The Fak terminal... or rather the big corrugated iron hangar in which the shuttles came to drop off their passengers and their cargoes. This was the unlikely place where Ruben had come to wander. The sliding panels of the roof closed over him with an ominous screech. He wondered if this building had seen more glorious days or if the omnipresent rust was there from the beginning. Everything here was red or orange: from the bright orange painted beams to the floor covered with a thin layer of sand from outside. A mixture of silica and oxidized metal particles, the desert covered a good part of the planet, offering visitors its red and ochre landscapes.

He was thirsty. He was hungry. Scanning the surroundings, the young man was surprised not to come across any of the brightly lit storefronts that usually lined the aisles of the terminals. Ruben had traveled a lot and for a moment he wondered if he had been dropped off at the right place, so empty was this hangar. Not a store, not a signpost, but how did they welcome travelers on this planet?

There was indeed a workshop on the right and what Ruben recognized as a candy vending machine. He hesitantly approached it. The place was just a chaotic pile of spare parts and there was a disturbing smell of battery acid. As he approached, a man with long, greasy hair and filthy overalls got up from his chair and gave him a stern look. Ruben didn't push his curiosity any further and turned towards a large opening in the wall through which the other passengers had slipped away. So much for his whining stomach. He hurried on, clutching his satchel to his side. His instincts told him not to stay in the terminal alone.

The opening turned out to be a large circular automatic door with an imposing shutter on the floor. Ruben had read in the Colonial database that everything on Fak wore out faster than anywhere else because of the climate, but he never imagined it would be this bad. The terminals were usually a sort of showcase, the mandatory stop for anyone landing on the planet, and people all over the known universe were eager to make the place friendly or commercial. Had he been dropped off in some random hangar? Where were the Company's hostesses or the customs officers? Someone should have come to meet him, even if only to check his identity or his luggage... nothing. This is what one would expect from a planet considered by the Colonial Parliament to be a kind of no-go zone. The descriptive sheet he had been able to consult about this planet had been particularly sketchy and incomplete, a sign of the particular disinterest it inspired in the rest of the Colonies. As he looked at a pile of dented plastic crates, very suspicious, Ruben wondered what dubious traffic Fak could be the hub of.

A gust of wind welcomed him outside the terminal. The sandy wind whipped him in the face, forcing him to protect himself with his satchel. The small grains hammered continuously the metallic coating of the building in an annoying melody. The young man squinted and stepped outside. The concrete floor gave way under his feet to a wooden walkway. The terminal overlooked an unattractive square facing the rest of the city. In the center of the square was a large sign on which someone had crudely painted the name of the city in yellow: FAK WEST.

The small group of travelers Ruben had followed had quickly dispersed. Some were running through the square to reach more sheltered alleys, others were taking refuge in a rickety shelter along a wide but unpaved road, probably to wait for another means of transportation. Ruben put his hand to his left ear.

- Eva? he asked.

- I'm here sir, what can I do for you? replied the voice in his earpiece.

- Where should I go?

- You have an appointment in an entertainment place called the Squirrel.

- I know that, Eva! he retorted, annoyed. But which way should I go?

- I don't know, she said as casually as possible.

- What do you mean you don't know?

- I can't find a map of this city in my archives, sir, and I don't detect any relays to connect to the network for research.

- No network?!

With this news, Ruben almost choked. He had walked to the stairs leading down to the square and almost fell down on his back. Eva should have been able to guide him, even in the middle of these sordid streets, why did she refuse to connect? The young man didn't remember adding a sense of humor to her last update. In any case, it was a bad time for this kind of joke.

- What do you mean you don't detect any relays? he said, panic rising in his voice.

- I have scanned all the broadcast bands sir and have not picked up any signal within five kilometers. Maybe the infrastructures are under maintenance.

- No, but... you never cut the whole network, even for maintenance.

- I will let you know as soon as the network is available again sir.

The voice fell silent in his ear. Ruben nervously pressed the small button on his earpiece several times.

- Eva?! Eva?! You...

- I'm here sir, what can I do for you? said Ava's disembodied voice.

- How do I get to the Squirrel?

- I can't find a map of this city in my arch...

- Aaaargh! I got it, Ruben cut her off, annoyed. How do I find this place?

- In the absence of data on the city, the protocol recommends that you ask one or more people from that planet for directions.

Ruben rolled his eyes as he turned off his communicator. This city definitely lived up to its reputation as a hellhole. Not even the basic systems were accessible. He took a deep breath to regain some confidence and headed for the square. The bad weather was advancing over the city and soon larger and larger gravels were added to the windblown sand. The face sheltered behind his satchel, the young man only met silhouettes who were running away at full speed. He tried to call out to several of them but his voice was lost in the noise of the storm. Nobody would answer him. The locals may not have been great thinkers, but they all knew when it was time to take refuge from the whims of nature.

