Disclaimer: Same as before.

Crystal Calling

Chapter 2

By Ethril Dragon

There were voices around her; that was the first thing that Angie thought about. Her next thought was about why she felt no pain. She remembered her head hurting badly, before blacking out. Her last thought was about where the frag was her viola. She'd been holding it last she knew, so it couldn't be far. Slowly, with a quiet moan, Angie sat up. Now that she was moving, the pain in her head returned making her reach up to rub her temples. There was a bandage there and she felt the edges of it carefully.

"You're lucky you know." A woman said as she walked into the room that Angie was resting in. There was a monitoring board in her hands. "Turns out the storm ripped the landing gear of your pod to shreds. You could have landed a lot worse."

Angie was silent as she watched the doctor come closer. After spending years learning how to read voices and tones she knew there was something the doctor wasn't telling her.

"I'm surprised you didn't get anything worse than that bump on your head with how much the storm tossed you around." The doctor continued to say as she began doing routine checks.

"Where's my viola?" Angie asked seriously. This was not the time for niceties. That viola was her most prized possession and was several hundred years old. To Angie the instrument was worth more than her life.

"The case you were holding is right over there," The woman said as she pointed to a table just a few feet from the bed Angie was resting on. "It's still locked and secure. You'll be happy to know that it survived impact a lot better then you did." There was some humor in the woman's voice which relaxed Angie. As long as her viola was alright she had nothing to be angry about.

"FSP officials will be right in to talk to you. Your father has also left a message recording for you." The doctor informed her as she finished her inspection of the various machines around Angie. "You've been asleep for a couple days now."

"Thank you." Angie said as the doctor turned and left. Whatever it was that the doctor hadn't told her, she would find out soon enough. She sighed softly and lay back on the bed. It wasn't long until a man in a clean looking uniform strode in.

The questions were simple enough, what happened, what details she could remember, did she see any of the attackers, etc. She gave as much detail as she could, right down to the pitch in the voices that she had heard. That was where her training was after all, in sound. When the official asked her how she was able to discern the pitch she told him about his own voice; describing the pitch and key that his voice happened to be in. It wasn't hard for her, there were only so many keys that a voice could be in and her training had been extensive.

The man hesitated a moment before nodding and leaving her room. Angie had the distinct impression that he had been about to tell her something important before he had left. She sighed and closed her eyes to block out the glare of the lights. With her head hurting so much even a little light was bothering her.

After a few minutes of resting Angie struggled into a sitting position and then requested the recorded message from her father. The screen flickered on and the stern expression of her father filled her view.

"Angelique, it has come to my attention-" the message went on like that for a few minutes, making Angie roll her eyes. Even when her life was threatened he still treated everything like a political meeting. She half listened to her father's words as he rambled on about how grateful he was for the Heptite guild to have rescued her and how she was to thank them respectfully. It wasn't until the end that she noticed something…off about his speech.

"I've been…proud of you Angelique. Very proud. Remember that if nothing else." He coughed and then the strange sad look that had been in his eyes vanished and he said his good byes.

Angie blinked several times and then frowned. Was she…dying? The hit to her head couldn't have been that bad! She had a moment of panic as she worried about all the things she had wanted to do. She'd dreamed about opening a charity music school, she'd wanted to perform with some of the best. What good were her dreams to her if she was just going to die?

Her panic and fear turned to rage the more she thought about dying. It was just a stupid head injury! Why should she die when this was all those stupid pirate's faults?

Tears were in her eyes when her next visitor entered her room. He was tall and looked to be in his third decade. He had a look about him that told Angie that he had authority here.

"Hello Angelique." The man's voice was a rich tenor and Angie couldn't help but blush.

"Angie," she commented softly. "I prefer Angie."

The man smiled. It was a good smile that filled his entire face. "It's nice to meet you Angie. You've been out for a couple days. We were getting worried about you."

Angie frowned, her momentary good mood gone. "Am I dying?" she asked seriously. She wasn't about to beat around the bush with this man or with anyone else anymore.

The man looked at her in surprise and was silent for a minute or two before bursting out laughing. Angie felt a pang of annoyance; she didn't like being laughed at. She was frowning rather deeply when the man finally caught his breath.

"No, no, nothing like that!" He grinned for a moment, but his grin faltered. "Although I suppose you might wish you had." The man sighed and reached up to run a hand through his hair. He pulled up a chair and sat down a few feet away from Angie's bed. "My name is Lars Dahl," he began to tell her. "I'm the Guild Master of the Heptite Guild on Ballybran."

