Jedi Reloaded
Volume 2: Chapter 17: The Third Pair Part 1
Co-author Coraliangirl, DA and Sairj, Eureka SeveN Unofficial Forums
Editor Sairj, Eureka SeveN Unofficial Forums

Kolevis stood before a giant tree. She was alone…and afraid. As she looked around, a cool evening breeze flew through her thick, white hair. She shivered as she stared at the tree. It was a nice and refreshing sunset, she thought to herself, but this tree…it was as if the tree were staring back at her. She felt its overwhelming presence start to draw her in, but all she could do was look at it. It looked so sad, its branches looming over the grass, its leaves fallen long ago…it was as lonely as she was. The tree reached out with one of its branches and touched her cheek. “Ow! Get away from me!!” she yelled. The tree withdrew in a sudden shrill cry. It was louder than anything she had ever heard. Vibrations pulsed at her from every direction. It was so unbearable her muscles couldn’t respond. It was so deafening she couldn’t even think. She tried to runaway but couldn’t move. Large beads of blood began to seep through the tree…it was crying out to the world in agony and its pain was flowing forth from out of it. She squinted her eyes shut and felt liquid touch her feet and inch up her leg. She heard her heart beat at an ever-increasing rate as tears came to her eyes. THOOOM!!!!

“Oof!” Kolevis had just fallen out of her bed. The shockwave from the slingshot trip around the sun had vibrated her entire body off of her bunk. She rubbed her forehead in confusion. “What was that all about,” she said to herself. Her temple was still throbbing from the nightmare she just had. “Ugh…” She got herself up, stretched her arms and walked into her bathroom while rubbing her eyes – they were wet with tears. She turned on the sink and looked into the mirror at herself. She shrieked in utter terror as she stared at a completely different person reflected in the glass.

“What was that?” asked Eureka as she opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the floor, now wide-awake. She looked around, slightly confused, “Why am I on the floor?” she wondered. “Ow, I think I fell on my wings. Renton where are you? RENTON!”

“I’m here,” he said as he opened the door to Eureka’s room, hobbling in from the bathroom. “Talk about a wake up call. Are you okay? It looks like you slept on your wings…”

“Yeah, I’m fine; they’re just a bit sore, I think I sat on them. What was that noise? Are we under attack?” asked a worried Eureka got to her feet to help Renton in.

“I think it was the shockwave Miriam mentioned we would hear upon completing the trip around the sun, taking us forward through time. I take it you were enjoying your dessert a little too much,” he grinned as they sat down on Eureka’s bed, still in their sleepwear.

“I guess so,” she sniggered, “but you have to admit, Anemone has good taste when it comes to dessert. Those ice cream sundaes were good…even though the kids and I nearly broke our teeth on those frozen candied fruit snacks in it.”

“Well, we tried to warn you.”

“Yeah, you did,” they both laughed.

“That reminds me, I invited Anemone and Dominic to join us for breakfast this morning, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. Did you ask them to bring Gulliver along?”

“Actually, Anemone insisted on it, so I told her it was fine, is that a problem?”

“No, in reality, I wanted Anemone to bring her along. Renton, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, you should know you could ask me anything, and I wouldn’t get upset at you.”

“Did you ever have a pet growing up?”

“No, I didn’t, grandpa wouldn’t let me, he said they were a waste of time and money, as well as that I wasn’t responsible enough to have one. Why do you ask?

“I think we should get a pet, something furry, like Gulliver or Moishe.”

“Hmmm… a cat might be pleasant addition to the family; but not a badger, Dominic told me Gulliver is very heavy. I don’t think any of us but you would be able to care for a pet badger.”

Eureka laughed, “You’re right, but what’s a cat?”

“Moishe is a cat, and a rather odd one at that...”

“Why is he odd?”

“Well, he talks for one and he has a short stubby tail, most cats have tails that are nearly as long as they’re from nose to rear.”

“Oh, well when can we get one?”

“I don’t know, but let’s talk to the kids about it first, besides our guests will be here soon, so we need to get ready.”

