Aaron sighed contentedly and stepped into the Sand Dollar's cockpit. He sniffed his freshly-cleaned hands and savored the lavender aroma as he marched to his seat. Sila awaited him in the copilot's chair, while Keira and Wendy sat in the two passenger seats. Both girls more or less enthusiastically grinned at him as he passed by, and he returned the same indiscriminate smirk to both. 

"Alright, time to get this show on the road, or actually, off the road." Aaron remarked lightheartedly, "Sila, did you initiate flight prep?" 

"Yes." 

"Awesome. That cuts our work in half. Fuel tank full?" 

"Obviously." 

"Engine on standby, no issues?" 

"Check." 

"Air-lock initiated?" 

"Affirmative." 

"Alright, then, I'm taking the engine off standby mode." 

"Okay." 

A thunderous crescendo filled the cockpit before giving way to a metallic stutter, grating in sound and inconsistent in rhythm. Aaron frowned and glanced over his control panel. He scratched his head. 

"Anything weird over there, Sila?" 

"Nothing." 

Aaron's hand moved to scratch his head again, but then at the sound of his communicator beeping, it dropped down to attend to the device. "Hey, what's up?" 

"Something's weird over here." the Butterfly's pilot mumbled through the communicator's speaker, "Engine's stuttering." 

"We've got the same issue over here." Aaron said, leaping to his feet. "Really odd. I'm going down to check it out. Shut everything down." 

"Will do. Over and out." 

Aaron exchanged a puzzled glance with Keira and Wendy in turns. Then he waved Sila forward. "If it's not one thing, it's somethin' else." he muttered as they walked over to the spiral staircase leading out of the cockpit. 

"Vexing." Sila declared. 

"You're tellin' me." 

Aaron bolted down the hallway, his lips tightened to a thin line. Sila's metallic footsteps rang behind him as it robotically dashed to keep pace. The two came to the exit hatch and descended simultaneously, Aaron by descending the rope and Sila by a gravity-assisted shortcut. 

Aaron stretched his back after landing. Then he glanced at the ground, and his eyes widened. Nine puddles of fuel sprawled out on the snow underneath the Sand Dollar. When another droplet plummeted into one of the larger pools, he looked up. 

"Oh my goodness. Look at this, Sila." he said, pointing at a narrow, oblong perforation on the underside of a fuel pipe. 

"Wow." 

"Wow's right. I'll bet each of these puddles has a bloody hole of its own." 

Sila followed as Aaron trudged several paces down the pipeline. "Probably." 

"Yep, another here." the brawny engineer muttered, swiping his index finger over the edge of the cut. "The edges are raised. Like a blister. Huh, it's like it got cut and burnt at once!" 

"Sabotage." 

Aaron snorted. "Yeah, obviously, but who?" 

"Saboteur." 

"Okay, how about you be useful for a sec, buddy?" he asked with a sigh, "Check the Butterfly's lines." 

"Brilliant." 

Aaron continued his inspection and grunted. Nine puddles, nine perforations. Ultimately, it all added up to a whole lot of work. 

"Grrr." Sila called out. 

"Yeah, what is it?" 

"More." 

The man rolled his eyes and began crossing the distance between the ships. "More holes, same as over here?" 

"Indeed." 

"How many?" 

"Nine." 

Aaron growled. "What's the deal with nine? Must be some kinda cultic significance or something. Would add up with all the other rubbish we've been dealing with lately." 

"Congruence." 

The brawny man buried his face in his hands and exhaled noisily. "Alright, let's get this over with." 

Sila laid a hand on its maker's shoulder. "Comfort." 

"Yeah, pour it on me." he muttered as he climbed back up into the Sand Dollar. Then he grabbed his communicator. "Hey, bad news." 

The Butterfly pilot's sigh carried over the airwaves. "I'm listening." 

"Fuel lines are cut. I have nine patches to make on each ship before we're set to fly again." 

"But...how?" 

Aaron grunted as he shoved a stubborn door open. He set the communicator down on a shelf as he began snatching up some tools. "I have no idea. Of course it had to be the most time-consuming problem to fix." 

"At least it can be fixed." 

"I guess so. Alright, I'm hanging up. I need my other hand." 

With that, Aaron pocketed the communicator. He and Sila marched back outside with an armful of tools each. 

******************* 

Baird lowered the Butterfly's ramp and shivered as a frigid draft swept up the incline and into his face. With a deep breath, he stepped down and nodded at a scruffy soldier, who closed it behind him. 

Only about twenty minutes ago, he had returned with Chariya and a whopping 32 townsfolk willing to fight for the Kemarian Insurgence. Aaron had made arrangements and settled everybody in, assuring them they'd be in Kemaria in no time. Just when Baird had settled into the warmth of the Butterfly's interior, he'd overheard that both ships' fuel lines had been cut, and now needed to be mended before any more travel could happen. 

