FSE

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Niari, Aielle and I all kneeled near the newly regenerated ziscal. She was completely healed, and no scars nor blood were on her. A couple other ziscal gently woke her up, and then helped her inside, since she could not walk by herself.

"What did Ai'ren do to her?" I asked Fey'sel.

"She used the regeneration technique. It's a technique known only to her family, and the scroll she uses is necessary for the technique to work." Fey'sel explained.

"How is it possible though?" Aielle asked.

"Only Mistress Ai'ren would know that, but she never talks about it to anyone." I was a little disappointed to hear that.

"Was it a type of magic?" Niari asked.

"No, but i looked like it, didn't it?" Fey'sel agreed.

"What about that fasaq beast? where did it come from?" Aielle asked.

"The fasaq... i'm not sure where it comes from, and i don't want to find out. This is the third attack by one recently as well, they were never this aggressive before. I'm glad Mistress Ai'ren is able to protect us though."

"I'm going to find Ai'ren... i want to talk to her for a bit." I claimed.

"I'll go with you, i have a few questions for her myself." Aielle added.

"Same here." Niari agreed. We went after Ai'ren, whom had just entered the building less than a minute ago. We caught a glimpse of her down a hall, walking with her arms behind her back, like normal. We closed the distance between us, and called out to her.

"Mistress Ai'ren!" I called. She stopped and turned. We walked up to a good talking distance. "Can you explain to us what just happened back there?" I asked. She waited a moment before responding.

"Come with me, i want to speak with you three for a minute." Her expression was more serious than it had been before. We followed her through the halls, and eventually came to an office-like room with a desk, a couch, and a fireplace. Ai'ren sat behind her desk, and we sat on the couch.

"You three have a great measure of courage, having seen your display a few minutes ago." She started. "And i have a favor to ask. I know the questions you want to ask me, about the scroll and the fasaq, but if you help me, i'll explain it to you."

"What's the problem then?" Niari asked.

"About 50 days ago, aliens visited this planet, like you have. They were very aggressive towards me, but i managed to drive them off before anyone at the academy knew about them. Since then, there have been several fasaq attacks on the academy, and I suspect that these other aliens may have a connection to the attacks. If not, they're here for something else."

"What else would they be after an a planet like this?" I asked.

"The very scroll i used a few minutes ago." She continued.

"Make's sense." Aielle said.

"If you can drive away the aliens from our home, i'll be extremely grateful." She said.

"We can certainly try to." I said.

"Thank you. I couldn't do it myself, otherwise the students would get suspicious, and i obviously can't send any of them, or they'll be harmed. You on the other hand, have many tools that we do not. You can survive an attack from a fasaq, which is fascinating, and your weapons are even more so." She said.

"Trust me, it's not as amazing as what you've done." I said.

"Maybe, but while i may be able to heal those who are dying, you three are able to die many times before you drop, i can tell." She complemented. "You have the kind of spirit which you should cherish."

"Thank you. So where do you think the aliens are right now?" Aielle said.

"I have a map here." She picked up a roll of paper which was leaning against her wall, and unrolled it on the table. "Here's the academy, and here's where i believe they are staying. There's also a fasaq den there, which could possibly explain why they're so aggravated."

"Alright then. when should we leave?"

"Any time, just try to go unnoticed, and don't tell anyone where you're going, i don't want to start a panic."

"Alright, we've got it." Niari said.

"Right." I agreed.

"Should you succeed, i'll explain everything to you. When you first appeared at our door, i took a massive risk by letting you inside, Iria, and i'm glad i took that risk." She said.

"Thank you. We'll get those others away from the planet for you, trust us."

"I do. Now please, you can leave through the back garden. Another practice will be beginning soon, so no one will be back there."

"Alright, We'll be back before long." Aielle said. Ai'ren handed us her map, and Niari took it. We then left her office, heading towards the back garden of the academy. We could already see several of the ziscal heading towards the front courtyard as well. When we reached the garden, there was no one to be seen. We made our way to the gate, which was much smaller on this side than in the front, and pushed it open, closing quietly on the way out. There was no wind right now, and the snow was only in patches at the moment. The sun shone brightly, but clouds were on their way in.

"Okay, the map is marked here, so it's that way." Niari said after looking over the map.

"Are you sure about that?" Aielle asked.

"I know how to read a map, thank you very much." We started walking along a path between two mountains. Trees were very frequent on this side of the mountain, as oppose to the front. It was just over -20 celsius at the moment, so my suit was still able to keep me warm with Aielle's program, which i was very thankful for now. We walked for nearly half an hour, and we could then see off in the distance, a village.

"Is that on the map?" Aielle asked Niari.

"Yes! Fuck, Aielle, do you not trust me with this thing?" Niari complained.

"Just making sure."

"I was curious as well." I said. "Well then, thanks for the support." Niari said.

"We're just teasing, Niari." Aielle giggled. "I would hope so." We continued walking towards the village, which was still a good few kilometers away. By now the sun was blocked by the clouds, and it dropped to about -25 celsius, but still bearable. There was still no wind, which was good. My breath frosted in front of my whenever i exhaled, and it's what distracted me through the walk. The walk seemed to go on forever without end, but soon enough, the village was only about a minute away. And that's when we heard something fall behind us. I turned around, grabbing my blaster and aiming it at the fallen figure.

"Hold it! Why are you following us?" I demanded. After Ai'ren's story about hostile aliens, I admit, i was a little jumpy. The figure face down on the ground was cloaked, but it held it's hands bare. They got up on their knees, looking down at the ground, and shaking a little bit. I walked up to the person, and pulled back their hood.

"Fey'sel?!" All three of us exclaimed as i uncloaked her.

"Fey'sel, what are you doing here?" I asked, holstering my gun.

"I... i overheard what you and Ai'ren were talking about... I want to help you!" She claimed. "I know this land far better than you do, i can help!"

"You know what Ai'ren told us?" Aielle said.

"Yes... and i don't want my friends at the academy to be hurt by their misdeeds anymore, please, let me come with you." She begged, bowing her head almost to the ground. I looked at Aielle and Niari for an answer.

