TITLE: Falling Snow, Chapter 4/10
AUTHOR: Snark
E-MAIL: snark_911@yahoo.com
CLASSIFICATION: SA (Story, Angst) plus some UST
KEYWORDS: NONE
RATING: PG-13 
SPOILERS: This story is set before the Two Fathers/
One Son episodes. While there are no true pre-requisites 
for this story, allusions are made to at least the 
following episodes: Sleepless, Red Museum, Detour, 
Triangle, Shapes, Alpha, Bad Blood, Clyde Bruckman's 
Final Repose, and Tithonus. 
DISTRIBUTION: OK to forward to ATXC newsgroup and to
Gossamer. Please ask permission before archiving anywhere
else, please. Or at least let me know that you have 
archived it, so that I can keep track of where it's listed.
DISCLAIMER: The characters of The X-Files universe belong
to Chris Carter, the FOX network and 1013 Productions.
No infringement is intended and no money is being made by
the existence of this story. (Unfortunately.) However, 
the characters of Khi Shaolin and Mobaje are my own creation. 
These characters are not for use by any other fanfic author 
without my express, written consent.
FEEDBACK: Mail comments to snark_911@yahoo.com.
AUTHOR HOMEPAGE: http://www.smartania.com/snark/index.html
SUMMARY: Mulder, Scully and a mysterious woman from Mulder's
past crash in the snowy landscape of the Colorado winter. 









------------
Chapter 4
------------

"Yes, I'm here, what?" Scully mumbled into the phone as she 
hung over the side of the bed. It had taken her a couple of 
seconds to extricate herself from the sheets and blankets on her 
bed, her arm knocking the phone from the nightstand in the 
process. 

"This is Amy calling from the front desk. This is your 7:00 
wakeup call, Ms. Scully," the voice said brightly. 

"Um, yes, thank you," Scully answered, thinking it should be 
criminally illegal for the girl to be so chipper at 7:00 in the 
morning.

"You're welcome, Miss Scully, and have a great day!" Amy 
replied, ending the call before Scully could use the 'yeah, 
whatever, shut up' line on Ms. Perky. Probably for the best, she 
thought. 

Scully crawled back onto the bed, drawing the covers up over her 
head to shut out the light streaming in through the rather thin 
curtains. She knew she was risking falling asleep again, but she 
wasn't quite ready to just leap out of bed yet.

She'd been sleeping on her stomach, she realized, something she 
hadn't done since she was a little kid. Did the prospect of facing 
this day scare her so much that she had reverted to child-like 
patterns in her sleep? Would she be checking under the bed for 
the boogie man next?

Get ahold of yourself, Dana, she thought. You're going to get up, 
you're going to do this jump, and you will see that there was 
absolutely nothing to be concerned about. You'll be back here 
having dinner with Mulder this evening, complaining about 
having to go to the final session of the conference tomorrow, and 
all will be right with the world. 

With a sigh, Scully slid out of bed, pulling the covers back up as 
she stood. She did a few quick stretches, bending to touch the 
floor a couple of times, leaning side to side to work out the kinks 
in her back. She had intended to go down to the gym for a quick 
morning run, but decided against it. 

Scully instead took a long, hot shower, relieved that the water 
seemed to rinse away the last of the morning's grogginess as it 
coursed across her body. Stepping out of the shower, she dried 
off quickly and slipped into the thick folds of the hotel robe 
hanging on the back of the door. She pulled her hair dryer out of 
her bag, deciding to just do a quick dry and simply pull the hair 
back into a ponytail for the day--plunging to the earth from 
several thousand feet up wasn't exactly an activity that demanded 
stylishness, she laughed to herself.

Her morning routine complete, Scully picked up the phone to 
order some breakfast from room service. Normally, she would 
have just gone down to the lobby restaurant, but she didn't want 
to have to dress twice--once, lightly, to head downstairs and then 
again, more heavily, to prepare for the day.

She glanced over the room service menu. Mostly light fare for 
breakfast, but that was all right with her--she was still half full 
from the previous evening's dinner. Scully picked up the phone 
and dialed the number, ordering a bagel with cream cheese, a 
dish of fruit and some juice.

"And, would it be possible to have a local paper brought up as 
well?" she asked the woman. Scully enjoyed reading the local 
news when out on assignment. It reminded her that in some parts 
of the world, the local school carnival or the winners of the 
snowman-building contest were still considered front-page news.

"Sure, ma'am, that's no problem. Would you like anything else?" 
the woman asked. She was polite, but thankfully not as 
annoyingly animated as Ms. Perky had been earlier. 

With a glance back at the nightstand, Scully thought for a 
moment. Finally, she said "Yeah, and I know this will sound 
rather strange, but I need a large vase for some flowers that were 
delivered to me yesterday. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, 
just something tall to hold some water."

"I'll see what we can come up with, ma'am. The maid service 
might be better able to help you out, though--if our guy doesn't 
arrive with something for you, just leave a note to the cleaning 
staff," the woman said, letting Scully know that her food would 
arrive in about 30 minutes as she hung up.

Scully walked over to where the flowers were sitting, leaning 
over to inspect the petals more closely. Remarkably, both the 
roses and the vine flowers were as vibrant as the night before--
they had barely wilted at all. A little water would liven them 
right up again. Or maybe I could just get Ms. Perky to come up 
and talk to them for a bit, she thought with a laugh.

