| Phase 39 I got back in Axyl and manually piloted her to her stall. This was difficult because of the lack of cameras. I had to go on memory, which included knowing how long her stride was and how many steps it took to get to her normal stall. Luckily, memory served me well and I was able to put Axyl safely back in her stall. Then I stepped back and settled in the semi-consciousness I knew so well. {~||~} *>*<* Axyl had returned to normal once in the bay. Well, as normal as could be expected since she had apparently changed somehow. Bart exited Brigandier and stormed over to Axyl. He rapped on the outside, but when it wouldn�t open, reached up under a small shield and pressed the emergency release. The cockpit opened and revealed a girl hunched over in her seat. He went over and removed the helmet, careful to set it on the floor because of the delicate instruments inside. He cupped her face in his hands and asked softly, � Kris? Babe?� She took a breath and slowly returned to consciousness. � ? Princeling? Where am I?� He could see that she was still half drugged from whatever she�d been hit with in the excavation site. Now would not be a time to be hard with her. � You�re in Axyl.� � It looks different.� � Yeah. She looks like she�s been upgraded. You should see her from the outside. Are you all right?� She nodded weakly. � Just feel kind of sick.� He freed her from the harness and picked her up. � I�ll take you to sickbay, okay?� � Okay.� � Oh, Fei�s awake.� � He is?!� � Hey, calm down. Yes, he is. He should be in sickbay though, getting some rest. You can talk to him.� � Good. Where are we going now?� � Shevat.� � How will you get there?� � The Babel Tower. Now just stop asking questions and relax.� He took her to the medical room and laid her on a bed where she could see Fei, who appeared to be sleeping. Bart knew otherwise. � Hey, Fei.� Fei looked over. � Oh, hi Bart.� His gaze shifted to the right. � Kris! What happened?! Are you okay?!� Bart then realized that one of them would get up and probably hurt themselves, so he picked Kris up and laid her on the bed beside Fei, who sat up to talk to her. � Don�t get rowdy or I�ll have the nurse separate you.� Fei laughed. � No chance of that.� � I�ll be up on the bridge.� *>*<* � Kris?� � Yeah?� � What happened?� � Some jerk shot me and the dart had tranquilizer in it and it made me a little on the weak and unconscious side. That�s all. I�ll be all right in a minute or two. So, what are you doing up?� He shook his head. � I�m not sure. The last thing I remember is fighting that guy in that fishy Gear and then I was standing on Weltall�s repair shelf right before you all went out to fight somebody.� We probably talked for another few hours (and the whole time Frensik was a �pet me!� weasel) and by then I had sat up and was doing perfectly fine. The nurse said we could leave and we went to the gunroom to get a snack from the lounge. Boy, were we surprised. The door opened and we were greeted to the sight of Bart and Elly kissing. Not something I was expecting or looking forward to. They separated immediately, looking ashamed. Fei was stunned, but I wasn�t particularly amazed. My brother turned to me. � If you weren�t my sister, I think I�d kiss you like that just to get back at them.� I rolled my eyes and snorted, then backed out of the room and went to the elevator. I went to my room and laid on my side on my bed. Devon made herself a cove against my stomach and a moment later, the door opened and Fei entered. He sat beside the head of my bed and let his head roll back onto the sheets, his eyes closed. Frensik hopped into his lap and curled up there. � You should have heard them try to explain themselves,� he said after a long stretch of silence. � Just stuttering like they�d forgotten how to speak.� � Must�ve been good for a laugh.� He humphed. � You bet.� In the safety of each other�s company, we fell asleep. ~They were huddled together against a large, overhanging piece of the fallen ship; her laying against the wall and him sitting by her head, watching over her as she slept. In another hour or so, she would wake and he would sleep. And they would trade off like that as long as they needed to. The two hidden in the shadow of another piece of the ship looked at each other and nodded. They stepped out into the twilight and approached the orphans, the only survivors of the ship�s crash. The boy noticed them immediately and frantically began to shake the girl beside him, his eyes locked on the two people who neared. � Krista-Lyn! Wake up!� The girl jumped awake and, frightened, reached for her brother. He put his arms around her and curled over her as if to protect her. They shook in fear, but didn�t try to run. The two new figures stopped and watched them, then one knelt and attempted to separate them. His companion joined him, removing the boy�s arms from the girl and lifting him away. � No!� he wailed. � Krista-Lyn!� The little girl thrashed wildly, but the one who held her just pinned her arms against her sides and held her close to him. � Let me go! Abel!