Prologue I find it funny when I hear the words “necessary evil” coming from the mouths of “good men.” It just seems like too much of a rogue word for them to be using. There shouldn’t be any gain from this deal. The only thing that should be on our minds is safety and security. Yet in still, good men form pacts and conduct backdoor deals before the finalization to further their own flock. I suppose the time period of mutual respect and honor has all but vanished. Although this family must also adopt the policies of others, I just hope those that come after me keep it in their hearts, for if not us then who? I know I have taken up much more space than intended with this side note, but I want my family to know this deal wasn’t done out of mere desire. And whenever this fails, I want them to know how we begin our descent. The Harbingers of my time have failed us. Not of their own accord, but of ours. If only my fellow leaders saw things my way. We could have worked together to prepare them for the inevitable battle. It’s too late to have any regrets. There is much to do now that the safeguard we mortals enjoyed from this war is gone. And since it will take years of hard work to find, grow and prepare new Harbingers, we must take matters into our own hands now that the beast is free. The Omen war is now a Novan problem, and I must act. I, Tosal Markus, Arch-Duke of the Royal VanderHill family, on 3124:Jan12, do ordain this treaty for the safety and security of my people. Tuk atr sula Muntar Bula Zunara. Chapter one There is one gigantic universe, countless galaxies, numerable solar systems and billions of stars. The various beings that call this universe home continuously have their lives shaped by entities who either manipulate the doubt we hold in our hearts for pleasure and personal gain or work to banish it away for some currently unknown reason. These spirits attach themselves onto the soul of a newborn whose personality directly aligns with its core principle, infusing it with their ability. In doing this, the spirit leaves a mark somewhere on the body, signifying its presence. Over the centuries, many races have developed different interpretations and religions around these spirits. Some claim one, or all, to be their god. Others link them to nature or chance, but they are universally understood as Omens. My race, the novans, call the ones who bear the spirits on their soul "Harbingers.” Because we believe they warn us of what's to come when the next generation takes over as leaders. That is the all I know about them, which should be sad in a way, considering one is bound inside me. My mark is two black horizontal lines running around my wrists with three loops wrapped inside. It’s unidentifiable, even by the oldest archiving systems. Under normal conditions, the mark would be glowing, showing that I accept the Omen as a part of me. The morning I discovered the markings, I went running to my parent’s room in amazement. After getting chewed out for waking them up so early in the morning, I showed them my wrists. They immediately asked me had I been hearing or talking to anyone strange lately, to which I honestly replied no. After a few moments of awkward glance exchanges, I was told not to allow the Omen to resonate with me. I didn’t know what they meant. And I wouldn’t find out until much later. Back when I first began my training regime, It was decided that my powers needed to be excellent on their own so that when I did activate it, they would be enhanced by the Omen, not solely dependent upon him. Oh, gee. There I go again. My mind can easily drift onto another subject so easily. The markings on my wrist have nothing to do with why I’m out here. I live on the bustling grassland planet Fheic, the capital planet of the Charvonian territory and chief trading hub for anything coming into Novan territory through the Soust passage. It’s a tad larger than most planets with a single continent encompassing four massive lakes, three of which are used to provide for the over seven billion people that call it home. Life here is very simple and laid back for us. We are far from the days of back breaking labor and enjoy the economic prosperity the previous generation has left for us. The planetary corporations now focus on taking everything we have now, and making it more efficient. Be it Faniron industries, who design new ships and shuttles, or, Marstar engineering, who work to rebuild many of our cities. Or even my families companies, Carltek design, and Quantum research. I say all of this like I live and work as a regular citizen of society. I'm currently sitting on the edge of the white rock cliffs, of which, my family's palace stands upon. It's directly in the center of a five-mile-long lake surrounded by the capital city, Vander. Back in the days before the formation of the Novan empire, the soon to be emperor Harkon toured the planet and anointed my family as royalty. With such a title, comes a palace built to the liking of the reigning Arch, the leader, and considered, the most powerful person in the family. The Arch at the time was Deena and she hired an architect from a planet in a less traveled sector of our universe, Laprilles. She knew his ideas, though common where he came from, would be exotic here. The layout was decided to have four sides around a central quadrangle sloping naturally with the cliff. The walls are painted white and the roof is slated gray. Around the palace is an acre of farmland