Heart of Gold

Chapter Seventeen - Hope

The night was dark, but the sky was clear, no clouds obscuring the sight of the stars twinkling. Kilnor's eyes alternated between watching out the clear panel that displayed the night, and checking the various screens in front of him, screens that displayed things such as his distance from the ground, and showed a radar view of his surroundings.

The act of piloting the craft was taxing on Kilnor, but he was not about to admit that to Zalon, or ask for Zandin to take over. Nor did he really feel the need. He may be prideful, but he would not intentionally endanger his teammates. Besides, piloting was doing more to clear his head than lying inert on a hospital stretcher would.

Next to him, Zandin was watching both the screens in front of him, and Kilnor. Kilnor could feel Zandin's gaze as it evaluated him, but he made no comment. Were he in Zandin's position, no doubt he would not fully trust in his capabilities to fly, damaged as he was.

A faint beeping could be heard from the tablet that Cade carried, the beeps much louder than they had been when they first set out due to their growing proximity to the tracking scale that Kilnor had given Sunny.

"We should land here."

Zandin's words broke the silence that had fallen over the group, and he pointed to a small clearing evident on the map.

Kilnor nodded in agreement. The clearing did appear to be a satisfactory place to land. It was close enough to the tracking scale's signal, but far enough away that if Sunny was being guarded, they should land just outside the most likely perimeter.

The clearing grew closer, and soon Kilnor and Zandin were fully engaged with tech controls of the ship, carefully guiding the small craft down into the break between trees. They had engaged the camouflage technology that Kilnor had ordered installed just before his disappearance. It did not render the ship invisible, but it did help it blend into the surroundings, rather than staying as a metallic beacon. Unless something moved, or it was known to be there, most eyes would bounce off the ship.

The landing of the ship was announced with a small thud. It would not have happened had Kilnor been fully functioning, but Kilnor considered the landing a success under the circumstances.

Upon landing, safety builds clicked off, and they all sprung to their feet, Kilnor a little more slowly than the others. He followed them out into the hold of the ship, where they immediately began donning their gear. Kilnor made to do the same, but he stopped after receiving a particularly ferocious glare from Zalon.

"No," Zalon bit out. "I may have had no choice in allowing you to pilot the ship, but under no circumstances are you stepping foot off of it. Not only are you likely to damage yourself, but you will be a liability, and slow us down."

The words stung, but in this instance, Kilnor knew that Zandin was correct. He had pushed his luck in demanding to pilot the ship, but more importantly, he did not wish to be the weakness that may prevent them from retrieving his mate.

As if sensing the blow to his pride, Cade lightly tossed him a communicator.

"Setting three," he said. "You will be in contact with us."

It was an adequate compromise, and Kilnor strapped the encrypted field communicator to his wrist, as Cade double checked the state of his weapons and Zalon triple checked the contents of his med-pack.

Zandin was already equipped and ready to go. He now held the tablet that Sunny's signal was being displayed on, though Kilnor noticed that the sound had been muted. He nodded in approval - with a night like this, in a remote location, small sounds could travel far.

"Ready?" Cade asked, slapping his own communicator on.

Zalon and Zandin indicated in the affirmative. Without further ado, Cade hit the button that opened the doors, and the team minus Kilnor made their way down the lowered ramp. The forest was dark, though some light from the two moons filtered down through the trees. The result was the feeling that the world was slowly swaying as the leaves and their shadows moved slightly in the light breeze.