“Okay,” Eureka said smiling, “after we get dressed I’ll go wake the children. Can you get breakfast ready and on the table?” Renton nodded. “Well, let me know if you need any help.” She then turned to Renton and gave him a kiss. After a few moments, Renton broke the kiss and got up from the bed and left to get dressed. As Eureka was getting dressed, she looked out the window at the vast expanse of space outside the ship. This was the first time she had truly looked at the stars, and as she zipped up the front of her uniform and put on her boots, she thought it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

“Yes, it’s very beautiful, so much so that it reminds me of how stunning you are,” said Renton as he hobbled back into Eureka’s room with his boot in his hand.

“Renton, how did you know what I was thinking?” asked Eureka.

“Thinking? I could have sworn I heard you say the view of the stars was amazing.” Eureka turned to face Renton.

“No, I thought it...You heard my thoughts Renton! But how?”

“Hmmm… was that all you were thinking about?”

“RENTON!!!!”

Renton hobbled over to Eureka’s side, “I don’t mean it that way, calm down. What I’m asking is that, was that the entire thought… and I wasn’t part of it?”

“Oh, sorry, now that you mention it, I was also thinking of how wonderful it would be to share it with you. Renton looked at her. Her teal hair was especially beautiful as the blue light radiating from Neptune cast an aqua aura about her. All he could think about was how enchanting she was and how much he loved her. He took her in his arms slowly as he looked out of the window at the orb of blue. She relaxed and went into a daze with him as they saw the dark clouds slowly spin around the planet. It was like looking at a whole different world from the view of the Creator. They were quiet, and their minds blank, oblivious to reality. The silence inched deeper and deeper into their souls. Through the darkness he could hear a familiar song playing ever so faintly in the abyss of his mind. Its volume slowly grew and then the sound of a triangle rang. “…hush…” his soul heard in the darkness. “…I love you…” Eureka didn’t look at him as she lifted up his hand and kissed it. As she let it go she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead on his. He could hear her slow, gentle, breathing on his ear. It was warm in the quiet. As she was sitting in his lap, his gaze finally shifted from Neptune to her eyes. They were downcast, but he knew in his heart she was happy. The blue light emanating around the curves of her face showed the innocence of the one he could never live without. “I love you more than you could ever know, Eureka,” he thought.

“I am glad,” the words escaped her soft breath. It was so silent no one could have heard. He was hers…and she knew it. The comfort he felt could not have been equaled. Her head moved around his, her hair brushing his cheek and his ears, and rested on his shoulder. “…I don’t want to move…” she whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and held onto him as tightly as she could. In the midst of the quiet he could hear her heart beat. It was so calm. This was the closest he had ever been to her and he loved it. A tear dropped from his eyes as he watched Neptune spin, the blue orb, silent, but alive. After a few minutes, he ran his hand through her hair to ease her into reality.

“Eureka…you heard what I just thought…didn’t you say ‘I love you…’ a few minutes ago?”

“…Renton…those words were the only thing I could think about…” Eureka said, as she looked him in the eyes. “What’s happening to us?”

“I don’t know, Eureka, but I don’t think we are alone in this. We should find out if any of the others are experiencing this…phenomenon.” He then reached behind her and slid her wings into her uniform with the gentlest care, zipping it up the rest of the way. After that, Eureka helped him get the boot onto his foot. “Thank you…” Renton thought as he slowly pulled Eureka back up onto him. She was so beautiful…he pulled his head right up to her and kissed her. As they shared another moment, they didn't notice the light flooding in from the doorway.

“Ewww... Renton is kissing mama!” yelled Maeter from the doorway to Eureka’s room. The two recoiled as reality sunk in. “I’m telling!” and she turned and started running to her brothers’ room.

“Not if I get you first Maeter!” yelled Eureka, howling with laughter as she ran after her. Renton on the other hand, sighed and went into the living area and started thumbing through the breakfast listings on the replicator.

