Colliding Worlds

[Silence]

Taking the blanket from Kalizda the Chip spread it first over his legs and leaned against the wall near the door. "Huh?" Looking up at Kalizda he stopped rubbing his chest for a moment and then he frowned. "Eh, I'm fine." Slumping a little more against the wall he started to sink under the blanket so she couldn't see he was still rubbing furiously at his chest. The salt was melted now, but it still hurt.

Calysta knelt beside him with a skeptical look as he covered up with the blanket. He was trying to hide the fact that something was bothering his chest, but she could still see his hand scratching away viciously underneath the quilt. "Illya, you're scratching like a tyrei with mites. What's wrong?"

Her dad was in the room and this was already strained. Illya would have enjoyed the perils they were about to embark on without her father a little better, but personal differences aside he had to keep in mind that he would be traveling with Thomas too. In this case Illya figured it would be best to avoid telling her it was a present from her dad. "I got some salt under meh skin. Just a little irritated is all." Lowering his hand he tried not to think about the fact that the longer he left his chest without itching it the more it seemed to burn and ache.

No wonder he was scratching. His chest had to be on fire with salt buried under his skin. She got up and rummaged through her bag looking for one of the left over balms Yvonne had taught her to make for his scars. It would soothe the skin at least. "How did you end up with salt under your skin?" she asked, walking back to him with the canister of balm. Her father shifted on the bed some, folding his arms behind his head. "He didn't knock."

Before Illya could answer her father did. In a way it looked like the man was pleased with himself. The Chip's eyes lit up and he agreed with an accusatory tone. "Yes! He shot meh. Wasn't even trying to go into his room. I just walk in da house."

Her snapped toward her father. He was stretched out on the bed, but his eyes were trained on Illya. "You shot him with rock salt?!" Calysta asked, incredulously. "Aye, I didn't know who was coming through my own front door without knocking, so I fired. Given the break-in I've needed to be extra cautious and I wanted to keep anyone looking for you alive long enough to answer some questions. I did apologize. He's tough and it'll be fine." Calysta looked between her father and Illya, in a bit of exasperation. "Not the point, dad." What did he think he was? Inter-galactic spy moonlighting as a farmer? Whenever these two were together it was a recipe for disaster and now they would be stuck on an extended flight together starting tomorrow. Kneeling beside Illya, she offered the canister of balm to him. "I'm sorry, this is left over from your mom's stores. It'll take away the burn, I think."

Taking the canister from Kalizda the Chip winked. "I'm tough. I be fine eh?" There were so many ideas that were so much more inappropriate to say at this point, but he wanted to try and keep the possible conflict at a lower level. "Less shooting now that I take over security. Do meh best not ta shoot friendlies." Catching the look from Thomas the Chip grinned broadly. Illya pulled his shirt up and started to rub the salve over the many little pock marks on his chest. "Much betta."

Thomas scowled back at Illya at the comment, he was capable of watching over things as much as the prideful Chip, and he started to say so, before catching a steely look from his daughter. She got that same sharp look straight from her mother, who could give it and get results without uttering a word. "Aye," he grumbled, "You'll be saving me some buckshot and salt." Calysta looked Illya over as he used the salve on his reddened chest, very much aware of the looks passing between the two. It was going to be a long, strange trip between the two of them and they hadn't even been tossed into a space ship together.

Despite his best efforts and as much as he chided himself Illya couldn't help that little feeling like he just got away with something. Illya was trying to reason why he felt like a dog that just ate shit. The best he could come up with was the fact that her dad tattled on himself and then got in trouble for it. Really it shouldn't have pleased Illya as much as it did. It was so childlike to enjoy the moment that he was starting to get irritated with himself. With one last jerk on the blanket Illya huddled underneath it and settled in to fall asleep. A little rustling about in the room woke him and Illya sat up. It was just her dad. Thomas was a bit of a restless sleeper, or at least he moved more than Illya liked. Turning over again he tried to go back to sleep, but it wouldn't come. He felt very awake now. Leaning to the side a little more Illya stared at the clock. The same time as it had been for over a week. 4am and he was wide awake with the slightest sound.

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

With a few hours before the others were awake Illya had prepared a list of all the things he would need if he was going to be protecting them on this journey. He had a little money. Probably enough to buy it if he could wheedle the seller down on the price. How they were going to keep making money on the go Illya had no idea. So far he hadn't thought that far ahead. When these sort of circumstances came up you couldn't afford to think about the money, just had to keep your eyes open. Maybe a little more gambling or fight rings would get them some needed cash. Might be able to pay her father back too. With that settled in his mind Illya started with Kalizda to get supplies.

"I have list for kitchen food." Handing her one list Illya started with his own. "We stay close eh?" While she was busy with one vendor Illya stepped to the one nearby and watched Kalizda from a short distance while he asked about jackets. The only item that was out of the way was Illya's stop for a sword and small hand gun. He preferred a sword, but there were times that a gun was nice. With food, new clothes, weapons, and back up parts they were pretty well prepared to leave. Illya stepped on board the ship and he peered over Thomas' shoulder as the man was typing in the calculations. "Thhat's a more direct route." Pointing to another spot on the map Illya was just about ready to give him the calculation to re-direct their course, but Thomas came up with a logical explanation. "Hmmm...." Illya nodded and then turned to go put the supplies away with Kalizda. "Yah know the land bettah. Maybe good if yah navigate then." It was a little disappointing and frustrating to find himself having to give up the navigation. That was the fun part, however, her father was obviously finding in his place in the ship and navigation was currently it.

When Kalizda and Illya had finished with the supplies and she did the final check on the engines Illya returned to the cockpit. It felt crowded and he hated to admit that he was finding himself enjoying the company of Terran's less and less. With as small as the cockpit was Illya could almost feel Thomas' breath on the back of his neck. Catching Kalizda's gaze he nodded and stood by during take off. At one point he did peer over his shoulder to be sure that Thomas wasn't any closer than necessary. There was no helping the proximity so Illya decided he was just going to have to live with it.

Once they were in flight Kalizda of course did her captain thing. Illya waited patiently for her to finish and then he nodded. "I dun like getting that close to trouble. Clearly we have to. So stay close to meh. I can't reach 500 feet ta save yah if yah run off ta see something closer eh?" Since it seemed everything else was settled he went to the kitchen to start a meal. It was mildly disappointing to be self relegated to the position of cook and security. However, it was what needed to be done so that was what he chose to do. What was even worse was the fact that the ship had a small bunk room that they would all share. There weren't even separate quarters for Kalizda to sleep in. More than likely it meant her father would always watch like a hawk. Not that he blamed the man, but there was a time when a father had to recognize some things. Agreements were one of them. Kalizda had made her choice and Thomas didn't need to act like he was protecting her from something. Illya flopped into his bunk and shook his head as he gazed over at the man.

After a long moment Illya ventured out with a very small statement. Kalizda wasn't back into the room yet so it was the best time. "She's older now and she make her own choice. I take care of yah daughter and yah have no right to act like yah do. If I was a bad man it would be good as her father to be sure I did not come back. I had daughter once, these feelings I think would be difficult. Kalizda is precious to meh and I would do anyting to protect her. Maybe yah let her make her own choice eh?" Turning over in the bunk Illya pulled the blanket over his shoulders and tried to settle in. He didn't feel tired yet, but he was sure he would if he laid in bed long enough.

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

Of course Terran wasn't close enough to make in one jump. There was a little planet along the way where they stopped for fuel. Illya knew it was still in her system so they would have to be careful of Kalizda being recognized. "Yah stay close eh?" Illya carefully took hold of her hand. "We get yah something else to wear, maybe a hat to cover yah hair." The more they traveled the more he wanted to see her disguise change. He couldn't have anyone recognizing her by chance. "Kalizda do yah know descriptions they have of yah? Yah know for wanted?" Listening he nodded and turned down one street.

Momentarily Illya's hand tightened over hers. "Not safe here. We go to another street. Maybe we go a long ways from here." It was impossible not be worried. The more Illya walked the streets with her the more worried he got. "Kalizda we need to get out soon. I can't protect yah here." Ducking his head Illya tried to stare at anything but one side of the street. He walked a little faster and then seemed to relax when they got back to the part of town that they started in. Occasionally he would still look over his shoulder and scan the area. "Just making sure no one follows us."

 

[aryamajor]

The only sounds between them at dinner were those of forks hitting plates over a blessedly non-snake meal. When the dishes were done and the two of them had gone back to the cockpit, Thomas went into started hot water to brew a good, strong cup of coffee to chase away the chill. The supplies they had were minimal and that was a bit worrisome. He had withdrawn all of the credits in his account to purchase the ship and keep some spare cash in case of emergency, but it was likely his money was frozen now and the paycheck he was due to receive on Friday would be stuck in limbo. They were on their own as far as funds went.

Once his cup of water was hot, he poured it onto the grounds trapped in the paper filter and watched as the water turned from clear to delicious black, filling the room up with the rich scent. There were few things more enjoyable in the world than a hot cup of coffee. When the cup was full up to a quarter inch from the rim, he wandered back toward the cockpit with his caffeine in his hand.

Calysta was in her chair with the outer cameras still on, watching the stars fly by while they were in mid-jump, and Illya was beside her. He stayed back in the corridor for a moment watching them. They weren’t particularly having a conversation, just making small comments back and forth. She was asking about how things were going on Nuen, and he was answering with an occasional small chuckle or shake of his head. The two of them were odd looking, but even when they were just sitting he could see how Calysta cared. She leaned toward him some and stole glances at the large man next to her from time to time. She even giggled a few times.

His knee was beginning to ache some, and he shifted his weight, making his loafer heels clack against the paneled floor. Illya’s head whipped around immediately and the easy going atmosphere dropped away. Even Calysta went quiet. Thomas held up his mug. “Don’t mind me. Just watching the screen.”

*****

After a long day, Thomas stretched out on the bottom bunk across from Illya. The man barely fit into the mattress in both width and length and he looked a bit funny was his sock covered feet hanging off the end. Sharing the room with everyone was going to be a challenge with his daughter around. She had gone to change in the bathroom since it was easier for her to do that than listen to Illya crash around inside the tiny room trying to do the same. As he straightened out his knee with a pop, and sighed at the pressure easing up inside the joint, he felt a set of eyes on him. Illya was gazing at him like he had something to say.

"She's older now and she make her own choice. I take care of yah daughter and yah have no right to act like yah do. If I was a bad man it would be good as her father to be sure I did not come back. I had daughter once, these feelings I think would be difficult. Kalizda is precious to meh and I would do anyting to protect her. Maybe yah let her make her own choice eh?"

Thomas listened but didn’t reply. He vaguely remembered that the Chip once had a wife, but he had no idea that the man had a daughter. Once had a daughter. He felt a weight drop into his stomach at the idea of anyone losing a child. In that respect, he did feel for Illya. The man had rolled over, either pretending to be asleep or had actually drifted off, but he stared at the man’s back anyways. His objections over Illya marrying his daughter had started out mostly because the man’s pride and stubbornness in negotiation and had only grown worse when he discovered what he was. He worried Calysta would find herself in a whirl-wind of a marriage with an exotic wild man and that Illya would eventually forget about her like an old business deal, leaving her heart broken.

What he had seen over the course of the last few months seemed to indicate that wasn’t the case. According to Calysta he had treated her with respect, and watching the two of them together it appeared as if the man really did care about his daughter. He hated admitting it, but Illya was right. Calysta could make her own decisions, and had made that clear to him that the Chip laying beside him was it.

Now, all he had to do was learn to live with it.

*******
Thomas came into the kitchen to warm up his coffee and found Illya finishing up the dishes from breakfast. He wanted to actually have a conversation with the man that wasn’t so much about his objections to the relationship with his daughter. If he was going to trust this man with her, he needed to understand a few things.
He grabbed a cup from the cabinet and slid it under the running hot water before pulling out some of the tea bags from the small pantry. The smell of the tea made his nose itch. How did those two drink this stuff? He dunked the tea into the hot water quickly to cover the minty smell and then reheated his own plain black coffee in the microwave.

Illya stayed at his work in total silence and finished drying off the last dish about the time the his coffee was done warming up. Thomas slid the mug of herbal tea at the man’s hand, and nodded at the small table ,trying to keep his face neutral. “Have a cup of coffee..er...tea with me for a minute?” He’d never had to have this conversation with someone about his daughter before and he wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it.

Illya gave him a confused expression but he relented and sat down at the tiny aluminum booth which creaked under the man’s weight. Thomas tugged his wallet out his pocket then slipped into the bench seat across from him, carefully stretching out his knee. The damp weather had the joint all kinked up, and he didn’t want Illya to know it.
“What you said last night got me thinking and I want to show you something, ” he started, as he took a sip of his coffee with a wince. It wasn’t the best brew he’d ever had. Putting down his cup, he unfolded the worn leather wallet and tugged out a photo. There were two people in the small snap shot. One a brown haired, and clean shaven man with a broad smile in a Terran uniform, and the other a petite woman next to him with a coy smile. Her hair was a familiar glossy, black color and her eyes were a light grey color. He slid the photo across the table so Illya could see it.

“Calysta’s mother, Kiya,” he said quietly, “Met her on an outpost in the hospital. Smart woman, and a great surgeon. She put my knee back together well enough and I was very much in love. When it ended, I came to Kaereal and about nine months later my daughter came along too. Kiya sent her to me and I have watched after her ever since.”

Fishing into his wallet again, he pulled out another battered photo of a young Calysta standing next to him waving a banner and laughing. In the background was a different woman, but familiar nonetheless, with dark hair and green eyes. Seeing his daughter grinning like that made him smile some. “I married Henaiah when Calysta was around the three. It lasted for a year or so before she left too.”

He glanced up at Illya to find him still looking over the photos. “I know Calysta is capable of making her own decisions. I did think you were a bad decision, or a ‘bad man’ as you put it, mostly because I didn’t want Calysta to be hurt again. Father's greatest worry, eh? I wouldn’t telling you all of this if I still thought that you were now.”

A silence passed between them and he looked Illya in the eye, before taking back the photos. Maybe now the man would get it, and he could at least say he tried to make some sort of peace.


*****

When they landed Calysta was excited to be getting off the ship and into a new port. It was somewhere she had never been before, and she would be getting to walk around some with Illya. They hadn't spent real time together in close to a month and it would be good to explore with him, even if they would have to be careful about it. As soon as they stepped into the market area, he grabbed her hand, keeping her close, and she didn't object to the suggestion of different clothing. If they were going to Terra, she would stand out in her Kaerelean tunics and belt. It would be better for her to pick up some clothing to blend in.

"It would probably be a good idea to see if they have more Terran style clothing," she admitted, "The description they gave was for a 'Kaerelean woman with long black hair, roughly 5'4 and slender build and grey eyes.' So, I'll just change clothes and transform into a Terran, huh?"


Her little joke went ignored, as Illya started acting strange. They turned down one street, ducking his head and tightening his grip on her hand. He had been acting protective ever since he came to find her on Ewen but now he was just acting straight out paranoid, and the sudden change made her heart race. She looked around the street, but had little time to actually seeing anything before he was tugging her down side streets towards the docks, claiming it wasn't safe. That he couldn't protect her. When they made it back to a more familiar area, he kept pulling at her hand, leading her along like she was a child, and checking over his shoulders. He was making them look more suspicious by acting so paranoid. "Illya, slow down." she said tugging back on hand some, "There's nobody behind us and it's making us look strange to be in such a rush. Did you see something?"


They couldn't get out of the inner city fast enough. Illya couldn't help himself, it was the most danger he'd been in since the war and he wasn't keen on dragging her into it. Finally he stopped and gazed into her eyes. "Yah don't understand." Carefully he nodded toward a sign hanging in a window. "Federation territory."


Her eyes grew wide as the color drained from her face as she looked back into Illya's very noticeable, stark green eyes. She wasn't as familiar with this quadrant, but she doubted her father would purposely take them to a Federation planet knowing that Illya could be killed in the jurisdiction. Maybe the Federation recently acquired this place. Either way, it mattered little how it happened. "We have to go, right now. We'll take you back to the ship and I'll go back with, dad for supplies." She gripped his hand tightly and started pulling him towards the ship as fast as her short strides could manage.


"Yah don't know Federation." Illya hissed quietly in her ear as he walked next to her. "They not Federation planets. Federation is group of businesses and they hire mercenaries. Chippeqouti fight for Federation and then Federation would not pay. They are everywhere. Some cities have Federation on a planet and some don't."

Calysta mistepped and stumbled over a curb before getting her balance back. "What?" She had thought that the Federation was a large government of some kind. It would be just like a government not to pay a debt because of a beuracratic debate. But mercenaries?

"Federation is secret group of businesses. They band together and hire mercenaries to fight for dem against Chippeqouti." Illya frowned slightly. He thought she had understood more of the war than that. "Underground group and they work under governments. Yah government don't know them?"

"No!" she hissed, a bit more loudly than she intended. A few people glanced up at her with raised brows and Illya was looking at her like this was news that had been oh-so-obvious. Lowering her voice, she glanced up at Illya, her eyes sharp. "You said you were hired to fight and that the federation wouldn't pay. That you were protectors. I thought that you were hired by a government to protect its people."

Illya sighed and then resumed walking. He didn't need to draw any more attention than necessary. "We protect laborers when they start new lands and enterprises." He knew it sounded questionable. "How yah think some areas so bad are no tame and have good business?" So many of the histories had glorified the companies as explorers and enterprising individuals not as scam artists that would hire men to protect them and then when they couldn't make payments betray those they hired.

"I've never had to the time to really mull that over," Calysta quipped back,"I didn't know that your people were soldiers for hire. Did it even matter what business they were conducting?" Suddenly much of what she had seen made sense. It made sense why the civilians living in the areas started by the federation and guarded by the Chippeqouti were so angry. It also made sense why there was no government that would listen to the Chippeqouti and why they had been villanized. It was hard to fight an enemy that was everywhere and operated outside of the structure. Why couldn't he simply have told her this? Illya kept walking, her hand clasped tightly over hers until they reached the docks.

Meeting her gaze momentarily the Chip shrugged. "We don't ask their business and they agree to pay price we ask. We keep our land and they have new business." It never seemed that complicated to him. In fact it was all very simple in business. When they reached the docks he still couldn't help looking over his shoulder. "Now we know they're bad. Stay far away from Federation signs."

Calysta knew in his logic it was just business and it mattered very little what others did. Chips didn't pry into others lives all that much and apparently that included not vetting who you worked for. Not only that, but they had just made a similar deal with her own people. She pulled him toward the ship, trying not to show how shocked and slightly angry at him for not telling her about the important things...like the Federation. "Why don't you ever tell me things like this? What's obvious to you, isn't obvious to me all of the time." She came to a stop a few spots before their ship as two port authorities were walking down the lanes, making notes.

As the port guardsmen started to make their rounds Illya clenched one fist. He was never sure who worked for the Federation when you got to these sort of planets. Closer to her home it wasn't quite as prevalent, but obviously moving toward the early frontier it was far more common to see them. Swallowing he watched the guards pass and then answered her. "Ah jus tell yah. Dis isn't wha ah call never."

The sarcasm with his last comment struck her nerves a bit more and she tugged her hand out his, even though his grip was tight. With her hand free, she shoved her hands into her pockets as they kept their pace toward the ship. "Well, sometimes its important to know things ahead of time. Before they become situations like this. And it also makes it seem like you don't trust me." The port authorities were walking over to their own vessel making notes now, and one of them glanced up from his pen pad to see them walking toward the ramp.

Illya felt her pull her hand away and he grumbled under his breath. "I trust yah just fine." Since it appeared the men were making note of the ship Illya walked past the ramp without even so much as pretending that he would go back to it later. They could think what they wanted, but he didn't want them to know this ship was where he was headed later. As he walked past he heard one of the men yell and Illya looked over his shoulder. Shrugging he kept going. Part way through the docks he heard boots getting closer and decided to pick up his pace.

Calysta followed his lead. If she went to the ship and he kept going it would look even stranger. She wasn't about to leave him along in a Federation infested port either. They kept walking through the rows of ships, many of which were small-time traders making their rounds, until the sound of boot falls were stomping behind them. Illya started walking even faster, his strides taking up two of hers, and she nearly started to jog beside him. Thefootsteps began to match their pace and Calysta glanced over her shoulder to see the two officers close on their heels. One caught her glance and barked at them. "Stop.

Since it wasn't in their favor for the man to call for back up Illya stopped this time. Glancing at Kalizda he gave her a quick wink with the eye that the guard couldn't see. They were close enough to the edge of the port it wouldn't be hard to hide the body. Letting his hands rest at his side Illya waited for the guard to arrive. "Traveling thhrough." Of all the times he got caught up on the th sound it was now. He had been getting better at it. The guard nodded and stared at him for a long moment. "Have papers for travel in this district?" The Chip knew exactly what papers he was supposed to have if he left Quoti and almost no one was issued travel. "Yeah...I uh." The guard looked at him with narrowed eyes and Illya frowned. "Yah wanna dig in meh pockets?" Holding his hands behind his head he sighed and let the guard get closer before he brought one knee up sharply into the man's chest and slammed into the top of the guard's shoulder with an elbow. Illya took hold of the man and threw him down the port alley way and started to run. "Kalizda yah gotta keep up." Reaching behind himself he grabbed her hand and helped her along

The officer made a pitiful "oof" as his the air was forced from his lung by Illya's heavy knee and then tossed into the ally way. He snatched up her hand and pulled her into a run, forcing her to keep his rampant pace down the docking lanes. She ran as fast as she could, her strides as large as she could make them, and her boots barely touching the ground beneath her feet. Second officer was already yelling at them, but he was far behind now as they ducked into the ship. "Get the ramp up and lock it down!" Her father had been drinking coffee in the cockpit, and jumped up as soon as the came in with direct orders. "What's going on?" Calysta shook her head and got to work on the engines, trying to get them into the air as fast as possible.

Since it seemed Thomas was not ready for action and he still stood there with his steaming and stinking cup of coffee Illya pulled the ramp up himself. "We might be in trouble eh? I just hit a guard." Rushing past Thomas he scrambled into his seat and made a quick check of the secondary engines. "Good to go."

****

Calsyta got them into the air, pushing the engines even though they hadn't been properly warmed. It was a risky to do that with an engine she barely had a feel for, but she wanted as much space between them and the port as possible. Weaving, in and out of incoming ships, she brought them out of the wake-zone and punched the jump drive to their next stop with a near violent smack on the console. Thankfully, he father seemed to realize getting out of port was more important than asking her what happened again, until after they were safely into the jump.

"You hit a guard?" Thomas asked with wide-eyes bouncing anxiously between the two of them. "Were they after you, Calysta?"

"No they weren't after me," she sighed, rubbing at her temples.

"Why the hell did you hit a guard?"

Calysta stood up and looked at her father and then to Illya who was still looking pink faced from the run. Sometimes she had the overwhelming urge to shake him by the shoulders. "I'll let Illya explain that one, I'm going to go check on the engines from the cold start," At least if Illya told her father, he'd have more warning and it wouldn't be coming from her limited knowledge on the entire issue. She gave them both a fierce look and then trotted off to the engine room, he boots clacking on the floor as she went.

 

[Silence]

While he finished up dishes Illya noticed that Thomas had come in for a visit. More likely than not the man was going to try and bite his nose off again. By now the Chip was pretty well steeled against these sort of sentiments from her father. Since it seemed her father wanted to speak Illya sat down across from him. As the man pulled out his wallet Illya could feel his anger rise. Was he seriously going to try and buy him out of this? It was ridiculous to think that Thomas was going to try and bribe Illya out of agreeing with his daughter. How many times did he have to explain that Kalizda was a grown woman and capable of making her own choice?

The anger faded some when Thomas pulled out a few pictures. It really wasn't much different than what the mother's did sometimes on Quoti. It all made sense after he saw that there was no woman in Kalizda's life. He knew she didn't really have a mother, but two women leaving him in such a short time said that there was something wrong with Thomas. He must have been an irritating man to live with when he was younger. He was irritating now.

Staring at the pictures Illya tried to keep his gaze just there. Thomas was as bad as the rest of the Terrans. Sleeping around and taking many women instead of just one. These men were horrible. No wonder all the women in the bars wanted Illya. It was finally making sense. They wanted him because they knew he would be the only one. Though it they didn't know he was Chippeqouti that didn't make sense either. At any rate he wondered sometimes how the women tolerated such immodest men. Apparently they didn't, but all the men must have been immodest. So far Illya hadn't met a Terran that wasn't.

Remaining quiet was the best thing in this case. Illya just nodded and let the Terran gather his pictures and leave again. After Thomas was out of the room Illya sighed and ran a hand through his thick curls. One of his fingers caught and he grunted. It felt like he was about ready to rip a chunk out of his scalp as he forced his hand through the hair the rest of the way. "Aye, aye." He didn't know what to think of this or what to do after her father came in with his odd little speech. What made a man good or bad for a Terran to consider such? Whatever he'd done to meet her father's approval he didn't know and he wasn't sure it was a good thing.

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

The weather outside was so cold. Illya was sure that his usually tan face had pink cheeks. He hated the cold weather and while this wasn't really considered cold it felt that way. Having desert conditions was far more comfortable and he would have joined Kalizda in the engine room, but there was something about the look on her face. Staring after her as she marched down the hall Illya sighed. It was maybe bad, but he did find himself watching her hips for a few seconds. Looking at her father again noticed the inquiring gaze. "Yup, I hit a guard." Whatever else he was supposed to explain Illya didn't know. What else could he say. He hit a guard.

Thomas stared back at him shaking his head slightly in confusion and finding himself glad Illya wasn't one of his students. His explanations were terrible. "You hit a guard, got that part down. Well why? They were after Calysta...so were they after you?"

Shaking his head Illya got Thomas mid sentence and the man changed it to asking if they were after him. The Chip shrugged. "Probably." There were multiple reasons that the guards could have been after him. Though he couldn't be sure if it was just because he was Chippeqouti, or if there were still wanted posters in Federation offices.

"Probably," Thomas sighed. He couldn't tell if the Chip was being coy on purpose or not, but it was irritating. Whatever had happened had scared Calysta and it had put Illya into trouble with the guards some how. Crossing his arms he tugged some at his goatee. "Aye, probably. And why would they probably be after you?"

