Nearly a year passed and the Swift Retribution gained access to the root way. Karamen and John were sparring when they received the news from the AI. The arbiters cheered loudly, some rushing to their rooms. They would finally be able to contact their loved ones.

“Finally,” laughed Karamen, “I’ve sorely missed my holoshows these past decades. It is time to get back up to date. Let us end our spar here for today, Wild Child.”

“Just holoshows? Don’t you have anyone you want to talk to?”

“Everyone I want to talk to is on this ship,” Karamen smiled.

John went back to his chamber and explored the root way that everyone was so excited about. Gaining access to it now meant that they were in the vicinity of the elven territories. He gazed out his window and could see strange devices made of metal shining in bursts. They were like buoys in the aether, pumping some substances in and out. These were aether engines, John learnt when he telepathically questioned the AI. They powered the elven homelands with far greater efficiency than a dyson sphere ever could.

“He watched an elven holoshow. It was much like a soap opera back on Earth. Ugh! He hated soap operas. How could the immortal elves watch such things? Did Karamen really enjoy such things? There was no accounting for taste.

“Jehun,” he heard Sor Al in his mind. “Pack your things and say your goodbyes. We are leaving.”

“Leaving? Where?”

“To my homeworld of Kumra. A transport ship will meet us in real space in a few hours.” Kumra, it sounded new and exciting.

“Okay.”

John ran to Karamen’s chambers, who was chuckling loudly at some comedy holoshow. Why had John only been able to find soap operas?

“I’m leaving in a few hours,” John said, as soon as Karamen allowed him to enter.

“Leaving?” Karamen asked in surprise. “Where to?”

“The planet Kumra. It’s Sor Al’s homeworld.”

“This is too sudden,” said Karamen. “Let us toast our days together with some wine.” Karamen took out a crystal bottle he had hidden in the recesses of his wardrobe and poured out two glasses of a blue liquid. John was now a forty year old soul trapped in a child’s body. He felt no compunction in drinking alcohol. He threw his head back and downed the contents of the glass. It was very spicy and very alcoholic. John felt a little giddy. Maybe he shouldn’t have drunk it so quickly.

“What was that?” John coughed.

“A brew I made myself when I was back on my homeworld. It contains a variety of herbs and the pula flower for added flavor. You drank it all up before we could toast,” Karamen said, downing his own glass. “Let’s have another.” Karamen filled the glasses and raised his own. “To all the adventures we shared.”

“To our adventures,” John echoed. There had not been many of those, but the few they had, had been filled with excitement and peril, joy and sorrow. Too many had died. John began feeling a little melancholic.

And so began a series of toasts. When John left he was half drunk, with half an hour left to pack all his things. The only possessions he had of any value were his arbiter armor and weapons. They were fitted into a large metal suitcase that had come with the suit. He turned on the hoverpads and the suitcase lifted into the air. He looked out the window and found that he was in real space. It was time to leave.

Lianel hailed his room. Outside, John found a huge amount of luggage packed on a hover trolley. Sor Al was waiting impatiently by its side. Did all those things belong to her? It was like a small hillock.

“You stink of liquor,” Sor Al said with disgust. “A child should not be touching liquor. Was it that Karamen who gave it to you.”

“I’m old enough to drink,” John said, swaying a little. He began to chuckle. Nobody would believe how old he really was. How old was he anyway? Thirty something? His head was spinning too much for him to think.

“You’re drunk,” Sor Al harrumphed. “You’d best get a hold of yourself. I don’t want to babysit you.”

“I’m fine,” John said, his entire body in a pleasant state of inebriation. He knew the hangover would come, but it wouldn’t be for a few hours yet. “Karamen treats me like a friend, not a child. He is nice and kind.”

“He uses levity as a mask. You have not seen the real Karamen. He will betray you if it suits his interests.”

“He’s my friend. He’d never betray me,” John said. He followed Sor Al to the docking bay where a small ship awaited them. It looked like a falcon and there were even brown feathers painted on it.

“Welcome aboard, realm mistress,” the pilot said, ushering them to their seats after taking care of their luggage in the cargo hold. It had seats for only five people, but they were well spaced and it was all very comfortable. John sat back and relaxed.

The pilot communicated with the Swift Retribution’s AI and the ship unfurled its wings, taking off into space. “It will take us approximately five standard hours to reach Kumra’s orbit,” the pilot said, seated at the front of the room. There was no cockpit. The ship was entirely controlled through telepathy. “Tales of your journey have begun to fill the root way, realm mistress,” the pilot said.

“It was a harrowing journey,” the realm mistress said. “The majority of the crew died in the voyage.” Majority? Had more elves died before John boarded?

“Nevertheless, tales of your power and bravery have reached the ears of the twelve stars.”

“The twelve stars,” Sor Al sighed. “I have finally returned. Tell me,” she said to the pilot, “what do you know about the situation on Adan.”

“Half the known galaxy is on tenterhooks because of Adan,” said the pilot. “Three great empires colonizing a planet with us elves stuck in between them, it does not make for a cheerful song. The skirmishes grow more frequent. The empress of Oor is also eyeing our mines on Aroth. There has been a lot of noise on the root way about historic claims and such.”

“Aroth,” Sor Al shook her head sadly, “ever a place of conflict. That planet has changed hands over twenty times in this past century. Jehun, it is a multiracial planet controlled by us elves for the moment. The planet contains a unique metal that are used in our aether engines. It is our biggest lifeline and our biggest weakness.”

John nodded, trying to follow the conversation as best he could. His head still spun. “That is where Edrach’s family met their end.” Edrach, his one true foe. John hadn’t wanted him to die, though he hated him. He could understand Edrach’s hate even if it was misplaced.

“Is it?” the realm mistress asked. “It is the graveyard of many people, humans, elves and orcs alike.”

“Orcs,” John said loudly, not able to control the volume of his voice. “Are there orcs close to the elven homeworlds?”

“There are,” said the pilot. “They usually settle near the Tyras system, where their warlock overlords live, but many have started colonies close to our lands. Their colonies are easy to destroy but hard to fully uproot. They are simple creatures but because of their vassals the gnomes, their war equipment is beyond count and advanced enough to be a threat.”

There had been no orcs mentioned in the Astari holocube. John wondered if they were a recent race, newly come to the galaxy. Perhaps he’d have to fight them one day. He had fought a warlock. They were blue skinned humanoids, and accomplished in necromancy.

“Have you heard of a human planet called Earth?” he asked the pilot. The pilot’s information was more up-to-date than the navigator’s.

“No,” said the pilot. “Look, we have reached Kumra.”

John stared at the blue planet coming into view. This would be the real start of his new life in the galaxy.