She left the room and bounded along the wide, rounded corridor full of people. She was supposed to be practicing her upright walk, yet running on her hindlegs felt very awkward, making her flare her wings for balance. So she just rushed with her old fledgling gait, even though she should not use it once she grew up in size. If she grew up, came an unbidden thought. She shook her head, clearing her mind. She took a gravshaft to Ilsorin's middle levels and, led by Yeoman Cloud's realtime AR guidance, arrived where Kiana was.

The observation dome had variform furniture and several nanofabrication makers providing basic amenities, while the smart-material walls served as screens or windows. The place was very spacious and well lit, giving the impression of an open terrace beneath an overhang. Scattered groups of refugees sat or strolled around, enjoying the sunny atmosphere. Veralla spotted Kiana at the other end of the dome, in the company of Tehalix and Lung. The two humans seemed to be in a heated debate of some kind.

"Of course I can do Technotics," Tehalix scoffed. "After all, Forces has always been my strongest Sphere."

"What a sad display of ignorance," Kiana laughed. "Everybody knows Correspondence is the foundation upon which the Technotics school is built."

"Technotics? A school? Damn, girl, I can't believe you're capable of mixing up your concepts so bad."

Lung followed the exchange with a worried expression, her golden eyes alternating between her soulkin and the Sol Force Conduit. "What should I do to stop them?" she despaired in a rumbling whisper as Veralla approached.

"Oh, maybe we can change the subject?" she suggested. "Hi there, Kiana!"

"Not now, whippersnapper," Kiana said over her shoulder. "So, just because you're a glorified dragon rider belonging to a fancy order, you think yourself better on technical terms than one of the top-line cybermasters in the Consortium?"

"Hey, please stop!" Veralla said.

"Haha, no, my mind is on something else entirely," Tehalix said with a subtle smirk, "and it's the amusing fact that a self-taught aethereal tries to lecture me on the finer points of the Art."

"Oh, I may be self-taught," Kiana said, her neon tattoos pulsing dangerously underneath her flowing smartclos, "but there's one definitive way to demonstrate you who's got superior competence."

"Come on, stop already!" Veralla urged, Lung hrrr–ing in assent, yet their protests were completely ignored.

"And what is that?" Tehalix asked with false sweetness.

"A duel," Kiana spat. Her lavender eyes brightened with crackling lightning, as she gathered her powers. "Right here, right now. Unless you need to prepare or something, Miss Chevalier?"

"A Radiant Knight is trained to be always prepared," Tehalix declared and golden halos enveloped her gauntleted hands. "I'm game."

"Bring it on!"

"Here I come!"

They squared off, their auras visibly manifesting, their hairs flaring from the power buildup. The other people in the observation dome gasped at the display. Veralla held her breath, afraid her friends were going to hurt each other.

Then Lung rawr–ed and slammed her huge claw on the floor between Kiana and Tehalix. The two of them startled, and turned to look at Lung's looming form.

"That's enough!" the crimson dragon said, her voice upset. "Teha, why do you act so harsh? We are Radiant Knights! We must be humble, and kind, and helpful – not cruel or aggressive!"

"Oh, relax, we weren't going to really trash each other," Tehalix said, dissipating her gathered power. "We were just having a snappy catfight! Meowr!" she said, imitating a scrabbling paw with her hand.

"Yeah, this was all normal girl stuff," Kiana added, the crackling energy fading from her eyes. "I thought you doofuses understood, since we're all female here."

"But I thought you wanted to hurt each other!" Veralla said.

"Yeah, me too!" Lung rumbled.

"Aw, my poor little Smartjaw," Tehalix said affectionately and hugged Lung's hindleg. "You're always so caring and tender. Give me a cuddle, you big soft lizard," she added, and Lung craned her neck down to nuzzle her soulkin.

Kiana smiled warmly. Veralla felt happy, although she also felt a pang of longing as she watched Tehalix and Lung. Kiana noticed her expression, and turned to pet her on the head, tickling her twin crests.

"So, whippersnapper, the overwatch bot of the Commander told me you wanted to see me. What's the occasion?"

"Oh, I have not talked with you for quite a time," Veralla said. "Things are very busy these days, yes? But tell me, why you and Tehalix wanted to fight?"

"Bah, it was nothing special, kiddo! As I told you, it was just girl stuff."

"Our discussion got lively and we decided to make it more... engaging," Tehalix chuckled. Lung looked at her with disapproval. "If we were strong, posturing males, you could say it would've spelled trouble. But I didn't intend to do anything more than throw a few force waves around."

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"Ha, proves you weren't able to use Technotics," Kiana retorted in a good-natured way. "Personally, I would've cheated by hacking the stasis-field projectors, if Cloud wasn't running the system now. By the way, bonecode, for a print-of-the-fabber SAI you happen to be quite resilient to subversion."

An AR projection resembling a nebulous humanoid shape materialized in mid-air. "Thank you for the compliment, Lieutenant Kiana," Yeoman Cloud said cheerily. "My programming indeed is held to the highest current standard, so I can be at optimal assistance during my service to Commander Airo.

"On the previous topic," the SAI added, "if you and Knight Tehalix still wish to tussle in a friendly manner, perhaps you would like to attend the NOC-AEO tournament this evening?"

"Tournament?" Kiana blurted. "What tournament?"

"The one organized by St'aep'hon!" Veralla chimed in. "I mean, Zuckeroff," she added when the others looked at her with puzzled expressions.