Her father was troublesome. He prodded for answers to no end and it seemed that Illya was going to have to tell him. Clearing his throat a little the Chip started off. "Two thoughts I think first one is more than likely the case. So I tell yah first reason eh?" There was no reason to lie by hiding truths since Thomas would eventually find out anyway, but neither did Illya want to give him reason to think that he was a bad man. "Maybe I'm in trouble with guards and I have to hit them because I'm Chippeqouti. To be off of Quoti without a pass is violation. Not good to go to prison for meh. So I hit the guard and run. Didn't hit him hard enough to hurt him badly."

He peered at Illya as he listened. Two reasons, one of which was the most likely. It was the case he had heard before. They were not allowed to leave their planet and simply being a Chip would get him into trouble in some places with this Federation they had escaped from. "Alright, then. That makes sense. What's that second thought though? It's good to know these types of things in case it happens again."

Momentarily Illya had thought that he was going to get away from it. However, that wasn't the case. What was he supposed to say? If he left it at wanted posters her father would ask why. He'd never actually had anyone push like this before and his full name used to be infamous enough to answer for itself, but he didn't know if her father would catch on. That would just lengthen the entire conversation. It was also important not to sound sarcastic so he would have to make it a plain answer. "Federation considers meh a war criminal. They used to have posters of meh up all over. Unfortunately I still look the same eh."

Thomas nodded. If Illya had been branded a war criminal in fighting for his people, then it was his business. At least now they knew now what to expect if they found trouble again. "Wars tend to follow men in one way or another," he replied before chuckling a little, "Very unfortunate indeed, no getting away from that face of yours."

It all went over so much better than Illya had anticipated. He couldn't believe that her father was laughing about it. Since it was all good Illya nodded his head and chuckled a little though it was purely relief. "No, meh face stays the same." Since he was thinking he got clear on that one Illya edged toward the door. "Maybe I make food now."

"Go on," he replied, picking up his coffee mug again, "Maybe bring some to Calysta when its done. Might smooth things over some," He knew all too well how stubborn she could be when it came to certain things.

Illya peered back at Thomas. "I nut worried about dat. Women get angry a lot. Yah just wait and keep living life, cook, do all things like it is ok and they forgive yah in time. When yah get mad back at thhem den yah in trouble." Shaking his head slightly he smirked. "She always win when yah lose yah head and fight back."

Thomas couldn't help but laugh at the wily Chip's smirk. He could think of a few good moments between Kiya and Henaiah that would test the patience of any man. Calysta was his daughter, but she was also very much like her mother in temper. "Aye you're right about that."

Heading into the kitchen Illya couldn't help smiling again. He would hope that he knew a few things by now. The Chippeqouti was pretty sure that he knew a few things after this many years. Once he had dinner all cooked up he set it on the table and quietly made his way to the engine room. She was more than likely just steaming next to her machine. A strange little idea passed into his head and a grin started to spread across his face. Since she was mad he knew it would do one of two things. She could get infuriated or maybe just laugh it all off. The day had been far too stressful not to do it. If nothing else he had to do this for his own sanity because he felt like he was going to explode if he didn't do something.

It was still impossible not to smile as he held his hands near the door and then he beat on it with the palms of both his hands like a drum while making turkey gobble sounds. When he finished Illya announced in his usual tone of voice. "Dinner's ready." Stuffing his hands into his pocket he sauntered back to the kitchen and sat down. Her dad must have heard it because the man was staring. Since he knew Thomas thought of him as a heathen Illya decided to just play up the joke accordingly. "Eh had a loss of control over meh form. Shape shifting happens when Chippeqouti are under stress." Keeping a completely straight face he just met Thomas' gaze and then looked back down at his food. "Poor turkeh had to summon his spirit to help meh keep form. We eat meat because it gives us blood to say in dese bodies." The bigger the lie got the more fun it was.

Nearing the end of dinner Illya got up from the table and loaded the dirty dishes into the sink. Sitting back down he stared at his plate and tilted his head to the side as if he were a bird studying it. This was just too much fun. Her dad seemed to be sufficiently disturbed and Kalizda didn't know the joke yet. Pecking at the last of the meat on the plate with his fork he brought it to his mouth and ate a few more bites then resumed his usual manner. However, he had saved the best for last. Usually when they brought their plates he would say thank you. This time Illya turkey gobbled at them. The joke wasn't going to keep up much longer and he busted out laughing when her father brought his plate up. Illya coudln't make one more gobble. His laughter began to change to the regular raspy chuckle. Leaning against the counter he finally had to scoot away and let his forehead rest on the edge of it while he caught his breath. "Turkeh et jes come ove meh...." Busting out laughing again he turned his head slightly "I summon da bird." He really didn't have problems making fun of himself.

Even part way into the night Illya would laugh off and on over his joke. It took forever to fall asleep and Illya laid in bed for several hours before he grabbed a book and turned the lantern on over his bed. When he finally fell asleep he expected to sleep at least a good 6 hours and instead it was 4 at best. Getting up was the only way to get this right. He was going to work as hard as he could all day long and then go to bed. However, it was disappointing that despite all his work he was not anymore tired the next night. Instead he tossed and turned in the bed and read a few more books before he fell asleep and woke up again at the same time the next morning. There was nothing left to do on the ship and he was awake!

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta closed herself off into the engine room. It was a hot, crowded space between the many control panels and the actual engines themselves but it was loud enough to drown out the sound of her own heart beat in her ears.

Her eyes roamed over the gauges, automatically and searching for any abnormalities in the readouts. Everything was fine, as she could tell by the power flow and jump status reports.

It was somethung Illya should be learning on this style of engine, but she was too irritated talk or explain anything at the current moment. How could he not tell her that the Federation was an underground business conglomerate? That was a bit of important information considering they were everywhere and not bound by acutal physical territories. Then there was was the fact that they had been mercenaries for these shady deals, keeping the lands they watched. They didnt get paid...they burdened the land like a lien in labor. It's why everyone thought they were terrible imperialists.

Calysta picked up a multi-tool and fumbled with opening the sides until the the screw driver portion popped out, pinching her thumb. "Damnit." She pulled her finger free and shook off the sharp pain.

Calysta thought back to everything she had seen between the Chippeqouti, and of the war and Illya, coming to only one major question. Would knowing the Federation was not a government entity change any of the decisions she had made so far?

No.
In the end it didn't matter who the Federation was. What they were doing and how far they had gone over a business arrangement was wrong. That would never change.

It still would be nice if Illya would tell her things. The important things and not walk away when asked. Was that a Chippeqouti trait or purely because he was a man?

She looked over the engine until a strange sound began knocking. Was something loose in the engine? No, it was coming from the door...along with the yodeling of a turkey?

"Dinner's ready." She recognized Illya's voice through the door and over the din of the engines.

Calysta put down her tools and went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Scrubbing down with a little hot water and soap, she dried off and wandered into the kitchen. Illya was standing at the stove with a silly, sideways grin and her father was staring at him with wide eyes. Do I even want to know?

She sat down in the booth next to her father cautiously and Illya served her up some rice and vegetable mix with meat. The Chip sat down across from them, eating with gusto and chuckling between bites. Her father caught her gaze, with a disturbed look. Was he upset over the Federation? Why was Illya staring at his place like a confused pigeon? She shrugged at her dad, biting her lip in an attempt to fight a laugh.

She had missed something entirely and it showed when she got up to give her empty plate back to Illya for the dishes. Rather than thanking her...he gobbled like a turkey.

A smile broke over her face and she chuckled at him tentatively as she handed over her plate. He was looking at her seriously, but there was a gleam in his eye she recognized and she shook her head.

****
Thomas heard the call for dinner and the distinct sound of a turkey calling? Easing out of the co-pilots chair he dared to wander into the galley. He found it empty but not for long. Illya strode into the room and went to the stove, stirring whatever was in the pan. The man started piling food on a plate, and turned to him as he started talking mumbo jumbo about channeling the spirit of turkey with blood sacrifices. The man hadn't even known what a turkey was until a few months ago and now he was conducting a seance for the frozen birds soul...acting like a turkey...

Multiple gods and spirit channeling from the wild man. Great. God help him if they had Chinese food while on Earth.

He acted like a bird all through dinner and even gobbled at Calsyta before she left. When he brought up his own plate, the man broke down in hysterics about 'summoning dah bird.'

Thomas leaned in a little close with a skeptical look as he surrendered his plate. Sometimes soldiers had syndromes left over from the stress of battle and turned to drinking to deal with it. He hadn't thought their conversation about his war criminal status had been that much of a deal but the man was laughing so hard he couldn't finish a sentence. He'd only seen him so jolly at the celebration before while he was guzzling down alcohol. Thomas peered at him curiously. "Have you been hitting the drink?"

****

Calysta wandered into the kitchen since Illya had started breakfast ridiculously early. Early enough she left her father still snoring on his bunk and she had yet to change out of her shorts and tshirt or to tame her hair. He stood in the tiny galley, his shoulders taking up most of the space and leaning on his left leg some. Was that habit or was he hurting? His inability to tell her things at times was an irritation, but when compared to other things, it was a minor one.

She slipped into the room and stood beside him at the sink. He glanced at her as he poured the water over the tea bags and she waited patiently, until he was done before reaching up and slipping a finger under his chin gently. He turned and looked at her with confused green eyes and she smiled.

"Wasn't sure if I should gobble you a good morning or if my Illya had returned to his natural state," she laughed, as she let him go, "Thought I should check first."

****

Calysta opened the hatch on Proxima Centauri. The land was rocky and bland, but the port was bustling and that was good news for them. She could tell they were just close to Terra by the amount of them running around the port in their odd, uncomfortable clothing. Jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops were the normal. Some of them were in business suits or sun dresses too. It was a far cry from the comfortable cottony tunics the Kaereleans wore. She would go out into the port to look for clothes that looked just like them, purchase fuel, and maybe find a way to snag some extra cash. Illya was standing at the end of the ramp as she walked down onto the bare, stone ground.

She looked back to him questioningly as the breeze sent her hair flying in every direction. "Are you coming?"

****
She wandered into dome topped clothing shop and looked over what was available. Snagging a pair of dark jeans, a black thermal v-neck, and a "baseball" cap, she walked over to the register with the credits her father had saved. There were eyes on her that didn't feel friendly, and the store clerk glared at her, staying silent as she bought the clothes.

Finding a stall, she changed into the new clothes. The jeans were heavy and restricting already as she tucked them into her tall boots, but at least the thermal shirt was manageable. The hat tolerable with her short hair sticking from under the bill. She was wearing nearly the last of the emergency credits and it was only right that she find a way to replace them. They couldn't keep going without more money. Henaiah could have helped but Illya had been adamant about not contacting her and asking for woman for more favors didn't set well with her.

Wandering back into the streets, she noticed that the angry stares had diminished now that she had changed clothes, which was a relief. Illya walked beside her, keeping his head down though they had yet to see any Federation signage. She didn't blame him.

They passed by a large warehouse with people milling in and out with beers or cocktails in hand. Cheering was coming from inside and a dusty sign above the bay door read 'Game Hall' in Terran. Maybe they could win some money and it would be under the table with no way to track the winner.

She pulled Illya inside and looked through the haze of smoke hovering through the air. There were several gaming stalls with crowds gathered at each. A boxing ring in the far corner was surrounded by people cheering as two fighters were slinging fists at each other. There was also an bay door open at the very back of the building. Large animals with for legs and sweeping tails were penned in a metal corale. Gamblers surrounded the pen as others went inside of it and picked a creature, leading it out of the back door.

"You'rah fancying the races there, miss," said a man nearby, "You'd be a good size to ride if you'd give it a go."

She glanced at the scruffy man. "Is there a decent purse?"

"Yes'm for firs', secon' and thir' riders. 100k credits for first. Entry fee is 30 credits, unless you'veah got somethin' more valuable."

She nodded and thanked the man.

He tipped his hat and took a sip of his beer."Yes ma'am."

It was a race. Simple and easy with no fighting. She could ride one of those. How hard could it be? "I think I could give it a shot," she grinned at Illya.

 

[Silence]

The reaction from Thomas was the only reason Illya kept it up. It seemed that the man's level of concern had gone up significantly. Did he really think that Illya was that uneducated? Of course he couldn't get strength from a bird and if her father thought that the Chippeqouti changed form wouldn't he have noticed odd behavior before this? None of it was logical and Illya got a sort of sick pleasure out of the way Thomas was so easy to get worked up. It really wasn't right to be doing what he was, but it sounded good. If his mother knew that he had read Thomas' holy book and it strictly forbade drinking the blood of animals in the past she would about slap him sideways for his story that he just told.

What was even worse happened at the end. Thomas obviously hadn't caught on and instead he asked if Illya had been drinking. "Eh?" Looking around the kitchen he grinned. "Nothing but water." Chuckling a little more he took the man's plate and put it into the sink. "Thanks." It seemed that the galley was the one place that he ever talked with Kalizda or Thomas these days.

Illya was up much earlier than they were the next morning and he did his own work, but today might be different since there wasn't much else besides cooking to do. Perhaps the only other choice would be for him to read some books. Maybe if he had a pad with a few books on it he could start wading through more history of her people, or something useful. Shifting his weight to the left side he decided to give his right leg a little bit of a break. It had started to spasm during the night, but he fully expected that. It was healing and muscles hadn't been worked in a few days. Glancing over his shoulder he noticed that Kalizda had stepped in and he grabbed another cup to pour some tea for her too. Just as he finished the tea Kalizda put a finger under his chin. Allowing her to lift his chin he gazed at her not quite sure what it was that she was wanting. Apparently she had noticed the joking last night and smirked before looking back to his work. "Eh it's always the same meh. Yah never have to worry about that." Sometimes she was so strange. It was almost as if she didn't know what to say to him or if she knew he had a sense of humor. There were a rare few that believed the Chippeqouti didn't have a sense of humor and almost thought she could be one of them. Kalizda had broken his expectations many times and so he tried not to include her in the masses. "Yah dad seemed ta believe meh story. Suppose he's upset about et?"

Calsyta looked at him curiously, he seemed almost serious about her being playful and she wasn't sure why. When he mentioned her father believing the story and chuckled and shook her head. "He hasn't said anything if he is. Of course, I might just tell him a turkey for a husband is fine by me."

At first Illya didn't know what to say and he stared at her. A few seconds more passed and he started to laugh. "I summon dah bird." He could still see that half concerned frown on her dad's face and it made him want to laugh everytime.

Finally, he seemed to get she was joking with him and she grinned as he laughed. Hearing him laugh like that always made her want to laugh with him and she wasn't entirely sure why, but she couldn't help it as he 'summon dah bird'. Things had been far too tense for far too long in her mind and it all came giggling out as she remembered how silly he'd looked over his dinner plate. "You do a pretty good impression," she laughed, tilting her head and looking at him look like a bird.

"Hmmm...." Illya enjoyed hearing her laugh. They had been tense for too long and he needed the little bit of loosening up. Kalizda was comfortable as a person. She was safe, safe enough to be a little wild around sometimes. "Eh, when yah get as old as I am yah watched a good many birds. Pretty easy to do."

"Pretty easy to do, huh?" she chuckled, " Maybe tonight you can give your best chicken impression. Now, there's a fun bird to imitate too." She clucked a little at him and dragged her toes across the floor like a scratching chicken.

Kalizda was getting into this and he let her. A broad grin came to Illya's face when her father stepped in the doorway. "She learn the Chippeqouti way."

When Illya looked up from her and grinned, she turned to see her father standing in the door way, looking confused and his mouth opening and shutting as if he had just walked in on something much more. Her clucking and scratching came to a slow halt as her face turned pink. "T-t-the Chippeqouti way?" he sputtered, in his half awake state. "Spent years raising you in a Christian house hold and after years of doubt you pick up this instead."

Illya nodded with a grave expression. "Aye, she learned to have a sense of humor. Very serious business." Turning around Illya reached into the cupboard for another cup and poured it for Thomas. A large knowing smirk was on his face. By now Thomas had to have known that he'd fallen for a very big joke. Eventually he would start getting a feeling for when a Chippeqouti was making fun of what others seemed to assume about them. Perhaps it was a rude kind of humor, but so was assuming they were savages and wild men, something that Illya was pretty sure her father thought.

Thomas' face turned more red than his daughter's and he looked between two of them. The man was grinning ear to ear and Calysta was biting her lip again like she always did when she was trying not to laugh. The stunt last night had been one big joke, and while he suspected it, he was never quite sure what to do with the man and his ways sometimes. "Very funny, you two," he harumphed, as he sat down in the booth with an accusing eye. Calsyta turned to face the counter, determined not to laugh and keep as serious a tone as Illya, but failing miserably as a lone giggle escaped her mouth.

Since they were all up Illya slid the cup toward Thomas and nodded. "Yah drink this eh? Make yah feel awake and ready for the day." He had one for Kalizda and one for himself though he didn't really need it. Illya just liked to have his tea and that was all there was to it.

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

Sometimes Illya wondered if Kalizda had ever had proper training or bodyguards around her. She dashed out into the land as if there was nothing to fear. A person didn't have to be afraid, but he knew that they should be careful. Kalizda was wanted and so was he. Maybe he would have to talk to her about just charging into a crowd. You needed time to survey from the ship and then take a careful survey from inside the ship before leaving the immediate safety of it.

Ducking a little he stepped out of the ship with Kalizda. "I'm coming." Glancing around the street quickly he assured himself that all was safe and then walked next to her. Illya could take damage far easier than she could and he couldn't have anything happen to her. Kalizda was his precious little woman and she was delicate. The angry stares as they walked through the town didn't escape his attention. It seemed the longer they were in public with her dressed in those robes the worse it got. Flexing his fist he would stare at the crowds around them and then lower his head again. As they stepped into the store he tried to follow her to the dressing rooms. Illya fully intended on standing outside the flimsy doorway. Instead an attendant of sorts stopped him and he glowered at the woman.

"You can't go back there. Wait out here." With an outstretched hand the woman pushed him back with one hand.

Illya glowered at her. "Then I wait right here." His chest was pressed tightly to the woman's hand and when she scowled at him he simply shrugged. "I watch her, soon she agree to be with meh rest of our lives." He thought that was a fairly accurate way to describe the relationship using both his and her customs. At last it seemed the woman relented though she still gave him dirty stares.

Finally Kalizda came out and they went for a game house. Illya grinned at her. "Yah take money for races and I watch. Maybe I play some games to win money after that and we leave?"

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

Illya narrowed his eyes slightly. The guy across the table was a pretty good card player and he didn't have many signs when he watched. Sometimes it was easier to play the person rather than the cards. However, this game required a heightened sense for both. Letting out a long breath he raised the bet and at last the other man folded. Gathering the chips from the center of the table he carefully plucked them up and then returned to the bar with it to get the cash. Between Kalizda's race and a quick game they had obtained a decent chunk of money.

More than likely they needed to be getting back. As he started to walk for the doors with the credits he felt his leg start to cramp up. The first few steps were awkward and he winced some. It hurt when the muscles did that. Felt like they were all pulling on the bones even though he knew that the leg was more than likely just telling him it was stressed and needing some rest. "Maybe I be lazy after take off." Winking at Kalizda he wrapped an arm around her shoulders briefly and then let his arm drop away again. He had to remind himself that they were not that far long with the relationship. It was near impossible to not want to hold her and walk so close when he could. "I didn't know yah could race like that." Looking down at her he grinned. "Fearless little bird."

 

[aryamajor]

“Sounds like a good idea,” Calysta smiled.

They walked along the edge of the game hall to the back area where the bay door was open. Other riders were choosing their own mounts and leading them out the door to a circular track dug into the grey dirt the entire planet seemed to be made of. A booth run by a man with sun-weathered skin a scraggly beard nearby was taking in the bets and new entries for the races and she walked over with Illya behind her to enter into the race.

She put their all but 20 of their last remaining credits on the rough wooden table. “I’d like to enter the races.”

The man looked her over and with mild interest as he chewed on a toothpick and then pinched up her entry fee into his hand, counting it carefully. “Aight, this looks right. Go on and get your horse. Lead it out the bay door where they’ll getya all tacked up.” His eyes shifted to Illya behind her with a skeptical look. “ You racing too?”
Illya shook his head and the man nodded. “Ya’can watch over agains’ the railing at the track.”

Calysta left Illya to find a good space along the dirt track and followed the other racers into the paddock to pick an animal. She had seen these animals in movies her father had from Terra called western. The animals were called horses. It was a harsh word for a creature that looked so powerful. Scanning over each of them, she saw one at the edge of the herd that looked like it had plenty of energy. It was shaking its head along with its long, dappled neck and dancing around some. The number 23 was painted onto its muscled flank.

Slipping under the fence, she walked over to the group to the energetic horse. The creatures were all much taller than they appeared from far away, towering over her as she walked. She could fly nearly anything with ease, but seeing these Terran animals up close was almost intimidating, and it made the rising nerves for the race buzz in her stomach. It couldn’t be that different from flying in a ship. The more energy it contained the faster it would go, right?
“Easy there, uh…number 23?”

The horse gave Calysta a suspicious look as she came closer and ducked his head, flinging the lead toward her like a whip. She stopped in her tracks and looked over the animal with its pretty dappled grey pattern. “I wouldn’t like being called that either,” she said, edging toward the animal slowly, “ How about Kyioen instead?”

The animal stared at her, daring her to come closer, as she kept talking in an easy voice. “Yeah, Kyioen. Just means thundercloud in…well, where I come from.”

She had snuck close enough to grab the lead hanging from the animal’s head harness. Taking up the leash, she sighed some in relief, and started to lead the animal out of the paddock. As Kyioen followed, he butted his head against her back, and nipped at her shoulders with his upper-lip.

When she made it outside, woman in pointed boots and long red hair waited at an equipment station. She tossed a saddle over Kyioen’s back and tightened up the straps. The Terran kept giving her odd looks, her eyes dashing from the horse to her and back. “You ever ridden before, gal?”

“No,” Calysta admitted in Terran, “but I’ve been in many races.”

The woman snorted and shook her head, before tossing her a set of goggles. “Put those on and keep to the inside.”

Obviously the woman thought she couldn't handle this."I'll figure it out." Calysta replied much more confidently than she felt.

"Uhuh."

Calysta spun her hat around then looped the goggles around her neck as the woman held out the leads to her. She took the leather leash and looked up the saddle which was sitting a good two inches above her head on the horses back. How was she supposed to get up there?

Glancing around, she saw other riders slipping their foot into a stirrup and slinging their legs over, using the handle at the front of the saddle for leverage. She followed suit, sticking her foot into the nearest loop and pulling herself into the saddle. Her boot, bumped the horses other side and his back legs side-stepped. Grabbing onto the handle, she held tight to keep from falling off.

The red head chuckled and steadied Kyioen before looking up to Calysta with slight amusement. “Look, gal. Putyer foot in the other stirrup. When the gate opens, you give the horse a little kick in the ribs with them boot heels. Whenya get going use these to steer- she held up the leads- to stop pull back on them. Good’luck and watch out for the other riders.”

Calysta nodded at the instruction. It made sense to keep to the inside for less track to cover, but the warning about the other racers was vague. Was that just a general warning for her to be careful not to hurt other racers, or a caution against the others? She’d find out in just a few minutes. The woman lead her to the gate, and Calysta kind of enjoyed being taller for once. Being on top of the horse gave her a much different view of the area. She could almost see the entire track from there including Illya leaning on his against the railing near the finish line. His tan skin didn't stand out so much here, but his green eyes did.

The woman pulled her into the metal starting stall alongside the other racers, and shut the gate. Kyioen immediately started dancing underneath her, popping up on two legs in anticipation. He obviously knew what coming onto the stall meant and was ready to go. Good.

“Goggles on, now gallie.”

Calysta didn’t hesitate to pull the lenses up and make sure her grip was good and tight over the leads connected to the animals head. Already, the sharp focus that came with an impending race was kicking in and the track laid out in front of them was the only thing in her mind. This was just another race and she could win it if she raced smart.

A voice over the intercom announced that the race was about to start, then a hush came over the crowd, before there was a loud BANG. The gate flew open and released the racers along with any thought of strategy. Kyioen took off so fast, he almost left her behind.

The horse jumped into a full gallop down the strip, and Calysta clung to the leads. Falling meant getting trampled to death under the racers thundering behind them. He quickly gained a lead alongside four of the other horses, clinging to the inside rail. Dirt clods flew everywhere, and nothing but the sound of hooves pounding into the ground and wind filled her ears, until there was a sharp crack. Stinging erupted on her fingers and she nearly let go of the leads, as a crop rang over her hands. Another smack from the crop made her yelp. Right, ‘lookout for the other riders’ wasn’t a joke.

The rider beside her tried for a third time but she moved her hands away, causing the crop to smack against the back of Kyioen’s neck. The horse didn’t take kindly to being hit apparently and erupted into a violent gallop to get away. He barreled through the two horses in front of him, stretching his neck further and further into the long strides, totally out of control. They flew past the finish line and kept going.

“Kyioen!” She pulled back on the leads as instructed, but the animal kept going at break-neck speed. Calysta felt panic rising in her throat. They were coming up on a fence and the crowds were scrambling back. Pulling on the leads wasn’t working and the only thing she could think of was to hold on for dear life as they rocketed toward the fence. “Stop!”

Kyioen came to a sliding halt just at the fence, throwing dirt at the crowd and tossing his head wildly. Kicking and making crying sounds, he twisted and bucked, threatening to toss her off. The ground looked incredibly far away. "Whoa! Whoa!"

Where the woman came from, Calsyta didn’t know, but the red head scurried between the fences and grabbed the leads, trying to calm the animal down. The horse jerked a few more times before stopping his frenzy with an angry snort. Thank the Wilds.

“You gotta let go, gallie,” she said quickly, as she tugged the leather straps out of her hands. Calysta managed to get her fingers to uncurl and the woman patted her leg. “You won. C’mon down, now and get your prize.”

“Oh..uh..uhuh.” Calysta obeyed sliding off the horse and hopping to the solid and wonderfully, non-moving ground with shaking legs. Usually there was excitement in knowing she won, but this time, she was just happy to have made it to the end of the race. They could keep their horses for racing. Flyers were much more her style. They actually listened when you told them to stop.

****
Calysta collected her 100k in credits shaken but proud and covered in mud. It didn’t take long for Illya to earn them more at the gaming tables. He was as good at cards as he was number games and chess. Of course, he had never played any card games against her. Once he had earned them another nice pile, they decided it was time to return back to the ship before their luck turned and night fell over the rocky port.

