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Chapter 3...enjoy!
"Hope?" the young Lombax turned at the sound of a familiar voice, to find her sister standing in the doorway. She smiled,
"Hey Maia," she greeted the chocolate Lombax. Maia came forward to lean on the railing beside her, looking out over Metropolis at night for what would be Hope's last time in a long while.
They were due to leave for Polaris galaxy tomorrow morning after three months preparation, and tonight the family was hosting a fare-well party for neighbours and close friends. It was a quiet affair, with just a few drinks and buffet table that everyone had contributed to, though no-one in their right mind would touch Qwark's homemade cupcakes. Looking over her shoulder, Hope could see her mother chatting away with Bethya and Sasha, and Kaden and his godfather Jaymz seemed to be arguing with Skid McMarx about something, probably hoverboarding. Alister stood to the side with Professor Xavier and Cornelius, discussing science and quantum physics, no doubt. Hope was going to miss them all.
"How've you been?" Maia asked her, taking a sip of her drink. Hope shrugged,
"Ok," she replied, "I mean, these past few months have been hectic and maddening...but I'm ok. How are you and Julius?" Her sister smiled fondly at the mention of her new husband,
"We're very well, thank you. The honeymoon was wonderful," she added almost wistfully. Hope gave her a look and Maia laughed, "one day, you'll understand." The grey Lombax shook her head,
"I already do...even though I don't really want to," she answered, pulling a face. Maia looked at her thoughtfully,
"You never know, you might meet someone special in Polaris." Hope snorted in disbelief,
"Yeah, right."
"You never know," Maia repeated, raising an eyebrow. Hope's brow furrowed, then she sighed and shrugged again,
"Maybe, but I'm still too young," she pointed out. Maia gave her a knowing smile,
"I met Julius only one month after my 18th birthday." Hope frowned at her sister,
"Maia, not every girl meets the guy of their dreams one month after their 18th birthday," she murmured drily. The chocolate Lombax nodded in agreement,
"I know...but you never know," she finished with a cheeky smile. Hope sighed theatrically.
"Maia, there you are." They both turned to see that Julius had joined them, holding a plate full of various delicacies, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" he asked, glancing between the sisters.
"Not at all," Maia smiled at her husband, while Hope just shook her head. "Hope and I were just talking about boys," she said with a cat-like smile. The grey Lombax rolled her eyes while the young Cazar shifted from foot to foot,
"Oh, I see," was all he said.
"We having a siblings and siblings-in-law gathering?" came another voice, belonging to Kaden as he and Alister stepped out onto the balcony, drinks in hand. Maia laughed melodically,
"Apparently so," then she added, "Hope and I were just talking about boys." Her sister looked at her in disbelief; it was one thing telling Julius, but telling Kaden and Alister? It wasn't even that true! She knew Maia had done it to get a reaction, and that was exactly what she got. Kaden's eyes hardened,
"What boy?" he was looking at Hope suspiciously.
"Oh, for..." Hope began, "we weren't talking about boys!" Kaden didn't look convinced,
"Well, whoever he is...he better be good enough for my little sister...or there'll be hell to pay, right Al?" His twin Lombax nodded sombrely as Kaden cracked his knuckles. Hope bit back a smile,
"I think I can decide that for myself, Kay," and because she couldn't resist it, went on to say, "besides, if I meet someone in Polaris...you won't be able to do squat." Kaden's eyes widened in mock outrage, and he pointed an accusing finger at her,
"Now look here, young lady," his voice was high-pitched, like an offended Terachnoid, "you are going to behave yourself in that galaxy or I will personally drag you back here so I can keep an eye on you!" Hope laughed out loud,
"I'd like to see you try!" she goaded him. Maia held up her hands,
"Children, please...enough." Kaden and Hope sent mock glares at each other, and the young grey Lombax wished she could retort to him about girls, but unfortunately her brother didn't seem that interested in the opposite gender, or any gender for that matter. No, his current love in life was his wrench, and Hope was half-convinced there'd be no room for a girl in his life with all the time he spent with his wrench.
"Since we're all here, why don't we give you your present?" Alister suggested, glancing at Kaden pointedly.
"Oh yeah!" the sandy Lombax cried, then shoved his hand into his pocket, rummaging around until he'd found what he was looking for. He held it out to Hope, "happy birthda, sis'!" The grey Lombax gave him a look; her birthday was several months away. Nevertheless, she took the offered gift, examining it with interest. It was a bracelet, slim and black with a dull shine to it. It slipped easily over her wrist, then seemed to tighten, and wouldn't fall off when she shook her hand violently.
"Kaden and I worked together on this," Alister explained, "it's a bracelet, yes, but it's also a long-range communications device, and it does a few other bits and bobs like tell the time and temperature." Hope tapped the device, and a few symbols lit up, circulating around her wrist in clear view.
