Tye

Ke-am gives a low growl at the dust cloud that pulses toward us. I lift my cloak, tucking my head beneath it as the dirt crashes over us like an epic wave from the Pliyoshi shorelines. We both shake off the dirt after the cloud passes.

"What in Chortessa's guts was that?" I say, gazing to the searing metal scrap as it continues to glide across the dirt toward us. I start to wonder if it might make sense to get out of the way but Ke-am is standing firm beneath me. He's watchful but calmly patient and I've learned to trust his instincts. The wreckage slows, coming to stop about four furlongs away.

It's some sort of ship, like a settlement transport but much larger. The metal exterior gleams red hot and sparks fly from a rear engine. She's a sweet looking ship and I calculate the value of the parts in my head. From what I can just see on the outer hull, I'd put it to an easy three orbits worth of staples. Maybe six if both of the ion thrusters are still functioning and supplied with xenon, and seven if there's an intact jump drive aboard.

"Let's check it out, Ke-am." The tiolf lifts his furry head and I scratch behind his left ear. He gives a low growl of pleasure, swishes his tail, and then stalks forward. There's no point approaching at speed, stealth is definitely the better option, because enough of that ship is intact that there could be survivors on board. The boat's worth nothing to me if its crew figures to kill me for trying to take it.

We circle around as we get closer because there's no telling what might be watching from the bridge. Ke-am lets out a low growl as lights flicker over the ship's hull. I stroke his fur, feeling the thick muscles of his shoulders beneath me. We've both got our gazes fixed on the old boat and Ke-am's step falters as he senses my shock when the ship's name comes into sight. It's painted in large letters on the hull.

"No!" I gasp, not sure I'm reading it correctly. "It can't be." I slide down from Ke-am's back and step toward the ship myself, not sure if I can believe what I'm seeing. Ke-am's giant head nudges up beside me. I reach out, absently stroking his muzzle. "No one back home will ever believe me if I tell 'em what we found, Ke-am." Ke-am gives a low growl as if asking me what I'm talking about.

"No one has heard hide nor hair of the Elixr in two hundred narcycles." Mamum told me about it when I was little but I always thought it was just some old children's bedtime story the Faithful took to heart. Now I wonder. I whistle low and then freeze as the lights in the shuttle bay flicker on and three figures move across the loading dock. A ledge glides out from the edge of the bay creating a rising platform.

Beside me, Ke-am growls and crouches low against the scrub of the Shadowlands beneath us. I drop to my belly and scramble forward to peer at them over the edge of the impact crater. My heart is racing as I watch the people. I reach behind me to pull my scope from my back satchel and fumble with the settings before lifting it to my eyes.

The droid is relatively small, only half the size of the two Narians, but since he's only half a body – a torso, arms, and head with no legs – he's probably a reasonable size up close. The Narian girl looks young, her body still not mature under the skin-tight body suit, although she's cute to look at. Her hair is this striking white blonde I've not seen outside of the Palace's Virreal harem and the historical paintings of the Bellamy royals. And she's so clean. Ain't no one so clean on all of Nar unless they're rich enough to never leave the City of Light. Just stepping into the Shadowlands leaves a trail of murk on your skin. You feel like you can't wipe it clean without a second moon's measure of bathing and none of the Faithful have the staples to afford that kind of luxury.

Beside her, the guy in the long coat has similar features. In fact, his face is so smooth and clean I shift uncomfortably, admiring his beauty, and then wonder at myself for the feeling. He stands tallest of the three. Similar white blonde hair but tied back and tucked beneath the collar of his coat. "What the?" I twist the zoom on my scope and gasp as the cut and markings of his full-length coat come into focus. "No! It can't be!"

No one's seen those colours, not in my lifetime, but everyone knows what they are. The face, the coat, the eyes are described in detail all over the catacombs. There's even a rough hewn statue in the main hub and every Book of Bellamy has his description on the back. The name on the ship, the markings on their clothes, the eerie familiarity of the stance and state of the guy, it all paints a picture of a legend that's been myth for generations.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

For a long while, they gaze at the hull of the ship, walking its edges, but before they head back inside the tall one turns and scans the horizon. His eyes pass over Ke-am and me as if seeing into the black. I sink back against the dirt. He can't possibly see me. The Shadowlands have at least that going for them. We're lost in the murk. But that's when the real evidence flashes and a feeling, excitement, terror, or both, flutters through my gut. Those eyes that flash even in the darkness. Captain Bellamy's eyes. I lean close to Ke-am and whisper, "He's back!"

