"You have been overextending yourself in training again, Captain..." Koronna told Captain Lazarus firmly but with grudging admiration "I know you want to inspire your troops by your own example... but you cannot do that from a bed in sick bay. We know you are not a Scarran, and we can also tell you do very well for someone of your body type as well...".
"A more polite way of saying I'm getting old..." Lazarus groused, lowering himself as carefully as he could onto a bench in the workout room "...than I heard back on Earth, K...".
"You are not that old" Koronna told him gently but firmly "Even under your old hoo-man rules, compulsory retirement would not be effective until you were ten cycles older than you are at this time, Captain".
"True enough" Lazarus replied, leaning against her when she came to stand beside him "But in special forces the lifespan ain't so long. I could fly planes, alright... but not do some of the other stuff. I'd be back in the regular Air Force flying bombers or trash haulers an' catching all kinds of dren of the young idiots who think they know it all when they've only been out of flight training a few monen...".
Koronna translated all of that into situations she knew before smiling briefly, hugging Lazarus for maybe a half-momen, and telling him "While we are concerned for your welfare... Scarrans respect their older serving soldiers and officers more than, for the most part, you humans did. Look at Lirak, Captain! He is over 120 cycles old and has been in uniform of one kind or another for over 100 of those cycles – no one tells him to slow down because he's getting old, do they?"
Lazarus laughed at the image presented to him even though he was also surprised at Lirak's age, then winced as one or more of his training injuries made themselves known again.
"I will see if this training room has one of those spa rooms in it" Koronna decided, coming up with an idea that was both useful and appealing to her "Many of them do. If it does, I will make it ready and call you". Lazarus just nodded and laid back down on the bench again, groaning a little and wincing slightly when he tried moving his legs.
Koronna found one after a momen or two, nodding happily as she saw the spa inside – good she decided I can relax, my Anton can recover... and perhaps he will recover enough to let me help him how I want to help him. I know he has concerns and worries... but I must show him he can trust me by doing the same for him.
She smiled as the hot water filled the spa, adding some mild medicated salts and cleansing liquid to help soothe both of them after training, before undressing and climbing in – she rumbled happily as she relaxed in the water before she realised Lazarus still didn't know where she was, so she shouted "OVER HERE, ANTON! FOLLOW MY VOICE! I HAVE FOUND WHAT WE NEED AND THE WATER IS HOT – SO COME HERE AND GET IN BEFORE IT COOLS!"
Koronna heard his small scream as he stood to his feet, followed by the subvocal muttering and grumbling as he walked to the spa – his voice is growing clearer and slightly louder Koronna could tell He has found me and is coming.
Koronna made sure she was facing at least mostly away from the door – though Lazarus could still only see her head and shoulders when he entered. She listened to Lazarus wince a little as he tried to undress – then smiled as she heard him climb in, though she worried when he lost his footing and made a big splash falling the rest of the way.
"Crap, that's hot..." he hissed, reaching for something to hold – Koronna took his hand and shoulder before guiding him to the rim of the spa shaped for seating before telling him "It is the normal temperature for Scarrans, Anton... it may well be hot for humans but it won't hurt you, and I suspect the heat will relax your muscles and do you good. Now stay there, I have some remedial oil to rub onto your strained muscles... if I can remember which side of the spa I put it...".
While Koronna reached over to grab the oil, Lazarus moved to the middle of the spa where he was covered just below his neck even when standing up.
"It's hot..." he hissed "...but you're right, it's doing me good. I think".
"Good, Anton" Koronna replied, smiling "Back up a little, toward the rim of the spa – I can't apply the oil if you're underwater...".
Lazarus backed up very carefully, until Koronna's treblin hand rested gently on his shoulder and her voice said "Just there, Anton...stand still..."
"This oil is formulated for Scarrans..." Koronna warned, almost as an afterthought "...so your muscles might become a bit too relaxed...".
"Just lift me out if that happens" Lazarus replied wearily "and lay me out to dry somewhere...". Koronna smiled at that, knowing she could do so easily, before starting to rub the oil in – she moved slowly, rubbing the oil in and hearing Lazarus relax and murmur as it took effect. Lazarus sat on the edge of the spa while Koronna rubbed oil on his legs, his eyes almost closing as the oil did its job – her hands moved up around his chest and back again, her voice going from a soft murmur to a surprisingly deep rumbling and her hands moving from remedial treatment to a caress.
"K?" Lazarus asked in surprise, before Koronna massaged his legs muscles a little more – after which they gave way and he fell back into the spa. Koronna lifted him up and set him on his feet, wrapping her arms around him from behind, and rumbling softly – Lazarus was more than a little surprised at that, but he didn't move and just moved his hands to lay on top of Koronna's.
"Good, my Anton..." she murmured, rumbling softly over his hammond shoulder "Just stay there for a while... let me hold you and comfort you and soothe you...".
"You really...?" he stuttered, not able to think entirely coherently with Koronna leaning against him and holding him "You...err...sure...err...why...err... oh hell, you actually trust me this much, K?"
Koronna was surprised at the words he used, but smiled and turned him around before wrapping her arms around him again and holding him as close as she could before giving him a long slow kiss and replying "Yes, my Anton – yes, I do. Over and above our work. Over and above what is needed as members of this unit. I trust you and I love you, my Anton – I know you have had difficulties in the past, you have told me about these and I have helped you with one of them before on Earth myself" before bowing her head slightly and briefly and saying "I did talk to both Jane and Liz at various times, my Anton...Jane enlightened me a little about how humans in these kind of situations, while Liz encouraged me greatly both in myself and in relating to you on a personal level. She approves of my pursuit of you, though she does think you would be surprised – and you are, I think. Pleased as well, but surprised".
"Yes to both, K..." Lazarus replied, trying to get his brain in gear and not noticing his hands slipped down over Koronna's eema – when he did notice and try to move them, Koronna smiled, kissed him more longingly, and told him "Leave them where they are, my Anton... I do not mind in the slightest, if that's what's worrying you".
Koronna actually loves me Lazarus realised I know we get along well... and I do like her a lot... but I sure didn't think I'd made this much of an impression with her! She doesn't seem to mind about my past, she's already checked me out with both Jane and Liz...that's better treatment than I got off my ex and Koronna's not even the same species, though for one reason or another that whole situation's never even reared its head until now...
Koronna moved her hands a little more, smiled and rumbled – Lazarus moved his hands up along her back without even thinking much until he heard her rumble quite loudly and tighten her grip on him.
"Thank you, my love..." she told him softly "You hold me in just the right way to help me feel needed and wanted and happy...".
"That's the first time a lady's called me that for quite a number of cycles, K..." Lazarus admitted, before taking a chance and kissing her – Koronna smiled, rumbled, then took his head in her hands before kissing him long and deeply, then lifting him up and carrying him out of the spa before telling him "The water is getting cold, my Anton... we should finish this somewhere warmer..."
"There been lots men-tal test things for your 'Mara, mama..." Amara sighed, clearly exhausted "It been lots fun. Your 'Mara now talk in heads a bit, mama... not lots goodgood at it yet, mama... I prac-tiss with you an' papa an' friends on big home ship... I tired, mama...".
