S'haar was enjoying the walk. The sun was shining, the air was refreshing, and the sound of the nearby stream was relaxing. However, looking over at Jack, she could tell he seemed a bit grumpy. When she nudged him, he pulled himself out of his thoughts enough to smile at her, but she could tell something was still nagging at him.

She decided to tackle the problem head-on. "So what's got my favorite human in such a mood, hmm?"

Jack chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her. "For the record, it's not a huge compliment calling me your favorite human when I'm the only human you know."

S'haar smiled in return. "True, but I'm pretty sure you'd still be my favorite, even if I know one or two others."

Jack punched S'haar's arm harder than he would have if she'd been human. As it was, he knew that to her, it was soft enough to convey his mock annoyance in the manner he meant it. "Ok, well, despite all the argu'n I know, which I might add is more than one or two, you're still my favorite."

S'haar enjoyed the compliment for just a moment before responding. "And you're just dancing around the question right now, so what's bothering you."

Jack shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing really. I feel kind of silly for even being bothered by it. It's just that..."

He took a breath and held it a moment before letting it out. "It's just that traveling between our outpost and a village used to be a time for it to just be the two of us. Yet here we are, on the road together, heading to another village, and now we have an entire entourage nipping at our heals."

Jack nodded behind him, indicating the guards Ger'ron had sent, the hunter Lon'thul had chosen, and of course, Sure'ren. "I just kind of miss the quiet peacefulness of the road."

S'haar made a show of looking around. "I hate to tell you this, but there's no road. Not yet anyway. We'll need to do a lot more back and forth traveling to make one."

Jack tried to punch her in the arm again, but S'haar batted his fist away with a grin. He shook his head ruefully. "You know what I mean."

S'haar nodded. "Yes, I do, in more ways than one. However, it's still a nice day, the air is still fresh, and we are still together, even if we're not exactly alone."

Sare'en proved S'haar's point by making her way forward to join the couple. "Um... Lady S'haar...Lord Jack, I prepared something called sandwiches before we left. We've also got some smoked churlish and fresh water whenever you feel like taking a break."

S'haar smiled at Jack. "Well, at least the company is good company."

-

Em'brel was missing her friend. She still had plenty to keep her busy, and Angela was just as close to her, if not more so. However, there was just something relaxing about the other female, and she could use some relaxation right now.

It wasn't meant to be. Instead, she had to figure out this puzzle Jack had left her. "Ugh, why do I have to design something so complex anyway?"

Angela was looking over the girl's shoulder. "Hmmm. That's tall enough now, but the blades are either too big or too close together. If a windmill tries to capture too much kinetic energy, it'll start to push back against the wind preventing proper flow and become less efficient. At the most, an ideal windmill should capture about fifty-nine percent of the wind's kinetic energy. With this many blades this close together, and given the friction the moving parts would have, you'd be trying to capture closer to seventy percent on an average day."

Em'brel sat back in her chair and sighed. "If it has to be so perfect, why don't you just design an ideal windmill and call it a day?"

Angela looked at her adopted niece with an expectant expression. "Of course I could, but then you wouldn't learn anything. This is something that could greatly benefit any village. If you learn how to build one, you can teach others how to build one."

Em'brel looked confused. "How will we be able to use this? I thought you said we wouldn't be working with electricity for many generations?"

Angela shook her head. "Windmills were around long before electricity. Let me give you an example. Now that it's spring, we're negotiating for a farmer from your village to come help us prepare and plant fields of tubers and grain, but how long will it take to water a whole field by hand? Even utilizing your new well design, a laborer would spend the better part of a day watering field barely large enough to feed just a few argu'n. However, if we designed the windmill to act as a pump bringing in water from the nearby lake, the same laborer could water a field capable of sustaining a couple dozen argu'n in a lesser amount of time."

With a tilt of her head, the AI continued counted. "Then there's the work involved in processing grain after it's been harvested. True, anyone can do it. About twenty minutes of labor with a stone and a bowl should do the job to feed a small family one meal, but windmills first derived their name from acting as mills. They were often used to grind up enough grain to feed an entire village for a year in only a couple of days."

