A/N:

After a ten month hiatus, I'm sure you all thought me dead. I was kidnapped by NaNoWriMo, however.

This chapter is for those of you who've followed it from the beginning. And those of you who so kindly picked it up after I more or less abandoned it.

Kudos to you guys.

--

Date: 05.0-013.00

Place: Origine, Connaissance

I applied once again to the council this year. Perhaps something could actually change on this dust-infected planet were someone who was born after the Kaldean Riots come to a status of power. The minds of Atherton, Beauchamp, Wickham, and the rest have spent the last decades rotting away into their old age, rendering their judgment almost completely ineffectual. Supposedly, were someone with a young mind and new ideas to voice their own opinions and, heaven forbid, change something, I think those poor old men would die right there in their chairs.

They are far too stubborn in their ways.

Dr. Messier was more than happy to voice my own thoughts when he found me at the cliff side once more. It seems he is one of the few souls who can look past the white towers of our own society and towards the undaunted horizon and the many galaxies past our atmosphere. I am sure I would surely lose my sanity if not for his companionship, if it even has the caliber of being called such.

--

Avery fingered the corner of the page, deciding against turning it. He blinked slowly, trying to sooth his tired eyes as he sat on the edge of his bunk, glancing across the tiny room. A flickering candle lay on an impossibly small desk next to the bed. After a moment of staring at it, he blew it out, his green eyes shining in the shadowed cabin.

Presently, he stepped out onto the deck, the night's cool air washing over him. He rested his elbows on the railing and watched as the stars flew past at a steady, yet fast rate. Sleep was just over his shoulder, yet somehow he couldn't quite grasp it. There were far too many thoughts on his mind for sleep, though his eyes were heavy with exhaustion and his tail nearly brushed the deck.

He tried desperately to pull his thoughts together. He knew he might as well figure out a way to convince her to help him. After all, he'd already promised Napier and the crew they'd get the map. Just as he was pondering this, a bright light spilled over the deck. His eyes shut tight for a moment, before opening ever so slightly. They had just sailed into view of a small sun off in the distance. Though it happened often when sailing across large quadrants of the Etherium, it threw everything out balance. The crew was, for a fact, in the middle of the First Watch and the time was just about midnight.

It really started to mess with his mind.

After only a few minutes, the bell rang while his eyes were still adjusting. The Middle Watch began, the new group of spacers coming up from below to get to their duties. Avery breathed deeply, considering going back to sleep, since he really didn't want to face tomorrow.

What would be her reaction to seeing his face?

His eyes jumped from star to star, from the small nebula that was still visible near the ship's stern to the archipelago far off in the distance.

Would she even remember him?

He suddenly laughed aloud at the question his mind formed. Of course she would remember him, he realized as his face hardened again.

She probably just didn't want to.

--

The Benbonian marketplace had nothing on Crescentia. Montressor's spaceport was filled with a population as diverse as the stars themselves and sights and sounds that would send any small town worker wide-eyed. Here, the populace consisted of countless froglike Benbonians and humans with the constant drone of the drills mining into the side of the endless canyons. The air was continuously dry, whether the temperature was warm or cold and the landscape was a never-ending brown palette.

Transfixed not by the scenery, but by her own wandering thoughts, Sora jumped when someone laid a hand on her shoulder. The coins in her hand fell to the ground as she put a hand over her throat while the young girl now standing next to her laughed.

"Mercy," Her accent was thick with her Irish roots. "I'd gather you're a bit paranoid today, eh, Sora?"

Her pale face managed a smile before she collected the scattered coins. "Good morning to you as well, Emily."

Said girl put her hands on her hips and gave a wide smile. "It's a rare thing to see you up so early. Did Sarah send you on an errand?" Her deep red curls bounced with the slightest of movements.

Sora stood straight, brushing the dust off from her dark skirt. One of the things she hated most about Montressor was the dust. It was everywhere and inescapable. "Yeah." She answered and held up the basket she had on her arm, heavy with purps.

Emily gave a sympathetic smile towards her friend who was clearly half awake, though the sun was well risen in the sky. "Well, at least she didn't send ole'-"

"-B.E.N." Sora finished with a groan, looking past her shoulder.

B.E.N. had just picked up a purp from a stand down the road. However, this caused a dozen others to come spilling down the pile. With a shout, he clumsily tried to catch them all before they hit the ground.

"Oh." Emily murmured as she turned around and saw him stuttering as he apologized to the seller. "Never mind."

Sora winced and closed her eyes –a headache already forming. She desperately tried to remind herself that he meant well, helping. Nevertheless, even with his memory regained, he was still a klutz.

"Oh, come now. You know he doesn't mean to be a bother," Emily said, unintentionally voicing her friend's thoughts.

She took a deep breath of the hot air of the morning. "Yeah, I know." She muttered as B.E.N. came bounding up the road towards them.

"Morning," He chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his bronze fingers. "Time to go then? Oh, alright." With that, he continued on in front of them, rolling along on the wheels in his knees.

Sora couldn't help but roll her eyes at the ridiculous robot, but with a small smile. She and Emily followed him down the dirt road towards the Benbow Inn, as was usual.

"Have you seen Morph lately?" Sora asked suddenly as they passed the Dopplerville school house, a rickety little shack where the older locals had gone when it was still in use many years ago.

Emily bit her lip as she thought. "No. More than likely, he stowed away with Jim again."

She nodded at her friends answer while keeping her gaze on the old building as they passed it.