To pass the time until breakfast arrived, Scully went through her 
bags to lay out the clothing for the day. Khi had recommended 
layering both pants and shirts, and to wear boots with a couple 
layers of socks. She had said her friend would have jump 
coveralls and gloves for them, along with light helmets and face 
shields to protect from the cold. 

Scully had no trouble finding shirts to wear, drawing out a couple 
of mock turtlenecks to layer underneath a heavy fleece pullover. 
But she realized she only had a pair of jeans as casual legwear--
she had sent her sweatpants and some other clothing down to be 
laundered and hadn't brought anything else that would work.

She picked up the phone and dialed Mulder's room. It didn't even 
occur to her that some might have thought it strange for her to 
think of borrowing clothes from her male partner--they'd been 
together for more stakeouts and field assignments than she could 
remember, and had long since become comfortable sharing 
supplies as needed. 

After a few rings, she glanced over at the clock. It read 8:03. 
Surely, he must be up by now, she thought. She was about to 
hang up and head down the hall when Mulder picked up.

"Mulder," he said. Scully was glad to hear he sounded 
completely awake--she didn't think Khi would ever let them 
forget it if they were late.

"It's me," she said. "I'm trying to get clothes ready for today, but 
don't have anything other than a pair of jeans. Do you have an 
extra pair of sweatpants or something I could borrow?"

"Yeah, I was just doing the same thing," he replied. She could 
hear him rummaging around in his suitcase as he talked. 
"Ummm... let's see... sweatpants, no. But I do have an extra pair 
of Spandex running pants, flygirl," he finished with a laugh.

"That'll do, I guess," she said, hoping the smile on her face didn't 
come through in her voice as much as it threatened to.

"OK, I'll drop them off on my way down to the lobby in a few 
minutes," he said. "I'm about to head down to grab some 
breakfast, did you want to come along?"

"No, I ordered room service--didn't want to have to come back 
up to the room to change," Scully replied. 

"All right. I'll be down to your room in five," he said as he hung 
up the phone. The need to end every conversation with a 
'goodbye' was also something that had dropped away years ago.

A few minutes later, a knock at the door heralded Mulder's 
arrival. Scully drew back the chain lock and opened the door. He 
held out the aforementioned pair of Spandex running pants. She 
noticed, though, that he had neglected to mention that they were 
wildly colored, black base streaked with neon orange and green.

"Ooo, pretty stylin' there, Mulder," she teased him. "These look 
like they should be hanging on the back of a slow-moving 
vehicle."

"Actually, you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find 
Spandex attire that *isn't* wild," he said, laughing a bit. 

"Oh, and I'm sure you searched high and low for plain ones, too," 
Scully said. "I know how... sedate your tastes are."

Mulder didn't bother defending himself, knowing that there really 
wasn't any defense to make, instead turning to head down the 
hall. "I'll see you downstairs in a bit, then," he said over his 
shoulder. She let him walk for a good 20 or 30 feet before calling 
out to him.

"Hey, Mulder?" she said. 

"Yeah?" he asked as he paused.

"Thanks for the flowers, they're beautiful," she said simply. She 
didn't trust herself to say anything more.

"Only the best for you, my lady," he said, affecting the half-bow 
he'd used the night before. With a grin, he turned and headed on 
down the hall.

Scully went back in her room, and it was only a few minutes 
until the room service arrived. The man had everything she'd 
ordered:  the breakfast, the paper, and even the vase. She tipped 
him more than she normally would have, thanking him and the 
staff for being so accommodating.

After arranging the flowers in the vase, making sure it was filled 
with water, Scully settled in at the small table. She made short 
work of the bagel and fruit, then lazily sipped at the juice as she 
browsed through the paper. She made a mental note of an ice-
sculpture contest taking place today, thinking the results might be 
worth checking out this evening when they got back.

Realizing it was getting close to 9:00, Scully refolded the 
newspaper and began getting dressed for the day. She slipped on 
a light t-shirt, followed by the mock turtlenecks and finally the 
heavy pullover. After pulling on three pairs of socks, she reached 
for the Spandex pants. 

Laughing as she stretched them on, she was actually surprised at 
how comfortable they were. They clung to her legs like a second 
skin, matching her movements without feeling bulky or binding. 

She started to pull her jeans on, but stopped. Scully sat still on 
the edge of the bed for a few moments, the jeans forgotten. She 
soon dropped them to the floor as she went over to the mound of 
packages in the corner. Rummaging through them, she finally 
withdrew and opened a long, thin box. 

Placing her right foot on the edge of the bed, Scully strapped the 
black-handled knife over the neon Spandex, securing it firmly to 
her lower leg.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

Mulder and Khi were waiting for her as she crossed the hotel 
lobby towards the front door. She was carrying her heavy parka, 
knowing she'd want it for the trip and the first part of the plane 
ride. She noticed that both of them were similarly equipped, Khi 
also carrying a backpack.

"OK, then, are we all set?" Khi asked after quickly making sure 
Mulder and Scully had followed her apparel instructions. 

"Let's do it," Mulder said, clasping his hands together and 
grinning. Khi and Scully just laughed at his eager-beaver antics. 

