Aquana Chapters 9-

It was several weeks before the sleeks force fields of Breeze came into sight again. The trip had, according to the captain, been oddly empty of disaster and mayham. They unloaded their cargo, and then had a month of free time. Sky went with Amy and Kyle to try and find Brooke, but to no avail. Her ship was still out in the blue, swimming to some other destination. Amy and Kyle seemed to be hiding something from Sky. She noticed that every morning they went off togeather to the captains corters, and every evening they came and checked the new arrivals. Some how she didn't think if she wasn't that intrested in weather Brooke was there or not they were. Finally she manedged to get Amy to admit it.1

"Ok, fine yes were looking for someone. The only possible person who could have set that fire. The person who tried to kill you." The feeling of happyness that Sky had gotten at hearing she was right evaporated like mist.2

"The person who tried to kill me?" She asked, looking at Kyle.3

"Yeah, you know the tech apprentice named Sam?" Sky nodded, remembering a bully. One of the kids who had taken a personal offence at Sky being smarter than them. "He has the motive, the know how and everything else he needs. The only problem is that he's off on the Viper, sailing for God knows how long. The captains going to wait a month, but if he's not back before than were just going to have to tell the Pols, and we don't really want to do that."4

"Why not?" Sky asked, woundering who in the worlds the Pols were."5

"It turns out Sam isn't just an arogant SOB." Amy spat, threw her teath. "He's also a lords son. Lord Count De Dannon. If we arrest his son, but arent here to show our evidence the case is more than likely to get thrown out of the water. And us fined for bringing charges against one of the royals, not doubt."6

"If were not just arrested." Kyle growled.7

"But thats not right!" Sky said, throwning. "He shouldn't be able to get away with murder just because he's a lord. There should be consiquences to his actions no matter his station. Lords should have to fallow the same rules as everyone else!"8

"Shhhhhhh." Kyle and Amy quickly hissed, placing their hands over Sky's mouth. "God Sky, dont talk like that here! People can hear you. You can get halled away for talking like that!" Sky looked agaust at them, but she held her tong and they rushed her back to the ship. The captain was waiting when they got there. He was sitting in front of the ship reading a book on the history of earth. Sky woundered where he got it, because she'dnever seen one before. 9

"Did you find him?" The captain asked, looking away from his book at the two. They shook their heads, and the captain sighed. "We can't wait to much longer. The crew is getting restless, and the money is running out. If we don't get gone soon I won't have enough to refule and depart. "10

"I know captain, but he's not here. Perhaps we could just wait until we come back to dock?"11

"By then another year might have gone past. No, we can't afford the time. We'll just have to go and hope that when we leave the evidence with the Pols it doesn't jsut disapear, along with us." Amy and Kyle nodded, then ushered Sky toward the ship, but Sky was still looking at the book that the captain was reading. 12

"Whats the book about Captain?" She asked, and Kyle and Amy told her to go on. 13

"Its all right you too, let her stay and talk. I'll make sure that she doesn't head off into the colony." They stood for a few minutes, then shrugged and went back into the ship. Sky came and sat down in front of the Captain, who smiled. "Its about a war that happen in a place Called America." Sky smiled. She liked hearing things about Earth.14

"Once there was a country called America where everything was new and shiny, much like the worlds were before our war. Any one who wanted could come to America, and it was rumered that dreams could be made there. Hundreds of people came to America, their hopes driving them threw parils that nearly killed them. They formed a government, and all looked as though it would be perfect, but there were some that resisted the perfect government the others were trying to set up. 15

One side called the south wanted to have freedoms away from the all powerful government. They felt the government was crowding them, controling them. Forcing their ways to heavily apon them. When the North, which was the other side, tried to force a law that all people must be free in America, with no slaves, the South broke off and declared its independance. But the North knew that they were too new of a country to have such an enemy, and such a weakness. Others wanted their land, and if they wanted to keep it they would have to defend it. They issued an ultimatum. If the south did not rejoin the Union, then they would fight them and make them rejoin the union anyway. This book is about the war that fallowed, once of the most bloody in the nations history." and here he quoted to her a part at the begaining of the book.16

"For in that time, brother went against brother, and father killed son, and son killed father. And all wept when they found what they had done, but many was the time it happened, for the nation was devided, where neigbor killed neighbor for his beliefs, and the opposite the same. And they called it the Civil war, because it was once nation, devided, fighting itself." Sky looked apptly amazed, and The captain Smiled.17

