"Is he dead?"

"Do I look like a MedBot to you, Jax?"

"No need to be a smartass, Ace. Just check his breathing for me, will you?"

"I'm not a Hand anymore, you know that right?"

"But you are a member of my crew. Now, check his breathing."

A pair of cold fingers pressed against Iggy's jugular vein. His eyes snapped open. Crisp oxygen flooded into his lungs as he shot up from the cot he'd been laying on. His head spun as blinding light shrouded his vision for a moment. He rubbed his eyes until he could see again.

Jaxon Gunn and Ace stood at the foot of the small cot with their brows lifted in amusement as they watched the boy before them. The three of them were in a small room with black-painted walls, low ceilings, and recess lighting hidden in the ceiling. Screens built into the wall to Iggy's left displayed his medical information along with a spinning, three-dimensional model of his body. A red glow covered his shoulder.

He winced as the pain of the blaster bolt from earlier returned. A bandage had been wrapped around the wound. He could vaguely see the blood seeping into the white gauze.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," Jaxon quipped. He patted his hand on the boy's injured shoulder before grumbling an apology. "Sorry, kid."

Iggy blinked twice at him as he continued to look around. "Where are we?"

"We're in the Manta. More specifically, we just passed Azphadel*."

"Azphadel?" His mouth dried. They were still in the Inner Rim. "What about the—"

"Relax, kid. There's a reason why we went around Azphadel. I'll bet my last dollar they don't have a single pilot as talented as me. No way one of their stupid ships made it through that planet's rings. By the time they make it around, we'll be long gone."

Nodding, Iggy laid back down. He stared at the ceiling for a moment as his brain went completely blank. After a while, a single thought exploded into the dark expanse of his mind.

"What happened to the emperor?"

Jaxon and Ace exchanged a sour glance. The former cleared their throat before answering. "We lost him to the soldiers. If it wasn't for Noia and her magic, none of us would've made it off that beach alive."

"We barely got your scrawny ass on the ship," Ace grumbled as they folded their arms. Jaxon shot them a scathing look. The android simply shrugged. "Just being honest."

He blinked, surprised. They came back. They came back for him. Why?

But before he could ponder that question any further, memories from the beach slammed into him with full force. He squeezed his eyes shut before the tears could escape them. Frustration and anger and embarrassment bundled together within his chest, sticking to his insides like tar. A massive wave of shame washed over him as he recalled what happened on the sand before he blacked out.

The mission failed. He failed.

Voltai had been right there in his sights. A single press of a trigger would've stopped him from reaching the soldiers at the edge of the beach. His short reign of tyranny over the empire would've been over.

But the empire would've remained standing. Voltai would become a martyr for them—a symbol the Elysians and their people could've rallied behind. They would've used his assassination as justification for publicly going after the other systems in the galaxy. Iggy had thought the galaxy was burning now; murdering the emperor might've incinerated it.

Still, he couldn't shake the guilt gnawing at him.

Maybe the plan to kidnap Voltai had been a mistake. In fact, he knew it had been, as he never had any plans of capturing the man. But he hadn't even succeeded in killing him. The entire mission was a bust. While the Elysians might not have been right behind them, they'd surely be hunting them down.

Iggy's eyes widened. "My mother—"

"I'm handling it," Jaxon interrupted. "I talked to one of Mossadi's advisors once we made it out Azphadel's rings. They're arranging a team to go rescue her from Novr now. They'll bring her to Xonaru. You'll be able to see her there."

"Why would they do that for me? They don't even know me. I'm the reason why we lost Voltai. I—"

"We look after our own. Like it or not, you're one of us now, kid" Jaxon said. He flashed the boy a grin. "Cheer up. We didn't get the emperor, but we accomplished something today."

"Oh yeah?" Ace snorted.

Jaxon rolled his eyes. "We let the empire know they're not untouchable. We were minutes away from making it off with their beloved emperor. That's ought to put some fear in their hearts."

Iggy shook his head. "They're not going to let this go, Jaxon."

"I would hope not."

"They're going to want revenge."

The pilot beamed at him. "We're counting on it."

Iggy didn't understand. The Axarian Alliance wouldn't stand a chance in an actual conflict against the Elysian Empire. The Elysians on their own were a formidable force; they boasted the most advanced and strategic military force in the galaxy. That wasn't even considering their allies throughout the Inner and Out Rim. The Elysians had allies everywhere.

Overcoming all of that would be a tall task for the Alliance. Judging by Jaxon's nonchalance, he didn't seem worried in the slightest. Or perhaps it was a front to hide his nervousness. He could never tell.

"The Empire is going to throw everything they've got at us," Jaxon started. "That means they're going to make mistakes. When they do, we'll be ready. This thing isn't even close to being over, Iggy." He paused, taking a moment to look the young Arigorii right in his eyes. "It's just getting started."

#

Once it had been confirmed the Elysians weren't on their tail, Iggy decided to let his guard down a bit. He ventured out of the Manta's small infirmary and explored the rest of the ship. According to Jaxon, the Manta was a stealth frigate from somewhere in Cadmus Rift, a sector in the Axaris Systems Iggy didn't know much about. Its sleek, compact design allowed for easy maneuverability, and the decent array of weapons protected it from enemy spacecraft.

Iggy found himself wandering down a narrow corridor. One of the lights in the ceiling flickered momentarily before the familiar buzzing of the hidden bulb returned to his ears. Parts of the wall paneling were falling apart, and the floors needed a good deep cleaning, but the ship was still impressive.

