The Traveller's Song (pt. 5)

by Shipscat

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The dinner looked good, not fancy, but definitely better than food cubes. Meara had decided that it was safer to leave the ship alone than it was with Marik, so the whole crew was present. Marik tripped over the line that held the tent up and fell flat on his face in front of everyone. "Too bad he didn't break his neck," Talyn whispered in Meara's ear. "Talyn," she scolded. "I thought you held all forms of life dear. Isn't Marik as important as some Luxan prisoner you never met?"

"Well, actually," he started to say, but was interrupted by their host, who made a small speech of welcome before carving the roast beast. Meara was a little uneasy with the warm welcome they were receiving. She knew they were glad that the skirmish was over and their child was returned unharmed, but it made her feel guilty for the few arns they had had to worry about him. Eldric's genuine friendliness was also alarming. She had to restrain herself from telling them it wasn't safe to trust them, they were Peacekeepers, didn't they know that? Talyn, on her right, was no help. He was engaged in a very animated onversation with the old woman, who was asking Talyn about his youth. She was getting all kinds of information about him that Meara had never known, and, she ashamedly admitted to herself, would not have thought to ask about.

To her left, Broc dug in with gusto and seemed to feel that this fuss was what was due them as Peacekeepers. Meara steered the conversation to flying, which she felt more comfortable with, and the dinner went smoothly. After the meal, they brought out a couple of people with more strange instruments. Marik started and would have drawn a weapon if he had still had one on. Meara noticed that Risa put a restraining arm across him, for which in return she received a lascivious grin.

"What is that?" Meara whispered to Talyn.

"I think they are going to play something for us," he answered .

"Play?"

"You know, music," he said. "Haven't you ever heard any music before?"

"No," she said, embarrassed. "I've heard other species have music and singing, Delvians, Luxans...but I don't think I've ever heard any before."

"You should spend more time away from the Peacekeepers," Talyn said mildly.

Meara enjoyed the music. She didn't like all of it, but some of it was very stirring. One of the ballads prompted her to ask their host if it was about this planet.

"Ah, Yeah, and it was. We return here every two cycles and meet with other clans. It gives us a chance to find out what is happening with friends and family in other groups. It also means our young ones have a chance to meet someone who's not in their clan," he said with a grin.

"And not so young ones," the old lady added.

"Yes, grandmum." His voice implying that he did not want to get into *that* discussion again. This exchange left Meara completely bewildered.

"It's a good place to meet if you're separated from someone you love," Talyn said, squeezing Meara's hand under the table.

"It would be a way to find out if a comrade has died," Meara said, almost at the same time.

The most surprising aspect of the stumble was the inside wall. The large main chamber of the ship had murals painted on every square inch of it. Meara was momentarily surprised by its appearance when Eldric took them on the "ride" he had promised after dinner. She quickly refocused on what she was interested in, the flying of the beast. She and Eldric were soon in deep conversation about the maneuverability, liftoff and speed capabilities of the craft, with Broc tagging along behind.

Talyn stayed behind, deeply involved in the paintings. The paintings seemed to span generations, with different styles and different artists at different times. The old woman was still hanging on to Talyn, watching his every move.

"The stumbles live longer than Sebaceans, don't they, Elleth?" Talyn asked. He was fascinated by the different cultures represented. It looked as if the travellers had been everywhere in the known territories and some of the uncharted as well.

"And it is a real history of our people, isn't it?" she said proudly.

"It's good to know where you come from," Talyn said.

"And where yer goin," Elleth said. "Would ye like to know yer future then?"

"Certainly. Is it on this wall somewhere?" Talyn asked, smiling.

"It's right here," she said, reaching up on tiptoe to touch his forehead lightly with her fingertips. She closed her eyes briefly and said, "Ye and yer mate will have a child," she opened her eyes and smiled. "A daughter."

Talyn didn't ask who she thought his mate was or how she knew. He just shook his head. "I'm sorry, Elleth. I think you missed the mark on this one. We don't have a choice about children."

"Sometimes ye make choices where there are none, do ye not? She will be important to the future."

"No. It won't happen," Talyn said with conviction.

"Oh it will," she said lightly. "Whether ye believe me or no."

