The Voyages of the Penelope and the Yydryl

Nenothtu stirred and sat up, going from zero to wide awake in just a second or so as was his habit usually. He looked around and discovered that BIAD was gone. 'Probbly out foraging breakfast' neno surmised. There was also the possibility that witnessing the killing the day before had unsettled him, and BIAD had skyed out while he figured the getting was good. Neno hoped not. His 'new' belt buckle was starting to tickle his backbone, and BIAD had a way of ferreting out things that would cure that condition. Nenothtu stirred up the coals of the fire and put some fresh fuel on them, hoping.

Shortly, and much to nenothtu's relief, BIAD came back into the camp, carrying something... hopefully something edible. Turns out that was just what it was. After breaking fast, neno decided that he owed BIAD a few answers to some of his questions. It's hard travelling with a mystery, especially one you just recently saw casually kill a bothersome humanoid. Tends to wear on the nerves, and nenothtu allowed has how he might ought to head off any potential worries that BIAD might have.

There's really only one way to do that. Cease being a mystery.

Neno cleared his throat and started. "BIAD, last night you had a couple of questions for me, which I never properly answered. I told ya you didn't owe me anything, and that's just what I meant. Without you along, I'd be 3 days skinnier than I already am. We can call that even, I reckon. You help me survive, I help you survive, and that's how it works. Besides that, some folks just NEED killin', and that jackass happened to be one of 'em. Make me 'take my medicine' indeed! Fella didn't look like no kinda doctor to me! looked more like the kind of fella that sends folks TO the doctor - if he can catch their back turned, that is."

"Now, as fer this trinket here, I dunno if it can get us off this planet or not, to be honest. It was a gift from a dear friend of mine, and it got me HERE, but I dunno how that happened. It got me out of a hard spot - yes, a harder spot than THIS one - but I dunno how that really worked. I was having some sort of... hallucination... or something at the time, and it's sort of fuzzy."

"It sort of glowed back then, before that, but now it's just kind of dull. I think it died or something, just a one-time sort of thingy. In any event, it's a tiny globe of my home world..." here he trailed off and got a bit dazed for a second, before snapping back... "and that world is gone now. I mean GONE. It's a home I'll never have again."

"That leads into your next question... I'm from Earth. Born and bred in the forests and hills of Vandalia, in what used to be the eastern US, before the wars and reorganizations. I got raised up - jerked up might be closer to the facts - in the Clan Wars, when the outlanders were coming in and setting us against one another trying to gain control of our minerals and such like resources for themselves. My whole family got wiped out in those wars. I set things even with the Taggart Clan what wiped 'em out, and highed it on out of Vandalia. Never looked back, and never thought I'd miss it, either. 'Course, THAT was before it wasn't there any more to BE missed..." and he trailed off again.

Nenothtu cleared his throat again - twice - and went on. "After a while, I started me another family, on Travis' Rift. That didn't work out so well. We seemed not to be able to live with each other, or without each other, either. Makes for a wild ride. I spent way too much time off planet, chasing after this or that little war, doing the only thing I've ever been any good at - which is killin' folks and tearing things up - and not paying enough attention to the angry little war at home. During one of those jaunts, I got stranded on another world through no real fault of my own, for 7 years. Muh missus died just before I was rescued. Left me a son, who is right this minute aboard the ship I'm supposed to be on - the Penelope - and here am I, stranded agin. Seems a recurring theme for me."

"Now, as what I've told you here is more than most of my ship mates know of me, I'd appreciate if you kept it confidential if and when we get back. They don't know much about me, and I've found that a little mystery adds to the fear that helps keep my underlings in line." Here he added one of his lopsided grins. "Besides, if you keep it under your hat, you can always use it to threaten blackmail later! Should it become common knowledge, the blackmail edge is gone!"

"One other thing - nenothtu ain't my real name. It's more of a title - a JOB title back in my origins. Now you've got a secret that's classified. Only place that's recorded is in my mind, my son's mind, and a file folder somewhere in UEF military records. Started out as a call sign in my trade, and it stuck. Stuck hard. Now, it's how I'm known."

"By a job title."


[edit on 2010/8/21 by nenothtu]

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As Nenothtu parted with some private information about himself,
BIAD sat with knees tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped
around his shins and calves.

As his new-found friend told of the losses in his life, the man/girl's
smile wilted, but his nodding that he understood continued.
Occasionally, BIAD was tempted to confirm with a 'yes sir' but he
knew that Nenothu didn't like that and kept his red-lipped mouth
quiet.

Neno asked for confentidentialy and BIAD's nodded with such
vigour that it seemed his permo-wig would fly off across the prairie!
The grasses blew towards the two around the fire as if to also listen
on the confession.

As Nenothtu spoke, BIAD wondered if he should interrupt and ask for
more specifics, but when Neno came to part about slaying the bounty
hunter over a comment that he didn't enjoy, the man/girl decided to
continue his silence.

Earth had gone.
Neno spoke of it as something that had happened long ago and BIAD's
heart sank as he thought of his time there with his Creator. Clan Wars
and other such words were lost on the hermaphrodite and again, the
brutality that this seemingly gentle man could administer was mentioned,
made BIAD focus more.
Neno would be an asset to BIAD's journey.

When Nenothu revealed that his name was wasn't such, but a job title,
BIAD tilted his head in confusion and reminded himself to ask further
down the path what to call his new friend.
This 'Penelope' ship was interesting too, maybe that was the way off
this ball as the amulet may now be nothing more than a memory-bauble.
BIAD had a lot of thinking to do ahead and when 'Neno' or now, the man
who was unconsciously scratching his back, seemed to finish his talk, BIAD
whispered softly, that what he'd been told would never leave this campsite.

Neno nodded and picked up a Staver pea, the low flames watched the pair
sit in silence for a few moments. BIAD chewed his lip and Neno chewed his
breakfast.

BIAD stood up, keeping his skirt hem down and sighed.
"Well, I think it would be a good idea if we get going..." he said and looked
out onto the grasslands, "... we've got a bit of hiking to do and I think our
future lies out there, somewhere" BIAD finished, but his tone didn't sound
convincing.

"Come Sir, our fortunes lie ahead" the man/girl said with his hands on his hips
and the Tree of Woes, the encounter at the stream and the dead body of the
bounty hunter lay behind them.
Neno grunted as he got to his feet and showed his lop-sided smile "This is
gonna be interesting" he said to himself.

'Dag, is that you?' Adam tried to lift his hands to wipe the fog from his eyes but his hands wouldn't respond.

A bright light shown in Adam's eyes making his head feel as if it would crack in two, his lips opened, he tasted blood.

The light flashed again, this time so bright it was almost audible.

Faces moved above Adam but his lack of focus made him unsure if Dag belonged to one of them.
Wait, now he remembered. The youth... The last time He'd seen the face of young Dag... Adam recoiled as if he'd been struck. The last time he's seen Dag... But no, he wouldn't think about that right now. He couldn't.

Adam's ship was downed. Of that he was sure. The pain in his legs and spine told him he'd not only crashed, but hard.

Lights flashed again and Adam groaned. Yes, something in his head was broke, he was sure of it. But not as broke as Da...

Dag. Dag was gone he remembered and groaned again.

The voices around him grew excited as Adam came closer to the surface of consciousness. Hands pushed and pulled at his flight suit causing him more pain. Adam tried to tell them to look for Dag, help Dag, but the words never got farther than his hopes.

'He was just a boy...' Adam's groans became words, the voices around him grew louder, but Adam couldn't make out their meaning.

Desperately wanting to fall back into the nothingness of unconsciousness still Adam struggled as the figures around him pulled him from the wrecked Ship.

Removing his protective suit caused him a pain so intense Adam he was given his wish and tumbled backwards to join with the darkness once again.

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The afternoon breeze formed waves across the prairie grass as
Nenothtu and the Boy In A Dress made their way towards the hulking
grey shapes of stone.
As BIAD had pondered Neno's words regarding Earth's destruction,
Neno had spotted the dark megaliths on the horizon. BIAD whistled
through his teeth, as he wondered what Corona -New Mexico looked like
at the last moment of it's existence.

The man/girl's birthplace had become an institute for DNA experimentation
after BIAD's creator -Charles Shaw had been celebrated within scientific
circles.
As the Military became increasingly more interested in the hermaphrodite's
abilities, BIAD had been moved from army base to army base, but for a
few years, the young BIAD had been fortunate to have a few years of
peace and quiet in the sleepy South-Western desert.

"Well, I can't see anything" Jenkins said softly and peered over his dusty
spectacles at the eyeless wonder. The warm wind slowly pushed the yellow
leaves around in a circle near the laboratory's back door and also seemed
to wait for BIAD's response.
The hermaphrodite's wig fluttered and the coal-black strands looked like
static electricity was surging through them. "So you can't hear the singing
or see the spaces?" BIAD asked and scrutinised the Janitor's face for the truth.

Jenkins folded his newspaper, sighed and placed it back into his
satchel.
His dinner break was usually quiet and he had been deep in thought
regarding whether a wager on the Yankees to win the series for a
fifth time was worth it,
but the kid wanted to play... so we'll play.

1953 and the young Boy In A Dress had grown alarmingly since
his first days out of the tank. The grinning eyeless wonder stood
six feet and unknown to anyone, BIAD had actually heard himself
grow during the night, it was his very first secret to be kept.

Many secrets had passed since then, including Neno's and as the
aromatic smell of Bollow dung wafted into BIAD's nostrils, he surveyed
the distant circle of stones. The man/girl smiled and remembered his
second secret.

"There...? did you see it?" BIAD said and prepared to bang the stones
together again. Jenkins scratched his chin and focused on the young
BIAD's long-nailed hands. "Do it again and this time tell me what I'm
looking for" Jenkins said and leaned closer.

BIAD turned his wig-wrapped head back to the two chunks of Mica and
held his breath. The two stones glittered in the afternoon sun and to
BIAD they showed worlds within worlds, to Jenkins -they were just
junk rocks.

'Clack' the stones hit and BIAD watched Jenkins's face for a response,
the afternoon ticked along quietly. The balding Brit shook his head slowly,
"sorry son, I don't see anything... " Jenkins smiled weakly "... yon rocks
are well... just rocks!" BIAD frowned and looked down into the compound
dirt.

