Meno took in the dark room, blinking to try to steady his vision. Liv’s grip on his arm remained tight, grounding him, while Paba frantically pulled up the datapad, its glow casting faint illumination across the space. His eyes followed Worrec as he moved toward an old, worn leather wing-back chair at the side of the room. With a subtle gesture, Worrec directed Efreet to take a seat across the room before lowering himself into the worn chair. He gazed across at each of them, lingering on Liv for just a moment longer than the others,

  Efreet crossed the room to the small kitchen area, where a small wooden table and a few chairs were arranged. He sat in one of the chairs, without removing the helmet that still obscured his face. Meno’s gaze lingered on him, he would get to that. Turning toward the small open window, Meno caught sight in the distance of the burning city of Det’em. The low, resonant hum like thunder, coming from it.

  “She’s still alive, she’s still…Meno!” Paba said frantically, tugging at his arm and then shoving her datapad in front of him, “Look, she’s still alive, Meno” she repeated, “We need to go back, we need to get her”. Her face, covered with dust from their escape, now held thick lines tracked in them, where her tears had fallen. Her hand clutched a pendant tightly, as she held onto it for a moment before slipping it into her pocket.

  He steadied himself, taking a moment to assess himself before turning his attention to Paba. Her red-rimmed eyes glowed and her lower lip quivered as she clutched the datapad. He saw the heart monitor on the datapad beating, that must have been coming from her tech. He took in a deep breath, but he wouldn't allow himself to be relieved just yet. She was in the temple still, surrounded by guards, and they had barely made it out alive themselves.

  “We’re not leaving her behind, Paba,” he said firmly, which released a relieved sob from Paba before she nodded sharply, spilling more tears down her cheeks. He looked around him, taking in their surroundings. They were in a small, humble farmhouse, far from the city. He could see the burning from the window, across the black fields. He could hear the rumbling of the fires and the chaos. Like a storm.

  He glanced at Liv, whose grip on his arm had not loosened once, if anything, it was tighter now than ever. Her wide eyes, filled with fear, were locked on Worrec standing in front of them, behind him, Efreet remained seated, his helmet still on.

  “That was quite a…” Worrec started,

  “Where are we?” Meno asked, not needing to hear what Worrec would say.

  “Where in Locne’s lost fucking sock have you been?!” added Paba, pointing at him, “Why couldn't you get us from the temple, with Angie? You were right there!” she snarled,

  Meno didn't interrupt her, he watched Worrec who held his hands up. Meno didn't know what to expect from him, whatever he would say would be some half-truth anyway, some manipulation to get them to do what he needed while not giving them any answers. He kept his hands up as he answered,

  “A small farm on the outskirts of Det’em,” he replied gazing at Liv, a glint of concern flashed in his eyes. She dug her nails into his arm as Worrec spoke. “It’s safe,”.

  “I expect a whole lot of shit from you Worrec,” spat Paba, “But this is ridiculous, you send us here for some unknown fucking reason, then we find out it’s some kind of fucking mission and then you grab us without Angie! Who do you think you are?!” she was panting now, but he could see that the fire was nowhere close to burning out. Worrec took a breath, his hands still up, but otherwise looking relatively calm. Meno looked at Efreet in the corner and spoke to Worrec.

  “Who is he?” asked Meno, and he saw Paba drop her glare from Worrec, to look between Meno and Efreet.

  Worrec paused and then smiled as though impressed. The guard's head shifted slightly at his mention. Efreet had been acting really strangely, he had been too calm through all of it.

  Meno had seen him during the attack in Det’em, he had heard Angie’s assessment of him as Efreet had been on the same side of the glider as she was. During the struggle, he had been brave, even valiant by putting his life on the line. In their escape, however, he had been cold, calm, and efficient. Meno had also seen him swap positions with the Kryptea on their descent. That wasn't tech that Efreet had, at least to his knowledge, and Efreet was no primer. Paba was moving her head between Meno and Worrec, who merely smiled at Meno.

  “Go on, take it off,” Worrec said, his eyes not moving from Meno. The Traes guard's helmet came off and Meno got his confirmation. That was not Efreet. Liv shuddered next to him, a cold shiver, Meno imagined, Paba stilled frozen by the sight of this unknown man. This new man had dull eyes, and rounded features, his sweat-strewn hair was a dark blonde, with a small nose and sharp chin. He looked at Meno with intrigue,

  "No," slipped from Liv, barely more than a whisper.

