<section>


    <section>Summary of results of Key and Key Fragment implantation in subjects: Galactic Year Solvist 597, Day Cycle 483</section>


    <section>Silvarian: Item remains inert.</section>


    <section>Uxlik: Item remains inert.</section>


    <section>Human: Item reaction varies unpredictably. The worst reactions include transformation into hostile crystalline creatures. The best reactions include humans retaining their obedience and intelligence, with added abilities such as controlling specific Ancient technology.</section>


    <section>Floviran: Item reaction varies unpredictably. Reactions seem less pronounced than with human subjects but vary along the same lines. Subjects are less likely to retain obedience and intelligence.</section>


    <section>Javali: The item transforms the subject into a hostile crystalline creature. Limited control over Ancients technology.</section>


    <section></section>


    <section>From the files of Si’l Vala Reshka’i, head of Ancients research, Silva Prime</section>


    <section>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</section>


    <section></section>


    <section></section>


    Miracles? Maggie’s mind went to her mother and all the time she spent in the hospital, all the things that they had tried to keep her legs working. Robin had said that some people could heal the sick with these key things. If she could heal the sick, maybe she could heal her mom. That could make this whole insane mess worth it.


    “Do you think it could help someone be able to walk again?” Maggie asked softly, giving voice to the hope.


    “Well, I’m not sure if the Key itself would grant that type of power, but Ancients technology is the basis for the technology we use on the stations and in the medical bays, so why not? Is there someone specific you have in mind to help?” Robin asked gently.


    “My Mom. Her health hasn’t been great for a long time. A few years ago, she started to lose strength in her legs. If I assume this is real, which I’m still not sure about! If I assume this is real, I’ll cooperate if you promise to help her.” It was a gamble, Maggie knew it was a gamble. But this whole thing was just so crazy! She stared through the window as the weird tendril thing pulled them in towards what she could only assume from TV and movies were docking bays. Robin looked at Theseus, his forehead wrinkling in thought. But if he was hoping for some type of guidance, he didn’t get it. The other man just shrugged and returned to his work, yet another breadstick in his mouth.


    Robin sighed and looked back at Maggie. “Alright, we’ll do our best to help her. We may have to bring her out here so that our doctors can look at her, though. Do you think she’d be willing to do that?”


    Behind him, Theseus let out a choking sound. “You want us to kidnap another person from Earth? Have you lost your mind?”


    Robin ignored him, instead smiling gently at Maggie. “Think carefully, it’s an enormous shock to go from being a normal Earthling to a space traveler.”


    “I-” Maggie paused, thinking about her mother and her general attitude toward technology and the idea of aliens. It was pushing things a bit to assume she’d jump at a chance to get healed by aliens, she didn’t even want to go to the big hospital in the city! Instead, sticking with Doc Zimmerman and whatever his methods were instead. She wouldn’t have gone to the Starry Rest Rehab center if Doc Zimmerman hadn’t recommended it. It was supposed to be very holistic and all that jazz. “Maybe? If I could talk to her, maybe I could convince her.”


    “That video message you made is about all we can do,” Theseus said firmly. “I’m not kidnapping more Earthlings.”


    As the ship passed through a semi-transparent barrier and into the docking bay it shuddered, the metal letting out a groan of complaint. Maggie couldn’t help noticing how some of the giant screws that held the bunks to the walls rattled, one falling to the floor. Gently, the tendril deposited them onto a large circle marked out on the floor, then snaked back out to retrieve another ship. The bay was as big as a warehouse, and just about as fancy. Piles of scraps and parts were stacked against the wall in no order Maggie could understand, and of the seven other ships already in the bay, at least half looked like they had been made from those piles of junk.


    “It was worth a shot,” Maggie muttered. She stood up, heading over to stand just out of Theseus’s reach as she stared out the window. It all felt so real, and she couldn’t help but think that there was no way she could ever have imagined this. People moved over, in and around the ships, repairing them, refueling them, or cleaning them. Some were as big as a car, but others were massive, the people crawling over it like ants on a tree. Compared to most of them, Theseus’s ship was tiny!


