The main computer system was proving difficult to repair. Every time Reggie replaced or fixed one component, the emergency computer system found some new problem. Worse, he kept thinking of new problems which would have to be solved at some point in the future. Aside from fixing the life support and engines—something which would be further complicated if he needed to replace any parts that couldn’t be found in one of the storage rooms—he would have to figure out how to get the ship out from underground, and find a way to fly it without a pilot. Or any crew, for that matter. Then there was the matter of determining where he would go from here and how he would complete his mission.

At least the hull was solid. And Elegy would bring food eventually. Reggie had begun to grow hungry shortly after the Surveyor had departed. He imagined that Elegy probably wouldn’t be able to make it back until the next day, however long a day was here. If only the fabricators were operational.

He continued working for some time before growing tired and picking out a quarters to sleep in. Sleep came with some difficulty, both because of his troubled thoughts and the uncomfortable slant of the bed. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the uncertain future. Would he really make it off planet? Or would he be captured and dissected as a medical curiosity?

He tried instead to focus on the past, but it was hard to encompass the scope of what had changed for him in such a short time. Names and faces of family members, friends, colleagues, and his girlfriend all flashed through his mind. They were all long dead, but he found it impossible to mourn them. Loss wasn’t supposed to happen like this. His mind didn’t know how to process it.

He awoke at some point, feeling weak from hunger. But he still dragged himself from bed and forced himself to continue working on the computer system, taking frequent breaks to relieve the frustration of the constant setbacks and new obstacles. Finally, after what felt like an endless wait, he heard a voice calling out “Reggie, you still here?”

“Over here,” he called back.

After a moment, Elegy made his way into the computer room, followed by a tall woman with her dark hair in a bun and wearing a fancy-but-not-too-fancy dress that screamed “uniform” to Reggie. She was carrying a large basket covered with cloth and gazing all around her in wonder.

“You would not believe how long they had me wandering around the dig site today,” Elegy said as if Reggie was supposed to know what he was talking about. “They expect me to give them new information about each individual inch, but it just doesn’t work that way. Plus it feels the same across the whole site.”

“Uh, Elegy, you said you weren’t going to tell anyone about me, remember?” Reggie asked.

Elegy blinked. “Oh, Madeline? She’s just my maid.”

“She’s still a person, buddy. What are you doing?”

Elegy’s look grew even more confused. “I needed someone to make the food. And carry it.”

Reggie was about to ask why Elegy didn’t just carry the food himself, but decided to let it drop. There were bigger things to worry about. “Madeline, please don’t tell anyone about me.”

“What is this place?” asked Madeline as she stared up at the central computer.

He hadn’t even told her where he was taking her?

“It’s a Benefactor ship,” Elegy announced proudly. “Reggie’s a lost Benefactor and I’m going to help him get home.”

That was a painful oversimplification, but Reggie was too hungry to care. “What did you bring?”

Thankfully, they had brought enough for at least a couple of meals. As the group sat on the floor of the computer room, Reggie stuffing himself with turkey sandwiches, he attempted to fill in Madeline on who he was and why it was important that he be kept secret.

“By the way,” Elegy interrupted as Reggie tried to dance around the subject of the Arvakr Corporation’s lies. “I’m not saying I believe you, but if the Benefactors lied to us about Astral Dew and the Queen, does that mean they lied to us about other stuff?”

Reggie shrugged. “Maybe. What kind of stuff?”

Elegy looked at the floor, suddenly nervous. “Stuff like, you know, what men are supposed to be like.”

Reggie had expected Elegy’s question to be a little more physical. Something about the Queen or the world of his era or what other planets were like. He took a moment to think of an answer.

“I can’t really say that I think about a concept like manhood all that much,” Reggie admitted. “I basically slept through the gender studies course I took in college. If I have to come up with an answer, I guess I’d say that the best way to be a man is to try to imagine the type of man you want to be and then do your best to be like him.”

Elegy looked unsatisfied. “But what if the type of man you want to be is someone everyone makes fun of?”

Madeline’s expression became uneasy, but she didn’t say anything, so Reggie continued. “Then you should make friends with some people who wouldn’t make fun of you.” He paused. “If it helps any, I won’t make fun of you, no matter what type of man you want to be. Even if he’s a street mime.”

Elegy giggled the quiet laugh of someone who doesn’t get the joke. “But is it okay for a man to cry sometimes?”

