Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Faint light from one of the moons filtered into Sam’s bedroom, reflecting softly against the wall. She never thought she’d see it again after… god, how long had she been stuck in that prison? The monotony melded the time there together into a sad, heavy ball. It sat low in Sam’s chest and ached there at night when she tried to sleep.

She rolled over onto her side and watched the shadows of snowflakes drift ever downward against the wall. At least she was safe here with a warm bed to fall into. In a safe, if very tall, base on a hidden planet. However Ryley came up with that idea, he had better start sharing creativity.

A knock at the bulkhead startled Sam out of her train of thought. She rolled over in time to see Robin’s head appear from the shadows of the hallway. Most of her face wasn’t even visible but it looked like she was smiling. Sam squinted in a futile attempt to see.

“Hey, sorry if I woke you up,” the younger woman said softly. She stepped fully into the room and into the faint glow from the window.

“I just laid down, don’t worry about it,” Sam waved it off. “Need something?”

Robin laughed awkwardly. “Um, yeah. I should’ve done this three days ago but… I want to give you something.”

Sam fully sat up with her legs over the edge of the bed as Robin shifted on her feet and then took the couple of steps forward. She stood in front of her sister looking like a teenager about to ask someone to prom with her legs too close together and hands behind her. She rocked back onto her heels for a second as awkward silence passed between the sisters.

“Well?” Sam prompted after another beat.

Robin sighed and glanced away, toward the only window. Snow still drifted down to the water below. When she looked back she brought her hands in front of her and held something out. Sam’s heart leapt when she caught sight of what it was.

“Where did you find this?” she asked, reaching forward and practically snatching the necklace from Robin’s hands.

“It was just… sitting on a table in- in that cave. And then at the head of my bed ever since,” Robin replied. She glanced away again and Sam took the time to stare down at her own hands.

The necklace shone in the moonlight, cool weight resting against her palms. It had been so long. Smiling faintly, Sam put it on and closed her eyes. When she opened them Robin was returning her smile. She looked more herself then, arms crossed and stance far less awkward.

“Thanks,” Sam murmured, shooting a glance back down. “I… I thought I lost this forever.” She chuckled and stood up, pulling Robin into a tight hug.

Robin sighed and returned the embrace. “I didn’t think I’d get to give it back.”

“I know,” Sam sighed. She squeezed tighter before sitting back down on her bed.

The feeling of Robin’s warm body remained as they bid each other good night and Sam laid back down, this time on her back. The blank ceiling stared back down and she wondered if Ryley had gathered enough materials for a glass roof like he promised. Seeing the clouds above would add to the ambiance for sure.

It was like a hole in Sam’s chest had been filled. She thought Alterra had lost her necklace, or ice broke it and they deemed it useless. Never did she expect to feel it resting against her skin again, familiar and comforting.

That led her to wonder though, what did Alterra want with her? Why bring her back just to imprison her? How did they even do it in the first place? Curiosity had been nagging at the back of her mind since she woke up again.

“I did die, though. I did. I know that,” Sam muttered to the ceiling. She did! But thinking about it gave her a headache.

So her thoughts drifted back to motive. Who would even want her alive? Alterra was a corporation of transactions. Your time for their benefit. What benefit was there to dead saboteur? It wasn’t as though she was particularly strong or gifted in anything aside from making a few small robots. What was so remarkable about a random scientist?

At first they had asked her about the leviathan. What her plan was, how she got her hands on the explosives, where she hid the antidote. The questioning slowed to a stop when Sam wouldn’t give them anything. She wouldn’t have quite that much jail time for sabotage would she? Besides, if they really wanted information, they would’ve tried harder, right? Alterra gets what they want no matter the cost.

It all came down to why and how, really. A fresh PDA sat on the bedside table and Ryley never did specify exactly what kind of research could be done on it. If Alterra had anything on her, it had to be in internal files. Were they experimenting on her? After Kharaa, it wasn’t out of the question.

“Hmm, I’ll worry about it in the morning,” Sam mumbled to the ceiling. She promptly rolled onto her side with a ‘hmmpf’ and closed her eyes.

Sleep came far easier now, pulling her into its darkness. Her dreams were fragmented and disorienting. They pulled her in every direction at once. Through a blank hall, down into the depths of the ocean, an unfamiliar Architect facility. Voices whispered to her, asking her to join them. Telling her about things she could never quite catch. Rain on a faraway planet. Rumbling detected deep beneath 4546B’s crust. Wind outside buffeting against trees somewhere.

Sam woke feeling… half rested. Whatever those voices were they had hardly let her rest, even in prison. They always called out for attention, describing this or that going on in the prison’s o2 production. They went ignored for the most part, of course, being part of Sam’s imagination and nothing else.

Maybe food and a shower would get her mind off of her dreams and back on topic. She grabbed her PDA from the nightstand and made her way out into the main room. Robin was poring over something or other at the table but otherwise, the room was empty. Ryley must have still been asleep, god knew where Al-an was.

Sam grabbed herself a nutrient bar from storage and picked a seat at the table. Robin looked up and smiled as she did, though she turned back to whatever she was doing almost immediately.

“Sleep ok?” Robin asked, not looking back up.

“Mostly,” Sam sighed. Should she ask? Robin was always the one to have more interesting ideas, she should have some thoughts on the matter, right?

“So, I’ve been thinking about it,” Sam began, throwing a glance toward her sister.

Robin didn’t look up. “About what?” she asked absently.

“Me. And being here. And alive. I’m just… aren’t you curious how the heck Alterra managed that? I thought you might have some ideas or something.”

“Oh.” Robin looked up now but Sam couldn’t read her expression. There was something dark behind her eyes that wasn’t there when they had last seen each other. “Yeah, no I- I haven’t thought about it.”

Sam’s chest tightened as silence devoured the two of them. Robin sat there, staring intently down at her PDA. She stayed quiet but something was clearly brewing behind the calm quiet. It wasn’t like the younger woman to just sit on something like that though, and the thought ate at Sam as she nibbled on her bland food.

“Sorry if that was weird to ask,” she finally said in hopes of clearing the air.

“It’s fine,” Robin dismissed her in turn. She didn’t look up.

“Right. I just thought you’d have some thought of where to start looking. I’m just curious how…” Sam trailed off when Robin still didn’t engage.

“Yeah.” Robin’s replies were becoming shorter, snappier.

Sam’s chest tightened further. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Robin repeated with a heavy sigh. She stood up, gathering her PDA as she went. “I just- I’m happy to have you back, that’s all I’ve really thought about.”

“Yeah, me too…” Sam mumbled as Robin took off out the front bulkhead without a goodbye. Great start to living together…

Sam huffed and set her nutrient bar aside. She wasn’t very hungry anymore. Those voices, the ones from her dreams, whispered to her to keep eating, keep herself healthy.

“Not when I feel sick,” she mumbled. Did she just-

No, there was too much else to think about. Weird voices could be worried about later when Sam didn’t have an investigation to start. She picked up her PDA and stared at it for a moment. She had to break this down somehow, make it bite sized so she could tackle it. Where to start…

Sam searched her own name. That had to bring something up. A short list of published papers were the first things to come up, which sent a shock of pride through her. They still left her research up! At least she hadn’t been blacklisted like Robin probably was.

Hoofsteps echoed through the hallway leading to Al-an’s moonpool. Sam looked up and moments later the alien appeared through the hall. The base had already been made taller for them, yet they still had to duck to get through entrances. Sam shivered at the idea of them kicking someone like Robin claimed they had. They were so big, nothing could have prepared her for what an Architect actually looked like, much less one picking her up and rescuing her.

“Good morning,” Al-an said, approaching the table. They sat down with a soft huff near the table.

Sam smiled up at them. “Morning. How was your night?” Did aliens do small talk?

“Uneventful. Ice worm behavior patterns are not as fascinating as one might believe.”

“I wouldn’t think so!” Sam laughed.

“Though I have been mapping out their extensive network of tunnels. I may be close to finding where they lay their eggs,” the Architect continued. “I will share the location with you when I find them if you like.”

“Oooh, maybe,” Sam mused. “Robin would definitely like that. I’ll bet I could build a bot that can get inside!”

Al-an nodded, flashing blue, and sat there quietly for a moment, allowing Sam time to stare at them. Her PDA lay forgotten in her hand as she found herself mesmerized by their swirling colors. Robin had mentioned that meaning something, though it hadn’t been long enough to discern anything yet. They remained a mystery for now. Sam looked back down at her PDA where her search results still sat open. She sighed and started to scroll.

“What are you doing?” Al-an suddenly asked. They had leaned forward a bit and turned entirely green when Sam looked up.

“Oh, just… some research,” Sam glanced toward the door where she half expected Robin to come back. “Robin wasn’t as curious as I thought she’d be about… whatever happened to me.”

Al-an leaned back, glancing toward the door themself. “No, I suppose not. I will admit that I am interested though.”

“I haven’t found anything yet,” Sam flipped her PDA around to show them.

They moved too fast for Sam to really see it, but suddenly they were behind her and blocking access to most of the rest of the room. Their presence was a bit unnerving; Sam could practically feel their visual sensors boring into her. She turned the PDA back to herself and continued scrolling.

A large pincer pointed toward one of the search results. “What is that?”

Sam opened the memoir. That made sense, of course Alterra would get coworkers to give statements. How kind of them… she decided to read the blurb aloud for Al-an.

“Samantha Ayou was an accomplished roboticist in her time under Alterra. Her Spy Pengling research helped the team investigating Planet 4546B more than she could ever know. We extend our deepest sympathies to all friends and family in this troubled time. A good friend of Dr. Ayou, Dr. Lillian Bench, commented on her untimely passing. “The world won’t be the same without her.” Dr. Ayou’s girlfriend, Dr. Danielle Valenti, refused to make a statement. Again, we extend our deepest sympathies to family and friends of Dr. Ayou.”

Eugh. “How… corporate,” Sam muttered as she backed out of the page.

“And cold,” Al-an added.

The rest of the search results came up empty. Did she just not have access to the files? Surely Alterran logs had to go deep, far deeper than most in the trans-gov knew. A search so extensive could take weeks to try to dig through. Sam was, unfortunately, all too familiar with how much paperwork almost everything required. If she searched by authorized papers, or signatures, who knew how much could come up.

“Prisons are meant to dehumanize, yes?” Al-an suddenly asked. When Sam looked at them one claw was tapping at their chin, the rest of their arms still hovering behind them, twitching. How very… Robin of them.

“Well, I sure felt like it. Why?”

“Perhaps any actual information regarding your… situation and imprisonment would come up under the number they designated you, would it not?” Al-an suggested.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that!” Sam exclaimed, turning back around. She quickly erased her name from the search bar and typed the number, 7364-846.

Still nothing of value came up. An odd note about behavior here, an activity checklist there. Nothing about how she got there, or why.

“Well that’s odd… No name…” Sam muttered. She leaned forward, throwing a glance toward the opening front door to make sure Robin wasn’t back and noted Ryley’s appearance.

“Yes, I noted that when we picked you up,” Al-an said. “I would have informed Robin if I knew,” They shifted, hooves scraping a bit against the floor.

Ryley entered fully. “Noticed what? Al-an move I need to wash my hands.”

“No.” The alien shifted again so that their legs stuck straight out, taking up more room in the process.

Sam snorted. “Go the other way then,” she told the other human.

Ryley rolled his eyes and continued past the table and into the bathroom. Sam’s gaze followed him until he was out of sight. Water splashed for a moment and the woman’s eyes fell back down to the PDA in front of her. Had things been hidden or deleted? That had to be the only explanation.

Footsteps alerted Sam to Ryley’s return. He wandered back across to the room to the small kitchen and began searching through the refrigerator.

“I never saw anything about you either,” he said, slightly muffled. “Not that I was looking in particular, I mean- Well-”

“You thought I was dead, so why go deeper.”

Ryley stood up straight and wandered toward the table with a handful of cheese sticks. He sat down and started to peel one of them open. “That’s one way to put it…” he said before sticking the cheese in his mouth and sucking.

Ok, that was weird. Sam decided not to comment, opting to start examining the Ice Worm tunnel map Al-an had sent her. The Architect in question warped back to their original position several feet away and sat there, silent. Sam did her best not to stare too much, curious what was going on inside their head.

Before Sam’s thoughts could start drifting back to her life, Ryley let out a dramatic huff. She looked up at him, now draped against the chair with his cheese stick hanging out of his mouth. He was so far down Sam worried for his neck. He sighed again and Sam watched him glance several times between her and Al-an.

“I’m bored,” the man finally grumbled.

“I’m sure there’s something that needs doing somewhere,” Sam told him.

He sat himself back up and leaned against the table on his elbows, pulling the chair back in. He finally ate the cheese and began opening another one. “I mean, yeah, but it’s nothing important. I want to make something.”

“Is your garden automated?” Sam asked.

Ryley nodded and started tapping at his PDA. Sam turned back to hers; the screen had turned off at some point. Al-an shifted again, the only indication that they were paying attention to the conversation.

“Hey, you build robots, right?” Ryley suddenly piped up again.

“Yes, why?”

“We should build battle robots to fight each other!” Ryley suggested enthusiastically.

The idea sent a shock of joy through Sam’s chest. She’d already been itching to get back to making wildlife bots. “I’m down!” she told the man. “It’ll be a fun little challenge for me.”

Al-an stood up. “I will begin gathering materials immediately,” they said. And promptly left.

“Yes!” Ryley exclaimed, standing up, gathering the rest of his cheese, and heading for the door himself. He left with a small wave to Sam.

“Hm. I could repurpose a pengling bot…” She muttered out loud as soon as he was gone. “You know what…”

Sam turned back to her PDA and pulled up Marguerit’s name.

‘I need help with something… dangerous.’

‘Get your ass down here then,’ Marguerit replied. Excited, Sam jogged out the main entrance down to the water.

A seatruck was left in a moonpool below the surface. Perfect, Sam didn’t think she could make it all the way down there without a vehicle. She could swim fine, but the thought of being that deep without protection gave her shivers.

Marguerit was already waiting in the main room by the time Sam arrived. She shook off the water from her short swim and stepped inside. The older woman was leaning back in her chair, Snow Stalkers lazing around her feet.

“Well, what do you need help with? I still have explosives, ‘long as you don’t tell Robin,” she grumbled, glancing up from her PDA.

Sam rolled her eyes, affection filling her chest with warmth. “I’m going to build a battle robot. But I’m going up against Al-an.”

That caught Marguerit’s attention. She sat up, attention fixed on Sam now. “Some kinda gun?” she suggested.

Sam pulled up another chair and sat down. She retrieved a spy pengling she had stored and turned it around in her hands. “Sounds kind of cliché,” she dismissed.

“Fine.” A beat of silence. “Flamethrower.”

Sam’s head perked up and she glanced at her friend. She had leaned back again, but she was staring past her PDA at Sam now. She smirked when their eyes met.

“That. That’s what I’m looking for.”

~~~

[LAB NOTES, FEB 12, 2408]

Mission success! The first mice are already starting to wake up! We detected heartbeats before, but this is the first time we’ve gotten brainwaves! I’m not far off, I’m sure of it. The little ones are waking up.

I will update further if these new mice make it through the process.

Chapter Text

The afternoon was absolutely dragging on. For a planet with days shorter than Earth’s, this shouldn't even be possible. Time should go faster here by all logic. Time ticked by, second after second, dragging on for all eternity. Or until bedtime. Which might be worse, actually.

Robin groaned and let her head fall down onto her arm. She stared harder at her PDA screen, willing herself to focus harder. Pay attention to the footage. Tracking ice worm behavior was extremely important scientifically, this was for science! She was sitting bored out of her mind! For science!

Reviewing footage was important but there were multiple more fun things Robin could think of to do. Things that were… off planet. That would require Ryley, Al-an, or both to go do. Both of them were sitting at or near the table, silently doing their own work. Al-an’s color stayed neutral, reflecting onto the floor and walls. Ryley looked invested in whatever game he was playing.

Movement from the open doorway leading to their sleeping quarters alerted Robin to Sam’s presence. She had declared a couple of hours ago, when Robin’s video was actually interesting, that she was going to take a nap. She took the only open seat at the table and stretched. Robin’s eyes followed her movement, drawing themselves away from the screen. With her important work.

“Oh, uh, Robin?” Sam finally broke the silence.

“Hmm?” Robin looked up to meet Sam’s gaze.

The older woman looked away after a couple of seconds. She looked apprehensive as she took a deep breath before glancing back to Robin. “I just wondered if you’ve given it any more thought?”

“Given… what?”

“Me! I asked you about it yesterday, remember?” Sam said. She leaned forward, gaze now fixed on Robin in her apparent sudden confidence.

Right, that. Robin sighed. She really hadn’t wanted to think about that. Maybe at some point, when she was used to it. Even then! So what Alterra did some nefarious thing, Sam was there, and alive, and they were together, so what did it matter? Not that Robin would ever say that to Sam’s face, of course. If she had nothing nice to say, she shouldn’t say anything.

“No, why would I?” she finally said. Her voice came out far snappier than she meant it to and Sam flinched. She leaned back again.

“I just thought-”

“Sam it’s been five days. I’ve been trying not to think, if anything.” Robin cut her off.

“Right.”

Sam looked down at the table and Robin turned back to her video. Sort of. There was no focusing on that anymore. Instead she let her eyes wander a bit. Ryley had hunched in further on himself. His PDA sat too close to his face now but Robin couldn’t bother to yell at him about it. Al-an hadn’t moved but it was clear that his attention was on her. Robin tried to ignore it.

Minutes passed and Robin closed her video. Why couldn’t Sam just leave it alone? Alterra’s doings weren’t the bandit’s business unless it involved supply storage. Even then, security on those had to be rising. Poking their noses where they shouldn’t be was far too dangerous now. Though the idea of getting out and doing something was still so very tempting.

“I’m bored…” Robin finally mumbled.

“Sounds familiar,” Sam replied. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Ryley, who stuck his out in return. Robin smiled softly as she watched them.

“That doesn’t help, you know,” she teased.

“As Sam told Ryley, there is much to do,” Al-an piped up. “You must have work to do.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “I already finished my work,” she lied.

“Yeah?” Ryley asked. He sat up and stretched, back popping loudly. “Sure about that?”

“Yes!” Robin glared at him. Her arm glowed in the corner of her vision, drawing her gaze down. “Motherfucker.”

Ryley snickered. Al-an’s pale blue amusement lit the room up as Sam chuckled. She seemed to have caught on to an extent. Robin made a mental note to write up a spreadsheet for her for later.

“I mean, hey, I’m not gonna say no to ignoring work though. If you have something in mind don’t be shy,” Ryley said after a couple of seconds.

“I don’t have anything solid, no, but I want to go…” Robin paused to think. What DID she want to do? She hadn’t thought she’d get this far. “I want to go somewhere new,” she concluded.

“New, huh?” Ryley looked thoughtful.

“I suppose I could find some planets on the Network that would be at the edges of Alterra’s range,” Al-an added. “Our supplies are fully stocked with nothing to use them for.”

“Way too dangerous to raid anything…” Robin agreed. “A planet or two sounds fun!”

Sam nodded. “I can stay behind and keep an eye on things here. I’m already tending to your poor gardens after your trip to get me…” she glanced toward the door as if she should be back outside working on them again.

“So… explore a couple of planets?” Robin stood up, grinning. Her arm glowing still distracted her at the edge of her vision.

“We aren’t leaving now, are we?” Ryley asked. He pouted up at Robin.

“I would appreciate a couple of days to set a course. Crossing Alterran space without phasegates is far too dangerous,” Al-an said. He fixed his gaze on Robin, intent pink drowning her a little.

She snorted and wandered over to the doorway to the human’s quarters. “If I wanted to leave unprepared I would’ve just left,” she joked. “I’m going to pack and scout out some planets of my own.”

Robin left without waiting for an answer. Checking the Network, she noted Al-an already sorting through lists of occupied planets for something to explore. Maybe that would get her mind off of Sam’s questions. Honestly, she didn’t want to know! Why not ask Ryley, who already worked with internal files anyway? Or Al-an, research god? Why would Robin want to think about that?

~~~

”RYYYLEYYYYY!” Daisy yelled, launching herself at her brother without warning.

She crashed into him full force and knocked him over, sprawling both of them on the carpet of their parents’ living room floor. Ryley yelped, struggling underneath the teen for a moment before he finally relaxed and let her claim her victory over him. Adjusting herself, Daisy planted her knee squarely on his stomach, making him groan.

“Do you have to put me under this much physical assault?” he asked, finally able to shove his sister off himself and sit up.

“Yes,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him. “When are you leaving?”

Ryley’s face tightened. “Tomorrow afternoon. Why?”

“Well, for one, I don’t want you to leave yet. Two years is a really long time and I’m gonna miss you. And-”

“-And I’m going to send as many voice messages as I can,” Ryley interrupted. Daisy rolled her eyes at him dramatically and stood up. He took her hand, following her lead.

“Suuuuuuure, between all the work they’ll make you do,” the young girl retorted, sticking her tongue out again. “Anyway, do you want to have a sleepover in my room for your last night home?”

Ryley tilted his head. “A sleepover?”

“Yeah, duh. Like you sleep on my floor and we stay up until midnight to talk about boys or something!”

Nerves welled in Daisy’s chest as she waited for her brother’s answer. There was no reason for him to say no, and that really wasn’t why she was anxious. This was his last night at home, on earth, for what, two, three years?

“Tell you what, instead of talking about boys we watch a movie and eat snacks I won’t get to have,” he finally agreed, grinning. “And I’ll find the air mattress. I am NOT sleeping on your floor.”

Daisy beamed at Ryley as he gently punched her arm and walked away. Her eyes followed his back, memorizing the way he moved. Even if they could send voice messages, she wouldn’t get to see him except in pictures. And going beyond explored space meant really long delays between messages. Something could happen in between delays and she’d never even know!

Heck, would he make any friends? He had never had luck in that department before. Being stuck together in space could be the miracle that made it happen, but it was unlikely. Worry twisted harder in Daisy’s gut the more she thought about it.

~~~

Research and exploration was Robin’s area of expertise. Not that Ryley minded wandering around in an unfamiliar landscape taking pictures of anything interesting he saw. Most of the interesting stuff was rocks. Or water. This was no 4546B but the amount of lakes dotting the landscape was absolutely mind blowing. The place had to be mostly water. Fortunately for the researchers, the amount of water made finding new species easier.

“My people designated this planet for research but due to the outbreak we were never able to come here to explore,” Al-an piped up from several feet away.

“What about the rest of the system?” Ryley asked.

“Well- yes- but would that not be implied by my phrasing?” Al-an retorted. They flashed soft red, playful.

“Semantics, boys,” Robin called out from another lake a few feet away. “It’s still new for both of our species. Let’s just enjoy ourselves!”

Ryley groaned and leaned toward the water. The kelp in here was the same as the kelp everywhere else but he still took the picture for Robin and Al-an to review later as promised.

The side of the planet, which Al-an called Neinthil, that the group was on was fairly tropical. Gentle wind kept the warm weather bearable. At least it wasn’t the freezing arctic of home or bland Alterran facilities for once.

~~~

A week and a few days had already passed and they still hadn’t left. Robin was currently dragging them clear across the other side of the planet to see what sort of seasons occurred. By vehicle. “So we don’t miss anything interesting,” she had said. That was three days ago, when things were almost still fun. Ryley couldn’t take it anymore. At this point it felt like survival back home. The first time.

“So… how long exactly are we gonna be here?” he asked. He leaned back into his seat with a heavy, dramatic sigh. Just to tell Robin how done with this he was.

“How long did you think?” she replied, eyes on the ground ahead.

Ryley snorted. “I dunno, a week?”

Robin looked over at him, brows furrowed.

“Two? I don’t know!”

The older human burst out laughing. She smacked the steering wheel and leaned forward a bit. Well that was rude, how should Ryley know how research missions work?

“See, Al-an, this is why we don’t bring engineers on field missions,” Robin teased through her laughter.

“EXCUSE ME???” Ryley shouted, twisting in his seat to glare at his friend.

“Robin!” Al-an exclaimed from the back “Be nice to him. All sciences are beautiful in their own right.”

“Thank you Al-an, at least I have somebody’s support here,” Ryley laughed and sat back against his seat. “Robin, you’re such a bitch,” he added after a second.

Robin giggled. “That’s why you two love me.”

Fourty-five minutes passed in near silence. Ryley decided to take a nap instead of staring out the window. When he woke up another hour later, soft music filled the space. Robin seemed focused on driving and Al-an sat with their head resting against the center console. Their PDA was set up with a music video on, though whether they had fallen asleep watching was unclear. They didn’t exactly have eyes to close.

“Al-an…” Ryley mumbled. “Is that… is that Despacito?”

“Yes.”

Robin chuckled. “He’s had it on repeat for an hour.”

Ryley snorted and rolled his eyes, amused. He turned to stare out the window and realized the landsape had changed rather drastically. There were still plenty of lakes around, though only a couple were really visible out the side window. The ground itself seemed to have gotten dryer, with only sparse, spiky grasses to note. Snowflakes drifted from the now cloudy sky.

“Wasn’t it clear when I fell asleep?” Ryley asked without turning his head.

“Snow storms are a rare phenomenon, but they do occur,” Al-an informed him.

Ryley hummed but didn’t reply. He snapped a photo for Sam out the window and continued to stare, zoning out to the quickly accumulating snow outside. It really did remind him of home, bringing a soft smile to his face. A deer-like creature bounded away from the vehicle, of into the distance.

The storm grew heavier and snow began to pile up farther. Ryley glanced at Robin, who gave no indication that this bothered her. Ryley however, had designed this particular vehicle several months ago. It wasn’t made for snow, which Al-an had never even mentioned. They would be stuck within half an hour.

Fifteen more minutes passed and Robin let out a heavy sigh. The vehicle had slowed down already, engine straining against the snow that had already risen above the wheels.

“Alright, this isn’t getting us anywhere quickly. We should wait out the storm,” she told her companions.

“Good idea,” Al-an agreed. They shifted, rocking the vehicle slightly.

Robin opened the driver’s door, letting in a blast of cold air. Ryley turned to glare at her. Snowflakes blew into the cabin and melted on the warm interior as well as the being’s bodies. Al-an snatched their PDA and sat up.

“What the fuck are you doing? I thought we were waiting out the storm?” Ryley asked, incredulous.

“Yeah! In a cave somewhere. You sound like you wanted something more interesting, so I’m gonna give us just that!” Robin exclaimed. “Besides, Al-an can carry us and keep us warm if we really need.”

“You know, this is the second time you have just assumed that I will carry you both,” the Architect interjected.

“You will though, right?” Robin asked. She was already halfway outside.

“Why can’t we just stay in here? It’ll still be warm if they warm up for us,” Ryley said. They already lived in snow, this was dumb. “What’s so special about a blizzard? We get plenty of those.”

Robin turned back, one leg on the driver’s seat, to stick her tongue out at the man. “This is a blizzard on a different planet. Besides, would you really rather stay stuck in this cramped truck?” she asked.

“Now that you mention that…” Al-an trailed off. They kicked the back door open and teleported backwards, out of the truck.

Ryley groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll walk, but I’m going to complain the whole time.”

He opened his own side door and stepped out into thigh-deep snow. At least Robin had had the foresight to bring cold weather gear for any other planets they decided to explore on this expedition. Though the next one that Ryley had in mind wasn’t nearly this cold, at least not according to the little information available about it.

The trio began tromping through the snow together, Al-an in the lead to carve out a path for the smaller beings. Their long legs kept them several feet ahead. Ryley could hardly see their faint pink glow. The only thing keeping him with his friends was the dark blob ahead that was probably Robin. He reached out and his hand caught on her bag, which she had grabbed from the truck before they left.

Ryley had no idea how long they had been walking. Time blended together into one long, snow-filled blur. At some point Robin had relayed that Al-an was scanning the area for a cave to stop in. The sky did seem to be getting darker, though whether that was from the storm or the sun setting, they could only guess.

Finally, Al-an led them into a big, dark hole in a cliff. Where had the cliff come from? Maybe there was a mountain range. They could tell in the morning if the storm was gone by then.

Al-an shook the snow off of themself, scattering it everywhere and littering the nice, clear ground with white. “It seems we cannot escape the cold no matter where we go..."

Ryley watched them wander farther into the cave, a small light emanating from one of their arms. Robin followed them with her own flashlight. Ryley, for his part, began to gather up some sticks and small grasses he found lying around. There wasn’t much to start a fire, but it would be enough to light up and warm up the area until the humans could settle down on top of their alien friend.

“Yes!” Robin exclaimed suddenly. Ryley turned around in time to see her hold up a small, furry creature.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Another one of those stoats I’ve been seeing! Looks like they had the same idea as us! I’ll be tagging you to keep track of!” the woman explained.

Ryley smiled tiredly at his friend and turned back to his fire. It was small but functional. Perfect. Al-an’s heavy hoofsteps approached from behind; the alien flopped down, their legs folding beneath them awkwardly.

“Can I?” Ryley asked, motioning toward the open area on their lower side. At their nod he settled down, exhaustion overtaking him against their warmth.

Robin joined within a few moments, wrapping her arms around Ryley, shielding him from the cold. He reciprocated and pulled her closer to him. Their body heat mingled with Al-an’s, the warmth of the tiny fire just adding to the atmosphere.

“Just like old times,” Robin whispered. Ryley smiled against her chest.

Chapter Text

Daisy roamed the house, wandering from the kitchen to the living room to her room, back to the living room, to the kitchen… over and over waiting for Ryley. He had said he’d be ready at 8 and that he had to go to bed at midnight. Four hours would be plenty of time to chat and get ready to miss each other. Well, three hours and like, fourty-five minutes or something now. It was 8:17 and the young man hadn’t left his bedroom yet.

“Mom, where’s Ryley?” Daisy finally asked as she passed her mother in the living room.

“He’s packing, little flower, he said he would be,” she replied, looking up from her book. She looked so cozy on the brown couch, blanket draped over her legs and the warm light from the fireplace pulling the whole scene together.

Daisy sighed dramatically and flopped down into her father’s empty chair. “He promised he’d sleep in my room tonight so we can say goodbye…”

“Well I’m sure-” Daisy’s eyes followed her mother’s as the woman cut herself off.

Ryley stood in the doorway with a bag, looking haggard. “I know what I said. I’m sorry. I got a call that said I have to leave tonight to make it on time.”

“Oh.” Daisy’s heart sank. Her brother wouldn’t meet her eyes as she stood up and slowly made her way over to him.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, still not looking at her.

“It’s fine…” Daisy mumbled as she came to a stop in front of him.

He finally turned to look at her fully. Daisy studied his face. He had bags under his eyes and, if she stared hard enough, his cheeks looked damp.

“Can I give you a hug at least?” he asked quietly, glancing at their mother as he did. Daisy heard her sigh.

She nodded and leaned forward to let her head rest against Ryley’s shoulder. She didn’t want to let that feeling go, his arms wrapped tight around her. If only she could hold this moment in time forever. Stop everything right here. She hadn’t really thought about it until right then.

“I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone,” Ryley whispered.

He withdrew ad picked his bag back up. He headed toward the kitchen and the back door. His car, that their father would go pick up in the morning. Three years wouldn’t seem so long when he was out there working. On Earth it would feel like forever.

~~~

“What do you mean entering Alterran space?”

Robin stared at Ryley, confused. He stared back at her. “No seriously, where are we?” she insisted.

“Al-an let me pick a location. I thought we were going to be investigating things. So I found something to investigate.”

“And here I thought we were leaving all of the dangerous, stupid things to me,” Robin said as she leaned back in her chair. She rolled her eyes and tried to look annoyed, though she couldn’t help but chuckle at her own joke.

“Perhaps I should have mentioned that I chose that planetary system specifically to study, and to choose something there,” Al-an said. They sat on the floor behind the two humans, glow mushing from pink to violet and then flickering blue.

“Yeah, probably,” Ryley said with a soft laugh.. “Though be honest, a single planet not affiliated with Alterra in the middle of an Alterran system is pretty sus if you ask me.”

Fine, he could have that one. “Alright, yeah, that’s intriguing,” Robin conceded. She shook her head at her friend, who grinned smugly back at her. “Let me see nav. How long do we have left before we get there?”

Ryley handed off his PDA. Most of the trip had already been crossed off; two days worth of flight with ten more hours left to go. God, that was so long. Robin wondered how Sam was faring by herself while her companions gallivanted across the universe without her. Probably fine, actually, and she had Marguerit for company.

Letting out a deep sigh, Robin stood up and stretched. The last two days stuck inside were getting to her. Her legs itched to be out somewhere, exploring and surviving with her boys at her side. These sorts of missions were so much less lonely when she had them to help her out. And Nocturnal was a small enough ship that it could be safely landed most places. So that was nice.

“I’m gonna go pass out for a few hours,” the woman informed her companions. She strode to the hatch leading out into the cargo hold and turned back as she reached the door. Ryley looked tired at the controls.

He met her eyes and then glanced away. “I’ll probably do that in a bit.”

“I will begin searching the Network for any nearby phasegates to make our trip faster,” Al-an added.

With that confirmation, Robin made her way down to the crew quarters and her own bedroom. She flopped down on her bed without taking her clothes off and dragged the blanket over the top of herself. Screw removing clothes if she was just going to have to get up and go later. Leggings were made for sleeping in.

Sleep took some time to come, but when it finally did, Robin relished in the dark embrace. She slipped into it slowly but for once she wasn’t restless. The small bed was surprisingly warm and comfortable under her; it practically hugged her, though it was nothing like sleeping on Al-an’s back. Their embrace was like nothing else. Robin felt herself smile at that thought.

~~~

When she next opened her eyes, she found herself in an empty room. Wait, but she had just been on Nocturnal, hadn’t she? With Ryley and Al-an. Cautiously, the human stood up and made her way to a nearby door leading out. Past that was an extensive Architect-constructed hallway leading off into the distance.

“That doesn’t make sense, we weren’t anywhere near here…” Robin muttered to herself. She glanced around again, hoping to catch sight of Al-an. She reached into the Network as well, just to be safe.

Before she could reach much farther, a small, pink glow appeared at the end of the hallway rapidly approaching. Her eyes could barely track them as they teleported closer and closer. She couldn’t even get a good look at their side to tell if this was Al-an or not. The huge scar from the Ice Worm hitting them six or so months earlier would make them stand out from any other Architects around. Not that there would be-

The Architect finally reached her and stared down at her, colors entirely neutral. Robin leaned to her right and noted the lack of scarring on their left side. Uh, oh. This wasn’t Al-an.

“Um, hello…?” Robin said after an awkward pause. She tried waving but the alien’s mechanical arms stayed twitching idly behind them.

“You were informed that we will be studying you, is that correct?” the Architect asked, turning green. They tilted their head slightly and Robin’s heart dropped. They didn’t have their scar but their cadence, the way they carried themself. The tilted head in curiosity.

“Al-an that’s not funny,” Robin told him. She backed up, hand instinctively reaching for her knife. It wasn’t there, not that it would do anything to a hostile Architect.

Al-an stepped into the room and flashed to the other side without even another glance at Robin. They powered up a terminal that she hadn’t noticed and began working as if she hadn’t even spoken. She jogged toward them, determined to get a response.

“Hey, don’t just walk away from me! This isn’t funny!” she insisted as she reached them. They didn’t turn to look at her or really even respond. Robin’s chest twisted.

“Al-an!” she said again and they finally looked down at her.

“We have important work to do pertaining to something far beyond your comprehension. We will begin our research on you in full shortly. Please be patient in the meantime.” They turned back to their terminal and began typing again.

Robin could pick out a few words, mainly ones relating to disease. What had gotten into Al-an? He never acted like this, not toward her. Or anyone for that matter. If she or Ryley, or even Sam wanted to talk to him, he always put down whatever he was doing. Or at the very least, if he couldn’t, he’d pay attention.

“Wait-” Robin paused. If she asked outright they might not answer directly. “Alright fine. I’ll sit down. But I want to know how long. In hours, how long am I gonna be sitting here doing nothing.”

Al-an’s lights darkened toward red, making Robin’s stomach twist. “We told you, you will need to be patient. We are uncertain how long exactly this rather important task will take. Pets are expected to wait until we have completed tasks before asking for attention,” they told her. They sounded cold, sending shivers down Robin’s back.

