Colliding Worlds

Stepping out of the ship had been wild enough, but the bridge moved and Illya wasn't so sure he wanted to cross it. Couldn't they have just flown to the other side and let a ladder out? Sometimes his leg would give way if things twisted funny and the bridge looked like a prime spot for that to happen. Kalizda had whipped across it like it was nothing and then asked him what he was doing back here. "Admiring the view!" Yelling back to her from across the bridge he wandered a bit closer and peered over the ledge. It was more than far enough to break his legs and probably his back too.

The Chip started out on the bridge while holding onto one of the rails that also wobbled with an iron grip. He almost gave himself a rope burn just by virtue of the fact that he didn't allow his grasp to loosen at all. When he crossed he joined the woman and that peace was left alone only for a short time.

Illya looked down at the little girl that held his hand and gave a light tug. Her hand wasn't even close to being able to reach across his palm. Perhaps he fingers could wrap around 2 or 3 of his fingers. She was a very unusual tint. He'd never actually seen a child so pale and healthy looking. To counter all that she had pale gold hair and beautiful blue eyes. The child was very pretty despite her strange qualities. All her language was impossible to discern and he felt her tug again at his hand. Looking over at the captain for some help he finally understood what the girl wanted and he barely nodded and the girl started to drag him with her.

Apparently there wasn't time for him to even ask what exactly this 'little race' entailed. It felt like a million eyes were on him and more than likely it was true. This little girl was barely to his hip and and then she didn't look anything like him. Somehow this little tradition was feeling more unsettling and then he arrived at the field with her where they were preparing all the little flyers.

The girl's flyer was a small open machine and Illya carefully got into the back. It felt ridiculous with his knees almost to his chin. Other adults looked far more comfortable in their machines, at least their knees didn't come up quite as high. Illya shifted some though it was very little since his shins were pressed tightly against the girl's seat and then he had to somehow strap himself into the seat that he barely squeezed into. His hips were pressed tightly to either side. Almost having to move out of the seat just to buckle himself in he finally nodded to the girl to let her know he was ready. She put on her little goggles and handed a set to him.

Whatever it was that she said just before the machine was turned on and started hovering he didn't know. For the first leg of the flight they were skimming just above the ground at a nearly ungodly pace. Illya at first noticed that they were left behind though it didn't seem to phase the girl. Instead he watched her little hand fly over the controls and change some settings before they started to fly through the greenery and then whip past the others. Just speeding through the first part was fine and then they started to lift in unison with the other flyers. Peering over the edge of the craft he noticed that they were gradual and it didn't feel like the ascent had taken him so high, yet when he peered over the edge they had certainly climbed to an incredible altitude.

A yell from the front drew his attention again and he saw her pointing to a small console where she grabbed a mask. At first Illya took a few moments to find his which happened to be where his shins were pressed against her seat. Struggling to pull his legs apart he ended up sitting with his legs now pressed to either side of the machine while he dug for the mask. The straps that went over his legs and then one around his waist seemed to dig in as he shifted in the seat. Taking the mask he slipped it over his head in time for the girl to look back at him and give him a thumbs up. Illya gave her a smile as best he could from behind the mask and returned the gesture which wasn't at all what he thought. Instead they climbed even higher and he grabbed the center of the seat with his only spare hand and held on tight. A few seconds later she put her thumb up again and he just nodded. By now he was doing his best not to think about how far down it was and the fact that he only had tiny straps digging into his legs to keep him in the ship.

The girl called back to him and pointed to him and herself when she motioned to the side. Illya followed her lead and held the seat even tighter as he leaned to the side. It was enough that they turned upside down and separated from the others. With a little rocking they righted themselves again and the girl gave him a giant beaming smile. She seemed so pleased. Perhaps it was a shortcut that they had to reverse the polarity of the ship for? That was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with for something like that to be done.

Both of them came tearing through a sheet of water and then the girl pointed for him to lean again. Reluctantly Illya nodded and leaned with her. Both of them swerved this time directly in front of the lead racer. As they came near the end of the race the girl took the machine in a harsh dive toward a tube like thing. Illya ducked with a yell that was muffled by his mask.

If he hadn't seen it coming he might have gotten decapitated. That kid must have forgot to tell him to duck, but at least he was in the business of self preservation today. As they were funneled through the tubes he pulled the mask off when he saw the girl put hers away. With the rapid decline he felt like the straps were going to saw his legs off and they were working their way inward. When they landed after what felt like forever the girl bounded out of her ship and over to where he was sitting all munched in the back. She was anxiously pulling at him and Illya couldn't even manage so much as to move his legs. Reaching over with one hand he forced it between his hip and the wall of the ship. After a few moments the latch released though it wasn't without some revenge. Part of the metal snapped back and hit him across the stomach which was still bruised.

Now that he was free of the straps Illya grabbed the side of the ship and began to worm his way out of the seat. When he finally got himself free of it his legs were partially numb and he gimped his way toward the large stadium with the girl. She proudly tried to lift his hand which only brought it to his shoulder height. With a sigh he bent over and grabbed her with one arm and held her on his shoulder. Waving her tiny arms in the air and showing off her trophy she rested one hand in his thick black hair while calling proudly in whatever language it was she spoke.

Finally it seemed she was ready to come down when she tapped his head a few times. Illya got to one knee and let her slide down his right shoulder since that was currently the uninjured side. Before he got up she grabbed his face and pulled him closer. Her tiny little lips planted a gentle kiss on his cheek and then she released the stunned Chip.

Illya wandered off the podium and into the crowd to try and mingle. He didn't really hide that easily in this setting and it seemed that Kalizda found him soon enough. "She's a good flyer." Illya said with a hint of relief. "I uh...Dose tings about sawed meh legs off. Th-thought I might lose meh head too on dat last round."
 
Calysta had watched the race and the trophies given out from the back of the crowed. Illya looked both surprised and a little relieved as he walked over to her mumbling about the seats. "Yes, but you made an very happy little girl. She wouldn't have been able to fly without you," she replied with a chuckle.

Reaching down to the inside of his legs he rubbed. "Dey need bigger seats." His legs hurt and he pulled his pants away from the inside of his legs. Though they weren't tight pants it still felt like there wasn't enough space after that very tight little belt.

She laughed a little and shook her head at him, ignoring his pants. "There are bigger flyers, if you're up for it, or are you looking to keep your feet on the ground the rest of the night?"

"I'm not good enough to fly." Illya looked at her and then decided maybe it was best not to dig at his legs like that. Probably looked like something else.

"You would be with me,"she replied, with a grin, "If you're up for it. There's a race coming up soon. Decent purse that could buy your books...and dinner that didn't come out of a can."

The temptation of books and food that wasn't out of a can was more than he could turn down. A grin came to his face and he tilted his head. "Ugh...Yah know I can't turn dat down."

Calysta's grin grew wider and she waved him toward the milling crowds. "Lets go win then...friend."

****

She lead them through the curving streets which were filled with Kaereleans and aliens alike. People were dancing on the corners to live music played with string instruments and drums, adding to the pops and echoing booms of the fire works. Children scurried here and there in groups, giggling and whooping as they played games of chase. Night was beginning to fall, but the party wasn't slowing down If anything, it was becoming more raucous as the evening drinks were being poured up.

The air field lay ahead and unlike the children's track, this runway stretched across a flat open area, reaching all the way to the Edge. Opposite the Edge were tall metal stands filled to the brim with people cheering and waving banners. Racers, most in jumpsuits were walking along the runway or at the their assigned flyers conducting pre-flight checks.

Walking over to the Entry table, she spoke in traders- tongue to the fair-haired man behind the booth.

"Is it too late to enter?"

"One spot left, you want in?" he asked, looking her over and catching her eyes.

"Yes, plus the co-pilot," she replied.

His eyes shifted to Illya with a skeptic look, then back to her as he pushed 2 forms across the table.

"Alright, write your names and home planets on the roster. Your flyer is number 11. Fair winds."

Leaning over the table, she scrawled their names and home planets on the sheet of paper using her father's native language:

Kelly, Earth.
Ian, Earth.

"Fair winds," she replied, before walking away and waiving at Illya to follow.

Their flyer was a sleek black machine, enclosed to the elements by a clear dome over the cockpit. It was obvious the flyer was built for reaching high speeds and excellent maneuverability. One of her favorite closed flyers. This would be a speed and reflex race and she couldn't wait to get behind the controls.

Reaching up, she unlatched the dome over the cockpit, lifting it up and found their helmets and com-sets in the small seats.

"We don't have too much time before the race starts," she commented, grabbing one of the helmets and handing it to Illya, "Go ahead and put this on and get strapped in while I do pre-flight."

Leaving Illya to nestle into the seat, she went about the standard checks; fuel, control response, engine warm-up, and baseline instrument readings. When that was done, she pulled on her own helmet and strapped it on with practiced fingers before looking to Illya who was crammed into the seat again.

"This race is going to a bit faster than the girls," she warned him through the com-link, "Keep your head on the back of the seat and help me look for the race markers. You'll also be in charge of monitoring our systems while I guide us through."

Then she climbed into the cock pit and strapped herself in quickly, then lowered the dome over them. Crack. AHG!

Rather than closing, the dome bounced back up with a violent jerk and Illya yelled over the com-link. "What in the Wilds..."

Wiggling in her harness, she craned her neck to glance back at Illya and found his green eyes glaring at her while he rubbed at the dome of his helmet out of instinct.

"Sorry! I-"

"Racers, report to the line!" blared the intercom over the stands.

"Duck."

He wiggled down in his seat, his knees jarring the back of hers. She couldn't tell if the move was out of necessity or on purpose in response to accidentally hitting him in the head. At least he'd been wearing a helmet. Trying again, she lowered the hatch and this time it sealed with a sucking hiss. With the engines warm and purring, she taxied them over to the start line, waiting for the signal to begin. The adrenaline rush was already starting to flutter through her heart as she gripped the thrust and joy stick controls. Auto-pilot was a wonderful invention, but nothing compared to a manual flight using your own reflex and skill.

Three lights at the end of the runway would signal the start of the race. This is where she had been hundreds of times, ready to race. Ready to fly.

Yellow..
Yellow..
Green.

With a laugh, she jumped the start and throttled the engines. The force slid her firmly back into her bucket seat as the screamed down the runway and lifted off into the air. Illya let out a string of curses in his language and the traders-tongue. Some she was positive she had never used in front of him once. Where had he picked those up? It was too late for him to turn around now.

The ground was long gone, but the flyers remained side by side until the first path marker was seen blinking to the right of the black horizon. The other racers banked slowed a bit and banked off to meet it and she followed suit. The plane tipped to the side and she banked around the first turn and then hit the speed again, jetting out of it.

The markers took them in weaving pattern, pitching them one way or the other, but her transitions stayed smooth and her speed stayed at the top of the scale, dropping only long enough to shave past the next marker. The other racers stayed at her heels, sometimes coming close enough to almost touch wing tips. Illya spotted the next marker and it was much higher in altitude. Almost to the edge of what the flyer was capable of taking.

She pulled the speedster into a vertical lift, pushing it higher to reach the next marker. However, her co-pilot was heavier than the others and it showed as two of the other planes jetted past her, headed for the next marker. As the red-lit marker blinked and they arched over it becoming semi-weightless, she glanced up through the dome. Stars dotted against the velvety black night above them as Kaereals two small moons, Sarai and Maroe greeted them.

"Hey, Illya! Look up!"

They hovered for just a few brief seconds more before she spied the final green marker far below them. Hitting the thrust, she dived down quickly gaining on the two that had passed her by. Illya's weight had become the advantage. The flyer picked up speed again, hurtling faster and faster toward the marker. Her heart pounded in her chest, as a thrill coursed in her veins, better than any drug. "Yeaaah!"

The force pushed against her chest as she zipped past the two others and cleared the finish line a nose before them. It had been far too long since she had a good race and to win it made the fun all the better. As soon as she was past, she brought the speedster level over the mists that shrouded the Wilds, laughing without reserve.

Slowing them to a more decent speed, she brought them back to the run way. A part of her wished she could stay out in the air for longer, but the flyer had to be returned for the next race. With a gentle hand, she descended to the strip below and the flyer's shocks barely bounced as she landed, pulling the craft to a stop.

The roaring crowd grew immediately louder as she popped the hatch and unstrapped herself, before pulling off her helmet. Her short hair was wild, poking in every direction as she flipped in her seat to look at Illya. He was looking up at her with an unreadable expression on his face and she beamed at him, offering her hand.
"We won! Books and real dinner tonight!" she exclaimed breathlessly," ...Are you okay?"
 
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Markers had passed much faster in this machine than they had in the other. Illya was almost sick feeling by the end and he stared listlessly at the back of her seat once they landed. This was something he wouldn't repeat unless he had to or unless there was some serious reward. The sudden yelling from Kalizda came through his headset and in the normal range. Taking his helmet off he stared at her for a moment longer. An idea came to his mind and he decided to see what she would do if he attempted a joke. Either he was so good at them that folks didn't catch on, or that was meaning he was bad at telling jokes. "I dun know." Grunting he started to pull himself out of his seat and he knew he would be walking awkward again for a few minutes following the ride. "Think I shit meh pants."

Keeping his regular serious face he studied her for a moment. It was almost like she was trying to decide if that was the case or not. There was always one way to tell. If he reached for her hand that she was still holding out and she recoiled then he would know she fell for the joke.

Her eyes went wide before she realized he was kidding, even if he did look paler than when they had taken off. "Aye, you look it," she said with a sly grin.

A smile started to break out on his face when her eyes widened. Her response was far too quick and he didn't know what to say so he laughed. "Aye, I probably do."

He started to laugh, which only made her smile grow slightly from embarrassment from having almost believed him. "C'mon and lets go get those winnings," said with a wink as she stumbled out of the cock pit. Her own legs were a bit wobbly from the run and she could only imagine what Illya was feeling. She offered him her hand again, now that she was out on solid ground.

It was going to be fun taking her hand since Illya knew she was far too light to actually help. "Ehhh.." Forcing himself to reach over the edge of the ship he took hold of her hand and pulled slightly and bringing her closer to himself. "I tink we ought to get dose winnings and den maybe we go get da book first?" He didn't want everyone here to know that he was getting books since it seemed it might be out of place and with the slight hint to her cheeks he figured anyone might think he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

His hand grabbed hers and she started to pull, but suddenly found herself against the ship, and his face close to hers. Too close. Her cheeks started turning pink as she looked in his eyes and listened to him talk low "Yes, that's fine," she managed to nod, "Books first."

Since that was all settled Illya let her hand go and he pulled himself out of the seat the rest of the way. He was still stiff and sore feeling. There was very little to do for that. In fact his knee was beginning to ache and his legs hurt. Illya didn't find it entirely surprising considering the fact that he had been crunched into very small seats. This time when he took the podium with the winner it felt like there were even more eyes on them. It was as if some had noticed the pattern that both racers he was with took first place. As far as he was concerned it had very little to do with himself. Silently he followed behind the woman and let her do all the talking and accepting the prize.

Once they were off the podium Illya took the half of the money that she offered him as part of the win. First he wanted to get a few books and then with what was left he had some other plans. Following her through the winding streets he finally came to a store near the corner of a distant street. Inside there were millions of books on shelves everywhere. A momentary awe struck Illya and he stared about the room with a mostly lost expression. He hadn't seen so many books since the burning and even then it was a distant memory.

A man approached them and he cleared his throat. "Are you looking for something?"

Illya blinked a few times and he looked at the smaller man in front of himself. "Eh..I uh....Yah have books on flying in trader's language? I'll need a book reviewing the basics of a ship and how to assemble and fly it. Da best yah have for an academy." It was the only excuse that Illya could think of and if the man was competitive he would have hopefully several versions and one that was preferred among only the best schools. Illya only needed one of the repair and make up the machine and only one on flying. From there he would put together the rest of his plan.

"Of course. You're looking to buy the entire curriculum or just examining the books for content?"

Since he offered more choice Illya decided he could play along pretty well. "I tink just reviewing content for now."

Nodding the man finally stopped walking and plucked a few books from the shelf. "Here they are. If that's all I can help you over here."

