Plutonian guards, wearing dark helmets and reinforced uniforms run down the stairs with their guns raised. I glance at Axis briefly and then back at the humans still struggling to clear the lift. I help pull them out one by one, trying to quicken our pace but it's of no use, soon the guards will have us surrounded.

"Identify yourselves," One of the guards shout, stepping forward. About a dozen armed guards form an arc around us, creating a barrier against the exit doors across from us. 

He puts up a finger and gestures to one of the guards behind him, a relatively short Plutonian who doesn't have a helmet on. He pulls out a small black remote control and aims it at me. 

It's an identification device, used to read the trackers every Plutonian officer has embedded in their forearms. The device remains silent and the Plutonian's mouth falls open as he gawks at me. 

It is common knowledge that the Trinity and Generals don't have trackers. Which must be why he's taken a step back, most likely afraid to shoot at one of his leaders. 

The guards hesitate now and the shorter Plutonian aims the device at Axis, sure enough the gadget beeps, identifying him. 

Now they will know who I am. 

My fingers tighten around the gun at my side and just then Lucian rolls out from a corner and shoots at them. He's shooting them with stun guns, aimed to put them to sleep but I can't have that. 

They know who I am and I can't risk it. 

I take out my laser gun and use the diversion to seek some cover, all the while shooting down the Plutonian with the device and the one who commanded it. Blood gushes out of his neck as he falls to the floor, the device slipping out of his hand and landing with a thud.

I shoot it as well, destroying it into pieces. 

Lucian and I begin shooting down the other officers and he hurries over to where I am, hidden behind a wall near the jammed lift. The humans have run over as well, some of them taking cover behind us while the others hide behind Axis and a bunch of over turned tables. 

"What are you doing? We're supposed to stun them, not kill anyone!" Lucian hisses urgently from my side. 

"We can't have witnesses." Is all I say before shooting down more of them. By the time we're done, blood is splattered all over the floors and Lucian is fuming. 

I'm certain back up is on the way, so I begin to usher the humans to the exit. Pollux has disengaged all the alarms and doors so we are able to run past the entry way and into the tunnel. We gather the humans onto a train cart that zips past the tracks into the city. 

The journey takes us about fifteen excruciatingly long minutes. I can tell Lucian is angry but we remain silent, both preoccupied with what just happened. He must have known there would be casualties for a mission like this. 

The smell of urine wafts in the air around us, some of the humans must have wet themselves during the escape. Most of them collapse on the floor, a few have gashes from laser wounds, their blood soaking the linen clothes they wear. We lost some of them during the fight with the guards but I'm thankful to see Ron seated on a bench unharmed. 

He stares out of the window, unblinking. He looks haunted. I swallow hard, wondering if the determined boy who dared to approach me is now dead inside. 

Axis is standing by the doors, one hand trained to his hip where his gun resides. He stares at the humans cautiously, looking like one of them is about to pounce on him at any moment. 

"You shouldn't have shot them dead. You only made matters worse," Lucian whispers when the cart slides over a rusty surface, making the tires screech. 

"They identified me. I couldn't have that." I reply as a matter of factly, my voice devoid of emotion. 

Lucian took off his helmet to get some air, his hair is matted to his forehead in sticky clumps and I feel the urge to brush them aside. The coldness in his eyes stops me. He's never looked at me like that before. 

"They would have identified us anyway. We leaked the footage and we're the only ones not accounted for on Pluto at this minute. It wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together." 

I swallow hard, realising he has a point. As a Sympathizer, it's been so ingrained in me to never leave any witnesses behind. I didn't even think twice when I killed those officers who identified Axis. The thought shocks me, sending a cold shiver of realisation down my spine. 

"Even if they speculate that it's us, it's better not to have proof of our involvement." I argue, not wanting to give in to this feeling of guilt that's growing within. 

"We've done nothing wrong. We saved them from a massacre." He points at the humans who sit on the floor lifelessly. 

"I don't understand why you're so angry. If I hadn't shot down those officers, we wouldn't be here in the first place." My voice raises a notch and I catch Commander Axis staring. 

Lucian just shakes his head. He adjusts his hair and then puts on his helmet as we approach the barren strip, where we parked the ship. 

"Maybe you're more like him that I thought," He says as the train cart comes to a halt, jolting us to a stop. 