“Of course it is. Whoever told you it isn’t is trash and you shouldn’t listen to them.”

“The bishop told me that,” Elegy said mischievously.

“Oh,” Reggie said with a sigh. “I’ve been telling myself all day that I wouldn’t try to convince you that your religion is wrong, but I guess I’m going to go ahead and do it. Your religion is wrong. Sexist ideas like that were basically a thing of the past in my time, or at least I thought they were. I hate to imagine they were a thing of the future, too.”

A future he had failed to prevent, he noted. None of this should have happened to Outpost Thirty. What had led to the mission failing so completely? Had the Queen attacked them?

Elegy still had an unsatisfied look on his face. “Do you think I’d look good if I wore something with ruffles? Like on the sleeves?”

“The classical composer look. I think you’d look great. But I can’t spend all day talking about fashion.” He gestured with a thumb. “I’m having trouble getting that panel off. Who wants to help me?”

Elegy scrunched his face. “Oh, we don’t do that.”

“What do you mean you don’t do that? I just need some extra muscle. It’ll only take a second.”

Elegy shook his head. “I’m a Surveyor. And Madeline’s a maid. If you need help with muscle stuff I could send Madeline to go get one of the workers from the dig site. The only problem is that a lot of them are lazy, so—”

“I’ll do it,” Madeline interrupted. Reggie raised his eyebrows. The maid had hardly spoken at all since she had arrived.

“You don’t have to do that, Madeline,” Elegy protested. “I know he’s a Benefactor, but he’s confused and doesn’t know how things work now.”

“It’s not a problem, Surveyor,” Madeline replied. “I’m happy to help.”

Elegy stared in shock as she and Reggie gripped the offending panel and, with a great heave, forced it open. It was so badly bent that Reggie wouldn’t be able to get it back into place. He supposed he would have to find some other way to protect the internal components of this section of computer. Another problem to add to the list.

Madeline continued to offer her assistance for the next several hours, helping find tools and spare parts, and occasionally identifying which component the emergency system’s sometimes vague descriptions were directing Reggie to. With the extra help, they made progress rapidly and soon the main computer system was humming as it initiated.

Reggie and Madeline stood side-by-side, proudly watching lights blink on across the room. Elegy had wandered off to explore the rest of the ship.

“When you leave,” Madeline began nervously, “could you take me with you?”

“You want to leave Lasstop? It probably won’t be easy to get back here.”

Madeline stared up at the computer. “I don’t ever want to come back. I hate the Arvakr Corporation. They expect us to dedicate our entire lives to toiling for them while people like Elegy get to live in luxury, barely having to lift a finger a few times a year. And now I find out that it was all built on a lie? That we don’t even need Astral Dew? I don’t want to spend a minute longer here than I have to.”

Reggie nodded. “Alright. I’ll take you. But I can’t promise you what you find out there will be any better.”

“It has to be.”

Reggie smiled. It would be nice having her around. Not just for the extra pair of hands, but for the optimism she brought. “I hope so. I’m as lost as you are. I can’t imagine how things have changed in the last thousand years.”

Madeline fixed Reggie with a curious look. “What was Lasstop like back then?”

Reggie had never been before, but everyone knew about the Last Stop. “Its official name was Outpost Thirty. It was originally created as a fueling point for exploration and scientific expeditions. This planet was chosen because it required no terraforming to be habitable for humans, but it ended up being the outpost furthest from Earth, so people developed a sort of romanticized view of the ‘Last Stop.’ Eventually, a bunch of frontier-types formed a permanent settlement. Since there was no native life here, they brought a bunch of plants and animals from Earth and formed their own community. From what I understand, they had no formal government and were largely self-sustaining. Though they ended up falling behind a bit technologically and culturally, so people liked to joke about them being old-fashioned.”

“And then the Queen ruined everything.”

Reggie felt a stab of guilt. The Queen shouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to ruin Outpost Thirty. “Yeah. She did.”

“Sorry Elegy is so useless,” Madeline said, changing the subject.

Reggie shrugged. “He’s not completely useless. He got me out of the tank, at least. I do wish he’d lend a hand, but this is my job, not his. He could use a change of attitude, though.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I like him. I care about him more than I ever imagined I would. But he’s a spoiled brat. For his entire life he’s been given everything he wants and he still isn’t satisfied.”

Reggie thought about this for a moment.

“Then maybe he hasn’t really been given everything he wants.”