"We've all got one," Kaden gestured each sibling, "and if you tap the phone symbol here..." he leaned over and pressed the icon on Hope's wrist, and three letters lit up 'M', 'K' and 'A', "you can call any one of us...wherever we are!"
"And it won't come off unless you take it off," Maia said, raising her wrist to display her own bracelet, silver in colour, "and it vibrates when someone's calling you." Hope nodded, suitably impressed,
"That's really neat, guys," she smiled up at them, "thanks."
"So...if you do get into trouble you can let us know all about it," Alister told her with a small smile, and Kaden nodded in vigorous agreement. Hope rolled her eyes once more, a smile hovering about her lips,
"I'll keep that in mind," she muttered drily.
"Don't forget to call!" Kaden reminded her, wagging his finger. The grey Lombax gave him a look,
"I will," she told him with a sly smile. Before Kaden could protest, she suddenly yawned loudly, covering her mouth with her hand, "'scuse me."
"It is late," Maia observed from where she'd gravitated to Julius, his arms now around her. She looked up at her husband, "I think we should be heading home," she murmured. The Cazar nodded in agreement,
"Very well." Maia gave Hope a hug,
"I'll see you in the morning, little one," she spoke in her ear, and Hope squeezed her.
"Thank you," she replied, then waved to Julius, "goodnight, Mr Tean." The Cazar smiled at her,
"Goodnight, Miss Hope." He turned to the twins, shaking their hands and exchanging farewells before he and Maia left them.
"I think I'm going to turn in," Hope murmured once they'd left, "what with moving to another galaxy tomorrow and all." Kaden nodded sympathetically, patting her shoulder,
"You go get your beauty sleep, bare-bum." Hope shoved him none too gently,
"Go stuff yourself, fur-face." Kaden perked up at her words,
"That's a good idea, actually...I think there are still some of Bethya's brownies left..." he wandered off in search of food, and Hope and Alister exchanged looks of exasperation.
"You'll look after him, won't you?" Hope asked him, only half-joking. Her brother nodded,
"Of course, and you must promise to look after yourself." The grey Lombax nodded diligently,
"I promise." Alister hugged her briefly,
"Goodnight, little one."
"G'night, Al," Hope mumbled before heading inside. Al was left alone on the balcony, and with a thoughtful frown he leaned on the rails, looking at the vast city stretched before him. Come this time tomorrow, his mother, father and younger sister would be far, far from Kerwan, and he wouldn't hear from them in seven odd weeks. At least he still had Maia, but she lived with Julius on the other side of the city, and had her own circles to mix in...so that left him with his childish brother for company. Alister sighed; this was going to be fun...
"Hope? Hope, wake up." A voice was calling her, from so far away, but it seemed to be getting closer.
"Hope?" a new voice, "Hope, we're here." The young Lombax groaned, her body beginning to ache as feeling returned to her limbs, and her eyes fluttered groggily.
"Mum?" she muttered as a grey figure drifted into vision above her.
"Yes, it's me," her mother's voice answered, "we've arrived in Polaris." Blinking, Hope sat up slowly, her body clicking slightly as she moved her muscles for the first time in weeks. Yawning, she looked around her. They were on board the good ship Voyager, a heavy duty cargo ship designed for transporting large quantities of cargo from one galaxy to another. Hope rubbed her eyes as her mother swam into vision, and she saw her father lingering behind, looking at a screen.
"How are you feeling?" Skyla asked her daughter, her eyes flicking to the monitor beside the cryopod where Hope's heartbeat was shone as a steady pulse.
"Fine," Hope shrugged, "just a bit sore...and tired." Skyla nodded sympathetically,
"Let's get you some food and onto the treadmill." Hope wanted to object and fall back asleep, but she remembered the lecture she'd been given before they went into cryosleep, about how important it was to eat and move about as soon as you were awake. Obediently, she got down from the bed, putting a hand out to steady herself as her legs wobbled slightly. With her mother's help, she moved into the corner of the room where there was a treadmill and monitoring equipment. Skyla tapped some instructions into the machine, scooping something out of a packet.
"Here, chew this," it was a stick of green gum, and Hope popped it into her mouth without question; it tasted like sour apples.
"Please don't make me run," she grumbled lightly to her mum as she started up the treadmill. Skyla laughed,
"10 laps, young lady...walking pace." Hope's mouth twitched into a faint smile before she boarded the treadmill, letting her feet settle into the rhythm of the walking. Skyla left her to her own devices, and Hope's mind quickly began to drift as she thought back over the past few months.
