《Out There》 Chapter One Specks of light infinitely decorated the visible universe. At a glance, what produced each shimmer was a total mystery. Everything orbited from impossible distances, veiled behind light that proved their existence. One of the lights grew brighter until it was revealed to be a spaceship. As the ship traveled by, a figure was seen running within a giant spacecraft. Jet panted into the helmet of her spacesuit as she sprinted on the exterior bridges and platforms of the vault complex. She was holding onto a metal suitcase with an iron grip. The glass portion of Jet¡¯s helmet was purposefully darkened, so that no one could spot her face. Her helmet was also uniquely designed to fit around the two horns on her head. She ran swiftly as alarms within the vault complex flashed with warning. She rounded a corner to find a guard with a helmet that masked their appearance running towards her. Jet instantly picked up momentum and adjusted her gravity-regulator to leap over the oncoming guard and land behind them. She then kept sprinting as the guard turned around to chase her. Jet dove into a narrow alley within the spacecraft, running between walls that towered above and below her. Another guard appeared from the other end of the alley and Jet staggered back before leaping off the platform towards a ladder on the wall across from her. In the empty space between the alley, she floated weightlessly as she took hold of the ladder with her free hand and propelled herself upwards towards another bridge. Once she was on the higher bridge, her gravity-regulator reactivated as she stood on a new floor within the vault complex. The new bridge appeared to be a docking area for visiting spaceships, which were meant for travel and so were miniscule compared to the vast vault complex. As Jet panted heavily while glancing around the unoccupied bridge, she noticed that the gangway to one of the ships was open. She pushed herself to race towards the gangway, which hovered a few feet above the bridge. Jet leaped and her gravity-regulator adjusted for her to land on the gangway¡¯s vertical floor. The neon green lighting inside the tunnel reflected off of her dark helmet. She glanced back to ensure that she wasn¡¯t spotted before cautiously treading to the end of the gangway and entering the ship¡¯s airlock. --- Inside the vault complex¡¯s trade-in floor, Kepler stood before a booth where an employee was inspecting a crate full of salvaged parts of machines. Kepler silently rocked back and forth in their boots as they waited. The front part of their helmet was open, revealing that they were an alien made out of green vines and leaves. While the rest of their humanoid body was covered by the spacesuit, inside their helmet resembled a pothos plant. The employee, who was an alien that resembled a pink squid with several eyes, brought up a hologram over the counter between himself and Kepler. The hologram depicted each item in the crate and what the vault complex would take for what price. The employee took an electronic pen to highlight the prices displayed within the hologram. ¡°This is the best that we can do for you,¡± he stated dryly. Kepler¡¯s leaves rustled a bit. They took an electronic pen from the jar on their side of the counter and used it to highlight an engine part. ¡°This piece should be able to sell. I repaired it myself, and now it works good as new.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good as new; it¡¯s nearly a decade old.¡± The employee rubbed some of his eyes tiredly. ¡°Modern engines aren¡¯t looking for parts like this anymore.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s plenty of engines that would need this!¡± Kepler protested. ¡°Since when have you been so discriminatory to older models?¡± ¡°Since we¡¯ve been working under Satellite. Now we have a mandate that all technology that is traded in here must be no older than five years.¡± Kepler paused for a moment as their hands fidgeted with the electronic pen. They then asked in a small voice, ¡°You were bought out by Satellite?¡± The employee ignored the question and continued. ¡°We also have a service for taking your older devices to the nearest junkyard, if you¡¯re interested in that.¡± They grumbled irritably as they glared at the ceiling. ¡°These are all salvaged from a junkyard.¡± The employee narrowed his eyes. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t be doing that.¡± ¡°Just give me back my stuff,¡± Kepler said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m done here.¡± He shrugged and pushed the full crate back over the counter. The employee looked at Kepler sternly and said, ¡°Make sure you return the pen. We¡¯re not handing those out for free.¡± Then he got up and left the booth. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Kepler scoffed as they looked down at the pen in their hand. They glanced back up to make sure that the employee was gone before throwing it into their crate. They closed the top of the crate to keep everything contained before walking back through the lobby full of aliens waiting to trade at one of the booths. As Kepler carried their crate out past the lines of aliens, they called out, ¡°If you have any tech make sure it¡¯s younger than five years!¡± Then they closed the glass front of their helmet to go through the airlock and out to the exterior of the vault complex. They walked on the connecting bridge back towards their ship before they noticed surrounding lights flash with warning. Then an intercom spoke into the headset of their helmet, saying, ¡°There has been a robbery. Please move to the nearest lobby as we search for the culprit.¡± Kepler felt their vines freeze up for a moment. ¡°Seriously, for a pen!?¡± Adrenaline then started kicking in and they ran with their crate to their spaceship. They hurried around a few more turns before they finally made it to the bridge where their ship was docked. Their leaves rustled as they realized that they left the gangway open again before jumping in and entering the airlock, where they could close off the gangway and have it shrink back to become a part of the bottom of the ship. Kepler then opened up the hatch door that led to the common area inside their ship, which was cramped and full of various crates and parts of machines. They added their crate to the room and then headed into the bridge, where they piloted their ship to speed away from the vault complex. Kepler¡¯s leaves sighed as they sunk back into their seat and traveled through the void of space, with the vault complex shrinking on a rearview screen until it was no longer visible. They opened the front of their helmet to listen to the humming of the engine and the running machinery that beeped at different high-pitched tones occasionally. It all turned into white noise. They glanced at the other seats in the bridge, which were as always completely empty. ¡°Welp!¡± Kepler threw the ship into autopilot and quickly got out of their seat to avoid just sitting alone with nothing but their own thoughts. ¡°Time for music.¡± They went back into the common area where a keyboard sat next to a pile of crates, and had it play an upbeat synth track. Kepler danced around in the small amount of space they had available, waving their vines in sync to the music. A loud crash sounded from the engine room below and Kepler instantly froze before turning off the keyboard. They cautiously stepped towards the stairs that led to the dim engine room, and turned the headlamp on their helmet on to see if they could spot anything down there. Suddenly, a figure with their helmet purposefully darkened to hide their identity ran up the stairs and tackled Kepler over. Kepler grunted as their back hit the floor and a second later, the stranger was gone. Kepler stared at the ceiling in a dazed state as the pain in their back started to settle in. A part of them was desperately urging them to hurry, while another part of them was still trying to comprehend what was happening. They shook their vines in an effort to take control of themself before they rolled onto their side. Now they could see the stranger in the bridge messing with the ship¡¯s controls. ¡°Hey!¡± Panic surged through Kepler as they scrambled to their feet. They rushed into the bridge and grabbed the stranger by the arm to tug them away from the control panel. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing-¡± They were interrupted as the stranger forcefully hit Kepler with their elbow. Kepler recoiled from the hit, and watched as the stranger threw the ship into top speed. Gravity shifted and tugged at everything in the ship, including Kepler who once again fell to the floor. The stranger adjusted their footing and gripped onto the panel to keep their position. Kepler was pulled across the floor by the velocity until they were stopped by the nearest chair. The feelings of panic were now getting worse as Kepler watched some of their stuff fall off the control panel and clank noisily to the floor. ¡°You- you can¡¯t have the ship traveling at this speed!¡± Kepler warned. ¡°It¡¯s not safe!¡± They raised their arm defensively as their metal water bottle fell from the panel and almost hit them. The stranger ignored them, refusing to turn away from the controls. Kepler picked up the bottle and steadily stretched out their vines, causing the arms of their suit to grow in length. Once their hands reached the stranger¡¯s boots, they tugged hard and caused them to fall backwards, joining Kepler on the floor. Kepler¡¯s vines writhed as they fought the pull of gravity to climb on top of the stranger. They raised the bottle above their head as they let out a battle cry, ready to break the stranger¡¯s helmet. The figure instantly raised their arms to shield the blow and the metal bottle hit their hand instead. Horror suddenly pooled within Kepler as they saw what they did to the stranger¡¯s hand, which was now bent unnaturally at the wrist. Kepler held their helmet apprehensively, feeling like they were about to be sick. The stranger opened the front of their helmet, revealing that they were a goat alien with skin covered in blue fish scales. Their face did not match an expression of terror or agony that Kepler would expect after one just fractured their wrist. Instead they gazed at their unnaturally bent hand with narrowed eyes and they muttered under their breath, ¡°Dammit.¡± They then used their free hand to move it back into place. They grunted at they forced their hand upright, which did so with a loud snap. This did not make Kepler feel any less repulsed. The stranger¡¯s eyes moved from their hand to Kepler as they said, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind dropping me off at the nearest space station and pretending like you never saw me, would you?¡± Kepler¡¯s vines shook as they instantly sparked with rage. ¡°Are you kidding me!? After attacking me in my own ship, now you want me to just drop you off and forget about all of this!?¡± They gestured around dramatically. ¡°I had to ensure that we got far away from the vault complex in case you wanted to go back and turn me in to the authorities,¡± they explained defensively. The stranger smirked a bit as they added, ¡°And honestly, I¡¯m not too shabby at piloting a ship. Even at top speed.¡± The lighting in the ship switched to red and started flashing as warning sirens blared. They both flinched at the sudden loud sound. The two of them scurried from the floor to look out the windshield, and they both immediately screamed. Planet Earth was rapidly approaching. Chapter Two She couldn¡¯t see any stars. Evie sighed and looked away from the pitch-black sky that hung over the city streetlights. Cars rushed by as she stood in front of the apartment building that she was moving out of, with a few pieces of luggage at her side. She stiffened as the traffic grew noisier until it was too overwhelming and she put on her headphones to drown it all away. Evie pulled at her bomber jacket impatiently. Her stomach churned and she suddenly found it a bit more difficult to breathe. She was waiting for her rideshare, and it felt like ages were going by as she stood alone on the city block. Her eyes kept darting up and down the busy street, desperately trying to spot the car that was supposed to pick her up. Finally, the car she had been waiting for appeared, and a rideshare driver named Phoenix pulled up to the curb. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jacket as Phoenix rolled down the window and called out, ¡°Evie?¡± She nodded, and he parked the car beneath the streetlight that Evie was standing next to. The harsh yellow light from above illuminated Phoenix as he got out of the car. He had short tousled brown hair and light skin, and he wore a plain hoodie. He looked to be the same age as Evie, a young adult trying to survive in the city with little money, which was also shown through the visibly worn vehicle he drove. He walked around the hood of his car to meet Evie on the sidewalk and asked, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t have a friend or family member that can give you a ride? A trip this far won¡¯t be cheap.¡± Evie glanced downwards as she took off her headphones. ¡°I¡¯m aware of the price, thanks.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Phoenix opened the car¡¯s trunk and helped Evie load her luggage. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been this far from the city.¡± Once they were ready to go, Evie got into the back of the car and Phoenix sat in the driver¡¯s seat. Evie leaned her head back and let out a deep breath as relief washed over her. She continued to pull at her jacket, enjoying the comforting feeling of her hands messing with the fabric. Phoenix¡¯s car left the curb to join the surrounding traffic. Evie stared out the window to watch bright lights and towering buildings pass by. In the window¡¯s reflection she could see her own dark skin and short coiled hair. ¡°So,¡± Phoenix said as the car stopped at a red light, ¡°what are you traveling all this way for?¡± Evie kept her eyes to the window. ¡°I¡¯m going home,¡± she replied shortly. ¡°Cool, cool.¡± A pause hung in the air before Phoenix decided to start playing music. The playlist took over the silence and time went by a lot quicker. The car soon entered the highway, where the glistening city skyline could now only be seen in a rearview mirror. --- ¡°AHHHH!¡± Kepler instantly turned down the ship¡¯s acceleration to slow the spaceship from traveling at top speed. They brought up some screens that displayed data on the ship¡¯s projection and their vines stiffened. Jet gritted her teeth apprehensively as she watched this stranger look at some screens while their ship was still headed straight towards Earth, which was now filling a lot of the windshield. She reached for the ship¡¯s controls to steer them away from the planet. Kepler immediately noticed and slapped her hands away from the control panel. ¡°No touch!¡± they shouted. She gestured to the windshield wildly. ¡°We can¡¯t just keep heading towards Earth!¡± Jet argued. ¡°They¡¯re going to kill us!¡± "You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Kepler pointed upward towards the source of the flashing red lights. ¡°That alarm means that we¡¯ve already crossed the Earth border. Now the ship¡¯s acceleration combined with the gravitational pull of the planet has locked us into a projection with Earth. If I tried to turn this ship around and throw us back into top speed, it could kill the engine. Now I could try to pilot the ship to orbit Earth and change our projection, but that has the highest risk of a border station finding us and shooting us down.¡± ¡°What, are you saying that we should land?¡± ¡°I think landing and then leaving in the same projection that we entered strangely gives us the best chance of not being spotted, which then gives us the best chance of survival.¡± Jet put her hands up to her head. ¡°You¡¯re aware that no alien has ever successfully done this.¡± They turned towards the windshield, with the enormous partially-lit planet looming straight ahead. ¡°It would be neat to be the first.¡± Jet just glared at them and they quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m trying to find any shred of light in this disaster!¡± ¡°Alright, fine.¡± Jet cracked her knuckles as she stepped towards the controls. ¡°Let¡¯s land this thing.¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Kepler pulled her away from the panel and forced her into the nearest seat. ¡°You don¡¯t touch anything, and afterwards you can thank me for saving your life.