Jason glared ahead as he sped through the ashy expanse of the Fiendwood. Not a single tree remained, not a single Fiend came for them, it was just an empty, ashy void. The sun had set hours ago, leaving the still-burning Ilum tree the only source of light. With how bright the Golden Flame was, it may as well be daytime, he didn't even need the headlights on to see where he was going. Jason made sure to skirt around the Rotting Ilum, not wanting the Rhino to be crushed by its falling branches. It would take longer to get back to the Fiendbridge this way, but safety was his current priority, not speed.
He couldn't risk Lance getting killed just to cut travel time. Besides, with the Rhino they would be able to cross the continent quickly, it could run perpetually thanks to the cold-fusion reactor. He could drive day and night until they made it back to the Faewood, Lance and Belaine didn't need sleep yet, and he could stay awake until they were out of the Fiendwood. Well, if Lance didn't nag him, anyhow.
Truth was though, that even if Lance did insist he rest, Jason wasn't sure that he would be able to. He couldn't get what had happened to Nolvi out of his mind, the way she pleaded for him to save her, and how he had failed to do so. His hands tightened on the wheel. As much as he hated to acknowledge this fact, he found that he didn't really care for Elum's death, but Nolvi?
She was just a girl, barely an adult, wanting to live a life of her own and to escape the fate that had been forcibly laid upon her shoulders. He couldn't help but draw parallels between himself and Nolvi, used and abused by their very own flesh and blood. In a way though, Lithia was worse than even Jyn. Jason was always well aware that he was nothing but a tool for his father, Jyn had never lied to him by saying he had loved Jason– Lithia though? Lithia had manipulated Nolvi, drawing her into a web of deceit like a spider, before murdering her to take her body.
He hated Jyn more than anything, but Lithia was a close second. She treated people like toys and stole the lives of her very descendents. She may have taught him how to utilize Foundation, but he held no gratitude in his heart for that act. He only felt hatred whenever she crossed his mind. The fact that she was apparently comparable in power to Mazeek made him all the more furious, meaning that Lithia was essentially out of his reach… For now. He needed to distract himself from thinking back to what had happened today, this burning seething ache in his chest made him want to rip the wheel straight off the Rhino.
However, taking his thoughts from Lithia reminded him of another, lesser frustration. The pod that had been back in Blackgaze had been completely destroyed, which included all his ammunition. He barely had any rounds left for his guns now, the only other store he had being back in the Faewood. For now he had only twelve shells left for the Magnus, a few magazines for the Visus and Fortis, and nothing left for the Perforatus. He would need to resupply as soon as they got back to the Faewood, the pod should still be where he left it, and the elves would be unable to break into it. Unless they knew the code, they'd need to be as strong as a Hoplite to tear through that door.
His eyes widened as his thoughts drifted to Lance, and the bag she carried. What other vehicle bottles had she taken from Blackgaze? The FMC might have been gone, but if there was an XT-Dropship inside, he could make a trip back up to the Sparrow and come back loaded with loot but… well, the problem with that is it would take around a week to get to the moon with the XT, it wasn't a rocketship, after all. Then it would take another week to get back to Ahkoolis after that; he wouldn't leave Lance planetside by herself for such a long stretch of time.
The XT could withstand the vacuum of space, but the idea of bringing Lance up with him made him nervous. What if she pushed the wrong button and vented herself out into space? Or what if there was some flaw with the XT that wouldn't become apparent until they were in atmosphere? He would have to inspect it closely to ensure that nothing was wrong with it first, then they could fly to the Sparrow. He found himself oddly excited by the prospect of showing her what lay beyond her planet, and she wasn't dumb, she wouldn't go pushing buttons wildly, he was worrying for nothing..
Strangely, he also found himself excited by the idea of being… of being alone with Lance. He wasn't exactly sure why that was, but she was his friend, maybe the thought of them both enjoying one another's company was all it was. Yes, that was it, he was certain of it. Two weeks of just Jason and Lance, no fighting, no one to bother them, just a long stretch of time where they could relax and chat. The more he thought about it, the more he relished the idea, but Lance might not be so keen on such a journey. Two weeks traveling through space with just Jason as company? He was sure she would quickly become bored of him after the first few days.
"Lance." Jason said, breaking the silence, "Let me see what other bottles are in that bag, please."
She blinked, "Sure thing." She said, pulling out three shrunken vehicles for him to inspect.
A brief glance showed that there was an Alice-500 tank, a Harpy-32, and exactly what he was hoping for, an XT-Dropship. It was a long, narrow aircraft designed for carrying infantry. This unfortunately meant that they wouldn't be able to take the Rhino with them, nor use the XT to reach the Faewood quicker. Jason didn't want to leave a cold-fusion Rhino behind, the thought of abandoning such a useful vehicle behind didn't sit right with him. They could park it somewhere remote, throw an illusion over it, then return to the same coordinates once the space-trip was concluded. He'd be tempted to just go right now, but they didn't have enough food or water to last the journey. It would be best to return to the Faewood, stock up on preserved food, then go up to the Sparrow.
He just needed to make sure that Lance would want to make the trip with him, because he wasn't willing to leave her down on Ahkoolis by herself. If she said no, then that was it, he'd have to make due with what he had.
"Lance," He started, internally preparing for her to say no, "I will be able to fly back to the Sparrow with this," He said, tapping the bottle with the XT inside, "I need to re-stock on munitions, there is still a large store up there that I wasn't able to bring into the pod I landed here in. It will be a long trip, a week to get there, and a week to return by my estimations. I would like it if you came with me. I don't want to leave you here by yourself, but I understand if you don't want to make the trip with me, if you say no I will remain planetside as well."
