Clone Earth: MELVIN

Chapter Thirty Three: ARI

"I was over there. Why is she over here. What -" Farris' voice melted away, his posture hunched and the low raspy voice took over. "The ship has moved. Took your eyes off of her for a minute and she tried to steal it." He turned away from Ari as his back straightened his posture taller as it became the feminine voice's turn to interject. "I knew she was trouble. You should have killed her that first moment. She sabotaged our ship."

"NO!" Ari suddenly found her voice. "No stealing no sabotage. It was an accident."

Farris spun around, but it wasn't the kind eyes of the Farris that had taught her to fly. They felt hard and dark, the low voice took his turn, "An accident wouldn't have happened if you weren't allowed to be here."

Her hands were up in defense, "I was trying to help. The sign over their said we needed to move, I thought - "

"You thought?" The higher voice advanced, "You should never have been allowed to think at all!"

Anger boiled inside Ari, she'd made it all this way and she wasn't going to let this version of Farris kill her now. "I'll fix it!" She yelled, arms at her side she tried to appear bigger than the man in front of her.

It worked.

He paused.

Disguising it the best she could, Ari pulled in a long shaky breath, "I already proved to you I can program anything and even though I don't quiet understand your ship, I know I can fix this. I WILL fix this!"

With narrowed expression, Farris crossed his arms high on his chest and looked down his nose at the teenager. "How?"

"I don't know, YET!" His posture didn't change, so she continued. "I need Farris to tell me about the ship. I don't know this model so - I don't - I don't recognize the broken part."

Jaw tight the high voice visibly snarled before his shoulders relaxed and a more gentle but still irate Farris returned her gaze. "What part did you break?"

"It was in the ignition chamber, between both engines." Ari stepped out of the way reveling the smoldering metal part on the ground. Eyes wide Farris rushed to it, his hands touching the now cooled metal along the rough scorched edge. Part of the piece was rounded, like a handle but it had gotten so hot that bowed upward in an awkward angle.

"This is the Starter Annex!" he said, he tone layered with disbelief, "It's a part that never breaks. You destroyed it? How?"

"I don't know, but it's just an annex so I should be able to bypass it and directly connect -"

"No. You don't bypass the Starter Annex. Theirs never been a need to, everything around it is replaceable but not it. IT doesn't break." He repeated visibly fighting off the urge to allow another voice to take over.

"Hold on," Ari slid into his line of sight hoping to keep him from changing and killing her on the spot. She was also subconsciously scanning him for weapons. "If you're sure I can't by pass it, then I'll get you another part." She motioned behind him, "We are at the biggest salvage yard I've ever seen. They are sure to have a few of this exact part inside. We could use those extra credits and buy it."

It was a desperate reach, but when Farris didn't yell back her confidence started to return.

This could work.

"We don't have it." The gruff voice from behind the plastic window answered. He pushed the hunk of metal back through the exchange basket. Ari gaped at the window. On the other side, the man in a tattered cap with heavy protective glasses and sand colored overalls wipe the snot from his nose with the back of his greasy glove.