“Do not, and I don’t mean this as some request that we can damn well fix after it happens. I mean this as a we don’t need another interstellar war, so please fucking listen to type of request. Do not touch anything unless I tell you to,” Twonger said as the ship docked with a large space station. Cal had been watching the approach from the front viewing window, amazed at the reality of what he was seeing. Sure, he had seen some marvels already, but nothing quite like this.


    Outside the ship was a giant work of metal suspended in space, orbiting a distant sun, and for some reason, this colossal piece of engineering was the most awe-inspiring thing Cal could remember seeing so far in the loops. It looked to be bigger than the Earth and yet entirely constructed. Several rings surrounded metal spires with thousands of ships already docked. How many people lived in this? Considering how many people lived on Earth alone, and the planet was solid, Cal had to imagine it easily dwarfed that of his home world.


    Next to him, Cal imagined the other newcomers to this level of space travel were having a similar reaction as he was. His reasons for thinking that were the near identical open-mouthed stares all three of them had as they studied the sight before them. Had he looked the same? Most likely, yes.


    Bill was the first to break the silent stare and respond to the Twonger’s loud warning. “Is it really that much of a risk to touch anything on the station? I mean, touching things back home didn’t generally carry a risk of a war.”


    “I’m overplaying the danger a bit, somewhat for comedic effect and somewhat because I want y’all to understand I won’t have any way to save you if you piss off the wrong people, and as far I understand, we want this loop to keep going, so Cal ain’t allowed to die,” Twonger explained.


    “I suppose there is the fact that Glurm is so much stronger than us, meaning it’s likely there are some extremely powerful casters around here, too,” Andy said, adding to Twonger’s warning.


    “Yeah, and no. You all are stupidly powerful for how little mana you can all channel. The frog is on a whole other level. There is something about people from your planet, that’s for sure. He, of course, ain’t the only one out in the universe at that power level, but god, I hope we aren’t about to run into one of them on Cortius; that would be a disaster. He’s one of the nice ones,” Twonger explained. If Glurm was one of the nice ones Cal was sure he agreed with the Cyclopean’s sentiment.


    “Are you serious about Glurm being the nice one?” Cal asked, growing somewhat concerned at that thought.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    “Yeah, let me be real clear on that one. Before Glurm, I didn’t know they came nice,” Twonger answered.


    “That isn’t exactly reassuring. You get that Glurm is kind of an ass, right?” Andy asked, shaking his head at the alien.


    “Yep, and despite that fact, he hasn’t killed a single one of us, despite the fact we keep ignoring his requests. Most people with his kind of power don’t ask. They just kill you for annoying them without a second glance at you. I wouldn’t be surprised if a big part of why the frog is an ass is because of the kind of people he’s had to deal with at that level. Hell, he might have been as nice as Bill at some point,” Twonger said. With how Glurm had treated Emily, Cal, to his own surprise, had a feeling Twonger was right. The frog likely was a much nicer person than they had given him credit for. Considering his own anger issues, thanks to what he had been forced into, he understood.


    A loud clicking sound reverberated across the ship before a voice came over the comm. “Docking locked, clear to disembark.”


    “Alright, idiots, come on, and try not to get us all killed,” Twonger said as he turned and walked away, Cal and the others following.


    “So, do you really think we will be able to find a way to remove this collar here?” Sean asked us as we walked, the note of desperation clear.


    “Probably. Twonger can be a jerk, but he isn’t generally cruel,” Andy answered.


    “Speak for yourself. He’s killed me a hundred or so times,” Cal answered.


    “Uh, are you serious? I’m not great at detecting sarcasm, and you all make it all the harder,” Sean replied, looking from Andy to Cal quickly.


    “Oh, he’s serious. Well, I think he is. Can’t really remember anything before the final attempt,” Twonger answered, laughing loudly as he opened an airlock, letting a rush of strange scents blow past us as the environments meshed. Cal hadn’t thought to ask before, but it seemed the environment was safe for them to breathe.


    “Welcome to Cortius boarding dock one hundred and seventy-two. Is there anything to declare?” a feminine voice asked. The voice belonged to a large a large green creature resembling a squid crossed with a horse. Squidaur? Cal decided it was best not to voice that thought.


    “These four have never been out of their system before. They will probably need a full biological contaminant scan. Beyond that, nah. We are just here to buy, not sell,” Twonger answered, pointing to Cal and the others.


    “Ah, well then, glad we could be your first trip from home. I hope we can impress you enough to bring back others in the future. But if you could step over here, I’ll need each of you to go through the scanner,” they said, pointing to something that looked like a metal detector.


    Cal stepped through first to a single beep and an all clear. “So, what does this thing scan for anyway?” Cal asked as Andy was stepping through. Immediately fourteen loud beeps sounded in a row and a giant red caution flashed on a screen.


    “Many things. Sir I’m going to need you step over here for a more in depth examination. You said this was your first times out of your system, but have you ever left your universe before?” they asked, their voice changing from niceness to firm.