||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1000 MST

The past year had been a whirlwind of events for Harrison. His father died on a routine excavation and during that same excavation some weird alien bracelet bonded to him and gave him powers and a suit of armor to match. Though he would have given anything to have his father back instead, including this stupid bracelet that refused to come off. Despite working through his grief Harrison decided to use his powers whenever he could to stop the random crime, villain or natural disaster that he came across. This put him on the government's radar and they wanted to take him in and study him like some lab rat and after a very serious disagreement they told him about an alien they had in a secret facility that might know what it is this bracelet is and if there was a way to remove it. Though he was sure they only wanted to figure out a way to replicate it to make super soldiers and if they had it their way he wouldn't be alive to do anything about it.

For the time being Harrison felt that he had the leverage and the power to keep his head above water. He pretended to play the good soldier because he knew that's what they wanted, but he was a free man. An adventurer. Taking orders was never really his kind of thing. It was why he left the university. They only cared about the curriculum, not the students or the knowledge he could impart and the fires in their souls he could spark. He was too limited in that lecture room.

He was being escorted through the very deep underground facility and the sound of someone's voice distracted him from his train of thought.

"There will be no physical contact with the asset. You will speak to her through a window in an observation room."

"Sorry, that won't do. How can she help me figure out what this is if she can't examine it?"

"The asset is highly dangerous."

Harrison lifted his arm to show his bracelet. "I'm pretty dangerous myself. Also stop calling her the asset. I'm sure she has a name. I will be in the room with her and that's final."

The agent grunted and mumbled a few obscenities under his breath. Harrison decided to pay him no mind as they continued on their way.

---

---

The door in Kir'ion's recreation room opened and Harrison walked through and closed the door behind him. He looked at her. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting her to look like, but he sure didn't expect her to look this beautiful, but at the same time he could see a sadness in her pale face. Just what did they do to her here? He could only guess they weren't friendly with how they considered her a dangerous asset.

"Hello. My name is Harrison. They haven't exactly told me your name, but I'd like to know it. I don't like considering you just an asset. Feels too close to property for my taste."

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1000 MST

Kir’ion’s whole body was thrumming with excitement when the door opened. Scientists came into her spaces, military came into her spaces, but never visitors. They wouldn’t have allowed that initially, which means someone, somewhere picked a fight about it and won. Maybe it was him.

As a humanoid species – and considering where she was from, inter-species relations weren’t given a second thought – she could appreciate how handsome he was. He seemed almost like the direct opposite of her pale and delicate appearance. However, it was the way he carried himself proudly, and how he scanned the room like he was rapidly putting the pieces together in his head told her all she needed to know about where he stood morally. She stood up from the bench seat by a disappointingly fake “window”, keeping a measurable distance from Harrison. Kir checked the observation window near the door – the room was full of labcoats and clipboards. Sometimes it was truly dehumanizing the way they watched her like a lab rat.

“It’s a pleasure, Harrison,” she smiled. “I’m Kir’ion. I’d shake your hand, but they have rules about physical contact. I’m honestly surprised they let you in here. They must really want to know what’s stuck to you.”

Her eyes darted back to the observation window before she lifted her hand in an open gesture and settled her gaze on Harrison, “I’ve read the file, but it’s mostly redacted. Show me?”

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1001 MST

"Kir'ion. That's a beautiful name." He said smiling in return. Though his smile turned upside down at the thought of all the rules in this place and how they treated her. "They seem to have a lot of rules here. They actually wanted me on the other side of that window." He said glancing towards the observation window and the men and women behind it. "Something about you being dangerous. I don't doubt it, but I refuse going to treat you like they do."

He turned his attention back towards her and lifted his arm with the bracelet to allow her a closure look.

"This thing turned my life upside down and I'd kind of like to know what bonded itself to my skin. It even provides me with some sort of exosuit armor if that helps you identify it."

