Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 1855116" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 46: Another Adventure[You’re sure its them?] Akan asked, running through the trees to get back to Loki. He’d been wandering the forest attempting to get into trouble. His childish efforts to get into trouble soon devolved into plotting how to cause trouble, but this was cut off by the fact that there was no one around to notice beyond Shadow, who would help him, and Loki had gone on talking about someone broadcasting a message.    Shadow was already back to Loki, having gotten the message and calmed the somewhat panicked Loki who’d liked being all hidden in the trees. [Akan, I think I know Voort’s voice by now. Yes, its them.]    Well, if Akan had worried about Shadow after the Darkwing incident, it was hard to tell if anything was wrong with her. She was back to her usual cold, barely filled with emotion, yet childlike when she thought no one was looking self. Akan was also finding himself getting back to whatever normal would be, though he found himself dwelling more and more on the past. Why, he wasn’t sure, but it was causing him to be jumpy and Shadow was getting annoyed with him more easily than usual.    [Where are you?!] Shadow’s voice sounded distracted [Loki’s ready to go already and if you don’t pick it up we’re leaving without you.]    Akan could see Loki, and noted that while the hatch was open and waiting on him, the general air was that of a ‘let’s go let’s go let’s go!!!!’. As he got to the ship, stepping in and taking a breath as the hatch sealed, he looked around. [What’s the rush?]    Before Shadow responded, they’d started to lift off of the ground, trees and other branches that had grown over Loki in the last months snapping easily. Akan started towards the cockpit and he was halfway there by the time Shadow said anything. [Sadrak’s alive.]    The would have stopped Akan dead in his tracks if he’d not expected it. But Shadow was the only one who didn’t actually know, and having assumed him dead, she’d not picked up on any of Akan’s thoughts on the matter. Of course, she was trying to ignore most of his thoughts anyway because they made no sense to her at all. He said nothing and simply continued to the cockpit. When he got there, he climbed into what had soon become ‘his’ seat on the left side(which was one of those things that bothered him for some reason, as he’d been used to most pilots sitting on the left of the ship and he wasn’t piloting...) and looked to Shadow, “I assume they know where he is.”    Shadow nodded, her attention out the viewport as the moon’s atmosphere faded away into the blackness of space. Not too far above them, the gas giant of Endor could be seen, and Akan just hoped they wouldn’t be in orbit too long. There were stories about the forest moon’s orbit where the Emperor had been killed, and Akan wasn’t one to test the truth of them. Turning his attention away from the dead of space, he caught sight of a metallic glint. As they got closer, Akan identified it as a Lambda-class shuttle. His. Well...Jen’s, but Akan had been present at the buying of it and had lost his Y-Wing in the process. He claimed the left wing, at least.    A voice came over the comm, sounding strange. Akan quickly realized it was because Loki was alive, all of his systems were just slightly different. In the case of the comm, the normal crackling and distorted voice was non-existent, instead sounding much more fluid and watery. Because of that, it took Akan a moment to recognize Voort’s voice, “Transmitting the coordinates to the planet now.”    Akan turned to Shadow again, “I don’t even get a hello?”    He received a glare from Shadow, and she’d opened her mouth to say something when Jen’s voice interrupted, “Hello, Akan.”    At that, he smiled proudly. [Ha.]    [Shut up.] Shadow’s glare intensified to the point where anyone that wasn’t made of the same stuff she was(literally), wouldn’t have survived the burning pain from it. Quickly realizing it was having no effect on him, Shadow gave him a mental punch(which actually hurt somehow) and turned back to the viewport. When Voort’s voice sounded on the comm again, Jen could be heard laughing quietly to herself behind him, “We’ll meet you there. Its better to explain all of this in person, anyway.”    Then the comm shut off. Voort was as military as ever, it seemed. After only a few minutes, the shuttle turned, and shot off into hyperspace. So much for the ‘how are you?’ that went with the ‘hello’. Akan sighed and leaned back. When his eyes closed, he allowed his mind to wander and before he knew it, they were in hyperspace and on their way. He had a feeling that when Voort and Jen met up with them(if it ever happened, of course), that they’d at least talk about what had happened before jumping off into another adventure. But then again, he’d forgotten to think about both Voort and Shadow.    [She doesn’t mean to be like that all the time, Akan] Loki said interrupting his train of thoughts and even figuring out where it was leading. The ship wasn’t a Force user in that sense, just very good at figuring out people. Especially, Akan, it seemed.    “Shut up, Loki,” Shadow grumbled, also leaning back in her seat.    [You know I’m right.] the ship responded, a little too quickly if it had been anyone else. But Shadow wasn’t one to claw at her own ship until it cried.    She just looked up at the ship and then closed her own eyes. Unlike Akan, she didn’t let her mind wander. Honestly, she had no idea how to. All her life, she’d been perfectly controlled, no emotion or action coming through that wasn’t planned ahead. It was how she had been brought up. It was impossible to be any other way when you were a real killer. But she wasn’t brought up that way...she was a clone. She wasn’t Marix BlueIce. She was Shadow...Alrax...both worked, as they fit who she was. Slowly, her controlled thoughts started wandering without her realizing it as she started to wonder if her family knew. If they did, they wouldn’t have let her live...    Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned to Akan. He was asleep. Sitting up, Shadow sighed and tried to relax. What of him? Everything would have been just fine if she’d not given him that body. But now...could they really justify killing her now? Maybe they did know...but clones were never allowed to live long enough to have their own Nothlit. She’d complicated matters far too much. The worst part of it all was that she was fairly sure she wouldn’t be allowed to live. It wasn’t as if they could just undo what she’d done for Akan. So now, despite how hard she’d tried to escape it, she was back to being a killer.     To make all of that worse, Sadrak was still alive...as was the Darkwing. Buried. Something that strong could not be killed, and barely controlled. Shadow struggled to keep it down and had a little success. But every few nights she’d not allowed herself to sleep for the worry that it might come back. And yet again, her thoughts returned to Akan. He should have just killed the Darkwing. It was the only way he could have done so and lived. But, of course, he was idealistic and always thought people could be saved. Turning her head, Shadow glared at him again.     [I’m glad you’re okay.] Loki’s voice made her jump slightly, but it calmed her thoughts and a smile slowly grew on her face. At least, no matter what, she had Loki.</blockquote>

Verification