Chapter 19: Wind

I jumped out of bed and found that everyone else was already up and helping to keep objects from flying off. I hadn't noticed how chaotic it was because our tents were protected from the winds by energy shields.

When I stepped outside the tent, making sure to stay within the protective shield, I could see just how intense the weather on Fargon could get. I'd never seen winds blow this fiercely before. It bellowed and shrieked, fluctuating in pitch based on the wind's temperamental state. It was so fierce that I could tell just by looking out at the flying debris that I would blow away in an instant. We'd had sand storms on Sola, but that was almost completely different.

As I was taking in the new weather, a figure came toward our tent, growing bigger as they made their way toward me. They were clad in a light-colored, tight jacket and full face mask. Up close, I could see that it was Kiko, followed by Rei who was attached to her by a cable. Kiko wore long spikes that strapped around her lower leg and boots. With each step, she stomped them into the ground to keep from flying away. Rei was wearing smaller spiked shoes since she wasn't the main anchor, I assumed.

"Do you need to get somewhere?" Kiko asked after entering the shield and taking her mask off.

I'd definitely need her to get anywhere since she was the only one strong enough to penetrate the dense ground with such long spikes.

"No, I was wondering what was going on," I said.

Rei wiped away dirt and debris from herself. "Apparently, ever since the stone broke the protective layers, the weather fluctuates in random intervals to the extreme. It came out of nowhere just a short while ago, and Cashel told us to help gather items from the other tents since all the power they have is going toward our tents."

We could probably thank Breccan's love for Kiko for that.

"I can help out too," I said as I finished putting on my boots.

Rei clipped herself loose from the cable and removed the spikes on the soles of her boots. "Nah, don't bother. They seem to be doing just fine by themselves."

We watched, standing just outside of the tent, as several of Breccan's larger crewmembers acted as anchors for the smaller members. There were a few large species with giant shells on their backs that looked like they weighed a ton; a single one could support several crewmates. They all worked quickly to tie down or move items from tent to ship.

Lux and Breccan were cabled as well, anchored to the ship, giving orders and directing traffic. I was surprised to see how efficient they were, considering my first impression of him, and his over-the-top attachment to Kiko.

Without warning, a large panel ripped off from the Breccan and slashed through a small crewmember's cable. Like the panel, the crewmember was swept away, fighting to grab ahold of anything.

Lux and Kiko reacted at the same time, but only Kiko was unrestrained from the cables. She shot out of the shielded tent and caught the drifter just in time. But more of the ship's large panels broke off and went flying towards them.

"Look out!" I yelled out through the shield, though she probably couldn't hear me.

I don't know how she did it without a mask, but she swerved left and right and jumped out of the way of all the panels that flew by—and that was with someone hanging off her back. When they were safe from the flying debris, Kiko made her way back to the closest safe spot, our energy shield, and let the stranger down from her back.

"Thank you for saving me … Breccan's lover." A feminine voice came from underneath the cloak and mask. It was the ship's lead mechanic, Pippa.

Rei burst out laughing as Kiko's mouth dropped open. She stormed out of the energy shield and marched to where Breccan was giving orders, passing Lux on the way.

Rei was still laughing as Lux entered through the shield.

"Thank you, for saving her," Lux told me as she went to check on Pippa who was now joking around with Rei inside the tent.

"Kiko saved her."

"My gratitude would go unheard if I told Akiko that to her face."

That was especially true right now. I hoped she didn't murder Breccan, but at least she didn't take it out on Pippa.

"Pippa, let's go," Lux called out.

"'Kay!" came Pippa's voice as she reappeared to leave.

Lux attached her cable to Pippa, and they headed back out. "Sorry to bother you," she said as they left.

I didn't have a chance to reply as they marched through the wind back to Breccan's ship.

The rest of the day remained windy, but it finally died down the next day. Tammy and Cashel spent all their time creating the proximate stone locator. Rei spent her free time laughing with Pippa, and Kiko spent all her time avoiding Breccan so she wouldn't kill him. That left me with nothing much to do.

In my spare time, I ended up exploring Breccan's large ship. He could easily fit hundreds of people in it, which was a good thing since he had such a huge crew. All different species, too, I noticed as I watched a small crewmember, about half my height with short pudgy arms and legs, easily breeze through a large doorway while a much bigger crewmember had to squeeze through it by sucking in his round gut and tucking in his wide, flapping ears. Everyone had a job they were working on and were busy most of the time, especially the mechanics. It was funny to see an eccentric little redhead give orders to the other older mechanics, but even though she was young and small, they still treated her with the same respect they gave Breccan. Rei had taken a liking to Pippa because she always made her laugh, so they were usually together.

By the end of the second day, Tammy finished the creation she'd been working on for the past two days straight. It was pouring rain when she walked up to us in the housing tent. Water streamed down from her head, plastering her glowing hair to her face, but she didn't seem to care.

