It is amazing how your attitude to writing can change over time. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, I was surprised to see a notification in my E-mails that a reader had clicked 'Favourite' on the story Berk: Year One. I had forgotten what was in that story so I went back and read through the second short "The Case of the Fickle Lady." I then noticed in the 2nd chapter Author Notes, that I was lamenting the lack of reviews even though it already had 300 readers.

These days I feel sorry that I was ever so insecure and am glad to have settled down somewhat, but there may be another reason behind my change in attitude. A few months ago I suffered a (very mild) heart attack and spent a few hours wondering if I would survive the rest of the day. Well as you can easily guess, I did and my health has been okay since then, although there are still more tests to be done. As I lay recuperating, I thought back to the first minutes of the attack remembering what I had been thinking about and it may surprise you what it was.

The thought of dying did not appeal to me, but what I found highly annoying was that if my time had come, this story would not have been completed and none of you would know how it ended. The thought of this really pissed me off.

I was then determined to do two things; Firstly I would do my best not to die till this story was done, and secondly I would never begin to publish an unfinished story ever again. Things are going well with the first vow and the story is coming along nicely but the second means I may have to change plans for the next tale. If I can, I will no longer do a multi layered story like this with action taking place in several different places at once, but will instead do separate stories about each group of characters wherever they are (Mars, Asteroids, America, Sumatra, Dragon Island, etc.)

This way it should not be two years before the next one gets posted, but we will see how we go.

Chapter 70

Micro Gravity Friction

"Have you heard the latest news from deep space?" Doom asked Sid and Amos when they emerged from the Satellite Assembly clean room.

"Whatever it is, I just hope it doesn't mean Sarah won't need these satellites anymore" Amos sighed "We've been working really hard to get them ready for launch."

"I don't know what the news means" Doom admitted "but a message just came in from Blue and Calla, and they did not end up going into Mars orbit."

"They coming back to Earth?" Sid asked with wide eyes.

"Apparently they went to 16 Psyche in the asteroid belt and have already started construction of our base" Doom informed them.

"There gonna need a lot more gear then" Sid noted.

"You know Sarah's gonna pull us off this job and get us onto the VASIMR Tug, don't you?" Amos nodded.

"It's a bet I wouldn't be brave enough to take" Sid admitted.

"Then let's check in with Willow and see what's going down" Amos said as he picked up the comms handset.

"(click) hello, Willow Speaking" the Sector Head responded.

"Hey boss, Amos here; do you want me and Sid to start work on the Autonomous Tug?"

"Err, yes... how did you know?"

"Just a hunch" Amos grinned "We'll get right onto it."

Oddly enough, the Peacock of Boastful Pride was away for a few weeks on paternity leave, but that did not stop Sid and Amos from fist bumping and high fiving each other halfway into the next week.

"Oh yeah; we called it" they chanted.

Eventually Doom decided she could take it no longer and started to walk off.

"I think I'd find more stimulating conversation on the husk of a festering coconut" she declared.

Her comment made the two engineers stop and think for a short time.

"Do coconuts ever fester?" Amos wondered.

"I dunno, but I'm sure Willow would be quite upset if we waisted our time finding out" Sid thought.

"Space Tug then?" Amos asked.

"Space Tug indeed" Sid nodded.

Even though the crew of the MTV had only been at asteroid 16 Psyche for just over a week, there were now many noticeable differences on the surface. The northern axis of the asteroid now had a short tunnel twenty meters wide and three meters deep ground into the surface, while Additive Manufacturing robots had built up a circular wall around the edge over fifty meters high. A fifteen meter wide airlock was planned for the top of the tunnel but until it was transported from Earth, a temporary airtight dome was built over the tunnel while two standard airlocks were built into the sides of the structure near the surface. The transport pods sent up from Earth to carry the fleet of robotic manufacturing drones were then attached to those airlocks, forming a small surface village.

The beginnings of this base currently stood mostly empty, except for the two Dias men working inside the one closest to the tunnel airlock. Luis had just returned from inside the sealed but not yet pressurised tunnel, with the machine head from one of the robotic milling grinders. He kept his space suit on but Blue helped him remove the helmet and gloves.

"This grinder bit seems to have held up well considering how much material it has processed in the last week" Blue noted as he inspected the machine.

"Why do you think that would be?" his father asked.

"Probably because we tested them back on Earth by using hardened steel, whereas the asteroid is mostly iron" Blue revealed.

"Do you still want to change the bits?"

"Yeah; it'll give me a chance to inspect these under a microscope before sharpening them again" Blue decided "Then I should be able to calculate a modified maintenance schedule for the robots."