The maid gave him an incredulous look. “He has more than almost anyone on the planet? What could he possibly be missing?”

“I dunno. He probably doesn’t know, either.”

After a few hours, Elegy and Madeline had to return to the camp to avoid raising suspicion. Elegy spent the walk back making sidelong glances at Madeline and thinking about what had just happened. Madeline was her own person, and of course she could help whoever she wanted to help, but she’d never done anything like that before. She didn’t help Epic dress or bring Ode food, so why was she doing work for Reggie? Something about it felt wrong to him.

As soon as they had made it back to the trailer, there was a knock on the door. Madeline opened it to admit Bishop Meekins.

“There you are. You’ve been wandering around again, haven’t you?” the bishop said accusingly.

“I took Madeline this time and we stayed away from the workers’ camp,” Elegy replied from where he sat reclined on the couch. “I can’t stay in this cramped trailer all day.”

“That’s not important, now,” the bishop said dismissively. “There’s news from the Benefactors. Yesterday, the Queen began to move. She’s making her way towards this system at an unusually high speed. The arrival of the next dispersal tanker is being pushed ahead to one week from now.”

Elegy wondered if a single word of that was true. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“This is serious, Elegy. Situations like this are exactly why your work is so important.”

Elegy felt himself growing bored. “Yeah, I get it. But it’s not like this changes anything for me right now, does it? The best thing I can do right now is help the diggers find the best place to drill, right?”

Bishop Meekins blinked, surprised. “Yes. That is true. I must say I’m impressed with this change in attitude.”

With that, the bishop departed, satisfied.

The next few days became something of a routine for Elegy and Madeline. Elegy would spend the mornings at the dig site, wandering around and reporting the same information over and over. Then in the evening he and Madeline would bring food to Reggie and Madeline would help him make repairs. The festival passed without Elegy giving it more than a thought.

Reggie made repairs to the life support system, recalibrated the navigation system, fixed as many of the sensors as he could access from inside the ship, and finally set to work on the engines. The engines took longer than any other system to fix, requiring the pair to tear down several walls, and cannibalize other pieces of machinery for makeshift replacements for irreplaceable parts. Eventually, the two sat down in the ship’s dining hall to discuss the latest problem.

“Do you think we can do without it?” Madeline asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“I don’t want to take that chance,” Reggie replied, idly tapping his fingers on the table. “Half the engines are held together with chewing gum at this point. If one or two fails, we can compensate, but any more than that and we won’t be able to maintain both speed and control.”

“And there’s no way of telling where the line is blocked?”

Reggie shook his head. “Only way I can think of is to knock down a few walls and narrow it down until we find the right spot. But that could take ages.”

Elegy sat up from where he was laying on one of the benches. “Are you talking about the fuel lines?”

The others looked at him as if they’d forgotten he was there. “Yeah,” said Reggie. “One of the lines is blocked and we can’t figure out where.”

“I could find it.”

“Is your sense that precise, my Surveyor?” Madeline asked.

“Of course it is,” Elegy replied haughtily. “It’s more finely honed than anyone else’s. Even Bishop Meekins says so.”

Madeline grinned. “Great! Let’s go.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Reggie asked, looking between the others. “What’s he going to do?”

But Madeline was already up and walking, with Elegy in tow. Elegy couldn’t think about how differently she behaved around Reggie compared to everyone else. She had never tried to take the lead with him before. Nor had she ever seemed so bright and excited. Around most people, she was quiet and obedient, always fading into the background, but always there to lend a hand. When it was just her and Elegy, she was warm and comforting, always ready with a hug and a warm meal. It had given Elegy the impression that he was closer to her than anyone else, that he knew her true self. But no, it turned out that Reggie had uncovered another layer to her. And this version of Madeline seemed more authentic than any Elegy had seen before. He felt immensely jealous and wondered why she had never shown him this side of herself before.

“It should be somewhere off this hallway,” Madeline announced, gesturing to one of the many corridors that led to rows of living quarters.

Elegy could sense the Astral Dew all around him, as he always could on the ship. It had become a part of the ambiance, like white noise or mood lighting. Yet it also made the ship feel alive and much more capable of movement than the gasoline-powered vehicles he was accustomed to.

He could easily pick out the fuel lines hiding in the walls and traced his hand alongside one as he made his way down. The sense of tension from Madeline and Reggie behind him was an unexpected distraction. Despite the fact that finding Astral Dew was supposed to be vital for Lasstopian survival, he had never felt this sense of urgency from the bishops he traveled with.