They headed outside to the Regal's parking ramp, Scully slipping 
into her parka as they walked. It was still snowing lightly, but no 
more than a couple of inches had accumulated. The sun was 
trying to peek through the clouds, but clouds were overtaking it 
quickly. It would most likely be completely overcast within the 
hour. 

Khi lead the way over to a sport utility vehicle parked nearby. As 
they approached, a man stepped out of the driver's seat. Or 
rather, an unbelievably huge man unfolded himself from the front 
seat and stood, towering over the top of the vehicle as if it were a 
Tonka toy. He had to be at least seven feet tall, Scully realized as 
she drew near.

"This is Mobaje," Khi introduced the man. "He'll take us up to 
the flight line and pick us up at the drop site as well. Mobaje, this 
is Fox Mulder and Dana Scully."

Mo-ba'-zhay, Scully repeated to herself, wanting to make sure 
she remembered the pronunciation. "Nice to meet you, Mobaje," 
she said, reaching out to shake his hand as he turned to her. His 
hand completely enclosed hers, but was gentle as he shook 
hands.

"So you are the two whom Khi has convinced to join with her on 
a fall from the sky, yes?" Mobaje asked. His speech pattern was 
unusual, his words a strange mix of formality and imagery. His 
voice flowed as smooth as silk, the tonal quality low and 
lustrous. Scully was beginning to think exceptional voice timbre 
was a prerequisite for Khi's friends.

"Yes, that would be us," Mulder replied, holding a hand out to 
assist Scully as she climbed into the backseat. "I'm not sure how 
she did it, but here we are."

"Khi has convinced Mobaje of many things as well, zhajeen. Her 
tongue, not her sword, is her greatest weapon," Mobaje said as he 
took Khi's pack and put in the back storage area of the vehicle. 
Khi, who had already lifted herself into the passenger seat, let 
them know 'zhajeen' was a term similar to 'sir' or 'ma'am', but 
used neutrally. Scully was tempted to ask about the sword 
reference, but decided against it. 

Mobaje refolded himself into the driver's seat, looking to Khi for 
confirmation that everyone was ready to go. "Everyone set?" she 
asked, glancing at Mulder and Scully with a smile. "Nobody has 
to go to the bathroom?"

"Are we there yet?" Mulder whined, falling into the game easily. 
"Scully's on my side! I'm bored! She's looking at me weird!"

They would have needed a photo-finish replay to determine who 
reached out to slap Mulder in the head first. Since they each went 
for opposite sides of his skull, Khi and Scully were content to 
declare it a tie. Mulder just laughed, causing Scully to roll her 
eyes heavenward, a slight smile on her lips as well. 

"Take us out, Mobaje," Khi said. "Before I have to crawl into the 
backseat and split these two up."

"Not even you could do that, zhajeen," Mobaje replied, guiding 
them out of the parking lot and into the city streets. Scully 
wondered what he meant, but didn't get the chance to ask as 
Mobaje and Khi started chatting. She didn't dare look over at 
Mulder, either. Of course, she didn't need to--her mind could see 
both the grin and the look, clear as crystal.

They left Colorado Springs and at first headed almost directly 
west, straight towards the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. 
They turned to head south after a while, weaving their way right 
along the edge of the mountain range. Khi explained that their 
pilot would take them on a quick sight-seeing jaunt back up 
towards Pike's Peak, then take them south again to a more open 
location for the actual jump. "No need to waste a ride in the 
Rockies," Khi said. "From the window of a plane is really the 
only way to appreciate their magnificence."

Not knowing what to expect from a car ride with Khi, Scully was 
happily surprised to find the trip quite intriguing, actually. Khi 
and Mobaje spent the first 20 minutes or so chatting about the 
jump retrieval and related items, as Mulder and Scully took turns 
pointing out various portions of the stunning landscape to each 
other. 

Scully listened in as Mobaje talked, finding herself fascinated by 
his words. Imagery was present in almost every sentence he 
uttered--her mind was filled with pictures created not only out of 
the words themselves, but from the tonal inflections of his voice. 

His ancestry was another source of interest for her. She wouldn't 
even hazard a guess as to what ethnic class might give rise to his 
seven-foot frame. He was darker-skinned, but not black, the 
coloring suggesting he was of Latin or Asian descent. His hair, as 
long and straight as a Native American's, was a shimmering 
silver, sweeping down his shoulders like a river of mercury. 

When Mobaje and Khi seemed to wind up their conversation, 
Scully took the opportunity to ask him where he was from.

"I am from the earth, zhajeen," Mobaje replied simply. 

"Mobaje's people believe they are each a direct descendent of the 
earth itself," Khi translated, seeing Scully's look of confusion at 
Mobaje's apparently flippant remark.

"Sorta gives the phrase 'Mother Earth' a whole new meaning, 
doesn't it?" Mulder quipped--he had to duck to avoid another 
double slap for his undeniably flippant remark.

"We are all children of the earth Kanji and of the sky M'alvahe," 
Mobaje intoned. "They birth us, feed us, protect us for the whole 
of our lives. When the line between life and death is crossed, 
Kanji and M'alvahe swallow us undivided and return us to the 
earth."

