Airbornes: Bjorn and the Floating Nest

Nukilik awoke to the rumble of a surface quake. Smoke and fire seeped through a splintered gap in the main living room floorboards, but most of the clashing came from the girl’s bedroom at the rear of the cabin. Pine logs along the east wall groaned as the wood twisted and then splintered free of the bindings. The rearmost section of the ceiling and roof heaved upward and then drooped but held. Icy winds rushed through fresh gaps in the sod insulation. Everything was breaking apart.“Essentials, nothing but essentials,” he shouted as his two daughters burst into the living room, already dressed and carrying outdoor clothing in hand. One tall and one short, they moved through the darkness like stick figures outlined by the red haze of an open fire pit.Nukilik pulled on his winter boots before standing. For a big man, he was quick, but his wife, Amka, was faster. She was already rushing through the open doorway to ensure the girl’s safety. The st

Bjorn’s father, Captain Radoon Gydlin, head trades delegate to Below, was among one of the few citizens the imperial council authorized for negotiations with surface folk. Today the Captain would travel to Below. Today he would also introduce Bjorn to the process of trading. Bjorn had never been on one of his father’s trade journeys, not even when the Captain had but sailed to a neighboring nest. Just two seasons back, Captain Gydlin visited Ulou to meet Bjorn’s aunt and enjoy a festival. He had refused Bjorn an opportunity to partake in that journey. “Increased burden on the security team,” his father had said. “The intensity of current political disagreements stirs a strange and brooding rage between parties.” Bjorn flew on, pondering the angles of governmental disputes, the mystery of dreams, and wondering what might be yet to see in Below. Otherwise, he would have noticed the attack that came in from his rear. A shadow darted out from the above ri

As they neared the upper side of Silla gorge, Nukilik and his people marched single-file through a near-blinding downfall of rain and sleet. Complicated by icy mud-slicks, slush-bottom washouts, and high-heaped rockslides, the nasty goings never let up. The quakes were now far behind, but the associated sounds and effects had not ceased. At least the thunder and lightning had moved off into the distant sky. The path through the gorge’s higher portion should’ve been open, easy to pass through, and a bit of shelter from the storm. But at every new turn in the corridor, the natural rock formations with various overhangs had collapsed. Rock, mud, and clutter riddled the pathway. One major rockslide, in particular, forced Nukilik to consider turning back for a regroup. Instead, he called on little Meriwa’s uncanny ability to find solid ground amid the most slippery footing. She took them up and over, one angle at a time, never missing the right handhold and never trusting

The ship’s stern consisted of four decks, each smaller than the one beneath it. Bjorn caught up with his father on the third, in a meeting room attached to the captain’s cabin. “Why so many marines?” Bjorn stood in the center of a crescent-moon perch curved along the left bulkhead of the berthing. Mind-links protruded from outlets along the overhead timbers, and his father perched on an elevated circular vine. Hykin waited to the right wearing a smirk that cut into Bjorn’s pride. “Protection. son,” The Captain said. “The Walkers have an unpredictable nature that sometimes leads to unprovoked attacks. Life in the Below degrades the mind.” “I thought we had a good relationship with certain locals,” Bjorn said, his gaze flashing toward Hykin. The journey to the ship’s bridge had been a trip to make a trip, and the delay had humored the old guard to no end. Bjorn wanted to let him know that fold-setters in the likes of a dried-up merchant mariner would do wise to

At a mere twenty-four years old, Tulugaak’s thick eyebrows gave his brown eyes the look of a bushy entrance into a cold dark void of wrath and anger. Yet kindness and meekness abounded in his heart, especially for his younger brothers and sisters. However, when necessity demanded action, Tulugaak had instant access to the mean side of life. But he had never experienced a swamp. Not that he was a stranger to dark waters. A pale, ragged scar traced across his brown cheek and lower lip testified to an early and violent encounter with an aggressive leopard seal. Before the quakes and lava arrived, the ice had extended above the ocean. Now the heat had turned ice into rivers, lakes, and muddy wetland. But nothing compared to this foul-smelling black water. Stifling heat hovered like a sweaty fur overcoat, and tangled vegetation, roots, and stumps cluttered every footstep. Dark shadowy trees choked out the sky, dripped with strings of green and gray grasses, and sucked up