Colliding Worlds

“Illya,” the voice called from outside the door in Quoti loudly. “Kalizda yah in dere?” The man outside started to open the flap to the door. Illya started to usher Kalizda off though she was already well on her way scampering back to the room. “Yeah I’m ere.” Answering the man on the other side Illya blocked the way that led to the room. It was Edgar and Illya could only assume that he came with a report of how things turned out with the party. “Eh sit oveh here.” The two of them spoke in Quoti quietly while Illya tried to get some tea ready. He felt a little bit nervous especially since the military display had felt entirely risky. Not all of the delegates seemed to be at ease with the show.

The elder carefully took a seat and he nodded in thanks when he was offered the cup of tea. “Yah have fine house.”

As badly as Illya wanted to have the conversation done with and just know what had been the final determination he was determined to be patient and just wait. There was no rushing an elder and at times they liked to test their fellow Chippequoti. “I plan carefully for meh Kalizda.”

“Yah do vereh well wit da wedding.” Edgar added with a short nod. He sipped at the tea and smiled. “I tink yah make good impression. Chippequoti vereh proud.” No matter the impression that everyone else got it seemed to be positive enough to be the overwhelming vote. All the work paid off and the pressure on Illya had produced the same results as usual. The general always seemed to pull through no matter how much pressure they put on him. It was something that they had come to value. If there was a job to be done they could give the load to their younger general and he would pull through. “Illya da Chippequoti stand behind yah always.” Drinking the last of the tea he stood up and started for the door again.

Once Edgar left the general sighed and lowered his head. He was releieved that it had all gone through. At times it seemed that they put more on him then what was necessary. There had always been pressure to perform more and he was the scapegoat on a few things. Still he had created some of his own problems and he knew that.

Kalizda came out only a few moments after Edgar had left and the general nodded to her. “Aye, we go out exploring.” He gave her a little grin. “Yah keeping yah word eh.” Illya carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We go soon.” All he needed to do was finish frying the snake and then he could strip it up and throw some in a bag for their little flight. “We have food out dere instead of coming home for lunch.” More than likely she didn’t have the energy to stay out all night, but Illya was going to propose that they go out for a few nights shortlly after this. Perhaps they could make a journy on foot rather than taking a flyer. “Maybe I ask elders if we can make a longer exploration some day soon.”

******************************************************

Marching through the doorway the man stopped short of the desk of set a stack of papers on it. “Sir we made a thorough examination of Quoti. They’re all gone now and Ehaui too.”
Taking up the stack of papers the man sighed. “You took surviellance photographs too I see.” Flipping through the pages he saw that many of the little stone huts looked the same, but the miniature herb gardens were gone or shriveled up and dead. “They moved here.” Following the map he pointed to Nuen. “I’ve heard a little about the planet. We don’t have to use their only port if we choose to make our own across the planet from them. Place life sustaining ships midway through the desert and then cover them in sand. They’ve gotten used to seeing attacks from the sky, but we can take them from below.”

“Excuse me sir? The sand is unstable.” Blinking a few times the attendent stared at the boss sitting behind the desk.

“Exactly and that is why they don’t expect it. We drive the life sustaining ships near dunes and let them get buried. Deploy our ships from those ports.” Shuffling through a few other papers he pulled up one. “And it seems that we still have some of the same enemies. I see the older general, the younger one, and a few of the elders.” Beckoning the man to come closer he pointed to the pictures that he had printed out and then opened a computer file to show the other pictures. “They’re all the same, just older. We know who we’re dealing with, but they don’t know any of us now.”

Pushing away from his desk the tall brown haired man yawned. “I need to get a little rest before we look at this more in depth. Tomorrow I’ll review the files and my informant will have a little more information. Seems that our oversized problem just grew.’” He was going to be spending quite a bit of time working around the alliance that had recently formed. However, he knew that there was a chance they would burn through the new alliance. The Chippequoti had a history of assuming that the whole world revolved around their traditions and they were a little on the prickly side to deal with. If he made a few simple attacks they would try to keep it all in house and he could be sure that his workers were injured, but not killed. Kaereleans were not tolerant of killing and that ensured that his men would live to propogate the rumor of violence. He was going to issue a warrant searching for his missing employees that went for a vacation to the newly inhabited planet and then they would be found brutally murdered or injured.

Stepping into a private elevator he typed in a code and the elevator zipped down and then shot to the side. The separate suite attached to the code opened and he walked through the door. “Honey, I’m home.” Smiling gently the woman walked over to wrap her arms around his neck. “Hey…” Kissing him on the cheek she wrapped her fingers around his. “Come see what I got for your dinner.”

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Like usual Illya had trouble getting out of the flyer. His knees were pressed tight against the back of her seat. “I’m fine.” Grimacing a little he forced himself up and then watched the ridiculous little helmet tumble down to the ground. The first few steps were a little uneven as he tried to work the blood back into his legs. "Ugh...Maybe I learn to fly and yah ride in the back next time."

Kalizda seemed to be somewhat excited at the prospect of exploring the cave and he grinned. "Ah, yah we go." Wandering back to the little flyer he dug underneath the back seat and pulled out a small rope. "We need a way out eh?" There was nothing worse than getting lost and going underground could disorient anyone. As they entered the cave Illya tied the rope off to a stone and then held onto one end. "We stop exploring when dis runs out." Illya placed his hand on one of the formations. It felt slimy because of the minerals and water running over them. A constant drip sounded as the water would fall to the floor of the cave. Instinctively Illya shivered against the cool damp atmosphere of the cave.

The wind outside the cave roared though it seemed to get closer at times. Occasionally Illya tugged on the cord to be sure that they were still attached. "We're about uh..." Tugging again Illya frowned. "Kalizda someting is wr..." Before he could finish the sentence a large scorpion type creature came clacking behind him. The stinger thrust past his shoulder as he ducked and the Chip pulled Kalizda down with him. Rolling on the ground he jumped back up and pushed Kalizda away from himself. "Follow da rope and get far enough away ta shoot et." If she could get far enough away she could get a decent shot. Illya reached for his dagger and shook his head as he withdrew the tiny little knife from Tikan. Of course it was smaller than his own dagger had been. This was barely more than a table knife. "I hope yah right about dis being worth et."

Dodging the second strike from the scorpion Illya jumped over a stalagmite. One idea popped into his head and he didn't have time to second guess himself. Reaching up Illya took hold of a smaller stalactite and tore it off the ceiling of the cave. Backing up he nearly tripped on the formations behind himself, but it looked like he had enough room to make a move. Holding onto the wider end of the stalactite Illya threw the pointed edge toward the eye of the scorpion. In the event that the makeshift javelin didn't work Illya was already grabbing for another. "Kalizda yah have clear shot?"
 
Calysta peered into the darkness of the cave. The further they went in, the more moisture she could feel settling into the air. There was definitely water here, and this cave was probably part of a larger system that lead to the watershed hidden below Nuen’s surface. An interesting discovery and an important one. Water as the life blood of Nuen. Without it this planet, even with its deserts and occasional oasis, were useless to anyone. This would be a place they should watch carefully. With careful steps she trekked further into the cave, avoiding the pits in the floors from ages of constant water drips.

Her flash light provided vision up to an extent, but the larger chambers they passed through seemed to swallow up the light with their inky darkness. There was a gentle slope to the floor leading down further into the ground and as she started to descend Illya started to say something then stopped. “Kalizda something is wro…” Calysta turned to check on him but he tackled her to the ground, tucking and rolling her in one smooth motion till they were upright again. The move left her dizzy and unable to get a focal point again in the darkness for a second.

Suddenly, he was shoving her away from himself. She clutched tight to the flash light and stumbled forward into the rope, as a giant insect came into view. Some scorpion shaped creature’s shadow shifted in the darkness with leg hairy legs, claws, and a vicious stinging tail. Shit. Illya was barking orders and she obeyed. Running up the length of the rope, Calysta freed her gun and flicked off the safety by feel. Her foot found one of the pits and she pitched forward into the slick, stone floor. “Augh!” Her hands slammed into the ground, catching most of the fall, and crushing her fingers against the grip of the gun. There wasn’t any time to deal with it though, it could hurt after they weren’t being attacked by giant bugs.

Illya’s voice along with the hair raising clack of the creature echoed though the caverns. It sounded like he was fighting the thing. Hauling herself up, she whipped around with the pistol in the left and the flash light gripped in her right, bracing underneath. “Kalizda yah have a clear shot?” She had a clear shot, but that wasn’t the problem. The exo-skeleton on such a large bug would be hard to penetrate even with a 9mm round. It would take several shots in the same spot to pierce through more than likely. The eyes would be the weakest point, just like on a Cirellant. Did this thing even have eyes? “No!”
Calysta searched desperately over its body as it lashed out at Illya with its tail, slinging poison from the tip. “Hang on!” Finally, she caught sight of a glossy, black eye on the side of its body. The body jerked back and forth with angry hisses at Illya, but she followed its moves until her aim lined up and the shot felt right. “There.” Squeezing the trigger, she let loose a spurt of three rounds which boomed like cannon fire. An enraged squeal told her she had at least hit her mark but the thing didn’t go down. It whipped its body around and started scuttling toward her as the new aggressor. “Damnit!” She raised her gun again and fired, aiming for the second set up eyes and pulling the trigger. After 5 more rounds the monster teetered to the side with a deadly screech and collapsed with his legs twitching and curling underneath it.

Calysta let out a gasp of relief and lowered her gun slowly, then turned the light to Illya. “We’re not taking this one home for the meat box,” she said breathlessly, trying to get her racing heart to calm down. “It didn’t get you, did it?”

**
Ayrn sat back in his seat on the transport, and shut his eye against the florescent lights for a minute. Even when he had his own tent the co-pilot managed to come drag him out of bed at an unholy hour. It would take a day to get to Kaereal’s main hub and catch another transport. A transport to where exactly? All Illya said was he wanted info on Kikta, which at this point, any name starting with a K coming from him usually meant Calysta’s mother Kiya. Not that he particularly cared what her name was either. The crazy woman had broken his nose and stabbed in the hand with a dinner fork. Still, if he was going to go poking around whatever hornet’s nest she was involved with, he needed to know where to find that nest. The best way to unravel a person was to start where they did.
With a grumble, he tugged out the info pad to look over what notes Illya had thrust in his hand along with a substantial wad of credits to get him around. This was going to be dangerous if he was dumb about it but it was better than getting involved in armies and all that. Plus, if Illya man wanted information and that was all, Ayrn could hardly refuse the money and a chance to sleep in an actual bed with climate control.

Scrolling through the notes, he found that Kiya had been working in a small hospital as an emergency on Ktuole. Wherever that was. These people had some crazy names for planets. Why couldn’t they simply name them ‘Rick’ or ‘Jimmy’? ‘Welcome to the planet Jim’ had a nice ring to it. Rubbing at the scruff on his chin, he pulled up the star maps and started trying to find the planet and the transport schedule there. His jaw dropped when he saw where the planet was. It was all the way out on the bloody frontier!

He was supposed to be going to the boonies to track this nutty woman’s doings. Frontier towns could be rough, and lawless with little resources…and the women…they were usually the worse for wear too. It was going to take him at least two weeks and a half to get there by transport with lay overs and cost him a fortune. He needed something faster. Thinking over his options, he read a little more about Illya’s insane mother-in-law and then caught up a bit on his napping.

Cancelled. That was what the transport to G’koe was stamped with on the screen as he stood in the Kaereal hub. And why? Myraxys and Cirellant cruisers had been picking off Terran and Kaerelean ships which caused security in the massive city to bottle neck all travel. A transport to the place would take an additional week to clear. Sighing, Ayrn wandered through the port looking for nothing in particular but seeing everything. There were other, more direct, ways of travel.

A port bar caught his eye and he meandered into the pub, pulling out just a few of the crumbled credits from his pocket. The poorer he looked, the better in some cases. “Eh, just give me whatever whiskey that’ll get me.”
The bartender nodded, not even bothering to look him the eye, and went about pouring up some sort of bottom shelf liquor. Ayrn took up the glass he was handed and took a sip, grimacing at the quality. He’d had better synthetics than this real stuff made for the cheap drinkers. “Ye’get what ye’ pay for,” the bartender smarmed. Ayrn licked his lips and put down the glass. “Yeah, yeah.”

He could hear all sorts of talk around him in the bar. Some people were commenting on the Cirellants and Myraxys, others were talking about Terra. There were even a few murmurings on the Chippeqouti. All politics, but folks seemed to think they were alright. Useful and good at their crafts. Then there were notes about how violent they could be. Ayrn rolled his eye a bit. The first Chip he’d ever met threatened to dislocate his spine and spill his guts for a witch to read as he pummeled him. You didn’t hear him complaining about it. At least not now.
Finally he heard something useful. “G’koe hub transport is cancelled…most travel there is going to be slow and the port will be full of grounded flights. We have to get these to the Delta quadrant though and that’s the only star port this side of the Alpha. We’ll have to flight straight through then. There’s no stop there for refueling or water…well we can’t let all of these supplies go to waste.”

Ayrn grinned and shot down the rest of his whiskey before letting his eye settle on the woman, a blonde with blue eyes, and a man wearing the black and silver of a civilian captain. “Aye is a big mess isn’t it? Not being able to use the G’koe hub. I couldn’t help but overhear. I’m a bit stuck here myself.”
The Kaerlean pilot raised a brow at him. This man was nosey and was covered in dust. A vagabond obviously. “Ye’ should keep your nose out of other people’s business and ye’own business to you.”

Ayrn held up his hands in surrender. “I meant no offense, but I think I can help you out. There’s a port you can use in between. Wouldn’t have to use G’koe at all.”

“There’s no port in between, go on with ye’ tales and lies somewhere else.”

The woman smacked the captain’s arm and nodded. They needed to get their cargo out there and if this man had a way to do it, she was willing to listen. “What port are you talking about?”

Ayrn smiled at her and scooted a little closer. “A little spot called C23. Cold on the outside, warm on the inside. I’d be willing to show you in exchange for a ride out of here.”

The captain and woman passed looked between each other and Ayrn waited to hear if their interest was enough to gain him a quick ride out of town.

**
Ayrn sat with his arm around Jewel, a pretty little woman with pink tresses flowing down her back and stark blue eyes. He’d had some fun with her last time he was on C23 and she remembered him from those months ago. Her handsome Ayrn with his eye so fatefully taken by a rampant tyrei was back and more than enjoying the company. The cream skinned woman ran her fingers through his hair and he bit at her lip. “Hmm…you are just as lovely as I remember,”he sighed happily, “Lets get some more drinks and go find a quieter corner, huh?” The woman giggled and slipped out from under his arm to lead him back to her living quarters. As they passed through the open mall area filled with the other residents of C23 he got some strange looks. They still didn’t get visitors very often, being hidden in their little Nebula and he stood out a little.

She tugged him into her room and began nibbling at his ears, tugging at his belt and he chuckled. Just because he was working didn’t mean he couldn’t play just a little before finding his way, right? Suddenly, there was a loud BANG and Jewel shoved him away quickly. Ayrn whipped around to see a pale man with angry eyes and fists clenched in the doorway. He’d seen that look a time or two to know what it meant. Husband.

The woman started yelling in her native language as the man barreled toward him. Ayrn snatched up his belt and slammed into the guys shoulder, as he made a beeline for the door and into the open corridor. “Nice seeing you, Jewel!” His duffle jostled against his back as he flew around the corner, hitching up his undone pants as he went. There were running footfalls coming fast from behind and his stomach clenched. He needed to get off of this level, but the elevator wouldn’t get there fast enough. His eye caught on the railing. It was a terrible idea, but the angry bellowing behind him didn’t present much option. Gritting his teeth, he hauled himself over the rails and hugged his arm around one of the posts, dangling a few levels above the main floor. The height was a little dizzying, but the guy wouldn’t think to look low. His pants were starting to slide down his hips though and he could feel more and more of his backside starting to appear.

Sure enough, the man ran by to the elevator assuming that’s where he’d gone. The elevator opened and the bullish husband shoved past the passengers coming off so he could get on. Ayrn sighed in relief and started to pull himself back onto the floor. He was lucky working at the blacksmith shop had built his arms up.

Just as he was pulling up the disgruntled passengers walked by and a familiar face caught his eye. The diplomat who had wanted his kettle was walking with several men in black uniforms down the corridor. Immediately, Ayrn froze and ducked back down. It would not be good to be recognized by this guy. His arms were starting to hurt and his pants had slipped right on down past his butt cheeks. There was giggling coming from somewhere on the level below now too. Would they hurry it up and pass? They marched their way past and Ayrn noted how heavily armed the men in uniform were. He waited until they were around the corner and then climbed his way back up, huffing and puffing against the wobbly muscles in his arm. Something was up with this and even though he was supposed to be looking into Kiya, a little wiggle of curiosity was growing. Who was this guy and what exactly was he doing all the way out here? It seemed like too much of a coincidence.

Snatching up his pants, he rebuttoned them and wandered back the way he came. The husband was probably long gone by now. Searching ships or the bars. The men were walking far ahead of him now and were heading into some of the more expensive housing units. With a sigh, Ayrn followed at a good distance, trying to look casual even if he obviously didn’t belong in the rich side of the port. They slipped into a nice looking suite, and Ayrn slinked up to just by the window facing to the corridor, listening carefully. He could only hear one half of the conversation.

“I’m on my way to the outpost now. She’s on Nuen, but I haven’t been able to locate her….won’t talk though. She’d too scared…. No, I couldn’t get her alone either. That barbarian keeps too good of a watch on her…. Yeah I know they’re both loose ends…but they’re both in Chippeoquoti territory now… I know our colleagues aren’t happy about the alliance… arrangements? We’re just refueling and I’m on my way…”

Bingo. Ayrn knew without a doubt who they were talking about. But who was he talking to? Illya would want to know about this, but this guy had much more information to be gleaned too and he couldn’t risk losing whoever the man or the message being watched. He didn’t relish the idea of being caught by the guards either. Luckily there was only one small docking area and only 3 ships stationed there. Of them had to belong to the guy, and he had a feeling it was probably the fanciest one in port. Making his way to the elevator he smiled a little. It was time to do what he did best…hitch a ride.

**
Kiya stood in the kitchen of her captor feeling ill. She hadn’t been eating enough to survive living and working in the heat like this and she knew it. Not that the old crone would care if she collapsed. The woman wanted her dead. Her thoughts felt jagged and disjointed, a sign of exhaustion to be sure. This was all her own fault really. She’d made so many mistakes. The promise of more research grants on bones and grafting had gotten her involved and then they had pulled in her deeper from there. Brining her into the layers of money and showing her just how much better the private sector is for medical research and development. A doctor’s dream. Her stats looked great, her name had been penned on acclaimed papers, and they wanted more work from her. Her work became more geared toward survival of soldiers…how quickly they could recover from her new techniques…The work was still good though. She was saving lives and looking good doing it. Then they asked for something in return…threatening to take it all away…to kill her too…and in the end she did it. Or tried to. Her failure had been her death warrant. Then Thomas appeared….

Kiya swayed on her feet, and tried to focus her eyes on the potted herbs on the countertop. She was so weak in so many ways. Her finger tips fumbled over to a plate where bread was piled and clutched a fluffy roll. She was as weak as Wynt Carrington apparently. He hadn’t had the strength to go through with his own death after poisoning a diplomat either. Had he been totally devoted to the cause they had created, things would have been different. She wouldn’t have been asked to pose as some pilot to begin with.

Of course, looking so much like her half-breed daughter been the reason she was pulled away from her lab in the first place. So why hadn’t she been able to just kill the woman like she had been ordered and save her research? Such a moment of weakness.

She cursed them all as she chewed on the dry bread and fought to stay on her feet.
 
The first make shift stalactite javelin hit the scorpion in the head. It was enough to make a crack in the skull though it wasn't quite close enough to cause the kind of damage he needed it to. Worst of it was that Illya was almost against a wall. He didn't have much space to move. Snapping off another formation the general was just about to throw it when he slammed the rock down in front of his legs. The scorpion pincers snapped dangerously close to his legs and the tail came flying toward him. Dodging the pointed tail he watched as the venom splattered against the wall. A few shots fired out and he darted for the nearest stalagmite to break it off and attack the scorpion again now that it had exposed its abdomen to him. Instead Kalizda fell the beast in short order after that. Marching over to the body he dropped the final chunk of stone he had ripped off the cave floor and began to work on the carcass in the room. "I'm ok he close, but not quite." Illya started to saw at the legs on the scorpion and finally gave up after a moment. Instead he grabbed one of the tightly curled legs at a joint and began to twist it. A sickening crackling sounded and then it snapped off. Looking over at Kalizda he grinned. "Scorpion legs are good eating. I tink about 3 would make good meal for us, my mum would like some and den a gift for Edgar eh?"

Calysta watched as Illya snapped off one of the many rigored legs of the monstrous insect. Mealy goop from the creatures insides oozed out slowly from the break point as Illya grinned at her. She wasn't squeamish or afraid of it now that it was dead, but it was hard to tell if he was joking or not. The idea of him putting smaller ones in the meat box did give her a shiver though. "You eat scorpions too?" she asked with a raised brow, "I've never had one before, but I've heard of some Kaereleans being allergic to bugs like this."

"Yeah I eat anything." Illya shrugged and moved to the next leg. "We eat et tonight." Placing the one leg that snapped at an angle over the body he let the excess goo run out while he listened to Kalizda. "Kaereleans are allergic to poison. We not eating dah tail." He had no idea where she would get concerned about eating scorpion. "Dey taste good and I show yah how to cook et tonight. Maybe grind some peppermint leaves and fry it in oil."

It seemed he was serious about eating it and her attempt at telling him it wasn't good for Kaereleans was a wash. Now she knew he would bring the little devils home for food too. She wasn't opposed to trying it, but sticking her hands down in a pit with a live one didn't appeal. Besides they were going to be eating all things he preferred, all of the time. "Fine, I'll try it. But tomorrow I'm picking what we eat. I think tacos would be good." It would be a Terran dish she could make without the risk of botching it too much.

Calysta smiled, then walked over and pulled out her small knife to begin working on a fourth leg. Apparently the legs would sell at market and she didn't intend on not contributing to the income of her own house. Plus, learning how to deal with these things would be important to living here, though Illya made it sound as if she wasn't happy here and that was much to the contrary. "Illya, this is much my home now as Kaereal. It's very different, but I'll learn."

Glancing at Kalizda he winked. "Yah make good Chippequoti woman." Helping her snap off her leg after he'd finished his Illya sighed. "Maybe when yah here we go to the Ehaui to ask dem to take test. We get yah help so yah bones not so weak." He didn't want to push her, but at the same time he aged about 1 day for every 4-5 days of hers. In a years time that would be a big difference. Gathering the legs in his arms Illya started to walk behind Kalizda. "Yah jes follow rope and wrap it up as yah go eh?" Now that he knew there were giant caves with massive scorpions he knew there was plenty of food. They gave birth to many babies at the same time and that held a certain risk depending on where you went. "We just hurreh, I don't want to know where da baby scorpions are yet."

Calysta chuckled as they worked the leg off but her smile faded a little when he sighed. At the mention of the Ehaui and the bone test, glanced up to see his face in the dim light. He seemed worried suddenly and she knew what it was about. Following his instructions, she started gathering up the rope as her Chip followed behind with an arm full of scorpion legs. "We'll see if Edgar will let us explore some more over the next few days like we planned and then when we come back...we'll go to the Ehaui." Calsyta hated doctors but she would do this for him. It would simply take her longer to heal from the test than him. At the mention of the baby scorpions she picked up her pace. There was no way she was getting caught down here with thousands of them hatching.

When they finally got outside to the sun Illya couldn't help feeling a little relieved and he was more than glad to see that there weren't any other scorpions nearby. Loading into the back of the ship he piled the legs in on his lap and let the juicy ends hang out the side of the flyer. As soon as they landed Illya sent Kalizda home with a leg and he started out toward Edgar's and then his mother's to be sure they got first pick. "Kalizda yah come back ere when yah put dat in kitchen." She needed to see how to make a good bargain.

The trading didn't take long when one of the Chippequoti passing by saw the giant scorpion legs. Immediately they asked for one to be held and then came out of their house with several items that they had sewn or wove. Illya looked over the nice thick cloth and he glanced to Kalizda. "Chippequoti don't trade for money, we keep it for outside trade. Yah pick what yah like dat they're willing to trade and den dey pick a leg." Whether Kalizda understood or not the credits were not something that the Chippequoti liked to use. It was only for outside trade and if she didn't understand why at this time it would come later. Since it was Kalizda mainly doing the trading Illya tried to see what sorts of things she liked or thought that they were needing at home. It was stuff he hadn't really thought of, but it was nice for a home. Little things that he hadn't even been sure what to do with because Isla had always taken care of those things.

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Illya scrapped all the hair off the scorpion leg and stripped a few pieces of the meat off for Keysha, Emmit, and Cin. All the animals waited expectantly between scraps that were not quite suitable for Kalizda and Illya to eat. When he had it ready to chop up he winked at Kalizda. "Yah make good shot and kill et." There was a hint of pride in his voice as he hacked the first bit from the leg and continued chopping at it. "Meh fearless little bird." Nodding to a container on the shelf he tried to get her to grab it. "Mint." For the time Illya's hands were covered in the juices from the meat and he didn't want to grab other stuff from around the kitchen. "Pour some oil over mint and den fry it up till et smells good. Den I will add meat."

Once he had the meat in the pan with the mint Illya washed his hands and then reached for an large container in the cupboard. It was filled with wild grains that grew in the desert sands. Usually it was carefully cultivated in certain areas. Rather than making sweet bread Illya ground it up and sprinkled it over the meat. "Makes good covering and den yah bite into crunchy outside and soft meat in legs with hint of peppermint." While he was describing the reason for preparing it this way he heard her father step in and call for them. Mainly Kalizda, but that was alright. She stepped out to talk with him. It sounded like the man was eating here for dinner. As long as Kalizda didn't tell Thomas what they were eating he was sure the man would be fine. He liked the snake stew just fine till he found out it was snake. People were just so picky about food. It was perfectly good and safe to eat.

After a few minutes he had a platter full of hot steaming Scorpion legs in sweet grain breading and a side of alcohol. Just a little sweet grain beer was perfect with this meal. "I show Kalizda good Chippequoti cooking. Yah lucky ets not snake tonight." It seemed that was good enough for Thomas and the man served a large chunk of leg onto his plate. Illya served Kalizda and then himself before sitting down.

Somehow Illya frequently forgot about the prayer for a meal and he already had the first bite in his mouth when the man held his hands out. Illya hesitantly took hold of Thomas' hand on one side and then Kalizda's. It was a strange ritual and he wondered why the man always did that. There was no need to ask for blessings over the food. It was already put here by the gods and they liked to see the Chippequoti use what they were given. With a little oil and juice left in the bottom of the pan Illya offered to pour it over the meat on the other's plates before putting a little on his own. It all smelled great and it tasted great. Noticing that Thomas stopped Illya pointed to a large cup in front of the man. "Drink da sweet grain beer. Verah good on hot day wit...da meat." He almost gave it away, but caught himself before he got that far.

Thomas glanced down at his plate at Illya's explanation and looked it over with a raised brow. It was a fried strip of something with rice and the juice from the pan. Picking up the fried fare carefully he looked it over, then broke the bit in half. Very crunchy and white meat on the inside, made it appear to be chicken, but he was still a little skeptical. "It's not snake, right?" Calysta shook her head. "Not snake." Thomas nodded and then took a bite. It was almost too crunchy for chicken, but he imagined his daughter had trouble judging how long to tell Illya to fry it. The meat was still juicy on the inside with good flavor and that was an accomplishment. A good Sunday dinner on a Wednesday night. "It's well done," he smiled, washing down the crispy food with the sweet beer, "Drink is good too. I didn't know you brewed."

Catching Kalizda's glance the Chip smiled. She had backed him up on saying it wasn't snake. At least they were both on the same page of not telling her dad what it was. Then her father started into a conversation that Illya wasn't quite sure how to take. Brewing was first off a word he hadn't known in trader's tongue and it followed a statement about the drink. Illya could only assume that the man was suggesting he made the beer. "Jes take sweet grains and dump in water and some honey den let et eh..." Licking his lips he tried to think of the word. "Rot?"

Thomas was familiar with how beer was made and knew what the man meant, though he was only using the words in the limited traders tongue he knew. After living with Edgar and his wife, he was getting used to deciphering. "Aye. Fermentation works wonders. Good beer. Of course, God didn't need to wait for that, eh. Just turned water in to wine in a second." He chuckled at his joke, but Calysta was giving him a little frown and he wasn't sure if the Chip caughtnthe reference from his study. Clearing his throat, looked to the both of them. "Speaking of which I brought a Bible for the new house. Its a nice looking house and every home should have at least one."

When the man started to make references from his holy book Illya just nodded. He faintly remembered such a story, but he wasn't really familiar enough to say much about it. After a long moment it seemed that Thomas got around to his little gift and Illya nearly choked on his food. Thomas couldn't have known, but this was not done. "Eh...Uh...Verah kind, but I can't." Meeting the man's gaze he let out a sort of confused sounding uh and continued. "It would cause gods to curse meh. I don't have any other gods in meh house. I read to know meh allies and gods forgive dis, but not meh keeping other gods here."

Thomas frowned at the Illya's reply and gazed back at him. Apparently his reading had done nothing to give him insight on the one true God. He didn't come to fight about it but he would be insistent. "I'm not one for telling a man what to do in his own home, but this is important. A home shouldn't be without the Lord's blessing."

This man had always been insistent that he would somehow change his religion. Illya shook his head. "I have blessing of many gods." Pointing toward his doorway he nodded. "Pile of rune rocks for blessings of gods. I curse dem if anyone steals from et. Chippequoti do this and meh house is safe now."

Thomas put down his crunchy chicken determined to hold his ground. All this talk of curses and blessings of many gods was getting frustrating. If he couldnt convert him, he could at least make him keep the bible just in case. "That may be, but I'm trying to make it even safer with my God's blessing too. With all those gods you have there's not room for one more? " It was blasphemy to say such things but he just wanted his daughter and amd amy children to have access to the good book. "This is part of Calsyta's heritage too. Doesnt she get a say?"

It seemed that explaining this did no good. Thomas didn't understand and Illya sighed. Looking back to his plate he began eating. He didn't have anything more to say about it. "Kalizda can answer for herself." If she wanted it he would find some way to ask for forgiveness from the gods and then continue with life. For himself there was not one more thing he could say or explain and Thomas was relentless. Illya found the best way to deal with the relentless was to stop.

Calysta inwardly cringed as her fathers eyes turned to her expectantly. Why did he have to bring her into this discussion? It would hurt him deeply to say no but she wasn't sure what Illya would do if she said yes. Picking at her scorpion she let a awkward silence fall over the table until she could manage the best answer she could come up with. "Dad, we will take the Bible as part of my heritage." She didnt promise to practice or pray but he was right in noting it was part of her past and his too. Seeing her father sit up a little straighter, Calysta stole a glance at Illya to see what he thought or if he understood.

When Kalizda agreed to have the Bible Illya just nodded and kept eating. It wasn't right to deny her a heritage, but it also meant he would have to be vigilant and more careful. They needed someplace for the Bible to sit in the house and he would have to be careful that he didn't touch it. "If Kalizda wants et we will make safe place for et." Illya was thinking maybe somewhere in a box. However, his curiosity was getting the better of him. He'd never held any other holy book besides the Bible and he liked how pretty the binding was. Even decorated with gold.

"I'm glad to hear it," Thomas nodded, as he went back to his meal. It was a relief to know that God would be in the house in some way and that they would have the book in times of need. There would probably have to be another discussion with the man when the subject of grandchildren came up, but that would be between the two of them. His daughter wouldn't like him bringing it up in front of her.

Illya finished the meal mostly in silence, but he remained cautious. There was no need to touch the Bible here. His first quest for the night was to hide the Bible and then he wasn't ever going to mention it again. Maybe allowing Kalizda to have it was a mistake. Her father would quit pestering them, but Illya didn't want this to be anything that they would ever discuss again. Letting her keep her heritage when she was now a Chippequoti by adoption was bending the rules at best. She was supposed to adopt or at least respect Chippequoti customs. Kalizda did respect them, but she couldn't have both worlds and the gods would know that. As soon as her father left Illya took a towel and threw it over the Bible before taking it to the kitchen and hiding it in the back of a cupboard before he pulled it out and took it to a strange little cubby in the library. Shoving it behind several other books he rearranged the books to be sure that it wouldn't be easily discovered. "Et stays dere. Yah want et, but I can't touch et here and yah don't talk about et to anyone."

****************************

Belen stepped into the kitchen to see the little trouble was becoming still weaker. It looked like she was going to fall over any minute. Sighing irritably the old Chip woman drug Kiya back to a small bed she had made for her and pushed Kiya onto the padded mat. "Yah act like spoiled child. If we want yah dead we do it already. No one invades Chippequoti lands. If dis man in suit kill yah what difference?"

Leaning a little closer she stared Kiya in the eye. She had heard the stories and she spoke to this woman once. "Kill yahself and now yah dead anyway." Getting up she shuffled back to the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a tea and some soft roasted snake. "Eat dis and get yah health." This time she was going to watch until the woman ate all the food she had given her and drank the tea. Then Belen intended to watch till the little woman fell asleep. She wasn't about to have this prisoner die on her. "Little trouble yah have great problems." She had taken to calling Kiya little trouble because it seemed that was all the woman was good for and in addition the only thing she focused on. "Ef dis suit man is so powerful yah tell us and we save yah daughter. Save many more Chippequoti. Right now yah not even fight."

It took a few moments for Belen to decide that it was sinking in. "Et's no fight ef yah sit ere and jus die. Fight back against suit man. Yah tell us and we find out problems. Otherwise yah die here and if not ere suit man kill yah and nobody knows who ta fight. I tink yah fighter, not one ta jes give up eh?" Belen could only hope that Kiya would hear her. There was no use holding a secret that had already endangered your life. If the peril was so great that she should die soon why not become a stone in the boot of her enemy?

*********************************************

Kalizda was getting ready for bed and she called him into the kitchen for a drink that she said might help him sleep. "Ah sleep just fine." By the look on her face he figured there wasn't much point in arguing. He thought he'd been quiet the last two mornings and he worked the cramps out of his leg and back fairly quickly. Sipping at the drink he wrinkled his nose a little. It didn't taste quite like he thought it should for tea. Then again she had tried a few odd remedies before. It may have been she burnt some of the tea too. Kalizda still wasn't that great of a cook. Perhaps it would be a good idea to show her how to make the tea without burning it.