In another part of the ship, Kolevis was still staring at herself in the mirror. “What is wrong with me?” she said at the image looking back at her. “I’m not you! This isn’t me!!” She pounded the sink in frustration, as tears rolled from her eyes. My hair was as white as ice just eight hours ago. How could it have changed so fast? She ran her hand through her hair, feeling what she thought wasn’t hers. “Blue??” she said aloud. “BLUE!?” She pulled it around her neck to check the length. It was the same as before, but as dark as black at the tips. Her bangs hadn’t changed. They were still the white she knew from her entire life. This couldn’t have been a prank, she thought to herself. There’s no way. As she looked back at her face, those eyes stared back at her again. She was uncomfortable looking at them. Besides the tears, she expected to see blue eyes, but they were gone; replaced by glowing red-orange ones with a circle of dark green in them. It was as if she was looking at a completely different person. “What am I!?” she yelled out in a soft whisper. She felt like she was alone in the world…like she was in her dream. She sunk down against the wall behind her, not wanting to see the person on the other side of the glass any longer. It must’ve been the slingshot through the future, she concluded. I supposed I’ve hardly changed. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. What if something else changed!? She quickly stood up and ripped off her bedclothes as if they had been contaminated with acid. She threw them in the corner and looked back into the mirror, checking herself out. Nothing…she sighed in relief. She decided to head to sickbay to see if anything was wrong with her, which she clearly thought was.

“Hey Doc,” Kolevis said as she snuck into the sickbay. “I’ve just been avoiding everyone today. It’s been harder than I thought.” Doc looked at her and looked back down at his desk with the papers he had been filling out.

“Look I don’t need any loonies in here thinking they need mental help. If you think by stealing that uniform I’m going to re-”

“Doc!!” Kolevis yelled as she was down on her knees in front of him looking into his eyes. She was tearing up again. She breathed a frightened breath as she realized she had his attention. “…it’s me!” she cried. “Kolevis!!” Doc just stared into her eyes speechless. She was so much more beautiful than before and so close…he blushed in fear.

“Waaahhh! Kolevis!?” he recoiled. He stood up and stepped back. “Ma’am I’m sorry…I meant no disrespect!” He smiled in embarrassment; his cheeks still red he asked her, “What happened to you? Your hair? Did you get contacts?” He asked quickly while scratching the back of his head.

“I came here for that reason! I woke up like this!! This wasn’t me eight hours ago!!” she got up and plopped on the operating table, arms fallen off the edge, face implanted in the cloth. “What am I to do??”

“So you’re saying after we made the shot, you woke up completely changed?” he was deep in thought now, rubbing his chin.

“Yes, I had this awfully scary dream, and then I woke up when the shockwave occurred. Once I saw myself in the-”

“Dream you say? Many of the other crewmembers have been experiencing similar events. I don’t think it’s just you; however, we haven’t seen anyone else have their appearance changed. I think we’re going to need to test some things.”

“Are you sure Doc? Is there anything in your database about something like this?” she was trying hard to get a quick, easy, answer to her problems, but truly realized she was drifting farther and farther away from everyone.

“Honestly, Kat, I’ve never seen anything like this before in my entire life. I can guarantee you there is nothing in the records of something like this.” He thought it was impossible for a dream to change someone’s appearance. There had to be something else at work, he thought. “Let’s do some tests then. I’m sorry about this.”

“You really know how to let a girl know she’s going to be okay.” She began to sob. “…if I could just have someone…here with me…right now…I’d do anything…” she uttered under her breath. Doc didn’t hear her, but continued to get all the machines pointed at her as she lay there, motionless, tears running onto the table. Doc then snapped on his latex gloves.

After ten minutes of making up his mind, Renton settled on steaming hot plates of scrambled eggs, shredded hash brown potatoes with cheese, buttermilk biscuits with sides of honey and butter, smoked salmon, orange juice and chocolate milk. As he was setting the last few items on the table, the doorbell rang. “Come in.” The door opened and in walked Anemone, Dominic and a fat Gulliver.

“Something smells good,” commented Anemone.

“I’m definitely hungry now,” chimed in Dominic. “Is there anything you need help with Renton?”

“No, I got it; however, Eureka might need some help getting the kids moving; it usually doesn’t take them this long.”

“We heard that!” yelled Maurice, as he and his siblings Maeter and Linck walked out of their rooms followed by Eureka.

“Breakfast sure does smell good,” commented Eureka. “What’s on the menu?”

“Well, there are scrambled eggs, shredded hash brown potatoes with cheese, buttermilk biscuits with sides of honey and butter, smoked salmon, orange juice and chocolate milk; something tells me though none of this is badger food, Anemone what can I get Gulliver to eat?”

