||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

"If you're dreaming, I'm dreaming." Harrison said a bit goofier than he intended it to be. This really did seem like a dream come true for him. An adventure like this is something he actually had dreams about. Now he was starting to wonder if they were visions. He knew it were possible. People talked about dreaming of things that later happened in the real world all the time and it even stemmed to childhood.

He listened to Kir list off their shopping list and he hoped they had enough to get what they needed. He didn't have any kind of space currency on him and he knew she didn't have any with her back on Earth. It all made sense when she said that they needed to resell some parts. He wasn't sure how good of an idea that was with the ship barely being functional as it was, but he trusted Kir'ion. He had to. He knew everything about her now and he no longer had anywhere to go except with her.

He followed her to the bunks, but wasn't too close behind her. He averted his eyes as she climbed the ladder so he couldn't look up her dress, but when she found the bands and froze in place. He looked up to see her hands shaking. He floated in the air next to her. Instead of touching her he just grabbed her slave bands and removed them from her hands.

He tossed them to the floor below before turning to look at her. "You don't have to feel those bands ever again. Not even to hold them. I'm here."

|| Location: Sol System
|| Time: Unknown

The clang of metal hitting the floor was jarring enough to shock Kir’ion back to reality just in time to hear Harrison. Her eyes snapped up, finding and holding him in her gaze. She took a deep, shaking breath as she tried to digest the gentle way he reminded her that he was there, that she wasn’t alone, a captive…that she didn’t even have to touch the bands.

“Thank you,” she whispered, scrubbing her hands over her face and trying to shake the anxious feeling of pins and needles across her skin.

“I didn’t think…” Kir’s voice trailed off, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a comfort-seeking gesture.

What didn’t she think? That seeing them would send her reeling back? That she would freeze up over something so simple? They were pieces of metal, jewelry really. And yet they weighed more than anything in the universe simply because of their symbolism. She was wringing her hands looking for something more substantial to add.

“Thank you, Harrison,” she repeated, unable to come up with anything else.

Kir sat there feeling utterly stupid and frankly a bit embarrassed for a long moment before slipping off the edge of the bed and floating slowly back down to the ground. She glanced at the glimmer of metal just peeking out from where they’d landed under the blanket when Harrison tossed them to the ground.

Swallowing hard, she managed to find her words and courage again, “I don’t think I can handle those again. It might be better if you did it.”

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

"You're welcome, Kir'ion." He said simply before following her down. He landed on the floor next to her. He nodded when she said it was better for him to hold onto them. He had already resolved himself to. No matter what the symbolism held in his mind or for his own people's struggles, this was still current for her and her people. A whole galaxy where they lived in bondage, servitude to another, and long lives to extend that suffering.

He reached down to pick up the metal bands and said, "Of course. Thankfully it won't be for long." He picked up the blanket as well to wrap the bands in so neither of them had to look at it.

"With this we begin to buy back the freedom of your people and the galaxy. Rather poetic, I think."

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Poetic. That was one way of putting it. Kir felt like there was some justice to be found in the symbols of slavery paving the way of their ambitious path to bring down the empire and free her people. There was still a flicker of doubt that she was trying to ignore. They were two people, and they needed to inspire an entire galaxy to fight back. Maybe more than that considering the rate at which the empire had expanded its reach before. By now, it could be two galaxies. A lot could happen in half a century… She badly needed to reorient herself and catch up as soon as they hit Kuiper Station. Harrison was relying on her out here; he didn’t know the first thing about navigating the diverse social and cultural norms in the larger galaxy.

Kir finally cleared her throat and said with a renewed smile, “Considering the shape the ship is in, I think I should probably keep an eye on things up front. I don’t think I trust the computer to navigate entirely on autopilot right now, and it won’t be much longer before we hit the outer edge of the Kuiper Belt. There’s not a lot of ship to explore, but I certainly won’t discourage you from letting your curiosity get the better of you. I know how exciting this is for you. Just be gentle with her - she’s falling apart.”

Of course she knew. They’d shared everything, and his child-like wonder was truly uplifting to see and feel. She wasn’t going to squash that.

“You can come join me in the cockpit when you’ve exhausted every corner, if you want,” she added an invitation offhandedly. Kir didn’t feel like it was necessary - he was always welcome in her space considering she’d broken down the most intimate walls of privacy between them now - but she offered the invitation anyway just so he truly understood that.

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Harrison resonated with Kir's disappointment in the current state of the ship. He understood that part of the damage was from her journey to Earth, but it was still a beautiful aircraft, or rather spacecraft, and it deserved better than this. He nodded to her and watched as she headed back towards the cockpit. He then took his time analyzing every nook and cranny of the ship. He had her memories connected to his own, but he really wanted to examine and experience the ship through his own eyes, hands, and heart.

His curiosity and excitement made him feel like a kid cruising through a game or toy store, being fascinated by everything that caught his eye. As he toured the ship he thought to himself about how this was the first time in a long time that he felt at peace to just be. He wasn't being forced to do anything by the government, he wasn't dealing with some disaster, or grieving the loss of his father. He knew with the mission ahead of him that it'd be a while before he would feel this way again, so he wanted to make it last as long as possible.

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

The cockpit was quiet and familiar. Kir settled comfortably into the pilot's chair and surveyed the control panel in front of her. It was a relief they hadn't really touched this part of the ship, or at least not the pilot's controls. She assumed they left them in tact for reference considering the secondary command station next to hers for a co-pilot was a complete mess. She clicked her tongue, displeased but unsurprised. At this point, she wondered if it was even worth repairing the ship? Ships were expensive - or at least they were before - so repairing would be their only option for the time being until they could scrape together enough money to replace it with something at least comparable in size. Scrapping the ship itself would bring in some, but certainly not enough to replace it, not with how outdated the hardware probably was or the current overall condition.

Sighing, she refocused her attention on the present. A new ship was a problem for the future; they had enough problems to deal with at present already. Kir tapped away at the touch panel of the control panel, bringing up star maps and real-time systems diagnostics so she could keep an eye on the status of the ship as she redirected power from non-essential systems to the propulsion and life support systems. Normally the ships computer would have managed that without any additional input, but she didn't trust the AI to still be full in-tact.

Once Kir was satisfied with the adjustments, she sat back and watched the small dot on the star map that indicated their position slowly move along the flight path the navigation system had automatically charted. All seemed well, and it was provided a brief moment of peace as she simply observed. Kir let out a relieved hum and stretched. They had maybe another hour at most before she had to start the process to make contact and get permission to dock with the station, so she decided to enjoy the respite.

Harrison continued his tour of the ship. Despite the damages and the relative size of the ship there was quite a bit to explore. As he passed through each room memories from Kir's consciousness that correlated to the respective rooms flooded the front of his mind. He knew this wasn't her own original ship, but one from her captors. The thought honestly sickened him. Then an idea struck him. One that he wouldn't have normally come up with on Earth, but here in space he was already planning to spark the flames of an intergalactic rebellion.

He kept this thought in his mind as he continued the tour before eventually returning to the cockpit. Harrison had decided. The idea was probably foolish. He still had very little idea about how the wider galaxy worked. He didn't want to risk Kir being captured again. He wasn't worried about himself. He was worried about her. But if he's meant to be some tyrannical empire's enforcer perhaps he could use that to their advantage.

