Alex stood motionless for a few moments, still looking out over the endless sand dunes. With one last squeeze of the metal railing, and desiring nothing more than to jump over the barrier and get as far away from the barge as possible, he walked to the door. He knew, though, that he needed the passage to Eredhen, as a nagging voice inside his head repeatedly told him to go there. It was the only city for kilometers, and he needed some way to get transported off Arcadia before the government found him. The government of Arcadia and Alex Sympaori were not unfamiliar with each other, and the former would stop at nothing to catch him. And with the government, it was not a matter of if they would do so: it was a matter of when.

The narrow passage beyond the door did little to welcome him to the interior, and the dim lighting made it difficult to see at times, but he didn’t need the light. After almost three months, he knew the corridors’ twists and turns as well as any of the crew. Doors lined the hallway at irregular intervals, some leading to private quarters, other leading to stairwells and public areas. He ignored them all save one, heading for the far end of the hall and pushing open the door. A cramped, steep stairwell greeted him, and he held onto the railing as he descended, letting the door swing shut behind him.

A massive cargo hold, bathed in bright, blue light from the ceiling, spread out in front of him. Crates of all different shapes and sizes were stacked several rows deep and high to either side. Some were old and dilapidated, ready to fall apart with the slightest movement, while others were freshly made and shining. Scattered around the area, some of them were opened by the crew and being organized, cataloged, and otherwise readied for their arrival in the city. Specks of sand were spread out over of the floor, gathering in the corners as gusts of wind from unseen holes blew it across the metal flooring. At somewhat random locations were large automated vehicles to do the heavy lifting of loading and unloading the hold. To the left were the giant bay doors that opened wide when loading or unloading.

Several of the crew members looked up at his entry, some nodding in recognition to him and others simply going back to their assigned tasks and shaking their heads. He pulled his cowl down off his face, giving a slight smile to a couple of them as he passed but ignoring them for the most part. There was just one thing on his mind, and it was to get back to his job of taking care of their special cargo towards the back of the bay.

In one of the back corners—hidden away in the dark to both keep its presence somewhat secret as well as keep the contents calm—was a large cage, bigger than most of the other crates. Inside, visible at the moment only by the light reflecting off its huge, beady, and bloodthirsty eyes, was the monstrous tiger-like creature stalking back and forth. A low growl emanated from its throat, filling the area with its dulcet tone, but despite how quiet it was, it said one thing very clearly: Stay away, unless you want me to finish the job. If Alex could see the creature’s face, he would have sworn that there was an impish grin on its face. What he did know, however, was that the grinding sound coming from its spiked, tri-tipped tail scraping against the metal bars was the first warning sign of an impending attack.

‟Easy, girl, I’m not going to hurt you,” Alex said, holding out his hands in what he thought was a placating manner but served no purpose other than to further irritate the creature. His voice shook with each word, and it took all of his willpower to keep from shaking just from the thought of being near the animal. He slowly moved forward, inching his way to the crate of meat stored a little ways from the cage. ‟I’m just going to get you some food, then I’ll be out of your hair and you can go back to your rest.”

The creature snarled at him with each tiny step he took, and its eyes remained firmly fixated on him, tracking his every move. It felt like an eternity before Alex arrived at the food crate, tapping a button on the lid to slide it open. As it opened, a hiss sounded and vapor dispersed out of the top, disappearing as it reacted to the heat of the cargo hold. Inside was an assortment of different raw meats the size of Alex’s head stacked up on top of each other.

He picked up one of the top cuts, feeling the cold pierce through his skin, and carefully approached the cage. The creature continued growling and snarling at Alex as he got closer, but it stopped prowling and opted to stand still and watch him. Its eyes flicked between Alex and the meat, possibly trying to discern which would serve a better meal.

With a flick of his wrist, Alex threw the frozen piece of uncooked meat between two of the bars from a couple meters away, and the creature lunged at it, crashing against the metal and causing a resonating clang in the cargo hold. It sauntered away from the edge of the cage, coming to a rest in the opposite corner and chomping down on the meat, ripping it into bite sized chunks.

‟That’s a good girl,” he said, resisting the urge to walk forward and pet it. Footsteps approached from behind him, and he turned to see Daron Warwick, the cargo hold overseer, walking towards him. ‟Hail, Overseer, what can I do for you?”