Meara was having little trouble learning the chanter, which is what they called the small instrumental part of the weapon. Talyn had a small head start on her because he had actually been exposed to music before, and Meara was determined to catch up. RIsa was learning so quickly that she peppered their instructor with questions about how the weapons were made until he finally got tired of her interruptions and made her leave while everyone else practiced. Broc was having trouble getting past the first lesson.

After Talyn got tired and went off to relieve Risa of "Maniac Duty" as he called it, Meara got bored with practicing and sat for a while watching the daily activities of the camp. She could see that Marik was playing some sort of game with the travellers that involved a lot of running and hitting. Risa was off talking to a group of brightly dressed women. Talyn had gotten out the emergency medical case and already had people sitting in a line waiting for him to look at them. She could hear Broc doing scales over and over again, hitting the same wrong note each time.

"Broc," Meara said, "I think you've worked hard enough. Why don't you go do something else for a while?"

Broc, greatly relieved, went straight for the other men playing the game. Eldric sat down beside her. "Decided to let him have a break."

"Actually, I think I would have gone farbotz if I had to listen to him hit that one note again." Meara said ruefully.

"Elleth thought he might have trouble."

They sat in companionable silence for a while. Meara couldn't help but notice that he was a nice looking guy under all the hair and beard. If he were a Peacekeeper he would be in severe need of a barber.

She was just thinking that even though they were all adjusting to the thin atmosphere, Broc and Marik looked as if it was keeping them from doing their best, when Eldric resumed the conversation.

"Ye have a really good man there." Talyn was running a handheld scanner over an elderly man's stomach and listening patiently to a seemingly endless stream of complaints.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Meara said stiffly.

"Talyn," he said. "Your mate."

She turned around and looked at him intently. "You should know that Peacekeepers don't have life mates."

"You do," he said, looking back mildly. "Elleth told me right away that ye were taken. She seems to think that I'm particularly susceptible to the charms of Peacekeeper females."

Taken? Meara was thinking. What is that? Like grabbing a seat on a transport?

"My mate was a Peacekeeper," he said. "A defector."

A thousand questions were running through Meara's mind.

"It took a couple of cycles before she was like you."

"What do you mean, like me?"

"She was very angry..very closed off. Ye must be a very strong lady-or a very lucky one."

"Must be luck, then." She still wasn't sure what he meant.

"There are other defectors among us," he said.

"Now *that* is something you should not be telling me," she said sharply.

"Why did ye let my son go?"

"Because he was a child," she said just as sharply.

"When we first met, I was going to offer to trade myself for my son. Would ye have taken me back to teach the Peacekeepers to play the pipes, then?"

Meara's attention was distracted by watching Talyn thumping hard on the old man's back. The harder he thumped, the louder the man coughed and choked. Meara didn't think this looked very comfortable, but she was sure it was similar to what he had had to do to the Luxan.

"Of course not. There is no way I could have guaranteed your safety," she said, not looking for Eldric's response.

"Meara," he said, the use of her first name grabbing her attention. "I'm glad you're here. I think my Grandmum might be right." His eyes twinkled at her.

"Well, if I were not *taken*, that would be a good thing for me to know," she said primly, but she smiled.

After he left, Meara wandered over to where Talyn was working. She could tell that he was having the time of his life, even though it didn't look like a lot of fun to her. He was holding a small squirming infant, while a very worried looking woman hovered over him.

"I think I know what the problem is," he was explaining. "It's an allergic reaction to the translator microbes. It's rare, but it happens."

"Can ye do something? He's been miserable since he were born."

"Yes. I have something that will teach his immune system that the microbes aren't enemies. It will just take one injection." Talyn sounded like he had just figured out the key to a puzzle, or that he had just beaten her at one of those games of his, Meara thought with amusement.

The woman held the infant while Talyn gave the injection. After an initial objection, the baby relaxed and was soon sleeping peacefully. The woman was close to tears and thanked Talyn profusely. Talyn held out his arms and the woman gave him the sleeping baby. Meara edged closer to Talyn and looked at the child that he was rocking gently in his arms. It certainly looked better when it was sleeping than it had when it was thrashing around and making all that noise.

Meara thought that she had never seen anything so small and helpless looking in her life. Defenseless, powerless, and very fragile. Talyn smiled and held the baby away from his body a little. "Would you like to hold the baby, Meara?" he asked as if offering her a treat. Meara shook her head dumbly, her eyes wide with horror. Talyn froze. Meara's eyes were still locked on the child. Tears were filling her eyes and she couldn't speak.

