| Phase 2 Fei slept peacefully on the bed I was currently sitting on, snoozing softly. I hadn�t moved for an hour; he couldn�t seem to sleep well unless I was holding his hand or touching his arm or something. Citan was sitting on the other bed, thinking about god-only-knows what. He spoke suddenly, making me jump. � Kris, I am curious as to how you knew I am from Solaris. I do not recall telling anyone.� I shrugged. � You didn�t. You keep very good secrets that not even a master mind-reader could access. It was just some information I happened to pick up a bit earlier.� � Mind-reader?� I nodded and decided I had some explaining to do. � I can, to a certain extent, read minds.� His own closed up like a drawstring bag and I laughed. � Don�t be so nervous. I don�t like to pry. But if you prefer, go ahead. I won�t be angry.� � Why not?� he pressed. � Why should I be?� I replied. � It�s your head.� Fei took a waking breath and opened his eyes. � Where am I?� he asked, apparently disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. � On an Aveh transport ship,� I told him. He humphed and went to the window. � Hm? What�s that?� The room suddenly rolled to one side. The door gave from an outside pressure and sand spilled inside. We fought our way to the ladder and Fei went up first. I followed and Citan brought up the rear. We ran across the room, whose floor was already partially drowned in sand, and went to the ladder on the far wall, going up onto the top deck. � Go to the crane, Fei,� Citan ordered. � I will move it over Weltall and you can climb down to it.� Fei reluctantly did so and Weltall got up and came over to us. � Get in the hand! Hurry!� Weltall�s grip was light but firm. I wasn�t worried about falling. Citan�s back was pressed against mine and we might have carried on a conversation if the noise from the engine hadn�t been so loud. Landing after a good minute of flight, Weltall�s hand opened and released us. I stood from my crouch and stuck close to Weltall�s foot. Citan joked about being dizzy and Fei took him seriously for a moment. � Save yourselves and leave your friends to die?� asked a very familiar voice. � How pathetic! Have some spine!� Citan grabbed my arm and pulled me out of range of any attacks, should there be a battle. I protested vehemently, struggling and twisting to escape. � You don�t get it!� I cried. � He�s going to make Fei fight and they�re going to end up in some kind of trouble! Let me go!� � Kris, if I let you go you will only get hurt or killed and Fei will never forgive me.� � I promise I won�t get myself killed,� I told him. � Just let me go!� � No, Kris.� I stopped thrashing to listen to the sound of fighting Gears, then broke free when Citan�s grip on me loosened. I paused at the top of the dune between me and the Gears, then kept going once I realized he was chasing me. I raced down to the Gears and deftly dodged their feet. Leaping onto the red Gear�s foot, I scrambled up from there as the sand began to swallow the two mecha. I made it to the cockpit and beat on the glass. The pilot quit his frantic attempts to get free and looked up. He registered mild shock at seeing me and it was then that the sand touched my feet. � Get away from here!� he shouted. � The sand�ll get you too!� Hesitating almost too long, I scrabbled up to the head and lunged as far away as I could. I landed on solid ground and watched as the crest of one and the white feather of the other disappeared under the sand. Citan appeared beside me. � I must say I have never seen anything like the insane stunt you just pulled off.� � I worked around Gears a lot when I was little,� I answered, getting to my feet and brushing my clothes off. � Once you know what to look for, you can read them like you can a person.� I turned as three Deurmod Gears drew near. � Don�t be stupid,� the lead Gear told us. � You can�t outrun us.� I grinned. � Haven�t changed a bit, Maitreya!� � How in the . . .?� There was a whir as a camera somewhere zoomed in on me. The voice laughed. � Hot damn! It�s about time you came back, Krista!� I turned to Citan. � Don�t worry about this. I�ll take care of it.� � You know them?� I shifted my gaze up to the sky thoughtfully. � Yeah. I guess you could say they�re my adopted family.� He lifted an eyebrow skeptically. � . . . All right. I will leave it to you then.� � Great.� I faced Maitreya again. � Where�s the ship?� The Deurmod gestured over its shoulder. � That way.� A pause. � Who�s the tag-along?� � �Tag-along�?� Citan echoed irritatedly. � He�s with me,� I told Maitreya. To Citan, I said quietly, � Chill out. Don�t take offense at every little thing. I�ve been a tag-along nearly all my life. It�s not a bad thing.� � I am staying out of this, remember,� he replied in the same tone as before. � Oh, grow up.� � You have room to say such.� � Compared to you, I have plenty.� � Are you insulting me?� � Should I be?� Maitreya broke in, leaving me with the last word. � Krista, where�s the young master?� � I . . . He got sucked into the sand while he was fighting.� � All right. You go back to the ship and I�ll look for him.