In a large clearing in the jungle was a smooth, white structure. It sat low to the ground, like an egg that had been cut vertically and laid on its side. Other buildings were scattered around it, but it dwarfed them in comparison. Keith noticed that the large structure had suffered some damage; one end of the building was crumbling and crushed, as if something had come through and knocked into it. As they drew closer, he spotted several fighter ships fly out of the smaller structures. They flew to intercept the Galra ship that was quickly approaching them. The top of the smooth structure opened up and a green laser shot out from it. The Galra ship managed to avoid it, but was being swarmed by a dozen fighter ships.

“We have to get to the ships!” Keith yelled to Jira, peering over to her shoulder to see the rest of the group still making their way to the hangars. The laser shot out from the structure again and again, finally hitting its target. Keith and Omek whipped their heads to see the Galra ship start to fall to the ground; the tip crashed behind them, the force jolting Jira’s hoverbike forward. She grumbled and made a sharp turn, slowing them down, but taking them out of the way of the crashing ship.

“What are you doing?!” Omek screamed at her over the noise. Jira ignored him and continued to turn the ship around. She sped around the side of the ship as the structure continued to fire at it. They rushed through the dust as Jira steered them to the back of the ship. Keith tried to squint through the dust, wishing his mask hadn’t been destroyed. She slowed down, eventually bringing them to a stop and hopped off the bike. Omek grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“What are you planning?” he demanded. She pulled away from him, and though Keith couldn’t see her face, her body tensed up and was enough to express her frustration.

“We can’t let them send any signal back. Eioa has gone this long without being under the Empire’s rule, I’m not gonna stop fighting now.”

Keith hid a smile from Omek and gestured to the ship. “We’ve been on a ship like this before. We can get you to the center and try and stop any signal that may have gone out.” He led her to an opening and Omek followed them.

“Most soldiers in ships like these will be just robotic sentries,” Keith explained in a whisper as they made their way down a dim hall in the ship. “But since their uniforms are the same as the other soldiers, it may be hard to tell them apart.”

They hid down another hall as soldiers ran past them with large laser rifles. Once they had passed, the three continued forward through a maze of halls. They stopped in front of a large pair of sealed doors and Omek went to work on disabling them.

“Stop right there!” A soldier ran out from around a corner and began shooting at them. Keith whipped out his blade and sliced it through the soldier, but the noise attracted others, who began making their way towards them.

“Omek, you go ahead!” Keith yelled to his companion. Jira pulled out her polearm, extending it and releasing the three blades at the end. Omek managed to get the doors open and took off through them.

Keith glanced back to Jira. “Get ready-” but she already sprinted head on to meet the small group of soldiers.

“Hey!” Keith called after her while fighting his way through soldiers and sentries alike. Nearly a dozen had swarmed into the hall, leaving little room for maneuverability, but he managed to make the best of it. Luckily most of them were sentries, which he usually didn’t have much problem with. Two came at him together and he rolled past them, landing on the other side and slicing through the back of their legs. One managed a shot at him, nicking the side of his suit in the shoulder before it fell to the ground. The shot only caused light surface damage to the suit, so he stood to finish them. He then turned around, ready to take on more, but they all laid on the ground, their bodies lifeless. Jia stood down the hall, a sentry skewered on the end of her polearm. She kicked it off and let it crumple to the ground before racing down the hall to reach Omek, Keith following closely behind her.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

They found him standing at a control panel, were he was working furiously. “Any luck?” Jira asked, coming up behind him.

“I’ve managed to isolate the signal and stop it before it reached any Galra outpost,” he said. “They didn’t send it out until right before they were taken down, it seems.”

“They didn’t think they’d need any help,” Keith said smugly.

“The only problem is that a missing ship might cause other ships to come this way,” Omek continued. “I’m not sure why one would be out this far outside of the empire in the first place… unless it was here against orders.”

“Smaller battleships like this have gone missing before,” Keith said. “It’s dangerous out here, so unless it had specific orders to explore the outer rim, it’s disappearance wouldn’t bring about too much attention.”

“Even still,” Jira said glumbly. “Other than the Grangint and Lotor, the Galra have never been out here before…”

“We should get back outside and see if they need anymore help.” Omek said. “But first…” he paused and pulled out a thin rectangle disk from the middle of the panel. “Do you youre people would allow me to study this further?” He asked Jira. “There should be some insight as to what they were doing here; it should hold a communications log, or orders from central command.” Jira nodded and he tucked it away. Omek then pulled out a laser rifle and shot the control panel a few times. “Just to be safe,” he grinned at them before leading them out of the room.

While still alert for any other Galra soldiers, they made their way outside back to Jira’s hoverbike. She led them back around the front of the ship where any remaining Galra had been shot down or taken out by the Blade or other Eioans. Jira stopped the hoverbike underneath a hangar and they got off to made their way over to meet the others. She slowed her pace, falling behind Keith and Omek. Keith glanced back to her and noticed her attention seemed to be fixed on the Galra ship. Keith stopped, caught between following Omek and talking to her. He knew exactly how it felt to have what you loved threatened by the Galra… He took one last look at Omek and waited for Jira to catch up to him. He was hoping she’d speak first while he tried to think of something comforting to say.

“Did they attack your home too?” She asked finally.

“No…” Keith said. “But they’ve still hurt people I care about.”

“I’ve heard about the Blade of Marmora,” Jira said. “You must have some Galra blood, even if you don’t look like it.”

“Yeah, I-” he stopped. “I’m from a planet called Earth though.”

“So are you half Galra, then?” She asked and Keith nodded. “So am I,” she said.

“Really?” Keith furrowed his brow. “I guess I wouldn’t know... “ he pointed to her mask.

“Oh, right!” Jira laughed, taking off her mask and hood. She had grayish-blue skin and bright golden eyes similar to that of a Galra. Her face was narrow with high cheekbones like the other Eioan Keith had seen, Rixel. She had black hair that was pulled back in a thick, loose braid that fell down her back when she removed her hood. “My mom is a Galra. She’s part of the Grangint… Oh also, I’m sorry about your mask.” she said, looking up at him. “I think your eye is gonna bruise.”

Keith smiled and lightly touched under his right eye. It was a bit sore, but he really hadn’t given it much thought. “It’s okay. I’m Keith, by the way,” he said extending out his hand. Jira grinned and shook it.

“I’m Jira, but I figure you already know that by now.”