Crew Assignment

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

09/13/97:

I was working on the computer core for the _Falcon_, more
accurately under it, trying to get some work done on the
ship. Home was getting hectic and I really did not want to
have to deal with it right now.

Which was kind of hard, as part of what was going on was
with me! Whatever Ken had done to make me sleep back on
Draz's world had some strange effect. Now, in my small bits
of sleep, once a week or so, I was dreaming!

Dreaming, Me! It's strange to think about it. I used to
never dream before, now... the best way to describe them
is... dangerous. Not to mention confusing.

There are two total... maybe three, I'm not sure. In one,
I'm talking to Oria, and she looks years old, a bit softer
around the middle, the colour of her fur around her eyes had
become much darker, and slightly thinner.

We were having a heated discussion about letting someone one
to do something that would mean they would be separated from
us for a few years. Oriana was against it, but I was
insisting that it had to happened. Then a male lion, who I
had not seen at the start, said something that I couldn't
remember, and I would wake up.

It's pretty damn confusing.

The other one is I keep re-dreaming the delusions I had in
the caves, waking up just before I would have found Jadith
(who was still having her own problems, but that is
something else).

The possible third one is just a collection of images. I...
find myself attacking someone... I'm not sure who and I'm
not sure why. It's disturbing, and the one I truly fear the
most.

Back at home wasn't too pleasant either. Oria and Sora were
at each others neck again, trading jabs and insults every
time they talk. Oriana herself was doing slightly better,
finally starting to move back into running her house. Rose
was still helping her get back into the swing of things.

As for the rest of the crew, Ken was recovered, and back to
what ever it was he actually did... and the same went for
Kalie.

Jadith was her own problems... she was a natural... but
never seemed to have actually used her ability. Someone else
had brought her through the fold and deposited her in the
caves, not the mention the Wyrm, who I had made special trip
back to get a scale from, she had also been dropped there,
just as I had figured.

This gave her one major problem, she didn't know how to get
back to her home world. It actually wasn't a know factor,
home. You learned it when you first when through a fold, but
she didn't exactly go through, she was dragged. She didn't
know how the folds felt to her, and who to open one to her
world.

She was trapped on Prid until her home world could be found,
and we were looking, hard.

As much as I hated the idea, I actually wanted to talk Burke
about this... if he had actually put her there to save me,
he would know how to get her back home. I needed to do that
much for her.

After getting her home, there was something else I think she
might be qualified for.

Shaking my head, I smashed my wrench against the connection
to the computer core. The line flickered and finally light
up as it connected to the rest of the ship.

Sliding back out from the access hatch I quickly packed my
tools up and closed the hatch. The _Falcon_ was going a lot
faster then I had ever hoped. Most of the systems had been
install, the major exception being the engine, parts of it
had been finished yet, so that was still waiting.

The computer was a bit on the blink as well, but was slowly
getting the kinks worked out, and the two person cockpit was
still made up of mostly lose wires.

All in all though, it was looking like I would have the ship
flyable in a couple months.

Setting the tools next to the hatch, I checked a few
switches, then started out of the ship.

"Fox!" Jock called from one of the other hallways, his
brother was half inside an access panel, fiddling with
something I assumed.

I shook my head. "What are you two doing here? And where
have you been, I've been trying find you for a couple of
weeks!"

Rhan stood up next to his brother. "We have been working out
the details to sell our office space in the Hall."

I coughed. "Oh? Moving then?"

The nodded in unison. "Yes," Jock explained, "we are
returning back to our home?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

They both frowned. "Living hear has not be very profitable.
Over the last few years you have become our only client."

Rhan continued, "it's not because of you, the amount you pay
us easily covers all of our expense with more then enough to
spare."

"Prid is just not what we planned on, the expense and
regulations are tiring, and we barely clear the immigration
laws."

I rubbed the side of my head. "I understand, I'm sorry to
have the pair of you leave."

The conversation lapped into an awkward pause. Then a new
voice spoke up.

"Well, if the three of you are finished I think I've found
part of the problem with your computer systems."

The source of the voice was a female mouse that has crawling
out from one of the access hatches. She was dressed pants
and short sleeve shirt, along with a vest that had half a
dozen different tools attached accost the front. Her blond
hair was tied behind her head.

"Two of the downlinks have been shorted out," she continued,
"the nodes router has been install upside-down and the
primary connection is half welled accost and barely active."

I grimaced a bit. "Thanks for the summation," I looked to
the brothers. "What's with Gadget here?" I asked, nodding to
the mouse.

She crossed her arms. "Gadget?"

"She is our replacement," Rhan explained. "She is also a
native to Prid, and will more then cover both of our jobs."

"Ah..." I said, nodding a bit. "Nice to meet you then Ms?"

She walked over to stand a few inches from my face. "Malia
Trin."

"Fox Cutter."

"Yes, I know," She said with a sly smile.

"Right then, you're hired, the Brothers will give you
everything you need to know."

She nodded. "They have already, now I'll go make the repairs
that you need to actually fly this thing." She then ducked
down into one of the other access hatches and into the
bowels of the ship.

I shook my head. "She will be interesting to work with."

The Brothers nodded in unison.

"Listen, what about Burke? Will she be working on that as
well, and have you found out any more about him?"

Jock nodded. "She knows about him. We've also verified that
it is some type of time travel, based on Prid. We just don't
know the time where he originated. It will take a second air
sample to get an acuret reading."

"Then I'll remember to exhale the next time I visit." Burke
said from where he had was now standing a few feet away.

Jock and Rhan looked to each other then back to Burke. "So
you are the enigma." They said in sync.

He nodded, "And you are the Brothers I've heard so much
about. Congratulations on your deductions, they are quite
acuret."

"Thank you, I think." Jock replied.

"Enough with the pleasantries. I need to talk to you."

Burke smiled, "I'm glad you've finally found something you
wanted."

"It's not about want," I snapped, "It's about need, dealing
with something you did!"

He nodded. "If I may, I would like to ask the pair of you to
leave."

They looked towards me. "Yes, the pair of you can leave. I
will catch up later."

The Brothers frowned, but did leave.

Burke leaned back against the wall, adjusting his suit
jacket slightly. He was dressed again in all black, with the
same blue star lapel pins. "What do you want to know?"

"Jadith."

He frowned, slumping slightly. "Yes, the elf..."

"You did put her there then."

He shook his head. "No... I had nothing to do with it
directly. My employer order it to be done, and he had it
done by the same person who is putting me here as well."

I rubbed my forehead. "He again, you're employer keeps
changing sex."

He took a deep breath. "Both is acuret, I have a pair of
employers. This is a kind of family business."

"Do you know how to get her home then?"

"Yes," He said, removing a slip of paper from inside his
jacket. "This is the full number of the fold she originally
came through. Take her back through it before you do
anything else."

I took it from him, glancing at the number, then stuffed it
into my pocket. "Thank you."

He smiled. "Thank me later," then vanished as quickly as he
had come.

I sighed, leaned back against the wall.

"That," Malia said as she crawled out the access panel and
into the hall, "is a very annoying man."

I nodded. "So, I take it you did something to him?"

She gave me a predatory smile. "Oh yes, I got a full DNA
sample from the back of his leg. I have a friend who will
find it very interesting, I'll get the results back to you
as soon as I get any."

I grinned, I was going to like this lady. "Thank you."

-----

This story is (c) 1997 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.