  “What the fuck?!” roared Paba to the ceiling, her voice breaking slightly, as it all became too much.

  “Was it when I called her Liv?” he said, a voice with a completely different tone to the one he had been using. The voice that he had convinced them with.

  “You also changed positions with that Kryptea”, said Meno, now holding onto Liv’s arm to try and comfort her. Her eyes were fixed on the man that she had been trusting to be her friend, her protector. The man smiled and nodded, as though he had been caught out in a fun game. Meno thought he didn't seem to be taking pleasure in it, but he also didn't seem apologetic either.

  “Who are you?!?” asked Paba, her voice staying at a remarkably high octave.

  “He works for Victoria Sequeria,” said Worrec, “He’s fine, he was sent to protect Olivia, which he did”

  “Who is Victoria Sa…kw…”

  “The Queen of fucking Midnight?!” screamed Paba and her face went rigid. Then, her voice dropped, steady and cold, “Worrec, I’m going to kill you.” The sudden calm in her tone made the threat seem far more dangerous. The blonde man raised his hands once more, but this time, a faint smirk tugged at his lips, as if he was trying hard to conceal.

  “Why?” asked Meno, looking between Worrec and the man, “Why would the Queen of…why?” his head was spinning, thoughts being sent off in different directions all at once.

  “Is Efreet alive?” Liv squeaked weakly, peeping from behind Meno’s arm. Her voice was unsteady.

  “Yes,” he said turning to his wrist to look at the data on his forearm, “He woke up not long ago. I left him directions to find me when he woke up. I wasn't expecting all of that, you know,” he said flicking his eyes to the window, “But he is alive, I left him with nutrient packs in his barracks. He would have run straight to the Traes apartments. He’s probably reporting to the Commander now - I don’t like that commander by the way -” he added as though this was a completely casual conversation, “He will tell them someone was impersonating him. So, they will be on high alert. I would imagine that Liv,” smiling softly as he glanced at Liv. She flinched under his gaze, and for a moment, regret flickered in his expression, “...Is still a priority target of theirs. So, we really should get out of here,” he added, looking over to Worrec.

  “We’re not leaving without Angie!” burst Paba, saying it to this new man, but then looked to Worrec, her eyes blazing. “You sent us into this, you told us we would be safe, now you have to actually do something”, The tattooed man glanced at her, his eyes then flicked to Meno,

  “She’s right, we are getting Angie one way or another,” Meno said defiantly. He now felt a slight change in himself, from the first time that he had met with Worrec all that time ago on Gol. He had been scared, and too trusting. He had been so much younger two months ago. Worrec looked at him with interest, tilting his head to the side.

  “How would you do it?” he asked quietly,

  “That’s a pillar out there, Meno, with a ton of Traes guards, and Kryptea, and we just saw…”

  “What’s your name?” Meno asked standing up and looking at the imposter who was now acting like they knew one another.

  “Ko,” he replied simply, slightly lowering his head.

  “Ko’s a stupid name, and you know that isn't what we were asking you, who the hell are you?!” spat Paba petulantly. Meno raised his hand to calm her, and potentially stop her from doing anything else. His eyes passed over to Worrec, who seemed to be watching them with a level of entertainment, he was pulling on his bottom lip, the faint smirk on his face.

  The room rang with silence as Ko looked to Worrec, almost as though asking permission on whether or not to answer. Worrec subtly nodded and the man looked at Paba and Meno, as though ready to recite something.

  “I am an infiltration specialist, trained in the core worlds before defecting. I operate as a freelancer of sorts. I am currently employed by the Eshara under the direct instruction of Victoria Sequiera. I was sent here to infiltrate the Traes guard and protect Lady Olivia Traes, and if the circumstances required, evacuate her from the planet”

  “You're a spy?” asked Paba. Ko nodded, not showing any emotion. Meno noticed that Liv was peering at him, her eyes fixed. “Worrec…” said Paba, her hand held over her dust-covered eyes, her head in the air,

  “Why do the Eshara want Liv?” Meno asked, feeling like this piece of information would somehow tie everything together in some unfathomable way, and to his surprise, Ko looked at Liv, who touched Meno’s arm still trying to regain herself, and said softly,

  “Leave it, I know why” She sounded almost resigned to something about this. Meno took in a deep breath, looking over at the spy and said begrudgingly,

  “Thank you for your help, Ko,” he seemed as taken aback as anyone else in the room. “You helped us, I appreciate that, but please don’t act like we know each other” to which Ko simply nodded, as though accepting an order.

