Echoes of the Past

Chapter Twenty Five - Part Two

Chapter Twenty Five: A Soldier's Sorrow - Part Two 

"Your Voarn friend is still with our Lady Melida," Jorak said. "As for your Canarrian, he complained of being famished and so we sent him to the kitchens."

James smiled. "Very good."

Liana brought out her sat-com and typed into it. The device was sleeker and more polished than the blocky coms James was used to seeing in Tyken Town, and looked far more advanced. "I'll have someone call Evan. And get your Castan. We don't have much longer before you'll be needed in Riondon. Shall we go? We'll meet them at the command table."

Sam readjusted the gun holster on his belt and nodded for them to lead the way, waiting for some space to free up before he could leave the weapons room.

They made their way down the corridor, surrounded by the cool metal walls lined with doors. Their steps echoed dimly on the hard floor, but Sam also heard a faster pattering of footfalls. Laughter and playful shouts came ahead, soon followed by two young boys rounding the corner towards them.

The larger one, a heavyset lad, looked to be in his early teens. He nudged the younger one playfully, who was little more than a toddler. Both boys had a blue-tint to their skin. The tejan cub they had seen earlier by the entrance ambled excitedly behind them, its paws scratching and sliding on the metal ground.

"Edmund, Rossa," Jorak barked. "Enough of that. Take it outside."

The boys skidded to a halt in front of them, their merriment and smiles shifting to wide-eyed expressions. The tejan yapped and reached up to them playfully, looking for attention.

"Sorry, Uncle," the older boy said. A giggle escaped him before he attempted to make his face more serious.

"Edmund said I couldn't catch him," the young one said, huffing and wheezing. Sam smiled down at the boy. He was still in his playful disposition and hadn't attempted to calm himself under Jorak's stern glare. "But I did. You all saw that."

Sam's smile became sorrowful. The boys looked to have around the same age difference as Sam had with his brother, William. His throat tightened at the thought of his brother.

Jorak gave the boys a stern look. "Outside, the both of you. See if Wellis needs a hand out back. Make yourselves useful, if that's possible."

The boys nodded and broke into a run past them, shoving each other again as they rounded another corner. The tejan cub scrambled into a run and took off after them.

"Soldiers in training?" Sam asked as they continued walking.

"They belong to Wellis, the outpost manager," Jorak said. "They're his sister's boys, but their parents passed two years back. Now he looks after them. Did you ever meet their father, Lester Panadris? You might have seen him here before."

"Simple Panadris. I met him a few times." Sam turned to James. "Lester had such an innate talent with everything – training, fighting, women, life – everything was simple for him. So he became known as Simple."

Jorak nodded. "The younger boy you saw, we call him Simple Junior. An exact copy, if I've ever seen one." He turned them down another corridor that led to the main control room. "Just a shame they had to bring that noisy cat with them too," Jorak added with a playful grumble.

Sam fell into a troubled thought. That younger one, Rossa, had been highly spirited. His youthful ignorance reminded Sam of how he had been, around that same age. Actually, he was older than them when he lost his brother William.

He followed the others, his focus blurring as pained memories consumed him.

***

"So you can feel it too?" Melida asked.