About 15 minutes later Illya started to get a little tired. "I get ready to sleep now." Mumbling on his way to the bedroom he stripped down and brushed his teeth. He had another loose tooth and so he pulled it out and tossed it into the garbage. Rinsing his brush in a little cup he then poured it out the back window the same as he where he spit out the water too. Illya put the brush back in its place and put the cup next to it. Wandering back to the bedroom he laid down in the bed and then remembered that odd little package he found. "Kalizda?" Adjusting how he was laying he dug into his pant pockets and pulled out the package. "I found dis on da floor next to yah clothes." Flopping it in her hand he rolled over in the bed to face her. "I forget to show yah dah money place too. Tomorrow I show yah."

It made no sense why he was so tired. She said the tea would help him sleep, but he never had tea that strong before. Wrapping his arm around Kalizda the Chip pushed up on the other elbow and kissed her a few time and then flopped next to her on the bed again. "I'm too tired." Instead of getting up in the middle of the night Illya frowned in his sleep when his back and leg started to cramp. Growling a little he turned away from Kalizda in the bed and shifted several more times till he was semi comfortable before the pain started again. Lazily he opened his eyes and dug into the drawer on his nightstand. Stuffing the lozenge under his tongue he turned over in the bed and waited for a few minutes for the aches to subside. Gradually he began to drift off to sleep again muttering incomprehensible syllables. A few hours later he started to shift in the bed a little more. It was already 6 hours of sleep and he wasn't quite awake. Curling a little he grabbed his leg with both his hands and held on for a few moments before rolling onto his stomach and continuing to sleep peacefully for another half hour.

When he woke up Illya was surprised to see Kalizda was up first and she was watching him like he was supposed to still be up. He hadn't woke up this late in a long time. "Agh...I need ta get so many tings done. Can't believe I sleep like dis." He was at least 3.5 hours behind already and that meant he was going to be getting up just a little later than most of the other Chips. At the same time his back and leg didn't hurt quite as badly as they did some days. Then it struck him that he left the Holy Book in the library. Half expecting to find a disaster of some sort Illya began to cautiously wander around the house. So far there wasn't anything wrong. "I guess I show yah t-the money now." Limping lightly toward their bedroom again he carefully got to his knees at her side of the bed. Pulling a little drawer underneath the bed open he let her see the bundles of money. "Only use dis for trade with merchants. Remember Chippequoti don't use credits with each other."
 
Aryn wiggled into a space between the two electrical panels in the ceiling of a very nice cruiser. From what he could see through the small gap provided by the air vents, there weren’t too many people aboard, but the people who were coming along for the ride were very well armed. Part of his instincts sounds to get the hell out of dodge as fast as possible. He had no desire to get caught and these people felt like they would be less forgiving of stowaways than Illya and Calysta were. He was here now though, and there was no going back. Resting his head back on his duffle, he listened to them set their flight path. It would take 3 days to get to the outpost. Ayrn had to be careful not to grumble or make any sounds that might alert someone he was there. It was going to be a long flight and he would have to sneak out at some point and find a bathroom and food.

The mustached diplomat sat below him as the men in uniform worked over the navigational panels. “I’ll be in the study. Please set an alert and countdown for our ETA on the screens.”

“Yessir.”

Ayrn could hear the man clack away in his dress shoes, leaving his workers to tend to the details.
“Man, I can’t wait for some shore leave,” one sighed.

“Yeah, me too. What’re you gonna do after we drop off Mr. Hughes?”

There was a hearty sigh and one of them linked his hands behind his head, stretching out in the navigation chair. “I think I’ll use the bonus from this mission to buy Rosetta a pretty little ring.”

“Oh…popping the question, huh?”

“Soon.”

“If she’s smart she’ll say no,” he other chuckled.

“Oh she’s plenty smart, she just has enough patience to put up with me. Don’t think I’ll be passing up a woman like that. ”

The two of them laughed as the one clapped the other on the shoulder with a grin.

****
Kiya barely registered the words her captor was saying, but was surprised when the woman hauled her into the bedroom and made her lay down. She had assumed the woman would be perfectly fine letting her fall out where she was. The woman started to call her Little Trouble. Considering her size compared to the others here, it was fitting even if it was insulting not to be called by her proper name.

She swayed on the mat as the crone came back with food on a plate and something to drink, handing it to her while she continued to lecture. The old woman didn’t know. How could she? The woman were was her daughter couldn’t be less interested in claiming her as a mother and for that, she couldn’t fault her. Not that she cared. She had been sent to frame and kill her for the sake of her own life. What kind of mother was she? Not one at all.

Looking down at the plate of food, she could barely tell what it was. Her shaking fingers picked up a piece of the meat and shoved in into her mouth. It tasted so good, but her stomach cramped as the food went down. “Uuugh…” The groan was involuntary but she couldn’t stop eating, snapping up every bite and downing the bitter tea.
With her stomach so full, Kiya leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, not caring if the crone was watching. Her head was spinning and the only relief she could find was to slump to the side. “Ye’ don’t know…ye’ don’t know…they’make them strong. They are strong…everywhere....I fight…ran for a long time…they take and twist…” The last words almost came out a cry as her mind began to drift, and she let go to sleep.

***
When Calysta landed them back in the flight yard, Illya asked her to take their share of legs to their house and then meet him back at the market. She dashed home and put the hairy legs onto the counter rather than the meat box because they were too large to fit inside. By the time she had jogged her way back down their pebbled path and back to the market, Illya already had a taker for one of the legs. A pretty Chip woman with dark curls had seen the thick bug legs and brought out wares to trade.
"Chippequoti don't trade for money, we keep it for outside trade. Yah pick what yah like dat they're willing to trade and den dey pick a leg."

Calysta wasn’t exactly sure why they didn’t use some sort of currency now. In the past, it made sense because on Qouti they had little to trade and paper or digital currency would have no value in such a place. Now, things were different and they could easily start up an economy if they wanted to. That wouldn’t change overnight though, so she went with the trade and looked over the items offered. “These are pretty. You weave beautifully,” she smiled as her hands ran over the fabrics. She picked two items a heavy rug for the stone bedroom floor to keep sand out of their bed and a small red woven blanket for the bed. Illya was always wanted more blankets and the red and cream patterned piece would be nice and warm.

They brought the other leg to Edgar and he seemed pleased to see such a good meal. Pleased enough to give them permission to explore the desert more. They needed to know more about the planet beyond the initial scans and explorations done by the Kaerleans. She showed the Elder the coordinates recorded by their flyer instruments and agreed to keep track of their journey. They would spend a day resting and then leave the following day.
Cooking with Illya was something she always enjoyed. He chopped up the meat seemed to have a bit of pride about the fact that she had killed their dinner, calling her fearless. She certainly hadn’t been fearless, but she got the job done and for that, she had a wave of confidence. Plucking the leaves from their mint plant, she folded them over and sliced them into ribbons, releasing their scent and flavor. With the mint dumped into the fryer, Illya showed her how to fry up the meat and serve it with the wild grains. His cooking skills may be mostly desert fare, but what he did cook was always good. She doubted she could eat scorpion had anyone else cooked it. “This smells good. Mint was a good choice.”

Dinner passed awkwardly after her father seemed insistent on them taking the Bible. The conversation had left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth but his. When her father left them, lllya took up the book by covering it with a towel and hid it in the kitchen before changing his mind and hiding it the study. She had thought he wouldn’t mind it so long as they weren’t practicing the actual religion. He hadn’t acted like this when he was reading it. His request that it stayed hidden and was never spoken about seemed a bit extreme but she nodded in silence. She had taken the book to spare her father’s feelings but it seemed to put Illya on edge.
Once Illya seemed satisfied with the books hiding place, he stalked off from the room to the living room. Keysha poked her head into the study and purred at her with bristled whiskers and yellow eyes. “That could’ve gone better,” Calysta sighed. She gave the massive cat a scratch between her ears and then walked into the kitchen where her father had left the coffee and the press to make it.

She set about brewing up the coffee. As the strong smell started to drift through the air, Calysta tapped her chin, trying to think of a way to make the drink more appealing. If she flat out told him it was coffee, he’d probably turn his nose up at it. It was a Terran drink and not tea. As the hot water dripped though and turned to a strong brew, she reached over to her spices and herbs thinking on what else to add. What was comforting? Her fingers drifted over rolls of cinnamon and cloves. Those would be warming and relaxing. Taking a stick of cinnamon and a few buds of clove, she added them to the coffee grounds to flavor the coffee, giving it a wonderful smell.
When the coffee was all set, she poured cream into the cup and called for Illya. He came in to the kitchen she held up the cup. “I made you some creamy tea. It supposed to help you sleep a little better.”

He grumbled about sleeping “just fine” but she insisted. “Just try it. You might like it.”

The Chip’s lip curled as he took a sip. She hadn’t been able to cover all of the taste but at least he managed to drink all of it down. It wasn’t long after drinking the odd ‘tea’ before he was announcing he was ready for bed.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.”

When he left to go get ready, she hid the coffee bag under one of the potted herbs on her kitchen wall. Illya wouldn’t find it, and they were in a water tight bag for freshness so any watering of the plant wouldn’t hurt it. With the coffee hidden and the cream in the cooler drawers before going into the bedroom.
Stripping down after brushing her teeth, she climbed into the bed and Illya flopped down next to her. His discovery of the packet from Sarai made her blush a little and she tucked it away in the bed side table, glad he didn’t inquire further. When Illya leaned over and started kissing her, it was obvious the coffee was taking its strange effect on him. Usually he was a bit more vigorous, but this time he was slower. Suddenly, he laid back and announced he was too tired. Calysta kissed his cheek and slipped a hand over his stomach. He might be too tired for other things, but she would let him get as much rest as she could.

He tossed and turned a little through the night, waking up because of his leg and mumbling in his sleep, but managed to stay in bed over six hours. A minor miracle for him. Calysta wiggled out from the covers and left her Chip tucked warm in bed. He may have slept more, but his lack of movement had made the covers unbearably hot with his body heat combined with the new blanket. It was like sleeping next to a space heater. Slipping outside of the blankets, Calysta sighed in relief as the cool air met her skin. If he was going to keep sleeping, she wasn’t going to wake him. Instead, she laid next to him and looked him over. His hair was a wild mess from his fitful sleep and she could see the scar under his chin. A silver line against his dark skin.

When Illya’s eyes opened he seemed dismayed to see her watching him. “"Agh...I need ta get so many tings done. Can't believe I sleep like dis."
Then he got up immediately to wander the house as if he was looking for something. Or inspecting. What was he doing? She followed him, until he poked his head into the study and gave the shelf where the Bible was hidden a hard stare. Was having the book in the house bothering him so badly? Calysta frowned and almost said something when Illya suddenly changed direction and showed her where their cash stash was. He was very pointed in telling her not to use it with other Chips and only with outside trades. “I won’t use it for any trading in town,” she assured him.

They spent most of the day getting their gear in order for their trek into the desert. Illya took care of the bigger items; the tent, the sleeping mats and weaponry. All the while, is eyes would dodge to the back of the house to the study room door as if he expected the book to come crawling out as evidence of his infidelity. Calysta worked on making sure they had plenty of dried rice, and beans to add to whatever meat they found in the open desert. She made sure their canteens were full and that they had a trek plotted along routes that would most likely have spots for water.

As she was looking for her hat in the closet, her eyes fell onto the packet from Sarai. It was meant to be a scent made from flowers that would simulate certain pheromones men would be attracted to. Did it really work? She’d never tried something like that before, and it seemed odd to think it might work. It couldn’t hurt to try it, right? Otherwise the expensive packet would just go waste. Crossing the room, Calysta snatched up the packet and tore it open. A clear oil oozed out and she gave the substance a sniff. It just smelled like flowers to her. With a shrug, she put some of the oil on her wrists and then behind her ears before tossing the packet into the waste bin. If anything at least she would smell nice.

When the prep work was done and their bags packed, Calysta started making dinner. It hadn’t been easy to find ground meat, but she had eventually came across a butcher who had ground beef available, imported from Terra and he would take credits. With a few fresh vegetables and tortillas of her own making, she pan fried up the ground meat. Chopping at it until it was a fine consistency, she added a little garlic and oregano along with some red pepper. It wasn’t long before the scent of cooking meat wafted through the house. Keysha was the first to appear in the doorway as Calysta cut up a sweet, white onion. Then the fuzzy bear toddled in and started crying for food too. Emmet’s nose finally led him to poke his pointed nose into the kitchen as well. The little fox still had little manners and tended bring them dead ‘presents’ and to put his paws up on the countertops when someone was cooking. The smell of cooking meat was simply too tempting and the pup braced his paws on the counter looking for the food. “Down, Emmet.”

The pup didn’t listen and she had to bump him down with her hip while she sliced at a tomato. His feet plopped to the floor and shot her a grumpy look. “Well, don’t be nosey.”

The scent of food finally brought Illya around the corner and she grinned, happy with her work. “Tacos. I hope you like them. There’s onions and tomatoes. A little lettuce and rice.”

The Chips bright eyes roamed over the plates in front of him on the counter as if he didn’t quite know where to start. Seeing the confusion, Calysta picked up a tortilla and put it on a plate before she scooped up some meat, then added a little of all of the vegetables before folding the bread over itself to create a little pocket. “They’re usually eaten like this,” she said, holding out the plate for Illya to take. “Give it a try and let me know what you think.”

****
Calysta adjusted the wide brim of her hat and peered out over the desert as Illya trekked ahead of her. The land truly was rugged and yet oddly beautiful in a certain way, with its stone valley's and ore ribboned hills of yellow and gold. Her father would say it was a work of God. Her text books would say it was a product of how the continents of the planet shifted and flowed over time. What would Illya say? She didnt know and it was a fact that bothered her. Not because of what he might believe but because she hadnt asked. The events of last night and his uncomfortable glances at the Bible's hiding spot still concerned her. Hitching her bag higher on her shoulders, Calsyta doubled ber pace to catch up with her Chip. "Mmm, Hey Illya, I know I haven't asked. But will you tell me about your gods?"

They were finally out doing more exploring and that was relieving in a way. In other ways it wasn't so much. Illya carried the tent, most of the food and a few weapons. The most important was his sword, but he did bring a gun too. Starting down the first sharp incline he placed a hand over his knee and glanced back when she started to talk. "Why yah ask?" It seemed like an odd question, but he nodded when she answered. "I guess dey watch over Chippequoti and den we live under dere rules."
"I'm curious," Calysta said bluntly. It was truth, she wanted to know more. He hadn't seemed particularly religious until recently and she wanted to understand. His reply was a little frustrating even if it was a typical Illya response. Leaning back on her heels and bending her knees, she took on the slope beside him. "There are many...how many? Do they all work together or seperate? What are the rules?" She knew it was a barrage of questions, but she couldn't help it.

Illya sighed. "Dere are seven Chippequoti gods." Trying to explain all the rules was a little difficult. "Sometimes da gods work together and sometimes t-they fight. When gods make earth they fight. Gods still fight. Chippequoti are made of 4 winds, fire, and earth. So we give our spirits to the winds, bodies to the fire, and we sure to worship earth because it provide for us while we live. God of water is one we ask for protection from. He has terrible temper. Sometimes he rain gentle and other times he flood to destroy."

Calsyta listened intently over the sounds of their boots crunching through the rocky path. It explained a few things. Why the insisted on burning the little boy who died on the Ekram. They sounded almost Grecian. Explaining phenomena of the earth. Still they had what seemed to be a respect for their home and Calsyta, along with every other Kaerelean could appreciate that. Her finger tips played over the talisman at her chest. "So, this talisman is for the god of water then? And they are also the ones who dont approve of gift giving as well?"

It seemed that she took a little bit to understand, but she was getting parts of it. "Talismen is for god of water and earth. Earth ta keep yah and water to protect yah from fire and winds." The Chip frowned slightly. He hadn't ever tried to explain this. All Chippeqouti just knew these things. You learned it growing up and he didn't the know the reason for everything. "Giving gifts is like saying yah a god. We can't give without giving some uh...notice to gods. Dey provide material and we build or make. So gift must be secret so dat gods get thanks first. eh?" Make sense?"

As they came to the bottom of the hill, the Nuen landscape stretched out before them, almost completely untouched. It made sense to her in the context to the other religions she knew. Humility was important in most of them and she could see how gift giving could be seen as prideful. "It does when I think about it. Are there other things you shouldn't do?"

"Ehm...." Working his way down the hill he winced a little. His back was starting to spasm some, but if he got to a point he could stretch a little he would be fine. "We don't honor other gods. Onleh ours and we never touch runes unless we carve dem with blessing and give dem to new agreed people. Runes are a petition to da gods for good life."

Calsyta nodded in understanding and caught up enough to give his fingers a small tug, looping hers around his for just a moment, squeezing them before she let go. " It's very different from what I grew up with. My father practices a sect of what Terrans call Christianity. One God, who created the heavens and the earth and all the creatures in or on it. You follow his teachings of forgiveness, and love, and truth. Then, when you die your spirit is sent to a paradise, if you've been faithful to that word. Do Chippeqouti believe in an after life?"

Wiggling his hand a little the general glanced back at her and then looked ahead when she let go of his hand. He wasn't wanting to hear too much, but he was interested too. "Chippequoti have a world for spirits. Place of four winds. No one knows what it is like. How do yah people know dere is paradeese?"

It was interesting to think of where they might go when they died. On the one hand, her father's paradise sounded nice but this place of winds didnt sound terrible. Just as mysterious as the actual act of passing on. The question he posed was a good one, something she'd always wondered herself and there wasn't really much of a substantial explanation for it. "I don't personally, but descriptions are written down by prophets chosen by God and shared with others through the Bible. There isn't just a paradise though. Hell, where unforgiven sinners against God's word, is also described. The place of four winds doesnt judge, does it?" By her fathers belief she was a lost soul. A sinner for not practicing. Would it be the same for his? Catching up to walk beside him, she wiped the sweat from her temple and kept her pace.

Illya frowned when she started to describe the paradise and then returned with her own questions. "If yah spirit not given to winds den yah wander always."

It didn't seem the followed the same concept of "good" and "evil." No matter what a person did they were burned in fire and their souls went to the same place. It was a bit comforting to think that way. He believed when she died and her body burned, her spirit would go to the same place his was. That also meant he believed they would be together in death....and that Isla would be there too maybe. She wondered briefly if Isla would have liked her. Probably not. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she nodded and walked along side her Chip in silence for a moment. "There are several religions on Kaereal too. You remember the twin moons. Sarai and Maroe. Some believe they were eggs. One birthed the Wilds, Sarai, the white moon and the other pink moon, Maroe, gave rise to the continents. That's where the Yurian's believe their souls will go. Pink is a symbol of life on Kaereal because of that. It's also the same reason the moons will never be developed as land space. " She knew how that probably sounded to him, but at least he would know if he ever came across one again.

"Ugh..." Tilting his head back Illya squinted at the sky. "I think more on spirits. Isla she buried...in meh mind, but she die with East Wind. Onleh good when yah die with direct wind. Winds like North West will always fight over yah spirit. If I die in wind not East I fight wit Isla's spirit. Chippequoti always fight." Frowning a little he tried to think of how he could tell her that Kaerealeans were wrong. "Moons not hold gods. Moons onleh hold place in da sky. They like spirit of earth....uh ground." Illya reached up with one hand and rubbed his head. "I don't know anymore right now. Maybe I tell yah when someting is wrong eh?"

"So your spirit could be fighting with Isla's?" The question came out more like a meandering thought than a question. She got the idea of cross winds, but if nobody knew what the Four Winds place was like how did they know that spirits fought. It was confusing. "And I like to know ahead of time, before I say or do something another Chip might find offensive." Sighing, she glanced up at her Chip, only to trip of a stone and stumble. Her bag pitched forward, but she managed to catch herself as gravel tumbled in front of her and toss it back to the right spot on her shoulders.

It seemed that what he thought would be obvious was not quite clear for Kalizda. "Winds always oppose and so yah spirit goes with yah wind. Yah fight with spirits of other wind always. Sometimes if a spirit is strong t-the winds give dem cloud to take form in sky like man. Rare ta see spirits like dis." Just as he was finishing his explanation Kalizda gave him one of her looks with a sigh. Of course she wanted to know in advance. "Ah...." Reaching out for Kalizda he barely missed her and then jogged ahead a few spaces to try and catch her. When she stopped he grabbed hold of her backpack and pulled her up the rest of the way. "Ok?"

The sudden pull on the backpack helped her feet set back under her knees and she nodded to Illya. "I'm okay," she chuckled. Readjusting her hat, she gave Illya a gentle smile. It was strange to think he believed his soul would be in battle for forever. Maybe even against hers with no resting in peace. If its what he believed, she had no right to tell him if he was right or wrong. Especially when she couldn't seem to commit to any one belief. "I hope you'd be a rare one," she replied, "And that any sort of death for either of us is a very long time from now."

Momentarily he frowned deeper at Kalizda. There were times when her openness really bothered him and the statement she just made was not helpful in the least. As if to make it worse she started to talk about how far away death was. "Depends on what yah call long time. I tink maybe 100 years is long time."
He was frowning at her like she had said something offensive. She didn't think she had said anything wrong. What was bad about saying she hoped death was a long way from now? Not to mention a 100 years should look like a short time to him considering how long he would live. Unless he had said that for her. She hadn't mean to accent the difference in their life spans if that was the way he had taken it. "A hundred years is a good long time," she said, trying to sound light hearted, "I alot can be done in a hundreds years. Many adventures can happen."

"Mmhmm." Giving her a short answer he let go of the pack and continued to trundle down the rest of the slope. Near the bottom was a fairly sharp drop of nearly 10 feet. Stepping off the edge he turned and then held his hands out. "Yah jump down I catch yah."


He jumped down so easily from such a height. It still surprised her he did those things sometimes, though she had seen him jump from much higher places with her in tow. "Alright, " Calysta felt like he still wasn't happy with something she had said but she didn't hesitate or worry about him dropping her. She simply tightened her straps and jumped.

Catching Kalizda wasn't so difficult and Illya gave her a quick grin before setting her down. "Now we talk about someting else eh?" Almost anything sounded better than talking about the troublesome spirit world and such things as that. Illya was feeling conflicted enough about it right now to just about tear his hair out. He had never encountered any religion but his own and now he had a foreign holy book in his house. Mostly he wasn't sure if it was worse that he had the holy book or that he'd read it.
Seeing him smile a little bit put her at ease even if he wanted to change the conversation. When her feet touched the ground, she slid her arms down his and gave his hand a squeeze before giving him a playful smile. "Aye. Something else. Tell me another story of the little bird, and I'll tell you about more of the planets I've visited. Then the stars come out later, I'll show you some stories too."

Illya's face lit up with a mischievous grin. "Oh I have a story of little bird for yah. Once long ago Little Bird fly into jungle." The grin only got bigger. "Dis bird is troublesome. She decides to find new people to trick. So da bird fly to new planet on Quoti. She think maybe dese new peoples are strange and easy to confuse. So she sing at night with help of desert dog. All the Chippequoti tink maybe ets better to listen to music at night. So they grown tired and then the fire god burn all land and so it is desert dere."

Calysta listened to the story Illya told about the Little Bird and it almost sounded like a prophecy to her. He had told her that the mythical character could either be good or bad, and it seemed this was one latter tales. Smiling up at her Chip, Calysta give him a little wink. “Well, this place is already a desert, and I could think of a few ways better than singing to tire out a Chip.”

****
It was so good to be out exploring again. She had thought taking the flyer might be better but being on foot wasn’t so bad with Illya’s company. The sun bore down on them as they trekked further into the vacant desert. There was something strangely calming and yet exciting at the same time to know they were walking somewhere that had probably never been touched before. Illya told her stories of the little bird and she exchanged with stories from her travels. Including how she had come to meet Detra whom she had saved from a rampant Henl on an outpost, managing to take down the beast and allowing the woman to get what she needed and live to tell about it.

They came across a few more caves one of which had a small opening, but stepped pools of water swirling deep into the earth. Illya was too large to fit into the mouth of the cave, so she climbed down and checked the water to make sure it was safe to drink. Drinking stagnant water was a sure way to get very sick. Dipping her hands into the pool, she found the water had a current and was very warm. Maybe it was flowing from the surface somewhere or this was an underground hot spring. Illya’s head poked down into the little hole, blocking most of the light as she took a tentative sip. “It’s good,” Calysta nodded, before scooping up a handful and flicking it at Illya with a playful grin.

Another area they came across had beautiful purple crystals lining the craggy walls of the wide cavern mouth set into a large hillside. Calysta didn’t hesitate to use her knife to break off some of the formations and tuck them into her bag. “Might be good to trade and I’ll send some to Kaereal to be studied. It could be something useful,” she said cheerfully. She had been keeping careful notes with coordinates and hologram recordings to document their trek. It was probably something an Ehaui would do, but that was part of her job through Skycorp and it felt good to be back at it.

Close to the end of the day, she spied a snake warming itself on a rock nearby. It was long and fat, having just caught a meal of its own. His scales bulged right his belly, stretching is diamond pattern in the setting sun. Illya would love that for dinner. “There’s dinner,” she pointed. “Show me how you catch them?”

***
Eventually sun began to set and they made camp. Illya pitched the tent while she went about getting dinner ready. Using a tiny a battery, powered grill top they had brought, then stuck the skinned snake on one side of the grate and then a pot of water to boil up beans and rice. As the food bubbled and sizzled, Calysta sat back in the sand and took off her wide-brimmed hat. Her feet were aching and her cheeks were definitely sunburned again. The sunscreen lotion and had spared her a more severe burn, but she hadn’t escaped the day totally untouched. Most brides went to tropical or exotic planets for their honeymoon periods, but she was in the middle of the desert, camping with a snake on the grill, a simple, tent and her Chip at her side. There was no place that she would rather be.

Illya finished the tent after a few minutes and brought over one of the bed rolls from them sit on while dinner cooked. As the Chip sat down next to her, she noticed he was moving stiffly. Through dinner she noticed he seemed quiet and she wasn’t entirely sure why. Was he still thinking of their conversation from earlier or just hurting? Either way she didn't want him uncomfortable. Every now and then he would shift, and his brow would furrow, showing how his injuries were bothering him. It wasn’t surprising considering they had been walking all day long with a heavy pack on his back. That would wear on anybody.

Rising up, she came settle behind him, sitting on her knees and rubbed at his back lightly. He would need a real massage when they got back to the settlement, but maybe her hands could loosen the muscles a little. “Relax, hm? I’ll show you some of the stars.”

It was dark enough that their corner of the galaxy was vibrant in the desert sky. No light pollution meant every star was visible and because it was the same quadrant Kaereal was found in, many of the constellations were the same. It would be good for Illya to know the sky he would be sleeping under. It didn’t take long for the familiar patters to emerge from the sweeping clusters above.

Keeping her warm hand on his back, Calysta pointed to the first one she spotted. A singular, red star glimmering high in the sky. “That’s the eye of Kulytra. She was a warrior from the Reylia continent on Kaereal. They say she flew on the back of a red Cryn falcon and met her enemies in battle with it’s talons as well her bow. Her eyes were a firey red, just like her falcon’s and just the sight of her made men cower in fear, or lust, depending on the look she gave them. They say one day she flew her falcon into the sun and landed among the stars. Now, her fiery eye sits in the sky watching over soldiers and warriors..”

Then she pointed to another cluster of stars, keeping her other hand going over his back between his shoulder blades. A group of 5 white lights with four corners and the last set in the very center. It was a more bitter sweet story, but it was a widely known constellation and the story helped people remember its position in the sky. “That’s the center of the Signet Constellation. King Periphine’s Signet. He was a great king who fell in love with a woman across in a distant land across the world because she wrote him letters. He prayed to the Moons for a way to find his love and they took the pattern from his royal seal, his signet ring, and patterned it into the sky. For 30 years he flew, following the center star and fighting every inch of the way only to spend one night with her as an old man. They say if you follow the constellation till you are right under the center star, you’ll find where the two were finally together.”

Calysta showed him several more constellations while her palms circled over his shoulders and down his spine gently. Eventually, her arms grew tired though and she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “We should get some rest before walking tomorrow.” More than anything she wanted him be happy and to know that no matter how old she became or where their souls went, she was happy to have him as hers.
 
Illya was putting the gear together and packed up when he remembered part way through that he was making a bench for Kalizda to roll around the house so she could reach the higher shelves. Walking over to the side piece of the house Illya began digging through his tools when he remembered that he also misplaced one the other day and he needed it before he could work on the bench. Rummaging through the makeshift shed he eventually found the tool, put it back in its place, and then thought that he would go finish packing for tomorrow. Instead he smelled food and it wasn't like anything he had smelled for food before.

The Chip knew better than to complain that he was not eating snake or something that he recognized, but he sort of preferred to just eat food he knew. However, she had been a good sport and ate all sorts of desert foods and things that he cooked. Poking his head into the door he noticed that she was just about done cooking. Stepping into the kitchen he stood next to her. She just looked so beautiful standing there and cooking the food. Illya looked over the food and he tried to focus. How in the world did she prepare this? It wasn't put together. As if in answer to his silent question Kalizda began to assemble the food and handed him a plate. Illya took the plate of food and he started for the table. Sitting down at his spot he peeled an edge of the taco open and picked a piece of meat out of it. While she was busy preparing her own he had to test it out to know if he was going to be wanting more of this. The seasoning on the meat was strange. It didn't taste like anything he'd ever had, such a strange meat.

Overall the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular either. Perhaps it was an acquired taste? Sitting in the center of the table he saw red sauce and a thick white cream. Dumping a spoonful of the red sauce on the taco Illya then took another bite and it was better. He liked that pretty well. Maybe he just needed red sauce to make it taste right. Opening the taco Illya served a healthy amount of the red sauce on the taco and then folded it up again.

After only a few bites Kalizda came to sit next to him at the table. There was no point sitting clear across the table from each other and so he usually sat next to her at meals. For whatever reason she was especially alluring tonight and he couldn't really focus on what was on his plate. Eating tacos so close to Kalizda was making Illya feel wild. This food must have been an aphrodisiac. Scooting a little bit closer to her he took another bite of the tacos. They were certainly strange food, but not bad. "What yah put in dis?" It was not normal to feel this way about a woman even when a man loved her. He just wanted her so badly.

Calsyta smiled as she sprinkled tomatoes over her own plate and folded her taco in half. "It's just some seasoned beef and vegetables. Nothing you haven't had before." Glancing up she saw he was leaning toward her some. Probably just looking at her plate to see better. "You don't like it?"

To keep himself half way normal he forced himself to stare at her plate. Only half hearing the words she said he answered. "Oh no I like you a lot." With a moment of thinking he realized she had likely been talking about the food and not herself. It was not logical to ask him if he liked her when they were cooking. "Um...I like it just fine." Mentally he was adding all the parts that he liked about eating next to her.

She raised a brow at him, her grey eyes very searching his face. It was a little flushed and he seemed to be struggling with sentences. The slip of the tongue about the food combined with how close he had come was telling enough about where his mind was. He wasn't exactly low on libido, but he'd never looked quite like this. Why? The oil. That stuff actually worked? "I"m glad you like it," she chuckled, as she licked a little tomatoe juice from her thumb, "We can make them more often."

It was impossible not to notice when she licked her thumb and Illya let out a breath and forced himself to look at his taco again. He was about to take a bite when she offered to make taco's more often. "Uh huh we could do it more often." It was so hard to sit next to her like this and focus on eating. Illya's mind was running a thousand miles a minute and it wasn't in a logical direction. He was trying very hard to bring his brain back to a decent dinner conversation, but that was like trying to lasso the moon. Finishing another bite he glanced over at Kalizda and then pulled her in for a kiss.

She hadn't thought the Urian oil would actually work at all but apparently it was highly potent. Potent enough for him to snag her over and go in for a kiss. Calysta kissed him back and let her fingers play with his curls for a minute. It almost seemed unfair to be driving him so crazy and he couldnt figure out why. She certainly wasnt going to tell him either. Pulling back for just a minute, she looked up at her Chip with his wayward curls. "We could do tacos much more often," she grinned, before bringing him back for another round. Even if it was just the oil, and unintentional, it would be bad to leave him in such a state.

Illya started to pull Kalizda onto his lap while they were kissing and then he stopped himself. They really needed to finish eating. "Kalizda." Saying her name between kisses he shifted on his seat a little. "Should finish eating first." Moving in for another kiss he ran his one hand down her side and the other held her at the small of her back. After another long kiss he let her go and then looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry, lust is got better of meh tonight." It was almost embarrassing that he couldn't even keep his hands to himself at the dinner table.

With his warm hands on her hip and back, he'd managed to get her riled up too. Was this stuff supposed to work on women too? Or was.this all Illya? He kept kissing her, long and lingering until he pulled back, looking embarrassed. There was nothing to be embarrassed about if they were in their own home, but she didnt want to push him. If he wanted her, it shouldnt be because of tricks. Sighing with new frustration Calsyta gave him a last little kiss, tugging at his lip and the moved away. "I wasn't exactly complaining, Illya," she replied, as she lifted off his lap.

"We're eating. Not da time for dis." Illya slurred the words as he shoved the last of the taco in his mouth. Getting up from the table he quickly gulped the last of it down. I'll go wash dishes and we can kiss a little there and see what happens when we got all this cleaned up. It didn't quite turn out like he thought. When she was standing next to him in the kitchen he kept running his hands over her sides and kissing her until Illya just gave up. "We need to move to da bedroom."

He half scolded her it not being the right time. She wolfed down her taco, but not nearly as fast as Illya who cleared his plate in two ravenous bites. When she joined him in the clean up effort he could barely stand it. His hands would roam at her sides and he would kiss her, over and over, even at her neck. The more he touched the harder it became to keep down her own racing heart. When he finally said they should move to the bedroom, Calsyta put down the knife she was washing, or trying to wash, and spun on her heels to capture him up. " Oh, thank the Wilds. I agree. " Calysta could hardly stand it anymore either as she grabbed his hands and started leading him away from the kitchen.

They didn't even reach the bedroom and Illya had already lost his shirt and his pants were half way off. Kalizda was in about the same condition. Not that he was protesting, but whatever she did to that food made him crazy. Normally Illya was a passionate man, but this was over the top. The two of them didn't even make it to the bedroom until they were wore out. Illya tossed and turned in the bed most of the night. He couldn't believe that even after all the evening activities he was still feeling like going. After about 4 hours of restless sleep Illya got up and decided to try making that bench for the house. He had some racy dreams for sure, but that was probably due to the spices or something. At least the majority of it wore off. Part way through building the bench Illya remembered that he should feed the animals. He was barely finished feeding the animals and then he saw the dishes from last night still only part way done.