"Thank you so much for the tutoring, Deress" Caseya told the blue-skinned Delvian, bowing slightly "Amara needed the structured learning and we could not give her what she needed with this... these... new skills".
"Bring her back every few weeken, if you can" Deress suggested "Perhaps every monen to six weeken or so... and I will test her again to see how she improves and to see if she can be taught new things. Test her as much as you can do on what she has already learned – I know she loves you and her father very much, so perhaps both of you can help her extend the range at which she can mindtalk with people".
"She has so many friends on our ship, Deress" Caseya replied, smiling and stroking Amara's brow-ridges "and I am sure we can find many people to help train her skills. She will think of it not as a test, but as a fun task and a game, to learn to identify people by their thoughts when she mindtalks to them".
"That's a good skill for her to learn" Sorfil added, standing by the lounge room wall "The quicker she learns to get a clear ident from a caller, the more help she can be in... emergencies".
"That sound fun..." Amara whispered, opening one eye "When I goodgood at head tal-kings I tell who there when they call me an' when I not see them?"
"Just so" Deress replied, smiling "But we will learn about that when you come back next time. You have become so much better than you were when you started, Amara... and you have even learned a new thing, learned to talk in people's heads like you do on a comm! There is more for you to learn about that as well, of course... but you can learn about that another time. Time for you and your mother and father to return to your home and your friends".
"You all my friends too, De-ress" Amara insisted, opening both eyes and sitting up "You my friend an' Je-rella my friend an' Me-lla my friend an' Jash an' Ni-rin an' Fray-ner an' all other people here!" before projecting a weak burst of excitement and friendship through the whole building.
"We will see our new friends here again, Amara" Trannak told her as they walked outside "We will come back here at other times – so you can learn new things and so we can help our friends in the forest as well. We are going back there now, Amara – our Stryker is there, and they might have messages or other things for us to take to your friend the big funny man".
"I'll see when we get there, Captain" Sorfil said, catching up "I'm hypersense-capable, in case you're wondering, so I did hear everything you said... I'll check if there's messages or other news to be forwarded to the War Commander once I get back to the hyperwave controls again" before he looked at Amara and asked "Your narl going to be OK walking out here when she's tired like that?"
"Like walking on feets lots" Amara told Sorfil once her feet touched the ground "It fun. Papa tell me 'bout mud an' grass an' trees an' tiny stuff that crawl an' fly an' be sneaky. You tell me bit 'bout them too".
"I did" Sorfil confirmed for her "Forests are, as you seem to think, a lot of fun – but we need to be careful in them".
"I learn more 'bout fo-rists when I come back?" Amara asked hopefully, and she smiled when Sorfil nodded and said "I'm sure you will – I'll try and find other things about mentalism to teach you too, an' we'll see if I can teach you something that'll surprise that Delvian..." before letting out a short rumbling laugh.
Amara didn't sing much once they reached the forest itself, but she did look around and ask a lot of questions – Sorfil answered most of them, and Amara was amazed to hear even little things about the flora and fauna around her. She even pointed to footprints she saw – Sorfil smiled and told her the ones that were animal prints, and more clearly identified the few that were from him or the others in the outpost.
"Prin-tings from boots" Amara said, getting a nod from Sorfil "Not feets. Feets in boots, like with your friend 'Mara, so feets not got mud on" before she asked Sorfil "Your feets bigger than papa feets?"
"Probably" Trannak explained "Sorfil is larger than I am, in addition to which he is a low-caste Scarran – and they often have bigger feet". Amara watched, fascinated, as the two men place their feet beside each other so Amara could compare them – she clapped and said "Sor-fil men-tal feets bigger, papa" which made everyone laugh.
A lump on the ground turned to face them a little later – when Amara saw it, she pointed it out to Sorfil, who nodded and said "It is a vision device from inside the outpost, Amara – it is called a 'periscope' and means we can see outside without cameras. I will mindtalk to those inside, so they can open the door for us. Listen in if you can, but do not talk".
Amara did just that, cooing in amazement and telling Caseya and Trannak what she heard – after which the door slid open.
"Inside!" Sorfil urged them all "There may not be much of a Hierarchy presence on Riaanond, but we still get adventuring parties as well as villagers coming past – and the less they see, the better!"
Amara leaped down from Caseya's arms and ran inside as fast as she could, laughing when she saw the others working inside and calling out to them.
Trannak shut the door and sealed it again when he entered, calling "All OK!" – Deaken smiled and told him "We usually just call 'Locked and sealed', sir... but we know what you mean anyway...".
Sorfil strode over to the periscope, looked around to check for any people in the vicinity, after which he called for Amara to come.
"Amara seemed interested in our periscope" he announced "...so, since she has done well, she can look outside through it before you return to the War Commander".
Amara ran over and climbed up Sorfil's body before hugging him and looking through the eyepiece when she was told to – she cooed happily and promptly told everyone what she could see, some of which one or two of the others brought up on screens to see for themselves. Most of this was animals or trees, but some distance off there was a hunting party from a different village – Amara listened as Sorfil reported this to Deress, and he identified the people as being from the main village to their south.
"It good I found new friends..." Amara told everyone "... but it time for me an' mama an' papa to go back to big home ship an' see oth-er friends. We tell them goodgood stuff 'bout you an' then we see if some come with us next time".
"We will see if we can send you more supplies" Trannak clarified "Even if my wife does not do the flying herself, we can fly here in a larger craft – or multiple smaller ones – to bring you other things if we have spares that you need".
"Any such supplies will be more than welcome, sir" Deaken replied, nodding "We have our own ways and means... but these aren't always cheap. But enough about our logistics issues... we should see you safely on your way back to the War Commander".
Amara climbed up on Deaken's back and looked over his shoulder as they walked down to the hangar, much to his interest and everyone else's amusement – he stayed for a momen or two while Amara stroked his ridges and gave him a hug before returning to the operations room.
Amara rumbled happily when Trannak praised her for being nice to Deaken and the others, telling him "They my new friends, papa, an' they nice to your 'Mara".
"In the Stryker, Amara" Trannak replied, opening the hatch "Up the ladder... but wait by the bridge door. Do not go in before your mama and I get there".
Amara did just that, running up the wall to the upper deck – when Trannak had sealed the hatch shut again, he and Caseya went up the ladder and saw Amara sitting on the wall beside the door handle grinning at them. Caseya swept her into her arms, laughing as Amara shrieked and hugged her, before telling her "You have so many good new things to tell your friends when we get back home, do you not? Who will you talk to first?"
" 'Mara not know, mama!" came her excited reply "It a bigbig sur-pry-see, mama!"
Amara climbed into her harness, after which she watched Caseya fasten her webbing over the pair of them before calling that out to Trannak – he smiled and nodded before calling "All OK..." quietly, after which he commed Deaken for takeoff clearance.
"This will be a little different, love" Trannak told Caseya as she powered up the Stryker "Since this is a hidden installation, the doors will only stay open a short time – I expect we should begin flying towards them, and whoever is on flight control duty will open the doors for us".
