"We have about four planetary hours before the pod's battery runs out, and our frozen human becomes not so frozen."

"Right. So, where's our exit?"

If I remember right, there are several. Which one do we want?

"Head to the far wall Zea. Look for the door near the energy cells."

"Thank you!"

Well, that is handy.

"Did you hear that?"

My head whips over to look at Britt. Seriously?

"Hear what?"

"That woman's voice. Is that Her?" His eyes look like they will bug out of his head.

"Yes. And I have no idea how she is communicating while in stasis. So please don't ask."

"Blazing stars, I am not built for this shit." He rubs his face with a calloused sweaty hand.

Britt is definitely having a hard time with everything. At first, I couldn't tell, but now that the shock of my healing his mind has passed, I see the strain in his eyes.

This is my fault. I shouldn't have made that connection with him when the visions had started.

It had been selfish, if I am honest. I justified it by telling myself he'd worry if he didn't understand what was going on, but I was afraid to give in to it all alone. Damn me and my cowardice!

I will not run from my shadows or responsibilities anymore. This has settled it for me—time to "man up," as the humans said. I will not let people get hurt just because I want to act like a child and run from things I don't like.

I feel better now that I have decided to do better, but how do I make this right with Britt?

"Britt... "

"As you said, we don't have time. Later Zea."

"Right."

He isn't ready to talk about what we saw. Or hear my apology. Ok. That's ok. We need to finish this then I will apologize. Had he even seen the same vision I had?

Britt pushes Her, our objective, out of the room and following the instructions, we find our door.

Once again, I follow the security protocols. When it opens, a rush of air swirls around us. This door had been sealed shut for a very long time.

I just hope the exit at the other end isn't blocked because that would royally suck Zukrog balls!

Britt scans the dimly lit narrow tunnel ahead. His scanner blinks and beeps at him.

"Clear."

He heads off pushing the pod, jogging at a steady pace. There isn't much weight to something when gravity isn't an issue. I stay close but make sure not to crowd him.

The tunnel turns a few times, snaking around something. I realize it's heading in a very slight but steady incline. We are going up. And hopefully out.

The energy boost I gave Britt must have worked even better than I thought. He keeps a steady pace, and even after twenty minutes of a steady jog, his breathing hasn't even changed.

Did I permanently change him? I feel something close to anxiety twist in my gut. That may not go over well.

My K'ai sent a calming wave of reassurance. We did nothing but help. It is up to Britt if he can handle how we did it. She's right. I just said she! That's new. I have bonded with my K'ai.

I almost miss a step as the reality of what actually happened strikes me full force. Thankfully Britt doesn't notice my stumble, and I regain control of myself. I want to explore and enjoy this new feeling of self, but now isn't the time. We need to get this woman out here.

We come around another gentle curve in the tunnel and unexpectedly have to stop. What had been a gentle incline turns into a sharp ramp heading up.

So how the hell does the door open? At that moment, the ramp disappears right into the ceiling like there is nothing. Why can't anything be straightforward?

Then Britt does the most surprising and yet logical thing. He asks Her. He may not like this new reality, but he already has accepted it.

"How do we open the door?"

"On the wall to your left, look for a perfectly carved palm-sized square. Press on it."

I walk over to the wall and run my hand along with it, just in case my hands find what my eyes miss.

The square is at the bottom of the ramp, about head high. I press firmly until I hear a click. The rocky square cover flips open, and once again, I follow the security protocols. At least I know it is improbable anyone will be following us from the rear.

A large groan echoes down the tunnel. Dust falls from the ceiling with small tinks and the odd clink off the stasis pod. The ceiling slowly slides apart to reveal an overly bright sky.

After being in the dim light of these tunnels, it takes a minute for our eyes to adjust, but it may be a minute too long.

Flipping my goggles on, I tap them to dim out the shocking light above us. I feel like our time is up, and we need to hurry.

It is early morning. How long had we been passed out? Damn.

I tap my armband.

"Syndicate?"

"Finally! Where have you been?"

