Editing Summary:Evershore

Alanik takes Jorgen to a room where she has a special UrDail chair set up, which was placed there at Arturo’s suggestion. Alanik guides Jorgen through searching with his cytonic senses, teaching him to listen for people instead of looking. Jorgen thinks the concept strange, but obeys. She gives him instructions, but says that intuition will be his greatest asset. Jorgen thinks about the nature of his abilities as he searches, and wishes he could hear Spensa. Jorgen has some success in hearing a weather report, which encourages him. After further concentration, Jorgen suddenly hears a voice calling out to Spensa, asking her to respond. It says that it is the Swims Upstream, and that they have their humans and want to return them. The voice introduces herself as Kauri of the kitsen, and asks to be put in touch with Spensa. Jorgen decides to talk with Cuna and Stoff to decide what to do.

When they returned to the feast, Jorgen found the other members of Skyward Flight helping prepare food. Kauri had thought it rude of the kitsen to have their guests working, but FM had insisted. As the feast begins, Goro boasts that their full bellies will make them more easy for his champion to slay. Jorgen meets Juno, a kitsen lorekeeper. Jorgen asks Juno about the food, and about the dangers of sailing on the oceans. Jorgen grows uncomfortable with the conversation, and leaves to walk down to the beach, feeling the pressure of all sorts of matters pressing down on him. FM comes by, concerned about him. She tries to talk to Jorgen about his parents’ death, but Jorgen refuses to discuss it, saying that he’s fine. He orders FM to go prepare for the senate meeting to avoid the topic, then watches sadly as the other members of the flight have fun on the beach together.

Jorgen, Skyward Flight, Kauri, Juno, and Goro attend a senate meeting for a discussion of the human’s proposal of an alliance, though Cuna doesn’t attend, largely becuase Jorgen worries about them offending the kitsen. Adi, the director of the senate, moderates the discussion with impartiality, giving Kauri and Goro the floor first. Goro asserts that the humans are violent and are invaders, saying that they must be taught a lesson through trial by combat. Kauri defends the humans, saying that they are friendly, and are there mainly to retrieve their injured comrades. Kauri argues that the humans of the past were invaders, but that the kitsen and the current humans have a common enemy: the Superiority.

After being invited to speak, Jorgen tells the senate that he is sincere, and has no interest in fighting them. Jorgen lets his mind wander as the senators debate, and his parents’ death plays over and over again in his mind. His emotions wind up inside of him, and suddenly release as he shoots out mindblades everywhere into the senate chamber. Though the blades aren’t formed enough to badly injure any kitsen, the mindblades cause complete chaos in the senate meeting. Jorgen eventually gets the senate’s attention, and tries to recover and ask the kitsen once again to join him, spinning his explosion as a show of the power he has at his disposal to use against the Superiority. He tells them of what happened to his parents and the National Assembly, then leaves abruptly.

Jorgen sits cross-legged atop the cliff above Dreamspring, Juno hovering nearby and reading exercises from a book used by the old kitsen cytonics. Up in the remote location, and with Juno wearing armor, it ensures a safe place for Jorgen to practice. Juno tells Jorgen to focus on his breathing, asserting that Jorgen is completely relaxed. He has Jorgen close his eyes and imagine calming situations, such as walking down the beach with the sun and wind against his skin. After Juno helps Jorgen visualize the mindblades, Jorgen is able to shoot one, though it dissipated quickly. Jorgen keeps practicing, meaning to gouge several grooves into a chunk of sandstone. Suddenly, Jorgen is interrupted when he hears a voice in his mind, saying that it hears him, and pleading for him to help them. Gran-Gran speaks in his mind, saying that she doesn’t have much time, but that he needs to help them. Alanik contacts Jorgen, telling him there’s something he needs to see at the medical tent. Jorgen calls for Snuggles, hyperjumps to Alanik.