She felt dizzy and sick. What was up with him? He wasn’t like this, he didn’t just brush her off! He didn’t use we pronouns for himself anymore. Something was wrong with him. Something was-

~~~

Robin bolted upright in her bed. On Nocturnal. It was a dream. She had thought those nightmares were over months ago when she got her new arm. It was like her brain decided to come up with some worst possible scenario to make her suffer once again. At least Al-an wasn’t crying for help this time…

Her PDA’s clock told her she had only been asleep for four hours. They still had a long trip ahead, probably five or six more unless Al-an got lucky. She may as well get up and relieve herself before she got some more sleep before she had to sleep on Al-an’s side again. They were comfortable but a real bed was just something that couldn’t be replaced.

Robin wandered out of her room and into the main living area. Ryley sat at a small table, staring at his PDA. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t gone to bed yet.

“Hey, you ok?” Robin asked her friend.

He glanced up as she walked past and grunted. “Yeah.”

She smiled down at him when their eyes met and he faintly smiled back. “Don’t be afraid to wake me up if you need anything,” she told him before continuing into their shared bathroom.

When she returned, Ryley was still in the same position he had been before. He didn’t move as she walked past him but she decided to let it be and see what happened. She had asked, he said he didn’t need anything. She shouldn’t push it.

“Actually…” Ryley’s voice sounded behind Robin. She turned around and smiled softly at him. He stared forlorn at her for a moment before glancing back down at the table.

“Hmm?” Robin prompted.

“Actually, do you mind if I come sleep, uh, with you?” the younger man finally asked. “I don’t really want to be alone and Al-an said they have to focus.”

Affection filled Robin’s chest at her friend’s request. He was finally learning. She nodded and held her hand out to him. He, in turn, smiled faintly again and stood up. As soon as he grabbed Robin’s hand she pulled him toward her room before he could back out.

She slipped into her bed first, and he followed quickly. His back pressed her into the wall. Half of him wasn’t even on the bed.

“Uh,” Ryley said. He twisted to look at Robin and she found herself pinned between his shoulder and the wall.

“I don’t think this is gonna work.”

Ryley laughed and rolled until he fell face-first onto the floor. “I have materials for a bigger bed. I can leave too if you want,” he said, voice muffled by the ground.

“Get up and make the bed,” Robin said, laughing at his antics. She swung her legs off the side, nearly kicking him in the process, and stood up.

Hurriedly, Ryley took down the existing bed and fabricated a double version of it. Both of them had plenty of room then and Robin practically leapt in. Now with more room at least they had the option to cling to each other like it was their last night alive. Robin would be remiss if she didn’t admit she was glad for the company too. After that weird dream she needed this confirmation. That she was still with her two best friends and they were (mostly) normal and safe.

Ryley sighed softly, and Robin watched his back move with every breath. She reached out and ran her hand along his arm, just to let him know she was there. Something was clearly on his mind.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so moody,” he finally mumbled, so quiet Robin could barely hear him over Nocturnal’s engines.

“Is everything ok?” Robin asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m objectively fine.”

“But?”

“I dunno just- nobody really told me what we’d actually be doing out here. I’d probably have a lot more fun if I knew what to expect,” Ryley finally admitted. He sighed again.

Robin sighed in return and reached her arm around her friend to squeeze him. “Yeah, that’s on me for not really explaining. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I know you were excited,” Ryley said. His warm hand found hers and she squeezed it supportively.

“It’s been a few years since I got to do my job. I missed it,” Robin chuckled.

Ryley stayed quiet, but he rolled over onto his back and reached for Robin’s hand again. He smiled up at the ceiling for a minute before closing his eyes and squeezing her hand. She squeezed back.

“Now that I know what’s up, I do think this is gonna be fun,” Ryley said after another few moments where Robin almost fell back asleep. “I discovered like five new species.”

“That’s the coolest part of the job,” Robin murmured. “Makes you feel important, doesn’t it?”

Ryley chuckled. “Yeah. Now I’m a real scientist.”

“You always were, dork,” Robin stuck her tongue out and they both giggled like little kids having a sleepover.

Chapter Text

Darkness always fell surprisingly quickly over the lonely waters of 4546B. Despite having lived there for close to a year total, it still surprised Sam just how fast it became impossible to see. The crater was also darker than Sector Zero, which didn't help. She had also forgotten that getting from the teleporter to the storage base in the crater took nearly a whole day. It wasn’t like she actually needed to be over here but chores were getting scarce and boring unless she started doing other people’s chores.

“What’s a little Alterran work ethic without Robin knowing?” Sam said out loud to cut the silence. She really should put on music. Besides, her sister would probably be happy for not having to do anything right after coming back.

Sam had been alone for over a month already. She knew the others would take a while, but not nearly so long. Still, things needed doing here, and Marguerit was around to keep her company. The young Snow Stalkers were beginning to roam on their own, leaving the older woman alone with Preston most of the time. The base, which had generally been quiet before Sam died, was becoming quiet again. Sam was more of a cat person anyway.

She took a deep breath as she realized her headlights were the only source of light around her. The beacon was still 300 meters away and the Seatruck was so slow. 'A Seamoth would’ve been far faster,' Sam thought, kicking herself mentally. Too late now though, the closest one was even farther away in some base Ryley had tucked away in the depths.

Glowing blue lights in the distance caught Sam’s attention. At first she thought they might be the base finally coming into view, but the side of it appeared a few seconds later along with the familiar blue lights lining the side. It wasn’t until the distant lights blinked that Sam realized that it wasn’t a building but a creature.

“What the hell…?” she muttered. She leaned forward in her seat in a futile attempt to get a better look. Her truck still had 67% charge, she could afford to go check it out.

As she got closer, Sam noticed two yellow spots floating in the water in front of the eyes, which grew larger with every passing second. It wasn’t a Bone Shark, there were too many eyes for that. What was it?

Before Sam could get any closer a massive, dark shape blocked everything else out of the window. It slipped past her, too fast to track with her headlights. She spun the truck around in a circle, trying to catch sight of whatever was stalking her. It felt like time slowed down as the tip of a dark tail swooshed away back into the dark. The truck swung around again but Sam still wasn’t able to see anything. Maybe if she backed up and drove around a longer way-

A massive face appeared from the darkness and shook the entire Seatruck. Sam yelped and bailed when she heard the truck’s alarm sensor going off. The Reaper shook the vessel violently, which had unfortunately already taken some damage from a previous incident with a different leviathan.

The truck exploded after a couple more seconds. The Reaper was knocked off course. Sam was blown backwards a few meters. She glanced back toward the beacon. Only 400 meters left… behind her. She hadn’t realized just how far past the signal she had driven until she was stuck here without her truck or a seaglide, in the ocean with a giant, dangerous fish. There was nothing to do now but try to swim for safety.

Sam kicked off in a rush for the storage base. Meters ticked down far too slow for her comfort. At least with Al-an’s weird alien mask she didn’t have to worry about oxygen, especially over 150 meters down.

The leviathan roared right behind Sam, reminding her that she wasn’t nearly fast enough to out-swim it. She spun around in the water just as its talons caught her. She felt one pierce her left leg and screamed, sound muted by the water. The creature’s face lit up pink from Sam’s mask. The woman struggled against her attacker; it took nearly all of her strength just to keep it from biting her.

‘Keep Peepers on you if you’re gonna go over to the crater. I’d rather something take a bite of a few prey fish than your head, you know?,’ Ryley’s advice from before his departure repeated in Sam’s head.

Wait, she did have some Arctic Peepers on her! The Reaper shook her which made her nearly lose her grip on its head. With her free hand, Sam quickly reached into her personal storage to rip out a Peeper. She just had to wait for the Reaper to open its mouth and…

She shoved the small fish into the predator’s mouth and pushed off of it. Pain shot through her leg when its talon tore out of it. She screamed and doubled over for a moment to clutch at herself. Sam could barely see it in the faint light of her mask, but it was definitely bleeding.

“Son of a- AAAAH!” Sam was cut off when the Reaper charged at her again. Apparently it still wanted a snack.

This time she was prepared. She practically threw the peeper at its head and swam away. The base was a mere 100 meters away, within sight even. It was just a short, rather frantic swim away.

Once she finally arrived inside, Sam took a deep breath and leaned back against the hatch. She pressed her hand against her chest, heart pounding against it. The Reaper roared again, now far more distant. She was safe, at least until she tried to leave.

Taking another deep breath, Sam glanced down at her leg. She was bleeding heavily down her thigh from a hole in her dive suit. Upon closer inspection it didn’t look all that bad or deep. It had only caught the side of her thigh and, while painful, it wasn’t all that deep. More like a long, wide scratch.

“First order of business, take care of that,” she told herself. There had to be some bandages around here. Al-an had thankfully labeled all of the lockers so finding a first aid kit was easier than expected.

Sam made quick work of cleaning and bandaging up her leg. She winced with every pull. The others had to make it back soon and then Al-an could take a proper look. Speaking of them, she needed to let them know what had happened. And that she’d need a new truck to get home.

“Hey… I hope you’re all doing well. I had a, uh, less than pleasant run-in with a leviathan over in the crater and it destroyed the Seatruck I was in. It got my leg too, but Robin, before you start worrying, I promise I’m fine. I’ll have to use some of the stored materials to make a new vehicle though… Sorry about that.

Anyway, do you have any idea of when you’ll be home? I’m excited to see what you found!”

Sam sent the message off to the group with everyone in it. They’d see it eventually, and there was no way she’d be leaving again without protection. Though she might as well actually take some inventory while she was in there.

It was boring work, but it was monotonous and something she could just zone out to. She just happened to have a nice script that would run through each locker’s contents for her, leaving her to her own thing.

And, once she was in her own head, Sam couldn’t stop thinking. What was that with her back there? She should still be having a panic attack about that whole incident, shouldn’t she? The voices in her head grew louder, telling her that they didn’t really have an answer for her. She saw herself in the kelp far away outside, too far to see with the naked eye swaying back and forth. For a moment Sam felt like she was a part of it, inside the plants themselves.

She shook her head and glanced back down at her script. It had finished on the locker in front of her. She moved on and continued her original train of thought. That right there should have been scary! It felt like she had been teleported into the kelp, but she was right here in the building still. And yet, if she just let go, Sam could feel the rest of the plants around her.

“Maybe it did get to me more than I thought...” she said as she moved again and let her PDA connect.

‘You are well, sister?’ the voices asked.

“You aren’t real. And yes, I’m fine. I think I’m more rattled than I’m really letting myself feel. Maybe that’s it.”

Yes, Sam concluded. That was it. She didn’t feel it in her chest like usual. Her heart had already stopped racing and the pain in her leg had thankfully reduced to a mere dull throb. The voices were just a figment of her imagination messing with her. So was the hallucination of the kelp. On to another locker.

Before she could continue her thoughts, darkness blocked her vision once again. This time though, it was accompanied by those four blue eyes that she had seen in the water before. It was an Emperor Leviathan!

“I trust the red demon didn’t hurt you too badly?” it asked. Its deep voice echoed in Sam’s head.

Sam grabbed the materials for a Seamoth and tucked her PDA back in her pocket. She could come back another time, when it was daytime to finish this. From Al-an’s response, the others wouldn’t be home for a bit. She had time.

Once outside, Sam was greeted with those eyes again. She smiled behind her mask and watched faint blue light up its massive face. “I’m fine, I just need to get back home,” she told the beast out loud.

“I will escort you then. I chased it away, but they are hungry creatures. It might mistake you for a snack again, and Father has not taught you how to use them to travel yet.”

Sam thanked the leviathan while she swam upward to avoid hitting it with another handy little tool she had designed. The woman whipped out her handheld vehicle construction module and set it to work, inputting the blueprint for a Seamoth, which the drones put together within ten minutes. The leviathan swam around the building below, only visible by its glowing eyes.

“What did you mean by Father?” Sam suddenly asked. She glanced down to see the creature looking up at her.

“The one you call Ryley,” it told her. “He hatched us and gave us names, so he is our father.”

The vehicle finished construction, and Sam quickly hopped inside. She searched the dash for the comms button. God, she wasn’t used to these old things. But they were faster and might be able to actually keep up with her escort. Finally, she found the right button and opened the channel.

“You have names? What’s yours?” The human asked as she began to drive.

The Emperor followed her. “He calls me Kyle. My siblings are Martin, Cronus, Rose, and Raven. I am sure you have seen at least one of them in your time here.”

Sam chuckled. She heard her PDA ping as another message came in, this time from Marguerit. She would check it once she got back to Sector Zero. She had a fish to chat with.

“He never told me he named you. I’ll have to go wander and see if I can find one of your siblings. You all must be adults by now, right?”

“Not nearly. We are only four years old, and we’ll live for many hundreds more. We will outlive you humans for sure.” Kyle paused and passed over Sam’s head. It stared off into the dark water where Sam could just barely see the glow of the creepvine seeds ahead.

“Father worries about that,” the leviathan finally finished.

Sam sighed and followed Kyle’s gaze. “He’s human, it’s in our nature to worry about what will happen to our offspring when we’re gone. It’s one way we show our love, through care and worry over others,” she told it.

“How long does a human live for?”

“Without augmentation? We’re lucky to reach one hundred.”

Kelp smacked against the windshield while Kyle swam ahead. It seemed to be done talking. Sam switched the comms off and turned to her PDA. Two missed calls from Marguerit. So that’s who was trying to contact her.

“Got your message in that group. You alright? Those leviathans over there are no joke. You best get your ass down to my seabase soon as you can so I can take a look at your leg.” Marguerit’s voice sounded tinny coming from the PDA’s sad speaker.

Sam switched to the second message. “You best respond or I’m gonna march my ass over there and make sure you’re alright.” the older woman chuckled and Sam heard fabric rustling as if she shook her head. “I won’t hesitate, leviathans be damned.”

Well, Marguerit was expecting a reply. Sam took a deep breath as she mapped out her response in her head. Her stomach had twisted itself in knots from the way Marguerit talked. It just… did things to Sam. She had known since before her death, but she’d never gotten the courage to say anything. Especially not with… other people in her life.

Alright, alright. She had to stop thinking about that and reply before Marguerit really did ‘march her ass over there’.

“I’m fine, sorry, I was just talking to a fish,” Sam said to her PDA. “I swear I’m alright, it’s just a deep scratch and I took care of it myself. I’ll grab my project and see you in a few hours, sound good?”

She sent the message off and stowed her PDA. Kyle still swam ahead, though it had slowed down a bit. Sam felt a twinge in her chest for it. She had kind of given it an existential crisis, hadn’t she? Emperors lived upwards of one thousand years, one hundred must seem so short to them.

It took another hour and a half to reach the other side of the crater. Sam let the new Seamoth dock and hopped out into the lone moonpool. The interior had been painted purple at some point. Sam shook her head and slipped outside to say goodbye to the leviathan, who was still idly swimming around outside.

“Hey, Kyle, before I go, can I ask you a question,” Sam said into the dark water. She watched its eyes turn and focus entirely on her.

“Of course!” it said, blinking at her slowly.

“Do you ever hear… other voices? Not your siblings just- something else entirely. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

The leviathan shook its head slowly. “No. Just my siblings and your friend, the green one. They do not speak with us often.”

Sam took a deep breath. It had been a long shot to ask but she had to try. Someone else out there had to have experienced something like this. DID wouldn’t form from dying would it? That was the only other explanation but Sam hadn’t noticed any other symptoms.

“So…” she paused. She needed to salvage this somehow, and keep it from asking Ryley about her. “You and Al-an are the only psychic beings here?”

“As far as I am aware, yes. Why do you ask?” Kyle moved forward a bit so that Sam could just see its snout, lit by the moonpool.

“Oh, I’m just being nosy,” Sam laughed nervously. She turned around toward the doorway to the portal home. Before she stepped through she turned back and caught sight of those eyes again.

“Thank you for the escort! Maybe we’ll talk again!” she called out.

Kyle seemed to relax at that. “Yes, I hope so. I like you, little human. Tell Father I said hello.”

Chapter Text

Sam’s leg ached the more she moved it. She ignored that for the time being, Marguerit could get a better look in a little bit. Climbing out of her Seatruck took some experimentation with putting weight on the injury. Standing was fine but the dried blood crusting around the already ruined bandage hurt like nothing else. It was starting to become sore as well.

Once inside the base food and a change of clothes took priority. Sam hadn't eaten in hours and she was desperate to get into something more comfortable. Dive suits were only comfortable for so long. The fabric pulled at her skin where her blood had dried too, making the whole thing incredibly uncomfortable. She limped her way into her bedroom on a damn mission to get the heck out of it.

‘Change the bandage with your coverings,’ the strange (and imaginary, Sam reminded herself) voices echoed into her head.

Sam sighed and pulled a knife out of a drawer in her room. She cut the fabric holding the body of the suit to the leg and ignored the nagging. There was no point in taking the bandage off just to put it back on. It was already soaked and needed to be changed, so there was no point in just repeating the same process twice.

A clock on the wall in the base's main room read 4:47 am. The trip across the crater really had been far longer than expected. There was no chance of getting any sleep tonight. Sam sighed and grabbed a nutrition bar from a locker and stepped outside. She wasn’t dressed for the pre-sunrise arctic air by any means; she praised herself, however, for thinking to leave the Seatruck she brought here at the surface.

Robin made jumping into a truck look so easy. Water pooled on the floor around Sam’s feet and she shook the last of the droplets out of her hair. At least she wasn’t all that wet. And climbing out and onto Marguerit’s moonpool shouldn’t prove difficult. Hopefully.

Marguerit seemed to have thought of that already and left her P.R.A.W.N. on the sea floor next to the moonpool. It was probably best not to let more water get to the wound anyway. Sam sighed and stepped into the main room, ready to take the verbal beating for letting herself get hurt.

Marguerit was passed out in her chair, snoring softly. Sam stifled her laughter behind her hand. She had fallen asleep waiting for her! How sweet! At least she had made the effort to stay up. That position didn't look at all comfortable though, sprawled in the seat with her head tilted back at an angle.

Preston stirred from his spot on the floor and growled at the intruder. Sam shushed him but it was too late. Marguerit groaned and lifted her head. She winced and rubbed at the back of her neck before she caught sight of Sam, who waved.

“Finally! How’s that leg, hmm?” the older woman asked. She stood up slowly and approached.

Sam rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m fine, I swear. I told you I took care of it, didn’t I?” she told her friend.

“Right, but I’d like to take a look. Better to make sure you did it right, ain’t it?” Marguerit shot back. She crossed her arms as she came to a stop in front of Sam, caging her in against the bulkhead.

“I think I did a good job!” Sam insisted. “Prison toughened me up, I can take care of myself now!”

Marguerit laughed and stepped back, uncrossing her arms and allowing Sam into the rest of the room. She turned around after a few steps and watched Marguerit follow her. Instead of taking a seat though, she stayed standing, staring at Sam.

“At least lemme take a look at it. If it’s the same bandage from when you got it I’ll need to change it anyway,” Marguerit insisted.

Sam finally gave in. “Alright, alright,” She hesitated for a second before slipping her pants off, kicking them a few feet away. A flush washed over her as she did so. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen her without pants! Just-

Sam mentally shook that off and watched her friend kneel down in front of her. Oh, Lord. Her calloused hands were gentle as they removed the poorly applied bandage and then the cut piece of wetsuit from Sam’s thigh. She winced when the hands brushed against the still sore wound. It wasn’t all that big but it hurt like it was.

“Sam, you need stitches.”

Marguerit stood up and promptly walked away toward her new storage room. She reappeared moments later with a box and prompted Sam to sit on the other open chair. She squirmed under Marguerit’s sharp gaze as the woman stared down at her leg.

From the box came some kind of thread that wasn’t synthesized from a fabricator, and a clean needle. Sam swallowed and adjusted her position. She tensed and watched her friend thread her needle with careful precision. Sam had seen her multitude of scars, she knew what she was doing. It was still terrifying to think that someone without medical training would be doing this to her.

“Relax, girl. I thought prison toughened you up,” Marguerit joked. She smirked up at Sam and the younger woman’s heart skipped a beat.

“It did!”

"Right," Marguerit drawled with a lazy grin.

Sam did her best to relax as her friend's still gentle hands caressed her. Her skin stung when something wet touched her. The smell told her it was an alcohol wipe. ‘That makes sense,’ she rationalized in an attempt to keep herself grounded.

The cloth, now stained pink with blood, ended up on the table. Gross. Sam didn’t have much time to dwell on that when Marguerit picked up her needle and knots tightened in her stomach. She gasped and had to look away the second it made contact with her skin.

She tried to keep her leg still and relaxed. And keep her oncoming sobs from shaking her too much. The idea of looking tough flew out the window in an instant. Sam just wanted to get it over with. Tears slipped down her face and she whined every time she felt a pinch.

Marguerit chuckled. “I don’t see that tough prison bravado,” she said.

Sam sucked in a breath at another stinging poke. She couldn’t say anything, her voice would just come out strangled. She looked down for the first time in a while. Marguerit wasn’t looking at her, she was still focused on her work. Most of the wound was closed, just a couple more stitches to go.

Preston across the room caught Sam’s attention for the rest of the agonizingly long procedure. She heard the snip of the thread being cut and then Marguerit’s hand was on her face, drawing her attention back.

“You can relax, I got you taken care of. Need you to stand up so I can bandage it though,” she told her.

Sam nodded and stood slowly. She waited patiently for her friend to finish. God, that was pathetic. For the last five hours she hadn’t felt a thing aside from the dull ache of the injury, and the initial sharp pain. Nary a metaphorical feather was ruffled until right then, when the one person she’d like to impress was around. Then she cried like a 48 year old baby.

“Thank you…” Sam mumbled, looking anywhere but at Marguerit, who was still crouched near her.

“Course. Least I can do for you,” Marguerit replied, finally standing up. “You go lay down, I’ll find something for the pain.”

Sam nodded and turned to head for her friend’s bedroom. Her PDA started ringing nearly as soon as she was in the doorway. Oh, Robin was finally checking in!

“Hey!” the younger woman exclaimed. “I didn’t think you’d be awake, I was going to leave a message. How’s your leg?”

Sam chuckled and climbed into Marguerit’s bed. “It’s fine, I had Marguerit take a look at it,” she reassured her sister. “How are you all doing? Any interesting new species?”

“I discovered like five things!” Ryley said, voice muffled by distance. Robin laughed and it drowned him out a bit.

“It’s great! We’re actually on our way home right now, we’ll be…” Robin paused. “Al-an how long did you say?” Her voice faded a bit and Sam guessed she must have turned her head to look at the alien.

“Approximately two days. There is a rather convenient route between us and there actually,” the alien clarified.

“That’s nice! Good for you Ryley!” Sam said. She smiled at the blank screen. "I'm excited to see you!"

Marguerit walked in and set a bottle of water and mystery pills on the bed next to her. She promptly sat down on the floor and pulled out her own PDA, completely ignoring Sam otherwise.

“Thanks!” Ryley said, still distant. “And god damn do we have a story for you!”

“Yeah, you are never gonna believe what we found!” Robin added. Sam could practically hear the smile on her face.

“And let me guess, you aren’t going to tell me until you’re back?”

“Nope! Two days isn’t that long Sammy. They were pretty cool, we’ll go into detail when we get home,” Robin replied.

“That being said,” Al-an interrupted. “All of you should sleep. You will receive a notification when we enter the atmosphere.”

“Sounds good to me," Sam agreed. "I’ll see you all in a couple of days!”

Finally, she wouldn’t have to be alone in the base for a while! She was starting to miss Robin’s company again. They had spent so long apart throughout most of their lives, who could blame Sam for wanting this chance to spend more time with her sister? Especially after she had died!

“You gonna sleep or are you just gonna sit there?” Marguerit interrupted Sam’s train of thought.

Sam looked down and didn’t see her friend. Confused, she leaned over the side of the bed. Marguerit laid flat on the floor staring back at her, face neutral. Her PDA sat on the floor next to her head, which rested on Preston’s side.

“What… are you doing? Aren’t you going to sleep?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, aren’t you?”

“You’re on the floor.”

Marguerit nodded, eyebrows knitting a bit in confusion. “Yeah. Don’t want to kick you in my sleep and hurt your leg more. ‘Sides, I already got some sleep and you didn’t.”

“Right, but you were in your chair, weren’t you? Go get that.” Sam said and shifted back so that she was laying down on the bed.

“Already laying down. Preston is comfy. Go to sleep.”

Sam chuckled and closed her eyes. She had known she was tired, of course. She hadn’t slept in over a day now. She did not, however, expect to fall asleep nearly instantly. Darkness washed over her and left her in a semi-dreamless sleep. The usual voices chatted over her but she couldn’t make anything out. They talked over each other and information passed so quickly that Sam couldn’t catch it.

She woke up to the smell of potatoes frying in the next room. She stretched under the blanket and winced when she remembered her cut. Hunger outweighed the desire to rest her leg and she made her way out into the next room.

Marguerit stood over her tiny stove carefully frying something or other. She didn’t acknowledge Sam’s presence aside from a grumbled ‘Afternoon.’ so, Sam took a seat in one of the few chairs. Preston was at her feet in seconds, begging for food that Sam didn’t even have yet.

“You know your mom doesn’t like it when I share food with you,” she told the beast, who huffed at her.

“Yeah you better not. He needs to keep his hunting skills sharp.”

Sam laughed and looked back up at Marguerit’s back. The older woman dumped her work on a plate and turned around to present it. Sam tried hard not to stare at her arms as she placed the plate down on the table and turned back around to make something for herself. It was then that Sam realized she had only had a few bites of her nutrient bar earlier. God, she was hungry.

The pair ate quickly in silence. Sam’s project was burning a hole in her PDA and she was actually excited to work on it! Delight filled her when Marguerit tossed their plates onto the counter, an old bad habit that hadn’t left her, and asked if she had any work to do.

Sam nodded and retrieved her half finished robot. “Yeah, I’ve got a little side project I’m working on for Al-an.”

“Hmm.” Marguerit nodded and stood up. “I’ve got a sword to sharpen.” She promptly left the room and returned with a small sword that she placed on the table along with a knife sharpening kit.

Both women set to work on their respective projects. Sam began tinkering with the joints on her new Snow Stalker bot. She hadn’t found a design that would resist water in her research, and every experiment she tried either hindered movement too much, or still let water seep in. Not to mention trying to keep the internal wiring safe…

“Hmmm…” Sam mumbled. She glanced down at Preston. Why not ask the expert in the room for help with this?

“What?” Marguerit looked up from her sword.

“I’m trying to make a bot that Al-an can use to track Ice Worms, and for me to keep an eye on Snow Stalker activity without disrupting Preston or the little ones. But it needs waterproofing in a way that doesn’t inhibit movement,” Sam explained. She glanced back down at Preston.

Marguerit nodded, thoughtful. “Well, maybe Al-an has some kind of thick, flexible skin of some sort you can work with. They’ve got all sorts of alien tech.”

“I was thinking of asking when they get back. But any synthetic skin still lets water in, and I don’t want to risk anything,” Sam pointed out. She sighed and stared down at her project again.

“Well,” Marguerit said, standing up. She beckoned Preston over to her with a piece of dried fish she pulled from her pocket. The animal bounded over to her and sat down to happily munch on his treat. “C’mere.”

Sam obeyed and knelt where Marguerit directed her, directly behind Preston. The other woman took a place behind her, chest pressed against her back. She gently took the younger woman's hand in hers. Sam’s heart raced at the proximity. She tried hard not to stare at the scarred, calloused hand over the top of her own.

Her hand met thick, course fur. Preston grumbled and turned his head, his beady little eyes looking into Sam’s. She dug her fingers in and he sighed, turning back to laying down.

“Dig your fingers in more. Feel how he’s softer underneath? It keeps him dry under all that fur. I’ll bet you and Al-an could work somethin’ like that out, yeah?”

Sam could only nod, flustered beyond belief. Cool air made her shiver as Marguerit’s warmth left her back; she found herself missing the way that felt, them both pressed together.

‘Oh, god I am down BAD,’ Sam thought. She shook her head slightly and stood up.

“I think I could work something out. I swear I’ve seen someone on the internet making a dual layered faux fur at some point,” she finally said.

“Glad I could help,” Marguerit said. She smiled slightly and Sam’s heart leapt.

‘Get ahold of yourself!’ Sam told herself internally. God she hoped the voices really were just in her head, this was so embarrassing.

Both sat back down and turned back to their work. The internal wiring still needed to be hooked up and tested, and Sam had two days to work on that before the others returned. Between that and heading back to the storage facility for another check, she had plenty of things to do to occupy her time. Whatever story the others had to tell her was too intriguing, she needed that distraction. All she could do was wait.

~~~

[LAB NOTES, MAR 19, 2408]

Everything is going great! Specimens 1-12 have all survived! Rats 14-22 are still doing well, though I lost 13 and 23-25. I’ll be working on specimens 26-37 next once I’m absolutely certain this is really a success. I can’t believe this actually worked!

I have noticed some… behavioral abnormalities in specimens 1-12. I’ll keep an extra eye on them, though I’m sure they’re doing fine. I’d wager it’s just a simply side effect of the process.

Chapter Text

The front door of the base swung open with a loud slam against the wall. Sam jumped about three feet in her chair, her concentration entirely broken from the project on the table in front of her. She turned around when she heard more thudding, which came from Ryley tossing a large bag against the wall by the door. Robin followed him inside and stretched.

Sam stood up to greet them. “You’re back! I thought you’d be at least another day!” Her chest filled with warmth at the sight of her sister, who wandered over and embraced her.

“Did you not receive the notification that we were returning?” Al-an’s voice echoed from down the hall. “The route I discovered is… rather convenient…” they trailed off.

Robin pulled back and strolled over to the bag that Ryley had set down. She removed what looked like a carton of eggs and some meat from it while Ryley made a beeline for the nearest bench and flopped down on it.

“So?” Sam asked. The curiosity was eating at her. “What did you find?”

“Well!” Robin turned around and slammed the fridge shut. “It all started when Al-an woke me up…”

~~~

“Robin! Robin wake up!”

Al-an’s loud shout into Robin’s brain had the exact effect he was hoping for. She startled awake, disturbing Ryley who was still cuddled up close to her. She groaned and squeezed him gently in an attempt to get him to stay asleep. Whatever Al-an needed, it likely only required one of them.

“What? Are we there?” Robin finally asked.

“No. Two humans have contacted us. They are asking for me to show my face. I need you two up here immediately. I cannot stall much longer/” Al-an sounded panicked; his words rushed into Robin’s brain almost too fast for her to process.

“Ok, shit. Ok. We’ll be up in a minute, just try to give us a second. I’ll come up with some excuse,” she told him. “Can you trace them?”

“Thank you. I have traced their origin to the planet that we are bound for in less than an hour.”

Robin took a deep breath and started shaking Ryley. He whined and tried to bury his head into her. Groggy, the man opened his eyes and glared up at his friend. Robin smiled down at him. She wanted so badly to stay there for a while longer. He was so warm. But they had more important things to take care of.

“Al-an is talking to some humans on that planet you found. He needs us to be-” Robin paused. “diplomatic. And also human.”

Ryley bolted upright at that and practically fell out of the bed. “You’re kidding- humans?”

Shaking her head, Robin followed suit. She almost wished Al-an could just tell Ryley himself, but they’d be up there shortly anyway. She tossed the comfortable clothes she had slept in in a corner and slipped into her AEP along with some boots. May as well look professional. The door slid open and then shut and heavy footsteps echoed down the hall toward Ryley’s room.

The two met in the hall outside and rushed up to the bridge where Al-an stood near the console. He looked agitated, shifting back and forth from hoof to hoof. The floor reflected orange from his anxious glow.

“-associates are on their way, I am just their pilot. I told you I am not comfortable showing my face because of that,” he told the two humans on the hologram in front of him.

Robin rushed up to the console to get a better look at them, Ryley close behind. Al-an took a step back and bonked his head into Robin’s. She let out a soft ‘oof’ at the force of his affection. He apologized silently and stepped all the way back to let the humans talk without seeing him.

Two young women stood threateningly in front of their camera, though neither were doing a very good job at being threatening. The dark haired one looked young, no more than 19 or 20. She pouted more than glared with her arms crossed against her chest. She was pretty and clean, more than Robin would expect for a supposedly empty planet.

The other woman seemed older, or at least she carried herself that way. Her teal hair was tied back, though that didn’t do much to tame it. It was far curlier than even Robin’s and puffed out behind her. She actually looked somewhat threatening, though her round face gave her a soft look and her dark eyes betrayed curiosity rather than hostility.

“Are your crew here now?” The teal-haired girl asked.

“Yes, we’re here,” Robin answered and turned on Nocturnal’s camera. Ryley stood stiffly next to her.

“Alterra aren’t welcome here! We thought we gave you that message already!” the dark-haired girl snapped.

“We aren’t Alterran though,” Ryley argued. He stepped slightly in front of Robin, arms crossed against his chest.

“Your ship is!” the girl snapped back.

“It’s uh…” Robin paused and glanced away. “it’s borrowed. Who are you?”

“Not important,” the teal-haired girl said. “Why won’t your pilot show his face?”

Robin shifted on her feet. “It’s because they’re-”

“They were cursed by a wizard!” Ryley interrupted.

What?? Where did that come from? “Y-yeah, they’re ashamed of their appearance because of it,” Robin quickly agreed. Maybe if she played into it too they’d believe it?

Al-an made a huge show of groaning behind the camera. “Thank you for sharing that with everyone. How kind of you…” he complained.

The two strangers seemed to… actually accept it? They nodded at each other and the teal-haired one turned to Robin. “Alright, but I’d like you to land. I want to know why you’re in our space. We made it abundantly clear to Alterra and the like that they aren’t welcome here. Your ship still holds an Alterran signature. You might want to get that checked out.”

“Duly noted. We’ll be there in about an hour and a half. Signal us a landing spot and we can talk,” Ryley agreed. He uncrossed his arms and approached the console to do exactly as he said.

The girls agreed to the terms and the video call ended. Robin quickly checked to make entirely sure before she turned to her friend. He was concentrated on the controls, where a ping had appeared on the radar, alerting them to the landing spot.

“A wizard? Really?” Robin asked.

“Hey, they believed me,” Ryley brushed her off. His tongue stuck out of his mouth a bit in concentration.

The crew sat quietly, nervous for the next hour and a half as they approached the strange planet. Al-an seemed preoccupied with something else but there was no time to ask anymore. Robin’s brain was entering its waiting period. The alien did, however, start up some music to fill the silence. That was nice at least.

It was daytime when they landed. Robin and Ryley stepped outside together into warm, comfortable air. That at least was a nice break from the blizzard on that last planet, and from home too. Feeling dirt under her boots for once was a welcome reprieve as well.

Five humans of various ages stood in a line. The dark-haired girl from the call stood in front of everyone holding a rifle that looked a little too big for her. An old woman stood next to an old man. Robin couldn’t see most of them through the dark-haired girl but it almost looked like they were holding hands. A large middle aged man with a small mustache stood slightly in front of the older man. Finally, a young scientist and the teal-haired girl from before stood next to each other at the front of the group. All of them looked more ready for farm work than fighting.

The scientist’s face lit up as soon as Robin and Ryley came to a stop. He gasped “Dr. Robin Ayou?”

Robin grinned at him. “Viktor Humphries! So this is where you went?” she replied. They had never met but she heard plenty of his work before he mysteriously left for a “research mission”.

“I’m sorry, you know her?” The dark-haired girl took a step forward and lowered her gun. She glanced between Robin and Viktor as she spoke.

“Yes Mochi, I assumed that much was clear. I never dreamed I would have the honor to meet another xenobiologist, much less one so esteemed,” the young scientist said, shooting a look at Mochi.

The older woman let go of her companion’s hand and shifted on her feet. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “So you’re saying they’re trustworthy?” she asked. Viktor nodded and stepped forward to shake Robin’s, and then Ryley’s hands.

The rest of the ranchers closed in on the pair and introduced themselves enthusiastically the moment they had confirmation. Beatrix, the teal-haired girl, seemed to speak for them all for the most part. Robin thought she recognized the large man, Ogden from somewhere. He seemed nice, his hands strong and warm as he shook hers.

Thora and Hobson, the older couple, were happy to hang back while Mochi and Beatrix descended on Ryley. “I’m not all that interesting,” the young man told them, laughing nervously. He glanced at Robin. She could see the panic in his eyes at the unfamiliar social situation. They really needed to get out more…

Robin scoffed and shifted on her feet. “Not that interesting? You survived a crash, that’s kind of interesting isn’t it?” she said.

Ryley rolled his eyes at her. “Yeah, ok, I survived the Aurora crash but that’s like, the only interesting thing about me.” He glanced at the strangers as he revealed the information.

Mochi and Beatrix immediately gasped and began hounding him for more information. Viktor chuckled behind Robin. He was shaking his head and smiling at his companions when she turned to look at him.

“You don’t get many outsiders here, do you?” Robin asked.

“No, not generally. It’s a surprise and an honor to even have you here Dr. Ayou,” the younger scientist replied. He looked delighted beyond belief to be meeting her.

Robin laughed and held her hand out to shake his. He accepted, cold and rather clammy hand gripping hers. He motioned for them to walk together and let the way through an archway that led out into some kind of main ranch area. The others stayed behind in the smaller area to talk with Ryley.

Scattered around the clearing were cages full of large blobs of slime. As the pair passed a small house, Viktor began explaining their physiology or- as he called it- Slimology. Robin stared around at the creatures, which bounced around in their cages seemingly happily.

“These corrals seem really small for such large animals,” she pointed out. A spiked red slime smashed its face into the holographic wall in a desperate effort to get closer to the humans.

Viktor reached into his pocket and tossed a carrot at the creature, which it happily ate. Seconds later a large crystal forced its way out of the slime’s body. Viktor reached through the walls and picked it up.

“Not necessarily. I’ll walk you into the range a bit and you’ll find that they actually enjoy the proximity. Slimes are very easy creatures and if they did not want to be held, they would not be,” he explained. He tossed the crystal to Robin.

She turned it around in her hands as he continued infodumping. “That is a plort, biological waste produced by slimes when they eat. It is them reduced down to their essence. I can go more in depth about this at a later date, of course, should you decide to form an alliance with us.”

The crystal felt rubbery, but solid in Robin’s hands. It retained its slimy texture though, try as she might, she couldn’t get her fingers through it. Viktor led her out into a much larger area full of smaller slimes that gleefully bounced around the space. High, red walls rose around them.

“Robin, I… require assistance,” Al-an spoke into her mind suddenly.

Robin glanced at Viktor, who had stopped to feed a grey slime. “Al I’m kinda busy and we can’t exactly talk about you. Can it wait?”

Viktor stood back up, holding the slime now and held it out to Robin, who took it. It wiggled around in her hands and meowed. Its ears perked up as it studied the human. She laughed at the little creature in her hands.

“That is a Tabby Slime,” Viktor began explaining. He immediately dove into more information about the slime that Robin would have to look up herself later.

Al-an finally responded. “Um. I suppose, yes. It is fine I will… figure it out.”

Robin smiled, looking back down at the slime in her hands to hide what she was actually smiling at. “I’ll be back in like- half an hour, tops. Can you wait that long big guy?” Al-an didn’t answer

The two humans ended up walking for nearly an hour together, just around what the younger biologist called the Dry Reef. Robin kept her attention on him for the most part, though she couldn’t help but stare around in wonder. In the distance she saw some kind of dense forest. This was certainly going to be a place to visit often, especially if Ryley was able to set up trade with these ranchers. Having allies would be a vital asset that Robin hadn’t even thought of.

It was especially helpful now that they couldn’t visit Earth as often. Chickens were absolutely everywhere on this planet, along with fresh vegetables and fruits. The trip home would take two days at most according to Al-an. If her and Ryley brought fish and extra materials they could get a stable, better food source. Hell, keeping chickens was almost viable too. She hoped Ryley was having similar ideas and setting something up, because if he wasn’t she would be.

~~~

”So… did you actually make a trade deal?” Sam turned to Ryley, who nodded.

“Beatrix said they get a lot of supplies from the trans-gov they partnered with so we’ll mostly give them fish and materials. Stuff you can only get here. I have her contact info, we decided to work out details later,” he informed her.

Al-an groaned and tossed their head, biolights flushing yellow. Sam glanced at them, and then at Robin who was smirking at them.

“You gonna tell her or should I?” the younger woman asked, still pointedly smirking at the alien next to her.

“Must I?” Al-an whined.

“Now that you’ve said something, yes,” Sam laughed. “What happened with you? I thought you stayed on Nocturnal.”

“Well, I was supposed to…”

~~~

Al-an stared out the window to the ground below where their humans spoke with the new group. They seemed friendly, especially the young man in goggles. Time dragged on as he pulled Robin away and off into the distance.

With nothing else to do but watch Ryley down on the ground, Al-an decided to take their own look around. They connected with Nocturnal’s computers and found themself aware of everything surrounding the ship. Down on the ground in another area of the ranch, small round creatures bounced around in cages. A quick search through human databases told Al-an that they were called slimes, and that their waste had extensive practical uses.

Fascinated, Al-an decided to take a closer look. They slipped out of a maintenance hatch at the back of the ship, and then warped away over top of the cliff that Ryley had landed on. The Architect passed the human farm and found an extensive range full of free, much smaller, slimes. They warped down to the ground to get a closer look.

A small background process kept an eye out for human activity near them, but the rest of Al-an’s attention turned to the pink creatures surrounding their legs. The slimes bounced around them making tiny ‘whee!’ and ‘yipee!’ noises. They looked so deeply and inexplicably happy.

Al-an, unfortunately, couldn’t help but wonder how their people had never seen these creatures before. They knew of this system. It was heavily documented, unlike the other system that they were exploring now. (They had decided to call it K69-420, to put their own previous joke to better use) But this single planet remained entirely a mystery.

They couldn’t wonder about it for long. The slimes were absolutely enamored with the taller alien. They clambered about their legs and nearly tripped them up. Al-an stepped carefully to avoid crushing any of the happy little things, but it was becoming impossible to walk. Their extra arms were back on the ship too, so they couldn’t just move any of the creatures away, at least not effectively.

“Robin, I… require assistance.”

Contacting their girlfriend and informing her of their folly was the only way out of this predicament. They could apologize for their curiosity later.

“Al I’m kinda busy and we can’t exactly talk about you. Can it wait?” came Robin’s reply.

The Architect’s careful stepping was not paying off. In fact, the slimes seemed only more insistent on crowding around their legs, tripping them up. They fell flat on their face with a loud thud. Thankfully there was a soft enough cushion of slime to prevent their horns from hitting the ground.

However, now that Al-an was vulnerable they were no longer able to move. Slimes crowded around them, encasing them in their squishy little bodies. The Architect tried to squirm, or kick, or anything. They couldn’t move anymore. Uh, oh.

“Um. I suppose, yes. It is fine I will… figure it out,” they finally told her. They didn’t hear her response as the Network was blocked out by slimes.

~~~

”So… you got yourself bombarded by cute little creatures?” Sam chuckled at the mental image.

Robin held her PDA out, revealing a much, much larger looking slime. “He was inside that monstrosity, according to Beatrix,” she laughed.

“I do not find it necessary to share that image, Robin,” Al-an practically spit the woman’s name out.

“I do!”

Chapter Text

After a long bombardment of questions from Mochi and Ogden about his time on 4546B, Ryley found himself inside Beatrix’s house talking with her and the rest of her friends, excluding Viktor of course. Beatrix’s house was small but cozy, with just enough seating for everyone including the extra person.

There wasn’t much to say for decoration, just a few posters on the wall above the bed, some stuffed animals on the covers. A computer sat against the wall on the other side of the door. A small, obviously handmade rug adorned the stone floor near a small table that Thora and Ogden currently occupied.

“So, basically, we kind of revolted and rejected our citizenships under Alterra,” Beatrix explained. She spoke with a slight lisp that Ryley’s brain caught onto.

“I’m no stranger to that. We’re actively wanted for uh, a lot,” he laughed.

Ogden shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. “What did you say you do again?” he asked.

Shit, what was he supposed to say? Robin had abandoned him to go be a nerd with Viktor and she was way better at lying than him. Hell, he was the one to give Al-an a fake wizard curse. Most of the human contact he had in the last two years generally involved violence.

“Uh, bandits basically. We rob Alterran outposts for…” he paused to take a nervous deep breath and make it look like he was thinking. “fun really. And supplies.” His truth bending worked when Ogden nodded approvingly.

“Are you with any trans-gov? Or are you like- totally off the grid?” Mochi asked. She still looked a bit starstruck.

“We’re wanted, so we’re in hiding for now. Is there a safe gov?”

Beatrix leaned forward from her perch on her bed. “I found them doing some research on how to get out. I contacted their legal advisor and she helped us figure it out. She’s much better at all that legal stuff than any of us are.”

“I mean, I’m good with money,” Mochi gave Ryley the most smug smile he had ever seen on a person.

“Right…” Beatrix glanced at the other girl. “We set up some trades with them in exchange for citizenship and protection.”

That sounded tempting. They were making it alright on 4546B alone, and it was sustainable. But there were luxuries that he and Robin missed. Another gov would mean protection too. At least right off there were plenty of benefits.

“I’ll talk to Robin about it. For now, is there anything you’re still lacking?” Ryley asked. He didn’t even need Robin to help him nail some new friends!

“I mean, my dad cut off my account so… I’m kinda running off of whatever I can get from ranching,” Mochi piped up. “I can’t get my hands on drone materials much anymore. Or… anything else.”

Ryley had to keep from rolling his eyes. Was she seriously worrying about buying stuff? “I mean, we’ve got plenty of gold and silver, if that’s what you’re asking for,” he conceded. “It’s a water planet, so I can get you fish. I keep a small operation for food. I could do with expanding it a little for… whatever you’re willing to give up.”

“How about edible plants?” Ogden asked. “I’m in the market for something new right about now.”

Ryley nodded. “I’ll make a list when I get back. If that’s alright? I want to take a look at expanding our current farms, is all.” He stumbled over his words a bit, still nervous.

Beatrix chuckled, making Ryley’s chest clench. “I’ll give you my info, we can talk about it,” she told him with a smile.

Ryley smiled back at her and set up his PDA for her to add herself. He handed it off to her and sat, awkward, as she typed. That was a first. In the back of his mind, he was already making a list of fruits he could trade for. Beatrix had some odd looking trees set up around what he had seen, there had to be something there.

Beatrix handed Ryley his PDA back and turned to her own device. She informed the group that she was asking Viktor to come back so Ryley and Robin could leave. As soon as her concentration shifted to her task, Mochi started hounding Ryley with questions again. She was really starting to annoy him.

Fifteen minutes passed before Robin and Viktor appeared in the doorway. Ryley was finally relieved of having to be diplomatic any longer. He was only good at that over text with the Underground, which he had finally sort of started to take charge of. Answering emails and directing small crews kept him busy when he wasn’t otherwise occupied.

He was even more relieved to finally be back on Nocturnal. That was… a lot, and way more stressful than expected. “I’m gonna work out trades with Beatrix,” he told Robin as she wandered to the console to initiate launch.

“Good! I forgot to ask,” she said. Ryley kicked a chair over to her, which she caught and sat down on.

“Oh!” Robin exclaimed, bolting upright in her chair. “I also forgot about Al-an! He said he needed something. Do you mind taking over this, I’ll see what he wanted.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ryley agreed. He strolled over and took her spot.

The other human leaned against another seat with her eyes closed. She concentrated for several minutes while Ryley fiddled with the controls. He didn’t really want to leave until they made sure Al-an was at least on the ship. The vessel remained eerily quiet, not even ominous stomping giving the alien away.

“Are they ok?” Ryley asked after several more minutes.

“He’s not answering me,” Robin said. She didn’t open her eyes.

“What did they need help with?” Al-an was far too clingy to just ignore Robin.

“I don’t know. I got sidetracked with Viktor talking about local fauna and told him I’d be a minute.”

Ryley sat there for another few minutes. “Are they mad at you?” he finally asked.

“I don’t-”

The comms beeping with a call interrupted Robin’s worried answer. Ryley turned around and answered, confused. It must be Beatrix, asking why they hadn’t left yet. He got ready to blame Al-an’s wizard again.

“Heeeeeeey, guys. You missing someone?” Beatrix asked from outside the ship.

“Oh my god,” Robin gasped.

Ryley stood up, but Robin bolted in front of him and down the ramp to the upper hatch. She slammed the switch to open it and the door slid open with a soft whoosh. Ryley followed his friend more slowly. He peeked out from behind her and spotted Beatrix standing on the ground outside with a very disgruntled looking Al-an next to her.

~~~

Al-an couldn’t move. They counted themself lucky that they didn’t need to breathe, or absorb all that much oxygen in the first place. They would eventually suffocate inside this mass of slime, but it would take more than enough time enough for Robin to notice their absence.

Still, their predicament was incredibly humiliating. Face-down stuck inside of a mass of slimes. How were they expected to escape? They had tried blinking to the side, and even up several times to no avail. They couldn’t move any of their limbs. They could hardly even see outside, the slime took up most of their sensory input.

Faint vibrations in a familiar one-two rhythm announced the approach of a human. And, more importantly, Al-an’s rescue. They just had to hope it was not one of the new humans. They couldn’t even tell the distinct cadence of different humans’ footsteps through all of this slime. So much for keeping their appearance a secret if that was the case.

The slime around them jiggled and they swore they felt the thing expand. They still couldn’t see anything. What was the human doing? Was Al-ant rising a bit? They tried to struggle but found that they still couldn’t move.

Suddenly, nothing was underneath them except the ground; 10 inches below them and rapidly approaching. They grunted as they hit the ground face-first, accompanied by an embarrassingly loud thud. Their hind end, which had been suspended in the air by the slime, tilted over their head and sent them tumbling uncomfortably backwards.

The human yelped and leapt back. Al-an finally landed on their side and laid there limp, damp, and frustrated. They turned their attention to the strange human, the teal-haired one that had spoken with them over the call. According to Robin’s memory of their interaction, her name was Beatrix.

“What… are you…?” the stranger asked. She leaned forward, head tilted in curiosity. “Are you the pilot?”

Al-an sighed and found it in them to stand up. They may as well try to preserve some kind of dignity. Their limbs felt too long and awkward under Beatrix’s scrutiny. Her eye’s followed their head up as they stood, until she was practically staring straight up.

“Yes…” the alien finally answered her.

Instead of curious or shocked as Al-an expected, the human gave him an outraged look.

“Wait… You mean to tell me you weren’t cursed by a wizard?” she asked. “You’re just an alien?”

Al-an stiffened. “Just an alien? Excuse me, I am the alien,” they insisted. They weren’t entirely certain why they were so defensive about that.

“Alright I-” Beatrix let out a breathless laugh and visibly relaxed. She rubbed her hand against the back of her head in some social cue that Al-an knew they missed. “I guess that explains why you didn’t want us to see you. You’re hiding with the humans…”

“Yes. I simply… grew curious about the local fauna.” they kicked a few slimes away from their legs. “My name is Al-an. I am the last Architect.”

Beatrix’s expression grew serious; she nodded in understanding. “I’ve heard a bit about that research from Viktor. Does Alterra know about you?”

Al-an looked away. “Yes.”

“I won’t tell.”

The human relaxed again and smiled at the Architect. “You probably want to get back to your friends, huh?” she asked with a soft chuckle.

“Very much so,” Al-an flashed blue at her.

The girl nodded and turned away, practically bounding off in the direction of the ranch. The alien had no trouble keeping up with her, though they had to stop and warp every few seconds to avoid another pile of slimes from overcoming them.

“They’re awfully friendly with you!” Beatrix giggled. Al-an chose not to comment, though the thought stuck with them. Was this behavior unusual?

The pair crossed through the main arch leading into the ranch. Al-an shook off the last of the wild slimes while Beatrix vacuumed them up with the device that she had attached to her hip. They would need to study that later if time permitted.

“I cannot image why…” they grumbled before heading toward Nocturnal, and home.

Beatrix bounded ahead again and set up a direct line with the humans on board. By the time Al-an walked over she had closed the connection and the door slid open, revealing Robin looking worried on the other side. Her face relaxed when she spotted them and they felt the relief come in waves off of her.

Al-an tried to push down the twinge of irritation that she had ignored them. They didn’t lead with the actual issue, but she could have at least asked. Their anger melted when she laughed.

“You alright there, big guy?”

Beatrix laughed and motioned toward the alien. “I found them trapped inside a slime.”

Ryley, who’s face had appeared above Robin’s shoulder, laughed, obscuring himself behind the other human for a moment. Robin grinned down at Al-an, who still felt disturbingly damp. They shook themself, scattering bits of slime everywhere.

“How’re you feeling?” Robin asked through laughter.

Al-an’s annoyance flared again, though it was softer. “I feel… sticky,” they said as they passed her.

Ryley wheezed and Al-an shot a glare at him. “Do not say whatever it is that you are thinking,” they told him.

Robin called a thank you to Beatrix and shut the hatch again. Her and Ryley both walked back to the bridge; Robin patted Al-an’s leg on the way, smiling up at them. They looked affectionately back down at her.

“I wasn’t trying to ignore you,” she thought at them.

“I know,” they replied.

She laughed out loud then. “You do have to admit, that’s kind of funny.”

“A little,” Ryley said. He initiated launch, prompting Robin to take a seat and Al-an to brace themself. They would be glad to finally get home and forget all of that for good.

Chapter Text

Sam fell in next to her sister, helping put the new supplies away. And sneaking a look at what they had gathered. Most of it was food. Fresh meat, eggs, things like that. Robin tossed a bag full of strange, colorful crystals on the counter. Sam could only surmise that they were the “plorts” Robin had mentioned.

She had heard talk about the Far Far Range back before her last research mission. The year-long sleep right into working on a ranch honestly sounded like a good deal. An escape from Alterran life where you got to do whatever you wanted? It was almost too good to be true.

Ryley wandered off to take a shower, leaving Sam and Robin alone together. Al-an had disappeared at some point when Sam wasn’t looking. Shrugging, she went back to the table and the project she had left abandoned. Robin joined a few moments later with a small bowl of some kind of fruit.

“Mint mango slice?” the younger woman held out a slice of the teal fruit.

Sam smiled and took the offer. She sniffed it and recoiled at the strange smell. Once she licked it though, she found herself pleasantly surprised. The mint tasted far weaker than it smelled, leaving most of the actual flesh to taste of mango and some other sweetness that she couldn’t quite place.

Alright, that wasn’t bad. Sam munched on her fruit slice and started mulling over blueprints on her PDA. She had already made good progress on the concept and most of the outer shell for her little fighter pengling. And the mechanism to hide the flame-thrower. The axe addition was proving troublesome in testing.

Sam’s thoughts drifted to the other research she had done. She didn’t get far looking through databases on reincarnation, religion and theory. There was nothing solid, no evidence that reincarnation or necromancy or… whatever this could be called was possible. Scientifically it shouldn’t be. Maybe Robin had actually given it some thought by now. She had to be curious.

“Sorry to bring it up again so soon but have you thought about my situation any more?” she broke the silence.

Robin huffed. “No, not really.” Her answer was short, curt. She didn’t want to talk about it.

“You always have the better ideas out of the two of us, I just thought-”

“I know you’re curious and you’re caught up in it but I really, really don’t want to be thinking about that!” Robin snapped. She looked surprised at herself and then her face softened and she looked away, toward the floor. “I just want to be happy that you’re here. No how or why.”

“I know but-” Sam tried. Robin stood up, pushing her chair back until it thumped against the nearest wall.

“I said I don’t want to think about it!” she stormed off into the hallway leading to the humans’ quarters.

Sam groaned and let herself fall forward until her head rested against the table. Her sister was so damn frustrating sometimes! They were supposed to be happy and together again, getting along like siblings were supposed to. Sam was just curious, desperate to know why her so called “rest” had been disturbed.

The voices rang softly in the back of the woman’s mind, informing her that they thought Robin was just being bitchy for the sake of it. Sam shook her head.

“No, not like that. Robin is always bitchy for a reason. Maybe I’m being too insistent but…” she paused. “I don’t know.”

“Human’s don’t come back from death,” the voices said helpfully.

“That doesn’t give her the right to yell at me over it. I’m alive, same as I was before. Nothing changed, right? I mean it’s only been a couple months…”

“We do not know her mind like yours, we cannot tell you what she thinks of you.”

Sam sighed and stood up to follow her sister. Not to confront her, that would do nothing at this point. Once Robin’s mind was made up, that was it. Sam headed for her room and flopped down into her bed. She wasn’t tired yet but she would be soon. Her project could be gathered up and figured out tomorrow. She just needed some time to herself. No sister, no voices, just her, her dark room, and the sound of the wind outside.

~~~

[LAB NOTES, MARCH 23, 2408]

I was able to save Specimens 26-31 but 32-37 were lost in steps 7 through 9. I think now I’ve mastered the method though! I’ll detail that further down, I just need to note some oddities.

I’ve noticed the longer all of these specimens are awake, the stranger they act. Not toward the world around them or each other, but to me. They’re little, just mice and rats but under normal lab conditions they’re always skittish. Before and after the procedures. Now they seem… friendly. Specimen 17 let me pet them! I’m honestly shocked. Perhaps they’re beginning to trust me since they see me every day? Further testing is definitely in order once I get the procedure working more consistently.

~~~

The next morning Sam woke up like she hadn’t slept at all. She had, but barely. Thoughts of Robin’s irritation swirled around in her head. How long would they go before they had a real fight, like they used to? Would Robin let it bubble under the surface like all of the rest of her stress or had she finally learned? Ryley gave no indication in how he acted around her. He seemed oblivious to her tells, and the stress that threatened to send his companion into a spiral.

Sam’s usual pit of anxiety wasn’t present as she got up to start her day. Robin was quiet at the table, Sam’s project pushed to the side to make room for a small, untouched plate of eggs. Al-an stood over the humans’ small stove, pushing more eggs around in a pan. Ryley sat in a chair next to Robin, shoving his food into his mouth at an alarming rate.

Al-an didn’t turn around when Sam entered but she noted the flash of blue that lit up the area around them. “Ah, Sam, excellent. I thought I heard you moving around.”

The alien turned around with their pan and held it up so Sam could see. Fluffy, yellow goodness steamed on the surface. “I have prepared breakfast for you!” they told her excitedly. The blue came back, pulsing over their whole body and lingering.

Sam grinned back at them. “Well shoot, I didn’t know you could cook! Thank you Al-an!” she said.

A plate found itself in front of her as she sat down at the table across from Robin. The younger woman didn’t look up from her PDA. She was either intently focused or completely zoned out.

Al-an’s voice distracted Sam, her gaze followed them for a moment as they turned around with their pan in one of their floating arms. “Oh, yes, I did extensive research into nutritional science. Cooking is simple chemistry. I find it relaxing,” they explained.

Sam smiled and turned back to her food. The eggs tasted… like eggs. They weren’t bad by any means. They were just… good. Of course, considering Sam hadn’t had eggs in several years, that alone was freaking amazing! Just very plain.

“Al-an, did you… season these?” she finally asked out loud.

“With what?” the alien asked innocently.

Robin snickered. “Pepper. Salt if you’re feeling adventurous.”

Sam chuckled and glanced behind her to gauge Al-an’s reaction. Their lights flashed red in Robin’s direction. Their floating arm set the now clean pan down a bit too hard, the smack ringing out in the room. There was a shift of fabric as Ryley jumped in his seat.

“Perhaps you should have informed me of your desire for seasoning before I finished making your food then,” they told Robin. She stuck her tongue out at them. “My apologies for the loud noise.”

“Fair, you’ve never cooked for us before, have you?” Robin smiled at her partner. “I’ll give you a real lesson later.”

“You absolutely will not!” Sam interjected, pointing an accusing finger at her sister. “Last time you told me how to season something I think I lost a few taste buds!”

Robin laughed, her eyes sparkling just a little. “Weak!”

“Well I, for one, thought the eggs were great, Al-an!” Ryley finally piped up. His plate was completely clean, though a smear of something red remained.

Smug joy radiated off of the Architect at the compliment. Their hooves thudded against the floor as they walked back to the doorway to their room. The moment they left though, uncomfortable silence filled the room. Robin was clearly ignoring the issue at hand and at this point Sam wasn’t going to bring it up.

“I’ve got some stuff to do,” Ryley piped up after a beat. He glanced between the sisters as he stood up, eyes darting uncomfortably between them for just a moment too long.

Robin nodded without a word. As soon as the young man was gone the silence returned. Sam didn’t know what to say. Her sister didn’t seem to hold any animosity, at least not outwardly but she was most certainly stewing inside. Her eyes were clearly unfocused despite the active feed on her PDA screen. The plate in front of her still laid untouched.

Sam couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled out her PDA and hurriedly typed a message to Marguerit. She had to get out of the base at least for a bit. To let the air clear more and let Robin simmer down more. The last thing she wanted was another fight.

A reply popped up within moments. “Come on down here, I’m chock full of ideas.”

Sam smiled to herself. “Hey,” she prompted Robin.

“Hm?” The other woman looked up, startled out of her rumination.

“I’m going to go down to Marguerit’s base for a bit. She had some ideas for a bot I’m working on.”

“Have fun,” Robin said with a smirk. “And show me the blueprints later, I wanna see!”

Sam smiled and stood up. “Absolutely! I’m pretty much done with that Snow Stalker prototype actually! I’ll send it over tonight when I finish.”

“Love you!” Robin called out to Sam’s back. Relief washed through her. She wouldn’t have said that if she was still angry.

“I love you too!” Sam called out as she left.

She stepped out into the freezing air with a shiver. That was one thing she would never get used to. The idea of leaving someday, going to some other trans-gov alone crossed her mind as she crossed the iceberg. That was practically a pipe dream though, with Alterra most likely on the hunt for her.

A Seamoth waited for her in one of the base’s moonpools. Once inside, Sam checked her PDA. Another message from Marguerit waited there.

“You’ve been awfully clingy lately.”

Sam laughed to herself and started her short journey. “Well,” she dictated to the device. “The others have hardly been here and I’ve been getting cabin fever. I’m never bored in your base though! Send message.”

Marguerit didn’t reply so Sam spend the rest of her time in silence trying not to overthink her final comment. That was a normal thing to say, she decided. The voices clearly chose not to comment.