  “How would you do it?” Worrec repeated, eyes still fixed on Meno. It was as though he had followed their conversation just to know when he could ask once more. Meno bit back the irritation that he felt toward the man, and said,

  “...I’m not sure yet, but we will find a way”

  “I used the temple systems to get us out, I can still get into them if we can get to a console in the temple,” said Paba quickly, sitting up from the seat with Liv, who, after a moment of fluster, sat back deep into the chair. “I can control most of the temple”

  “So you did use it?” said Worrec with a grin at Paba, who immediately retreated in her bluster somewhat, her hand reflexively raising to her chest where the pendant usually sat, then remembering it was in her pocket. Meno now knew that it wasn't just a pendant. She had used it on the data pad during the escape, but he didn't know what it did.

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  “There!” said Meno, “And I’m sure you have some kind of vaguely valuable insights that you can share” Meno challenged Worrec who smiled wide now.

  “I might” he said, his eyes taking all of Meno in, as though he was rapt with everything that Meno was saying. “Ko here still has a bomb in the temple” Meno saw Ko give Worrec a flummoxed glare at this,

  “You can’t be serious? You aren’t actually going to let them go?” Worrec didn't answer Ko’s question.

  “She would have undoubtedly been taken to the Traes apartments for questioning. The Dorlec will be arriving there soon, they love a victory parade. There will be a ton of guards between you and her, all with weapons, and considerably better soldiers than the Traes guard. That’s a lot of risk for one lady, kid. You three prepared for that?”

  “My parents” whimpered Liv, seeming to regain some of herself.

  “And Lady Olivia’s parents” added Worrec, who seemed to once again linger on her for a moment, “Ambitious,” Meno recognised that he wasn’t putting his own hand up to help, again.

  “Some of the guards may still be loyal to me,” said Liv weakly but fighting to get herself up. The hope of saving her parents seemed to give her strength.

  “Ooh, sorry no, you aren't part of the three, Princess. I was referring to…” he pointed at Meno, Paba and Ko, who looked irritated but didn't say anything in protest, “You, unfortunately, will need to be leaving with me. This whole thing was to keep you safe. Really wouldn't be very responsible of me to let you go out into the…”

  “What about you?” Meno’s words cut through the room. He didn't actually expect a reasonable answer from him, he barely expected an answer from him, and he saw Worrec smile again. The storm of Det’em rang through the lands around them, a present reminder of what they would be facing.

  “I want to help,” said Liv indignantly, hesitantly standing herself for the first time. Worrec watched her with care that he was not showing to anyone else,

  “I get that, but not happening.”

  “I order you to take me back there”, she said, her eyes now menacing. Worrec smiled at this and stood up, he walked over to her, bending over so that he was face to face with her. He was still smiling as he did so,

  “Well, I don’t work for you, Princess,” he said letting the final word hang. Meno studied the tattoos on Worrec’s neck and chest. These were on the right-hand side, which meant, in ‘Worrec’ logic, that this was the same ‘version’ he had met a few days previous. A twist of letters and symbols that Meno didn't recognise, all overlapping and crossing. This was the same ‘version’ that had met with him in his hospital room. He had been here the entire time.

  “Not this time, kid” Worrec replied to Meno’s question about whether he would help himself. He stood to his full height, which was about a head taller than Meno, “I’m kind of a big deal, it would only cause more problems, and let’s be honest, you have enough of them right now” he said, which confirmed Meno’s thoughts on him, “That being said, I can help with a plan. With your tenacity” he said with another grin, “And Paba’s, what did you call it again, Hal?” Paba exhaled, looking between Meno and Liv, and she seemed to decide something within herself. Her face still marked with tears, she held out the pendant.

  “Firstly, I’m sorry for not telling you about this. This isn't just a pendent, and Hal wasn't my boyfriend” she said looking between Meno and Liv, she looked terrified, “This is HAL. He’s an intelligence that I built and…that they found out about,” she showed it to Meno, “Heuristic Adaptive Lattice, HAL for short. He’s…It’s an intelligence that can act like a brain for any system it has access to. Basically, it becomes the brain to any networked neural system”

  “I dont…What does that mean?” Meno stood there stunned, looking at the small black rectangular pendant in her hand. He then looked up to Paba’s face, filled with anguish and apology. He knew that it was trivial, he knew that it wasn't what he should be focusing on right now, but, why had she kept this from them? Why did she lie about it?