Caseya seemed a little wary of that but did as Trannak asked, trying not to make the Stryker wobble too much – she smiled in relief when the doors did open as Trannak said they would, and the flight stabilised soon after she flew out of the hangar.
"Doors shut now, mama..." Amara said, watching a display "I see it on scree-nee, mama..."
"Good girl..." Caseya told her "Now we go...?"
"Up, mama" Amara replied immediately "We go up to space where it all black an' then papa tell aw-to-py-lot.. that it... that bigbig word... where home ship is, then we go have slee-pings, mama, after papa eat".
"We can sleep first, Amara" Trannak corrected her "I will eat when we wake up".
"Commandant Grayza, Captain Tayyem!"
"At ease..." Captain Tayyem replied, and once the messenger had assumed the proper stance he nodded and took the message.
"A brief but nonetheless useful report, I think..." the Captain decided "even though it does not tell us anything I would have liked to hear!"
Grayza nodded and held out her hand for the small dataslate – when it was passed over, she flicked through the report, murmuring at some things and grumbling at others and even – to the Captain's surprise – taking a few notes on a small pad.
"These Irregulars..." she told the Captain once the messenger had been dismissed "...for all that they seem to be neutral and working purely for money... appear to be composed primarily of SCARRANS!"
"Why there are other species present in the membership, then..." Captain Tayyem replied "...I don't know. Scarrans usually keep a few Kalish around to do their grot's work for them, yes – but beyond that I know nothing about them, Scarran politics wasn't my area of study in the training academy".
"There are often Charrids around them..." Grayza replied distastefully "I've seen this before. Not, on average, clever thinkers – but very persistent and they do what they're told as long as the money keeps coming. The report mentions, and quite distinctly so, that outside the mercenary camp on Market Street and the Scarran embassy Charrids are rarely seen at all – let alone in numbers".
Grayza looked over the report again, also making quite a number of queries from the carrier's main archives, before grumbling and saying "It appears these 'Irregulars' are a special unit with restricted membership, then. Instruct our embassy at Talzenadar IV to continue watching their personnel but not to put themselves in danger doing so. I will have to contact Strategic Command and request any and all further information we have on them. We're missing something".
Once Captain Tayyem was composing the message at the comm desk, Grayza turned her chair around to face the front window before calling "Increase speed to one half... come about to two five four mark zero five one... all battlegroup to follow..."
"Yes, Commander..." Nrakal said, in the sick bay.
"All of it?" Harrigan asked hopefully.
"I believe so, Commander" Nrakal replied "Whoever actually made these archives was very meticulous and obviously considered properly organising their notes of paramount importance – once I actually managed to break the encryption, finding out what we had was much less of a problem".
"So what've we got, then?" Harrigan prompted "Ol' Harnak walked on the wall like Kalish do, I saw it – he had some kinda gun on his shoulder an' them quiet darts, sorta like spring-crossbows, in his arms...".
"The archive here suggests a number of major breakthroughs were made in the application of a cloaking shield to living subjects" Nrakal added, pointing to several places in the archive "Is this true? Did the subject identified as Harnak show this ability?"
"He had it, alright" Harrigan replied "Could see through it when I was close, but he had it an' it worked".
Nrakal's treblin eyebrow raised a little and briefly when Harrigan mentioned seeing through the cloak, after which he asked a number of questions and made notes before nodding.
"I have, I think..." Nrakal eventually told Harrigan "... enough solid data to consider applying the weapons and the cloak to a volunteer subject, Commander. Not the Kalish ability, not yet – I would think applying such a thing to a non-Kalish would cause mental failure as the subject's mind rebels against being told to do something so totally different to what it has known so far, but since Harnak himself managed it then perhaps we may yet find a suitable subject at some later date...".
Caseya smiled as she flew the Stryker back inside the welcome sight of the Cry Havoc's hammond side flight deck and landed slowly and carefully. A small number of Bloodstars were there, along with the few members of Tactical Command not out with Rulok, and they waited until Trannak emerged with Caseya and Amara before coming to greet them.
Amara leapt from Caseya's arms to Rekketh's to give him a hug – he laughed and tickled her, getting loud laughter and claps back in return before she asked several times what they were doing.
"Checking Strykers, Amara" Rekketh told her "Sturk knows more about that stuff, so he's been telling us an' making us all do it again an' again until he thinks we got it right".
" 'Mara learn new stuff too, Re-keth friend" Amara told Rekketh happily, nodding "I learn new men-tal stuff which all fun. Your small friend 'Mara now talk in heads, Re-keth friend! I do that to one friend at time, Re-keth".
"Show me, Amara" he replied immediately, grinning "Prove it! It's good to hear you know new stuff too... but I want to see you do it!"
Caseya worried about Amara being called on to show her abilities so soon, but Trannak rested a hand on her shoulder and whispered "Rekketh is being typically Scarran, Caseya – he is pleased Amara does well, but wants concrete evidence she can do what she says she can. The best evidence of that kind is, to him, being on the receiving end of such abilities".
Trannak gave Amara a slightly edited version of this, and she clapped before telling Rekketh ~Heeheehee! ((excitement)) This me talking in your head, Re-keth friend – it your small friend 'Mara!~
Rekketh grinned and tickled Amara a bit, then moved back a hundred metras before calling "Again, Amara!"
"Test for 'Mara!" Amara called happily, clapping – before doing exactly as she was asked again and again until she could barely see Rekketh at all.
"Goodee!" Amara almost shouted "That lots fun, nice Re-keth friend!" before hugging him and rumbling loudly.
"Sounded a bit faint at the end there" Rekketh told Caseya and Trannak "but it was still clear enough to understand. No interference or anything" before passing Amara back again. Sturk grinned and tickled Amara a bit when she mindtalked to him a bit, and everyone heard Amara's shriek of excitement and the burst of love and happiness she broadcast afterwards.
"Off to see your friend the big funny man, I think" Trannak said "He would like to know about you being able to talk in people's heads, Amara, even if he can't hear it himself because of his special things".
"He tell me 'bout that 'fore, papa" Amara replied "He say nice doctor make it like that so people who do that stuff but not nice like his friend 'Mara not do it an' he then all safe. I give him nice hugs an' cudd-lees so he know I like him lots, papa".
Trannak called over the comm to see where Harrigan was – since he was still in the sick bay, Trannak agreed to bring his small family there.
"YAAAY!" Amara called, clapping "IT BIG FUNNY MAN AN' NICE DOCTOR! THAT 'MAZING!"
"Hello again, little miss!" Harrigan replied, grinning – and laughing when Amara ran across the sick bay floor before jumping up into his arms "Been having fun? Can you tell your friend the big funny man about it, hmm?"
"I tell you all of it, big funny man friend!" Amara replied immediately, nodding – and promptly told Harrigan and Nrakal, over the next half arn, everything she had done at Riaanond and everything she had learned about mentalism.
"Re-keth give his friend 'Mara nice test thing when we come back!" Amara added, clapping and bouncing excitedly in Harrigan's arms "He move back an' back an' back an' I talk in his head till I nee-ly not see him but still talk in his head, big funny man!"
