Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder
Chapter 25: Realizations, Rationalizations, and Understandings
AN: That's right people, I'M BACK BABY! It's been awhile I know, and I'm terribly sorry but I needed a bit of a break I guess. Fifty some chapters between two books was getting to be a bit taxing. I hope my skill has improved working on my other series, and I will eventually get around to editing my older chapters (of both books). So, after nearly six months of waiting, I give you the twenty fifth chapter of WOC!
Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or the 'Deathclaws'. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.
Shadow, Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25
Tigger and Aladd belong to Misery J. Voldemort
Marina is nuts for Star Wars'
Rondana was made, and is owned by Missy-Dedocakes
Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame
Rondana scrunched her nose as she tried to ignore the growing itch on its tip. Since they were on a backwater terra and had only the most basic of lab equipment she had been forced to cut off one of her sleeves and use it as a makeshift face mask.
"I don't know how much longer I can take this," she groaned mentally as the itch became ten times more intense.
Having sent Marina to clean up (and burn her flight suit in case it had picked up anything) it was now just her and Majah in the back of the small lab.
In the short time they had been on this terra she had grown to like the old man. He was nothing like the rest of the terra's population, he didn't look down on her or treat her any different than anyone else. In fact, he treated her better than most people she knew. She wasn't sure if this was due to him simply being older or if it was due to him being a doctor of sorts himself and showing respect for another practitioner of medicine.
Squinting her eyes, she made a small cut along the base of the dead bird's neck and allowed several drops of blood to drop onto the glass slide she had placed underneath it before hand.
"I just hope I can figure out what the heck is going on before it's too late," she thought darkly as a shudder ran through her.
"Majah, is the microscope ready?" she asked without looking up from the dead bird.
"Eh, yes it is ready, but I'm not sure why you think it could help you. If it is something in the blood as you suspect it's going to be far too small see with this," the old man replied with a cautious tone.
Rondana smirked.
"I've worked with less before, trust me if something is there I'll see it," she replied as she turned the bird over so that the blood wouldn't continue dripping. The table was going to have to be burned anyways but there was no need to risk spreading anything further if she could help it.
Picking up the glass slide, she carefully placed a second slide on top of it before moving over to the old microscope.
"Now, tell me your story little birdy, tell me what happened to you," she said to herself as she adjusted the focus trying to clear up what she was seeing.
Several seconds passed as time seemed to have stopped.
Looking up from the device, Rondana's face was white as a sheet.
"Majah…I think you need to see this," she said as she swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.
Frowning, Shadow sighed as she felt the tell tale signs of boredom beginning to take hold of her. Past experience had taught her (and by extension everyone around her) that for her boredom was a very dangerous thing. For most people boredom led to taking naps, reading books, writing, or perhaps listening to music.
For Shadow, boredom usually led to explosions or at the very minimum extensive property damage.
"This tanks, why did I get stuck on lookout duty?" she asked no one in particular. Of course she knew why, there was no one else that could since they all had more important things to do.
That line of thinking however only caused her to become more incensed. Ever since this mission had begun she had been little more than the third wheel. Kai was obviously the only one that knew what was going on (to an extent) Piper was the navigator, crystal expert and translator, Marina was their main fighter, Rondana was the medic and Tigger was the mechanic. She and Starling had not been part of the original plan, they were simply add-ons.
Except for the fact that Starling hadn't been a mere tagalong like she had been.
"In the Phoenix Den I didn't do anything to help at all, Rocky Fall's I got hurt and almost killed my friends, and now I'm just sitting here waiting for the next attack to come…am I really that useless?"
She had been sent for a specific reason, one that she (and everyone else present) knew was a waste of time. Kai was not a traitor, but at the same time, what if he was? Had Arrow really thought that she could stop him if he was?
That caused her to snort.
"He was trained by Starling and half a dozen other Sky Knights. What the heck could I do if he was a serious threat?"
Thinking back to everything else that had happened since leaving terra Deep, Shadow found herself growing more and more depressed.
"I'm not that great of a fighter, I mean, I'm ok, but the only people on this ship I might have a chance against are Tigger and Rondana. I can't do repairs and I know next to nothing about medicine…why am I even here?"
Narrowing her eyes, that thought actually struck her as being more than just odd.
"Why…am I here? Kai could have dropped me off or left me back at his base if he wanted to…why did he let me come in the first place? And for that matter, once things started getting dangerous, why didn't he drop me off then?"
She ran everything she could think of over and over, but none of it explained why her friend had allowed her to remain despite everything going on around them.
"Why…"
"Grreeerrrrrr"
Looking down, Shadow saw that she had stopped rubbing Griffy's neck, resulting in his growling.
"Griffy, what am I going to do with you?" she asked with a small grin as she continued rubbing the back of his neck.
"We've been through a lot together haven't we? Good times and bad."
Blinking, she remembered back to her and Kai's last argument, the hurt look on his face when she had stormed off. It had been different from when she saw him fight with his friends in the past, having an almost needy or longing feel to it.