As Blue removed some tools from his kit and started his task, Luis held the head unit steady. He smiled as he watched his son work; so young yet already so experienced with the machine he repaired. Luis had been surprised when Blue had first told him of how he had helped his friends on Earth to modify the machines to operate in a very low gravity vacuum, when they had been originally designed for use on Mars. But as proud as Luis was of his boy, he knew there was something very delicate he needed to talk over with Blue.

"I've noticed you've been avoiding Miss Calla a fair amount these days" Luis broke the ice "and I hear you had a bit of a disagreement."

"Abby told you huh?"

"She's worried about you leaving, and so am I" Luis stated "It came as a big surprise because I thought you wanted to come to Mars with us and see your mother."

"I do... and I am, but also want to go back to Earth someday" Blue admitted "The trouble is Calla just started jumping to conclusions and quickly went back to her habit of shout now and listen never."

"You have to remember son, Abby and I have only known her a short time so we don't know what she was like in the past."

"To be blunt, selfish and not willing to see things from anyone else's point of view."

"And are you seeing things from her point of view?" Luis asked.

Blue tried to imagine what his father was talking about, but could not quite comprehend his meaning. Seeing the confusion in his son's eyes, Luis attempted to explain.

"Calla has made it quite clear she was willing to go along with all the strange things that have happened to her lately, but it can't have been easy for her because everything happened very suddenly. Suddenly she was going into space, suddenly there was a giant space ship, suddenly she was going to Mars and then suddenly she wasn't going to Mars. The one solid thing she could rely on was knowing you were close by and you always would be."

All fell quiet as Blue continued to replace the cobalt milling bits while thinking about what his father had said.

"I have to ask" Blue spoke eventually "How can you be sure about what Calla is thinking if you haven't known her very long?"

"You wouldn't be asking me that question if you knew your mother" Luis smiled.

After another long day of listening to almost useless information from the mysterious Deep Council, April Dias slowly made her way home with an armful of testimony she would need to sort out before retiring to bed. Walking silently behind her, April's bodyguard did his best not to upset her any further.

"Well good night Talon; I'm sure I'll see you bright and early tomorrow" she said when she reached her door.

"Umm... Mrs. Dias... could I speak with you for a minute please?" Talon asked.

April shook her head and sighed quietly before turning around to face the young man.

"I suppose" she replied.

"Umm... inside please?" he responded.

"Can't this wait till later when I'm rested?"

"Please Mrs. Dias" he repeated "It's important."

"Alright" April sighed again as she opened the door.

"Hi Mom" Saffron greeted her mother "Another fun day at the... what's he doing here?"

Saffron turned bright red, having been caught in her pyjamas by this unexpected intruder, who she fully expected would take every opportunity to tease her about it later.

"Have you had your dinner Saffy?" April asked because she could not honestly answer her daughter's question yet.

"Err... yes" Saffron replied.

"Then please go to bed and we'll talk in the morning" April ordered in her weary voice.

"But Mom it's so early" the young girl protested.

"Then go play a game or something" April snapped "I'll come and see you in a few minutes.

"Yes Mom" Saffron knew it would not be wise to push the matter any further.

"Now what do you want" April demanded to know as she flopped back into her favourite chair.

"I've err... got a problem" Talon admitted.

"You're a bit too old to be going through puberty" April smirked.

"No it's nothing like that" Talon sneered "It's about my mother."

"She's definitely too old to be going through puberty" April smiled to herself "Menopause perhaps..."

"Can you be serious for a minute" Talon huffed as frustration set in.

"It's not easy when I'm this tired, but I'll try."

"Thank you."

Talon tried to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"Most of what I've always believed came from listening to my mother's opinions at home. At school the younger kids never concerned themselves with base operations and the instructors never spoke about it in front of us."

'What about your father; didn't he have an opinion too?" April asked.

"He would sort of keep all that to himself to avoid getting into an argument; but now I'm in the Security Force, I've been hearing so many different sides to the story that I never considered before. Most people seem to trust you and believe you really did have no other choice but to do what you did on the day of the memorial service; but there are still those who think you're planning some kind of rebellion or just making trouble for no reason."

"What do you think?" April asked calmly.

"That's my problem Mrs. Dias; I don't know what to think any more. The people who argue against you seem to be making up their own facts to suit their beliefs and..."

"And what?" April prompted Talon to go on when he paused.

"And... they all sound just like my mother" Talon noted.

"I think I'm beginning to understand" April looked at Talon suspiciously.

"I... I think my mother is a member of the Deep Council" he admitted.

"I have a mental list of the people I suspect are in the Deep Council" April revealed "and both your parents are right at the top of it, even though I have no way of knowing for sure. Tell me Talon, why did you join the Security Force?"

"Well it was Mom's idea; she said I should let other people build and maintain society, while I should be one of those who ran it. She said being in the Security Force would put me on the path to leadership."