¡± Jet narrowed her eyes, but she didn¡¯t try to object. ¡°If you pass out, I¡¯m taking over,¡± she stated shortly. Kepler¡¯s leaves sighed as they took the other seat closest to the control panel. As they both buckled themselves in, Kepler kept glancing over to double check that Jet wasn¡¯t reaching for any controls. The spaceship started to shake a bit more as Earth continued to take up their view. Kepler took hold of the controls and piloted the ship in a projection straight towards the planet. The ship soon was plummeting towards Earth, groaning terribly under the force of gravity. Kepler was gripping on to the controls for their life as they began to see fire in the windshield. The giant dark side of the planet filled up their vision behind the flames. Jet had her hands pressed against the panel to keep herself upright under the pressure of the falling rocket. She glanced towards Kepler and yelled over the sounds of blaring alarms and creaking walls of the ship, asking, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need me to do anything!?¡± Kepler¡¯s arms were shaking with the rocket as they continued their hold on the controls. They looked over at a switch on the panel that was closer to Jet shouted, ¡°You see that blue switch!?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Kepler nodded. ¡°Pull it!¡± Jet grunted as she fought gravity to yank down the switch, which turned on a resistance booster that pulled at the ship in the opposite direction it was falling, causing the ship to slow down but also tremble more with the opposing forces. Jet gripped the armrests of her seat as the shaking became too much for her to withstand. Gravity forced her to lean all the way back in her seat, and she once again gritted her teeth as she fully expected death to come next. Kepler piloted the ship to the best of their ability, their vines stiffening to combat the forces pulling at them. They could tell that they were entering the Earth¡¯s atmosphere as the ship trembled with more resistance and the flames grew more intense. They let out a shout that was a mix somewhere between a fearful wail and a battle cry as their plummeting ship came in for landing. --- A starlit meadow remained quiet and unmoving. That was until a spaceship fell out of the night sky, crashing through the tops of trees in the nearby forest before carving straight through the meadow and coming to a rough halt. The spaceship went entirely dark and the interior was now unimaginably silent. Jet panted heavily while still gripping her armrests and Kepler continued to tremble, even though the ship was done shaking. They remained like this for a while until Kepler felt like they were able to move again. They pulled up an emergency powered screen to check the status of their ship. ¡°Yeah, the main engine¡¯s broken,¡± they informed in a hoarse voice that was worn from screaming. Jet¡¯s eyes darted towards Kepler. ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯re stuck here?¡± she seethed. ¡°I should be able to fix it,¡± they replied, ignoring how agitated Jet sounded. ¡°But we¡¯ll be stuck here for a bit.¡± ¡°You do realize that if anyone finds us, we¡¯re as good as dead,¡± Jet practically whispered, as if someone outside might be able to hear her. ¡°Then I guess we better start repairing this engine,¡± Kepler said as they got out of their seat. Her eyes widened. ¡°We?¡± ¡°Yes, you did such a good job pulling that one lever, so now you get to help me repair my ship. It¡¯s the least you could do after forcing me to crash here.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Jet hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about fixing an engine.¡± ¡°Oh, guess what?¡± Kepler mimicked an excited dance before exclaiming sort of aggressively, ¡°You¡¯re gonna learn!¡± She flinched and didn¡¯t say anything else as she followed Kepler down into the engine room. They both turned the headlamps on their helmets on as now only a few dim emergency lights within the ship were illuminated, which did not provide much light at all. Kepler had their tools and equipment for repairing stored close to the engine, which made it easy to begin working. In the engine room, Jet took back her metal suitcase that she had left down there. Kepler glanced at it but decided not to bring it up. Kepler was aware that they weren¡¯t going to be able to fully repair the everything, but they were hoping to repair enough of the main engine to get them back into space. They would have to go to a repair shop to get everything else restored later, assuming that they got to leave Earth. Kepler¡¯s vines allowed them to work around the engine with flexibility, crawling into tight spaces to repair certain sections. Jet¡¯s main job was to sit nearby and hand Kepler the right tools when they needed them. Eventually, Kepler came to a task that they could have Jet work on. They handed a laser tool to her and asked, ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± Jet gazed at the tool. ¡°Actually, yes. You can slice metal with this thing.¡± A few of Kepler¡¯s leaves shook. ¡°If you put it on the highest setting, sure. But we¡¯re using this for welding.¡± They both reattached the glass front of their helmets to protect themselves from the sparks that flew off as Kepler taught Jet how to weld a part of the engine. They were able to hear each other¡¯s voices by connecting their suits¡¯ headsets. As Kepler watched Jet carefully press the burning laser where instructed, they glanced again at the suitcase by her side. They gestured to it and said, ¡°I¡¯m assuming you stole that from the vault complex, and that¡¯s why you were in such a hurry to escape.¡± Jet continued welding and didn¡¯t say anything in return. Kepler sighed. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t mind if robbing places is what you do for a living.¡± She scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s not what I do for a living.¡± She then glanced towards Kepler and added, ¡°Your ship is filled with random junk. Is that all stolen?¡± ¡°What? No! I scavenge junkyards.¡± Jet turned her attention back to where she was welding. ¡°That¡¯s basically the lame version of stealing for a living.¡± Kepler gasped. ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± She chuckled a bit then asked, ¡°You know that vault complex is owned by Satellite, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of it now.¡± ¡°Good. Because I don¡¯t think you have anything that Satellite would want. And they¡¯d rip you off anyway.¡± Suddenly, the laser tool caused a lot more flaming sparks to harmlessly hit Jet¡¯s helmet, and she jumped back from the shock of it. ¡°Shit!¡± Kepler was startled by how easily that panicked Jet. She was now breathing shallowly and her eyes were wide in terror. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay,¡± they tried to say as calmly as possible. ¡°I¡¯ll take over from here.¡± Jet covered up her fearful expression by clenching her jaw and narrowing her eyes. She wordlessly handed the laser tool to Kepler and sat a bit farther away, far enough from the sparks. --- Evie soon was completely zoned out while Phoenix hummed along quietly to the playlist. They stayed like this for a while as they drove down the interstate, away from civilization and towards the vast darkness that stretched ahead. Eventually Phoenix turned on his signal to take the next exit. ¡°I need to get gas,¡± he explained. The exit took them down a desolate rural road, passing by stretches of forest and open meadow. Phoenix suddenly gasped, causing Evie to flinch, and leaned forward in his seat. ¡°Woah, look at the stars!¡± Now that they had driven far from the city, the stars in the sky were bright and numerous. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen that many stars in a long time,¡± he said. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve seen all the photos taken by telescopes, but that¡¯s awesome to just see them outside like that.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± is all Evie could say in response. She was comforted by the sight, but that feeling immediately left her when she saw that Phoenix was still staring upwards through the windshield. She anxiously grabbed the seat in front of her and exclaimed, ¡°Eyes on the road, please!¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Phoenix turned his attention back towards the road and then immediately gasped and slammed on the brakes. She instinctively held on to the side of the car for her life as she was jerked around in her seat. She swore her heart was now caught in her throat. Phoenix¡¯s hands were tightly gripped on the steering wheel while the car remained unmoving. Finally, he managed to gasp, ¡°Sorry.¡± Evie followed his gaze through the windshield to see a turtle basked in the car¡¯s headlights. She sighed as realization washed over. Evie wordlessly got out of the car to feel the crisp night air. The familiar sounds of crickets filled her eardrums as she walked over to meet the turtle in front of the bright headlights. She crouched next to the turtle, who protectively had its head tucked into its shell. She heard Phoenix get out of the car and she called back to him, ¡°It¡¯s an eastern box turtle.¡± Through the chirping crickets, she could hear the faint sound of trickling water coming from the other side of the road. ¡°It¡¯s headed towards a stream,¡± she realized aloud. Evie gently picked up the turtle and carried it to the other side of the road, in the direction it had been headed in. ¡°There you go, buddy.¡± Phoenix continued to stand outside his car, still looking a little shaken, and said, ¡°Thanks for doing that.¡± He glanced down the road and laughed a bit. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s our gas station!¡± The gas station appeared in the distance as a brightly lit beacon on the desolate dark street. It seemed to be the only manmade structure in this area. She only looked that way for a moment before something else caught her attention. Evie swore she saw a flash of light come from the nearby meadow. --- Kepler hummed a tune as they climbed out of the engine room to enter the bridge and tried to turn on the ship again. They cheered with victory as the main engine mechanically hummed in return. The neon lights were back on and all of the screens and holograms in the bridge were illuminated. ¡°The engine¡¯s repaired!¡± Kepler called to Jet using their headset. ¡°We¡¯re headed for space!¡± Jet met Kepler in the bridge and gazed out the windshield at the dark strange planet they had landed on. ¡°It¡¯s absurd that we¡¯re the first aliens to actually land on Earth,¡± she commented. Kepler paused as they joined in at looking out the windshield. ¡°We could also be the first ones to enjoy Earth,¡± they said. Jet¡¯s ear twitched. ¡°What?¡± Kepler pressed a button on the control panel that allowed a ladder to drop from the upper airlock that was built into the bridge¡¯s ceiling. They began to climb the ladder and exclaimed, ¡°Come on! We already almost died; we should get to experience a real moment on Earth.¡± She followed Kepler worriedly. ¡°But if we¡¯re spotted-¡± ¡°I just want to touch soil real quick, and then we¡¯ll leave.¡± Kepler opened the hatch door on top of their spaceship and climbed down the side ladder to land with their boots in the grass. They detached the front of their helmet to feel their leaves sway with an Earthen breeze for the first time. They gasped from the feeling. ¡°You gotta feel this air!¡± Jet joined them in the meadow to see a few of their vines stretch out of their helmet to experience a life-sustaining atmosphere. She sighed and the glass front of her helmet detached as well. She flinched when a gust of wind hit her face, not being used to that feeling at all. She could now easily pick up the scents of fresh grass and soil, and a diversity of plant life coming from the nearby forest that was carried by the breeze. The rolling mountains were much darker than the starlit night sky. They loomed nearby like giant beasts shrouded in darkness. Little lights floated around Jet and Kepler, softly glowing like drones did in space. When one of the lights floated right by Jet¡¯s face, she noticed that they were actually tiny bugs. Her pointed ears flickered to catch every sound of rustling leaves and scurrying through the long grass. Strange creatures that she couldn¡¯t see made different chirps and buzzes. The calming sound of trickling water came from somewhere nearby. She felt the corners of her eyes tear up as she took another breath of fresh air. ¡°Oh!¡± Kepler cried out in bliss as they lied in the grass and got some of their roots in the soil. ¡°This stuff¡¯s incredible!¡± Jet chuckled at how much Kepler was enjoying this before a thought came to her. Her hands balled up into fists as she felt frustration start to prick. Some things were not fair. Kepler interrupted that thought by getting up and running through the open meadow towards where the trickling water sound was coming from. ¡°I need to try some Earth water and then we¡¯ll get out of here!¡± they called out. Jet¡¯s eyes darted around apprehensively. She couldn¡¯t see anything in the meadow but grass and wildflowers. Even though the area was illuminated by moonlight, it was still too dark for her to ensure that they were alone, especially with the shadowy nearby forest. She ran after Kepler, and she couldn¡¯t help but notice that her fists were clenching more tightly. --- Once the car had pulled up to the gas station, Evie remained in the back seat while Phoenix got out to fill up the tank. Evie closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence for a while. She opened her eyes to see that Phoenix was gone. He must had gone inside to buy something. Evie looked through the windows of the gas station¡¯s convenience store to spot the colorful slushy machines and the empty aisles that displayed junk food. A single employee sat behind the cash register while reading a magazine. She didn¡¯t see her driver in there. Evie checked her phone and saw that she had no service. She grimaced as she looked out the window again, not sure what to do. She checked her pocket to make sure she had her pepper spray before finally deciding to get out of the car and look around. Beyond the empty parking lot, she couldn¡¯t see much else. Evie could still hear trickling water and she noticed the creek running right by the parking lot. She frowned. A stream shouldn¡¯t be that close to a gas station. She shook her head, telling herself to focus on finding her rideshare driver. The doors to the gas station chimed as Evie walked in. All that could be heard were buzzing lights and a quiet radio. She walked up to the employee at the register and asked, ¡°Did you see someone come in here?¡± The employee looked up from his magazine. ¡°You mean your driver?¡± He shook his head. ¡°That guy ran around the side of the building and now he¡¯s headed that way.¡± He pointed towards the window that looked out on the meadow behind the gas station. Evie could barely see a figure running through the darkness. Shock and dread jolted through her. ¡°What the hell is he doing!?¡± she exclaimed. As she ran for the exit, the employee shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t go after him! That¡¯s a crazy person!¡± The door chimed a second later and Evie was sprinting around the gas station towards the meadow. She grimaced as she felt her shoes get wet from running through the creek. Evie ran through the long grass for a while before she was out of breath, feeling fatigued. She took a moment to fill her burning lungs with oxygen as she gazed straight ahead. Maybe she was about to pass out, because now she could see a spaceship in the meadow. The spaceship looked similar to regular jets, just much more futuristic looking. The interior of the ship was illuminated, and she saw Phoenix in the windshield for a second before he moved farther back into the ship. Soon after that, Evie noticed two figures in sleek spacesuits climb the side of the ship to enter a hatch door on top. Then the meadow was basked in a green glow as lights on the exterior of the spaceship blinked on and the humming of an engine grew louder. In that moment, she had to decide whether or not to save someone from getting abducted by aliens. ¡°Yeah, this is insane,¡± she commented. Evie sprinted towards the spaceship, which was now humming at an impossibly loud tone. She could physically feel the vibrations coming from the engine. The hatch door on top of the ship was still open, and she climbed up the side ladder to get through the opening just as the door started to mechanically close behind her. Now she was stuck in a tiny white room that seemed to be an airlock. She pulled at the door below her, which didn¡¯t budge. Then Evie was thrown back as everything started accelerating. Chapter Three ¡°Okay, I got to touch real Earthen soil and drink Earthen water. Now this crash landing was worth it.¡± Kepler sealed the airlock and prepared the ship for takeoff in the bridge. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of this will be worth it until we¡¯re back in space in one piece.¡± Jet let out a deep breath and buckled herself into her seat. She once again gripped the armrests and tried to mentally prepare herself for the journey back. Kepler noticed Jet stiffen and they nodded to her reassuringly. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re gonna make it.