Illya glanced at the woman quickly to see if she approved of the man's choice and then he followed the man to the counter with his books. It didn't seem to matter that the shop keeper hadn't likely seen the games, he was still staring. When they had finally left Illya wandered back to the ship with Kalizda and while she was taking care of the cat he made his way out into the streets again.

On the corner he'd seen a vendor with some beautiful chains. Something he personally thought she would like. So, Illya bought one that he figured would match her dress well. Packing it carefully into a box he snuck back into the ship. While he was trying to find a hiding spot for it in the kitchen he heard her coming in and instead pulled the box from the secret cubby he had found. "Eh...I was digging around in here taking inventory to know what foods we need. Found a little spot and dis was stuck in it." Handing the box to her he waited for Kalizda to open it.

When she pulled the necklace out of the box Illya smiled. "Looks like it went with da dress. Suppose a dignitary would wear it? Might get us someplace special tonight if yah care to put on the dress with it. Yah looked good in the dress eh?"

She held the necklace in her palm. It was delicate and beautiful. She had never worn much jewelry because it wasn't Skycorp protocol, and she'd always been a bit odd when it came to finer points of being a woman. Men usually regarded her the same as them, and her long hair had been an effort to change that. Her eyes drifted from the necklace to Illya's and she raised a brow. "You found it in here?" She asked curiously, "And you want to go out?"

Nodding a little he gave her a serious expression. "Et was in the kitchen and I want to go have dinner and den wheedle our way into a balloon. A clean one." Illya knew from watching earlier in the afternoon that many of those who got in the baskets were dirty or puked and he figured if she was wearing a nice dress that maybe they would be more conscientious." With a little shrug he continued. "I tink mebbe we get to survey the city from da top. Could be helpful."

She gave the man a cautious look, tilting her head to the side a bit. It wasn't like him to simply do things without a reason, except for when he was drunk apparently. She was half tempted to ask him if he'd had one already. "I didn't think you'd like to do things like that. Do you really want to go?"

"If I see the city from above I can chart a fast route through it." Illya gave her a concerned look. "Maybe I noticed some folk staring and if dey th-think you're a dignitary they might be more careful and we can finish business here."

She sighed and slipped the necklace into the box. At least he'd been honest with her. "Right," she nodded, "Lets go then."


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

It was a little strange to go eat a dinner with someone else again. For the most part Illya was quiet and he enjoyed his meal. Whoever did the cooking knew what they were doing. As soon as he finished his part of the meal Illya waited for her to finish and then he offered her a hand. Despite the fact that he may not look like one that knew how to act like he was escorting a dignitary he actually did.

Silently he walked with her till they reached a balloon and then he let her stand slightly off to the side and behind while he approached the balloon flyer. "Da Lady came for da festival. She fancies a ride in yah balloon."

"That's 50 Rupies." The man looked at the two of them. It appeared they had money and he was going to take as much as he could from the lady.

Illya gave him a look. "Hmmm." Walking a little closer to the balloon he peered inside. "I see filth. That how yah treat royalty? Yah lucky she fancies dis one. She can't even lean against the edge of dis basket without ruining her dress. 50 Rupies, huh!" At least it seemed to get the man's attention and he began to scrub the basket down and it was likely going to be the cleanest it would have been all day. "I pay yah 30 Rupies for dah ride and I attend to her." Before the man could question Illya gave a matter of fact remark. "I'm her bodyguard." Despite the broken arm he knew he was still somewhat intimidating. "Only a few days back a stone faced monster came for dah lady. If yah be trying anything I still have a good arm."

In short time Illya was helping her load into the balloon and men on either side were nearly falling over themselves to help the pretend royalty enter the basket. Illya stood near her and let Kalizda point out the different landmarks of the city while he enjoyed the view.
 
Calysta went to her quarters and pulled out the dress, laying it across her bed gently and looking it over. Illya had another one of his ideas and she hadn't asked him exactly what it was yet. He had only made it clear that he would be using her as distraction tool to get the information he wanted about the layout of the city. The idea put a little damper on going out looking so nice because it would be as a show rather than just to enjoy, but she would play her part as best she could.

She slipped on the dress and quickly realized she had no slippers to go along with the get up. All she had were her regular Skycorp issued boots with scuff marks and frayed laces. At least the dress was long enough that it covered her feet, hiding the clunky boots, but picking up the skirts to walk would be out of the question. With the dress on and tightly laced, she slipped the necklace around her neck and fumbled trying to clasp it. Her thin fingers flicked open the delicate chain but she missed the eyelet and the necklace tumbled down her collar bone and between her cleavage into the dress bodice. "Damnit!"

Bending over some, she tried to fish the necklace out with one hand, while the other held her middle to keep the thing from falling any further down.
With a few shimmies, the chain dropped out and she caught it, holding it up like a victory ribbon. "Aha!"

After another battle with the chain, she managed to get it clasped, leaving the sparkling jewelry to rest just at the hollow of her throat. Then combed her black hair until it was smooth, even without its length. A quick peak in the mirror revealed, to her surprise, somewhat of a woman. Her hair was cropped short, but she had feminine facial features and the dress gave her a figure. The red-shade made her grey eyes and long lashes stand out more than they already did. She felt...pretty.

out into the corridor and found Illya waiting at the ramp, leaning against the wall. His eyes locked with hers for a moment and the blood rushed to her cheeks.

****

Illya picked The Fiynr, one of the nicest places in the city and one of few restaurants that carried meats as a part of the menu. He opened the door for her with his good hand and she kicked out her skirts, walking though the door until the toe of her boot snagged her skirt. "Oofh.."

Pitching forward with a yelp, she stumbled into the restaurant, then snapped herself up right with a wince and flutter of skirts. The receptionist stared at her and as did some of other patrons, most of which were wearing gowns and suits too.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, cutting off any questions from the worker.

They were shown to a table with white table cloth and a little old-fashioned, flame lantern flickered next to the specialty menus. The menu was written entirely in Kaerelean and Illya seemed content to let her order for him, so she picked out a dish of zyan steak, vegetables, and bread with sweet cream and she ordered the same for herself. He spoke little during the meal which was a compliment to the chef and to her selection for him. A Kaerelean's had an old saying that a quiet dinner table filled with food, was a good meal. Everyone is too busy enjoying the fare to think of anything else.

His quietness also gave her a chance to listen to the other diners. Ones that were affluent, and informed. Two men in suits with their wives were talking in Kaerelean at a larger table nearby.

"...the Cirellants are still trying to negotiate..."

"...miracle considering the circumstances...."

"...the faction...."

"Yes, they say that woman is one them..."

" ...running from Zkree..."


The conversation was too mixed with the slow music playing in the background to hear much more. Cirellants. A race of insect-like people closely tied in business with the Myraxys and the same she had been escorting the Kaerelean delegation to meet on neutral ground. Their Terran treaties had come under strain because of attempts to make treaties with the Cirellants and she knew anti-treaty parties had been stirring for a few years regarding the fact. Terrans disliked the Myraxys and Cirellants for their policy on slavery, and made it clear, while Kaereleans kept a neutral stance in the effort of peace. Neither condoning, or condemning.

Judging from what she had heard, the dead diplomat must be a Cirellant, and they think she was the one who had done the deed. But why her? Anyone who looked at her would assume she was Kaerelean, but she was half-blood, a Terran mix, and a perfect scapegoat.

The idea of it made her appetite waiver, but at least she knew more about what was happening, and possibly why. When the meal was done, and the plates swept away, a glass of spiced-cream liquor was brought to them, and she was grateful for the alcohol for once. Illya seemed to enjoy his, but took the small glass of it down in a matter of seconds, while she sipped on hers. The man waited patiently on her and when she finished, he offered her his arm. Apparently, Ill-mannered Illya did know how to behave himself more than he let on. His slyness and sudden charm made her chuckle under her breath a little as he escorted to the balloons.

****

Illya had the pilots in charge of the balloon rides fumbling all over themselves trying to get the balloon ready and she had trouble holding back her sheepishness. Her face turned a telling rosey color as she watched them. She stumbled over boots slightly getting into balloon and she latched on to Illya's arm to keep from falling again, which made her face light up all the more. Luckily the workers were too busy running around to notice her 'royal' clumsiness.

Calysta leaned over the railing of the basket, the wing catching in her short hair as they rose higher and higher. The city was just far enough below to see the buildings and the lights in their entirety against the back drop of the stars in the sky. She pointed out several buildings. The terrace in the center of the city, the Skycorp headquarters, and the University then she pointed to a large round building near the center of the city with a sparkling top.

"That's the library," she said with a smile, "I used to spend a lot of time there when I was training here for Skycorp."

Cautiously keeping a slight distance from the edge Illya peered over her shoulder at whatever it was she was pointing out. The one that was perhaps the most interesting was the library. "Anyone is allowed in the library?"

She gazed at the city below with her hands resting on the side of the basket "Everyone. Kaereleans, off-worlders. It doesn't matter. It's there for anyone who wants to learn."

"Would you like to visit the library later on, lady?" Since she seemed interested and he was a bit curious Illya had to find a way to try getting there while still maintaining the image of being her body guard.

"I would," she replied. He had been calling her 'lady' all evening and it both managed to make her feel awkward, and some how flattered at the same time. "I think you'd find some things of interest there as well. When we're finished here."

Nodding carefully he gave a slight grin. "Yah know quite well lady."

The man piloting the balloon peered over at his passenger and he spoke to Calysta. "Lady would you like to take a scenic route around the tower?"

Giving the pilot a little smile, she held her chin just a little higher. "Yes, I think the scenic route would be excellent."

The man gave a slight grin and started the balloon off for the route around the tower. Usually he charged more, but it was too awkward feeling to take someone of royal status in his balloon and not offer the best scenery available. Illya gave an approving nod and allowed for the man to take Calysta for he best ride he could give.

****

The library was a large rotunda with a sparkling back-lit dome and a wide stone stair case leading up to a heavy door from the street. Inside a around central information desk sat under the sparkling top above as rows and rows of books on shelves 7 feet tall circled around the building. There were digital copies of all of these books, of course. Scanned in over the many, many years the library inventory was built and technology advanced, but Calysta preferred the old fashioned print. With a deep breath, she took in the comforting smell of paper and ink, as they walked past the receptionist who was staring at them both.

"Welcome to the Kinte Common Library," she said absently, as she stared at them over her glasses, "If...I...can be assistance, please don't hesitate to ask."

It was hard to tell which she was looking at more, Illya's tall frame on her arm, or herself, looking so dressed and in the library of all places. Calysta nodded to her, but kept walking with Illya until they had wondered deep into the shelves. Normally, the place was busier but with the Festival still in full swing, everyone was out in the streets partying.

Letting go of his arm, she glanced up at Illya. He seemed surprised and his eyes kept roaming the shelves. Did they have libraries on his world? Before the war? The evening have been a show for whatever he had planned, and she knew not to think otherwise, but still she wanted to let him explore the shelves and find something he wanted.

"I think you should be safe to wander on your if you want to now. Everyone is at the festival. No need for a bodyguard in here." she winked.
 
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While the bookstore was amazing the library proved to be spectacular. Illya stared for a long time at the shelves and rows of books from where he stood. Glancing over at Kalizda he nodded. "Lady Kalizda, no worries for meh safety. I will be near for yah." In a short time she disappeared and Illya wandered aimlessly through the shelves. He couldn't read nearly well enough to go through the titles quickly and a number of them were in other languages. Every once in a while he would find a book in the tradre's language and then he would pluck it from the shelf till he had a pile so high he could barely carry it in his one arm.

The Librarian came bustling into the aisle with the spectacles pushed up on her head. Her large posterior seemed to sway with every step. "How many books do you intend to borrow?"

Illya jumped slightly. Though the woman was broadly built he hadn't seen her coming and he was so engrossed in his work that he failed to hear her. Kalizda had indicated it would be safe and he let his guard down further than he should have. A few of the books tumbled from his arm and he tried to lean over to collect them only to end up dropping more. "More than this." Grumbling a little he sighed and looked over at the woman.

"We have electronic sources that you can borrow for a device when you're in range. You can borrow as man as you want without having to visit or bothering with returning the books. They automatically clear off your data pad." She figured it looked like the bodyguard was unfamiliar with the novelty of a library. Perhaps the woman had gotten one of the more uncultured people of a distant area to be her bodyguard. He certainly had the brute strength by the looks of it. "Leave the books there and I'll help you open an account with the library."

Having that kind of access would be wonderful. Illya figured he could preview the books and then steal the ones he wanted. Better yet he could find a way to save the books to a drive and keep all the copies in the trader's language rather than losing signal or having the electronic copy returned. When she asked for his name he gave his first. "Illya." Of course she asked for his second and he frowned slightly. It would be too dangerous to give his real last name and he was drawing a blank. "Kalizda." It was ridiculous to call himself Illya Kalizda, but he couldn't think of anything else for the time. If too many questions arose he could simply say a servant adopted the first name of their master as their last so that it would be easy to identify whom they served.

Carefully tucking his account information into his pocket he nodded. "Do I get to choose the language dat I get dah books in?"

"You may choose any language available. We have extensive copies in Trader's Tongue if you are not native." She knew very well looking at him that he wasn't and his Trader's Tongue was perhaps a little rough.

By the end of the visit at the library Illya was feeling pretty good about himself and the visit. This was far less suspicious than if he had managed to haul every one of those books away. Sitting in the captain's chair he tapped away at one of the pads. "Going to find a way to download all da books in Trader's Tongue." Glancing at Kalizda he smiled. "Much better th-then stealing a heap of books."

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

Early the next morning Illya got up. He was enjoying the festival pretty well. He decided to try his luck at one of the games and then he spotted trouble. Pithians, they were always trouble for Chippeqouti. If there were two races that would disagree at every point it was these two. A group of four surrounded Illya and one of them grabbed him by his arms while the other kicked him behind the knees. "I think we found a Chip outside of exile. Sneaking about, spying?" Another one of the men nodded. "They found a way to fly. He was that co-pilot yesterday." With a cruel smile the one started to drag Illya toward the river. "One way to prove he's Chip. Test his swimming. All Chippeqouti swim like rocks."

Struggle as he might Illya could not get free. The Pithians were familiar with the stun point in the Chippeqouti back and the Pithians loved to use it when they could. When he shifted slightly he felt a man twist his broken arm harder. "Agh..." Gasping a little Illya did his best to free himself and then a sharp sting traveled through his body. From his experience with them Illya figured they had used an electric prod.

Eventually the small group reached a lake and the men took Illya to the edge of the dock and pushed him in. No matter how a Chippeqouti struggled they weighed too much with their bones to swim.

Illya sunk beneath the water fighting against the inevitable. Gradually he sunk further and further into the dark, murky water. His hand hit something hard and solid. It felt like one of the pylons that the dock was balanced on. Taking hold of it Illya pulled himself underneath the dock to the next pylon and then wrapped his arm in the cast around the pole. Gradually moving up the Pylon he managed to get his face above the water until he felt the men walk back across the dock and he was dunked momentarily as the dock hit him in the head. Rising from underneath the dock again he pressed his skull to the bottom of the dock.

The water felt cold and he started to get tired after nearly 2 hours of holding on. His cast had become saturated with the water and it was beginning to loosen on his arm. At the same time a deep ache started in his arm and shoulder that only increased with each lap of the water. Wrapping his legs around the post he waited for someone to come along that didn't have the Pithian accent. With the festival going on there was perhaps lesser chance that someone would come to the docks.
 
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Illya seemed genuinely happy with the library and Calysta found she was happy for having shown it to him. She had come away with a few books herself, including an old Terran book her father used to read to her when she was a child. Finding it had reminded her that her father was probably worried sick over her, but going home to see him wasn't an option and contacting him would only put him in danger from the true killers and from the Kaerelean officials.

They returned to the ship and immediately Illya started trying to download books in the trader's tongue with a grin on his face. As she reached over him to secure the locks, he glanced up at her with an even broader smile.

"Much better th-then stealing a heap of books."

She opened her mouth, scowling at the idea at first, and then broke out into a smile and started laughing. The vision on him running with piles of books in his hands kept her smile going all the way the kitchen where she released Keysha and then retreated to her room.

