Apparently, the Escape Pod was still in the dock because it was already broken before the s.p.a.ceship was destroyed. That"s why n.o.body took it.[Can it even be repaired?] Remian had to ask.
[Not fully. But enough to move, at least.] Orb sent him the gist of it. [It won"t be s.p.a.ce-worthy, but it should be able to fly.]
A flying pod! It would be similar to one of Mindy"s fighters, Remian a.s.sumed, but flying on power, like a military-grade airship, not lighter-than-air containment.
Actually, no, this particular pod would be flying on… Psionic energy?!
Yes. Those crystals held some form of contained Psionic Energy. How, Remian had no idea, but there were six of them, including the one currently fueling the Pod, and that meant he might be able to fly around in the Pod quite a bit.
The Pod was unarmed, so it wouldn"t do as a fightercraft, but as far as transportation went, it sure beat walking.
[What about going underwater?] Remian wondered. If it was built airtight in the first place, then…
[Too much structural damage.] Orb replied. Even with its best efforts, the most it could do was patch up the cracks and holes. The overall structure itself had turned brittle. Too much pressure would crush it. In fact, Orb wouldn"t advise making the Pod fly too fast, as wind pressure could break it too.
[How long before it can fly?] Remian asked.
[Flight? Two minutes.] From the thoughts of the Orb, Remian understood the concept of time in his own measurements, not the Orb"s. [But then the whole Pod would fall apart upon landing.]
[How long until reusable flight is possible?]
Orb hesitated. [Half an hour. That should last you two flights. Best if you give me two hours. I can fix it enough for regular atmospheric flight as long as you don"t push it too hard. That is my limit.]
[Just do your best, then.] Remian sighed. [Anything I can do?]
[No, leave it to me.] Orb said confidently.
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Exhaling softly, Remian leaned back and decided to get some rest. It had been a long, tense day, and he was rather worn out. Best to save his strength for whatever would come later…
He fell asleep.
***
In his dreams, the past whispered and haunted Remian.
"Mommy… why did she die? Why did she have to die?" Remian cried.
"She died because of starvation, dear. She didn"t have enough food." Mom replied softly.
"It"s because the bad men take everything! They never left uncle"s family enough to eat!" that was Sabriane"s voice.
"Hush, dear."
"Why do they take everything? Why can"t they just let us have food? Why must they fight and kill? Why do we have to suffer so much?"
"Because there"s never enough food for everyone. There"s never enough anything, so people have to fight and kill each other to have more. We"re lucky they only take what they want without killing us. They actually protect us."
"Why isn"t there enough? Why does everyone need to fight and kill to have more? Why can"t we just live happily, as friends? Why can"t there ever be enough?" That last bit came out in anger. "Why did she have to die?!"
Footsteps sounded.
"Remian! Come back! Come back!"
[Come back!] The words echoed in his head, and Remian woke up.
***
When he woke up, Orb was dead.
"Orb?" Remian poked it, tried to wake it. He tried to sense it Psionically by before, offering it Psionic energy, something. [Orb?! Wake up!]
But there was no response. There never would be. Remian suddenly realized that he"d been expecting too much of an old artifact like Orb. Sadly, he understood that those few minutes of time he"d shared with the drone was the last the drone would ever have.
At least Orb spent his last moments doing what made him happy, fulfilling his functions one last time. Remian had provided him with power and purpose, and he did his very best to accomplish that purpose. That was all he wanted, and all he ever asked for.
Orb died happy. Always happy. Because Always Happy meant more sales.
Remian gently packed Orb into his backpack and went over to the Pod.
Compared to Orb, Pod"s Psionic Emanations were indifferent, toneless. It had a bare-basic form of awareness, just fulfilling the minimum requirements for Remian to direct the Pod in flight. Also, it seemed to be keyed in to himself as its master. All he had to do was tell it what he wanted Psionically.
It was powered up, filled to capacity with the six crystals found in the locker, compliments of Orb"s final efforts. Remian sat down in a soft, leathery seat that felt way too big for him, gritted his teeth and told the Pod, [Let"s go.]
Quietly, the Pod floated upwards, breaking free of mud and stone as it almost casually slid out from under the shipwreck. The walls turned semi-transparent, so that Remian could sort of see everything outside as if peering through tinted gla.s.s. He felt like he was seated in a gla.s.s ball flying through the red mists, going straight ahead.
That was… amazingly easy. But then, Remian wasn"t flying the Pod so much as he was just sitting in it. The Pod was flying itself.
Also, it seemed Orb had set in some limiters to prevent it from going too fast and destroying itself or damaging itself further with wind pressure. Most likely there were limiters preventing it from leaving the atmosphere or going underwater too.
Remian scanned the mists for his companions, found them, and stealthily had the Pod glide over to them. He set it down not far from where Big Li was chatting with Zhao Feng and Mu Hou, with Wushuang and Little Li coming up from the other side.
Casually, he stepped out and let the Pod close up. Looking at it from where he stood, with the lights off and the humming quieted, it looked very much just like a big rock. He doubted anyone would realize what it really was if they came across it. Just in case, though, Remian had it fly over to a nearby pile of similarly colored rocks.
Now it really looked like just one of the rocks. Satisfied, Remian went over to join the others.
***
"Where is Lem Yan?" Little Li asked when she and Wushuang met up with the rest.
"Here." Remian said, stepping up from the other side. "We"re clear. No sign of danger."
Big Li sniffed. "The most dangerous things around here are the plants we"ve been cutting up and collecting. Speaking of which, aren"t they done yet?"
"Almost." Mu Hou said, glancing over. "Everyone, finish up! We should be going."
"Yes, let"s go back. I wanna go home by tonight!" Little Li exclaimed urgently.
"Why?" Big Li blinked.
"Because!"
"Because what?"
"Just because!"
***
As they hurried back, Remian fell behind.
"You guys…" he heaved. "Go ahead. I"ll catch up… tomorrow."
"Lem Yan, it"s dangerous here." Wushuang refused flatly.
"I"ll… be fine…" Remian panted. "I"ll… leave the forest… and then rest."
"Are you sure you"ll be okay?" Wushuang frowned, thinking. [We have to get back with the Celestial Iron as soon as possible. We can"t risk it just to wait around for one guy.]
"I can sense danger. I"ll be fine." Remian a.s.sured them hastily. "Don"t worry."
"He doesn"t want to hold us back. Let him do what he wants." Mu Hou said supportively. [What"s the worst that could happen? If he dies, that means a bigger share for each of us, a bigger share for me.]
"Well, okay…" Big Li said, feigning reluctance. [Good. I was getting tired to waiting around for him. It"s good we"re going home. I really need a bath.]
"Aww. I"m going to be so bored without Lem Yan to bully." Little Li sighed, but at the same time, she thought, [I wonder if we can stop by the Paramount Chalice Restaurant for some steamed fish on the way back… I haven"t eaten their steamed fish in so long! Their steamed fish is the best!]
Panting, Remian waved them on. He sat down on a rock (an actual rock) and watched them go. Very soon, they faded into the mists.
Then, he quietly sent out a Psionic Transmission to the Pod, summoning it to his location.
Yep, it definitely beats walking.