Whispers

"It's been a while since I had a chance to not have to hide myself. Yeah..... Gallagher's Idea. Ever since the gorram 'laince showed up and took my ship I been stranded. Then a couple of bounty hunters showed up.... Never heard em or saw em. I was tryin' to get a bead on where I could find a new hidin' spot." I sighed. That wasn't it.... "I had my guard down. But somethin' was botherin' me. Somethin' in the back of my head. Like.... I don't rightly know..... like whispers. Faint." Shakin' my head, I decided to move further down into the mine. I know she was there..... I could sometimes catch a faint scent on the updrafts.

"I was workin' on out runnin' em. Had to get away. Instinct? When your hunted you run or fight. Somethin'...... had me runnin' instead of squarin' off with em. So I did. One of had some sort of power armor on.... I could hear the whirrin' of the gears as it cought up to me. Then somethin' hard slammed into the back of my head..... Then nothin'...." Yeah, I got hit... but what the gorram hell was it? What had me runnin' instead of fightin'? I wasn't scared of a fight. Never was." Next thing I know, I got cuffs on and Gallagher talkin' to em. One of em threw a warrent at him and told him to back off. For once, G was at a loss. He read it and said he was sorry to me. I knew it wasn't his fault."

Yeah I was makin' a big humpin' mess of it, "I ended up in one of the cells. Wanted to get my hands on at least one. Flexxed my arms and saw the links warp. Flexxed again and they warped more. Thats when one of em decided to weld the cell door closed on me. Got me riled. Then they left, grinnin' over their catch..... But not b'fore one said somethin' 'bout the 'bot who set the bounty..... The only 'bot on Hale's Moon....... Krenshar." That got me. Krenshar and I had a mutual if grudgin' respect. Cause we both loved Lily." Lookin' 'round carefully, I headed for the mines again.... I was feelin' the need to go further into the mines.... to see if she was there or really on Boros.

"Lily Broke me out later that night. Blew the door off it's hinges while folks were at Firefly's. No one heard the explosion. She hid me in Bramm's place. He wasn't 'round.... He'd been gone a while. I didn't want Gallagher involved. He was a friend and I didn't want to ruin his connections and standin' with the 'liance. But he offered what help he could. Then G came up with a plan to hide me in plain sight...... Right... I stuck out like a sore thumb... Waitin' to be cut off while I hid at the Hemlock."

"First was the change of clothes..... I felt like all strange wearin' a suit..... Never liked em much. Then He told me to let my hair grow out....That and grow a goatee. He handed me glasses and a watch to add to the whole mess. I spent a few more days while workin' on tryin' to sound..... more like I was from the core. G gave me some wave feeds to practice with. Yeah.... me passin' off as a businessman... workin' for Dharma.... And sellin' ship parts. One good thing.... The 'laince didn't go into the Applecado containers that had the stuff I salvaged a while ago... Had some good stuff in em ready for sale or use for my cover. G introed me a few days back. I wasn't likin' bein' so exposed and no weapons." That was goin' to change.... I needed to get a gun or somethin'... A knife even..."Later, met up with Lily... she knew who all I was.... Even with the cologne G had me put on. I couldn't stand the stink."

"Her and I danced for a bit. Was good to be with her again. Just the two of us. Dancin'. Didn't take long b'fore someone showed up and Lily in her way tried to hide who I was. Lily had to go work that night. Finishin' the Companion house. I ended up in Firefly's bar. And there was Xoxo...." She was the one person I didn't want to see. "I kept goin' over work lists in my head when she started talkin' to me. She didn't look as well as she used to. She was lookin' tired... Worn.... We sat for a short time and talked... Shop. What else could I do.. I had to keep the work lists in my head. I knew her.. knew her abilities."

"She went for my hand, so I thought of those lists. Looked like it sort of frustrated her. She gave me her card sayin' she'd like to see me again.... Not likely to happen... Don't want to be alone with her... She'd blow my cover in a heartbeat. Too much goin' on..... I left, tuckin' her card into the borrowed jacket. I had to leave... But where's there to run, when the 'liance is in orbit and no ship to esacpe with.... Then theres Anna. I know she was in those mines. Hid way down on the lower levels...." Yeah, I was missin' my little one. She was my bright spot in all the chaos.

