Making preparations

“That’s it! I can’t just sit around waiting anymore!”

Keira got up from her chair and headed for the door, but before she could get out of the room, Karidi stepped in her way, face set in the blank expression of a professional soldier on duty.

Her cold graphite eyes fixed themselves on Keira’s face.

“You’re not leaving here until you’re ordered to do so,” she said calmly and crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest.

Frustrated, Keira turned to Sig with a look of indignation in her eyes.

“You can’t mean that! We have to do something!” she exclaimed angrily.

Sig shook his head apologetically.

“I’m sorry, peaches, but we don’t know where they are, what’s happening, or if they even need any help at all. At the worst we could complicate things for them by trying to find them down there. We have to trust them to manage this on their own. They’ve done this sort of mission before and made it out intact, right? Just have a little faith in them.”

“But...You saw that, didn’t you? You said it yourself that the darn marauder was being protected by someone and I have a really bad feeling concerning just who that someone might be, however impossible as it might be.”

“Really?”

Keira turned to look at the one questioning her.

Jinx was sitting perfectly comfortable in his chair, leaning backwards on its hind legs so that he was on the verge of tipping it over, slowly puffing his cigarette.

“I’m just curious, toots, but just who do you think is behind this invisible force field of sorts, and why?”

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m actually with the creepy dude in this,” Fish said, raising her voice for the first time since they’d gotten back in the room.

The young freckled girl had wanted to get back to the leaper stables, but Sig had insisted on her staying with them as she might be able to help them think about things they hadn’t noticed themselves when it came to the whole escape-incident.

So far though, they’d all just been sitting in silence, each one pondering over their own questions and none of them ready to express their theories yet.

The silence and the torture of not knowing for sure what was happening to their friends down in the catacombs was what finally had made Keira move.

“I... I can’t explain this without telling you everything about my own and Jak’s and Dax’s past, and I just don’t have the time or patience to do that, and I really don’t see the point in it, ‘cause I’m pretty sure you won’t believe me anyway,” Keira said and sat back down again, her entire posture telling of restlessness and defeat.

“Try us,” Jinx said calmly, a glittering in his eye the only thing giving away his interest in the business.

“No,” Keira replied and shook her head. “It won’t matter anyway. It can’t possibly be the ones I’m thinking of; they’ve been dead and buried for a number of centuries already. The point is that I worry for Jak’s and Dax’s safety. Whatever it is that this metalhead-controlling enemy of ours is after down there, it can’t be anything good and just thinking about my friends trying to get to it before they do...”

Fish wrinkled her forehead in confusion and decided to cut in.

“Wait, ‘dead and buried for a number of centuries’? Ya’ sure ya’ using the right words, lady? I thought ya’ said these dudes were mixed up with your past, and I’m sorry, but ya’ ain’t about to make me believe that you’re any older than what, 20 – 25 years?”

Keira sighed heavily as she tried to find the words to explain it all so that it didn’t sound like a mad woman’s ramblings. When she realised it was close to impossible to do so, she settled for simplifying.

“Actually, I’m 21, but that has nothing to do with it,” Keira answered and pinched at the bridge of her nose in a try to focus. “Me and the boys, and my father, before we got here, we dealt with a pair of sibling dark eco sages. But Jak managed to take care of them, so they reasonably should be out of the picture by now. I really don’t know why I thought about them, but there’s this feeling I can’t get rid of that tells me they’re involved somehow.”

Sig was the only one who didn’t look confused at this short draft of history.

“Now, let’s say it really is like you fear, and those two are the ones behind all this mess,” he said slowly while keeping his eyes on Keira, “then what, more precisely is it that they could do?”

Keira shrugged her shoulders in zeal less manner and lowered her eyes to the table.

“I don’t know. They were dangerous back then, only the precursors knows what they’d be like now, if they actually survived. They controlled dark eco, to a limit, yes, but still. Seeing as how the metalheads are being manipulated, I just came to think of the possibility they might have something to do with it, or maybe, someone similar to them.”

“Wait, lemme’ get this straight before I go nuts,” Fish interrupted, fixing Keira with her grey eyes from across the table. “Ya’ said these dudes were dark eco sages?”

Keira nodded.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing even existing! I mean, come on, that stuff’s lethal by touch, ya’ can’t just go up and make use of it without damaging yourself badly...”