Peering into the sink and then at the dishes that they supposedly washed he shook his head. He'd been better off to let pets clean the dishes. This meant he was going to have to fill the household water bin again and then heat some water to wash with. Before Illya even got out of his immediate yard he saw the packs that he was putting together for their trip. How did he still have so many things to do? Yesterday he worked all day at the house and he still didn't have anything done.

By the time he finished with the dishes Kalizda was up and she had to constantly remind him to keep packing instead of remembering other things he needed to do to. There was one thing he wanted to do before they left on the trip. Once he had everything packed he walked over to Kalizda and grabbed her hand. Looking into her grey eyes he smiled. "Yah beautiful." Even with her pack he pulled her into a hug that lifted her little feet off the ground. After a quick kiss he set her down and then nodded. "Now we're ready."

**********************************

Yvonne watched Illya and Kalizda leave for the wilderness. She hadn’t said anything for days, but Markus could see she was thinking it. He would never fault her for being a mother and caring for her son. There was one thing that he did have trouble with. Ever since Illya had told her that he cared about Kalizda and he was considering her his mother had fits. Now there was nothing that she could do about it and she was still wringing her hands every other day over something. Almost as soon as Illya was out of sight Markus gently rested a hand on Yvonne’s shoulder and turned her toward himself. He always spoke in Quoti simply because it was the only language he was comfortable with. “Illya made his choice and I think he made a good decision.” When she started to speak he held his hand up. “I don’t say much, but this time you’re going to listen to me. I like Kalizda for him.”

A fierce set of grey eyes scoured Yvonne’s face before Markus continued. “No other Chippequoti woman would have been any more courageous to take him to the Ehaui. It was dangerous and she encourages him to try again. Illya was dying. There wasn’t much of that energy or joy left in him.” Grabbing her other shoulder the man searched her face again. “Yvonne do you hear me? She has given him hope for a new life and he’s trying. You were overjoyed that he is recovering now. I am glad that he is the man I knew.”

Solemnly the woman nodded. “I’m afraid that she will not live long. Even if they try the treatment it may fail.” It had never been done before and they all knew that. “Markus if she dies…”

“No.” Markus shook his head. “If she dies this time he will have the courage to get up and keep going.” If he was going to say that he was nervous about the possibility that Kalizda would die young then it would defeat the entire purpose of his speech and so the Chip left it alone and let his hands drop. “Just remember that she loves Illya and she has been very good for him. I love her as a daughter for that.” With a short nod he pulled Yvonne into a hug and let her cry on his shoulder. It had been years of sitting on needles and waiting for Illya to die and now that he was living it was difficult for Yvonne to see some of his choices. She just wanted him to make safe and non risky choices. Markus held his head high and watched the sunrise from underneath the overhang of their stone house.

Kalizda was a good woman. She had shown herself to be every bit as honorable as a Chippequoti woman and she was braver than most. In a way he was glad that she wasn’t born Chippequoti. If she had been chances were she wouldn’t have had the courage to reach out to the council and had the confidence to make allies. Truly she was a remarkable woman in his eyes and his son was lucky to have caught her attention. It was a wonder that she hadn’t been snatched up already by another man.

**********************************

They had tracked through various parts of the desert and Illya loved it. He hadn't been able to walk like this for years. Not to just go out and explore without some kind of horrible illness striking a few days later anyway. There was still a fairly consistent level of pain that seemed to get worse with the day, but that was fading with time too. Most of the pain was in his back and leg now. His arm wasn't quite as sore when he used it. In fact he couldn't remember the last time it truly hurt. Mainly it was his back this time. Illya had to remind himself not to get frustrated.

He let Kalizda make the pace since her little legs were far shorter than his and it kept the level of pain at a minimum. Eventually he would be moving at his own pace again without trouble. Like usual she was wanting to explore caves even the ones that were too small for him. With most of those he stood outside and waited for her. One of them she splashed him and he smirked. "I can't get yah back right now. I will later." Kalizda was good and energetic like usual and she seemed to insist on going until it was almost dark. The end of the day was signaled when she pointed to a large snake and told him she was ready to learn how to catch one.

A grin began to play at the corners of his mouth and he walked up close to the snake. Close enough that it drew the creatures attention. "Yah do dis first." The snake hissed and began to take defensive form. Illya kicked for the furthest point from the snake's head and it lashed out. Reaching down almost lightening fast Illya caught the snake behind the head and picked it up. "Dere yah go. Distract snake and den grab et." It was one of those things that was actually pretty easy to do and he thought it looked more complicated then it really was. "Soon meh little bird will be catching snakes." With the dagger from Tikan he pried the snake's mouth open and showed her the poison sacks behind the teeth. "Cut dose out and den ets safe to put in meat drawer." Illya cut into the area behind the snake's teeth and then threw the little chunks of flesh onto the ground. "Some snakes yah not see dese and yah is poisonous yah cut head off and den take home."

Illya helped Kalizda with the food and cleaning up. Then he pitched the tent and she got the bed rolls set. It wasn't quite bedtime so Kalizda sat up to tell him her people's stories of the sky. Illya looked up at the constellations as she pointed them out from behind him. Her little fingers rubbed over his back and soothed some of the sore muscles. Mostly the nights in the desert were restless and Illya forgot the lozenges. The first night was the worst in some ways. After that the muscles started to get used to being out hiking all day and carrying the pack. By the end of the trip Illya was covered in the red sands and his hair was barely recognizable as being a black color. Sweat didn't even cause the sand to run down his face in streaks anymore. Mostly he was just looking murky like a sort of mud monster by the time he arrived back home.

The first stop was to the bath house and it felt good to get all the grit and sand away from the multiple scars on his scalp and to just feel clean. Next he went to the pleasure house with Kalizda to get a good message and then they could go home. Illya winced several times when the man working his back would add some pressure to work on the muscles. "Ugh." Grunting a little Illya turned his head. "Dat hurt." He rarely said anything and so he figured the other would let up. Instead it the man doing the massage pressed harder and it hurt way worse for a few seconds before it finally released. Illya let out an extended groan of relief and pain all in one. "Uh huhuuuuu." He had instructions to get home and rest so that his back would have time to rest and hopefully it wouldn't tighten up quite so badly if he could have a good nights rest.

There was no such thing as rest because her father was at the house. He must have come in to see Kalizda again. However, there had been some time in which Illya thought a good deal about that Bible and the religion of her father. As they arrived at the house Illya looked at his little stone pile outside. It was still intact and nothing had gone wrong at the house. He was still suspicious and so he walked around the village while Kalizda made dinner. If there was something wrong in the town it should be easy to see. Her father was coming in to see her before they went in for the testing. It wasn’t easy and neither was it enjoyable, but the sooner they did it the better. Illya settled into a long stride as he walked past every house. There was no great damage and he started to wonder if it would really do that much damage to just ask a few questions about this holy book. Perhaps he could ask her father since Thomas seemed to know more about it than Kalizda.

By the time Illya finished his little tour to ensure that the holy book hadn’t wrought havoc he noticed that it was getting later then he had thought it might. Jogging back to the house he about ripped the cloth that hung in the doorway as he half tripped into the house. “Sorry...I’m late.” Between pants he managed to get a few words out. “Ran just…..six...clicks…..here.” Sometimes he forgot that she wasn’t quite as familiar with a click, but it was approximately a mile. Barely shy of one if you were counting clicks on the ground. Space and clicks were calculated entirely differently. Walking into the kitchen he washed his hands there before coming to the dinner table. This time Kalizda cooked something of her own kind and Thomas seemed to be a little more eager to try the food. As with the taco’s Illya wasn’t always sure what he was looking at and he was a little more cautious with the first servings.

Already Illya could feel his heart starting to beat faster. It was ridiculous that he was so stressed over something so small as asking a few questions. This would be a telling point in a way and then he wanted to test something else out. He was starting to wonder more about Thomas’ religion the more he thought about that Bible in the library shelf. Finally he blurted it in the middle of the meal. “I want ta know ef yah God would allow a spirit that never heard of him in his paradise.”

Thomas put down his fork and gazed up at his son-in-law with wide-eyed surprise. This was the first question the man had ever asked about the actual function of the religion and it caught him off guard. Swallowing the bite in his mouth, he decided it would be best to answer honestly. It wouldn't be a pleasant one, but it was the truth as he knew it. "No, I'm afraid not. That's part of a Christian's purpose and pact with God. "“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” Matthew 24:14. To know God, his word, and to follow his teaching knowing you are a forgiven sinner is the only way.

A confused look came to Illya's face. "Yah God say he is mercy." Somehow that didn't make sense. "If yah dun do yah job and people don't hear of him how dey consider guilty for what dey dun know?"

What the man was asking was a question that had endured since the dawn of time. He couldn't know all of the answers any more than the next man and he wouldn't deem to try to know the plans of God. "That's why it’s important to me I share it with you and Calysta, because it is my job. I don't know what happens to people that don't know the word. I know God puts mercy on the little children who pass and are never given the chance to know him in life. Perhaps God does the same for the people who never had the chance to know. I never wanted to take that chance with a family member’s soul though."

Falling silent Illya nodded. He had enough of an answer to do what he wanted. The sooner the better and he was going to find out a few more details. After a long moment he sighed. "Ah...I need a witch ta summon spirits for meh. Den she can give dem message."

Thomas was halfway through a sip of beer when the man mentioned using a witch to invoke spirits. The sweet brew caught in his throat at the words and he sputtered with a few coughs before recovering. Illya had much to learn of God and it was his job to guide him. "That's- uhg" A sharp little toe and nudged him in the ankle and his eyes slipped to Calysta who was giving him a pointed look. Obviously she thought he had pushed already. "That's uh...an interesting idea," Thomas corrected, "What...kind of message are you trying to send?"

The man was dense as all get out. If there was an appropriate way to tell the man to be more quiet or that he should just understand these things Illya would have. Instead he stared at Thomas for a moment. It seemed he didn't approve of the idea. How else was he supposed to tell his Isla and daughter how to get away from the winds and the fighting? "I can't go to Belen. I need yah ta do et or meh. Chippequoti are forbidden from seeking other gods."

He couldn't quite understand what the man was after, but it almost sounded like he was asking for a prayer. A message to God and his angels for somebody. The previous comment about asking what qualified someone for heaven made him wonder if it was for the family he lost. They certainly wouldn't have known of God and he could see how the answer might've been disheartening to the man. Now, he was going to utter words he thought he never would. "I will send your message if you want, Illya." Calysta's eyes grew round and she looked from Illya to her father and back again.

Illya was slightly surprised that her father would even try to do that for him. "I write messages for dem. Dey know et will be meh. Maybe witch can summon dem separate. Dey in opposing winds and bound to fight." Anything that would work and keep him away from fighting them was worth it. He didn't want to be in an opposing wind fighting them forever.

Thomas had no idea what the man was talking about, but he figured it had something to do with the Chippeqouti religion. He seemed to think spirits would fight, which was an odd thing to say. Glancing up to Calysta, he noticed a very conflicted look on her face. Almost as if she were a little sad. Maybe she was hoping he would try to help with Illya. "Write down what you want in traders-language and we can see about keeping them separate, yeah?"

Pushing away from the table Illya walked to the library in the house and pulled out three pieces of paper. He took one and wrote instructions on it and then the other two he labeled with names. Neither of them read trader's tongue well enough for him to leave it that way so he scribbled Quoti down below as well. When he came back out with the three papers he folded the two for the spirits. "Dis is for Lahna and den Isla. Lahna onleh know Quoti she needs ta read letter for herself and Isla needs Quoti because she not good at reading trader's tongue." Finally he handed over the instructions. "T-thank yah."

Thomas took the letters and nodded. The man didn't quite get the fact that prayers didn't need paper and apparently thought the letters would be read by the people directly. Maybe that's what he needed to believe to reconcile his sudden belief in God and heaven too. Peering over the third slip of paper, he realized they were some unconventional instructions. Thomas would simply pray for their souls while he carried them out. That would work, wouldn't it? "I'll make sure they get your message, Illya." Calysta hadn't realized telling him about heaven would cause him to worry over Isla and Lahna. Had he been think of them the whole time? Guilt sank into her chest and she sat quietly next to her Illya.

“Thank yah." Illya nodded quietly and then sat down to finish dinner. He decided it was good enough that Thomas said he would do it. At least there was a chance that maybe his God would let Lahna out and maybe Isla. Then he wouldn't have to worry about which wind his spirit belonged to. Opposing winds were not something that usually Chippequoti thought about till they were older and then it was acceptable to die with your agreed if you wanted. Just maybe Thomas’ God would accept Isla and Lanha’s spirits and they wouldn't have to fight for eternity and he wouldn't have to fight either of them. If nothing else this God might let Lahna because she was just a child and then it would be worth the try.

Kalizda made the tea for Illya that night and he drank it then raced for bed. He wanted to spend time with her in bed before he got tired. However, by the time she got there he could feel he was already starting into the early phases of fading. Just a few minutes was all they needed. Carefully leaning over her Illya started to gently kiss her. He barely got in more than 3 kisses and he flopped back onto his side of the bed. "I'm not gonna make it all da way." It was a disappointing revelation at times, but he probably needed some sleep. This sort of test was not fun. Turning onto his left side so that he could look at Kalizda he gave her a lazy wink. "I tink it will go well tomorrow eh?"

***************************************

The room was quiet, full of monitors and the Ehaui doctor made another scan of Illya with the machine before he sighed. "You're fine. I can take the sample from both of you today and grow them before trying to introduce the bone samples to grow together." Illya nodded and he glanced at Kalizda. They were both nervous about this.

Carefully the doctor looked between the two of them and then continued. "If this does not work we have shots that may help prolong her life by slowing the aging process of her cells. It does have more risks involved, diseases and such would be more likely to thrive in a prolonged cell life. However, it this treatment works there will be a lot of growing pains. Similar to that of a Chip child during the growth periods." Looking at Kalizda the woman sighed and continued. It appeared that she was not familiar with the process. "Growing pains simply mean that your bones will get thicker, like you would have part Chippeqouti. Your cell life will be faster which will inhibit diseases from growing, but you'll also have faster production of cells from your bones. You will still have immune function from your intestines like most of your kind, but you will also have immune function from your bones as well. Sort of a hybrid mix."

Illya was understanding most of what the woman said and he squeezed Kalizda's hand gently. If it worked she would have to make the choice to do it or not. The growing pains would be horrible to suffer, but it shouldn't last too long. "How long would growing pains last?"

"Growing pains would only be about 2-4 weeks. Depends on how much repair needs to be done in her body and how effective the bones marrow transplant is at reversing or stalling her condition." Handing a little clipboard to Illya she smiled and nodded for him to start filling it out. "Now I need to tell you, Kalizda a few things about Chippeqouti bones and DNA." She knew that human bodies were far more complicated in DNA then the Chippeqouti were. "They have no dominant traits. As you have probably guessed already it doesn't seem to matter they are all born with green eyes, but only a few keep them. We don't know why some stay green and others change. However, because there is no dominance both parents could have different colored eyes and the baby could still have different eyes yet. So this translates for your case as being his bone marrow acts as a neutral. If it works there won't be a blood type. He has neutral bone and blood type there is no negative or positive blood type. You however will retain some of those qualities. Any change you experience would not likely be in height, it would likely be in width as your bones begin to grow and thicken. As I discussed earlier you would have a duel immune system and it wold probably be far more efficient than what you have now and it would not have the same down falls as you've experienced and yet it would create a new level of immunity that may protect you from strictly Chippeqouti illnesses. Quite frankly, if it works you would be remarkably healthy. It would add at least another 320 years to your life where you're at now."

Once he finished the paperwork Illya signed his name and then passed it to Kalizda so she could sign her name. It was just a basic consent for it since the Ehaui had already entered everything else. With both names signed on the paper the doctor placed a mask over Illya's face and then one over Kalizda's. Illya didn't wake till after the mask was removed and the Ehaui nurse finished taping a small bandage over his left leg. They had cut through the skin and muscle then drilled into his bone and cut out a small sample to grow with Kalizda's bone sample too. "There we are." The woman smiled and looked over at her two patients. "Probably be sore for about a week and by then we'll have the results. Just be careful of the incision for a few days and keep it dry."

Markus was there waiting to take both of them to the diplomat house. It was important that they stay dry and that meant that for the time the diplomat house would have to be theirs to prevent profuse sweating. The man pulled Illya's arm over his shoulders and then stood up. "Yah two just take et easy for a few days." It was only about 2-3 days that Illya would have to wait and then Kalizda would barely be healed from her incision when they would get the results. Before leaving the woman and his son Markus walked over next to Kalizda's side of the bed. "No matter what, Ahm glad yah ere. Yah good fo Illya. He a luckeh man yah nut alreadeh agreed when yah met."

*********************************************

"Sir there are shields around the planet and an Ehaui monitoring system. We will have problems getting in." The man stood in front of the desk with a stack of reports that all projected failure with the current plan.

"Then we fake a crash and let the ship burrow into the sand. Have a crew member replace cards of function with burnt replicas and let them investigate and clear the continuing warnings on their system. It will give them an error when we replace it, but by then they will have investigated and will clear it out and delete the warning for that area. It won't pick up a card of function that is in working condition if it isn't plugged in so it will be safe to save till they check it out." Shaking his head with some disgust the man shoved the papers back to his aid. "Try and think more creatively with the team next time and be sure we scrub any signs of the Federation from the ship and jump suits of the crew. We want them to be Kaereleans and looking like friendlies."

**********************************************

Illya was back in the office with a limping Kalizda just a week later. He was sitting on the edge of the seat almost sick with the anticipation. The doctor stepped into the small waiting room and looked at Kalizda and her anxious Chip. "It was successful. The bone marrow bonded and we have seen remarkable improvement in function for Kalizda. The Chippequoti bone neutrality shifted to match her type. There is no sign of rejection and it even began to produce a mixed bone type that is very healthy. We did inject a few treatments that will be necessary for the the first 2 weeks into Kalizda's blood stream."

Rising from his seat the Chippeqouti almost hugged the doctor. He was so relieved to know that there was success and the projected success had shown what they needed. There was no concern for the alternative method that included far more risk. "When yah ready Kalizda we do dis alright?" He knew it would hurt to harvest bone marrow from his leg, but it was worth it. She would probably suffer more and he understood that. It was only fair that she have a right to get some time to prepare herself for that kind of surgery. The doctor would have to scrape out her bone marrow to make way for the transplant and then it would begin to produce and all her bones would synthesize the new makeup.
 
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Once the ship was placed on auto pilot and the crew had turned in for the night Ayrn unscrewed the metal vent to the electrical panel and quietly shimmied his way out of his hiding spot. The first four hours hadn’t been bad. The two guards were playing an old Terran video game whenever the navigation screen wasn’t needed and at least he got to watch one destroy the other. The two hours after they went to sleep were the painful ones. His neck started to cramp and he had to keep from tapping his toe from the desperate need to pee. Why had he drank so much before deciding to hop inside the ship?

He left his bag behind. Pulling it out would be too noisy and he didn’t need anyone to wake up. The first thing he did was tip toe his way to the bathroom, where he took several minutes to let go of all the water he’d be holding. It was hard for him not to break the silence and sigh at the sweet relief. With that problem solved, he used some hand sanitizer and decided to explore.

The ship was expensive. Very expensive. There were leather chairs, gold leaf inlays, and plush red carpets rather than diamond or grate plating floors. Fancy pants, huh? Sashaying over to the navigational panel, he dragged his fingers over the glass display and took a peak at their destination. Ktuole. The same spot Kiya had been working and the same place he was going. These guys had been looking for the crazy lady on Nuen and Calysta too. It was never good when someone called you a loose end. He’d heard his father use the term often enough to know that never ended well.
He flicked through the list of previous destination. Several had been deleted, leaving blank spaces in the logs. Nuen, Kaereal, Alpha Centauri. Seeing Alpha Centauri made him pause. There was nothing there but a rough port town and rocks. They had probably come from Terra, but the previous entry was deleted. Scratching his head, he wandered back to the rest of the ship.

He wasn’t about to go poking around the crews quarters, but there was a study that was open along with a kitchen, guests quarters, and cargo area to explore. In the kitchen, he found a few leftovers from dinner stuffed in their fridge. He grabbed the container of noodles and cream sauce, then searched for a fork. After searching through a few drawers he found a fork and didn’t bother heating up the pasta before digging in. There were bacon bits and white wine mixed in and he rolled his eye in delight. Fancy food for fancy people.

As Ayrn slurped up the noodles, he wandered into the cargo hold. There wasn’t much, just a few bits of luggage and what looked like lab equipment along with their food supplies and a small ground skimmer. Satsfied that the cargo area was boring enough, he shimmied his way into the guest room. It was lavish, with a private bath and massive window, showing the stars flying by. The mustached man, Mr. Hughes, was crashed out on his bed with his mouth open and snoring with the force of a bear. This guy snored even louder than Calysta’s old man. A passing glance around the room told him enough. Rich, probably Terran, and a bit of a neat freak. That would make things hard to poke around in.

A brief case sat in the far corner just as he was about to leave. What could be in that? He put the fork on the bed and the container on the bedside table to bend down and take a look. The case was a shiny black leather and had a thumb biometric scanner to open it. Damnit.
Ayrn glanced back at the snoring man. One of his hands was hanging off the bed, but there was no way of telling how deep the man was sleeping. Biting at his lip, Ayrn weighed his options. There could be some interesting and useful things in there and maybe if he was very gentle he could get it open. With his breath held, Ayrn inched over to the bed and put the case right underneath the man’s fingers. Using light little nudges, he poked until the thumb was in position over the scanner. The delegate grumbled between snores and swatted at Ayrn’s hand. He froze immediately, and sat there waiting for the guy to settle down again before prodding at his thumb again until it met the eye of the scanner. All it took was a two second scan and the briefcase made a satisfying click as it unlocked.

Swallowing in relief, Ayrn sat back and opened the case all of the way. There were several files, all written in Terran but there was a thick one that looked promising. Project Ramses. What was that? As soon as he opened the first page his mouth dropped open. Calysta’s mother was into some deep stuff. Researching on bone grafting and actual human experimentation. There were grizzled pictures of dying soldiers, measurements, images of extracted bones and petri dishes. Journal dates and even a few of her personal notes about assignments. It was enough to make Ayrn feel sick. He flipped to the last few pages and caught a glimpse of another photo. He thought it was Kiya at first, but it wasn’t. The name under the photo clearly read Calysta Marie Monroe. It was a profile page. Who she was, her Skycorp record, description. Then at the bottom it stated a status: Termination.

If these were Kiya’s notes and there was some sort of kill-order form in them…Kiya was meant to kill her own daughter? Why? What the hell was wrong with these people? He wanted to keep reading, or just take the file, but the longer he stayed the higher his chances of getting caught. Ayrn started to put the files back the way he found them and then put the briefcase back before scurrying out of the door. Illya definitely needed to hear about this, but no messages could be sent while they were mid-jump. He would have to wait till they were docked somewhere and took the chance.

****

Thomas walked with his daughter down the pebbled path carrying the papers given to him by Illya during dinner. He could tell by the look on her face she had something she wanted to talk about. Was she unhappy? Had something happened? Maybe it had something to do with Illya’s request for ‘prayer’ regarding the souls of his former family. His daughter had never been the jealous type, but maybe the idea of it still upset her.

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart.”

Calysta’s eyes flicked up to him and she gave him a thoughtful look. “There’s something I wanted to tell you, but I just wasn’t sure if it was going to happen or if it did when it would.”

Thomas blinked at his daughter. Surely she wasn’t pregnant already? They’d been together less than a week! Unless, they had been partaking of the more carnal pleasures beforehand…he cut his mind off before he got too angry about the thought and looked at his daughter. He would be thrilled to be a grandfather even if they turned out to be some odd mix of Kaerelean, Terran, and wild Chip man.

“How far along are you? You know we can have a Kaerelean-“

“Dad! No!”

The short response almost made him jump out of his skin as his daughter stopped in his tracks with her arms crossed. “What did I say?”

“I’m not pregnant."


Thomas sighed, wishing his daughter didn’t have that hawkish look on her face, and held up his hands. “Uh...oh...Well, what’s going on?”

His daughter started walking again and began explaining that she would be having a medical test done. A medical test to determine if her life could be lengthened and her health improved by using Illya’s bone marrow and fusing it with hers. Thomas listened carefully while she talked. The idea that his daughter could be truly healthy for once was thrilling, but he also wondered if this was something Illya might have pressured her into.

“That would be a good, but we don’t know the side effects yet?”

Calysta shook her head. “No, until we run the test and to know if it’s even possible. We won’t know.”

Thomas tugged at his goatee and nodded. “And this is something that you want?”

She seemed to know what he was suggesting and let out a sigh. “Yes. It could give me much longer with Illya and make me feel much better. No more immunity shots or boosters.”

A silence fell between them and eventually Thomas put an arm around his daughter, and tugged her close. “Sweetheart, you’ve always been tough and made your own way. Whatever you decide, I’ll be there.”

****
When Calysta was done explaining to her father what would be taking place tomorrow, she returned back to their house. The ball of nerves for tomorrow’s procedure were growing more solid in her stomach. Even making Illya’s sleeping ‘tea’ did little to distract her from the test. As Illya drank his tea, she looked him over, staying very quiet. She was excited, but what the test results might be did stir some apprehension. How would Illya take bad news if it didn’t work? He just gave notes of prayer for his lost family to her father who wouldn’t understand, but she did to an extent. In paradise their spirits wouldn’t fight. She didn’t want her name to be on one of those notes some day.

Illya bounded off to the bedroom, Calysta followed behind him to get ready herself. He was in such a hurry, but as soon as she laid down next to him and they began a gentler start to their night, the Chip laid back and admitted he was tired. The effect of the coffee had its downfalls, but at least it did help him sleep. Instead, Illya rolled over to face her and with a little wink. "I tink it will go well tomorrow eh?"

Illya’s confidence made her smile as she gazed at him. She “I think so too. I suppose if it works, I really will be part Chip too, huh?”

****
Calysta sat next to Illya the hopsital room with her hand covered by his as the doctor spoke. If she was understanding correctly, they would be able to take bone samples today by cutting into their legs and harvesting bone marrow to attempt to grow them together. If it didn’t work, then there was a second option that involved shots to halt her aging process. When the doctor described the second method, Calysta swallowed as she gripped Illya’s hand a little tighter. The alternative sounded awful and it would be an addition to the medicine she already took.If it did work, the results wouldn’t be easily achieved. She would have to endure what the Ehaui doctor referred to as growing pains as the new marrow meshed with her own. They would be incredibly painful.

Illya squeezed her hand gently as he asked how long these growing pains would last. Two to four weeks wasn’t so bad. It was certainly much more bearable than a lifetime of injectable medicine, which she wasn’t sure she could endure. If Illya asked it of her she would try it, but the idea of it made her stomach churn.

The doctor went on to explain the technical side of mixing her marrow and DNA with that of Illya’s as a neutral base. Her immune system, what little she had, would become two fold. Her bones would thicken to accommodate the second system, and she would become much healthier. That could add a few good years on to her life for sure. Enough to enjoy more time with Illya in relative comfort before she passed. Any extra time would be enough.

When the doctor gave her estimation for the years it would add to her life, Calysta’s mouth dropped open. over 300 years? The shock of the idea hit her in wave of excitement and amazement. The things she could do and see with 300 years of extra life. She could travel and explore...stay with Illya for a long time and grow old with him... live to see their children for longer than she could ever have imagined…

Calysta tried to halt her thoughts before she became to excited. The test might not even work. Taking in a shaky breath, she signed her name to the permission forms. They wouldn’t know anything until the test was complete and it was best just to get on with it. Stealing a final glance at Illya, the Ehaui doctor guided her chin to face forward and placed a anesthesia mask over her nose. The plastic over her face was enough cause her the final bit of her instincts to flare. An urge to tear the mask away was almost overwhelming but the doctor told her to count backwards from 10. By the time she hit 8, the room faded away and she was out cold.

****
Markus helped them to the diplomats villa and she was grateful for it. The incision the doctor made ached deeply in her in her leg. It was probably only a taste of the pain she would have if the initial test was successful. If it wasn’t a success, then they would deal with it. Any time she has with him, they would make into enough even if it wasn’t. Illya would be dissapointed and it would mean a heartache for him, though he knew that when he married her.

The older General helped his son down the bed next to her and then came around to her side though he had already made sure she was plenty comfortable. "No matter what, Ahm glad yah ere. Yah good fo Illya. He a luckeh man yah nut alreadeh agreed when yah met."

Calysta blinked in surprise at Markus’ statement. The General was usually quiet, and kept to himself but when he spoke he was sincere. What he said was an honor and she smiled, though it was a half sort of grin still tinged by the anesthesia. “Thank you, Markus. I’m glad I can be here too. No matter what happens or for how long.”

****
Illya was sitting on the edge of his seat in the doctor’s office alongside her. He had been increasingly anxious over the last few days as the answer to the test drew nearer. She was nearly the same way. At this point, she simply wanted to know the answer so she could prepare for either scenario.

When the doctor announced that the test was a success, the answer hardly seemed real. It was possible. She could live with Illya for a long time and wouldn’t have to leave him. There would be travels, and children, and no more shots...The possibilities flashed before her eyes. Doing this would give her a life that would never have been imaginable.

Illya jumped up from his chair and was smiling from ear to ear as he turned to her. "When yah ready Kalizda we do dis alright?" He was concerned about her needing time to prepare, but she didn’t really need it. There was only one answer she could give in return to the news, and it was a thrill to say it. Bracing her hand her knee, Calysta rose using her good leg and took the excited Chip’s hand. “As soon as it can be arranged, I’ll be ready.” It would be best to to do it soon, not only for her but for him in case he was called up for work in the field.

****
Calysta eased down to the bed beside Illya, trying not to wince a the ache in her leg. It was strange thinking that this idea of his was actually going to work. Or so the Ehaui said. The side effects didn't bother her or scare her, even if they would be painful. She could live so much longer and without the constant need for upkeep on her shots. It would change her though and for some reason the idea of it made her a little nervous. Sliding her hands into Illya's she leaned against him a little. He was so excited and relieved, he kept looking at her with broad grins and she couldn't help but smile back despite the nerves. "Surgery two days from now," she said, " and a two to four week recovery isnt bad. I'm surprised they projected such an increase in life span too."

They weren't going to have a lot of alone time after the surgery. In fact both of them were going to be stuck in the hospital for about a week to be sure that they were healing correctly before heading home. "Not so bad. 4 weeks for about 300 years." Leaning toward her side of the bed Illya kissed her gently. He was trying to be careful since her leg was healing slowly. His still hurt a little too where they had drilled it, but the skin was all healed up and the muscle. "Kalizda are you sure yah’re ok doing dis?"

Calysta looked at her Chip's bright green eyes and gave him a gentle smile. Maybe the reason she was so nervous wasnt so much the physical effects it might have, but the long term ones. Any Kaerelean or Terran friends she had would die before she ever did if the Ehaui were right. She wouldn't quite be a Chip but neither would she be her other halves anymore. "I think I will be. This will change me substantially ...It will just take some time to adjust."

Laying down next to her he listened for a long moment. "I be here all da while." He didn't plan on leaving her when she was recovering. "Maybe I get yah dad ta show meh how ta make dem tings." He didn't remember what it was called that she had cooked for him on the ship that one time. "Yah know dey have stuff in dem. Soft breads and meats or...I don't remember."

"Crepes," she chuckled quietly. A moment passed and she scooted over, laying shoulder to shoulder with him at gazed up at the fan above them making lazy turns. This would be worth it for better health and as much time as possible with him. If she had him and the Chippeqouti, she could be okay with the others of her kind passing before her. That only left one concern. "Mmm. Illya, will you promise me something?"

Illya shifted on the bed. "What I promise yah?" He was a little concerned she was feeling sick or there was something terribly wrong. His eyes roamed back and forth over her face as he waited for her to answer. Finally he let go of the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Promise me we'll stick together and that you'll do your best to live for at least another 320 years." Her words were stuck in her throat and she knew it was a dumb, sappy request but for once she couldnt help it. No matter what happened in the war ahead, 300 plus years without him would be difficult to bear.

Her concerns were valid to say the least. They were the same concerns he had about agreeing with her. "Kalizda I stay wit yah rest of meh life. When I agree ets because I see no other woman dat I want." Leaning over her again he kissed her on the lips and gently stroked her hair. He was gentle because hers was just as curly as his and sometimes the fingers got caught and it was best to be gentle and slow about it. "Yah have all of meh like we agree. Ef we have war I will live for yah and fight ta always come back."

She closed her eyes to hide how watery they were and nodded before he kissed her. "Always come back." The feel of his fingers gently passing over her hair was comforting. How was it he could make the rest of the worlds troubles fall away when he was close like this. Sometimes he was the firey trouble and sometimes he was the water that seemed to make it wash away. No matter which it was, they would be okay. "I love you, Illya." She said the words in his language, though even after all her practice, her accent was still awkward.

Hearing her attempt in his language was always something that would make Illya swell with pride. "Meh beautiful Kalizda. I love yah." There was no covering his accent and he had quit trying after all the time that it took to even get where he was. Switching to Quoti he whispered in her ear and kissed her again on the cheek. More than likely she didn't know all the words so he translated as best he could. "I love yah long as da sands of Quoti burn wit sun. No matter da wind dat blows I come back. When t-the water rises I climb ta mountain for yah. Meh love is yah shield from da storm." Kissing her again he peered into her eyes. "Ets an old Chippeqouti saying for agreed."

Illya was whispering in her ear and it tickled but the words were pretty in his language, though she could only understand snippets in his low, soft voice. It almost sounded like a poem. He kissed one cheek and then the other before translating and explaining what it meant. They almost sounded like the Kaerelean vows but more. The words made her reach up and cup his cheek, gliding her smooth thumb over his bottom lip. "It's beautiful." Then she gazed into his eyes for a long moment before leaning up and kissing him again. There weren't any words in any language good enough to describe the way she felt.

****

Her eyes felt so heavy as the tried to open for the first time after being put under for the surgery. The room refused to come into view properly as a tall figure stood over her Where was this? She tried to sit up, but her body wouldn’t budge, not even her hand would lift up from the bed she was laying on. So very heavy feeling. The figure above her swam into view a little more as it leaned over her and started speaking. An Ehaui? Oh, that’s right, she had been going to sleep for surgery. Did it work? That meant Illya had gone to sleep too. How was he? The doctor’s voice sounded very far away but she tried very hard to make herself heard. “Eeelya?” The doctor pushed her hand back down with a cold hand. When had she lifted it up?

Calysta frowned and tried to turn her head. He had been right beside her when they were put to sleep. Her head felt like a rock on a swivel, and lolled awkwardly to the side as she turned. Her Chip was there beside her, with his bright eyes already open. “Eeelya,” she chuckled numbly, “Sleepy Chip, doesn’t need his coffee.” There was a muffled voice behind her and suddenly she was very tired again. Her eyes began to droop and she drifted off again.