'Well that would explain the authoritativeness.' Angie thought to herself as she stayed silent. She wanted answers, and she'd learned the best way to get answers most of the time was to stay silent.

Lars watched the girl for a moment then sighed again. "After you were picked up by the Retrieval team, your pod was examined. We found a…breach in the hull where the landing gear had been ripped away."

"So?" Angie asked, her patience wearing thin.

"Ballybran is known for its crystals. The people who mine the crystals are called Crystal Singers."
"I already know most of that." Angie commented. She didn't know what the miners had been called, but everyone knew where the crystals all originated.

"Do you know what a class four restricted planet is?" Lars asked softly.

Angie slowly shook her head.

"It means that the planet is dangerous to humans biologically. In the air we breathe on Ballybran is what we call a 'symbiont'. That symbiont mutates the people that breathe it in." Lars explained things slowly to Angie. "For the majority of the people who go to Ballybran…they can never leave."

Angie was a little shocked to hear that last part. Never leave? So did that mean she'd been exposed?

"We're not sure if you were exposed or not, so we'll be keeping you under observation for a week to two weeks. If you show no signs of adjustment, you'll be given passage to anywhere in the universe you want to go. If you do…adjust…you will be sent back to Ballybran for full disclosure."

Angie was silent for a long time. What was she supposed to say, to do? She couldn't change what had happened. All she could do was hope she hadn't been exposed. The more she thought about it though, the more likely she had been. Why else would the Guild Master of an important guild be telling her all this?

"Now that you're awake, you'll be escorted to private quarters reserved for guild members and recruits." Lars told her before bowing. "If you need anything, just ask." And with that he left.

Right outside the medical room stood a brown haired woman. She was leaning lazily against the wall with her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

"How'd she take it?" the woman asked without ever opening her eyes.

"I couldn't tell her. It's possible that nothing made it through the crack in the hull." Lars sighed as the woman linked her arm with his.

"We're lucky she has perfect pitch." Killashandra said offhandedly as they walked out of the medical ward and towards Lars' office. Lars said nothing the rest of the walk.

Angie couldn't believe what the guild master had told her. Was she…infected with the symbiont? Soon enough two people arrived and escorted her through the moon base. They explained procedures and the rules as well as where she was allowed to go and what sign meant what; the typical things that anyone with common sense would understand.

They arrived at her new room and Angie politely excused herself. She turned on the privacy light and went over to the bed. With a sigh and a soft whimper she lay down and rested her head against the cool pillow. There was a pounding in her head and it was hard for her to keep her eyes open. Angie slowed her breathing and focused on her heart beat. The pounding of her head lessened as she focused on the sounds around her.

Back at the academy, she'd memorized the routines of the people and things around her so that she had learned the symphony of the academy itself. The night time sounds of the academy had always comforted her after her long and busy days. The sounds of the moon base were different for her. She could hear the air purifiers no matter how softly they purred, she could hear the quiet chirping sounds of the technology in the walls, and she could hear the muffled sounds of the hall just outside the door. Slowly Angie was able to organize the sounds into a song and she was lulled to sleep with the alien sounds around her.

Morning was average for Angie. She got up, changed into a set of clothes that had been provided to her, and left the room she'd been assigned so she could find something to eat.

Angie followed the map provided to her the day before and found herself in the common area where she could get food. She avoided eye contact as she went over to the food dispenser. Angie quickly put in her order and was pleasantly surprised to see that her father had deposited a rather large amount of credits to her account. Usually her father only gave her a monthly allowance to cover supplies for school. The amount given to her this time, she could have used to go to any resort planet in the Federation. She wondered about the amount as she retrieved her food and found herself a secluded booth away from the crowd that was mulling around. Why would her father give her that much?

"Hey there." A male voice said as she took the first bite of her food. Angie looked up in surprise to find a blond man with brown eyes leaning against her table.

Angie swallowed with a little difficulty and smiled in return. It was a fake smile, but the academy had taught her to act just as it had taught her music. "Hello."

The man, taking her hello as an invitation, sat down across from her. "All the other tables are full." The man commented, one hand lightly waving towards the rest of the commons area. Angie glanced around and was disgusted to see that he was right. Maybe she should have taken her food back to her room.

"So…" The man leaned his elbows against the table as he observed Angie. "My name's Reggie." He grinned at Angie, clearly expecting her to reply.

Angie wasn't completely comfortable talking to strangers. For half her life she'd been surrounded by people she knew intimately. Life outside the academy was definitely different. "Angelique." Angie wasn't about to give this stranger her nickname.

