Baston took them out of warp right before they entered the orbit of the planet. It was large, yellow and had three rings. The old-fashioned fuel needle was something you wouldn’t see on any new model, and it was dangerously close to the empty side.

“We have to land now, hold on.”

Taking the ship down to the planet, Baston hoped they’d have enough fuel to make it. He wasn’t keen on a crash landing. Slowly, they descended through the atmosphere towards the ground. Large mountains shot up into the sky, with skinny trees protruding from the top. A bed of grass spread from the bottom of them and he could tell it was green, meaning life could thrive on the planet. The ship sputtered as he let it down, and slammed itself into the ground.

Immediately, they were surrounded by a race of humanoids with various weapons. They looked like Earthlings except for their bright-red skin. They wore strange masks over their faces, making them look intimidating. He noticed the weapons attached to their hips with straps.

One stepped forward as Baston exited the ship, and spoke to him in a language he didn’t know. He heard the harsh tone and saw the man was pointing a large knife towards him. He wondered if he should say they came in peace. He realized to these people, they were the alien invaders.

“I don’t understand,” he said, holding his hands up so they didn’t think he had a weapon.

The same one moved forward and pulled him from the ship while two others pulled Sca and Cherie down. They poked their spears into their backs, forcing them to join Baston on the ground.

They continued speaking in a language none of them understood.

“We don’t speak your language,” Baston said, knowing they probably didn’t understand.

They urged them forward, away from the ship and towards the mountains. There were too many of them to fight, so they continued forward and went into the side of the mountain with all the masked aliens behind them

They yelled for someone when they stopped outside a large gate, and it opened. A large man came out who looked like the rest of them, only he wasn’t wearing a mask. His ears were slightly pointed and he smiled with large blue teeth. There were dark tattoos all over his body and he wore only a cloth at his waist.

“What brings you here? We thought you were our enemy, Jaca, but you do not look like them.”

“We are running from Stillions and need to get fuel for our ship,” Baston said.

The leader looked at him for a minute and then laughed. He spoke to the rest of the group in their language and they all laughed as well. Some of them were bent over with the laughter.

“What the hell is so funny?” Cherie snapped.

The leader held his hand up and everyone fell quiet.

“You may seek fuel in the valleys of Adna. Our planet is small but dangerous. You’ll have to pass through many obstacles to reach fuel, passing through the forests and the badlands.”

“There’s fuel in the valley? How far are we from Sarta?”

“You’ll need a lot of fuel to get there. You’re a long way from home.”

“We better get started on our way, then,” Sca said, walking ahead of them.

“We will feed you before your journey. Not many men are brave enough to take the trip. You’ll be remembered. We will prepare you.”

“Thank you, we are hungry,” Baston spoke for everyone, which earned him a fiery glare from Cherie.

They followed the leader and the other aliens to their camp, and realized this race lived outside. There wasn’t any shelter, and they appeared to be roasting a large unidentifiable animal over a fire. The women of the tribe were also red-skinned with pointy ears. Baston noticed that they wore no shirts, just the fabric at their waists.

Cherie stopped when she saw them, momentarily shocked. Baston realized the Earth woman probably hadn’t seen many aliens in her day. She stood by the fire, her hair blowing around her face. It was a new world for her and he found himself wondering how she’d gotten to this point.

“Here,” the leader shoved a cup in his hand. “Berry of Runtin will give you strength.”

“Thank you.” Baston took the cup and sipped on the dark liquid it contained. He found it extremely bitter but smiled anyway. He watched the leader take Cherie and Sca similar cups of the same liquid. Baston caught Sca staring at Cherie as she sat playing with one of the small aliens. The young boy stacked sticks at her feet and she knocked them over. Somehow, though he knew he should, he didn’t feel jealous of his friend staring at her. It intrigued him more.

He made his way over and sat next to her on a log. “Cherie, you’re stuck with us, and we may not even survive. So, tell us where you come from.”

“I don’t want to talk to you two. You’re the enemy. In case you have forgotten, it was your company I was transported to.”

“Listen, lady, we just do our jobs, same as anyone. We have to make money, we’re sorry some of the women who come don’t want to be there, but it’s just the way it is.”

“You want to know my story? Fine. My uncle sold me to you. He did it under my parents’ noses. He kidnapped me from them and took me far away from them, where he made me work on his farm and conditioned me to be sold to Titan. Every day from the time I was twelve, he had me do hard manual labor and condition my body to work for someone else. He had gambling debt or something.”

She threw one of the sticks the kid had been playing with into the fire.

“He took me when I was just a kid and groomed me, as he called it, for seven years.” She turned around and pointed to a mark on the back of her neck. It looked like a fairly bad scar. “I know all about the collars you talk about.”

For a moment, they were silent. Neither of them knew anything about having to endure something like that from a person they trusted. It was hard to imagine.

“I’m sorry,” Baston finally said. “The company should only take those who are willing.”

Their silence was broken by the alien leader. “All right, let me tell you a few things you might come across on our great planet. First things first, my name is Ation. I have been the leader of the Mahovia for five hundred and sixty moons. We are a simple race and don’t ask for much. Our enemies, the Jaca, come and take some of our natural resources because they are valuable on the market.”