Once Illya had cashed out, they walked toward the door and she could tell his leg was bothering him. He winced as he put weight on it and moved much more stiffly than he had been earlier. Still, he said nothing about any pain. He was so stubborn, and she was about to say something to him about it when he winked at her, then wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulder. "Maybe I be lazy after take off."

The move surprised her, but his arm was warm and she found walking close to him made her heart flutter the same way dancing with him did. No sooner had he put an arm around her, then he was letting her go again, leaving the cool breeze against her back. Why had he let her go? Was it because she was muddy? Or maybe he thought it wasn’t proper by her standards to do that? A Chippeqouti modesty issue? She wanted to pull his arm back, but took up his rough hand instead.

"I didn't know yah could race like that. Fearless little bird."

He was looking down at her with a broad grin and she couldn’t help but blush a little. If only he knew. “Neither did I,” she laughed lightly, “I think I like flying better though.”

They walked along the streets in the fading daylight and Calysta kept his large hand captured in hers, as they looked through the different shops. There were a few selling Terran novelties, but none were set out making handcrafted good. Typically the Terran's were into mass manufacturing and production for their goods, making them amazingly inventive in some ways and much less creative in others.

As they wandered back the ship, a voice called out over the crowd.

“Illya?”

The Chip stiffened beside her and his grip tightened over her hand, as they turned to see a familiar face.

“If it isn’t the love birds,” Ayrn grinned, as he trotted over to them.

Calysta could hardly believe the pesky Terran was standing in front of her, eye patch and all. He’d lost weight and he was surprisingly less greasy than his usual dirt- layered self. “Ayrn?”

“In the flesh,” he winked at her.

“What are you doing way out here? I thought you would have stayed on Kaereal?”

Ayrn gave a nonchalant shrug, but his grin stayed mischievous. “Can’t get a decent steak meal on Kaereal. If you're headed to Earth, mind if I hitch a ride? I’d be willing to pitch in.”

****

After an easy take off, Calysta let the two Terrans cook while she showered off the mud and horse hair. Her muscles were a bit sore from riding in the race, but it was hard to tell if that was because of the race itself, or the fact she had clung to the animal tight enough to cause strain. The hot water rolling over her back felt relaxing and she wished there wasn’t a time limit on the shower. When the water cut off with the timer, she dried off reluctantly and dressed into her clean Kaerelan clothes until the others were done washing.

With dripping hair, she wandered down the hall, spying her father and Ayrn cooking dinner in the galley. They were talking back and forth about Terra and the places they had been while they worked over the stove. “Mo’ yeah, I’vf been to th’ Eiff’l Tower before,” Ayrn said brightly as he chopped at carrots. He was still eating more than he was actually managing to cut, but even that was an improvement over his usual attitude. What exactly had Illya said to him on Nuen?

Calysta left them to their work since Ayrn had offered to work as a crew member in exchange for a ride and her father had jumped at the opportunity to cook. She half wondered if his eagerness was because of her lack of cooking skills or if it was because he was worried snake might be on the menu again. Why he was so opposed to the meat she'd never know, but if she started telling him it was chicken when Illya cooked with it, he might come around eventually.

Since she wasn’t needed anywhere, she retreated into the crew’s quarters. Maybe she and Illya could spend some time together that wasn’t surrounded by people or him watching her like a hawk.

She found the Chip propped back on his bunk, rubbing at his leg with one hand and holding up a book he’d already thumbed through once with the other. When she stepped inside, he immediately stopped rubbing his leg and glanced up at her, obviously hoping he hadn’t been caught. He really thought he had been fooling her all this time?

“Stay there.”

Without giving him a chance to argue, she went to work. This ship was not the Ekram and had no med-bay. What little medical supplies they did have were limited to basic first aid kits and Yvonne’s left over balms. She could still find something that would work though. Snagging a plastic baggie from the kitchen, she filled it with hot water from the bathroom sink and then also brought the balm Yvonne had told her to use on his scars. When she came back into the crew’s quarters with the full bag and balm, she put the canister down on the bed next to him. “Start with that.”

As he started unbuckling his pants, and putting the balm on his right leg, she pulled her pillow out of its soft, linen case and put the hot water bag inside before tying it off.

“Not exactly a hot-pack, but it will work,” she said, holding up her creation.

Once he was all balmed-up, she gently laid the hot-pack over his leg. He grumbled some as the heat started relaxing the muscles, but the grumpiness seemed to turn to relief after a few minutes. “Better?” she asked, sitting on the bunk beside him.

Nodding at his answer, her eyes flicked over to the book in his hand. “You’ve already read that one.”

Smiling, she snagged her pad from the nook beside his bed. She left it there, not trusting herself to keep from dropping it on his head if she read it from her own bunk. “I’ve got a few books downloaded. Just need to add your thumb print to the pad to access them.”

Holding out the pad, she let him put his thumb on the screen to be recorded, and allowed him access to whatever he wanted, including the files from Henaiah. “There’s Rudyard Kipling and Walt Whitman. Both of them are Terran poets.” She leaned in close to him, flicking through the different book titles with her nimble fingers. “There are also a few Kaerelean works on here too. Sarai Oylna. She writes flight guides and is an expert in the systems surrounding Kaereal. Oh, there’s also the story of Gyl, the first Kaerelean to fly. You might like that one too.”

As she waited to see what he would choose, her head drifted towards his shoulder and rested lightly against his arm. Illya's arm was hard and basically all muscle, but the urge to curl up closer to him, and just be there in his company was nibbling at her mind. She had never let anyone so close and he made it easy for her to let go of her fears with that smile.

Her eyes wandered to his right leg for a moment, and suddenly she was very acutely aware of the fact he was just in his boxers, even though she had seen him many times before like that. Pink tinged her cheeks some, and she sat up. Her father would probably have a cow if he walked in on her curled up next Illya with his pants off and Ayrn would enjoy the show too much.

"Did you find one you liked?" she asked quickly.

 

[Silence]

While they walked Illya thought back on the race. It appeared to have some dangers involved and yet, he couldn't help feeling proud. There she'd been bobbing along on that horse and mud flying everywhere. Not every woman would get up on an animal and ride like that. He realized after a few moments that she must not have known anything about horses or other animals. Kalizda's little hand slipped into his and Illya glanced at her. Why she blushed so much he couldn't possibly imagine. Both were walking at a casual pace when Illya heard his name. Balling one fist he began to turn around. Whoever it was that knew his name was going to get hit. At least they didn't use the full name.

Kalizda turned with him and Illya found himself staring at Ayrn. "Yah little rat." Grumbling he held a hand out and shook Ayrn's hand. "Yah wanna work and I say yah should come." At least Ayrn had that figured out. However, it didn't make sense of why he would know that they were headed for earth. That put Illya on edge. Staring at the Terran for a long moment he finally decided that it was better not to say anything. Illya would just watch for now. He didn't trust Ayrn, but to keep the man close would mean if anything went wrong he could quickly and easily dispatch of him.

Quietly the group made their way to the ship and Illya was about ready to cook the meal when Thomas and Ayrn took over. It was a welcome break since Illya's leg was burning by the end of take off. He just needed some rest and a little time to work the muscle back into shape. Sitting on his bunk he held the book open with one hand and read while he worked his leg with the other hand. The muscles in his thigh would spasm periodically and he winced a little as he tried to get them to loosen up instead of tightening like this. A frown had come to rest almost permanently on his face while he worked on his leg. Suddenly a shadow appeared and Illya let his hand rest and brought it up to the book about time that Kalizda decided to round the corner. Hopefully he'd been in enough time. She got so worked up about this stuff and he preferred to keep it to himself. Kalizda simply told him to wait and she left the room again.

When the woman returned with the balm Illya grimaced and started to take his pants off. It was the only way to get to his leg. The Chip couldn't help gritting his teeth some as he started to work the cream into the muscles. Already it was starting to tighten in protest. He'd barely finished and she put the hot pack on his leg. "Agh...be careful." Grumbling a little under his breath he reached over and adjusted the bag.

Illya took a few deep breaths as he felt the cream begin to soak into the muscles and the heat soothe the tense muscles. It was probably a combination of the pain and muscles tensing with the pain that made it worse. Gradually it did begin to relax and he almost seemed to lean into the wall behind his bed. "Aye, its a little better." Smirking a little he looked over at her. "Alright, maybe a lot better. Didn't think it had gotten that bad." He was about to start his book again and she mentioned he'd already read it. "I dun have anything else to read eh." With that little explanation he noted that she reached up to her bunk and got her pad. There was more reading and Illya put his thumb on the pad. "Hmmmmm...." It looked like there was a lot more on here and he wanted to get started, but time with her was good to.

With Kalizda beginning to relax against his arm he nestled into his spot a little more and before he was really comfortable she was suddenly shifting again. Illya didn't really see why this was such a problem. It wasn't like he had put his hands anywhere they shouldn't be and they weren't doing anything. "Uh huh, a few books that look like they would be decent to read." All the while he kept his gaze steady while he tried to figure out why she was blushing. Since there wasn't any obvious reason he adjusted the hot pack on his leg and started to scroll through some of the pages. "Yah like to let meh read to yah? Then yah can help meh with some words so I talk with less accent."

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

Days on the ship passed slowly and Illya discovered that he would have to work harder at keeping his leg problems private. Kalizda was far too observant and then again it might be easier to do self treatments. While he was busy cleaning the kitchen up at the end of the night Illya noticed that the coffee pot still had some coffee in it. Pouring the liquid into a cup Illya reheated it and decided to give this drink a try. Mostly they seemed to use it for mornings, but he'd never tried it.

Sniffing the coffee he wrinkled his nose. Why they wanted to drink something that smelled like that was beyond him. The Chippeqouti brought it to his mouth and sipped once. Illya almost shuddered at the taste. It was horrible. He much preferred his teas. Some added milk to this drink so he decided to try it that way. Could make it better or worse. There was no telling what it would do. When he had a little milk Illya took another cautious sip and this time he enjoyed it much more. Since it was getting late he figured nobody would mind if he drank it. Besides, a drink was never as good the second day. So if nothing else they shouldn't mind. How some of the Terran's liked the drink without any milk he would never understand.

Illya saw Kalizda come in and he lifted the mug to drink the last of it. "I don't know how yah drink that stuff. Coffee is terrible." The look on her face caused some concern. Gazing into the bottom of the mug and then back to Kalizda he gave her a questioning look. From the sound of it coffee was supposed to make a person stay awake and they were close to bedtime. Sighing he set the mug into the sink and finished washing the dishes. He'd already been having problems getting to sleep. Not that he was tired, but he was up for ridiculous numbers of hours everyday and it was getting frustrating because there was nothing left to do on the ship after 3 days. Now he was reading and re-reading books. Working and trying to make his leg a bit stronger only to have it protest and start to spasm.

Since Kalizda was looking tired Illya walked over to her at the end of the kitchen. "I can take care of the last evening check of systems for yah. Yah tired and I'll be up for a while I guess." It was unfortunate to have the drink as late as he did, but she needed sleep. He had noticed her bit of limping and stiff movements since the horse ride. If there hadn't been other riders and it would not have caused panic to the animal he would have run out to calm the animal at the end of the race. However, he needed to stay low profile that day and he needed her to be safe. So instead he had to watch while she got battered on the back of the animal. One day she would have to learn more about animals if she planned on spending time around them.

Picking the little pilot up in his arms he winked at her. "I take yah to bed. Yah need the rest and I can check engines tonight eh?" Illya ignored the stares from her father and Ayrn when he walked into the bunkroom with Kalizda. The Chippeqouti kept his eyes on her and no one else. Laying her gently in her bed he gave her left hand a gentle squeeze before he stepped away from her bunk. "I see yah tomorrow."

Stepping out of the room the big man wandered down the narrow corridor to the engines room and he made sure everything was functioning as it was supposed to and then checked the panel for the 15 minute light run. While he waited for it to finish Illya yawned a little. He was so tired and he didn't understand why. Perhaps he was needing some rest despite the cup of coffee. By the time the lights check was done he closed the panel door and went back to his bed in the bunkroom. Illya was too tired to even bother with taking his jeans off. Flopping onto the bed he let out a long breath and then closed his eyes. It wasn't till he felt Kalizda's hand on his shoulder that he woke up. "Eh?" Almost instantly he jumped up and slammed his head into the bunk above himself. "Owe." Grumbling under his breath he started to grope blindly for his pants. They were usually hanging on the edge of the bed. After a few seconds he realized he still had them on and shook his head. In fact he discovered that he had his boots on too. "I get cooking now. Don't know why I sleep so late."

 

[aryamajor]

The invitation to read to aloud made her smile return and she settled up shoulder to shoulder with him, tugging at a blanket to cover her bare feet. "I'd like that."

She thought he might pick one of the Kaerelean works first, considering they were more historical or instructional, but instead he went for Kipling. That was one of her favorite Terran authors from Terra's 19th recorded century and she had downloaded the entire collection onto the pad as something lighter to read than the files given by Henaiah. He went for some of the poems first, starting with one of the works she knew by heart, "If." She wasn't sure if he liked it or not, considering the poem sounded much better in the Terran language. Then he started on "The Man Who Would be King" and followed with "How the Leopard Got its Spots." She listened to him, simply enjoying the sound of his voice as he read the lines, occasionally doing different tones for the characters. His accent had faded somewhat, but he had come so far from when they collided on Qouti. She'd made fun of his slip-shod traders tongue. Now she found his voice wouldn't be the same without it.

He devoured the books with an eagerness she admired. When came upon a word he didn't know in traders tongue, he stopped reading aloud to point at the page. "Oh that's a Terran animal. Kind of like the horses you saw today, but they are smaller and they have stripes. And that one is a giraffe a very tall animal. Tens of feet. But not quite as big as a tyrei."

The mention of the tyrei sparked another question, as she realized he had never seen one. "Tyrei's are these cat-like animals that live in the Wilds below the continents on Kaereal. Some grow as big as houses and have claws the size of small swords," she explained, wiggling her fingers like claws.

Illya seemed surprised and almost like she had invited him to a challenge. "They'll eat anything," she added, hoping to stave off any ideas. He chuckled at her and kept reading. Soon Ayrn's head poked into the room and he gave her a salacious grin. "Dinner's ready you two."

"Thanks. We'll be there in a minute."

Ayrn nodded and retreated from the door. As soon as he was gone, Calysta tossed off the blanket and started to get up. The air on the deck was much colder than she thought and the want to retreat back to the warm nook beside Illya was tugging at her almost more than her hunger. With Ayrn aboard there was no time to waste though. "We'd better get there quick or there might be none left."

Illya slid the hot pack off his leg and eased himself to the edge of the bed to put on his pants. Before he could stand up out of reach, Calysta leaned down, catching his bright green eyes and kissed him on the cheek gently. "If you get through Kipling you should try Song of Myself by Whitman too."

****
They only had a day or so left on the journey to Terra and it seemed the horse race had been more taxing than she thought. Her legs were sore and her arms stiff from the run. A few bruises from the riding crop and bumping along in the saddle had popped up too. At least they weren't visible when she wore the thermal shirt and jeans. Her father commented on the fact she was moving slower than usual around the engine room. "You look achy. You're not feeling sick are you?" There was no way she was telling him she lashed herself to the back of a horse and raced to win their money. So she just shrugged and shook her head, pretending she couldn't hear of the hum of the machines.

****
The work in the engine room revealed just how sore she actually was, but she just tossed back a painkiller said nothing. It had been well worth the money and having Illya stay out of more extreme options. Plus, with Ayrn aboard and managing to work a little, it gave Illya time to rest his leg and read more.

She would walk past him while he was nose down into her info-pad and subconsciously kneading at his muscle above the knee. It was worrisome that he was still hurting and it bothered her that he wasn’t getting the treatment he needed with the Ehaui. He was incredibly strong and stubborn even more so, but she wasn’t going to risk him getting hurt again. Even if he thought he was security.

Illya had made it through her Kipling downloads to her surprise and gone on to Whitman, which she wasn’t entirely sure he cared for, and then into some of the Kaerelean works.

Gyl’s story was an embellished fable that every Kaerelean child knew. As over blown as it was, it did hold some verified nuggets of truth and depicted some of the continents well. Gyl discovered that hot air would rise, and if he had enough of it, he could rise too. He floated in a balloon, not too unlike the ones they had used on Kinte at the festival, to several different continents. Some of which he met friendly humans like the tribal Aeriktan’s and Urian’s who had a matriarchal society, and others like Reo and Sayia where warriors were prized. According to legend, he flew as far north as Yudia and then disappeared. Many expeditions had been made into the wilds looking for the fated craft but nobody had ever found it and few came back alive. Now, Wilds explorations were so strictly regulated most of the attempts had stopped.

The book was one of the thicker reads on the pad and it was taking longer for him to get through it. Though, she had no doubt he would finish it by morning since it seemed he slept on average about 4 hours a night. She could hear him flipping pages and sighing at night on the bunk below her sometimes while her father snored like a tyrei with Keysha purring at his heels.

Later in the evening, she dragged herself into the kitchen looking for a cup of water before running a last systems check and going to bed. Ayrn and her father were already crashing out in the bunkroom after having cooked dinner and finished up the day, leaving Illya to his nocturnal ways. She found him standing at the counter looking curiously into a coffee mug before taking a last long sip.

Surely he wasn’t trying to drink coffee this late? “I don’t know how yah drink that stuff. Coffee is terrible."

She raised a brow at him. Did he not know what coffee was? “Illya, that stuff has caffeine in it. It’s meant to give you energy.”

The Chip sighed in frustration and put the mug in the sink. He had already been stir-crazy and now he was going to hit the ceiling like a runaway rocket when the coffee kicked in. She could only imagine what she would wake up to. An entirely clean ship, a scrubbed-pink Ayrn, and anything else he could find that would fill the time to be sure. All when he needed to be resting instead. It was a shame they didn’t have more of the Ehaui sedative or the ingredients to make the tea Yvonne showed her.

As Calysta was thinking of ways to help him sleep, he walked over to her with a slight look of defeat etched on his brow. “I can take care of the last evening check of systems for yah. Yah tired and I’ll be up for a while I guess.”

“It’s alright, I can-“

Her words were cut off when he slipped an arm under her shoulder and scooped her up like she weighed nothing. With a wink he told her he was taking her to bed and he would do the systems check, putting an end to any debate. It was hard to argue when her feet were hovering over the ground, bound up in his arms and he was gazing down at her with such a look. Everything else fell away when her grey eyes locked on his. How was it he could do that with a single look?

He laid her on the top bunk as if she were made of glass and squeezed her hand gently, saying he would see her in the morning. When he let go, her fingers curled trying to keep him close to the last possible second of their own accord.

****

Calysta slept so deeply dreams didn’t even come to her, and the morning came fast. Stretching out the stiffness from her muscles, she glanced around the room. Her father’s empty bunk was made and Ayrn’s spot was vacant as well. Strange.

Grabbing the side of her bunk, she poked her head over the edge to see Illya sprawled out and snoozing still fully clothed. One arm was flopped over the side of the bed while the other was sitting on his chest as it rose and fell with the steady rhythm of sleep. Keysha had taken advantage of the Chip’s exhaustion and slinked over to his other side, wedging herself between Illya and the wall, a large, golden paw gripped at his shoulder. He looked as though he had finally crashed out. Exhaustion maybe? Or did coffee have a different effect on Chippeqouti? It would have to be an experiment she brought up to him later.

Slipping down from her bunk, made Keysha raise her head. Calysta motioned for the cat to stay where she was, and the animal obeyed happily, sinking her chin back to the mattress. If Illya was finally sleeping, she wasn’t about to wake him up.

Her father had already made up breakfast in the kitchen and Ayrn was shoveling a slurry of eggs, bacon, and grits into his mouth. “Morning,” she yawned, as she fixed a cup of tea. “Morning, Caly,” he father mumbled. “G’morn’ Captain,” Ayrn managed to reply between bites.

“Illya wasn’t up, so I just figured I would get some breakfast started,” her father said as he scrambled up more liquid eggs.

“He hasn’t been sleeping, so I think he may have crashed out,” Calysta replied. She would keep the coffee theory to herself.

“Usually the guy’s all work, work, work,” Ayrn commented with a shrug, “Bound to catch up with him at some point, huh? Or maybe he’s just tired for a different reason.”

Calysta raised a brow at what it sounded like he was suggesting and her father’s head whipped around like it was on a swivel. Ayrn caught the looks and gave an offended scowl. “Not what I was talking about. I mean he’s not exactly like other humanoids, right?”

Calysta rolled her eyes. He may be more work inclined but the same old philanderer was there hiding under the eye-patch. She made herself a plate of eggs and bacon with a cup of tea, then sat in the booth opposite of Ayrn to eat. The bacon crunched perfectly and the eggs were done just as she liked them, softly scrambled.

The man was still eating by the time she finished up and went to make Illya a plate. As she scooped up some scrambled eggs and bacon onto a fresh plate, she noticed her father favoring his knee some as he worked. It always locked up on him when he was standing too long in one place.

“Ayrn, if you’d finish up the dishes. Dad, I’ll need you in the cockpit. We’re coming up on the asteroid belt in about an hour by your calculations."

“Will do. Miss Captain.”

“Aye. That’d be about right. I’ll get us set up for manual flight.”

Her father started toward the cockpit and she felt a little relief. At least there he could sit down in the co-pilot’s chair for a bit.

Leaving Ayrn to his assigned task, Calysta went into the bunk room where Illya was still out cold. She hated to wake him, but they were now in the same system as Terra and there was no telling what would happen. He wouldn’t want to be caught asleep if it did.

“Illya, wake up ” she said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.

When her hand touched his shoulder it was if she gave given him a jolt of electricity. He shot up in bed, slamming his head on the bunk above with a loud thunk. Keshya tore away from the bed in a flurry of hair and hissing as Calysta jumped back. The half-asleep Chip started scrambling around tossing his covers for his pants and mumbling about making breakfast.

She held up his plate, showing him that it was already done. “It’s alright, I brought breakfast to you. Relax and eat, okay?” He was looking at her still confused, but held out his hands for the plate. “If you go back for more, just don’t get the gritty looking stuff. It has corn in it.”

Illya nodded, running his hands through his curls, wincing as he found where his head crashed into the bunk. “I didn’t mean to wake you up quite like that,” she added, apologetically.

****
Ayrn dove his hands into the soapy water and scrubbed down the last plate. What he thought was the last plate at least. As he dried off the plate, Illya came into the kitchen looking sleepy and carrying his dishes. “Leave it you to bring me more work,” he joked.

He had been surprised to see the captain and the co-pilot wandering through Centauri like they were on some sort of vacation. They did work non-stop and Calysta had been cooped up for ages. She wasn’t the type for lounging, though apparently she had no problems being a softy around Illya. He certainly never got the sort of look she was giving the co-pilot when he carried her to bed. When he thought about it, he’d never gotten that look from any woman at all.

The co-pilot handed him the dirty breakfast plate with a furrowed brow. He also caught a sense of suspicion from the man he couldn’t quite figure out. He’d had the impression they had left on somewhat good terms. They’d even managed to have a decent conversation or two before he escaped that hot, dry rock, and Illya had shaken his hand at the port. Albeit he’d squeezed a little tighter than necessary. So what was the deal? “Thought you two would be back on Nuen working, unless this is the honeymoon,” he tried for another joke, glancing up at the man with a grin.

****

Calsysta sat in her captain's chair, shoulders square and ready. They had come up on the Kuiper Belt and while she had flown in heavier conditions, places like this required a special sort of focus. The icy asteriods would shift and careen around them, requiring constant adjustments in manual flight. It would have been easier to go through one of the cleared areas in the belt but, those were almost like highways. They'd be monitored and any suspicious ships inspected. Given the greeting they received on Centauri it would be best to take "the back roads" as her father put it, to avoid any unwanted attention.

She pressed the intercom button to rest of the ship. "We are getting ready to enter an asteroid field, expect pitching and slight turbulance."

Without further preparations, they passed the planet Neptune, a brilliant blue-green gas giant, and into the field. Her father sat at her side in the co-pilots chair reading out numbers and course corrections as the sensors demanded. "Watch your port side. Big one there."

She merely nodded a reponse, weaving them in and out of debris. At one point she clipped close to a ice layered rock and her father recoiled, hissing like he used to when she was learning to fly. "Maybe slow us a bit?"

She hadn't realized her speed had jumped up a little and she backed off the throttle. It was hard not to speed when they were so close to Terra and hopefully, some answers. This wasn't a race though.

After 15 tense minutes, they came to the end of the belt and Ayrn let out a sigh of relief from the corridor.

***
Thomas watched the screen as his home planet came into view. He hadn't lived there in close to 30 years, but it was home nonetheless, with its white clouds, blue oceans and massive continents that looked like a jigsaw puzzle. It was night time on the eastern seaboard and the lights of New York made a bright starburst over the dark land.

As they grew closer, a flash came over the screen and the power source flickered. Calysta went to work over the control panels, but he shook his head. He knew what it meant and it wasn't a good sign. "That won't do any good. The Terran's are stalling us out. We're about to be inspected."

His daughter looked up at him, her grey eyes flickering with just a bit of fear. Never something he wanted to see in her eyes. "The ship is registered to me. All the same, it might be best if you go to the bunk room. If they come in, say nothing. Especially, in Kaerelean. Illya, stay with her. It will be less suspicious if I bring us into port."

 

[Silence]

Reading this literary stuff was more than difficult. Illya found himself stumbling over words and tripping over phrases while massacring what should have been more impacting phrases. Most of what he read fell flat no matter how hard he tried. By the time he got to the short story it was almost a relief. Sometimes poems and their meanings were beyond him in this language. There was still quite a bit that he didn't quite understand. Then again he never understood poems very well. A lot of what he read didn't make logical sense. Literary work had always been a challenge in that way. Literature required a person to understand with feelings and not thoughts. Rudyard Kipling made interesting stories and as much as he enjoyed How the Leopard Got His Spots the names were almost impossible and he still had to get help with the name Ethiopian. To make it all worse he didn't really know what an Ethiopian was. Since the animals spoke he wasn't sure if the Ethiopian was a humanoid or fellow creature. The safest option was going to be making a search in the database to see what kind of information there was on Ethiopians.