~~~

“So, how’s that leg doin’?” Marguerit hounded as soon as Sam appeared in the doorframe.

Sam smiled. “Healing nicely I think.” she paused and glanced at Preston before turning her gaze back to her friend. “Thank you for stitching it up for me, by the way. I don’t know what I would have done if it got infected.”

The older woman scoffed playfully “My pleasure. I dunno what you’d do without me honestly.”

Sam chuckled and then entered the room fully. She sat down on the only open chair and relaxed. Marguerit turned back to her PDA, leaving Sam to fidget with her hands in silence. She hadn’t thought this far ahead. Where could she even start? She should have brought this whole thing up ages ago.

“Can I ask something strange?” she finally started.

The other woman looked up. “Sure.”

“Do you believe I really died?”

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Marguerit’s face gave nothing away as the question processed. “Sure. They wouldn’t have been out of here so fast if you hadn’t. Besides, I saw the girl that found you. Poor thing was a mess.” She looked away, hiding half of her face.

Sam’s heart clenched. She… didn’t know who had found her. “Every report says Sam Ayou died. And I woke up as a number.”

“Sounds to me like Alterra is covering something shady,” Marguerit said with a scoff. “Nothin’ unusual for them.”

Another beat. “Why’d you ask?”

“How did Robin talk about me? Before I came back.” Sam pressed.

Marguerit paused again. “Didn’t really say much. Here, I recorded that conversation,” she finally said. She tossed her PDA onto the table.

Sam scanned over the conversation until something caught her eye. Robin had caught herself referring to her in present tense. The rest of the recording was inconsequential, just small talk and mention of another recording. The PDA indicated a data transfer.

“I showed her when I told you to- to do it. And that was it. We didn’t talk much about it after that.”

Sam handed the PDA back. At least that explained Robin’s behavior. Ignoring the issue would certainly be best for now. But without her sister’s input the investigation was back to square one.

“There’s more to this, isn’t there,” Marguerit said after another pregnant pause.

Sam sighed. “Yeah. What do you think happened to me? Robin won’t engage with it.”

Quiet passed between them. Sam’s stomach churned more. What was her friend thinking about? Did she even have any idea? Oh- “Um, I already looked through Alterran internal files. Nothing came up between my death and prison…”

Marguerit nodded but kept her quiet. Sam waited patiently, hands folded in her lap. Preston grumbled and stomped his way over to the women to rest his toothy head in Sam’s lap. She chuckled and scratched at his fur, trying in part to memorize how it felt.

“Does anyone else know you’re alive?” Marguerit finally spoke up. “Anyone on Earth you might trust would do.”

Sam thought back to that initial trip to Earth when she was rescued. Had anyone… “Yes! Fred saw me! But what can he do?”

“You can look at all the files and shit you want but Alterra aren’t just going to write down illegal shit they’re doin’,” Marguerit explained. She leaned forward. “But someone in the trenches down there can covertly ask anyone who might’ve been involved in your uh- body collection.”

“Hmm…” Sam nodded. “You’re right. Somebody ought to know.”

Marguerit nodded. Sam let her mind wander then, to Fred. Even if she hadn’t died, she never expected to see him again. Keeping in contact with him was tempting, even just to hear the political climate back in Alterra. If he looked for answers for her it would certainly keep them talking.

Suddenly, Marguerit spoke up again. “I have to ask you somethin’.”

Sam jolted out of her thoughts. “I know who I’m going to ask, Fred is-”

“That’s not it-” the other woman paused. Her eyes turned down, toward the table. Something dark crossed her face.

“What then?” Sam asked, leaning forward.

“Is having all the answers really going to make you happy?”

All thoughts came crashing to a halt. Would it? It certainly wouldn’t please Robin. In all of her investigation, Sam hadn’t thought about herself.

“I… I think so. I want to know what they did to me. I want to know why I hear- why I’m here.” She couldn’t bring up the voices. That would sound crazy; though not any more than she already did.

Marguerit hummed. “Just somethin’ I think you should keep in mind.”

~~~

[LAB NOTES, APR 10, 2408]

Not much to update since last month. Everyone is doing so well in the lab! Further tests on specimens 1-12 have come up… inconclusive so far. I need to call in an animal behavioral specialist but otherwise the rest of the experiment is running smoothly. I’ll keep updating as needed.

Chapter Text

“I want to go somewhere.”

Ryley groaned as Robin began to rant about her reasoning. They’d barely been home for two weeks. She was running herself into the ground and taking him along with her. They’d even had this conversation before, months- no over a year ago! She had to learn to fucking relax eventually.

“You guys can go, I’m staying,” he finally grumbled.

“You have projects to work on here as well, Robin,” Al-an agreed. Thank god. “You should focus on those.”

Robin rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Her knees bumped the underside of the table, disturbing Ryley’s robot. “I don’t want to review footage anymore! I can hardly focus on it. And Ryley basically took care of the trade deal…”

“There are plenty of other things,” Al-an insisted.

“Yeah, you could get in on this bot fighting,” Ryley suggested. He glared pointedly at the woman, who looked away.

“Come on, just one place. ONE planet. Hell, if it’s a gas planet or something we’ll only be gone a couple of days. I just want to see new stuff. Please?” she insisted.

Al-an’s lights began to turn slightly more toward red. Ryley shifted uncomfortably in his seat. If they started an argument he was going to blow a fuse again whether he wanted to or not. In front of Sam no less. She was somewhere in the base and was bound to hear him if something happened.

Robin continued to beg, though she directed most of it at Al-an, who continued to refuse. They turned darker and darker pink as the seconds passed. Ryley busied himself in his robot. Adjust a gear, ignore Robin trying to get him in on it. Test the pincer mechanism. Ignore Robin again.

“Fine. I know of a single planet we can visit,” Al-an finally conceded.

Robin leapt from her chair. “YES! Thank you!” she cheered.

“The people there were friends with mine. I suppose I should make them aware that I am alive,” the alien explained. “Though we will only be there for a day or two, after which we will not leave 4546B for another month at least. Is this acceptable to both of you?”

“Yeah!” Robin said, immediately bolting to her room to prepare.

Dread filled Ryley’s stomach. “Do I have to go?” He tried to look as pleading as possible up at his friend.

Al-an let out a soft sigh. “I would appreciate it if you did.”

On one hand staying home almost completely alone to work on the bot and keep up on ship maintenance sounded like heaven. Then again, it would just be Ryley and Sam, which was almost worse. Would she expect anything of him? The only common ground they really had was a passion for mechanics and, while that could make for a great friendship eventually, things were just… awkward now. The sisters were a package deal so far and Ryley had no idea how to act without Robin around too.

“Alright, I’ll go,” he finally decided.

“Thank you,” Al-an replied. They hesitated and their lights turned green, pondering something. “I have something I would like to ask you though. Will you walk with me?”

That was unexpected. Ryley nodded and stood up to follow them. His stomach twisted in knots as the pair entered Al-an’s hallway. Was this about Robin? They were clearly irritated with her earlier. Ryley didn’t want to talk badly about her but she was driving him crazy too. Should he say something?

“I spoke with Robin two months ago about our Network connection,” the alien finally said. “I would like to invite you to join us in it. I want you to be a part of the Network.”

“Oh,” Ryley whispered. That wasn’t at all where he thought this would go. “What- what does that mean?”

Al-an paused again. “You would join us in our mental connection. Silent communication over distances is paramount in our line of work. We both think it would be beneficial to let you in to that.”

They paused again as they passed through the empty moonpool.

“It is a matter of safety, as well. I can keep tabs on you in case of an emergency. And your emotional state. Arguments would end much smoother.”

The pair reached Al-an’s room. The alien stepped inside and allowed Ryley in with them. They warped across the room to type on a terminal for a second, before warping again and gathering some sort of fabric from a shelf.

“I don’t know…” Ryley finally said. That was a huge decision, wasn’t it? They’d be able to read each others minds. Robin did agree to it…

“You do not need an answer immediately,” Al-an spoke up as if they sensed Ryley’s worries. “Take your time. Tell me what you want, no matter your decision.” They turned then and watched the human, head tilted and lights mixing blue and green.

“I’d- yeah, I wanna think about it,” he finally confirmed. “Thanks Al-an.”

~~~

Daisy scanned over records of her messages with Ryley from the past two years. Once per month, back and forth they would talk. He never had much to report aside from missing everyone back home. His work was menial and his life settled into lonely monotony. Nothing about him changed.

Daisy’s life on Earth certainly had far more going on. She kept her brother updated on all of the shows she watched, movies she saw, what her friends did. She sang him happy birthday for the two she missed even if they showed up late. He said nobody else did that for him.

Her last message sat open on her PDA in front of her. Unanswered. He hadn’t responded in two months… The star pattern of the girl’s blanket barely showed through the transparent screen, dotting the words with the view Ryley probably had outside his own bedroom window. If he had one.

“Hi again. I hope I’m bothering you, ‘cause you haven’t replied yet. Or maybe you have and I just haven’t gotten it. You’re way far out there now right? The edge of explored space practically. That’s what they said at school when the teacher talked about our exploration missions. Captain Hollister is a pioneer and all that. I think you deserve the title too since you’re there.

“They’ll get better comms up when you reach the phasegate I bet, and then you’ll get these and feel really bad. I bet those rich assholes are keeping you busy. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! Dad is letting me swear now that I’m sixteen! Mom hates it a little but he said it’s only fair since you were worse than me at this age. She gets sad when he mentions you…

“Anyway! Answer me back dummy! I miss you! And I don’t like that I can’t know where Aurora is at all times so I- Nevermind that’s dumb. I love you!”

Daisy stopped the recording and took a deep breath. She wasn’t about to admit how worried she actually was. Alterra HQ lost contact with Aurora months ago but something in Daisy held out hope that her brother still got her messages. Everyone kept saying they just went out of range. She had to hold on to that optimism too.

“Daisy?” Her father’s voice and a knock on the door startled the girl out of her introspection. She looked up to see him smiling in at her. Something about him looked different. “Can we come in?”

She nodded and her father pushed the door all the way open to reveal her mother standing there with him. She looked like she had been crying and she wouldn’t look at Daisy directly. Nothing good would come of this, for sure.

The adults stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment before Dad moved in and sat down on the edge of the bed. He wrapped his arm around his daughter. She leaned in, ready to accept whatever it was he had to say.

“Something happened to Aurora, didn’t it?” she asked quietly.

“They just released a report. The ship crashed maneuvering around a planet at the edges of explored space. They were… almost there,” Dad confirmed.

Mom took a deep breath. “The agent I spoke to said an unconfirmed number of crew members survived so-” she cut herself off and turned away.

“So he might be ok,” Daisy finished.

She felt her dad nod. “Right. We just have to hope they can get him home. The news says some small trade ship from another gov is going to attempt rescue.”

The odds of Ryley surviving out of the 150-some crew members was so small. But god dammit Daisy was going to believe he was one of them. He had to be. And she had to believe. For Mom and Dad.

~~~

The trip out to Al-an’s mystery planet took a single day. Apparently the two races were such good friends that the Architects had a phasegate set up nearby already. Ryley wondered absently why whoever these other aliens were never checked up on them during the Kharaa outbreak. Probably fear for their own well-being.

“Soooooo, tell me about this race! I want to be presentable before we get there!” Robin said excitedly. She stretched out in her chair as if nothing was wrong.

“Well, the Time Lords are a race of science and progress, much like us,” Al-an responded. “If we are able I will pick up some literature and teach you their language…”

Al-an began to ramble about time travel and Architect technology and space-time and… Ryley zoned out. He was utterly exhausted and couldn’t focus on new information if he tried. Maybe Al-an would be kind enough to explain it all again later. The idea of learning about time travel was so enticing were it not for the sleepiness.

The human didn’t notice that sleep overtook him until Robin was shaking him awake. “Hey, sleepyhead. We’re almost there, you should wake up.”

Ugh, dammit. The nap was JUST getting good and restful. “Wonder if I could synthesize an energy drink before we land,” he grumbled as he stretched.

“If you send me a list of chemicals and flavor preferences, I will assist you when we get home,” Al-an joked, the walls of the ship flashing blue.

Robin laughed. “Are you sure? I don’t think those things are safe for human consumption.”

“If I recall from your memories you survived through cofee and alcohol through your early adulthood. Are you certain you have a leg to stand on with regards to this topic?" Al-an retorted.

“Fuck you!” Robin gasped, hand to her chest in feigned shock. “Jerk!”

The walls flashed bright blue again. “Bitch!” the alien replied. Ryley chuckled at the joke. At least that woke him up some.

Suddenly, the ship came to a jolting halt, nearly knocking both humans from their seats. Al-an’s color turned from blue to orange in an instant. A pit formed in Ryley’s stomach at that. Were they out of fuel? Didn’t this ship run on ion energy?

“Al-an?” Robin asked hesitantly.

“Where is it? It should be right here!” Their voice echoed too much, laced with anxiety.

“Where’s what?” Ryley pressed.

“Gallifrey! It should be right here this time of year.”

Robin leaned forward. “Planets move around and it’s been a thousand years. Did you scan for it?”

The entire ship went from orange to red for half a second. “What do you think I am doing?” they exclaimed.

The humans waited anxiously as time ticked on. The walls tinted darker and darker orange until the light was practically brown. Robin had explained Al-an’s mood lighting once, and the darker the color the stronger the emotion right? What was this, panic?

“I cannot find it. Planets do not just disappear. Gallifrey and its rival, Skaro are just… gone. We need to leave.”

Without another word the ship was turned around and flying back toward home. Al-an’s unease remained palatable, leaving the humans in uncomfortable silence. Robin kept glancing between the Architect’s limp body and the window outside. Whatever was already going on in her head, this wouldn’t help. It didn’t help Ryley’s nerves.

It… would be nice to know how exactly they were feeling. Hell, were the two having a conversation now, excluding him? Robin didn’t have that weird concentrated look she got and Al-an didn’t seem to be calming down. Maybe they were right… But not right now.

As soon as they were back within Architect airspace, Al-an relaxed. Their color slowly drifted back toward pink, though it remained closer to the color of a sunrise on Earth than their natural magenta. They were worried.

Finally, they spoke up. “Now that we are home I am able to look into the issue. I am unable to find concrete answers but it seems that the warring races ended their fight in complete loss. The Daleks and the Time Lords are no more…”

Ryley glanced and Robin, who looked as surprised as he felt. “Some war,” she said.

“I was unaware it had reached such an extent. I was-” they paused, walls darkening. “I was still trapped in Sector Zero at the time.”

“Scary to think anyone out there has that much power,” Ryley added. Who knew what else was out there just waiting. Then again, movies weren’t much to go off of when it came to alien politics.

“You have no idea,” Al-an agreed unhelpfully.

Chapter Text

With the others gone now, Sam was left to her own devices again. Ryley left a short list of chores to take care of. Al-an had claimed they would most likely only be gone for a couple of days. So it was back to the crater for a while. There was an old base in the area Ryley had called the Dunes that needed cleaning out and deconstruction.

The beacon came into view after several long, music filled hours. This time Sam made the incredibly smart choice to leave at night so the sun was rising by the time she reached the other end of the crater. She was NOT about to nearly become a snack twice.

A leviathan’s roar pierced the calm water, as if to remind Sam of their presence. This time she was going to see it coming. She could escape now too with the Seamoth she took! No fish would get the drop this time. Sam watched a shadow pass over her before the smooth white underside of a Reaper slid into view.

“Not. This. Time.” she declared, finger over the trigger for the perimeter defense system.

The fish spun suddenly and dove toward its snack. It caught the Seamoth in its talons. Sam slammed down on the button, shocking the animal. It roared in surprise and pain and released the vehicle from its grip. Sam dove a few meters and then made a run for the base as soon as she was free of the writhing leviathan. Its roars faded into background noise by the time she made it into the abandoned moonpool.

“Well! That was exhilarating!” she said to nobody in particular.

‘Excellent escape, sister,’ the voices replied.

Sam groaned internally but thanked them nonetheless. Hallucinations or not the mysterious voices saw the victories nobody else did. Like that! Sam put that worry to the back of her mind and got to work stripping the base of installations.

As she worked her mind wandered. Before she died she was afraid to even go near a Chelicerate, much less work around Ice Worms back in Sector Zero. What was going on with her? She dealt with that Reaper like it was nothing.

She couldn’t worry about that either though, not without answers about how she even came back in the first place. Oh, right! She needed to make good on Marguerit’s suggestion and call Fred.

Sam paused her work and pulled up her old friend’s number. She hesitated before hitting the call button. It wouldn’t hurt to at least ask him but… would he be willing? Fred was such a nice guy, he always tried to lend Sam a hand back before she died. Asking him to spy though, that was out of his areas of expertise, which generally involved hauling and trucks. Still. It never hurt to ask.

The PDA rang four times before Fred picked up. “Hey Sam! Good to hear from you! How have things been out there?”

God it was so good to hear his voice. “Hello Fred!” Sam replied. “It’s been… alright. I actually want to ask you a favor. Are you busy?”

“Well, kind of. I’m just running some freight for the AU. What do you need?”

Sam took a deep, steadying breath. “Can you… ask around about me? I think something happened to me after I died but nothing comes up when I search my name,” she explained.

Fred was quiet for a minute, the only sound coming through the speakers a low rumble from a truck engine. It was a huge ask, Sam knew. She didn’t know who else to turn to though. Nobody but him knew she was alive.

“I don’t- I don’t know if I can. I was just a cargo guy back then. They might not tell me anything-” Sam’s heart sank as he spoke- “but I think I know somebody I can trust who can look for you.”

“I’d appreciate it if you did ask them. But don’t tell me who it is! I don’t want to put them in danger,” Sam practically begged her friend. Thank god! She had a shot at knowing the truth!

“Sure thing! I’ll be in her area in a couple days. I’ll talk to you then, alright?” Fred replied. Sam heard a rustle as he presumably made to hang up, then he stopped.

“Hey by the way, how do you get such good reception all the way out there? I could barely get messages back to Jenny when I worked out there!” he added after a moment.

Sam chuckled. “A friend installed an extension chip in my PDA. They didn’t say exactly how it works but I’m not about to question it,” she smiled down at her blank PDA screen. “I’ll look forward to your message. Thank you Fred.”

The man said his goodbyes and the line dropped. Sam was left alone with her thoughts again. She was certainly glad she took that chance now. Getting a spy was a huge step! She set herself a reminder for a random day a few weeks in the future to tell Marguerit that her idea worked. That should give Fred enough time to talk to his friend and confirm their help.

~~~

[LAB NOTES, APR 30, 2408]

Blood work has come back normal all things considered. The behavior specialists note a strange lack of self preservation skills among all specimens. I’m not… sure what that means. My next steps may be animal neurologists and brain scans. This new behavior is completely unprecedented. The implications for the next stage of the project…

Ahem. Specimen 27, for example, nearly leapt off of the lab table during routine examination. They had absolutely no regard for the fact that they, being a dog, might break a shoulder. Most dogs would at least exercise caution. Instead, 27 left no time for hesitation and just jumped for the floor! Jim and I caught them in time, thankfully. The behavioral specialists I spoke with backed up my theory for now. They confirmed that this kind of behavior is abnormal. A sign of a trauma maybe. I didn’t want to say what exactly…

I will update after more testing.

~~~

Lil thought about 4546B often. She often wondered how Robin’s mission went. Was she still out there? Had she found the truth? Time passed with no word from her until an anonymous picture showed up one day of an Architect. A real one clearly in motion and alive. And then… nothing.

She wondered about her other coworkers too. Emmanuel checked up on everyone via email every so often for his mandatory grief counseling bonus. The only people to reply to him regularly were Zeta and Dani, though that was understandable. Vinh sent back the occasional ‘thank you’. Fred seemed to have dropped off the grid completely after a couple of years.

Well, until right then. Lil’s PDA rang, startling her out of the report she was writing up. She glanced down and was surprised to see his name. Thank goodness he was ok! She had started to worry about the poor man.

“Fred! Hello! It’s been so long!” She said as soon as the line clicked.

“Good afternoon Lil!” Fred replied. “Sorry about that by the way, I got, uh, busy. I need to talk to you actually.”

Lil turned her full attention to the call. “Oh? What can I do for you?”

“Well…” he hesitated and took a deep breath. “Not on this line actually. I want you to meet me somewhere secure. I’ll send the coordinates over a direct line. 8 PM sharp tonight. I really need your help here.”

“Oh, um. Alright… But why-” the line went dead before Lil could finish her thought. Her question was left answered by the harsh buzz of a dial tone.

Moments later a message popped up with exact coordinates and the words ‘Don’t bring your PDA’. When she plugged the numbers into a map it showed… the middle of nowhere? The only civilization out there were miles of farmland. Why would he want to meet so far away from people? The whole thing was suspicious. But… Fred was always so trustworthy. What if he got in trouble and he needed an out?

If that was the case, Lil made up her mind to at least meet him. He wasn’t a big man, she could probably overpower him if he was being threatened to kidnap her. Not that anyone would want someone like her or that Fred would do something like that. In any case, she would at least bring her PDA and leave it in the car so Brian could track her location.

She sent a quick message off to her husband and got back to work. For the rest of the day though, Lil couldn’t focus on her work. Curiosity ate at her and made time drag itself out longer and longer. Finally after what felt like a year at least, 5 pm rolled around and she clocked out. With rush hour it would certainly take three hours to make it all the way out to Fred.

Brain finally replied at 6:30 while Lil was stuck behind a truck on the highway eating some take-out for dinner. He had apparently been sucked into his woodworking all day. The kids were fed and finished homework. Lil smiled to herself. They made a good team.

The sun had already set by the time she approached the meetup spot. Without city lights stars actually dotted the skies. Farmland, a rarity by this point on Earth, passed by in serene landscape. It would be beautiful if Lil wasn’t so worried about whatever this meeting was.

She pulled up to a dusty parked truck. Fred leaned against it with his arms crossed, staring down into the dirt in front of him. Unpaved roads were another rarity.

“Thanks for coming all the way out here,” Fred greeted when Lil stepped out of the car. “You left your PDA, right?”

Lil scoffed. “Of course not! Sorry Fred but I’m not going to meet someone in the middle of nowhere without my husband knowing where I am.”

The man looked panicked at that. He pushed himself off the side of his truck and stood there, fidgeting with his hands. “Listen, we can’t be too careful. Just- ya left it in your car, right? Step over here.”

Cautiously, Lil did as she was asked. She didn’t want to get too far away though, in case she needed to make a quick escape. Fred was her friend though… he wouldn’t do anything that could put either of them in physical danger. Lil’s stomach twisted in knots as she came to stand next to the truck with him.

“So why did you bring me all the way out here?” she pressed after another moment of awkward silence.

Fred cleared his throat. “Right. I can’t be too careful, especially when we’re talking about- this. I’ve learned a lot about information security from the folks I’ve been working with, you see.”

“Who are you working with?” Lil crossed her own arms.

“Have you heard about the uh, stuff going on underground?” Fred started.

Lil looked down, confused. “Um, no?” Alterra hadn’t mentioned mining Earth, not since their announcement over 100 years ago that most resources were depleted.

“Well, a couple years back I was working a cargo ship that got attacked by pirates. They kidnapped me and asked me to join the Underground. I’ve been working cargo for them every since!” he explained.

Lil’s heart dropped into her feet. “You were what? Pirates are forcing you to work for them? Why are you telling me this? Do you need help?”

Her heart clenched at the idea

Fred backed up, waving his hands in front of him. “No no, not quite! I mean, I did get kidnapped by pirates! They started an underground rebellion is what I mean! I want you to join me.”

“Absolutely not! I’m not going to join a bunch of- of criminals!” Lil exclaimed. She pushed off of the side of Fred’s truck and began to back away.

What had gotten into him? The man looked more stressed the more he tried to explain. Someone had to be holding him hostage for this. Fred was a good, honest person. He wouldn’t do this willingly. Becoming frantic, Lil peered around into the dark fields around them. There had to be someone out there waiting to attack.

“No, Lil, they aren’t criminals!” Fred pressed forward, his hands held out in front of him reassuringly. “It’s just a union! I promise! Just the people in charge of it are fugitives. They’re working for the greater good! I mean, I’ve been trucking rations for poor families and refugees since I joined!” His words started to jumble together at the end of his sentence, frantic to get his point across.

Now that was far more reasonable. Still… “You should have said that part first Fred!” Lil laughed. “Still, I don’t know. I don’t want to put my family in danger. You know how management gets when there’s talk about-” she lowered her voice- “unions.”

With any threat to her life gone, Lil made her way back to the truck and leaned against it again. It was cold against her back, sending a shiver up her spine. Even if there were no bandits hiding in the field the government had eyes everywhere. Her PDA… Suddenly she understood why Fred was so cautious.

Fred sighed and looked away. He shifted on his feet for a moment, then leaned against the truck again, next to Lil. “I could have you call the director guy. He’s the one who kidnapped me. Real nice guy! He can explain better.”

Lil nodded in agreement and watched as Fred pulled up an unfamiliar name on his PDA. It looked… different from hers or any other she had seen. The handle was deep blue instead of white and had scuff marks typical of a trucker all over it. A piece of tape held one corner together. It was smaller than normal too, so it fit inside a pocket. Easily hidden, Lil guessed.

The director answered Fred’s call after a couple of tries. “Hey Fred. What’s up? You’re not having issues with getting freight again? I can talk to the guys for you.”

“Nope, everything’s running smooth now! Sounds like Josh was having supply issues too and I didn’t hear about it. Got it all taken care of though!” Fred paused for a second. “Actually, I’m with someone that wants to talk to you.”

“Oh!” the man on the other end sounded surprised. “Uh, hi?”

He sounded young and unsure of himself. Odd for a supposed “director” of whatever underground union this was. From his voice he couldn’t be older than 30. The connection sounded high enough quality that he could have been on Earth. Where was the headquarters for this operation? The young director certainly wouldn’t say if asked.

“Yes, I’m being asked to join this… union,” Lil finally said. “I just want to know what that entails.”

The young man hummed thoughtfully. “Not much honestly unless you sign up for extra work like I had Fred there do. Unless you’re doing unethical jobs for Alterra of course.”

“I’m one of the top Architect researchers,” Lil told him. She sighed wistfully as she thought back to 4546B. “Though nowadays I mostly investigate alien sightings on Earth.”

A female voice spoke up in the background of the call. Lil couldn’t hear what they said, nor could she identify them. They were far too quiet. Did they know of her?

“Nothing dangerous then.” The director sounded relieved. “You can keep going with your life as is. Even if you say no I’d like you to keep this on the down low. I’m sure Fred wouldn’t ask you if he wasn’t sure though.”

Lil nodded despite the fact that the young man couldn’t see her. “Will me joining this put my family in any danger? Everyone I know hates the idea of a union. I’ve seen people disappear for talking about it. I can’t…” she trailed off.

“Jenny is none the wiser,” Fred piped up. “Dad would report me for sure if he knew but they just think I’m hauling freight like usual.”

Lil took a deep breath and nodded at her friend as the director spoke again. “Right. They don’t have to know what you’re doing or what you’re part of. Life will just be normal for you. The way I see it, it’s best to keep a small team of active workers. But my friend told me once that we always have strength in numbers, no matter what everyone is doing.”

A different female voice said something in the background and the director sighed before continuing. “I have to go. But thanks for talking with me. If you have any more questions my people will get in contact with you. Alright?”

“Alright,” Lil agreed.

Fred hung up the call and stepped away from the truck again. He shifted his weight between his feet again and looked up at her, then away. “So… what do you think?”

Lil pondered the question for a moment. The director was right. Alterran life was… oppressive. The second anyone stepped out of line they were punished. And she was sick to death of being punished for just doing her job against orders. Strength came in numbers and strength meant hope to push back someday.

“I’ll join,” she finally said.

Fred’s face instantly relaxed and broke into a huge smile. He reached out and shook her hand excitedly. “Great!” he exclaimed. “I’ll tell my higher-up to get the real recruiters in contact with ya!”

Lil smiled back and prepared to head home. If this was all he needed from her she shouldn’t have been so worried! Life could go back to normal and-

“Actually,” Fred interrupted the thought. “I still need to ask a really big favor of you.”

Uh oh. “What is it?”

“Well…” He swallowed heavily and Lil watched sweat bead on his forehead. “I’ll just come out and say it. Sam is alive. And she needs your help.”

The entire world stopped spinning for a moment. He was joking, right? This had to be some sick prank. Sam had died, Lil knew that much. Dani was absolutely distraught in the immediate aftermath of the whole thing. Everyone had seen-

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen her myself.”

Lil shook her head. “You’re lying. She- we all knew. And Parvan!” she could barely get a sentence out.

“I know! Like I said. I mean, I can hardly believe it and I just talked on the phone with her two days ago,” Fred continued to insist.

“Why are you telling me, then?” Lil pressed. “In fact, if she was alive the whole time, why didn’t we know? Why didn’t she go home in cryo with us? We would have known then, right?”

Fred nodded, gesturing vaguely. “That’s what she wants to know. She said she doesn’t know what happened between her-” he swallowed- “passing. And when she woke up in prison.”

“She was in prison?” Lil gasped. The thought of her poor friend stuck with who knew what kind of people… it sickened her.

Fred nodded again. “Yup. I met her after though.”

“I- Fred this is a lot to take in… I need to think,” Lil finally said. She took a shaky deep breath; tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Sam was out there somewhere. Alive and certainly afraid of what Alterra did to her. It had to be something they did.

“Just let me know. Give me a call with your new PDA. Please.” Fred looked up at Lil like a kicked puppy.

She nodded and turned away. She wanted to go home. The two parted ways quietly and Lil spent the entire trip with the radio off. She wasn’t in the mood to hear whatever new popular drivel came out last week.

The short drive home felt like a blur. Traffic had cleared up by then so the drive only took half an hour. Ten PM. The kids were in bed, Brian laid passed out on the couch. Lil smiled to herself and began to cover him with a blanket.

“Mmm,” he grumbled. “I fell asleep waiting for you. Sorry, love.”

“Oh, darling I don’t mind,” Lil replied, planting a kiss on his forehead. He smelled like oranges; he’d showered recently. “Want to come to bed with me? I ate before my meeting.”

Brian nodded and stretched. He stood slowly, joints creaking a bit. Goodness, they were getting up there in years weren’t they? Oren was on track for a good high school career. Svea would be there in just two years… Lil shook her head to clear the thought of her kids getting older and followed her husband into their shared bedroom.

The couple got ready for bed together, in sync as always. They fell into old habits like this so easily together. The simplicity and familiarity always comforted Lil, especially when she was gone for months at a time. He was so consistent. God, how long would she be gone if she was caught investigating Sam?

Of course, in all of their years together they could read each other like books. As soon as they laid down Brian had his arms around his wife, stroking her side and her hair gently.

“What was the meeting about? You’re never gone that late when you’re in the office,” he finally asked.

Lil sighed deeply. “It was… off the books actually. A friend I haven’t seen in-” she paused, worried. How much could she even tell him? Would he suspect her if she was ducking around and secretive all the time?

“Love?” Brian prompted.

“Sorry. I haven’t seen him in a few years and he asked me a very… a difficult favor.” Words felt like they got stuck in Lil’s throat as soon as soon as she said them. “I want to help but… I don’t know. I don’t know how much I can say without putting my friend in danger.”

Brian went quiet at that for a few minutes. God, it sounded like she was cheating on him didn’t it? Or at least going behind his back. He must suspect something at least.

“Do you think they really need your help? Like it’s the right thing to do?” he finally asked. Lil nodded. “I think you should help. You’re not going to do anything rash, are you?”

“No! Of course not. It’s just a difficult and sensitive situation. I’m not really helping the friend I met with, more like a mutual friend of ours who… she needs someone to…” Lil trailed off.

“Some kind of research, I wager?”

“Yes. I don’t think I’ll be in any danger. I hope not. But- it just feels right to help her.”

“Then I think you should.” Brian sounded so sure of it. He didn’t even know the whole truth. God, Lil loved him.

“You’re right. I’ve known her so long and she’s always been such a good friend to me,” Lil decided right then. “I need to help her.”

She finally closed her eyes and let her man’s warm embrace envelop her completely. At least here, in his arms, she was completely safe. They would be ok, she was sure. And Sam would too. She would get her answers one way or another. But that was something to worry about in the morning, when Lil had the mental energy to think on it.

Chapter Text

A month felt like fucking forever trapped on a single planet. Alright, maybe not trapped. But it sure felt like it! Robin lamented her entrapment. She knew it was fair and she needed to rest. But now that she had a taste of freedom and her old life… she just couldn’t get enough. She had almost forgotten how much fun it was living off the land with only her own skills and wit to keep her alive. Well, and her and her boys.

Now that it had been three days since the “sentence” ended, Robin wondered if she could convince the others to go out with her again. After her arm they’d found Sam and then Al-an insisted on cutting back. And before that- Robin decided not to think about it.

Her PDA ringing startled her out of the passive introspection. Beatrix was calling out of the blue. That was odd, hadn’t they already set up the trade and scheduled their first run? Ryley was supposed to be in charge of that since Nocturnal was effectively his.

“Hi Robin! Sorry to bother you,” Beatrix greeted as soon as Robin answered.

She laughed disarmingly. “No worries. What do you need?”

“Well, actually I’d like to talk to Al-an if that’s alright. They’re an alien so they know about… old stuff, right?”

Robin stood up from her seat in her room and quietly informed Al-an of her approach. “Yeah, their brain is basically a database of alien stuff,” she informed the other woman aloud. “Let me go find them.”

She located him in the main room with Sam. Al-an looked up from their project together at her approach while Sam continued to tinker with her Snow Stalker bot.

“Hello Beatrix,” Al-an said. “I understand that you need to speak with me.”

“How did you- nevermind,” Beatrix stuttered. “Yeah. There’s a bunch of really old ruins out here. I thought maybe you could take a look at them!”

Al-an immediately flashed bright blue. “Yes, absolutely! Allow me approximately three days to arrive.”

“Can I go?” Robin interjected. She couldn’t help it! The impulse to leave was way too strong.

“Ooh, yes!” Beatrix replied before Al-an could reject the idea. “Viktor would be so happy to hang with you! He’s been talking about your accomplishments basically nonstop!”

Yes! An excuse! Al-an shot Robin a glare as she hung up the call. Even Sam, who had looked up a couple of minutes ago, looked pensive.

“What?” Robin asked, trying hard to look nonchalant.

Sam leaned back from the table a bit. “It has been a month like you said, Al-an…” she said. Wait, really?

“I did say that,” the Architect said, tone flat and calm.

“Thank you Sam! Someone has to back me up in this family,” Robin said, laughing softly. She clipped her PDA to her hip and made to head to her room. “Relax Al-an, I won’t even get into any trouble while I’m out there. Promise.”

The alien tossed their head, their attempt at an eye-roll. Their biolights softened to blue. “That is statistically impossible, but alright. You may come with me,” he conceded.

Robin stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend and fled the room before he could change his mind. She promised herself she would make up for pestering him into this later. Hell, he could give a lecture on something on the way or they could work on cataloging plants from the last mission.

~~~

Al-an allowed Robin to jump into the gravity beam before they disconnected from their ship. When her boots landed in the dust she noticed Viktor’s eyes were glued to Al-an and their technology. His gaze followed the alien down to the ground where they landed with a soft ‘thump’.

Robin waved at the other scientist, finally catching his attention. He returned the gesture and stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, Beatrix didn’t have a chance to introduce us the last time you were here,” he said with a nod toward Al-an.

“She did not. It is very nice to meet you, Viktor,” Al-an replied, nodding back.

Beatrix strode around the side of a corral with a smile. “I figured you were too slimy to want to meet anyone else.”

“Your assumption was correct,” the alien said, turning red for a half-second. “Now, please show me these ruins. You have piqued my curiosity.”

Robin watched Beatrix lead Al-an away toward her main ranch area. She waited until they were gone before turning back to Viktor. He smiled awkwardly; the pupils displaying on his goggles danced between Robin and the ground.

“Beatrix mentioned you wanted to take me somewhere?” he finally asked.

Robin nodded. “Yeah! Sorry, I kinda zoned out,” she said. “Step into the gravity beam and I’ll take you. I thought we could check out some old Architect ruins!”

Viktor’s face broke out in a grin at that. “That’s a wonderful idea!” he said. He turned and jogged past Robin, his coat trailing a bit in the wind. She followed more slowly to give him time to settle into the ship.

The young man was already inspecting the walls by the time Robin made it up. She left him to it and wandered over to the human control panel. Viktor had joined her by the time she started the engines. Perfect.

“Go ahead and have a seat,” she told him. “This place has a direct line from an old phasegate Al-an found.”

Viktor hummed agreement and moved away. Robin heard him sit down and then the soft click of her seat belts. Ok. She could do this. They’d practiced mentally controlled flight so opening a phasegate should be a piece of cake.

The ship rose and then took off out of the atmosphere. The phasegate was positioned just beyond the Far Far Range and its moon. Invisible to humans but waiting for Al-an to come by and start it back up.

“Did Architects install those controls in their vessels in anticipation of humans using them?” Viktor suddenly asked as they finally broke free of the atmosphere.

Robin glanced back at him. He was still staring around in slight awe. She smiled and turned back to the window. “Nah, Al-an just got sick of being the only one piloting,” she told him. It wasn’t necessarily untrue!

The gate’s signal appeared as a blip on the ship’s radar. In about… forty-five seconds and counting it would be within range. Robin tapped a couple of buttons on the screen in front of her to shift into autopilot and concentrated. If she had calibrated her trajectory correctly they’d be lined up perfectly.

Reaching out, she felt the “object” in the Network that represented the gate. It took immense effort just to find it, much less interact. But she had to or this trip was going to be much, much longer. She pushed farther into it and willed it to start up. Viktor made a surprised noise and, when Robin opened one eye, she caught sight of the gate rising from the moon. Yes!

She held on to the gate until confirmation rang through the empty Network. “Phasegate systems online”. Al-an sent a wave of pride at her, too far away to say anything anymore.

Robin found herself back in her body just as the ship entered the phasegate. At some point she must have either sat down or collapsed. Viktor had leaned forward in his chair with a hand outstretched toward her.

“Are you alright? What did you do?” he asked, worry lacing his words.

Robin grunted and took the hand offered. “Yeah, I’m good. Still getting used to using Al-an’s tech on my own.”

She turned back to the console to take control back. As she did she noticed red liquid dripping down onto the panel and her hands. Oh, shit. Had doing that really taken so much effort? Embarrassed, Robin slipped a cloth from her pocket and wiped the blood from her nose. She wouldn’t be telling Al-an about that.

As soon as they were through the phasegate, the harsh orange and yellow surface of the new planet came into view. Perfect, just like Al-an said, it dumped them directly onto the surface. Robin put all of her concentration into landing, which she did rather smoothly. Nice.

Despite the lack of much sunlight this planet was hot, far hotter than anywhere else they had been. Heavy clouds kept hot oxygen contained, oppressing anyone who dared step outside. Robin let Viktor jump to the ground first and then followed him. Both almost immediately found themselves sweating. Instinctively the woman pulled her overshirt off and tossed it into the gravity beam where it would wait for her. Viktor followed her example with his lab coat, leaving him in a simple black tee-shirt.

He turned around and his face slackened with shock. “Your… arm.” he said.

Robin glanced down. Shit. She had forgotten about that. “Right, uh. It’s a long story,” she explained. Her eyes traveled back up to him. He nodded and stepped closer to get a better look before turning his attention to the landscape.

“You said this place has Architect ruins?” he asked. As he did he pulled what Robin assumed was a PDA from his hip. It was shaped more like a little game than a PDA.

She decided not to ask about it yet. Exploring was far more exciting. “Yeah! Al-an said the rest of the system was Architect controlled for ages. There should be some research facilities pretty close to here.”

The pair started walking when something pinged on the Network. An alert, long abandoned to ring out for time eternal. ‘WARNING: This planet is under quarantine. Evacuate immediately.’

Robin gasped and began to look frantically around. Al-an said this system was abandoned. It couldn’t be-

Viktor grabbed her shoulder, startling her out of her panic. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” he exclaimed. Right. She almost forgot he was there.

“Let me know if you see an animal. I think… I think this place might still be infected. With Kharaa.”

Viktor audibly gulped. His expression turned serious, digital pupils narrowing. He nodded sagely and started forward again, this time swiveling his head. With both of them looking they should find something soon. Robin just had to be sure.

After a few minutes the pair separated by a few feet. There wasn’t much around the area, just dust, rocks and more dust. Some more rocks even. Sparse bushes dotted the area, most looking shriveled up and dead. That or just dry, Robin wasn’t sure. From her readings on the planet they wouldn’t want to be caught in a rainstorm. She snapped off a twig of one of the bushes for testing at home. That would give her something to do.

“Robin,” Viktor called from behind her. “You might want to come look at this.”

The woman jogged over to her companion and her stomach dropped at what he had found. A small cactus jutted from the dusty ground. Its flesh was deep red and covered in ugly green spots. Now that was different.

“That’s strange,” she said out loud.

“Indeed. My guess is without many animals to infect, the bacteria mutated,” Viktor mused.

Robin nodded and quickly swabbed some of the pus. She sealed it into a biohazard container that she happened to have and stowed it back into her PDA storage. Also in there was a sample of Enzyme 42 that she kept on her at all times for situations exactly like this one. Viktor watched quietly as Robin took some and carefully rubbed it onto the plant’s surface. The spots slowly faded, thank god.

As she stood up, Robin turned to Viktor. “I have some needles on me, can I give you a quick vaccine?” she asked.

At her friend’s nod Robin prepared the injection. This (among other reasons) was why she always kept needles if she could The injection only took a moment from long practice working on herself. and Robin stowed the syringe to destroy later.

“Let me know if you start to feel sick within a couple of weeks. Al-an and I should have a backup antidote ready in case this mutation fights through the vaccine,” she told him.

“I’ll be sure to,” Viktor said, standing up from the rock he had perched himself on.

The humans continued farther away from the ship to where the quarantine signal originated. Viktor pointed out several more infected plants as they moved. Worry settled in Robin’s stomach. This needed to be taken care of soon. No wonder Alterra never explore here, it had the exact same problem as 4546B.

“You know,” Viktor said suddenly, “if the enzyme can be applied topically I think we could mass cure the entire planet.”

Robin shot a glance at him. “You think? We’d be here forever if we tried to do it by hand.”

“I may or may not have the blueprints for an item duplicator. The technology is…” he looked away almost shamefully. “It’s dangerous in the wrong hands so I never use it. But if we mass produce that enzyme you have and use some drones to aerosolize it we could potentially spread it over the entire planet!”

Robin couldn’t help but make a face at that. The idea was fucking crazy and, under normal circumstances it would never work. However…

“You know, I do have a few ion cubes on me. We could duplicate those too and power the drones…” she mused. “It’s crazy but it might just work!”

Viktor looked at her like she had just given him an award. They trudged for another few minutes until a building rose in the distance. They could cool down once their plan was enacted. Thank god.

A Network terminal blocked entry into the facility. Viktor stopped just outside and immediately set to work building some kind of ring shaped machine. Robin watched and idly pushed her mind to open the facility barrier as she did.

After a few minutes the duplicator was up and running. “I’d like to try throwing something through before we use the enzyme or one of your ion cubes. A friend of mine modified my blueprints to clone chickens so I had to modify it back,” he explained.

Robin handed him a pen from her pocket. “Chickens?” she asked.

“They’re very hungry,” Viktor explained. Robin didn’t ask further.

Instead she watched her new friend toss her pen through the duplicator. The ring spun and the machine sputtered a bit but sure enough! Two pens dropped into the dust on the other side! Holy shit!

“Awesome!” Robin exclaimed. She jogged over to pick up the pens and handed Viktor her ion cubes. He tossed them through several times as well, leaving them with more than enough to fraction off and power some simple drones.

Robin took over the duplication job, leaving Viktor to work on construction. Between them both it took nearly an hour but the work was worth it. They loaded up the little machines and sent them on their way.

“Did you design these?” Robin asked as they watched the little bees.

“Yes!” Viktor turned to smile at her. “In all of my testing I found that bees are the most efficient insect to base my machinery off of.”

Robin nodded approvingly. “You’d get along well with my sister.”

“I’m glad you think so,” the young man replied. He gasped after a moment of quiet. “Oh! Oh, I’m very sorry for your loss. By the way.”

Robin’s chest clenched. “Right! Uh, thank you but uh, she’s- actually doing ok. We aren’t really sure what happened,” she explained.

Viktor’s brows raised but he didn’t question further and the woman thanked the stars for it. She wasn’t ready to try to explain whatever the hell was going on there.

They watched the drones for a few more minutes before Robin’s curiosity about the Architect facility finally took over. She turned around and strode over to it. Viktor’s footsteps followed close behind.

“What do you think this was used for?” the younger scientist’s voice echoed in the empty hall.

Robin shrugged. “Probably disease research. It looks different from Al-an’s lab though.”

“They researched Kharaa?” Viktor asked.

Shit. She had said too much. Why hadn’t she asked Al-an how much they were comfortable sharing before they got out of range? She had to sneak over to the crater alone one night to even go inside their old lab without worrying them. Viktor was practically a stranger!

He didn’t press any further when Robin nodded so she didn’t say any more. They split up again, this time to pick through the old tech. Most of it lay broken and abandoned in the rush to escape the outbreak. Robin made sure to point out whatever she could identify. Viktor took pictures and scans of each thing, excitement evident in his smile.

A small cube shaped object lay abandoned on a table. Robin picked it up and turned it around in her hands. It was made of the same green metal as everything else and weighed a considerable amount for its size. It was divided in multiple moving sections, all of which had a different texture on their surfaces. It didn’t have a Network connection, meaning it either didn’t need one or was broken.

“What do you think this is?” Robin asked, turning to show off the object.

Viktor took it and turned it around in his hands. He twisted it a few times before handing it back. “I believe it is a stimulation toy. Like a fidget cube but for Architects,” he theorized. “They must have used it when doing research on computers. Much like us!”

