-1-: Disclaimer:- I don't own any part of "the tribe" though I wish I did.
I do however own All characters in this chapter so eat it.
-: A/N:- this story takes place during T4 while the Technos have control of the city.
It's been two months since we left
"Jaden!" Erix screamed through the intercom his voice booming through the ship.
"What is it?" her voice screamed back through the speaker at the surprise of the six foot five purple haired boy.
"Hey get your butt up here, Kas just collapsed," Erix commanded fear all too abundant in his voice.
"I'll be there in two!" She yelled dashing up the metal stairs flight after flight climbing as though she were an officer racing to her post during a battle. Her body was trained for such things and as she raced up the grated metal ladders and steps she flashed back to the military camp that was years behind her just the peak of the iceberg of hell she was trying to leave behind.
"Jaden! Where are you!" Erix voice screamed through the speakers once more.
"Down the hall," she yelled as she raced into the command deck. She was all but a blur of black, blue, green and deep tan.
Erix stood aside as Jaden dropped to her knees next to the pregnant girl lying on the floor. "Kas, can you hear me," she called pulling the black strap across her chest over her head and placing her bag onto the floor. "Kas, honey can you hear me?" she called once more to the girl as she pulled a penlight from her bag and looked at the girl's eyes. " Kas? Come on sweet heart." Jaden checked the pale girl's pulse then pulled a vile from her bag opening it beneath the girl's slender nose. Near instantaneously she woke and cringed from the contents fumes.
"What happened?" the weary girl asked in a thick Spanish accent.
"You passed out," Jaden replied a hint of anger present in her non-accented voice as she stood. " Kas I told you to take the vitamins."
"Jaden I can barely keep food and water down, what makes you think that I can keep vitamins down?" Kas said as Erix helped her to her feet.
"What makes me think that, is that as of right now you're on bed rest and I'll personally deliver your vitamins and you'll take them unless of course you don't want a healthy baby. Now do you understand me?" Jaden asked glaring at the 17-year-old auburn girl.
"I understand," Kas complied trying to avoid the shorter girl's angry hazel colored eyes. Kas was about five nine or so while Jaden was only five 'five at most.
"Good, I'll be down shortly to give you a check up, now go rest," she said softly to the girl.
Erix helped his girlfriend down the hall passing Abe as they left the deck heading for their converted room.
Abe stood in the doorway watching Jaden in her silence. The caramel skinned girl stood at the controls her hands clutching the edge as if she were going to do push ups, all her muscles were ridged and stiff with tension and stress. She shook her head slowly from side to side, her warm brown hair covering her shoulders as it fell. "She has got to think about her child now," she said wearily staring out the porthole ahead of her.
"She's still in mourning for Zera Jaden. It's not that simple," the young man said stepping into the room. He stood about five foot nine with brown, blue, and green dreadlocks that were gathered into a long braid that ran half the length of his spine. He wore a black cotton t-shirt that tightly clung to his fit physic of light tan. He seemed like a rebelling military guard in the cutoff camouflage pants and combat boots his toe showing from the front of the black leather. His face had a strong jaw and fitting nose with dark brown eyes that seemed closer to black than brown.
"Abe, we are all in mourning!" Jaden shouted slapping the table's top with hand. Then softly she said, "She has to think about her child now, not about her sister. It may sound inconsiderate and cold but Zera's gone now, and she wouldn't want her sister to do this."
Abe stared at Jaden, " You know she's not as strong as you, Shit, none of us are," he said leaning back against the adjacent station looking at Jaden.
"We'll then she has to learn to be," Jaden said. "She has a child to think about now."
"And you?" he asked.
The young woman turned around facing Abe she looked dead into his eyes, "I've got everyone else's' to worry about. Now if you don't mind, I've got to go check on Kas," she said without any emotion.
"Yeah," Abe said as Jaden left the room and went on her way leaving Abe alone in the dim cabin.
Jaden went through the ships corridors coming to the converted cabins. When they had found the ship they had stripped a many of the things that they knew they wouldn't need out leaving only what was needed and what they felt they would need. Many of the stripped rooms became storage cabins while 7 became bedrooms and one a huge playroom for Kip.
Kip was only three years old but she was a survivor. Her mom had died giving birth to her and her father died protecting her leaving her alone surely to die, but the group had found her and taken her in. She was an adorable little girl with strawberry blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a smile that could melt glaciers. Now she sat on Kas and Erix's bed with her tiny hands on top of Kas's big round belly. Her little face was contorted in concentration as she stared at the belly waiting. Jaden watched from the entrance as Kip jumped back a huge smile spread across her little face.
"See Kip it's the baby," Erix said lightly to the little girl as he sat beside her a huge smile beaming across his face.