It seemed that he had barely slogged his way through the reading when Ayrn poked his head in the door. Glancing up at the man he just nodded. Illya didn't know how this trouble maker seemed to find them at almost every turn. The small fact of the man's existence was dangerous and reason for suspicion. Besides, all Terran's were good to put on the list if suspicion. So far Illya hadn't met a single Terran that was worth the time to truly make a friend.

Before Illya could get himself off the bed and back into his pants he felt warm, tiny fingers grab him by the chin. He could feel the pinkie finger on her right hand brush against the scar on the underside of his jawbone. When she pulled away from the kiss he followed her with his eyes with an almost numb expression. There were so many feelings that had come to the surface. On one side he felt wildly excited, maybe enough to jump up and catch her by her hand and pull her back for another kiss and then at the same time it was difficult to forget that Isla used to do that too when she thought he was thinking too deeply. Occasionally she would kiss him on the cheek just to break him out of a bad thought process that she saw in the works, or to get his attention.

Feeling a gentle pull on his hand Illya realized he hadn't moved and it was still dinner time. Blinking a few times he got to his feet and leaned over to grab his pants. Almost tripping into them he tried to hop out the door after Kalizda while pulling the pants up the rest of the way.

There were a few odd moments at the table when Illya had a hard time figuring out if Thomas giving him the stink eye or what. Since he didn't know and he didn't want to ask Illya decided it was best to leave it alone. If Thomas actually decided that there was a problem no doubt the man would talk to him about it. Quickly finishing the meal Illya got up and started with the dishes. When the others left and only Thomas remained sitting at the table the Chip kept on washing the dishes. After what felt like a long time he decided to say something. "I treat Kalizda da way I would have wanted a man ta treat meh daughter." Washing the last dish Illya rinsed it and then started back to the bunk room. In reality there wasn't much Thomas could do about Kalizda's choice, but Illya was tired of feeling like a rotten fox that jumped into a chicken coop. That was the look her father gave him most of the time and it was irritating. Not anything he would shrink away from, but he avoided Thomas to a degree, because he didn't want to say something he shouldn't.

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

Several days of reading melded into one another. Illya continued to rub his leg when he thought she wasn't looking. Sometimes the healing took a long while and he didn't like it any better than the next person. The books weren't taking long to get through and Illya found that he preferred not to read poetry. However, the missing adventurer story was interesting. One that made him wonder if he could chart out an approximate landing spot for the man's last destination. If they had an electronic file that remained somewhere in the archives he could possibly find the man or the ruins of his ship.

Sometimes it was fun to at least think of the story that way. If there was a single kind of fiction he enjoyed it was adventures that had slices of truth in them. Illya was going to ask her more about it when he had time, but he forgot. Then came the night that he drank coffee and everything seemed to fade out so quickly when he laid down that there wasn't even time to get started on his math problem.

Waking up so suddenly had sent his heart almost into palpitations. Illya rubbed his head subconsciously and he winced a little. He could have sworn he cracked one of the boards above himself. It would seem reasonable for how badly the top of his head hurt. Holding out a hand he took the plate from Kalizda and nodded without saying a word. Illya wanted to talk, but he wasn't going to let himself, not right now. Waking up suddenly like that ruined what felt like perfectly good sleep and he was feeling like a bear. Shoveling the food into his mouth was one way to keep himself from saying anything he shouldn't. Not to mention after all the sleep he found his leg still hurt and he wanted it to quit bursting into spasms at inconvenient times. Stopping part way down the hall Illya leaned against the wall. His leg had tightened up so badly that he wasn't sure he could take another step without falling over.

Since he was holding a plate he couldn't very well just drop it. Instead the Chip winced as the spasm worked its way through his leg and then stopped. Limping carefully into the kitchen he found that the mostly useless Ayrn was doing the dishes.

There was something very odd about the way the man was trying to joke and be friendly. Ayrn was prying for answers too. Illya glanced at him. "Yah just riding. Not the crew and yah have no business asking those questions." Staring at the man for a long moment he did his best not to break away from the gaze till he got word that he was going to be surrendering his seat to her dad.

On a personal level Illya felt almost offended that her father was sitting in his seat and doing his job. He could have done the math that fast without any trouble. Maybe she didn't want to deal with trying to figure out his accent? As the rocks flew by he could barely keep the fleeting concerns about her father's math at bay. If the man messed up they were all going to die. Illya just preferred not to die and he had very little experience to prove that Terran's were bad at math, but he didn't like to think they could do wonderfully with something as beautiful as numbers.

It was all worse when he had to wait out a possible threat and search of the ship in the bunkroom. His deep green eyes flashed from one to the other and then Illya offered his hand to Kalizda. Both of them were to the room just as he heard the sound of dozens of boots begin to scramble about the ship. He didn't like it in the least. Sounded like an invasion and he could already feel the muscles in his arms tighten instinctively as he clenched his fists.

 

[aryamajor]

Thomas sat back in the captain's chair and tried to look as though he was relaxed. Like he had nothing to hide. He had purchased the ship under a false name and with cash, so it couldn't be traced back to "the Thomas Alan Monroe, father of the wanted inter-galatic criminal." What had been that false name he used? David Bowie. It had been the first name he could think of when he bought the ship with no questions asked. Not like Kaerelean's would have known who that was, and the guy lived so long ago unless a Terran listened to ancient 20th century music, they'd never get the reference.

The engines stalled as the power flickered again, a large Terran space-force ship came into view on the outer cameras, boasting several cannons and automatic gun towers mounted so they could fire from any angle required. The radio chirped before crackling to life on a regular frequency. "You have been selected for inspection by Terran Planetary authorities. Prepare to be boarded by immigration officers for review. Do not attempt to restart your thrusters or jump-engines. " With that short message, a boarding portal opened and in marched six Terran soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders. One man with metal stars on his uniform shoulder indicating his superior rank, stepped up to Thomas.

"You have been selected for for inspection, we will conduct a standard search aboard your vessel. If you-"

His eyes flickered over to Ayrn who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.The soldier straightened some and looked over the man in slight disbelief. "You're Aaron Yarbrough."

Ayrn sat up from the wall and a half-grin crept to his face. "That's me."

"You've been gone for.... "

"Probably around three years," Ayrn shrugged, "And now I'm back. I chartered this guy to take me home."

Thomas' eyes darted from the officer to Ayrn and back. He'd known who the man was, and that he had disappeared from the spot light some time ago, but other than that it hadn't been any of his business why.

"Welcome Home," the officer replied, "I will need to do the routine inspection though."

"Sure, you won't find much. A few crew members and some left overs in the fridge. Just watch out for the cat."

The officer nodded and his men went to work, inspecting the ship. Ayrn scuffed behind the rest of the soldiers toward the back keeping his face apathetic. He hadn't counted on being recognized, but thats what he got for being son of the man who owned the Veyna 4 mines. Three years ago he was tossed into the spot light by attacks and politics. He liked attention, but only from the women really. They'd find the two love birds in the bunk room here in a minute and he could keep them from saying some thing that would get them all detained.


The officer scanned the serial numbers on the ship bulkhead and glanced over to Thomas.

"You're David Bowie? You're registered as a Terran."

The older Terran nodded from the captain's chair, hoping the sweat forming on his temple wasn't noticable. Why did Ayrn have to open his mouth? Now, he had to lie a bit more than just his name to pass muster with the Earth authorities. "Aye, been living on Kaereal for a long time running my business though."

The officer made notes on his information pad and then continued his inspection. "If everything checks out, be careful when you land. There have been reports of Kaerelean ships being defaced and sabotaged. Some of these anti-peace factions think they can really make the Kaerelean's declare war on the Cirellants. Bloody mess if you ask me, but I don't jump into politics."

****

Calysta sat in the bunk room with her hat jammed firmly on her head and her hair tucked into the elastic. It made her look like a boy, but that was all the better in this situation. Her father would probably try to pass her off as Terran of some kind and the instruction not to speak had been to cover her soft Kaerelean accent. Sending Illya back with her had been an attempt to protect her if things went awry, and also keep him out of the eye sight as much as possible, since he was wanted too. Illya was standing almost at the door, his hands drawn into fists and his muscles flexing, ready to fight if he had to. He had been in an ill-temper all day and she had tried to figure out if it was due to his leg, or something more. Maybe he was still grumpy about hitting his head? Or maybe this was an after effect of the coffee he drank? Either way, he was definitely out of sorts, and the mood only intensified when the sound of boot falls echoed out side the door.

"Engine room clear!"

"Galley clear, sir!"

" Air lock and storage clear!"

A shadow appeared against the thin strip of light at the bottom of the door and Keysha let out a long, low grumble as she loped of the bed, coming to stand beside her. Illya was as tightly wound as a bow string, stiffening beside her as the door slid to the side revealing a tall Terran with a rifle across his front. Her eyes dropped to the floor, letting the bill of her hat obscure her face. Please don't recognize us.

"Oi! We've got a couple more in here," said the soldier, looking them over curiously. It was obvious the smaller one was a Terran female but the other, rather large male was not, judging by the eye color. It wasn't a humanoid race he had seen before. "You two part of the crew?"

She nodded and Illya gave a gruff "Aye."

The Terran made some notes on his pad, nodding to himself then continued. "I'll need a your names, position on the ship, and planet of origin for the records."

Calysta began running through ways to tell him the info he wanted without saying enough to give away her accent. She didn't want to fight these men and if they started trouble now, they would have to run without ever getting to Terra. As she hesitated, the solider seemed to notice that she was ducking into her hat and stepped closer. " Something wrong? Uh, miss?"

The growing ball of stress leapt from her stomach to throat and she shifted on her feet nervously. Just stop asking questions and go. Suddenly, Ayrn appeared in the door way as if everything were perfectly fine. "He's the cook, not from this sector. The lady is from the outer mining colonies. Doesn't speak very much since, you know..."

The solider scanned over Calysta, his eyes softening some. "Aye, I see. Veyna 4. Welcome to Earth to both of you then. I will have to make a record of your names, and the cat has its shots right?"

"Of course it has," Ayrn smiled pleasantly has he reached out to Keysha. The cat hissed at him, baring its teeth and the Terran withdrew his hand with a mild chuckle. "Good guard cat."

"Right. Well, if you two will put your names into the pad for immigration purposes."

The young soldier offered the pad to Calysta and she took it from him silently, typing in a fake name and colony in traders-tongue for the records, before nudging Illya's hand with it. He didn't take it at first, staying stiff beside her until she nudged him again to take the pad. The Chip tugged the device out of her fingers and typed in what she assumed was fake information too, though she didn't dare look up from under her hat to see his face. With all the information he wanted, he made a small inspection of the room, finding only a few clothes and books along with Ayrn's duffel bag. He did pick up her pad containing Henaiah's file, making her heart start to pound. What if they demanded she open it for inspection? Instead of asking for it to be opened, he set it to the side, and continued looking around the room, even checking the air vents. Contraband and large weapons were the only things they were looking for. Finding neither of those things, the soldier gave them a little nod. "Seems like everything is in order here. Have a good evening."

****
Calysta took off the hat as soon as the ship was clear of the soldiers and sat down on the edge of the bed to gather her nerves again. They had been lucky no one recognized either of them or looked too hard into the ships records. And as much as it shocked her to say it, they were fortunate to have had Ayrn on board too. The man was a talker, and apparently someone semi-important to the Terrans judging by the way the men had deferred to him, though he had never said as much.

The power flickered again as the engines returned to life and Illya brushed past Ayrn as he walked toward the cockpit. The Terran almost looked a little offended and glared some at the Chip's retreating back with his arms

"What did I do this time?" he grumbled to Calysta, "He's been in a shitty mood all day and I just made sure he wasn't slapped into handcuffs, you know."

She rubbed her temples and sighed. Just a few days ago Illya was in such a good mood, even when he was in pain, but today he had been a tense mess. Not that the boarding party had helped, but they passed the inspection and out of danger for now. Maybe it was the stress of everything over the past months? Nuen, surgeries, learning so much and things changing. His life had been turned upside down as much as hers. Though, he had seemed okay up until now, perhaps it was all coming down on him at once. There was still the coffee theory too. "Don't worry about it," she replied eventually, "Thanks for helping us though."

Ayrn gave her a small smile and shrugged at her. "Eh, you can just pay me back with a steak dinner and we'll call it even."

Calysta let out a dry laugh, more from relief than amusement, as she stood up from the bed and started to follow Illya. She knew better than to ask if he was kidding.

****

Thomas zipped up his jacket and straightened his knee as he headed toward the hatch. It had been a long, stressful day and they were running low on food to cook. It was the middle of the night in the city though, and it wasn't likely they would find a decent grocery store on this side of the river, much less want to fix it up when they came back. He had volunteered to go get some meals and no one had any objections to it, none that were voiced anyways. Ayrn had even asked to come with him, stating he knew the best place to get a good meal to-go. As he rounded the corner to the ramp, he found Calysta standing with her arms crossed, looking out over the city.

"Not exactly how I imagined bringing you home to Earth," he said quietly, as he walked over to her.

He must have interrupted a thought, because it took her a moment reply. "It's different from Kaereal. It doesn't feel like home."

A moment of silence passed between them and Thomas stole a glance at her face. She didn't look at the city as if it were anything to her but another place to explore, or to learn. And why would she see it any differently? Perhaps he had made a mistake in staying on Kaereal for so long, and moved her here when she was finally well enough to travel. Then he might not have the woman standing beside him caught between so many worlds. "I want to show you something."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and lead her down the ramp some until the night sky was above them. The light pollution from the city and the passing ships made the stars hard to see, but his eyes were practiced at seeing the patterns after so many years. Pointing up to the stars, he showed her the pattern of Ursa Major. "It may not feel like home, but you've been here all along. See that's the bear constellation, the one the Greeks called Callisto. It's what you're named after."

She looked up into the sky and put a hand over his at her shoulder and squeezed. "I remember."

"You're as much Terran as you are Kaerelean, but it doesn't mean you have to choose between the two," Thomas said, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head, "Choose what makes you happy, no matter what that is."

"No matter what?" Her voice was skeptical at best as she let him hug her.

Thomas chuckled as he drew away. "No matter what....well, as long as its not actually becoming an inter-galatic criminal, or ignoring your old man."

****


Calysta stood at the edge of the ramp in the massive dock and watched her father and Ayrn scuttle off into the dark, her father looking a bit tired and Ayrn with a spring in his step. The city lights glimmered in front of them across the river in the night like the millions of stars in space, bustling with ships and small cruises on the land and in the air. Tiny snow flakes were flurrying on the wind and sticking to her hair as she crossed her arms. She wanted to go into the city right then and start looking, but her father informed her it was no place to be at night in certain areas and that they wouldn't have as much crowd cover. It was irritating to be left behind all the of the time or having to hide constantly. It simply wasn't how she liked to live and she couldn't imagine how Illya felt, being wanted by the federation all these years. A large shadow covered hers on the ramp, back lit from the interior of the ship as Illya came to stand behind her. "Well, we made it," she commented to him. A moment passed and she glanced back at him, noting he still looked grumpy. "We can start looking in the morning."

They finally landed though it was not a place that he wanted to be. Did every planet the Terrans enjoyed or inhabited was cold. Made him think they did little snow dances or had continually sought out the most miserable planets. It would be a decent form of defense if nobody else wanted the freezing lump. "Eh look for what?" Illya stared at her for a moment and then back to the gentle flow of snow underneath the street lamps.

Calysta sighed, her breath coming out in a long puff of steam which trailed out into the air. "For Carrie. For any of these anti-treaty faction rallies. Anything I can to clear my name or stop what's been happening. Terrans and Kaereleans have lived peacefully together for years and now even that relationship is strained because of the Cirellants and the peace talks failure." She tugged at her sleeves, pulling her fingers inside to hide them from the cold. "I don't want my people to go to war, the last one was many, many years ago, but it was devastating. I don't want the Terrans or your people to fight either."

After she answered with the obvious Illya felt a little dumb. Keeping his mouth shut he nodded and pretended that he had been thinking the same thing the entire time. It was when she mentioned the war that he ended up blurting his personal thoughts. "Not too worried about the Terran. They could all go to..." Suddenly he remembered that her father was Terran and he stopped. "Uh, they could go to a different planet far as I'm concerned. Get them resettled somewhere far away." That was as nice as he could think at the moment. Terrans were trouble and they had always been especially bad during the wars.

She frowned as his slip of the tongue caught her off guard and irritated her. He wouldn't change his mind over night, but it didn't mean she was going to endorse the thinking. Turning from the city and putting the cold wind to her back, she gazed up at Illya. He was so much taller than he normally was because he was standing higher up on the metal ramp." I worry about the Terrans as equally as my own," she replied , trying to keep her voice even, "Because there are innocent people who will suffer for a few terrible people. Terran. Kaerelean. Or otherwise."

"They always do and the innocent always will. Some things in life don't change." Illya looked down at her with an unapologetic expression. "If yah think Terran are too corrupt or complacent then yah should know it is only a matter of time till war comes to them or they make war. I don't feel bad for a people when they do it to themselves. The history is no different than any other peoples."

Calysta swallowed down the rising anger. He had his reasons for thinking that way, but it didn't make them any less right. "You're right. The history is no different from any other peoples. But an entire race of people shouldn't be judged or condemned for the actions of a few people, even if it is easier to think that way. "

Whenever he ended up speaking about other races it became difficult not to get heated a little bit himself. Illya narrowed his eyes and then turned. "I got oter tings ta do eh." It couldn't go anyplace good if they kept talking about this. "We need food and I take inventory now.'

Calysta caught his arm, quickly as he turned and shook her head. He wasn't going to walk away from her this time simply because the conversation got hard, even if she had to pull rank on him. "It can wait, Illya. This is more important, and its not something you can walk away from. "

Instinctively Illya started to pull his arm away from her. "No I can't walk away from all these races. Now they're thrust into Chippeqouti life, but we can ignore them."

When Illya pulled out of her grasp, she followed him inside, smacking the button to close the hatch behind them. She was going to make her point. "And how is that going to help if the Federation comes for you or your people Illya? You don't have to like everyone but there is value in having at least allies , if not friends, with other races. I know why you hate outsiders so much, but there are good people out there that are not Chippeqouti too."

There wasn't any ignoring Kalizda though he had originally intended to. The ship was small enough even if he locked himself away he would be able to hear her. Once he reached the kitchen Illya started to make note on a sheet of paper while he answered. "Chippeqouti do have allies, we have Ehaui." He was trying to avoid saying anything about the other half. There was no way she knew why he hated outsiders and he was going to leave that alone.

The fact that he was still attempting to ignore her made her anger flare and she slipped the paper out from his hand to get his attention, then looked him in the eyes. "That's not allies, that's an ally." He was giving her this look like he wished she would go away, and it made her even angrier. She wasn't going to go away any more than having to do with other races. " Illya, some things don't change, but the times and situations have. There are good people out there that are not Chippeqouti, it's hard to believe it and you don't want to think that there might be."

Kalizda's face lit up with a red fury as she stepped into his line of vision and he scowled at her. The Chip didn't like having her in his face and he gently put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back a little. "Yah keep saying that and I don't meet any yet except yah." She was generally an exception in almost every way. "Kalizda yah don't understand until yah live through war eh? Maybe yah just let meh be? I change meh mind when the time is right."

He was trying to write what she was saying off, and to get away from what she was trying to say. His experience may have been limited but her father and Henaiah were good people. Even Ayrn, as useless and idiotic as he could be, was generally harmless. "No, I haven't been to war, but that doesn't mean I don't understand some things. One thing I do understand is you won't change your mind about anyone at all, even if the "time is right" unless you're willing to see past the anger that you have now. The anger over the war with the federation and what they did to your people and your family." At the last statement, she realized what had come out of her mouth in a flurry of heated words.

Swallowing he pointed toward her forehead with one hand. "Yah talk to meh about this some other time."

His tan hand was pointing at her forehead, and he glowering at her in a way she had never seen before. Guilt twinged under the anger and her throat tightened some as she reached up to his hand and curled her shaking fingers around them gently. "What if there isn't another time, Illya?"

"Then I miss a chance eh." Growling a little he shook his head. "I have enough for a day."

Calsyta let go of his hand and her eyes fell from his. She hadn't intended on becoming so angry or hurting him, but she had. These were things he would have to face and if he couldn't talk to her, of all people, she didn't know what else to do. "I wish you would talk to me, but alright. Good night." Then she turned on her heels and went to the the bunk room, leaving him to the needless inventory.

She changed into her shorts and t-shirt before sitting down on Illya's bunk below hers. There was a dent in the panel where he had hit his head and she grimaced at the sight. Had she been unreasonable?

No, these were things he needed to understand even if they were hard. It had probably not been the best time to pursue the subject though, and that was her fault. So was blurting out about his family. He had shut down on her so quickly when she said it. On one hand, she couldn't blame him for it, but on the other, it made her sad to think he wouldn't trust her enough to talk about them. A few tears formed and she sniffled, causing Keysha to tilt her head then inch over to her on the bed. The cat nudged her big, pink nose over Calysta's hand, rubbing her white whiskers against her knuckles before plopping unceremoniously into her lap. "Yeah, I know Keysha." Leaning her head back against the panels, she closed her eyes and stroked the cat between the ears until her mind drifted too far from consciousness to continue.

 

[Silence]

Illya stood near the door way ready to bust the first head that came though, especially if they didn't look friendly. Instead he was surprised to find himself faced with a completely incompetent and stupid Terran. The man didn't know how to make a check and he didn't even hold the weapon strapped to the front of himself. Did they really expect that an entire ship would cooperate if they were all this stupid? Almost dumbfounded he grunted an 'Aye' and then watched as they began to question Kalizda. She needed to stay silent and so did he. Speaking could be dangerous with his accent if they had any recording devices on. What if they were looking for him and they needed a voice sample to run against records? Not that he knew of any recordings of his voice that the Federation had obtained, but there were always unknown elements and he hated to take a chance. Then again it was a hope that he was long forgotten by the Federation.

A nudge from Kalizda hadn't been enough to draw his eyes away from the men milling about the room and digging through their stuff. It was infuriating at the least for them to feel so free. He wasn't their prisoner and he didn't want them to touch his things. They were filthy Terrans and they insisted on putting their grubby hands all over his jacket and spare clothes. A scanning machine would have been just as effective and yet they were determined to do this in the most intrusive and archaic manner possible. Chippeqouti only made this kind of search when it was necessary, if they intended to keep the goods, or if they were wanting to disgrace someone. A second nudge got his attention and he briefly looked at the men as they loomed ever closer.

If they could give some room he would have felt a little better. As it was Illya had an intense urge to reach up and bust the dumb heads of the two nearest dumb heads together. Pushing all those rising feelings of hatred aside he scrolled through the options. Squinting at the screen he did his best to narrow his gaze only to the tablet. The questions were rather generic. Name: Elijah Standinghorse. Job On-board; Cook. Nationality: Unknown. Illya figured it was safest to write down that he didn't know. Otherwise naming a planet would garner far too many problems. They would know about all the planets he remembered from the journey and he was obviously not native from any of those and then he was going to get in trouble of he named any of the old quadrant planets he knew. It was better not to use Nuen either, because if he got in any trouble and they traced the record the Federation would know about the Chippeqouti. Her government could't fight a group they didn't know about and neither could they do anything if these companies came to Nuen claiming to trade.

As the men finished up their search Illya continued to watch them with a suspicious glare. It wasn't till after they were gone that left the room. Right now he wanted to ensure that he could properly defend the ship with a few makeshift weapons. These men were the most illiterate soldiers he had seen in decades. Terrans must have been the race of soldiers all those years ago during the war that he had at times felt bad for. Weak, poorly trained, almost entirely reliant on their equipment, and mostly stupid. They were easily slaughtered and often times thought that the sheer mass of them would be enough.

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

Illya had cooked a meal and spent most of his time brooding over the war. The ship was thankfully quiet, but there was an occasional flash of memory that soured his mood. He hated it when something like this triggered memories. For the most part he tried to stay as far away from that part of his mind as possible and yet, here he was. It was only worse after he finished clearing the table and washing the dishes that there was a draft in the ship. Limping out toward the drafty part of the ship he found himself staring at snow and Kalizda. Snow, of course there was snow. Terran's loved everything just as distasteful as they were.

The chat with Kalizda quickly became infuriating and especially difficult after she mentioned his family. She didn't understand. There wasn't a way to understand something like this unless you experienced. She might have known, but he didn't know how that was possible. Yvonne would have never told her. Nobody talked about it because they knew it wasn't Chippeqouti way and they knew he found it to be an impossible subject. When her fingers wrapped over his, he stared at her without softening his gaze though he let her lower his hand. He had purposefully pushed her away from himself because he knew he was becoming unreasonable and he didn't want to do anything drastic.

After she left Illya lowered his head and stared at the counter and the list. He didn't honestly need that much for the inventory, but he needed some time to cool down. When he pulled the cabinet door open his eyes widened. This was one of the few that he hadn't needed to access while he was busy cooking dinner tonight, but her father and Ayrn made a mess. There was spilled brown syrup along the edge of the second shelf, flower sprinkled inside and a dusting of salt stuck to the brown syrup. Maybe it was suger, but Illya was finding himself frustrated. How could they choose to live in such messes? With a little extra cleaning there was time to sort through the entire mess of a conversation with Kalizda.

A feeling of guilt started to creep through his bones. Illya knew that he had reacted rather badly and he knew that he would eventually have to tell her. It was probably best to say something before they were fully agreed. Wasn't quite fair to leave her wondering all the time what happened and where she fit in. At the same time he was worried that she wouldn't want him after she knew.

Setting his jaw Illya determined that the best thing to do was to simply tell her. She needed to know. Giving one last swipe over the table with the rag he then draped it over the sink and then folded the rag neatly over the edge of the faucet. At least it would drip dry there without getting moldy smelling. Walking down the corridor Illya glanced at his list of supplies that he needed before stuffing it back into his pocket. Stepping into the bunk room he saw that Kalizda was dozing on his bed with the cat. It was too early to sleep and she would be up all night if he let her sleep right now. Kneeling next to the bed he set a hand on her knee. "Kalizda, wake up eh?"

Calysta felt something heavy and warm settle over her knee and her fingers twitched over Keysha's fur, waking her up slightly. Maybe the cat was shifting or wanted up? She moved her hand, to let her pet go when the sound of her name made her open her eyes. Illya was kneeling in front of her with a set jaw and she remembered it was his bunk that she was occupying. "Hmm? Oh, sorry. Need your bunk?" she mumbled sleepily.