***
The sharp pain in her leg jarred her awake and Calysta yelped at the sudden stab. It started from the surgery scar running down the length of her leg and radiated deep into body, down the her entire left side. She was still in the hospital, but the effect the anesthesia had worn off. IV drips were stuck in her arms and the florescent lights seemed altogether too bright in her eyes. It was hard to tell if the pain she was feeling was from the actual surgery or from the growing pains starting to begin. Gritting her teeth, she looked to the left to check on Illya. She found he was semi-awake, with bright green eyes heavy lidded but looking at her with a furrowed brow. “I think you were right,” she chuckled weakly, “It went well. Feeling okay?”

One of the nurses came by and saw her trying to talk to Illya. “Not too much moving yet. You have a few days before you can get up.”

Calysta nodded and dropped her head back to the pillow. “Alright.”

She was tired and not sure if Illya was awake enough to understand what she was saying. The nurse asked if she was in any pain and for once Calysta didn’t lie absolutely. “A little.”

The nurse shook her head and went to work adding more pain medication to the IV drip. “You’ll sleep well, and we’ll have some food waiting for you when you wake up. I was told you like chocolate, yes?”

She smiled at the thought of a piece of chocolate and nodded as her body felt lighter and lighter. “Mhm…”

***

Thomas came by to check on his daughter in the Ehaui hospital. She had gone through with the surgery and while it would result in her being in pain for a short while, in the long run she would be so much healthier. Still it was hard to see the look on her face when one of the growing pains they had warned him of swept over her. Her brow would furrow as her jaw clenched. The pain medication seemed to help dial down the experience but it couldn’t keep all of the pain away. As he sat between her and Illya he watched as what must have been a sharper one come over her. Her fists clenched and her eyes screwed shut, but she didn’t cry out. Not even when she was sick as a child did she cry like one normally would.

After the pain passed, her hand unclenched and slipped over the bed. Her fingers searched for someone.Thomas felt like it was probably Illya’s hand she wanted, but the Chip was asleep. He took his fingers and put them under hers, feeling them curl up, just like when she was a child. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here too.”

***
It was a relief to go home even if it she hurt almost everywhere. Markus helped her lay down on the bed, though her father offered only to have it pointed out carrying her might be a bad idea with his knee. “T-hank you,” she managed to stutter. She hated sounding so shaky but it was all she could to simply lay down. Markus gave her a nod and then left only to be replaced by her father who went about fussing and trying to help her get more comfortable.

He fluffed pillows and tucked one under leg. No matter how gentle he was, bumps against her leg were painful and most of her joints ached. It almost felt like a bad case of arthritis. Was this how Illya felt for so long?

Finally, everyone seemed satisfied Calysta was comfortable and Illya came into the room with Keysha on his heels. The cat saw her and immediately jumped up on the bed purring and butting her head up against her hand. “I think...she missed me…” Calysta smiled, patting the animal on her head lightly. Considering the cat hadn’t seen them in nearly two weeks, the enthusiasm was welcome until the animal started trying to laid down on top of her legs. “No...no..no.”

Illya jumped into action and made their large cat get down. Keysha seemed offended at first, but then took her spot on the rug near the foot of their bed. Patting her Chip’s spot, on the bed she invited him to sit. Another growing pain arched up her spine and she shut her eyes tight for a moment, holding her breath until it passed.

Letting out a long breath, she glanced up at Illya and gave him a tentative grin, “Don’t suppose with this new bone marrow...I get to have long Chip sleeps, huh?”
 
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The day of the surgery arrived and Illya woke up later in the morning. Kalizda had insisted that he sleep more and while it was sometimes nice, it was also frustrating. There was a lot that he needed to do. Markus had already come over with Yvonne to feed the animals and give both of them hugs. For once Yvonne was smiling broadly at Kalizda. It had been made clear by her son that he intended to stick it out with the Little Bird woman and his father had set his foot down on the subject.

“Kalizda, I will be here to cook and clean for both of you the first few days.” She knew it wouldn’t be too long until Illya was going to be able to help Kalizda with her needs. The little woman could easily be taken care of because she was small. Her son was another issue. “Markus will come to.” Pulling Illya into a hug first she gently kissed his cheek and then she gave Kalizda a hug. It was like a miniature line when Thomas appeared for hugs.

Moving from his mother to father Illya then stepped over out of habit and he almost pulled Thomas into a hug and then recognized the man. A confused frown came to Illya’s face and he stopped short. “Eh…” He was just standing there and both of them looked the other up and down. “Kalizda yah migh wanna say someting ta yah dad.” Thomas was here for his daughter and no one else. That was just what Illya had gathered and he still struggled with any particular liking for the man. They got started on the wrong foot and everything since then had been a series of missteps and awkward moments.

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Inside the hospital Illya got changed into a surgery gown. He always thought they were the dumbest things. It left the back mostly open and it was more than uncomfortable whenever you turned to your side. Cold breezes would run up the back and the Ehaui didn’t like their buildings as warm as the Chippeqouti did. Granted he had gotten used to being a little cooler in the house. Kalizda had him make a few modifications to keep the house cooler, such as the location. Still it was too cold in the Ehuai hospital to be comfortable. “Hmmm….” Glancing over at Kalizda he chuckled. “Easy for meh to show off ef I want.” Since they were just in the waiting room Illya made a quick dance half in mockery of how pathetic the coverage from the gown was. The dance was awkward at best since he was still limping slightly from the test. At the end he lifted the gown enough to be indecent.

An Ehaui nurse walked into the room as Illya finished his hospital gown dance and she sighed. “Get in the bed. I’ll see enough of your ass for the next week as it is.”

Illya pulled the back of the gown down and together. Giving a growl he plopped on his bed and started to scoot under the covers. Scooting was always difficult and he pulled the blankets up quickly to cover the fact that the gown had hiked up dangerously high. Kalizda however, got to wear a child sized gown because the adult gowns were more like dresses on her. Once he was under the blankets Illya dug under the covers to pull his gown down. It wasn’t long that he was laying there until he got cold. The nurse came back with a thick hot blanket and laid one over him and then the next over Kalizda.

By the time they reached the surgery room Illya was starting to get nervous. The thought of having his good leg cut into was starting to sink in. It meant that both his legs would ache all night for weeks. Walking would be miserable and he had to do it in just a few weeks. Massage would be horrible too for the first few times. Glancing over at Kalizda underneath the the surgical lights made her almost flourescent. Illya reached across the short distance and held her hand gently. “I see yah later.” A mask was placed over his face and he began to drift off.

When he woke up Illya groaned softly. His leg was burning, throbbing, and aching and he was already feeling sick. He could hear a little voice faintly calling his name. Shifting in the bed he frowned a little with every surge of pain that ran through his leg and back. “Ugh…” Meeting her gaze he managed to give her a pathetic grin. Pain killers weren’t really all that helpful like usual and he was forced to eat at least 2 big meals before they would give him something to sleep. Anything in between Illya didn’t remember. It was just a blur.

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Markus came into the hospital everyday to check on Kalizda and his son. Yvonne sat in the room overnight several times. She was always worried about him and she was still here on the day that they woke him up for release. Since he only had surgery on one leg the nurse got him fitted with some crutches and Markus offered to carry Kalizda. Her father was not as stable on his feet. The Ehaui helped wrap Kalizda in a large puffy blanket like Illya had after his surgery for to remove the metal rods.

It was a little work for Markus to make sure there was enough of the blanket bunched around Kalizda to keep her from being in pain when he lifted her into his arms. “I beh gentle eh?” Gazing into her face he felt terrible knowing that she was suffering growing pains. Any Chippeqouti could sympathize with her pain.

Each step with the crutches sent a blast of pain through Illya’s leg. He wasn’t used to having all his weight on the right leg and he didn’t dare put any of the weight on his left. By the time he made it to the house Illya lowered his head and winced. Markus was busy getting Kalizda to bed and it was a good time to lean into the crutches. Yvonne gently brushed his shoulders. “I get both you some tea and some lozenges for your leg.” With that Illya nodded and cringed as he began to swing back toward the bedroom. Already the cat was doing her best to make space on Kalizda’s lap. Illya brought one crutch up and pushed the cat with it. She batted at it and hissed a few times before giving up the fight and hopping off the bed. Keysha flicked her tail and tossed Illya a proud look before settling beside the bed with obvious disgust.

A few minutes later Yvonne came into the room with two cups of tea. Illya she handed his to him and the she knelt next to Kalizda. Her father had tried to help, but he didn’t know much about this sort of surgery or the pain. “I have tea for yah.” While Illya was busy drinking his the Chip woman held the cup for Kalizda. More than likely her hands were miserably sore from the growth by now. “When you’re done let me know. Then I’ll make some snake stew for both of you.”

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Most of the days passed without any kind of event until the fourth morning. Illya shifted in his bed and groaned a little. Moving his hand away from the sticky wet substance he sighed. Most of the time he hadn’t been waking up this early, but the wet substance kept following him. Finally pulling his arm across his chest it stopped and then he felt a big heavy weight on the bed and something was pulling and nudging him all at the same time. Illya elbowed the obnoxious attention giver and was rewarded with a loud bawling. Cin awkwardly began to try crawling over Illya.

“No.” Illya pushed against the bear and then cursed loudly when it placed a paw right below the belt. It was painful, but dangerously close at the same time to causing severe damage to the surgical site on his left leg. "Get down..." Hissing loudly to the bear he shoved it off the bed. Even if it was stone the bear made a good thump and it bawled louder as it clawed at Illya. "Ah feed yah." Working his way out of the puffy blanket he had Illya glanced over at Kalizda. Between the two of them in puffy blankets on the bed they looked like twin marshmallows. From what Illya could figure his dad must have forgot to latch the bear in after he fed it early this morning and now Cin wanted more. Maybe his dad forgot to feed the bear or hadn't locked it in last night. By the time he got himself on the crutches the bear tried to lean on him and Illya fell back onto the bed and pile of blanket. With one crutch he pushed the bear away and then got up and hobbled for the kitchen. He was going to need to be up for the buckets of water so he could help Kalizda wash and then apply the soothing oils to her skin.

His mother came like usual with buckets and oils and then she brough sweet cakes for them to eat for breakfast. "Thanks mum." It was easier to just stump around with one crutch now that he was walking with partial weight on his leg. In another week he would be walking on his own again and then he could start the treatments to help him solidify the bone in his leg better. "Yah put im back eh?" It was still difficult for Illya to do much with the bear and he couldn't wrestle it very well. Yvonne nodded and put the bear back and then left.

Illya barely got back to the room and he heard a crash. Within seconds the bear came tumbling right back to his bedside. Since there was no helping it at this point the Chip settled with showing the bear to sleep beside his side of the bed instead of at the foot. Keysha still didn't like Cin all that much, but they tolerated one another for now. Taking up his seat on his side of the bed Illya set the plate of food between himself and Kalizda. "When yah done eating I tink maybe I try rubbing oils in yah back and legs then maybe yah arms too." He winced a little when she shifted and he could see the expression on her face. "Sorreh..." Growing pains hurt and he knew it. At least growing pains weren't as severe as infections or broken bones. "Soon yah feel better."

Massages for the next 2 weeks didn't always go well. Sometimes Kalizda would tense up and other times it seemed to be a relief. For himself Illya was feeling much better and he had started a few projects. One of them was to buy a wood door to put on the front of his house. It was going to be a surprise for Kalizda. By now his leg was mostly healed though it was still healing enough that he slept a bit longer than usual. On his way to the docks to see if he could get some trade done one of the elders called to him. Wandering over to the house Illya stepped inside.

"We've just had a report on one of the scanners that we had 3 ships go down in the desert. There was a storm last night and it blew one into the magnetic barrier. Two more were driven from the meteor storm to land on Nuen." The woman met Illya's gaze. "We need you to go investigate the sites. Take a small team with you."

Nodding carefully Illya exited the little house and then started for the first house of one man that he trusted more than the others. By the time he had a group of six Illya was ready to take 3 of the fliers. Fortunately he was a general and that meant that he could have a front seat. Before he left on the flier Illya stepped into the house. "Kalizda!" Yelling her name he waited for a reply and then spoke. "We have tree ships land eh? I go now and come back later."

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A woman stepped out of her ship into the sands and let out a long breath. They were a long ways from home and she didn't like it. Already it was scorching hot and she didn't know anything about the planet except that it was hot, obviously desert, and recently occupied by the Chippeqouti. "C'mon!" Snatching a child from the hold she pulled at several of the other survivors. The group of 15 started across the sands fast as they could away from the inevitable explosion of the ship. A tiny girl with blonde curls ambled behind the rest as fast as she could while wiping the blood away from her eyes.

"Sir, we've encountered a problem." The voice over radio came through. "Colonists were forced to land last night and one ship exploded before landing the other arrived damaged. We have witnesses sir to our ship."

Sitting at his desk the man thought for just a moment. "Do you have anything that would give a wound similar to that of a sword?"

"We could take a few sharpened fan blades from the buried engine." Frowning a little the officer waited for some kind of response. He wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean. There wasn't any reply for a long time and he finally questioned. "You want us to kill the colonists and make it appear that the Chippeqouti did this and report it?"

"What do you think I would do?" Answering the officer he smiled before continuing. "You're a smart man and I knew when I sent you and your team that I made the right choice."

***********************************************

Only a short distance from the location of the crashed ships Illya stopped the fliers. They would need to be cautious. "Zasher right," waving a small group of 3 men to the right Illya then began heading to the left with the others. The crash sites were all fairly close which was odd. Then he heard what he hadn't expected. Screams. Narrowing his eyes Illya waited for a few seconds and then gave signal for all the men to close in. Drawing closer he could see that there were a group of men chasing after a group of battered people with makeshift blades.

Already there was blood covering some of the blades and only 2 people remaining alive. "Intervention...I repeat intervention." The order was blurted quickly into the headset and the Chippeqouti stood up from where they were and pulled their guns. Illya knew the man in the back wouldn't survive if he didn't duck. Getting a clear shot was controversial at best if you were the one being rescued, but there was only so much that Illya could do. Leveling his weapon Illya aimed for the man trying to escape the men behind charging after him with blades. "Shoot the runners!" That was the only order he gave as he squeezed the trigger.

Seeing more men pop up in front the colonists screamed for help as they fled the men with blades. "Help!" One of them a mother and another a man that pushed her ahead of himself. Screaming loudly the woman watched as their should be rescuers yelled something in a foreign language and shot her husband before she too fell to the ground.

The small detachment of six Chippeqouti raced straight ahead following their general. Faces set in a firm, grim expression the group spread out over the sand taking up a space wide enough for them to draw swords and still have room to move. As Illya drew his sword he swung his sword out in a slash and cut the head off the first opponent with a blade. Within five minutes he and his group had slaughtered the last of the men with blades. "I stay here and keep guard. " Standing over a decapitated body Illya surveyed the area. "Rest of you investigate the ship." It was almost dark outside and he could fly home tonight, but that would depend on what they found aboard that ship.
 
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Ayrn sat in the corner of a small wooden building designated as a tavern. He'd been in taverns in worse repair than this, but the place was stuffy, and crowded with workmen ending their day with a mug of beer or synethics brews. Ktuole, as it turned out, was an earth-like planet with plenty of resources to be had but the only settlement on the planet so far was a little town with stark differences. The workers stayed in little shanties made of wood from the forest of incredibly thick trees nearby, while the security force and higher-ups kept to the towns more kept thoroughfares.

Ayrn had already scoped out the shadier side of town, keeping out of the eyes of the well-armed security force. From what he could tell the bigger, more official buildings were very well guarded. Whenever anyone asked about him, he simply said he was there looking for work in the fields. Just like anyone else who arrived on a transport. It wasn't until he buying a cozy little room in the upstairs of the tavern, that he connected the info-pad to the net work, and worked up a message he thought the Illya might understand without having to say much. The man was good at math so, Aryn sent the message coded with a simple equation that could be figured out.

"'Kikta' a researcher on bones and grafting. Supplied and handled by someone. K.O. for the Little Bird from handler. More?"

Hopefully, the info is what Illya was looking for. The whole town had a strange air. It felt like the settlers were always being watched no matter where they went. Or maybe after seeing some of the info in that file made him paranoid. Either way, he wasn't keen on staying long. Ayrn would wait around for a few days to give Illya a chance to reply before hopping the next transport out of town.

***
Kiya sat with her legs folded on her sleeping mat. How many days had it been since she was brought here. The time all passed the same way now. Work, eat, sleep. Repeat. The crone had ensured she wouldn't die, at least not by starvation of dehydration, and it was annoying. The woman would watch her eat, calling her Little Trouble all the while. Yet, for some reason, Kiya couldn't stop thinking of what she said.

A voice echoed through the woman's house as a patient welcomed himself in. Nobody knocked around here, which was irritating because she never knew when someone was roaming around the house unless they announced themselves loud enough for her to hear. Kiya climbed to her feet, taking it slow to fight the dizziness, and dusted off the palms of her hands on her pant leg. Not that it did much good. Everything in the forsaken desert was sand covered and gritty no matter how hard she tried to keep it out. A man covered in beads of sweat entered and pointed to his hand with a miserable grimace, speaking in their fast native tongue. The medicine woman replied with no more than a few words, before checking the patients temperature with the back of her wrinkled hand. Shaking her head, the woman picked up his hand and began working.

Kiya couldn't help but tip toe a little nearer, keeping her eyes on the woman's work. Three of the man's fingers, the from pinkie to middle, were swollen and purple. Obviously broken. The medicine woman started to set the fingers and the patient gripped the side of his chair as if it was his spine that had been broken and not just a few little fingers. When the digits were set, her captor gave the man a cup of staunch smelling tea that made Kiya's nose curl. Tea as a solution for a broken bone? These people were so far behind in some things, but perhaps not in others. When the man finished two good cups of the herbal liquid, he left the house, giving over a small metal box as payment. She had stayed quiet and watching the entire time, but her more curious nature was flaring. "Ye' don't prescribe pain medication? Even for'a broken bone?" The woman gave her a hard glare, reminding her of the place she held within the house. If that was her response to a simple question, she couldn't imagine what the woman would say to a request. "I would like't speak 't Kalizda woman. Prisoners are allowed visitors here, hmm?"

***

After being asked try on several different sizes of hospital gown, Calysta found herself wearing a pink child-sized gown and struggling to tie it in the back. The hospital was admittedly cold and she disliked showing off anymore than she had to. Hospitals were not something she enjoyed, having spent far too many days in them. That fact, coupled with the nerves over being put under were keeping her tensed up. Managing to get the last two ends of her gown tied up properly, Calysta heard a chuckle from across the room. “Hmmm…“Easy for meh to show off ef I want.” Her eyes flicked up to see Illya in the middle of a jaunty dance with the back of his gown flapping open precariously as his hips moved. Calysta giggled a little, her eyes checking him over and started to feel a relieved at the sudden break of naughtiness. She started to tell him to be careful, that she might take him home if he showed of too much. Then he lifted his gown, baring his tanned-self for all to see as the nurse came in and her cheekiness faded to a rosy color on her cheeks.

***
Calytsa stayed practically swaddled in the fluffy blanket next to Illya, fading in and out of sleep for much of the time. When she wasn't sleeping, her body was incredibly sore. Sometimes even slight movements were agonizing, especially in her leg where the surgery took place. Nothing hurt worse than when the growing pains inched their way up her spine and into her skull, resulting in throbbing headaches. When Cin barreling into their bedroom, and knocked Illya over, the jostle on the bed nearly made her cry as her body shifted with the force of the impact. The general was no happier with his bear, and made the animal laid down by his side on the floor as Yvonne brought them breakfast. Moving to pick up one of the delicious smelling sweet breads caused another flare of pain erupt and she couldn't hide the grimace this time. "When yah done eating I tink maybe I try rubbing oils in yah back and legs then maybe yah arms too. Sorreh...Soon yah feel better." She wanted to lean up and kiss him so he would know she was alright, but the thought of more movement made her cringe. "Soon," she replied, with as much of a smile she could muster.

Illya stayed by her side. He would help her move, and bathe or pick up items when her little fingers were simply too sore to grip things. Without fail, he would use oils brought by Yvonne and unwrap her aching limbs to rub them into her skin. Sometimes the massages would make her tender skin scream against any contact, and other times his touch was soothing, particularly down her spine and right leg where things were the worst. He never bore down too hard, or forgot to be gentle with her for a moment. Every night, no matter how sore or miserable she felt, Calysta would inch her hand from under the puffy blanket and rest it on top of his. "Thank you, my Illya," she would said in Qouti, if she could focus on the words.

The days seemed to crawl by, but as Illya healed faster than she did, he began to putter around the house working on something. Yvonne came by in the mornings and seemed strangely more at ease around her. The woman was openly smiling rather than keeping to her usual stoicism or small, measured expression. At first, the sudden change in attitude was confusing but, the more Calysta thought about it, the more it made sense. She had assumed the woman's quiet protest was because she was not a Chippeqouti, but now, she was technically part Chip. Part of Illya. Maybe that was enough in her eyes now. Her body would last a long time and nobody would have to worry anymore. Either way, it was relieving to find acceptance in her mother -in-laws eyes finally.

***
Thomas poked his head into his daughter's bedroom and glanced around the room. He had come by in the evening after visiting the pleasure house and wanted to bring Calysta her favorite tea along with a few other things. The scene he found in the room was quite a sight. His daughter was wrapped up snugly in her special blanket with only her head propped on a pillow and a single arm showing. The escaped hand was resting over the arm of the man beside her. Illya was awake and reading something on an info-pad propped on his knee while Keysha was stretched over the rug on her back. Her paws batted at the baby bear gently, but the cats ears were laid back in a more serious expression. Seeing the four of them was odd. They looked as though they all belonged together though not a single one of them was born on the same planet as the other.

Illya's eyes were quick to catch him watching and the Chip put down his info pad with an expectant but tired gaze. Despite the look, there were a few things Thomas wanted to say to the man. Holding up the bag of goodies as an offering, he stepped inside and placed it on the bedside table. "It's some things she might like. Tea, and some hot chocolate....hmm." If he didn't say it now, he might not ever and it had been hard enough for him to climb the hill to do this. Reaching over, he rested his hand on Illya's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You've made her future a good one. A happy one and now a healthy one. Thank you."

As Thomas let go of Illya's shoulder with a pat, he turned to leave so they could rest, but paused at the door. "There's a skinned snake in the bag for you."
He wanted to give the man a warning before more than drinks packages were found inside. Without much else to say, and his daughter resting well, the professor left them to their evening.

***
"Kalizda!"

Calysta heard her name being called from the living room, and Keysha's head raised up. The voice was Illya's. Why wouldn't he just come back to see her rather than shouting though the house? Sighing, she raised up to her elbows and began the slow process of climbing out of bed. Most of her body was still sore and seemed to move in slow motions from the extra weight of her newly plumped bones. Building up some of her muscle to match her newly built frame would be the next step and after a month of being in bed her eagerness to move was getting the better of her. "Aye! I'm coming!"

"We have tree ships land eh? I go now and come back later."

Illya's announcement was made and he was gone before Calysta could make it to the living room with her slow, shuffling steps. Ships had landed? In the shipyard or on the planet surface? She knew he wasn't one for mentioning details about anything unless she asked specifically and now he was gone. It hadn't sounded very urgent, so it was probably just some of the diplomats coming back for their promised visits. Bracing against the wall with one hand, she used her other hand to smooth her hair down. Illya was gentle in everything he did with her, but washing her longer hair wasn't something he was used to. He tended to let it dry the way it liked with its gentle waves. Which was fine as long as she wasn't laying down. Otherwise her glossy black hair turned to lumpy, bedridden locks. Walking into the the living room, her eye caught on something different immediately. Rather than the cloth that covered the opening to their front walkway, there was a dark, wooden door. When did they get a front door? A smile spread over her face. This had been the little project he was working on while she was recovering. Her fingers brushed across the smooth woods grains as she looked over the addition with pride. He might have been saving it as a surprise for her, considering she wasn't really supposed to be moving around too much, so she wouldn't tell him about seeing it. Her Chip could still surprise her with it.

Something bumped against her leg and sent shoots of pain up into her lower back. "Uuhg, what the-" Glancing down, she found Cin waddling beside her, his black nose twitching as he sniffed the air for Illya's scent. The bear was attached to the Chip like no other and if he caught wind of Illya in house, he would barrel through just about anything to get to the man's side. "You might as well go lay back down," Calysta sighed, "He'll be back later."
No sooner had she started to turn back toward the bed room, did Keysha come trotting out to find Cin too close. The cat made a point to force into a spot between Cin and her leg, causing more pains to run up the length of her leg. Gritting her teeth, Calysta glared down at the both of them. "Both you of you go on and behave!"
Cin gave her a sad cry, and stared at the door where Illya's scent lingered while Keysha butted her cold pink nose into the back of her leg. With a sigh, Calysta rubbed her throbbing temple and started back to the bedroom. "Alright, C'mon you two."

***
It was close to sunset and Illya had still not returned. Maybe he had been asked by the elders to meet with whoever had landed in the shipyard? It wouldn't surprise her if that had been the case, but still she was starting to get worried. Sitting in the house with the pitiful, crying bear and sassy cat with no idea what was happening was not helping her concern. Rather than laying around and twiddling her sore thumbs, she started to get dressed. Wincing as she pulled on her grey tunic, Calysta tried to tie it in the front, only to realize it was tight across the chest and the hips. She had gained a small curve to her hips and a bit more in her chest that wasn't there before and material was form fitting enough to make her look as if she were a poster girl. None of her clothes would fit anymore.

Determined to see what was going on, Calysta dove into the closet to find something that would fit. Spying one of Illya's shirts, she threw on a pair of stretchy leggings and wrapped her belt around the enormous shirt to keep it from looking too ridiculous. By the time she managed to make herself presentable, her limbs felt like lead and ached. If she sat down at all, it was likely she wouldn't find the energy to move though, so she took a deep breath and made her way to the front door. She would go to the communal areas first and hopefully find Illya or one of the Elders.
 
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Belen so no reason for this Little Trouble to know more about the Chippeqouti than she already did. However, it did seem that she was genuinely interested in making some kind of contact now. It was with her daughter anyway and in a way it was suspicious that after all this time she hadn't requested to see Kalizda and neither had Kalizda requested to see Little Trouble. "Aye, yah can ave visitors." A frown came to rest on the old wrinkled face. "Work." Thrusting a rag at the woman she pointed to a spot on the counter in the medicine room. "Ah ask ta see if Kalizda woman want ta see yah." That was all the more that she would be willing to even offer to such a trouble maker. Just because this woman wanted to see her daughter didn't mean that her daughter wanted to see her.

The next Chippeqouti came in later on that day with a nasty cough. More than likely it wasn't going to be serious, but it did sound like Chip cough and it was dangerous if it wasn't treated. Mixing a few herbs she thrust a bag into the woman's hands. Speaking quickly in Quoti she gave her instructions. "Drink this in morning and with all meals. You have enough to give to all your family." It was always important to make sure it was given to all the family or else it would spread. "Remember you stay home and have your family stay clear of others. Then I need you to get word through your agreed. Little Trouble wants to see Kalizda woman."

*********************************************

Perhaps the last thing Illya expected at this time of evening was to see his new father. Thomas stepped into the building and Illya thought it was pretty obvious that the man was only interested in his daughter. It was at times insulting that he didn't think that Illya had made appropriate arrangements for her to be taken care of before this surgery took place. He was tired out and somewhat frustrated that her father had come to see her. Kalizda had only just fallen asleep a short while ago and she was having a harder time sleeping than normal. Most of it he knew was due to the pain, but it would take a long time for her to fall asleep again if Thomas woke her up. If it wouldn't wake her up for him to say something now or move to stand and take the bag from her father he would.

Instead it seemed that Thomas was going to do the sensible thing and try to talk to Illya. Blinking a few times Illya nodded at the end of the instruction and then glared at the hand that placed itself on his shoulder. He didn't really want the man to lay a hand on him at this point. However, it was strange that Thomas took the time to thank him for something he'd done well rather than scolding him. "I love Kalizda, she always get meh best."

For the time that was all the longer or greater the exchange was to be. Illya watched as Thomas made his way back to the doorway and then mentioned the snake. Since most of the work was done Illya decided that he would finish reading his message from Ayrn and then he could set the snake in a kettle of salt and water to make a gentle snake fry with some desert herbs and vegetables. The land near the water had finally begun producing some decent crops and he was looking forward to using the ones he had in his cabinets. Yvonne had collected some for him and Kalizda.

Illya's heart almost crashed through his chest. Kikta was supposed to kill his agreed, his Kalizda? Whatever this was it brought up a lot of bad things. The woman had been in bone grafting work as well and he gave her to Belen to handle. That was it, he knew who she worked for and when he was well enough, if there was further proof he was going to kill the woman. They didn't need her kind and neither did anyone else. Killing her without evidence was easy enough to accomplish and he knew the elders would cover it if they knew what she was. Sending back a message to Ayrn he quickly typed in return mathematical equation. "More if possible. Get evidence. Come back if too dangerous to stay longer."

*********************************************************

Standing over the bodies and the dead Illya began to check the surrounding area. There was something very strange about this. None of them appeared to be anyone that he should have normally worried about and yet there was a group attacking another. It was impossible to tell who was right and who was wrong, but first glance had told him that perhaps the ones in front would have been innocent. Making his way back he found more bodies that had been slashed and hacked nearly to bits. Just the sight of the bodies made him sick. This wasn't a war or even close to a fight. These crazy men had hacked the bodies of men, women, and even two children to pieces. Already little desert dogs had begun to emerge from their dens.

Illya began to turn away when he heard a child whimper and then scream. Whipping around Illya pulled out a flashlight and began to scan the ground and surrounding area. At first the light brushed over the sands and then he saw it again. There in the bloodied sand lay a little girl with her light brown curls matted with thick clumps of blood and mud. Her arm was nearly shredded from what he assumed must have been the blast and a dog was pulling at her torn limb.

Pulling his gun out Illya pointed it at the dog and shot it. With the blast several other of the dogs jumped and most of them scattered from the area. Putting the gun back into its holster Illya then knelt next to the child. She was too weak to even move much. As gentle as he tried to be she still cried out when he started to gather her little bloodied form into his arms. "Yah safe now." The child must not have spoken much common tongue because her little eyes didn't show any sense of recognition for what he had just said. Still he spoke softly to her and held her head tucked into his shoulder while he walked back toward the front of the line where the last man and woman had been. By now the man was conscious and he was trying to crawl away. With each labored effort of dragging himself across the sand he would grunt in pain. "Yah stop dere." Illya stepped in front of him. "I have medic for yah soon. We go back to meh city eh?" While he was trying to calm the man and speak some sense to him the woman started to cry and the child on his shoulder began whimpering again. "Stay still."

"Please just help us." Painfully getting to her knees the woman began to drag herself toward him on all fours. "Help us please?" She sounded pitiful and her face was covered in muddy smears of tears. When he looked toward her she winced and lowered her head. "Please don't do this." All the while she muttered and wept in common tongue as if she thought that he would kill her.

Before Illya had chance to say anything else one of his men started to speak into the headset. "General there is nothing here. Ship must have suffered a sort of failure just before landing." Illya frowned some and he nodded before answering in Quoti. "Tomorrow we get Kalizda out here to look at the ship and Ehaui pilots. We clear out with our victims." Turning his gaze back to the woman in front of himself he nodded to her before switching back to the common language. "Yah safe now. I have meh men and meh shoot at yah legs to drop yah before dey slice yah up." There hadn't been time to order the people to drop to the ground without risking their lives. Having damaged legs was better. "Get yah ta doctors now eh?"

"Shooting us made it better!" Spit flew from the man's mouth as he spoke with rage. It was himself and his wife that suffered the injury while this man went around shooting people and then playing hero. "If you were such a good aim you could have shot them while they were chasing us."

Sighing Illya glanced at the man and made sure to speak in trader's tongue from here on out. "Yah run in front of dem. Keep getting in meh way. Onleh way to get clear shot was ta shoot yah in legs. Maybe I yell yah ta duck and den dey know what yah do next and yah die anyway?" He hated having to explain these sort of things. Illya felt something slide along his arm and he looked over at the girl only to see that she had already soaked through his shirt. "Help meh. Yah bot start bandaging yah legs and I patch girl eh?" Laying the child on the ground he studied her face for a moment. Panic started to rise in his throat when he saw that she was growing weaker by the moment. Pulling his medical pack off his belt he laid it open and took a few bandages to wrap around the girl's arm. They had a ways to go yet and he wasn't so sure that she would make it without a tourniquet. It would risk her arm, but it was better than her life.

The two refugees fell oddly silent as they began to apply pressure to the oozing bullet wounds in their legs. Illya twisted the soft bandage material around the girl's arm till it quit bleeding. Carefully he picked her back up and then nodded to his men. "Yah help dem get bandaged and we call Ehaui ship." It would be the best way to ensure that they received help for the wounds of these refugees right away. "Ah stay here and yah go home."

***********************************************

Edgar was sitting outside of his little house with his wife when he saw Kalizda limping along. Quickly getting up he made his way over to her and offered his arm. Though he was becoming an old man he could still see that she was a woman in need and she certainly didn't look like she should be toddling outside just yet. "Kalizda yah need someting?" The older man gazed into her eyes for a long moment with concern as he took her back to his house just a few feet away to sit down.

Calysta took Edgars arm but tried not to put too much of her weight on Edgar as he guided her inside and helped her ease into a chair. Coming down the hill with such jarring steps had been a challenge that stirred up the soreness in her knees and spine. Sitting took away some of the pressure lingering in her joints and she met the elder with a curious, but concerned look over her own. " I hope I haven't interrupted anything but Illya came by the house much earlier and mentioned ships landing. I haven't seen him since. I thought maybe it was a diplomat ship from Kaereal and he might need some help."

The older man nodded as she spoke. "Ah..." When she was seated he nodded to his wife who scurried off to make some tea to help with the pain that Kalizda had to be in. "Tree sheps lan on distant part of Nuen." Gingerly taking a seat near her he continued, "One ship landed when storms hit and den one was destroyed falling tru da magnetic field and oter crash." Meeting her gaze again he realized that it was not likely she knew this. "Yah Illya is good soldier. Dun worreh."

If it were only a simple crash and civilians were hurt Illya could handle it easily. If the ships were an enemy, the Federation...she'd seen him handle that too...but not two at once. He was still healing up some too. Shifting in her seat, she gazed at the elderly chip beside her and nodded. "Aye. He is a good soldier. Have they reported back at all?" She wanted to know what information was available if the Elder would tell her.