Jorgen arrives at the medical tent, and one of the med techs reports that when they tried to move Cobb and Gran-Gran, their condition deteriorated rapidly. They decide to not to take risks, and to treat them there for the time being. Jorgen tries communicating with Gran-Gran again, but to no avail. He wonders if perhaps their minds got stuck in the nowhere without their bodies. Juno says that Cobb and Gran-Gran first emerged in the main kitsen library, so the group heads there. One of the walls in the library is a smooth stone slab, with cytonic power radiating from it. Jorgen realizes that it must be a portal to the nowhere, like the one on Detritus. At Jorgen’s prompting, Juno says that all their cytonics met in a great summit in the room to compile knowledge, but they disappeared. Jorgen theorizes that the kitsen cytonics got sucked into the portal, and are trapped there, and calling for help. Before he has time to think on it more, Arturo radios Jorgen to tell him a Superiority carrier ship has arrived. Juno volunteers to accompany Jorgen into combat to help him with his mindblades.

Skyward Flight runs for their ships, and Jorgen fetches the taynix. Juno joins him in the cockpit of his fighter. He and Alanik cover their flightmates as they get into the air. Juno calmly reads meditation exercises from his book as Jorgen dogfights, and Jorgen manages to cut down several enemy ships with his mindblades. Goro arrives to help, temporarily setting aside his grudge with Jorgen. Jorgen has the flight protect Dreamspring, trying to minimize colateral damage and civilian casualties. Cuna radios Jorgen, who instructs them to move Cobb, Gran-Gran, and the medtechs into the library, which is underground and safer. More kitsen ships arrive, helping to defend Dreamspring. Jorgen lands as the enemy temporarily withdraws to wait for reinforcements. He puts Arturo in temporary command of the flight, and has Juno fly with Alanik to help teach her. He meets up with FM, who uses Gill to hyperjump them to Detritus in hopes of getting reinforcements.

* [[Bob (Skyward)|Bob]]

As more kitsen come through the portal, Cobb and Gran-Gran begin to stir, though Kel says that they won’t be in good enough shape to help in the fighting. Jorgen contacts Alanik, who reports a bomber ship, with what Jorgen knows is a lifebuster. Jorgen speaks into Arturo’s mind using his ability, and Arturo reports that the lifebuster ship is heading for Dreamspring. Going out onto the beach again, Jorgen gives orders for Alanik to try and get the lifebuster out and into the atmosphere. Jorgen also offers to let the kitsen senators escape to Detritus using the transport they’d intended for Cobb and Gran-Gran, and assigns a few members of Skyward Flight to oversee it. Kimmalyn shoots down the bomber, and Alanik snags the bomb with her light-lance. She takes it out of range and hyperjumps away as it explodes. More Superiority carriers arrive, and this time their pilots spread out to attack other kitsen cities. Jorgen sees that their goal is to make the kitsen pay a heavy price by inflicting a lot of collateral damage.

After the battle, Jorgen overlooks the city of Dreamspring. Though its lower structures are heavily damaged, the main upper city remains mostly unharmed. Jorgen apologizes to Juno for what happened, then goes down to meet Stoff, who is arriving. As Cobb walks up, Jorgen decides not to expose Stoff’s cowardice. FM, however, speaks bluntly and honestly to Cobb, saying that he dumped all the responsibility on Jorgen. Cobb reprimands Stoff, and tells him to leave. FM also leaves at Cobb’s request, and Jorgen apologizes to Cobb for acting rashly. Cobb tells Jorgen that he had been awake for a while, listening in on the radio, but hadn’t let the medtechs tell Jorgen lest it distract him. Cobb decides to promote Jorgen to vice admiral, which is a shock to Jorgen. Cobb also decides to retire from service, at least for a time, and gives operational command to Jorgen. Cobb reasons that Jorgen and his flight have the most experience with other planets and the Superiority now, and that people who don’t want to take control make the best leaders. Cobb tells Jorgen that his parents would’ve been proud of him, and Jorgen breaks down crying. Cobb comforts him, and tells him he can do what he wishes with Stoff. Jorgen decides to relieve Stoff of his position, but to not punish him further.