"No, yah need to wake up. Not late enough to sleep yet." Rolling back from the ball of his feet to the heel he stood and then slumped so he could sit next to her. The cat gave him a weary gaze as if she was accusing him of being erratic in behavior. Keysha was at times strange. Reaching across the bed and in front of Kalizda he scratched the cat under her chin. Lifting her head in the air Keysha began purring and moved her head to the side in an attempt to redirect the scratching. Illya brought his hand back after a few moment and then met Kalizda's gaze again. "Yah right. I need to be able to talk to yah. Ask whatever yah want to know and I'll answer yah best I can."

She didn't even remember falling asleep, but it happened sometimes when she came down from stress. Illya sat next to her and began petting Keysha who was more than happy to let him, sitting a big paw on his leg to inch closer. Her brain was still a little fuzzy, but hearing she was right was not what she expected. Lifting her head fro m the wall, she gazed over at Illya, searching his face. His jaw was still set in stone, but he didn't sound as angry as before.What did she want to know? Everything, really, but that would be too much to simply ask in one go. "Will you tell me about them? What was her name?"

Illya knew that she would want to know about his family and as for which her she was referring to he could only guess. "I tell yah about them den." Taking a deep breath he leaned against the wall and let the cat crawl onto his lap. Keysha set her two front paws on his chest and almost touched noses with him while he scratched her under the chin a little more. "Isla was meh agreed woman's name. She grew up only a few houses over from meh. I would go mess up her games when I was little and slurp her tea as loudly as possible. Eh, decided I liked her when I was about 13. Started to shape up a little. By den meh father had been training meh to take his place for 6 years. Asked her a year later ta wait for meh. Isla was 3 years older and I wanted her to wait to choose till I was old enough." It was easier not to look at Kalizda when he was talking about these sort of things, but he chanced a quick look at her. "Isla waited, but with condition I would prove I could be a man and not a boy. Worked very hard and at 17 I reminded her of her promise to wait and den she waited for many more weeks before she asked meh." Stopping there for a moment he continued to pet the cat. It was difficult to get it all out at one time though he had managed to keep his voice steady.

Calysta kept quiet while he talked, her fingers grazing the fur Keysha's back. Illya had grown up with his Isla, loving her since he was a boy, and then for a hundred years after that. She had known they were together for a long time, but had no idea their affection stemmed even from childhood and he had broken the rules for Isla. She could hardly imagine Illya with the unsettled ways of a teen and being married at the same time. "Isla sounds like she was a bright woman and like she loved you very much to wait for you. You were agreed at 17 and then?

In some ways the part he just told her was the best of his life. Nodding in response to her question he continued. It was the only way he knew how to get it all out without shutting off. "I train very hard because of much trouble forming with Federation. Isla wanted a baby soon so we work very hard to have baby. We were lucky. Only two years and we have a baby. She look like her mother. Lahna had dark curls and she a softer caramel color with blue eyes. Even when she was tiny Lahna would smile and giggle when I come home." Almost choking on the words he continued. "Den da war. I sign up at 20. Chippeqouti would excuse meh till I was 50 if I wanted. Isla agreed we already had a child and it was good for meh to serve in war. We take prisoners and have no place to put them all. Some were quiet and we put dem in homes and let dem work for us during war. Things started happening and we put prisoners back in jails that are overcrowded until I get message one day meh Lahna was sick." Despite his best effort not to show emotion the Chippeqouti felt a hot tear begin to trickle down his face. Wiping it away he continued. "Prisoner in meh home, that we fed and gave bed to poisoned her and Isla. Isla only felt a little sick, but Lahna could barely whimper. She arch her back when I try to hold her. Lahna got bone rot and she bleed from her eyes, nose, ears, and toward end her skin leak blood to. I give her back to Isla and den do what needed to be done. I order all prisoners killed. Some men refuse so I kill many more mehself. We take no more prisoners after dat. Lahna die onleh a few days later and she was almost 3. Isla and I agree dat I finish dah war. Den yah know what happened to meh. She take care of meh for many years. I was cripple for 50 years before I walk again with cane. Poison had started rapid deterioration of Isla's body and she got old much faster. When I get healthy enough she show meh how to take care mehself and I start taking care of her to. We never have anymore children then I release her ashes a little more than a year ago."

Lahna. Her chest ached as the images she had seen on Qouti came rushing back. The pretty little girl with the curls and beautiful eyes, looking like her mother as she bounced around the room...then sick with blood trickling from her eyes. Then soldiers being executed while other Chippeqouti jeered and protested. Illya standing over the outsiders looking so strangely cold because his heart was gone with his daughter. What happened would be enough to drive someone mad and ingrain the stain of hate in a man so deeply it would be a spot on his mind perhaps forever. It wasn't fair to a gentle soul like Illya's. The tightness crept it's way to her throat and she sniffled. What could she possibly have to say to this? Nothing that could be productive or give any sort of comfort. Instead, she found herself doing something she rarely did for anyone at all. Shifting on the bed, she turned and hugged him around the neck as tight as she could. His chin was heavy on her shoulder, but she didn't care as her elbows curled onto his and she closed her eyes, just trying to tell him something, anything that her words couldn't.

Wrapping an arm over Kalizda he felt her tiny sharp chin digging into his shoulder. The Chip reached up to wipe one last tear away and remained silent. There wasn't anything to say about it. After a long moment he figured that he should be getting himself back on track with business. "Kalizda I love yah. Maybe it makes sense, Isla was meh first love and dat doesn't change, but I love yah for who yah are."

Wrapping an arm over Kalizda he felt her tiny sharp chin digging into his shoulder. The Chip reached up to wipe one last tear away and remained silent. There wasn't anything to say about it. After a long moment he figured that he should be getting himself back on track with business. "Kalizda I love yah. Maybe it makes sense, Isla was meh first love and dat doesn't change, but I love yah for who yah are."

His voice was a little gravelly, but there it was. Those words which were so foreign to her, but coming from him, felt right, She had trusted him with her ship, her life, and even her father's life and now she would trust him with one thing more, though she had been fighting it and in someways avoiding it. She wasn't a replacement, and he never expected her to be. His arm over her made her feel brave though, bracing her against the fear, and suddenly it seemed very important that he knew. Her grip tightened a little and she nodded, wiping at her wet eyes. "I-I love you too, Illya."

Illya stiffened slightly as the little woman practically smothered him. The cat in addition to her was almost stifling, but at the same time it was comforting. Why women had that ability he would never know. Both of them sat on the bed for a while before he carefully sat up. "We need to get yah in yah own bed eh?" He didn't need her dad to walk in on them like this.

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

The next morning there was a bright light streaming through the window. It was nice and warm in the ship. Illya rolled over in his bed. He felt somewhat better, but he still felt somewhat odd after telling Kalizda. He hadn't spoke that much about it in years. Even Isla and he hadn't spoke about their daughter after she passed away. If he didn't know better Illya would have thought that it was a good thing. Chippeqouti didn't talk about these things. He wasn't on Nuen and that meant that he needed to adopt some other customs. She was of course not Chippeqouti by birth so there were a few things that he had to do differently. Didn't mean that it was better though he wondered sometimes if some of her ways were better.

Pulling his pants on Illya shuffled into the kitchen. They would probably like something that was Terran food. Just for Kalizda he was going to attempt extending a sort of peaceful gesture. What could be more peaceful than cooking a food that they would recognize? Flipping through a search he put into the pad Illya came upon something he figured looked easy enough to make. Pancakes were a simple breakfast fry bread of sorts. It was served with the sweet nectar that they loved so much and Ayrn was constantly dumping on his breads. They were practically swimming in it. In part it explained why the man was fat and lazy like a bear before hibernation.

Illya whipped up the batter and he went back to the room to grab his shirt before cooking anything more. Dumping the first cup into the griddle he realized that it was probably too big. The pancake batter spread out over half the pan. Rather than taking on the nice round shape it was shaped more like a headstone. The one part had run into the edges of the square electric pan and the other part rounded where it didn't quite reach the other end. With a grunt he watched bread for a moment and then re-read the recipe. Surely they couldn't mean to have the bread cook like this? It needed to have a covering and then it would brown nicely on both sides. Grabbing the lid he placed it over the top and decided to leave it for a few minutes. While he collected a few fruits from the fridge to serve with the pancakes a horrible burnt smell rose.

Pulling the lid off the pan he noticed that the one side was still raw. Re-reading the directions he grumbled under his breath. "Of course yah flip the flat bread." Now that the pancake was stuck to the pan he had to scrape it out and he dumped it into the garbage can. The next one looked much better and he put the lid over it during the cooking for the first and then second side. When it was done it was a sickly color and still not the healthy brown. Picking up the soggy bread he gave it a try and swallowed the slimy batter. With a frustrated growl he tapped in a query on the search engine to see if pancakes were supposed to brown without the lid. It seemed they were supposed to. The third pancake turned out much better. Since he didn't figure they would be a heavy food Illya fixed almost an entire roaster pan stacked to the top. It filled the center of the table and then he had a large bowl of fruit and bowls of the syrup with spoons in it. He figured that a spoon to drizzle the syrup over the pancake would be better.

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

After breakfast was cleaned up Illya started for the doorway with Kalizda. He had another tooth that was trying to come loose. Standing near the edge of the ramp he wiggled the eyetooth a few times and then pushed it till he could take hold of it. Pulling the tooth out he threw it aside and wiped his fingers off on the side of his pants. "Alright now we go out eh?" Shoving the gloves back onto his hands he shivered a little. The cold was miserable.

Working the spot where he lost his tooth he glanced behind himself at her dad. "Yah coming?" Thomas was standing behind them and he noticed the man look at the tooth a few times. "I get more. Chippeqouti have 7 sets of teeth if dey live long enough."

Illya hadn't expected the streets to be so full of people. He'd always thought that a cold place would have fewer people. While there were thousands of buildings he had assumed that maybe some of them were work houses or something. The Chippeqouti glanced around the street and started slowly into the waves of people. People bustling all around him was almost more than he could bear. After nearly half hour of it he put his arms out and yelled. "Move." At least his size came into use and he had more space to move with Kalizda rather than wading through the crowds. People around here were just rude and he hated how they pushed and shoved so much. Kalizda had been about trampled a few times and it was all he could do to keep her in his sites. Now however, it was better. Wide eyed Terrans gave him a good berth as he walked through the streets with Kalizda. Some of the children pointed to him and began whispering to their mother. The woman tried to make a quick hushed comment that it was rude to stare. It only made Illya want to grin. They paid attention to some very strange rules. He didn't care if they stared for the sake that he was strange. Only cared if they stared because they knew who he was. There was a certain risk with yelling since it drew attention, but he was glad he did. At least navigating the city was manageable now.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta woke to the bright sun filtering in through the steamed up window of their quarters and the smell of something sweet cooking in the kitchen. Was it morning already? Yawning, she poked her head over the edge of the bunk to find that Illya was up but her father and Ayrn were still snoring away. The former stowaway was sprawled out with his eye patch clutched in his hand which was dangling over the side of his bunk, while her father was out cold in the same way he always slept. Arms folded behind his head.

She padded down the ladder and snagged up her clothes before heading to the shower. At least in port they weren't limited on their water supply and she could stay in the near scalding water as long was she wanted. It wouldn't hurt to get a few extra minutes of warmth in since they would be walking through New York in what seemed to be the Terran winter.

The conversation last night felt like a strange, blurry dream with so much coming into the open. Despite how serious things had become last night and how difficult the task ahead of them would be, she felt...lighter. A tune came to her mind, and she started humming a little song that had been popular when she was a child on Kaereal. The Flyer in the Light. Singing had never been her forte, but humming along did the trick whenever the urge to belt out a few notes struck. When the hot water began to grow luke warm, she shut it off and dressed in stiff Terran jeans again, tucking them into her boots, then slipped on the thermal shirt before wandering into the kitchen. Illya was there setting a bowl of syrup next to an entire roasting pan full of...pancakes? A lot of pancakes.

"Morning." He had a little pancake batter on his knuckles, and he was looking at her as if waiting to see what she would say. How did he know how to cook pancakes? Her eyes caught briefly on a pad propped against the back -splash at the counter as he replied and she smiled softly. "I didn't know you knew how to cook pancakes. They look great."

As she sat down in the booth and put two of the fluffy pancakes on a plate with a little pat of butter, she caught Illya's gaze and saw that he had a pleased sort of half smile on in his lips. The look passed between them, a her smile grew as she took a bite of the Terran breakfast. He started to make his own plate when Ayrn peeped into kitchen looking half asleep until his eye landed on the table. A grin spread over his face and he slipped into the booth next to Calysta looking ravenously down at the stacks of golden cakes. He stabbed at them until he built a good pile and then drowned them in a healthy portion of syrup, adding a few pieces of fruit as a side note. "So, what's on the agenda for today, huh?"

****

Thomas stepped out on to the ramp, shivering a little against the February cold. Calysta had walked out ahead of him in her coat zipped up to the top and her hands stuffed into her pockets. The jacket she had on wasn't nearly enough, in his opinion. She had no idea how cold the north east of this continent could get in winter and a scarf around her neck to keep the wind off her chest would have been best, but they hadn't exactly packed for a this cold of an excursion.

Illya followed after her, clomping down the ramp and already looking a bit miserable too. He understood the pain in part. His own cold, metal knee was already started to feel stiff, but there seemed to be something else wrong with the man. The tall Chip was digging around in his mouth with a determined look, then suddenly jumped as he jerked something out. Maybe it was a piece of steak from last night stuck between his teeth?

Thomas watched he flicked as something into the dirty snow at the foot of the ramp, making a dot of red in the grey slush. That was not steak. Peering closer, he realized there was a pearly tooth with a bloody spot of pulp sitting on the ground and it had just come from Illya's mouth. He had just ripped out his own tooth as if it were nothing and was standing there looking at him expectantly. "Yah coming? I get more. Chippeqouti have 7 sets of teeth if dey live long enough."

"Oh, uh. I see," was all he could manage to say before rubbing his tongue over his own teeth protectively. It made sense when he thought about how long the Chippeqouti lived, and how rough they tended to be in just about everything they did. It must be convenient for Illya to know that if he got hit hard enough to lose a tooth it would grow back. Eventually.

****

They took a transport across the icy river to the main part of the city. The air closer to the water was bitterly cold and Illya had kept square to the middle of the lobby, far from any edges and the warmest place possible. She went to the rails to get a closer look for a few minutes. Illya protested, but she stated she wouldn't be so far away.

Leaning against the frosted metal rail, she gazed at the city against the wind as it drew closer. In a way, it reminded her a bit of the G'koe hub, the people were milling around like thousands of ants through the boroughs and impossibly tall buildings. They called their buildings "skyscrapers" and for good reason it seemed. With the thick blanket of snow clouds settled over head, the tips of many buildings were shrouded in a grey, swirling mist.

When they made it into the docking station, it was as if someone flipped a switch on the travelers with them. They bustled off of the deck, pushing her, Illya, and her father along into the foot traffic. Some of them wouldn't even wait for her to step onto the curb, before stepping on her boot heels.

The further into the city grid, the worse the pedestrians and the drivers in small personal transports became. The Terrans fussed and honked at them viciously when they tried to cross the streets. People pressed in everywhere, bumping past her and in some cases almost knocking her over. How was she supposed to keep going with the flow of traffic if they constantly kept running her over? It wasn't like she was moving at a snails pace. One man in a Terran suit and long coat with a phone pushed against his ear clipped her knee with his brief case, and then continued to shove his way past to the cross walk, as if it were her fault. "Move, willya? Damned tourists."

As they merged into a street so full of people it looked like a sea of color, Illya lost his patience and yelled over the crowd to move. She winced a little as his voiced echoed through the streets, but much to her relief the people moved away from them, giving them space to breathe. It brought attention to them, and people started to whisper as they walked. She didn't care so much about the whispers, but it did make her worry that someone would recognize them. At least now they could walk side by side without people splitting them apart or running them over. How would they ever find anything in such a place? There was so much going on between the tall buildings it was impossible to tell the people apart as anything but a rolling mass.

They passed few street performers, ones serenading the girls who walked by with winks and a few strums on their instruments, or performing magic tricks. At one cross walk, a lean man with a winning smile reached over and pretended to pull a coin out of Illya's ear, before tossing it to Calysta. "Penny for his thoughts," the magician chuckled. Illya looked slightly confused and Thomas sighed, tossing the performer a few credits before the light turned green.

Turning onto another street they came by a large building with pretty colors painted onto large uniquely shaped windows. Bells were chiming from the tower above as several people wandered up the stone steps, but not nearly as many people cluttering the streets. She had seen the buildings in books before and glanced back to see her father gazing up to the tall spires as if they were some long lost piece of treasure. "A church?"

His eyes returned to the streets and he nodded. "Aye, a big one. A cathedral."

A man with a heavy coat stood on the lower steps, speaking out bits and pieces of words she recognized from the Bible. "Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth! Cirellants draw blood and so must we, friends! "

He avoided Illya as they passed, but shoved a flyer in to her father's hand, making the professor scowl. "You're misquoting. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

"You wouldn't be saying that, if it was your children they ate, old man," the Terran retorted.

Her father started to crumble up the paper but then paused. "Hey you two, look at this."

Calysta paused and turned back to read the paper. It was printed in Terran, so she read it aloud for Illya too. " The Faction. Join us in protest to the Kaerelean broken alliance on Broadway at noon. Do your part to protect Terran homes and colonies." The same insignia Carrie had tattooed behind her ear sat at the top in black, bold ink. The words made her heart sink to her toes a little.

"Dad, the Kaerleans haven't broken faith with the Terrans," she said firmly.

He held up his hand, telling her to speak quieter, his eyes shifting around the streets, before coming back to hers. "We know that, but this is what the Faction has been saying since the Kaerealean government has tried to push peace. It's been coming in from both sides, Calysta. They think that if they go to war they can wipe out the bugs like an exterminator and everything would be fine. They don't have the numbers of course, and many more would die. "

She worked her jaw, and took the paper from her father, shoving into her pocket. The Kaerelean government was trying to keep the peace to avoid more bloodshed and yet they get defamed by this Faction, which was apparently made of both Kaereleans and Terrans. Would finding who killed the Cirellant diplomat even make a difference now? "Lets go to this Broadway street then, maybe we will find something."

****
The crowd gathered on Broadway was thick as the large snow flakes raining down their heads. There wasn't a spare inch of sidewalk or road to use unless someone in front of you shuffled out of the way, filling another space. All of them wore heavy coats and many of them shook their fists or held up signs sporting the V2 insignia she kept seeing everywhere. Chanters were yelling as the people ambled toward a large screen mounted on the side of the one of the buildings. "Kaerelean, liars! Cirellant scum!"

Hearing them made Calysta shift uneasily on her feet and her hands clench into tight fists, but for a different reason. Even though she looked like one of them right now, it made her want to correct them all. Tell them that peace would be better forever one involved. That would be stupid though, and she kept jaw tight as her eyes scanned what little view she had. Police with shields and helmets lined the streets on either side, trying to keep the protesters from spreading out too far with their rally.

The large screen flickered to life as a man appeared on the screen. He was in a blue, Terran suit and sported light blonde hair with reddish beard. Behind him was a grey landscape with what appeared to be burned ruins of buildings. The man looked very familiar. He had the same nose and crooked smile as his father. "Ayrn?"

"Ladies and Gentleman I am, William Yarbrough, owner of Yarbrough industries, coming to you live from Veyna 4..."

The crowd became too loud for her to hear some of what he said. The sound coming from these people was a thunderous, angry roar. "We have played along at peace for long enough...this sort of destruction will happen again...waste of time...the Kaerelean government breaks their treaty by continuing talks after we call for them to arms. By standing here today, you make them see their error...here to protect your homes, your families, your businesses. The Cirellants will come again...just as they did at the simple memorial..."

At this point the crowd had grown wild, jeering the name "Cirellant" and "Kaerelean" as the surged forward. "Murderers!" "Cannibals!"

A loud popping sound snapped through the air and everything fell apart. People ran screaming, pushing into her, as the police didn't hesitate. Canisters of gas tumbled between her feet and the air became so thick it was impossible to see. Slammed on the right side, by a woman screaming and then shoved forward into the back of another man, she stumble out of the way, forcing out her elbows to combat the crowd.

More tatting of gunfire shredded through the screams and she ducked, only to find that ducking wasn't a good idea. So many people running and shoving in panic made covering from the unknown attack impossible. They needed to get out of there, but which way was out? The gas was burning her eyes and Illya's tall for had been lost to the watery haze. Where were they?!

"Illya!? Dad?!"

****
Thomas ducked at the sound of the first gunfire and looked up to see Calysta gone as the crowd exploded into a frenzy. Illya was already looking for her as people broke against him like a sea on a cliff. "Calysta?!" His eyes swept over the chaos, until he caught sight of a head of thick black hair headed toward the police line. "Illya there!"

He pointed desperately as he was shoved by a man with a picket sign. Thomas tossed him off by the shirt collar and kept trying to direct the Chip, who was scrambling around madly in the thickening smoke, trying to wade through the people. "There!"

Thomas coughed against the burn in his lungs, unable to shout at directions anymore. Could Illya get to her before she got swept up into the stampede? The tall man grabbed Calysta by the arm and she whipped around. It wasn't her, but he recognized the woman instantly. She looked just like his daughter.

The copy cat stared back at Illya with steely grey eyes framed by glossy, black tendrils of hair tinged with a touch of grey at the roots near her ears. "Who'th 'ell er you?" she growled, in a heavy Kaerelean accent, "Leggo!"

 

[Silence]

The city was not much better even when they did have room. Illya wandered through the streets. Tensions seemed to build with each corner till they came to what appeared to be a riot in the forming. Gently touching Kalizda's elbow he leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Maybe..." Before he could finish the crowd began to roar. What the people were protesting wasn't so unreasonable. However, Illya was disgusted with the display. People unhappy with their leader's choices shouldn't stand in the streets and turn into a mob. There were better ways to get results. The best way he knew how was to simply remove those from power and if they refused through the usual method you found a way to depose them by force.

Instead the people's chant showed how primitive their methods truly were. No wonder they had a horrible government. If they had learned from the Chippeqouti they would have been able to make a better deal. Chippeqouti had joined this government under terms of their own making because they knew what they wanted and they told the government. Now all they had to do was live up to their end of the deal. It was no problem for the Chippeqouti, but he was concerned for this government. What if these people had tried to live up to their deal but had been abused by the government. Even if that had happened they should have simply deposed of their leaders and put in those that would listen to them.

Kalizda's elbow slipped from his hand as she was drawn into the crowd. Momentarily Illya let her out of his sight due to an odd clink. Standing to his full height he peered over the heads of those in the crowd. The Chip frowned as he saw bobbing figures with shields. It only took him a few seconds to recognize that they were about to be surrounded by the police. Immediately he whipped his head around to look for Kalizda and instead he found Thomas was perhaps the only one that was close. "We need to find Kalizda." He couldn't leave her here no matter how badly he wanted to run. "Kalizda!" Yelling for her he started to scan the crowd. It used to be he could look for a gap and he would know it was just her short little frame that would fill the gap. It was different here. She was approximately the same height as so many others. "Kalizda!" Calling out again he started for the center toward her. A canister flew past his head and landed in the middle of the crowd. Dozens more flew into the center and a white smoke seemed to envelope everything.

People began screaming and scattering. Illya braced himself against the flow of people. "Kalizda!" Wading through those that he could he went wherever Thomas kept yelling at him to. One time it was left and the next it was right. Then he was going straight forward and he spotted the woman. Kalizda was right there. Illya lunged forward without a care for who got in his way. He was already having a hard time breathing and wherever he wasn't covered by his jacket the skin was burning. Through his teary eyes he could barely make out the shape of the woman's waist. Grabbing her around the waist he caught one of her fists as she hit him. "Eh yah jes hold on for a minute little bir...." Staring at the woman for a moment he frowned. "Yah not Kalizda."

A little irritated that the woman was being so troublesome he hauled her back to to Thomas. "Not Kalizda. Keep her here till I find her eh?" If Thomas couldn't hold one woman captive till Illya was done finding Kalizda then they were in trouble. Last thing he needed was to mistake the same woman for Kalizda more than once. Rushing back into the smoke Illya dug through those that were remaining. They were trying to keep down to avoid it like it was smoke. "Get up, ets not smoke." Tear gas was an aerosol and it worked slightly different. Pushing the lumps of people away he started coughing again. "Kalizda?" Calling out between the hacking coughs he finally heard a faint response. She was heading for the line of police. "No, not that way!" Despite the burning in his throat he was going to do his best to keep them out of trouble. Last thing Kalizda needed was to be arrested and identified.

Pushing a man aside with one hand Illya almost passed him and then he leaned forward as he started to hurl. Stumbling a few more steps forward he started to puke again. Resting a massive hand on who he was pretty positive was Kalizda he pulled her back. "Stay back." A billy club flew out and hit him in the ribs. He couldn't give himself away just yet, but he kept pushing the woman back behind himself. "Go back."

The line of police pushed forward the shields slammed into Illya and he lost his resolve to be cool. Whoever the woman was behind him wasn't getting far enough away to avoid getting arrested. Illya glanced behind himself. He could barely make out the dark little head and short frame. Grabbing one of the woman's hands he tucked it between his belt and pants in the back. "Hold on." Stepping forward he stepped on one officer's foot and then threw the rest of his weight into the shield. As the man fell back Illya half tripped over him. Taking a few running steps he felt a jerk on his belt, but at least he kept upright. Shoving through the police he almost made it out when he felt almost weightless. She wasn't holding onto his belt anymore.

Running back into the horde of officers Illya slammed into the police. He was still a little foggy. Another sharp hit with the club sent him to his knees. Grabbing his leg Illya growled and lunged forward against the many clubs. A hail of clubs kept beating down across his back and no matter how hard he pushed. Getting to the woman was almost impossible. Finally grabbing her, Illya tucked her to his chest and fell to his knees again. Wincing with every hit, and face still burning from the tear gas he tried to keep himself moving long enough to get out. Despite his best efforts the Chip began to fade. Things went to a dark fog and then he woke to an officer patting him down to check for weapons of any kind. He didn't carry anything on himself because he didn't need to. Groaning he struggled against the shackles around his wrist.