Once Harrison stepped into the cockpit he cleared his throat to catch Kir's attention. "I have an idea that might be crazy. We have a ship that's pretty much falling apart and an empire and galaxy of darkness to defeat and brighten. I'm sure there's some less deserving people on this Outpost we're going to. Why don't we just steal a ship?"

Sharing their minds at such a deep level the way they had, had marked Harrison with a permanent bond that allowed Kir to feel him approach even before he cleared his throat. She pushed herself around to peer over the back of the pilot's chair as he entered and settled himself into the cockpit with her. She'd been careful to retreat from his mind to avoid invading his thoughts any more than she already had; it felt like a breach of privacy at best and a breach of trust at worst if she were to listen to the innermost workings of his mind. Now, as he posed his suggestion, she almost wished she hadn't so she might have been prepared for what he said.

"You can't be serious," Kir breathed out, blinking at him in stunned disbelief. His expression never wavered with the flicker of doubt humans weren't quite able to hide, though. Eyes widening, she cursed in her own tongue before a laugh took her, adding, "You are serious."

She could think of a million and one reasons why that was a terrible idea. What if they were caught? What if someone saw them and reported them? They would become fugitives before they even had a chance to do something of any merit. Then again, she was a fugitive already - first from the empire and now from Earth - and Harrison was already a fugitive in his own right after the way he left Earth with her and was about to go stirring the pot wearing the armour of an enforcer. The the benefit of his armour was that it practically served as a get-out-of-jail-free card as long as they were within the borders of the empire, and frankly if things had stayed relatively unchanged, even outside the borders because no one was keen to tangle with the enforcers whether they were in imperial territory or not. If someone were to catch them, all he would have to do was claim imperial business and that would be that...as long as it wasn't another enforcer. If his armour was malfunctioning, another enforcer would easily pick up on it and haul them both in for a very unpleasant imprisonment. As long as his mind remained his own, their bond would hold and no amount of distance would be able to truly separate them or prevent their reunification. But if they were able to recalibrate his armour and bring him under imperial control? Kir didn't know if that would put up a barrier that even she could not break down...

She weight the options for far too long before rubbing her hands roughly over her face and groaning, "There are so many ways that idea could get us in trouble. But..." Kir hesitated as she furrowed her brow and pursed her lips thoughtfully, "Maybe you're on to something. The station was beyond imperial control half a century ago when I passed through, and I assume it still is. After all, if the empire had expanded this far, there would be no reason for them not to take Earth, right? No offence, but Earth doesn't exactly seem equipped to resist imperial incursion at the moment. Finding a scrapper to take the ship off our hands won't be hard - they're always desperate for parts and materials this far out - and once we've sold my...jewellery to a dealer on the station, we get everything on our shopping list and then we steal a ship and skip town. We just need to find a mark who would rather stay off the empire's radar than report a theft, which should be easy considering we're out in the middle of nowhere - again, no offence to Earth."

"I don't love the idea of starting our whole righteous crusade off on a crime, but I'm an imperial fugitive already and you might as well be one running around with faulty enforcer armour, so, really, what's the worst that could happen?" She mused with a shrug.

---

The rest of the short time that remained was quiet. Kir turned over and over in her head everything that could go wrong, trying to form a contingency plan for each, as she navigated the asteroid field during their approach. Luckily their plan to scrap the small ship worked out in their favour because it meant they didn't need to record the landing with the station, and she was able to bring the ship down directly in the scrap yard. Scrappers weren't exactly the tidiest record keepers, but most of the time no one much cared since whatever ended up in their possession was disassembled and sold for parts anyway.

Kir made a last pass of the ship, committing the ruined shell of it to memory and picking through whatever remained for anything of use. She'd ripped out the chip that stored the ship's data banks on it, deciding it was best not to leave that for someone to snoop through the navigational logs and it would allow her to compare what she knew to be true fifty years ago with whatever information was logged on the ship they managed to steal. She'd also managed to scrounge up a sack for them to stuff her old slave bands into so they weren't carrying them around loose in a blanket. It was already going to raise suspicions when they sold them, so best not to turn any more heads than they already would.

As they prepared to disembark, Kir stopped and turned back to Harrison, "Armour up, Harrison. You remember what I showed you through my memories about enforcers? We need to project a certain image this time so people avoid us out there, and unfortunately that means you're not my friend, you're my handler. I can do most of the talking this time, and your armour should translate whatever is said for you, but it's old and it's probably out of date, so if it fails I can take over. We'll be in and out as fast as we can, okay?"

Once they stepped off the ship, Kir became a different person. She'd been a lab specimen for fifty years, but she still remembered slavery. Whatever air of confidence she had melted away as she made herself seem small next to Harrison. She wasn't a fugitive who had escaped captivity twice anymore, she was the expensive pet of a respected enforcer in the imperial ranks. To have an X'hondrian slave was a symbol of status and rank, and whatever attention that drew would quickly be averted for fear of incurring the wrath of an enforcer. That's what Kir was betting on. They would be noticed and then quickly forgotten, and if anyone came asking questions, no one would be able to answer them because no one would have taken the time to get a good look at them let alone speak to them outside of whatever business transactions were conducted during their visit.

As soon as their ramp descended, the scrapper scuttled out to introduce himself. He had far too many legs and not enough eyes, and he made a chittering sound as he moved that grated on the ears. He was clearly flustered by the realisation he was welcoming such a high-ranking imperial enforcer, Kir cut him off before he could speak.

"Spare us," she raised a hand to silence him. "We're only here to sell."

"Of course, of course," the scrapper nodded quickly. "I can have it appraised immediately."

"I suppose you think he has all the time in the world? We'll sell it by weight," Kir scoffed.

"Of course. You're very busy with...enforcer business...I'm sure," the scrapper hesitated, wringing his appendages nervously. If his species could sweat, Kir suspected he would be dripping. "Right this way, please. Transfers are much slower; I can pay out cash immediately."

Once his back was turned, scuttling off on his too many legs toward a door at the far end of the scrap yard, Kir spared a glance back at Harrison to beckon him on as she followed the insectoid scrapper. She didn't like the way he hesitated when he spoke. Something about him put her on edge, and she had a feeling something about this deal would come back to haunt them at some point, but the only way out was through so they had no choice but to keep going.

'You okay so far?' She pressed the thought into his mind gently. As they walked, she opened the connection between them to give them a means of communication where they could speak freely, unrestricted by the parts they were forced to play.

Harrison listened to Kir as she went on reasoning with herself, rather than him, on going through with his plan. He couldn't help but be captivated by the visual expressions on her face that represented the wheels in her head turning. He laughed when she finally agreed, though he wanted to correct her on one misconception she had about Earth. "You'd be right about Earth if you were talking about our world militaries, but we have a different protective force on Earth. You and I aren't the first superpowered people the world has seen. We have a group of the population known as Homo Superiors or mutants, but I hate that word. They're still humans. They just have an extra gene inside them that gives them powers. A group of mutants formed a team known as the X-Men. They have a weather witch, a wind demon, an unkillable soldier, a tech genius from the future, and a one man army in both the figurative and literal sense. He can copy almost any mutant's ability, including cloning. There's also an imprisoned reality warper. Basically, whatever trouble we get into out here won't be a problem for Earth. If the empire found out about them, that's probably why they didn't check on the armor they sent."