"It wants its mother," she said, and fled. Talyn turned to the woman and gave her baby back.

Seeing the sad look on his face, she said reassuringly, "I'm sure it will happen for you someday. It took us a long time to have this one." She adjusted the baby's weight in her arms and went away smiling and crooning to her little boy.

Talyn found Meara on the hillside overlooking the camp. She had her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around them with her chin resting on her knees. He noticed that even though she obviously came up here to be alone she was still where she could see everything that was going on.

"I'm surprised that you weren't even higher up. I thought you'd be taking the marauder for a spin."

"We don't have the fuel to waste," she replied, staring off into space.

"I'm sorry, Meara. I wasn't thinking.."

"I don't want to talk about it." After a microt, Meara said, "What do you think they're talking about?"

Talyn looked towards the group Meara indicated. Risa was still enjoying the company of a few of the Traveller women.

Noticing the wistful tone of Meara's voice, he replied, "Risa's still your friend, Meara."

"I just wonder what they could possibly find to say to each other." She turned her head slightly and looked at him. "Would you stay here? Are you going to find yourself a Traveller woman with pretty clothes and tinted hair who can have babies?"

Talyn felt terrible. It was obvious from the tone of her voice that the accusation was serious, and she nearly choked on the last couple of words.

"I wouldn't mind staying here," he said carefully. No reaction. "I wouldn't leave you."

What he didn't say was that he'd like to see her now with her hair loose in the breeze that was gently caressing them. He didn't say that he wouldn't mind seeing her in pretty clothes and, yes, with a baby or two, because he knew that she didn't want to hear it. He wondered if that was what she was thinking about, too. He also didn't say that he thought that the blue hair she was referring to was real and that it was probably the result of some interspecies breeding. That wasn't anything she would want to hear either.

"Do you remember when we first got together and I didn't have a clue as to what you wanted?"

"Your heart."

This time she looked at him like she knew he was there. "Why me?" she asked very softly.

"Because I knew you had one."

She dimpled and started swaying a bit, finally unwrapping herself and getting to her feet. They walked back to the camp together.

Meara was relieved to find out that the evening meal was not the formal affair of the previous night. People were gathered around small campfires and mingling, sharing the dishes prepared at each place. Meara could see Talyn across the open area. He had gone to get something but hadn't made it back yet. Every few steps he took he was stopped by someone who wanted to talk to him. He and Broc spoke briefly for a moment, and to her amazement, Broc was laughing heartily as he left.

A man in a brightly colored vest came over to where Meara was sitting and offered her a drink. She gave him her worst scowl and said, "Go Away." He looked startled and left, but left the drink behind.

A voice from behind her said, "I don't think he meant anything by it, love, he was just trying to be nice."

She looked up at Talyn guiltily. "Nice? Should I apologize, do you think?"

He sat down beside her and handed her a plate. "No. They're used to Peacekeepers."

"So, what were you saying to Broc that was so funny?"

He shrugged. "I was just telling him what I told Marik to keep him away from the local girls."

"Would you like to tell *me*?" She asked, giving him her best 'I really want to know' face.

Talyn thought for a microt and pursed his lips before answering. "No. Let's just say it's a good thing Marik is unintelligent as well as insane."

While they were eating, one of the younger males went to the center of the gathering and started telling a long, involved story that involved a Luxan, a Sheyang and two Hynerian donkeys. The punch line was obscene and quite unexpected and had Meara choking on her stew. It was soon evident that this was to be the evenings entertainment, as they heard story after story. Meara listened avidly. At one point she leaned over to Talyn and said, "This is much different than listening to Captain Garn."

Talyn watched Meara as she was watching the stroytellers. She was on the edge of her seat when they got to the exciting parts, she was misty-eyed over the sad parts and she was doubled over laughing at the funny stories. He reached over and plucked at her hair while she was preoccupied. She batted his hands away a couple of times, but with a little persistence he succeeded in getting it loose. He then positioned himself so that when she leaned back she was leaning against him. They stayed that way until it looked like the evening was wearing down. Talyn whispered that he would be back and disappeared into the darkness. He soon returned carrying a blanket roll.

"I think it's time we should go."

"Oh no, I like this one. I asked them to tell it again."

