Chapter 05: Lost

Sara's heart was still hammering away in her chest when they returned to the warehouse. Oddly, her legs didn't shake and her hands were steady.

Using a privacy screen her dad had set up in the room she changed clothes for a night out.

They left early and it was a good thing they did. It was the largest Light Festival so far. Local businesses were open and selling everything from LED crowns to fake swords.

From time to time they passed a man or woman in full mech battle armor watching for trouble. Peace Keepers also patrolled the crowd in pairs.

Holograms projected above their heads proclaimed product advertisements and temporary laws now in effect. Mostly warning people not to bring any lethal weapons onto festival grounds. no-flying Selfie drones or fixed-wing ones either.

“Sara, I wanted you to have this before we go in. ” Her mother said and Sara saw a paper bag with the word SABA printed on it.

Sara looked inside and opened the plain cardboard box within. She was speechless with joy looking at the smart arm brace.

“I saw you admiring one of these, earlier. Happy Holiday.” her mother said and Sara gave her a light hug in thanks.

“We trust you can go off on your own and have fun. I already took the trouble to set up your SABA device and it's ready to go. ” Her father said

Sara nodded and snapped it into place over her left arm. She loved how flexible the outer casing was, yet sturdy enough to handle a heavy blow.

Sara looked up to see her family disappearing into the crowd. As Sara moved around she saw they had something for nearly everyone. The bug exhibit was interesting and there was even a baby Ripper bird in a cage.

“Care to feed the little beast. He loves fingers. ” The man with the heavy leather gloves called out in a teasing tone.

Sara gave him a polite smile and shook her head as she moved along with the crowd. She lingered in the game area for a while enjoying some of the interactive games to the skilled ones where you could win prizes.

There were booths with the latest products and gadgets for sale on the spot or order.

“You there, girl. Have you seen the great cities our people have made? I have reasonable rates for you and your family. Take a paper flier. ” A Nereid man said handing a flier to her.

Reading it and looking at the pictures she learned he had his own sea vessel which could seat two large families.

Sara pocketed it and made a mental note to bring it up later with her family. Maybe the entire family could go next year.

The Nereid man already talking to a human family now with a small child while he showed them a few pictures of the wonders of Nereid structures.

Sara moved on to find herself looking at various air crafts used in different services.

She came upon smaller air crafts for sale or offering up services. Then she stopped to look at the roughest group of people she had ever seen. They all wore bush hats and camouflage clothing designed to blend into the jungle.

A sign proclaimed them to be The Jungle Warriors. Sara noticed a monitor on a stand that listed their services. Each one was followed by a high price of credits. As Sara went down the list she saw they were a group of specialists. For the right price, they go into the jungle to collect just about any plant or animal specimen. There was also rescue and recovery.

The aircraft they used appeared to be like a small troop carrier helicopter but used three high-speed rotor blades for lift instead of a single blade. It looked fast and narrow enough to fly through the gaps of Eden's giant jungle trees. Just under the cockpit was a mini laser canon not unlike those used on mech armor suits. The power cable currently not attached.

At the bottom of the screen, it listed the only three creatures they refused to hunt. Leather-Wings, Drac-Kos, and Wendigos. The final line giving contact information for anyone willing to be interviewed for possible recruitment.

Sara moved on to where the cargo air crafts were. Seeing ones that delivered small parts of machines to certain locations like the landing pad on her warehouse.

Sara stopped by one cargo aircraft impressed by the design. It was a mid-size aircraft made for quick or long trips with a cargo hold big enough to haul just about anything. There were even fold-away seats for extra passengers from what she could make out.

The crew hanging out with paper fliers in hand or simply on guard from trouble makers.

A young boy with brown hair and a very freckle face came up to her with a smile.

“Care for a tour, miss? My mom's ship is one of the best. ” the boy claimed

“Sure, I like that. ” Sara said seeing it wouldn't take long since there wasn't much to see on the inside of the ship.

Sara politely listened as he pointed out cargo area, living quarters for the crew to use on longer trips and finally coming to the cockpit of the aircraft.

