Kayden and Abel were loaded together onto the ship, and Abel wasn’t happy about it.

“We need to work together,” Kayden said.

“I work alone,” Abel replied.

“That’s tough. Today it’s two of us,” Kayden said. Abel eyed him like daggers, and Kayden couldn’t wait to pummel him. They positioned Abel and Kayden at the lookout, set the ship down, and cloaked it using an illegally acquired cloaking device. They made it to the vantage point where Abel and Kayden got off. They both got into a similar position, just mere feet from each other as they looked down their scopes. Kayden looked at his wristband and watched the clock he’d enlarged to make his overgrown wristband appear to be nothing but a watch since leaving the base.

“What is that thing on your arm?” Abel asked, suddenly realizing he’d been looking at it.

“A watch and a vital check system,” Kayden replied.

“You’re lying, it does more than that. I’ve seen you type things into it,” Abel said, and Kayden watched through his scope to see the heist begin. He looked at his watch, and it was 6:58 pm. Kayden sighed with relief; the ruse was finally coming to an end and not a moment too soon. Kayden grinned and took off his jacket then his shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Abel asked just as Kayden clasped his belt buckle and began to grow in size. He hunched over as he did to make it look like not much from behind.

“What are you doing?! What’s going on?” Abel asked. Kayden traced his eye to make it one and turned around and stood up at his giant size of ten-foot seven—322 cm. Abel sweated as he recognized him.

“No! You’re him! You’re that Kayden! Kayden Royal!” Abel exclaimed. Kayden grinned and tackled Abel to the ground knocking the rifle from his hands. He punched him in the stomach knocking the spit out of him.

“You’re full of yourself, but when it comes down to it, you can’t hold a candle to a real pro. Always knocking your competition off the list is a quick way to get into prison, and you just got a one-way ticket there,” Kayden said as he materialized shackles from his wristband and shackled him. At the same time, he heard sirens near the train and looked on as he saw all of the Dusty Walkers get apprehended from afar. He walked down to the scene holding Abel under one arm several feet off the ground with ease.

“Thanks for following my directions,” Kayden said as he handed Abel to one of the guards.

“Kayden Royal in the flesh!” one of the guards gushed. Kayden smirked as he shook his hand with his metal hand.

“I need to pick up the whole lot, but I’ll spot you 1,300 ruplets for your troubles, split that two ways,” Kayden said, and the guard looked to the other guard in surprise.

“You’d better believe it, we barely make 10 ruplets a pickup; we’d be idiots to let that kind of offer go by,” the guard said.

“I’ll need to borrow one of your hoverbikes to get my ship, I’ll bring it back, don’t worry,” Kayden said, and the first guard offered his before the second guard could. Kayden grinned and revved it up, and rode the hoverbike over the dunes and to his ship. As he neared it, he pressed a sequence of codes to uncloak his ship and lower the hatch over his wristband.

“I can’t believe I just blew my 1,300 ruplet bounty on this…Kayden, what the hell are you doing…” he thought aloud. He walked the hoverbike into his ship and went to the control panel after priming one of the cryogenic freezer pods for preparation for Abel Nightwing. He flew his ship over to the cargo train, hovered next to it, and lowered the hatch. He walked the hoverbike to the guard and handed over 1,300 ruplets. The Dusty Walkers eyed the ruplets and their eyes bulged as they’d never seen so much in one hand before.

“Take the captives and follow me, I’ll take Abel,” Kayden said as he led Abel into the cryogenic freezer pod. Abel sweated as he backed up into the pod.

“So, you weren’t able to knock off your competition for once. How does it feel to be number two, Abel Nightwing?” Kayden asked, and Abel sneered just before he was frozen as the door shut.

He turned to his captives held by the guards and led them to a cell in the side of his ship. He carefully watched Rio and Kavlia as they looked completely shattered. It was killing him keeping his secret from them, and he realized he owed it to them to tell them who he was. As he put all seven of the Dusty Walkers into the cell with shackles on their wrists, he said farewell to the guards and headed back into space, and crossed Abel’s name off the list. He walked to the room with the cell, and they all gulped as he approached. He still had yet to put on a shirt, and his well-toned, yet deeply scarred torso told the story of an experienced, renowned Guardian known from across the universe. His metal arm was on full showcase. Suddenly Kayden noticed Rio was injured. He cursed as he saw Rio shaking and perspiring from the pain from the shot to his shin and immediately opened the holding cell. He guided him out and carried him to the med bay, and put him down on it. Kayden set the machine on, and it started healing Rio, and he cried out as the laser stung. Kayden turned to face him and handed him a painkiller pill and a glass of water.

“Trust me, if I wanted you dead, this isn’t how I’d go about killing you,” Kayden said as he handed it to Rio, and he took it. Kayden carried him back to his cell, and the others took a look at his wound in surprise to see that it was gone.