Robin nodded and looked back down at the little thing. “I’m gonna ask,” she decided aloud. More excuses to practice using the Network for its intended purpose!

With an email sent off to Al-an, the pair kept walking through twisting halls until they came to another sealed off door. Robin unlocked it and stepped through. As she did, her PDA chimed with a reply from her partner. Excited, she pulled it from her hip and let Viktor sidle up next to her to look.

‘That is a “toy” as humans would call it. It was used to keep our bodies from going idle for too long during extensive research sessions.’

“Ok, how the hell did you know that?” Robin asked, skeptical. She peered at Viktor, who stepped respectfully back to his original position.

“I must be honest, it was an educated guess,” he admitted.

“Really educated,” Robin laughed. “Have you studied Architects before?”

Viktor shook his head. “Not extensively. They do intrigue me, I cannot lie! But I have been far too caught up in slime research to find time for it yet.”

Robin hummed and nodded in response. That was weird. Maybe she could send another email to Lil and ask about it. If anyone knew a thing about Architect stim toys, she definitely would. Maybe it had come up in some research paper somewhere and he had seen it.

They explored the winding halls and rooms for another two hours before Viktor finally found the main terminal. It looked exactly how the Quarantine Enforcement did back on 4546B! Robin approached and tried to connect with it. The background broadcast played in her head again, louder than tbefore.

Another email from Al-an showed up, this time claiming that he was ready to leave. Perfect timing then. Robin quickly explained the terminal to her companion and shut it down. They’d had a good time for only having a few hours! She made a mental note to come back with Al-an some time to check on the outbreak and maybe take a look at the rest of the planet. Plus, that would give Ryley a chance to check this place out.

Chapter Text

Now that they weren’t sneaking around or embarrassed, Al-an was able to get a good look around Beatrix’s ranch. The alien had no comparisons except for human media, but it looked about right. Dusty ground was littered with decorations and plants that the rancher had placed around. Her slimes bounced around and on top of each other in their corrals to get a better look at the new guest. Al-an followed their acquaintance past the creatures. They tried to ignore the slimes’ excessive attempts to escape and climb all over them again.

Beatrix’s home base sat atop a small ledge with a staircase leading down into the main area. The base itself looked more like a very round house. The main work area housed six plots, each used as corrals or gardens respectively. Small-scale teleporters lined one side of the space up against the ledge leading to the science sector. Beatrix confidently strode up to one, a soft amber color. She stared at it and then at Al-an. Her face expressed… confusion and thoughtfulness.

The Architect scanned the small device. It was Alterran in origin unsurprisingly, and incredibly primitive compared to the technology back home. It was also tiny, far too small to try to move something as large as an Architect. Honestly, it could use a few upgrades to make it a bit safer for the humans already.

“I don’t think you’re gonna fit on these things,” the human finally said.

“Oh, please do not worry. I expected as much,” Al-an replied, amused. “Most human things do not accommodate for my size.”

Beatrix turned to the main gate. “I wanted to avoid it ‘cause of last time buuuuut… we’re gonna have to go the long way around.”

Al-an tried not to think about last time very often. It was one of the most embarrassing experiences of their long life. A warm spark of appreciation radiated from Al-an’s chest at Beatrix’s thoughtfulness.

“That is fine,” they told her after a couple of milliseconds of thought. “I will deal with the assault as it comes.”

Beatrix grinned and waved at them to follow her. Past the main gate was another natural arch. A hasty scan revealed it as fossilized coral, at least 15,000 years old. Al-an’s chest twisted nervously. If it was that old then...

“This here’s the Dry Reef!” Beatrix started explaining as soon as they made it past the coral. She glanced back with a smile as she spoke. “Some say it was underwater thousands of years ago.”

“The fossilized coral indicates that it has been over 10,000 years since then,” Al-an told her.

The girl looked impressed. “Really? That’s incredible. Was your species alive back then?” she asked.

“Yes, we were,” Al-an replied. They sounded shorter than they had wanted to. The topic just made them so nervous.

The pair kept walking along a well used dirt path. A cliff rose up on the right, leaving only a few feet to walk on before the terrain dropped down in another cliff that led directly to the sea. A rickety looking bridge stuck straight out from the cliff somewhere below, leading to a small island. An equally rickety fence jutted out of the rock along the path, though it barely offered any safety and ended after only two posts.

“Who built the wooden structures here?” Al-an asked after they passed the cliff.

“Oh, that was the old owner, Hobson,” Beatrix explained. “I’ve been working on fixing some of it up but I’ve got lots to do otherwise! So I don’t get to it very often.”

Al-an nodded. The space opened up again into a wider area filled with trees, chickens and slimes. Most of it was dirt though, the same arid dusty ground as everywhere else in the reef. A hole in the wall on the right led off somewhere else. Al-an took note of it to ask about exploring later.

A different question entirely had been nagging at them for a while. This was the first time Al-an had met a human aside from Robin, Ryley, Sam and her. They knew Marguerit came from the Mongolian states, though their actual expertise on it came from internet research. Mercury II hailed from Sol, on the other side of the universe. While they could glean some information from the logs left over and public facing government documentation, it never gave much insight into the vastness of human existence.

“Are you from Earth?” they asked after another comfortable silence. Beatrix led them to a tunnel that they had to duck to fit through.

Once they were out on the other side, she answered. “Yep! I was born in Canis Major on a backwater planet. But my parents got a scholarship through my mom’s job to move to Earth for Alterra HQ so we moved there when I was a really little kid.”

“I see…” Al-an pondered that. So it was common for humans to be born away from their home planet. Robin herself lived on Mars for most of her formative years. Ryley never mentioned moving, though that didn’t mean he hadn’t. He was so reserved about his past that if he chose to join the Network, Al-an knew they needed to resist looking. The only reason they knew where Robin came from was that exact reason.

“Is Earth your home?” they finally asked their current companion.

Beatrix walked on for another beat. A slime bounced off of Al-an’s leg. Another tried to assault their front legs, nearly tripping them. Four more slimes tried to assault their legs. Beatrix stopped and quickly sucked the creatures up before Al-an tripped again.

“Jeez, they really seem to like you!” she commented. Oh no, Al-an knew where this was going.

“Astute observation,” they replied, unsettled.

Beatrix continued walking but looked over her shoulder as she did. “Have your species ever been here? It’s almost like the slimes recognize you,” she said as she led them around a corner.

There it was. “Um, not to my knowledge,” they answered carefully.

That wasn’t necessarily untrue. There were no records of this planet. Really as far as the Network was concerned, it never existed at all. The rest of the star system did though. Hell, Al-an themself had allocated one of the planets nearby for Kharaa research. To see a planet that was entirely uncatalogued in an already occupied galaxy was simply impossible. Yet here they were.

“Huh, ok!” Beatrix accepted the response. Well, alright then.

The edge of the reef lay before them with a very rickety looking bridge spanning the water between the mainland and a small island. Al-an considered risking their way across. Some of the boards looked close to breaking though. They’d never make it across safely and honestly, Beatrix shouldn’t even be trying.

She stopped about halfway across and turned around. “You alright?” she asked, head slightly tilted. The wood under her feet creaked nearly undetectably.

“I do not mean to offend you but-” Al-an paused and took another couple of steps toward the bridge- “This is not graded for a creature of my weight.” They would feel terrible if they broke her only way to access the rest of the range.

“Uh oh,” Beatrix muttered.

Al-an had already measured the gap of course, and they weren’t certain they could make it across. Warping had a half-second cooldown… Trying to make it all the way would only drain onboard energy reserves too much. But going halfway might just work. They took one experimental step and put more of their weight on the wood. It creaked but held. Honestly it wouldn’t really have to hold their entire weight, right? Calculations revealed their probability of falling to be very low. It may just work.

“Please proceed Beatrix, I will follow as soon as you are across,” they told the girl after their several second delay.

The girl saluted them and made her way across the bridge. Al-an waited until she was safely out of the way. They gathered themself, stomped their back hooves twice and warped forward as far as they could safely make it. The bridge creaked threateningly and, for an agonizing quarter of a second, Al-an thought it might break.

They initiated another warp just in time. Beatrix cheered and held her hand out, palm facing them. She stood there with her hand in the air for a second before something clicked in her brain and she sheepishly retracted the hand.

“Oh, about your question from earlier!” she said suddenly. “It used to be home. But not ‘cause I was raised there or anything. What about you? I bet you have a home planet out there somewhere.”

Al-an turned their head away and down. “Yes, I do. Though I suppose by definition 4546B is my home now.”

Another bridge spanned a much larger distance, leading to another island. Al-an couldn’t help but groan at the thought of trying to get across. Beatrix stopped as well this time.

“I say home isn’t really a place,” she said, staring out across the water. Al-an wondered what she was thinking about.

“What do you mean? Is it not by definition where one returns to most often?”

Beatrix smiled. “Yeah, and I don’t think that has to be a place necessarily. You’re thinking too literal. Home can be a person too.”

Al-an set that idea to a background process. Their mind immediately went to Robin and how comfortable they were around her. Ryley was a wonderful companion and one of their best friends. But Robin was their human, above anyone else. They hadn’t come to the idea of thinking of her as their home though… Even now thinking forward, to getting ready to head back with her, it instilled a different kind of excitement. One that they had come to associate with spending time with her.

The issue of crossing the second bridge was more important to process at the moment though. The same method might work even over the longer distance. A small rock sticking out of the slime held up the corner of the bridge where it split off to reach the next island. They could make it tho the rock in three jumps and if they could do that they were basically across. The landing attached to the next island looked far more secure and well taken care of.

Beatrix went ahead again. Al-an noted that she took a few extra steps ahead onto a dead-end bridge piece. The alien wondered absently what that had led to. They vowed again to ask to come back and study alone.

Jumping across was just as terrifying on the second bridge. Al-an nearly fell twice; once as they landed from their first jump and again after the third, nearly toppling over the edge of the rock.

“Next time we’re gonna take the other route I think,” Beatrix commented. She crossed to the landing next and waited while Al-an repeated the process.

“Perhaps you should have mentioned that earlier,” they told her.

Beatrix laughed awkwardly and rubbed at the back of her neck. A similar habit to Ryley. Al-an took mental note of it and moved on, following their new friend up a slope and around a corner. A mossy tunnel led down into a forested area.

In front of the pair lay a pond with more slimes bouncing around and in it. To either side was more dense forest. Al-an followed Beatrix to the right, through a clearing with a large, ancient tree stump and up through an arch.

The landscape opened up again into a clearing with yellow-leaved trees. Ancient stone blocks rose up from the soft green grass. Slime statues holding plorts in their mouths dotted the area. A massive gate stood on the other side of the clearing with a small staircase leading up to it. Now this was interesting.

“Well, here we are,” Beatrix affirmed. “This is the entrance to the Ancient Ruins. Nobody knows who built any of this stuff so I thought you might want to take a look for yourself.”

Oh yes they wanted to look. Burning curiosity sat deep in Al-an’s body. They immediately began scanning everything in sight including the statues and the gate. They were connected somehow but not through any obvious means.

“How did you open the gate?” they turned to ask Beatrix. “I have never seen a mechanism like this before.”

The human glanced around and shrugged. “I figured since there was a statue for different types of slimes and a plort-shaped hole, I’d just need to use that kind of plort. All the statues correspond with a light on the gate,” she explained.

“Have you found any connecting lines between the statues and the gate?” Al-an pressed.

“I dug up around a couple of them, but nope. Nothing,” the human said, shaking her head. “Even Viktor can’t figure out how it works.”

Al-an nodded thoughtfully. Wireless connections were rather common, but to power something as massive as this gate without any sort of connection was… Well, it was Architect in nature. Network reception lay in the terminals next to Architect teleport gates. Those had wires connecting up to the gate though. This had nothing of the sort. Though perhaps the glowing crystals acted as connections. Al-an scanned the structure again for a schematic this time and followed Beatrix through it.

Another, smaller gate stood in a wall on the other side. It was closed, some kind of quartz or glass-like material blocking their path. A strange terminal sat a few feet in front of it. To the right an opening led farther into the ruins. Beatrix stepped up to the terminal and turned it manually. The gate, in turn, slid down to reveal a path into the stone building.

Al-an took scans of the stone as they passed by. They had laid there for at least 1,500 years. Stone bricks, carefully and precisely cut from the surrounding area that laid abandoned for so long. Al-an themself was alive then. Though some of the cut marks dated before their creation, up to nearly 2,000 years in the past.

“When did humans begin to occupy this place?” they asked out loud.

“7Zee formed uhhhhh, about 90 years ago I think,” Beatrix replied. “Thora and Hobson have been out here the longest, so probably something like 40 or 50 years. I don’t know about anyone before them, or on other planets in the area.”

Al-an nodded and scanned another stone as well as one of the tabby slimes leaping toward them. “There are other planets occupied by ranchers?” they asked.

“It’s mostly Alterran colonies run by 7Zee, and their outpost headquarters.”

“Interesting.”

The path through the door wound down to another closed off door with another terminal. Beatrix twisted it and the glass-like substance moved back up, covering the entrance. It revealed another hallway which Beatrix immediately made a beeline for. She jumped down, ignoring the path completely, and caught herself with her jetpack. Impressed, Al-an warped down to meet her.

She led them through another hallway containing a pond and then around another corner. The wall on the right had collapsed, revealing pipes pouring excess seawater back down into the sea. In front of them though was an open room, most of which had collapsed. The ceiling lay mostly open to the sky. Barely visible, almost holographic trees clung to the meager grass edging the old structures. More trees sat scattered through the open ruins while slimes leapt and bounced around them. More terminals and more doors hid untold secrets. Al-an decided to scan the entire room to go over at home later.

“Those doors are controlled by the crystal thingies and they all move in tandem. It’s like a puzzle and a maze all in one,” Beatrix explained as the pair walked around. “I can’t tell you how many times I got lost wandering around in here.”

Al-an nodded at her in acknowledgement. They continued to look around and scan as much as they could. The Alterran database they had downloaded long ago came in handy now. It identified the quantum slimes teleporting around as well as the trees. They were phase lemons, apparently caught between times.

“May I take a lemon to study?” they asked.

Beatrix nodded and picked up a small red fruit. She launched it at the tree. It disappeared into the leaves and a single lemon dropped down into her hands. She tossed it to Al-an, who studied it intensely. For all intents and purposes it looked like a normal lemon. It just jittered slightly in their grip, like it would phase through them at any moment. How strange! Al-an stored it to cut open and make their humans taste later.

Beatrix had wandered off to some human machines that she was sucking materials out of. Small glowing dots popped out of the machine along with the materials. Al-an stepped closer, curious. They came from underground?

“Hmm?” Beatrix looked up as Al-an came to a stop behind her. The bee-shaped holding chamber of her vacuum pack glowed slightly. “Oh! Those glowing lights?”

“I have never seen them before. Do you know what they are?”

“Yeah!” Beatrix gave them a thumbs up. “We call them echoes. Some huge event happened here a long time ago, probably from whoever built this place. We don’t know what happened but it left these echoes that come and go randomly. And we can mine them! So I decorate a lot.”

“Fascinating,” Al-an replied, leaning in. They would need to study these as well, but later. They had enough to go over for now including searching the Network for records of architectural styles of all races across the stars. Someone had been here thousands of years ago. They needed to find out who. The Network was obviously covering something up. Perhaps a long-extinct race buried by time?

Chapter Text

As soon as Ryley finished his battle robot, which he called the Box-Crab, he begged for days to put it to use. Sam had finished modifying her Attack Pengling weeks ago while the others were gone. She was sure Al-an had as well, though they hadn’t said anything about it. They had graciously informed everyone that they would not be using the Network for control though. At least they made it fair.

Sam placed her Pengling down into the makeshift arena across from the Box-Crab. Al-an’s Spider skittered around in circles to the Pengling’s right. Their controller sat discarded on a chair next to them.

Robin and Marguerit were positioned across from the Spider. Robin paced back and forth, sipping from a coffee every few seconds. Marguerit, in contrast, was leaned against the arena, arms draped over the green-tinted glass material. She eyed the three robots lazily. Sam glanced back toward Al-an to keep herself from staring.

“Ok!” Robin said suddenly. Sam’s head snapped back toward her.

“You three ready?”

Ryley laughed. “I was born ready,” he said, leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head.

“Sure, ready to lose!” Sam shot back.

Ryley leaned forward again and grabbed his controller. He stuck his tongue out at his opponent before turning his attention to the arena. Sam glanced at Al-an as they picked up their own controller in their claws. She hadn’t had a chance to look at it until now. It was split in two parts, one for each pincer with small groupings of buttons that their digits could easily move over. The bot stuttered and then stilled, lining up with the movement of the alien’s hands.

Sam picked up her improved controller. Much like Ryley, she had reverse engineered a pre-downloaded blueprint to fit her needs. All she needed was two joysticks for movement and five buttons, two for the axe, one for the camera and two for the flamethrower.

“Wait! Can we get a picture first?” she asked as soon as she remembered that function.

There was a ‘woosh’ and Al-an appeared behind her. “If you think it will survive the fight, yes,” they teased.

Sam rolled her eyes playfully as the others gathered around her. Robin very purposefully placed herself between Al-an and Marguerit. Ryley joined on Al-an’s other side. Sam glanced back to see him practically hanging off of their torso like it was nothing.

At everyone’s approval of the picture, the group dispersed again. Robin sat down for a second and then stood up just to take another sip of her coffee. Sam shot her a look that she either ignored or didn’t see. She was acting strange. Marguerit must have caught on as well because she leaned over and whispered something. Robin punched her gently.

“Are we ready now?” the younger woman asked, sounding impatient. Sam flashed a thumbs-up, Ryley nodded and Al-an sat idle, their ambient lights pulsing blue. She flipped her chair around and sat on it backwards. “Good! Let’s do this!”

Robin initiated a countdown on her PDA that would start a three minute timer. Sam turned her concentration to her robot as her sister yelled “GO!”

Ryley made a move first. The Box-Crab zoomed forward, pincers snapping at the Attack Pengling. Sam yelped and jerked the joysticks sideways and back, away from the box.

Ryley tried to pull back to take another shot but the bot fell off balance and wobbled, treads completely in the air. Al-an, who Sam hadn’t noticed doing anything yet, finally made a move. Their bot scuttled up behind the Box-Crab. Sam glanced at them, eyes meeting their blank face-plate. They had turned deep teal with excitement.

With Ryley off balance Sam took the opportunity to make her move. She maneuvered in front of him and snapped her finger down on the axe button. It slammed down directly into the top of the Box-Crab with a horrible crunch. The formerly smooth metal bent and shredded around the sharp edge of the axe. Marguerit had made damn sure it was sharp. The Spider skittered around to the front next to the Pengling and fired a bright green laser out of its antennae.

“What the fuck guys!” Ryley shouted, standing up.

“You did not give me any limitations on my weaponry,” Al-an replied calmly. Their laser made contact with one of the treads on the box, melting it.

Sam pressed the release button for the axe. Nothing happened except for a quiet, slightly metallic groan emanating from the Pengling. She pressed the button again more forcefully, as if that would help. The group watched as the bot twitched, clearly attempting to pull back but still nothing happened. The third try succeeded except that it brought the poor Box-Crab up with it, now hovering in the air in front of the Attack Pengling.

“Jeez, I need to go harder on defense next time!” Ryley complained. Sam glanced up again and saw him shake his head.

“Suppose it’s only fair I make you somethin’ for that,” Marguerit told him. “Since I made that axe and all.”

It took two more tries to free the poor Box-Crab from the Pengling’s grip. Sam was ready to get up and retrieve it manually when it fell to the ground with a sad ‘thunk’ and sat there, twitching occasionally.

Robin strode up to the arena and leaned over it, arms crossed. “Do I even need to count down?” she asked.

Al-an didn’t wait for an answer. A metal arm swung over Sam’s head and picked the broken bot up in one fell swoop to place it in Ryley’s lap.

“Thanks,” the young man said, looking somewhat dejected.

Sam felt a little bad watching him. He poked around at the broken gears and wires absently. Her axe left a huge gash in the metal and several components jutted out clearly broken beyond repair. Was helping opponents permitted? It wasn’t like this was a regular fight anyway, right?

With Ryley out of the competition, Sam and Al-an realigned their robots across the arena from each other. Sam’s axe mechanism still worked but she noticed some shakiness as the bot moved. She would need to add more support before the next fight. But the axe was the least of her worries right now.

“You two ready?” Robin interrupted Sam’s train of thought.

“Absolutely,” Al-an answered quickly, out loud this time.

Sam laughed. “Are you ready for the pièce de résistance, Al-an?”

“Oh, do you mean your loss?” The alien bantered back, blue filling in their biolights.

Their respective robots squared off again, ready to tear each other apart. Sam blew a raspberry at the alien and readied her controller. She didn’t know if her secret weapon would even do anything to the little superpowered robot but she had to try. If anything it would look very VERY cool!

At Robin’s shout “GO!” Sam pushed forward. Al-an’s bot dodged left and Sam smirked. Thinking fast she swung the Pengling in the opposite direction to meet them and smashed the flamethrower activator.

Fire gushed from the Attack Pengling’s innocent looking beak, sweeping in a bright arc toward Al-an’s Spider. Sam’s heart raced with exhilaration as Al-an flashed a bright, surprised yellow-orange. Their right claw shifted to fire their laser again.

The next few seconds happened in slow motion. Sam moved her bot toward the Spider in a desperate bid to do any damage to it. She watched in mounting awe as the flame met the laser, glow so bright it drowned out Al-an across from her. Before either of them could truly react, the alien’s laser made contact with the propane spewing from the Pengling’s mouth and ignited the entire thing.

Sam’s ears rang from the explosion but she just couldn’t look away. Her heart beat faster, she leaned forward laughing. Al-an’s bot was blasted backwards, head over legs and clattered against the arena wall. It twitched a couple of times, sparks flying from the power cell on it’s belly before it went limp.

Silence fell on the base as the sound of the explosion faded. Sam shook herself off and leaned forward to find her poor Pengling. It lay on its back several feet back from where it had been just a moment before. All she had to do was get up, right? She had designed the treads to be self-righting since the first official iteration.

And it still worked! The poor thing struggled but it righted and stood ready. It chirped happily as if nothing had happened. A piece of the front panel looked ready to fall off and the axe looked like it hung on by only a couple of bolts. But by god it was still there!

“Yes!” Sam cheered. Marguerit’s suggestion turned out to work perfectly! She won! Against Al-an of all people.

The voices in Sam’s head cheered for her as well but she ignored them. This was a time to celebrate her victory, not worry about going crazy. She glanced toward Marguerit, who nodded approvingly.

“I’ll be damned…” the older woman muttered.

Ryley sat in his chair with his bot clutched to his chest. He smiled in Sam’s direction before glancing at Robin. Sam followed his gaze. She hadn’t noticed her sister’s incredulous stare until that second.

She glanced then to Al-an to gauge their reaction. In the time it took her to look at them they had picked up their robot and held it cradled in one of their extra arms. They stared straight ahead but Sam could feel their attention on her, body glowing soft orange.

Sam looked back toward her sister just as she started toward her. She approached quickly, looking more and more worried and enveloped her in a hug before Sam could protest. Cautiously, she returned the gesture, wrapping her arms gently around Robin’s waist. She was shaking slightly, her breaths fast against Sam’s neck.

“Are you ok?” she prompted, squeezing a bit.

“Yeah, I’m- I’m fine,” Robin’s voice came out surprisingly steady but quiet. “Are you, though?”

Oh… Sam couldn’t believe it took her so long to realize. She was so caught up in her victory that she completely forgot how she had died. This explosion was far smaller than the last, it was fine. Really, it was exhilarating more than anything!

The two separated, though Robin kept her hand against Sam’s arm.

“I promise I’m fine,” she reassured her companions. She glanced away from Robin for a second and caught Marguerit’s eye. “I don’t even remember that part!”

Somehow that didn’t help the situation.

~~~

Four hours later Sam found herself alone with Ryley in the “living room”. They sat in amicable silence, both working on their own projects. The young man had pulled out his PDA and was poring over it with the strongest look of dedication Sam had ever seen on him. Absently, she wondered what he was doing.

As for Sam, she had a robot to fix. The Box-Crab hadn’t done much but it did get a good stab in that nobody had noticed in the heat of battle. Aside from that, the heat and power of the explosion knocked a lot of components loose and damaged them. Hell, it melted a little bit of paint on the poor Pengling’s belly. None of it would be too difficult to fix but it would certainly be time consuming. Especially since Sam knew she needed to add more defense. The others were sure to match her energy next time!

A sound from the bathroom door pulled her attention away from her bot. Robin, fresh out of the shower and dressed in her dive suit, strode from the doorway and toward the front door. She seemed spacey as she walked past the table.

“Hey,” Sam called out, catching her sister’s attention. “How you doing?”

“I’m fine.” Robin snapped. She turned back to the door and took a few more steps.

“Are you sure?” Ryley piped up. Sam glanced at him and caught his worried expression.

“Oh my god, yes!” Robin turned on her heel and shouted. “And I don’t need you two up my ass about it!”

Sam could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. What was her deal? Apparently the explosion had done more damage than Sam initially thought…

“I was just asking how you are…” she said after another tense beat. “You know, a natural conversation?”

Robin visibly relaxed then, deflated and looked away. “Sorry…” she mumbled. “Just- gonna go out for a bit. Swim around.”

With that, the woman turned and left, Ryley’s well wishes falling on a closed door. He took a shaky deep breath and turned back to his PDA. His eyes fell anywhere but on the screen, sweeping around the room. Sam watched him until his eyes met hers and he looked away again.

“Are you ok?” she asked gently, leaning forward. She set the Attack Pengling on the table and rested her arms in front of it.

“Yeah…” Ryley answered, now looking back down at his PDA. “Yeah just- sometimes I do wish I could read her mind, you know? Just to know what’s going on in there.”

Sam chuckled. For years she wished the same, if only to stop some of their dumber misunderstandings. “She would hate that idea,” she told her friend.

He looked surprised. “I dunno, she lets Al-an do it.”

It was Sam’s turn to stare in surprise. “What?”

“Al-an can read her mind. They talk to each other like that a lot,” Ryley explained. “She didn’t tell you?”

“Well, she did say she had a deep connection with them but I thought-” Sam paused to gather her words. “I thought she meant it in a romantic way.”

Ryley huffed a short laugh. “It’s literal. I guess it’s an effect of them living in her brain for months. Architects are a hivemind.”

Sam remembered Lil telling her all about that in the weeks they spent alone together. She talked at length about how it might have worked. The idea of a perfect chemistry with their entire species, sharing thoughts and ideas to streamline work. As an Alterran the thought was tempting, meaning it was certainly something Robin would hate.

“She’s just- fine with that?” Sam finally asked.

Ryley nodded. “Yeah. She’s never complained to me.”

Sam nodded and went to reply when her PDA dinged with a notification. Ryley turned back to his work, leaving her to answer.

A new group chat had appeared in Sam’s sparse message history. The owner appeared to be one Ronnie Fleft. That was Fred’s fake name! Sam’s suspicions were confirmed then, he had found someone to help. Oh no…

The other name was another fake, Sandra Smith. Sam felt a pit form in her stomach. She quickly shook it off and willed herself not to think about the spy’s identity.

RONNIE: Hello “Jeff”! I hope it’s not too late where you are! I just thought I’d start this secure group chat where we can talk about our project.

SANDRA: Hi!

JEFF: Hello! Nice to meet you Sandra! And thank you so much for looking into this for me. There’s only so much I can do where I am right now.

SANDRA: I completely understand. I’ve been having doubts for… a while now since my last off-planet mission. I’m happy to help you out!

JEFF: I get it. I definitely regret not listening to my sister about it all.

SANDRA: For sure…

Sam let the chat go dead and tried not to let her mind wander to what “Sandra” might be doing. Maybe she was wrong, it could be anyone. That call was just a coincidence. She just couldn’t shake the guilt that she was putting someone- no! It was just a coincidence and she wasn’t going to think about it! God dammit!

“Who are you texting?” Ryley asked, interrupting Sam’s worrying.

“Hm? Oh, just- uh-” she stuttered. “I contacted someone about the research I was doing on myself.”

Ryley nodded and they sat in more amicable quiet. He jotted something down on a piece of paper that Sam hadn’t noticed before. It was full of scribbles and what looked like a diagram of a planet.

“What are you doing?” Sam finally asked after another few seconds of watching him.

He glanced up and then back down. “Oh, this? Al-an asked me to look at a few more planets to explore in K69-420 for an early birthday present to Robin.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Sam shook her head, utterly lost. “In where?”

“They said they picked that name ages ago and had to use it somewhere,” Ryley snickered.

Sam shook her head. “At least they’re not the only one leaving bits of themself in people’s brains,” she laughed. That was Robin’s influence, 100%. Nobody else would teach an alien to make weed and sex jokes. “That’s nice of you though. She deserves some fun.”

Chapter Text

Now that going out was Ryley’s idea it was a lot more fun. Well, mostly it was Al-an’s, but Ryley had suggested the location. Robin’s birthday was coming up and the two knew they should do something for her, especially with how tense she had been lately. According to Sam she had always hated her birthday and refused celebration. She was Ryley’s best friend though, and what better gift for her than to let her go wild in her current passion?

Robin was currently leaned intently over Nocturnal’s console, poring through information about the planet the trio was approaching. Ryley had already researched as much as he could; with only one Alterran outpost in the system though, information was sparse. Research was never his strong suit anyway so maybe the expert could find something more.

“How much longer?” Ryley broke the comfortable silence, shooting a glance out the front window. A large gray ball slowly grew bigger in the distance.

“Like, an hour,” Robin replied absently. “Gravity is reportedly really fucking strong though, so we’ll have to be careful.”

She looked over at Al-an and her left hand began to swirl with blue and purple. “You think you can get us down there?” she asked them.

“Do you doubt me?” they shot back with what sounded like a scoff. Their own lights shifted to match hers.

The room went quiet again but Ryley could tell his companions were still talking. Robin tried to hide a laugh and then glanced at him. Al-an’s proposition sprang up in the back of his mind again. He had never minded when they had private conversations before. They shared a bond deeper than any the loner had ever seen. And they wanted him to be part of it.

On one hand he craved that connection in a way. Not romantically like them, of course. Robin never said it out loud but they had to be together at this point. The way she looked at them and the way they touched her just… it was so obvious. Maybe they would say it if Ryley joined them. That or he would feel the gross sappy affection passing between them and they wouldn’t even have to say a word.

Would intruding on that deep connection really help the trio’s relationship though? Ryley couldn’t say he wasn’t happy as life was. He had friends, a family even. His vision was making changes on Earth. What if this was the choice that broke down their friendship?

“You alright?” Robin asked suddenly. Ryley jumped and looked up at her. She was smiling at him, hand halfway extended between them as if to smack him if he didn’t answer.

“Yeah, just thinking about- stuff,” he told her. If they were psychically linked she would know what he was thinking, wouldn’t she?

According to Sam she hated the idea of that too. Of course, everything they had been through would definitely change a person. Especially gaining a psychic link with an alien. She seemed perfectly happy and willing to keep it… Still, Sam’s insight echoed in Ryley’s brain, swirling around and confusing him. What if it was different because he was a human?

Robin shot him a weird look but didn’t respond to his fumbled answer. Good. Ryley wasn’t ready to ask her about it yet. He wasn’t sure he ever would be. He just couldn’t shake the idea that they would regret it, any one of them. Asking for input now just felt like killing the rare good mood.

When Ryley finally zoned back into reality he noticed that the planet was within range. Robin had stepped back to let Al-an have at the controls. They stood there, a calm monolith at the ship’s control panel. Ryley could already feel the strong pull toward the planet’s metal surface tugging him forward against his seatbelt. When had he put that on? That or Robin had taken care of it while he was spacing out.

When Ryley looked over at his friend she was leaning forward, chest pulling against her own restraints. She held her PDA balanced on her knees, some UTube video left paused on its screen. She glanced over, smiled at him and then turned back to the screen. She winced as the seatbelt straps pulled against her shoulders.

Ryley turned back to Al-an. “How’s the gravity regulator doing?” he asked.

“It- iss, uh,” the alien stuttered, “workiiing, I th-hink.” Their voice sounded wrong and unsteady.

“Are you ok?” Ryley asked, worry forming a hole in his chest.

Robin looked up then. “Yeah, you sound… I dunno, sick. Everything ok big guy?” she added.

“Yes, yessss, ye-yes, I am fffine,” Al-an replied, sounding the opposite. “I am uncertaiiii-ii-in what is happeeening to my voc-al simulationn-n Men-mentallyyy-y I f- I feeel fi-ne.”

The humans stared at their friend and then each other, confused. Strong gravity couldn’t affect them that much could it? Ryley made sure his ship had damn good gravity regulation too so that couldn’t be it. And the alien was always so much more resilient than their human companions, especially in the face of strange new worlds. They weren’t even on the planet yet. Were they actually getting sick?

“I-i fee-ee-eel wonderrrful actuall-y,” they added, as if that would provide any comfort.

“Right- Al maybe you should take a step back?” Robin suggested. She carefully unstrapped herself and approached her partner.

They tried to protest but nobody can resist Robin when she makes up her mind. She gently led the Architect back to sit down against the wall. Ryley couldn’t make out anything but she spoke softly to them, her voice taking on that low soothing tone that always put him to sleep.

Well, if Al-an was incapacitated then someone had to land them. This was trickier than anything the group had ever attempted. But for Robin it would be worth it!

Tricky was an understatement. Al-an was absolutely in no shape to attempt a landing like this. Ryley clutched the manual steering controls, desperately pulling up in an attempt to keep Nocturnal lined up. A surface scan had revealed that the whole planet seemed to be entirely made of iron. The stupid metal ball below them fought back against the human, trying to pull any and all non-titanium metal down into its surface. Thank god the ship itself wasn’t magnetic or they’d really be fucked.

By the time they touched down every metal item in the room was stuck to the floor. Shields were barely hanging on as the computers flickered and attempted to stay on and functional. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. If they couldn’t leave, what then?

Ryley finally turned around to asses his friends and found them already at the door. Robin yanked at Al-an’s hind leg in a clear attempt to pull him back. The alien ignored her completely, happily stumbling toward the outer door. Ryley rolled his eyes at their antics and slipped his mask on along with an air tank. He had three more in his PDA storage. This place didn’t exactly have breathable air.

“AL-AN!” Robin shouted as her feet dragged along the smooth floor. “At least let me get my air tanks ready! Please!”

Al-an flashed bright yellow at that and stopped in their tracks. Robin barely hung on, her feet slid farther under them, leaving her hanging off of their hip. She let go and slid down with a soft ‘thump’ and an “ow!”

Ryley wandered over to the hatch to wait with Al-an. They swayed slightly where they stood but their lights glowed soft blue as if everything was fine. Their head followed Robin as she busied herself grabbing her own air tanks.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Ryley leaned over and asked.

Al-an turned their head and attention down to him. “Yyy-yes! I am finnnne, thank- thank you.” Their lights flashed brighter for a second.

Robin walked over, arms crossed and concern plain on her face. “Are you sure? You still sound weird.”

“Pl-please do nooooot worry ab-bout me,” they insisted.

Ryley shared another glance with Robin, who shrugged. Again the young man thought he might like it if he knew what was going on in their heads. Al-an had never acted like this before.

Robin clearly decided to trust them. She pulled her mask down and secured it, sealing out the atmosphere. She approached the door, slapping the open button. Ryley stepped quickly around Al-an as it slid open to get a good look at the smooth, gray surface and deep orange-brown sky. The sun hung far in the distance at the horizon, barely lighting up the drab landscape.

Ryley’s head spun as soon as he stepped out of Nocturnal fully. Robin must have been hit with the same feeling; her hand gripped the hatch railing. Ryley reached out and took her free hand to steady her. They both stood for another moment while their brains recuperated before moving down the stairs together.

“Man, there’s like, nothing here!” Robin exclaimed. She kept her grip on Ryley’s hand, dragging him a few more feet away.

She was right. The landscape was basically a jagged ball of metal, spanning out as far as the eye could see. And without a breathable atmosphere there was no chance of any life being here. Not that it mattered, Robin’s mask shone so bright blue that Ryley could hardly look at her.

Several loud ‘thuds’ startled the humans out of their sight-seeing. Ryley whipped his head around just in time to see Al-an make it to the bottom of the stairs face-down. Their lower body laid across the stairs while their upper half sprawled on the ground not unlike the trope started by the ancient human TV show Family Guy.

A quiet “ow…” emanated from them and they twitched.

Before he could really think about it, Ryley blurted out “I warned you about the stairs dog!” Robin punched him and jogged back over to her partner.

Al-an lifted their head, lights flaring red and blue in Ryley’s direction. “Fuck yoo-ou!”

Ryley followed Robin’s lead and jogged to the alien’s assistance. Together, the humans helped them up. They stumbled nearly every step of the way as if something was holding them down.

“Wait…” Ryley muttered. He had read something about this in college! “I couldn’t find a lot of info on this hunk of metal. Robin, did you find any more?”

She shrugged. “A bit, yeah. Uninhabitable for humans, magnetic core, strong gravity. Why?”

Al-an seemed to have an epiphany. “I aa-a-m… appaaaarently affectt-ed by-b-by magnee-et-t-t-” their stutter trailed off.

“Oh, dear god…” Robin whispered. Worry struck in Ryley’s stomach until he glanced at her to catch her mask fading to blue.

Al-an stumbled forward, their long legs spread too far apart like a baby giraffe. They nearly tipped forward again but thankfully caught themself on a large spike of iron jutting from the planet’s surface. Ryley couldn’t help but laugh at them a little. He and Robin both snickered behind their hands.

“Maybe we should call it here,” Robin said, still giggling a little. “This was cool to see but I didn’t even catch any signs of life on the long range scanner.”

Ryley shrugged. “I figured it was at least worth a visit.”

His companion slung her arm around his shoulders and pulled him forward toward Al-an. Together they turned the drunken alien around and shoved them up the stairs.

While Robin ensured that Al-an was safely collapsed inside, Ryley headed for the controls and prepared for launch. His stomach twisted again, though this time in anticipation. It was time. So what that it was a month early, who knew what could happen in a few weeks? Al-an seemed to be the only one keeping track anymore.

The fuzzy feeling in Ryley’s head dissipated almost as soon as the ship broke atmosphere. God, if it had felt like that Al-an must have been high off their rocker! They held on to Robin, shaking their head as if to shake off the last of the disorientation.

The woman chuckled and shook her head. “Well that was a bust. Off home then I guess?” she asked. She stared off into middle distance, clearly dejected.

Ryley grinned and turned his attention on Al-an. They flashed deep purple and then sky blue and nodded. The human shot them a thumbs up back and looked back at Robin. She had stood up and was pointedly and very sadly digging through a locker.

“Well, actually…” Ryley paused long enough to get Robin to look at him. She didn’t turn her head, but he watched her eyes flick in his direction. Her hand rested on something Ryley couldn’t see inside the locker.

He turned fully in his chair and leaned over the back of it, still smiling coyly at his friend. “We may or may not have found an Alterran outpost in this system. And we were thinking… to drive Alterra out of here for good…”

Robin turned fully toward him now. She nodded, biting her lip excitedly. She let go of the locker door and pulled her hand out, revealing a bag of chips. “Yeah?” she pressed.

“We thought we could go steal all of his shit.”

“Y-ES! Robin yelled. Her voice cracked halfway through the word. She clapped her hands and bounced on her feet, grinning like a madwoman. Perfect.

~~~

Waves lapped against the quiet shore, the rhythm playing like the heartbeat of the entire planet. Sam sighed, blissful, and watched them for a solitary moment. The beat entranced her, almost called her in really. Things were so much more peaceful over here, so beautiful. It was a wonder Robin hadn’t chosen to live on this side of the planet.

Footsteps crunching through the sand drew Sam back out of her head. She turned and found Marguerit behind her, blanket in hand with a hardly noticeable smile on her face. She too gazed across the water for a beat and then shook her head. She kept walking a few more feet to a relatively flat spot with a nice view of the ocean. Sam watched as she flapped their blanket out and laid it down in one smooth motion. The drinks she had brought found themselves tossed unceremoniously onto the soft surface.

Sam smiled to herself and finally followed her friend to their picnic spot. What a great idea honestly. They needed some time away from it all, the both of them. Raising four wild animals was a handful in and of itself. Though… Sam envied her friend a little bit… Robin’s neurotic behavior lately was getting on her nerves as much as she didn’t want it to.

Augh, no! She had come out here to NOT think about that! Instead, Sam sank down next to Marguerit, who had already found two glasses in her PDA. She poured them each a drink, handing one to her companion before taking a long sip of her own.

The sound of the waves and the acrid smell of the homemade alcohol were enough to get Sam’s mind off of her troubles. It was relaxing. What a lovely day!

Chapter Text

Sam sniffed at her drink. Her face scrunched up automatically at the nasty smell. She had never been the biggest fan of alcohol in the first place, though Robin was a terrible influence sometimes. Most of what she gave her was easier to handle than any of Marguerit’s homemade stuff. It was strong for good reason of course but… how long had it even been since Sam had a drink in the first place?

“You gonna drink that or are you just gonna sniff it?” Marguerit interrupted Sam’s rambling thoughts.

She looked up and away, embarrassed. “Yeah! Yeah, it’s just been a while.”

She took a steadying breath and forced herself not to breathe. If she couldn’t smell it then it would go down easier. Probably. She brought the cup up to her lips and sipped in one motion.

It did not help. At all. The initially fruity taste quickly turned sharp in Sam’s mouth. She turned away to make a face again. Ugh… why did it have to taste so damn bad?

Marguerit chuckled. “I’ll take it if you don’t want it you know. No shame in that.”

“No! No I’ll get used to it again!” Sam insisted. She turned to face her friend again and found her smirking. “Eating will help too, actually,” she added.

Two sandwiches, a small bag of chicken jerky, and some fruits that were just on the verge of overripeness found themselves on the blanket between the two women. There was just enough room for the two humans and their meal, leaving a foot or so of room between them. Sam grinned and proudly presented her own hard work. She had spent over an hour the night before taking inventory of the food supply and agonizing over what to bring.

“I made egg salad sandwiches with the last of the eggs those ranchers gave us,” she explained. “And some chicken jerky Robin made.”

Marguerit stared down at the sandwiches, expression unreadable. “Egg… salad?”

Sam shrugged. “Earth food. Eggs, mayo, mustard and usually some other stuff. I could only find pickles though,” she explained.

Marguerit hummed and took another sip of her drink. Sam followed suit, barely able to keep herself from scrunching her nose again. She watched her friend take one of the sandwiches and sniff it. She turned it over in her hands as if it checking for poison before taking a small bite.

Sam leaned forward and, unthinking, took another drink. Marguerit hummed and nodded approvingly, sending shocks of joy through Sam’s chest. She picked up her own sandwich then, satisfied with herself.

The pair ate and drank together in comfortable silence, just watching the waves on the beach and the occasional Cave Crawler that came skittering out of the water. Sam tossed a piece of chicken jerky out to one of the creatures. Four more came zooming out of the water to fight over it. Marguerit actually laughed at that.

Suddenly, she spoke up. “Hey, you ever get someone workin’ on your case for you?”

Sam glanced at her, surprised, and took another sip of her drink. It had been empty at some point, hadn’t it? Hmm… she was definitely feeling a bit buzzed. Not that she was complaining, it was a nice feeling. Sam shook her head from her own absentmindedness. She hadn’t expected Marguerit to actually follow up on her suggestion.

“I forgot to tell you!” she said after an awkward beat. Her own voice sounded a bit far away. “I did! Fred didn’t want to but he had a friend who’s willing. I’m just waiting on them to get back to me now.”

Marguerit hummed and looked away toward the water. She sighed and, though Sam could only see half of her face, looked like she might cry for a moment. The older woman huffed again and took another long drink.

“Glad you found someone,” she finally replied.

“Are you ok?” Sam asked.

The other nodded. “Yep. Just-” she shrugged- “I just worry that havin’ all the answers isn’t gonna make you happy. I think you should do what makes you happy.”

Sam looked down. So far, even with mixed reactions from her companions, she was happy with this. The guilt of relying on- on a stranger was certainly tainting it but she was still happy! She would stay that way too, right?

What would make her happy right that second though? The truth was probably far off, maybe in a few months. A few years even, depending on how deep whatever rabbit hole “Sandra” found went. If Marguerit wanted her happy, shouldn’t she go for things that she could immediately have then? And- and if that was the case, well…

One thing had been on Sam’s mind for the last few months. One thing she had been unsure she should confront. But the opportunity was right there presenting itself so so easily. And Sam’s mind was so so loose. Her thoughts flowed through her like water, barely processing.

“Maybe I will…” she muttered.

Marguerit looked at her, brow raised questioningly and Sam decided for sure to go for it. She leaned forward, resting on her hand, until they were mere inches apart. The smell of their shared drink lingered between them on each others breath.

“Uh,” Marguerit started quietly.

Sam interrupted her before she could say anything and stop her. Cares thrown to the wind, she kissed her. Softly, gently, the older woman’s scarred lips on her own. Clearly she hadn’t been expecting it. She didn’t pull away but from the way she sat there stock still Sam knew in an instant that she had fucked up.

She pulled back and waited, watching with baited breath as Marguerit processed what had just happened. She stared Sam down, her face entirely unreadable, before she turned her attention directly on the ocean and didn’t move again.

