Boy of Rains / Witch in the Waves
an excerpt

People were dead, because of him. He would never be the same person again. He could never look Sulis in the face and not feel ashamed. For a moment he found himself wishing that he wasn't returning to Juno. He had seen too much suffering, too much selfishness, to return to that light-hearted, innocent trust he had once known.
There was a knock on the door. He got up, and silently went to the door. One of Salt's guards stood outside. Nodding to him, Tasi went outside, and followed the man to the landing pad, where the sleek shuttle again waited for him. Wordlessly, he boarded the shuttle, and after a few minutes it took off. No-one came to see him go; Salt, and the Emissary, were nowhere to be seen. _Probably still in bed sleeping_, he thought bitterly. He pressed his forehead to the glass of the window and watched as the shuttle neared the city. From small dusty outposts and winding trails, the scenery soon changed to tin-roofed houses and people on bicycles, and finally to the hum and roar of traffic, people and general chaos of the city itself.
The shuttle touched down in the airport that was becoming so familiar to Tasi. The guards opened the door and let him out. They conferred together a moment, then gestured for Tasi to follow them. They led him through the twisting airport terminal, past uniformed guards and the odd tourist, and finally down a long wing, where at the end, the Brunhilde sat waiting.
There was no-one around. Salt's guard had a word with the airport guard standing alert at the gate.
"Where is everyone?" Salt's guard asked. "I've got an important delivery to make" - here he gestured at Tasi - "and I can't just leave him here unsupervised."
"Everyone hauled ass out of here a while ago," the gate guard said. "They should be back in a while. I can watch your guy for you."
"Thanks, friend." Salt's guard motioned to Tasi to come over. "Look here," Salt's guard said. "No funny business, OK? My ass is on the line if anything happens to you. Just sit tight, and your friends'll be back soon." He gave a salute to the airport guard, turned, and left.
"You want a coffee?" the airport guard asked. "I got a thermos."
Tasi shrugged. "Sure."
The airport guard extended a hand. "Name's Edgar."
"Tasi."
"That's an interesting name," Edgar the guard said as he pulled a spare cup out of a bag, gave it a wipe, and poured hot coffee. "Where you from?"
Tasi accepted the cup. "A long way from here," he said. "Juno."
Edgar took a sip and sighed. "That's good. Juno, huh? Yeah, that's pretty far."
"Are you from Hilda?" Tasi asked.
Edgar shook his head and cleared his throat. "Er, no. I'm from down near your way, myself."
"What? But there's nothing near Juno anymore," Tasi said, confused.
"Well, no, not anymore. I was born on Eiron. Hold on, hold on," he said, putting a hand out as Tasi looked at him excitedly. "I got out of there just in time."
Tasi shook his head and sipped his coffee. "Those poor people," he said.
Edgar gave him a strange look. "Know any of em?" he asked.
"No, why?" Tasi was confused.
Edgar shook his head. "It was a civilization out of control. People stopped caring about the important things in life. Everything was about money there."
"Yes, but-"
"I mean, I'm sorry everyone died," Edgar said. "But maybe it's better this way."
"What do you mean?" Tasi asked, horrified.
Edgar shrugged and sipped his coffee. Tasi looked at him. He was an older-looking man, slender and greying. His uniform was a bit baggy and he really didn't look like the security guard type, if the others in the building were anything to go by.
"How long have you been a security guard?" Tasi asked.
"Huh? Oh, only a couple of years really," Edgar said. "Used to work at the university, but I lost my job."
"I'm sorry."
Edgar shrugged again. "S'okay, I guess. Just goes to show how much your life can change, especially when you're not expecting it."
At that point there was a bang behind them. Tasi jumped and looked. Standing there were three men, cloaked in long black coats. They were thin and pale, and wore strange goggles. They were walking straight towards Tasi.
"Hey, what-?" Tasi began to ask, then noticed that Edgar, beside him, had slumped over to his side. His coffee cup had fallen to the floor, and a red bloom of blood was spreading across his chest.
"Oh- Oh!" Tasi leapt to his feet and ran towards the Brunhilde. The men ran past Edgar, not bothering to check whether he was dead or alive.
"Help! Help!" Tasi screamed, as the creepy goggled men chased him round and round the Brunhilde. He tried all the hatches, looking for an escape, but they were locked. The merry-go-round chase lasted only a couple of minutes, after which, Tasi, now incredibly unfit, was caught when one of the men launched himself through the air in a huge flying tackle, and took Tasi to the ground. They quickly tied his hands and feet with rope, gagged him, and placed him in a large bag. Before they zipped the bag up, one of the men placed a mask over Tasi's nose. It only took a few seconds before he passed out, and then Tasi remembered no more.

Ursula crouched down even lower as the Nandians passed by, carrying Tasi in the large black bag. "Poor Tasi," she whispered.
"Shh!" Wotan's voice came from the remote sensor pod she carried in her arms. "They'll hear you."
She watched as their figures grew more distant. "OK," she said, getting up.
"After them," Wotan commanded.
Ursula hitched the heavy backpack up a bit on her shoulders, then ran after them, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum.
They followed the men with the large bag through the length of the airport. Ursula fretted at how still the bag was; could he get enough air in that thing? One man in particular, seemed to be having some fun kicking at the lifeless shape. She squinted her eyes and thought it looked like Geckler; then again, they were all so eerily similar she couldn't be sure.
The Nandians entered the gateway for hangar 44. Ursula slowly followed them but stopped when she heard the sound of a plasma rifle charge up right behind her.
"Hold it," said a voice. Something hard was pressed into Ursula's back.
"What is it?" Wotan asked, unable to see what was happening.
"Shut up," Ursula hissed. "Look," she said aloud. "Whoever you are, this must be some mistake."
"Oh really." A man stepped in front of them. Ursula gasped.
"What _is_ it?" Wotan asked impatiently. "I can only see a pair of shoes, hold this thing up higher."
Hands shaking, Ursula wordlessly lifted up the remote sensor pod.
Wotan gasped.
"You're taking me with you," Puengi said.