  He looked back at the pendant, trying to focus on what was important right now, casting his own disappointment aside. He saw that Paba was crying once more, tears falling freely now. He took it in, ignoring her plea for forgiveness. That thing, that little thing was a…brain?

  Angie had asked Meno if he had known why Paba had been saved by Worrec, but he always just said that he didn't know, never really giving it much thought. Angie had said that he was saved as a final request by Mr. Dimitri by the sounds of it, but she had wondered at Paba. She had also respected Paba’s privacy enough not to probe, but now Meno knew. It was this, this small little piece of tech, this brain, and the woman who made it. Meno now wondered if that was wrong of them. Did they just accept that Paba was…he shook his head.

  “It’s also the most illegal thing on this planet,” said Worrec with delight, “The Autarch banned those things centuries ago. It will give you a hell of an advantage, but Pab’s dear” he said holding his hand out, “You know we will need a copy, especially if you are going back in there”, Meno suddenly felt a rage building up in him.

  “You’re squeezing her?” Meno said standing between Paba and Worrec, who pulled his head back and smiled. He steadied himself and then sighed,

  “There are some awful things happening in the galaxy Meno, things that force people's hands. Paba here has created something that can help with that. She knew why we saved her. Trust me, I would prefer if all of you just got out of here and I didn't have to do this, but I see that isn't going to happen, so all I can do is make sure that I make the best of this situation while giving you what help I can,”

  “It’s fine, Meno,” said Paba softly, sniffing, “We made a deal, you can have it,” Worrec took a moment, softening as he looked at Paba, taking the pendant. He turned back to his chair,

  “Alrighty then, let’s get to work,” he said sitting back in his chair, which seemed to release an irritated sigh from Ko.

  There had been frantic movement in the room initially as preparations began. Ko had moved over to Paba and Liv, which had caused some initial tension, but it seemed to be set aside, to pull off saving Angie and the Traes. To Meno’s surprise, it was Liv who seemed to broker the peace between them. Meno noticed that she had a bite to her words on a few occasions, however. She may have recognised the need for him, but even with her diplomatic powers, she wasn't able to keep the betrayal far from thought.

  Paba, watched Ko with keen focus, her eyes glancing over to Worrec every now and then. Whenever the spy got close to the pendant, that Worrec had handed back to Paba after seeming to copy it to another small device, she seemed to clutch her pendant tightly. Worrec paid no attention to this at all, and Meno wondered if it was because he now had his copy and that was all that he was after.

  Meno sat in the far corner of the room, knowing that there was not much that he could assist with. Liv knew the temple better than he did, Ko seemed to have a near-perfect understanding of its layout too, and was an infiltration specialist. Paba helped with the communications, the grenades and the plan. She had also said when they started to plan their assault initially, Meno was more of a ‘meat and potatoes’ kind of guy. It had stung when she had said it, but after realising that he didn't have much to contribute to the plan, he accepted it. Still, it frustrated him being on the sidelines, waiting to hear what he needed to do, he would have felt far more comfortable being a part of this, and being able to help.

  So, without being able to help, he took his spot at the small kitchen table, in a position where he could watch all of them, and have a view of the smouldering city through the window. The loud pops that ran over the hills to this farmhouse had become less frequent, but the hysterical screams and shouting hadn't. The city was still in a panic as chaos reigned.

  Meno carefully watched them, listening to each step of the plan, ensuring he didn't miss anything important, or making sure that he didn't go one way while the rest went the other. He was finding it hard to focus on a singular thing though. His mind was torn between Angie, and what she must be going through. The rest had voted against him when he recommended they move quickly, saying that developing a plan first, was the most important thing. He wanted to save her now, he didn't want her to be scared, or suffer any pain, especially not for him. Her act still shocked him. She didn't even hesitate. She had acted exactly as he thought she would have, heroically. He blamed himself for letting her.

  He was also having his attention pulled by Worrec, who watched over them with curiosity, as though watching kids put together a school project. Only offering small interjections here and there, to say that that can’t really be done, and ‘perhaps you could try this’. They still knew pretty much nothing about him, and from what they did know, no true picture could be painted.