"She has a point, you know. We've been here for a few days, and she's been here for her whole life. She's definitely better suited to be leading us there." Niari defended.

"I agree." Aielle said.

"Okay then, but you have to be careful, Fey'sel. You're not very strong against aliens with technology like ours, so i don't want you rushing, okay?" I told her.

"I understand. I'll do my best to help." She said. I stood up, and held my hand out to her, and she took it. Once i pulled her up, we were back on our way to find the aliens. Fey'sel looked much more composed and serious than she did back at the academy, maybe even stronger too. We walked through the village, having nothing to do there other than to be something for the local ziscal to wonder about. Whenever someone asked us a question, we had to refuse to answer. Aside from that, none of them were brave enough to walk up and stop us from continuing.

"That was the nearest village to the academy. The next one is too far to make it today, so we'll need to camp somewhere along the way. I know a few spots which are usable, but only one which can hold all four of us." Fey'sel explained.

"Okay then." Aielle accepted.

"How far is the place exactly? where the aliens might be?" I asked.

"Hopefully we should be there by noon tomorrow. The place is near a fasaq den, which is actually not that far from the academy, but only a fasaq, with it's large stature, can actually traverse the path, which is what makes it harder for us to find them. I believe Mistress Ai'ren's guess is right. The aliens have chosen a spot which is difficult to get to, but they can force fasaq to attack us somehow, but I have now idea how they'd go about doing that." Fey'sel explained.

"What are fasaq, exactly?" Niari asked.

"They're just animals, but they have a tendency to go on rampages when they're angry or flustered." She explained.

"What could make them so angry as to attack the academy?" I asked, turning my head to see Fey'sel's face.

"I'm not sure. They've been known to rampage when they're out of food, someone attacks them, or when they're children are in danger though."

"I'd be pissed too if those happened to me." Niari claimed, leaning her head back on her arms and laughing slightly.

"Still, it's a problem because those things don't happen every other week, so something must be provoking them on purpose." Fey'sel concluded.

"Right, that makes sense." I said.

"How far is your camp spot, Fey'sel?" Aielle asked.

"We should reach it before the sun sets, i know that." Fey'sel said. We continued on our way down the weathered path. There wasn't much to see out in the wilderness, since half of it was pure white with snow. Occasionally we spotted small animals which scurried away at the sight of us. A little while later, the wind started to pick up, making the temperature feel like it dropped to -35 celsius, and by then, I was crossing my arms over my chest to try and keep a little warmer. My hair blew with the wind, and i could see it starting to freeze in front of me. My face and tails were the only parts of my body not covered, and they started to feel numb.

"Are we almost there now?" I asked.

"It's still an hour away, are you all getting cold?" Fey'sel asked.

"My face has been cold for the last hour." Niari said.

"Same here." I agreed. I pulled out my phone, and had my suit extend down the rest of my two tails. I felt significantly better then. I pocketed my phone again, and rubbed my face from the frost building in the fur there. I breathed into my hands, feeling the warmth of my breath bouncing back onto my face.

"I only brought one cloak. I figured you would be alright with your fancy suits. I also figured you'd shut me down and send me back." Fey'sel

"Iria, can you help me do that too?" Niari pleaded.

"Here, give me your phone then." I said. She handed me her phone, and i extended her suit for her.

"Thanks," she sighed, "That's much better."

"I wish I could see the universe like you can...." Fey'sel said forlornly.

"Who knows, maybe you can." I said, which made her look at me with hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Probably. When we leave this planet after we fix our ship, we'll have the KDPS help out with your species."

"Who are the KDPS?" Fey'sel asked.

"It's the kaithian developing planet supervisory. It's an association of our species which travels to planet's like yours so they can help develop, and advance the race. It will help your planet come in closer contact with the rest of the universe, after it's ready, of course."

"So they'll be giving us what we need to travel like you?"

"Not exactly. They'll be helping with getting you familiar with the current standard universal systems. Once your race is ready to become a space bearing one is when you're able to start hopping the stars."

"So it's like another academy-like thing?"

"Not sure. My race was one of the first to become a space bearing race, so i've never experienced it. But i would have to guess that's what it's like. Our race will be very glad to help, because we believe that anyone can accomplish anything they want if they're willing to make the risk."

"Interesting. How long do you think it will take?"

"I've heard of it lasting several years but who's to say someone won't let you join them and tutor you along the way?"

"I'd love that, but i don't think Mistress Ai'ren would want me to leave." She acceded.

"Well, i don't know what to say about that."

"It's okay. I've been living like this for 20 years, so i'm alright with it. I'm just glad to know someone from the stars, like you three."

"That's all well and good," Aielle interrupted. "But my ears are frozen, literally, so are we almost there?"

"Oh, we're getting closer, just hold on." Fey'sel assured. It took us another 2 minutes to finally stop. We were in a depression in the ground, and several trees were planted at the very middle of the basin.

"Are we here?" Niari asked, shivering. It had dropped to -40 now. I was shivering as well. My hair was very stiff with ice, and the cold was starting to seep through my suit.

"Yes, yes, follow me." Fey'sel instructed. She jumped into one of the trees, and climbed into a hole in one of them. Her tail quickly disappeared into the hollow. "Climb in! the wind can't get in here!" Fey'sel called out. We one by one boosted each other up to the hollow, starting with Aielle, then me, and I pulled Niari in after i was through. Inside the hollow wasn't actually in a tree, but it led us into a circle of trees. The spots which weren't filled with wood were insulated with dirt and snow. Above us, there was an improvised ceiling which kept the wind and snow out. Fey'sel was sitting against one of the tree trunks, holding a surneva gem, which glowed just enough to light up the inside of the tree fort. In here, it felt like about -10 celsius, which was enough for my suit to warm up my body again, including my face.

"There, were here. We'll need to stay here the night because around this time of year and because of this harsh winter, i expect it to reach far lower temperatures than you've seen on this planet yet." Fey'sel predicted. "It shouldn't get much colder in here though. I had this place specially made for harsh winters."

