The night would reach us before we found ourselves in Shandalaar. Many of the others decided to take the ride to rest as we traveled through the desert. The fact that it was night now made me ponder how long it had been since we crash-landed on this planet. But I didn't give it too much thought considering our saviors arrived just in time to save us and we weren't caught immediately while everyone was still out of it.

Pushing those unpleasant thoughts to the back of my mind I leaned over a bit off the side of the ship. We were near a coastline to a place that was a bit barren. There was no traffic in the air nor the sea save for a few ships out in the distance. I wouldn't dare question Halaar about the location of his own home and asking Jugen was about the same as asking Halaar. The one thing I could figure out about Jugen was that he was terrible at keeping his mouth shut.

"You seem quite troubled my young friend," Jugen said as he shuffled toward me along the boat's seat. "When the mind wanders it can fall in quicksand just as easily as a witless fool."

"It's not that my mind is wandering," I corrected. "There are just too many things to think about."

"Ah yes... Your missing companions, the fact that you crashed on an unknown planet, and how I know your parents aside from being a Major. Fear not little Milos. All of your worries will be dashed as soon as we cross into Shadalaar's gates."

"Then there's that," I pointed out, "You said we'd reach Shandalaar by nightfall. It's nightfall and no wondrous city yet."

Jugen shook his head. "That's because you're not paying attention. We've just crossed into the gates."

I tried to avoid giving Jugen my best-puzzled look. An attempt I failed at as he chuckled. Then he pointed in the direction I was looking in. When I turned back I'd been greeted by a different sight now. Instead of the emptiness of the approaching coastline, there was now a sprawling city filled with dancing lights in a myriad of colors, sitting atop the water almost as if the city were a ship itself. Some many canals and roads connected every part of the segmented districts which were a total of five. In the middle of the city sat a large building no bigger than a small cruiser. Speaking of cruisers there were three flying about in the skies with more ships filling the ports surrounding the city's outer rim.

"Welcome to Shandalaar," Jugen said. "A nice little getaway resort turned into the Valeri's last bastion of hope."

"H-How on earth did you hide this city!?" I asked

"That my dear is a secret," Jugen said, placing his index finger over his lips. "Besides, Halaar would skin me if I told you."

Honestly, he didn't have to tell me how exactly. I could feel it somewhere coming from beneath us. A strong surge of Ether was here followed by something akin to... Someone like us. Blast... If only Soran were here. He'd probably be able to tell if it was Talia or not."

"I'll go wake your friends," Jugen said before getting up to precisely that.

Our ship had taken a direct root to the center of the city. The vehicles the locals used to travel around were much like the boat we were riding in. It seemed the Valeri figured out how to make their vehicles truly all-terrain.

Don't get me wrong it wasn't like the Prime System couldn't figure this out, but the use of Aeromobiles and ships made any sort of land vehicle nearly obsolete.

As we approached the palace I hated how the first thing to note wasn't the breathtakingly beautiful structure before us. I wished I could swoon over the gorgeous silver that made it shine so brightly in the moonlight or how there were lanterns places all over to give it a sort of festive look. No the most striking thing about the palace before us was that it had an Animus parked in the central gardens.

The Animus wasn't damaged at all but it looked as though it has been offline for quite a long time. It resembled a great beast with a single-bladed horn atop its head. It looked a little too organic looking for my tastes, almost like the thing was alive. The way the joints looked the wiring almost appeared like muscles. Along its back it had a rather long tail that curled at its feet much like a lizard's would if it could stand.

The Animus sported a large lance in its left hand which allowed it to look more valiant than it was.

"Wow!" Talia gasped. "That Eidolon looks really cool! Oh, wait... Sorry, Mr. Jugen ya must call it an Animus right?"

"That's correct," said Jugen. "Old Fafnir has been my partner for thousands of years. But as of recently, I've given him a break."

"Honestly it's a waste," spat Halaar. "I'd give anything to see that Devil in action."

"What'd ya mean by Devil!?" Talia yelled. "That right there is anything but. I'd say that's almost an idol if the great Althea wouldn't freeze me solid otherwise."

"No no my small friend," Jugen cut in before Halaar could snap back. "Please, these are another one of those cultural differences. Halaar and many of the Valeri have great respect for Fafnir."

Halaar didn't appear to be as offended as he did curious. He began to approach Talia to which Minerva and I responded by putting two warm bodies between her and him.

"Relax... I don't mean any harm," he said, "I honestly wanna ask the runt a few more questions about the Devil. She's piqued my interest..."

If Jugen being here weren't already the biggest surprise for the day I'd have been shocked. But before either Minerva or I could say a word Talia pushed passed us.

"Listen, you keep the small nicknames to yerself and ya got a deal. If my boyfriend heard anything that came out of your mouth a hot sun would be the least of your worries."

"Deal... Talia was it?"

