Colliding Worlds

[Silence]

By the time Illya got settled in with Kalizda it was late, but he figured he would sleep good. It was hot with his blanket and he was feeling wore out after the long day and short night before. Then hopefully in a day or so they could get into the mines. Despite the fact that he was a bit skeptical of the mines truly being uncontested they had thus far been undisturbed so far as he could tell.

Suddenly a blip sounded in the ship and then the whole room lit up red and the siren started to go off. Illya bolted upright in the bed. They were under attack by the Tannas and if it was an alarm they weren't registered and that meant that they were hostiles. Couldn't be anything else if they were approaching the ship and setting off the alarm. In his scramble to get out of the bed Illya tripped on the part of the sheet that was still wrapped around his prosthetic leg. Pulling the leg out of the bed he ran to where he had his bag of gear and started to throw on a basic tactical gear set and then his armor and vest. Finally, he strapped on the sword. "Yah stay here in dah ship." When he stepped out the door he could see that Duncan was just strapping his belt on and he was standing outside of his room.

Looking over Illya saw that Harry and Priscilla were looking out of their doorway with wide eyes. This was insane. Why would they be looking out their doors? They should be huddling in their room and trying to stay out of sight. "Yah stay in dah ship. Ef someone try ta break down dah door or dah ship goes into lock down den yah know yah have tah leave." Lock down would indicate a gas attack and it would prevent outside air, but they would have to leave or suffocate. Get out of range of the gas attack. Breaking in would indicate that Duncan and Illya hadn't survived the attack.

The two Chippequoti stepped outside and shut the bay door closed behind them. They stood on the ramp long enough to fix their night vision goggles on and look over the desert. "Yah see dem over dere." Illya nodded toward the west. "Aye," Duncan replied and then Illya moved off the side of the plank and stood on the ground near the ship. "We'll stagger and I'll hold ground you hold entrance." Again Duncan ageed with a single word and the two of them watched the small group of men try to sneak in on the ship. It wasn't going to be pretty with nearly 50 of the Tannas. Even though Duncan was not green eyed he had obtained immunity to the Wilds and he would be able to survive if he had to.

Only a few moments later the first wave of men hit and Illya had his sword ready. Swinging the blade in a cross section moving upward he cut off one Tannas leg and cut deep into the artery of another Tannas just under the arm. A thick spray of blood spattered over Illya's armor and then a glurb of it oozed out and covered part of his pant leg when the body fell against him. Using the ship as protection Illya kept his back to it till he found that the Tannas were trying to pin him there. Angling himself a little bit he moved away from the ship. Suddenly one of them rushed him and the Tannas slammed Illya into the gang plank hanging down from the ship. The metal rung caught Illya in his lower back and he grunted when he felt the body armor forced further into his back. Momentarily his legs went to jelly and he started to fall. It happened to be a lucky thing since the Tannas could not support his weight and it had been braced for a struggle. Losing its sudden position of dominance the Tannas dove for the Chip, but not in time as it was caught on the sword.

A fresh glurb of blood ran down Illya's sword and pooled at the hand guard before it ran over and began to soak his arm. Once he was on the ground it was a lot harder to fight his way up. Slashing at the legs around him Illya would drop as many of the enemy as he could and then he would move over and stab them. It took nearly 2 minutes of crawling and fighting from the bloody ground to get himself up and even then his legs felt unstable.

In a desperate attempt to fight off the five Tannas that had begun to close in on him Illya twisted as he swung his sword. It was something he hadn't been able to accomplish without seriously hurting his back for sometime. However, it was a necessary move in combat at times. The twist had one leg planted and then swiveling with one knee and twisting from the hip up to have greater reach. A bullet from one of the Tannas made a tink as it hit his vest. Whatever it was had to have been high powered. Illya stumbled back a step and then lunged forward again. With 3 steps forward and then a foot planted he twisted and killed the first four and only severely injured the last one.

Momentarily it was quiet and Illya winced as he pulled himself from the ground again. There was only one more wave of Tannas and this time they made a full on frontal attack. Illya and Duncan stayed closer on this one and when it was finished the two of them drug themselves up the gang plank. They were exhausted and half afraid of what they may find. If the ship's systems failed everyone inside could be dead. Illya opened the door and to his relief he saw that Kalizda and Lohgan were still there. Harry and Priscilla were still alive as well. They hadn't stayed in their rooms, but they had watched as well as they could from the inside of the ship.

The ship was still mostly dark inside, but Illya still waited for a few moments longer. It was quiet except for the groans from those still alive that had made the attempted attack. This was nothing short of an assassination attempt and he wiped at his face only to feel the blood smear. His other hand and the sword were both sticky. Looking behind himself at the others he gave a quick verbal check. "Everyone alive yet?" Since they were he nodded mostly to himself and then gave an order. "Turn dah flood lights on. I need tah check dah bodies." It wasn't pretty, but he knew what he had to do if they were Federation men. It was just too bad that Harry, Priscilla, Kalizda, and Lohgan were here for this. When the light turned on it revealed the blood covered Chips and the thick red droplets that fell from their hair. Illya still clutched his sword tightly and he started with the first body on the ramp. Kicking it hard he waited a second and then leaned down close enough to push it over and check for identification of sorts.

Calysta heard the terrible sounds from outside dull to groans of agony and pitiful cries. She heard Illya ask if everyone was left alive so far and she answered, her voice shaking. "Aye." Harry was staring out of the hatch, almond shaped eyes wide with horror while his wife cried into his shoulder. His hand stroked her shoulder, holding her close but unable to truly give comfort to her. Calysta stayed close to Lohgan who was crying in her bundle of blankets with the president and his wife. "Stay here," she told them, her voice cracking. Calysta forced her shaking legs to move her toward the hatch and peered around the corner to see Illya there along with Duncan. He was standing tall, sword in hand, and drenched in blood. Not a spot of him was left unstained, the gore dripping from his hand and his hair as he kicked over a groaning man off the ramp. It was only one of many bodies that littered the ground. "Illya...is it over?" Her question sounded pathetic and hated it but between Lohgan's shrill cries, Priscilla's sobbing and the groans of the dying it was the best she could do.

Digging into the front of the man's vest pocket Illya pulled out a small medallion and turned it over in his bloody hand to look at the back. He'd seen just about every kind of little identification that the soldiers of the Federation would carry with them and this one indicated a special sort of unit. One that was mainly for sabotage and gorilla warfare tactics. Usually a precursor to something far worse. It could be hours, days, months, he didn't know when the next group would come, but he did know that they would be headed for the area. The sudden question made Illya jolt to his feet and he flashed Kalizda a wild glare. "Yah get back inside! Ets nut done and ets nut safe."

When his green eyes swiveled to her and the sharp order came, Calysta took a step back into the interior but remained peeked at the door way, with her pistol ready. "Do we know who they are?" She asked from behind the hatch wall. They didn't know how many of the Terran army was left alive, the secret service, and thr work force. The president was still shaking off his shock, and they were sitting in the middle of a hostile zone. Illya couldn't do everything with himself and Duncan alone.

Kalizda wasn't listening to well since she still was poking her head around the corner and Illya marched back up the ramp toward her. "Dey're Federation." Stepping closer he made sure she stepped back so she wasn't visible. "Yah stay inside and yah dun be poking yah head around eh? Ef dey're still alive dey try tah get sneak shots in. I dun need yah getting shot." Turning sharply he stalked back down the ramp toward the body of the first man and knelt close to him again. "Yah tell meh when yah expect back up." The man wouldn't answer so Illya drug him through the sand and started to pack it into the wounds. It would burn and sting plenty. Snatching a little scorpion he shoved it into one of the wounds as well. "I jes come back and ask yah in a few minutes." Walking over to the next body he kicked it a few times and leaned down to find the man was already dead. The next one was alive and Illya sliced his throat open with the sword. He wasn't about to take any kind of prisoner. They would kill Kalizda, Lohgan, Harry or Priscilla without a second thought. It was a chance that Illya couldn't take. Picking up a large stinging ant from the ground he pulled the man's shirt open and held the ant at the collar. "Yah ready tah talk now?" Still the man refused so Illya dropped the ant inside and the man started screaming and writhing as the angry creature bit furiously at his back and all over his chest as well. Slowly Illya walked over to the next Federation man that looked lively enough to talk, but he was in fatal condition. "Yah talk to meh, or yah join him." The man's eyes widened and he tried to look away from the other, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from it. Carefully he nodded and Illya waited for him to start talking.

Calysta knew they could be sneaking shots in. It was a risk she knew would happen when she took the position, but behind the wild anger in his voice was worry. She nodded and stepped back into the shadows silently when he towered over her. As he turned to go back outside, a few blots of blood flung from his curls and dotted over her shoulder. Glancing at the blood, she bit her lip against the cold shiver arching down her spine. She had been in combat before, but using a sword made everything so much more...personal. Still, she had to keep it together. Looking to Harry, she cleared her throat. "President...president..." He was staring blankly outside of the door, not hearing a word. "Harry!" Yelling his name jolted the poor man from his stupor and he looked to her. "Get on the radio, find what's left of the Terran army men. Give me a report when you find out. This isnt over." Priscilla clutched at him as he rose to his feet nodding. "Priscilla. Get Lohgan and sit in the navigation chair. Do not move or go anywhere." The woman stumbled over and picked up Lohgan, trying to soothe her. It wasnt until Calysta heard the screaming outside the door. A second wave? She dared to poke her for the briefest of moments out of the door to catch a glimpse of Illya standing over a man as he writhed. Not a second wave. Torture. The screams pierced through her ears almost more than she could stand. They weren't in battle anymore, so why was he resorting to that already. He moved on to the next who was whimpering. "Soon...within the hour," he sputtered frantically, "Don't...don't..."

Within the hour left them no time an Illya called to Duncan. "Finish." They had to kill the remaining men and get out while they could. It was better if there was no one left to tell tales or even say where they went. Looking back down at the pleading man Illya shrugged and swung his sword across the man's neck. He wouldn't have felt anything. It was fast and it was done. Walking through the bodies of men Illya kicked them and slit the throats on all those that were still alive. The dead he slit the throats on just to be sure and then he went back to the last man and sliced him open. "I told yah tah talk. Make et easier." It would take about 5 minutes for him to die and then that would be it. Carefully patting him down he made sure there wasn't anyway for him to contact anyone and then nodded to Duncan. The two of them stepped back into the ship. "Kalizda." Illya called to her. "Yah get engines going and we leave now." There wasn't time to wait. He had to get her and the president out of here. Since he and Duncan were covered in blood they stayed in the cargo bay area with the draining slats. "We change here and get cleaned up. Bring some buckets wit water when yah can." That was the best way to proceed and then he could get started on making the report and ordering soldiers to control the area. They were obviously going to be putting up a fight for a part of Terra and it wasn't what they'd agreed on with the president. He told them it was free and clear. Part of Illya surged with anger. Accuracy was paramount to these sort of things and they could still be at considerable risk because of the Terran's incompetency.

Calysta nearly jumped when Illya called her name, ordering her to start the engines. "Aye..." Walking over to the pilots chair numbly, she nudged Harry out of the way. "No one is answering," he mumbled, "From here to Cairo, Dakar or Oran. None of the military channels." Calysta simply nodded. It didn't bode well for finding a safeport and they didnt have enough fuel to get all the way back to Japan. It wasnt a galactic ship, only one meant for atmospheric transport. "It's alright...just sit down." Calysta sent jets of air through the engine system, clearing it of sand as she pulled up the ramp and closed the hatch which was stained in blood. Once they were in the air, she checked the weapons systems, which were decent enough, then marked a course toward a country they had passed over earlier. According to her calculations, Xiangxang would be the furthest they could go on their fuel supply. Taking them high into the atmosphere, above the reach of most ground to air weapons, Calysta put them on autopilot. "Stay here." With that, solitary order given, she walked back to the bedrooms to look for a bucket. This was a terran vessel and didn't have Kaerelean or Chip needs in some ways. Looking in a few different places, she finally found a bucket in the cleaning closet. It smelled of bleach but that was alright. She filled the bucket up with hot water then threw as many towels a she could find over her shoulder before hauling to Illya and Duncan. "It's the only one I can find for now," she said quietly, setting the bucket at their feet near the drain, "Here's some wash cloths and towels, soap too...I'll go look for another bucket and get some fresh clothes..." She trailed off for a moment, staring at Illya. "Are you alright?"

While they waited for the water to be brought Illya and Duncan started to strip off armor and their shirts. Getting off what they could for now would help when they did get some water to clean up with. At least enough that they could get to the shower and finish cleaning up. They had barely stripped off their shirts and Kalizda was back with the bucket. Neither of them looked directly in her eyes, but they nodded solemnly when she placed it near their feet. Illya clenched his jaw when she asked if he was ok and he nodded. He was about as fine as he was going to be. What he did was necessary and he didn't mind doing it, but deep down it bothered him a little bit. Torturing the one man was enough to get someone else to talk for fear of what would happen, but he didn't really have to spill the man's guts that didn't talk and let him die a little longer and more painfully. None of it really mattered now. They were all dead and he did what he had to. This met his objective. Protect the Council Woman, protect the president, protect his family. That was all that mattered. Both Illya and Duncan were anxious to get out of the bloody pants they wore and they started to strip them off before Kalizda was even out of the small room. Illya and Duncan shared the bucket and washed off the blood till the bucket was red too and they were essentially smearing blood all over themselves. The second bucket didn't last long either and this time they were clean enough to walk into the main part of the ship with towels on. Duncan collected bags to pack their armor and swords in. When they each grabbed a shower it was to wash the blood out of their hair and clean their gear. Keeping the weapons clean was just as important as keeping yourself clean. Illya was in the bathroom almost an hour between cleaning his gear and himself. Even after he was clean he could have almost swore it felt like he had liquid rolling slowly down his back and his arms. Multiple times he would check or look in the mirror, it was just the after battle creeps. Everyone got them at some point.

Calysta left the men to do what they needed to do and went to find another bucket. It took another 10 minutes to find a small plastic pail hidden in a cupboard under the galley sink. By the time she returned with the small bucket sloshing water down the hall, the previous one had been turned bright red with blood. She kicked it over into the drain and sat the fresh one in the same spot with out a word. When they were clean enough, Illya took up residence in their bathroom and while Duncan went to his own. She let them be and do what they needed to do, returning to the cockpit. "Here, let me take Loh-" It wasn't till she held up her hands that she saw more blood spatter from simply getting to close to Illya when he was changing. Priscilla gave her a horrified look and Calysta slowly let her arms drop. She couldn't hold her baby like that. "Excuse me." Leaving the two Terrans, she walked back to their quarters, grabbed a change of clothes, and went to the galley sink to scrub off. Even changing clothes didn't make her feel too much better, but at least she wasn't dribbled with red anymore. Once she was clean as she could be, Calysta returned to the cockpit and took up Lohgan in her arms. "Shhh....it's alright...." Lohgan wailed for a few more minutes, her face twisted into a look of angry fear. 30 minutes passed, then 40 , and with every ten minutes Calysta checked the sensors. They started to pass over Cairo, and from that high in the atmosphere the city were mere dots of light. When they were an hour and a half from Xiangxang, Calysta carried Lohgan back to their quarters to check on Illya. Pushing aside their door, she poked her head inside only to find him standing in the bathroom door which was still open. "Illya?" She stepped further into the room and looked at him, though he wouldn't meet her gaze. "We'll have to land within the next few hours for fuel. I haven't asked for clearance yet, but Harry says we wont need it. None of the military channels are working so far." She didn't know what else to tell him, or what would make the situation any better besides to be helpful.

The sound of Kalizda's voice broke into Illya's thoughts and he nodded listlessly as he stared at the counter top in the bathroom. He would need to get geared up and ready to fight again if there wasn't any contact. This was getting to be a bit stressful. Duncan and him couldn't hold off an entire attack by the army and there wouldn't be any mercy for Kalizda or Lohgan if he failed. When she left he put his soaked boots back on and the dripping armor. His arm hurt, but there wasn't anything to do for it now. Grabbing his sword he checked the blade to be sure it was sharp and clean then slid it into the the sheath. Illya rubbed his face a little and shook his head before he headed toward the navigation and control room. Maybe they had got through somewhere.

He didn't even stop to say anything before marching toward the door as if there were somewhere to go. "Illya, wait...just sit down for a minute, yeah?" she called, reaching out for his hand, " There's nothing up there that I can't handle for the time being."

A sharp sting ran from Illya's finger tips to his shoulder. He could only figure that Kalizda had reached for his hand. Turning slightly he stared at her and Lohgan for a long moment. This hardly seemed to be the time to talk. He needed to be doing everything he could to make sure they got back to Pytra safely. They needed to get off Terra and Japan would be a safe stop, but he needed to get them there first. Still, it could be the last time that he had to sit next to her. Pausing mid-step he turned back toward her and perched himself on the edge of the bed. If she wanted him to sit then he was going to sit for a few moments. Reaching with one hand he gently rubbed Lohgan's back and listened to the girl coo gently at him. She still had little red rimmed eyes from crying and he knew it scared her, but it had to be done.

Calysta lowered herself next to Illya, holding out Lohgan for him as she leaned her temple against his shoulder just ever so slightly. They sat in the quiet of the cabin for a long moment, watching their daughter smile up at them after such a terrible night, and trying to calm down. Eventually, Calysta tilted her chin and kissed his cheek with the lightest of touches. He should know that she loved him, no matter what happened. After a moment, the president's voice came over the comms in the cabin. "General? Councilwoman? I've made contact with the ground forces in Xiangxang. From what their report says, the black out in coms was due to cyber attack on the regional hub. Otherwise, our location was the only one with direct combat. Coms to the area will be up shortly and Xiangxang will be ready to receive us. They stated that the weather was not good, and to watch for the docking lights on the mountain. Terran army will be waiting there to receive us. " With that the intercom system clicked off and Calysta rose to her feet before turning to gaze at Illya. He knew that they would have to be on guard when they landed to refuel at this mountain city already. She didn't have to say it. "I'm sorry, Illya." What else could she say, when it was her job to make sure he didn't have to do those things?

Just being able to hold Lohgan for a few moments was calming. Illya heard the little girl protest when she felt that he had his armor on and it was cool and wet. It wasn't good to hold her for too long. Handing her back to her mother he stared at the doorway half expecting something to pop up and try to kill them. He was tired, on edge, and he knew they had to make it through the next port. A tiny kiss on his cheek caused Illya to sit up straighter and his shoulders tightened momentarily and then slackened again. Finally, Harry spoke into the coms and it sounded nice but there was no telling if the next port would actually be safe or not. Nobody was stepping outside for fueling or anything else except Illya and Duncan. He was going to make sure of that and give a few orders. They would be enough to keep other men away from the ship and he could relax a bit more and know they were truly Alliance if they would keep their distance. If they didn't he was going to have trouble on his hands stealing fuel and getting back out. Kalizda broke the silence shortly after Harry. The apology didn't really make sense, but he nodded. "Jes make sure dey know tah stay clear of dah ship when we land and dey only approach ef I give dem signal trough dah ship."

"Aye." Calysta kept Lohgan close as she lead Illya down the hallway back to the cockpit. After a little while, an alert came over the navigation system, prompting her to descend for their stop. Illya and Duncan stood by the hatch as Priscilla held Lohgan once more and Harry gave the order to stay clear of the ship, using his own authorization code. Calysta took over the controls manually and brought them into the storm clouds. Rain pelted the hull as wind threatened to push them in all directions. The ship shuddered and jolted, making Calysta grimace. Kaerelean controls were much better than the fancy, but all show bucket of bolts they were in. After what seemed like ages, the mountain appeared as a black mass on the screen lit only by lightening arching in the sky and a few lights dotted over the side. A series of red blinking lights indicated their docking station, and Calysta put them down, as she looked over the screen. "There are several military personnel along the edge but no one has moved in closer," she told the two Chips.

Illya could feel his back was starting to get that uneven feeling. He probably hadn't done any serious damage, but it still hurt. Almost gritting his teeth he nodded to Kalizda and started out the gang plank to keep watch while Duncan got the ship re-fueling. Warily Illya watched the men outside. None of them moved toward him, but he was still feeling on edge. "Duncan?" They didn't want to leave with anything less than a full tank, but he still wanted to be done earlier if possible.

It felt like everyone was watching him and in part Duncan knew they were. He still felt nervous. If they were attacked he knew that they wouldn't last long out here on the docks. There wasn't quite as much space to move and the General's back was starting to give out. There were too many old injuries that prevented him from fighting like he used to. He could rally that sort of fight for a time, but he couldn't hold it up for as long as he would have before the blast at the first war mission that killed nearly half the unit. Duncan shivered against the wind and he looked at the gauge. They were so close. When it finally clicked off he ran the pump back to it's spot and ran up to where Illya was and the two of them backed into the ship again before they got it closed up.

They were finally fueled up and Illya called to Kalizda again. "We're good. Let's get out of here." Within a few moments they were safely out of the port and on their way to Japan. It wasn't a long flight left, but Illya figured that he could check the updates on the alert systems and see if Japan was safe or not. If it wasn't they were going to transfer back to the ship he got for Kalizda, initiate the cloak and make a run for Pytra with Harry and Priscilla aboard.

Wandering back to their room for the last little bit of the fly back to Japan Illya checked the updates and he almost sighed in relief when he saw that it was just the mines. They were going to have to start a campaign to take the mines, re-work another deal with Terra to help pay for the cost of the mine's repairs, reassessment, and recapture of them. With the short time left on the ship Illya was considering talking to Harry, but that would have to wait until after he had some rest. Illya stripped off his soaking armor and took a small lozenge from his bag. His back was hurting badly enough that he didn't think he would get much rest without taking the lozenge.

Laying back on the bed Illya stared at the ceiling. It wasn't that long, but it felt like he'd been there hours. Suddenly he found himself staring at the sand and the dirt. There were dark patches of it and some of the ground even felt cool underneath his hands. That sharp pain was stabbing and running through his back and then he realized he hadn't made it to safety. His men were strewn and bits of pieces of them were everywhere. One of them looked different, out of place. Mumbling under his breath he started to breathe unevenly in his sleep. He knew that soldier, but he couldn't place them. Then it struck him. It was Kalizda. Her thick hair was matted in blood. They'd blown part of her skull away and he started to scream and yell in his sleep and then woke up. He'd never had a dream like that about Kalizda and it made him sick.

Illya didn't have to ever see an injury like that on Kalizda to know what it would look like. He already knew because he'd seen those sorts of things a thousand times. Even if his back was still hurting he didn't want to even try sleeping anymore. Wandering out to the main sitting room Illya sat near the viewing window and remained silent until they landed. Even then he stayed quiet all the way to the hotel. His mind was whirling with memories of the first war, Isla, Lahna and now Kalizda and Lohgan. He'd almost lost Kalizda and Lohgan and it was playing out in his mind with the most horrific images. Anytime he would start to drift off he'd find himself looking at dead bodies and he always found his men blown to bits. He remembered their faces. Somehow he found Kalizda there a few times and he jolted awake with every new dream. Even in the hotel he couldn't sleep the first night.

After the fourth time in the same night that he woke with nightmares Illya grabbed the blanket and took himself to the couch in the hotel room suite. He was afraid to sleep, afraid to look at the reports and half terrified of anything that might knock on the door. By morning his face was still wrinkled with worry, his eyes wild, and his mind raced. He had to meet with the president, but he was too shaky with his hands. His arm still ached from the fight and his fingers felt like they were on fire. His legs felt weak and he knew that was his back, but he didn't want to get off the couch.

When Kalizda came out to check on him he could barely look at her. Even her fingers resting on his shoulder made him sink further into the couch. "Dun touch meh. Jes no. I can't." At any mention of meetings he cringed and shook his head. "No, no. I can't." On one end he felt like he was going crazy. He'd killed before and it didn't bother him when he was protecting someone, but this time it was beyond duty. Kalizda and Lohgan had been at risk and it toyed with his mind. Taunting him, making him realize that he was just as powerless in this war to protect them as he had been to save Lahna or Isla. By mid afternoon pure exhaustion lulled Illya off to sleep, but it didn't last long and he woke within a few hours again with another image of the wars mixed. It was all starting to blend in his mind and he couldn't stop it.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta was almost reluctant to leave the observatory despite the chill. Going back to their quarters meant the night would be at an end. They had to get up early for work and going into the desert wasn't something she was looking forward to. Living on Nuen had been one thing, but her experience on Old Qouti had taught her the value of all that shade Illya had put her little house in. She had no desire to repeat being cooked alive.

Illya was still managing to make their fun linger though. His little kisses trailed over her neck and lips, making her chuckle between each peck as they moved toward the elevator. She was wild? That would have been the first time he called her that. It was kind of exciting to think she could still be fun even if she had to be at work near all hours of the day here on Terra. If there wasn't someone asking her questions, they were watching and waiting for what the oh-so-official Councilwoman of the Kaerelean Home planet would do. It was a level of attention she'd never had, and could honestly say she didn't want. Who wants to be chased down the street by crazed fans and cameras? How could someone live like that? That level of notoriety was not for her. Despite having to always be on point, she had manage to do something a bit thrilling. It made her own heart race and kept her all warm. She could be wild sometimes and Illya seemed more than happy about it, judging by the big grin stuck on his face with every kiss.

Giggling at the comment, Calysta kissed him and nibbled at his lip. "Aye, sometimes I like to keep you on your toes." They were both too tired for another round, as tempting as it was to try. He lifted her up once the elevator doors opened and she could feel the brace on his arm underneath her. If it was hurting him to pick her up with it, his face didn't betray him. The broad grin remained as he carried all the way to the door, his green eyes focused on only her. He always made her feel like the only one he ever wanted and it made her heart flutter every time.

In the room, she realized Duncan must have taken Lohgan to bed with him. She was tempted to go get her little girl, but she didn't want to wake either of them up and Lohgan was safe where she was. Some alone time with Illya would be good too. The chill from sweating at the observatory then walking home had settled in and a scalding hot shower was just the cure. They wouldn't want to wake up early to bathe considering they about 5 hours until they were due at the docks. Calysta scrubbed down under the multiple jets, putting the vanilla scented oil in her hair. Illya liked the smell of it and so did she. Once she was done, she opened the bathroom door wrapped in a towel and letting roiling steam puff out behind her. "Your turn," she grinned.

While he was in the shower, she stretched out on the heated blanket and sighed in contentment. Her legs instinctively swept over the soft blanket, and she made a game of watching the fluffy red color go from pale to bright with each swipe of her pale foot. She played with the velvet, and her mind wandered to Illya, thinking of him. A giddy little grin crept to her cheeks again, as she buried her face into the pillow. When he emerged from the shower in a fresh pair of boxers and announced exactly why he let her shower first, Calysta laughed. "So you can roast me out, huh?" Her hand reached, inviting him over and she ended up the little spoon underneath the toasty blanket. How long she could stay that way remained to be seen, but she cuddled into his arms anyways, happy to stay that way as long as possible.

The flight to the mines had gone without issue but the sun was as unforgiving as she remembered. Halfway to the mine entrance, Calysta could feel her cheeks getting hot. She had slathered herself in the highest SPF lotion they had and could only hope that it would be enough. Shifting her grip on Lohgan, she adjusted the girl's little hat to cover more of her caramel colored cheeks. The outfit Illya had picked today looked too precious on her little girl. She looked like a tiny sun maid with the yellow dress and her pretty bright eyes. "There you go, little lady," she chuckled, "No sun burn for you." When they made it up to a secondary check point, there seemed to be a problem with going further and Calysta listened to the president converse with the soldier in Terran.

The mine was closed due to a cave in. That happened sometimes, and it was concerning. They had come a very long way to inspect the mines and they have a cave in after a blast? It wasn't Harry's fault though and there was nothing that could be done about it but wait until the mines were clear. At least no one was hurt. "We have plenty of supplies," Calysta told Harry once he informed everyone else, "It wont hurt to be here over night. It's what we came for after all."


Harry looked at them apologetically and offered to spend the time at a game of soccer instead. Having been told that the mines were experiencing difficulties was disappointing for a few reasons. It was why the Councilwoman and General had come for and it was embarrassing to know that it hadn't gone entirely to schedule. Not there was anything he could do about it.

A good game of soccer and what he could only call 'Chip Ball' passed the afternoon time well enough though. He had to admit the Chips were vicious when it came to playing. Were all Chips this competitive or was the General a standout when it came to the desire to win? Either way, the last hard slam to the ground left him covered in sweat, sand, and winded from the work out. He gladly took the hand up offered by the General, not surprised when the man's hand engulfed his own. "Yah play good. I tink I maybe read rule book to yah game of soccer so I play better next time eh?" Harry grinned as he wiped the sand stuck to his face. "I look forward to it. I'll send it to your pad tonight. Maybe next time you two visit Terra we can arrange a few seats at the World Cup. It's the planet wide championship match."

They retreated to the shade to rest for awhile. Harry wiped down his face while Priscilla fussed at him in Terran about risking his ankle. If only she'd known exactly what they had done during those training days. She would have been beside herself, which is why he hadn't told her. He took his fussing with the usual nods and assurances that he was fine as his wife dusted him off. "I'm fine, Pris. Really. It was fun." She tutted and shook her head. "He didn't have to slam you like that. You aren't as durable as they are. What if you had snapped your ankle all over again?" Every now and then, Calysta would cast him an amused smile from her seat in front of the fan. He'd almost forgotten that she could speak Terran and had heard all of the to-do. He gave the woman a bit of a sheepish smile and then joked."I'm sure you have your moments with the General like that."

All the councilwoman did was grin a little wider and chuckle. "I rarely have to have them, Mr. President." She'd never reveal how often she worried when he was hurt, and he wouldn't want them to know about those kinds of moments. Plus, by the way the president was thrown around out there, it probably looked like the truth anyways. Harry laughed as he was finally able to sit down in a chair in front of another fan under the tent.

He talked a little about life on Terra, and asked a few questions. He had wondered if she knew any of her family on the planet, given her father was born and raised there. The answer surprised him. "No, my father's parents died in a car accident before I was born and my uncle worked for a Terran colonization company. He died in the wilderness in a failed colony. He and my father weren't on speaking terms, so I never met him either."

Harry nodded. "So, just you and your father for a long time then."

"Aye, but I have more family now than I ever thought," Calysta replied with a smile, as she played with Lohgan's little fingers. She liked to wrap her hands around anything she could get ahold of and tug. She'd tugged on Calysta's hair more than once, and even gotten snagged her top of a few times. To satisfy that urge, Calysta let the her daughter capture up her forefinger to hold as long as she wanted.

The president studied Lohgan more and grinned when she stared back at him with the same green eyes her father had. There was no mistaking whose she was. Anyone who had gotten a chance to see her could tell she was purely the General's baby. It was the those bright green eyes which gave her away too. "Her green eyes mean she has a higher development of Tannas traits." He wondered if anyone had said anything about that yet, and the cautious look he received from the councilwoman told him that no one had. "I didn't mean any offense. It's difficult to be that particular blend right now. I'm glad you haven't run into any trouble."

Calysta tilted her head at him in a way that put him on edge. She had a look in her eye that was telling him to tread carefully and while he didn't mean any harm, he didn't blame her in part. "It's never easy to be, what you so kindly put, a blend. I find it to be a strength though and I hope that I can make the sort of mindset better for her sake if anything."

"I think you might have already," Harry replied, "You and your husband both. Though I did read an article I wanted to ask you about."

The councilwoman leaned back in her chair, her grey eyes unreadable. "It had some interesting information on the General."

"These days it's hard to figure out what's real and fiction with that movie. If you have questions about the General's past wouldn't it be best to talk with him about it?"

She was playing things close to her chest and he nodded in approval. Their explosive fame made things difficult on Terra at times. "I'm not asking anything. I'm hoping to save you from being blindsided. A clerk brought it to my attention. It was about a Chip slave and a Federation family from the first war. I was surprised to learn it wasn't their first visit. The story was very...troubling. It claimed the General killed quite a few people on an unsanctioned mission to Terra. I'm not one to believe everything I read, however."

That's why I wanted you in this position, and you have as many questions as I do. What are you going to say...Calysta kept her face a pleasant sort of mask and her thoughts to herself as she played with Lohgan. "That's good to know. It wouldn't be the first time false information had been spread about the Chippeqouti."

"Or intentionally bad but true information was used," Harry added, "I'm having some of my people take a look at it to conduct an independent review because I will have to address it. I can't promise that the article won't cause problems in the future. You're aware of how the Terran government works. If it becomes an issue, I have little control over things like charges brought by the planetary Attorney General."

Calysta stared at Harry for a long moment, trying to determine if that was a threat or not. His voice sounded honest and he wasn't sitting up as if he was posturing. "I am familiar with how your government works, Harry. I'd like to think I know you as well."

The councilwoman was asking for what he would do in that sort of situation and he knew it. It had been an unpleasant find, and he had his doubts about the truth of the article, though he knew the man was probably capable of it. If it came down to it and a choice was made he knew what would be the wisest decision. "I like the General, and you as well, Calysta. I think our Alliance needs you both," he said frankly, "And I will do what I can if it becomes a problem, but I can't promise it will be a perfect solution." It would mean going against what many people would think to the detriment of his own popularity, but he wasn't in office to be popular. He was there to do a job and no one could protect like the Chippeqouti, even if this little escapade was true.

A long moment of silence passed between them, an understanding that didn't need to be talked about further. Lohgan let out a coo and her tiny hand wobbled as it wrapped around her mother's finger. Harry grinned at her and gave her a gentle wave. "May I?" He couldn't help but ask to hold the pretty little girl.

She nodded and passed Lohgan over to the president who eagerly took her into his arms. "Hi there," he chuckled. Lohgan wobbled as she looked from Harry's unfamiliar face to her mother's and back again to the president's. For a moment, he thought she would burst into tears with such a confused look on her brow. "What do you see, hm?" Harry stuck out his tongue and the girl grinned as he stuck it back in. The second time he made the face, she giggled and tried for a grab. With a proud smile, Harry glanced to Calysta. "She's always welcome on Terra too."

After awhile, Illya came by and asked if he was interested in helping out with dinner. "Sounds good," he grinned. He thought helping with dinner would mean going into the kitchen on the ship or even to the well stocked mess hall. Instead, the general started out into the mounds of sand behind the compound with an impressive looking knife in his hand. They were going out into the hot waste land for some reason. He followed, curious to see what the Chip would do as his secret service team ghosted around at a respectable distance. The men in suits were silent, but after being stuck with them for so long he let them do as they were trained to do without too many questions. It wasn't until he saw the General kick up the sand, causing a vicious hiss with the movement that he understood. They were hunting. A snake rolled out of the sand on another kick, flipping over and over until it coiled, revealing itself to be a large horned viper. They were common in the sands and fairly venomous. Was he really going to...another flick of sand in the direction of the snake ended that thought. Illya was going after this thing, and beating it like an old pro. No sooner had the snake struck again, did the general grab it and lop off the head with his knife. Apparently, there wasn't anything this man feared to wrestle and eat. "I've never had horned viper," he chuckled cautiously. Snake was something he'd had before, though he'd never simply walked out into the back yard to kill it himself. His eyes slid over from the headless snake dripping red into the sands to the knife in the General's hands. There was something intimidating about the way he held a knife, and while he should have felt more nervous about the additional information beyond is POW slayings, Harry didn't shy away. He was an ally.

When the made it back to the tents, the Chip he'd come to know named Duncan was more than happy to help the General cook. Harry had no idea how they intended to cook the snake, other than it appeared a fire in the compound was necessary so he retreated to their ship to shower off the sands from their afternoon of play. Priscilla went with him and was more than happy to get out of the heat for awhile. It looked as though Calysta was going to do the same. "Are they really going to start a camp fire right here?" she whispered in Terran as they retreated. "Looks that way," Harry replied, "It'll be nice change to have a dinner outside don't you think?"

Calysta retreated into the ship for awhile to feed Lohgan in privacy and change her diaper. The girl wiggled on the bed after her meal as she tried to wrangle her into a fresh diaper. Her tiny feet kicked out excitedly whenever she saw the diaper coming toward her. "You're a tiny dancer," Calysta chuckled. Picking up her girl's feet, she danced them around. "These little toes stood right on my bladder for nine whole months, little dancer, and it's time for me to get'em good." She leaned down, nibbling all over Loghan's toes as she held her legs gently. Her little girl giggled with delight and the game was fun until her wild foot connected with mam's nose. "Grrr...I got'em and now you've me." Calysta rubbed her nose to get rid of the sting. Her daughter wasn't anywhere near the bone density of Cypher and yet her strength was surprising. She picked up the girl's feet again, this time sliding the diaper underneath and strapping it down. "Let's go see what Dah's up to now, hm?" Calysta carried Lohgan to the hatch door and started out onto the ramp, only to pause. Was that...singing? There were two robust voices belting on Qouti coming from the direction of the Chip's campfire. Illya was singing.

Calysta froze almost as if she had stumbled upon some animal in it's natural habitat. If she moved or made a sound, it would disturb them. The tune's words were about war, and had distinct beat that Lohgan picked up on. She kicked her bare feet in excitement, with a gummy grin as she tried to dance along. Maybe it was because she liked to hear her father's voice boom so loud over the desert. Illya actually had a decent voice when she thought about it and she grinned. That was a talent he'd certainly been keeping hidden away from her.

Eventually, Duncan's voice called through the ship and Harry along with his wife emerged. The president looked as though he had taken a small nap, growing stiff from his half-beating in the soccer match. He favored his right leg some as he shuffled out to the campfire. They all gathered around the torches and sat in the sand to eat. Priscilla picked at her plate, asking about each item with a curious, and cautious investigation. "This is the snake you killed, Harry?" The president shook his head as he swallowed a healthy sized bite. "The General killed it, I was just there to see how it was done. Pretty good, huh?" The prim First Lady licked her lips, taking a few dainty nibbles before discovering that it was decent. Flavorful at least. "It's not bad."

Dinner ended with the most interesting clean up he'd ever seen and he knew his wife was giving them strange looks with how they were cleaning up the pots and pans. When Priscilla took her pan back, it was dusty with salt and sand. She thought about reminding the General that there were a great many things the Chippeqouti did that a normal man would die from. Instead, she thanked him for the meal then scurried back to the ship in search of soap and water.

"Dinner was good. I've never had snake cooked quite like that. Maybe I'll have Priscilla write down what goes in it," Harry told Illya as he kicked sand over the last embers of the campfire. "It was definitely better than rations." Once the fires were out, he bid the four of them goodnight and then retreated to the ship where he found Priscilla already in bed, having thoroughly scrubbed the pan and showered too. She was reading her pad as her thin foot bounced absently. That always meant she had something on her mind.

"What are you thinking of," he asked as he began unbuttoning his shirt. They might as well get whatever it was out in the open. She shifted on the bed and stared up at him for a long moment. "It's the General. Harry, you know that whether the article is true or not, something is going to be said and it won't look good. I like those two, but I don't want to see your career suffer because of someone else's doing."

"I swore an oath to protect Earth," Harry said, "I brought us back into the Alliance and to do what was right. Terran's aren't looked at so kindly right now because in the past we haven't been true to our word. I'm trying to do what's right. If that wasn't enough reason, we need allies and their the best ones. We are all Alliance."

Priscilla sighed and put down her pad. The General was famous for his looks now, and still infamous for his deeds. Killing POW's without quarter, running amok in New York, and now the latest development of yet more unsanctioned killings had been dragged into the light. The man was a wild card and dangerous for peace more than he was a help for it at times. Those types of things were necessary, and she didn't fault him for that, but his place was not in the diplomatic arena. "I can only hope that the General remembers that fact," she replied.

"Pris, I don't think-"

An alarm blared cutting off his words, and his wife's blue eyes went wide with near immediate terror. They both knew what that sound meant from the drills they had conducted. It was a Tannas sensor trigger from somewhere on the compound. Between the whining of the alarm gunfire could be heard outside the ship. Men were yelling and the secret service men posted through the ship were already coming through their door. "It's an attack," Agent Graham said, "Units are already mobilizing. Stay here. If the ship has to be vacuumed you know where the masks are."

More gunfire popped in rapid succession from outside. It sounded closer than before, than a loud boom rattled the ship. Priscilla began to tear up as she heard the battle going on outside. She never wanted to be in the middle of all of this. Another spray of bullets richoeted off the hull and cry came from inside the ship. Whatever they were using must have been a large caliber because areas that were not reinforced were left with gaping bullet holes the size of thumbs. Loud pounding rattled the ship again and a swipe of bullets tore through the side panels of their quarters. "Get down!" Harry wrenched Priscilla to the floor, covering her head as Agent Graham bellowed, collapsing on top of them. He was hit. "Graham? Graham!" The man was clutching at his chest with gritted teeth. "Get to the interior of the ship." The last word sprouted blood from his mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. Harry felt his heart hammering in his chest as Priscilla clutched to him in hysterics. They had to follow the his last orders. Snatching up the gun from the dead man's hand the president pushed off the body and grabbed up his wife by the elbow, hauling her toward the door. "Harry! Harry!" He knew she was scared, but there was very little he could do at the moment.

Calysta burst into the hallway at the same time as the president with a squirming bundle in her arms. Lohgan was crying for all she was worth and the president couldn't blame her. There was a sizeable bullet hole in the corner of the baby's blanket and look such as he had never seen before in Calysta's eyes. A flash of true fear unlike any other. When Illya told her to stay in the room, she did as he ordered. Lohgan kicked her feet, whimpering over the sound of the alerts in protest. It was the more she could stand to see her baby cry in fear like that. It made her chest ache with dread.

She had seen the Tannas in action and read the reports. If they were really out there than this would be a hard battle...with her injured husband and infant daughter stuck right in the middle of it. The idea of it made her want to scream, but she had to maintain control. Calysta steeled herself and threw on a pair of pants along with her tourist t-shirt before retrieving her pistol from the beside table. "Shhh...it's okay, little dancer," she whispered as she clicked in the magazine, "Let me tell you a story...hm?" The sound of her mother's voice was calming and Lohgan stopped her cries for a moment. Calysta reached into the drawer again for her spare magazine. "Once upon a time there were three little pigs..."

She kept on telling the story until the yelling grew louder outside along with the pops of bullet fire. Some were so loud they made her ears ring and Lohgan began wailing all over again, her delicate face screwed into an expression of displeasure. "Oh, it's alright. I'm here." Who she was trying to convince of that? Illya was still outside and there had been no word from the Terran forces. Suddenly, a few bullets tinged into the ship, exploding through the walls of their quarters. Everything slowed down. Calysta knew what the sound was, but there was no instinct to drop as usual. No. As she turned, she dove for Lohgan in her little seat and threw herself over the girl screaming. The only two things in the world at that moment was her daughter versus a ricochet bullet. When the spray ended, Calysta blinked a few times. It had been close...so close. What was happening? More gun fire tatted in the next room over while screaming resounded from every corner, spurring her out of the daze.

