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Chapter Fifteen

"What?" Rylan wonders aloud as he looks at the scene before him. "Who..." he turns his gaze to Aaron and stares accusingly at him, even as Aaron shakes his head slowly, denying the accusation he sees in Rylan's face. "Don't lie to me, Milariman!"

"I'm not." comes Aaron's simple reply.

"THEN PROVE IT!" Rylan shouts as he points his gun at Aaron and fires it, only to see the shot blocked by Aaron's energy shield, a blue ripple appearing in the invisible barrier at the point where the laser hits it.

Anger burning in his eyes, Aaron speaks up. "And what right do you think you have firing at me? I suffered you to fight with Sanya because of your order, despite less than respectable methods, because you technically had the right, but you've just violated several laws in attacking me."

"You're obstructing justice." Rylan answers as he looks at Sanya who sits safe and sound, looking as surprised as he is that the shot was blocked by a defensive shield that neither she nor he could have produced. "You're protecting her, which makes you just as guilty as she is, and under galactic law, you're to be punished equally."

"Yeah well as you can see I wasn't shielding her."

"You were. She couldn't have done it herself."

"How? I couldn't very well project two shields." No sooner do the words leave his mouth than Aaron wishes he hadn't said them.

"But that only leaves..." Rylan looks at Lauren who is just now looking up to see what the commotion is about. "But she couldn't have done it. She's not a Milariman."

"Sanya!" Lauren cries out joyously as she sees the other woman unscathed by the shot that she was sure had ended her life. Rising quickly to her feet, she begins running toward her.

"Hold it right there." Rylan orders as he points his weapon at Lauren who freezes in place obediently.

"I think it's time you leave, Rylan." Aaron says coolly as he stretches his hand out and summons a light and grabs it "You've outstayed your welcome here."

Rylan stares wide eyed as the light in Aaron's hand transforms into a sword, complete with a glimmering golden blade and braided wooden hilt with three small round purple gems set in the rounded base, and a larger triangular purple gem set between them.

"You..." Rylan says breathless as he lowers his gun to his side.

"I said leave." Aaron repeats his command to Rylan, staring hard at him.

"But" Ryaln pauses, searching for words to form a coherent sentence, but they won't come "the prince...but why?"

Sanya and Lauren both turn their gaze to Aaron, and after a moment, Lauren speaks up "Aaron? What is he talking about?"

"Hold your tongue, Kithain!" Rylan barks at Lauren with a scowl, who flinches and turns her eyes to meet his gaze again.

"Watch what you call her!" Sanya objects, still seated on the ground.

"Filth like that girl has no right to speak to the prince, much less in such a familiar tone." he answers before addressing Lauren further "His name is Aondlir, and if you so much as breathe in his direction again, I will personally"

"Do absolutely nothing." Aaron interrupts angrily "Do I make myself clear?"

Rylan doesn't say anything in return, instead he looks at Aaron, shocked at first, then humbly bowing his head, he places his gun in it's holster.

"Now leave here, before someone reports you for the attempted murder of a Milariman royal."

"Yes, my lord. My thanks for your graciousness and forbearance." Rylan answers with a bow before turning to head back to his ship that he left back by the energy source.

Feeling satisfied that he's out of earshot, Sanya looks to Aaron once more. "You saved me. Thank you." The words come out with an air of awe that is unwelcome to Aaron's ears.

"I didn't." Aaron answers as he lets go of the sword, causing it to dematerialize. His eyes switching from the retreating Rylan to Sanya, he adds "Lauren did."

"I did what?" Lauren asks, genuinely confused and still frozen in place.

"You shielded me..."

"I did?"

Laughing, Aaron looks at Lauren with a smile "You did. Dont worry, you'll figure it all out in time."

Lauren's only response is a soft laugh beneath her breath and a smile. What could she say? She hasn't the foggiest idea of what on Earth just happened.

"Well are you two gonna stand there gawking at each other, or help me inside?" Sanya complains "This ground isn't exactly plush ya know."

"Oh, uh s-sorry." a reddened Aaron stutters "I was just thinking about what happened. Here, let me help you up."

"So you really didn't shield me?" Sanya asks as Aaron helps her to her feet and places her arm around his neck for support.

