just that a wile ago, right up..." ... but her words are cut short as Andee sweeps both her feet forward and up from behind her heels, with a leg sweep from his sitting position. Nayaa falls flat on her bum buttressed by her hands. She turns to Andee with a hard glare, but she seems more angry at herself for being caught off guard..
"I win, again." Andee smirks at her while Mirceu howls with laughter.
"See there little brother. She messes with us, but we can mess right back with her."
Nayaa jumps to her feet and wipes the dust off her butt.
"I guess. But you guys are really distracting. I really want to figure this out, but with you two clowning it's impossible."
"Ok, I get that." Then looking up to Nayaa. "You promise not to clown around when he's trying to figure things out."
"Dude! I wasn't clowning about what I said. Tell him to put the card back in. You'll see. That grey door says, key... word. So there's got to be a word that is the key that opens that up."
"I'm right here you can talk to me directly." Mykee snarls at Nayaa from under his breath.
With a childish mocking tone. "I thought you didn't want me talking to you because I'm stupid, and I'll break your brain. And if I touch your toy I'll break it with my finger. And if I seat next to you, I'll break your butt." Andee gives her a disapproving look, but with a grin. Mirceu is howling with laughter. And Mykee, his eyes are locked on his display. He puts the card back in. He studies the grey window for a while.
"Ok, sorry. Maybe you're right." Mykee speaks after a moment of silence from everyone.
"Wait. Are you apologizing to me?" Nayaa asks surprised.
"Don't push it." Andee snaps at her. She rolls her eyes.
"Actually, it does make sense." Mykee starts speaking without looking up. "If you want to hide information there is no way to lock it with an actual key, but a word... you know there's so many words. It could be any one."
"Try, 'Andee's gay'." Nayaa suggests with a straight face. Andee facepalms his forehead.
"You promised you wouldn't clown when he's trying to figure stuff out."
"Oh yeah, I did. I forgot. Sorry Mykee. I'll walk over there. I'll just stand over there. I'll count the junk." Nayaa apologetically shuffles back and away.
"Alright little brother. I'll let you work on this. I know you'll figure it out." Mykee nods his head without taking his face off the screen. Andee stands up but turns back to Mykee. "You coming to the outcrop with us tomorrow, or you gon'a watch the races from home, alone, on your new toy?"
"Maybe I'll come."
"Good. It'll be fun. Maybe there will be another crash. You can't experience that at home, or in the West Market stands. How about you Mirceu, you coming?"
"I can't. I'll be in the Crags, waiting for another ship to crash. Mykee here needs more parts. He's building a ship."
"I know. One day. He'll get it." Andee pats him on the back and steps away.
Adinaa is sitting on a stool next to Tom's work table facing him. Tom is sitting in his chair and they both look troubled.
"Tom I was really hoping you would dispel my worry, but now... I feel worse."
"I wish I could say, everything will be fine, but I can't."
"What if it is just a coincidence?"
"I don't see how. I mean... how?"
"I don't know. Maybe the name was already in the database. Someone before our time. And..." But Adinaa is unable to finish her sentence seemingly overwhelmed by concern.
"At this point, I think we have to assume the worst. And we have to take every precaution we can." Old Tom responds resigned.
"What? What precaution? This was our precaution." Adinaa counters agitated, and then continues despondent. "But it was all a waste of time."
"If they know."
"Unless it's a coincidence, but like you said, it's hard to imagine. They know." Adinaa speaks her words with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"What do they know?" Andee's voice cuts the tension between Adinaa and Tom. Both jump back out of their seats, even Old Tom, as if a bungee cord was just severed between them. At the same time a beep goes off. Andee stares at them shaking his head in disbelief, still standing in the open doorway. He than casually walks to them with Nayaa following. He starts looking around.
"What's that sound?"
