Gami slowly approached the purple, four-legged thing that lay on the floor. Broken bones stuck out of the waxy surface of its body.

It looked up at Gami, despite the fact that she was cloaked, “Help me,” the thing requested, the voice unmistakenly that of Anara.

“How?” Gami asked, decloaking.

“Get me back to the cabin. I can’t move very well without bones.”

Being careful to avoid the sharp edges and points, Gami stooped down and picked up the weird being. She started carrying her toward the cabin, asking Eli to meet her there. Gami quickly reached the room and opened it.

Bones of all kinds were suspended from the ceiling with wire wraps. A full skeleton hung from a simple rack. Pale light emanated from a lamp. It was as if the bones were bathing in the light. What looked like a skull was being made in the 3D printer.

Eli and one of Tarl’s butar arrived. Savaa followed them in. They took a look around. Eli noticed what was in Gami’s arms, “So, it was her.”

“Just put me next to the skeleton,” Anara said.

Gami put her down. The slime moved off of what was left of the four-legged skeleton and onto the humanoid one. The wax-like being slid up the legs, covered the torso, spreading out to the arms and head, till the whole crystal frame was covered. The body that took shape was slight, feminine. The face took shape, it was identical to the one she had before, accept for the eyes, which she didn’t bother adding details to.

Gami looked around the room, “What are you? What is your species?”

“I’m a Bhanu.”

Anara laid it all out. They had started as simple organic growths. These mold colonies leeched energy from the crystals that dotted the rocky sands of the planet Tylanax. They evolved, gained intelligence and the ability to move. From there it was only a matter of time before they learned to shape the crystals and adopt new forms. Then technology, artificial crystals, and the unbreakable call of the stars.

“I’ve never heard of your people,” Gami stated.

“I am far from home.”

“Why? Are you a fugitive too?”

“No, I am an outcast. I was a member of the clergy, one of the few who refused to bow to the new order. For this, I was stripped of my military rank, expelled from the church, and banished. My friends disowned me. My lover abandoned me. I was drummed out of the military, thrown out of the church. I lost everything. They took everything from me.”

“And yet, you remain,” Gami said.

Anara managed a little smile. Gami wondered how much of that gesture was for their benefit. Perhaps the action was completely alien to her.

The amorphous bodyguard spoke, “I am a woman who is defined by what she no longer is: no longer a priestess, no longer a warrior, no longer a patriot. But it is a tale for another day.”

“How do you see?” Savaa asked nonchalantly.

“I see using sensor pulses. These pulses are automatically fired out and come back with data about the world, including light and color. I perceive sound waves as they make contact with me.”

“Three hundred and sixty degrees of perfect vision, unaffected by light levels, sounds amazing.”

“It is useful, but the range is limited.”

“That makes me think of another question: why have a humanoid body? Why only have a body that can move in one direction at once?”

“I don’t always. It depends on the situation. But if I’m operating in an environment where humanoid beings live, then it stands to reason that such a form would be most functional.”

Eli spoke, “We need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

“Well,” Tarl began, “You almost got the ship destroyed. A bunch of the power cables were damaged and we’ve lost half of the engines. We won’t be able to get back into space unless we can find some replacement parts.”

“Bad luck, that’s all.”

“It was an unnecessary risk.”

“If we take them out, then we don’t have to worry about them anymore. They weren’t expecting us to attack. It was a solid plan.”

Tarl spoke, “Seemed to me like you were out for blood.”

“The joy of taking the fight to them was just a nice bonus. I had a little chat with one of them. Savaa is totally innocent. The inquisition’s motivations make them guilty.”

“Guilty enough to risk our lives trying to eliminate them?”

“Yes.”

“This is an issue for another time,” Anara said, “We need to think about our next move.”

“There’s an old research facility,” Tarl began, “It’s transmitting a navigation signal. I’m taking us there. The place is abandoned, but there might be some stuff there that we can use to fix the ship.”

“How were they able to find us?” Eli asked.

Savaa answered, “They have another tracker implanted in me.”

“Another tracker?” Gami inquired.

“Yes, I already cut one out,” he indicated the dressing on his neck, “There must be another. It’s the only explanation.”

“I’ve got a scanner,” Eli said, “We can locate it and remove it.”

“Whatever we have to do.”

“Good. Anara, you can find the scanner in the workroom. Everybody else, we’re going to go search the outpost and see if we can find anything useful.”

“It’s the only plan we have,” Tarl said, more than a bit of bitterness in his voice. The pilot turned and left the room.

Savaa nodded at Anara, “Why do you have teeth? I mean, it’s not like you need them. Why bother carving them into the skull?”

Her tone was that of someone that was stating a piece of universal knowledge, “Teeth are cool.”