"Undivided?" Scully asked, entranced. Even Mulder appeared to 
be paying attention, head tipped, his hair falling over his eyes as 
he listened.

"The soul and the body kept together, to live again within Kanji," 
Mobaje said. "They reside as one until such time as M'alvahe 
opens his arms for the soul to be born again. On that day, the 
body is finally returned to the dust."

For the next hour, Mobaje played the role of teacher, telling story 
after story about his culture and his people. Scully couldn't 
remember the last time she'd been so thoroughly interested in 
listening to someone talk about themselves. Glancing over at 
Mulder occasionally, she saw he was as engrossed as she was--
they were like a couple of 6-year olds at storytime. Maybe I 
should ask for a carton of milk and a cookie, she laughed to 
herself.

"So, ok, what's the difference between a... um... a rhaven and an 
ut'aari?" Mulder asked, trying to get his mouth around the 
unfamiliar words correctly. 

"A rhaven transforms without thought, without will, into a single 
animal identity as M'alvahe directs. The man does not choose his 
time and he cannot change the animal he becomes," Mobaje 
explained as he finally turned off the main road onto what 
appeared to be a driveway. We must be almost there, Scully 
thought. As Mobaje continued, she began to pick out buildings in 
the distance and finally what could only be the flight line--a strip 
of land about a third mile long, blown free of the falling snow.

"An ut'aari can control his shape, mold it as his heart desires," 
Mobaje said as he brought the vehicle to a stop next to an open 
hangar. "He can become the elk, the wolf, or the hawk as he 
chooses. Not even M'alvahe can control an ut'aari. They are the 
righteous among men, the embodiment of Kanji herself."

Trust Mulder to find the X-File in a discussion of culture, Scully 
thought, turning her head to hide her smile. The smile was soon 
forgotten, though, as she caught sight of the plane inside the 
hangar. Oh dear god...

For one thing, it was the smallest plane she had ever seen--
Cracker Jack toys were more solidly built. It looked as thought a 
strong wind would tip it right over. But it was the paint job that 
took her breath away. She felt Mulder lean over next to her to 
look out the window, a huge laugh emanating from him as he 
collapsed against her in the backseat.

The plane, the object to which they would soon be entrusting 
their safety and their very lives--the plane looked just like the 
Spandex pants she was wearing.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

"C'mon in, c'mon in," a voice called out as they approached the 
open hangar bay. At first, there didn't seem to be a body attached 
to the voice--it seemed to come from nowhere. As they slipped 
inside the hangar door, though, Scully saw a pair of legs standing 
on the other side of the plane, legs which soon carried their 
owner around to meet them.

"Zippy, Scully, this is Vincent Alger, our pilot for today," Khi 
said, slapping the man on the shoulder. "Vince, these are Special 
Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully." Khi moved off to a set of 
storage lockers nearby as Vince stepped over to talk to Mulder 
and Scully.

"Ain't never flown the FBI before. Ought to be fun," Vince said 
with a smile, quickly holding up his grease-covered hand as they 
each reached out to greet him. "We can just skip past the 
handshake, I guess, unless y'all want some of this on ye."

Vince spoke with a decidedly heavy drawl, the words lazily 
flowing from one to the next. As he moved back towards the 
plane, Scully noticed that he walked with a slight limp, his left 
leg dragging slightly. Vince must have noticed her watching him.

"Yup, I got me a little left-foot drag," he said, grinning at her. 
"Don't worry, though, it don't affect my flying none. 'Course, I 
wouldn't have a left-foot anything if it weren't for the co-... for 
Khi, there," he finished suddenly, obviously editing his words. 
Scully wondered what his original statement would have been. 
Before she could ask, though, Khi gave a whistle and waved 
them over. 

Mulder leaned in close to her ear as they headed over to the 
lockers. "I done bet the plane's name is Ol' Spandy," Mulder 
whispered quietly, teasingly. Slap...

They reached the lockers just as Mobaje was handing Khi her 
pack. She checked its contents, nodding her head as she glanced 
through it. "Check the altitude conditions for us, Mobaje--the 
clouds are throwing me a little, here," Khi said to him. Mobaje 
nodded to her as he turned to head through the open doors. 
Scully assumed he was heading for the small building about 100 
yards away.

"All right, we have to get you guys suited up and versed in 
everything here, before Vince'll take us up," Khi said as Mobaje 
left. She looked around for a moment, searching for something. 
"Ah, there they are," she said as she stepped around Scully's side 
to pick up a stack of material. As Khi moved around her, Scully 
turned to watch her, then continued the motion to look out the 
open doors after Mobaje.

Except that Mobaje was nowhere to be seen.

Startled, Scully glanced quickly around the interior of the hangar, 
thinking maybe he stepped back inside. She saw no one. There 
was no way he had covered the distance to the other building in 
the ten seconds that had passed.

She was about to cross over to the open door and look outside, 
but Khi began handing out items, describing them as she went 
along. With one last glance out the door, Scully tuned in to Khi's 
explanations.

"This is your jump coverall. It is similar to a regular coverall suit, 
with two notable exceptions," Khi explained. "One, it has built-in 
carabiners to attach right to your parachute harness. And two, a 
small homing device is stitched into the lining of the collar."

