The War Revealed - 3rd Novel in the Shadow Series

Chapter 13 .

Vai

It was the first time since the Shadow left Earth that the ship landed on another planet instead of orbiting and letting the shuttles land on it. Now that no one on board had the Corruption, there was no stopping any of us from exiting through the Aether field.

It was also Shel's eighteenth birthday. We planned a small celebration later with just the few of us. He seemed a little somber as we waited to land in the docking bay. I was sure he was missing both his parents. Minmin stayed close to him. Her expression was similar to Shel's. Her birthday was only a few days away and she would spend it without her parents too. And we knew her mom was dead.

"Do you have your list?" Hani asked Spencer. Hani, Spencer and Nathan stood near us. They were going planetside to restock for the Starrise.

"Yes," he said as he fiddled with his okulus. "There won't be any good chocolate on this colony, but there are other supplies I can find and we can change up the menu a little bit to provide traditional Bundu-Jo meals instead of Earth meals." He looked down at Owen. "I still can't believe you got the captain to release the chocolate and give me such a low price."

"I am amazing, friend," Owen said easily. "It's what I do."

"Although," Spencer said, "I do wish the supplies didn't have to be split with the Museum Delectables."

Owen shrugged his small shoulders. "Fair is fair," he said. "And it was the captain's orders."

The light specialists - including me - were the first to exit the ship. We were now the most recognized faces in the Gathering. I knew my knowledge of the light was not adequate enough to be considered a light specialist, but we were the first in the entire Gathering to have and learn about the light so I guessed we were the closest thing to a light specialist the Gathering had. The Awakened One would stay behind on the ship until we could gauge how the colony would react to him. He was frightening to look upon, but he was the only true one who could be called a light specialist.

He had told all of us in the G.E.F. that we should have our light shields up constantly whether we thought we were safe or not until it became as second nature as breathing. The first of us - my friends and Lieutenant Tanpo - now could keep our light shields up even while we slept. As far as I knew, we were the only ones able to achieve this so far.

Outside the ship we were met with a clear blue sky, a white sun, a cool breeze, the smell of grass and flowers and tens of thousands of Bundu-Jos cheering for us as we stepped from the ship and were ushered onto a platform.

Owen loved it of course. He waved both his hands to the crowd with a huge smile on his face. Minmin followed his lead when the crowd's cheers grew louder. Esther waved almost immediately after Minmin. Shel and I looked at each other. He sighed not wanting to join in. I knew how he felt, but we had to. We represented something bigger than us now whether we wanted to or not. We both waved to the crowd at the same time.

"Why are we waving, sir?" I looked behind me to see Warpaint waving all three of his arms vigorously. I couldn't stop the smile that came to me at the sight.

"I'm not sure," I replied, "but the crowd seems happy with us."

"I would be happy if you waved at me too, sir."

I was about to turn back to the crowd, but I saw Lieutenant Tanpo, my dad and Owen's parents standing not too far behind us, just observing us and the crowds. Mr. Morgan said something to my dad. My dad nodded in turn and the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. Behind them the rest of those on the ship were being ushered down a separate ramp.