¡± Jet looked back at them expressionlessly for a moment before she turned her face away. Kepler shrugged and continued preparing for takeoff. The spaceship¡¯s exterior lights glowed green as the engine mechanically roared. The rocket charged into the night sky, high above the dark mountains and distant clutters of manmade lights. Jet only glanced at these views for a moment before turning her attention to space, where they were headed. Kepler did their best to keep steady hands on the controls to get them safely home. --- The ship sped through Earth¡¯s atmosphere and into space. Kepler continued to have the ship set at a high speed until they crossed back over the Earth border. Finally, the warning lights ceased as they were no longer in Earth territory. Kepler immediately cheered with celebration and Jet grinned in relief. ¡°We did it!¡± Kepler offered a high-five to Jet. Jet stared at their hand blankly for a moment before returning the high-five. Kepler then brought up a screen to view the ship¡¯s projection routes. ¡°I gotta head to Q-23 to get my ship repaired. Does that sound like a good place to drop you off?¡± She gazed downwards, sort of realizing in that moment all that Kepler had done for her. ¡°Yeah.¡± Jet looked back at Kepler and tried to smile sincerely. ¡°Thanks.¡± "Hey, maybe you can return the favor and help me scavenge a junkyard sometime.¡± Kepler turned down the ship¡¯s acceleration and set its projection before putting it into autopilot. The two of them suddenly heard a thump come from above. They both looked to the closed hatch door in the bridge¡¯s ceiling. ¡°Is there something in the airlock?¡± Kepler wondered aloud. They used the control panel to open the door that led to the upper airlock. Jet stood directly beneath the opening door, trying to see what was inside. She had her fists clenched at the ready. Before either of them could react, a human fell from the airlock and yelled as they landed on top of Jet. They both crashed to the floor and the human instantly scurried back before scrambling to their feet. The human pointed a bottle of pepper spray at Kepler and Jet, who got to her feet a second later. Kepler immediately raised the hands of their spacesuit in surrender and Jet decided to follow along a bit hesitantly. The human kept pointing the bottle at them with shaking hands and they demanded in a trembling voice, ¡°Where is he!?¡± Kepler hesitated. ¡°Where¡¯s who?¡± Jet narrowed her eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb with me.¡± The human was obviously terrified, but they were doing their best to hide it with an aggressive tone. ¡°I saw you get him in here with your mind control technology, or whatever it is that you use to control people.¡± The two aliens paused before Jet said, ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no such thing as mind control technology. At least not yet. Who knows what the future brings.¡± Another human suddenly stepped into the bridge from the common area. ¡°Wait! I came here on my own.¡± Evie turned around to sure enough see Phoenix, who seemed apprehensive as he reached out in an effort to calm her down. Kepler grabbed at their helmet at the sight of the second human. ¡°How many of you snuck in here!?¡± they exclaimed frantically. Evie briskly walked up to Phoenix and roughly shook him by the collar of his sweatshirt while yelling, ¡°What¡¯s my name!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Evie!¡± Phoenix grimaced while grabbing at his own collar to stop the shaking. She studied his reaction before stepping back and saying, ¡°I thought you still might¡¯ve been mind controlled.¡± Phoenix stared back at her with a concerned expression. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Okay, then why did you abandon me in the middle of nowhere to sneak onto a spaceship with your own free will!?¡± She gestured at him wildly as she felt shock and frustration rush through again. He sighed before saying, ¡°I¡¯m not a human.¡± Phoenix glanced towards the aliens. ¡°I¡¯m one of them.¡± Before Evie could respond, he added, ¡°As soon as I saw this spaceship, I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity. This was most likely my only chance to get to space, where I belong.¡± Jet, who continued to stand still at the other side of the bridge with Kepler, said, ¡°No offense, but you look a lot like a human for somebody who¡¯s not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a shapeshifter,¡± he explained. ¡°I¡¯ve been masking as a human for most of my life, for my own safety. But now that I¡¯m finally in space, I can be my true alien form.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see it, then.¡± Evie took another step back so that everyone in the bridge could see this supposed transformation. Phoenix hesitated before he sighed and closed his eyes to concentrate. For a few seconds, everyone just waited. After a while, Phoenix opened his eyes and gazed down at himself. Nothing had changed. He frowned then said, ¡°I actually don¡¯t remember how to shapeshift anymore.¡± Evie glanced back towards the two aliens. Jet looked incredibly skeptical. Phoenix noticed this as well and he raised his hands defensively. ¡°Wait, I swear this is real! I¡¯ve been stuck on Earth my entire life. It¡¯s been years since I last changed my appearance! It¡¯s always been kind of an intuitive thing, which is very hard to control!¡± "You never shapeshifted in private, just for fun?¡± Evie asked. ¡°No, not really.¡± He anxiously ran a hand through his brown hair as he continued to gaze downward in thought. ¡°Hm.¡± Jet still looked just as skeptical. ¡°Alright!¡± Kepler clasped their hands together. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I need to chime in for a moment.¡± They decided to take a step forward, seeing that Evie had calmed down some and the pepper spray was lowered. They tried to keep their tone positive as they said, ¡°We¡¯ve got a bit of a problem here. Humans aren¡¯t allowed this far in space, or even know that aliens exist, for that matter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a human,¡± Phoenix pointed out. Kepler¡¯s leaves sighed. ¡°Okay, but unless you can prove that, you¡¯re gonna have a hard time up here.¡± Evie crossed her arms. ¡°Well, I¡¯m definitely a human, so if you could just drop me off back at Earth, that¡¯d be great.¡± Jet scoffed. ¡°Yeah, good luck with that.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but shoot Jet a glare as Kepler fidgeted with their hands and said, ¡°Um, so about that, you¡¯re kind of stuck here. At least for now.¡± Evie felt herself grow cold. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Kepler¡¯s vines stiffened. ¡°Listen, it¡¯s a miracle that we even landed on Earth in the first place.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Guess what, you¡¯re about to perform another miracle.¡± She pulled at her jacket apprehensively. ¡°I can¡¯t be up here. Space terrifies me, and I have a fear of heights.¡± Evie felt her hands start to go numb. Her eyes glanced towards the windshield and she saw nothing but the void and some stars. That familiar sight was suddenly very haunting. She was going to pass out. She looked back towards Kepler, and felt like she was now seeing this alien for the first time. ¡°You¡¯re a bunch of vines in a spacesuit,¡± she gasped. Kepler tried to laugh, but they only sounded worried as they noticed that this human was on the verge of a meltdown. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a pothos alien.¡± Evie felt her knees buckle and the next second she was sitting on the floor, trembling and not being able to breathe. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that crazy, if you really think about it,¡± Phoenix offered. ¡°You¡¯re not helping!¡± Evie felt herself shout, her voice full of panic. ¡°Good to know.¡± He pointed at her in affirmation and then silently stepped back. Kepler glanced around anxiously, seeing this human stranger going into a panic attack while the other stranger stood by helplessly. Jet grimaced and remained still, seeming to be frozen in place by her inability to act. After shifting around in distress, Kepler rushed to get their water bottle and handed it towards Evie. ¡°You want some water?¡± Evie glanced at the bottle with dilated eyes before taking it. She gripped the bottle tightly in an attempt to squeeze the numbness from her hands. She managed to take a sip and then just focused on her breathing, trying to make her shallow irregular breaths something she could control. Kepler looked around again before rushing into the common area and quickly returning with their succulent potted plant. ¡°This is my crewmate, Major Minor. Do you want to hold onto him? He helps me calm down sometimes.¡± She exhaled shakily and nodded, taking the potted plant and holding it close to her chest. Evie felt comforted by the gesture and hugged the houseplant closely. Kepler stepped back hesitantly, not sure what else to do. Evie managed to get a control of her breathing, preventing a full-on panic attack. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt some life return to her hands. She gazed down at the potted plant, which in that moment was a reassuring reminder of home that stood out in the alien spaceship. Evie then flinched a bit as a thought came to her. She looked to Kepler and pointed at the succulent. Her words were still shaky and she couldn¡¯t help but sound uncertain. ¡°Is he¡­ like you?¡± Kepler¡¯s vines tilted in confusion before they chuckled and said, ¡°Oh, no. He¡¯s not an alien like me. Major Minor¡¯s just a regular plant, like any other succulent you¡¯d find on Earth. But I do sometimes talk to him like he can hear me. I¡¯ve been alone on this spaceship for a long time.¡± They chuckled again, sort of uneasily. They shook their vines in an effort to shake off their nerves before one of their leaves fell off and drifted downwards. Kepler stared at their fallen leaf for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Then they suddenly fainted and face-planted on the floor. Everyone in the bridge rushed to crowd around Kepler, who remained motionless. Evie set aside Major Minor so she could roll Kepler onto their back and tried to check for breathing, not even knowing if Kepler breathed like she did. She noticed that Kepler¡¯s leaves were now a lot more yellow in color. A realization came to her and she looked to Jet, who was staring down at their form in panic. ¡°What did you guys do on Earth?¡± Jet blinked and thought for a moment, trying to push down her overwhelming feelings to think straight. ¡°Kepler did try the soil and water.¡± ¡°Did that water come from a creek?¡± Jet nodded in response. ¡°Was there a gas station near that creek?¡± Jet glanced away as she hesitated. ¡°We did see some manmade lights in the distance.¡± Evie sighed as she stared upwards, already knowing the answer. ¡°You can¡¯t just drink from a random stream. You gotta test the water quality.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not real experts of Earth, if you haven¡¯t noticed,¡± Jet said coldly. Evie stared back at the anthropomorphic goat with skin covered in blue scales before she shook her head and focused back on how to help Kepler. ¡°We can try to give them some fresh water to wash away the chemicals,¡± she said. Phoenix, realizing that he had a chance to help, grabbed Kepler¡¯s water bottle and handed it to Evie. ¡°Here.¡± Jet propped Kepler¡¯s unconscious body into a seated position so that Evie could pour some water through their open helmet. A few of their leaves were hosed down in the processes. A moment after all the water was down Kepler suddenly shook awake and croaked, ¡°What happened?¡± "You drank toxic water,¡± Evie informed as she faced the plant alien directly. ¡°Is there anything we can do to help you get better?¡± Kepler weakly pointed back to the common area. ¡°Hydroponics,¡± is all they managed to say. It was enough for Jet to understand. She picked up Kepler¡¯s limp body and then carried them out of the bridge towards the mess of crates and junk that filled the common area. After the crash landing on Earth, everything in the common area was a wreck. Jet had to kick aside and step over crates to get to the nook with purple UV lights. Within the nook, there was a decently sized tank full of a nutrient-based solution with a gridded tray on top of it. Jet set down Kepler, who slid out of their spacesuit to filter their roots through the grid and into the container. Their suit and clothes were pushed away as their vines sprawled around the top of the tank, making them now appear as a large potted plant. They made sure that Kepler was getting enough light and Evie returned Major Minor to rest on top of a crate under a UV lamp near Kepler. The three of them then left Kepler to rest in their nook and returned to the bridge. They rotated the bridge¡¯s main seats so they could all face each other. Evie kept fidgeting and she couldn¡¯t make eye contact with anyone. She was uncomfortable with the fact that these strangers just witnessed her have a near panic attack. Jet glanced back and forth between the two strangers before she said, ¡°Kepler and I only met a few hours ago, so I¡¯m not sure what they¡¯re going to do with you guys. All I know is that once we get to Q-23, I¡¯m getting dropped off.¡± Phoenix gasped and leaned in excitedly. ¡°We¡¯re going to Q-23?¡± Evie stiffened, having no reference for what that meant. Jet noticed her unease and explained, ¡°Q-23¡¯s the capital of the System.¡± Evie stared back at Jet, not knowing what that meant either. Jet sighed and brought a hand up to her forehead. ¡°Right, you don¡¯t even know what the System is. I guess I can do Kepler a favor and explain this to you.¡± ¡°I know almost everything about the System,¡± Phoenix eagerly stated. ¡°I got my computer connected to System-wide internet without being intercepted by signals bordering Earth. Getting that window into your guys¡¯ world has been everything to me. Holy shit, I still can¡¯t believe I¡¯m actually up here!¡± Jet took a moment to stare at Phoenix after his excited outburst. ¡°Right.¡± She then looked back towards Evie and said, ¡°There¡¯s an organization on Earth that made all of these creatures in labs, with DNA from humans mixed with other species and substances. We are now known as aliens, who are all part human, which is why we have human-like resemblance and intelligence. After years of being used as experiments in labs, we were brought into space to act as labor. They made us develop technology for them as quickly as possible, free from Earthen regulations. From there, we built our own civilization within the Solar System, which we now call the System.¡± ¡°Technically, all aliens in the System do not count as extra-terrestrials, since they are all made of species that come from Earth,¡± Phoenix pointed out. He was on the edge of his seat, unable to remain completely silent during Jet¡¯s explanation. Jet¡¯s ear twitched as she grew annoyed from the interruption. Evie blinked as she processed this. ¡°How long has this been going on?¡± ¡°Our space civilization has existed for about a century,¡± Jet replied. Her heart stopped for a moment. ¡°How is that even possible?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, the Creators are hiding a lot from the public,¡± Phoenix said. ¡°No one really knows how they did this.¡± ¡°We call the secret organization of humans that made us the Creators,¡± Jet explained. ¡°They now act like a trading partner for us, trading their Earthen resources for our technology. They also have control over the public knowledge of aliens, and so the only human-alien communications and trade that can happen are between the System government and the Creators. The Creators also won¡¯t let any of us return to Earth. Space is oftentimes difficult to sustain life in, which is why some aliens have tried to flee back to Earth. Those ships were all destroyed at the border.¡± Jet glanced towards Phoenix and added, ¡°It¡¯s incredible that you were able to learn about us without being found by the Creators.¡± Phoenix shrugged and glanced away. Jet narrowed her eyes in contemplation before continuing. ¡°If you want any chance of returning to Earth safely,¡± she said to Evie, ¡°you do not want the Creators to know that you¡¯ve visited the System and came into contact with aliens. They don¡¯t want common people like you knowing that we exist.¡± Evie stared at the surrounding space within the windshield, unable to fully comprehend any of this madness. ¡°So, what are the actual chances that I¡¯ll get to go home?¡± ¡°Honestly, I have no idea,¡± Jet replied. ¡°This has never happened before. But the chances are slim. No one else can know that you¡¯re up here. Having humans in the System is one of the biggest felonies there is. Both the Creators and the System government won¡¯t be happy with this. I won¡¯t turn you in to the officials, but I can¡¯t say the same for other aliens.