  Meno imagined that he had mentioned truths about himself, but they were all wrapped up in so many layers of lies, that it would be impossible to know when you had uncovered one. There was only one thing that he did know for sure, and that was Worrec was no ordinary soldier. He knew things, he had a way about him that exuded a calm that didn't make any sense, as if he knew nothing bad could happen to him. There was also a strange tension between him and Liv, not something said, but something that was left unspoken. He looked at her with sadness, and she with a level of confusion. Almost like she was trying to figure something out about him. Who wasn't, he thought.

  But the thing that was pulling most of his attention, and he judged himself for having feelings like this during a time like this, was Paba. He and Angie had figured that there must have been more to her past than she was letting on. They had, after all, found out that she wasn't a pilot some time ago, but they thought that that was just a cover so that she could have escaped the Manin University where she had been studying. They believed her when she said that she needed to leave because of her ex. They had trusted her, with that and with so much else. Meno had told her pretty much everything about himself, Angie had let her in, which Meno imagined didn't happen very often, even in Angie's younger days. Why did Paba not feel like she couldn't trust them?

  “Don’t be too harsh on her kid”, said Worrec’s voice from behind Meno, who turned to see the blonde man resting with his chin on his folded forearms on the table. Meno must have spaced out and didn't even notice him take a seat. “She didn't have what you had growing up. Trust is new to her,”

  “Did you just read my mind?” Meno whispered, feeling cold.

  “What? No, your face kid. You’ve been boring a hole into her for about twenty minutes now,” he said scrunching his forehead, “You’re not exactly an enigma”. Meno shrugged off the remark and looked back at Paba, who was still frantically tapping away at the datapad, taking instructions from Ko, and every so often, turning to Liv, who she seemed to be in a separate deep conversation with.

  “Do you think we can pull this off?” Meno said, this time not turning to Worrec.

  “Doesn’t matter what I think. If you think you can, you can, if you think you can’t, you're fucked,” he responded almost immediately. Not his first time giving advice like this, thought Meno. He took a few moments, watching the other three,

  “I trust them,” he said the words almost as a reflex, but only upon saying it realised that it was the truth. Perhaps he knew that he didn't have any other options, but when he looked at Paba, he knew that he could trust her, even if she lied about HAL, she must have felt that it was necessary to. Maybe in Paba’s own mind, she was protecting them in some Paba-esque way.

  He had no reason not to trust Liv, but she wouldn't be on the mission, but when he looked at Ko, he didn't quite understand it, but he felt like he could trust the spy. Maybe only to some extent, but he had genuinely helped them and gotten them to safety. He had gotten them out.

  “Then trust yourself too, and you have a good chance,”

  “Is this all part of the test?”

  “This is a brand new one,” he said, his chin still resting on his forearms,

  There was a thought that Meno had not been able to get out of his head, not since the day that he had left Gol. perhaps it was more of a hope than anything else, a child's dream from a book that he would read and re-read. A feeling, or perhaps a suspicion that he couldn't drop. A story of a man who came to avenge his people. The story of a being, an entity that controlled immense power, and an understanding. An enigmatic figure that was drenched in speculation and intrigue. Someone who people could not decide on was either real or just a story. A tale of a boy that Meno had read of hundreds of times in Swan’s notebooks, and had exhausted the people in his small town with questions about. He didn't turn to Worrec when he asked and made sure that his voice was quiet when he said it.

  “Are you Jinn?” the man behind him chortled, not saying anything for a moment, and then said,

  “No,” offering nothing else.

  “Okay, we have it,” said Paba, standing. She had a fierceness about her now, a palpable determination. She walked over to Meno, her eyes glancing momentarily over to Worrec behind him.

  “Firstly”, said Liv, walking in quick lockstep behind the much shorter Paba. She had seemed to regain herself, back to the dominant force that Meno knew she could be. She looked at Worrec when she spoke, “You will only take me once we have them back”, she said firmly, “All of them”. Meno didn't turn, but watched Liv, her eyes no longer filled with tears threatening to fall, much like Paba’s, they now burned with a quiet glow of fire within them.

  “Hmm,” was all that Worrec said,

  “I will not come with you any other way”

  “Fine,” said Worrec, and Meno could tell that he had pulled himself up from resting on his forearms. “But I call it if I see that they aren't getting out,” he said, and before Liv could respond, he added, “Good. Deal. Paba, you were saying?” Paba, blinked for a moment, seeming to try and decide whether she should speak up on Liv’s behalf or not. Ko remained silent behind the two. Paba cleared her throat,

  “Meno, you and Ko are going to go in alone,”

  “Okay,” said Meno nodding, trusting her, “How are we getting in?”

  “Through the front door”