Eventually, he stopped. The fuel line had vanished from his sense.

“The blockage is here,” he announced.

“How could you possibly know that?” Reggie asked.

“I’m a Surveyor. I can sense Astral Dew,” Elegy stated simply.

Reggie’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, you’re bioengineered. That makes sense, coming from Arvakr.”

Elegy beamed. “Yep. Dozens of babies were given an infusion of Astral Dew and only four of us were strong enough to survive.”

This had always been a point of pride for him. It was proof of how important he was, which was why he was surprised as Reggie’s expression turned to horror.

“They killed dozens of babies just so that you could sense Astral Dew?”

Elegy felt his stomach sink. The way Reggie said it, the loss of life suddenly seemed more important than it ever had before.

“We were always told that it was the only way to protect our planet,” he said quietly.

“The Arvakr Corporation never fails to come up with new ways to disgust me,” Reggie replied.

After that, Elegy’s contribution seemed to be forgotten. No one thanked him, or told him that he was the only reason for their success. They just tore down the wall, cut into the line, removed the blockage and resealed it. Afterwards, the three made their way to the bridge.

Reggie sat down at one of the glowing computers and began typing.

“Okay, it’s running checks and…” He paused. “We’re good. This ship is now capable of space travel. Better yet, I ran some calculations earlier, and the engines and hull should be powerful enough to break us out of this hill without damaging the ship. In other words, we’ll take off tomorrow. For now, ah, I think you two needed to have a talk.”

“What do you mean?” Elegy asked. As an answer, Madeline took his arm and led him into a corridor, away from Reggie.

Once outside, she looked at him nervously. “Surveyor, I will not be returning to the trailer with you. I’m going to be leaving with Reggie.”

Elegy felt his heart begin to pound. “But I need you.”

“No, you don’t, Surveyor,” she said with a compassionate firmness. “You can find another maid.”

Elegy’s mind became a swirl of half-formed thoughts. He found himself gasping for air. “Not like you. Please, you can’t leave. I need you.”

There were tears forming in Madeline’s eyes. “I can’t stay. I know how much you care for me, but I need to live my own life. This planet has rotted to the point where only a few can ever be happy here, but out there maybe I can find somewhere where someone like me can really live.”

Elegy had never felt a desperation like this before. “I’ll make them give you whatever you want. Whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Madeline shook her head. “What I need isn’t something you can give me.”

Elegy sank to the floor, sobbing. “I don’t want you to go.”

Madeline crouched next to him and pulled him into a hug. “I know.”

He sat there for some time, savoring her embrace and trying not to think about the fact that it was the last time he would ever feel it. Finally, she broke it.

“You should probably get back to the trailer. Do you want to say goodbye to Reggie?”

Elegy shook his head. He hated Reggie for taking Madeline away from him. “Just tell him good luck.”

Madeline walked with him back to the ladder and gave him a final long hug before he climbed his way up. At the top, he looked back down to see if he could catch a final glimpse of Madeline, but it was too dark to see her. He closed the hatch.

“I believe you owe me an explanation, Elegy.”

Elegy whirled at the voice to find Bishop Meekins standing there with two of the guards from the camp.

“Bishop, I…” He felt the words vanish at his lips.

“I knew you were hiding something, but to imagine that you kept a Benefactor ship secret from me. Have we failed this badly as your teachers?”

Elegy felt shame rising. Even though he knew that he had done the right thing in keeping Reggie hidden, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling as if he’d done something wrong.

“The Central Compound has already been informed. Archaeologists will be arriving tomorrow to properly examine and catalog this ship and its contents. Hopefully your playing hasn’t damaged any lost technology.”

Elegy nodded slowly, not looking directly at the bishop. By the time they arrived, Reggie would already be gone.

“Now, get into the truck. We’re going back to the trailer.” He gestured to a truck behind him.

Elegy glumly followed the bishop, who opened the back door for him to climb outside. One of the guards drove them down the bumpy terrain of the hill.

“Can’t you make this any smoother?” Bishop Meekins snapped at the driver.

“I’ll try,” the unenthusiastic driver replied.

In what felt like a blink, they had reached the bottom of the hill. Elegy craned his neck to try to get another look at the hatch, but of course it was invisible from here.

“Wait, where is Madeline?” the bishop asked suddenly.

