Silence
Anonymous Me
Most business Illya could run through Ehvan for the time and Ehud it seemed had been badly injured, but he was recovering. Ehud could run the moonshadow here and see to smaller things while Ehvan drilled with the men and took them on small missions to retrieve more supplies. They couldn't afford to lose much of anything and a few days for grief were to be expected. During that time Illya stayed with Kalizda and Cypher. It seemed the baby was determined to live and over the next several days he started to fuss a little. Illya held the baby almost all day and sat in the chair or paced the room. Cypher's tiny little head would rest right over Illya's heart and the nurse came in one night to see Illya laying in his bed and holding the baby to the front of himself.
"Here." The woman picked the baby up and motioned to Illya's shirt. "Cypher will feel more comfort if he can touch your skin." When she got a skeptical look the woman sighed. "It is just a fact. You want the boy to grow and develop faster, you want him to be well and you hold him all the time. I've seen you. General you can barely stand to put that baby down. Just take off your shirt at night or during the day for a while and let the baby have skin to skin contact. It will help build his immune system in a gentle way too. You can't afford for him to get sick now and that is the safest way for you to help him."
Slowly Illya stripped his shirt off and held the baby to himself. Laying under the covers with a baby only in its diaper on on his chest and one hand covering the baby he could the little boy start to sweat. It was good for a Chip baby to have a little sweat and it calmed the child. In the morning it was the same routine as usual. Kalizda was still in a lot of pain, but she could hold Cypher in the mornings and feed him a bottle. At first the baby protested to being pulled away from his father's large hands, but he would settle when he was passed to his mother's arms. While she fed the baby Illya rested one hand on the guard rail of the bed. Leaning in he kissed Kalizda gently. "I love yah." He had been so afraid that he would lose her that in some ways Illya wasn't quite sure what to say now that she was here with him. All that time he had worried and been almost sick and then tried his best to distract himself with all the plans of how to divide the Elite forces and how and where he would travel with his half of it first. There was less to do after his talk with Henaiah and he already had almost everything that he could have done. Now there was the time of waiting for her and Cypher to recover enough to travel.
When Kalizda started to drift off to sleep again Illya picked the baby up and held Cypher till he nestled in and fell asleep. There were a few things that Illya needed to do so he set the baby in the crib and gently brushed the baby boy's back a few times till the whimpering stopped. The little boy had become so spoiled that he didn't even like to try and sleep without someone holding him. Rose hadn't seen them in a few days and she needed to be able to come see Kalizda and take a peek at her brother. Illya needed to spend some time with her and make sure she didn't feel forgotten. That was the main purpose to going out for Illya.
Illya barely set foot out the tent and he heard someone suddenly pipe up. It was loud, shrill, and entirely unwelcome. The general was still tired out and he didn't want anything to do with whoever this guy was. Staring at him and the others in the room Illya shrugged. "Dey recover and Cypher es fine. He will live." Gradually his eyes shifted to stare more steadily at Ayrn. "Who are yah?"
Ayrn had always gotten some hard looks from the man, even some down right terrifying ones, but this time the look was different. Tired...and a little blank. Maybe he was just joking to lighten the mood. Glancing around the room, the Terran chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Been a few months right? Seems a bit longer though."
It was impossible to know what the man was talking about and Illya stared at him for a long moment. There was nothing about the face that made him think he should remember who this man was. "I dun know yah." Turning slightly to the side Illya scooted past the man and into the regular part of the moonshadow. Then a second later he thought better of it. The man was a stranger and he'd just asked about his family. After the last refugee blew up the entire moonshdaow Illya was about to let this one get away with something like that. Grabbing Ayrn around the throat he snarled. "What yah want wit meh family? How yah know dey here?" No one had said anything except those that knew him might have come here so this refugee was nothing, but trouble.