¡± Evie kept fidgeting with her own hands, feeling like she was going to be sick. Jet glanced at a screen displaying the ship¡¯s projection. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a while before we reach Q-23. Make yourselves at home, I guess.¡± Jet then left the bridge to go change out of her spacesuit. It was still damaged from when she got hit by the laser, and she worked on repairing the damage herself. Beneath her spacesuit, she wore a simple short-sleeved shirt and cargo pants. Jet also kept on the same boots that connected to her spacesuit. After repairing her spacesuit, she got a cup of coffee from the ship¡¯s cramped kitchen and drank it at the round table in the common area. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder to see Kepler still recovering in their hydroponics tank. When Evie stepped into the common area, she noticed that Jet¡¯s horns were made out of a grey metal. Her arms were covered in the same blue scales, until it got to her wrists and hands, which were completely robotic, resembling the hands of a metal skeleton. Evie¡¯s eyes lingered on her robotic hands a little too long and Jet gritted her teeth before she said coldly, ¡°What? Do they not have amputees on Earth?¡± Evie darted her eyes away and muttered, ¡°Sorry.¡± She awkwardly turned around and hurried back into the bridge to avoid any more conflict. Phoenix was busy having his eyes glued to a hand-held screen, exploring the System¡¯s online world from an alien-made device. Evie sat as far away from him as possible to have some time to herself. She put on her headphones to listen to a saved playlist, trying to find some comfort as anxiety and dread pooled inside her stomach. The ship continued its journey through space, headed towards the System¡¯s capital city. Chapter Four Q-23 was the only city in the System that orbited Earth, being farther away than the Moon. The capital city was surrounded by large dark space stations, which worked to prevent observing figures on Earth from spotting the city¡¯s glowing center. Once Kepler was well enough to leave their hydroponics tank, they piloted the ship within the gaps between the looming space stations. Outside of their spacesuit, Kepler wore a sleeveless shirt to freely use their vines without the confinements they had in their suit. They could have several vines reaching different sections of the control panel all at once. They also wore long pants to completely hide their roots. Between the dark space stations, the gleaming brightness from within the city beamed like a light at the end of the tunnel. Kepler¡¯s ship traveled within the traffic of other entering ships and soon they were past the space stations, where the city¡¯s core was revealed. The first thing Evie noticed were the neon lights, which once they were past the city¡¯s barrier were literally everywhere. Giant screens and holograms added to the bright lights, attached to clusters of spacecrafts that towered in every direction. The clusters formed the city¡¯s districts, which were interconnected in every direction like a vast web. Between these clusters, large lanes were formed for passenger ships to travel through. Evie was instantly overwhelmed by the vast scope of this alien city. Their ship was a speck compared to the visible amalgamation of structures that made up Q-23. It was Times Square on acid. A cyberpunk dumpster fire. An urban hellscape in the emptiness of space; Evie¡¯s literal nightmare. While Evie stared out the windshield in terror, Phoenix could barely breathe as he became overcome by excitement. He stared out the windows with wide eyes, trying to take in as much of the spectacle as he possibly could. Kepler piloted the ship towards a part of the city where the structures appeared more worn and dated in appearance. Their ship docked at a repair shop, which had a blocky structure and visible gaps in the walls that revealed the mess of pipes and wires beneath them. As Kepler finished docking the ship, Jet, who had been spending most of the time silently facing the windshield with her arms crossed, said, ¡°I¡¯m going to help pay for the ship¡¯s repairs. I¡¯ll also make sure that this place follows through with your maintenance requests and doesn¡¯t rip you off in the process. Once that¡¯s all done, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Kepler turned to Jet, feeling a bit stunned by that statement. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already done too much for me,¡± Jet objected. ¡°I need to repay you.¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Kepler to respond and instead she quickly left the bridge. Phoenix leaned forward in his seat and asked, ¡°Are we gonna get to leave the ship?¡± ¡°Yeah, no one can be in here while they¡¯re doing repairs,¡± Kepler answered. ¡°I have two extra spacesuits, and Jet has these dark screens that can be installed in a helmet and hide your faces. That way, no one will be able to tell that you¡¯re humans.¡± When Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, they quickly added, ¡°Or a shapeshifter that¡¯s stuck looking exactly like a human.¡± Before they left, Jet needed Kepler to help her hide a suitcase somewhere in the ship where no one would find it. Evie and Phoenix put on their spacesuits, and learned from the two aliens about gravity-regulators, which were built into each spacesuit with the same technology that was equipped in spaceships to regulate internal gravity. On any exterior surface, spacesuits with gravity-regulators allowed aliens to walk around in space like they were in Earth gravity. Each spacesuit also had a screen built into their forearm where they could regulate suit controls, send messages, and access the System¡¯s common apps. Once they all exited the ship, Kepler and Jet talked to the repair shop¡¯s mechanics while Evie and Phoenix awkwardly stood behind them, with their dark helmets concealing their identities. Their helmets were also equipped with working headsets so that they could hear any nearby exchange, as long as they were using the public proximity channel. After being told they¡¯d have to wait a few hours until the ship was repaired, they waited together in the designated lobby. The waiting area was filled with aliens in spacesuits, most of which had the front of their helmets removed as the interior of the structure was sealed from space. The four of them sat in a row of seats, facing other rows occupied by other waiting aliens. Evie sat across from a dragonfly alien with iridescent fur, who kept occasionally glancing towards Evie¡¯s dark helmet. Her hands pooled with sweat as she grew more and more uncertain of how well she was fitting in. She sat at the end of the row next to Kepler, and felt slightly comforted being near the alien who helped her out of a panic attack. Phoenix sat at the other end of their group next to Jet, and was busy ranting excitedly about Q-23. He spoke on a private channel within his headset, so that only their group could hear him. ¡°Have you seen the Drone Fountain?¡± he asked as he turned towards Jet. ¡°That¡¯s where they have these tiny drones with lights mimic water flowing from a fountain, but in a massive scale and they have it form different designs. The pictures of it always looked amazing.¡± Jet did not say anything in return, as she was busy staring forward with a scowl and tapping her boot on the tiled floor impatiently. Phoenix scooted forward in his seat so that he could peer to the end of the row and see Evie. ¡°Evie, did you know that Q-23¡¯s government district is the only place where communications between aliens and humans can happen? That also means this is the only city that does trading with Earth. That doesn¡¯t mean that humans come here though, this is just where they send their shipments. You are still the first human to enter Q-23.¡± Evie sighed as she felt her muscles tense up more. ¡°Great.¡± A screen in the corner of the lobby playing commercials at one point displayed different shots of Q-23¡¯s central shopping center, which resembled a skyscraper of a mall with endless bright floors selling only the newest items the System had to offer. It also showed off the capital¡¯s conservatory, which was a large series of greenhouses filled with various plants from Earth. Phoenix eagerly pointed to these sights on the screen and nudged Jet. ¡°Have you been to any of these places? Do you think with how long we have to wait that we could get on one of those trains and go? I really want to see-¡° ¡°I need you to stop.¡± Jet held up her hand to stop him from talking as her ear twitched irritably. Phoenix tried to sit there in silence, but found it to be impossible and a few seconds later he took a breath to speak again. Jet could hear him start to go off in her headset and before he could, she interjected, ¡°You want to explore the city? I got a mission for you.¡± She pulled up the navigation map on the screen in her spacesuit and showed a route that was a short walk to one of the nearby convenience stores. ¡°Get me a drink from here. Anything with caffeine in it will do fine.¡± Kepler glanced over to Jet¡¯s map. ¡°Oh, are you going to the corner store? They sell these packs of UV lights, could you get me one? Feel free to use my account. They just need to scan the screen on your suit when you pull up the banking app and you should be good.¡± They turned to Evie and asked, ¡°Do you want to go with him?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Evie hesitated, feeling pessimistic about wandering out into this alien city. ¡°Or I could go with Phoenix and you stay with Jet,¡± Kepler offered. ¡°That might be a better idea.¡± The idea of being left alone with Jet sent a wave of nerves to rush through her. ¡°No, I¡¯ll go.¡± Jet sent Phoenix the route so he could pull it up on his screen and then the two of them went through the repair shop¡¯s airlock to venture out into the city. When Evie had first seen Q-23 from the spaceship, the towering structures and vivid holograms made the city look like it was from a dystopian future where technology had completely taken over. This part of the city however resembled if that vision was made decades ago, and then deteriorated over time. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Outside of the repair shop, they stood on a walkway between interconnected structures that were similarly dull and blocky in appearance. Dim lights did little to liven the street, and the promotional logos that lined the walls weren¡¯t well illuminated either. Graffiti art that glowed in the dark took up some of the walls¡¯ empty space. Aliens in spacesuits walked up and down the street, having to maneuver around the broken or missing tiles in the walkway. Evie also noticed some robots with no need for suits moving amongst the aliens, and high above their heads ovular drones traveled in the empty gaps they were permitted in. That sense of overwhelming anxiety crept in again and Evie took a deep breath to remain in control. ¡°You got this,¡± she whispered to herself. She then followed Phoenix¡¯s lead down the street towards the convenience store. Higher up Evie could see lanes for spaceship traffic and the distant glistening clusters of other city districts. She even saw the glowing track for a sleek train to zip by far above them, brightly passing over like a shooting star. At the top of the city, the dark space stations blocked out the constellations like clouds did on Earth. With how massive and bright the city was, Evie was unsure if she would be able to see the stars anyway. Most of the aliens that populated the city streets wore humanoid spacesuits, physically exhibiting how similar they were to humans. Many spacesuits however had to be uniquely designed to accommodate for extra limbs, or body parts like horns or tails. Evie also noticed a few aliens that very much did not have a humanoid shape. One alien at a vendor promoting drone rentals resembled a snake, and had a spacesuit that accommodated for a long body with no limbs. Evie stiffened from the sight of so many creatures that were recognizable yet not. She couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the idea that they had been living high above the Earth¡¯s atmosphere for years. ¡°This district is not nearly as nice as other parts of Q-23,¡± Phoenix commented as they walked down the dingy streets. ¡°Don¡¯t let this ruin your impression of the city.¡± ¡°Not gonna lie, my impression was ruined the moment we entered,¡± she stated plainly. After going through the corner store¡¯s airlock, they were inside a tightly-packed space with aisles full of brightly colored packaging. Evie saw that this place had a slushie machine and she felt a weird sense of familiarity as it had been hours ago seeing a similar machine at the gas station on Earth. Phoenix gasped as something else caught his attention. He rushed over to a boxy machine built into the wall that had a screen playing advertisements. The square screen promoted some sort of action game with robots and lasers. Evie stared at the machine blankly. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Cyber Space!¡± He exclaimed while eagerly gesturing to the screen, as if Evie was supposed to get it from just that. ¡°At one point it was the most popular videogame in the System. It¡¯s been dropping in fame for a while now, but I¡¯ve always been obsessed with it. I could never actually play the game on Earth, but I definitely will up here the first chance I get.¡± The text on the screen promoted a chance to play the newest version of the game by entering a suit-ID number. A hologram then appeared below that displayed a keyboard to type on. Phoenix took an electronic pen provided by the machine and started typing as Evie hastily stated, ¡°That¡¯s not personal information, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the number that comes up on your screen.¡± Phoenix gestured to the device built into the forearm of his suit. ¡°It¡¯s basically like a phone number for messaging.¡± Phoenix then finished typing his number on the advertising screen to be admitted for the drawing. The two of them headed over to the fridge aisle, where a variety of bottled and canned drinks were being kept. Evie was faced with soda flavors like galaxy punch and supernova blast. Her eyes glossed over the several options, none of them being recognizable to brands she knew. A different nearby screen playing advertisements showed a commercial of a cactus alien stuck working on a factory assembly line. Then they popped open a can of what was called Earth Soda before they were transported to a forest, free to run into the wild. The caption read, ¡°Earth Soda: Get back to your roots!¡± Evie didn¡¯t know who was a part of the research team that put a cactus in a temperate forest, but she soon realized that she didn¡¯t care and just wanted the soda. She opened the fridge door when she found it and said, ¡°I¡¯m trying this.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Phoenix gestured to the rows of drinks. ¡°Out of all of these you want Earth Soda?¡± His voice was full of judgement. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but I¡¯m suffering up here. I¡¯ll take anything that can remind me of home.¡± Phoenix didn¡¯t object any further and grabbed one of the many space-themed sodas to try. He pointed to the store¡¯s restroom and said, ¡°We can try these in there so that no one will see us.¡± She nodded in agreement and after they got what Jet and Kepler asked for, they both went up to the register to finish their purchase. The alien behind the register resembled a large rat with spider eyes. As he scanned the items, he looked at their dark helmets and when he spoke, they could hear through their headsets, ¡°Is there a reason why I can¡¯t see your faces?¡± Evie felt an intense sense of impending doom and she spoke before her brain could comprehend her own words. ¡°We¡¯re horribly scarred from a spaceship crash.¡± Phoenix remained still, unable to react. The cashier¡¯s eight eyes narrowed at them. ¡°Is that true?¡± he asked gruffly. Feeling at a loss for words, Phoenix just nodded his helmet silently. The pause that hung in the air felt agonizingly long before the cashier lowered his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± They both hesitated awkwardly before Phoenix tried to say sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I should have. I share a similar struggle myself.¡± He kicked up one of his legs to rest it on the countertop, revealing that it was completely robotic. ¡°Before this job, I worked in the engine compartment of one of our older space stations. An engine overheated and exploded, which took out both my legs.¡± The cashier lowered his leg to the floor and said, ¡°Now I spend my days trying to make enough money to keep up maintenance on my robot parts. It gets more difficult as the parts get older and become harder to repair, but I¡¯m far from being able to afford replacing them with newer ones.