"Missed you too. But an explanation will have to wait. Tell us where we are and how to get to you!"

A moment of silence stretches on for what feels like an eternity. Britt pushes the pod up and out while we wait for a response. I follow silently.

Before we are even ground level, Syndicate's voice pierces my ear.

"Marshal Zea, how in the stars did you end up out in the middle of the desert?"

What?

Finally, cresting the top of the ramp and getting our first look at our surroundings, there is nothing. Far off in the distance behind us is the city. How the hell did we end up out here?

We did jog a fair distance, but this doesn't seem right. More importantly, our ship is a long way away, and we are sitting ducks out in the open. We killed about one planetary hour. This pod maybe has three left. I doubt we'd make it back in time.

"Syndicate, can you come to us?"

"Well, we have a slight complication. The Zu'Lar have been searching for the ship. So I activated the cloaking system and put the ship into hibernation. Less likely to be detected. If I turn on the engine, I guarantee I will be followed."

Figures. Fuck. There is no other option. I look to Britt. He gives a single nod. We have no choice. Let's hope this new ship Armada has supplied us with is as fast as I hope.

"Sorry, Syndicate. We have no choice. Leave as quietly as you can, but as soon as you clear the city, go as fast as you dare. Maybe we can outrun them."

"Probability of sixty-eight percent success rate."

"Better than twenty. I'll take it."

"As you command Zea."

I roll my eyes. Her voice holds an obvious dislike for my orders. Thankfully she is following commands regardless of her concerns. I'll take that too, for now.

As long as the Zu'Lar don't track her destination and send another ship here first, we'll be OK.

"Time estimate Syndicate."

"Three minutes, and two-point six, eight, four seconds."

Right. In case I could count nanoseconds. Stars help me.

Britt stands perfectly still, guarding our objective. I take inventory of my ammo, and because I have three minutes and am starving, I grab my overnight ration pack. I am surprised Britt hasn't done the same.

Looking around at the flat desert surrounding us, I see it repeat forever in all directions, except where the crumbling city stands.

I wonder what had been here before the humans killed everything.

Then I hear it. The sound of wind rushing over the dusty terrain. She is coming in fast. I don't see her for the camouflage but the dust and small wind storm spiralling out behind makes Syndicate's approach rather dubious. Not sure if cloaking is helping at the low altitude.

My heart almost escapes my throat as I see another ship leave the city at an incredible speed.

Shit! Syndicate had been right.

The ship lands just half a yard away. We take off at a dead run, Britt pushing the pod-like it is his given duty still. Always the protector.

As soon as the doors close, Syndicate launches the ship into motion. I almost lose my balance, bracing myself on the wall to stop from falling backwards.

Britt doesn't waste a second. It's like he's supercharged. He pushes the pod to our ship's med bay, locking it into one of the two stasis pod stations.

Well, at least we got this far. Now to make it off this awful fucking death trap of a planet.

Britt is running to the cockpit, and I suddenly realized I am still standing frozen. What the hell am I doing? I take after Britt, and we meet in the cockpit, strapping in at the same time.

"Another ship is approaching fast from the East. Does not look Zu'Lar. No identifiable markings present."

Syndicate's voice sounds like what I usually would expect, and A.I. to sound like for the first time since meeting her. It's devoid of emotion, clipped and to the point.

"Incoming fire. Evasive actions being taken."

The ship swings to the left and right. Tipping here and there making me feel like I am on a nasty fairground ride. Thankfully I rarely get motion sickness. Wasn't Britt supposed to be driving?

Suddenly the nose of the ship points straight up, and we soar into the sky. We pop out of the planet's atmosphere like a rocket.

I might throw up.

That had been intense. My stomach is still back on the planet. My ears are trying to unplug, but that may never happen again. Thank goodness I am strapped in and thank the stars for inertial compensators.

I hope Britt locked the pod in correctly.

"Damn! They are still following us." Syndicate sounds frustrated and a little pissy. So much for sounding robotic.

"You drive. I will do my best to slow them down."