A little smile came to his face. "Ah hear small report eh?" Nodding a little accepted the cup from his wife and gently passed it to Kalizda. "Yah drink an Ah tell yah since yah Chippeqouti." It was her right to ask if her agreed was on the mission and it was good to see that she wanted to take advantage of her rights. "Ehaui send assistance. Dey find wounded." It all sounded good to Edgar though he wasn't sure what she could be worried about.

Calysta sipped on the tea, thankful for something to drink to wet her dry mouth. When Edgar gave his small report, her stomach sank to her toes as the rest of her turned heavy as lead. Of course, if there was a crash the Ehaui could have been sent to help those victims. If it were Illya surely he wouldnt keep that information from her. "Wounded..." she whispered more to herself, "Hopefully the Ehaui will be able to help survivors if their friendlies. Do we know what kind of ships they were? Any markings or comission numbers? I can help."

"Vereh strange. General request yah go wit im tomorrow ta ships." Edgar peered at her for a long moment. "Yah be alright? Maybeh Ah ask Markus ta take yah home?"

***********************************************

The group of three fliers arrived back at the Chippeqouti settlement a short time before the Ehaui medical transport. Illya had stayed behind with the transport as it would be expected of a general. Slowly the men made their ways home and soon all was quiet as it had been. An occasional flicker of a light shifting behind the cloth covers over the doors and windows shone in the houses as the soldiers returned to their beds and to their agreed.

Half hour later a medical transport flew over head and landed near the Ehaui hospital. Illya finished writing his report and added the pictures for the hologram to record. None of it was pretty, but he was starting to get an idea that Kiya was Federation. The woman knew that Federation was everywhere. Quite plainly she was involved if she was into the bone studies. Ehaui were the only ones that did bone studies like that besides the Federation. However, the Ehuai used the bone study to advance the medicine for Chippeqouti. It was not likely that Kikta had the same mind set. Now he couldn't help wondering if this strange event had anything to do with her or not. All the same he was going to be waiting for Ayrn to send him another message, or return before demanding the woman's life.

With so much on his mind the general didn't remember to take his bloodied shirt off before he got home. It was dark and quiet in the house when he got there. Before crawling into the bed Illya stripped his shirt off and dropped it next to the bed before sitting on the edge of it and taking off his shoes and then his pants. Laying down beside Kalizda he quickly fell asleep unaware of the blood that blotched his arms, covered part of his hands, and the spots that had speckled his face and stuck in his hair from the fight.

Fresh memories of the war began to emerge mixing with the intervention that had just been run. Illya curled in the bed and winced. He felt an impending sense of doom and he suddenly recognized the scene. They were about to drop the bombs. Somehow their position had been compromised! The muttering in his sleep turned to anxious calls in Quoti for the men to take cover. Looking around he realized that there was nowhere to take cover. It was a rough patch of ground covered by smoke and there was nothing besides a few caves that some of the men had managed to half bury themselves in. Curling into a tighter ball he waited for what he knew would be a fatal explosion.

The same crippling pain started deep in his back and leg moving up through his arm and his head nearly exploded with the searing images. Short moments of consciousness had been implanted in his memory. Men that had tried to take refuge in the small caves had been blown in half and he could still hear their screams and feel the blood trickling over his body. It was like it was happening all over again. Feeling something bump him Illya suddenly bolted awake and he sat up in the bed with a sharp intake of breath. Peeling back the cloth over the window he saw that it was still dark and decided to get up anyway. He didn't even want to try sleeping if that was what he was going to dream about. Slipping out of the bed Illya limped toward the front door of the house and then slipped outside. Looking down at his mostly naked self Illya noticed that he needed to wash. It was early enough he was sure no one else would be at the bath house.

When Illya finished washing and he returned to the house he was tired, but he didn't really want to sleep. Instead he got dressed and threw his dirty clothes from the fight into a bucket with water and salt and a few herbs. Quietly he set out food for the animals and prepared some sweet bread for breakfast and then went to sit in the library to read books until Kalizda woke up. It wasn't long into his reading before he fell asleep though and half his face was resting on the book.
 
“I’ll be ready to go,” she assured Edgar with a faint smile, “And that’s alright, I think I can make it. Just a little slower.” Markus had done so much for them already and may have things to do regarding whatever was happening in the desert. Calysta drank her tea as she summoned the energy to make her way back up the hill to their house. Going up the pebbled path wasn’t as hard on her joints as the trek down, but she had yet to adjust to the thickness in bones. What would be a ten minute walk turned to 25 minute hike and her muscles were a little wobbly from the effort. It would take time for them to build strength to match.

By the time Calysta reached the bedroom she was sweaty and becoming sore again. The padded blanket and her bed looked tempting but she wanted to wait up for Illya. There was no telling how long he would be if there were civilian injuries and the Ehaui needed to be called, but he might need her help before tomorrow came. Making her way to the closet, she searched for some more appropriate clothing that might fit for investigating the crash site rather than Illya’s oversized shirt. After trying on a few of her tunics, hoping one might fit, she realized that all of them were too tight. Without much else to wear, she pulled out one of her Skycorp tanks and inspected it. It had the familiar six pointed, silver star on the chest. If she was asked to help with civilians and, they were Kaerlean or Terran, it might be good for any survivors to see the emblem. It wouldn’t cover her arms, but it was stretchable and looked better than running around in make shift tunic until she could get more clothing.

Having figured out that detail, Calysta searched the house for things to do to keep her awake. The kitchen was already spotless and there were leftovers for dinner from the night before to eat. Everything in the study was arranged except for Cin’s cage. The stubborn bear had grown strong enough to bust through it, shearing the metal latch and grated door right off the hinges. His cage now sat under the shelf wide open and some of the bedding hanging out. She used her toe to push the bedding back into place before wandering into the living room. It was nearing mid-night by galactic time and Illya had still not returned. He had been gone for nearly 7 hours or so. Picking up her info-pad, Calysta rolled back into her chair and started reading one of the books she had downloaded, a review of the Beta quadrant planets. Speeding around the Beta quadrant would be a good adventure them with so much left to discover.

A growing pain in her hip snapped her eyes open and the first reaction was to curl up with a groan, sending her info-pad crashing to the floor. The pains were less frequent, but no less powerful when they struck. Calysta held her breath against the stabbing aches, rubbing at her right hip furiously to make it fade. When had she fallen asleep? Prying her stiffened bones out of the chair, she picked up the info-pad, holding on to the complaining hip, and then made her way to the bedroom. Had Illya come home? No. There was no sign of him having come home in any room along the way and the bed was empty except for Keysha who had made herself at home on the end of the mattress. The cat had made a nice pile of Ehaui hospital blankets to nestle into and looked content with a paw flopped over the side. Maybe the crashes were worse than reported and taking longer to deal with? Should she go out to see if they needed help? No, she wouldn’t make it very far as it was and if something more urgent happened Edgar or one of the Elders would tell her. Settling into her side of the bed, Calysta stripped down and folded up Illya’s shirt, then snagged up the end of her blanket to reclaim it from the cat who didn’t move an inch.

*****
Calysta was vaguely aware of the mattress shifting, as something settled into the bed beside her. There was a familiar warmth and her hand raised up to investigate. Normally he smelled like sage, but this time there was the distinct scent of the outdoors, so it could be one of the pets. Her wandering hand patted over the sheets till it met smooth skin. It was Illya. As soon as she touched him though, he rolled away. It was possible his back was sore from dealing with the mission, so she let him pull away and sighed. Knowing he was home made her relax enough to drift back into a deeper sleep.

When she woke, Illya was not beside her. She hadn’t given him any coffee last night so the restlessness was probably due to his lack of caffeine. If he was up, he would be wanting to leave soon to go investigate the ships before the desert heat turned them into large metal ovens. She dressed in the leggings and Skycorp tank-top slowly, trying to avoid the sore places that had developed from her walk last night, and used the side of the wall to keep herself steady. The smell of fresh sweet bread was wafting in the air, so she checked the kitchen for her Chip first only to find it empty. Already gone to the bathhouse? Her eyes landed on Cin’s fluffy rear plopped down in the middle of the study doorway under the curtain and she went to inspect.

Illya was in his study chair, face down on the desk snoring lightly. He had to be exhausted and she was loathed to wake him up. There was no way she could carry him to bed though and his back would be stiff if she left him like that. Nudging Cin with her toe, the bear gave a gurgling complaint and shifted over for her to sneak through the door. “Illya?” He let out a long breath at the sound of his name, but didn’t stir. Calysta put a light palm over his shoulder and rubbed gently. “Illya. Wake up.”

The Chip suddenly popped up, throwing her hand from his back. The motion sent a jolt into her wrist, making her wince some as he got his bearings. “It’s alright, its just me.” Looping her hand around the back of his neck, she kissed the top of his head. “Edgar told me about the crashes. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go to the bathhouse then come back, okay?”

*****
The bath house was a trip in and of itself. It felt good to be going on her own again, but by the time, she made it there and filled her bucket up with water, some of the more tender spots were starting to protest, mostly her legs and helps from the descent from their house. Calysta struggled with her bucket, picking it up a few paces at a time until she was just far enough into the room to strip down and wash. As she was rubbing a cinnamon smelling oil wash through her scalp, one of the younger Chip women came up to her and nodded. “I have message from Belen for Kalizda. The trouble woman wants to talk to yah.”

Calysta stopped rubbing her scalp and titled her head in confusion. ‘Trouble woman’ undoubtedly meant Kiya. Why would she ask to talk? It had been nearly two months and anyone who dealt with her received the same proud disdain and anger from her with no actual progress. “Did she say anything else?”

“Onleh dat she want to see yah.”

Calysta thanked her for delivering the message and finished washing, thinking of her mother. This was something she had been actively avoiding, letting Henaiah take the reins with her, but maybe she would be willing to open up and talk now. The woman had something to do with it all, maybe more than just having framed her. Whatever information she had, would be helpful and if it took uncomfortable conversation to get it, Calysta would do it.

**
It was afternoon by the time Illya helped lift her into copilot’s seat of the flyer and lead his team into the air. She tried not to cringe at Illya’s take off, expecting it to be as rough as the last one in the flyer, but to her surprise, it was fairly smooth. He took the air with relative ease and set them on course.

The flight time totaled 2 hours and by that point, her joints were begging to be moved and the helmet felt like it was a vice grip on her ears. As they circled overhead, she could see scattered debris pockmarking the desert, remnants of the ship that exploded in the air. There wasn’t much left to investigate for that ill-fated vessel. Not far into the debris field, sat the two other ships. One of them was recognizable off the bat though it was severely damaged from its crash landing into the sand. “That one is a Kaerelean civilian ship. A larger star-class built for longer space voyages,” she pointed out to Illya over their comm-link, “I’m not sure what a ship like that would be doing here though.” It didn’t make any sense for a Kaerelean exploration vessel to becoming to a planet already under their control and occupied. They should have been heading to a sector much farther away.

Turning her attention to the other ship. It had suffered more damage and the remains of his jump-drive were still smoldering from the shredded hull. It was hard to tell where the ship had been from originally from the air. “Let’s get a closer look.”

Illya set them down into the smoothest patch of desert he could find, and helped her down from the flyer with a gentle hand as his other men landed nearby.

Calysta picked her way slowly toward the Kaerelean vessel first, intending on running its registry numbers and port of call first. Then hopefully she could pull the ships logs and determine where it had really meant to be going. As she stepped carefully through the rocks and bits of debris, she started to notice something else mixed with the sand. Dark, almost black patches splattered over the area. She didnt have to be told that it was blood but there was an awful amount of it and it was spread all over rather than being closer to the ship. Turning to Illya, who had been quiet for the better part of the day, she gestured to the dried spots. "Edgar said the Ehaui were called to help with the wounded, but this is a lot of blood and its everywhere. When you got here, what did you find? Were there many survivors?"

It was obvious that Kalizda was taking note of the blood spattered across the sand. In a way he had hoped that she wouldn't say anything about it. Of course that wasn't going to be his luck and she started to inquire about the event. While he thought of how to say it Illya worked his jaw. After several seconds he started. "I hear screams and we come ta rise ovah dere." Pointing to the cleft of sand he showed her. "Already men wit metal slicing people. Ah call fo intervention and we go in. Did not save da men killing oters. We burn bodies ovah dere so desert dogs don't eat dem."

She looked toward the small sandbank until Illya mentioned 'men slicing people' and her head whipped back to meet his gaze in shock. "Men slicing people?" The way he phrased it sounded like whatever happened was more of a slaughter. No wonder he had been so quiet. Her eyes traveled over to the smoking pile of charred lumps, realizing those were people, she swallowed. Who were they and why had they done such a thing? "What did they look like? Did they wear Kaerelean robes?"

Taking a deep breath he looked back to the sand and then tried to look at anything that didn't involve the immediate evidence of what had happened. There wasn't much to look at besides Kalizda. It wasn't all that comfortable looking at her and he shrugged. "Dey dress like Kaerelean and people dey kill Terran." As much as he hated the Terran he felt bad for those that had been slaughtered.

Calsyta frowned at hearing the that the men looked Kaerelean. Something was very wrong here. Why would Kaerelean's be killing Terrans and be so close to Nuen to crash on its surface? She walked closer to the Kaerelean vessel and stepped inside the hatch. The cockpit was of Kaerelean design wasn't in great condition, but it might be workable. "This one is definitely Kaerelean. With some tools and a little time I could get the main computer online maybe." She hobbled down the hallways, ignoring a building growing pain in her knee and poked her head into the crews quarters. There were no personal items to be found and there was a strong smell she vaguely recognized. "This just doesn't look right, Illya. No personal items...did any of the the survivors say anything?"

The Chip followed behind her into the ship and he watched. Standing near the entrance he let Kalizda begin her little search in the ship. She was voicing some of the same thoughts he had. Something about this entire scenario was wrong though he couldn't quite put his finger on what the cause might have been. No matter how they cut this the entire situation was going to turn into big mess and he was going to be at the center of it. "Nut much." Illya shrugged. "Dey mad Ah shot dem."

She stopped in her tracks and looked up to Illya in confusion. His accent was flaring and she thought maybe she had misheard. "You shot the survivors. The people being attacked?"

It was impossible to look at her when he had to answer her next question. Illya didn't want to say it, but it was the truth. "Aye." Nodding carefully he kept his head low. "Dey too close ta gettin sliced an Ah need clear shot. So I shoot dere legs. Dey fall and we kill attackers eh?"

Her mind started racing with the many possible consequences of what such a move would produce. None of them were particularly good for him or the Chippeqouti as a whole. He wouldn't look at her, keeping his eyes trained on the scarred diamond plate floor. This was not something he wanted to talk about but he needed to. "If you believed it was the only way to save them, then so be it." She would stand by his decison, but it would be a difficult explanation for others to swallow. "Did any of them make it to the Ehaui?"

Slowly he nodded again. "All dem I shot live and girl." The more she asked about it the more he wanted to just tell her to stop. Illya was tired of rehashing this entire thing. He wrote a report and gave the exact reasons that he injured the escapees. Letting them alone to be slashed would have been far worse than what he did. "Kalizda yah understand dey talk sometime and ef dey lie Heny-iah come back."

Illya seemed to have misunderstood her a little and he was not acting like himself. He was irritated at her questions, but more so, he seemed afraid. With a deep breath she reached over and squeezed his hand, hoping to make herself clear. "I know, Illya. I still think you did the right thing. If they tell the truth, then good. If they don't, we'll find away to figure it out alright? I stand with you and I'll crawl through every inch of this site till I find what's really going on."

At first her hand in his felt so wrong. Illya didn't feel like this was a time to hold hands or even seek comfort. He was still fighting with himself over this. War was too much after the last time and he didn't want to be a general, but this was his duty and he was raised to be this man. He had to do it. There was nothing else that he could do. Resisting the urge to pull away he simply let her continue to hold his hand and he chanced raising his eyes to meet hers. "Yah crawl tru et another day." She was tired and sore. In time she would be ready and it was just ruins. Besides none had contacted the elders yet in response to the ships.

Calysta met his gaze and immediately felt like a failure. Something else was wrong, beyond just the entire scenario. Illya's eyes looked cool and distant, not at all like they're usual bright and playful self. She let go of his hand and shook her head. "I just want to see the other ship before we go." Her bones ached all over but she was determined to get a clearer picture. "I can go check while you get the flyer ready. It won't take but a moment." There was no need to expose Illya to any more of the scene than he already has to endure.

Why she insisted on going through another ship Illya didn't know. The only other ship was mostly blown to bits and he didn't order it scrubbed as the blood had already baked into the walls and wherever else was exposed. As for what was inside he didn't know. There was only a small portion of the ship remaining and he didn't want to even step in to look again. It was cleared and that was it. So long as no one was in it they were fine. "Ah wait for yah outside ship eh?"

"Aye," she replied quietly, "I promise, I won't take long. And then we can go home." Dropping her eyes away from his, she started shuffling toward the hatch.

Calysta stepped into what remained of the second ship. Nothing would be salvageable from the cockpit on this one. It had been irreparably damaged. No ships logs or commission numbers would be found for the craft so all she could do was look around. There wasn’t much to see since an explosion from the main jump drive had practically shredded the ship to ribbons. It would be impossible for her tell what kind of ship it was from the wreckage. Walking further into the shattered corridors, her toe dragged across an uneven spot in the floor and she tripped into what remained of the crews quarters was a haphazard chunk split to the open sky from the force of the explosion. A few bags were hanging from a shelving unit and a little girls shoe was imbedded into what had once been a window. Sand blasted blood covered the walls.

Men murdering innocent people, covering the walls with their blood. The thought of it made hot bile rise up in throat. Closing her eyes, she waited for the wave of nausea to pass, and took in deep breaths. As she did, another smell besides the odor of acrid smoke hit her nose. It was the same smell aboard the other ship. A familiar one that she couldn't quite place at first. Where had she smelled this before? Taking in another deep breath, and ignoring the other terrible things in the air, her memory triggered. It was fuel. A fuel used by Terran's. Kaerelean's would rarely use Terran fuel. Only if the cleaner version of their own kind wasnt available at all. If both ships had been filled with Terran made fuel, then maybe they were connected and had left from the same port. There would only be a certain amount of ports carrying this kind of fuel source within traveling distance. She would have to research and narrow those down. Either way she felt like the two ships were connected and this was no random act of violence nor was it coincidence that they landed here. The possibility that this could be another set up like what happened to her rolled through her mind. What she needed was more evidence though, and if she was lucky it could be found in the Karelean ship logs and perhaps with the survivors too.

Seeing all there was to see, Calysta left the wreckage to find Illya waiting outside. Her Chip looked so tired. "I think I should come back and try to work on the Kaerelean ship tomorrow. Maybe talk to the survivors if I can. I think these ships are connected though they seem different. For now, lets just go home and rest, yeah?"

With any luck she would visit Kiya in the morning to see what any and then come to the site again to work as much as she could.

****

When they arrived home, Calysta tried making a simple dish of lemon chicken soup for dinner with as many herbs as she could stand to chop before her fingers began to ache. They ate in near silence between spoon falls. In truth, she knew something more was bothering him. Did he think she would be angry? Guilt for having shot the survivors? He wouldnt say anything and the quiet was almost louder than the winds cutting through the ruins of the ships. When they were done eating she made his tea, sweetening it with a hint of sugar and adding lavender, cinnamon and cream. A nice calming drink for sleep. Just finishing the mug and handing it too him was making her tired muscles shake shamefully. Rather than take it to him and risking spillage or falling, she called for him. "Illya!" When he appeared around the corner, Calysta nodded to the counter top where the steaming mug sat. "Tea for sleep, I put extra cream in. "

Giving him a gentle sort of half smile, she braced and against the door frame and started making her way toward their bed.
 
As badly as Illya wanted to be help to Kalizda in the house he was too shaken to do much. Wandering to his study he almost collapsed into his chair. The Chip stared blankly at the books in front of him for a while. He was just too tired to even accomplish anything. Eventually he started to doze off. Kalizda calling for dinner woke him and Illya sat up a little straighter. Originally he had intended to sit here for just a few minutes and then help her. Instead she had done all that work when she was still sore. Silently he sat down at stared at the food in front of himself. It was her turn to cook something she knew. That was the right. All during recovery they had mostly eaten desert food and what he knew how to make.

Even though the food was good he was too tired to say much about it. Tomorrow Illya was convinced he was going to be able to say something more about the food and just go on with life. He turned in his report and he would just let the council take care of the rest. There was no need to talk to anyone else about this. Kalizda already knew and that was only right as she was his agreed. When he finished he chanced a quick grin at Kalizda. She took the dishes and left him sitting there dumbly though he wasn't going to protest that tonight. Only a few moments later he heard her call his name and he stepped into the kitchen. She had his tea ready and it looked like she was ready to teeter right over. "I get dishes eh?" Illya waited for her to waddle down the hall and then he stared at the tea. It was debatable if he even wanted to drink it. Wouldn't be that hard to pour it out over the ground and just let her believe what she wanted.

Finishing the dishes Illya gulped down most of the tea and then left the rest on the counter. He didn't feel like drinking all of it. Like usual it didn't take long to start feeling tired. Perhaps he would be able to sleep better tonight, but there was still an overwhelming sense of fear that maybe he wouldn't. Stripping down to his briefs Illya slid under the covers next to Kalizda. Even though it felt pathetic he carefully leaned over her and kissed her. "See yah in da morning."

Sleep came quickly for both of them. She was still healing and he drank enough of the tea to do the job, but not much more. Sleep started out peaceful enough, but it only felt like a few minutes before he could hear the approaching bombs. He knew this all too well. No matter what he did they were going to die. It was always the same. Covering his head with his hands he curled into a ball on the bed and held his breath while the bombs dropped all around. Even if he told himself the dream wasn't real it always felt that way. His hands started to shake as the bombs spit dirt and rock all around. In his dream he was yelling for the men to take cover. They needed air support. Where was the last detachment of the Ehaui battle ships? Momentarily he uncovered his head and saw their communications guy was down. There was no way they could get air support without a call. Grabbing the pack from the dead Chip he started to yell into the comm. "Air support at..." Frantically he dug through the other man's pack to look for the map. Another blast hit and he winced as rocks were thrown into his face. "Sector Z-7..." Another blast sounded and he felt the wind get knocked out of him.

Calysta felt the bed wiggle as Illya shifted next to her, sending a few prickles of pain into the base of her skull. At first, she didn't open her eyes, but then suddenly desperate yelling exploded, shattering the quiet night and sending her heart into her throat. Bolting up, she looked down to see Illya bellowing at the top of his lungs from a curled position on the bed. Panic struck her every nerve. What was wrong?! His hands were covering his head and she couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. She grabbed his wrist, trying to move his hands away from his face so she could calm him down. "Illya...Illya!" He couldn't even comprehend his own name being called. His hands shot out and grabbed her forearms clawing, and searching while the yelling changed to orders. "AIR SUPPORT AT...SECTOR Z-7!" He was dreaming...have a nightmare....Calysta grabbed his arms back and shook him. "Illya! Wake up!" He couldn't hear her and the shaking only made it worse as he yelled again and then suddenly stopped. His grip on her slacked and she sat next to him shaking from the sight of him curled and terrified. "I-Illya?"

There it was all over again. He could hear the screams of the men as they lay dying. Some of them blown in half were still trying to crawl deeper into the little caverns in half a daze. Others were fully aware of what happened and cried out for help. Blood an carnage dripped from his face and he started to breathe shakily. There was a horrible pain running through his entire right side and his back. He tried to calmly collect himself and think of what needed to be done, but he couldn't move. It hurt too much and then he heard the little voice calling his name. Grunting a little he shifted to his side and started to grab for whatever he could find. Illya felt something soft in his hand and he squeezed a few times. Gradually his senses started to come back and he realized he was safe and at home in his bed with Kalizda. Flopping an arm over his eyes he groaned. It made him sick to think that she had witnessed all that.

Illya's hands squeezed her arms again, gripping lighter and lighter as he started to relax. Then he let go of her completely, hiding his face in the crook of the elbow he dropped over his face. Taking in a few shuddering breaths to calm the adrenaline coursing through her , she cleared her throat and tried to think of what to do. What could she do? He'd been screaming at her like he was in the middle of battle. In his dream, she was sure that's where he was, but he hadn't been like this before. Had the mission to the ship wreckage triggered something? "Illya...talk to me..." He hated talking to her about those kinds of things, but she wasn't sure what else she could do.

It was so strange to have Kalizda tell him to talk with her. Isla used to say that after an episode. Slowly letting his arm down he pushed himself into a seated position. Taking a few shaky breaths he nodded. "Jes a dream." Rubbing at his forehead he took a few more breaths and sat still for a long moment. "Yah ok? I hurt yah?" That was the first concern. He remembered hurting Isla once or twice in an episode like this. It made him feel horrible, but he didn't have much control over himself during those dreams.

Calysta waited patiently for Illya to gather himself. Her eyes searched over his face as he sat up and started worrying about having hurt her. He'd grabbed on tight near her elbow trying to reach whatever it was he was after in the dream, but he hadn't caused any permanent damage. A bruise or two maybe. "I-I'm alright, you didn't hurt me...that was more than just a dream though. It was the war, wasn't it."

His lips quivered a little when she mentioned the war. Illya didn't dare speak at this point so he nodded. Those explosions and the people sliced and hacked to bits had been more than he could take without having some kind of side effect. For a long time he thought that he could go back, but senseless killing still bothered him and so did the images of that day when he lost most of his men. They knew it was a suicide mission, but it had to be done and he hadn't expected to come back. Coming back was so much harder. Carefully he inched his hand closer to hers and held it gently while rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Sometimes he couldn't manage words. It was just good to know that she was here and she wasn't going to run away.

The expression on his face was something she had never seen before. So terrified. Not even when he was dying did he look this way and that scared her too. What he had seen and dealt with yesterday must have sunk in so deeply it brought back other memories and he could never escape from those. There wasn't much she could do about them other than be there and try to prevent it from happening again. She reached up, brushing his cheek with the back of her free fingers and nodded. She wanted to know more, but he couldn't even bring himself to make simple replies right now. "It's passed, but I know it doesn't feel like it. So, just stay in the present with me for awhile. All night if you want. Lay back and I'll talk for awhile? Maybe another story."

Letting out a long breath he nodded and began to settle into the bed again. Illya turned on his left side so that he could face her and still held onto one of her hands. For the time she was going to be his only focus. If he could just think about one thing that he loved about her he could play it over and over in his mind till he had it memorized and then think of a memory that he had to go with it. Gradually he started to fall asleep amid the gentle whispers and her fingers combing through his hair. This time it was a much better result and he dreamed of her smile especially that smile in her red gown that night when he agreed with her.

Illya woke up mid morning. It looked like Kalizda was still sleeping next to him. It had been a long night and he didn't expect to sleep all that much. Carefully he moved his hand away from hers and caught sight of the bruise forming on her arm. The bruise was unmistakably in the shape of a hand. Her arm was sticking out the covers and he knew that if her arm stayed out too much with the bruise on top of the healing it could become exceedingly sore. Wincing in sympathy he moved over to her side of the bed and pulled the blanket over her arm and hand. As quietly as he could Illya snuck into the kitchen to make some tea and mix a few oils to help her rub on after they went to the bath house. He didn't want to leave her to do it all by herself. They wouldn't say anything if he went over to her side to help her with the bucket anyway. Occasionally one of the Chippeqouti men or women would need to help their agreed and there wasn't anything to say or do about it.

He could have sworn that the cat, bear, and dog were all giving him dirty looks. It was as if they all blamed him for a bad night's sleep. Mostly they were nocturnal anyway with the heat, but it was still an awkward feeling. Dumping food into their dishes and setting their bucket of water out he watched as Keysha took first rights to the water. She always insisted on being the boss and showing the others what their position was. Illya made a little bread and cut some fruit to go on the plate as well. He'd gone to harvest a few the other day. The small oasis provided some wonderful tasty food. Next on the agenda he got the tea for her and then took it all into the bedroom. Setting the tea on her nighstand Illya then set the rest of it in the middle of the bed. Leaning over Kalizda he gently kissed her on the forehead. "Meh beautiful, wake up. Food for yah and den I go wit yah to bath house eh?"

Breakfast was slow moving, but he didn't expect her to be that fast. Helping her get up he gently rubbed a few oils into he back. That was usually the part that hurt the most for himself when he was growing and he figured it had to be similar for her with the growing pains. True it was all going to be washed off when they got to the bath house, but she could at least have some relief right now. Besides if there was one thing he liked it was that as a soldier it was the fact that he got free medical care for everything including his family. Everything else he had to pay for, but medical was his pay for his work. It was why he could afford to go to the pleasure house everyday rather than only going a few times a week like others. He needed to get her to the pleasure house. They worked miracles when he was a boy to relieve the pains.

The next part of the morning was to get her dressed and he didn't realize that she was so much bigger. She still looked tiny. "Uh...." Illya stared at the shirt he took out for her. "I get yah someting different." Rummaging through his drawers he found her something of his that looked halfway decent. This also meant he was going to ask one of the women to come to the house to show Kalizda some clothes that she could buy. Kalizda would make a price with the woman and Illya would pay for it by the end of the week.

Once she was dressed he grabbed both buckets and then started to walk slowly with Kalizda to the bath house. Inside he stripped down and then waited for her instead of heading immediately to his side. Taking her bucket Illya walked with her to her side. "I fill dah bucket and wash yah back den yah take care of rest eh?" Speaking softly into her ear he made sure not to look at the other women. Some of them looked at him with contempt at first and then realized he was doing what he was supposed to when his agreed didn't feel well and then they all went about their business again. Filling Kalizda's bucket he brought the basket of oils so that she could put in what she wanted and then he put it back and returned just long enough to wash her back off.

**************************************************

By the time they were done with the bath house Illya sensed that she was tired so he carried her to the pleasure house. "Yah need more rest. Jes relax and let dem help yah." He set their wash buckets underneath their clothes and wrapped his towel around his waist tightly before walking with Kalizda to her table. She always struggled to get up on them and it was his duty to help her if she was ill. Carefully grabbing her underneath her arms he hoisted her up onto the bed. Looking to the massage therapist he nodded and then gave him a small set of Quoti instructions. "Soft she has growing pains from surgery."

Going over to his table Illya told the one working on him to make it shorter so that he could be done in time to leave with Kalizda. He went to her table again to help her down instead of having her jar her bones so early after the surgery. While she got dressed again he took both buckets to the house and then took her to the hospital.

The Ehaui nurse looked at Illya for a long moment. "They would rather not see any Chippeqouti." Everyone on the medical team knew the story, but they couldn't make the people see Illya right now. Since Illya was left out of it he went into the town to talk with Ursay about getting a few clothes for Kalizda.

Ursay opened the door and stared at him for a long moment. "Aye, I'll trade clothes. Give her all new wardrobe and even some I trade for if yah put door on meh house too." That wooden door was quite the novelty and her agreed wouldn't take the time. She didn't really know how to do it and she had found herself envious of the nice wooden door on the general's house. Everyone knew that he pampered his little Kalizda woman. He gave her almost anything she wanted. There was no doubt that if she pointed to a star he would find a way to take her to it or bring it to her. "I trade for some Kaerelean clothes last time man here. I know someday she want some."

Illya nodded. "I get yah door and put et on yah house." He hated putting a wooden door on a house, but if all it took was a door which was relatively cheap and then put it on the house, which was the hard part then it was a good deal. Mostly it was a prestige thing to have a wooden door. Since they were agreed on the price it would take all the bartering out of it for Kalizda and when she got home for the afternoon she could look at all the clothing that Ursay would lay out for her and then tailor for her. When he returned to the hospital it seemed that she was still busy speaking with some of the victims and so he sat down in the waiting room to carry her home when they were done. She was probably going to be too tired to walk after she was up this much for one day.
 
Ayrn puffed out a small sigh as he read the message from Illya. Evidence. Sure. All of that evidence was now under lock and key in one of the big buildings along with the Mr. Hughes guy. How was he supposed to get into that? Ayrn sat back in his bed and folded his arms behind his head while his toes tapped on the wall near the foot of his cot. The only people he had seen allowed into those places were the security force, some rich guys in suits, and a few lab techs. He was none of the above. Then again, maybe he didn't have to be one. Looking like one might work just as well. A small grin spread over his face at the idea of playing pretend. It would be easy to get a suit and play rich man. This time he would be pretending to be himself.


***

Calysta whispered stories to Illya well into the night all while keeping his tan hand clasped in hers. His hands were shaking but the more she spoke of Kaerelean and Terran stories, the more at ease he became. She went through several of them, then recited the Thoreau poems because she knew them by heart and they were soothing to listen to. As she spoke to him in her limited Qouti, her eyes began to flutter, fighting against sleep. Had Illya fallen asleep? Her eyes struggled to focus, but she could see that his eyes had closed and his breathing was even. Thank the Wilds. She knew he needed real rest. In the morning she would let Illya sleep as long as he wanted… get up and make breakfast for him…feed the animals…go talk to the survivors…come back to get her tool kit… Calysta’s mental list grew longer and longer in her mind and as it did her eyes sank lower until they closed completely.

Calytsa woke to the sound of Illya’s voice and a gentle kiss on the forehead. He was standing there smiling down at her with a plate of fruit and bread in his hands. Her eyes widened as she realized the time. She had overslept and now her Chip had been up doing all of the morning chores. Calysta inspected him carefully at first, but the same cold tension that was in his beautiful green eyes yesterday was gone. He had gotten some rest and maybe that had made all the difference. “Good morning,” she smiled gently, as she sat up. The movement was a quick reminder of yesterday’s excursion. Her back had stiffed up quite nicely and sleeping with one arm tucked under her head made her neck a little sore from the angle. Illya mentioned breakfast first and then the bathhouse. “Then we can go to the pleasure house and get you a massage.” He would be sore from the last two days and a massage would help him relax a bit.

They ate breakfast, passing simple comments back and forth over delicious fruit. She hadn't had any in awhile and the bits were wonderfully juicy. For the most part, Illya seemed himself and a weight felt like it had been lifted from her chest.

After breakfast, he didn’t hesitate to bring out oils and rub them over her tender back with small gentle circles. It helped loosen the sore muscles and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. When it came time to get dressed, the Chip held up one of her grey tunics, then glanced at her, and then back to the tunic with his lip poked out, noting the obvious problem of the size. “None of it fits. Trust me, I tried,” she chuckled. “I find yah something different.”

