A drop of sweat forged a path down her temple, crawling along her cheek. It hung from her jaw before falling with a light thwack on the thermal suit covering her shoulder. The past few hours ticked by at a mind numbing pace. Cole had nothing to occupy her mind in the metal box of a cell, staring at the pitted walls, the heat overwhelming her suit temperature controls in the first hour. Her mind kept drumming up images of Daisu, wondering if her friend was still alive.

If these mysterious people killed him, it would break her. If she survived this and he didn't, she'd march into the Queen's chamber and give herself up. Not that she could get back to the Veil, since her captors confiscated the Era'na. What were they? Her thoughts circled around the same theory, but the idea upset her scientific sensibilities. It was impossible, but she hadn't been able to hypothesize any other solution since they surrounded her ship.

"Should we make a run for it?" Daisu muttered out of the corner of his mouth, like they could hear him through the hull.

"There is a squadron of merc ships scouring the planet for us, we wouldn't make it to the upper atmosphere."

"We'll take our chances with our mystery visitors then. Think they're hostile?" He reached for the sword strapped to his seat, catching her incredulous glare. "What?"

"We have no idea of their intent or firepower and you want to launch yourself at them with the sword?" Cole folded her arms. "I'm not going out there, it's not like they can breech the Era'na-"

One of them stepped forward, becoming partially visible by the Era'na's interior lights. It wore a mask, a crude construct of stiff leather and glass. The eye sockets were bulbous, the glass distorting the face beneath. The helm was vaguely triangular, but the pointed end hung slack at the mouth, drooping without resistance. The effect was unnerving, reminiscent of monsters from Cole's childhood stories. The figure withdrew a device from its leather cloak, raising it toward the ship.

"Is that a rock?" Daisu asked as a pulse of white light blinded them. Cole blinked, her vision filled with blank spots. The sound of the Era'na's engines abruptly ceased as the ship lost power. "They shut down the ship? They shut down the ship!" Daisu jumped up, naked sword in hand.

"What are you doing? Put that down." Cole hissed, still half blind. They froze as the Era'na's door slid open, revealing another leather clad figure, or the same one, her vision was too spotty to tell. Daisu cried in outrage before another flash of white sent her eyes rolling up in her head.

She woke in her cell, alone, but unrestrained. Whatever species her captors were, they did not view the fey woman threatening enough for chains. She'd show the bastards. The door was dead locked, bolted from the outside. It was low tech but effective. Cole was left no choice but waiting for them to come for her. She refused to meet them unarmed. She scanned every inch of the wall for some sort of monitoring device, but her prison was simply a large metal box. She ripped the control port from her useless thermal suit.

Heat drilled into her, drawing a coating of perspiration from her skin. She tied her hair in a knot, shrugging the top half of her suit off her shoulders, leaving her in pants and a breast band. Ignoring her scant covering and the rivulets of sweat cascading down her back, she opened up the control panel, cursing her lack of tools. Using her teeth, she stripped the wiring, careful not to electrocute herself in the process. The wires cut into her bare fingers, blood and sweat combining into a slippery mess. She kept working with grim determination, fashioning her weapon. Finished, she palmed her handiwork and settled in to wait. The sweat worried her, she could feel the dull ache behind her eyes as her body grew dehydrated. Maybe they put her in here to die.

Her grip tightened on her weapon. She couldn't give up, not if there was a whisper of a chance Daisu lived. He wouldn't give up on her. The bolt clanged, metallic knocks echoing outside as her door creaked open. Another masked figure stood in the doorway, looming over her. It paused, the mask tilting to the side, staring at her. He stared at her, she realized.

Cole seized the moment, launching herself at him, bringing her weapon to his side. The current connected, sending a jolt of electricity through him strong enough to knock him out if she calculated correctly. The current back lashed through her unprotected hands, making her teeth buzz. She pushed through the pain in her burnt fingers, easing the guard to the ground. Cole peeked her head around the door, noting the rough-hewn walls of the dim hall, carved in the rock. To her chagrin there were no other guards. They sent the one? She frowned, wondering if her captors were overconfident or stupid. You never send one person to handle a prisoner; because of the risk they could be overpowered. By a lowly Fey woman for example.

Cole heard the scrape of leather just in time, rolling into the hall as hands closed on air. She completed her roll, rising in a crouch as she gaped at her attacker. She electrocuted him! She felt his body sag, losing consciousness. How did he bounce back so fast? The brute charged her; she dodged, and attempted to zap him again. His fingers closed on her wrist, squeezing until the pressure broke her grip. Before her weapon hit the ground he had her arm twisted awkwardly behind her. She shrieked, kicking his legs. He propelled her against the wall, pinning her down with his body. The movement snagged her hair on the stone, pulling it free. It floated into her face in a dark gossamer cloud, plastering against her sweaty skin. Her guard stilled, reaching up to brush a few strands out of her eyes.

"Easy luv, I didn't come for a tussle."

She froze, thrown off balance. Her theories roared to life with a dizzying force. The guard reached up, yanking the mask from his head. Cole stared at his pale skin, dark grey hair framing a youthful face. A stubble of growth smoothed the sharp angles of his chin and cheekbones, but did nothing to soften the strong prow of his nose. His irises were a startling light blue, almost white, as if the color was leached from them. The language was old, spoken for formal occasions on New Earth 5. Cole knew it from her studies at the university and her time in Daisu's home. She never expected to hear it here.