---

Harrison armored up as he listened to Kir. He was a bit nervous, but at the same time he felt a bit at home on this mission. He was an archaeologist and treasure hunter before he became one of Earth's superheroes. Smuggling and bartering were part of his skillset, but he decided to take her lead with this being his first time in space. He soon realized quickly why he shouldn't have. Earth, space, it didn't matter. Filth and untrustworthy people could be found wherever they went. He just wished it wasn't the very first person they met out here, but that was just their luck. Everything had been way too easy despite all the odds that were stacked against them. It was about time that their luck caught up to them. But he could extend it just a little bit. Hopefully just enough to get them out of here with a new ship.

Harrison could tell immediately that the scrapper wasn't trusting their story and was probably on his way to report that something was off. Together he and his father was their world's Indiana Jones and they had gotten into their fair share of messes so it never made sense to him that a tomb would be the thing to take his father out. It was almost too ironic.

He didn't look to Kir when she asked him if he was okay. "Forgive me." He whispered into her mind. He forcefully grabbed her arm at the elbow, but didn't apply pressure to it. He yelled aloud to give their insect scrapper a performance. "Did I say you could speak for me, X'hondrian? I don't care what role you served in the imperial palace, I don't need an insignificant bug thinking I can't speak for myself. Don't make me regret removing your collar! I don't want to hear another word from you while we're here. Now, come on. I don't want to be on this dump for longer than I have to be."

Harrison let go of her arm and marched forward feeling disgusted with himself. He was glad that the enforcer armor hid his face. He could hide how he was feeling in his walk, but the truth was all over his visage. He hoped his performance was enough to crush any doubts in the scrapper's mind as to who they are. If it didn't he might have hurt Kir for no reason. "I didn't trust him. The sooner we get out of here the better." He projected into her mind as he followed the scrapper to the door. Get the money and get out. That's all they had to do.

Kir could feel the mistrust rolling off the scrapper in waves. In her effort to protect Harrison and ease him into the wider universe, she'd been too bold and too forward to come off as slave. Fifty years had made her rusty, and the excitement of freedom had made her reckless. She could have perhaps reached into his mind and soothed over the doubts if she wasn't so out of practice. She'd rarely been given a chance to flex the full breadth of her mental abilities since being shuttled to the underground prison Earth called a lab, and she knew he didn't have the element of surprise to give her an advantage. Brute force would have been easy, but the effect would have either been permanent - and outcome she found wholly undesirable in most cases - or it would have exposed them such that the scrapper would surely report them when he came to. Kir couldn't come up with a scenario where she intervened and they made it off the station without the empire aware of their existence.

As she continued to turn over the options, Harrison stepped in. He didn't give her much of a warning, though as it played out she was glad he hadn't so her reaction would be genuine. He gripped her arm hard enough to halt her, causing her to jerk with the force of her own momentum, but not enough to actually hurt. She yelped purely out of surprise, though to a bystander it would have been indistinguishable from an indication of pain. Instinct kicked in, and for a moment it wasn't an act for her. She'd learned in her years of slavery never to cower - cowering was a sign of fear, and fear was an exploitable weakness - but a show of deference could go a long way to curtailing further brutality. She shrank quickly, bowing in apologetic silence and letting Harrison take the lead before she straightened again and trailed at his heels. He would have made a good enforcer if his bracelet wasn't broken, and the thought sent a shiver up her spine. As she rubbed at her elbow, acting as if he'd actually hurt her, Kir resolved herself not to ever let that happen. She'd made a promise to help him remove it, but now she made a promise to herself to ensure he also didn't lose himself to that bracelet if the empire ever got ahold of them. She'd worried if they did, repairing the defect would cut her mind off from him, but now she simply refused to allow such defeatism. Harrison was too good to allow the empire to have him.

His guilt was palpable, and Kir hated that he'd had to act so uncharacteristically beastly, but it had the desired effect. She didn't need to did deep to feel the shift in the scrapper's mind. Doubt was suddenly replaced by shock and a deeply unsettled sense of unease around Harrison. Not quite fear, but he seemed more eager to send them on their way and be rid of the supposed enforcer.

"You were right, good thinking. I should've trusted you more to handle yourself. Your little show of force seemed to work. He seems less doubtful now and far more wary of you."

As they went through the motions of the transaction, Kir kept quiet, lingering decorously at Harrison's elbow. At some point they would need to nail down their dynamic if they ever had to play these roles again - and Kir felt certain they would at some point - otherwise they would both fail to play their parts believably. Harrison, brilliant Harrison, had thought to make it seem like they were new to each other and still finding their footing, and it had played very well in their favour this time. That probably wouldn't work again because they wouldn't have the benefit of the reality it was based on. They were still incredibly new to each other, and they were still learning to work together.

Slaves - X'hondrian or otherwise - had to bow to the whims of whoever owned them, and each dynamic was slightly different. X'hondrians had a strikingly unique appearance, and they were just as often prized for their beauty as they were for the wisdom gained over their long lives or the danger their abilities could pose. Each time they were bought and sold and passed around, they had to adapt to new expectations. Sometimes they were graciously laid out plainly, and sometimes it was trial-and-error to figure them out. At least this time she'd have a choice in the matter with Harrison to build the most believable cover story together.

"This feels like more your area of expertise than mine, but we need a recommendation for someone who deals in rare artefacts. Do you think we should ask him, or...?" Kir let the thought trail off, not feeling the need to finish it. Having learned her lesson trying to pose as a slave while also leading him, she'd trust him to take the lead on this.

Harrison was a bit relieved to know that his spur-of-the-moment plan didn't trigger Kir's PTSD, but he hoped that he wouldn't have to do it again. He could feel her concern for him. She was right. For the first time since this bracelet jumped on his wrist he was worried about what it would do to him or turn him into. He didn't want this to be routine for him. He didn't want to oppress people. His own people had known that experience for way too long. That's part of why he wanted to use this armor to crumble the empire's hold over the galaxy. It was to make up for his failure to do so for his people on Earth. He saved lives with the power he had, but he didn't change them. And that honestly always weighed on him.

He was glad that his plan worked for the time being. He still wanted out of this scrapyard and outpost as soon as possible. He wondered where they'd go next with their new ship. The galaxy was large and a lot likely changed in the fifty years since Kir has been on Earth. He wondered if there'd be any worlds willing to host a couple of runaway troublemakers. He wondered if a rebellion had already started. Actually, the reality officially hit him. They didn't have any idea of what was going on out here.

"I'll ask. Also, can you read the first unsuspecting mind once we're done here? We need to at least know the status of the empire and how enforcers are received here." Harrison replied before focusing on the bugman in front of them. "I have some rare cargo to unload. I know someone like you knows everything about everyone. Who here on this station wouldn't dare cheat an enforcer? I rather not make an example of someone today. As you can see by the ship I'm not having the best day."