"When?" Niari asked, still shivering, but getting better.

"About three years ago. I was out this way from the academy, and it was getting dark, so i needed to make a camp. I found this group of trees, and then insulated the cracks with dirt. I didn't put the ceiling on, someone else must have at some point, but this place hasn't been touched in about a year." Fey'sel explained. "Anyways we might as well try and get some rest. We've got a long trip tomorrow, and I think they'll be some snow tomorrow, with how the clouds looked earlier."

"I'm with you on the sleep part." Niari said.

"I am too, i'm exhausted." I said.

"Mhm...." Aielle agreed.With that all said and done, We all curled up to sleep. It wasn't very comfortable, being on the cold dirt, but at least it was better than outside at this moment. Normally i enjoy sleeping outside, but something about the area made me want to just hide under a blanket. I could sense that Niari was having the same problem, since she was shifting very often. Aielle was already sound asleep, completely exhausted. I moved over to Niari, and cuddled up to her. She felt me get close to her, and then hugged me. She didn't smile, but looked a little distressed, which worried me.

"Niari...? Are you okay?" I asked her without speaking.

"Something is scaring me about this, Iria...." She responded.

"I can feel it too. I wish we were back at home right now."

"Same here. I hope we get this over with fast." We ended our conversation hugging each other even closer. It took us longer to get to sleep than the others, but we eventually managed it.

The night was long, and the temperature dropped significantly during the dark hours, but the tree fort saved us from hypothermia. I groaned as i woke up, my body stiff from sleeping on the dirt. The area inside the trees was still nicely lit by Fey'sel's surneva gem. We were all quickly ready to leave the hollow, but when we did, we were very discouraged by the sight of one meter of snow which had fallen over night. It went up to my belly button at least, and it would take us forever to reach an place fast.

"What are we going to do about this?" Aielle asked. We were all belly deep in the snow by now. Out suits kept us warm, since it was pretty mild out at close to -10 celsius, though Fey'sel was having a little more difficulty with the cold, especially since she was significantly shorter than us, the snow was almost to her shoulders.

"I don't know what to do, i've never been out so far in snow like this." Fey'sel claimed. "But the best we can do for now is just go through it. We'll be there a little later than i thought, but at least make it."

"Fine We'll need to take turns for who's leading though, so we don't exhaust ourselves." Niari suggested.

"Let's do that then." I said. We slowly trudged our way through the blindingly white landscape. It took us five minutes alone to reach the top of the hill, but once we were out of it, we went a little faster. It looked as if we were swimming through the snow as we pushed through it trying not to pack it too much lest it becomes too difficult to move. It took us hours to get anywhere, but about 2 hours after noon, we reached the point on the map which Ai'ren had marked for us, and it was very obvious. Out in the middle of no where, there was a camp made of metal, which was far more advanced than anything we've seen on the planet so far. There was no one outside, nor was there any sign of anyone, but the constant feeling of fear got worse and worse, it even started to make me angry about it. NIari and i were very much affected by it, but Aielle and Fey'sel were seemingly untouched.

"Do you two not feel that?" I asked, rubbing my temples.

"Feel what?" Aielle asked.

"There's this... something, in the air. I have no clue what it is, but it's getting on my nerves."

"Same here, it's frustrating, making me feel empty inside." Niari supported.

"I don't feel any different." Fey'sel claimed.

"Same here, are you two okay?" Aielle asked.

"Not really... let's just get this over with. We need to take these things out one way or another, so how're we doing it?" I asked.

"I can stay out here and watch for anything, i have no idea what the aliens have on them, so i'll stay hidden and make sure nothing surprises you." Fey'sel suggested.

"Sure, the less hurt you are, the better." Niari said.

"The rest of us well go in and incapacitate anyone we come across, tying them up afterward." Aielle planned. "That works for me. But if push comes to shove, we'll need to kill them before they kill us." Niari said.

"You make it sound so easy." I said. "Alright, that's the plan then. Fey'sel, if you see anyone coming, just try to lead them away. If we're not out in twenty minutes, then assume something has happened to us, okay?"

"I hope to not have to." Fey'sel said.

"I do to. C'mon, let's go then." The three of us drew our guns, and crept towards the camp. The place was makeshift, and there wasn't much to look at for now, but there was still that creeping feeling. We looked around for about five minutes before finding a tunnel which led into an underground part of the bunker. We slowly descended, guns always aimed. the bunker was laced with several computers along the walls, all of which held useless information to us. The floor was paneled with steel, which annoyingly enough made our footsteps louder than we wanted. the entire bunker was lit with soft white lights which ran along the top corners of the rooms. The first tunnel was nothing to worry about, nor was the first room, as they were all void of people. We constantly looked over our shoulders to make sure no one was behind us. Eventually, we had made it to the very end of the bunker, with no sign of anything, nor anyone. We looked over the computer screens, but only one of them specifically caught our attention, and it read: Operation Displacement.

"Operation Displacement?" Aielle wondered.

"What does that mean?" Niari asked.

"Let me try to hack into the computer...." Aielle took out her phone, holding it with one hand and typing madly with the other. Niari and i wandered around for a couple minutes, trying to find anything else interesting. "Got it!" Aielle announced, but before anything else happened, the world went black. All the power was cut, and nothing else was to be found.

"What happened?" Niari asked.

"The power was cut by someone." Aielle complained. "And i was just in too."

"Let's go back to Fey'sel, before anything else happens." I suggested, but right then, i felt a sharp pain in my neck, and i fell to the floor.

I woke up some time later. My head pounded, and my body was extremely sore. I groaned opening my eyes, only to see black. I felt cloth over my eyes, suggesting i was blindfolded.

"So all three of them are awake now, hmm?" Someone said, whose voice was somewhat familiar in my head.

