“The nearest planet I found is Cedroria,” said the botanist, leaning over the control panel.


    “Cedroria?” snorted Hefri. “Does that shithole have any repair stations?”


    “Does that shithole know how a spaceship looks like?” added Andvari.


    Erilaz raised his hands. “It’s not that bad, most of this planet is just mushroom jungles, but there’s…”


    “Oh, I forgot, mushroom jungles.” Hefri wrinkled her forehead and twisted her mouth. “What if we crash into one of them? We’re gonna starve to death, since nearly all these mushrooms are poisonous!”


    Andvari crossed his arms. “What’s the difference? I hate mushrooms anyway…”


    “Vardir Erilaz is right,” said the botanist. “It’s not that bad, I’ll land next to some small city. We’ll be there in…” He glanced at a screen with parameters. “In four hours.”


    “Mushrooms…” muttered Andvari and flinched. “Disgusting.”


    As their ship reached the Cedroria system, the botanist requested an emergency landing. An hour later, the planet in front of them appeared no different that its three moons. All four celestial bodies resembled a clump of ginger clay, ashy mud and pale-brown dirt, but only Cedroria’s surface was marked by a myriad of tiny, grey-blue seas.


    They had to approach at a distance of ten thousand kilometres to notice that the silver stains in the shape of sprawling roots were actually cities and towns. The flight controller let them land near one of them, since the whizzing of a damaged engine filled the whole ship with a quiet, yet ear-splitting buzz.


    The ship sat on a nearly abandoned airfield. Only a few old, clunky vehicles stood nearby, and the buildings around didn’t look much better. A few windows were broken, awful graffiti covered the bricky walls, and rubbish or debris stuck in the storm drains. Pewter clouds in the sky and omnipresent puddles or damp patches added even worse vibes to this whole town. A few citizens strolled by the streets, but they sped up their pace at the very sight of the strange vehicle.


    As only the botanist tapped an icon, and the hatch to the ship opened, a smell of wet dirt and a feeble scent of mycelium barged inside. Erilaz left the vehicle first and looked around the airfield.


    “Do you have any weapons?” he asked.


    The botanist slipped his hands into the pockets of his long coat. “Only one gun.”


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    “It’s not good,” said Hefri, and stood at the doorway with her arms crossed.


    Andvari joined her, peeking out from the ship. “Yeah. How are we supposed to look for help like this?”


    Erilaz propped his chin and stared at the ground. After a while, he spoke up, “Andvari and me may look around. And you, Hefri, could stay here.”


    Hefri sighed and nodded. “Fair enough. I think I could have injured a muscle in my leg.”


    “Does it still hurt?” asked Erilaz.


    Hefri shrugged. “A little bit. Nothing serious, but I don’t want to slow you down.” She pursed her lips in disappointment, but then she opened her eyes wider. “Wait, are you two sure you want to sightsee an unfamiliar town by yourself?”


    Andvari tilted his head. “And do you have any better ideas, you genius?”


    Hefri narrowed her eyebrows. “Yes, we can kick you out of this ship and weld the door closed.”


    “Good luck with starving to death!”


    “Andvari,” hissed Erilaz, clenching his teeth and craning his neck. “Come with me or I’m going alone.”


    “No!” Andvari reached his hands and trotted down the gangplank. “I won’t leave you alone in this wild, alien place!”


    Hefri contorted her mouth, glaring at him. “Get lost.”


    Andvari proudly raised his head. “At least I’ll be far away from you.”


    “Dear tour group,” began Erilaz, his shoulders drooped wearily. “Please gather your luggage and get off your backside, okay?”


    Andvari saluted. “Sure, our tour guide.” He swirled on his heel and marched back into the ship.


    Erilaz sighed with a feeble smirk. His friends’ scrambles and jibes let him find a little bit of normality among the chaos he experienced for the last few days. Such a little thing inspired him to pull himself together every morning. He was sure he would go crazy without them.


    Half an hour later, Erilaz and Andvari left the airfield. The only weapons they had were a gun with five bullets and a metal rod, which Andvari found in a storm drain. Only their appearance could deter potential thugs – two tall, muscular Celestians might have discouraged a bunch of kids or a single robber.


    When a young Ifrit sneaked out of a stairwell near them, Andvari waved to him.


    “Hey! Do you have a moment!?”


    The Ifrit narrowed his eyes and sped up.


    “We have a question,” Andvari carried on. “Do you know someone who can fix ships or…”


    The young reptile only shook his head and trotted along the wall. Andvari crossed his arms, glaring at the stranger. “Little mean bastard. Do they even know what good manners are?”


    Erilaz tilted his head and leant closer to his friend. “Maybe yelling like a crazy isn’t a good idea right now? Especially when you’re holding a metal rod like this?”


    Andvari lowered his eyebrows. “What else do you want to do?”


    Erilaz glanced at the stairwell. “I think we can just enter this building and knock at someone’s door. Just be nice and try to look innocent.”


    “Sounds good,” muttered Andvari, brushing his loose dreadlocks aside. “But aren’t we invading their… personal space?”


    “Come on, they can’t hurt us too quickly.” Erilaz patted the gun on his belt. “Let’s try to handle it peacefully.”


    Andvari pursed his lips, although he nodded.


    As only they approached the stairwell, the window on the ground floor opened. Erilaz reached his hand to stop Andvari.


    “Wait,” he whispered, putting his finger to his mouth.


    They took a few steps back, keeping their eyes on the shadow inside the room. The silhouette bent down, and when it straightened up, it hurled an empty bottle through the window. Gasping in surprise, Erilaz and Andvari leapt aside, letting the bottle ricochet against the ground and fly to the other end of the lane.


    “Let’s go,” muttered Erilaz. He trotted away, and his friend followed him, glaring with spite over his shoulder.