"Nope."

"Huh... Wait, what if Lauren hadn't shielded me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You shielded yourself and left me wide open." Sanya explains as she turns her gaze to Aaron, hobbling along at his side "If Lauren hadn't shielded me, and accidentally at that, I'd be dead now."

"But she did. I figured she would. You know how deeply seated energy manipulation is in the emotional portion of the brain."

"But...what if she hadn't?"

"Eh, you gotta take chances sometimes."

"Yes, but with MY life?"

"Eh."

"Eh? EH? What is that even supposed to mean?" Sanya asks emphatically as they cross over the threshold of the house.

____________________________


"So what's up with this prince stuff, your majesty?" the comment comes from Sanya who is stretched out on the couch in Aaron's front room with pillows under her leg to support it.

"I already told you, I'm not royalty."

"Well you sure didn't try to convince Rylan of that."

"I saw a chance to work things out for the best, and I took it. If I hadn't went along with his prince talk, someone would be dead right now." Aaron says as he turns for the stairs, then looking over his shoulder at the women in the front room, he adds "And it'd probably be Rylan."


Both women remain silent until they hear Aaron's bedroom door close behind him, then as though on cue, they look at one another.

"I don't know what Aaron's thinking getting ready to go into town like that, but I'm not going to any hospital." Sanya says as she looks at Lauren who presently takes a seat in the recliner across from her.

"Yes well I don't see how you really have a choice, Sanya." Lauren answers, a faint smile coming to her tired face "What are you going to do? Run away from him?" she asks with a soft giggle.

"Oh, very funny." Sanya replies, smiling good naturedly "I can't very well go though."

"What? Why not?"

"Have you forgotten who I am?" Sanya's expression changes as she looks down at her leg sadly "You heard what Rylan said."

"Well yeah, but they don't know you here. On Earth, most people consider the idea of life on other planets silly."

"Oh yeah, I guess you probably wouldn't know, would you?"

"Know what?"

"Most people here don't believe in life on other planets, but some do, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think you have to worry about the doctors putting any stock in the idea of extraterrestrials, let alone knowing who's on the galaxy's most wanted list." Lauren says, unable to hold back the giggle that comes as she hears the words coming from her own mouth.

"Well it isn't the doctors I'm worried about. They may not believe in us, but your government does. They also have communication with the authorities of the galactic law enforcement agency."

Lauren stares silently in shock at Sanya upon hearing this revelation,.

Still staring at her broken knee, Sanya continues "The hospital is a business; all major businesses have to report to a board of some sort, and the board always has at least one member with knowledge of intergalactic law enforcement, and they in turn report any and all interactions with galactic criminals to the government since they're seen as a bigger threat to this world than it's own criminals. And, in all fairness, they are."

"I see." The room goes silent for a few moments before Lauren breaks the silence once more. "What's a Kithain?"

Sanya's gaze quickly switches from her leg to Lauren "Don't worry about that. Also," she adds with a rueful smile "I wouldn't go around saying that if I were you. At least not around anyone who might understand it."

"Why not?" Lauren frowns "He called me one, so I think I have a right to know what it means at least."

"Well it doesn't exactly have a meaning really, it's just...well it's a derogatory term for someone who" she pauses a moment, trying to think of how best to word this "Remember how I told you that Milarimans look down on their people producing offspring with other races? Well that word is used as an insult for a person who is part Milariman, and part...well, part anything else."

"You mean it's a profanity specifically for part Milariman people? Is their disdain for us that great?"

"I'm afraid so." Sanya's apologetic smile shows how bad she feels that Lauren had to learn this "And it isn't just Milarimans, it's for anyone who has some blood of a planet of the high order in them, but isn't full blood."

"The high order? He mentioned that too. What is it?"

Before Sanya can answer any more questions, she's stopped by the sound of Aaron coming back down the stairs with the Simkatte in hand. "Ready to go?"

"Go where?" Lauren asks, confused by his apparent presumption that they knew what he had planned.

"Do I look like I'm ready to go anywhere?" Sanya asks as she turns to look over the couch arm that her back rests on.

"No, and that's exactly why we're going." he answers as he walks up to her side and looks down at her "We're getting you to a doctor."

