Such a small celebration wasn't going to last long. Even so, Jack was overcome by a wave of exhaustion brought on from overexerting himself too much, too quickly. This fact didn't escape the notice of S'haar or Angela, who mutually agreed it was time to head back to their home.
As everyone said their goodbyes, S'haar promised to return the next day to begin moving the workers to the cave, and Angela promised to have a warm welcome in store for the workers, "pun not intended." It took a little longer to strap Jack's chair onto the sled this time since Em'brel wasn't there to help, but once they were on their way, S'haar felt now was a good time to address her unspoken concerns. "So when were you going to tell me about your decision to leave me in charge of this camp?"
Jack was silent for a few moments before responding. "Well, I've been debating the idea for a while, but it was only at the ceremony that I finally decided. I would have told you first, but Lon'thul brought it up before I could find the time to mention it."
S'haar dragged the sled through the snow in silence for a while. When she did speak up, her voice was quiet but thoughtful. "But... why?"
Jack hesitated to answer but felt he owed S'haar an explanation. "Throughout human history, there have been many times a technologically advanced group of people decided to 'help' a 'primitive' group. I'm sure many of the people who began such undertakings had nothing but good intentions at heart, but all too often, it resulted in the more advanced society taking advantage of the other. There are probably many subtle complicated reasons that things went the way they did, but the result was often the same, and I didn't want to repeat that here."
As they got far enough into the cave for S'haar to remove her mask and gloves, Jack continued his explanation. "I'm sure I'd try to lead this camp with the best of intentions, and I'm confident that in many ways this place would be a success, but I'd probably unintentionally try to turn this community into a mirror of humanity. However, you already have a vibrant culture of your own. Maybe some of the sharper edges could stand to be softened a bit, but that is for you as a people to decide when and how to make any changes. You know what Angela and I are capable of. You are familiar with the lives of your people's upper and lower classes, you're honest and straightforward, and you are a natural leader. I can't think of anyone who would be better suited to leading your people through an age or two of advancements."
After that, the two of them traveled in heavy silence for several moments before S'haar spoke up again. "Alright, fine, I'll forgive you this time. I'm still not sure I'm the best choice for the job, but we can talk more about that later. For now, let's get back home and prepare for tomorrow. "
Jack didn't respond. S'haar looked back only to find him slumped over in his chair. With a dreadful stillness in her chest, she lept back onto the sled to check on Jack. When he still didn't stir, she spoke into her headset. "Angela, something's wrong with Jack. He's unconscious again!"
Angela's voice came back to her, calm but urgent. "Ok, don't panic, it's probably nothing unexpected. Just get Jack back here as quick as you safely can."
S'haar grabbed onto Jack's restraints and tore them free of the chair. He groggily muttered something incoherent and tried to weakly bat at her. As soon as she lifted Jack into her arms and began to sprint the rest of the distance, he passed out again.
S'haar was grateful that they didn't have far to go. As soon as she crossed the threshold, Angela and Em'brel were there, anxiously waiting. Angela took charge. "Quick, get him to the med-bay, and lay him on the bed with the scanners."
S'haar was familiar enough with the med-bay after periodically taking Jack there for the occasional in-depth scan during his coma. What really tormented her was the tension-filled minutes while Angela ran various lights and diagnostic machines over and around Jack.
After a few minutes that seemed to stretch on for hours, Angela approached the two women waiting anxiously by the door. Her easy smile was already alleviating fears before she began explaining. "Jack's fine. I think the poor guy simply wore himself out in all the excitement. This whole thing was a bit more stress than his body was ready for, but don't worry, he'll be right as rain with a bit of rest."
The two argu'n shared an exasperated sigh of relief before S'haar picked Jack up once again and carried him to his bed. As she tucked Jack in to get some much-needed sleep, she couldn't help but mutter complaints to herself about how watching over such a fragile person was starting to age her before her time.
-
Jack groggily woke to find himself buried under more blankets than he usually preferred, but this unfortunate state was somewhat offset by something pleasantly cool lying across his chest and one of his legs.
Opening his eyes, Jack felt his body temperature quickly rise when he found S'haar asleep, laying somewhat haphazardly on top of him. It took him a few moments for his sleep hazed mind to recall how he'd gotten here. The last thing he remembered was coming back from the party. He'd had an odd dream about S'haar running while carrying him, then he woke up here. Jack felt his face warm further as he realized he must have passed out on the way back to the cave. However, the embarrassment was somewhat tempered by feelings of security brought on by the weight of S'haar's limbs resting easily across his own.