He waited until the story was finished. When Meara showed no signs of getting up when it was over, he whispered, "So, have you found something else that's better than sex?"

Her head swung around, "Um, I think I've heard this one already."

Talyn took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet.

"That's something I never thought I would see. You with dirt on your eema," he said, turning her around and brushing her backside off.

"Stop that!'

"Meara, every person in this camp knows about us and nobody cares." And he proved his point by kissing her gently . She looked around wildly. He was right. No one was even looking.

She thumped him on the chest anyway.

Talyn took her by the hand and lead her off into the darkness.

"Where is everyone?" Meara asked.

"Marik's back at the ship. Broc and Risa are probably off doing what we're doing," Talyn replied. "Maybe not as well," he added modestly.

"Broc and Risa? How come I didn't know about this?"

"You aren't supposed to know, remember?"

Meara started looking back nervously. "We're getting awfully far from the camp, aren't we? Aren't there wild animals out here?"

As if on cue, a lonesome howl rose up from the wilderness.

"Was that a vorlag? They told me there are razor tooth vorlags out here."

"They don't deserve their bad reputation," Talyn replied. "They're actually quite intelligent and won't attack unless provoked. But if there is trouble, we're armed. You haven't been outside much, have you?"

"You know, I'm getting really tired of feeling like I never left the ship I was born on," she complained.

"There's a lot more to life than you learn about in Peacekeeper training." He stopped and unrolled the bedroll.

"I can't hear the Travellers anymore," Meara commented.

"Good. That means they won't be able to hear us," he said smugly. "I'm tired of having to be quiet all the time."

"You don't make a lot of noise." Meara said, shaking her head.

"Well, I am going to make sure that you make a lot of noise," he said in a growly voice and pulled her onto the blanket.

The next morning Meara was irritated by the number of times she fumbled over the notes on the chanter. It was compounded by the fact that every time she did Talyn's grin grew broader. It really wasn't fair. He didn't seem affected by the lack of sleep at all. She also felt like a mess. Although she had had every intention of doing so, they had never made it back to the ship at all. Finally she gave up in disgust and left Risa and Talyn to the lesson. Meara grabbed her jacket and went to find someone to fix the tear she had found in it this morning.

She found an older woman who was sweeping out the front of her campsite. This looked like a fairly useless activity as she seemed to just be stirring up more dirt as she went. Meara introduced herself and asked if the woman would want to fix the jacket and offered to pay.

"This isn't so bad, dearie. I'll show ye how to do it, no charge."

"No, really, if you could just fix it I'd be happy to reimburse you."

"Nonsense. What are ye going to do the next time ye rip your clothes?" Ardena said, and went to get her sewing kit. She came back with a shawl, too, which she insisted on putting around Meara's bare shoulders. "Ye'll get a chill out here with that wee top on and I don't like the way my Senex is looking at ye anyway."

Senex appeared to be the old man in the camp chair outside the tent who was snoring. Meara gave Ardena a quizzical look.

"Well don't think that just because there's snow on the tent that there isn't fire in the pit."

This made no sense to Meara whatsoever, so she let it past. "How long have you been together?" she asked, as she followed the woman's instructions for threading the large needle.

"More cycles than you've been alive," she chuckled.

Meara was making some progress with the sewing when Broc found her. He stood there for a microt before speaking.

"I came to ask if I could go hunting with some of the men instead of training today."

"That would be fine, Broc. I think Talyn and Risa learning it is plenty." she said, not looking up from what she was doing.

Broc turned to go and then changed his mind. "I didn't recognize you for a microt," he said, in an unpleasant voice.

Meara looked at him, for the first time conscious of the fact that she was badly out of uniform. Her hair was loose, still tangled and wavy because she hadn't done anything with it since the night before.

"You look like one of those filthy Travellers."

"Broc! These people are our hosts. Be civil." Meara looked at the old lady, who had a carefully blank expression on her face.

"Well, its not like they have any choice about that, is it?"

Now, Meara was on her feet, the forgotten jacket sliding to the ground.

"I had no idea your hair was so long," he said, noticing the way it fell almost to her waist. "That's past regulation, isn't it?"

"That's none of your business," Meara said.

"I think you are in danger of being irreversibly contaminated," he said nastily.