****

Then next morning Calysta woke to Keysha pouncing on her toes and got up to find that Illya was gone. It was a wonder that he'd even wanted to go across the access bridge on his own. Every time he crossed with her, he stared over the edge and kept a dead-man's grip on the rails, but perhaps the man had found something he wanted to try on his own. She dressed in her usual leggings, boots and thermal top again, before feeding her kitten and putting her safely in the kitchen.

Calysta wanted to find out more about the anti-treaty factions, and Cirellant treaty, but that involved going to what was considered a rougher side of Kinte. She had promised Illya that they would stick together after what happened with the Braxion and she had no desire to see him hurt again. Plus, his build made him fairly intimidating and someone might find they preferred to talk to her rather than cause trouble.

She read her book for awhile, out side in the grass with Keysha toddling around her, but as time passed, she started to worry. Illya hadn't come back yet, and it was pushing towards the afternoon with a rain storm building on the horizon. Maybe he had gotten lost? Or had he been recognized? It was probably the former, but then again, he'd seen a birds eye view of the entire city.

"Alright, Keysha" she mumbled as she scooped up the furball, "Lets get you inside and go find him."

****

She walked through the streets, inspecting the games and food booths. Races were still taking place over head filling the brief pause between the live bands speckled throughout the city. Illya stood nearly a foot taller than most of the people here, and the streets were not as busy since most of them were at the races. How hard could he be to spot?


Calysta wandered around but saw nothing of him. Maybe he went back to the library? She went into the beautiful round building but the librarian at the desk hadn't seen him either. He was angry with her when she went off alone, but he hadn't even taken a wrist-link with him.

Eventually, she had wondered over to the recreational side of Kinte, where one of the only lakes on Kaereal existed, a deep crater fueled by rainwater. She could smell the lake before she saw it and the dampness added to the fresh scent of impending rain in the distance.

There were even less people in the streets here, mostly because the area around the lake was undergoing some renovations and the crowds were gravitating toward the other festivities. A few people were milling around however, and she was far more noticeable here. A few eyes wandered over her including a couple of men leaning against the scaffolding, drinking from bottles.

"Oo' look eh lil' lost," one of them called out to her.

She ignored the comment and kept walking, until the other yelled at her. "Oi, my frien' is talkin' to you!"

There was a grunt and a glass bottle shattered at her feet, sending glass and ale over her boots as the two men laughed.

Calysta's temper flaired and she grit her teeth, fighting the urge to march over and crack a bottle over their heads. No need to start a fight...

"Tha' go' her attention, huh? Gone 'an made her mad," his friend chuckled.

They started a meandering, drunken walk towards her and she sighed, clenching her fists. She didn't have the time to deal with them but if they forced her, she would'nt have a problem knocking them on their drunken butts.

"Why are you bothering the lady?"

Another man came into view from the side street behind the scaffolding. He walked casually over to her with his hands in his pockets.

"Go be drunk and bored somewhere else, or you'll have more than just her to deal with," he shrugged.

The two hesitated for a moment, then tossed a hand at them before turning away. "Ehg, c'mon Shel, les' go. No'worth th' effort."

As they shuffled out of sight, Calysta glanced at the stranger with a cautious gaze. He was tall, but not nearly tall as Illya, with thick sand colored hair and most notably an eye patch over his eye. He looked her over and a crooked grin curled to his lips.

"You do look lost," he commented in traders-tongue, "Not from around here?"

"Thanks. I'm not lost, though," she replied, "I'm looking for someone."

"Aren't we all?" He joked "Most everyone it the festival. Doubt your friend wandered this way. Perhaps she's back toward the races?"

"He's my copilot," she corrected, "And I've already been. He isn't exaclty hard to miss."

The man the blonde stubble at his chin for a moment, with his eye pointed to the sky. "Freakishly tall? Tan with black hair? Had a sling on his arm?"

Calysta's eyes grew wide and she nodded. "That's him. You've seen him?"

"Yeah, got into a scuffle with a couple of other offworlders toward the lake a few hours ago."

Calysta turned from him and started running toward the lake. These offworlders could have been anyone... Zkree, Braxion, Terrans...and he was already hurt from his last fight. Illya may have incredible strength and thr ability to heal from a gunshot to the head, but even he had his limits.

"Hey! Wait up!" the man called as he sprinted after her, "You might need help. I'm Ayrn. Ayrn Yenbry."

"Calysta," she replied quicky, before picking up her pace again.

****
"Are you sure you saw them com this way?" Calysta asked, standing on the dock. "Aye." "Illya?!" She called, her voice straining over the still waters of the lake.

It was embarrassing to find himself drenched in the lake and scared to death to even move. He'd been lucky to even climb up high enough on this post to get his head out of the water. When the voices first sounded he debated, but taking a chance was perhaps better than drowning. "I'm..." Another step put him under the water and he knocked on the underside of the dock with his hand. They needed to move.

There was a pause and the second voice spoke again. "Did you hear that?" "I think so." She had no idea if Illya could swim or not, but she highly doubted it given the terrain of his planet and she had a hard time seeing the man being able to float. Bootsteps could be heard moving toward the end of the dock. Then some shuffling until a man's face peeped in over the edge. The man was young with thick sandy colored hair with one brown eye. The other was hidden by a patch. "Illya, right?"

It didn't seem the people above got the idea to move. Illya cautiously worked his way around the Pylon so he was no longer under the dock. He'd barely pulled his head out of the water and he was met by an unfamiliar face. Through chattering teeth he cursed. "Yah noting but trouble yah dirty bastard."

The younger man raised a brow at him. "Illya!" Another face appeared over him, this time Calysta's. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes worried. Without hesitstion, she threw her feet over the edge and jumped feet first into the water. She grabbed under his shoulders and pulled, least trying to haul him up so he could breath. His head bobbed out of the water again, but he was incredibly heavy, even in water. The younger man held out his hands to him. "Illya, let go and grab his hands. I cant hold you up for long," she gasped, spitting out water.

There wasn't much to help the woman. She thought it was somehow smart to jump in and try to haul him out of the water. Illya grunted some when he felt her hand bump into his shoulder. Clinging a little tighter to the pylon with his only good hand. "Can't let go."

Calysta growled and looked up at the man shaking her head. He nodded and then dissapeared running down the dock. Her muscles were starting to burn with the effort of holding him up. A minute later, he reappared holding a foam red ring with a rope tied to it. He tossed it at them and Calysta let him go making a desperate grab for the ring as the young man jumped into the water along side them. Calysta snagged the ring and pulled it close to them. "Illya, let go!"

Illya barely reached for the ring with his right hand and he started to slowly sink under the water. Wrapping his legs a little tighter around the pole he blindly groped with his hand till he couldn't hold his breath any longer and then he pulled himself back to the pole. "Bring et here and I'll let go."

She pulled the ring over with one hand, still holding him up as best she could with the other. Her arms were about to give out until another hand grabbed Illya other arm, pulling him up higher until the ring was close enough to grab. "C'mon, we got you."

The other helping hand might have been more welcome, but the man had grabbed Illya's broken arm. He was barely able to reach the red ring with his right hand and he let his left arm that the man had grabbed float by his side. Kicking with his feet and a little extra help got Illya to the shallow water where he could stand up. Teeth chattering and a wind blowing against him he sat near the water's edge. Peering at the man he narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Who are yah?"

Calysta finally stood in the reedy shallows, shaking from the wind as the young man hauled himself up slinging water everywhere. He was roughly 6'1, with a lithe build, but was still small in comparison to Illya. Staring up at him with his one good eye, he blinked and grinned a bit, before extending a hand. "Ayrn Yenbry, dirty bastard."


The smile was ridiculous and Illya raised an eyebrow. Glancing down at the extended hand he shook his head. "Nut shaking yah hand. Had enough contact with foreigners." A wave of nausea hit and Illya frowned a little before he stumbled off into the reeds and started to puke.

****

Calysta sank into the captain's chair and rested her head against the headrest. They had gotten Illya to a doctor who, upon examination, told them the Chip had been edging toward hypothermia and from the freezing lake water but that his broken arm had not been damaged again. Another cast was wrapped around the man's arm and a shot of anti-botics given, neither of which he was happy about. Ayrn had helped get Illya to the doctor and helped them get to the Ekram, though she wasn't exactly sure why. She wasn't going to turn down help at the current moment though. While they had been waiting she discovered the man was a Terran, though his name suggested otherwise. When asked what he brought him to Kaereal, he merely gave a shrug and replied, "Seemed like the place to be."

With Illya in his quarters, Ayrn poked his head through the hatch and saw her sitting, in relief in the captain's chair. The had been waiting outside as she got Illya settled, and she had nearly forgotten about him outside. Rising to her feet, she met him at the hatch-way rather than inviting him on deck.

"Got your co-pilot taken care of?"

"Yes, he'll be fine. Thanks for your help today," she replied, her arms crossed against the wind, "I don't have much to offer but my gratitude."

"Of course. You two been working together long?"

Calysta wished he would take his thanks and be on his way, but he continued to hover.

"Something like that," she replied, evenly.

He leaned against the door way and smiled. "Uhuh, headed out soon?"

"Probably, and with my co-pilot, thanks again."

"If you're headed out, mind if I catch a ride?"

Calysta's grip tightened on her arms, her nails digging in. She wanted to go take an aspirin and lay down herself, but Ayrn was insistent. "A ride? You don't even know us. We could be anybody. "

He shrugged and his grin grew wider. "You don't strike me as the hardened criminal type. I think I'm safe."

She fought down a dry laugh. If only he knew. "We don't have a destination planned either."

"Anywhere is fine, and I'll put in the hours while your co-pilot is out of commission," he urged, "He looked like he could use the rest."

The idea of the stranger wandering around her ship didn't appeal and she didn't trust just anyone with access to it, but he made a point as well. Illya was the worse for wear right now, and might appreciate the break. Then there was also the fact that he helped her

"We're shipping out tomorrow," Calysta sighed, "If you're here before we leave, we'll take you to the nearest port."

"I'll see you bright and early then, Miss Calysta," he grinned, as he backed down the ramp.
 
By the time they wandered through the streets to a hospital Illya was becoming increasingly sick feeling. He hated how this particular even turned out. If he wasn't in rough shape he would have loved the idea of going out and finding those Pithians. They didn't stand a chance if they faced him head on. It was why they ran in groups like a bunch of desert jackals. Only thing they had in their favor was stealth and it was enough that when they went in groups they were quite deadly.

Even though his arm hurt and it felt like someone was trying to saw it off at the break point it turned out to be alright. His shoulder was even ok after all that, which amazed even Illya. Flesh wounds still hurt and took about the average time to heal. So far his shoulder had been sure to take its time healing too. Some of that may have been in part due to his activity level that didn't drop much. He just couldn't stand to have to lay down for days, weeks or even months. Just as he was ready to slip off the table after getting another cast he saw a nurse come up to him with a large needle. "What is that for?"

The woman smiled as she saw his eyes widen. "Just a little shot to keep infections away." She had seen the x-rays and it seemed that the man had incredibly dense bones. It was highly unusual and she'd never seen anything like it before. However, there were a lot of unusual things at the festival each year and there was no reason to report this finding. There wasn't any stab or bullet wound that would need to be reported to the authorities. At least not injuries that had been acquired here. Pulling the shirt up by the sleeve the woman cleaned the skin around the area where she was going to insert the needle. "Alright on the count of three." Setting the cleansing cloth aside she began her count. "1,2,3, poke." Smoothly and quickly the needle slid underneath the skin and then into his vein.

Illya hadn't seen anything like this in so long that he was almost disgusted and horrified. More than likely he had subjected to such treatment under the Zkree, but he didn't remember much of any of that. His time there had been a blur of seizures, pain, and medications that left him drowsy and unresponsive to most outside stimuli.

As soon as they were done at the hospital and a nurse helped Illya get cleaned up he went back to the ship wrapped up in a blanket with the aid of Ayrn and Kalizda. Thankfully she didn't let the man into the ship. It was better if they didn't have anyone hanging around. Getting into his bunk Illya pulled his other blankets over himself. Though she was comfortable with only one set of blankets in the ship, Illya slept with at least 2-3 sets of blankets. The excess had been robbed from the other bunks. He loved the desert heat and this weather was still cooler feeling along with the ship that was kept at a constantly cooler climate than what he liked. True, desert nights were hot, but he had a stone house that radiated warmth for hours after it cooled off and a fire in addition to his blankets.

It felt like hours before he was warm enough to get up and start wandering around in the ship. Illya found Kalizda in the kitchen and he plopped into one of the seats. "We need to leave early tomorrow eh? Got Pithians here. Dey gonna cause trouble if th-they find out I didn't sink."

Calysta sniffled and pulled a mug of tea from the microwave before turning to Illya. " How are you feeling? And I agree. The sooner we leave the better. We don't need anymore trouble than we already have."

"Miserable and cold." Illya grumbled while pulling the blanket further around his shoulders. "Made for a day not so different than it was a hundred and thirty years ago." A smirk came to his face. "Might be considered an improvement."

Calysta gave him a curious look as she slid the mug across the table to him, and started making another cup again. "What made you so miserable a 130 years ago that you would find this an improvement?" she asked, a slight chuckle in her voice.

"No, this is an improvement cause this is what it was like 130 years ago. We saw strangers on Quoti and other places. Used to travel and it started getting dangerous to go abroad." Curling his back some he almost seemed to be giving his best effort to maintain warmth. "Probably be dis way until we get accepted as a people again."

Calysta watched him for a moment, trying to understand what he meant. The Chippequoti had not always been planet bound, of course, and that meant contact with other races. Some of which wouldn't be friendly, and there was still this war he spoke about. "So, the Pithian's did this to you because you were a Chippequoti," she replied, as she sat across him,"Are they why it became so dangerous for you to travel? They came to Quoti as well?"

Somewhere she had missed this part of history, but he shouldn't have been surprised considering so many of the folk he had met that she knew didn't know what he was. "Yeah they did it cause I'm Chippeqouti." Some of her confusion began to show and he shook his head. "Not just the Pithians. They're one of the worst though and they come to Quoti still sometimes." Quickly he added with a smile. "We kill them if we can catch them."

He was actually talking to her about things she knew he disliked mentioning at all. In a certain way she understood what it was like to be hated for what you were and he obviously had many instances of hate against him. Her grey eyes searched is face for a moment, before she worked up the nerve to ask him what she wanted to know. "Illya, what happened on that night? And what happened in this war? I want to understand."

The entire conversation went careening off course and he looked up at her abruptly. "What night?" He couldn't tell if she meant by that night. The war he could explain, but the night was far more complicated till he knew what she wanted to know.

"Well, you mentioned a time that would have happened before your war, it simply sounded like something specific had happened," Calysta replied, before shooting him a little smile, "But I may have misunderstood. Trader's tongue is not my first language either."

Illya turned his head to the side and stared at the table intensely. He was trying to understand what she wanted to know and then it made sense. "Ah." Looking over at her again he shrugged. "Chippeqouti used to be guardians of the quadrant. Then the Federation formed of many different races. They grew tired of Chippeqouti bases on their planets. There was a small price to pay for protection and dey didn't want to pay anymore." Letting the blanket relax some he straightened his back. "So we left and a war came so we opened bases on t-their planets again. Demanded payment. It was deal and then when the threat was gone the war started against the Chippeqouti. All Federation planets and systems revolted. Dey say we were imperialists and then push us out of many other homes. Exile us to Qouti after many failed attempts to annihilate my people. Some say the Chip is too strong and lives longer than they should. We were forced to surrender or have all the people killed. So we burn all our books and they take our ships as payment for the cost of the war then deny us rights to trade for any books or ships."

Calysta was quiet for a long moment, listening and processing what he said. It wasn't what she had expected. From what she had experienced of the Chippequoti, she had thought that they might have been the aggressors, at first. The more time she spent with Illya, the more she realized that was not the case. He may find a lot of trouble, and cause it, but she had never seen him raise a hand in aggression without reason. He was called a war criminal for defending his own people. Much of his hatred made sense now, as did his belief that the federation was not to be trusted. She leaned forward some, catching his eye, bringing him back to the present. "I'm sorry Illya," she said, quietly. She wasn't sure what else to say. Her apologies didn't help the past, and she knew that, but she couldn't help but say it. "I'ts not much...but....I don't think you're an imperialist. I don't hate you."