Britt controls the weapons, and Syndicate is flying the ship, so I send an urgent message to Armada.

After I send the distress message to HQ, I keep trying to make a connection with an Armada contact, any contact, but I find no open lines. Damn.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT." With the loud warning of an alarm following Syndicate's verbal one, the ship rocks with impact.

"Shield's holding at eighty-four percent."

"Can we warp?"

"Not with the shield's up."

Right.

The ship suddenly drops like a dead weight, then takes off so fast I feel my neck snap back. Syndicate is one hell of a driver. I have to give her that.

Driving us into the closest asteroid field, she expertly dodges through the tight spaces. Asteroids explode all around us as the Zu'Lar and whoever the other ship is, try to get a clear shot.

Britt has gotten a couple of hits in, but the Zu'Lar tech is far superior when it comes to combat. The likelihood of us breaking through their shields is almost zero.

"Incoming hail Zea. From Iniko of the Orikai." Syndicate sounds as surprised as I feel.

What the stars? Now?

"Accept."

The screen flashes to life on my control panel.

"Not the best time Master Iniko!"

"I understand." He calmly nods. "Tell your ship's A.I. to lock onto my signal. Come to our ship. We have the means to protect you, Zea. She has to be kept safe no matter what."

I look at Britt. He shrugs.

"We aren't getting any other rescue offers." He has a point.

"Syndicate, do as Master Iniko says."

"Confirmed," I swear I hear relief in her voice.

I still am not sure how I feel about knowing my A.I. has emotions.

We take one more hit as we round the large planet we were circling. Syndicate dutifully announces our shield is at fifty-two percent.

We get lucky. The mystery pursuer got too close to the Zu'Lar, attracting their attention, and it gives us a break.

Unfortunately, the mystery ship is no match. It explodes into oblivion within minutes of the encounter. They never even got a shot in. Just when I think our luck is over, I see it.

Holy mother of stars.

It's a fucking mountain from Orikai, floating horizontally through space.

I didn't know they had disguised their ships as mountains. Yet it makes sense. I don't remember ships on the planet, yet they do have mountains everywhere.

Most of their living and community buildings are carved inside them. Maybe the entire time, it had been a spaceship I had been living in. I feel a smile on my lips. The Orikai are truly something else.

Britt doesn't even blink. He had been in the loop from the get-go. Figures. Suddenly a giant burst of light shoots past us from the "giant mountain." Our ship rocks as waves of energy ripple off the Zu'Lar's shield behind us, deflecting the hit.

That is one hell of an impressive weapon. It would only take a few more hits to break their shield.

The Zu'Lar seem to have the same thought and decide to fight another day. Their ship only being a tiny blip in comparison to the "giant mountain" before us.

"The Zu'Lar have left the galaxy."

"Thanks, Syndicate. So do we board this massive thing or say thank you and be on our way?"

"I am afraid you have no choice. We are in their tractor beam. We are not strong enough to pull free."

Fucking stars!

Just once, I would like a mission to go smoothly without someone trying to kill me, control me, or steal my objective. I throw up my hands in frustration. Screw it. I have no means to fight the Orikai.

Next to the Krog, they are the oldest and most powerful race in the Universe. Thankfully, they prefer peace and a higher purpose over petty crap like the rest of us.

I unstrap, shake my head in disgust and go to storm out. I feel the need to check on Her after all we had just been through.

Britt stops me, though before I exit the cockpit, his hand gently but firmly gripping my forearm.

"It will be OK. They only want what's best for the Universe and everyone's survival. Can we confidently say the same about the leaders of Armada?"

This gives me pause. Two reasons. One, it is highly unlike Britt to willingly disobey any order, no matter what. And two, he has a good point. The big wigs up top are slimy at best.

He lets go of my arm and just stares a steely gaze into my eyes.

I was going on vacation when this was over. However, it ends up being over.

My shoulders slump in defeat. I let my head roll back as I let out a heavy sigh. I rub the back of my neck with one hand and half-heartedly wave Britt off.

"You're probably right. As usual. I am going to go check on our cargo."