"I've finished the PSL," she announced while cleaning her hands with a cloth.

We all got up and hurried through the rain to her work tent. Pippa was in the room putting something together; she dropped her work when she saw us enter. The proximate stone locator was larger than I expected. It took up a small table and had a large antenna-looking thing sprouting out of the base of the machine.

Pippa was too excited to contain herself. "It's amazing, right? Isn't it? I never imagined someone being able to extract this much power from the sage using these techniques! I mean who would've thought to use Sttromb's formula for re-hashing the sage's natural biomechanical makeup?"

She ran over to a hologram board and started writing stuff only Tammy would understand and continued to explain to us how the PSL worked.

We all looked to Rei, sending her a mental message of 'please stop her.'

Rei smiled at Pippa's enthusiasm. "Uh … Pip," she finally said.

"Yeah, yeah! What's up? Should I go into more detail about the sage's decomposition from the electromagnetic radiation emitting from the black hole?" She stopped drawing on the hologram to look at us. "Is this simplification too simple?"

"We just want to know how it works," Kiko said bluntly.

"Oh." Pippa poked the hologram board, and the screen she was writing on closed. "Just push the power button."

Tammy was already waiting for us, her finger ready on the button, when we returned our attention to the machine. She pushed it, making it hum and light up. The antenna rotated in circles as if trying to lock onto something, and a small hologram appeared in front of the machine. The antenna finally stopped moving, and the hologram flickered, giving us a direction to the stone.

"Excellent," Cashel said in an admiring tone. "Go back to your ship, and tell Breccan we leave early in the morning," he told Pippa.

"'Kay, will do!" She saluted before taking off.

Kiko examined the machine. "How do we use this thing, Tammy?"

"I did not have enough time to enhance the PSL and make the signal range stronger; therefore, it will need to be transported along with the expedition group," she explained.

"We'll have to lug this thing with us?"

"Yes, and it will need to be re-synced every five hours to maintain an exact heading using your location coordinates."

That sounded a little complicated. Apparently Kiko thought so too because she said, "How would we do that?"

"You wouldn't. It's best to have someone who knows how the PSL works. Because of this, Pippa volunteered to go with you."

"And who else is going?" Kiko turned to Cashel.

I was almost certain that Kiko would be going. She was the Jago's bounty hunter extractor after all. Her skills would be vital to reach the stone. I tried thinking of how I could contribute to the expedition group, but I couldn't come up with anything nearly as vital. All I knew was that Kiko was most likely going, and I wanted to go too.

"We're deciding that tomorrow morning. I expect Breccan already has a few crewmembers in mind, but whatever he decides, Kiko, I want no bickering."

Kiko crunched her nose like she had just smelled something bad and then tromped out of the tent without another word.

Cashel sighed and turned to Tammy and Rei.

"Can I talk to Sarth alone for a moment?" he asked, catching me off guard.

They both nodded, and Tammy walked over to a table filled with tools, wires, and mechanical parts. She picked up something small, walked over, and placed it in my hand.

It was a wrist hologram projector like the ones that everyone in Breccan's crew had.

"This is for you," she said before leaving just behind Rei.

"Thanks," I called after her.

I didn't know how it worked, but I put it on my wrist anyway, next to the sync ring. After she left, Cashel sat on a chair and stared at me with studious eyes. I felt like I had done something wrong.

"It's likely you're going to have to go out to find the stone. Are you okay with going on this excursion?" he asked finally.

To be honest, I hadn't been sure if I was going or not. It always seemed like I was just dead-weight, but the fact that he had thought to include me at all made me happy.

"Yeah, I am," I said, picking up my confidence.

Cashel saw this and smirked.

"Good. I'll need you to keep an eye on the girls for me. I'm sure Kiko will be more understanding with you around."

I thought about her attitude toward Breccan. "Right …"

Cashel slapped his legs and jumped to his feet. "Well, I'm gonna get started working on these two ships. Get some rest; you're going need it for the next eleven days."

He left the tent, leaving me alone in the work tent with the PSL.

Our days here were about to get crazy. Breccan seemed like a good leader, aside from his Kiko obsession. His crew definitely liked him. If we decided to let him keep the stone, I thought I might be okay with it.

But as I thought about it more … I could see him using Vo's power to do something to Kiko to try to get her to accept him somehow. I just couldn't imagine that ever happening. I wouldn't let it. Maybe Breccan wasn't the one who should wield Vo.

If Breccan didn't wield Vo, then who in our crew should? My first thought was Cashel, and I was sure the others wouldn't argue against that, except for Cashel himself. Knowing him, he wouldn't accept the position. He hadn't wanted anything to do with the race to begin with. Next that left ... Tammy? No, no, no. I could just imagine it now: a galaxy in perfect harmony—too perfect to actually work.

My thoughts snapped back to reality when I heard someone call my name at the entrance of the tent.

"Coming!" I shouted back. Would this trip really turn out all right?