Metamorphosis, Aer-ki Jyr [best classic literature .txt] 📗

strike and he was desperately clinging to a sanctuary that might evaporate at any moment.

Paul finished and walked back inside, with Cal-com sealing up the tent but not going in. Instead he fully activated his armor and took off running into the blowing sand, disappearing from view within seconds as Paul sat back down inside and tried to hang onto consciousness as long as he could, though he was already sensing the next blackout coming…

Cal-com ran through the storm at the best speed he could manage, knowing time was not his ally. Paul was vulnerable when blacked out, and it was questionable whether or not he could fight if need be when he wasn’t. He did a perimeter check telepathically and with sensors as he left, finding nothing but sand, sand, and more sand, but the universe was not predictable and every second he was away from his friend he was in danger…but starvation would kill him for sure, and carrying Paul on his back or telekinetically right now was not advisable, though doable.

Yet whatever it was they’d come out here to chase inside Paul had been found, and jeopardizing it could be just as deadly. Cal-com didn’t know what moving him would do or not do, for the better or worse, but if Paul felt he needed to face this out here away from everyone else, then that’s how they’d play it…yet they were going to need a lot more supplies. Fortunately Cal-com was far larger than Paul, so he could carry more, and after all the mundane walking his body was itching for a challenge anyway, so he made a point to fight the wind and sand as if it was a workout, gaining as many seconds as he could all the way back to the cliff wall that separated the Sand Sea from the less dry desert beyond.

Cal-com kicked in his anti-grav when he got near the base and flew up to the summit, dropping back down on the firmer sand and continuing to run, saving his power for when he needed to jump over dunes rather than trying to fly straight to his destination. Both his and Paul’s armor had ample power cells, but they weren’t unlimited. Low level activity would recharge them in a trickle fashion, and Cal-com didn’t want to risk his dropping so low that he’d have trouble later.

Paul could just fly on his own biological energy, which was far more efficient than the tiny anti-grav units woven into the already densely packed armor, but Cal-com could fly if needed. Right now he had no pack to carry, so it was best to run and save the flight energy for the trip back, though it wouldn’t last the whole way.

Cal-com ran for hours, using his own muscle and not using the armor enhancement to save power, eventually coming back to the New Luminance outpost that was sunken into the desert. He forced himself to become a pedestrian again when he arrived, because creating a commotion might delay his return more than walking would, so he made himself be patient and shopped in the most efficient manner possible, ending up with 18 smaller packs full of supplies roped together into a massive bundle so large that when he strapped it on his back bystanders had to move aside or get knocked down given how wide it was.

He ignored the questions and complaints, heading across the chasm and up to the city rim on foot, then he immediately started running, finding the movement very difficult given the weight, awkward shape, and the sinking sand under his feet. Cal-com kicked in his anti-grav and began to fly low to the ground, monitoring the onlookers and watching for pursuit, but he didn’t take an evasive route to hide his destination. A straight line was the quickest way back to Paul, and he didn’t want to waste more time away from the vulnerable Human.

So he flew…and flew…until his power cell was getting dangerously low, then he reluctantly dropped down into the very slick sands and began walking through it. He found he couldn’t run given the weight and conditions, but he was only a few kilometers away from the tent location and already well out into the Sand Sea. Fortunately the storm was now gone and the sky clear…which made it even hotter with the direct sunlight beating down on his armor, but that absorbed into it and gave it a little bit of an extra recharge trickle as he remained cool inside the skintight protection.

Cal-com used a few bursts to get over tricky dunes, but otherwise muscled his way back to the tent, finding it intact as he dumped the bundle of packs down, feeling his back thank him for the relief as he looked through the walls of the tent with his Pefbar and confirmed Paul was still inside…except he was sitting up in a cross-legged position, meaning he wasn’t blacked out at the moment.

Cal-com pried off one of the packs from the bundle and brought it inside, seeing his friend oddly sitting with his eyes closed in a meditative pose.

“Paul?” he asked after a moment of no response.

The Human blinked, apparently unaware of his arrival, then he fully opened his eyes…which did not look right, but apparently Paul wasn’t aware of the change.

“Back already? I thought you left a few minutes ago?”

“More like hours. How many times did you black out?”

“Three, but they felt brief. No more than seconds, though now it seems that was an illusion. What’s wrong?”

“Your eyes have changed.”

Paul frowned. “How?”

“They’re green now, but they also have an extra ring visible,” Cal-com said, producing a clear shield square in front of him coming from his armor, then he made the shield reflective to create a mirror for Paul to look into.

“They’ve never been green before,” Paul noted, inclining his head back and forth