“That’s the point!” Keira replied with heat, annoyed with having her sanity being questioned by the young girl. “They were damaged! They got insane with greed and hunger for power! That’s why we did our best to stop them!”

“Geez, lady, cool it,” Fish commented slowly, putting her hands up in front of her in a defensive gesture. “I was just curious. I really wouldn’t want to meet those guys if that stuff’s true,” she added and turned towards Jinx who was sitting next to her. “I mean, can ya’ imagine just what kind of a freakish pair of monsters they must have been turned into by that stuff...”

“Actually, I can,” the bomber hummed and gave Keira and Sig a stern look. “I believe that’s what happens to Golden Wonder when he loses his temper, am I right?”

At this comment, Fish bit her lip as she realised who Jinx meant and slowly turned back towards Keira, who looked away, her face blank from expression.

Sig gave Jinx a single nod.

“Well, that explains some things about him,” the blonde noted mumbling and straightened up in his chair, letting its front legs touch the floor again.

“Sorry, I didn’t know...” Fish started to apologise to Keira, but the mechanic waved dismissingly towards her.

“Never mind, Fish. You couldn’t have known, not many people does, and Jak prefers it that way. He didn’t choose this change,” she said in a low voice, quoting the very words Jak had used himself when trying to make Keira understand what had been the cause for his personality change during the two years they’d been parted after the time-trip that took them to Haven City, all these years ago.

An awkward silence spread in the room as they all contemplated upon what had been said.

“Now, if we could get back to the problem at hand,” Sig said after a few minutes had passed by, “what could be done at the moment? Any suggestions?”

Karidi pursed her lips in thought before she spoke.

“I’m thinking we should try to get more information on this weapon Jak’s trying to get out of the catacombs.”

In saying this, she turned towards Keira.

“Is there any chance you could contact your father and the others in Haven City and see if they’ve managed to get some more information on the matter?”

Keira shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I could try and take a look at the coms again, maybe I can locate what’s blocking the signals and somehow get past the blocking. If that can’t be done, I’ll just have to get back to the city to talk to them, which would take a lot longer.”

“Do what you can,” Sig said with a supportive nod towards her. He threw her his personal communicator device and with a nod of her own, Keira took the com and left the room to get started.

As soon as Keira had left the room, Sig turned to Jinx.

“You’re supposed to be some sort of an expert on explosives and weaponry, right?”

Jinx lifted an eyebrow, curious as to what his part in all of this would be.

“Well, I don’t know ‘bout the weaponry part, sire, for that I’ve got this chick at the rat’s bar back in Haven. But I do consider myself being the best when it comes to making something go ‘boom’.”

“Good enough to me,” Sig replied approvingly and turned towards his commander. “Karidi, I want you to take boom-boy here and show him what we’ve got in our supplies, help him gather what he needs to make a good amount of useful explosives.”

He turned back towards Jinx, whom by now was smiling at the outlook of his forthcoming mission.

“Do you think you could make something we can use against the metalheads attacking the walls? I’d prefer something efficient enough to get rid of the big ones before they get too close.”

Jinx got up on his feet and bowed from his waist in one movement, excitement written in his face as he stepped up to Karidi.

“I’ll see what I can do, your highness,” he said and then turned to the dark woman. “Lead the way, sugar.”

Karidi grimaced at the pet name and considered slapping him silly, but had second thoughts as she caught her king’s stern expression.

“Follow me,” she said, voice dripping with repressed annoyance as she walked out of the room, closely followed by the blond man.

“So, I guess I’ll be goin’ back to the stables then...” Fish said and got up from her chair.

“I’m not finished with you yet, puppy,” Sig said and gave her a stern look.

The young girl sighed, rolled with her eyes to express her boredom and sat back down.

“I’m stayin’ a little longer then. What is it you wanna’ say?”

Sig smiled vaguely at her uncaring attitude and sat down opposite of her.

“You were a great help to us today, even though we didn’t catch the guy. If it hadn’t been for you, we might not even have had a chance to get as close as we did.”

Fish looked down at the table, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red as she realised she was being praised.

“Nothing to mention, really,” she mumbled silently.

“The reason I wanted to keep you here a little longer wasn’t so that you could hide your face as I comment on your actions,” Sig said slowly, and Fish instantly looked back up, feeling just a little stupid for having reacted like she did.

“Sorry, sir.”

Sig smiled softly and nodded.

