It wasn't a star; it was a light bulb at the top of the cockpit.
Kelphus stared at it for a moment as he collected his thoughts. We were exiting the atmosphere... we were being attacked by somebody... we did a space jump... Skylar said something about him and Takashi being the only ones who'd jumped before... Why did he seem alarmed?
Kelphus sat up. He had fallen over onto his back. Selah was lying stomach-down next to him, with her eyes open and glazed over. Tiras was slumped against the wall, and Mitsuko had passed out in her chair. Skylar and Takashi had turned their chairs and were looking back at everyone. Skylar cocked his head at Kelphus.
"Why is it that summoners always handle their first jumps so well?"
"More bizzare things than that can happen during summoning rituals," said Kelphus. "Especially when you're learning a new one." He stood up and brushed off his long brown leather coat. "I was once turned into a loaf of bread for a split second. You almost get used to that sort of thing."
Skylar's eyes went wide. "Wow."
Takashi interrupted. "Skylar, let's land on the third moon for now. I need to contact our employers and explain the situation, and we need to unpack Selah's car. We might spend the night here and carry on tomorrow as scheduled."
"All right," said Skylar.
"Kelphus, can you help me wake the others?" asked Takashi.
"Yeah." Kelphus kneeled down and waved his hand over Selah's face. "Selah... Se-lah..."
She's grown a lot over the years, Kelphus realized. I remember when we met each other, six years ago... She was just as energetic and outgoing as she is now. But now she has a more peaceful and confident aura. And she's a lot taller.
Selah blinked and drew a deep breath.
She probably knows me best out of anybody. But she probably doesn't know that.
"Was that the space jump?" she asked softly.
She's bright, too. "Yes. I wasn't expecting that either." Kelphus stood up and offered his hand to help Selah up. The crack of a backhand slap suddenly echoed through the cockpit.
Mitsuko never liked being woken up, did she?
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