"Are you nuts?" Jackeye shouted, following Tejeda through the ship's corridor. "I've never taken another person with me inside my world."

"Everything, after all, has to begin somewhere. Moreover, my level of lunacy is not in question. It is a well-known truth." Tejeda came to a halt directly in front of Jackeye's quarters and turned to face him. "If I had to place a wager on where I could discover a clue about our stalker, I'd stake all I had on your construct. It was only a few moments ago that he, she, or whatever it is, was there. We can discover a way to trace her whereabouts."

"Time flows differently there. Each world has its own set of rules." Jackeye shook his head. "Even if you were to find a clue, traveling between worlds without the permission of its Designer is near impossible."

"If she did it, so can I." Tejeda decreed with confidence off the charts. "Now tell me, why do you prefer your world to reality?"

"The reason I love to live in a medieval world is that I can go wherever I want, see new magical and mysterious lands every day, and take a stroll through a bazaar that sells everything from swords to potions. There are new challenges and wondrous settings to overcome. I can see people of all species and races, each with a unique story to tell. Who wouldn't want to sit in a tavern and hear hours of stories filled with magic and danger?"

"Jackeye, you can see all that here too. There are more alien species than I can count. Hell, I am an alien from your account."

"You look human."

Tejeda sat on the bed in Jackeye's room, his lips twisted in a smug sneer. "Yes, since I'm now wearing one. A fancy Interplanetary Police officer who generously consented to provide me with his DNA."

The golden eyes grew bigger and wider as Jackeye studied him. It was as if he saw Tejeda now for the first time. "Are you a Nubilae?"

Tejeda confirmed with a nod and a wink. "Do you know about my species?"

"Not much, just a few fragments of what I provided to the Syndicate of Cosmic Freedom. Usually, I don't read the scrolls that enter my Codex. Most of the information there is boring." Jackeye collapsed onto the bed next to Tejeda. "All I know is that Kalden Deltak seemed uneasy about the discovery and ordered Shayla to check people out for the poisonous fang that grows on their palate."

"Well, that was one of my favorite features before I had to remove it. Too many people found out about it and sneaking around became too difficult." Tejeda clicked his tongue, touching that spot as he remembered how it felt to have that fang. "It was a painful experience to take it out."

"You must tell me more. I've been thinking about introducing a werewolf or a shapeshifter to my universe for a long time. And now you're here. The genuine article."

Tejeda smirked. "I've already told you that here, in reality, you'll find more amazing things than inside your world."

"True. Maybe I'll consider your advice someday. For now, just let's say I take you with me inside my construct. How do you plan to find that witch?"

"Do you know how to catch a common rabbit?" Tejeda grinned and waited for the answer.

"No. I've just started to dive into the art of being a hunter. Got a falcon named Shoim and wanted to train my archery skills right before she appeared."

"Aha! I'll tell you how to catch a rabbit. You hide in the bush and act as a carrot." Tejeda burst out laughing. "Sounds about right, doesn't it?"

With a sheepish chuckle, Jackeye joined in. "I'm game as long as I'm not the carrot." He stared at the metallic tiles on the ceiling until the laughter died down. "I can't recall the last time I laughed in this body."

"Just don't forget that here you can have fun too." Tejeda jumped off the bed and clapped. "Let's get going. How do I plug in?"

"You can use the sensory translators on the desk." Jackeye pointed a finger towards two round suckers. "Put those on the back of your head to translate your neural patterns into the network."

Tejeda raised an eyebrow. "Why precisely in that location?"

"Because the cerebellum contains the majority of the neurons. As a result, there is the best spot to get the recognition system on the proper track."

"Oh." Tejeda's lips formed a perfect 'o', and he started unzipping his pants.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" Jackeye yelled, turning his head.

"My central nervous system is not located within the cranial cavity. My brain is a replica of that officer's brain, not my own." Tejeda removed his trousers and placed the suckers onto his thigh. "This is so much better. The system requires my brain patterns, which may be discovered inside my inner core if I want my awareness to infiltrate your reality. I determined that my core would take the position of the femoral bone within my left leg for this shift."

"Okay, dude. No problemo," Jackeye said with his eyes still on the wall. "But please take a seat and roll your chair behind the desk so I won't see your bottom half."

After a screech of the chair's wheels sliding across the floor tiles, Tejeda groaned. "Done. What happens next? Oh, I don't see any more suckers."

"There's no need." Jackeye spun around. "I can connect just by looking at the system code on the terminal screen. These golden eyes have their advantages. That's why I picked Jackeye as an alias. I'll jump in, and all you have to do is close your eyes and follow me."

"Oh, this is a hard task." Tejeda's lips curled again. "I am a leader, never a follower."

Jackeye chuckled and turned his attention toward the screen. His eyes flickered with a bright yellow light.

While an unknown mental vortex pulled him in, Tejeda touched Carmen, wondering if she would be with him on the other side.