"I…wonder…"
Thinking back to everything that had happened once again but this time with a different train of thought, she was surprised at what she saw.
"Not once has he tried to get me to leave since we started, but he has tried to get Starling to leave…several times in fact…"
That alone struck her as odd. It was an open secret known to all (but the one who needed to know it) how the older teen looked to his long time friend. So for him to shun her in any way was difficult to understand. She had chalked it up to his being over protective and laid it to rest, but now that reasoning had lost some merit. After all, shouldn't that have extended to her as well? He had told her in the past that she was like a little sister to him, so shouldn't that have motivated him to push her away as well?
"Come on Shadow, think, why would he be trying to push Starling away but not you? What's the difference between us? Kai doesn't do something unless he has a reason, and if he doesn't need something he doesn't…"
Eyes wide, Shadow felt her jaw drop.
"He…needs me, but not Starling? That doesn't make any sense at all, no it can't be that, it can't be. There is no way Kai would put me, or anyone for that matter above her, there has to be another explanation," she thought shaking her head trying to push down her reddening cheeks.
Taking a deep breath she tried focusing from a different angle, one that didn't threaten to make her hyperventilate.
"Ok, so for some reason, despite my being totally useless Kai has let me stay on this mission. At the same time, Starling, who has been incredibly useful and a huge part of why we're still alive gets the cold shoulder. Why? What do I have that she doesn't?"
It only took her a few seconds, but when it hit her it hit like a runaway skimmer.
It wasn't what she had that Starling didn't; it was what Starling had that she didn't.
"His heart…that's the difference between us. Kai might not act like it often, but he is human, he thinks and feels like the rest of us, so he has the same needs as the rest of us. He knows most of the others pretty well, but me and Starling are the only two friends he's got with him…and with everything going on the way it is…"
Feeling her stomach twist, Shadow shook her head.
"Great, the others might be keeping us, this mission and our ship going and in one piece, but I'm the one stuck keeping our fearless leader from turning into a basket case. Yippy for me," she groaned.
Everything clicked into place now, and for once she didn't feel like she was just tagging along or in the way. Everyone on the crew had a reason for being there, and hers was to be what she was, Kai's friend. Nothing more and nothing less.
"And I've been pushing him away so much…it's no wonder he's getting all quiet and withdrawn. He might act like a complete jerk sometimes, but he still needs people there for him. He's never asked for it and he's never sought it out, but he's never pushed us away either…except Starling…"
That little fact was both troubling and amusing to her. On the one hand she had seen Kai fight large groups of thugs, go two on one against a Sky Knight and fight monsters that look like they came from a disturbed Merb's nightmares, but on the other hand despite everything he had done, all the crazy battles, life threatening stunts and sheer suicidal tactics he often employed he was afraid of his best friend.
"I guess everyone has something though, and at least he keeps his under control…most of the time," she thought with a small smirk as she recalled a few of the older teens slip ups.
"Oh well, can't do anything about the past," she said with a shrug as she leaned back against the wooden frame behind her.
"When we get off this rock, I'll try to get him talking again. There are too many over serious people on this ship as it is."
Marina was not happy, not in the least.
She was stuck on a terra whose entire culture was enough to make her contemplate declaring war on them after she returned to her home terra (and she had copied their coordinates if she felt the need to return). Added to that she had little to nothing to do since arriving if one didn't count the two run inns with Deathclaws, then had been chased like a scared rabbit through the forest carrying a dead vulture.
Rondana had of course been thankful for the sample as had been Majah, but that thanks was quickly followed by an order (as crews medic) to shower and burn her flight suit to prevent the spread of anything she might be carrying from carrying the dead bird.
She didn't like this because not only did it mean meandering through the village to reach their ship, but also because it meant the loss of the last flight suit she had brought with her from home. She had nothing against the normal standard issue flight suites the others wore, she simply preferred her own, the type she had been wearing for years.
Of course she had no one to blame but herself for this problem. Piper had warned her to pack for a long mission after all. She simply had underestimated just how long a 'long mission' was. So, thinking it would only be a matter of a week or so, two at most, she had packed three of her suites along with the one she had been wearing at the time, reasoning that she could get away with wearing one for a few days and there would always be the option of washing them.
Had dirt and grime or even blood been the only enemy her attire suffered attacks from this plan would have worked without a hitch. Unfortunately, she had yet to face the horrors of mud or Naru forbid 'dirt', oh no, she faced much simpler things on this particular quest, things that didn't dirty clothing in the least.
It simply destroyed them.
The Phoenix den had resulted in the loss of her first, falling victim to lava spray when they had been running from the Virage. It hadn't been much, and she supposed that she should have been counting herself lucky that she hadn't been burned alive as a result. But the back of her pants had several pin sized holes burned into them that she knew (from experience of previous run inns with lava) would only continue to grow until they simply fell apart.