"We are?"

"Like h-" Sanya catches herself as she looks at Lauren and rethinks her choice of words "Hospital my butt. I can't go to a hospital, you know that."

"Not here you can't, but you can where we're going." he says as he reaches down and helps her to her feet, or rather, to her foot.

"And where, pray tell, might that be?"

"Deylon."

Both women go wide eyed at the comment. Lauren stares blankly at Sanya and Aaron, wondering what this could mean for her. Will she have to leave the only planet she's ever known? She's not entirely sure how she feels about that prospect, especially since she now knows how others feel about people like her. But then she also can't bear the thought of being left alone ― she would miss both Sanya and Aaron dreadfully. And where would she go if they left her here? She has no other home nor means of making one anytime soon; she wouldn't be much better off than she was before coming here if that happened.

"H-How will we get there?" she asks, emphasizing the we part. She still doesn't like the idea of leaving, but what better choice does she have?

Sanya's smile shows her that she noticed and understood the reason for that emphasis as well. Looking back at Aaron, she asks "That's a good question. How are we getting to Deylon, Aaron?"

"Come with me. I'll explain on the way." he answers as he slowly walks Sanya to the front door. As he opens it, he turns and notices Lauren still standing in the front room, unsure as to what she should do. "You are coming with us, aren't you, Lauren?"

A relieved look comes to Lauren's face as she nods and hurries to catch up with them. As she shuts the door however, she realizes that this will be the last time she sees this place for a while, and she can't help but feel a little twinge of sadness. This is home. She'd seen it as such for several months now she supposes, but to actually acknowledge that now seems bittersweet, and she finds herself blinking back the tears before turning to catch up with the others. Admitting why she was crying ― why this place means so much to her ― would make her feel more than a little silly.

As she catches back up again, she hears Aaron explaining what's going on. "That's what I was talking about." he says, and she wishes that she hadn't stopped back there so she could know what it was that he was talking about when he'd said whatever he had.

"Aaron, perhaps you didn't realize it, but that explains exactly nothing." Sanya complains, and Lauren is silently thankful that she hadn't understood him.

"Alright, think about it: where did we find her this morning?" he asks, sounding slightly agitated.

"That dumpy building with all of the boxes?"

"The shrine," the words are emphasized to the point that they sound almost angry. "yes. Now, remember how she was leaned against that big crate in the center of the room?"

"Was it a crate? I thought it was a wall." Lauren answers with a question "I couldn't see, all I knew was that it seemed too big to be anything but the wall, and it was warm."

"Yes, it was actually a crate." Aaron answers sounding considerably less upset, though whether that's because he's just aggravated with Sanya, or because Sanya's last comment had triggered that reaction from him, she can't tell. "And it wasn't actually warm. That warmth was from the ship ― that's what I meant when I said you were interacting with it. The ship sensed your energy, and vice versa, so it channeled it's energy toward you, and you were drawn to it. It used it's energy to sustain you throughout the night."

"How did it know I was there? Is it always running?" Lauren asks, but before Aaron can answer, Sanya throws her own question out.

"Wait, I'm still confused ― where's the ship?"

"The crate, Sanya!" Aaron practically shouts, and both women laugh at his annoyance.

"The crate is a ship?" Lauren asks innocently.

"No, of course not."

"It fits inside of the crate? What kind of ship cou--"

"No!" Aaron stops advancing and places the bridge of his nose between his fore finger and thumb for a moment before speaking again. "The ship is beneath the shrine. That crate houses it's External Command Core."

"Ah, gotcha." Sanya replies.

"Well I don't." Lauren says, feeling like the odd one out. "It's going to take some time to become accustomed to all of this."

________________________________

Lauren stands in the doorway of the large building as Aaron walks Sanya to a smaller crate to sit on while he gets the ship ready. As she watches him walk up to the large crate in the center of the room, she can't help but wonder if she really wants to see this. Up to this point her knowledge of other worldly things has been largely hearsay; seeing this ship and whatever it is that Aaron is about to do will shatter what little remains of her blissfully ignorant lifestyle.