"No you don't." The officer pushed him down flat and set a knee across the back of Illya's shoulders. "Got to take you in and get you registered at the station."

Shifting on the ground Illya turned his head. All the muscles were aching and the cold was making his bones hurt too. He couldn't see where the woman was even when he shifted a few times. Suddenly the urge to puke began to crawl up the back of his throat and he fought against the officer pinning him to the ground. If he back wasn't so sore he might have been more effective. Instead Illya puked half on the pavement and the rest started to run back toward his face. Finally one of the policemen helped him off the ground. "Lets move." A nudge set Illya off balance and he weaved unevenly between the lines of police that were escorting him to wherever he was going to be held.

 

[aryamajor]

The world was a watery, burning mess. Tears rolled down her face as her skin prickled and her lungs screamed against the scorching chemicals gushing into the air. Breathing was out of the question. Each desperate gasp made it all the harder to yell or continue dodging the crowd. Holding her breath, she felt around the thick haze, trying to get her bearings. Over the screams there was the sound of boots and the crashing of bodies against something. The she heard her name. "Kalizda!"

"Illya?! Da-

The sharp breath between the names made her throat spasm and bile rose until she clutched her stomach threw it up over the asphalt. Someone shoved past her while she was bent over, making her stumble away in until something slammed into her shoulder. "Uhg!" Falling to the ground, she caught herself on her palms scraping the skin which immediately began to burn worse from the gas. She started hauling herself to her feet, only to be grabbed by the wrist and jerked up hard. "Let-" A violent, dry wretch was how the cry ended as her blistered throat gave up.

Wrenching her hand free, she started to run but was caught by a strike from a club to the back and again from the side. Gloved hands wrapped around her middle this time. Using all the weight and strength her body could muster, she ripped at the hands and bucked away, trying to hit anything and everything should could come into contact with. It wasn't her most graceful fight but she couldn't see anything but shadow or hear anything but dull thuds and piercing screams to do much else. If she was going down, she sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy on them. Hopefully it wasn't someone innocent, but she was too blinded to tell the difference.

She could hear her name being called again. Illya and her father were still out there. She couldn't have Illya being caught. If the Federation found him locked up they would kill him. "Run!!" she screamed hoarsely into the fog. Her fists flew, her punches making contact over someone close by. "Calm it down!" A club flashed out of the smoke and snapped over her right wrist with a singular pop. A sharp pain followed by a growing ache arched over her arm as her fingers felt numb. They wrangled her into a pair of cuffs, slapping the wristlet over her right arm and pressing it tight until it ached even more. Following it with her left hand, her captor forced her face into the ground, planting himself firmly on top of her. The sideways world from the pavement began to go spotty as blackness edged at her vision. Don't pass out.

"Up you go."

The officer picked her up by the elbows and as soon as his hand bumped her hand she yelped. It was probably broken, but she couldn't see it. All she could feel was the dull ache throbbing through her forearm and the cuffs starting to dig into the swelling skin. She was herded over to a police car with blinding lights and shoved into the back with two others. Panic was starting to come in now. What if they took Illya? Her father? What if they discovered who she was? Her burning mouth felt like a desert at the thought and she fought the urge to gag again.

It wasn't long before Calysta was sitting in a holding cell with dozens of others, trapped by a energy field. There was more shouting from the hallways as more teary-eyed rioters were hauled into the office and shoved into the small room. She sat on the floor, keeping her head down, and trying to use the inside of her jacket to wipe at her eyes with her good hand. A red ring was embedded into the puffy, bruised bone of her right wrist. A heavy mix of guilt and irritation hit her all at once. How had it come to this? She had just been standing there and then taken one step before all hell broke loose in the crowd. Had her father and Illya gotten away? She couldn't see much, but it was obvious that neither of them were in the same cell as her. If they were here, then they were in a different area. Hopefully, they were anywhere near the place. Prayer had never been something she really participated in, but if she ever had one worth sending up, it was that they were far away from the police.

The room was hot but it was hard to tell if that was the burning from the gas or the body heat. Tucking her head into her knees made it stifling, but it was better than exposing her face and being recognized by someone. Listening to the Terrans talk between their wheezing coughs was all she could do.

"They can't just let this go....How long with they hold us here?...Not very long..they can't till we're formally charged with something...Well worth it if we see some action done...Take matters into her our own hands like that Kaerelean woman. She was a half -breed rogue...not even associated with us according to Yarbrough.

Hearing them talk about her made the urge to hide grow with every word. She clasped her left arm over her head in a vain attempt to hide her hair until a blurry form came to the cell lock and barked at them. "Get up! All of you! Most of you will be processed and registered with charges of inciting riots and breaking the peace before being released." Then he pointed at several of them then his finger jabbed at her. "You. You. Yeah, and you too. Will be held for further questioning."

Murmurs broke out through the crowded room and she clenched her fist against the electric buzz of fear.

****

The people around her were crying or grumbling curses, talking in a mix of Terran and trade language, of sick Cirellants and the Terran government. "The Cirellants caused half of Veyna 4 to be abandoned. They just took it like they owned it....and they say they already claimed it. Bullshit....They'll do the same to every other planet.... Yarbrough won't stand for it, he's banding together the rest of the Terran mining companies and even shipping companies. ...Shame we have to get a businessman to do the government's job. ...They keep that up and Kaereal will have to make a move, they need the mines too. He'll be strong enough he won't need government support to protect the mines. At least he will get things done."

Instead of listening, her eyes settled on someone else. The man sat in the corner of their overcrowded holding cell looking the worse for wear. His green eyes were blood shot from the gas and he kept wincing as if he were in pain. Of course he had to be in pain. For whatever reason, the stranger had protected her. Not only had he steered her away from the police, but he had practically thrown himself on top of her, taking the dozens of club hits instead. It was insane, and brave through the tear gas mist. But why had he done it? He didn't look Terran or Kaerelean at all, but maybe he was still a supporter of the cause. Or maybe he had been looking for someone else. Either way she owed the man at least a thank you. Pushing past a few people who were sniffling and wiping at their eyes, she made her way over to him. When she came into his vision, he looked up at her with an odd expression, like she was the last thing he wanted to see. She tucked a strand her dark hair behind her ear and cleared her burnt throat.

"Hi."

The words came out like a grumble and she swallowed down some flem before trying again. "Hi, I... uh...Just wanted to say thank you for what you did. Are you okay?" Her traders tongue was passable, even with her harsh accent.

 

[Silence]

Shifting in the corner Illya Illya stared at the woman for a long moment. He wasn't sure if he should even venture so far as to speak. However, she had spoken to him. "I'll be fine." It was hard to hide the disappointment in his eyes and at the same time he felt better for it. If she wasn't here maybe Kalizda was safe. He could hope he had been a dunce and saved the wrong woman only to end in the jail cells anyway. So long as Kalizda was free.

She felt him looking her over and his shoulders sank a little, rather than seeming defensive he appeared more dissapointed. "I'm guessing you were trying to help someone else, but I grateful all the same. You took one hell of a beating for whoever it was. One that would turn most Terran's and Kaereleans into a bloody mess. You aren't from around here at all, but you came to the rally?"

"I cook for ship eh?" The Chip met her gaze again though he still had to blink frequently. His eyes were still dry feeling after the tear gas. "Got lost in da streets and found mehself in rally." That was a little more like what happened. They hadn't been looking for one as far as Illya was concerned. He wanted to find information in a quieter way. "Yah people make trouble in stupid way."

Seeing this broad man as a simple ship galley master was difficult, and man's accent wasn't one she recognized either, which made her all the more curious. Leaning against the plastic paneled wall, she slid her back down and plopped into the floor with a wince. "You think so? Nobody meant for a riot, but it seemed the only way to get the people in charge to listen. They're too busy trying to make peace with monsters to hear what other people know should be done. Doesn't that seem equally dumb?"

Shrugging he stared off toward the gate of his cell. "Yah find better ways to make em listen." A smirk came to his face. "Yah think talking like dat smart ere?" Last thing she needed was to get in more trouble or cause the guards to think she was conspiring. He had no desire to be considered one of the rioters and so it was far more simple to criticize than it was for him to agree on anything. "I stay out of yah people's business. I nut from ere and I tink maybe I shouldn't care what happen ere. I leave soon as I can and go somewhere wit more peace."

"We're already in trouble for using our voices, so why not talk?" She replied giving him an unconcerned look. "And maybe you shouldn't care, but no matter where you are, peace doesn't last forever. The Cirellants have already taken my home, what's to say yours is safe in the future? They should pay for the damage they've done and brought low enough to keep it from happening to anyone else. At least that's what the Faction thinks. Even the company who owns the mines supports us."

Seemed the woman was of the same mind set that had his people nearly destroyed and he almost felt bad for the Cirrellants because he had yet to hear their side of the story. "So yah bring em down and den what?" Sitting up he felt a fire come to his eyes. "Do yah know what da company tinks? They save yah?" Gazing fiercely into her eyes he waited for some kind of answer.

The man suddenly grew defensive again and she raised a brow at him. "We get our homes and livelihoods back on Veyna 4. That was all my husband and I ever wanted was to work in peace. He was in the ore mines when they came and didn't come back. William Yarbrough, the owner of the mine along with some of the other owners are trying to rally fight for our homes rather than rolling over and letting the Cirellants keep what they stole."

"Yah story is sad. I ave no love for yah kind. Tell et to yah leaders. If yah have such noble men ta lead yah they'll care." Snorting a little he looked back toward the entry of their cell. "Maybe yah mine owners love dere people, or do dey love da gold yah bring em with yah labor?" He was more than skeptical about her government and people. Illya couldn't help showing it. Their history was so short and full of greedy, war mongering, and filthy scum from the earth.

He was obviously cynical but by now she was used to people belittling and criticising their views. Turning away from him, she watched the others in their cell, milling around and whispering. "Maybe you're right, but you haven't seen the devastation the Cirellants brought and all because they wanted the iron mines. Too much competition with the Terrans and they strike out at innocent people," she replied, " You don't have to like my people to understand someone trying to protect their homes. Your people would do that too, I'm sure."

"Aye, I haven't seen what dey do." Illya would agree to that much. He could not with any certainty say what the Cirrellants had done to her home. "Ef meh people were attacked dey would not wait on a government to act. Yah do th-this in foolish way. Rally and protest." Almost chuckling he shook his head. "Did et do yah any good when yah little to rally against yah mum and dad? Government is like father and mother to people if dey are good. If government is no good yah have tyrant."

The man really didn't like her people, that much was clear, but he was still interesting to talk to. He seemed to see them as children, but it is his thinking that was simplistic in reality. "I rally and protest because I think "mom and dad" are wrong. I don't want to disrespect them by doing what I please without permission, like the Kaerelean woman did with that Cirellant diplomat. Even if he was a bug. An approved war is much more powerful. So, I tell the government the loudest way I know how."

Illya knew exactly who she was talking about when she said Kaerelean woman and he sharpened his gaze. "Yah tink government is tyrant, but yah readily accuse woman. Dey tell yah what proof dey have dat she did et? Yah trust everyting dey tell yah?" It was becoming more difficult to keep control of his accent. "I tink yah people are ignorant of better ways."

She sat up some at his quick answer and turned back to him. He sounded almost offended for the woman wanted for murder of the diplomat and her Terran copilot. "I don't think my government is a tyrant, just that on this decision, they are wrong. And if I trusted everything they told me, I wouldn't be sitting in a jail cell next to you. There was a lot of proof against that woman and she did run. If she was innocent, why not try to prove it by turning herself in?"

Shrugging a little he sighed. "Sometimes it doesn't matter ef yah innocent dey need a scapegoat." Adjusting a little where he was sitting he winced. Illya felt a very serious stinging sensation run along his back. "Yah get out of dis jail den and what yah do? Start another rally?"

The stranger made a valid point and she conceded to it with a single nod. "I'll keep protesting and rallying until we grow loud enough, have enough support to make the government change its mind and hopefully the Kaereleans too. They aren't all bad, but their government tries to avoid war, even when they shouldn't. Sometimes, you just have to fight. Until they change their minds, I do what I can to make our position heard. "

It was impossible not to laugh. Illya shook his head while he kept on chuckling until he couldn't breathe. "Yah have no creativity. Ets just pathetic, I can't help et. Never learn from yah mistakes. Remember yah people a long time ago and yah still protesting." Just as he thinking about shifting around a guard came into the cell. Pointing to Illya he motioned for him to stand. The Chippeqouti struggled to his feet and he limped toward the guard. Winking at the girl he chuckled again. "I won't see yah again. Maybe learn from yah mistakes."

Frowning, she shook her head at the man. He was arrogant and ignorant which was a dangerous combination in New York. And what exactly did he mean "from a long time ago?" Since it looked like he was on his way out she gave him a pointed. "Maybe not creative, but it has worked for issues in the past. Not all of us can take a beating like you. I do hope you find who you were really looking for in the crowd. It's a big city."

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

Illya was shuffled into another cell with the men and he sighed as they asked for his hand. "Sir we need you put your hand on this pad." Almost rolling his eyes he wandered over toward them and set his hand on the pad. Nothing came up and the man looked at him. "Sir what reason can you give me for being in the square this afternoon?"

"I came in on ship. Elijah Standinghorse. Wandering through da town and I came to busy street. Didn't know what was going on or what all dah people yelling about. Dey just start throwing dat gas and I get woman I thought was part of crew from meh ship. Instead I get beat up. Lemme go eh?" Illya looked at the officer as the man took down various notes. "Look meh name up. Came in on clean ship dis afternoon."

The officer reluctantly began to type in the name only because it seemed this man was adamant that he hadn't been part of the original trouble anyway. "Looks like your telling the truth. You get back to your ship and stay there for a good couple of days, stay out of trouble and then we'll know you're telling the truth." Taking Illya into the next room the guard nodded to the warden. "This one clears. Traveler in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's never even been here. Just a cook from some ship." Staring at the large framed man he couldn't help thinking that this one was perhaps a little big to be a cook, but you never knew. Sometimes the biggest and toughest looking guy wasn't quite the scrapper. Appearances were deceiving and if law taught you anything that was it.

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

Limping all the way back to the ship Illya would occasionally pause to either rub his leg or brace his back with his hands. It was hurting where they beat across the old incision marks. Of all things he hadn't expected that his back would still be sore. It hadn't been for weeks. In fact his back was one of the first things to heal up after having the rods and pins removed from it. Illya glanced up at the ship where it sat in the bay. Hopefully at least someone was in the ship. Stepping inside he gave a hearty yell. "Hallooo anyone here?"

Ayrn made a mad scramble at the sound of Illya's voice. The man would have a fit if he saw the popcorn bag sitting on the bunk. Shoving the rest of the popcorn into his mouth, he tossed the greasy bag into the trash bin beside the bed and dusted the crumbs before leaving the crews quarters with confident strides, as if he had been busy. "Oh hey, Illya...I thought you were with everyone else."

"Yah mean yah sit in here all dis time and do nothing?" Grumbling he reached behind himself and braced his back again. "Thomas or anyone check in yet?"

"I was cleaning for a bit," Ayrn defended, "I went and got groceries too." Illya didn't have to know exactly how much junk food he had bought in addition to food for dinner. It was strange that he was back here by himself though. He watched the Captain like she was some magic trick and would vanish into mid-air if he looked away too long. Not to mention he looked rough. "Thomas radioed a bit ago asking if you and the Captain had come back. But I haven't seen them or her. Just you."

Eyes widening some the Chip turned toward the wall and slammed it with one fist. "Damn it!" Stalking back toward the doorway of the ship he turned mid stride to look at Ayrn again. Illya pointed toward the Terran. "If Thomas or anyone comes back tell them I went to find her. Going to shred the whole city if I have to."

He held up his hands instinctively trying to calm the man down. He knew all to well what a pissed Illya could and would do. "Whoa, whoa! Did something happen?"

"All hell broke loose and I'm gonna set the devil himself aflame wit da rest of dem!" Throwing the comment over his shoulder the Chip started down the gang plank again. "Better be ready to move when I get back."

He wasn't technically captain, but he was the co-pilot and it sounded like they had found trouble. Something he was trying to avoid, particularly when it came to being on Terra. "Uh, Aye. But what if the Mr. Monroe isn't back when you get back?"

"Find a way to get a hold of im. Yah make yahself useful or I skin yah alive." Yelling from the base of the gang plank Illya began marching right back through the docking bay.

Ayrn watched the man go, and then started to get to work. He'd try radioing the old man first and then get to work warming up the engines. That would be the harder part, but if he didn't do it Illya would make good on his word, and if he did it wrong, Calysta will have his hide for ruining her engines anyways. His eye caught on the dent sunk into the wall from the man's fist. The captain would be the gentler option.

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

There was no time to waste. The longer they had Kalizda the more dangerous it would be for her that is if they had her. If they considered her an international criminal and they got to her processing then they would be moving her from the facility or at least isolating her until they could get her to a higher security facility. Not that Illya didn't think he couldn't get her out of something more secure, but this would be far easier to deal with. A local jail and probably local police that would be as ill trained as they come. If there was a time to have a gun this would have been a fantastic time. Instead he was going to have to do this job with his hands which was not always a happy thing. It would be good enough. Hopefully that accidental rescue was out of the way too. She really didn't need to see him come back. Then she would just think that he was a supporter that put on a different face. Nothing was worse than being praised as an underground operative when it was the furthest thing from the truth. At that point no matter how much he tried to deny it the woman wouldn't believe him. In the Chip's mind there was only one reason to go back. He needed to get Kalizda out.

Walking through the streets Illya figured that he would be fine. While he was tall and they took pictures before he left Illya was pretty sure the police had enough folks they were processing to keep them busy. None of them were going to be paying attention to folks that were obviously not carrying anything at all. He hadn't even so much as a coin in his pocket. Nothing to be afraid of if you were stupid.

As he rounded the corner to the jail the Chippeqouti started to think of ways that he could get in. After a moment he decided the best way was to simply walk in and say that he was here looking for someone. Seemed to be reasonable enough. Walking straight through the front doors he stepped to the front desk. "Meh friend, she was walking streets today. I hear about dis riot and I get worried. She's late. Can yah check for her name for meh? I pay bail or explain she was on her way to meet up with meh."

Looking up from her desk the woman behind the front desk nodded. "Sure." It wasn't such an uncommon event. "Name?"

If her cover wasn't blown yet he figured it would be best to use her fake name. "We jes met and..." The woman looked at him with an odd expression. One hand moved to her lap and underneath the desk. That was exactly what he needed to know. They knew who she was and that signal meant she was here. Even if they knew he was here to break her out it was too late. Still he needed to play it up. "Please I need to see ef's she's here."

"Do you know her real well?" A skeptical look came over the woman's face.

"Yeah." Nodding enthusiastically Illya went on till he was surrounded by the police. They stupidly escorted him right back toward a holding cell to be questioned. No doubt he was going to be put closer to their high security here. That meant he would be closer to getting her out. All while they thought these handcuffs would prevent him from doing damage. The whole way back Illya protested and started to revise his story like he was some common criminal. He caught one of the guards rolling their eyes. As a door opened he whipped around and kneed one man in the chest and slammed the female guard into the wall. Another yelled for him to freeze and Illya saw the outline of a gun. A smirk came to his face and he threw his weight on the last guard. Currents of electricity stung especially bad in his wrists, but he knew it would end soon enough.

Tearing the keys from the hands of one guard he started with taking the cuffs off and then working his way through the jail. "Kalizda!!" Beating on every door he worked his way through the corridor. Since the floor was beginning to flood with officers he raced end and shoved the key in a box then pulled the red lever down to release all the prisoners.

Illya started to jog down one flight of steps and ran into a guard coming up. Grabbing the man with one hand he lifted him off the ground, stole the keys, and then tossed him up the stairs. The Chippeqouti barreled down the remaining steps ignoring the guards that were trying to contain the situation and then released the next section. There was only one door that didn't open. Charging to the end of the hall he found that it was likely the room they were keeping Kalizda in. Illya looked around the prison for anything he could use to break through the cement or at least chip it. The best he could get was a metal bed frame. Darting into the nearest cell he bent a metal bed frame leg off and then began to slam it against the wall while scraping at the end with the sharp edges. "Kalizda be ready to run with meh."

After nearly 15 minutes sweat was pouring down Illya's face and he finished breaking a considerable sized hole through the wall before using the metal bed frame chunk to help pry the metal support bars apart so that she could climb through. "C'mon we don't have much time." Putting one large brown hand through the hole he offered it to Kalizda.

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

An emergency signal flashed through on the screen and a woman appeared. "There has been an unusual turn of events. After a riot this afternoon it seems there is a mysterious race that has become involved. The real question is how deep does this go?" Turning toward a man sitting across the table she began. "Professor Campbell, you've worked for the Luss Gold Company and Mines for nearly fifty years and you've reviewed many of the early documents in regards to the founding of these mines and company sites. Luss was one of the greatest adventurers and pioneers in the field. Tell me would you recognize this picture?" An image of Illya came up on the screen. It was slightly blurred, but it was unmistakably him.

The old man stared at the picture for a long moment. "It appears to be a Chippeqouti. The interesting thing about them is that they appear to be completely harmless, but they are incredibly dangerous. Most of the early writings spoke about a violent nature. These uprisings could simply be another way for them to try and reassert their power through chaos."

"So are you suggesting that they would support the riots?"

"No not at all." The man held up his hands and shook his head. "They support the confusion. What we need is unity. So long as we aren't divided by factions of rich, poor, homeless, and homeowners and we see each other as equals we'll show them a stronger front." Licking his lips he continued. "My real concern is that we see one Chip, but chances are there will be more. Another thing I found was shortly after you sent that picture to me this afternoon. I got digging in the archives and found this."

Another picture flashed up on the screen of a younger Illya dressed in uniform. The woman on the other half the screen looked at the picture he slid across the table. "Can you tell us a little bit about this man?"

Nodding the older man continued. "This would have been from the wars during the early days of pioneering our interests abroad and part of what made us great. This man was a Chippeqouti general and listed as a war criminal for heinous crimes. He killed prisoners of war and offered no quarter. We often times returned prisoners because we knew their population count was low. Did our best to preserve their race, but had to exile them when it was proven that they were warlike and incapable of showing mercy. If that is the same name that is loose now I would advise that you stay off the streets. Phone 989 and be sure that the police are properly advised. I will be conducting more research since it seems that a new threat has emerged during this time of crisis."

"Thank you for your time Professor." The screen zoomed back in on the woman. She stared at the screen with deep sincerity. "Remember, be safe, push on, and always remember Terran as your first home." All the screens returned to their regular shows or turned off again except for an occasional flash of warning that would run across the bottom of the screen.

 

[aryamajor]

The Chip half tossed the struggling woman at Thomas. He caught her by the forearms and held tight, trying to keep her from be swept up into the crowd again. The watery grey eyes and black hair were unmistakable. He had to get her out of there too. Keeping his grip tight, he started to guide her away and she struggled against him with. "Lemme'go!" she hacked. Her bleary eyes flashed with a sudden sharpness through the haze as she reared back and kicked him in the shins with a vengeance. "Ow, Kiya! It's Thomas!'

The sound of his name snapped her attention and for a brief second she held still in his arms. "Thomas?!" More screams erupted from inside the cloud of burning gas as people stumbled around blind and vomiting. Thomas tried to urge her away from the chaos, but as soon as the shock wore off, Kiya was back to fighting him wildly. "Get'ata here Thomas! Leave'me alone!" Coughing against the chemicals, he shook his head and kept right on taking her down the street. What was she doing here? He hadn't seen the woman in 27 years and this is how they reunite? Covered in tear-gas and fighting with each other. Almost exactly where they had left off. It's a good thing she was still just as small now as she was back then.

Thomas wasn't going to bother arguing with the woman and took a page out of Illya's book. Snapping up her small hand in his, he started to run as best he could down the street. Dodging left, he slammed into someone stumbling out of the haze. The man fell back and started throwing up, but he ignored him and kept going with Kiya in tow. The police were starting to press in, but he made the sudden decision to turn down an unoccupied ally which lead to a chain link fence separating the other side of the block. As he came to a halt at the fence, and shook his head. Calysta was still out there, but if anyone could find her it was that stubborn fiance of hers. He'd get Kiya to safety and then go back to help.

"I'mnot going withye," Kiya hissed behind him.

"Nothing new about that," he retorted, "But do you really want to go back? Because those are your options."

Her bloodshot eyes shifted from him, to the end of the alley where the shadows of police were marching through the gas. Wrenching her hand from his, she grabbed the chain link fence and started to climb with her fingertips and toes of her boots. Apparently he was more tolerable than the alternative. Straightening out his knee and hitching at his trouser legs, he looped his fingers over the fence work and started to climb too. His knee was sore and the cold made it lock up near the top. With a hard kick and twist he managed to get the knee set again and then scale the down the other side of the fence. When his feet planted on the ground, a hard shove forced him backward into the brick wall of the building beside him. His shoulder hit and he grunted as Kiya was bring a blade to his throat, her nose less than in inch from his.

"Who sentye?" she demanded.

Thomas stared at her in shock as the small knife pressed against his scruffy throat. What the hell was she talking about? "Nobody sent me," he replied, looking into her eyes. Kiya shook her head and pushed the edge even further into his skin. "Arye here with anyone?"

"Just..."

Kiya swallowed, looking him over with cold grey eyes before flicking away her knife. "Justye daughter. We'needa find her and get her outta here. Canye leave Terra?"

Maybe it had been awhile, but she seemed even more fierce than he remembered. A bit colder with her age, though no less beautiful even covered in sweat. "A ship. That's where she would go."

The Kaerelean woman nodded and started to walk away, giving him an extra push on the shoulder as she went. "Where are you going?"

"T'll finda radio forye to use. We can check't see if she went back t'your ship already."

****

Thomas followed Kiya down the streets as she marched over to one of the thousands of gritty communications hubs. A door bell chimed as they entered but it was almost impossble to hear over the hundreds of voices muffled only slightly by the individual booths for radio, type message, and video contact.

Lining the room were marquee boards and screens spilling out stock market numbers and local news. His eye caught snippets of word about the riot they just escaped from, but there was no mention of Calysta which was a relief. They waited outside a booth for what seemed like a lifetime until the man inside left adjusting his belt. Kiya gave the man a hardened look as Thomas hobbled into the booth. “I’ll wait’out here.”