"Baby," the tiny girl said gently rubbing Kas's stomach.
"Right Kip. Baby," Kas said watching the little girl in her angel costume rub her round belly.
Kip turned to Erix and rubbed his slightly pouching stomach. "Baby," she called smiling.
Kas and Jaden laughed at the expression the child's words had left on Erix' s face.
"Hey," Erix yelped. "No Kip. Baby." He said rubbing Kas's stomach. "No baby," he said rubbing his stomach.
"Baby," Kip said pointing to Erix's stomach once more.
"I think she's right," Kas picked.
Jaden knocked on the heavy metal door, "Time for a check up."
Kas looked up the smile leaving her face as Jaden came towards her.
"I'll be back," Erix said kissing Kas, he picked up the angel-winged tot and held her in the air above his head as he walked towards the door.
"Hey, could you run down to the infirmary and get me a beat monitor?" Jaden asked as Erix walked past her with the silent smiling Kip under his arm.
"Yeah," he called from the hall closing the door as he left.
Kas sat in silence staring at Jaden across the room.
Jaden made her way to the bed taking her bag off. She put the big black rayon bag on the bed as she pulled a stethoscope and penlight from within it.
"How you feeling?" she asked the silent girl.
"Better," she replied watching Jaden as she pulled an ear thermometer from the bag.
"That's good," Jaden said placing the thermometer into Kas's ear "Temp's normal. So why aren't you eating?"
"Jaden why do you have to be so nasty,"
"Because you've taken the last stupid and this is the only other emotion they had," Jaden snapped. "We've been through this Kas," she softly said.
"I miss her," Kas said beginning to cry.
"I do too," Jaden said crouching down next to the bed holding Kas's hand. "But sweetheart you have to eat. Kas you're going to have a baby soon, you need your strength, and your baby needs nourishment."
"And I need my sister," Kas snapped through her tears. "I can't do this without her."
"Kas your baby needs you. If Zera were here she'd beat you for being so stupid, but she's not here and you are. You have to fight, you have to live. If not for yourself and the memory of your sister then for your child and it's future," Jaden said. " Do you think Zera wants you to sacrifice your child for her memory Kas?"
"No," Kas whispered her delicate fingers playing with the locket hanging around her neck on a braided chain.
"She's looking down from heaven and she's weeping, because her sister is killing herself and her little nephew," Jaden said softly.
Kas's tear streaked face snapped around to face Jaden, "It's a boy?" Kas sobbed looking directly at Jaden's face.
Jaden nodded with a smile her eyes filling with tears.
"It's a boy," Kas said sobbing with joy and a huge smile spreading across her face. "It's a boy?"
"Yeah," Jaden said feeling tears forming in her eyes but in her mind she wondered if they were tears of joy or tears of sorrow.
She wasn't able to finish her thought because at that moment Erix walked in with monitor in tow.
'…a baby soon, a little boy... a little boy.' Jaden's voice whispered from far away a fading memory that sank deep into her heart as she left the happy couple behind her.
---------------
"As we all know we're going to be arriving off the coast in the next week and a half Kas is going to have her baby sometime within the next week or two I'm not going ashore as planned because Kas is going to need me here so Erix is going to take my place. The team will head out to see what we're dealing with. Four days, any longer and I'm coming in for you," Jaden said standing against the grey cold metal.
It was night and everyone was out on deck talking about the plans for the coming days. Kas lay sleeping below in her and Erix's bed as he watched over her. Kip skipped along the huge deck in the night's air.
"So the team's now Erix Abe and Cadin," Prin whispered sitting against the wall. "You think your up for this Cadin?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine it's just a scouting trip." He assured as his head hung low as he leaned over the guard railing watching the waves lap at the hull in the moonlight.
"Then everything is set and ready," Jaden announced then bid everyone goodnight as she went inside.
"Jaden," Seth called gently from behind her in the dim hall.
"Seth, We've already discussed it," she said not turning to the young man.
"No. We didn't discuss it, you decided for me," He corrected his frustration showing plainly across his face just as all his emotions did.
"Seth, you aren't ready for this," Jaden said turning to face her friend.
"Not ready for this? Jaden, my brother died for this, I'm damn ready," he yelled.
"Are you forgetting who the hell you're talking to? I loved Van, he died holding me because I couldn't save him. You can't hurt me anymore than that does," she hissed.
"Jaden you can't keep me here, I'm older than you and I'm going ashore when they go." he yelled. "Your days of commands and tyranny are over. Listening to you is what killed my brother."
She could say nothing because he'd stabbed an already gapping wound. Defeated and hurt she continued on to her sickbay and lay a cross her cot staring up through the tiny port hole to the starry heavens. Memories flooding over her.