What was Illya playing at? Didn't know him? He actually sounded serious too. Ayrn frowned a little as the Chip skirted past him, then suddenly found himself grabbed by the throat. "What the-ahuhg!" He grabbed ahold of Illya's wrist, as the grip on his neck grew impossibly tight and the man growled at him viciously. No air could get through for him to answer the bizarre questions he was asking either and in a mode of panic Ayrn fumbled, trying to pry the tight hand away from his neck. In response to Illya, sudden aggression, Kirit drew his blade and watched the scene just in case. The young warrior was taking no chances after what he had seen over the last few months.
So far as Illya was concerned there was no need to take it easy on this one. No one spoke up to say that he did know him. Squeezing harder on the neck he felt a sudden weight and it seemed that the man was going to pass out, but Illya wasn't going to let the man do that just yet. While the man was still mostly limp he threw the little foreigner on the ground then started to pat him down looking for guns, weapons, bombs or anything of the sort. Tearing the eye path off he inspected that too. There was never any telling what a person would do to hide their weapons.
Ayrn landed half limp on the hard, stone floor gasping for air as Illya looked down over him like a heavy shadow. What the hell was wrong with him?! He tried to speak, but he was still trying to catch his breath and stall the mad Chip. Finally his voice caught on a breath as Illya was snatching off his eye patch. "The hell..Illya!?" At the sound of the outcry Thomas' eyes snapped open and he sat up to see Illya standing over the Terran man tossing him over like a criminal. I t dawned on him that the man wouldn't remember the Ayrn at all. "Illya, stop!" Thomas called, stumbling to his feet. "He's a friend!"
While the weasley man shrunk onto the floor and gasped for air Illya ignored his comment. It could be anyone pretending to be someone they were not. This wasn't past the Federation and he fully intended on seeing to it that his family was safe this time. There weren't going to be any foreigners in his home to destroy the life of his son and agreed. Tossing the eye patch aside he reached down and pulled the man to his feet. Thomas started to speak, but Illya still didn't loosen his grip. Staring from one and then back to the other he released Ayrn reluctantly. "Huh. Yah stay away from meh family." For now that was all the more he could do. Issue a warning to the stranger. Illya didn't like this man at first glance and usually he had good instincts when it came to people.
Sputtering, Ayrn heard Thomas call for Illya to stop. Thank God for Thomas. He was sure, that for whatever reason, Illya could kill him this time. The Chip snatched him up forcefully and he felt his feet lift the ground before his grip loosened, dropping him back down. "I'm a friend," he coughed, "We've been working together for almost 2 years! "
Why he should believe the man Illya didn't know. Coolly looking him over Illya shook his head. "Ef yah worked wit meh I would have records. I dun know yah." There were a few of his old reports in which there was mention of an anonymous source, but he couldn't ever figure out who this person was and he didn't want to simply assume there was any such person or even try to guess who it was.
Ayrn rubbed the red ring around his neck and shot Illya a look. He couldn't exactly say what he was doing for the man all this time in front of the weird kid with the fancy knife and Calysta's father. Thomas straightened out his knee and walked over to the two, picking up the eye patch as he went. "Ayrn was part of Calysta's crew and has been...more or less helpful to the cause. He came to make sure his Captain was okay." Ayrn nodded, pointing to Thomas. "What he said. How do you not remember?"
With the man still standing there and being troublesome Illya was feeling a bit irritable. He was on his way to do something important and this little twerp had held him up. "Doesn't matter ef I dun remember yah." Pushing Ayrn aside he started to stalk off toward Ehvan's. "Yah got report. She's fine and yah stay away from her I kill yah next time."
Aryn gave Thomas a wildly confused look as the man offered his eye patch back. "I know he's stressed, but what did I do this time?" Thomas sighed and smoothed his goatee before giving it a tug. "C'mon son,"he said to Ayrn, "Let's take a walk and I'll tell you. I need to stretch my legs anyways."