"Broc," Meara said reasonably. "We can't be irreversibly contaminated. They're Sebacean. And can't you see that there isn't any difference between anything I've been doing and your wanting to go hunting with them?"

"I don't like the way you've been acting. I don't like the coward you've allied yourself with. I don't like seeing you deal with these people. I hate seeing you laughing and making a fool out of yourself." He was shouting now. "How can you lead us if you don't even act like a Peacekeeper?"

Meara had been getting angrier as he progressed, but when she answered her voice was very calm. She touched her scar briefly and said, "Are you going to do something about it?"

He looked at her and realized that she had gone through angry and was now ice cold. Broc knew from experience that he did not want to face her if she was that preternaturally calm.

"I'm going hunting," he growled, and turned to leave.

"Take Marik."

"I'm tired of being a babytech."

"I said, take Marik. He'll enjoy having a chance to kill something," she said wryly and sat down again, deliberately ignoring Broc's response.

Broc grunted assent and left.

The old woman crept back and pressed the jacket in Meara's hand. "I finished it for ye, Dearie."

"Thank you," Meara said and put it on. She headed back to the ship. She was desperately in need of a shower.

After a shower, some food cubes and a nap, Meara decided to sit down and think about what was going on. It was difficult because her feelings were very hurt and she was still quite angry.Also, for the first time, she felt a twinge of fear that Broc might do something that would ultimately cause problems for her and Talyn. Trying to think about it calmly and rationally, she realized that she needed Broc's support. Marik responded best to Broc. With Risa recreating with him, she wasn't sure which way her loyalties would lie. A coup was definitely a possibility. Even that idea wouldn't be so bad if she had more faith in Broc's leadership ability. But the worst part of it all was that Broc was right. She couldn't control them if she couldn't control herself. She still had a mission to complete and a long journey home. And she still needed to keep her relationship with Talyn secret.

She stayed in the ship all day. She wasn't worried about what the others were doing. She knew they would come looking for her when they were done with what they were doing and check in. She also knew Broc would stay on babytech duty until he was relieved. Of course, Talyn might not look for her but he would just be administering to the masses anyway.

Meara busied herself checking out the Marauders systems. She even made another fruitless and frustrating attempt to get through the defenses Captain Rouj had left behind. Risa came back right after she was finished with her lesson and asked if she could hang around the camp. Meara told her it was fine but after they got underway the first priority would be to crack Rouj's code. Broc checked in and reported the successful slaughter of some huge food animal. She knew he wanted approval and possibly for her to look at it, but she did neither. She also refused to let him go back without Marik. Broc did not appear to notice that she was now properly groomed and attired.

After a completely boring, useless and lonely day, she was thrilled to see Talyn arrive with a big plate of grilled huge food animal and vegetables. "Here you go. I thought this would be better than those old food cubes."

He split his booty up onto two plates and poured some drinks.

"Look, Talyn, just because I'm staying here doesn't mean you have to. Go have some fun," a very dispirited looking Meara said.

"What? And have you think I'm chasing a Traveller woman with tinted hair?" he said, breaking off a bit of bread and feeding it to her.

"No, I'm worried about them chasing you," she replied. "They can't help but notice how good looking you are."

Talyn grinned. "Not one of those Traveller women are looking at me. They're afraid a big bad Peacekeeper will come and beat the dren out of them."

Meara laughed.

"Why are you hiding in here anyway?" Talyn asked apprehensively.

Meara stared down at her food. 'I think we've gone too far. I can't forget I'm a Peacekeeper, I have responsibilities."

"And that means no fun for you." He leaned over and put his fingers on her chin and tilted her head up. "I'm sorry, Meara, I just like to see you happy."

"*You* make me happy."

Meara continued to distance herself for the rest of the time they spent with the travellers. She only came out for lessons and to talk occasionally with Eldric. As a result she also spent more time than she would have liked with Marik, who was still nervous around the Travellers and didn't mind spending time on the ship. She made a vain attempt to get to know him, but she finally concluded that there wasn't really anyone there to know. Soon she and Talyn and Risa were taught how to use the entire pipes, suit and all. Meara had a vague impression that they weren't being taught everything there was to know, but since she had no desire to stay here until Risa had attained the highest level of mastery, which Meara thought might actually take years to accomplish, she was pleased with what they did learn.