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1015 MST

Harrison’s kindness was refreshing. Normally Chef was only of the only friendly people around. He wasn’t willfully ignorant, or at least not blind to the unfairness of her situation. She let out a mirthless laugh, “I’m hardly dangerous – I don’t have a violent nature nor any interest in harming innocent life forms. You know they have an entire bound rulebook for this place? They make all the newbies read it before their first day. The commanding officer usually gives them a pop quiz during the tour. Rule number 1 is no physical contact because they figured out a way to cut my powers here so I can only make a psychic link though touch. Something about the soil here, I think. It’s why I haven’t seen the sky in fifty-three years.” Kir surprised herself with how easily the worlds just tumbled out. She realized how long it had been since she’d had a real conversation with anyone.

Shaking her head as if to dispel the thoughts, Kir’ion leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees to get a better look at the bracelet. It was sleek and beautiful, and to the untrained eye it could easily be mistaken for a fine piece of jewelry. She wasn’t untrained, though. She’d know the symbol carved into the band anywhere. That was an Imperial control armor, no doubt about it. It was modified from something else, probably some kind of local relic. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her mouth went dry immediately.

Just the presence of that bracelet was enough to make Kir rethink the purpose of this exercise. An internal debate raged – was he doing this on purpose to get to her? If he was part of the first wave, it would be much easier to just steal her from the humans than to have to import another X’hondrian. Then again, he was missing the normal attitude of the enforcers – cocky, self-righteous, and still somehow bland thanks to the mind control. She couldn’t feel the same psychic waves that typically rolled off an enforcer, either. Even without a proper link, she should have felt something. The bracelet obviously wasn’t broken since it was permanently bonded and he had access to at least some of the features, but something was wrong with it because every indicator said he had no idea what it was or what it was capable of. She pursed her lips, then pressed them together in a thin line as she turned over the possibility in her head. As far as she knew, there was no such thing as a free enforcer or a faulty gauntlet. But…there’s a first time for everything.

Kir’ion met Harrison’s gaze with a serious expression. Without a psychic link and so many eyes on them, she needed to choose her next words carefully. “Our word for the device doesn’t translate,” she lied. It translated just fine, but from what she knew of the humans she didn’t want to give them any ideas. “Its gifts come at a price. The only way your planet survives is if that thing is destroyed.” That was not a lie, that was a warning.

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1015 MST

Harrison couldn't believe how utterly ridiculous this facility was. It just reminded him of all the burecreacy and darkness in this country and government. He mentally sighed and continued to listen to her. His eyes widened in shock at two things. One that they were essentially keeping her prisoner here against her will for fifty-three years. There's only so much studying you can do on a person. The second thing was that she was OVER FIFTY-THREE YEARS OLD!? He couldn't believe it. She didn't look fifty-three, let alone like someone who had been underground for that long. Then again, he originally attributed her pale complexion to her species, but it may have been because she hadn't seen the sun in over half a century. The more he learned about her situation the angrier he got. This wasn't right.

He noticed her expression change and a shift in her energy as she examined his bracelet. She seemed to recognize what it was, but he wasn't sure he liked the sudden change in response to his bracelet. He decided he didn't like it after all when she looked at him seriously and essentially told him that this armor on his wrist was a massive threat to the world.

"Right. Destroy the bracelet. Sounds great, but uh... how exactly am I supposed to destroy the thing bonded to my wrist without killing me or losing a hand?" It wasn't like he wasn't willing to sacrifice a hand or his life to save the world, but if there was a way to avoid that he'd do it in a heartbeat. The bracelet was great, but he just met someone from an entirely different humanoid species from outer space. He felt like his world was opened to a whole new world entirely. Literally. He didn't want to lose out on discovering what else was out there.

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1020 MST

Harrison’s response calmed her nerves significantly. There was no hesitation in his answer, except he wanted to keep his limb or at least his life. That seemed fair; no one wants to be maimed even if it is for the greater good.

“Well…” she started, but trailed off. Kir’ion shrugged, a look of embarrassment crossing her features, “I have no idea how to remove it. I could try to disconnect you from it psychically. In theory, it would simply fall off and you walk away without a scratch. Or…you end up catatonic.”

