Black Hawk Skimming
By Sinead

Author's Note: I know that this is short, but I couldn't add more without it being super-long. The next chapter is currently being written, and I'm one page into it. Enjoy!

.chapter.ten.

The dorm building loomed in its old architectural glory around the two young women that walked through the halls towards a single-person room. With a sigh, Raevyn looked to the summer RA who was finishing up extra courses over the short term. The young woman smiled. "You're serious about this? You know that it's a huge responsibility, and people will be angry with you about things that you'll do, and what you'll been asked to do and have no control over."

"I know. But I really want to do this."

"It's because you hate your roomie, isn't it." The RA laughed, crossing her arms over her chest and grinned. Her room was open to Raevyn at all times because of this young woman who really didn't have any sense of respect for someone else's personal space in a room, and had often rummaged through Raevyn's belongings. There were often days that Raevyn would end up going to school and seeing her roommate wearing an article of her clothing.

Entering the room and leaving the door open for the RA to come in behind her, the young woman put her keys down upon the desk. "No, it's because I've got a job that will have me leave valuables in a room, and the RAs have the most secure rooms. Not only that, but it's because I want to learn how to be responsible for people." Raevyn smiled as the Qrio activated from its "sleep" to walk over and look up at her. She crouched down, smiling.

The RA joined her, reaching her hand out to touch the top of the small white robot's head. "I've only heard about these."

"I'm working with a company that made an alliance with Sony."

"Good money in it?"

"Decent enough."

"I'll talk with the women's department and recommend you for the RA position. If you're working with something that's got you one of these, and I'm as big a Japanophile as you are, then you're gonna need that extra lock that the school refuses to put on any of the other doors." Standing, the woman mock-saluted and left the room, closing the door after her.

Sitting on the floor and watching as the Qrio came up to lean against her crossed legs, Raevyn asked, "Are you doing okay?"

"Mm. I forgot how I enjoyed the sunlight hitting my roof."

"I know, I know . . . you want me to come out and sunbathe with you."

"Yes."

She stood and changed quickly into cooler clothing, walking out of her room and locking the door behind her. Walking down to her car, she smiled and threw her towel over his hood, climbing up and putting an earbud into her ear, hearing the tail-end of Karr humming softly. He stopped, then seemed to clear his throat as Raevyn settled herself upon the warmed metal.

"Raevyn."

"Mm?"

Karr's voice was low, very quiet. "I miss Kitt."

The young woman threw her arms over her face. "I do too."

.o.

Devon and Michael sat with Kitt, but the air around the trio was decidedly unhappy and unfriendly. Bonnie walked over to them and wiping her hands off on an old rag before leaning against the black paintjob. "What's going on?" Feeling Kitt vibrate, the closest he would ever get to a growl, she smoothly stepped away as if nothing had transpired. The AI was not a happy camper.

The men looked up at her, then away from both her and each other. They had just finished an argument about what they were going to do about Karr and Raevyn. They disagreed on two major points, and as Michael carried the last name "Knight" and was part of the council that made the decisions about operations and how the Foundation was going to continue, he had say over what was going to happen, and his words had been weighed by the men and women that held council seats. They knew the rules; he broke them on the field when they proved to be only words and proved to be ineffective tools.

"Okay, what's the argument this time?"

"Conditions concerning if Raevyn returns," Michael growled, turning to enter Kitt's driver's seat and turning the engine on. By the snarl of it, Kitt was also angry. They started moving before Devon could push himself off of the car, causing Bonnie to grab his arm. With a sigh, she looked at the older man. "Lemme guess. Project Kairos."

"Partially, yes," came the glowering reply.

She nodded, more of a twitch, really, then pulled her phone out, calling Kitt up and half-order him back to the garage. With a bit of persuasion on her behalf to Michael, and after another five minutes, they returned. Bonnie had kept Devon from leaving. When they all were back in the garage, and now even Kitt was annoyed with her, the woman asked, "Do you want Kairos to go into action with Raevyn and Karr?"

"It'll make things better for them."

"Then why don't you two test it." And with that, she glared at them and crossed her arms over her chest. "If you two are so hot for getting them to participate in the Kairos Project, then why don't you two go and do it yourself!"

Devon turned to look at Michael and Kitt. Michael was bristling. "We have private minds! It's not the same as Karr and Raevyn!"

"It's exactly the same, with the cutting difference being that she is a woman, you're a man, and she and Karr are attracted to each other's minds and souls! That's all! That's the only difference! You two are mirrors of each other, you and Raevyn, then Kitt and Karr!" Storming up a bit closer to her lover and the car, she whispered harshly, "Don't force it upon her if you don't want it done to you yourself. Don't you dare try to assume that she would be open to something that you're not!"

With that, she turned and left the men and the AI in a stunned silence.

.o.

Raevyn stretched, hearing her cell phone ring. Without looking at the number, knowing just by the ring, she opened it, her voice tired and angry. "What."

There was a sigh on the other end of the phone, and Michael's voice was quiet. "Raevyn, I wanted to apologize for being stupid. Kitt's apologized to Karr last night, right after we got chewed out by Bonnie. We were being stupid, and we had the idea that Kairos would be different for you than it would be for me and Kitt."

"So . . . now you expect that I'll be prancing back to FLAG? Just because you said that you're sorry for trying to force something upon me and Karr?" She was still very angry at the whole thing, and she still didn't like the idea of coming back to the Knight estate.

The man's voice went lower, quieter. "No. I know that you won't come back until you're good and ready." He drew in a deep breath, then said softly, "Kairos is being put on the back burner with the discussion open to retiring the project."

"Good."

"So . . . uhm . . ."

"Dinner at seven, down at that sub shop on the beach." She made the decision quickly, smiling at how he was really trying to find the words for something so simple as saying "you were right."

"I'll be there. Promise."

"Bring Kitt. I'll see you there."

"Definitely."

They hung up, and Raevyn looked up at the Qrio with a smile, opening her mouth to say something. That was when she noticed that it seemed to be frozen, the color for "warning" or "mechanical failure" around the cameras that passed as its eyes. ". . . Karr?"

Nothing.

Grabbing her bag and keys, she darted out of the room and down to her car, to the AI, unlocking the door and getting in. "Karr?!"

Still nothing. She looked at the screen down on the console beside the steering column, seeing a message written there. Her heart almost stopped at the words.

something crash. need flag. help me!