The Exile

The forests of Eryndor never truly slept.

Even beneath the silver veil of night, pale branches shimmered beneath drifting constellations of luminous spores, and rivers of crystal-blue water carried the stars across the forest floor as though the sky itself had learned to flow. Soft harmonic calls echoed from unseen creatures high within the canopy, each note answered by another somewhere beyond sight, until the entire woodland seemed less like a place and more like a living chorus. To those born beneath its ancient boughs, the silence of space was unimaginable—for on Eryndor, the world always sang.

The world felt vibrant—alive in a way only Eryndor could be. Through those shimmering woods ran a young Aeli'Nhari girl, silver leaves crunching beneath her feet as laughter echoed behind her.

"Hold on, Ali! You're too fast!"

"You have to keep up, Aly'Sa! You're getting slower," She kept running while teasing her.

"Come on! Stop cheating!"

They started to hear distant repeated calls. "Ali'Na? Aly"Sa? Come on home its time for dinner!" Their parents voices drifted through the forest.

Ali laughed. She turned behind a big silver tree. The darkness took over. Then suddenly she couldn't hear Aly'Sa behind her. Or the calls of her mother and father.

"Aly'Sa? Whe-... Where are you?" She looked around. Panic tightened her chest. No matter where she looked, Aly'Sa was nowhere to be seen. The singing forest had gone quiet. The beautiful markings of her skin began to turn its hue. First Orange, then slightly Blood Orange. She stepped backward and tripped on a tree root on the ground.

She hit the ground harder than she expected. The bark beneath her palms was gone. Cold steel greeted her fingertips. "What the..." Her heart started to beat faster. As her eyes adjusted.

Metal bars. Rust. The smell of oil. Stale recycled air. Blood. Chains. Someone quietly crying. A metal collar wrapped around her neck. A crying child in the next cage over. Another dead.

The door opened, startling everyone including herself. The crackle of electricity filled the room. A shock button. Fear still clenched her chest, but the pain no longer surprised her.

The man opened her cage. "Come on, glowtail." The prod touched her shoulder. Electricity surged through her body. However she never flinched.

He seized her by the collar and yanked her into the corridor as if she weighed nothing. "I said move it!" She started to walk reluctantly. In a state of confusion, she heard a familiar voice.

"Ali?"

She darted her head to look behind her. "Aly'Sa?" She called out. No ones there. She could have sworn she'd heard her name. Yet, no one except the room with dirty cages and crying children lingered.

Did she imagine it?

Her captor had enough however, "Move it!" he yanked her chain connected to her collar. From the force the pulled chain. She fell back against the cold metal corridor floor.

Suddenly the corridor disappeared.

The smell of rust faded.

The screams of the children became a steady electronic tone.

Her eyes shot open. Ali stood up with pure intensity. Her left hand shot to her throat. The other instinctively closed around the grip of the compact railgun beside her bed. "What the..."

No collar. Her breathing slowly steadied.

"Good Morning, Captain. Your heart rate elevated just before waking you. Was it the same nightmare again?" The ship A.I. responded with a mix of concern and curiosity.

"Morning to you too, Vera. What's the status?"

"Approaching Docking Bay Seven."

"Good. Here comes the best part." She swung her legs off the bed. Let's see who's desperate enough to give me a job."

"Here? I'd say current projections indicate a fifty-seven percent probability of employment."

Ali sighed, "Thanks, Vera. I didnt remember asking."

"Correct, Captain."

"You're insufferable sometimes."

The ship shuddered gently as maneuvering thrusters adjusted its approach. Then a warning light flashed crimson across the cockpit.

"Captain."

"Yes, Vera?"

"We've been flagged."

Ali rubbed a hand over her face. "Lemme guess... Killian."

"Correct."

She sighed, "Does he ever take a day off?"

"Based on departmental records..."

"That was rhetorical, Vera."

"Of course, Captain."

Ali started to gear up. She slipped her railgun into its holster, checked the weight of her credit chits, and reached for the strange relic resting on the workbench. Turning it over in her hand, she caught the faint glimmer of etched symbols beneath the cabin lights.

As she set it down, the metal bracelets around her wrist clinked softly together.. Metal engravings lied with them.

She paused for a moment. "Lancer Killian has requested permission to board."

Her eyes began to unfocus on them. "Tell Lance-Face I'm on my way."

"Understood, Captain. However, he stated its a mandatory routine inspection."

"Yes... Of course it is. Because that's exactly what I needed. Tell him to dust his boots. I'll open that hatch in a moment."

"Understood, Captian."

The hatch hissed open. Lancer Killian stepped aboard, two officers falling into formation behind him.. Ali stood in front of the doorway leading to her living quarters..

"Good Morning, Velaren."

"Could've saved the hello outside of my ship."

"Unfortunately, I have to inspect the whole vessel."

"Yeah, was it your decision or the button pushers up top?"

"Judging by your mood, I'd say you slept well." Killian moved methodically through the cockpit, his gaze lingering on the instrument panel before checking the small washroom beyond. One of the officers swept the cargo compartment while the other scanned storage lockers with a handheld sensor.

He pauses in front of her. "I do mean the whole vessel, Ali."

She narrowed her eyes lazily. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"Funny. Never seen you inspect my mattress."

He sighs.

"Ali."

Neither of them moved. The silence stretched just long enough for the two officers behind Killian to exchange a glance.

Ali clicked her tongue and stepped aside. Killian entered, and his view gathered at a single odd looking trinket. "What's this?" He asked.

"Little something, I found."

"Planning on selling it?"

"Was thinking about it."

He stares at it another moment. Then he quietly puts it back. "Don't." Ali frowns.