¡± The two of them had no idea how to react to his story as the cashier finished scanning their items. In a hurry to get out of this situation, Phoenix quickly raised the screen on his arm to end the transaction. ¡°No need to pay,¡± the cashier interjected. ¡°This one¡¯s on me.¡± Evie flinched in shock. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do. Victims like us got to stick together.¡± He handed them their purchases in a sealed box, so that items wouldn¡¯t float away when they walked back out into space. The cashier gave them an encouraging nod then said, ¡°Stay safe, you two.¡± ¡°Thanks, man.¡± Phoenix took the box before Evie could say anything else. As they stepped away, they were replaced by another customer. Phoenix then nudged her to hurry and they headed to the restroom in the back while the cashier was busy with the next customer. The small restroom was for single use only, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about anyone else walking in. A single fluorescent light revealed that the room was clean enough to try a soda in without feeling repulsed. ¡°Did you lock the door?¡± Evie asked. ¡°Yep.¡± The glass front of their helmets slid back, revealing their faces. Evie took her soda from the box and gazed at it guiltily. ¡°We basically stole these.¡± ¡°No, we didn¡¯t,¡± Phoenix objected. ¡°That guy just helped us out.¡± ¡°Because I lied.¡± She lowered the can with a sorrow expression. ¡°The guy who paid for us can barely afford to keep his legs. I don¡¯t even want this anymore.¡± ¡°Evie, you¡¯re going to have to lie to get by here,¡± he said earnestly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what would happen if they found out a human was in the System, but most possibilities are bad. You have every right to be scared up here.¡± Phoenix glanced away in thought before adding, ¡°No one can know that you¡¯re a human. Keeping that fa?ade up is the only way you¡¯re going to get back home.¡± She took that all in and then finally managed to look back at Phoenix. ¡°Are you not scared at all?¡± ¡°I am for you,¡± he admitted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I dragged you up here with me.¡± Evie shook her head. ¡°I chased after you because I thought you were in trouble. Don¡¯t blame yourself for that.¡± She thought for another moment before she added, ¡°Actually, you can partially blame yourself for that because that was pretty rude of you to ditch me.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry.¡± He anxiously ran a hand through his hair. ¡°But anyway, I¡¯m not too scared for my own safety. I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll be able to shapeshift out of my human form eventually.¡± She studied him for a moment. ¡°If you are an alien, how¡¯d you end up on Earth in the first place?¡± His eyes quickly darted away. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna talk about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± She decided to change the subject by trying a sip of Earth Soda. Evie immediately spit it back out, appalled by the bitter taste. She choked and cursed at the same time. ¡°That tastes like actual dirt.¡± ¡°No way.¡± Phoenix was far too curious and he immediately took the drink from her to try. He did almost the exact same spit take and he wiped his mouth in disgust while reading the back of the can. ¡°I¡¯m almost a hundred percent sure that¡¯s made for plant aliens only.¡± Evie wiped her mouth as well, wishing she had something to get rid of the taste. ¡°That would make sense.¡± The door to the restroom suddenly opened and the two of them were forced to remain frozen in shock. The alien that opened the door also stared back in surprise, unable to move as much as they were. The soda can fell out of Phoenix¡¯s hand and the second it hit the floor, time started moving again. Evie was fueled by adrenaline as she took Phoenix by the arm. She shoved her way past the alien, sprinting through the open store towards the exit. Everyone else in the store gaped at their appearance, and she realized in that moment that their helmets still weren¡¯t sealed. The doors to the airlock automatically closed behind them and a short countdown started before the doors to space would open. ¡°Helmets!¡± is all Evie could yell as she pressed a button on her screen and the darkened glass front to her helmet returned. Phoenix did the same. Evie then yelled into her headset, ¡°I thought you locked the door!¡± He raised his hands defensively. ¡°I¡¯m just as surprised as you are!¡± He then glanced back and asked, ¡°Do you think they¡¯re gonna come after us?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not waiting to find out.¡± The doors opened and they both raced down the street, back towards the repair shop. Chapter Five While Evie and Phoenix were gone, Jet and Kepler waited together in the repair shop¡¯s lobby. Jet continued to tap her boot on the floor impatiently and she forced her eyes to watch one of the lobby screens as she felt the seconds pass by slowly. Finally, she turned to Kepler and asked on a private channel in her headset, ¡°What are you going to do about these humans?¡± Kepler shrugged. ¡°Apparently, one human and a shapeshifter.¡± ¡°Do you know any aliens that can shapeshift?¡± she asked flatly. They fidgeted in their seat uncomfortably. ¡°No.¡± Kepler paused before they asked quietly, ¡°Do you think he¡¯s crazy?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s more likely that he doesn¡¯t realize how good he has it on Earth. He somehow accessed our online platforms and got excited learning about the System. He¡¯s doing this to stay up here.¡± ¡°So, you think he lied.¡± Jet sighed and leaned back in her seat. ¡°Obviously.¡± A pause hung between them as they both stared forward, not bothering to face each other. Then Kepler said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do. I¡¯m just trying to solve one problem at a time.¡± ¡°Are you going to let them stay on your ship?¡± They glanced back at Jet puzzledly. ¡°It¡¯s the only place right now that¡¯s safe for them.¡± She scoffed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that. Do you know what the System government would do if they found out you were hiding humans on your ship?¡± Kepler turned to face her and asked bitterly, ¡°What about when I was hiding a wanted fugitive on my ship? You snuck on just like they did.¡± She continued to face forward, not returning their gaze. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have been able to get rid of me then, even if you tried.¡± They groaned and threw up the hands of their spacesuit. ¡°Are you always like this? You can go, if you¡¯d like! I don¡¯t need you judging my life decisions. I¡¯m sure I can handle the repair costs myself.¡± Jet didn¡¯t say anything else. She just crossed her arms and continued to tap her foot. Kepler turned away, feeling their vines now a lot stiffer with frustration. Silent minutes passed by before a maintenance robot approached their seats. It was a dated model with a rusted color and visible cogs and metal joints visible between openings in its geometric plates. They heard it say through their headsets, ¡°We need you two to complete a questionnaire about your experience here.¡± It then gestured for them to get up from their seats and follow. Jet narrowed her eyes. ¡°The ship isn¡¯t repaired yet.¡± The robot waved for them to follow again. ¡°The survey is required,¡± it droned. It then began to head out of the lobby and Jet and Kepler just glanced at each other before they followed. The robot led them through the repair shop¡¯s rundown halls before they got to what Jet assumed was an office as the robot held the door open for them. As Jet and Kepler stood before the doorway, they saw that it was actually a supply closet. Jet glanced back towards the robot. ¡°What the hell-¡± Before she could finish her thought, she saw that the robot had fired a weapon at both herself and Kepler. Jet lifted her arm and noticed that a dart had pierced through her suit to dig into her skin. Then everything went numb. --- Jet and Kepler woke to hear an upbeat automated voice say, ¡°Welcome to Satellite: Leading in alien innovation.¡± As they came to their senses, they found themselves strapped into a self-guided vehicle that slowly hovered over a path illuminated by a single blue line. The front of the vehicle was completely open, allowing them to view the setup around the guided path. Screens lined the walls displaying new and advanced spaceships, drones, and devices made by Satellite. Optimistic corporate music played in the background. Jet wrestled in the seat she was strapped into and grunted furiously when nothing budged. Kepler spotted a hologram of a spaceship that they wished they could afford. The front of their helmets were unsealed, so they could clearly hear the feminine automated voice continue. ¡°We are the System¡¯s number one supplier in spacecrafts, robotics, and other technological innovations that allow us to thrive in the space age. Here in Satellite Headquarters, witness a world of cutting-edge technology that will lead the next generation.¡± The vehicle neared the end of the screen-filled hall, and a large door opened for the vehicle to travel on the blue line above an enormous shopping center where aliens gazed at various Satellite devices on different open floors. The whole place was sparkling clean and polished, a grand vast exhibit for the newest models. Jet and Kepler were stuck high above all of it in this strange informercial ride. They both tried yelling over the music to the shopping aliens below, but no one seemed to hear or notice them. Their vehicle then went through an opening at the other end of the center and they were in a hallway again. The interior of this whole structure was bright and glossy to bring a refreshing modern aesthetic. Their slow-moving vehicle continued on the glowing line through the reflective white halls with blue accents. The automated voice said, ¡°Unfortunately for you, your journey through Satellite Headquarters will have to be cut short as the CEO is expecting you. Please keep all limbs inside of the vehicle until it comes to a complete stop.¡± Jet wrestled in her seat again. ¡°As if we didn¡¯t have a choice!¡± The door to an office automatically opened and the vehicle hovered inside. The front of the vehicle then detached, leaving Jet and Kepler¡¯s seats to remain while the vehicle backed up before leaving the office. They both now were stuck in their seats in front of a glossy desk with a computer sitting on top of it. Lamps hovered in the air to provide warm lighting to the space. Almost everything else in the room was a hologram, including the potted plants, water dispenser, filing cabinets, and the generic paintings on the walls. The back wall of the office had a large screen that depicted a view overlooking a modern Earth city from a high up skyscraper. They both heard the computer whirr as it turned on. The sleek computer was rounded in shape and had two antennas that sparked to life with electricity. Its screen turned blue to allow two white glowing dots and a line to appear, depicting eyes and a mouth. The line depicting a mouth formed waves when the computer began speaking in the same peppy automated voice from the ride. ¡°I am Blair, the personal assistant to Satellite¡¯s CEO.¡± The face on the screen was then replaced by text that typed out, ¡°BL-A1R¡± in large letters. The eyes and mouth then returned for BL-A1R to say, ¡°You will be meeting with him shortly. As your humble host, please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.¡± Her face briefly became an ¡°;D¡± image. ¡°Can we leave?¡± Kepler asked. BL-A1R¡¯s face remained still for a moment before she said, ¡°Request rejected.¡± They shrugged as they glanced towards Jet. ¡°It was worth trying.¡± Jet breathed out forcefully, feeling herself boiling inside from dread and frustration. Her boot kept tapping the floor anxiously, as now that was the only free movement she had. She felt like she was going to lose it if she had to stay stuck like this for much longer. BL-A1R¡¯s spirited voice returned and she started playing music for a dramatic entrance. ¡°Now everybody, put your hands together for Roswell!¡± The large screen behind the desk displayed shots of gold confetti glistening over a dark background. The screen then parted in the middle to reveal a hidden doorway, and the main lighting in the room darkened for celebratory lights to start flashing. The alien named Roswell walked through this entrance and BL-A1R played sounds of erupting applause. Roswell waved to the imaginary audience while Jet and Kepler just stared at him blankly. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Roswell was a green humanoid figure, who seemed to be glowing with light ever so slightly. He had big dark eyes and no other facial features. He wore a dark grey suit that was similar to the traditional business suits that humans wore. He raised a hand to BL-A1R and then the music and applause cut out while the lighting returned back to normal. The screen behind him sealed and returned to depicting a view over an Earthen city. Roswell sat at the other side of the desk and he clapped his gloved hands together. ¡°How was that?¡± he asked sincerely. ¡°Blair and I have been practicing ways to introduce Satellite representatives with the strongest impression. I usually hire actors to be the face of my company, but I thought that since I have to meet with you, I¡¯d give it a go.¡± ¡°So,¡± he gestured towards Jet and Kepler and asked again, ¡°how was it?¡± They were both silent for a moment before Jet said sternly, ¡°You have a lot of nerve kidnapping us and then asking our opinion of your little show. You have no right to treat us like this.¡± Roswell leaned back in his seat. ¡°I feel like we¡¯re getting off on the wrong foot here.¡± He then snapped his fingers and a part of the wall opened up for an android without a head to enter, who carried a tray of champagne glasses. The android set the tray on the desk and then grabbed BL-A1R to place her between the android¡¯s shoulders. Now connected to her android body, BL-A1R¡¯s screen made an ¡°:)¡± face as she offered the tray towards Roswell. He took a glass of champagne from the robot and said, ¡°We¡¯re celebrating something special today. Please,¡± he gestured towards the remaining glasses, ¡°I insist.¡± The straps holding Jet and Kepler in place were suddenly released as BL-A1R offered them the tray. They both hesitated before taking a glass each. ¡°It¡¯s not everyday that somebody lands on Earth and makes it back to tell the tale,¡± Roswell lightly stated. ¡°I think that¡¯s one of the biggest felonies in the System.¡± Jet exhaled through her nose forcefully, refusing to let her guard down. ¡°What are you trying to get at?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Most of the Earthen border stations are Satellite spacecrafts.¡± He then gestured to BL-A1R, who brought up on her screen an image of Kepler¡¯s ship plummeting towards Earth. Neither of them could bring themselves to respond as they both felt the weight of this image sink in. Jet¡¯s robotic hand holding her champagne instinctively tightened and she cursed as the glass shattered in her grip, causing the drink to spill over her spacesuit. Roswell ignored the mess and raised a hand to assure them. ¡°Nobody has any of this evidence except for me, and you two have the ability to keep it that way. I just want to make a deal.¡± Jet silently brushed the glass off of herself while Kepler continued to glare back at Roswell, so he carried on. ¡°I know that you brought humans into the System, and if you hand them over to me, I¡¯ll have no problem making your records clean. And to help you out a bit, Satellite will provide you with a large profit annually, for your troubles.¡± "We didn¡¯t leave Earth with any humans,¡± Kepler immediately objected, not giving Jet a chance to respond. ¡°Well, while you were being transported here, this made System-wide news.¡± He gestured to BL-A1R again, who¡¯s screen changed to security footage in a convenience store spotting two humans racing through. ¡°What!?¡± Jet¡¯s eyes bulged and she stomped furiously, glass crunching under her boot. She had no way of controlling her outburst. ¡°Those absolute lunatics!¡± Roswell seemed pleased with that reaction and he added, ¡°If my androids don¡¯t return with those humans, I¡¯d honestly be surprised. But just in case, I¡¯m asking for your help in retrieving them as well.¡± Kepler¡¯s vines grew tense as they tried to hide how upset they were. ¡°Why do you even want humans?¡± they asked. ¡°Frankly, that¡¯s not any of your business. You just need to decide whether you¡¯re going to get the rest of your lives taken care of or not.¡± He leaned in curiously. ¡°Is this not enough? I can throw in more, if you¡¯d like.