Jenkins finished his tea from his thermos flask and brushed crumbs
from his overalls. "Well -BIAD, I've got the toilet to re-grout and that
cistern is acting up again..." Jenkins grunted as he stood up from his
regular seat near the water barrel, "... Dr. Shaw will be back tomorrow
from the visit with that Dr. Salk-fellow, so I'd better get on"

The shambling figure of Jenkins moved off and BIAD was left kneeling
on the desert floor with two pieces of stone. The wind blew the little yellow
leaves through the compound fence and out towards the Roswell road.

BIAD hummed to himself as he turned the stones over in his hands,
Ray Charles's new song 'Mess-Around' hissed from BIAD's lips and then
something wonderful happened.

As BIAD slowly scratched his long blood-red fingernail down the face of
one of the Mica rocks, on the other side of the world, a certain gent
called Edmund Hillary struck a metal spike into the summit of Mount Everest,
and at that precise moment, BIAD slipped away through the Mica shards
and into a new world.
Secret Two.

He came back precisely 38 minutes later and as BIAD lay panting in
the afternoon sun, he finally knew why he was here.
Secret Three.

The Military, Charles Shaw, Jenkins... nobody ever knew that the man/girl
had ever left the facilities and he would only manage to do it one more
time while his Creator was alive.

Nenothu watched the hermaphrodite wool-gathering and wondered what
was actually going on in that wig-shrouded head. "It's a Henge -my friend,
what do we do now?" he called across to BIAD.
The circle of stones seemed to lean closer together as if to discuss these
two strangers on the grasslands.

BIAD shook his head and the memories danced away across the Witch
Straw and Sawgrass. "This may get us somewhere..."BIAD chewed his
bottom lip nervously "... I'm just not quite sure where"

Brandishing his long nails, BIAD stepped towards the hulking stones.

[edit on 4-9-2010 by A boy in a dress]

"Carpet!!!' CARRRRRRRPET!!! Chumley bellowed as he ran the corridor from the command deck heading in the direction of Silo's quarters.

'I'm right here you great oaf! Stop!' Bunched up next to the wall trying gamely to avoid Chumley's massive feet and dragging tail Carpet shook himself out only after the panting Regellian came to a complete stop.

Gasping, unable to catch his wind words were beyond the great being, cheeks flushed in a ghastly green, sweat pouring and dripping from every bloated pore. Panting, his tentacles clasp to his chest Chumley's face registered a mirror of horrific emotions before he could speak again. Carpet waited patiently knowing if he tried to rush the agitated Chumley it would only make things worse.

'It's her...' Panting and swallowing he tried again. 'It's Silo.' He finally made out.

'WHAT! Why didn't you say so you big idiot! Where is she! What's wrong!' Carpet bristled, his nap shivering like a maddened porcupine.

'One minute... Just a sec...' Laboring under the strain and stress, along with at least a hundred kilos of excess weight the Regellian pushed both tentacles against his sternum hoping to speak.

'Her Sprint. It's... It's activated... A DISTRESS SIGNAL!' Emotion won and Chumley sank to the floor in a rubbery heap, great tears rolling from his eyes adding to his dripping mess.

'If you wouldn't go running about like a addle-brained idiot! You..!' Carpet cut his insults and headed for Deson. He had no time to deal with a overwrought Chumley and getting mad at him wouldn't help anyone.

Within moments Carpet found the Armsman Deson leaving his workroom and positioned himself effectively blocking the path forward.

'Hello Carpet, nice to see you've joined the land of the living.' Deson smiled wiping his spotless hands on a pristine work rag knowing his insult would stick, as he'd meant it to. Carpet had been holed up in Silo's quarters since her disappearance and for reasons unknown it had Deson at odd ends with the Milli-Being.

'Where is she.' Carpet's cold rejoined surprised Deson, but only momentarily.

'If you'd be so kind as to remove your...bunch...from my path I believe we can discus this on the way to the command deck.' Deson raised a foreleg and held it still waiting for Carpet to move. He did not.

'I asked, where is she?' Pulling his complete mass together took Herculean effort, but Carpet did, and now risen to chest high to the Armor he presented himself a force immobile.

'Why what's this? Have you grown a backbone Carpet?' Angered beyond understanding at the Milli-Beings obstinacy Deson gave in to an emotion he rarely visited. Anger.

'Save your braying Deson it 'dus-na' impress me.' Carpet's imitation of the Armors baroque perfect.

His eyes nearly rolling in his head Deson lowered his hoof in a stamp sending shock waves across the floor that shivered up through Carpet's fibers, but he remained firm.

'Where-is-SHE? Carpet stormed, never feeling at impotence as he did at that very moment. He wanted to take the Armor by his throat and thrash him until...

'Stand down.' Came Ship's voice. Her essence like an invisible wall came between the two creating a barrier between two who were closer than ever to engaging in battle.

'Gentleman.' Ship said coolly, waiting for the tension to ease from the air. It took a matter of moments, but finally Deson's nostrils stopped flaring, Carpet's nap lay back smoothly and the two visibly relaxed.

'Gather up Chumley before he completely dehydrates and the three of you meet me in on the command deck.' 'Pronto.'

Feeling the absence of her being leave the area Carpet, without another thought to Deson paved the corridor back to Chumley, commanded him to follow and didn't wait for either the Armor or the Regellian before laying fiber to the command deck. Before he even made his way across the threshold he began questioning.

'Ship, please. Where is she. No ones said a word in all this time she's been gone. I can't help but think there's a...'

'Problem. Yes, I agree Carpet.' Ship finished for him. 'And problem number one is she's taken off her Green Man.' Ship's voice betrayed none of the desolation she felt, having been so removed from Silo's life, but the desolation was a great empty void in the center of herself. An emptiness she could only explain in quiet moments as being if she'd lost a child.

Carpet, unable to fathom what he'd just heard remained still, and quiet. In all actuality he couldn't believe what he'd heard. It was as if the world as he knew it had just come to and end.

'She's gone.' Chumley sputtered as he floundered his way onto the deck and into the Head Security Officers chair.

Deson, following, remained quiet, regretting for a moment the pain felt by the others, but not regretting it so much he gave up his personal information to put them at ease. He'd been driven into a corner by events and that's where he'd stay.

'Chumley, you say she's gone. I've scanned recent Ship's departures and you're correct, a small Sprint was taken without clearance from Deson's flight deck.

A slight stain spread across the Armor's squared cheeks, he hoped it would be interpreted as his embarrassment in lack of security of one of his vessels.

'Deson, what have you to say for yourself?' Ship continued.

'Well Mam, as it is true one of my Sprints is missing, it's also true I'd just installed a training program in her, so, there's a chance Mam she's off doing some in-flight precision tuning of the program...'

Cutting him off Ship asked coldly, 'When was the last time one of your vehicles 'got away' form you Deson?'

Left with no choice, he had to answer.

'Never Mam.' A slight tremor rippled along his back like a fly had landed atop his shinning coat.

'Never?' Ship countered.

'No Man. Not until now.' The ripple spread to his side and it was al he could do not to swish his tail.

'So Chumley.' Her attention turned to her Security Officer. 'What can you tell us now?' Ship had completely dismissed Deson and his, as she knew them to be, half truths. Oh his species couldn't lie, but they could bend the truth nearly in two.

'Mam, a newly engaged distress beacon from the missing Sprint is broadcasting an emergency alert. It's her. I know it's her. And she's in trouble. She's crashed, she's...' A sob broke from the big Regellian leaving him unable to continue..

'Chumley. The distress signal has been received. This means we can track it, as I presume you're doing.'

'Yes Mam!' Chumley squared his shoulders knowing at once he'd done something right. 'We're tracking the Sprint right now!' Punching buttons with the tip of his tentacle Chumley called up the Sprint on radar visible to all on the wide view screen at the front of the deck. A glow of hope that hadn't been there moments before warmed Chumley's whole face somehow making him more pitiable than before.

'So, if the beacon is moving we can assume she didn't crash. Especially since there's no planets or stars to crash into within range.' Ship sighed tying the obvious information together for Chumley. 'Now, did you check for signs of life on the craft?' Knowing already he had not Ship hated asking, but...but to her surprise Deson answered.

'Mam, that little Sprite wouldn't give up her cargo no matter if it was live or dead.'

At the word 'dead' Chumley began to howl and Carpet paled to a translucency that nearly made him invisible.

'Explain! Ship commanded, clearly at the end of her patience with his double talk.

'Mam', Deson said slowly, 'The little Sprint is designed for stealth. That she's activated a distress beacon? It must be something Silo took aboard with her. The Sprint is protected from being followed, it's occupancy from being monitored. As a rule...'

'So we don't know if she's alive or dead, or even on the Sprint!' Ship let her anger slip through, not against her will.

'Yes Mam, I mean no Mam, we do not'. Extraordinarily uncomfortable with the stream of the conversation he locked his knees in order not to shuffle.

'Chumley, go after her. Now. Take whatever rig Deson believes will suit best.' At Chumley's whoop of joy Ship returned her attention to Deson. 'Armor, outfit Chumley then remain at your post to monitor all communications. And Deson, you're on Ship's arrest.'

Clearly not expecting the nasty turn of events Deson, stunned and out of voice blinked, and blinked again.

'Carpet, meet me in Silo's quarters. It's time we had a talk.' Orders given, action to be taken, Ship felt better for having made them, but, had another question before she was through with the Armor.

'And Deson, before you go...' Ship waited for the other two to leave before she went on. Enjoying the Armor's obvious discomfiture she waited another hands-breadth of moments before asking what she was sure he guessed she would. 'What do you know of Silo removing her communications necklace?'

Though she had no eyes to glare at him Deson felt her intent penetrating him to his very soul, but that she'd not used the name 'Green Man' gave him the 'out' he needed.

'I know nothing of her communications removal' Deson replied calmly, his head bobbing once as he stared intently at the 'blip' the Sprint made on radar at the front of the room.

'So that's how it's going to be is it?' Ship said almost to herself. Deson took her words as a queue and headed to his post.

Ship, knowing she hadn't been told the whole story knew enough about Deson to be sure it was all he was going to tell and let him go. Just before she transferred her energy to Silo's quarters where Carpet waited Ship gave a short prayer in hopes Silo, wherever she was hiding, was well.

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Nenothtu watched the man/girl as he circled each stone and wondered
what the high heel-wearing creature was doing. Every so often, BIAD
would tilt his head to the side as if he was listening for something, but all
Neno could hear was the swish of the prairie grass moving in the light
breeze.

