Annkor stepped off his vessel with far more confidence than he felt. Surrounded by ten of his best men and women, he made his way down the landing ramp. Looking around, he couldn’t help but note that the Sunalii’s military display was as impressive as always. And to think he was on a remote base.

  His feet hit solid ground, and his guards fanned out around him, alert and ready to protect their charge. He came face with a smaller group of soldiers, fully geared for battle. Knowing that their body suits were leaps and bounds ahead of his own faction’s did little to put him at ease. He raised a hand, and his retinue parted for him. He stepped forward at the same time as one of the opposing soldiers did. “You are to be my guides?” he asked the faceless person before him. Their visor was tinted the same black as their body suit, making them unidentifiable.

  “That is correct, High Diplomat Annkor of the Rukkan,” Jyn replied formally. “If you would please board our vessel, we shall transport you and your crew to your destination.”

  “And where would that be, exactly?” Annkor asked.

  “I’m afraid that’s to remain undisclosed at the moment,” Jyn said carefully. When the shooting would begin, he wanted it to be on his terms. For the first time since returning to Verilia with Adrian, the entire team was off-site, leaving Reya and Adrian alone. It was a calculated risk. One Jyn hoped was the right call. He wasn’t comfortable leaving the pair alone and undefended.

  “Unacceptable,” Annkor huffed. He hadn’t expected for the Sunalii to be liberal with their information, but to receive nothing chaffed. “What if something happens to me?”

  “Then I’m sure your ship in orbit monitoring your location will know exactly where to go without you needing to contact them,” Jyn said. “You may ask them for an update at a more suitable time.” Even though the diplomat couldn’t see his face, Jyn still kept his features blank and his voice neutral.

  Annkor calmed. “Very well. I’ll have to see to it myself. You can expect a direct report back to your Tribunal about your unacceptable behavior. Common foot soldiers should know their place before their betters.”

  “As you see fit,” Jyn said, unconcerned. He knew full well that Annkor would have far bigger things to complain about once he was held hostage. Stepping to the side, he motioned for Annkor to follow Rann and Beor onboard.

  Annkor followed, his guard detail right behind him. The group was led to a simple room large enough for everybody to be seated, albeit a little cramped. Eimir was already waiting for them and was to remain in the room during transit along with Jyn, Rann and Beor. Kell was geared up and guarding the bridge. Though only a doctor, he still had combat training and was Tassie’s last line of defence should Annkor’s group try to commandeer the ship.

  Once Annkor’s group was settled in and fully accounted for, Jyn ordered Tassie to take off and bring them back to the safe house. The trip was three hours of tense, uncomfortable silence. Neither the Sunalii nor the Rukkan trusted one another, and Jyn remained at the ready the entire time. Even when Tassie announced their imminent arrival, he didn’t relax for one moment. His alertness could be the difference between life and death, and he had a job to do.

  “How quaint,” Annkor commented when he stepped off the ship and saw the safe house for the first time. “The man I’m to meet is inside?”

  “Yes,” Jyn confirmed. “The main entrance gives way to the kitchen on the left. He will be seated there alongside his companion. Please do not be alarmed by their presence. We will not tolerate any aggression towards them.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.” Annkor sniffed. “We Rukkan have manners, unlike you Sunalii. You barbarians only know how to destroy things.” He had no intention of lowering himself to Sunalii standards. His mission was to be a peaceful one. A discreet glance towards his guard detail reaffirmed his safety, for they outnumbered their enemies. It wouldn’t do to be unprepared when faced with the unknown. The Sunalii had a proven track record, after all. Only an idiot would ignore history’s harsh lessons.

  Jyn entered first, leading the way. He immediately took position behind Reya and Adrian, his attention focused on the opposing faction’s soldiers as they filed into the house. Without visors to hide where they were looking, he knew right away that they were scoping the place out for any hidden threats. He tensed when they caught sight of Adrian and drew their weapons. “Stand down,” Jyn barked.

  Immediately, the room tensed, and everybody had a hand on their weapons, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. “Unnatural,” one of the Rukkan soldiers said. She turned to Annkor. “The gods would never tolerate such an abomination. Should we remove it for them?”