The AI continued relentlessly. "What's more, they don't have to be used for just grain. You can use one to grind stone into powder, get oil from plants, attach a saw and cut wood, connect a weighted hammer to use in a forge, and much, much more. Their use is only limited by your imagination."

Em'brel sat back, a little overwhelmed. "All that from simply catching the wind?"

Angela nodded. "Yup, wind exerts a lot more force than you might realize. Taking those forces and redirecting them into whatever uses you can come up with gives you the kind of power even a dozen argu'n would have difficulty producing on their own, and what's more, the wind won't get tired or need breaks."

Em'brel sighed as she got back to work. "Well then, I'd better design this right."

Angela nodded. "You'll also want to design the windmill so the facing of the blades can be turned to capture or reduce the impact of the wind based on how strong it is and where it's blowing from. Also, remember the blades should be removable and supports lockable in the event of a bad storm."

Em'brel leaned back again and groaned. "Uggggh! I'm gonna have to redesign this from scratch!"

Angela smiled patiently. "Not from scratch. We've been designing this piecemeal because you're building up the foundation that the final product will be based on. Very few significant projects were ever fully realized in their first draft. You gotta work to make something like this a reality. Now, what say we work on the blades themselves next. There are a few options. For instance, wooden blades would take a lot less time and effort to make, but cloth would be much easier to maintain and repair."

-

The excursion team was settling in for the evening. They'd brought a few tents which were now being set up by the guards, Jack, and S'haar. Meanwhile, Sare'en and the hunter, who was named Nala'ac, were preparing dinner.

Nala'ac was a completely different male than the master of his discipline, Lon'thul. Where the youth was loud, young, and full of energy, Nala'ac was older, quiet, and seemed to conserve as much energy as possible with every motion he made. Sare'en decided she liked working with the hunter. The only sounds that interrupted their work were the fire's crackle, the boiling of the stew, and the cutting of meat and vegetables.

Sare'en had never been outside the village or outpost walls at night. The atmosphere was both beautiful and a little frightening. The air tasted much fresher than she was used to. Usually, it was tinged with scents of countless other argu'n or the arlack that she herded back and forth between pasture and village, but with the wind cutting through their little camp, the nighttime air seemed to be washed clean of those familiar scents. Instead, it tasted of the crisp scent of trees and wildlife.

Thinking of wildlife, Sare'en couldn't help but inch closer to the fire. Nala'ac chuckled at the movement. His usual stoic face cracked a slight smile. Nodding out into the darkness, he spoke. "You've got nothing to worry about. There aren't many animals that will come close to a fire in the wild."

Sare'en nodded. Even the arlack she tended seemed skittish around a fire, and they were far more used to it by virtue of the herd's proximity to the village. Having said his peace, Nala'ac finished up cleaning his kills, a few smaller animals he'd come across while scouting ahead of the group, and stuck them on stakes he then shoved into the ground to lean over the fire.

That done, he nodded an acknowledgment before walking off and fading into the darkness. Sare'en took some measure of comfort, knowing the camp was being patrolled as she finished up cooking.

-

Jack set up the transceiver inside the largest tent that he shared with S'haar. Since they didn't need to conserve heat as much as they had in the winter, they could afford a bit more space and privacy. Once online, Angela's voice came up over his headset. "Well, a quick scan tells me everyone made it this far alright. Good to see your first day out of the camp in a few months seems to have gone off without a hitch."

Jack frowned. "You know, you didn't have to jinx us like that!"

Angela laughed in response. "Oh please, I know you don't believe in luck or any other superstitions like that. Don't go trying to make me feel guilty when I know you better than that!"

Jack shook his head with a grin. "Maybe I don't, but by time-honored tradition, I now get to blame any and every mishap on the trip from this point forward on you, entirely due to that comment."

Angela sulked. "Fine, do what you will. Now go ahead and activate the emitters so I can give them a test run."

Jack chuckled and complied with her request. With the flipping of a few switches, Angela was able to make an appearance. She was a bit more muted than usual, so she wouldn't illuminate the tent enough to be noticed over the nearby campfire, but she still made a show of floating around and inspecting everything. "Nice place you got here. It's good to get out of the ship and see something new for once!"

