Xaleyp came back to the present with another sharp intake of air, his arms flaring out to the sides to steady himself against a wall that wasn’t there. His vision swam with black and blue spots that shifted and danced around in front of him before slowing disappearing into nothingness. He began to move through the door again, pushing past a man in a lavish robe, before the robot stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder.

‟Sir, my sensors are indicating that you need to get to a hospital immediately for preliminary care and possibly several separate scans to determine what ailment is afflicting you. Please, allow me to escort you there at once.”

‟Escort this.”

Xaleyp turned and brought his fist up into the underside of the robot’s head, sending a searing pain through his knuckles as the metal tore through the skin and muscle, breaking at least two bones in his fingers. He yelled out in pain, dancing on one front as he tried to nurse his profusely bleeding hand. The robot’s head, on the other hand, jerked back slightly before shifting back into place, the head cocked to the side like a curious dog.

‟Sir, that was a very unwise maneuver, especially when considering my sensors do not detect physical suffering, though I concede I was not anticipating provoking such a reaction from you. However, if you feel that resolutely about refusing medical care, we will continue to the spaceport where we can transport you to the Starkiller.”

As the robot gripped Xaleyp’s shoulder and continued guiding him through the doorway, he said nothing and simply nursed his ripped open hand in his other. The outside air was filled with an assortment of different noises from the whining engines to the shouting of people to the howling of wind between the buildings. Dark skinned people wearing all sorts of different clothes and jewelry moved back and forth, some alone and others in small packs. One, however, called out from behind him, and he recognized the voice at once, though he hadn’t heard it in months.

‟Out already, then?” she asked. She placed her hand on his shoulder and spun him around before wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Though her platinum blonde hair was somewhat shorter and more disheveled than he remembered, it was Evangeline Plenskach. ‟I saw the news and didn’t think you were persuasive enough to convince them to let you go after what they said you did. I was beginning to think you’d never make it here and I’d have to leave without you.”

As she spoke, the pain erupted in his head once more, driving him to the sandy metal flooring beneath him.

Fires blazed in the destroyed bridge, the crackling filling the air and embers flying around as the wind carried them. Some of the crew still struggled to stand, their legs either not cooperating from the shock of the crash or mangled by the exposed metal as it stuck out at odd angles from the ground and walls. The captain herself was nowhere to be seen.

Xaleyp, Mian, and Eve stood by the edge of the ship, largely ignored by the others who were working their way out through the lift and by climbing down the lattice of metal unveiled in the crash.

‟What are we going to do now?” Mian asked, gripping her injured arm tightly in her other hand. She looked between the bridge interior—or what was left of it—and the desecrated swamp. ‟Should we stay here and wait for the Director to send us help, or keeping going to New Alexandria to meet with the government?”

‟The first thing we should do is disable our CAMs so whoever did this can’t track us,” said Eve, trying her best not to grimace as she stood on her injured leg. The other two nodded in agreement, and Xaleyp went through the various menus and submenus of the CAM until he reached the hidden setting to disable it.

‟We should split up,” Xaleyp said, hardly feeling like he was the one who said the words. The other two looked at him in a kind of horror, as if they thought he was crazy for even thinking about that. ‟Someone, somewhere wants at least one of us dead, they did all of this to make sure it happened, and it was blind luck that we’re still alive.”

‟Who would actually want to kill us and why?” Mian’s voice was high pitched and panicked as she looked between Xaleyp and Eve.

‟Oh, I don’t know: There’s Arcadia for capturing their emperor and all the shit we’ve done to them,” Eve said, counting on her fingers with each name, ‟Hyperia for plotting to capture their leader, any other countless planet who want to reject the Concord. I wouldn’t even put it past Ardus to try to kill us just so he doesn’t have to worry about what we’re doing or going to do.”

‟No, he wouldn’t do that,” Mian said, but Xaleyp found himself doubting it even as she said the words. ‟I’ve known him almost my whole life, and I trust him to want what’s best for all of us.”

‟Eve does have a point, Mian.” Xaleyp moved closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. ‟Don’t you think it is a bit odd he had us all together and this ship just happened to be the one that came out of hyperspace too early? I mean, I’ve never heard of such a thing and then we almost die because of it just after Ardus announces his plan to protect the galaxy.”

‟Why would he want us dead after he sent us on this mission to help him create peace in the galaxy?” Mian’s voice got more shrill and high pitched with each word she said, and she was almost shouting.

Somewhere in the distance coming from the direction of New Alexandria, the gentle roar of fighter engines began to grow louder. With a shaking finger, Eve pointed at the sparkling just barely visible in the rising sun in the earlier morning of Arcadia.

‟Whatever we decide, we need to do it fast, or those ships are going to find us here and we may get an answer we don’t like.”

‟I’m kind of liking the idea of splitting up now,” said Mian, stepping away from the other two. ‟If we all go in different directions, they can’t follow all of us and at least one should be able to make it to help.”

‟We could split up and meet in Eredhen, a city in the Nehruian Desert, but if we stick together, we stand a better chance against whatever assholes come our way,” Eve pointed out, looking between Xaleyp and Mian for support. Her eyes settled on him, staring intensely. ‟It looks like you’re going to be the deciding vote, Xaleyp.”

‟I don’t know about that plan,” Mian said before Xaleyp had a chance to answer. ‟I’m not a big fan of the desert, you know, because of the heat and sand and death.”

‟Listen, we can’t just pick and choose where we go when there could be people coming to kill us as we speak.” Eve’s voice was loud and harsh, cutting above the noise of the bridge around them and the growing roar of engines. ‟We have to go where we can survive, and if that is the desert, that’s where we should be going, not waiting around here for someone to find and kill us.”