The second flight suit had lasted through quite a bit, including a sandstorm and several fights with local wildlife. It however had fallen victim to the insidious evil known as 'random jagged protrusions' (A.K.A. rocks sticking out of a caves wall and floor). She hadn't even noticed until a red faced Kai pointed out the long cut along the side of her top and several smaller ones across the backs of her legs.
She made a mental note never to sit on a cave floor again after that one.
The third flight suit had survived the shortest length of time, falling prey to the acidic slime that spilled from the Deathclaws cocoon they had pulled Tsuki from upon arriving.
"At least it wasn't as bad as what happened to Kai," she reasoned with a smirk. It was true that what happened had been embarrassing to her, or to be more accurate it could have been, but what happened to the crew's lone male had certainly been.
She had gotten away with the legs getting burned well past her knees and a few strategic drops on her back, which had resulted in her top nearly falling free were it not for the graces of her mother's genes.
Kai on the other hand was left with little more than a modest set of swim trunks.
To his credit, this was because he had reached into the cocoon and pulled Tsuki out, who had been coated in the stuff and who landed on him.
So, while he had been left in little more than his boxers, it was due to pulling an unconscious person from a bag full of acid. She couldn't think of anyone brave enough (or foolish enough) to joke about that particular event.
Her fourth and final flight suit however was probably the one whose loss stung the most. She could make due with only one pant leg, it wasn't anything major as she didn't wear much armor to begin with (nor did she need it). No, what hurt was that her mostly intact and still completely functional flight suit had to be destroyed because of the chance that something might be on it that could prove hazardous.
She didn't blame Rondana for her order; she simply hated the fact that she was losing an otherwise perfectly good flight suit to a possibility.
Destroying it hadn't been too difficult, as Kai had placed a small incinerator conveniently within the ships bathroom.
This had been confusing at first, but after thinking about it and hearing about just what it was that Kai did for his day job it made perfect sense. If someone regularly ventured into dangerous or hazardous areas, it would be reasonable to assume they had to shed what they were wearing from time to time, and since this was always going to be followed up with attempting to remove whatever the cause for destroying the flight suit was from their person, why not put the two in the same room?
For all its logic however it did nothing to solve her current dilemma.
For the first time that she could remember in her entire life, Marina Dragmire, ruler of terra Gerudo, and flight lead of its squadron, had nothing to wear.
Back at her palace she literally had enough clothes that if she wanted to she could cover the walls of every building on the terra. Of course she only wore a few of them, the rest had been gifts or for the rare special occasion (that she would always try desperately to get out of, after all who wanted to spend an entire evening listening to Zelda preaching about whatever was on her mind at the time). But here, now, in the confines of a small freighter, the queen was in a spot of royal trouble.
Sitting on the ships commode wrapped only in a towel she ran over her short list of options. A list that really had only two options.
Make something. Which was out since she didn't have the slightest clue how to stitch anything beyond simple patch jobs.
Or, take something. This appealed to her not only because it was the only one of the two options she actually could pull off, but because of the fact the no matter her title and no matter where life took her she would always be a thief at heart.
"That just leaves the problem of who to take it from…" she thought smirking at the idea of stealing a few changes of clothes from the local inhabitants of the terra. That idea was quickly shot down however as it would imply doing so in only her precious towel. She had a great deal of faith in her skills as a sneak and a thief, but ever since this mission had begun she found herself unwilling to even attempt exercising her luck.
"It's like that boy carries a bad aura around with him or something, like he absorbs other peoples luck," she had mused once not so long ago. She had even through that perhaps that was how he had survived for so long, by taking others (namely those after him as they were often the only ones around him) 'luck' and using it for himself.
That left her with stealing from someone else on board the ship.
"Well, Kai's out, I 'm not wearing a guys uniform…and he probably counts all his stuff so he would actually notice anything missing," she thought with a snort. "Tigger and Shadow are out, they're too short. Piper is several sizes too small and Rondana only has her dresses…"
Her smirk shifted to a predatory grin.
"Well then, that just leaves Starling."
With her towel firmly in place, Marina stuck her head out the door and checked to see if anyone else was on the ship.
"Ok, coast is clear," she nodded to herself before sliding out the door and against the wall down the corridor.
"Good thing this ship is so small, if this was the size of the Condor I doubt I'd be able to make it without anyone seeing me."
It only took her a little over a minute to cover the short distance from bathroom to barracks and lock the door behind her.
"Perfect," Marina thought as she ignored the fact that everyone was likely too busy doing other more important things to be anywhere near the ship.
Stalking over to her fellow Sky Knight's trunk locker she was disappointed to find that there was no lock to prevent her from simply opening the top.
"Kinda takes all the fun out of it when it's this easy," she sighed. That was one of the drawbacks to being a master thief; you got bored easily when there was nothing to keep you occupied or challenge your skills. As much as the day to day drull of being ruler of terra Gerudo tried her patience, it did at least keep her busy if nothing else.