� I jogged right under the Gears, Citan in tow, and toward the sand cruiser. It was shielded in a valley of dunes and the first thing I saw was the nose of the ship, which bore one of the five crests that I was able to recognize without thinking. I sped up and stopped beside the tall ship, looking up at the deck. A Deurmod noticed us and picked us up, gently depositing us on the deck. I waved at the Gear. � Thanks, Vind!� The Gear did a quick salute. � No problem, Kris.� I looked at the closed hatch as noise from below drew my attention. It opened slowly and then someone I knew but couldn�t identify right away climbed out. I was unable to put a name with a face because their head was down. But I had an inkling that it was . . . � Kris . . .� was the menacing tone. O~kay. Maybe not. I scooted backwards and ducked behind Citan, peering out at the person whose voice, because I recognized it, made me cringe and shrink away from them. � Where have you been?� demanded the voice with quiet malice. � I . . . I was just . . . going out for . . . for a little while . . .� I stuttered weakly. � Please . . . don�t be angry.� The voice rose menacingly. � You call six years a �little while�?!� I yelped fearfully and hid completely behind Citan, who looked over his shoulder at me. � Do you two know each other?� � Of course we do,� the voice answered in a reasonable tone. I peeked out from behind Citan and gasped. � Sig!� I cried, racing over and throwing my arms around his neck. He squeezed me in a hug and lifted me off my feet briefly. When he let go, I put my hands on my hips and scolded him. � Why do you insist on scaring me like that?� � Because it�s fun to scare you,� he replied with a laugh. � And you know I don�t really mean it. Bartholomew takes me too seriously.� Citan politely cleared his throat. � What about Fei?� I waved my hand. � Oh, they�ll be all right. They�re more alike than they appear. They�ll get along okay. Bart knows the layout of the deserts well enough and Fei�ll keep him from doing something stupid.� � Are you sure?� � Doc . . .�--Fei was rubbing off on me--� trust me. I know them both very well. They�ll probably argue a lot, but they won�t kill each other.� Sig tossed me over his shoulder and we both humphed. � Oh, my stomach . . .� I moaned. � My, Kris. You�ve certainly gained weight.� � Hey,� I snarled, pinching his ribs, � my weight is perfect for my height. If you can�t handle it, don�t pick me up!� � Ow! Why you little witch!� He reached up and tickled my side. I was helpless to defend myself. � Sig!� I gasped between laughs. � Quit!� � Not until you apologize!� � Okay!� I laughed, feeling tears slide over my cheeks. � I�m sorry!� Luckily, he kept his end of the bargain. I relaxed and grabbed the tail of his gray coat, wiping my eyes off on it. I thought it was fair because he�d made me laugh so hard. Sig descended into the ship and went to the bridge. � Hey, Maison. Look what I found wandering around outside.� I recognized Maison�s quiet chuckling. � Well, I do remember those boots.� � Gee, thanks,� I grumbled. I found myself yawning and crossed my arms against the small of Sig�s back. I placed my head on my arms and let the soft hum of the computers and the security of my surroundings lull me to sleep. *>*<* The two teens stood on the upper level of the bridge, staring confusedly at the girl laying loosely over a man�s shoulder. � How long has she been like that, Sig?� � Nine hours.� � Really?� � Yes.� � Damn. I�d have back problems forever if I were in her position.� Then the blond teen grinned. � Yes! I won!� � Won what?� asked the other. � The bet Kris and I made seven years ago! Kris bet me that she couldn�t sleep like she is now for more than five hours. I said she could and now she owes me fifty G!� Sigurd shushed him. � Don�t wake her! She�s exhausted as you two must be! Now leave her alone and go get some rest!� *>*<* I stretched and yawned. � Rise and shine, Kris,� Sig said over his shoulder. � Good morning.� � Morning . . .� I mumbled. Then it hit me. � Morning?! Sig, how long have I been asleep?� � Eighteen hours.� � And how long have you been awake?� � Thirty-six hours. But that�s only because Bartholomew is resting. I normally wouldn�t be up this long.� � Then let me take over so you can get some sleep.� � Kris, you can�t---� � Sure I can. Bart appointed me command after you, remember?� � Yes, but---� � And you must be tired after being up so long.� � Yes, but---� � Don�t worry. I�m not trigger-happy like Bart is.� � Not as, at least.� � Okay, fine. Maybe I can be a little presumptuous, but I was usually right.� � Twice.� � Not bad out of five.� He sighed. � I can see you won�t give up, so you can take over this one time. Just don�t fire at anything that moves.� � Me? Never!� � Promise?� � Promise.� I could tell he didn�t believe me. � Fine.� I wiggled until Sig set his clipboard down on the railing and nearly lifted me off his shoulder. � Thanks.� I snatched his clipboard before he could grab it and leaned back against him, looking over his notes. � Hm . . .� � That nosiness is going to get you in trouble one day,� he snapped, pulling the clipboard from my hands. � Hey, I�m taking over command. I need to know what�s up with everything. Right?� I pressed. He grudgingly agreed as he made a few more notations on the paper. <--Phase 1 Phase 3--> |