- Move! roared a hoarse voice in his back.

Ruben jumped on the spot as a hand almost as wide as his back pushed him forward. The idea that it could have contained a weapon crossed his mind and for a moment he thought he was ready for a summary execution in the street.

- But! Oh! what is... squeaked Ruben.

- Shut up, we've been waiting for you since yesterday, the voice cut him off. This way.

A massive arm rose to his right to point to an alley.

- Who... who are you? the young man stammered.

- You don't pay enough to argue in the middle of a Towak, the voice retorted, pushing him roughly toward the alley.

- What's a Towak? tried Ruben, regretting it in the moment.

With an angry gesture, the man lowered the satchel behind which Ruben was covering his face and the latter received sand in his eyes. He coughed several times, having swallowed some dust.

- Towak!

This is how the young man discovered this typical Fak climatic phenomenon. All the deserts have their sandstorms, unpredictable, sometimes colossal, always dangerous. The enormous hand of the colossus didn't let go of Ruben's back. The visibility decreasing quickly, he didn't bother to give him any more orders. For a moment Ruben wondered if his feet were still touching the ground or if he was being carried. The two men disappeared into the alley and stopped for a moment. The wind was much less violent there and Ruben could finally turn around to see who was pushing him. A mass... a block... these were the first words that came to him to describe him. Wrapped in several layers of dirty sheets, the man was almost as wide as he was tall. He dominated Ruben by more than two heads, which wasn't reassuring for him.

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- Are you Pyne?

- This way, answered the man in his big monotone voice.

- I have to meet mister Pyne. Do you work for him? insisted Ruben in a voice that betrayed his unease.

- Pyne won't wait another day for a guy who paid an advance. If you're not at the Squirrel by the end of the Towak, you'll just have paid for the most expensive two days at the inn of this town's history.

- All right! I'll follow you, agreed Ruben. Do you at least have a name?

- No.

The colossus pushed him aside to get ahead and moved forward into the partially protected maze. Above them, between the roofs, the wind carried away so much sand that the luminosity dropped quickly and the night seemed already to be coming. Several windows lit up here and there, which allowed them to progress despite the many objects left abandoned. It was literally raining sand in the alleys. To breathe became difficult for Ruben who slowed down, coughing more and more. Annoyed by this delay, the man finally stopped. Digging under his layers of clothes, he grabbed something and handed it to Ruben. It was a piece of light blue cloth that the young man quickly tied around his face to protect himself. The acrid smell of sweat soon replaced the dust of sand in his nose, but he didn't dare complain about it. Ruben was totally lost. The colossus he was following was going sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left in all sorts of more or less walkable paths, without him being able to find a logic. They wandered like this for about twenty minutes, without a word, before the man froze again at a crossroads.

- We'll have to cross a wider street, he growled.

Ruben coughed a little before he could answer.

- I'll be right behind you, uh... Are you sure you don't have a name? It would be a lot more convenient.

- NOOO! shouted the colossus.

Ruben buried his head in his shoulders and squinted his eyes.

- You hang on to my belt and run, is that clear?

- Yes, nodded Ruben.

- If you let go, I'll leave you here. If you fall, I'll leave you here. If you...

- You'll leave me here, I got it, Ruben cut him off.

The man grabbed him by the collar and leaned towards his face. Only thick leather-rimmed glasses protruded from the cloth-covered head. The young man could see furious eyes through the glasses, in the random reflection of a lantern. The colossus stank of sweat. It was impossible to tell if the smell came from the man or from his clothes, but it was disgusting.

- If I lose you in the Towak and you dry up, it won't necessarily be an accident and I'll still get paid, the man growled, threatening.

- I follow you sir, I follow you...

- And you shut up? insisted the man.

- I... yes, Ruben said, lowering his head.

He grabbed the man's belt and was pulled into the street by a relentless force. Without glasses to protect himself, he had to close his eyes as the sand hit his face. The wind had reached a power that Ruben would never have suspected. His satchel agitated behind him like a flag gone mad. The young man would have wanted to cling to it but he wasn't willing to take the risk of losing his grip. It was difficult to walk in the Towak because, in addition to the absence of visibility, the sandy ground sometimes gave way under his feet, but nevertheless the colossus passed through it with a disconcerting ease. Fixed on his objective, not deflecting from his trajectory, he advanced, the face protected by his massive arms placed crosswise in front of him. Apart from the overwhelming heat that reigned around them, they might as well have been lost on top of a mountain in a blizzard. Ruben felt his strength waning and began to wonder if their journey would end before the belt got away from him. The right foot of the colossus struck an obstacle which produced a hollow noise. Groping blindly with the tip of his boot, he finally stepped on the first steps of a staircase that the sand had already partially covered. He climbed them with haste. Ruben rose from the ground as if he weighed nothing and let out a small scream of surprise.