Elegy felt a stab of pain at the mention. “She’s gone. She’s not coming back.”

“What in the Benefactors’ name does that mean? She’s not still in the ship, is she?”

Elegy tried to think of what to say. Should he lie? Should he say that she had quit and found a ride home? Or that she had wandered off into the desert? Unfortunately, his hesitation seemed to confirm the bishop’s suspicions.

“Turn the truck around,” Bishop Meekins ordered the driver.

“You can’t!” Elegy blurted. In a flash, the right thing to say struck him. “There’s a Benefactor with her. He wants her down there with him.”

“Don’t lie to me again!” the bishop snapped.

“It’s not a lie,” Elegy insisted. “He was in something called a stasis chamber. He’s been stuck there for a thousand years. I let him out and he didn’t want me to tell anyone he was there.”

The bishop stared at Elegy for a long time.

Finally, he turned to the driver. “Never mind. Take us back to Elegy’s trailer.”

To Elegy’s surprise, the bishop didn’t give him another lecture, instead leaving in the truck as soon as Elegy was out. The sense of loneliness struck him hard as soon as he entered the trailer. There was no one to talk to now. It felt as if part of this place had died.

He checked the cupboards and refrigerator for something to eat, only to discover that Madeline had taken everything. It was just as well. He had no idea how to cook. Instead he lied down on his bed, wishing Madeline was there to stroke his hair. He continued to lay for around an hour before he heard a knock on his door.

It was once again the bishop.

“I have spoken with the Benefactors,” he announced sternly. “They awoke the CEO himself to address this. I hope you understand how huge that is. If it turns out you’re lying, there will be major consequences.”

“I’m not lying,” Elegy mumbled.

“Good. I minimized your involvement by telling them that Madeline was the one to discover the ship and that you told me as soon as you found out. I hope you understand how much I’m sticking my neck out for you.”

Elegy supposed it wouldn’t matter if Madeline took the blame. “Yes. I get it.”

“I don’t think you do,” the bishop pushed. “The CEO is sending a security force tonight to secure the ship, arrest Madeline, and investigate this supposed ‘ancient Benefactor.’”

Elegy felt his melancholy vanish as panic filled him. “But he’s a Benefactor. He can do whatever he wants with Benefactor artifacts, can’t he?”

The bishop shook his head. “According to the CEO, he’s most likely a member of a traitorous group who aligned themselves with the Queen during the war.”

Elegy had never been told about traitors when he was taught history.

“That’s a lie! The Queen can’t even talk. How would traitors communicate with her? And how would she distinguish between humans on her side and humans on the Benefactors’?”

“I’m sure that it greatly pains the Benefactors to talk about that part of their history; we must trust—” Bishop Meekins began.

“Everything they’ve told us is a lie!” Elegy screamed.

The bishop stared at Elegy for a moment, shocked by his outburst.

“It seems that whatever happened to you in that ship has shaken your faith,” he said finally. “I will have to discuss with the Benefactors how best to rehabilitate you after this experience.”

“Tell them whatever you want. It’s not going to change what I know now,” Elegy shouted.

“It pains me to see you like this, Surveyor. I will get you the help you need.” He departed, leaving Elegy alone to look around the trailer. 

Elegy needed to warn Reggie and Madeline about the coming security force and he suspected that he wouldn’t be returning. For a moment, he considered whether he should take a sentimental item with him, eventually settling on the parasol Madeline had carried for him. It held no particular meaning, but it was a piece of his old life, and one of the few detached from his former faith.

Thankfully, the bishop had not posted one of the guards in front of his trailer, and he was free to leave and make his way down towards the dig site. He walked faster than ever, even though this meant frequently stumbling or stubbing toes. As he ducked under the rope of the dig site, he took a glance behind him to find lights in the distant sky. The security force was already arriving.

He began to run. When he reached the other end of the dig site, he forgot the rope and found himself on the ground with the wind knocked out of him, but he quickly pulled himself to his feet and kept running. Soon his feet and legs were screaming for him to stop as he gasped for air, but when another glance behind revealed how close the ship was getting he found the strength to press forward.

Because of the darkness, he overshot the hatch and had to double back, but eventually found it just as the ship’s lights were beginning to sweep the hillside. With a heave, he pulled open the hatch, then scrambled onto the ladder, pausing to close the hatch before making his way down.

He dashed through the halls, calling for Reggie and Madeline. Eventually, the pair stepped blinking out of one of the sleeping quarters.