"Built-in search and rescue?" Mulder said with a laugh as he 
stripped off his heavy jacket. He stepped into the coverall, 
pulling it up over his clothes and zipping it to mid-chest level. 
Scully did the same, stacking her jacket on his before pulling on 
the coverall.

"Why is this a less-than-comforting idea?" Mulder asked, tossing 
a wry glance over at Scully.

"It's not a full-blown radar detection system, that's for sure," Khi 
said, grinning at him. "But as long as we land within a couple of 
miles of each other, it will allow me to track each of you very 
quickly."

Next, she handed out a set of what looked like miniature tie-
down straps. She showed how to thread them through the bottom 
loops of the suit legs, wrapping around the ankle and then criss-
crossing them under the soles of their boots. "Just makes the ride 
down a little warmer, if you don't have the wind whistling up 
your shorts," she laughed. 

Handing them each a parachute, Khi showed them how to step 
into the harness correctly, attaching the various slip-links to the 
carabiner hooks on their jump suits. The chute packs were sleek 
and almost completely black--only the bright cord handles stood 
out.

"This, the red, is your main chute cord. When your feet leave the 
plane, count to five and then pull this straight down, hard," she 
said, simulating a swift jerk towards the ground. "If you don't 
immediately feel the chute open, this is your reserve, the yellow 
cord. Again, yank it straight down."

Feeling his pack for the location of each cord, Mulder grinned as 
he asked "And if that one doesn't open?"

"Then you'll be really glad that we're jumping in the winter--the 
snow would provide something of a break for your fall. Not the 
same as a nice, cushy safety net, but better than slamming into 
the bare ground," Khi said. "But don't worry, I've only seen two 
instances where the main chute didn't open, and in both cases, the 
reserve worked fine."

Khi stepped over to each of them, checking the strap fittings and 
carabiner latches individually. She had Mulder unfasten part of 
his harness, untwisting the straps so they laid flat against him and 
readjusting the strap length. 

Satisfied at last, she next handed out the helmets, complete with 
face guards. They resembled a full-face motorcycle racing 
helmet, V-shaped at the chin area, but were much lighter and 
more compact. The shield was integrated as part of the helmet 
itself, not a piece that the occupant could flip up or down as 
needed.

"These provide you with protection from both the cold and any 
objects you might hit when you land. Like, you know, the 
ground," Khi laughed. "Someone with experience can land 
without leaving his feet, but I don't expect that for either of you." 

"Hey now, I'm experienced, what are you-... oh, you mean 
experienced as a *parachuter*, gotcha," Mulder quipped, 
shooting a wink over to Scully. Khi just groaned at the remark as 
Scully rolled her eyes.

Khi spent ten minutes showing them proper landing techniques, 
telling them to disregard the chute itself on landing. "You're 
going to get wrapped up in it a bit, there's no way for you to 
avoid that. So don't concentrate on it," she instructed. "Reach for 
the ground with your feet as you approach, but keep the knees 
bent. Roll to whichever shoulder you consider your strongest, 
and keep your legs and arms tucked close to the body."

Looking around her, Khi told them that was really it for now. 
"Here's the gloves, but don't bother putting them on yet--just 
stick 'em inside your helmets for now so they don't get left 
behind," she said, gathering up her own chute, helmet, gloves 
and pack. Khi excused herself to go speak to Vincent, stashing 
her gear in the passenger compartment as she walked by. 

Starting to feel a little warm, Scully walked over the open hangar 
door and stepped outside. Looking around the area, she was 
amazed at the beauty of the location. The relatively open ground 
of the flight line swept up to the edge of the evergreen forest, 
slowly melting away into the snow mountain landscape. You see 
the beauty of nature in pictures all the time, she thought, but you 
never quite appreciate it. The fresh air, the rich colors, the 
sensation of peace--all were things to be admired in person. 

The snow fell silently, cloaking the world in a mantle of 
whiteness.

"Still think this is a good idea, Scully?" Mulder's muffled voice 
asked from behind her.

She turned to look at him, seeing that he had slipped on his 
helmet and was talking through it. She just shook her head at him 
as he took the helmet off, sending his hair spiking out in all 
directions.

"You're assuming I ever thought it *was* a good idea, Mulder," 
she said pointedly. She watched as he tried to straighten his hair 
out, but he had already put the gloves on. He could do little more 
than try to flatten his hair against his skull.

With a sighed "I can't take you anywhere," Scully reached out 
and combed her fingers through his hair. Mulder closed his eyes 
as she ran her hands across his head, over and over. She told him 
to lean closer to her, so that she could reach the back more easily. 

"Yes, ma'am," he murmured, a smile playing across his face as 
he tipped his head forward. 

His dark hair flowing over her fingers like silk, his forehead just 
barely grazing her own, Scully couldn't help but smile a little 
herself.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

Khi soon motioned them both over to the plane, calling out that 
they were about ready to get going. As they moved back inside 
the hangar, Scully gave one last appreciative glance around. 
Looking up to see a hawk circling lazily against the backdrop of 
the mountainside, she could hardly imagine a more beautiful 
location to live.

As Mulder and Scully drew near, they noticed Vince had washed 
up and changed clothes, his mechanic's suit replaced by a leather 
flight jacket and the standard mirrored sunglasses. He climbed 
into the pilot's seat, telling them to follow him out to the flight 
line on foot. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life. The 
plane slowly made its way out of the hanger and onto the cement 
strip that connected the building to the runway.

