The wind slammed against the ship, even with the dampeners on it shook the vessel. Out the window, where the frozen rain hit, the protective force shields around the vessel sparked, and then a blur of vapor and white noise outside.
“How can they see?” Jenny whispered. “It’s like we’re lost in a fireball.”
“Sensors,” Karuk replied. He knew the transport’s telemetry would get them exactly where they needed to go, even though the external forces fought them. He’d piloted enough shuttles like this one to know that even if he couldn’t see everything, the sensors could.
“It will be fine,” he said, and patted her hand.
“Still scary to me.”
“We are almost there.” He pointed out the window. “See the light in the distance? That’s where we’re going.”
Jenny glanced at him. “How do you know?”
“It’s the only thing tall enough to be The Bridge.”
She nodded and stared at the beacon on the tower. The shaking continued, and he noticed she also squeezed the cat carrier, which sat on the floor between her feet.
“Do you want me to hold the carrier?” he asked.
“It’s fine,” she said.
Her pet was surprisingly silent, though Karuk expected the animal was upset.
Just like his owner.
He thought some conversation would help distract Jenny until they landed.
“Does your world always have storms like this?”
“This time of year? Yeah. It’s almost Christmas. People will be thrilled there’s snow on the ground. After the blizzard is done, that is.”
“Does this Christmas need snow?”
“On my side of the world, Christmas is usually cold, with snow on the ground. It’s one of the coldest times of year on this continent.”
“One would think your holidays would be more enjoyable if the weather is less intimidating.”
She chuckled. “We have a lot of fun things to do in the cold.”
“Like what?”
“Ice skating.”
“What is that?”
“You put special shoes on, ice skates, and you glide over frozen water.”
He raised his eyebrow. It sounded rather odd.
“I’m not explaining it well. I’ll show you a video when we land.”
He nodded.
The ship lurched, and he felt the shift in the engines. They had made it to the platform.
“We’re landing,” he said, touching her hand again.
She wrapped her fingers around his, holding on tight as they passed through the shielding, and all the turbulence stopped.