‟I think you should be the one going on your own.” Even though the words weren’t directed at him, the ire and hostility in the sentence sent a chill down Xaleyp’s back. ‟Xaleyp and I can go together somewhere while you try to survive in the desert on your own.”

‟I think that’s Xaleyp’s decision to make, not yours.”

With a gasp, Xaleyp came back to the present and found himself leaning against Eve, her arms under his shoulders to support him. She looked at him with apprehension in her eyes before tenderly helping him to the ground and sitting next to him. The robot, its foot slowly tapping with a sense of mild inconvenience if it were designed to have feelings, watched as passersby ignored them.

‟Are you going to be alright or do I need to take you to a hospital?”

‟You sound just like that stupid robot,” he replied, pointing at the guard with a wave of his hand. ‟I’m fine, just reliving the past after turning back on the memory and getting hit stronger than I expected.”

‟Why didn’t you just do that before to give yourself time to get used to it?” She gently rubbed her fingers over the scar on his face, and he flinched at the touch before settling down. ‟Didn’t anyone ever tell you the first time of re-enabling a memory is one of the worst experiences you can have?”

‟I’m afraid that I didn’t have the same upbringing you did, so I can’t say that they did.”

Xaleyp put his hands underneath him and pushed himself up, his injured hand leaving ringlets of blood on the ground and his legs slightly unsteady as they tried to support him again. However, Eve stayed sitting, crossing her legs underneath her on the gritty, sand covered metal and staring off into the distance with her hands folded in her lap.

‟What are we doing here?” she asked, her voice hardly above a whisper and barely audible with the noise around them. When Xaleyp didn’t answer, she sighed and looked up at him, her brown eyes dully sparkling as she squinted against the sunlight. ‟We’re running from the so-called police force of the galaxy in a desert city with no plan, no money, and no way to even get off the planet. It’s just a matter of time before they catch up to us and lock us away or worse.”

‟Actually, I have a funny story about that.” Xaleyp chuckled and swallowed nervously, a sudden lump forming in his throat as he thought about how to tell her then deciding the truth was best. ‟Ardus found me, and I just got done talking to him about everything that’s been going on. Apparently, he was the one that arranged for me to be arrested so that he could talk to me about getting my help in continuing the mission to find Seth. I’m suppose to be going to the spaceport now to get a ride to the Starkiller to start working on it.”

‟Xaleyp, for your sake, I hope you told him to go to hell or killed him or something.” Her eyes narrowed when she spoke, and it was as if a dark shadow passed over her face, shrouding it. ‟How do you think Mian would feel about you just talking to the person who may have tried to kill us in that crash?”

‟I actually think she would be happy that I finally got in contact with him. Have you seen her since you got here, however long ago that was?”

‟No, I haven’t seen her since you cast her off, but I’ve only been here for a couple days, laying low and waiting for you to show up. I’ve tried contacting her CAM a few times, but it always comes back as being unreachable, so she must still have it disabled.”

There was a long silence between them, accentuated by the sounds of the passing crowds mingling with the whirring and whining of engines flying around the city above. Eve continued sitting on the ground, placing her hands behind her and staring at the sky with her eyes close and basking in the sunlight. Behind Xaleyp, the robot continued to stand, keeping its eyes on him and ensuring that he didn’t go into another bout of whatever it was bothering him. Finally, Eve slowly stood up, and stared directly at the robot, a look of determination in her eyes.

‟I think we can make our way to the spaceport on our own, thank you very much,” she said, locking eyes with the guard. They continued staring at each other for several moments, neither one of them wanting to be the one to back down, before the robot seemed to deflate slightly.

‟Very well, miss, then I will return to my predesignated duties and allow you and Mister Vah’Aris to return to the spaceport on your own.”

The robot turned with a slightly grinding of metal and walked off, returning to the building and leaving the two of them alone in the dusty street with all the other people of Eredhen passing by without a second glance. Eve looked at Xaleyp with a somewhat questioning expression, as if she were trying to read his mind with the stare.

‟Are you sure that we should be doing what Ardus wants?” she asked, crossing her arms. ‟He could’ve been the one that tried to kill us for all we know, you said so yourself.”

‟I’m not sure of anything right now, especially after meeting with him.” Xaleyp tried to look anywhere except at her, but found his always drifting back to meet hers. ‟All I know is that Seth is the one that hid my parents from me and lied to me, and I want to have a chance of finding them.”

Another bout of silence reigned supreme with both of them looking at each other and neither one knowing what to say. As they stood in the middle of the road, surrounded by the gleaming metal buildings and passed by a seemingly unending flow of people, Xaleyp felt uneasy, as if they should not be standing in one place for too long. With a sudden suspicion, he looked around the area, his eyes slowly scanning their surroundings and seeing nothing out of place until he saw a man in all black standing in an alley a few dozen meters away, staring at them. Before Xaleyp could do or say anything about it, the man ducked away into the shadows, and Eve grabbed his arm.

‟Well, then I guess we have no time to waste,” she said, pulling him the opposite direction. She jogged down the street, dodging around people and causing him to stumble in his attempt to keep up. With him barely able to stay with her, she turned down one of the nearest alleys and taking off as fast as she could. ‟I’ve already scouted the city, the quickest way to the spaceport is through here, come on!”

Xaleyp pumped his legs as hard as possible to keep up with Eve, wondering two things: what exactly did he get himself and to, and who was that man watching them from the alley?