Capture, Escape, and Hide

"She was growin' again. Now she wass losin' her teeth. She keeps up and she'll have a few days of eatin' soft food." It did look a might strange, her front teeth were gone. "But I can see where she's got teeth startin' to come in where the others come out. That and she grew again. I had to work to pay for the clothes we borrowed, but she needed em bad. That's ok by me. Workin' in a garage was nothin' new to make some money. But the old combustion engines I was seein' were gorram sad. The whole planet was lost in the past as far as I could see. Tryin' to hide here was like over a year ago. Work and lay low. Same as b'fore."

"Seems things got a little out of hand well over a week ago. Was stayin' at the tower while I waited for Seana to bring Anna back. When I heard they were back, I headed for Seana's office. She said my little one was awake.... And in town." Got me worried someone might spot her out there. "I grabbed a shuttle and landed it. She was there waitin'. And all the time that gorram sensation was settin' in my head. It wasn't goin' away. She didn't say anythin'. Didn't matter to me, She was awake and smilin' at me. I took her to get somethin' to eat at Fooks.... but I don't r'member much of it. Like my head was somewhere else..... And Kitten. I could hear her... Like she was everywhere... Not sure. I know AuroraBlue heard it too. Kitten was sayin' she loved us.... and then she said goodbye.... It was like my head suddenly exploded. Like she pulled a plug." I wiped my hands on the work rag from my back pocket. Then leaned further over the engine to see why the rotor wasn't sparkin' the plugs.

"I woke up in Krenshar's lab. Figures. I bet he did somethin' to me while I was down. At least AuroraBlue stayed with me. She was the first thing I saw when I woke up. Her eyes were shinin' bright worryin' over me. But she was wantin' me up and out of there fast. My head was feelin' all empty and clouded. And I could smell blood... Had nose bleeds b'fore." But I knew this wasn't from a headache.... It was Kitten's force of her tryin' to tell me goodbye that did it. "We got to the tower where I could lay down for a few hours. Barely r'member settin' on the couch when I feel asleep. Woke up a couple hours later and she was asleep, curled up over on Lily's bed. I got up and washed my face and changed into some clothes Lily'd found and left for me, so I changed quick and went outside. I needed some air. Spent most of the rest of the day just watchin' the eagles flyin' on the thermals." Checked each of the spark plug wires. Nothin' looked loose or freyed.

"Seems I remember a day somethin' like that b'fore when Lily was takin' care of me while I was healin'. She'd opened the tower windows so I could see outside. There was an eagle flyin' up there. R'minded me of an old story my Pa used to tell. it was that the eagle was the messenger of the Great Spirit. It carried the words and prayers of the people to the the Great Spirit. Each day the eagle'd come down to listen and each night it would fly up and speak the words and prayers of the people. Yeah.. there was more to the story, but don't feel much like tellin' it." Nothin' wrong with the connectors, so I started removing the plugs to check the gaps and see if any needed to be replaced. " While AuroraBlue slept I sent my own prayer on with the eagles that day. It gave me time to grieve. No one needed to see me and I wanted a little time alone to do it."

"She was gone. No more whispers." Someone got hold of her... That much I figured out...."She was scared when she 'talked' to us. That much AuroraBlue and I could feel. Then she was gone. AuroraBlue woke up and found me settin' outside leanin' against the wall. She sat next to me then hugged me tight. Tears in her eyes too. We sat there for a while not needin' to say anythin'. She touched my face, looked at me, then pointed into the sky. I nodded to her knowin' we'd need to leave. Needin' to hide." Lily'd told me to be ready to go soon. Not sure when we'd have to though. "That next day AuroraBlue went to visit with Seana while I packed stuff. Thats when I saw a ship come in. Wasn't sure but it looked like Pod's ship. Hadn't seen him in a long while, so I went to check if it was him." Big mistake. I was a gorram idiot. "Didn't spot the pilot so I went to ask someone at Fooks. Thats when I caught a whiff of someone I vaguely remembered.... The Marshall from Evestown."

"No fightin', Xoxo said. She wanted me not to fight when they come for me. I didn't, but I didn't say I wasn't goin' to run. Moved fast and tried to keep the Marshall from gettin' too close. But he learned fast. Even yelled that I was bound by law. Wasn't goin' to give in. Not yet. I dove and ducked behind a post. I wasn't carryin' and here he was shootin' at me. Grazed my side. But thats not what stopped me cold. I didn't want AuroraBlue to feel my pain if I got shot bad. I let the gorram Marshall take me in." Yep a few plugs needed replacin'. Went to the cabinet where the plugs were and checked em against the old numbers. "He flew me back to Persephony. Wanted to know why all I shot him in the first place. Did it matter to him? I was helpin' Immy. She'd been there for me a number of times. I owed her. Ended up bein' left in the local jail there."

Took the plugs out of the boxes and gapped em b'fore puttin' em into place. "Took some time to talk to the sheriff there. She told me why she didn't much like the 'laince.... Guh se, she had a bomb chip in her brainpan. She did a little first aid on me then talked 'bout maybe turnin' her back while I walked out.... When I get a chance, I'm goin' to talk Doc Danick into goin' to help her. The doc dug the chip outa my own brainpan. Maybe she could do the same for the sheriff." Had to watch screwin' the plugs back in. Gorram old style ceramic. "Then Lily came in and drugged the sheriff then we left there in a hurry. Once we got back to Hale's she had me hide in her ship.... Where she had some explosives. I could smell the chemicals strong in there." The plug wires went on pretty easy. "Bram got there to take me and AuroraBlue off Hale's and far away from the system. Thought he was gone. he thought I was dead. We didn't have a lot of time to get AuroraBlue from the orbital. As soon as I had her strapped in with our gear, Bram headed into the black."