  Annkor studied Adrian curiously. Unlike his soldiers, he knew what to expect. At first, he’d thought the video he had of him to have been altered. Seeing Adrian confirmed that wasn’t the case. “Marvelous,” he said. His head snapped towards his guard, who was ready to eliminate the sole reason they’d descended to Verilia in spite of the danger. “You will do no such thing,” he rebuked. “This man exists by the gods’ wills. He may be the wrong colour, but that doesn’t excuse your behaviour. The High Priest approves of his existence and so will you.”

  The woman glanced once more towards Adrian. “Understood,” she said, reluctantly lowering her weapon. “The High Priest knows the gods better than anyone. His word is their will.”

  “I apologize for my subordinate’s behaviour,” Annkor said to Adrian. “I am High Diplomat Annkor of the Rukkan faction. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  Adrian narrowed his eyes, not trusting the strange man who had somehow learned of his existence in spite of the Tribunal’s great lengths to keep him secret. “Adrian,” he said simply. With a shallow nod, he motioned towards the empty chair across from him. “Have a seat and we’ll talk.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Annkor replied. “Is there anywhere else that we may have a more private discussion? I was promised a meeting with you free from interference. I fear that discussing some of the more sensitive topics out in the open would only lead to confusion.”

  Adrian risked a glance at Jyn, who gave him a discreet nod. “We can go in the music room. However, I would like it if my partner remained present.”

  “Naturally,” Annkor said quickly, truly noticing Reya for the first time. He followed the pair through the house and into the music room, taking in the alien instruments set up with great interest. “What are these?” he couldn’t help but ask. They all looked so strange. He had no idea what any of them did. Moving closer towards one, he stopped when Adrian interrupted him.

  “Please don’t touch them,” Adrian said.

  Annkor listened and instead sat down in one of the chairs set up in the room. Adrian and Reya took the two other chairs and put them face with the one he was sitting in.

  “Those are musical instruments,” Adrian continued. He’d received a request from the Tribunal through Jyn not to reveal too much information about his situation. Though they couldn’t enforce it, Adrian was naturally wary of the diplomat.

  “Fascinating,” Annkor marvelled. “The Sunalii have developed something other than tools for war?”

  “They didn’t develop these. They are from my home world,” Adrian replied. He knew the man would no doubt question him about his skin colour. Unsure of what exactly Annkor knew, Adrian decided to pre-emptively explain his origins while gauging his reaction.

  “I know of no faction that has created such instruments. They must be a recent development if our allies haven’t shared the knowledge with us,” Annkor hummed, deep in thought.

  “That’s because no faction created them,” Adrian said. Annkor’s attention snapped back towards Adrian and out of his musings. “I come from a world where everybody looks the same as me. I am of a different species than the a’vaare.”

  “Impossible,” Annkor immediately refuted. “There’s no way nature would permit such a thing. Enough with your lies, tell me the truth.” Did the gods truly favour the a’vaare so much as to create a facsimile in all but colour?

  “Whether you choose to believe it is up to you,” Adrian said. He exchanged a glance with Reya and gestured towards the instruments. “You said it yourself, you know of no faction that has created these instruments. They’re different, unlike anything ever conceived. Alien, even.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You attempt to mislead me. All I have is your word that these objects can produce music. Prove it to me.”

  Adrian sighed. He should’ve expected such a reaction. He stood up and fetched a guitar. “Fine, I will. I don’t know any real songs produced by the a’vaare, so you’ll have to settle for something from my culture.” The guitar was already tuned and ready to go. He’d done so before the diplomat arrived to calm his nerves. Adrian’s fingers took position on the frets and without further prompting, he strummed a simple tune he knew would impress.

  Annkor startled. The sounds were unlike any he’d ever heard before, and he couldn’t help but be enraptured by the music. When Adrian started to sing, it took Annkor a moment to snap out of it and notice the language was equally alien. As it could’ve been gibberish, he made sure to play close attention. Certain sounds repeated and the rhymes were too well timed with the song to be anything but authentic. All too soon, the show was over, and silence replaced the song, leaving only confusion and wonder in its place. “Incredible,” Annkor said, unable to think of any other word to describe the spectacle he’d witnessed. He couldn’t help but feel his religion’s songs inadequate before such mastery.

  “Each of these instruments makes a different sound and are typically combined to make songs. What you heard was only one piece of something greater,” Adrian said. “Reya and I could show you a simple duet to highlight this, if you’d like.”