As if no one had ever had the bright idea of stopping an enforcer by psychically convincing the gauntlet the host was dead? She could’ve rolled her eyes at such an obvious lie, but Earth was such a backwater planet that they’d never question the chance of success. If she could link up to him psychically, though, that would open up a whole new world. Literally. She could confirm her suspicions that Harrison’s gauntlet was damaged somehow, and whether she could truly trust him. There was definitely nothing on this planet that could get that thing off without killing him in the process, but if she could explain that out there is a chance…maybe Harrison was her escape route. Even if he was under Imperial control and just playing along with the charade, she could probably cloud his mind just long enough to use him as a battering ram to clear the way to her ship. She had tried and failed before, but she’d always done it alone. This time would be different, one way or another.

“It’s your choice,” she added. “I can’t promise an outcome, and it can feel invasive since humans aren’t familiar with the touch of another mind. I can understand if your answer is no.”

They wouldn’t have much time. She could feel the tension from the other room as they watched it play out. Out of the corner of her eye she movement – orders were going out already. As soon as she and Harrison touched, the link would be established and the whole base would go into high alert. They didn’t take chances, especially with a potential breach. She’d never managed to make it all the way out of the research center, let alone make it to the hangar.

She leaned forward again, offering her hand to shake, “Now or never, Harrison.”

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1022 MST

If Kir'ion was trying to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about it definitely failed. He started second guessing his almost selfless decision. Could he risk being left in a potentially indefinite coma? He wasn't so sure. She didn't seem entirely confident herself, but she was the only one who knew anything about this thing at all. If he had to trust anyone with his life right now when it came to this bracelet it would have to be her.

Harrison thought it over for a bit and followed her eye to the examination room. He doubted they'd be happy losing a potential weapon so if they were going to do anything it'd have to happen now. She still gave no reason to fear her or her telepathic abilities so he decided to trust her on this.

"Oh, what the Hell." He said after finally making up his mind. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I guess it's now."

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1022 MST

As soon as their hands touched, Kir’ion's senses lit up like the shroud around Harrison had been lifted. The connection was easy, and with it the essence of his person. One might call it his soul. He radiated nothing unsavory and there was no sign of Imperial interference. He was clean.

We have to go, she pressed into his mind urgently. They are never going to let you walk out of here with that bracelet, and they’ll send you out of here in a body bag if that’s what it takes to get it off. I can’t get it off, but there’s an entire universe out there and somebody can. I just need you to trust me. We have to get to my ship in the hangar.

She shared a vision of the route from their current location in the rec room to the hangar with all the guard postings she knew. “Those guards won’t be using rubber bullets. Last chance to back out,” she added aloud and the doors opened behind them. The military security stomped in barking orders at Kir’ion and Harrison.

"Hands where I can see them. Take five steps away from each other now!" the commanding officer demanded.

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1023 MST

Harrison had never felt anything like it. When their hands touched he felt not only their minds connect, but also their souls. She had more access to his than he hers, but from the little that he had he knew that he could trust her. At least more than he trusted anyone else in this building.

When he heard her voice in his mind it was a peculiar feeling. It tingled a little, but it wasn't bad. In fact it felt warm. Then she shared a vision of their path. It was like a true memory of his, but he knew that it was something planted. He found her more interesting by the second.

When the security team came busting in he gave her a mental message, "Trust and stand behind me." He let her hand go and walked away from her towards the men with his arms raised. He stopped at five steps as not to give them a reason to shoot him.

"I'm sorry about this." Within an instant the exoskeleton formed around his body, but leaving his face still visible for the moment. It didn't matter. Their guns wouldn't do any harm to him even without the armor. It was moreso just for show to display that he wasn't messing around.

Harrison jumped up and slammed his right fist into the ground sending the ground in front of him rupturing up and sending the military squad flying. He turned his head to glance back at Kir'ion. "You ready?"

||Location: [CLASSIFIED]
||Time: 1023 MST

Kir’ion wished they’d had more time to give him all the answers he was seeking, but the situation just didn’t allow for it. They’d have plenty of time after their escape. She expected they’d be together a while. Anyone who could remove bonded Imperial tech would have to be keeping a very low profile meaning it would probably take a while to track them down. The prospect wasn’t an unwelcome one, though. Freedom and a friend was more than she expected to have by the end of the day.

Harrison took to telepathic communication much easier than she expected. The precision with which his words pierced was untrained but clearer than most beginners. With practice, he’d be able to reach out to her easily with just a thought and learn how to shield his mind from intrusion. Fate must surely have worked her spell over them, Kir thought to herself.