After the wedding three months ago, time seemed to have sped up as everyone had been caught up in getting ready for the move. People she'd never seen before had moved in and out of her family's apartment, on some business or other. Her brothers had helped with moving boxes and dropping things off, even volunteering to shred the 'sorry you're leaving' cards from people that didn't matter; Kaden enjoyed the task a little too much. Most of their belongings, and all her dad's 'work' had been brought with them, hidden within the depths of the cargo ships, along with Aphelion, the family's personal transport ship.
Epsilon, their other ship which Ratchet and Kaden had made together was staying with the boys in Solana, but Ratchet had set up long range communications between the ships so they could stay in contact; as both ships were complete with an AI core, Aphelion treated Epsilon like a daughter, despite the other ships protestations that she could fly very well on her own and didn't need to be pestered by a worried old hunk of junk. Skyla had been uncertain about giving Epsilon the AI of a teenager, but after a while it became quite amusing for the whole family watching the ships bicker like a proper mother and daughter, and they stuck with it.
Thinking of Epsilon made Hope smile, even though she'd never been as close to the ship as Kaden was, she'd snuck the twins and Hope out from time to time and covered their tracks expertly. The young lombax's thoughts drifted to her brothers, and her smile widened fondly as she remembered their last week together.
Kaden had insisted on taking her around all the places they'd visited as a child; the Starship Phoenix which had been converted into an orbiting museum when it was retired from service, the memorial to the village of Enyd their mother had encountered on planet Eudora...even the planetary defense centre on Kerwan, where Hope and Kaden had gotten lost as children and ended up in the WMD room. Then, all four siblings had gone to the nicest restaurant on Kerwan, just a few days prior to their departure where they'd laughed and exchanged jibes and generally enjoying each other's company; all of them knew it would be a long time before they could do it again.
Looking down at her wrist, Hope saw the bracelet still firmly attached, and she made a note to call Kaden and Alister when she was done on the treadmill. They'd gotten gifts from others as well; Sasha Phyronix had generously given the family a donation for their building project on Fastoon, making them promise they'd invite her to see how it was going as soon as possible. Bethya had given them all a free copy of her new book which wasn't yet available for purchase, and both Hope and Skyla were looking forward to reading it. Skid gave Ratchet a new hoverboard, the very latest model, hinting strongly that they should add a hoverboard track to Fastoon as soon as possible. And Qwark gave them a model of himself, to remember him by; Hope was pretty sure it was at the bottom of some crate back in Solana.
Hope was abruptly jolted from her memories as a beeping told her she'd complete the 10 laps, and she got off the treadmill.
"All done?" Skyla asked, coming over to her with a portable screen in hand. Hope nodded, stretching her muscles that already felt much better from her walk.
"When do we get to Kortog?" she asked, bending down to touch her toes.
"We're already there," her mum told her with a smile, then pointed to a door to the left, "the observation deck's through there if you want to take a look." Hope's eyebrows rose in surprise, before she followed her mother's directions, the door opening for her automatically. She found her dad sitting on the ledge, looking at the enormous green and purple planet the loomed in front of them. Going over to him, Hope took a seat beside him.
"That's Kortog," Ratchet murmured, apparently to himself, "our new home," he seemed to frown ever so slightly at his last words. Hope glanced at him, then back out the window. Kortog really was a beautiful planet, the surface a delicate lilac shade with the odd burst of green scattered over the hemispheres. Their new apartment was in Stratus city, the planet's capital, and according to Ratchet it was a lighter, fresher version of Metropolis. They didn't really know how long they'd be living there, but the great thing about Kortog was that it was a main planet, well-connected, and in the same sector of the galaxy as Fastoon. Ratchet had mentioned that they could move to the Lombax homeworld once a domestic building had been contrsucted, but nothing had been decided as yet.
"It's beautiful," Hope said honestly, watching as clouds meandered lazily over the planet in white blobs. Ratchet chuckled,
"It is," he looked at Hope, "and I hope you like it." The grey Lombax could tell he was a little worried, he had been ever since she'd agreed to move with them, as if he wasn't entirely sure if she sincerely wanted to be here, despite her protestations claiming otherwise. Ratchet and Skyla had done a great deal of travelling in their time and were used to changing scenery, but their children didn't have as much space time under their belt. They'd talked about moving for several months before even agreeing that Hope should have the choice to go with them or not. Hope smiled, a reassuring gesture that eased his concern,
"Don't worry," she told him kindly, sensing his anxiety, "I will."
RIGHT...I'M BORED. Ahaha! Not really, but still, that's quite enough family chit-chat and easy-going chapters...next time will be more adventurous and...guess what? That's right...cliffhanger time! Just to give you the heads up ;P
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Until next time :D
PS - The theme competition still stands! And it will be ongoing throughout the story, so don't panic :P