Now that he was back to his task Illya went straight to Ehvan's and stopped outside the little sheltered area they were in. "Es meh Rose 'ere?" Before anyone could answer the little girl came barreling out and she threw herself into his arms. There was that absolute trust that he would catch her and he did. Rose leaned back a little after the initial hug and placed one tiny hand on each shoulder. Playfully Illya tipped her to one side and tossed her over his shoulder like a little sack of potatoes. "Take yah away."
Rose giggled and flopped wildly against his shoulder. When they finally reached the hospital again Illya carefully set her down on her feet. "Yah little brother es verah weak right now and Kalizda es still sore. Yah be careful." The girl walked on her tip toes into the hospital room as if she wouldn't wake them. Peering inside the cradle she asked if she could hold the baby and Illya shook his head. "Not yet." After Rose had a few minutes to stare at her new brother she moved over to say hi to Kalizda. Illya could tell that the girl missed them, but there was not much he could do at this point to be with the girl and try to ensure that she was taken care of. It was all Illya could do to get himself taken care of in the mornings and stay here with Kalizda and the baby. They needed him here and even if it was difficult he was doing his best to be around. At least a few times a day he would go for a while or he would lean against the wall and read while they were sleeping. It took a long time to read, but he had to get through some of the newer reports at some point.
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It had been a long week and a half. Cypher was still needing a special mask to help him breath, but otherwise the baby seemed to be doing well. While Kalizda had improved she was still weak and Cypher was only getting heavier. "Kalizda yah get yah clothes ready?" She was supposed to be getting her bag ready and he would take it to the ship. In some ways it would be nice to have their own room and it sounded like Henaiah had made contact with some people ahead of time.
He was going there and they had a house lined out and everything for him to stay in with his family. Grabbing his own bag and then the crib that the men had managed to salvage from the moonshadow Illya set it outside the tent. Kalizda was still in her robe. That had also been saved from the ruins. Fortunately that little wooden room he made had saved quite a few things inside. Most of what was in the tent had been completely demolished. "I get dis stuff loaded while yah pack oter tings eh?" With a sigh he stared at the already massive pile. How much stuff did she think they needed for this trip?
Apparently they needed everything because they were going to be living wherever this planet was for a long time. Illya noticed a few of the other men staring at their piles of stuff with similar expressions. At least he wasn't the only one.
"Here." The woman picked the baby up and motioned to Illya's shirt. "Cypher will feel more comfort if he can touch your skin." When she got a skeptical look the woman sighed. "It is just a fact. You want the boy to grow and develop faster, you want him to be well and you hold him all the time. I've seen you. General you can barely stand to put that baby down. Just take off your shirt at night or during the day for a while and let the baby have skin to skin contact. It will help build his immune system in a gentle way too. You can't afford for him to get sick now and that is the safest way for you to help him."
Slowly Illya stripped his shirt off and held the baby to himself. Laying under the covers with a baby only in its diaper on on his chest and one hand covering the baby he could the little boy start to sweat. It was good for a Chip baby to have a little sweat and it calmed the child. In the morning it was the same routine as usual. Kalizda was still in a lot of pain, but she could hold Cypher in the mornings and feed him a bottle. At first the baby protested to being pulled away from his father's large hands, but he would settle when he was passed to his mother's arms. While she fed the baby Illya rested one hand on the guard rail of the bed. Leaning in he kissed Kalizda gently. "I love yah." He had been so afraid that he would lose her that in some ways Illya wasn't quite sure what to say now that she was here with him. All that time he had worried and been almost sick and then tried his best to distract himself with all the plans of how to divide the Elite forces and how and where he would travel with his half of it first. There was less to do after his talk with Henaiah and he already had almost everything that he could have done. Now there was the time of waiting for her and Cypher to recover enough to travel.