Jack decided that this was all something that could be dealt with later, and he wrapped his own arms around S'haar's pleasantly cool presence beside him. It didn't take long for Jack to slip back into sleep, where he was greeted by S'haar once more. Though the nature of their time together was slightly different than it had been during his brief time awake.
-
The next day they began the process of bringing the workers over to their home in the cave. Lon'thul was the first to make the journey. As the youngest and healthiest argu'n present, he would be the quickest to recover from any complications brought on through any planning oversights.
He was wrapped in several layers of thick skins, with heating packs wrapped in with him. Since Lon'thul didn't particularly want to suffocate, his mouth was covered in something Angela called a scarf instead of a skin, and heating packs were placed right next to his mouth to warm the air passing through the scarf so he wouldn't damage his lungs. Once the preparations were completed, the two set off.
Everything went pretty much as well as could be hoped. Lon'thul was a little sluggish and confused by the time he'd arrived but quickly recovered inside the ship's warmth. After Angela performed a quick scan and gave him a clean bill of health, S'haar left to get the next worker.
Lon'thul was sitting around enjoying a warm drink Em'brel told him was called tea. He'd been hoping to speak with her before any other workers arrived, but it seemed all of Em'brel's attention was currently reserved for Jack. Seeing how hard the human was pushing himself at the moment, the hunter could hardly begrudge him the attention. At least that's what he told himself.
As Jack stumbled, Em'brel caught and steadied him again. "I wish you'd use the straps like before. It would be a lot safer if you did!"
Jack's face was covered in sweat, and he took advantage of Em'brel's steadying hands to catch his breath and say something. The words made no sense to Lon'thul, but Jack's annoyance was evident despite the language barrier, and apparently, it was enough to catch Angela's attention as well.
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Angela stood in front of Jack with crossed arms and a stern glare. Lon'thul still couldn't get used to the idea that this tiny woman was the "dragon" he'd heard so much about. However, the hunter couldn't deny that this place was amazing, and apparently, that was primarily due to her influence. Though he did note that her demeanor was much more frightening now than it had been yesterday.
With a voice to match her glare, the AI reprimanded Jack. "Your appearance isn't something we're particularly concerned with right now. Your progress and safety are. Luckily for you, you are right about this being more effective, and I trust Em'brel here to save you from your own stupidity. Otherwise, you'd be tied to that walker like a stuck pig! Now get back to work before I change my mind!"
Jack muttered what must have been an exhausted assent of some kind before Em'brel released him, then continued his circuit of the room.
Lon'thul felt a bit awkward sitting back and watching, so he decided to join the conversation. "Man, that looks rough. How long do you have to keep this up for?"
Em'brel looked like she was about to reprimand Lon'thul for interrupting when Jack answered. His voice came out as a kind of hybrid between a gasp and a grunt as he pushed himself on while he spoke. This time Em'brel translated in a somewhat distracted manner as she kept a close eye on Jack. "In another week or so, I should have most of my motor function properly under control. After that, it'll be another month of muscle-building until I'm back to my old condition, give or take a bit."
Lon'thul's eye ridges rose in surprise. "So, you're gonna make a full recovery?"
It was Angela who responded this time. she was looking down at some wooden board in her hands while she spoke. "I'm estimating roughly ninety-five percent recovery, with a small margin of error. Although that's assuming Jack doesn't go and do something else stupid to hinder his recovery further."
As if to emphasize her point, Jack stumbled and was caught by Em'brel once more. Angela simply glared at Jack and switched back into her scary mode. "Come on, three more laps, then we can take a break and work on writing instead!"
Jack looked back at the AI with an exasperated look on his face. "Writing? When my arms are this exhausted?" To emphasize his point, he let Em'brel hold him steady as he lifted a shaky hand.
Angela was in no mood to coddle him. "You're the one who wanted to "push" yourself by working without straps. If it's too much for you, we could strap you back in for the last four laps."
Jack looked at her with a confused expression. "Four laps? I thought you just said I only had three more to go?"
Angela had an exasperated look on her face as she shook her head. "Are you losing your hearing now? I clearly said it would only be five more laps until your break unless you want to debate this a little longer?"
Finally, getting the point, Jack sighed and got back to walking. Lon'thul had only caught half the conversation this time around since Em'brel had stopped translating for Jack while he spoke with his sister, but what little he was able to understand had only made him feel sorry for Jack as the man pushed himself through his last few laps. This time Lon'thul thought it would be best not to distract Jack any further and instead focused on drinking some more of his tea.
-
The next to arrive was Fea'en. Once the older argu'n snapped out of her cold induced sleep haze, she simply looked around a bit before stating, "Huh, guess the kid didn't exaggerate for once."
