"Computer," Dariux said. "Scan the cargo bay for the integrity of the stasis systems."

"Yes, Captain," the computer replied.

Lyra watched in fascination as Dariux worked the controls of his ship. Having never been aboard a ship before everything it was all new and intriguing to her. Maybe it was silly, but she was even charmed by the voice of his computer and the way it spoke to him.

"Stasis system integrity on seven of the eight cargo containers is secure, Captain," the computer said.

"And the life forms inside?" Dariux asked.

"Optimal, Captain."

"And the other – mechanical – issue I'd inquired about earlier?"

"Identified and neutralized, Captain," the computer replied. "Those systems are now all offline."

"Excellent, thank you," he said, looking at her with a wide smile. "How would you feel about a little pit stop?"

She shrugged, but smiled. If it meant putting off having to get back into that box and be marched to her death, she was all for it.

"Where are we?"

"A planet called Pryma," he said. "We need to set down to refuel the drive cores anyway, so I thought we might slip out for a little bit. Stretch our legs."

"I've never been off Astriq before," she admitted.

"Well then, let's enjoy the experience together."

She appreciated that Dariux was trying to keep things light between them, but she could still see the conflict brewing in his eyes. He was being paid to do a job – which was to deliver her to her death. He knew that beyond the shadow of a doubt. And she could see the struggle he was having because of it.

Lyra didn't know him well, but to her, Dariux seemed like a good and honorable man. It was an odd thing to say about a man in his profession, but there was something different about him. Living on the streets as long as she had, Lyra developed a keen sense of people. Being able to read people became a defense mechanism and a way she kept herself alive. And those senses, as sharp as they were, didn't pick up anything dark or bad about Dariux.

If she had to guess, she'd say he did what he did for the money – but she also thought there was more to the story than that.

She sat back in what he said was the co-pilot's seat and listened to him talking to somebody on the communications system, getting clearance to land. Once he was given permission, Dariux piloted through the ship's atmosphere. Lyra gasped as they descended through a gauzy layer of clouds that hung in the sky like a thick blanket, and she got her first view of the world below them.

"I – it's amazing," she said softly. "It's so beautiful."

"It is that," Dariux said.

Dark spires set in a stunning landscape of green and blue shot high into the sky all around. Though the layer of clouds was thick, sunlight from the planet's blue sun shone through in patches, making the buildings glitter. All of them looked like they'd been crafted from a dark obsidian colored stone and seemed to blend with the natural world around them. Unlike Astriq, nothing looked artificial.

Dariux piloted his ship to a landing bay and set it down. She watched him push a series of buttons, and he explained he was going through his shut-down sequence. After he was finished, she followed him back to the cargo bay, a ripple of fear shooting through her as she thought he was going to lock her back into her box. Instead, he pushed a few more buttons and a loud clanking sound issued throughout the bay.

"I'm locking it," he explained. "Nobody will be able to get in and see what we have. And the static fields around the boxes will keep anybody from scanning the ship and seeing what our cargo is either."

Lyra nodded and let out a silent breath, the relief that he wasn't putting her back into the box flooding her body.

"Come on," he said.

Lyra followed him back down the corridor, watching him double check the locks on all of the doors. As they reached the hatch that would take them outside, Dariux turned.

"Computer," he called.

"Yes, Captain."

"We're leaving the ship. Security level Delta," he said.

"Confirmed," the computer replied.

Lyra followed Dariux out of the ship, the door sliding closed behind them, a loud clank issuing behind them. Dariux approached a couple of uniformed men and talked to them for a bit as Lyra looked around, taking in her surroundings. People milled about everywhere. Men in uniforms running here and there, pushing hover-trolleys loaded with boxes and other items. A few carried large, thick hoses over their shoulders, attaching them to the ships that were docked.

"Ready?" Dariux asked.

His voice came from behind her so suddenly, she jumped, her heart pounding and the adrenaline coursing through her. She hadn't even heard him step up behind her. He was either very light on his feet or she was getting sloppy. Neither of which, was a good thing.

"Sorry, did I startle you?" he asked.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm just a little on edge, I guess."

He shrugged. "Understandable," he said. "All things considered. Come on, let's go."

Lyra fell into step beside him as they walked out of the spaceport. He led her to a small automated transport that would them into the city proper. It was a little cramped and smelled funny, but she didn't mind. It was just another new experience for her. The transport lifted a bit off the ground and silently sped off, bound for their destination.

A short time later, they arrived and Dariux helped her down off the transport. She looked at her hand in his and found herself wondering what his skin felt like. Was it smooth? Rough? How would her hand feel in his? Lyra looked into his eyes and felt a small tremor in her heart as he looked back at her with that golden-eyed gaze.