As Lauren thinks on these things, and struggles with the conflicting urges to stay and to run away while she still can, Aaron places his hands on the corner of the crate and gives it a slight tug. The front of the crate swings open like a door, revealing a large white object that's close to her own height, protruding from the ground and coming to a point.

As Aaron places a hand on a small square on the front of it, a small door slides up, behind which sits a sort of pedestal on which Aaron places the Simkatte. Presently the small door closes and a holographic keyboard appears in front of him and he begins typing something in. After his fingers stop moving, the keyboard vanishes and the door opens back up.

Grabbing the Simkatte once more, Aaron walks back toward Sanya and, helping her up, walks her to the door "Let's step outside for a moment." he says, and Lauren follows him out.

Once they're out, Aaron leads them so far away from the building that it's scarcely visible anymore, then extends the Simkatte once more. The ship then begins rising up from the ground and proves to be larger than the entire building ― several times larger actually, so much so that it takes up almost every bit of the distance that they put between themselves and the building, and it's just as wide as it is long.

"What..." Lauren's wildest imagination couldn't have prepared her for this.

"Come on." Aaron calls as he walks Sanya toward the platform that descends from the center of the ship that now hovers several feet above their heads.

As she heads toward the platform, Lauren can't help but wonder what she's getting into, and how very different her life from this point on will be. With her feelings something of a mix of excitement and sorrow, she steps up onto the platform alongside Sanya and Aaron, and is taken up and into the ship. The bottom of the ship closes up again as the platform they stand on comes to a rest inside of a beige room with no features to speak of, just four walls and a door before them.

"Well then, it's been a while since I saw the inside of this thing." Aaron says as he stands still on the platform, looking at the door before him. "Ten years to be exact. I never once thought I'd see it again, but I suppose it's foolish to think we can ever fully escape our past and who we are, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately." Sanya half mumbles as Aaron walks her slowly toward the door.

As they come to rest in front of the door, a woman's voice calls out to them "State your name."

With a sigh, Aaron answers the ship's command "Aaron".

"No match found. Please enter security code."

"Of course not." he mutters and begins typing on the holographic keyboard that appears before him.

Several clicks go by before a screen pops up displaying information in a language that Lauren can't read. "Why doesn't it recognize your name, Aaron?"

"It does. It's my voice that isn't recognized ― it's changed a lot since I was a young teen." he answers as he continues typing and touching the various pop up windows on the screen.

"Come on already." Sanya complains "What's the deal with all of these security layers?"

"All of these security layers are what'll keep you safe while you sleep on here, so I wouldn't be complaining if I were you."

"Yeah well if you Milarimans had organic ships like the Deylonians, this wouldn't be necessary."

"Yeah well we don't, so there's no sense in wishing or worrying about what ifs, now is there?" Aaron says as he clicks and touches away. "Okay, there we go. Alright, now say your name."

"What? Why?" Sanya complains again.

"Name recorded." the ship calls back then replays the recording of Sanya's voice "Name: 'What? Why?'"

After he emits a sound that Lauren could only classify as a growl, Aaron speaks up again "Hold on." after several more clicks he continues "There. I've erased your last entry. Now say your name, please. "

"Sanya."

"Good. Now, hold on a moment." a few clicks pass and he looks to Lauren "Now you."

"Lauren."

A few clicks more.

"Aaron."

"Name recorded: 'Sanya'; Name recorded: 'Lauren'; Name recorded: 'Aaron'" a few moments pass and the voice speaks again "State your name."

Sanya groans impatiently as Aaron states his name once again, causing the name recognition to fail again. Aaron's head drops and even from behind him Lauren can clearly see his anger. "Sanya, could you do me a favor, and SHUT UP PLEASE?"

Sanya's face has shock written all over it, and Lauren has to hold her hand firmly over her own mouth to stifle her giggle as Aaron states his name again.

"Aaron."

"Name acknowledged. Welcome 'Aaron'." The ship answers, still replaying all of the names in the speaker's voice.

"Finally!" Sanya nearly shouts the words "Took long enough."

"Thanks to you." Aaron answers, still aggravated, but less so now that the ordeal is over.

"Hey, it doesn't exactly feel good standing up right now, support or not."

The two of them walk into the main portion of the ship, but Lauren stands still, staring in awe at the scene before her. Never could she have expected this.


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