  “Yes,” Annkor said the moment Adrian finished his sentence. He needed more and took a better, closer look at the other instruments in the room. “How many need to be played at once for the full effect?”

  “That entirely depends on the song.” Adrian shrugged. Reya took her cue to get her bass and got set up. Annkor waited patiently while she did so. Once she was ready to play, she and Adrian started their song. It was a simple duet, nothing astounding as far as they were concerned.

  To Annkor, however, it was a different story. Reya’s bass delivered low notes that reverberated deep within him. It was a miracle, and he was the gods’ chosen one to deliver such a magical discovery back to his faction. Before the pair before him even finished, he knew he needed to have that talent. Needed to bring it back home with him.

  Which worked out well, as that was already part of his mission.

  Annkor marvelled at the High Priest’s foresight. Surely, he must have a received a revelation directly from the gods for him to instruct Annkor to bring back something so wondrous. Lost in a daydream of the beauty his people would create in the gods’ names, he belatedly noticed that Reya and Adrian were done playing. He cleared his throat. “Your claims of having a civilization full of people just like you are rather far-fetched,” he started. “How is it that no one’s heard of you and your music before this?”

  Adrian grimaced. “My society is only just starting their forays into space. We’re far less technologically advanced than the a’vaare. Life outside of our solar system is only speculation, one not believed by some.”

  Annkor blinked. “You can create such beauty but not be capable to interstellar travel?” It baffled him. Surely, only the greatest of minds could come up what Adrian had displayed. It made no sense to him and only served to discredit Adrian’s claims in his eyes. “You mustn’t be favoured by the gods. Is your society forsaken?”

  Both Adrian and Reya held back a grimace. Adrian knew that all a’vaare followed the same religion, although to varying degrees of extremism. Reya had already informed him about the Rukkan Faction’s stringent beliefs in the scriptures. “Forsaken might not be the best word,” Adrian hedged. The few comments he’d heard Annkor say previously about his gods made him wary of divulging the existence of other religions. “Your gods simply have no presence in my society.”

  “The gods are everywhere,” Annkor refuted, incensed. “We all exist by their wills, even you and your strange colour. Their word is known to all.” He glanced at Reya. “Well, most of us. You Sunalii seem to be rather deaf in that department.”

  Reya bit back a retort, knowing better than to provoke a fanatic.

  “Perhaps your gods might be a part of the various religions in my culture, and we simply misinterpreted them,” Adrian replied in an attempt to appease the man.

  “Your planet must be damned if your people have not heard the gods’ voices nor seen their benevolence,” Annkor replied fervently. “They are unmistakable.”

  Adrian grimaced, knowing he’d made a mistake. “Did you truly expect us to know of your gods when my planet doesn’t know the a’vaare exist?” He omitted that Connor and Ellie were aware, as it was a detail the diplomat didn’t need to know.

  “Then they must learn,” Annkor said. His mind spun furiously. He couldn’t blame Adrian’s people for their shortcomings. It was hard to believe he’d found a society in need of redemption worse off than the Sunalii. The gods would be most pleased if their word would be spread, and Adrian’s false prophets eliminated. If Adrian spoke true, there was an entire world ready for deliverance. Annkor needed more information if he was to send emissaries to spread their teachings.

  “I don’t think that’d end well,” Adrian said. “You’re more than welcome to try.”

  “Where is your planet located?” Annkor demanded.

  “Relative to here?” Adrian asked. Annkor nodded. “Not a clue. The Sunalii rescued me from my gru’ul kidnappers on a different planet. You’d have to ask the gru’ul where my home world is. The Sunalii don’t know either.”

  Annkor’s face clouded over in a flash but just as quickly returned to one wearing a pleasant smile. “Then we must search together. Did your time with the gru’ul give you any clues?” he probed.

  “No,” Adrian said, his expression dark.

  “Unfortunate,” Annkor said. “I will have to ask the Sunalii’s Tribunal for their cooperation. Perhaps in time, our collaboration will bear fruits.”

  “Maybe,” Adrian said noncommittally.

  Annkor studied Adrian carefully then made a show of looking around the room. “Are you treated well here?” he asked, carefully changing topics. There would be plenty of time to question Adrian once he was safely back home, where he could receive the gods’ blessings. The Sunalii were not ideal for him to learn their teachings properly.