Kir briefly wished she hadn't initiated the X'honnar with Harrison if only for the relief from the inner turmoil of his emotions. Part of her felt like she was spying on thoughts he wouldn't have allowed her to be privy to had it not been for the bond between them, and the other part simply wanted relief from the reminder of his actions that threatened to dredge up memories she was doing her best to ignore. She'd have to teach Harrison how to keep his thoughts private now that they shared such a bond. Turning away from the scrapper, the angle also kept her obscured just on the edge of Harrison's periphery unless he consciously turned to look at her. From the outside, it simply looked like she was watching the door, watching her enforcer's back, but for her it was a chance to remove herself from the situation in a way. Kir breathed with the slow, even pace of perfect calm as she shut out the parts of her mind that threatened to run wild. They needed to get off the station first. She could break down later, but for the moment their survival hinged on both of them keeping it together. So, she made herself a stranger in her own body. Her fingers felt foreign to her, the pattern of her breathing was no longer in her control, and even the clarity of her vision felt almost fuzzy at the edges like she was looking at the world through a dirty window. Her mind was hushed, and memory no longer threatened to undo her. X'hondrian's had a word for such a mental state, though it wasn't considered a healthy one. Unfortunately, sometimes one was forced to make an impossible choice between survival and a healthy mind.

Harrison's voice cut through the haze, reminding her she'd asked him a question only a moment ago. Her grip on time had slipped, too.

"I'll see what I can find out." Kir blocked out the exchange between the scrapper and Harrison behind her, and instead focused her mind outward, brushing over any mind that was open enough for her to probe without much effort.

If the scrapper noticed what she was doing, he didn't comment on it openly. He'd led them to a cashier's counter and was quickly punching in the ship's information into a terminal to calculate the worth by weight. He paused, raising his head slightly at the question of a buyer for rare valuables, clicking thoughtfully.

"If it's shiny, Dello's Collectibles on deck sixteen - he's got an eye for rare artefacts. Anything else - pre-imperial books, textiles, the like - Kestor hoards those like they're gold. Last I checked, he was running a black market stand a few decks down," he shared before turning his attention briefly back to his screen. A few more thoughtful noises and he added, "If you want imperial credits, best I can do is four-thousand."

Kir, having tuned back in to the conversation after scraping what she needed from passersby outside, scoffed incredulously but said nothing out loud. "Not even enough to buy half a ship fifty years ago. Take the money. We weren't planning to buy a ship anyway"

"Not enough for anything in the shipyards here," the insectoid confirmed what she'd just shared privately to Harrison. His voice took on an unsettling edge as he added, "But I'm sure money is no object for a fine enforcer such as yourself. Of course, if you allowed me to inspect the ship, I could perhaps offer more."

Kir rounded again, bristling with the irritable moodiness of her disjointed mind and body as she read the thoughts spilling out of him, "You're a vile, greedy little creature. You're only looking for a reason to give us less."

And right there in the open was the reason why X'hondrians were so coveted by the powerful. A person's words might say one thing, but an X'hondrian had the power to see right through to the core of their mind. Few were trained to shield their minds with any degree of efficacy, and even fewer still were wholly immune.

The insectoid raised his appendages defensively and stammered a reply, "No, no, of course not! I would never cheat an enforcer!"

"Ah, a liar and a cheat," Kir pressed.

"Tell you what-" he started, quickly dipping to unlock a door beneath the counter and removing imperial credits, stacking the small metal bars on the counter, "I'll double my offer. Eight-thousand imperial credits. Consider it gesture of good faith!"

"A wise choice," Kir stated as she stepped back, tucking herself behind Harrison's elbow again to let him take the credits and stash them for later. Eight thousand still wouldn't get them a ship, but it wasn't a bad place to start. At the very least it was more money than they had when they landed, and that was a win in itself. Once they sold her old slave bands, they'd be well enough off to get everything on their shopping list before setting off on the first leg of their crusade.

Once they exited the scrapper's shopfront into the passageway of the station, Kir looked up at Harrison with an impressed smile. She still didn't dare speak out loud for fear of someone hearing them break character, but their ability to speak telepathically was more than enough for her to share her thoughts.

"You were great back there, you know. Think you can handle Dello's on your own? That seems right up your alley, Indiana Jones. Best as I can tell, most people around here will avoid you. The empire still hasn't reached quite this far, and most people on this station are either refugees or criminals. Either way, they'd rather stay off the empire's radar. Your biggest threat is the scummy dealers trying to jerk you around, but I'm always with you if you need me. While you're selling to Dello, I can take care of the shopping and start scoping out potential ships we can commandeer."

Harrison was disappointed in himself for letting his guard down once the scrapper gave him the information he needed. It turned out he was a bit more rusty than he thought. It was the oldest trick in the book. Gain your mark's trust before you rip them off. Unfortunately for them an enforcer wouldn't let the slight go so easily unanswered. He remained quiet while Kir spoke on his behalf. He stood tall and with body language that expressed he was displeased with their host. He took the imperial credits once the exchange was over and placed them in the utility belt that his armor strangely provided. So much space and practicality with this thing.

He pretended to walk out with Kir, but he closed the door behind her before turning back to the slimy scrapper. He didn't need Kir's telepathy to feel the fear and nervousness seeping from the bug's pores. He could honestly smell it. Still, he approached him. The insect scuttered back and stuttered trying to say something. Harrison cut him off. "You had me believing I could trust you. Then you tried to cheat me, with my X'hondrian right next to me, no less. You insulted me. You insulted the empire and I know you're not a fool."

Harrison made his way around the counter and lifted the bug up by his collar. He instinctively cut off his thoughts to Kir at this point. "I didn't want her to see this. You see, she went through a lot. They all do, but the ones in the palace? Well, I'll leave it to your imagination. I don't have the time to waste tending to a flare up or being cheated by someone who I know knows better. I'll chalk it up to being part of the fabric of your DNA. You can't help but cheat people and someone who can't help but cheat people likely has a few bounties or enemies."

Harrison gave the scrapper time to think about what he was saying as he reached back with his free arm to smash open the drawer that held the imperial credits and took about two thousand more. "It'd be unfortunate if your face was plastered across the empire for them to find you. Consider it a gesture of good faith." He said with a smile behind his armored face, but conveyed it with his tone. He dropped the scrapper on the floor and walked out of the door to rejoin Kir.

"Sorry, I took so long." He thought to her. "Thank you for the help back there. I convinced him to give us ten in total. I'll be able to handle Dello's. If they're close he'll probably warn him not to mess with me. You should buy a cloak to wear around the station to not draw attention to yourself and some clothes for the ship. You deserve to dress as pretty as you are." He didn't mean to think the last part out loud, but it was true. He was glad she couldn't see how goofy he looked under his armor. He took this as the opportunity for them to go their separate ways. He had to go to deck sixteen.

"You deserve to dress as pretty as you are."

The words echoed in her mind and she nearly lost track of what he'd said before that. Kir blinked a few times, colour rising to her cheeks at the offhanded comment. Quickly averting her gaze and playing it off as scanning the area around them to get her bearings, she reminded herself that it was probably just that classically cavalier flirtation humans threw around all the time. She'd seen it from the pilots they brought in to try and figure out the flight systems on her ship. They marched through the hangars with their chest puffed, all brash and bravado and dripping with charm. Their flirtations never much interested her - they were just another oppressor in her mind - but Harrison was different. He was empathetic, kind-hearted, and genuine, but even the most genuine people could fall into the patterns and habits of their species, so she convinced herself that's all the comment was.

"I can do more than read minds; I'm sure I can still manage camouflage. But, you're right. We both need a change of clothes. Or several, really. Give me a thousand credits or so and I'll get us whatever's in fashion and some food." Kir held out one hand to take the credits from Harrison, pausing to put her other hand over his before he could pull back and looking up at him with a look that shifted into a worried smile, "Be careful, Harrison."