With shaking hands she picked up Lohgan with one arm, then the dropped pistol from the floor before half tumbling into the hallway. She hadn't expected to see Harry and Priscilla in the hallway, and she raised her pistol at them as her blood pounded in her ear. The First Lady's scream snapped her to awareness of who she was pointing the gun at. "Oh." A bellow echoed through the corridor, making Calysta shake her head. That had been Illya's voice and they had to move. "Let's go."

Harry followed the councilwoman toward the safest part of the ship which was the bridge near the hatch. It was fortified because that's where most people would be aiming in battle if they were airborne. The reinforced plates would protect them from outside fire. His wife stumbled behind him, then froze staring out of the hatch. "Pris...c'mon..." He glanced back to see why she had stopped. Illya was standing in the bottom of the ramp swiping at men left and right. They were falling under his sword with sprays of crimson amid the yelling. Bodies were piling up, tumbling from the ramp into the sand and more soldier's replaced them. He had the look of a devil covered in red with a sword in his hand. This was war? How could he ever stand against something like this? The pistol was useless in hands.

As fast as the attack happened it was over. The councilwoman had them in the air, and on the way to Xiangxang, then also managed to clean up the General and his guardsmen. After talking to the Terran officers on the ground in China, he reported numbly to Calysta and then kept trying to console his wife. Priscilla buried her head into his chest and sobs, mumbling about guns until the councilwoman reappeared along with the two Chippeqouti men. "How...how do you do this?" she sniffled.

Calysta let question hover in the air unanswered and brought them into the port. Right now she didn't want to think about anything. Their brief pit stop went without incident, much to everyone's relief. The Councilwoman put them enroute to Tokyo and gave him an order to contact the Terran forces as if she were the captain. It was a logical step, so he made contact with no objections. The military would be there when they arrived.

Calysta stayed at the helm with Lohgan in her arms. She couldn't take her eyes off her girl and that seared bullet hole through he corner of her blanket. An inch closer and she would have been gone...the thought made Calysta's stomach churn and her throat tighten. She brought Lohgan here into danger. How could she do that? What kind of mother did that make her? "I'll be back." She carried her sleeping girl into the bathroom and gently unwrapped her then tossed the ruined blanket into the waste bin. A towel would work as a blanket until they could get back to Tokyo.

Despite the silence between them all Calysta could hear was the tatting of bullets and pained screams. They filled the quiet long after their escape along. She had never been gun shy before or bothered by events like that. The battle at the mines on Reylia had arguably been bloodier and she'd been in the thick of it. Why wouldn't her hands stop shaking when someone spoke?

 

[aryamajor]

When they landed, Calysta parted ways with the president and made no plans to follow up with him for the time. The their bed in the room was soft. Illya said nothing as he stripped down and she didn't disturb his quietness. She wanted nothing more than to sleep. Placing Lohgan in her bed, Calysta climbed in next to her Chip. "Illya?" He didn't reply other than to roll away from her and she scooted a little closer. "Illya?" Still, nothing. Was he alright? He was snoring slightly, so she let him be. He was stunned too and she didn't need to add to the stress of what happened. He tossed and turned next to her, keeping his distance as he mumbled. Was it the dreams again? He hadn't had them in so long, but what happened in the desert was bound to bring back memories. She reached out to touch him, and tried to pet at his mess of curls. He liked to be soothed that way. This time he grimaced in his sleep and shied away from her finger tips until he had perched himself on the edge of the bed. At that point, there was nothing she could do be keep her distance. Hopefully, the nightmares would pass.

Occasionally, the bed would shift, indicating that he was getting up. Never once did he say anything, as much as she laid there wishing he would break through the sounds of battle and Lohgan's wails in her head. Sometime in the night, she woke with a jolt covered in a cold sweat as panic gripped at her heart. Where was Lohgan? Bolting up, she dodged over to the tiny bed to find her daughter...sleeping soundly. It was Illya who was not there. Calysta gathered up Lohgan in her arms then went in search of Illya.

He was in the living room under a blanket, sitting or sleeping in the dark. She couldn't tell. Rather than risk waking him up, she shuffled back to bed with Loghan. Curling up in the empty, kingsized mattress, Calysta tucked her little girl to her chest and held her there where it was safe. If she kept her daughter in her arms, she would be safe from things like bullets.

Morning came too soon as Calysta unfolded her cramped legs. Staying in one position all night around Lohgan had left her stiff. As for Lohgan, she was already a way and drooling away waiting for breakfast with an expectant mouth. A bottle seemed too tiresome to deal with and over the last 24 hours she hadn't breast fed. There would be enough to satisfy Lohgan for now. The girl grunted some as she suckled, trying to get all she could, then spit up part of her milk anyways. "You drink too fast, hm?" Calysta took off her shirt and wiped down her daughter's dimpled cheeks with gentle dabs. With Lohgan fed, she needed to go check on Illya.

He was sitting the same place she had seen him the night before. "Illya?" She reached out for him, her hand resting on his shoulder, but he sank away from her.

"Dun touch meh. Jes no. I can't."

Calysta felt stricken. Don't touch him? Had she hurt him? He hadn't reacted as if he was in pain, just that he didn't want her there. "Illya? Are you alright?" There were bags under his eyes that matched her own but rather than fatigue, his were sparked with a wildness. The same kind of wildness they held when he woke up from a nightmare. Seeing him like this made her stomach churn and crawl up her throat. There was so little she could do to help after already failing once. "Okay," she whispered. Calysta patted the chair next to his hand, careful not to touch him, then walked into the kitchenette for a few minutes. The first thing she did was grab a packet of the gourmet coffee grounds and place them in the filter to make the strongest 12 cups of brew she could.

Her hands were shaking as she poured in the grounds, sending the grainy bits of the counter top. "Damnit." It was a curse in Kaerelean muttered under her breath. She had one job to do right now and even that was turning out messy. With grounds finally in the filter she put it in the coffee pot then started the system which was linked to the drinking water spout. As soon as the first drop hit the caraffe, Calysta picked up her pad and sent a flat worded message to the president. Those little drips from the coffee maker seemed to take a life time, but when the brew was done, Calysta reached into the cabinet for a mug. There was a large one to the back, which she was sure was meant to be a ramen bowl, but it had a handle and was Illya's size. Grabbing the bowl, she filled it with coffee, cream, and sugar to make it taste good, then walked back to Illya, putting the bowl on the coffee table in front of him. "Illya? Can you drink this? I know you don't want to but you have to sleep. This will help put you into a good one."

Instinctively Illya moved his hand slightly when he saw hers was so close. He watched as her fingers slid away from the arm of the chair. When she was gone he covered his face with his hands. There was so much running around in his head. He couldn't do this. The logical part of him knew that the less sleep he had the worse he would get and then the side of him that was fighting with the memories was terrified that if he went back to sleep he would be submerged into this private little world of horror. One that he never could quite handle. There were a lot of the men that dealt with that problem and sometimes it was worse, but this was much worse than usual. He couldn't get it out of his head. Hearing Kalizda's sudden voice he jerked in surprise and lowered his hands. Staring at the bowl he nodded, but grit his teeth at the same time. Internally he was screaming, he knew it would make him sleep and he didn't want that.

He was staring at the bowl in hesitation and she didn't blame him. Who wanted to go back to dreaming about things like that? He needed sleep though or it was only going to get worse. "I made it strong as possible," she urged him, "Drink as much as you can and I'll stay with you if you want me to." She couldn't guaruntee it would make his sleep entirely dreamless, but it would surely help make him tired enough to get some sort of rest that his mind and his body needed.

Slowly Illya raised the bowl. He didn't really know if he wanted Kalizda to stay with him or not. It was usually helpful if she was there, but at the same time he was worried about the pictures he'd seen of her in the dreams. They were impossible to unsee and his brow wrinkled again. Guzzling almost the entire bowl in one swig he barely glanced at Kalizda before he emptied the rest of it into his throat and then set the bowl aside. Laying back on the couch he stared at the ceiling without blinking. Cautiously he let one hand roam till he found Kalizda and then he rested one hand on hers. It wasn't horribly brave or even helpful for her, but he felt like he was on the brink of insanity and he was doing everything he could to hold onto the present.

When she said 'drink as much as you can' she hadn't quite meant the entire bowl in one go. It was still warm and probably just hit his empty stomach like a thousand pound weight. The idea of it made her cringe. Still at least had taken it down and would get sleepy soon. She sat down on the opposite side of the couch to wait. He hadn't said if he wanted her there or not, but it had been made clear not to touch him. She kept her eye on him as she stared at the wall in front of them, only relaxing a little when he rested his head back. Good. Maybe he could rest some and they terrifying wild look would leave his eyes for awhile. He had looked so lost. Almost like when he didn't remember her. This was infinitely worse. Her throat tightened as the wall in front of her turned into a watery blur, no matter how hard she fought it until a shuffling sound caught her attention. She glanced down to see Illya's hand groping around on the couch, his fingers brushing hers, then covering it. She bit her lips and squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing it all down until the building in her throat was held at bay. He didn't need her to cry right now. Instead, one of her little fingers dared to inch forward and lace gently with his in silent acknowledgement. For a long time, she couldn't muster a single sound, her voice was too clouded and maybe that was a good thing they were just in the moment trying to breath. At some point she hummed a little but she didn't move at all.

After almost half an hour of just laying on the couch and not really looking at anything he started to drift. Gradually Illya started to relax and then he would take a sharp breath and look around the room before he would try sleeping again. It wasn't that he wanted sleep so much as it was that it had become inevitable. The sleep became heavier and he started to breathe more deeply. Illya frowned in his sleep and he tried to shift on the sofa a little bit. "Agh..." His back was hurting and he could see the blood everywhere. Illya started to shake and he gripped the edge of the sofa hard with his injured hand. It felt like it was on fire and he still held on. "Noo...." Breaking off into incomprehensible murmurs he got quiet for a few moments before he started yelling for back up.

Calysta felt his hand tightened some over hers as he tried to sleep. She knew the sound of the dreams, the look on his face when they came to his mind. He was mumbling to himself and she almost felt like making him drink the coffee was torturing him in some sick way. But he had to sleep. If he could just relax some more, maybe she could help work through them. Suddenly, he started screaming in the dream and the sound made her own teeth clench for a moment. It was the sounds of death and smells of blood she hated most of all. Mustering a calm voice, she whispered to him. "Illya...it's not real...come back to the present. Feel my hand? Come back to that. It's not real...please come back to me. I'm right here in the present..."

Her voice started to mix into the dream and Illya saw her sitting next to him in the ship on the way to the hospital. She was laying there and she turned toward him. Kalizda's face was covered in blood and he could see part of her skull was split wide open. Instantly his heart slammed into his chest and he tried to pull away. In his attempts to pull away he fell off the sofa and it translated into falling out of the ship. He hit the ground hard and he laid there shaking for several more seconds before he curled into a ball and held his head with his hands and cried. After several minutes of crying he started to breathe more calmly and he uncurled enough that his back popped audibly. With a groan he turned over and practically planted his face into the side of the sofa.

The yelling only got worse when she started talking. Normally, that made him calm down...but this time he started screaming and flailing until he collided with the floor, curling into himself and crying. That was something he'd never done before. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? Everything she could think of only made him worse and she had no idea how to help anymore. What was she supposed to do?! She stayed planted on the couch too scared to speak and far too worried to venture touching him as he eventually slackened into what she could only assume was sleep with his face planted into the side of the couch. His back had given that horrid popping sound and she couldn't lift him out of the floor. Should she even try to touch him? Her hands were shaking too much to do much of anything but go into the bedroom and get his heated blanket. Turning it on high, she dragged it into the living room then laid if over him. With that done, she retreated into the bedroom, curled up on the bed to let whatever sobs were going to come out. There were some things that couldn't be held back.

Illya didn't even try to move when the heated blanket fell over him. Instead he remained sleeping on the floor until sometime in the middle of the night. When he woke up it was dark and he felt hungry, sick, and a few other things. Illya stared listlessly at the shadows cast about the room and he huddled into the blanket a little deeper. She had to have covered him with it. Thinking of Kalizda he sat up and limped into the room to see if he could find her. She was curled into the bed by herself and Illya laid down next to her.

She was vaguely aware of the dip in the bed. It was familiar though, and she stirred just a little to give her Chip space. It wouldn't do well to touch him or talk. The silence between them was overwhelming. What was she supposed to do? Rubbing at her eyes, she rolled over to face him, keeping her distance and not opening her eyes. The distance was like a canyon but she was too afraid to close the gap, upsetting him all over again. After a long, quiet moment she wondered if he fell asleep or was simply staring at the ceiling with those wild green eyes

Rolling to his side Illya squinted in the dark. He couldn't tell if she was awake or not. Her breathing sounded like she was awake. Just to make sure she was still asleep Illya pushed up on his elbows and stretched himself out far enough that he could lean closer to check on her. Since he didn't get close enough to tell even then he pulled himself a little closer and his back popped again. "Ugh..." Momentarily Illya lost his balance and swerved a little bit before he face planted right on her chest. "Sorry." Whispering didn't make sense because she was probably awake now if she wasn't before, but he still whispered the word. Pushing up on his elbows again he cautiously moved himself back to his side of the bed. "Was checking tah be sure yah were sleeping."

She felt him roll closer, then even closer, and she didn't open her eyes despite the urge to just grab him up. Something heavy tumbled into her chest and she jolted, her eyes popping open. Illya had smacked his face right into her chest. The weight her chest a little and she brought hand up to rub as he tried to move away. He really didn't want to be close to her it seemed. Was it shame? Horror? Or like herself, just terror at the thought of Lohgan being so close to the cross hairs in the desert. The idea of him not wanting her or making things worse brought fresh tears to her eyes as he mumbled an apology. "I'm awake," she finally said, her voice hoarse, "Illya..." The name hovered in the air as the first words she'd spoken in hours and they felt like the wrong thing to do. Maybe it was. She didn't know anymore. That simple fact alone made her burst into tears all over again and she buried her face into the pillow.

Obviously she was awake now. She couldn't help it since he practically fell on her. Once he was back to his side he sighed and he reached for the lozenges. They weren't on the night stand and he had no idea where they were. Then panic gripped his heart when he heard Kalizda start to cry. This was bad, very bad. Scooting closer to her Illya cautiously rested a hand on her. He was almost afraid that she would disappear as soon as he touched her. She was still there and he pulled her to his side of the bed and then held her.

A warm hand settled over her, and she found herself pulled against Illya. She shouldn't be crying. It was weak, not what anyone needed, and not helpful in the slightest, yet she couldn't stop. Her hand inched up, gripping at his shirt as her head buried into his shoulder to stifle the sobs. "I'm okay....I'm okay...I promise," she mumbled thickly, "Illya..." He was warm, and she was being selfish wanting to be held when he didn't want to hold her. When it would't be good for him. Her fingers sought out his hands or anything else she could hold to anyways. "I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to cry. ..I'm okay. "

Based on her reaction Illya guessed she was probably stressed, traumatized, and perhaps a bit shaken. Maybe for the same reasons and maybe not. He wasn't a doctor and he couldn't fix any of this so he just let her pull at his shirt and grasp his arm. Wrapping his arms around her a little tighter he brought his chin down to rest on top of her head. "Ets ok tah cry. I jes hold yah." Moving his left hand along her back he rubbed gently and waited for her to stop crying. Eventually she would and then he could try to talk with her if she wanted to talk.

Illy wasn't pushing her away this time, or getting up to leave and the longer he stayed the more she settled down. Feeling him rub her back was soothing as he whispered to her, holding her close. She tucked her head under his chin and held him like he was the only steady thing in the world. Why couldn't she have kept it together a little longer? Is this what he goes through every time? Her fingers slacked in their grip as she relaxed into him, her sobs becoming occasional cries that made her head pound and her throat ache, then to sniffles. After awhile, she managed to take a long, shuddering breath. "Illya talk to me. Tell me what I can do, please. I don't know how to help but I can listen." The words were thick out her throat and sounded pathetic, but there they were. Maybe he wouldn't push her away.

Every once in a while Kalizda would surprise him and this was one of those occasions. He thought she would talk about what happened or what she was worried about. There was no such luck. She wanted him to talk to her about what she could do. "I dun know, Kalizda." Taking a deep breath he tried to think of how to say this without sounding horrible. "Et es what et es. I jes worry dat maybe yah or Lohgan would get hurt or killed." He was still worried about that and there would be no denying it in the long run.

Calysta's hand curled over his side when he said he didn't know what to do. What had she been hoping for? That he would magically have the answer? He was as lost as she was on this and she couldn't think of any way to help or make any suggestion. The second half of what he said made her nod. He was being honest at least and she owed him the same. "I was scared too," she admitted, "I was afraid you would die and I was scared they would come for Lohgan. I also knew that you would protect us. I'm here though Illya. I'm alright and so is Lohgan. The dreams seem so much worse than before and it's not fair to put all of that on you. I know that."

This was not going in the direction he wanted. Illya just wanted it to fade and nothing more to be said. Kalizda just kept right on talking and he stopped rubbing her back momentarily. She thought the dreams were worse? Why? He didn't understand how she came to that conclusion. Gradually he started to rub her back again. "I'm fine."

There he was saying he was fine when she knew he very well wasn't. "Illya, you afraid of me," she whispered, "You haven't really looked at me and this is the first time you haven't flinched when I've touched you." If she didn't know what else would demonstrate how 'not fine' he was and she wasn't angry, just lost on how to talk to him.

"I am nut." Sitting up slightly he looked at her and he couldn't help the indignant tone to his voice. "I'm nut afraid of yah. Yah jes meh little bird. Why would yah say someting like dat?"

"You get up in the middle of the night to be by yourself, you wouldn't look at me really, and you didn't want to be touched by me. Even when you have your dreams....it's just I talked to you and they were so much worse. I'm not mad, I just feel like I'm making things harder on you and I don't know why." By the time she reached the end of what she wanted to say, she was shaking again and tears were welling up in her eyes. He was looking at her in the darkness and she hated looking so pathetic at the same time. She was someone who fixed the problem, who was supposed to have the solution and there wasn't one.

Despite the fact that he had made his best effort not to disturb her it sounded like he made a dandy job of it. "Oh..." Instinctively he winced and Illya let out a long breath. "Ets nut yah fault. I jes have dreams and yah dead. Dey shoot yah and all I see es half yah face es gone."

She listened and what she heard made her cringe. He'd been dreaming about that? It probably didn't look too disimiliar to what she had seen in the hologram brought by Clark. The image of Illya being shot in the head always stayed with her and probably always would, but it had been real. This was his own fear. His own worry making this in in his mind and knowing she was the source made her sick. Her head dropped slowly to his chest for a moment as she took a few deeps breaths. She could smell his earthy oils on his skin and lightly scenting his shirt. He couldn't keep going like this. After a moment, her cool hand crept to his cheek and she looked up to meet his gaze. "I'm so sorry...I'm right here though. I'm not going anywhere and that is not going to happen. You trust me right?" Her thumb stroked at his cheek. "I'm not going to let that happen...but Illya I want you to do something. Something I've been thinking on for awhile."

Kalizda's fingers felt like little icicles on his hot cheek and he stopped for the moment. Even while she was saying that she wouldn't let that happen his mind argued with her. She couldn't stop something like that from happening. A person couldn't just decide that they weren't going to die. They could do everything in their power to survive, but it didn't mean that they would live or that they would return unscathed. It was all out insanity to believe that you could stop something like that from happening. Taking a deep breath he studied her face as best he could in the dark. "What yah want meh tah do?"

He sounded calm, and she wondered if he would be angry when she suggested her thoughts. She still had to try. "I think it's time for you to retire, at least partially. Please. I know you can't completely but I don't know that you can keep going. I want you to be safe, and I know you are in pain."

Almost instantly Illya started to bristle at the suggestion of retiring. She thought he was a cripple. "I am nut in pain." Protesting a little he shifted and his back started to twinge as if to confirm that he was indeed having back pain. However, that was something different. Anyone would have a sore back after getting it slammed into a metal rung. Not to mention he was forced against it so hard that it had caused him to hyper-extend his back a little bit. "I jes tink about et."

He was the most stubborn when he didn't want to think about things he didn't like. "I know you don't like the sound of it. I just thought it might help with other things too. It doesn't mean you wouldn't be there to protect me. Think about it, for me will you?" She leaned up and kissed the corner of his lip before letting out an involuntary sigh and settling onto his chest where it was warm and she could hear his heart beating.

It didn't really matter what she said or he thought about retiring. In the long run Illya knew that he was already retired in part. He had been finding troubles with the prosthetic leg and now his hand made it even more difficult to function at the level he would need to if he would be active in the field. Additionally he discovered that despite the recovering in his back it wasn't going to be good enough to withstand much more. His father had ended in this position before he had, but Illya still hated to think that he was relegated to mostly office work now. "Eh, I tink about et." Grumbling a little he shifted again so that he could hold her a little more comfortably.

At least he would think about it and that's all the more she could hope for. It wasn't that she wanted him to stop doing things altogether. The continual fighting after everything he had gone through was tearing at his mind and she didn't know of any other way. Her eyes were starting to droop, the exhaustion from crying most of the afternoon and general fatigue setting in. Illya was okay for now and that meant she could rest for a little while. "Mhm..just think about it....love you." If he said anything after that, she didn't hear it as sleep crept in.

****************
The next few days passed in quiet. Harry had been more than willing to let his visitors rest while he attempted to clean up the mess of both the mines and his wife. She had taken to bouts of crying in the middle of the night, holding onto anything in reach like it would save her. He had gotten very little sleep himself. What he'd seen was replaying in his mind as if it were a horror movie. What worse was that word had gotten around that the mines were no longer operable. You couldn't hire hundreds of workers, and experts for a high profile job like that and then tell them their position was literally forcefully taken. Rumors were abound and he had to told a press conference. It would have been better with Calysta at his side but she had told him they wouldn't be going anywhere for a few days. Armed with his suit and tie, along with the secondary team of secret service, he turned into glare of the press hologram recorders to give his brief account.

"The mines and the surrounding compound were attacked in what we believe was an attempt on the Kaerelean counsel's life as well as my own. These men did include Tannas and well trained, overwhelming the Terran military guarding the area," he said blandly, "It is due to the bravery of the Terran military, the secret service, and the General of the Alliance that we were able to escape. All of my gratitude and sorrow goes to those individuals and their families who were lost in that effort along with those who were able to survive."

A million questions were hurled at him at one time and he held up his hand, taking the most logical one he heard. "Currently, we have a team investigating exactly where this large force came from. It is believed that these were Federation loyalists hiding within the civilian population. "

" What you are saying is that we now have the enemy occupying territory on Terran soil. That hasn't happened in well over 200 years, Mr. President. Weren't their sensors around the entire area? How were so many men able to get through Terran defenses? What efforts are being made to recover the mines from the Tannas?"

Harry gripped the podium a little tighter and stared at the reporter. "Our enemy isn't the Tannas," he corrected, "It is the Federation loyalist which includes Tannas as well as Terrans and many more who are loyal to the Federation. The enemy hasn't openly held territory on Earth, no, but they have been here for a very long time. Longer than many of us have been alive. Claiming the mines only exposes more roots that we must deal with. The task force I put in place has been working tirelessly for two years in that effort and they will continue to do so. Recovering the mines will not be an easy task and discussions on recovery are on going. "

"You do realize the Tannas aren't the only ones that fit that description, Mr. President. According to an independent researcher, our own allies the Chippeqouti, have run similar operations on Terra as undercover agents," A ripple of murmurs went through the room as all eyes were trained on Harry. "You suspect an inside man then?" the reporter continued, "What does this do for Terra's entry into the Alliance? The planet's re entry was contingent on the mines was it not?"

Harry tried to keep himself from losing his temper with the journalist. They were putting words into his mouth, which he knew would happen. It didn't make it any less infuriating to deal with. "I have not said anything about a man on the inside. As for re entry into the Alliance, Councilwoman Monroe and myself are working toward a new arrangement." He left the other half of what she said hanging for a moment and a few of the reporters smirked. The president wasn't going to answer them. Harry stood there watching them all pick apart the truth and shook his head. "You all came here today to hear the truth and I have given it to you. Had it not been for our allies in the Councilwoman and the General, I wouldn't be standing in front of you to say anything at all. I can't think of anything else that proves loyalty more than the fact you are attending a press conference rather than a funeral." Turning from the podium, he walked away and left them all to spin their tales as they would. He had nothing else to say for the moment.

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

 

[aryamajor]

An alert rang on Calysta's pad after she finished watching the press conference. It was a video call from home and it was about the right time for the children to be going to bed. Had they seen the press conference yet? Probably not unless her father was gluing himself to the hologram feeds. Flicking a finger over the screen, her father's face appeared along side Cypher's. "Mam!" That cry of joy from her son was enough to put a smile on her lips. "Hey, there big man!" A toothy grin came to his face and he giggled. "I dah man!"

"Yes you are," she chuckled as she shifted, "I know someone who wants to see you little man."

Calysta slinked off the couch and scuttled into their bedroom where she found Illya stepping out of the bathroom from a shower. "I have something for you. Someone called to say hello." Flipping the pad over she revealed Cypher's rosy cheeks as she waved into the camera. She didn't have to see his face to know her son's excitement. He loved his father so much and missed him terribly. "DAH!!!" The word in a half growl as he tried to hug the screen away from Thomas. They wrestled with the camera for a moment, before the view focused back on Cypher. "Dah! I dah man!"

Calysta handed over the pad to Illya who accepted it in his broad hands and they settled on the bed to talk with their son together. He babbled off and on about Papa and some berries, then how 'Dah man' flies on the hologram movie. "Watch this," Thomas grinned, "Cypher, blow mam a kiss. Like I taught you, go on." Her son stuck a chubby fist over his mouth, then threw his hand out with a with a smacking sound. "Mwah!" Calysta chuckled at her boy and blew one back which made him stomp his feet in excitement. He'd gotten a kiss back from Mam, exactly like Papa said he would.

"Is Rose there?" Calysta eventually asked, "I haven't seen her yet."

Thomas turned the camera to show Rose sitting next to them on the couch, her hand propped on her hand. "Hi Wolf, Hi Kalizda. How is the trip?"

Calysta's hand searched for Illya's till she found it and then gave it an encouraging squeeze. "It's going just fine, sweet heart."

When the call ended, she looked to Illya. "How about we go out for just a little while?" Seeing the kids had put her in a better mood and she wanted to get out of their hotel for awhile before work caught up with them. It didn't take long for them to get ready with Lohgan, then go out into bright sunshine.

She shifted Lohgan in her soft wrap carrier and kept walking as she took in the scenery. It would be nice to come back to Japan one day to see all of the cherry blossom trees bloom again and watch their petals fall like soft rain. They passed by a few store fronts, turning a corner and as they did a delicious smell wafted over them both. The scent of frying meat with potatoes was leaking out from a store across the street where a line was extending on to the side walk. KFC. The words below the letters stated it was 'Kentucky Fried Chicken.' Kentucky wasn't something she was familiar with, but ' fried chicken' she could read well enough in Terran and it smelled so good. It was then, she remembered Harry had described something like this as being a nice place to go eat. Smiling up to Illya, she nodded. "Hey, are you hungry? That place across the street smells great and Harry recommended it I think."

Illya was enjoying the lazy walk. He didn't like the weather as much as he had the desert, but he was still a little shook up over that. It was too close for comfort. Having Kalizda and Lohgan there. Just the idea made him nearly shudder. It was near lunch time and he could smell a food of sorts. It wasn't something he was familiar with, but it didn't smell all that good either. There was probably a good reason that he didn't know this smell. However, his stomach betrayed him and grumbled anyway. Almost at that moment Kalizda turned and asked to go visit the place that smelled so horrible. Illya looked at her for a long moment and then he nodded. "Ok, I guess we try et." He had to keep an open mind about Terra. It was hard though. Terra was a horrible place and he had discovered very few things or people from it that he liked.

He seemed less than enthused about the idea of getting food from the restaurant, but gave the okay and they stopped at a cross walk light, waiting to cross the busy street. There was so much more traffic here than in Kaereal. Most of their traffic at home was in the open sky leaving the ground free to walk for pedestrians. Lohgan gave a little coo as they waited and Calysta looked down to see her bright eyes girl staring up at her father in wonder. "Oh, I know what you want," she chuckled, "As soon as we get inside, Dah can hold you." They waited for the light to turn green, then walked along with the herd across the street to the restaurant where the smell was growing stronger. Calysta's stomach gave an insistent growl as they got in line on the sidewalk to be served at the counter. Several of the people in line recognized them and continued taking pictures, even going so far as to reach out or peer into the carrier to look at Lohgan. "Councilwoman! General! Look it's Robin and Ira for real!"

Despite Illya's best attempts to disguise himself with the hat and sweater with his jacket over top people still recognized him. It probably didn't help that he towered over almost everyone from this part of Terra and he was darker than most of them too. Then to make himself more obvious was his eyes. It was just annoying that people recognized him even in the tiny restaurant. Illya chose to ignore them until someone reached for the blanket covering Lohgan. Grabbing the woman's hand he stopped her and then shoved her hand back toward her. "Yah jes leave her alone." They had no business trying to pull the blanket off his little girl just so they could have a better look at her.

The woman looked affronted and jerked her hand away with a bit of a snarl as she muttered in Japanese. Calysta wasn't going to tell Illya not to keep them away this time. She was on edge already, and the crowds were as overwhelming as the silence of their living quarters here sometimes. "Please, we just want to eat like everyone else," she said to a few taking pictures. One woman didn't want a picture though, she merely asked if they had been to KFC before, trying to strike up a normal conversation with them. "I come here with my husband on date night and he loves it. I recommend the mashed potatoes with gravy, if you need suggestions." It was a bit relieving to have a simple conversation about nothing but food, and Calysta nodded. "That sounds good. I might have to try it. Thanks." The line moved forward fairly fast as the woman chatted back and forth, never once asking for anything and when her husband arrived back in line she thanked them. "It was nice to meet both of you. Thanks for keeping me company," she smiled, taking her man's arm. When they reached the counter, a cashier dressed in red asked her what she wanted in fast spoken Terran. "I think if you have a meal with a fried piece of chicken and a side? What do you think, Illya?" Calysta asked, curiously. He hadn't seemed excited to come and she wanted to make sure he got something he actually wanted.

This restaurant felt entirely overwhelming. It was tiny, packed, and he couldn't turn any direction without finding himself facing more people. Everything here was packed and people were everywhere. How could they live like this? He didn't like it. If anything went wrong it would be hard to protect Kalizda or Lohgan and he couldn't possibly watch everyone in the room. Illya stared at the woman that decided to strike up a conversation and he let Kalizda do all the talking. He wasn't feeling much like talking to people and he felt even less like having them take his picture. It wasn't like he could stop the picture taking, but he didn't have to talk and that was fine. When their turn came to order Illya stared at the menu. He saw a few pictures and that was about the only great thing about this place. He could see what he wanted even if he couldn't read or understand it. When Kalizda turned toward him he shrugged and spoke to her in Quoti. "I dun know any of dis food." There was nothing like this that he had ever tried and he wasn't even sure what it was. Switching back to trader's tongue he spoke quietly. "Es dere meat?" Apparently they had something called chicken. "Chahken? Ok, I jes have dat." Apparently it wasn't going to be that easy because everything here was chahken and it was cooked different ways. "Oh, uh...." Staring at the little visual menu he pointed to one. "i get dat one I guess."

Calysta shook her head at the cashier and pointed to the potatoes with gravy on the menu. "Just change the corn here with the potatoes, please." Illya wasn't paying attention, and she couldn't blame him. There was far too much going on, and people were pressing in on either side of them trying to get their own food ordered. A receipt was placed in her hand with a large number printed on the front for them to claim their food. "Why don't we try to find a table, the food will be called out in a minute," she offered to Illya.

This was such a strange way to handle food. Illya stared at the ticket for a moment. He sort of liked the idea of having a number attached to the order. It made sense and he liked thinking that they wouldn't mistake what was ordered in this mess of people. Wandering over to one of the booths Illya sat down and he hear the seat squeak as he sat down. It was a familiar sound after all this time on Terra. No sooner had Illya sat down than a tiny little hand rested on his shoulder and he turned slightly to see a little boy on the other side of the booth trying to look at his face. "Are you Ira?" The boy stared at him for a long moment and Illya shook his head. "Nope, meh name es Illya." With a little nod the boy grinned. "Then are you an alien?" The question made Illya chuckle and he heard the boy's parents trying to hush him. It was funny though. "What do yah tink would make meh an alien?" A very thoughtful look came over the boy's face as he thought and then he brightened. "If you had blue skin? Are you from a planet far away from here?" To the first question Illya raised his eyebrows slightly and then he nodded for the second. "Yeah, I'm from planet far away." Almost instantly the boy's voice raised and he yelled loud enough for every patron to hear. "Mom! He's an alien!"

The place was packed and Calysta found herself glad that Illya was a genuine giant among the Terrans. His broad shoulders parted the sea of waiting restaurant goers until they made it to a booth. Illya slid into the plasticky seating first causing the whole dining spot to let out a squeaking groan, which he ignored. There was a fair chance that the booth would hold his substantial weight and Calysta had stopped worrying over whether or not it would. If it broke they would fix it and such a scene would be no worse than him running half naked into the restaurant as Ira. She waited still he was settled in, then slid along the seat on the opposite side. It took all of two seconds for them to sit down before a tiny boy with a bowl hair cut popped his head over the booth, looking to Illya with curiosity. She couldn't hear part of the conversation, but Illya was humoring him with whatever it was, so she watched as a smile crept to her lips. "MOM HE'S AN ALIEN!" The announcement caused the entire restaurant to go quiet for a moment and every eye swiveled to them, inspecting them. Calysta cringed it was only a matter of seconds before...."Oh my life! It's Ira and Robin!" People began murmuring excited, taking pictured and pressing in close to the table all asking for autographs. That bubble of frustration welled up, growing stronger and stronger over the excited yammering until she stood up in the booth. "Please just let us eat!"

There just wasn't a whole lot that Illya could say after that boy yelled so loud. It only got worse when all the people in the place started to murmur and Illya was half tempted to just get it over with. Even after Kalizda asked everyone to just let them eat people continued to rudely take pictures. Illya finally stood up and he motioned to Kalizda to stand with him. "Alright, yah take holograms all yah want and we stand up tah make et easy. Yah 2 minutes and I time yah. Den jes let us alone eh?"

Calysta almost wished he hadn't offered two minutes to the crowd. Wasn't it enough they were out here? Still, maybe they would be left alone if people got what they wanted out of the way. Shuffling over to Illya, she slipped an arm around his waist and held him close to her side as she faced the cameras and hologram captures. Lohgan was babbling some in her little carrier at the sight of her father standing so close, one of her little hands wiggled up, reaching for him and pushing aside the blanket. "Aw! Look at their baby!" People crowded around further at seeing Lohgan's pink face, and Calysta quickly snatched the blanket back over daughter's face, disappointing them all. No one needed to see her or take a picture for that matter. They stood there like animal's trapped in a zoo while people took photo's whooping in excitment and calling their name. Normally, she wasn't crowd shy but that was when she was a part of the crowd and not the reason for it. The sound was the worst part of all of it. People clamoring over each other, calling their names with no space to escape. Her grip on Illya's side grew tighter, as she kept her smile. When would this be over?

In may ways it felt like being on auction and Illya hated every second of the 2 minutes he gave them, but he didn't want anyone else disrupting their lunch. When the two minutes was over he nodded to Kalizda and they turned around without saying a word. There were a few more flashes and then it got quiet. When their number was called he scooted out and walked up to the front to collect the food. It came in odd little boxes and he frowned slightly before he slid into the booth again and gave Kalizda hers and then opened his up. "Dis es Chehken?"

Two minutes seemed to last a life time and when it was done, she gladly went back to the boot without a word. Thankfully, the crowd seemed satisfied with their scant minutes of attention, at least long enough for them to eat. As Illya was gone to get their food, Calysta checked on her baby girl tucked to her chest. "How are you doing little girl?" she hummed,"We made it through that...it's not so bad...better than other things..." Her fingers drifted up to Lohgan's shining reddish curl, only to find that her hands were shaking. About that time, Illya put a box of food in front of her and she opened it to find a hunk of meat covered in a crispy breading alongside a container of mashed potatoes drenched in brown sauce. This was a Tokyo treat? It looked good enough to eat, and smelled more than good as she picked up the meat. "I think so," she mused, "I think they put some sort of breading on it and then fried it. I've only had it once or twice like this and it's pretty good." Licking her lips, she took a good bite, trying to keep the crumbs from falling on Lohgan's blanket. "Mmmm..."

Illya stared at the meat for a long moment. Grabbing one of the chicken strips he tore it open and breathed in deeply. It reminded him of turkey, but it smelled slightly different. "Es et like turkey?" Normally he wasn't picky, but it just looked so strange and he really wanted to know what the animal looked like that he was about to eat. It was more than likely ugly since Kalizda didn't mind eating it. Taking a bite Illya chewed it for a long moment and then he swallowed. It was juicy, tender, and flavorful. "Hmmm.." The crunchy part he wasn't so sure about and he peeled all the crunchiness off a portion so he could try the meat by itself. It was much better that way. "I dun like dis grit on et." Pointing to the crumbles of bread he almost shuddered. There was so much grease in it. Then he spotted the sauce buried deep in the box and he pulled it out. It was a dark brown sauce and it smelled good when he opened the container. "What does dis say?" It was a barbeque sauce, but he wasn't sure what that was either so he dipped some of the meat in it and then started to eat with gusto. The sauce was good. He liked that part a lot.

"Sort of like a turkey," she chuckled, between bites, "A bird though its a bit smaller and has alot less feathers. All the same parts though really." The fried chicken skin was so crunchy and delicious, she peeled that off and ate it, for once not worried about the amount of grease. It was just too good to resist. With her chicken skinned, she bit into the meat which was dripping with juice. As she ate, she stole glances at Illya, who seemed to be enjoying the food except for the best part. He had peeled off all of the crunchy skin and tossed it to the side! Shaking her head, she started to laugh a little when he asked about the sauce in the box. "Oh, that's ah...barbehcue sauce. I've had it before on chicken. It's sweet and tangy." It was hard to say some of the Terran words on occasion, but more than likely Illya wouldn't notice. Licking her thumb with a fast swipe, she rubbed her fingers on a napkin and reach for her drink for a sip of water. One solid gulp told her that they hadn't given her water. Instead, she got a mouthful of the strange drink that all of Terra was obsessed with. Her nose burned from the fizz and she sputtered as she swallowed the sickly sweet liquid. "Soda...uhg...I wasn't expecting that."

Illya didn't care what the name of the sauce was, it happened to be delicious. Perhaps he would care more about the name later on if he decided to order it next time he had meat on Terra. A frown came to his face when she mentioned the soda. "Ets nut good?" Just to see if it was that bad he grabbed her cup and took a sip of it. The fizz was something he personally liked. "Hmm..." Switching to his cup he sipped a little out of the straw and then decided his flavor wasn't so bad. "Yah try mine. Ets different. I like et." Whatever she didn't want he would finish for her.

Before she knew it, Illya was grabbing her cup to taste it for himself. He didn't seem to mind the sweet taste and offered his over. A sip of his proved to be much better. It was lighter and didn't have so much of a syrup taste to it. "Oh, that's better than the other." Taking another gulp, she cleared her mouth out from the overpowering taste and then glanced up to Illya. "What do you think so far?" She thought it was pretty decent food, even if she still didn't know what 'Kentucky' meant.

Trading cups wasn't so bad and Illya grinned when Kalizda decided to ask him what he thought so far. "I like dah meat wit sauce." That shouldn't have been such a big surprise and then he took the spoon and tried some of the potatoes and then took a little bite of the bread. "I like yah bread better. So far nut so bad." Gazing at her little box he could tell she was far more interested in the meat crumbles than he was. "Yah like dat meat crumble? Why?"

When he admitted to liking the sauce, she vowed to get him a bottle of barbeque sauce...or maybe a few...before they left Terra. He would like it at home on his nyte beast and her father would probably go through Terran life nostalgia of a few days with a container in the fridge. Knowing he liked her bread better, made a smile of pride creep to her cheeks. A few years ago she didn't even know how to cook properly, much less make bread. "I'm not much of a biscuit fan either...oh the skin?" Glancing down to her what was left of her chicken, she pointed to the breaded outer layer. "That's the best part. It's the chicken skin they bread and fry up. It's salty and crunchy...just good on it's own." She didn't know how else to describe why she liked it. The skin was just delicious.

Pushing his box toward Kalizda he grimaced."Yah eat meh skin den." After a second he realized his translation of that sentence was a bit odd and he laughed. "Well, yah know what I mean." He heated for it to go to waste and if she wanted to eat it she could. Illya was sure that Kalizda would benefit from having a little more food anyway. "Where we go next?" Sipping at the cup he traded with her he let the fizzing syup run down the back of his throat. He really enjoyed the sweetness of it. Every now and then having something sweet was very nice.

He pushed his box toward her and she grinned as he said the crunchy bits were all hers. Illya turning down something so deliciously fattening was almost funny. He was the only person she knew who could stick butter in his mouth simply for the taste and then turn down a piece of fried chicken skin. . Plucking the first piece of skin from the box, she popped it into her mouth with a giggle before crunching down. It was savory, salty and greasy all in one and her eyes rolled a little as she chewed. "Mmm..." When she was done, she wiped her hands, then slid out of the booth. "I was thinking somewhere quiet maybe," she said, "What about going to the museum or maybe we can go see a movie. Any movie but that one."

"Mmmm. Dat sounds good." Illya thought having a nice quiet day would be nice. They were still getting over the insanity of what happened in the desert and he wasn't sleeping the best, but maybe this would give his mind something else to focus on. The two of them got outside and they started to walk along the street toward the museum when Illya felt his guts start to rumble and not in a good way. "Ugh..." His stomach tossed and flipped a few times and he groaned a little. It hurt and he was starting to wonder if they shouldn't just hurry up and get back to the hotel or their ship. Whichever was closer. After a few more steps he belched and it was definitely acidic. There wasn't a lot of places to go on such a crowded street so he looked for the nearest alley and then ducked into it and hung his head into the nearest garbage can. That chicken didn't taste nearly as good the second time around.