“What type of resources?” Sca asked.

“That’s not important,” Baston said. He didn’t want them to think they were after their resources.

“It’s okay. We have a mine on the planet with a jewel called the Astro Fox, it’s very rare. We don’t want the natural environment destroyed, and I learned many languages so I could advocate for it when miners landed here. The Jaca do not care.”

Sca’s eyes widened. He knew of all the underground and legal sales of gems and natural gases that went on. Baston shook his head at him.

“Tell me what we’re facing for fuel.” He looked questioningly at Ation.

Once the leader had filled their heads with large space worms with rows of teeth, flowers that bring the strongest men to their knees, and a maze that seems to have no safe exit, he retired to bed. The three of them lay down, unable to sleep with what the journey ahead would have in store for them.

Baston found himself close to Cherie and inhaled her scent. She smelled sweet despite the amount of running they’d done. His manhood stirred and he turned away from her to calm it down. The last thing he needed to do while they were on a journey for their lives was to try and sleep with her.

“Hey sweetheart, you want to cuddle me? I’m cold.” Sca was never one to be shy.

“Ugh.” Baston heard a groan as Cherie elbowed him in the stomach for the suggestion. He smiled and closed his eyes. They needed some rest if they were going to be successful. He tried to shut off his mind, but part of him was still worried the Stillions would follow them somehow.

An hour later, he finally drifted off to sleep, but was soon woken by Cherie sitting beside him. She bent down and kissed him hard, taking him by surprise.

“I can’t sleep, and I know what always helps me get to sleep. We just have to be quiet.”

Baston wasn’t sure he would be able to do what she wanted with Sca so nearby. The people of the tribe were all around them as well.

“What are you two talking about?” mumbled Sca as he woke up.

“Never mind,” Cherie said, winking at him. She went back to her designated sleep area. It was a long while before Baston could get to sleep again.

He was awakened again by Ation who came to his side and shook his arm.

“What’s wrong?” He sat up, alarmed. “Are the Stillions here?”

“No. I want to show you something. Come with me.”

“What?” Baston was confused. “Why?”

“I feel like you are the leader of this group and I trust you. I need someone other than my people to see this. In case the Jaca wipe us out the next time they’re here.”

“Can’t you fight them?” Baston asked, getting up and following the older leader towards the tall grass past their camp.

“We have primitive weapons. They have canons. When they come, we hide until they are done looking for the minerals.”

He led Baston up a large hill on a winding path. The trip was strenuous and he should have been resting, but he was interested in what this old man was going to show him. The redness of his skin looked even more cherry in the moonlight. His ears and the ears of his people reminded him of elf stories he’d read as a boy.

“What are you going to show me?” Baston asked, realizing his breathing was becoming heavier the higher they climbed.

“Our people were once like you, with technology and money. Our planet thrived and we had a trade with others.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Before the war, it all fell apart. Our leaders, sadly, my family, became greedy. They wanted more and there was a battle over the Astro Fox. It was hidden away before the towns blew up, and entrusted with one small boy who survived our civil war.”

“You?” Baston asked in awe.

“Me. I’ve told two other trusted members. Now, I will tell you.”

They continued up the hill until they’d reached the top and stood in front of a large rock wall with black diamond-shaped rocks. It was taller than he was, and stretched on to the left and right of them.

Don’t tell your friend. I saw the stars in his eyes when I mentioned the Astro Fox. It will do no good for him to know where this is.”

“I saw those same stars, Ation. I won’t tell him.”

He imagined Sca finding the location and then trying to figure out a way to get off the planet to come back with mining equipment. They’d grown up together, and when they were smaller, Sca would excavate the backyard looking for rare gems. This would be Sca’s dream come true, and there was no reason to let him know something like this existed.

Ation pressed three of the diamond rocks in a series of patterns and then looked to Baston to see if he followed. He nodded and Ation opened a door that seemed to appear on the wall. When Baston stepped inside, he had to shield his eyes from the light emitted by the Astro Fox.

Blue rocks protruded from everywhere on the walls and each had their own little multi-colored galaxy floating inside. They shone and projected colors onto the ceiling of a massive cave.

“They’re beautiful.”

“I know, and you can see why this is what brought down our planet. Now you know, if we’re ever taken out of this world, you can find the Astro Fox. It has magical powers and can heal.”

“I didn’t know that.” Baston looked around. He’d only seen Astro Fox in a documentary he watched about the bloody wars of Seltarian and Baltan, two ancient planets that battled for control over a third with Astro Fox naturally existing there. Now, looking at it up close, he could see why men would fight over such a mineral. It was one of a kind and probably made the most stunning jewelry anyone could ever make.

Ation closed the door behind them and they went back to the camp. The suns were coming up just as they made it back, and Sca sat up beside a small fire.

“Where were you?”

“Ation was just showing me our path from up above, so I could see what I was up against. What we’re up against. You should have rested.”

“I did, but then I was too anxious about today and had to get up.”

“I understand that,” Baston said. He was also nervous about the trip they were about to take.