Fuck.

~~~

Sometimes on quiet days like this, stuck in the car alone on the way to some bogus job, Lil missed 4546B. She was so close then. Real tangible proof of a living Architect right at her fingertips. And then it was all taken away for… this. Driving out somewhere remote to learn about yet another hoax.

Her boss wasn’t a bad man. He paid her fairly for her trips and they usually weren’t that unbelievable. But sapient life hadn’t come to Earth before and they weren’t about to start now. As far as humans were concerned the Architects were the only ones out there. Doing these jobs just proved that most sightings were conspiracy theorists trying to stir up trouble.

Lil knew how the conversation would go too. It was nearly the same every time. She asks what they saw, they describe some complex ship or something they apparently couldn’t see well but knew for sure was a UFO. She would check flight paths in the area and find a launch or an airplane flight during the exact time of the sighting. And then she would go home, leaving the person with a warning.

Of course, the location was still 45 minutes away from home. Of course, because these things always happened in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, that left plenty of time to get started on her Sam project.

Internal files had lead to a big, fat nothing. That was no surprise though. If Alterra covered something up they made sure the average Joe couldn’t find it through a couple of name searches. Lil was going to have to dig much deeper. She just had no idea where to start aside from talking to management. It was risky but might just be worth it. Maybe.

The woman took a deep breath and prepared her excuse. “Assistant, call Dr. Zeta Landon, Robotics, H237-B3,” she commanded her PDA.

Its robotic voice filled the car, confirming her call. The line buzzed, unpleasant when paired with road noise. Fortunately, Zeta picked up quickly.

“Lil! Oh my gosh, it’s so good to hear from you!” the other scientist greeted.

“Hello Zeta!” Lil returned the greeting. “I know it’s been a while… How are you?”

Zeta let out a breathless laugh. It almost sounded like she was out running. “I’m great! I’ve been on this huge project that’s almost done. I can’t really talk about it but it’s bound to make news soon!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Best of luck on it then!” Lil replied. Her stomach twisted as she forced herself through the pleasantries. This was the most nerve-wracking call she’d been in since her last job interview.

“Thanks!” Zeta said and then paused, audibly panting. “Sorry, I biked to work today,” she laughed.

“Good exercise, that.”

“Mmm. Anyway, what’s going on? I didn’t think you’d call unless you had a question,” the younger woman said. Lil heard the sound of a door opening and then closing and the soft rustle of someone sitting down in a leather chair.

“Well, actually yes, I do need to ask something rather sensitive,” Lil told her.

“Sure, fire away!” Zeta confirmed.

Lil took a deep breath. “I’ve been… rather busy the last few months and I’ve finally found some time to myself so I want to-” she feigned sounding choked up- “I want to visit Sam. Do you happen to know where she’s buried?”

Zeta sighed on the other end. Her shirt rustled again as she shifted in her chair. “No I- I don’t, I’m sorry. I could never get ahold of her sister and- yeah. I’ve been busy.”

Lil found herself disappointed but unsurprised. Of course. “I’ve check records on Mars where they’re from and Iowa, America. I can’t find anything. You don’t think they-” she cut herself off, hoping the implication might get something.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry,” Zeta repeated herself. “It was all such a rush out of there, maybe they did miss something or she got- moved. Especially if her sister never responded. Have you talked to Dani?”

Lil hummed. “No, not yet. I’ve been hesitant to get ahold of her for right now… Thank you for your time though, I appreciate you talking to me.”

“Of course!” Lil could practically hear the sad smile on Zeta’s face. “I’m always happy to try to help out a friend. Good luck on your search!”

The two said their sad goodbyes and Lil finally hung up. She let herself physically relax for a second. God, how hadn’t she noticed her knuckles going white on the steering wheel? Zeta was the easiest of the two calls she had to make today. She would need a moment before braving… him.

She’d learned nothing from Zeta but still… there was plenty to wonder about. What project was she working on? Lil asked her PDA assistant to remind her to dig deeper later. All she had focused on was locating the roboticist to get ahold of her. A secretive robotics project on some backwater planet rang so very many alarm bells now.

Of course, the validity of this theory only worked on the idea that a human’s entire self could be perfectly cloned into an android. Artificial intelligence had come far in the 400 years since its boom but certainly not far enough. Though… maybe that explained Alterra’s insistence on cataloging personality?

Right now though, all Lil could do was wonder. And call Emmanuel, which she still dreaded. He was the most unpleasant man she ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Most HR types were, they had to be to fit in with the status quo.

She requested the call and took a steadying breath. If he was involved at all she would need to be extremely careful. God knew she’d be dead if he figured her out.

The line clicked and Lil spoke before the man could start smooth-talking her away from her point. “Good afternoon Emmanuel. I’ve got a question if you’ve got the time.”

“Lil, it’s so, so good to hear from you, of course I have the time. How have you been? What can I help you with?” Emmanuel replied, sounding too sweet for comfort.

“I’m… fine. I’ve just been busy until now and I want to- I want to visit Sam’s-” she swallowed, trying to sound the right amount of choked up. To remember how she had felt before she knew- “her resting place. Zeta didn’t know so I thought you might.”

Emmanuel stayed quiet for a moment, leaving the soft buzz of the call to play over Lil’s car speakers. She waited, hardly breathing, for him to answer. She wished she could see his face or have any indication at all of what was going through his head.

“I hate to admit this, I really do… but I haven’t been to visit her either. I’ve been off on business too, and I just don’t have the time,” he finally said confidently. “Since her next-of-kin never responded, I really can’t say for sure where they took her. Not to mention that it’s high security information because of the nature of her passing.”

Lil’s heart stopped. “What does that mean? It’s just a body, isn’t it?”

“It is but I really can’t control what Alterra does with their high security issues. I’m so sorry Lil, I just don’t know. And even if I did, I couldn’t tell you for security reasons.” The man’s droning voice grated on Lil’s nerves.

“Well… alright. Thank you anyway,” she said, nervous.

“Oh, you’re very welcome. I do just have to ask though, wha-” Lil hung up before he could rope her into a conversation.

As much of a disappointment as this was, it still led somewhere. As soon as she was done with this job Lil would start in on Zeta’s mysterious project. Strangely, she had seemed willing to at least talk about it. Was it a cover? Honestly though, the first person to ask about that kind of thing should be Sam herself. Surely she would know if she’d been turned into some kind of android.

~~~

Everything of importance was already packed and ready to go at the launchpad. The rest of the team had been evacuated hours ago, leaving only Emmanuel to ensure everything else was taken care of. Soon he would be well on his way home to his darling husband and precious daughter to recover from this horrible, emotionally draining experience.

The idea of a loss haunted him for years. It was an inevitability of course. Living on exoplanets, no matter how well Alterra tried to set them up, was simply a recipe for danger to brew. Especially when nosy scientists started doing extracurricular work. The paperwork was a nightmare and so was getting body collection out here.

Bitter cold air bit Emmanuel’s cheeks as he began the journey from his office to the waiting Seatruck. His bags weighed heavy against his back. If only Davide were here to carry them… Ah, well.

Two identical bald men in suits waited at the shore, arms crossed in front of their chests. They stared down the much smaller man through dark sunglasses. He gulped, uncertain of what to do. This wasn’t body collection.

“Good day gentlemen,” Emmanuel greeted them as warmly as he could. “Is there something I can help you with?”

The man on the left grunted and nodded. The other opened his mouth to reply. “We are here for the bodies. Have you left a beacon?” he asked gruffly.

Emmanuel swallowed. “Well, yes but I was just waiting for collections to come and-”

“Change of plans,” the man on the right interrupted. He pulled a PDA from his suit pocket and tapped a couple of things. The man on the left peered over his shoulder and did the same ‘grunt and nod’ routine.

“Um-” Emmanuel started, confused. Change of plans? Nobody had told him that! He quickly snuck a glance at his email while they were distracted. Nothing new there.

“We will be taking care of collection today. You are dismissed,” the man on the left finally spoke. They sounded as identical as they looked.

“But-”

“If anyone asks about them, you are to make sure they do not look into it. Is this understood?” the man on the right said. He took a threatening step forward.

Emmanuel stepped back in tandem. “Yes! Yes, of course! Keep anyone from asking, I can do that. I’ll put it on my task list.”

Both men nodded this time and the one on the right stepped back. They turned around and leapt into their vehicle, some kind of luxury submersible hearse. Well! That was odd. At least it was taken care of now and Emmanuel wouldn’t have to worry anymore. At least not unless someone asked him about it.

Chapter Text

“How are things going?” Al-an’s suddenly piped up in Robin’s head.

The human smirked as she finished stowing a painting in her enhanced storage. “Better than expected actually,’ she replied. “This guy’s living large out here.”

For a so-called field researcher this base was fucking luxurious. Robin had camped in a rainforest once with nothing but a few sticks and leaves. 4546B with all of its resources was bougie comparatively. This researcher’s base was completely insane. She had even noticed a port for food shipments. Who did that kind of thing?

Ducking into the next room, Robin took note of a large TV base and two separate video game consoles. “Who the hell has time to play video games?” she thought in Al-an’s general direction.

The alien didn’t verbally respond but he pushed his own confusion forward in understanding. Robin shook her head and started unplugging things. She stowed both consoles and the TV.

“You do, apparently,” Al-an remarked, amusement pushing its way into Robin’s mind.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled out loud. “This is for Ryley,” she replied.

“Whatever you say, my love.”

Robin rolled her eyes again then and scanned the room. The furniture was far too big to take, no matter how tempting the desk and matching table in the corner looked. They were wooden, a species native to the planet. The polished surface practically shone like real gold if not for the shockingly dark grain, giving it a striped gold and black pattern. Fuck it.

She had to rush but Robin just HAD to get her hands on these things. She dug her builder tool out of her PDA and began deconstructing. All the while she glanced behind her, just in case.

“Any sign of him?” she asked as the desk disappeared. Her PDA popped up with the blueprint.

At Al-ans confirmation she started on the table. Soft but heavy footsteps echoed through the hall and Robin turned just in time to see Ryley appear in the doorway. He held an apple, a real Earth one along with some dried meat and unfamiliar fruits.

“Hey,” the woman whispered aloud.

“Hi. I found food,” Ryley replied, proudly presenting his apple. He grinned and then popped a small, bright orange fruit into his mouth.

“I see that,” Robin said, snickering. “Poor guy is gonna have to go out and actually hunt until Alterra’s next delivery.”

Ryley snorted. “Yeah, if. I bet he’ll starve to death before they can get a shipment out here.”

Satisfied with her new furniture, Robin turned around. “What, you’re not thinking of intercepting the shipment are you?” She laughed softly and followed her friend out of the room, back into the sterile white hall.

“I mean… It could just… get lost out here somewhere. Space is big, you know.”

The pair continued into the base and came upon a final room at the end of the hall. An Alterran nameplate hung above it displaying the scientist’s name. Robin scanned it. Dr. Jean-Paul Hubert.

Before she could read his profile, rapid footsteps approached from behind. Robin spun around and found herself face to face with the man himself. Fuck.

“Run!” Robin yelled.

She grabbed Ryley’s hand and shoved past the confused scientist. He shouted something unintelligible and Robin heard a thud. She didn’t dare look back. Thankfully the idiot had left his front door wide open, giving them perfect opportunity for escape.

Ryley’s hand stayed clamped to Robin’s as they ran. His heavy footsteps were the only other indication that he was still with her. The pair detached from each other just in time for Robin to skip four steps, bounding up the stairs to Nocturnal’s hatch. Ryley’s own steps thudded loudly behind her, the sound of the metal against his boots echoing across the brushland.

In her rush to escape, Robin forgot to tell Al-an to start up. Their colors flashed from green to deep orange panic.

“Dude we gotta get out of here, go!” Ryley yelled, launching himself at the controls.

Robin rushed for her own seat and fiddled with switches. Systems came online far too quickly to be safe and the vessel launched within 10 minutes. Dr. Hubert, fortunately for the thieves, seemed smart enough not to try to stop them.

As soon as they were out of the planet’s airspace, Robin started laughing. Holy shit. Holy. Shit. Ryley, still hunched over the main console, joined her after a moment.

“Why are you laughing? Do you not realize how close that was? He could have seen your faces!” Al-an admonished the humans. He was pulsing between red and orange, colors spreading along his body like fire.

“That was exhilerating, of course we’re laughing!” Robin told him. She unclipped her safety belt, freeing her from her chair and letting the poor alien inspect her.

“It was awesome!” Ryley agreed. Al-an’s bulk blocked Robin’s view of him.

The woman let her partner scan her. He circled her twice, then turned his attention to Ryley. The young man had moved over a few feet in Al-an’s absence, eyes scanning over the console. He tapped a couple of things while the alien scanned him.

“Um. Guys,” he suddenly said, voice wobbly.

Worry formed a pit in Robin’s chest. “Yeah?” she prompted. Al-an, who had started to calm down, flared orange again.

“So, I mean. It’s not really a good idea to launch like that without prep-” Ryley started.

“I forgot to tell Al-an to initiate, I’m sorry,” Robin interrupted him. Her chest tightened further, embarrassed.

“Nah, that’s fine. It’s not gonna hurt her or anything. Any technical issues can get fixed if we can get home.”

Al-an’s lights darkened. “If?” they asked. Then, “Oh, no.”

“Yeah. We… aren’t going to make it with the fuel we have.”

“Shit…” Robin groaned. They’d have enough if she had just remembered to-

Al-an lighting up soft blue pulled the woman back from the edge of her panic attack. His excitement and relief washed into her, calming the fear of drifting forever.

“Actually!” the Architect said, practically bouncing on his hooves. “I know of a refueling station nearby! You can buy food there as well.”

Ryley stepped back and let Al-an have the controls. He glanced at Robin, who shrugged right back at him. As far as she knew, Alterra wouldn’t leave an emergency refueling station in the middle of unexplored space.

The humans kept quiet, curious, as Al-an changed their trajectory away from home. An hour passed, and then another. Robin watched anxiously as the fuel gauge dipped farther and farther toward empty.

“Robin.” Ryley said, sounding tense. “Is that…”

A building, floating in the middle of deep space, was just beginning to come into focus ahead of them. It looked like any other emergency refueling station except for one thing. Most Alterran stations were either unmanned or had very small supply stores attached. This one had… a Waffle House.

Robin had never been to one on Earth herself. Al-an seemed completely unaffected by this as if he’d been here before. Ryley looked just as dumbfounded as Robin felt. He stared at the rapidly approaching building with trepidation, brows knit and mouth open.

“Um, yeah,” Robin finally replied.

“Many neutral zones and refueling stations exist far beyond the scope of human exploration,” Al-an explained. He faced ahead, still focused on pulling up to the building’s airlock. “The universe is vast.”

Robin stood from her seat, confused and feeling somewhat numb. Aliens built this? She wasn’t about to ask now though, not when she could feel her partner directing her into the diner. Ryley tagged along behind like a lost puppy.

The inside of the diner was something out of an old Earth movie. Every kind of creature a human could image occupied the usual diner tables and booths. The place wasn’t packed but it was certainly busy, which made sense considering all of the docked ships outside. Robin came to a halt just to take in the room as excitement replaced the unease in her chest.

This… was the pinnacle of her life’s work. She couldn’t even name any of the beings around her. Green, blue, pink, orange, a whole rainbow of creatures chatted amongst themselves. Some gave the humans a passing glance before returning happily to their conversations.

A large, long-necked creature approached the humans with two menus. They towered over Robin, who was tall for a human. Their lumpy, rough looking skin was pale orange. The employee uniform covered most of them except for their long arms with huge hands and claws. Their extremely long neck ended in a bulbous face that somewhat resembled a human infant. Huge, glassy black eyes stared at the two humans. A nametag attached to their shirt read ‘Gruckto’.

“Why can I read the server’s nametag?” Robin sent her thoughts outside to Al-an, who had just initiated refueling.

“It is psychic,” he replied as if that was a normal thing to say.

“-can I help you this afternoon?” Robin tuned back in as Gruckto finished speaking. Their voice was nasally and high-pitched, yet heavily gravelly as if there were actual rocks blocking the air exiting their throat.

Ryley opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was mostly still occupied with trying not to stare around the room in wide-eyed awe. He cleared his throat instead and glanced at Robin.

“Right, uh,” Robin started. Somebody had to be the brains around here. “Do you serve human food here? Our friend is outside refuelling.”

Gruckto smiled, revealing sharp teeth. “Oh, yes, we always keep human food in case someone stops by with one. Right this way.”

The alien turned around and headed for an empty table toward the middle of the establishment. Robin grabbed Ryley by the hand and dragged him forward. He followed without much resistance, keeping himself as close as possible to his companion.

“So…” Robin took an extra big step to catch up with the much larger server. “Where are you from?” She asked. She couldn’t help herself.

Gruckto stopped at a table and stepped back, allowing the humans to sit. They smiled again. “Raxacoricofallapatorius,” they replied curtly.

“Where’s that?” Robin asked before she could stop herself.

The Raxacoricofallapatorian’s face soured. “That is private information, thank you,” they said. “Here are your human menus. What would you like to drink?”

Ryley swallowed loudly. “Uh, water. Please.” he said haltingly.

“Do you have Coke?” Robin asked, trying to keep her voice even. She glanced away, embarrassed.

“One water and one Coke, coming right up! If we have no Coke, would you like water?” Gruckto’s voice evened out and they visibly relaxed.

Robin nodded and watched the alien walk away. She could hardly focus on the menu in front of her with the thoughts swirling in her head. She quickly picked some breakfast bowl that looked edible and lost herself in thought.

She had spent her entire fucking life looking for sapient aliens and found only one. To be fair, Al-an was the biggest find of any human researcher to ever live. But this diner was… God, she couldn’t even document any of this. Where was Raxacoricofallapatorius? Where was that guy in a blue suit with tentacles coming out of his face from? Or the fish-like creatures sitting in a booth in the corner?

Gruckto appeared with two cups, one full of water and the other fizzing with soda. Robin smiled and accepted her drink with a quiet ‘Thank you’. Every part of her being wanted to ask a million questions.

“Have you made a decision on your food?” the server asked. They smiled again and Robin shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Yeah! Um, that sausage egg and cheese sandwich looks good,” she requested cheerfully.

“Burger.” Ryley said. He stared intently down at the bland table, glancing up at Gruckto every once in a while.

“Wonderful! I will be back shortly,” the Raxacoricofallapatorian replied and immediately turned around.

Robin took this opportunity to stare around the room again. Her scanner hand itched to investigate everything. She couldn’t believe Al-an just casually dropped this on her. Ryley didn’t even seem that excited!

“Isn’t this cool?” Robin whispered, leaning toward her friend.

“Yeah,” he replied at the same volume. He didn’t say anything more.

Suddenly, the airlock door opened and loud, thudding, familiar hoofsteps silenced all chatter in the room. A glass shattered somewhere in the behind the counter. Robin turned and caught sight of Al-an standing stock-still in the doorway, bright yellow.

~~~

Horrible silence filled the entire diner. This was, of course, not Al-an’s intention. They had hoped that the other races would take no note of them. They belonged here, far more than their humans did. Robin’s body temperature was slightly elevated, probably from excitement. Ryley, however, practically radiated warmth especially from his face.

As the silence dragged on, Al-an decided to make a break for it. Every step was agonizingly loud, echoing through the absolutely dead silent room. Even the cooks had stopped to stare. A glass dropped somewhere in the building.

The Architect joined their companions at their table. Ryley stared straight down, a full glass of water resting in front of him. He reached for it and took a sip, which did nothing to help his overheated body. Robin seemed completely unaffected by the entire situation.

“Hi Al-an!” she greeted them cheerfully, grinning up at them from across the table.

“Hello.” Al-an replied awkwardly.

They could feel all eyes and sensors in the room on them. An Ood across the room tilted their head and felt out into the psychic field. Al-an allowed the connection, sending what they hoped was a casual greeting out.

“What are you doing?” the Ood asked in response.

Al-an paused. How were they supposed to answer that? It was clear they were with the humans and Architect’s keeping of pets should have been common knowledge. To most everyone else they should look like any other one of their kind.

Then again, that was a millennium ago… Maybe nobody knew now?

“I am… eating. With my humans,” they finally told the Ood.

Apparently that satisfied their curiosity. Though not the curiosity of the rest of the room. Whispers slowly started up, all asking where they came from. ‘Kharaa’ and ‘wiped out’ were thrown around.

It would be incredibly unwise to tell the truth to a room of strangers. The news would certainly spread now though. Al-an carefully connected with a few devices around and noted that at least four had sent messages off to friends and leadership. The chatter grew louder, back to a normal volume, though Al-an was uncomfortably aware that most conversation was about them.

The server, a Raxacoricofallapatorian with a nametag reading ‘Gruckto’, approached with two plates of food for the humans. They said nothing, keeping their large eyes fixed on the Architect at their table.

After an awkward moment of silence, the other being cleared their throat and turned to Al-an. “Do you uh, need anything else?” they asked.

Robin glanced between the two and smiled graciously. “Maybe some water for the big guy?” she asked.

Gruckto nodded and rushed away. Al-an heard them ask in the back for the largest glass of water they had before returning with a still rather small cup. They set it down on the table and bustled off to the back, most likely to gossip about seeing an Architect.

As soon as Gruckto was out of sight Robin reached for the glass. She tossed it back onto them, the cool liquid immediately soothing their overheating core. They hadn’t even noticed how warm they were. There was an audible sizzle from their chest and steam rose up past their face. Robin, for her part, went right back to eating as if nothing unusual was happening. Ryley wouldn’t meet Al-an’s gaze but continued to silently eat his hamburger. This was going to be a very, very long meal.

Suddenly, Robin’s PDA began to beep. She and Ryley both jumped several inches at the harsh sound. The rest of the room no longer seemed to care, thank the stars.

“Hello?” Robin set down her sandwich and picked up the call. “What’s up Sam?”

Sam’s voice came over the line quiet and somewhat distorted. “You will never believe what just happened!”

Chapter Text

Seconds passed like hours as Marguerit stared out into the ocean. Nothing but the sound of the waves against the soft sand and Sam’s blood rushing in her ears. What was she thinking? Nothing, clearly, if she let herself drink enough to lose that much control. God, she hadn’t done stupid stuff like that since college.

Suddenly, before Sam could start apologizing, a loud ‘BOOM’ echoed across the water. Marguerit visibly jumped and gathered herself to stand. Sam followed her lead, anticipation bunching in her chest as they waited for something to happen. Creepy silence filled the air.

The ground under their feet jolted, knocking Sam back off her feet. Marguerit stumbled backwards a few steps, her arms flailing in a desperate attempt to stay upright. Sam reached out and caught her friend’s arm, holding her upright from the ground.

As the shaking stopped, silence filled the warm air again. Even the Skyrays’ chatter quieted. Sam caught her breath and glanced at her friend. Marguerit took a deep breath and turned to watch the ocean.

Sam followed her gaze, confused until she saw it. She’d never lived near an ocean, not until recently but… this was just unnatural. The water had pulled away significantly already and was slowly receding farther. With every wave it inched back toward the cliff. Fuck.

“Run. Now.” Marguerit said, quiet but deadly certain.

Sam obeyed as soon as the words were out of the other woman’s mouth. Most of their belongings were already packed away except for the alcohol and the blanket. Marguerit picked up the bottle and both glasses, leaving Sam to tuck the blanket under her arm and stand up fully. Her eyes scanned the beach for a safe spot to hide.

The caves wouldn’t work, there was already water down there. Sam had seen it in some photos Ryley showed her. The Seatruck wouldn’t stand a chance against the current. No point in taking chances and getting bashed against a mountain. The building was open to the air too but… hadn’t Al-an said that the force-field doors could hold back water?

Marguerit had already started making her way back toward the cave. She glanced back and caught Sam’s eye. “What are you doing? Come on, we’ll have a better chance in here,” she called.

Sam shook her head. “No, the building. It’ll hold back water, I know how to use the panels!” she called out. As soon as she said it she turned and made for safety.

Another set of running footsteps told Sam that her companion had followed her. The pair rushed into the building, their breaths echoing in the empty hallway. God, how much time did they have? Surely only a few minutes at best.

Thankfully the terminal wasn’t terribly hard to deal with. Sam ran her hands down the side of the smooth metal until she found a latch, the manual release. The metal split over the top and opened to reveal the purple tablet inside. Sam yanked it out, stumbling backwards into Marguerit.

An electric buzzing emanated from the doorway and the green light projection flashed into existence. Just in time too, as the women watched a massive wall of water approach from out in the sea. It crashed against the beach and the mountain, flowing easily past the doorway. A Boomerang smashed against the force-field and was swept farther away across the island.

“Well, shit,” Marguerit finally said, taking a deep breath. Sam turned around and watched her stow the bottle and glasses in her PDA storage.

“Of all the things I expected today, that wasn’t on the list,” she agreed, laughing nervously.

“Where d’you think that came from?” Marguerit voiced Sam’s thoughts. “I’ve never seen anything like it happen in all the years I’ve been here.”

Her earlier faux pas seemed forgotten now. With luck it would never be brought up again. But… what now?

“Well…” Sam paused to think. She was no geologist of course, but there had to be a way to track the source.

“Al-an said this facility can scan the planet for abnormalities. They showed me how to use their computers, I could try to find the source! And-” she paused for effect- “it’ll keep us occupied until the water recedes.”

Marguerit hummed and raised an eyebrow, regarding the smaller woman for a moment. Sam’s cheeks heated under her gaze. “By all means then, lead the way.”

They followed the winding halls together, down the airlift and into the control room. Sam tried her best to focus on keeping her anxious thoughts at bay. Amidst all of her new bravery she kicked herself for still getting the usual anxiety. Then again, inherent mental illnesses wouldn’t be that easy to get rid of. Still, she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Marguerit definitely knew that. As long as neither mentioned it, they would be fine.

What she really had to focus on now was figuring out Architect computers again. Al-an’s crash course was great but she’d never used this particular facility before. Well, outside of seeing the tracking notifications on her PDA as ships passed or entered the atmosphere.

Most of the text had been translated into English already, though some remained a mystery. Sam scanned over the menus, her eyes skimming past internal systems, external scan records, untranslated text and then- aha! Planetary surface scan. That would most definitely give geothermal and seismic data. Sam pushed her hand forward to select it. She expected some graphs to pop up, or at least an alert.

Instead, unfiltered data hit Sam’s inner eye. Most of it flowed over and around her; unnecessary information about atmosphere and temperature, water volume, and finally, a pinpoint location. Massive geothermal activity somewhere in the middle of the ocean. It had to be a volcanic eruption!

“Well?” Marguerit prompted. She had inched closer while Sam was distracted until she was nearly pressed up against her back.

Sam jumped and pulled her hand back. “Sorry! Here, you can look too. I’ve got the coordinates now, we could…” she trailed off.

The other woman leaned around Sam’s shoulder, now actually pressing against her. She reached out toward the terminal’s screen and she gasped. Her hand flashed back to her chest. She stared at Sam, bewildered.

“Weird feeling isn’t it?” Sam asked aloud.

To herself she thought: ‘And to think Robin just experiences that all the time…’

“Don’t like that,” Marguerit agreed. She sighed and finally pulled back, putting a more comfortable distance between the pair. “You want to go check it out?”

Sam nodded. “Oh, definitely. I’m going to call Robin and tell her we’re taking a Seamoth out to orbit.”

With that she turned and made to leave. The water surely should have receded, or at least calmed enough to make it to the truck if it was still there. As she walked she readied her PDA to call her sister.

“She’s gonna want to come with us,” Marguerit said, voice flat.

“Yeah, I know. I can deal with her,” Sam sighed. Her companion snorted. “I can! Trust me.”

She heard another amused snort behind her and decided to ignore it. She could absolutely discourage Robin. She’d done it so many times before over their lives and most of the time it did work!

“Hello? What’s up Sam?” Robin answered the call.

Sam grinned. “You will never believe what happened!”

Robin hummed, clearly interested. “Go on?” she prompted.

“An earthquake! I checked surface scans, it looks like there might be a new volcano forming!” Sam exclaimed. She stepped into the airlift as she finished speaking.

“Holy shit no way!” Robin sounded exactly as excited as Sam had guessed she would be. “Can you wait for me to get back? I want to check that out!”

Sam landed at the top of the lift and turned around, waiting for Marguerit to come up. The older woman gave her a meaningful smirk as she landed and mouthed ‘told you so’. Sam rolled her eyes.

“How long is that going to take?” she asked her sister.

Robin paused and then sighed. “Ok- we kinda got sidetracked and some shit happened so like… two more weeks. You’re going to go check it out by yourself then?” She sounded disappointed.

“I was actually thinking keeping an eye on the area can be something for us to do while you three are gone,” Sam confirmed.

“You’ll send me pictures though, right?”

“Of course, who do you think I am?” Sam chuckled.

~~~

Home sweet fucking home. Escaping from that dumbass scientist added an extra two weeks onto the mission. And god Ryley was fucking exhausted. He’d spent most of the way home working on his battle robot. That on top of keeping the engines from exploding didn’t exactly make for a relaxing trip home.

The base was so quiet when the trio entered that Ryley almost wondered if Sam was hanging out with Marguerit somewhere. Instead she appeared from the hallway with a warm smile. Ryley waved at her, which was about all he had the energy to do.

“Hi Sam!” Robin bounded past Ryley with far more energy than she really should be able to muster. “How have things been? Still good? Did you check out the volcano?”

Sam chuckled, tossing a towel onto the counter next to the fridge. “Still good, yes!” She strode over to the table and sat down. “We did a flyover but the area is still settling so…”

“I can monitor the area and let you know when it is safe for human exploration if you would like,” Al-an interjected.

Ryley glanced back and caught the Architect lurking in the hallway. They stepped farther into the light, ducking to get through the doorway as their lights shifted blue. He turned back to Sam to see her smile at the alien.

“I’d appreciate that actually!” She replied. “Thank you!”

Before Ryley could voice his napping plan, Robin spoke up. “I’m excited to see what you can find over there. By the way,” she paused and set her PDA down on the table, “what’s on the agenda for the day?”

Sam’s face fell slightly and she turned to face her sister. “Well… nothing really. I kept a good handle on everything while you three were gone.”

“Thank the stars…” Ryley mumbled. He turned his attention to Robin, who looked like Sam had just personally pissed in her cereal. “We’ve had a long ass three weeks. Shouldn’t we all be resting?” he asked her.

The woman rolled her eyes. “I don’t know about you but I’m still pumped from it!” She began bouncing on the balls of her feet as if to prove herself despite the bags under her eyes. “I was kinda looking forward to coming home and getting back to my routine.”

Sam huffed at the pointed glare her sister shot her way. Ryley’s chest tightened. ‘Here we go again,’ he thought to himself.

Out loud, he said “Well I’m tired. I was planning on a nap. So thank you Sam, I really appreciate the assist.” The young man strode forward, brushing past Robin on his way to their hallway. He glanced back and smiled at Sam. “Would you mind sending me a list of what you couldn't get to?”

Sam nodded and with that Ryley made his way farther into the hallway. He stopped though, just before the bulkhead to his room and waited. Robin’s irritation had been building and his little stunt wouldn’t have helped. Shit, maybe he shouldn’t have even said anything at all but-

“So what the hell am I gonna do?” Robin asked, voice already raised enough that Ryley could hear her clear as day.

“I don’t know, I thought you’d appreciate it. Heck, I sent that list of trade items you two have been procrastinating since before you left,” Sam replied just as loudly. “I guess that’s what I get for trying to be nice.”

“You could have asked! We talked like three times! And messaged! A ton!” Robin shot back. Ryley’s grip on his door tightened.

“Well I’m-”

“I can handle things on my own, Sam! I don’t need you to do my chores for me like I’m a fucking child!”

Dead silence filled the base. After a few seconds Al-an said something too quiet for Ryley to hear. He took that opportunity to open the bulkhead and slip inside his room, leaving the door cracked. Robin said something else too quiet to hear and her footsteps approached and then retreated off into her room.

Ryley sighed and shook his head to himself. Something was up with her. He hadn’t known her as long as Sam though, maybe this was just their dynamic? Robin had mentioned them clashing before. His relationship with Daisy was never that volatile though…

Whatever it was, Robin would bring it up eventually, whenever she was ready. For now, Ryley was ready for a nap.

Chapter Text

A hot, momentary flash of regret hit Lil’s chest as she watched the shuttle fly away. She had taken a risk doing a job for Emmanuel like this. Of course, the circumstances were a bit… odd when she thought about it. They hadn’t personally spoken in ages and here he was asking her to do a job for him. It pertained to her field but still. Why now?

Sighing, Lil approached the research outpost. The Alterran architecture was a stark contrast to the arid, mostly empty land around it. Short pink grass had still sprung up around the legs as if to combat the invasion. ‘Good,’ the scientist thought. This place was over the top for a simple research outpost.

She knocked three times on the front bulkhead and waited. Rapid footsteps sounded from inside and then the door opened, revealing a tall, thin bespectacled man. He regarded her for a second, hazel eyes darting up and down behind his small round glasses.

“Hello, I’m-” Lil started.

“Yes, yes, I know security detail. And not a moment too soon!” the scientist interrupted.

“Um,” Lil replied. What was he on about.

“My name is Dr. Hubert! They told you I was robbed, yes?”

Lil shook her head. “No? I was told I’m here to help with your research. I was going to tell you that my name is Lillian. Doctor Lillian Bench?”

The man tilted his head, confused. “No?” he asked incredulously. “I asked for security! Come, come inside, I will explain!” He stepped aside and beckoned her in.

Lil followed hesitantly. Her shuttle was already gone and Alterra wouldn’t send another for two weeks. The inside of the base was bare and the same stark white and blue of every other Alterran building. It was… rather bare for this being an established research base. Each room looked picked through and clean. Ah.

“So you are a doctor, yes? What are you a doctor of, Dr. Bench?” Dr. Hubert turned his head and a light reflected off of his rather shiny forehead. He was awfully well-kempt for a field researcher.

Lil smiled. “Well, I’m glad you asked actually. I’m an Architect researcher! I very nearly found one actually, and I’ve published several papers on it. Maybe you’ve read them?”

Dr. Hubert scoffed. “Architects? You are joking! Everyone knows Architects aren’t real!”

Lil’s heart fucking stopped for a second. What in the entire universe was this man on about? Denying the idea that a live Architect called out for help was one thing. Emmanuel could deny and suppress her all he wanted. This was just ridiculous! Other researchers had even found evidence of the Architects. Concrete proof! What the hell!

“I’m- I’m sorry what?” she finally asked aloud. Shock still clung to her and gripped at her chest.

“Well, you know they have all of those photos and machines but I’ve seen proof that they are government fakes! Alterra can easily build machines like that you know!”

“You- I just said- I’ve worked with their tech sir!” Lil stuttered. This could not be real. It was all a bad dream, right?

“You were working with planted evidence! That is why I am glad to be on a fresh, clean planet. No fake aliens here!” Dr. Hubert argued. “Anyhow, I suppose if you are already here you can help with research. I have drones already set up with scanners and such. You can help me monitor them.”

This was going to be a long two weeks. Lil could just feel it.

~~~

[LAB NOTES, JUNE 2, 2408]

I’ve made tons more progress since the last update! While certain smaller livestock like sheep and goats are doing just fine, I struggled with dosage and extraction from larger specimens. Especially extraction. We’re using such a large sample that I’ve found spores three separate times now. And then… well… But! I’m one step closer and perhaps the next update I’ll have more to show off.

We’ve also been doing… tests on pain tolerance. Oddly enough that seems entirely normal. Every single specimen reacts how they should but… they don’t try to run or squirm away from me. Even routine blood draws are unnaturally easy. I don’t know… My current hypothesis is just that they’re used to the lab environment.

Otherwise, it’s all been quiet on the smaller front. Dr. James will s ubmit his findings on the… other half of the project this afternoon. I’m sure things are going well there. I’m just relieved we’ve tackled the-

…

What the fuck?

~~~

Sam awoke confused. She glanced around the strange room and, for one sickening moment, worried that she had somehow ended up back in prison in her sleep. The walls around her were too bare without even a window to the frigid air outside. Shit! She sat up in a rush, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed and standing in one move.

Footsteps thudded behind Sam and she turned around to see Marguerit enter the room with a nutrient block. Oh, right. This was Ryley’s Cyclops. She had spent the night in the middle of the open ocean.

“Happy birthday,” Marguerit said, ignoring Sam’s panic. She tossed the nutrient block at her as she walked past, through the door and onto the bridge.

The food bounced off of Sam’s hand and landed on her bed. She picked it up and took a bite of the awful thing. It was clearly old, probably dredged up from whatever Ryley stored in here when he made the ship. Eugh. It was at least a past her birthday anyway.

Sam took another bite and stood to follow her friend. Open ocean lay out the front window, with a huge island smoking in the distance. A few more islands lay scattered around the volcano, all covered in ash to the point that even the small, stubby trees looked gray.

“Is Al-an sure it ain’t gonna boil us alive out there?” Marguerit voiced the question that had been plaguing Sam’s mind for a week.

She shrugged. “They say it is and Robin seems to trust them. You still made the modified dive suits, right?”

Marguerit nodded. She turned on her heel and led Sam back into the storage room. A dive suit, red accents instead of orange, found itself in her hands. She stepped back into the sleeping area to put it on. Marguerit stayed behind. A pang of guilt hit Sam’s chest. She tried to ignore the slight disappointment that came with it. This was not the time to think about her like that.

They left the Cyclops together. The water and air were both warm and honestly welcoming after the bitter cold of Sector Zero. About 100 meters away a cliff rose from the deep that led to a shelf somewhat like the crater the Aurora had crashed in. A small school of fish swam over the edge as if to study the humans approaching, only to flick back as soon as they were in range.

“Were those Hoopfish?” Marguerit asked, her voice muffled by the water.

Sam peered at the retreating school. “I don’t think so,” she replied. She pushed herself farther, seaglide straining to catch up to the fish.

Sure enough, they were in fact Hoopfish. Instead of being green though, they were orange. Fitting.

Farther into the landmass, more schools of fish darted around the open water. Sam snapped pictures of as many as she could, including what appeared to be a new variant of Peepers. Their eyes were slightly smaller which made room for hard armor plating. Marguerit snatched one and stowed it away in stasis, probably for dinner.

Farther into the underwater landmass, larger fish became apparent, hiding among crevices in the sandy ground and swimming through the open water hunting. Sam took more pictures. An octopus looking creature with twelve tentacles, a mid-sized blue and orange shark, a new small herbivore.

As soon as they came within 500 meters of the islands, voices filled Sam’s head. All of them begged her for help, lamenting lack of sunlight and ash choking them out. They came from absolutely everywhere. Above her, below her, images filled Sam’s head. Darkness where only slivers of sunshine pushed through. The thrum of the deep ocean water and the magma below, superheating things beyond boiling until the voices could hardly cling on anymore.

“Sam,” a stronger, softer voice cut through the din.

Sam groaned. She couldn’t see where she was anymore, couldn’t tell where her body ended and the ocean around her began.

“Sam!” the voice came louder now, a hand on her shoulder jolting her out of the dissociation.

Sam opened her eyes. Marguerit floated in front of her, her Architect mask a bright, worried orange. The voices still flooded her brain. She couldn’t shut them out, shut them up she- she closed her eyes again, this time pushing herself forward. The touch grounded her. She needed more.

Marguerit made a surprised noise at the sudden contact but she didn’t push away. Sam couldn’t bring herself to worry about anything else, any awkwardness. Slowly the voices faded back into a background hum as they were at home. They still panicked, cried for help. Just not so loudly anymore.

When Sam opened her eyes again the water was clear. Sunlight shone down on the humans, warming them. Or maybe that was the geothermal activity. Whatever it was, it helped relax the woman. Thank god.

“You alright?” Marguerit spoke quietly.

“I am now, yes,” Sam nodded. She sighed and pushed herself back. “Just got a bit overwhelmed there for a minute. I’m-” she thought for a moment. “I’m alright now. Robin is just getting to me I guess.”

She laughed nervously and glanced at her companion. She couldn’t see her face behind the mask but god, she could just imagine the skeptical look she was getting. She just… couldn’t bring herself to tell her yet. If… plants… were talking to her. She’d sound insane. Maybe she was.

Still, Marguerit seemed to believe her. She turned and kept swimming, farther into the area. The sand sloped up significantly here, leading to a coral reef that absolutely teemed with life. It was truly reminiscent of the shallows from Ryley’s crater, just… much busier. Crowds of fish swam every which way around strange coral formations that almost looked like flames. Sam scanned one and, upon prompting from her PDA, named it Scorch Coral. Her first named species! Robin was going to be so proud.

Sam followed Marguerit around the area for hours just photographing and scanning absolutely everything. Soon, hunger began gnawing at Sam’s stomach. Right, she hadn’t finished that expired nutrient bar… crud. She opened her mouth to suggest heading back to eat that volcanic Peeper when a large shape caught her eye.

It wasn’t a leviathan by any means but it was large. And circling them in the water, clearly looking for its next meal. Sam nudged her friend and pointed down to the shape. Marguerit nodded.

“We ought to head back. Sun’s gonna go down soon anyway.”

Sam gave her a thumbs up in agreement and started back toward the Cyclops beacon. Every time she glanced back though, she could see the shadow of the shark behind them. Jeez, it seemed desperate.

They were halfway back when Marguerit stopped them to take a drink. The shadow approached and Sam knew she had to do something. It was looking for a meal and Marguerit either hadn’t seen it or didn’t care.

“Hey, watch out, it’s still following us” Sam said out loud.

Her companion glanced at her, confused. Sam pointed but the shadow was gone when she looked again.

“What?” Margeuerit questioned.

“Uh,” Sam stuttered, confused. It had just been there, had it dodged? Did it know she had seen it? A fish couldn’t be that intelligent or persistent, right? “I thought I saw that predator again is all.”

Marguerit hummed but didn’t reply otherwise. She turned around in the water to look for it but, as she had said, the sun was setting now. The water grew darker with every second. Something pink flashed to Sam’s right.

She dove forward, shoving Marguerit out of the shark’s line of attack. It latched onto Sam’s foot instead and she cried out in pain. Her grip tightened around Marguerit’s waist and then-

Pieces of the beast began falling off in chunks. The entire thing just… disintegrated. Piece by piece it fell into the dark water below, leaving the skeleton to fall apart after. The water filled with blood and gross fish guts until the only thing left at Sam’s leg were some teeth buried in her skin.

“What the fuck,” Marguerit’s voice came from above Sam’s head.

“Um.”

Suddenly, they were in motion again as Marguerit hooked her arm under Sam’s and began dragging her toward their vessel. Sam didn’t fight back. She stared down to where the shark had fallen. It was like it had just decomposed on the spot! But that was impossible! Right?

The world was a bit of a blur by the time the humans made it back to the ship. Sam swayed in place, clinging to Marguerit to stay standing. Her head spun and every limping step to the nearest chair was agony. By the time she was sat down she could hardly hold her head up.

“I lost blood?” she tried to ask. She couldn’t tell if she’d said it out loud or not.

‘Yes,’ the voices answered. Or maybe it was Marguerit. Sam couldn’t tell over the haze of pain as the shark’s teeth were pulled from her ankle.

When Sam came back to herself she was sitting down in the bridge. The ship was moving, albeit slowly, back toward home. Marguerit stood, stock still, at the wheel. Her mask sat on a table that she must have constructed.

“Thanks for patching me up,” Sam said out loud. Her voice came quiet, to her barely audible over the hum of the ship’s engine.

Marguerit seemed to have heard her anyway. “It’s nothin’,” she replied. She turned then and looked Sam over. She felt hot under the other woman’s gaze. “How’re you feeling?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m fine now. It doesn’t hurt as badly now that I’m sitting.” She looked up at her friend and then away, unsure.

“Good. Keep sittin’ then.”

Silence filled the room again. Marguerit turned back to the window and kept driving. Should Sam bring it up? That was weird right? Did it have something to do with her? She had no idea.

“Thanks, by the way,” Marguerit spoke up again. “I would’ve been lunch if you hadn’t done that.”

Sam smiled. “Of course. I told you prison toughened me up!”

Marguerit chuckled. The ship slowed to a stop and she turned around. “We better get some rest, especially you. That bite was nasty. Well- while it lasted.”

“That was… that was weird,” Sam added. She let her friend help her up and walk her into the next room to her bed.

“I’ll say. I’ve never seen anything like it,” the older woman agreed. She moved to sit down on her own bed.

Sam sighed and shook her head. She gazed down at her leg, now wrapped in a bandage. “I have no idea what that was… It didn’t happen with that Reaper a few months ago. I would’ve known.”

Marguerit hummed thoughtfully. “Well… maybe something was different this time.”

Sam nodded slowly. “Maybe. I mean…” she thought back to that night. “It was dark then. I was alone. Um…” she paused.

Wait… hadn’t she been… “I wasn’t hungry that night either. I never did finish that nutrient bar you gave me.”

She glanced up to see Marguerit regarding her carefully. “You didn’t eat anything else? Are you serious girl?” The woman made a move to stand but Sam reached out, closing the distance between them to grab her arm.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” she told her.

Marguerit peered at her, clearly suspicious. “You lost blood. And you haven’t eaten at all today. You need food.”

“No! No, I promise you I feel… honestly kind of full? Food is just about the last thing I want.”

Marguerit didn’t move to stand again so Sam retracted her arm. That was really strange now that she mentioned it. She remembered her stomach growling before they decided to head back. But now… even with the loss of blood she felt perfectly fine? Overfull even.

There was only one thing left to do. “We should replicate this,” she voiced her idea.

Marguerit looked up from her PDA, which she had pulled from her hip. “You really think you did that?”

“There’s only one way to find out if it was me or just a freak accident. Wait until I’m hungry and let something go after me. If it happens again then… I guess I have more to worry about than I thought,” she explained.

“If you’re sure…” Marguerit agreed, too quiet. “I’m not sure this is… natural.”

Sam snorted. “Of course it’s not. Nothing about me is natural anymore. I just- I have to know if I really did that.”

Chapter Text

Robin’s head swung toward the bulkhead excitedly as soon as she heard the handle turning. Sam was back! And that meant exciting new pictures to pore over; a very welcome change of pace from the same seven camera feeds of the glacial basin. At this point Robin was about ready to ask Sam to automate her Spy Penglings. Actually…

The woman’s train of thought came crashing to a halt when the door actually opened and Sam limped inside. Her right leg was wrapped in a bandage that basically came up to her knee and she was leaning heavily on Marguerit.

Robin shot to her feet, anxiety tightening her chest in an instant. “Sam!? Are you ok? What the hell happened?”

“You should tell your sister to quit gettin’ bit by creatures,” Marguerit said flatly. She smiled though, ever so slightly.

Sam rolled her eyes in response, smiling despite the obvious pain she was in. “See Robin? This is the thanks I get for saving her butt.”

Worry gnawed at Robin’s heart further despite Sam’s lighthearted attitude. She had been attacked? What the hell! ‘I should have gone with them…’ she thought to herself. Better for her to get hurt than Sam. What if something worse had happened? She had Al-an’s advanced healing rate to her advantage, something that her sister had adamantly refused.

Marguerit stepped back with a nod, letting Sam lean on the wall on her own. “I better get back and check on the greenhouse,” she said with a curt wave. She turned and pointed at Sam. “And I better not see you until Al-an approves you for swimmin’, you hear me?”

Sam chuckled. “Yes, yes, I know!” She waved at the closing bulkhead.

As soon as Marguerit was gone, Robin stepped into her place. She slid her arm around Sam’s waist and let her sister lean her weight on her. The older woman, whose arm found itself around Robin’s neck, gave her a light squeeze.

“I can take care of myself, you know,” she said. Robin frowned.

“I know but-” she cut herself off and sighed. There was no point in arguing. “Just please be more careful, alright? You’re lucky Marguerit was there.”

The pair began the trek to Sam’s bedroom together. She didn’t seem to have that much trouble walking, at least once she actually got going. Ryley appeared from the hallway and gave them a surprised look that quickly dissipated when Sam waved at him.

“You ok?” he asked, glancing back down at his PDA.

“Just a hungry shark, I’m fine,” Sam explained again. “Hey, at least this way I can’t do Robin’s chores for a while!”

Robin gasped and Sam leaned more heavily against her for a second, bumping her hip against her sister’s. Robin squeezed back and glared down at her. “You bitch!” she exclaimed through barely contained laughter.

“Jerk!” Sam replied in turn. She looked up and stuck her tongue out before the pair continued on, past Ryley.

His PDA started ringing, the sound muffled now by distance and the hallway. Probably another thing from the Earth union. People didn’t bother him often but it was clearly enough to annoy the poor man. Robin would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little proud of him for taking so much action and responsibility though.

“I’ll call you when I wake up,” Sam informed her as she sat down on her bed. She stretched, though her injured leg stayed tucked up close to the edge.

Robin nodded. “Sounds good. And you had better not try to get up on your own or I’ll tell Al-an to sit here and stare at you,” she teased.

“Oh no, what a terrible threat!” Sam shot back, sticking her tongue out. “If I recall, you’re the one who tried to leave the hospital after- when you broke your arm.”

“Hey, I was seven! You’re old.”

Sam’s face fell for a second and Robin worried she had gone too far. She began to laugh though, relaxing them both. “I am not!”

Robin kept her smile as she left the room, shutting the bulkhead behind her. She could hear the last of Sam’s quiet chuckles. They were on good standing again. As long as she didn’t bring up… that.

Back in the main room, Ryley sat at the table facing the hall. His PDA was propped up on a makeshift stand, a call open. His face was slack and emotionless, save for the tears streaming down his face. He looked startled when Robin appeared.

“You ok?” she mouthed at him. He shook his head.

“Um- uh- I just-” his voice came out strained and too high-pitched. “Something just came up- that I uh, need to- take care of,” he stuttered. “I’ll be- right back.”

In one swift motion the young man pushed a button on the screen and stood up. Robin moved in, arms open to offer a hug. He shook his head.

“Can- can you-”

“What do they want?” the woman interrupted him.

“Um. Access to- just initiation. For um, a library.” Without another word he shoved past her and disappeared into the hall toward his room.

Robin sat in his chair, still warm and took a look at his screen. He had muted himself but the call was still live. Alright, this could still be salvaged with a little bit of sweet talking. Robin took a steadying breath and unmuted.

“Hello, I’m so sorry about that, I’m Mr. Perèz’s assistant. There’s been some massive geothermal activity on our home planet so any alarm is a huge concern. Anyway, what can I do for you?” Nailed it.

A woman’s voice came out of the tinny speaker. “Oh, hello! Hopefully it’s not a total disaster,” she laughed breathlessly. “I’ve secured a call to ask about joining the Safe Library program.”

