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Among the Stars

Chapter Eight

By Roofles

At the end of the hall, a doorway opened, and the room was basked in the glow of white light coming from within. It filled the dark utility hallway with light, banishing the creeping darkness. Almost blindingly beautiful, Isaac reached out for it. Expecting a hand to take his from within that glow.

“Oh, thank the space pope, I am so done with hallways.” Isaac practically jumped forward at the chance to get out of there.

A small cylinder of a room was there before them, and Isaac instantly recognized it as the elevator it was. Cramming inside with the other two males, one large and the other tall, they waited in silence as the doors shut and it began to move. Tacky elevator music filled the awkward silence as the three stood there, crammed together like a can of sardines.

Isaac couldn’t even feel the thing moving as he stared at the floor awkwardly. He wasn’t sure whose tail that was, but he was about to rip it off if it kept touching him. Not until the doors opened up to a different floor, did he know they had actually moved at all.

With a shove, the Silken Cat nearly pushed Isaac over. The Terran stumbled forward, found his footing, and spun around to face the serpent like feline.

“Touch me again,” Isaac warned, and the Silken Cat instantly got up into his face. With a fanged sneer, the feline hissed at him.

“Then you’ll do what?” The feline chuckled, tracing a forked claw finger along the Terran’s neck. “Your kind are so defenseless without your little tools.” It purred. Isaac knew he was referring to the inferior races, like Terrans. Typhon or even Juke would’ve been able to put up more of a fight than Isaac could without his gun. His mechanical arm, though, could still pack a punch. “Soft and weak. The flesh peels so easily from the bones. Hardly any fun, really.” The cat’s forked tongue flickered out. “Heh, I can taste your fear...”

Isaac wasn’t sure if he was afraid of the nail dragging over his Adam’s apple, or what had happened in the hallway earlier. Whatever that had been, left him deeply unsettled. The feline wasn’t helping with that.

“Raph really knows how to pick them.” Isaac swallowed and the motion caused the nail to prick against his skin. There was a faint drop of blood that formed, and the feline breathed in deeply, moving his round snout forward. Nostrils flared, breathing it in.

“Such a sweet, yet rancid scent…” They said, body curling around Isaac as if threatening to constrict him. “There is something wrong with your blood…” They spoke, tongue flickering out. “A sickness, maybe…?”

“Oh yeah, sorry, I have exploding space herpes. Careful. It’s highly contagious.” Isaac crassly said and the feline jerked away at the comment.

“Nasty creatures, all of you.” Quickly, they wiped off their gloved hands. Their entire body shuddered at the thought as they kept their distance from Isaac.

“Didn’t expect that to work,” Isaac rubbed the spot on his neck. Pulling his hand away, he saw the blood on his finger. It was tinted black. He quickly wiped it away.

“Heh, you really know how to get to people.” Cyclone chuckled, having watched the entire exchanged safely from the sidelines.

“Fuck off.” Isaac said back, pushing past the other two. “I don’t give a shit what you have to think about any of this. I want to get this over with.” Cyclone’s ear flicked but the Saberwolf didn’t say anything else as he followed behind the Terran.

This hallways was nothing like the one before. First, it was illuminated for lack of a better word. The floor was covered in a fine misty, fog like substance that glowed. There was a weight to the strange gas, making it flow around their ankles as they moved.

It was hard for Isaac to figure out where exactly the light was coming from. Statues lined the walls with diamond shaped gemstones hanging from above. The light could’ve been coming from them, the walls itself or the carpeted floor underneath the foggy mist. The carpet was gold with a frilly red rug laid out over it, keeping it clean and pristine as everything else was. There were pillar along the walls with archways between them. Windows had been installed within each. Instead of the cold, darkness of space outside that Isaac expected to see, he saw several habitats inside each one of these window displays.

These windows were viewing areas. Like an exhibit.

He stopped at the first one, looking at the plaque that had been set up. It read in golden letters on the bronze service “Tigeron terrarium.”

Behind the thick sheet of glass was a sparse jungle. Everything had been miniaturized and, for a second, Isaac thought it was just a diorama that someone had made of Tigeron’s ecosystem. That was until he saw the tiny animals inside moving.

“The fuck,” Isaac jumped back, startled as a massive batlike creature flew by. Or at least, it should’ve been massive. The bats on Tigeron were infamous and could even abduct small children if left unattended. This one could’ve fit in the palm of the Terran’s hand. “They’re so… small. Are they robots to simulate the environment?” He couldn’t help but ask aloud, getting lost in thought over it. “In theory, it’s possible… no one has ever been able to use compression crystals on living organisms without killing them, though.”

“Oh, they’re real.” A shrill voice said as they squeed excitedly.

Isaac barely had time to react before he was promptly glomped by a fuzzy moth. The Motha was smaller than Isaac was and wore a fluffy white furred jacket around their equally fuzzy white body. Unlike the hologram from before, Raphael was very real. Four black arms encircled Isaac, and he was squeezed tightly as Raph greeted him warmly. The moth’s eyebrows tickled his face as they gave him butterfly kisses.

“It’s been SO long since you last visited,” Raph pulled back, looking Isaac over. Seeing the growing frown on the Terran’s face forming, he asked, “what?”

“If you wanted to see me, you didn’t have to kidnap me.” Isaac pulled one of Raph’s arms off and let it drop.

“Kidnap you?” Raph blinked several times, taking a step back with an audible gasp. “No, you didn’t!” He quickly turned to look at the Silken Cat. “Elegan. You didn’t kidnap the poor boy did you?” That shrill voice rose, and Isaac’s translator crackled, trying to keep up with the high-pitched sound.

“You told me to… collect, your guest.” Elegan bowed gracefully before the Motha. “I have retrieved him as you have requested, sir. Unharmed. Mostly.” The feline’s eyes flickered to the dried blood on Isaac’s neck.

“Yes, but, you didn’t have to manhandle the poor boy! He already has that hunky Saberwolf to do that for him.” Raph appeared to be jealous of the fact Isaac was, even going so far as to nudge the Terran’s side with an elbow. He turned to face the Terran, ignoring Cyclone altogether. “I’m so sorry if Elegan did anything inappropriate or… unprompted in my absence. I’d be devastated if something happened to you on my ship,” Raph swooned as if about to faint on the spot.

One of the two guards accompanied him quickly stepped forward and caught the moth before he fell. Lounging out over the muscular arm of the Ursa, the moth lifted up a leg.

