Exxa's Log

I shifted, lifting each leg, and setting it back down. "You want me to what?"

"Try and jump over the hurdles! I told you I wanted to do this last time," Secilia said. "Do I need to find Summaria to show you how the horses jump the hurdles?"

"No, I got this." I protested. "I can jump over stuff."

"Great! Go!" Secilia insisted, shooing me towards a hurdle. She retreated to the side of the paddock, positioning her cuff to film everything.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked one more time.

"Yes! GO!"

I shrugged, backing up a few paces, then galloping forward, clearing the first jump with ease. I continued going over the hurdles, even clearing the tallest ones with a good few inches to spare.

Secilia was practically bouncing in place when I trotted back to where she was. "THAT WAS EPIC!" She shouted. "How high can you jump?"

"With a running start like that? Probably ten feet straight up, twenty horizontally." I replied. "I'm not built for it though, I'm built for long distance."

"Not a jumper, noted. How long can you run?"

"I don't know, but I can go all day. I do it when we migrate."

"Even as a foal?"

"Of course, foals have to do it. But the younger ones are commonly carried by their mothers."

"Exxa, sorry to barge in on whatever you're doing, but we need to head out, we have to pick up Dake, we've spent enough time here," Obsidia called. She came walking over, her wings held proudly.

"Right," I said, trotting out of the paddoc. "See you around sometime, Secilia."

Secilia waved distractedly, absorbed in what ever she was doing with her cuff.

I followed Obsidia back across the backyard. "Dake, is he a front lines kid?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they said he didn't seem freaked out, so they're a bit worried," Obsidia replied. "They're hoping he'll be able to open up and perhaps admit he may be a little more broken then he lets on."

"Our specialty," I said, rotating my upper half to dig in a saddle bag I had on. There wasn't any saddle, and the bag was just attached to a strap that went around my lower half, but apparently, they're still called saddle bags. I pulled out what I was looking for, a tube of chapstick.

"Yeah, he's been through a few teams, so they're hoping we'll actually crack his shell," Obsidia continued, leading me around the house to the front, where the ship was parked.

"Hey Lance, scare off the new kids yet?" I called, trotting up the gangplank.

"Oh please, if Spyte didn't scare them off, I won't," she replied, continuing to mess with the helm.

"Where's my brother?" I asked, ducking as a random wrench was thrown at my head.

Elance didn't bother dodging, just pulled the wrench out of the back of her head and reforming it. "At the new weapons consol, he's our new primary weapons person. Syl's going on as a secondary communications and weapons person. Max picked helm."

"Oh good, more helm people, we can always use more helm people." I replied, making to trot back into the medical side. "I'm going back to my medical bay and looking over Maxwell and Sylvan's medical records, send them down as soon as you can for a check up."

Obsidia nodded. "They'll be taking their first shift as soon as we break orbit. I'll send them over right after that."

"Then get some sleep. Leave Enigma to captain for a little while. You need the sleep."

"Just a few hours of recharging," Obsidia countered.

"You need it anyway," I pressed. "Get it."

Obsidia sighed. "One shift after we leave orbit. Happy?"

I nodded. "I'll be in the med bay." I turned to trot out, sending a wave to my brother.

Just a few minutes later, Enigma informed everyone we were leaving the earth and heading for another planet about a week away. We'd arrive just in time to collect Dake, then head straight for a different planet, one near the Fleetwing system, for pick up of another person, this one a female Poison/Venom type named Nila.

I positioned myself between a pair of bars, which secured me in place. I really didn't want a concussion.