"The museum then," she smiled, "there's a nature and science museum not far from here and they have some of the first space craft ever used by Terran's to leave the atmosphere." It would be exciting to see some of the creatures and devices used by age old Terrans, a few of which her father had spoken fondly of when she was a kid. They started walking down the side walk as the cherry blossom petals seemed to swirl around in the breeze, though they had left the park a few blocks back. It was a bright spring day, putting most people in a good mood as they walked along. She took a deep breath of the sweet smelling and and slipped her hand into Illya's enjoying the warmth. This is what their trip was supposed to have been. Easy going and relaxing even. Glancing down, she checked on Lohgan who had fallen sleep cuddled up to her chest, a tiny and curled close to her mouth. As she studied her girl, Illya's hand ripped out of hers and she stumbled into an alley. The sudden move made jump, her hand whipping around to the pistol hidden in the waist band of her pants. "Illya?!" A terrible retching sound echoed from the alley in response. Her Chip was bent over a garbage can puking up his lunch along with what sounded like everything else too. Grimacing, she walked over and stood in front of him to block anyone else from seeing. "Illya? Are you okay?"

Illya coughed a few times to try and clear his throat of the horrible taste. All that fizz was coming right back up and it stung just a little bit when it was combined with the acid. "Agh...I'm tink I'm si.." Before he could finish Illya ducked his head and puked into the garbage can again. He was not looking forward to the walk back to the ship or hotel. Glancing up momentarily he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ship or hotel closer?" He was ready to stay wherever and he knew it wasn't long till he was going to have to use a bathroom. At this rate he had maybe half an hour and that was if he could keep from puking everywhere on the way.

He was almost acting as if he was sick from eating corn with the way he was throwing up. There hadn't been any corn on their plates at lunch though. Not a golden nugget or creamed niblet in sight. It had to be food poisoning of some kind, which meant it was only a matter of time before it hit her too, "Hotel," she nodded firmly, "We can run it faster than calling car. C'mon and let's go." She couldn't really run with Lohgan strapped to her but she could give the blocks a hurried scuttle and jog a little if she held the girl close with one arm.

For the first time in a while Illya found he was the one that she was waiting on instead of him waiting on her. Momentarily he paused. Illya couldn't decide if he was going to need to puke again soon or if he could make it. Finally after he took a few deep breaths he determined that if they moved fast enough he could make it. Mostly he hated how horrible he felt. They barely made it two blocks and he ducked into another alley to grab a garbage can. Already he had a sweat building up and he was getting a little bit shaky. It felt like he'd eaten corn and he knew he didn't.

Calysta walked with him as fast as they could go until he dove into another alley way, tossing another round of his lunch into a trash can. She winced while he heaved, and rubbed his back which was damp from sickness. "Only a few more blocks and we'll be there. Can you make it?" She rubbed at his back some more until he managed to stop throwing up, and she urged them on at as fast a pace as Illya could handle. Soon the high rise building was in sight and only a block away to the back entrance parking deck. "Almost there," she urged him.

The rubbing on his back wasn't helping and Illya would have said something, but he was occupied at the moment. After he finished puking he leaned against the giant alley dumpster for a few moments before he nodded and started to walk with Kalizda again. Everything was fine till they reached the parking garage in the hotel. Grabbing the nearest little garbage can Illya puked into that one and then quickly started for the doorway to get into the elevator. The faster they got to the room the better.

She mashed the elevator button, holding it down to call the car in a sense of desperation and it took a few stops on the way down to get them. When the doors opened a woman with a small, fluffy dog gave them the eye as she stepped off having to dodge Illya who was on the way in. Calysta dodged into the elevator and pressed their floor number, only to have the elevator stop on the 2 floor of the parking deck to pick up a swanky looking man and his wife. Then it halted again to pick up another family who piled aboard, pushing her and Illya to the mirrored all in the back. A stop on the second floor deposited the couple and a stall on the 5th got rid of the family, leaving them to travel up to the penthouse suite. The entire time, Calysta stole glances at Illya and she was sure if tan Chips could turn green, Illya would be looking like a sweaty tree frog by then with his sheen of sweat built up on his forehead. As soon as the doors opened to their suit, she stood back and let him go first. "Hurry and go!"

Adding other guests to the elevator seemed like such a bad idea. Illya could only stare at them and wish they would get out. It seemed that they were all just as anxious to get out too and it must have been because he looked like he felt. A few times he felt the bile from his stomach rise and he would swallow it back, but he only felt sicker when he did that. When they reached the floor he stumbled out of the elevator and unlocked the door to the room and then walked as quickly as he could to the bathroom. There wasn't even time to shut the door. He just had to puke and right this instant. Part of him wondered if there was something wrong with what they ate. It didn't look like it, but there must have been. Maybe somebody poisoned him? That wouldn't be terribly surprising either. He'd had that happen before.

By the time she arrived in the bedroom, Illya was already head deep in the toilet throwing up again. How he had anything left to lose was a small wonder. Still, it worried her. What if was food poisoning or something worse? He'd clearly had no corn and that left only those two options. If he started seizing or couldn't stop vomiting, she would have to call the Ehaui and offer up his symptoms to see what they thought. She unpacked Lohgan from her chest, and placed the snoozing girl gently on the bed for her to sleep all the way through her nap, then gently closed the bathroom door for Illya. While he was taking up residence in the bathroom, Calysta began to think of the worst case scenarios. What if it was poison? Someone could have easily slipped something into the food at the restaurant. The food...the food! She snatched up her pad and began researching KFC menu ingredients. Cornstarch...high fructose corn syrup...corn meal... Calysta looked up from her pad in horror. Nearly everything they had eaten had a corn ingredient in somewhere. Even the gravy and the soda! She had poisoned her own husband. Getting up from the bed, she walked over to the bathroom door and called out to him sheepishly. "Illya...are you okay? I think I know what it is...it's corn."

This was the worst that Illya had felt since Old Quoti. Grabbing the toilet again he puked into it and then he decide to just lay on the bathroom floor. His back hurt, stomach raged and he was breaking out into cold sweats. After a moment he heard Kalizda shuffle over to the bathroom door and ask if he was ok. "Noo." Groaning the word he stared at the toilet and wondered if he was going to have to get up to puke in it again. "Et couldn't be corn. I dun eat any." It seemed any of the extra motion triggered the sick and he hauled himself closer to the toilet again and puked into it.

She heard him groan then leave another heaving into the toilet again. Illya was horribly sick, and just looking at the amount of corn he'd accidentally eaten let her know he would be sick for long while yet. She felt guilty for having suggested they stop for lunch there. With a long sigh, she sat down against the door and pulled up her pad to read what she found. "You did it corn, we just didn't know it. There was corn meal, corn used as sweetners and thickeners inside every bite at the restaurant. The soda drink is practically made of corn."

Illya coughed a little and dry heaved a few times before he stopped long enough to hear what Kalizda said. Having that much corn was enough to trigger a seizure and he didn't want that to happen. At the same time he was too sick feeling to care and all he wanted was to get warm again. "I need a blanket. Ets jes cold." The bathroom felt like it was made of ice even when he was in his sweater and his leather jacket. Huddling on the floor again he groaned again. Terrans were crazy. Why would thy put corn in a drink? He had tons of it too.

Her Chip sounded awful when he asked for a blanket and it only served to deepen the guilt as she got up to get what he'd asked for. She gathered up his big electric blanket and snagged his warm pajama bottoms along the way before opening the bathroom door with her spare fingers. He was curled up by the toilet, looking pale, sweaty and miserable. "I brought you the flanel pajama bottoms too," she said, showing him his favorite pair, "Why don't you just change if you can and I'll get the blanket warmed up, yeah?"

After a few moments he saw Kalizda come in with the pajama bottoms and the blanket. Illya didn't really want to change, but his jeans with the belt weren't that comfortable either. "Ok." Giving her a wimpy reply he sat up and untied his boots before letting his metal leg flop on the floor and the kick his way out of his jeans. It was so cold feeling at first that he actually stood up and scrambled into his pajama bottoms. "I tink I'm done puking for now." There wasn't really any way to tell, but he was hoping he was.

She let him change, fiddling with the dial on the blanket until it was turned up full blast for him, then handed it over, even though he had stated he was done puking. "Alright, if you want to get into bed instead, I'll bring a bucket over for you just in case." As he took the warming blanket from her hands, she looked up apologetically with her grey eyes, meeting his green ones. "I'm sorry, Illya." She was saying sorry for the food and some how it ended up being an apology for so much more.

Taking the blanket from Kalizda he started toward the bed only to have his little agreed stand in front of him briefly and apologize. "Yah dun need tah apologize. We dun know and now we do. Terrans like corn in lots of tings. I jes have tah check and be more careful next time eh?"

"Right...we'll just have to be more careful," she replied, as a small smile twitched at her lips. Illya was headed to the bed, and he didn't need her acting like a weepy-woman when he didn't feel good. Instead, she skirted around the end of their mattress, to slide Lohgan over using her pink blanket so he could lay down. "I'll go get the bucket." She darted out of the room and went to the small supply closet at the front of their suite, finding a mop bucket with a wire handle. It was better that than their wooden trash cans in each room. She brought the bucket and sat it by his side of the bed. "Maybe I'll stay up and compile a list of safe ...corn free...foods, yeah?"

She was obsessing over this latest fiasco and Illya didn't have the energy to protest. Instead he cracked a mostly pathetic joke. "Make sure yah write it in Kaerelean. Dat way I get tah practice reading et." That would be bound to end in more accidents than successes, but it was a semi decent joke anyway. There words occasionally that Illya would have to correct for Kalizda in Quoti. It wasn't that the word couldn't be used, most of the time it was just a matter of proper use in the language.

Calysta did a double take when he asked her to be sure to write in in Kaerelean, confused at first. Why would we want a list of safe foods in a language he couldn't read so well? Then she realized he was joking. His jokes, as terrible as they were sometimes always made her genuinely smile, even if it was accompanied by an eye roll or a giggle. "I'll write in Kaerelean just for you. That way you'll have more incentive to practice and we'll know if you get the word wrong for sure," she replied, with a small chuckle.

Half the fun with these sorts of jokes was just watching Kalizda figure out it was a joke. Some people liked to say that they understood sarcasm, but she was one the few that did. Most wouldn't have known that he was cracking a highly sarcastic joke. A semi sick and pained smirk came to his face. "Plenty of incentive. I jes might learn faster."

 

[aryamajor]

*************
The next day, they met with the President in the privacy of his home. It was bug proofed and well guarded manor on the outskirts of Tokyo, with a spacious Edo era garden surrounding the house. Harry offered them both tea as they sat together in the primly decorated living room for the first time since their escape from the mines. "General, I want to thank you for what you did," he said quietly. It was just best to get the elephant out of the room in this situation. "Since the attack some things have come to light that I think we need to discuss. The mines will have to be recovered at a cost of which is undetermined at the moment. Terran forces have regained control of the surrounding area for now, which will cut off supplies and power but if these men are entirely Tannas they could remain in gas for indefinitely from what I understand. Our intelligence officers believe they were working with a highly organized group scattered over Terra. In small enough pockets to avoid attention while they used old era satellite codes for communication. I would like to work with the forces on Kaereal to deal with this, that includes sending a unit of Terran forces to train on Pyrta if you'd welcome it. Terra still wants to be a functioning member of the Alliance."

He reached out for a sip of his tea and then cleared his throat. "That brings me to the second problem. I know you're both aware of the article written by the Mouse." They had to be at this point. "I have yet to find who the author is, and after a independent investigation, my team has found no plagiarism. The planetary legal team has already started looking over evidence and I think it would be wise to leave soon, if not tomorrow morning. It has nothing to do with you being an ally and everything to do with Terran laws."

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

Their meeting with the president ended and Calysta chose a nice restaurant for dinner with Illya in a quiet seafood place near the bay. They talked a little off and on, mostly about what the were seeing. "Maybe if we come back sometime, we can try out one of those paddle boats," she winked. There was no way he would ever go out in one of those things and she knew it. The faces he made about the comment were worth the effort though. In some ways if felt like a weight was off her chest about the article. They knew what was coming and she could deal with things as it came.

After dinner they walked along the strip, passing under bright neons and big screens contouring the building fronts. This area was a bit busier than where their quarters were, bustling with people on all sides with constant noise. It made Calysta stick all the closer to Illya, keeping her hand slipped into his, fingers curled tightly. At least that way he couldn't tell they were shaking if she held it like that. They passed by a store front with tinted glass windows and a blue neon sign beaming steady to the street. From the inside, she could hear music and applause. That was interesting. Kaereleans didn't do 'big' music like Terrans did with their concerts and music halls, sticking to styles best kept for small gatherings. This sounded more like a concert and she had always wanted to see one, but she wasn't sure if Illya would want to go in given the amount of people inside. "I think there's some sort of music concert going on in there, want to check it out?" she asked hopefully.

Like everything else in Japan the streets were packed and there wasn't even a semblance of privacy. Illya stared wide eyed at most of the buildings that they passed. He was trying to tell if there was any risk from the buildings present, but he couldn't really tell. Then of all things Kalizda wanted to go into one. Did he actually want to check it out? No! Would he, probably. "What's inside?" She wouldn't ask unless there was something she wanted. When she answered he nodded though he was feeling a bit wary. "Yah jes stay close den."

"I think it's just live music, like a concert, I've never seen a Terran concert," she told him, "I'll stay close. I promise." He seemed reluctant and she didn't blame him in some ways. Still, this would be something with some semblance of normalcy to it. Even with the way she was feeling, she couldn't stow herself away from any big crowd she came across. Squeezing his hand, she lead him inside to a brightly lit lounge where a surprising amount of people were sitting quietly, talking among themselves in a variety of languages. To the left was a crowded but orderly bar, and in the very back was a small stage with a microphone and a hologram projector. A Japanese man took the stage and picked up the thin microphone as the crowd went quiet other than a few cheers of encouragement. With a flip of his hair, the music began and lyrics began displaying on the screen. "Jus a small town giiiirl...livin' in a lonely world..." Calysta tilted her head in surprise. This man was clearly not a singer by trade, and he was on stage singing nonetheless. People seemed to be enjoying it too, clapping and cheering when he hit an out of tune high note. When he was done, the crowd gave a cheer as he bowed, then handed the microphone to someone else. Her father had spoken about one of these before, but she couldn't remember the word quite right. "Karke? No that's not it...Karik? Karoke...No...Karaoke!" When she finally remembered, she glanced up to Illya, pleased with herself. "It's karaoke. Anyone can get up and sing."

Inside the building it was full of lights and drinks. People were everywhere and it looked like a normal pub and may have even been enjoyable if it wasn't for the fact that there was some guy standing up there squawking like a dying bird or some tortured creature. How could anyone stand up and have the courage to sing if they were that bad? Especially if it was for a solo piece. Illya certainly wasn't any soloist, but he was decent if he had something to follow or knew the song. Kalizda seemed excited with the discovery of the little game that the Terrans played and he winced. "I can see jes fine dat dey let anyone sing."

He was definitely not in a good mood and she had half a mind to turn around and go home if he was going to be grumpy. That would defeat the purpose of exploring though. That little wince of his gave her an idea. Keeping her hand in his, she walked a little further it the lounge, taking them up to the bar where the bartender asked what they wanted. "No, nothing to drink. I was wondering how big your karaoke music collection was? Is it only Terran?" At his answer, Calysta looked up and grinned. "He's says the song collection is from all over the quadrant. Maybe you could give it a try, and let them hear a decent voice for awhile. I heard you and Duncan carrying a tune, you know."

Somehow Kalizda still found the idea to be thrilling enough that she wanted to be staying in the bar for a while. Silently he followed her to the bar. Maybe they would have a decent, strong drink. Illya wanted something if he was going to be in here listening to Terrans wail and waller along as if they could sing. None of them seemed to know what singing was. One of the men stood up and he managed to read words off the screen in a jolty manner and he ducked his head rhythmically and pulled his pants half off his ass while he stomped around like he was trying shake poop out of his boxers. Illya looked back at the bar tender and noticed a rather hopeful gaze from the man and then Illya looked at Kalizda. "Hmm...What yah say?"

He hadn't been listening again and she wasn't sure if it was an absence seizure or something worse. At least he was focusing now though. Chuckling, Calysta slipped a hand to his chest as she stood on her toes to get closer to his ear so he could hear over the rhythmic thumping of the bass from the stage. "They have songs from all over the quadrant here, not just Terran ones. Want to give it a try?"

That hand on his chest made Illya almost take a step back. She was going to kiss him or she wanted something. He knew this. Illya could feel her stepping on his left foot as she pulled herself tighter to his body and closer to his ear. Just so he could hear her better he tilted his head toward her and his eyes got wide. "I dun sing." He didn't ever sing openly in front of people that he recalled.

He was stiff against her and seemed entirely shocked that she would ask about singing at the bar. "I've heard you sing with Duncan," she replied, "You were pretty good. Anything has to be better than...that..." She nodded to the stage where the man was still talking the lyrics into the microphone along with some pelvic thrusts. Wincing, Calysta turned her grey eyes back to her Chip. "Could be fun."

She was giving him that look and Illya grabbed the hand that was on his chest. "Might be fun, but I can't." Looking toward the man on the stage he shrugged. "He's still talking and I dun tink yah want meh tah go up dere and knock him off dah stage." This time he couldn't help snickering a little at his horrible joke. He knew that wasn't what she was asking him to do, but it was bound to get a reaction out of her.

Calysta blinked at him for a moment and then shook her head. "Of course not!" Her lips curled into a grin as her fingers tickled at his chest. "We knock him off yet because we haven't picked a song yet. You can't go up there without one ready." He was making terrible jokes and tonight he was going to get some playfulness back from her.

It was almost disheartening to see how determined she was. Illya reluctantly pushed her hand off his chest so he could look at the list. It was shocking to see that they actually had a few titles he knew and chances were Kalizda would know which ones they were. One of them was even in Quoti and he certainly had no control over that. "Eh, how many are in line tah sing? I'm patient. I tink yah put meh at dah back of dah line."

She hadn't thought the tease would actually work and now he looked a bit surly as he pushed her hand off and address the bar tender. "You've got about 6 people in front of you and we've got all night," the bartender grinned, "I'll put you in the back of the line up, then get you and your lady here a drink, eh?" Pointing to the holographic bracket list, he nodded. "Just put the song you want in there and the computer will call your name up when you're ready."

Now that they were in the back of the list Illya looked at Kalizda and winked. "And yah gonna sing et wit meh." That was going to be his deal with her. They could have drinks here and if they were going to play some silly Terran game based on a whim then she was going to be with him when he got up there.

Calysta waited while he picked the song he wanted, and stole glances at the woman singing on stage. She wasn't half bad, only hitting the highest of notes out of tune making it only painful. When Illya turned back to her, he gave a wink...then pronounced she would be singing with him. That was not part of the deal. Her face fell as her eyes went round as saucers. Didn't he know? Surely he'd been married long enough to her and would know. "I-Illya...I'm not sure that's a good idea. You may not sing....but I can't sing. Really."

"Nuh, yah can sing." Illya didn't know why else she would be so eager to have him try out the game. She should sing too. It didn't look like they handed out prizes or anything to the winner. That took some pressure off, but it also made him wonder why she wanted him to sing. "Why yah want meh tah sing, but yah dun want to?"

He definitely had not heard her sing before or he would know she was telling the absolute truth. Councilwoman yes, pilot, definitely, but she was no singer. His next question threw her off slightly. "Honestly,we might not get the chance to try it again and it looked like fun and...maybe I like to hear it when you sing," she replied, her cheeks turning a rosy pink.

The excuse was actually somewhat funny. She liked to hear him sing. "Dat was mostly Duncan. I tink yah like tah hear him sing." If there was someone that didn't mind belting it out it was actually Illya, but he liked to blame Duncan since he was the one that started it that night. Even if he liked to sing, Illya didn't really like people to know that. "Ok, when I go up ets jes for yah." Settling in with his drink he watched with some anxiety as the line got shorter and shorter. His turn would come up and then he had to sing.

Illya was claiming it was all Duncan. She knew her Chip's voice well enough to hear that it wasn't Duncan who had been so boisterously singing that night above the camp fire. It was Illya that sung with gusto. Despite that, he was willing to go up and give it a try...for her. Feeling a bit relieved, Calysta held up his hand and left a tender kiss on his knuckles before walking them over to a table near the center of the lounge. If he was going to sing, then she would be right in the center cheering him on. Slipping into a comfortable swivel chair, she waited for Illya to sit with her and smiled at him. There was a younger girl on stage trying to remember a song and when she was done, everyone applauded before another took the stage. A waitress came by and asked if they wanted anything to drink. "Thanks, but I'll pass this time," Calysta said pleasantly. It still wouldn't be a good idea to drink while breastfeeding Lohgan. The waitress turned to Illya expectantly, her eyes roving over the large man more in curiosity than anything and then nodded at his reply. As it grew closer for Illya's time to sing, Calysta stole glances at him as she applaused other singers. He looked a bit nervous, which was surprising to her. He wasn't shy except for a few things and she'd discovered that pretty early on. "Illya." His name was finally called and she grinned. "Go show them how to sing, yeah?"

When his turn finally came up Illya couldn't help the slight surge of irritation. Whoever called his name obviously didn't know how to pronounce it. They said it Ill-yah instead of Eelya. So many people would say his name wrong if he didn't say it first. There wasn't anything so complicated about it. You just said it the way it was written. Slowly getting up from his seat he walked toward the stage with a deliberate, but somber step. Why in the world would she ask him to sing like this? Chippequoti just didn't sing that much and the only time it was really appropriate for a man to sing was in a group setting for the war songs or unless it was his profession. There weren't many that were good enough to go into the profession and Illya enjoyed the occasional song, but he certainly wasn't in the profession by any stretch and he never would be. Grabbing the microphone he stared at it for a moment and then waited for the music to start. There was somewhat odd instrumentation to it and he slipped one hand behind his back to keep count. One of the ladies at the table next to Kalizda chuckled. "You do realize that nobody knows this song. This is the song that people choose to sing when they want to be quiet. There are no words to it." Everyone knew it was the cop out song and it was some weird foreign piece that had no meaning. Just some odd, but beautiful instrumentation. "Best you get out of this song is some pantomime." A few of the other women at the table snickered and sipped at their drinks while the one that originally informed Kalizda gave a sympathetic smile and then turned so that the poor lady could have her disappointment all to herself. No reason to taunt her further. This was the only Quoti song and it happened to be a war song. Most Quoti songs were about war, but this one sounded nice anyway. When Illya started to sing in Quoti the people in the bar stopped. This would have been the first person that ever sang and it appeared that they knew the song. To make it a little more impressive the guy even had a nice rich voice, but there was a hint of a rasp from time to time. The women from the table glanced at Kalizda again and the one smiled almost confused. "Soooo...the song does have lyrics." Toward the end of the song it repeated the chorus, farewell to Quoti, goodbye my agreed, look for me in the westward wind, I've got to war and gave my blood. With the song at its end Illya put the microphone back and walked right back off the stage. Singing in front of people when he was not in a group was somewhat frightening. He'd never done that. Scooting in next to Kalizda he grabbed his cup and guzzled the rest of the drink.

Calysta watched as her Chip's broad shouldered figure walked into the shadows of the side and then up into the cool red lighting to center stage. He took up most of the space there, looking a bit nervous. Maybe this had been a bad idea. She had thought it might be fun for him to cut loose a bit while trying something new. It was too late to back out now though. The music began to play, a strange cadenced instrumental echoed through the lounge and immediately she could tell people had lost interest. They poked at the ice in their drinks while some even slipped out to use the restroom while there was a break in the fun. One woman leaned over and commented about the song being a fluff piece. An easy going song with no lyrics that no one knew. Calysta ignored her and kept her eyes on her Chip. Illya had said he would sing and that meant he would. Simply because no one on the tiny spit of land on Terra knew the words, didn't mean someone out there didn't. As he began to sing with his deep voice, filling the lounge with it, she listened to the words in Qouti. If it was one thing Chippeqouti knew it was how to make words sounds beautiful when they spoke to their agreeds and that transferred into their music, even though most of it was about war. Calysta watched him sing, hearing only his voice and the words than came with it. A sad, beautiful sort of song was the one he had chosen and it was making her throat a little tight. When the song ended on the last line of the chorus, she wiped at her eyes quickly before Illya came back to the table. "Yes, the song has lyrics," she finally replied, "The Chippeqouti always have beautiful lyrics if you take the time to listen." That was about all she cared to say to the woman as Illya slipped in beside her and shot down his drink a few greedy gulps. When he finished off his drink, she slid over closer and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Illya. It was a good song. You sing much better than you let on," she told him in Qouti, "You even had some of the ladies in here surprised."

The woman only nodded when Kalizda had confirmed that the man was Chip. It was never good to jump to conclusions, but the language was one she'd never heard as well. Quietly turning to speak with her lady friends again she left the couple alone. Illya glanced at Kalizda when she told him how well he sang. A nervous chuckle erupted from his throat and he responded in Quoti. "Its not my profession." After a moment he grinned. It wasn't like she didn't already know that, but he figured that maybe he should explain what he was trying to say. "Chippequoti don't sing alone unless it is their profession and then they have studied music for a very long time and they train their voices. Rest of us only sing in groups."

She somewhat knew what he was referring to. While she'd never seen a professional Chip singer, she knew how they chose their professions and never seen any of the Dark Chippeqouti sing outside of a duet at the least when they sang at all. "It may not be your profession, but your voice is..." She paused trying to the think of another word rather than the one that came to mind, "Very handsome sounding and I like hearing it on its own. You did much better than I ever would up there, I can promise."

If there was a way to make it sound more awkward than before Kalizda was accomplishing it. His voice was handsome? Snorting a little he rolled his eyes and took the next drink that the waitress set down next to him. Illya had a quick sip and then he gave a very slow and confused sounding response. "Are yah trying tah flirt wit meh?" He just wanted to see what kind of reaction he would get out of her.

Illya was rolling his eyes at her and she shifted in her seat, a tinge of pink returning to her cheeks. He was bound and determined to tease her tonight! So what if she wasn't so good at flirting. At least it had been clear enough for him to pick up on the fact that she was trying. "Yes," she mumbled, "Is it so wrong to want to say you find your husband's voice sexy? And that you want to hear it?"

That sheepish little squirm and then her explanation was even better. Illya had a hard time keeping a straight face and he shook his head. "Mmm...no. Naughtin wrong wit et. Jes makes meh tink dat ef yah flirt wit meh...Well, I might take yah home wit meh and we could see what happens from dere."

Calysta's brow raised at her Chip as she fought against the growing blush on her cheeks. He always managed to make her blush and she was determined to tease him back just a little. "Hmm...picking up ladies in bars now that you know you have a sexy voice, huh? They tend to like a little sweet talk in their ears before you take them home."

There were a few people that were watching them and Illya was used to being the one sounding confident. This time Kalizda turned the tables despite the blush. Sweet talk was something he only did at home. Doing that in public was....it wasn't really acceptable was it? "Uh...." Illya gave her a very stupid look and he drew an extended blank before he made a random blurt. "I like yah hair."

Calysta watched him stare at her for a long moment, struggling on how to respond. She'd gotten him good on that one, even if her own cheeks were hot, and what he blurted out made the scene all the better. A snorting laugh escaped her, and she quickly covered her mouth to hide the glee. He had no idea what to do with that. When her snickering subsided, she slid a little closer, tucking herself under his arm with a playful grin. "It's a very good thing, I'm not random lady in a bar, yeah?"

A few audible groans sounded from those that were waiting to hear how the guy with the sexy voice would woo a woman. Then Kaliza even had to laugh and Illya grinned sheepishly. "I dun like strangers in meh bed. So I jes take yah home and den I can say all dah improper tings."

Satisfied with that sheepish grin on his face, Calysta chuckled and decided to let him off the hook, speaking only in Qouti. "Aye, I'm proud to say I like sharing my bed with only one Chip man and he happens to be smiling at me just so right now. In fact, I feel like I should take him home unless he'd want to see for me again?"

Speaking in Quoti was far more comfortable for something like this. Illya grinned a little broader when she got bold. Saying something like that in public was very bold and probably improper. Carefully leaning in closer he slipped a hand around her waist and kissed Kalizda. "I don't think there is a song with the right words. You're too beautiful for songs."

Illya's grin grew broader and she chuckled. It was kind of fun to tease him a little, once she figured out how. Flirting had never come naturally to her and she usually ended up botching any real attempts at it. Illya had a way of making her feel like a success in trying it out though, particularly when he beamed at her like that, before swooping her into a playful kiss and a smooth line. He might have been trying to avoid singing again but he really did believe she was beautiful and it was a fact that made all of the teasing a bit more fun between them."Mmmm," she chuckled as her hand slipped up to his cheek for another kiss, "I hope you always think that way. C'mon and lets go home."

The walk through the streets was a long one and by the time they reached the hotel room, Calysta was tugging at the back of his shirt. If this was going to be their last night on Terra, she was going to make sure it ended on a good note.

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

Calysta woke tangled with Illya, her legs slipped over his and her head tucked to his chest exactly how she had fallen asleep. If he'd had bad dreams, she didn't know it or hear it. She had taken on most of the work last night without a word, to keep Illya from straining his back. He claimed he was 'fine' and those horrid popping sounds gave him away every morning. Calysta had already made him an appointment with the doctor for his spine among other things and he was going to go whether he wanted to or not.

Leaning up, she kissed his cheek and rubbed at his shoulders, easing him out of sleep. "Good morning, love." Slowly she brought him to awareness. When his green eyes cracked open, she smiled then kissed his lips. "It's time to go home." She was ready to go home for awhile and so was he.

They packed up their things and took a private skimmer out to their ship. This time they were leaving without anyone knowing. There was no fanfare, reporters, or flashing lights much to everyone's relief. Climbing the ramp to the luxurious ship was a quiet affair and so was take off. Once they were in a jump, Calysta walked down to the cargo bay to inspect what she had ordered. The seller she called promised that it would be high quality since there was no time to inspect it before they left.

When Calysta opened the cargo bay hatch, a rustling sound met her ears. Flipping on the lights, she found 3 crates. One was labeled Sweet Babbit Rae's Ultimate BBQ sauce and the other two were spilled over. "Oh no." Illya's present was roaming free all in the cargo bay. She dashed into the middle of the room, searching for the critters that were supposed to be the crate. Who doesn't tie down a wooden box full of live animals?! A feathery sound came from the corner and she bounded over the crates to find the full feathered mother hen sitting comfortably on a tarp with her chicks hopping around her feet. The chickadees peeped at her excitedly, thinking food was inbound as their mother's beady eyes surveyed their new owner. "I'll feed you later I still have to find the rooster," she grumbled.

The rooster was standing in the open door way to the cargo hold waiting for her when she turned around. "Don't you dare," she hissed at the animal with narrowed eyes. Calysta walked toward the strutting bird, taking each step with care. "C'mon. Go back into the cargo bay....just like." The bird looked at her and then started wobbling down the hallway to go claim his territory. "No!" She had to give the ship back to the renters and it couldn't have any imperfections in it when she did. The determined bird made his way down the corridor fluttering away whenever she got close, then took a turn into the open galley door. It was cornered now. She stalked into the kitchen and followed into the corner. "Come here!" Diving at the bird, she managed to tackle into submission for a few seconds. The creature screeched as feather's flew and it dug it's spurs in, making her let go. Illya came into the door way about the time, and she pointed to the wayward rooster. "Grab the bird!"

 

[Silence]

Illya sat next to Kalizda when they arrived at the President's house. It was a large place and they had beautiful gardens outside. While the they were sitting in awkward silence for a few minutes he gazed out at the plants. Some of them were quite unusual. At least they provided a nice little view while he tried to think of the nicest way to approach all this. He had been working on a study and put together a few little equations so that he could show the President the probabilities of their failure rate if they engaged in the same levels of security. There was a section that gave a probability of casualties if the president had infiltrators on the continent and then the chances of revolt based on saturation of Federation control.

For the time it seemed that Harry was concerned about the fact that he wanted them to know he hadn't planned on the Federation being there and then reiterated that he wanted to be in the Alliance. Kalizda was far more interested in keeping them under the Alliance and Illya was thinking differently, but he couldn't say that here and now. Considering the history of Terra it would have been far easier to just black list them and then allow them to defect as they would. It was the sole purpose that he only dealt with a select few of the Terrans. Only those he was sure would do what it took to survive without the Federation. Otherwise, many of them were happy to live under Federation control. The Federation would provide them with wealth if they could do the same as Yarbrough. Put up a face, a business, and pursue the ambitions without boundaries. This was what made Terra the most dangerous of the Allies.

To make it all the worse Harry wanted his men to train on Pytra. Immediately Illya wanted to bristle up, but he chose to remain semi-calm for the moment. Harry had an odd way of warning people as well. It sounded like that article had made a bit of a splash. For the time Illya decided to move past that particular little bump. It was not an open record and never would be. That was black work and had he known that the girl kept all of that information he might have killed her too. Hindsight was usually better. So instead he would just let it stay quiet and blow over in time.

Now that Harry was done with his little talk Illya handed him the large packet of information that he put together. "I tink yah better learn tah look outside Terra for information. Maybe yah learn nut tah trust yah people so much. Probability shows dat information yah got was probably false and dis mine was under Federation control even when yah offer et to Alliance." There was a hint of a growl in Illya's voice. "I gave yah probabilities of civilian survival in areas prone tah Federation attack. Den I have probabilities of revolt and change of government. Unless Terra does someting different den dey have in dah past, yah dead man walking." Illya had thought that maybe popularity of presidents would affect their chance of being assassinated, but it seemed that there were many leaders who had low approval ratings and still survived. It was a strange system, but he did find that the chance of getting assassinated did follow the trend of radical groups. There were plenty of radicals in Terra and that meant that any day Harry could die.

It was a slim chance that Harry would have time to get out or even ask for help before he knew that he was going to get killed. Illya could take him with now, but that wouldn't do anything either. "I give yah small report and mat dere. Terra es as good as lost." There was a slim chance that they would pull out and actually stay with the president, but at this point they were following all the trends of the past.

Whatever the president chose to do with the report was up to him. He could show it to the people and tell them what their record had been with the Tannas and the Federation or he could keep it to himself. With a nod Illya rose from his seat and then gave one little suggestion. "I tink yah best chance at gaining support tah stay in dah Alliance es tah tah have some of yah men for clean up crew take pictures of all dah dead when Federation attempts tah take areas. Show et to dah public. Long as Federation work stays quiet dey succeed. Maybe yah scare people, but ets better den having dem revolt." That was probably controversial advice, but it was the best that Illya could give the man. Harry was on his last leg and there wasn't much Illya could do to help him now.

Whoever it was that wrote the article knew it. They waited till the Alliance seemed strong and then they hit a point that felt weak. If they could discredit the Alliance and their leadership now it would pull Terra away. Wait for the Terrans to feel comfortable and then add a grain of doubt. Knowing that the Chippequoti had in the past killed key targets would make it easy to open up assassination attempts on individuals well liked or not. Terrans lost plenty of well liked leaders due to radicals and this would appear to be no different. It would make it easy to blame on the Chippequoti as well. It was proven after all that the Chippequoti had been on Terra many times perhaps and they didn't know it. Only now they were discovering that the hero General was not a first time visitor now or 6 years ago.

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

Now that the article was written the woman waited in her small apartment. All she had to do was wait for the mad search for her to begin. The journalist that wrote the little expose, the woman that they would find killed in her apartment. There had been several reports of the General and his little Council Woman wandering the city. Sasha knew the article would gain plenty of attention and she had her victim. The Mouse. Sure, the journalist got the money, but having her assassinated would be so much more interesting. It was only a matter of time before someone found her.

It was ironic how the journalists would search out the truth of everything. Even to the point of damaging their own freedom and that of the people around them. Oh, they all had a right to the truth and they all had a right to choose for themselves. Democracy was a beautiful thing. So easily manipulated. Sasha watched her pad with very little interest while the journalist struggled against the bonds that held her to the desk. Eventually the blip came through. It appeared that there was an attack at the mines. It was nominally successful. They hadn't been able to kill the president or his wife, but the General had killed a good number of men. There was no other explanation for the sort of slaughter that they saw. Perhaps both Chippequoti survived the fight. Her interest wasn't in killing the General yet. He could still tear the Alliance apart and then she could kill him.

Killing him some time back would have been so much more useful. Now, his purpose had to be re-directed because he was still very much alive and well. All Sasha needed to do was wait for the General his little 'bird' to return to Japan. All forces were on hold for now. There wasn't a mass take over planned yet. It would depend on how easily the Terran people were to manipulate. Given their history it would be.

While she waited for them to have time to return she got up and walked over to the woman. "It's too bad that he's a fan of torture, otherwise this would have been faster." The Mouse's eyebrows rose and she tried to struggle, but there was no where for her to go. Sasha began to pack up her bags and take all the original files. If she could control the original files of this story then that meant it would only be re-circulated by the people. It would also mean that it would appear the General wanted to control the information. Maybe he knew them, but she knew his kind as well. They didn't entertain ideas like these ones and preferred to let time take it's toll on the people's memory. However, memory could be manipulated after a time. 95% truth and 5% lie would be more than enough to change it. That 5% would grow over time through the imagination of the people.

Finally, the last few hours passed and she saw the notification that the ship had landed over 2 hours ago. It would be a perfect time to start. Taking out a knife she made the first small slice into the skin on the woman's hand and then started to peel up the layers. It was a trademark of the General's work.

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

Their last night in Japan was odd if Illya considered the singing, but it had strangely nice benefits. Kalizda couldn't seem to keep her hands to herself. As a kid that was something he would have fussed about, but it wasn't as much a complaint as an adult. It was pretty great having a woman want you that badly. They were barely in the door to the hotel room and Kalizda was pulling at his shirt. Chuckling a bit Illya ducked so she could pull his shirt off. She was so wild that she even wanted to do the work. Apparently singing made her want him really bad. Perhaps he would think a little more about singing from time to time.

The next morning Illya felt warm little fingers rubbing over his shoulders. Illya curled his shoulders slightly in his sleep. It felt so good to have her rubbing at his shoulders like that. Then Kalizda leaned in and kissed him. "Mmm." Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at her beautiful face. She called him something besides his name and it was a bit surprising, but not unwelcome either. A lazy grin spread over his face and he moved his arm to pull her a little closer to himself. "Yah know what I love about meh little bird?" Mumbling some sweet nothings to her he almost fell asleep again except for her occasional giggles. Eventually they had to get up. The easiest way to get out of Terra unnoticed, or announced was to leave before breakfast time.

This time the trip to the ship was far more quiet. Illya carried a few of their bags and Duncan carried the rest while Kalizda carried Lohgan into the ship. The baby was snoozing happily after she'd had her morning feeding. Once the baby was put down to sleep Illya decided to go check on the supplies to be sure he got the food that he ordered for their journey home. He didn't want to eat rations. A small order form sat in the large storage area. It was very small considering all the supplies that he had ordered. It was tiny, skiny, and long. Looking it over he saw that everything he ordered when they landed had been delivered just last night as he had directed. Duncan had met them and put it all away for him too. While Illya was busy looking over the list he heard an odd clunk sound and he decided to go check it out.

Stepping out of the supply room Illya left the fixings for breakfast and he wandered down the hallway to see what was going on. It sounded like everything had moved from the hallway to the kitchen. Kalizda was murmuring something and then he stepped into the galley. The rooster clucked and crowed loudly as it bobbed along. Kalizda looked entirely frazzled and Illya stared at the bird. It must have been a chicken. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen he saw Kalizda sprawled out on the floor and nursing some nasty little wounds. It was likely she scared the darn bird since it was still squawking and bobbing its head with every step. Calmly walking over to the bird Illya wrapped one hand around it's neck and then swept his other hand underneath the bird so that he could hold it underneath his arm. "Ok, I have dah bird."

Calysta's watched as Illya walked over to the bird, hoping the wretched thing wouldn't scratch him as badly as it had her. The dumb bird's claws had left a deep gouge down the bottoms of her arms and blood dripped down to her elbows on both sides. That thing was vicious, no doubt. Her Chip walked up to the animal as it strutted proudly in the corner, then simply picked it up by the neck before tucking it under his arm. Calysta's mouth slipped open as she watched him take the crazy bird like nothing was wrong. "How did you...it escaped and you just walked right up to it," she mumbled in embarrassment, "It was supposed to be a bit of a surprise."

Poor Kalizda had never learned not to be afraid of animals and Illya sighed. "Ets cause yah afraid of dah bird yes?" He didn't really wait for her to respond and he let go of the rooster's neck and then pet the bird. It couldn't really kick at him and it couldn't flap it's wings. There wasn't anywhere for the creature to go. "Et es a surprise. I dun expect tah find meh little bird chasing chickens." Saying it that way made it sound funny. "I help yah clean up in a minute when we put dah bird away eh?"

Her mouth twitched a little sheepishly as she stared down the naughty bird. He thought she was bad with animals and there was a spot of truth to that. More than a spot. She liked Keysha because the cat loped around, made it clear when she wanted pets and when she didn't. The little Zkreen bunny had just one mode and that was 'cuddle'. Those were easy animals to deal with, but this bird was a pain for anyone besides Illya it seemed. "I'm glad I managed to surprise you at least a little bit...though not the way I intended. Looks like I'm no expert chicken wrangler," she chuckled. A droplet of blood popped against the tile floor and she grabbed a hand towel hanging from the side of the counter. Covering her arms, she nodded toward the door. "I'll pay to replace the towel. The rest of them are in the cargo bay and their boxes fell over. " She gave him a little smile despite the sting of her arms and walked with him to show him the mother hen and her babies. All the fluffy chicks peeped hungrily when they peered over the boxes at the fat hen and Calysta grinned. "They're kind cute aren't they? When they're not trying to claw you."

Momentarily Illya frowned when she said she'd replace the towel. She didn't have to. Then he remembered that he hadn't told her about the fact that the ship was hers if she wanted it. He really needed to sit down and talk with her. Wandering back into the cargo bay with Kalizda he peered over the edge of the box and saw that the lamp was on to keep the birds warm. Then there was a separate one for the rooster and a bag of chicken feed. "I jes put a little food and water in dishes and den we go get yah arm bandaged." It only took him a few seconds to fill the little dishes and watch the birds scratch around and peck at the feed. Then sliding an arm around Kalizda's waist he walked with her back to the galley. "Yah tink maybe dis dah ship yah like? I mean ef yah gonna buy ship would dis be dah kind or es dere someting yah like better?"

