I heaved two pairs of everything—tracks, arm and knee guards, boots—into my travel case and strapped it on over my shoulder.

It was time. I had not slept that dusk, and my arms ached from building the balloon over and over again. I also kept in mind that I had only constructed models. When it was time, I would have to engorge it, get the perfect dimensions while maintaining every arc and bend.

I could do it. I would do it. I checked on Nolosh inside my Waste Room, he was asleep. He'd woken up drowsy around mid-dusk with no intention to call for help. I may have damaged something.

I left my place for the food wing; Zulta wasn't there but his friends were. Seven of them in total and two of my students among them. They had satchels slung around their waists. Good. However, one was accoutred in full guard, covering him from neck down. Bad. First disappointment of the dawn. A full guard would draw too much attention, it was worn only during wars or AOB hijacks. Not every delegate owned one, but see here one of my students, fully guarded . I wasn't even going to bother asking where he had stolen the pieces from.

“So what's the plan?” One of them asked.

“Do you know how many reserves are watching the Waste?” I queried.

“I saw five enter.”

“Is Jeree—the big man—with them?”

“Yes,” Another confirmed.

“How long have you all been sitting here?”

“An hour? Two maybe?”

That was not wise. “And the reserves saw you here? They know your faces?”

“We looked away whenever they passed.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Alright. Listen carefully. As you enter, grab some foil, fill it with Waste and put them in your satchels. I want you to take the Waste to the terminal summit and place them in the travel basket E1-12. Walk quickly and don't answer anyone. Go up, drop the Waste and return for another batch. You all only need to go up twice. After the second time run to your bunks. Edneal.”

“Panner Sorge,” My student, the one in the full guard, answered.

“You won't go with them. Your guard would restrict you too much and drawn unwarranted attention. I want you to take enough Waste for the whole group and stash them away somewhere no one would think to look.” I locked eyes with each of them now. “After I leave, they…Serjeant Dolony will come for your heads. You must deny any part in this. Let them lay every blame on me. As long as they don't find your stash, nothing will happen.”

“But how would we get into Waste storage?” Edneal asked.

“After I enter, wait under the hatch. I’ll knock twice when it is all clear.”

“What happens if you don't knock twice?”

“I’ll knock twice!”

I was about to pass through the door to food engineering but I couldn't afford one mistake. I returned and said, “Repeat the basket number All of you.”

I didn't leave until every one of them repeated E1-12. My goal was about a hundred silver foils in Waste and nothing less. I left, climbed the rungs and tried pushing the hatch up. It would not budge. I knocked. I heard moseying light steps, then a stifled voice called, “Who is that?”

“General Engineer. Nolosh.”

I heard more voices from beyond the hatch. The bolts came undone. I did not wait for whoever was on the other side to lift it. I projected a cylindrical form and thrusted it forcefully upwards. There was a cry of pain. I skittered in. I did not see people. I saw shadows, about six of them, rushing over to me. The only battle experience I had was in Panner training. I had never been in a real scuffle until that very moment where not one but six people were trying to hurt me. They were only reserves not Pyrants. My luck. I changed the cylinder to a sheet and thrust it at them, holding them against the wall, not an inch spared to twitch even a muscle. I smirked, triumphant.

Nearly triumphant.

Someone kicked me from behind. Jeree. I lost my composure trying to get back on my feet. He swung at me. Once. Twice. Thrice. I did not allow it for a fourth time. His fist jammed my face and this time he was the one in pain. I had a model constructed over my face, I felt the force of his blow, yes, but nothing hurt. My hammer was in my hand, heavy and broad. I embarrassed him with it and added him to the collection of men on the wall. When he had been hitting me, the sheet over them weakened; if they really tried they would have broken out. But, they had been none the wiser.

I knocked twice and raised the hatch. Zulta's group scrambled their way in. Nothing was said, they jumped into action rolling up Waste in silver foils and hurling them in satchels. I hoped the groaning of pipes within the walls would buffer any noise we made. Then, I had them leave intermittently to avoid suspicion. And after each of them had gone up to the summit twice, I sent them to their bunks. Edneal stuffed their share into a bag. They didn't need near as much Waste as me. If I were to guess, they only needed Waste to power some funky invention.

I released the men from the wall and their bodies fell to the floor, limp. They were alive but had suffocated, and so would be out for some time.

The pain from the blows began stinging at me in every place. Face, chest, stomach, places I could have sworn I received no hits.

It was time for the next phase. Hstrad. I wanted to take a little moment to breathe and relieve myself. I think my jaw is dislocated. I did not have the time, though. I lowered my head and dragged my feet to Hstrad's wing. Not many people were out; it was sleeping hours. It was also time to put on an act. I knew Jeree's punches had left my eyes swollen and black, and my nose askew. I was going to capitalise on that. I knocked on Hstrad's door, over and over, desperately but not too loudly. He opened up, rubbing his eyes and soon fully alarmed when he saw my beaten face.

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“They are…escaping! Follow me…now!” I panted. I thought the acting was good. Well, it was good enough to have Hstrad don his track and stack on a full guard.

