Okil pressed the communications button again.
“Are we cleared, tower? If not, you are about to have a diplomatic problem on your hands. I have my orders to leave. This will be classed as your species detaining a Karalian diplomat if we are not immediately cleared.”
“You are cleared to leave.”
Okil didn’t wait for the order to be repeated. He pressed the throttle forward and they took off into the night. For the first time since he had come to Earth all those months ago, he wondered if they were safe, or if they might be shot out of the sky. But they climbed steadily, and then he pushed the throttle forward to give them enough power to exit the atmosphere. The sudden stillness as they entered space was incredible; he turned them towards the moon and headed for the beacons.
Only when they entered the wormhole did he feel truly safe. Earth, the planet he loved, was no longer what it had been to Okil. This whole episode had tarnished his view of it, or at least some parts of it. The normal everyday people still had a special place in his heart. However, the President and people like Harri were nothing to him; and given a choice, he would not save them. A new start for the human race deserved a chance to be free of corruption. Okil made a promise to himself to get to the heart of the corruption and find out what threat there really was to his own species.
However, he reminded himself it was not all bad. He had at least got his wish. Although it was not under the circumstances he had hoped for, he was taking Tikki to Karal.
Chapter Twelve – Tikki
“I thought I would leave Darl in charge of things and come back here to be with you all when we entered the wormhole.” He sat down in one of the chairs, buckling his seat belt. Then he leaned forward and spoke to Charlie. “In a moment we are going to fly through the middle of space, down a long tube that connects your planet to mine.”
“Your skin is lots of colours,” Charlie said, touching Okil’s skin.
“Yes, and there will be loads of colours outside. Look.”
He pointed to three beacons; they were heading straight for them. It seemed as if there was nothing on the other side other than space, but as soon as they crossed the threshold, the wormhole opened. It looked like a huge vortex about to suck them in; it reminded Tikki of a tornado.
“Is it safe?” she asked.