He seemed to know exactly know what to do with the chickens. Of course, he did. Illya always knew what to do with animals and it was something that always amazes Calysta. She hadn't known there was separate feed for them or that the heating lamp was important for them at all. It was hard to tell if he liked his new pets as he worked. When he was done he slipped an arm around her and guided her back to the galley. Rather than saying anything about his chickens, he mentioned the ship, asking if she liked it. It was an odd chance in subject, but he was making conversation and that was a good thing. Glancing up to Illya, she nodded with a smile. "Aye, I would like something like this I think. It has top of the line engines, and plenty of space for everyone. It's beautiful on the inside too. Even I could get a little spoiled from that control panel in the bedroom. " Walking along, she turned into the galley, her grin growing a little broader at the thought. "If we ever get to travel some day, this one would be perfect."

It all sounded good. Just as good as it had the day she checked it out. All those added features had been a bonus after all. He didn't know everything about the engines, but she seemed more than satisfied with them. Quietly he nodded and then let out a long breath. "I tink we keep dah ship den." Turning the corner into the galley Illya hoisted her up by her waist and sat her on the counter while he dug into one of the cupboards to get the first aid kit out. He would have the wash the wounds in her arms and then he could look at treating it with some antibacterial cream and lay a dressing over it. While he worked he listened to her and nodded away while grinning. Of course she wasn't going to just keep it. "Yah can have dah ship ef yah like et more den any oter ships. I buy et for yah."

"Just keep it?" He making his same jokes and she was going to call him on it as he lifted her up to the counter top. "I thought our ship thieving days were over," she teased, "I wish it was that easy though. We can't just keep it." He kept rummaging through he drawers and nodding along as if he were listening, then simply looked up and said he would buy it for her. "Buy it for me? Illya, it's a beautiful ship but I don't think we have a few million credits hanging around. Those engines alone are worth...well they're worth about a million credits on their own. Maybe we can save up for a nice one to travel in one day, yeah?"

She was just being so serious and it made Illya chuckle. Grabbing the small squirt bottle he rinsed her arms out and then smeared the cream over them. "Yah dun answer meh question. Ef I had dah money would yah want dis ship or es dere anoter ship dat yah like better?" He looked at her with a serious gaze before he glanced down to her arms and started to wrap them in a dressing. "Et doesn't hurt tah dream and I want yah honest answer. Yah never know when yah dream might come true eh?"

The rinse on her arm stung as he cleaned out the gouges left by the goofy chicken and the cream felt cool in contrast. She could have cleaned herself up, but she would have had a more difficult time doing it on her own. As he dressed her arms in gauze, she caught a serious look from his green eyes. He wanted an honest answer about the ship, even if it would never happen. Holding out her arms for him to work, Calysta nodded up at him. "Aye, it never hurts to dream and if I had the money, this would be the one I would choose for sure."

A big grin came to Illya's face. So he had done well and chose the best ship. It would save them the trouble of having to re-open the paperwork and look at a different ship. Not that he minded, but it would save some trouble and then Kalizda wouldn't have to worry about the money. It was already spent. "Good. I tink yah dream come true. I buy dah ship for yah." He was trying to tell her and she still looked like she didn't understand so he switched to Quoti. "Kalizda, I bought the ship."

Illya was grinning at her broadly, his cheeks pushing his eyes to green slits of sly joy. He bought the ship? Now, he was teasing far too much. There's no way he could buy this ship. They didn't even have enough for a down payment for something like this unless they sold the land on Pyrta. When he swapped to Qouti and said it again more firmly, her eyes grew round as realization kicked in. He was serious. She was sitting in a brand new galley on a state of the art luxury cruiser that belonged to them. "Y-you bought it?" she stammered, "Illya, how...how did you, buy this ship?" Had he gotten some sort of loan? He had never been crazy with money like that before.

Just seeing the look on her face made it all worth it. Illya had forgot to tell her, but he figured now was a good time. "I trade some coin and I got so much money that I decided to buy the ship." Keeping Quoti for now was easier. "I just wanted to make sure you liked it." The smirk on his face stayed while he watched the layers of shock peel off her face. She almost looked like she was going to get even more pale and tumble off the counter. Reaching up he steadied her with one of his brown hands. "Yah ok?"

She stared at him feeling a rush of many things all rolled into a single breath as he spoke. He remembered talking about that? How they wanted to travel and see the galaxy together? It had been a conversation she often referenced, mostly because it was something she dreamed about, and she had assumed it was another lost moment that only she would remember. Illya was the one reminding her. She let out an odd sound, somewhere between a laugh and a breathy puff of sheer relief before nodded up at him. Her smile was so big it was causing her cheeks to ache. "You remember that? We promised to go see the entire galaxy together and now we can go. We can even take everyone along with us." She hugged him again, then kissed his cheek with little pecks before she laughed merrily again. "I was supposed to be the one surprising you with chickens."

Aside from the little supplies that she had bought to go with the chickens he figured he would have to do a little extra reading on them. Setting a hand on each of her hips he leaned in and kissed her gently. "Dah chickens are surprising. I tink I read about dem and make a chicken house. Yah cat would eat dem and I would rater eat dah chickens." He did like how they tasted. So he was going to be more than excited to breed a few and keep some of the babies just to be sure that they always had more meat. "I tink when we travel we bring yah dad. He needs tah travel some cause I tink he would get too lonely. Maybe Elpsbet comes too ef she likes eh?"

It was good to hear he actually did like the chickens even if the attempt at the surprise was botched. If anyone could figure them out, it would be Illya. Knowing that she had such a beautiful ship was overwhelming and she couldn't stop thinking of all the possibilities as he kissed her tenderly. There was plenty of room for everyone and it seemed he had made sure of that. He'd even thought of her father and Elpsbet being aboard. Nodding excitedly, Calysta grinned at her Chip in approval. "Aye. My father would miss us I think particularly you and the children, plus it would be good for him to travel now that he only works during the rainy season. Elspbet is welcome with us wherever we go. I don't know if she liked to travel much, but I think she might like to try the salt beaches we went to and a few more places. We could even let Rose pick a few spots since she's old enough. What do you think?" She was practically giddy with all the places they could roam and the places she wanted to show Illya along with the kids. Things that she had discovered in her travels that they would love.

Kalizda was already talking a hundred knots a minute and Illya could only nod as she threw out ore ideas. "Aye..." Carefully sliding her off the counter he grinned at her. "I tink we should let Rose pick next place, but only after we go to dah beach again." He liked that spot pretty well. It was relaxing and it felt good to be able to float. This time he was thinking of exploring a little more in the small bay area. There were a few good rocks to climb on. "Now dat I ask yah questions because I want tah know about dah ship yah should ask meh what yah want to know. I tink et es quiet now and ets good time." Lohgan was taking a morning nap and Duncan was probably busy talking with his agreed on the pad again.

Her feet settled onto the floor, and yet she felt light as a feather. She stayed focused on his big grin when he mentioned the beach again, her joy matching his. "Then we'll go there again soon when the harvest comes and take everyone along." She would love to go pearl hunting again with Rose, floating with Cypher, and to get some baby holograms of Lohgan in the sun. It would be a good day trip again. After a few minutes, he grew a little more serious, and mentioned her asking questions. Any questions? It certainly sounded that way. They hadn't talked about those types of things since Harry's meeting and while they did deflate the moment, it would be necessary for them to talk. If he was offering to be open about it, she wasn't going to turn down the chance no matter the timing. "Why don't I make us some tea while it's quiet and we can talk, yeah?" Calysta walked over to cabinet and pulled out a kettle, starting up the hot water would take a few minutes, but that was alright. When the kettle was full, she sat it on the stove, then turned on the eye before turning to Illya. There was so much she wanted to ask it was difficult to know where to start. "I suppose first, I want to know about the article that was written. I read it before Harry even mentioned it to me and I kept it quiet. It was too strange for someone to simply come out with all of that information at the exact moment that you were on the planet, so I had Michelle look into tracing the Mouse," she said honestly, "Is what happened in the article true?"

As tempting as it was to just leave the entire conversation exactly where it had been Illya knew that they couldn't keep doing that sort of thing forever. Eventually they would be travelling to run away from these sorts of things. Trying to stay on a high and never look at what was in front of them. Illya waited while Kalizda got the tea ready. It seemed that she took the suggestion quite seriously and she wanted to start off talking about the article. Normally he would have played dumb, but she had more than earned the right to know the truth. "Dis isn't someting dat I can ever talk about, but yah earn meh trust. Et was mostly true. Not everyting was correct. I was nut prisoner, dey found meh, but et was planned dat way. We needed information and we knew who would take a Chippequoti. So, since meh face was nut known yet I was given task tah get dah information by whatever means necessary and eliminate meh target. Et took almost a year."

But yah earn meh trust... After all this time, she hoped she would have earned his trust. She was his agreed and his best friend. Trust was inherent to the titles though in some instances she knew it could be difficult to do. What he said made things harder, and it's something she would never be able to confirm for anyone. This would stay solely between them. "You were a planted man undercover as a slave then." Saying that he was a slave rubbed her the wrong way, and reminded her of their time on the Nova far too much. "Can I ask what the information was? The target?" She wanted to know the details because she was curious more so than anything. There was nothing about the incident that she could change and neither could he.

Working his jaw a little Illya gazed at the table and nodded. He could tell her those things, but it wasn't anything he thought she would want to hear. "I was collecting information on Federation labs. Meh target was Taggart and all his significant connections. Maybe he tought dat making meh live outside and beat meh and treat meh like animal would be right. I was mute, stupid, and clumsy most of dah time. Some tasks I improve wit time, but I watched. Dose people dat night were all meh target. Dere were some dat were collateral damage, but I dun care by den. Dah girl I left because I know she could nut testify, but I dun want tah kill her when I dun have tah. Rest of dem dere was no choice. Dey already saw meh and dey would soon discover dat I had dah information. I transmit all dah information and codes same night when I hid from Federation forces. Den meh fater order dah hit and dey make pick up point for meh." Meeting Kalizda's gaze he held it steady for a long time. He didn't care to apologize for what he'd done. If he was put in that position he would do it all over again.

He didn't duck the answer this time and gave it to her straight up then stared at her for a long time. She didn't break her gaze with him. Instead she studied his face, looking into his green eyes that were so full of fire. She'd seen that same spark before when he talked about killing the prisoners of war on Qouti. He firmly believed he done what he had to do and he wasn't sorry about it, but neither was he proud. She wasn't looking for an apology. "It bothers you...what you had to do doesn't it." Her voice was even and calm as she broke the silence. Even if he would be angry at her for saying it, she couldn't help but get the sense that's why it bothered him so much to talk about. At least in part. "Did you ever visit Terra again? Go on other mission where you had to do the same?"

Illya waited for her to say something and when she finally did he was met with a large assumption. It was odd to think that she would assume because he killed someone it bothered him. Sometimes it did and other times when he looked back on things it didn't. "Et dun boter meh so much. I know what kind of people dat I kill. I left girl so I would nut regret meh work. For dah rest of yah question, yes. I go to Terra 2 more times and I was never slave again, but I kill lots of people. Kalizda, I dun like meh work, but et doesn't mean dat I regret what I do. Some tings boter meh and oter tings dun boter meh."

Calysta knew he had killed many people when she married him and in part she understood what he meant now. There were people she regretted were hurt because of her and people she had pulled the trigger on without remorse. Was that any different when you broke down the basis of what he did? Her mother had called him 'red handed' when they met, undoubtedly hearing about some of this by working for the Federation. It made her wonder and she was almost afraid to ask, but now that it was in her head, she had to or it would linger. "Will you tell me about the last two visits to Terra? And did you ever visit Kaereal?"

This day had been coming for some time. Eventually she would want to know where he'd been. She would ask what he'd done before he met her. Carefully he nodded again when she asked about the trips. "I go tah Terra after oter men do ground work. Dah second time I lead men. Bot times we have location of ship, mine, or some sort of Federation control area. Each time I go in and I kill every man dat get in dah way, see us, or es strategic tah kill. I never learn about dah people where I go. Ets easier nut tah understand dem or dere way of life. Yah jes have work and dey're jes Federation." The part about Kaereal he felt a little more apprehensive about. "I was on Kaereal before. We dun have so much trouble dere. Et was tricky work and only small job tah kill one or maybe two men. Et was never big operation like Terra. Terra es always problem, people dere are no good. I dun trust dem."

He had been to Terra many times before it seemed and even to Kaereal once before on a mission against the Federation along with anyone else that got in their way. He was talking like he used to sometimes. Judging an entire race solely on the acts of the few and it was a habit she thought he'd out grown. It was a lot of information to process as her grey eyes studied him, uncertain as to what she should say next. The kettle let out a whistle, informing her that the tea water was hot and she broke away to fix their cups. Taking her time, she pulled two gleaming mugs from the cabinet and then the tea box with his favorite blend of herbs inside along with the filter spoon. Shaking some of the mixture into the spoon, she dunked it into the steaming water then reached for the honey, dumping in an extra spoonful for Illya's cup before passing it over to him. When her own cup was ready, she leaned against the counter and took a long sip. "Do you think it's better not to learn about the people where you go now?" It was a singular question and she wanted an honest answer.

In a way the whistle was a welcome break. Illya hated to talk about this stuff. It was uncomfortable to say the least and especially when he knew that Kalizda didn't really like hearing all this. While she poured the tea he remained seated and half cringing with the thought that she was going to ask another question. The temptation was there to change the subject or just walk away, but he was going to at least get his tea. He barely got his cup and Kalizda asked another question. "Et depends. Ef dey are allies I will learn about dem. Ef dey are an enemy I learn what I need tah win and den when dey are neiter enemy or ally I dun see reason to learn anyting about dem. Jes enough tah survive."

His explanation was simplistic and again what she had thought he had moved past. Where was this coming from? Surely, the efforts he'd made befriending the Kaereleans weren't false and he had disliked them too in the beginning. Her finger tips slipped around her mug, encircling it more for comfort than anything as she thought of the flaw in what he said. "So, how do you meet an new ally if you don't see the need to get to know anyone in the first place? Not only that, but Illya you know there are men who are innocent, who work for the Federation and don't know it. The Terran's are the same way. There are innocent people there who shouldn't be judged simply by their bad examples alone."

"Ets nut meh work tah make allies. When I have new ally den I know dere ways. I like most dah Kaerleans and Reylians, but I dun like Terrans." So far as he could tell that was the best way to explain the situation. "Yah should remember one ting about dah Federation. Ef dah man has any kind of uniform on from Federation he knows what he does. Dere es no innocent blood shed. Some men dat work in dah mines are innocent because dey dun know. Dey're jes workers, but soldiers of Federation know and I will consider dem all guilty unless dey defect."

He was talking to her a little bit like a child now and it bothered her, but she ignored it for the time being. At least he admitted that he knew what she was talking about and did differentiate to a degree. "A man in a uniform is a different matter. I know that. It's my work to make allies and protect the home planet, and the Alliance. That includes the Chippeoquti, and as it stands, the Terran's too. The president has been working hard to undo the damage done the Federation on his own planet and it's not easy. Especially if they have been there so long as you say. You don't have to like the Terran's, but I think you should keep your mind open. Look at people like Doris, Michelle, Harry... even my father." She took another sip of her tea, finding a lump of half stirred honey and swallowing the too sweet lump whole.

Kalizda was pushing this subject. He never liked the Terrans and he thought she knew that. It wasn't something that he saw changing. So far he'd barely experienced anything good from the Terrans and there had been quite a bit of experience. "I look at dose people and out of all Terrans dere are only a few dat I like. Et's too much work tah try and get tah know all Terrans tah find maybe a few more dat I like. Dey change dere minds too much and dey are cruel people."

"It is work and I think it's worth while to try, even if it isnt easy. There is value in trying to understand even if you don't like someone. Terrans...Kaereleans and even the Tannas defectors." She let that stay in the air for a few moments, making it clear she didn't approve of that mindset. There was still only so much she could push him in one moment and she knew that. She took another sip of her tea, sitting the cup beside her this time. He had been to places he pretended not to know. "So, you've been to all of these places and couldn't tell me..on all of these undercover missions... Was meeting me an accident?" She kept her eyes on his, neither angry or upset but in need of an answer, even if she didn't like it.

Sometimes Illya thought her process was strange and this time it was beyond. What was she thinking? "I am working wit all dese people wheter I like et or nut. Meh duty es meh duty and I do et no matter dah people." He'd done more than enough to prove that and he was as diplomatic as he could be all things considered. Asking him to accept the Terrans and feel good about it was just a few steps too far. As if it couldn't have got anymore strange she was asking him if their meeting had been an accident. Illya frowned for a moment and then gave her a confused grin. "Yes? Uh....How would I plan for yah tah crash on Quoti when I dun have contact for over 80 years? Kalizda, dis question is ridiculous. Maybe I been to all dese places. I put meh feet on ground, but I dun see dah people or culture. I come for target and dats et. Living and walking en dah cities makes dem new."

It was hard for her to understand how he couldn't see the people around him. They were people and sometimes they could be cruel. Sometimes not but they were people. When he called her ridiculous with that grin and she bristled. "I had to ask. It was the Federation man Yarbrough who tried to frame me. It was just something...I needed to know." She took a long breath and let out a sigh before meeting his gaze again. "And I know you do your duty I never doubted that. Living and walking in the streets, seeing the people you protect isnt so bad though, Illya."

"I learn tah see Kaereleans different. Terra es still people dat I hate. Yah dun know how et feels tah be forced tah shoot yah own men. Tah hear dah agreed behind yah call out goodbye before yah kill dem. Terrans always supporters of Tannas. Tannas appear and dah first place dey take es Terra and leaders of Terra for long time side wit dem. Maybe Harry es different, but dah people won't keep him. When he lose power dey will kill him and den Terra will return to dah Federation. Harry es walking target. Citizens are too damn worried about dere rules and dey're dah ones dat make experiments." Gradually his voice got a little louder and he was almost to the point of yelling, but he stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I'm nut mad at yah. Ets jes dat asking meh tah jes accept Terra es very difficult. Et would be easier tah consider dem same as Tannas."

He was raising his voice talking about Terra and she let him get it out. It was becoming apparent that the Terran government had been in much deeper than Yarbrough on the experimentation. She had seen what Yarbrough had done and the images of horror. She knew what happened to Lahna and Isla too from those experiments. He was angry and he had every right to be. He was right, she didn't understand it. She was sad that he knew what that felt like instead. Wiping at her eyes, she gazed up at him. He didn't think there was any hope for people on Terra. "Illya, you've seen alot of things because you've had to. Things that I don't understand and couldnt. I know that," she said, "And it's okay to be angry." Stepping a little closer, Calysta bit at her lip and met his eyes again. "You have no reason to think the Terran's will change.

It had been a long time since Illya had said anything about the war and he couldn't help feeling angry whenever he did. There was a lot that happened. Things that made it almost impossible to even think about some people groups without wanting to curse them. "I know yah want meh tah feel differently, but et's nut possible for now." There was a chance that in time it could change, but he still hated the Terrans almost more than he hated the Tannas. "Do yah have more questions?" He hoped she didn't, but he was trying very hard to answer what she needed to know.

He was wanting the conversation to be over and she felt like she had pushed him enough. "I don't think so, not right now," she replied, "I know you don't like talking about this and you did anyways. Thank you for telling me and being honest." With that, she slipped a hand up his arm and kissed him gently on his tanned cheek. She wasn't angry at him but there was a set in stone determination build in her gut now. Terra would be free of the Federation once and for all someday. She would work with Harry to make sure that happened.

Why she would say thank you didn't make a lot of sense. Still, Illya nodded and got up from his seat. "I go get us some supplies tah make breakfast eh?" He was hungry and no doubt she would be to. Wandering out to the supply room he gathered up the ingredients to make the pancakes and then some sausage. This time it was something besides the usual meats that he was used to. He had pork. It was the same meat as they would get bacon from, but he saved the bacon for Thomas. Her father seemed to enjoy it very much. So as a gift to her father Illya had purchased about twenty pounds of the meat.

Once he was back into the kitchen Illya set the pancake and cream makings on the counter. "I tink we make some real cream tah go on dah pancakes." A little smile came to his face and he leaned closer to Kalizda to kiss her. "We'll be jes fine. Make some breakfast and den maybe we can plan more trips." He wanted to get them back to a more pleasant conversation again.

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[Silence]

Thankfully the rest of the trip home was mostly uneventful. Illya still woke up at night sometimes and he had to take himself to the galley to get some water and calm down before he would go back to bed. Neither of them seemed to be sleeping that well. If it wasn't him, it was her. Kalizda would almost nightly push away from him and get up to check on Lohgan. Rolling over in the bed Illya would sit up to make sure she was alright and usually fall asleep again before she would come back to bed. He never knew how long she was up at night, but he knew that the fight had scared her too. Who wouldn't have been when they saw how close it was to killing their baby? If he woke up when she came back to bed he would rub her back and murmur tiredly at her that it was ok.

In some ways it felt like they had gotten rid of a little barrier after that talk. Illya knew that she didn't like everything he'd said, but she had to know at some point. Now that it was done with Illya felt better. She knew exactly what he'd done and she wasn't angry at him for it. True, she would never understand, but he didn't want her to understand it. While she was busy taking care of Lohgan Illya would listen to songs in Kaerelean and work on translating the words. He understood most of what they said, but he still wasn't the best at pronouncing it.

During his time spent skimming through different sorts of programs Illya found one that would supposedly help to critique the pronunciation of languages that you were trying to learn. Taking the Kearelean as second language Illya started in the course on his pad. There was more than enough time while he was on board the ship to get to practice the language and get a little more fluent in it. Sometimes it felt like he wasn't making any improvement and only had his jaw sore by the end of the day. Somewhere he remembered hearing in one of the articles he listened to that it was common for those trying to learn a language. It was just using the mouth and tongue slightly different than other languages had. He was getting good enough after hours of work for almost the whole trip that Illya was thinking that he was about ready to try and put the song together for Kalizda. It would still be a little bit before he would try it, but he wanted to have it well practiced so he knew the song.

In some ways it was relieving to know that it wasn't a very long song and he could memorize it fairly easily. It wasn't a song that he'd picked out because of length so much, but for the words. Illya liked to make sure that the words would be as close to true as possible.

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When they landed back on Pytra Illya took the ship to the bay after he dropped Kalizda off with Lohgan at the house and Duncan helped pack their bags back into the house. From there Illya took Duncan to his house and then he parked the ship in its bay. He'd already informed the salesmen that Kalizda wanted this ship and the salesmen finalized the paperwork before Illya and Kalizda arrived back in Pytra. While Illya was taking care of the ship Cypher ran all through the house chasing after Kalizda and crying whenever she wasn't instantly available to hold him. She took the baby and not him and now he wanted her attention. "Maaaaaam!" Falling on the floor next to the crib he wailed loudly.

The boy was already in melt down before Illya got home. It had just been too long and he wanted Kalizda. When Illya walked through the door he saw his chubby little boy toddling after Kalizda toward the couch and pulling at her legs all while giant tears streamed down his face. Seeing his dad Cypher ran toward him with his fat little arms stretched out. Since mom wouldn't pick him up immediately he wanted to have dad hold him. "Daaaaah." The whole way running his little chubby cheeks puffed out and he smiled through his giant tears when Illya picked him up.

"Oh, dere's meh boy. Yah getting big." Holding Cypher up he grinned at him and walked over to Kalizda on the couch. As soon as he sat down Cypher crawled over to Kalizda and curled into her lap and wiped at his little nose. The boy succeeded in smearing little boogers across his face and he nuzzled into her chest without much attention to anyone else around him. After nearly half an hour of just sitting with Kalizda he moved to sit directly between his parents and then decided to start playing. Almost bouncing from lap to lap he played and squeaked merrily. While they were sitting on the couch Illya checked over the alerts on his pad and he noticed that there were alerts from the Eahui. Looked like tomorrow he had a lot of doctor appointments. Turning the pad to Kalizda he frowned. "Why yah do dat?" She was the only one that would have dared to make that many appointments for him in one day. It looked like he had about 4 back to back.

Taking a deep breath he shook his head and confirmed it. Illya knew there was no way that he would get out of the appointments if she made them. No sooner had he finished confirming the appointments than Rose and Thomas came through the door. The school day must have been done. Illya noticed that the girl was mad, but he wasn't sure what to say so he just walked over and gave her a little hug. "Yah been busy while I was gone?"

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Early the next morning Illya woke up. His pad had automated a wake up time based on his appointments. With a groan he turned over in the bed and got up. She made the appointments so early he didn't even wake up in time to snuggle with her very much. Instead he settled with kissing her gently before he stood up straight and popped his back. It was sore today, but not so tender as it had been when he first put it out.

By the time they arrived at the office Illya was about 2 minutes late for his first appointment. The first one was for his back. Stripping his shirt off he laid down on the table on his stomach. Laying on his stomach was never comfortable with his back, but it was needed for the scan. Wincing a little he felt the doctor press on his spine and he let out a long breath when the doctor finally released the pressure. Taking the scanner over the Chip's back the Ehaui nodded. "Just looks like some irritation in the disk. Swelled up some. I could put a little shot between the vertebrae that would act as an anti-inflammatory. Otherwise the back could take a few more weeks. With the irritation it is more likely to develop other problems if you plan on being active."

"Ugh.." Illya hated the sound of the shot. He might have had a choice, but it didn't feel like much of one. Having more problems with his back wasn't really choice. "Fine, jes do dah shot." A little bit of shuffling sounded behind him and he pushed up on his elbows slightly only to wince again. Peering over his shoulder he saw that the doctor left and he was just Illya and Kalizda in the room. "Naughting so bad dis time." When the doctor came back Illya laid his head down on the table again and he put his hands at his side. Clenching his hands into fists he felt the doctor rub his back with a gentle anti-septic and numbing agent. When the needle sunk into the skin he didn't feel anything, but he could tell when the tip of metal slipped in between the vertebrae and then injected the little bit of fluid into his disk. "Mmmm ahaha ow." For Illya it was impossible not to make some sort of noise.

While he was recovering from the shot to his back the Ehuai made a quick scan of his arm and nodded with approval. "Looks like we've got enough to work with now that we can take a little marrow sample and grow it. Maybe take the rods out in a few weeks. I can see some damage still to the nerves and it looks like it is healing, but it could still be months or years before you get all the feeling back."

With everything physical taken care of the doctor nodded to Kalizda and then handed her the prescriptions. "He'll get a few more lozenges for his back. I'm going to move him to a slightly different one. He can still take the others, but he'll get a new one with some anti-inflammatory in them. Probably have him take the lozenge every night before bed and then next month when you bring him back to have the rods removed from his arm we'll check on his back again. Might be able to give him the other ones back again."

Since they were done with this part of the appointment Illya stepped out into the main waiting room again. He didn't really know what this next appointment was. Just that he was going to talk to a doctor. When the time came for the appointment the doctor walked Illya to his own room and handed him a little piece of paper. "Just mark the box that you think is the most reasonable answer." While the doctor waited for Illya to finish writing up the assessment he sat in the office with Kalizda and gave her the small run down. "I know from what you described that he needs help. I think that what I can do is limited by what he'll let me do. Best thing I can do for him to start will be a written narrative exposure. I won't talk to him about any of this and neither will you."

In some ways taking this approach was just as difficult for the agreed as it was for the Chip themselves. "Then when he's ok writing stuff down I'll have him start talking with me with narrative exposure therapy. He will talk to me about everything he remembers even non war related and then I'll help with specific cognitive behavioral therapies. Basically helping him learn new coping techniques. I know you'll probably want to help him, but the best you can do is wait for him to come to you with stuff. In the mean time I expect you'll come in once a month to see how the last 3-4 appointments went." It was going to be a weekly basis for a while and then they could start to make it less frequent, but more than likely Kalizda would want to know how it was all going. "If none of that works we have some medication that we can try, but it wouldn't be recommended. These sort of medications do have side effects that could make the seizures worse."

Now that the Ehaui doctor finished speaking with Kalizda about the process he returned to the room to take the assessment and then let Illya and Kalizda go for the day. Before leaving Illya stopped at the front desk and scheduled his bone marrow sampling for two days out. Thankfully they found ways to take the marrow with smaller incisions that were more like ports for giant needles and it only left a small portion of his bone sore. He didn't mind scheduling something like that since it would mean that he could get his arm taken care of. Getting the rods out would feel good. His arm had started to develop the hollow bone feeling and it was the worst sensation that Illya had experienced besides when the bone didn't even have an implant. When it was truly hollow it was the most painful feeling.

It was mid afternoon by the time they got home and Illya decided to check his pad. There was a large broadcast from Terra that just about made his blood boil over the top. A huge headline accused him of murder. Just because he wanted to know what it was that they were accusing him of now he took himself into the office to listen to the news.

"Just this morning we were notified that the body of The Mouse was found in their apartment." A reporter gave the camera a serious, but mostly neutral facial expression before continuing. "The controversial article was released shortly before the incident with the President and the General in the desert. By estimation of the coroner the woman had been held in captivity for a few hours. She was tortured, the skin both her arms peeled off and then brutally gutted. All of these are known tactics of The General. These hours corresponded with the arrival of The General. Approximately 5 hours after he had landed in Japan she was held in captivity and at that point she was tortured. So the real question arises. Is that why The General disappeared without word and no one knows when he left? He was gone when the police inquired at the hotel only 4 days after teh murder. The people of Terra want justice and after such a revealing article is it too much to ask The General to stand trial for his crimes?" With that the news switched back to the usual run, but there were plenty of other major news outlets from Terra that seemed to insinuate that he had found The Mouse and killed them. Some included the information that the original files were missing and that the only way to keep the news alive was to pass on the article that was already several weeks old. It was surfacing again and widely spread with the new story accompanying it.

Whoever did this knew what they were doing. All that Illya could think was that somehow the Federation was already making their move. Harry wouldn't have long to get the people under control. A revolt against the Alliance was on the horizon and Harry was walking a thin line.

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta was never happier to walk through her front door with Lohgan in her arms. At the sight of her, Cypher exploded into pitiful wails and collapsed in the floor with a fit the likes of which she hadn't seen from him yet. "Maaaam! MAAAM!" It had been far too long and all he wanted was his mother. The sound of her son's cries and made her chest ache for having left him...and almost never coming back for him.

"Hey little man. Give me just a second, yeah?" She had to put down Lohgan, who was snoozing in her arms with the occasional grunt. No sooner had she crossed the room to put the girl in her seat, than Cypher was crying for Illya who was right behind her. "DAAAH!" His squeal of joy rang through the whole house as his father picked him up with a broad grin. When they settled on the couch next to her, he made his way over to her, face sticky with snot and tears as he climbed into her lap. Calysta wrapped her arms around his little back, holding him close as he cuddled to her chest. This was her beautiful, vibrant son and she has missed him. "There's my boy," she whispered into his curls. Planting a kiss on the top of his head, she showered him with her attention, wiping his tears and telling him how much she had missed him. "You've been so good while I was gone. I'm so proud of you."

After awhile, Cypher calmed down long enough for her to wipe at his face and began to play. His heavy knees would land in the middle of her thigh every time he pounced from one lap to the other. She had to catch him under the arms every time he came hurtling toward her. "You're just wild today, huh? Are you trying to fly?" she giggled. Illya was reading his pad and suddenly looked up at her asking about the appointments she'd made. That detail was bound to come out sooner or later and she sighed. "Yes, I made them. I'm worried and I figured it would be easiest to do it all at once."

She expected to hear some fussing about the appointments, particularly the counselor. Her arguments on why he should be going to one were all prepared in her mind if he wanted to insist on not going to them. To her surprise, he nodded and then quietly confirmed them without issue. He wasn't even going to say 'I'm fine'? She almost asked why he agreed to go so easily, but decided against it. As long as he was willing to go, she was satisfied.

Not long after, Rose and Thomas walked through the door and their daughter froze as she received a small hug from Illya. "Yah been busy while I was gone?"

She wasn't sure how to answer that, other than to nod and give him a small pat with her prosthetic hand before he released her. "I've been in school like always, Wolf. Hi Kalizda."

That was all the greeting they received from Rose, as she walked up stairs to her room, shutting the door behind her. Calysta frowned at the stairs and shook her head. On the one hand, she was upset with the girl. Wolf worked so hard to make her happy and it was disrespectful to simply march off to her room, yet she knew the girl had a right to be angry too. They had left again when they were meant to be here raising her. If only she knew how close they had come to never coming back, and how glad they were to see her.

Sighing, Calysta rose up from the couch which caused a protest from Cypher. "Maaaam!" She knelt next to him, and tickled at his tummy, turning the cry into a fit of giggles. "Oh that belly, I'm gonna get it!" Some how he had discovered his belly button as a point of fascination while they were gone, and enjoyed digging around as his little pouch poked out from under his shirt. "I got your belly button!" His head shot down while he quickly covered his tummy where it should be. Calysta laughed and poked him in the belly again. "There we go, I put it back. Go show it to Dah."

Cypher grinned and leapt across the couch to Illya as she made her quick exit upstairs, grabbing the box of presents they had brought back as she went. Calysta found a large KEEP OUT sign on Rose's door written in pink trader's tongue. "Rose? Can I come in?" No reply came and she sighed. "I have something for you."

A creak and a click sounded before the door knob turned, and Rose's face appeared. Calysta held up the box as if it were a peace offering with a small smile. "Illya and I picked it out just for you."

Rose hesitated at first. Why would they bother thinking of her when she was mad? They went without her and she'd been rotten enough that they should have left her well enough alone. Rose pushed the door open the rest of the way then took the box over to the bed. There was a pretty ribbon top, which came off easily and inside she found a beautiful robe type dress with flowers, a lady-like fan, along side a glittering hair pin. All of it matched and all of it was in her favorite color. Her finger tips grazed over the soft material, as she admired how pretty it was. "Wolf and I got it just for you. Any time we leave Pyrta, we think about you every day we're gone, Rose. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about you and how much we love and miss you."

Rose looked up to Calysta, biting her lip against her trembling chin. She really was angry, and yet she was also sorry for being so mean to them. They had thought about her when she had acted out. Crossing the room, she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and began to cry into her stomach. Calysta wrapped her arms around Rose, smoothing down her brown curls. "Maybe in a few days, we'll make a trip just you and I, hm? A girl's day, how does that sound?"

************
Calysta sat back in the chair as the doctors went about their work. It seemed his back was injured but not as serious as the popping sound suggested which was relieving, though she had no idea that he had been taking medication for the entire time. How had he been getting away with that? His arm was on the mend too. Soon they would be putting new bone marrow into his arm, and that would mean a small surgery. A bone marrow surgery was something they were familiar with. What concerned her more was the psychological appointment which should be coming up next.

The doctor asked if she would wait in the office while Illya filled out his paperwork, so she shuffled inside and sat down on the padded chair across from his desk. Waiting is hard because she felt useless when it came standing idly by. They already knew what most of his symptoms were because she had given a brief account to the doctor. That way Illya wouldn't have to go through the trouble of explaining everything or making it sound like less than what it was. When the doctor joined her, he gave a quick rundown of what they were going to suggest for him. They wanted him to write everything down? And they didn't want her involved. It counterintuitive but she didn't want to run the risk of making things worse. At least the appointments and the journal were better than drugs. Her biggest challenge would be in not asking even if she wanted to help.

"Okay, I'll make sure he gets here. It will probably be best to make it on the same day every week," she replied to doctor. Illya did better when there was a schedule that he could go by.

On their way out, they made his appointment to get the bone marrow sample in two days. She felt better leaving the hospital then when she arrived. They now knew his back was okay, his arm would be mobile soon and that he was getting some sort of help for the nightmares.

When they arrived home, a broadcast alerted on both of their pads. She had been expecting some sort of news from Terra on the brief departure that they had made, but this was something much more. The Mouse has been found, and it had been by the wrong side. The poor woman as been skinned alive, gutted, then left to rot in her own home. What was worse, was that the media was automatically blaming the General.

She put down her pad and looked up at her husband, her gray eyes catching on his. He had done many things, some of which she knew about, and some of which she would probably never know. However, he had not murdered his woman and it enraged her. How could they not see simple facts? This was the federation's doing and there was no doubt in her mind that this entire plot was aimed at turning the planet against the alliance once again.

"Leave this to me," she whispered to him, "I'm not letting them blame you for this. Not by a long shot." She couldn't protect him in some ways, but she could fight for him in others. With fists clenched in anger, Calysta went into her office and began working. This was not going to happen, and the Federation was going to lose their foothold on the planet if she had to stay up all night to ensure that this would end.

The first thing she did was contact Michelle who was undoubtedly awake and probably already watching. It only took one ring on the pad for her to answer. "Let me guess. You want me to start working on some counter info for the General," she grumbled.

"Yes," Calysta said flatly, "You know as well as I do that evidence in his favor will begin to disappear. I will be damned if I let it happen. Can you do it?"

Michelle gave her a firm nod and for once gave a hint of a smile. "Yeah, I can do it. I've got contacts in Tokyo that can hook me up. We'll get what we need. Just tell the general not to be breaking into any more jails foreign or domestic while I'm working this out, will you." Everyone had seen that ridiculous movie and she couldn't resist a small poke at it.

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

Harry sat at his desk rubbing at his temples. The headache which had been lurking in the back of his skull since the attack in the desert had grown to mammoth proportions. He could hardly look at the holograms anymore. This was a political mine field and there was no going back. Half of Terra believed the General to be a monster and half of Terra believed him to be a hero wrongly accused. The only thing in common is that they were all calling for justice. Nobody knew what kind of justice that would mean. It was clear that this was a ploy to break apart the Alliance, and the Councilwoman agreed with him on that point. They had also agreed that this smear campaign against the General, and ultimately the Alliance, would have to be met against a Terran advocate alone. The people wouldn't believe it otherwise.

Priscilla peeked her head into the room, her brow pinched with worry above her eyes which carried dark circles. "Harry, come to bed. It's 3am."

The president looked up to his wife wearily. She hadn't been doing well since the attack and the position they had found themselves in would only make it worse. With a sigh, he got up from his desk and walked over to her. His hand wrapped around her waist, guiding her gently back to bed. Once he'd tucked her back into the covers, Harry peeled off his tshirt and his pants before crawling in next to her. As much as he wanted to sleep he couldn't. There was too much on his mind to allow room for thoughts of rest. Rolling over toward his wife, he smoothed down her hair then kisses her gently. "Pris, you trust me, right?"

She kissed him back, her slender hand running up his arm. "Of course, I do. Why would you ask something like that?"

He let out a long breath as he captured up her roaming hand. "Because things are going to become dangerous soon."

A long moment passed as Priscilla's hand shook in his. She was close to crying again, he could feel it, and he didn't blame her. He let her go quiet as her gripped grew tighter in his palm. "Harry, when you were appointed to the position after Yarbrough, I knew that this would be hard," she sniffled, "I know you're trying to do the right thing. I just..."

She didn't have to say that she was scared. Hearing her cry again while her shoulders quivered from the tears into his chest, solidified what he would do in his mind. "Pris, tomorrow, I want you to check yourself into the private mental health facility. The secret service will be with you around the clock. Tell no one that you're going to do this."

Priscilla sat up in the bed, tearing away from him with an indignant scowl."I don't need-"

"Pris. Trust me. "

She stared at him, trying to read his face before the realization finally hit her. She really needed help. Slowly, he melted over in to sobs on his chest and Harry put an arm around her. This was going to be hard but he knew it was for the best. For the rest of the night, he held her close, kissing the top of her head. Sometimes she would talk to him about small things. "Did you ever think when we met in the park that day, that this is where we would be?" she mumbled from his chest. He shook his head. "Not at all. You were a beautiful girl at a bake sale and I was a bald political studies student on his last round of chemo. I didn't even think you'd notice me, much less marry me. Suppose, I got lucky."

"Well," she managed a thick giggle, "You were cute bald."

Harry laughed for the first time since the desert and held her all the tighter, before slipping a finger to her chin. When she tilted her head up, he smiled at her and kissed her. It would be the last night they would be together for awhile and he wanted to make it count.

The next morning, Harry woke his wife with a kiss and helped her pack a little bag up with a few essentials that she would need. When her bags were packed, she gave their golden retriever's head a soft pat, then turned to him with tears in her eyes. He gave her an encouraging smile instead, wiping a strand of hair from her her cheek. "I'll come visit you when I can, okay?" Priscilla nodded, then suddenly lurched forward, giving him a long kiss goodbye. She was scared and being separated from Harry was going to be terrifying. There just wasn't any choice. Once his wife had gone, Harry put on his suit and prepared for his news conference. The nerves were bungling in his stomach over what he was going to say. It would paint a target in bright red on his back for sure, and he knew that. At least Pris would be safe.

There were hundreds of reporters waiting for him in the press room. Stepping up to the podium caused a wave of hologram flashes and camera to blink in anticipation of what he would say. He waited patiently for the image captures to cease before beginning what he wanted to say.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said, "You, along with millions of others have the same questions and want answers to the events of the past week regarding the attacks in the desert and our current status with the Alliance. I wish I could offer you a simple answer to those questions, but I can't. I can only offer what is my best and truest believe. Terra is a place where many people live and trade is expansive, we are diverse and strong in so many ways. It my home planet, for which I have nothing but the highest respect. It is because of that admiration and service to the people of Terra that I must show you images, some of which have not been released to the public." A ripple of surprise went through the crowd of reporters and Harry continued. "For those of you with weak constitutions or with young children, I would ask that you look to a side screen. These images are graphic."

The president's image faded out and a series of holograms began to play. Piles of Terran soldier bodies from the desert attack being burned by the enemy with black smoke curling into the sky...men and woman being hunted down by Cirelleants, the lap dogs of the Federation...torture victims...bodies found with no explanation whatsoever....lines of Chippeqouti men in sick wards...wretched forms of failed experiments and even a group of children dead in the streets of with blood trickling from their mouths. The result of an experimental poison gas attack.

By the time the images were over 10 minutes had pass and the reporters cameras had lowered. Their mouths were clamped shut and the only sound in the room was someone heaving in the back of the room. He had their attention.

"These images are logs from the Yarbrough files and others gathered from our own history. A history plagued with the presence of the Federation on Terra. This is what they don't want you to know. While they hide among us, their presence is very real and divided we continue to let things like this happen. I know the people of this planet would not want this as their legacy. I have faith in you as your president and a Terran, that you will not stand for the things you have seen to continue. The Alliance has come together against the Federation and they include Councilwoman and General Illya. We will stand by them to rid our planet of the Federation so that the things you've seen will come to an end. "

Shifting at the podium, his eyes swept over the silent crowd, meeting their gazes with out hesitation. "Some of you have called into question the General of the Alliance. You believe that he has not only committed acts against Terra in the past but in the present as well. The horrific murder of Taiga Mei Haruto, the author of an expose on the General, being one of them. A Terran activist and investigator has brought forth evidence to the contrary and the planetary attorney general has allowed me to show you this image captured from a street camera outside of Haruto's apartment."