Amara saw Nrakal taking notes and asked him about it – she happily told him anything and everything he wanted to know, watching him type it into the terminal close by and clapping and shrieking when he let her press the button to send it to the main archive.
Harrigan whispered to Nrakal briefly before leaving, after which Nrakal asked Amara "I would like to see if you can mindtalk to me, Amara – I know you know me well, but I would like to see if you can do it. Picture me in your mind when I call out to you, then try to mindtalk" before walking across the sick bay and standing out of her sight.
~Heeheehee! ((excitement, challenge))~ Amara called to Nrakal ~ 'Mara still talk to you, nice doctor, even if I not see you!~
When he came back again, he nodded and smiled before saying "You could still talk to me, Amara, even though you could not see me, because you know me well and can picture me in your mind. When you know someone well and can form a mental picture of them in your mind, you will not need to be able to see them to mindtalk with them. That is what my books tell me".
Amara explained what Deress told her about that, and Nrakal nodded and said "The Delvian is correct as far as I can tell – of course, he has considerable cycles of practical experience to draw on, while I just have my textbooks".
"You learn new stuff while I gone, nice doctor?" Amara asked " 'Mara tell you new stuff I learn... you learn new stuff too?"
"I did, as it happens" Nrakal replied, smiling as Amara clapped happily "I learned how to read the special things your friend the big funny man brought to me a long time ago, Amara. They are very interesting indeed, and are about – as you say – making people special".
"There new special stuff in there?!" Amara shouted in amazed delight "You put it on friend, nice doctor? Which friend have it? I see you put it in?"
"There are new special things, yes" Nrakal confirmed "I don't know who will get them first. I am sure people will ask about it when they find out, Amara – our Commander will tell people he thinks will like it, and if they want it they will come and talk to me" before leaning closer to her and adding "When someone has these things added, Amara, it is not like it was with you – you had them when you were tiny and new because your mother has them. A person wanting special things comes here to me, Amara... and I put them in one of the big tanks, you can see them over there... and they go to sleep for a long time. While they sleep I put tiny special things into them and those things change their bodies so the special things you know about are there".
Amara cooed in amazed wonder, saying "I learn special new thing 'bout special people... that 'mazing..." before telling Nrakal "If new person go in tank I come an' see them when they there? They like it if 'Mara come an' see?"
"I think they will" Nrakal decided, nodding "I would ask before they went in it, Amara... but I think they would".
"They be all happy in tank while slee-ping" Amara agreed "Then they feel all good 'gain when they come out an' try new stuff".
"They will need to eat lots when they come out too" Nrakal said, smiling "People with new special things are hungry when they come out of a tank, Amara – so there will be food kept here for them".
"We passed the half way point, people" Rulok told his teams, on the quarters deck of the Switchblade "We're well inside Scarran space, but so far we've been off most of the major shipping lanes – that's going to have to change from hereon in, since there's always people going to and from Kalian in every possible direction".
"How are we for supplies?" Krynak asked "We got enough stuff? How about food?"
"There's a deep-cover dropsite not too far off from Kalian" Lirak replied "We'll grab whatever's useful from that – which means we'll need Shellek to get us past outer security first. We'll top off the stores for the Strykers as well, even though with our current plan we won't need them...".
Lirak rumbled his agreement, and since all of them knew Lirak's opinion about precautions like that no one said anything else.
"What about on the way back?" Novia asked "Should I preplot a speed-run course in case we have to go full flank an' patch people up at the same time?"
"Probably a good idea" Darrek replied "I do hope we won't have to perform any medical procedures while the ship's being fired on... but it's happened before and probably will again, so the better prepared we are the more likely we are to get out alive".
"Good, we're all sorted out then" Rulok decided "Do your exercises, eat when you need to, get plenty of sleep – once we're a day out we'll all be awake the entire time until we're well away from Kalian again with Caseya's family. That means from two days out there's to be either myself or Lirak on the bridge at all times".
"That is some seriously amazing dren, little U!" Troll almost shouted in amazed excitement when he finally managed to wheedle details of what Nrakal had discovered out of Urana three days later.
"It's interesting, yes..." she replied, smiling slightly and rumbling in amusement at how her partner was reacting "I don't know I'd think it quite as amazing as you do... but it's definitely useful, that's for sure..."
"Not just useful, that's gonna be fun" Troll replied, after which he grinned and kissed her happily and firmly before lecturing her at length about what he could use the new changes for if he managed to get them.
Troll has actually thought about this... Urana decided That, or he's just naturally good at improvising. To be honest, it does sound more than a little interesting – the only annoying part is that at current levels of technology the armoured plating can't be applied to females of any species without threatening the ability of my body to adapt itself when bearing children, which means no cloaking shield as well.
Troll mistook the look on her face for curious interest, so he grinned and said "Even if you don't want them dart things, little U, you could get more guns, or put the electric stuff there while keeping the gun on your shoulder, or-".
"Enough, Troll..." Urana growled "You've convinced me to talk to Nrakal about it... even if it's only to shut you up...".
Troll grinned again, laughing happily for a half-momen or so before saying "I'm gonna go talk to Mr N myself right now, little U... Your momma prob'ly wants you in the kitchen or I'd bring you along too...I'll ask the doc 'bout stuff for you an' then we can go see him after Second Meal...".
"Just GO AND SEE HIM, then!" Urana shouted, growling a bit "You might as well do something while you're off training... and since this is at least partly productive and may even stop you complaining about Karroch's training hurting you, I'll go along with it".
"Seriously, little U..." Troll said with a slight smile "All that new stuff would help you protect yourself... your momma too if it comes to that. Never know when you might need hidden guns".
Urana rumbled softly before hugging Troll lightly and telling him "Don't promise my admittance to the change program, mister... but ask doctor Nrakal about possibilities for me as well, Troll, since you've obviously thought enough about it to come up with practical and real reasons for me to have these things myself".
"You gotta admit it'd be good to get your name down in history as the first woman to get a full stage 2 treatment as well" Troll added, grinning again - Urana just laughed before adding "Not so much of a concern, really... but it will show that women in the unit have just as much of a chance as men. Caseya has this change and has proved healthy by all accounts... if she can do this, so can I".
"That's the way!" Troll replied happily "Don't you worry 'bout a thing, little U, your Troll man's on the case..." before Troll ran off for the nearest transit stop.
Kitchen duty was, as usual, fast-paced and without ceasing – which, right now, Urana was thankful for. She smiled as she made dishes she knew Troll liked best, and that made Moratha smile as well.
"You're doing well, dear daughter..." Moratha told her eldest daughter in encouragement "Especially since several of our usual kitchen staff are away with Rulok on their mission".
Urana told her mother about her discussion with Troll before arriving at the kitchen, and while Moratha was very surprised she also nodded and said "That strange human has actually made a number of good points, Urana... it won't benefit your medical work so much, but will help increase your survivability and your ability to support your squadmates. I don't know if Troll's headed over to doctor Nrakal now, although knowing him he probably has-"
"He has, mother..." Urana replied, cutting her mother off a little "He's probably in the sick bay chattering on at Nrakal until he runs out of breath or the doctor gives in and gives him what he wants just to shut him up...".