"So what brings you here Angelique?" Reggie slurred the 'gel' part of her name making Angelique blush slightly.

"I…don't want to talk about it." Angie told him in response as she took another bite of her food. The fish she'd ordered was delicious and spiced very differently then what she was used too.

"I take it you weren't recruited then." Reggie's words were more of fact then a question. He smiled sympathetically.

"Recruited? For what?" Angie asked slowly. She set her fork down on her plate as she contemplated her options for getting away from the common area with her food.

"For the Heptite Guild. Recruitment has only been going on for…50 years I think, and it's still pretty selective. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to hear the guild master make a speech to a group of recruits." Reggie said proudly.

Angie frowned and was about to scoot out of her seat when Reggie continued on. "So how old are you? You don't look like you meet the age requirements for the Heptite Guild." Reggie commented as he took a swig from his drink. Angie could smell the alcohol from where she was sitting.

"I'm 17." She said lightly.

"So…you're not here to join the Guild?" Reggie seemed to be a bit upset about that.

"No, sorry." Angie picked up her tray of food and left the common area. She really didn't want to continue that particular discussion.

"Hey, wait up!" Reggie called out as he chased after her.

Angie wanted to sigh and roll her eyes, but her training had taught her to stay calm and cordial to everyone. You never knew who it was you were actually talking too.

"So if you're not joining the guild, why are you in the guild quarters?" Reggie asked. Angie wondered if he would ever stop asking questions. Did he not know what privacy meant?

"It's where I was assigned." Was all Angie said as she continued walking.

"Well hey, can't argue with that. So a bunch of us are getting together tonight, you want to come?" Reggie asked with a big grin as he walked beside Angie. He'd left his tray of food behind.

"I'm a bit underage." Angie commented softly. To be honest she would have liked too, she missed spending time with other people closer to her age. Angie had had quite a few friends back at the academy.

"Don't worry about that! No one will say anything." Reggie winked at her.

Angie paused; she really did want to go. Before she could reply though, Reggie made the choice for her.

"I'll come get you at about 6 ok? See you then." And with that he raced off to another room. Angie stared after him, her mouth hanging open. She shook her head softly and then went into her room. What the heck was she going to wear? Angie grinned at that thought. With the large balance of credits that her father had given her, she could afford a little shopping spree. With that thought in mind, she happily scrolled through the available catalog while finishing her food.

When Reggie finally came at 6, Angie had showered and changed into a comfortable, white, off one shoulder shirt and a simple pair of blue jeans. Angie did enjoy old fashion styles.

"You're going to love the party," Reggie said as he took Angie's arm and ushered her out of her room. "Only recruits are going to be there so the food and drink is on the guild!"

Angie smiled and let herself relax. If there was one good thing she could say about Reggie, it was that he had a lot of charisma.

The party as a whole was nice enough, although she didn't drink any of the alcoholic beverages that were presented. She had a few years before she would legally be able to drink and she was going to follow that law closely. Most of the people were talking about what they hoped to achieve in the guild, which she silently listened to. Angie was surprised to learn that every recruit had perfect pitch, although several of them had zero music training.

Angie excused herself though when the party ran over midnight. Reggie accompanied her out. "So, did you have fun?" Reggie asked, his voice just a tad slurred.

Angie openly smiled and nodded. "It wasn't bad."

Reggie laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Angie had gotten to know Reggie better over the past 6 hours. He'd just turned 27 which had just made him eligible for joining the Heptite Guild. Angie had learned that Reggie had been born and lived on a family owned transport ship that focused on asteroid belts and was hired out to mining operations. She'd also learned that Reggie had no music training. For her, having spent 7 years at an academy for the fine arts, the idea that a person with perfect pitch had never had music training was strange.

"Thanks for inviting me to the party." Angie said as they came to a stop outside her room.

"You looked like you needed it." Reggie smiled warmly and let go of her shoulder.

Angie returned the smile and hesitated. She knew what might come next, although she'd never participated in such activities. She'd always been underage at the academy, and her studies had taken up all her extra time.

"Well good night Reggie." Angie turned and opened the door. She felt his hand on her arm but it fell away when she hurried into her room. As soon as the door shut she switched on the privacy light and slumped against the wall. She'd apologize in the morning.

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0~

A/N: So there's chapter 2. I'm sure everyone has guessed what will happen in the next chapter. :: shrugs :: oh well. I'm enjoying writing this. And yes, Reggie will come back in future chapters.

Thanks for the review Mike 3