Raising his eyebrows some he couldn't help the smirk that came to his face. "I know you don't. Yah didn't even know what I was till I told yah."

A smile crept to her lips and she started to laugh as her cheeks turned a little pink. "I had no idea. But I'm glad you told me."

"Yah won't like it if they label yah a sympathizer. Might ah wished yah could claim ignorance." Illya started to sit up a little straighter and shifted on the chair. "I need some rest. Tomorrow we start early."

"They can add it to the list," she replied with a wry grin, "and we definitely need to get an early start. Aryn wants to hitch a ride with us out of Kinte and he was...persistent. I told him if he could catch us by the time we left that we would only take him to the closest stop."

Standing up Illya shot her a sharp look. "Yah what! He's trouble. If yah would have got me I would have thrown his miserable carcass out the door. He has no business flying wit us."

"You weren't in any shape to throw anybody," Calysta replied calmly, "I'm not any happier about it either. I don't trust him, but the next port isn't an over night jump and he did help me find you."

It made very little difference to Illya what kind of shape he was in. "Yes, but now he has to stay in my room." Privacy wasn't usually a concern, but Illya didn't like sharing with this kind of folk. "I'll find a way to keep him nice and calm." Throwing all his blankets off Illya started for the door. Before he stepped out he peered through the window and groaned. "The bastard camped right outside the ship."

With a huff Illya started outside. He intended to be sure that there would be at least one day where the man wouldn't move. However, he didn't really want to tell Kalizda about it till after it was done. For the most part he wasn't sure how she would feel about a snake. Especially a poisonous snake in the ship. A smirk began to grow on his face. Maybe he'd just been nearly drown after his last visit to the festival, but Illya was only going far enough to find a meat dealer. Someone that would sell the kind of meat he wanted to eat.

Wandering into one of the shops he looked at the man animal corpses filleted and hanging to drain. "Dis snake." Illya pointed to it. "I'm cook on meh ship. Crew is nervous about the poisonous snakes even if the glands are removed. Yah have one that isn't poisonous." When the man started to point out all the snakes that were non poisonous Illya took careful note of all those remaining. What he needed was to capture a poisonous snake and then he could easily remove the glands himself. They were often hid behind the teeth. Nodding a little he purchased the one snake that the butcher recommended as the best and most flavorful. Packing the meat away into a sack Illya started out on a trek into the rocky areas by the shore.

A gradual grin came to his face as he spotted the snake he wanted. It was a large one and it looked mean. Like the kind that would bite simply because its host moved. Teasing the creature with a fleck of meat from his own soft snake from the butcher he saw the snake dart forward and it nearly took a nip of his finger too. Reaching out behind the head of the snake he dropped his bag of meat and drew a dagger while he stepped on the thrashing body of the snake to calm it. After a few minutes of speaking calmly to the animal he pried its mouth open with a dagger and carefully cut the poison sack out of its mouth. Now he was ready and all he needed to do was keep the snake calm for a while longer. Tying a portion of cloth over the snake's head he struggled to keep it from thrashing as he walked it back to the ship. Darting past Kalizda's quarters he shoved the snake into a cool box underneath his bed. It would keep the animal quiet for a time. At least until it was warm again. Then he took the rest of the uncontaminated snake meat from the market and stuffed it into the cooler. He could make a good snake dinner tomorrow sometime.

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

The next morning Illya woke up with a groan. His arm ached and burned from all the extra work yesterday. Wincing some he wandered into the engine room with Kalizda to get it ready to go. "Yah know if we tilt the thrust a little bit he might get singed. Wouldn't have to take him with." The disapproving look from her told him all he needed to know. "Alright."

Of course they barely had the engines warming and the beating on the door started. Illya got up from his seat. "I'm not learning today. I watch our guest." Marching over to the door he let it fly open and watched as the man stepped aboard. He already hated this guy and his smooth nature. It all seemed too smooth. Illya didn't trust him either, who would with a smile like that? The guy looked like a dog that just ate poop. "I show yah the quarters." Instinctively Illya's nose wrinkled with disgust when he saw the man just drop his stuff on the floor and he almost sat on Illya's bed.

"Over there!" Harshly pointing to the opposite side of the room he watched as the man settled there instead, but still left his things scattered across the floor. Wherever they landed is where they sat. Letting out a long breath Illya sat on his bunk and waited for the other man to fall asleep. Moving Arse's things to his side of the room Illya watched to be sure the man didn't move around or become disturbed in his rest. Once he was sure that the man was soundly asleep Illya pulled the box out from under his bed. The snake was moving slowly because of the cold and he pulled the covering from its head. Pressing the creature just under the cover of Arse's bed he let it feel the heat radiating from the body. It was welcoming to a snake and Illya knew it.

He watched as the snake curled next to the stranger underneath the covers. Once it was warm the creature would be less than forgiving should Arse decide to move. Illya left the room after about half hour. By now the snake would be good and warm.

"I make breakfas now." Illya poked his head into Kalizda's cabin to let her know. A big grin was resting on his face as he stepped into the kitchen to make a breakfast snake sausage and some sweet flat bread. While he was in the middle of cooking the meat he heard a screech come from down the hall. In the general direction of his room. The constant grin that had been on his face only grew wider.

Walking back into the hallway he carefully wiped the smile off his face and charged into to room to see the man sitting up in his bed wide eyed with a large black snake attached to his leg. Illya could hear more foot steps coming down the hall behind him. This was when he was going to have to play it good. Chances were she would be upset to find a poisonous snake aboard and their guest in the meantime could panic thinking he was about to die. It was just fine by Illya's standard. Looking at the man and then back to the snake he wiped his hands off on the towel he held. "Yah hold real still. Gonna have to look up what to do with that thing. Don't talk...shhhh nothing. I need to concentrate." Illya could see the snake flexing its jaws as it attempted to inject venom.
 
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Calysta had just finished feeding Keysha when a shriek echoed down the hall. "What in the Wilds?!" The stranger hadn't been aboard an hour and already starting trouble. She put down the kitten gently and dashed out the door to th other quarters. When she arrived she found the door open and Illya there with a panicked Ayrn yelping and clutching his leg, a long snake digging its fangs in. Her face went pale as she went past Illya to the bed. "Hold still!" "It bit me! Is it poisonous?!" Calysta nodded and looked to Illya, obviously scared there had been a snake on her ship. "Help me get it off."

The Chip looked at her. "We're in mid flight. Maybe we should take him back and leave him at a hospital. I uh...." He stared at the snake for a moment. "Maybe yah should let me take it off eh?"

She had seen the breed of snake attached to Ayrn's leg before. A b'dyr bite was highly poisonous, and would start necrosy in his leg almost immediately along with delirium and fever. How had it even gotten aboard? Ayrn's bag? " We need to get the snake off of him first. I'll hold him, while you take it off. "

Illya grabbed the snake by the apex of its jaw and he pulled. He knew it would hurt, but that was the point. When the man began to squirm more Illya shook his head. "Yah move more and da poison be faster to get to yah heart and brain eh?" Pulling a little harder he felt the snake start to loosen its grip on the man and then Illya pinched the jaw a bit harder so that the snake finally released the man.


Ayrn went stock still under Calysta's hands at Illya's words. "Do something with it. Throw it in an airlock or cut off its head," she said to Illya quickly, "I dont want anyone else getting bitten." Then she started toward the med bay to grab something to bandage him up.

"We're closer to the nearest port than we would be to turn back to Kinte," Calsyta replied, as she put the box of medical supplies on the bed. "Am I gonna die?" Ayrn asked with his brown eye going wide. "Not if we get you to port, its a simple anti-toxin any lab can make once we're there." She started working on Ayrn's leg. The puncture would was there, and deep from all his panicking, but there was no sign of the swelling and ichor that came with the poison. "It looks like it hasn't even been poisoned."

The comment earned him a sharp look from both Calysta and Aryn. She finished bandaging him up and cleaned up the medical kit as she spoke. "Try not to move too much till we get to Oberion." Then she turned to Illya, her eyes narrowing him, just a bit. He seemed far too happy after finding a snake in his own bedroom. He wouldn't...would he? She sighed and motioned Illya to follow her. "We'll be right back."

Fighting with the now enraged snake and holding its body Illya followed her out of the room. "I've got to make something of dis. Can't let the snake go to waste eh?" He was still a little disappointed that they were not turning back, but at least they would get rid of their visitor and he was going to be very quiet. Probably thankful to find that was alive though he was never in any real danger. However, he was getting that look and Illya slammed the snake's head onto a chopping block in the kitchen. "What?!"

"Why are you yelling?" Calysta asked with a scowl.

The man stared at her for a moment and then back to the snake before he chopped the head off. "I dun like how it all went. First we take dis guy on board and now we have a snake the ship. He's filthy. Yah see his baggage? He might have drug the damn ting in with his gear. Should never have brought him with."

"Yeah, it does seem a bit too much of a coincidence," she replied with a raised brow, "but he is aboard now, and before we both go making too many judgments, remember he hasn't done anything yet. Innocent until proven guilty."

Illya shrugged a little when the woman made her statement about innocent until proven guilty. "Well he's still filthy."

She shot him a look, but it was still obvious the appearance of the snake had scared her. Keysha had followed them into the kitchen and mewled as she rubbed around their ankles. "Right, well we're stuck with him till port. Can you watch after him? At least until we get there? I'm going to see if I can speed up the jump."

Illya caught the look and he nodded. "Alright I'll watch him." Hanging the snake by the tail just over the sink he decided to let the body drain out of blood. Hopefully Kalizda's speeding things up wouldn't cause the blood to splatter everywhere. Taking the head of the snake from the board he dropped it into a small release valve for such waste to be deposited into a dump in the base of the ship. Illya washed his hands carefully and then went back to the room to observe his work. The man was practically working up a sweat with the stress he was feeling. "Yah like something cold to slow da poison? I take all yah blankets off and give yah some ice packs eh?"

Ayrn laid stock still in the bed, dripping sweat and his sole eye glanced over Illya. "Whatever slows it down."

As fun as it should have been stripping the blankets off and returning with plenty of frozen foods to lay on him it was making Illya feel a little guilty too. Those looks with that single big brown eye. "Yah look like a sick cow. Jes..." Illya shoved the man's face away. "Quit looking at meh."

Ayrn snatched his face away from Illya's grip and scowled. "How l-l-long will it t-t-take to get to the port?"

Though Illya didn't need to stand on the lower bunk to see the other man he still did it just so he could loom over him at this point. "I dun tink it matters, whelp." Tossing a few more cold bags on the man he ignored the further glances. "Yah be lucky to survive, focus on t-th-that."

***

She had pushed the jump engines of the Ekram into arriving at port early and had radioed ahead for a medical team to meet them at the small docking station.As soon as the hatch was open, a two man team in uniforms came aboard with a stretcher and hauled Ayrn from the quarters. The Terran had gone pale and his lips had turned a little blue from being covered in frozen foods as his teeth chattered. She had already told the medical team what sort of injury they were dealing with and they had the anti-toxin already synthesized in a lab to save as much time as possible when the bite victim arrived.

Ayrn was wheeled into a hospital room and the doctor, a short balding Kaerelean came bustling in asking questions as he cut up the side of the Terran's pants to look at the wound in better detail.

"How long ago was the bite?" he asked in Kaerelean.

"Around 3 hours ago," Calysta replied.

The doctor took a pen light and shined it in Ayrn's bloodshot brown eye. "No, signs of delirium?"

She cleared her throat, wincing a little. "Not as far as we know."

"Odd, those usually occur within the hour of he initial injection."

A nurse popped a thermometer into the Terran's mouth and then checked the readings. "Temp is normal. On the cool side but normal."

The doctor "Hmmm'd" then began poking the wound, inspecting the bite with out much care that Ayrn was hissing in pain and tapping his fist on the bed rail. As he did, Calysta glanced up at Illya whose mouth was twitching as if he was fighting of a grin or even a laugh.

"Are you sure you had the right species of snake?" the doctor asked, pushing his glasses up his nose, "There is a bite mark, but it has no infection or poison inside, he doesn't have a fever or any indications of delirium."

"I'm positive of what the snake type. Illya was there before I was-"

She stopped talking and her eyes snapped up to the tall Chip with an incredulous and dangerous glare. "Illya...will you join me in the hallway for a moment?"


It seemed his whole shenanigan was at an end, but the man should be embarrassed for how he carried on about it and forced himself into having reactions to nothing. Illya sheepishly followed the woman into the hall. "Yes, Kalizda?"

She made sure the door was shut and then turned on him arms crossed, but with a steely calm in her eyes. "What did you do."

Since she hadn't figured it out yet Illya's eyes widened. "I thought mebbe we get him off da ship earlier and make him forget anything different about us eh? Get him worried about surviving. He's noting but a big blubbering baby."

"So you did put the snake there," she snapped, her face growing red and this time not with blush, "and then tried to blame it on him. I don't know why he isn't sick. Did you do something to the snake?"

Illya's mouth dropped open and he barely made a squawk before she began reaming him over the snake again. "I..." He waited till she was done and then continued. "I did put the snake in there. Told yah why. Took the poison sack out of it mouth."

A tinge of relief came to her face, before it was replaced with irritation. "I didn't want him on the ship any long than he had to be either. But you gave the man a panic attack...and being honest you scared me too. Go in there and tell them the truth."

Being told he had to go into the room to tell the truth was a bit frustrating. "He'll want to come with us after dat. Why can't we jes leave now?"

"No, a doctor was called up and you had the man thinking he was going to die, I'd say that deserves some sort of explanation, dont you?" she replied firmly.

Shaking his head he met her gaze. "Nah, I tink dis is a perfect time to leave before he causes real trouble. Yah met your end of da deal."

"I think safe passage was an implied condition of that deal, Illya," Calysta replied, meeting his eyes, "I can't have these doctors thinking he's some medical miracle."

"It was perfectly safe, he's stupid and I can't help that." Gradually a grin came to his face when she mentioned the doctors and Illya busted out laughing. "Oh you'd better come in to see his miraculous recovery den." Illya had half a feeling that the horrible aches and fevers would be gone when he told Arse what happened.

Calysta couldn't believe he was smiling about this and it made her all the more irritated with him as she opened the door for him. "As long as you tel them the truth."

Striding into the room with absolute confidence Illya leaned over the bed of the other man and pulled the eye patch up. "I've got good news and bad news for you." Just as suddenly as he'd lifted the eyepatch he let it snap back down on Arse's face again. It was probably one of the only chances he was going to get to have a look underneath it and make sure the scoundrel wasn't hiding something. "Good news is that I removed the poison sack from the snake. Bad news is that you've made an idiot of yourself."

It took a moment for his words to sink in as he rubbed his eyes socket and when they did, he started up out of the bed, only to be pushed down by the older doctor and the nurse.

Since there wasn't anything underneath the eye-patch Illya decided that perhaps Arse wasn't even capable of being sly. Instead the blundering idiot tied to sit up after rubbing his poor red rimmed brown eye. A broad grin came to Illya's face. Looking at the doctors he shrugged. "Test him all yah want. No poison in his blood. I really tink you should make sure he's ok. Run every test yah can." He wanted Arse to get jabbed with as many needles as possible.

"Illya, that's enough," Calysta growled, "Go back to the Ekram and go clean out the bunk room. There are still frozen food in there, if you remember."

Eyes widening slightly he turned around and looked at her. It seemed Kalizda was completely serious. "Yes." Quickly he left the room and headed back to the ship to clean up the bunk room and stash the foods away again.

***

Despite Illya's big reveal about the snake, the doctor kept Ayrn anyways to ensure that his puncture wounds were not infected. Once he was settled, begrudgingly, into an observation room, Calysta took the opportunity to escape back to the Ekram. She felt tired, but that was probably just because she had been so shocked earlier and so irritated with Illya. Sure, she didn't care of Ayrn but what had possessed the Chip to think putting a snake into someone's bed was a good idea? Not to mention the fact that he had to go catch the snake in the first place. The man was an unpredictable mystery and frustrated her beyond anything should could imagine some days. Coughing a little, she climbed the ramp to the Ekram at least relieved to find that Illya had done what she asked at least. He wasn't in the cock pit or the other common areas she figured he must be in his quarters.