She nodded firmly at his order, taking a few steps to put herself in line behind him. She had grown up around the very tool that gave him his powers, but when the armor materialized, she was startled by it. It was the same armor she knew, but something was off. Kir’ion chalked it up to whatever damages it had sustained that allowed him to control it rather than the other way around. Curiosity almost got the better of her until Harrison shattered the floor, using a shockwave to disable the guards. It wasn’t lost on her that his first choice was non-lethal action. As if on cue, the alarm rang out throughout the entire base. Once the alarm was triggered, all the moving parts went into play and there was no time to hesitate.

Bending down to one of the soldiers, she placed a hand on his cheek and closed her eyes for a moment. “We have maybe five minutes before the blast doors seal and lock us in. There are three security doors between us and the hangar,” she shared what she’d learned from the guard’s nearly unconscious mind. She flipped open the pocket on his uniform shirt and pulled out an unmarked card that would get them through the locked checkpoints. Jogging over to the door, she peeked around to check the hall. It was clear for the moment, but she could hear bootfalls coming. ”Come on,” she waved him over through the door and followed quickly behind him. She kept up with his pace, staying tucked partway behind Harrison’s shoulder to easily duck behind him. She was the only one of the two of them in any real danger; his armor was more than capable of deflecting projectiles like bullets.

As soon as they got to the hangar, she saw her ship nestled amongst all the jets and helicopters. The engineering hangar was a research lab in its own right and they had been reverse engineering her ship for years to improve their own technology. Spurred forward by seeing their way out, she took off at a sprint for the cargo door of the ship.

“Oh, sweet girl, what did they do to you?” Kir muttered, realizing as she got closer that it was partially disassembled. It would have to be enough, though. She threw herself into the pilot’s seat as soon as she hit the cockpit and began priming the engines for take-off. The blast doors at the end of the hanger were slowly inching closed, so they needed to get in the air fast.

“Bypass start-up sequence, ignore all systems warnings, and send full power to engines,” she told the ship’s command panel as her fingers flew over the controls. A melodic chirp affirmed the voice command. “Hold onto something, Harr. This is going to be rough,” she added, turning to look at him for a split second. The ship gave an unsettling mechanical screech jerking her attention back to the flight controls as she murmured a string of soft encouragements. The ship lurched forward onto the runway and she could see what must have been half the soldiers on site running into the hangar.

“Too late, chumps,” she grinned, turning the ship toward the hangar door and launching them out at full speed. They’d be halfway to the moon before air support could be scrambled. As the sky came into view beyond the mountain, she angled them upward and out of the atmosphere.

It was over.

Kir’ion sank back against her chair with a heavy sigh. The sky gave way to stars and everything beyond – an entire universe was unfolding before them. "I missed that view." She turned to Harrison again with a look somewhere between relief and joy, “Are you okay?”

||Location: SPACE
||Time: UNKNOWN

Harrison wasn't expecting a full on prison break when he came here today. During their trek through the facility he wondered if there were any others they had locked up down there. If there were he'd have to find out later. There really wasn't much he could do for them now that wouldn't end up with him joining them and they'd all have no way of escape.

When they got to the hangar he immediately noticed what he guessed to be her ship. It was the only thing that was entirely different in here but it saddened him to see the shape they left it in. The way they treated her and her technology was just something he couldn't agree with.

He listened to Kir'ion and held onto the chair in front of him. It also didn't go without notice that she had already given him a nickname. Well, when your minds touch you're bound to grow closer.

The speed at which the ship took off even in its current position was nothing short of extraordinary. They left the atmosphere before he could even realize it. Then he saw it. Space. It was as beautiful as he imagined it. If he wasn't so fascinated with archeology and the hidden histories of the world he would've gone on to be an astronaut. But here he was traveling in space because he was an archeologist. He couldn't believe it.

"Am I okay?" He asked turning back to Kir'ion. "I'M IN SPACE! Man... I can't believe it. I never thought I'd see the day. If only you could see this too, old man."