She shook her head and tried to banish those thoughts. She couldn't deny that he was a handsome man – a very handsome man – but he was also the man who held her life in his hands. He was still the man deciding whether or not to put her back into the box and cart her off to her death. And though she thought him a good and decent man, Lyra knew that she was sometimes mistaken about a person. She may have thought he was looking for a way around sending her to the pits, but deep down, she had to admit that she was only guessing. She didn't really know what lay in his heart.

And if there was one thing this life had taught her, it was that people often disappointed you.

"So?" Dariux asked, spreading his arms out wide, gesturing to the city around them. "What do you think?"

Lyra turned in a circle and gazed up at the massive buildings surrounding them. Vehicles and transports buzzed in the sky overhead in a never-ending tide, and people crowded the streets around them. But, she couldn't deny the natural beauty of the city around them. The large, obsidian-colored buildings, some of them with powerful waterfalls flowing out of them, had been built with the natural world in mind.

The city was very in harmony with the natural world, as if the two of them co-existed, rather than people forcing their often destructive and withering imprint upon it. There was a symbiosis between the city and the landscape it was a part of it.

"It's breathtaking," she said.

"I've always enjoyed it," he said. "One of my favorite places to come. I sometimes wish... "

His voice trailed off and there was a wistful look in his eye. It was the first peek behind the mask of stoicism he wore and she wasn't all that eager to let it go just yet.

"Sometimes wish what?" she prompted him.

He gave his head a small shake, as if coming back to himself, and the mask fell back into place. He looked at her and gave her a gentle smile.

"Hungry?" he asked.

As if responding to his voice, Lyra's stomach growled. "Famished."

"Good," he said. "I know a place that has some decent food."

Lyra followed along as he led her through the warren of streets. The air was cool and clean. It smelled fresher than the air back on Astriq. Sweeter. Everything about this place was so much better than her home world and Lyra grimly thought to herself that being homeless there would be so much preferable to being homeless on Astriq.

Dariux led them on a winding little trip through the streets of the city, leading them to an outdoor cart. He stepped up and talked to a man that reminded her a little of Montor. Same grim face and watchful eyes as the burly man in the marketplace.

A few moments later, Dariux handed her a bowl full of noodles topped with an amazing smelling spiced meat. A piece of soft, spiced bread was tucked into the side of the bowl. Looking at the meal made Lyra's mouth water and her stomach rumble even louder.

She followed Dariux over to a small table set off on the side of the street that sat in the shadow of one of the large buildings. A large thundering waterfall was to their right and the table sat beneath a tree whose branches were adorned with flowers in a riot of different colors.

It was a little awkward at first – eating with those stupid gloves, but she managed. They dug into their food silently, but Lyra kept stealing glances at Dariux – both, because he was handsome to look at, and because she was hoping to see if she could tell which way he was leaning in that great debate raging in his mind. She sat up and cleared her throat.

"This food is amazing," she said. "I've never had anything like it."

Dariux nodded. "Pryma has some of the best food I've ever tasted."

"Earlier, you started to say you wish for something," Lyra said. "What was it? What do you wish for?"

He let out a long breath and swallowed the mouthful of food he'd been eating. He looked at her, a wan smile touching the corners of his mouth.

"I sometimes wish I could live here," he says. "And that I could bring my mother out here as well. Just get away from our home world and start over here."

"Why don't you?" she asked.

"Money," he says. "I can't afford to buy a place out here and the medication she needs. I've looked."

There was a sadness in his eyes that tugged at her heartstrings. A look of sadness that had deepened when he mentioned his mother.

"What does she need medication for?" Lyra asked.

A dark look of absolute grief crossed his face as he looked at her. Lyra remained silent, waiting for him to continue. Dariux was a man who intrigued her. He was a man of many contradictions and mysteries. And she surprisingly found herself wanting to unlock those mysteries that surrounded him. That he wore like a protective armor.

But, he surprised her by opening up and letting her in. He told her all about his life. His childhood, his mother. He spoke for a good thirty minutes, revealing most of the answers to those mysteries, and when he was finished speaking, he fell silent, looking surprised at himself for going on – and as deeply – as he had.

"Sorry," he said, sounding slightly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to talk your ear off like that."

Lyra shook her head. "No, it's okay. Nothing to be sorry about."

"You just – you seem like a good listener, and I guess my mouth just got rolling before my brain could stop it."

She looked down at their hands on the top of the table, sitting just inches apart from each other. She found herself wanting to take his hand. To squeeze it reassuringly. She found herself just wanting to touch him. There was something about Dariux that spoke to her. That reached down inside and touched her. It was crazy, given the fact that they barely knew each other – and that technically, he was her captor, or at least her jailer – but, there was something about him that set her heart on fire.

