All seemed rather quiet on the western front. Turning a nob, his binoculars zoomed in on the last known remaining enemy encampment.

"Update," a voice dull and drone-like asked from behind.

"Nothing, Reaper. It appears as if the intel might hav-- wait." His finger flicked across the dial, enlarging the scene he was spying on. "Three. All armed. They're--"

He set the binoculars on the ledge he was wedged beside. Drawing a sandy hand across his brow, he fixed his gaze on the one he called Reaper. Reaper was a fairly tall man with brilliant black hair and eerie red eyes.

"They're?" His brow hitched up, knowing that the story he hadn't received wasn't one to cause much concern. The sudden chance in demeanor a surefire sign that they were done with their mission.

"Surrendering, sir." His body unfolded and soon rose above the height of Reaper. Lazily, his hand reached into his mess of grizzled teal hair. "Shall I go down to retrieve the weapons?"

"Take Hawk with you," he nodded toward a brunette with a narrow black mark that ran from ear to ear. "I'll linger with Scorpio to ensure we're not playing right into their hand."

"Affirmative," the one with the teal hair said. "I'll come in from behind."

"Checkin' out my ass again, Araneae?" Hawk placed hand over his heart, "I'm truly touched."

Araneae didn't even bother to follow up that question. Instead, he stiffly made his exit.

---

"Well that was easier than I thought," Hawk said while pulling off his uniform. "I say we--" His eyes dilated and he lunged toward Reaper. "Rroy!" He caught the wavering man. "Arvin, get Varun something's wrong."

Cupping Rroy into his chest, Hawk slowly aided the male to the sandy grown beneath them. "Hey," he cooed lightly while brushing Reaper's cheek with his thumb. "Are you okay? It's not like you to get dizzy." A grimace ruined his slender, pretty face. "Rroy?"

Brows furrowed, the raven moaned. Slowly, he flitted his eyes open. By the time he finally whisked away the daze, Varun had arrived. Brow inched up, he gazed at the blue haired man. Then his eyes scanned left to catch the worrisome looks of Nieko, Arvin, and Fritz.

"Uh," Rroy (Reaper) moaned. "The hell happened?" Hand reaching up, he gripped his fringe. "I feel like." He held his tongue. "I don't know. I... I can't describe it." He wore a scowl.

"Try to describe it," said the one with the blue hair. "I need to know if we should take you to a temple or if it's just heat exhaustion. I know you and arid places don't work well together."

"Varun," Rroy's eyes lost their hazy stare. "I think I would know if I was going to have a hot flash."

The blue haired man shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, it happens to the best of us. You more so than Nieko. Ice and desert don't really mix."

"It wasn't a hot flash," his voice took a turn for the worst. He was getting angry.

Biting his tongue, Varun glanced over at Hawk (Nieko). "Since he's being impossible, can you tell me what happened?"

"We were just chatting and then," Nieko frowned.

"He just passed out." Arvin, the one with brilliant yellow-green hair, piped up. "It was strange. I've been with him the whole mission. Not once did he look fatigued. This has to be something else."

Rroy's scowl faded some. "It's like," his face became void of all emotions. "It's like something's missing. I feel... cold. Hallow." Lips pursed, he glided his eyes toward Varun. "Why would I feel hallow?"

Araneae, who had been standing back, leaned forward to place the backside of his palm against Rroy's forehead. "You look paler than usual." Araneae (Fritz) placed a hand on Varun's shoulder. "Look at his eyes," he pointed out with a hint of alarm to his voice.

Varun forced a frown. "I don't get it." He set down the test strip he had been using. "Everything's coming back normal. I don't see any changes in his blood pressure. Oxygen levels are normal. WBC count is normal. I... I don't know. He just looks..." Brows caving in, he shrugged. "I don't know."

"Broken," Arvin finally committed. "He looks sad. But why would he be sad?"

A light bulb went off in Nieko's mind. "Hey, when was the last time we heard anything from Melik or Aleu?"

"It's been a little over a week," Fritz said matter-of-factly. "We should be receiving word any day now. Last we heard, their mission was almost complete. Your," a grin tugged at his lips, "fiancee should be home any day now."

"If you are all implying that I need to--"

"Well," Arvin interrupted. "You are a man. We all have those urges." A wink followed.

"Remind me to kill you."

"Nah, I don't think I will." Arvin poked his tongue out before ruffling Rroy's black hair. "But I bet it has something to do with missing your cuddle buddy."

Rroy growled but the quintet soon found themselves laughing at their silly antics.

"Yeah," Rroy finally admitted with a light blush on his pale cheeks, "I suppose you're right. I probably just miss her."