"This would just be me and you?" Lance asked after a moment, "Two weeks of just us?"
Ah, he knew it, the thought of it bored her, "Affirmative. I understand-"
"Then yes, when will we go?" She asked, tone excited, face lighting up.
Jason's eyes widened, "Really?"
Lance nodded, a smile on her face, "Absolutely, I would love to see the stars with you, among other things." She told him, her finger idly twirling a single lock of her hair.
"The stars?" Belaine asked, "If you would, I would like to go as well-"
"No." Lance and Jason said in unison.
It would take too much food and water for three people to head up to the Sparrow, he needed that extra room for the ammunition he'd want to collect. Lance surely thought the same thing.
"You need not be so rude about it." Belaine said with a frown, "Goodness, is it so wrong of me to want to see the stars as well?"
"Of course not." Lance said, shaking her head, "I understand, lady Belaine, it's just…" She drew her lips to a line, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
Lance then twisted around to look Belaine in the eyes, the two elves staring at one another for a long while before the blonde gasped, "I see." Belaine said, averting her eyes. "So it is like that."
"I'm not going to-" Lance stumbled, "I mean- we aren't-"
"Don't explain yourself, you'll have to do that to the Harkhall soon enough." Belaine told her firmly, "I just had no idea that an elf could have such 'exotic' tastes as this. Shall we change the subject?"
Lance let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, we shall."
Jason's brow furrowed, what had that been all about? Exotic tastes? There would be some Outworlder sundries up on the Sparrow, he supposed, mundane to him but unique to the locals. That could be a good way to acquire local currency, if that ever became necessary. Jason wasn't willing to sell munitions to Ahkoolians, he needed those for himself, but food? That could sell quite well indeed. He would run out of the Sparrow's rations eventually, but he could trade it for a profit and buy twice as much Ahkoolian food instead. He had no real clue how trading and bartering worked, but maybe Lance could help him negotiate?
Did she know anything about bartering though? Her whole adult life had been spent as a Watcher, she was an amazing combatant but trade was out of her scope. Then again, Lance was far more socially competent than he ever would be. She was just great at everything she did, really. He was so grateful to her for not abandoning him, even after that horrible thing he'd said to her back in Blackgaze. He'd told her that she was his, but instead of berating Jason, she had told him that she'd felt 'flattered' by it.
It made no sense to Jason, if someone told him that he belonged to them, it would make him uncomfortable. Why would she feel flattery over disgust? No one wanted to 'belong' to someone else, right? He would need to spend more time socializing with others so he could find a clear answer to that question.
"...The monster in the sky," Belaine began, breaking the silence and drawing Jason from his thoughts, "That is where you came from?"
"Negative," Jason told her, "That is the ship of humanity's enemies, the Final Kind. Alien lifeforms hell bent on enslaving the galaxy." He explained, "Though us Outworlders weren't much better. They want the galaxy under their heel as well. The ship we arrived on is far smaller then that, it isn't likely you would be able to see it from here."
"And what is a galaxy?" Belaine asked, "We have a long journey ahead of us, I would like to learn as much as I can about your world."
"It's a long story." Jason told her, "But I don't see why not-" He paused as a thought came to mind, pressing the brakes on the Rhino gently.
"Why are we stopping?" Lance asked him.
Jason hopped out of the vehicle, "Can you hand me the empty bottle the Rhino came in? I want to try something."
Lance nodded, offering him the empty bottle, "Both of you, please step out of the vehicle." Jason asked.
"I see what you're doing." Lance said, "You want to see if you can put it back inside, right?"
"Exactly." Jason told her, the two elves coming to stand beside him.
Belaine shook her head, "It is not so simple, I'm afraid."
"Why not?" Jason asked, disappointment rising in his chest.
If he could store the Rhino, they would be able to fly straight to the Faewood after all, there had to be a way to make this work.
"This 'Miniaturize' spell was something I've only ever seen Kazon do. Those are just normal jars, there is nothing special about them. You would need to either re-invent that spell, or find a way to ask Kazon how to do it, and considering the state you all left him in…" She let the words hang.
"I see." Jason said, disappointed. "Why do they regrow when the bottle is compromised?"
"I have to assume it's tied to the spell." Belaine shrugged as they all climbed back into the Rhino, "There is no way that such a thing would require active maintenance. If I were to hazard a guess, Miniaturize forces something to fit into a container, and upon sealing, it stays shrunken unless the aforementioned container is compromised in some fashion."
Damn it. He'd been really hoping that he would be able to do this.
"Is it possible to reverse-engineer the spell?" He asked.
Belained nodded, "Of course, if it can be cast by one person, there is no reason that someone of similar skill wouldn't be able to do the same thing. It would require a lot of trial and error however, something I'm not sure you'll have the time for in the coming days."
"And I'm not willing to risk experimenting with the Rhino, if I break this one, that's it, gone." Jason sighed, "I suppose that I can try recreating the spell with rocks"
Belaine nodded, "A splendid idea, once we return to the Faewood, and after you come back from your trip, I would be thrilled to try and figure out Miniturize for myself, we can compare notes."
"If there's time." Jason told her, "Things are going to get dangerous, and soon."
"Godling Wars at the same time as Outworlders, a first in preserved history." Belaine sighed, "Hopefully we can live through it, but only time will tell. Now, if you would tell me of these 'galaxies'?"
"I would like to hear as well." Lance smiled, "Whatever it is, it sounds big."
Jason smiled, "Bigger than anything you could imagine."