Talia nodded and the two wandered off toward the Fafnir. Soran knew how to pick them, did he? Minerva and I just silently agreed to leave Talia and Halaar to their own devices. Jugen led Minerva, Claudia, and me to the Palace's entrance while Satomi went along with Jugen's men to take our injured to the infirmary. As we entered the palace we were treated to the sight of a large hallway decorated from floor to ceiling. Some pillars held up the entire building along with small pockets of greenery spread out through the halls. There were workers tending to the plants and cleaning portions of the palace. Armed guards were stationed at so many doors I was beginning to feel as though this place was a bit overprotected.

I could tell the palace servants from the nobility but there was almost no distinction. I saw a Valeri man giving orders to some guards while he wore such simple clothing. Then some workers wore clothes with such fine threadings I felt as though they made more money and were just volunteering. Then there were the differences in the Valeri I noticed as well. Some looked so close to humans that the only way I could tell they were Valeri was through the reptilian facial features. Then some had a long tail in place of their legs though they still had a pair of arms and upper body like a human. The only thing that remained the same between them all was their scaly skin and their watchful eyes. Each Valeri I passed either took a glance at us or looked as though they were a deer in headlights, as Andrew would say if he were here.

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We finally reached the throne room after almost twenty minutes of walking. The doors weren't very large like Andrew described of the Promethean palace. As the guards opened them for us we entered the room only to find that it was much smaller too. Maybe twice the size of our briefing room aboard the Asterism.

"Your Grace!" Jugen loudly called out, "Your favorite advisor has returned."

I'd been too busy looking around the room when the Queen finally caught my eye I was almost so shocked I nearly blurted out something that I'm sure would've gotten me thrown in a dungeon or something.

Seated upon a Divan and flanked by two guards was a woman with a long red snake's tail. She had three pairs of arms that were crossed, rested on the seat she was on, and held a scepter and wine glass. Her skin was a vibrant ruby color and her long yellow hair was nearly like the planet's sun. She wore no ornaments other than the golden circlet above her head and she was dressed in what I could call traditional armor to cover her chest, which was rather large from where I was standing.

"I see that just fine Jugen... I presume these are the leaders of Nova Astra I was supposed to be expecting."

"U-Um... Yes... Would you permit me to ask how you know such things?"

The Queen rose from her Divan placing her scepter and wine glass down. She then chuckled and looked at all of us. As she slithered toward us her snake body began to morph into a pair of long legs. She raised her hands, much like a Goddess descending from her throne.

"I am Valerion VI... No one gets on or off our planet without my knowledge. Well... No one except for those damned invaders."

As she lowered her hands she looked at each of us excluding Jugen. It was as if she was attempting to assess our value before we even spoke. Her bewitching eyes seemingly cast a spell the more I looked into them.

"Well now... Which one of you will address me?"

Minerva stepped forward and bowed. "I will be the one you speak to your grace. I am Minerva von Galatea of House Galatea of Prometheus, as well as the Vice Commander of the Nova Astra Corps. Allow me to first apologize for our abrupt arrival in your world and beg for your forgiveness."

"A wordy one aren't you," The Queen giggled. "Very well... I will accept such an apology, provided you can tell me the reason why you all are here."

The Queen motioned for us to sit at her table. She then took her seat and rested her elbow against the wood, then resting her chin in her hand. Minerva recounted the events leading to our sudden landing on Valerion VI. Yet she did not go as far as to reveal our true mission. There was no way of knowing if Jugen had told anyone about his being an Arcadian. A fact that during the recounting, the Queen noticed. Right when Minerva was about to get onto the crash, Queen Korsica stopped her.

"Lady Galatea... While I have enjoyed how flowery your story has been. It still doesn't tell me why you are here. Is it something you cannot discuss openly?" She looked to her guards as she asked this. The guards were hesitant at first, their watchful eyes scanning the room and looking at each of us with much distrust.

"My Queen," One of them said. "Leaving you in a room with these outsiders would be a grave violation of Mistress Shadai's orders."

The Queen hissed as she turned her glare upon the guard. "I hadn't known Tau'Ula was the Queen of Shandalaar. Perhaps I missed her coronation in place of my own?"

The Guard tensed as he heard the Queen's words. He shook his head so fast I feared he'd accidentally snap his neck.

"Good... I'm glad I am mistaken. Leave us... Your Queen commands it..."

With much reluctance, the guards took their leave of the room. As soon as they did the queen let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the Oasis they're gone. It's always My Queen this or My Queen that."

"I beg your pardon?" Claudia accidentally let slip.

"I must apologize... Even though I was made Queen almost a decade ago, I still cannot stand the traditions my people enforce upon me. You all may speak freely to me now, No 'your grace' just Korsica. Of course not while my people are present."

"Y-Yes... Your grace- I mean Ms. Korsica."

