A quick turbolift ride back down to the main plaza and we hurried back over to the Mark IV donning booths.
I stepped into one and closed the door. A brief flash of light and I emerged wearing a pale pink Mark IV safety suit.
"Somehow I knew yours would be pink!" Dara laughed, giving me a hug.
"Come on, I can't wait!" Zuna called, rushing over to where the jetpacks were waiting.
For a moment, I hesitated. But rather than following Dara and Zuna, I got on board the turbolift and shot back up to that 10th floor platform.
Dara and Zuna found me standing at the edge, looking at the plaza below as they emerged from the lift.
"Jayden, what…"
"I have to do this," I told my friends. "I have to face my fear if I'm to overcome it. Otherwise, I'd just be a danger to everyone around me if I tried to use a jetpack."
Smiling briefly back at my two friends, I turned and dove off the platform.
Once more, as I fell, the darkness enveloped me. But this time, I knew what to expect. The impact was a bit rough, but that was all. Once the bouncing stopped, the safety suit deflated, and I stood, waving like crazy at my two gawking friends high above.
"You are crazy!" Dara shouted, laughing as she did.
"Damn straight!" I shouted back, giving them both a thumbs up.
And then, Dara and Zuna both launched themselves off the ledge, plummeting my way. I watched in rapt fascination as each of their Mark IV suits inflated, turning each of them into oversized beach balls. A couple of bounces, then the suits deflated, revealing my two hysterically laughing friends.
"Now who's crazy?" I chuckled, giving each a hug. "Come on. Let's catch up with the guys!"
There were plenty of jetpacks still available for use. Dara and Zuna quickly strapped into their own while I took the time to examine the entire apparatus.
"What I wouldn't give for a quick cort-stim session on how to operate one of these," I nervously remarked as I strapped on my own jetpack.
A couple of beeps and the pack released from its docking station. I staggered briefly as the unaccustomed weight settled to my back.
"Do these things come with any sort of protective helmet?" I asked, grasping the two control arms of the jetpack as I looked around. "Or at least goggles to keep the wind out of my eyes. Don't want to go blasting into the side of a building because my eyes are all watered over."
The docking station behind me cheeped, trying to get my attention. As I turned around, a compartment opened up, revealing a full-face helmet for me to wear.
"Now that's more like it!" I cheered as I slipped the helmet on and pulled the chin strap tight.
"Okay, here's how they work," Dara explained, standing in front of me. "To start the motors, you press the green button on the top of the right handle."
She showed me by pressing hers, releasing a small stream of vapors from her exhaust nozzles.
"The red one on the left handle shuts them off," which she demonstrated by pressing her own.
"The squeeze grips on each handle control the individual thrust levels of each nozzle. You tilt each nozzle left or right by tilting the control sticks left or right. And, finally, you tilt each nozzle forward or back by lifting or lowering each arm."
Seemed simple enough.
"One thing though," Zuna cautioned me, laying a hand over my left control. "Squeeze the throttles gently. If you mash down on them too hard, you could end up blacking out."
"Hmm, sudden g-load onset," I remarked, recalling my pilot training days. "Got it."
"Why don't you try hovering first to get used to the controls," Dara suggested.
She demonstrated by firing up her jetpack then gently squeezing the throttles until she was hovering just a few feet up in the air.
I pressed my green button; heard the engines whir into life. I could feel a small blast of gases just behind me. So, I decided to test the nozzle controls before I lifted off. First the left one, then the right. I could feel the slight shift as the jetpack's nozzles vectored the thrust from side to side. Then I tried lifting the arm controls, the forwards push causing me to take a quick step ahead. I lowered the arms and felt the slight push backwards.
"Alright, here we go," I told my friends as I brought the nozzle controls back to a neutral position.
Gently, gingerly, I slowly began applying pressure to the throttle grips. Gradually, the thrust increased, straining against the harness that held the jetpack securely to my body. Then, slowly, my feet came off the ground a few inches.
"Good!" Zuna cheered, grinning broadly.
Slowly, carefully, I played with the nozzle gimbal controls, drifting first left then right, backwards and forwards, always returning to my starting point.
"I think she's got it!" Dara exclaimed, grinning down at me.
And then, I tried one more trick. I raised one control arm and lowered the other, adding just a touch more throttle. Slowly, I pirouetted in place, absolutely the biggest grin ever on my face!
"Now you're just showing off!" Zuna teased me, firing up her own jetpack.
"You lead, Jayden," Dara suggested, pulling alongside. "We'll follow."
Gradually adding thrust, I slowly accelerated, rising up through the buildings of the plaza. Once I was safely clear, I added more thrust, lowering the control arms as I continued to accelerate into horizontal flight.
"Whoo hoo!" I couldn't help shouting.
Lord, what a rush! It was all I could've imagined and then some! I'd never felt such freedom in all my life!
We flew like that for nearly ten minutes, weaving in and out of the gleaming spires of the city, before I pulled to a hover, slowly turning about as I took in the scenery around and below.
"Having fun, are you?" Dara laughed, pulling up beside me, Zuna close by on the other side.
All I could do was vigorously nod my head.
In the next moment, terror shot through my heart like a spear. As I was looking down, I spotted someone slip and fall off one of the very high walkways on a new building being constructed!
I didn't hesitate a nanosecond. Shoving the control arms down, I squeezed the throttles full open, accelerating towards the falling person at an incredible speed. Fortunately, I had remembered my anti-g straining techniques from my old flying days and instantly applied them. Otherwise, that sudden acceleration might well have caused me to black out!
I caught up with the plummeting figure in seconds. Releasing the throttles, I glided in under him, then rolled over, spreading my arms and legs as wide as I could to increase my drag.
It was a child, I realized. A young boy. The terror on his face was almost more than I could bear… a look that turned to thunderstruck astonishment as I suddenly appeared below him.