Assuming that was the reason for Rroy's lack of stability, the group went back to packing up. There was no need to stick around in his dry place. They had other, better planets to explore. Not to mention, the lack of non-humans on this planet was getting rather boring. Everyone here was so plain. There were no aliens--Valsozn, Lypheion, wizards, krogan, etc. It was just... humanity. Boring, old humanity.

About four hours later, the crew was making their way toward a forest. It was the perfect cover for warpping to another world. Completely out of sight and unlikely to draw unwanted attention.

For the most part, the group was silent. There was no need to talk after a long month's worth of bounty hunting.

"Hmmm?" Fritz moved his head toward a rather scraggly pine. "Did you say something, little friend?"

Simultaneously, Arvin, Nieko, Varun, and Rroy found themselves inching away from the man who now spoke to a tree.

"He's c-r-a-z-y," Arvin muttered. "Varun," he elbowed the blue haired one, "I think you should add him to your list of people to check out mentally."

Varun made an annoyed look before stepped out of line. "Fritz is hardly crazy. Hell, he's probably the most sane of us all. He has no secrets to hide."

"I'm afraid you're accent is a little hard to understand." Fritz plopped his hands on his hips before crouching. "If you would, please repeat."

"Uh, on second though, perhaps I'm off. He could be crazy."

"Shhh!" Fritz whirled around to glare at the group behind him. "If you would silence your ill tongues, I could understand the message."

"Message?" Arvin looked at the tree. "You're a tree whisperer now?"

"No," his voice cracked. He was annoyed. "I'm talking to a spider."

"Oh," all four said in unison.

Returning his attention to the spider, he listened to his tiny message.

"No," Fritz's brows furrowed. "That's... that can't be right."

Rroy shrugged his shoulders when Arvin, Nieko, and Varun glanced his way. "I can do snake or wolf, not spider."

"I understand. Thank you." Fritz exhaled lightly toward the spider. "May the wind carry you home. Please keep an eye on my friend. Heaven knows he'll need it."

With the speed of a sloth, he finally returned to his standing position. The lack of delight on his face causing some alarm with his friends.

"Rroy," his eyes remained glued to the ground. "I regret to inform you that..."

He hesitated in asking. A heavy feeling seemed to weigh him down. A part of him didn't want to know what Fritz was holding back. "That?" His voice was meek, almost sad sounding.

"Aleu's dead."

---

---

So most of the original experiments have since perished. This was good to note and likely something Aleu knew. Perhaps it was why she was trying to break everyone out and bring the experiments to an end? High fatality numbers were something she often argued against. Hell, she argued against all forms of illegal testing. The kind of stuff that enhanced food or made lives easier, she was all for. The second an ethical line was crossed, she was doing all she could to stop it.

Was she a part of a grass roots group? He dismissed the idea. She wasn't. She was definitely some covert agent for some intergalactic agency he wasn't even aware existed.

That made him wonder something. Did Rroy know?

"I'm a soldier, remember?" Melik smirked. "Killing is in my nature. The squad I was a part of was a protection detail. We always nullified threats and restored peace. Not all peace can be had with words alone. Sometimes blood is required to usher in an era of golden prosperity and unity."

Stepping away from the wall, he moved toward a window or whatever it was to see the outside world. "Sometimes we forget that success is built from risks and change. If we want to change the world and make peace, we have to be willing to fight for our cause. We have to be willing to die for the sake of those to come after us."

Kicking away from the window, he marched back to Nixie. "I learned a lot under him. He was a wise commander." He rung his hands together. "We called him Reaper for he would literally reap the battlefield. No one stood a chance against him." He laughed sheepishly. "It's a good thing he wasn't a part of the Elite Guard. Afraid our gross friend over there wouldn't have stood a chance."

Nixie didn't need to know that Rroy was a Valsozn. She would like the woman naively believe that Anastasia would stand a chance against the likely-assumed human.

"So about that necklace," he turned back toward Nixie. "I'll help you find it. But I doubt they kept it at that facility. They probably have it elsewhere under lock and key."

Frowning, he turned around to give her the cold shoulder. "I wasn't always fighting for peace. Sometimes I would be on the wrong side of the battlefield. If I learned anything, it's that there's always more. We blew up one facility. There are more. There will be others. If we want this to stop--if we want to find your pendent--we'll have to get to the core of it all. It'll be heavily guarded, likely with experiments brainwashed into thinking we're the enemy."

He looked over his shoulder. "This is all speculation. If I were on the opposite side, this is how I would lay things out."

Melik moved his head to continue staring at the wall.

"We wouldn't let the explosions stop us either. We'd cut corners and press harder. We'd become ruthless and unleash our hounds. We'd flush out the escapees. If they died in the process, oh well."

Letting out a long sigh, he stepped backward until his chest was aligned with hers. "We just need to play a move ahead." A smile grew on his face. "And I love games." That crazed look returned to his orange eyes.

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