“You sit down Renton,” said Anemone, as she walked over to the replicator, “I will take care of Gulliver, don’t worry about it. Doc told me I’m the only person on record as having a badger onboard a Federation vessel as a pet, so he created two food options for her. Mustelidae nutritional supplement number two please.” She then took the bowl of “badger chow” and put it on the floor by the table. “Come here Gulliver dear, breakfast is served.” Gulliver waddled over to the bowl, took a whiff of her meal and started to scarf it down eagerly.

“Looks like she likes it sis,” commented Eureka, Anemone nodded in agreement. “Well, come on,” she laughed, “let’s sit down and start eating! Renton, what are biscuits?” she asked with the largest and most genuine smile he had seen. Their eyes connected and he knew she was secretly saying, “Thank you…” for earlier.

“They’re a type of bread, never had them before myself, but these sounded good, so I thought we would try them.” They took their seats around the circular table; Anemone and Dominic, right next to where Gulliver was eating, sat next to each other, and next to Anemone sat Maeter and Linck. Next to Linck sat Eureka and Renton, their bodies touching at their side, as close as can be. Next to Renton sat Maurice, a little uncomfortable with the way their parents had been acting.

While they were enjoying their breakfast, they started to discuss the events of the past few weeks. “You, know what I don’t understand is what type of protection can they offer us,” said Renton, “that we don’t already have. I mean, what good would those swords of theirs do against an enemy like the ones we’ve been fighting? They don’t seem to be any better than the knives that most LFO’s have.” After saying that, he sank back in his seat realizing Nirvash was gone. He didn’t have an LFO he could fly anymore…

“I think there’s more to the way they fight than just those swords,” said Eureka, holding his right arm tight in her hands, her fingers weaved in his. “I still am amazed that those two stopped that hail of bullet’s just with a wave of their hands. If they hadn’t done so Renton…” she looked into his eyes and began to tear up. Before he could say anything, she caught herself, realizing she was in the midst of others staring at her. She quickly recomposed herself and just smiled. “Renton, these biscuits are amazing, as is everything else…good choice,” she said as she looked down, now holding his arm even tighter than before.

Anemone and Dominic nodded in agreement, their mouths full of food and eyes wide open at what they saw. They looked at each other and Dominic gave Anemone a solemn reassuring look.

“Thank you papa for the wonderful breakfast,” said the kids. “It’s delicious,” added Linck. “And thanks for picking chocolate milk,” said Maeter afterwards.

“Oh you’re always welcome you guys. I love you all very much,” he smiled at them and nudged Maurice with a playful punch, causing him to laugh.

“How were they were able to move so fast?” added Dominic getting back at what they had been talking about.

“-or know that you, Eureka, were in a panic over Renton before we even landed?” chimed in Anemone.

Renton was speechless. “They were able to do and know all that?” The three of them nodded. “Wow, I guess it’s worth waiting to see what happens.”

Just then Anemone dropped her fork, it landing on her plate with a clank. Her face went stark white as she stared off into nothingness. “It can’t be, it just can’t be!” she said softly.

“Anemone, are you alright?” asked a worried Dominic.

“Sis, what’s wrong?” asked Eureka, “what can’t be?” Then Eureka’s face fell and she too dropped her silverware giving a blank stare. “This can’t be…how is this possible?” she whispered.

“Eureka,” yelped a worried Renton, “what’s going on here Dominic?”

“I don’t know.”

“Bridge to the Sorel and Thurston families,” said a voice over the com, it was Eli. “Please report to the briefing room, NOW! The kids should come as well.”

“We will be there momentarily,” said Dominic, “Anemone and Eureka are in some sort of trance.”

“Well...”

“What do you mean some sort of trance?” said Anemone as she blinked. It seemed as though the com speak had brought her back to reality.

“What just happened?” asked Eureka as she also came to, shaking her head and blinking a few times.

“You two blanked out for a bit,” said Renton, “Eli would like us to report to the briefing room. It’s probably something rather important.” He helped her up from the table and rubbed her back.

“We know,” said Eureka, “Nirvash is back, the kids need to come as well.”