A woman in her late twenties or early thirties at best was sitting in the pilot's seat.

She wore a cowboy hat with the sides folded back which did nothing to hide her brown hair or her very freckled face. Clearly, this woman was the boy's mother.

“Well, Louis. Who do we have here? My name is Mississippi or just Missy to my friends. ” The woman spoke with an accent Sara heard only a few times before. If Sara recalled right they came from the Southern part of the United States.

The woman extended a hand and Sara shook it introducing herself.

“Noble...Noble. ” Missy said a few times then snapped her fingers.

“Any relation to Noble Drone Repair by the South river? ” Missy asked looking at her son who went a bit quiet.

“It's my father's place. ” Sara answered liking this woman and getting a good feeling about her.

“I can't recall how many times I had to take one of my son's drones in for repair there. your father's company does good work. Thankfully, he is more interested in the flying ones these days. ” Missy said and pulled out a little business card.

“You ever need some help in finding a rare part or shall we say hard to get. Give me a call. ” Missy said with a wink and Sara took the business card slowly.

“Thanks. ” Sara said getting a strong feeling Missy wasn't above getting something illegal for the right price.

“I started making my own flying drones now. I got a lot better in not breaking them too. Do you work for your father? ” Louis asked now ready to lead Sara back outside.

“Not yet. I can invent, repair, and even improve on drones on my own. ” Sara answered now knowing she been setup. Little Louis must have been given the task to find someone who looked rich and offer them a tour of the ship to meet with his mother directly.

Sara looked at her SABA device and knew that was the reason why she been picked. Then Louis spoke.

“That's awesome. I want to design and help build better air crafts. My flying drones really help me understand how to make them better. ” Louis said and stopped as they reached the loading ramp.

From where he stood now. Sara guessed he could see over the crowd better from this higher point of view.

“I wish you luck. ” Sara said and left him to his assigned task.

Sara passed the art and music booths taking in the sights, but rarely stopping.

Sara ran into her family in the snack area.

“We are about ready to call it. There is always the next night. ” Her father said and in the distance, there was a slight boom sound.

Sara looked in that direction expecting to see yet another confetti cannon going off.

Sara heard something else and at the same time her father looked up to see something in the air. Something dark was moving across the bright starlit night. Sara thought of a flock of Fang Parrots, but they mostly slept at night.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of a dozen motors she knew better. How often she heard that sound on the farm when she sent the farm drones out to work. These were painted black and didn't have any running lights.

“Everyone to the exits. ” Her father said calmly then Sara watched as her mother picked up the youngest child and started to hurry away. The other adults were quick to do the same. Her father made sure to grab her upper arm and guide her away.

The pitch of one of the drones changed and there was an explosion as the screams started.

Something fell from the flying drones. Dozens of new drones fell from the sky then Sara watched with horror as they landed.

The new ones unfolded themselves into a crab shape. They were no bigger then Earth cats. A duel set of laser pistols popping out and fired at the nearest people. Men, women and even children were shot multiple times. Not all would get up from their wounds later on.

Her family ducked and changed direction. Sara heard a drone coming straight for them from above. Her father heard it too as its motor changed in pitch to a much higher volume as it started to dive-bomb.

Sara felt her father push her and her world exploded into a bright light then pain.

Sara felt airborne then thrown to the ground. Her head hurt and she reached up to feel pain then she saw bright blood now covering her hand.

Sara looked up to see Leather-Wings coming down on the remaining flying drones and grabbing them in their claws. At the command of their riders, they flung them away from the crowd. There were mid-air explosions now.

Sara realized that each flying drone was loaded with explosives.

More then a few Leather-Wings were caught in the explosion that followed. Some fell to the ground with their rider.

Sara felt dizzy and the darkness started to close in around her. The last thing, she could clearly remember seeing was a toddler girl crying and pulling on the dead body of her mother. Her cries and tear-stained face was the last thing Sara could clearly recall.

What felt like days later, but in reality was only hours. Sara woke up to bright sunlight.

“She is coming around. ” A woman said and Sara opened her eyes to find her mother standing over her with reddened eyes and a tiny smile.