“Oh, Teddy, you’re such a good man.” Raph patted their arm before standing back up. Isaac rolled his eyes at his dramatic reaction. “I’ve been SO overworked these past couple of months to set everything up. I haven’t even had the time to keep you up to date with everything going on! We have SO much to catch up on, I can’t wait to show you everything.” The moth squeed joyfully at the end, clapping both set of hands together happily.

“What is… everything?” Isaac dared to ask, glancing at the nearby terrarium. “This isn’t… what I think it is, is it? It’s not just plant life, you’ve managed to simulate and recreate a perfect environment for… animals. Organisms!” Isaac was still baffled by that. “I’m assuming the temperature, moisture levels… every is down to a perfect recreation of the planet Tigeron?”

“Oh, Isaac, you always had such a sharp eye.” Raph clapped happily, squeeing as he waltzed over to join the Terran at his side. Wrapping an arm around Isaac’s waist, resting against the Terran’s side, the two looked inside the case together. “This is what I plan to show everyone. Or at least, to start with. A tour of the entire thing is set up for later on in the month. I wanted you to be the first one, though, to see! That’s why I asked,” he shot a look at Elegan. The feline just gave another bow in reply. “ASKED for him to be delivered to me.” Raph patted Isaac’s back. “So sorry about all that. The help, am I right?”

Isaac wasn’t proud to say he was glad Raph thought of him first. He had been worried the Motha had changed after everything. The two of them had been close at one point. He feared the distance had soured their friendship with the passing years. It appeared to be just another misunderstanding.

Isaac was having that happen to him a lot lately. Memories, feelings, and recollections that weren’t fully his own.

“I thought compressed space didn’t work on living organisms?” Isaac asked, rubbing his chin as he thought about the seedy implications behind such a thing. The Cartels already were using the compression crystals to transport their illicit goods across the galaxies. Usually, drugs or guns.

Isaac could only imagine if they could use these things on organisms as well. The idea of other forms of trafficking were terrifying. Every civilization across the universe were developing new ways to kill each other. That wasn’t anything special at this point.

The idea of being able to kidnap people and store them in these crystals? That was a game changer. The cockroach-like insectoids of The White Lotus Cartel were known for being ruthless as it was. They didn’t have the same emotions or feelings as other races in the galaxies did, making their crimes come second nature to a race that didn’t have something like empathy in them.

You couldn’t apply the same measures a Terran had and felt to other races. Just another reason why so many races didn’t get along. Eating your young was normal for the cockroach race. The act of cannibalism illegal in several other sectors.

“Yes, and no. These terrariums are specially made. More like miniature habitats than anything else, I just like calling them terrariums for fun. Terra iums.” The moth giggled. “Got that one from you.” He winked, or at least Isaac thought that was what the moth was trying to do without eyelids. “And I do mean, special.” Raph gleefully said, beaming with pride over his successful project, clapping excitedly again. “It’s near completion, mind you, but not something I plan to distribute globally. Yet.”

“Why show everyone then?” Isaac asked but could already feel the creeping smirk pulling at his face, knowing where Raphael, a Motha, was going with this.

Motha’s were an insectoid alien race and, as such, was commonly looked down on by all Celestial nations.

“Of course, to rub it in their faces!” Raph laughed and Isaac joined him on that. The two enjoying the torment that came along with teasing the other races that looked so scornfully on their own. It was one of the things they both had in common. Getting the upper hand on those who thought themselves superior. “I have perfected the art of compression, able to compress even living organisms down using one my newest discoveries! Lumen Dio Crystals!” The Motha beamed happily, trying to contain his excitement. “I’ll show you in just a moment. For now, take your time. Enjoy yourself! This is your vacation, after all. Something you sorely need, my friend.”

“Thanks,” Isaac said, finally beginning to relax. He kicked his foot through the mist on the floor. “This…?”

“A byproduct of the Lumen Crystals. Don’t worry, it’s harmless.” The Motha nodded back at the case, wanting to show everything off. “This is far easier to store them in my collection, with these newfound crystals.” He motioned at the exotic species he’d collected. “Most of these are or near extinction. Thanks to these containments I’ve been able to save them from such a fate.”

“Extinct…?” Isaac asked, curious how that was possible if some of these species were still in existence. Raph seemed to have missed the question, just staring into the habitat.

A flying squirrel-like creature with a horn on its head was currently fighting with another, the two males fighting over a female.

“Have to make sure the strongest of the species survives to produce future generations. A delicate balance to produce the best future possible for the species…” Raph explained without ever once looking over at Isaac. “Nature is so beautiful… and cruel.”

“You’re really creating your very own ark here, huh?” Isaac asked as he walked over to the next section. It was of a different planet’s ecosystem and inside were creatures from it. All shrunken down to be viewed from above. The centipedes stuck up out of the earth, looking like plants. Isaac knew they were ambush predators and were just waiting for a meal to foolishly walk by.

Isaac also knew these creatures were on the Galactic Union’s endangered list, making the Terran curious if all the creatures here were of such rarity. Raphael was collecting all the endangered species in the universe for… a show?

That actually made a lot of sense, thinking about Raph’s personality. To spend his vast wealth and fortune to shop for such exotic creatures to collect. He must’ve scoured the entire universe in search of these things. It would explain his need for such an obnoxiously large ship.

“Exactly! I fell in love with those old stories you shared with me. Just call me Noah!” Raph giggled. “I will bring all the handsome men along with me on my journey through the stars!”

“Uh, Raph,” Isaac gave Cyclone a look and the Saberwolf shook his head. Cyclone was being oddly silent throughout all of this. No quips or remarks the entire time. “I don’t think that’s how the story goes… or how it works…”

“Oh, I know how it goes.” Raph gagged, shaking his hands off as if he touched something foul. “I do not want to ruin my luxury cruise with such filthy things. I just want some hunky men to fight over me for mating rights,” Raph said thinking of the two primordial squirrels battling to the death for the right to continue their genetic line.

“I didn’t know you had an aversion to woman,” Isaac rolled his eyes. “Would’ve never guessed!” He laughed.

“It’s not woman, darling, I dislike. It’s children.” Raph gagged again. Isaac snorted a laugh at that. “That’s something we both can agree on.” The Motha tried to do that wink again. Isaac had to read between the lines to get his point.

“True,” Isaac said as he looked in another case. Tapping his knuckle on the thick glass, he looked over at Raph watching him. “This isn’t glass.” The Motha smiled. “It’s a crystal… you created massive crystals and stored everything inside them. Remarkable…” Isaac noted casually as he continued to check it out. “It’s just… mind boggling. This kind of technology. Terrans like their circuitry and computer chips. This… this is almost organic, it’s insane.”