"You know our senior doctor well enough, Urana..." Moratha said with a slight smile "I'd say the odds are about the same that Nrakal will try and convince Troll to submit to the program now as they are that Troll will try and get Nrakal to let him get the program before Third Meal".
Moratha and Urana both laughed at that, and even Leasa smiled and chuckled a little before they finished the final preparations for Second Meal – both of them grinned as Rekketh squeezed out from behind the meat preparation counter and ran over to his usual table and rested his head on it as he waitied for his usual tablemates to arrive. Most of the unit members still on-ship were there, so Rekketh's usual group were the last ones arriving apart from Troll and Nrakal. Troll had an even bigger grin on his face, which Urana decided meant he had managed to get agreement from Nrakal for him getting the change he wanted – she was surprised when he ran over to Harrigan and whispered in his ear for almost three momens, more so when Harrigan grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Troll man all happy, mama" Amara said as she watched that "Your 'Mara not know why, Troll man next to big funny man so I not see in his head, but he look all happy an' he smy-ling lots. He learn new thing, mama?"
"He might have" Caseya replied "Or he might have asked your friend the big funny man if he could do something – if the big funny man said yes, Troll would be happy?"
"That right, mama" Amara replied, nodding "Your 'Mara watch him, mama, an' if I see why he happy I tell you". Caseya stroked Amara's brow-ridges until she smiled, closed her eyes, and rumbled softly – Trannak rumbled too, which made Amara smile even more.
"Anyone want anything special?" Liz asked from her place beside Hellbolt "Just to start with, mind you... I don't have the muscle to push half a dozen trolleys at once with everyone's stuff on them...".
Juroch went on ahead to get his usual Kalish opening foods, but everyone else at the table asked for something – Trannak smiled and said to Caseya "You do not have to go and get anything, my love... Liz does that because we are her friends".
Trannak used that chance to teach Amara a little about friendship, and rumbled when Amara looked up at him and said "I do stuff for friends too, papa... when I do more men-tal stuff I do lots for friends. Your 'Mara learn all men-tal stuff, papa, an' I do good so you an' mama happy". Trannak lifted her up for a hug just as Liz got back, so after Liz gave everyone their dishes she snapped a few pictures with a small imager from her pocket.
"Pictures of 'Mara..." Amara said, smiling "Goodee. Pictures of 'Mara go in ar-kyve for ev-ree-one, Liz friend?"
"I'll make sure they do, Amara" Liz replied, smiling back "since you asked so nicely".
"Pic-tures of 'Mara for ev-ree-one..." Amara told Trannak and Caseya "That goodgood. Like it if there pic-tures of me ev-ree-one see" before Caseya started feeding her little bits from Trannak's plate. Both of them smiled when Amara broadcast tiny bursts of happiness each time Caseya fed her something.
Neither of them knew what was going on when Amara asked "What ma-rry mean, mama an' papa? Troll man say he want to ma-rry auntie 'Rana, mama an' papa. He right there on knees, mama an' papa. He all ha-ppy, I not seen Troll man lots ha-ppy like that 'fore".
Caseya smiled and turned to see for herself – Urana had a stunned and amazed look on her face for just a few momens before she lifted Troll up off the floor and hugged him as tightly as she could.
"Auntie 'Rana lots happy too, mama an' papa..." Amara said, clearly amazed "Troll man lots happy... grandma 'Ratha lots happy... Ka-rroch lots happy... it all 'mazing...".
"You're crushing me, woman..." Troll wheezed "Say yes or say no... but can you please put me down first?"
"Can you see that they are happy in their heads, Amara?" Trannak asked softly, and Amara smiled up at him before nodding and telling him "It easy, papa... I see it when I not look... see it with auntie 'Rana an' Troll man an' auntie Leasa an' grandma 'Ratha an' ee-ven un-cle Ka-rroch... they all lotslots ha-ppy...".
"Of course I agree, you silly human..." Urana told Troll, smiling and still holding him tightly as she rested her head on his shoulder. Karroch was the first to congratulate the pair of them – even once all Urana's remaining family members had done so and other unit members were coming forward, Troll was still grinning like a maniac and Urana was still rumbling softly.
Trannak gave a very heavily-edited and child friendly explanation for Amara – she didn't entirely understand some of it, but she did shriek and clap when Caseya told her "Your auntie Urana and uncle Troll want to be like your mama and papa, Amara... that is what this means".
"If they do this the human way, Amara, there will be special words for them to say and a special meal afterwards" Trannak added "I saw this when the Commander and Talannah were married on Erp some cycles ago now. Do you think the special meal will be at Third Meal tonight?"
"Your 'Mara think that true, papa" Amara replied, nodding "They do special words at Third Meal too, papa?"
"They might" Caseya replied, smiling more "I do not know if that will be for everyone to see or just for family. I think Troll would want everyone to see, yes?"
"You right, mama!" Amara replied, clapping – after which she leapt off Caseya's lap and ran across to Urana, where she jumped up and down and hugged both Urana and Troll in excitement before telling them how she saw both of them were happy in their heads. Troll lifted her up and tickled her, getting loud and happy shrieks of laughter, before passing her to Urana – Amara, predictably enough, asked "You have small per-son? Mama an' papa live in same quar-ters an' they have their 'Mara! You have small per-son when you live in same quar-ters?"
"Small people will come when they are ready, Amara" Urana replied, smiling a little "It will be a good surprise for us all when they decide to come. I think we should tell you when one is on their way, Amara, since you are so happy about it". Troll whispered something else to her, which got Amara bouncing up and down excitably on his lap and clapping before she hugged both of them and ran back as fast as she could to tell Trannak and Caseya too.
"I had not heard new things like that were available, Amara" Caseya told Amara with interest "I have enough, I do not need any more even if I could have any... but it is good your friend Troll and your auntie Urana can have new things if they need them, yes?"
"They like it lots, mama" Amara agreed, nodding "Having special bits all good, mama, an' your 'Mara like it lots".
The rest of the day seemed to go extremely quickly for everyone, not just Troll and Urana – anyone even remotely close to Amara reported loud and excitable singing, which made Urana smile and Troll grin. The actual wedding was fairly brief and more Scarran-themed, held just before Third Meal with everyone on board in attendance – once Troll and Urana parted after the first official kiss, the Scarran kingdom anthem was sung, and Amara was particularly amazed about that since it was the first time she had heard it.
"It a 'mazing spe-cial song, mama..." Amara told Caseya "Un-cle Stu-rrk tell me that. Un-cle Stu-rrk tell me it all 'bout people who live longlong time 'go an' who ex-tra spe-cial even when they not got spe-cial bits like your 'Mara...".
Sturk caught the last few words Amara said, so he walked over and explained more fully – Trannak smiled and replied "To be honest, Sturk... I have only ever heard the royal anthem once before, at the Commander's own wedding. I certainly never heard it before I came to live here".