“But...” Renton was astonished. He had just thought that he would never be able to see his beloved LFO ever again. “Could it really be true?” he thought to himself.

“theEND has also returned,” said Anemone. “Come on, finish whatever you have left to eat. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“But how do you know they’re back?” asked Dominic

“We just heard them, right Anemone?” She nodded, “Come on kids finish your breakfast so we can go.”

“Yes, mama,” said the three, as they began to hungrily devour their food like wolves.

“Are you sure you want them to come Eureka?”

“Yes, I am. Nirvash said they needed to come along.”

“Alright…if you say so. Come on Dominic, let’s clean this mess up and go.” With that they finished up their meals and cleaned off the table.

Anemone took Gulliver back next door to their quarters and returned after a few seconds later, “It’s a good thing we taught Gulliver how to relieve herself without making a mess.” Everyone roared with laughter hearing this, though the kids did not fully understand why it was so funny.

The seven of them left for the turbo lift. When they got to it, Holland, Talho, Ruri, Sumner, Hilda, and Matthieu were already there. “What are you guys doing up and about? I thought you all were going to try out some of the combat simulators on the holodeck?” exclaimed Renton.

“We were, but we got paged by Eli to go to the briefing room, he said it was important,” said Holland. “Are you all okay?” They then entered the turbo lift with the door closing behind them, “Bridge,” the lift started moving along with a low hum.

“We have been somehow able to read each other’s thoughts ever since we traveled through time,” said Dominic. “It seems to only work with our most significant others.”

“You and Anemone as well?” gasped Eureka. “The same thing is happening to Renton and I.” she looked at her love. “You were right Renton! You always know what’s going on and what to do!” she thought.

“So that’s how you woke me up,” interjected Maeter, “I thought I was hearing things, that’s why I came to see you. I went first though to see if Maurice was up and he said he had been hearing things too. We also heard you papa.” Renton and Eureka blushed in embarrassment, as everyone laughed. Eureka had a worried look on her face. She wondered if she’d ever have any privacy with Renton ever again.

“Well, at least we know we are not going crazy,” said Talho, looking at Holland.

“All of us have had similar experiences this morning,” added Sumner, as he glared at Ruri.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know what I heard from Matthieu,” chimed in Hilda as she put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

“Well, at least we feel a little better about what has been going on, and that we are not alone,” said Renton, as the turbo lift came to a stop and the door opened, he motioned for people to exit, “Ladies, first.” Everyone stood in shock. Renton was the crippled one.

“Come on Renton,” said Eureka, “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” as she practically dragged him out of the turbo lift, across the bridge, and into the briefing room, with the kids following behind her and everyone else laughing.

As they entered the briefing room, they saw already there and seated, Eli, Miriam, Anna, Jane, Doc, Mischa, Dr. Egan, Dr. Morita, Moishe, and someone familiar, yet unrecognizable. Moishe paced back and forth as Eli stood up to greet the Gekko’s crew. “Please take a seat, all of you, and we will get started, Lieutenants.” The thirteen of them had looks of shock on their faces as they took their seats. The five ex-Ageha kids were also there, standing along the wall with stoic faces.

“It’s not official yet,” said Anna, “but due to recent events we are giving you that rank because it’s the only way you will be able to get into the dig site. We are sending you there to assist with the extraction of some artifacts that have been discovered in the scub deposits. This is in an area known as Central America on planet Earth. Dress and pack appropriately, as this area is mountainous, and the weather can range from cold and wet to hot and humid on the flip of a coin. Eureka, we have hiking outfits and boots for your children.”

“Wait, there’s still scub coral on the surface?” exclaimed Egan. “How is this possible?”

“We don’t know,” said Moishe, “and we might never know. What we do know is that three of the five LFO’s on the Gekko vanished last night, and we are receiving no energy readings from the other two.”

“WHAT!!” screamed Holland, causing the unknown person to shrink into their chair, shivering. “What is going-”

“Calm down, Holland. Sumner and Ruri, your LFO’s are the only ones that remain. However, we have been unable to detect any energy readings from both the Flestnia and the Kai.” Sumner and Ruri shrugged and looked at each other. “So, though we still have them, until we can figure out how to power them back up, they aren’t any more useful than the nonexistent 808, 606 and Devilfish. So, enough of the bad news, Jane will now explain the good news, well…sort of good news,” he said looking at the person cowering in her chair. She was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt over top of a grey turtleneck sweater and a gold undershirt.

