The next day from that fight, Lana heard, "Hey Lana, wait up" as Vorden called out to her. She turned to see him jogging to catch up to her as she was heading to the library. She stopped walking to allow him to catch up. "About last night. Can we talk about it?"
She smiled and nodded noting the confliction in his eyes. "Let's sit at one of the tables. I was planning to continue my research but we can take a few minutes, of course."
They finished the walk in silence, both lost in their thoughts. When they got seated at the table, Vorden touched the orb in the center to activate the silence mode so no one outside the table could hear their conversation. He started with, "I had a lot of fun last night…" She chuckled and waited for the "but" with a raised eyebrow. "but we cannot continue this way." He paused to wait for her response. She simply looked at him as if waiting for further explanation. "My life is ... complicated."
Her smile grew broad, "Who's isn't? Vorden, I'm not asking for forever. Tomorrow is not a guarantee. I know you think your future is locked in stone. I can see that in your eyes. The sadness never goes away, the fear. It's always there hiding behind the emotions you want others to see. I'm not asking you to marry me, have 5 kids and never leave my side. Be strapped to me forever. That would be a nightmare for you. I'm asking you for the present. I am asking you for happy for today. If our happy lasts one day, one week, one month, who cares. At least we can say we HAD happy. We have had so much misery. Why can't we have these few moments for however long they last?" She looked deep in his eyes and saw that he was thinking. "I don't know your situation or if I will ever know it. But you know my brother thinks I get in enough trouble and that you and your friends will get me into even more trouble. If we choose happy, it will still have to be a "stealth" happy whether I like it or not. But I'll take whatever version of happy I can get."
The wheels in his brain were still turning.
"I'll tell you what. Tonight, I'll be practicing some things at the Agricultural Club, after sundown. Give it some thought and if you choose happy, come find me."
He nodded.
She sat there watching him leave until the door closed behind him with a soft hiss then got up, selected some books and got to work.
"Lana?" She came back from her reverie with Quinn calling her name. "Is everything okay?"
She nodded.
"I was saying thank you for doing what you did. It doesn't make you a monster. You were that girl's hero whether she recognized that or not. So, thank you."
Lana let out a bright smile never having thought of herself as a hero before.
Not long after, they reached their dead space. Now having a bag of clothes to carry as well, everyone but Peter, with all the things they needed, moved to the transport to finish their journey to the planet. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She was going to have to tell her brother she was pregnant and had no clue if she would ever see the father again and that she swore to be faithful so she couldn't even find a new daddy for the babies. On top of that, the discussion about abilities was because there would be an assessment. She would have to fight someone upon arrival to show her strength. This terrified her. Her heart was racing and those she was traveling with couldn't understand. She was the only human and they were more relaxed than she was. In way too little time in her book, they were challenged by four ships. Paul took the coms and responded they were looking to join the faction. They were then escorted to the faction base. They were told to stay in the ship until called for. They heard sounds outside the ship then were permitted to step out. The ship had been locked down.
There were mechs around the area and a few people to assist with ships and direct people. As they disembarked from the platform after landing, they were met with Blip, a Rank A traveler and founder of the Crows. He shook Paul's hand and they were escorted to a room. They needed to fill out some basic information about themselves on a tablet. For ability, Lana put "plants". Shalt put down "liquid metal". For highest tier ever killed, she put "advanced" as did Fex and Kaz. Shalt put down "Intermediate" as did Paul. Quinn put down "king tier." They had to include the gear they used and wore. Lana had to write "none," but she was glad she bought that chest piece for Shalt. Upon entering the room, they were met with Nate, a muscular man with a blocky head and his friend Sam. The same two Lana and Quinn met at the tournament. Fex met Sam but not Nate. Last to enter was Linda, a stone-faced, no-nonsense woman who co-founded the Crows with Blip, her brother.
Blip looked over their information and thought they were lying. He then handed the tablet over to Nate who looked through while Sam looked over his shoulder. They discussed the latest recruits with Blip. Sam was just there for curiosity and to support his best friend. Linda sat down in a huff expecting to see the liars fall flat on their faces.
Lana noticed Nate and Sam at the table and asked Quinn out the corner of her mouth, "do you want the others at the table to know you know them?"
He replied quietly, "no."
"I got you." Lana walked up to the table confidently looking at Sam. "Hey Sam, do you remember met we met at the interbase tournament? I was wondering if my brother Dobin and my friends are here. I really would like them to meet the friends I made over the summer," as she gestured to all the people behind her. They had no idea that Sam had told Nate the Blood Evolver was there and Nate had gotten excited, making Linda curious.
Blip lined them all up in the order they were to go in front of their seats. The first test was to run an obstacle course. There was a golden circle and other circles. A person stepped into the golden circle and it would then move to the next spot. The golden circle told the person which circle to go to next.
Lana watched as Quinn ran the obstacle lost in her thoughts. He really was fast. When Fex hit the circuit, she watched him use his string ability and realized a person really could make this event their own. Kaz went next then Paul then Shalt then her. She lost herself in trying to figure out how to do just like Fex, make it your own.