They buried Joona where he fell, as the Knight’s tradition decreed. It was slow going without proper tools, with Blye doing most of the work after splinting and binding Prash’s arm, scraping out a few centimeters of dirt with her knife. Maggie kept Diggs away as they dug, exploring the handful of structures on the edge of the spaceport, but there was nothing of use to be found. It seemed this place had been abandoned long ago.

Once they covered the body with soil they gathered up stones, erecting a cairn over his grave. Once it was hidden the Tinker allowed her young charge to assist in their efforts, his skinny body straining with the effort as they lugged one rock after another to the young man’s final resting place. When it was done Blye took her place at the foot of the grave and recited from memory as the others bowed their heads.

“These things I do, so that others may live,” she intoned. “Long ago those words were written, and they are the cornerstone of the Knight’s Hospitaller pledge. Not service for ourselves, but service to others. Our oath to aid all those who seek our help is sacrosanct, and it comes with no promises, no guarantees.”

She smiled as she looked around at the others. “Joona understood that, and yet still he chose this life, knowing that someday it might cost him everything, and I am honored to have shared this time with him. Though his physical body may turn to dust, neither fire, nor wind, nor even death will erase his good deeds, for Mother Terra witnesses every sacrifice we make...and she remembers.”

Taking a stone, she placed it upon the pile. “I honor our brother, Sixième Joona Grec, and I vow to live my life as he did...with courage, with service, and with integrity.” Kneeling, she bowed her head, and said softly, “For a man has no greater love, than to give up his own life to save others.”

Maggie looked down at Diggs, his big eyes filled with uncertainty as he gazed at the scene. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling at the moment, or how much he understood...though given his circumstances it was likely he understood what was happening, all too well. Feeling her scrutiny, the boy looked up at her, and she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Funerals were supposed to be sad, and even though she’d only known him for a brief time, she’d liked the eager young Chevalier. Always willing to help, ready with a joke, or a smile...the Universe would be a lesser place with him gone.

Rising to her feet, Blye took up her staff. “So...where do we stand?” she asked, the service now concluded.

“Nothin’ in those buildings that’ll help us,” Maggie said after switching mental gears. “Good for stayin’ out of this sun, but that’s about it. Doubt anyone’s used this place in decades.”

“Then why did the To’uuk leave us here?” Prash demanded.

“Could be they just wanted us gone, and this was the closest spot they could dump us,” Maggie answered with a shrug. “No way to tell.”

“If this spaceport is as disused as you say, then there’s no reason to stay here,” Blye said after a moment’s thought. “With no food or water...we won’t last long.”

“Same holds true if we leave,” the Tinker argued. “The desert heat will kill us dead in a day or two.”

“Then we travel by night,” the Knight suggested. “It will protect us from the sun and reduce our need for water. Besides...what other choice do we have?” Maggie wanted to argue that point...but was forced to admit the young woman was right.

“So which direction do we choose?” Prash asked them, taking a slow turn as they scanned the horizon in all directions. “It all looks the same to me...desert, desert, and more desert.”

“Hmm…” Blye drummed her fingers against her staff as she considered the question. “I’ll climb onto the roof of the tallest structure and see if I can spy anything that might help us,” she said at last.

“You?” Maggie said in disbelief. “Damnit, you’re pregnant, woman!”

“And you’re twice my age, and Prash has a broken arm,” she countered. “I’m the obvious choice.” Not waiting on further debate she began hiking towards the building she’d chosen, as the others fell in alongside her. Maggie was tempted to give it a go herself, but the medic was right...she wasn’t a kid anymore, and the closer they got to the building the more daunting it looked. If she slipped...it wouldn’t be pretty.

But getting to the roof was easier said than done. After making a circuit of the structure, they spotted no obvious routes to the top; no convenient ladders or stairways, no upstairs windows within easy grabbing distance of the rafters...in short, without ropes climbing to the top would be difficult.

Maggie scratched her head as she struggled to come up with an engineering solution to the problem, when she did a fast three-sixty. “Wait a tick...where did the kid run off to?” she asked, realizing Diggs was nowhere in sight. The other two adults spread out to search for him...when an odd hooting sound drew their attention skyward.

Grinning down at them, Diggs waved at the group from the rooftop. “Damn it, you get down here right this second!” Maggie shouted up at him. “You tryin’ to break your fool neck?”

“Agile little monkey,” Prash chuckled as the boy’s grin disappeared, now looking remorseful.