Robin nodded, though the woman couldn’t see her. “Oh, sure!” She said, quickly opening the home screen and then Ryley’s email. He wouldn’t mind if she wrote one thing in his name. “I’ll get an email sent right away and we’ll have someone meet up with you to give you a new PDA and get you into the network,” she explained.

“Ah, thank you so much!” the woman replied. Her voice sounded muffled as she called someone else over.

“No problem!” Robin began typing up something nice and formal that Ryley might say. “All I need from you is your names and general location. You’ll get what looks like an email about going out for coffee.”

A man spoke this time. “Sounds nice and subtle. I like it. I’m Jason Robinson, and my wife is Pietra. We’re located just outside of LA IV.”

The names froze Robin in place for a second. Oh. No wonder Ryley couldn’t hold himself together… She smiled to herself and finished the email to a local recruiter.

“Alright, that’s taken care of,” the woman informed the couple.

“Ah, thank you so very much,” Pietra said, still sounding breathless.

Robin grinned at the screen. “You’re so welcome! I’m happy to help. And uh-” she paused, hoping they wouldn’t hang up. Jason hummed curiously so she continued. “Well I’m just curious, why did you want to get involved?”

Pietra sighed. “Well… to be honest… it’s for our son. He was- he was on the Aurora. I think he would want us to fight for people like him. Alterra needs to step up and do better.”

“That’s a really, really good reason,” Robin replied. “I think he would love to hear it.”

“He would,” Jason agreed. “He was a good guy. Oh! Before you go, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Ah, that’s classified for safety. Sorry!” Robin chuckled awkwardly. She shifted in her seat, anxious to go check on her friend. “Have a good day! Or night, haha.”

The couple thanked her again and the call ended. Robin stood up as soon as it was over and made a beeline for Ryley’s room, his PDA in hand. It was times like this that she hoped he would agree to joining the Network. If she could just reach out and feel for him, tell him she was there before she got to him physically…

She found him sitting on his bed staring at his hands. His shorts and white tee shirt coupled with the dark room made him look extra dramatic. He didn’t look up until Robin knocked. She smiled gently and waved; her companion smiled slightly in return.

“Hey,” the woman said, finally entering the room.

“Hi,” Ryley choked out.

Robin joined him on the edge of the bed and he almost instantly leaned into her. She wrapped her arm around her friend and held him there for a few quiet moments. Worry about him and then other, less pressing matters began to swirl in her head. The knot of anxiety tried to form again in her chest but Robin pushed it down and squeezed Ryley tighter.

“You ok?” she asked to get her mind off of herself.

Ryley nodded. “Yeah. That just… caught me way off guard. What did they say?”

“They wanted in the library program. I got things rolling for you,” Robin explained. She glanced away and smiled. “And they mentioned you.”

Ryley straightened up at that, pulling away slightly. “Wait, really? What did they say?”

He looked so earnestly curious. There was an excitement and… hope in his expression that Robin hadn’t seen in a long while. “Well, I asked why and they said it was to honor you. I didn’t tell them, of course. But I thought you’d like to know about it.”

“That’s… really nice to hear,” the man whispered. He leaned back in to let Robin keep holding him.

~~~

Daisy took a deep steadying breath and readied herself to open the office door. She just needed this to go smoothly and she might have a real job! Well… a real internship. Her chances as a high school student were slim to none but with this college ID… they wouldn’t check, right? Most places didn’t.

The young woman finally got up the nerve to push the office door open, revealing a rather cramped space with three desks. Four small windows adorned one wall, allowing natural light into the drab space. Another door against the far wall presumably led into another office or maybe a bathroom. A lone woman sat at one of the desks. Shit. Maybe if the girl just backed up quietly-

Dr. Ayou looked up and smiled when she caught sight of Daisy standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Hi! Can I help you with something?”

“Shit!” Daisy said out loud. She covered her mouth, surprised with herself. “Um, yeah. I’d like to apply for, um, a job?” At that she slipped fully inside and let the door fall shut behind her. She was in too deep to back out now.

The scientist didn’t seem fazed at all and smiled warmly, beckoning Daisy over to her desk. The girl approached, nervous with her wallet clutched in her hand. She smiled and tried not to stare too hard at the other. This was the first time they had met in person though…

Instead Daisy decided to look at the desk. Papers and random pictures of fantastical plants and animals littered the surface to the point that most of the metal surface couldn’t even be seen anymore.

“Here-” Dr. Ayou dug around in an equally messy drawer for a moment- “I’ll take a peek at your ID and have you fill out some application paperwork. Are you looking for a job or an internship?”

The question was innocent but shit- did she really look that young? Fuck, hopefully that wouldn’t affect her chances.

“Oh, I guess internship,” she clarified. “Probably should have said that first, huh?”

“No worries! I’m just checking,” Dr. Ayou handed the girl a small stack of paper and took her ID in return.

Daisy wandered over to one of the empty desks. It was much, much clearer than Dr. Ayou’s. The teen nervously busied herself filling out the paperwork with mostly true information. By the time she finished, the other woman had gone back to her own work. She looked up and smiled again at Daisy’s approach. She took the application papers and shuffled through them briefly. Her expression gave away nothing more than mild judgement. Probably.

“Great! I’ll get these worked out later. I just have a couple more questions if that’s alright?” Dr. Ayou said.

Daisy’s stomach twisted but she nodded. “Sure!”

“Great, let’s see…” Dr. Ayou paused and looked down at the fake ID. “You’re going to school in California? What are you doing here if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh! Right, well, I’m on a family vacation and we were in the area so…” Daisy paused, still trying to read the other’s expression. “I figured I’d cover my bases.”

Dr. Ayou nodded thoughtfully. “Fair enough. What are you studying?”

Daisy perked up at that. Finally! “Botany! Xenobotany specifically! I’ve always wanted to travel and discover and cultivate new species!” She grinned, hoping her enthusiasm might get her somewhere.

“That’s great! Botany is underrated honestly,” Dr. Ayou said with a smile. “So, one last question.” Her expression softened and she finally handed the ID card back.

“Ok?” Daisy prompted in the uncomfortable pause.

“I just need to give the school a call and make sure they’ve got their ducks in a row for an internship. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

Fuck. Shit. Other swear words. This was bad. Any answer was a bad one. If she said yes then the one person she wanted to impress would be disappointed. If she said no then she’d be found out AND caught lying. Well, shit she’d be caught lying either way right? Confidence was key.

“No, that- you can do that. Yeah,” she finally replied. Her entire body felt tense.

Dr. Ayou chuckled softly, shaking her head. Her expression softened farther. “Listen Daisy, I know you paid a lot for that thing but I’m not easily fooled.”

Fuuuuuuuuuuck. It was over. She was so cooked.

“Tell you what,” the older scientist continued. “You go put this to good use, buy some cannabis or alcohol or something, and in two years I’ll give you a call. Deal?” She extended her hand and Daisy anxiously met her gaze.

“I’m- sorry,” the girl replied. She cautiously took the other’s hand and shook it with practiced firmness, just like Dad taught her.

Dr. Ayou actually laughed at that. “Don’t worry about it. I was doing way worse stuff than applying for jobs when I was your age. Coming here shows you’ve got ambition and I like that. A lot.”

The woman’s expression was kind and earnest, her smile loose. Daisy let herself relax then and let the compliments sit in her chest. “Thank you! I’ll keep an eye on my phone on my birthday!” she joked as she stood to leave.

Dr. Ayou stayed at the desk. She probably had a ton of work left to do. At least she was nice about being bothered. That was… something. The two said their goodbyes and Daisy finally took her leave. As soon as the door shut behind her, she let herself fully relax.

That was a nightmare. A hopeful one but still… Ugh. She leaned back against the metal wall next to the office and rested her head in her hands. God, what had gotten into her? Why had she thought that would work?

“You know what!” Daisy said out loud to nobody. She glanced back at the door and hoped the woman inside hadn’t heard her. “Maybe she’s right. I gotta forget this.”

~~~

Something felt off as Ryley landed Nocturnal at the Ranchers’ designated meeting spot. Al-an shifted part of their attention into the cameras outside and noted that only Thora, Ogden, and Viktor stood outside to greet them. Had Beatrix not said she would be there as well? They distinctly remembered that in the email sent to Robin’s PDA that Al-an had definitely not read without her.

They waited patiently for their humans to gather themselves. Robin paced near the door, unease rolling off of her in waves. She could clearly sense something was wrong too. Ryley seemed unaware, his expression thoughtful as he slipped his boots and then gloves back on. Al-an warped to meet them at the door.

Outside, Thora smiled and waved as usual. Viktor nodded in the visitors’ general direction, expression somber. Ogden smiled as well, looking quite exhausted. The ranch itself seemed somewhat devoid of life despite the slimes bouncing in their corrals. Even they seemed less gleeful than usual. Something was just far too quiet.

Al-an shifted their attention to Robin, who glanced back at them. She frowned. Ryley hung back, staying near Al-an’s hind legs.

“Hey,” Robin returned Thora’s wave. “We’ve got the trade you requested. Everything ok?”

Viktor sighed but Thora was the one to answer. “Well… no. Beatrix has been missing since last week.”

“Oh shit,” Ryley whispered.

“We’ve scoured the whole range but… nothing,” Ogden added. “I was hoping you, with your uh, alien tech stuff, could take another look Al-an?” He turned to face the Architect with a sad, hopeful smile.

“Make sure to check in any vaults you find around the place!” Thora added. “I’m sure she’s just got herself holed up somewhere and is doing just fine.”

Al-an’s chest tightened at the news despite Thora’s assurances. That was terrible! “I would be glad to help. Though…” they paused, anxiety still eating at them, “I hate to ask this but do you think she may have fallen into the sea?”

Viktor shook his head. “The rescue service is still online. I made sure it was in my control before we took over the planet. Beatrix has a… terrible habit of falling off of cliffs.”

Ogden nodded in agreement. “Last time she was hurt out in the Ancient Ruins for a week before Mochi found her…”

Al-an physically nodded, horror rushing through them. They turned and warped away with their new task, leaving Robin and Ryley to finish the trade. As they were leaving they heard Robin speak up.

“Is there anything else we can do?” she asked.

“Well, actually-” Thora started. Al-an switched their attention completely to the land around them.

They bolted through the ranch with a low-range scan running through their processors. They slowed to a trot as soon as they were through the gate and began warping back and forth through the landscape. Every once in a while a slime would try to attach itself to Al-an’s legs but this time they came prepared. They stopped at any rock or tree that looked suitable and scrapped the creatures off. They couldn’t afford to get stuck again.

Worry turned to fear by the time the Architect made it to the end of the areas that Beatrix had shown them before. There was absolutely no sign of her. No trail, no footprints, no blood, no life signs. Nothing. There was only one more place to check before heading back. Whatever was through the portal sitting in the building in front of them.

Curiosity got the best of them, of course and they couldn’t help but scan the portal. Even without Beatrix present they couldn’t forget their mission. Al-an let the Network run through portal types in the background and stepped into the field. A pinprick wormed into the back of their mind as they scanned, as if something else had hijacked the Network to watch their research. It faded nearly as soon as they recognized it. Odd… But they couldn’t worry about that now.

The air was much, much hotter on the other side. They had entered a desert. If Beatrix was lost here there was certainly no hope for her. Still, even if they found the worst it was still an answer.

Al-an followed the hallway and found themself outside on a huge ramp leading into the desert proper. There was still no sign of Beatrix. Though… this place was fascinating. Huge glass structures rose from the sand likely made from some kind of meteorological event in the past. Ruins lay scattered around surrounded by strange oases. More slimes than Al-an had ever seen went about their lives in the greenery of the springs.

That wasn’t important right now though. They would need to avoid the shimmery “safe zones” for now, if only to avoid being encased in slime again. Still. Al-an trotted everywhere they could reach. Their scans revealed nothing with every turn. By the time they reached the edges of the island, another inactive portal in front of them… they turned up nothing.

Though… there was one thing they could do. They did have the materials for a full-planet scanner on them. It wouldn’t hurt, even to look for a sign of life or some kind of technology.

Al-an constructed their scanner as quickly as their arms would allow and immediately tried to initiate. It didn’t work. They tried again and it still didn’t work. Hmmm… Something about this place blocked the signal.

They would need to head back to the ruins. Fortunately, at a full gallop it took a mere 15 minutes to make it back to the other side of the first portal. Al-an rbolted outside the structure and onto the landing. They set their scanner back up and tried a third time. This time it worked immediately and began scanning outward.

Data streamed through the Network as that pinprick sensation returned. Most of the life signals were slimes, though as the scan progressed Al-an could see their companions moving around Nocturnal with three extra blips. Even farther away, Al-an detected another person, most likely Mochi.

Finally, the scanner found an island all the way across the planet with several signs of the Ranchers’ unfamiliar Alterran tech. Hundreds of concentrated slime life-signs blurred together and made it impossible to tell if Beatrix was actually there. There was only one way to find out.

Al-an stopped the scan and concentrated. They reached out, jumping from one piece of tech to another until they reached one of the strange items on the island. Luckily, it seemed to be some kind of communication device.

Several minutes later the line picked up. Beatrix’s face appeared in a camera feed, looking surprised, excited, and a few other things Al-an couldn’t place.

“Hello? Are you GG?” she asked, leaning toward the camera. So she couldn’t see them.

“No, this is Al-an,” they answered. “Where the hell are you?”

Bea gasped and leaned back again. She looked just the same as when Al-an had left. “Oh! Oh my gosh hello! Thank goodness you found this, it seems like I can’t make any outgoing calls!”

“I could tell, since your friends are incredibly concerned for your wellbeing. So I ask again. Where the hell are you?” they repeated themself.

Beatrix looked away, behind her. Al-an could make out some corrals and a house, all surrounded by glass walls but not much else. “Oh! This is a place called Rainbow Island! I found a boat on my ranch that took me here,” she explained. She looked down and sighed before continuing. “Can you… can you tell Viktor and Mochi that I’m sorry?”

“I can, but I think they should hear it from you,” Al-an replied. “You just… took a mystery boat?”

“Well… yeah… there was a note! I should’ve… it was late in the evening and I thought I could get back. The boat won’t go now,” Beatrix clarified.

Al-an “sighed”, which sent a soft ‘whoosh’ through the speaker. “I see. I will pass on the contact information for this terminal to the others so you can speak with them again,” they told her.

“Please…” Beatrix looked away again, obvious regret painted on her face. “I do feel bad about it.”

Chapter Text

Deep space passed slowly outside Nocturnal’s front window, Andromeda III’s airspace drawing closer with every second that passed. Robin swung her feet up on the desk in front of her. She stared blankly at her PDA, which sat on her lap open to a news site. She couldn’t focus on reading though, not when worry about Beatrix ate at her.

A message from Al-an popped up. Robin jumped slightly at the noise and opened the message.

’I have located Beatrix on an island across the planet. She is safe with no way home.’

The relief of the new information only lasted a second. There was another undiscovered island on the Far Far Range? And how the hell did Bea strand herself there with so many other people on the planet? Robin sighed and let her head fall back against her chair. Another question surfaced.

’How did you know I was worried about that?’ she asked her partner. His only reply was a ‘shush’ emote. Robin smiled softly at her screen. Jackass.

Slow footsteps distracted the woman from thinking of a reply. She tilted her head farther back to watch Ryley walk in juggling two mugs and two plates. He walked slowly, his tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth in concentration. It took over two minutes to make it across the room to Robin’s desk.

She pulled her legs from the surface and took a plate from his arm, stacked with eggs from Thora and toast. He visibly relaxed as soon as the load was gone and carefully set one of the mugs down.

“I made you coffee,” he told her as he walked over to his chair. Instead of sitting though, he nudged it over to the desk with his foot.

Robin smiled. “Thanks. I’ve been craving it for an hour.”

The pair started eating in silence. Fresh eggs tasted like absolute heaven. Some kind of jam-like substance covered the toast. It was probably the sweetest thing Robin had ever tasted in her life. This must be the royal jelly that Ogden offered.

“You sleep well?” Robin finally broke the silence.

Ryley nodded and then swallowed. “Yeah, considering. You?”

“Yeah. I had- I woke up a couple hours ago and couldn’t go back to sleep so… I’m out here.”

Telling him about her nightmare was pointless now. After all, it was only a dream and she knew that, no matter how real it felt. She was just sick of watching Al-an beg for help practically every damn night.

They finished their meal together in comfortable silence. Robin sighed, finally satisfied as she finished hers and turned her attention back to her news articles. Now that she had eaten maybe she could focus. Maybe.

Nope. Her harsh, annoying ringtone disturbed the peaceful quiet on the bridge. An unknown number was calling. Uh oh.

Ryley leaned over, his head resting against Robin’s shoulder to see her screen. “Are you gonna answer?” he asked.

“It’s probably a scam,” she told him. She didn’t entirely believe herself. “I’ll fuck with them a little at least. That’s some entertainment.”

True to her word, Robin answered the call. The line picked up and she put on her best “totally innocent, normal woman” voice.

“Hello? Who is this?”

The voice from the other line was more of a shock than she was prepared for. “Robin? Is it actually you?” Lil asked.

What? What the hell? “Lil??” Robin replied, absolutely shocked. “How did you get this number?”

The older woman huffed. “You sent me that photo, remember?”

Right… she forgot about that. “Yeah! I did, didn’t I? What’s up, why are you calling?”

‘How are you calling, actually?,’ she thought, though she kept that to herself. They were still in the middle of deep space. Al-an’s tech was something else…

“I want to know what the hell you think you’re doing? How could you be so irresponsible as to get CAUGHT? I don’t know what exactly it is you’re doing out there but you cannot be so reckless as to put yourself and your- your companion in danger!” Lil began ranting. “I swear if-”

“Hold on!” Robin interrupted her friend. “What the hell are you talking about?”

A beat of silence passed. “Oh, yes I’m getting ahead of myself aren’t I? Does the name Dr. Hubert ring a bell?”

Oh shit. So that’s what this was about. Robin glanced down at her shiny new desk, which she thought went really nicely with the white and gold scheme of Nocturnal’s interior. The anxiety that breakfast fought off slipped back in and hugged her chest.

“Um,” Robin finally replied.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Lil said before Robin could think up a proper excuse. “He could have recognized you! You know you’re a decent enough name in the scientific community! Come on, Robin! You have to have more care doing these… things.”

“But-”

“I knew exactly who he described. If you hadn’t had that mask- I don’t even want to think about what could happen to you. You must take more caution,” Lil continued, ignoring Robin’s protests.

“Um, actually,” Ryley finally spoke up, “in her defense the whole thing was my idea. And we did get away in the end. If Alterra was going to catch us, they’d have done it by now.”

“Thank you…” Robin whispered to him. She nudged him with her elbow.

“Well, thank you for that information, er…” Lil trailed off.

“Ryley. Aurora guy,” he told her.

“Right. Thank you Ryley, Aurora guy. Don’t think I’m letting you off easy either!” Lil insisted. She sounded more frustrated than she really needed to be.

“Lil, come on. Ryley’s right,” Robin finally got a word in. “We got away, everything is fine. The guy didn’t even see us and our ship ID is masked. It’s not a big deal!”

The other woman gasped. “Not a big deal? Are you serious? What are you doing?”

“It’s-”

“I have to go, my next flight home is almost here,” Lil interrupted. “Just- please be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if I found out something happened to you.”

“Hang on, how do you even know about-” Lil hung up before Robin could finish her sentence. “this…”

Robin groaned, shoved her plate forward on the desk and let her head fall where it had been with a loud thunk. There went the rest of her good day…

~~~

The last two days of the trip passed more peacefully. In fact, basically nothing happened, a fact that had apparently made Robin go a bit stir crazy. She had even offered to bring Ryley on her “morning jog”. Running in circles around the cargo hold just didn’t sound fun so he had refused her. He valued his sleep more.

Now that the long part was over, they would reach their destination within a few hours. Ryley did his best to look relaxed in his command chair. As much as the Ranchers trusted this gov, he couldn’t bring himself to yet. What if they saw their criminal records and decided to arrest them? The man sighed and turned his attention back to his PDA for the fifth time that hour.

Before he could try reading again, Robin spoke up. “What’cha reading?”

Ryley shrugged. “Just whatever available info. Pretty boring.”

They sat in silence together for a couple more minutes. The words on the screen began to blur again. Ryley chanced a look at Robin. She was staring off into middle distance out the front window, chin in her hand. Her eyes flicked to meet his and he dodged her, back down at the screen.

“You ok?”

He let the words hang there for a moment. He knew it would feel stupid out loud. “Yeah, just nervous I guess,” he answered after a few seconds. “I’ve literally never been to another gov.”

When he looked back up, Robin had a thoughtful look. She smiled softly when their eyes met. Ryley glanced back down, then up again at his friend. She slid her chair closer to his, drawing him into her side.

“I have, and it’s not that bad. They’ll just take our cargo, we’ll help them load up. Probably talk to whoever handles commerce and then they’ll send us back home, no problem,” Robin told the man.

Ryley sighed and let himself fall into her. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” His arms snaked around her waist and hers rested atop his shoulders, holding him there.

Twenty minutes passed but Ryley’s back started to hurt after ten. A beep on the console finally separated the two. Their target planet, Sadus, was making contact. This was it then.

Robin took a steadying breath and Ryley moved back fully to his own seat to wait out the call. The comm line crackled and then a voice spoke from the other side.

“Sadus Air Control to Unidentified Alterran vessel, please state your names and intentions.”

Robin’s back straightened. “Hello, my name is Dr. Robin Ayou. My companion is Mr. Ryley Robinson. We’re not with Alterra and we are here to deliver a trade for the Slime Ranchers of the Far Far Range. Ms. Thora West told me she called ahead of us?”

Ryley waited, holding his breath, as silence stretched on. He could barely make out the quiet tapping of the Control Personnel probably looking them up. They were bandits, outlaws, criminals in Alterra’s eyes. That was all that would come up on a search, right?

“Thank you Dr. Ayou, it does appear Ms. West spoke with Donnovan yesterday about you,” they finally answered. “Though I would like to inform you that your vessel is marked as stolen by Alterra. Are you aware of this?”

Ryley’s heart sank. He hadn’t even thought of that! Of course, they never expected to be entering another gov’s space. He glanced at Robin, who looked completely unfazed by the news. How could she be so calm dealing with this? Thank hell she was here or he would have been screwed.

“Shit, are you serious?” Robin exclaimed, sounding overly exasperated. She smirked at Ryley before turning back to the console. “There was a mistake when we bought it and I swear I’ve tried three times to file to get it fixed!” she lied.

“I’ll add a note to the email I’m sending Donnovan to get that taken care of for you. For now, please follow landing procedures, follow the guides to dock at 1-17-B and exit your vessel.”

“I’ll get right on it, thank you so much. Have a good day!” Robin replied and immediately hung up.

“I’m- I didn’t think about that. Sorry,” Ryley spoke up after a beat. He laughed nervously as the large, Earth-like planet grew larger outside.

Robin grinned and leaned over to punch him in the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Lying is easy.”

Ryley took over control and, just as Robin had said, followed the onboard instructions guiding them to the dock. It was situated in a massive gray building, split into two sections, erupting from the sandy landscape that must have housed at least 20 bays in each section. From a distance, the planet had looked mostly green, even in the developed spaces, with a few of these sandy areas scattered around near green, almost overgrown cities. Now all Ryley could see was the sand with a city rising from the forest in the distance.

One of the doors opened up, revealing a room big enough to house Nocturnal. Ryley wondered what it would take to hold a ship like Aurora. That had launched from open air. As he considered the question, a set of huge magnetic arms reached out to latch onto the ship, pulling it into place. The door shut behind them with a loud clank and a whoosh as oxygen flooded the bay again. Damn. That was the easiest landing they’d ever made.

Robin was already up and headed for the door by the time Ryley gathered himself and the ignition key. Her face stayed calm, neutral, but her swaying side-to-side gave away nervousness to match Ryley’s own. They weren’t meeting more rebels this time. This was official.

The woman held out her hand to him, an offer he quickly took. She took the lead down the hallway from the ship’s airlock and then down the stairs. The bay itself was fairly uninteresting. Boxes piled up around the walls along with supply cabinets that looked like they were full of tools. The wall to the left was labelled 1-16-B, and the one to the right 1-18-B. The forward facing wall was mostly made up of window, which continued to the ceiling, showing off the space around them and a nearby planet. Underneath that sat a simple door, too far away for Ryley to read the label.

A group of four people, all in plain green flight suits waited at the bottom, hands clasped behind their backs. One of them, an older woman with graying hair pulled back into a bun, stepped forward. Her sharp gray eyes scanned over the travelers for a moment before she spoke.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to Sadus and welcome to Andromeda III. Donnovan is on the way to meet you. We are going to perform a routine inspection on your ship and the cargo, then we’ll unload for you,” she explained.

Ryley’s chest tightened but he nodded. He couldn’t bring himself to speak; when he glanced at Robin, she smiled and nodded along with him.

“That’s fine, thank you!” she said.

She led the man down past the crew and onto the dock floor to wait for this mysterious Donnovan. Ryley listened anxiously to the sounds of four pairs of boots headed up to his precious ship. That thing had become his baby in the nearly two years that he had taken care of it.

He didn’t have long to worry about what the strangers would do with Nocturnal. A short person stepped through the door across the way, closing it behind herself. She had dark skin and a curly undercut, the longer part of which was dyed purple. She wore a red knit vest over top of a nice, pressed white shirt, along with slacks and smart-looking shoes.

“Hello there! I’m Donnovan, you two must be Dr. Ayou and Mr. Robinson?” the woman said as the group met in the middle of the room.

Ryley glanced at Robin, who squeezed his hand before letting go. “That’s right. We’re here on behalf of the Ranchers of the Far Far Range,” she told the other woman. “Looks like your people have got the cargo covered.”

Donnovan nodded. “Yeah, the crew is pretty damn good,” she turned to Ryley. “They’ll take good care of your vessel. But while they’re working on that I want to get to know you. Why don’t you follow me? We’ll take a shuttle to my office.”

Robin moved to protest but Ryley stepped up instead. “Sure, that sounds good. We’ve been cooped up way too long in there.”

“Great!” Donnovan exclaimed. She turned back to the door and started walking, Ryley only a few steps behind her with Robin now in tow. “I won’t keep you too long, I’m sure you have someplace to get back to.”

Robin huffed. “Yeah, we do,” she replied, suddenly curt and tense. Ryley’s chest tightened, worried that he had pissed her off. She grabbed his hand as they walked though and, when he looked her way she smiled and squeezed his hand again.

Donnovan led the pair through the door she had come in, out into a bustling lobby. Ryley stared around in awe, noting lines of doors lining the opposite walls, each leading to another dock. The ceiling was made of glass, letting bright sunlight into the large room. Greenery rose up from a long planter in the center, which was surrounded by benches and tables, almost all full with people working on laptops or reading on their PDAs.

The trio headed toward another door on a far wall that led into a hallway that turned after about 15 meters. The hall opened up into another concourse, this one much smaller than the main with a similar aesthetic. People bustled in and out of shuttles that presumably led to the city off in the distance. There were far more people in this lobby alone than Ryley had seen in years. Robin pressed herself up against him now, just as uneasy around all of the people. She kept his hand in a tight grip until Donnovan dodged to the left and led them into a miraculously empty shuttle.

All three relaxed as soon as the doors slid shut. It was small, less like a bus and more like a small transport pod. Four seats lined the short walls, two on either side. Donnovan sat down on the left and held a small device up to a terminal opposite the door. Ryley finally let go of Robin’s hand and took another chair on the opposite side. Robin took a third next to the door.

Donnovan pulled her device away and the shuttle started moving. “So!” she started. “Where are you two from?”

“Alterra,” Robin answered, still sounding curt. “Formerly, of course.”

“I hear that a lot,” Donnovan laughed. “Where are you based from now? I understand you at least have the means to meet my friends on the Far Far Range.”

“Oh, just some backwater planet out in the middle of nowhere,” Robin said casually. Ryley could hear the tension in her voice behind her short laugh.

The vague reply didn’t seem to deter Donnovan at all. When Ryley glanced at her she was still smiling; she leaned forward with her hands clasped in front of her, elbows on her knees.

“You’re on your own? That’s impressive!”

Robin shifted and crossed her arms. “Not entirely. At least, there’s more than just us two. My partner, who is usually our pilot, is back on the Far Far Range looking for Beatrix. There’s a couple more people who’ve ended up with us through happenstance.”

She was talking about Sam, right? Ryley supposed Marguerit counted as that happenstance too though. Robin told him how they had met at one point but the story escaped him now.

Outside, the sand gave way to grass, and then a small forest. The city was no longer visible through the twisting, full trees. Most info Ryley could find on the planet described it with an oxygen heavy atmosphere. Had it been terraformed? He should’ve paid more attention to that.

Chapter Text

Soft rain pattered against the roof of one of Mochi’s many houses. Al-an had spent most of the week engaging in deep conversations with Viktor that lasted far too long into the night for the human. The young man was intelligent on a level that matched Robin and had impressive knowledge on a wide range of topics. He lived in a laboratory that was littered with half finished projects. When they weren’t discussing their respective scientific endeavors Al-an loomed over the human’s shoulder while he excitedly showed off his robotics projects.

The other ranchers kept to themselves for the most part. Ogden had asked Al-an over for a rather awkward lunch. He was good company but the Architect’s inability to eat had clearly made him uncomfortable. Thora at least sent a starmail to ask what sort of things Robin and Ryley might like to take back home. Unlike the others though, Mochi never attempted to reach out. She made it clear that she wanted to be left alone after Al-an initially dropped the news of Beatrix’s safety to everyone. Worry over the young woman sat in the back of the Architect’s mind though. It was clear that she was close with Beatrix and, though they hadn’t been told directly they could surmise that the pair were likely together romantically.

Finally, after a week and a half, Al-an decided they had waited long enough. As much fun as they had talking with Viktor, someone needed to check on Mochi. Thora was strangely unconcerned and Ogden seemed hesitant to talk about the young woman.

A quiet rainstorm had rolled in overnight while Viktor slept. Water rolled off of Al-an’s back onto the dry ground underneath the overhang at Mochi’s front door. They considered shaking themself off when they heard the sound of stomping coming from within the building.

“I thought I told you guys to leave me alone!” Mochi yelled without opening the door.

“I know,” Al-an replied, keeping their tone as even as they could. “I am simply worried about you.”

Silence bore down on the alien as they waited for the human’s response. Seconds passed that turned into minutes. Al-an waited patiently. After another minute they knocked again.

“You don’t gotta worry. I’m fine.”

Her tone indicated otherwise so Al-an persisted. “May I please come inside? It is wet.”

“No!” Mochi shouted again. “No, I’m fine I don’t need whatever pity you wanna give me!”

“Have you called Beatrix yet?” Al-an changed the subject. They would speak whether or not she let them in.

Viktor had called Beatrix almost as soon as Al-an shared her contact information. The Architect spent the hour the two talked listening to the conversation and poring over one of Viktor’s inventions, something that looked peculiarly like an Architect item.

“Why should I?” Mochi finally replied, again after waiting two minutes.

“She informed me that she would like to speak with you,” they responded immediately.

Mochi huffed behind the door. “Yeah, well I don’t want to talk to her. So. Fuck off.”

“I understand-”

“You don’t understand shit!”

The door opened and the girl on the other side looked terrible by human standards. Al-an recalled how Robin looked when she lost sleep. Mochi’s hair hung down around her shoulders, looking as though it hadn’t been brushed in several days. She had massive bags under her eyes and her face looked how Ryley’s did when hhe had just finished crying. Still, the young woman glared up at them with her usual ferocity in her eyes.

“She knew! She knew how I feel, what he did to me!” she yelled, stepping fully out now. “She knew and she still fucking left!”

Al-an took a step back as Mochi advanced on them, finger pointed up at them.

“My shitass father dumped me out here and I thought-” she paused there as liquid pooled in her eyes, spilled down her cheeks. “I thought she got it! I thought she understood!”

Mochi’s resolve seemed to break then, and she turned back to the house. Sobs wracked her small frame but she stood there, facing in. Al-an stood there, processing.

Finally, they spoke. “I believe I understand more than you would expect. I was left by my people, alone for a millennium. By a people I thought I could trust, even with my imperfections.”

They stood alone together, quiet in the rain and Al-an wished they could read the girl’s mind. She kept her back to them, rendering her completely unreadable. Her shoulders still shook though. A few more seconds passed, and then Al-an stepped forward until they had to duck back under the dry overhang.

“I understand your pain. I still think it would be wise to speak with her. Beatrix is not an unforgiving Directive or a cruel father. She is a human, who has made a mistake.”

Mochi turned around and, without a word, wrapped her arms around Al-an’s leg. They let out a quiet sound, a purr of soft, worried affection. One of their mechanical arms swung down and plucked her off of their leg; they transferred her to their physical arms and held her close to their chest.

“’M sorry I yelled at you… you aren’t really involved with us,” Mochi finally mumbled. She pushed back against the alien’s chest, allowing her to look up at their face.

Al-an returned her gaze for a moment, studying her face, committing it to their memory banks. Of course, they made a mental note to study her appearance more closely later, when she was in better physical condition.

“Thank you,” they replied to her after another beat of silence. “Robin and Ryley are likely to be gone a while longer. Please contact me if you require assistance.”

“I don’t-” Mochi stopped herself, sighed, and looked down. Back at Al-an’s chest, the water that dripped from it from the rainfall leaking through the overhang. “Thanks.”

~~~

Apparently this Donnovan lady just didn’t know when to stop. She had bombarded Robin with questions about their life for most of the shuttle ride to her office. Where did they come from? What were they doing with the Ranchers? Who else lived with them? All far too invasive for Robin’s comfort. She had spent the time dodging everything the woman could throw at her.

The capitol building was much more grand than anything Alterra had to offer. Robin had to crane her neck to try to get a peek of the top of it. The cone-shaped structure took up most of the city center, surrounded by other, smaller office buildings of similar shapes surrounding it. Windows lined the walls on every floor and every other bit of free wall space was taken up by plants.

Inside, the lobby opened up almost immediately; a large, circular room with doors lining the walls, presumably leading to office spaces. Three elevators stood in each cardinal direction, leading to the rest of the building. The top of the dome, instead of plants like Robin initially assumed, was actually a skylight, letting in natural soft light from the sun outside. It shone like a spotlight onto a statue of a spacecraft in the center of the room.

Donnovan led Robin and Ryley through the room and toward the north elevator. Robin couldn’t help but stare at the statue as they passed it. Native plants surrounded it, small pink and purple flowers that Robin was sure she had studied before lined the bottom. A smattering of sunflowers surrounded the ship itself. A small plaque underneath the statue read ‘In loving memory of the Sunbeam, and all ships lost in space’.

Well, that was nice. Ryley clung to Robin’s hand the entire elevator ride, his own shaking and clammy in hers. At least he was just as freaked out by all of this as she was. What the hell did some government official want with them anyway? Sure, they had a criminal record but if the Ranchers were anything to go off of, that shouldn’t matter. This was supposed to be an in-and-out affair.

The actual office itself was very modest for a head of government. Both walls were covered in art and photos of space, probably places around the system. The back wall was one big window, curtains opened to reveal a nice view of the city outside. A couple of tables against the wall held plants and a few papers, a filing cabinet sat next to the table on the right. A nice, wooden desk sat against the windows. The desk space wasfree of clutter, though a few pens laid off to the side of a penholder as if they had been forgotten there. The computer screen in the center of the desk remained off, the only indication it was there being the silver strip of metal at the edge of the desk.

Donnovan stepped around the desk and slid into her swivel chair behind it, leaving the three in front open for her guests. Robin took the one on the left and Ryley slid himself into the middle. His hand stayed clutched in Robin’s, clinging to her as if his life depended on it.

“So,” Donnovan started, clasping her hands on the surface of the desk, “now that we have a hair more privacy, I’d like to talk about a few more things. I’m sure you guessed, but I looked you up.”

Robin tensed, her grip on Ryley’s hand tightening. “What do you mean?”

Donnovan smiled as if that would do anything to ease Robin’s nerves. “I know how that sounds but you have to understand, I take special interest in Alterrans, especially ones the ranchers are sending us. They’re already a special case by themselves, as I’m sure you know.”

“We aren’t Alterran. I made sure of that before I left,” Robin snapped. She glared daggers across the desk.

“You filed an official request?” Donnovan leaned forward then, her gaze sharpening.

Robin frowned. “Why?”

“What planet were you born on?” Donnovan turned the computer on then, the screen popping up with files that Robin couldn’t quite make out backwards.

“I’m not answering that. If you want to know, you can look can’t you?”

The woman sighed and nodded, turning toward her screen. Her eyes scanned the hologram for a moment before she nodded. “Mars. Right? You filed for independency from Alterra only, yes?” she finally said.

Robin nodded. “Again, why? Sure, they arrested me for a while but that shouldn’t count for anything. I requested before that.”

“I do see the date here yes, but were you aware that you’re a dual citizen?”

Robin’s heart skipped a beat. “No.” she answered simply.

Donnovan turned back to her, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? You grew up there, didn’t you? You would have learned it in school I’m sure.”

“No? It’s Alterran. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I grew up on Earth anyway,” Robin repeated. Mars was in the same damn system as Earth, Alterran through and through.

The other woman’s face tightened. “They don’t… alright. Each planet in the original system is owned by another gov. It was part of the Charter agreement, all of the existing govs at the time could claim one planet. Andromeda, as it existed at the time, took Mars. You belong to Alterra and us.”

Robin felt like she had been dunked in cold water. Shock ran down her back, chilling her to her core. Schools had never taught that. Sam never mentioned it before. Did Ryley know? He gave no indication when she glanced at him, just stared at the table squeezing her hand like he wasn’t even paying attention.

“Sam would’ve told me,” Robin finally said out loud.

Donnovan’s gaze rested on the desk for a moment and she sighed. “I doubt she knew either then. I’m… sorry. That you had to find out today. And… I’m terribly sorry to hear what happened to her.”

Robin sighed and her gaze slid from Donnovan to the desk between them. She should probably tell her. “Right- she- her death was um, greatly exaggerated. She’s with us now.”

When Robin glanced back up in the silence, Donnovan’s shocked expression met her. “Oh!” she finally exclaimed. “Well, I can look into that matter when I have a chance too. That’s very unusual…”

“Yeah.” Robin said, her voice coming out softer than she meant it to. A sick feeling pooled in her gut. “Anyway, just- you’re the head rep or whatever, can’t you fix my records now? Since apparently I needed your permission too.”

Donnovan sat up straighter at that, elbows resting on the table with her hands clasped together in front of her face. “So… yes. I can do that for you. But I want you to reconsider it. We aren’t Alterra and we can offer you protection-”

Robin held her free hand up, stopping the other woman in her tracks. “I don’t care. I’ve chosen independence from any trans-gov.”

“I know but-”

“No!” Robin nearly shouted. She leaned forward, practically rising out of her seat. “Can’t you take a no? I don’t need your “protection”.” She made sure to give exaggerated air quotes to emphasize her distaste.

Ryley squeezed her hand tighter, drawing her back into her seat. She squeezed back, though whether to reassure him or ground herself, she didn’t really know.

“I’m not trying to be pushy, but it is a good idea to have someone behind you. We can’t fund you necessarily but I’m sure your home planet has things to trade. Or, hell, if you just give us reports on your findings as you explore, we’ll support your expedition endeavors,” Donnovan insisted.

She turned to her computer screen again and started typing. Robin chose to take the quiet time to seethe. Alterra made the process seem so easy, they’d sent their approval, and then she had taken off to 4546B. Nowhere had they mentioned that she needed an entire other gov’s permission, one that she had never even heard of until now.

When she spoke again, Donnovan sounded sad. “I’ve removed your Alterran citizenship like you wanted, but I’m going to keep you in our databases for now. I’ll let you go home and think about it, talk it over with the others there. In three months I’ll send you an email and, if you still want, I’ll remove you. No strings attached.”

Robin stared at the desk. Was that really the best compromise she could get? For a moment she thought about arguing more. If she had just a few more hours she could talk her down, make her just cut her loose. But Ryley was starting to shake ever so slightly. Her nerves and her argument wouldn’t help him. She gave his hand a squeeze and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll still have the same answer but- sure. Whatever works for you,” she finally answered.

Donnovan smiled at that and leaned back in her chair. “What about you?” she asked, turning to look at Ryley. “I checked, you’re out of their jurisdiction but I can offer the same protection to you if you want it.”

Ryley squeezed Robin’s hand again and took a deep breath. He looked on the verge of tears, his voice quiet and shaky when it finally came. “Can I think about it too?” he asked.

“Of course! Please, take your time,” Donnovan agreed. Her computer screen disappeared as she spoke, the hologram blinking out of existence. “I called in a favor so you’ll both have lodging for the night and you can take our trade back tomorrow. Anything else I can help you with while we’re here?”

What the hell else was there? She clearly didn’t listen to refusal, no matter how blatant and direct. Ugh, Robin needed a second.

“Nothing of that much importance, no. But I do need to use the restroom.”

“Of course! Down the hall to the right, third door on your left,” Donnovan said. “It’s labeled.”

Robin nodded and stood up abruptly. Ryley’s sweaty hand slipped from hers and, for just a moment, she felt bad about leaving him alone with a stranger. He would have to make do though; she knew he could.

~~~

They both awoke suddenly to the sound of Robin’s scream. Soft red light from the creepvine outside poured into the makeshift bedroom and they were warm. Too warm. Sweat beaded on their shared forehead as Robin panted, panicked from the dream they had both been ripped from.

As soon as she realized where she was, that she wasn’t still on the side of that road, the woman curled into herself as tightly as she physically could. Al-an felt the distant discomfort of her back complaining after their long day. The sensation was second to the sheer panic gripping their chest.

Hyperventilated sobs poured into the pillow as Al-an could only stand back and watch. Robin normally calmed rather easily and quickly after a bad dream, a nightmare as she called them. They were never quite so vivid though. Al-an realized quickly that she needed help.

“Robin,” they spoke into her mind, doing their best to keep their mental voice soft and their presence welcoming.

The woman whimpered in response and buried her face deeper into the pillow. Al-an could no longer see anything except the faint afterimages of the wreck that played over both of their minds. She couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself in this state.

“Robin…” they tried again. This time, they reached out and touched her in their best attempt to give the feeling of someone sitting close, a gentle rub on her shoulder. Her presence felt utterly tiny. The Architect gleaned as much information as they could of Sam’s own comfort from Robin’s memories of her childhood.

“I am here with you,” they continued speaking after a moment. “I will keep you safe. You are in your base on the planet 4546B, safe in your bed.”

According to Robin’s memories, Sam always provided such information. Assured Robin of her safety. She would hold her and, though Al-an could not do so now, they would do their best to envelop Robin’s terror with their own deep calm. The gentle tide of the empty Network to soothe the fire of her.

“Want Sammy…” Robin finally choked out between the sobs that shook their body.

Anguish gripped Al-an’s metaphorical chest. More Robin’s than their own. She missed her sister, the steadiness of her hands and the certainty of her reassurance.

“I know you do,” the Architect answered. “I dearly wish she could be here with us. She would certainly do a better job of helping you than I can.”

Robin hiccuped at the poorly timed joke and, for just a moment, Al-an worried that they had overstepped. Her fire, however, seemed to be dimming, calming in the light of a small jest. Slowly, her mind leaned into theirs and for a moment they were one. Al-an let themself envelop her, let their mind wander to whatever good things they could recall from their long life. A particularly interesting study on a distant planet. Faded images of other individuals they worked with. Creatures that they thought might pique her interest.

“Al-an?” After nearly thirty minutes, Robin spoke into the warm silence between them.

“Yes?”

“Do you think Sammy went to heaven?”

The question gave them pause. Heaven? That was a new concept. Architects were simply… erased when they died. Their memories uploaded to the Network permanently, as simply uncredited data. An achievement of the Network itself. For a fleeting moment Al-an felt as though the two were being watched but the feeling was gone before they could chase it. Likely a fish outside the window.

After brief research using their connection to Robin’s PDA, the alien came to a conclusion. The concept of heaven was rooted so heavily in religion that, at this present moment, they couldn’t hope to fully understand it. Further research on their own, once their body had been acquired, would be necessary to truly give Robin an answer.

“Al-an?” Robin broke the momentary silence again. She sniffled and pulled the scratchy blanket tighter around them.

“My apologies,” Al-an replied softly. “I needed to process and conduct research. While I cannot be certain where Sam went after death, what I can say is that I believe she is watching out for you, and she cares for you very deeply. And I believe seeing us here would make her very happy, no matter her circumstances.”

The Architect felt the corners of their shared mouth pull up and they let out a metaphorical breath of relief. Their answer was satisfactory. Robin closed her eyes again with a mumbled “mmkay…” and left them in silence again. Neither would sleep any more that night.

~~~

Ryley could hardly focus on the conversation happening in front of him. Every time he tried to pay attention to Robin’s words all he could hear was the horn, the rush of the ocean, the explosion. The only thing keeping him from falling into a full panic attack was the periodic squeezing from Robin. Her sweaty palm in his keeping them both grounded.

Then she left. He forgot where as soon as she said it and the afterimages returned in full. Avery’s voice, the last words he would ever speak, had remained locked behind so many doors in Ryley’s mind. All of them were blasted open now. Ryley could feel the sand under his feet, his knees hitting the ground again as he could do nothing but-

“-you alright? Robinson!” Donnovan’s still unfamiliar voice cut through the memory.

Ryley’s head jerked up to meet her gaze. He could hardly see her through the tears he hadn’t realized were falling. He couldn’t speak anymore. He tried, of course but his voice refused to come, words caught in his throat.

The woman across from him reached out, offering her hand across the desk. “The formality made you nervous, didn’t it?” she asked.

Ryley hesitated. He wanted to take the offered comfort, even if Robin might get mad. Donnovan seemed nice. Besides, he was the one having the panic attack in her office. It would be rude to refuse.

Finally he nodded and, after wiping his hand on his pants, reached out to meet the offered comfort. Donnovan smiled then and gently squeezed his hand. “If there’s anything you need to talk about, I’d be happy to help,” she said. “I have a feeling we’ll have a few minutes alone.”

Again, Ryley hesitated to consider it. The physical contact had definitely grounded him but he didn’t think he could bring himself to talk to her. He nodded. A blank sheet of paper and a pen found themselves in front of him. Ryley’s mind raced with horrible thoughts, the memories still barely kept at bay.

‘I watched them die.’ he wrote. His hands shook so badly he worried she wouldn’t be able to read it.

Donnovan slid the paper across the desk. Her brows shot up in surprise. In any other circumstance Ryley could’ve sugarcoated it.

“I’m not sure who you mean?” she asked as she slid the paper back to him.

Ryley picked up the pen again and, after another shaky hesitation, wrote one word. ‘Sunbeam.’

Donnovan’s expression fell before Ryley even had the chance to give her back the paper. “You- Avery said they were going after a wreck.”

Ryley nodded and wrote again. ‘I didn’t know what shot Aurora down. Couldn’t shut it off. Didn’t know until he was there. I’m sorry.’

He couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. The guilt of it all had eaten at him for all these years. He buried it, of course, and hoped it would never come up. Silent sobs wracked his body and he started to rock back and forth in the chair. Where was Robin? He wanted her to come back so they could just go home, he could forget again.

“God-” Donnovan finally spoke and she sounded just as choked as Ryley felt. “I can’t- I can’t imagine what you went through out there…”

Another beat. “Thank you for telling me,” she finally said. “Thank you. Avery was… a wonderful man. He was my- my best friend.”

Ryley reached out for the pen again and wrote ‘sorry.’ He couldn’t think of anything else to say though he was sure if he could speak he would just repeat it until he died.

“No, no, no don’t be. None of that was your fault at all. You don’t need to apologize to me for this,” Donnovan rebutted. “Do you mind hugs?”

Ryley shook his head. The woman stood up and made her way around the desk. Her hands were gentle as he let her bring him to his feet. She was a few inches shorter than him and it made for… a really nice hug. Her arms wrapped around the small of his back, allowing him to wrap his around her shoulders and press his face into her shoulder.

The pressure of the hug eased most of the panic. Robin wouldn’t be sleeping alone tonight if Ryley could help it. For now though, the hug worked and he found himself able to take a deep breath for the first time in at least an hour.