and an animal sanctuary. All encased behind a wall topped with iron spikes. Needless to say, it takes a small army of servants to upkeep the abode. And we barely use fifty of the rooms, let alone all two-hundred and thirty-six. As a special request, she had several stone towers, capped with gold, built on top of the palace, all centered on a much taller and wider tower to serve as her throne room. Back then, they were just for decoration. While the throne room remains, nowadays, the others represent some of the different offices in the national government that we have control over: The Department of State administration, Department of the Treasure, Department of Defense and the Department of Home Land security. Although, for the majority of our time living on Fheic, we have lived at our estate further south of Vander, the main branch of my family has lived here ever since the anointment. And the blood that runs through my veins have stained this cliff countless times in defense of her and the flag that flies above the throne spiral. I typically only leave the palace for ceremonial or state-funded trips, earning me the public title "The hermit" and scores of people surrounding me if spotted outside on the cliff. Even from miles away, I can see the glow of the capital cities lights. Some of the tall stone skyscrapers still have their office lights on, giving proof that people are inside hard at work when the time is well past midnight. Transport shuttles zoom around them, dropping in and out of the atmosphere at random points. These two facts alone are a constant reminder of how this city never truly sleeps. The real prize of being here is listening to the sound of the ocean waves splashing the rocky coastline. Somehow, it manages to make me feel like all my problems are being washed away each time the water crashes into the cliff. Yet, it's not working for me tonight. I'm worried. My eighteenth birthday is only a week away and my family are preparing for the ancient rite. It's a must if I want to pursue any type of job in the military or Novan government. That’s not what’s bothering me, though. The real deal is the Novan trials. It is a test of your personal strength, wisdom, and ingenuity. It’s designed to find what personally holds us back, what fuels us to keep going, and what outside force keeps us from reaching our full potential. For some, it's an object or happy memory. For others, it’s a person that provides them with a voice of reason when their judgment becomes cloudy. What's mine? I could go on all day about the many things mine might be, but in all honesty, I just don't know. And I have a limited amount of time to find out. If one doesn't go into the trials fully prepared, you could easily be crushed mentally or crippled physically. Or so I've heard. All I know is that it's just not good for a member of one of the twelve royal families to fail, especially since only two in my family can become the next Arch due to current family laws. And one has passed already, my sister and immediate rival, Ricca of the dual-axes. "Are you going to sit here all day Emeth? Or are we going to actually train today?" A soft female voice calls out. I immediately recognize the voice and smile at her words. "I was waiting for you." I reply, still looking out over the horizon. "You don't have to lie to me. If you don’t feel like getting thrashed today, it’s ok. Just say so." The female replies, trying to hold back laughter. "You’re in a very good mood today." I say sarcastically. "I was until I tried calling you. Why is your communicator off? I've tried calling you several times before I got here. You know you need to have it on at all times. What if I needed to secure you?" She says. "Oh, right. Sorry." I say, picking my left hand up and reaching for my watch. I press down on the blank screen. A few seconds later, a beeping noise occurs and the screen lights up, revealing a home screen with several buttons colored differently. After a moment, they fade away. "There we go. Sorry about that again." I reply, settling back down on the cliff. "Our dads are going to watch us this time." She says. I turn my head around and immediately get pulled into the gravitational pull that is her big, beautiful eyes. Their color is amber, which is what I gave her as a nickname many years back. I don't know if it’s an ability of hers or not, but I can't help but stare at them for long periods of time without saying a word, or remembering to breathe. She gives me a puzzled look, a look I always receive when I stare for too long. I quickly dart my eyes away from her captivating gaze. “Are you alright?” She asks. "Oh, I just don't want to harm daddy's little girl while he’s watching." I say, trying to shrug off the moment. "I could take you down easily and you're in the running for the title of Arch-Duke. That should be embarrassing for you." She huffs confidently. I stand up and stretch for a moment. "So were my other siblings. Start with them, then come for me." I reply. "I wasn’t even born then. And don’t try to justify yourself with that. I can take on and beat you. Deal with it." She replies. She's always been the avid smack talker. I've never really fought her with seriousness before. It’s just that I can’t bring myself to actually hurt her, not because she’s a female. "Is that what you believe? Well, if you can truly fight on par with me, I'm glad you're on my side then." I reply. She shakes her head in annoyance, trying to