A/N: Aww, I didn't get that many reviews this time. How sad  Please review! I love to hear from my readers! Anyway…

After the unforeseen battle with the River Kraken, Nozomi and Clyde try to get a little R&R while their boat makes its way toward Martin's fort. While Nozomi takes a nap, Clyde takes some time to get in touch with some close friends of his. No action in this chapter, but we'll at least introduce a few more characters, eh?

On with the show!

From now on, after a strange word a word that will be defined at the end of the chapter

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Chapter 6: Keeping in Touch

Clyde sat quietly on the rainy deck of their ship, thinking about nothing in particular. He was a bit tired, but it was nothing a little Artstim couldn't fix. Somebody had to stay up and keep watch, and he wasn't about to let someone like Nozomi do it. It wasn't that he felt that she couldn't do the job right; rather, he felt that she would be more in need of rest than he would.

He looked over at the sleeping samurai girl and smiled. "Girl's just full of surprises. Still can't believe someone as young as her is going after Martin. Her brother really must've been something."

He shivered. "Bah. That cold, rainy wind's kicking up." He leaned over to his pack and began to rummage through it. From it, he produced a small, emergency blanket. He was about to wrap it around himself when he noticed that Nozomi was shivering slightly.

"Crap," he said with a grin. He threw the blanket on top of her instead and went back to sitting back against the main mast of the ship. To partially make up for his now lost blanket, he zipped his own jacket, sealing some of warmth his body was producing in his jacket.

Clyde closed his eyes but they didn't stay that way for long, for, through his headset, he heard a few low-tone beeps. "Eh? What is it Cynthia?"

In a very cheery tone, she said, "You have an incoming message from Carmaine onboard the Apollo. Shall I patch him through?"

Clyde grinned. "'Course. I haven't talked to him in a few days." He pulled out his communicator, flipped up the screen, and awaited the holo-feed from Carmaine.

On the video screen of the communicator appeared a handsome young man with short, blonde and a pair of expensive-looking military-issue glasses specially made to accommodate not only the two eyes to either side of his nose but the eye in the middle of his forehead as well. He was Carmaine Schroeder, a Tetrageniot and seventeen-year friend of Clyde. His black uniform and special insignia on his left chest indicated that he was the communications officer of the Apollo. He adjusted his glasses, smiled, and began to speak.

"Clyde, long time no speak!" said Carmaine. "Heard about everything that's happened to you so far from the Chief. Everything okay man?"

Clyde nodded. "Just peachy."

Carmaine shook his head and laughed. "Just as sarcastic as ever. I'll take that as a yes."

Clyde closed his eyes and smirked. "Heh." A short pause followed. "So Carmaine, how's the wife doing?"

"Melody?" asked Carmaine. "Fine as usual. She asked me to say 'hello' and 'be careful' to you from her."

Clyde nodded. "That's good to hear. Tell her I said 'thanks'."

"Will do," said Carmaine. Another short pause followed. "Which reminds me Clyde, Melody says that Sheila hasn't heard from you in a couple of days. That's not like you to not write her back in so long. What gives, man?"

Clyde opened his eyes and looked up at the clear night sky and into the endless ocean of stars above. "Sheila…" He shook his head and looked back at his screen. "I wrote her a few days ago, just before I crashed on the planet. I've just been awaiting a response."

Carmaine shook his head. "They say that it's unwise to keep a good woman waiting, Clyde. I don't understand why you two don't get back together. That 'compromise' you two made sucks. Why don't you two start goin' out again?"

This had been a recurring question between Carmaine and Clyde for the past six years and, for the majority of that time, Clyde had no way to come back and get Carmaine to drop the subject. However, recently, he developed a similar touchy question that would force Carmaine into silence.

He half-grinned. "I'll answer that when you tell me why you and Melody haven't had a kid yet."

Carmaine threw up his arms and sighed. "Alright, alright, I get it. Just looking out for ya man."

"I know Carmaine," said Clyde. "Maybe someday, I'll tell you what's goin' on."

Carmaine nodded. "Same here."

Clyde's headset beeped twice again. "Clyde, you have an incoming holo-mail."

Clyde cocked an eyebrow. "From?"

"Who else?" said Cynthia. "Sheila, of course."

Clyde's heart stopped for a second when he heard Sheila's name. He smiled. "Thanks Sheila. Lemme finish talking to Carmaine and then-"

"Sheila, eh?" said Carmaine with a chuckle. "'They say it's unwise to keep a woman waiting' Clyde. Remember? I'll go ahead and let you get to your mail. We'll chat later, okay?"

Clyde nodded. "Right. Take it easy, Carmaine."

He nodded back. "Same to you, Clyde. Be careful out there." With the, the holo-feed to Carmaine was cut, leaving Clyde alone once again.

