Subject: Grail: Unexplored Spaces - Arda

"Singing Telegram!"

by Lt. Arda Kaje

Kaje was awakened from where she had fallen asleep on the sofa by

a soft beeping sound. Kaede was gurgling to herself in her crib in the

bedroom. She stretched, recoiling slightly at the tug in her back, and

moved to her terminal. She yawned, hitting the appropriate button. A

message scrolled across the screen. She blinked a few times to clear the

sleep from her vision.

****

Kaje.

I will be waiting in my quarters until you are free. Kaede will be

with me when you arrive. Thank you.

~Epic

****

It took her a few seconds to realize what the message said.

'Kaede will be with me...' She read it again, emphasizing it

differently. 'Kaede will be with *me*.......' She tried it outloud.

She couldn't figure out why it sounded so strange. Perhaps she was more

tired from all the work on the shuttles than she realized.

"'Kaede will be with *me*.....'" She giggled. Kaede was here.

And, speaking of which, she cooed at the sound of her name.

{{{{Mommy,}}}} she called. Arda giggled again. She must have

been really tired to be so darn punchy! She walked into Kaede's room and

the little girl's arms reached up to her. {{{{Mommy!}}}}

"Hello, Kaede," she said aloud. She was trying to get Kaede to

speak out more. She would say some words out loud, but only for emphasis

in what she wanted. Mostly, she communicated over their link.

{{{{Mommy!}}}}

"Can you *say* 'Mommy'?" she asked her daughter. Kaede was

silent, trying to figure out how to form the word. She didn't really say

it out loud that much since Arda was hardly ever in hearing range. Kaede

had discovered a quicker response came from thinking it instead.

{{{{Dada,}}}} she said, avoiding the issue. Arda smiled. What a

sly little devil.

"I have to get ready. We'll be seeing Dada shortly."

{{{{Dada!}}}} Kaede giggled out. Arda tickled her chin and began

to get ready. As she passed the terminal, she looked at the message,

still displayed on the screen.

'Thank you,' it said at the end. So formal. He calls her Kaje

and ends it with a formal thank you. She giggled again and headed for

the shower.

Jessica-Lynne Sullivan

-+=+- anuther viktum uv the publik ejukashun sistum -+=+-