“There is my baby. ” Her mother said and held her hand tightly as Sara glanced around.

They were in a hospital room and judging from the noise it was busy. There was a nurse by her bed checking her pulse and shining a little penlight in her eyes. Sara could feel the wrappings above her ears.

“you're very lucky, Miss Noble. The bomb shrapnel just grazed your head. you're going to have a nasty scar for a while and we had to shave your hair on one side. ” The nurse said with a smile if trying to cheer her up a little.

Then someone called for the nurse and she left the room to see to someone else.

“Where's dad? ” Sara asked remembering he had pushed her out of the way.

“Oh baby, he didn't make it. ” Her mother said bursting into tears then bent down to hug her.

Sara's vision blurred with tears and darkness while she clung to her mother. They cried together for what felt like a long time before Sara remembered the rest of her family.

“The others. ” Sara said pushing her mother away slightly to ask.

“Joe, lost his right foot taking out one of the crab robots. He is resting back at the warehouse under care. The rest of us only suffered some cuts and bruises that have already healed up. I went back to dragged you out of there with some help. ” Her mother explained and Sara nodded as she wiped at her eyes.

“I will be right back. Just going to tell everyone you're awake and okay. ” Her mother said pulling out her smartphone and heading into the hallway.

Sara noticed the flat screen on the wall that was showing the aftermath in daylight. The volume muted but the screen displaying bodies covered by sheets. Larger bodies of Leather-Wings laid dead where they fell.

Sara read the words at the bottom and watched as a short clip played. There was a trio of masked men. The man in the middle giving some kind of speech.

Sara's full attention to the text scrolling along the bottom of the screen.

“Deep Water Terrorists claiming responsibility for the attack. ” Sara read with her lips barely moving.

Hours later, Sara was discharged after it was confirmed she didn't have any serious head trauma. Her cot in the warehouse was moved to the corner of the room close to where her Leather-Wing was.

It was days later when all bodies were identified. Sara's father was just another name on that list. Then arrangements were made for those lost in the attack. Sara's family like many others watched from the wall as the wrapped bodies were respectfully given to the Devil Pods. As Sara understood it the plants would consume everything. Sara spent a lot of her time after that following the story and hanging out with Fur-Ball. Most of her family had flown back home after the mass funeral. Only her mother had stayed behind.

Sara learned that the Peace Keepers had moved in with laser pistols and short-range EMP grenades. Even Leather-Wings and their riders suffered major injuries or deaths in their ranks.

Sara was relieved to see Tee-Kay and her husband were on the stable list. Their Leather-Wings listed as recovering. Sara made it a point to stay in touch by sending her best wishes for a speedy recovery.

“Honey, are you ready to come home? ” Her mother said coming into the room. Fur-Ball curled around Sara in a protective way sensing her mood somehow. More then once she slept against his warm body with his wings folded over her.

“Why did they do it? ” Sara asked getting up and going to the open doorway. She couldn't see the fields, but she knew the direction and looked that way. With the river below she had no fear of heights.

“A lot of Nereid people died before we got the regeneration treatment. Some starved to death, fell to diseases, or were killed in combat. Lord Andew died right after the war ended and there was no one left to blame. Some held a grudge against the people of Eden. I think, they waited and decided it was time to strike in revenge for lost love ones. From what I heard, some Nereids may think that we are being oppressed. ” Her mother explained.

“I'm staying here, mom. Someone has to take daddy's place. Legally, I am an adult by Eden law and daddy told me I would inherit this business. I confirmed it by looking at the paperwork. ” Sara said and saw the look of shock on her mother's face.

“Baby, you don't have to do that. We could sell your father's share and head home. ” Her mother said reaching out for her.

“No, Mother. ” Sara said stepping away from her mother to the very edge of the open doorway. Oddly, Sara wasn't scared since she knew the water below was deep enough.

“Okay, if you change your mind. You can come home anytime you like. Give us a call when you're ready to chat or share breakfast time with us. ” Her mother said after a very long pause which she seemed to think everything over.

