Chapter Five

"Eden."

"What?"

"Get up."

"No."

Thiago grunted, shutting his eyes and reminding himself to tread lightly. He cracked his neck from side to side, still sore from spending a night in the pilot seat. After getting a wrapped package from his closet, he crossed over to where Eden was sleeping. Still dressed in her sweaty tank top and muddied jeans, she was lounging on his bed with her face buried in his pillows and her hands hanging off each side of the mattress. He placed the package next to her and awkwardly nudged her with his foot as if he were afraid of angering a wild beast.

"I didn't think you'd like the outfits TerraMates left you with, so I had something ordered before you arrived. You can wash off in the room next to you. Everything's labeled. If it's any consolation, I confirmed they sent the credits promised in your contract to your father's bank account. I can pull up the transaction for you later if you want. If you need anything else, I'll be in the cockpit."

Eden rose from the pillows. Her mouth stretched out in a wide yawn as Thiago headed down the steps and into the control room. Peeking over the railing, she saw Hercules by his scratching pole, his mouth smeared with blue juice as he slurped up a fruit. As she yanked over the package grumpily, she suddenly rubbed her stomach, blushing as it spewed inhuman noises announcing its neglect to anyone who would listen.

She grabbed a flask Thiago had thoughtfully put on the nightstand next to her. Drinking the contents to moisten her dry throat, she tore the package open, the tips of her toes curling in anticipation.

She pulled out three sets of clothes, noting with a sigh that there were a lot of jumpsuits on this planet. Chewing on her lip, she slipped on one of the coats. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as the fabric became thinner than before. It was automatically adjusting to the temperature around her.

She felt happier as she vetted each article of clothing. Although it wasn't her usual style, it certainly wasn't anything close to the metal bikinis she had imagined. Still, it was too soon to tell Thiago's intentions. She wouldn't be letting her guard down.

Opting for one of the onyx-black jumpsuits, she headed into the bathroom.

"What's the name of this planet again?"

Thiago glanced over his shoulder. Eden was sliding into the cockpit. Fresh from the shower, her damp hair hung limply around her shoulders, still dripping lightly on the ends as she sat in the swiveling passenger's seat. Thiago reached for a peeled pomado fruit, tossing the neon-red, cube-shaped plant onto her lap.

"HT-007."

"That's a terribly ugly name." Eden crinkled her nose, sniffing the pomado. She bit into the fruit and nearly gagged at the unexpectedly bitter tang of the juices. Her face severely puckered, she exclaimed, "I'm pretty sure fruit's not supposed to taste like old diapers. What is it? Do people eat it?"

"Those are pomados. They're an acquired taste, but they'll fill you up nicely."

"Don't you have anything else around here that's edible? What I wouldn't give for some of my Dad's amazing mac-and-cheese right now."

"What's a mac-and-cheese?"

"It's one of the most significant culinary discoveries in America and on Earth. They're macaroni shells baked with thick, gooey cheese. Dad would cut up little hot dogs..."

"I have no idea what any of that is, but it all sounds revolting."

"Well, what would you know about it?"

"We're not scheduled to stop for another couple of hours," Thiago replied coolly, steering left on his controls. He popped open a compartment under the control panel and removed a large syringe with a thick needle. "I think I've got a few supplement packs somewhere around here. If you inject vitamins into your system, it should keep you going for at least a day."

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not going to inject my food." Eden muttered under her breath and took another painful bite of the pomado. With Thiago's straight-faced, casual figure lingering in the corner of her eye, she couldn't keep the question that had been on her mind all night bottled in any longer.

"What are you, exactly?"

He grinned. "I'm half-Arkadian, half-human. Father and mother, respectively."

"Uh-huh," said Eden slowly. She tapped on her chin inquisitively. "Sorry, this is all a lot for me to process. I mean, on Earth we're still excited about finding liquid water on Mars. We're also in the grieving process for Pluto, which is no longer a planet."

"I'm impressed with your technological sophistication. Your Earthling governments must be doing a terrific job keeping you ignorant lot in the dark."

"Well, go ahead and enlighten me. What's going on here?"

Denying the pure enthusiasm coming from Eden was difficult. Thiago shifted in his seat and decided to start from the beginning.