She was too irritated with Illya to talk with him at all, so she made a cup of tea, and called through the bunk room door. "I'm back and going to rest for awhile. Take off is in a few hours."

Then she wandered to her room, set a timer, and curled up on the bed with Keysha at her heels. The kitten felt wonderfully warm as she curled up alongside her middle and dozed. Just a quick nap and she would be feeling better.

Calysta woke to her time going off and her kitten crying at the door. That was not the only sound, however. Beyond that there was a hard pounding coming from somewhere. Outside? What time was it? She stood up to go investigate, wiping sweat from her temples. It had grown too warm in her room again somehow. Maybe Illya had turned up the environmental controls? She pulled on her boots, a task that seemed to require more energy than it did the day before, and then shuffled down the hallway.

"Illya?" Her voice came out like a croak.

Making her way toward the cockpit at a crawling pace, she finally found Illya standing by the hatch with his arms crossed and a hint of a smirk on his face.

The pounding noise that had woke her was coming from the hatch door. "Hey! Open up! I want my stuff!"
 
Cleaning the room was an extensive job. Illya knew that he would have to change the sheets and clean up the general filth of the other man. Nearing the end of the task he couldn't help smiling. That idiot made himself sick with worry and he was constantly complaining about the pain. Illya shoved the bags to the doorway of the room and threw the dirty laundry into the basket. For his final step after putting fresh blankets on the bed he got the food out and cleaned the floors up. Kalizda was probably still resting and Illya figured it was more than likely best. Last time they had a disagreement a few days fixed it all and he was fine with that.

With the last of the room finished Illya drug the dirty bag of belongings to the edge of the ship. Despite the smell of the belongings and the musk that they were drenched in Illya decided to dig through. There might be something of value that he wanted to keep.Within a few moments of starting to dig into the bags he heard someone begin knocking on the door.

The Chip peered through the peep hole and he grinned when he saw who it was. This just meant that he was going to be taking his precious time. For a few more moments he began to sort through the bags and then he heard Kalizda coming down the hall. Standing up he folded his arms across his chest and just smiled. Turning toward Kalizda his smirk faded slightly. She didn't look real good. "I'll take care of it." Sliding a small part of the door open he shoved a few dirty items of clothing out through the hatch. "Just wait, I'll send the rest out in a minute."

While he was busy pushing things out the mini hatch door he looked for anything of value and he at last found a map book and a few other books that looked to be interesting. Right now anything that was a book happened to be of interest to Illya. When he shoved the last bag out he noticed that Aryn was still waiting for the books and Illya leaned over so the other could see his face through the hatch. "Keeping da books. A deal after we haul you all around and get yah to da doctors for yah symptoms. Yah trouble so we need a fee." Chuckling he pulled away from the little hatch and shut it then locked it as he collected the books off the ground. The ship was all locked up and secured so it was a good time to go to bed and have some decent rest. They got up way to early to see this miserable lout get to the planet and while the snake was a good idea it seemed that Kalizda didn't appreciate the finer details of how a Chip got rid of an enemy or threat.

Illya laid back in the bed and he rubbed at his arm. It still hurt and especially after that group of Plithians decided to send him into the waters to see how well he sank. Rolling over in his bed he pulled the covers up over his shoulders and nestled in. The blankets smelled clean and he liked getting rid of the filthy smell that went with that man. There was something about those roaming races that made Illya feel uneasy.

Some of the concern was that the roaming folk were that way for a reason. They couldn't be tolerated elsewhere or they were in a similar circumstance to Illya and Kalizda. None of those things were good and the last that he needed was for this traveler to compound their issues by adding his own. The last thought that came to Illya's mind made him shudder. What if this guy was here to inspect their case and he was a Federation officer? Federation men were not always what you thought and they were dirty players. The kinds of men that Illya would gladly kill if he knew where they were.

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

First thing in the morning Illya turned onto his side and he pushed his head further into his pillow with a grunt. He was enjoying being able to sleep and his arm felt much better for the rest. Shifting again to get comfortable he thought he saw something in the room and he slowly opened his eyes. Almost instantly he felt himself go into a fighting mode. Flying up from his bunk he hit his head on the one above himself. "Agh!" Growling loudly he still kept his forward momentum and threw himself toward the other man.

How Aryn got in the ship, he didn't know, but it must have been before the auto take off took effect and now they were in the middle of space. There was a lot longer to be travelling this time and it wasn't likely that Kalizda would allow for the man to be thrown out one of the hatches. Lunging forward he barely caught the edge of Aryn's shirt and he felt it stretch and then it tore and he was only left with a handful of the fabric.

Racing toward the doorway after the other he was nearly hit in the face with the heavy door. Illya yelled toward the other. "Yah bastard!" Slamming the door wide open with his right fist he came into the hallway and threw a punch that only grazed the other's chin. If he had made direct contact it would have likely broken the man's jaw and while that was a nice thought in itself, Illya figured that Kalizda would be angry if they had to send all the food through a puree machine just to feed it to their troublesome passenger. "Yah won't be much when I'm done with yah!" Stepping forward and then feigning to the right gave him some extra power for the right hand hook that he dealt to the other man's side.

Sometime in the middle of the fight Illya remembered hearing Kalizda, but he was too busy to stop just yet. Already he had felt the other try to reach over his shoulder and punch at his back. He was a ways off from hitting the nerve spot and Illya hated the idea that this one knew about it. How did he know? The fight had revealed at least one detail that Illya was finding disturbing. Did Aryn know who he was or that he was a Chip?
 
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Climbing into the ships landing gear and removing a panel had been easy. Wiggling through the small electrical duct behind that with his rucksack in tow had been the true challenge. The space was nearly too tight for him to shimmy through with his bag strap pulled along by his good ankle, but he had bummed enough rides to know how to hide quite well and for as long as necessary. This time the effort of stowing away would be worth it.

He waited inside the panel, just on the otherside of the corridor until he heard nothing but the hum of the ship as it slipped into a jump. They had finally gone to sleep. Unscrewing the second panel he caught it before it could clang into the hallway and set it to the side. He would get his books back, a ride and a bit of revenge for all his trouble.

He crawled out and dusted himself off as he looked around, making sure he had gone undetected. A few light snores came from one door, while an occaisonal sniffle or cough broke the silence from the other. He left his bag and the panel where they were so he could explore at his leisure.

He tip-toed down the hall till he came across the first room on the right and painstakingly turned the handle to open the door before peering inside. The pretty, but sharp-eyed captain lay curled up on her bed with some sort of animal by her side. A kitten.
How was he supposed to take revenge on a sight like that? Not that he would. She had been scared as he was about the snake and apparently didn't know about the insanity of her co-pilot.

Instead, he would take a chance and see what her room had inside, noting the pistol and book on her bedside table. He slid inside the door, opening it only as far as necessary and shuffled over to the closet with his only eye searching it in the dark. Pretty captain had a taste for pretty things. A dress hung neatly and necklace lay in a box on the shelf. Funny enough, all he found was a pair of scuffed boots at the bottom.

As he retreated from her room, she coughed, rolling over away from him but disturbing the kitten whose yellow eyes opened and gazed at him in the dim light. The little furball stretched and plopped down from the bed walking over to him and staring at him expectantly. Maybe it wanted out? Whatever. He shuffled past the disturbing stare of the cat and out of the door as quietly as he had entered.

He found the kitchen next and helpe himself to omne, the closest Kaereleans had to an apple, from the bowl in the tiny table, then wandered down to the cockpit as he snacked.

The captains chair was pretty plush and he munched on the fruit, thinking how nice it would be to sleep here. He couldn't sleep yet though there was still one last thing he needed to do.
With his dinner out of the way he mosied down the hall and wiggled his way into the first door on the left where the crew quarters were. He remembered that room quite well.

The gigantic jerk lay on his bunk, snoring some with his mouth open just a fraction. Huh. And he this lumbering oaf called him an idiot.

He took his time exploring the room and found his books while he was roaming. Otherwise the closet was empty and so was the locker space. Boring. When there was nothing left to look at he sat on the bunk across from the man and let a smirk creep to his face. He had half the mind to pop him in the eye with something as payback for even touching his eyepatch, but the lady probably needed her co-pilot or at least didn't want him maimed. The bastard was lucky he overall liked the captain.

There were other senses he could destroy however.

With a devious grin he pulled off his boots and removed the socks he'd worn for 2 days and then went swimming in the lake with. Nice and ripe.
Without so much as a flinch, he carefully and slowly tucked the putrid things under the man's mattress. That would be a wonderful discovery for him later.
With his ride going just as he hoped, he sat back on his bunk and waited patiently for someone to wake up.

*****
Calysta woke with a start to the sound of yelling and heavy thuds shuddering through the walls. What is the Wilds was it now?
She threw back her blanket, insantly missing the warmth, and crawled out of bed with a huff to go find the source of the problem. Wrenching her open she found herself in the middle of a full on brawl. Illya was swing with the eyes of a maddened bull at...Ayrn? How had he even gotten aboard?

The one eyed Terran was dodging, but had taken a few hits already as he went with a few fast jabs on Illya. There had been a snake, a stowaway and now a fist fight on her ship all in one day and her patient finally came to an end.

"STOP!"

Her voice cracked in her sore throat, the sound coming out too weak to be heard over the din of the fighting.

"STOP!"

Illya just kept swinging at Ayrn who was starting to look to worse for wear. Stepping between them would get her hit.
She thought of her pistol, but she would have to fire it to get their attention and she didn't want richochets or to hurt any one. "UHG!"
Illya landed another glancing blow on Ayrn and she growled before ducking into her room.
Grabbing her boots, she hauled them into the hallway and threw the left one first. It sailed with laces trailing and snagged Ayrn on the shoulder before bouncing off Illya's chest. They seemed to pause for a second in confusion.

"Are you going to make me throw the other?" She demanded hoarsely, with the right boot at the ready.
 
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The sudden appearance of a boot and the thump on Illya's chest got his attention. Almost immediately he glanced at Kalizda and he noticed she was looking a little pale. "No..." Quickly he chimed his response and stepped toward Ayrn to pick the boot up off the floor. At this point it appeared that the one would be wanting to take a cheap shot and Illya gave him a semi-wicked grin. "If yah value yah manhood I wouldn't suggest doing anything." Snatching the boot off the ground he walked it over to Kalizda and carefully placed it in her open hand. "I clean it up wit help of dis...dis miserable bastard."

Leaning against the wall he made way for the other to walk past first. Both of them were still wary of one another. The two of them had barely made it back to the room and Illya could smell something he hadn't noticed before. Earlier he'd been far too focused on simply throttling the other. Taking a small sniff he cast an accusing glance at the other. "Yah filthy shit."

Even if they were done officially fighting, Illya wasn't about to share a room with a guy that smelled like he just stepped out of a sewer. Sitting on the edge of his bed Illya began to take his boots off and his socks. It seemed that no matter where he was in the room it stank. Ayrn was standing by with a pleased expression on his face and the Chip moved to take his other boot off. Finally he stood and he stripped his shirt off and then grinned back at the other. "I got a fex for yah." Rubbing at his cast first he thought for a moment and then hauled off and hit the other square in the forehead. Ayrn's head bounced away and the back of it slammed into the bunk behind him before he collapsed to the floor.

"I nut sharing a room wit yah smelling like th-this." Dragging the limp Ayrn to the shower stall Illya stripped his clothes off and threw them into a heap in the corner. He would have the other wash his clothing when he woke up. This was one time that using more water would not be wasteful. Illya drizzled a copious amount of soap over the other and then used a scrubber to rub it into the man's skin. It was getting lighter it seemed with every scrub and Illya growled a little. Reaching across the stall he turned the water on cold so that it would wash some of the filth away. More than likely he was going to have to scrub this guy down a few times. As he expected the other started to stir with the first splash of water. Illya started to step out of the stall. "Finish scrubbing. Ef yah don't come back smelling clean I come back and do et for yah."

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

Back in the room he started to tear the clothing and all washable belongings out of the rucksacks that the other traveled with. It was so dirty that Illya could feel the grease clinging to his hands. Having body odor was one thing, but choosing to be filthy was another and he wasn't going to share a room with a passenger that insisted on smelling like he hadn't showered in months. It was disgusting.

Maybe the captain couldn't smell the passenger with her nose plugged up, but Illya was more than aware of the stench. Wandering back to the washroom he tossed the dirty clothes and washables over the edge of the curtain. "Wash dat too." Hopefully it was enough that the room wouldn't smell so bad. Being woke from his sleep by a stowaway and then the awful smell in his room was enough to make Illya feel like a grouch. Even after he'd used the deodorizing spray the room smelled and he could't get rid of it. With a growl Illya went to the kitchen to make a snake stew. It would be good for Kalizda if she wasn't feeling well and it would give his room time to air out.

When he finished the stew Illya served a moderate portion into a bowl and went back to Kalizda's room. Carefully he knocked with his cast since the other hand was holding the bowl. "Kalizda? Kalizda...I have food for yah to eat."
 
The two men had stopped their brawl, for now, and they slipped away into the crew quarters without any more of a fuss. It seemed to sink in that she wouldn't tolerate fighting on deck between anybody. When the door closed behind them, she let loose the cough tickling at the back of her burning throat. There was no time to be feeling like this, especially now apparently she was having to play referee, but surely they could keep the peace long enough for her to get a few more minutes of rest? She would normally worry about a stowaway on board, but she doubted Illya would let him get away with much. He was more than able to keep the Terran under control which she could trust him to do, even his measures were...drastic.

Calysta went back into her room, after making sure there were no more sounds of fighting from the crew quarters, and tossed her boots into the closet before slinking back into her bed. The blankets had gone cold except for the spot where Keysha had started to snooze. The kitten had taken over the middle of her bed and gave a purring meow as she stretched out even more.

"Scooch over."

A gentle nudge got her to move and Calysta climbed in, pulling the covers up over shoulders. Just a few more minutes of sleep before she would get up and feed Keysha...check the engines...

Her thoughts grew foggy as she started to drift off with the cat at her side.

****

"Kalizda? Kalizda...I have food for yah to eat."

Calysta heard Illya knocking on the other side of the door and sighed as she sat up straight. with tired eyes. He brought her food? "You can come in," she replied with a croak.

Stepping into the room Illya walked over to her side of the bed with the steaming snake stew. "Yah sound terrible. Look terrible to."

She gave him a look, sitting cross legged with her back against the wall. "I'm alright," Then her eyes flicked to the bowl and back to him. "What is that?"

The man only raised one eyebrow, but he allowed for her to say that she felt well. Her looks said otherwise. Deep rings under her eyes seemed to be a good enough indication. Illya handed the bowl to her. "Snake stew. Very good for yah."

She took the bowl, grateful for how warm it was against her cold hands. The soup smelled really good, though that didn't surprise her. Whenever Illya cooked he managed to make something that tasted good. "It looks good...thank you." she replied, honestly, "Where is that...stowaway."

A slight grin came to his face when she seemed to show some appreciation for the stew. Illya's smirk only grew at the mention of the stowaway. "Washing himself and his clothing."

"Made himself at home.."she muttered, obviously still irritated. "I should go inform him he is confined to quarters...until we make port. I don't even know how-" a stifled cough broke though her sentence and she turned her head, clearing her throat "I don't even know how he got aboard.

Illya grinned broadly as she talked about confining him to quarters. "Don't worry none. I can take care of him. He should work, not take a free ride. After I knocked him out I stripped the bastard and started scrubbing his filthy body off eh."


Her eyes grew wide and she nearly choked on her first sip of the soup from the bowl. "You did...did...what?"

"I nut sharing meh room with a filthy man. He getting clean now and he wash all his tings too, or I go back and help him."

She shook her head, and a hint of a smile crept to her lips. Illya always had his own way, even if she didn't approve of the method. "That's one way to do it, I suppose. If he's going to be a sneak, he might as well be clean."

Illya tilted his head. "Yah sleep and I make sure he works very hard."

