CHAPTER SIX: DESCENT (1/5)

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Delighted would not be a strong enough word to describe Worm's reaction when Kas said they were changing course.

The girl, who Kas had thought of as rather timid, ran the entire perimeter of the Calista's walls no less than six times and then proceeded to climb up the cargo hold's ladder and swing across the overhanging beams like a possessed monkey. Kas had tried to stress that it would only be temporary, that they'd be returning to Chantos soon enough, but for Worm, the thought of visiting just one more place she'd never been to was the best news she could have hoped for.

Well, at least she's happy...

Kas had decided that the discovery of the digital noise was too important to forego and that finding out its meaning should be her top priority. She had hoped Hik with his massive shiny brain would be able to offer some insight as to its meaning, but once again he had claimed insufficient knowledge. So Kas changed the Calista's itinerary from Chantos to Lysan, a planet that was fortunately just over a day's journey away. Once there, she knew someone that might be able to help.

Despite having been waiting around for almost a full day, the Calista had hardly progressed in its place in Chantos's chaotic queue, so Kas was only too pleased to fire up the engine. The ship roared, grateful to be alive again. As Kas sailed back out towards the outer edge of ships, Kas found herself passing by the same freighter ship she'd talked to only the day before. It had now separated from the head of its dock-chain and suddenly seemed all alone amongst the huge crowd. Kas tapped its name into the comms-relay and called through.

'CSC-832,' said the familiar man's voice.

'Hey 832,' Kas replied. 'It's the Calista.'

'Oh, hey Calista. How're you doing?' The man didn't sound as cheery as he had when they last spoke. He sounded tired, perhaps even a little depressed.

'We're good. What happened to your dock-chain?'

'Uh... nothing much... just turned they weren't the kind of people I thought they were.'

'How do you mean?'

'Well...' The man seemed to be having a hard time getting his words out. Kas wondered what could possibly have happened. 'It's not a good idea to talk about this stuff over the waves, Calista. Let's just say we had different beliefs.'

Kas reflected on this a second and thought she had some idea as to what he meant. She said just one word back. 'Rhaspians?'

When the man said nothing, Kas figured she'd hit the nail on the head. The guy was just being cautious, but if he didn't want to talk she wasn't going to force him.

'Well,' she continued. 'It was good talking to you, 832. I'm outta here.'

'Where you going?'

'We're fed up of Chantos, gonna try Lysan.'

'Lysan? The queue there will be much bigger. You'll be in for a longer wait, for sure.'

'Probably. But I fancy a change of scenery.'

'You're crazy if you ask me, Calista, but suit yourself. Look me up if you come back. I got a feeling you're one of the few I might get along with out here.'

'There's several thousand ships, 832. I'm sure you'll find someone you can get along with.'

'Yeah. Maybe.'

Kas made her final push to break free from the scattered shell of ships and into vacant space. With enough safe distance around her, Kas cranked the thruster forwards and felt a wave of exhilaration wash over her as the Calista accelerated towards freedom.

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