    And then there was the sheer strangeness of the people that filled the bay. Most were human, but as some of them passed closer to the ship, Maggie realized there were plenty that weren’t human at all. A mermaid floated along in a water bubble, and giant otters zipped along on all fours or waddled along on their hind legs beside humans. A large man with tusks even let one of the otter creatures sit on his shoulder as they walked across the wide space between ships.


    In all the strangeness, one human woman stood out. Perhaps it was her fire-engine red hair, or the way she stood just outside the circle, glaring at the ship as it landed, but Maggie''s eyes went straight to her.


    Theseus sighed as he flipped more switches, the ship’s metal groaning faintly at the rapid temperature and pressure change. “I was hoping she would send someone else. Didn’t expect it, but hoped.”


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The door at the back hissed and popped like the metal lid of a glass jar. “Who is she?” Maggie asked, wondering if the woman could see inside the ship. She felt self-conscious suddenly, tugging at her oversized Alexandria University t-shirt. It certainly wasn’t the first impression she wanted to make as a first contact.


    But wait... most of these people looked human. And Robin had mentioned something about people being abducted as far back as Ancient Egypt! That hadn’t clicked when he said it, but she wasn’t really a first contact at all.


    She still didn’t think sushi cat pajamas, an oversized shirt, and bright green slippers were good for making a first impression, though.


    “Flame. She’s the leader of the Liberty Coalition we were telling you about. She’s also the one who bought the Key from us. Not sure how we’re going to explain coming back with you.”


    “Just be honest,” Robin said. “Besides, she only paid half up front. She still owes us the rest. Don’t let her scare you, Maggie; you shouldn’t have to deal with her often.”


    “Are you kidding? She looks pissed! Does she already know that your Key is coming with a side of kidnap victim?” Maggie asked. Don''t be scared; the woman even had a gun! Didn’t they see the gun on her hip?


    “That’s just her normal face. Don’t worry. Hey, I know! I can come with you, keep you company, and help you find your way around. Like a fancy GPS. Or UPS. Universal Positioning Service.” Robin grinned, a look of mischief crossing his face.


    “Wait, what?” Theseus stared at Robin, eyebrows raising. “How are you going to work that?”


    “Easy! You’ll get our guest a shiny new tablet, and I’ll hop into it, as neat as you please. Come on, little brother, I won’t be gone forever! Besides, we can’t just leave her alone when we got her into this situation.” Robin said.


    “We were born at the same time. Who are you calling little brother?”


    “Technically, I’m three minutes older than you. So you should do what I say, and I say that we don’t just leave her alone here.” Robin flickered, his form sliding across the floor like a lagging game avatar until he stood directly in front of Theseus.


    “Technically, you stopped aging when you died, so I’m about four years older than you now.” Theseus growled.


    “Oh, that’s just cold.” Robin winced, his smile getting a little strained. “Think of it this way: you’ll get a break from me, maybe have a girl over for a change. It’d be good for you to have some time away from me, and it’d be nice to get off the ship for a bit. I’ve barely been off it since the accident.”


    “Yeah... I guess you’re right. Until then, read a book or something; there are some new ones on the computer for you.” Theseus pressed a button on the wall, and a drawer popped open. He pulled a leather messenger bag out and slung it over his shoulder.


    “Oh! Something other than Shakespeare?” Robin laughed. His image flickered for a moment, and suddenly he was holding a book, a playful smirk on his face. “Lets see... A Midsummers Nightmare? Really, Theseus? Grandfather would be rolling in his grave. But I suppose it’s at least better than a Midsummer Nights Wet Dream. I swear Dad was going to explode when he found that one in the computer.”


    Even Theseus cracked a smile at that, letting out a chuckle. “Yeah, that was your doing though. And you did it just to get a reaction.”


