by Max Jager
"There was never any intention to "dump" you anywhere," she replied, "However this project has suddenly taken on a new importance; this is a chance for our people to recover." He didn't miss the "our" in her statement, but let it pass for now.
"I understand Amber," he replied, "And I totally agree, count me "on board," with all of this, but I'm not too keen on being left on some planet out in the middle of nowhere."
"Would you prefer to accompany Miss Parkinson back to Denedra as well?"
"Not especially," said Matt, "But if it's that or being left on Z'ha'dum I guess I'll go back to Denedra."
"Are you certain," asked Amber, Z'ha'dum isn't what you think, it's…Different, besides, I was under the impression you wanted to explore the stars."
"I do," he replied, "Look, if I was to agree to go to this Z'ha'dum place, how long would I be stuck there, I wouldn't be like Robinson Crusoe or something like that would I?" Amber made a chuckling sound, and replied.
"Right now, the plan calls for me to return Gandric and Drok to Xandrus, then if I'm to return Miss Parkinson back to Denedra, there's time involved with that. We would be on Xandrus no longer than…Two to three of what you know as weeks."
"All Gandric and Drok need to do is lay out the plan, show the proper people the situation here, they will take it from there. Then I would come straight to Z'ha'dum to pick you up before returning here." Matt thought about what she was telling him and figured he'd be stuck on the planet for at least a month.
"All right," he sighed, "Bria still seems up for high adventure, I guess it will just be the two of us then."
"That's the spirit," replied Amber, "Traveling to Z'ha'dum was the original plan all along, it's just that great opportunities have intervened."
"Well you take Kaitlyn back to Denedra then, maybe she'll be happier there, Christ I hope so," he muttered.
After he returned to his bed, Matt lay there and thought about all the twists and turns their adventure had taken so far. He felt bad for Kaitlyn, but if she was that upset by things he certainly didn't want to be burdened with her troubles. Matt drifted off to sleep thinking of an old movie one of his friends had on VHS,
"Robinson Crusoe on Mars."
The next day was more of the same, in one instance; it took them close to three hours to pass one massive area of nothing but wreckage. Drok later told them that it was generally believed that this incredible junk yard had once been where all these machines of war had been manufactured. Around late afternoon, they stopped at another location, this one featuring massive metal spires that you could actually climb. Inside them were narrow spiral stairs that were rather confining for the likes of Drok and his mother, but rather exhilarating for Matt, Kaitlyn and Bria. Drok told them that they had rigged up an observation platform many yarns ago, and used it from time to time to spot for barbongs and boloths.
Regardless, it gave Drok and Gandric a place to get an idea of how massive the clean-up effort was going to be. It was here that Matt learned of Gandric and Amber's ability to record images as they looked at them, even zooming in on special features.
When I return to my people," he told Matt and Kaitlyn, they will see exactly what I am seeing, and in a sense, they are here with me right now." The height was bothering him so he headed back down early. While he waited for the others, Matt poked around a couple of the rooms at the base of the spire. Once again, he came across more "loot" in the form of three more of the dog tag looking medallions, as well as a metal bottle with a screw cap. It seemed to be painted a dark green color with strange writing on it, which Drok said meant water. He also found a large pliers/ wrench tool in a small drawer along with what had to be a camera. Tossing it into his bag, he wondered if there still recognizable images on it. There didn't appear to be anything like film in it, so he assumed it had to be digital.
After a time they were rolling again, on the homeward leg, Matt continued to think about Kaitlyn looking over at her from time to time, but every time he did, she was just staring out at the passing scene. They arrived back at the ship just after dark Drok promising to be here bright and early.
"I will spend the night at home visiting with my father and my friends; I'll be ready to leave in the morning." Udel did the same with Bria kissing and hugging her, Matt wasn't sure how much he cared for that, but then it was her life. After all, her parents wanted her to "get out," and see the galaxy, well, here it was.
As he lay in his bunk Matt heard Amber speaking to Kaitlyn asking her if they could speak privately. Nodding to himself, he knew what that was going to be about. Listening for what he assumed would be histrionics Matt was mildly surprised when none came. The morning brought more unexpected changes. Bria was now insisting on traveling to Xandrus with Drok and the androids expressing her curiosity at what would be taking place there.
"My father wants me to study life on the various worlds and from what I've been hearing about this Xandrus, it sounds like a place I ought to see. Besides, it's roughly in our neighborhood, and might eventually benefit us on Doradus as well."
No one came out and actually said it, but Matt had a suspicion that Amber and Gandric were eager to head back in the direction of Denedra, and Xandrus. Still feeling that he would more or less be "abandoned" on Z'ha'dum, he announced to Amber that Z'ha'dum could wait until another time.
"As long as you're heading back towards Denedra and Xandrus, could you just drop me off at Fort Kamata, I'll just hang around there until you're ready to take Drok back to Ussen Ommo. Maybe I can hook up with Grak and Karlt."
"Wouldn't you rather go to Denedra or even Doradus? Asked Amber.