She wasn't really aware of it, but she was only really comfortable around Talyn and Eldric because for the first time she felt that she was wearing her uniform as a disguise. She was uncomfortable around her crewmates because she felt that she was a fraud, and uncomfortable around the Travellers because she didn't like having them see her as a Peacekeeper. It did occur to her that Broc might have a point about irreversible contamination.

She was sitting in the open door of the stumble watching Eldric illustrate the interior wall. His Grandmum was welding something outside of the ship. All of the portholes had been opened to let as much natural light as possible in.

"Why is the stumble sitting still for this?" Meara wondered.

"It's asleep," Eldric replied.

Asleep? Meara filed that one away for future onsideration. "Does Elleth do all the repair work?"

"No, I do a lot of it," Eldric answered, dipping his brush in some more paint. "We aren't like Peacekeepers, you know. We don't have a large amount of manpower at our disposal, so everyone needs to do a little bit of everything."

"What's it called?," she said, looking down at the small, furry, multicolored animal on her lap.

"Patches. She's a skulkie," he commented.

The creature was stretching its body across Meara, putting its paws around her neck. It made a little chirping noise while doing so. It looked right in her eyes with its large orange ones and made a chuffing noise.

"Does it want something?" Meara asked, looking up at Eldric.

"She's just greeting you."

Meara screwed up her face and 'chuffed' back. It must have been a credible imitation because it's face flattened out in surprise. "Look at that! I swear it's face actually got rounder."

Eldric stopped what he was doing. "Squeeze its face," he suggested.

Meara looked at him inquiringly. "Just put your hands on the side and squeeze. It won't hurt it."

Meara put her hands on either side of its face and squeezed. The creature didn't seem to mind, and soon its face was impossibly elongated. "Wow. Are those its bones I feel moving around?"

"Yes." Eldric gave up on painting and sat down beside Meara. "Patches can get into very small spaces. She keeps the ship free of parasites. She's actually a very fierce little predator."

"Oh, no, not you... you're just a sweetie, aren't you?" Meara said to it as she stroked it.

Eldric started to say something but thought better of it. What he did say was, "Patches was very attached to my mate."

"What happened to her?"

"She got sick. She died of something she probably wouldn't have if we'd had someone like Talyn around."

"I'm sorry," Meara said, but she was thinking that Talyn would probably be happier here than he was with the Peacekeepers and he would be needed as well.

"We are the first group to get here for the gathering. Other Travellers should be arriving soon," Eldric said, interrupting her thoughts.

"What you're telling me is that it's time for us to leave."

He nodded.

"I'm sure you're right." She carefully took Patches off of her lap and stood up.

"Don't forget us," Eldric suggested, smiling.

"Say, are you going to put us on that wall of yours?" Meara asked brightly.

"I don't know how the story ends yet."

"How could you possibly-"

"I can tell ye," Elleth said, pushing back her protective visor and turning off the torch. "Do ye want to know your future?"

Meara suddenly had a feeling of cold dread to add to the sadness she was already feeling. "No. I know it can't possibly be good."

"There's good and there's bad, there always is," she replied brightly.

"There is only one thing that matters and it can't possibly last forever," Meara said sadly, and walked away with a defeated air.

Their leave taking was uneventful. Shortly after taking off Meara called a general meeting. She explained that they were going to take exactly the same path out that they had taken to get there, since the territory was uncharted and they still did not have access to whatever map the Captain had used to get them there.

"What about the Traveller's charts?" Talyn asked.

"I looked at them," Meara said. "They don't make sense with our navigational systems. Basically their directions for getting to the gathering place said 'third star to the right and straight on 'til morning.' We also will need supplies when we get to Joh, however difficult it might be to get them," she said, with a pointed look at Marik.

"In the meantime, we are going to do a few things differently. We are going to run through a few disaster scenarios. I want to make sure that we are ready for anything that comes at us. Most of you know why it's important to me that we all know what to do if, say, the ship was on fire. Each and every person's life on this marauder is valuable."

A moment of silence followed this. "I can teach everyone a few techniques that will increase the chances of immediate survival following an injury," Talyn offered.

"That is exactly the type of thing that I'm talking about," Meara said approvingly. Mentally, she drew a deep breath. She knew her next idea would not be as well received since it went against the established order .