Her mother left her alone and Sara wished she could have told her mother something else she had remembered about that night. The drone that dive-bomb her and her father wasn't random. Sara was sure someone had targeted her father or was guiding that drone by remote. Secretly, she wanted to find that person on her own.

Sara also made it a point to meet the man that helped her mother dragged her out of danger. As it turned out, he was the father of the toddler girl that Sara remembered seeing that night. He had gone into the chaos to find his wife dead and to rescue his little girl.

Sara learned when he saw Sara's mother struggling. He used his free hand to help drag Sara out of there without saying a word until the deed was done.

Sara visited Mr. Thornton to say he was a hero and did her best to cheer him up the one time she visited him. As she was leaving his home, he confessed to her that he was thinking about leaving Alpha city altogether.

Sara couldn't blame him and mention what farming life was like on Paradise Island before she said goodbye to him.

Chapter 06: Secrets

Slowly, life returned back to normal for most people. The temporary ban was lifted on flying drones and soon enough they were in the air once more making deliveries. Sara's head scar healed up to smooth undamaged skin. She cut her hair down so it matched the short stubble on the side of her head.

The next morning Sara was waiting when employees came into work. Mister Cope looking a bit surprise to see her during the morning open floor meeting that he was normally in charge of.

Sara watched as he handed out assignments. Helen, Han, and Franky were being sent out for repair jobs.

Sara hardly said a word and watched the others as they worked making it a point not to linger too long. Next, she got Joy to help her understand the inner workings of the warehouse.

Everything from credit accounts to inventory. By the end of the day, Sara had a basic idea where everything was stored temporarily or kept long term. Sara found the fabricators the most interesting pair of machines since it could nearly make any drone part they needed. All the machine required was the raw materials.

During lunchtime, Sara spent her time upstairs in the little kitchen area her father had made for himself. She fixed herself a simple sandwich with food from the mini-fridge. Then she went to his work area and found some projects he been contracted to do.

Sara opened each one up and went to work. As her nature, she found ways to improve the design a little or tweak the drone a tiny bit with an extra part that made it go faster in its work.

Over the next few days, Sara worked and completed each of the contracts leaving out that a teenage girl had done nearly all the work. At the end of the workweek, Sara had her first real conversation with her employees.

“You know, I could repaint that if you like. It would be no trouble. I have got a few ideas saved on my PC. ” Helen said looking at Sara's SABA. Sara looked at the scratched and slightly dented case. Sara had cleaned and polished it, but the damage had remained.

“Show me. ” Sara said curious to see what Helen had come up with.

Helen showed several displays of little murals she had come up with.

“I have been saving up for one of my own. I can never resist painting my style onto something I own. ” Helen confessed and Sara saw one she liked.

“I like the Koi fish one. ” Sara said.

Helen brought it up to full view and went so far to overlay it over Sara's arm using a mini hologram emitter.

“I don't like it anymore. I love it. ” Sara said a second later.

“See me, after my shift and I will paint it on my off-hours. I got an extra outer case for the SABA device printed up. I have been using it as my template. We can swap them now. ” Helen said.

“Trying to score points with the new boss. ” Luke teased.

“No, Luke. A favor for a friend. ” Helen said and nodded to Sara.

“Don't mind, Luke. We only keep him around to lift heavy things. ” Lisa said and made a little kissing face at him. Clearly, he liked the attention judging from his grin as he went back to his work.

Sara grabbed an extra tool and removed the outer case then install the machine printed one. She double-checked to make sure it was secure to keep out water. The main inner case would ensure the unit was watertight.

“Hey, Franky. Why the nickname Freaky?” Sara asked deciding to change the subject while she worked.

“Oh, it's nothing. ” Franky said keeping his head down to his work.

“Franky, don't be so modest. Let's say you got a problem with a drone and can't figure it out. Franky is our go-to guy. It's freaky how fast he solves it. ” Helen said with a smile as she finished yet another drone.

“Really. ” Sara said looking at Franky in an appraising way.

“I understand, how they work is all. ” Franky said and moved on to his next drone to fix.