They'd known each other less than a day, and yet she found herself attached to him. It didn't help she'd performed the X'honnar with him already, but even without that she would have believed in him, in his idealism. He didn't even know her and yet he tossed everything aside to help her escape, leaving behind everything he'd ever known on his home planet to flee to the stars, and his first instinct was excitement and inciting a revolution. He was, in a word, incredible. Harrison was wholly unmatched in her experience. A century-and-a-half of life and she'd never met anyone quite like him. She needed him to be careful and stay safe because if something happened to him while the two of them were split up, she honestly wasn't quite sure how she'd shake that off and keep going. She'd been warned as a child that the loss of a X'honnar bonded partner was devastating, and she'd experienced it firsthand when taken from her parents. Now, she'd formed the first bond since she lost them and she was desperate not to lose it again.

As they split up, Kir glanced back over her shoulder once more before disappearing like a ghost to stay out of sight. She remembered where some of the more respectable retail was housed the last time she passed through, and hoped things had stayed relatively the same in the past few decades. So far, nothing seemed all that different. Maybe it was a bit seedier, but as she climbed a few more floors up it was like a whole different world. Shiny white corridors were light with the bright warmth of sun bulbs that mimicked natural light, and well-manicured planters lined walkways and hung from walls. It was almost like a paradise compared to what she was used to. If they didn't have big plans, it almost seemed like it would be a nice place to settle down. Maybe someday.

Kir ducked down a deserted hall to rematerialise before stepping back out into the main walkway, dodging the busy passersby. As she passed shop windows, peering inside at the offerings, she tried to recall what Harrison wore in his memories. Although she wouldn't be able to match it one-for-one, she could at least try to find things in fashion that might match his tastes. The styles had changed somewhat, but not unrecognisably so for which she was immensely grateful. She'd been on the cutting edge of couture as a slave considering the people she served were respected and powerful, and they couldn't have their X'hondrian looking raggedy next to them. For once, she was grateful for that knowledge as she stepped into one boutique that seemed to fit what she thought Harrison would like and picked out a handful of pieces he could mix and match.

She continued down to row of shops, one bag in hand for Harrison, and eventually stopped into another store for herself. Previously she had always been fitted and her clothes chosen for her to match the style and preference of whoever claimed ownership of her at the time, and although she and Harrison were in a hurry to get off the station, she took the time to try things on and decide what she personally liked. Kir couldn't remember the last time anything had been her choice, and she was almost paralysed with the weight of decision. Choosing for Harrison was easy because she had a framework of preference to base her selections on, but for herself? No such preference existed, at least not in any well-formed way. There were colours and textures she knew she liked, and silhouettes that suited her figure, but beyond that she had no idea. It took time to pin down what she liked. When she exited the shop, dressed freshly in new clothes now with a backpack slung over her shoulder holding the rest of what she'd bought for herself and Harrison. It wasn't lost on her that the things she'd picked for them lined up quite well with some of the concepts artists had envisioned for what fashion might look like in the future science-fiction imagined, but in a way she thought that might provide a comforting sort of familiarity for Harrison.

Kir made a final stop at a provisioner to stock up on enough rations to get them to the next port where they could enter as completely unknown cargo haulers, no need to rush or keep glancing over their shoulders. She was careful to select food that seemed agreeable to the human palate and not just her own. The thought of checking in on Harrison crossed her mind briefly as she handed over most of the remaining credits, but she worried about messing up his mojo if she did. He'd managed to cut her off when he'd gone back in to the scrapper, and she suspected he'd wanted to keep his actions and his words private so she didn't probe when he returned, and part of her wondered if the reason she felt disconnected from him now was that same reason. Or, perhaps, she was simply reading to far into things. He would check in when he was ready, she reminded herself. He had the far more risky task, after all.

Keeping her head down and her hood up, Kir made her way down to one of the landing hangars to start scoping out the ships. She tried not to seem suspicious, but at the same time tried to keep her face obscured and avoid drawing attention. There was nothing that could be done about the recognisability of X'hondrians, unfortunately.

Row after row of bulky passenger cruisers and heavy freighters filled the hangar, and she'd all but given up when a smaller ship caught her eye. It wasn't fancy or flashy, and it certainly wasn't new, but it seemed well maintained. The long-haul light freighter style was easily recognisable. They were reliable and efficient, and usually had fairly comfortable living quarters that weren't as cramped as the shuttle they'd just ditched. Something like that could easily carry them clear across the galaxy, and if the took on cargo during the planet hopping, they'd be able to use that for cover and keep themselves afloat with at least a small stream of income. It made perfect sense, and light freighters usually had some defensive capabilities to combat pirates but weren't so souped up that their computer systems were difficult to hijack.

It was perfect.

Now she just needed Harrison to touch base with her again so she could tell him. In the meantime, she decided to snoop a bit. The hangar was busy enough that no one seemed to cast a second glance, and she simply walked aboard via the lowered cargo ramp as if she belonged there. Kir could only feel one mind aboard, and they seemed busy in the cockpit. If she was lucky, she could just hide out and wait for them to leave, or suggest to their unsuspecting mind that something outside needed inspection, allowing her to take over the ship and make off with it. Kir tucked her bag out of sight into a corner of the cargo bay and quietly snuck through the ship. She didn't hear the door of the cockpit open as she was inspecting the contents of a cabinet in the galley kitchen, nor did she realise she was being watched until a voice spoke up to her left and far too close to her shoulder for her comfort.

"You're not a member of the crew, are you?" they chirped curiously, head tipped at an odd angle as if trying to get Kir at just the right spot in their field of view.

Kir nearly jumped out of her skin, yanking a can out of the cabinet and holding it up threateningly. The Aenid held up their hands defensively, stepping back slightly as if to show they didn't intend to harm her. Their head cocked slightly further, their jaw dropping as they blinked in disbelief, and Kir realised her hood had fallen down when she'd startled.

"Wow," was all they said. Kir raised the can a little higher, and they pressed their hands forward quickly, "Wait, wait, wait! I'm not part of the crew either!"

"How do you know I'm not?" she frowned.

"Cause no one flying a ship like this can afford an X'hondrian," they shrugged as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

"That's an insult to the ship."

"More of an insult to the crew probably, but my point still stands."

"So what are you doing on the ship?" she queried hesitantly.

"Stealing it. What are you doing?" they stated matter of factly.

"Stealing it," Kir admitted sheepishly.

"Well, if you're stealing it and I'm stealing it, then who's flying the ship?" they joked, laughing to themselves. Kir raised an eyebrow at them, but slowly lowered the can. "I appreciate that," they smiled gratefully.

"Are you alone?"

"Technically yes, unless you consider the several hundred unfertilised eggs I'm carrying to be good company. I am looking for someone to help me staff a crew, though. I'm not much of a leader myself."

"I never would have guessed," Kir teased. "You're sharp and more than a little weird. Would it be too on the nose to assume you're a pilot by trade?"

"How'd you guess?"

"A hunch," she smiled coyly.

"You read my mind," they stated certianly.

"Didn't need to. Pilots are all the same no matter where they're from."

"That's stereotyping." They chuckled.

"You started it." Kir scoffed.

"Well played. So, you seem more the leadership type, and you're alone. What's say we make an agreement?" They proposed hopefully.

