The Ice Warrior

Chapter 35

"How are we supposed to keep the promise?" Silv asked, unsure of what her grandmother was thinking.

Surely their priority should be to shake off the humans who were trying to shoot them down, not to worry about keeping promises. Silv thought that once they were safe from the soldiers, they could do so but going into it at that moment seemed like madness to her.

Then again, her grandmother proved to be right more than once, and Silv decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, we fixed Wir Eis's ship, now it's his turn to help us with the maps," Rose said.

"Can the ship take you to your planet now?" Silv asked Wir Eis instead of answering her grandmother.

"No. Interstellar travel unable." Wir Eis said.

"How is that possible if all the systems are functioning optimally?" Rose asked, confused.

"Evanescence." Wir Eis said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rose said, clearly irritated.

"I think I understand. Though we've fixed the broken parts of the ship, Evanescence is still partly sentient, and we can't fix her broken heart. She is still grieving for the last Ice Warrior, am I right?" Silv asked Wir Eis.

"Yes," Wir Eis answered.

"How does that even work? I haven't seen any technology that allows for interstellar travel, at least not as far as I can tell." Justin said, curiosity shining through his words.

"Evanescence provide liquid. It necessary fuel." Wir Eis said.

"I don't understand," Justin said.

"I think I might. After being so closely connected with Evanescence, I can understand her better. In a way, she is no different than us. She has emotions and sensations that are not too different from ours. Wir Eis, the liquid, is it something like a hormone?" Silv asked.

"Evanescence, initiate a translator. Word 'hormone'." Wir EIs said as strange letters appeared before his eyes that were like nothing the humans had seen before.

It reminded Silv of the hieroglyphs though it wasn't exactly the same. That made her wonder how old Wir Eis's civilization was and if there had been any contacts between them and humans before his father arrived on the planet.

"Yes. Happy ship have happy hormone. It special liquid make ship go." Wir Eis said.

"It sounds like dopamine in humans. The hormone that our body releases when we are feeling happy. Only in the case of this ship, it has some unusual properties that make it suitable for traveling among stars." Arthur said, searching his files for similarities.

"It's fascinating, but I guess we shouldn't be so surprised since a partly living being can travel through space without the usage of any special vessels. Even though this ship is part mechanical, it's still an impressive feat. Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the ship's hormones can have such strong and strange properties." Justin said, mulling over what had been said.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Cheer her up?" Rose asked, vexed that there was a problem that she had no idea how to fix.

"No. New Ice Warrior. Permanent connection make Evanaescene happy." Wir Eis said.

"Do we have any of those?" Rose asked.

"No," Wir Eis said.

"Then, we will go with my plan. Wir Eis, what do you need to map the area?" Rose asked without making any room for objections.

"Be close to place. Evanescence can map underground." Wir Eis said.

"Alright, Silv, take us to the mountain," Rose said.

"No," Silv responded.

"Excuse me?" Rose asked angrily.

"We haven't kept our promise completely, I think we should do that first. It's not fair to ask of Wir Eis to keep his part of the promise when we haven't fully kept ours." Silv said.

"We've done all that we could. There is nothing else that we can do. At least not now. I'll have Arthur working on that problem while we map out the area. Will that please you?" Rose asked, her words dripping with venom for the first time since Silv had known her.

"Yes, it would," Silv responded.

Silv didn't want to question her grandmother's authority but having in mind how two-timing humans could be, she wanted to ensure that her friend wouldn't be tricked. It felt as if it was her duty to protect everyone on the ship, including Evanescence.

"Hold on to something. I am still learning to navigate, so this might be a bumpy ride." Silv said as she did her best to slow down her movements to provide them with smoother flying experience.

Evanescence needed just the gentlest of coaxing to do what Silv wanted her to do, and for her sake, Silv did her best to make her movements more fluent, less jerky. Still, her skills weren't the greatest in directing the ship. However, she showed improvement after a few sudden jolts.

"I think I am starting to improve at this," Silv said with a smile on her face.

Though the others didn't completely agree with her assessment, they wisely chose not to offend the driver. Especially having in mind that she was the first time driver who seemed to need all the concentration just not to hit a tree.

"What do we do after mapping out the mountain?" Justin asked, thinking of his father and his brothers.

"I guess we go and deliver the map to your grandfather," Rose said, her eyes never wavering from Silv's focused expression.

"All of us?" Justin asked.

"No, I guess not. It's not smart for Silv and me to go back to any sector when we are wanted by the Government. It would be bad news for everyone." Rose said.

"Then what will you do?" Justin asked.

"Hm, I haven't thought about it yet. I guess we'll get a head start on exploring the mountains. Maybe Wir Eis can help us get into the lower layers of the earth with that device of his." Rose said.

"And I am supposed to go deliver the news to my grandfather alone?" Justin asked with a wistfulness that was barely hidden.

"Well, my boy, I could ask Arthur to follow you, but I have a feeling that's not the type of company you are looking for," Rose said with a knowing look.

"No, that's okay. I can do it by myself. I just wondered what happens with you. That's all." Justin said.

"I am not sure. Silv is so fascinated by this whole alien world that I am not sure if she will be able to leave it behind so easily," Rose said.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"I don't think she will stop trying to help the aliens until they are back to their planet, whenever that might be. I am afraid that it will get her hurt or worse. Yet, all I can do is stay by her side and help her out." Rose said, looking at Silv with all the love and care that the grandmother had for her.

"We are here." Silv interrupted their hushed conversation.

"Let's get down to business, then," Rose said, determined to solve problems one at the time.