"Thinkin' 'bout her playin' with me and dogs down in Hemlock helped some. Then suddenly she had a growin' spurt. A bad one. Lily suggested the river up at the companion's Hotel. I climbed into the stream and held onto her so she'd be safe. It 'bout killed me to see her hurtin' so bad. It was sort of strange how when I went to touch her little face Lily was thinkin' the same thing.... Was doin' the same thing. But then Lily had to leave. Lily said there was clothes up in the office Anna could wear. Then things really changed... She had a huge growth spurt.... She grew again... Sudden like. I knew it'd happen, but not so gorram fast. Now she was bigger and screamin' at me not to look at her... I think I was more embarrassed then she was. I grabbed a towel and handed it to her behind my back. My little one wasn't so little now....."

"We made a visit to Krenshar at her request. I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but took her. The meetin' wasn't so good." rubbing my neck didn't help to ease the tension, "He wanted some of her DNA. Didn't care 'bout her. Here was the truth of it. She was whole. Fixed, by his terms. But he didn't see it. Didn't see AuroraBlue. He saw nothin' but a DNA supply....", I growled rememberin' the whole scene as it replayed in my head. "Jai was there, so was G. Krenshar didn't realize that AuroraBlue was whole. Real. Perfect. She was complete. His intent was to make a new Aurora.... But I knew he'd be makin' a big mistake.... Without a soul, AuroraBlue couldn't exist.... She'd die. Just like b'fore.... Relivin' the whole ugly mess. When Xoxo told me to find Lily that one day.... in the big reactor. And Blue saying he would never hurt me....Its when I realized my part in it..... A small part of me for a part of AuroraBlue. The last piece in the puzzle to fix her. Somethin' I don't regret. Maybe why she imprinted on me. Cause she had part of me in her."

Sighin' and movin' down further, I stopped to grab a breather. Didn't need much in the way of light, just a small set of chem sticks. "Then there's been the nightmares all over again...... Somethin'.... Not sure what all it was.... But the whispers.... Thats the only word I could put to em... Not sure why... I ain't a reader. But somethin'd been botherin' me of late.... Like somethin' bad's goin' to happen...," Deeper... Had to go deeper. "There it was again... I could hear it... All in my head. One of my nightmares.... Kitten, settin' in a chair. Her eyes wide open... screamin' but nothin' comin' out.... " I'd remember her sayin' it was bad where she was bein' trained. They hurt her.. Put needles into her arms andinto her head...." I felt myself gettin' mad. Real mad. So I started movin' faster down into the dark. Not makin' a sound.

"Anna had run off after huggin' me and sayin' thank you and that she loved me. Tore me up bad. Blue said I'd have to let go at some point. I just didn't know who.... or when. Then she was in the main Mine shaft... the main truck that led to the other parts. She asked me for the ring. The one ring Lily gave me. I couldn't say no. That ring'd been a part of me since Lily gave it to me. My lifeline to her. Anna took it sayin' she knew it was. Then she was gone... Deep into the tunnels. G and I just stood there. I couldn't move... I was numb.... Hurt... She was gone. Lily was on spice... Kitten gone." My chest was hurtin'.... not from the workout I was gettin' form bein' down here searchin'....It was somethin' else. "That whisper again..." Frownin' I stopped, tryin' to listen to it....." Lily was talkin' to me today... 'bout her shuttin' down the communications..... Everywhere in the area 'round Hale's.... Said she was cuttin' off Ardra's growth. Then Lily thought she saw Anna.... I chased her tryin' to get an answer.... She was confusin' me with what all she was sayin'. That and the gorram whisper... It wasn't lettin' up.... I told Lily I had to find AuroraBlue.... I needed to make sure she was ok. I didn't want to lose her to Ardra like I amost did with Lily."

"I was Anna's Protector. I'd die for her. And here I was all muddled with stange sounds in my head... And her down in the tunnels. Hidin' or scared... Not sure which one." I was pretty deep now. The whispers were even here. Dark and silent, 'cept for the slow drip of water from small condensed rock. "She was my Little one. Needed to know she was safe. Got to find her." The whispers still in my head, the climbin' helped me stay focused. "Nothin' else matters but findin' her.... Maybe she was the whisper. Maybe my conscience for lettin' her run off down here."Either way I needed to bring her back safe."