“There is still good left in the Nova Rim. I’m afraid it’s surrounded by darkness and despair, but it is there, and it is real. If you are where you are meant to be, you may find it when you need it most.”

—Legendary High Lancer Pria Song

Zaina gasped and turned—the alley’s walls flew by as pops whizzed past her. She turned the corner and sprinted further into the network of back-roads and low-density areas. Every twist and turn only made her more lost.

The androids stepped around the corner and focused their birifles as Zaina dashed across the street and stepped into another alleyway. They’d gained a few steps. She turned another corner, needing to get out of their line of sight—dead end.

“No,” she said. She whipped around and ran back—the androids appeared.

Zaina clenched her fists and hastened her charge. This might hurt.

None of their birifles were raised while they ran, so she had a few split seconds to work with—her fist caved in the shoulder of the closest android. She tore its arm off and battered the second android with the severed limb, knocking it to the ground. A pop rang out—Zaina ducked, turned, and threw the arm at the third android. She leaped to the side, then dashed at it with a full-body tackle. She pulled its birifle from its hands and bashed its head in, then turned to finish off the other two.

The remains of the shattered androids were scattered around Zaina. Her breaths were heavy, and her heart raced. I didn’t want this.

She lingered on the carnage for another ten seconds, then turned and ran. Everything about this world was wrong.

Zaina turned a corner and slipped, stumbling and smashing her bad shoulder against a metal box sticking out of a building’s side. A pained gasp escaped her gritted teeth as her eyes shut tightly. She tried to stand, but lost her balance and collapsed. Her stomach loosed a weak growl. Her lungs were on fire, too.

Dammit—

Her wound had reopened, spilling blood onto the pavement’s faded stains. Luckily, this cross section of alleys had few people. One person was wrapped in a blanket atop a pile of trash—another was talking to themselves. Neither seemed to mind her as she crawled next to an overflowing dumpster and leaned her back against the wall.

Zaina’s deep, heaving breaths weren’t enough to deaden the pain. She stared up at the gray-fogged sky—lights from the rooftops shone to the clouds, turning and twisting on a whim. The dull buzzing of crowd noise and distant music blared on, uncaring of anything around it.

After the events of the past week, that last fight took more out of her than she expected. Being hungry and sleep-deprived probably didn’t help matters much. She pulled her knees to her chest, fighting to keep her eyes open. I should’ve stayed on the ship.

-

With a gasp, Zaina jolted awake. “Huh? What?”

Beams of daylight broke through the layer of fog above. Had she fallen asleep? How many hours had it been?

“Hello, there,” a sweet voice called out from nearby. Zaina’s head whipped toward it. Standing three feet away was a female maroon Cresslian—humanoid bodies, scaled, hairless skin, and spiked ridges lining their temples—wrapped in a gray ceremonial cloak. “Are you awake?”

Zaina shifted forward and rubbed her head. “I think so. This all feels like a bad dream.” She looked up—the woman’s eyes were friendly.

“A nice young woman told me there was someone here who needed help—looks like she was right,” the Cresslian woman said. “Why don’t you come with me? I run a center where displaced people can go to get what they need to get themselves back on their feet.”

Zaina’s eyes narrowed. This seemed too good to be true—nothing on this world was that simple. “How do I know I can trust you?”

The woman smiled. “What, you think I’m going to harvest your organs?”

Zaina recoiled. “Wha—well, now I do!”

The Cresslian giggled. “That’s not going to happen. My name is Sister Tyza, and no one gets hurt where we’re going.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Don’t I have a choice in the matter?”

Sister Tyza shook her head. “Not in the state you’re in, kiddo. I thought you were dead until you started moving. No, you’re not going to make it very far on your own right now. So I’m taking you with me.”

“Where, to some church or something?”

The Cresslian frowned. “No, sadly the church says it lacks the resources to fund their CDPs around the Nova Rim. Not that they’re lacking in donations, mind you. But all those fancy PR stunts cost money, you know?”

“So—where are you taking me?”

“Same place. I keep the old center running as well as I can,” she said. “We’ll get you a shower, some bandages, and some bed-rest. You’ll be right as rain in a month’s time.”

“A month?” Zaina struggled to her feet. “I can’t be waiting here a month! I need to get to Kaado! I’m going to be a lancer, I can’t—” she nearly fell again, but Sister Tyza reached out to help her stand. Zaina’s stomach emitted a loud, bubbling growl.

“Well,” Sister Tyza said, “I don’t know about all that, but you come along, now. I have a transport a short walk from here. Maybe you’ll have a clearer head after a nice, hot meal.”