"You think these things can help us?" Neno called and saw an imperceptible
nod from the hermaphrodite. The blood-red nails on BIAD's hands caressed
each grey hulk as if he was looking for a weakness, a flaw to use as a hand hold.

Neno eyed a large pile of Bollow dung balefully as he waited for the Boy In A
Dress to finish his examinations.

Then it happened.

As BIAD scratched a lump of quartz that protruded from one of the megaliths,
a sudden feeling in Neno's solar plexus area was felt and then the darkness
came.
One second -the two wanderers were stood on a green prairie, the next they
floated in total blackness.
BIAD called out Neno's name to ease any concerns that his new-found friend
may have... BIAD had been here before and knew what was to come.
Neno was surprisingly nonchalant and called back in an easy tone "I'm here"
The two awaited the 'rush'

When it hits you, it's like waking up on a racing rollercoaster and the roar
of sound BIAD realised ,were the sounds in 'normal time' all laid together and
passing your position. The bright lights were similar, events -big, small and
seemingly unimportant, all flashed by in a parade of glows and colourful splutters.

Nenothtu watched in awe as scenes of his life and images that he's never even
dreamed of -flooded around him and in the glow of all this -to his left, was BIAD
making a swimming motion and looking ridiculous.

BIAD's legs frog-legged and his arms flapped, but the man/girl merely turned
upside down and it took all of Neno's discipline to turn away as BIAD's skirt
hem failed to it's task.

The whole event took thirty-eight minutes in human time, but from Neno's
perception, the whole event took around thirty seconds.
When the images started to dull and flash into darkness, Neno guessed the
ride was over and he and the cavorting wig-wearer to his left, would be landing
in a new place and probably in a new time.
Neno steeled himself.

Neno suddenly appeared in an eerie green light and the first sounds were of
woodland animals and birds... the glade he stood in seemed peaceful and yet
he quickly scanned the area for any danger.
A Bellbird cracked it's loud call across the tree canopy and Neno spun around
at the cry. There was no sign of BIAD.

After looking around and assessing his immediate surroundings, nenothtu looked himself over. "'Least I ain't nekkid this time" he mumbled to himself - or no one in particular, since that's all that was around him at the moment. BIAD was nowhere to be seen. Neno still had all the equipment he'd collected in his previous "wherever", and he sought to make some sort of sense of THIS "wherever".

He had seen scenes if his life flashing during the kaleidoscopic trip he'd just endured, as well as scenes of other... things... that he just couldn't decipher. "I'm dead. Again." he mused. Wasn't that what it usually meant to see your life flash before your eyes? Yet here... wherever HERE was, didn't look like the hell he expected at the end of the line - and it certainly wasn't Margot's dark, misty meeting place - so where was "here"? Far from being hellish, it looked rather... pleasant. "Naw, THAT ain't it" he muttered, and dismissed the thought.

His natural suspicion overrode the perception of a nominally pleasant place that appeared before him. There just HAD to be dangerous stuff about. That was a given. Appearances are usually deceiving, and he had no doubt that would be the case here. Nenothtu was a natural-born cynic. It didn't help matters that everywhere he'd ever been that looked like this had tried to kill him at some point. He didn't even pause to think that almost everywhere he'd ever been that DIDN'T look like this had also tried to kill him at some point.

He stood in the middle of a glade in a tangle of forest, a riot of life all around and seemingly unconcerned with his own sudden appearance. That was another cause for concern. Normal forests, on just about every planet, immediately STOPPED everything when the unexpected suddenly happened, until the forest had cataloged the occurrence as dangerous or harmless, and took appropriate action based upon that determination. This one didn't. It seemed not to notice at all.

Sunlight filtered through the overhead canopy, casting a greenish tinge all around as the light forced it's way through the treetop vegetation. Nenothtu looked up, but even though he was in a glade, a clearing in the forest, he couldn't see sky. All he saw was more canopy.

Dammit. Nothing to take bearings with. Not that it really mattered, since he still didn't know where he was, or where he was going, and so really had no course to determine. It was just annoying to him... that's all, just plain annoying. Furthermore, where in the devil was BIAD? He'd seen his newfound friend doing some kind of crazy dance in the groundless state they'd found themselves in, amongst all the lights, flashing scenes, and thunderous roaring. Couldn't figure THAT out, unless it were some sort of ritual dance nenothtu wasn't familiar with - and there weren't many he WAS familiar with, beyond the fact that some existed. Then again, maybe BIAD had been somehow "steering". If that was the case, there was no telling where or when he might be, and neno might never find him amongst all the possible wheres and whens of existence in the whole of the universe and all of time.

Neno was double-lost now. Might NEVER find his way back to his own place. The next best thing was to always make wherever you happened to be your own. He was equipped as well as he had been, and still had a half-parcel of breakfast, so there were really no pressing survival issues to look after. He had no particular place to be at the moment, and no idea how to get there, but the rest of his life for the journey.

He decided the most pressing thing at the moment was to find BIAD. To that end, he decided to thrash a search pattern out in the thick vegetation, and just stick with it until necessity forced him to do otherwise.

He started walking in an ever-widening spiral, and searching. He could always switch to a box pattern later if he needed to.

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"You're alone again" the voice said and BIAD attempted to make out who
the shape was. After the ride through space and time... at least, that's what
the Boy In A Dress thought it was... the light show and the rushing sounds
had given way to a dark slowly-rotating tunnel with an ominous gloom
ahead. BIAD had flapped his way into this half-lit abyss and now presumably,
lay at the bottom of it.
Sparks of orange skittered and puffed about the tubular wall of the tunnel
and sometimes a small woeful cry could be heard far off, BIAD straightened
his dress as he rose to stand.

The voice came again.
"You're alone and you've lost your way" the grey shape said from across the
circular room. BIAD tilted his head and waited. The surrounding wall continued
to turn slowly and BIAD could hear a low grinding noise of stone-on-stone as
it rotated, the sparks spluttered and danced where the wall met the floor.
Time sat and watched.

"Your friend seems to be a practical one, a man who survives on his instincts"
The tone indicated this was said as a question, but BIAD knew another, more-
sinister tone lay beneath and he's also guessed that Death had entered his life
again.
The shape became darker and the man/girl now saw the familiar cloak and
hood of his so-called brother.
"I was trying to help that person get back to his son and hopefully, get myself
back on my mission" BIAD said lightly, the cloak slid nearer as he spoke.
"And you thought you would use this..." a skeletal hand swept the air from a
dark sleeve "... portal to get you there?" Death hissed sarcastically.
BIAD nodded and put his red-nailed hands on his hips, Death mimicked the
stance and BIAD's grin broadened... he was starting to like having a brother.

"Death...? can I ask you something?" BIAD said softly and walked past the
seven-foot shroud. The hood moved to indicate BIAD to continue and the
man/girl's brother turned to follow BIAD's passing.
"If we are brothers... how did this happen?" BIAD asked and brushed
imaginary dust from his dress. The Reaper's robe seemed to clench and
unclench for a second and BIAD guessed he's asked the wrong question.

"Your tradition has it that I -Death, roam the worlds alone taking souls to
another existence. Certain religions use my name to terrify their masses
and others see me has a negative..." Death seemed to chuckle softly
"... an evil character that gathers the lost and lonely for his own ends"
A far-off faint scream came from the wall and BIAD glanced that way, there a
small wooden chair waited.
"Sit... please and I will explain how all this.." Death raised his long bony arms
"... really is"
As the man/girl sat on the chair that should of been stacked on top of a beer
stained table somewhere in a run-down Saloon in a 19th Century Montana,
the surroundings changed.

Death and BIAD were beneath an underpass of a highway in the Earth-year
of 1934.
The chair creaked as BIAD stood to survey the landscape and the
hermaphrodite subconsciously ran his fingers through the strands of his
permo-wig as he checked out the scenery.
Death stood near the dry remains of a dead coyote and waited.

The sun was bright and yet the air was very cold, BIAD noticed the trees were
bare of leaves and he guessed winter was just starting here.
Death tapped him on the shoulder and pointed ahead.

The road was empty and except for the battered van slumped on the hard
shoulder, BIAD wondered if this was the road to Hell.
Death giggled as the thought passed him and whispered "maybe you're not
far wrong"
Then a baby's new-born cry came from the vehicle and BIAD turned to Death
and said "where are we...? what are you showing me?"

The cloaked-wrapped Death indicated for his brother to sit back down on
the chair under the bridge and to await the explanation, BIAD clicked his
high-heels as he alighted the seat.

Death folded his arms and started.
"I've brought your here to explain what reality is in it's true light and many times
I have heard some of your Creator's species touch on it's true nature.
However, they miss the heart of it... the 'reality of Reality"

BIAD peered at the hidden face of Death and wondered if Nenothu was okay.
"Yes, he's fine and making his way to his friends..." Death snapped "... now
focus on what I'm saying!"

The man/girl squirmed in the chair and remained quiet.

"Over in the van, a human child has been born that will grow up to be known
as Charles Milles Manson. Manson will become a taker of lives and here you are...
at a crossroads that could save lives of your Creator's species.
You can change time and possibly their planet's demise, you will be a fisherman
in the river of life"

BIAD's head turned to look at the dirty blue Ford, it looked like a dying dog
on the roadside. The man/girl's breath plumed from his red lips.
"So what you're saying is that I can make a difference?" BIAD asked and pulled
at the hem of his red dress.
Death sighed and looked off into the distance. "They've really confused you, nuh?"
he said in a Texan drawl and BIAD watched the shrouded figure twist and shrink,
the form changed and became a middle-aged man in dark-blue dungarees.
The balding head held a kindly face and BIAD thought he looked like the actor
from a scene in, 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid'
The name was Strother Martin.

"Does this serve better?" Death said and stroked the heavy-denim cloth. BIAD
noticed a steel ruler protruding from a leg-pocket and a large red handkerchief
sticking from the bib's pocket.

"I could take you to a time and place where you could have a say in the outcome
of your planet or even a universe, you could even effect the negation of existence...
but do you?" Death took out the red 'kerchief and honked his nose.
"I hate this kinda weather" he rasped and stuffed the cloth back in his bib.

A large crow landed on the roadside and picked at something BIAD preferred
not to think about, Death scratched his chin and began again.
"Your plan is to find your soulmate... your partner to walk the rest of your life
with... yes?" Death leaned forward and held is arms wide as an invitation to
answer. BIAD nodded and held the sides of the chair like a pupil at a school.