Opening the locker she quickly began sifting through its contents seeking her quarry. She had to be careful though, she knew that Starling had specialized training, and while she doubted the Sky Knight would mind her borrowing a spar flight suit or two, she wanted to test her thieving skills against Starling's observational skills.
In short, she wanted to see if she could take what she was after without Starling noticing anything.
It didn't take long for her to find what she was after. Starling was as meticulous and organized as could be.
As she pulled the uniform up from the trunk she noticed something, something that didn't fit.
Starlings locker was basically divided into two 'stacks'. One side had clothes; the other side was 'not clothes', which was basically just a few crystals, a spar weapons holster, and a few other knick knacks. But under the third flight suit (only an amateur would take the easy one on top) was a single very well hidden crystal.
Kneeling over the locker, she stared at the crystal for a few moments until it finally clicked just what she was looking at.
"It's a messenger crystal…a high density one at that…it's probably a flight log or something," she reasoned as her eyes shifted back to the door.
"Well, she won't be back for awhile, and it's probably just a flight log. I mean, seriously, Starling isn't the type to keep a diary…"
Aside from the occasional bout of boredom, Marina also had to deal with a constant sense of curiosity that came from treasure hunting in ancient tombs and temples. She wasn't the only one on the ship with that problem however, as she had seen Kai eyeing their lockers on more than one occasion. It wasn't so much of a desire to steal as it was to simply find something. It was the reason why despite her age she still became giddy when she pulled the prize from the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks.
Now, within her reach was a possible 'treasure' of another sort. She knew and got along with the others just fine, and she knew a fair bit about most of them, but Starling and Kai were still largely unknown to her outside her observations or what she had heard from the others.
For Starling, she knew that the woman came from a rough childhood, her quiet nature and distant personality proved that plain as day. She also carried a great weight of grief over her shoulders, one that was strongly tied to guilt. Piper had told her the story about the Interceptors, which did explain most of that weight, but not all of it. There was something else there, something that frightened her to the point that she always kept the others in her sight, something that kept her awake long after that others (excluding Marina herself) had fallen asleep.
Kai was a different matter entirely. He was very open with just about everything. If you asked him something, chances were that he would tell you the answer if he knew it. The only time he was secretive was when it came to his past specifically, and even then it was only on selective matters. He had no problem telling anyone that cared to hear how he had snuck into the Sky Council chambers and made off with any number of things, or how he had tricked the Rex Guardians into chasing a decoy halfway across free Atmos, heck he practically bragged about those types of things.
Both were polite enough and generally well mannered, neither would outright lie to you but preferred to change the subject if it was on a topic they didn't care for, and neither one had any problem telling you anything that wasn't personal. But therein laid the key. Personal.
She had only tried to pry into Starling and Kai on one occasion each, and both had shut her down in the blink of an eye.
Now in her hands was a possible peak into the last two unknowns of her temporary teammates.
"I'll just listen to a little bit, if it's too personal I'll shut it off," she decided with a tiny smirk as she placed the messenger crystal onto the nearby locker.
Inspecting the flight suit she had 'borrowed' she estimated that it was roughly the right size, a bit tight in the midsection perhaps but she knew that wouldn't be a problem for long.
Taking a moment to retrieve a crystal knife from her own locker, she sat down with the blade in one hand and the flight suit in the other.
"Now, let's see what Starling has to say," Marina said activating the crystal and knife at the same time.
As she lifted the flight suit with one hand and the crystal knife with the other, a small hologram of Starling appeared on the locker beside her.
'Suzy, I am sending you this information in case I…do not return from this mission.'
Marain blinked, and then blinked again.
"What?"
'In the last two weeks Kai has become increasingly withdrawn from others, more so than usual. What is even more unusual is that he is no longer following his normal pattern of behavior. Rather than becoming frustrated or aggravated with increasing pressure from events concerning this mission, it's almost like he's…afraid of something."
Making her first cut along the waistline of the flight suit, Marina continued listening to the recording carefully.
'He will still engage others in conversation, but…it's hard to explain. It's almost like there is something on his mind, something that he can't or won't stop thinking about.'
"So he's obsessive huh? That's not surprising. Still, it sounds like he wasn't always like this…I wonder what changed?"
'I know his powers have become increasingly unstable, but as long as he doesn't continue using them they shouldn't be of too much concern. The only thing I am certain of is that he knows something that he's not telling the rest of us. But what possible reason could he have for withholding information from everyone else? He knows that withholding vital or critical details can jeopardize a mission, and given how by the book he's treating this one I can't imagine why he would risk making any exceptions.'
"Hmm, I thought being secretive was just his personality. According to this though that isn't the case. Strange, what would make a person do a complete one eighty from normal? He's not so immature that he would hold something back if he was simply afraid or angry with something," Marina thought as she finished cutting the flight suit in half making it into a top and a pair of pants rather than a one piece.
Satisfied with her work so far, she continued.