“Now, that’s better. I understand that you’ve got quite a talent for handling the leapers, am I right?”

Fish nodded sharply.

“I’m the best there is, if I may say so,” she replied and straightened her back.

“Good. I want you to help the stable manager to pick out our strongest and fastest leapers and see to that they get the equipment needed for soldiers to ride them. We are going to need every means of transportation there is to fight off this invasion of metalheads as it seems.”

Fish rubbed her chin in thought for a moment; then looked back at the king with a curious look in her eyes.

“I could do that, but, when are they to be ready for use? They can’t be saddled and equipped and then just stand and wait for days before they are taken into use, ya’ know. Besides, leapers hate getting close to the metalheads. I only know about five or six, ten at the most, that could actually be able to steer into the battle. It’s like forcing mice towards a cat.”

Sig smiled approvingly at her comment. He’d been expecting her questioning the directives.

“Then I want you to pick out those leapers you think could stand up to the task. Give them the care needed to let them rest and be at their best health. Pack their saddles and make everything ready as much as possible without putting the saddles on the leapers’ backs. I don’t know when we need them, but it will be soon. Is that a precise enough instruction, puppy?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Fish said, slightly smiling herself. “There’s just one thing...”

“And what’s that?”

“I’m not a dog, sir, and I know ya’ haven’t forgotten my name, so would ya’ mind not calling me ‘puppy’?”

Sig’s remaining biological eye widened in surprise before he let out a hearty laugh, subsiding into a chuckle.

“What?” Fish asked, having a hard time not joining in the laughter.

“You’re alright, kid,” Sig said as he drew a breath to steady himself. “You know, you’re the first one to ever comment me on this. It’s a bad habit, I admit that. I guess I’m just used to people not caring as long as they know who I mean.”

“Yeah, well, I care,” Fish replied, suddenly serious again.

“Then, I will try my best not to slip up again, Fish,” Sig said and got up from his chair. “You can go now, if you don’t have any more questions, that is,” he added and looked at the young girl in front of him.

“Nope, I’ll manage from here!” she replied and rushed to her feet, leaving the room in a run, as if to get away before she could be entrusted with more requests from the king she now was leaving behind.

Sig chuckled to himself and shook his head as he watched her disappear.

The girl had a strong will and courage enough to fight a metalhead on her own if she had to, he had no doubt about it. It was only a shame she was still too young to serve as a soldier, since she could have made an excellent attribution to the team.

He decided he’d have Karidi keep an eye on the girl and maybe teach her a thing or two when it was possible.

A soft buzz was heard from a fly somewhere in the room, but apart from that, Sig found the palace to be blessedly quiet and calm.

With a deep sigh he stretched his arms over his head to ease a stiffness that had been creeping into his muscles from sitting still.

A slight grimace escaped him as he noticed that the mechanical eye still had a grain of sand stuck between the skin and the metal somewhere close to his ear. He really should see to that it got fixed.

He paused n his movements for a moment, thinking about all that had happened during the day and what had been said about the situation up until now.

Some pieces of the puzzle was missing, but he was starting to see a pattern and adding the conclusion Keira had come up with, the pattern got a bit clearer still.

If someone, like the sage siblings Keira and the boys had known, was obsessed with the power brought by dark eco and started to nurture the thought of world domination, it wasn’t all too hard to find the logic in why this person would be interested in the ancient weapon hidden beneath the ground of Spargus, if he or she ever got hold of the information about it.

And since the metalheads were practically dark eco come to life, those beasts were easy to control for someone controlling the substance mentioned and they’d make good subjects to use as soldiers.

Sig didn’t find it hard to believe that the coms were somehow affected by the one controlling the metalheads; how or why he couldn’t fully figure out, but that didn’t matter at the moment.

What mattered was what Keira had pointed out earlier; just like Jak and Daxter, those beasts were probably trying to get to the weapon first.  

And neither Jak, nor Daxter, had returned from the catacombs into which they went more than four hours ago.

Something wasn’t right.

Sig tried to shove away his worry and headed for the elevator.

Since the boys didn’t have any way of sending a message when they were back, Sig decided it wouldn’t hurt if he took a stroll down to the beach to check on the opening through which his friends had gone and were expected to return through.

After all, they could be in the need of some help.

On his way out of the palace he stopped to get his peace maker and a small box containing a field first-aid kit.

Just in case.