“I’m happy to know he died trying to help someone,” Donnovan finally said, pushing back until they parted. She sighed and stared down at the desk. “He always told me he hoped he could use his pilot’s license for good.”

Ryley nodded. He sat down and picked up the pen again, still finding his words gone. ‘He gave me hope for a while. And then I survived so I could make sure it wouldn’t happen to anyone else.’

The office door opened, surprising both people inside. Ryley turned and caught Robin’s eye. She seemed surprised but collected herself quickly and fell back into her cool, nonchalant attitude.

“I’m ready to get some rest and maybe dinner if you’re uh, both ready.”

Donnovan nodded as Ryley stood up. “For sure! Oh, and I’ll transfer one of you some credits to order dinner. Normally I would take you out somewhere but I’ve got some late work tonight.”

Chapter Text

“You sure this is gonna work?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “It worked with that other shark.”

Marguerit huffed in return and, when Sam glanced at her reflection in the Seatruck’s front window, she had crossed her arms. “I’m just sayin’, if it bites through that armor you’re done for even with me sittin’ there keeping watch.”

Sam’s grip tightened on the joysticks. She parked in the open ocean and sat for a moment, quiet. Al-an assured her the padding they fabricated together could resist far past what damage a Brute Shark could even dream of.

“I haven’t eaten at all today. It has to work,” she finally said.

The Seatruck slowed to a halt over the deep water of the tree spires. A shark swam back and forth beneath them, going about its fishy business completely unaware of its fate. Sam took a deep breath and stood up from the pilot’s seat. She couldn’t let her morals hang her up on this, she had to know. Her left glove found itself discarded on the console.

She turned to face her companion, who still sat cross legged on the floor of the extra module. The older woman sighed and stood slowly to join Sam outside. Wordlessly, she swam a few meters away and waited while Sam set up her experiment.

The thick forearm guard fit perfectly, just as Al-an had said it would. She avoided their questions about her experiment when she asked for assistance but they were sure to question things again soon. There was still time to come up with an excuse, though asking them for more help with her research was pretty tempting. Regardless, Sam had designed the guard to mirror the ones used to train police dogs back when humanity still relied on them for so-called “security”.

The Brute Shark hadn’t seemed to notice Sam’s presence 15 meters above it so she cautiously sank a bit lower. Clearly, that worked. The animal twisted its body sideways, eye catching the human’s, and then it flicked its tail and spun around completely. Perfect. Sam held her protected arm out to the beast, baiting it in. It rushed toward her just as eager for a snack as she was for results.

Something human sized slammed into the creature, knocking it completely off its course. Sam yelped, her own balance knocked off by the sudden interruption. Yellow blood stained the water and the beast roared. It swam away quickly to either recover or die on its own, leaving Sam and Marguerit almost alone in the bloodied water.

An Architect face erupted from the yellow mess left behind, burning orange through the cloud. One with a distinct ponytail behind it. Robin slammed into Sam; her right forearm bashed painfully against her chest as her hand tried to find purchase in her skin-tight wetsuit.

“What the FUCK are you doing?” Robin’s voice was muffled by the water, yet she yelled loud enough that Sam could almost hear her perfectly. The mask quickly shifted from orange to deep, burning red that Sam hadn’t even seen on Al-an before.

“Robin!” she yelled back. Frustration bubbled up in her chest. “It was fine, I was just testing something!”

That seemed to infuriate the younger more. She let go and pulled back, crossing her arms in front of her chest while her legs kept her afloat. “Testing what? How fast a fish can kill you? What were you thinking?”

“Marguerit was right there, I would’ve been fine!” Sam retorted. She crossed her own arms for a moment but she wasn’t nearly as used to living underwater as Robin, and she quickly had to readjust herself as she started floating off balance.

“So what, she could watch you get eaten?” Robin retorted.

Sam turned around to ask for backup but Marguerit had already made her escape. She was a mere speck in the dark water now, pulled away by her Seaglide. Dammit. She understandably didn’t want to get involved in the sibling feud but Sam could’ve used the alibi.

She turned back around to face her still clearly seething sister. Even without her face visible, Sam could imagine the expectant look, waiting for an explanation. How the tables turned over the years… Would this have happened a decade ago? Sam tried not to think about that. She still needed an excuse.

“I needed to test this synthetic skin somehow!” she finally exclaimed. “Let’s just go home.”

She turned and swam toward the Seatruck without waiting for a response. Robin caught up inside and stood there dripping while Sam started up the engine again. Silence bore down on the pair, only marred by the engines humming along toward home.

“So? What was that really all about, then? You can’t seriously just be “testing synthetic skin” or whatever,” Robin finally asked.

Sam let out a deep breath. “You said you don’t want to know.”

Robin huffed and there was a wet slap as she sat down. “Yeah but- come on, you’re putting yourself in front of a fucking shark! What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Al-an and I made synthetic skin for a project I’m working on. I needed to test it,” Sam explained again with a huff. “It doesn’t matter what else I have going on. At the end of the day that needed doing.”

“That sounds like bullshit and you know it.”

Sam tightened her grip on the controls and urged the machine forward faster. It didn’t obey of course. If she could just get home they would ignore each other until Robin got over this. She had asked not to know. So Sam wouldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t mention that Sandra was on her- their way home now to spend a few months with their family. Or that they hadn’t found any answers yet.

“This is something I would’ve pulled you know,” Robin broke the uncomfortable silence again.

Sam’s chest tightened at that, anger boiling in her gut. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for some kind of response to that. Her sister was ultimately right, of course but what the hell prompted her to say that? She wasn’t that different than before. She wasn’t!

Finally, she took a deep, steadying breath in and held it, letting her anger bunch up in her chest. Of course she wasn’t acting right. She had died and now her life had turned itself upside down. She had every right to be a little risky, to take chances and test her new “abilities”. So she let the breath out and the anger with it.

“How was the trip?” she asked as she pulled the Seatruck into its dock.

Robin stayed quiet for a moment until Sam turned around in her seat. She was leaned against the wall in the storage module with her knees tucked up to her chest and her arms crossed in front of them. She had pulled up the mask so it sat on her head, obscuring the top of her ponytail.

She looked exhausted. Worry took hold in Sam’s heart then as the silence stretched on. Something was swirling in her sister’s mind, more than just Sam’s own reckless behavior.

“Did you know that we’re dual citizens?”

Oh. What?

“No?” Sam replied after a second of shocked silence. “Where- who told you that?”

Robin finally stood, still facing the wall. “The government official that met us looked me up. I guess. She said her gov owns Mars.”

“But…” Sam paused, confused. “Mars is Alterran. I mean it’s-”

“In the same system as Earth, yeah. Ask Marguerit if the Mongolian States own another planet. Apparently it was part of the Charter deal.”

Sam pulled her PDA from her hip and sent a short message. She could be mad at her abandonment later, that really was honestly understandable. Surprisingly, the older woman replied within a minute. ‘Venus. Why?’

Sam hummed. “I’m not surprised Alterra didn’t teach us that part of the Charter in school…”

Robin finally turned to face Sam, her gaze vacantly focused toward the older’s belly. When she finally looked up, their eyes met and Sam could really see the exhaustion behind them.

“Did Mom know?”

Sam’s mind fell back through time. Thirty years ago, when things were simpler and easier and Robin was just her annoying but sweet little sibling. Their move to Earth in the aftermath of Dad’s accident and his passing. The promise of things getting easier for them all, Mom’s new job paying so well. It had still all fallen apart of course…

That made her wonder about this other gov. Would things have ended so badly there? They had no influence from Alterra to Sam’s knowledge. Mom’s job might not have been so cushy but, then again maybe she wouldn’t have- Sam knew how quietly angry she had been at Alterra after their handling of Dad’s death. Considering her own treatment in that prison, maybe Mom had done or said something…

“She wouldn’t have moved us to Earth if she had known…” Sam finally said.

Robin’s gaze shot up at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, tone sharp.

Sam shook her head. She didn’t know how much her sister remembered of their parents. She was only seven… five when Dad died. Still, if Mom had known she would absolutely have gone to Andromeda instead. Thirty years was a long time and Sam’s memory wasn’t clear anymore.

“Just- I don’t know. She would have told me if she knew. Did you tell them about me?” she avoided the question.

Robin frowned and then turned to finally leave, Sam following in her wake. “Yeah. Your death was “greatly exaggerated” so she’s going to reverse it and say it was an accident in the system or something. She wants me to stay a citizen with them too.”

The base was seemingly empty when they made it inside. Robin halted at the table and leaned forward to rest her hands against its surface. Sam followed, hanging behind her to stand with her arms crossed.

“You don’t sound happy about it,” she commented.

Robin turned, arms splayed at her sides. “No shit! After everything Alterra has done, you think I want any part of that? I’ll make her keep her word when she finally lets me leave!”

“I’ll do my own research but you really don’t want a safe gov to fall back on?” Sam rebutted. “If something happens to you they could help, couldn’t they? This isn’t Alterra.”

Robin began pacing at that. “No! Are you- you cannot be serious! I don’t care it’s not Alterra, they won’t give a shit about us regardless! Sam we are criminals. The second this Donnovan bitch figures that out she’ll either arrest us or drop us like hot coals! Come on…”

Sam sighed and uncrossed her arms to rest them on her hips, her gaze following her sister across the room and then back. Her mouth opened to answer but-

“She looked us up before she even got to the spaceport, you really think she would’ve invited us to her office and bought us dinner and breakfast and been so nice to us if she wanted to do anything to us?” Ryley interrupted before Sam could say anything.

Robin, who had paced her way back to the table, spun around on her heel to face the man, who stood in the doorway to their bedrooms with his arms folded in front of his chest. He stepped fully into the room and toward the front bulkhead.

“She could be waiting!” Robin yelled at his back.

He sighed. “You’re reading way too much into it. She just seems nice.”

“We can’t trust anybody out here except ourselves Ryley! You know that! Especially not a fucking government.”

Ryley rolled his eyes and opened the bulkhead. He turned one last time to glare at Robin. “I get it but I seriously think she means no harm to us. She helped the Ranchers and Beatrix told me they killed somebody.” He turned to leave and added, voice barely audible above the wind outside, “I need to go collect materials. I’ll be back before dinner.”

With that the door slammed shut and the sisters were alone again. Robin huffed and turned again to pick up her pacing. She stormed back and forth, back and forth. Sam sighed again and finally took a seat at the table.

“You didn’t have to-”

“Can you not?” Robin interrupted. “I’m-” she paused to take a deep breath. “How can you just blindly trust this?”

Sam sighed and looked away. “We don’t have another choice aside from staying away from all society.”

“Marguerit survived just fine doing that! She has a fucking toilet! Ryley didn’t get one of those! And he survived just fine without the help of a trans-gov,” Robin argued.

“He was in an emergency! We aren’t. Marguerit isn’t. She chooses to live here just like us.” As hard as she tried to keep it steady, Sam’s voice shook. “If we have help, funding, legal recourse, anything they can give us then are we not a bit safer? I’m happy I have something to fall back on now.”

Robin stopped in the middle of the floor and stood there with her hands clasping at her upper arms. Sam could see the fabric folding tighter with her sister’s death grip on herself.

“We don’t need anything to fall back on. We have ourselves.”

“I’m not getting any younger and neither are you.”

Robin’s shoulders rose and she spun again. She looked outraged and some small part of Sam was a little bit satisfied with herself. The younger stormed up to her chair and leaned over her.

“So fucking what? We have Al-an. He wouldn’t let anything happen.”

Sam stared defiantly back at her. “And what if they aren’t there? What if it’s something they can’t fix?”

Robin pushed herself back upright and scoffed. “That won’t happen.”

“You don’t know that.” Sam leaned forward.

“I don’t need some gov telling me what to do anyway. I was right about Alterra.”

“You aren’t always right about everything, you know,” Sam snapped.

“Oh shut the fuck up!” Robin yelled and threw her hands up in the air for emphasis. She began pacing again as she shouted. “I’m not old and I don’t need you being a fucking asshole!”

“I’m being logical!”

“UGH! No you’re not!”

“Well if you aren’t going to listen then I’m just going to go in my fucking room!” Sam stood up, shoving the chair she’d been in back against the wall. “You never listen to me anyway.”

With that she stormed past her sister and into the hallway. She wasn’t going to do this. Not anymore. If Robin wanted to be contrarian then she could do it by herself. Protection sounded great actually!

“I do listen you know!” Robin yelled at the top of her lungs from the other room. Sam slammed her door satisfyingly behind her.

~~~

Being alone in the middle of a deep underwater cave shouldn’t be so calming. This gave Ryley something to focus on, something to distract him from the tension back home. He needed more kyanite and nickel for repairs on Nocturnal. Most of the purple caves had been cleared out of resources already with Robin, Marguerit, and Alterra all poking their noses around down here.

The red crystals were gorgeous, which made up for the long trip. Ryley gazed around, mostly looking for the leviathan that haunted the area, though he couldn’t help but let his eyes travel around the cubic crystals. He would sigh peacefully but he had forgotten his Architect mask, leaving him with two air tanks and a rebreather. Just like the old days.

Ryley turned back to the ground and kept swimming. He allowed himself to be pulled along by his Seaglide so his eyes could scan the sea floor for shocks of blue. A chunk of nickel stood out against the bright red crystals and he swam toward it.

Robin had been… weird since Sadus. She had spent most of the trip back either sulking at her desk or pacing the cargo hold. Ryley plucked the piece of metal from the ground, stowing it in his PDA storage, and moved on. Of course, she had put on an expected brave face for the ranchers but the moment they were alone again she was back to brooding. Any time Ryley tried to bring it up she brushed him off.

Until several hours ago. She had gone off to find Sam, leaving Ryley to his own devices while Al-an did their own thing. He really hadn’t meant to interrupt their argument but… Donnovan couldn’t have been being malicious, could she? Not when she had been so kind about the Sunbeam. Hell, been so kind in general! While Robin spent hours pacing circles around the cargo hold by herself on the way there, Ryley had been reading up on the United Trans-govs of Andromeda. He spotted another piece of kyanite near the Architect fabricator facility and made for it.

They were nothing like Alterra. Citizen control was minimal, the government was its own entity rather than a conglomerate corporation, they had universal basic income. The list went on and on. Andromeda III specifically was known for their law school and ethical farming practices. Hell-

Ryley turned to move on only to be met with something bright blue. The Shadow Leviathan’s mouth opened, its mandibles reached for him, acid spit raining down onto the unsuspecting human. Ryley screamed and whipped his knife out to slash uselessly at its mouth.

~~~

Robin had been pacing around Al-an’s room for the last hour ranting to them, or maybe herself. It had begun as a rant to them but she simply had not… stopped. She started with her frustration with Sam and the apparent danger she had placed herself in. Al-an suspected she was going to use the arm guard she had requested for something strange or dangerous but they decided it best not to ask too many questions. Sam clearly knew what she was doing, though there was no telling what that was when she was left to her own devices for weeks on end.

Then Robin’s stream of consciousness turned to Andromeda III. Al-an performed a quick search on the human internet about them. For all intents and purposes they seemed like a nice trans-gov, quite respectful of their people. Far better than Alterra.

“I just don’t trust it!” Robin declared for the third time. “I mean, sure, Donnovan was nice and yeah, I shouldn’t have called her a bitch. I guess Ryley is right, she did buy us food and housed us out of her own pocket. But why does she want to get to know us so bad?”

Al-an raised their claw, ready to tell her that perhaps it was simply because Robin was an interesting person and Ryley was a well-known story among human society. They lowered their appendage as their partner completely ignored the indication and continued ranting.

“I don’t get why Sam trusts it either! They must have a prison system!” She paused and, quieter said “I should ask Ryley about that, he did all of the reading…”

In the beat of silence that followed, Al-an prepared a response. Robin picked up her pacing again and didn’t let them get it out.

“Still! She didn’t need to be getting sharks to bite her! There’s other ways to test skin. I mean-” she turned toward Al-an and motioned vaguely in their direction- “you probably have at least ten different ways to test resistance. Far safer ones than getting bit yourself!”

Al-an nodded and, once again, prepared to agree verbally.

“Ugh! I don’t get why she isn’t trusting me on this!” she switched topics again. “I warned her about Alterra and I was right! Then again… I guess I should talk to Ryley… he kept trying to ask my thoughts on the way home and I was too rattled to talk about it. I mean, he would be too if he found out his whole life is different than he thought! Right?”

Again, she turned to face them. “Dammit… he did all of that research and I didn’t even think to ask him about it. Augh, what is wrong with me?”

“Perhaps you are-”

“I should listen to him, I know I should! He trusts Donnovan’s word… Maybe I’m going about this all wrong…”

Al-an had been about to tell Robin that she may be tired and she should rest. That was often their advice but it was the actual issue more often than not. She seemed to be coming to a conclusion on her own now though. Perhaps they should see it out.

“I still think Sam should test that skin safer. If she wraps it in meat it’ll have the same affect as using herself as bait. She should know that…” Robin paused and stopped in the middle of the floor. She stared at the floor for a second before continuing. “I probably shouldn’t have kept yelling. She’ll understand though, right? I should go talk to her.”

A wave of pride washed over Al-an. She had come to her own conclusion without any input from them. Of course, she would have reached said conclusion much faster with their input. They would never say that to her face though! Stars forbid her wrath turn on them.

Robin turned and walked up to the Architect, holding her hands up in a gesture that made it clear she wanted to be held. They obliged without question. “Thank you Al… You’re the best,” she whispered once safely within their embrace.

Al-an purred, a soft clicking sound that emanated deep from within their chest. “I am happy to listen whenever you need me.”

They set the human down and let her walk toward the door. She turned, ponytail swishing against her back. Her gaze met their visual sensors. “Can you come? I might still need emotional support.”

Al-an stood and warped to the door, inches from Robin’s back. She stumbled a few steps forward in response to their sudden presence and stuck her tongue out. Wordlessly, they left the room together and crossed the base from Al-an’s quarters to the humans’.

Robin approached Sam’s door first and, with a final glance back at Al-an, knocked. Sam’s muffled voice beckoned the pair from inside. Robin took a deep breath and opened the bulkhead slowly. Al-an followed her inside, ducking through the small space as best they could.

Sam sat alone on her bed with the blanket covering most of her body. She had her back against the headboard which, to Al-an, looked rather uncomfortable. They noted a pillow behind her back to provide some padding at least. The human’s knees were pulled partially up to use as a resting place for her PDA. It looked like she was reading, though Al-an resisted the urge to stretch their consciousness and actually check.

“Hey…” Robin started, voice soft.

Sam looked up from her PDA and smiled. “Hey.”

“I’m… sorry about earlier. You just scared the shit out of me,” Robin continued at the acknowledgement. She reached back, feeling blindly for Al-an’s hand which they offered. “I’ve been… tired. And the whole thing with Andromeda threw me off.”

Sam stayed silent for a few minutes, her eyes on the PDA resting on her knees. She sighed and turned finally to look at her sister with a small smile. “Thank you. I-” she chuckled- “I know it looked insane but I trust Al-an’s calculations. They told me it wouldn’t break. I won’t do anything stupid like that again.”

Robin nodded. “Let me guess, it was Marguerit’s idea.”

Sam laughed, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Yeah, something like that. Sorry I called you old.”

“It’s fine, that just means you’re ancient,” Robin retorted with a giggle of her own. She finally made her way to the bed and sat down on the edge. “I’m just… these couple of weeks have been a lot.”

“I can imagine,” Sam said. She reached over and rested her hand on top of Robin’s. “I promise I had no idea either. And I’ll respect if you really do want to pull out of their systems.”

“Maybe…” Robin smiled down at her lap.

“The last months have been quite a ride,” Al-an finally spoke. “We have not had much time to rest.”

Robin’s smile disappeared but she didn’t argue. “Yeah. I mean, it was like a week and a half trip back, that was a ton of rest though.”

“Travel isn’t rest,” Sam argued. She must have noticed Robin’s shoulders tense because she quickly added, “But I know what you mean.”

Silence passed over the three for a moment, allowing Al-an more space to process. Robin had been incredibly tense since they discovered Sam. She had been fast-paced as long as they had known her but her constant activity was becoming worrying. Perhaps Sam would have more insight. That was a conversation for another time though.

“Have either of you eaten today?” Al-an finally broke the silence.

Sam looked startled. “No! I completely forgot I hadn’t!”

“No, not since I woke up before we got here,” Robin replied with a shake of her head. “But- hey didn’t Ryley say he would be back for dinner? Where is he?”

Chapter Text

In a world of constant work and stress there were far too few sacred spaces away from the grind of daily life. A person rarely got a quiet moment to themself. Especially in the cities on Earth, the heart of the trans-gov. Small towns still existed of course; if they didn’t Lil was certain everyone would go insane packed together like sardines. She certainly would.

Home with Brian and the kids was her only respite. Spending months away hurt more than anything. Brian worked hard but his job just didn’t bring in the money like Lil’s cushy government position did. If she had it her way she would stay on-planet and work short hours just to spend her limited time with them.

Brian had prepared a lovely dinner to celebrate his wife’s return home. The kids were, as usual, clinging to her sides and going on and on about their school adventures. The night would have been perfect if worry about her more lucrative work wasn’t pulling her out of the easy bliss she craved.

How many more times could she do this? How long until she asked the wrong question and her precious family, the only people she truly worked for, were ripped from her? She needed to cherish this, these rare moments but the thoughts kept nagging at her.

Brain noticed, because of course he did. After the kids went to bed and the adults were alone he held his arm out, offered his space to her. And a nice bottle of wine that they had been saving. Now that made things a little more worth it. Brian put a nice show on and the two settled for the evening on the couch.

They were both startled back to reality with a mostly empty bottle and the sound of Lil’s PDA ringing. Who in the universe could be calling at this hour? Lil’s heart dropped when she saw her boss’ name.

“Hello? Peter is everything alright?” she picked up the call trying not to sound too tipsy.

“Lillian? Lil, listen, I need you in the city at once!” Peter exclaimed. He sounded out of breath and like he was… outside somewhere?

“What-” Lil paused, gathering herself. She glanced at Brian, who rested a reassuring hand against her shoulder and grimaced in sympathy. She took a deep breath to continue her confused questioning but Peter interrupted.

“Someone said they’ve spotted an alien ship! A real one! I need you here to look for the creature that came out of it!” A car passed by, nearly obscuring the end of the man’s sentence.

Lil sighed and glanced at the bottle in her hand. “You realize I’m not really in a condition to drive, right? I can’t make it out and even if I could, I can’t work like this!” she explained, voice slurring a bit now.

“Right, right, I’ll call a rideshare then,” Peter insisted. Oh dear. “I need you out here.”

He hung up before Lil could argue any more, leaving her and Brian alone in the quiet house. “Well… I suppose I don’t have much choice then…” Lil muttered, glancing at her husband.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Suppose not. Tip the driver well and I think you’ll be fine. He’s got to send you back when he sees the state you’re in.”

“Maybe…” Lil shook her head. Peter sounded far too excited for this to be just another hoax that she could go home from.

Twenty minutes later a car pulled up in front of the house. Lil dragged herself outside, still in her clothes from the day before, and fell into the backseat. Her eyes met the drivers in their rear-view mirror and she could see confusion clearly written in them.

“I’m- so sorry about this,” she said and reached into her purse. A small handful of cash found its way into their hand.

The driver looked over the money and shrugged. “You must be real important to your boss then, eh?” they commented. Ew.

“Right…”

The trip into the city was awkward. Lil didn’t live all that far away, her and Brian had found a nice house in the suburbs when they married. But it was 3 am now, nobody was on the streets anymore and everything was a still, dark blur out the window.

Things got busier once they hit the actual city, though not by much. It was late, even for clubbing standards. Lil tried to keep her mind off of what most would be doing after dancing their night away. She downed the last of her bottle and stowed it in her PDA storage as the car pulled up to a random alleyway. She might need to hit someone with it; hopefully Peter for pulling her out here so late.

He surprisingly didn’t seem at all fazed by her… situation. They shook hands as usual and for a moment Lil wondered if he was going to hug her. Instead he pulled her behind his car and placed both hands on her shoulders, looking her seriously in the eye.

“A man was spotted leaving a 20th century telephone box in an alley near here with a woman. They headed north but nobody’s spotted them yet. Guy is in a brown suit with brown hair. The report didn’t really see the lady but she’s a redhead. Look for them or look for the ship. The lady may be a hostage.”

Before she could protest, Peter handed Lil a slip of paper with a street name on it and gently pushed her in a direction she assumed was north. Between her PDA’s map and the scrap of paper, surely she could find this supposed spaceship.

The city was truly beautiful at night if Lil ignored the other weirdos like her, wandering around drunk. The lights glistened and reflected from the pavement, giving everything a magical look. The January air was mercifully warm tonight since she had forgotten her coat. Her clothes were more than warm enough, though she would need to stop in somewhere soon if anything was open. Alcohol always made one feel warmer. Where had she read that? Somewhere in a book once, obviously, though-

Lil stopped in her tracks and looked to her right. A brown-haired man in a pinstripe brown suit sat inside the establishment with a ginger woman. Lil glanced at the sign. “Bob’s Buttys Open 24 hours Best in London”.

That must be her target. Why was an alien getting a sandwich? A sandwich… That sounded very, very nice. Lil nodded to herself and gathered her wits. She could knock out two birds with one stone this way. Have a lovely sandwich and potentially catch her supposed alien. Odd that he was in a human appearance… Though an advanced race could certainly disguise themselves, right?

Lil entered the shop and sat down at the bar, a stool away from the man and his companion. The worker, a plain looking older man with a black combover and matching mustache appeared from the back and waved at her. He looked exhausted and seemed to be the only person on shift.

“’Ello, welcome to Bob’s. I’m Bob. What can I bob- er, what can I get you?” he stuttered.

Lil hid her laughter behind her hand. “Hello Bob. Long night, hm? I’d like the uh-”

The signboard behind Bob’s head listed a host of delicious sounding bites, none of which Lil could pick in her state. All of them sounded so good… there was absolutely no way Brain would approve of her coming home with fourteen different sandwiches. Bob certainly wouldn’t want to go to the trouble of making all of them.

The “alien” looked up from his sandwich then. “I got the Tom Baked Bean. Bob did a damn good job on it too!” he said with a cheeky grin. “I’d highly recommend it, it’s like beans on toast but better!”

Lil laughed, unsure of who in the galaxy Tom Baked was. “Well I’m downright curious now that sounds… interesting,” she told Bob. “I’ll have the uh, what he said.”

Bob nodded and gave a tired “I’ll get right on it”. He turned around and got to work on her sandwich, leaving her to glance at the “alien” every once in a while. He seemed calm, just eating his sandwich. His companion however, was very much watching her.

Lil shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had to test the waters. Peter was counting on her.

“Lovely night for a sandwich, isn’t it?” she asked the man.

He looked up again, set his sandwich down and shot her a charming smile. “Certainly is! Best place in town, I just had to stop in and show my friend here.”

Lil nodded. “Who doesn’t love an early morning butty?” she agreed. “What’s your name?”

“John Smith, and this is my assistant Donna,” the man’s smile never left his face until he took another bite of his food.

Bob handed Lil her meal and disappeared into the back. She took a bite and smiled to herself. This certainly was one of the best she’d had in the city. Nothing really beat beans and bacon though. If work allowed maybe she would stop here again during the day. But that wasn’t important right now! She needed to sus out this alien. And find time to enjoy her meal.

“I’m Lillian, by the way,” she told the strangers after a couple of bites. “Dr. Lillian Bench.”

“Ooooh, doctor, eh?” John Smith replied. He glanced at her.

“Doctor of what exactly?” Donna asked, looking Lil up and down.

The woman’s stomach flipped as she realized the risk she was taking. Still, she kept her voice as chipper as she could at present. “Xenobiology! I’ve done remote research and on-planet study actually, though my specialty is the Architects.”

John’s full attention was suddenly on her. Lil could practically feel the temperature drop slightly under his sharp gaze. There was something far more going on with this man, even if he wasn’t an alien. He very much knew exactly what she was talking about. Bingo. If not an alien, then perhaps he was some kind of fanatic. It didn’t explain the telephone box though… Lil made up her mind right then to follow him when he left.

“You study them?” John asked quietly. He leaned forward in his seat.

Lil nodded. “Yes, I have for quite some time now. I’ve got a couple of papers out on my findings,” she elaborated, then paused. She had so, so much knowledge that she had put out there. And people still didn’t believe her. “I found so much information back on 4546B, you know! Where they conducted their research on the Kharaa bacterium in their final days.”

John seemed taken aback at that. “You’ve been out there?” Donna leaned over and whispered something that Lil couldn’t quite catch. Maybe she didn’t know where 4546B was. Odd.

Still, Lil nodded her confirmation and continued. “Yes, I was on a research mission out there and I found evidence! I found so, so much… You know, I was able to date some of the metal and the robots with the help of my good friend Sam! I think I’ve pinpointed the exact year they all died out!”

John was entranced. He had turned in his seat fully, baked bean sandwich in its last few bites as Lil continued. “By my calculations the last year they could have lived- and this is based on other findings from other research outposts. Dr. Sparrow Blackwing was kind enough to send me some samples shortly before the 4546B mission you see- and they must have pulled all research by around the Standard year 1405.”

“And they all got wiped out by a bacteria?” Donna asked. She looked thoughtful as Lil nodded. “Do you think any survived? At least one had to.”

“I know for absolute fact that one did. There might be more but I’ve only got the hard evidence for one,” Lil answered, keeping her eye on John as she spoke.

He looked thoughtful as he finished the last bite of his beans. Lil took the opportunity to scarf down a few more bites of her own sandwich. Bob had graciously given her a takeaway box while she rambled so at least she could make a quick escape.

Silence bore down on the odd trio for a few minutes, which allowed Lil a moment to finish some more of her sandwich. She eyed John as she ate. He stared off into the middle distance behind the bar they were seated at, face unreadable. He knew something about the Architects. If he really was an alien, did he know what happened to them? Had he met them before the bacteria? A thousand questions that Lil wanted to ask Robin’s Architect swirled to the forefront of her mind then. Did this “John” know any of the answers? Should she ask? Surely she wouldn’t come across as trustworthy. She was in rumpled clothes and was clearly a bit tipsy but she was still an Alterran and this man should certainly not trust her people as a whole.

Lil didn’t have a chance to make a decision. John suddenly sighed and stood from his seat rather abruptly, leaving Donna and Lil to watch him spin on his heel.

“Well, we ought to be going, right Donna? Lots to see in the city still!” John exclaimed. He glanced back at his companion who stood more slowly, the rest of her meal safely wrapped in a box.

They said their polite goodbyes and Lil waited an appropriate amount of time before she packed the rest of her food up and followed them out the door. The supposed spaceship was a short walk to the north so if John was smart, he would loop around from the south. Lil still glanced north and spotted a shock of red hair; Donna walked alone and took a left, headed away from the alley.

Lil took off south. She couldn’t well jog in her state, even though she had made sure to wear her good trainers. Even still, she rushed and surprisingly quickly caught up with John, who strolled lazily along the street. Almost like he wanted her to follow him.

So she did, for several blocks until he swung east, headed farther away. He took another turn, and then another and Lil quickly realized she was being led in circles. Shit! This was his plan all along, wasn’t it? Well if he was trying to lose her, that’s exactly what she’d let him think.

Lil turned and, finally sober enough to run a bit, took off on a straight shot for the alley. If she was right, John would have to notice that she wasn’t there and then loop around just to make sure he had actually lost her. So if she headed directly there…

She had to stop jogging after five minutes. The rest of the walk took twenty but when she made it to the alley, John was nowhere in sight. Donna, however, was. She paced around the entrance to the alley, blocking any way in that Lil could see. So she had to take a risk then. Fine. Just to see the spaceship.

Donna immediately halted her pacing as soon as Lil came into view. “Oi!” she called as Lil approached. “What are you doing back over here? Are you following me?”

Lil laughed incredulously. “What? No, I’m just still strolling around. You know, post meal walk to sober all the way up before I head home.”

She tried to peer into the alley but it was too dark without a street light back there. Donna’s body blocked her view and every time Lil tried to adjust her position to catch a peek, the other woman would mirror her movement. This absolutely wasn’t going to work. Though at this point Lil was entirely certain there was something back there.

The strange silent exchange wasn’t working. Lil needed to figure something else out and quickly before John showed up. Then she’d really be screwed. Alright then. She walked away, back toward Bob’s Buttys. She turned the corner and then waited. Every few seconds she glanced behind the corner, hoping to see John.

Her patience quickly paid off, as the dark-haired “man” finally appeared from a side-street and strode over to where Donna waited for him in the alley. They spoke too quietly to hear and then disappeared into the alley.

Lil rushed forward and poked her head around the corner after them to see what the hell they were doing. Donna was nowhere to be seen but John was still halfway inside a blue telephone box, just as the report had said. He glanced back just as Lil stepped fully into the entrance. The sounds of the sleeping city faded as John stared at her and she stared behind him.

Inside the door instead of what one would expect from a telephone box, there was a room. A big, bright, room with tan walls that somehow rose above where the doorframe stopped. Some kind of circular control console sat behind John in the doorway, a glowing green monolith in the center of the room.

“It’s… bigger on the inside,” Lil said, breathless at the sight.

John chuckled. “Oh, yes this is a special model of phone box! They only made one of this baby in 1963, you know.”

Lil’s gaze moved from the inside of the “special phone box” to John’s face as he grinned at her from the doorway. He sounded like a complete madman but- she had been right. This was her alien.

“Doctor, are we going or-” Donna started. She appeared a moment later behind John and stopped when she caught sight of Lil. “OI, I thought you left!”

Lil shook her head in bewilderment and stepped farther into the alley, just so she didn’t attract more attention than necessary. “I- alright, listen, my boss sent me out here on a report and usually they’re bloody ridiculous hoaxes but this is…” she approached the telephone box slowly and tried to peer farther inside the circular room. “This is incredible. I won’t tell, I promise.”

Doctor John nodded approvingly and smiled. “As far as your boss is concerned, we’re both just crazy drunkards.”

Lil nodded back at him and shot him a thumbs up. “Just as crazy as he is for calling me out this late!”

John laughed and winked before disappearing into the telephone box. The door creaked shut behind him leaving the alley dark again. Lil waited, mostly just to see if something happened. Maybe John was waiting for her to leave before he and Donna left their magic phone booth again and went somewhere else.

As if in an answer, wind picked up and a loud, grating whooshing sound beat rhythmically against Lil’s ears. The box faded slightly, then returned, then pulsed again and again, fading more each time until it was gone. The human could only stand there with her mouth hanging open in utter shock and awe at the sight. She could absolutely not tell Peter about this.

Still, she needed to get home and he had better kindly pay her way back for all of this trouble. It was nearly 4:30 now and she hadn’t slept a wink. Brian was likely asleep in bed already, keeping her spot warm for her and she intended to get her well-earned shut-eye before she told him of her exciting night.

Chapter Text

Her message wouldn’t send. It was a short, ten second voice message asking where Ryley was. A text version didn’t send either. Robin checked the list of active beacons but nothing new showed up indicating where her friend actually was or had been in the last three hours. Any hunger was entirely forgotten, sickening anxiety replacing it as she sat on the edge of her sister’s bed.

“His PDA was last active near the body fabrication facility,” Al-an announced, breaking the tense silence in the room. “It is no longer active.”

Robin’s heart leapt into her throat and her body went cold. Ryley was mad, sure but he never turned his PDA off completely when he left. Something had to be very, very wrong. Her mind raced through possibilities as Sam and Al-an sprang into action without her. What if he got attacked by a leviathan? His mask was still discarded on the table so what if he had somehow run out of o2? He said ages ago that he was always good about it but with how much they used the Architect masks, he could have gotten complacent.

She snapped out of her stupor when Sam grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. Right. Right, they needed to look for him. Wordlessly she let her sister drag her out of the room and back toward the Seatruck they had come from. It still sat in its dock, meaning either Ryley had been an idiot and not taken a vehicle or there was an unmarked Seamoth somewhere.

Sam fell in behind Robin as she took the pilot’s seat and immediately backed out of the dock. Al-an’s lights flickered back and forth through the front window, his orange worry standing out against the deep blue of the surrounding water. He zigzagged through the landscape leading Robin down toward the deep caves.

Her chest tightened as they drew closer. There was no telling what they were going to find down there. If they found anything at all; there was no telling whether the leviathan had just straight up eaten him. This was a feral creature they were talking about, huge but with very little brain in its stupid meaty body. All it cared about was a nice meal and screaming loudly.

Minutes felt like hours, filled with Robin silently begging the truck to go faster. Al-an’s glow blended in with the red crystals ahead now and, for one sickening moment, Robin’s mind pushed the idea that they’d lost him too. That she would hear the leviathan roar and hear him scream and it would be-

The white hull of a Seamoth pulled her out of it. She couldn’t let her stupid ass brain get the best of her right now. Ryley needed her to focus on him, not the horrifying possibilities. Robin hardly let the truck stop in a safe before she was standing and practically pushing Sam up the ladder. The pair took off in separate directions, looking desperately for a body, blood in the water, a piece of fabric, literally anything that would indicate Ryley’s presence.

Sam called out a “Hey!” behind Robin and she turned to see a mangled piece of plastic in her sister’s hands. It was so fucked up it took nearly a minute for Robin to notice the orange border and realize it was a rebreather. Ryley’s rebreather, completely melted and mangled. Oh fuck, no, no no no no no-

Robin spun around in the water and yanked her Seaglide out of her PDA storage. If his rebreather had survived then he had to have too. He had to be down here somewhere by some miracle. A Shadow Leviathan, especially the fully grown ones down here, would leave no traces behind. The woman swam, eyes desperately scanning the rock beneath her, closer and closer to the facility. She could sense Al-an nearby holding a PDA.

There. Just inside the door, a set of legs in grey and purple stood out against the green facility floor. Resolve centered in Robin’s chest and sat like a stone there, crushing the breath from her. She silently called Al-an’s attention and then approached the entrance.

Ryley lay face-down just inside the door. A pool of blood and leviathan acid had collected around his head, though from her angle Robin couldn’t see how bad it was. Cold, quiet, she padded up to him. She couldn’t hear the drips from her wetsuit over the sound of her own rapid-fire heartbeat and her brain giving her every imagination of the man’s fate.

None of those imaginings prepared her for turning him over. He was still breathing, just barely but that was about the only silver lining in this storm cloud of horror. The entire right side of his face was a bloody, melted, mangled mess. She couldn’t look, it made her sick but now the image was burned into her mind, no matter how hard she closed her eyes, covered them, she still saw him like that.

Someone screamed. Was it her? Robin stumbled backwards, turned away, she couldn’t look. Something warm and solid met her, a bright orange light whooshed past too fast to follow. Familiar arms clung to her shoulders and Sam’s voice broke through a cacophony of horror Robin hand’t even realized was plaguing her. Her sister murmured soothing nothings, soft words that hardly calmed her racing heart, her too-fast breaths.

As if on cue, Al-an’s warm calm broke through the panic, his voice a salve to the ache too deep in her to reach alone. “He is going to be alright, Robin. Do you understand? I will take care of him. He is alive and that indicates a high survival chance. Trust me.”

By the time Robin was calm enough to move Al-an was already hard at work on Ryley’s too-still body. He was up on a table now and Robin could only see his legs, the rest of him hidden by Al-an’s bulk. The Architect stood stock-still, lights a focused green while his robot arms moved at near lightning pace around the body in front of him.

Sam’s grip loosened and Robin took a shaky breath. The sick feeling hadn’t left her, nor had the agonizing image of Ryley’s face but for now she could breathe. Breathe and trust Al-an to take care of their companion. The panic subsided enough to let embarrassment in at her own overreaction. She said nothing but the desire to stay and keep an eye on the operation nagged at her. That would make up for freaking out like that.

“Can you stand?” Sam asked quietly as if she knew Robin was thinking about her.

“I want to stay.”

The elder let out a deep breath and squeezed gently, her hands tugging at Robin’s dive suit. “I know but Ryley would want us to get home and take care of ourselves. And rest. You haven’t eaten.”

Robin looked away, back toward Al-an and sighed. She didn’t feel hungry but… he would want that, wouldn’t he? She could already envision his well-intentioned pout. It only took another moment of deliberation for her to finally nod agreement and stand up with Sam’s help.

The pair stayed silent on the way home, Sam in the pilot seat this time. That was fine. A bone-deep ache had settled into Robin’s body now, one that threatened to drag her down to the floor to fall asleep right there in the Seatruck. A tiny smile snuck onto her lips at the idea of herself curled up on the floor, trapping Sam in place.

Instead of following through though, she let her sister pull back into the Seatruck dock and then into the base itself. Numb, she made her own way to the refrigerator and pulled out some fish and a couple of pieces of bread. They may as well eat. Sam kept the silence, though the squeak of a chair being pulled out echoed on the glass ceiling a little too loud and aggravated Robin’s oncoming migraine.

For a moment she was tempted to just use the fabricator to cook the fish but Sam deserved better than that. To the pan it was, then. Focusing on gutting the Spadefish kept her mind off of the situation anyway. Well, mostly. A nagging thought ate at the back of Robin’s psyche, one that told her this was her fault. She had picked that fight with Sam. If she hadn’t, Ryley might not have forgotten his Architect mask and it would have protected him far better than the flimsy rebreather.

A wave of nausea hit Robin and pulled her under as the fish in her hands melded into Ryley’s disfigured face in her minds eye. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe until it passed. That horrible, deep ache centralized in her chest again while she waited. When the sensations finally passed, Robin kept going as fast as she safely could. It felt as though an entire week passed waiting for the fish to cook.

Sam was waiting at the table on her PDA when Robin turned around. The sisters shared a brief smile over their shared dinner, though neither had much to say. The silence was already starting to drag on too long though. Ugh, one of them should have started the jukebox. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? Dammit.’ Robin grumbled to herself.

Great. With no conversation from Sam she was just left alone with her thoughts. Of Ryley, of the last two weeks. Donnovan’s office, warm and not unwelcoming but unfamiliar and incredibly uncomfortable. Talk of her parents, long dead now.

“How did our dad die?” she asked suddenly. “Sorry.”

Sam looked surprised for a fleeting second but her expression quickly turned thoughtful. Robin almost regretted asking but the question had been nagging her since they left Sadus.

“You were too young to remember…” Sam finally replied. “He worked on a small farm back on Mars. I don’t remember much about it either but Mom said the machine he was working on suddenly exploded and-” she looked down at her almost empty plate.

Silence passed over them as the information sank in. Robin truly couldn’t recall that far back. She was five when it happened and the most she could actually remember was moving to Earth. A shuttle ride? Their mom had gotten a new job and then… she couldn’t remember anything else from then. Her memories really picked back up later on, closer to when a normal kid would start retaining stuff… probably.

“Alterra said it was a freak accident,” Sam finally concluded.

Robin scoffed. “So it was “negligence”?”

“Something like that,” Sam replied with a bitter laugh. She shook her head and stood up, gathering both of their empty plates.

Robin stayed seated for a moment, her foot bouncing under the table. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and then stood up to go to the bathroom. It hit her as she did her business that she had… nothing to do right now. Sure, there were chores to be done but night had fallen ages ago and trying to work on the surface or around any growbeds was pointless now. She sighed heavily, washed her hands, and left the bathroom to stand just outside the door.

She couldn’t just stand there though! Or sit! She found herself pacing, clutching her own elbows. Her thoughts raced past her so fast that she couldn’t keep track of them or latch onto any to hold. Her memories of both of her parents were too faint to try to think of. Sam was the only constant. And then she wasn’t, all because of one “accident”. Was that just going to keep happening?

“Hey,” Sam’s voice pierced the turmoil. “We should go to bed.”

Robin sighed and finally stopped pacing. “I’m not tired.”

Sam frowned in that way that meant she wasn’t going to back down. Robin sighed and let go of herself to let Sam push her back toward the bathroom. They prepared for bed together. As much as she tried, Robin couldn’t drag her feet enough with her sister handing her a toothbrush, carefully brushing out her hair to prepare for a shower tomorrow. She was already dreading being alone, knew she couldn’t sleep. Sam lead the way toward their quarters and the dread only increased. She couldn’t do this.

“Hey um-” Robin paused in the doorway to her room and watched Sam turn to look at her.

“What is it?” Her sister’s tone stayed soft and reminiscent of their childhood.

“Can you…” She took a deep breath, steeling herself with her fists clenched at her sides. “Do you mind sleeping in my room?”

“Of course! I’ll go get my bed, you go lay down!” Sam exclaimed. She seemed far more excited than Robin had expected.

The younger woman obeyed her sister’s instructions and waited quietly in her bed. As promised, Sam appeared after a couple of minutes holding an extra blanket and a builder tool. She constructed her bed against one of the few open walls and laid out her blanket.

Sam turned to look at Robin and smiled when she caught her watching her. Robin smiled back. She wondered how sad she looked, all tucked up under her own blankets.

Apparently sad enough that Sam padded over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Robin slid slightly when the mattress shifted with her weight, the warmth of their bodies melting the anxiety gripping at her. God, she was more tired than she had realized. It pulled on her bones and her skin, adhering her to the mattress below her.

“I love you,” she told her sister as her eyes slipped shut. “I’m sorry I never said it enough before.”

A hand ran gently over her forehead. “You didn’t have to. I’ve always known that. I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Humans spend an incredible amount of time waiting around for things despite their short lifespans. Al-an had never been idle before in their life, there was always something to do. Some other part of the project or task that still needed attending. The world had slowed down over the last millennium; even more with three humans tagging along.

Waiting for the humans to wake up or move was almost more agonizing. Especially when physically they were right there, perfectly still save for their quiet breathing, the thumping of their hearts inside their chests. Blood whooshed through their veins and brought forth the miracle of life. Al-an decided to focus on that.

That was truly one blessing of human physiology. They were never fully still, never silent. An Architect could shut down their vessel to near dead silence save for occasional ticks from the cybernetic components inside of them, keeping them alive. The ultimate defense mechanism, built directly into their physiology. Complete control was absolutely necessary. It was downright astonishing to hear every single background process going on in the human body knowing that they were completely unaware it was happening. That they have no control over any of it.

The near-silence stretched for another age as morning began to break nearly a kilometer above. Ryley’s body continued to sustain him in the silence, his heart now beating ever so slightly faster. Al-an perked up. That was a fantastic sign. If only they could reach out and touch his mind, watch his brain activity slowly return along with his heart rate.

Finally, the human began to stir, soft pained sounds slipping from his lips as he came into awareness. Al-an burst into life, rushed to his side and began a full-body scan. Vitals normal, brain function normal if a bit groggy, pain receptors functioning properly. All things considered Ryley was in good health.

His remaining eye opened and immediately focused on Al-an. They showed him their relief as they ran one hand over his forehead, careful to avoid the heavy bandages over one side of his face. In return, the human smiled and pushed his head into Al-an’s touch.

“How are you feeling?” they asked, voice a low thrum in the empty room. The poor human likely had the worst headache in recorded history and 0100010001010010-010001010100001101010100-0101011001000101 be damned they were not going to make it worse.

Ryley’s eye slipped closed again and he sighed. “’M ok I guess.”

Al-an nodded physically and stood. Anxiety hit their chest, sending a restless itch to their hooves that they couldn’t resist. They began to pace, four short steps each direction.

“I did what I could for you but I could not save your eye. I am sorry,” they explained. “If you are feeling well enough though, I believe you should rest at home. That will likely be more comfortable than staying down here for days on end.”

Ryley smiled slightly and nodded. His muscles tensed as he moved to sit up. Al-an warped over to him again and extended a hand which Ryley seemingly gratefully took. He pulled himself up slowly, wincing as his sore muscles moved for the first time in several hours. The Architect could hardly imagine what was going through his mind right now.

Ryley’s head came to rest against Al-an’s chest the moment he was upright. His visible eye remained trained on their skin as the pair sat in silence. Al-an momentarily shifted their awareness outside and noted the lack of a vehicle. Right. Ryley was, of course, in no condition to travel by water unless Al-an wrapped his head in a bag.