    Maggie watched the two brothers banter, a surreal feeling coming over her. They sounded just like Becca and Ross on game night. Except she didn’t think they had ever argued about Shakespearean porn.


    “True,” Robin admitted and tossed the holographic book to the side, where it disappeared with a flicker. “Go on out there before Flame blows a gasket. And get me a nice tablet. I want to be able to project.”


    “It’ll cut into our ship’s funds,” Theseus said, his shoulders slumping slightly. Well, Maggie could understand the reluctance with that. Every dollar spent out of her car fund was painful. It wasn’t even like she needed a car in Alexandria, but she wanted to drive to the city sometimes.


    “We’ll make it up. Don’t worry.” Robin patted Theseus’s shoulder, the hand sinking through him a little. “With luck, Doc will get the key out quickly, and we can take Maggie home.”


    Theseus frowned but didn’t comment. Instead, he cranked the giant wheel on the door and used most of his weight to shove the thing open. It was at least a foot thick, with what looked like two rubber seals completely circling the frame. “Come on, I doubt Flame will hurt you. She’s a freedom fighter, not a monster.”


    Maggie looked at Theseus, the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach growing. “You doubt she’ll hurt me?”


    “It’ll be fine,” Robin said from behind Maggie. A ramp slid out from beneath the door, landing on the bay floor with a slight bounce. “We won’t let her hurt you.”


    Oh, great. This Flame person sounded worse and worse.


    Warm, humid air washed into the cabin, carrying the scent of water, metal, and what smelled like laundry detergent. Theseus hopped down out of the ship, completely ignoring the ramp to land with a bounce on the weird material that covered the floor of the bay. Maggie took the slower route down, not that it was far, but she didn’t feel too steady and she didn’t want to jar her hand any more than necessary.


    The red-haired woman strode up to them, arms crossed, and face lined with disapproval. “Goodfellow, I paid you to bring me a Key, not a new girlfriend.” She spoke English, but her accent reminded Maggie of whatever language Theseus had been speaking to the person over the computer.


    “We brought the Key. It’s just that there were,” Theseus glanced at Maggie, wincing slightly. “Complications.”


    “I do not approve of complications. I do not pay you for complications; I pay you for results.” Flame snapped, her cold eyes narrowing. “No Key, no pay. And I know you can’t afford to return what I’ve already paid you. Not if you want to keep that rust bucket you call a ship still running.”


    “We got the Key. We brought you the key. It’s just that it’s- well, it’s already bonded with someone.” Theseus cringed as the words came out of his mouth. He gently touched Maggie’s shoulder as Flame’s face turned red. “This is Maggie, she’s got the Key now.”


    “I paid you for a Key, not a Key Holder!” Flame snapped, one of her hands moving to her gun. “What kind of trick are you trying to pull? We had a deal!”


    “No trick! It was an accident, I swear it! But Maggie has agreed to help us out. We thought maybe S’il Vala Tomas could get it out.” Theseus spoke quickly, moving just a bit in front of Maggie, putting himself between her and the gun.


    “How does that type of accident happen? You had the Key for four years with no accidents like this!”


    “That’s not important,” Theseus said quickly, his face turning red with embarrassment. “We’ve fulfilled our end of the bargain. The sooner Si’l Vala Tomas can look at it, the more likely he can get it out, and we can all go our separate ways.”


    Flames nostrils flared, and her next words were a growl. “Doctor Tomas has never removed a Key. You know this.”


    “He hasn’t had many chances. Come on, Flame, what do you have to lose?” Theseus looked between the two of them. “Maggie doesn’t want the Key any more than you want her to have it, so give Doc Tomas a chance!”


    Flame let out a bitter laugh, looking Maggie over with a sneer. “Smart girl. Fine. Take her to Doctor Tomas. But I’m holding the rest of your pay until I have that Key. Even if I have to kill your new girlfriend to get it.”


    </section>