"Take their blindfolds off then." Someone else said. Just then, my blindfold was tugged off, as well as strands of my hair, which made me cringe. I was on my knees in the bunker, stripped of my tools and bound with something around my hands and ankles. After some shifting, i figured that it was rope. The people in the bunker who had captured us were the very same who had attacked our ship a few days ago, or at least they were wearing the same armor. "So, you're aiding that bitch who leads the ziscal, aren't you?" One asked. I glared at them.

"What are you even doing on this planet?" I demanded.

"I could ask the same from you."

"Ours is simple, we were shot down by your friends." Niari added. "So it's your problem that we're here."

"Oh is it? Well, that problem is now taken care of. Anyways, you, Ziscal." He addressed Fey'sel, whom was currently across the room from all of us, and sitting on a chair with her hands bound to the arms. "Do you have any clue how much grief your damned mistress has been causing us?"

"Whatever it is, you damn well deserve it!" Fey'sel growled. The armored man then slapped her across the face with enough force to make me cringe. I could see tears forming in Fey'sel's eyes.

"Maybe in your eyes, but not through ours, now quiet. We've been here for months trying to acquire her so called magical scroll, and all she had to do was hand it over and you'd all be left alone, but no! she had to go and protect it, and endanger all of her students." He paced back and forth as he talked, but suddenly he grabbed something off a desk, "So now, I'm going to take out all my frustration on you!" Then, he lunged at Fey'sel. Fey'sel screamed so loudly it forced me to flatten my ears and close my eyes. When i finally opened my eyes again, Fey'sel was bleeding from her eyes.

"Fey'sel!" I screamed, struggling. The man had gored her eyes out with a metal rod, and all i could do was sit and watch. I felt powerless against the men. Fey'sel was still in shock, her whole body struggling against her restraints, trying to run and hide, despite now being blind. The man was then about to strike at her again, but something else happened. Suddenly, Niari got up, and rushed the man from behind, surprising everyone in the room. She used the now broken rope, and strangled the man, grabbing his gun in the process, and shooting the other two armored men in the room. She then wasted no time in choking the last one to death. She looked horrified when she finished.

"N-Niari...." I breathed, completely shocked.

"Let's... let's get out of here as fast as we can." She suggested, bashfully crossing her arms. Niari then unbound each of us one by one, ending with Fey'sel, whom I carried when she was free. I piggybacked her, and she held onto me for dear life, not saying a word. We blindfolded Fey'sel again, so she wouldn't lose any more blood than she could afford, and made our way out of the bunker after shutting down the whole thing for good. When we got out of the bunker, we only stepped a few meters away before we were horrified to see a massive beast known as a fasaq. I nearly gave up right on the spot, but then it lied down for us.

"I think it wants us to get on it's back." Aielle suggested, which made the fasaq nod it's head awkwardly. "We have no other choice, guys. Fey'sel is in serious condition, so we have to trust it."

"Ai'ren can command the fasaq, so maybe she sent us this one?" Niari suggested, her voice softer than usual. We all resigned to get on the giant beast, and it was very willing to allow it. When we were all safely on, it got up and trotted away from the bunker. Hours passed, and the ride was cold. I had to keep Fey'sel warm, but she never spoke a word. I felt empty, like this could have been prevented, like we could have been better. We should have sent Fey'sel back to the academy, and she never would have gotten hurt. I beat myself up with these thoughts the whole trip. It took us nearly five hours to reach the academy with the way the fasaq trekked us, and by then, It was nearing -50 celsius, but thanks to the fasaq's fur, it was easier to bear. The gate was already open and Ai'ren was waiting inside for us. She looked relieved to see us, but her expression quickly changed to a panic when she saw Fey'sel. We all dismounted the fasaq, and I lied Fey'sel on the ground.

"What happened to her?" Ai'ren asked.

"We can tell you everything later, but can you help her?" I begged.

"Give me a moment." She informed. She took her scroll out of the folds in her robes, and laid it over the blindfold over Fey'sel's eyes. The scroll glowed softly, then flashed before Ai'ren took it away. Ai'ren then removed her blindfold, and to you relief, her eyes were there and completely healed again. Fey'sel looked up at the sky in awe, tears forming in her newly healed eyes.

"Mistress A-Ai'ren...." Fey'sel whimpered.

"Hush, child, you've been through much today, just rest for now." Ai'ren told her. Fey'sel ignored her, and sat up, hugging her tightly, and bawling into her shoulder. Ai'ren hugged her back, rubbing her back to calm her down as if she were a child. "We'll speak again tomorrow, you should all get some rest." Ai'ren said, standing and carrying away Fey'sel. We followed her, looking behind us at the fasaq, which was now leaving, and it managed the shut the gate behind it, and quietly at that. The three of us slowly walked to the same dorm which we used the other day, though this time it was empty except for us. Niari and I climbed into one bed, and she hugged me tightly.

"How're you feeling after that...?" I asked.

"I feel like i might be sick...." She responded.

"You did what you could to save Fey'sel, and it worked. We're all glad you did what you did."

"I am too... but it doesn't help my feelings."

"Just try not to think too much about it... I'm always here for you if you're stressed."

"Thanks, Iria." I kissed her comfortingly, and she happily returned it.

"Just try to sleep, don't think about it."

"G-guys...." Aielle asked from above.

"Yeah Aielle?" I asked.

"Do... do you mind if i sleep with you two? I don't feel safe alone right now...."

"Yeah, it's alright."

"Th-thanks." Aielle then jumped down from the top bed, and joined us shyly. We barely had the room for three people in this bed, but we made it work. Quickly enough after that, we were all asleep.

I woke up again in the middle of the night. I shifted uncomfortably, feeling like something was missing. When i opened my eyes, i saw that Niari was gone.

"Niari...?" I said, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I sat up, and looked around the room. It was only Aielle and I, but Aielle was still asleep. I quietly got out of the bed, walking around tiredly. "Niari?" i called quietly. "Where did she go?" i wondered aloud. I left the dorm room, padding through the halls and making next to no noise. I occasionally called Niari's name, but never got an answer. I began to get worried, all the possible outcomes rushing through my head too quickly for me to think about them. Eventually, i found my way to the room just before the court yard, and that's where i saw her. Out in the middle of the courtyard, she was sitting crosslegged, naked, facing away from me and looking down at something. She barely moved. I made my way to the doorway, but before i could call her name again, ear ears dropped flat against her head as she moved her hand up to her head, pointing her gun at her temple. The sight sent an arc of lightning through my whole being. I started running towards her, and i shouted her name.