� The two interlopers gave each other another look, then shifted their gazes to the sky and watched the clouds darken. Almost right after, it began to rain. They shielded the children with their own bodies and retreated to a larger section of the ship that was still mostly intact. Now sheltered, the children were freed. The boy looked like he wanted to run, but the girl seemed rather angry even though she was obviously the younger of the two. She fisted her little hands and put them on her hips, glaring up at the one who�d carried her to this new area. � Who are you?� she demanded. He smiled at her boldness. � I am Shosa. That is Elly.� � Why are you helping us?� He sat down to be more at her eye-level. � Because you obviously needed it. So we gave it.� � What do you want?� � Nothing.� � You�re joking.� � I am not.� She stepped closer to him. � I don�t trust you.� � What will it take for you to trust me?� She walked right over to him and touched his face. When he made no move to stop her, just watched her with sharp blue eyes, she put the fingers of her small hands against his temples and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said, � I believe you.� � Good.� � But that doesn�t mean I trust you.� � That�s fine.� She turned. � Abel, come here.� Her brother followed her to the far end of the shelter. Shosa looked at Elly. � Her powers are amazingly developed for someone her age.� � Really? Must have been because of all this.� She gestured to the wreckage of the ship. � I don�t know. This was more of a physical trauma. Would that trigger it?� She shrugged. � It was just a guess.� Krista-Lyn and Abel finally came back. Abel went to Elly and touched her knee, gazing up at her with wide eyes. � Are you going to take care of us?� Elly smiled. � Yes. Shosa and I will take care of you.� Krista-Lyn went to Shosa and climbed slowly into his lap. She laid down and grabbed his braid of blond hair. � Your hair�s pretty.� � Thank you.� � Can I brush it out?� � Sure. But tomorrow. Right now we need to sleep.� So they laid down together--Krista-Lyn and Abel on the inside and Shosa and Elly on the outside--and slept as night fell.~ *>*<* He placed the side of his head against the door. � They might be asleep. If they are, be quiet, but don�t act like you�re not supposed to be there. Kris is real sensitive to the noises in her room.� She nodded. � Okay.� He opened the door and entered. She squeezed in behind him and saw the scene as well. � This is . . . making me feel odd.� � Yeah,� he agreed. � Like I�ve seen it before.� Kris laid on her bed, her head not quite touching Fei�s. Fei sat on the floor against the bed, his head rolled back near Kris�. The scene was vaguely familiar to Bart and Elly, but neither could put a finger on it. Bart went over to the bed and knelt beside it, stroking Kris� face softly. He dared not say anything to her while she was awake; she probably hated him by now anyway. � Don�t run away again,� he begged in a hurt whisper. � Please, hate me all you like, just don�t leave me anymore.� Kris stirred as if she was waking. Bart got to his feet, panicked, and backed out of the room. Elly made a strategic retreat and was momentarily confused when she found the hall empty. How could Bart have just disappeared like that? The door to the next room opened and a little red dragon came out. He nodded a greeting to Sala and looked up at Elly. My human wishes that I take you to your room. Follow me. � I have a room?� The dragon rose into the air and pressed the button for the elevator. He turned to her. You do now. What, you thought we�d stick you in the barracks where you�d have no privacy? � Well . . .� Your room will be right beside Lord Fei�s. Is that all right? � Yes, that�s fine. Thank you.� They got in the elevator and Sala climbed up to Elly�s shoulder, leaning out toward the red dragon. May I ask your name? I am Matik. And you? Oh! My apologies! I am Sala. He nodded. I am to keep track of the other dragons on this ship. If you have any trouble with another dragon or a human, let me know. So far there has been no difficulty, but one can never tell. All right. Matik looked at Elly. The same goes for you, Lady Elly. If you cannot find my human, you may tell me and I will make the report as soon as I can. � Okay.� The elevator doors opened and Matik glided out. He flew down the hall to the third door and disappeared inside. This is your room. Lord Fei�s room is the next one up. � What about the others?� Lord Hyuga is in the first room. The last room is empty, though since Lord Billy might stay, the room may become his. � What about Rico?� Lord Rico prefers the guest room beside the engine room. Would you like the other guest room? � No, that�s all right. This is wonderful. Thank you.� Matik flew to the door, but stopped and spun. If you need anything else, just come find me. I�ll probably be asleep in my human�s room. � Okay.� Matik started to leave once more, but whirled again. Oh yes. Will you be staying with us? � I�d like to.� Then I will speak to Lord Sigurd about getting you a headset. <--Phase 38 Phase 40--> |