Death nodded back and went on. "Now I'll reveal the answer to the question
that you asked when we first met, yes... you are immortal" The Reaper shrugged
to imply 'there... I've said it' and watched for his brother's response.

BIAD beamed and leaned back on the rickety chair.
"But it's not that you are immortal, it's that you don't exist... do you understand?"
Death's voice rose with his impatience and the man/girl wondered what would
happen if death ever became angry.

"The reality that you were 'born' into -is based on matter and a certain set of
rules that govern that reality. it runs the way an animal or any creature of that
reality exists... like the way a human's body works.... nuh?"

BIAD screwed his face up and yet slowly nodded his understanding, Death
smiled tightly and sucked in a big breath.
"Your physique, your manner and your pattern of life are all determined by
the rules that you become used to... you assume that any reality is like yours,
it's a species' selfish look on the world around him or her"

BIAD stood up and watched for Death's protests, but the little man in the
work clothes seemed wrapped in his thoughts of how to explain BIAD's
existence, BIAD leaned forward to show he was listening.
Death went on.
"Your..." Death waved at the hermaphrodite at the roadside "... body and
your mind don't belong in that sort of reality, but somehow you ended up
there. Now you perceive existence the way a human does... and that's just
plain wrong -BIAD"

The sad-looking vehicle's engine started up and a black-blue smoke coughed
from it's tailpipe. The van moved off with the sound of wheezing pistons and
rubbing metal. The brothers watched it's leaving.

The old man in the bib and braces kept his eyes on the horizon as he said
softly "so how the hell are you gonna find a soulmate that fit's your requirements?"
BIAD followed his brother's gaze and saw the slight shimmer of the sunlight on
a distant lake. "I don't know, but whoever or whatever it is... it's out there
somewhere" the man/girl whispered back and patted Death's shoulder.

Death sighed and changed his form back to the cowl-wearing tall figure of
doom, BIAD grinned and looked at his nails.
Then a thought struck the eyeless man/girl and the grin became wider.
"There's nothing to say we won't find your soulma..."

The forest floor struck BIAD with enough power to make stars twirl across the
wig-wearing freak's brain and the absence of the roadside cold urged the
thought that Death had dumped him somewhere else before BIAD's sentence
could be finished.
He only hoped it was in Neno's reality, pulling his dress straight, BIAD stood up.

Nenothtu continued the spiral pattern, each turn of the twist leading inexorably farther outward. He was trying to do it quietly, so as to be alert for any sounds that might give away the position of friend or foe. The leaves slapping against him, and making scraping noises against his clothes, made that task difficult.

As he ambled along, looking this way and that, he became aware of a humming noise directly over his head - just how far he could not tell. The volume of the hum increased, as if it were getting stronger or nearer. Suddenly, without warning, the hum changed to a shriek. "Ah HELL!" nenothtu exclaimed as he dove backwards and to his left, into another clump of bushes. "I KNEW this place was gonna try to kill me!" he mumbled as he tried to make himself as small a target as possible, while maintaining observation of the area that was now shrieking.

Making himself small was a specialty of neno's. Due to some sort of genetic abnormality, or something else he had never closely examined, he could fold up his 6'2" frame into an amazingly small package to order. He had once hidden inside a container that measured no more than 18" by 18", by about 24" tall in order to escape detection by some bothersome guards.

As nenothtu watched, the shrieking area that had previously been directly over his head shimmered, solidified, and suddenly dropped an object straight to the ground, right where neno had been standing just an instant before. No, that wasn't quite right. Neno got the impression rather that the planet, or whatever sort of surface this was, had ran smack INTO the object, rather than the other way 'round. How curious.

Careful not to move, and watching the place where the object had gone to ground - or ground gone to it, as appeared more likely - nenothtu saw the "object" untangle itself, stand, and smooth down it's red dress. There stood BIAD. A wave of relief washed over neno. Curious, the kinship he felt towards this individual that he hadn't known very long at all. The search was over, but in a disconcerting way, while searching for BIAD, neno had instead been found BY BIAD. Curious how events were getting turned around counter to his initial observations. Maybe it was just a matter of perception.

Nenothtu unfolded himself and stood up out of the brush clump he had been attempting to hide in. "You alright?" he queried. After an assenting nod from BIAD, nenothtu said, with his lopsided grin, "Nice of you to drop in! You hit the ground - or it hit YOU - pretty hard. Are you SURE you're ok?" BIAD, appearing annoyed ( it was sort of hard to tell, really, what with no eyes being there to be read), nodded even more vigorously. Neno marvelled again at the resiliency of this being. That "landing" would have likely powdered a normal human, and without doubt would have broken bones. Yet here stood BIAD, apparently no worse for the wear. Not for the first time, neno wondered at the strength present in this apparently frail package.

Nenothtu stepped out of the bushes and approached BIAD, squatting on his haunches and leaning his spear against his shoulder while BIAD brushed and picked at his dress, clearing off stray bits of vegetation and leaf-mold embedded from the landing. "Hell of a way to travel, this 'magic' business, or whatever it is." he began conversationally. "I dunno how I got here, how you got here, where 'here' is, or where the last 'there' was - and all of it on someone else's dime." Neno snorted. "Folks ought not to presume to tell me after this that the gods don't have a twisted sense of humor - even the gods themselves won't convince me of that now." BIAD just looked at nenothtu quizzically, but not knowing just what the question was, neno let it pass.

Neno stood, and stretched his legs back out. "Soon as you get yerself rearranged, I 'spect we ought to move along. I don't rightly know where to move TO, but I do know that a moving target is harder to hit. From here, one direction looks as good as any other, unless you got other ideas."

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Nenothtu stood like a Knight in shining armour in front of BIAD and
a sudden wave of tear-jerking happiness washed over the man/girl.
Picking the vegetation from his dirty red dress... although BIAD could
already see the garment cleaning itself... BIAD looked up at the man that
had found him again.
"Nice of you to drop in! You hit the ground - or it hit YOU - pretty hard.
Are you SURE you're ok?" Neno asked and as BIAD was just about to
answer, the hermaphrodite saw the looming shadow behind Neno.

Death raised his finger to, what BIAD would assume were, mummified lips
under the hood and the words softly wafted through BIAD's mind.
"Not a word now, brother... or the game is over" hissed in BIAD's brain
and a quick wig-shaking nod told Death and Neno that all was well.

Neno hunkered down while BIAD busied himself with his apparel and
commented on their previous travel arrangements, BIAD glanced over
Neno's shoulder and past the make-shift spear... Death had gone.

The two odd-looking partners set off through the undergrowth and
BIAD could tell that this forest was different from the previous one.
By the look of some of the plants, they were nearer a sun or something
that created a lot of light and heat.
BIAD mused over his brother's explanation of reality and knew somewhere
in his heart, that explanation would be unfurled further.
But for know, he was back with this tall killing-machine and they had tasks
to perform ahead.
What those tasks were... BIAD could only guess at.
Neno picked up the pace and the high-heeled creature beside him kept up.

The jungle sounds implied that Neno and BIAD were the only two 'non-
animals' in the area , yet BIAD could see Nenothtu's eyes scanning every
shadowed area and every clump of vegetation.
"There's something man-made ahead" BIAD muttered after an hour of walking.
The hermaphrodite had glimpsed a vague shape of a structure twice and his
hair felt as if it was tingling again.
The 'tingling' had happened before and BIAD assumed it was some kind of
warning device that his Creator had installed, now with the revelation that his
nearest kin was the Reaper, he wasn't so sure.
BIAD puckered his lips as if he was sucking a lemon and swept the thoughts
from his mind.
Neno had nodded at BIAD's announcement and that told the man/girl that his
friend had spotted it too.
Their pace quickened.

The metal tower must have been a thousand feet high and BIAD could see
clouds splitting to continue their journey. The structure seemed to hold the
sky up and both Neno and BIAD stopped to gaze at the huge object.
The beams that crisscrossed to make the tower -shimmered like silver as the
late afternoon sun's rays bathed the metal and the large grey base that held
the structure.
Underneath the giant 'pylon' were several huts and though, our two wanderers
were nearly half-a-mile away, BIAD could make out figures moving from building
to building.
Nenothtu's lop-sided grin showed again and he said softly " Yer' know BIAD,
one day we'll catch a break... but I'm not sure if this is one" BIAD smiled up
at his friend and whispered "we'll make our breaks"
Neno's highbrows lifted at the profound statement as the wig-toting man/girl
stepped forward towards the compound.
Neno smiled broadly too and followed his little strange friend.

Moving through the brushy undergrowth, nenothtu just couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, although the forest reported otherwise to him. The buzz and hum of life resident within the forest carried on as if nothing were amiss, blending together to create it's own overtones... the very sound of the living forest itself, more than the million individual parts of it. The forest itself was alive, and parcelled out of itself to every living thing within it. It was like a co-dependent dance of energy. The forest itself was nothing without the life that made it "be", and likewise the life within was nothing without the forest that allowed IT to "be".

It was that odd, indefinable relationship of all within the forest that neno tapped into as his early warning system, normally. The environment "spoke" to him, keeping him abreast of developments and activity within, and "told" him when something was out of place. It wasn't a conscious action on his part - he just unconsciously "plugged in" to the forest, and the subconscious of the forest connected with his.

That subconsciousness now told him that nothing was amiss, yet he continued to feel something watching over his shoulder. It was annoying, but nothing he could poke a stick at. What bothered him the most was that he had had that "feeling" on many a battlefield, but it was ALWAYS on a battlefield he'd felt it, ALWAYS when danger was about, yet the forest itself told him that was not the case here. It was disconcerting, a reception of mixed signals neither of which he had any conscious knowledge of. He chalked it up to nerves, and moved onward, but was helpless to stop himself from trying to look everywhere at once. It had become ingrained habit to do so.

After about an hour of picking their way through the undergrowth, into a forest whose canopy was sparser, the treetops lower to the ground, BIAD noticed something and brought it to nenothtu's attention. Preoccupied as he was with the immediate surroundings, he had failed to notice the huge, hulking structure that BIAD now pointed out to him. Masking his surprise as well as he could, neno paused an instant to survey what of it he could see, and nodded. He got a vague feeling of unease from the structure, adding to the already present unrest he had been feeling previously.