Garbed in one of Illya’s oversized shirts, a belt, and a pair of black leggings, they set out to the bathhouse at an ambling pace. She let Illya carry her bucket, but when they arrived, he stripped down keeping both of them. Giving him a puzzled look, he explained that he would go to the women’s side to help her fill the bucket. Was that even allowed? Apparently it was, though it did earn him some dirty looks from the other Chip women for a moment. It might have taken her longer, but she could have hauled the bucket like she did the day before even if it made her sore. It felt strange to have someone washing her back. Illya had been helping her for weeks, but that had been in their home rather than in front of people. Her cheeks turned a little pink but she didn’t deny it helped having him there. Once he was done, Calysta washed the rest of herself, dipping her cloth into the cool water and using the cinnamon smelling oil again. It was a comforting scent to her and maybe to her Chip too.

Stealing a glance at the men’s side, she looked over Illya. His scars seemed a little brighter against his dark skin today, the new on his left leg included. He’d been through so much and the episode in the middle of the night had been terrifying at first. If things continued, he was likely to have more too. There had to be a way to ease them, or at least help prevent them. She would use her info pad to download a few books on the subject of night terrors and memories later. Helping to get to the bottom of what transpired in the desert would help him too maybe. Her visit with Kiya would wait. The woman wasn’t going anywhere and Calysta wasn’t as concerned with what she had to say over the health of her husband.

When Calysta managed to pull on Illya shirt and fasten the belt around her waist, her muscles were already growing a bit tired. She intended on keeping that to herself as she joined Illya outside, but the Chip was observant today. He saw right through her quiet smiles and scooped her up, carrying her to the pleasure house without question. Illya was holding her as if she were made of glass and it dawned her that maybe he was being extra attentive because he felt bad about last night. Feeling bad for something he couldn’t help wasn’t what Calysta wanted, but maybe if she let him help it would ease whatever thoughts he had about it.

He helped her onto the massage table and gave instructions to her masseuse in Qouti. The only word she caught in his fast comment was ‘grow.’ The massage slow, and gentle. Combining the soft hands running over her back with how little sleep she had gotten the night before, Calysta nearly fell asleep.

Once all was done at the pleasure house, Calysta felt much better. The soreness from yesterday had melted away and she felt more like herself. Her new self anyways. When they arrived at the hospital the Ehaui nurse informed them that the three survivors from the wreck were not keen on seeing any Chippeqouti and for that Calysta couldn’t blame them. What Illya had done saved their lives but she knew firsthand how intimidating the Chips could be when you discovered them by crash landing.

With Illya waiting outside, Calysta entered the hospital room where the two adult patients were laying. One was a woman with dark hair and scratches on her cheek, most likely from the crash or the subsequent explosion. The man was pale with a dusting of red freckles over his nose and cheeks. He was the first to notice her, and retracted a bit until he determined she was not, in fact, a Chippeqouti. Illya had said that they had been in Terran clothing, so she swapped to their language. If they didn’t understand her, then she would try traders tongue instead. “Hello, My name is Calysta.”

A spark of recognition flashed in his eyes, and a look of relief came to his face. A normal sized person and familiar language. “You’re Terran?”

“Half,” she admitted. There was no point in lying to the man. He gave her a suspicious look and his eyes bounced to the door, then back to her face, studying it carefully. Calysta wasn’t built like her other half was Chippeqouti with the thick bodies and bright eyes. In fact, she was rather petite and still the only one who looked normal around there. Calysta sat down in the chair beside the bed slowly and the man gave her a curious look. “Only half? Did these trigger happy bastards shoot you too?”

Hearing him speak about Illya like that made a spot of anger flare, but she swallowed it and sighed. “Yes and no. I am not half Chippeqouti if that’s what you are wondering. They haven’t hurt me and you don’t have anything to fear from them.” She wanted to tell the man that Illya felt bad about it too, but that would probably destroy any trust she built with him right now. “I came by to check on how you were feeling and to see if you might be able to tell me what happened. I want to make sure everything is properly recorded and that, of course, includes what happened from your eyes.”

The man waited for a long moment, his jaw working as he stared her down, then he nodded. He didn’t believe they had nothing to fear, but the woman in front of him seemed sincere enough. Maybe she could help them. Calysta gave him an encouraging smile. “Just start with your name and we’ll go from there, huh?”

His name was Bennet McIntyre, a Terran colonist who had been offered his job on the way to the Beta Quadrant frontier on the promise of work and housing for his wife. There had been several others in the craft with the same promise. The details of the crash were a wild blur to him, but once they crashed and abandoned ship the scene his described made Calysta’s chest ache. Men in Kaerelean tunics chasing them. Slaughtering them. He had run with his wife trying to escape only to be shot by a giant man on purpose, claiming it was to save them. Calysta stayed quiet the whole time Bennet spoke. Letting him take his own pace and collecting himself when he needed to. There were several moments his throat tightened and he would look at his sleeping wife. When the man finished, Calysta rose to her feet and nodded. “May I ask one last question? What was your port of call for your ship?”

“It was the Tifton…I don’t remember the numbers…we left out of Alpha Centuari, stopped at Xanria to refuel and then…the systems failure.”

“Thank you, Mr. McIntyre. Please get some rest and feel better.”

Calysta smoothed down Illya’s shirt in the back, and shuffled out of the room, leaving the two of them to rest. Xanria was a mainly Terran port in Kaerelean space, a natural lay over area for earthen ships. The fact that this transport had been carrying colonists to the frontier bothered her though. The man had spoken plainly enough, and didn’t appear to be lying. His story fell in line with what Illya described. But the Federation was the one who liked to slink around, making money on newly colonized planets. Making a ship crash and then staging something so it looked like Kaereleans were attacking Terrans would be something their organization would do. It remained to be seen whether or not the survivors were actually Federation though. Then there was the little girl, who would be entirely innocent in the whole affair. Bennet made no mention of the girl, so it seemed that she was here alone and with no one who spoke the language. Her body felt a little heavy, but she didn’t have the heart to leave the hospital without checking on her.

A tall nurse passed her by and Calysta stopped her. “Is the little girl awake? The one from the wreck?”

“No, her arm was severely injured and she’s being kept asleep to ease the shock.”

Calysta winced at the thought of a child being in pain like that. “Alright. If you need help translating when she wakes up, let me know.” She would come back when the girl was awake and bring her a treat of some kind, even if she had to barter for it. On her way out, she found Illya where she left him in the waiting room and came over to him at frustratingly slow pace. “I spoke to the man for a bit and I’ll write up a report on it later.” He didn’t need to know the exact words, just the man’s story. It would be even better if she could fly herself out to the crash site, and keep Illya from having to go back, but talking with the survivors had been tiring all on its own. The Chip nodded, and gave her a once over with his bright green eyes before scooping her up to take her home.

*****

When they got home, a Chip woman, Ursay whom she’d seen in the bathhouse occasionally, was waiting for them in the living room with different kinds of clothes laid over their small couch. He had arranged for her to have more clothing while she was investigating at the hospital it seemed. The woman even had some Kaerelean tunics with her which made Calysta grin. She rarely went clothes shopping, unless it was necessary, but she was happy to see clothes that were comfortable to her.

Illya went into his study and left the two of them to discuss the clothes and a deal. Calysta picked out several tunics, one size up from what she normally wore. Two working grey ones, a light blue, and a black one for when she was ready to board a ship again. It wouldn’t be quite right without the silver belt, but at least she would be wearing the proper color in part. She also bought the necessary leggings and new undergarments that fit correctly. What didn’t fit perfectly Ursay promised to tailor. Calysta asked about the pricing, but the Chip woman just shook her and, stating the deal had already been struck. “Oh, I see.” Illya hadn’t traded any work hours had he? The woman wouldn’t mention what was traded for it though and Calysta expected that it was due to privacy.

Usray started to pack up her wares and Calysta helped a little, folding shirts and pants. At the bottom of the stack, something caught her eye. The dress was quite nice. Entirely inappropriate for the desert, but the black lace work was exceptional. It was probably very expensive on Kaereal. She didn’t technically need it, but she had the urge to try it on. On a whim, she as decided to give into her curiosity. “How much for this?”

According to Ursay, only half of the cost of the dress would be covered. Calysta thought for a moment and then grinned before ambling off to the bedroom as fast as her heavy bones let her. It only took her a few minutes to find the sparkling crystals from the cave in the desert. Showing the glittery bits to the Chip woman, she smiled.

“These would make excellent jewelry. Any outsiders would pay a good price for them.” Ursay seemed to agree and the dress became hers.

As soon as the woman left through their front door, Calysta snuck down the hallway with the new clothes and quickly shirked off the Illya’s shirt. Getting her clothes off was the easy part, putting on the dress was the hard part. She had to sit down on the bed to step it and then standing back up to put on the sleeve gave her a few shooting pains in her surgery leg. Luckily, the dress had a side zipper. It would have been impossible for her to reach around to zip it the back. With a few calming breaths, Calysta took a look at herself in the small mirror near the closet. The black lace looked stark against her pale skin and made her grey eyes stand out even more than usual. Her hips had a slight curve to them that wasn’t there before, and so did her chest, giving her just hint of an hour glass figure now. Her bare legs looked much the same, save for the fresh, pink scar running from her thigh to nearly her knee on the right side. Grinning at the sight of herself, she turned to get a look at the open back and then shuffled down the hallway, putting as much sway into her hips as her bones would allow.

Illya was sitting in the study reading over something on the info-pad when she turned the corner. She looked him over as he read for a moment. He was always handsome no matter what he was doing. Clearing her throat caught his attention and she giggled when he looked up at her. “Hope I’m not distracting you.” She gave him a wink and sashayed over to him with deliberately slow steps. Slow enough she wouldn't be in danger of falling over. Then slipped a hand around his neck so her fingers could play in his dark curls. “I just thought you might like to see something I picked.”

***
Later in the evening, Illya settled into the bed next to her. She was exhausted from the day. How did Chips move so fast with such heavy frames? The Chip leaned over her, kissing her gently but before he moved away, she gave him a content smile and gazed at him. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but thank you, my Illya. For the door and for the clothes today.” Giving him another kiss, she let him go and they settled in for the night. Hopefully, it would be a peaceful one. Tomorrow she intended on going back to the crash site and visiting Kiya if she had the energy left.
 
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There was no reason to sit in the living room while Kalizda made her dealings with Ursay. Illya took up his usual seat in the study. Cin sat off to the side and stared at him. The little bear really needed more to do, but Illya had to think of what. Emmit had been more than happy to run around and keep rodents away from the house. It was the primary reason for keeping the little desert dog. He'd been around people just enough to respect them, not be afraid, but not enough to depend entirely on them for food. Just for supplement Illya would plop a little extra on the dog's plate from time to time.

Illya flipped through the pages on the screen. He wanted to find the records on a few companies that he knew had hired the Chippeqouti. At least he could get an idea of how far they had advanced their holdings. Besides it was fairly innocent to look up a legitimate company wasn't it? While he was busily working on the research he didn't notice the flap covering the door to the study come open. Intently flipping the next page he continued reading about the early history of the Pegasus Mines Company. It looked like they merged with a few other names though some of them were not familiar. Illya started to write down all the names of the companies to see if there was anything at all that might provide evidence that the Pegasus Mines Company and all of its merged partners weren't still involved in the Federation.

Staring back down at his work he quickly became engrossed in it. Suddenly a little throat clearing sounded and he glanced up. Almost instantly Illya's eyebrows went up and a broad grin came to his face. It was like looking at a box of candy. "That dress...MMM Yah make it hard for a man to ignore yah." Setting the pad aside he made sure it was face down over his notes. Even if it wasn't quite considered kosher he still leaned forward slightly so he could get a better look at her legs while she walked. She looked great with the dress showing her legs like that. Illya didn't sit up straight again till she came close enough to kiss him. "Good ting yah showed meh. Bettah yah kissed meh too. Wasn't gonna let yah get away witout having a taste." Leaning in for another kiss he grinned at her a little.

Claysta chuckled a little as Illya's eyes looked her over. Normally she felt awkward when men appreciated but not with him. With a coy smile she, leaned down and capture him up into another kiss, letting linger for a moment before letting him go. "Just a taste huh?"

"Uh huh." Carefully he worked one hand up the sleeve and he smiled. "I never see dress like dis before. Makes yah look fine, like a doll." She had the pale complexion of so many dolls he had seen before and he couldn't help noticing it when she wore the black lace over her arms. Shifting his hand from the sleeve of her dress to rest on the top of her hip he grinned at her and ran his other hand down the back of her leg. "Maybeh yah like to study wit meh for a few eh?"

Illya seemed to enjoy the look of the dress as much as she did. Or maybe it was just what was in the dress. As his hands roamed a little, one came down the back of her leg and she had trouble keeping her coy, mysterious expression on. She was terribly ticklish at the back of her knees. Biting her lip to keep from giggling at the touch, she leaned a little closer and raised a brow at him. "Hmmm...I might, that depends on what you're studying."

There was a momentary debate and he got a serious expression as his face dropped all expression for the moment. He could keep up the flirting or be serious. Being serious didn't sound like nearly as much fun so he grinned at her again. "I could study da first Kalizda woman. Yah might be expert on dis subject."

Calsyta saw his face fall for a moment as he looked her over. For a minute she thought her odd little attempt at flirtation had failed, but then a mischevious grin grew in his lips and he replied. Giving him a crooked smile of her own, she pushed back his chair just a little and kissed him again. " I hear she's a rare bird, but I think I might know a thing or two on the subject." She had no if her bones and joints felt up to much of anything but trying sounded very tempting.

For a long moment he remained grinning while trying to think how to proceed. She was much more difficult to get blushing than she used to be. "Yah just..." Opening and closing his mouth a few times he finally chuckled. "Yah agreed way too easy." Carefully pulling her closer to sit on his lap he kissed her again. "Dis study might take a long time. Maybeh 300 years before I know meh Kalizda."

Seeing him at a loss for words for a moment, made her chuckle and she draped her hands around his neck with her eyes cutting up at him. "Aye, 300 years ought be about right for such a study. I'm sure it will give plenty of...-she kissed him- time for ideas on making things more of a challenge. "

Chuckling a little Illya ran his hand up the back of her leg to her rump and gave it a playful squeeze though he was still sure to be gentle with her. "What kind of challenge would da Kalizda woman issue?" He was starting to get a little too curious and he was doing his best to keep himself appropriate.

His wandering hand made a pinkness grow to her cheeks, try as she might to resist it. Trying to keep her cool, Calysta laughed lightly as her thumbs brushed over his neck. "Ooh, I'm afraid I can't tell you in advance. That's half the fun."

He could guess that blush was just her being shy and he felt accomplished. "Well I suppose I wait. Yah be surprised what Chips can do." Leaning back into the chair he let out a sigh and pretended not to be terribly interested anymore though he would look over at her out of the corner of his eye every now and then. Playing this sort of game was dangerous and he was finding himself caught in a tough place. She was barely turning pink and he was feeling a bit rambunctious. Unfortunately he suffered from a shorter fuse when it came to being ready and he just got himself caught. After a while he cleared his throat and sat up again. "Yah may get up so Ah can make someting for us ta eat eh?" Helping her off his lap he winked at her and then cast a side long glance at his work. He would have to do that later. Maybe sometime after dinner.

*******************************

There was a little time before bed and Illya fully intended on using it to complete some of his homework. He needed to start preparing some of this to accompany his report and pull records from the Chippeqouti holograph to confirm it. If this was some sort of ploy to put the Chippequoti at risk then he wasn't going to stand for it and he needed to get this done. Furiously typing away in Quoti he found a few translations of words that he needed and then had it searched in trader's tongue. Most of what he came up with for the organizations was that they were merging in multiple agreements and he pulled out a map to find out where the stations were. He was up till Kalizda brought him the tea this time in his study.

A map was strewn across his floor and he was kneeling with his pad to his right and markers in both hands. Occasionally Illya would glance at the work on his screen and begin to draw the overlapping lines of the mergers and the companies that were ex or current Federation. A little pair of feet appeared just above the map and Illya glanced up the length of her legs and met her eyes with his. "I uh...Busy, come back later." It seemed she was just leaving his tea and he nodded to the corner of the room. "Dere es fine."

By the time Illya was nearing the end of his map by adding the last merger that included Ayrn's father he was almost sick feeling. If they were not covering almost every major port they were spreading into new territory again. Some of them were heading toward an area that was rumored to have been the home of other ancient people though it was left unexplored for quite some time. An interesting find did arise. The Light Chippeqouti, a cousin race were in a heavy Federation area. He had thought that they were pushed onto Quoti along with other supporters. Many of the other supporters pushed onto Quoti had died off when they started to try betraying the Chippeqouti. Most of them were moved off the planet Quoti after the Chips found out and started to make raids against them. All the raids ended when they were left alone and then the only ones there were the Dark Chippeqouti and their cousins. In time however, the others were removed and Illya along with the elders always assumed that they were removed because they were removed because the Federation was afraid they would join forces and start another war.

Marking the last new mine Illya let out a sigh. That was it. Tomorrow he would take it to the council and ask for access to the database to make sure he had all the companies correct and add those that he needed. There was no doubt in his mind that he would get the permission. Picking up the markers he set them on his desk and ignored the ones that rolled off and fell on his seat. He would see them before he sat down tomorrow. Next Illya rolled up his map and shoved it into the large vase standing empty in the corner. The tea sat next to it and he picked the cup up.

Illya's nose wrinkled and he gagged as a curdle of the drink rolled down his throat. "Ugh..." Shuddering a little he gazed deep into the glass and saw that the rest of it was rolling in a giant glob. Maybe if he ran some more water in it and swished it around and stirred it some it would be better. Wandering into the kitchen he added the water and stirred it before gagging down the rest. Instead of turning into a decent liquid it congealed into many more marbles of slime and tumbled down his gullet. Wandering back to the bedroom Illya gave Kalizda a quick kiss and got into the blankets with her.

*****************************************************

Kent stared at the blank screen. It had been days since he heard anything about the settlers or his men. Maybe it was about time to put out a missing report. He would send one through the proper channels. Henaiah and the council would want to know if there was three ships missing and he would offer to send his own troops. What government wouldn't allow for a corporation to send out search parties for their own ships. Besides he had valuables he needed returned to his possession. Before he spoke with Henaiah he would ask the Terran's if he might offer his services to them as well. After all they had two ships missing and his last report had been that his men spotted a ship crashing just ahead of them. There was a good chance it was the same. Picking up his pad he dialed the number for the Terran president. "I've just received the last message from my missing ship. The storms jammed the data from sending and then garbled it. Technicians did what they could and I've got an interesting result. Care to hear it?"
 
President Xavier Beck sat at his desk looking over the latest reports from the sector 11 of the Alpha quadrant. Cirellants coupled with Myraxys downing Terran and Kaerelean ships alike. If there were survivors, they were likely taken in the slave trade or...-the President shuddered- eaten. As he read over the report claiming at least 25 Terran citizen had been killed, he knew the news reports would be rolling in by morning and a demand for war would be inevitable. Yarbrough's mindless little group of protesters would have their way and they would likely be dying on the front lines for their efforts. What remained to be seen is what the Kaerelean council will do. Since they had two new allies they seemed more confident in the fight against the two aggressors and may join the fray now that their citizens were suffering too. Rubbing the back of his bald head, Xavier sighed and reached for his coffee cup when his info flickered to life. Mr. Kent. It was too late to be fielding phone calls but he was the President and it came with the territory. With a sigh he let the alert ring almost to the last call and then slid the 'accept' button over. "Beck here." It sounded like his two mission ships had been found from what Kent was saying, what was left of them anyways. and that the last transmission from one had come through. "Well, you've already called me this late so it must be interesting enough to tell. What was the last transmission?"

It was good to hear the president's voice and Kent smiled on his side of the line though he was careful to drop it before responding. People can hear smiles in voices. Rifling through a few papers he sighed. "Alright I have it here." Sliding his glasses on he peered down at the paper laid out on his desk. "My men's last transmission reads. Storm is forcing us to the ground. We are over Nuen. One ship hit the magnetic barrier of the planet and exploded another crashed to the surface ahead of us." Stopping there he waited for a long moment. "Records conclude with a landing an hostiles approaching. I haven't heard anything after. I'm considering sending a request to the counsel to see if they would allow for me to send one of my larger ships with medical personal to find any survivors. Would you be interested in funding the search party, or perhaps supporting my search request and I'll look for your ships as well?"

Xavier stayed quiet for a long moment weighing on what Kent had to report. The first part sounded like a common accident in space travel, the second part was trouble some. If news of a Terran vessel cash landing on Nuen with the Chippeqouti was approached by hostiles it might whip everyone into a frenzy again and he did need to maintain a little control over Earth. Dealing with Kaerelean council would a pain, considering they were partial to the strange race, but with these new attacks around G'koe he certainly couldn't afford not to aid in the recovery in any of his people's lives either. That just makes for bad press. "Yes. I will support your petition to the counsel to search Nuen for the remains of your property and crew as well as help fund the recovery process. Do you plan on over seeing this personally or will you be sending a proxy to the council?

It sounded encouraging at the very least and Mr. Kent nodded. "Excellent. I will actually be sending a proxy. With all the Cirellant problems on the rise and these protests I think I'll stay here and keep my end under control. Got a few good level headed men under me to help with that and a good man to take our negotiations to the table for the counsel." Looking up from his paper again he glanced at the woman that just walked in his office and then waved her off irritably. This wasn't the time for drinks or medicine.

Xavier nodded in agreement, though Mr. Kent couldn't see the gesture. He would help the proxy by petitioning via video call, weather permitting. Henaiah wouldn't like it in the least, since she was a smart woman who liked to meet who she dealt with face to face, but traveling right now was becoming increasingly dangerous and he had already put out advisories for the entire quadrant. "I will contact the counsel and request an emergency meeting time set up then. We want to make sure any survivors are found and brought safely home of course. Then we can see about recovering your property as well. Look for around a 6 hour turn around and have your proxy ready to go."

"Certainly." Mr. Kent smiled a little. It was good news and anyone in their position should smile about this sort of breakthrough. "People are the most important part of this and I'd much rather locate them and find out what happened. I can replace the property, but I can't replace the men and women." Rising from his desk he nodded to the pad. "Thank you again Mr. President. Can't express the gratitude that myself and the families of those missing feel."

Kent was good. Sounding sincere and knowing all the right words to say. He'd have made an excellent politician, but as it was, business suited the man better. "Of course, as people of earth we must stand together in these troubling times. I want updates on any new reports that come out of the incident and would appreciate it if you sent it to this line." He didn't want any of the secretaries or interns to get a hold of this development just yet, until he could get ahead of it at least.

What the president requested was nothing less than what Kent wanted. It ensured that the president was only given the proper information. "I understand completely. Would much rather take care of those things myself. Send a good pair of eyes and ears to the scene and stay here to make sure nobody gets the idea that we should take immediate action. I'd rather take some time with you and a few advisers and specialists before making any kind of recommendations. We may need to leave our ships there or pull them out. Really depends on the situation, but I certainly want to bring our people home."

"When it comes to dealing with the current situation in that area, preparation is always best. I may have scheduling conflicts, but I will have the secretary make the time somewhere." With that, he made a note on his pad to remind the secretary to fix his schedule. The woman could make 36 hours worth of work fit into 24 some how with her mastery of the books. "Now, I have some other things to tend to Mr. Kent. Keep me advised and have a good evening." Then he clicked the 'off' button on his pad, ending the car. Trouble wasn't just brewing on the horizon far away now, it was inching closer and closer. A decision would have to be made and soon. Picking up his coffee, mug he realized it was down to the last bitter dregs and slid it back across the desk.

******

Ayrn straightened his tie and stepped up the guards at the chain link fence near the entrance to the main administration building. He found that when you walked and talked confidently most people tended to believe anything you said and the guards were no different. With big strides an a winning smile, he looked to the two men and nodded. "Aaron Yarbrough. I was invited to see Mr. Hughes in regards to a few business details." He received a skeptical look at first, though he did look remarkably like the young man. "I have my ID right here. See you can cross check it against my thumb print." The guards looked at his ID card and scanned the barcode on the back before making Ayrn place his hand on the info pad. The screen lit green when it recognized the two as being a match. "See," he smiled pleasantly, "Now if you could just direct me to his office?"

A few turns and a pretty secretary later, Ayrn found himself close to Mr. Hughes office but he didn't want to go in quite yet. There had to be digital copies of all stuff in the brief case somewhere. If he could find it and download it, it would be better. Paper copies had probably been sent just for the fear of hackers...people doing exactly what he had in mind. Technically he could have made digital copies on his own by scanning page after page on the ship, but that would have left him out in the open far too long. If he could get to Hughes' computer, he might even be able to down load more info than originally intended. The tricky part would be doing that without being recognized by the man. The eye patch made him pretty distinct and the guy would definitely remember him from Nuen. There were also security cameras on every corner, keeping blind spots to a minimum. Luckily, the building didn't exactly have sound proof walls or solid ceilings, and there was one place that wouldn't have cameras. Ducking into the men's bathroom, he unbutton the ridiculous suit jacket and picked the largest stall, then climbed up into the ceiling tiles with no problem. As long as he kept his weight on the metal frame work he wouldn't fall.

Creeping his way along the ceiling was hard even without the jacket and more than once he had to untangle himself from electrical wire and he ran face first into a spiders web. The sticky gossamer was trailed all over his face and he shook his head hoping the spider hadn't been home. He inched his way to toward Mr. Hughes office as the ceiling creaked a little under his weight. When he heard the man's voice he was on the phone talking something about shipments of corn or grain. Ayrn waited...and waited...hoping the man would leave to go to lunch or something, but he continued well into the afternoon with appointments mostly about the operation of the town. After what seemed like years in the hot, dusty crawl space, a bell rang signaling the end of the work day. He the man gathering up his papers and closing a drawer before leaving the office for the day. Ayrn gave him a moment to get good and far away before moving aside the ceiling tile and dropping inside.

His loafers hit the tile floor with a hard clack and he dusted himself off before taking a peek around the room. The man's computer was still turned on, but locked. "Damnit." Ayrn shoved the info stick into the main port anyways, hoping maybe the little program on there would wiggle past any codes while he rifled through the desk drawers. Most of it was just random office supplies but the one locked drawer intrigued him. He was working on getting it open when he heard voices from down the hall along with Shit. Ayrn ripped the info stick out of the computer and shoved it into his pocket, as the door to the office opened revealing a the mustaches administrator. Ayrn gave the man a sheepish smile and confused look, noticing the brief case in the his hands. "It appears that this is not the bathroom," he chuckled, "I'm sorry about that-"

His eye left the confused man's face and shifted to another man behind him. A crisp blue suit and deep red tie...square shoulders and a kept reddish blonde beard with perfectly combed sandy colored hair. He was rooted to the spot as he stared by into the brown eyes of the man who looked equally shocked. "Aaron?"

Ayrn blinked, trying to get his body to do anything at all until finally he managed a single word. "Dad."

They stared at each other for a long moment and it seemed overwhelmingly clear now. Dad was bad. Which meant there was only one thing left to do. Ayrn dove forward and shoved Mr. Hughes as hard as he could grabbing the briefcase as he went. "Ooof!" He nearly tripped over the man as he snatched the case and kept going, barreling into his father who wasn't so caught off guard. William caught his smaller son by a shoulder in a vice grip and shoved him back against the wall. "Ahg!" Aryn spun and the brief case slammed against the drywall. He barely had any time to dodge before a fist came flying at him, grazing the side of his ear, before he could duck around. Using the butt of the brief case, Ayrn popped his father in the ribs which sent him doubled. " Uhg! What the hell are you doing?!"

He didn't reply. Instead, he made a mad dash for the exit and as he ran up through the front door and flew through the two guards, he could hear and alarm bell sounding. Boot falls were coming from behind and all Ayrn could do was hope he could find a place to hide or fly.

******

Calysta woke earlier than Illya for once. He had been up late working on maps, but hadn't told her what they were for. At least he had rested better than the previous nights. She gave his sleeping face a long gaze and then made her way out of bed, taking things slow. Her body was always the most stiff when she first woke, but the massage yesterday and Illya keeping her from moving too much had helped keep the soreness from growing unbearable. This morning she felt more like herself than she had since the surgery. Puttering to the kitchen, Calysta brought the ingredients to make sweet bread and began mixing it as her pace allowed. Illya would have fresh bread for breakfast. As the bread rose in a bowl, she found a can of sausages and set them to frying on the stove then made a minty tea. The process took a bit, but it felt good to be up and at a semi-normal activity. Sprinkling a few fresh herbs into the tea itself, she brought the cup into the bed room and put it on his bedside table. He was still snoozing with his flopped over his stomach and wild curls stuck in every direction. Calysta let him sleep.

When the bread was done and so were the sausages, she had a kitchen full of wild things, including a bright eyed-cat, a plaintive bear cub, and an eager looking fox. But no Chip. Shuffling back to the bedroom again with a plate made for him, Calsyta found Illya hadn't budged an inch. She sat down on the edge of the bed, wincing a little from a growing pain in her knee, and kissed his temple. "Wake up Illya." This time he woke easier, and rather than jumping out of his skin, his bright eyes cracked open slowly as he stretched. Good morning," she smiled, "I made some breakfast. Bread and little sausages." Calysta showed him the plate on the bedside table, quite proud of her first attempt at making the sweet bread without Yvonne. They were cut a little uneven, but it was all getting eaten anyways, right?

As they ate, Calysta told him what she might do if her energy stayed up enough. "I'll go see the little girl in the hospital and then try to search more about the terran outpost Mr. McIntyre mentioned. The one from my report. Oh, and if I feel up to it, I was also asked to go by and see Kiya." He was giving her a strange look as she spoke. It was probably because he didn't want to be dragged around all day and wanted to work on his mapping project. "Don't worry. I might be gone a bit longer, but you should stay and finish your project."
 
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Sleeping was not something that Illya had thought would happen. He had still been a little afraid to go to sleep and he stayed up late because of it. The coffee kept him sleeping soundly even through some of the spasms that ran through his leg and spine. Illya turned his head toward the sound of his name and slowly began to open his eyes. There sitting on the edge of the bed was Kalizda with breakfast. It looked like a mix of his food and hers. Sweet bread and sausage links. A little grin start to spread across his face while he stretched his legs and arms. Finishing the stretch he pushed himself up to sit and wrapped one little sausage in a bit of sweet bread.

While he was eating Kalizda started to talk about her daily plans and he couldn't help becoming a little wary as she mentioned Kiya. Since he was eating the sausage rolled up in sweet bread she started to try interpreting his look and it only got worse. Not only did she intend to see Kiya, she was intent on having him stay home! Quickly swallowing the food in his mouth he then started protest. "What outpost and Kiya?" The Chip was practically stumbling over the words. "Dat woman was supposed to kill yah. I dun wan yah ta go dere witout meh."

Calysta started to tell him about the Xanria port, since he hadn't had time to read over the report she had made, but then stopped when he kept right on talking. Slurring his words as if they wouldn't come out fast enough and when he managed to get what he wanted to say through his lips, she gave him a confused look. She had thought Kiya might be Federation, but perhaps more innocent in the circumstances. Now, Illya had come up with this idea that Kiya was supposed to kill her? Furrowing her brow, Calysta set down her own tea. "She asked for me to come visit and I said I would. What do you mean, 'supposed to kill me'?" '

Setting the food aside for the moment he shook his head. "Yah can't go witout meh." Illya took a deep breath and tried to settle himself down so that he could speak more clearly. "Yah mum was supposed ta kill yah. I have a source bin finding dese tings out for meh." There was no way he was going to tell her the source since the more people who knew would also increase the risk for Ayrn.

Apparently Illya had been up to more than she thought with this mysterious source. He could be paranoid and wrong about people from time to time, but she had no reason not think he wasn't right this time. Kiya was a wild card and it was never clear what the woman was thinking or what her motives were. What bothered her more was that Illya has not said anything about the issue at all. "A source? Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I jes find out and den get called ta find ships." Illya was trying to remember exactly how many days, but he couldn't. "Didn't tink yah'd want ta see her. So I say noughting." Already he knew this was going a bad place, but he did it, so he was going to have to live with it.

"I don't but I figured if she was asking to talk may be she would finally be a little helpful and I could get information." Calysta felt the irritation at not being told all of this rising up and she tried to swallow it back down. He may have found out right before going on the mission and he'd had a rough couple of days, but there has been plenty of time to inform her of this little detail after. Her jaw worked and as he stared at him with her sharp grey eyes. "Did you ever actually intend on telling me?"

She was starting to get that feisty look and Illya wasn't so sure he liked it in this setting. In fact he had no idea how she was going to react. Throw a shoe at him? Frowning some he nodded. "Aye...I was gonna tell yah." Illya glanced about the room and his gaze fell on her again. A sheepish grin started to spread across his face. "Eh, probably not so early as dis."

He was trying to work his charm and sometimes it succeeded. Not so much this time. He wouldn't tell her who his source was and without knowing this sudden and slightly important tid bit, she would have gone to see Kiya alone. Facing Kiya didn't scare her, but knowing that she might try to take a dinner fork to her heart instead of her hand would be good to know. "You still don't tell me the important things sometimes, Illya," she replied coolly, "I'm going to see her today. Come with me if you feel the need. " Then she got up from the bed and tried not to wobble as she walked over to the closet to get her clothes.

Smoothing these things over was always far more difficult and knew she wasn't going to like all of his reasons. "I want proof before I say dis ta anyone else." His source was hopefully bringing. Otherwise he would have to be careful. "Kalizda I didn't tink yah would go see her so soon." Shoving the last bit of food into his mouth he pulled some clothes on. He was going with her whether she liked it or not. Somehow he got the feeling she didn't like it, but he wasn't going to leave her alone with Kiyta either.

Calysta tugged on a tunic and started tying it, not caring if her fingers ached a little. She would make them work. It was understandable to want proof before saying anything, but she was probably the one person who needed to know most and he hadn't said anything. Managing knot on the ties of her tunic she started pulling on her leggings. "You didn't know when I might go see her," she said, glancing at him with a pointed look, "But you are right, we need proof and she may give it to us of her own accord. So, I'm going."

Scrambling into his pants Illya almost tipped over, but managed to catch himself on the bed. "Doesn't matter ef Little Bird tried ta move fast today. I keep up wit yah." Pulling on socks and shoving his feet into boots he then started to rummage through his drawer for a shirt of some kind. Most of them were sleeveless and he hadn't really wanted to wear one of those in case it wasn't warm enough outside, but it would have to do.

Calysta paused midway through pulling on her belt and took a deep breath. She needed to calm down before going to see Kiya. Going in angry wasn't going to be productive and if anything would show weakness. Kiya is one person she refused to look weak in front of. Try as she might to deny it...the fact her own mother would try to kill her hurt in a way that she would never let show. Finishing the straps of her boot, she glanced up at Illya who was scrambling trying to keep up with her. "Lets just finish breakfast first," she muttered , trying to het him to slow down.