“They said it couldn’t be done! You know me,” Raph walked proudly past Isaac and the Terran followed in his steps. “I love to disprove those arrogant pricks at the academic society. They think, just because I’m a Motha, that I can’t solve the greatest mysteries of the universe? To find the first civilizations? That I can’t recreate, rebuild, and preserve history itself? Well humbug to them!” Isaac knew that was a far bigger curse for Raph’s people to say than it was for a Terran. “I’ll show them all, then rub it in their faces as I laugh at them. Those damn stink bugs don’t even know what I’m capable of.”

Isaac chuckled along. It was funny thinking the four foot eight Motha was going to rub anything in the tall, proud Celestial races faces.

Raph stopped, motioning at the rooms around them. That’s what they really were. Windows that looked into the rooms of the worlds that Raph had created. Like portals to the planets themselves. Carefully collecting the natives of the planet, the fauna and flora, and storing them within these miniaturized worlds.

“That’s why you want the octoshark egg!” Isaac said as the light flicked on. “You need octosharks for the Aquarium… uh, I mean Aquatic world.”

“Well, it is illegal to take the eggs off planet.” Raph giggled knowingly. “Thankfully, I have such a bad boy like you on my staff that could collect such a precious specimen for me!” The Motha slapped Isaac on the arm playfully. “So bad.”

“I’ll have to get it off my ship,” Isaac said but the Motha held up a hand.

“No need. I have already sent a crew on board to retrieve my prize and your gift.” The Motha’s wings flapped, and dusty scales filled the air. Isaac covered his mouth, taking a step back. So did the others in the room. Except for the two guards that had come with the moth.

The Motha race had only one natural form of defense. They could shed the scales on their wings to create a misty powder to blind, disorientate or confuse their enemies with before escaping. Everyone knew to keep their distance when a Motha got flapping. Except for his two guards who stood there, within the misty substance.

It was disturbing to see the Motha covering them in the white powder, knowing what it could, or should be doing to their senses. Neither of the two masked guards reacted as they stood there, motionless. Isaac had another larger issue to deal with than them.

“You… went on board my ship without asking my permission first?” Isaac frowned at this, trying not to let his displeasure show.

Cyclone’s ear twitched, watching Isaac but the other two seemed to be unaware how upset Isaac was by that.

“Yes, yes. I thought it would be best if I just got our business concluded with as soon as possible, so that you can properly relax.” Raph waved his concerns away as he continued to walk through the room. “Now then, let me give you the tour! There is so much I’ve been wanting to show you.”

“Sure thing…” Isaac held back the bitter taste in his mouth and followed along, feeling violated for his privacy being invaded so blatantly and with so much disregard to his personal space.

If Raph had asked? Isaac would’ve openly given him access to the ship. This? This was something one of the Celestial nations would’ve done to a Terran… treating them like some infant or child just because their race was young in the cosmic calendar. Doing something “for their own good.”

“Throughout the years, I have been an avid collector of precious and unheard-of artifacts.” Raph started up his speech he’d planned to give the others when he gave the full tour. “These priceless artifacts are only a piece, a sample, of the vast history of their worlds! We could write entire libraries just for each world alone. So, collecting just a few pieces wouldn’t be enough, would it?”

He stopped, turning towards Isaac. The Terran thought he was waiting for Isaac to clap or say something, but then the carpet under their feet began to move. With a jerk, it pulled them along through the vast hallway. Allowing them to stand somewhat comfortably in place as they were moved by the walkway itself.

The action might’ve been overlooked by the echelon of society, but to Isaac it was a harsh reminder of how time changes things…

Raphael V. Mothail was a Motha from an unnamed galactic system. His people had a name for their planet, their star, and their system but the Celestial nations had never bothered to learn it. Just calling it “the moth planet.” Over the centuries that passed, such a thing as a “name” became mixed and forgotten, known only now in the galactic year to be “Motha.”

Just as Mars, Earth two, was called Terra two and how all the Tigeron planets were named the same thing and numbered according to how they were colonized. It was how the superior races deemed it fitting to help “streamline things,” for everyone’s good. Dictating what to teach their children in the future. The more advanced races didn’t have the time to bother learning each and every city or town or name of planets they already saw so far beneath them.

“You wouldn’t name ants, would you?” Raphael had asked Isaac during an expedition. The two hiking up a steep mountain to discover a rumored civilization that had long since passed after the nearby volcano erupted. “That’s how these people see us. As ants. Oh, sure, we’re living creatures. They understand that but if you were to… accidentally step on one? They wouldn’t bat an eye or care.”

“They’d be more upset that you soiled their shoe,” Isaac frowned, understanding. It was thanks to Raphael that he began to understand how the Terran Armada had formed.

When every other advanced civilization in known space treated you like space scum? As if you were from the boonies of space? Or like a child? It wasn’t a hard reach to understand why so many of the “uncivilized” nations took up arms against the Celestials. To create their own battalion of warships, or an armada.

Unfortunately, the lack of advanced technology and firepower left them helpless in any kind of direct confrontation imaginable with the Celestial nations.

Isaac just never thought that Raphael, his friend, would become like them.

Raph was a man that would dress in, well, dresses. Wear the fanciest jewelry, beads, and necklaces… and still be the kind of person to put on hiking boots and get his hands dirty for his passion. To get his fingers in the mud and grime to discover things other nations rather keep forgotten. The thing that drove and pushed him to become the man he was today. A true archeologist.

Having a carpet move for them might’ve seemed like a minor thing but Raph acted like it, in itself, was a chore. To walk with his two feet. To stoop down to their level. Needing to…

Maybe Isaac was just reading into this. That’s what he wanted to believe.

“Don’t worry. By the time the showcase is open, we plan to remodel the entire hallway!” The Motha motioned at the priceless pictures and statues on display around them. He scoffed, seeing one and shook his head. “How long has this one been up? Need a full new décor for the tour.”

“Going to put the rest in storage?” Isaac asked, finding it odd. Raphael was a man who liked to dig up a clay pot from a lost civilization and try to put in a museum, on display, for everyone to see that somewhere out there a man or woman, a father or mother had created this thing for their household to use.

It was a piece of history.

It was one the things Isaac liked best about Raph.

“Trash them.” Raph said, talking both to Isaac and to one of the guards. “They are unsightly. I can’t have the Celestial’s think this is what I want to showcase! They’ve been here for over a month now and I just can’t with them any longer. I gave them a try and it was not a good fit.” He waved one of his hands at the nearby statue as if it were a pair of shoes to be returned.