That might be the very source of the uneasy feeling he'd been having - or his reaction might have been the product of suddenly finding an unnatural structure smack dab in the middle of a riot of nature. Either way, nenothtu knew he'd not be able to rest until he'd checked the structure out, and categorized it as friend, foe, or neutral - much the same as the forest itself had categorized HIM upon his sudden appearance here.

He stepped up the pace, heading straight for the structure. If there were any danger there, he wanted to get it dealt with and behind them. When they had approached to within a half mile of the structure, it revealed itself to be a metal tower. A HUGE metal tower, reaching into the very clouds. Literally reaching into the clouds. Wispy puffs of water vapor parted to pass it, and came together again on the far side in their journey to nowhere. It appeared metallic, made of some grayish metal, but showed not a bit of rust. Instead, it was covered on every visible surface with a light gray patina that bespoke great antiquity. It shone dully like the moonbeams that leap from antiqued silver.

At it's base, yet another structure, separate from it but integral to it, like a base holding it up and buttressing it against the vagaries of weather, was composed of a different substance of a darker, duller gray. Nenothtu couldn't tell from here whether it was stone or metal, but it appeared old, whichever it was. Surrounding this base were several smaller structures, huts of sorts, with here and there a tiny figure going from one to another. It wasn't quite a village, yet not quite NOT a village. Guardians of the tower? Unrelated folks who just happened to think this a good place to settle? No way of knowing, without going there to find out. In any event, nenothtu wouldn't be able to investigate the tower without going through the "village".

" Yer' know BIAD, one day we'll catch a break... but I'm not sure if this is one" neno said.

Almost without pause, BIAD grinned up at him and replied "we'll make our breaks", which took neno aback a bit. His dear old dad back in Vandalia had told him the same thing, in nearly the same words, many a time. Some truths were universal, and that one couldn't be denied. Nenothtu wasn't entirely happy with some of the breaks he'd made for himself, but couldn't deny that he was the one who had made them. The sole new qualifier there was "we". Not a very large team, by any means, but a team nonetheless. With that single, short, two letter word, a partnership was confirmed.

Just as a giant oak tree grows from a tiny acorn, some of the largest, most momentous events in human history have been born of a small, insignificant seed.

BIAD took the lead, heading straight for the compound, and without further discussion, nenothtu fell in behind him. Neno mused to himself that any being who could be struck by an entire planet and walk away from the collision might be a good one to hide behind, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He just wasn't geared right for the human shield stratagem. No, he might not be leading at the moment, but he wouldn't be lagging, either, where the rubber meets the road. As a matter of fact, he had the distinct impression that, whomever was walking to the fore, neither was leading in this enterprise. He shrugged ever so slightly, and allowed as how that was just the way partnerships work. It was new territory for nenothtu.

After they had progressed just a few dozen yards, and as they were walking under a cliff, neno heard a faint noise overhead, almost imperceptible. Shooting a glance towards it, he was shocked to see a beast there at the top, watching them. No, it was more than watching - it was sizing them up. There appeared to be an intelligence behind the eyes of the beast that wasn't in keeping with it's horrific, savage appearance.

It appeared vaguely cat-like in general proportion, but had a canine-like head with a longer muzzle than a cat, and larger ears. four large canine teeth protruded from the muzzle of the beast, two upper and two lower that, while not exactly saber-teeth, were huge. Neno figured they were 3 or 4 inches long each, top and bottom. When the creature snarled it's lips back, the incisor teeth looked more like razors that incisors. It was covered in what appeared to be green fur, with black stripes something like a tiger, but not as fine-grained. Overall, from what he could see, he estimated the entire body to be about 6 or 7 feet long, but it looked like all teeth from the vantage point of the prey.

The prey. that would be them, at the moment.

"BIAD! Freeze! But be ready to bolt..." neno hissed. He knew without a doubt that turning their backs on this thing would be a fatal mistake. He gripped his spear a bit tighter, wishing for all the world that he had a plasma rifle instead. Just then, he recalled the pistol he'd liberated from the bounty hunter, which was at that moment at the small of his back. His attention focused entirely on the creature, neno lost track of what BIAD was doing. Slowly, neno started to edge his hand behind him to snatch the pistol out, and wouldn't you know it, the motion caught the undivided attention of the intelligent appearing denizen of the cliff. You could see it reach a decision in it's eyes, and in that instant it leaped.

The next few seconds were a blur.

Nenothtu found the gun in his hand, rather unexpectedly, and firing at the blur that was the leaping beast. At the same time, in his peripheral vision, ANOTHER blur shot around from the direction where BIAD had been, also making a beeline for the leaping creature. Neno had no idea what it was, and didn't really have time at the moment to muse about it. SOMETHING happened, and in the instant it took for the beast to leap from the clifftop and hit the ground on their path, it was all over.

The creature lay there, as dead as dead gets. It had 3 smoking holes in it, but the really puzzling thing was that it was sliced to ribbons. The thing looked like it had passed through a cheese grater on the way down. It was too dead to even twitch.

In the deafening silence of the aftermath, and curious as to what had happened, neno scanned the bushes for any sign of what had wrought such destruction but found nothing. He started to turn and check on BIAD when he heard a faint sound coming from the cliff, a faint, almost mewling, sound. Snapping his head back to look for BIAD, he found BIAD standing there, completely unruffled considering what had just happened (what HAD just happened? he mused to himself) and looking for all the world like a cat who had just swallowed a canary. Nonplussed, but lifting an eyebrow, neno turned back to the cliff and the faint sound to keep from asking any intrusive questions.

Edging up the cliff towards the sound, nenothtu found it in a recess about half way up. There, in the midst of what appeared to be a nest composed of various bits of fur and bones, sat a miniature copy of the beast that had just been dispatched.

Dammit. They'd just killed a mother defending her young.

Neno considered the miniature killer, who regarded him right back, without any apparent fear. If they left it here, it was sure to die a agonizing death of starvation. He'd have to either kill it to spare it that misery, or take it with them. Considering the options, his conscience got the better of the argument. This thing's mother had just been killed, and he'd had a hand in that. Neno decided that he bore some sort of responsibility for this little eating machine, and, heaving a sigh, took off his jacket.

The "cub" (neno decided on the spur of the moment that it was a "cub", and not a "kitten") regarded him with a curious gaze and didn't cut up much of a fuss.

Until the jacket enveloped it.

Suddenly the cub became a fighting, slashing, snarling bundle of energy, but it was too late. Neno had it all wrapped up. Momentarily it calmed down, perhaps resigning itself to fate, perhaps realizing that it hadn't been eaten yet, and neno tucked the bundle inside his shirt and went back down the cliff.

Approaching BIAD rather sheepishly, nenothtu said "I found another eatin' machine up there." Pulling out the bundle and uncovering it's head, he continued "I reckon we've got a pet to keep up now" but regarding the intelligent gaze in the eyes of the cub, he added "a pet... or... something."

The cub just snuggled into the jacket and said nothing.

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'A kitten with teeth of a Kansas Cougar... that's what poked it's
furry head from Nenothtu's jacket... a damned kitten' -thought BIAD.

The man/girl tilted his head as Neno muttered "I reckon we've got
a pet to keep up now" and displayed the newly orphaned cub.
BIAD thought it prudent not to mention what his wig had just done
to it's mother and shuffled his high heels in the dust.

One second the thing with fur-and-fangs was leaping to possibly
slay the two of them... (although BIAD wondered what the animal
would do when it came across him!)... and next Neno's gun had
found it's target.
But BIAD's hair had done it's defensive duties during the assault
and attempted to make paper dolls with the poor creature's hide.

The hermaphrodite stood looking sheepish as Neno bundled the
cub back into his shirt and surveyed the tower again. "Should we
press on?" BIAD said softly with his hands behind his back and
waited for Neno's lead.

The man/girl could see the high fence now, it surrounded the area
and seem to flash and splutter in the late-afternoon. Neno's eyes
showed a plan forming and BIAD knew that his friend was better
at this sort of work than himself.

A small flock of BambleWings flew over dropping fleeting shadows
on the two travellers and the hermaphrodite watched their flight
towards the looming grey tower.
"The people who run that place...?" Nenothtu said, "... you think
they'll take to us askin' for a ride of the planet?" The tall man with
the spear glanced at his friend and wondered what was going on
under that ridiculous hair-do.

BIAD rubbed his chin and heard the faint rasp of whiskers, he put
his hand down quickly and cleared his throat.
"I think the only way to know is to ask" the man/girl responded and
Neno's highbrow showed his thoughts regarding the lame answer.

We'll move, but I need you to keep to the left of me... from here to that
tree -yonder" Neno said and pointed at a twisted Cother that rested in
the shadow of the cliff.
BIAD nodded, but Neno wondered if the man in the red dress knew what
Neno was up to. If there was any trouble, they may have to fall back and
Nenothtu knew enough about warfare that retreat was done in stages or
'flaps' That way, you get to take out the some of the enemy as they follow.

Neno and BIAD walked towards the huge tower and from inside his friend's
jacket, BIAD heard the faint snoring of a sleeping cat.
BIAD smiled tightly and wondered who else was to join their merry band.

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The grey tower loomed as the two wanderers neared the compound.
The sizzling fences hummed and hissed as a faint breeze caught the sound and brough
it to BIAD's ears. The figures that had scampered about the place, now were gone and
Neno pondered whether the commotion with the beast on the cliff had alerted them.
"Do you think they'll let us in?" BIAD hissed from the side of his mouth and Nenothtu
merely grunted, the man/girl guessed the man with snoozing killer-cub in his shirt didn't
worry about being denied entry to places.

Neno saw the gate and the dark-grey console bolted to the centre of it, the famous lop-sided grin
shone and he stepped from the jungle undergrowth onto a gravel path.
"Let's see what this damn place is gonna throw at us this time" Neno whispered to himself and
peered at the many buttons on the front of the metallic box. BIAD stood beside his friend and
wondered what the puzzle may be.
Nenothu made a low sound as if he was concentrating and BIAD looked from his high heels up to
his friend's furrowed brow. A few seconds later, the spear-holding man sighed and pulled the pistol
from his gunna. Without a second galnce, Neno blew the gate open and the loud explosion of the
shot roared around the compound.