Calysta's eyes cut up at him with a knowing glint as she took another sip of the stew. "Just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble and try not to start it, please. I don't want to have to bust up another fight or deal with anymore snakes. "

***

Ayrn's head pounded as he hauled himself out of the bottom of the shower. That bloody bastard had played nice in front of Calsyta then knocked him out cold the first chance had alone. Of course two could play at that game. If it was going to be all bets off without the lady in the room, he would rise to the occasion.

He yanked the shower lever down, cutting off the water, and snatched his sopping clothes out of the floor too. Wringing out his clothes, he threw them into the small dyer inset the wall behind him, then tossed his eye patch in to dry as well. If his eye patch shrank, he'd have to walk around showing off his scarred over socket and that tended to attract attention. Not the good kind either.

When his clothes were dry, and his eye patch back in place, he dressed before wandering the corridors looking for something to dull the headache Illya had given him. As he passed by Calysta's room, he heard voices talking back and forth. One her hoarse voice, and the other sporting Illya's dumb sounding accent. For as dumb as the man sounded, he did hit like an anvil if his fists actually managed to make contact. He would have to just be faster than the man next time. Standing close by the door, he tried to listen in to see if they were talking about him. They had to be, but he couldn't hear any specifics. He hoped Calysta was giving her crazy co-pilot a dressing down, though she would probably come deal with him next. The idea of having those sharp eyes turn on him was not appealing.

The talking stopped and the door handle started to turn, warning him that someone was about to leave. With two quick steps he started at a brisk pace toward the kitchen, pretending he had heard nothing at all, as heavy boot falls followed behind him. It was definitely Illya at his heels. He didn't look back before dodging into the galley and slipping into a seat, looking casual as the hulking man followed.
 
Just as Illya was leaving the room he noticed the scampering form of Aryn ahead of him. It was important not to underestimate a person, but it was becoming more and more difficult to keep an open mind in regards to the intelligence of their stowaway. Did Aryn really think he wouldn't notice that ridiculous display? If the guy thought he was dumb enough to not notice then Illya was going to let him think that.

Seemed that cleaning up wasn't task enough for the guy and that was good. It meant that Aryn was not a person with terribly low levels of energy. There were a lot of things that needed to be done. One of them was mopping the decks through the entire ship and especially their room. It still smelled horrible and though Illya had cleaned it all once the smell was still saturated in something. Turning the corner into the kitchen only a few seconds after he saw the other dodge into it Illya walked straight for the kettle of stew and served up a large portion for Aryn. The man was going to need all he could eat before his work was done for the day. "Yah might like something to eat eh?" Taking a second ladle full he piled it into the dish and passed it across the table to Aryn. "Made from da snake th-that bit yah."

Serving another bowl for himself Illya was equally generous. He anticipated having a very long day keeping track of the man and it was going to be taxing to work with him. Clearing his throat some the Chip tried to hold back a cough that had started, but he couldn't so he turned his head to the side and coughed a little. Illya took a bite of his stew and he almost had to grin. It was a good dish and it tasted like home. Briefly he looked over at Aryn and then Illya went back to eating his own food. "Yah got a lot of work to do. Need to be mopping all thhhhe floors." That 'th' sound was still getting Illya most of the time and he got it without having to start on it twice, though it was drug out. It took a long time to get to the point that he could even make that sound without tremendous difficulty. "Yah got a name or shall I call yah shit?"

Ayrn had the urge to toss the bowl over Illya's head. Not only did the co-pilot want him to make him work, but he also seemed to have forgotten Ayrn's name, though he'd introduced himself. He didn't want to seem rattled though. He was going to play it smooth. "I already told you my name," he replied coolly, "Ayrn."

"Oh." That was a difficult name and Illya didn't want to admit that he likely couldn't pronounce it. "Eat, yah gonna need it." Taking another bite of food he chewed on the soft snake meat. It was delicious and almost impossible not to hum with the pleasure of every bite. "Arse yah got experience working on ships before?"

Ayrn's eyes narrowed as Illya in suspicion, but if he was eating out of the same pot, he would look like even more of an idiot of he was to afraid to try it. Not only that, but he was pronouncing his name wrong on purpose. He took a bite, and stared at the man with his one eye. "Eh, a bit. It's how I learned the traders-tongue. Been speaking it for a long awhile now."

"Good." Nodding some Illya set his spoon aside and continued "Yah know how ta clean?"

Ayrn set down his own spoon. "Soap, water, rag. Kind of a no brain-er."

At least the lad made it easy and he walked right into it. "A good place to start. Yah mop all dah floors on ship today. I watch."

"You mean you want to me to mop the entire deck?"Aryn asked with his brows raised, "And you're just going to stand by and watch?"

"Yes." Illya pointed to his cast. "Already had to clean yah up and that took work. I babysit yah too. Stowaways can't be trusted and captain wanted you locked in th-the quarters. Instead I make a deal and yah work for yah keep. No free rides."

Ayrn wanted to tell him to go to hell, but he could make this work in his favor. "Watch me all you want, Illyuck."

This Arse was problematic for sure, but Illya didn't mind. "After th-th-the floors yah help me clean all bedding and mattresses in thhhhe bunk room." For every time the guy showed an obstinate streak Illya planned to add work. He didn't care if he had to sit up all night to watch him work. There was plenty of time to break him.

The man was obviously just wanted to see him miserable, and for what he wasn't sure. He had actually pulled the guy out of a lake just the day before. "Huh, if that's the captains orders, then its whatever by me."

Surprisingly the man decided to finally agree though Illya was still expecting trouble. It turned out that Ayrn was the most annoying kind of person to have to work around. The fact that the man suddenly turned into a chatty cathy was somewhat surprising. Illya hadn't run into one of those in a long time. While Arse filled his bucket with soap and water he talked, while he scrubbed the floor at an incredibly slow pace he talked and then while he went to get fresh soapy water he talked more. All the while Illya just watched without saying a word. He knew that at some point whether it was in hours or days the man would finally run out of things to say. Maybe he would realize how limited his intelligence was after he'd rambled everything he could think of. If he really wanted to show off or be smart he would create complex math problems and try to speak the answer in line by line figuring of the equation. If the problem was hard enough it could take one day to complete a problem and he could have another one the next day. Math was truly never ending in its expanse and you could display intelligence rather than idiocy. That would be far more impressive than June with the blue eyes and Arse's conquest of another prostitute.

It had taken the two of them hours to reach the end of the hall and the bunk room. While Ayrn continued talking Illya stepped over him and walked to the kitchen to be sure that there were some decent rations out. He didn't have time to cook another meal right now and he knew that Kalizda wouldn't likely want to eat the stew again. She was wandering around looking sick. "Kalizda th-there is more stew and rations if you want." Passing back out of the kitchen he went back to lay on his bunk while the other continued to clean. Illya could still smell the stench of the other from earlier.

Since Ayrn was clean now he assumed that the man could smell it and hopefully he found the smell just as unpleasant. Picking through the beds and cleaning each mattress and flipping each individual mattress took another several hours. By the time Illya had finished the bunks on his side of the room and found the socks he was beyond the point of irritation. Taking the socks and shoving them into a disposal he figured was enough to get the man's attention. Still Ayrn was talking and Illya scrubbed at his mattress to rid it of the smell from the socks. After another hour he sat down on his bed, it smelled clean, and the bedding was clean. "Yah stories are inspiring. Makes a man want to do something with his life." It was a backhanded compliment and Illya knew that it would either fly over the other's head or give him something to think about. "Yah have 4 hours to sleep and we get up to work more. Finish fast or sleep less." Rolling over in his bunk he started to settle in and then added one more thing. "If yah don't finish tonight I add it to tomorrow's work."
 
Calysta crawled out of bed and slowly started to get dressed. Her muscles felt achy and a thickness had settled into her chest accompanied by a sore throat, but there was work to be done. She wanted to look into the anti-treaty factions and find out as much as she could about what happened at the negotiations. Their next stop would be helpful with that considering it was a more major inter-galactic hub. There would be millions of people to disappear into and many information ports. It would also be an excellent place to leave their stowaway where he could find another ride to anywhere he wanted.

Pulling on her cargo jacket to fight the chills brought on by the cold, she coughed and then picked up Keysha who had been at her feet batting at the ends of her shoe laces. The cat purred at her with its lamp-like eyes as she held it up, intending to put her into the jacket pocket. The kitten was starting to out grow it. "You're getting bigger," Calysta mused in a scratchy whisper. Keysha gave a happy meow and settled herself into the pouch as a reply.

She stepped out into the hallway headed for the med-bay. A few tablets of medicine would help keep her functional. The ship was oddly quiet and it appeared the two men had decided on keeping the peace for now or Ayrn was still knocked out cold. She found a few pills meant for treating her symptoms and swallowed them down with a spot of water, which made her throat burn some, before heading toward the cockpit.

Before she made it to the cockpit, it became obvious that Ayrn was very much awake. He was chatting absently while he knelt in front of the steps and scrubbed the floors, looking perfectly fine except for the red bump streaking across his forehead.

At least the ship was getting clean and the stowaway was earning his keep, even if his voice was grating through her head. Illya was standing close by with his arms crossed and a surly look on his face, as if he were thinking the Braxion made more engaging conversation. Not fighting. That was good enough.

Leaving them to their work, she headed to the engine room to run the maintenance check and energy outputs with Keysha riding along. She would have liked Illya to see her run the diagnostics on this style of drive, but she doubted she could talk very much and there was Ayrn to look after.

It only took an hour to complete, and when she returned to the main deck, it was obvious Ayrn had made little progress on his cleaning. He'd only made it to the hallway by the kitchen and Illya was still watching on. When the Chip caught sight of her entering the kitchen he was sure to tell her that there was more stew.

"Thank you."

The reply came out a harsh squeak and she clamped a hand over her mouth against the sound. Illya gave her a skeptical look and she decided to nod an answer rather than attempt speaking again. He didn't comment on it, thankfully, before he retreated from the kitchen leaving her to make her cup of tea in the quiet and return to her room.

***

Illya had listened to him talk for hours and Ayrn wasn't sure he had gotten to the man. He had talked about some of the stuff he had seen...some of the things...he had done...with a few embellishments of course, but he didn't have to know that. Plus, he was having fun thinking of details to add. One thing he couldn't embellish on was his luck with the ladies at different ports. Whenever he delved into those exploits, he thought that might get some sort of comment out of Illya, but all he did was stand there with his arms crossed or comment on how he missed a spot on the floor. This guy was devious and sounded like he took things way too seriously. With a sigh he continued his work at as slow a pace possible.

At one point he did catch sight of Calysta in the hallway, entering the kitchen, and for the first time Illya's attention waived as he followed her. He thought about slicking up the doorway in hopes the man would fall. He'd make a nice boom if he went down like he in Kinte, but Calsyta was also in there and it wouldn't do well to make her fall instead. It would probably result in another boot being thrown or her co-pilot trying to kill him again. Of course, he would try to find the spot on Illyas back to make sure that didn't happen. The guy may have been large and incredibly strong but those thin aliens had taken him down easily after hitting him in the spine. Discovering that little fact had been a stroke of luck, but Illya was too on guard right now for him to try finding it. He would wait till the man had relaxed a bit more to try again.

It seemed a waste of time to clean all of the bunks, even the ones that hadn't even been touched, but Illya finding the socks under his mattress was satisfying. His lip curled, in a refreshing change from the grumpy look or smirk and Ayrn had a hard time fighting a grin. It was the first sign he had hit a nerve with the man. The facetious comment about 'his life being inspirational' only confirmed that he had gotten to the co-pilot.

Rolling his eyes at the threat of more work, he finished cleaning and plopped down on the bunk across from Illya with a puff of exhaustion. He waited for a long moment until the co-pilot started to breath slow and even, just drifting into a nap.

"So, Illyuck, where are we going exactly."

The man's eyes flipped open and Ayrn met the grumpy look shot at him, with a winning grin of his own.
 
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After weeks of long days and his arm aching for most of it Illya was wanting to just get some good sleep. After a few moments of turning from his back to his side to his back again and then shifting his legs frequently he found that perfect spot. The mattress was almost soft feeling and his pillow felt like it was cradling his head comfortably. Laying his good hand over his injured shoulder he started to drift off to sleep. He was half awake and half asleep when the other asked him a question. Arse's voice sounded disproportionately loud for the circumstances. Illya's heart about tore right through his chest being woke up at such a critical point. Staring was hardly an option since it was more of a reflex. "Yah a stowaway all yah need knowing is we go to a port." Illya adjusted himself in the bed and he tried to get comfortable again. It was proving to be challenging at this point.

In a way Illya found it doubtful that he would be able to get back to sleep in a reasonable amount of time with this Ayrn doing his best to be a trouble maker.

"Huh, well it sounds like you've got places to be," Ayrn replied, not caring if the man was trying to sleep or not, "Got business wherever we're going? You and Calysta don't strike me as the trader types, though."

Since he wasn't having much chance to sleep Illya sat up in the bed. "I got business my own and she has her business. Now yah made yah observations and yah should be sleeping. We get up at 4."

The fun of pestering the man was starting to fade a bit and he sat back and stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. "Fine, but the least you could do is tell me if our next stop has any lakes. I always like a heads up before I have to go swimming or bail people out."

"Arse, yah barely got wet that day." Chuckling a little he rolled his eyes. "I tell yah what I know. Absolutely nothing about thhe planet."

"A well of information, you are," Ayrn grumbled, " Any port is as good any, I guess. As long as its got a decent bar or two, eh?"

"Figured as much." Illya grumbled a little and rolled over in his bed. "Now go to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, sleep," he mumbled as he rolled over and closed his eye.

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

By the time mid morning hit Illya started to get a little concerned. He'd barely seen Kalizda and whenever he walked past her quarters she sounded like she was either hacking or wheezing. None of that was a good sign. Off and on Illya started to walk quickly across the ship. In those few moments it shouldn't be enough time for Aryn to make trouble.

Returning to the parts section Illya nodded to the other. "Yah come with meh. Need to make some broth and then we land the ship at the nearest planet." There wasn't much to work with in the kitchen. Illya had Aryn stirring the broth and then the Chip added a few spices to it. Peppers should help clear her throat some and he hoped that the next port or planet they landed would have a few herbs so he could make a paste for her to put on her chest and bottoms of her feet. Then he could make some teas, but again he needed the herbs. Many traders would bring the herbs to sell on Quoti though they didn't know all the recipes that the Chippeqouti made for medicine or anything else for that matter. There was no more modern medicine and at times it was ok and then other times it was needed. For the time Illya couldn't offer her a doctor, he could only give her his best.

While the broth was hot Illya poured it into small jugs. Handing one to Aryn he nodded. "Yah stay here. I take one to Kalizda." Rushing back down the hall he pushed her door open gently. "Kalizda I have broth for yah." This time he sat on the edge of her bed and leaned close. He could see a line of sweat forming on her brow. She needed blankets to help her sweat the fever out.

Without saying a further word he jogged from her room down to the bunkroom and stripped the extra beds of their blankets. Bringing the blankets back he carefully unfolded them and laid the heavy wool blankets on top so she wouldn't feel itchy. Leaning over her again he carefully reached behind her shoulders with one arm and helped her sit up. "Yah need to sit up to breath better. Eh?" Handing her the jug he opened it for her and nodded. "Drink dat and I'm landing the ship at the nearest planet. Going to make some medicine till we can get yah to a doctor."

Illya made his way out of her room and closed the door behind himself. Looking Aryn in the eyes he nodded. "We go set course to land now and yah listen to everything I say. I only landed once before. If yah not fast enough we could die." Overall Illya didn't think that he would do that poorly, but he also knew he wasn't experienced.

The two of them wandered into the navigation room and Illya brought up a star map. It looked like there was a nearby planet with a trading station. That was all the more he needed. A basic station/outpost to get supplies. Drawing up a quick math equation he scribbled the numbers down in his own language, mostly because he needed to get it done fast. Leaning forward he began to type in the numbers on the computer and then he glanced toward the other. "Sit, we're starting the landing process now." It was going to be a little tight, but they needed to get something for Kalizda before she got much worse. The broth for the time should serve to keep her chest from locking up her breathing and keep things loose enough that she could be ok for another couple of hours. Beyond that it could get worse again if he didn't get something done.