"It's good hearin' it again, that's for sure" Sturk replied "Good for Amara to hear it, too. We'll see to it she learns more about the kingdom when she's older, Captain... she's got so much to learn already".
"I learn more men-tal stuff, that true" Amara said, not quite sure what Sturk meant – after which she called ~This your friend 'Mara in your head, un-cle Stu-rrk! happiness~
Sturk grinned and tickled her a bit before heading back to his own table.
The galley cleared out fairly quickly after the celebration meal, especially since quite a few people had shipboard duties or night patrol missions around the Tal IV spaceport – Amara listened on the bridge as Keyah cleared those going to the port to leave in their Strykers, clapping and calling out to each flight crew as they left.
A bleeping from the desk was followed by Troll calling "Doc said Amara might want to see everything getting started down here... well, not everything, but all the good bits anyway...".
"You persuaded Urana to volunteer as well, Troll?" Trannak asked, sceptical.
"Yep, sure did" Troll replied, grinning "Took a while, but she came round eventually. She knows her favourite Troll's gonna be there to help her".
Amara, of course, immediately grabbed Caseya and Trannak's hands and tried to drag them both to the transit car for the trip to the sick bay.
"We go see auntie 'Rana an' Troll man go in tanks, mama an' papa!" Amara called happily, pulling hard "We go fas-ter! We go now!"
"We will" Caseya replied, smiling at Amara's excitement "Where do we need to go first, Amara? Tell us and show us".
"We go to car place, mama!" Amara replied triumphantly, pointing to the galley door "Car place that way, mama! You an' papa come with your 'Mara!" before pulling on their hands again. Trannak smiled and nodded, letting her drag him just quickly enough to tire her – when he smiled at her, Caseya giggled a bit and did the same.
"Car place on other side, papa" Amara told Trannak, looking up at him "You open door, papa? Open door for your 'Mara an' for mama?"
"For all three of us, Amara" Trannak clarified before opening the door and leading Caseya and Amara out to the platform – Amara climbed up Trannak's leg and watched him open the door and press the button on the platform pedestal, after which she clapped and threw her small arms around Trannak's neck to hug him tightly, rumbling loudly as she did so.
"Goodee..." she said softly, rumbling afterwards "I with nice warm papa... papa call car for mama an' his 'Mara..." – when Trannak opened his jacket, Amara clapped again before climbing inside.
When the car arrived a few momens later, Amara's head was just visible, just below Trannak's neck, and there was a child-sized bulge under his jacket at chest level where Amara was resting and rumbling almost constantly. She woke up once the car was already moving, of course – but she loved that as well, sending out a very weak burst of happiness to both Caseya and Trannak before saying "I stay here, mama – it all warm under papa jacket, so your 'Mara stay here an' have small nap till we get to nice doc-tor place".
Caseya stroked Amara's brow-ridges, listening to her rumbling and smiling as Amara smiled up at her and closed her eyes – and was even more amazed when a faint ~Your 'Mara here, mama happinesslove Love you an' papa lots an' lots certainty~ came back to her from Amara. Caseya leaned forward to give Amara a quick kiss, after which she told Trannak what Amara had told her in her mind.
"Well done, Amara" Trannak told Amara quietly "You are learning to narrow your mindspeech down so you only talk to one person at a time. I did not hear you that time".
~Love you lots, papa~ Amara assured Trannak mentally ~I tell mama that too. I tell mama I love her an' you, papa~.
"I know you do, Amara" Trannak told Amara while the car changed tracks "I know that every time you look up at your mama and I wherever we are, whenever you smile or rumble at us – or just when you tell us, of course".
"Goodee, papa..." Amara replied "You wake your 'Mara when we there, papa..."
It wasn't much longer after that that the car came to a halt outside the sick bay – Caseya leaned forward and woke Amara once the three of them were standing by the sick bay door, and once Amara had stopped murmuring and muttering at the surprise of being woken up, she climbed out from under Trannak's jacket and sat on his shoulders before calling mentally to Nrakal inside the sick bay.
Leasa opened the door and smiled when she saw Amara sitting on Trannak's shoulders.
"Doctor Nrakal told us, Amara..." Leasa said as they all went in, shutting the door behind them "... how you announced your arrival by mindtalking to him from outside".
"I do that, you right" Amara replied, nodding "Nice doc-tor like it when his friend 'Mara do that, auntie Le-asa, he tell me 'fore. He do wri-tings 'bout it so all doc-tors see stuff in ar-kyve 'bout 'Mara".
"I'm sure he did" Leasa replied, before pointing to a centre part of the sick bay – which Caseya could now tell was walled off and could be sealed totally from the rest of the sick bay.
"That is where the special tanks are" Leasa said, before turning to Amara and asking "Did doctor Nrakal tell you about those?"
Amara thought for a few microts before nodding and saying "I know 'bout tank things. Nice doc-tor tell me if people get new spe-cial bits they go in tank an' have longlong sleep an' that when spe-cial stuff ha-ppen".
"That's right, Amara" Nrakal confirmed "People need to be sleeping when new special things go in, and they will be hungry when they come out of the tank. Just as I told you before".
Amara was curious about all the things around the tanks and in then, but she whimpered and squeaked in fright when she saw both Troll and Urana have a number of IV nutrient and sedative feeds put in.
"Need-lees..." she squeaked in fear, climbing down Trannak's back to hide "Not nice, papa! Need-lees not nice, papa! Troll man an' auntie 'Rana friends, papa! NEED-LEES NOT NICE!"
Nrakal made sure both Troll and Urana were safe in their tanks before walking over to Amara, who took some momens to be assured she would be safe.
"These needles, Amara..." Nrakal explained "... are not bad ones. They will have good things going through them. Things to help your two good friends sleep, and things so they will not be hungry while the special things go in. See, Amara? They are good needles...your friends are safe here, in my sick bay...".
"That right?" Amara asked Caseya, just looking like any other frightened child and not a mentalism prodigy "Friends all safe? Need-lees good ones?"
"You can trust the doctor, Amara" Caseya replied, lifting Amara into her own arms and doing her best to soothe her and calm her down "He is our friend and he is your friend, Amara. Remember all the stories he has told you about fixing people and about places he has been?"
"Doc-tor a nice doc-tor..." Amara decided eventually, looking up at Nrakal "He like your 'Mara, mama. He put goodgood stuff 'bout me in ar-kyve if I been good, mama".
"That is right" Caseya confirmed, glad Amara's fears were easing "We will watch your two friends Troll and Urana go to sleep and we will watch your friend the nice doctor start the special things happening... and then, I think, it will be time for special small people like you, Amara, along with your mama and papa, to go to sleep just for the night".
"Troll man an' auntie 'Rana have bigbig sleep" Amara said, trying to peek around Caseya to see the tanks "We have small sleep till it day 'gain".
Nrakal explained what he was doing in the preparations in exacting detail – for both the doctors' benefit, Caseya was interested to hear, and theirs as well.
