Robin:

I don’t trust Vincent. Nor do I believe that he really had a change of heart. So, I watch him through a screen. He is reprogrammed, but if Ferenc biting off an arm is any indication of the fact that the chips can be ignored, then I don’t want to risk leaving the elf without supervision.

Vincent has been reading to his daughter for the past hour. They make for the perfect family picture, but there is something off about Vincent. I just know it.

Ferenc places a hand on my shoulder, startling me.

“Watching that elf again?” Ferenc asks.

“I have this gut feeling that he is involved in the destruction of Olradus 600,” I tell the dark elf. He hums.

“When the planet was destroyed, he was inside the crystal. Why would he endanger himself and his child?” Ferenc does have a point. Still, I have one last argument.

“They both have Dust-co suits. They could have escaped,” Ferenc nods, and peers into the screen.

“I don’t understand how the girl has a Dust-co. Wasn’t she sickly? Besides, on just who did the two imprint?” Ferenc’s words align with my fears. Just who did they use, really?

“I heard that he was put through a truth test,” Ferenc adds. He leans in so that his lips can be next to my ear. “So, don’t you worry about him. Let us go on a walk.”

I wonder if this is our life now. Sitting in place, like incubating ducks, while time passes at a snail’s pace.

“Do you have a place in mind?” I ask Ferenc. He nods.

“I was thinking a week-long hike in the mountains. Just the two of us, with tents, and plasma guns, for hunting,” the idea sounds good. A week, during which I will not have to worry from where the next attack will come. “Let us go and speak with Wei.”

After about ten minutes, we are before Wei’s office. I knock, and Wei calls us to enter.

Wei is currently feeding little Daniel something that looks like oatmeal. The Naga boy is in his high chair, with stains on his T-shirt.

“Does he not want to eat?” I ask Wei. He just continues to try to get his son to open his mouth.

“He woke up earlier than usual, and now his entire routine is off the rails,” Wei says. Finally, he gives up, and places the spoon down. “Now, he needs a change of clothes.”

“Wei, can we ask you about something?” Ferenc asks. Wei turns to us.

“As long as you don’t want to leave the crystal, I guess I can grant you just about anything,” Wei is great like that. He goes the extra length, to make everyone feel at home in the crystal.

“We were thinking of hiking in the mountains. But, for that, we will need a mountain,” Ferenc says, and Wei nods.

“Do you want one covered in snow?” Wei asks us. Ferenc turns to me.

“Just the peaks. The rest can be a lush forest. Maybe a Caltea one?” I ask of him. I miss the Caltea trees from Ursula 590. Furthermore, I grew used to seeing their red leaves. Even though, before Tim changed their genetic code, they sucked out the mana of the adults of that planet.

“I don’t see a problem with that. Do you mind if I track the two of you? Just in case you need help?” Wei asks. Robin and I share a look.

“How dangerous can a walk in a Caltea forest be?” I ask him. Surely, he knows that neither Robin nor I are pushovers. Besides, there are no wild animals in the crystal. Wei doesn’t believe in the creation of mobs.

“I didn’t want to tell you this, but I can feel a presence in the crystal. Someone who wasn’t from Olradus 600. So far, I have placed a labyrinth around him. One that has moving walls,” Robin’s eyes widen at Wei’s words.

“Does the person wear a weapon?” He asks. Wei shakes his head.

“No? Maybe? The only thing he is carrying is a bottomless bag,” Wei shows us a screen then. There is a Naga slithering in a labyrinth. The walls would shift every time, when the Naga became determined.

“You can’t just keep him in the labyrinth forever. Let us go and check what he wants,” I say, but Wei shakes his head.

“I already sent him a couple of screens, but he didn’t respond. Chances are, this is one of Gorgon’s men,” I understand that Wei doesn’t want to repeat his mistakes. Yet, if we don’t go there, the man might starve to death.

“Look, Wei, you can’t let someone starve, or die of thirst, in a labyrinth,” I get it, he is afraid. But if he doesn’t listen to me, then he will make a mistake.

“The last time I spoke with an unknown Naga, Olradus 600 ended up blown. Chances are, this man doesn’t know in whose crystal he came,” Wei protests. I still don’t understand how the Naga even made it inside.

“Are you sure you didn’t let him in?” Ferenc asks. Wei hums.

“I might have. Back when I was evacuating Olradus 600, I picked everyone. Now that I think about it, I really should have checked if the person I was pulling inside was a citizen of that planet,” Wei begins to massage his temples, then. I just hope that he is not so cold-blooded, that he’d let someone die.

“Maybe we can have Vincent come in here, and try to recognize the Naga? I mean, he did work for Gorgon,” Ferenc suggests. Wei snaps his fingers, and an elf appears in the office.

“What? What is happening now?” Vincent asks. I point towards the screen.

“Do you recognize this man?” I ask the elf. He moves closer to the screen, and looks into it for a while.

“I think, once or twice. He is an overseer for Ursula 590’s branch of Gorgon’s operation,” I pale at Vincent’s words. This is a scout. I turn to Wei.

“We can’t let him report what he has seen,” Ferenc voices my thoughts. As much as I don’t want to rely on such means, I don’t have a choice. Yet, this time, it won’t be Timmy who goes together with Ferenc. It will be me.