FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #12

I had been following Eyuran's lead in the narrow tunnel for some time now. I had been trying to reconnect with Quennah's network while we were slowly crawling through the communication lane toward the cargo bay, but the siSystem was still dispersed. The tunnel changed direction several times. We had passed countless intersections; I would definitely have lost my way if it weren't for my cousin.

The repetitive movements left my mind free to roam and gave me time to think about various things, including soma. My stomach was angrily growling. Disabling the hull repairer had left me really hungry and all we had were some dried snacks and water. It didn't look like we would be getting a decent, hot meal anytime soon. I would gladly eat a meat roast. Maybe even a double portion... I slapped my cheeks. Think about something else!

"What just happened?" Eyuran couldn't turn to see me well in this tiny space, surrounded by cable tubes.

"Nothing," I whispered loudly. "Only a hopeless moment of self-discipline." He snickered.

In my blood flows Falaighnn. Eyuran has a very rare primordial blood type and a special kind of soma that is not very well matched with evolved systems like Quennah, though he has no such effect on simple arcai. At least, I hoped that wasn't the reason the hull repairer had an unhealthy interest in both him and Uncle Orewen... Anyway, I needed to master Falaighnn as soon as possible. I was pretty useless in our current situation, letting Eyuran do the majority of the work. All I had done was destroy an opponent. Yet I was still unable to connect to my father without the siSystem, and I didn't know why he couldn't connect to me either. I couldn't even tell if he was alive. I couldn't feel any living presence on this ship, even the closest one...

For a moment I touched my lips. What was that feeling, again?

Eyuran and his father's soma match best with living beings. Connecting with their type would probably be the wisest second choice. There was, however, one tiny problem. I had no idea how to use Falaighnn's interface. The brief experience I had had wasn't enough to grasp the main 'switch'.

I checked with Quennah's plan. We were somewhere inside the technological complex area. At this point I still could not detect any siSystem Nodes nearby. It was also very quiet. We should have heard noises here, but there were none. Where was everyone?

The cargo bay wasn't far from here. If we could get the gear there, we wouldn't need to hide like this anymore.