"NIARI! NO!" My shout was loud enough to feel like it tore my throat apart. She flinched, and dropped her gun to the ground with a plastic sound. I dropped to me knees and hugged her tighter than I've ever done before. She didn't respond to me though, she just looked down. I felt her tears landing on my arms. I was crying as well, my tears falling onto her shoulder. Her fur was almost completely frozen by now, having been out in the cold of this planet for who knows how long.

"Niari... why...?" I begged.

"I... I'm so sorry... Iria...." She whimpered. "I wasn't... wasn't thinking.... I was selfish...." I gently turned her around, so i could see her face. She wouldn't look into my eyes, which saddened me.

"Niari... please... don't scare me like that again...."

"I want to go home... Iria...." She cried. I hugged her again, and she returned it, trembling horribly..

"We will go home... but we need to wait a little while, and you know that...."

"i do... I just want to be alone with you for while... please?"

"Always... Anytime you want, i'll be here for you...." I stroked her hair, trying to comfort my weakened partner. Her trembling slowly subsided, and she relaxed into my arms. "Come on, Niari... we need to get you out of the cold."

"Okay...." She whispered. I looked around, and found her discarded nano cube.

"Here... let's go back inside." I handed her the cube, and she took it gently, putting the suit on before we stood up. I grabbed her gun, and helped the poor girl walk back to the academy. On our way back, i saw that we had gathered quite an audience. Aielle, Ai'ren, Fey'sel, and several other ziscal were watching us with the same worried expression. When we passed them, Niari couldn't take her eyes off the ground. I handed Aielle Niari's gun, and she took it hesitantly.

"Niari wants to stay with me for a little while, so can we be alone for a bit?" I asked her.

"It's alright, she needs it more than I do." Aielle agreed.

"Thanks." I walked Niari over to the pool room, and had us both undress and step in, since her fur was almost ice, and mine was starting to frost. When we were in, i gently rubbed her fur clean, making sure she was as relaxed as possible. She closed her eyes, and smiled gently, which made me smile as well. After a couple minutes, we were both completely thawed out. Niari was almost a puddle in my arms after i was done massaging her. She rested her head on my shoulder, a complete contrast to the person she was before. She was always so tough and spirited... but now she's so timid, and bashful.

"Niari...?" I asked her.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I think so... i just need to calm down for a while."

"Yeah, but... are you going to be the same person i met three years ago?"

"Huh?"

"You were always so full of life, but now, after this, you've been so reserved, and demure." She looked away for a second, but then smiled sweetly at me.

"I won't ever completely change." She giggled. "But after this... it's humbled me a little, i know. Honestly, i love it when you nurture me like this, it feels nice. If you'd do this for me once in a while, i don't think i could think of doing... what i did earlier, again."

"Alright then," i giggled softly. "I'll treat you like a princess once in a while then."

"Thanks, love." She giggled. With my hand, i brought her head closer to mine, and kissed her passionately. We both closed our eyes, and locked our lips together for a long, intimate moment.

"I love you... so much, Niari." I said as we finally pulled apart.

"I love you too, Iria." She responded. We spent the next little while just being together. eventually though, all things must come to an end, and we left the pool. After drying off as best as we could, we dressed in our suits again, and walked back to the dorm with our arms locked together. We got into a bed alone together, and quickly fell back to sleep, absolutely exhausted.

The next morning, my throat was extremely sore. I groaned as i sat up, trying to ignore the pain.

"Morning, Iria." Niari said lazily.

"Morning...." I responded with a gravelly voice.

"Shit, you didn't scream at me that loud, did you?" She asked as she sat up, concerned.

"I might have... i was too busy being scared to think about my voice."

"You sound horrible... try not to talk too much today, alright? i'll see if i can get you some water." She climbed over me to get out of the bed, and kissed me as she did. She then left the room. She was jogging... very girlishly, it actually made me giggle, which i quickly regretted. She came back about five minutes later with a clay cup in her hands.

"Here, this might make you feel better." She said, handing me the cup.

"Thanks." i said, taking the cup. I drank the water from the glass, and felt it run smoothly down my throat. It felt great, especially because it felt like my throat was burning.

"Better?" Niari asked.

"Much better, thank you." My voice sounded a little better too.

"Do you think we should head back to the ship and activate the distress signal today?"

"Yeah, if there's not a meter of snow out."

"I agree." she giggled. "Anyways, i think we should go explain a few things to Aielle, she must be worried."

"Yeah." We both left the dorm room then, holding hands the whole time. It took us a little bit of searching, but we found Aielle outside in the courtyard with Fey'sel.

"Aielle!" Niari called out. Niari's voice instantly caught her attention. We soon closed the distance to her.

"Niari, Iria... what happened last night?"

"You really stirred up the place." Fey'sel added.

"It's... complicated...." Niari started. She eventually confessed her story, which had Aielle and Fey'sel shocked.

"i don't really know what to say, Niari... But i'm glad that you're still with us." Aielle said.

"I am as well." Fey'sel said.

"You can thank Iria for that, she's the one who got to me." "Excuse me, you four?" We turned our attention to the voice, which belonged to Ai'ren.

"Mistress Ai'ren, do you need something?" Fey'sel asked.

"No need to call me that anymore, Fey'sel."

"But... why not?"

"I'll tell you in a moment, but for now, i want to speak with all of you." Ai'ren asked us.

"What you want to talk about?" Aielle asked.

"All of you showed great courage when you left for the alien encampment, and i am thankful to you all. But as for you Fey'sel."

"I... I'm sorry Mistress Ai'ren... I-"

"Again, you no longer need to address me as your mistress. If I didn't want you to go with them, I would have stopped you."