  Adrian hesitated, thinking back to when he was rescued and first arrived on Verilia. “Pretty good, all things considered. The treatment could’ve been better, but I’d say I’m well off.”

  “Is this true?” Annkor asked Reya, speaking to her for the first time. “All of his needs are met? If you’re here at the safe house with him, I presume you know.”

  “He could’ve been treated better in the beginning,” Reya admitted, “but our Tribunal has ensured his safety and comfort.”

  “So you say,” Annkor said, “but all I see is a man trapped here in the mountains with no way out. Has Adrian left this location since arriving?”

  “No,” Reya replied, unsure why the man was asking such questions. “Isn’t it more than reasonable to keep him safe from others? Already, you don’t believe his claims. The Tribunal has to ensure they’re true before announcing the discovery of a new species to the world. If we left him on his own in the streets without any explanation, who knows what would happen?”

  Annkor turned back to Adrian. “Do your dealings with the Tribunal feel one-sided?”

  “At times,” Adrian said carefully. “We’ve since come to an agreement on my rights here while they debated whether my claims are true.” Although he’d been told indirectly that the Tribunal believed him, he didn’t know why, nor had he heard any official announcements from Nessah or the Elders.

  “And what rights have they bestowed to you?” Annkor inquired. “By the sound of it, you had none when you arrived.”

  “They’ve made me a citizen of their faction and pay me fairly for my knowledge and assistance.”

  “How can you know how fair your pay is if you’ve never left the mountains and purchased anything? You have no idea of the relative value of the money you’re being given.”

  “He gets paid very handsomely for his work,” Reya interjected.

  Annkor glanced at her briefly. “You’re the one that counseled him when the offers were being made?” he asked.

  “That’s right,” Reya replied confidently.

  “And how does he know you weren’t lying?” Annkor asked.

  “I trust her,” Adrian said, offended. He knew Reya would never purposefully mislead him, even in their early days together. She’d always been honest with him, and he strove to respond in kind. While at first he didn’t trust anybody with his secrets, now he knew he had someone he could confide in. Someone he could trust to keep him safe and act in his best interests.

  “You hardly know her,” Annkor said softly. “You’re hidden away from the world, powerless if your Tribunal ever reneges on their promises. Can you say for certain that won’t happen? You have no one to help you. Nobody knows you exist. That you would place so much trust in one of your captors is just begging for you to be betrayed.”

  “I don’t need to trust everybody,” Adrian said staunchly. “Just her. And so far she’s done nothing that would harm me. She’s protected me the best she could. That she would go so far for a stranger speaks volumes about her.” His voice turned dangerous as he continued. “Do not ever suggest otherwise in my presence again.”

  “I apologize for my rudeness,” Annkor said. “I was simply trying to prove a point.”

  “And what would that be?” Adrian demanded.

  “That you have no true allies here apart from her. In an alien world, you find yourself with one person you can trust and surrounded by people who manipulate and use you.”

  Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been here for less than an hour. How can you claim to know my entire history with the Sunalii after so little time?”

  “Because I know the Sunalii and their history very well,” Annkor said. “It’s necessary for a man of my station. This faction is not a kind one to strangers. You may be a citizen here, but you’ll always be a stranger amongst them. Perhaps not to your companion, but to the rest of the world you will be.”

  Silence blanketed the room. Annkor’s accusations were something Adrian was well aware of already, but confirmation from a total stranger once again drove home that he was somewhere that he didn’t truly belong. “That changes nothing,” he said.

  “In my faction, you would be welcome with open arms. You would be accepted for what you are, for you are different by the gods’ design. Our High Priest has declared such and he is the one closest to the gods. Would you consider returning with me to my faction?”

  Reya exchanged a worried glance with Adrian. The thought of losing him to the Rukkan sent panic coursing through her. She did her best to hide it, but Annkor could tell she was upset. He made a mental note that there might be more her relationship with Adrian than they let on.

  “I’ll think about it,” Adrian replied. “What I’m more curious about is how you came to learn of my existence to be able to make such an offer. Who else in your faction knows about me?”

  “Only a select few, I assure you,” Annkor said placatingly. “One of the reasons I was sent here was to learn more about you and your situation.”

  “What would you like to know?” Adrian said carefully.

  Annkor took the data slate he’d brought with him and put the paused image of Adrian about to be injected by the gru’ul.

  “Tell me more about the purple chemical.”