ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Saga and Christi's Journey part 5 - Outpost

   Decker's flagship was a trim, neat vessel, at least on the outside. On the inside, it was a mess befitting only the best of mercenary commands. Saga and Christi made their war up to the bridge of the ship, which was a simple, split-level bridge, with stairs on either side. Decker sat them down and said: "All right, we can get you back to Alfandra, but since it is a nexus of realities, it's a dimensional jump, so we need a couple of hours to get the drive system ready."
   "I'm just paying you to get us there, I don't care how."
   The hours came and went, and the time came to attempt the jump.
   "All hands brace for dimensional jump in 5...4...3...2...1 begin!"
   The jump started off smoothly at first, but...

   "Sir! we are detecting a mahor flux in the transdimensional rift generator!"
   "What are you saying!"
   "Sir! we have misjump! we must return to normal space immediately or be destroyed in here!"
   "Arrgh! Revert to normal space at once!" The ship gave a mighty shudder, and Saga blacked out. Being hit by a falling beam will do that to you.
   Saga woke up in a medlab, with Christi holding his hand by the bedside. As soon as she saw him stir, she immediatly got up and hugged him.
   "Saga, are you all right?"
   "No, but I'll live. I've been through much worse than this."
   Decker finished talking to the doctor and walked over to them.
   "Sorry to interrupt this happy little reunion, but we have major problems. The transdimensional drive component is comletely busted, and the ship has taken quite a bit of damage, so we're going to have to make two stops before we can get you back. The firs on is going to be at one of our smaller outposts to get the armor and hull fixed, and the second one is going to be at a headquarters base to get the transdimensional drive unit replaced. Sorry about this."
   "No problem. Just as long as we get there."
   Decker leaves the room, looks back at the two of them, and thinks: ~A 7' tall standing armored draconic High Paladin, and a short elflike crature with angel wings... I wonder if there's ever been a stranger couple than this?~

   Saga and Christi were quartered in the same room, and it was easy to tell that these quarters hadn't been used much by the mercenaries; they were completely clean. Saga tossed his greatsword in the corner of the room, and pulled off his armor, feeling that he had no need for it on a friendly ship. However, he had to don it again quickly after he found out that everyone had to leave the ship after they arrived at the space station.
   The sation itself looked like nothing more than a shipyard with accomidations for crews that had to stay while their ships were being repaired. The inside, however, was a bustling spaceport, complete with hotels, shops, and restaurants. Saga, if he didn't know better, would've thought that the station was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Saga and Christi secured a room quickly, so they wouldn't forget later, and met the other mercs for lunch. Christi started a conversation, of course.
   "Saga, you really should eat more. Right now, you're jus unhealthy."
   "How am *I* unhealthy? I'm strond, agile, fast..."
   "Saga, I took a look at the med charts while you were knocked out. The healthy body fat percentage for a dragon of your size and age is 7-10 percent. You have three percent!"
   "You should worry about this more than me, you know."
   "Nah I'm already healthy. And besides my food maintains the rest of me first, the the rest goes straight to my wings."
   "So, how would this make me a better dragon?"
   "Well, I'm guessing it would help keep you warm, so you wouldn't have to wear that armor all the time, and..."
   "And?"
   "It would make you more cuddly in bed."
   Upon hearing this, the four nearest mercs dropped what they were eating and immediately called for their checks and space sickness bags.

   After lunch, some wandering, and a slightly larger dinner than normal for Saga, the two decided to turn in for the next eight hours. Saga continued to snuggle with Christi in bed after he fell asleep, but this time he slept more peacefully, as if Christi's mere presence had some unseen effect on him...