Panners don't need full guards. Our Pyrancy offered sufficient defensive capabilities. I owned one but it was more or less fanciful. I didn't even consider bringing it with me.

It was funny seeing him armor on, as Hstrad hadn't seen much battle either. Pilots mostly learned evasion and strategy-flying. Of course there were a few battle-strewn ones but not Hstrad. This is beside the point, I needed his experience flying not fighting.

“Who? Where?”

“Follow…me.” I staggered down the hall. My injuries reasonably convinced Hstrad of actual danger. If Jeree had not beaten me so badly, I would have inflicted the wounds myself.

“We have to be quick. They are on the summit,” I let him run before me.

He scaled the steps, brisk with every stride and I stalked behind him urging him further up. We passed two or three persons on the way and I was fortunate they didn't inquire about what hastened us or worse, joined us.

As we came upon the final row of steps leading outside to the summit, he half-turned and suggested, “Let's call the others.”

“I have sent some reserves to the Serjeant's section already. But we have to stop them before they leave,” I lied.

He slid the hatch open and proceeded out. I shut the hatch, joining him. I identified E1-12 by its size alone. Nolosh had stated it was slightly bigger than the rest. So, I pointed, “Over there! Over there!”

He stopped, all too suddenly. He did not look back but he had realized. I knew he had realized. I dropped my act and said coldly, “Go on.”

“Who is escaping?” There was equal coldness in his tone. I'd fooled him and he would fly us whether he liked it or not.

“Go on,” I repeated.

He faced me. I summoned my hammer. Pilots made ports for travel. Ports, basically, are tunnels made of rings and they fight off the pull of the abyss. The first ring formed in a semi-circle around Hstrad, giving off a dull light.

“You don't want to do this, Hstrad.” I posed ready to fight. “You know I'll win. Don't think too much, just get into the basket. Hstrad, you don't know what you are doing. Calm down and enter the basket.”

The next ring came, in front of the previous one, lighting up the area even more.

I was angry now, the call of the Mourn could come at any time. “One more ring and I'll throw you off this summit. I swear it Hstrad!” I morphed my hammer into a shield and was ready to push him off. “If I am going down, you are coming with me.” I added, furious.

I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. I didn't know if I'd keep the promise and didn't want to. He resigned to his fear and slowly the rings faded away.

“Go on. Enter the basket.” He ambled his path there and got into it. The metal of the basket was several inches thick and a slanted rod was fixed at all its four points. The exoskeleton for the balloon prodded out from the rods. It wasn't fully assembled, but there was just enough for me to work off of.

“Bolt the edges,” I ordered, fisting my hammer. He bent and locked the four edges of the basket.

“You’ve been planning this escape since.” He noted upon seeing the pile of Waste.

“Stop talking.”

“You won't go far.”

“Stop talking!” I really meant it. I thought I heard footsteps coming from below and wanted him quiet so that I could listen well.

Yes. They were footsteps but whoever was approaching was in no hurry. Probably didn't know what was going on.

“Don't move.” I left a spear hanging by his Hstrad's head then retreated quietly to wait for whoever it was. The hatch slid open, ever so gently and as the head came bobbing out I sent my hammer swinging.

“Behi—” Hstrad warned too late.

“Quiet!” I poked lightly at him with the spear construct.

I might have hit too hard. The body fell back with a thud. I checked and it was, to my regret, Panner Ozana. Silver blood stained her black tracks; she was bleeding.

I carried her up the steps and dumped her in with Hstrad. I should have locked the hatch before, I had forgotten because of Hstrad's little drama.

“Stop her bleeding. Stop her bleeding. Find something to stop her bleeding.” I was getting nervous. I needed to work, I needed to start constructing. I stood away from the basket and with outstretched arms, I projected the balloon. I carved out each plate as quickly as I could. “Run the churners. Now!”

He hesitated.

“I said run the churners.” I smacked him with the spear. He poured Waste into the churners while I sculpted the plates more finely.

The dread of the Mourn came. Finally.

The engine of the travel basket was roaring, the hatch was been rammed open. I jumped into the basket, putting finishing touches on the inside of my balloon.

I forced the flight lever upward.

We floated, higher and higher by the second. It was still dusk and Herod's light served another Belt. The only light we had was the very dim one my constructs shed.

I unfurled an array of balloon plates and we steered to the right. I unfurled at the other side and we steered to the left. I couldn't be prouder as a Panner.

I peered down at E1. Some people were cluttered at the summit, it would be a problem if a Panner began attacking. They could not chase us though, assembling the other baskets would take time and not even Fenrod could construct a metal balloon with so many individual folds without any preparation time. Perhaps, Ozana could. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she could. She was always inspecting, with a solution to the most insane situations. She would have stopped me single-handedly. I touched her forehead, she was no longer bleeding but was still unconscious.

“Port us.”

Hstrad did not argue. He surrounded the basket with his rings and bonded them together, resisting the pull of the abyss below us. The light of his rings surrounded us and…I smiled.

No Panner had attacked us yet. Probably couldn't see us. We were so far up in the clouds that the only thing left in sight was the food pipe. It touched the sky harvesting Terminal E1’s food.

Food! Food! I had forgotten food.