He'd never been aboard something like it before. The Chyron had been a depressing hunk of metal and the cargo ship they escaped the arena on wasn't much better.

Eventually, the tight corridor led out into the circular room in the center of the ship. A hexagonal-shaped table with a holographic interface sat in the middle of the metal floor. Ace and Noia stood around it while Jaxon and Otto manned the ship from the cockpit.

Iggy froze beneath the doorway upon seeing the Majaan priestess with his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

She'd changed out of her dress from earlier, now opting for a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved white shirt. The fabric covered her tattoos, shielding them from the light pouring from the ceiling and fixtures built into the flooring. Her pink hair was tied in a messy bun atop her head.

No longer did she look like the fiancé of the emperor or a princess of the most magical beings in the galaxy.

The woman was a rebel now.

She lifted her eyes from the map charting out the star system they were traveling through. Ace rolled their eyes at them both before disappearing into the cockpit to harass Jaxon.

"You're alive," she said.

"Seems like it."

A small smile appeared on her lips. Iggy joined her in front of the glowing hologram. It bathed both their faces in faint, blue light as the digital model of their ship moved through space. He placed his hands on the edge of the table, his fingers wrapped around the metal. Noia did the same. Their pinky fingers were inches away from touching.

"Jaxon said you saved me." His voice was an octave above a whisper and a word away from breaking. He kept his eyes low, afraid he might start crying if he attempted to look at her. The weight of what happened on the beach had just started to collapse on top of him. "I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back for what you've done for me."

"You'd do it for me," Noia told him. "I know you would."

He glanced at her with misty eyes. He wiped the tears away. "Yeah...yeah, I suppose I would."

Noia squinted at the hologram. "Voltai won't stop until he's destroyed us and the Alliance."

"I know." Iggy chewed on his bottom lip as he contemplated his next question. "Do you regret it? Betraying him, I mean. Do you wish you didn't do it?"

Noia chuckled before shaking her head. "Not one bit."

"But what about your family? You broke the agreement between the Elysians and the Majaans. Aren't you afraid he'll retaliate?"

"He sought out a relationship with me and my people for a reason, Iggorii. He knows the power we possess. He knows the threat we pose to his empire. If he's as smart as I believe him to be, he'll hold off on attacking my people for as long as possible."

Iggy fell silent. The prospect of their magic against his forces must've truly frightened Voltai. Just one magic user was enough to thwart his soldiers on the beach. There was no telling what more could do against his soldiers. Their guns and ships wouldn't help them against that.

"Things are going to get dark," Noia added. "Darker than we've ever seen them." She twisted one of the rings on her finger—a golden band decorated with inscriptions in her native language. "Millions will die. Planets will burn. I just hope it all will be worth it in the end."

There was no telling what the future held.

Iggy just hoped when it all was said and done, the galaxy would be a better place. Whether that included the fall of the Elysian Empire, the rise of the Axarian Alliance, or the emergence of another group that could usher the galaxy into a new era of peace and prosperity.

He pulled out his father's amulet. It changed his life forever.

His days toiling away in Novr's salt mines felt like a lifetime ago. The Elysians stole him from his mother and forced him to fight in their barbaric gladiator games. If it was up to them, he would've died in that arena for crimes he didn't commit. But it wasn't up to them. His destiny resided in his hands. For all eighteen cycles of his life, he thought the empire controlled him. He abided by their rules. He worked where they told him. He lived where they allowed him to.

Not anymore.

The Alliance were going to rescue his mother. Once they did, he didn't have anything holding him back. He smiled at the thought of seeing her again. The empire couldn't hurt him anymore. With the help of the Alliance, he'd be able to hurt them.

He'd get justice for Ohr-Yahn Tennic. His friend, his mentor, his partner. The mere thought of the old man made his heart feel like knives were pressing into the tissue. But he knew the Andradan wouldn't want him to mourn. The man had accepted his fate before it even came. Iggy found solace in the idea of Tenn being reunited with his family in the afterlife—whatever or wherever that might've been.

Tenn wasn't the only person Iggy wanted justice for. He'd avenge all those lost in the arena: Vonn, Jaromik, Krav, and all the others. All the beings oppressed by the empire would be liberated. The galaxy would know peace. One way or another, he'd make sure of it.

"Alright, everyone!" Jaxon chirped from the cockpit. "We're about a day out from Rivran Prime. That's in the Outer Rim if anyone was wondering. We'll make a quick pitstop on Catajor to refuel before finishing the journey to Xonaru. Just hang tight. We've got snacks and drinks in the refrigerator. Just...don't touch whatever has Otto's name on it."

The Ferrox growled from his seat in the cockpit for extra emphasis. Iggy made a note not to get on Otto's bad side.

"Make yourselves at home," Jaxon said. "I've got a feeling we'll be spending plenty of time aboard the Manta from here on out."

Iggy peered out a window to his right. Stars whizzed by in streams of white as the Manta's hyperdrive powered them through the blackness. He could feel the grip the empire had on him slowly loosening by the second. He inhaled the air circulating throughout the ship. Despite likely being pumped from within the ship, it tasted like pure freedom. He wouldn't be able to thank Jaxon and Noia enough for what they'd done for him.

Soon, he and the Manta's crew would arrive at Xonaru. Soon, he'd be reunited with his mother. When he saw her again, he wouldn't be the same boy who left her. Elysium Prime changed him. The arena changed him.

He wasn't a child. Or a coward. Or a weakling.

He was a rebel. A survivor. A champion.

Iggy Amrada was a gladiator.