Eye of the Ocean Book 3 Ji'jin Station

Eye of the Ocean – Book 3: Ji’Jin Station
Ceon bowed again, already starting to back up. Tallomal waited for him at the
foot of the stairs leading back to the common, standing with the only two Kallit
who would be staying in the flitter bay to work the security points for the final
retreat. The remainder were ti'Linn, from Op'ki'na's group.
“Papa,” Ceon's youngest called from further up the stairs. He turned and ran.
Alicia almost bumped him on her way in. “He's the last,” she said. Ulanda
followed her attention into the security Net links: a tiny Ceon was to the top of
the stairs, his son in his arms, his wife beside him. Sunshine in yellow hair.
Surrounding them as they ran, like flowers opening to the sunlight of their hair,
were security flags. Ulanda blinked the image away, her attention chased out by
Alicia.
“Now,” Alicia said and waved to the two Kallit still by the entrance. Seconds
later, the bay rumbled. Dust shook upwards from the floor, meeting the debris
falling from around the roots. Warding flared, but in sheets this time, giving the
flitter bay the same look as the Net link, the scale diminished by clarity.
Rit got heavily to his feet, coughing from the dust as he walked to his wife's
side and put an arm around her. “Do we have what we want?”
Ducking out of his embrace, Alicia turned around slowly, a scanner held at
arm's length. “The energy patterns have been transferred to key tiles surrounding
us here and extending to the Center.” She stopped a moment, the scanner
pointing towards Eunni and Garm at the exit. “It worked.” She sounded surprised
then gave a smile along with a thumbs-up to Kori, then to the two Kallit.
“Let them be safe,” Cici whispered, her eyes where the entrance had been. The
almost palpable aura of excitement surrounding her had vanished along with the
corridor and stairs.
Ulanda nudged Mirwin with her elbow and motioned him to go to Cici. Half to
his feet, still in a crouch, he shaped query with fingers still against her arm. “A
kindness, that's all,” she whispered even as Niv hissed his own answer to the
tass'altin along with the gesture that made it an order.
“You might try some kindness as well,” she said to Niv. “There wasn't anything
he could have done last night.”
“He showed poor judgment to let his attention leave you.”
“Where I went, he couldn't have followed.”
“I don't mean to break up a promising fight” Alicia said, “but could we get
started here? I don't trust how long any of this will stop Rilla.”
The joss sticks for Kori and Silassic would still be burning here when they
pulled into their retreat, leaving the ti'Linn guards and two Kallit behind.
Bolda squatted beside her. “You sure you two can pull this off?”
Ulanda shrugged. Without the control Vivan’s altered Altasimic pattern had
given her? The intention was to tie the exit to the pattern pull, sealing it deep in
time and space from the real Ji'jin Station, but if she failed, leaving those waiting
Laurel Hickey www.2morrow.bc.ca