When Kalizda started to drift off to sleep again Illya picked the baby up and held Cypher till he nestled in and fell asleep. There were a few things that Illya needed to do so he set the baby in the crib and gently brushed the baby boy's back a few times till the whimpering stopped. The little boy had become so spoiled that he didn't even like to try and sleep without someone holding him. Rose hadn't seen them in a few days and she needed to be able to come see Kalizda and take a peek at her brother. Illya needed to spend some time with her and make sure she didn't feel forgotten. That was the main purpose to going out for Illya.
Illya barely set foot out the tent and he heard someone suddenly pipe up. It was loud, shrill, and entirely unwelcome. The general was still tired out and he didn't want anything to do with whoever this guy was. Staring at him and the others in the room Illya shrugged. "Dey recover and Cypher es fine. He will live." Gradually his eyes shifted to stare more steadily at Ayrn. "Who are yah?"
Ayrn had always gotten some hard looks from the man, even some down right terrifying ones, but this time the look was different. Tired...and a little blank. Maybe he was just joking to lighten the mood. Glancing around the room, the Terran chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Been a few months right? Seems a bit longer though."
It was impossible to know what the man was talking about and Illya stared at him for a long moment. There was nothing about the face that made him think he should remember who this man was. "I dun know yah." Turning slightly to the side Illya scooted past the man and into the regular part of the moonshadow. Then a second later he thought better of it. The man was a stranger and he'd just asked about his family. After the last refugee blew up the entire moonshdaow Illya was about to let this one get away with something like that. Grabbing Ayrn around the throat he snarled. "What yah want wit meh family? How yah know dey here?" No one had said anything except those that knew him might have come here so this refugee was nothing, but trouble.
What was Illya playing at? Didn't know him? He actually sounded serious too. Ayrn frowned a little as the Chip skirted past him, then suddenly found himself grabbed by the throat. "What the-ahuhg!" He grabbed ahold of Illya's wrist, as the grip on his neck grew impossibly tight and the man growled at him viciously. No air could get through for him to answer the bizarre questions he was asking either and in a mode of panic Ayrn fumbled, trying to pry the tight hand away from his neck. In response to Illya, sudden aggression, Kirit drew his blade and watched the scene just in case. The young warrior was taking no chances after what he had seen over the last few months.
So far as Illya was concerned there was no need to take it easy on this one. No one spoke up to say that he did know him. Squeezing harder on the neck he felt a sudden weight and it seemed that the man was going to pass out, but Illya wasn't going to let the man do that just yet. While the man was still mostly limp he threw the little foreigner on the ground then started to pat him down looking for guns, weapons, bombs or anything of the sort. Tearing the eye path off he inspected that too. There was never any telling what a person would do to hide their weapons.
Ayrn landed half limp on the hard, stone floor gasping for air as Illya looked down over him like a heavy shadow. What the hell was wrong with him?! He tried to speak, but he was still trying to catch his breath and stall the mad Chip. Finally his voice caught on a breath as Illya was snatching off his eye patch. "The hell..Illya!?" At the sound of the outcry Thomas' eyes snapped open and he sat up to see Illya standing over the Terran man tossing him over like a criminal. I t dawned on him that the man wouldn't remember the Ayrn at all. "Illya, stop!" Thomas called, stumbling to his feet. "He's a friend!"
While the weasley man shrunk onto the floor and gasped for air Illya ignored his comment. It could be anyone pretending to be someone they were not. This wasn't past the Federation and he fully intended on seeing to it that his family was safe this time. There weren't going to be any foreigners in his home to destroy the life of his son and agreed. Tossing the eye patch aside he reached down and pulled the man to his feet. Thomas started to speak, but Illya still didn't loosen his grip. Staring from one and then back to the other he released Ayrn reluctantly. "Huh. Yah stay away from meh family." For now that was all the more he could do. Issue a warning to the stranger. Illya didn't like this man at first glance and usually he had good instincts when it came to people.