The statue looked like someone had chiseled the thing out of the metal like stone substance by hand. It must’ve taken them years of painstaking work and care to craft something so marvelous and beautiful. Pouring their sweat, blood, and tears into their work to create something that would last through the ages.

And Raphael wanted to trash it?

“You can’t-,” Isaac jaw dropped open at hearing what Raphael had said. He looked at the Motha, then at the Saberwolf for some kind of support or backup. Cyclone just shrugged. “Raph,” Isaac stammered at first before clearing his voice and acting like the captain he was. “Surely this gigantic, beautiful, stunningly breathtaking ship of yours,” the Terran really kissed the Motha’s ass about that. “Has room to store these… priceless statues! These work of art. There is nothing else like this out there! It’s… it’s priceless!” He said again.

“You know the thing about something that’s priceless?” Raph asked, inspecting the nails he didn’t have.

“What?” Isaac hated where this was going.

“It has no price.” Raphael giggled, laughing about it as several workers came out from hidden doors within the walls. Scurrying out like insects to do as they were ordered.

In minutes, everything was being taken down. The crystal displays remained but every statue and picture and gemstone was being taken. Moved to somewhere Isaac couldn’t do anything about. To be destroyed? Incinerated? Or just shot into space?

The last part made Isaac stop.

“You don’t plan to litter do you?” Isaac swallowed nervously, trying to keep his cool.

“Litter…?” Raphael stopped ahead of him. The moth looked back, those large compound black eyes staring at Isaac for several long, uncomfortable seconds… then he clapped his hands together. “Oh! No, no, dear Isaac. I plan to recycle everything, of course… Of course.” He repeated the word as if reading it from a script. “I wasn’t about to just jettison them into space, no, no… No matter how empty it is. Come along then, much to show. Much to show…”

Isaac forced his legs to move. To follow. He couldn’t even look at Raphael in the eyes as the Motha continued to show him around. The moth didn’t even seem to notice Isaac’s lack of enthusiasm from this point, lost in showcasing the newest, brightest things he had put on display. The newest trinkets, the newest bits, and pieces he’d discovered.

Ironically, forgetting the older object he’d collected in the process.

“Much better,” Raph turned forward. “There are so many things I wish to show everyone. Not just these.” The Motha’s eyebrows wiggled. “There is so much incredible history in all the known worlds. Vast, rich cultures and long-lost civilizations waiting to be rediscovered! I want to make sure none of their memories are forgotten.”

“Forgotten memories, huh?” Isaac asked halfheartedly. “What with destroying these priceless-,” Isaac wanted to get on him for it. To argue with Raph. To talk him out of this, to figure out what was going on.

Cyclone stepped in. Silently stopping the Terran and shaking his head in warning. Their eyes met and it was Isaac who yielded first.

“Sorry, please continue Raphael…” The moth barely seemed to notice Isaac’s outburst and continued on.

“What is history if not the memories of those that came before?” Raph glanced back at the three, using them as practice for when he did the real tour. Using the trio like tools. A test audience who wasn’t supposed to ask any questions. Just smile and clap along with him. “There are so many things that have been discovered over the years. Knowledge given to me and places explored.”

“You sound like an old man,” Isaac teased. Raph only laughed, making Isaac growing concern proliferate. “Uh, when’s the next expedition?”

“Expedition?” Raph paused at that, thinking it over. “I’m not following your train of thought here...”

“I mean, when are you, uh, next going out there. Into the field. To discover and explore these things and places, to investigate these lost civilizations and bring back their keepsake for… safe keeping.” Isaac looked away at the end. “Isn’t it… wasn’t that your dream? To be the first one there to see these places? To find them untouched so that you can be the one to manage it safely and carefully all…? To find the progenitors, those who came before the rest of us?”

“Oh, yes…” Raphael paused at that, a fleeting smile spreading over his face before he looked back at the others. Or rather, at Isaac. “Not anymore.” Raphael shrugged all four arms, shaking his head side to side. “I have people to do that now, for me. Hired help,” Raphael finally motioned towards Cyclone without ever fully looking at the Saberwolf as if having some hidden beef with him. “Why do I need to dirty and soil my hands anymore when I can have someone do it for me? Honestly, Isaac, you need to think.” Raphael didn’t wait for an answer to his question and pushed the button again, moving the carpet along for them.

“Tools for you use…” Isaac wanted to say it. It was on the tip of his tongue and only clamping his teeth together kept him from doing so. He had expected Raphael to change. Just not this much. Was it the money? The fame? Did that change him? To be in that spotlight he had always talked about and wanted to do? Was that all it took for him to become an entirely different person?

After everything they’ve been through…?

Sure, Raphael and Isaac had done many things together. They also had worked. Explored. Seen things… gone to swamps and craggy cliffsides and… Dress up, drag, going out to parties! Living life. Experience it. Seeing the universe. Talking endlessly online when they were apart, and, and, and…

“No… We didn’t do any of that, did we?”

Isaac winced, holding his head after as pictures appeared and disappeared as quickly as they came. Memories that seemingly were and weren’t his own. His left eye felt uncomfortably warm, and he shook the thoughts away again. Unsure where that kept coming from.

Or rather, what was triggering it.

He could feel it, though. Whatever it was… beating. Like a heart. Almost silent, but just loud enough for him to hear when his guard was done. No one else there seemed to hear it as he did. The sound of a heart beat thumping from somewhere deeper in the room.

Thumping. Beating. Pulsing…

“This is where I wanted to introduce you first. I know how much you enjoy my collection,” Raphael motioned towards the expansive room laid out before them at the end of the hall.

With flowing curtains of red and gold, walkways paved with diamonds, stairs made of the finest marble Isaac had ever laid eyes on in his life with golden railings and silver bars… was the display room.

Isaac was instantly captivated by the beauty of it all. Walking forward, he spun around slowly, looking up the very walls to the ceiling above.

“Holy shit…”

Curved walls rose high around them into a dome shaped structure as if they’d walked into a building, instead of another part of the ship. The columns were carved and the walls themselves painted. Stained glass windows showed dramatic events from different cultures from around the universe high up above. They clashed with each other, the different styles and designs of these stained-glass windows. Somehow, because nothing matched, everything went perfect together.

So many cultures and histories all crammed into a singular room. Fighting against one another for space and to be seen. It was a fitting display for the history of the universe itself. All the different cultures could mix beautifully together or into an ugly display of violence.

