The door opens and light bursts through, blinding me momentarily. An Argonian guard stands in the doorway, silhouetted by the bright light shining in from behind.

“Vax Enzala. There’s a name I haven’t seen for a long time. Heard they’d thrown you in with the pigs for exile. Can’t say I’m surprised. You always were a headstrong fool.”

I push myself up from the floor where I’ve been lying for the last few hours while waiting to be shipped out. I recognize the voice, but I can’t remember how.

“What’s the matter?” the guard says as he steps into the room. Lights ignite the darkness as he does so, and I finally see his face.

“Cyrus!”

A warm smile fills Cyrus’s face and he greets me with a traditional welcome. Our hands steel together in a firm shake and we break away quickly. “You are a ray of light in this dark moment, Cyrus. What in Vutaz are you doing here?”

“I should ask the same of you,” Cyrus says while looking me up and down with worry. “I requested a move to departure security after our last tryst on Wako 3. The war was a good one, but the horrors there left me unable to return to combat. He nods down to the robotic leg descending from his right knee. “Pure Amalinium. Ten Arnoks could crush this thing and it would still be right as rain. Come now, tell me, why are you here warrior?”

It’s definitely good to see Cyrus despite the dire circumstances I find myself in. We grew up in training together and there was a time when I considered him among my closest friends. I pull my eyes up to meet his and sigh heavily. “If you are on the official team then you already know why I’m here.”

“You are correct Vax, but I thought it best to hear your side of the story. All men in exile have their version of events to tell.”

“All are blind drunk as well from the sound of things,” I say in reference to my noisy cellmates. Argonians sentenced to exile are held for a few hours before being shipped off forever. Sedatives are readily available for all those who want them. Often the pain and shame of exile is too much to bear for the sober mind.

“You should have been offered your fill of Sedaris,” he says. “Do you want me to get you a bottle?”

“No,” I say firmly. “I do not wish to drown out my sorrows, Cyrus, and there is no other story to tell on how I came to be here. The facts on the report are accurate enough. I deserve this punishment.”

He studies me momentarily before nodding. “Somehow, I doubt that Vax Enzala, but I will take your word for it. I am here to tell you that you are ready for release. Since you have your own ship you are permitted in using it to leave. It has been moved to our dock and here in my hand I have your Remvita.”

I freeze at the word and look down at the holo-scroll in Cyrus’s hands. Remvita. Life goal. “So, it’s true?” I ask, looking up at him in surprise. “Remvita are betrothed to exiled Argonians? It is not just a rumor?”

Cyrus nods. “That is correct. Remvita are offered to all Argonians who face exile. It is a chance for redemption, a chance that they might one day be allowed back into our society. Be warned though, very few have ever completed their Remvita and returned. These missions are extremely difficult to complete. I have seen yours personally Vax Enzala… it is one of the hardest I have ever seen.”

“I am ready to hear my life mission,” I say with eagerness. “Please. Tell me at once. Whatever it is. I will complete it and return.”

Cyrus opens up the holo-scroll and reads it slowly.

“Mother of all Vutaz,” I say. The words slip from my mouth in an exasperated breath. That is a hard Remvita indeed. “Is there any word of how many people I am looking for?”

Cyrus shakes his head, rolls up the scroll and hands it to me. “No. The number is unknown. Guran Polax was the census keeper for Project Phoenix, but his ship has been missing since the attack. We suspect that he is dead or taken prisoner.”

“Very well. I accept this Remvita regardless. Thankyou Cyrus.”

He stares back at me with eyes that are filled with dimness. “It is not a light thing to bring this to you Enzala. Come. I will escort you to the hangar.”

Cyrus walks me through the hallways of the exile jail toward the departure hangar. I’m grateful to Vutaz that he is somehow the guard that was sent to escort me today. We slip into a conversation that is easy and entertaining enough to take my mind off my dark circumstances for just a few minutes.

Each corridor is filled with flashing signs, requesting that ten percent of all fleets report for instant departure. “Sounds pretty serious,” I say to Cyrus. “Do you know what’s going on?” I’m half-worried it has something to do with the civil war that Orbis mentioned earlier.