Sputtering, Ayrn heard Thomas call for Illya to stop. Thank God for Thomas. He was sure, that for whatever reason, Illya could kill him this time. The Chip snatched him up forcefully and he felt his feet lift the ground before his grip loosened, dropping him back down. "I'm a friend," he coughed, "We've been working together for almost 2 years! "
Why he should believe the man Illya didn't know. Coolly looking him over Illya shook his head. "Ef yah worked wit meh I would have records. I dun know yah." There were a few of his old reports in which there was mention of an anonymous source, but he couldn't ever figure out who this person was and he didn't want to simply assume there was any such person or even try to guess who it was.
Ayrn rubbed the red ring around his neck and shot Illya a look. He couldn't exactly say what he was doing for the man all this time in front of the weird kid with the fancy knife and Calysta's father. Thomas straightened out his knee and walked over to the two, picking up the eye patch as he went. "Ayrn was part of Calysta's crew and has been...more or less helpful to the cause. He came to make sure his Captain was okay." Ayrn nodded, pointing to Thomas. "What he said. How do you not remember?"
With the man still standing there and being troublesome Illya was feeling a bit irritable. He was on his way to do something important and this little twerp had held him up. "Doesn't matter ef I dun remember yah." Pushing Ayrn aside he started to stalk off toward Ehvan's. "Yah got report. She's fine and yah stay away from her I kill yah next time."
Aryn gave Thomas a wildly confused look as the man offered his eye patch back. "I know he's stressed, but what did I do this time?" Thomas sighed and smoothed his goatee before giving it a tug. "C'mon son,"he said to Ayrn, "Let's take a walk and I'll tell you. I need to stretch my legs anyways."
Now that he was back to his task Illya went straight to Ehvan's and stopped outside the little sheltered area they were in. "Es meh Rose 'ere?" Before anyone could answer the little girl came barreling out and she threw herself into his arms. There was that absolute trust that he would catch her and he did. Rose leaned back a little after the initial hug and placed one tiny hand on each shoulder. Playfully Illya tipped her to one side and tossed her over his shoulder like a little sack of potatoes. "Take yah away."
Rose giggled and flopped wildly against his shoulder. When they finally reached the hospital again Illya carefully set her down on her feet. "Yah little brother es verah weak right now and Kalizda es still sore. Yah be careful." The girl walked on her tip toes into the hospital room as if she wouldn't wake them. Peering inside the cradle she asked if she could hold the baby and Illya shook his head. "Not yet." After Rose had a few minutes to stare at her new brother she moved over to say hi to Kalizda. Illya could tell that the girl missed them, but there was not much he could do at this point to be with the girl and try to ensure that she was taken care of. It was all Illya could do to get himself taken care of in the mornings and stay here with Kalizda and the baby. They needed him here and even if it was difficult he was doing his best to be around. At least a few times a day he would go for a while or he would lean against the wall and read while they were sleeping. It took a long time to read, but he had to get through some of the newer reports at some point.
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It had been a long week and a half. Cypher was still needing a special mask to help him breath, but otherwise the baby seemed to be doing well. While Kalizda had improved she was still weak and Cypher was only getting heavier. "Kalizda yah get yah clothes ready?" She was supposed to be getting her bag ready and he would take it to the ship. In some ways it would be nice to have their own room and it sounded like Henaiah had made contact with some people ahead of time.
He was going there and they had a house lined out and everything for him to stay in with his family. Grabbing his own bag and then the crib that the men had managed to salvage from the moonshadow Illya set it outside the tent. Kalizda was still in her robe. That had also been saved from the ruins. Fortunately that little wooden room he made had saved quite a few things inside. Most of what was in the tent had been completely demolished. "I get dis stuff loaded while yah pack oter tings eh?" With a sigh he stared at the already massive pile. How much stuff did she think they needed for this trip?
Apparently they needed everything because they were going to be living wherever this planet was for a long time. Illya noticed a few of the other men staring at their piles of stuff with similar expressions. At least he wasn't the only one.