“This is, unbelievable.” Isaac audibly gasped seeing one display after another. Weaponry from the bronze ages were on display from various cultures, next to paintings drawn on old tapestries nearly faded away with age. Preserved in other crystals to protect them from the harshness of time. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Impressive, aren’t they? Over here, Isaac. Come, come. This is one of the very first discoveries I’ve found.” Raphael said stepping off the moving carpet and gave an elegant bow towards the dinosaur bones on display.

In the middle of the room was a massive, fossilized remains of an ancient oceanic aquatic reptile still preserved in the very stone they found it in. It looked ancient. Most likely before Terrans were even a race. It was captivating and Isaac couldn’t take his eyes off the gigantic structure.

“It’s a leviathan.” Isaac said, staring at it. He wished he could take a picture of this thing but ever since he’d entered the room his left eye had been acting up, refusing to cooperate with him. Maybe it was a good thing Sphinx hadn’t tagged along. This place seemed to disrupt electronics.

“A what?” Cyclone asked, staying nearby still. The Saberwolf glanced at the structure before watching Isaac view it. Seeming to enjoy the look on the Terran’s face more than the piece itself.

“It’s a massive mythological creature of biblical origins back on earth, I mean Terra One.” Isaac wanted to reach out, to touch the stone with his left hand. If only Sphinx were here. Then the AI could analyze it further. “This must predate most civilizations! Where on earth, uh, sorry… where in the universe did you find it?” Isaac stumbled a bit, blushing as he chuckled over his mishap.

He felt giddy, like a child in a candy store. There was so many things to look at and see. Sights and sounds to discover.

“Aqu Notal. That back water planet in the outer ring.” Raphael said, looking up at the fossil. He seemed very pleased with his discovery. “I’ve sent out millions of drones over the years in search of newer things.” Raphael swirled a glass of wine around with one of his hands.

Isaac looked around but didn’t see any servers there. The moth had seemingly pulled it out of his jacket. Without his mechanical eye, it was hard for Isaac to keep track of all the people in the room. He knew there had to be dozens of securities officers here. Standing as perfectly still as those statues in the hallway leading here.

Unlike the station, Raphael preferred to use personnel over AI or robotic guards and drones.

“When I discovered this thing buried beneath the waves? I just knew I had to have it!” Raphael took a slow sip of his drink, letting out a satisfying sigh after. “The outer ring seem to be of the first planets. As if the origin of the universe pushed them all to the farthest reaches of the stars during the original forming if you believe such a thing. It was there, I found the… firsts.”

“That must’ve been one heck of an excavation, then. I can only imagine what the locals thought. Or wildlife,” Isaac chuckled, still beaming happily up at the piece. He walked slowly around it, trying to estimate the size. “It’s massive… To read about them is a complete different experience than seeing them in person like this.”

“The locals posed a serious problem that was promptly dealt with.” Raphael took another drink. “Wine? It’s the finest, important from the vineyards of Tigress, one of the off planets in the Tigeron system. They make amazing wine.”

“What happened to the people of Aqu Notal?” The fact it didn’t have a number meant that the people there only had that one planet to call home. Just like Raphael’s home planet. No number, meant they only had the one to call home.

“Isaac, do you know how you make the perfect wine?” Raphael held up the glass, looking at the light white wine liquid inside. It sparkled and glowed, untainted with any impurities. “The perfect grapes.” Raphael took another sip. “You must find the perfect plot of land to grow them in, with the best soil mind you. Make sure it receives the best sun and a controlled amount of rain. You need to make sure there are no pests or vermin that interfere with the process and then, to get the best? And I mean the very best…? You must hand pick each and every single grape by hand. One at a time. Pick. Pick. Pick… No AI robots or machine. They need to be done with… personal hands.”

“Uh, what?” Isaac was utterly confuse where that had come from. “The people, Raph?”

“Pruning and picking, pruning and pruning and… pruning.” The Motha continued to mutter, looking down into the glass as he swirled it around.

Isaac winced each time he said the word. Practically able to picture the shears snipping the useless part of the plant away.

“I found something out, though!” Raphael said as if an idea had turned on over his head. Holding up one hand, he turned to face Isaac. “Tigress found out that the way to grow the very best? And I mean just the very best wine? To make sure their handpicked by their servants. By hand. No matter how many countless hours it’d take for such ginormous fields.” Raphael chuckled lightly. “Other nations want to invest in AI and have mechanical hands perfectly do the job for them? Oh, Isaac, I’ve learned that it is the… imperfections in life that truly yield the best result.”

Raphael was captivated by the wine in hand, holding it tightly with his black spindly fingers. Tight enough that if the glass wasn’t made of crystal, it would’ve shattered.

“And the people…?” Isaac pressed.

“They helped me excavate it, of course.” Raphael smiled at him. It was hard to tell how truthful those words were. “Don’t look at me like that!” Raphael giggled, waving him off with a hand. “I didn’t hurt them. No, no. Not at all. Did you not listen to my wonderful story? Do I have to sum it up for you? The best way to get the product I desired? Was by using the people closest to it. I mean, I suppose… you are only a Terran.”

Isaac flinched as if he’d been slapped in the face at that.

“Such a backwater planet like yours even has a history in this. Using others labor for your betters,” Raphael turned and began walking up the steps. With a snap of his fingers, Isaac felt his arms pinned to his sides by the Silken Cat.

Elegan just waiting for the order to do so.

Lifted off the ground, Isaac didn’t dare to struggle as he felt one of the feline’s pointed fangs brush the side of his neck.

“Do be careful with that one,” Raphael didn’t even look back as he slowly walked up the steps, higher and higher above the trio. Only looking back when he was able to look down on them. Folding his arms behind his back, Raphael smiled. “Do you know why the Silken Cat race was wiped out, Isaac?”

Elegan chuckled wickedly at this, as if hearing this story plenty of times before.

“They were hunted to extinction for their bodies as far as I’m aware…” Isaac answered as he felt the feline constrict around his body.

“Of course, that is what the Celestial’s want everyone else to think.” Raph lifted a finger, pausing the conversation to drink.

“I take it that’s more lies…?”

“You know that old saying? Is it nature or nurture? No wait, nature verse nurture, that’s the one…” Raphael took a drink. “Anyways, Silken Cats are monsters.” Raphael laughed, covered his mouth with the back of a hand. “And I mean that quite literally. They are vicious, cunning, merciless killers. Ruthless and brutal. They didn’t mind using the infants or young of their enemies to lure out the parents before pouncing on them… Sometimes, they’d even force the parents to watch as they killed their kin. Watch as they devoured them one by one. See, they weren’t killed for their pelts, no. They were deemed too dangerous to be left alive. Every last one of them.” Raphael moved the wine glass away and a servant stepped up to refill it.

