On board the small Paladin ship, Solaris and the others saw the dome that protected the moon was opened.
This could either mean that an escape attempt was being made, or an attack was in progress.
"Be alert for any kind of signal." she advised the crew.
Solaris used her visor to zoom in on the moon.
She didn't see an escape pod, but something that looked like a giant laser. She immediately knew what was going on.
"Everyone, prepare for impact!" She said as she activated her armor, the energy shield it created surrounding her.
As soon as she was ready, Solaris went on a platform that transported her to the exterior of the ship.
As the weapon emerged, Solaris braced herself. As the weapon charged its laser, Solaris prepared her own Flux to make a barrier. At the same time a thick beam, carrying the colours of The Breath, was shot out, Solaris initiated the counterstrike. The Golden armour lit up brightly, as she absorbed all the energy from D'Jok's Flux into her own energy field. By the time the beam retracted, and Solaris came back inside, she nearly collapsed on the floor.
"We need to get inside. D'Jok doesn't have the energy for another attack. We have to save him." She said with an anxious expression on her face.
Back on Genesis, Sonny and Micro Ice went through the material Micro Ice received from Professor Benson.
"The Control Committee of Science needs to see this. All of his research is stolen." Sonny sighed, as he took a break.
Corso looked up from whatever he was writing.
"You almost sound offended." He said.
It had been a while since Sonny was this angry about something. Not since Technoid in the old days. Abusing scientific research of other people must have hit a nerve.
Micro Ice silently studied his part, and made notes on a notepad he had beside his computer. Sonny took a look at them.
A small section caught his eye.
"You have a sharp eye, Micro Ice. You really got to the bottom of Professor Monteagues' thesis on how flux could be synthesized." Sonny said, sounding impressed.
That made Micro Ice smile for a moment.
"It reminded me of when we extracted the Metaflux from our bodies years ago. He was right about some things, but his calculations were off." He said.
Sonny nodded and smiled at Micro Ice's conclusion.
"You have to wonder how he could miss by so much. He introduced me to his research, not thinking I would be interested. I did the calculations in my free time, but I held back on showing it to him." He said.
Corso smiled as he turned his gaze back to his own computer. He was composing a report to the Chissian military about their findings.
He received a message from Prince Zoltar.
"I need to speak to you,urgently. Don't tell Sonny, it concerns his son".
Corso sighed.
"I have to contact the Chissian military. On something classified." He lied.
Sonny nodded.
"We'll set up a meeting with Duke Maddox first thing in the morning. For now, Micro Ice, you and I head over to Mei and Iris. That should take my mind off things for a little while." He said with a tired smile.
Corso hated having to lie to Sonny, but Prince Zoltar's news couldn't be good.
Corso waited until they both left the house, before he called Prince Zoltar.
The look on the Paladin's face told Corso all he needed to know.
"How bad is it?" He finally managed.
Prince Zoltar looked sad.
"He's safe. But I'm afraid of how Sonny might react if he sees his son in this state." He admitted.
"If Sonny hears about this he will stop at nothing to get even." Corso said.
Prince Zoltar nodded.
"For now, we'll help D'Jok get better. Can you arrange for a transport to a Technoid hospital on Genesis? Just in case." He said.
Corso felt his heart sink. They couldn't lose D'Jok.
"Let's stay hopeful. He's still alive, after all. I'll ask Dame Simbai and Clamp if there's anything they can do." Corso explained.
Prince Zoltar nodded.
"I'll inform the others." He said before he cut the transmission.
Mei was anxious as she looked at Sonny. Micro Ice was distracting Iris so she could have a private talk with him.
"So that's why I haven't heard from him in days." She said.
Sonny put his hands on her shoulders, and pulled her into an embrace.
"Prince Zoltar and the Paladins will help him. D'Jok will be safe with them." Sonny said.
Mei wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Thanks Sonny, I needed to hear that. I've been trying to explain to Iris why he isn't here. She misses her daddy." Mei managed.
Sonny patted her shoulder.
"I'll tell her he's on a Pirate Mission. That will ease her mind." Sonny promised.
Mei gave Sonny a warm hug in response.
"I'll make some tea while you talk to her." She said.
Sonny nodded and gave a thumbs up as he went to the living room to speak to his granddaughter.
Solaris looked at D'Jok. He'd been tossed into the garbage chute after the firing. They probably figured he was stronger, but The Breath wasn't an aggressive force. Almost like Chissia's Gaia. Considered weak by their military regime. It was almost wiped out due to neglecting it.
She shook her head, they needed to focus on D'jok. He was shaking and pale, wrapped in blankets to keep him warm. A scan showed his Flux was flickering.
Solaris checked the charged set of energy crystals.
Without a word, Solaris filled a syringe with a mixture of two small vials.
Zoltar entered the infirmary. Solaris looked at him, communicating telepathically what she needed. Zoltar nodded, and without a word, prepared to assist. As soon as D'Jok was given the injection, there was a clear change in his breathing.
"Give it thirty minutes, if his levels drop, give him a new injection. I prepared five of them for the trip. If this progresses, inform Corso." Solaris told her husband.