'He hasn't become aggressive, depressed, or shown any signs of mood swings of any sort. If anything he's…calmed down, takes things more serious…I know it sounds stupid, but there have been times where I find myself wishing he'd go back to the way he used to be, or at least show a wider range of reaction. With each passing day he gets more…*sigh* he's…turning into me Suzy. All those years where I kept telling him to grow up and take things more serious…'
Raising an eyebrow, Marina continued to trim material off the bottom of the uniforms top portion as she listened to the message.
'Suzy, I don't know what to do. I can fight and I can fly, I've been trained to do any number of things, but I never had any sort of training dealing with the mind other than manipulation or interrogation. I don't have any idea what to do…I don't even know what the problem is,' Starling chuckled darkly before continuing. 'For the first time in over a year I have both the time and the opportunity to spend time with him and he up and decides to switch roles with me. I can't say that I don't entirely deserve it, but…it makes me worry. What does he know…what is making him act like this all of a sudden?'
The image faded with a few static sparks before disappearing.
"That…was unusual," Marina said before noticing Starling's image reappear on the locker.
'It has taken several days for me to find enough privacy to make another entry, but fortunately everyone is still trying to figure out exactly what happened on the last terra... some sort of temporal wake effect that sent us back in time several days. I figured it was best simply to accept it and not to continue thinking about it.' Starling took a deep breath before continuing. 'Suzy, your suspicions were right. Kai has traveled outside of the known terra before. How many times I am still unsure, but he has apparently made contact with several groups of people that even the archives are unaware of. Kai has maps in his possession that put even our best charts to shame. I was able to get a good look at a few of them back at his base, but he apparently has some form of copy he has brought with him on this mission.'
Narrowing her eyes when she realized her last cut hadn't been straight, Marina made a large cut along the uniforms top, completely removing the mid drift section.
'The log book we are using as our guide only has coordinates; it doesn't have any real maps that could be used to find anything…at least according to Piper. Her translation work is a bit rough, but I trust her skills and knowledge. According to her the log book only give numeric coordinates, but they don't match up with any of our charts or maps. She says that Kai supplied her with a formula to use that so far has proven able to guide us to the various terras. I don't quite understand how it works, but it converts the coordinates in the log book to those of our charts. That's all fine and dandy, but where on Atmos did Kai get the formula to do such a thing? I don't like this Suzy, not one bit. If Kai has ventured beyond the known and explored areas of Atmos…what else might he have discovered?'
Again Starlings image disappeared from sight for several seconds before flickering back to life.
'This might be the last entry I am able to make for some time. We are nearing the next terra, I can't pronounce its name even if I wanted to, but apparently Kai has been to it before. Not much else has happened since we left the last terra, but I have noticed that Kai has been observing Shadow and Piper on occasion. I can understand his curiosity regarding Shadow with what happened on the last terra, but his sudden increased interest in Piper was…unexpected. He seems to have taken a liking to her, or at the very least will open up to her from time to time. She herself seems to be completely unaware of his observations, or is passing them off as nothing.'
Marina grinned at that part of the message.
"Looks like someone's jealous," Marina said with a sing a song voice before setting down the uniforms top and starting to work on the pants.
'I know others might pass it off as well, but they don't know Kai, not like I do. He doesn't do anything without a reason, and if he's observing someone there is a reason for it. I spoke with a few of the others, but neither Tigger nor Rondana have noticed anything. Shadow stated that Kai had spent some time with Piper before gathering the rest of us, so I suppose something might have caught his attention during that time.'
Marina shook her head and rolled her eyes.
'The only thing I can think of is that he has somehow picked up on her…possible skills.
Ears perking up, Marina turned her full attention to the small hologram of Starling.
'You know as well as I do that the Sky Council are keeping their eyes on both Aerrow and Piper, Aerrow because of who his father was, and Piper…because of the incident with Lark Cyclonis. But how could Kai know if she is a catalyst or not when even the Council is unable to do so? The only known way to distinguish if someone is, is by them bonding with someone and their powers manifesting itself. What does he know that we don't?'
The image flickered out and the crystal seemed to go dead prompting Marina to reach for it, but pause when she remembered just who had been using the crystal to record messages.
"I wonder…"
Sure enough, after allowing a full minute to pass Starling's image reappeared.
'Suzy, it happened. The village we are currently staying at was attacked by some sort of creatures. I've never seen anything like them before, and I pray that I never do again…but…Piper is a catalyst. I don't know if Kai somehow already knew or not, but during the attack she manifested her powers to help us fight. What worries me is that by all appearances she has apparently already bonded with Aerrow…'
Detecting the obvious tone of distress in the young woman's voice Marina put down her work to listen.
'You know what they will do when they find out about this; they'll pull her from the Storm Hawks and try to break her bond with Aerrow. It's been over a century since a catalyst was born in Free Atmos, and there is no way that the Sky Council will pass up on this if they find out.'
Bawling her free hand into a fist, Marina had to fight the urge to snarl at what she was hearing.
