LGCY - SQ:TRA

CHAPTER FIVE

Cryos' face tightened and then he spoke, "Aliáne trikt ser lèbk á , Visíe iiáya ensíiklir"
Jade reached a hand over to Graveheart's shoulder and pressed lightly on it, inclining her head, meeting his eyes with hers, " Alià. "
Quickly they boarded the nearby fighters and lifted off the planet surface, on the way to the command ship. Jonny and Jessie looked at the new arrivals in awe and fascination, ' to be able to meet the people they had thought only characters in someone's imagination…'  They pulled into the cargo bay of the command ship minutes later and alighted the craft…
"Wow," Jonny couldn't stop the murmured word from escaping his lips… Graveheart, Jade and Cryos looked at him strangely, 'What in the world was wrong with the boy? Perhaps the two did need medical attention…'
Over head the balcony that extended over the rim of the cargo bay, bordering it became a flurry of sound and activity as several people entered… Tekla, Voxx, Zuma, Femur, Pelvus, Sternum, and the Captain of the Igneous Knights, head of Planet Fire's military forces and Prince Pyrus' chief guard.
Tekla spoke first, to Graveheart, Jade and Cryos. Jonny looked at Jessie with a 'What now?' expression. Jess shook her head and dropped her shoulders in a gesture of uncertainty. They still couldn't understand what these people were saying…
Suddenly Jonny leapt forward, shocked he anchored his balance quickly and spun around in search of what had pushed him… Femur… Jonny looked at him in confusion, slowly realising the short toad had just slapped him on the back in greeting… and was now proceeding to chatter on…
Jonny shook his head, glancing a look at Jessie who… if he didn't miss his guess, since gauging the expression on Zera's face was a bit difficult, was laughing… her amusement was clearly reflected in her eyes… He shot her what he hoped was a scathing look… but the laughter in her eyes didn't ebb…
'Lord… I have to loosen up…' He tried to concentrate on Femur's actions in some effort to figure out what he was saying… He failed miserably… He wished he could yell at the building frustration.
Jessie meanwhile had turned away from Jonny and Femur and looked at the others. Every so often, she caught Cryos glancing at her… She smiled to herself, 'Fathers! They're all the same, no matter what world you're in.' She knew the expression all too well, she'd seen it reflected in Race's face often enough, once she'd found her way out of one scrape or another, the concerned, a bit angry, a lot guilty expression… She turned her attention to Tekla and more specifically to Voxx floating beside her. 'He's basically a computer, true a very sophisticated one but still a computer… and computers I can handle. Maybe Jonny and I can figure out a way to use Voxx to communicate. Short of  trying a game of charades, that looks like our best bet…'
Then she sensed something amiss. She was her father's daughter, she knew when someone was watching her. She scanned the group before her. Then stopped… Zuma… Zuma was staring at her… and every so often Zuma would look to Jonny, as though she was confused… as though… she knew…
'Of course! Jessica Bannon how dumb are you! She's a telepath, she doesn't need language to communicate. She can read your thoughts… She always seemed to be able to read Zera's…' Maybe… maybe Zuma was a better bet.
Far away she heard  a whisper, something that sounded familiar… She looked at Jonny… he was still turned towards Femur and Pelvus. She sensed… somehow she knew… it was Zuma… she looked at her steadily and gradually the sounds of speaking about her faded and the sliver of a whisper became louder... and louder...
Someone shook her off balance and the link broke… She looked up from her daze and saw Cryos, the others were moving out of the cargo bay and heading into the interior of the ship.
She looked at Zuma, who slowly turned and followed the group… She would have to try again…
"Zera, visíe"
Jessie nodded her head and moved forward… As they made their way to the dining room, Cryos spoke, "Muadànà… Setrikristìè selà?"
Jessie didn't know what to do or say… his expression looked concerned… She tried to smile as brightly as possible and nodded her head before looking forward. Cryos seemed to be satisfied with that for now… and turned his attention to the tasks at hand as they entered the dining room.
Thankful for the reprieve, Jessie made her way to where Jonny was seated. She would tell him about Zuma and her suspicions… and together they'd get out of this… She smiled, with Jonathon Quest by her side they'd get through this no problem… But somewhere in the back of her mind a doubt lingered, she crossed her fingers and slid into the seat beside him.