"Why didn't he just load us up now?" Scully wondered aloud, 
following Khi over to the open doors. When she saw that Khi 
was going to roll the doors shut, Scully stepped to the exterior 
side and began to push the right one closed. 

"Pilots get freaky about startup routines and such," Khi 
explained. "Vince usually flies alone, so he doesn't want to do 
anything different until he's lined up and ready to throttle it into 
the air." She called out to Mulder to get a move on and join them 
before the doors closed.

"M'alvahe is restless this day, zhajeen."

Scully jumped as Mobaje's voice rang out from right behind her. 
He nodded to her as he stepped forward to talk to Khi. Where in 
the hell did he come from, Scully wondered. She had seen no one 
when she stepped through the doors, and Mobaje wasn't exactly 
someone that was easily overlooked. It was almost as if he'd 
fallen out of the sky.

"What do you mean?" Mulder asked as he came near. He stepped 
through the doors just as Scully rolled the door closed behind 
him.

"The air is tense, the clouds unsure of their course," Mobaje 
explained. "M'alvahe beckons for Kanji to join with him in the 
day's game, but she refuses."

"Is it unsafe today, Mobaje?" Khi asked, listening to his words 
carefully. Scully figured they must have known each other long 
enough for Khi to translate Mobaje's imagery into useful 
information.

"I cannot say, zhajeen. M'alvahe remains uncertain--he has not 
yet chosen his path," he said, gesturing an arm up towards the 
sky.

Khi stepped away from them a bit, taking a long look up into the 
sky as she slowly turned a full circle. Scully looked up as well, 
but could see nothing except the unbroken expanse of cloud 
cover, as far as her eyes could see.

"I say we do it," Khi said suddenly. "We're talking about being 
back on the ground within an hour and a half, and I don't see any 
signs of storms or anything. What do you guys think?"

"Well, we're all suited up and ready to go, why waste the 
opportunity?" Mulder said. "I'm still up for it. You, Scully?"

Scully just nodded her head, knowing if Mulder was still going, 
she was still going. 

"OK, then," Khi said, clasping her hands together. "Let's get out 
there and boarded up before Vince takes off without us."

She stepped over to Mobaje, turning to face him as she touched 
her fingertips to her temple, rolling her hand out to face him 
open-palmed. "K'as taani mu lanos, my friend," she said.

"May M'alvahe guide your paths and guard your souls," Mobaje 
said, encompassing them all with his eyes as he bowed slightly. 
Mulder and Scully nodded to him as they fell into step behind 
Khi.

"Keep an eye out for us, Mobaje," Khi called back to him. 

Mobaje tipped his head towards her, raising his hand in the same 
salute she had used earlier. "As always, zhajeen," he said.

Vince popped the side door for them as they approached the 
plane. As Mulder helped her into the compartment, Scully saw 
the interior of the plane was surprisingly roomy. There were six 
passenger seats, two facing backwards and four facing forwards, 
plus the pilot and copilot seats.

Khi climbed into the compartment behind them, slamming the 
door shut and latching the bolts. She slipped on a headset and 
told Vince they were all set--Vince was separated from the 
passenger compartment by a clear wall. A small access door 
could be used to move between the compartments if necessary, 
but Khi said they would leave it closed for this trip.

The plane increased speed, Vince lifting them off the runway at 
the last possible second. As he banked and headed north, Scully 
was amazed at how swiftly they lifted above the earth. Looking 
back, she saw that Mobaje was already a small pinpoint of 
darkness next to the quickly receding hangar.

It must have been a trick of the light that made it seem as though 
Mobaje himself took to the air as the hangar dropped out of sight.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

Twenty minutes after take-off, they were lazily circling Pike's 
Peak. Vince took them around it a couple of times in both 
directions, making sure everyone got ample time to see it clearly 
through their own window. Even though low-hanging clouds 
shrouded the summit, it was still a magnificent sight.

The indicator light next to the headset flicked on. Khi slipped 
them on and listened for a moment. "Yeah, that's good. Reverse 
and move out," she said. 

Hanging the set back on the small hook, she told them Vince 
wanted to get headed towards the jump site. "He's getting some 
strange readings out ahead of us and doesn't want to get caught in 
something," she explained to them.

"Strange, how?" Mulder asked. "Strange, there's some storm 
activity brewing or strange, there's a 100-foot flying pickle on an 
intercept course?"

"Closer to the former, Zippy," Khi laughed. "Although with you 
in the plane, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually ran into the 
latter."

"Well, it would have to be a pickle with either a past-life 
syndrome or the ability to communicate telepathically, really," 
Scully said. "Otherwise, it would just be another run-of-the-mill 
pickle encounter." 

"Ah, you guys are just so funny," Mulder sighed. He brought his 
hands to his chest, somehow managing to get that I'm-too-happy-
for-words look in his eyes, tears brimming. "You love me, you 
*really* love me!" he cried out, sending them both laughing.

They chatted back and forth for the next forty minutes or so as 
the plane headed south along the mountain range. Keeping one 
eye trained out the window, Scully noticed the clouds, which had 
drifted above them when they left, were now beginning to 
surround the plane itself. They seemed darker and more 
forbidding, almost as if a thunderstorm were building.
 
