-NALE-

  When he was young, Nale Vitham's father took him on hunting trips. It was during those trips that his father taught him how to properly honour the gods. Nale’s father also used the time to teach him how to fight against any heathens who stood against their beliefs.

  During one of the trips, Nale’s father taught him a special lesson. He taught Nale to recognise when he had to run from a fight. Nale hated that lesson. He believed that it was dishonourable to turn tail. Nale’s father had laughed when Nale expressed his concerns.

  "One day it will happen to you little warrior," his father said. "One day you'll come up against something that will chill you to your core, then you will understand me."

  Nale shook his head stubbornly. "I am fearless," he whined in his prepubescent voice.

  His father laughed and tussled Nale's head. "One day," he repeated. "One day you'll understand."

  Now Nale understood. The man he was fighting dismissed his sword and shield. In their place, a pair of fingerless gloves appeared over his hands. The gloves had gold metal around the knuckles, and Nale could sense some sort of force field about his opponent.

  The fires sparked from Nale's fireballs had formed a makeshift ring around them. It was as if fate itself was urging them to settle their conflict immediately.

  Despite the fire, Nale felt a horrible, cold, sinking feeling. This man was different. There was something in his eyes that gave Nale pause. He hadn’t felt the same when facing the others. The transforming man had been a problem, but Nale had pressed on. Even when the man turned into that silvery monstrosity, Nale had felt no fear.

  Yet the instant he had laid eyes on this man, he had known something was wrong. There was a deadness in the man's eyes, a chilling certainty.

  The others had wanted to defeat Nale, even if it meant killing him. This man had decided. His mind was set on one outcome: Nale's death. That was why Nale hadn't attacked initially. That was why he had waited to assess the situation.

  His gut had screamed at him to run away. Flee like his father advised. Live to fight another day. But Nale couldn't do that. He was an envoy of his people. The carrier of their rage against the First Light. He had to fulfill his mission, even if it meant facing this dark man.

  Except now there was a problem. His red blade was gone. Nale mourned its loss. He wasn't certain what the human had done, but he could no longer sense the blade’s presence.

  Healing his wounds had cost Nale a lot of mana, but he had believed that as long as he still had his soul sword, he wasn’t alone. He had an advantage.

  So why didn't he feel like it?

  ‘I will lose.’ The thought popped unbidden in Nale's mind. If I don't give it my all right now, I will lose.

  Nale tried to push the thought aside. Then he heard Talil's voice, clear and strong.

  "Bond the blade."

  "Talil?" Nale said out loud. His opponent raised a brow.

  ‘No,’ Nale thought. ‘It's just a memory.’—A recollection of his final moments with Talil. Nale had asked the god what to do if it looked like he was about to lose.

  "Bond the blade." That was all Talil had said before slipping into one of his deep sleeps.

  What did it mean? Nale did not know, but he had an idea of how to find out. He lifted up his remaining blade. He could sense the souls and hearts of his people swimming within it. With their power, he could be victorious. He grabbed the blade with two hands, aimed, and drove it into his own heart. The collective fury and power of his people flooded into him. It felt different from when he had used it to heal. He felt stronger, but more than that he felt encouraged, like a thousand voices were cheering him on.

  "Fight Nale!"

  "Win!"

  "You can do it!"

  "Kill him!"

  "Avenge us!"

  "Avenge the gods!"

  "We believe in you."

  Nale took a deep breath. He didn't experience a physical transformation, but this felt better. He was ready. This fight would end in hand-to-hand combat. He assumed a battle ready position. They circled each other, maintaining eye contact. Each step brought them closer, until their fists met.

  Around them, the ship began to rumble, metal brackets screeching. None of that was important to Nale. All that mattered was what was happening in the fire ring.

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  "My name is Nale Vitham," he said. "What is your name warrior?"

  The man shrugged. "What does it matter to you?" He said. "You're about to die."

  Nale smiled. The feeling of closeness to his people lent him a perplexing calm. The man's words did not bother him.

  "It is common courtesy among my people to exchange names in a duel," Nale said. "But I already know your name. I heard the other human whisper it as he fell. You are Ben."

  Ben said nothing.

  ‘Okay then.’

  Nale struck first.

  He lashed out with a fist, which Ben blocked. Nale felt an odd sensation when their skin touched. It was like there was an invisible layer just outside Ben’s skin pushing him back.

  Ben tried to slip under Nale's defenses to grapple him, but Nale responded to a raised knee. Ben blocked and again Nale felt the sensation.

  Nale's people urged him on. "Fight Nale fight!"

  Nale screamed and swung wildly. Ben caught the fist then struck Nale in the throat. The blow carried far more force than it should have.

  Nale felt something crunch. He wheezed, then coughed. A spurt of blood came out of his lips.

  Ben released Nale’s fist and Nale staggered backwards. Every breath he took created unbearable pain in his throat.

  "Fight Nale fight!"

  Nale threw a kick at Ben. Ben sidestepped it easily then kicked Nale in the abdomen. Again the blow carried far more force than it should have. Something burst within Nale. He flew backwards, through the fire and on to the ground. His vision threatened to go black.

  ‘How?’ he thought. How was the man this strong?