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Harrison’s joy and wonder were palpable. His enthusiasm about being in space sent her into a peal of laughter. If you’d asked her the last time she laughed like that, Kir’ion wouldn’t have known the answer. It reminded her of the first time she'd left the atmosphere of her homeworld - the excitement and possibilities far outweighed any thoughts of what might actually lie ahead.

“Well, you did just basically give your planet the finger,” she smiled, knowing the thrill would eventually wear off. “I owe you my thanks and most likely my life. I never could have made it out of there without you. I can’t imagine that was an easy choice to make. Thank you.”

As if to remind them it wasn’t over yet, a yellow warning popped up on her screen: unsustainable fuel source. She cursed under her breath and pulled up the warning. They probably had enough to get to the edge of the system, thankfully, but the ship was in pretty sorry shape. The fuel cells probably wouldn’t be the only malfunction.

“Something’s wrong with the engines,” she said as she pulled up a map, looking for the closest trade station. “I’m setting a course for an asteroid cluster in the Kuiper Belt. There should be a station there.” She patted the control panel encouragingly as she stood up, “I’m going to see what’s causing the problem. Do you want to come?”

The ship was small - more like a planet jumper than an interstellar long-hauler. Beyond the small cockpit was the main hold. To the left were the small crew quarters with two bunks, and the right had a galley kitchen and tiny lounge. At the far end were the cargo door and the engine room. The whole place was a mess of tools and half-disassembled pieces of the ship. Kir'ion hadn't really taken the time to assess the extent of the damage when they boarded; she didn't have time. A sinking feeling was settling in her stomach now as she saw what they had to work with.

The engine room was always the warmest spot on the ship and Kir instinctively rolled up her sleeves as soon as they entered. She paused a moment, one hand on her hip, and surveyed the room. They'd practically stripped it bare trying to reverse-engineer the engines. She dragged a hand down her face with an exasperated sigh, looking at the open panels and loose wires.

"No wonder it threw an alert. This thing is in shambles," she bent down and picked up a broken canister from the ground. "She's running on half the fuel cells she needs." She turned to the right where the other canisters were locked into place. Two glowed with a soft blue light, one was dark, and one was the missing piece she had in her hand. "That's not ideal... I can get us to the Kuiper Belt, but she's in worse shape than I thought. They really did a number on her."

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Her laugh was beautiful and Harrison was happy to know that she was still capable of laughter after being locked away and experimented on for so long. He caught himself smiling at her once the laughter faded and the conversation continued.

"Honestly? It wasn't that hard of a decision. I didn't have much left for me back home, I couldn't stand how they held you captive, and like you said earlier they probably wouldn't have let me escape with my life otherwise. But you're welcome and thank you, you kinda saved my life as well."

His attention turned to the yellow warning that interrupted their conversation. That seemed to be a bad sign no matter where you were in the universe. He followed her to the engine room and scanned the ship as they moved along. He gave himself a mental tour of the ship since he'd likely be here for a while. As far as he knew they didn't have the money for a new ship and even if they did this one held sentimental value to her.

He shook his head at the sight of the damages. He wasn't surprised that they didn't handle the ship with care or even accomplished anything.

"They had fifty-three years with this ship and couldn't even be bothered to put her back the way they found her. I'm sorry for all they've done to you since you ended up on Earth. But this Kuiper Belt. Anything I should know or expect when we get there?"

||Location: Sol System

||Time: Unknown



“Well, I guess it could be worse,” Kir sighed, pushing her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t exactly ‘land’ on Earth – it was more of a forced descent.” She chuckled to herself. “I can tell they put at least some of it back together while they were pulling her apart for research.”



She installed the broken canister and locked it into place for the time being. She didn’t know what else to do with it. Once they had replacements, the dead cells could be recycled at the outpost. When Harrison asked about the Kuiper Belt, it dawned on her he didn’t have any experience out here.



“Of course,” Kir’ion mumbled to herself, surprised by her own forgetfulness. “I owe you a lot of answers. For the sake of time, I only shared what was strictly necessary with you when our minds first touched. Come, let me share the rest with you.”