Since she was finally sounding more reasonable Illya walked back over to the bed and handed her a sausage and piece of the sweet bread. "I dun like telling yah dese tings." Not only did he like to have proof, but there were other reasons. "Ets nut good for yah ta have all da same worries. I like yah to be happy. Kalizda," reaching for her he placed a hand gently on her arm. "I need yah to be same woman I agree wit. Sometings change people and nut for good."

She took the bread and sausage that he offered, but wasn't really interested in eating. It sat warm in her palm as she listened to Illya. This wasn't some thing that was his fault. Yes, she was angry about not being told but it was 26 years of anger she kept swallowing down and pretending it didn't exist that came bumbling to the surface. It had been a minute since he stopped speaking and she realized her eyes had been trained on the floor. Daring to bring her eyes back to Illya's she cleared her throat and nodded. "I know. This is just...hard. She's my mother." That was all she could make her voice say.

It was almost impossible to know what to say in times like these. Illya knew he would have to change one part of his plan. Perhaps he had become a little bit monstrous after the war. He had thought to prove that her mother was involved in all the things that Ayrn had claimed and then he was going to ask permission to execute the woman. Considering Kalizda's response that request he would have to put on hold. More than likely another Chip would ask for the permission and that would then put Illya at odds in a strange way. "Yah still care about her eh?" He could only hope it didn't sound cool, but it was all he could think to say.

Calysta's throat felt tight as her eyes stung some, and she hated it. She didn't understand the way she felt anything at all towards the woman. Kiya had never wanted children and had it not been for her father she wouldn't be here. The woman had framed her, destroyed her former life, and yet she couldn't hate the woman through and through. There was anger, and disgust tucked away for the woman, but underneath that there was a tiny bit more. "I don't know that it's care...maybe... but I think it hope. Maybe if someone so bitter and cold like her is redeemable in someway, then it makes things better." Sighing, she looked at her Chip in his eyes. "I know that probably doesn't make any sense." She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

What she said made no sense at all and Illya could only nod. He had no idea what she wanted him to say if anything at all. Instead the Chip ate his breakfast quietly and waited for her to be ready to move. Wherever she went is where he intended to go. He couldn't leave her with her mother when the woman was so violent and intent on killing her only child. Illya held a great level of disgust for the woman mostly because she was purely evil to desire to kill her child and wanted nothing to do with the raising of Kalizda. All children were important and he couldn't understand how someone wouldn't want their child. When the time came that she was prepared to leave Illya stood with her and offered a hand. "I walk wit yah?"

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"Nathan." Mr. Kent rose and smiled as the man walked into the office. "Glad to see you. We've got the go ahead and I'll be needing your eyes and ears there. Seems we had a little problem with the crash site. You go ahead and retrieve the programs. This time no casualties and I need you to stay there." Handing a file to the man he nodded to him. "Go ahead and open it. You'll see a little promotion is due when this is done."

The blonde man gave a short lived smile in return. "Much appreciation Mr. Kent." His blue eyes met the business man's and he accepted the file. Opening it up he took a deep breath. "Looking for a more prominent presence on the planet and some development are we?"

"Our little trade partners at the port have reported some unusual levels of metal produced and an occasional precious stone. Offer them a cut, maybe some free trade and compensation if they agree to give us a portion." Peering into Nathan's face he watched for any kind of reaction. "Maybe let them see your sympathy for their cause. I imagine you might be able smooth over a few points or details." Straightening himself again the man walked back over to his desk. Mr. Kent sat down with a sigh. "Anything else you need?"

Briefly the man stood in the center of the room while he thought about what Mr. Kent said. "No sir. I understand the orders perfectly." Turning sharply on his heel he started for the doorway. The light Chippeqouti were shorter, usually fair in complexion, still bore the bright eyes. In contrast to their cousins they were able to grow a light stubble. Many used their own features as a disguise and all men grew the stubble to hide. However, their bones were still very much the same. Staying to office work had become important as they couldn't risk revealing their bones structure. Nathan glanced back at the boss and then pulled the door open. Once he was outside the office his blue eyes scanned the room. It could be dangerous to go where his dark cousins lived. None the less he would have to go. Ironically if there was one thing Kent was good at, it was picking the man for the job. Who else could pick a military man of distinguished service and know that his snapping point would bring the death of at least a couple dozen survivors? How did he know the mercenary would snap?

***************************************************

This time a transmission came through and the elders were expecting the ship. It was set to land at the main port. Illya was dressed in his usual fatigues as were the men that accompanied him as an escort for the 'guest.' A visitor that he didn't want here nor did he see reason to cooperate with, but he had to. Henaiah had already vetted them and this was it. He still didn't know the origin of the ships and nobody really had enough time to actually get any good data on it. Instead a random corporation popped up claiming the ship. It was a name he didn't know and it made Illya wary.

There was no doubt in Nathan's mind when he saw the general standing outside. He knew the face and he would just have to hope that as in the past Illya could still keep his mouth shut. When the plank lowered on the vessel Nathan stepped out with his men. Most of them were Terran with a few Kaerelean and some others though they were not worth noting.

Nathan walked straight for Illya and took his hand. "I appreciate the escort. Would you show me to the crash site?"

Looking down at the shorter man Illya narrowed his eyes slightly. It couldn't be real. He glanced around and a few of the others were giving the same look. Quietly he whispered to the man. "Ehud?"

Instantly his head turned toward Illya and he shook it in a sort of warning. "My name is Nathan now." Blending was necessary especially among his men. Nodding toward the back where some of his men were still walking he flashed a grin at Illya. "I still have a lot to do. Before arriving I was informed that you would have fliers available to take us out the site?"

Quickly Illya agreed with him. "Aye, we ave fine fliers from da alliance."

"Most importantly before we go out. Did you find any survivors?" Nathan added his query while Illya was busy recovering from the shock of seeing a fellow Chip. "It's important to my employer that we retrieve the survivors and get them home to their families. Terran president had a few ships crash during the storm and I've been given orders to locate ruins for his ships and survivors as well."

Illya slowed a little in his steps and he nodded. "Dere were some. We bring dem here and dey in treatment at hospital."

The Light Chippeqouti held a serious expression and let the words hang in the air for a moment. "Then I'll let them be until they are healed. Since you're part of the alliance now I know we can trust you to care for them." It was important to keep the talk short and not reveal anything more than he had to about himself. At the same time Illya was much the same as he remembered him. Still quiet and still offered only information that he had to.
 
Calysta took Illya's hand in hers and lifted it to her lips, planting a kiss over his knuckles. "Always." Keysha darted out of the house at their heels, as the two of them made their way into the settlement, stopping by the market on the way to look. One of the Kaerelean shops carried small trinkets a little girl might like. There was a cute little stuffed horse no bigger than Calysta's palm sitting on a shelf next to some books. Her mind went back to the Terran port, Alpha Centauri, where she had ridden the wild beast in a race. Those type of animals weren't her favorites and whether or not she would jump at the chance to ride one again was debatable, but the little girl might like it because it would be familiar. The stall holder sold it to her for little to nothing and she walked away feeling somewhat accomplished, even if the rest of the day might be rough.

A few of the Chippeqouti greeted them as they walked hand in hand down the pebbled path, past the diplomats villa with its shady palms, and into another cluster of houses on a sunny ridge. Calysta stepped into Belen's hut with Illya right behind her. The day was already hot, even though it was barely mid morning. The medicine woman invited them to sit and called for the prisoner. A pale hand moved aside the curtain between the living room and kitchen, revealing Kiya. Her mother looked gaunt, with eyes sunken in a bit and hollows in her cheeks, but her grey eyes were no less sharp than before, framed my short black hair. The womans eyes flicked from one person to another, then settled on Calysta. "I wondered if ye' would come." Calysta set her mouth in the most neutral expression she could and stared back at her mother, equally hard eyed. "I did. You asked to see me and I'm here." Kiya looked to Belen and Illya with suspicious eyes. "I wanted t' talk with ye. Alone." She was surprised to see that Calysta came, but not as shocked to see she was accompanied by the brute.

Instantly the Chip flared. Of course she wanted to talk with Kalizda alone and he wasn't going to let her if he could help it. "Yah got noting ta say ta her dat yah can't say ere." Illya's eyes lit with a fervent flame. "I know yah work and yah nut one ta leave wit meh Kalizda woman."

A nerve was struck apparently, and the response was equally irritating. There was no possible way to know her work because she purposely kept her work tight-lipped. Kiya's brow arched a little as she studied the tensed Chip man. "Aye, see the' way of it now. Ye' really did marry the red-handed General. He doesnt even call ye' by ye proper name. I ask 't speak t'me daughter in private. Call 'me shy." Calysta cut here eyes up at Kiya. It was hard to tell if this was just the woman's personality or if she was just baiting them. "Anything you have to say you can do it in front of them," she replied firmly.

Kiya looked at her and shook her head. "No, I need t' say this t' ye alone. It's not their business." Calysta grit her teeth and glanced up at Illya.

Kiya watched as the two exchanged questioning glances. All she wanted was to talk. If its one thing she had learned in her confinement with the old crone was that these people regarded their " Kalizda woman" highly. Not that her daughter was smart enough to take advantage of that fact. Still, it was this reputation she wanted to explore, and maybe use to get herself out of the desert. The conversation wouldn't be easy. She was fairly sure her daughter hated her. Not unexpected. If Kiya was honest, she wasn't sure how she felt about the woman sitting across from her. On one hand her very existence had been nothing but a pain, on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel something. It wasn't love, or responsibility. Maybe she simply didn't want to see herself become the monster capable of killing her own child in exchange for her own life. Either way, the trial was fast approaching and with the evidence the little Councilwoman had gathered, she would more than likely be found guilty. If she was put into the system, her enemies would find her and make good on their promise.

There was no escaping the history that he had and Illya straightened a little and took a deep breath when she called him the red handed general. He clenched his jaw in an effort not to snap back at her. This Kika insisted on speaking with Kalizda alone and Illya looked at Kalizda before he rose to his feet. "Yah have plenty of blood on yah hands. Here we wouldn't call yah doctor. Noting more dan running a slaughter house." As he spoke he got closer to her till he was looming over the tiny frame. "Ef yah talk wit Kalizda ets on her terms."

The general apparently thought modern medicine was slaughter. From what she saw of her warden's work she could see how the man could get some backwards ideas when it came to medicine. She wasn't about to argue with him about though. There were other priorities than educating the brute. Kiya didn't shrink away from Illya. Calysta watched with hands clenched as her mother met Illya back with her usual coldness. "Ye know nothing when ye take'me and ye still know nothing General. Calysta Marie may talk with'me anywhere she likes. So long as its just us." Calysta knew her mother was testing him and it was a dangerous thing to do with a Chip in general. "We'll talk here. Just sit and say whatever it is you have to say."

Belen listened from her place in her clinic. She knew that the woman was trouble and she also knew better than to interrupt. While the woman was being troublesome Illya only got closer to her. "I dun ave ta know more den I do." As he finished snapping back at her she caved to speaking in this spot, but Illya wasn't moving unless Kalizda asked him to. Stepping aside he gave room for her to take a seat as his agreed had almost seemed to indicate.

Calysta took a small breath as Kiya slipped last Illya with little effort and sat down across from her with an expectant look. "Maybe wait with Belen or outside?" Calysta asked her Chip quietly, "It may not be long." If Kiya really wanted to kill her, now was her moment. The woman wasn't chained or locked in a closet. This would simply be one on one for the first time.

Since Kalizda agreed to be left alone there wasn't much that Illya could do about it whether he liked it or not. Setting his jaw he glanced from one woman to the other and then determined that he could take faster action if stepped outside. Even so much as a squeak that didn't sound right and he could be through the door and at Kalizda's side in a split second. Going to sit with Belen would take longer.

Kiya kept her attention on Calysta, ignoring the general as he headed toward the door and Calysta gave Illya an encouraging nod and a small "Okay" in Qouti to him as he retreated. He wasn't happy about leaving, but he wouldn't be far.

When the man's broad back disappeared by behind the dusty cloth that served as the front door, Kiya finally took a breath. The general or his warden weren't here to spy or distract. She allowed herself to really measure up her offspring. Something seemed different about the woman. Her movements were slower, more deliberate and her cheeks were pink instead of pale. It could have been just the heat, or perhaps more. Her daughter waited until her new husband was gone and then turned to her with a stony expression. "Why did you ask for me?"

Kiya folded her hands across her lap and looked Calysta in the eye. "Honestly, a part of me doesn't know. I never thought I would meet ye."

"Neither did I."

They sat in silence, both staring at each other for a long moment until Kiya leaned forward a little. "I think I was curious t' see what kind of person ye' really were. Ye don't know me. I don't know ye." Calysta titled her head some, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? The woman wanted to kill her according to Illya, and she believed her mother capable of doing it. "You've had 26 years to do that," she replied coolly.

Kiya dropped her eyes to her lap with no decent response to that. This might be even harder than she thought. "But I wanted t' maybe, understand some things. "

"I would like to understand a few things too," Calysta replied, shifting in her seat. A growing pain was building in her lower back, making it difficult to sit still, "You can start by explaining why you killed Wynt Carrington and tried to frame me for it. You are a doctor. Someone who is meant to save lives not take them."

Kiya took a deep breath. Knowing that question was coming made it easier to deal with. "I didn't have a choice. I am a good surgeon with'a good record. " Her daughter seemed to shift a little in her seat and Kiya kept looking the woman over. She still seemed different, but what was it?

Hearing that Kiya wasn't as cooperative with whoever had sent her was a bit heartening to hear, even if it was a confession. "And the men in suits were the ones who didn't give you a choice."

"Aye."

"Then why run? Why not tell someone?"

Kiya sighed. This conversation wasn't going the way she wanted at all. Her daughter didn't seem to be as soft hearted or at least as dim as she believed. She had thought saying it might give her some sort of sympathy to work with. "Because they are every where. No one t' trust. Even ye ran when ye were hunted. At that her daughter fell silent for moment and Kiya kept trying to reason out what was different about her. "The men will come for'me and if they find ye. They will kill ye, I'm trying t' save ye life-"

She paused mid-sentence as Calysta reached up and adjusted her tunic sleeve. Her hands were a little swollen, mostly at the joints. In f act the rest of her body looked somewhat larger as a whole. It almost looked like arthritis settling in, but she was much too young for that or...no it couldn't be....Kiya had done hundreds of bone grafts with special samples though and she knew the signs of one. At of all of them only 2 were a successful fusion and what had resulted was monstrous. Who had done this and how? The last 3 years of her life and research were siting right in front of her?!

"Ye hands are different," Kiya marveled, leaning over further, "Ye had a treatment of some kind."

How did the woman know that she had surgery? It made her skin crawl to know her mother suddenly seemed to know this. Maybe coming here was a bad idea. Sure she had gotten a confession of sorts, but Kiya seemed completely unreadable. Like she wanted to talk, but didn't and now there was a strange little spark in her eye. "That's none of your business," she said standing up slowly, "If you aren't going to talk, then I'm going." A little yelp echoed through the house as Calsyta snatched her hand back from her mothers sudden, bony grip. The woman was looking at her with a blend of fascination and a bit of desperation. "How did they do it?" she asked quickly. Calysta stood rubbing her sore wrist and glared back at the woman. "Tell me how they did it!"

Hearing the yelp Illya darted into the house. His eyes flew from Kalizda to her mother and he found the tone of voice to be entirely disturbing. Her mother wanted to know how they got successful with the transplant? "Dun tell her." Stalking in next to the women he glared at Kita and then back to Kalizda again. "Yah ok?"

Calysta nodded, keeping her wrist close. Kiya looked like she might want to snap it open and inspect it herself if she got too close. "I'm alright." Calysta glowered at her mother. The woman seemed wild to know how the Ehaui had done it and she hadn't even needed to ask. All she had done was reach out and grab. "Why is it you want to know so badly, Kiya?" "The same reason ye went under the knife. Longer, healthier life. T' help recovering soldiers. That was 'me work. Ye know what its like to be sickly as a half breed." Calysta wasn't sure what she wanted more to find out more or slap the woman and walk away. "We have nothing else to talk about, lets go Illya."

What Kiya said only enraged Illya he listened to her and all the while struggled to keep his breathing even. Kalizda was cutting it short and Illya was more than ready to start a fight. "Yah go ahead. I tings ta say ta dis woman." Getting a little closer he peered into Kita's face. "Do yah know what cost? Yah dun know what yah precious man slaughtering cost." He was almost shaking with rage. "Ah shoot dozens Chips because yah precious research on dere bones. Dey come back wit rot, shaking, screaming, some dem bleed. Yah sick!" Grabbing the woman by the arms he shoved her against the wall. "Yah sick!"

Kiya squeaked as her head whipped into the back of the wall and Illya's grip squeezed down on her as he bellowed. She was much too small to fight back even she could escape his hands . "I dont know what ye' talking about! I work with wounded soldiers, researching! I've never seen one of ye kind till ye!" Her eyes flicked over to Calysta, who refused to leave, looking terrified. Calysta stepped over calmly and put hand over Illya's forearm. She hated seeing him so upset and it was clear now Kiya would be nothing but a source of pain for either of them. "Please, lets go."

The general glanced at Kalizda for a short moment. "She come wit us." Grabbing Kiya he started for the door. "I show yah da cost." His voice had dropped to a low growl as he half drug the little woman from the house. "We go ta holograph I show yah what dis research does." He was tired of the lies and stories to excuse what happened and he was going to end it here with a doctor that conducted 'innocent' research. It was far from innocent and stained with blood.

Kiya's feet skipped along the ground, trying to keep up with his pace, as she whimpered under his grip some. Calysta hobbled a long behind, trying to keep up with him, with a deep set frown. If Kiya really was involved in conducting such research, the kind that had killed so many of Illya's people, he had every right to show the woman what she had contributed to. Willingly or not.

Permission or not Illya was intent on showing the woman what happened. When they reached the holograph room he set her down in the center row seat. "Yah jes look at dah screen." Turning the small globe of history around it unraveled like time and stopped where he held it with one hand and then stepped away. It would play in front of her as Illya stepped away. A ship landed and the men approached the ship to see it open. A prisoner came out, battered, torn, and sore. For days it showed the agreed nursing them and slowly the woman became sick and the children. Within days the neighbor got sick and within weeks they all died. The next scene showed another ship and this Chippeqouti came out to be greeted by soldiers bearing guns. Most of them wiped tears from their eyes as they raised their weapons and aimed for the abdomen. They already knew that elsewhere wouldn't do the job and they couldn't risk getting too close. Soon there were waves of the ill, some of them moaned and screamed with pain, others were rolled out of the ship with seizures, some tried to kill themselves, but they had nothing with which to kill themselves with. Instead they lined up dutifully and lowered their heads as the soldiers were commanded to shoot and kill them. Afterword the bodies were burned on the spot and the ashes carefully collected in buckets. When it stopped Illya shut the hologram down and stared at Kiya harshly. "Dey da men and women dat give dere bone for yah research. Ova 100 years ago. Den dey send dem back wit disease and we ave no doctors. Onleh herbs and we all die wit our children or shoot dem. We all know dis choice and so I shoot many of dem mehself." Grabbing Kiya up from her place he pushed her in front of himself. "Yah research es evil. Dey base et on blood. Ah know dis and now so do yah." For the walk back to Belens he remained quiet, but continued to glower at the woman.

Kiya watched the scenes on the hologram with a scowl grown on her face. Having been hauled there by the brute and forced to watch such sickening scenes made her angry. This is not what she did. She was a doctor and had only broken her oath once when she killed Wynt Carrington. Being accused of doing something like this was sickening. Her eyes drifted from the horrors of the holograms to the general. His eyes were lit with raw rage and his arms were crossed. He would never believe she had nothing to do with this no matter what she said. One thing she knew for that the men chasing her would find high value in her daughter now. High enough that the may not kill her but use her instead. They would add her to their forces and if she went unwillingly they would do worse.

Calysta waited outside Belen's door as Illya returned Kiya to the kitchen under the medicine woman's watchful eye. She had already seen and heard much of what was in the holograms, but it made the images no less easy to bear. Who could endure such a scene without feeling anything at all? Calysta wiped at her eyes and stared out over the settlement, more than ready to go home for once. Kiya stumbled into the kitchen and glared up at the General standing over her. "Ye red-handed as I am. I give ye a warning as the only thing I can offer. The men in suits that chase me' wanted her dead. If they know what she is now and they find her, she'll wish she were dead. Keep ye' wife close if ye love her, general."

It stung every time the woman called him red handed. Illya knew it was true. The main difference was that Kiya was mostly ignorant while he knew very well what he had to do when he was faced with the decisions. They all knew, but it wasn't any easier to bear. Instead he was left with the guilt. Meeting the woman's gaze he growled at her. "I keep meh agreed close. Yah dun understand us. We agree ta share all life, not just our bodies." It was perhaps a little pointed and harsh, but he was tired and ready to leave. Turning sharply he stepped out the door to meet with Kalizda. "We go home now eh?"

Calysta brushed her sleeve across her cheek one last time to make sure it was dry while pretending to tuck her hair behind her ear, then gazed up to her Chip. Home with Illya and their circus of animals is where Calysta wanted to be, and more than she could ever ask for. Offering her small palm, she nodded. "Let's go home."

***

Ayrn ran as fast as he could toward the docks. They would be locking down the ships into the yard and he needed to get out of the port as fast as possible. He could hear the guards running after him. There had to be at least a dozen. but he could outrun them if he needed. A popping sound echoed into the shipyard followed by a metallic pahting as he ducked under one of the larger ships. They were shooting at him! How was he suppose to deal with that? Another bullet fired and richoeted off of the large freighter he was dipped under and crouching behind the landing gear. If he was getting off this planet he needed to find a way to do it with in the next 10 seconds or was going to be dead.

"Go around to the other side. Surround him!"

Aryn ran his hand through his hair trying to think fast. Where could he go? If they surrounded him, there would be no chance. Another bullet tore through the under belly of the ship, this one hitting a little to close for comfort. There wasn't much option but to make a run for it. With a deep breath, Ayrn gripped the brief case tightly and made a dash to the nose of the cargo ship, staying under its cover until he was running on to open ground. The sound of gunfire was still echoing behind him. His eye swiveled this way and that until he spied a nice looking cruiser with the ramp down. It was as good as he was going to get.

Making a run for the cruiser, he half flew up the ramp and around the corner only to crash into something hard. The brief case tumbled to the ground and so did he. "Uahg!" Bouncing off his butt, his eye traveled up the black tactical pant leg of a guard. The guard immediately made a move, going in to grab him, but Ayrn shimmied away with the brief case until the man drew his pistol and pointed it at him. "Stop right there!" Staring down the barrel of a gun was not where he wanted to find himself again, yet here he was. There was no way out of this one. "Don't shoot! I have...a bomb!' He held up the briefcase, and nodded quickly. The guard didn't seem to believe the ploy and squeezed the trigger. A gun shot echoed through the cargo hold of the cruiser and Ayrn screamed before flopping backward onto the diamond plate floor.

***
They had taken the little toy horse to the girl only to find she was still being kept asleep. The Ehaui nurse said that they would give it to her when she woke up, and to check back in the morning for any news on her. After that, she and Illya had spent a quiet day at home reading and working in the coolness of their house. Calysta read for awhile on the subject of night terrors and soldiers with episodes like Illya's. According to several sources, if an episode occurred it was best to be calming and speak softly. When it happened the first time she had no idea what was wrong and panicked, grabbing and yelling. She wouldn't panic again. Dinner had been a simple meal of fried snake and dumplings that he could beside her Chip. He fried up the snake, occasionally asking her to pinch an herb from the wall, and she made the dumplings. Desert was a batch fresh made gingerbread cookies. Calysta stirred in all of the ingredients and used a spoon plop down the cookies on the baking sheet. By the time they were done cooking, the entire house smell of spicy sweet ginger. "I think you might like these," she smiled to Illya. She picked up a hot, slightly soft cookie and offered it up to Illya with her hand cupped underneath to catch any crumbs.

Calysta crawled into bed next to Illya with her info pad. She was sore from walking around so much, and every muscle reminded her of the fact. Her wrist had also become a bit puffy from where Kiya had grabbed her. They hadn't spoken any about what happened with her mother. It had left her both confused and a hurt in some ways but she couldn't help, but feel that while her mother had been trying to press buttons, she might have also been trying to connect just a little too. Glancing at Illya, she held up the pad with a playful grin. "Read with me for awhile?" Whatever her mothers motivations or past, it didn't matter. She wouldn't be the same person had that woman been involved in her life and its very likely she wouldn't be sitting next to Illya asking if he would like to read Huckleberry Finn with her. He was her family now, and so were Yvonne and Markus along with her father. And even if the world changed around them, that wonderful fact wouldn't.
 
Nathan stepped out of his flier behind Illya. He stared at the aftermath of the crash. By now the blood stained sand had been blown away. Walking toward the ships he directed his men to come with and watched warily how close the fellow Chippequoti would come. The light Chip pointed to the largest remaining ship. "That's the one. You," pointing to a group of technicians with equipment he nodded, "Check the computer systems." Pointing to the next group he sent them out to the other side of the ship to inspect the ship's structural integrity.

While Nathan was busy directing his men Illya sent his soldiers out to watch the perimeter. They needed to be sure that there wasn't any other reason besides what was stated for them to be here. It was just protocol though Illya suspected that Nathan would keep it as such out of respect. He was a fellow Chippequoti after all and that should be enough, but it was still strange to see his friend in this setting.

Now that they were alone Nathan stepped next to Illya. "Mr. Kent is going to offer you a cut if you allow us to develop mines here." He didn't dare speak in Quoti, but he wanted to get the air clear before talking about other things.

"Yah know dat won't happen." Illya looked at Nathan and shook his head. "Come over here wit meh." Both of them turned their backs to the group and walked a short distance. Now with their backs turned they could converse quickly and more easily. They were far enough away that they could speak in Quoti as well. "Ehud why do this?"

The man looked up at Illya and sighed. "Illya, I work for the Federation." His reply was almost whispered in their native tongue. "Hear me out." He wanted to be sure that Illya understood the fight. They were both generals and Ehud was afraid that he would see his friend executed before the end of this. Illya had never been one to play games and it was admirable, but he was dangerously close to getting himself imprisoned and the Chippequoti had already shown that they were unwilling to render any serious punishment. If Illya ended up in a real prison they would poison him and that would be it. The outside world's knowledge of the the Chips was so limited that it could be easily explained away. "We were pulled from Quoti 50 years ago because they were afraid we would join forces and revolt. They split our people and it worked to a degree. Some of the Chippequoti like myself began to move out of our designated areas and go on the loose. I studied the Federation and I've infiltrated. If you can't beat them join them. That isn't where this stops though. I joined to know how to beat them. Illya some of the light Chippequoti have joined for good. Mr. Kent joined to win, he didn't join to save his people." Peering up into his friend's dark face he plead. "You have to believe me."

Ehud had been a great general. One that had worked closely with Illya. The general looked over at his friend and waited a long moment before saying anything in their language. "Then we've been betrayed by our own kind." It was almost a crushing revelation.

"No...." Ehud turned Illya toward himself. "Some gave up hope. Illya some of us still fight in ways we can. Let me help you." The war was still raging and it was on multiple levels as it always had been. "Please let me build the mines. If I build mines here I will handpick men I know to be loyal to the Chippequoti to work in the mines. I can personally oversee the area for a time. You're considered a high risk area and Mr. Kent gave this assignment to me."

Illya narrowed his eyes slightly. "Because you get results."

Nodding the fellow Chip looked across the desert again. "If I don't get results we intimidate the prisoners and they will testify against you. Illya the counsel will be forced to do something. That isn't something I can stop. I will get orders to bring them back."

"Then don't do it." Illya turned toward Ehud this time.

This time Ehud shook his head. "You don't understand. I have to do this to keep my cover. I'm doing my best to dismantle the Federation from the inside, but it takes time. If I can open the mines here then it will prolong the issues with the counsel and Kent will delay any action here. I will fill the mines with those I know are Chippequoti or sympathetic to the cause. There are a lot of good men left in the Federation, but they have been silent. They're waiting to take it down before the war starts." Reaching up he grabbed Illya by the shoulders. "Let me help. This is the chance of a lifetime to put myself on the right side again. I've rode to the top with Kent and done horrible things to see this day."

Gritting his teeth Illya finally nodded. "I talk wit Elders about yah offer." Switching back to the trader's tongue he let it be known they were done speaking in their native language. He was going to hold Ehud's cover for as long as he must. "Foreigners nut allowed before Elders. Ah bring yah offer mehself." As eager as the Elders would be to welcome Ehud they would have to shun him as an outsider so that he would not break appearances with his men. The Federation still did not approve of their kind.

*******************************************

A meeting was called that night. Illya took Kalizda by the hand and walked toward the edge of the Elder's circle. He was to be speaking with the Elders and the others gathered around. Ehud and his men were asked to stay in the their villa. They didn't want to take a chance that any of Ehud's men would overhear the deal making or have any knowledge of the language.

When Illya finished the proposal a murmur went up throughout the Elders and people alike. It was a dangerous game to be playing, but if they had the help of another general on the outside then would it be good enough to know that he was going to bring more of their cousins back? They would be reunited and possibly given intel to feed back to Henaiah. It would be a careful balance. Edgar spoke up after several minutes of debate. "If we agree to this plan we protect some of the Federation. We protect their highest levels because to make them known would risk our general."

Some of the others shook their heads and others nodded. Watching the heads and studying the expressions of the people Edgar motioned for them to be silent again. "If we choose not to go with this plan we force Ehud's hand against us." Another murmur went up and quickly the Elder's silenced them again. This was unlike a circumstance they had faced before. Solemnly the Elder's made a pushing motion with their hands and that was their dismissal to Illya. He had nothing more to present to them and they were ready to deliberate on the subject. Silently Illya backed out of the group and went to stand with Kalizda again. They could be here all night while they tried to make up their mind.

After several hours he began pacing. There were many others doing the same and he knew that Kalizda had to be getting sore after this long, but he didn't want to go home yet. The night began to get colder and Illya crossed his arms in front of himself while pacing all the more furiously. Finally the Elders announced their decision. "We've chosen to allow Ehud to help us. It is necessary that all people call him by his new name Nathan. This secret we guard with our lives and we must treat him as an outsider for so long as foreigners live among us."

****************************************************************

Nathan called Mr. Kent the next morning. "Sir we have procured the mines. It seems you're little offer worked well. The Elders chose to preserve the life of their general. Their only request is that I remain the man in immediate charge of the mines here. I have also located the survivors and they are in good condition. I will be sending them home soon. There's only one man and his wife." A child didn't need to be brought into this and Nathan fully intended on leaving the girl to the Chippequoti. It was better that she wasn't brutalized or frightened into giving false witness now or later. Adults were capable of understanding the consequences, but a child couldn't know that her words were life to one and death to another.

A broad smile came to the man's face when he heard the news. "Nathan I've never met a man more capable. This is still a high risk area. You pick whoever you think would be most efficient at subduing any uprising or protests among workers or natives. Remember there's a little promotion for you when this job is finished." Ending the call he leaned back in his chair and chuckled. Around the table were several other major members of his Federation. "Gentleman that's how you get a job done. Send a man that knows your mind and studied the people. As soon as I found out about Nuen I gave Nathan files them and everything our archives held."

One of the men smiled and another looked a little more worried. "What if he goes rogue?"

"He won't. Nathan has been with me since I first started into business." How long ago that was Kent wasn't about to reveal. He and Nathan both looked young for their age though Kent was still aging faster. "Soon enough we'll have the Chippequoti working for us to and there won't be a thing that the counsel can do. We've just bought another seat on it." The Chippequoti would put on the counsel the man he selected to represent them or he would have their general put away. After all he had witnesses. "Gentleman we hold over half the seats on the counsel. Now all we have to do is begin orchestrating our own manhunt. Its about time we find out whose been trying to uncover us."
 
William Yarbrough sat down at his desk and dug a finger under the collar of his white button up to loosen his tie. He had already pulled off his to jacket and tossed it on to the chair across from him. It had been a long day and it was going to be longer still. He would have to report what happened but he would have to be careful. As always. Smoothing over his hair, he leaned back, pulling his tie off the rest of the way, then he picked up his info pad. Scrolling through the list of contacts he found the one he was looking for. Mr. Kent. It was late there but who knew what hour it would be for him. Clicking the name, he let the pad dial him up.
The tall man rolled out of his bed. One of his underlings were calling and it was late. "Better be important." His skin was blotchy and he ached everywhere. Looking at the clock he grumbled to himself. "Thank you." Taking the pad from his assistant he answered the call. "Yes, this is Kent." He listened for a moment. His breathing was a little labored as he had just barely woke up and he was still trying to feel a little more awake.

William could tell the man had just woken up by the tone of his voice and he made a face at the pad. He had recently brought into the fold of Mr. Kent’s business and calling the man with bad news wasn’t going to be fun anyways, but calling him while he was asleep was even more irksome. “It’s Yarbrough. There’s been a small problem regarding the Ramses project.” The project was something he had invested in a few years back when he had started planning on his little war venture to sell steel and more. It was more of pet project, really. It looked great under the guise of helping soldiers recover, but the end goal was to create more effective soldiers for hire, get rid of the prior generation of mercenaries, and to look at lengthening lives. At a premium cost of course. They had made some strides in using bone samples supplied by Mr. Kent, but only two of them had been successful. If you could call what they formed into a success. The woman running the project had been quite genius but failed at taking orders. She knew too much and now her file was on the loose. “We’ve had a break in at the facility in Ktuole and a large portion of the files on the project were stolen. If they can’t be recovered we may have to scrub the place entirely.”

People dabbling in the business of genetics was never good news. Unfortunately from Kent's perspective if he could have found a way to get the Ehaui to work for him it would have been better. Relying on the genius of a Kaerelean woman was like relying on a blind man. She didn't know what she was looking at or how it worked. Unfortunately neither did anyone else. Sighing a little he rubbed his eyes. "So you lost the woman, and the files too? All you had to do was kill the woman." Getting up from his bed Kent flicked his wrist at the assistant. She needed to leave so that he could pace about and talk. "Why would you wait for it to be recovered?" It sounded like Yarbrough was suffering from a mild case of stupidity. "I recommend that you scrub the place now. If the doctor ever says a word the file is fabricated and she lost her mind. She left all her other work quite suddenly and published renowned work for which there is no evidence. She is simply delusional. Drop the mess. Let her think we're after her it will only make our story more believable. Get it cleaned up Yarbrough."