"Nothing, I think one of the devices..." Old Tom responds but goes silent when Andee stops between them and opens his palm without a word. Old Tom leans forward looking at the little object. He quickly snatches it out of Andee's hand, places it on his desk, and smashes it with a hammer. The beeping alarm goes off. Andee looks at Old Tom, than at his mom, completely dumbfounded.
"What the hell is going on around here?" Andee snaps at the two. Old Tom picks up the smashed ball and lifts it up at eye level, between himself and Andee.
"Where did you get this?"
"Was this at the door?" Adinaa asks pointing at the device, her face horrified.
Andee studies her expression for a moment. "No. It was following us, at the crash site."
"You went back out there?" Old Tom looks down at the object in his palm. Reading Tom's reaction Andee confirms.
"So it is a recorder. Ok, no more secrets. These recorders are following us around. Maybe they're even in here. We're going to look for these things, and after we find them all, you're going to tell us the truth. All of it." Andee nudges to Nayaa to get ready to search.
"That won't be necessary." Tom interjects.
"Oh?" Andee frowns.
"I have sensors that can detect these things. That's why the alarm went off when you walked in."
"So it was still recording? I smashed it with a rock."
"It had a signal, but it was damaged, so I doubt it was recording."
"OK, now you really have to tell me everything."
"No." Adinaa immediately responds.
"NO! Are you kidding me! NO? Are you crazy? You could have told me these things existed. Then I would have known to hide from them, or catch them before they recorded me. Don't you get it? Keeping me in the dark puts me in more danger. You're not saving me. You're making things worse for me!" Andee is nearly shouting at his mom he is so agitated.
"Yeah this is real weird. Why are you guys keeping secrets?" Nayaa interjects.
Adinaa turns to Old Tom looking for some kind of resolution. Old Tom simply nods his head up and down. Adinaa releases a deep breath.
"Have a seat Andee. I'll tell you what I can." She offers.
"Ok finally!" And he takes a seat.
"There used to be a troublemaker, back in the day, when I was young, that was really hated by the Bitani, and his name was Starfighter. The Bitani banished everyone with that name, even if they weren't related to him, because they didn't want to take a chance. If their records are screwed up somehow, then maybe they think you are part of that group. If you keep visiting the crash sites, and sneak into their warehouses, they'll think you're one of them, and one day they'll banish you." Adinaa finishes her words staring hard at Andee, while his eyes are directed down, looking at the floor.
"Son, banishment is no joke." Old Tom continues. "The truth is, it's a death sentence. You've seen those deserts out there. There's nothing. No way to survive. And the few people that do, go mad, live in caves, some even become cannibals. It's horrible out there."
"Is that why the Flatlands become that Badlands once past the lower city perimeter?" Andee asks finally lifting his glare from the ground for a moment.
"Yes." Adinaa answers.
"Absolutely." Tom confirms. "I've been out there. Long ago. The only people that survive in the Badlands are pirates and troublemakers. There's many clans of them. They fight among each other, and sometimes they raid the farms in the East End. Sometimes the warehouses in the West End. They survive any way they can. They'll eat alcamas, ghimurs, and anything else they can get."
"Were you serious about cannibals?" Nayaa asks with big round eyes.
&nbs
p; "Absolutely. Imagine living in a cave for months, alone, with nothing to eat. You're not going to care if it's an alcama or a person, you'll kill it and eat it, or die."
"Wow, that sounds terrible." Nayaa nods her head gently.
"That's what banishment means."
"In some ways it's worse than death." Adinaa ads.
Andee has been listening quietly with is face hanging low, eyes down. "What if dad's out there?" He muses quietly. Adinaa and Tom look at each other, but only for a moment.
"Why would you say that?" Adinaa asks her son.
"I guess that's what I always kind'a thought. People don't just vanish. I thought maybe he was lost in the Badlands, and one day, he might find his way back." Adinaa leans in and grabs him in a hug. Nayaa joins them. Old Tom just pats him on the back.
End of Chapter 5 next Chapter 6 : The Race
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