"Over three hundred years ago, a group of Arkadian explorers stumbled onto this planet. Back then, the land was incredibly rich and fertile, and it contained massive mineral supplies of raw puranium. That's what we use in power plants and for fueling our shuttles and spaceships. A puranium rush took over the planet. Different alien colonies came in to get a piece of the puranium surplus. After a century, the minerals were bled dry, but more and more families remained to build communities. And here we are today."

"Fascinating," said Eden quietly, her brows knitted in thought. "Hang on a second. What did you mean when you said our governments were keeping us ignorant?"

"I cannot say with any certainty that they have anything to do with TerraMates, but there's been intergalactic peace conferences with a few Earth representatives present."

"How many agencies are there, exactly?" asked Eden, her mouth going dry at the thought of all the helpless women smuggled to space over the years.

"Last I heard, TerraMates had over forty branches Earth-wide. I don't know how many of them work directly with the Noxx, but the branch that processed you certainly does."

"And who are the Noxx?"

Thiago motioned to the right, glancing out the windshield. He had suspended the craft about twenty feet above the docking station of a city. In broad daylight, the city was teeming with life. People moved around malls, office buildings, and various restaurants.

The lively atmosphere quickly changed as large spacecraft resembling army tanks hovered into view. Their ships, equipped with barbs, spikes, and rusted missile launchers, cast terrorizing shadows over the community before landing in front of the storefronts. Noxx officials climbed out of the ships, dressed in identical silver uniforms and armed with menacing weaponry strapped to their backs. Eden was appalled as she observed civilians fleeing away from the soldiers storming into the buildings. Hoping to prevent of a repeat of Eden's panic last night, Thiago flew away before the scene could get any uglier.

"They're the most notorious group of underground criminals on the planet. Their leader is Malatov, a demented dictator who controls most significant illegal operations on HT-007. Being born Noxx is a double-edged sword. You're practically untouchable by the law, but those that refuse to do Malatov's bidding and try to escape never make it far. They're very efficient."

"You sure know a lot about this stuff. Do you work for the police or something?"

"Hardly," Thiago laughed darkly. "I guess you could say I'm an independent contractor of sorts. There's a few of us out there. Some choose to work in groups, but I'm a solitary bounty hunter. Governments post notices about the large-scale criminals on the run they want to capture. I haul them in and collect the reward money."

"Well, that explains the aisle of weaponry you have going on back there. I'm slightly relieved. I mean, it sounds interesting," said Eden earnestly. She sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Listen, I'm still not sure what it is you want out of me. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm not exactly wealthy."

"No, you're poor. Judging by the state of your clothes, lack of jewelry, and your decision to step foot in TerraMates, I gathered as much."

"Wow, okay," said Eden, amused. "I guess you were born without a filter too, huh? Do you say everything that pops into your head?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," said Thiago, genuinely confused. "Why wouldn't I?"

"So you don't hurt other people, for one thing. Whoa. What's that?"

Eden gaped at the massive cemetery to their right. The land seemed to stretch on forever. It had many mounds of grass and simple gravestones. The majority were unmarked. Thiago didn't bat an eye and kept his eyes fixed straight out the window.

"It's the Land of the Fallen. It's an old graveyard. Most of the inhabitants are Noxx victims."

"It looks beautiful from up here," Eden whispered, without thinking through the connotations. Thiago wasn't the only one on the spaceship with filter issues. "Have you ever been there?"

"I visit the graves of my parents whenever possible."

"I'm sorry," said Eden in a hushed voice

"Why are you sorry? You didn't kill them. They were civilian casualties of a rogue bombing during a Noxx territory conflict war two decades ago."

Thiago could feel the marking on his forehead beginning to pound. It physically ached with the memories of his parents. He had intentionally pushed them aside to the corner of his mind for years. For the first time in ages, he could hear the throaty timbre of his father's laughter. He felt a fleeting sensation against a spot on his cheek his mother used to touch after he had played around in the dirt for hours.

"You loved your parents, didn't you?" asked Eden, realization gradually dawning on her. "I'm sorry, Thiago, I had no idea. You know, if you want to talk..."

The steering controls were suddenly slick with Thiago's sweat. Thiago's discomposure was growing increasingly evident as he yanked back on the levers. The pair was thrown back in their seats as the craft suddenly descended, making an unplanned landing. Thiago unstrapped himself from his seat and briskly headed out the cockpit.

"I don't want to talk. Sorry about this. I need to make a quick pit-stop. We're running low on supplies. I'll be right back."