Sara watched as his spider drone ran off to put the fixed drone away for pick up or shipping. Sara looked at his work area to see he had repaired more drones then everyone else.

“Any other hidden talents? ” Sara asked being generally curious.

“I can also climb pretty good. Trees and such. Mostly, for work safety reasons. I just have my spider drone do it for me. ” Franky said and found the problem almost at once on the new drone.

Sara saw what Helen meant about freaky. Sara would have spent a few minutes more before seeing the problem herself.

“Keep up the good work. I need to speak to Joy. ” Sara said leaving the employees to their work.

Luckily for Sara, no customer was in the front lobby. Mister Cope's door was firmly shut.

“Hello Miss Noble, how may I assist you? ” Joy said when Sara came in from the back area through a door.

“Bring up projected numbers on our future income for the next quarter. ” Sara said knowing what she would see, but had to confirm with Joy.

“At our current rate the next quarter will be a loss. ” Joy answered.

“What if I become an unpaid fixer and live off my shared company income from the last quarter? ” Sara asked and watched as Joy adjusted the numbers.

“Hmm, Almost there. Minus the cost for tools and my own spider drone. ” Sara said and watched the numbers improved a little.

“Perhaps, factor in free transportation. your Leather-Wing could fly you around. ” Joy said next and the numbers went into the green now if just barely.

“The terrorist got people scared of drones and contract jobs are no longer coming in. I need to get out there and show people. Drum up some business as the old saying goes. I will become our newest field fixer and do the contract jobs as well. ” Sara said and thanked Joy for her time.

Sara needed time to think and to relax. Sara walked back to the pool area and looked at the water for a short while. Without shame she stripped down to her wetsuit clothing all Nereids tend to wear under their normal clothes. She hopped into the pool and then under following the underwater tunnel that led out to the river. Currently, the gate was up.

Sara left the man-made section for river stone then she found herself swimming against the lazy current. Two warehouses up from her business was the recycling center. Which had the river dammed to catch trash and draw power.

Sara enjoyed the swim and only popped up on the other side where the park was. Fur-Ball flew overhead and Sara waved to get his attention. He circled once then flew on deeper into the half-grown wild park.

As Sara followed the path she heard a barking dog and her Leather-Wing. Almost able to see through the trees she caught sight of the dog briefly and for a wild few seconds, she thought it was Rusty.

Sara hurried out only to find a Japanese woman appearing to be meditating with a cup of hot tea sitting in front of her. The dog who looked a lot like Rusty, but different color fur. The dog paused in its play with Fur-Ball to stare at her.

“Come out, stranger. I will share some tea with you. ” The woman said and Sara did so seeing a PeaceKeeper uniform folded neatly on the ground not far away.

“How did you know that I was here? ” Sara asked walking out.

“Kim, my dog only goes quiet when she thinks I need protection. your Leather-Wing seems oddly friendly toward dogs. ” The woman answered.

“Oh, My name is Sara Noble and my Leather-Wing is Fur-Ball. I'm sorry if I irrupted your meditation time. It's just your dog looks like my grandpa's dog, Rusty. ” Sara said knowing how her grandpa needed a quiet moment at times.

“I'm Maki Riko. your grandpa wouldn't be a rice farmer, would he? ” Mrs. Riko said waving her over for Sara to join her and Sara saw the glint of a wedding band.

“Yeah. He lives on Paradise Island. He owns the smartest dog that I know. ” Sara answered taking a seat by kneeling down across from Mrs. Riko.

“Well, this is Rusty's sister then. They came from the same litter. Their mother was Kimi. My first police dog before I retired her to watch over my home. Come say hi, Kim. ” Mrs. Riko said snapping her fingers and Sara slowly put out a hand for the female dog to sniff.

Kim wagged her tail almost at once then made it clear she wanted her belly rubbed.

“She likes you. Perhaps it was fate or luck we have run into each other today. I was coming to speak to you about the attack. Like many others, I have been assigned to look into the matter. You can refuse any time to answer my questions. ” Mrs. Riko said as Sara rubbed Kim's furry belly.