“I’m sorry I lost my PDA,” the injured man spoke up suddenly. If they were human Al-an was uncertain they would have heard him, they way the sound vibrated ever so softly against their chest.

“You have no reason to apologize,” they told him. Their tractor beam arm found the device and held it up, dangling next to them like a prize fish on an Alterran entertainment show. “It’s battery depleted anyway, I doubt you would have had time to send us a distress signal.

Ryley sighed and nodded, though Al-an could tell he didn’t take it to heart. Of course, some selfish part of them couldn’t help but still wish that he allowed himself to be Networked. They could show him their care, check on what he truly felt. He could have cried out for help. Now was certainly not the time to push that though. Ryley was clearly in mental distress even if Al-an couldn’t properly feel it.

“Can I go home?” the human asked, voice still barely audible over the hum of the facility around them.

“Of course, I will call Sam to bring their Seatruck back,” Al-an replied.

Unsurprisingly, Robin was sound asleep. Her mind was active with a pleasant dream about chasing a new species of fish through the water. She needed to rest considering how much stress she was under presently.

Upon connecting with the base itself, Al-an found Sam alone in the main room typing on her PDA. They switched from the base to the PDA itself, careful not to read her private conversation. They sent a new message that popped up on her screen asking for assistance and watched through the camera as she quickly stood up without sending anything back.

And thus they were back to waiting. Ryley stayed quiet save for his breathing and the soft drumbeat of his heart that told the Architect he was still just fine. They let their processes come out just a bit louder in return for him. He had explained once that the ticks of their organs and computers was a comfort to him, helped him sleep.

The comfortable quiet was broken by Sam’s approach. Al-an of course, heard her before Ryley did, shifting their attention to the building’s entrance. The woman pulled up nearly flush to the water barrier, just as Al-an had hoped she would.

Ryley pushed himself up to sit on his own as the other human entered the building. Al-an took a step back then to allow them to interact. Sam’s face broke out into a wide grin at the sight of Ryley awake and more or less alive.

“Hey,” he said, slipping off the table and immediately into Sam’s embrace. Al-an recorded the interaction to the Network for Robin. She would be glad to see them bonding!

“Hi!” Sam’s voice was muffled by the man’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re ok.”

Ryley grunted and pulled back. Sam smiled at him and took his hand as she stepped away, leading him toward the waiting Seatruck and back toward home. Al-an turned away and let them go; focusing instead on tearing down their operating table and cleaning the remainder of the blood that had dripped everywhere.

The base was still quiet when Al-an finally returned. Ryley had gone to his room and started up a spare PDA while his own charged in the window. Robin and Sam’s voices carried from Robin’s room. The Architect took their time crossing the base, relishing in the way their hoofsteps echoed off of the high walls. Quiet music started up on the jukebox as they entered the main room.

Sam entered moments later, only given away by her footsteps in the hall. Al-an let their biolights shift happy to see her as she waved at them. The alien watched her make her way to the bathroom and disappear inside, out of their attention.

Robin had fallen quiet in her room. Al-an extended themself to her, touched her mind to warn of their approach before they bent to stick their head through the door. Robin, sat at her desk against the wall, looked up and grinned at the alien. Her hair was out of its braids but dry, indicating that Sam may have suggested a shower. The PDA screen on the desk lit her up in the dark room in a most pleasant way.

“Hi Al!” The woman greeted her partner as she turned back to the device.

The Architect approached the desk to look at her screen over her shoulder. A photo of a group of unfamiliar fish sat open there. Curious, Al-an reached out and downloaded the entire folder.

“Ooh! Al, do you want to see the photos Sam took around the new volcano?” Robin continued, finally turning again to look at them. She looked so… relaxed.

“I would love that, thank you,” they replied, immediately deleting their initial download of the files.

They landed in Al-an’s mind again and the Architect stored them back where they had been in the first place. Robin immediately launched into a ramble about what she might like to name these new fish and the ecosystem of the new reef. Her voice was high and light and, despite the dark room she was radiating bright blue joy over the discoveries. Al-an couldn’t ruin that for her, not when she had been so, so stressed and upset. She needed this break.

~~~

Practically, the base was rather peaceful now that everyone was forced to stay home. Realistically, of course, Robin was already going stir crazy but Sam wasn’t about to poke that sleeping bear. Her reaction when Al-an joked about most emergencies happening off-world was quite enough of a deterrent. The last thing the sisters needed was another damned fight.

Instead, Sam had busied herself preparing for another trip to the volcano. As long as weather held, and the plant life on the islands seemed to think it would, Sam thought she was due for another trip over there. Robin had made her own the day after Ryley’s injury even though she had repeatedly said that she would let her have this.

Sam couldn’t blame her sister for that. It was her field of research after all, and it had to get boring stuck in the base. She had clearly already explored every corner of Sector Zero. That trip had let footage from the glacier build up anyway, so it wasn’t like Robin had absolutely nothing to do!

Ryley’s Cyclops waited for her at the crater’s edge, hopefully with Marguerit inside. Daylight faded fast and they needed all the time they could get to make it over there before tomorrow.

Sure enough, the older woman had fabricated herself a chair to pass out in. The vessel greeted Sam as a ‘crewmate’ and Marguerit’s eyes shot open. She glanced in Sam’s direction and then stood briskly as if she hadn’t just been taking some kind of power nap.

“Took ya long enough,” she grumbled, though Sam didn’t miss the hardly-visible smile on her lips.

The younger woman shook her head with a smile. “You know how hard it is to convince Robin not to come with us,” she replied.

Marguerit rolled her eyes and marched to the bridge. They took off right as the sun began to set. Perfect. They’d make it over there by morning and have plenty of time to explore and experiment.

Marguerit’s chair was rather comfortable but Sam found herself unable to sleep. She closed her eyes at least and let the low hum of the engine lull her into a trance. Hundreds of voices, once a background thrum, now washed over her mind and told her of the air pressure, the weather, the water temperature, anything they could possibly think of. Apparently a soft wind had sprung up and cleared away ash, finally giving the poor greenery the sunlight that it needed. Sam smiled to herself in relief. Dead leaves, the ones that couldn’t hold on long enough would provide more than enough compost to help their still-living brothers thrive.

Sam hadn’t noticed her own sleep until she was shaken awake. Marguerit backed off as soon as Sam looked at her, disappearing into the back of the vessel for something. Sam shook her head and stood to follow her friend, put on her dive suit.

Oh. Right. The fabric around the suit’s foot was absolutely shredded. Sam grabbed some synthetic fibers and diamonds Ryley had left in a nearby storage module. Supplies were running a bit low in here… crud. Sam kicked herself for not checking as she fabricated a new dive suit. The old one could be recycled when they got back at the very least. Hey, Maybe Robin could replenish the supplies in here!

Marguerit returned three minutes later and, wordlessly, the pair made their way outside. Not much had changed in the time they’d been gone but all things considered that was the best news they could hope for. Sam dove a couple hundred meters, eyes scanning the seabed.

There! Tucked in a dip in the rock Sam counted at least 15 eggs. She snapped a photo of them and turned around. Seconds later Marguerit appeared and grabbed one.

“For your sister,” she said simply. Sam nodded.

Hours dragged by and the women kept swimming. The ocean around them sang a song of hope today. New life already took hold following such terrible destruction. Kelp waved happily, eating up the sunlight and providing shelter for one of the new species they had discovered, Pyramid Fish.

“Hey, I have an idea!” Sam called out to the shape of her friend in front of her. The older woman stopped and turned around, arms crossed. “Robin isn’t here, we won’t get interrupted if we test out my… thing.”

Marguerit sat still in the water, her only movement just her legs keeping her afloat, before she nodded. “Sounds good. Better get into clearer water,” she agreed.

Sam turned and took off, back toward the open ocean and their Cyclops. She didn’t have an arm guard this time but if Ryley’s grand stories of dodging fauna were true, surely she could pull something like that off. As far as she knew, she just had to touch it.

Another shark, a Green Tipped Blackshark like the last one, circled in the water below. Sam’s stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten today. Marguerit hovered a few meters away, ready to go. All conditions pointed to success.

The shark took notice of the human and circled upward. Sam slipped her glove off, shoving it into her pocket and readying her Seaglide. That was always involved in Ryley’s close calls. Hell, she had even found the remains of one near the Architect facility in the caves and-

“Sam!” Marguerit shouted, voice hardly making it through the water. Oops.

Sam dodged at the very last second; the beast’s skin just barely grazed her as it snapped at the open water she had just occupied. This was her only chance! She reached out with her ungloved hand. The shark’s rough skin scraped her palm, though not enough to draw blood. It shot forward on momentum before it slowed, stopped, and began to fall back down. Just like last time, its skin fell from the meat, meat decayed in front of Sam. She watched it all fade, all coming from her hand.

This time though, she was paying attention. She felt something, some part of her gripping the flesh, taking it in. What? Hunger, which had once gnawed at her gut, faded slowly. This didn’t make any sense…

The two minutes it took for the shark to die felt like a year. Marguerit swam over while Sam floated there staring at her hand. The scrape was still there but otherwise she just felt… normal. Nothing unusual, nothing out of place on her hand. What the hell happened to her?

“You alright?” Marguerit spoke, snapping Sam out of her trance.

She nodded shakily. “Yeah. Let’s get back to the Cyclops. This was… conclusive.”

Marguerit entered the vessel first, headed straight for the controls. Sam followed and watched as she brought the vehicle to the surface so that the sole window stayed only half submerged. Dense clouds gathered on the horizon, a sign of a storm to come. Waves crashed above Sam’s head for just a moment; she shook her head of the feeling. That was still going to take some getting used to.

“Looks like there’s a storm coming,” Marguerit commented. She lingered at the window for a moment longer before turning to gaze at Sam, mask pulled up over her still-dripping hair.

Sam’s chest tightened at the sight. The way the light framed her friend, her eyes piercing from the shadows of her face, straight through Sam as if she knew what the other was thinking. That was absurd, of course, and Sam shook off the last of the weird thoughts. She was acting like a damned teenager here.

It took another moment for Sam to realize she needed to reply rather than stand there like an idiot. “Looks like it,” she agreed, nodding casually.

They stood there in silence as seconds ticked by. Sam wasn’t sure what exactly to say. She’d come to her own conclusions of course. That she was some kind of genetic freak now, though she didn’t know what kind. Or what Alterra had done to her. What kind of human could kill simply by touching something? Why would Alterra want that?

She didn’t want to think of those reasons. Didn’t want to think of the company, the trans-gov even, that way. What they had done to Robin and Ryley was horrible. What would they have done to her? Surely something would have followed the questions, the constant health assessments, tests. Was there any data left from those? Did Sandra know where to find it? Did anyone?

“Lemme guess, you’re not hungry anymore,” Marguerit finally broke the silence and the tight grip Sam’s spiral had on her.

Sam startled and shook her head in reply. “Not in the slightest. That was tangible proof that I can do… that.”

Marguerit sighed and finally brushed past Sam, into the next room. “I’m still starvin’.”

Sam stared after her until she returned, nutrient bar in hand, a bite already taken from it.

“What’s it feel like?” the older woman asked as she fabricated another chair.

“It’s strange… It doesn’t feel like too much of anything,” Sam explained, beginning to pace as she spoke. “Just… my skin is… I don’t want to say extending. I don’t know what it is. Or why. Or how. None of this makes sense!”

Marguerit hummed in response. “Don’t think you’d have been doin’ experiments like this three years ago.”

Sam laughed breathlessly. “No kidding…” She fell into the open chair, head in her hands.

~~~

[LAB NOTES, JUNE 21, 2408]

Tests are coming back surprisingly conclusive now The adrenal gland in every single subject is malfunctioning, producing abnormal levels of cortisone. Adrenaline is produced just fine, in fact some subjects seem to seek it out! But through all behavioural trials and stress testing, none of them produce cortisone to achieve proper fear response.

The prey specimens: mice, rats, gerbils, and rabbits all faced other subjects, predators such as cats and dogs, head on. I don’t… this is unprecedented. Aside from this one symptom, everything else is normal.

~~~

Sam’s pacing didn’t last long. Marguerit clearly wasn’t interested in pressing for more answers neither of them had; her attention had turned back to her PDA. The setting sun provided a deep blood-like glow that stained the Cyclops floor. Sam shuddered at that thought and paced her way into the secondary room and to the bed that laid against the wall.

She flopped there and sighed, though the weight didn’t leave her chest. She was no closer to knowing just what was wrong with her. Sandra needed to hurry or the wondering would drive her crazy. Either that or Robin’s tense attitude. Sam sighed again.

She didn’t know how long she’d laid there but sleep wasn’t coming. Footsteps echoed in the silent vessel and stopped at the foot of the bed.

“It’s getting dark and I haven’t slept. Scoot.”

Sam finally opened her eyes, her head tilted at an awkward angle to stare at her companion in the dark. When had the lights gone off? “Don’t you want to make another bed?” she asked.

“Nope.” Marguerit replied simply, arms crossed. Her dive suit was missing, leaving her in just a loose tank top and soft looking pants. “This is all I could scrounge up outta the boy’s shit. Now move.”

Obediently, Sam shifted to the side and pulled at the zipper on her own dive suit. She peeled the thing off with a bit of a struggle, which left her in a similar state of dress.

Weight dipped the bed and Sam struggled not to fall toward the center. Marguerit shifted around but settled in quickly, her arms tucked at her chest. She began to snore mere seconds later. Sam envied how easily she passed out. She could never, not with everything nagging at her.

Nebulously bad thoughts swarmed her. Sandra’s ultimate fate, Robin, her own issues- An arm wrapping around her brought them all to a screeching halt. Oh. Ok. Sure, that was fine.

Sam craned her neck trying to catch a glimpse of those razor-sharp eyes peering at her in the darkness. Met with nothing but the soft sound of Marguerit’s snores, she turned back around, face burning.

Chapter Text

After such a long night of waiting for Ryley to wake up, the days following his injury passed in a blur. Al-an felt Robin’s frustration growing, though she never said anything to them about it. Instead, she busied herself on the surface watching Ice Worms and working in the greenhouse with Sam. When she wasn’t out of the base Al-an almost always found her fussing over Ryley and making sure he was fed. Her constant activity and high anxiety was putting a terrible toll on the Network. They had to get the hell off the planet for a week or two or else Robin would drive them crazy.

“I am taking a trip to the Far Far Range to collect more research samples,” the Architect announced to their humans late one evening as the trio ate their dinner.

Robin moved first, turning her head and then her entire body in her swivel chair. “Right now?” she asked, sounding incredulous. The feeling mirrored over the Network.

“No, in one thousand years,” Al-an replied with a humorous tilt of their head and rush of warmth. “I have neglected my curiosity for far too long. I wish to continue studying the history of the planet,” they lied. Fortunately, it didn’t telegraph this time.

Robin nodded and turned back to her food. “Sounds like fun!” she said. Al-an half expected her to beg to come with them but she stayed quiet.

“I already told you it’s cool,” Ryley added with half a smile.

Sam murmured her agreement, though she seemed more absorbed in the blueprints on her PDA than the conversation. Al-an forced themself not to peek at her battle robot plans too closely. Their own was long finished, leaving them waiting on the humans again.

The Architect stood to leave while the humans finished their meal. Night was already falling on 4546B, which would leave the humans asleep for their departure. This was optimal timing; they would then only spend a total of approximately six days away. Plenty of time for Robin to relax a bit and for Ryley to heal up.

Deep space passed in a blur of starlight as Al-an idled on autopilot toward their destination. They let their mind fall into the soft silence of the Network. Nobody was there to answer as always but it didn’t matter. Echoes of voices long dead still played if Al-an searched long enough for files and records. They passed the time brilliantly along with space themed music that Ryley had shared some time ago. Tunes of love and loss and resistance fading into voices describing untold worlds. Other worlds than these that Al-an knew.

A day and a half passed peacefully and Al-an found themself inspired as they landed on their destination planet. Mochi and Ogden waited outside to greet them, smiles painted on both of their faces. Mochi looked much, much better than she had the last time Al-an saw her. Satisfaction filled them as they stepped easily into the tractor beam and down onto the dusty ground of Beatrix’s semi-abandoned ranch.

“Hi Al-an!” Mochi greeted the alien excitedly. She waved; a short, rapid motion of her hand.

Ogden held his own hand up in greeting. “Good morning!” he called. He stepped to the side, revealing a large box. “We’ve got a small trade for you like you asked.”

Warmth flooded Al-an’s system. “Thank you,” they replied, sending one metal arm back up to the ship to bring their own half of the trade. “I have procured some valuable resources and fish in return.” The bag floated down in the tractor beam, followed shortly by Al-an’s extra arm.

Mochi immediately rushed over and dug through the bag. Her expression lit up when she laid eyes on the diamonds Al-an had packed in. Those were meant for Viktor, though surely the humans could negotiate something between themselves.

A quick scan of gaps in the wooden box revealed its contents: dried fruits and meats, eggs packed in stasis, a small collection of resources native to the planet for further study, a small list of blueprints, and some samples of rocks and dirt from each rancher. Al-an patiently let Ogden explain it to them anyway. The box floated up onto the waiting ship, ready to be taken home in a couple of days.

Al-an turned to leave. They froze when they felt a hand on their hind leg. Mochi stood directly behind them holding something small.

“Hey so… I dunno if you can use it but I got something for Robin and Ryley,” she told them, holding out an opaque black bag. “I think they’ll appreciate it.”

Al-an took it in their personal tractor beam, holding it up to examine with a passive “Thank you”. The outside gave away nothing, though Mochi’s expression looked… Al-an couldn’t quite place it. Playful perhaps? Or sly. The Architect took the bag from with their organic hands and squeezed the top to open it. Several small clumps of dried cannabis waited inside. Odd. The item found its way on top of Ogden’s box. Robin would certainly enjoy its intoxicating effect. Perhaps then she would relax and talk to them.

Al-an shook the thought off and bid the humans their goodbye, finally able to pursue their true mission in the Range itself. Viktor had already gathered plenty of samples of the Reef from Beatrix’s ranch to study at home. With that in mind, Al-an made their way past the dry landscape, through canyons and skirting cliffs that dropped directly into the Slime Sea below, until they found an opening in the stone.

Without Beatrix to guide them, Al-an used a map they had acquired from her several weeks before. Their route through the Indigo Quarry, a sprawling canyon full of strange stones and slimes, would hopefully lead them directly to the forest they had visited before.

Thanks to Viktor, at least the Architect had no need to stop and mine any resources here. All sat in their ship waiting to be studied at home. Indigonium may have a use there. Still, Al-an took scans of everything around them as they walked. Curious slimes bounced around and off of them as a creeping feeling dug at the back of their head.

Once again Al-an felt watched. It wasn’t much, just a pinprick of sensation in the back of their conscious, so small that they couldn’t hope to detect if it was from within the Network or just a stray chicken on a cliff. The Architect tried to keep the high walls from closing in on them, entombing them with whatever was watching. A Rock slime bounced off of their hip.

Shaking off the feeling, Al-an dodged exploding Boom slimes and made their way through the quarry. Rocks here dated just as far back as the stones cut in the ruins they had visited before. They could only postulate that whoever built those structures used the stones from here. Just to be certain, Al-an scanned the cut marks on the walls to compare with the stones from the ruins later, when they could sit down and really look.

The feeling of being watched grew stronger when the Architect entered the ruined courtyard. Unnerved, they quickly moved on into the mossy forest. Past the small pond and through the tunnel, massive trees rose from the ground and blocked out most of the sunlight. Al-an stopped near one and began to drill at the bark. Not deep enough to hurt the tree but just enough to study its chemical makeup. As their drill arm worked, another metal arm scanned the tree.

“Hello!” a voice called out from somewhere in the canopy. Al-an’s attention turned upward just in time to see Viktor waving excitedly from a branch.

The human leapt from the tree and used his jetpack to catch his fall. He landed with a muffled ‘thump’ facing away from the Architect. Quickly, the man straightened up and spun around on the balls of his feet to face Al-an with a wide grin and another wave. His goggles displayed curved dashes, as if his actual eyes were closed.

No, they would not look deeper. Not without explicit permission. Instead, the alien finally greeted their new companion. “Hello Viktor. I hope I did not disturb you. What were you doing?”

Viktor chuckled and rubbed at the back of his head. “Oh, just watching slimes from a vantage point where they can’t bother me and mess with my data or distract me,” he explained. He paused and looked up. Al-an followed his gaze and noted a pillow descending rapidly from the branch the human had been resting on.

“And napping…” Viktor added sheepishly. Al-an caught the plush implement in their tractor beam and handed it to their friend.

“An excellent vantage point for both activities, surely,” Al-an replied, flashing light-hearted blue at him. “Your jetpack is impressive. Did you build it yourself?”

Viktor spun around again, allowing Al-an to take a single step closer and examine the technology adorning his back. “No actually,” he answered. “These were provided for us by 7Zee. Though now that we have severed our contracts with them I modified it heavily for my own use.”

The Architect scanned the device with a pleased trill and stored the information for later. “Very impressive,” they repeated. “Perhaps another time I can bring an ion cube or two that we could experiment with. Your devices will last much longer with their power.”

“I would love that very much!” Viktor exclaimed. He turned back around and adjusted his jetpack proudly. “You know I am always looking for ways to improve my tech!”

“As am I,” Al-an agreed. “Sadly, I do not have the time at the moment.” They looked away physically, further stressing their regret to the unnetworked human.

Viktor nodded sagely, his expression falling slightly. “I understand. What are you doing out here anyway?” he asked.

A slime bounced off of Al-an’s leg, distracting them momentarily. Fortunately, they hadn’t grouped up again. Not to say that they were not a considerable annoyance. It was no wonder that Viktor chose to sleep high up in a tree, out of reach of the curious creatures. The Architect gently kicked the slime away and watched it bounce off of another tree.

“I am gathering data for further research into the previous occupants of this planet,” they explained.

Viktor’s face lit up again at the statement. His smile didn’t falter as he grabbed the electronic device attached to his jacket. “I have data of my own to share if you like! Though most of it is stored on my computer at home.”

He turned away once again and, looking over his shoulder, gave a short wave. “I will send it to you as soon as I return! I really should get back to the lab anyhow. It was nice to see you!”

Al-an returned the motion with one of their metal arms. “I return the sentiment twofold. Thank you.”

The human dashed off, his jetpack boosting him every few steps, until he was out of sight range. Al-an turned back to their work; they wandered much more slowly through the forest, scanning different trees as they walked. Data flooded their system and they began comparing different trees.

The information couldn’t distract them from checking on Robin at home. She was much too far away to speak, of course. Al-an tried to ignore the pang of anxiety that hit them. The woman was awake so it was likely daytime back home. As they focused more on her, the anxiety turned from their own to hers. She was upset about something.

Should they send a message? No, then perhaps she would be upset that they had been snooping. What about Ryley? Another pang of anxiety tightened in their chest, lighting the tunnel they crawled through orange that contrasted the soft green moss. Al-an felt sick despite their lack of digestive tract.

The most they could do was send a message. He had given no further indication about their offer since the day they asked. If they were already Networked then the accident may not have even happened in the first place. Or they could have found him much, much faster, preventing the damage to his eye.

Anxious thoughts swirled in Al-an’s mind, drowning out the stream of scan data. The Architect stepped carefully along a path flanked by the sea as horrible dread filled them. What if something happened while they were gone? Illogical as it may be, Al-an still worried. They couldn’t help it.

Another sick sense filled them, this time the realization that the humans had irreparably changed them. In some horrible way they were now grateful that their kind were no longer there to be disgusted with them, to punish them for this corruption.

A second tunnel stood before them, though this time Al-an warped over it rather than facing the embarrassment of having to crawl again. Before them now stood another ancient structure, left to even more ruin than the actual ruins. Its purpose was hopelessly lost to time, only a home to wild slimes now. A Boom slime detonated nearby. Al-an needed to go home. Now.

~~~

Robin woke with a start, anxiety already tightening her chest. She groaned and rolled over as if that would help. She hadn’t even had a weird or bad dream this time… that she could recall. This was getting tiring and extremely ridiculous. Ryley was fine, it shouldn’t be getting to her that badly.

Her shoulder ached where the Architect skin connected to human. Fucking ugh. The woman tried to roll over again but the blanket tangled in her legs and she kicked it off the bed with a loud groan.

Goosebumps spread up and down her arms as the air in the base washed over her mostly bare skin. Fuck Alterra and their stupid “perfect climate control”. Fuck a lot of things honestly. Alterra, life, leviathans, Al-an (for leaving for so long), the passage of time, anxiety. The list could go on forever.

Robin let out another agitated noise and flopped onto her stomach, face pressed firmly into her pillow. For half a moment she thought about just suffocating in the pillow right then and there but that was stupid. Why couldn’t Al-an just come home now? If he was here then he’d be a distraction and she wouldn’t have to think anymore. Why didn’t he ask her to go with him? Hell, why didn’t she ask?

With yet another sigh and groan, Robin sat up. Laying here anxious waiting for the sun to rise higher was pointless. She needed to do something like- she kicked her bare feet against the floor- like making breakfast. Yeah. Maybe Ryley could help! Company would be nice…

Ryley’s room was still dark save for a small lamp that sat on his bedside table. When had he gotten that? Glitter swirled in the blue tinted water, painting the mirage of the ocean on the ceiling, which was no longer glass. All of the windows had been curtained as well. The man himself laid flat on his back in bed looking rather dead save for the soft rise and fall of his chest as he slept.

Robin carefully took a seat on the edge of the bed but it didn’t stop the mattress from shifting, stirring the man from his slumber. He let out a soft whine and shifted closer to her. His remaining eye opened a crack, peering at her behind the veil of sleepiness.

“Hi,” Robin murmured, smiling at him. She reached over and brushed her hand against his cheek.

The young man smiled in return and leaned into the touch. His eye slid shut again. “Morning,” he mumbled, voice heavy with sleep. “Time is it?”

“I dunno, earlyish. I’m hungry,” Robin told him.

Her thumb brushed his cheek, grazing over the old scar that adorned his cheek. Her stomach tightened wondering how bad things looked under the bandage covering the other half of his face. At least this time he got real medical care. Thank god for Al-an.

“Mmmm, food sounds good.” Ryley’s eye opened again, farther this time.

“Yeah?” Robin drew her hand back and stood. Finally, something to do! Maybe then he’d be up for playing a game or something afterward. Anything to keep them both occupied.

“What do you want? I think we’ve still got some eggs in stasis that we need to use before Al-an gets back,” she continued.

Ryley hummed, his hand stroking his chin dramatically. “Fish,” he finally concluded.

“For breakfast? Hell no!” Robin laughed. She held her right hand out to her companion to drag him up.

He took the offered hand and Robin tugged. Ryley pulled harder and easily yanked her off balance. She stumbled back toward him with a loud yelp, upper body falling onto his torso where he held her in place easily. Dammit, she should’ve given him her left hand!

Still, Robin laughed as she struggled to worm her way out of the man’s tight grip. Their joy mixed together and filled the room with their giggles as the pair lightly wrestled. Finally, Robin pushed the arm trapping her away and slipped to the floor.

“Jerk!” she teased and poked at his side.

“Bitch,” Ryley replied, sitting up at last. His tongue stuck out of his mouth when Robin twisted to look up at him.

He stood first and offered his own hand to help her up. She hesitated, peering suspiciously at him, but ultimately gave in and let her friend pull her up. He mercifully didn’t continue their wrestling and instead lead her out into the main room.

Sam sat at the table, a bunch of blueprints spread in front of her and a nutrient bar in her mouth. She looked up briefly and waved before turning back to her work. Ryley split off and headed for the bathroom, leaving Robin to peer at Sam’s papers alone. It seemed she was taking more notes on her modified Attack Pengling.

Satisfied with her peeping, Robin turned to start breakfast. Sure enough, 4 eggs still sat in stasis in the fridge, ready to be used, along with a few carrots and beets. She pushed the green release button on the stasis box and took her prize from it. The rest of the fridge held milk that had surely turned sour by now and a bunch of cured fish. Nothing suitable for breakfast.

Al-an and Ryley’s addition to the fridge worked wonders for their newfound fresh food. None of the eggs had spoiled! A splash of pride washed through Robin’s body, washing away her earlier anxiety almost completely. She got started on making three omelettes.

“Don’t you want something more flavorful than sawdust?” she asked her sister aloud, too focused on chopping the carrots to turn around.

“Please,” Sam replied. “It’s so stale…”

Robin hummed assuredly and continued her chopping with more purpose. Ryley’s heavy footsteps exited the bathroom and his chair squeaked as it pulled out. One of the two shifted, the fabric of their clothes rustling.

“No peeking!” Sam chided. There was a flutter of paper then and Ryley snickered. Robin smiled to herself as she chopped.

All three of their PDA’s dinged, momentarily distracting Robin from her work. Her heart leapt at the notification. Al-an was back! Oh, thank fuck, he could get in on the gaming day Robin had planned. Ooh! He could host their Minecraft world again, they hadn’t had a chance to play together in weeks. Would Sam want to join? The program was surely buried somewhere on her PDA gathering digital dust.

Ryley spoke up suddenly. “Hey wait, Al-an might have more ingredients. Do you want to wait a minute?” he asked.

Robin looked down again and then turned to him. A pang ate at her stomach. “I guess but I’m starving, man. I wanna eat!” she rubbed at her stomach and willed it to growl louder. For the drama, of course.

“I can make something for dinner with whatever they bring, how about that?” Sam offered.

At Ryley’s begrudging agreement, Robin immediately turned back to her work. She whisked the eggs quickly as their single shitty pan heated on the small stove. Pleasant quiet fell between the three while Robin cooked. Anticipation ate at her; she willed the food to go faster.

Her desire for Al-an to come home sooner pushed its way out of her own mind and toward him. His gentle presence was a breath of fresh air in her too-fast mind. His warmth flowed around her like sunlight through trees, reassuring her he was on his way.

“Patience, my love. I am nearly there,” he informed her. Oh, how she had missed his voice in her mind.

Robin chuckled to herself at that. To think she had hated his presence at first. The company he provided, his gentle calm. The empty hole when he went out of range, the-

Ryley’s omelette was going to burn if she didn’t pay attention. The woman quickly flipped it and breathed a sigh of relief when the underside wasn’t burned to hell. Ryley probably wouldn’t care either way, the man would eat almost anything. Still, she would have felt bad.

Three plates balanced carefully in Robin’s hands. Loud thudding echoed from Al-an’s hallway, announcing his arrival. Just in time. The woman took her seat, sliding her companions’ food to them. Ryley didn’t hesitate to dig in. He must have been hungrier than he let on. Now that she thought about it, they hadn’t eaten more than snacks in a couple of days. She knew better than anyone how much nutrients their rapid healing took up.

“Hey Al-an,” Ryley waved at the alien in the hallway behind Robin.

She spun around in her chair and grinned at her partner. His biolights washed blue with trickles of purple decorating his chest and face, twisting around his body as he walked. The human’s heart leapt at the sight of him, doubly at the emotions he pushed at her. His relief to be home, his happiness to see her.

“Get anything good from the ranchers?” she asked, turning back to her food.

“They gave everything we requested,” the alien replied. Robin heard the refrigerator open. “Mochi provided something extra for you as well.”

One of the Architect’s mechanical arms dropped a small black bag on the table. Robin’s eyes met Ryley’s. Curiosity overcame her and she reached for the packet first. Inside sat a handful of small green clumps with a very distinct smell. Oh, hell yes. Today was gonna be good.

Chapter Text

Spending weeks healing sucked major ass and balls. Al-an’s modifications to their human bodies meant that a normal cut would take a day or two to close up. A broken bone maybe a week or two. Half of your face melting off? Al-an had estimated that Ryley would be out of commission for at least two months, not to mention the time it would take them to perfect a new cybernetic eye. Which Ryley really wanted to ask about.

Instead, he had spent the last month finishing up “Box-Crab 2.0” and its weapons. Its appearance hadn’t changed all that much; still a large metal box with six legs on either side and two pincers on the front. He had moved the legs around slightly for better maneuverability and changed the original weapon to weapon-grade bolt cutters. They had great range of motion without compromising armor over the mechanics. The box itself got reinforced too, with some “borrowed” Architect metal. Al-an would forgive him ripping things out of their old lab.

Al-an’s Spider hadn’t changed at all, at least not noticeably. Stars knew what the bastard had actually done. Now that Ryley peered at the bot pacing back and forth against the Architect’s side of the bot arena, he did note some extra plating on the legs and over every joint. Shit.

All three of them had clearly gone for higher defense. Sam’s Attack Pengling wore a tiny suit of armor now that made it even cuter. Ryley’s plan had been to tip it over and take out Al-an’s legs. Maybe that would still work? He hadn’t tested the pincers on Architect metal yet, which he kicked himself for now.

“Alright roboticists, are you ready?” Robin’s question put the man’s thoughts on pause.

He nodded as Sam and Al-an voiced their agreement. This was as ready as he could get until his depth perception came back. He picked up his controller and stood, good eye trained on Al-an’s bot. He could feel Sam’s gaze on him. Perfect.

At Robin’s signal, the Attack Pengling went straight for Al-an’s Spider. Ryley followed more slowly, his crab skittering up behind the Pengling. Her axe swung and hit the ground with a clunk, narrowly missing one of the Spider’s legs as it dodged. Ryley took his chance and thrust out with both pincers. One glanced off the side of the armor. The other smashed into the robot itself’s side and, while it didn’t break through the metal, left a sizable dent in it regardless.

Just as Ryley had planned, the bird bot tipped over. It landed axe first then fell to the side, metal hitting the ground with a clunk. Try as Sam might, the treads couldn’t gain enough of a grip to right the bot in time.

“OUT!” Robin yelled, voice loud in the small room. She was grinning, one fist in the air.

Sam laughed and fell back in her seat. “Damn!” she exclaimed. “I really thought I had it!”

Ryley stuck his tongue out at her. “You better modify that movement system for next time then! I was READY!”

“Oh, you know I will!”

“Ryley.” Al-an interrupted the banter.

Ryley turned back to his objective. Sam’s Pengling had been air-lifted out of the arena, leaving the Spider running circles like it was too ready to take down its crabby enemy. Ryley maneuvered away, paced the arena across from it. His bot moved far slower and the Spider darted in the moment his attention turned back to it. The laser from before rose up out of the middle of the Spider’s body. Ryley barely had time to dodge its first attack, a short beam of light that left a smoking spot on the ground.

Getting in close was more difficult than Ryley had anticipated. The bot had three> lasers now, one on the front and two on the sides. It moved too fast to try to get behind it. Though… the lasers had a what, four maybe five second cooldown? If he could just get in there and pinch…

All three lasers fired and Ryley dodged again. He had to act now. The Box-Crab moved in in those five seconds, pincers reaching. The first attempted to pinch a spider leg, the bolt-cutters hardly leaving a scratch. Fuck. He tried again, this time aiming higher.

“Come on, Ryley!” Sam cheered.

“Get his ass!” Robin added. Her voice moved from behind him over toward Sam.

The pincer worked! It snipped through the front laser and sent sparks showering down over both bots. The other two turned toward him. Five seconds. Shit.

Both lasers fired in unison before Ryley had a chance to dodge. One landed at the joint between the Box-Crab’s left pincer and its body. The machine immediately failed, limb clunking to the floor. Smoke rose from the “wound”. The second laser shot through the front plate, one not nearly as armored as the rest of the box. More smoke emanated from the hole.

The Box-Crab shuddered to a halt, its limbs twitching as the laser shot fried its internals. Bright blue light emanated from the other side of the arena, accompanied with a loud “YES!”. Ryley couldn’t help but grin in Al-an’s direction, shaking his head. He looked down at his poor robot that still lay sparking on the floor. If that motherboard was completely fried Al-an was gonna get it.

When he looked up again, the Architect had moved closer to him, Sam and Robin hovering around their legs.

“I commend your noble attempt to disable my robot,” the Architect said. Their gentle blue lights gave away the good-natured intention of the admittedly pretty rude compliment.

“Thanks…” Ryley replied, glancing again to his smoking bot. He looked back up at them, smiled, and casually leaned on the guard wall in hopes that it let them know he wasn’t terribly upset.

“If I may…” Al-an paused and waited for Ryley to nod. “You might do well to invest in more armor on the face.”

Ryley nodded, eye traveling to Sam. “See I was expecting an axe to the head, not a laser to the face!” he told them.

“You almost had him though!” Robin jumped in to save the moment. She crossed the distance and wrapped her arm around Ryley’s shoulders. He let her pull him into herself and returned the gesture; his own arm wrapped around her waist and squeezed.

Sam laughed. “I was kind of hoping for another explosion… More oil and guts and all that!”

Ryley felt Robin tense up. He couldn’t glance up at her without turning his head but he could envision her smile dropping. Al-an’s colors even shifted momentarily to a sickly orangish worry. Something almost tangible passed between them and Robin before the alien shifted back to their natural pink. The pulsing orange making its way through their veins didn’t go unnoticed but Ryley chose not to say anything. The last thing he wanted to do was make this awkward pause even worse.

“What?” Sam broke the silence, clearly confused.

Nerves bunched up in Ryley’s gut. He had to say something, save Robin from having to answer. Something, anything, something funny-

“You’re crazy!” He finally responded with a forced laugh.

Sam’s head jerked toward him and he instantly regretted it. Mentally, the man kicked himself. Idiot, why did he say that? Did he want her to hate him? She would tell him if she did, right?

To his great relief, she laughed back, much lighter and more genuine sounding than his own. “Rude! Last time was just fun, that’s all!” she explained.

Robin let go of Ryley’s shoulders with a quiet “yeah.”

“I will ensure my Spider includes explosives next time, if that is the case,” Al-an tried. The orange faded into a color akin to the morning sky back on Earth that flowed around their body. Robin didn’t laugh.

The group silently left the reinforced base to go their own separate ways. Robin and Sam boarded a seatruck alone while Al-an disappeared. Ryley felt bad for them, their victory soured by a poorly timed joke. He hoped they were ok…

With nothing else to do, Ryley swam his way back to the base and his Seamoth. Driving was difficult enough but he wasn’t about to swim face-first into any more fish. He had nearly enough of that. Besides, taking the sub over to Nocturnal was far faster than swimming.

Now that Al-an had cleared him for vehicles and moderate swimming it was high time he get around to using that kyanite for its intended purposes. Nocturnal needed maintenance, bad, and he wasn’t about to let Al-an do everything for him.

Being cooped up at home sucked balls. Ryley couldn’t image how Robin was dealing with it when she didn’t even have a ship to make repairs on. It was a wonder she hadn’t gone nuts yet. Chores and base upkeep could only keep someone busy for so long when there was already someone else there to help. He thought about suggesting that Sam take her over to the new volcano, just to get the poor biologist out of the base for a day or two.

All was quiet on the dock save for the soft hum of energy coming from the Architect cables underground. Ryley pulled his PDA from his hip and approached his ship. Her hull could use a few patches too… the engineer added that to his long list of tasks. This would take him days. Nice.

A whoosh alerted the human to Al-an’s approached. He turned around in time to spot them warping toward him again, their body blurring momentarily until they were right up on him. The afterimages collided with the alien’s body, mixing their colors a bit until it solidified into soft blue.

“I would have accompanied you here had I known you were coming,” they told him.

Ryley chuckled awkwardly. “It’s fine, we didn’t- say… anything. Uh-” he cut himself short, unsure if he should talk about Sam’s comment.

One metal hand swung around from behind the Architect to pat the human’s right shoulder. He patted the unfeeling metal back before it returned to its owner.

“True,” the Architect finally replied. “I have work to attend to nearby, if you do not mind.”

“Not at all!” Ryley shook his head, smiling at his friend.

The two parted and set to their work. Ryley wandered to a fabricator nearby and started digging around in his PDA for repair blueprints. Air hissed from an invisible panel nearby; Al-an had opened up the floor to reveal smoking wires and a glitching control panel. They sat down with a quiet thud.

The sounds of their individual work filled the quiet air. It wasn’t particularly cold in the shelter of a wall that partially covered the walkway to the Architect launchpad. Al-an had spent considerable time out here constructing a nice place to dock the Alterran ship. Now that Ryley thought about it, he hadn’t noticed that the ceiling was partially open until now. Al-an must have shorted something before he got here.

The ding of a notification broke his concentration; the panel he held up to Nocturnal’s hull nearly slid out of his hands. He pushed it back up and nearly burned himself with his repair tool in his haste to check the message.

Someone in the Union was asking for permission to view some scientific documents. Oh. Robin hadn’t checked in like he hoped she would… Well, Ryley wasn’t going to stop anyone from pursuing knowledge. He checked the accounts, logged into some exec’s account, screenshotted the files, and sent them off to the lady. He logged back out and set his PDA back down. Good luck to Sandra with whatever that was.

Ryley turned back to his half-welded panel with a sigh. Al-an hadn’t said anything, so they had either already peeped at the PDA or they didn’t care. That was fine, Ryley didn’t really mind their quiet parallel work time. Honestly, he had half a mind to suggest they do it more often! Just being together was easier than trying to talk to the enigmatic alien. They were wonderful but sometimes Ryley still felt so out of his depth talking to them.

He tried to glance down at them and found himself irritated that he had to turn his head fully. Losing his vision had thrown him entirely off and it was starting to wear on him. He finished fixing the new panel to the ship and leaned back on his heels with a sigh. He needed a break.

Ryley turned around and leaned forward on the railing of his temporary scaffolding to watch the Architect work. Their metal arms moved around them zapping things and pulling on wires while their actual body remained entirely still. He felt their attention turn to him, though they didn’t move from their position.

One more moment of silence passed, then Al-an spoke. “Do you require assistance?” Their voice echoed in the mostly empty metal room.

Ryley shook his head. “Nah. Just taking a break.” He paused. “What are you doing?”

One of the Architect’s metal arms zapped another part of the wire, sending sparks flying into the air. It seemed to do something though, because unseen engines above whirred to life and the roof closed the rest of the way. Al-an stood, seeming proud of their work.

“Someone left the roof open for inclement weather to do a great deal of damage to the electrical architecture here,” they explained.

“It wasn’t… me. Was it?” Ryley hesitantly asked. God, he hoped not… Embarrassment flooded him before he could even get an answer.

Al-an flushed blue amusement before they answered aloud. “No. Logs indicate Robin came out for something and opened the hatch last week. I have yet to ask her about it.”

That was strange… She hadn’t even delivered Ryley’s kyanite. Nothing had changed that he could see outside of the broken roof. Nocturnal herself was fine, he and Al-an ensured ages ago (before the hangar) to include weather resistant shields in her arsenal. He made a mental note to check activity logs in case she left the planet and he never noticed.

Awkward silence stretched between the pair as Al-an turned to the open panel and began messing with the metal itself. Ryley peered down at it and finally noticed the scorch marks adorning its surface. Irritation filled their lights when a cloth didn’t wipe anything away.

“You think a laser might work?” Ryley finally broke the silence.

“Very likely, yes,” Al-an replied, voice clipped with annoyance. They didn’t move. “I had hoped I would not need to go to such lengths.”

Ryley hummed. He needed to change the subject. The alien was getting tense, fast and it was making Ryley nervous even faster.

“Hey uh,” he started. Al-an finally looked up at him, their faceplate fading soft lavender. “I was wondering about- my progress? My eye. Are you working on a new one?”

Excitement washed out the last of the annoyance in Al-an’s body. Ryley thought if they were human they might have smiled at him. “Yes! I planned on asking for a scan of your left eye to work off of. I have ideas stored away already for you.”

“When I’m done here you can have at me!” Ryley replied, grinning down at his friend.

Al-an nodded once and both turned back to their own work. One more panel needed replacing and then Ryley could work on internals. Al-an’s heavy hoofsteps echoed away, followed by the familiar sound of fabrication. Ryley nodded to himself, happy to go back to their comfortable silence. Worry ate at him though, burning the edges of the comfort. What had Robin been doing out here? He dare not ask, she was already so on edge. Her and Sam were constantly going at each other, Ryley wouldn’t be the one to poke at his friend any more. If he had Network access though…

~~~

Three days later and Ryley was finally, finally finished with his maintenance. That was three entire days of working almost nonstop, save for eating once and sleeping. Hell, last night he had spent on the ship itself. He was so close to done he hadn’t wanted to leave but his body begged for some kind of rest. Finally though, he had gone home and gotten some real sleep. Ten hours uninterrupted, silenced PDA and everything. Sam was more than happy to watch for incoming notifications from the AU on her own PDA while Ryley slept.

He woke slowly, content to just lay there with nothing all too important to do for the rest of the day. Robin could surely keep herself busy with data and observation like she had the last few days. Al-an was an endless source of things to do too. They had excitedly shown off their blueprint for his eye and were probably already working on it. Heat vision, night vision… Ryley had half a mind to ask them to replace both eyes.

He would have stayed in bed but his body screamed otherwise as multiple needs hit him at once. He had to use the bathroom, he was fucking starving and thirsty. He rushed out of bed and to the main room and then the bathroom. The base was utterly silent but he didn’t have time for it to unnerve him.

After though, as the man washed his hands, unease washed over him with the water. He wandered back into the main space. His PDA was still in his room, dammit. Ryley shrugged and made his way back for it. Nothing seemed out of place just… too quiet. Like it was midnight and his parents were out too late and Daisy was asleep.

Something caught his eye on the way back out of his room. He made a habit of glancing down the other two hallways toward Sam and Robin’s rooms. Empty hallways always held danger. This time though, Robin’s hallway led to… an open door? She never left her room bulkhead open. Alarm bells immediately started ringing in Ryley’s head.

She wasn’t inside, nor was her PDA or any of her travel supplies, which usually lay discarded against the wall. Ryley finally inspected his own PDA, mind racing. Why would she leave the door open? Was she ok? She had gone to bed like normal last night!

Tunnel vision and rage locked his gaze on the notification glaring at him from his screen. ‘ARCHITECT VESSEL 1010011011 PASSED OUTSIDE SATELLITE RANGE. CREW MEMBERS: ROBIN AYOU, AL-AN.’

What the FUCK were they doing?

Ryley spun on the balls of his feet and made a beeline for Sam’s room. She had better have a good fucking explanation for why they hadn’t woken him. Or taken him. Or something. What the FUCK was Robin thinking! Not even Al-an! FUCK!!!!

“Sam!” Ryley yelled, probably a little too loud. He couldn’t care, his chest ached in anxiety and rage and a whole mix of emotions he didn’t feel like identifying. He pounded on her door.

“Hang on, oh my gosh! I’m coming!” Sam called back. She opened the door moments later, dressed in pajamas and looking like she had just woke up.

“Where the hell did Robin and Al-an go?” Ryley demanded as soon as she was visible.

Sam looked surprised, and then past the man in her doorway. “What?”

Ryley leaned forward. “Where. Did they go.” he repeated.

Worry washed out Sam’s surprise. “I don’t- I don’t know, they never told me. Maybe they’re in the arctic?” she offered.

“They left! They fucking took a ship and left!” He slammed his fist into the wall and Sam flinched.

“Oh…” she muttered. “They didn’t tell me either, I’m-”

“Those FUCKERS left me!” Ryley turned again and stomped to the main room. “What the hell were they thinking? Do I just fucking mean nothing? God DAMMIT!”

He kicked a nearby bench, denting it and hurting his foot in the process. The pain helped though, cleared his foggy, angry brain. Sam appeared in the hallway, hesitant. She stepped out when Ryley sat down heavily on the newly damaged bench. Her soft footsteps preceded her legs appearing in front of him. Ryley looked up and met her sympathetic gaze.

“I’m sorry they did this to us,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s… unfortunately very like Robin to do this when she’s upset. I should have talked to her sooner, I can tell something is bothering her.”

The woman moved away and Ryley missed her presence in front of him. He stayed seated, nervous, as she began pulling food from the fridge to make them both breakfast. Food. Yeah, he was hungry. Right.

“I didn’t want to make it worse or I would have,” Ryley admitted after a pause.

“She’s hard to deal with sometimes, isn’t she?” Sam asked without turning around.

“Yeah…” Ryley agreed. “When do you think they’ll be back?”

Sam paused to crack four eggs. She sighed, shoulders sagging. “I say a week? Maybe two. It’ll give us time to come up with a measured response together at least.”