The first half of the trip went smoothly with no problems and her anxiety decreased. No one had any reason to suspect her nor did anyone care to acknowledge her existence. She was just another person heading to her destination, like everyone else. Then it happened as she was passing by a cafe a mile away.

The crowd had thinned to a few people, making her more exposed. Yet somehow, someone managed to bump her bookbag hard enough to cause her to spin around. She wasn't sure whose fault it was, so she decided to apologize.

She found herself facing a trio of Syrealian soldiers, all fairly young from the looks of them. And it was clear by the confused expressions on their faces, that they hadn't understood her. One turned to the other.

The lead one concluded before looking at her again.

Since they didn't seem too upset about being bumped into, Sarah decided that now was a good time to leave and let them question her ethnicity among themselves. She never expected a hand to catch her shoulder. Even though it was gentle, she swung her elbow back, nearly nailing the one who had touched her. She froze as she realized what she had nearly done, although not on purpose. Syrealians soldiers took attacks on their person very seriously. There were stories about how people had nearly been beaten to death from simply pushing a soldier back during a heated argument.

The soldier who nearly got an elbow to the face simply laughed and pushed it away. His comrades joined him in the laughing, leaving Sarah's fear to melt into confusion. The leader pointed to her.

He said in halting Espanese.

It was probably supposed to be more friendly than it sounded and not a command, but Sarah didn't have time to consider things like that or defuse the situation as neatly as she liked to. She shook her head profusely and clung to her bag.

He asked.

She had been hoping he wouldn't be so persistent. That made things three times more difficult than they had to be. It helped that they thought she was Espanese and didn't notice that her accent was slightly off, but they would probably figure out eventually. And she couldn't expect anyone else around to understand what was going on or step in to help. Part of being an adult was sometimes having to get out of things by herself. Someone wasn't always going to be around to bail her out of awkward social situations.

She turned and started walking away, only for one of the other ones to cut off her path. He pointed out. The leader nodded in agreement.

Sarah swallowed. Once again, she was expected to lie in order to get herself out of a sticky situation. This was very unnatural for her and her nervousness and apprehension were bound to be noticed by them, despite the language barrier. Would they believe her like Captain Yager had or would they be like the pirate and know that she was bluffing? No, she could do this. She had to or she'd be in grave danger.

She opened the bag and showed them the books before closing it. She didn't let them take long enough to look at the titles.

The soldier looked to the leader, who nodded. He then switched to Espanese.

She skirted around the one that had blocked her and went along. Hopefully, no one would catch the fact that she was sweating and she was breathing rather heavily. Could she really do this? As she went on, there would be more Syrealian soldiers and not all of them would be easy to trick especially if they were officers. The grunts of the Syrealian military were known not to be particularly sharp but the officers were a different story.

So when she literally ran smack into Sergeant Ivanov about a quarter mile away from the docks while turning a corner, she nearly collapsed. In fact, she did waver a bit and he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him to prevent her from falling. The collision hadn't been that great seeing that they had just been walking, but he was a rather large man. Anyone would be forced back from bumping into him, even Dave or Mel. He probably thought that was what happened.

"My apologies." His voice rumbled in Aboloanian. "I was not paying attention to where I was going." Once she was on her feet, he removed his hand. "Are you all right, Miss?"

Sarah kept her head down and nodded. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her if he didn't see her face or hear her speak.

"Good. I would not want to be responsible for hurting someone because of my neglect. Maybe I can make it up to you by getting you something to eat, my treat. There’s a nice little cafe nearby..."

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry."

It was clear that he wasn't going anywhere, so she looked up. Recognition dawned on his face.

"Ah, Ms. Hidalgo! I never expected to run into you here again with so many Syrealian soldiers around." At least half of the people around were in Syrealian uniforms. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm running an errand, delivering some books to a friend of the Professor." The lie came off her tongue too easily for her comfort. "Is the Colonel with you?"

Ivanov shook his head. "No, he is...on break, as am I. Speaking of the Colonel, I wanted to apologize for his behavior to you. Even if your people are considered enemies of us, that is no excuse for the level of rudeness he showed you."

"You don't need to apologize for him. You were.... courteous at least." That was the only word she could think of to describe him. He hadn't really stood up for her but he also hadn't been nearly as hostile. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, but I should get going."

"Do you want me to escort you to where you're going?" He questioned as she started walking. "If the others see me with you, they won't bother you. I'll admit that their Aboloanian is limited, though not as limited as their Paradisian."

"No, I think I'll be fine on my own." If he came along, there'd be no way she'd be able to get away from him. The Sergeant was a very dutiful man, a staple for a loyal Syrealian officer.

"All right. If it doesn't take too long, may I treat you to something? As apology for earlier."

Lots of people were wanting to socialize with her today. She didn't think Syrealians were that big into small talk. But it was a known fact that Paradisians were. Maybe they were trying to imitate their Paradisian hosts in an attempt to smooth over any resentment that came from their presence.

"I'm afraid I won't have time. I've already been delayed. Good day, Sergeant."

And with that, she hurried away. Now she just wanted to get to the docks before anything else happened. Both the previous incidents had left her nerves shaken and she had to wipe the sweat off her brow. How Ivanov hadn't noticed, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was only noticeable to her or he assumed it was because she had been rushing around. She entered the port and looked around. The customs office seemed to be closed.

Now, she just needed to find a ship that would be willing to take her. A ship heading to Aboloan would be her best bet. It was the one place that was far enough from Syreal to be semi-safe. Espan wouldn't be a bad choice either but they were having internal strife of their own. She didn't know the details, but it sounded like a civil war might be on the horizon if the current leader won the election. So Aboloan was currently the safest place. Besides, Aboloan and Liba were friendly with each other. At least she didn't have to worry about being called an enemy of the state or a traitor there.

She couldn't go around asking every ship though. Someone would notice and start to ask questions and the lost excuse would only work so many times. No, she needed to narrow down the ships quickly. The money would help, but she would have to be careful about flashing it around. Maybe the port authority person she met when she first came would be around to help her. Hopefully, she could remember his name.