(OOG: I wrote part of this months ago, before I knew more than the fact that the Ellys would have it out in the desert. Nothing conflicts with the current storyline, but if something seems weirdly written, now you'll know why. ^_~ )

Whose idea had it been to track the ether residues? Shaina stared out over the starlit dunes, as if she could still see the midnight-blue hull of the Yggdrasil through the sand whirls and fog.

"Shaina......" Xeilia fixed her with a stare, and Alysril tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"I didn't do anything." Shaina shrugged, turning back to face them. Xeilia's eyes narrowed a bit, one eyebrow raised. "What?" She put on her best, innocent smile, spreading her hands wide. "I'm serious here!"

"I lost them," Victoria called, trudging back up the hill from her gear's landing place. "The sand has clogged my sensors -- there's no getting around it."

"That -was- some sand storm...." Alysril muttered under her breath.

"You -lost- them?" Xeilia demanded, irritation finally creeping into her voice. "How could you lose them? They were --"

"My sensors were malfunctioning."

"That Ether storm really kicked up some dust......" Shaina walked to the crest of the hill, staring in the direction the Yggdrasil had gone. "They've got Elly."

"And it must have been Elly who dredged up that misrable whirlwind! Who else could have done it? There was no wind to draw on, nothing! Even I could not pull that off......"

"Yeah......" Shaina drew it out, still staring at the horizon. "But...... which Elly?"

Victoria joined her at the crest of the hill. "What are you talking about?"

"Does it matter?" Xeilia muttered. Alysril was silent.

"It will," Shaina whispered, glancing at Victoria out of the corner of her eye. **I don't trust them with the information at the moment. Only Victoria......** Myaru wasn't exactly well liked among their little group, but if push came to shove, Victoria would be the only one to keep her secrets. As always.

Her friend met her eyes, and nodded ever so slightly. "Let's head back to Solaris. Perhaps now we can pull enough strings to get our gears put to the head of the repair list -- if Ariath isn't bothered much by this failure, Myaru will convince him otherwise, I'm sure."

"Yeah, and we take the heat for it......" Alysril turned back toward her gear, striding away.

"Myaru......." Xeilia shook her head. "Are you actually thinking of including her in this? I thought you hated her."

"Nobody ever said you have to like your allies."

Shaina's mouth quirked. It was such a mild response; if she hadn't checked Victoria herself, she might have thought that blow to the head she received during the storm had done more severe damage.

But she was right. No one had ever said you had to like the people you worked with...... or the decisions they made. And if they reported to Myaru against their better judgement -- Alysril came to mind -- then that was the state of things. She and Victoria would just have to be a little more careful.

"Shaina?"

Damn Mordon. How was it that he always managed to ruin -some- plan, -somewhere-, with just one of his simple, useless orders? Find Elanore; already done. They knew where she was. Then..... follow Elanore; as if that were necessary! The Yggdrasil's movements were well known in Aveh -- they might be hidden, but who needed to know their every movement? They could be ambushed under the dunes in another sandship with less than an hour of research.

"You have to eat, you know. It won't kill you."

Shaina sighed, mouth twisting as she looked at the rations Victoria was trying to push into her hands. "Are you sure?" Her friend shoved them into her lap, and she picked a nutrition bar up with the tips of her finger and thumb. "Well, this is more appetizing than Mordon's orders, at least."

"I don't understand -- it'll be an easy mission. You don't even have to search, really. Why are you so irritated about it?" Victoria shrugged, unrapping her own bar with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm. "He didn't give you an impossible task, at least."

Shaina shrugged, fiddling with her unopened food. "I guess I just wanted to get back to Solaris. I know it's silly......" Irina would be in Solaris. Good student, that girl. She had so much potential...... and she was cute. Myaru's interest in the girl wasn't so mysterious anymore.

"This won't really take that long, will it?"

"I have to find Darius in the bargain." She finally set about unwrapping her bar and sniffed at it, wrinkling her nose. "He hasn't shown up yet, so I'm assuming I'll be spending at least a day tracking him down. I wouldn't bother, normally, but I need bait for Elanore."

The ration bar tasted worse than it smelled. Shaina was tempted to spit it out, but thought better of it; her friend was right. They needed some kind of nourishment if they expected to keep going without Drive.

Trapped. Stuck on the surface with the Lambs. Stuck having to travel with one, however good his fighting skills. And her best friend wouldn't even be with her. Victoria was ordered back to Solaris, and her command responsibilities wouldn't allow her to go running off with her Elements just because she wanted to.

Life was shaping up to be very miserable.

(Summary: Short post, wonder of wonders. ^^ Hopefully it was to the point -- Shaina received orders to pursue Elly, while the rest of the Elements go back to Solaris.)