“Well, it turns out the only reason Starfleet Command has not yelled at us for bringing you all to the future, is because of what they have discovered inside this scub cave they have been exploring. In total they have discovered thirteen unique Coralian LFO archetypes-”

“Thirteen archetypes?!” gasped Morita, interrupting McQueen. “That number in a single location is unheard of! Not even in the past were so many found. We usually only found three at any given time beforehand!”

“Thank you for that ever so interesting bit of historical information,” said McQueen. “Anyway, along with the thirteen archetypes found, they also discovered a fifth humanoid coralian and a stray cat that has been giving them a hard time.”

“A fifth humanoid Coralian…” exclaimed Anemone, “I thought Eureka and I were the only two after Sakuya! That leaves only one left that we haven’t found then!” she concluded, counting her fingers and thinking hard in her head.

“…you’re looking at the other one,” said a frail voice coming from the person hiding under her hood. No one seemed to know who it was until they heard her voice. It was Lieutenant Commander Kat Kolevis. Everyone’s jaws dropped. “I woke up this morning…after a horrible....horrible nightmare. I saw myself in the mirror and was in complete shock.” She removed her hood revealing her face to everyone as they gasped at the sight. “I went through a massive change...becoming like you and Eureka.” Her head dropped, worried and confused. “To be honest, at first I thought I was seeing things, but when I went to sickbay Doc said my biology had altered itself during the night.” She shuddered as she realized her body was now that of a Coralian. “On the bright side, I used to work at this site and know some of the people working there. They know we are coming and will likely be joining the crew on this ship,” she said, her glowing red-orange eyes looking out the window, in a daze, obviously thinking of something way off in the distance. Her last words were empty and there was no emotion put into them.

“To be honest, all of us are at a loss as to how this transformation happened to Kolevis,” said Doc. “But hopefully, in time it will make sense.”

“In the mean time, all of you will begin your training,” continued Miriam. “The special few from the Gekko and the ex-Ageha squad will now be trained not only in saber technique, but also in hand-to-hand combat with fists and knives. After we have removed these things from the cave and brought them aboard, we will allow you all to do some shopping before we get you all registered with Starfleet command,” turning to Dominic and Renton she winked at them and in their heads they heard her say, “Eli will take you two then to get engagement rings for Anemone and Eureka.”

The two of them swallowed hard nervously, a cold sweat instantly coming over them. In seeing this, Eureka leaned over and whispered to Renton, “Are you alright? You seem rather nervous all of the sudden…” she brought the fingers of her right hand and weaved them into his left. “If there’s anything you need to tell me, you know I’ll always be here,” Eureka said with a concern look in her eyes.

“Yeah, what is going on with you Dominic?” whispered Anemone.

“Nothing, nothing at all...no need to worry at all,” the two replied. They found it was going to be hard not to think about the rings when all of their minds were connected with their loved ones.

“For now,” said Moishe, looking at the group, but focusing on Renton, “how good are you all with handling a phaser?”

Renton cowered in his seat, “Not that great,” he said meekly.

Holland then stood up; “Eureka and I were in the SOF when we first met, so defending ourselves won’t be a problem.” He then looked at Anemone, “I think Anemone has had similar training, can you confirm this Dominic?”

“Well, along with the fact that she has one hell of a right hook,” said Dominic avoiding her glaring eyes, “from what I know, she was trained in SOF combat tactics and methods.”

“Very well,” mused Moishe, “what about the rest of your crew, Holland?”

“We can take care of ourselves,” said Talho, everyone else nodded in agreement. “It’s the kids I’m worried about, are you sure you’re okay with them coming along Eureka?”

“Nirvash wants them to come, and so do I,” she looked at Renton.

“I am fine with it, though I still don’t understand why we have to be armed though.”

Maurice looked at Eureka, “We’re not afraid mama, we want to come,” his siblings nodded in agreement. Remembering how strong Maurice was in the forest over a year ago let them know he had courage to protect them and their mama if he had to.