Another image played of a small figure blurred by the rain entering the building at Haruto's with an innocuous brief case and then several hours leaving. It was obviously not the General due to the size and

"This video captures the day of Ms. Haruto's death, the figure you see before you arriving and leaving shortly after the supposed time of death. There were no finger prints from the General at all found in the scene. An avid fan of the General also confirms that he did not leave his hotel once he they arrived from the docking area on this same day at all." He thought the obsessive fan was a little nutty for parking herself outside the hotel all night, waiting for a chance to meet 'Ira' and yet this time, fame had worked in their favor. This stack of evidence wasn't much to stand with against the General's past, but it was better than nothing and it had to be brought by someone they would listen to. "I ask you to remember the images that I've shown you today. Think about what you've seen. The Federation would do anything to ensure Terra belonged to them. Including, killing an innocent woman and framing a man, who has saved many Terran lives. We can divide among ourselves and make it easy for our enemy to continue these heinous acts against our own people and others. Or we can come together and act in solidarity with the Alliance who stand ready to fight the Federation. I will continue to serve and seek justice for my people against those that are truly responsible. Thank you."

With that said, he left the podium and walked out. He wasn't going to bother with questions today. Much to his surprise, there wasn't a single sound behind him as he left the stage.

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

The Terran ship landed and Calysta stood in her dress tunic waiting for the dozens of Terran men to disembark in their orderly lines,. They came in their mottled grey uniforms, each clean shaven and wearing caps as the fell into formations in the hanger without a word, passing through a scanner as they went. It was hard to tell how they felt about being on Pyrta to train with the Alliance. Their faces were all blank masks and they kept their eyes trained forward unless addressed. Well over a hundred of them stood in neat rows once the ship was empty and their highest ranking officer on the ship exited. He was a short man with ruddy red hair and pink cheeks. Several gold pins were stuck to his chest under his black name tag reading, Finnigan. The officer walked through the scanner without issue, then up to the Councilwoman, giving her and the General, giving them a crisp salute. "Colonel March Finnigan, reporting. Permission to enter Pyrta?"

At the General's word, the Colonel nodded, then dropped his salute before stepping to the side. At the top of the ramp, a slender woman with blonde hair piled into a bun was standing at the top with two stiff looking men in suits. Priscilla walked down the ramp carefully and approached the general, head ducked slightly in uncharacteristic shyness. Records would reflect that she had checked herself into a high profile mental help facility but she had come to Pyrta for real help.

"General Illya," she said quietly, "Councilwoman Monroe. I have to ask for amnesty and protection. Please allow me permission to enter Pyrta. Harry arranged for no one on Terra to know that I've come here."

A plan of escape had been one of their first discussion when he took his oath of office. They had known the day might come when it wouldn't be safe for her to stay on Terra with him and Pyrta was the most secure place in the Alliance. She hadn't wanted to leave, but she was a liability to him that they couldn't afford at this stage. Her eyes sparkled and her throat tightened as she gazed at Illya and Calysta waiting for an answer.


**********

Harry sat reading yet another article about the Federation conspiracy. His press conference with the evidence against them had stirred up quite a few things. Many people had come out in favor of the General and in favor of the Alliance. They saw the Federation trying to drive Terra away from it's allies, keeping it as a strong hold for themselves. Enlistment had increased ten fold and there were hourly shows of support. Even a few low level Federation operatives had been captured thanks to citizens taking note. These small acts of solidarity weren't going to save Terra, but they were a start.

Some pockets of suspicion and remained however and the Attorney General had made up his mind. He would still have to seek an trial against the General for the murder of Haruto and the alleged past crimes. It was not a popular decision among many of the people, however, it was still his duty and Harry had acknowledged that in a brief comment. "I do my job as the Attorney General must do his. If it his decision to continue with the charges, then I must abide by that, even if I don't agree." There had been whispers of a group organizing itself against his administration and he received a few threats from what he suspected were Federation men wanting to stall Terrans from uniting. He had dis

An incoming message blinked at the top of his pad. He didn't have much time before his next meeting but he could read it, then reply later. Thumbing the alert, he let file open. Eagle found a nest. Immediately he out a long sigh of relief as he read the confirmation code that the Terran ship had landed safely on Pyrta. His wife was safe and the splinter force of his hand picked men would receive the training they needed. A light feeling settled over his body, making him feel ten times better as a smile came to his lips. He could video chat with Priscilla on a secure channel when he came back for his meeting. It was no substitute for her being next to him in the bed or across from him at dinner where they could talk. He missed her being that close and yet he knew just being able to see her would be the highlight of his night.

His secretary opened the door to his office, informing him that it was time to leave. Harry nodded and grabbed his suit jacket, pulling his arms through quickly before smoothing down the collar with a quick flick of his wrist. Buttoning his jacket, he started walking toward the office door with the secretary at his side. "You have a meeting with the African representatives. They've sent out another revised count of the Tannas suspected in the mines..." she continued her report as they headed toward the door. Two secret servicemen flanked them and a third grabbed he office door leading out into the hallway. There were guards at every corner now, and Harry wasn't allowed to go more than a few feet without someone at his heels. The only true alone time he had was in the bathroom at this point and even then a guard checked the room before he entered and then stood outside he door while he went about his business.

They walked out into the misty rains and toward his transport which was waiting to take him to the docks. One of his guards reached for the door handle and pulled it open with a hard tug. Whoosh. When the doors opened everything shattered outward in a violent explosion, sending everyone sailing across the yard with fiery bits of shrapnel.

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

Calysta stood at the stove stirring a large pot of rice as Cypher tugged on her pants leg with a chubby fist. "Mam...mam...mam! Berries!" He was looking up at her with those big blue eyes, so full of hope for his favorite snack. Mam chuckled at her boy and shook her head. "Can you ask nicely? Papa taught you how. I know he did."

Cypher tugged on her pants leg again as he squirmed, suddenly shy on his new found word. "Come on, you know it," his mam urged.

"Pease."

The word came out an odd plea, but it worked! Mam praised him with a big grin and he followed her, stomping in excitement all the way to the fridge to get the promised berries. As she poured some from the container into his plastic bowl, Dah came into the room and he abandoned the berries in favor of playing with his father. "Dah! Daaah!"

"Dinner's almost ready," Calysta smiled to her Chip, "Help me set the table, yeah?"

About that time, an alert went off on her pad and she slid over to the cabinet to check it. The chime had indicated it was high priority, which meant it would be sent to Illya's pad as well. Sure enough, she could hear his pad sounding from the living room in the same way. She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and swiped her finger of the screen opening the message. President Assasinated! A mere hour ago, President Harry Kaito left his house in Tokyo to meet Vice President Mantz on a diplomatic mission to the African consulate. His transport exploded from what authorities believed to be a device implanted in the vehicle. No one has come forward claiming responsibility for the deadly attack. Best known for his genuine and forward thinking policies, President Kaito had been leading the renewed campaign against hidden Federation presence on Terra. It is unclear whether they are linked to the attack but an investigation has begun to find the assailants. We'll be keeping you posted as further developments are made available...

It was a news report that had taken over every outlet over the entire planet. Calysta felt her heart slam into her ribs as her hand slid up to her mouth, blocking a cry of shock. Harry, their ally and one of their few friends on Terra was dead.

The room became altogether too loud between Cypher's giggling, Lohgan starting to cry as a reminder for her feeding, Rose listening to something on her pad and her father nearby whistling as he pulled down the dished from the cabinet. She had organized Harry's placement in that position and now he was dead because of it. The Federation may have done the deed, but she had put him in that transport. Elpsbet walked into the room, and Calysta glanced up to the tall woman only to think of Priscilla instead. Another widow to tell their husband wasn't coming home.

"Illya, I think you should read that report. I'm going to upstairs for just a minute to feed Lohgan." The words came out a bit wooden as she picked up little Lohgan with shaking hands and headed for the stairs. It wouldn't do any good to be upset in front of everyone else and the noise was almost more than she could bear at the moment.

 

[Silence]

The appointment to have bone marrow drawn out of his leg was hardly pleasant. Illya laid down on the bed and they doctor injected a local anesthetic before they made a cut and slipped the drill into his leg. He could hear the sound of it cutting into his bone and then the giant drill was pulled out only to be replaced by a tweezer and syringe type device. Slowly the metal sunk into his leg and a few droplets of blood started to seep out around the incision. "Uh...Yah take little extra and keep et longer tah grow. I tink while yah at et might as well have some extra for emergency or oter stuff." He had planned that maybe Thomas would have the same procedure Kalizda did. It would perhaps help with his knee and keep the man around a bit longer. Thomas was Kalizda's family and it had been quite shocking to see how much he had aged even in the little bit of time that Illya had known him.

An odd look came to the docotor's face when they heard the request and they only nodded and took a little extra. To a degree they could see the reasoning. There had been dozens of harvest projects from his legs just to try and heal up other parts of his body over the years. It would perhaps be helpful to keep some in the lab to grow as they needed from little samples. In the future it could prevent them from having to repeat this procedure.

Illya grimaced when he felt the odd pulling sensation deep in his bone. Even if the used local anesthetic it didn't actually kill all of the sensations that could be felt from bones. In many ways the grimace was in part due to the fact that Illya knew his leg would ache later on. It wouldn't really have real problems, but it would just hurt. The thought of them pulling any marrow out made him feel sick and he decided to just lay back on the small surgical bed and wait for the doctor to say that they were done. Almost as soon as he laid on the bed the doctor gave a quick nod to the nurse and the woman started to stitch Illya's leg closed again. This time the incision was barely visible and it was just as well. He had quite a bit of scar tissue from the multiple cuts they had made on his legs.

"Alright, you're all good to go. " The nurse stripped the bloodied gloves off her hands and then rolled the little pant rack over to the side of the bed. "You can put the pants back on and you'll probably want to use the cane for a few days."

He'd brought his own cane because he knew that it would be needed just because his leg would be mostly numb. Nodding to the woman Illya slipped into the pants. The incision he was careful of because he didn't want to have it bleeding through the little dressing. Hobbling out the door of the little mini procedural room he met Kalizda and grinned. "Yah ready tah get home?" Even if his leg was starting to throb Illya couldn't help grinning a little. "I get dah rods out of meh arm en 2 weeks and den I can wear dis cast for anoter 4 weeks. After dat I'm healed up again."

It seemed to take an insane amount of time for this stuff to heal. Completely hollow bones and crushed bones were difficult to deal with even if you were Chippequoti. In some cases it was more difficult. When they got back to the house Illya sat in the over-sized recliner and wrapped a blanket around his legs. He fully intended on getting some directives put together for the Terrans. There hadn't been any word about when to expect them, but Illya imagined that Harry would want to keep it secret. While that was nice for Harry it wasn't so nice for Illya. Unless he had proof that they were Harry's men then he was going to have to consider them enemies and put them on military quarantine for a time.

Running through the different barracks and their capacities he found one with enough space. It would place them with the fringe men and some of the Tannas mixed people from Old Quoti. That really wouldn't be a good mix. The alternative was to take them out of Kirit's section and have them in advanced training. If he could put them in a Chip barrack it would resolve several problems.

Sending the first order to his second commander he had the man shift a few of the bunk assignments to make room for the Terran men. They would be cozy and surrounded by Chippequoti, but it was safest that way. As for their commander it would only be fair to provide for him officer quarters. Whoever the Terran officer would be Illya shifted the room assignments for too. The Terran would be in the middle, that way they would have more than enough chance to monitor him without having to be obvious about it. All of his coming and going would be easily reported and even his incoming and outgoing calls could be ghosted to be sure that they knew who he was contacting and what for.

A few hours of that sort of work and Illya was ready for a nap. Anything that involved the bones got him tired and with very little effort. Leaning back in the chair he closed his eyes and soon went to sleep. There was a sudden blast and Illya saw the men start to scatter. They were all out in the open and then he heard Rose say something and Thomas start answering right after. Their voices were so different from the war. Sitting up Illya glanced at Thomas and Rose. For whatever reason Rose was still a little distant and she only said hi before running up the stairs toward her bedroom. Thomas on the other hand came over to the living room to sit for a while like he usually did when he got home from teaching.

Illya wondered if he should say anything at all. Finally, he decided that he should. "Yah getting old." As if that wasn't obvious enough he continued, "I'm worried dat yah die too early for Kalizda and dah kids. Dah Ehaui take extra marrow from meh leg today. Dey're growing et so yah can have some. Maybe et would help yah live long enough for Kalizda tah still have fater and dah kids tah know yah better." There wasn't really a question in Illya's mind as to the probability of Thomas receiving the treatment. Illya just wanted to be sure that the man followed through and lasted a little while longer. "I go back for anoter appointment in two days and I make time for yah to have surgery. Jes tell meh when yah have time tah be in bed for a few weeks." Perhaps someone else would have to take over the teaching, but it was better to get this done with before Thomas got much older. In some ways it felt like the man was aging by the day.

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

Over the next couple of days Illya did more planning and he ran some basic tests and reading on Terrans again. He had to know what they could expect of them and then Illya would find out how much training they actually had. Either way, getting into the advanced group would challenge their abilities as people. There was the appointment with the doctor that mainly consisted of a small chat and then writing. It felt like hours, like eternity, and hell. He hated having to write it all out. Then he would get to sit down and the doctor would ask him a few questions about when he was young.

"What sort of things do you remember when you were young? Was any of it troubling or angering to you at the time?" Calmly sitting in his chair the doctor waited for Illya to answer.

There was no clear reason that the man should or would be asking about his past and Illya frowned. "I dun have time for dis. I already write yah damn assignment and ef I dun get back to meh work people could die. Yah jes have mumbo jumbo for meh tah do and I'm sick of et!" He was having a hard time not feeling angry now that he'd just wasted 2 hours of his day in this office.

"Just answer the question. There's a reason that I've already explained." This was normal and completely expected behavior to see. So long as it didn't persist beyond a few months it would be fine.

With a growl Illya settled into his seat. There was only a few minutes left and he knew that he could make it all fit into that short time and not leave anytime for the doctor to ask questions. That was exactly what he was going to do too. "Fine, I remember when I was jes little. First time I felt angry. Meh fater didn't come home en time tah help meh build fortress in dah sand. I waited all day and den I wait into dah dark for him. Den all I remember es when meh moter take meh tah go stay wit Asha and she tell meh dat meh fater wouldn't be coming home for many days. I got left again and I hated et." He always felt like he'd somehow been cheated of the time he could have had with his father and now he understood better and it made him feel miserable. What he was doing to his kids. They were getting passed off all the time and they were losing him bit by bit when he had to work.

The time was up and Illya almost bolted from his seat. Kalizda had already set the time for his next appointment. It was going to be the same day and same time every week. "I see yah next week." Grabbing his jacket Illya fumbled with the doorknob and darted outside before he could get his jacket on. He was more than ready to get out of that office.

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

A notification came in on Illya's pad. There was a large ship arriving from Terra with a special order from Harry. It was a confirmation code that had been pre-determined for any activity sanctioned only by the president. Still, it meant that Illya had to get out the air strip with a few men to ensure that it was indeed a legitimate call. Dressed in his fatigues Illya scrambled down the stairs and called to Kalizda. "Ship from Terra es landing. Should be from Harry."

By the time Illya arrived at the air strip with Kalizda he had a group of men standing off to the side. They were more than ready to engage if need be. Momentarily they all braced as the hatch opened to reveal a good number of men. As they filed out of the ship Illya noticed an odd pattern. Something else was on the ship and he nodded to one of the men to give orders for a sniper to be ready. If this was a trick of sorts he was going to be ready to shoot the one with the explosives. Instead, the concealed good was a passenger. It was Harry's wife, Priscilla. It was smart to get her out before it was too late and Illya couldn't help admiring the move. It took courage and guts for a man to know when to do that.

As the woman disembarked Illya gave a small signal to his sniper off in one of the buildings to hold for now. Nobody had to know that he had snipers all over the place for this meeting, but it was semi normal. Illya had enough experience to know that even Allies could not be trusted at times. With Terra in such uncertainty it was a given that he wasn't going to immediately trust anything claiming to be from them. Quietly he waited while the woman made her way toward him and Kalizda.

Priscilla was almost inaudible as she spoke. "General Illya," she said quietly, "Councilwoman Monroe. I have to ask for amnesty and protection. Please allow me permission to enter Pyrta. Harry arranged for no one on Terra to know that I've come here." Even as the engines shut off Illya could barely make out what she said. It seemed that Kalizda was waiting for him to make the call. Receiving any Terrans to train had been something that Illya didn't like or want, but he knew he would have to do it. They needed to show some kind of good faith in advance. Terra had turned into a hell hole. The entire planet was starting to look like it did back when he was a younger man and it would only get worse before the end. Holding the woman's gaze steady for a long moment Illya finally answered. "I accept yah under terms of protection. Et's nut fancy, but yah stay in meh house." There would be hits ordered on her soon enough if the enemy discovered she was missing. They would use her as leverage against Harry and it was better to mitigate that particular issue.

Priscilla waited for what seemed like an eternity as the General stared her down, assessing what he would answer. This was his land to protect and she couldn't enter without his permission, though Harry had suggested that he would be willing to help. It wasn't necessarily welcome that she found in the man's eyes, but reluctant acceptance perhaps, and she couldn't blame him for mistrusting Terrans. What good had they ever done for him? When he finally spoke, her thin shoulders visibly sank in relief and she looked to them both. "Thank you, General...Councilwoman...thank you for letting me stay. I..." her voice caught in her throat and she cleared it before managing her next words. "I'll gladly help with anything you need." Calysta stepped up and offered the woman her hand with a gentle smile of encouragement. The woman had been a wreck last she saw her in the ship and now she was a long way from home without her husband by her side. If Harry had sent his wife to safety, it meant that things were getting worse on Terra. "You're more than welcome to stay with us, Priscilla. We'll get you set up with everything you need, yeah?" Priscilla nodded, wiping at her eyes and shook Calysta's hand before glancing up to the General waiting to see if he would say anything else.

There wasn't going to be a lot of time to get these things sorted, but Illya knew that he was going to have to get Priscilla to the house as fast as possible to avoid any rumors. Naturally he would have to see to the men as well. Glancing to the commander, Finnigan Illya nodded, "Yah stay here. I come back wit yah orders after I escort dah first lady." He could at least remember that title. Turning toward Priscilla he held a hand out to take anything that she didn't want to carry for the time. "Ets short walk dat way." Tilting his head to the East he indicated where they would be walking to. The guest bedroom was now occupied and the guest bedroom when they traveled with their ship would be occupied too. In some ways he felt badly for the woman, but he didn't know what to say to her either. It was war and these sort of things were to be expected.

Colonel Finnigan gave a quick nod to the higher ranking officer. "Yessir. Men at ease." The Terran soldiers stepped one foot to the side and clasped their hands behind their backs in silence. Priscilla glanced back at them, a little uncertain at first, then turned back to the General to see his broad hand stretched out toward her. All she had was the one small bag because that had been all that was allowed when she seemingly 'checked in' at the mental facility. "Thank you, General." She handed the bag to him cautiously, though it wasn't very heavy and then walked along side him toward the direction he indicated. She hadn't been to the general's house last time they were on Pyrta and while she was a little curious, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty for springing up like this. "I hope I won't be interfering at your house. I don't need much, really." As they walked past the fields of budding red grasses, she stole glances at the husband and wife taking her in on such short notice. "You should know General, that Harry sent me because he trusts you. He did from the beginning and still does."

Why some foreigners seemed so concerned with the little oddities of finding themselves under protection Illya wouldn't know. She had rights to demand certain things. It was an expectation that in this sort of case Illya would provide, food, clothing, shelter, and all of it equal to her standard of living with her husband. "Yah get whatever et es dat yah need. Elpsbet can explain more of dah way tings are as protected of meh house." A brief moment passed and the Terran woman started to talk again. "His trust es nut misplaced. No matter what happens on Terra yah still considered ally because of yah Harry."

Elpsbet? She hadn't heard anything about this person before but it sounded as if they were in the same situation together. It was was relieving to hear he didn't just consider taking her in because she was the First Lady and he should. He respected Harry more than what he disliked the current state of affairs on Terra which said alot about him. It also made her rethink what she'd said to Harry the night in the desert some. The General was unpredictable in some ways, and her own people had out matched his wildness with their own fickleness. What was happening to his name on Terra wasn't fair. "He would honored to hear something like that," she replied, "He's working hard to fight the Federation on Terra and it worries me that he'll be doing that alone now. He didn't want to give up though." As they entered the streets, she stayed close to the General and kept her head down when people passed. She she didn't need anyone recognizing her too soon. When they turn the corner, she found herself in front of a two story house with a front porch in need of painting and two Chippeqouti guards outside the front door. Calysta walked up the front steps and nodded a friendly greeting to both guards before opening up the door to invite them in. When she did, a lump of a boy with tan skin and bright blue eyes tumbled out in a pile of giggles, obviously waiting for them to come home. "Mam!" Priscilla glanced to them both in surprise. The child was the spitting image of his father who was making his way up the steps. "I had no idea you had a son," she marveled.

It was truly amazing how much this woman could talk. Illya just let her say whatever it was that she felt the need to say. For now it was better to let the woman live in her world and believe that her husband was going to be a hero and call for her to return. Personally Illya still felt that Harry was a walking dead man and that it was likely Priscilla would turn into a permanent member of his household unless she found another man that she could find herself pleased with. When they reached the house Kalizda walked up the steps first and Illya waited for Priscilla to start after Kalizda. As soon as the door opened Cypher came tumbling for the door. He was always waiting for them to come home. The shocked look from Priscilla wasn't so much a surprise as a relief to Illya. It meant that his children were not common knowledge to those outside of Pytra. "Ets better tah keep et dat way. Less dah Federation knows about meh or meh family dah better et es." Stepping into the house he led the way back to the guest bedroom and set the bag on the bed. "When yah get settled in, yah make list of what yah need. Elpsbet es across dah hall from yah. She will do shopping for items nut suitable for meh ta get for yah. Et's yah room now and yah do wit et as yah please. Jes let meh know ef yah need new paint or different bed eh?" Now that he had her set Illya started for the doorway. "I go take care of dah men now." Catching Kalizda near the top of the stairs he gave her a quick kiss and then jogged down the steps and toward the front door. The house seemed to rumble as if there was a herd of cattle in the house as Illya made his way out and then the door shut with a rattle that shook the house. It was well that the frame had been put in thick as the Chippequoti could make it. By the time Illya arrived back at the air field he saw that the Terrans were in good order and their commander Finnigiggle, or whatever his name was standing at attention. "Commander, yah talk wit meh while we get yah men to dere barracks."

Priscilla followed them into the house, chuckling at the boy as she ran on their heels growling like a monster. In some ways, she was glad Harry wasn't able to have children. It made coming to Pyrta easier, though she did miss their golden retriever who was treated just like a child. She was shown to a small, plain guest bedroom on the first floor. It had a medium sized bed and a closet for her things, not that she had brought enough to come anywhere close to filling it. Apparently this Elpsbet person was a woman and would help her get what she needed and this room was permanently assigned to her. "Thank you." She had said it a million times, and probably would continue saying it out of a mixture of sincere gratitude and shock of it all. When the general left, after giving his wife a gentle kiss, the entire house could have heard it. He thundered through, slamming the door behind him. The sound of an elephant charging through the house and the giggle of children would be something she would have to adjust to. Finnigan waited for the General to return and when the man gave the word, he told the soldiers to fallout and follow them to them to the barracks. They each picked up a rucksack for the cargo hold and followed in a double file line behind himself and the General through the muddy roads toward the compound. "General, I was asked by the president to debrief you of a few details when we arrived. First, you should know that we are under strict orders not to return to Terra, even if war is declared."

It was good to see that the order was maintained even when the men followed them toward the barracks. Filiginny was just as talkative as Priscilla. This had to be one of the more shocking and annoying traits that the Terran's possessed. The officer didn't even wait for permission to continue and instead he began blurting. He would learn those minute details in time. Illya looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "Yah nut return even ef war es declared because?"

"We've been sent here specifically to learn to fight the Tannas and the Federation. Those are my official orders, Sir," he replied. He caught the suspicious look the General was giving him and relaxed his tone some. "The president ordered that personally. If the government should...take a turn for the worst, the men here are meant to stay with the Alliance, no matter what a new president may order. Even if that means we become rogue. All of us have come here with that understanding, sir."

The man, explained himself a little better and Illya smirked. "Yah learn how tah fight and yah train hard. Dun worry dere will be time dat yah go back tah Terra." If those were the orders Illya could see the sense, but they would also be the perfect unit to place if he needed to get Chippequoti on the ground. Only time would tell. Stopping outside the first barrack Illya nodded. "Yah men stay here and den I take yah to dah officer quarters. First ting tomorrow I come and officially introduce yah to yah new overseeing commander and unit."

Finnigan nodded at the General's words and felt more at ease when he saw the smirk. "These men are excellent and dedicated. Should they be found lacking, I leave them to the commanding officer to do as they see fit. I look forward to meeting with them tomorrow." When they arrived at the barracks, he gave a short order in Terran and the men filed in still silent and lined up, waiting for the highest officer in the room to dismiss them.

Once the men were in the barracks they still held formation at their bunks and Illya couldn't help a grin of approval. "Yah dismissed. Get settled and yah report to dah mess hall en hour. Yah on first rotation tah eat." Stepping out the doorway Illya led Finnley to his quarters. Stopping outside the room he nodded. "Dere's where yah stay. Same orders. Yah have 1 hour tah be to dah mess hall. Tomorrow yah get badges and oter identification tah enter yah as Alliance soldiers and yah officers take measurements tah make sure yah men and yahself have proper uniforms." With that Illya turned and started out the door. That was all he needed to take care of for the day.

The general dismissed them and the air of tension melted around them almost instantly. They had made it to Pyrta with little to no issue, they had been accepted, and they were getting to eat their first meal in a week and a half that wasn't rations. As the men began tossing their bags onto their bunks, Finnigan followed the General to his own quarters, glad to see it was a more private room than the one he'd had on the ship. He was informed about the clerical needs before training began tomorrow, which he had expected but the last bit of what the General said made him raise a brow. Before he could even ask, the man was retreating down the stairs, and he glanced down at his standard coat in confusion. What on earth was wrong with his uniform?

There was a bit to take care of at home. Illya had to have the officer over Finnigan collect their information, confirm it and then issue new badges. He was already writing directives to his men and immediately they would be going to the ware house and getting uniforms. Whatever they had for uniforms from Terra would be collected and stored with their old identification documents. It might come in handy later on. Those sorts of things were great for infiltration and raids if they were summoned back and created a sort of wild escape that would appear to be real to the Federation. Two could play the game of deception.

Illya barely got home again and his pad was going off. He looked at Kalizda and nodded as he wandered over to where his pad sat. When he opened the message he clenched his jaw. This wasn't any good. Not that he hadn't seen it coming, but it was still difficult to navigate in a way. "I tink yah..." Before he could finish Kalizda was on her way up the stairs to feed the baby. She was leaving him to be the one to tell Priscilla. It wasn't right to leave the woman thinking he was going to to call her any day or for her to read it in the news. Swallowing hard he shoved the pad into the cargo pant pocket on the side of his pants and went up the stairs to Priscilla's room. Illya knocked on the door and waited for the woman to answer. When she arrived at the doorway he nodded to her. "First lady, I'm sorry tah be one tah inform yah. I get word dat yah Harry was killed."

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

With the news about Harry there was a bit more to address the next morning. Illya got up early and he dressed in his official uniform. He was making an official announcement and basically making the official greeting and transition for the Terran men. Considering their first leader was gone he would give them a proper time of grievance and then have them resume their duties. All the men were lining up and he could see that the Terran's were getting adjusted as quickly as they could to match the Chippequoti stance and formation. Once they were all settled in Illya nodded to the leading officer and had him stand in the front with him.

"Dis morning all of yah will report to yah commanding Chippequoti officer. He will confirm yah identification and put in order for new identification of Alliance military tah be issued. Den yah will go wit him to dah warehouse and surrender yah current uniform issue. All of yah will be given new uniform tah reflect yah position in Alliance." Taking a moment before he broke the bad news Illya breathed in deeply. "Jes after yah arrive yesterday yah president was killed. Chippequoti will honor him wit 1 hour silence after dah mess hall in afternoon. All Terran recruits will be granted 2 days for honor of dere leader." Illya gave a salute and then he walked back to the house. There were going to be a few things that he had to get sorted including a training plan for the men. It would be delayed by 2 days, but he would have plenty of time to review the new credentials and specialties of the men when his officer submitted everything.

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Only a few days had passed since the arrival of the Terran military and Priscilla. It wasn't what Illya would have considered great timing, but he was due for his surgery on his arm. This time Illya was put under general anesthesia and he was rolled away into the surgery room. When he was taken to the recovery ward Illya groggily turned onto his side in the bed and mumbled a little about wanting his red blanket. He knew Kalizda had brought it and no matter how many blankets the nurse put on him it wasn't going to be nearly warm enough to soothe the discomfort in his arm.

A long incision ran almost the length of Illya's right forearm. It was the place where they had to cut him open to take out the rods and then slide bits of the marrow into the cavity left by the implants." Even if the cast was supposed to provide support it hurt wherever it gripped his arm. Rolling to his back again he gingerly laid his arm over his stomach and then grimaced. "Kalizda, I need extra pillow too." When she brought the extra pillow over to him, Illya laid it over his stomach and then his arm on top before he pulled his hot blanket over himself. He had a few hours before they would let him go home and he planned on using them all to sleep if he could. In some ways the surgery had been refreshing. There was no dream, no thoughts, only rest. That was all he wanted for now.

The nurse came in after a few hours and stood next to Kalizda to explain a few things. "Just make sure he rests a little more everyday. The tendency when it is just an arm for any of the patients is for them to start back at it hard in a few days. As long as he has a lot of tenderness in the arm he should be resting with his blanket." A slight grin came to the male nurse's face when he said it. Chippequoti were odd about their little comforts and apparently The General still had a favorite blanket. It was heated and it made sense, but it was still funny in a way. "Aside from that, just watch for the usual signs of infection, nausea, fever, seizures, vomiting, or constant chills." Next on the list were a few little pills. "We saw the addiction on the record. These are from a different compound and not quite as strong. Go ahead and make some tea for him at home and remember to give him the new lozenges at night."

With the orders for the home care done the nurse released them to go home. Illya was still wrapped up in his blanket when he started out the door of the hospital. As soon as he was home he made a straight line for the couch and flopped out on it. Carefully bunching his hot blanket underneath his arm he gave it a little extra support and then covered the top of it with a pillow and rolled to face the back of the sofa. He knew that Cypher would probably grab his arm otherwise.

Only a short while later the boy came toddling into the living room and he felt the soft red blanket and coo'ed almost excitedly at the warmth of it. Lifting the edge of the blanket he stuck his head inside and then made monster hands and growled while he tried to tickle his dad's back. He could hear his dad growling back and it only made the game more thrilling. Eventually Illya turned toward the boy and he took the extra pillow and bopped the boy on the head with it. Cypher giggled and then pulled his head out of the blanket. His wild little curls frizzled everywhere and he ran over to the other side of the sofa. Crawling over the arm he toppled onto Illya's legs. A loud clunk sounded when Cypher's skull made impact with his dad's prosthetic leg.

Cypher sat up and held his little forehead with one fat brown hand. "EAaaagh!" Screeching angrily he looked at Illya and then slapped the prosthetic leg before crawling closer to his dad. When he was dangerously close to the arm Illya caught his son with his good arm and tucked him in between himself and the sofa. "Yah tired meh little munster?" Cypher only nodded and rubbed at his hard head. "Ok, we read story yeah?" Illya picked one of the kids books up off the floor. They were always scattered around the sofa. He had a few of the stories that he memorized and he didn't actually have to read. To keep from boring Cypher, Illya made up stories to go with the pictures if he hadn't memorized the book. This just happened to be one where he honestly didn't know the story so he decided to make a story. "Oh, well dis looks like stories about munsters. Dere was dis grey little munster hiding in a tree..."

While his dad read to him Cypher started to get tired and he nestled in with the hot blanket and eventually fell asleep. Illya flopped the book back onto the coffee table and adjusted the pillow over his arm again before he fell asleep with Cypher. Neither of them woke up till Kalizda came over and woke Illya up to ask him if he'd seen Cypher. Still a little bit hazy brained from the medication Illya shook his head no. "Ugh...no."

 

[aryamajor]

Sitting in the doctors office was beginning to become a regular habit for herself and Illya. One which she wished they didn't have to do, but this would be a step to getting him back to himself. She waited, trying to ignore the clinical smell the hospital always had, as her knees bouncing until her Chip emerged from the outpatient door hobbling on his cane with a triumphant smile. "More than ready." From the way he spoke he was in good spirits and the procedure had gone well. Calysta slipped a hand to his back, gently guiding him out to the skimmer so she could fly them home.

When they arrived, he made a beeline for his chair and she brought his blanket down to wrap his legs up with it. He loved that heated blanket and she was sure that it was very the best thing she had ever gotten him. The thing may roast her out of cuddles in the night sometimes, but it was well worth it to see him relax in the chair when he draped it over his legs. Calysta sat his cane where he could reach it on the side, then leaned down to give him a kiss. "I'm going to feed Lohgan before dad and Rose come home and then work on a few things from Terra in the office, yeah." She would be close by in her office if he needed anything.

Thomas came through the door with Rose at his heels and she bounded up the stairs with a quick 'hi' as the older Monroe sat his bag by the door. He made his way over to his favorite chair and settled into it with a long breath of relief. His knee gave him fits when he had to chase the kids on certain days. "How're you feeling?" he asked Illya as he propped his foot up on the ottoman. Stretching out the joint made it feel a bit better, though he was fairly sure he was getting to the point where a replacement would be needed. The metal in this one was about 30 years old now. A mumbling reply came from his son-in-law and Thomas glanced over to see the man's eyes drooping. It would be best just to let him sleep.

The old professor pulled out his pad and began grading papers while it was quiet. Some of the kids work was excellent, particularly Amil's essay written in Kaerelean. He had made only one error out of an entire 3 paragraphs on flying which was astounding. At one point, Rose came down the stairs asking for help with her home work. "I don't understand this math, Papa."

Thomas took the girl's pink pad and held it up. The characters on the image were so small he had to zoom in to read the problem. "Hmm...calculating distance..."

Suddenly, Illya gave a violent jerk in his chair, sending his cane clattering to the floor and cutting off their conversation. Thomas stared at the man for a moment before handing the pad back to Rose. "Your mother actually can do the math on this one better than me. She's upstairs feeding Lohgan, I think. Ask her and she'll show you, eh?" It wasn't exactly a lie. Calysta knew those types of calculations and could easily help Rose upstairs where her father wasn't having nightmares. He'd had those types of dreams too and it wasn't anything he'd have wanted Calysta seeing. Illya would want his girl seeing those types of things either.

He gave Illya a nod as Rose scurried up the stairs and leaned back in his chair to leave his son-in-law to rest.

"Yah getting old."

The comment came out of nowhere and Thomas' brow furrowed. He was only nearing his 60's and was in decent health besides the knee, and the high blood pressure the doctor had mentioned along with a touch of cholesterol and his eye sight. That had a been spotty these days too. "I'm in my prime," he replied firmly. That was the real lie.

Illya began rattling off his concerns and then told him what he'd done at the doctor's office. He wanted him to have the same surgery as Kalizda? Thomas stared at Illya for a long moment in a complete loss for words. There would have been a time where he was sure that the man would have rather tossed him off the roof than talk to him. Now, he had gone and done something like this to give him extra time? A life with that he wouldn't have had with his daughter and grandchildren otherwise? It wasn't just for Calysta though. The way Illya spoke sounded as if he was concerned for him too.

Thomas' mouth opened and shut several times as he tried to come up with some sort of response. Finally, he managed a slowly nod. "I wouldn't want all that bone marrow go to waste. School will be out for the growing and harvest season in a month and a half. That would be best."


Later in the evening, Calysta slipped into the bed next to Illya feeling tired. She had been running constant communication with Harry over the situation on Terra, relaying what Michelle had found about the case using her contacts in code. Her father had talked to her briefly after dinner while they did the dishes. What he had said both surprised her and didn't at the same time. Despite what anyone else thought, she knew Illya had a good heart, and it shone brightest when he did things for his family. Calysta curled up to her Chip, her eyes set on his, and then drew him into a long, slow kiss. When she pulled back, her fingers tangled in his hair, she gave him a loving smile. "I love you." He had thought of her father and sacrificed some of his own bone marrow to make sure he was healthy. It had made her happy on so many levels to hear that, and she was going to love on him simply because she could.

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

She went up stairs to feed Lohgan but the truth was that it was a convenient excuse to get out of the room for a moment. Harry had been a good man and he had died for it. Now, his widow was sitting on the first floor unaware that she would never see him again. It was her duty to tell Priscilla that her husband was gone and for all the words and languages she knew, none of them made the task any easier.

She paced the floor as she held Lohgan up for her dinner. Even her daughter could tell something was amiss, as she looked up with a little crinkle of concern on her brow. When the excuse of Lohgan's feeding time ended, and Calsyta could avoid it no longer, she went down stairs to Priscilla's door. Her stomach churned at the thought of what she had to say. It still had to be done.

When she came up to the guest bedroom door, there were pitiful wails coming from inside. Had she already seen the news? It had only been 20 minutes, but sounded as though she had found out. "Priscilla?" Calysta pushed open the door to see the woman face down on the bed sobbing uncontrollably. She knew.

It has been her duty to tell the woman right away and she had been a coward about it, even if she wasn't used to delivering that kind of message. Seeing the woman lament for her husband was heartbreaking and Calysta walked a little further inside. "Priscilla...I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. "

Her words only resulted in more pitiful wails that Calysta could do nothing for. She couldn't bring back Harry as much as she wished she could. "We're here for whatever you need," she mumbled.

Priscilla called out for him as if she didn't hear anything then rolled over on her side with her back turned to the door. An indication she wanted to be left alone and Calysta understood.

The next day was harder. Priscilla refused food and any other comfort, sticking to her pad as she watched news outlets for hours on end about her Henry. The colonel came by to pay his respects but she didn't meet with him. She simply couldnt look away from the media as they covered her husbands death. He was blown up in a car bomb and taken to the hospital alongside several Secret Service agents only to die on the way. She wouldn't even be able to attend his funeral, like the thousands that would be flooding Tokyo to pay their respects. She couldn't send flowers or see his body. They would be taking his casket through the streets and there would be no viewing due to the trauma done by the explosion. That afternoon she noticed that the noise outside her window stopped. The normal foot traffic outside the Monroe household had gone quiet. In fact, there was not a sound in the house.

The entirety of Pyrta had gone silent. All the Chippeqouti were observing their hour of respect for Harry and the Kaerelean men and women who lived on the continent had joined. It was as good an honor as they could give.

The Terran men observed the hour of quiet on their own. Having lost a commander and chief, was a difficult thing and Harry had been will liked among the servicemen. He had always made it a point to speak with them no matter the rank they held. Most of them had shook the man's hand at one point and now they would be faced with possibly having to ignore their own government to protect their planet. No one knew what the vice president would do, though he had been supportive of the president in nearly all of his endeavors.

The next two days pass by in a slow cadence. The Terran men surrendered their uniforms and submitted themselves to the security checks and identification required by the alliance in relative silence. The only uniforms they did not surrender were their dress uniforms.

On the second day, they joined Priscilla, the councilwoman, and the general in a large room inside the Civic Center to watch Harry's funeral projected live from a hologram feed direct from Tokyo. Priscilla sat in her borrowed black dress next to Calysta who wore the honorary and customary deep blue as they watched thousands of men and women from all over Earth gather on the streets. They were throwing flowers and handkerchiefs on the road as his casket passed by in a sleek black skimmer. The news conducted continuous interviews with the citizens who had come to the funeral and reported others from different locations across the planet.

"President Kaito was always smiling, and he never once made you feel like you weren't good enough to stand in the room with the president," said one woman, "He was always trying to help someone."

Another man was interviewed and he had no problem looking at the camera. " I may not have liked old Harry, but I like those Federation folks even less . He was a good man and he sure didn't deserve to die like that."

The soldiers watch on in full uniform and when it came time for the salute, they stood from their chairs at attention and reflected their comrades at home on the hologram.

When the memorial was over, Priscilla tried to get up from her seat but found her knees too weak and wobbled into the colonel who held her arm as she cried. It was hard to see her husband buried with such finality and now she was alone a long way from home. The general lead her home where she retreated to her room, wishing only to sleep and forget about the day.

*********
Illya's bone marrow surgery went well which was a relief to Calysta. At least for this doctor's appointment, he couldn't come running out of the door like he did his therapy days. Not asking about his journaling was hard as having him go through surgery sometimes and on certain days it took all of her will power to not to peer over his shoulder out of pure curiosity. With Illya home from his arm surgery, she made him comfortable on the couch, then made her rounds. Elpsbet was in the kitchen with Cypher and Lohgan, while Priscilla was tucked in her room for the 4th day in a row. She didn't know what to do for the woman except take care of her at this point. They all knew she had no where to go.

Calysta settled into the kitchen chair across from Elpsbet with a plate of fresh bread and a knife to slice the loaf with. Mostly the air was quiet around them when they were together and this time was no different apart from simple comments. Calysta wanted to get to know her more but also felt a little nervous. She picked up the knife and started slicing into the soft bread, stealing glances at Elpsbet from time to time. "Would you like a sandwich for lunch?"

With the kids either sleeping or off playing in the backyard the house was quiet for the time being. Elpsbet quietly worked on her little project. She enjoyed living here. There was still a bit of time with the family and she could still work on her weaving and detail stitch work. For now it was just a little bit of detail that she was working on. Many of the Chippequoti still liked to buy her cloth that she would make and it was a way to keep herself busy. Glancing up from her work she smiled softly. "It would be very nice."

She was always working on something, weaving or stitching a beautiful pattern into cloth. Calysta liked to watch the delicate work sometimes and marvel at the patience it took, occasionally thinking of how wild Maks had been compared to his quiet wife. The smile encouraged her, and Calysta sliced off two more pieces of bread before sliding the stack over to make room for the grasses. "Can I ask you something Elpsbet?" She waited for an answer before shifting in her chair. "Are you happy with us?"

It was difficult to get to know Kalizda, but Elpsbet wasn't sure what to say to her. Often times it seemed that they just ended up in the same room and never saying anything. This seemed to be a likely event again. Instead Kalizda decided to ask her a question and Elpsbet set her work aside for the moment. "Yes, ask what you will." The question proved to a strange one, but considerate. "Yes, I am very happy here." Illya had treated her very good, just as she and Maks always knew that if anything happened to him that Illya would take her in. Likewise if anything happened to Illya, Maks and she would have taken in Illya's family. "Yah know dat I always knew I would live wit Illya ef anyting happened to Maks. I know dis since I first agreed."

