Reloaded 10/08/2005

2. Emma

Second Part

"This is what we have to do", said Carlos after a long silence. "Those crates contain weapons, ammo and the rest of the stuff that goes with weapons. We need to unpack everything, check that it survived Andros's suicidal flying and put it in place. I'll check the equipment, you'll put it where it belongs". He quickly explained Kutall how to read the codes on the crates. "Zhane already checked this pile here. Get going"

They set to work. Kutall tried to be as silent as he could. Carlos's eyes darkened whenever they fell on the large Enterran, and Kutall had the uneasy feeling that the human would love to get rid of his presence. The silence strategy worked though, and soon Carlos ignored him completely.

The human was a warrior by his appearance: heavy shoulders above a lean waist, his movement fast and flowing. Yet his face was deeply lined and he had many white hairs among the black ones. Kutall sensed that it was grief, and not age, that made him so, for he had the face of one which cried much and laughed only a little.

There was a light knock on the open door. Tommy entered. "Can I have you for a moment?", he asked Carlos, and the two men left to the corridor and closed the door behind them. They spoke quietly but Kutall was a feline Enterran, and the meaning of that was good hearing. He left the crates and listened hard.

"Look, Carlos, I know you want out of here…"

"I know you didn't want me to come"

"That's not what I wanted to say…"

"You shouldn't hide it. I would have felt the same in your position. As a token of my understanding, I'm willing to stay at the base. Save your breath"

Carlosseemed to have caught Tommy by surprise, because it was a minute before his voice came, inquiring: "Why?"

"Go and leave Emma? I'm not nuts"

"I understand Melissa chose her herself"

"Emma volunteered". Silence again. "Zhane was quick to jump on the train, even if it's as Emma's bodyguard"

One of the men sighed, but Kutall couldn't tell which.

"Is that all the reason you're staying?", asked Tommy. He sounded disappointed but strangely hopeful.

"What do you expect of me?" asked Carlos curtly, and them softened his voice: "No, that's not all. I need hope, Tommy, I need it badly. I don't think I'm going to find it with my ax in my hands. This is the only place where I might find it"

"Despite the fact…"

"The two things coexist"

A longer silence. Finally Tommy spoke. " "Ruby" are leaving now. "Topaz" should leave in two hours, but they can be delayed to the evening if you want"

"It's ok"

One last pause, and then footsteps echoing away in the corridor. Kutall hurried back to work.

Carlos came in and looked at the still-too-high mound of crates. "We should work faster", he said, "or we can forget about supper"

Zhane brought up a simulation of an endless lawn and two gliders. "The tricky thing about gliding", he said, "Is that the elements of proper technique are much harder than they seem. For example, gliding in a straight line is nearly impossible. That's why most teaching methods spend months on the basics. We, however, don't have much time, and this is why I'm going to teach you in the "Bone Crasher" method: the idea is that if you'll break a bone whenever you make a mistake you won't repeat your errors."

"It can't be that hard"

"Oh really?", said Zhane sarcastically, "We'll see about that. Now get on that glider". Zhane jumped on one himself. "First, don't bend your knees. That's better. No, don't you ever lock them! Not even when you're gliding long distances. That's a very dangerous mistake to make. Keep your feet perpendicular to each other and at a reasonable distance or you'll fall off as soon as you accelerate. Your hands should go with your feet. That's better. When you want to accelerate lean forward, but be very careful when you break. Even the slightest shift of weight will trigger a slowdown. I'm going to glide slowly now. Try to stick with me"

Zhane glided in a moderate pace. Sago leaned very slightly forward and his glider speeded at a terrific speed. He shifted as little of his weight as he could backwards and the glider halted so suddenly he nearly fell.

"Not bad", Zhane glided to his side, "I was sure you'll fall"

"I almost did. This thing is sensitive"

"You'll come to appreciate it after you've glided you first battle. Let's do it again"

A sudden beep in the middle of a sequence made Sago break too suddenly. Zhane answered the comm. "Yes?", He asked.

"Dinner in half an hour", came Triny's voice, "And Kutall is asking how's Sago"

"Alive", said Zhane.

"Nothing broken yet", added Sago.

"With Zhane teaching you? You're getting soft, Zhane". She terminated the line.