Thomas went into the tiny spot and fed the equipment inside a few credits. When had making a radio contact become so expensive on Terra? When he’d left it had been just a few cents. Adjusting the frequency, he tried for their ships call numbers without luck. Shoving a few more credits in, he tried again, starting to grow more antsy by the minute. Finally, the call was received and Ayrn greeted him, his voice crackling over the speaker.

“Aye, Mr. Monroe. I can barely here you,” he droned, “What’s up?”

“Have you seen Calysta or Illya?”

“That’s a negative.”

A surge of panic started to wave over him and he rubbed at his burning eyes with the heel of hand. Had they been caught? It had been so hard to see what was going on and then the officer had gotten them turned around in the hazy chaos. Gripping at his hair, he glanced back at the booth door and shook his head. He couldn’t drag Kiya back into the fray and if he was arrested there would be nobody to bail out the Chip and his daughter, if by some miracle they were arrested and not recognized. His time in the booth ran out and slid open the slimy door to see his ex standing there with her arms crossed and a surly look as she watched the video screens overhead until she noticed he was done.

“She isn’t back yet.”

“So’ye go look,” Kiya sighed.

“Aye. But they still may make it to the ship…What were you doing in all this mess?”

Kiya didn’t answer as an emergency news bulletin flashed over the screen. Thomas’ stomach dropped to his toes as the riots were mentioned. Was it Calysta? No, instead they were talking about…Illya. His face flashed on the screen as the professor told the entirety of New York what the man was.

****
Most of the cell was empty until each of the women that the officer pointed to was left. Calysta kept to her corner with her head decked down and her mouth shut as each passing minute made her heart pound a little harder.
“You next.”

The officer was waving her over and she barely registered his face as she stood. Her body had started to stiffen up from the blows of the club, with a particularly tender bruise forming on her back in addition to her arm which was turning a dark purple and pulsed with swelling. Moving her fingers on the hand caused shoots of pain, and she yelped a little when they put the cuffs back on her. With a puffy groan, she walked over with her head low, using what hair she head to cover her face.

They lead her to a plain interrogation room with a table and two chairs. “Have a seat.”

Calysta silently followed the order, folding stiffly into the chair at the table. An officer in his blue uniform and wearing a somewhat bored expression, sat down across from her with an info pad making some notes before looking up at her.

“What’s your name for the record please?”

Talking would give away her accent, but not saying anything at all could make her look guilty if they hadn’t already figured out who she was. “Kelly Smithson, Terran immigrant.”

The Terran language was so harsh, and she had to be careful not to run her words together. Even her father got onto her for doing that when she spoke his language.

“You were found with an unregistered weapon on your person when you arrived after being arrested for inciting a riot.”

Swallowing, she stole a glance up at the officer. “Personal protection. I learned from Veyna 4. You will find the weapon has not been recently fired.”

“It’s still illegal to carry one that isn’t registered here and you will have to be placed under formal arrest and a bail posted for the violation.”
He read her the standard set of rights and then offered her the info pad. “Place your right hand here for the record.”

Calysta stared at the pad for a moment, her eyes looking at the glossy screen. There was a strong chance they shared the database with Kaereal and her prints were most definitely recorded there for her work with Skycorp. If she refused to do it, they would make her scan her hand with whatever force was necessary since she was officially under arrest now. They were going to find out either way.

Pressing her achy palm over the screen, she let the scanner take her prints. The screen lit up green under her palm with a positive match and a picture of her in the standard Skycorp Captains uniform displayed along with her other basic information. A bright red flag was emblazoned across the bottom of the screen. “Wanted for homicide. Armed and extremely dangerous.” Then it listed the charges in more detail. Her wrap sheet had grown impressively long.

The officer jerked the pad from under her hand and went pale as a ghost. “Holy shit.”

"Yeah."

Without saying anything else, the officer got up, almost flinging his chair back into the wall, and exited the room. The door clicked as it locked behind him and Calysta let out a long breath. No matter what happened, as long as Illya was safe. The Kaerleans wouldn’t kill her for her accused crimes and neither would the Terrans. Though she was looking at a long, and terrible stent in solitary confinement if she didn’t figure a way out. Her greater worry was that the Cirellants would pull something or more likely the Federation would find her if they found out she was associated with the Chippeqouti.

She could hear them talking frantically outside the door now. “It’s her…but she didn’t have an ID chip…. Of course not…she probably ripped it out.”

It seemed like they didn’t know what to do with her. Not surprising. A long while passed, and she looked over the bruised wrist while they scurried around in the hallway. It gave her time to think about what she saw. Yarbrough was the owner of the Veyna 4 mines. The same ones that were attacked by the Cirellants causing the whole mess. Shouldn’t he want peace to protect his assets? He seemed almost happy about a war while he was on that screen. A worse thought sank in, making the left over bile in her stomach churn. What if he was Federation?

The door opened and four officers marched into the room, each looking at her as if she was a ticking time bomb. It was almost funny.

“Calysta Monroe, you are under arrest for the murders of Wynt Carrington and the Cirrellant diplomat Krikt’en.”

She didn’t argue or fight as they picked her up by the arms, even though the grip was making her eyes water.
****

Calysta sat in the corner underneath the camera for at least some modicum of privacy in the blind spot. They hadn’t bothered to take the cuffs off of her, stating she would be moved to somewhere different soon. Probably somewhere much more secure than the basic mid-town police station.

When they moved her that would be her best chance at escaping. How exactly she was going to do that was still a mystery, but there had to be some way. She wasn’t going to stay locked up her entire life for a crime she didn’t commit, unless by some small chance, the Kaereleans would offer her up as a good faith bit to the Cirellants.

There was a faint sound coming from down the hall. Yelling and boots hitting the ground. It was hard to hear anything else because the cement cell made every sound echo on top of each other. A ringing buzzed and then there was a small clink on the other side of the cell door. “Kalizda! Be ready to run with meh!”

Illya? The clinking sounds continued until the door began to crumble. She could see his tan hands chiseling away through the iron rebar supports exposed in the door. Her mind began to race and a wry thought made her nearly laugh and cry at the same time. Her father’s God had such a sense of humor. The one and only prayer she’d ever sent up in earnest was answered by the exact opposite for what she has asked.

The stubborn Chip had come for her and broken into a jail and probably gotten half the police in the metro-area on his tail by now with no telling how many could be Federation. Not to mention his leg wasn’t fully healed. Stubborn, bullheaded man. He should have left her because his stakes were so much higher. He should have run. It was too late now though and every second she stood there, was a second closer he came to capture. Her hands were bound, and one was in rough shape, but she gritted her teeth and started trying to pull away at the loose cement crumbling from the other side.

After minutes of hard work, Illya pried the rebar apart and his tan hand shot through the sizeable hole, stirring up dust which stuck to his sweaty forearm. She grabbed it as best she could, wrapping her left hand around his wrist tightly as his broad hand pulled her though the battered opening. Bracing her feet on the wall, she scraped along the craggy cement, and tried to keep her broken wrist close until she was free. Illya was standing in front of her covered in sweat and gazing down at her with a wild glint in his eye.

“You’re supposed to break out of jails, Illya. Not into them. Especially not for wayward little birds.” Her voice sounded firm, but she couldn’t help but feel happy to see him too.

 

[Silence]

A wave of relief washed over Illya when he felt the familiar soft little hand of Kalizda. Why she didn't grab on with two hands he didn't know. Maybe she was hurt and she was trying to stop bleeding or something. There was some trouble as he felt a halt when he pulled. Illya gave her a few seconds more till he felt her edge forward and then he pulled her out of the hole in the wall the rest of the way. The Chip studied her for a moment and he frowned deeply. She was chiding him for coming back. "I like da feel in here." Looking around he gave a small shrug and then looked down at her hands. "I take these off. Have some keys." Digging into his pocket Illya started to pull out the keys that he had left.

After he had her hands free Illya picked Kalizda up. He had her under one arm and he pushed her closer to his back. "Piggy back eh?" The little woman unavoidably rubbed against his back. Momentarily the muscles in his back tightened and he grimaced. Illya hadn't intended to betray himself, but he was concerned that she would be the one in real danger. Her body was far more delicate than his. "We get back to ship soon and yah hold on tight eh?"

They had to run all the way back up the stairs and Illya knew that there would be a lot more work getting out then there would have been getting her. When he reached the hallway it was nearly empty and it seemed that the fighting was all upstairs. Police were yelling for prisoners to stop and screams sounded from those that were doubtless being tazed or shot. Part way up the second flight of stairs Illya paused. It sounded like a much better choice to go up to the fourth floor and then jump from the ceiling. He didn't need her to risk getting hurt or recaptured. "Hold on meh little bird." Using one free hand he patted her knee that was wrapped around his hips. "We'll just keep going." Running up the next flight of stairs Illya took a deep breath at the top step and he started to let Kalizda down. "Careful down." The man listened for the click of her shoes touching the hard floor before he pressed his ears to the doorway. "Sounds like ets clear up top." Of course the police were busy in the halls trying to contain the prisoners he had let loose and he thought that he was certainly going to be safe up top. Why would they look for prisoners from a location at which they would be unable to escape. Pushing the doorway open Illya started out onto the rooftop.

Nothing extraordinary happened in the first few seconds and he reached back into the stairway and grabbed a hand. Hearing a whimper Illya shot a quick look at her and then remembered the wrist that had been severely bruised when he had taken the cuffs off. "Give meh yah other hand." Illya drug Kalizda from one sheltered location on top of the building to the edge of the wall. Peering over the ledge he pulled back and then looked at her. "No time to be angry eh?"

Illya wrapped an arm around Kalizda and jumped from the wall. When he landed the man grunted. Still holding onto Kalizda he stumbled forward a few steps. "Ugh..."Limping a little the Chippeqouti rounded a corner and came face to face with a woman that froze in place. She was carrying shopping bags and tears sprung to her eyes. Confused at her reason for such alarm the man frowned. "I'm nut gonna hurt yah." Instead of having a much more calm woman in front of himself she started to scream. There wasn't a lot that he could do about that and he couldn't have the police on his and Kalizda's trail so close to escaping from the jail. When they found out that she had escaped the magnetic fields would be activated and no ships would exit the planet. Setting Kalizda down the Chip lunged for the woman and he grabbed her by the shoulder. With a squeeze she fell limp and he laid her gently next to the side of the building. "We run now."

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

Whipping around the side of the bay Illya ran up the gang plank. "We go now." Kalizda could handle some of the ship switches as the captain or maybe he could if they needed it. The engines started and Illya's head whipped to the side when he heard an alarm go off. "Ship is locked to the ground....NO!" Running into a slur of Quoti curses he started searching the navigation and alerts system. "Old codes still work...." Typing in a few overrides that he remembered from the war days Illya couldn't help smirking. "Ehaui bastards." They were good for something even all these years later. Obviously the Terran were un-creative and incapable of cracking a simple override code in a foreign language. A pattern was difficult to learn if you considered a language beneath yourself to learn.

"We take da ship 5 lots down. It isn't locked." Glancing at Thomas he grinned broadly and then the smile started to fade. The look on the man's face showed that there was something seriously wrong. "No time for dat." Brushing past the man he limped for the gang plank. "Yah follow about 2 minutes behind meh."

Jogging out the door Illya set pace for the next ship. A round of gunfire sounded and he cursed loudly a few times before a limp figure tumbled out of the ship followed by a few more. One man ran out of the ship voluntarily and Illya poked his head out the back of the ship and beckoned for the rest to follow. "C'mon." It was a nicer ship anyway and they would have more space. Most importantly he would have a place for Kalizda to heal and rest. Her wrist looked horrible and he couldn't imagine the horrible pain it must be causing. A broken bone like that was absolute misery and he could barely stand the pain when his bones were broken like that. Most of the time he felt like doing nothing for weeks. Even now his back and leg were surging with pain, but he was sure he could get the ship cleared fast enough for take off and still have the ship with a clear license long enough to get out of the magnetic field range.

The Chippeqouti worked his way through the ship till he reached the captain's cabin and he found a man preparing to type in an emergency code. "No yah don't." Snagging him from the seat Illya threw the man against a wall and started to stalk after him. "Yah jes believe everything dey say? Do whatever dey order." Punching the man one time directly in the ribs he felt them crunch against the weight and power of the hit. "Get out!" Kicking the Terran toward the plank Illya watched the man curl up on the floor. "Get out." Repeating himself was never something he enjoyed. Kicking the man again he watched as the pathetic creature crawled away whimpering. A sudden voice caught Illya's attention and he stopped short. "He get out and we leave."

 

[aryamajor]

Illya freed her from the cuffs, bringing a little relief to her hand, and she tossed them to the side before he picked her up. “Piggy back eh?” She could have run alongside him, but then he would probably be dragging her with his long strides, exposing himself more. If it meant a faster escape, then it would be better. As she wrapped her legs around his hips, securing herself over his back, he jumped a little. For a second, she thought her boot heel had bumped into somewhere tender in his front as he grimaced, but then she could feel the tightened muscles in his back. They were so corded, they could be see through his sweat-damp t shirt. His back was hurting? It hadn’t been a problem for a while.

“I’ll just run,” she said quickly, “Let me down and it will be fine.”

He ignored her, hitching her higher onto his broad back. “We get back to ship soon and yah hold on tight eh?”

Despite how he felt, the Chip took on flight after flight of stairs with on his back as if it were easy. His foot steps were light and she only hand to readjust her grip once to keep from grabbing with the other hand. As they climbed she could hear screaming and the muffled shots of gunfire in the hallways all around them. One of the doors shuddered against its hinges as it took a heavy blow from the other side. “Get down on the ground! Hands behind your head!”

What had he done? Released the entire jail? No wonder nobody had come after them yet. They were all too busy dealing with the bedlam of escaped rioters and petty criminals upstairs. She shifted on his back a little as the door slammed again with repeated strikes. It almost sounded worse than the riot itself. “Hold on meh little bird.”
“We aren’t getting out the way we came in,” she whispered from his shoulder.
The Chip seemed unfazed and he patted her knee gently. “We’ll just keep going.”

They came to the fourth floor where the stairs ended and Illya let her down before pressing an ear up to the door. “Sounds like ets clear up top.” It may have been clear but there was nowhere to go from up her. No escape. Pushing open the door, Illya glanced around and the snagged up her hand. Immediately, the dull throbbing turned into sharp pain and she let out a small cry. His head snapped back to her and he let go as if her wrist was made of hot iron. “Give meh yah other hand.”

Calysta put her left hand in his and he dragged her into the afternoon light on the roof top. As soon as he brought her over to the ledge, she knew what he was planning. He was determined to get himself hurt again with all of these stunts. “Illya absolutely no-“
“Not time to be angry eh?”

Without another word, he scooped her up and jumped from the ledge. The world rushed by as her stomach was left far behind in the wind. She could feel herself lifting away from him they plummeted, but his grip was tight enough to keep her from totally slipping. The sensation of falling never bothered her. That was something you got used to when you were a pilot. But the hard landing was enough to make her bones shake and left a few spots in her vision from the ache. If it felt like that just from holding on to the Chip, she couldn’t imagine the impact he felt. When his feet hit the ground, he groaned and stumbled forward as she clutched on to his shirt trying to counterbalance the weight some.

A shadow caught her eye, and a woman was looking at them from the end of the alley with a horrified expression. Why was she looking like that? Surely it wasn’t that obvious they were escapees and it wasn’t like they looked particularly vicious. Illya tried to calm the woman but instead she started shrieking louder than any police siren. Great.

He didn’t hesitate to put her down and lunge at the woman who put up no defense at all. Using a pressure point, he sent her into unconsciousness and caught her before she hit the ground.
“We run now.”

The city was strangely less crowded as they barreled through the streets toward the muddy river that separated them from the docks. She was running as fast as she could, but Illya had to pause several times for her to catch up, urging her on or sometimes capturing her hand to pull her. They made it to the river only to find the transport ferry that tendered to the docks had been shut down with a barricade blocking the path. Like that was going to stop anybody, much less an angry Chippeqouti and his pilot. She jumped the steel barricade behind Illya, and they ran down the gang plank. The captain of the transport had been on deck when they came to the railing and he took one good look at them before climbing the side and taking a dive overboard and into the sooty river. What captain abandons their ship at the mere sight of possible trouble? At least the ferry was empty now.

“C’mon, let’s get going.”
The stairs were slick and her foot slid on the last step leading to the bridge. Catching herself on the wall with her shoulder rather than her hand, she shook off the hit and kept going with Illya behind her. They burst into the control room and without even thinking, she went to work. The controls were a little different and written in Terran, but piloting a boat couldn’t be all that different than a flight craft, right?

The engines were already started, so all she had to do was put them moving forward and steer to the other side. She put the rudder forward with a flick of a switch and start to turn them using the steering column only to have the ship jerk suddenly to a halt. The mooring. She had forgotten about the mooring. Gunning the engines to full, the ship groaned and the sound of ripping metal echoed as the pylons holding the boat in place were torn away.

The water was choppy but she managed to get them across the river, slamming with a graceless effort into the dock on the other side. Illya was looking a bit surprised at her and she gave him a little half-smile. “Another crime they can add to the list.”

The Chip shook his head at her and they scrambled off the wrecked boat and into the rows of space ships. When they made it to their small craft, she saw everything she needed. Her father, Ayrn, Keysha, though there was some extra woman hanging around. There wasn’t any time to ask about it though. Dodging into the captains chair, she saw that the engines were already going. They were running far too high on power level, but at least they were warm. She started running the take off sequence, forcing her puffy fingers to work over the keys, when it became obvious to her and Illya that the shipyard was being locked down already. Shit.

He started cursing and typing in numbers at his console and then announced the ship 5 lots down was not locked down. She hated to steal another ship when this one had been rightfully paid for, but if they were getting off this planet with their freedom there was no choice.

Calysta nodded to him and threw a brief glance at the rest of the crew. “Abandon ship and lets go.” Her father was giving her a look as if she were crazy but she didn’t really care. Grabbing her info pad from the back and calling Keysha to follow, they left the tiny craft behind.

Jogging over to the ship five spaces down with the others running right behind her, she found a nice privately owned craft built for luxury and a decent sized crew. The Jiminy was written in gold letters across the hull in a curling script. A yelp came from inside and a jolt of fear hit zipped through her nerves. What if it was Illya? Running up the gang plank, and into a softly lit foyer, she saw Illya standing over a man whimpering on the ground. The Chips eyes were wide and hard with anger as he glared down over the man berating him before delivering another kick. Even in the fighting pits she’d never seen such a look.

“Illya! That’s enough!”

His head snapped up and his eyes met hers unapologetically. “He get out and we leave.”
Calysta met his look back with a hard gaze of her own. They were escaping, but there wasn’t a need to be so rough when the man was clearly not a threat. It must have been a combination of his dislike and adrenaline making him so wild. “He’s leaving. Don’t hit him again and let him go.” The unfortunate Terran took the opportunity to scramble away and out of the hatch holding side.

He didn’t reply and either way the task was done, so with the co-pilot behind her, she dodged into the bridge. Again, all of the controls were in Terran and the thrusters were on the right side of the captain’s chair. Oh well. She could take some painkillers once they were safe. The captain’s chair was sleek and the equipment top of the line. Even the engines were the latest model the Kaereleans had designed, and were purring in the engine room below. Time to put them to the test.

Hitting the hatch button, she heard the door seal and then hit the upward thrust, not caring for any other air traffic that might be out there. Illya pulled up the landing gear and started the math for coordinates. Where they were going, didn’t bother to ask. Her hand wavered under the lever and the take-off was not her smoothest. The bad flying wasn’t all they had to worry about, the Terran Air and Space Force was already stalling incoming and out going ships in orbit. The power gave a flicker and she growled. They would have 10 seconds before the main engines cut off completely and they weren’t anywhere near close to the safe proximity to enter a jump. “Not this time.”
She pitched the ship upward and hit the jump throttle, hoping Illya had punched in his coordinates. The engines fell seamlessly into the fastest speed possible, leaving a wake of Terran’s rolling away and disabled from the shock wave.
****
Thomas’ world was a blur. With Illya exposed for what he was, and on the loose trying to find his wanted daughter, things were spinning out of control quickly. With Kiya here, the situation grew even more complicated. How was he supposed to explain this to his daughter? Sweat started to build up on his temples as he looked at the entire convoluted situation. One thing remained clear though. They needed to leave. Everything else could wait until they were out of the city. He had convinced Kiya to come with him to the ship, insisting that she meet Calysta. The first reply had been an incredulous refusal. “And say what’th woman if she returns? Absolutely not.”

“Do you really want to go your entire life without even meeting her once?”

Kiya had made a face at the response and then took a long moment before reluctantly agreeing. The Kiya from his younger years had been quiet, but not so on edge as she seemed now. Had the years changed her so much?

When Illya came back to the ship smiling with his daughter looking the worse for wear, Thomas scowled at him and shook his head. There was no telling what mayhem the man had caused out in the streets, and Thomas fully intended on discussing it with him, but the Chip brushed him off almost immediately. The man was right of course. They needed to get off the planet first. The plan for that, since the ship was locked down, was to steal another ship. Illya really was wild, but his daughter didn’t even question him. As he ran behind her, the wry thought that his student’s would get a kick out of him committing grand theft came to his mind before he followed them out of the door.

Illya was already inside half-beating on the man who owned the yacht until Calysta ordered him to stop. The actual take off from the ground was awful. The ship was pitchy and shuddered as his daughter tried to steer them around the rest of air traffic. It wasn’t until they launched into a jump, he noticed her black and blue right hand on the throttle. What had they done? He knew better than to think it was Illya, despite his past. The man wouldn’t hurt her, but somebody had.

“I’m going to check medical supplies, just...just stay put,” he huffed.

It didn’t take long to find the small medical room downstairs which is where Kiya had come to. She had completely avoided speaking unless necessary up till now, and didn’t even address him when he entered the room. Instead, she kept opening drawers and inspecting the place as if it were her own medical suite. Why was she acting like this?

“Kiya, come up stairs. Calysta’s hurt, and I think her arm may be broken.”

“I don’t want’see her.” Came the firm reply.
Thomas frowned and ran his hands through his hair.

“She’s hurt and you’re a doctor. Plus, you’re going to have a hard time avoiding her if you stay on this ship for long."

Her sharp eyes flicked up at him and she put down the roll of gauze in her hands. “I decided don’t want’talk your Calysta. You’re traveling with dangerous people.”

“I’m very much aware of that,” Thomas replied, “But it doesn’t mean you can’t help our daughter. You at least owe her that much.”

Kiya glared back at him and started to walk out of the door into the hallway. “You have’no idea, and I owe’er nothing.”

****

Calysta sat back in the captain's chair and dropped her head to the headrest. They'd barely made it out of orbit and into a jump. She was vaguely aware that everyone had made it aboard, plus some extra crew member that had been picked up along the way. She hadn't paid much attention to them.

Her father had already noted her hand and had dissapeared toward the back of the the ship muttering about staying put. Ayrn was standing around looking pale. "Ayrn go, take an inventory of our supplies." He nodded and went off to do what she ordered, leaving her and Illya alone.

Calsyta looked over at the Chip sitting beside her in the leather co-pilots chair. His face was drawn and his jaw was tight with a firey glare in his eye. The jail break had hurt him, maybe even reinjured some of his less healed areas and he was still riding the action a little. Her good hand inched over to his and covered his fist which was still clenched. "Illya, it's alright. We're far from Terra now."

Feeling a little hand sneak over his Illya was suddenly drawn out of his own world again. "I know. Yah look terrible." Looking up from their hands he moved his hand to rest over hers. "Help yah get that wrist wrapped up." A gentle smile came to his face. "Always knew Terrans were trouble. Den th-they do someting like this to yah. Terrans not good for yah Kalizda."

His hand was warm and nearly engulfed hers as he spoke. She probably did look terrible, but she managed a faint smile back. There was no doubt the rally had left a poor impression of Terrans when she was trying so hard to show him not all of them were as he thought. This was her fault for bringing them here to begin with and thinking she could help. "They were just people who were scared and upset. I'm not angry with them, though the wrist was a bit excessive. It was my fault I got hurt and my fault that you're hurting too."

Shaking his head the Chip stood up. "No, Terran do this. Yah didn't do anyting wrong. Didn't even get to find answers to yah questions." Illya gave her a serious look and then continued. "We stick together from now on eh? Maybe we have less trouble that way and I don't lose yah."

"No, I didn't get the answers, but I wonder if I ever will. What if no matter what I do, it will never be solved because its so much bigger? Beyond Terrans and Kaereleans? " She said it plainly, even if she didn't want to think it and hated laying her worries out in the open.

Illya studied her face for a long moment. "Kalizda if that happens den I'm still here." The Chip smirked a little. "We're difficult to get rid of yah know."

His green eyes were looking her over and she gazed back at him, wishing he would say something. When he did, she relaxed and nodded. "Stubborn as they come," she chuckled back quietly. Standing up, she took up his hand again. "It was a terrible idea to come for me Illya, and I wished you hadn't but..I'm glad you did. Let's see if there are any medicines for pain aboard. Terrans tend to make good ones.

"No matter I would come for yah. Good or bad choice when Chippeqouti are prepared to agree dey agree to all troubles." Carefully wrapping his hand around hers he winked. "I be glad to help yah get something for pain." He was surprised she hadn't already wanted to lay down or at least let on that she was suffering. After all she broke a bone.

Calysta gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She’d been talking about pain medication for him. He could be charming when he wanted to be but she could tell he was trying make her feel better. Trying to keep her from feeling like an utter failure even if he was in pain.
They walked down the wide hallway side by side, passing a sitting room with soft mounted lamps and minibar, a dining area with a beautiful wooden table, and luxurious looking master suite. That was on the first deck alone. The second level included the crew’s quarters which were equally nice, though had a shared bathroom, a fully stocked kitchen, and what looked to be like a closet like medical-bay.

Ayrn was popping in and out of rooms with a crinkled sheet of paper and a pen stuck between his teeth as he took inventory and her father was standing at the end of the hall talking to the woman who had tagged along for whatever reason. Now that things had settled down, Calysta had the chance to look her over. The woman was around the same height as her, with a long black pony tail and pale skin. She spoke with a heavy Kaerelean accent, but it wasn’t the voice that struck Calysta. Peering at the side of the woman’s face, she realized she had seen it many times before, because it looked just like her own.