“Are you going to sell us into slavery, sir?” one Walker asked as he was all nervous and shaking, and soon it was contagious as the others started shaking as well.

“No. I have special plans for the lot of you,” Kayden said in his deep imposing voice as he eyed them all.

“Rio, Kavlia…step forward,” he said as he knelt near the cell bars. Both Rio and Kavlia looked at each other, then, the floor as Kavlia teared up and began to cry in fear and panic.

“Steady yourself now, I’m going to show you something,” Kayden said as he traced his finger to his forehead and down his closed eye and to his nose as his eyes split and he looked at them. Kavlia’s mouth opened as she looked at him. He put his hands on his belt buckle, closed his eyes again, shrank down to seven feet tall, opening his eyes again.

“Kay?!” Kavlia gasped as she grabbed the bars.

“You told me you wanted to go to the Guardianship Citadel. Was that a true statement? Do you want to go there?” Kayden asked. She bit her lips and trembled as she held the bars.

“…Yes…but…b-but not as a prisoner…don’t…don’t turn us in, I beg you!” Kavlia said as tears ran down her cheeks. Kayden closed his eyes and reverted to ten-foot seven inches—322 cm, and his eyes became one big one, and he opened it and looked to Rio.

“You all have the opportunity to turn your lives around. I’ve bought you for 1,300 ruplets. So, I get to decide where you’re going and what you’ll be doing in the near future. And by that, I mean to say I’m actually freeing you,” Kayden said. Kavlia fell to her knees. Rio touched her shoulder and looked up at Kayden, unsure of his intentions.

“I’m going to risk my reputation for the lot of you and offer you up as apprentices of the Guardianship Citadel for Guardian’s Squires or crew for a ship,” Kayden said. They all gasped.

“You’re all hungry for a better life, and this is your chance to get in on it, face your fears and go all-in with everything you’ve got, and you’ll come out successful as residents of the Citadel. Squires live good lives following their Cyril Guardians exploring the universe. You could even be part of a crew for one of the armadas,” Kayden said. Rio found himself clamming up and anxiously trembling at his words. He made fists and looked down.

“Why us?” Rio asked. Kayden looked him over and paused. Rio looked up at him and looked frustrated and overwhelmed.

“Why make this offer? Nobody aided any of us in the past. What made us so special in your eyes that made you want to help?” Rio asked defensively as tears lined his eyes. Kayden fell silent as he found himself without words. He paused and crossed his arms as he tried to think of the right answer.

“I’ve experienced deep sorrow and regret myself and being stuck in a place I wish I wasn’t…and I don’t want that to be the case for everyone. If I can make a difference in one or two people’s lives…then it’s one more night I can sleep without regret,” Kayden said as he looked down. He thought more on the things he was saying and remembered what Rio said that was almost on par with what his lost lover once said.

“And…you said something that someone important to me said that made me realize I had to be true to my own hearts. They’ve been barely beating and empty until now that when I heard you, I barely knew what to think anymore,” Kayden slipped. Rio raised his brow as he wondered what he meant. Kayden looked to him with a vulnerable gaze that was out of character and made Rio curious. Kayden immediately hardened his expression and looked flustered.

“I’m going to bed. I suggest you all do the same. By tomorrow we’ll be at the Guardianship Citadel,” Kayden said.

“That fast?” Kavlia asked.

“Yeah, this is a Guardian vessel, believe it or not, and they travel amongst the fastest ships in space,” Kayden said, and Kavlia hugged Rio with tears in her eyes. Kayden went back to his Command Console and plugged in coordinates to the Guardianship. He let out a long sigh, took off his weapons, and put them on the table next to the console. He pulled a shirt from his own size and put it on before lying down and taking a sleeping pill.

“Felicia…am I doing the right thing?” he asked out loud as he rested his organic forearm over his forehead and looked at the ceiling of his bunk. He set his old-fashioned Earth alarm clock for early the next day, lay on his back with his hands behind his head, and closed his eye. He fell asleep and barely slept a wink, it seemed, before he woke up to the beeping of his clock. He reached for it and missed the first few times until he opened his eye and shut it off. He yawned and got to his feet, taking his hair out of his half ponytail and combed it with his hands before tying his hair back up while walking to his Command Console. He brought up a comms to Briggs.

“Greetings, Kayden, I suppose you’ve gotten one of the names off the list?” Briggs asked with a serious expression.

“Yeah, and something extra. I have seven would-be Squires or crewmen I’d like to recommend for integration,” Kayden said. Briggs raised his brow.

“That would be a first from you,” the Cyril said in surprise.

“Regardless, I mean it,” Kayden said as he sat down in his chair and crossed his arms, looking up at Briggs.