As they started to make the gradual curve Illya would look down at the chart and then he angled the ship a little more so it could break through the magnetic barrier. Otherwise skimming it could be deadly. The man took a deep breath as the ship began to rattle. He hadn't quite made his angling smooth, but it seemed to be enough to break through and then he pointed to the thrust with his cast. "Push the button 2 times." Illya wasn't nearly fast enough with his cast to get it done as soon as they needed it.

Landing was more like a skid and a slight hop as he parked the ship. "Alright we get out here and go into post to get what I can for supplies. Get out of the ship right now." Nearly shoving the other out of the ship Illya then went to the money box to see if they had enough for the herbs. There was enough for that, but he knew they wouldn't have enough for a doctor.

Racing back to his room the man pulled out one of the flight books. The one about flying was perhaps easier to find in the library collection that he downloaded than the repair manual. As much as he hated to sell one he knew he would have to if they were to pay for a doctor at the next port. Tucking the book under his arm he stopped briefly outside her door. "I'm getting some supplies. Be back in an hour." Setting a jogging pace he made his way to the post.

Inside the post it was a bar and there were several women that surrounded it. Mostly they seemed to be prostitutes. Illya ignored them for the time and sold his book first for more than he purchased it. They were almost as desperate as himself for books out here. "I also need mint, cinnamon oil, and..." Illya continued with a long list of herbs that he was needing. "Then I need some oil of almond." It was a gentle soothing oil that he knew should carry the essence and bruised leaves from the other plants.

One of the women took the order and nodded. "It'll be about an hour. Have a drink over there."

Illya nodded to her and sat down at the bar. A tall redheaded woman with blue eyes smiled at Illya and at first he looked behind himself to see Aryn sitting there making eyes at the woman. Since the other seemed to think his specialty was women, Illya left it to him. Instead the woman sauntered over and she leaned close to Illya while ignoring the looks from Aryn. "I noticed the accent. We haven't seen anyone like you here before." Carefully she ran a pale hand through his dark hair. "So handsome too."

It seemed the woman was getting a little handsy with all her caressing of his face and tangling fingers in his hair. Illya reached up and took her hand. "I doubt yah seen meh kind here. Stopped for a friend. They're sick." Meeting her gaze he noticed a strange look on her face and then she leaned in suddenly to kiss him on the cheek.

"I see." A smile plastered to her face though it was with a hint of sadness. "Your heart is already taken."

The Chip was a little confused, but he assumed she meant his wife that had passed away not so long ago. "I buy yah a drink anyway. Tell me about yahself. Need a little distraction."

Taking a seat next to him she set a hand on his cast and peered deep into his eyes. "Where should I start?"
 
It felt like there was a large tyrei laying right on her chest and every breath took all the more energy to make as her lungs wheezed. When there wasn't wheezing the coughing racked through her, making her ache and her throat raw. The medicine had held off some of the symptoms, but she couldn't deny she was sick anymore. Quite literally, considering her voice was nothing but a scratchy ghost of itself. The fever had crept up on her while she slept and even though sweat was beading on her forehead, she couldn't seem to get warm. Goosebumps pinched her skin and her teeth chattered against the coldness of the room.

When Illya came in, her eyes opened and she tried to move over to may a place for him to sit, but that set off a fit of coughing. He sat anyways and had a calm, but concerned set on his face and she had the urged to tell him she would be fine, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"Kalizda I have broth for yah. Drink dat and I'm landing the ship at the nearest planet. Going to make some medicine till we can get yah to a doctor."

He put a jug of warm broth on her bedside table and then left without another word. For a moment she wondered if he was going to look after Ayrn, since the man couldn't be trusted to be alone for very long. She looked at the broth on the table, trying to convince herself she was hungry. To drink the broth if for any reason than to soothe her throat. She jolted in surprise when Illya came back into the room carrying an armful of blankets. and started covering her with them, tucking each around round her. It was obvious he knew to sweat out the fever and the extra weight of the blankets he bundled her in felt good, relieving some of the chill. When she was wrapped he sat by her side again and slipped his uninjured arm around her shoulders, sitting her up some with a gentle hand. As soon as he did, she could fell a little relief come to the weight in her chest. "Yah need to sit up to breath better. Eh?"

Calysta nodded, silently thanking him as he laid her gently back down at a better angle. The memory of the first time they had met trickled into her mind. How he had patched her up and shoved her over in the bed, trapping her from escaping in the night. Hard to believe that this was the same man picking her up like this, and yet it didn't surprise her either. He could be violent and mischievous but there was much more to him than what people initially saw. Including her. The thought made her chuckle a little, which started another cough. Illya's frown deepened at the sound and then he ushered out of the room.

It wasn't long before it sank in that Illya would be landing the ship...which he had done only twice before and once with her assistance. She had half a mind to crawl out of bed to help, but he had bundled her up too well and she didn't have the energy raise up. Instead, she rested back and she closed her eyes. confident he could land them safely.

****

Ayrn woke tired and sore from scrubbing through the day before. Illya woke him as promised and had started him cleaning several of the filters and the entire bathroom. These people were going to work him to death before he even made it to port.They were getting more than their share of work out of him for the ride. The co-pilot watched him with his usual stoic silence as he chattered, but the same cocky attitude he carried yesterday seemed somewhat diminished. As if his mind were else where rather than focused on making Ayrn's life a squeaky clean hell.

Mid-morning rolled around and with the parts inventory only half finished, Illya came by and lead him to the kitchen where he started making some sort of broth. From the hacking sound coming from down the hall he figured it had to be mostly for Calysta. He was obviously worried about his captain, as he shoved a jug of broth at him and dashed off into her room, leaving him alone.
Ayrn took a sip of the broth and found himself surprised. Not bad, even if it was spicy for his tastes. He thought Illya was coming back to the kitchen when the sound of boots came down the corridor, he didn't appear in the door way. The guy hadn't let him out of sight for more than a second since he was discovered, so why hadn't he come back immediately?
With his curiosity piqued, he poked his head down the hall to see Illya with a bundle of blankets in his arms...the blankets from the beds Ayrn had just made yesterday.

"What the-"

He cut his complaint short when he saw the co-pilot go back into his captain's room. Was she that sick? She had sounded back but he hadn't paid that much attention because she left him to Illya and he'd been too focused on talking the man to death. When her door opened again, Illya emerged looking with a frown etched on his face and he bustled down to the cockpit. Ayrn assumed he was meant to follow, but also wondered what he was doing as he started playing with the navigation settings.

"We go set course to land now and yah listen to everything I say. I only landed once before. If yah not fast enough we could die."

Ayrn stared at the co-pilot, his eyes wide for a second. "Uh, excuse me?"

Illya ignored him and kept going with his calculations before changing their course suddenly. The captain must be sick enough to warrant a course change. "Sit, we're starting the landing process now."

He didn't hesitate to throw himself into the co-pilots chair as the ship curved into a decent. The whole ship shuddered against the atmosphere and Ayrn glanced up at the co-pilot. Had he never landed a ship before? The angle was too shallow and the whole ship was jittering into the planet's magnetic field, causing a few things to crash off the table in the kitchen. They might be the ones crashing next...
The angle became harsher now and he gripped the edge of his seat, his knuckles going white, until Illya barked an order at him. "Push the button 2 times."

Ayrn obeyed without question this time, not wanting his death to be the result of a crash into some backwater planet. The shaking grew worse and he held his breath, praying the crazy co-pilot didn't get them killed. Some of the longest moments of his life passed before they skipped onto a small landing pad and he finally exhaled. They had made it to solid ground in one piece.

Illya ushered him off the ship without much fan-fare, not even letting him catch his breath from the rocky landing. Maybe this stop would be nice enough he wouldn't have to come back to the Ekram and could hitch another ride soon? That thought was immediately ended when he saw the port they had landed into. There was a sprinkle of dusty buildings and a hot sun beamed down on lazy streets. Hell no. He would clean the floors ten times a day if it mean not being left in such a spot.

The co-pilot had already rushed far ahead of him and he sighed, following the man at an ambling pace until they came to a trading post. The most interesting thing about this port apparently. He wandered inside and found that the spot dealt in all forms of trade. Good, he would need something to do while Illya did whatever it was he needed to do. A pretty red head caught his eyes, and he started walking over to her, tossing on his usual half grin.

"I only have one eye and even I can see how-"

The woman hadn't even heard him. Instead, she had inspected him, then walked further away with her hips swinging and was brushing up against Illya. Ayrn stood there wide-eyed as the red head ran her fingers through the co-pilots hair with a gentle, but coy smile. The man hadn't even spoken to her and she was out for him! The co-pilot spoke to her quietly and the two settled at a table together. It didn't look like the woman was going to get a good time or a coin from the man, so he could still swoop in for a try at a little free time.

Slicking his hair back with his hand, he walked over casually and sat down across from them.

"Did you get what you needed Illyu-a....? Oh, hello there I'm Ayrn."

Illya set his cup down and gave him a cold, serious look at the clearly said "buzz off." The red head even looked over at in a mix of confusion and annoyance. "Excuse me, I've just remembered I haven't ordered a drink."

He got up from the table, and went over to the bar to sit. As he ordered whatever was strongest, he asked that the drink was added to Illyas tab, and then watched the two talk. Now not only was he bored, but he was irritated on multiple levels. When his drink order came up, he grabbed the glass and downed it with a wince against the burn.
 
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The woman was slightly put off that another man would approach. She had a client and he was trying to but in. As soon as the man left she carefully reached for the finger tips that stuck out of the cast. Running the edge of her nails along his fingers she smiled. Illya's fingers twitched a little and she repeated the motion with her hand. After a moment she slid a long slender finger underneath the cast and rubbed the palm of his hand. Leaning toward him a little she stood so that she could whisper in his ear.

Glancing at the woman Illya just nodded and she walked off. Her hips swayed as she casually made her way to the counter to check on the status of the supplies that were being freshly harvested. It was still a little bit and then she returned to the table. Once more she leaned closely to him. "Almost ready. You plan on coming back after you've taken care of your sick crew member?" So far she could only assume he was the captain. He seemed to have that kind of assurance in the way he carried himself. Not cocky and yet very sure of himself. While she was busy playing gently around the cast and talking a low voice another woman came into the room and her eyes brightened.

Long blonde hair was pulled into a soft bun and her brown eyes glanced about the room. She knew exactly what she was looking at. One man was barely of any interest. A Terran, and he looked like he thought he was a gift to women by the look he was giving her. Working here at this station she had come to know what kind of man she wanted to spend her time with and it wasn't that one. Nodding at a few of the younger girls she smiled. "Go see who you like, but I'm going for the big one."

Most of the younger ones had learned to take their cue from her and the gaggle of girls made their way to the area where Illya was at. They had so few customers here that it was nice to be able to pick their clients. A group of four women now surrounded Illya. The first one remained by his cast and one gently began to rub his scalp while another rubbed his back and the last one massaged the one open palm. Of the four the blonde had caught his attention and he peered at her for a long moment. She looked like a Ehaui. If she was then he was in good company and that was a rare thing for a Chippeqouti anymore. She locked eyes with him as well and after a moment she pushed past the other girls and carefully set her hands on either side of his chest. "Girls I need just a moment with our client." Carefully taking his good hand she nodded to him. "Just come with me for a few minutes."

Her skin was still soft and plump, though she was near 400 years old she was still quite young looking. It was her job to watch over the other girls and it was rare that they chose a man different than what she recommended. All of the girls stood aside with jaws dropped as the blonde led the big man back to her bedroom. That was a rare thing to witness indeed.

A smile came over the woman's face as she led Illya to her room and closed the door. Once they were safely inside she gave him a small packet. "I know you're Chippeqouti. I'm Ehaui." The Ehaui were an ancient race and very proud. A cousin of the Chippeqouti and the two greatly revered one another. While the Chippeqouti used to act as guardians of the quadrant the Ehaui had taken great pains to provide the enhanced technology until they were also restricted by the Federation early in the war. She had been waiting and spying here for over a hundred years, hoping that one day a Chip would come. "Get this to your people."

Illya took the packet from her. "We're not free. I escaped to get books. Had to sell one to pay for medicine. Meh captain...."

The smile faded slightly, but she remained hopeful. "You get it to your elders and when the war begins send men to free us. Warn them that an opposing magnetic field has restricted all communications. We have been forced to work on a technology that will annihilate the Chippeqouti. It is a virus that attacks the bones. They have worked on it for many years now and soon they will be ready to launch it." Anytime by her estimation as they had been working on it and testing it against samples. Perhaps the only saving grace if it had not already been used would be the age of the samples. Perhaps the bone that long removed from the body wouldn't present an accurate test. She couldn't know why it hadn't been used yet since she hadn't been home since before the end of the war.

Nodding he took the packet and stuffed it into her pocket. "It will be done."

"Wait." Grabbing his hand she stopped him from opening the door. "Your captain is also Chip and how did you bring the Terran here?"

The Ehaui were just as prejudiced as the Chippeqouti or perhaps more. He knew he would have to weigh his words carefully. "Th-the captain worked off her price after she landed on Quoti, we repaired the ship and she has taught me to fly. She is half blood of two races. They are not Federation. Arse is a stowaway."

After a long moment she nodded and then opened the door. Leaning forward she grabbed him around the neck and gave her a gentle kiss. Now that he was returned to the main room she disappeared only for the girls to throng around him again. While Illya sat quietly the girls giggled and tried to make him as comfortable as possible. Illya ordered a drink for each girl and he carefully made sure to exclude the Ehaui. They didn't take kindly to others purchasing anything for them. Gifts were acceptable, but only at certain times and this was not the time for one.

Suddenly the Ehaui returned and she handed a large bag to Illya. "I took the liberty of returning your funds. We have taken great pleasure in your company." Shooting a look toward the Terran her eyes sharpened. "You were very generous with my girls. A good man and gentle with them. You're welcome here anytime." Turning toward Ayrn she pushed his glass away from him. "I would not have you back. My girls are worth more than what you could afford."

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

Illya returned to the ship feeling better and in high spirits. His companion seemed less than humored with the circumstances, but that was to be expected with an Ehaui running the prostitutes. They were very perceptive and obviously it didn't take much even for the girls to figure out Ayrn was trouble. Once they were aboard the ship Illya mumbled to Ayrn. "I'd listen to whatever she told yah." Even he wasn't one to refuse or cross an Ehaui.

Digging into the bag he found all his money returned, his book, and there were additional credits. The woman was very serious about seeing him finish this job and that meant he would have to return to Qouti. Something that he would need to at least make known to Kalizda. There was no choice at this point and he needed to make it as fast as he could. Obviously the Ehaui had been cut off and forced into exile as well and they might have a few spies scattered throughout the quadrant, but as far as Illya knew he was the only one so far to have made it off the planet and that meant he was the only one with the news.

Taking the bag with himself into Kalizda's room he began to mix some of the oils together and then he took the leaves and squeezed them between his fingers till they turned a deep green color and the juices began to leak out onto his fingers. It was a strong mixture that already made him feel like he was breathing in too much air. It would hopefully help Kalizda clear up a little. Lifting the edge of the blankets he peeled her socks off and rubbed the balm on her feet. Passing the extra up the bed toward her, he nodded. "Put it on yah chest."
 
Ayrn shuffled back to the ship, kicking up dirt with his boot heels and feeling more than just irritated. He'd watched as Illya not only enjoyed himself among every girl in the place, but had taken on even their big-boned keeper. Of course it was a little satisfying to know the man hadn't been in there for very long. Short fuse apparently. He could have offered more of a good time, but then he was insulted by the same woman. She'd pushed his glass away and complimented the co-pilot for being gentle and scolded him though he hadn't even touched one of her charges. Last he checked there wasn't a fee for looking at a whore.

They made it back to the ship and Illya started to Calysta's room as he said "I'd listen to whatever she told yah."

Ayrn scowled at his retreating back. "Yeah, whatever."

It's not like he would be coming back here anyways. He could easily find what he wanted at the next port they stopped at, and probably could have while he was here had Illya not been around. He didn't quite get what the lady had meant about 'gentle'. He was nice. Maybe not honest all of the time, because ladies liked a hero or a mysterious sort of guy, but nice all the same. Ayrn had a hard time believing Illya, as large as he, could be gentle, but it did make him wonder how he had charmed all of those women.