There also seemed to be an increasing amount of turbulence--
nothing horrendous, but the plane was definitely being buffeted 
around more heavily as they continued. Just as she was about to 
ask Khi if she still thought it was safe, Scully saw the headset 
light flick on again. 

As Khi spoke quickly to Vince, Scully became aware of 
something that had been nagging at her. When speaking casually, 
Khi spoke very animatedly, using gestures and a good deal of 
slang as she spoke. But when speaking 'business,' such as she 
was doing with Vince now or with Mobaje earlier, she used very 
short, clipped sentences, her words containing no extraneous 
words or thoughts. As she continued to listen, Scully finally 
realized what it reminded her of.

Khi spoke as Ahab often had, as Scully had heard many of her 
father's fellow officers speak. It was the style of someone 
accustomed to being in command, to giving orders to the people 
around them. Was Khi a member of the military, Scully 
wondered, remembering the Marine captain back at the hotel. Is 
that why she seemed so calm all the time, so in control of every 
thought and action?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Khi as she took off the headset. 
As she replaced them on the wall, Scully felt the plane begin to 
bank again, turning a wide arc as it headed back to the north.

"Vince is calling it a day. We're only 20 minutes from the jump 
site, but he's getting spooked about the cloud cover and radar 
readings," Khi explained, motioning out the window. "I told him 
we didn't want to chance anything, so we're heading back for the 
hangar."

"Well, at least I can take this chute off, then," Mulder said, 
starting to unbuckle the carabiners from his suit. "It hasn't exactly 
been comfortable sitting in these seats with this strapped to my 
back."

"Yeah, I can feel my spine kinking up as I speak," Scully agreed. 
She, too, slipped the carabiners from their suit hooks, sliding the 
harness down her legs until she could move out of it completely. 

Mulder, more constricted for space because of his height, was 
having trouble getting the harness completely unbuckled. He had 
somehow managed to get one arm free, but the other was trapped 
in the shoulder strap--each time he tried to thread his hand 
through to get free, he only succeeded in wrapping himself up 
more tightly. Laughing, Scully reached a hand over to help him 
out, repeating the 'I can't take you anywhere' line to him softly.

Her hand never reached him. Without warning, the plane lurched 
sharply to the right, slamming them up against the side of the 
plane. The aircraft shook violently, tossing its occupants from 
side to side like a bizarre amusement park ride. A rapid pinging 
sound swept over the plane, growing louder each second. Scully 
smashed into Mulder's side as they tumbled, a groan of pain 
escaping his lips as her head connected solidly with his ribs. As 
they fell, Mulder's head snapped against the metal with a 
sickening thud.

Somehow, Khi managed to right herself almost immediately, her 
arms and legs spread to brace herself in the center of 
compartment. She immediately dipped her head to look out the 
windows. Scully followed her gaze, feeling the blood drain from 
her face at what she saw. She would not have been comforted to 
know that Khi's did the same. 

Hail was crashing against the plane, huge chunks of ice pounding 
out their fury. As Scully tried to find something to push against 
to get off Mulder, a huge booming noise resounded in her ears. It 
was nearly deafening. She slapped her hands up to her ears 
before she was even aware of what she was doing, collapsing 
against Mulder again. An image of herself as a child flashed 
through her mind--curled up in the corner of her closet, her hands 
to her ears, silently screaming as she tried to shut out the sounds 
of the summer thunderstorms.

No, it couldn't be, Scully thought as her throat tightened with a 
genuine sense of fear. It's the middle of winter, it's been snowing 
for days, it couldn't possibly have been...

"Lightning just hit us," Khi screamed, struggling to be heard 
above the roaring hail.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

"Put your chute on. Check Mulder and fix his harness. Get 
helmets on," Khi commanded, barking out the directions as she 
moved toward the door in the clear wall. 

Scully finally got herself lifted off of Mulder, rolling away from 
him to hang onto one of the seats. She stretched out to check 
Mulder's pulse and feel his head for injury. She was relieved 
when she heard him moan slightly and try to move a little bit--
most likely, he was just dazed from the collision. 

She wasted no time trying to straighten out the tangled mess of 
the other shoulder, instead just shoving his free arm back through 
the harness and cinching it tight against his chest. One by one, 
she hooked the carabiners to whatever slip-link was closest, 
moving Mulder from side to side as she worked her way around 
his harness. Her motions seemed to rouse him, and by the time 
she clicked the last carabiner into place, he was fully awake. 

"What the hell happened?!" he shouted, trying to get his bearings 
in the darkened compartment.

"We flew into a hail storm. Lightning struck the plane," she 
yelled back, trying to locate Mulder's helmet. "Khi's checking on 
Vince."

Mulder rolled up into a kneeling position, wincing as he 
contracted his stomach muscles. Bruised or broken ribs, Scully 
though at first. But Mulder realized he'd been lying on 
something, and with a shocked expression of realization, he 
pulled Scully's chute out from underneath him.

"You gotta get your chute on, Scully. Hurry!" Mulder said, fear 
squeezing his voice into the upper register.