Jack laughed. "Who do you think you're fooling now? You could see everything out here as soon as I set up the transceiver, just as you have every other time we've used it. Just because we finally set up some emitters allowing you to visually appear doesn't make this your first trip out of the camp."

Angela floated onto her back and smiled. "Maybe so, but to properly blend in and socialize with flesh bags like yourself, I try and act as though this avatar is the real me. It's not my fault if you refuse to play along!"

Jack smiled and shook his head. "And I suppose there isn't a second avatar currently active, sitting at the table with Em'brel, Ger'ron, and Fea'en while they eat dinner?"

Angela held up her hands in surrender. "Alright, you caught me. Though Lon'thul is there too, and they're not eating, they're cleaning up after dinner. That being said, your point still stands."

Jack nodded before tilting his head in consideration. "Lon'thul is over, huh? He and Em'brel have been getting pretty close, haven't they?"

Angela smiled patiently. "Calm down there, dad. While by her people's standards she's a grown adult, they aren't pursuing anything serious yet. She's too focused on her projects around the camp to fall head over heels for her third savior."

The AI tilted her head in thought. "Still, she could do a lot worse. Despite his carefree nature, he's proved himself more than capable of taking care of a number of problems and being able to adapt on the fly. Aside from yourself, he's probably one of the most forward-thinking males on this planet. Quite frankly, if she does decide to accept his affection, I think he might make a rather pleasant addition to our family!"

Jack shook his head. "Yeah, but she's still so young, and he's just such an...immature goofball."

Angela smiled. "Do I need to play back a few videos of your first interactions with S'haar? You weren't exactly a ladies' man yourself. Remember your first 'goodnight handshake?'"

Jack grabbed a nearby bedroll and threw it through Angela's avatar. It passed through harmlessly, of course, but he still took a little pleasure seeing her momentarily broken into a digitized mess. "Don't you dare! If you do, I'll..."

Before he could finish his threat, the tent flap opened, and Angela faded from view. However, as soon as it was clear it was only S'haar, the AI returned. With an amused look split between the two siblings, S'haar focused on Angela first. "Well, based on the 'argument' I was overhearing as I approached and the fact that Angela seems to be with us now, I'm guessing the emitters are working. Glad you could join us."

Receiving a nod of appreciation, S'haar returned her attention to Jack before she continuing. "But the food is ready, and before too many of our traveling companions start to think Jack's completely lost his mind in here, I figured we should go join them for dinner."

Angela nodded. "Alright, you both go eat. I'll just stay here by myself...all alone..."

S'haar raised a single eye ridge. "But won't you be with us in our headsets? Able to see and hear everything, as well as speak to us if needed?"

Angela 'stomped' her foot in the air. "Neither of you are any fun! What's an AI girl have to do to throw a decent guilt trip?"

Jack laughed, speaking over his shoulder as he started to leave. "Well, for one thing, pick some easier marks."

Neither Jack nor S'haar was paying attention when Angela stomped her foot again with a slightly audible trill of exasperation and frustration before she faded from view.

-

As Jack eased himself down onto the log they'd co-opted for a bench, he couldn't help but grimace in pain. Not one to miss details like that, S'haar spoke up as she sat down holding two bowls of stew, one of which she promptly handed to Jack. "Is your leg bothering you that much?"

Jack smiled as he accepted the bowl. "Yeah, but that's no surprise. Even with physical therapy, this is the most I've used it since I tore the inside of my leg to shreds. I'm just happy it's not worse. I'll simply take some muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories before I crash tonight. Worst case scenario, I can take something to numb it when we hit the village, though I'd prefer to avoid that if possible."

Angela spoke up over their headsets. "If you do numb it, try and limit your physical activity afterward. You're in pain for a reason. That's your body's way of saying to ease off a bit. It's best to listen to it, especially when you're so far from the med-bay."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, yeah. The days of me running off into the night are behind me, whether I like it or not. I'd barely hobble a dozen steps before S'haar would have me tied up in bed to keep me out of trouble."

S'haar nodded with a wicked smile. "Oh, I'm sure we could find something to keep us busy while you were tied up there."

Sare'en meeped in embarrassment, having overheard more than she'd meant to while refilling Jack's bowl. When Nala'ac gave her a questioning glance, she merely shook her head and refused to speak any further on the subject.