The Commander of The Founders: Book Three

Chapter Seven: The Ring Part 2.3

Raven rummaged through a tool box as Murphy and Emori stood impatiently behind her. She was stuffing certain tools into a back bag that laid on the ground at her knees. With a scowl, Murphy tapped his foot on the tiled floor rapidly. Meanwhile, Emori peaked out around Murphy's shoulder to look at the black and red tool box. Having seen those tools before, her eyes wandered down the winding corridor behind them. Having seen technology before from Allie, she was stoked for the chance to see more.

Murphy groaned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Raven, what are you doing?"

Raven peered back at him with a piercing glare. "I'm packing my bag with tools that I might need when we visit the nuclear reactor."

"Visit the what?" Murphy gaped.

"The nuclear reactor. How did you think the Ring spun around the Ark?"

"Isn't a nuclear reactor nuclear? Why would we willingly go inside it?"

"Someone has to run maintenance." Raven turned back to her bag. Radiation detector. Wrench. Duct tape. Screw drivers. Flashlight. Rags. Pillars. Tape measure. Hammer. Screws. Nuts and bolts. Level. Knife. Thermometer. Gloves. Into the bag they all went. Rising to her feet, Raven pulled the zippers to each other, sealing the bag. Pops sounded as Raven placed the lid back on the plastic bin the tool boxes had been brought up in. She swung the straps over her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips. "Come on, gang. Let's get going."

"Why is it that you're always leading me to my death?" Murphy quipped.

Exasperated, Raven rolled her head back and groaned. "Oh, stop with your melodramatic whining."

Emori lightly skipped beside Murphy. "I don't know, John, I'm kinda excited to see this nuclear reactor." Skipping backwards, she smiled at him with her eyes sparkling from thrill.

"You would be," he muttered. He grabbed her hand softly. "But do you remember the last time we were around something nuclear? I almost had to blow you up."

Emori settled on her rocking feet and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. She pulled away and stared deeply into his worrisome eyes. "But you didn't." A small smirk spread across her lips.

Murphy rolled his eyes as he groaned again out of irritation.

"Come on, lovebirds! We don't got all day," Raven called from in front of them.

"I'm pretty sure all we have is time. Five years of it!" Murphy yelled back.

Emori slipped to his side as they walked aways behind Raven. The dazzling stars glowed outside of the windows. She smiled and then looked up at Murphy's face. "So, this is where you grew up?"

Murphy shook his head. "No. I grew up on another station. This station was reserved for those in charge."

"You don't talk much about your time in space."

"There's not much to say." One look at Emori and Murphy rolled his eyes as he breathily laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know where you grew up. Who you grew up with. What you did in space when you were a kid."

Murphy gulped. "Well, uh, I grew up in a station that we called Farm Station. It was where we grew our produce."

"So you were a ponisa (farmer)? Is that how you became such a good randzi (skilled cook)?"

Murphy placed a hand on the back of his cold neck. "No. When I lived in Farm Station, I was young. I didn't personally tend to any of the crops. I did cook for myself and my mother when she no longer could."