The servant was of some kind of aquatic race and had bags of water over their gills, keeping them alive outside the water.

“The Celestials found them distasteful with their brutality. Killing their own if deprived of something to hunt. It wasn’t about food, wealth, or power… it was about the hunt. That’s what they desired more than anything else. It’s all just a big sick game to their people,” Raphael glanced at Elegan, and the feline’s snakelike fangs slid out. Deep purple liquid dripping from the end of each. “Their bite can paralyze a normal human male Terran for up to twelve hours. You won’t die from a bite, mind you.”

Raph took another drink as Elegan brushed the tip of a fang over Isaac’s neck.

“It’s the strangulation you have to worry about,” Elegan’s lithe body twisted around Isaac, still holding the Terran in place. “They can constrict and crush even a crustaceans shell, to get at the tasty bits inside… Or, they bite you. Paralyze you. And while you are still alive and conscious… swallow you whole.”

Isaac’s face paled as a drip of saliva landed against his cheek. He refused to look at the Silken Cat behind him, taunting him.

“You keep a psychopath around you willingly?” Isaac played along, knowing Raphael… or at least, the old Raphael would’ve enjoyed the drama of it.

“Oh my, yes! Yes, of course! It’s far more interesting with such individuals in your life, don’t you agree… Isaac?” Raphael looked at him. Finally looked at him with a cold, calculative stare with unblinking eyes. “It’s why I kept you.”

“Like some pet?” Isaac glared back.

“Oh, no. Nothing of the sorts.” Raphael took a sip before motioning with a hand. Elegan didn’t loosen his grip and Isaac grunted, feeling the Silken Cat’s body squeeze him tighter. His fingers felt like they were about to pop off one by one as the pressure around him increased.

The Silken Cat constricting around his body.

“Elegan!” Cyclone snarled, finally stepping forward about to rip the feline off Isaac.

“I said, stop.” Raphael snapped his fingers and with a flash of white light, the pressure instantly eased off Isaac.

The Terran fell to all fours, coughing as he tried to catch his breath. Cyclone shoved the Silken Cat aside and knelt down next to him.

“Are you alright?” Cyclone asked and Isaac swatted his hand away.

“Could’ve stepped in sooner,” Isaac glared at him before focusing on the Silken Cat in case he tried to do something again. “What the fuck…?” Isaac stood up slowly, stepping away from the lithe feline.

Standing there before them was the elongated body of the feline snake. It was motionless, still slightly twisted with it’s eyes open wide. Staring at something, mesmerized by it as drool trickled down the side of their gaping snake like mouth.

Then Isaac saw it. A bright white light in front of Elegan’s eyes. It floated there taking the shape of a white mask, before plastering over the feline’s face. It folded and molded, compressing around it before in another bright flash from the eyes, it was fused to the feline’s face.

Elegan’s body relaxed, and his length shrunk back down as he stood before the two.

“My apologies for my outburst,” Elegan said in a monotone voice, bowing before them and taking a step back. “I let my impulses take over.”

“My apologies, Isaac.” Raphael sighed. The Motha’s wings were open wide and on each one was a glowing golden eye, staring down at the trio. The insect was glowing. His entire body was radiating a pale white light that slowly began to die down and fade away. “Their kind, once they ensnared their prey, refuse to let go unless… prompted to do so.” Raphael took another drink as if he were the one that had nearly been killed, exhausted by the attempt. “Ah much better.” Finishing the glass, he set it on a side table. It was quickly cleaned up and the spot it had been on wiped down.

“I… no.” Isaac said, making the Motha pause. “The fuck was that? What did you do to get him to stop?”

“Oh, that? Well, as much as I do love having some more unexpected variables in my life, I am no fool.” Snapping his fingers a couple of times, the moth turned and continued down the hall at the top of the stairs. “Come, come. I have one last thing I’d like to show you before I retire for the evening.”

“Do we have a choice…?” Isaac grimaced as he noticed several of the guards stepping forward, closer to them. Blocking the way they had come.

“No.” Cyclone said and when the Terran looked at him, the Saberwolf bowed his head. “We don’t. Not on this ship…”

“Why then? Why risk it?” Isaac glared at Cyclone. The Saberwolf didn’t look at him with scorn or that sneer, just pity. A deep well of sadness lurked behind that eye as the Saberwolf reached up to touch the eyepatch on the other one.

“We all have to sacrifice something, Isaac. To get what we want.” Cyclone started up the stairs with a terrible limp and Isaac stayed at his other side to help him if needed. “Money? Investment? Independence or even the amount of work we put into it? We all have to give something, to earn it in return.”

“What did you give?” Isaac feared to ask such a question. What would be asked of him, then, in return?

“Me?” Cyclone snorted, giving the Terran a wink before working his way up the stairs. “I sacrificed everything…”

“What? You can’t go dropping a line like that and leave me hanging!” Isaac shouted after him, jogging up the steps to catch up.

There was a pale white light glowing from above them, at the top of the stairs. The misty substance fell down from above, a gaseous river that ran around their legs and pooled on the floor below. It was warm to the touch and the light resembled a sun rising.

It gave them warmth and strength; it made every step closer to it easier. Despite Isaac’s tribulations, every step became easier. More inviting. As if he expected to see a familiar face at the top of their steps. A hand reaching out for him, encouraging him forward.

Was this where the dampening field originated from? Isaac’s hostilities were fading, his worries dissipating and fears vanishing the closer he drew to it. He doubted he had the courage or willpower to stop himself if he had wanted to.

The closer he drew, the happier he felt. Worries, doubts, fears, concerns all vanishing away.

Isaac was happy…

At the top of the stairs was a walkway. A smaller path than the one they’d taken. It circled around an opening in the floor. Filling that opening was a massive golden white crystal. Isaac had to stop and gawk at the thing; it was so massive.

Jagged and unrefined, as if dug out of the ground recently, the crystal hummed with a soft pale white light. It was comforting as it washed over the front of Isaac’s face and body. It smelled like fresh sunshine on a damp lawn. It smelled of the wheat field from back home. Of the musty smell of a barn house on Terra 2.

Home…

That’s what it smelled like. Every neuron in Isaac’s brain firing at the recognition of that feeling that washed over his body as if he’d been dipped into warm water. A sentimental longing for something lost but not forgotten. A connection that had been severed, connected again.

Was that where these memories were coming from? These warm, comforting memories of the past. It hummed and thrummed with life and Isaac was walking towards it before he knew what he was doing. There was a single word on his lips that explained it all.

