Echoes of the Past

Chapter Twenty Seven - Part One

That sounded good to James, as he still wasn't confident with jumping high, and definitely wouldn't be performing any spectacular acrobatics any time soon.

At this time of the late afternoon, dozens of ships dotted the air over the town. Mostly public transports, James figured, but also likely many craft that had licenses to fly within the built up area.

A blue surface caught James's attention to the side, and he once again saw the gleaming river that ran into the town. He marvelled at the winding river, still not used to seeing such a thing on Medropon. Sporadic patches of dull grass and shrubbery were spread along the landscape, giving the rocky terrain a different feeling to the sand and rocks of the Carnan Sand Dunes. Ahead in the north, and particularly to the east, he had heard that the land was greener and more thriving, but seeing glimpses of this first hand was something else.

This is the farthest I've been from home, James thought. He knew how incorrect that statement was, but technically this was the farthest he had been from Tyken Town since he had awoken there two years earlier. It was as far as James had been in the existence he'd known. I wonder how far I've really travelled before. Probably this distance is just a speck compared to the light-years I've covered in my earlier life.

Sam parked the hovercraft in a docking station, paying a fee to the short bo'Breih worker there.

James stretched when he left the vehicle, thankful for a breeze that cooled him somewhat. Harsh stenches of oil and metals came from a garage on the other side of the docking station. The smells brought a melancholic smile to James, reminding him of the strong odours of the construction sites he worked on in Tyken Town. The life he was leaving behind.

"This way, friends," Castan said, nodding ahead.

Rounding a building, the street opened to a larger road lined with shops and eateries. The area bustled with a multitude of aliens and humans, their contrasting voices and accents flowing together in a soft cacophony. It was similar to Tyken Town in many ways, although everything was on a smaller scale – narrower roads, shorter buildings, less tightly packed with people.

"This is the aptly named Southern road," Castan said cheerily as they walked. "Which leads to the River Walk, the main road that runs through town. That's the road that comes all the way from Tyken Town. The centre where the casino is found is called the Town Core. Or just the Core."

They came to a flat platform beside a metal track running parallel to the street. The station consisted of little more than a waiting area and a bulky information mech, beside a sign that read the time for the next shuttle. James had expected a shuttle, at least, but what approached after a few minutes was an old blocky tram that shuddered to a stop. Castan ushered them in, explaining that the tram would take them closer to the Town Core.

After a few stops within the stuffy confines of the old tram, Castan led them out to the next main road. Taller buildings spread out around them in this part of town, some with large glass exteriors that reminded James of the nicer buildings in Tyken Town. He had a somewhat run-down impression of the town up to this point, but the closer they got to the centre the more impressed he became with the modern structures.

Sam asked James how his first proper training session went.

"It was a little overwhelming," James said. "But Liana is a good teacher."

"She is."

"You and her were good friends?" James asked. "Back in your academy days?" He thought to try and get Sam to talk about the past he was hiding, but knew that would be too much to get into. He still didn't know what kind of man Sam was. Maybe he would get angered if he felt James was prying into his past.