"What now?" Cairo casually asked aloud as she quickly climbed out of the storage hold she had been sweating in for the past hour.

No one answered her immediately but she could "hear" some random thoughts. Their facial expressions confused her even more...

Why are they smiling at me?

"What's going on? " she impatiently asked aloud.

But even that blunt approach didn't yield any responses. In fact, now everyone was outright laughing at her.

Before she could respond to the cacophony of joviality that now surrounded her, Cairo looked directly into the mirror that Trace was pointing at.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped as everyone anticipated Cairo's reaction.

Apparently, her tight quarters combined with the existence of some sort of chemical residue had an "adverse effect" on her physical appearance that she was completely unaware of. Until now...

For some reason, the hair at the top of her head had decided to defy gravitational forces and remained completely vertical. In fact, all of her hair had become stiff to the touch. And as an added comical (chemical?) bonus, her eyebrows, and only her eyebrows, had somehow managed to change color to a spectacular shade of light blue. She looked completely ridiculous...

Her immediate reaction of surprise quickly morphed into a smile that eventually turned into a cascade of laughter that re-infected everyone else onboard.

"That's ok, have fun at my expense!" She yelled over the laughter.

"Sacrifice be damned, go ahead, make fun of the freak-show Human. See if I care!" she said with an ear-to-ear smile.

Everyone loved her. How could they not? Even so, Cairo rarely let her guard down...even her hair made sure of that! This little episode was a great release given the mental vice they had all just collectively escaped from.

"Ok, idiotic looks notwithstanding, I think we need to get our blue game faces on. Trace, how is it looking for us? Where can we put her down?"

"We managed to get through the first line of scrutiny but we are still vulnerable up here," he replied.

At this point, Cairo knew that Trace had to take command of the situation if they were to survive. He was the only pilot on board and perhaps, more importantly, the only one who lived on the planet.

"We should have safe passage if we can reach the province of Xiron. I've lived there my entire life and my extended family has been there for generations. The problem will be getting there. To do so we'll need a lot of help."

From this altitude, Cairo could still see the curvature of the planet. It was spectacular. Zeta Reticulon had a blueish-green atmosphere and vast oceans of light green. The dark, almost black land masses juxtaposed next to the bright water made for a spectacular visage. It was the most vivid planetary landscape Cairo had ever seen in her 17 plus years of existence. The Hybrids seemed equally enthralled as all four of them were packed around the only other viewing port on the trader vessel. Trace was not nearly as impressed.

Cairo noted his indifference.

"I guess this must be rather routine for you."

He turned towards her with a look of mild surprise.

"Absolutely not," he responded, as his gaze returned towards the planetary horizon ahead of him.

After a moment of silence, he looked back at her and decided to respond with more detail and clarity.

"The beauty of this glorious planet is undeniable and it is a gift I will never tire of seeing.... No, the sadness you perceive is from another, less glorious, yet equally undeniable fact. It comes from the realization that all of our people, all across this beautiful world, have endured brutal oppression for countless generations."

As he continued, Cairo was sensing Trace's strong feelings of resentment and pent-up anger that he had managed to suppress until now. Interesting. This is new... Ironically, the serene beauty above the planet seemed to trigger a much darker vision associated with living on the surface of this beautiful world. It was times like these that made Cairo very grateful for her "freakish" abilities. She was certain that almost every Human incapable of managing TP would have simply seen an in-control, emotionally stable pilot who was simply operating a routine low space orbit mission to the surface of the planet. How wrong they would be...

Cairo was impressed at how well Trace was able to reign in his strong emotions. This was encouraging since she knew that he would have to be in complete control of all his senses if they were to pull this off.

Before she could change the subject to the much more practical matters that lie ahead, Trace, almost strategically, decided that he was not quite finished.

"I'm not like most others. I am here, with you, because I have hope. My father was slaughtered like a farm animal in front of me, my brothers, and my mother. I'm doing this for them and the countless others that have been decimated by the ruling class in the name of power and greed. Many Offworlders do not understand, but we are a good, simple people... Our time is now. The many must rise against the few. I think you and your forces give us hope. A hope we have never had..."

The sub-surface anger and vitriol Cairo had felt before, was now gone. She sensed a cool resolve with incredible control. She sensed someone who simply had seen and heard enough and demanded change for the betterment of his people. She sensed a being who was willing to sacrifice everything. She sensed a true Leader...

Cairo sat in awed silence. She did not see any of this coming. It was obvious that Trace Flireen could manipulate and control his thoughts and emotions perhaps almost as well as she could. That would be a first! The emotional depth and timing of Trace's thoughts were by design. She realized that now. It was also obvious that his honed mental abilities were likely to be a tremendous asset over the next few hours as they tried to make their way home...to Xiron.