12/12/2001 Title: Surrender Chapter: 5 Author: Squeezynz@free.net.nz Universe: Land of the Giants Rating: PG, Adventure Archive: sure, just let me know Spoilers: Hardly Feeback: craved and cherished Disclaimer: wish the were mine, but their not...all IA's. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The trip to the Bey's house was uneventful. Shuri pulled up, into his driveway and parked in the garage, shutting the door with a remote control. He climbed out, gently lifting the fishing basket by its strap, careful not to let it swing or jerk. He went through the door into the hallway and then into the kitchen. No-one came to his call of " I'M HOME !" Shuri carefully placed the basket on the dining table, unlatching the toggle and pulling the lid back. Mark blinked in the sudden brightness, and shielded his eyes to see Shuri peering down at him. " Did you survive the trip okay ?" he asked. " We managed fine, thank you. Is your wife home ?" asked Mark. " No...she may have taken Kel to the park. Will you be okay while I unpack the car ?". " We'll stay in the basket for now....do you have any pets ?" " Why do you ask ?" asked a surprised Shuri. " Because if you leave the basket open, I don't want your pets to become too nosy. It does still smell a bit of fish." said Mark. " Oh...I see what you mean...no, we don't have any pets, so you don't have to worry on that score." " Thank you.....we'll stay here, if it's all the same to you. " " Okay, I'll go and unpack the car. Back soon." With that, Shuri turned and headed back to the garage. Valerie had slept deeply for most of the trip, with Mark checking her temperature as best he could, using the back of his hand. She had only cried out once, and Mark was surprised to hear his name on her lips. He only hoped it was a pleasant dream, not a fever induced nightmare. Shuri ferried his boxes and cases back and forth several times before collapsing on a chair by the table. " Glad to have that all finished. I'm going to fix myself a drink. Anything I can get you ?" he inquired. " No...thank you." answered Mark. At that point, the sound of the front door opening came clearly to their ears. " That'll be Kara " said Shuri, and he got up, turning to meet his wife as she entered the room, followed by Shuri's daughter. " Hey, this is a surprise...back so soon ?" said Kara, his wife, giving him a kiss. " I missed you all too much. " replied Shuri, hugging Kara and then bending down to kiss Kel. " Daddy, daddy, I'm so glad you've come home early." Kel reached up and hugged her father tightly round the neck. She was a pretty girl, about 10 years old, fair like her father but with brown eyes that twinkled up at Shuri. Kara had dropped her bag on the table and suddenly gave a sharp gasp of surprise when she saw what was in the fishing basket. " Shuri, what is this....why are these Little People here ?" " It's okay Kara...they need our help, I told them you were a nurse, one of them was injured by me, so I brought them home so we could help them." As Shuri finished explaining, Kel peered into the basket as well. " They are so tiny...do they speak, can I hold one ?" " No Kel, they are not dolls, or animals, they are Little People, and very fragile, you are not to pick them up...you could kill them if you squeezed them too tightly." said Shuri. " But Daddy, I want to play with them.....pleeeeeeeeeease ?" asked Kel. " NO !....they are not toys..now stand back please, and let your mother have a look. See if you can help them Kara, I'll keep Kel occupied while you talk to them, the man is called Mark." Shuri picked up Kel and carried her out to the back garden, talking to her ,telling her how he found the Little People. Kara, meanwhile, had noticed Valerie. She went to find a magnifying glass and her nurses bag. She saw Mark eyeing her warily. " No need to worry, Mark, I promise not to hurt her, or you." " I'm was hoping you'd say that. Can you help my friend at all ? her name is Valerie." " First I need to know what happened to her, and how long ago, also any symptoms since the injury." said Kara. " She hit her head, hard ,on a bulkhead, while Shuri was carrying our ship, she has been unconscious since then, I've bathed her cuts and bruises, but she's running a high temperature, and started sweating and crying out a little while ago." Mark informed her. Kara used the magnifying glass to get a close look at Valerie's head wound, asking Mark to turn her head to check for other injuries. " I can't check her temperature reliably, and my stethoscope is too big to use as well. How is her pulse, have you timed it ?" she asked. " Her pulse if steady and strong." replied