'I…I don't know what to do Suzy. Ever since discovering that the Council has been trying to kill me off for the last year…I've…been unable to think clearly concerning them. I know they're trying to protect Free Atmos, but Kai was right about them. There really is no low that they won't stoop to if it means giving them an edge. I was fairly young when they took me in for special ops training, and I've never fully…I know that it changed me, I know they tried to take away my emotions…even as young as I was…but Piper…she's only fifteen, and with her personality and history…there's no way she would be able to make it through and remain even a fraction of her true self.'
Feeling her lip pull back into a scowl, Marina was once again forced to remind herself why she didn't outright declare war on the Sky Council, but her resolve was waning the more she learned about the old men.
'The only hope she has would be to run…but I know she'd never leave the other Storm Hawks. They are her friends and her family…and…I just don't know how I can help her. Ever since this mission began I've felt like I was nothing but dead weight. I have all this training, all this skill, and I'm completely powerless to help protect a fifteen year old girl from her own government, or speak to a boy I've known for the better part of my life. I don't know what's going to happen next, or where we will be heading, but if at all possibly I will try to see if we can make a stop near you to give you an update…you might actually be of more help than I am with this mess Suzy...Starling out.'
Hearing those last two words, Marina's eyes widened.
"Starling out? But that would mean that the crystal isn't a simple recording device, but that it's also a-"
'Hello? Starling?'
Looking down at the crystal, Marina felt her pulse begin accelerating.
'Hey, I'm talking to you up there, you with the bath towel!'
Reaching for the crystal Marina yanked back her hand when a life sized hologram appeared before her.
One that was not Starling.
Peering through the microscope, Majah wasn't quite sure what to make of what he was seeing.
"It looks almost like…bugs?"
Rondana, who was now pacing stopped in her tracks.
"Parasites…that might explain a few things but…"
"Rondana, there is no such thing as a parasite so small that it could live in a hosts blood stream," Majah pointed out.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've seen plenty of strange things when Kai is involved, but this is a first…what I don't get is how they are multiplying so quickly. Parasites normally take more time than this…unless…Majah…please don't tell me that you're giving the Blood Claws water from that spring…while they are here," she cringed even as the words left her mouth.
The two looked at each other, then to the pails of water on the opposite side of the room.
Not even two seconds passed before each and every one of the buckets was hurled out the front door, immediately followed by a stream of fire from courtesy of Rondana's crystal staff.
That lasted for well over a minute.
Stomping back into the old wooden building, Rondana leveled the few people tending to the ailing Blood Claws with her fiercest glare.
"Look, I don't care about you're customs or rituals or whatever it is you've been doing for generations. If you continued giving these patients water from that spring you're going to kill them! Now go to the NORMAL well for water from now on, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" She hissed at the now frightened nursing staff.
When no one responded she slammed the butt end of her staff on the wooden floor.
"I asked you a question!"
"Yes sir!" Several of the nurses shouted before scurrying out with empty buckets to fetch fresh water.
Blinking, Rondana wasn't sure exactly how she should feel at being called 'sir' but she was relieved to know that she was no longer fighting an uphill battle that was a sheer vertical wall at least.
Majah placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a small grin.
"Not bad for a girl," seeing her reaction he quickly continued. "None of the natives here would have had the courage to stand up like that, even if they knew what was happening."
Rondana sighed and deflated slightly.
"It still doesn't change much of anything. With all the water they've been drinking they're systems are full of those things."
The old man shrugged.
"So? If a cup is full of water it can be emptied can it not?"
Raising an eyebrow, the young medic nodded.
"True, but this isn't the same. Parasites are extremely difficult to get out of a host once they've dug in, and there is no way for a person's immune system to fight them off. They have to be removed, or killed, and neither one of those are easy to pull off."
"Well, removing them is out of the question, so that just leaves killing them," Majah reasoned.
"Correct, but like I said, that's not easy. Parasites are very resilient under normal circumstances, but these…these are really different. I've never seen anything like this before naturally, and given where we are I'm willing to bet they're not natural. Otherwise you'd have come across them before."
"So what do you recommend doing? You have more experience with this sort of thing than anyone here does."
Biting her lip, Rondana shook her head.
"I…I don't know…I told you I've never had to deal with anything like this before. I know we have to keep their strength up, so…they need iron to keep their muscles from atrophying…so…I guess the first thing to do is get some meat in their systems…"
The old man offered a gentle smile.
"One step at a time Rondana, remember no one can travel anywhere without putting one foot in front of the other to walk or run. Let's start with the food, and then take things from there ok?"
Nodding Rondana slumped down in the seat behind the desk before noticing the dead bird still on top of it.
Seconds later it joined the ashen remains of the buckets she had thrown out earlier, and was torched by another stream of fire.
Piper and Tigger entered the small 'room' carefully. There wasn't much that made it remarkable other than the large glowing crystal in its center. Aside from that it was just four barren walls, a floor and a ceiling.
"I *really* don't like the looks of that thing Piper," Tigger said with an involuntary shudder.
Releasing another whining moan the spherical crystal shifted its color, turning silvery white. From where the two girls were kneeling, it looked like a spherical mirror.