A familiarity he didn’t understand. A connection from the past. Reunion, brought back together. To meet again. To see and hear and feel and smell… Only a single word described it all.

“Nostalgia.”

That’s what this crystal’s warm light represented. What it was. What it reminded Isaac of. Those people? Back in the dance room? That’s what they felt. Times of old rekindled and brought back to life. Things from the past, restored once more. Ancient artifacts, memories of the past, lost people or civilizations all wrapped together in a warm blanket.

“It’s…” Isaac hand reached out as his mechanical one fell limp at his side. “It’s… warm.” His words came out on their own, sounding like his younger self. Of days long since passed. Of a childhood lost and now found.

“Honey,” a voice called out from the main room. “Is that you?”

“I-It’s me, I’m back. I’m home.” Isaac spoke without thought, only feeling as the light washed over him. Consuming him. Holding him in it’s tender embrace. “I’m… I’m…”

Raphael and Cyclone stepped to the side as the crystal did it’s job.

“Where did you say you found it?” Cyclone asked, watching Isaac stand there, enraptured by this thing.

“I didn’t.” Raphael smirked, but, feeling such warmth, he felt it was okay to share it. “An ancient civilization lost to the records of time on one of the outer rim world planets. They appeared to worship this crystal, and all the records showed that it brought them… joy.”

“Joy?” Cyclone frowned at that, looking away from the thing. “All it’s made me feel is the ache for what I lost…”

“Nostalgia is a powerful, dangerous thing, wolf... It can bring the greatest of joys… and the most conflicting of emotions and pain. Remember the good and bad times.” Raphael watched as the crystal continued to hum with energy. Like a heart, beating, and with every beat the light grew in intensity. Pushing outwards in a pale white glow. “It can consume you, that feeling. Most get lost to it,” Raphael looked over at one of the guards with a white mask over their face. “It’s power is dangerous…”

“But an effective tool to be used.” Cyclone nodded, needing to turn away. “As long as you keep your promise… I don’t care what you plan to do with it to the Celestials you’ve gathered here. Just restore what I lost.”

“Obedience is a tricky thing to find, you know.” Raphael began walking back down the way they came. “You see, you can rule through fear, power, or wealth. To buy loyalty, that was my original goal. To find valuables lost artifacts and to resell them to those who covet such worthless trash…” Raphael paused and, if only for a second, his face flickered.

Like a light being turned on and off.

“Raph?” Cyclone paused, looking back at the moth.

“I.. they aren’t… trash.” Raphael’s voice crackled and the moth held his face.

Several of the guards around them wavered, moving seemingly for the first time in ages. Their bones ached; bodies stiff as they looked around confused.

“Something… Something is wrong…” Raphael turned on the spot, looking back towards the crystal where they had left Isaac. Cyclone followed his gaze upwards towards the warmth glowing from above.

“I thought you said it could ensnare anyone.” Cyclone said slowly, frowning at this. “Isaac is only a Terran. He can’t resist the light’s allure.” The Saberwolf made to move back but a small hand caught his arm.

“It’s… I’m… no…” The moth shook his body. “Enough! I am in control now, you stupid creature.” Raphael’s eyes flashed and his body went still. “Horrible thing, really. If any other had found me, I would’ve gladly taken them instead.” The Motha looked back up above. “The Terran is posing more difficult than I presumed some infant race would be.”

“Terran’s can’t handle the guardians light…” Cyclone offered. “I don’t need the man, only the body. Don’t destroy it.”

“Enough,” Raphael lifted a hand to stop Cyclone incessant talking. “No Terran, or Motha, can resist my light. Something else is interfering.” Raphael looked as if he were both there and somewhere else. “He still is there, in front of me… just standing there. He needs to touch the crystal for my brilliance to fill him… Strange.”

Raphael’s body glowed with that pale white light; his wings fluttered as the bright golden eyes burned on the inside of each.

“Touch it already, you pitiful creature.” Raphael cursed and his voice echoed around them, booming louder than such a small body could ever produce. “I do not understand why he hesitates. I am offering him eternal youth, eternal joy.”

Cyclone grimaced at that, hesitating now at hearing this. “Is what you offered me, a lie? If you can’t even manage a Terran…”

“Enough!” Raphael snapped at him. “Remove the threat to my body,” Raphael turned on Cyclone and his eyes blazed with pale white light. “That thing you brought is not suitable. It is… dark, inside. Even a black hole will devour all light.”

“I won’t harm Isaac.” Cyclone snarled back. “No matter what you see in him, he’s mine. That was our agreement! I need that body.”

“Heh, as if you have any say in any of this, dog.” Raphael turned and strode back towards where they had left Isaac. “This feeble Motha body can barely handle my light, I shouldn’t have expected anything better from that Terran. Such a filthy race, can’t even understand the glory we try and share with others. Another failure, really. A pity. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to wipe out another civilization…”

Cyclone quickly followed behind. In the glow of that light, his mechanical parts began to act up and he found it hard to move, let alone walk. He clutched his chest, breathing heavier and heavier as he watched Raphael walk up to the enthralled Isaac.

“You two,” Raphael snapped his fingers, and the glow soften from the crystal. Two more lights appeared in front of the faces of the guards, snapping them out of it. Forcing them back into the dreamlike state.

“It’s only fitting if he has an escort. Please, escort our guest back to his room… I’m sure his dog is looking for him,” the Motha spat the word out. “You Saberwolves are sadly immune to my beauty. After what your kind did to my brother… such heresy… A pity, really. I was rather found of having dogs back in my prime…” Without hearing a snide remark from Cyclone in return, Raphael glanced back at the Saberwolf. He saw Cyclone on all fours, gasping for air as he clutched his chest. With a laugh, Raphael walked back over. “Look at you. Your filthy kind finally knows its place… at the feet of your betters.”

Cyclone snarled, glaring up at the Motha. Raphael eyes still glowed with a pale white light that began to soften and dull, seeping behind the black orbs to lurk deep within. Hidden inside.

“After what your kind did to my brother?” Raphael tilted Cyclone’s muzzle up, so they were looking into each other’s eyes. “You should be thankful I don’t smite you on the spot,” Raphael crouched down in front of the cybernetic Saberwolf. Not before moving his clothes out of the way, not wanting even them to touch the fallen canine. “You should be thankful,” Raphael stroked a hand over Cyclone’s face. “If it wasn’t for me? You’d never get your… happy ending.”