"You mean... you know i was gone?"

"I knew you would follow them, yes. As for my previous point, I would like you to follow me. can the rest of you stay here for a moment?"

"Sure." Niari said.

"Fey'sel will be back with you in a few minutes., come with me, Fey'sel." They both then started walking towards the academy.

"But... where are we going?" Fey'sel asked.

"You'll see in a minute." Ai'ren assured. The three of us looked at each other, not sure what Ai'ren was thinking about. eventually though, it became apparent when Ai'ren appeared a few minutes later on the balcony in the academy wall.

"Attention everyone," She announced, "I would like you all to congratulate our newest graduate here at the Zisca academy." Fey'sel then walked onto the balcony, looking very bashful, and wearing the same silver clothing as Ai'ren. "Fey'sel Sheri." The crowd of Ziscal was shocked for a second, but then cheered for their schoolmate. We all did as well. "Fey'sel," the crowd went silent, "has shown great skill and mastery in her training, outstanding discipline in her work, and great bravery during her time with our newest kaithian friends. From now on, she is worthy of teaching on our ways, and you shall address her as mistress." We saw Fey'sel say something to Ai'ren, but we couldn't her from here. She looked very shy about the new title though. the crowd cheered again, but soon went silent as Ai'ren spoke again. "Though, with her new title, she has one final test." Ai'ren and Fey'sel spoke for a second. "Open the gate!" Ai'ren instructed. The gate was quickly opened, and to everyone's surprise, a fasaq slowly entered. It did not look very pleased either, which worried us. When our attention turned from the fasaq, we saw Fey'sel standing on the railing of the balcony, just as Ai'ren had done the other day. She moved her body in mysterious ways, and caught the attention of the giant beast. When the fasaq neared the balcony, it sat down, and awaited a command from her like an obedient pet. seconds later, the fasaq was on it's way out when Fey'sel waved her arm. And like that, the fasaq left the academy courtyard, and the gate was closed again. The crowd cheered her on once again. Ai'ren was about to say something, but Fey'sel hugged her before she could. Hugging her with one hand, Ai'ren finished with: "To our new graduate!" And the crowd cheered once more. Ai'ren and Fey'sel then left the balcony. We could hear among the crowd the murmurs of astonishment. It seems like no one expected Fey'sel, of all people, to graduate the academy. Quickly enough, Ai'ren and Fey'sel, now in matching clothing, walked back to us, having to refuse talking with several other Ziscal for now. When they reached us, Fey'sel was beaming, and extremely hyper. She hugged us all, laughing the whole time.

"Now... as for the rest of you. I promised that i would tell you about everything. All of you, follow me to my office again, we shall do this in privacy." Ai'ren said. We followed Ai'ren through the crowd of excited ziscal, and eventually found ourselves in her office once again. "I guess it's finally time for me to say this to someone...." Ai'ren acceded. "The scroll I've been using all these years, if it wasn't for the aliens who appeared months ago, i'd be able to keep it here. But, now with it being exposed to them, it can no longer stay on this planet."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"This scroll." She pulled the scroll from under her desk. "It's an artifact from a civilisation now extinct for millennia. This other civilisation, they were travelling around the stars for longer than i can even fathom. It was created by them, and their powerful technology. The scroll itself is actually just an aesthetic." She poked the scroll in several places, and soon enough, out of the wooden rod which the paper was wrapped around, a thin vial of mysterious origins slid out into her hands. "I've never learned the secret behind this substance, but i know that it's able to heal almost any wound if used properly."

"How did something like this end up with you?" I asked.

"One my ancestors found it a few centuries ago in an ice crater. They found that it could heal many or all wounds, so it was kept as a family heirloom. It's also probably a reason for why my family is so much taller than the other's." "What is this other civilisation you were talking about?" Aielle asked curiously.

"I don't know their name, or what they looked like, only that they were extremely advanced. Only a few of their artifacts were ever found, and this is one of them. I want you to take it with you, because if it's left on this planet, we're surely to be exterminated."

"How?"

"The aliens which were camped nearby were solely here for this, and i know how powerful they are, and with our low population and basic technology, we'd be wiped out in a day or less." She admitted. "Can you take it away from us? It will terrible news to the academy, but at least it will be good news for the rest of the planet."

"We can take it, yes, if you believe it will save your race." I said, "Are you sure though?"

"Fully and wholly, I am sure. You and your race seem to be trustworthy of inheriting it, and maybe you can uncover its secrets." Ai'ren handed me the vail, and i took it carefully. Inside the vial was a pure white substance, and just holding it made my hands tingle. "There's one more thing i wanted to ask of you, but i want all four of you to agree if it's going to pass with me."

"What is it?" Niari asked.

"If you all don't mind... I want Fey'sel to join you on your leave." She said. Fey'sel looked shocked, among several other emotions.

"I believe that's up to Fey'sel." I said.

"Same here." Niari agreed.

"I agree." Aielle agreed. We all turned our attention to Fey'sel, who was looking at the floor, thinking.

"What about the academy? I'll miss everyone here, especially you, Ai'ren." Fey'sel said.

"I know, you'll miss everything, it's your home after all. I want you to go with them so you can represent our race."

"Fey'sel, it's not like you'll be leaving forever, we can always have you visit anytime." Niari said.

"Yeah, our home is actually about... maybe three minutes from here with our ship." Aielle said. Fey'sel remained silent for a while, but then looked up at Ai'ren, and then us.

"Alright... if it's okay with everyone, i'll go. I've always wanted to see the stars too."

"That's great!" I said, wrapping an arm over her shoulders and giving her a quick hug.

"Thank you, Fey'sel. I hope your journeys with our friends go well." Ai'ren wished.

"When are you telling the academy about the loss of the scroll." I asked.

"I will soon... But i need to ask a favor of you as well."

"What is it?"

"Can you have your race protect ours? We're not ready for a breakout of war with an alien race."

"It won't be that horrible, but yes, we can. We have organizations for that kind of thing."

"Thank you very much."