hide the fact that she was smiling hard. "Can I see your birthmark before we go?" I ask, looking up at her. She freezes and stares at me, her eyes widening and cheeks turning beet red. "W-What do...You mean?" She asks hesitantly. "You know the thing that enhances our powers? It's been on our bodies since birth?" I sarcastically reply. "Don't be stupid. I know that. We haven't used them in years. You do remember where mine is at and what we have to do to activate them, right?" She asks, folding her arms and looking down at the ground. “Yes, I know Amber.” I reply. "How come we are re-activating them now? I thought we were waiting till we turned twenty-one." She asks. "I know, but we aren't that far away from doing our family rites. We still have the Novan trials to do and who knows how long until the Olympics begin. We need to get used to them before then." I reply. "In other words, you're really curious all of a sudden?" She says. "Curious about the powers or, do I want to see if I can get you shirtless out in the open like this? You pick.” I say. She glares at me. If she was strong enough to, I'd be plummeting into the water right now. “You wouldn’t be so stupid.” She replies. “Your pants are next." I reply again, a big smirk on my face. "Do you really think you should be sexually harassing the one who watches over you at night?" She asks, glaring at me with a blank expression on her face. I smile at her and nod my head in silent acceptance of her logic. "Shall we begin then?" I ask, getting up and facing her. "You're just perving on me you little freak. Don't try anything or you’ll be in the water." She says, avoiding eye contact while turning around. Amber then pulls the back part of her shirt up and leave it on her shoulders, leaving just her dual strapped black bra. I really wish she was wearing the specially made bra that wraps around her shoulders instead of the back. I reach my hands out and unstrapped the first one. She immediately folds her arms, pushing her breasts together. I undo the second one and look in amazement. Her mark is the exact same as mine, except, hers run down her spine. It was always said we were somehow linked together, time to see if it’s true. I reach my left hand out and touch the center of her shoulder-blade with my index finger. Amber jumps and slightly gasps. I quickly pull my hand back. "Sorry. Are my hands cold?" "No, you're fine..." She says quietly. "Ok." I place my hand back and slowly trace my fingers down her spine. Our marks begin to glow, mine light-orange, hers, fuchsia. "There." I say, pulling my hand from her back. "I hope you enjoyed the sensation. Now hook me back up." She says. I oblige and re-hook her bra. She starts walking off while pulling her shirt back on. I follow close behind her. We make our way down the stone stairs path that leads up and down the cliff, and through one of the many ten-foot clearing entrances to Castle VanderHill. On our sides, suits of armor stand guard, coat of arms and swords crossed over their chests. The floors are made of marble. All stair railing are ornate mahogany, carved and polished so that it shines. Family portraits hang in gold frames beside rich tapestries of emerald green and silver. The air was scented with fresh flowers every day of the year. We go down the hall and make a left at a four-way intersection, continuing on until we stand in front of a gold-plated door. Being the gentleman that I am, I open it and let Amber walk in first. I go in next and see an all-white room. If I didn't know any better, I would believe it to be a never ending room. Every member of the royal family, branch included and close friends included, have trained in this room. It's unrivaled because the environment can be changed at the click of a button. Amber walks twenty feet from the door, turns to the right and goes thirty more feet out. I go sixty feet in the opposite direction she is going. The room's layout slowly changes into a grassland environment, giving me a strategic advantage over anyone I fight. I see three men walking into the room from the corner of my left eye. They’re lightly armored, with a yellow robe laced with metal on the arms, chest, and knees. It’s not much different than the family armor I’m wearing right now. For a VanderHill, speed and maneuverability are key to staying alive in battle. In order to maintain the two, the combat dress is made of a thin silver colored cloth. Instead of a metal covering key and vital positions on the body, a type of tanned yellow leather is used because it comes from a little know elephant called the Anhk elephant, whose hide is naturally resistance to low caliber rifles and energy attacks. To add to that bonus, it takes effort to slash or pierce through it. The men huddle together for a few moments, obviously discussing battle strategies, then break off. Two of the men go in different direction while one remains in front of me. He begins to get into a battle stance, his legs spread out and his arms up. “When you are ready to begin, use a combat move.” The man says. “Understood.” I reply. I turn my head and look back at Amber. She’s standing still as well. I turn to face my challenger once again. My pools are completely full, I’m well rested. Heh. Let me test the teachers. I spread my feet out evenly and exhale all the air in my lungs. I then quickly refill them to their maximum capacity and hold it in. The man defensively jumps over to the side and brakes into a sprint for