He wandered down the hall and passed by Calysta's room where he could hear more coughing and some quiet whispering. Maybe whatever medicine Illya picked up would work for her. Maybe not. Of course, if she did die, the giant girl-hog would automatically become captain and then he'd be in real trouble. That guy would probably keep him working till he couldn't move, or shoved himself into an air lock to escape.

As he entered the kitchen, he noticed the captains kitten sitting by a food bowl under the table, surrounded by scattered pots and pans. It looked up at him with those big yellow eyes and twitched its pink nose. The thing had probably escaped when Illya opened her bedroom door and she'd probably be looking for it soon. Not to mention by the way Illya piloted, the kitchen wasn't exactly the safest spot for it anyways.

Bending down, he moved a few pans out of the way and reached out to the cat. "Here, kitty kitty.."
It stared at him, but didn't seem coaxed into coming any closer, so he crawled further under the table. "C'mon kitty...lets just take you back..."
His hand landed on a pan handle causing it to flip. It landed with a hard clang which in turn sent the cat into a hissing escape. Claws dug into his arms as the animal scrambled away and he jumped up trying to get away from it, only hit his head on the bottom of the table with a loud crash, knocking over even more utensils.

"Uhg! C'mon!'

The cat ran out the door spitting and in its place stood Illya looking at him with a raised brow. Ayrn rubbed the back of his head and gave the co-pilot a half-grin. "Lemme guess...clean it up?'

****

Calysta was vaguely aware of someone coming into the room. A feverish sleep had grabbed her after Illya had left her with the blankets, and she'd been having strange dreams. Dreams about shadows, and people, and somethings she couldn't quite understand, but felt nonetheless. She had only woken a little when the landing process had started, and the ship shuddered some, but it wasn't enough to worry her out of sleep.

It was the smell of fresh herbs that made her eyes crack open to see Illya at the foot of her bed mixing something. He pulled back the many blankets at her feet and then took off her socks, making her toes curl against the sudden cold. What was he doing? She started to try to ask, but stopped when he started rubbing whatever he had made on her feet with calloused, but light hands.

"Put it on yah chest."

Calysta took the balm and as soon as it reached her nose, the tingly herbs started to clear some of the tightness away. She did as Illya asked and put the medicine on her chest, below her collar bone as the effect began to trickle into her lungs with each breath. "What...is it?" she managed to asks as he tended her feet.

Since he knew she was a little more particular about her privacy Illya did his best to stay focused on her feet only. It wasn't till she lifted her head to ask what it was that he raised his eyes. "I make cream to breath. It has oils and leaves."

"Working..."she wheezed, her grey eyes meeting his, "How..did you...know?"

Illya rolled his eyes. "Of course I know. All Chip know this."

"All...Chips know... glad I met one..then," she tried to joke, noting how his eyes rolled at her.


Sometimes it was easy to forget that she didn't know anything about his kind. A sheepish smirk grew on his face. "Now I guess yah know"

A small smile came to her lips and she chuckled a little. "Suppose... I do..." She took in a few more deep breaths, feeling the herbs work just a little more. Talking was tiring, but she wanted to know what was going on aboard the ship. She had no idea where he had put them to port, but she knew it wasn't the original destination. "Landing was...better...," she nodded to him, "Ayrn...still aboard?"

The man slowly got from his knees and sat on the side of her bed. "Yeah he's still here. Not quite as charming as he thought. Whores weren't falling all over him." A slow grin came to his face as he recalled the many stories that Ayrn had told.

She inched over to give him space and looked up at Illya's pleased grin. She had heard bits and pieces of Ayrn's ramblings, but she could still imagine some of the things he said and she let out a crackly laugh. "How...unfortunate...he came across...smart women..."


"Aye...smart enough to stay away from him." Despite the fact that Illya had just sat down he stood again. "Yah need your rest. I will get us back on course."


She nodded, though his sudden urge to leave puzzled her a little. He could handle getting them back into the air and into the jump back toward the Gkoe hub, so she left him to do it without question. "At...your leisure...co-pilot...thank you.."

"We need to move." Wherever it was that she had been wanting to be and for whatever reason it had to be taken care of soon. There was far more than what he had intended to be doing in regards to the past war.

"I...give you the helm...take us...out when..you are ready," she clarified. He'd become more serious than she had seen him before and it made her wonder if something was bothering him. "Something....wrong?"

Even if she was sick it seemed that Kalizda was perceptive. Trying his best to ease the tension on his face Illya nodded and shook his head. "Just some news about old friends is all."

Old friends? The way he spoke made it obvious it wasn't good news, even if he was trying not to show it. "Can't talk...much..." she said,with a nod, "Can..listen though."

Illya shook his head. "Not something to talk about." He felt rather suspicious talking about anything especially since he knew that Aryn would likely be causing trouble already. "Need to find Arse."

Her eyes broke away from his and she nodded. "Alright.."

The man left her to rest, and she closed her eyes, thinking on things that are not to be talked about.
 
As soon as Illya stepped into the kitchen he saw the mess and he sighed. "Yah wash all da pans on th-the floor and th-then yah put tem away." Ayrn appeared to be less than pleased with the task. "When yah done come find meh. I have to take off." With that he wandered down the hall. "Keysha?" His accent made the e's sound more like an a. "Keysha," calling again he waited near the edge of the hallway and then heard a soft mewl. "Ah, de Keysha sits here eh?" The cat had hidden itself in a small cubby just inside the navigation room. Illya walked into the room and took seat on the one step.

Gently he spoke to the cat for a few moments and then he put a hand out to Keysha. "Come wit meh eh?" Carefully he brought his hand around to pet the cat a few times and then he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. At first the cat began to meow in renewed fervor and her paws splayed out as she slid across the floor toward him. Illya kept on speaking gently to the cat and when she was close enough he tucked her head under his arm and rested his other hand on her back. It was a comforting position for the animal. For the next several minutes he remained sitting while he stroked the cat's back. After a while the cat pulled her head out from under his arm and she began to try and crawl up his chest.

Keysha was tall enough she could stand on his arms and force her little neck to stretch far enough that she could lick under his chin. Illya felt the scratchy little tongue and he winked at the cat. "Now I take yah back to Kalizda." The kitten almost seemed to brighten at the name. She was smart. Putting her down on the floor Illya nodded to her. "Find Kalizda."

The cat mewled as she trotted down the hallway and then stood outside the doorway. Illya opened it for her and let the cat run into the room. "We take off now." It was the single quiet warning that he gave to her.

Once he was in the cockpit Illya swiveled the captain's chair around and began typing in codes to go to previous locations. Finally he spotted the one he wanted and set the lock to ensure that the course could not be changed unless the password was put in again. When Ayrn came in Illya nodded to him. "Sit." This time it seemed the man was far more prompt in obeying the command. No questions and nothing that could be perceived as a distraction. Take off was far more smooth than landing. Illya liked getting into the air more. It seemed to be easier and breaking the magnetic barrier on the exit was far less complicated in the art of flying.

When they had reached the outer rim of the planet Illya sighed and leaned back in the chair. He didn't feel good. It might have been the stress. Maybe it was pain settling into his shoulder or arm. "Now yah clean more." Illya set Ayrn to cleaning the bathroom while he watched and then at the end of it he gave Ayrn instructions to clean himself before having dinner.

Illya made the rations, but again pulled the packets out and doctored them a little to ensure that they tasted like a finer food. He didn't like to use the rations, but he didn't feel good either. Taking a large serving to Kalizda's room he gently knocked on her door and took the steaming plate to her. "Yah better eat good. Heal faster if yah eat food." Making his way back to the door he glanced at her. "I tink mebbe I sleep early tonight. Need rest."

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

Shortly after dinner was finished Illya motioned to Ayrn. "We sleep early tonight. Yah work hard and yah need more rest." It sounded better than saying he was starting to need more sleep despite the fact that he didn't do much the last few days. Somehow it turned out to be one of those rare nights that when he laid down it was nearly impossible to get comfortable. Illya shifted almost once a minute and then he stripped his pants off too and threw them out from under his blankets. He'd already taken his shirt off and now it was just his socks and boxers he had on.

Everything hurt like he had an infection or something. Somehow it seemed more likely that the lack of rest since he broke his arm was beginning to get to him. Shortly after he finally got comfortable Illya drifted off to sleep with every intention of waking up.
 
Ayrn woke slowly and stretched out on his bunk with a yawn. The last few days had been anything but the relaxing ride he wanted, but at least the food was good and the bed was moderately soft. He'd had worse. He tossed a glance at his bunk-mate who was on his back, hands folded over his stomach with his eyes closed, still asleep. Odd for the co-pilot, but he wouldn't complain. It just gave him a few more minutes of sleep time before the man's annoying accent greeted him with "Time for yeh to wake, Arse."
Wiggling further down in his bed, he closed his eye again and drifted off for a little while longer.

The sound of his own snoring woke him again and he rolled over to see Illya still asleep. The man hadn't moved an inch from what Ayrn could tell and it was already close to mid-day according to the clock on the wall. His eye moved from the clock, to his boots. Dare he? Yes.
He tossed his feet over the side of his bed and tugged on his boots before wandering out into the hall. If Illya woke up he could just come hunt him down. The first stop was the kitchen. An angry grumble came from his stomach and he realized they had skipped breakfast altogether and now it was lunch time.

Rummaging through the cabinets, he found that most of the fresh stuff was gone at this point, so he tossed a ration package into the microwave and heated it up. Some sort of vegetable protein and some sort of green leafy bits and starchy pile of something. He'd forgotten how little meat Kaerealeans eat. A steak with a side of french fries and ketchup sounded more appealing to his taste buds, but those were very far away. Some places could replicate the style of Terran food, but not the soul of it, so to get any decent meals like that, a trip home was the only solution.

He snagged his meal, burning his fingers some on the plastic container as he pulled it from the microwave, then pulled a fork out of the drawer. The table was clean, but he would much rather go looking around while he could. With the food in one hand, and the fork in the other, he walked into the corridor toward the cockpit, nibbling at the tasteless meal.

The cockpit was quiet, except for the hum of the engines in their jump. Where were they going exactly? He took another bite and pulled up the navigational display. Gkoe inter-galactic port was the next stop. Now that was a town worth getting around in. Great sights, great drinks, and a wide variety of night life to explore. All tastes were catered to there. Another chewy bite of his meal made the hankering for steak flash through his mind and he glanced down out the navigational display again. Maybe a little side trip was in order? Technically, it wouldn't be a side trip, considering Earth was a days away by jump-drive and he would most definitely be caught if he changed their course for a spot that long. However, Nyxian was only an hour or two away and they had a somewhat decent substitute for Terran food there.

He started to tap into the controls, only to be met by an angry buzzing sound. Illya had put a lock on the previous destination. Sighing, he finished up his not-steak meal and started to roam around the ship. The cockpit was pretty boring but the engine room was pretty cool. Their ship packed a powerful jump engine that wasn't a Kaerealean design but similar. When he was done there, he wandered back to his quarters again to find the co-pilot still asleep. This guy was going to sleep all day.

With cautious steps, he tip-toed over to Illya and waved his hand in from of the man's face. He didn't move a muscle. How deep did the man sleep, exactly? He decided to take a chance and reached out to nudge him on the shoulder, leaping away out of arms reach. Nothing.

"Interesting..."

Illya's deep sleep provided a unique opportunity. Aryn went over to the closet where the co-pilot's clothes lay in a neatly folded pile and an idea struck him. This was the only set of clothes this man seemed to own...perfect. With a devious grin. he snatched up Illya's pants and shirt along with the socks and dumped them into the shower, turning on the water with a flick of his wrist. When the clothes were sopping wet he gathered them up and tossed them into the freezer in the kitchen to get nice and solid.
Then he went back to their quarters and picked up the man's boots, sitting down with them in his lap to work on the laces. His tongue stuck in the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on lacing the boots together in a neat braid. Satisfied with his work, he left the boots where he found them and then started going through the bag Illya had been given by the big-boned mistress. There was nothing of interest inside. Just a few left over herbs and some money, and a book on mechanics. This guy was boring. What had all those girls been so interested in, exactly? He left the bag where he found it and then went back to exploring.

***

Ayrn was halfway into some cheesy romance movie titled Notebook, stretched out in the captain's chair and using the navigation display as a screen when he heard a cough down the hallway. He had totally forgotten Calysta was in her quarters, since he seen her hadn't come out in over 24 hours. Maybe she felt more like talking now? He tossed his bag of corn chip into the co-pilots chair and wandered down the hallway to listen outside her door. She was still wheezing but not nearly as bad. Feeling an opportunity for his luck to change, he slipped into the kitchen and heated up a ration box before going back to her door and knocking on it.

Calysta heard the knock and sat up a little, still feeling tired, but able to breath much more than before, thanks to the balm. The last she had heard from anyone was Illya giving her food and telling her to eat. She'd eaten as much as she could and then knocked out for a good long while, only getting up to let Keysha out or visit the bathroom. Her hair was a mess, and she was still in her tank top and shorts piled under blankets. "Come in."

The door opened, but rather than Illya standing in front of her, Ayrn was there carrying a ration box in his hand, and a half smile on his face. Immediately she snatched up her blankets a little higher, and gave him a hard look."

"Oh, sorry, you were probably expecting Illya," he said, apologetically, "He's asleep still. I figured you might want some food."

Calysta frowned at Ayrn, feeling very suspicious. Illya wouldn't simply let their stowaway go wandering and he probably wouldn't have asked him to come bring her anything either. The Chip would have done it himself. So, Ayrn was doing this on his own.

"He's asleep?" she asked, her voice still hoarse.

"Been out for awhile. Anyways, would you like this?"

Calysta glanced at the beside table where her pistol was and then back to Ayrn. "Uh, sure."

He quickly crossed the room and put it on her nightstand, then retreated respectfully back to the door. "Probably make you feel better, I'll just put it right here."

"Thanks."

He gave her a half smile and nodded as she shut the door. "Of course, anything for the captain who didn't have this stowaway thrown out of the air lock. Cute"

When she was sure he was gone, Calysta eased herself up, careful not to disturb Keysha and went to the crew quarters across the hallway. She cracked he door open as quietly as she could and poked her head inside. It was dim, but she could make out Illya on his bunk, eyes closed and hands over his belly. He wasn't snoring, but he was asleep. Ayrn hadn't been lying.

She closed the door back and glanced down both ends of the hall. "Ayrn?"

His head poked out of the kitchen door way and his eye looked up and down. "Aye Captain?"

Calsyta crossed her arms over her chest quickly and shot him a look. "I want you to stay in your quarters."

Ayrn made a face but complied, sashaying from the kitchen to the crew quarters door, and slipping inside. She had no way of knowing if he would stay there, and already this excursion had made her chills return. She couldn't sleep out in the hallway all night, so she would just have to listen for him, sneaky as he was.

***

A little while later, Calysta felt enough of herself to step over to the bathroom and clean herself up. The steam made her lungs feel thicker again, but putting on the remaining balm Illya had made chased away the pressure again. As she combed her hair in the mirror with short strokes, a figure appeared in the doorway and she turned to see Ayrn.

"Aryn? I thought you were asked to stay in your quarters," she said firmly.

"You did, and I don't blame you, honestly," he replied, scratching at the back of his head.

Calysta turned to him and sat her brush down on the sink. "Then why are you out here?"

His brow creased as he looked her in the eye. "Because I think something is wrong with your co-pilot. He doesn't look alive. I'm worried about him."

She paled as a sudden shock of fear buzzed through her and she brushed past Ayrn. The door to the crew quarters was open and saw Illya still on his bunk in same position she had seen him in the night before.

"Illya?"

He didn't move at all, not even his chest seemed to rise and fall with his breathing. She went to the side of his bed and gently took his shoulders in her hands, shaking them a bit. "Illya?"

Still nothing. Calysta shook him a little harder and his head lolled to the side, his eyes still closed. "Illya!" her voice squeaked, "If this is another one of your jokes, its not funny."

Illya's eyes didn't flicker even once. Starting to panic, she checked for any signs of him breathing but found none. What was wrong? Her fingers searched for a pulse at his wrist and neck, hoping to find something as Ayrn was standing behind her watching.
 
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