Fur-Ball moved off to snack on fruit growing on the trees. No matter the season there was always some fruit or another ready to be eaten on Eden.

Mrs. Riko started asking her questions after she pulled out a tablet from a bag.

Sara answered truthfully and Mrs. Riko nodded or checked something on her tablet. It seemed to go on for a long while. Sara saw barely a few minutes had passed as she sipped from the offered teacup.

“I know this is painful. Just two more questions. Would you say the drones were programmed or being controlled by remote? ” Mrs. Riko asked.

“I say the flying ones were flown in by remote and crabs went by programming. I don't remember much after being dive-bombed. ” Sara answered only after pausing just for a second. Mrs. Riko looked at her a few seconds longer then before then tapped something on her tablet and put it away.

“Off the record and I fully understand if you walk away in anger. Could I see your company's inventory listing? ” Mrs. Riko asked never expressing anything, but through her eyes.

Sara felt a flare of anger then calmed herself. Something in the woman's eyes told Sara that she was a decent person. Sara put down the teacup to steady her nerves.

“My father was a good man. If you suspect someone close to him. I will help you find that person. Lucky for you, that I'm wearing my SABA device. ” Sara said typing in her password quickly.

Sara showed Mrs. Riko everything she downloaded from Joy.

“All that I can say about the attack is that an industrial fabricator was stolen sometime before the attack. That was public record and reported in the news. As you know all you need is the basic circuits and raw materials. Given your father was a cutting edge drone designer the use of raw materials seems pretty standard. I don't suspect him directly. I don't want to make you paranoid Miss Noble, but Deep Water pays off people for what they need. A watchful eye on your employees would be advised. ” Mrs. Riko said bowing slightly in thanks.

“I will contact you if I find anything out of place. ” Sara said thinking back to the time she saw that squid-like drone hologram her father was working on. Sara was getting a bad feeling maybe somehow her father might be connected. Her best guess was he had turned down the job and got killed for it. A theory which she had no proof.

“Thank you, Miss Noble. I have enjoyed our chance meeting. Feel free to call me day or night. Mrs. Maki Riko, Assistant Chief. Perhaps, we will meet here again. So few people come here anymore. ” Mrs. Riko said gathering her things and putting her jacket back on.

“Good luck. ” Sara said and made her way back to the river. The swim back was a breeze. Her only company in the water were the fish that were real and fake. Sara emerged from the warehouse pool just before closing time.

Sara dried off using one of the many towels that hung over the rails and she redressed in her outer clothes that she left behind.

Every fixer was putting away their tools and making sure everything was in order before they left. Helen was just getting started on her after work project. Sara watched from an empty station after Franky had left.

Sara took this alone time with the young woman to ask questions about herself and everyone else. Sara made sure to ask innocent stuff and dig only a little deeper. Sara would look into their records and maybe go so far to spy on them a little.

“you're just like your dad. Call us by our first names and took a real interest in our personal lives. Not many people would hire me given my history with other jobs, but your dad did it without a second thought. ” Helen said putting the final touches on her paint job.

Sara watched as she took it over to something like an oven. A few minutes later she took it out to let it cool down.

Once cooled Sara swapped it back and admired the paint job while Helen packed up to leave. Sara saw Helen left and locked up behind her. Joy would lock up the lobby area then quietly patrol the warehouse.

Sara headed back upstairs to the second floor where she went straight to her father's workroom.

Sara searched the computer database for the prototype designs she had seen him working on. Nothing came up and Sara searched for memory discs or portable info drives used for storing data.

Then Sara recalled what her father was like. Bending down she opened a computer panel and she felt around the inside of it. Barely within reach, she pulled out a small portable info drive that was tucked away.

Plugging it in she found the information that she was looking for. Her father named the new drone Kraken. Sara recalled from her school classes it was a legendary monster that lived in the sea and attacked ships. She looked over the drone's design. From what she read it was a hunter and capture drone. Then Sara discovered the Kraken could fly. The head housed a larger version of her fixed wings.

Sara tried to look up what it was supposed to capture, but there was nothing in the file. She found only one more thing on the drive. It was a video file.