"But before we do that, we obviously need to repair our ship. The fuel tank was broken during our trip home, and that's how we ended up here in the first place." Niari added.

"Of course. If you're able to, yo can move the ship to the courtyard. It's very open, and the snow won't get in your way." Ai'ren suggested.

"We might be able to, and that's only hoping we can start it." Aielle added.

"We can head out now to look for it, if there's nothing else you'd like to discuss?" I asked.

"No, go right ahead." Ai'ren concluded.

"Alright. You might want to clear the courtyard so we can land if we're able to start the ship." I said.

"No worries, i'll make sure of it.

"If we're back on foot, then you'll know that we didn't get to start it." Niari added.

"Of course." Ai'ren said.

"Fey'sel, you want to join us? you might as well get a look at the ship since you'll be joining us." Aielle asked.

"Sure, i'd love to." Fey'sel agreed.

"Alright, we'll be off then." I said.

"Good luck, friends." Ai'ren bid us. We left her office then, and started on our way out of the academy. Not many people were in the courtyard at the moment, so we managed to sneak by without anyone noticing our depart, that is, until we opened the gate. We had to tell the curious ziscal that we would be back shortly, and then left. We trudged through the knee high snow the way we had come from when we first landed on the planet, and within half an hour, we saw an out of the ordinary lump in the snow. When we approached, we saw that it was our ship completely covered in snow. "How are we going to get into the damn thing now?" Aielle complained.

"the obvious way, find the door." Niari said. We had to shovel away piles and piles of snow with our hands, but we eventually found the door to the Quick Tail. When the door managed to open, we all went in, and when it closed, it brought some snow in with it, which was a little annoying, to say the least. I walked over to the console, and activated the ship, and Quick tail instantly responded.

"Greeting once again, Commanders" Quick tail greeted.

"Who just said that?" Fey'sel asked.

"The computer AI, Quick tail. We'll have to explain later." Aielle said.

"Quick tail, do we have enough fuel to move about 10 kilometers?" I asked.

"Yes, where shall i displace the ship?" With that, i told Quick tail to land at the academy.

"Ready Fey'sel?" I asked.

"N-not really." She said.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt." The Quick tail then lifted up, carrying an odd bubble of snow with it as it moved. When we stopped briefly in the air, the snow all fell off the ship, and we travelled to the academy, and in a few seconds, we were above it. We landed in the center of the courtyard, and then we turned off the ship.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked Fey'sel.

"No, not really." She agreed.

"I'll find and activate the distress signal." Aielle offered. "I'll stay on watch for a response, and tell you if i get one. This planet is between Earth and Reatha, so i'm sure we'll get one."

"Alright then, We'll leave you to it then." Niari said. As we left the ship, The ziscal were already pouring out of the academy at the sound of the Quick tail. They also bombarded Fey'sel with questions as they arrived. a giant circle formed around our starship, all of the faces of interest and awe.

"So this is your ship, is it?" Ai'ren asked, walking up to us.

"Yeah. it's nothing compared to what they can be though." I said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, there's a few ships out there which can probably transport half of a planet's population."

"Well, that's truly remarkable."

"Many things are out there." Niari added. "Including the ziscal."

"Hey guys!" Aielle called.

"What? Already?" I asked.

"Yeah! There's a kaithian ship on their way right now. They have repair tools on them too!" Aielle explained.

"That's great!" Niari said.

"They'll be here in about 5 minutes." Aielle claimed.

"I'm eager to meet some more of your race." Ai'ren claimed. We waited on the group of kaithians to arrive, and soon enough, they did. they landed in the courtyard as well, right next to our ship. We explained to them what happened to our ship when we landed, and they helped us repair the hull and fuel tank for the rest of the day. The ziscal were watching curiously the whole time, probably wondering what a spaceship was made out of. The repairs were fairly simple, especially with the tools the other's had brought with them, though the ship still needed it's color back with some paint. After we were finished, and the day soon turned into a bitterly cold dusk, we talked about what had happened over the few days that we were here, and what we planned on doing when we reached Reatha again. Right before they left, they donated a few liters of ship fuel, for which we thanked them with a few hugs. They soon enough left when it became far too cold, wishing us good luck for when we left. Ai'ren, the whole time, has been explaining to the ziscal that Fey'sel would be leaving with us, and all of them wanted to ask her questions before we left. Fey'sel blushed very deeply when she was called by the title mistress, which made us giggle at her. Eventually though, when it became too cold for even the ziscal to bear, the four of us entered the ship, bidding our farewells to the academy ziscal. Fey'sel was starting to cry at the sight of leaving the academy, so i put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her a little. All the ziscal waver at her when we closed the ship door. Fey'sel watched and waved through the teardrop shaped window as we started up the ship. Niari, Aielle and I all waved from the bridge window as the Quick tail started up. Fey'sel joined us at the bridge, and waved at Ai'ren, who for once broke her orderly demeanor and waved back. Finally though, the ship lifted off the ground, and we quickly shot up into the orbit. Fey'sel quickly looked sick from the inertialess movement.

"Don't worry, it always feels like that. You'll just need to get used to it." Aielle informed.

"We... we went so fast, why didn't i feel anything?" Fey'sel asked.

"This ship runs on a special engine." I started. "Instead of actually moving us, it shrinks space in front of us, and expands in behind us, practically moving us without moving the ship."

"I...." Fey'sel started, completely lost.

"Don't worry, i'm with you there." Niari said. "Techies like these two can be hard to understand sometimes." I rolled my eyes at Niari.

"You ready to go to our home? it will be a lot hotter than it is here. Speaking of which, i need to shut off that program...." I said, taking out my phone and disabling the suit heater.

"I think i'll be fine."

"We'll be headed this way at a little under 1Mpc/s for five minutes, so i hope you don't feel too sick. There's a washroom just down there if you do get sick." I said.

"Okay...." Fey'sel understood. I told Quick tail to start up the Alc drive, and head for Reatha, and quickly enough, the ship was on it's way home again as the stars shot by at 100 trillion times the speed of light. I pulled out the strange vial Ai'ren had given us, and looked at it for a little while, but then stored it in a compartment just next to one of the bridge seats.