"Grab on!" I shouted, clamping my arms around him as we collided midair.
The boy didn't need any further urging, wrapping his legs around my waist and his arms firmly around my neck.
"Hold tight!" I shouted as I regrasped the jetpack controls. "Here we go!"
Squeezing the throttles as I raised the control arms, the two of us flipped over until my feet were pointed downwards. Then I applied continually increasing pressure on the throttles, slowing our descent. We came to a hover with just inches to spare, and then I hit the red button, shutting the jetpack off. I stumbled a little as we hit the ground, but, other than that, thankfully, we were okay.
What came next caught me completely off-guard. The people gathered on the plaza suddenly broke into loud cheering and thunderous applause! I waved back, nodding to the crowd.
Flipping up my helmet visor, I glanced down at my passenger. He was still clinging to me, almost chokingly tight. His eyes were closed and his whole body was trembling. Small wonder, considering what he'd just been through.
"Hey!" I chuckled, tapping him on the forehead. "It's okay now. You're safe!"
He didn't respond, so I flicked him on the forehead with my finger.
"Ow!" he complained, putting a hand to his forehead.
And then, he gasped, staring straight at me.
"You can let go now," I chuckled. "You're safe!"
Gasping a second time, he glanced about at the cheering throng then slowly lowered himself to the ground.
The cheering crowd closed in, offering me their congratulations for saving the boy. Dara and Zuna quickly landed, making their way through the crowd to join me.
"Girlfriend, that was galactic!" Dara exclaimed, giving me an effusive hug.
"Thanks," I chuckled, stumbling a little as the control arms of our jetpacks got tangled.
"Damn, girl, never seen anyone move so fast in all my life!" Zuna added, giving my shoulder a playful punch. "Where'd you learn to fly like that?"
"No biggie," I assured her, smiling at my friend.
Removing my helmet, I turned my attention to the boy.
"My name's Jayden. What's yours?"
"Claru," he meekly admitted.
He seemed a bit unnerved by the cheering crowd, clinging to me in fright.
"What were you doing so high up, Claru?"
"I…"
He hesitated, unsure. I said nothing, merely smiled back.
"My friends," he finally admitted, not able to meet my eyes. "They… they dared me to do it. Said I was a baby, afraid to go."
"I see," I replied, kneeling next to him. "How old are you, Claru?"
"Eight," he mumbled, still not meeting my gaze.
"Well, if you're that old, you're certainly not a baby!" I teased him.
Claru looked up briefly, grinning shyly.
"And you did show some courage," I went on, ruffling his hair, "climbing so high up on your own."
"You think so?" he asked, finally meeting my eyes.
I nodded. "But I have to wonder if what you did was for the greater good of the community or not."
That caused my young friend to lower his eyes, nervously nibbling on his lip.
"Claru, look at me."
Slowly, hesitantly, he did.
"Claru, no one can make you feel inferior, not without your consent. Do you know what that means?"
He shook his head.
"Do you believe you are a baby?" I asked, laying my hand over his heart. "Do you believe you are a coward, afraid to go?"
Once again, he shook his head.
"That's what it means, Claru," I explained, smiling as I planted a kiss on his cheek. "No one can make you believe those things unless you let them."
"But… if I hadn't gone, they'd have told the other boys, made fun of me!" my little friend blurted out, tears running down his face.
"Claru, I meant what I said about your courage," I responded, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "Tell me, did it feel right to do what they asked?"
"Well, no," he mumbled, turning away.
"Sometimes, Claru," I quietly explained, turning his face so our eyes would meet, "it takes a great deal of courage to stand up for what you believe is right. If you had, none of this would've happened. And if those boys would've teased you about it, then maybe they're not really your friends."
"Jayden's right, Claru," Dara spoke, kneeling beside us.
"A true friend would've never asked you to do such a thing," Zuna added, joining the group.
Claru looked up, tears in his eyes. He glanced over at Dara and Zuna, then looked around at the crowd nearby.
"I'm sorry!" he sobbed, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck.
"I know you are, Claru," I replied, returning the hug before standing. "Promise me one thing."
"What?" he asked, looking up at me.
"Use that courage of yours to do the right thing from now on, okay?" I asked, ruffling his hair as I did.
"I promise!" he firmly declared.
What Claru did next caught me completely off-guard.
Taking my hand in his, he added, "I wish I had a big sister like you, Jayden."
"Aww!" Dara and Zuna cooed, giving me a hug.
"You don't have a sister?" I asked.
Claru shook his head. "Just a baby brother."
For an instant, our eyes locked together, and, in that briefest of moments, a crazy idea leaped into my head and wrapped itself around my heart.
Smiling, I asked, "Would you like me to be your big sister, Claru?"
"Really?!" he gasped, clutching my hand tightly. "You'd do that?"
I nodded. "You could call me 'Onee-san'. It's Japanese for big sister. And I could call you 'Otouto-san'. It means…"
"Little brother!" Claru cheerily concluded.
"Would you like that?"
Vigorously, Claru nodded, a broad grin on his face. "I'd like that a lot… Onee-san!"
"You'd better hurry home now, Otouto-san," I said, smiling as I gave him a hug. "If your parents ask about it, be honest. Tell them what happened. Okay?"
"I will," he replied, running off as he waved. "Thanks, Onee-san!"
The excitement over, the crowd began to disperse. Turning to Zuna and Dara, I said, "Don't know about you two, but I think I've had enough jetpacking for one day!"
My two new girlfriends burst out laughing, then the three of us headed off to return our gear.
The Mark IV donning booths worked just as advertised, my original clothes reappearing on me the moment I stepped back into the change booth.
That's going to take some getting used to, I silently chuckled as I rejoined my friends.