Letting go of Illya’s hand and ran down the hallway, her heart pounding. “Dad, get away from her!”

The two of them turned, her father looking confused and the woman staring at her as if she were a ghost. Calysta grabbed up the copy cat by the arm and slammed her against the paneled wall with a good hand. The woman grunted and struggled against her. The fight jarred her hand her father grabbed her shoulder trying to pull her away. “Calysta! Stop!”

“It was you! You’re the woman from the hospital!”

The look-a-like tried to push back, but anger driven adrenaline was pumping through Calysta now and she forced the woman into the wall. “Release me!” she yelled in Kaerelean.

“Calysta let her go! It’s your mother!”

Calysta froze, her entire body shaking from anger and pain, then looked up to her father with the woman still pinned. Her mother? This was the face she had seen a million times on the holograph pad going into the Wynt’s hospital room wearing a Skycorp jumpsuit and hat with the long black pony tail. She was sure of it. Her father’s brown eyes were bouncing between the two of them as he tried to tug her away from the stranger. “Let her go, sweet heart. “

“Is that true?” she asked the woman, her voice shaking.

“Aye.”

The woman didn’t deny the allegations though and Calysta wasn’t going to take a chance no matter who the woman was. Her mother or not. Everyone else was looking at her like she was crazy, except for Illya. What little energy and patience she had left was worn thin and she couldn’t think clearly with her hand and everywhere else hurting. “I don’t care who you are. You’re a danger to my crew and this ship.”

Her eyes caught will Illya’s and she nodded to him. “Find a place to lock her up. I don't care where so long as she isn’t a danger to the ship or herself. ”
​

 

[Silence]

Walking with Kalizda down the hallway Illya had started to relax until she tore away from him. Standing back he watched as she pinned the woman and the argument ensued. Her father first was the one to be immediately concerned with the situation. Illya stood by and calmly waited for her to finish whatever it was that she had to say to the woman. As the little woman let her mother free Illya stepped forward and took hold of Kiya by one arm. If she was a danger to the crew then he was going to make sure the woman was locked up no matter how tempting it was to simply kill her. However, she could be useful to be kept alive if he could make sure she was proven as the one to killed Wynt though it may not change the charges on the Cirrelant ambassador's death.

The Chippeqouti marched with the little impostor straight to the bunk room. "Yah gonna get one leg chained to a bed. That way yah cause no trouble." He knew that Ayrn had been racing about and the man took any threat seriously. Illya could trust Ayrn to report the woman if anything went wrong. Terran or not he would turn the woman in before risking getting beat himself.

His grip was like a vice and at moments her feet nearly left the ground as he pulled her along. This man was dangerous and so were his people, but then again so was she. "That's kind of ye, General," she replied coldly.

Ignoring the woman Illya tried to pretend that he wasn't curious why she called him general. "Mmhmmm. Yah sleep on a bunk near mine. I want to make sure yah don't need anything after yah lay down for da night. In the meantime I will have Ayrn watch yah and then I'll help Kalizda."

"No torture, then?" Her tone was sarcastic. She could care less who watched her or what he did with his time. It had surprised her enough to see Thomas on Terra, much less have his daughter along with an exile, one with such a violent history. If she was ever guilty of murder, his guilt reached far beyond hers. "Not thatye would get anything from'me anyways."

"Good I appreciate a cooperative prisoner." Illya reached the bunk room and pushed the little woman onto a bed. He felt his back begin to spasm a little with the effort to lean over. "Now yah just gonna stay here, but yah work in mornings to pay for yah way on ship. No free rides."

Kiya tumbled to the bunk, landing on her side. This man was rough and uncouth, tossing her around like she was nothing. There were things he didnt know and keeping her prisoner was a poor idea. She whipped back up and stared at the man with a hard glare. "Is tha' so? Ye'must have gone a bit soft with age," she retorted, "And I'm a surgeon. Not ye maid."

Glowering at the woman he shook his head. "I don't care what yah think yah are. Yah work when I say, sleep when I say, and eat when I say. Ef yah cause problem I think yah stay awake and clean with meh. Too much energy means not enough work. We start soon. Yah rest now." Cuffing a leg to the bed post he shrugged. "Yah get benefit of Chippeouti prisoner life. I assess value and because yah claim to be surgeon I think maybe yah worth eh...." Rubbing his chin he made a thoughtful look and then rubbed his chin "Yah very valuable and work for long time. I'm curious what yah work is like now." Chuckling he tilted his head so he could get a look at her face.

She kicked her foot forward to test exactly how far it would let her reach. It clanked and her ankle met with a sudden jerk a little over a half foot from the bed post, as her eyes shot daggers at the Chippeqouti. "Ye'gonna be disappointed on that, general. I don'take orders well. Some've learned that already." Then she sat down on the bed and looked away from him. The sooner she found a way out, the better. This was the third time a simple twinge of guilt had left her in a heap of trouble and she could barely stand the anger at herself, much less in the indignation at being made a prisoner by such a man.

"Hmmmm... I see." Illya gave her a thoughtful look. "A hard lesson to learn. Yah might work for meh a very long time." Another smirk came to his face. "Time is something I have and yah kind do not." Clicking his tongue and shaking his head he grinned even wider. "What a shame."

"Less time't live with regrets, an' more motivation t'do something with th' time I have. I've spent mine helping people. All people," she replied coldly from her seat on the bed, "And what have'ye done withye long years? I dont'think I am th'only one t' be shamed. Take all the time'ye like, withye smirk but neither of us can run forever."

Illya remained cool for the moment. "When the war starts all yah help will be washed away in blood yah create. Killing Cirrelant and pretending to be yah daughter shows yah have no honor. I think yah have enough time to prove yahself foolish. Yah kind don't learn and still say yah better than others."

Kiya gave a dry laugh and cut her eyes up to him with deadened look. "Ye'speak as if ye'know me. I never killed a Cirrelant, but I did what had 't. As must we all. Ye'not the one who can speak't honor, general."

Whatever the name of the co-pilot Illya couldn't remember. "Killing her co-pilot as good as killing Cirrelant. Yah just tink maybe yah kill a traitor to yah people and prevent war, but yah would have done better to turn yahself over to authorities. Instead yah let blame rest on yah daughter." He refused to talk about himself and for now she was answering questions about herself while she tried to dig under his skin. Obviously she had learned something of him, but she didn't know what was most important.

She crossed her arms, griping at her biceps tightly. This man was bound and determined to blame her. She had heard him yelling at the poor Terran man as they had come onto the ship. So defensive of what others thought of him, but he judged everyone else just as harshly. "Did I? I suppose I have a short time t'think about m'regets then."

"About long enough to think of them." Illya shrugged. "Not long enough to fex et eh?" Setting a hand on the edge of the bed he pushed himself up to a standing position and he tried not to put much weight on his leg. The tenderness was beginning to develop and he wasn't sure if he actually did damage or simply put his recovering back by a few days.

Her eyes narrowed as he drew away, noting the little hitch he had when he stood up. "Nothing is ever fixable when it starts out broken. That goes for people, governments, and business too." With those words, she laid back and rolled over, ignoring the lump of the knife in her pocket digging in to her side.

"Ayrn!" Illya called for the man and then nodded toward Kiya. "I need yah to watch her till I get back. She's trouble and if yah feel necessary shoot her. I take blame if Kalizda asks."

Ayrn stepped into the crews quarters looking slightly panicked at how loudly Illya had yelled. The man wanted him play sentry and hold a gun, which was an unpleasant idea, but it didn't sound like he much of an option. "Uh, sure. I mean, aye. I'll watch her." Kiya stayed rolled over, away from the two men ignore the two men as much as possible.

"Good." Illya nodded to Ayrn and started for the door. "I saw yah making list of stuff on ship. Good work. I think maybe yah earn wage. I take care of Kalizda now."

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

When Illya finished settling the woman in and ensuring that Ayrn was keeping guard he made his way back to where he left Kalizda. "Kalizda..." Calling for her he followed the sound of her voice to the medical bay. It seemed that she was already setting out pain medication and he frowned some when he saw how much was sitting on the counter. Surely she couldn't be taking that much all at one time?! It was not good for her to do that. The man frowned even deeper when she indicated that some of it was for him. Illya had never taken this kind of medicine before and he doubted that it would work that well. Wrinking his brown he stared at the little white pills. She must have thought he was in terrible pain because she described the pills as being powerful.

How one little pill like this could be so strong he couldn't begin to guess. "If they're so powerful I help yah first eh?" A smirk came to Illya's face and he motioned for Kalizda to take her medicine and then he had her lay on the medical bay bed. "I wrap yah wrist." It was too bad he would have to rely on Terran medicine instead of his own. She would heal much better if she used his medicine instead of the worthless white tablets.

Leaning near the bed he gently took her hand in his and pulled till he felt the bones begin to shift. With his other hand Illya made sure that her arm felt nice and flat. "We have a real doctor look at dis later eh?" Since it was nice and smooth feeling the Chippeqouti began to search the supplies for a wrap of some kind to put around her wrist and something to support it. The best he got was some kind of wrist support that would strap on and off. It wasn't quite what he had wanted, but if it could hold her wrist still it could provide some relief. Illya grabbed her hand and gently slid his underneath her wrist so he could slide the support onto the bed. Letting her hand back down onto the soft padding Illya then removed his hand and slid her thumb into the strap on cast. Carefully he tightened the straps and then looked up at her. Kalizda's face was almost pale. "I know it hurts. Yah need rest and yah gonna take the big captain room all by yahself. I make food for yah and take care of ship eh? Meh little bird just needs to rest."

Of course she wouldn't let him forget that he was supposed to be taking those little white pills to and Illya grimaced. "I'm fine." One look from her told him everything he needed to know. Kalizda was going to shove those things down his throat if she had to. Grumbling a little he dropped the pills in his mouth and then washed it down with some water. "There, now I take yah to a room to rest." Offering one hand to her the Chippeqouti walked with Kalizda to the captain's room and he bowed slightly when he opened the door. "Quarters for meh little bird."

By the time Illya returned to the room he was feeling a little odd. His back didn't hurt anymore and his leg was mostly alright. In fact it was almost like being in one of his deep sleeps with no pain at all, but he was awake. The Chippeqouti wasn't so sure that he liked the idea. Blinking a few times he half weaved for his bunk and laid in the bottom of it. A shock of pain surged through his leg and he groaned without meaning to. Whatever this drug did it had numbed any of his usual senses and he had far less control over himself. That was not a good thing when he was in the room with Kiya. Glancing toward Ayrn the Chip nodded. "Yah keep watch. I don't want no trouble from her." Stumbling out of the room Illya found the flight control room and sat in his chair.

Stars in this part of the quadrant were apparently very colorful and intriguing. Illya watched them for what felt like hours till he finally started to get drowsy. Illya didn't want to fall asleep and he stuck one lip out in half a pout as he curled as best he could into the copilot chair. By the time he was comfortable Illya's head was leaned against the closed panel of controls behind himself, his good leg tucked under him and his injured leg stretched out to rest on Thomas' chair. Leaning at an angle Illya's right hand was nearly touching the ground and the left was neatly laid across his stomach.

A few hours later Illya woke up feeling far worse than he had when he arrived at the ship. His entire back was stiff and his leg was throbbing with each heartbeat. "Agh..." Gingerly he made an attempt to straighten his back though it was difficult. Illya rested an arm on either side on the arm rests while he grit his teeth and moved his leg off of Thomas' chair. With a thin pearl string of sweat forming over his upper lip the Chippeqouti forced himself to stand. Even if the medicine had worn off and his mind had returned the man found it next to impossible to hide the discomfort of his situation. Remaining slightly hunched he wandered to the medical bay to sleep a little in the bed there. Last thing he needed was for the doctor to see him like this. She was an impossible and obnoxious woman. Thomas needed a lesson of sorts in choosing female companions. How it was that he chose this woman he would never guess.

Ambling at his slow pace Illya turned the corner to the medical bay and stiffly made his way to the medical bay bed. Illya laid down and tried to relax, but his back was so tight that he couldn't even relax enough to lay his legs flat. Finally he decided to get up and look for the little white pill. Illya found that almost everything in the cabinet was a white pill. They were tiny and he didn't expect them to impact him much. She'd given him a combination of nearly 6 pills when he took them earlier. So if he took 2 of each of the white pills he would eventually figure out which one it was. Besides it was the best way to test with herbs. It should all be safe like Chippeqouti medicine and he figured it would be at least he hoped since he couldn't read the language it was written in.

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

Shivering and clinging to a bucket Illya puked for nearly the fifth time. Fever and chills wracked the Chippeqouti's body. Rows of bottles sat neatly on the medical bay counter. Illya was almost positive one of those things were poison. There was no other reason that he should have been so sick. Pills were something you swallowed. Certain herbs were dangerous if you used them wrong, but he used this medicine right. Instead of feeling better Illya felt far worse than he started the day and even when he had woke up after the first round from Kalizda. Setting the bucket aside after the violent heaving Illya laid over on the hard floor with a groan. He didn't have the energy to even get a blanket off the bed.

Terran medicine was bad. There wasn't a single good thing that they could make. Illya knew in the back of his mind he probably didn't use it right, but he hated complicated medicine and anything that should be simple that was complicated was bad, it simply meant that someone was making money where they didn't need to. Hearing a set of feet coming down the hall he grumbled and sat up just in time for another wave of vomit to rise in his throat. Lurching up whatever was left in his stomach Illya hovered over the bucket for a little bit more before he glanced up at the intruder. "Bad Terran medicine." With nothing left he dry heaved into the bucket and groaned between rounds of gagging and trying to vomit more.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta strode into the medical bay as Illya disappeared with her copy cat. He would make sure the woman was secured, though she should have probably told him snakes were off limits. The medical bay was well stocked which was good, because she was going to put together a nice cocktail of pills for Illya and a few for herself as well. Focusing on the task was far easier than thinking over what just happened. She opened the sleek metal door of the storage cabinet and started pulling out bottles. Reading Terran was easier enough, once you remembered they used a system that spelled from left to right. Muscle relaxers, ibprophen for muscle aches, dilaudid to kill the pain already in progress…

“Calysta, we need to talk.”

Her thoughts were broken as her father came to stand in the doorway. He was gazing at her with his brow set in a deep crease of concern. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk.
Taking a deep breath, she put down the bottle and turned to face him. “Dad, right now, I really don’t want to talk.”

“I knew that meeting her would be hard, but I don’t think she would have done this.”

Calysta shook her head, trying to keep her anger and every other feeling at bay. “I know you think that, but for once would you just trust me?”

Her father went silent and then disappeared from the door way, which was both a relief, and a spot of shame. She hadn’t meant to be disrespectful to him, but shouldn’t he believe her over the woman who broke his heart? This was all a mess, and her mind was in twenty different places at once as she kept rummaging through the cabinet with her good hand.

Illya called her name and then reappeared in the doorway and his green eyes widened some over the pill bottles laid out on the counter. Did he think she was about to take all of this herself? He probably thought the broken arm was as painful for her as it would be for him. Granted, the break was painful and every move reminded her exactly how much she used the limb, it probably wasn’t near as much pain as Illya was in. “They’re not all for me,” she assured him, “One or two will be plenty strong for me, and maybe a few more for you. They’re very strong, but you’re also a bit bigger than I am.”

She wanted him to take them so he could start to relax but he just smirked a little at her and insisted she go first. He wanted to wrap her arm, and already taking pain killers for that would help in the proces, so she relented. Taking up the white tablets she swallowed them down with a chaser of water and then laid down on the medical bay bed. His hands were warm, which was relaxing until he started to shift the bones. She could feel them grating through the throbs and the only way to keep from crying was to grab a fistful of the sheets with her left hand and screwed her eyes shut. When he stopped and gently laid her hand flat, she let out a long breath of relief, but kept the bed sheets clamped in her fist. Everything was started to grow a little fuzzy, but she couldn’t tell if that was from the pain or if the pills were starting to kick in.

Illya manipulated her hand gently into some sort of brace and she watched him as he worked. His unkempt curls were flopping into his green eyes which seemed incredibly bright as they focused solely on the task at hand. He hadn’t asked about her mother, and he seemed to believe her about knowing the woman was the imposter. That alone was comforting.

When he mentioned seeing a real doctor, she nodded in agreement. It would have to be taken care of so she could fly properly. As he tightened the straps on the brace, her nails dug into the blanket as the world sharpened with the pain for a moment.

“I know it hurts. Yah need rest and yah gonna take the big captain room all by yahself. I make food for yah and take care of ship eh? Meh little bird just needs to rest.”

It was hard to let him take on all that when he didn’t feel well, but her mind felt as battered as her body, and for once resting would be best. He’d probably just pick her up and tote her to the bed anyways. “At least take the pills,” she said, her voice a little hoarse.

“I’m fine.”

She may have been drugged up, but it didn’t stop her from shooting him a sharp, knowing look. He swept up the pills and gulped them down a bit begrudgingly, before offering his tan hand to her. “There now I take yah to a room to rest.”

She took up his hand and walked with him, carefully taking the stairs up to the captain’s suite. By the time he opened the door for her and gave a little bow, the medicine had crept over her. Everything was there, but felt different. Illya’s hand in hers felt warm, but her fingers were too numb to identify their roughness. Chuckling at his silliness, she gave him a small, slightly crooked smile “Big room for the little bird. Come get me if you need anything.”

When Illya started to leave, she realized just how big the strangers captain’s quarters were. Would he stay if she asked him too? Probably. As tempted as she was to keep him close, he would rest better if he wasn’t worried about her. As she started for the bed a hot flash over took her. That was the only thing about the Terran medications, they tended to send waves of heat or chill when you took a strong one. Now she was unbearably hot and still stuck in her clothes.

The jeans went first. Wiggling out of them without unbuttoning was easy enough till they got to her knees where she had lift one foot and then the other in a little dance until she could kick them to the side. Her thermal shirt was more of a pain with the brace on her wrist. The sleeve caught the Velcro portion near her thumb and she had to tear it away, before tossing it next to her jeans. She'd wash them later.

With her filthy clothes off she felt much cooler. Sitting on the bed made the rooms spin, but she just closed her eyes against it as she spread out into the silky sheets. As she laid her head the pillow, something a bit colder met her cheek, but it felt nice so she let it stay. Maybe she could pass into one of those comas Illya did when he was sick. It would be a wonderful relief for just a little while.

****
Ayrn sat across from the woman who was rolled over on her side away from him. Normally, he would like being alone in a room with a woman, especially one that was pretty despite their age, but not this time. This woman was apparently the Captain’s mother and she had all the same sharp looks but none of the softness her daughter carried. There was a distinct cold chill from that side of the room making it clear that the prisoner would be none too kind if she got ahold of him. So, he sat on the bunk opposite of her with a heavy pistol loose in his hand, laid over his crossed legs.

A few minutes passed, and he picked random at his eye patch, then at the plastic tab on the end of his shoes, shredding it apart with his fingernail. He didn’t mind laying around when he could sleep or had some form of entertainment but this was incredibly boring. It was far too quiet.

“So, uh, wanna hear how I got the eye patch?” he said, half heartedly.
She didn’t reply or even so much as twitch like she heard him. Shrugging, he continued so the silence would be filled with at least something to pass the time.

“I had gone through the portal at G’koe to the Delta quadrant. Bumming a ride of course, and I got mixed up in this game of knives. If I won, I got free passage. Well, one of the players, this big brute of a thing, got mad and shink –he made a stabbing motion with his hand- right in the eye. Thought I was a dead man, but the folks there patched me up. A really pretty nurse gave me the eye patch when I went to leave and-“

“D’you always lie and prattle on about’such things?” the woman snapped.

“It’s not a lie,” Ayrn snapped back defensively.

The woman sighed. “I recognize’ye. Ye’hands are yellow and limp as ye’fathers.”

Ayrn was fine with people recognizing him, it came in hand sometimes, but he didn’t like it when people compared him to his father. He had been expected to be just like him since the day he was born, but really had no ambition to become a suit wearing man. It was just too much, and it was sometimes dirtier work than what Illya forced him to do.

“You don’t get to talk prisoner, just me. My hands are perfectly fine.”

“Ye’coward who hides behind stories. I’m supposed t’be resting. Ye’talk is keeping me awake. ”

He sat back and scowled at the woman. What did she know about anything? He made up stories and embellished a little from time to time, mostly for his own entertainment and for the female company he liked to keep. It wasn’t like his stories were hurting anybody. Nobody really wanted to know the real stories about his exploits, and it didn’t make him a coward for realizing that. Maybe disappearing had made him look like a wimp, but it had been fun and got him from under his father’s thumb.

Sighing, he went back to picking at his shoe laces, working on the opposite lace this time. His nail made little ticking sounds as it scraped across the plastic in the chilled silence until Illya returned. The man looked a bit drunk, swaying a little with half closed eyes onto a bunk. He’d been hoping the co-pilot had come to take over the watching business but instead he was ordered to keep watching.

“Aye,” he sighed, “I’ll keep watching. But she is awfully boring.”

The woman gave a small harrumph from the bed, and Illya didn’t say so much as a word before he stumbled from his bed and left again. Now, he didn’t even have the copilot to chat with.

***
Kiya laid back on the bed with her face to the wall. All of them were idiots. Thomas was an idiot for thinking she should have any sort of feeling for his daughter. She’d never wanted kids, and it had only been out of respect for his culture she’d kept that one. Thomas had been her momentary weakness. The woman was smart it seemed, but naïve which was just as bad as being stupid with the way things were going. Her copilot, who was obviously in love with her, was most certainly not naïve and he would be the most difficult to deal with. Still, men with his back ground and addled by love did very stupid things though. His Kalizda was his weakness. The other Terran she recognized only through research and he was a cowardly man who had run away from his responsibilities. He was simply useless for anything besides a bargaining chip. What poor company to be found in. The men chasing her for disobeying would catch up soon and these people had no idea what they did to people who crossed them. She could tell them, but if she managed to escape, they would know too much to live. Why had she let Thomas’ big brown eyes affect her so? Silently cursing herself, she stuck a pillow over her head to ignore anybody who might want to talk.

***
Thomas stood pouring a cup of wonderfully strong Terran coffee into a mug as he thought over everything. Calysta had been under so much stress in such a little time, it was no wonder she was lashing out. Especially considering the relationship or lack thereof with her mother. He’d loved Kiya for a long time, and it was hard to imagine her doing what his daughter claimed. Then again, love tended to make you look past things you shouldn’t. Did his daughter know of Illya’s war crimes? Surely not. She couldn’t look past something so bloody in anyone’s past, much less choose to marry them. His daughter was far too stubborn about those kinds of things. Though, where war was concerned, a man had the right to explain himself. He would give the Chip a chance to do so, and also make sure Calysta knew about it too. He would have to tell them about the news broadcast when they woke up anyways. Then he would try to convince her to at least talk to Kiya without slamming her into the wall.

As he took a long sip of the rich coffee, a wretching sound echoed through the hallway and into the open galley door. Striding out into the corridor, he waited until the miserable sound came again. It was coming from the medical bay. Had Calysta gotten sick?

He hobbled down the hallway, ignoring the stiffness that had settled into his knee since sleeping on the social room couch. As he poked his head into the med bay, he saw Illya laying on the ground with his arm curled around a bucket filled half full of vomit. A sheen of sweat was stuck to him as he shuddered from cold chills. Thomas’ eyes flicked to the pill bottles lined up on the counter. Had he taken all of those? Did the soldier’s syndrome or stress make him want to shovel down some pills? The man who was built like a tank, was reduced to a quivering mess over a few pills. Calysta would be upset if she woke up to find this and the man might be in real danger depending on how much he took. Of course, of he was throwing up and not passed out, that was a good sign his body wasn’t entirely overloaded.

“C’mon let’s get you up on the bed."

The Chip started to wave him off, but was too much of a mess to do much of anything about Thomas grabbing his arms and hauling him backward toward the lowered medical bed. The man was incredibly heavy, and each limb he stuck up on the bed was a bit of an effort, but with a little help from Illya he managed it just another gag started. Thomas dove for the bucket and shoved it underneath the man’s face, though nothing much came up. He dared to peer into the bucket to see if and how many pills were bobbing around. There were several half dissolved white tablets and Thomas nodded as he started looking through the cabinets.

Whoever owned this ship had been very rich and that usually meant they kept designer drugs or other illegal goodies on board somewhere. Not much to do when you didn’t have to work as hard as everyone else. It also meant there would probably be some minor things to help on board in case of an overdose. He swept through the cabinet and to the back he found a simple bottle with black pills inside. Reading the dosage recommendation on the back, he unscrewed the cap and shook out two of the capsules.

“You’ve already gotten most of it up it looks like, but just to be sure, take these while I see about making a stop somewhere safe.”

Illya gave him a snarl, which was not intimidating since he looked so sickly. “It’s just charcoal pills. They’ll neutralize the pills you haven’t puked up yet to keep you from getting worse."

The man still looked reluctant and Thomas sighed before placing the pills by the bed. “Take them or not. Just don’t let Calysta see you like this. I’m going to see if I can plot us somewhere safe to land. Which will be hard now, considering your face was broadcasted all over New York and probably the whole quadrant by now."

With that, Thomas left the med bay toward the bridge. He wouldn’t bother the Chip about war crimes while he was doubled over a bucket puking. That would just be cruel. The man did need to know about the broad cast though and what sort of danger his past had put him and his daughter in too.

Hobbling into the navigational panel, he pulled up the holographic star chart and began his math, thinking about the best place to take them. They were days away from leaving the quadrant completely, but there was a remote little moon orbiting a gas planet not too far from there. He’d never been but the people there were quiet, mostly because the language there wasn’t spoken, according to the paper he read. Their moon was somewhat of an oasis and that’s the way they liked to keep it.

It only took a few quick key strokes and the ship changed course, pitching gently to the side. With the course corrected, and an ETA timer set to display over the screens mounted over the ship, Thomas took a round to check on everyone.

Calysta was out cold and completely covered with blankets except for the broken hand which was bound up in a brace. At least she had let somebody look after her, even if it wasn’t him. In the crews quarters, Kiya was laid out on a lower bunk looking bored, but not bored enough to speak and Ayrn was half asleep with the gun propped in his lap. Illya had really thought that this was necessary? Sighing, he went back down to the med bay to make sure the man was still breathing. That much he could do.