The rosy cheeked girl sighed before she spoke. "Count your blessings, friend." Emily never was one to let Sora alone to her thoughts long.

"Why's that?" Sora asked, slightly absentminded.

Emily rolled her eyes, as if it were obvious. "I've seen the way you look at one another." She sighed while gesturing. "Why can't it be that way with Jacob?"

"Gaines? Jacob Gaines?" Sora asked with an incredulous but joking tone.

"Oh!" Emily stomped her foot lightly on the ground while walking. "Do be nice now, please? I can't take it when you tease me so."

"Sorry, Em." Her Felinid friend said with a laugh and a rare genuine grin. She already knew who her friend was in love with. But, it was always amusing to imagine the two together.

B.E.N. started to whistle up ahead of the two girls, a tune she had heard sung before by old blackguards long ago. She began to wonder where he had heard it, or if he truly remembered it from his days with Flint…

"Do yah dare say he's not kind? I've never seen a more honest man in my lifetime, I've not." Emily had the same look in her eyes that said she was back in town at the lumber mill where the boy she fancied was.

"'Course he is." She replied, looking down at the gravel as they walked. "So why not talk to him later?"

She heard silence and, as she looked up, Emily had a look on her face that made Sora think she had suggested they go jump off a cliff later.

"Are you kidding?"

Sora had to try not to roll her eyes.

"I can't just talk to him, out of the blue, for no reason!" Emily threw her hands up in the air as if what she said made perfect sense. "These things take time!"

"Okay…" She bit back a laugh as she spotted the Benbow's roof over the hill. "I guess I wouldn't really know that."

"Really?" Emily asked, surprised. It was then that Sora regretted opening her mouth.

"Uh…"

Her friend didn't hesitate to pounce on the subject. "You never talk about when you and Jim met. You can't tell me you two weren't like that, right?"

She stuttered. "Well I-" Sighing, she couldn't even finish before Emily continued her interrogation.

"Didn't you like one another right away?" The look in her bright blue eyes made Sora sure that she wasn't going to get out of this.

She gave up, shaking her head though that caused her dark hair to fall in front of her face once more. "No." With a slight laugh, she grinned. "Actually, we hated each other."

She absolutely loved the shocked look on her friends face. Her laughter was only interrupted by Emily's next barrage of questions. "Really? So you didn't like him right after you moved here? I mean, with Sarah hiring you, it must've been annoying to see him so often if you despised each other…"

Sora swallowed uneasily and kept her eyes on the road. "Uh… yeah. Oh, good. We're here." She was grateful they had finally reached the Inn. After all, they had only been friends for nearly a year. There were still a lot of unanswered questions -and ones Sora refused to answer truthfully just yet.

The new building was much larger than before with a more elegant style. She had been glad that Silver had pretty much paid for the whole thing; it felt like their debts had been paid or sins forgiven. At least, almost.

--

The Interstellar Academy was nothing more than four square miles of black and white marble buildings filled with ignorant rich kids. So, it was only natural that he had found others like himself –accepted with high recommendations and hardly a drubloon to his name.

"Hey, Jim!"

He ducked just a split second before a leather ball flew through the air where he had been and hit the wall behind him with a loud thud. The dark blue walls shuddered, almost in pain at the new hit, and a picture frame fell off of its hook on the opposite side of the room. With one hand on the railing of the top bunk, Jim quickly threw the ball back at Cliff with as much force as he could.

The other boy caught it before it hit his face, a smirk spreading across his laughing face. He hopped up onto the other bunk on the opposite wall avoiding a kick from the young man on the bottom.

"Someday, someone's gonna pop that stupid thing of yours, Cliff." Vic piped in over the noise of the other students goofing off in the hallway outside. He was surprisingly quiet most of the time, usually found reading on his bottom bunk.

Cliff leaned over the side of the railing to glare at him upside-down. "And on that day, you'll wake up with half of your fro missin'." The Terran flashed a wicked smile at his fellow classmate.

Vic kicked the bunk above him, and Cliff swung back, chuckling. Without warning, the door opened with a gust of cool air, and Vic's older brother, Trent, leaned in, looking up at Cliff. His white uniform, for the graduating class only, contrasted greatly with his dark skin.

"Dude, Macy and Jake just had another epic breakup on the courtyard. You could hear her voice from the docks," he laughed. "Comin'?"

Jim and Vic rolled their eyes at the same time as Cliff jumped off his bunk. "You're really that immature?" Vic asked.

Cliff looked back quickly before leaving, shrugging. "She's cute. She's single. And I still need a date for the formal. See ya-" He shut the door in a rush.

Jim sighed, shaking his head. Cliff was never going to grow up.

Vic flipped the page in his book, never lifting his eyes from it. "Sora comin' for that?" His eyes flicked over the page quickly.

Jim paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling a few feet above him. He hadn't mentioned it to her yet. "I'm not sure…" He closed his eyes, resting his hands on his stomach. He should have been studying.

"Huh…" Vic looked up to the other bunk where Jim lay, seemingly sleeping. "I would've thought she'd do anything to get outta Benbow," he said with a chuckled. "I know I hate going back every weekend."

"Yeah…" Jim sighed. He opened his eyes to stare at the white paint once more. He probably should have said something about it to her.

So why didn't he?

--

A/N:

You know what? It's only about 2,200 words – but it's 2,200 words of crap that I just don't want to look at anymore. Sorry for the short chapter, I've already got 4 and 5 halfway written. Of course, you all know that doesn't mean I'll get them up anytime soon… ;)

Just kidding.