The Stars Between -- (VLD)

[7] Well, well, well- if it isn't Lance!

 Nea giggled as Lance jumped back in surprise, covering her mouth adorably as she did so. She then skipped happily over to a small pile of books that Lance had yet to notice before. They were stacked neatly, the book on top open and flipped upside down so that it kept the page. Nea grabbed it and turned it up the right way up, plonking herself on the floor and reading from where she had left off.

Lance figured that this was a good a place as any to start.

"Hello!" He smiled, standing in front of her. She smiled back and grabbed his arm, pulling him down to sit beside her. Lance grinned, peering over her shoulder at the book she was reading.

Nea spoke to him, and Lance tried to distinguish her actual words from those of the translator. He'd grown so accustomed to tuning out the natural language of aliens that it took some effort to begin with, but became easier as she rambled on.

What he could hear of Nea's native tongue was beautiful, her words sounding soft, yet musical. It actual reminded him of the way one might sound whilst speaking French.

It suited the adorable kid.

She held the book out to him, peering over the edge hopefully.

"Sorry, Nea. I can't read it," he said, shaking his head so that Nea could perhaps understand what he was trying to say.

Nea's musical tone was heard again and Lance again marvelled at the beauty of the sounds that came from her mouth. He nodded again at her question.

"I would love to learn."

Nea smiled brightly, overcome with happiness. Lance figured that this was the only time that someone on the ship actually made an effort to communicate with her. The thought saddened him immensely, but he kept his sadness to himself as Nea lead him over to a small shelf, tucked away in the corner of the library.

He had always loved learning languages, and if it made this incredibly lonely bundle of sunshine happy, who was he to refuse?

Hours later, Lance hovered beside the Blue lion, content. It was peaceful here. Matt called out from on top of Blue where he was attempting to fix her navigation systems.

"Oi, kid! Stop daydreaming and get back to work!"

Lance laughed, backing up a bit so that he might see Matt's face, reddened from the physical activity involved with climbing Blue in the first place. Not only that, but with a prosthetic leg? Lance deemed it quite impressive, causing Matt to encourage him to "shove it where the sun don't shine".

Lance cackled at this, because where was that exactly? They were in space. The sun didn't shine anywhere.

"Would love to Matt, but I've got a check-up with Kelaan. Have fun!"

Lance turned, scooting out the door and sending a mental "see ya later alligator" to Blue. She sent a weak hum in response, nothing more. It was enough to cause Lance to smile, and the expression was still on his face when he found his way to the medical bay.

Kelaan was... busy when he entered. There were five other people all squashed into the tiny medical bay, one person was even sitting on the lap of another. These two in particular were quite interesting to Lance. They looked almost human, but one of them had the tell-tale markings of an Altean, and the other had pointed ears.

He was so busy looking at them, that he failed to notice the other two occupants of the room.

"Well, well, well- if it isn't Lance!" The words rang out in a half giggle, causing Lance's smile to be wiped from his face.