"Well if I went to Doradus, Bria's dad would want to know why she wasn't with me, and I really don't care all that much for Denedra. Hey, it's no big deal, just drop me off at the fort and if by some chance I do go off with someone, I'll keep you posted OK?"
As Matt suspected, it didn't take a lot of convincing to get Amber to agree to the idea, especially when she mentioned getting fuel at the fort. As they lifted off Ussen Ommo, Matt was just grateful they were leaving this place, although something told him that they would be back at some point.
Chapter 37
Titan Stand Chapter 37
Before taking off, Matt checked with Drok concerning the "souvenirs" he was taking,
"You're welcome to it all Matt," exclaimed Drok, none of it means anything to us anymore it's all part of a past every one of us on Ussen Ommo would desperately love to forget." As he lay in his bunk, examining the camera, watch and dog tags, Matt wondered if there was someone or someplace that might be able to "dig" into these items and pull up the data and pictures he was sure were hidden inside. When not doing that he and Kaitlyn worked on learning how to fly the Nora-Lee. Kaitlyn seemed depressed, and her attention to her studies showed it. As a result Amber's temperament worsened. Although he didn't like it, Matt suspected the reason and tried not to antagonize her. Kaitlyn, on the other hand just didn't seem to care anymore, a fact that even concerned Bria. At first, she thought that perhaps she had something to do with Kaitlyn's problem, but Matt quietly explained to her what was really troubling her.
"I think it's a lot of things Bria," explained Matt.
"First of all I think she's desperately homesick, secondly, something about Ussen Ommo has really bummed her out."
"I think there's something else as well," replied Bria.
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that she's in love with you Matt."
"Get outta here, I don't believe that for a moment, in the first place we don't really know each other, I only brought her along because she seemed to know a lot about aliens, and stuff like that, she was always putting on the big "tough girl" act with all that Goth shit, guess I was wrong on that account."
"All she talked about was you, and how wrong she'd been about you. In case you weren't aware of it she's very shy. After you told us about what those stupid children were doing to us, I had a very long talk with her. She was so afraid you
hated her."
"Well I don't hate her," he replied, "As far as paying attention to her, I'm sorry but I've just had too much on my mind lately. Look, I know it's not nice to say, but she's going to have to rely on herself, besides I thought those stupid fairies got her head squared away."
Now completely exasperated, Bria threw up her hands,
"I simply do not believe this, I'm not a human, nor do I come from your planet yet I understand what's going on even better than you do Matt!" He grimaced, then shook his head,
"Sorry, I can't help you Bria, I don't know, but maybe living with the fairy folk is the best thing for her." Shaking her head in disgust, Bria got up and just walked away.
Later, as he tried to get to sleep, Matt wondered about his choices, and if it had been a good idea to bring Kaitlyn.
"And here I thought she was one of these tough and independent types, Ha! Guess I was wrong about that. But then if I had brought Patricia god! What a disaster that would have been, she would have been freaking out the moment she realized she couldn't use her silly-assed phone anymore. Liam? Umm, maybe, he'd have been cool with things, but after he stole Patricia…Fuck him! It's just too bad Kaitlyn isn't more like Bria, now there's a tough chick. Umm, trouble is she's got an attitude problem and, well…She's just not my type. Fuck…What am I going to do now?"
When he woke up, Matt discovered that Kaitlyn had just gone to bed having been up while he was asleep. Matt thought at first she was deliberately avoiding him, however Amber informed him.
"I thought it best that you two be split up. In this way, I can devote my full attention to just one person at a time, with only one of you sitting in the pilot's seat; I can react to things much quicker. This is for my convenience as well as a way to better instruct the both of you, not because you think Kaitlyn is upset at you." Matt strongly doubted her but let it slide.
"Have you changed your mind about being dropped off at Fort Kamata," asked Amber.
"No. Look Amber, getting those people those people on Xandrus back to work comes first; I'm with you and Gandric one hundred per cent on that. You two are going to be pretty busy running back and forth from Xandrus to Ussen Ommo until everything is up and running, I'd just be in the way. You've got my I.D. code, and I'll post to the Loridian message board anytime I go somewhere. And if nothing else, I do want to see those purifiers working, so I'll make it a point to get back to Ussen Ommo in the end."
"Are you going to be all right?" She asked, "I'm responsible for you, you know. Greg asked me to watch out for you, and that's what I intend to do."
"I know Amber," he replied, "And I appreciate it, really I do, but I'm hoping Grak and Karlt are at the fort, if they are, I'll see if they will let me tag along with them."
Amber made a snorting sound,
"Those two…Well I hope you know what you're doing, you know, you still have a long way to go with your studies?"
"Yeah I know," he admitted, "I'll try and pick it up as I go, besides, I'm only talking a couple senth's, don't worry." The trip to Fort Kamata was rather uneventful, other than the fact that Matt and Kaitlyn got in more flight time, and Kaitlyn taught Drok how to play poker. The stop at the fort was a little longer than originally planned, due to re-fueling, along with a lengthy meeting with Zeb and Deev, the Loridian representatives. Matt and Kaitlyn hugged each other with Kaitlyn promising to re-join the ship when she felt better about things.