"We are a small crew and very far away from Peacekeeper space. A Command Carrier can afford to have everyone have very specialized jobs. We can't. Every one here is going to learn a new skill to a basic level of proficiency."

"Risa, I'm going to teach you to fly this bird." Risa's mouth actually fell open at this. "Broc is going to learn maintenance from you. Marik will be in the infirmary. And you," Meara swung around to look directly at Talyn, "are going to learn to fight. Your shooting is fine-"

"I didn't think anyone had noticed," he interrupted, his arms crossed against his chest, leaning back in his seat..

"But you need to learn hand to hand whether you want to or not," she finished.

"Soldiers fight. Techs fix ships," Broc said, his voice scornful on the 'tech' part.

"We are still in the middle of frelling nowhere. Risa is the most valuable person on this ship right now. If something happened to her and the marauder broke down, none of us would be getting home."

"Won't it take a long time? And I'm not sure I can learn it," Risa said hesitantly.

"I can do the flying," Broc said immediately.

"I know you can, Broc. You're a good soldier, you know the weapons, and you're a good pilot. I am sure that you could handle the marauder in an emergency. Let's see what else you can do."

"Risa, we've got nothing but time. We still have a long trip home."

Talyn caught up with Meara as she headed towards her quarters.

"I'd rather have you in the infirmary," he started.

"I'm sure you would," she said flirtatiously.

"I'm serious, Meara. It would be better to have someone who had some feeling for others."

"It wouldn't serve any purpose for us to duplicate our skills. If something happened to you, I'd already be dead, so what good would it be for me to learn your job?" she said, changing her direction and her mind. "Are you ready for your first lesson?"

Sometime later Meara was massaging Talyn's back. He was freely complaining every time she hit a sore spot, which she did probably more frequently than necessary as she was very frustrated with him.

"I told you that I wasn't going to hit you, Meara," he said.

"Well, I didn't *believe* you," she said, as she stopped pummeling him and put her arms around him.

"I still pinned you," he reminded her.

"Well, kissing me was cheating....and indiscreet."

"I always like to kiss you when I get you in that position." he said smugly.

"Why won't you take this seriously?" she said, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Meara, sweetie, I've managed to get by without knowing how to sneak up on people and kill them so far. Am I just not what you want me to be? Because I'm not going to change. Not for the Peacekeepers and not for you."

She wrapped her arms around him again and plopped her chin on his shoulder so that her head was touching his. "That's not it, stupid. I just want you to live."

"Yeah. Well, I love you, too," he said without the faintest trace of sarcasm. "And I'm not going to hit you."

"I am going to give you to Broc," she said, climbing off the bed and turning around to face him. She sounded very decided. "I wager you won't mind hitting him. And he won't mind hitting you. He hates you." She realized as she said it that she believed it.

Talyn stared at her without speaking. She had the same look on her face that she had when she had thrown herself across the wounded Luxan. 'She's going to protect me from myself whether I want her to or not' he thought. He knew it meant that she loved him and he couldn't argue against that.

The next day Meara and Risa spent a few arns in the captain's chambers. Risa soon figured out that Meara had indeed cracked the first code, but had not realized that there was another level of encryption under the first. She was confident that she could get through it soon. Meara explained that she also needed a complete report on the Traveller's weapon and asked Risa to look at the navigation charts she had gotten from them.

"The problem is that Capt. Rouj said that our journey would be over soon when we left Joh. Soon was two monens and we have another couple of monens to go from there to the nearest Peacekeper base. We are short on supplies and not likely to get cooperation from the Johians. I think the Traveller's charts are accurate, but I don't understand them and they won't go into the data stores. They are actually written on some sort of parchment. If you can figure out what they are saying, maybe I can find us a shorter route.'

"We'll have spent almost a cycle out here by the time we get back to Peacekeeper Space," Risa added thoughtfully.

"Yes. And all we have to show for it are one Traveller weapon, well, two,

actually because we still have the one that belonged to Eldric's son, a lot of smoked herdbeast strips and a frelling map I can't read."

"About the pipes-I don't think they told us everything about them." Risa was not very confident about how this information would be received.

"I thought as much," Meara said.

"I think that the pipes can do a lot more damage than they showed us. It looks like they have the potential to knock down buildings, especially if used in concert. Also I think that the defensive shield and offensive weapon can be used simultaneously if you have the skill. They didn't teach us that and Etylred hadn't mastered it. That's why you could take him out."