"What sort?" Kir frowned, suspicious.

"I'll fly the ship. You do the leadership stuff."

"One problem," she sighed.

"What?"

"Two problems, actually. First, I'm not alone. Second, I don't even know your name."

"Zevrath," they offered.

"Not going to comment on my absent companion?"

"They can come, too," they added nonchalantly, waving dismissively.

"You're very trusting," Kir said, perplexed.

"You're very small. I think I can handle you if you try to come at me with that can," Zevrath mused.

"I can't agree to your offer without consulting my friend. I don't make unanimous decisions for us."

"How very liberal of you," they rolled their eye.

"I have a bad history with being ordered around. I’d rather not do it to him."

"I can only imagine. I'll be in the cockpit if you need me."

"You're just going to trust me to wander around the ship unsupervised?"

"What's the worst you can do? These ships have a double-hulled reinforced construction style. I'm not worried." He shrugged again before turning to walk away.

"Huh." Kir watched him go, stunned for a moment before going back to her snooping.

Deciding at that point it had been long enough, she reached out for Harrison, “I’ve found us a ship. And maybe a friend. If I share the route, can you find me in the lower freight hangar?”

If it wasn't for the translation function of his armor Harrison would not have been able to find his way around this labyrinth of a place. He thought the Mall of America or Singapore Chang Airport were complicated. This place was on a totally different level. He was glad that he ended up giving Kir the full ten thousand that they got from the scrapper or else he would've spent quite some time impulse buying and probably blowing his cover. He remained focused on his way to Dello's.

He knew immediately that he found his man when he saw the flamboyant merchant trying to draw people's attention to his wares. Harrison approached the storefront and stood in front of Dello silently. He was right. He was aware that he'd be coming this way. The scrapper was at least good for something.

Dello eyed Harrison curiously. "You can't be the enforcer I was warned of. I don't see your X'hondrian pet."

Harrison grunted. "I don't need her here to help me with someone who should know better than to short me. But you know she exists and that's all that matters for this." Harrison pulled out Kir's slave bands. He couldn't wait to get these things out of his possession. He dropped them on the counter in front for Dello to inspect while he inspected the arrayed artefacts and antiquities. "As you're aware, she was an imperial slave, but I have no need for such constraints. But I expect to not be cheated." Two treasures in particular caught his eye. One was a dagger. It reminded him of one of the ancient weapons he found in one of the tombs he excavated. He wanted it and almost wished he didn't give Kir all of the money. But he wanted what he saw beneath it even more. A black obsidian bracelet with diamonds placed strategically around it to resemble the asteroids that bedazzled the galaxy. Kir would love it. With jewelry being tainted for her this was perfect.

Dello finished inspecting every single centimeter of his soon to be new and shiny toy. It was in such wonderful shape. Perhaps the story of its origins were true, though he had no way of truly verifying it. He decided to take the enforcer's word for it. He looked up and noticed Harrison's wandering eyes and looked at the knife. "Ah. A beautiful weapon, isn't it?"

Harrison was surprised, but refused to show it. "Yes. Amazing craftmanship. Excellent blade and seems strong enough to not be destroyed by my armor." He turned his head back to Dello to see him smiling coyly. He didn't trust him, but he didn't need to. He just needed to get through this exchange. He turned his attention back to the knife and noticed that the bracelet beneath it was gone. He scanned the area to see if he could see anything or anyone to explain how it disappeared, but everyone seemed to be acting inconspicuously.

"A good eye, my friend. Well, I have a deal for you. I'll give you 25,000 and I'll toss in the dagger. When people see an enforcer wielding one of my blades it'll drum up good business." Dello said reaching for the dagger and the sheath that came with it. He then went under his counter to collect some imperial credits from his safe. They were sorted enough to where he was just able to reach in and grab the amount he needed. He handed everything to Harrison and Harrison placed the credits in his utility belt and the dagger attached itself to the hip of his armor like a magnet.

---

Harrison stood in front of a Station Directory to find the different hangars. He didn't know which one he was supposed to meet Kir in yet, but he might as well know how to get to each of them. He committed each route to memory and turned to walk to one, but was immediately hit in his torso by someone's body. He looked down to see a blue-skinned girl with furry-elf like ears. Her hair was white and her eyes seemed to stare into his soul. He reminded her a bit of Kir.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Enforcer, sir!" She said with a tone as innocent as her appearance. But she was anything, but.

Harrison grabbed her hand as it pulled out some of the imperial credits he just acquired. "Not so fast." He said, intending the pun. He didn't see her move for his belt. He just knew she was. He could tell she was a thief and he was her mark. He was actually setting her up for this very moment. He knew someone used super speed to steal the bracelet and figured that if he gave them the chance they'd try to steal from him, too. He was right. He brought her into an alley so they could talk without any prying eyes.

"Please don't hurt me, I'll scream!" The yellow-eyed girl said using them to try and gain sympathy.

"And? No one here will stop an enforcer from disciplining a thief." Harrison said still trying to maintain cover. He didn't actually plan on doing anything with her besides getting the bracelet she stole.

"You're not an enforcer." She said, giving up all pretenses and showing her true colors.

Harrison stepped back, but still held onto her hand. "How'd you know?" He asked, genuinely curious. If someone could figure out he wasn't who he said he was his first day out into the galaxy then their mission of rebellion was screwed.

"You don't walk like one and you try too hard when you talk like one. Plus, any enforcer with a X'hondrian would know what a Serennian is. The other most coveted species in the galaxy. Yours truly is one."

"Okay, you got me. I'm not an enforcer. I'm a human from Earth. I used this armor to become a superhero until I found out my government held Kir, my new X'hondrian friend, prisoner."

The Serennian girl held her hands to her mouth to contain her laughter. For one this guy expected her to believe that he was a human and that someone would use the enforcer's armor for good. She looked at him over her hands and none of his body language gave that he was lying or joking. No. He was serious. "Let me see your face."

Harrison was hesitant. "Why should I? You're a thief and I don't even know your name."

"From my point of view you're probably a plunderer who stole that suit and slave bands. But fine. I'm Lyris of Serenfolia."

Harrison willed for the helmet of his armor to open and peel back to reveal his face and hair. "I'm Harrison of Earth. But they called me Aegis, the world's shield. A pleasure to meet you."

Lyris couldn't believe it. A real deal human. She thought they were just rumors, myths, nightmarish stories that you told kids. But here was one and not only was he really handsome, but apparently he was some kind of hero and shield for his world. And wait. If he was actually a human and was being honest about his X'hondrian friend, then there was a free X'hondrian roaming the galaxy. Could it really be happening? No. She shouldn't get her hopes up. "Okay. I still don't truly believe you. If your X'hondrian is really your friend then why were you eyeing this?" Lyris asked pulling out the diamond obsidian bracelet with her free hand.

"I knew you took it. That's why I set my trap." Harrison said feeling confident.

"Actually, you fell for mine. I saw you wanted it and I was curious as to why." Lyris said with a smile. "But now I do. You like her, don't you?"

Harrison lowered his gaze and looked the other way. "No, I mean, she's pretty. I mean, she hasn't had anything nice in a long time and I thought she'd like to."

"Okay. It's official, I have to meet her. Where's your ship?" Lyris asked ready to join them.