"You take care of yourself Kaitlyn," said Matt.
"I'm sorry Matt," she replied, I just can't deal with this shit any longer. I'll be OK; they told me that I would always be welcome there. When you decide that it's time to go home, you'll know where to find me."
"Well that might be awhile," he replied, "As far as I'm concerned, the adventure is just getting started. Look Kaitlyn I'm sorry for dragging you along on this, I…I just figured you could handle things better." She then glared at him with her tear streaked face.
"Go to hell, goddamn you Matt, what did you think I was?"
"Well excuse the hell out of me!" He replied, "Obviously you presented yourself as someone you weren't. Look I don't want to fight about this, my fault, your fault, nobody's fault, we're here, and we have to deal with things as they stand. If you want to go and just hang with the fairies, be my guest, have a good time, but as for me, I'm going to make the most of the opportunity." As he started to leave, he turned and kissed her on the forehead.
"Later Kaitlyn."
On his way out, he stopped and said goodbye to Gandric and Drok,
"I'll catch you guys later," he exclaimed. "I do want to see those purifiers at work on Ussen Ommo."
"Well that won't be for some time yet," replied Drok, but once we get things going on Xandrus, we'll be back there most of the time."
"Well good luck," stated Matt, "see ya!"
Matt left his three bags at a temporary holding area the Loridian Company provided for travelers, then went looking for his friends. Just as he expected, they were tucked into a booth at the local watering hole along with their lady friends. He heard Grak call out his name before he spotted them, then making a beeline for their table he sat down as Grak made room for him.
"I figured I'd find you two here," He announced.
"What are you doing here?" Asked Grak.
"Well right now Amber and Gandric are involved with a guy named Drok who's the new Loridian rep for Ussen Ommo. They're working on a plan to build these huge purifiers on Xandrus then take them to Ussen Ommo where they'll sweep up ever scrap of metal, rubble, and anything contaminated to try and bring life back to that haunted planet."
The four Golians all gave him puzzled looks,
"Have you ever been to that place?" Asked Karlt.
"Yeah," replied Matt, we just came from there," Then Karlt's lady friend said,
"I didn't think there was anything on that planet except a bunch of sand people." He looked at her and replied,
"That would be the Gri'Foda, Drok Irdurg is one of then and now the new Loridian rep for the place. As for anything else…Well there's plenty of ghosts, I've seen them; I've also seen destruction on a scale that is unlike anything you could ever imagine. I took pictures, but I don't have my camera with me at the moment."
"Actually I've seen one of those purifiers. "Remarked Grak, I think it was on Vlen-Apsi or some drikkin place like that. Anyway it looked like a giant heiboth beetle moving across the surface, pretty impressive, but then I was standing quite a distance away."
"Did they have a war there too?" Asked Matt, Grak gave him a funny look, then answered,
"No, they had a class eight ore freighter explode right over the planet and come down there. Thankfully it crashed in one piece but it was carrying a full load of refined chay ore, and combined with the plasma fuel from the freighter heavily contaminated the whole area, thank Shimma it crashed in an uninhabited area."
"Did it clean everything up?" Asked Matt.
"Oh yeah," replied the Golian, "good as new, the only thing it saved was all the metal from the ship, as I recall, it was like a course powder, which they transferred to a scrap hauler." Then Grak immediately switched gears and said to Matt.
"Say, are you doing anything?"
"Uhh no, why?"
"Interested in a job?"
"Yeah! What is it?"
"Well don't get too excited," added Grak,
"Karlt and I have to run back to Golia, with a high level businessman and his wife. We could use you and that weapon of your for a bit of security. We'll have an escort leaving here and one as we get close to Golia, but there's a long stretch with nothing. This fellow is in a hurry to get back home, and doesn't want to wait for the special navy transport that isn't due here for several more cycles."
"Well…Yeah," replied Matt.
"Problem is that since you're not an official Loridian employee I can't pay you, but I can list you as a "crewman backhaul" so it's a free ride to Golia. There's plenty of eabak on board so you won't starve, what do you say?"
> "In on one!" he exclaimed.
Then Karlt asked,
"Say, where's that dwarf princess, and that female human that were with you?"
Matt shrugged,
"Bria wants to see Xandrus so she's off with Amber and Gandric, Kaitlyn…Well things have just gotten too much for her, she's gone back to Denedra to hang around with the fairy folk." All four Golians chuckled at that,
"Well good luck with that," replied Grak. "We'll be leaving shortly, so if you have any gear better get it now; we're parked on pad seven, just go through security as you normally would, tell the guard you're signing on as an "X-0556."
Matt left the bar with a big grin on his face,
"Damn! My first job and a free ride to Golia to boot." At the place where he had left his gear, Matt rented a small arostat, or floating platform to carry his gear on, then made his way over to landing pad seven. Finally he had a purpose; somebody was hiring him for a job. He briefly thought back to the bloody firefight with the raiders, but quickly dismissed it from his mind, the fact that he was back with his friends once more was all that mattered. Although he was certain the security guards had seen him before, they still gave him curious looks, with one asking,