¡± Roswell motioned to the large screen behind him, which switched to display a sleek new spaceship. He coughed with a mouth that wasn¡¯t visible and adjusted his voice to sound more like a showman. ¡°It¡¯s the all-new Satellite Andromeda Max! Cruise through the cosmos in your very own crystal-powered double engine spaceship, equipped with three spacious levels that are designed to provide every luxury, from a full kitchen to your own fitness center. With this ship you can travel through the System in record time, in style!¡± He swiveled in his seat and added, ¡°If you¡¯re concerned that a spaceship this large is too much to handle, we¡¯ll throw in a crew of appliance robots, which will be committed to serving your every need. And your annual profit from Satellite will be more than enough to pay for any upkeep on your new ship and robot crew.¡± Satisfied by his own pitch, Roswell turned to them and extended a hand across the desk eagerly. ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡± They both hesitated, staring at his outstretched hand motionlessly. Then Jet asked, ¡°How much money are we talking?¡± ¡°No!¡± Kepler cut in before anyone could respond, slamming their drink on the desk. Their vines shook with rage as they said to Roswell, ¡°We¡¯re not going to be pawns aiding you with your filthy secrets. I don¡¯t care how much you have to offer, or what kind of dirt you have on us, we¡¯re not doing shit for you!¡± They pointed towards Roswell forcefully. ¡°The System¡¯s gonna uncover you one day and this whole company¡¯s gonna fall.¡± They crossed their arms to finish their outburst. Roswell blinked before he chuckled a bit. ¡°Alright, your loss.¡± He nodded to BL-A1R, who¡¯s face became an ¡°>:)¡± image. She grabbed a laser gun from behind the desk and pointed it directly at Kepler¡¯s chest. They flinched in shock while Roswell kicked back in his seat to watch their demise. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to take my offer, I can¡¯t let you leave here alive, unfortunately. It¡¯s nothing personal.¡± He swirled the champagne around in his glass impatiently while BL-A1R took the laser gun off of safety. ¡°Wait,¡± Jet quickly interjected. She barely realized that she said anything, as terror was consuming her. Her heart was pounding and there was a ringing in her ears. After a few short breaths she said, ¡°I also rather die than work for this shit company.¡± ¡°Oh, would you like to go first?¡± BL-A1R asked tauntingly. She stepped towards Jet and pointed the gun at her instead. Jet then immediately fell back in her seat, allowing her leg to kick upwards and knock the gun out of BL-A1R¡¯s hand. A laser fired and hit a light as that happened, causing sparks to shower down. Kepler¡¯s vines stretched out the arms of their spacesuit to catch the gun out of the air, and they instantly pointed it towards BL-A1R and Roswell. Jet rolled backwards off the floor to stand next to Kepler and she grinned at this new development. ¡°Nobody move!¡± Kepler yelled boldly, even though their voice slightly trembled. ¡°Or I¡¯ll blast you to smithereens!¡± The next second, they both sprinted for the exit. The door to the office automatically opened for them as they barged out for their lives. In the polished white and blue corridor, Kepler threw the gun towards the other end of the hall. Jet turned to them, astounded. ¡°What the hell are you doing!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± they yelled back wildly. ¡°I didn¡¯t like holding that thing!¡± The door to the office opened a moment later and BL-A1R dashed through to confront them. Electricity sparked vigorously between her antennas. She pointed at Jet and Kepler and exclaimed, ¡°Stop right there! >:(¡± They hesitated for a second and then sprinted away, running from the fuming android that chased after them. They turned sharply around corners and ran through several pristine corridors before they were in a hallway with an open elevator at the end. Jet pushed herself to race faster, and made it into the elevator first. She hammered the button to shut the doors and as they began to close, Kepler leaped and made it inside in time. Then they both heard the metal clang as BL-A1R crashed against the closed door. Kepler weakly got up, fighting complete exhaustion while Jet had the elevator descend towards the headquarters¡¯ main level. Elevator music started playing and they both stood there in silence. Suddenly, BL-A1R¡¯s voice came in through the speakers, shouting over the music, ¡°I¡¯m going to end you!¡± The elevator dinged as they got to their level and they both rushed out into an open dealership floor selling various spaceships. The headquarters¡¯ grand exit stood on the other side of this large shopping center. Jet and Kepler reattached the front of their helmets to prepare to exit and they ran through the crowds of shoppers. They got plenty of confused looks as they pushed past aliens in a hurry. Kepler glanced back and noticed that a fleet of drones were flying down from above. They pulled Jet¡¯s arm and made a sharp turn towards one of the exiting airlocks, throwing off the drones¡¯ projection. The airlock sealed and then the other side opened for them to exit the headquarters towards one of Q-23¡¯s connecting walkways. They both ran across the bridge¡¯s glowing tiles surrounded by superstructures with brightly shining Satellite logos and holograms showing off Satellite technology. They both noticed when several drones swarmed in the space above and started soaring down towards them. As the drones approached their bridge, Jet did the one thing she could and tackled Kepler. They both fell off of the bridge together, plummeting straight through a giant hologram advertisement. Kepler screamed the whole way down. Their gravity-regulators forced them to crash land in an open square, which was directly below the bridge they descended from. Nearby aliens in spacesuits scampered away, startled by their rough landing. Jet rolled onto her back and grimaced in pain. She gazed up at the gleaming superstructures connected to various walkways that surrounded her. She turned her head and noticed the fountain of glowing drones that Phoenix had been talking about. The radiating art that the grand fountain produced was incredible. This part of Q-23 was way too nice to be anywhere near the rundown repair shop they had been taken from. Kepler heaved themself up and pointed excitedly at a nearby structure. ¡°There¡¯s a train station here!¡± they exclaimed in their headset. Jet huffed a fatigued breath as she stood next to Kepler and they both hurried towards the station. As they ran across the tiles, Kepler glanced back and shouted, ¡°Look out!¡± Jet turned around to find a single Satellite drone soaring after them. She gritted her teeth furiously and reared her arm back to punch the drone right in its lens with her metal fist. Shards of glass flew and the drone¡¯s mechanics whirred as it floated back into space lifelessly. Jet stared at its broken state while panting through her rage. She was then pulled back by Kepler as surrounding aliens gawked at her in surprise. Together they dashed into the train station. Chapter Six Evie and Phoenix finally reached the airlock to re-enter the repair shop. They both panted heavily into their helmets after running the entire way back. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Phoenix asked while gasping for air. ¡°We got to tell Kepler to take us the hell out of here,¡± she wheezed in response. The doors to the lobby opened and Evie was relieved that no one could see her panicked face through her dark helmet. As they stepped into the waiting area, they realized the same thing. Jet and Kepler were gone. ¡°Where¡¯d they go?¡± Evie whispered. Phoenix shrugged and they both glanced around, trying to spot them. As Evie took another step forward, Phoenix suddenly brought out an arm to stop her. ¡°Wait.¡± He gestured towards a group of androids in the lobby that were white and glossy in appearance. They kept scanning the area with the dark lenses they had for eyes. ¡°What? Aren¡¯t those maintenance robots?¡± she asked. He shook his head. ¡°The robots that work here aren¡¯t that clean and advanced. I recognize those new designs. Someone with a lot of money sent them here. They could even be sent by the System government.¡± The androids continued to scan the area, obviously looking for something. Phoenix took a slow step back towards the airlock, and Evie followed his lead. One of the androids suddenly locked lenses on them and started heading their way. They both dropped their subtle escape to sprint into the airlock and seal it in time to prevent any robots from getting inside. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re in trouble now,¡± Phoenix said nervously. Evie nodded in agreement before the doors to space opened. They were once again hurrying down the crowded streets between the blocky eroding structures. Phoenix noticed a small alley between two of the structures and he pulled Evie into the dark narrow passage. They kept their backs pressed against the wall and watched a few of the sleek shiny androids rush on by, standing out amongst the rundown street. ¡°I¡¯m sending Kepler a message,¡± Phoenix hastily stated. He typed into the screen on his suit and then they waited, hiding in the alley. --- Jet and Kepler sat in a silver booth as their train departed above the city, headed for structures that were more outdated and chaotic in how they were jumbled together to become various districts. They both kept their helmets sealed so that they could speak to each other on a private headset channel. A circular hovering drone with a design to signify that it was used as a conductor floated through their train car, scanning the screens on aliens¡¯ spacesuits for tickets. The drone stopped at their booth and said into their headsets, ¡°Tickets, please.¡± Kepler pulled up the tickets on their screen to be scanned by the drone. After the drone scanned them and continued on its way through the train cars, Kepler checked their screen and said, ¡°Oh, Phoenix sent me a message while we were in Satellite.¡± ¡°Were they caught by Roswell¡¯s androids?¡± Jet asked. ¡°No, they¡¯re both in hiding right now.¡± Their leaves sighed in relief. Her ear twitched as she looked at Kepler. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ll risk everything to save two strangers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act like you didn¡¯t put yourself in danger to save my life,¡± they challenged. Jet turned her eyes to the window and watched the bright lights of the city below pass by. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like watching you get yourself killed,¡± she stated plainly. ¡°And as nice as Roswell¡¯s deal sounded, I didn¡¯t trust that he¡¯d take care of us just for doing one job for him.¡± She continued to stare out the window before saying, ¡°We¡¯ve got to get out of this city fast.¡± They perked up a bit. ¡°We?¡± She scoffed. ¡°Satellite¡¯s gonna be after me just as much as you after what we just did. We need to go as far as we can from Q-23.¡± Jet then stood and said, ¡°You contact the repair shop and make sure we can retrieve your ship by the time we get back. I¡¯m going to get a coffee.¡± She then left Kepler alone in the booth and headed down towards a different car on the train where they provided beverages. As they watched her exit the car, a few of Kepler¡¯s leaves shook excitedly. They couldn¡¯t help but feel gratified that Jet was sticking with them. The train kept speeding down the glowing tracks, within the skyline of the vast luminous city. The city¡¯s bordering space stations hovered closely above the train. Later, in an empty passenger car, Jet had the front of her helmet detached as she was busy chugging a cup of coffee while frantically pacing. The caffeine made her more on edge and jittery, but she needed it to stay alert. The anxiety over the new situation she had somehow gotten herself into wasn¡¯t helping. At one point Jet gritted her teeth and held her forehead as she felt a migraine start to come in. The earthy bold scent of the grounds overwhelmed her senses, adding to the headache. Maybe she did have too much caffeine. She glanced down at her cup and noticed that it was empty. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t enough. Jet hurried to the car door to get back to where there was coffee, but as the door automatically opened, she came to face with a familiar blue screen. BL-A1R¡¯s screen made a face as she said brightly, ¡°Hello! :D¡± Her android body then punched Jet in the face before she could react. Jet stumbled back and fell to the floor, feeling the agony of the robot¡¯s hit ripple through her. She stepped into Jet¡¯s car, laughing in her automated voice. ¡°That will make you think twice before you go against Satellite! Now your only options are to surrender or perish!¡± Jet brought a hand up to her face and found that her nose was bleeding. Her heart was pumping loudly in her eardrums and the nerves swelled until she felt numb. Fueled by a wave of panic, she sprung to her feet and started swinging at BL-A1R with her metal fists. BL-A1R took a couple of the hits and brought up her arms to deflect some of the others. Jet kept fighting while continuing to feel light headed. She yelled through the feeling to remain in control of herself and maintain her persistent attacks. She punched the android¡¯s head, which spun in place before BL-A1R reached up to hold it still. BL-A1R then spun her robotic torso around to punch Jet with unnatural strength. Jet could barely process it when she fell, feeling more consumed by her agony than fueled by it. Her vision grew blurrier as the migraine became overbearing and a ringing returned in her ears that made her feel deaf. Jet didn¡¯t have the capacity to react when BL-A1R dragged her limp body across the floor towards the car¡¯s emergency exit. Her helmet closed as her suit prepared to enter space. As the airlock to the emergency exit opened, Kepler barged into their train car and shrieked in surprise. They sprinted to the exit and made it into the airlock just as it sealed itself from the rest of the train. The other side of the airlock then opened to reveal the city skyline rushing by. BL-A1R threw Jet to the floor, forcing her to remain prone. From her perspective down below, Jet watched the others fight in a blur before BL-A1R chased Kepler out of the airlock and up the side ladder to the top of the train. Waves of agony and nausea pushed through. She was back in the dark place, forced to endure the torment. Sparks flew and she squeezed her eyes shut to make them go away. Jet blinked and tried to focus on the blurry moving skyline. She brought attention to her breathing until she could hear it over the ringing in her ears. She remembered the flash of light and flinched. That wasn¡¯t happening now. Kepler was in trouble and needed her help. Familiar panic swelled from within, giving her enough of a push to get her to her feet. Jet put a hand against the wall for balance as another wave of nausea took over. She gulped down a breath and shook her head, trying to conquer the feeling. She focused on the train¡¯s exterior ladder and started climbing. Her muscles ached agonizingly, and she found it much more difficult to climb than she expected. On top of the train, Kepler and BL-A1R were locked into a fight. The tops of cluttered structures and neon lights sped by while space stations hovered dangerously close overhead. Kepler reeled back from a painful hit from BL-A1R and then dodged to narrowly miss the next punch. They didn¡¯t really know how to fight, and at the moment it felt like BL-A1R¡¯s android body was made for this. They ran back from the robot to avoid more attacks and then desperately used their vines to grow out one of their arms, allowing them to hit BL-A1R with more power. BL-A1R stumbled from the force before charging forwards to attack again. They could only bring up their hands defensively and a second later Kepler was lying on top of the train, writhing in pain. BL-A1R looked down at Kepler with her face making an ¡°>:D¡± image. ¡°On the behalf of Satellite, I welcome you to your demise!¡± As BL-A1R said this, Kepler noticed a figure run across the top of the train car from behind her. Sure enough, it was Jet, who used her horns to bash into the robot. BL-A1R¡¯s antennas buzzed with sparks as she wavered from the impact. They continued to flash with electricity as she turned around to take on Jet. Jet could barely see as she punched at the android with her own robotic fists. BL-A1R continued to stumble backwards as she was thrown off by each hit again and again. Jet panted heavily as she felt nothing but her own fury, which ignited each move she took to damage the android. BL-A1R stopped moving back when she reached the end of their train car, with the gap between the next car directly behind her. As Jet drew back her fist for another punch, BL-A1R quickly grabbed both of Jet¡¯s wrists and held them on either side of her head with an iron grip. The voltage igniting between BL-A1R¡¯s antennas grew more intense as the robot said, ¡°Target acquired.¡± ¡°Jet!