"She's stealing one for us now. Hold on. That's her now. It looks like she found us one and a friend." Harrison said, finally letting go of her hand. He activated his helmet and projected a response to Ikir. "Yeah. And you're not the only one who picked up a friend. We'll meet you there. What do you know about Serenfolia?"

A wave of relief washed over Kir as she felt Harrison’s presence again in her mind. She’d tried not to worry, but she couldn’t help it. He was on his own for the first time, and he hadn’t even been in space for a full day. Anything could have happened. For all she knew, proximity to empire could reset his armour and steal him away. But it hadn’t. Nothing had happened, at least nothing bad. Kir breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned against a nearby wall.

And then he mentioned Serenfolia, and it threw her for a loop.

“Serenfolia is X’hondria’s sister planet,” she explained. ”The empire took it after X’hondria. I can tell you the whole story when you get here.”

Kir shared her memories to him of the hangar and where exactly to find the ship, adding at the end, “See you soon, Harr.”

She quickly grabbed the bag she had stashed with the clothes, leaving it out on a counter in the kitchen to unload later. She hadn’t been expecting company, so she hadn’t bought enough for more than herself and Harrison, but thankfully the kitchen was already pretty well stocked for whoever owned and crewed the ship, so they’d have enough to get by for a few days at least.

Abandoning the kitchen, she peeked into the cockpit to find Zev lounging comfortably. A progress bar was slowly creeping across the screen in front of him while he waited.

“What are you doing?” Kir asked.

“Clearing the ship’s logs. Everything except the most recent manifest. Cargo’s already loaded for a job, so I figure we can finish it, dump the ship and buy a new one,” Zev turned his chair to look at her.

“What’re we hauling that is going to get us enough for another ship?” Kir raised an eyebrow.

“Smuggling pays, sweetheart,” he shrugged. “Where’s your friend?”

“On the way, and he seems to have made a friend himself.”

“This ship maxes out at four. I hope he doesn’t pick up anymore strays on the way,” Zev teased lightly.

“Guess we’ll have to buy a bigger ship,” Kir shrugged mockingly, and they both laughed.

“So, I take it we’re friends now, too?” Zev asked, seeming genuine.

“Sure,” Kir nodded.

“Do friends get to know your name, or do I have to keep coming up with increasingly more uncomfortable nicknames until you have no choice but to tell me?”

“Kir a Ka’illit,” she stated.

“Oh, a full name. You really one-upped me there!”

“Aenids only have one name,” Kir pointed out.

“Maybe I’ll be Zevrath a Ka’illit one day,” he tipped his head.

“Don’t get your hopes up, fungoid,” she smiled sheepishly.

“Got a boyfriend back home? He doesn’t have to know about us,” he teased.

“No, nothing like that,” she chuckled. “I like ‘em a little more warm-blooded than you.”

“And I don’t like an easy woman,” he shrugged playfully.

Kir turned slightly, hearing footsteps coming up the cargo ramp, and her smile widened. She could tell it was Harrison, and she cast a glance back at the Aenid, “He’s here. Come and meet him?”

“Well, we can’t take off for another few minutes anyway,” Zev glanced back at the progress bar on the screen. It was almost complete, but they had time. He stood to his full height, head almost brushing the ceiling. Kir had been away too long. She realised this as she craned her neck to look up at him as he stooped to get through the doorway. “Let’s see who I have to thank for liberating such a fine specimen of X’hondrian biology from the clutches of the empire.”

“Not the empire - technically I liberated myself. Earth.”

“No kidding?” He paused, looking back at her with clear surprise. “Thought that place was a myth.”

“So did I till I landed face first in the American southwest.”

“Huh. You really are full of surprises, aren’t you?” he turned back to walked down toward the cargo bay.

Kir trailed behind him, nearly plowing into his backside as he stopped dead when he saw the enforcer armour. An arm shot out, immediate tucking her behind him as he inched back a bit. His other hand flew down to the weapon at his hip, only for Kir to quickly clamp hers over it to keep him from drawing.

“Wait! Zev, wait! That’s him!” She cried.

“That’s him? You didn’t say he’s an enforcer!” He exclaimed defensively, clearly freaked out.

“He’s not,” she pressed, her voice flatter this time as if to stress how serious she was.

“Honey, you might need to get your eyes checked…” Zev muttered to her, still not relaxing.

Trying to peek around Zevrath’s hulking form, she waved at Harrison, “He’s harmless, I promise. You can power down the armour, Harr.”

Harrison told Lyris where they were going and she took them on a route she personally knew would be free of prying eyes and ears. There's so much she wanted to know and hear. I mean, she was walking with a human! From Earth! Just this morning they weren't even real to her. Now here she was walking with one that was an enforcer free from the Empire's control. If the Elders of Serenfolia knew about this they would freak! Now that she thought about it, they needed to get out of here as soon as possible. If anyone were to find out that he exists the Empire would stop at nothing to capture him. She had no intentions of returning home before, but she definitely couldn't now. There was too much of an imperial presence on her world. It's where their soldiers and enforcers went to vacation. The empire's brainwashing methods were strange. It was like the enforcer armor became the hosts themselves. They retained their personalities and desires but they were twisted and corrupted tools of the empires. The emperor said move, you move. Kill, you kill. She couldn't let them do that to Harrison. He trusted her immediately despite her being a thief. Heck, when she gave him the bracelet back he offered her 5,000 credits just for the trouble of getting it. Someone like this was too pure for the galaxy. She really couldn't believe he was human.

"Okay, tell me about Earth, because you are not what we picture. I mean, physically, yes. You're a handsome, but odd freak of nature."

"Thank you?" Harrison answered confusedly. "I guess humans and Earth itself isn't a monolith. Even our cities and towns are different from each other. But it's a world separated by water and invisible borders. We don't get along as much as we should. Especially if someone's different from us."

"Different? You're all humans, aren't you? All from Earth?" Lyris asked. She didn't understand it. Even the different tribes on Serenfolia were connected. They all came from the same ancestors and were all connected to the nature of their planet. They held regular tribunals and celebrations together. Though much of it has been tainted since the empire turned their planet into a tourist destination and propaganda machine for the empire. But Earth didn't seem to be big enough to be divided like the galaxy was. Was water all it took for people to not see each other as people?

"Yes, we're all humans. But we all have different skin complexions and physical characteristics. On top of those divisions we have different countries that can't agree on rules or a way of life to follow. Then there's a group of humans who are born with the ability to use extraordinary powers, like your speed. There's been some progress in the fight for their acceptance. Is everyone on Serenfolia as fast as you or do you also have a rare gift?"

"Harrison of Earth, do not take this the wrong way. You humans are stupid. Skin complexions and physical characteristics? Your species sounds vain and ignorant as a whole but I prefer to believe there's more like you there. Someone who'd free a woman he just met and doesn't seem to freak out about any of the people he's come across since he's been in space. But to answer your question, no and yes? Yes and no? Every Serenian has a special gift bestowed upon them by the spirits of nature. Your gift fits you. That's why it's unique to each person. It's possible, but rare for more than one to have the same gift in a generation. I'm guessing you didn't have powers before you got your enforcer armor. It's still crazy to think it'd be used to protect anything. How did people react to an armored man flying through the sky?"

Harrison was amazed to hear about Serenians and their abilities. They reminded him a lot of the enhanced humans back home. Especially with their powers fitting who they are. Maybe the universe was more connected than they thought. "No offense taken, you're right. And thank you. They surprisingly took it pretty well. We have these things called comics on Earth. They're picture stories about superheroes fighting for truth and justice."