Korsica smiled for only a moment, then returned to scowling. "Now... What is it that you're after."

Minerva took in a deep breath before answering. "The Prime System... Nay... The entire universe is in peril. I'm sure you know of Ether and how mysterious it is."

"Of course I do," Korsica answered, "I probably know more than you lot."

"My Queen," Jugen interrupted, "You probably don't."

The Queen seemed offended for a moment, but then the two exchanged a certain stare with each other. "Ooooh..." The Queen said, "Now I understand. You lot are Arcadians aren't you?"

So she did know of Jugen. With her sending the guards away that told us more than we needed to.

"Technically yes... Through some experimentation by one of their former leaders, a few of us have become hybrids of some kind. Of the ones I know of only Ms. Satomi and Andrew have fully awakened."

"Hybrids!?" Jugen gasped, "Solomon figured it out? And I'm sure you just said former... Meaning..."

"Yes..." I finished. "Solomon is dead... He died on Arcadia with my Mother in the last days of the War of Sorrows."

Jugen leaned back in his chair, covered his mouth, and looked away for a few minutes. "Then... Who has the Fool?"

"That leads us into what we are doing here Queen Korsica," said Minerva. "We require your assistance but not without an offer."

The Queen narrowed her eyes as she considered the things she'd been hearing. "Go on," she said.

"During our crash landing, we lost four of our own. One is likely somewhere on Valerion VI while the others were sent adrift to an unknown location. I'd like to offer our assistance in your fight against the invaders in exchange for support for Nova Astra on our mission."

This must've been what Minerva was talking about before. It was a stretch for the Valeri to help us when they had little reason to. Sure the universe was at stake because of Lucian, but if we defeated our largest foe then where did that leave the Valeri afterward? If they dropped everything to aid us only to return to their fighting right after. How could they say yes without condition?

"Why would the Prime System Alliance aid us now?" The Queen asked, "Every attempt to contact them for aid has been met with rejection. That tin can that leads your system and his scared bureaucrats have never wanted to help us before. Even if the tin can is logical about it."

"The Executive Councilor has the people's interests to consider," Minerva answered. "The Prime System has a ceasefire agreement with the Collective and Empire because the Galactic War with them came to a stalemate. However, a few of their soldiers were discovered in the attack on our system. Now logically we cannot retaliate because it was unknown to us. The invaders could just as easily deny their involvement and even turn the issue against us. But it seems that the Invader's true master is not concerned with that fact. So much so that he used the invader's combined forces to shoot us down."

Minerva was on the right track with her logic, though one could point out that Lucian intended for most of us to die. I only say most because he needs us to find Arcanum.

"Then how would you circumvent the issue of your ceasefire agreement?" The Queen asked.

"Simple... We will disguise ourselves as members of your Coalition. The Valeri come in many different shapes and sizes so it will be easy to mask Nova Astra's troops as yours. Though we could not use the Devils that we have due to them being so recognizable. Plus our ship, the Asterism is yours to use as you see fit."

The room fell silent, so much so I could probably hear a mouse squeak or whatever it was that lived on this planet. From where I was sitting, Claudia looked as though a blood vessel was going to pop in so many places she might've exploded. The rest were just shocked.

"You can't possibly be serious!" Claudia shouted, "The Asterism is the Prime System's vessel!"

"Claudia," Minerva said quietly in a deadly whisper. "We were tasked to do whatever it took to complete our mission. You may be an advisor but questioning the judgment of the Vice Commander is just like questioning the judgment of your Commander."

Claudia opened her mouth but clenched her teeth holding back the words that were itching to claw their way out of her throat. But she relented, like something invisible was forcing her to back down. Normally I could tell when Minerva was using her power, but strangely she rarely did use it. I saw her power as the Empress back after the Albion attack and if she wanted to, even the Queen wouldn't be able to resist it. But it was likely something she didn't want to use. Unless circumstances guaranteed our deaths otherwise.

"Good... I'm sorry for pulling rank. But you must understand, I would not use our prized home and resources as currency in a bargain."

Claudia sighed, her anger seeming to be quelled by that short explanation. "Fine... But Minerva, you must understand that your decision here could affect the livelihood of the Prime System. One wrong move could mean all-out war."

"I'm well aware," Minerva replied. "My Queen... Have you any problems with our transaction?"

The Queen, who was deep in thought, stood as she was addressed. She smiled and she began inching closer to Minerva's side.

"You know, I once had a Promethean benefactor. He gifted us an Ether Core that powers the cloaking device that shrouds my city. Even when his planet was recovering from a war."

Minerva and I looked at each other the moment the Queen mentioned that benefactor. "My Queen," I said. "Could we ask who that benefactor might be?"

"Sorry... We aren't best friends yet." The Queen smiled again, "But we will be very soon... For now... you are welcome in Shandalaar... Enjoy your stay..."