For the next few moments, Clyde just stared blankly at his communicator. He was always glad to receive any sort of message from Sheila, but was always kind of nervous when it came to opening said messages. He wasn't sure why he did this. His heart always skipped a beat when he heard her name. Long ago, when Clyde first entered the service as a PGF Agent, Clyde and Sheila had mutually agreed to break up with one another and look for other people since their great distance would almost surely create a problem for their relationship. However, despite the breakup, their relationship seemed to only strengthen with every passing day. In both of their hearts, they knew that they didn't want to move on, but tried to put up a front meant to make everyone else think that they were both looking for other people to be with. However, everyone except for Sheila and Clyde saw through this. Clyde had often thought about asking her out again but was afraid of what would come of it. Also, he really did believe that his constantly being away from home would do nothing but serve as a problem to any new relationship. He felt she shouldn't have to wait on him, no matter how much they cared for each other.

He shook his head. This wasn't a good time to think about such things. He had a mission to accomplish. He would take the time to watch Sheila's message, reply back, and then get back to making any final preparations for the coming battle. "Cynthia, open up Sheila's message, please."

"Certainly Clyde," she replied. "One moment please."

The next few seconds were torturous for Clyde. He couldn't wait to hear from Sheila. No matter what kind of mission he was on, she would always find some way to brighten his day and make him smile. He figured that now would be no exception. A single beep rang through Clyde's headset and he immediately turned to the holo-screen.

On the screen appeared a very beautiful young woman wearing a green karate gi. Her brunette hair was two inches longer than shoulder length and her green eyes shone with both kindness and energy. She was very tall for a woman, standing only an inch shorter than Clyde himself and had a fairly skinny, yet finely muscled frame (A/N: Don't get me wrong. It's not like she's got bulging muscles or anything. She just doesn't look like she has any fat on her what-so-ever, so you can more or less see her muscles even though she's' not very strong). She was fairly busty, but, unlike most females, she did not try to show it off. It was the same everywhere she went. No matter what she wore, she would never allow any cleavage to show. The most distinguishing features on this woman, however, were the fox-like ears on top of her head (thus replacing normal human ears on the side of the head) and the two, bushy tails protruding from her posterior. She was a Foxtail, a human-like race that looks exactly like Terrans except for their tail(s) and ears. She was standing barefoot on a blue mat in what appeared to be the dojo both Clyde and Sheila used to frequent.

Clyde smiled and sighed. Sheila Marx didn't even have to try and she would always find some way to make Clyde happy. They had been close for ten years now. He often wondered how his life would've turned out if she never came into it.

Sheila smiled at the recording device, cleared her throat, and folded her arms behind her back. "Hi Clyde! How are you? Fine I hope. How's your latest mission coming along? Have you kicked the crap out of him yet?" She giggled and continued on. "Well, I hope this mission is over with soon. You get to come home for a little while after this, right? I can't wait to see you! Neither can Melody and our other friends. Especially 'mom'. Haha, she's always worried sick about you." Her smile weakened a bit as a hint of red came to her cheeks and she looked down. "To tell the truth, I am too. I know you can handle yourself. Heck, you protected me for these past ten years, so I know you can handle yourself. Still…" she shook her head and looked back up. "Ah, sorry. I'm sure you've got enough to worry about without having to worry about what I'm thinking, right? Anyway, I bet you're wondering why I'm at the dojo, aren't you?"

Indeed, Clyde was curious as to why she was there. He knew that she had continued to take classes there even after Clyde had left, but she had never before sent him a message from there before. He wondered what she had in store for him.

She walked up to the recording device, kneeled down and smiled directly into the recorder. "Well, I'm proud to announce that I've earned my first, and last, Qi-gong ring from Master Wallace!"

She reached for the collar of her collar and pulled it down, revealing a green tattoo ring around Sheila's neck. These were the rings of tiny symbols that were found on the necks of all Klausians, except that they had three. Thanks to recent technological advances, these rings were able to be reproduced on non-Klausians, but almost all races were never allowed more than one or two rings, simply because just having the rings required a considerable amount of both physical and spiritual strength to support them. Weaker races like Foxtails and Fellpool were only allowed one ring while 'medium strength' races like Terrans and Tetrageniots were allowed two. This was simply a health and safety issue and nothing more. With these rings, just as Klausians do, physical parameters such as strength and speed were increased. In addition, bearers of these rings are able to create varying amounts of kinetic energy, this making the Klausian symbols work in a fashion similar to Symbology.

She stood up and stepped away from the recorder. "Well Clyde, are you proud of me? Now I might be able to handle myself when you're not around. But, ah…" She blushed. "When you're around, you better be there to save me! Ehehe…"

Clyde chuckled. "Of course I will. And yea, I am proud of you."

She shook her head and continued on. "Anyway, I've been working on trying to get the Klausian symbols to work, but I can't seem to do it without Master Wallace's help. However, I've come here today to try it again, while you watch, without the master's help. Are you ready Clyde?"