"We landed late. Was pretty dark and quiet outside of town. Bram set the ship down well away from anywhere local. I could handle hikin' into town. We talked for a a short time then he had to go. Wouldn't be good for folks to come lookin' for the strange flyin' object here. Seems they get a might spooked over that sort of stuff. AuroraBlue was asleep so I carried her and the pack out to the beach I r'membered from over a year ago. Was quiet there. Set up a place then tucked her into the sleeping bag. It wasn't long b'fore I had a small fire lit and and a spot where I could stretch out my own self." Made a check of the oil. Was down a half liter... Pints... Aiya, had to get that right.....I shook my head tryin' to get it strait. "When mornin' broke we broke camp and wandered into the small community of native Ams. This place was a lot like Earth that was. Even down to places like old time reservations. Old books talked 'bout em. Pretty sad how folks had to live there. We were greeted like family. The old story teller, more like shaman r'membered me and invited us to stay with him and his family."

Wiped down the lip of the oil feed then tightened the cap. "Felt a little like home. They were havin' some troubles with indigents and some of the young fellers were dealin' with it. To be safe they told us to stay close to town or the homes on the desiganted reservation land. They were pretty taken with AuroraBlue too. One of the kids gave her a small dream catcher. Said it was special. She looked at it with a big smile then showed me. Was god to see her happy. She went and played with the kids while I sorted out work and clothin' for her. Then I was out there with the kids my own self." Yeah, I'm big kid my own self. Had to chuckle at that. "Felt good to just by my own self. Not havin' to watch my back. And bein' a friend for AuroraBlue. She was losin' teeth.... Had to get her new shoes for out here cause the ground was cold and wet. That and a few pairs of clothes. Lucky for me one of the lady folk offered to help buy stuff that fit better on AuroraBlue. Her old clothes were gettin' too tight and small."

"We heard word of some hikers gettin' killed by a bear, or a pack of wolves. Seems this planet's teemin' with wildlife." Better then reavers, I was thinkin'. Most times fire and loud sound's'll scare em off. "We went into town the other day. One of the fellers was visitin' a friend. Seems she was in what they call high school where we got to meet a few Kids there. One girl come up and was taken with AuroraBlue. Was sort of both ways. Not sure what all that meant, but so long as she was safe and happy, that's what mattered to me. They shared their food with us then AuroraBlue was tryin' to let me know she had a headache. She had a nose bleed too. Got me real worried. I took her back home and let her rest up. Then she tore through another pair of pants. Was lucky I had a bigger shirt on her. Found a bigger pair of pants for her to change into." The nose bleed had me wonderin' if it had to do with her abilities.

"She showed me a few pics she had. One of Krenshar and one of Lily. I had to choose one. Not sure what all it menat. I chose Lily as someone who'd be there for her in case somethin' did happen to me. Krenshar, I warned her away from. She went to the old computer cortex that was in the room. Brought up a pic of Lily and Kitten. Then they were gone. AuroraBlue wavin' at em. Not sure what all that meant. I hope I picked right. Lily was one of the closest things to family, like Kitten, and AuroraBlue." She wasn't even talkin' to me in my own head of late. Got me worried. But in her own time, maybe she'll say somethin'. Just got to wait for her to decide when.


"My little one knows what I'm thinkin'. Seems we got a connection. More then Kitten or Lally had with me. It's like we can see into each other's mind. See what all's there. Feel it too. Lily said somethin' 'bout it to me. If I got hurt bad AuroraBlue'd know it.... maybe feel it too. Same with her. I think why I didn't feel her when she fell was cause Kitten had my brainpan all messed up..... No walls now." And there was a lot there. "I seen what all AuroraBlue had in her head. A lot of the past. She, like Lily, knew what all went on in the past. She needed to be able to make sense of it and I'd do what I could to help. At least for now we could deal with it while we're in hidin' out here. Where it was more peaceful. Where she could grow at her own pace. I had to try to explain 'bout AuroraBlue's growin' to my friends. They accepte it quietly, vowing to keep our secret." One of the other mechanics turned the enigne over. It started up right off.

"Lot happened for only a short time. But these last couple day's been helpin' me and her have fun as kids. So yeah, I'm older, bigger and a lot stronger, but it felt good to laugh again. To forget the verse for a while. I could see the time we been spendin' rompin' 'round with the kids and havin' a good time was helpin' her a lot too. You could see her more relaxed. Not like she was back on Hale's Moon. Here she could just be a kid and play with other kids. Took her fishin' yesterday too. She had fun when she caught a salmon her own self. She wanted to hold it up and show it off to everyone when we got back to the house. I couldn't of been more proud of her." The other mechanic drove the old truck outside while I went and washed the grease off my hands. "Yep, we ate good that night. Tonight'll be good. Seems the community on the reservation's havin' a night of stories and a big old cookout. Here we don't have to hide. The 'verse's vast. A lot of places out there. Some the 'laince just let go and forgot over the years. Leavin' worlds and moons to develope or revert back on their own. Hidin', but not out in the black."