Mark. " That's good then...there's not alot I can do...I could give you some smelling salts to try and bring her round, or we could try some medicine to get her temperature down. Really, only sleep and time will effect a cure. Until she wakes up and can tell us what's happening, what other symptoms she's having, its hard to make an accurate diagnosis. We can only watch and wait." Kara looked sympathetically down at Mark. " Thank you for caring enough to look as her, I appreciate that." said Mark. He turned back, sitting down next to Valerie as she tossed and turned under the blanket. He lay down next to her and pulled her into his arms, in an attempt to comfort himself, as well as her. Valerie turned into his shoulder and burrowed in, resting her hand on his neck. Kara left them alone and went into the back garden to find out for herself how this extraordinary situation had arisen. Eventually, as night was drawing in, Valerie started to show signs of coming round. Mark had dozed, on and off, most of the afternoon. He woke to hear her softly speaking his name. He turned his head to find her eyes sleepily half open but regarding him steadily. Her face was still pale, but the hectic flush staining her cheeks had faded, leaving only the technicolour bruises to mark her skin. " Hi " she whispered. " Hi yourself. You gave me quite a scare." Mark gave her a smile. " I have an awful headache." Valerie groused. " I'm not surprised, do you remember what happened ?" " Not really, we were on a ship, not the Spindrift, another one." " That's right, it's called the Windsifter....we were hiding from a Giant, and the ship tilted, you slid over the floor and hit the bulkhead, knocking yourself out. You have a fine collection of bruises for a reminder." Valerie ran her hand lightly over her face, feeling the cut on her cheek, and tenderly touching the bruise at her temple, and over her eye. " Ouch....how long have I been out ?" she asked. " Too long.....but that's not a worry any more. Do you feel any other symptoms, dizziness ? nausea ? double vision ?" Mark queried. " No......apart from a humdinger of a headache....tell the drums to stop please, anytime would be fine." Valerie tried a weak smile. Mark returned her smile with a fully fledged grin. He was pleased to hear her crack a joke, albeit a feeble one. It seemed to bode well for a full recovery. He brushed her hair out of her eye's, leaned over and gave her a gently kiss on her lips. " Funny....that's just what Dan said." His expression turned serious and he took her hand, bringing it up to his lips for a caress, stopping Valerie from playing with his shirt button. "You gave me one hell of a scare. " he whispered. " Sorry.....I'll try not to do it again. Maybe I can rescue you next time..." Valerie's words were becoming slurred and her eyes slowly closed . She snuggled into Marks embrace and dropped into a dreamless, healing sleep. Mark held her close and thanked the stars she'd survived another close call. How many more would they have to survive on this planet. If Steve and Dan got the ship flying, maybe they wouldn't have to survive another one, or at least not for much longer. Steve and Dan had spent the day checking all the flight systems, re-orientating themselves with some of the new elements of the Windsifter. Early on they discovered the ship had a few gadgets that the Spindrift designers hadn't even thought of. They now had the ability to load cargo from the large side hatchway, operated from the cockpit. There were other added features that would give them greater manoeuvrability, both in the air and on the ground. Their detection equipment was boosted by various radar enhancements and signal boosters that smacked of military use, rather than domestic purpose. All these had already been fully tested and recorded in the flight manual, and detailed in the log book, by the absent Captain Bishop. Steve found a storeroom, it looked like a fully equipped machine shop, that he was sure Mark would positively drool over when he got to see it. Almost everything they had wished for over the last nearly three years was packed into this one ship. The crates and boxes in the hold had mostly contained computer hardware and engine parts for purposes, as yet unknown. They hadn't found a cargo manifest yet, but Dan was even now checking out the galley and small utility room for just that item. The ship would have to be modified if they intended to use it as a passenger ship again, but that was not seen, by either man, as a detractor to the ships obvious benefits. Whether they would be able to pilot the ship back into space, and home, was still up for