“Hold on,” Blye countered, placing a hand on the older woman’s arm. “He made it to the roof, and since he’s up there anyway…”

Maggie scowled, but she couldn’t argue the point the Troisième was making. “Doubt he’ll see anythin’, but we might as well,” she said in surrender. “Talk him through it...but then he comes right back down.”

“Absolutely,” she agreed, shading her eyes as they looked back up to the boy. “Diggs, I want you to listen carefully,” the medic instructed him. “Take your time...there’s no rush...and look out as far as you can, in a slow circle. If you see anything; other buildings, people, anything at all, I want you to point in that direction. Can you do that for me?”

He nodded, shading his eyes as he began his search, squinting in the harsh sunlight. The boy seemed to have his own way of searching, bobbing up and down, going from one side of the roof to the other, forcing those on the ground to circle around to keep him in sight. That he was giving it his best effort was not in doubt, but considering the source; a young, traumatized, almost mute child…

The strange sound came once more, as Diggs began jumping up and down, pointing off in the distance. “You see something?” Blye asked him, as he nodded again, jabbing his finger in the same direction. Lining herself up she tapped the small device strapped to her wrist a few times, as she took a bearing. “One hundred thirty-seven degrees, according to the compass,” she noted, before looking back up at the boy. “Is that it? See anything else?”

Diggs shook his head, pointing once more where he’d already shown for emphasis. “Okay then…do you think you can climb back down without getting hurt?” she asked him. The boy grinned in reply, nodding once more before scampering off, forcing the trio to circle the building once more to follow his progress. When they arrived, he’d already started down, and Maggie wanted to shout at him to stop, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched him dangle by his fingertips from the roof’s edge.

“Oh my,” Blye whispered, but Diggs seemed to be having the time of his life. Swinging his feet back and forth, building up momentum, he launched himself into the air, landing on a beam only a few centimeters wide below him, crouching down to keep his balance. Scurrying to the far end he leaned out and grabbed hold of an exposed conduit, clambering down the rest of the way until he dropped to the ground, making it look far too easy. He joined the others, beaming with pride.

“Not bad,” Prash grinned.

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” Maggie all but shrieked, only managing something like a normal tone through sheer force of will. “You scared the pants off me!”

The abashed expression was back with a vengeance as the boy apologized without saying a word. Sighing, the Tinker relented. “Just...be more careful, all right?” she said at last, earning her another vigorous nod.

Blye knelt down until she was at the same eye level as the boy. “Diggs...can you tell me what you saw?” she asked him.

His brow furrowed, as he struggled to respond. Maggie sensed the words were there, somewhere inside him, but he couldn’t figure how to get them out. His hands fluttered as he struggled to communicate until an idea struck him. He raised his arms, making a hoop over his head and spun, faster and faster, weaving and wobbling as he went.

“Errr....I’m not sure I understand,” the medic said in confusion, as the boy staggered to a halt. “Did you see people? Buildings? Vehicles, perhaps?”

He shook his head, now visibly frustrated, and began his strange dance once again, spinning around with his arms raised. “A dust storm?” Prash guessed...only to have Diggs stomp his feet in anger as he fought to make them understand.

“No…smoke,” Maggie realized, snapping her fingers. “That’s what you saw.”

The change in demeanor was immediate, as the boy started jumping about in glee before rushing to give her a hug, almost knocking her off her feet. “You done good, kid,” she murmured into his hair, before looking up at the others.

“Smoke,” Blye mused. “That could mean many things, not all of them good.”

“Like you said...what choice do we have?” Prash shrugged, wincing in pain as his broken arm shifted in the sling.

“At least we have this,” the Knight replied, patting the captured To’uuk rifle slung over her shoulder.

“No offense, but if we need that, we’re screwed,” Maggie said. “Can’t imagine anyone wantin’ to give us a ride after we shoot them.”

“One thing at a time,” the Chevalier sighed. “Let’s get inside and get some rest. After sundown...we need to start moving.”

“Yeah...dehydration’s gonna be sneakin’ up on us real quick,” she agreed, as they made their way inside.

The desert was cooling down fast as they started their journey, just after sunset. A pair of small moons hung overhead, though neither gave off much light and with no landmarks to guide them, it forced Blye to stop and take numerous sightings with her compass to stay on course. They tried to keep a steady pace, but the lack of water was already slowing them down, weakening them, their momentum dropping off as they felt the effects. Being the smallest and already in poor health it hit Diggs the hardest. He struggled to keep up with the others, but before long it reduced him to a slog, gasping for breath with each laborious step.

