The Helavite War by Theresa Snyder Page A

everything he
could to get them to change their minds, short of blasting his way
in, which Jake and Tim both forbid.
    Arr had experienced very little rest in the
last four days. He spent his time wearily prowling the corridors of
the ship day and night. Only when he was too exhausted to lift his
head did he fall into a troubled sleep. He had a lot of time to
think, a lot of time to remember.
    He was with Jake five years now. He had been
with Jake through five Christmas', five birthdays and nineteen
missions. He battled everything from Andruvians to Hydras to
Basha'a. He had been kicked, stomped on, bitten, beaten and shot
at. He lost count of all the beings he shot at, much less killed.
He fought to secure everything from slime, used to make air
breathable, to quillanium, the strongest metal known used for the
hulls of space vessels. He endured extremes in heat and cold,
thirst and exhaustion, and.... he saw wonderful, truly marvelous
things. Things that he never guessed existed in his wildest
imagination. He met some incredibly diverse people and shared their
traditions and celebrations. And, he had Jake through it all.
    Arr sat down in exhaustion in his co-pilot
seat. Kay-o came to lie at his feet.
    Jake was family now. He was the father Arr
lost at the early age of four. He was the brother he buried on the
Henu planet. He was teacher and mentor. He would never leave Jake.
To leave Jake was to leave part of himself behind. These last four
days would have been totally unbearable except that he kept telling
himself it would be over soon. Tim would get here and straighten it
all out. Jake killed before, they all had, but Jake was not a
murderer. Tim would somehow make it all right. Jake said Tim could
'Talk a Darill into buying a sand box.'
    It was night aboard the ship. Jake set it up
for a twenty four hour cycle of lighting changes. The temperature
dropped 15 degrees, also due to Jake's settings. He said you slept
better in a cooler room. Arr slid down out of his chair on the
pilot platform to the floor by Kay-o. He hugged the dar-dolf,
softly purring.
    "It's going to be all right," he said, as
much to reassure himself as Kay-o.

Chapter 41
    Tim parked his cruiser in orbit next to Jake's. He
pulled his pod into the extra bay on Jake's ship exactly 104.32
hours from departure. He made record time. He hopped through two
space windows and three solar systems to get here.
    Arr was waiting when he crawled out of the
pod. He'd never seen the kid like this. He'd seen him sick, hurt
and exhausted, but this was different. It was like his best friend
and his mother had died on the same day. He looked as though he
hadn't slept much in the last four and a half days and the sleeping
he'd done must have been in his clothes. Arr once tried to tell Tim
how he was bound to Jake, but it didn't make much sense to him.
This must be the result of being separated. So, this was Henu
bonding. He'd have to get Jake sprung as much for the kid's sake as
for Jake's.
    "Got a cup of coffee, kid? It's been a long
trip," Tim asked, as he pulled himself wearily from the pod.
    "Sure, in the mess." Arr acknowledged
leading that direction.
    "I'm glad you're here Tim." Arr poured Tim a
cup. "They won't let me see Jake. I don't even know if he's all
right."
    "Oh, Jake'll be fine. He's probably doin'
less worrying than you and he's the one accused of murder." Tim
noticed that Arr's hand shook as he finished pouring. "How long has
it been since you ate?"
    "I don't remember. It's not important." Arr
sat down dejectedly across from Tim.
    "It sure as hell is important," Tim bellowed
in his usual blustery manner. "If I'm going to get Jake out of this
jam I'm going to need all the help I can get. I don't need you
folding on me in a crunch."\
    Tim rose heartily from his chair. He started
to rummage about the mess for a meal for the kid. He remembered the
Henu liked greens so he piled a plate full of the 'Rabbit food,' as
he called it.
    "What were you and Jake doing in