“Nothing, I’m okay,” Daniel said with a smile, as he regarded the man. Lundar was short, even for local sizes. He had long blond hair hanging around a square face.
Lundar nodded. “Of course. That is why you are here on the hill in the middle of the night, staring at the stars and claiming that out there is where you belong.”
“Oh. You heard that.” Daniel felt caught.
“In the night sound travels far, Daniel.” Lundar sat down on the rock. “Sit here. Tell me what goes on inside you.”
Daniel sat down, but couldn’t bring himself to start talking.
“Brother preacher, speak. Please. Your words are safe with me. Set them free, as then they set you free. As you are here to help others…”
“…so are others here to help you. I know,” Daniel completed the words that Lundar had started. It made him feel more at ease. Then, slowly, he started telling Lundar what was troubling him.
“I think I understand your problem, Daniel. You do not allow yourself to become one of the people from here. You hold on to being the outsider, the man from the other planet, the soldier who is sent here to do something. Now the something is completed and it leaves you staring into a black hole where first there was a task.”
Daniel looked at Lundar. The man was calmly looking over the bay. “You are very kind to listen to me, Lundar. But…”
“But I am wrong, am I?” Lundar smiled. “Of course. Preachers are always wrong, until they are right. You just need to allow yourself to see that, Daniel. Like the other things.” He got up. “I should pack up my things and move on. Thank you for being here and waking me, preacher brother.” It sounded sincere.
The two men shook hands after Lundar had collected his things.
“You are right,” Daniel said as he looked the man in the eye.
“Yes. And so are you. Be well. We may meet again, Daniel.” Then Lundar pulled the hood over his head and walked off, towards Boragov.
Daniel looked at Lundar go until he disappeared in the distance. “Yes. Damn him, but he’s right.” He looked at the hill and the water again. Somehow it looked different. He shook his head and started his journey down the hill and to his bed.
Refreshed, Daniel got out of his bed. He opened the curtains and felt good. As he got dressed, he saw the papers he had written on in the night and picked them up. He looked them over. And again he felt good, no matter how silly things looked.
As he was enjoying breakfast, Sygra came in. “Good morning, Sygra,” he said.
The senator frowned. “You are remarkably cheery, Daniel. Did something happen in your sleep?” He sat down and welcomed a cup of sturt, the local coffee version Daniel had never gotten a taste for.
“It is more that something happened while not sleeping, Sygra.” Daniel told him about his midnight stroll and how he had met the preacher on top of the hill.
Sygra nodded. “Sometimes, doing something out of the ordinary can bring insights that are out of the ordinary. Amazing that this man was there when you were there.”
Daniel watched his host. He was certain there was a catch somewhere in those words, and as he was trying to find it, Sygra laughed.
“Very good, Daniel. Very good. I see you are learning to consider my words before jumping to a response.”
Daniel grinned, still not sure what to say. They ate while Sygra for once told Daniel a bit about what he was going to do during the day.
Then Daniel showed Sygra the scribbles and drawings. “I am going to see Aldrick again and show him this. Maybe there is something useful he can make of it. And otherwise it was a fun thing to do.”
“Ah, yes. Aldrick. He’s a good man. You and he really fit together. Enjoy your day with him.” Sygra chewed down some of his toast. “It is still beyond me how you and the others dared climb aboard that flying thing and take it all the way over to the pirate island. And it worked.” The senator shook his head. “All due respect for that, Daniel.”
Daniel thought back of the blue airship, and excitement filled him again. It had been an incredible adventure, flying with that thing. No spacecraft could ever be a match for that. “Yes, it worked great. I hope we can make an even better one, with what we know now.”
An hour later, Daniel was coming near to Aldrick’s place again, and half an hour after that the two men were going over the drawings and writing that Daniel had made.
“That, Daniel, is very strange. We cannot put the floaters on sticks like you drew there. And what’s this?”
Daniel pointed out, explained, and wondered about things, together with the inventor.
“Do you really think the steering wheel should be removed?” Aldrick looked pained by the thought.
“It is useless, Aldrick.”
“Yes. That is so. But I like the wheel.”
“Maybe we can put up a smaller one then.”
They haggled about the wheel for a while and decided to leave it for now. Then Daniel used his hydger to get in touch with Tomlin. He explained where he was and what they were doing, and then relayed his ideas about the new steam engine.
Tomlin appreciated the ideas and said he would give it some serious thought. He also laughed as he heard Daniel mutter about the steering wheel. “Make the silly fart happy, leave him the wheel, Daniel. Attach it to some propeller that he can wiggle about.”
Daniel laughed, then stared at the display. “But of course. That’s it!”
“Uh? That’s what?” Tomlin was lost.
“I’ll get back to you, Tomlin. I have an idea again. I have to go now!” Daniel ended the talk and quickly walked over to a drawing-table. He grabbed a pencil and started sketching. “Aldrick!!”
Aldrick stared at the drawing and heard Daniel’s explanation. “Do you think that’s going to work?”
“It did, centuries ago on my old home planet, so why not here?” Daniel had drawn the new airship, with the floaters high up. There were two small sails on the ship, at the bow, and at the back he had drawn two propellers. “If we can get this working, there is a need for the steering wheel too. Turning the wheel will turn the direction of the propellers, and then you can influence where you go.”
Aldrick caught the bug. “This is amazing. Daniel, this is a miracle. I will start drawing and think of how we can do this!”
Daniel could almost hear the gears and cogs in Aldrick’s head work, as he philosophised on the mechanism to manipulate the propellers. He left the inventor alone and went to look at the way the floaters were now strapped to the airship.
Aldrick served a pretty decent lunch. Daniel had helped where he could, but the kitchen of the house was not a place where he felt safe. It looked as if anything would jump him if he did not keep an eye on it, and he did not have enough eyes.
Daniel’s hydger started rattling. “Ah, that must be Tomlin, with some good ideas.”
Aldrick, who did not own an intrusive device like that, frowned.
Daniel opened the box and almost dropped it. On the display was a black triangle without a name. This could not be true. Slowly he flipped the switch. “Hello.”
Aldrick noticed the change in Daniel and looked at the man in wonder.
“Mr. Zacharias,” the voice with the metal brush sound said. “We need to meet.”
Daniel stared at the hydger. “You. Yes. We really have to meet. And when we meet I want some answers.”
“You will get your answers, Mr. Zacharias,” the voice said.
“Where do you suggest we meet?” Daniel asked.
“I would suggest neutral ground.”
Daniel was not really in the mood for that. “I would suggest that you come to the foot of the hill where senator Dirrit ko Assac lives. There is a crossroad there.”
The voice on the other side said: “The foot of the hill it will be. I will arrive tomorrow morning.” That was all.