“The Horkax have advanced their position by a day with light travel. It’s believed they’re sending a scouting skirmish before the second assault arrives.” Cyrus leans in close as we walk and lowers his voice. “Word from deep-lens is that the Horkax are flying in a new formation. No grid.”

I’m baffled. The Horkax always use the same formation. Always. It’s partly what makes them an easy opponent. “What in Vutaz are you talking about? What is their formation?”

Cyrus takes great joy in explaining the technicalities of it to me. They’ve packed themselves into a tight cube apparently. No great numbers, just a small scouting group. “Word also comes from deep-lens that Orbis is leading the assault with an earthling woman. Rumor is that she has special eyes… apparently she can see the Horkax attack patterns…”

I’d stop in my tracks if I wasn’t sure the other guards would assault me for it. That had to be Piper. The rumor has dilated into nonsense a little after travelling halfway across the ship, but it had to be Piper. It just had to. I want to stand there and grill Cyrus on everything he knows about the latest battle plans, but we arrive at my ship only a few seconds later. We waste little time in saying goodbye. Argonians aren’t known for our emotional departures and Cyrus and I are no exception.

“Godspeed on your departure Vax,” Cyrus says. “I’m required to tell you there is a tracking beacon on your ship. It will alert us if you turn around in the next hundred lightyears. You’ll be surprised how many people try to sneak back in.”

“Don’t worry.” I grip the holo-scroll tight in my hand and ascend the ramp to my ship. “I take full responsibility for my crimes Cyrus. I’m not coming back until I’ve fulfilled this Remvita.”

I have to complete it. It’s the only way I can see Piper again.

* * *

The vast blackness of space has always felt lonely to me, but it feels even emptier now knowing that Piper isn’t here by my side. Putting my ship into gear and venturing away from the Argonian mothership is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I do it nonetheless. All Argonians make an oath when we are sworn into the great army. People before all.

Piper might not have realized it, but the way I’ve acted in these last few weeks have not been fitting of a true Argonian warrior. I’m not only a disgrace to my people, I’m a disgrace to her.

It’s quiet here on the ship. Sitting on the bridge alone I have the thoughts in my head, the Remvita scroll in my hand and a universe full of nothing in front of me. It’s been half an hour since I left the station. The ship is currently under the control of the Argonian mothership’s autopilot, and it will be until we’re at the edge of the solar system.

“Any direction you wanna go first?” Cyrus had said.

I told him the only thing that mattered. “Send me somewhere I haven’t been before.” Cyrus seemed puzzled by my request, but there was a method to my madness. I didn’t want to chance coming across anything that might remind me of Piper.

I’m happy to sit in silence until the autopilot has dropped me at the edge of the solar system, and the plan seems to be going fine until Monroe walks into the bridge.

“A galactic good morning to you sir!” The golden idiot walks across the floor happily, checking station read outs and generally tidying things. I sink into my chair further, setting a deep scowl on my face.

“I don’t want to be bothered right now Monroe,” I say to him. “Leave the bridge at once.”

The android straightens up and looks over at me. “Why, of course sir. I will leave at once. Sir only has to call me, and I will be there in an instant.” Monroe pivots on his heels and makes for the door with his awkward robotic gait.

“Robot wait,” I get up from my chair and turn around to face the android who is now facing me again. He turns his head in expectation.

“Yes sir?”

I cross the bridge, closing the distance between us. “Tell me Monroe, that day the secret compartment was left open in my ship, the one containing my Idents… what happened? Where you hacked?”

“Negative sir,” he says with a swift shake of his head. In true robot fashion he says nothing else. Only answer what you’re asked. Sometimes talking to robots felt like interrogation. No. It felt like war.

“Tell me what happened then. Your charging station has a prime view of the hidden cabinet. Playback the surveillance footage.”

“Yes sir.” Monroe turns and beams a holographic picture of my boudoir from his eyes on to the wall besides us.

I sit there and watch as Monroe scans through days’ worth of footage in rapid fire. The imagery flickers across my eyes rapidly until he arrives at the day where Piper finds the hidden compartment. Monroe slows the feed down and plays it at normal speed. 

"So what happened?" I say. "It looks as if the cabinet is closed here. I know I looked through the folders earlier, but I definitely closed it again afterward." I know for sure I did. Keeping my Idents secret was one of the most important parts of my warrior career, it was a drastic failure that they had been compromised. "Be honest with me Monroe. Were you hacked by someone? I'll check your diagnostics if I have to."