The man said nothing, and, instead, gripped Alex’s wrist and revealed the injury on the top of his hand. He looked at it for a moment, studying it and putting it to memory. Alex held his breath as the man stood there motionless, turning his hand over this way and that, then finally probing it sharply before releasing it.

‟You’re lucky that it didn’t release any of its toxins,” the man said, his voice grave, ‟or you would not be making it to Eredhen. You must learn to be more careful if you plan on being with us for much longer.”

Alex really didn’t plan on being with them for much longer, but he wasn’t about to tell the overseer that. After all, when they got to Eredhen, he was going to find some sort of way off Arcadia to some other planet, maybe Stariek or Siatia. When he did speak, his words tumbled over one another into an only semi-coherent mess.

‟Yes, sir, I do plan on being more careful, but it’s just that this was the first time I had to care for her, and I was nervous, and she freaked out a little bit.”

‟If you wish to keep all of your limbs and your life, you would do well to keep your nerves under control, especially with such a marvelous creature.” Warwick walked over to the cage and reached between the bars, stroking the pure white fur of the animal within. He stared pointedly at Alex and gestured with his other hand. ‟If you show it respect, show it you do not fear it, it will have no reason to try to make you its prey, and you will have a much better time when you try to care for it. But anyway, enough about that; we’re here.”

The overseer pointed over Alex’s shoulder where the large cargo bay door was beginning to slide open, half down and the other up. Bright sunlight, sparkling off the plethora of metal both in and out of the ship, filtered in and lit the interior. Noise from different ships and people shouting and talking out in the city filled the cargo bay at once. Some of the other crew scurried away, hurriedly closing the crates they were working on and putting them back in place, while others moved forward and started operating the forklift-like machines that carried the cargo in and out.

There was a brief commotion at the opening, and Alex saw Lord Mattix standing there talking to a group of three robotic soldiers. Though it was not uncommon for the Lord to speak to inspectors upon entry to a new city or town, what was unusual was the fact that there were soldiers here. In all the time Alex had been with the barge, not once had any military personnel come aboard, robot or otherwise.

Subconsciously, he began to slink away to a darker corner just as the piercing blue eyes of the soldier locked on his. He froze, and the robot stepped around Lord Mattix, gently pushing him aside as it made directly for Alex.

‟Alex Sympaori,” it called out above the din of the city, which simply motivated him to move faster away. ‟We just want to take a moment of your time to have a quick conversation with you.”

He pushed past the overseer and the creature, which let out a low growl, followed quickly by the robotic soldier. The animal swiped out in attempt to scratch Alex again but instead missed and cut through the metal of the robot. It toppled over, the power draining from it as it tried one last time to reach for the teenager’s leg. The other two robots moved quicker than the first, dodging out of the way of the creature’s attacks and grabbing Alex by the arms as he attempted to hide behind a stack of crates.

‟Alex Sympaori,” one of them said, ‟by order of Governor Unix, you are under arrest for treason against the Praes Dominion and Arcadia. Further resistance will be met by equal punishment, and it is advised that you come with us quietly.”

Ignoring the warnings, he struggled under the grasp of the robots as the rest of the crew looked on at the spectacle in mild amusement. A sharp blow to the side of his head dazed him, immediately causing him to stop wrestling for freedom. Instead, his head lolled forward, and he stared lazily at the door. Lord Mattix was waddling forward, sweat dripping off his pudgy cheeks, then dropped into line beside the robot on the left.

‟Alex, they say you crashed a starship into a swamp outside of New Alexandria.” Mattix drew a rag from an inner pocket and dabbed his forehead in an attempt to wipe the sweat away. ‟I don’t believe that for a second, and I will do everything in my power to defend you and get you back on my ship, I promise.”

Lord Mattix fell behind at the doorway, staying partially in the shade of the cargo bay, as the robots continued dragging Alex forward. The sunlight was nearly blinding in his half-alert state. He tried turning his head away from it but found it not worth the effort and accepting it. Murmurs—seemingly amplified ten times—pierced his ears as a crowd formed around the outside of the vessel to see what was happening. Finally, the pain and dizziness was too much, and his head fell forward as he went unconscious.