"But I don't get something." Sky said, looking back at the captain. "If they broke from the Union because they wanted to be free, why did they have slaves? Didn't they recognize that all people deserved to be free?"18

"People are often blinded to their hypocrasies." The captain answered, looking up at the top of the Force field dome. "They weren't slaves, so they didn't see there as being anything wrong with slavery, and yet they accused the North of trying to make them slaves. Some said the people they inslaved weren't really human, and they were the worst of all." For a few minutes the captain stared up at nothing, and then he shook himself and said in a quiet voice. "You should be heading back in. Kyle and Amy will worry." Sky nodded, but she couldn't help but think of the captain as said. There was something in his past, she thought.19

When she got up Amy said it was time for bed, and Sky nodded. She'd promised to meet the lady, as she called her, in her dreams. The Lady would be waiting. They were trying to figure out what tie the ladies people had to Sky, for they said that only those tied to that world could pass from hers to theirs.
She lay on her bunk and took long, deep breaths, counting one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...... by ten she was asleep and in the forest once again. But it wasn't the lady who she sat sitting on the grass but Toki.20

"I'v been waiting for you!" Toki said, and sky stepped backward from him. He was just as beautiful as the others, who where the most beautiful people she'd ever seen, but he had an air about him she didn't like. She noticed, when she was simply with him that his nails were sharp, and his teath were pointed like a cats. And his eyes were black. Toki got up and glided to her, but Sky couldn't run away. He looked into her eyes and she felt afraid, because what she saw in those eyes was a darkness, an abysse. Toki reached out and was about to touch her arm when the Lady came running from the woods. 21

"Toki!" With a hiss Toki turned, and then he was all smiles. 22

"Yes Mir~rien?" Toki said, and the way he pronounced the name was Mirhhhhhhhhhrrien, with the H's soft and almost whispered. Mir~rien was angry, Sky could tell, but she looked as calm and composed as ever. Her voice was like fire, and Toki seemed to grow less when she spoke.23

"I saw what you were about to do Toki. It is forbidden, you know it is forbidden." Toki smiled, and made shooing jestures. 24

"I was not Mir~rien, you are mistaken." Mir~rien threw something at Toki, and Toki yelped, backing up. 25

"It is possible you tell truth Toki, but I do not believe you. Your fasination with flesh will be your undoing, have I not prophisied? Turn from your course of action, or it will destroy you." And just like that Toki threw his arms up and a cold gust came and he threw his arms down, and was listed by the cold into the air. When there he became a white bird and flew away on the wind. Mir~rien stood for a few minutes and watched him and then she turned her gaze to Sky.26

"Sky of the Aquana greetings. I am most sorry for Toki's behaviour."27

"I couldn't move...." Sky said, feeling cold and realizing for the first time that it was not her imagination. "What was he trying to do?" The lady Mir~rien looked after Toki, and when she spoke it was softly, almost as though to herself.28

"Once there was a Lithien who traveled from our plane to yours in an animals body. He did this by inviting a healthy beast to him, and capturing it here. By doing this he was able to travel the flesh and see wounders, and feel for the first time in all our knowledge. When he returned it was found that the beast he had trapped was still in the body, but its essence... its being was here. It could not return to itself and we could not return it. The body walked, but it had no guide and soon died. That beast was never whole. It was after that forbidden to enter a live animal who had not been brought here fully. That is what Toki wants to do with you. 29

He argues that because you can come here on your own, others could travel out in you without harming you. He tried to have us vote to attempt such a thing, but no one would risk it. If we harmed you........ you would be here forever." Sky stared at the lady, and felt cold. Trapped, forever in this, place... in a dream as Toki walked around in her body.... It was such a scary thought that Sky shivered.30

"How can I keep Toki from being able to enter me?" Sky asked. The Lady Mir~rien just shook her head. 31

"I know not, for this is beyound our knowledge. You are different. You bring those that are not yours here, and yet it is right that you do so. We have forseen it..... I can tell you nothing. There is something I would like to show you." And she turned and walked back into the wood. Sky fallowed, woundering what it was that Mir~rien wanted to show her. They passed many trees, and Sky was beganing to wounder if there was really anything at all when they were at it. 32

Sky gasped, looking at the beast. It was no kind of animal Sky had ever seen before, with a long neck and short legs. It was almost like a frog, and near a frogs size. Thelady sat down and picked it up, and it gasped. Sky came over and looked at it.33

"This is the beast." Mir~rien said, looking at Sky. Sky reached out to take it and Mir~rien handed it over. The beast growned