Moishe walked down the table and stopped in front of the three children, staring them straight in the eye. “A teacher once said to me, ‘Go you shall, Afraid, you will be.’” said Moishe.

“Moishe, there’s a time and a place for that!” yelled Miriam, glaring at him. “For that you will come along with us.”

“But...”

“She’s right,” said Eli, “do you know where his hiking stuff is, sis?” Miriam nodded, but did not take her glaring eyes off Moishe. “Good, and with that you all are dismissed.”

A few hours later after they had all gone back to their quarters and started packing up, Linck started having second thoughts, “I don’t think we should go Maurice. What if we get hurt, what if Moishe is right and we should be afraid? Why do we have to take weapons, are we going to have to fight?”

“We’ll be fine,” Maurice said, as he placed various pouches and packs on his harness.

“Linck, you should know that as a family, we will always be there for each other,” said Eureka, she then handed to them drinking bladders filled with water. “Put these into your packs in the pockets marked with the water drop, and make sure to run the tube through the pocket so you can drink from them.”

“Mama, come see...it’s the moon,” yelled Maeter from her room. As the Hornet approached Earth, the moon came into view and to her amazement Eureka saw the etching left in the moon just as clear as it was the day it was made. Reality slowed down for her as all the images from the last two years flashed before her eyes. Tears started flowing out her eyes as she remembered that moment of love that created the scar on the surface of the moon. She remembered Nirvash and the scub and then flying Renton back to earth. She closed her eyes. “Oh Renton!!” she thought. “We’ve made it so far. I do pray this adventure will allow our love to last as long as this scar…” She moved her hand over the glass where the moon showed through. “I remember the day like it was yesterday…” she said in soft, short breath. Tears dripped to the floor.

“What’s the matter mama?” asked Linck.

Eureka slowly turned back to her children, as time resumed to normal, wiping the water from her eyes. “Come on kids, let’s finish getting ready, fill all of your pockets and pouches with everything I told you to. I need to finish packing Renton’s stuff for him, so we can be ready when he gets back from getting his cast off. Oh, and don’t eat or drink any of the stuff I gave you, you need to save it for the hike.”

“Eureka, I’m back,” came a voice from the living area, “and we have visitors.” Eureka and the kids walked into the living area, to find standing there dressed for the hike, Renton, Anemone, Dominic, Holland and Talho. All of them but Renton had vests stuffed with gear, and their harnesses strung with equipment pouches already on, ready to go.

“Come on you slowpokes,” laughed Talho, “hurry up, we need to be at the shuttle in 30 minutes. Eureka do you need help getting on your pack?”

“No, I want Renton to help me,” she looked at Renton, smiling, “but could you and Holland help the kids put on their packs?”

“Sure.” Talho and Holland then led the kids back to their rooms.

Once they were gone, Eureka turned to Renton smiling, “Renton, it’s still there, want to see it?”

“What is?”

“Come on, I’ll show you, you too Anemone and Dominic; I know you have probably seen it, but never this close before.” She led the three of them into her room to look out the windows, and gaze upon the names still clearly etched in the Moon’s surface.

“Wow, Nirvash did that?” asked Anemone, Eureka and Renton nodded. “How romantic,” she turned to face Dominic who was standing next to her, “why can’t I get you to do something that romantic for me Dominic?”

“Well... I... Uh....,” he stammered.

“Don’t worry sis,” said Eureka, “I am sure he has something up his sleeve for you.”

Dominic gave Renton a look as if to say, “Do they know about our plans?” Renton just shrugged, not knowing what to think, as he Eureka’s side to put on his gear harness and thigh-pack.

The girls just laughed to themselves. “Well, I expect something just as amazing and romantic from you Dominic, and soon,” declared Anemone glaring at him.

“Come on Eureka, suit up!” yelled Holland from the living area. “We’re going to be late.”

When Eureka turned around, Renton was walking in with all his gear on. “Renton, I thought you did not know how to put all of that on correctly.”

“Well, it just seemed like the right way.”