She led him back out to the lounge, finding a comfortable seat and patting a spot next to her. Kir turned to face him once he seemed settled, “I think the best way to do this is a X’honnar. It’s a ritual that’s like what the Vulcans can do in your Star Trek, but much deeper. I can share everything I’ve seen and experienced, quite literally I can share everything I know. It’s…intimate. It’s like reliving my life through my eyes within a matter of hours.” She crossed her legs and reached out both hands to take his before starting again, “Without your bracelet’s connection to the imperial center, you lack access to the network of information most enforcers would have. Even with our connection earlier, you’re missing about 100 years of my life. By now, most of my knowledge is outdated, but it’s certainly better than nothing. I have no idea what to expect when we get to Kuiper Outpost, but it was independent when I passed through before I hit Earth. At the very least, we can get what we need and move on.”



Taking his hands, she rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath, “It’s okay if you feel strange after this. I’ve only done this twice, and never with another species.” Kir gave his hands a gentle squeeze and leaned her forehead against his.



She let their minds settle together first, quieting them both so that it would be easier to share her essence with him. It started with her childhood – a happy time for her on her homeworld surrounded by loved ones. Kir showed him the glittering white sands and deep blue oceans, the glass spires and vast libraries of an intellectual society. There was art, music, science, history, architecture, politics, language… They were a peaceful people content to exchange knowledge with the universe at large and stay out of conflicts entirely. She was only 10 years old by Earth’s standards when the Imperial warships came. It wasn’t even a fight – X’hondria didn’t have a military. The only weapons were long defunct and only existed as museum pieces. Her homeworld faded away as she was taken from it, instead forced into a life of servitude and passed between owners for nearly half a century before an attack on the vessel she was on presented an opportunity for escape. She stole the ship they were currently sailing the stars in and set off for an independent outpost in the Kuiper Belt. She’d thought to settle on the nearby planet of Earth. The long arm of the empire didn’t reach out that far and she looked human enough to pass as one. The promise of freedom was enough to cloud her judgement, and when she was shot down over the planet, she’d been dragged from the crash and kept buried under a mountain until she met Harrison. Kir let it stop there, knowing he didn’t need a replay of the events that had just transpired.



She pulled away, letting the connection end as she rubbed her temple gently. Her first concern was Harrison, watching him carefully to make sure he came out of it okay. She feared the effect reliving a longer-than-human life as tumultuous as hers might have.



“Are you okay?” Kir asked gently.

||Location: Sol System

||Time: Unknown

Harrison was interested in learning more about the ships where they were headed. This one despite its wear and tear was rather advanced. More advanced than anything they were capable of on Earth. And it was a craft from fifty three years in the past. He wondered how things had developed since then.

Harrison followed Kir'ion into the lounge and sat nervously next to her. He couldn't understand why she made him so nervous. Was it because of the slight mind touch they had earlier? That was a connection that he never experienced with anyone or anything besides the bracelet. He understood her reference. Despite his and his father's exploration of the past his father had a passion for the future and space as well. He always believed humanity truly was headed in the direction of Star Trek. Maybe his dad was right. If that was the future they were headed towards then this first step Harrison took with Kir'ion was on the path to that.

He let her take his hands. He didn't fear this. The intimacy or the possible side effects. He already felt connected to her in a way that he couldn't truly describe. He knew this would be on a completely different level and would be rather invasive. It surprised him how comfortable she seemed with it at all. Harrison felt safe when she squeezed his hand and pressed her forehead against his. Like there was no safer place in the universe.

The memories were overwhelming. Not in the sense of Harrison receiving an overload of information. But how real it felt. Like he was there and these were his memories. It started off so beautifully. The memories and feelings of her childhood on her home planet. The culture and knowledge all in one place. Then in ten years it was all gone. They never stood a chance. A peaceful society destroyed and enslaved. Then Kir'ion's time as a slave. Passed from owner to owner as mere property. His ancestral DNA was reacting to these memories. The way her life resonated so deeply with the history of his family, of his people. He couldn't help, but cry once this was all over.

When she asked him if he was okay he embraced her in a hug. "Are you?" She lived through all of that and once she felt freedom for a brief moment it was snatched away from her once again.

The tears weren’t an unexpected response; they were a common side-effect of the depth shared during a X’honnar. Nonetheless, they still startled Kir’ion. Harrison’s empathy and kindness were unmatched when compared to every other human she’d had the chance to meet during her captivity. Without thinking, she pulled her sleeve down over her hand and used it to wipe away at his cheek. Tenderness and compassion were two of the most valued traits among her people, and despite everything she’d been through she was determined to adhere to the tenets of X’hondrian culture before the empire conquered them.