"Negative sir," the robot says. "But do feel free to check my diagnostics, you'll find nothing out of place. My chip circuit wasn't compromised, and the information held in your Idents hasn't been broadcast to anyone off the ship."

I pause at the information. "Wait, so you're saying you weren't hacked? What happened with the files then?"

"We are arriving at that answer now sir. Please watch."

We both stand there in silence as the answer plays itself back on the wall before us. Monroe's holographic feed shows the ghostly image of myself standing in the room reading the Idents. Piper comes through the door, taking me by surprise and I hide the Idents. After that the footage scrubs forward until I get the chance to hide the folders again. The feed flickers forward past the next few hours, only slowing down when movement begins in the room.

"Wait a second..." I say in amazement as I watch the small figure crawling across the floor. It's a dark blue shadow on the holographic feed, but there's no mistaking it. It crawls up the wall and bounces across the panels, before scampering across the room and swinging out onto the balcony. It didn't even realize it had popped the secret panel. "That's the bastard monkey!" I say in surprise.

"Punky," Monroe corrects me, shutting the feed off as he does so. "Punky the monkey."

I feel a rage building inside of me that threatens to erupt with great urgency. Violence. Violence. I have a strong need to impact violence on something. "That damned monkey ruined everything!" I roar.

"It would seem so sir," Monroe says. His voice is a robotic as ever, but I swear there is a hint of amusement in it. 

Images start popping in my mind. I want to find the little purple Sivret and turn him inside out, but then something strange happens. Before I can storm off the bridge to commit justified murder I find a strange sound rising in my throat and bubbling across the room. It's laughter.

"Sir? Sir are you all right?" Monroe has etched concern into his voice, and stares at me as I'm bent over double in laughter. "I can't detect any atmosphere leaks on board sir, but it seems you are beginning to lose your mind."

I somehow find the strength to straighten up and subdue the laughter, wiping a tear from my eye as I stand. "I haven't lost anything Monroe, in fact I might have found something."

A sense of humor. Damn Piper to Vutaz but I just can't bring myself to stay angry at that little purple Sivret. It shouldn't be funny, but I can't stop laughing at the inconsequential bad luck of it all. Monroe might have been right. There was a good chance I was losing my mind, but it didn't feel like a bad thing. If anything, there was a faint feeling of gratitude. Laughter certainly felt better than rage, and it didn't last as long. 

"Disregard it all Monroe," I say with the casual flick of my wrist. "I'm just glad to hear you weren't hacked. That means my Idents weren't compromised. I should report that to Orbis in any case, it might—"

"Forgive the intrusion sir but I've just detected a human-class fighter ship in proximity to our route. They are beaconing an assistance signal."

I give pause to the news. Assistance signals weren't as dramatic as distress signals, but it did indicate that someone needed help. "Hang on. Human-class?" As far as I knew humans weren't based in space yet.

"Yes sir. The Persopolis. The beacon notes tell me it belongs to the StarFleet program."

My brows raise at Monroe's admission. "StarFleet? I've heard of that. A top-secret space mission developed by earth in the last year with the assistance of Raka." Several exchanges were made with earth after the mothership arrived, and StarFleet was one of them. Raka gave some rudimentary interstellar technology to earth as a sign of friendship. The humans hadn't done much so far but travelled around the solar system, carrying out some basic flight drills. "What do they want?"

"The signal is unclear sir, it just asks for general assistance."

Humans probably didn't know how to work the alert system properly. "There's a good chance they've just hit a wrong button while messing around with their new toy. But let's go check it out anyway."

"Check it out sir?" Monroe almost sounds surprised.

"Of course. People are out there that might need our help, and besides, they’re from earth. They might be able to help with my Remvita somehow. Are we allowed to pull away from the mothership's autopilot?"

"To answer distress signals, yes sir. I'll break from the route immediately and fly us over to the StarFleet."

Stars turn against our window as Monroe makes the adjustment and I make my way across the ship to the boarding pods. Answering calls was never a priority before Piper came along, but I feel as if she'd answer this if someone was in distress.

I'll do what she would have done. Maybe that will get me back to her the fastest way possible.