"It's always complicated work -gaining access to these places" Neno said easily and stuffed the
smoking pistol away from view, BIAD also noticed Neno glance to see what ammunition was lef
in the gun.
The hermaphrodite smiled wanly and followed Neno through the smoldering entrance, 'he doesn't
suffer fools gladly -this one' BIAD thought and scanned the open ground for danger.
The sun was racing west and the huge structure's shadow made gigantuan spiders webs across
the dusty compound, the huts looked trapped in the 'shadow mesh' Nenothtu tramped towards
the building nearest the tower and then looked up.
The off-white wispy clouds still struggled to avoid the pylon and now Neno and BIAD could see the
thin cables that were strung from the top and hung all the way down and twisted towards the
building to their left.

"You could've asked to enter here -young man" came a cracked voice and BIAD whirled towards
the building, Neno was already aiming a wicked looking knife at the small being and the sight
of the little man snatched at BIAD's breathe... dangling from the bearded dwarf's neck was a
replica of Neno's necklace.
The wizend old man smiled and then frowned at the menacing blade, "I think, my boy.... that
wouldn't be wise" the voice came again.

‘Carpet’? Silo mumbled his name around a huge yawn as the new morning light fell across her face cold and brilliant and less like the earth’s sun than similar, but the bringer of her day.

Wiping away the sleep accumulated in the corner of her eyes Silo looked out from her bed of dried grasses and leaves around the room, a room she didn’t immediately recognize.
It wasn’t her quarters on Ship that was for sure and however she might have wished Carpet wasn't any where near. If he was she’d of smelled the delicious aroma of coffee and pastries, fruit and mellow juiced wine.
Frustrated at her momentary confusion and the hollowness of hunger in her belly Silo rose slowly to her elbows. Moving her head from side to side (it was to early to raise her eye-stalks yet) the lone female took in her surroundings and grimaced slightly at what she saw.

The dwelling was small and free accoutrement other than a fire pit of stones centered in the middle of the earthen floor beneath a crack in the rocky ceiling that allowed smoke to escape and light to enter. The shape of the room was slightly triangular elongated on the point where it jutted towards the entrance and wider to the back where Silo made her bead.
Grey-green walls of polished dirt and stone lined the room, the only break a small squat opening Silo had to stoop to enter or exit through.
Drab. Utilitarian, but the only placed she’d found to get in out of the ‘wilds’ to sleep, to stay warm and dry, to keep her few necessities, to prepare and eat her meals.

Throwing a few handfuls of tinder on the coals of last nights fire Silo shivered and rubbed her upper arms with her hands as the warmth of sleep escaped her body. The twigs and leaves burst to life, popping and crackling, the heat as well as the leaping flames a welcome companion. Silo watched the shadows dance around the room her natural inclination to joy allowing her to smile despite her despair.

Munching slowly over a last bit of hoarded bread and cheese Silo washed down her mouse's breakfast with cool clear water from the nearby stream and planned her day.

Since ejecting from the little Deson Sprint and ‘crashing’ through to Ship’s center Silo, alone and lonely, found her days were best spent keeping busy doing whatever it took to survive and make her life as comfortable as possible, and not letting her thoughts roam.
Following her own advice Silo slung her backpack to her shoulder, checked her throwing knives in their pouch and began to sing her way through her chores.

Ducking out of her home Silo’s gaze was drawn to the skies as they had every other morning. And like each morning and the one before it she wondered where the little Sprint Flier was and if it’s tracking device had found it’s target yet, The Neno.
She hoped it had, that somehow the little ship could help the human escape from whatever trouble he was in but she wondered each morning if she’d ever really know.
Ever since learning of the danger Neno was in she'd worried about the man and though she hadn't felt she’d done enough to help him she was fare enough to admit she’d done all her situation allowed.
She didn‘t find comfort in the knowledge but her choices had been taken away and fate had set her path in another direction. Now her path led her under a thick canopy of trees shutting off the view of the sky and her thoughts from the human Neno.

It wasn't long until the trees grew even thicker, with grassy blankets of dirt underneath still flecked with dew and cold to her bare feet.
Walking carefully to avoid stepping on the thorny landmines Silo began to collect what she’d come for: Chestnuts.
Not only were they her favorite but luckily they grew in abundance here in the Center from the very same specimens she and CindyMars had brought back to Ship from earth.

Gathering the tough green balls with their pincushion hides together first, Silo then found a large rock to place them on and began beating them with a stick in order to release the shiny deep brown nuts from their husks. Just like CindyMars had taught her.

Something hot and gritty burned behind Silo’s eyes to settled in her throat.
Brushing tears away she cautioned herself to be more careful collecting the nuts, as if it were their many thorns and not the memory of her friend that caused her the sharp quick pain.

Backpack bulging at the seams, fingers sore and a new pain burning low at the base of her spine from bending to collect her prizes Silo rose and stretched in preparation to return ‘home’ where she’d ready the nuts for roasting. The thought of the sweet warm meat made her mouth break out in anticipation and reminded her she needed to refill her canteen before going home.

Treading nearer to the water than she normally did Silo stooped to take from the pond but instead of turning at once to go she remained staring into it’s surface until the ripples skated away leaving in their wake a perfect mirror.
Her mouth a round ‘O’ of surprise Silo’s eyed her belly and shivered.
She was getting big.
Turning sideways, smoothing her hands down her front she peered this way then that posturing to her own reflection.
A cold fear like nothing she had ever experienced raced through her causing the tips of her extremities to numb. Backing away clumsily from what she’d seen Silo fell to her knees scraping and bruising them badly but her fear shot her back to her feet sending her running for the safely of her shelter.
After dipping low to enter the home just that morning she’d despaired of Silo sighed in relief wishing, and not for the first time she had some type of door to close over the opening. Something to make her feel more secure in her drab little hideout.

Throwing a whole days ration of branches and twigs on the fire Silo built up the flame until she ran with sweat, but still she shook.

Pacing the room, 8 steps forward, 8 steps back Silo agitated and fearful faced the truth.
She was going to give birth. Here. Alone. Without her friends. And if the reflection she’d seen in the pond gave her any indication - her time for birthing would be sooner than later.

What was she going to do? Her thoughts screamed, her hands clenched and unclenched reflexively.
She wasn’t human! She cried to herself. The child growing within her wasn’t any species ever seen before with the biological input of it’s two fathers and its’ poor LAB experiment for a mother!
Oh, her body had the physical form of a female and yes, she’d seen human birth on her memory disks, the whole painful and messy process of it, but is that what it would be like for her?

Panic welled up until her mouth watered and she felt herself gag.
She had to get out of there. She didn’t care anymore about President Bransom and her threats.
What could they do that was worse than her falling into labor here, alone!
She’d call for Ship, that’s what she’d do!
Reflexively Silo’s hand grabbed at her throat in search of her lifeline to Ship. Finding her neck bare, nothing where the Green Man usually rested her hand continued up to her mouth to block a scream.

For the first time something cold and wormy twisted in her memory.
That look, something akin to triumph in Deson’s eyes when he asked her to give up her Green Man just before she boarded the Sprint to escape.
Was her fear distorting her memory or had she really seen the quick flash of rage in Deson’s eyes when she hadn’t placed the necklace in his hand? Was that it?
The truth was like a door opening to reveal a monster on the other side where she thought she’d find a friend.
Deson! He wanted the Green Man for himself and he wanted her lost here in the Center. lost to her friends just as surely as if she’d been marooned deep in one of earth’s jungles itself.

Reality settled over Silo turning her sweat cold.
What would he use her Green Man for? She wailed to herself in rage and frustration.
Why did he want her to give birth alone? To possibly die? The child to die?
For the first time Silo’s hands cradles her abdomen in a protective gesture born of love making the fine lavender hairs on the back of her neck shiver.

Oh how she longed to lower her head to her bleeding knees to cry but the voice of her survival and new found strength warned her not to.
To give in now would be to give up forever. And she couldn’t give up.
She had a child to bare, friends to go home to and Ship’s Green Man to return to where it belonged.
And more.
She had revenge to take. And to do it all, she needed to live.

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The ancient figure that stood in the doorway of the hut seemed around a thousand years old
and BIAD wondered if the beard he was sporting carried any nesting animals to eat.
The man/girl shook the thought away and waited for Neno to take point.

"I'm gonna give you a second or two to explain yourself -fella, before I trim that grizzle around
your neck" Neno hissed and he produced an evil toothy grin to drive the threat home.
The old man's round spectacles hid his eyes, but he wheezed and smiled back.
"Mr. Carpenter..." the aged stranger said "... you've come along way and we've been waiting
for you"
As he said this, he waved an arm towards the other huts and BIAD saw the heads of dwarf-like
creatures sticking out from behind each door, Neno's knife tracked the waving limb.

"My name is Tibbs and we're almost ready to send you home" Tibbs said smugly and turned
to re-enter the dusty hut. Neno blinked and stared at the bewildered Boy In A Dress... BIAD
tilted his wig-shrouded head and shrugged his shoulders.
They both followed the little man inside.

The shadow of the huge tower seemed to penetrate even here and Neno's eyes panned the
gloom and saw the five beds along the left wall. The floor seemed to be made of coloured tiles that
changed hue when one stepped on them, Neno caught BIAD testing them with his high -heeled foot
from the corner of his eye.
Tibbs waited for Nenothu's recon to finish.

The afternoon sun made the amulet that hung past Tibb's beard glitter and send off sparks of light
and BIAD could be seen smiling at the pretty show. Neno came to the point with "so what do you
do around here and how do you know my name?"
Tibbs nodded slowly as if he was content with the two men before him, "we've been monitoring you
two for quite some time now... we even know you 'felt' us...quite a gift you have -young Nenothtu"
the last words accompanied Tibbs narrowing his eyes.

Neno didn't like being called young and certainly didn't like this half-pint looking down his nose at him,
Neno pressed on. "Listen, don't give that 'sage of the ages' crap... who are you?" Neno rasped and
let his hand slowly make it's way towards the pistol. Tibbs watched on with a kind smile and his old
eyes moved from Neno's annoyed look to the man/girl stood beside Neno.

BIAD was humming while he played, the tile-lights followed his tune as he stepped out the song
he'd heard from a long time ago, it was called 'Heart and Soul' Neno watched in awe at BIAD's antics.
It wasn't until Tibbs joined in with the hermaphrodite and did 'Chopsticks' that Neno fired the gun to
stop the craziness.

The kitten didn't like the noise and leaped from Nenothtu's jacket in a ball of fur and frenzy. BIAD's
talons sprouted as he stopped the dance and Tibbs privately admired how the thing's hair became
alive at the possible danger. "Enough of this silliness" Neno hissed and went to calm the orphaned
wild cat.