Raphael’s wings snapped opened and four golden eyes stared into Cyclone’s. Burning bright, the eyes burned their way through his iris and entire his body, filling him with the pale white glow that made his body hiss and burn from within.

Smoke rose from his fur and Cyclone’s jaws hung open in a silent scream of agony.

“Tainted beast, let my light purify that sickness inside you.” It burned. It ached. The pain was so intense Cyclone should’ve been screaming in pain. But all he could do was smile as the heat of a thousand suns scorched the tainted parts of his body away. Tears ran down his eye. “You’re just like that Terran,” Raphael let Cyclone drop to the ground at his feet. “A sponge that soaks up the void wherever you go, needing to be expunged before it leaks out of you… disgusting, really.”

Raphael stood back up, wiping off his front. With a snap of his fingers, two more attendants appeared.

“Take this thing down to the brig. Lock it up. Muzzle it,” Raphael laughed wickedly at the thought. “Chain him up, collar and leash him. I’ll be down later to teach him who is the master here and who is the dog… If he won’t accept my gift, then I’ll punish his arrogance for it.”

Raphael’s cruel laughter filled the air.

“All of them, every Celestial, in the end will bow down and worship me. My brilliance will shine throughout the stars! The brightest of stars, the most beautiful of lights. And all with be drawn to me like a moth to a flame…”

With a jerk, the first attendant lifted Cyclone to his feet. From within the Saberwolf’s jacket, a golden hourglass fell. And as it did, Raphael’s eyes glowed with such intensity it would’ve blinded anyone who looked at him.

“No!” He cried out as the hourglass hit the ground, turning over as the golden sands within began to fall from within. “Don’-,”

…

…

“It’s a leviathan.” Isaac said, staring at it. The fossil looked as if it had been dug straight out of the ground and put on display before them.

“A creature from biblical reference, right.” Cyclone said, holding the side of his head. He could feel a piece missing. His past self must’ve restored the timeline again if that was the case. He just hoped whatever was lost, wasn’t something he needed.

Quickly, the Saberwolf patted himself down. Making sure he had all his limbs, fingers, and toes. Over the century, he’d lost so much. Pieces of time being devoured by the very thing he went to the end of space to find. His one last hope, to achieve what had been lost.

“I think it’s best if you return to your room for the evening.” Cyclone spoke up, catching the others attention.

“What?” The others looked at the Saberwolf, confused. He’d been oddly silent the entire time and now he wanted to end it?

“Isaac isn’t feeling well, neither am I. It was a very long trip here, Raphael…” Cyclone said, looking at Raphael who was staring at the canine now with those full dark orbs. Within them, Cyclone could see a flicker of pale white light. “It’s for everyone’s sake. After all, don’t you want to keep the grand surprised until everyone is gathered. Be easier to… show them all, at the same time. Just in case?”

“It would be a more dramatic reveal that way,” Raphael mused, thinking it over. “There is less chance something could go wrong if I were to… show everyone, at the same time.” The Motha agreed, thinking it over.

“Exactly,” Cyclone agreed. “I will escort Isaac back to his room. His dog must be waiting.”

“Now, now.” Elegan stepped forward without the white mask on his face, catching Cyclone’s wrist. “It is my duty to… take care of our guests.” The Silken Cat hissed out. “It’s been a while since I last ate.” He smirked, egging the Saberwolf on into a fight.

“Touch me again,” Cyclone warned baring his metal fangs.

“That’s what I’m hoping for.” The Silken Cat’s fur stood up as he bared his twin serpent fangs.

“Boys, boys, please. No fighting over me.” Raphael swooned at the thought.

Cyclone gagged, “you said he’s free to roam the ship.” The Saberwolf snapped at the Motha, bringing it up. “He’s not a prisoner here, after all, is he…?”

“Who…? Oh! Yes, Isaac.” Raphael clapped his hands together once. “Of course he is, silly. It’s not like he’s a prisoner here, right… right.” Turning towards Isaac, the Motha continued. “Of course you are free to explore the entire ship, Isaac. You are, after all, my special guest…” Raphael smiled at the Terran who was utterly confused what was going on, again.

“Very well then,” Cyclone stepped forward. He nearly lost his footing, and it was Isaac who had to help catch him from falling flat on his face. The Terran struggled with the Saberwolf’s weight and Cyclone eased off him. “Ah,” Cyclone chuckled lightly lifting up his pant leg just enough to see. “I lost my kneecap this time…”

“Uh, what?” Isaac said, looking at Cyclone. “You never had that knee.” The Terran said and Cyclone smiled sadly at that.

“Right, of course I didn’t… I was always like this,” Cyclone grunted as he reached down to fix his prosthetic to cover the spot. Adding another loop around his lower thigh. “At least it wasn’t anything higher, heh… no point in living with that.”

“What?” Isaac went under one arm, to help support Cyclone. The Saberwolf was surprised by the friendly gesture after how Isaac had been treating him.

“Your going to help me now?” Cyclone cocked an eyebrow at him.

“What? You might be an asshole, but-,” The flustered Terran said.

“I’m your asshole, right?” Cyclone chuckled as he limped along, being helped by Isaac as two attendants showed them out. “Your dog must be having a fit without you.”

“Shut up, Cyclone.” Isaac sighed as the doors shut behind them.

“That was rather abrupt… Your orders, sir?” Elegan stepped forward, offering a mock bow towards the moth.

“That was very queer, even for them… keep an eye on them. Especially Cyclone, something is… off.” Raphael looked around the room, scratching his chin as he tried to figure out what that was. Everything appeared the exact same as ever.

In fact, everything was as it should be. Every piece, every object, every-

“Your wine, sir.” An attendant came over and gave him a crystal glass, filling it with white wine.

“Thank you, Antonio, such a sweet thing,” Raphael went to take a drink, before his nose wrinkled. Looking down into the glass, he could see that the sparkling golden liquid was off color. Impure. If only slightly. “Antonio,” Raphael stopped the retreating Ula who bowed low to him. “What time is it?”

“It’s a quarter after the fifth mark, sir.”

“Exactly?”

“Uh, no,” Antonio looked at his watched to double check the time on his phone, then the one on the ship. “Uh, strange, the time seems to be off by a galactic tick… I thought I had just recalibrated this thing.”

“You are fine, Antonio. You did well.” Raphael swirled the glass around, looking at that discoloration tainting the rest of his glass of otherwise perfect white wine. “Interesting. Seems someone on this ship has something no mortal is supposed to have their possession...” Taking a sip, he spat it out. “Ack, that was disgusting. Someone take this vile thing away from me already!” He waved his arms as several attendants came over to clean up the mess.