"It will be approximately six weeken..." Nrakal explained "...until I need to see to the stage 2 additions being added. I will check on the tanks daily, of course - and for your own education, Leasa, so should you since at some point in the future you may need to supervise this process yourself." before he paused and added "I will leave instructions in case you or Moratha arrive before I do at the important times, along with instructions on how to recognise the important times for what they are in an individual subject".
"It may differ?" Leasa asked "The time until emergence or until stage 1 completion and stage 2 commencement?"
"Probably not by too great a length of time for either one" Nrakal admitted "But with full emergence after stage 2 completion even I cannot be sure when emergence will be. For the last weeken, the diagnostics on the tanks will be linked to my PDA in real time, I will check on them after every meal as well as at the start and finish of each day... and at least one qualified medical practitioner will be present in this room beside the tanks at all times. Seeing someone prepared to greet and help them will calm an emergent subject and help them feel better in themselves".
Amara watched and listened to Nrakal repeat his instructions for monitoring the tanks several times, and her head followed him to where he pointed out cupboards where emergency rations would be stored if either Troll or Urana emerged hungry.
"Subjects put under total anaesthesia at..." Nrakal announced, before entering the time into a small terminal on each tank and pressing a button – which went from orange to green.
"Ooo..." Amara cooed as buoyancy liquid filled the tank to operating level, after which she pointed and said "Troll man flo-ting... auntie 'Rana flo-ting...look...".
"They are supposed to do that, Amara" Moratha told her, getting a smile as Amara recognised her face "It will help them be comfortable while they sleep and the special things go in".
Amara thought about that before asking "That why I have nice blan-kit?"
"It is" Moratha confirmed "So you feel good and have a good sleep. Your friends will be nice and warm in their tanks while they sleep and the special things go in".
Nrakal whispered to Trannak very faintly for a few microts, after which he did likewise to Caseya, and when all three of them had reached an agreement Caseya asked Amara "The doctor has something he would like you to help him with, Amara... would you like that?"
"No need-lees?" Amara asked, still slightly suspicious.
"No needles, Amara" Nrakal confirmed, after which Caseya and Trannak walked with Amara and Nrakal to a plate set in the floor.
"This, Amara..." Nrakal explained, as simply as he could manage "... is a special machine that can let me see inside people to see if they are well. If you like, Amara, I can turn it on and have a look inside you – and then we can all see what you look like on the inside".
"Ree-ly?!" Amara asked, very excited despite her earlier fear of the needles "We see inside 'Mara? I look like mama or papa inside, nice doc-tor?"
Nrakal smiled when Amara called him that, knowing she had calmed down to her usual self again, before replying "I don't actually know, Amara – I have never scanned a special child like you before. Someone who is half-Scarran and half-Kalish and who has the special things like your friends who wear black. You are the first".
Amara clapped and bounced a little in excitement before asking "What I do, nice doc-tor? Where I go?"
Nrakal explained about what he needed to do to get the clearest picture – Amara didn't care about any explanations and just called out for him to hurry up so she could see the scan results. Amara kept her arms down beside her body and watched as the scanning beams went up and down over her body several times before disappearing again, after which she asked "Scan thing done? We see inside 'Mara now, nice doc-tor? When we see, doc-tor? When we see...?"
"We wait a momen or two for the terminal here to look at the scan and make a good picture out of it for us to see" Nrakal explained "Then I will display it so we can see".
"I not that big!" Amara shrieked, clapping and laughing when Nrakal displayed a large holo over the plate – Nrakal smiled and told her "I made it bigger than you, Amara, so we can see more easily".
Nrakal showed everyone which parts of Amara came from her Kalish side, which from her Scarran side, the places where the two had combined together in some way, and where and how the change had affected things.
"That all 'mazing..." Amara cooed "We see inside your 'Mara, mama an' papa – bigbig pic-ture what inside me..." before she pointed to a few things she could see and asked what they did – Nrakal tried to explain simply, but some things Amara could simply not understand at all.
"Things for you to learn when you are older then, Amara" Nrakal said when Amara asked about it "When you are older and if you want to learn about being a doctor like your friends Leasa and Urana and Moratha... and me as well..."
Amara clapped and promptly listed every other doctor on the ship that she knew – after which Caseya got her to describe each one of them in as much detail as she could.
"Memory like that is part of the Kalish in you" Caseya explained, smiling "Your papa has a good memory too... but he is not Kalish, and his memory is not like your auntie Keyah's or like mine".
"Papa all cle-ver too, mama" Amara agreed, nodding "Papa a cle-ver snee-ky Scarran. He teach his 'Mara so I do it too, I sure".
"More things for you to learn when you are older, Amara" Trannak added "There is, I think, enough for you to learn now without adding more things".
"It going to be lots fun, papa" Amara said, nodding "Your 'Mara know that. Men-tal stuff to learn. Doc-tor stuff to learn. Swi-mings to learn. Snee-ky stuff from my papa to learn".
"Other things too" Caseya told her "Things everyone is taught. Because you are clever, Amara, you might learn them a little bit before other people do... but they will help you to learn the other things you like when you are older".
"You learn fly-ing, mama" Amara said, making Caseya smile "an' when I ol-der you teach your 'Mara so I nee-ly good as you". Amara got a special hug for that, which she loved.
"That should be it up ahead" Lirak decided "Not on the planet, either – on the second moon. The sparse public records show a mining outpost and orbital station – but if we time this right, the station will be around the other side of the moon. Let's just hope the cache site isn't inside the outpost".
Rulok and Lirak flew the Switchblade carefully insystem, watching for satellites or sensors from the station – they had to wait a few arns for the station to move out of sight, but eventually they flew down and skimmed the surface while checking suspected cache sites.
"Got it...at last..." Rulok called some time later, before bringing the Switchblade down for a fairly soft landing.
"Shellek..." Rulok decided "I'll need you to open this place up... but until we know we can go in safely, I'd better just take two others". Shellek, Rulok, and two of the general troopers sealed themselves inside powered armour before heading out onto the moon's surface. They had to pick their way around a few smaller land mines, but Shellek got the two troopers a little extra ordnance disposal practice deactivating the mines.
The door proved a tougher nut to crack, with Shellek wondering if they'd need to send for Judduk to blast the doors down until he tried something else and the doors opened partially.
Once the lights were on, things went quicker – though they didn't need it, extra long-life food was hauled outside along with medical supplies and a notable portion of spare parts that would come in useful for quite a few things.
"That should do" Lirak said, to which one of the troopers replied "We don't want to overstay our welcome, sir, that's true... so I suggest we leave and seal up this place again before loading our supplies back aboard the ship and leaving as fast as is practically possible".
Lirak rumbled briefly before replying "A volunteer for going back to the Switchblade and coming back with a Scorpion...thank you...".
The large main battle transport was soon outside the cache site with the front ramp down – the trooper who'd been sent back for it now decided he'd got the better assignment since he didn't have to lift cargo, with powered armour or not. Five trips later everything was on board, though it took a considerable time after that for the entire crew to put everything away where Rulok wanted it.
