"Grab him."

"He isn't stabilized yet, Major."

"Doesn't matter. We need to move quickly. Temperature is dropping."

I wondered if they meant the temperature outside was dropping, or my own body temperature was sinking. I couldn't see yet. I could barely hear the words of the people surrounding me – the bones in my ears felt jiggly after the wormhole, and the voices were muffled, drowned by gusts of wind and distant rumbling.

"He's still soft," a voice said. "Careful with his arms."

Painful cold whipped across my still-forming body. Flecks of ice hit my cheeks in rhythm with the gusts. I blinked and my vision started to come into focus, but all I saw was white and snow.

"I said move, Private! If we wait for him to stabilize, his molecules will freeze first."

"Yes, Major!" There was the crunching of footsteps in snow, moving quickly, and a wet, dragging sound that I realized must be my legs. Lord Farkvold said the Azodii Guard would meet me outside the gates and escort me into the Palace; whoever was on the welcoming committee was dragging me to safety, and from what I could tell I was in desperate need of the rescue.

A shadow passed above us: something winged and large and flying low, like a prehistoric bird, screeching above the din of the storm.

"Private, you keep an eye on those frost vultures!" someone shouted. "If they swoop, you let 'em have it. The rest of you, keep moving! Nobody stops!"

"Yes Major!" a chorus of voices answered.

Through the sleet in my eyes I was able to see my red Canada Goose jacket, slowly coming into focus under my chin. I was being carried under the arms by two figures, with another three or four traveling alongside and ahead of us. The soldiers of the Azodii Guard were bundled in layers of white outdoor-gear, every inch of their skin covered: hats, hoods, jackets, goggles, gloves, scarves.

A gust kicked up, the sub-zero wind cut straight through my ski jacket and down to my bones. I tried to move my arms to cover my head. Why didn't I bring a hat? Or a pair of gloves? Or a ski mask? I was grateful that the oxygenation mask I got from Eon-Murp provided some level of protection for the lower part of my face, but it wasn't stopping my lips from frosting over.

I squinted toward the blinding lights ahead of us – the Palace was only a few yards away. I tried to put my weight back onto my legs, to help the soldiers so they wouldn't have to continue pulling me through the snow and the storm. But I must have misjudged; instead of finding my footing, I found myself face-down into a snow bank.

"Careful!" A strong hand grabbed the back of my jacket and, with little effort, lifted me back to my feet. "His species are very frail!"

Thank you, I tried to say. But it came out as "Muph-oo." I couldn't feel my tongue. I wasn't sure if it was frozen numb, or if it was a lingering after-effect of the portal jump.

"Just a bit further," the lead soldier said, scooping under my shoulder as we hurried toward the Palace lights. Two others from the squad dashed ahead of us, waving their arms at a roving searchlight.

"Open the gates! We have the other human!"

The spotlight went into my eyes and I was blinded again, but the soldier continued to drag me forward until I felt something warm wrap around my shoulders - a thick, heated blanket. The wind stopped and there was a clang behind me, like a large door being shut.

I heard more voices, and sensed a rush of bodies around me. I still couldn't see correctly – everything was blurred double-vision – but I was indoors and safe. And wherever I was, it was busy. Blue-skinned Azodii dashed to-and-fro, and my molar translator struggled to process the cacophony.

"Alert Premier Oato!" someone said.

"The Premier is on his way. Open your mouth please, human." I felt a small piece of metal slide under my tongue, blue fingers prodded my wrist by the pulse. "Just relax. We're checking your vitals."

A few feet away, I saw the team of white-clad Azodii soldiers who had rescued me from the cold. Their hats and gloves were off, exposing small patches of bright blue skin.

"That was pitiful work, squad!" the Major had removed her head covering, the top of her skull, bald and blue, was speckled with purplish sweat. She sneered at the four Azodii Guards who stood in a line before her. "Our guest is a legal representative from the Slatt Empire, and he nearly froze to death because you maggots have no hustle in you! You move like a pack of Quarkian younglings!"

"Yes, Major!" said the four soldiers, in unison.

"Private, escort the human to Medical One," she spat at the first soldier. "You worms better learn some courage – show weakness like that on the battlefield, and we'll never see victory over the Bob!"

"She doesn't fuck around, does she?" said a voice I recognized. "Jesus! You look like frozen popsicle."

"Hen-ry?" I managed.

I saw through dizzy drunk-vision that my partner was standing next to me, wearing an identical duck-billed oxygenation mask.

"Here," Henry pushed a cylinder into my ice-cold hands. It was hot and it hurt, a good hurt that I welcomed. "Venti Americano with soy. Ha! Just kidding. But it is like the Azodii version of coffee. It's called Tchugg. I've tried it, it's safe."

I lifted the hot mug to my lips and it thunked against the bottom of my oxygenator mask.

"Oh yeah," Henry said. "There's a straw thingy on the mask, there's this lever that you… Hey, you know what? Let's get you over to the medical bay, we can talk in there while you get checked out. Then, once you're fully thawed and everything, we can head to the party and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Henry and the Azodii soldier flanked me, helping me walk down a long steel corridor. My blood felt like it was still frozen, I gripped the mug and prayed that I hadn't lost any body parts to frostbite during the trek from the energy portal.

"Henry," I said.

"Yeah Marsh?"

"That… was nothing like Aspen."