They stopped to wonder at the sight that displayed itself down below before them. Lothar had never seen anything like it. For all the grief and strife in the Four Brethren, it was somewhat heartening, to know there was at least one beautiful spot in it all and simply awesome to lay eyes on it. One could forget all the warmongering tyranny the rest of the Four Brethren had been reduced to. At least for a moment and a beautiful one at that.425Please respect copyright.PENANAWVKGNC5RMb
For that moment, Lothar and Mhyrsy just stood on the snow capped cliff as they took in the beautiful sight and the sunset. For a small moment they forgot all their troubles, why they were there and even where there was. They just immersed themselves in the moment and beheld perhaps the most beautiful sight in the solar system - together. It was their moment.425Please respect copyright.PENANAAbxs7dTf2z
When had that begun, he pondered. The establishment of the we. The thinking of another being as though she were a part of yourself. Looking back it seemed as though it had always been so. As though they had always known and accepted their love. Yet it was only since they had arrived on Clato that the barriers had fallen.425Please respect copyright.PENANAW4B5pwmVHV
Yes he loved her. Her wit, her temper, her heart, her touch close in his arms, her scent, her quick technical mind, her childish habits. Yes he loved her whole. And he knew not how he’d feel should she choose to stay. No he’d worry about that later, when the time came. He didn’t want her embroiled in his battles either. Yet he’d fight for her just as furiously as he would for his people. That was what scared him. A man could only give his heart to one thing. Still he’d worry about it when the hour came. For now he would stand with the woman of his heart and enjoy the moment. Their moment.425Please respect copyright.PENANASAjWnTJEV2
Strato and Lato were in close proximity and already shone their reflective luminescence in the dimming sky. Pato wasn’t in the joint orbit and hence the only one of the Four Brethren not visible. He wouldn’t be for quite a while. Still, the other two siblings made for a wonderful sight. Them, together with their interchanging moons. ‘Such a sight had to be a natural wonder of the universe’ he thought!425Please respect copyright.PENANAhZJrjcp8bE
“I wish we could capture this for all time. This is more beautiful than I remembered” she spoke so low, as all her senses drank in the moment. He simply nodded not sure what to say, so he did. He didn’t feel like it anyway. His words could ruin the moment. He was drowning in the moment. He was from Scythe, a strange martial and agricultural planet more famous for its many incredible sights and vistas than its huge efforts to feed the Federate – and the Empire before it. Still, this was a different kind of beauty. Made more beautiful because it was unlike his home planet. This indeed, was a sight to see.425Please respect copyright.PENANAehkWn00M4K
Night finally came down, descending upon their world of mountainous peaks of snow, and broke them from their reverie. They turned round towards their destination now near at hand. Lothar was the first though and as he turned he thought he glimpsed what seemed to be movement, a long way down the mountain, the way they had come. He stopped and squinted through the heightening wind but nothing revealed itself. Regardless the uneasiness in his gut didn’t diminish.425Please respect copyright.PENANAVD83nSjLwU
"What is it?" Mhyrsy asked. She had to shout a little through the numerous scarves and thermosuit that she wore.425Please respect copyright.PENANASTwpfYjlDw
The movement had seemed to have been a long way down from their position. "Quite a long way off indeed," he mused. He turned and started making his way down into the green vale of Ode, a sharp contrast to the crisp white world outside the valley. Mhyrsy made to follow him.425Please respect copyright.PENANA9CDzVZVOle
"I think we may not have lost our pursuers as we may have hoped."425Please respect copyright.PENANAG9jVnCPpwK
That stopped her in her tracks and she looked back the way they had come then back at him. The jagged white mountainside revealed nothing. Lothar on the other hand didn’t bother waiting for a response, nor to see her expression. He already knew what she thought. Behind her dark goggles and many scarves he couldn’t tell her expression anyway, but her next words confirmed his thoughts all the same.425Please respect copyright.PENANAjpjHEvOIVD
"That’s impossible!" she declared. "The only way they could have made it through the catacombs was if..." her voice trailed of as the gears in her head started grinding and chewing down the possibilities. "Aaargh! Damn it!" she swore and shot past him as she scrambled down to Ode. Lothar allowed himself a small smile. Mhyrsy was undoubtedly quite colourful.425Please respect copyright.PENANAKygRf68azF
"I told you we should have collapsed those caves behind us" he chided, as he hurried on after her.425Please respect copyright.PENANAnCHV1l8tkf
"And bury us along with them?" she countered. "I don’t think so. We wouldn't have made it and you know it."425Please respect copyright.PENANAKVbHaReHxN
"Well so much for that, now they are less than a day away."425Please respect copyright.PENANA3QMFzcW8hA
"I don’t get it!" she went on, not really paying attention "How did they manage to find the right way and how did they escape the Frost-gols?"425Please respect copyright.PENANAuHsaoD7bFx
"Really Mhyrsy.They have the numbers and they have the technological resources. Should be more than enough for a few of these Ice-Gols."425Please respect copyright.PENANAxFJSoEMUZU
