A/N: I don't know, but I think that the story may be a bit slow starting out.  I promise, though, that it will get better!

Also, thank you to Chava for telling me about my little "ASU."

Chapter 2

            The next morning, we all stood in the bridge, discussing if unfreezing the Mercora was such a great idea.  The Mercora we met sixty-five million years ago were friendly, but we also thought that it these ones might be subtly different, and possibly hostile, because of years of evolution.

            "You know," Marco said, "I've been thinking-"

            I cut him off.  "Always dangerous," I joked.

            He glared at me, and then started again.  "As I was saying, I've been thinking, and it's really not our problem about the Mercora.  We know how to work the ship, so why would we need to wake them up?  Why risk what we have when, frankly, these guys could kill us!  You saw those three-way claws; they're not exactly weak."

            I agree with Marco, Ax stated.

            "Come on, you guys!" I complained.  "They're just big crabs!  If they try anything, we can just bake them and serve them with butter!  It would be no big deal.  We can take them, easily."

            "I think we should unfreeze them, but for a different reason," Cassie said quietly.  "They may know something that we don't, that might help us get away from the Garatron and the One.  They could be useful."

            Jake gave her a small smile, which I don't think anybody was supposed to notice.  "I would go with Cassie's senses anytime.  After all, they are the reason that all of us are standing here right now.  I vote to unfreeze them."

            Sandra spoke up.  "I would like to meet these Mercora."

            I grinned.  One more person supported me.  "Yahal?  Menderash?"

            "These Mercora look dangerous.  I say we do not unfreeze them," said Menderash.

            I think that they could be helpful, and I agree with Rachel.  If they are not, we can take care of them, replied Yahal. 

            Jeanne said, "I agree with Cassie, Rachel, and Jake."

            "Sorry, Jake, but I just want to go home.  I say we leave them as is," commented Tom.  I gave my cousin a dirty look. 

            Jake smiled.  "It's okay.  What do you vote, Santorelli, General Doubleday, Toby?"

            "I have no opinion.  I just want to get back to my people," Toby said quietly.

            Santorelli and General Doubleday looked at each other, and then Santorelli nodded, and the General spoke.  "We both think that it would be too dangerous to bring them to consciousness.  They look dangerous, and we have no way of knowing if they will be kind like the ones that you met on earth."

            I looked at Tobias, who had been quiet during the entire discussion.  He was picking through his feathers and straightening them, something he does occasionally when he is bothered.

            "Tobias?" I asked.  "What is your vote?"

            He looked up, his fierce hawk eyes staring at us.  I think that it is our fault that they became extinct sixty-five million years ago.  It is my fault.  I told Ax to rig that explosive.  I still felt horrible about it though.  I would do anything to bring them back to life and let humans live as well.  I vote that we unfreeze them.

            Jake thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess it's final, that's seven for, six against.  Ax, can you figure out how to work the freezers?"

            Yes, Prince Jake, he replied.  It may take a while, because these controls are so ancient.

            "Then can we just do whatever now, Oh Fearless Leader?"  Marco asked with a quick look at Sandra.

            "Yeah, sure, whatever," he replied.  He gave a sheepish grin.  "Let's just hope that the Garatron don't show up in the meantime."

            Everybody gave a nervous laugh.  Slowly, everybody started to walk to their own areas, Tom and Jeanne together, Sandra and Marco walking as a pair, Cassie and Jake holding hands, Toby brooding by herself, Santorelli, General Doubleday, Yahal, and Menderash having an animated debate over what the finest aspects of human civilization were, and Ax remained at the main computer working on learning how to defrost the Mercora.  Tobias morphed human, smiled, and took my hand.  I turned to him, excited.

            "So what do you think these Mercora will be like?"

            Tobias looked thoughtful for a moment, and then answered.  "I really don't know.  It's been sixty-five million years since we met the other Mercora, and that's a heck of a long time for these ones to evolve into something new.  I'm surprised that they are recognizable.  They had however long after the Mercora from earth left their own planet too.  It's just strange."

            I nodded my agreement.  "In the time that we last saw the Mercora, humans evolved from little marsupial rats.  I don't understand how the crabs could look the same…  I think there are some species on earth that have stayed the same for millions of years, but that was because they were perfectly suited to their environment or something, and they are usually lower animals…  Cockroaches, horseshoe crabs, that kind of thing.  I don't know though; you would have to talk to Cassie about it.  She's our animal expert.  But it just doesn't make sense.  We can take them though.  If they try anything, we can take care of them."  I smiled in anticipation of meeting the aliens, feeling cocky because I knew that we would be safe.  "I wonder where their colony is, if there is a colony."

            "I don't know," said Tobias.

            There was a short silence, but I finally blurted out what I had been wondering.  "Tobias, why have you stayed as a bird?  I understand using it to escape the pain, even though you should have just gotten over it, but why did you stay after going aboard the Rachel?  It was probably more trouble than it was worth to try and get around the ship with wings.  It would have been so easy for you to just become human."

            He looked away for a moment, and then looked at me and began to quietly speak.  "I promised you that I would look after you so many times…  I didn't though.  I let you die.  You had been the only thing keeping me human.  When you were gone, I promised myself that I would never become human again, because I had let you down.  I was too upset, anyway.  I finally went human right before I thought our ship was going to hit the Blade ship though, because I wanted to die as a human, what my mind was.  But I didn't die.  And you came."  He smiled, although it was strange on his face, as always.

            I smiled back at him.  He took my hand.  "I can't wait to get home," I told him.  "I haven't seen Mom and Dad and Jordan and Sara for months now.  They haven't seen me in years.  I haven't seen Dad since we had to go into hiding…"  I wiped a tear from my eye.  "Do you even think Sara will really remember me?  She was so young when I died…  And it's been years."

            "No one could ever forget you, Rachel,"  Tobias said to me.  "Even if she has, I know that she would have heard plenty about you from the rest of the world to keep the memories alive."

            "Thank you," I told him.  "Thanks."  I gave him a hug.

            Everybody, Ax's voice echoed through the ship, I believe that I found out how to defrost the Mercora.

            I heard a clatter as everyone started toward the bridge, where Ax was.  Tobias and I stood up, and followed them.