Meara was thoughtful for a microt. "That's good information to know, but I don't think it should go in the official report. We can't substantiate it, and its not a good idea to put ourselves in the position of being asked to demonstrate something we can't."

Risa nodded and returned to trying to crack Rouj's code. "Do you really think Broc can learn techwork? " she said conversationally.

Meara was still looking at the maps. "He's not nearly as smart as you are but he works hard and I think he'd be good at the mechanics. Is it a problem for you?"

"I'm just not sure he'll take instruction from me."

"He will if I tell him to." Meara gave Risa her full attention. "I know you're recreating with him. Doesn't he treat you all right?"

"Um, it's not like you two.. but he's okay. He's not like the other one."

"Marik? Oh, no. Not Marik."

"It was just one time," Risa said, a little embarrassed. "He wasn't very good." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "He likes to make it hurt."

"Dren, Risa, you don't have to recreate with anybody if you don't want to," Meara said, coming over and standing beside her.

"I know," Risa said. "But you know how it is. You get lonely."

Meara surprised herself by putting her arm around Risa's shoulders and hugging her awkwardly. It occurred to her that she was acting like Talyn would in this situation.

"Broc has this .. thing about you," Risa said. "He thinks you're like one of the people you hear about in Peacekeeper training. He thinks someday Peacekeeper recruits will be learning about your exploits."

"Me?" Meara said, pointing to herself with utter disbelief on her face.

"I do too," Risa said shyly, returning to her work.

It wasn't long before Risa had cracked the code. After receiving Meara's very sincere gratitude, she left her to pour over Captain Rouj's secrets. Meara was relieved and appalled to find out that Rouj had not received permission to go into the Uncharted territories. Knowing that he had not left a true detailed plan of their mission with High Command would make it much easier to keep her promise to the Travellers. She was appalled because she felt even more that they were alone in the UT. No one would have a clue as to what happened to them if they didn't make it back. The only information he had on the Traveller's gathering place was the route they had taken there, with no indication of how he had known about it.

She also was not surprised to see that Rouj had complained about her behavior several times in his journey logs. She didn't think it would be important as long as he hadn't gotten around to putting an official reprimand on her record, as he had so often threatened to do. Even then it probably wouldn't be the end of the world. Meara knew she had an otherwise stellar record.

The end of the world came in a casual mention that Lt. Sun would not be a problem for long as she had been assigned procreation after this mission. Rouj did not anticipate her returning to his ship after her tour of maternity duty was over. 'Dren,' Meara thought, 'that can't be right.' She searched through the datastores until she found official documentation. It was true. She had no clue as to why this was supposed to happen. Her first thought was that she was being punished for something or that Rouj had somehow managed to wreak revenge on her, but it was obvious that the order had come down before they left, probably too late to get another First officer.

Her initial feeling of shock gave way to a rising anger that quickly spun out of control. Without pausing to think about why she was so upset, she stormed out of the Captain's quarters. She found Talyn in the corridor outside of the small room that served as an infirmary, talking with Risa about the way the Travellers prepared a meat pie dish that they had both enjoyed. Meara grabbed Talyn by the front of his jacket, unceremoniously dragging him into the room and slamming the door behind her.

Risa listened at the door for a microt, having an uneasy feeling that somehow Meara wasn't happy with finding her and Talyn talking about recipes. She heard loud voices, pacing and the sounds of something breaking. After a little while she realized that the loud voices were all Meara's and that she was upset about having to do maternity duty, not in some jealous rage. Reasoning that this was none of her business, she left.

"But how do I get out of it?" Meara was saying, still walking back and forth and throwing her arms around. There wasn't an item left on any counter in the room.

"I don't think you can, Meara," Talyn said in his most soothing voice. "But if you could calm down, maybe we -"

"I don't *want* to calm down, I want to be angry. How can they do this to me? It's not fair. I've worked so hard."

"I don't think it has anything to do with you, it's just their own agenda." Talyn, despite his calm demeanor, did not look very happy at this news, either,but Meara was in no state to notice that.

"Of course it has to do with me. It's my life, it's my body, and I do not want to do this," she stated emphatically.

"I don't like this, either, Meara," Talyn said quietly.

Meara stopped moving entirely and turned to face him. She gave him an anguished look and walked quickly out the door.