¡± Time moved too fast for Jet to processes what was happening. She just heard Kepler shout her name and then suddenly she was tackled down from behind. The very next moment, the train was traveling through a tight space between the top of the skyline and the bottom of a very close space station. BL-A1R¡¯s body fell to her knees when her head was taken clean off by the station. As the train continued to speed away, a distant explosion of electricity flashed. BL-A1R¡¯s automated voice screamed in anger as she was not able to electrocute Jet in time and was instead stuck floating away into space as just a head. She furiously exclaimed to nobody, ¡°I will have vengeance! >:0¡± Back on top of the train, BL-A1R¡¯s body jolted to bring herself to her feet and then she brokenly stumbled towards Jet and Kepler with clenched fists. Now having more of an awareness of her situation, Jet grabbed Kepler¡¯s hand and pulled them towards the side of the train. ¡°Hang on!¡± ¡°No!¡± Kepler dug in their heels to stop Jet from pulling them any further. ¡°We are not jumping off this train! You can¡¯t just keep diving off of ledges and expecting me to follow!¡± She groaned impatiently. ¡°I actually have a plan this time.¡± ¡°Oh, you have a secret plan?¡± Their vines shook bitterly. ¡°That makes blindly trusting you totally worth it!¡± ¡°Fantastic,¡± she said dryly. Jet then ran off the side of the train, leaping into the emptiness of space and dragging Kepler along with them. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°That was sarcasm, you fool!¡± they shouted angrily. Their gravity-regulators couldn¡¯t find any nearby objects to connect to and the two of them floated away from the speeding train weightlessly. Jet instructed them to turn off their gravity-regulators to keep them in their weightless state. ¡°Hold on tight!¡± she yelled. Then Jet¡¯s boots powered on and flaming rockets erupted from the bottom of her shoes. She flew through the top of the city, dragging Kepler behind her. Kepler could barely comprehend that they were now freely soaring between the bright clusters of city districts. The city stretched on forever beneath their feet, towards another skyline. Jet and Kepler both felt nauseating feelings as they descended to the nearby cluttered district where the repair shop was. Her rocket boots carried them through the open gaps within the city until they landed in the street closest to the repair shop. They both turned back on their gravity-regulators to hurry inside the shop and retrieve Kepler¡¯s ship. --- A lot of time passed, with most of that time being spent with Evie sitting while holding her knees close to her chest and Phoenix pacing up and down their small alley anxiously. He kept checking his screen uncontrollably and every so often Evie would ask, ¡°Anything?¡± He always just shook his head in response. Finally, Phoenix gasped as what he had been waiting for popped up on the screen. ¡°Kepler sent a message!¡± ¡°What does it say?¡± She instantly got to her feet, having a bit of a head rush in the process. ¡°Stay where you are,¡± he read from his screen. He glanced towards Evie and added, ¡°Doesn¡¯t say anything else.¡± She felt a wave of disappointment. ¡°That¡¯s lame.¡± Evie boredly kicked the wall, wishing she could get out of this city already. ¡°Hopefully that means they¡¯re coming.¡± Phoenix nervously glanced around, not really sure how to take the message at the moment. Evie noticed him anxiously fidgeting in place, which was all too familiar to her. ¡°You¡¯re scared now,¡± she stated, not bothering to phrase it as a question. He let out a short breath. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to belong here. I spent my entire life on Earth trying to hide, but now I¡¯m up here, hiding again.¡± He gestured around the alley frustratedly. ¡°I¡¯ve always been scared. But now I¡¯m terrified when I¡¯m not supposed to be.¡± Phoenix sat against the wall and pressed his hands to his helmet, remaining in a defeated sunken position. He looked exhausted. She stood there for a moment, not really knowing how to react before she silently sat next to him. Finally, she shortly stated, ¡°You¡¯re not alone, though.¡± If anything, she said it to comfort herself. She felt better knowing that she wasn¡¯t the only one terrified for her life. They spent some time silently sitting together before Evie noticed more of the white polished androids searching by their alley again. Fear gripped her as she realized that they weren¡¯t going to stay safe in this alley for long. She turned to him eagerly, trying to get him out of the defeated slump he was currently in. ¡°You said you recognize these robots, right?¡± He glanced towards the androids in sight. ¡°Yeah, I think they¡¯re Satellite designs.¡± Phoenix lowered his head again and mumbled, ¡°They¡¯re so cool.¡± He spoke longingly, wishing he could enjoy the place he had been obsessing over instead of hiding from all of it. ¡°Hey!¡± Evie clapped her hands in front of his helmet, trying again to get him out of it. ¡°Do you know if they have a weakness?¡± He thought for a moment. ¡°Their lenses are sensitive to flashing lights.¡± Phoenix suddenly livened up and started typing into the screen on his suit. ¡°You gotta see this video of one of them freaking out from a camera flash. It¡¯s so funny.¡± She glanced towards the robots searching in the open street. ¡°Not now, Phoenix!¡± Evie pulled at his arm anxiously. ¡°Right.¡± He looked up and thought for another moment before an idea came to him. He turned back to the screen to pull up a destination on the navigation map. ¡°Yes!¡± he cheered victoriously. ¡°We¡¯re close to one.¡± One of the androids scanned their lens into the alley. Evie scrambled to her feet. ¡°Close to what!?¡± He instantly grabbed Evie by the hand and together they darted out of the other end of the alley, away from the androids that were now chasing them. Phoenix kept glancing at the map on his screen as they dashed around endless turns before they came to his destination. The place that they stopped at was a dark boxy structure with an extremely faded painted label that signaled this place was originally a compartment of a storage unit. Now this structure was covered in glowing graffiti and the interior radiated with dancing lights, signaling that this place had been transported to this street to be converted into a club. As they rushed to the entrance, a visibly worn rectangular robot that resembled an ATM slid in front of the open doorway to stop them. ¡°No underage aliens allowed,¡± the robot droned with a dated mechanical voice. ¡°Must show faces and ID.¡± The robot scanned their helmets with a light, which soon started blinking red. ¡°Error,¡± the robot bouncer reported. ¡°Face not detected.¡± Phoenix glanced back to see the glossy polished androids headed their way from the other end of the street. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± he quickly stated. He tried stepping by the robot to make it inside, but the robot slid again to block him. ¡°Stop. No trespassing.¡± With time running out, Phoenix just decided to lower his gravity-regulator to weightlessly climb over the robot and make it inside. ¡°Halt,¡± the robot commanded with more urgency. ¡°Stop. Please. I need this job.¡± Once inside, Phoenix turned back on his gravity-regulator to hurry deeper into the club. The robot bouncer slid after him, blinking the red light and urging Phoenix to stop. Evie quickly followed, knowing that the androids searching for them would get there any second. Colorful lights danced around the otherwise dark and dingy scene, and the floor was packed with aliens busy moving to the music that played in everyone¡¯s headset. This decaying structure had no airlocks, meaning that all aliens had to keep their helmets sealed. At the club tables, some aliens injected a gas into their own spacesuits to inhale. Being hidden by her own spacesuit and having the music come through her headset at her preferred volume did make her feel less overwhelmed than she would be at a party normally. While Phoenix pushed through the crowd to get away from the visibly upset robot, Evie stood amongst the partying aliens and did a little shuffle along to the music, somewhat enjoying herself. She partied alongside an anglerfish alien, who shined on the dance floor with their luminescent fin ray that grew out of their head. A scorpion alien glowed completely turquoise in the blacklight, adding to the illuminated dancers. One of these aliens looked like a bunch of glowing green mushrooms in their helmet. The dimness of the club emphasized how much these aliens were able to radiate in the dark. Evie glanced back and saw the group of androids enter the cramped party, and their bright advanced designs stuck out against the dark rundown club even more. Several aliens stopped dancing to gawk at the sudden appearance of robots that were rarely seen in the district. As they froze at the appearance of these androids, more aliens noticed Phoenix getting pursued by the robot bouncer. The rave music hit a beat drop and suddenly the entire place was flashing with strobe lights. The androids¡¯ lenses were instantly overwhelmed and they started glitching in place, sort of in sync with the music. Phoenix pointed to them and shouted, ¡°Look, more trespassers!¡± The robot bouncer, who was unaffected by the lights, turned towards the group of glitching androids. A buzzing taser suddenly dispensed from the robot as it declared, ¡°No trespassing!¡± The bouncer slid to the androids and tased them, causing them all to short circuit and collapse. The surrounding aliens all started cheering, encouraging on their bouncer. Evie could only stare at this absurd sight along with Phoenix. Then the robot turned towards them with its taser and started sliding in their direction. ¡°Trespassers must be eliminated.¡± They both sprinted away, pushing through the crowd to dash out of the other end of the club, into the next open city street. The robot remained just outside the club exit, guarding it protectively. ¡°And stay out!¡± it droned furiously. Evie and Phoenix took a moment to stop and catch their breaths, free from being hunted down by robots for the time being. Then Phoenix noticed at the far end of the street a new group of advanced androids rushing through. Evie also noticed them and she breathed, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± They both ran away from the new group of androids until they reached a street that descended below them at a ninety-degree angle. Aliens moved up and down this street below, seemingly able to walk on the vertical platform. Evie instantly stopped at what she felt was a cliff edge. Her fear of heights gripped her heart and she found that she was completely unable to move any further. Phoenix saw her freeze and he glanced back to see the androids still pursuing them from the other end of the street. He hastily stepped over the ledge to the next street, and his gravity-regulator adjusted to the change in direction. He now stood on the next platform vertically to Evie. ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± he assured urgently as he reached out his hand towards her. ¡°Your gravity-regulator won¡¯t let you fall.¡± Evie glanced back to make sure she had no other options before closing her eyes and reaching out for Phoenix. She screamed as she stumbled forward, and after a still moment she opened her eyes to see that she was standing on the next street while gripping onto Phoenix¡¯s arm for her life. She let go and took a deep breath, feeling full of racing nerves. They didn¡¯t have time to mentally collect themselves or talk about the insane physics behind this, so they just continued to run down the next series of eroding walkways that towered in mind-bending angles. This city was now revealing itself to be a labyrinth. The roads they dashed through were endless and sprawled in all directions. There was no more sense of up or down, as they were racing through a scattered web. It started to feel like no matter how much she kept running, Evie would remain trapped. As they ran down the next street, Evie glanced up and noticed the city¡¯s towering screens above their district change to display news feed. The footage showed their escape through the convenience store from a security camera, depicting the exact moment they had their faces showing. Captions all around read, ¡°Humans Spotted in Q-23.¡± Her heart immediately sank. Suddenly, aliens started fleeing from the street as they noticed a spaceship approaching, which was flying out of bounds from the permitted lanes of spaceship traffic. The ship hastily hovered to a stop directly above their street and Phoenix instantly recognized Jet and Kepler in the windshield. The ramp detached from the bottom of the ship and he jumped to land on the hovering platform. He hastily motioned for Evie to follow and exclaimed, ¡°Come on!¡± Evie quickly inhaled before she leaped onto the ramp, which then drew back in to close. They were now both secured in the ship¡¯s lower airlock. Phoenix opened the front of his helmet and let out a deep breath, relieved to be safe in the ship again. Evie did the same. They both laughed tiredly, feeling giddy from the fact that they actually made it. They entered the bridge to find Kepler piloting the ship through the open lanes of Q-23, past all the giant screens and holograms that displayed the news footage covering the recent discovery of humans in the System. Jet was sitting nearby and she turned to them with a bitter expression. ¡°Mind telling us what the hell happened?¡± she asked coldly. They both paused nervously before Evie decided to say, ¡°We tried Earth Soda.¡± Kepler gasped and briefly turned from the control panel. ¡°I love Earth Soda!¡± Jet face palmed in annoyance. ¡°How¡¯d you find us?¡± Phoenix asked. "I can track your spacesuits from the ship!¡± Kepler proudly declared. ¡°I¡¯m just glad we got to you before those Satellite androids did.¡± ¡°I knew those were Satellite designs!¡± Phoenix exclaimed with a grin. ¡°They looked so cool.¡± ¡°No, they look like dumb pieces of garbage.¡± Jet¡¯s ear twitched irritably. Phoenix noticed a red stain beneath her nose and he asked, ¡°Are you bleeding?¡± Jet hastily wiped her nose even though the blood was already dry. Before she could respond, Evie noticed the city¡¯s surrounding screens start to change. ¡°What is that?¡± she breathed. The two aliens both followed her gaze out the windshield and saw images of Jet about to punch the camera with Kepler just behind her. They recalled Jet punching that drone away as they were fleeing from Satellite Headquarters. Beneath these images, captions read, ¡°Wanted: Human Abductors.¡± They both froze when they noticed the headlines, and at first they couldn¡¯t say anything out of shock. Then Jet covered her face with her hands and she yelled into them, ¡°FUCK!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not good,¡± Kepler said worriedly as they threw their ship into a higher speed. Evie and Phoenix stumbled from the change in velocity. They buckled themselves into nearby seats and then Phoenix pointed towards the windshield and warned, ¡°Watch out!¡± Sure enough, several speeding ships flashing with orange lights were heading their way. ¡°Those are System Agent ships,¡± Kepler informed. ¡°Now we¡¯ve got the entire government after us,¡± Jet mumbled into her hands. ¡°Ah, so we¡¯re doomed,¡± Evie stated with discontent. Kepler¡¯s vines tightened around the ship¡¯s controls. ¡°No, we¡¯re not.¡± Kepler pulled a lever and then thrusted their ship out of the permitted traffic lane to speed between the city districts. Everyone else in the ship started hollering from the reckless flying. The spaceship weaved its way through the webs of towering structures and city streets. It soared right by a giant hologram of a celebrity alien performing, who winked at the ship as the hologram was programmed to react that way with any nearby movement. The System Agent ships chasing them grew further behind as they were not able to fly through these obstacles as quickly as Kepler. ¡°I hope you¡¯re wearing your seatbelts!¡± is all Kepler shouted before they pulled another lever and sent their ship spiraling back to briefly flip upside down. Everyone was tossed in their seats from the shift in gravity and then the ship started plummeting straight downwards. A few of the agent ships just stopped as they watched this insane maneuver and the rest that tried to follow could not descend through the city as fast as Kepler¡¯s ship. Kepler located an opening for their ship to flee through and they cranked up speed to rocket past the surrounding space stations, away from Q-23. Now with their ship flying freely through the vast emptiness outside the city, Kepler sunk back into their seat feeling both exhausted and relieved. Phoenix cheered and threw his fist into the air excitedly. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Evie heaved while staring at the floor, feeling like she was about to throw up. She managed to wheeze, ¡°Yay.