"And the moment you got your armor that's the first thing you did? Became one of those superheroes who fought for truth and justice? If you're not careful I might fall for you." Lyris said with a wink, but she honestly meant it. Love was the very last thing on her mind, but she might have just found someone to believe in.

"Justice? Yeah. Truth was a lot harder than the stories made it look. But I tried." Harrison said looking down.

Lyris placed her fingers underneath his chin to lift his head and kissed him on the cheek of his helmet. "You can finish if you ever go back."

Harrison blushed underneath his helmet and walked up the ramp of their new ship to see a hulking, yet lean, one-eyed figure standing before him. If it wasn't for Kir's voice reassuring him that he was at the right ship he would've freaked. He powered down his armor revealing the human and his Earth clothes underneath. "So we both seemed to pick up something not on the shopping list. Nice to meet you. I'm Harrison from Earth."

Zevrath stared, dumbstruck, at the human that revealed himself. The Serennian that trailed him was surprising in itself, but not as surprising as the human. By all accounts they were a nightmarish bedtime story, a fable meant to scare children into behaving. Except there one stood, in the flesh, right in front of him.

“This day just keeps getting weirder,” Zev commented. “This is not how I imagined this going at all. Pleasure’s mine, I guess. Call me Zev.”

Turning to look back at Kir, he stepped aside to give her space again now that he knew they were both safe, “I have so many questions starting with how did you end up shacking up with a broken enforcer.”

“You can ask me after we get off this station,” Kir pressed.

“Good point,” Zev nodded, “I’m going to try to get us out of here without raising the alarm, but I suggest you find something to hang onto. It might get a little hairy.”

“Noted,” Kir said, stepping out of his way to give him space to return to the cockpit. Turning back to Harrison, she smiled, “I guess we’ve got a full house. Glad you made it. Your clothes are in my bag in the kitchen if you want to go change.”

Humans and X’hondrians were hauntingly similar biologically, though there were some key differences in how their bodies worked mechanically. For example, X’hondrians had four heart-like organs that cycled their blood through the circulatory system instead of a single four-chambered heart like humans. Giving her attention fully to the Serennian that had come with Harrison, Kir pressed her palm flat over her chest, rubbing a small circle in the same direction her blood flowed before extending it as if gathering her hearts and offering them to the Serennian. It was an old gesture the sister tribes had shared as a customary greeting to each other. She’d been away fifty years, and depending on how imperial control of Serenfolia had changed the culture, it may well have been a lost symbol if the Serennian was particularly young. Past the age of physical maturity, it became difficult to tell just how old a Serennian or X’hondrian actually was. There was a time before the empire took X’hondria where the two worlds and their people had been close, and she hoped that feeling of familial camaraderie hadn’t been totally lost.

“My heart to yours, Serennian,” Kir greeted warmly. “It is so good to meet you. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had the pleasure of Serennian company. I’m Kir a Ka’illit.”

"Tell me about it, Zev. This is the craziest day of my life and I've had a lot of crazy days." His new friend was right. This was not what he was expecting when he woke up this morning back on Earth. But in a strange way, it just felt right. That they were all meant to meet today. It seemed like the galaxy, no the universe was bringing them together for a reason. But with things starting off so sweet and smooth now how long would that last? Will the story of this motley crew of thieves and explorers end in tragedy or joy? He hoped for the latter, but decided not to give into the fear the thoughts tried to form.

Harrison's attention was drawn to Kir when Zev stepped out of the way and walked to the cockpit. He immediately noticed her new outfit. The clothes fit her and who she was. He found himself staring for a bit. "Wow. You look beautiful, Kir. I'm glad you were able to find clothes that you like. And thank you. I'll go look and change. Can you join me when you're done? I have something I want to give you." He said before heading to the kitchen to look at the clothes she got him.

Lyris eyed the two after their exchange. Oh, they had it bad for each other. It was honestly so cute. Lyris returned the greeting to Kir, circling her two hearts and offering them to her new X'hondrian sister. "And my heart to yours, my sister. Daughter of Hope. I'm Lyris... Just Lyris." She decided not to give her, her full name. If she did there was no way she wouldn't have known who or what she was. Her name in itself was already a dead giveaway if she knew much of the Serenian culture, but if she did she hoped that she took the hint and wouldn't press the issue. She was more interested in her name than anything. Her mind was racing with the implications. Could the prophecy of their two people be coming true? "We have a lot to talk about. First being, how'd you snag yourself a human hottie?"

Kir smiled, puffing up a bit at the affectionate praise for the clothes she picked. Compared to Zevrath’s disingenuous-but-playful flirtations, Harrison’s did seem far more heartfelt and meaningful.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” she nodded. “I hope you like them. I might have taken a bit of inspiration from the adventure movie franchises I remember you like,” she added, referring to his love for Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

Left alone with Lyris, she was relieved to see their sisterhood hadn’t been lost to time or crushed under the oppressive bootheel of the empire. Her posture softened as their greetings passed. Lyris was a special name, but without the rest of her epithet it lacked the whole meaning. If she wasn’t giving it, Kir assumed there was a reason. All of them probably had their own secrets, things they kept to themselves for safety or whatever other reasons they might have. If they stayed together long, perhaps the trust built would lead to revelations, but for now she decided to leave it be. It wouldn’t benefit either of them if she were to pressure Lyris to reveal more than she was ready to.

“May Ka’illit’s eye watch over you,” she finished their formalities when Lyris introduced herself.

They had so much to talk about. Kir still hadn’t had a chance to catch up on what had changed in the past five decades. How much had the empire spread? How was X’hondria? And the X’hondrians - how did they fare? And Serenfolia, for that matter? She had so many questions, and she hated feeling so deeply uninformed about the whole galaxy, not to mention her own home, her own people, and the people of her sister tribe. Of course, Lyris didn’t start there. Then again, Lyris had no idea how out of the loop she really was.

“Oh- Oh, no, you have it all wrong!” Kir spluttered. “We’re not- It’s nothing like- I mean, he just helped me escape imprisonment on Earth!”

Smooth. Real smooth, Kir, she thought to herself.

“It’s just that after he rescued me, he would have been a fugitive no matter where on Earth he went,” she clarified, as if further explanation made it any less obvious she was flustered by the very mention of them sharing any romantic feelings. Blue tinged her cheeks deeper as she spoke, “And I promised him I’d help him find a way to disengage the enforcer bracelet. It’s broken, but it’s still fused to him. The galaxy is a big place; surely someone has figured out how to remove them without killing the host by now?”

Around them, the ship whirred to life. The cargo ramp lifted and closed, sealing them in as the ship lifted off. Zev’s voice came over the speakers throughout the ship, “We’ve got clearance for take-off. I think we’ve dodged suspicion, but I’m gonna punch it as soon as we’re clear of the station. Hang tight. Next stop Villa.”

Another relief. Still, their luck had been too good up to that point. Something had to go wrong somewhere, and although Kir didn’t want to borrow trouble, she worried about being too complacent. She frowned but turned her attention back to Lyris and opted to change the subject away from her affections toward Harrison.

“Tell me about Serenfolia. How does she fare? And your people?” Kir asked, her tone heavy with concern.