Angela was visibly distraught at the craft master's lack of reaction. She always loved seeing the wonder in an argu'n's face the first time they looked around at her ship, but Fea'en seemed to simply give everything a swift appraisal before moving on to the next "wonder."
Shaking herself out of the pout she felt coming on, Angela resumed her role as a host. The AI floated right up to the craft master, who didn't seem at all phased by the idea of speaking casually with the legendary "dragon." Angela pouted a little more in the back of her processor but was determined to be a good host. "Welcome aboard, Lady Fea'en! If you come this way, I have some hot beverages ready to help you finish recovering from your journey here. After that, we can look to whatever other needs you might have."
Fea'en simply nodded. "Thank you, dragon. I appreciate it." With that said, the old argu'n took a seat at the table and finally showed a small reaction as she smiled at the comfort the chair offered her old bones. Her smile deepened a little further once she accepted a steaming mug from the always eager Lon'thul.
She sat there for a moment, thoroughly soaking in the experience of a comfortable seat while her hands cradled a warm mug from which pleasant-smelling steam wafted up to her nostrils. She indulged in the sensations for several minutes before finally taking a small sip from her drink. Second and third sips followed quickly on the first's heels, and Angela finally got the reaction of wonder she'd been hoping for when the old woman simply stared at the mug in astonishment. "This is... quite good. Should I ration this, or is there more where this came from?"
Angela beamed at her new guest. "There's plenty of that to go around. Jack's never been much of a tea drinker, so my stores are still pretty well stocked. Enjoy your fill, though you may want to eat something with it, so you don't feel waterlogged. Might I suggest some turkey and ham sandwiches?"
As the older woman accepted one such sandwich from Lon'thul, she seemed enticed by the smell. After a quick bite, she found that she was ravenous. Not long after that, Fea'en was looking at the last remaining crumbs with a bit of regret. When the young hunter offered her a second sandwich, the craft master seemed determined to pace herself this time.
-
Angela finally got the show of excitement she'd been hoping for. Each time one of the other workers arrived, they stared open-mouthed at their surroundings. Even Jack was forgiven for taking a break from therapy to enjoy the workers' reactions as they looked around at the wonders of their temporary home.
As the other young and healthy argu'n, Tel'ron was the last to arrive. He and S'haar had been responsible for making sure the fire was properly out, everything they couldn't bring with them was stored correctly, and the shelter was firmly secured before leaving. Once he arrived, his reactions made all the rest pale comparatively, and Angela got exactly the show she'd been hoping for, and then some.
Even before his daze had worn off, the young artificer was inspecting various pieces of metalwork. Everywhere he directed his attention, he couldn't help but poke and prod as he tried to understand the marvels around him.
Soon, Angela's only real fear was that the smith would never make it out of the entryway in under a week if he continued obsessing over everything that caught his eye. He spent minutes closely inspecting the detailed carvings of the lettering on the light panel. Angela had to lock the door as soon as he started fiddling with the door controls to try and figure out how the buttons functioned at all. With Angela's permission, he ran a claw over several metallic panels, astounded at how hard the well-polished surfaces were. He knocked on walls to listen to the sound of the reverberations, and he stared with a slack jaw as she instructed him to carefully pull back a panel and saw the fine wiring and circuitry that typically lay hidden.
He was finally drawn away from his inspections by some of the food and drink that waited for him. Tel'ron spoke with wonder clear in his voice. "I've obviously died in the deep freeze and am now in the artificers' heaven! This place is a shrine to the works of the gods! I could study even the simplest of pieces contained herein for the rest of my existence and consider myself blessed to do so!"
Angela was delighted to have another student eager to learn but decided it best to somewhat temper his expectations. "I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about this place during your stay, but most of this will be of no real practical value to your people for many generations. That being said, I'm sure there are a few things I can teach you that will be of significant use to a smith like yourself. For example, most of the iron you have access to is something we call bog iron. It is a relatively low-quality iron. Let me tell you about a process humans once utilized called 'folding,' it was used to purify similar iron where we came from. This was most famously used on an island nation called Japan..."
As the evening wore on, everyone found themselves spending the most pleasant evening any of them had experienced since that first night of celebration when they'd arrived at the camp so long ago. Fea'en let herself drift off to a comfortable slumber in her new favorite chair. Lon'thul and the other two woodworkers spent their time on a series of checker games. Jack and Em'brel continued Jack's therapy. Tel'ron sat at his new mentor's feet, doing his best to commit every word to memory.
During all this, S'haar stood off to the side, watching everyone find their place in Jack's world. She couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to lead anyone into anything other than more trouble.