Zoltar smiled.
"It's going to be alright. I know it's your first time with a human, but I trust you. D'Jok will pull through." He reminded her.
Solaris managed a small smile.
"Thanks for believing in me, my love. Let's stay with him until he wakes up." Solaris said.
Zoltar grinned.
"Let's get D'Jok home."
On Genesis, Callie had a project of her own. She was glad Sonny had taken Micro Ice with him as he headed to Mei. Corso informed her about D'Jok, and Sonny seemed to subconsciously know something was wrong with his son. Corso asked him to go with him to their training room in the middle of the night, to help him calm enough to get sleep.
"If this keeps up, we'll need his old sleeping device again. He's getting stressed and tired. I'm getting worried." Corso confessed to her.
Callie agreed.
"What can we even do? He's trying to hide it and forcing him might make things worse." She said,
Corso sighed.
"I'll take care of him. You just focus on your pregnancy." He said.
Callie wanted to focus on her assignment with Artie. Now that Micro Ice was out of the house. Artie was still running the picture through the databases he could access, but so far, nothing turned up. Callie decided to give Mom Ice a call.
It had been quiet on Planet Akillian since Micro Ice had to relocate to Genesis.
A part of her wanted to tell him to come back, but Sonny had explained why he was with them.
Her son was safe in his care. She just had to believe that.
After closing hours, she swept the floors and cleaned all the tables, before she put on the dishwasher for one final round.
She liked how peaceful it was in the evening, it almost reminded her of her younger days.
The soft buzz of her transmitter made her jump slightly. Who would be calling at this hour?
It was Callie.
"Callie! What a surprise. How's my son doing?" She asked with a smile.
Callie had to smile back.
"He's doing great. He's a great help to Sonny. He needs someone to remind him to just live and not be so serious all the time." She told her.
"If nothing's wrong, why are you calling me?" Mom Ice asked, sounding a bit surprised.
Callie knew she had to be careful.
"There's a story I'm working on. It's my last big project for a while, because of the twins. They politely ordered me to take it easy." She joked.
That made Mom Ice chuckle.
"They really look after you, don't they?" She asked.
"More or less. Back to why I called you. I'm doing a story on the old medical facility we had on Akillian. Was it only soldiers from Akillian stationed there?" She asked.
Mom Ice recalled those days. It had been difficult setting up camps, tents, and all the helper stations needed to help the wounded and injured of her planet.
"No, this was a Galactik effort. Soldiers from other Planets, who had the skill to help, were diverted to Akillian. Close to Planet Akillian, we had a camp too. Lots of young people, who wanted to help people hide inside the mountains. There were so many." Mom Ice reminisced.
Callie turned her recorder on.
Mom Ice continued to talk about the efforts, how she brought hot drinks to the soldiers at the camp to keep them warm.
She always made friends easily, and the soldiers were no exception. One young man in particular, had stolen her heart. He had so many stories to tell. He spoke of peace, green fields, they had spoken of how Akillian used to look, and how the snow and ice that accumulated, had forever changed an ever green planet into a frozen landscape. Glaciated was the perfect word to describe it.
Callie had seen photos of Akillian from before The Great Catastrophe.
Mom Ice had a dreamy look on her face when she thought of the young Chissian soldier that she fell for.
"He's Micro Ice's father, isn't he?" She asked softly.
Mom Ice smiled sadly.
"He was. But I always knew I would have to raise our son by myself. He was a soldier in the Chissian army. The only reason he was sent here was that his older brother was presumed dead in the explosion on Ascaron. The older brother apparently was an herbal healer, and he had volunteered to come here, to honour the memory of him. I decided to not tell him about the pregnancy. I was only four months pregnant when Kuun was deployed to a station closer to the wars. Later, I was told he died in the war." She said.
Callie reminded herself of a picture, one that Corso put on the mantle.
He had very few pictures of his family, and it took her and Sonny forever to convince him to put the only picture of his brother on the mantle. Callie gently took the framed picture off the mantle. The picture predated Corso's cybernetics, and she looked at two very handsome men, dressed in the Chissian military dress uniform.
Her hands shook slightly as she held the picture.
"I need to ask, can you look at this picture, and tell me if these people look familiar?" she asked, and aimed the lens at the picture.
Mom Ice went white, and gasped.
"Kuun… " She whispered, pain evident in her voice.
"Kuun is Micro Ice's father, right?" Callie asked compassionately.
Mom Ice couldn't hide her tears. Then, something hit her.
"Where did you get a picture of him?" She asked.
Callie felt excited, but knew she had to be careful with her words.
"This picture belongs to his brother, also from Chissia." Callie said.
It dawned on Mom Ice what Callie meant. Tears streamed down her face.
"So I was right when Corso came here to pick Micro Ice up?" She asked.
Callie nodded, she too was having a hard time holding back tears.
"Yes, Corso is Micro Ice's uncle."
This was a sweet ending to an unnerving chapter.
D'Jok is not out of the woods yet.
How will this affect the story, and the decisions that have to be made?
All this is to be explained soon enough.
Thank you Paranoidgirl, for being the star that you are, and for always reeling me in when I go too far.