"Go! Find the helmets, go, go, go!" Scully yelled as she grabbed 
the chute and harness from his hands. He still hesitated, wanting 
to make sure she got hooked up OK. "The chute's not going give 
me much protection for slamming my head into the ground, 
Mulder. GO!"

As she started straightening out the straps of the harness, Mulder 
scrambled around the compartment, searching. He finally found 
all three helmets, rolled up against the back of the plane. Mulder 
scooped them all up, twisting the chin straps across his hands to 
hold them all as he fought his way to the front again.

Lying on the floor, Scully rolled onto her upper back, much as 
she would when trying to squeeze into a pair of tight jeans. When 
she had the harness pulled firmly against her lower body, she 
rolled forward into a kneeling position, trying to get her arms 
stuck through the shoulder straps. The wild motion of the plane 
made it difficult, though, as she kept getting tossed about.

"Scully!"

The word snapped through the plane like a whip. Scully turned to 
see Khi motioning to her from the cockpit. As she crawled 
forwards, she saw that Khi was trying to keep hold of the flight 
controls as she pulled Vince's unmoving form from his seat. 
Reaching the doorway, Scully grabbed Vince under the armpits 
and pulled him partway through the door, giving Khi the room 
she needed to sit at the controls. 

"He must have been in contact with something conductive when 
the lightning struck us," Khi yelled back to her. "His body was 
still conductive when I broke through up here, gave my hand one 
hell of a shock. He's dead, or damn close to it." 

Scully felt Vince's neck for a pulse, but found nothing. His eyes 
stared ahead, wide and lifeless. "What are we going to do?" she 
shouted. "Can you fly this plane?"

"Normally, I'd say yeah, but not now," Khi said, frantically 
flipping switches and controls. "The entire circuitry has been 
fried. None of the gages work, I can't tell where we are, and 
we're dumping fuel." She paused for a moment, eyes closing 
briefly.

"We're going to jump."

Son of a bitch, Scully thought. Son of a god-damned bitch. 
Glancing back at Mulder, she knew that he'd heard Khi's 
statement as well. He reached for her hand, holding it tightly for 
just a moment.

"Hand me a tie-strap out of my pack," Khi yelled. Mulder dug 
through the packing, finally finding a single strap at the very 
bottom. Khi lashed the throttle stick of the plane in place, 
working off the theory that if they hadn't crashed into anything 
yet, they must be flying fairly level. But she had no idea how 
long it might hold or what their true direction was.

Khi crawled over Vince's body back into the passenger 
compartment. Seeing Scully still struggling with her chute, Khi 
yelled at her to sit still--with the ease of long practice, she 
unhooked and rethreaded the straps around Scully's shoulders. 
"It's not perfect, but it will have to do," she yelled as she snapped 
the carabiners in place.

"Is she safe? Is it good enough to hold her?" Mulder yelled, his 
own pain forgotten in his concern for Scully.

"It's as good as we're going to get it, Mulder," Khi said. Some 
part of Scully's brain noticed that the nickname 'Zippy' dropped 
away as well when the situation was serious. She and Mulder 
slipped their helmets on, trying to hold themselves steady against 
the thrashing of the plane.

Khi retrieved her own chute from the wall peg where it had been 
hanging, cinching herself into it as she yelled to them.

"Here's what's going to happen. I pop that door, Scully goes 
through. Give her ten seconds, Mulder goes next. Deploy your 
chutes immediately," she yelled, again simulating the downward 
jerk of the handle. "You won't see the ground until you hit, so 
keep your legs bent. Once you're down, get out of the chute 
harness and find whatever shelter you can. Keep your helmets on 
and try to keep moving, even if it's just pumping your arms and 
legs--I don't know how long it will take me to track you, and you 
need to stay warm."

By the time she finished talking, she was into her chute harness 
and had grabbed up her pack from Mulder. She undid one of the 
carabiners, threading the strap from the pack to the inside. When 
the carabiner snapped back into place, the pack was attached 
safely to her waist.

"Any questions?" she yelled, looking each of them in the eye. 
When they said nothing, she held her hands out, motioning for 
each of them to touch hands with her. "You're strong, you can do 
this," she said simply.

"Yeah, whatever, shut up," Mulder bellowed, getting the barest 
of laughs from both Scully and Khi. Trust Mulder to make a joke 
on the eve of our deaths, Scully thought.

Khi stepped over to the door, grabbing the release handle and 
standing back inside the frame of the plane. She motioned for 
both of them to take positions on the other side, Scully closest to 
the door.

As he took his place behind her, Mulder suddenly wrapped his 
arms around Scully and held her close. She lifted her hands up to 
hold onto his arms as though they were a lifeline. No words were 
needed--they both knew what this moment was.

"Set?" Khi yelled as she glanced over at them. Scully reached up 
and found the handle of the main chute cord, nodding to Khi to 
go ahead.

With a swift jerk downwards and a twist to the right, Khi popped 
the door handle. The door flew open against the exterior of the 
plane as hail pounded in through the doorway.

Unwinding from Mulder's embrace, Scully stepped forward and 
leapt into the fury of the storm.


      *** 30 *********  Section End  *********** 30 ***
 

Continued in Section Five, Chapter 5/10...

http://members.tripod.com/~koosn/falling_snow-5.txt