  "Fight Nale fight!" his people screamed at him. Nale pushed himself up.

  Ben walked through the flames undisturbed. The licks of fire didn’t touch him. Instead, they silhouetted him like a fearsome avenger coming for the kill.

  ‘I'm supposed to be the avenger,’ Nale thought. He tried to raise his right arm to punch, but it refused to listen to him. His legs protested against the weight of his body and he dropped to his knees. His breath came in ragged wheezes.

  Ben stood in front of him. There was no pity in his eyes, and for that Nale was grateful.

  ‘I've failed,’ Nale thought. ‘I've failed them all. What a useless existence this has been.’

  "Don't feel bad," Ben said. "Brawler mode is a bit much for most. I can barely use it myself."

  Nale tried to respond but his broken throat didn't allow him.

  His people continued to cheer. "Stand Nale, stand for us!"

  ‘I can't. Not any more. I'm sorry.’

  Ben raised his fist. "Goodbye Nale Vitham."

  Nale died.

  -KAJA-

  < 10 minutes until ejection from jumpspace>

  The download was painfully slow. Kaja Khan kept glancing at Hanzo, worried the stoic man might lose patience with her.

  He didn't.

  Every time she looked at him, he nodded and said, "Don't worry Ms. Khan. Continue your work."

  Kaja had isolated a pattern of code in the freighter's software that should not have been there. She had never seen anything like it, and she didn't even fully understand it, but she knew what it contained: personality.

  It was the voice of the machine, and this code was its DNA. Kaja was transferring the code on to the Master Cube. As it was copied, the original code itself disintegrated. That had not been Kaja's intention but she had a feeling it was how it was meant to be.

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  Kaja snatched up the Master Cube, and heard the strange voice in her head again.

  "Thank you," the voice said.

  "You're welcome," Kaja responded. She turned to Hanzo. "Okay. Let's-woah!"

  The ship lurched and Kaja lost her footing, but Hanzo grabbed her about the waist and lifted her. He carried her out of the room, moving with superhuman speed. A black shroud flowed around them as they ran.

  They made it to the freighter's deck in no time, and the black shroud disappeared. Hanzo slowed. He took a few more steps then stopped and carefully set Kaja down on unsteady legs.

  She stumbled for a bit and shook her head to clear it.

  "Hey!" Somebody called out.

  Kaja looked up to see Ramis waving at them from in front of the StarHawk. He was not alone. Artos and Portos stood by him and they were carrying a very injured Blazecorra Kuto.

  "What the heck happened?" Kaja asked as she ran towards him.

  Artos and Portos exchanged a look. "Honestly, we're not so sure ourselves." Artos said. "We were fighting that armored man again, but then Blaze over here changed into… something. That was the last we saw of him. Until the priestess brought him here."

  "Where is the Priestess now?" Hanzo asked.

  Artos looked guilty. "She ran off," he said.

  Hanzo frowned, "Ran off?"

  "She said she had to go back for Ben Wilson."

  Portos shook his head disapprovingly and said, "If you ask me, she's not the best at decision making."

  Artos spoke to Hanzo, "Your daughter went with her," he said. "We tried to stop her too. She was heavily injured."

  Hanzo thought for a while, then said, "If my daughter is with her, then the Priestess will be fine."

  Artos looked taken aback. "I said your daughter was heavily injured." He repeated.

  "Not heavily injured enough to stop her going after the Priestess. They will be fine," Hanzo said.

  "I thought you were sworn to protect the Priestess or something," Ramis said.

  "I have more than one employer."

  Now that was intriguing. But Hanzo did not give them a chance to ask further questions.

  "Where are the others?" He asked.

  "They made their way to their own ship," Artos reported.

  "Good," Hanzo said. He turned to Kaja "How much time do we have left?" He asked.

  "Maybe 10 minutes," she replied.

  "Everyone get on the ship," Hanzo commanded.

  They obeyed, carrying Blaze's body with them. Kaja dashed to the cockpit. Hanzo sat opposite her.

  "Activating shields," Kaja said. "We're going to need them when we get spat out of jumpspace." She placed the Master Cube on her dashboard and tapped it. It made a beeping sound and holographic controls popped up.

  Kaja looked at Hanzo. "As soon as we exit jumpspace, the freighter's shields will fail. That's when we'll exit the bay."

  Hanzo nodded.

  "Let’s do this," Kaja said as Ramis entered the cockpit.

  "Kaja?" he said. There was a worried tone in his voice. He pointed through the windshield, to the StarHawk's left. A group of furious looking crew men had stomped onto the deck. They were carrying an assortment of blaster rifles and a dangerous-looking plasma cannon. The cannon was so large that it had to be carried by four men. They placed it down and turned it on the StarHawk.

  "This was to be expected," Hanzo said calmly.

  "Huh?" Kaja and Ramis said together.

  Hanzo turned to look at them.

  "Their lives will end if they stay on this freighter and our ships are the only ones capable of escaping. I'm surprised they didn't attack earlier."

  The cannon began to charge, an ominous purple light pulsating in its barrel.

  "Can the shields take that?" Ramis asked.

  Kaja had the same question.

  "We're about to find out," she responded.