"Right..." Rulok announced once that was done "Now we're done here... it means we're on combat alert until the retrieval's done. Everyone's to stay in heavy plate and carrying at least sidearms if not rifles as well. Either Lirak or myself will be on the bridge at all times"
"See?!" Amara told Lazarus and Koronna, pointing up ahead "There spe-cial 'Mara island! It a goodgood small island, that what 'Mara think – it got water 'round it to make tea from, it got trees, it got gra-sees to sit on".
"It's a good island" Lazarus agreed, nodding before bringing out a small plaque from his pack and a handheld power tool. Amara looked at this with much interest as he fastened the plaque to the bridge handrail – and shrieked and clapped before projecting a big burst of excitement when Trannak read the plaque for her.
"It mean this 'Mara bridge?!" Amara asked in amazed surprise "It mean bridge named after me?! That 'mazing!" before leaping onto Lazarus' chest and hugging him. He laughed at that, and Koronna smiled, before Caseya plucked her off him and set her down on the bridge so she could walk over.
Amara ran around happily, calling out to everyone and pointing out all kinds of things she considered interesting to anyone who would listen – each of them smiled and told Amara how well she was doing, and occasionally one of them would walk over so she could show them something in detail.
"You could prob'ly do that trick of yours..." Lazarus said "an' go all the way up the tree, Amara... but you'd better only do that if your mum's with you until you're a bit older".
"We do that, mama?" Amara asked "You go all way up tree with your 'Mara? We see lots good stuff an' come back down an' tell papa an' friends 'bout it!"
Caseya turned this into a test of Amara's mindtalking as well – every so often, as the pair of them climbed the tree, Amara would look below and report something interesting she saw to one of those still at ground level by mentalism.
"That a goodgood idea, mama" Amara told Caseya in praise "Your 'Mara like it an' like men-tal test things. Not talked in Captain Laz-rus head 'fore, mama, or auntie 'Ronna head".
"You should give them hugs and happy rumbles after we climb down again" Caseya reminded Amara "So they know you liked talking in their heads. Tell them if you found anything interesting about how their voices sounded in your head as well. Remember everything about contacting their minds, Amara, so you can practice doing that from long distances when you cannot see them".
"Nice doc-tor tell me to do that too, mama" Amara said, nodding "He say it good when I do that" before she paused for thought, then added "I see if I talk in nice doc-tor head when I in galley an' he in doc-tor place next time, mama".
"That would be interesting if you can do that, Amara..." Caseya told her as they descended slowly "It is further away than you have managed to mindtalk at any time so far – more so since you would not be able to see the person you are talking to. I will hold you when you try, Amara, and make sure there is juice for you to drink afterwards".
"Goodee" Amara decided "Like it lots when mama hold her 'Mara" before leaping down the last few metras to ground level, where Koronna caught her.
"Well done" Koronna told her "A good leap. Normally I would not expect a child to do that, but you are part Scarran and part Kalish and you have the special things – so you can do more and do it sooner, Amara".
"You right, auntie 'Ronna" Amara agreed, nodding "I do lots 'cause I got special stuff" before curling up on Caseya's lap and rumbling softly.
"Karroch's down South, Trannak..." Lazarus said quietly, leaning against a tree "Crowd control at the SubTerranea stadium. I'll talk to him when they get back... Sturk went along to keep an eye on him, too... but till then I'll stay out of the way".
"Did we get called in by stadium management?" Trannak asked "or did Security headquarters send us?"
"We actually got called in" Lazarus replied "Weird, eh? Don't usually happen that way. 'Spose stadium management think riots mean they can't make big piles of cash off people, or they don't like paying huge repair bills" – an option which Trannak agreed with readily.
"Right..." Lazarus announced as he carried back a full waterpot and set it on a heating unit while Amara watched "I got tea an' some kinda premix food thing I've not seen before – picked 'em up on the Street planetside a day or two ago. If either you, Trannak, or Koronna know about 'em, sing out".
Koronna rumbled and took one before looking at it and telling him about them.
"OK, like a Scarran version of two-minute noodles, then" Lazarus decided "Bit of a stronger flavour, prob'ly more nutrition in them since it seems to have bits of actual meat in – though I'd not sure I want to know what it came from".
Koronna smiled and laughed once she deciphered the Captain's human words, saying "Correct, my Captain. I was never sure what meat was used in these either – though it is meat. Filling enough for quick-preparation convenience food, though – and safe for Amara to try, if you're wondering".
"I try tiny bit?" Amara asked in delight, watching the waterpot boil "How long till water ready, nice Cap-tin? You know? You tell your friend 'Mara?"
"Whistle on the lid will go off when it's ready, Amara" Lazarus told her, pointing to it "Don't touch it, though. Hot".
"I tell you or auntie 'Ronna then" Amara replied "Then you make new food an' I try bit".
When Karroch and the Bloodstars returned later that evening, all of them were tired but only a few had any sign of even light injuries. Karroch removed his helmet and slumped down on a crate, leaning against the wall – and smiled when Amara called ~This your small friend 'Mara, Ka-rroch friend. Captain papa come. Captain Laz-rus come. I stay with mama~
To Karroch's surprise, Amara held the call well enough for him to talk back to her – Amara clapped when she realised this was happening as well before telling Trannak "Ka-rroch friend say he res-ting, papa. He say all people in red stuff res-ting, papa. He say they wait for you".
"I think..." Trannak replied, stroking her brow-ridges and listening to her soft rumbling "... that we should tell your friends Sorfil and Deress you can help people talk to you in your head, Amara, next time we see them. They will like to hear about that, yes?"
"They like it lots, papa" Amara assured Trannak "Just like your 'Mara like it".
"Report..." Trannak urged Karroch when he and Captain Lazarus arrived on the hammond side flight deck – Karroch took maybe twenty momens to give an overall report, after which Trannak and Lazarus asked others about what they saw where they were.
"You got any hunches or ideas why it went down that way?" Lazarus asked, surprising Karroch "Anyone else have any they told you about?"
"Well, sir... I don't know if it means anything, but..." Karroch replied, before talking for a few momens more.
"If it's orchestrated from outside..." Trannak decided "... someone's being very careful and very clever about it. I can't tell from Karroch's report if it's Hierarchy, or Peacekeepers, Nebari Establishment, or someone else altogether".
"Could just be the Southers getting rowdy again" Lazarus replied "You know how often they do that".
"Whenever they're bored or they run out of fellip, usually..." Trannak sighed "There's gangs down there just like there are on Scarras Prime or anywhere else... so it might be a territory dispute".
"That'll do, Karroch" Lazarus told the young man "Get yourself an' your people cleaned up. I just want to talk to Sturk for a microt an' then we're done".
"Karroch did well enough" Sturk said once Karroch was off the flight deck "He kept a cool head and wasn't afraid to ask questions when he didn't know stuff.
Probably a few times when he might have made a quicker decision, or a slightly different one, and stopped an injury or tight tactical situation from happening – but I think he knows that too. Nothing time and experience won't sort out".
Trannak noted that in his own report before he sent it to Harrigan's comm mailbox, then nodded before saying "Time for us to head to quarters and sleep, I think...".