Maggie had tried carrying him, but even as small as he was, he soon proved too heavy for her. Blye called a halt, as Prash volunteered to carry the boy. Putting him on the young Knight’s shoulders was no easy task, as they had to mind his busted wing, but between the three of them they soon had the boy situated, leaving him to sway with fatigue as they resumed their march.

There was little conversation during their trek across the desert. Each was preserving their strength...and then there was the Tyrannosaurus in the room they were all avoiding, the fact this journey was a one-way trip. The smoke they were chasing could be anything...or nothing at all. Without water or food they couldn’t last long, so unless they found something soon, all four of them would die, and worse, Diggs would go first. No one wanted to talk about it, so instead they focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

That, and each of them praying in their own way for deliverance.

It was just before dawn, the horizon to the east lightening, casting long shadows when Blye called a halt. She and Maggie slid Diggs from Prash’s shoulders, as all four collapsed in exhaustion onto the cool sand. Looking up at the Tinker, the young boy coughed and pointed at his mouth.

“I know, kid,” she sighed, “I’m thirsty too.” Pulling him close she rocked him as best she could, but with no provisions there was little else she could do for him.

They rested there for several minutes before Blye leveraged herself up with her staff. “I’m going to scout ahead, now that there’s light,” she told them.

“We shouldn’t split up,” Prash cautioned her.

“I’m not going far, just to the top of that dune,” the medic promised, pointing ahead towards a small rise. “Get started on a shelter to keep the sun off our backs while I’m gone,” she continued. “We’ll have to strip down and use our clothing for material.”

“At least it’ll help us stay cool,” Maggie nodded, trying to find a silver lining in all of this. There was still a chill in the air as she began removing her shirt, giving her goosebumps, but she knew the sun would blaze high in the sky soon enough.

“That’s the spirit,” Blye said with a weary smile. “Be back soon.” She turned and began trudging towards the hill, leaning on her staff.

The Tinker watched her go, then turned her attention to the young Knight. “How’s the arm?”

“Hurts,” he admitted, “but I’ll be okay. Let’s face it...it’s not even close to our biggest problem at the moment.”

“No, it ain’t,” Maggie said. She figured they had maybe another night’s travel in them, but no more. After that, they’d be too dehydrated and weak to move. If they hadn’t found the source of that smoke by then...assuming there was anything to find...that was it.

End of the road.

Looking down once more she saw the kid was already out like a light, too tired to even snore. If this was the end, she didn’t mind so much...not for herself, anyway. She’d lived her life, seen and done some amazing things, and had her share of heartbreaks and pain. It was a rich life, and though she was in no hurry to see it end, death wasn’t something she feared.

But Diggs...he was just a kid. He still had decades ahead of him, and the possibility his life might be cut short, like it already had been for Joona, filled her with rage. She wanted to scream at the universe, to rail against how damn unfair it all was. He deserved better than this...hell, humanity deserved better than this! What had they done to get such a raw fucking deal from the cosmos? They weren’t smart enough? Strong enough? Had they pissed off some ancient God?

Who the hell decided mankind should get so royally screwed, over and over again?

She stared at her clenched fists and felt the anger drain out of her. It took too damn much energy to stay mad at all of existence; especially when there was nothing you could do about it. And it was such a childish anger, when you thought about it, like the universe had nothing better to do than gang up on poor little Terra and her offspring. It wasn’t malevolence...just plain old bad luck.

Sometimes it was just easier if you had something to blame.

Maggie sighed and stroked the young boy’s hair. Maybe she’d put children and family out of her head, but it seemed Fate had other plans in store for her. Blye would claim it was all the mystical work of Mother Terra, but she’d never gone in for all that nonsense. In fact…

She cocked her head, looking back at the dune. The medic was nowhere in sight.

“Prash...shouldn’t Blye have been back by now?”

The Knight craned his head to study the rise. “Yeah, she should have,” he agreed, sighing as he reached for his own staff.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” she snorted. “You rest that arm...besides, you were carrying Diggs most the night. Keep an eye on him for me while I go check on her.”

“And just what am I supposed to tell him if you disappear too?”

“I don’t know...think of something,” she grumbled, as she staggered to her feet...only to pause as a high-pitched whine seemed to echo all around them. “What the hell is that?”

Prash started to reply, only for both of them to gawk at a mottled craft as it crested the dune, four robust turbofans blasting the sand about as it moved towards them, as a heavy-barreled gun zeroed in on them. Maggie froze in place, raising her hands....until she spotted a winged dagger painted on the nose.

“Oh thank God,” she sighed in relief.

“...it’s the Valkyries.”