***

Niah

The horizon of this strange black world sends an eerie shiver down my spine. I can't help but feel like it's watching me, its shadows full of menace and judgement. It rises up along a crater's ridge around the ship. The barren dirt of the surface is washed in a heavy shadow of darkness. It sits upon us all and I can already feel it crawling over my skin.

I turn back to the ship and take a final walk around the edges to see what I can of her hull and exterior. She's not too banged up, thank goodness. The externals of the jump drive are mostly intact, although that doesn't solve the issue of the orkrane we'll need for the plasma conversion and dispersal of the cure. The sublights are a little more damaged. The right thruster lost its cathode neutraliser. I tap my tablet, running an internal diagnostic. "Eagrim's beak," I curse, glancing at the negative functions. Both the jump and sublight engines are offline.

Beside me, Hart is fussing. His ranting hasn't let up and I know he's furious, mostly at me. I still feel guilty as the nine-voids myself. "What were you thinking, you ignorant youngling? You could have killed us all. Who knows if Elixr will ever fly again? You may still have killed us all if we can't get her working. You may have killed all of Nar. You may have caused me to fail my mission, to fail my captain."

I sigh and let his words wash over me. I deserve them. "Look," I say when he finally pauses for a moment. "I'm pretty sure I can fix the ship. We might need some parts to get her flying again but given the readings of comparable air, water, and earth on this planet it would make sense that the mineral deposits we need for functional parts could be found here. It'll just take time."

"Time! Time! You're always talking about time. We may be too late already!" He looks around us and his eyes droop. He lets out a slow whine. "Oh Nar, have we failed you?"

Wish turns, snapping at him. "Shut up about it already, would you? She can't stop time, Hart. We're doing the best we can."

The robot huffs and glides away, back into the ship. It's almost a stalk, and the hover jet has tinges of purple in it which I suspect are a result of his stroppy anger. "I'll be in the lab running scans for deposits of ore then. And deposits of life. At least we can find out if there's anything left to save."

"Fine," I say, then take one last look at Elixr's hull. I stroke the still warm metal and sigh.

"It's not really your fault, Niah. Don't listen to him." Wish's words are kind but I know she's wrong.

"I was stupid, Wish. If I hadn't asked Elixr to fly silent she'd have had time to warn us sooner about the impending collision. And I completely forgot that Hart was still navigating when I powered him down. He looked like he was sleeping, you know?" I shake my head and walk back through the shuttle bay toward the lift. "Come on, we should check out the engine room and try to get the engines back online. We stressed the nine-voids out of the hydro thrusters trying to get her down safely."

She walks beside me, silent, and I think she can tell that I'm feeling sorry enough for myself as it is.

The engine room is covered in an odd blue mist as we come in, but there are no life support warnings so I assume it's just a minor xenon leak. We'll be fine if we don't stay too long. I look over the equipment and sigh as I see the metal warping of the magnetic rings. "Damn, we're going to need more chromium to fix those."

I feel a sudden wave of dizziness and reach out to catch myself on the edge of the turbine. With my other hand I rub my temples from the pounding headache. I yawn and then rub the back of my neck where it aches. "Chortessa's guts I'm tired and sore. Must have been a harder landing than I thought."

Wish steps toward me clearly worried. "You okay, Niah? You don't look so good."

Pain stabs through my stomach and I retch, the blended contents of spirit water and ration bars creating a sticky stain on the deck of the engine room. I groan, clutch my stomach, and crumple to my knees. "I don't feel so good." Around me the ship seems to sway. My ears ring and, even as I close my eyes, spots form behind my eyelids. I feel another rise of nausea, retching again, dry this time.

"Niah!" Wish cries out as I fall to the floor. I try to open my eyes but they're so heavy. And everything is hot, so hot. My head feels like it's trying to explode.

"Wish? I–" I'm not even sure what I was going to say but I can't finish. Maybe just resting a little would help. I close my eyes and listen to Wish's frantic cries as she calls for help. I feel her arms around me but everything is too heavy. I'm too heavy to even stay awake.

A rise of terror spikes within me when I realise that I'm falling asleep. I panic that I might not wake up again but even the adrenaline of fear doesn't give me the strength to force my eyes open. Instead, there's only blackness.