“He shall know the ways, as if born to them,” Eureka thought to herself. “Oh, Renton, that is why I love you so much, you always know what to do.” Eureka grabbed her gear vest and put it on, sliding her wings through the holes in the back.

“Now lets get your pack on Eureka, so we can go. You sure you will be fine with this on and it won’t get in the way of your wings?”

“I will be fine Renton don’t worry,” said Eureka as Renton helped her put her pack on. The harness was designed similar to a regular one but it a portion of the back straps was tailored to slide right between her wings. She flexed her wings and shoulders a bit, wincing a second, but then seaming quite satisfied.

“Are you sure you will be comfortable with that?”

“It’s fine Renton,” said Eureka putting on her thigh pack, which like Renton’s had on it a sheath of some type and a medical kit. “I wonder what these narrow sheaths are for?”

“I don’t know,” replied Renton, “by the way, the leg straps, should I have them tightened?”

“No, Renton, you overheat easily if you do that. Keep them loose for now.”

Upon hearing this Anemone and Dominic exchanged embarrassed looks as they loosened the leg straps on their harnesses. Eureka and Renton just giggled.

“Good,” said Talho walking in, “you all are ready. Let’s go.”

When the arrived at the hanger deck, Miriam, Moishe, Kolevis, Matthieu, Hilda, Sumner, Ruri and the five Ageha kids were waiting for them.

“What are they doing here?” muttered Anemone, starring down the Ageha kids, who remained silent. Dominic lunged for Anemone’s pack to keep her from beating the Ageha kids to a pulp, “Let go of me Dominic, those kids deserve a good beating, and I deserve to give it to them.”

“Give them a chance...”

Without warning Anemone went flying backwards, taking Dominic with her. Miriam walked up to them with an expression of absolute seriousness on her face. “You will give them a chance, just as I have asked them to give, you, Eureka, and Kolevis a chance, are we clear Lieutenant? Sorry about that Dominic, but I have a short fuse for bickering and fighting, done to much with my brother already. Just so the rest of you all know, I take away missions very seriously, so if any of you have any grudges against each other, I suggest you grill it, and eat it. Once you do that, give each other a chance, for if you can’t trust each other on a simple hike, you will never survive your first true combat experience.” Her gaze then circled around staring everyone square in the eyes. “Is that understood?!”

“Yes, ma’am,” they all replied in unison.

“Alright, we will be taking the runabout Otoyac,” Miriam walked over to the craft and picked up a large crate, “these are you combat knives, place your knife in the sheath on your thigh pack.” Eureka took the knife Miriam handed to her and inspected it, throwing it from one had to the other, to test its balance and gently running a finger down the length of the blade.

“Miriam, do the kids get one of these?” questioned a now worried Eureka after she had stowed her knife in its sheath.

“No, they just have their multitools, which have a smaller, less dangerous knife in them.”

“I’m impressed,” interjected Holland. “I have never seen a combat knife of this quality before.” Holland then stowed his knife, everyone else following suit.

“The phasers are on board and I will distribute them when we land,” said Miriam, “so lets get this show on the road.”

As they all began to board, Maeter walked up to Miriam, dragging her mother behind her. “Ms. Miriam, can you show me how you fly the, Otoyak?” asked Maeter struggling with the ships name.

Miriam bent down to eye level with Maeter, “Yes, I can but if it’s alright with your mother, I can even let you fly part of the way there,” Miriam then turned her eyes to Eureka awaiting a response. Just then they heard the clank of the hanger door opening for their imminent departure.

“It’s fine with me, as long as we don’t run into any problems or anything,” replied Eureka.

“Thank you mama,” said a gleeful Maeter.

“Don’t worry Eureka, we probably won’t run into any trouble. I will show you and the others why after we take off, come on, we should not keep them waiting,” and with that the three of them boarded the Otoyac. Unlike the other runabouts, the Otoyac had a much larger interior as it was designed for long trips. Miriam took her seat in the pilot chair, with Moishe and Kat next to her. Behind them along one side of the wall were the children starting with Maeter, Eureka, Renton, Dominic, Anemone, Holland and Talho. Across from them, sat Sumner, Ruri, Alice, Jermain, Harsh, Arnette, Mariana, Matthieu, and Hilda. “We ready Kolevis?”