Lens of Time: Book 06 - Star Rover-Running Out of Time Read Free Page B

your body perpendicular to the ground and flap your surface to slow you down. At that point, you just change to a ball and fall to the ground. You can melt into the soil and move away from your landing point if you need to.”
    Blacky thought about what Belwen said and looked at the other six, “He makes sense. We need to work on gliding here at the cliff until we master it.”
    Belwen said, “You should also practice changing into a ball shape to drop quickly if needed and back to the wing shape at a lower altitude.”
    Blacky smiled and ran forward and threw himself over the cliff wall in the shape of a small ball. The group ran to the edge and didn’t see him but suddenly he blew by them as he flew at high speed in the updraft, moving up the cliff wall. He was hooting and tweeting at the top of his voice as he rose quickly into the sky. Belwen smiled and shook his head. Two more Madators changed to the shape of a wing and lifted into the sky. The other four lifted right behind them and they flew erratically until they got a feel for how to ride the wind. By the end of the day they were flying in formation and dropping quickly toward the ground only to change back into a wing and rise quickly back into the sky.
    Finally Blacky glided toward the ground, furled his shape into the wind and landed on his feet without having to change into the ball shape. He looked at Belwen, “I was wrong.”
    “About what?”
    “Flying is one of the things I can do.”
    “You appear to have a natural talent for it.”
    “My species has often suggested that we were once birds in our early development and evolved into what we are today. I think this adds support to that theory.”
    “If nothing else, you do share a common characteristic with them.”
    “What is that?”
    “You both have beaks.”
    Blacky stared at Belwen and his expression was serious. After a long moment he smiled, “I suspect we were a bird of prey.”
    Belwen laughed, “Of that, there is no doubt.”
    “Belwen.”
    “Yes.”
    “I need to send four of us back to our planet to start teaching my species how to fly.”
    “That’s a good idea but only send three.”
    “Why three?”
    “I suspect that the minimum number to use on a raid is four. You should prepare the first wing as quickly as possible. The others can be brought up to speed at a slower pace.”
    “Do you see something that we might need to do?”
    “I do. I’ve been looking at the scouting reports from the invaded planets, and something is going on that we need to take a look at.”
    “Three it is.”
    “I also have a few developments I want you to start working on using.”
    “Are these the toys Dat mentioned?”
    Belwen smiled, “I guess you could call them that; I think you’ll enjoy playing with them.”
    Blacky put an arm around Belwen’s shoulders, “You know that your species is now on our protected list.”
    “Why is that?”
    “No one has ever given us this much fun. Well, maybe Dat did during our little runs, but I see that you have accepted us and don’t fear having us around.”
    “Thanks, Blacky. We are unable to fight and depend on others to protect us. Your willingness to defend us means a lot.”
    “Let me know when you need us.” Belwen nodded and Blacky changed his shape to a wider wing, turned into the strong wind, and lifted straight up into the air. He moved slowly higher and then extended his shape and flew away at high speed. Belwen shook his head and wondered what he had done and what effect it was going to have.

Chapter Two
    “G ibbs, I need you to make a scouting run.”
    “Where?”
    Dat pulled up a star chart on the wall display and a cursor appeared next to a type G star in M87’s Red Zone. “This planet was invaded by the Grillen and they are building some kind of installation on the surface. We don’t have a probe there and I need you to send one of your ships to deploy one.”
    “I’ll get on it and send a ship by the end of the