Pancake Night 5: Probeland

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



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Liam yanked on the straps for the parachute, pulling them tighter around Da'an's shoulders. "Liam?" Da'an said.

"Yes?"

"The straps are too tight."

Liam groaned and loosened the straps. Sandoval, at the door of the place, turned around. "This is taking too long!" he shouted.

"Well, I don'r want to have Da'an's parachute slip off a mile above the ground," Liam said, giving Da'an a small slap on the back. "You're done. Sandoval, you and Da'an should jump."

Sandoval opened the metal door, and leaped out. The last word Liam could make out was, "Majorrrrrr...." Da'an took a brief look back at Liam, then jumped after Sandoval. Only then did Liam notice that Lili was deathly pale.

"Please," he said quietly. "Don't tell me that you're having a reaction to the food!"

"No," Lili said, chokingly. "I'm afraid of heights."

Liam groaned. Just then there was the sound of glass smashing, and a huge Jaridian probe came galloping in from the back. It looked essentially the same as the previous probe, but it was balanced on about eighteen thin, silver, teetering legs. It crashed to the floor, entangled in Sandoval's jacket, and trying to get back up.

Lili uttered a wordless shriek as Liam shoved her out the door. Then he stared up at the sky, whispered, "It is a far, far better thing..." and jumped as a wiry leg poked him in the back. "BANZAAAAAIIIII!"

****

The water was cold, but not too cold. If the circumstances were different, Liam would have enjoyed swimming. But not full clothed, and definitely not with about five square miles of bright orange parachute covering him. "Hello?" he shouted, peeling the fabric from his face.

Da'an surfaced, mermaid-like, only a few inches from him, holding the fabric above his head like a tent. "Hello, Liam," he said quietly.

Liam exhaled and wiped the salty water from his eyes. "Da'an... where are Sandoval and Lili?"

"Captain Marquette is only a short distance away, and Agent Sandoval has already reached the island," Da'an said, beginning to gather the soggy material together.

"We're near an island?" Liam asked. "Always wanted to vacation in the tropics..."

****

"It's nice'n'warm," Lili announced, poking his head out of the fabric. He, Lili, Da'an and Sandoval were gathered around a small campfire on a sandy beach, laced with palm trees The sun was setting over the ocean. Liam had been investigating the warmth of the still-damp parachutes and was now wrapped up like in a radiant orange cocoon. "Lili, why don't you crawl in?"

"Because I'm not cold," Lili said, holding her banana over the fire. Next to her, Sandoval was lying on his back, playing with a soggy Walkman and looking depressed. Da'an was sitting with his hands folded and eyes closed, just listening to the somewhat cranky humans around him.

Liam sighed. "Annette's really gonna be unhappy."

"Why?" Sandoval asked listlessly.

"Because I promised I'd go stargazing with her."

"Stargazing?!" Lili choked, spitting out a bite of roast banana. "With ANNETTE?"

"Sure," Liam said innocently. "Why not?"

Lili was clearly restraining her temper. "Because, Liam, she is a slut of the first order. I don't want you even near her, comprende?" Lili said, pointing a finger at him. Liam nodded, looking startled. Then he leaned over towards Da'an. "Da'an?" he asked. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Da'an whispered back, opening his eyes. "What is it?"

"What's a slut? I'm scared to ask Lili."

Da'an opened his mouth to reply, then decided otherwise and simply closed his eyes again. Liam, still in the dark, shrugged and sank back into his parachute.

****

"I don't know about you," Lili said, scratching her elbow. She and Sandoval were going through the lush jungle foliage, looking for anything edible. Liam had managed to kill a small animal with a well-thrown rock, but it had fallen off a cliff. Lili scratched at a mosquito bite on her neck and wondered where Da'an was. "But I'm sick of bananas and coconut. I'd do anything for an apple," she finished.

"I found a mango!" Liam crowed from somewhere in the jungle. Lili groaned and scratched her neck again. Sandoval popped out of the bushes, without his tie or jacket, and handed her a tangle of twigs. "How do you like your eggs, Captain?"

"Fantastic!" Lili exclaimed, taking the nest and peering at the large eggs inside. "However, I'd really prefer a stack of pancakes." She picked up one, shook it a little, then asked, "Where's Da'an? Wasn't he gathering firewood?"

"Yes," Liam said, appearing behind a tree. "But he's taking too long."

"Where's that mango, Major?" Sandoval asked.

"You care about a mango more than Da'an?" Liam asked incredulously.

"Of course I don't," Sandoval retorted. Liam stared at him, and he began to stammer. "That is to say, I do not care about the mango more, more than-"

"We get the idea," Lili said, balancing the nest on her fingertips. "DA'AN!" she shouted. Liam winced and covered his ears. "DA'AN!"

"DA'AN!" Sandoval shouted, beginning to walk back to the beach.

Liam covered his ears and slipped down onto the rocks by the stream. He sighed as the shouting grew fainter. A moment later, something poked him in the back. He turned around, saw what it was, and immediately dove into the streambed.

****

"Da'an, where were you?" Lili asked as she ran onto the beach with Sandoval. Da'an was dragging the huge parachutes around, looking a little tired. "We were worried sick."

"I have been repositioning the parachutes," Da'an explained, dropping his burden. "If a ship passes by here, the reflection of the light off the orange fabric will cause a shimmering effect."

"Oh," Sandoval said, looking back at the forest. "Where's Kincaid?"

Lili looked back. "He was here just a minute ago."

Liam surfaced with a huge splash just offshore, in the ocean. He immediately began to swim to shore. Lili sighed. "There he is. Liam, what are you doing?"

"We gotta get out of here!" Liam gasped, staggering out of the water, his clothes sodden.

"Why?" Da'an asked.

Liam didn't seem to have heard him. "Boy, two salt-water dunkings in as many days. I am never going near a body of water that doesn't have soap and a drain ever again."

"Liam," Lili said patiently. "Why do we have to leave?"

"The probe!" Liam said, as if Lili should know.

"What probe?" Sandoval asked.

"The one in the woods, obviously!" Liam said, frustrated, pointing at the foliage. "The one that was chasing me!"

"Chasing? A probe?" Sandoval asked, confused.

"No, the PROBE was chasing ME," Liam explained. "Has big spidery legs and it kept poking me with the tips. Wouldn't actually get in the water, though."

A tooting sound got their attention. All four looked off to the side, and Liam and Lili let out whoops of delight. "Oh boy!" Liam shouted. "A ship!"

"Oh no," Sandoval moaned. "A pleasure liner."

"You do not like these, Agent Sandoval?" Da'an asked.

"Let's just say I'm not big on that sort of vacation," Sandoval said, crossing his arms. "They must have seen the parachutes. So what do we tell them?"

"The truth!" Lili said excitedly, waving at the rapidly approaching liner. "That we're marooned because we bailed out of a plane because there was a spider-probe after us!"

"Except the spider probe came after us!" Liam added, waving. "You think they'll believe us?"

"They should," Sandoval said. "I have a skrill."

"And nobody disagrees with Raven and gets away with it," Liam said, grinning.