Harrison was full of surprises. The sudden embrace was more surprising than his tears, but Kir relaxed into it all the same. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, considering her answer carefully.

“I will be,” she finally sighed. “In a way, we share more than I realized.”

Kir could already feel the effect of sharing all of herself. Whatever boundaries might have separated them due to the dictates of social norms were gone. In a way, they were now inseparably bound simply by knowing each other to such an extreme depth beyond what anyone else could ever possibly share without the benefit of such a ritual. She hadn’t fully considered the effects of sharing so much of herself with Harrison, but that didn’t mean she regretted it, either. If anything, it felt good to have that connection with another person.

Pulling back, Kir’ion dragged her eyes over Harrison, assessing him, “How do you feel? I’ve never done this with a human. I’ve never done it with anyone except another X’hondrian, honestly… I can’t imagine what it must be like to absorb all of that.”

||Location: Sol System

||Time: Unknown

Harrison felt a warm feeling when she wiped away his tears. The act reminded him of his mother. Kir'ion was so kind. Despite all that she had been through in space and in Earth she still had the ability to have compassion for others without hesitation. Whatever feelings of regret he had about freeing her and being a fugitive were all gone. She deserved to be free and he was glad he was able to help her be.

He nodded at her words and honesty. She will be and if there was anyway he could help her on this journey, he would. When they pulled back and she asked how he felt he paused to think for a moment. "I'm... okay. Yeah, I'm okay. It was a lot, but I expected it to be. I guess this bracelet helped me process it all. But I'm so sorry for what you went through and I've decided. I still want to learn more about this." He said raising his arm. "But I don't want to get rid of it, not yet. I want to use it against the Empire. A hero of justice using the armor of the enemy to bring them down. Who knows what they've been up to or how far their reach has spread since you've been gone? Someone has to put a stop to them. And I want your help. Who better than a free X'hondrian to rally a rebellion across the stars?"

There was such excitement and determination in Harrison's eyes. Admittedly he was switching franchises and going straight to Star Wars, but ever since he had gotten this thing he knew he had a larger purpose. He helped people before the government came into the picture. Now it was time for him to do it on a much larger scale in a galaxy of people who need help. Who need hope.

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

His idealism was exciting, refreshing even. Kir’ion couldn’t help smiling because she believed him. How could she not? They knew everything about each other; there were no secrets left. She could feel the determination rolling off of him in waves. If he could stir her to action when all she really wanted to do was run to the farthest corner of the galaxy and hide, then there was indeed hope.

And Harrison was right, too. If anyone could stoke the flames of rebellion, it would be a free enforcer and a X’hondrian. Who could deny the optics of a would-be oppressor and an escaped slave standing together against the empire that would see them both stripped of identity and agency, saying, ‘No more’?

”I don’t think I’ve allowed myself to believe in anyone in a long time,” Kir admitted, “But I believe in you. You walked in that door this morning and you gave me hope I haven’t known in over a century. What was it your Star Wars said? ‘Rebellions are built on hope’, I think?”

Admittedly, Kir’ion didn’t know the first thing about sparking a rebellion or fighting back. X’hondrian’s hadn’t been to war in so many centuries that when the empire attacked that there wasn’t even anyone alive at the time who could remember war. It was akin to attacking a planet populated by Buddhist monks. X’hondrians honored the pursuits of knowledge and creation of art. They remained neutral in conflicts and the best minds were often called upon to journey off world to share their wisdom and knowledge with the likes of government officials, nobles, and military ethicists. To harm an X’hondrian was among the greatest social crimes one could commit, so to invade their planet and force them into servitude was obscene. Kir had only rarely allowed herself to consider the outrage that must have come from it. There must have been protests from all the major governing powers across the galaxy. To lose such a repository of knowledge and history as the one X’hondrian’s had accumulated, to remove the wealth of insight they would gladly provide to all who asked was an affront not just to the X’hondrians, but to the galaxy as a whole.

She shook the thoughts from her head, realizing she was about to sink too deep.