"Frost-Gols!”"she screamed "And they aren’t few. The entire mountain is littered with them. And I wouldn’t talk of them so lightly if I were you, considering you’ve never actually seen them in action."425Please respect copyright.PENANA61pJxtJ3Ls
"As for finding their way out?" he continued unabated. "I’m sure after searching so hard they finally figured it out and switched off their lights. It was probably by accident too. Who knows how they got past the booby traps, but don’t ask me!"425Please respect copyright.PENANAoZVij1PYtB
She huffed, as she turned to go. "You know, for an Agro-Prince from across the system, you’re pretty annoying at times"425Please respect copyright.PENANA547r2EaQZ2
"Oh Agro-Prince?!" he guffawed."We’re back to that now?! Agro-prince? Really? "425Please respect copyright.PENANAmMcfcgBo5x
"Just quit nagging, will you. Come on, we need to warn the town that we may have led the Federate straight to their doorstep." she had finished stuffing her thermo-suit into her pack and stood waiting for him. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAdZdKuAZkAn
He sighed. His was never an easy life."How good are Ode's defences?" he asked. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAtrz4x3Ceq5
"Lo', " she gave a laugh." I haven't been here in 15 years!"425Please respect copyright.PENANAiM92P0yvvJ
He could feel the cold dread creep up his spine. The small spasm he felt, that had nothing to do with the frigid temperatures, he had just walked out of. His face twitched once in response. 425Please respect copyright.PENANA4UYMifAOJm
"You tell me this now!?"425Please respect copyright.PENANANkwwBUeazO
"Oh come on, Lo" she said emphatically "I thought you would have done the math by now." 425Please respect copyright.PENANAoTh7m5XJAp
"Whoa, what math? I was thinking 7 years ago not a damn decade and a half. Is this scientist we're looking for even still in existence?"425Please respect copyright.PENANAJtus4YlksP
Usually she bristled and made an angry scene. Not today. She gave him a cold level look and her voice came out flat and frigid, if somewhat strangled."Trust me, if he no longer existed I would know. It's just a matter of finding him." She hesitated as if wanting to add something but eventually just let out a breath and decided not to. "Come on." she said "time isn't on our side. We need to warn them" 425Please respect copyright.PENANAxcaLodpfCn
"Fine" he said as he finished stuffing his pack, "but so just you know, When this is over we are going to have a very serious conversation about name calling and secrets." he called after her, shaking his head before following. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAtsFq5bcqMQ
"Gladly!" she called back. What she didn't say was that she would be glad if they stayed together afterwards. Mhyrsy Larker was finally coming to the one place in the galaxy she called home. Lothar Grieves on the other hand, she knew, still had other ideas. Just how much more important they were than her she could only guess. Then again who between them had to be more concerned with the answer to that question.
For that moment, Lothar and Mhyrsy just stood on the snow capped cliff as they took in the beautiful sight and the sunset. For a small moment they forgot all their troubles, why they were there and even where there was. They just immersed themselves in the moment and beheld perhaps the most beautiful sight in the solar system - together. It was their moment.425Please respect copyright.PENANAAbxs7dTf2z
When had that begun, he pondered. The establishment of the we. The thinking of another being as though she were a part of yourself. Looking back it seemed as though it had always been so. As though they had always known and accepted their love. Yet it was only since they had arrived on Clato that the barriers had fallen.425Please respect copyright.PENANAW4B5pwmVHV
Yes he loved her. Her wit, her temper, her heart, her touch close in his arms, her scent, her quick technical mind, her childish habits. Yes he loved her whole. And he knew not how he’d feel should she choose to stay. No he’d worry about that later, when the time came. He didn’t want her embroiled in his battles either. Yet he’d fight for her just as furiously as he would for his people. That was what scared him. A man could only give his heart to one thing. Still he’d worry about it when the hour came. For now he would stand with the woman of his heart and enjoy the moment. Their moment.425Please respect copyright.PENANASAjWnTJEV2
Strato and Lato were in close proximity and already shone their reflective luminescence in the dimming sky. Pato wasn’t in the joint orbit and hence the only one of the Four Brethren not visible. He wouldn’t be for quite a while. Still, the other two siblings made for a wonderful sight. Them, together with their interchanging moons. ‘Such a sight had to be a natural wonder of the universe’ he thought!425Please respect copyright.PENANAhZJrjcp8bE
“I wish we could capture this for all time. This is more beautiful than I remembered” she spoke so low, as all her senses drank in the moment. He simply nodded not sure what to say, so he did. He didn’t feel like it anyway. His words could ruin the moment. He was drowning in the moment. He was from Scythe, a strange martial and agricultural planet more famous for its many incredible sights and vistas than its huge efforts to feed the Federate – and the Empire before it. Still, this was a different kind of beauty. Made more beautiful because it was unlike his home planet. This indeed, was a sight to see.425Please respect copyright.PENANAehkWn00M4K