But, then she looked at the bioelectric gloves on her hands and knew it would be a futile gesture. She wouldn't be able to feel him. Wouldn't be able to draw strength from his touch. Wouldn't be able to feel a damn thing.

"It's okay," she said. "I – I like hearing about your life."

A brittle bark of laughter escaped him. "Such as it is," he said and turned his golden-colored eyes to her. "Your turn. Now that I've bored you with my tale of woe, let's hear yours."

A rueful smile crossed her lips, but she knew she couldn't say no. He'd opened up to her, it was her turn. So, she did. Lyra told him all about her life. About being thrown out of her parent's house and living on the streets. It wasn't a pretty story and it sent a dagger of pain through her heart to tell it, but for the first time, she was telling it – and relieving herself of some of that burden felt good. Amazingly good.

"Why did they throw you out?" he asked. "Your parents."

Lyra sighed, a thick red tear rolling down her cheek. "When I was about six or seven, my powers began to manifest," she said softly. "I was a baby myself, I didn't know anything about them or how to use them."

"Of course," Dariux said. "How could you?"

"One day, I was holding my baby brother – my mother had just given birth to him a few weeks earlier," she said. "Anyway, my power emerged and my brother – he died. I killed him. It was an accident. I didn't know what I was doing and never meant to hurt anybody. I didn't understand my abilities. After that though, my parents threw me out. Called me a monster and said if they ever saw me again, they'd kill me. I know how to control my abilities now – obviously much too late."

The tears were rolling freely down her face and she couldn't seem to stop them. She cried long and hard, the memory of that day as fresh in her mind then as the day it had happened. She'd never spoken of it. Not aloud. Even though it tormented her every day of her life since, she'd never given voice to what happened.

And even though her body was racked with sobs, even though she was crying harder than she ever thought she could, Lyra couldn't deny that getting the story out there, telling somebody her side of the story felt good. It felt like she was lifting a burden off her shoulders. Off her soul.

Before she knew what was happening, Dariux was sitting beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He pulled her to him and she buried her face in his coat, letting the tears run their course. Eventually, she managed to regain her composure and the tears dried up. She sat up straight and gave him a smile, grateful to him for being there to catch her as she fell to pieces.

A chime sounded and he looked at the datasleeve on his wrist. Dariux's face grew stony and hard again as he looked at her.

"I have to take this," he said.

She nodded as he got to his feet and stepped away, careful to keep her in front of him, so whoever was on the other end of the call couldn't see her. Which told her that it was his employers contacting him – the man, or men, who'd snatched her up back on Astriq. A cold ribbon of fear wound its way through her body, wrapping itself around her heart, and squeezed it tight.

"Aryk," Dariux said when he picked up the call.

"Dariux," came the reply from the unseen man.

He was still standing close enough to her that she could hear the other end of the conversation. He was careful to keep his eyes on his datasleeve, not wanting to tip off whoever was on the other end that he wasn't alone.

"I thought I'd check in with you and get a status report, Dariux," came the man's voice. "How is the cargo?"

Dariux's eyes flashed to her for a moment before he looked back down at his datasleeve, his face blank, unreadable.

"Cargo is still secure. I'm currently on target for delivery," Dariux said, his jaw clenched and voice tight. "I had to make a stop on Pryma. I'll be back in the air soon."

"A stop?" the other man's voice sounded annoyed. "Why have you stopped?"

"Needed to have my drive cores refueled," Dariux said. "I'm still on schedule, Aryk."

"For your sake, I hope you are," he replied. "You truly don't want to be late with the cargo. It would be very bad for you. Believe me."

"I won't be," Dariux replied.

"See that you're not."

"Anything else?"

"No, not at the present time," the unseen man said. "I'll check in with you as needed."

Dariux nodded and pushed a button on the datasleeve. He lowered his arm and looked at her, his eyes hardened, his expression serious. She feared what was going through his mind after a call from his employer. She could see he was still torn between doing his duty or obeying his morals and ethics.

"Did you know what you were transporting when you took the job?" she asked softly.

Dariux shook his head. "No," he said. "And if I had known, I wouldn't have taken it. I only took it because of the money. Because it would allow me to pay for my mother's cure."

Lyra nodded. She could understand his reasoning. Now that she had the context, it all made sense to her, and her heart went out to him. Although she couldn't relate to what he was going through, she could sympathize with him. She could see the pain it obviously caused him – and how that pain could have led him to get into bed with people like this Syndicate.

"Listen, we should get back to the ship," he said. "The cores should be fueled by now, and we need to get into the air."

She nodded, the cold weight of dread settling down over her shoulders again. She still had no idea what he planned to do with her. But, now that she'd heard his story, she couldn't fault him for putting her back in the box and delivering her.

Not just to save his life, but his mother's as well. Maybe that was the best fate she could hope for.