The stance was of defiance from the feline, but with some uncharacteristic soft words from Neno,
the kitten was soon purring and allowed his 'new' mother to stroke it's dull-green fur.
"I aplogise for my behaviour, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to actually dance with the Devil!"
Tibbs chortled and stroked his beard in time with Neno's soothing caresses. BIAD tilted his head
again to one side as Tibbs explained the whole ball of Steffel wax.

"We're from Veth... a long-time-ago Veth and we've been travelling around fixing time and space.
That's what we are, I suppose -Time Fixers. There are happenings and events that we believe..."
Tibbs walked past Neno as he spoke and opened the hut door to show what he meant "... That's
all of us believe, shouldn't have happened"

Neno moved from one foot to the other, but the gun stayed with it's barrel pointing to the roof,
BIAD peered past Tibbs to look at the crowd that had accumulated. Twenty to thirty little males
with white beards, same spectacles and the same grey robe as Tibbs peered at back and the
man/girl heard the intake of breaths as they gazed at the eyeless creature in the red dress.
Nenothu and BIAD didn't know it, but they were looking out at mini-versions of Ernie from Cindymars
favourite General Store. "We know all about your problems and adventures Sir" Tibbs said and
grinned at Neno's wrinkled face, "I apologise again for the 'Sir'" Tibbs said with humour.

"Sasquatch was brought in to make sure that you will be safe for the next part of your quest"
Tibbs reported and pointed at the kitten that was now laying in the sunbeams from the window
cleaning itself.
Neno glanced back and the frown indicated to BIAD that he was getting lost among all this,
so the man/girl snapped "tell me me everything and leave out the smugness, you know..."
BIAD hooked a red-nailed thumb at the congregation "... and Grumpy, Doc and the rest know...
but we don't. Spill the beans or I'll call my brother!"
Neno hadn't seen this side of the hermaphrodite before and smirked to himself -mentally
applauding his friend. Tibbs continued as ordered.
"Your world is gone and we've been doing all we can to alter this reality to have it back in
this reality" Tibbs glanced at BIAD for acceptance, BAID nodded for the old man to go on.

"The loss of Earth is causing lots of problems elsewhere, too many to mention here and
we've been experimenting with a new theory... it's quite radical -actually and we've..."
BIAD lifted his hand up and whispered "stay on track, will you?" Tibbs nodded humbly and
went on.
"The structure you see outside is a gun... well, a sort-of-gun" Tibbs sniffed and stroked his
long mane. "We're going to shoot God" he announced and the crowd in the afternoonm sun
all nodded with glee.

BIAD and Neno stared at each other.

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The audience parted to let Tibbs through and far off, music wafted from some sort of tinny-sounding
machine. "Rooms on Fire by Stevie Nicks" Tibbs threw over his shoulder at BIAD and the man/girl
tapped his leg with the palm of his hand and nodded to the beat.
The many 'copied-Tibbs' smiled up at BIAD and nodded along whilst patting their robes.

Nenothu fumed inside and wished for more ammunition, this comedy could then be brought to a
halt and he could go about his way. Begrudgingly, he followed the crowd towards the base of the
tower.
The sun was resting on the horizon as the large group waited for Tibbs to go on with the plan and
the air seemed to crackle with an excitement. BIAD peered up at the gigantic structure and
wondered how long it would take to paint it and then quickly realised that he must stay focused.

Neno stood at the rear of the crowd and stroked the wild kitten under his arm, the idea that it
was called 'Sasquatch' didn't appeal to him. They all waited.

"For the benefit of our new guests and for the importance of the task ahead, I will run through the
proceedure of how we will save our friends'..." Tibbs gestured towards Nenothtu and BIAD
"... home planet" The little man stood on a small podium, presumably built for this occasion.

Neno shook his head and a smile played on his mouth, BIAD stood with his hands on his hips
and was stoic. "As we know, the reality of reality is our own perception of the universe through
any living creature's senses, dreams and belief systems.
Some civilizations look to an Omnipotent Being that judges their actions in their lives and rewards
them when their bodies die"
The group of bearded dwarves looked to each other and a signal seem to pass between them,
Neno rolled his finger to urge Tibbs to get to the point.

"A long time ago, we found that certain problems kept arising when a planet far off in our universe
was destroyed. Whether naturally or by other means, the effects were felt in all areas and
so we as a race, decided to solve the problems with the technology that lay in our hands"
Tibbs scanned the group and saw his cohorts staring back with a look of wonder on their faces,
the taller two at the rear didn't seem convinced.

Tibbs pressed on. "Using this technology to travel to an important time in the planet's history,
we have saved countless planets and their denizens. We have altered many histories and
we accomplished all this with the most honourable interests at heart"

The young cat sneezed and shook it's furry head in annoyance and Nenothtu showed his
lop-sided grin in agreement to the statement, BIAD leaned close to the kitten to see if it
was okay.
The white-haired leader of these so-called 'world saviors' raised an eyebrow over the top of his
spectacles and waited until a few moments. "During our endeavours, we discovered that as
we saved one planet, another somewhere falls into an unusual predicament and teeters
on extinction" Tibbs put his pudgy hands on his round belly and pushed on to the end
of his speech.

"After deliberation and delving into the religious and cultural aspects of the many planets
we have rescued, we uncovered a force... a stream of power that all the inhabitants believe in.
Whether it's called God or looked on as a natural phenomena, the fear that dwells within this
belief system is strong enough to make this force to actually exist within this reality"

The audience were fully enwrapped in Tibbs's articulation and Neno even saw BIAD with his
mouth hung in wonderment, Neno's strong hand gently closed the bright-red lipped maw.
This pompous display of power was tripping all Neno's anger switches, but he kept his
posture easy and relaxed-looking.

"So our plan is to extinguish that power -that force, and set a even-handed balance among
the stars and is probably the most important task that any Vethian as agreed to undertake"
Tibbs beamed across his comrades and ended with "and together we will become better
than that force and certainly, more benevolent"

BIAD heard it first, his hearing had located the song 'In A New York Minute' by The Eagles
wafting from the hut near the far end of the compound and now the man/girl could also
pick up the throbbing drone of a craft high up in the sky. Neno had seen BIAD's stance
change and thought he too, could feel a throbbing pressure through his body.

Tibbs and his entourage were so engrossed in how they were going to become Gods,
the noise of the descending craft couldn't penetrate the self-induced rapture. Tibbs held up
the metallic amulet and called preacher-like "what we will do today and with the aid of
the sister of this broach, will assure our existence for eternity"

A few lights flashed and blinked as the ship came in on auto-pilot and Neno thought that
he recognised the design. Tibbs's beard fluttered and then blew sideways as the thrusters
kicked in, the crowd pulled their robes close in the sudden rising dust.
The jets eased and Tibbs attempted to keep as shepherd to his willing sheep, his voice
rose. "So my friends, it is time to..." but the sentence never ended.

Nenothu grinned in the twilight and the shocked audience turned to see what the strangers
had done.
The craft dropped it's door behind a tall guy with a smoking pistol in his hand and a small
growling wild beast at his heel. At Neno's right, BIAD stood smiling and murmuring the
words to the long-gone Eagles tune, 'away with fairies' -is what they used to call the
look on the man/girl's face.
The voice of Nenothtu was low and cold as Tibbs fell from the raised area of where he'd been
standing, "Yer' didn't see that one coming, did yer'?" he hissed.

The Sprint Flier waited quietly for it's new passengers.

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"We're leaving now and I want all of you to think of what advantages the death of Tibbs brings
to the table" BIAD chided and recalled Neno's instructions about keeping to his left.
The kitten had been scooped up and it's fuzzy face protruded from Neno's jacket.

The group of 'mini-Tibbs' stood quietly and nobody had gone to their prone leader laid on the
dusty ground. Then one of them stepped forward and looked up at the man/girl, the dwarf's
beard stirred in the early eveing's breeze. "We wish to come with you" came the request
and BIAD saw the late-Tibb's entourage nod in unison. A passing thought of Santa Clause's
little helpers flashed through the hermaphrodite's mind and he struggled to not laugh out loud.

Nenothtu was already heading for the Sprint, he was walking with his body slightly turned in
case the dim-witted munchkins tried anything, the pistol stayed ready. BIAD had returned
fully from his woolgathering and hunkered down to speak to the Tibbs look-alike.

BIAD opened his mouth to explain how it would be impossible for all them to accompany Neno
and himself, when the assumed newly-elected leader offered "We can help you to collect the
souls -Mr. Devil and we have the ability to get into very small places"

BIAD looked over his bare shoulder for Neno, noticing his dress strap had dropped. He turned back
as he reset his attire and viewed the group of strange little time-travellers. "I'm not the Devil...
whatever you've seen or heard, I'm sorry to say you've been mislead"
BIAD's voice was gentle and he genuinely felt sorry for these lost followers.

"Come on BIAD... daylight's wastin'" Nenothu called from the craft's door and the man/girl noticed
plumes of gas seeping from the underside of the Sprint. The ship was preparing itself for take-off.
BIAD turned back to offer a farewell and saw an astounding sight. One by one, the little 'Tibbs's'
were fading and seemed to flash towards the leader, the group was already down to around ten.
The hermaphrodite's jaw dropped again as the wonder continued until only the one that had stepped
forward stood alone.

The puppy-dog look behind the spectacles yearned to BIAD's feelings and though the eyeless
creature in the red dress had never really known the emotion of pity, the feeling caused him to act
in an instant.

Neno had also watched the osmosis of the time-travellers and second-guessed what was coming
next, so the sigh and headshake from the killer with machine-like emotions were merely for effect.
Through hooded eyes, he watched the man/girl race towards the Sprint craft with the little man
tucked under his arm.
As BIAD clambered up the door and past the waiting Neno, the red-lipped smile shone as BIAD
whispered "you've got your pet, now I've got mine"
Neno grunted and tossed his lop-sided grin back to the planet for a final time, "It's gonna be like
the Swiss-family Robinson series, before we finish" he hissed and followed his strange friend inside.

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"... then with the molten rock billowing into the air, you proclaimed the planet and it's inhabitants
as your own property" Tibbs glanced away towards the Sprint's cockpit and wondered what
the man with the gun was thinking.
BIAD combed his fingers through his hair and also waited to hear Nenothtu's view on the little
man's account. Neno was satisfied that the craft was heading for a pre-set position and turned to
the other occupants of the ship, the kitten in his jacket stirred -but remained asleep.