discussion, as they were hard pressed to test her for space-worthiness without actually taking the ship into the planets orbit, and given the depth of the Giant worlds atmosphere, it could prove a stumbling block. If the ship proved spaceworthy, then the world was their oyster and they could explore the outer reaches of the planet, hopefully finding the space anomaly that brought them here, even find a passage home. They had some discussion on the merits of keeping both ships intact, but Steve was leaning more to using whatever they could salvage from the Spindrift as a back-up for the Windsifter, then abandoning their original ship and finding a safer haven...if one existed on this planet. That would have to be discussed with the whole group, if, or when they were finally back together again. As night fell the solar panels were folded and stowed, ready to re-deploy the next day. The batteries were at half capacity, but one more day of sunshine would see them fully recharged. The galley worked properly now, so Steve and Dan enjoyed a hot drink and meal before retiring for the night. Both men were excited at the prospect of getting a chance to really fly again so sleep was a long time coming. They were briefly jolted out of their pleasant dreams when a car was heard pulling up to the camp grounds. A Giant was seen by Steve, as he crouched under the bush, approaching the hut that Shuri had used, but when the Giant knocked and got no reply, he got back in his car and left, much to Dan and Steve's relief. They had covered the ship with more leaves, and smothered the illuminated radar dome with a couple of the blankets, so they felt relatively safe from detection for now. After it stayed quiet for over an hour they settled down once more on their makeshift beds and slept. Kara had checked up on Mark and Valerie earlier that evening, and had been encouraged by Mark's report on Valerie opening her eyes and her answers to questions about her symptoms. " It sounds to me as if she'll make a full recovery ." said Kara. " I'm hoping your right." replied Mark. " Would you like something to eat ? I have some soup on the stove, Shuri and Kel have eaten already, and I found some small containers that I can put the soup into, do you want to wake Valerie and see if she can eat something ?" " That would be wonderful. I'll try and rouse Val while you do that, thank you ." Kara turned and went into the kitchen. Mark gently shook Valerie's shoulder, careful not to jar her head. Valerie quietly grumbled, but opened her eyes. " Is it morning already ?" she asked. " No sleepyhead...its time to eat." Mark smiled at her expression. " Food....oh wonderful, I'm ravenous." said Valerie. " Come on then, I'll help you to sit up, Kara will be back in a moment, she has some soup, think you can manage that ?" asked Mark. " Soup sounds great." Valerie's stomach chose that cue to rumble loudly, and they both laughed. Valerie wincing as her bruises made themselves known. " Ouch, don't make me laugh....if hurts too much." she smiled at Mark, who grinned back at her. They heard Kara returning and looked up expectantly. " I found some utensils that should be your size, they're from Kel's doll house, try them out for size." She handed them a bundle tied in a small handkerchief. Mark undid the knot and unwrapped the parcel, inside were some tiny forks and spoons, with tiny bowls and mugs as well. " They will be perfect...please thank Kel for us." He said. " Oh Kel is just thrilled that something of hers can be used for you. She wanted to stay up and see you when you woke up, but she had a long day, so you will see her tomorrow." Kara handed Mark another small bucket like lid, containing something that smelled tasty and from the steam rising was hot as well. " Its koppech soup, nutritious but not too spicy, hope you like it." Kara explained. Valerie looked up at her benefactress. " It smells delicious, thank you." " Your very welcome, enjoy your meal." With that Kara left them alone and went back into the kitchen. Mark and Valerie made short work of the tasty soup, Valerie managing to make a fair meal of it. Mark tidied away the bowls and filled the mugs with the water from the other bucket, then sat down and told Valerie all that had been happening since when she remembered the previous day. Mark was cautiously optimistic when talking about the possibility of the Windsifter flying, he would try to raise Dan or Steve later in the night, when Kara and Shuri had gone to bed. Valerie was just settling down for a nap, when they both heard the front door bell ring. They saw Kara come out of the kitchen looking perplexed as to who