An elevator plunges down a cylinder glass tube with red and green lines aligning into different-sized rings. Miya waits as the elevator falls to the floor and the doors slide open, allowing exit.

The room's ceiling was chalky-white, with its grooves flowing back and forth in a rhythmic fashion like waves to a distant ocean. The center was modern and sleek, with the surrounding walls painted a metallic white while the flooring was a light-brown wood with alloy edges.

On the floor level, green vegetation in the form of curling ferns with black edges and yellow-fuzzed bulbs producing a faint light grew around the room, giving it a greenhouse-like atmosphere.

Miya steps out onto the wooden cedar walkway, then continues onto a three-step glass incline with a small waterfall gushing underneath and swirling into a miniature pond with floating blue rocks and lily pads.

A chubby man with pink gills and black eyes wearing a three-piece strap-over suit walks through a small tunnel in front of her, making her notice two women sitting on a bench a few steps ahead.

"You didn't mean what you said back there… Did you Loliel…?"

Loliel sighs and rubs the back of her head with a nod. "No mom, I didn't… I was just mad, he could've told us about this! That's the reason I left Opactu and you left Stravos... Because he wanted us to be safe, and to be honest!"

"I know hun…."

"And then he does this! How could he! Dealing with the same people that had-"

Loliel lifts her head to the side, locking eyes with Miya standing a few feet away.

"No please, go ahead. I can wait for your discussion to end. I'll just walk off and leave like you did earlier."

"I'm sorry, I just… I couldn't stand to look at him any longer, I had to leave."

Vivi shakes her head and sniffs, patting Loliel on the back. "Let's just try to move on, alright? I'm sure when this all blows over, he'll come back and tell us everything. Your father isn't the type to just let things sit for a long period of time."

"You're right, let's just keep moving forward." Loliel then stands up with a stretch. "Miya, could you take us back to your complex or wherever the others are. I could really listen to either Maxim's humorless jokes or Kyamyo go on about some weird science stuff right now… Anything, to take my mind off things for a bit."

Miya taps her neck device, and a set of 3D maps appear on her screen. She then expands them with two fingers and nods her head.

“Okay… Um…”

Loliel tilts her head to the side. "You do know where to go, right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Doesn't seem like it. Should we ask someone for help?"

"Ask no one, I've got it!"

“… Gou. Xhiri gor trgisch tou chou?”

Vivi and Loliel look at a slender, tall man with scaly black skin hovering over Miya with a smile. While his facial features were similar to that of an axolotl, with reptilic eyes and no nose, the top of his head formed into small green scruffs and then ran down his neck like a hawked mane.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

His black metal bodysuit was tight-fitting around his slim yet toned figure, with silver outlines around his upper arms and lower thighs with the Federation logo sparkling on the left breast pocket.

He squats down beside Miya and nudges her on the head. "Uy. Ona uyotk sarry?"

"Yes, I heard you. But I need no assistance, thank you."

His eyes widen as he turns Miya around by the shoulders, gazing at her Patroller badge planted on her chest.

"Bononk sontypib!" He exclaims, then lifts Miya off the ground while shifting his head as if he were searching for someone.

He was a Cregnaill, an amphibious species derived from the Ter Hvin Region in Sector IER-53D. Even though Miya had never met a Cregnaill before, this one seemed pretty hands-on. Those gills and glossy skin could be attributed to the system's many aqueous planets.

Miya sighs as her legs continue to dangle off the ground. "You're about three seconds from getting shot right now. And I'm already on two."

"… Put the girl down, Kik. I've told you about being impolite to strangers."

A woman with mauve skin and a gentle expression walked to his side. Her round face, dashing eyelashes, and small lips gave her the beauty of a princess. At the same time, her modest stride and reassuring tone gave her the queen's elegance.

She had long, pointed ears that curled downwards, with the ends having the same crystal texture as her apophyses. Her hair, braided into two ponytails wrapped in black golden straps, gleamed with shades of purplish-blue. At the same time, the horns sprouting from her forehead and beneath her eyebrows sparkled with an intriguing lilac tint. Her outfit also resembled that of the Cregnaill's in terms of style. However, her latex was colored violet, with the Federation logo pinned at the top of her collar.

Kik nodded and placed Miya back onto her feet; True to her word, her fingers were grazing the side of her holster.

"I apologize for my partner's rude behavior. He's very hands-on when it comes to things that allure him."

Her mauve eyes light up as she bends down to gaze at Miya's badge. "Oh! I see why he was so fascinated with you. You're Miya, correct? The new Patroller that transfered from Tavaus III in Sector 76?"

Miya scowls while raising her palm. "What's it to you? You also got some gripe with me because your superiors died a tragic death?"

The woman chuckles, with a hand concealing her mouth. "Ho-ho! Oh Galacticus no, darling! It's just that news like that spreads around very quickly! I couldn't care less about the Spratal, only about the Munic that it came from!"

"Spratal is like, brum piss isn't it? You calling me bodily waste?"

"And so uncouth as well! Wonderful! Minmin will find you very endearing as she has the same dialect. Kik, do you know of her whereabouts?"

Kik shakes his head. "Yogaxy sarry.. Rurop ona do-"

"And could you cease with the Kyang accent! Honestly, you've been stationed here for far to long not to have learned Englisian."

“Er… Yaas… Mawhm…”

The woman puts a hand up to her head with a nod. "Goodness, what am I going to do with you?"

She then looks up to Loliel and Vivi, watching beside Miya with a gasp. "Oh! How rude of me as well! Acquaintances call me Phohraelle, but I'll allow the nickname Raelle as we're going to be working close together. And I'm sure you've already met Kik…."

Kik waves at Miya, Loliel, then Vivi with a smile. "Hallo… Gawd to mweet ju…."

Raelle sighs then looks the other way. "Any who… We were just about to sit down for high tea after answering a medical distress signal in the Ketvas Cluster. Would you and your companions like to accompany us? I would love to gossip about how you left Tavaus in utter disarray!"

"Yeah, I would love to but I'm trying to find where the Patroller suites are so…."

"Haw abowt wee ate thein awl go togerther…!"

"Your… I-… I can barely understand you…." Raelle detests. "But yes! We shall lunch then escort you ourselves! Brilliant thinking!"

"No, I don't want to 'lunch' then be 'escorted.' I'll find it on my own-"

Kik raises her off the ground once more, then hops onto one foot and then the next as he strides down the hall.

"What the- What are you doing? Put me down! And you smell like fish! I'm going to smell like fish, you fish!" Miya protests while worming around his grip.

"So hands-on he is, really. I pity the girl. But he means no harm, which is why I won't stop his genial playfulness."

Loliel and Vivi look back to Raelle as she nods with a sigh.

"Let's be off then ladies. Shall we?"