"You're human," she breathed, fascination piercing the panic and fear she'd sustained since her capture. The adrenaline drained from her system, leaving her light headed. A human, a real live human on Mal'th. This changed everything.

He chuckled, a rich throaty sound similar to Daisu's laugh. "There's the reaction I expected."

"Expected?" Reality kicked in her gut, bringing her back to the present. "Is my crew mate safe?" She stumbled over the words, too afraid to ask the real question. Was he alive?

A frown etched lines in the human's face. "Why wouldn't he be?" His eyes widened as Cole swooned, relief sapping the rest of her strength. "You look half out of your wits..." He trailed off, his cheeks coloring as he realized he had a half-naked woman pressed against him. He cleared his throat. "This is not the introduction I envisioned." He said hoarsely, bracing Cole on his side as he bent to retrieve her shirt. He paused, taking stock of her cell.

"That bloody, selfish tart," he snarled, unclipping a canteen from his waist. He yanked off the cap, pressing it to her lips. "No wonder you're knackered. Didn't realize you had no water in the tank, luv."

The liquid kissed her lips, trickling down her throat. Stars burst inside her eyelids, sending sparks of light through her veins. The tang of metals mixed with earth on her tongue, the icy bite of the water burning all the way down. This couldn't be water; she'd never tasted anything like it. She guzzled it down, energy coiling around her. By the last swallow, she stood on her own, handing the empty canteen to the human so she could don her top once again.

"That is the strangest water I've ever tasted." Cole remarked, fastening her suit closed.

Her guard looked a bit shell-shocked. "Worth watching." He murmured, shaking himself. "Sorry Dr. Cole. The tank's not supposed to be a prison, but a precaution. Seems I need to have a talk with Trish on her bedside manner. The box is supposed to sweat out your body toxins, makes it easier to adapt to the air down here. "

"This planet shouldn't have breathable air." Cole inhaled, feeling only a slight pinch on her lungs.

"Well the holding area is oxygenated by the oasis." The guard scrubbed the back of his neck, tucking the mask under one arm. "Daniel Tracy's the name, though the lads just call me Danny. If you'll follow me, Dr. Cole, I'll take you to your mate."

"Why do you keep calling me doctor? Are you referring to Daisu? We are not mated." Cole studied the human's features, able to clearly see his veins beneath the skin. How many generations lived underground to achieve this pallor? Could he see well with those pale eyes?

Danny grinned at her. "Bit of slang there, our ancestors hailed from the British settlements on New Earth 2. Afraid it's in the blood now." He winked, offering an arm to her as they walked along the stone hallway.

"How did you recover from the electricity so fast?" Cole frowned. "Sorry I stunned you."

"The leather must have dampened it. It felt like a good kick in the charlies but easy to shake off. I can't believe you made something like that from your fancy space suit."

Cole continued studying him, paying no mind to her surroundings. "I can't believe I'm talking to a human on Mal'th. There really were survivors of the Raze. This is amazing, no one thought it possible."

A sad smile touched Danny's mouth. "It was no easy task, I assure you, but the bounty of this world was beneath our feet all along."

Fractured light hit her face, drawing her attention. Cole turned and caught her breath. "By the Veil."

The hall emerged into a wide cavern. Glittering stalagmites rose in clusters from the ground, appearing lit from within. On the floor of the cavern was a carpet of lush moss, scattered with flowers and small gnarled trees. In the center was an underground spring, the water giving off ripples of reflected light, mist rising off it, curling smoky fingers through the low growth. Insects spun lazy circles in the air, while the trees shifted with unseen creatures. Light glimmered from everywhere, off the water, the crystals, and from chips in the walls, the source difficult to pinpoint. Cole looked up into a crystal ceiling, the volcanic glow of the surface softened and filtered into something pure. Dozens of foreign scents filled her nose, fragrance from flowers never seen by Fey eyes. The spring created a cool mist while the earth burned overhead.

"This-I-" She couldn't find words. In all the worlds she'd seen, she'd never beheld something so unlikely and so wonderful.

"Come, this is just the outer wilds." Danny led her down a well-traveled path to another tunnel cut through the rock. This one was only large enough to travel through single file, thankfully short. He brought them to a halt in the dark. "Brace yourself luv, the air takes some getting used to. Hopefully your body's adapted the water."

Cole didn't have time to digest his words before he unbolted the thick iron door, leading her inside. The air was sucked from her lungs, but the sight was too marvelous to care. She gazed in awe at an underground city. The buildings were a combination of metal, crystal and stone, giving everything a faint shimmer. The road beneath her feet was clouded quartz, rounded smooth. Statues lined the avenue, creatures straight from a dream, of antlered lizards twice the length of a man and great shaggy beasts with feathered manes and human faces, all carved from a rock which shimmered a spectrum of colors in the light. Every statue and building blended with the natural crystals of the cave, as if the whole city rose from the earth on its own. The sight made her head spin. No, not the sight, she couldn't breathe.

Cole clutched her chest, unable to get enough air. Her lungs refused to inflate, the lack of oxygen sending black spots to the corners of her vision. Danny caught sight of her face, throwing an arm around her waist.

"Bollox! Trish! You bloody slag, get a mask!" Cole heard more voices, the sound of people surrounding them, but words fizzed into static. The black spots soaked into her vision, spreading like spilled ink. She thought she heard Daisu through the cotton fog muddling her brain. Was he calling her name? The dark rose, swallowing her up.