"Hah, so the gamebrain styles himself a one-man sports federation now, eh?" Kiana said with a mischievous smile. "And he's hosting an AEO tournament tonight? This sounds like fun."

"I wonder why no one invited me," Tehalix complained. "I may have become an aethereal only last year, but I'm already a nova compared to some of the dudes!"

Kiana shot her a look, and put a hand before her mouth. "Only a year?" she giggled. "My, how rude of me to challenge such a greenhorn!"

"Hey, I can still bust your ass!"

"Wanna try?"

"Rrrr, don't start again, you two!" Lung said.

"Ah, no need," Kiana waved her hand. "I should be saving my strength anyway. I'm gonna win me a tournament tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Tehalix grinned slyly. "Maybe it is I who's going to win that tournament."

"We'll see once the showdown begins," Kiana taunted. "Void damn, but what to do while we're waiting?"

"We can take Smartjaw here for a spin outside," Tehalix said, leaning on Lung's flank. "She seems a bit fat to me lately anyway."

"Teha!"

"Cool, let me just grab a vac-suit, and I'm ready."

"Can I come too?" Veralla asked hopefully. "To ride on Lung, I mean."

"Sure you can! I totally forgot you've never flown."

"Oh, no, I did fly once! But only because I jumped from very high and there was a strong wind. I still cannot control my gravitic field and my wings cannot support me on their own."

The four of them went on the frigid battlements of the base. Tehalix, Kiana, and Veralla climbed onto Lung's back. Tehalix sat on Lung's neck between the spikes which ran along the length of her spine, while Kiana and Veralla nestled at her large shoulder blades. Then Lung spread her giant wings and took flight, tracing her route in wide circles around the mountain.

Veralla had never experienced something so fantastic in her life. She watched Lung soar gracefully through the air, wings and head and tail swaying and beating in perfect rhythm, and her recalled memories of her own flight from atop the glacier so long ago. Yet then there had been a terrible warpstorm, and she had been at the end of her strength, straining against wind and radiation, fearing for Airo's life as she had clutched tightly his unconscious body, desperate to reach shelter before both of them perished.

Now, the weather was clear and sunny purplish sky stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. Veralla rawr-ed with exhilaration, basking in the sensation of complete freedom that came from brushing the heavens by one's own self.

She marveled at the sights the heightened perspective offered, drinking with wide eyes the splendor of the snow-capped mirrored peaks and the austere magnificence of Ilsorin's battlements. She looked for a long time, while Kiana, Tehalix, and Lung chatted casually, joking about stereotypes from different interstellar cultures. Veralla yearned to take to the sky herself, without aid, and feel the gentle arctic breeze under her wings. So she rose, determined to fly one way or another.

She announced her decision to her friends. With help from Tehalix and Kiana, and even Lung – who also was versed in the workings of the Æther, though a novice – she would try to fly, while they would safeguard her with magic. Veralla closed her eyes and gathered her resolve.

She jumped off in a plummeting dive toward the ground. The icy air shrieked all around, while she struggled to rekindle her flying instincts. At first she failed, tumbling uncontrollably, and only a timely telekinetic intervention from her friends saved her from a falling death. Yet she tried again, growling to herself, and after several more jumps her instincts finally took over – and she spiraled nimbly in the air, upward instead of downward.

She rawr-ed with glee, and zig-zagged along the windy currents, trying to keep her altitude. But her descent remained steep and her friends pulled her back. Without wasting another moment, she jumped off again, taking flight immediately this time. She whizzed along the windy currents, exploring how her body moved and positioned itself, little by little turning instinct into conscious knowledge and effort. Lung followed her and she, Tehalix, and Kiana cheered and whooped, sharing the moment of Veralla's triumph.

Still she did not achieve true flight; merely a gliding aerial dance for what seemed an eternity, wings submitted to the vagaries of the winds. But even so, while that precious perpetuity slowly dipped landward she felt supremely vital, her soul singing the song of life.

She wished Airo could have seen her.

At some point, they encountered Bernard and Zeromon, who also had gone out in order for the dragon Knight to stretch his wings. The meeting turned into a game, where Veralla glided away and Lung and Zeromon raced to see who would catch her first. An hour later, the group decided to return together, and they had an afternoon meal. However, there was still plenty of time remaining for the evening tournament, and Kiana suggested they all play some augmented-reality LARP.

"Just so you know, Zuckeroff isn't the only authority on gaming in this place," Kiana stated, as she distributed the roles and set up the scenario. "Hey, bone-code, make us some flashy decors."

Veralla had never before played a live-action roleplaying game, and the concept seemed strange to her at first, yet she had a very fun time. The scenario Kiana had chosen cast the party as the crew of a malfunctioning starship, and their task was to safely return to their home on the other side of the solar system, while simultaneously trying to contain a dangerous plague which was ravaging the passengers and NPC crew members. Three hours later, they all were a little tired but merry as the game concluded successfully. Veralla was particularly proud of herself, for it was her determination and quick decision-making that allowed them to prevail in the final part of the adventure.

"Why did you make me the main pilot, though?" she asked Kiana. "You know how to pilot a starship in truth, and would have been much more proficient than me."

"Well, because then it wouldn't have been as fun as it was, whippersnapper," Kiana replied sagely. "Sometimes it's good to be someone else besides yourself, either to gain a wider perspective, or just to experience a new form of entertainment."

"Like when I tried to fly and pretended I am a real dragon?" Veralla asked.

"Oh, silly, you are a real dragon," Kiana laughed. "But yeah, it's something like that. We'll see each other later, 'kay? I gotta prepare myself for the tournament."