William had known that's what Kent would say to a degree but he'd had to report it as such anyways. His want to have the files covered had more to do with his son being the one who had taken them. He hadn't seen his son in close to four years now and couldn't imagine why he would be on the frontier or better yet stealing files. The boy's sticky fingers were usually more interested in picking up cash and women, not espionage, and he had to wonder if his son knew what was in the brief case. If he showed it to the wrong people it would get him killed. As far as the woman went, that had been his mistake entirely, but he wasn't about to be scolded like a child for it either. Hiccups always happened when you dealt with people, though Mr. Kent tended to be excellent at managing them. "Not killing her immediately was a mistake, but she has been useful in other ways. Considering our influence on the council it should be even easier to convince them of that," Mr. Hughes had failed at their best chance in that regard but it was always best to put a spin on mistakes. Offer the solution rather than pointing out the problem too much. "i'll have have the place scrubbed completely scrubbed and we can reset later. Would you want to save the two subjects or shall I dispense of them as well?

A gentle smile came to Kent's face. Mr. Yarbrough was still getting used to the business and it seemed he was finally catching on. Nothing a little bit of advice couldn't have helped though he would have liked a good night's rest. In a way it was better to have these things taken care of quickly. There wasn't much room for error at this point. "Mr. Yarbrough a complete scrub is exactly what you need and you're correct that it would include all subjects. Especially those that were effective in part." Pausing for a moment he thought carefully about how the next part may sound. "Remember they are only subjects." The pictures were grotesque and it was hard to see them as anything more than a test. They weren't even human anymore. "Tell me when its done and we will work on a new enterprise. I would like to know what you're interests are besides this medicine. Perhaps I have an opening in my business for you to take over."

Scrubbing the place would be easy enough, though some of the workers would have some unfortunate accidents to be arranged. It also played well into dealing with the disobedient Kaerelean woman. When he had chosen the woman's half breed daughter to spice up his war effort, he hadn't expected so much trouble from her since her mother had been so easily handled at the point.

At least Kent sounded as though he was willing to let the errors slide. "Aye. I'll have it reported as soon as the scrub is complete," he replied, "I look into anything and everything you had to offer Mr. Kent. Keeping my hands in cookie jars is what I enjoy. "

"I intend to keep you very busy." Kent quipped in turn. He was more than glad to keep the man involved. The deeper he got him and deeper he kept Yarbrough the more loyal he would become to the cause. It was too dangerous not to be. "If there isn't anything else I will say goodnight and have an assistant send you a listing of small enterprising work that you may want to pick up."

"I look forward to reviewing it," William replied, earnestly, "Good night, Mr. Kent." When the call was ended, he sat back in his seat and looked at the door. It was a shame that they had to scrub, but Kent was right. An entire scrap would be necessary. Opening one of his desk drawers, he pulled out a small tube and opened as he called out to the figure waiting patiently behind his borrowed office door. "Mr. Hughes, come in now please."

The mustached man shuffled in looking nervous and came to stand in front of the desk. William gave him an easy going sort of gaze and stood. "Relax, it will all be taken care of. I am sending men out for the recovery of he files that were stolen." The man visibly melted a little at the news and nodded quickly. "Mr. Yarbrough, I can aid in the recovery .Send some of my men as well."

"No, it’s all been arranged," William assured him as he stood and walked around to the man. With a gentle pat he guided his man to the door. "Go home to your wife she is probably worried sick. Enjoy some time with the kids and come back in a few days. It will all be taken care of by then." Mr. Hughes left down the hall uttering several apologies and giving his boss grateful nods. William let the man leave feeling assured and relaxed. He would go home, spend some time with his family and then become ill from the poison needle in his shoulder. Diseases were always a risk on the frontiers and Mr. Hughes would look like another victim. His next step would be to order the quiet deaths of the others involved in the project and scour the lab facility all together. Nothing left behind. The only problem left was his son running around. He had probably just been looking for money to sustain himself but finding him was next to impossible when he wanted to disappear. He would let it go for now.

*******

It was the end and he knew it. There had been the bang of a gun and a bright light with pain in his head when the man pulled the trigger. He was dead. The throbbing from the bullet was still there though which he found odd. Wasn’t pain supposed to end when you were dead? Groaning he touched the spot on his hairline, feeling at the wetness tricking down, then opened his eyes. There was a man standing over him with scowl on his face and it was a familiar one. The man who shot him must have thought he was dead and it was as much of a surprise to Ayrn that he wasn’t. He shoved the brief case, which now sported a bullet hole, into the guards face. He felt the man’s nose given a sickening crunch under the heavy case and he screamed, clutching his nose out of instinct with his free hand. Ayrn stumbled to his feet and hit him again with the case, this time hard enough to knock him out. The guard crumpled into the floor and Ayrn knew well enough to take the gun, though there wasn’t enough time to push the guy down the ramp. He hit the cargo hold door button, and an alarm sounded. He about a minute before they locked down the yard, maybe less. That left a good 30 seconds to convince the pilot to take them into the air. Ayrn held up the gun, which felt awkward and heavy in his hand still, and grinned just a little. “This should make a pretty good convincer.” He didn’t intend on shooting anyone unless he had to, but the pilot didn’t need to know that.

******

Illya had gone into the desert with the visiting team of Terrans and Kaereleans, leaving Calysta to the daily tasks. She cleaned the house and fed the animals before heading into the settlement to visit the little girl again. This time her tiny form was sitting up in the bed, with green eyes half open and obviously under the film of pain medications. Her arm, or what was left of it, had bandages running up almost to her delicate shoulder. “We were not able to save the hand and much of her wrist is gone,” the Ehaui nurse whispered to her, “She hasn’t spoken but we’re not sure if she speaks enough traders tongue to understand.”
Calysta nodded to the nurse as she stepped into the room. “I’ll see what I can do.”
The girls eyes barely followed her as she came into the room and sat down in the chair near the bed so she was on the child’s level. She didn’t want to scare or intimidate her. “Hello. My name is Calysta.”

At the sound of her Terran speech, the girl’s eyes sparked with recognition and Calysta gave her a gentle smile. “What’s your name?”
The girl blinked at her behind her long eye lashes, slowly processing through the medicine. Finally an answer mumbled from her lips. “Rose.” It was hard to see a child in such a way. She had probably been a vibrant little girl with a family aboard that ship and whatever happened in the desert between the explosion and attackers had left her an orphan without a hand.

“That’s a pretty name, Rose. Can you tell me how old are you?” Calysta said, in Terran gently. She guessed the girl to be between 4 and 6 years old. “Six.” She saw the little stuffed horse clutched in Rose’s other hand, tucked beside her and smiled. “Do you like horses, Rose?”
Calysta talked with the little girl with simple questions and near the end of her visit, the child had started to drift off to the story of Snow White. It would have been cruel to ask her too many questions about what happened in the desert yet and she wasn’t lucid enough to say much. As the Ehaui nurse came to fill her IV bag with more meds, Calysta made spoke to her with a chuckle. “Her name is Rose, and she would like you to know, she doesn’t like broccoli, but will eat green beans.”

*******

When Illya returned from the desert, instead of sitting down for dinner, he took her by the hand and lead her into the settlement without so much as a word. What was going on? As they stopped on the edges of an Elders meeting, she felt a trickle of nerves inch down her spine. All of their faces looked concerned and the air around them was tense. “Did something happen, Illya?”

He didn’t reply but gestured to listen to the Elders who were speaking in Qouti instead. It was hard to understand fully the issue at first, because they were speaking so quickly, but what she did catch made her hand grip Illya’s even tighter. A deal had been offered by these visting men, one specifically referred to as Ehud who was once a general too. Now his name was Nathan and he…worked for the Federation. At this revelation, Calysta felt a wave of nausea. The Federation, who they had worked so hard to stay away from, was on Nuen and staying in the Diplomats Villa no less.

This Nathan was apparently undercover and worked for a Mr. Kent, though the exact details of their relationship were a little lost in translation to her. What was clear was that this man had carried a message to Illya and the Elders. Let mines be opened on Nuen or give up Illya to prison or worse for a crime didnt commit.
The two of them were dismissed by a motion from Edgar and Illya lead her outside to wait out the decision. What would they choose? How could they deal with Federation coming to Nuen? Her stomach churned with the thought of them being anywhere close to them and at the same time she couldn’t stand the thought of losing Illya. She would go where he went. If the Elders decided to give him up in favor of keeping the Federation at bay, she would suggest that the Federation can’t have what isn’t here, and take Illya somewhere they could help the Chippeqouti fight in another way. He already knew what it was to be on the run from the Federation and might agree with her.

As Illya paced back and forth in front of her, the night grew deeper and began to grow colder. She didn’t mind the cold usually, but it was setting into her bones which were already starting to protest from being on her feet so long. Still, she would remain quiet and wait with Illya as long as it took. It wasn’t like she could sleep with an issue so important on her mind anyways. When the Elders came out and announced they would choose to open the mines, Illya relief hit Calysta first, and she rested a hand on his arm. He wasn’t going anywhere. But the Federation was going to be an active presence on Nuen now and at any point this Ehud or Nathan could turn on the Chips. The Elders knew this, but it didn’t make the idea of it any less easy to swallow.

The walk back home was a long, quiet one. Her bones were stiff from the cold and it was probably close to dawn but she sat down in the living room chair wide away and looked to Illya. It was hard to know where his mind was in all of this, other than to know he would be sick to think of the Federation being here on his new home world. On the walk back Calysta had decided to ask somethings, knowing he wouldn’t like the questions, but there was more to this than she had thought. “Illya, some of the things that were said tonight I didn’t understand, but much of it, I did. This Ehud…Nathan…is a Chippeqouti and says he works the Federation…you knew him…but who is this Mr. Kent?’ She searched his tan face looking to see if he would explain more, or if he would go to bed, leaving her in the dark.
 
There were parts that were frightening about the deal and things that were good. Illya was mostly quiet on the way home with the exception of a short answer. "I talk wit yah when we get home." Kalizda was still sore and he needed to take it slowly for her sake and so the walk seemed very long. When they got to the house he finally noticed she had some food sitting on the table that had been ready. Taking both their plates to the heat energy charger he slipped them inside and pulled them out a few minutes later. Coming back to the table he set Kalizda's in front of her and sat down with his. "We talk after I eat. Sometimes empty stomach makes meh angry."

As Calysta sat across from Illya, picking at her reheated plate of chicken and rice with mushrooms, she wondered if he was just trying to delay answering her questions. She had known he wouldn't like her asking, but she wanted to understand more. It was a difficult subject and maybe he needed time to gather his thoughts. "Alright, after we eat then." Her appetite had left her but she pretended to chase a mushroom around her plate anyways as Illya ate hi s own in the silence between them.

By the time Illya finished the meal he was feeling a little more reasonable and he knew she was tired, but he also had an idea that she wanted to talk about this before bed. "All I remember is yah asking about Nathan." It took some serious conscious effort not to call the man Ehud. "Jes tell meh one more time what yah ask and den I talk eh?"

Calysta put down her barely used fork and looked up from her plate of rice which she had neatly piled to pass the time. "I understood the basics of what the Elders said. The choice they made.What I don't understand is exactly how this Ehud, who I think is your friend? Started with the Federation and who this Mr. Kent is. It sounded like a Terran name, Illya. Will you please tell me, so I understand?"

It almost sounded like Kalizda was getting frustrated and a frown started to grow on his face. The day had been stressful and he knew better than to snap at her. Instead Illya took a deep breath. "Ehud is a Chippequoti General." When he managed to slow down his trader's language was much better than when he sped through words though he was about to start speeding again. "I dun know dis Kent. Ehud works for him. Yah always trust Chippequoti General and I tink Ehud do what he say."

"If he was a Chippeqouti General...then you fought along side him in the war? And now he is working for the Federation," she replied, "It's so strange to me." She didn't have to point out that this Nathan could turn on them so easily. "And you trust him...without a doubt?"

"Yeah I trust him." Stating almost like a fact Illya stared at her half in disbelief. "Ehud...Ah mean Nathan good man. He's even better den meh. Ef he says dis is da best way to unite all Chippequoti and raise money at same time den he's right." It was difficult to see why she wouldn't trust Ehud. "Kalizda I trust him wit all meh. Elders are wisdom and Generals are guardians of Chippequoti. Nathan will do as he says."

He looked almost like he was offended and that hadn't been her intent. Nathan had every right prove himself their ally with his hands and she would treat him as such, but she couldn't help but ask, given how the Federation had a tendency to twist people into trying to do things they would never think about. Like killing their own offspring. "I'm not saying I wont give him a chance. Everyone deserves that. If you trust him, then so will I. " She brought her eyes up to meet his gazed at him. "If they come for you anyways, despite Nathan trying to prevent them. What will we do?"

At least Kalizda seemed to accept that Nathan was a man to be honored. What had been most painful was that he could not use his friend's name and he had to shun him as he would an outsider for a time. Until there was enough good warranted to trust an outsider and Illya knew that it would take time, but then he could visit with Ehud more openly. "Ef dey come anyway Ehud will raise war in Federation. He has plans for dis. Already tells meh that he brings onleh Chippequoti and dose who support us to dese mines."

"We wage war on a world that I had hoped would never see it, for the sake of the Chippeqouti," she commented quietly, feeling selfish for being relieved they chose to open the mines instead of give Illya up. Calysta wanted to meet this Ehud eventually, but for now she was tired and listening to too many of her doubts. She would keep her chin up and move forward no matter what happened, dealing with things as best she could. "If your friend is on the inside too, maybe we can beat back the Federation for good, huh?"

For the first time that day and night Illya smiled. "Aye. We ave hope." There was always a certain amount of hope, but Ehud gave more hope then there was before. "Someday soon yah meet him. When ets proper I bring him here ta eat food and I cook da meal. He will help. We make yah special food." Momentarily he wondered if Ehud's agreed had survived the wars or not. If she was still alive it truly would be a wonderful thing. "I ask him ta bring his agreed. She a good woman and yah like her."

Calysta smiled at this sight of Illya's face becoming lighter with his own smile. It was good to see him like this when so much had been happening and more reasons to worry had piled on. "You still have all those ideas," she chuckled, "But I think that's a good one. Maybe I'll make turkey...minus the stuffing." She had no idea how to make a turkey perfectly like her father did, but she could figure it out.

Just at the mention of Turkey it was impossible not to laugh a little. "Maybe he summon da bird wit meh? Yah dad. I remember his face." Busting out laughing again Illya picked the plates up and started for the bedroom. He got half way down the hall and turned around to head for the kitchen. "I get sleep soon eh?"

"Oh I remember all right," she laughed, giving him a little turkey warble, "We can summon the bird together." It might need a good summoning if she didn't cook it properly anyways. When he retreated from the kitchen, she started to stand up, only to see his face poke back into the door way.. "Aye, go rest. I'll get the dishes and bring you tea."

Illya was feeling pretty good about things and he wasn't that tired yet. "Eh I help yah." Turning slightly he made it impossible for her to grab the dishes. "Ah say I help." Once he was in the kitchen Illya set the dishes down and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. It was hot in the house for an evening. It was probably because it was a hot day and he wasn't quite used to being up at night. Most of the time he was laying down and usually he got cold faster when he was trying to sleep.

Since Illya was being a bit of a bull about the dishes, she let him do them but it wouldn't be possible to fix his tea until he left. Instead, she got the rest of the ingredients ready while he worked, pulling the cream out of spot, and reaching for the cinnamon in their high cabinet. As he finished, she gave him a little peck on the cheek and smiled. "Go on to bed, and I'll finish up with the tea."

It seemed that this tea took a terrible amount of work to make. Illya gave her a quick kiss in return. "Yah precious to meh." For a few seconds longer he stood in front of her to just look at her face. "Jes beautiful." Reluctantly he turned toward the arch that led to the main room and then through it toward their bedroom. Illya couldn't help taking those little moments to memorize. Even if they were supposed to live together for a long time there was no guarantee. Pulling the covers down he got the bed ready and then stripped to his boxers. Illya got into her side first and waited till she came in to roll to his side. "Got yah side warm for yah." With a smirk he took the tea from her hand. "Or maybe I jes like da smell of yah pillow better."

Calysta gave him a little chuckle and her cheeks turned a little pink at his comment, then gazed back at him, taking his tan face in for a moment before he left. He could still make the whole world seem like it wasn't there when he looked at her like that. When he was gone, she set about brewing his tea and adding cream, sugar, with cinnamon to make it palatable. With a full cup in hand, she walked carefully back to the bedroom only to find Illya cozied up on her side of the bed. "Oh? Well, maybe I should help you warm up your side now. And make it smell good too." She handed him his tea and slipped out of her tunic, replacing it with a Skycorp tank instead, then climbed into bed. She shimmied close to him and stile the corner of his pillow to rest her head on. "See I'll have it warm in no time."

The smirk grew on Illya's face when she offered to help make his side of the bed warm. "Is dat so?" Tilting his head down so he could see her better he raised an eyebrow and snickered. "I tink et might take a while like dat. Unless...." Momentarily his filter stopped working and he blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Yah offering ta make friction been almost 6 weeks. If yah still too sore dat's ok. I drink tea and den I'm too tired anyway." Setting the cup on his night stand he decided to wait and see what she would say.

"That's one way of putting it I haven't heard yet," and she chuckled a little as her cheeks flushed. Calysta looked him over, her eyes traveling his face. She probably was too sore, but the simple moments like this you didn't pass up. Even with 300 extra years, there could never be enough like them. Reaching up, she pulled him down to her, and kissed him very slowly and enjoying how warm he felt. "Might have to be slower, but I think it'll be enough to keep the sheets warm for the night."

*********************************************

Early the next morning Nathan was out walking the desert looking over the horizon. Occasionally he would glance back to the town and village. It looked similar, but he had to admit that he preferred the colder regions where the light Chippequoti were from. The heat wasn't as agreeable. However, there was a lot of work to be done and some very specific men that he needed. If he was to get all the men that he wanted for the mines it would take a good excuse to do it. There was a little idea that had begun to emerge and he smiled to himself. Of course. He would just bring all the young Chippequoti lads. A few older ones that still knew all the traditions and were loyal and then the rest he would fill with young ones. Those that had been raised in the rest of the world and raised to be secretive of their blood. They would be openly accepted here and he would have enough of them to fill the entire mine.

Heading straight back to the villa he had every intention to call and get the process started. Once he was inside his room he made the call to Mr. Kent. "I'm sending you my list right now. These are the men I need."

Kent looked the list over. "They're all Chippequoti. Mostly young, why?" The man was feeling slightly confused on why Nathan would make that kind of request.

"Chippequoti would accept them better. These young ones don't know the customs though and they will remain loyal to you. I will trade them out for those older later on, but I want them here first so that they can learn the people. They will know how to fight at the end." They all knew it was only a matter of time before a war erupted and the best way to prepare was to have men that knew the enemy. "I'll also need a shipment to start building a man camp and tools to get started." Aside from that he was planning a few other things, but they would have to wait till he knew exactly how long he was going to be stationed here.

The man let out a long breath. "You really know how to make this look good to them don't yah? Why don't you offer for some of them to work in the mine along side your men to teach them the traditions? Make sure they're prime targets. I want each one of your boys to know who it is they want to kill. Chop the head off the snake and there isn't anything to be afraid of." Kent let his words of advice sink in for a long moment and then he continued. "And Nathan, why don't you keep the same crew for the duration. Just make sure you send them back to me if they start going native."

It was going a little better than Nathan had thought and he smiled. "Sir, I will do that. You get those boys here with the shipment tomorrow and I'll have both Illya and Markus the last two generals working in that mine. They'll know the men that will lead an army."

************************************************************

With the shipment came traders and Illya got up to meet them. He had a detail of men follow Nathan and go to help the man. For himself he needed to get that door and put it on Ursay's house. The woman had waited a good couple of days for it and she would start feeling impatient if Illya didn't provide it. It was still feeling hot outside and he didn't know if it was due to the fact that he was finally healing and he didn't need it to be stiflingly hot all the time anymore or whatever other reason there could be.

By afternoon he was finishing getting the door to the size for her house and filing the edges. This was taking a long time and the stone work would take longer. Ursay come out with some tea to admire her door. "I make good trade." She smiled at the general and noticed he didn't look quite as amused. "Yah liked the trade well enough."

"Aye." Illya shook his head a little and smirked. Taking the tea he sat down and leaned against the house while he sipped at it. "Hot today."

"Et es." The woman sat down next to him and looked over the new village that they were living in. "We have a better life here. Yah Kalizda woman is good. Ets good dat we adopt her." Sometimes it was known to be a general consensus, but it was still good to hear that these things were good and she liked Little Bird. There was much to like about her. "If only there were more like her."

Illya nodded. "Ah wish more like her out dere. Dis war would nut beh so close eh?" Both of them sat in silence for a few moments after. He finished his tea and gave the cup back to Ursay and then got up to finish the door. It was close to nightfall when Illya finished fixing the door to the stone and ensuring that it would open and close properly. He poked his head in long enough to tell Ursay it was done and then started for his own house.

The light Chip ran up to him. "Illya I wanted to offer you a job in the mine."

Looking at Nathan for a moment he tilted his head to the side. "Yah want meh to work in dere. Why?" It seemed like an odd thing to offer though he was sure there was a reason for this.

"I have all young Chippequoti to work here. There won't be a single man that won't be Chip. We will almost be merged. I will find a way to move their agreed here as well and it would be good for them to know you. They need to know the general and your customs here. Many of them don't know, but they are eager to learn what their history is." Nathan searched his friend's face. "Just come, I'll make sure you're paid under a separate name so that the Federation doesn't have to know that you're working for us. Then you can teach them and you may teach more of them to fight."

At least it made sense. Illya nodded, "I can do th-that." It was so difficult to work past the accent, but he was trying his best to do it. Nathan smiled broadly and they nodded to each other before Illya continued on his way home. Surprisingly he was so tired he didn't even need the tea. They were finishing dinner and Illya would have normally stayed up a little later with Kalizda, but he was ready to go to bed. "I tink I rest. Tired...jes verah tired." Yawning he made his way back to the room and went to sleep by himself. The next morning he woke up late and felt a little achy, but it wasn't anything terrible. So he went to work and helped put up the camp for the men and women working in the mines. It was all temporary till they could bring their families.

When Illya got home he rolled his eyes. "I forget ta ask Nathan about his agreed." Sitting down for dinner he sighed. "I jes so tired again." This time he woke up during the night coughing a little and by morning he was hacking every couple of minutes. It wasn't hard to figure out that he likely caught the Chip cough. The rings under his eyes made it fairly obvious that he hadn't slept all that well. "Kalizda..." Breaking out into another coughing fit he pulled his clothes on. "Gonna bathe and den get oils from pleasure house..." Coughing again he winced. "Den I get tea from Belen. Yah need ta get tea too so yah dun get sick."

It was almost miserable to be walking down to the bath house while sweating and coughing nearly every other step. Illya sped through getting himself washed up and then he coughed the whole way to the pleasure house and then to Belen's.

The medicine woman sighed when he came in and shoved a packet of herbs into his hands. "Go home now." In her fast paced order in Quoti it almost sounded like a scold. That obviously wasn't enough because the man wanted some for his agreed to and Belen rolled her eyes. "I get some." Shuffling back to her little medicine jars she mixed more and handed another packet to Illya. "Now out wit yah."
 
Henaiah walked down the hallway with Michelle by her side. “I need the latest report from the situation at G’koe. Please arrange any transport necessary for the survivors of the attack at the ring. Something quiet and without press.”

“I can arrange to have them routed through Aerikta. It will be nice and quiet there for them to rest. Also, the Terran President is asking for another video conference in regards to coordinating our security forces at G’koe. They are requesting 50 ships for defensive efforts.”

Henaiah folded her hands in front of her, trying not to reveal her lack of patience for the Terran President. He wasn’t altogether a bad man, just entitled in attitude sometimes. The whole galaxy did not revolve around Terra any more than it did Kaereal and she was also busy coordinating with many other efforts to prepare for the eventuality of war. Still, he was a man trying to protect his people and she understood that. “Please send a message to the President stating that Kaereal has already pledged and to work with Chief Airman Keyl on the details. He will be more than happy to assist and will be much more adept in what is needed.”

“Yes Councilwoman,” Michelle squeaked. The Councilwoman could make the words ‘buzz off’ sound like an invitation to dinner and still get the results she wanted sometimes. A fact that amazed the young intern from time to time.

Henaiah kept walking through the consulate, passing by the meeting chambers and two Sergeant at Arms waiting outside the door. She smooth down her hair, and adjusted her flowing sleeves, still asking about the rest of her messages as they went. “Has there been any word from the situation on Nuen?”
“Aye, there is a message in your inbox from the Elders.”

The councilwoman held out her hand, and Michelle supplied the info-pad for her boss. Henaiah clicked open the unread message from the Chippeqouti leaders which were always clipped and to the point. The search party was well-received, the wreckage recovered, and the survivors had been given excellent medical care by the Ehaui. They would be going home with the Terran search party. Also there was a note about opening up mines with the same company who had offered to help with the search party.

It seemed suspicious when Xavier had asked them to help support the recovery effort, but the counsel members had conducted an investigation into the company to ensure that it was not Federation. The company looked clean enough, and so Henaiah had allowed them access to Nuen on the Elders approval. If the Chippeqouti wanted to build mines and make friends, it was certainly their prerogative to do so and use their best judgement in the process. She still plenty to do on Kinte as well.
Coming to the large front door of the consulate building, Henaiah paused and handed the info-pad back to Michelle. “If that’s all the messages for this evening, I’ll now be unavailable for the next few hours. Please inform anybody wishing to contact me as such and have my next internal affairs interview moved to the morning.”

The guard at the door pushed it open, and the councilwoman gave her assistant a measured smile. “And Michelle, go home and try to relax a little. I’m going to do the same.” With that, Henaiah swept out of the door and down the stairs to see Thomas in his dress tunic waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. He’d come with a flower and a grin set under his greying goatee.

***
Calysta sat across from Rose with a smile. The child looked a bit more aware of her surroundings today than yesterday, but she was still obviously under the influence of the drugs. Rose did seem to recognize her though and sat up a little straighter when she came in speaking in Terran softly. “Hi Rose, I thought I might come see you again today. I brought you something.”

Calysta pulled out a small hunk of chocolate and watched as Rose’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t met a child yet, Chip or otherwise who didn’t enjoy some sweets. “I thought you might want to share it with me, yeah?”

“Uhuh,” the little girl nodded.

Calysta smiled and started unwrapping the chocolate from its foil before breaking it into smaller bites. It didn’t break quite evenly, so she held up the two pieces in her palm for Rose to look at. “Which piece to you want. Prettiest girl gets to pick.”

Rose grinned a half-dazed sort of smile and used her only hand to point to the bigger piece. Chuckling, she hand the girl her choice cut of the chocolate and nibbled on as she talked. “Do you remember where you were from, Rose? What city on Terra?” If it was possible, she wanted to contact any living relatives the girl might have left.

“Lon-den”

Calysta had never been to that city, and if she remembered correctly it was an island of some kind. “Did your grandma or grandpa live there too? Mine lived in a place called Vermont.” Rose shook her head. “Do they live somewhere else?” The question earned Calysta another head shake. Either she was too drugged up to remember or she honestly didn’t know.

“It’s alright, finish up your chocolate before the nurse comes back and I’ll read you another story.”

“Okaigh.”

***
After visiting with Rose, Calysta checked on the other survivors. The man, Bennet seemed to be doing well, but his wife was a nervous wreck. She jumped anytime the door to the room opened and shied away from the tall Ehaui who came to tend to them. They had apparently been told of the search party and were excited to be going home. Calysta asked if either of them knew Rose’s parents or if they had any relatives. Neither of them seemed to know much about the girl which was disappointing. “Alright. Thanks for your help. Get some rest.”

Calysta returned to the house in the afternoon to cook dinner before Illya returned from whatever job he was working on. As she passed by some of the houses on the way, she noticed one looked very different than the others. Looking over the stone hewn home she couldn’t quite place her finger on the difference until dawned on her that it had something the others did not. A handsome dark, wooden door sat on silver hinges in the front doorway. Somebody had apparently taken a liking to the idea of a solid front door and Calysta couldn’t help but chuckle some as she wondered if anybody would actually knock before pushing it open.

When she made it past her own front door, she was greeted by Keysha with a rumbling purr and a disappointed cry from Cin, who was hoping it was Illya stepping inside. It appeared that Illya wasn’t back yet so she set about making dinner. It was tacos again because it took less time to cook, and her nightly activities, while well worth every second and left her legs a little tender for standing long enough to cook anything that required more effort.

Illya came home, looking a little pink in the face and slack shouldered as he drowned his taco in red sauce and sour cream. As soon as he was done eating, he admitted to being very tired and she nodded. “Go rest and I’ll finish up the dishes.”

By the time she got back to the bedroom, her Chip had stripped down and fallen asleep sprawled out on top of the covers rather than in them. Odd. She grabbed the extra blanket from the end of the bed and covered him up so he wouldn’t get cold before joining him on the other side. The next night he was tired again. Calysta sat across from him as he ate his grilled cheese with a few quick bites and then shuffled off to bed. Nibbling at her own half-eaten sandwich, she couldn’t help but wonder why it was he was so tired and had slept outside of the covers. She’d thought he might not be feeling well, but Chippeqouti rarely get sick because of their bones. Was it her? Sure it had been a month and a half since their last bit of fun, and the other night had to be taken at a less fervent pace, but she hadn’t thought herself to be….bad. Not that she needed something every night, but it seemed strange after their first night enjoying each other again that her restless Chip was tired all of sudden.

Sighing, she got up to do the dishes, and took a bit longer than she normally would. Then, she watered her herbs before going back to the bedroom. Illya was already out cold and on top of the sheets again. Slipping in beside him, she laid curled up on her side, until her hip began to ache, waking her up out the half sleep she was in. Partway through the night her Chip bolted up in bed and started coughing. Calysta listened as he hacked and then tried to lay back down only to be woken again by more wheezing. That can’t be good.

In the morning, Illya looked horrible. Dark circles sat under his eyes as he coughed every few minutes. If he kept this up his throat would be raw too. Though he was obviously sick, he went out to get oils and tea for whatever this sickness was. He made it sound as though it were a common illness. When he came back he was hacking even more from being up and about. She wasn’t about to take any chances on him becoming worse though. Calsyta took the tea and oil into the kitchen looked at Illya. “Go to get in bed. I’ll bring the tea soon.”

Calysta made the tea, which smelled potent, and added a little honey to soothe any sore throats that might be starting, then brought the tea into the bedroom for Illya. He wasn’t in the bed yet, so Calysta slipped her free hand around his back and ushered him over, willing or not. “Here, drink this and lay back,” she said, offering him the mug. Illya insisted she needed to drink the tea too, but she would wait until he was settled first. “I promise I’ll drink it, but you first, yeah?”

As he finished the tea, Calysta opened the bottle of strong smelling oils and poured some into her hand, warming it up before spreading onto his chest, under his shirt gently with her little hand. The strong smell gave her the urge to sneeze but she wiggled her nose to keep it down. “Feels a little better?” Flicking one of his curls away from his face, she used her wrist to check his forehead for fever. He was warm but not burning hot. She would have to keep a careful eye on him. It was awful that he was sick, but at least it didn’t look like her performance the other night was the cause of his sudden tiredness. Good to know. “I’ll take care of things today, huh?” she whispered, “Just stay back here and try to get some sleep.”

Calysta went back into the kitchen and poured up some more of the staunch tea for herself, and added honey to make it taste decent enough to sip on. If Illya was sick, she knew there was only one thing to do. Snake stew. Which also lead to a problem. Most of the foreign vendors on Nuen didn’t carry that meat because the Chips preferred to trade for fresh or caught their own, which meant she was unable to use credits and would have to do the same. She would have to go catch her own snake. The thought of it made her shudder a little but, Illya had shown her how and it didn’t look too hard.

Calysta went back into the bedroom and pulled on her tunic and boots, before strapping her belt and pistol to her hip. “I’ll be back in just a little while.”
With that, she left out to go to the bathhouse and then into the desert in search of an unlucky serpent. The sun was hot, bearing down over the dry, rocky land. After checking several nooks and crannies along with a few suspect snake holes, she finally came across a large snake with a diamond pattern sunning itself. Perfect. Now how did Illya do it again? All he did was get the snake to strike in one direction, while he caught it with his other hand. Easy enough.

The snake started to wiggle as Calysta approached it, uncoiling itself just enough to lash out at her if it needed to. Never in a million years did Calysta think she would be intentionally antagonizing a snake, but it seemed fairly easy to do. As she inched closer, the snake gave a warning hiss and arched its head back. Calysta did as Illya showed her and kicked out with one boot, letting the snake take a dive at it. There was an immediate problem though. She was too excited with her kick, and the snake’s head launched too far for her to snag it up like Illya did. Now, she had grumpy snake near her toes ready for a second strike and wasn’t ready to grab it. Panicking as it bared its fangs again, Calysta did the only thing she knew to do. She snatched out her pistol, clicked off the safety and fired at the snake’s fat head with a decisive shot. The bullet obliterated the serpents head, but at least it wasn’t going to be biting anybody. She grinned, feeling successful at hunting down something for once.

Calysta carried the snake back to the house by its tail end, and flopped it onto the countertop before going to check on Illya. He wasn’t in the bedroom, but there were wet paw prints everywhere while an empty bottle of oil was tossed on the floor. Stubborn man and wild animals. She knew it was nearly impossible to keep him in bed when he was even sicker than this, but she didn’t want him to get any more sick than he already was. Following the prints out of the door, she found a puddle of vomit in the hall, and her nose curled. One of the animals had a bad reaction to their oily snack apparently. Searching the house, Calysta found Illya slumped over his desk in the study snoring lightly, and he wasn’t alone.

Cin had taken full advantage of Illya’s unconsciousness and was plopped on top of the desk with his wet nose stuck in Illya’s hair. The animal had scattered all of the papers on the desk to the floor and was snoozing perfectly happy next to his adoptive mother. “Cin get down!” The bear’s ears flicked but he ignored her. Both of them were far too heavy for her to move, so she just huffed and shook her head. Illya would try to go back to working if she woke him and the bear would be a pain if she woke it up along with him. They could stay and sleep all they wanted while she cleaned up the mess and started on her snake stew.


******

The whispers were loud and Zoza’s eyes clicked open. It had been exactly three galactic hours since his scheduled rest period began and now it was time for work. Ignoring the whispers tickling at his forehead, he unfolded from his sleeping mat and picked up his rifle. You will not report to your designated area, 2615261. Return to the Warren for briefing. The order broke through the other indistinguishable voices loud and clear. There had been talk of giving him a special assignment for weeks and now the order had come through. He would be doing more than simple raids on enemy ships. Kaerelean territory needed insiders and he had been chosen based on his statistics. I will not report to my designated area. I will return to the Warren for briefing. Clutching his rifle in his hands, he stepped over the other soldiers who had just been assigned to sleep and went outside where Veyna 4’s heavy atmosphere clung to his antenna and beaded with moisture on to his plates.
 
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