I grab his arm, noting the disappointment in his voice. "What do you mean?" 

"Like Lazarus." He admits and after what we've both learned about Lazarus, this admission feels like a punch to the gut. I release him and concentrate on getting the humans out, especially the hurt ones even though my mind is all over the place. 

It takes us awhile to head over to the ship because some humans can only limp slowly. I feel a whirlwind of emotions warring inside of me. Lucian has only ever seen me in a positive light, only ever adored me. 

I've never seen this side of him. Never thought it would affect me so much. Frustration gnaws at me, like insects chewing at my insides. This isn't fair. I'm the one who planned to come here and rescue the humans. I promised I would save Ron and I did. 

Doesn't that mean I'm the good guy here?

My thought process is cut off when we catch a small fleet of soldiers standing by our ship. There are three large squads, standing guard with laser guns in hand. It is midday now and Earth's Sun casts a harsh glare over us, highlighting how outnumbered we are. 

My hands drop to my sides in defeat, wondering what's going to happen now. 

"Put your weapons down and remove your helmets," A mechanical voice booms from the speakers of one of the more larger ships, a X-C20 model made to fit up to a hundred Plutonians in a compact space. 

We have no choice but to obey. The three of us remove our helmets and drop them to the ground, along with our guns. The soldiers facing us make no move to show their reaction. 

"Escort them on board," A Plutonian with a helmet obscuring his face instructs and a few soldiers march over to take us inside. We follow them and notice them taking the humans into one of the other ships. 

A soldier takes Lucian and I into one of the resting rooms, whilst another one takes Axis into a holding cell. We walk into the room and see General Aldric and General Mondric on the screen by the wall. 

They don't look too happy with us. 

The door shuts behind us and they check for intercepted transmissions before speaking. 

"Now why did you two have to go and ruin things for us?" General Aldric is staring right at me angrily, making me want to squirm. 

"I couldn't let the remaining humans be killed just for us to make a point," I say quickly taking responsibility for the entire thing. 

Lucian frowns, noting this and quickly adds. "Our primary reason was to prevent unnecessary loss of life. We need the man power back on Pluto. Why waste them here?" 

The generals remain silent for a few unnerving seconds. 

"You should have run this by us first. We could have planned it better." General Mondric admonishes us in exasperation. "Now it just looks like a mess." 

"How is it over there? Once the footage was leaked?" Lucian asks and I resist the urge to ask them how Lazarus is taking it. 

"Mayhem. Some of the council members want to have Grievous and Lazarus arrested for stealing humans from here but the other half appear to sympathise with their desperation to make it a success. You know how desperate we are for more Plutonians. What's the difference if a few humans were killed in the process?" General Aldric states without feeling and I feel a stab of pain for Ron. 

His brother was one of the casualties, stolen away and experimented to death. And now Ron is a walking ghost. The humans are intelligent beings with feelings and morale, I don't know why we always talk like they are less than. 

Sweat pools on my brows and I wipe it away with the back of my hand. Exhaustion slowly sinks in, I wonder how long it took us to get in and then escape those labs. 

"What happens to the labs now?" I ask the generals. 

"We've ordered for a shut down. We'll confiscate all technology and data used, Grievous had no choice but to agree," General Aldric looks smug when he says this. 

"What about us? Will we get into trouble for this?" My voice comes out soft and hesitant as I watch the two generals. It looks like they're in the SyStem, it one of the rooms in the Grey region. 

"There is no trouble. As far as everyone knows, you both were acting upon our instructions." General Mondric nods at us and we agree silently. That would definitely work in our favour. 

"There will be a briefing one you are back. Get some rest and we've provided you a tablet each. Watch those images diligently before you arrive. It is impertinent that we get all our stories straight."

Lucian and I nod and the screen goes blank. 

We stare at each other awkwardly, our previous argument still lingering in the air between us.

"I should get those tablets." He murmurs and then excuses himself. A flash of irritation runs through me when I watch his retreating back. 

"PG Luna?" A soldier peaks through the doors. 

"Yes?" 

"This message came in for you." He walks in and hands me a communicator. 

I frown in confusion and look down at the unopened message. My thumb runs over the icon, unlocking it and my stomach drops when I read the words. 

"Meet me at the Rubauld, Room 201 tomorrow at eight past the shift of the axis. Remember, I know your secret."