me, zigzagging his movements in an attempt to throw me off. I trace his running pattern for a few seconds, getting into his motions. I bring my right hand and form a circle with my thumb and pointer finger, placing it over my mouth. I tighten the circle just a tad. I blow four streams of compressed air at his projected next few steps with a five seconds delay in-between. The first two blasts just barely graze past his legs, but the next two catch him mid-stride, sending him spiraling backward into the air before hitting the ground with a thud. I pause for a moment and close my eyes. The two other trainers wouldn’t have easily given up their position like that. If this is a grassland environment, then one of them must be an earth user. Right when I realize that, I feel a large object being thrust into the air. I turn around and throw my arms out. I close my hands quickly, gripping the boulder. That’s one of them. The man and I began to tug it back and forth, trying our best to rip it from one another. I release my hold and run for the boulder. The instructor thrusts the boulder at me again and I jump over it while simultaneously flicking my hand out, sending a wave of air down at him. He barrel rolls out the way, then cartwheels to the side. In doing this, he flips up three more medium sized rocks and sends them my way. I pull my hand back, ball it into a fist and smash the first one he sent into smaller pieces. As I descend to the ground, I maneuver the other two around to the sides of my body and propel them at his armor. The man manages to repel the first one. The second one hit with a loud metal ping. Got him. He waves his hand at me in defeat. I land on the ground. Out of nowhere, I see five green orbs of energy fly past me, undetected until I saw them. I’m slipping. I turn around and focus on sending all my energy to the palms of my hand. I fire them at his direction. He slides over and jumps, sending three more my way. I jump to the side and maneuver the ones I fired at him earlier, straight for his blind side. They collide and he comes screeching towards the ground. My last opponent is watching me. I can feel it. I turn around to face her, Amber. She has determination written all over her face, I might have to take this battle seriously. I get into my battle stance, fists up, left foot forward, and right foot back. “Is this going to be a fair fight? Or will you use your little sand to help you?” She asks. “Depends. Will you use those weak barriers of yours?” I say back. “That is some very strong trash talking from someone who’s probably used up forty percent of their pools.” She replies. “I haven’t even broken a sweat yet. You’re delusional.” She grins and clenches her hands, causing an orange-yellow colored aura to glow around her hands. Then, suddenly, she bolts towards me, closing our sixty feet gap by thirty feet in less than ten seconds of running. She comes to a full stop and thrust her arms out, firing her energy orbs directly at me. I stay in my stance, un-phased by the energy flying towards me. Mere seconds before it hit where I stand, I jump high into the air and rotate my body diagonally to dodge the two extra energy orbs she sent behind the others. I hope she doesn’t think I failed to notice. I slam back into the ground, leaving a crater five feet deep and run for her, bobbing and weaving through the volley of orbs she continuously sent. I come up on her and pull my right hand back and swing for her face. She swipes her left hand back and catches my fist while simultaneously bringing her right hand up to my chest with an orb in it. "Sloppy work, Emeth." She says mockingly. She releases the energy directly into my chest, sending me flying backward into the air until I slowly hit the ground sliding. I quickly spring back up. "That was weaker than normal." I say, shaking my head disappointingly while dusting myself off. "Really? Didn't look like it to me." She replies, going back into her stance "I didn’t even try to dodge it. Doesn’t matter though. I hope that the warm-up was good for you, my dear." I say, focusing back on her. "Bring it." She taunts. I extend my right hand out and one by one, I lift each finger an inch higher into the air, causing five basketball size rocks to effortlessly float in the air. I bring my right foot forward and bring my left arm all the way back and swung my hands around, maneuvering the rocks in a rotating formation around me. "This is a new move I've been working on." I yell out to her. "Stop." A voice over the room's intercom says. I sigh and drop my hand down. The rocks land on the ground with a thud. The room returns to its white color. "Meet us in the council meeting tower as soon as possible." The voice continued. "I was just getting started." I protest. "Now, Emeth." That time it was my father’s voice. "Yes, sir." I reluctantly reply. We exit the training room and take a right down the same hall we came in and make a left at the intersection. Then, we took the hallway down to an elevator and got aboard. "What do you think this is about?" Amber asks me, pressing the top button on the control panel. The elevator's door shut itself and slowly we slowly began to ascend up the castle. "I don't know. I doubt our dads are in the senate room by themselves." I reply, leaning on the back wall. "I'm hoping the council saw you lose." "Please, I barely have a scratch on me." I scoff at her. The elevator comes to a complete stop and the doors slide open. Amber