"What is that thing?" Tigger asked.
Piper looked over her shoulder with a quizzical expression.
"Why are you asking me? I've never seen anything like it before."
Tigger's eyes grew wide at that.
"But I thought you were some kind of crystal expert?!"
"I am, but that doesn't mean I know everything there is to know about them."
Tigger sat and watched as Piper crawled steadily closer to the large crystal and shuddered as it released yet another moaning grumble.
"Why is it doing that?" she whispered more to herself than Piper, knowing the she probably didn't know either.
Piper didn't respond to her, but instead sat herself next to the glowing orb Indian style and adopted a thinking pose.
Studying the crystal, Piper was able to make a few observations right of the bat, none of which really told her much.
"It's pure…and it seems stable…nothing really strange about that…but what's up with the noise? I've never heard anything about a crystal making sounds on its own before."
Looking over at Radarr she motioned for him to come over.
Reluctantly, the sky monkey approached the bluenette cautiously.
"Radarr, may I have my Solaris crystal back please?" she asked holding out her hand to her fellow Storm Hawk.
Looking back between the crystal and Piper's outstretched hand; Radarr sighed and handed over the crystal.
"Sound…why the sound…I know that it must have something to do with whatever this crystal is or does...but how?"
Holding her Solaris crystal closer to get a better look, she noticed something when the glowing crystal released another whining moan.
She felt it.
"What on Atmos? Why was I able to…and what was…" furrowing her brows, Piper focused on the Solaris crystal in her hand then back at the glowing crystal.
"I wonder…"
Holding the Solaris crystal next to the 'moaning crystal' she waited for it to release another wave of sound. When it did several seconds later, she noticed her Solaris crystal suddenly grow much dimmer.
"But it doesn't feel any cooler, so it's not draining my crystal's energy…"
Frowning, Piper tried to remember if she had ever heard of anything like this happened before. She knew terra Deep had a bad reputation just like the Black Gorge did with draining crystals, but that had been written off as being the Murk Raiders long ago in her book.
"Sound…sound…what does sound have to do with crystals? I know that they can be shattered at high frequency because of their crystalline structure, but none of the crystals on this ship seem to be breaking down any…"
As her crystal continued growing dimmer, Piper's frown grew.
"What I really don't understand is why it's only now affecting my crystal, why not before? Why hasn't this thing affected any of our crystals up until now?"
Studying the 'room' she couldn't see any real shielding of any sort that might explain the reason, nor did she see any other crystals that might somehow counteract the glowing crystals effect.
"Come to think of it, it didn't even affect my crystal until Radarr gave it to me…maybe it has limited range or something?" No that's impossible; if it had limited range it wouldn't be able to affect the crystals on the ships hull. This thing just gets weirder and weirder," Piper thought with a groan.
Looking back at her Solaris crystal, she knew that she was holding the key in her hand and that the door was right in front of her. She just couldn't figure out where the keyhole was so to speak.
"Ok Piper think. It somehow uses sound to affect crystals, but not all crystals for some reason and not all the time…"
Recalling the events of the last few minutes she focused on when her crystal had begun to grow dimmer, and connected it to when it had made its sound.
"If it only began to affect my Solaris crystal after that weird sound wave hit it, the how does it continue to affect the crystals on the hull? Sound waves can travel pretty far, but if it takes a full on hit to affect them then as soon as they are moved out of range they should go back to acting normal."
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she replayed everything over several times in her mind. Seeing the crystal being hit by the sound waves, then moved away from the large crystal yet still affected. At the same time she saw other crystals that were not being affected by the sound even when next to the affected crystal.
Eyes snapping open Piper spoke only two words as her Solaris crystal faded even further, casting the room with only pale almost ghostly light.
"Harmonic resonance."
Gulping, Marina looked directly into the eyes of the creature standing before her. She had seen some weird things in her lifetime, but this one took the cake. It looked like some kind of cross between a dog and a rabbit, complete with long flopped down ears and a tail.
"Are you going to just sit there or are you going to answer me?" the blue furred creature asked before blowing a large pink bubble.
Pop
"Who…what are you?" Marina asked, unconsciously reaching for the crystal knife at her side.
The figure snorted.
"In that exact order, I'm Suzy, and I'm a Sky Knight. What's it to you?"
Rising so that she was eye to eye with the hologram, she was surprised when it suddenly looked up at an angle.
"Huh, you're not human are you?" Suzy stated more than asked.
"I could say the same about you," Marina replied casting a glance over her shoulder only to see nothing.
"Why is she looking…oh I get it. She must be looking through that crystal," she quickly figured out before returning to her sitting position to test her theory.
Sure enough the figures head lowered back to being level.
"Interesting little toy you have here Starling. A crystal that lets you see and speak to another person, not bad at all. I wonder where I can get me one of these myself…"
"Judging by your hair and nose, I'm guessing that you'd be Marina right?" Suzy asked, adopting a rather serious expression.