Zaina still wasn’t entirely sure about all this. Nothing on this world was what it seemed. Still, it wasn’t like she had any other options, and she was hungry enough to take the risk. After a resigned sigh, she said, “Fine.”

With Sister Tyza supporting her, Zaina hobbled her way to the transport—little more than a windowless cabin and an oversized flatbed. Zaina climbed onto the back and crawled toward the front. Sister Tyza walked around and stepped into the cabin.

A few others were on the back with her. One of them, a young, human male with bright yellow hair, was staring.

“Hi,” she said, wanting to be optimistic, “I’m Zaina.”

“Are you here because of the lights, too?” he asked.

“Um-no?”

He nodded. “I’m here because of the lights, too.”

“Uh—”

Another of the passengers, an elderly woman in a tattered coat with sewn-on patches of different colors, leaned forward. “Don’t mind him. Poor Illy had a mental breakdown about three years ago. He couldn’t hurt a fly even if he wanted to.”

“Right,” Zaina said.

“Zaina, is it? What brings you here?”

“Uh—well, Sister Tyza said she was going to take care of us.”

The elderly woman nodded. “Aye, she takes good care of us. Did you know I came to this planet nearly seventy years ago?”

Zaina shook her head.

“Well, I did. It used to be different. It used to be better. Why, when I was growing up…”

Their transport lurched and started rolling, and the woman started telling her life story. Zaina faded in and out, overtaken by sparse waves of pain emanating from her shoulder and the hunger radiating from her guts. By the time they stopped, she was nearly unconscious again.

The elderly woman and the others hopped off the flatbed. Zaina crawled off and followed them into a tall, rectangular facility. Inside was an empty receptionist’s desk and a hall filled with two rows of chairs stacked almost to the ceiling; further down was a large, open room with couches, tables, and stationary vis-screen sets.

Sister Tyza pointed out the different rooms to Zaina. “That one’s got the buffet—makes the food sound better than it is, but it’s something—and oh, that one’s the medical room. We’ll get a nurse in here later today, so hang tight on that. Now—would you like to sleep first or shower first?”

“Shower,” Zaina said.

“Okay, I figured as much. I’ll show you to your room—it’s not much, but you’ll have your very own bathroom. I’ll see if I can’t scrounge up some wraps for your shoulder. You can shower and sleep if you want, or you can come down to the buffet anytime. I’m pretty hands-off here—we’ve got some great community members who keep the peace. Number one rule is no starting fights. Number two rule is even more important: do not hesitate to use every resource at our disposal to get yourself on track. We’re here to help. Once you’re feeling better, we’ll talk more about how we can make that happen, okay? But for now, you need to rest.”

Zaina nodded and followed Sister Tyza down a wide hallway lined on either side with wooden doors. Sister Tyza pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked one of the doors.

“This one’s unoccupied,” she said. “Take it, and take this key. Please make sure to give it back to me before you leave, if or when you do leave. I’d have more rooms open on the second floor, but you know—money’s tight. Only enough to power this level.”

The room was little more than a cot, an empty laundry basket, a nightstand, and an open sliding door leading to a small bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink. Compared to living on Gir’s ship, it was a literal paradise. Zaina smiled.

“It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“There’s an extra pair of clothing in the nightstand. There’s a few sizes in there, so one ought to fit. We have an in-house facility for washing clothes if you’d like.”

“That sounds amazing, thank you,” Zaina said. “How can I ever repay you for all of this?”

Sister Tyza shrugged. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep doing this, but I don’t do it for repayment; live your best life. Find happiness wherever you go, and wherever kindness is needed, provide it. This galaxy can be a harsh place—it can turn good people cruel. But it’s up to us to keep being kind. It’s all we can do. And that’s all the payment I need. Now—I’m sure you’d like to get to it.”

Sister Tyza closed the door to Zaina’s room, leaving her alone in all this luxury. After peeling the blood-soaked clothing off her body, she set the shower’s heat to high. The nice, relaxing water was exactly what she needed—in minutes, all the dirt and grime was rinsed away.

Once she was done, she toweled herself dry and brushed her teeth—even a small thing like that now seemed like an incalculable kindness. She brushed her hair and rubbed lotion on her skin. She was picking shirts out of the nightstand when Sister Tyza returned, holding a small package of bandage-wrap.

“Sorry! Had to raid a few closets, but here you go! Do you know how to do it?”

Zaina nodded. “Yeah, I can do it.”

Sister Tyza set the package on the bed and turned to leave. “All right, I’ll leave you to it—if you need anything, I’ll be in the common area!”

A hot meal and then some sleep sounded like the proper plan. Zaina called out after her, “Do you have time for a little breakfast?”

Sister Tyza stopped and swiveled around. A smile crossed her face. “Of course I do.”