¡± Jet had her eyes closed for most of the chaotic ride while she gripped the armrests of her seat. When she opened her eyes and realized that they were speeding away from Q-23, she pointed at a screen displaying the shrinking city behind them and laughed viciously. ¡°Better luck next time, idiots!¡± Kepler felt delighted with the sounds of celebration, not being used to having others surrounding them in the bridge at all. It was a ship full of stowaways that now along with Kepler were wanted fugitives, but Kepler didn¡¯t mind that at the moment. They triumphantly set the ship¡¯s controls in a projection away from the city, towards the endless expanse of space. --- Back in Satellite Headquarters, Roswell sat in his private office while staring at the screen that displayed the view overlooking an Earthen city. The phone on his desk rang and he picked it up to hear BL-A1R say, ¡°Bad news, Roswell-¡± He hung up before she could say anything else. Roswell furiously hammered his fist down on the desk, causing his gloved hand to break off. He watched the glove deflate as green glowing slime oozed out. Roswell watched the slime pool on his desk before he reached out his arm and had the slime reform back to become his hand. He moved his hand around to make sure he had control over his body and then he put the glove back on. He then got out of his seat and left his office. This job was going to be more difficult than he expected. Chapter Seven For a century, the System civilization existed, completely void of humans. Now every media outlet was covering the story of humans spotted in the System¡¯s capital city. Moments later, border stations surrounding Earth leaked footage of an alien spaceship entering and returning from the planet, proving that the impossible had been done. An identification of the ship verified that Kepler was the one responsible for illegally landing on the planet and abducting humans into the System, with the help of an alien named Jet, who was caught on camera by a Satellite drone before it was destroyed. Now the System government was actively searching for any leads on finding the fugitives and the humans they abducted. When asked about what would happen to the humans once they were found by System Agents, they stated that the information was under disclosure. Aliens on every media platform had something to say about this unprecedented situation. ¡°It¡¯s about time the humans got to experience what we¡¯ve been going through for our entire existence,¡± one alien declared. ¡°They¡¯ve been enjoying the technology that we laboriously developed up here on a planet that actually supports life. A planet that we were all created on, but are forbidden to return to. Now humans finally get to know what it¡¯s like to worry about where you¡¯re getting your next breath of oxygen or what kind of tech you¡¯ll need to prevent yourself from dying up here.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to take this human abduction into our advantage,¡± another alien said. ¡°The humans have already been abducted. We can make an arrangement with the Creators for more resources in return for their kind. This is a good chance to show the Creators the extents we¡¯re willing to go to survive.¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t a human abduction,¡± a different alien proclaimed. ¡°The humans have infiltrated alien ships and are coming for us. Our best chance is for all of us to flee to the outskirts of the Solar System before we are all destroyed!¡± A podcaster alien stated, ¡°Now that there are humans in the System, no one is safe from the dangers they possess. Remember what they did to us in labs? Don¡¯t forget that they¡¯re just as smart as we are. Anyone now could be a human in disguise, waiting until we let our guard down. And the moment we do, that¡¯s when they¡¯ll strike!¡± On a public transit ship traveling between cities through the emptiness of space, one alien glanced over while listening to his podcast to look at his seated neighbor, who was a caterpillar alien. The caterpillar had huge black and yellow eyes that were unmoving, and a moment¡¯s inspection made him realize that the caterpillar¡¯s eyes were fake spots. Their whole face looked like a mask portraying a cartoonish disguise. He reached towards his neighbor, expecting to pull the disguise off of this mysterious figure. The caterpillar alien noticed him reaching out and they instinctively smacked his hand away. ¡°That¡¯s my actual face, asshole!¡± On a System social media platform, someone commented, ¡°If aliens really did land on Earth, they would not return to the System. The difficulty of hiding from the Creators on Earth is worth it to not spend another day up here. Are we forgetting how notoriously hard landing on Earth is? And now the aliens have abducted humans with no problem? #TheEarthLandingWasFaked.¡± Someone else stated, ¡°I swear if the Creators send us less resources because those aliens abducted humans, I¡¯m going to hunt down those fugitives myself.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who abducted those humans,¡± somebody else said. ¡°Humanity will blame all of us for it and declare war on the alien race.¡± ¡°Oh, that would be horrible,¡± Kepler muttered as they read from a screen in the ship¡¯s common area. They were seated at the center table, amongst the rubble of machines and crates that were still scattered around from the crash landing on Earth. ¡°What is it, now?¡± Jet asked with a sigh. She looked up from her drink with half-open eyes, visibly exhausted from all she went through in the last few hours. ¡°Some aliens are saying that this is the beginning of a war between us and humans,¡± Kepler said, not looking up from their screen. ¡°If there was a war between aliens and humans, then all of humanity would have to know that we exist,¡± she said matter-of-factly. ¡°The Creators are going to do everything they can to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen, regardless of what happens to the humans already up here.¡± Evie and Phoenix then rushed into the common area from the bridge, and Evie slammed a device onto the table with purpose. The device displayed a hologram that was a web of scattered ideas with the large heading, ¡°Mission: Get Evie Home.¡± ¡°This is it,¡± she announced to the room boldly. ¡°The gameplan to get me back to Earth.¡± She nodded to Phoenix, who used an electronic pen to navigate to the part of the hologram depicting Earth, and the planet grew larger to take up the hologram. He then said smugly, ¡°Check this out.¡± Phoenix clicked the pen before an animation played of a spaceship flying into Earth. Evie looked to Kepler and said, ¡°You¡¯re going to teach me how to pilot a spaceship, and then we¡¯ll find an abandoned one for me to fly myself back to Earth. That way you all don¡¯t have to worry about the consequences of trying to land on Earth again.¡± Jet narrowed her eyes. ¡°Where are you going to get this spaceship?¡± ¡°Phoenix told me that spaceships get abandoned all the time,¡± she quickly replied. ¡°All sorts of spacecrafts do,¡± Phoenix pitched in. ¡°This is how the System develops. The old gets discarded to make way for the new. Even parts of cities get broken off to be replaced with more advanced structures. Constantly developing is the only way for a space civilization to survive. The part of Q-23 we were in was so eroded that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that whole district was soon detached to become a junkyard.¡± Kepler shook their vines. ¡°Junkyards look much worse than that, I¡¯ll have you know!¡± Jet snorted. ¡°Spacecrafts get reused several times by poorer districts until they are no longer functional. And any that are abandoned are usually scavenged for all their worth before they¡¯re left hollow.¡± She looked to Kepler as she said this. ¡°Any completely abandoned spaceships are in no way capable of landing on Earth.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°And I can¡¯t just teach you how to land a spaceship on a planet like that!¡± Kepler protested. ¡°Have you ever piloted anything before?¡± Evie shrugged. ¡°I have a driver¡¯s license.¡± ¡°You¡¯re also forgetting that you¡¯ve been caught on camera, which throws a huge wrench into all of this since the Creators now know that you¡¯re up here.¡± Jet turned off the hologram of Evie¡¯s plan and brought up a hologram of the news footage of Evie and Phoenix being spotted in the convenience store. Evie studied the footage, which was blurry as they had moved through quickly and the camera didn¡¯t have a very good lens. ¡°How bad is it?¡± she asked. ¡°It is difficult to identify who you are exactly, but it¡¯s enough to prove that you¡¯re a human,¡± Jet stated. ¡°You might be safe if you get back to Earth without being spotted again, but the Creators will definitely have more attention on the border stations now. While up here you have the System Agents to worry about, on Earth you¡¯ll have to make sure that the Creators don¡¯t find out who you are.¡± Phoenix¡¯s eyes seemed to cloud in thought at that last statement. Evie just crossed her arms and sighed. ¡°Okay, so the plan isn¡¯t foolproof yet. We¡¯re still working on it.¡± ¡°Right now, we have another mission,¡± Jet pointed out. ¡°We are all currently the most wanted fugitives in the System. Everyone is being told to turn us in to the System Agents, and on top of that, the most powerful company is also after us for some reason. This is mission hide from everybody and trust no one.¡± ¡°Trust no one but¡­¡± Kepler paused as they leaned forward eagerly, waiting for someone to finish their sentence before they just exclaimed, ¡°each other!¡± Jet scoffed at that and focused back on her drink. Evie and Phoenix glanced at each other hesitantly. Kepler¡¯s leaves sighed at the lack of any reaction. They got up from their seat and said defeatedly, ¡°I think I have some spaceship piloting manuals down in the engine room. I¡¯ll go find them.¡± They then left the common area to go down the ship¡¯s stairs, leaving the others to reside amongst the scattered rubble. An agonizing pause hung in the air as Kepler was now missing. The constant sound of the humming engine and the occasional mechanical beeps were in full focus. Finally, Phoenix decided to point out to Jet, ¡°You don¡¯t know that everyone would turn us in to the System Agents. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some aliens online I could talk to who would help us out.¡± Jet gritted her teeth and pointed a robotic finger at him. ¡°If you blow our cover online, I am going to punch you.¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Evie raised her eyebrows in surprise, not at all ready for Jet¡¯s remark. Phoenix pinched the bridge of his nose, visibly irked by this. ¡°Holy shit, I was just trying to help!¡± He gestured to Jet frustratedly. ¡°Have you considered fucking off?¡± ¡°You think you know how the System works, that you¡¯re one of us. You think you know how to get back to Earth, or get an alien on your side, but that shit¡¯s gonna get us all in trouble!¡± As Jet said this, she shot out of her seat and stormed towards Phoenix, forcing him to back against the wall of the common area. Evie watched them nervously, and she pulled at her own jacket as she didn¡¯t know what else to do. ¡°Uh, guys¡­¡± Jet couldn¡¯t hear her. The blood pumping in her eardrums was overwhelming. ¡°I won¡¯t get caught,¡± she said sharply. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn¡¯t happen!¡± Jet felt her fury swell and she instinctively threw a punch, which hit the wall right by Phoenix¡¯s head. Phoenix forcefully pushed Jet away, and they both turned back to see the dent left in the wall by Jet¡¯s metallic fist. He turned to her furiously. ¡°What the hell, Jet!?¡± Jet stared at the dent with wide eyes, and she felt the boiling rage start to dwindle down. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that,¡± she said, taken aback. "You sure? You did just threaten to beat the shit out of me!¡± he exclaimed bitterly. Jet let out a short breath. ¡°I can¡¯t handle this.¡± She stepped away to leave the common area. ¡°What about the damage you just did?¡± Phoenix gestured to the dent in the wall, forcing Jet to stop and look back at what she created. ¡°I¡¯m not going to be responsible for that!¡± Jet¡¯s ear twitched and before she could reply, Evie pulled a crumpled rolled up poster from one of the fallen crates and used it to cover the dent in the wall. She stepped back to gaze at the poster, which was an artistic image of a cyborg cat. ¡°There,¡± Evie stated shortly. ¡°Problem solved.¡± Jet scowled at the poster. ¡°That¡¯s pathetic.¡± Phoenix turned to her with an annoyed expression. ¡°Yeah, you are,¡± he retorted. Before Jet could respond, Evie stepped between them sternly. ¡°Okay, the fighting ends now.¡± She pushed down her own nerves so that she could confront each of them. ¡°Phoenix, you¡¯ve never been to the System before. Admit that you don¡¯t know everything and that you could learn a thing or two. Jet, learn to chill.¡± Her hands balled up into fists. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to chill-¡± She was cut off by an excited gasp from behind. All three of them turned around to see Kepler back in the common area, who was holding some manuals in their vines. ¡°Are you guys redecorating?¡± They looked at the cat poster and then back at Kepler. Evie quickly responded with, ¡°We thought we¡¯d help clean this place up.¡± Kepler tossed the manuals to the table and cheered with celebration. ¡°Wonderful! Please do make the place your own! I¡¯ll put on some music.¡± They pulled up a screen and connected it to a speaker to start playing tracks from artists across the System. While Kepler was busy finding the right playlist, Phoenix shoved Jet a bit and motioned for her to start cleaning. Jet huffed and shoved him right back. Before they could get into a full-on fight, Phoenix suddenly got distracted as he recognized the first song that started playing. He turned to Kepler excitedly. ¡°I love the Falling Asteroids!¡± Their vines swayed joyfully in return. ¡°Me too! I saw them in concert.¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re so lucky,¡± he groaned with jealousy. Kepler¡¯s vines moved in a little dance as they helped clean up the common area. Jet started moving crates at the other side of the room, trying to stay as far away from the others as possible. The four of them stacked crates into neater piles, and carefully added machines that were too big for the crates amongst the organized stacks. While Phoenix was busy cleaning up the dust left behind from the moved crates, he asked, ¡°Kepler, does this ship have a name?¡± ¡°It just has its registration number,¡± they replied, ¡°but we should totally give it a new name as a crew!¡± Jet looked over with a narrowed expression. ¡°This is a unique situation that we¡¯re in, so I think it¡¯s important to clarify that this,¡± she gestured at the four of them, ¡°is not a crew.¡± Evie had been staring out the nearby window for a while, just gazing at the haunting expanse of space. She suddenly turned towards the others as an idea came to her. ¡°What about the Escape? For the spaceship name.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good!¡± Kepler jittered in place and exclaimed, ¡°The Escape! I like the hidden meaning.¡± Evie pointed at Kepler in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s good delivery on the name.¡± Kepler stood more confidently and proclaimed in a bold voice, ¡°The Escape!¡± Evie nodded contently. ¡°Yes, perfect.¡± Phoenix frowned in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s the hidden meaning?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that I¡¯m escaping you all right now,¡± Jet stated dryly. As she left the common area, Kepler called out, ¡°Aw, Jet, don¡¯t leave now! We¡¯re almost done here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m about to pass out from exhaustion!¡± Jet called back. She then reclined a seat in the bridge so that she could lie in it and shut her eyes. Phoenix lowered the dust pan he was holding. ¡°Yeah, today was exhausting.¡± He thought to himself before he added, ¡°Or tonight was exhausting.¡± He glanced towards Evie and realized aloud, ¡°I literally haven¡¯t slept in forever.¡± Evie nodded tiredly as she realized the same thing. ¡°I have extra blankets in the nook,¡± Kepler immediately offered. They started setting up the bunk beds that resided on the wall of the common area. Evie and Phoenix settled into their quickly made beds. In their nook, Kepler rested in their hydroponics tank beneath the purple UV-lights, next to their potted plant, Major Minor. The humming engine once again took over as everything else in the ship grew silent. Evie took the lower bunk and lied directly beneath one of the starlit windows. She gazed up at her small view of the endless universe. That feeling of dread returned to her stomach and she turned onto her side to face the wall instead. She despised how much it hurt to fall asleep while homesick.