"That would be correct…who are you?"
The figure blinked and cocked its head to the side.
"You're telling me that neither Starling or Kai mentioned me before?"
Shaking her head, Marina continued to take in observations of the person she was speaking with. They were obviously built for cold weather, and judging by the shape and size of her legs it was obvious that they were strong fighters.
"The names Suzy, Suzy-Lu."
Marina did a double take.
"You're Suzy-Lu?"
"Ah so you have heard of me eh? For a minute there I thought that Kai and Starling had forgotton about little ol me out here."
Marina shook her head, more to clear out the shock at who and what she was seeing rather than is dismiss Suzy's statement.
"I…uh, they never said you were a..uh…what exactly are you?" Marina asked bluntly.
She was surprised when Suzy grinned.
"Meh, I'm not surprised they didn't say nothen. We've known each other so long that sometimes I forget they're not Blizzarians like the rest o us," Suzy explained.
"So they really are that close…to the point where they don't even notice something like that."
"So what exactly were you doing going through Star's stuff hmm?"
Holding up her claimed flight suit, Marina smirked.
"Ran out, so I thought I'd borrow a few from her…then I found the crystal in her locker when I took this one out," Marina plainly stated not bothering to beat around the bush.
Suzy studied the altered flight suit before looking back at the redhead.
"Borrow? I think this is more permanent. Star wouldn't be caught dead in someten like that," Suzy replied with a chuckle.
Marina shrugged in response.
"Still…why were you poking that nose of yours into her privacy? She don't like people doing that you know?"
Again Marina shugged.
"It was the first time I had a chance to find out anything about her. It's not like she talks much."
Suzy nodded.
"True, but you could try asking her," Suzy pointed out.
"Tried it, she shut me down, same as Kai. The only time they ever really talk about anything is stuff about missions. Not that I don't appreciate having people that take things seriously to work with for a change, but…it gets a bit old. They must have something else to talk about, something they do in their free time." Marina defended.
"Sadly, not really. Both of them throw themselves into their work to the point that it is their life. The only other thing they have is the past, and I know they won't talk about that."
Marina's expression dropped at hearing that.
"Why are they like that? I can understand grieving over lost love ones…Piper told me about the Interceptors and terra Messa, but shouldn't they have moved on by now? Why do they keep doing this to themselves?"
Suzy sighed and shook her head.
"Because they're both stubborn, and they blame themselves for what happened."
"Blame themselves? Why? Because they couldn't stop an entire invasion force on their own?"
Again Suzy shook her head.
"Kai wasn't there to help them fight; he was trying to pass the Knights trials on terra Atmos. By the time he returned there wasn't anything left…save Starling."
Marina felt a pang in her chest at hearing that. As a warrior herself she knew the pain Kai must have been carrying for that to happen. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to return home and find her entire terra wiped out.
To lose in battle was one thing, but for everyone else to lose and you not even be there was another.
"What about Starling? Is it survivor's guilt or something?" Marina asked, figuring it was the only explanation.
Suzy nodded.
"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking."
That one surprised her.
"Huh?"
"Aside from Kai and a few others that had left before it happened, Starling is the only survivor of the terra itself, and is the only survivor of that attack. The reason she feels guilty however has more to do with the reason she survived than the fact that she did."
Not liking where this was going, Marina asked Suzy to continue.
"Starling was injured early in battle by Repton, badly enough that she was forced out of the battle. One of her squad mates hid her in their base…and…"
Marina closed her eyes having figured out the rest on her own.
"Her squadron died protecting her. No wonder she keeps everyone at arms length."
"It's not that they want to be like that…they're just a bit…shell shocked you know?"
Marina nodded.
"Hey listen I gotta go, I'm not going to rat you out or anything but don't go rooting around in places you shouldn't alright? Just give them time and they'll open up to you a bit. They're easily spooked with people, especially people they respect."
With that the hologram faded and disappeared completely, leaving Marina alone.
Sighing, the master thief returned the crystal to where she had found it, and then donned her new flight suit.
"No time like the present I guess."
Attaching her weapons belt and holstering her scimitars, Marina cracked her knuckles before opening the door.
"What is that?" Shadow thought, swearing that she could see something moving in the brush just beyond the clearing. Squinting, Shadow pulled out her binoculars and focused them.
Dink
Dropping the binoculars, Shadow jumped down from the top of the wooden wall and ran into the village.
"THEY'RE COMING!"
Sure enough, what could only be described as a wall of yellow charged the clearing between the forest and the village.
End chapter
AN: Well this is my attempt at getting back into the saddle of writing Storm Hawks. I apologize if it doesn't make up for my absence, but it's the best I could do. I'll be ending book two with the next chapter, and then be moving on to book three. It'll start a bit slow but end with the mother of all bangs *grins*.
Let me know what ya'll thought, you're reviews help keep me going and let me know what I need to work on. Not to mention they let me know what you want to see more of. So let me know!
Till next time, Ja Ne!