stepped out first and follows right beside her. This level of the castle holds only one room and it's the most important in this sector of the world. Again, I walk up first and open the door, letting Amber go ahead, with me close behind her. The room itself is circular with no windows and, at least, four dozen rows of chairs flowing naturally with the room, all filled with bodies. My father sits center stage, with five chairs floating behind him. Each chair on the ground represents either a low or medium nobility family. The ones sitting beside my father are of the highest rank in this sector. Ricmell, Denton, Phistica, Mamer and Rosa are their last names. Only the Rosa family seat is empty. There are several more thrones centered on dads, but, we only sit in when we convene a meeting. It’s a tad biased, but I like to say that my family is fair in how it runs this sector of Novan territory. Unlike many other families, who rule with absolute power, we gave up domestic policy many years ago. We act as head of state, primarily dealing with foreign and military affairs. We can veto all proposed laws, which can be overturned by a 60% vote, we are answerable to the courts for war declarations and can cast a tie-breaking vote. All else we resign to bi-carmel Charvonian congress, the Supreme Court, and our tri-laterally elected cabinet. We even allow the nobles and governors of our planets to give their input on everything and put it to a vote before we act. I look down at my father, who is flanked by Royce Rosa, Amber’s dad and his bodyguard. At sixty, my dad is just below the average male height of five-foot-six, but he makes up for that with his natural muscle mass. Surprisingly, he’s retained about half of his hair’s black color. Royce stands tall at six-foot-three with a modest build. "What's up, dad?" I ask, walking towards him. The room freezes and turns its attention to Amber and I. "Can we hold the nobility council meeting for now? I'd like to talk with these two for a moment." "As you wish Arch-Duke." The leader of the Ricmell family replies, waving his hand at everyone else to shoo off. They all get up from their seats and straggle out of the room in a calm, almost relieved, manner. "Have a seat. We have a couple of things to go over." Royce says, motioning for us to sit on the floor. I sit down and cross my legs. Amber does the same. "We have just discussed our Olympic lineup. Would you like to hear our progress?" My dad asks the two of us. "Sure, I suppose." I reply. "Instead of selection by blood and projected ability, we will allow anyone to try out for tier two and below." "Wow, that breaks years of tradition. I'm proud of you, dad." "I'm proud of you two! In just a week, you'll be eighteen years old! You will be able to take the trials and gain the right to be the next head of your family. Do you feel that you are ready?" He says. Sometimes, I wish he could turn off his public mood. "I am ready to complete my trials." Amber says with unbridled confidence. "Mostly." I reply. "Why do you say that?" My dad asks, raising an eyebrow at me. "I'm trying to get over the fact that I only know one fact about them." "That's all? Common worry, the majority of the youngsters that take the trials pass. Moving on. Royce?" My dad says. "Alise, Emeth. The court has decided to send you two off on a mission until the trials begin." He replies. "What? Why?" Amber asks. Royce cut his eye at my father and he does the same. "We believe a place other than this palace will do the both of you some good." Amber's father replies. "Can we get a little more information than that?" I ask. "I don’t see why I can’t. Not only is the relationship in the treaty strained, but also our standing with our neighboring solar systems. We, as a nation first, want to change that. They have invited members of our different families to study them on different planets. We have been selected as one and will be sending you two as our emissaries.” He says. "Shouldn't we be focusing on our preparation for the trials? I mean, Ricca is well suited for this type of mission." I ask, hoping to shrug off the task. "Your siblings are off on wargames missions in the Ghost Zone. I'm going to Pritila for a meeting with the president. Then off to the District of Dodeca for the treaty assembly." My dad replies. "Let me guess. The Tej, Ustel, Rembra, Oplas alliance are pushing for another expansion of the already badly written treaty?" I ask. "Yes. It’s nothing new. We have voted not to support it again." He replies. "That’s all well and good. But, the Olympics are soon. We really should be training. You have the pick of some of the best diplomats here." Amber adds. "You're exactly right. That's why we picked you two. I know there is a time constraint, but you can do this until the Olympics and the trials come. We wouldn’t even consider you to for the Olympics if you couldn’t compete in a few months. Trust us." Amber's dad says with a smile. I sigh deeply. “Emeth, you'll be doing some political work. Try and get some things set in stone. Alise, you'll be fulfilling your guard duties as well as being the first female sent as an ambassador to this sector. You can work with their head of state on channels." My dad says. "Where are these people from? What's their race?" I ask while pressing a green button on the watch. "They're Shardic, from the system to the south of us.” He says. “The name is very familiar.” I reply. “I know you've heard of them. We had a