Cambra Jeiel Vernier, best friend of Kaanig Altair, was standing in one of
the cargo bays, overseeing the unloading of the large barrels of pontarial
compound from the planet Ulstra, when he observed something
peculiar.
Someone was surreptiously sneaking across the field from Travaar.
He stepped into the sunlight for a better look, his lips soon curling in
recognition. Chuckling to himself, he moved back to relay some orders
to his men, then took it upon himself to monitor the young woman's
movements. He easily recognized her. He had helped to unload the
cargo from the vessel that had brought her to Konatha. Selecting a few
choice men, he pointed out the problem, then issued more orders.
"Keep her in sight," he said in Kathian, the common language. "Be
certain she doesn't see you.I intend to confront her myself, so keep a safe distance. If she runs, then
await further orders."
"Aye, Cambra," they chimed in unison. Rounding Ava from two different
directions, north and south of the landing strip, the men did as ordered,
while Jeiel darted along the stream of vessels lining the east side of the
strip, moving in and out between various crafts. Many of the crews
were outside doing ground clean up or maintenance and were pretty
much ignorant of the woman trying to sneak up on them. Nothing like
this had ever happened before, so it was only natural for them not to be
paying attention.
That Ava was trying to escape again was clear to Jeiel, but he couldn't
stop grinning at her audacity. There would be all hell to pay when
Dammen found out that she had managed to sneak past his usually tight
security and make it even this far. The girl was tenacious, that was
certain.
* * * *
Ava was halfway across the field of wild grass, intent on her purpose,
when Jeiel spotted her. Keeping low, she moved up and over the slight
incline that bordered the airstrip. Quickly ducking behind the huge
barrels sitting on the tarmac, near the ships, she was convinced she was
making headway. Although it was broad daylight, she didn't think
anyone had seen her. Still, she couldn't turn back now. She was so close
to stealing one of the aircrafts, she could almost taste the challenge of
it. A while ago, she hadn't thought about the repercussions if caught,
but that didn't matter. She wasn't about to change hCrouching behind a barrel, she peered about, confident no one had
spotted her. She waited, trying to decide which vessel would give her
easiest access.
* * * *
Unbeknownst to Ava, Jeiel had alerted more of the crewmen to the
approaching intruder, giving orders to ignore her for the moment. He
wanted to see just how far she would go before he stopped her.
He didn't have to wait long. He halted at sight of Ava scooting from
behind one of their compound barrels. She hurried over to one of the
larger vessels, darted up a boarding ramp, and in through an open door.
At this, he let out a big belly laugh, certain the Kaanig would find this
amusing.
But what he hadn't counted on was the sound of the engines flaring into
readiness not long thereafter. At this, his jaw dropped with
astonishment. Panicking, he dashed over to the ship, hoping he had
time now to prevent her from launching it into space. Without ground
control to approve the launch, there could be serious problems, what
with the amount of air traffic flying in and off the base.
"Maka!" he cursed as he gave a flying leap, just skimming the gangplank.
He tucked himself into a ball and rolled to a standing position, landing
directly inside the ship mere seconds before the doors whirred shut
behind him.