Elegy found himself pausing briefly at the sharp change in Madeline’s appearance. She was wearing one of the ship’s Arvakr-emblazoned uniforms now, and her bun was gone, her hair cut short in an uneven attempt at a bowl cut.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“The bishop found out about the ship,” he explained between breaths. “There’s a security force on its way to take it. We have to take off now.”

“You didn’t try to sell us out, did you, buddy?” Reggie asked, his tone serious.

“No,” Elegy whined. “He found out on his own. I ended up telling him about you, but only because he wanted to come back for Madeline. I was trying to buy you until tomorrow.”

“Okay, I believe you,” said Madeline, “but you had better get back out there and get as far away as possible.”

Elegy shook his head. “I want to come with.”

“You have a whole life here,” said Madeline. “You’re safe.”

“My whole life I’ve been told that I’m special. And now I’ve just found out that it was all a lie so that they could steal from the people of this planet. I can’t go back to my old life knowing that.”

“If he wants to come, let him come,” Reggie said, brushing past the other two to head towards the bridge. Elegy followed him.

“You understand that I’m not going to be your maid anymore, right?” Madeline asked.

“We can talk about that later, Madeline,” Reggie said.

At the bridge, Reggie immediately sat down in the pilot’s chair and began pushing buttons. Lights illuminated all around them. There was a humming sound Elegy hadn’t heard before.

“Engines are initiating. Systems are good. No navigation, but it doesn’t matter because we’re just going up right now anyway,” Reggie muttered. “Okay, here we go.”

The humming grew louder and suddenly the Astral Dew all around them seemed to ignite in Elegy’s senses. He had witnessed ships taking off in the past and experienced how the Dew seemed to come to life as it carried the ship into the sky, but being surrounded by it was an entirely different experience. It felt like a force of unlimited power. Defying gravity and surpassing the speed of light was only a small part of what it could do. The hillside was nothing compared to the surging strength of the Astral Dew. It flowed all around them like a waterfall, plunging into the ship’s engines where it became the antithesis of the physical laws of the universe.

The entire ship shook, and Elegy stumbled as the viewscreens before them went from displaying black to showing the night sky and the desert hillside at different angles from around the ship. They all began to tilt at a strange angle.

“Shit, shit,” Reggie shouted, pulling at the yoke as he pushed some of the buttons. The angle corrected itself, but the ground didn’t fall away any further. On one of the viewscreens, Elegy could see the security ship growing closer.

“They're going to catch us,” he said frantically.

“Do they have weapons?” Madeline asked.

As if in answer, there was the sound of an explosion and the entire ship shook again.

“Forward thrust, forward thrust,” Reggie shouted, pushing buttons. The ship shot forward. In one screen, the hillside rapidly grew before vanishing entirely. Elegy let out a held breath as he realized they had narrowly missed it.

But in another screen, he could see that the security ship was pursuing them, lines of bright light igniting the sky as it fired its weapons.

An alarm began wailing somewhere. “What does that mean?” Reggie asked.

“I think one of the engines is at risk of burning out,” Madeline suggested, reading text that was appearing on a nearby console.

“Well, too bad. How do I override whatever safety system is keeping them from pushing harder?”

“How should I know?”

Elegy closed his eyes. They were about to be caught. He knew it. He sank to the ground and tried to block out the sounds of his bickering friends. Instead, he focused on the sensation of the Astral Dew around him. It could do so much more. He imagined himself flowing with it, entering the surging madness that was the engines. He imagined he was Astral Dew, himself, desperately trying to push the planet away. It seemed as if the Dew didn’t know what the engines wanted. He imagined every drop of Dew in the engines working together to make the planet go away.

A moment later, there was silence. The engines stopped their pushing, and returned to the light hum of their “idle.” Elegy opened his eyes.

“What did you do?” Madeline asked.

“I dunno, maybe dirt or something in the engines was limiting them? We could have burned it away and that might be why we shot up so suddenly,” Reggie replied.

Elegy looked at the screens. Most showed only stars, but one showed the image of the planet, a blue and brown circle exactly like the maps Elegy had been shown by his tutors.

“So what’s next?” Madeline asked.

“We’ll find you two a port, I guess. Drop you off, make sure you can make your way. Then I’m off to finish my mission,” Reggie replied, not taking his eyes off the screens.

“What’s your mission?” Elegy asked.

“I’m going to kill the Queen.”