“Well, first things first we need fuel cells. We’re barely going to make it to the Kuiper Belt Outpost as it is,” Kir sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “If I’m lucky, there’s still some valuables stashed around the ship that I can sell to get us the money for replacements. After that, I don’t know. Maybe we can pick up some light cargo to drop off as we planet hop. Someone’s bound to have some short hauls they need done.”

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Harrison knew her words to be true. He didn't know if it was a remnant of the mind touch, but he could her hope flowing off her in waves. He never could really describe hope before this moment and even now, feeling it in such a way, it was still indescribable. But the closest thing he could attribute it to is getting embraced in a warm hug by light itself. A hug that let you know that while things may be dark now, you haven't been abandoned by the light. He felt something similar when his father dad and he gained this bracelet. He thought he was cursed or punished by God and almost gave up on his faith. He couldn't see his powers as a gift, not initially. It wasn't until he saved his first life with this armor. He had realized that he was given this to help people and make a difference. He just never imagined it would be on a galactic scale. There was a reason that this bracelet didn't control him like it should have. Why he didn't become a weapon for an empire. Why he didn't hesitate to liberate Kir'ion.

Despite all of this he never believed he'd be the type to inspire people. Let alone a whole galaxy, but her words gave him the courage to at least try. No one had ever talked about him like that before and it made him blush, though it was barely visible.

"I've technically been smuggling artifacts, so I space smuggler shouldn't be too big of a leap. Honestly, I'd love it. It'd give us the chance to see how things are on different planets." He was interested in helping people, but a big part of him was really looking forward to exploring different planets and learning about different species and cultures. I mean, learning about different cultures is what he dedicated his life to. He was finally getting the chance to discover something new and present instead of just dusting off the ruins of a forgotten society.

"How close are we to the outpost?"

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

“Okay, Han Solo,” Kir teased with a smile. “I’m starting to wonder if I’m just dreaming up a bad Star Wars knock-off, and I’ll wake up buried under that mountain like every other day for the last half-century.”

She pushed herself up from the sofa and stretched toward the ceiling with a wide yawn to break the tension she’d been carrying in her body.

“About another hour, give or take,” she responded to his query about how much longer it would take them to reach their destination. “This old rust bucket may only be a planet hopper, but she’s still got what I think you call FTL capabilities. At least it gives us plenty of time to come up with a shopping list. Fuel cells are at the top of that. And an update chip for the ship’s computer - no doubt everything is completely out of date, including the star maps.”

Kir’ion paused looking down at herself with a frown, picking at the thin scrubs she was wearing, “And I need a change of clothes. So do you or we’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

She made a look of realization, groaned, and rubbed her face with her hands, “And a lot of food. You eat…what? Three times a day? Four? This shopping list is getting more expensive by the second… We’re going to have to scrap every unnecessary system for parts to resell. I wonder if my old-“

Kir’s voice cut off before she could finish, lifting her face out of her hands and without another word, starting off on a beeline straight for the bunks. Her old slave bands would fetch a pretty penny if they were still safely tucked away. The upside to her last owner being a noble was their inclination toward the expensive. Climbing up the ladder to the top bunk, she felt around for the loose panel above the top bunk, pushing in until it gave way. She had to reach almost her whole arm in, feeling around in the dark until she found the blanket she’d bundled them up in.

Pulling them out, Kir unwrapped them and time felt like it stopped around her. Glittering in platinum silver tones, dappled with intricate engravings and jewels were the symbols of her captivity. The weight of them in her lap made her blood run cold in her veins and she swallowed hard, struggling to tear her eyes away from them. They were of no use to her now; she was free. And yet she couldn’t shake the heaviness that she wasn’t really, not as long as the empire existed. Not as long as Harrison lived under threat of being made a slave to his armor, and her along with him. What was she doing sharing her mind with someone bearing the crest of the very system that had brought her entire people to their knees and scattered them across the stars to serve at the pleasure of masters who barely saw them as more than tools? How could she possibly think the two of them were remotely equipped to stand against the empire? Her hands shook with the weight of memory, her breaths fast and shallow with panic as her mind reeled.

What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing?

Put them away. Stop looking at them, she tried to will herself.