Baird gave Aaron a pleasant nod as he presently approached. "Hey, I was just curious if you needed an extra hand. Another human touch, perhaps?" 

Aaron smirked. "I need all the help I can get, as long as you can stand the cold." 

"I've been beaten within an inch of my life by an Alcontean emperor before. I think I can handle this." 

"Well, when you put it that way..." 

"Persuasive." Sila said. 

Aaron chuckled. "Yeah, I could use the help. You mind mixing the filler paste?" 

Baird raised an eyebrow as Aaron laid four buckets and a massive tray at his feet. "Sure..." 

"Alright, so we wanna fill this tray. You'll want three-eighths of the mixture to be the orange stuff, one-eighth of the clear, and then two-eighths each of the yellow and green." 

"Okay," Baird said with a furrowed brow as he stooped down and took the brush Aaron offered him, "and it needs to be all stirred together?" 

"Yep. You should end up with one uniform yellow-brown paste across the whole tray." Aaron said, handing him a ladle. 

Baird nodded and pried the first bucket open. Pungent fumes rose from the yellow goop inside and assaulted his frozen nostrils. Restraining his gag reflex, he scooped a ladleful out and flung it down onto the tray. It plopped onto the metal and quivered like gelatin. 

"You'll wanna start small and add more as you go." Aaron added, "You don't wanna just dump the whole mix down all at once and then try to mix it when there's no room." 

"Alright." Baird said with a nod. 

He popped a second bucket open and recoiled at the odor of the clear fluid inside. It possessed a sweet smell, like that of fruit, but of such an intense concentration that it screamed of toxicity. Baird swiftly scooped out his portion and shut the container. 

"So, have you decided whether you're gonna sign on or not?" Aaron asked. 

Baird glanced up while he opened the third container, which contained an orange and surprisingly odorless powder. "I think so." he sighed, "I really don't think I can." 

Aaron nodded, handing Sila a flashlight as he did so. "I see. With a baby on the way...yeah, I get it." 

"Exactly. Abby needs me more than ever, despite what she keeps saying." 

"What do you mean?" 

Baird gazed into the distance longingly, as if he could see his wife even now. "She's very much a people pleaser, I'd say. She thinks that this is what I really want, and for my sake, she doesn't want to get in the way of that." 

"Oh, I see." Aaron smirked. "Opposite of another girl we know." 

"Who?" Baird asked, before the realization hit him, and he burst into laughter. "Oh yeah, Wendy doesn't hold a thing back." 

"She really doesn't. But sorry, you were saying something." 

"Oh, I was just saying, I really think Abby wants to have me there with her, and understandably so. It's a hard burden to carry alone, I'd imagine, let alone with Khemera there to look after too." 

Aaron bit his lip and nodded again. He patted Baird's shoulder. "I'm not gonna lie. I wish we could keep you around. But I completely understand. Family comes before anything." 

Baird smiled. "I completely agree." 

"So, you plan not to sign, but when are you actually gonna leave or whatever?" 

"Whenever I'm not gonna be some huge inconvenience. If I left now, for instance, I'd have to take you guys way off course and cause huge delays." Baird scratched his chin. "I suppose whenever we get to this stronghold, perhaps I could head to a nearby city and rent a car." 

Aaron chuckled. "I'm not sure there is any nearby city. I hear this place is pretty remote." 

"Well, suffice it to say, I'm not trying to make any inconvenience for you guys. But when an opportunity arrives, and it's reasonable to take it, that's when I'll make my departure." 

"I see. Well, it'll be good to have you until then." 

Sila pointed at Baird. "Upstanding." 

"He is, isn't he?" Aaron asked with a wide grin. "Alright, let's get to work before we become popsicles."

******************** 

A/N: Well, they finally discovered the Thrasher's handiwork, and needless to say...this stinks. But at least we get some good Aaron moments out of this, and Sila and Baird as well. I've gotta say, this was a fun one to write. 

If it was fun to read, I'd appreciate a vote and even some comments to let me know. Thanks! 

Kinda oddly specific, perhaps, but I'd like to know, what're your thoughts on Aaron's character so far? 

And for our random question of the day, let's see...what're some nicknames you've accumulated through friends, family, etc? 

(Well, I have a ton. Uncle Falcon, Blaze, and Spike were all bestowed upon me by friends who are likely to read this sooner or later. But I guess aside from online friends, I'm not really given much. My real name is unique enough it renders nicknames kinda unnecessary.) 

That'll be it for me today. Have an awesome day, and I'll see you next time!