It seemed to be a Chippeqouti custom and part of working in the Elite, and Calysta knew that was part of what made her adopted people so strong in some ways. They took care of each other. It was good to hear she was happy here despite what had happened to he and she seemed open to talking a little more. "I knew Maks and Illya were close but I didn't know that. Even if that was the plan from the beginning...I am sorry...about what happened, Elpsbet. I'm also glad you're happy here too. I want you to be happy here with us as family."

Hearing that she didn't know wasn't terribly surprising. Elpsbet knew her cousin was dreadful at remembering to tell people those sorts of things. The woman's eyebrows raised slightly when Kalizda apologized and then continued saying she wanted her to be happy. "Kalizda, yah dun understand. Et es sad dat I lose meh Maks, but he did his duty. I would rater say dat I lost him in battle den have a coward come home."

Elpsbet was proud of Maks as she should be and though it wasn't exactly a comfort, Calysta could tell the woman was sincere in what she said. There was sadness, but no anger or blame in her voice. She didn't think her responsible for Maks' death and Calysta couldn't tell her why she probably should. At least the woman was happy here and that was something. "Maks was a good man and a brave one. I suppose, I wish I could have done more. Honestly, growing up I didn't have much family. It was only my father and I. When I found out Maks and Illya were family, well it was nice to know and I was excited to call you two as a part of that. That probably sounds strange." She peeled a leaf from the lettuce slowly, and placed it on the first slice of bread, her eyes dropping from Elpsbet for just a moment.

Whatever Kalizda thought she could have done more of, Elpsbet didn't know. She knew how Maks died and that was all there was to it. The explanation made sense in a way and Elpsbet nodded. She felt badly for Kalizda. It was truly tragic to grow up with so little family. "Den I will arrange a party so dat yah can meet all yah family. I tink maybe ets good dat yah know yah still have many more."

Calysta's eyes shot up to Elpsbet's face again, widening in surprise. This conversation turning into something she hadn't meant it to. She was trying to make sure the woman was alright and happy, now suddenly Elpsbet was trying to do the same for her. "There's more?" she asked in true surprise. She had known of Asha, Maks, and their agreeds. Then there had been Markus and Yvonne, but they were gone. She had no idea that there were more family and Illya was terrible as informing her who was and wasn't. "Illya never told me."

Chuckling a little Elpsbet nodded. "Oh dere are a few more and I wouldn't trust meh cousin tah tell yah anyway. He was never good at dose sorts of tings." It wasn't that he was intentional about that sort of stuff. Most of the time it seemed to slip his mind and that had been normal since he was a young man. "When would yah like tah have dis party?"

She chuckled a little when the woman mentioned Illya not being good at telling her things. That was the truth if she ever heard it, but he was getting better at telling her somethings at least. Credit had to be given where it was due. Thinking on the question, she finished putting the lettuce on the sandwich and then reached for the tangy crema that would go well with the pickled grasses. "Hmm...Illya will need a little bit of recovery for his arm and where they took out the bone marrow. Would a month work? It may give everyone else time to put it down on their calendar too." She had no idea how many people would be coming to this party and a good advance notice would be appropriate. It was exciting to think that they would have a family reunion of sorts. It would be good for Illya to be with his family and the children would have fun learning about at least one side of their heritage. "What would we need?

Elpsbet could hear the wheels turning in Kalizda's head. Already the woman was trying to work around Illya's surgery and yet have the party as soon as possible. "A mont would be plenty of time." Picking up her work again she smiled when Kalizda started to ask what they would need. "I will help yah make list of dose we invite and den we will need lots of snake. Dah preparation es nut so hard and I tink we get plenty of help. Parties are good for Chippequoti."

Calysta grinned and finished making the sandwich for Elpsbet, sliding the plate over to her. "I think I can get ahold of alot of snake." Already the ideas were building and she picked up the second plate she had made to deliver it to Priscilla. As she left the kitchen she gave Elpsbet one last smile. "Thank you."

It was strange to think she had tried to get to know Elpsbet better, and take care of her, yet it had been Elpsbet that had done the same for her. The idea of it was funny and what she had imagined family always should be. There was still someone who needed to know they were family.

She walked into the living room, passing by Illya snoozing on the couch and down the hall to Priscilla's room. It had only been a few days since the First Lady had lost her husband and she spent most of her time tucked away in her room. The woman needed time to mourn, but Calysta wasn't about to let her starve while she did.

"Priscilla? I brought you some food."

The door clicked open to reveal the lean woman's gaunt face. Her fair hair was piled on top of her head in a greasy, messy bun and her eyes were bloodshot. "Thanks," she mumbled as she started to close the door again. No one should have to see her looking like this. Calysta stopped the door with her hand and looked up at Priscilla. "Why don't you come to the table and eat with us tonight? We're going to have tacos." That was a good Terran food that her father suggested might make her feel more at home. Priscilla stared at her as if she were confused about the invitation at first. It would be polite to go, and yet she didn't want to go sit at the table. She'd have enough forced dinners and diplomatic missions to last a life time. Eating with them felt like she would be out of place, even if she was under their protection, and this wasn't home. She could never go home.

Calysta stood there hopeful that the woman might join them but the look in her eye told her Priscilla wasn't going to come along. "Only if you want to, Priscilla. I know it's not home, but you are always welcome at our table."

Priscilla nodded. "Thank you, Councilwoman." With that, she retreated and closed the door behind her.

Everything was still fresh for her and that was okay. Calysta left Priscilla to eat in peace, returning to the kitchen for the second plate of sandwiches. Rose would eat at school, as would her father, so she'd only made two more. One for Illya and another for her and Cypher to split. Her boy would end up eating half of hers anyways and then beg for berries. It would have been good to put the berries on the plate for him already, but if she did that, he would fill up on fruit without eating anything else the ask for more. The new rule would be he could have his berries if he ate his half of his actual lunch.

She walked into the living room, stepping over a monster toy and around a pile of books to put the plate on the coffee table. Illya was still asleep and she wasn't about to wake him up if he was resting without any dreams. Now, all she needed to do was find Cypher...who was being strangely quiet. Calysta looked around the living room, not finding a trace of her boy. "Cypher?"

There was no call for 'mam' or playful giggling from anywhere in the room. Walking into the kitchen, she looked around, checking inside the cabinets, the pantry and under the table where Elpsbet was sitting. "Cyyypher...where are you little man?" He wasn't much of a hide-n-seek player with them since he tried to get their attention constantly for cuddling. "Have you seen him?" she asked Elpsbet. The Chip woman shook her head, then suggested the living room. "I've checked there and I didn't see him."

Calysta checked the back yard, walking through the grasses scattered with bear droppings, and checked inside the animal hutches. He'd climbed in there a few times and come out smelling awful. Cin was rolling in the grasses under the tree while Keysha sat lazily in her usual branch reaching for the occasional falling omne petal as if fluttered down. The temporary chicken coop sat in the corner near the house, emitting peeps and clucks with the baby chickadees expecting food. "Cypher?" Both animals ears perked at her call as they watched her. She held her nose and checked their little huts, the fortress, and behind the chickens box, but her son was nowhere to be found.

Where could he have gone? She went back inside and scurried up the stairs to check his room. His was scattered with toys, and her foot found some sort of plastic piece in the floor, making her stumble into the dresser. "Ow." The bed was a disaster, piled with blankets and the sheet hanging off. Cypher was a rough sleeper and when he moved, he took all the sheets with him. "Cypher? Where are you little man?" No playful giggles sounded, though she checked under the bed, the closet and even in their bathroom. "Cypher!"

Roses' room was empty, and their bedroom had no little boys hiding in the closet or under the bed. Where was he? Taking both flights of stairs by twos, she went to her father's bedroom and checked all of the possible hiding spaces only to find them empty. She was starting to get worried. If Cypher saw something he liked, he would go right after it and if no one was watching him he'd get into everything. "Cypher?"

Calysta was loathe to wake Illya, but she needed to find her son. With shaking hands, she leaned over her Chip and rubbed his arm gently till stirred. He shifted under his blanket, to look up at her with bleary eyes. "Hey, have you see Cypher?"

"Ugh...no."

Illya hadn't seen him either? That small spot of worry was starting to turn into a slight panic. If he wasn't in the house he could have wandered off anywhere and she couldn't have him toddling around Pyrta. What if he got close to the Edge? Or ran into someone who wanted to hurt him? Calysta made herself take a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "I can't find him."

She walked to the front door, wrenching it open and looked to the two guards on her porch. Asher was back to his work it seemed, meeting her with a curious look. "Have you two seen Cypher? I can't find him anywhere in the house." They didn't seem terribly concerned but when she asked if they would check around the side yards, they obliged.

Calysta went back inside to check all of his usual hiding places again. He had to be here somewhere and she needed to find him before he got hurt or worse. How could she have lost track of him? Priscilla had come out of her room carrying the plate as she looked around the living room. She had heard through the walls that the little boy had disappeared and she had come out to help. "I'll check the kitchen." Calysta managed a nod as she darted back up the stairs to work her way from the top of the house to the bottom again.

As she was desperately tossing pillows off her bed, hoping Cypher might have burrowed his way into the pile to nap, a call came from down stairs. "We found him!" Calysta dropped her pillow and bounced from their bed, sending their bed into a disarray as she scurried to the living room. Sure enough, her boy was standing next to the coffee table. His curly hair was mashed up on one side of his head, his cheek pink from having laid on it. A sandwich was clutched in his hands, oozing through his fingers as he chewed with his plump cheeks.

When Cypher spied his mam coming into the room, he offered her the mashed sandwich with a sweet smile. "Mam!" The rush of relief she felt made her almost dizzy as she scooped him up. "Ugh." He had to weigh at least fifty pounds by now but she didn't care. Cypher giggled wildly as Mam struggled to pick him up, and plopping him on her hip. Priscilla was standing at the end of the couch in her pajama bottoms and sweat shirt looking at Cypher anxiously. "I just came in from the kitchen and he was in here eating."

"Sammi?" He offered his sandwich and got kisses on his cheek in return. Her baby boy was safe in her arms where he belonged. "Where did you go?" Wherever it was, he must have been asleep judging by his bed head accompanied by the crusted drool at the corner of his cheek. Cypher's grin grew as he pointed to Illya who had gone back to asleep on the couch. "I dah man!"

Calysta's eyes settled on her sleeping Chip and she shook her head. He must have not realized that his son curled up with him on the couch when he was still slightly drowsy from the anesthesia. With a deep breath of relief, Calysta half collapsed under the weight of her boy into the arm chair and sighed. "Thanks for helping me, Priscilla."

She nodded. "Of course. Does he...do that often?"

"No, I'm finding more often that my kids will keep me on my toes. I never know what they'll do," she admitted, "It's worth it though."

Priscilla studied them for a moment and then wandered toward the stairs rather than her room. Finding the boy had been helpful and she was glad he was okay, but what if they needed a little more help? She felt something besides hurt for the first time in days when she was trying to find Cypher and now she felt the need to be clean. "I think I'm going to take a shower."

Calysta nodded and then looked her son over, petting at his curls. They were just as wild and untamable as his fathers. "Don't scare me like that little munster. Mam doesn't like it when she thinks you might be lost." He continued happily chewing on the mutiliated sandwich and cuddled up to his mother with a grin. All this attention was nice and he'd missed it from his Mam. Illya began to stir again and Calysta waited till his eyes opened before she pointed to their son with a raised brow. "Found him."

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

That night Rose sat at the table at Calysta's side and pointed to a planet on her map. "I want to go to this one for our day trip." Kalizda had made her a promise and she intended on making sure she kept it.

"No, that would take us a day to get there. There are 90 continents on Kaereal which are perfect for day trips. Pick one of those," Calysta said, "What about Kinte?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I've been to Kinte 3 times now. Can't we go somewhere new?"

Her daughter was being picky about their day trip already and it was all she could do to keep her satisfied with staying on the planet. "How about Juya? We can go shopping, and there's waters falls in the jungles. Plus, a good restaurant with the best chocolate cake." The girl paused for a moment and tapped her fingers on the table, thinking it over carefully. Shopping and cake sounded fun, plus she would get to go see some new sights for her story. "Deal."

Calysta sat back in the kitchen chair and nodded in approval. "We'll go in two days, and you have to go ask Wolf nicely if he will watch your brother and sister."

That little detail hadn't been part of the deal and Rose grumbled. "Elpsbet will watch them wont she?"

"No, Elpsbet has things to do too," Calysta replied firmly, "Go ask Wolf nicely and I'm willing to bet he'll want you to go have some fun on our girl's day."

 

[Silence]

Eventually Kalizda returned to the living room and Illya found himself looking up at her. Cypher was busily eating a sandwich and showing it off to anyone that cared to look. The boy loved food. He was starting to get taller and his stomach smaller, but if he grew the same way Illya did he would get a stomach again and be stout looking for a while and then translate all of that fat into growth again. It ran in patterns. "Hmm...yeah." Mumbling a little he rubbed at his face and sat up. It took a few seconds for the meaning of her words to sink in. "W-What? He was missing?"

The first day was mostly a blur by Illya's standards, but after that he was a little more coherent and he had a little more time that he was awake. Since he was resting up he got to hold Lohgan quite a bit. Every now and then the little girl would lift her head from his chest and give him gummy grins. "Oh, that's my beautiful little girl. What you looking at?" Speaking to her in Quoti he would smile and move a little closer so he could kiss her on the head. Almost as soon as he would kiss her she would squeal and start to wiggle around then giggle. She loved it when dad sat up with her and kissed her head. Making all sorts of noises she tried to talk to him and it seemed he understood cause dad would widen his eyes and he would answer her. The girl drooled with her attempts to keep talking to him.

Illya just nodded and answered a little as Lohgan strained to talk a little more. "Whatever you're telling me is exciting." Again the girl squealed and gave her best attempt to tell him all about her excitement. Dutifully, Illya nodded and listened till he felt Cypher started to crawl onto the sofa with him. The boy wanted to lay on his dad's chest too and Illya switched Lohgan to his side with the injured arm. She was safer over there than Cypher would be.

By now Cypher was a little more used to having his baby sister and he shared dad's chest while he ran his monster all the way across the one shoulder and down the arm and then up again. Lohgan kept right on talking and Illya just laid on the sofa with the two little ones sitting on him. After a few minutes Cypher decided it was more comfortable to sit on Illya's stomach and bounce in place while he made his monster fight the old ragged toy snake. With a loud hiss he made his snake attack and overwhelm the monster. The last great bounce on Illya's stomach made him let out a breath. "Cypher you're getting big." Speaking to the boy in Quoti he saw Cypher pause for a moment. Illya knew hat Cypher could understand most of it, he just had to take a few moments to sort it out. After Cypher thought for a bit a big grin came to his face and he nodded emphatically, "I'm dah maaaan!"

Within five more minutes Rose came into the living room to talk to Illya too. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table she looked into his face for a long moment. "Wolf, will you watch Cypher and Lohgan for a day? Kalizda is going to take me to Juya." She didn't really want to ask and she was pretty sure that Wolf would say no because she hadn't been very nice to him since he got back. He would have said yes if Kalizda asked him. Besides, they all knew Wolf's arm hurt and he wouldn't want to take care of the kids by himself.

Illya straightened his neck some and turned his head to the side to get away from Lohgan's little drool fists. "Yah going tah Juya for a day, huh." Taking a deep breath he waited for a moment and he let it out after a long moment. "Well, ef yah go and I have tah take care of dah oter two den I tink dat means yah owe meh a favor." He had been able to hear some of the conversation with Kalizda and now he saw the look of disappointment growing on Rose's face. Beckoning for her to get closer Illya whispered to her. "Pack enough clotes tah stay overnight and den I need yah tah eat lots of special foods and candy. I talk wit Kalizda and see ef maybe she make dah trip overnight so yah can try out yah room in dah ship." Now that he was done whispering he let her lean back with wide eyes and he finished the rest of what he had to say a little more loudly. "Dat's all I want. Ef yah can do dat and den tell meh how yah like dah trip I tink we're even. I watch dah oter two."

Somehow Rose hadn't quite expected Wolf to be so nice. He wanted her to spend the night in her own room on a ship?! He was going to talk to Kalizda to make sure the trip was a little longer and he wanted her to eat special foods? Biting her lower lip she looked at Wolf for a long moment and then threw her little arms around his neck. "I'll write a story about our trip just for you! Thank you, Wolf." With a quick peck on his cheek she dashed away and ran up the stairs to get her little overnight bag ready. It was still two days away, but she wanted to make sure she had just the right outfit for the trip. Wolf had bought her all the nice things she needed in her closet and then she caught sight of the kimono. That was what she wanted to wear. She would look like an elegant lady.

**********

Later that evening Illya helped Kalizda tuck the kids into bed and then he knew he would have to talk to her about the little idea he mentioned to Rose. Just staying over one night wouldn't be that bad and it would maybe make the day trip nicer for both the girls. Getting into the bed Illya took his lozenge that the doctors had made obvious to Kalizda. Then on the side he had a few sips of his tea that she kept by his bed. His arm was very tender feeling and he almost winced with the weight of the blanket when it first rested over his arm. Closing his eyes for a moment he let out a long breath and then shifted with a grimace.

His whole arm felt like it was about to explode every time he moved or shifted. "Agh..." Illya glanced over his shoulder at the tea and then gave Kalizda a sheepish grin. "Yah mind getting dah tea for meh one more time?" Once she had the tea in front of him he took it with his good arm and sat up enough to gulp down the rest of it and then laid down so she could put the cup back. Illya waited till she was settled again before he brought anything else up. "Kalizda, I tink dat jes flying tah Juya and back won't leave yah and Rose enough time tah enjoy yahselves. Stay dah night and treat yahselves tah good food. Den Rose has a chance tah try out her room on dah ship." Despite the fact that he was trying to encourage her to have a little more time Kalizda seemed to be worried. "I'll be fine. Yah know dat Elpsbet will help meh anyway. She helps get dah kids up and dressed and I can make breakfast and den clean dah kids up. Et doesn't take much for meh tah hold Lohgan and feed her dah bottle. Really, ets ok." Illya got a little closer to Kalizda and then he felt his arm get bumped slightly and he scooted away again. "Let meh get adjusted."

The whole lower part of his arm felt like it had just about been ripped off. After a few more moments they were more comfortable situated with Illya's arm bundled in the blanket and resting it on his pillow next to his head. "I can do et." All of it took a bit of urging, but he did get Kalizda to agree to take their time on Juya and spend the night. It would be good for them and Illya knew that sometime Kalizda would have to get out and just be a lady too. What better way to do it than to spend the time with their daughter?

Two days later Illya found himself playing bell hop. Grabbing Kalizda's bags and then Rose's he walked it out to the little flyer so they could get Kalizda and Rose to the big ship and then Illya waved from the steps on the house. At least they had the flier at the docks when they came back. Turning toward the house once they were out of sight he sighed. It was going to be a long day, but he could do it.

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

Illya was sitting at the table with the kids and Kalizda when the first knock came at the door. "Oh..." Rising from his seat he nodded to Kalizda. "I get et." It was a few hours till the party started, but it was a Chip party and that could only mean one thing. When Illya opened the door he saw Asha and her agreed there with Edgar and his agreed. She had said she would pick up their grandparents before coming since Edgar hadn't learned to fly and he didn't care to. "Yeah, come en. We got late start. Dah kids eh...dey sleep and I maybe sleep longer." The four of them chuckled a little and immediately started to set down the bags and boxes of goods they had brought for the party. Edgar pulled out a large bottle and he grinned. "I bring onleh dah best brew for dah party." A round of ooohs went through the group as they looked at the bottle. It was a good stiff drink. Immediately Asha and Riyan decided to unveil their prize. "We brought onleh dah best sauces." Inside the box were several jars of her sauce recipe from Yvonne. While they were all busy admiring the different items of pleasure a head appeared at the window and peeked inside before swinging the door open. "Hey!" It was Ahlex and Sisi. Already there was a growing crowd and they started to settle into the living room to arrange the foods and decorate. Ahlex and Sisi brought a large barrel of a mild alcohol. "Ets safe for dah little ones eh?" The rest nodded and Illya stepped back into the kitchen to get some cups. It couldn't hurt to start with a mild drink and get the party started. They had all the rest of the morning to prepare while the others arrived.

Calysta heard a loud knock as she was wiping down Cypher's chubby cheeks with a wet cloth from breakfast, and quickly checked the clock. It wasn't anywhere near time for anyone to arrive, which meant it must have been the snake delivery. Illya was going to love the big boa she had ordered. It was well over 15ft long and thick as a tree branch with plenty of meat for the entire troupe of Chips coming. She heard Illya talking, then a round of chuckles from the living room. That was not the delivery man he was talking to. In fact, it sounded rather like Asha and Riyan along with a few others she didn’t recognize. They were hours early! She hadn’t taken a shower yet because she still hadn’t bathed the kids after breakfast or gotten them dressed. Rose gave her a curious look and wandered into the room, and Cypher cried in protest at his mother’s wiping. He wanted to go see what was going on too. “Okay, okay, “ she said, taking him out of the seat, “Go on.” As soon as his thick feet touched the floor he was thundering into the living room. Calysta scooped up Lohgan was wiggling in her seat, and nearly slammed into Illya’s chest as he cut the corner back into the kitchen. “Whoa…” She jumped back, causing Lohgan to squeal and glanced up to him. “Who’s here?” she asked quickly, “I didn’t know they would be here so early.”

"Whoa." Illya moved his sore arm to the side so he wouldn't bump it into Kalizda. Both of them squawked about the same time and he gazed at her for a moment before glancing behind himself. Wasn't it normal for people to come early to help get the party ready? "Dey will all be here before dah end of dah hour. Chippequoti always come early tah get ready for party." There were still another 30 arriving because Elpsbet asked if she could invite some of her family too and Illya didn't see why not. Besides, it would give the men plenty to do when they went out to get some snake and other meats. "Dun yah know dat Chippequoti always come early?"

All of them by the end of the hour?! Calysta's mouth fell open as she stared at him in a half panic. "I know they show up early...I just didn't know it would be 3 hours early," she stammered, "I'm not even showered yet and the children need a bath too." She only had one hour to wrangle two kids in a bath and make herself presentable now. Peeking her head around the corner, she saw Asha and Ed along with their agreed and a couple she had met but never spoken to. She didn't want to see Edgar and Asha, much less new family members smelling like breakfast!

"Et's nut problem. We clean up dah kitchen and wash dah kids too. Yah jes get ready." This was normal and everyone would do their part to help make the party happen. Plastering himself to the wall he watched Kalizda peek around the corner and then he heard another loud hoot as more walked through the door and just left it hang wide open. At this point there wasn't any reason to close it. They would all be walking in and out. Illya figured it was a good time to be helpful so he nodded to Kalizda, "Yah jes go get showered." Then stepping into the kitchen he grabbed the stack of cups and took them out to the living room. While he was there he caught up with his sister and grabbed Cypher by the back of his little shirt. "Yah help meh wash dah kids up? Kalizda worried dat dey need bat." Asha shrugged and swooped Cypher up while Illya led the way to the bathroom. Edgar was already wandering around the house admiring the living room and when he caught sight of Lohgan he plucked her from her little chair at the table.

He seemed perfectly calm about it and wanted to help with the kids. She had hoped this would be day he could relax and enjoy the company of his family while she took care of things, but with the time flying she had to relent. He could handle the two youngest and Rose was already showered, having done that on her own. "Aye, I'll be right back. Cypher and Lohgan's clothes are all laid out on our bed, alright?"She left a swift kiss on his cheek before scurrying past them and up the stairs so no one saw her. It didn't take terribly long to get their hot water running, and she scrubbed down fast as possible, hitting the highlights first then shampooing her hair in the wonderful smelling vanilla soap. By the time she was rinsed off and her teeth were brushed, she dressed in her little sun dress then fixed up her hair some. It would still be damp which would make it curl at the ends, but that was alright. She stuck a pin in her hair and then made her way to the second floor to check on the children and Illya. "Illya? Do you need some help?" Already she could hear that more Chips had arrived and were filling up the living room below them.

Asha poked her head out the bathroom door and grinned. "No, I'm fine. He's in dah backyard. I tink someone said someting about a giant snake arriving." Cypher stood up in the tub completely naked and splashed water everywhere as he showed his mom his monster that was taking a bath with him. Roaring he started to stomp around and Asha frowned. "Ef yah crack yah skull ets yah fault." She wasn't too worried about it, but the action did deserve fair warning. Sure enough it was only a second later and the boy's feet went out from under him and he hit his head and sat back up with a stunned expression. Shrugging a little Asha turned to help get him out of the tub. "I told yah."

Why in the Wild's Asha's face poked out of the bathroom instead of Illya's, Calysta couldn't begin to guess at first. It should have been Illya bathing Cypher, not their guest! When she mentioned a large snake arriving, his absence suddenly made sense, but it didn't make the fact he had left Cypher to be bathed by his sister instead of doing it himself. Her boy stood up, holding his favorite monster toy and started stomping around. "Cypher sit down...you know-" The warning from the two women did little good against the inevitable and Cypher crashed back into the tub, smacking his head and sending water in a fantastic spray. IIf it was one thing Calysta was glad for, it was Chip bones in her son. He didn't cry when his thick noggin popped against the tub, even though his mother winced. "I'm sorry, I thought Illya was going to be bathing him," she admitted as she grabbed the towels from the closet, one for Cypher and one for Asha to pat down with. "Wait, if he's in the back yard, where is Lohgan?"

"Why would yah be sorry?" Asha didn't know why this seemed to be such an awkward situation for her. Riyan and a few of the men were out with the snake, but Edgar had stayed in the kitchen with Lohgan washing the dishes. Dabbing at the wet spots on her shirt Asha shrugged. "Lohgan es wit Edgar and his agreed. Dey said dey would wash dishes and some oters begin decorating dah house. Some little ones play wit dah bear probably." There were some other children and Asha grinned. "I tink Cypher would be glad tah play wit dah oters, yes?"

"Well, usually guests aren't supposed to have to bathe the hostess' child," Calysta admitted. It sounded as if it was a moot point to bathe Lohgan. Illya was already outside with the others with the snake and she would be loathe to pull him away from the fun. Plus, if there were other children, Cypher would love the chance to play with them...in the muddy back yard. She started laughing as the Chippeqouti invaded her house in the best way possible, then bent down to help dry off her son who was growling like a monster. "I think he'll have a great time," she chuckled, "Let me grab his play clothes." Dashing into his bedroom, she ignored the clothes he had laid out on his bed and grabbed our a plain undershirt and tiny pants along with his shoes. "Here we go little man." Cypher giggled and growled as she pulled the shirt over his head, sending his curls everywhere, and they barely managed to get his pants on him before he was trying to run out of the door.

Whatever this 'usual' custom was Asha didn't know. "Oh, Chippequoti dun do et dat way. We come early tah help prepare so everyting es on time and den we stay late tah help clean so yah nut so tired after yah house busy all day." Grabbing the boy she growled back at him and acted like she was going to eat him. Cypher squealed with excitement and beat her head with his toy. Walking him to the edge of the stairs she yelled to one of the men inside. "Ahlex, catch." The man turned around and held his arms out as Asha dropped Cypher over the edge. Another squeak went up and Cypher landed safely in his cousin's arms before Ahlex took him over to the barrel to get a sippy cup full of the mild drink before sending him outside with the others.

"Cypher, don't hit her," Calysta corrected him. He gave her a mischevious look at the warning as Asha scooped him up...and then tossed him right over the railing. Calysta's heart nearly came out of her throat as she grabbed the railing and looked over the side in wild desperation to see if this Ahlex caught her son. "Asha! Oh thank the wilds," she gasped as she saw him squeaking happily in his cousins arms. She couldn't help but give Asha in incredulous look. Cypher may have been Chippeqouti, but he wasn't full Chip and a fall like that might have hurt him. Then the Chip marched him right over to the barrel of booze and filled up a sippy cup full. "You let the kids drink too?"

The boy took a little sip from his cup and he puckered up momentarily before taking another sip and then dashing out the backdoor. Asha looked at Kalizda for a long moment and then started for the stairs. "Yes, et's mild. Only one little cup will nut make him drunk. Et will calm him and oter children, den dey have lunch and sleep." That was one way to get the children to rest so that the adults could have a little time. "Chippequoti do dis for a long time. Dun worry. We help yah get party ready."

Calysta was still trying to bring her heart rate down from watching her son fly over the banister while Asha explained. She couldn't help but feel like it wasn't good to give them alcohol. Kaereleans didn't do that except for the occasional nip for teething and clearing a stuffy throat along with some hot cream. Not an entire cup full of the stuff. Then again this was a Chippeqouti get together as well. "It's just not something I normally do...but so long as it's only a cup," she replied. If her father found out she allowed that, he would probably scold her for turning him in a boozer at the age of three, but he didn't have to know so long as it was hidden in the cup. "Let's go see if this snake is a good one, yeah?"

"Yeah, we'll see dis snake." Asha chuckled and headed out the back door behind the rest that had begun to file out. Illya and a few of the men were talking about what they could do to get it out of the cage, not lose it and still keep the kids from getting swallowed. Finally they decided on a method that involved getting the snake mad and Illya offering his prosthetic leg. It would make for some excitement. After jabbing at the snake a few times Asha and some of the others moved the kids back and then she wandered closer to the front to help with the fun of getting the snake. Jumping on top of the cage she looked to her little brother and waited for him to nod before she lifted the gate. The snake wrapped around Illya's prosthetic and started to tighten before it began to move up his leg. When it reached his thigh Illya Grabbed the head and held it out. "Ah...yah chop et now. I tink et's squeezing hard." Thankfully most of the pressure was on the prosthetic, but some was on his leg and he knew it would leave a bruise. Even after one of the men chopped the head off it took a few moments for the body to go lax and then the rest of them fell in and started to skin it while throwing chunks of meat to the bear and occasionally taking little bites for themselves. Cypher ran over with his fingers out and he made the grabbing motion so Illya gave him some of the food. "Dere yah go." It was turning into a regular Chip party already.

Calysta wandered out into the yard behind Asha and saw the massive crate which the snake had made its journey in. They were all debating on how to get it and it seemed the decided way was to make it angry enough to latch on to her husbands prosthetic leg. She watched as the snake wrapped around the leg, then started making it's way up further. It had to be a apply hundreds of pounds of pressure on the leg, which thankfully was made of the near indestructible metal found on Kaereal. Further up his thigh was all his own, though and her nails dug into her arms until someone finally killed the thing. When that was over, she was glad to see them enjoy making the meal together. Cin toddled round with the kids, eating whatever scraps came his way, and Cypher was already copying his father, asking for bits of raw snake. As it was, he had left his sippy cup in the corner of the yard and Calysta snuck over, then took it into the house. It took only a minute for her dump out the rest of the booze and then refill it with omne juice while nobody was looking. When that was done, she joined Asha and Illya in the yard with a smile. "I didn't realize there was so much family," she commented to Asha, "Or that Edgar was your grandfather until I saw the list."

While some of the others were cutting up the meat Riyan and some of the others started to collect the slabs to cook. It would be a fine meal and when the butchering was done the rest of them could wash up and help make the other parts of the meal. Asha was one of them that had begun to collect meat. Holding a platter out she would walk around and wait for the others to slap a chunk of meat on it. Glancing at Kalizda she smiled. "Yes, dere are many of us." Pointing to Ahlex she nodded, "He's meh youngest." As they made their way back into the house she chuckled a bit. "I brought someting for yah. Maybe yah get tah know yah agreed better ef yah know him as child. We all know him and I tink dat yah feel more like agreed should ef yah know. Would yah like tah watch hologram while we cook?"

The snake proved to be a perfect choice and she walked around holding out the spare plate for when Asha's filled up. When the woman mentioned Ahlex, she glanced up and titled her head to study the man. He looked more like Riyan than he did Asha to her, but the family resemblance was there in a few places. "I've seen him, but haven't met him or his agreed officially," she chuckled. On the way into the house, she could hear a whispering sound over the back of the fence, right at the corner, which was a favorite hiding place. "Mrs. Neysin, would you like to come over and have some snake dinner with us? You're more than welcome." The old busybody cursed in Kaerelean and scuttled out of the bushes in to her house, making Calysta smirk a little as they stepped through the back door. Asha mentioned having holograms with Illya as a child and she looked up at the woman with a growing grin. There were so few images of Illya as a child and she couldn't resist. "Oh, I don't think I could pass up a chance to see that."

Nodding to the box on the table Asha sent Kalizda to get the hologram. "I bring dat for yah. Et has copies of all meh and Riyan's pictures of him and den Yvonne's too." She figured that having some pictures would help. The first picture that flashed up was with Markus holding his boy. There was a massive grin on the quiet man's face and Yvonne was plucking at Illya's hair. Riyan was standing behind them with Maks in his arms and then Asha too. Moving on there were pictures of the luxurious red and gold house that Yvonne and Markus had and then pictures of Illya outside in the yard and beyond. It was just about time he was Cypher's age that it changed to the familiar and dusty sands of Quoti. Illya didn't seem to notice the change, but the houses were very different and far more utilitarian. Asha couldn't help grinning when she knew which image would pop up next. It was a short clip that showed a wind storm with Yvonne trying to collect Illya's clothes and nothing to see of the boy except for his wild curls and little brown butt running off. "I tink he liked tah be naked when he was little. Et was normal for dis tah happen. I chased him many times when he went outside. He jes run out dah door and start taking off his clotes and trowing dem and running so dat yah took longer tah catch him."

Calysta put down the plate of snake meat on the counter and retrieved the box from the table so they could work while they watched. The first image made her smile warmly. Illya looked so much like his father standing there alongiside Yvonne it was interesting to see. If she had only taken a quick look, she might have mistaken the two of them for Illya and Cypher in the hologram, smiling together. The image shifted to one of Illya at Cypher's age with his wild curly hair and bright green eyes standing out against the redden background of their desert home planet. Then the image changed to Yvonne . Her thick hair was swept up in the wind of an incoming storm, but it was Illya who stole the stage. He was buck naked, his little bottom ever so slightly lighter than the rest of his tan body as he ran off into the storm. At the sight of her husband's past self making his get away, Calysta snorted and started full out laughing. "He just took off running? Right into the desert?" she giggled, "How in the Wilds did you get him to keep anything on?"

It was only natural to laugh a little more as Asha could see Kalizda enjoying herself. So far as she could tell Kalizda wasn't surprised by it. "We dun keep his clotes on till he find reason for dem. Markus warned him dat he need at least his boxers. He dun listen till dere was small accident. Jes little snake, but et still bit him. Dun seem tah change his snake hunting habits. He jes content tah wear his cloting after dat. Children very slow catching snakes, but dey learn tah get faster in time and dun get bit so much." The next clip Riyan could be heard talking while he was doing something behind the image capture. "Oooh, here he comes." Maks was playing dutifully in the area, but Illya had run off and he was wearing his little boxers by now. There was a snake half his size captured in his fat fists. The boy was almost to the door and he tripped. At first the snake turned and snapped before it began to slither away. Illya stuck one injured finger in his mouth and kept on chasing after the snake before he stomped on it and grabbed it behind the head. Riyan kept on laughing as he watched his little brother-in-law race up the stone steps and take the snake into the house. As soon as he reached Asha he threw the writhing creature into her laundry basket on top all the clothes. "Cook! MMMMMMMMM." Chuckling with glee he danced around the basket while he waited for Asha to make the dinner he brought for her. Asha looked at Riyan and growled. "I told you to watch him." Riyan replied innocently. "I did."

Calysta chuckled when she heard Asha's answer. Not wearing clothes until he found a need sounded exactly like something he would do. When she mentioned the 'small accident' Calysta didn't have to ask much beyond that since it had motivated him to at least wear a little pair of boxers. When the image changed it was of Illya running around in the aforementioned boxers with a large snake. "He really didn't change his mind about the snake hunting," Calysta noted as the scene unfolded. Watching him dance around Asha with the critter wriggling in the laundry basket made her cover her mouth against the broad smile. Cypher was so much like his father, and they were both precious. "Cypher looks just like that when he asks for berries. A spitting image...though I have to admit...he's never brought a snake into the house," she giggled, "He always did that?"

It was funny in a way to see Kalizda discovering what her agreed was like as a child. More endearing when you were older, though it was at times quite stressful in the instant that it happened. "Mmhmm. Fairly consistent. Almost daily and Riyan tought et was funny until et happened tah him. I had tah go make a flight and Riyan was watching dah boys. Illya went out and caught a snake and den trew et into Riyan's lap and did dah same little dance. Ironically et changed Riyan's mind on dah humor of dah situation." When that little clip finished there were a few more of him running around in the desert and then one that showed him at home with a huge frown. "Dah growing pains. Like any Chip et was nut taken wit grace." As time progressed it showed Illya with less and less leisure time and started with his days at school. The first one showed him slumped in his desk with a bored look on his face, but lots of scribbles of math done. Another image showed Illya working at home reading books and writing little notes with his snake dinner nearby. "Dis was time when he start learning tah be a man. Dere es no more time tah be boy anymore. Et's why Chippequoti let dah little ones play and be wild as dey like."

In some ways, she found herself a little envious of Illya and the way he grew up. He had free run and a fun childhood filled with friends along with more than a few mishaps. At the same time it also made her happy. Watching him grow on the screen like that wasn't something she would forget. "He's always smart when he's determined. He grew up with so much family too," she smiled to Asha, "I'm glad he had that and that my children have it too. They can roam around Pyrta safely because of the Chippeqouti and our family."

Asha managed a little smile. "Yes. Sometimes I tink ets sad dat children have tah learn what happens in dah world. Eventually dey grow up." That particular hologram was finished, but there was another one. "Dah oter one I let yah decide what tah do wit et. Dere es more, but et has some time of Illya growing up more and den when he agree wit Isla and some of dah young life. Dere es time when he came back home from war. Et's only fair dat yah have dese since yah his agreed." Walking over to the box she pulled out her packet of seasoning. "We finish cooking the meat now and soon dah rest come in tah cook more foods."

The second box both intrigued her and made her a little nervous. She knew bits and pieces of that time after he agreed with Isla but not the entire story and there had only been on real image of his first agreed that she had seen. It hadn't been a pleasant scene. It would be something she explored later when she had a moment alone. "Thanks Asha." With a smile she got up and started helping Asha with the big slabs of snake. They worked in tandem for a moment, cutting into even small chunks and removing bones as she thought to herself. There weren't any holograms of Lohgan yet and she had none with Cypher and Chip grandparents together. These Chips were their family and they should be in at least one image together so one day, she they could do this again. "Asha, do you think we could around everyone up and get a big hologram?"

Everyone had started to pile into the house with more platters of snake meat and plenty of laughing. Those who had been working on the snake meat and butchering raced out the door in a flurry and charged across Chip village to get washed up really fast at the bath house. Asha glanced at Kalizda and nodded. "We could do dat."

Illya and the others returned from the bath house only to find that Asha was trying to shuffle them all into a corner. "What's dis?" Illya almost seemed to complain till Kalizda said they were going to try and capture a hologram image of them all together. The idea was fine, but Ahlex hadn't made his hair and he was combing at the wet hair furiously, Cypher was dirty and grungy. Lohgan had just puked on Edgar's shoulder and Asha had a few little spots on her shirt from the cooking. Despite all that they were together and the hologram started to click as it was set for a delayed capture. Kalizda rushed over into the group and then Cypher yelled, "I gotta poop!" just an instant before the capture. Even the most stoic facial expressions broke and the first capture displayed a few shocked expressions, the second revealed the laughter and the third was a scattered mess as they were all so busy laughing that they let Cypher run with his pants half off his rear end toward the bathroom.

A knowing smile came to Edgar's face and he chuckled as they all began to set out the herbs and other dishes on the table. "Jes like his fater. I tink dis would be good time for Asha tah tell dah story of Illya's first diplomat experience."

"Ah, no." Instinctively Illya winced. This story came up more than he liked to admit and it was a little bit awkward. He was a kid, but there were so many jokes based off the event. It was one that he hadn't really cared to have repeated often.

Those who hadn't heard the tale got a curious look and the rest laughed who knew it already. Asha chopped at the spiced fruit and started the story in Quoti. "Alright, I'll tell it. There was this officer that would visit from time to time on behalf of his superior. A delegate or diplomat of sorts. None of us cared for him that much and he demanded a visit in Yvonne's home. Knowing that Illya is who he is, she instructed him not to get in the way, speak too much and not to make messes in the house anywhere. She didn't want his toys sitting out and she wanted him to keep his clothes on and go outside to play after the meal. He was not to interrupt them for any reason."

Asha grinned even bigger as she continued. "She should have known that those sort of instructions wouldn't do any good even if obeyed them. There was no way to avoid disaster with him at that age. Anyway, after dinner the talks started and Yvonne and I were listening with Markus sitting between us. I noticed after a minute that Markus's eyes got slightly wider and then he looked back at the diplomat, but he kept stealing glances out the window. I decided to look to. Illya had his clothes on, had been a perfect example of a boy in the house, no toys out, neatly dressed and no messes. He took the idea of no interruption so literally that he didn't even come in to use the bathroom. He dropped his drawers and started pooping right in front of the diplomat's bay doors to his ship. Yvonne must have noticed at some point because I saw her staring out the window in some disbelief. I'm not sure if she knew it could get worse than that. With Illya on his best behavior he sat near the front steps after that and just sucked his thumb. He looked entirely innocent. I think that the three of us adults would have let the diplomat step in the poop because we didn't like him and we didn't want to explain what Illya did, so we didn't say anything about that pile that he was about to step in while he talked to us. Illya ran up wildly flailing his arms and yelling "Don't step in it. I pooped there!"

By the end of the story every member of the family was laughing and Illya just shook his head. He wasn't ever going to live that one down and he knew it. "Well, diplomacy esn't meh best subject."

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

Once the house was all cleaned up and put back to rights Asha waited till everyone else left and then she motioned for Kalizda to follow her out the door. What she had to say to her didn't have to heard by everyone. "I looked all over yah house today. I examine yah way yah talk wit Illya. What yah do es nut like Chippequoti and yah house es nut like Chippequoti." Pausing for a long moment she leaned closer and studied Kalizda's wide grey eyes. "Keep doing et. I never see meh broter so happy."