She turned her right side to the recorder and closed her eyes. She began to breath very slowly as she started to stretch. Sheila knew that this was going to be hard without any sort of assistance from Master Wallace, but she wanted to try anyway. She had hoped that performing 'in front of' Clyde would help a bit.

Her knees bent slightly as she lowered her body little by little. The ring around her neck began to glow as her arms started to move. "Here goes nothin'," she whispered to herself. Opening her eyes as wide as she could, she threw out her arms and bent them at a ninety-degree angle. Throwing his chest upward and forward, she yelled, "Sphere of Might!"

About two feet ahead and above her chest appeared a large sphere of pure kinetic energy. It wasn't nearly as large as a normal Klausian Sphere of Might, but given her relatively low strength, it was indeed surprising to see what she had produced. After burning in existence for about four or five seconds, the sphere vanished, leaving a surprised Sheila in its wake.

"I-I…" She turned to the recorder, her mouth hanging open. A huge smile came to her face as she clasped her hands tog ether and jumped up and down in celebration. "Woo-hoo! I did it Clyde! I really did it!"

He laughed again. "That's my girl. I knew you could do it," he said to himself.

The holo-vid cut out for a second and, when it came back, showed Sheila now back in her room, sitting on the bed in a pair of black, silk pajamas. Her legs and arms were crossed as she continued to talk.

"Whew, I sure am tired after all that," said Sheila to the recorder. "Guess I need a little more practice, eh?" She laughed. "Anyway, 'mom' is already in bed, so I guess it'll be just me saying goodnight to you this time. Hope you don't mind. I'll make sure that she helps with the next message. Well, I guess it's time for me to get some sleep. I lo-" She paused and blushed. Instead of speaking, she instead used her finger to make an 'XOXOXO' in the air. "Sweet dreams Clyde. Please come home soon. I miss you so much." The holo-vid then cut-out.

"End of message," said Cynthia.

Clyde nodded and laid back his head on the mast and closed his eyes. He knew what she was going to say at the end and this only strengthened his need to get home as soon as possible. "Maybe I'm just afraid of commitment," he said in an attempt to understand why he wasn't with her.

"That's probably it," said Cynthia. "She really is a sweet girl, Clyde. With everything you told me that happened between you two, it really is a wonder why you aren't together.

Clyde lowered his head. "Cynthia, prepare to record a holo-vid for me."

He set the communicator on a crate in front of him and faced it towards himself.

"Affirmative. One moment please," she said. A few clicks and beeps were heard as Cynthia prepared to record. "Setup complete. Go ahead Clyde."

Clyde smiled at the communicator and began. "Hi Sheila, it's Clyde. Sorry it's so dark, but it's nighttime where I'm at right now and don't have access to any good lights. Sorry about that. Is mom holding up okay? I'm sorry to constantly worry you guys. Anyway, I had to crash-land on Rainyv a couple of days ago but I came out okay. The Federation is already sending a ship out to rescue me, so don't worry. It'll be here by the time I'm done with my current mission. After that… home. Oh man, I can't wait to get back home and see everyone. Heh… especially you Sheila." He shot the communicator a wink and a thumbs-up. "I'm proud of you for getting your Qi-gong ring. That's really quite an accomplishment! Congratulations on also making that 'Sphere of Might' all by yourself. I knew you could do it! I guess we'll have to spar when we get home. Maybe you'll be protecting me from now on." He laughed. "Anyway, I'm almost at the fort of the guy I'm supposed to get now, so I better get back to my preparations. I'll write you again once it's 'Mission Accomplished'. I'm looking forward to receiving the next letter from you and mom!" He paused for a moment to think of a proper way to end the letter. "Lots of love, Clyde."

"Good job Clyde," said Sheila just after she shut down the recorder.

He nodded, picked up the communicator, and stuffed it back in his pocket. "I gotta get back to work. Unless I'm in the middle of a fight, let me know immediately when you receive a message from Sheila."

"Affirmative Clyde," said Sheila.

With that, he picked up his phase gun once again and worked through the early hours of the morning.

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I know, not a very exciting chapter, I'm sure. However, I hope that all of you enjoyed it all the same. The next chapter will be the initial assault on Martin's fort, so look forward to it! Thanks in advance for any and all reviews!

Star Ocean Dictionary Additions:

Artstim – Name given to special herbal stimulants in a pill form given to Federation troops and agents. Meant to give troopers an artificial boost of energy with no side-effects what-so-ever.

Apollo – The name of the Federation Combat Explorer that Clyde and a number of other PGF Agents are stationed on. Carmaine serves as the communications officer aboard this vessel.

Melody – Tetrageniot wife of Carmaine. Long time friend of both Clyde and Sheila. Serves as an MP (Military Police) in Lunaria, Luna (description to come later)

Master Wallace – Klausian that runs the dojo both Clyde and Sheila took classes at.

Lunaria – capitol of and largest city on Luna, the lone moon of Terra (Earth)