Night finally came down, descending upon their world of mountainous peaks of snow, and broke them from their reverie. They turned round towards their destination now near at hand. Lothar was the first though and as he turned he thought he glimpsed what seemed to be movement, a long way down the mountain, the way they had come. He stopped and squinted through the heightening wind but nothing revealed itself. Regardless the uneasiness in his gut didn’t diminish.425Please respect copyright.PENANAVD83nSjLwU
"What is it?" Mhyrsy asked. She had to shout a little through the numerous scarves and thermosuit that she wore.425Please respect copyright.PENANASTwpfYjlDw
The movement had seemed to have been a long way down from their position. "Quite a long way off indeed," he mused. He turned and started making his way down into the green vale of Ode, a sharp contrast to the crisp white world outside the valley. Mhyrsy made to follow him.425Please respect copyright.PENANA9CDzVZVOle
"I think we may not have lost our pursuers as we may have hoped."425Please respect copyright.PENANAG9jVnCPpwK
That stopped her in her tracks and she looked back the way they had come then back at him. The jagged white mountainside revealed nothing. Lothar on the other hand didn’t bother waiting for a response, nor to see her expression. He already knew what she thought. Behind her dark goggles and many scarves he couldn’t tell her expression anyway, but her next words confirmed his thoughts all the same.425Please respect copyright.PENANAjpjHEvOIVD
"That’s impossible!" she declared. "The only way they could have made it through the catacombs was if..." her voice trailed of as the gears in her head started grinding and chewing down the possibilities. "Aaargh! Damn it!" she swore and shot past him as she scrambled down to Ode. Lothar allowed himself a small smile. Mhyrsy was undoubtedly quite colourful.425Please respect copyright.PENANAKygRf68azF
"I told you we should have collapsed those caves behind us" he chided, as he hurried on after her.425Please respect copyright.PENANAnCHV1l8tkf
"And bury us along with them?" she countered. "I don’t think so. We wouldn't have made it and you know it."425Please respect copyright.PENANAKVbHaReHxN
"Well so much for that, now they are less than a day away."425Please respect copyright.PENANA3QMFzcW8hA
"I don’t get it!" she went on, not really paying attention "How did they manage to find the right way and how did they escape the Frost-gols?"425Please respect copyright.PENANAuHsaoD7bFx
"Really Mhyrsy.They have the numbers and they have the technological resources. Should be more than enough for a few of these Ice-Gols."425Please respect copyright.PENANAxFJSoEMUZU
"Frost-Gols!”"she screamed "And they aren’t few. The entire mountain is littered with them. And I wouldn’t talk of them so lightly if I were you, considering you’ve never actually seen them in action."425Please respect copyright.PENANA61pJxtJ3Ls
"As for finding their way out?" he continued unabated. "I’m sure after searching so hard they finally figured it out and switched off their lights. It was probably by accident too. Who knows how they got past the booby traps, but don’t ask me!"425Please respect copyright.PENANAoZVij1PYtB
She huffed, as she turned to go. "You know, for an Agro-Prince from across the system, you’re pretty annoying at times"425Please respect copyright.PENANA547r2EaQZ2
"Oh Agro-Prince?!" he guffawed."We’re back to that now?! Agro-prince? Really? "425Please respect copyright.PENANAmMcfcgBo5x
"Just quit nagging, will you. Come on, we need to warn the town that we may have led the Federate straight to their doorstep." she had finished stuffing her thermo-suit into her pack and stood waiting for him. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAdZdKuAZkAn
He sighed. His was never an easy life."How good are Ode's defences?" he asked. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAtrz4x3Ceq5
"Lo', " she gave a laugh." I haven't been here in 15 years!"425Please respect copyright.PENANAiM92P0yvvJ
He could feel the cold dread creep up his spine. The small spasm he felt, that had nothing to do with the frigid temperatures, he had just walked out of. His face twitched once in response. 425Please respect copyright.PENANA4UYMifAOJm
"You tell me this now!?"425Please respect copyright.PENANANkwwBUeazO
"Oh come on, Lo" she said emphatically "I thought you would have done the math by now." 425Please respect copyright.PENANAoTh7m5XJAp
"Whoa, what math? I was thinking 7 years ago not a damn decade and a half. Is this scientist we're looking for even still in existence?"425Please respect copyright.PENANAJtus4YlksP
Usually she bristled and made an angry scene. Not today. She gave him a cold level look and her voice came out flat and frigid, if somewhat strangled."Trust me, if he no longer existed I would know. It's just a matter of finding him." She hesitated as if wanting to add something but eventually just let out a breath and decided not to. "Come on." she said "time isn't on our side. We need to warn them" 425Please respect copyright.PENANAxcaLodpfCn
"Fine" he said as he finished stuffing his pack, "but so just you know, When this is over we are going to have a very serious conversation about name calling and secrets." he called after her, shaking his head before following. 425Please respect copyright.PENANAtsFq5bcqMQ
"Gladly!" she called back. What she didn't say was that she would be glad if they stayed together afterwards. Mhyrsy Larker was finally coming to the one place in the galaxy she called home. Lothar Grieves on the other hand, she knew, still had other ideas. Just how much more important they were than her she could only guess. Then again who between them had to be more concerned with the answer to that question.
425Please respect copyright.PENANApXr3MsRLgF
ns 15.158.61.19da2