 

[aryamajor]

Having decided where they were going, Calysta shooed Rose off to speak with her father and then went about finishing up Illya's tea. Talking with her Wolf was something she needed to do on her own, and Calysta wasn't about to get in the way of that. "C'mon little man bed time She herded Cypher up the stairs, helping him up the last few steps with a little pat of his bottom. He scrabbled up the steps and stomped into his room, monster toy in hand. "Raaar! Graaar!"

Calysta giggled as he waved his monster toy and ran around the room, no doubt making a ruckus on Priscilla's room below. He had so much energy and it seemed to be boundless until he sat down to cuddle. She pulled out his night shirt and bottoms from the drawers, then turned to him. Cypher knew exactly what was coming next and he squealed at her with a big grin, running from her just to see if she would chase him. "Oh, so you're not a little man right now, you're a little monster..."she said, "I'm Mam the munster catcher!"

Cypher squealed in frightened joy as his mam chased him round the room with tickling fingers. He ran and ran, hiding behind the dresser, then at the bed post before dodging toward the closet. Each time, Calysta let him escape as she held up her hands and growled back at him playfully. When he was breathless with pink cheeks, she swooped down pulled him into the floor with her. "Graaar! Mam munster catcher! Gotcha!" The boy giggled those sweet little laughs as his mam pulled him close on top of her belly. He climbed over her showing off his monster toy only to be swept up again for one last round. Calysta wrapped her arms around Cypher and nibbled at his neck. "Omnonom!"

"Nai, mam! Nai!"

It was a mix of Kaerelean and trader's tongue as he begged for her to stop the tickles. Finally, he reared back and hit her with a chubby fist, letting loose a wild squeak of delight. His meaty fist stung where it landed on her collar bone and Calysta gasped a little. "Ow, Cypher don't hit. That hurts Mam." Cypher just gave her a playful grin and bopped her in the head with the monster toy. "No, no, no, we're done now. Settle down...shhh..." Mam started rubbing his back which felt nice with her soft hands and the longer she rubbed the more quiet he became. At one point he shifted, nuzzling into her stomach, letting out a satisfied sigh. Calysta chuckled at her boy and smoothed down his hair, "Once upon a time, there was a little wolf...and he liked to hide from his momma bird..."

After awhile Cypher's eyes began to droop, his breathing slowed, and his curly haired head went slack on her stomach. "....and then the little wolf pup fell asleep..." Calysta glanced down to see that he had drifted off. Slowly, and with gentle care, she moved him off of her limb by limb and then lifted him into the bed with a few grunts. He was getting so big and strong that soon he would be much stronger than her or Rose or even Thomas. Learning control was something that they needed to start enforcing. Not everyone was as durable as his father, and he could hurt someone, even if he didn't mean to.

Calysta changed his clothes, pulling his arms through his shirt and over his head, then wrestling him into a bigger, warmer shirt. His head lolled around in his sleep, but his hand clutched at the monster toy with an impossible grip. She tucked him into his bed, pulling the blankets over his shoulders. He curled up with the blankets, protecting his stuffed toy in his sleep. Calysta studied her boy for a long moment with his plump cheeks and curls. How had he grown so fast? It seemed like only a little while ago he was Lohgan's size, just learning to breath on his own without the mask. "I love you," she whispered in Kaerelean to him as she kissed his hair, "G'night my baby boy. Even when you disappear on me."

By the time she had Cypher in bed, Illya had already made it upstairs with Lohgan and put her in the crib. Calysta leaned over the crib and made sure her girl was all tucked in, though she knew her Chip had done a good job. It was more of a habit than anything. "There's my little dancer." Leaving a kiss on the top of her head, Calysta changed into her pajama's, before climbing into bed. Illya's good arm inched over her waist as she tried to get comfortable. The growing bruise on her collar bone was going to be tender for a few days but it would look worse than it felt. When he asked for his tea with his sheepish grin, Calysta chuckled and sat up, handing the cup to him. He had probably already taken his lozenge and that was alright, so long as he wasn't in pain.

It seemed that Rose had done as she asked and talked with her father Now, rather than a day trip, Illya was insisting on an over night trip. He sounded confident that he could take care of the kids, but he had just had the arm surgery. A day trip was one thing and an over night trip was entirely different one. Then again, maybe Rose needed some time away from Pyrta. Even the little girl wasn't immune to being stir crazy and she hadn't really had many outings since they moved from the moonshadow. In a way, she was looking forward to time with just her. The girl was growing up and Calysta felt as though she was missing some things she wanted to be a part of.

Calysta nodded in agreement as she settled into the bed after having given Illya his tea. "Alright, we'll stay over night. Just be careful. Cypher was a little munster today, disappearing like that. I had no idea where he went and I have a feeling he might do it again if we don't keep an eye on him, yeah? And I've noticed he's starting to hit when he gets worked up ."

"Be careful," snorting the words Illya shook his head. It was like she thought the kids could hurt him. "Dey'll be jes fine. I dun tink dat Cypher es gonna run away anywhere again. I'll watch him. Dis hitting business we can fex et. Jes takes time." It felt strange not to have his arm draped over her waist, but the surgery arm was far too sore for that. Sometimes she would rest her arm on his too and that would be too painful, so he just kept his arm on his pillow for now.

He was scoffing at her but he was the number one culprit of letting Cypher hit and not correcting him. She leaned forward and showed him a nice red mark, quickly turning to dark bruise on her collar bone."He's getting bigger and he doesn't understand he's going to be stronger than me or Rose so soon," Calysta replied, "I've already started correcting him when he does it, but he listens to his Dah more, I think."

When Kalizda pulled her shirt to the side and showed him the mark on her collar bone Illya sat up. It was infuriating to think that someone hit her. Only to find out it was his own son. "Dat's nut happening anymore. I tink dat boy es gonna learn nut tah hit faster den most. He can't hit yah like dat."

Now, he was starting to understand why she was concerned. Calysta put a calming hand on his chest and eased him back toward the bed. "I'm alright. He did when he got riled up and thought he was playing. He doesn't understand he's stronger than he looks and different from his mam. I didn't want to punish him for playing, because I want him to be able to go and play with other children of all kinds when he's older. He just doesnt know his weight or his strength."

Despite the fact that she felt calm about it, Illya didn't. "Et doesn't matter ef he tinks he's playing. He can't hit yah like dat." Already his mind was whirling with what he should do. Illya had never tried to correct a child so small before. In fact he'd never corrected any child in his life and he didn't know how to do it. When he was a kid and he got to be a man in training if he did something like that he just hit hard enough to make an impression. One that he didn't like. Cypher was too small for that. "What yah do when dey hit? Yah can't hit him back. He's too small."

"No, don't hit him back," Calysta replied quickly, "I usually grab his hand to keep him from doing it again, and tell him no. That it hurts. But I don't think he really understands that either. We could try sending him to time out maybe. Or keep trying to correct him. His little lip would bust if we thumped him probably." Truth was, he was asking her and she didn't have a real solution either. She was worried he would accidentally hurt Rose one day or another Kaerelean child simply because he didnt know his own strength, but how did you teach him that? "Illya, how did you learn to be...more gentle with others that weren't Chippeqouti?" He was large and strong, and yet he always managed to be gentle when dealing with her or the children.

Illya didn't really want to hit his kid or do anything physical, but he was really having to think hard to come up with any solution. What Kalizda was saying didn't seem to be making an impression and he could see why. Maybe a slight modification of that would work. Then she turned the conversation to ask him about his training. "Eh....When I turn 13 ef I hit any Chippequoti dey hit back or Markus would hit meh. I learned fast, but for dose nut Chippequoti..." Leaving it hang in the air for a moment he winced. It really wasn't going to sound good. "I learn en battle dat oter races were more delicate and I learn how much pressure tah apply. Den I jes know ef I dun want tah hurt dem dat I learn tah read dere faces like yah do when yah torture. Yah know faces very well after time."

Calysta stared at Illya for a long moment, recalling exactly what his trade mark had been for those kinds of things and shook her head. He learned to be gentle from that? She didn't even want to think about it, though it was very much a fact. Sighing, she leaned her temple on his shoulder and bit at her lip trying to think. "No, that...that's not an option. What if we did have drastic reactions though? Maybe if I pretended it hurt worse than it really did, he could see it?"

"I never said et was option. Yah ask question so I tell yah." Illya felt slightly horrified that she would even suggest he would consider that method for his son. "I dun like dah way I learn all dese tings eiter, but ets jes dah way et es." Kalizda's idea of being overly dramatic was bad. "I tink yah jes wailing about et teaches dah children tah be whiners. I tink maybe yah grab his hand and slap et. Nut enough dat it hurts his hand, but et should sting some." Illya knew it was somewhat of an in between idea, but it was all the better he could come up with. "Yah tell him dat et hurts yah when he hits and he can't hit yah."

"I know you didn't," she replied. The topic of his torture and missions was something she didn't always know what to say to. It was just a fact she acknowledged and tried to move on from. She didn't particularly like the idea of hitting Cypher back, but he needed to learn some how. A small pop wouldn't hurt him much, besides bruised feelings and it would at least get his attention. Nodding in approval, she laid back on the head board. "It won't hurt to try it that way. He's smart and he'll get it eventually."

At least Kalizda revised her stance. She knew he didn't always like the way he had learned things and so that was agreeable for now. "Good, den we jes try dat and maybe et works eh?" Illya certainly hoped it would work. He didn't know what else to do if it didn't work. Maybe they would have to ask her father for some help if it proved to be unsuccessful.

"Aye," she said with a gentle smile, "We'll try it and if it doesn't work we'll figure it out." She kissed his cheek, then shimmied back into the covers, her toes seeking out his leg out of habit as she curled up to him. She took special note not to bump his arm while she burrowed down.

Illya wrapped his arms around her again and they settled into the bed. He was warm, very warm and the more she sought out the heat the sleepier she became. For a moment she thought he said something. "Hmm?" She opened her eyes reluctantly to check on him, only to find he was gone. It was cooler in the room now and she sat up in confusion. Where had he gone? Her eyes flicked to the crib to see if maybe he had taken Lohgan down stairs. Maybe she hadn't heard the girl cooing for a midnight snack. The closer she crawled to the end of the bed, the more she realized that wasn't the case. Lohgan's pink blanket was slumped over the side of the crib, riddled with bullet holes and stained with red. "No..no..no." Her heart pounded painfully against her rib cage as she struggled to breath. Everyone was gone and she knew it. Cypher had disappeared, Illya was gone, her father and Rose. Her sweet baby girl. There were screams and the sounds of bullet fire coming in from all around as she clutched at the blanket.

A voice cut through the din of battle. It was familiar, and gentle as something brushed at her hair. Illya. She held onto him, burying her head into his chest and anchoring herself to him. The panic slowly began to fade as he talked to her. She rarely had dreams but ever since the night in the desert nightmares had become common. What's worse was that she had probably disturbed Illya too and he needed all the sleep he could get. "I'm sorry," she sniffled, "I'm okay." She didn't feel okay, and yet she needed to be. "I'm sorry. Is Lohgan there?" He answered and she nodded into his chest. "Okay."

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

Rose looked like a delicate little lady as she walked with her chin held high onto the ramp of their ship. Her brown hair was bound in a bun with the glittering pin, and the pink kimono was beautiful on her. She had asked Kalizda to give her some make up to go with it, but her mother had insisted she was pretty without it. Only after a few pleas, her mother had relented and given her some light gloss on her lips. Now, she was ready for their day out.

The ship was much bigger than she thought and Kalizda urged her to go exploring as she did the pre-flight checks and went about getting ready for take off. The living room was fancy and so was the dining room along with the kitchen. There was one room she really wanted to see. "Which room is mine?" she called from the corridor.

"First room on the left," Kalizda called from the bridge.

She walked to the room, pushing the door to the side with her metallic had. The room was large with a nice soft bed, a large window, and the best part of all, her own bathroom. The bathroom had a beautiful shower and a grown up vanity mirror with a chair right next to the sink. This was her room. Kalizda knocked on her door, and Rose grinned at her mother before taking her over night bag from her hands. "This room is mine?"

"All yours," Kalizda chuckled, "You like it?"

Rose nodded as she hoisted her bag onto the bed. "It's perfect."

Kalizda grinned when she saw how happy her daughter was with the ship. "I thought so too. Wolf picked it out and made sure it was big enough for the whole family."

The girl titled her head, making the pin glitter in her soft. Wolf had picked out this ship for everyone to travel in? Kalizda smiled and walked back toward the bridge. "We'll be taking off soon, so get settled in and we'll be in Juya in a few hours."

It was strange to think Wolf had gotten this ship for the entire family. He was the one that always disappeared and never wanted anyone to come with him. Even Kalizda got upset about it, though she wouldn't admit it. Maybe he really did want them to come with him? While the ship engines were warming up, Rose went down the hallway and took stock of each bedroom, just to see if Kalizda was lying. "One room for Kalizda and Wolf...one for me...one for Cypher...Papa Thomas...Aunt Elpsbet...and an extra room for Lohgan.." Wolf really had gotten a ship big enough for them all!

The ship took off so smoothly from the dock, that she could hardly tell they left the ground. She wandered into the living room, feeling excited that they were finally in the air. This wasn't some empty promise or joke now that they were flying. Kalizda and she were going to have a good day. She sat down the couch and crossed her legs like she'd seen the other ladies do on Pyrta, waiting for her mother to join. It wasn't long before Kalizda came into the living room, having put the ship on auto pilot, and settled across from her. A long moment of awkward silence passed between them as the two sat with each other. Had it really been so long that they didn't have anything to say to one another? How did she reach out to her daughter, who wasn't so much a child anymore?

The silence was only interrupted by the sound of a chime coming from Kalizda's pad. Rose's eyes narrowed as her mother leaned over and picked up the device. Of course, Kalizda wouldn't get away from all of her work. She was always having to do something as a diplomat and just because she was going somewhere else didn't mean she got to stop. To her surprise, Kalizda picked up the pad and clicked the button to make the chime stop rather than reading the message. "You aren't going to answer that?"

"No, I'm not," her mother replied. The chime had been a simple status update on the Omebrey and not an emergency or urgent alert. "I brought my kimono to change into and we have about 2 hours until we land. What would you like to do?"

Rose grinned and stood up. "Let's have some tea and then we can get you dressed up to go out." She had some excellent ideas on how to make Kalizda look extra pretty.

By the time they landed, Rose had Kalizda in her kimono, and her hair done in a neat bun with the hair clip. How her daughter had learned to do all of this, Calysta couldn't begin to guess. She had never done much with hair styles or make up, but Rose had captured up her hair and tamed into an elegant up-do as if it were second nature. With the ship docked, they brought along their bags and headed out into the mountainous city of of Juya. Their first stop was an inter galactic clothing store where Rose had fun trying on a few different outfits as Kalizda waited outside the dressing room to take holograms. "Oh, Kalizda! This gown is beautiful!" Rose sashayed out in a red dress and Kalizda's eyes grew round as she sputtered. "Uh..yes..it's very pretty." And too grown up! No weddings yet!

Rose grinned because she had made her mother speechless without pretty she was before scurrying back to the dressing room to try on another. They went to the sweet store and bakery next. Kalizda roved over the cases of Terran chocolates while she flitted from stand to stand. There were sugary treats with fluffy dough, gummies, and strange nuts along with candied omne chews. Kalizda ordered them several treats to be delivered to the ship, then they had long bits of fried dough, glazed in honey. As they walked down the top tier of Juya, her mother waved her over to a small stand offering a peek into the mysterious crystal caves. They weren't so mysterious and more of a tourist attraction really, but they were supposed to be very pretty. A little elevator took them deep down into the caves where a well lit path took them through cavern to cavern, each more impressive than the last. Light's made the crystal's glitter and Rose couldn't help but marvel as they walked through. "Papa used to take me here when I was about your age," Kalizda told her, "I always liked the way the crystal's glowed, but my favorite thing to do was this..."

She stepped behind one of the glassy pillars and made a face, crossing her eyes as she stuck out her tongue. The look may have been innocent enough, but on the other side, her face was warped into a wild looking contortion which mirrored into eternity. Rose laughed, though it wasn't particularly lady like to make faces like that. "I want to try." Kalizda stepped out from behind the pillar and let Rose make a funny face. "Oh, that's a good one." It became a game between them as they walked, stepping behind the crystals and trying to out do one another until Calysta was chomping her teeth at one, making her pearly whites echo over the whole cavern. "Kalizda that looks awful! You win!" The two of them giggled all the way to the end of their walk. When they came to the exit lift, a man operating the their ride to the surface offered to take their hologram. Rose grinned as they stood together in their kimonos and had their image taken.

On the surface, they went to a quiet day spa where their nails and toenails were painted. The woman working on their fingers offered to give them a relaxing facial and it only took on look from Rose to see that she wanted one. "Sounds like fun," Kalizda grinned. Their faces were cleaned with a gentle exfoliator, then wash with warm water to open up their pores for a nice layer of omne extract gel was applied. It would refresh their skin and give it a healthy glow as it sank in. By the time they left the spa, they both felt fabulous and lady-like for dinner.

Kalizda let her pick where they ate, and it was hardly a difficult decision. She wanted to eat at Ycrey. It was a the fanciest spot in town and they had rich food and an entirely glass bottom dance floor over looking the waterfalls. To her surprise, Kalizda didn't protest about taking her there, she only asked to make sure that's where they wanted to go. "I'm sure," Rose nodded firmly. As promised, the restaurant was beautiful and the food was delicious. She ordered a nyte beast steak with crispy potatoes and Kalizda had a stirfry dish of sorts with pickled grasses. All of it was designed on the plate perfectly, and she almost felt bad about eating it. Not long after they had a desert of chocolate cake with extra cream. A band started to play a face paced beat with strings, which made everyone clap along as others began to dance.

Calysta watched her daughter clap along with a broad grin. She could tell the girl wanted to dance, and was holding back. "C'mon Rose," she said, offering her hand, "Let's go dance. You don't need a partner for this one don't worry."

Rose took her mother's hand and they jumped into the ring of men and women which had formed on the glass floor. It was a quick dance, and didn't have very many steps to learn, but at one point, Rose stumbled in her kimono and the man gripping her metallic hand half picked her up so she wouldn't fall. "Whoa there, little lady," he chuckled in Kaerelean. When the dance was over, he gave a respectful nod to Kalizda and spun Rose around one last time. "You dance beautifully." It was a simply compliment from another father which made Rose beam with pride as they left the restaurant.

Their night concluded with the two of them watching a hologram movie and eating candy on their couch on the ship. First they watched some bone-chiller movie which Akten had recommended in one of his messages. It was terrifying and they both jumped at every scream, or flare in the music. Near the end, the music built and built, growing louder until suddenly the monster leapt out devouring the last survivor. Rose half jumped into Kalizda's lap as the hologram cut to black, knocking over a container of fruit candies. "Okay, that was worse than Akten let on," she admitted, as she started picking up the candies. "Want to watch another one? Something that isn't a bone-chiller?" Kalizda helped her find all of the candies and agreed for another movie, so they settled in and Rose went through the selections to she found one. "What about this one? Wild Ways? It's a Terran movie."

Kalizda's eyes grew round. "Any movie but that one."

"But they said it was really good and it's only rated for a 13 year old. Everyone at school has seen it," Rose reasoned with a hopeful gaze.

"You're only 12, I think you're missing a year," Kalizda replied, "Any other movie but that one."

"Pleaaaase."

That earned her a look and she knew Kalizda was putting her foot down, leaving only one other option. "I already know it's about you," she added smartly. Her mother's eyes swiveled around with an incredulous gaze and Rose grinned. That what everyone had said and she wanted to watch it. Now, she had Kalizda's attention and there was no reason why she should be be able to. "Fine...but you close your eyes when I tell you to. Got it?" Having gotten her way, Rose wiggled on the couch excitedly and played the hologram. Both of them barely made it past the first of Ira's lines before they were into fits of giggles. "Terran's are so weird...what is he wearing a woman's tiny vest for?"

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

Taking the hologram with the entire family was turning out to be an adventure in itself. All of the Chips returned from the bath house and gathered in the living room with somewhat blank faces. Did they not like having holograms taken? It was hard to tell and she wished the would look more...natural. Having such stern faces wasn't something she wanted them to be remembered by. "Um, maybe you could smile?" That comment earned her an odd shrug. This was probably going to be as good as it got. Flicking the hologram on the timer, she made a run for the crowd squeezed into the front so she could actually be seen. No sooner did she get into place, did her son tear away from her hand announcing the need to poop loud enough for all to hear. Calysta's eyes went wide but it was took late to catch him as ran toward the bathroom trying to pull down his pants at the same time. "Cypher!" The hologram made it's collection of images, one of which included her face turning red and her sons bare bottom retreating toward the back of the house. "When you gotta go, you gotta go," she smiled sheepishly to Edgar, "At least it got everyone to smile." Indeed the captures had turned out much better, catching everyone in some state of a smile.

As they gathered around to finish off cooking, Edgar mentioned something about a story regarding Illya who immediately winced. "Ah, no."

A wide grin spread on her face and she nodded. "Oh, I want to hear this." Asha was more than happy to humor her and Calysta paused in her setting the table to hear it. As his sister tattled on him, Calysta's smile grew unbearably big. It was exactly something Illya would do, and when she came to the end with him calling out to the diplomat his warning, she couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. She covered her mouth and giggled uncontrollably into her palm until tears sprang to her eyes and her ribs hurt. "Illya..." she snickered, "I'm glad your methods have improved." It was entirely a joke and she wiped at her eyes as they finished setting the table.

Thomas was sitting in at the table peeling omne fruit for the group and enjoying the show. It wasn't quite so fair that his son-in-law was getting laughed over. "Oh, Caly you don't have much room to talk on somethings," he chuckled, "That fence in the back yard was put up for a reason.."

"..Oh dad not that story..." Calysta grimaced. The memory still brought back some embarrassment and her face was already turning pink.

Thomas grinned. "Caly was a little younger than Rose is now, about 9 or 10 maybe. She had gathered up all of these spare parts and spent an afternoon while I was at work trying to build herself a flyer engine. I'll be the first to say, she did an excellent job." At this point Calysta's face turned a deep red. "Except some of these used parts she had bargained for off the docks had left over oil. The moment she flipped the switch. Well...kaboom. It made a nice crater in the back yard and launched her into Mrs. Neysin's thoryn bushes. Caly was missing her eye brows, her eye lashes and a tush full of thorns. We had cut off all of her singed hair. She ran around with her hair shaved nearly to the scalp until it grew again. And what was she doing the next week? Building an engine in our back yard all over again." Thomas started chuckling at the thought of his skinny little girl running around covered in grease with no eye brows and a wrench in her hands. He missed those days in some ways. She had been so determined and not long after had another round of sickness, but some when she was well, the entirety of Pyrta knew it.

They ate their snake dinner scattered around the house, and everyone having a good time. Stories were passed around as was Lohgan who treated to them all to a joyful dance with her tiny feet when Edgar held her up. She squealed with a gummy smile at the old chip her was her great grandfather and Calysta caught the moment on a quick hologram capture. Cypher toddled around sleepily after he ate his dinner and collapsed on the pile of several children who had already fallen asleep. They played a relay, 3 legged race to the end of the fence and back. It was no Chip obstacle course, but everyone had plenty enough to drink to make a three legged race interesting. Names of the participants were chosen at random and Calysta was paired with Ahlex. He was taller than Illya by a fair margin, but they weren't going to let that stop them.

Her knee was tied to his leg and she gave Illya, who was paired with his sister, a playful grin. "I'll see you at the finish line."

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

After the relay races, the party began to wind down and Calysta found herself being lead away by Asha. This was the most contact she'd had with with her sister-in-law since she and Illya had married. Everyone had gone well so far, but being pulled to the side put her on guard some. Asha could be stern when she wanted to be and try as she might, Calysta couldn't think of any reason for her to have anything bad to say. Standing in front of the tall Chip woman, she waited to see what this was all about.

"I looked all over yah house today. I examine yah way yah talk wit Illya. What yah do es nut like Chippequoti and yah house es nut like Chippequoti."

The words stung a little. She was a Chip in title but not always in practice. Her house was different and in a few ways, she was glad that it was. She didn't prefer the Chip way in some things because it wasn't best for her family or for her house. There was nothing but respect for Asha in her mind but it wasn't her job to approve of disapprove, even if it was out of concern. Calysta did the absolute best that she could and that's all there was to it.

A long pause fell between them, as Calysta stared, trying to think of how to handle this.

"Keep doing et. I never see meh broter so happy."

Calysta blinked at the woman in absolute surprise. Asha thought Illya was happy? That she was giving him a good life? Words like that coming from Asha meant alot. She raised Illya and acted as a mother when Yvonne couldn't be there, making her as much concerned with her brother's well being as anyone. Calysta stared at her sister-in-law for a long time before a smile curled to her lips. "Aye. I do my best, Asha. I do my best."

The party came to a dwindling end and when the last Chip went home, Calysta put the children to bed before passing Priscilla in the hallway. She had been quiet for the most part, but ventured a question as she retreated to her room. "Are all the Chippeqouti like that?"

Calysta chuckled as she walked up the stairs. "They're like anyone else and like no one you'll ever find."

It was a cryptic answer for a broad question and she scaled the stairs excitedly to find her Chip tucking Lohgan into bed. The urged to wrap her arms around him was too much to resist and she walked up behind him, sneaking her hands around his waist. "Ooh. I had fun tonight. Maybe you'd be up for a little more?"

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

The Terran Planetary Attorney General sat in his office over looking file upon file. This wasn't something he wanted to do, nor would he be popular with the decision, but the law was the law. With a long sigh, he typed out a message to the Kaerelean Councilwoman. This is an official order of extradition for General Illya of the Kaerelean Alliance and Chippeqouti tribe. An outstanding warrant is forthwith....

 

[Silence]

A little ding came through on Kalizda's pad part way through the night. Who would be sending them something like this so early in the morning? Illya grumbled and sat up when Kalizda started to read the message. Almost instantly he felt a flare of anger. "We jes go tah sleep and I write response later when we get up." Pulling his blanket back up he laid down in the bed next to her again. Part of Illya wondered if the Alliance would actually comply with some crazy demand like that. So many of the Alliance members had propensity to be fickle, but Terra was the newest member and they seemed to make an awful lot of demands for having only recently joined and been the ones that thought it a good idea to be accepted after they headed the attack that nearly destroyed Kinte. It all gave Illya a few ideas and he figured that he would make a nice reply for that warrant. His pad dinged a moment later. No doubt they were informing him that he was at danger of arrest should he be found within their territory again.

By the time morning came around Illya laid on his back and held little Lohgan on his chest for a few minutes. She liked her morning play time and just because the Terrans were making outrageous demands didn't mean she had to suffer. Illya handed Lohgan over to Kalizda only after she started to fuss and wanted to have her breakfast. "I jes go get breakfast for Cypher and Rose eh?" His arm felt good enough now that he could manage a few small tasks without making his whole arm flare into a giant ball of burning pain.

All through breakfast Illya was already considering how he was going to answer that nasty little warrant. Terrans always thought rather highly of themselves and they assumed that they had a lot of pull. Unfortunately they were going to discover just how little influence they had. It was a good thing for them that Kalizda wouldn't really allow Illya to go kill them himself, but he could make sure they were plenty afraid without him ever setting foot on the planet again. He wasn't playing their game, they were playing his. Finishing the last of his breakfast he got up and grabbed a little wipe to get Cypher cleaned off and then nodded to Rose. "Yah go ahead and play wit yah friends." It was the time off school and Thomas was busy sleeping in before he got his surgery. Cypher merrily scrambled off and went in search of his monster and snake to play with and then Illya grabbed his pad and started to write in Quoti.

To the Attorney General of Terra,
Highest regards from General Illya Black Wolf Augustus Octova of 21. I have received the warrant and have taken careful consideration before offering my response. Terra has long been an ally of the Federation. Only recently the Battle for Kinte gave proof of such. In good faith and mutual understanding between the Alliance and Terra as the newest member it would only be reasonable that Pytra requests the extradition of you're entire governing body as they are responsible for authorizing attacks that would be perceived as an act of war. If you are unable to extradite all such members from your governing body then I will propose a secondary solution to this minor issue. All Alliance property shall be returned. Any failure to do so will incur a debt that the Alliance will require to be paid. Scanning material, software and equipment will be voided and no longer serviced by the Alliance. Terra has maintained an unreliable record of support for free peoples. In light of this current situation it will be my sincere recommendation to the council of the Alliance to revoke Terra's membership to the Alliance. In the meantime I will give your office 36 hours to make a response. At this time I will refuse any orders for my recommendation to be extradited.

Looking forward to reading your official response,

THE GENERAL

Once Illya had the letter finished he handed his pad over to Kalizda. "I will nut change anyting about et. Terra cannot be trusted and I want yah tah make exact translation and send et."

 

[aryamajor]

The interruption in the middle of night was no welcome news and reading it aloud to Illya was frustrating for the simple fact that she disliked what it said. He didn't need to be dealing with whatever Terra could possibly cook up now, and yet here they were. At Illya's offer to go back to sleep, she nodded and rolled over toward him to seek out the warm places in the bed. There was no way she was going to give up her husband to the Terran officials. If it came down to it, she knew she would have to do what Harry suggested and call a vote of no confidence, or force them out of the Alliance, ending any extradition rights. To set foot on Alliance soil for him after that would mean war which would be a poor move for Terran home planet and it's colonies. Closing her eyes, she held onto him a little tighter and tried to sleep.

When morning rolled around, the day started like any other. Calysta kept her eyes closed just so as Illya played with their little girl. She could hear Lohgan's tiny feet patting on his chest, dancing away in happiness from all the attention. A sound that made her forget the Terran warrant for a moment and smile into her pillow. It wasn't until the girl got hungry that Illya handed her over for breakfast, then offered to help with the kids down stairs. "Alright. I'll be down in a few." While she was feeding Lohgan, Calysta talked to the girl. "Your Dah is in some trouble and we've got to go knock some sense into some silly boys on Terra. Yes, we do." She fed her girl, thinking over the situation and then wandered down stairs where she was greeted by her son with his monster toy clutched in his hand. "Mam! Pancakes!"

"Oh, they look good," Calysta smiled. She wasn't going to betray her worry to the children, particularly Rose, who was always concerned about Wolf even if she didn't like admitting in these days. They had their breakfast and she kissed Illya on the cheek before sending the children off to play and retreating into their office with him to address the issue from last night. He wanted to reply to this himself and while they all knew he wasn't exactly the best diplomat sometimes, this was something he should address himself.

She waited patiently for him to hand over his reply, then looked it over. It was strongly worded and not too unlike what she would have sent in most parts. It would be dangerous to revoke of the planets sensors though, and to do so would allow the Federation fester on Terra like a pimple until it popped. Many innocents would die, but this may also be the spur that the people of Terra needed. Henry had hinted at that to her before. Given a cause, Terran's would flock to it and channeled properly, they could be a powerful force. Catching Illya's green eyes, she nodded. "I have no intention of changing it." It was an honest answer and she went to work translating it into Terran. The translation was quick and when she was done, all they could do was wait. They would have plenty of waiting time in the hospital while her father underwent his bone marrow surgery.

Every now and then a message would ding on her pad, announcing another reply from an Alliance member. By the time they arrived at the hospital and got her father into the pre-surgery suite, she had multiple messages written in Kaerelean from all over the Alliance that she needed to translate for Illya. "I'll just be a moment," she nodded to her father.

She stepped out of the room to read the messages.

Sarai Mayrka, elected Head Matriarch of Uria remains faithful to the Alliance and it's protectors which have included the Chippeqouti for many years now. What has Terra done? All Urian aid will be rescinded at the 36 mark if the extradition order is continued.

Chief Tikan of Reylia, I hereby give my full endorsement to General Illya of the Alliance and Chippeqouti. Reylia never forgets it's allies.

Councilman Benjyi of the Yurian Order. Yuria is a redeemed planet within the Alliance and it with pride that we stand with General Illya against the order of extradition.

Messages continued to pour in, including a poorly worded, but effectual word of endorsement from the Aeriktans who warned the Terrans that pissing off the Alliance was a bad idea.

While Calysta was outside, Thomas waved Illya over to the bed, having already put on the papery gown and capped his greying hair. "You know, they said that his surgery will give me about 280 years," he whispered to the Chip, "I wondered if you might do one more thing for me? Surgery at my age isn't easy and sometimes things go wrong. I trust the doctors, but just in case. Do you think you might pray a little for me when they send me under?" He hated going under the knife. He'd only ever had one surgery and the anesthesia made him sick as a dog when he woke up.

About that time, Calysta came in and held up her pad with a proud tilt to her chin. It wasn't until the doctor came to wheel her father into surgery, that she kissed him on the cheek. She trusted the Ehaui and there wasn't much reason to worry, even though her father was nervous. "You'll be fine dad. I promise. Illya and I will be right here when you wake up, yeah?" Thomas nodded, and squeezed her hand before they rolled him away.

Once he was well under way, Calysta sat down with Illya in the waiting room and translated the messages. "I don't think we'll have to worry about the Alliance's opinion," she said with a small smile. Time ticked by and a few reports came from Terran news outlets.

The Attorney General was met without outrage outside his office today as protesters barraged him with questions and demands over his extridition order of General Illya. His only claim was that the law was broken and his actions were meant do defend Terra. Given the General's reply and the subsequent replies by other Alliance officials, one has to wonder if that's the case. While it's not possible to extridite the leaders the General speaks of, most of who are dead or serving multiple life sentences in Guantanamo, ending Tannas scanners and detection equipment aid would leave Terra virtually defenseless against an attack. The Attorney General is being supported by newly appointed President Mantz, the former vice president under Harry Kaito...


"I wonder what they will do," Calysta whispered as they watched.

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

The Attorney General sat in his office as the chanting of displeasure was ringing in his ears. He knew the decision would cause mayhem and that it would be difficult to stop the juggernaut that was the Terran public from rebelling. That was what was needed though. His official reply would not come from him, but the President himself. President Mantz took the stage at a press conference in direct response to Illya's letter.

"It is will great displeasure I stand where Harry Kaito should be standing to lead us, and I know that he will not be happy with my decision today, but we have been given no choice. This is our official exit from the Alliance who has not respected the extradition agreement within our..." The words began to drown out from the boo's and hisses. Terran's all over the world were commenting on every platform possible in displeasure, calling fraud and Tannas cop outs within their own government. "I urge the public to stay calm, as we prepare to defend our selves independently from the Tannas threat." President Mantz looked to direct to the camera on his last words. "I am here to protect Terra and affect changes in policy to that aim. Thank you for you time."

Shortly after the speech was given, a small message was sent to Illya's pad only. "Want to play a game of soccer? Meet me on Alpha Centauri."

 

[Silence]

It was a tough day. As if the extradition order wasn't enough Thomas was also preparing to have his surgery. Elpsbet had agreed to watch the kids while they were at the hospital with her father. Overall the procedure would only take about 1-2 hours. When Thomas stepped out in his gown there was a deep crease in his forehead and his eyes pulled slightly at the corners with worry. Why the man would be worried about this sort of surgery Illya didn't know. There were many kinds of surgeries to be worried about and personally he had thought that this should be something that the man would be more excited about and less worried for.

Standing near the bed Illya met his father-in-law's gaze and raised a single brow. "Yah want meh tah pray. I will do dis, but ets nut surgery tah be worried about. Very simple." He just wanted to make sure that Thomas knew it wasn't anything to be too concerned about. Cautiously he looked around the room and checked to be sure that there wasn't anyone else. Setting a hand on the bed railing Illya let out a long breath and then gave a short prayer. "Thomas's God, yah powerful. Yah protect meh men, meh children, and eh....Now yah holy man ask yah for protection. Dis surgery es good for him. Amen." Nodding to Thomas Illya gave him a lopsided grin. "Dere, ef yah God listens to meh yah will be jes fine."

While Thomas was in the surgery message after message poured in and Illya read the ones he could and had Kalizda translate the ones he couldn't. A final little ding sounded and Illya looked at his pad. A smirk came to his face. The President wanted to play ball. What sort of man thought he could by himself run an entire planet that was rebelling against him? As long as the people were displeased with the new President Illya was going to exploit it.

Illya flashed Kalizda the message and then he chuckled. "I tink a short response would be fine." Taking his pad he typed out a short message and then handed it to Kalizda for her pleasure of viewing. The message read, ______________________________________. Illya didn't even see the point in responding. He didn't have to play the man's game. What the public would be more interested in was the hi-jacked system override that Illya would get organized and then he would hologram himself into the major cities and make a final statement about the new president. There were plenty of smart Kaereleans that could do the hack. Right now there was just a considerable volume of work to be done on the side.

The most disappointing part about the rest of the afternoon was the fact that today was going to be an appointment day. Kalizda hadn't let him miss a single appointment for any reason. Even when his arm had hurt she made him go. There was one more hour to go on Thomas's surgery and then he would likely be in the recovery room for an hour before he was moved to his hospital room. Illya glanced at his pad after he'd sent the message to the president and then he growled. "I dun like dese tings." He was getting another alert telling him it was time to go to his appointment.

Taking himself out of the waiting room and down the hall he almost stomped with each step. He wasn't about to do this again. Writing it all out took forever and he hated it. Like usual the doctor had him review his last chronological entrance in his journal and Illya grit his teeth. While the patient looked over the last assignment the doctor calmly prepared to have him write the next piece. "The last few times I've noticed that you've been taking your time. That's good. I'm considering making longer time slots so you still have time to talk with me at the end." He half expected that the General would have snapped at him by now, but so far the man was very controlled and it was semi-difficult to work with them when they were this hardened. "Like usual...."

"I dun want longer meetings. Dis es shit!" Illya slammed his fist on the desk and he glowered at the doctor. "I'm tired of et. Yah jes make meh recall all dose tings dat I dun want tah tink about and den I get tah read et again dah next week." Rising to his feet he grabbed the paper journal he'd been writing on and he started to rip and shred the pages out of it. At this point he didn't care what it looked like.

It seemed that the General had finally hit his point after a few months of therapy. Recalling the memories was getting to the point that he was actually very angry and expressing it. "You're angry."

Illya took what was left of the notebook and slapped it on the table hard. "Yes!" Then in a slur of curses and cussing he let loose. By the end of the fit he sat down and then dropped his head into his hands. Whatever this was all supposed to do for him was impossible to guess. So far he'd only managed to feel worse in some ways and he just wanted to go. It felt like torture every single time he came into this room.

"Why are you angry?"

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

Illya hurried out of the doctor's office as fast as possible. He wanted nothing more than to get out. When he got back to the waiting room one of the nurses informed him that they had already moved Thomas to his hospital room. The nurse led him up to the door of the room and then stepped aside. Quietly Illya stepped into the room and he saw that her father was sleeping in a giant puff blanket. He'd be sore for a day or two and then the growth would start and that would be the worst of it. Taking a seat next to Kalizda Illya gave her a weak grin. "I need tah ask yah about a few tings. I tink I have plan on how tah deal wit Terra."

 

[aryamajor]

The mysterious message on Illya's pad irked her. Wasn't enough that they had killed the man? Now, they were pulling some cruel stunt like that and she found it in poor taste. Not only that but it challenged The General in a taunt. His reply was appropriate and she nodded in approval. They would give the answer of silence and let them get no pleasure from the attempt of riling them up.

They sat together in the quiet of the waiting room for her father to return from surgery. Despite how calm the surrounding room was she could feel the pressing air of tension growing with the knowledge of what was happening hundreds of light years away on the Terran home planet. Not terribly long after her father went into surgery did Illya's pad alert him that it was time for his weekly therapy session in the next building over. He grumbled to her about not liking the visits, and she was sure that he didn't but it was hard to tell if some of his ire was coming more from the situation with the Terran president then it was having to talk. Still, she wasn't about to let him skip a session. This was too important even if he did fuss at her. " I'll be here when you get back," was all she said in return. It didn't give him the option of not going And it didn't start an argument about whether he likes to go or not.

The minutes ticked by and she sat reading the messages as they continued to come in. It was an interesting moment when she thought about how far the Chippeqouti had come. It had taken alot to convince the other council members that they should allow them the contract for Nuen and now the entire Alliance stood behind the general and thusly the Chippeqouti. It was what she wanted for a long time. For them to be safe and have allies so that what happened in the first war against the Federation would never happen again to those people. There was a strange sense of accomplishment in that though it had not been an easy road for anyone. Now, it was the Terran's turn.

After awhile, her mind turned to Illya and what he was he was doing in therapy. Talking probably or thinking of increasingly elaborate ways to escape. Maybe both. She wondered what the therapist would say or what they even talked about. He had been through a lot, and much of it comprised of things that he didn't want her to know but had been honest about anyways. Had she been able to help him she would have. She just wasn't trained on such things and didn't want to make it worse, especially considering that they had been patching the issue for several years now.

After his hour was up, Illya settled next to her with a somewhat strained smile and she knew no matter how badly she wanted to ask about therapy, that she couldn't. It was less curiosity sometimes and more concern, but either way the urge was there and had to be denied. Instead, he started asking her opinion about Terra. Shifting in her chair so she could see him better, Calysta met his gaze with her grey eyes. "What did you have in mind?"

Kalizda would give him that look. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but he knew she would move past whatever it was in a few moments. When she asked the question he nodded slightly. "Michelle gets in contact wit her people. Den I talk wit Harris too. Dey collect as many people as dey can and dose dat protest Terra government now take transport to oter planet outside of Terra and make settlement. Den I have small range of Alliance fleet waiting after dere es attack from Nova pirates. Nova's take dose critical tah operations first and dah rest are picked up after Alliance supposedly moves in tah defend Terran's dat protest dey're government."

She listened carefully to his idea. What is sounded like was he wanted to give amnesty to those who would oppose the government on Terra without out right doing so, due to the exit from the Alliance. It would certainly keep more real Tannas and Federation threats on Terra where they could enjoy the government. When he referred to Harris she could only assume he meant Finnegan instead. Harris was the priest and undoubtedly would have no sort of connection. Then again the man had surprised her before. "It would weed out potential issues and it could be alot of people, but the Alliance would offer amnesty to those in opposition. Where would you propose taking them after that?"

"Dey can't all fit here." Illya knew that Pytra was already piled full, but they had to get somewhere that wouldn't be in Federation territory. "I tink maybe we call in favor wit Elizabet Taggart. Maybe her planet has room for more of dah people and we monitor dem tah be sure dat dey're safe." Illya didn't know how well received that sort of idea would be, but he knew that he could pull it off if he wanted to. They just had to have some sort of backing to do it.

"There may be well into the millions of people judging by what I'm seeing," Calysta thought aloud, "We're talking mass exodus." Terra wasn't like Kaereal in the sense of land space. They had far more people packed into a square mile that Kaereal could support on a single continent. "We call Elizabeth and Sarai. The Urians will have space as well as Tikan. Though I'm not sure how Tikan will take to having Terran's as well as the old Qouti on his planet."