"So that must be it for today", said Zhane, "We'll have our training sessions in the mornings, first thing after breakfast. Nothing like a morning glide to wake you up in the morning. Now go get yourself the hottest shower you can stand or you won't be able to stand tomorrow"

There were still ten minutes to go when Sago finished his shower, and so he decided to check on Mushra.

Emma was sitting by the bedside, grinding fine powder. "He hasn't woken yet, as you can see", she said, "but he's better"

"He's in no mortal danger?"

"I wouldn't say that just yet. He's still not stabilized"

"When will he be?"

"In a few days"

"When will he wake up?"

"A few more days". She got up and went to her distillery. She added a tinge of the powder to a transparent liquid in a bicker over a small fire, and the liquid turned orange. When the color disappeared, after a few seconds, she added another tinge.

"Are you going to add all that powder?" he asked, "Because you'll be late for dinner"

"I won't", she answered, "Stay and you'll see"

Indeed, the orange color disappeared faster each time, and at some point Emma simply poured the powder in slowly. She held the bicker to her eyes. Sago approached so he could see better. Suddenly a thin blue coating formed on the surface of the liquid. Emma put the bicker in a centrifuge. "Still a full minute to go", she said.

Zhane, Justin and Kat already sat around the table when Sago and Emma came in. Kutall was stirring a pot in the kitchen. "I'm afraid most of the food is cold", he said, "But I made some tomato soup"

"I'm hungry enough to eat ice," said Sago. Kutall looked hurt so Sago added: "And the soup smells delicious". He sat. "Who are we waiting for?"

"Triny and Carlos", said Kat, "The others left already"

Triny came in as soon as Kat finished her sentence. "How was your practice?" she asked Sago, "How bad are the bruises?"

"Not very", he said, "And I only got a few of them"

"Really?", wondered Justin, "Are you feeling alright, Zhane?"

"Yeah. He's good"

"Where's Carlos?", asked Sago.

"Probably finishing with those crates", said Kutall, "He still had a fair pile when he sent me here"

"I'm hungry", said Justin, "Can't a couple of crates wait for tomorrow?"

"You know Carlos", Triny shook her head, "He'll finish every task, no matter how boring it is"

"Some folks are weird", said Zhane.

Kutall put the pot on the table. "The soup's ready", he declared.

The elevator door opened and Carlos came out of it. "I see that my timing is just right", he said.

They wolfed down the food. "Who's for putting Kutall on permanent kitchen duty?", asked Justin in a full mouth. All hands, including Kutall's, were raised.

"Are you sure about this?" Kat asked him.

"I would have been hurt if you didn't want me to be your chef", he answered.

"While we're speaking of duties", said Triny, "Let's fix the schedule"

"Sago and I are gliding the first half on the first shift", said Zhane immediately, "This includes shooting range. And I want Kutall to get proper technical training"

"Here's my offer: Kutall will do daily first shift. Carlos and I will alternate. Zhane and Justin are doing second shift together and Kat will have the third. She will alternate with Justin when she's had enough. Sago will do the second half of the first shift and the first half of the second. Oh, one more thing", she added, giving them a stern look, "If I catch any of you outside your quarters after lights-out, that person will do night shifts until he will learn to appreciate his sleeping hours"

"What a day" said Sago as he crashed unto the sofa at their apartment.

"I agree very much", said Kutall, "At least you didn't spend your afternoon with an Enterrans-hostile human"

"Carlos hates Enterrans?"

Kutall told him of the conversation he overheard. "What do you make of it?", he asked.

"Two things are obvious: the first is that Carlos and Emma share some bond. The other is that Carlos is more reluctant about bringing us in then the others are. Say, did you see just how much Emma looks like Yakumo?"

"I did", said Kutall, "It sent shivers down my spine"

"They just have to be related. But none of the humans seemed to recognized Yakumo's name. You know what I think?"

"What?"

"Yakumo isn't born yet"

"But Rusphine said – "

"You can kill a person before they're born", said Sago darkly, "Emma is too old to have a baby sister, but she's just the right age to become a mother"

"This is crazy, but it makes some sort of sense"

"Can we continue this tomorrow?", yawned Sago.

"I'm getting up before you are, if it makes you feel better"

"Not really. You're not starting your day with a person who is openly determined to break your bones"