large war with them years ago. The Shard/Novan Race War. There is no need to dwell on our history with them." My dad replies firmly. “You have to name the wars and the destruction that followed associated with the races and planets for him to remember. He’s a nerd.” Amber says. "How long do we have until we leave?" I ask. "You can leave at any time tomorrow. The 7th fleet will take you to and from there. They will also respond if anything happens to you." "I wish we knew that a week ago. I could have run practice drills with them. Or I could have gone to the games with the others." "You'll be fine. Take your full gear, weapons. Protect yourselves at all costs. Go all out if you must. But try not to use your sand. I would prefer our foes not to know about that ability yet. The fleet will only be ordered to do so much." My dad replies. "Alise, not to insult you, but we can send your brother with you if you think you are unable to protect the duke by yourself." Her dad says. "I've done it since we were kids, dad." "Yes on this planet, with the full backing of the military, not across a system without military or Mershiar aid." "I got this, dad." Amber says, turning off in a huff. I stand there awkwardly and look at our dads. I turn around to follow behind her, but my dad stops me with a cough. "Emeth, I need to speak with you.” My dad says. “Royce, can you round up the nobles so we can resume?" He asks. "Yes of course." Royce replies, following Amber out the room. "Your birthday is soon. What do you want?" Father asks me. "My own two person fighter would be nice." I say. “A two person? Hmm. I'll look into it. What did you get Alise for her birthday?" He asks. My eyes bulge as I stand there with nothing to say. "Don't tell me you forgot." "I didn't forget. I just haven't decided yet." He put both of his hands on his face for a few moments, then make an opening with his fingers. "Get the girl a gift, son. Precious gems go a long way. Trust me" He says. "I will, dad. Don’t worry." I say, turning around for the door. "Wait a second. Take this." I hear him say. I turn around to see his hand outstretched with a multi-colored pill the size of a pebble in it. "Take this." He says. "What's this? Harming pills? I won't go on a rampage in their territory." I ask, stepping closer to him. "You'll see. Just take it." I take the pill from his hand and pop it down my throat. "See you later, dad." I say, turning around for the door again. I exit the room and see Amber leaning against the wall to my right. "What took so damn long? I'm starving here." "My dad had some family things to go over with me...Did you buy anything about any of that?" I ask her. "Nope, want to find out?" She asks while extending her hands out. She’s always quick to use her clairvoyance magic. "Two steps ahead of you, I already asked Ted to dig up some stuff, he will be sending it soon." We continue down the hall back into the elevator and I press the down button. As we descend, my watch beeps. I press the side button and a projection of a computer screen appears. I scan the screen and see a message for me. I tap on it and the screen changes into a newspaper. I read it closely. "That's weird." I remark a few moments later. "What is?" "You remember the story our parents always tell us? About that group of Shards attempt to assassinate us?" "Yeah, how can I forget a story like that? We almost got killed." "Point taken. The extremist group behind the attack is resurfacing now. Do you remember anything about them specifically?" "Not really. I just know how they were big during the race war and tried returning to public eye years ago." She replies. "This is probably the reason why they're sending us away." "You're telling me that this group has a family with exceptional skills afraid enough to send one of its best away?" "You ask the wrong question, it's, what can they, do that they have my family send me away, with you coming with me." "Are you implying that you don't want me to accompany you on the mission?" She replies, folding her arms. "No, I want you coming. I'm just saying that you aren’t going by coincident of being my bodyguard. You're mine you know, you've always been." I say. She stops dead in her tracks. "I'm yours?" She says, slowly questioning me. "Yeah, but you would have come with me anyway. Right?" "Oh. Yeah, duh." She says, continuing down the hall. "I hope we can learn more about the job." "Are we taking any soldiers to the planet’s surface? "I doubt we can take a single fully armed soldier onto the planet’s surface, but I’m going nowhere without Ted close by. I never do." "You never do? What about when you sneak out?" She teases. I scoff at her. "Are you staying in your room at the palace? If so, I can bring you food." "No, I have to go to my castle tonight and gather my things for this mission. Thank you, though." "Ah, well. No problem." I move closer to her and put my arms around her stomach, then pull her close to my body. She wraps her arms around my back and rests her head on my shoulder. Moments later, the elevator stops and the doors slide open and we both step out. "Meet you in the hangar bay tomorrow. Say, afternoonish?" "Morning, you mean. We're leaving in the morning." "Yeah, right, if you say so. Later." I reply. "See you in the morning, at ten. You don't want me to wake you up. Trust me." She says, putting stress on the time and continuing down the hall. I give her one last look before turning off down the hall for my room.