Torian Reclamation 2: Flash Move by Andy Kasch

glancing back and forth from the emblem on the side door to Jumper and Alan. Jumper and Alan were both smiling smugly. Finally, he shook his head for a long moment.
    “Where did you steal this?”
    “From the south gate of the Northern Plains agritent compound,” Jumper answered. “They tried to kidnap us and force us to pick fruit in the tents.”
    Lakor5 started laughing. “You crazy Earth kids. Jumper, you always have a good story. Well, this is a military vehicle so I think it’s more suitable that we take it.”
    “No!” Alan said. “It’s way too cool for you guys. You have no idea what we went through to get it. And someone stole our cruiser.”
    “You mean this one?” Lakor5 pointed to a small 2-seater behind the vehicle he had stepped out of.
    Jumper squinted as the last of the dust settled.
    “You took it! How could you leave us stranded in the mountains?”
    Lakor5 held up a hand. “Easy, now. I wasn’t there. A couple new guys were out that way planting video scanners in the foothills and came across it. They didn’t know who left it, so they brought it in. We were on our way to return it. Lucky we came across you. Now we can trade.”
    “Ahhhhh.” Jumper sunk down in the seat. “Come on, Alan. He wants it. There’s no point in fighting him on it.”
    Alan pounded his fist on the front panel and the two of them got out.
    Jumper heard the sounds of rotorcraft above and looked up. Three of the great machines flew low, directly above in the late afternoon sky, headed for the cities with a food shipment. These were the big ones, with two angled rotors on the ends and four smaller rotors across the upper sides. Their maneuverability, for being so large, was impressive. Watching them now had a new effect on Jumper, after having seen one of the food production areas where they came from. Knowing the produce he ate was the result of forced labor was bound to make it considerably less tasteful now.
    When the rotorcrafts passed, Jumper asked Lakor5 what he knew about the air battle earlier today.
    Lakor5 shrugged as he answered. “An alien fleet arrived in Tora space today, and shortly after that a different alien fleet also showed up, who were chasing after them. They may have been fighting somewhere else first, according to speculation on the news station, and then ended up here for some reason. The first aliens managed to land a few craft in the central valley. Their transport ships are now in orbit over Amulen, and the second group of aliens who were chasing them are now moored at Cardinal-4. That’s all we know, assuming even that much is correct. The newscasts from that university station of yours leave a lot to be desired.”
    “Do you know anything about a polwar tournament?” Jumper asked.
    Lakor5 looked back at some of his subordinates before answering.
    “We’ve heard rumors of that, too. What do you know about it?”
    Jumper shook his head. “Not much. We heard a couple references to it at the agritent compound, and then the alien battle started, which gave us our chance to escape.”
    Lakor5 chuckled and climbed inside the big cruiser. “If I were you, I’d think about moving to Banor—all the rest of you Earthlings. Amulen isn’t much of a place to be these days if you’re not addicted to polwar. We can’t even get decent news anymore.”
    “Think I’d be bored silly there,” Jumper said. “After all, you never went back.”
    “That’s true, but I have my reasons. You better get going. It’ll be dark soon.”
    Lakor5 started the engine in the stolen cruiser and then the rest of the patrol fired back up as well. The smell of fuel became unbearable. Jumper and Alan covered their faces with their elbows as they stood. The native who was in Jumper and Alan’s 2-seater vacated it and climbed aboard the big one with Lakor5.
    “Sorry about the cruiser misunderstanding,” Lakor5 yelled. “Glad you got back okay.”
    Several of the other cruisers backed away to make room for