Turning the volume down slightly Sara started the file.

The recording took place in the room next door that was the indoor test flight room. The Kraken was larger then a man and looked sinister even lying on the floor. Someone was holding a camera on it as her father came into view. Then he spoke and Sara nearly cried just hearing his voice again.

“I finally figured out how to make it more stable during flight. ” He said and using a tablet brought the Kraken to life.

“Works better than your first one. ” A male voice said, but over the sheer noise, Sara couldn't place it. The only thing she could make out that it was a male voice.

“Finally, test flight before the client picks up these two beauties. ” Her father said next and Sara watched as it flew down the long room and back again. Then her father kicked a ball and Sara watched impressed just how fast the drone locked onto it and captured it.

The snake-like tentacles wrapping around it, but not popping it. Sara guessed it had pressure sensors designed into it. The only reason she could see that was for. Whatever it hunted. The client wanted it alive.

The video ended with him deactivating it and the camera moving slightly to show another Kraken drone off to the side before the screen went black.

Sara played the video several more times just to hear her father again and try to work out the owner of the other voice. After a while and a bit teary eye she stopped. The only thing she knew for sure it was a male voice.

“Six people to consider. ” Sara whispered to herself as she put the info drive back in its hiding spot.

Using her SABA device she double-checked the income records and noticed one entry that now caught her attention. It was a nice sum of credits and according to the record he had only sold the drones to them.

It slowly dawned on Sara that just maybe her father wasn't as honest as she thought. He had made and sold the drones without giving details.

Sara left the workroom and made her way past the test room to where her Leather-Wing was.

She found Fur-Ball eating the remains of a fish. The oddest part was he was sharing his meal with a fang parrot.

Sara looked and knew it was the same bird that roosted in the gap located in the upper corner of the room.

“I'm not the only one making new friends. ” Sara said to Fur-Ball and wonder why her Leather-Wing didn't just eat the little bird. Fang Parrots were normally part of a Leather-Wing's diet.

“So you're the little terror my dad talked about. ” Sara said to the fang parrot.

Sara started to reach out with hand holding a Leather-Wing treat she kept on hand. The little devil of a bird nearly took her finger off. Sara barely managed to pull her finger back in time dropping the treat in the process.

There was a growl from her Leather-Wing and the Fang Parrot hopped back squawking.

Then Sara watched Fur-Ball nudge the treat toward the bird and made another noise. The Fang-Parrot hopped forward and gobbled up the treat.

When Sara offered it another treat. This time it didn't snap at her but was very wary.

Now she could really look at it. It was an ugly little bird. Dark yellow and black feathers covered its body and its eyes were an eerie red. The large beak and legs were a ghostly white. Sara wasn't sure, but she guessed it was some type of an albino Fang-Parrot.

“I bet you're an outcast from your flock. ” Sara said gently to him trying to remember where she heard that Fang-Parrots did that. He looked nothing like the brightly colored ones Sara always saw growing up.

The bird only watched her then took off flying for his nest up in the far corner.

Sara would make it a point to feed him and attempt to befriend him.

“Hey, Fur-Ball. How about we go flying? ” Sara asked walking over to the spot where she kept her flight gear and helmet.

Fur-Ball either understanding her words a little or just picking up what she was grabbing off the wall. He turned around so Sara could easily climb onto his back.

Sara removed her outer clothes and suited up for a late evening flight.

“I can't believe I'm doing this on a whim. ” Sara said to herself and climb up then putting on her helmet.

The take-off still made her heart jump, but soon they were soaring upward. Clearly, Fur-ball missed flying with her in the past few days. There were only a few flying drones at night so Sara only had to worry about aircraft flying low or other Leather-Wings.

Then Sara directed her Leather-Wing in a direction she never thought she would do. She passed over the wall and went even higher up.

As Sara looked down her Leather-Wing bank back toward the city. It was a beautiful sight below her.

The wall divided the cleared jungle area from the city. The wall seeming to disappear from end to end into the evening darkness. The city lit up like a gem in the night.