- You can let go, we're here.

- You see, I didn't even get lost in the storm, Ruben joked.

Stupid mistake to joke with this man. The colossus' hand grabbed the satchel and raised it high, hanging Ruben from the shoulder strap. He leaned toward the stairs, pulling the young man out of the relative protection of the porch. With his other hand he removed the scarf that covered Ruben's mouth. He just had time to close his eyes before receiving the full force of the gusts of wind. The colossus buried his fist in his ribs, which made him scream. He got a lot of sand in his mouth again, which he tried to spit out.

- I told you to shut up! roared the big voice.

Ruben's back hit the floor of their shelter when the man threw him unceremoniously at the foot of the metallic curtain that blocked the door. His tormentor was drumming with his big hands on the curtain. The young man was gasping for breath. He was in tears, his eyes and mouth full of sand. He already felt like he was living a waking nightmare, but in a few minutes everything had become much worse. He didn't want to be there. He saw himself again, a few days earlier in his apartment, wallowed in front of his favorite show, a glass of cold water in his hand. Water. That's it! He wanted to drink. To drink until he felt sick. To get rid of the burning in his throat. To rinse the sand that crunched between his teeth. The hunger that he rejected since the day before came back to him. Ruben had a very bad stomach ache and the obsession of the food blurred his perception of the events. Above him, the blows were still raining with force on the thick iron curtain, soon followed by kicks. A powerful headache added to his general suffering.

- Open up, fucking ronaks! shouted the man, furious.

He hit the curtain with his head and fists simultaneously. A small trap door opened on the left side of the door. The man put his face close to it.

- What the hell is this? We don't open during the Towaks! an old man shouted from inside.

- It's me, open up!

- It's you "who", fatso? Didn't your mother teach you to take cover when the wind picks up?

- Are you blind, old man? Open the damn door or I'll smash it down!

- We're closed, come back later.

On these words the old man closed the trap door, triggering the fury of the colossus. He took his momentum and threw himself with all his mass against the iron curtain plates. The whole wall shook. The wooden covering that surrounded the door fell to the ground in several pieces. The noise covered the storm's, bringing Ruben back to his senses. On the second impact, one of the plates moved and a shrill ringing began to echo inside the building. Ruben looked at his own hands with watery eyes and wondered how a man could manage to bend such a thick metal plate. The small hatch on the side of the door opened again, but this time it was a skinny, wrinkled arm with a blaster that came out. Two shots were fired. The first one missed the colossus' head by only a few inches before ending up in the roof of the porch. The second shot was more random and the bluish energy discharge burned the wood between Ruben's feet and made him startle. The gigantic man seized the weapon without hesitation and twisted the hand that wielded it.

- Cut the crap Bernard! It's me, Budee. Tell Pyne I found his package and open the damn door before you kill someone, he shouted through the opening.

He released the arm which disappeared immediately. Two people argued inside, but Ruben couldn't recognize their voices. The ringing that filtered through the planks fell silent and the metal curtain slowly moved, the damaged plate jerking in its track. Music and the smell of frying oil came to him through the opening.

- It's about time, grumbled the colossus leaning over the young man.

He grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside as soon as the passageway was open enough. The thick curtain came down right behind them, leaving the sand outside but unfortunately not the heat. The light blinded Ruben who was only half conscious by then. He wanted to get up, but his legs wouldn't carry him anymore. To leave like that without even a meal in the belly when you're hardly fit for a walk in town was really stupid. Ruben looked around and slumped to the ground. His head was buzzing. He let himself drift off, as if escaping into a dream could bring him home. His mind blurred and only a few words still came to him. His eyes, still open, could only see uncertain shapes in front of glittering halos. The man and the old man were settling their accounts above his inert body without worrying too much about him.

- Do you know how much a door like that costs? groaned the old man.

- You're right, next time you want to let me die outside I'll go through the wall, it'll be easier.

- You know we're closed during the Towaks!

- You knew we were outside!

- Yeaaaah! Yeaaah, you were outside, croaked the old man. And what were you doing out there?

- I was at the terminal to pick up Pyne's client! shouted the colossus.

Ruben heard a few thuds. Were they throwing chairs across the room? Something hit him hard on the forehead and knocked him out for good.

- Shit... go get Pyne, said Budee with a sigh as the night closed in on the young man's mind.