Read Leaving Blue 5.1 for Free Online Page B

moments, the clam shaped vehicle came to rest in the dirt. Irea climbed out, a blank expression on her face.
    I blinked, surprised. Her eyes were somewhat smaller, her skin a lighter shade of orange, changes that occurred since we first met. “You look more like a human!”
    “Yes. The translators adapt.”
    I told her about Mary’s plan to remain on E4.
    “That is acceptable. However, in the next few years, the planet’s mean surface temperature will drop. Mary will freeze to death because our buildings aren’t warm enough. They aren’t designed for humans.”
    “That’s horrible. I’ll tell her about it later. Let’s go for a walk. I want to see what the rest of E Four looks like.” We headed for a distant grove, strolling.
    Without warning, five sepia beasts, eleven feet long and vaguely resembling saber tooth tigers, jumped out of adjacent bushes. Unlike giant cats, their legs were covered by leathery skin. One of them roared and all the beasts began circling us.
    As my adrenaline started pumping, I raised my flamethrower, ready to fire.
    Above me, beyond my peripheral vision, a squawking sound became louder.
    Wondering what was making the noise, I glanced at the sky.
    Not far away, a large hawk with bright yellow feathers was coming toward Irea, claws extended, attack mode.
    I squeezed the trigger – a bright line of crimson shot out of the barrel.
    Flames engulfed the hawk. It flapped harder, trying to escape. The bird veered right. Its burning corpse, a violet ball, struck a beast. As flames spread across the cat’s body, it yowled in pain. Aaaaaoorrrr.
    As I watched, astonished, the other beasts attacked the burning cat. Within seconds, they tore it to shreds, and ran away, bloody flesh dangling from their jaws.
    I hollered. “Why did the Council build the domes in such a dangerous area? Those animals could have killed us!”
    Without a trace of emotion in her voice, Irea replied, “The Council will give your crew two ships, spacecraft that you can use to finish your journey.”
    I flinched, caught off guard.
    “There are two bombs inside one ship. You must deliver both weapons. One will be dropped on the Taah. The other was created to destroy Uig.”
    According to a text message on my vtp, the Taah was the indigo ship, and Uig was the brown moon. “Thank you for giving us the ships. But delivering bombs is an outrageous idea. We aren’t soldiers.”
    “That is the final decision. Several translators, including me, will accompany your crew for the rest of the journey.”
    I scowled. “You and I can barely communicate. Our cultures are different.”
    She didn’t move or respond.
    “I don’t have a choice.”
    “No.” She walked away.
    I blurted, “Can’t we talk this over? Are they atomic bombs? What are the translator’s names?”
    She entered the vehicle and drove away, ignoring my questions.
    I rubbed my face, shocked by this sudden turn of events. Then I spoke into my vtp, telling Sam about the beasts and my recent conversation with Irea.
    “I’m glad that they gave us the ships. But delivering those bombs irritates the hell out of me!” She sighed. “This is a lot to think about. I’ll tell everybody else aboard about your recent conversation with her. Let’s talk more about this later.”
    “Understood.” My vtp switched off. Somewhere above me, far away, a jet-engine-like drone rumbled louder. Wanting to see this mysterious object, I glanced over my shoulder.
    About five thousand feet above the dome, an eighty-foot long white shape—a bird—flew out of a cloud. It entered another one. Gradually, the rumbling sound faded. My adrenaline started pumping. If the bird attacked, I couldn’t kill it with my flamethrower.
    I went inside the dome, knowing it was time to update software, a tool that would help everyone aboard, no matter which ships we were using. There was an obstacle—I didn’t understand Sila or Reen hieroglyphics. Operating a Reen spacecraft was going to be a