"So in your travels, you discovered that BIAD here... " Neno motioned with a slight nod of his head
"... was Lord Satan -himself and will reside over a planet with the population to take care of his wants?"
The once-Security Officer and soldier of many battles smiled wickedly at the man/girl and hissed
"it's always the quiet ones!"
The Boy In A Dress blushed and the finger-combing became more pronounced.

The pulsing lights from the console reflected on Tibb's spectacles and the small Vethian enjoyed
the moment of attention, it would be easy for him to tell these two what their destiny was.
Tibbs flushed the idea from his mind.

"Somewhere in time it will and has already happened" Tibbs announced and moved to a seat
near the wall, the soft cushioning was welcoming. BIAD sat on the floor with his legs folded,
Neno had already told him to pull his dress hem lower.
"The planet's top species believed in a 'good' being and a 'bad' one, duality is a common factor
in most sentient beings, it seems to be connected to their id... their ego. As their technology
became more and more advanced, their belief system shifted.
They became reliant on machines to do their bidding and their intelectual hands became idle"
Tibbs pulled the robe around his tubby belly and Neno tapped the console to turn up the
temperature gauge.
"Thank you" Tibbs said and nodded at the man in the home-made clothes, Neno rolled his finger
into the air to indicate that the dwarf should continue. Tibbs sighed and went on.

" Around the time that these folk discovered an energy that would cater for their population's wants,
there was a decision made to invest in quantum physics. The scientists worked on a theory to 'tear'
through into another dimension, that was when they discovered the Devil"
The little man stroked his beard and eyed the man/girl on the craft's floor.

Nenothu took a wafer from one the many food supply bags and chewed in contemplation,
the ship's engines hummed peacefully as the three occupants dealt with their thoughts.
Nenothtu pondered where the craft may be heading,
Tibbs wondered how much information he should reveal and BIAD mused on what colour
you would say Tibbs's robe was.

A full minute ticked by before Neno whispered "I can only presume that someone has
programmed this ship to find us and to return us to their planet... do you know anything about
this?" His gaze towards the Veth demanded an answer and Tibbs faked a welcoming smile.

"I can't tell you everything, sometimes there a places in time where junctions exist and events
can change in an instant" Neno nodded in agreement and has the pistol's muzzle appeared
from around Neno's chair, Tibbs realised that this killer didn't appreciate deflecting information.

"You're on your way back to The Penelope... via rescuing Silo" Tibbs offered and felt relieved
to see Neno's body ease, the gun slipped back from view. The hermaphrodite hummed to
himself and tapped his nails on the smooth metal of the ship's floor, the Sprint flew on in silence.

‘That last load a firewood’s what did it.’ Silo thought as she winced in pain and laid her brow against a forearm braced against the mountain of kindling and chestnut wood that had grown under her efforts over the last few days. Rubbing her lower back with the heel of her free hand, moving her hips from side to side trying to escape the pain the lone female chuckled at the picture she must make. Disheveled, dirty, bone tired and now doing a little dance beside a wall of firewood to take the ache away.

‘Oh Carpet where are you when I need you?’ With a bittersweet smile Silo wished she was snuggled deep in her friends luxurious fibers letting the individual strands massage her muscles and... A sharp cry of surprise that had nothing to do with missing the attentions of her friend broke the quiet of her little home. The pain was getting worse, growing from a dull ache into something more persistent and insidious.

‘Well, what’s done is done’ She chanted the mantra that kept her company for these last lonely weeks, but as always she was neither sure if she referred to the error in wisdom of hiding out in Ship’s Center, alone, or her pregnancy and pending birth. Either way it didn’t matter.

Too tired to eat she crawled slowly into her nest of leaves and bows, instinct telling her to rest while she could, her eyes falling closed before her head hit the makeshift pillow of her backpack.

The dream pulled her in abruptly like an unwilling actor pushed onto a strange earthy stage.
Her feet followed a path she couldn’t see guided by a thick mist fluttering around her like live fingers always pushing her on.
Tired, stumbling, the pain in her back wrapped round her lithe young body to settle low in her abdomen and with each step forward she felt the heavy burden of her child pulling down on her slight frame. She wanted to stop, to lay down, to push, but she couldn’t stop, she had to find CindyMars, there was something she needed to tell her. Something she had to do that couldn’t wait any longer. Something important and she needed her friends help.

A small dull cry blunted by the thickening fog reached her ears, then another. Silo recognized it then as her own voice but all thoughts of pain faded as the path widened, the mists receded and rounding a last bend the path cleared and opened onto a flowery beach bright with lilies and moss and green green grass all reflected in the clear still lake.

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But she’d been here before! This is where she’d lain not 9 months ago, here, past the ruins, past the stand of tall pines, right here at the edge of the lake!
Silo shuddered.
Right here where she’d fallen so deeply into a morph she’d of never have come free from the land had her friend not arrived in time to save her. Had Deson not been there to help pull her out.

Deson!

The dream shattered in an explosion of tiny lights bursting against the inside of her eyelids. Bits of dirt ground into the heals of her palms as she pushed herself up to look over the rim of her sleeping area frightened of what she might see. Her gaze darted from the opening of her cave and back, the small room held empty of any movement save dark shadows growing up the wall by the light of a dying fire. Stopped still she held her breath and listened. Something had startled her from her sleep. Someone was near.

Trembling and with a pounding heart Silo panted short quick breaths in an out to help to ease the pain blossoming from her middle. Scuttling back into the deepest reaches of the cave Silo tried to blend in with the shadows. Poised heavily on her heals, her eyes never leaving the opening of her home Silo felt a small wetness on her legs and knew real fear.

There it was! The small round door seemed to blink as someone or something passed before the opening.
Reflexively her hand lowered to her waist where her knife pouch always hung but her hand came up empty. She’d grown out of her knife pouch long ago.
Leaning forward ever so slowly Silo’s hand closed around her backpack still warm from being used as a pillow and pulling it to her quickly before she lost courage her fingers immediately stole into the sack searching blindly for her throwing knives but once again her hand came up empty. An involuntary sob escaped her lips when she remembered too late she’d stowed her knives atop the corner wood pile.

The shadow moved over the entrance of her home once more and this time stopped there. Whatever, whoever it was outside her cave had heard her cry and returned. That one small whimper and she was betrayed.

Terrified, only now realizing what her dream meant, what her child was, and who was outside her cave wanting to come in Silo checked frantically for anything in her backpack she might use as a weapon. Her fingers found and closed around a small warm object - one she hadn’t even known she’d carried.

Clutching her backpack firmly to her tight swollen belly Silo closed her eyes and concentrated on the little piece of hope in her hand.

‘Take me to CindyMars, please! Take me toooo....’

Before she could finish her plea the sickening spinning motion she remembered all too well from the first time she’d used CindyMar’s teleport tab washed over her from the top of her head down through her extremities turning them as liquid as water. Just before Silo shimmered out of sight she heard a wild cry full of impotent rage coming from behind her as if through a long tunnel.

‘Nooooooo!’ The guttural keening howl of a hunter whose prey had escaped it’s snare followed Silo through time and space as she left the little cave at Ship’s Center to arrive in a heap on the doorstep of CindyMar’s cabin deep in the woods of an Earth gone by.

*****

Back at Ship Central tucked deep within the hidden shelves at the heart of the Armory Silo’s ’Green Man’ necklace brutally wrapped in an oily black rag began to shudder and moan.

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Nenothtu snoozed in the pilot seat as the green-furred jungle cat watched the little man
in the spectacles and robe tinkered with the 'travel' amulet. The silver chain cast slivers
of light about the ship's hold and yet the slitted eyes of the cat -which seemed to have
grown considerably in the last hour, ignored the twinkling lights and focused on Tibbs's
activities.

Neno had agreed to let the Vethian analyse the bauble and assured him that it was broken,
Tibbs agreed with Neno's demand that BIAD would observe monitor his actions.

The Boy In A Dress watched from the corner of the hold, his finger-combing had slowed as
he watched Tibbs remove the blue marble-like sphere from it's metal cradle.
The Sprint Flyer tilted to the left slightly to avoid a field of asteroids and a blasted hulk of a
eons-old space freighter, Sasquatch leaned slightly to compensate, BIAD leaned against the
metal hull and glanced at Neno's relaxed form.

"I'm gonna take a few minutes nap, but as my friend in red over there -will tell you, don't make
the mistake I'll be completely out of it" Neo had said in a low voice and treated Tibbs an icy
stare as he handed over the necklace.
"You hold too much store in such baubles, this one I think, is broken" he finished as the chain
slushed into a pile in Tibb's small lined palm.

Tibbs had sighed to himself and nodded, the amulet that he also wore would provide enough
energy to restart Neno's bauble, the only problem was whether it's main core was damaged.
The blue sphere opened with a small clicking sound and Tibbs sucked in a breath and waited
to see if the atomics would set off it's alarms.
The mini-world lay quiet in Tibbs's hand.

"Can you fix it?" BIAD asked and Tibbs forced himself not to jump at the sudden request,
his bowels reported that they were packing to leave.
The little bearded Veth hissed his lungs empty and eyed the man/girl that sat smiling in the corner.

"Considering you continue to deny your position as the Dark Lord of Hades, you're sure given me a
helluva scare" Tibbs responded, "...and yes, it can be repaired"
BIAD nodded and glanced at his red nails, back at The Tree of Woe, his talons are been snagged
and chipped, the self-healing process of his Creator's design had kicked in and a blood-red sheen
shone back at the hermaphrodite.
The cat sat on it's haunches and displayed it's huge sharp teeth in a bored yawn and again,
eyed Tibbs's tinkering.

The Jin Moss-sliver nestled between the outer wall of the ball and the Tregorran crystal that
floated in it's centre. Tibbs's small fingers plucked at the flora and though the plant was half-dead,
it took him a full minute to pick it out.
Then the light show started as Nenothtu's necklace began it's rebooting process, the illumination
of the Flyer's interior was so intense that the man in the tree-skin clothes came out of his slumber
and has his eyes opened, his hand was reaching for the pistol.

Tibbs gulped and looked away from the unfurling Neno to the grinning wig-wearing man/girl that
sat on the ship's floor, "Now we can go home" BIAD hissed knowingly.