would be calling at this late hour. Shuri came over to the table and spoke to them hurriedly. " I must hide you...its my friend, Grae...he must have been to the hut and come here to find out how my fishing trip went. I don't want him to discover you, so please, hang on and I'll carry the basket into the sewing room. He won't be likely to go in there. Hold tight." With that Shuri closed the lid of the basket and picked it up, trying to be as gentle as possible, he could hear Kara talking to Grae at the front door, trying to give Shuri some time to hide the Little People. Thankfully Kel was fast asleep, or she might have let slip about their unusual visitors. After putting the basket on the floor of the sewing room, Shuri quickly exited and shut the door behind him, just as Grae came into the dining room, followed closely by Kara who had a worried expression on her face. Shuri quickly nodded to her to let her know all was safely hidden. Grae, meanwhile, gave the room a quick look over then approached his friend with a questioning look on his face. " So what happened to 'meet you at the lake, later' ?" he asked. " I'm sorry Grae, but I hadn't had a nibble or even a sight of a fish for days, so I decided to come home early." said Shuri. Grae sat in one of the easy chairs, as Kara and Shuri sat on the couch across from him, trying to look at ease, and unworried. " Did I pick an awkward time ? It's not too late in the evening is it ? he asked. " No....no of course not, why do you ask ?" replied Shuri. " Oh no reason....so Shuri...how did you spend your time at the cabin." Grae looked expectantly at his friend. Shuri swallowed nervously, he was never good at lying and decided now was not a good time to start. " I had a nice, quiet holiday, I have to admit I'm no fisherman, but it was peaceful and I caught up on some tramping." said Shuri. He turned and smiled at Kara who was maintaining an enviable serenity. Kara smiled back at Shuri then rose, " can I get you anything Grae, a hot drink maybe ?" she asked. " No Kara, thank you that's okay, I should be getting home. Got a busy day tomorrow, seeing I won't be 'fishing', as I originally planned." he winked at Shuri and made to get up. Shuri got up too, and the two friends shook hands. Then Kara and Shuri escorted Grae to the front door and gratefully waved their friend goodnight. When the door closed they both let out a pent up breath of relief. " Oh goodness, I didn't think I'd be able to stand it much longer. Thank the stars he left so soon. I had better go and check on our Little Visitor's." Shuri left his wife and hurried to the spare room, the basket was where he had left it, but when he pulled open the lid, the occupants had fled. " Mark.....Valerie....it's okay now, it's safe, where are you ?" he called. " We're here.....behind the workbench. We didn't want to cause you any trouble if things went badly. It's easier if we make ourselves 'invisible'." stated Mark. " I'm sure you have had to become 'invisible' more times than I care to think. Do you want to go back onto the table ? asked Shuri. " If it's alright with you and your wife, we would like to stay in here for the night. Can you leave us some water, we won't need much ?" " Sure you can stay here, I go and get that water right now. Do you need a light source for the night ?" " No thank you...we'll be fine...Valerie is still not 100 percent, so we'll just rest and let her heal." said Mark. Shuri could see Valerie, hidden behind the leg of the table, resting with her back against the wall. Her face still looked pale, but she was awake and Mark was there to care for her. " I'll be back in a little while." With that, Shuri turned and left Mark and Valerie alone. " What do you have in mind Mark....will you try calling Steve ?" asked Valerie. " I think that's our best bet. I'm interested to find out how they've been progressing with the recharging of the solar batteries and the system checks." replied Mark. He came and sat next to her. " It's never far from you mind, is it ?" Valerie queried. Mark gave her a searching look. " What do you mean, Val ?" " The ship, the whole 'how soon before we get off this planet' thing." " Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to like your next comment Val...you are going to let me know what you mean, aren't you ?" " I mean, have you really thought about what happens to 'us' if we manage by some miracle to get ourselves back to the earth we left nearly three years ago ?" " Yes I've thought about it, it's all I've thought about since we got back from that trip together, I don't know where your going with this Valerie, but we'll be together, either