"I can see why Gretel would want that for you, but you don't sound very keen on the idea" April noted.

"I was at first; I'm sure Holly Duncan would have told Saffy about how I like to be in charge of class projects, but after hearing people's opinion of the Deep Council, I'm not sure I want to allow myself to be drawn into something like that."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" April asked "You can always quit."

"I know you don't like the idea of having me as a bodyguard..." Talon began but was soon interrupted.

"You're not my bodyguard" April said accusingly "You're an informant for your mother; she knows she can find out about everything I say and do from you."

"Yes... I know" Talon admitted "But I want you to let me continue to play the part; to pretend I really am you bodyguard even though it's obvious to everyone you're not in any danger. I want to stick close to you for a while and find out what really is going on behind the scenes for myself."

April just stared at the young man suspiciously for a moment, feeling very unsure about how to proceed.

"I admit you sound sincere, but I'm still not sure I can trust you" she stated bluntly.

Talon took a deep breath and stood up to leave.

"I can understand how you feel" he said before a slight pause "I just hope I can give you reason to change your mind in the future."

As the door closed behind Talon, the Wood Duck of Curiosity and the White Breasted Nuthatch of Fearful Concern teamed up to wreak havoc on April's piece of mind. If what Talon had told her was true, then she could be confident that most of the base were behind her, even though she seemed under constant attack from her opposition. This was a pressure April did not ask for and did not want, but she was sure no one would allow her to go back to Base 2 to tend to her precious plants in the near future.

She shuffled wearily towards Saffron's room to say goodnight, hoping she wouldn't just collapse before reaching her own bed. If only April could get her brain to shut up for a few hours, maybe she could get some proper sleep for the first time in many days.

With their time in the bunker over for the time being, Shifty and Reed prepared for the long walk back up the ramp to the surface. In a reversal of what they did when entering, the two men helped load all the equipment they had repaired and built onto the electric cargo movers and pushcarts. They could still get help to lift anything too big for them, but in general Shifty's friends avoided him while he was in the company of the bossy and opinionated captain of the One and All.

"Any plans about what you're gonna do till the next shift underground?" Shifty asked.

"Keep my head down, my nose clean and hope for the best" Reed replied.

"I assume I'll be able to tell everyone back in town what you've been up to now."

"Not everyone, just the people you trust" Reed advised "I really needed everyone to argue with me this time but when we come back, ignoring me will be enough."

As soon as the next pushcart was loaded, Shifty took it over to the exit tunnel but when he turned to go back, he saw a few of the guards had surrounded Captain Branson and were talking earnestly to him. Not wanting to look suspicious, Shifty casually wove his way through the crowd of people milling in the departure area and back to where he and Reed were working. He was only half way there when one of the guards led Reed back inside the complex.

"Hey... where are you taking Captain Branson?" he asked one of the remaining guards.

"Now is that really any of your business Shifty?" the guard looked down menacingly.

"I need his help to finish loading" he replied.

"Then get some other bonehead if you're too weak" the guards laughed as they turned and walked away.

Just before they rounded the next corner, the last guard glanced back to see a very annoyed looking Shifty scowling as he turned red with anger. But as soon as the small group of intimidators were out of sight, a self satisfied grin crept across Shifty's face.

"I love it when a plan comes together" he smirked.

Sorry for getting so serious at the beginning but I knew you all deserved to know what was going on just in case I suddenly disappeared from this site without a trace some day. Doctors are quite happy so I finally felt confident enough to let you all know now the danger is over. I noticed Vin has started reading through the story and it reminded me that I had not given a thank you shout out to those reading and also to those reviewing.

So first let me say thanks to Stripesicles222 for the joy you bring me with your constant friendship. And Draco38, I am always pleased to see that picture of Toshiro Mifune on the review page; it shows that even though you read my stories, you still have excellent taste (lol). When I started putting the Mystical Birds of the Soul in this story, I was not sure how they would be received so I was very pleased when Appleye2 mentioned his/her appreciation for them as well as for my odd sense of humour; Domo arigato Ringo Ni (thank you Appleye2 in Japanese... I think).

Midnightsky0612 gave the simple one word review of 'Interesting' which was more than enough, because I am just so glad you didn't say it was boring. Thanks again Vin for joining the fray and I also want to thank that one special guest reviewer who said of chapter one, "This is dumb af." You gave me a good laugh with your blatant honesty and I'm sorry the story was not to your taste.

Not sure how many are reading but I think it is around 20 people, which is my lowest ever readership for a story. This means I appreciated you all even more for reading this first original story, long before the dragons even make an appearance.

You make it all worthwhile for me... thank you so much.

(Since this chapter had the longest Author Notes, next week will be the shortest.)