A New Beginning

Chapter 64

Tessa's POV:

With all of the bending and leaning Soranto was doing as he organized things, I finally flew over to a crate where I could lay down and watch him. He was slowing down, but not quite relaxed enough yet for me to try talking to him.

He eventually sat down on a crate and looked over at me. "We may be trapped in here for a while, but the good news is that nothing can get in here while those heaters are running."

The opening was good enough for me. "That's good." I managed to keep my voice from shaking, and it even sounded friendly.

His head spun towards the door as he tensed. Pausing, he narrowed his eyes in thought, and his eyes drifted slowly back to me in disbelief.

I tilted my head innocently, keeping my voice younger sounding. "What's your plan?" I had a feeling I was making this situation far more awkward than it should have been.

"Tessa?" he tentatively asked, blinking slowly.

I perked my ear tufts and trilled while replying, "Yes, it's me. Mom finally gave me permission to speak with you. She says that Taureen is asking if you know where we are."

"Taureen and... Tasha?" He stared blankly at me, still trying to get over his shock.

"Yes. I can still speak with Mom and Dad. Dirk, too. They don't know where we are, and your wrist comm isn't sending whatever special signal it is supposed to."

"Are Drae and Sipar okay? How is Adeline doing?"

"Drae and Sipar are alive. Sipar is in recovery. Drae is somewhere in a scouting shuttle looking for us. Adeline and Maria have spent a lot of time with Aeria and Taureen. Apparently, Adeline brought over some big gun that Taureen locked in his weapon room the moment she wasn't looking."

That startled a laugh out of him. "I should have known she would drag out the fusion blaster." He recollected himself. "So, all fire lizards can speak telepathically?"

"Tele-what?" In reality, I knew what it meant, but Mom had suggested playing down my intelligence a bit.

"In our minds."

"Yes. If we choose. Most dragonets speak with their chosen handlers once they trust them enough. It varies. Some don't talk much. Dirk says that I'll almost certainly talk your ear off now that I'm allowed to speak with you, which I'm probably doing now."

He rubbed his forehead. "This... makes far too much sense, actually. There were a few things in the handlers' notes. Like when Alec originally named Serena and Tom and they refused to listen to him. Then, just two days later, he changed their names and their progress skyrocketed."

"They really didn't like being called Flaer and Vatar," I said, amusement coloring my voice. With a shake of my head, I got back on track. "Do you know where we are?"

"Not really. Either a moon, planet, or very large asteroid from what I can tell. I managed to get into a cargohold on one of the shuttles before it left, so I couldn't see outside."

After relaying that to Mom, I asked, "Taureen is asking how damaged your wrist comm is. They are occasionally getting your heart reading, but nothing else."

His gaze darted to his wrist comm. "They are actually getting a partial signal? I knew it was picking up nearby signals like your tracker, but I assumed the damage to the transmitters was too great to transmit anything. But if even one transmitter is partially working..."

He took off his wrist comm and began pulling it apart with small tools from his belt pouch. I watched in fascination; I hadn't known it could come apart. It was hard to watch and try to mindlink what I was seeing at the same time. It was also giving me a headache. Mindlinking was meant for words and images – moving images were causing a strain I could feel.