Skii looked embarrassed for a second, then pointed out over the railing on the edge of the Castle.Skii looked embarrassed for a second, then pointed out over the railing on the edge of the Castle. "See that dark spot in the ocean over there?" "Where?" "About two hundred meters from shore. Sorta triangular?" "Yeah?" "Dad's fusion-drive F1Ja. I put it there." "What?" "Accident. I was trying to get the engines into a ground-effect mode and then roll her. I didn't make it." "Wow. Glad to see your okay. So what's the deal with the bike?" "I'm grounded. No vehicles for a year. It's SDisks and my own two feet." "I thought you were 'of age' on Pendor." Skii shot Nickolai a scowl. "Technically, I am. But that doesn't stop Granfa from telling Dave I can't use anything in the house." "You could move out." "No... I don't think so." "How long ago did the accident happen?" "It's been about nine months now." The Felinzi looked a little uncomfortable; his tail lay on the ground and his ears matted. "So this is a little surprising. I'm glad you guys are here." "We are too," Furry said, squeezing Nickolai's hand gently as they fell down the long tractor to the sands of the lagoon. Skii led them down the long tunnel they had originally walked to get to the castle. "Vehicle bay number two for Shardik Castle," Skii said. "Ground based stuff. Well, there they are. Five Jialanis." "What's that?" Furry asked, pointing at a conglomeration of steel in one corner. Two wheeled, it looked a bit like a Jialani or a skybike, only much cruder. "That's P'raine's internal combustion engined Harley Davidson. It's supposed to be nearly eight hundred years old and still in prime condition." "It looks like it would be difficult to ride." "It's complicated. And riding it hurts." "Hurts?" Furry asked, confused. "It's an ICE," Skii replied. "It's power comes from exploding fuel in control chambers. The thing rumbles and rattles and basically hurts. It has no ergonomics at all." "Then why does she ride it?" Furry asked. |