Illya shook his head. "No more on Keareleal and no more on Reylia." He was solid on that. Those areas were already full. "I told yah dat Elizabet would be meh first choice den we can call Sarai. Dere will be enough space for dem all between dose two."

He seemed firm in his decision and in her mind it wasn't an altogether bad plan. It would at least keep the people safe, as many as they could anyways. Her mind worked out the logistics and came up with two more crucial questions. "Which planet do you propose making a settlement for the Nova's to attack. And did you have an idea on inspiring them to move. Terran's are stubborn and they tend to root in when they have a cause sometimes. They may want to stay and fight it out with their government."

Kalizda was picking at the plan and he knew that her questions were reasonable. Overall Illya couldn't congratulate the Terrans on much of anything and their intelligence was one thing he could with confidence say was lacking. "Every passenger dey take will surrender all goods of value to dah Nova's. As for dah people et es only dose dat want tah leave. Dat's why I have Michelle and Harris get dem ready. Dey know dat the planet Xyo jes sitting on fringe of Terran and Alliance territory will be dangerous. Jes a few hours before we take dem I broadcast message dat es hijacked over all Terra. Et will bring new surge of unrest and den we take dah people from Xyo. Strip man power from Terra and whatever people are stubborn and remain will be outraged wit dere president. A few weeks later dah president dies."

He knew how he was going to motivate them once they were on Xyo but not how they were going to herd them onto the small settlement there to begin with. They would have to rely on their contacts to do that. "If Michelle can get in touch with the right people, I think it's possible to get them moved to Xyo. Maybe remind them of amnesty with the Alliance first. Coming from me, that would motivate them I think. I tried to reform the government myself and had good people, but many have been killed because of ignorance and corruption. Their government must reform from the grassroots and I think your plan will help keep as many innocent lives safe as possible."

"Good, den yah make sure dat yah get people motivated to Xyo and I take care of dah rest." Illya fully intended on having an order of assassination for the president Muntz. He had to be Federation for the way he was playing his cards. That was if he even needed to follow through on the order. Outing him just a few hours before they took the people might be enough that the Federation would do the job themselves or one of the people.

"I'll make my announcement through the hologram when we get home." It felt better knowing that they had a plan of some sort and that is was going to be able to help as many people as possible. They couldn't save everyone but they could help, and perhaps that was enough. Her hand slid over to Illya's and curled over his fingers with a gentle squeeze. For whatever was going on in therapy and for what they were about to do, she was there with him.


Thomas woke and the first thing he did was groan a little. His mouth was dry as a desert and his head was aching already from the anesthesia, just like it had 30 years before. "Caly?" The words came out a croak. His daughter's face appeared and he gave a grin which turned to be more of a grimace. "Water?"

Calysta reached over to the bedside table and picked up the plastic cup with room temperature water, angling the straw so he didn't have to move for a drink. He sucked down a few good sips then let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Thanks, Caly." His throat felt better and he shifted as if to sit up, only to realize he was bound in a fluffy blanket. A somewhat drunken grin spread over his face. "I'm in a jar of marshmallow fluff, I think." It was the only logical explanation for feeling so floaty. His daughter snorted and urged him to go back to sleep. With his headache, he was more than happy to obey that command, drifting off quickly now that his mouth didn't feel full of cotton.

She sat the cup down and checked her father over before walking over to Illya. "We'll be here over night I can stay with him in the chair. If you want to go home and rest." It wouldn't be good for his back to grow stiff from sleeping somewhere he didn't have to. "If you want to stay, I can go home and get the blanket and we can sit together."

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

Getting home was as she expected. Her father stayed wrapped in his puffy blanket and their two guards helped carry him in to his room where he would be for quite awhile till his growing pains were over. "Thanks, Asher...Caleb," she nodded to the two Chips, before turning to her father. "Are you comfortable, dad? Do you need anything?" Thomas shook his head at first, as he tried to shift in the blanket a little, then a thoughtful look spread over his face. "If it's possible, could I have a SPAM sandwich for dinner?"

Calysta swallowed a grimace at the thought of the slimey lunch meat. "It's not good for your..."

Her father gave her a sad, somewhat grumpy gaze. "I know, but it sounds good and it's something I'd like."

"Okay, I'll make you one. Lots of crema right?"

Thomas nodded eagerly. His daughter knew him so well, and soon he would have a delicious SPAM sandwich with extra mayo in his hands. As she left him to go make the food, he settled back into his puffy blanket and tried to relax. It wasn't long till his eyes began to droop from the medicine as he fell asleep.

Calysta and Elpsbet made dinner together, and Calysta fixed up a SPAM sandwich just for her father when he finally woke up. Rose was talking all about her newest story, while Cypher discovered he had a regretable taste from for Thomas' favorite lunch meat too. "I think you'd better stick to berries," she winked at her little boy. Lohgan was happy as ever as Illya fed her dinner. As they ate a few messages came through on her pad, but she ignored them till their night was done. Her family was important and not letting work interfere in some moments unless they were dire emergencies.

"You wrangle the kids, and I'll check with Michelle and Finnigan, yeah?" She would probably have to translate the messages and that would take a moment.

Michelle: I have found a few contacts on Terra, most of whom say there's a man in the underground helping prepare people for this. He's been on the scene for a month and goes by the name of Yuri. I reached out to Yuri and only got a message a short message of cooperation in return, but he seemed to check out and he's popular on the shadow networks. Finnigan came up with the same results. All of his major contacts are preparing for the worst and Yuri's name was the top mention. If you're going to organize the opposing Terran's it sounds like this man is the way to do it.

Sarai: Housing any incoming Terrans has been approved through the martriarchy on the condition that they abide by Alliance, and Urian law. Ports will be opened at Wynela and in Eryan.

She quickly translated the messages from Terran and Kaerelean to Qouti for Illya and sent them to his pad for his review. With her father asleep and the children put to bed, Calista went into her office with Illya and closed the door behind them. "It appears we need to reach out to this Yuri if we are going to organize these people. He's some sort of underground leader, a counter culture within Terra. What do you think?"

Nodding at his answer, she ran a hand through her hair and tried to recall the what she was going to say to the Terran public. It wasn't long, but there was always something that felt a little strange about mass messages like this. In some ways, she still didn't feel qualified to speak like this. She was only a pilot at heart. "I'll make the announcement for amnesty and we'll see what happens." It took only a moment for her to fire up the hologram projector and for her to look decent enough to broadcast. Rather than sitting behind her desk, she stood in front of her bookshelf and addressed the Terran president as well as the public.

"Citizens of Terra, I make this address on behalf of the alliance and its members. What's in the last 48 hours your government, your president, has delivered to slap in the face to an Alliance with which they had once been a member. Your government commits collusion with an enemy that has given you death at every turn, and they have tried to turn you against those who wish to help. The General's offer still stands and is backed by the Alliance in full. Your security equipment will be locked out at the end of the 36 hour mark and the Attorney General's order for extradition is no longer recognized within our borders. I know that many of you do not agree with the actions under President Mantz and support the policy of your past leader Harry Kaito. It is because we recognize this, that I'm able to offer amnesty to those wishing to escape Federation territory. Amnesty will be given to all those who report to the fringe planet and colony on Xyo. It is my firm wish to keep those who are innocent safe and Alliance amnesty has always come with protection and I hope many of you will come to Xyo with the idea of proving that Terran's are truly better than those who run it's government. Thank you."

Once she was done, the hologram projector clicked off and she looked to Illya, hoping to see some sort of approval. "It's done, and I can only hope it's enough."

She offered her hand and they went upstairs to bed without speaking much. They were both tired, a bit anxious to see what would happen, and all there was left to do was wait. As they laid together in the dark, Calysta leaned up and kissed Illya on the lips gently. "You're a good man, and I'm proud you're mine." It wasn't exactly how she was feeling, but it was the best she could think of to say and have him understand.

Partway through the night, her pad dinged with two alerts. One was a news alert describing a sudden explosion of activity at the docks. Terrans had gone to their ports all over the planet and were trying to leave. In some places, they were being stopped by the government and in other places they had over run their own police in the scramble to leave. There were were riots and calls by the local officials to remain calm, to stay on the planet, but it was far too late. They had been whipped into a frenzy by the assassination of their president, the exposure of the Federation, and the offer for a home with safety. The second message was encoded and meant only for them.

Michelle: This just came to my pad------"To Xyo we go, General. Thank you for what you are doing and I look forward to meeting you. -Y"

 

[Silence]

Illya worked his jaw when she finished her little speel and then grabbed his hand. Involuntarily he pulled his hand away and then marched up the stairs behind her. Once they were in the room he went straight to the closet and started to pull out his fatigues and get changed. He already had his pack out and his armor. "Why did yah have to broadcast dah whole damn ting over Terra? What dah hell were yah tinking?"

When he jerked his hand away, she gave him an odd look but didn't say anything. What in the Wilds had gotten into him? Had she done that poorly? Considering how nervous she had been, she thought it had gone rather well. As they went up stairs, she could feel his growing anger until they made it the bedroom where he started for the closet, pulling on his fatigues. Then suddenly, he was biting her head off about the broadcast as he grabbed his armor. Frowning in confusion, she walked over to him and put a hand over his pack. "Illya, you told me to get the Terran's to move, they wouldn't have moved for less than that. I'm doing the best I can to get them out of the Federation. Of course, I was going to broadcast it. Otherwise it wouldn't have made it through the media sensors?"

The anger was already surging through his veins and Illya turned sharply when she stepped behind him. "No, what yah did was sentence all dose people tah die. Yah didn't ask meh about dis. Yah like wortless soldier. Orders are no good when executed out of time. Dis was nut tah be said until I had men sitting near Xyo. Now yah jes alert dah entire damn Federation! Dose people will get tah Xyo before I can get men dere to protect dem and den et'll be a damn bloody battle. I can't trust yah wit plans ef yah can't even talk wit meh before leaping to yah own damn idea." Snatching his sword he strapped it on and started for the door "I jes pray tah yah fater's God I get dere before all Terran's are slaughtered. Federation dun need anymore men tah fight. Dey won't let dem go."

She had never heard him speak like that to her, even when she crashed landed on Quoti. They met her like a knife to the heart and the shock quickly turned to anger and fear. "I did what you asked me to do! You asked me to inspire them to move and I did. I told you they were stubborn and it would take something big. I didn't leap to my own ideas, it was YOUR idea. I trusted you to know what you were doing!"

Illya pointed a finger at her and yelled right back. "I said I would make dah hologram and I asked yah tah make contact wit Michelle and Harris. Lay blame where yah like, but dis was nut meh order!"

"I'm not laying blame, I'm trying to tell you what you asked of me! You wanted me to remind them of amnesty! I did. You asked me to make contact with Michelle, I did. You asked me to get them to move. I did, " she said meeting his finger with a fire in her eyes, "And it's not Harris, it's bloody Finnigan. His name is Finnigan and if you're going so am I. " She had done as he asked, and didn't like it, but that was his problem. She had trusted him and he'd not liked what he ordered, that was his problem. He was under alot of stress, and she knew part of his anger was stemming from that, but what he'd said was absolutely inexcusable. Turning on her heels, she snatched her bag out of the closet and started strapping on the pack with a ferocity.

"No!" Illya almost shook with rage. "Yah said et would be good tah remind dem of amnesty. Who cares ef yah offer amnesty, but yah tell dah entire Federation where dey go. Ets same as signing dere deat warrant." When she walked over he pushed her right back in the room. "Yah stay here. Dere es no room for yah on dis mission now. Ets bloody mess and I dun have time tah keep yah safe. Neiter do dah men."

"Don't push me," she growled, " I did what you asked, and I'm going If I make a mistake. I fix it! I'm not asking you to keep me safe. After all, I'm worthless!" Calysta slid past him waving off his hands and daring him to touch her again.

"I did nut ask yah tah talk. Dat was yah idea and ef yah get in a damn ship and follow us den yah better be prepared for meh nut tah come home. I can't live wit woman dat trows meh entire plan out for dah world and den abandons our children all in dah name of being hero. Yah fix yah problems right here and yah tell meh what happens. I need precise information." Pushing ahead of her Illya pulled his pad up and made a round call to his unit. Speaking in Quoti he started rattling off his orders. "I need 30 of my elite, half the unit of advanced troops and enough Kaereleans to fly. 30 minutes to the docks and it is not a drill. Be advised there will be no council presence allowed. It is a risk level 1."

Calysta's fists clenched in rage and she wheeled around on him, red faced and angrier than she had ever felt in her entire life. Yet, he'd finally manage to make her do something she'd reserved only for people her made her the angriest, and had never seen. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at him, brushing past her. "I didn't throw anything out to the world, I did as you asked. You wanted the Terrans to move and I did what I had to do to accomplish what you asked. You would really hate me enough not to come home because it's not what was intended?"

Glancing at Kalizda he shrugged. Illya didn't have time for this. There was a lot to be done to make sure they could make good on the promise of the Alliance. They weren't anywhere near ready, but neither could they pull out now. People were already moving, too early and the entire Federation had time to prepare for them now. It was a half way point and it was going to be a race to find out who could get there first. The fleet with him and the ground soldiers would be enough that he could take it in a flash hit if he had to. Illya didn't want to risk anymore men than he had to. At the same time there was a good chance that they could meet stronger opposition that what even a strike team to could take. Many of the other planets and areas of Kaereleal would be a few days behind them, but they may need it if they got stuck. "All oter available fleets, be prepared on standby." Illya gave the order through a mass message sent out through the Alliance. "Strike team 1 is on the move toward destination amnesty." That had become the code name.

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

Kent stood in the room with a giant smirk. A common mistake with politicians and diplomats. Transparency it was a beautiful thing and it was exactly what they needed from the Alliance. "Ooh the young heroine of the Chippequoti. I think they have only realized now how dangerous it is to have outsiders speak on their behalf." Looking to one of her officers she smiled. "That clip came in only half hour ago. I need a few tracers on the exodus of people. Don't try to stop them anymore. Just follow. The Alliance can leave them for the slaughter or they'll race to beat us there. Either way we'll be waiting for our cue."

The whistle had been blown on them and it could have been dangerous, but now she knew the reason for the people leaving. "Freedom isn't free. That's what they tout and say. Oh and it's so true. If only they understood." Nodding to the officer she watched him get up from the table. "Remember I want the new weapons focused on settlements and I want my destabilizers ready." They didn't need invisible ships when they had a simple infusion concentrated in their guns that would destabilize any ship without the Tannas coating. It was a new sort of weapon she'd had her scientists working on. What good would the entire fleet do if they arrived, but found themselves grounded? All they had to do was let the Chippequoti fight their way through the lines and hold enough space to make an escape before they released the weapon.

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

Maintaining communication with Kalizda was limited to only business. Illya didn't even want to talk with her. Written messages as were necessary for the mission were all he needed for now. How could she do something like that? What possessed her to give away their location? It was like signing a death warrant and every man on this mission expected to die, get injured, or at least go home without some of his closest friends. Every now and then Illya would catch a look from Ehvan. Even his men cast accusing looks and Illya knew why. He and Kalizda were agreed and he couldn't throw her under the bus. All it meant was that he talked to the wrong person and he knew better. It was the risk of allowing someone who didn't understand war to hear anything about it.

Another call came on his pad and he saw it was Kalizda. Punching the button he ended it and shoved the pad back into his pant pocket. He couldn't answer these kind of personal calls when he was on a mission. All they needed to know was that the location was changed and Kalizda passed on the word. Hopefully not through another public broadcast. This time he made sure to instruct her to make it only through their contacts and added a special note that location in any kind of public broadcast was strictly forbidden.

They would be coming up on the target planet of Delma soon. As was expected the Kaerelean pilots stated that there were already Federation ships in the air. "We'll secure a path through and get a few men on the ground to get the people out." The voice over the intercom sounded and Illya nodded to his men. They were ready to drop on the ground and ensure it was clear. So far it looked like they were arriving at approximately the same time, but it would take a few days at best. There were so many people in the settlement and the the Kaereleans were already preparing to hold the sky for long enough to get reinforcements.

A Federation pilot glanced to one of the others. They had a one hour standing order. All they had to do was put up a regular fire fight before they released the new weapon. As the hour drew near to an end they watched the ships drop down to the ground. There were men funneling out of the ships and covering the town. It was too bad they wouldn't get back off the ground. Finally they gave the signal. "Alright time to canvas the area." The weapon let out a short burst and temporarily disabled the ships in the air. Another burst sent them plummeting. "This is ship Alpha to Base. Weapon is a success. Fire ground missiles at the ships and disable permanently when the sky battle is over we'll send in a clean up crew for the ground work." The men on the ground weren't getting back out. As long as they could keep them there the Alliance would pour their resources into getting them back.

Illya saw the missiles begin to aim for the ships on the ground and he began directing his men toward different sections of the settlement. So far as they could tell it was empty except for the Federation soldiers. A sweet smelling scent filled the air around him and then he felt something push down his throat. Illya only gagged and coughed for several minutes, but one of his men behind him gurgled and spat before he hit the ground completely blue in the face. It was the Tannas. They had invaded the area and only those that were part Tannas or survived the wilds were going to survive.

Drawing his sword Illya charged for the nearest missile. He didn't have time to check and see if he had any men following. They were all dead men if they couldn't get back off the planet and right now the only way to ensure that they could get off was to disable to the missile launchers.

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

It had been 4 days of constant fighting on the ground. They were running, hiding, and dodging in and out of the settlement. What was left of the Terran people were those hidden in the forest. Ehvan stared at their frightened faces with irritation. These people could hardly have been considered worth the risk. The General was missing nearly 2 days now and he was the acting commander. Pulling his pad out he walked a few paces until he got enough signal to pass the message on to Duncan at Pytra. "Duncan, the General is missing in action. We're stuck on the ground. Only way we're getting out is by disabling the weapon from the ground. We've been working at taking the outposts and destroying stations. As acting General I'm giving you this order. The Alliance is failing. Move our people off Pytra. Take them to a secure location. Do not give directions to any man, woman or child to reach the location except under order 7 section 2 of the code."

Duncan watched the hologram a few times through to be sure that he had it right. They were going black. Like they had when they first went to Quoti, only this time they were doing it before the Federation was on their tail. Not even the men missing would be able to come to them without making contact through secure lines and then meeting a team that would scan them and put them under surveillance and questioning for a week before they would be allowed.

Since it needed to remain as quiet as possible Duncan sent word through the Elders. It was the choice of the Elders to round up the people and determine the best way to inform them. Late in the evening they all packed what belongings were necessary into small packs and took what remained of their wealth before they wandered out in a systematic and practiced stream. It appeared random as people would take out what appeared to be garbage sacks that were filled with their packs and belongings and then drop them in a garbage transport. The transport after it registered the last of the bags rode out to the edge and a group of men unloaded it and piled all the belongings into 2 different ships. It wasn't optimum, but two ships would be far easier to slip loose than to try and explain more. Nobody had to know that they were going under cover. There was a traitor among them and they could not risk any further exposure.

Edgar stopped by the house mid-day the next afternoon. He was going to give Elpsbet a chance to leave before he went with the others, but he knew that it wasn't likely she would go. When Kalizda opened the door he quietly stepped in and asked for Elpsbet. "Come walk with me, Elpsbet." The two of them left the house and he spoke with her for a few minutes. It was as he expected, she would not leave the house. "Very well, but you know that the betrayal of the Chippequoti came from Kalizda." She had proven to be very dangerous and a reminder of why they had not ever fully adopted an outsider before or since her. Those living in households with them were leaving, but they were given strict instructions never to speak of it. Only the Dark Chippequoti and a few loyal Light Chippequoti were leaving.

After the little talk Elpsbet knew that Chip village would be silent by nightfall. It would seem to go to sleep like every other night and then when they woke up she could tell Kalizda what happened. Why it was strangely quiet. They did not warn Kalizda because she was a traitor in their eyes. To be shunned and Illya was no better for it. From living with them Elpsbet knew that it could not have been intentional and there were many others that knew as she did, but it did not change tradition.

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

Tabit had taken to strolling Chip village from time to time, but it was strangely quiet. There was no one there. The houses were all the same looking, but there was an eerie feeling. Poking her head in one door and then the next she called out, "Hello?" Her heart started to beat faster. What was going on? This had to be some strange and horrible dream. Where did they go? Where was everyone? It was disconcerting. Even the guards that usually stood outside of Kalizda's house were gone. Walking up the front steps she knocked on the door and waited until she heard the familiar squeals and running feet of the children. As soon as the door opened she glanced behind herself and then back to the person standing in the doorway. "Where is everyone?"

 

[aryamajor]

That shrug made her feel sick. He was just going to go because things hadn't turned out the way he wanted and he called her of all things, worthless. She was not worthless.
She had done what he had asked and the Terran's wouldn't have moved for less than what she had said. Isn't that what he had wanted? She had thought he understood what he was asking for her to do! She had trusted that he knew what he was doing. And then he had done this?

He was already out the door and gone, so all the remained was for her to try to fix what she had done. Could she fix it? She had to try. Sending a message to Michelle, she had an order to be sent to this Yuri contact. Whoever they were they could make the change in location. But where to send them? She tried to focus and think where would be the easiest to get to for Illya and the furthest from the Federation? Another colony on the Fringe, this time in Kaerelean space, at a bare colony called Delma.

Calysta sent the orders to Michelle, who took only a few minutes to relay them back to this Yuri person. She could only hope they made it in time. Next, she tried to video call Illya only for him to deny the call. "Just pick up!" She tried again only to have him deny her. He was angry with her, and in part she understood and in other parts, she didn't. Couldn't he see she was trying to fix this? Finally, she pecked out the message on her pad and sent it off. Delma is the new location. Coordinates: 344,009* 554,778* I love you.

She was angry, but she was also scared. He had walked out the door admitting to hating her and she may never have seen him again. All night, she paced and waited for a reply to her message. It never came.

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

The reports coming in from the Fleet were horrible to read and yet she made herself keep reading. All through the day and into the night, she read the reports and watched the holograms as she paced. This was her fault. All her fault. Why hadn't she understood? People were dying because of her and she couldn't stand it. Her eyes searched for any sign of Illya, though she never heard from him or saw him. There was plenty of other gore to read about, and she would make herself read every last bit of it.

When Loghan cried, she fed her and held her. When Cypher was hungry she cooked, and when her father needed something she brought it. Otherwise, she stayed shunned away in her office with her baby girl close by and watched. Everything she ate returned to her mouth, ending up in the trash can by her desk, and when she wasn't pacing, she was tearing at her hair, trying to ignore the sounds in her head. The sounds of screaming that were rising higher and higher. All she had ever done was try to do the best she could and yet she had failed time and time again. She had failed with Wynt...Markus...Yvonne...Maks...Harry....and so many times with Illya. Why? This was one failure she couldn't swallow or forgive herself for.

On the 4th morning of the endless vigil, Calysta wobbled down the stairs and spied Elpsbet at the table. She had to fix breakfast for the children though it was early and none of them were awake yet. Walking over to the cabinet, she bumped into the table, and gave Elpsbet an apologetic look. "I'm sorry." The words came out a rasp, barely audible, as she turned back to the cabinet.

There was no point in sitting around and doing nothing. Breakfast was as good a start to any day as normal. When she saw Kalizda step into the kitchen she quietly nodded. "Aye." It was all she could manage to say for now. In many ways she felt badly for Kalizda. The woman, like the rest of Pytra had no idea what happened last night. Eventually it would strike her that there were no sounds outside in the street.

She reached for the tea box with shaking hands, and tried to pour up some of the brew into the tea spoon, but it spilled everywhere. Sighing she swept it off the counter top and tried again, this time, managing to get most of it in. Then she picked up a pan and started making Cypher's favorite breakfast of blueberry pancakes. He liked extra blue berry in his, so she poured in more, then started making the cakes slowly. Methodically. It was all she could do at this point that felt normal. When they were golden and fluffy, she put 4 plates on the table and filled them up. A stack for Elpsbet, a stack for Cypher, and Rose. She put 2 on the plate that she gave to Asher in the mornings she made them, then headed for the door. "Asher?" her voice was hoarse as she poked her head out of the door only to find he wasn't there and neither was Caleb. Had they been called up? Setting the plate down on the table, she grabbed her pad to check for any updates and found none. Maybe Elpsbet had heard something? Calysta stumbled into the kitchen with a terrified look in her eye and looked to the Chip woman. "Did something happen in the night? Asher and Caleb arent there and there's no alert from my pad. I only passed out for a an hour two."

Quietly Elpsbet took her seat at the table and started to work at the thread for her weaving project. In part she wondered if she made the right choice or not. There was no one left of her family, but now she was here with strangers for a people. She didn't have anyone to weave for either. When Kalizda stumbled back into the kitchen she lifted her eyes momentarily before looking back to her work. "They're gone Kalizda. All of the Dark Chippequoti and only a select few of the Light Chippequoti. You were not alerted because you could not be trusted."

The words were worse than knives digging into her heart. That screaming, the ever present screaming in her mind grew 10 decibles louder, drowning out everything. "I-I-I've done everything I could to protect them..."She had no idea how loud the words came out over the roaring in her head.

"Chippequoti never reveal the location of a military operation. Putting it over public broadcast was violation and then you promised our help, our blood for a people no longer in the Alliance." Elpsbet swallowed and only looked up briefly. "It is considered a betrayal of all those who were called to fight. We will honor our vows, but it was a failure of the Alliance and the Chippequoti have hidden themselves. I do not know where they are. They will fight the Federation, but they will not mingle with outsiders again." It was the most basic explanation of what happened. "Kalizda, you have been exiled."

You have been exiled. Exiled. Exiled. She knew what it meant and they were the last words she heard before her eyes rolled into her head and she collapsed into the floor.

Elpsbet set her work aside and walked over to where Kalizda lay on the floor. Picking the little woman up she took her to the couch and laid her down on the sofa before returning to the kitchen to peel the burned pancake out of the pan and start a new one. Cypher would be getting up soon and she knew the boy would want to eat.

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

When she woke, her head felt light as if someone had filled it with air...and then suddenly it all came crashing back. She was exiled. Untrustworthy. Worthless. Her friends and family had left her, just like that. Something she knew would happen in the end. It always did. Rolling off the couch, she stumbled to her feet, only to be met by Rose who was giving her a concerned look. "Are you feeling better? Aunt Elpsbet said you weren't feeling good."

Calysta stared numbly at the girl. Her child who was there and now had no family. Because of her. "Uhuh."

"You don't look like you feel better, do you have a headache?"

Calysta shook her head silently and stumbled toward Lohgan's little seat where she was happily staring up at her Mam. She bent down and kissed her head tenderly, then looked at her son who was pulling toys out of the basket. She couldn't bear to say anything. They had nothing and it was because of her. Walking toward the door, she opened it up and Rose called out to her. "Where are you going Kalizda?" Even hearing that name made her sick.

"Just...just for a walk, yeah? Around the Edge for some fresh air. "

"Okay." Rose nodded and looked back to her pad to continue writing. When Wolf went away like this, Kalizda got sad sometimes and went for a long walk to feel better.

Not long after, a hard knock echoed the house. "I'll get it!" It was Rose that answered the door, pulling it open with her metallic hand, and gave a quizzical look to the tall Chippeqouti woman. "Hi Tabit. "

Tabit smiled at Rose briefly. "Is your mom here?" She figured that if anyone knew about the strange occurrence in Chip village her friend would. Kalizda knew almost everything it seemed. As the council woman she was privy to almost all knowledge of happenings on Pytra.

The girl shook her head. "No, she said she was going for a walk on the Edge. Why?"

"Oh, never mind. I guess I'll try back later." Tabit shrugged and started her walk back into town and home. The boys were getting a little fussy anyway. All three of them hanging on the front of her got a big heavy after a while.

With that taken care of, Calysta wobbled weakly through the utterly empty Chippeqouti quarters crying and pulled at her hair. The walk to the Edge seemed to take hours, and yet in reality it was 20 minutes or so. She found the old omne tree, dead at the roots. Even with the attack on Kinte it remained with it's roots buried into the Edge. Dead yet unwilling to surrender to the Wilds below. Her hunger weak limbs stretched out shakily as she climbed onto the branch that overhung the misty abyss below and leaned against the trunk. This had been her haunt when the purists beat her, chased her down and tortured her. It was a refuge and a tempt at fate when she came here. Would the branch break? There had been so many days she wished it would snap and send her tumbling into the Wilds. Especially, on days they found her there, throwing rocks to knock her off and yelling terrible slurs like halfbreed and worthless abomination. She had tried so hard to give a good life to people who needed it. To show that she could be something more than they said and to protect her family. She had asked for too much, flying to close to the sun. The Chippeqouti were gone and Illya would never for give her if he came home at all. The children would grow up in a broken home just like she did. Because of her. She loved them all but...she really was worthless.

 

[Silence]

Illya threw himself into every bunker and Federation line of defensive he could. He didn't want to be reckless because he wanted to make an impact, but he didn't want to go home either. This was going to be exile if he lived. Dying here was the only way he could have redemption. They would not forgive him for this kind of mistake. The blood of his men were on his hands. Talking to Kalizda had been his failure. Their conversation played over and over in his head. Why didn't she think about it? Why would she assume that the Federation would just let the people go? Was it even reasonable to think that the Federation would let that many people flee when there was a potential that at least half of them would become soldiers that they would have to fight? This was a war. It was a different kind of diplomacy and one that he saw outsiders fail time and again. Even Harry failed. He didn't really know how to collect the information or from whom and it cost him his life. There was too much with these other peoples. They had become weak after their decades and centuries without war. Sometimes a war was a good way to combat weakness and laziness in a people.

Sitting inside the bunker with the gun Illya rained bullets and fire down on Federation soldiers charging up the hill. It was a slippery mess by now. The side of the hill slimmed with the blood of the dead and becoming a treacherous avalanche of bodies. A shattering blast of bullets started to pound against the side of the bunker. One of the other guns had turned on him and he flinched momentarily. It was just instinct to flinch when there was heavy fire like that.

Days on end of killing and fighting left Illya feeling exhausted, but they were nearing the last of it. Waves of Alliance ships had come and faced the Federation head on. This wasn't the sort of battle that was won. Both sides would leave with damage. It was the first major conflict in the war and it was over a few civilians that weren't even of value besides the fact that they would be bodies on the battlefield. Someone was going to recruit, train and then have them fight. Neither side wanted to have the other take them. The Alliance needed every man that they could get.

A crunch sounded behind Illya and turned around sharply. There were men closing in and he couldn't have them throw a grenade into the room. Drawing his sword he abandon the gun for just as long as it would take him to step out and finish the group. Federation soldiers started to open fire as soon as Illya lunged out the door. The metal of his armor tinged with each bullet that bounced off and he swung the sword at the men. What most of them never realized was that guns were only good at a distance. In close range like this a sword was a far better weapon. Men were coming around the edge of the gun and Illya knew that if he couldn't get them away that he would be over run in a matter of minutes. Even if the hill was covered in blood it wasn't going to hold back the enemy.

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

With the battle finally over Ehvan loaded all the remaining Elite except Illya into one ship and then left. There were still dozens of Kaerelean vessels prepared to take the remaining refugees to planets where they would be checked in and then assigned to training programs. Illya waited till the last ship and then he reluctantly boarded it. Despite all his best attempts to put himself in difficult situations and places to hold he had pulled through. It was all with barely more than a nasty flesh wound to his right thigh. He could go home and there was no telling what the Kaereleans would do. He was left to their mercy now. Perhaps it would be better to resign from his position and simply promote Kirit to the General of the ground forces.

The Chippequoti would take care of themselves and Kirit would understand the ability of the men he trained a little better now. It would just be one or two branches and Illya could simply fade. He didn't want to be in the spotlight anymore. There was enough shame as it was. For the 4 day flight home he remained on his bunk and stayed quiet. He had one letter to write and he made it in Trader's Tongue so that everyone could understand it.

Alliance Council,
In the face of failure, shame, and loss of trust, I, Illya Black Wolf Augustus Octova of 21 resign as General of the Alliance forces. It is my recommendation to promote Kirit to the position of General. He has shown significant progress and excellent ability to lead an army.

Now that the message was sent he leaned back into the bunk again and hid his eyes in the crook of his left elbow. He didn't even care to see the men in the bunks across from him. Illya had only cleaned up out of necessity before boarding, he hid all signia of position and he chose a bunk in the common area. There was too much shame to even want to claim his name. They had met the Federation head on when they shouldn't have had to. It could have been another clear victory for the Alliance and instead both armies limped away. It only delayed the inevitable. All of them would draw back and re-build their forces. Dropping off into obscurity was the only remaining option. They were going to load into that ship and fly. Illya wasn't going to be part of this war and he didn't want anyone to remember him. If he could just be another Chip and cease to exist then it would be better.

When they arrived at the port Illya got off with the other Kaerelean men. Slowly he walked into the Chip village. It was silent. They were all gone now and the bath house was empty. Stripping down he washed with the spare bucket and cloth. The oils were sitting in his little slot and he moved it to an unknown box. No one needed to know that he was here. His throat tightened slightly as he took himself to the bathing section all alone.

To be exiled was the worst possible punishment. He knew better than to show his face when Ehvan collected the men. They would have looked for him if he was to go with them, but they didn't bother. Illya was an outsider now and he didn't have anyone except for Kalizda, Rose, Cypher, Lohgan, and Priscilla. All the years of fighting, the blood, grief and pain had been for nothing. It all had fallen away in just a few fatal seconds. When he finished washing Illya got dressed, but he sat alone in the changing area for men. Already it was getting dark and he didn't care. His back hurt, leg hurt, arm hurt, most of his old injuries hurt and the fresh one.

After what felt like hours Illya shuffled toward the pub. They looked like they were mostly empty by now. It was dinner time and the men had gone home to see their women. Sliding into the corner seat at the counter he waited for the bar tender to offer a drink. "I'll have five tahnight." Illya guzzled one after another until he knew he was completely drunk. He wasn't even sure where he was going to stay for the night. He didn't want to go home and face Kalizda after all this and he certainly didn't want to end up somewhere that people would talk. Somehow he still ended up fumbling around at the front door. Finally it swung open and he saw Elpsbet there. Instantly his stomach sank because he knew by the look on her face what was coming.

Elpsbet stared at Illya for a long moment and her eyes narrowed before she slapped him hard across the cheek. "How dare you show your face here." Still standing in the doorway she continued rattling off in Quoti at him. "It would have been better if you died than to return with this kind of disgrace." After a long moment she stepped aside and let him in, but she was leaving. She couldn't live in the same house as a coward. He didn't even have the courage to die on the battle field. It would have offered limited redemption and Kalizda could have had some peace. Instead she was to be saddled with a miserable failure. "You do your agreed no honor by coming back. I'm leaving tomorrow."

 

[aryamajor]

Calysta's days turned to the same routine. She got up, took care of Lohgan. The girl missed her father and there was nothing she could do to fix it. Nothing at all. She fed her, held her close, and then checked on Cypher. Her sweet boy would wake up soon.

She fixed breakfast for them, Elpsbet and Priscilla included, in utter silence. Her boy would tug on her pant's leg asking for berries. She gave them to him without reserve, then checked on her father. He was fussing about the growing pains, and knew nothing of what happened other than what she told him. Illya was gone on a mission. "Well, I'll pray for them all then," he grunted back. All Calysta could do was nod. "Aye, pray for them all."

Next, she drank a cup of tea, the only sustenance she could manage to keep down, and picked up her pad with blank eyes. She read report after report of the carnage. It was more than she could bear and sometimes her eyes would cloud over or she would lose track of all time. Finally, she would take a walk out to her tree and beg for the branch to fall. Was it suicide if it did? Would her father's wretched God care? Nobody else would for certain.

After an hour of sitting, she stumbled home and played a wooden game of 'monster' with Cypher before cooking dinner. Kirit sent multiple messages to her which she ignored. Sarai and Tikan too. Some were in concern and others were in need of answers. "Do as you see fit."
That was what every message recieved in return. One mass message came from Illya announcing his loss of trust in the Alliance. What he really meant was loss of trust in her and she knew it. Even if he was alive he would hate her and that knowledge made her tear at her hair all the more. It was all gone. If Illya did come home he would take the children too because she wasn't to be trusted. Worthless.

Days passed and she had taken to sleeping on top of the covers, too ashamed to use the covers in her empty bed. Calysta rolled over, twitching at the sound of voices down stairs. There shouldn't be any voices down stairs, but there were, and she needed to make sure no one was here to bother them. The purists might come or somebody else. Crawling off of the made bed, her shaking limbs didn't want to work at first and she held the banister more for support than anything as she wobbled down the stairs with her pistol in hand. Not that she would be any good with it right now.. Her gaunt face peeked around the corner with the gun out at first only to see Elpsbet standing there looking furious. Why? It wasn't until her pained eyes slid over to the open door that she saw Illya standing there, staggering with a red cheek. The gun clattered out of her hand to the floor as she let out a cry, tears instantly springing to her eyes. For what she didn't know. He had come back alive and she was never more relieved or more ashamed for him to see her face. All of it exploded out as the gun fell to the floor and she tried to make her way over to him.

At the sound of the gun clattering to the floor Illya edged along the wall. He just wanted to sleep somewhere quiet for the night and staggered slightly and tipped over. Falling on his butt he rolled his eyes and started to half crawl toward the sofa. It was too hard to keep his balance and he could hear Elpsbet stomping past Kalizda and up the stairs.

Elpsbet brushed past her without a word and Calysta had no idea what happened, other than she could tell Illya was drunk. Hurt and drunk as he made his way over to the couch. She walked over, bumping into the arm, and looked at him hardly believing he was real. "Illya?"For as angry as he was Illya knew Kalizda was all he had left and despite all that he still loved her. At this moment there was too much to say and he couldn't really get it out. Slurring and slopping through words in a strange mix of Trader's Tongue and Quoti he finally laid down on the floor. "Ahmmmm ex...ex. Ahhl of ets gone." Taking a deep breath he pushed himself up and swayed in place even where he was sitting on the floor and stared at her. "Yah still love meh?"

It was all her fault and he was the one asking if she still loved him? How? Why? He was so drunk and heart broken she could hardly stand to meet his eyes. She at least owed him enough to look him in the eye. Tears streamed down her face as she half collapsed on her knees beside him, forcing herself to look at him. "I still love you, Illya. I always love you, even if you hate me," she said thickly, "I love you so much."

Tipping to the side he mashed his face into the side of the couch and he sighed. His breath was thick with the scent of the alcohol he drank and Illya nodded a little. He was too tired to stay awake for much longer. Slowly he started to slide forward and ended up half falling into Kalizda before he pushed himself upright again. With a lopsided drunken grin he tried to get to his feet and only accomplished falling backwards onto his butt again. "Ugh..." It was jamming his back the way he kept falling, but thankfully the alcohol was dulling that pain.

Calysta couldn't pick him up from the floor if he kept falling, but he was shaking the whole house and she didn't know what else to do. "Illya, stay there." He would hurt himself worse if he kept going. She snatched a pillow from the couch and tossed it next to him, then put a hand on his shoulder. "Lay down, yeah?"

A frown came to his face when she told him to stay there. He really needed to get up. Instead she tossed a pillow and he tried to catch it, but he missed the pillow and it flew right past. She was a terrible throw. How could she have missed him when they were so close? Then with her single hand she pushed him over and he grabbed her hand once his head hit the pillow. Holding her hand close to his face he examined it for a long moment. She sure got stronger too since he was last here.

He grabbed her hand, and she thought he would push her away. He should have. Instead, he held it and examined it for a long time. "Illya, do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?" Her bony fingers slipped through his hand brushed over his red cheek.

The focus on her hand was hard to keep and he frowned in concentration when she started to talk to him. "Mmm..." Letting her hand go he rolled to his side and got to his feet again and stumbled toward the back door. He needed to pee and he couldn't remember where the bathroom was.

"No..." She couldn't manhandle him as he tried to get up. Wherever it was he was going, he was determined. She followed him, trying to make sure he didn't hurt himself. He made it to the back door and as he walked out side the chickens clucked a warning in their coop and Cin the bear came barreling around the corner. "No, Cin!" Calysta put her hand up between Illya and the bear, to keep him from tackling her drunken husband, but he bowled her over, making a beeline for his momma

Illya couldn't even get the fly on his pants open. He was struggling with it and then he got tackled to the ground. There was a lot of sniffing and grunting going on right above him. Grumbling a little he elbowed the bear and tried to sit up only to have Cin knock him over again. Stumbling to his feet he staggered back over to the edge of the deck and shoo'd the bear away while he fought with the zipper on his pants. After what felt like a ridiculous amount of time he finally succeeded.

Calysta cracked her head on the patio hard enough from the force of Cin's tackle, she felt warm wetness sprout up at the back of her head. It sunk her into a daze more than she could recover from for a moment as she rolled over in the dirt. Having been denied his mother's love the bear came sniffing around her before crying out for the person he really wanted. Not even the idiotic bear could want her. She let Illya do his business as her splitting headache zipped through her head, and she summoned whatever want she had left to crawl up to her feet.

When Illya was ready to go back into the house he held onto the railing and weaved his way up the steps. It was a tremendous accomplishment all things considered. The house felt nice and warm and he started toward the stairs. He just wanted to go to bed.

She crawled to her feet and followed him until he started toward the stairs and a panic hit her. There was no way he was going to make up those and she sure as the Wilds couldn't help him. "Illya! Stop right there!" Her free hand reached out and grabbed his on the bannister. " You're not going up those stairs. Go to the couch and I'll bring your blanket."

"Why?" Mumbling at Kalizda he turned around and swayed his way over to the sofa. Collapsing on it he half buried his face into the cushion and then promptly fell asleep.

Calysta winced when he asked why. "Because I don't want you to get hurt. Not anymore." She finally got him the couch where he fell like a boulder. At least he was asleep. She stumbled up the stairs and washed off the back of her head. It would start bleeding again soon, but she held the gauze tight, sopping up most of it before going upstairs to their bedroom. She wrenched the heated blanket off the bed and returned, casting it over his mountainous form before collapsing in the floor beside the couch crying with her head in her hands.

She cried into her hands until exhaustion took over. Her bloodied head ached, but the pain in her chest was far worse than she could admit. Illya was home for the children and she would be truly alone. All the more that she deserved for her mistake. That was her burden and her curse and believing she could have been anything anyone was the greatest comsic cruelty that fate could have designed for her. Despite the fact that she had no right to feel it, she loved her Chip.
Slumping over, she gave away for a stolen hour of sleep in the floor.