"Hurray! we're finally going home!" Aielle cheered.

"I second that, i can't wait to use our bed again." Niari said.

"There's another point we need to think about. We only have so much room in our home." I said.

"Oh yeah... well, we have the money to afford a large one at the moment, or we could empty a couple rooms and put beds in there." Niari suggested.

"We could, and yeah, we do have that money." I agreed.

"Our house is getting pretty trashed and worn anyways, i've actually been thinking of moving out for a while."

"It is pretty old yeah. When we get the time, we'll head out and look for a new house then. Packing shouldn't be too difficult anyways." We soon enough reached Reatha, and I was so relieved to see it again. After multiples days of just bitterly cold weather, i felt like i'd just found our garden of eden. We waited another minute for Quicktail to find the spaceport again, and then quickly landed. Fey'sel looked very light headed from the trip.

"You alright there, Fey'sel?" Aielle asked her.

"I'll be fine... I feel so heavy."

"The gravity on our planet is a little heavier than yours, so that's to be expected. It's not that big of a difference, so you should adjust soon." I explained. "Also, since you'll be travelling with us, we need to get you some equipment suited for space exploration, rather than an academy mistress."

"I can stop us by star stuff when we're in the car again." Niari offered.

"Sure." I agreed. I took the strange vial with me as we left the ship. A few seconds after stepping out, we saw Rari running up to us full tilt.

"What did you do to it?" She demanded. "What happened to your ship?"

"Long story short..." Niari said, "We were shot down by some pirates on our way back home."

"That won't do. I can't bear to see this thing in this condition. I'll have it repainted for you." She nagged.

"That would be nice... but...." I was about to ask why, but then i remembered how obsessed she is with space ships, "Nevermind, i'm sure you know what you're doing."

"It'll be as good as new when you return here." Rari promised. We all left her with the ship after locking it, and headed towards the elevator.

"She's such a ship nut...." Niari commented.

"Well, at least she's passionate about what she likes." I responded. Niari wrapped an arm over my shoulder.

"I'd love to get passionate in bed with you sometime." She thought to me, then giggled. I blushed hard, not really sure what to respond with.

"Soon... I'm just not sure yet...." I thought to her.

"You just need to get a little warmed up, is all."

"I don't know..."

"We should have some fun in bed sometime though, it'll be great, trust me."

"Maybe... I'm so nervous about it though."

"Do you trust me, Iria?"

"I do, with all my heart, i do. I Just don't know about it." But now we were in the elevator, completely oblivious to Aielle and Fey'sel at the moment.

"Give it a chance sometime... I'm sure you'll have a good time."

"Okay... just not today, alright?"

"Sure, whenever you're ready for it." We quickly found Niari's car, and all got in it. I had to show Fey'sel how the seatbelt worked when we were in too, but we were quickly on our way to starstuff. We didn't spend too long there, though it was a little longer than expected, since Niari and Sivan were talking half the time. The two we're friends from childhood, so it makes sense. We got Fey'sel a hardlight tool, nanosuit, and a gun, just like we did a while ago. The whole time, Fey'sel was wondering at all the new sights and technology around her. She didn't appear to be too hot, probably because their summers are about this mild at tops on their planet, which is about 20 degrees Celsius. finally, we left the store, and headed home a few minutes before twilight. Completely exhausted, we still needed to set up a place for Fey'sel and Aielle to sleep for the night. Once we had that done, Niari and I walked dreamily into our room, closing the door behind us. Niari flopped onto the bed face first, and she clearly recoiled from it doing it. She stuttered her breathing as she tried to relax.

"Your back all tight?" I asked.

"Yeah... too much standing and travelling over the past few days...."

"Want me to help out? I said i would treat you like a princess one in a while." I giggled.

"Sure... I'd like that."

"Take your suit off then." She did that while laying down, since the suit practically melted off her. I decided to do the same since my pads were a little more yielding than the nanomaterial. I was also tired of wearing the thing. I started massaging her shoulders, and received a soft purr from Niari as a reward. As i worked my way down her body, i began to lightly sit on her behind as i kneeled overtop of her. She smiled happily as she rested her head on her arms. When i felt her sides, I was a little jealous with how tones she managed to keep them. She flinched a little when i did though, so i started to continue working my way down her body. Soon i had to pivot around to do her legs and calved, and eventually her paws, which i had to bring up to me rather than move forward to reach them. I made her flinch a few times when I massaged her paws. When i was done there, i pivoted again, and rubbed her shoulders again for a little bit. When i was doing that, i noticed a few things about her fur which were changing. 6 small, blue nubs poked out her her back, but soon extended out and wrapped around me, gently pulling me against her back. I giggled lightly.

"What's this about?" I asked her.

"It's the best way to hug you when i'm face down like this." She excused.

"Alright then... You can put the tentacles away now though, don't you want to kiss for a little bit?" I offered.

"I would love to... but how about we switch places for a bit? I think you could use a little attention as well." She offered, retracting her tentacles back into her fur, completely hidden again. She Didn't even wait for my response, and then shifted, making me slid off of her. She then sat herself on my behind, her knees to either side of my hips. I gave up, and then rested my head on my arms. She started to repeat the treatment on me which i gave her. A purr involuntarily rose from my chest. She eventually reached my paws, and i couldn't help flinching a few times when she worked my muscles there. When i thought i heard a small giggled from her, i was interrupted when she started to tickle my paws.

"S-Stop! No!" I begged, laughing forcedly. My heart was racing when she stopped, and i heard her giggling behind me. I felt her pivot, and she quickly hugged me from behind.

"You're too cute, Iria." She said. She rolled us over, and quickly had me facing her. Before i could chastise her for tickling me, she touched her lips to mine, and kissed me deeply. I gave up, deciding to give her a freebie this time. Soon enough after that, both of us no longer tense from cold and treks, we fell asleep happily in each other's arms once again.