on Earth or on this planet. Whatever your worried about, we'll face it....together." Mark took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently, trying to convey his feelings through his touch. Valerie leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. " We will make it Valerie, I know we will." he said softly. Shuri brought the water then left them, wishing them a good night. Mark waited until he heard a door bang elsewhere in the house, indicating that Shuri and Kara had gone to bed, before he opened the backpack and got out the handheld radio. Settling back beside Valerie he extended the aerial to it's fullest and thumbed the call button. " Mark calling the Windsifter.....come in Steve...can you hear me...calling the Windsifter..." " Mark, this is Dan...receiving you loud and clear...how's Valerie doing ?" " Hi Dan, Valerie is doing alot better, she's awake and next to me here. How are you and Steve getting on with the preflight checks ?" " Steve's just coming now, I'll let him tell you ." Mark could hear a crackle when Dan handed the mike to Steve. " Mark, the preflights are going better than expected. We had the solar panels open today, the batteries are atleast half re-charged and they will be at full capacity by late tomorrow. You're gonna be impressed when you get to see what this baby can do...it has more extra's than even you can imagine. When do you think Valerie will be well enough to travel ?" Mark looked over at Valerie, she gave him a wan smile. Mark spoke. " I don't know Steve, she needs alot of rest...a couple of days at the minimum. Shuri and Kara are helping all they can, we'll be okay here for awhile." " That's good to hear, by the time Valerie is well enough to leave Dan and I will have mastered this ship and be ready to come and collect you both." " Have you spoken to Betty and Fitzhugh since I left ?" asked Mark. " We spoke to them earlier in the day, they're fine...nothing to report. They are looking forward to having us all back soon. They'll get a shock when they see us 'fly' in." chuckled Steve. " Don't run before you can walk, Steve...you still have to get the crate off the ground. Will you wait until dark for your first attempt?" " That was the general idea, don't want to be too conspicuous...plus light isn't a problem, its a full moon tonight and tomorrow." " I wish I could be there with you. Take every care Steve. Call us if you need anything, we can always ask Shuri for help if you get stuck." offered Mark. " I'll keep that in mind...take care of Valerie, Mark, we'll be in touch as soon as we have results of the first test firing of the engines." There was a brief crackle, then the radio went dead. Mark thumbed off the switch and sat there, holding the radio and looking down at his hands. Valerie reached over and rested her hand on his arm in comfort. " Trust them, Mark, they know what they're doing." " I know, I do trust them...I just wish I could be there to help." Mark took Valerie's hand in his, staring off into the darkened room thinking of the two men who held the fate of them all in their knowledgeable hands. " It's time we sorted out our bed for the night, any preferences ?" joked Mark. " Just somewhere comfortable, with you please." replied Valerie. " I can manage that." Mark stood up, then reached down and helped Valerie to stand up, he bent and picked her up under her legs and back, swinging her into his arms, Valerie laughed at the gallant act. Mark walked over to the basket, he had pulled out one of the t-shirts to make a bed at the base of the basket. He set Valerie on her feet, steadying her when she swayed. " You okay ?" he asked. " I will be when I lay down, just a bit woozy...I'll be fine." " I won't take long, just lean against the basket while I sort out our bed." Mark bent and pulled the material into place. Valerie watched but her eye's were quickly becoming too heavy to keep open. " Okay, its ready....come on, lets get settled." Mark held out his hand and Valerie slipped her fingers into his warm grip. Together they settled themselves into the folds of soft fabric. The moon had just risen and was shining softly through the room's window, casting deep shadows around the room and silvering the furniture. Valerie rested her sore head on Marks shoulder, revelling in his scent and the feel of his arm about her shoulders, her eyes closed and she was quickly asleep. Mark took a bit longer to drop off, his mind wouldn't rest from its speculation of the two men, the responsibility for the success or failure of the flight, the fate of all the lives of their friends resting on their fragile shoulders. Finally, even he slept.