Dhanyalle pressed his forehead against the iron bars that imprisoned him. The irony of his present situation had not escaped him; here he was, in the company of his own kind, in one of the only bastions of freedom and safety for humankind in the Empire, the great city of Atlantis, on the much-desired world of Avalon…and he was locked in a cage.

“You know,” Dhan said to any of the three officers occupying themselves outside his holding cell, “for all their transgressions, the Titans never made me sleep in such an uncomfortable bed.” Dhan chuffed, then peeked over to the small, prison-grade sleeping arrangements, which sat across the cell from his open concept-bathroom, and finally the cold steel bench he was given to sit on.

Aside from a disinterested laugh from one particular officer, he was offered no reply.

“Come to think of it, I don’t remember the last time I was put in a cage. I wonder, is this how Atlantaeans generally treat their guests?” The hum of the prison’s exhaust and air purification system was the only reply this time.

“It’s a wonder the lot of you managed to evolve past smashing beasts over the head with rocks for your supper!” Dhan shouted, his patience eroded down to a smooth nub. Hie grasped two bars and begin to shake them in frustration, causing the cell door to rattle in its pace.

The three officers retained their calm, the one sitting nearest to the holding cell hovered her hand over a small black button, and eyed the rowdy prisoner with a tired look.

Dhan’s eyes went wide, and he quickly released his hands from the bars, and rubbed them together, as though the very memory of the sharp stinging electronic disturbance deterrent system was enough to sedate his rage.

“The security guard is finished giving her statement, you want I should take his side down? Or would you care to wipe your slate clean of one you owe me, and do it in my place?” A dark-haired male guard with a differently colored uniform approached the seated female officer, and glancing with a lingering look over the the prisoner.

The brunette seated at the desk finished jotting something down, then let out a long sigh and looked up to her male counterpart. “Owe you what? Is your memory that short Gert? If we’re still keeping tabs, then you owe me ten to my one!”

Gert winced then grinned coyly. “Oh, it’s hardly that much?” The man said, not quite sure himself, but hoping she was off.

“You’re right.” The seated officer said passively. “Likely closer to twenty…I stopped counting.”

Gert laughed, taking a seat across the desk from the other officer. “The little yark still running off at the mouth then?”

“I have a gorram name you know! Don’t think I’m not familiar with your primitive vernacular! I know what a ‘yark’ is!” Dhan shot back, though with much less fight in his voice, and without touching the cell bars.

“Does that answer your question?” The brunette sighed.

Gert nodded. “Third night this week we’ve had to stay late, it ain’t right. Extra pay ain’t worth missing my kids grow up.” The man said with a tired groan.

“I’ve learned not to complain. Besides, these sorts are dodo’s compared to the cultists and insurgents, I’ll take the rambling fool over those sorts any day.” The female officer slapped a few papers onto a pile then stood up. “Anyhow, it’s nothing that can’t wait until morning. Is the Tram Company filing trespassing charges?”

Gert shook his head. “The security guard isn’t either.”

“Charges?! That meat faced mammoth tackled me to the ground and nearly broke my arm! I should be so kind as to not press charges on her! Gorram you ignorant savages listen to me!” Dhan yelled, slamming his hand against the bars, then quickly regretted decision as the female guard followed through with her previous threat, sending thirty thousand volts through the irate prisoner’s body.

The result was akin to being hit by a taser. Dhan crumpled to the cold stone floor and convulsed a few times as the pain worked its way through his body.

“Come on, well give him a night to cool off and get his side in the morning.” The brunette said, watching the prisoner idly as she spoke to her companion.

Gert winced once more and nodded. “Remind me not to get on your bad side Irma.”

Irma shrugged, “Hard enough getting paper work done, without some slag screaming obscenities in my ear for three hours!”

“You can’t just leave me here.” Dhan whimpered. “I have rights, you can’t just keep me here.”

Both officers chuckled as they made their way to the door, where the third was standing keeping watch. “We can keep you here as long as it takes. For such a self-professed genius, you don’t seem very well studied on Avalonean law. Until your case has been settled by either a judge, or a commissioned officer, we can keep you here as a service to public safety as long as we deem it the safest course of action.”

Irma turned back and grinned smartish at the prone inmate. “Can’t have ignorant savages roaming the street.” With that, she turned the lights out and left.

***

Brinn paced back and forth with long heavy strides, the way one would when they had an incredible length to travel, but nowhere in particular to go. Her brow furrowed. She had so much to say, but stumbled over each word and held herself back from saying anything too harsh.

“Brinn, he asked me to leave, what else was I to do?” Taron stood in the archway that separated the cabin from the storage room, his soothing voice attempting to bring a level head to the situation.

“Oh, I don’t know…stay?” Brinn made another round, then began to furiously look around for something. What that thing was, she wasn’t quite sure.

“He didn’t want me hanging around like a third wheel! He’s a grown man, if he wanted to do the interview alone, we have to respect that.” Taron shrugged, attempting to gauge Brinn’s approachability factor before making an attempt to engage her head on.

“I…you…do you have any idea…? That is the most ridiculous thing…” Brinn Pria took a few calming breaths and went on, with a much more level tone. “Do you have any idea what Rixie will do to all of us when she finds out we left her Alex with some stranger on a space station in the middle of nowhere?”

Taron rolled his eyes and shook his head. “She’d likely have us all for breakfast…but give me a bit of credit here, Brinn. We did a background check on this woman long before we ever left Tayas Mons. Rixie wouldn’t have allowed this whole thing to happen in the first place if she didn’t think Loona Armac was trustworthy.” Taron smiled roguishly, “And I wouldn’t have left him alone with her if I didn’t know that Rixie knew that we could trust her. So, don’t worry, Alex is going to be fine!”

Brinn opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by a small irate voice from down near the table close to her pacing trench. “Do you know how condescending you both sound?” Sophia spoke up, arms crossed over her chest.

Both titans looked suddenly to the tiny presence they had almost forgotten was listening in.

“What are you talking about?” Brinn shook her head, and adjusted her posture

“Just listen to yourselves! One of you is having a tantrum because Alex made a decision on his own, and the other is talking about background checks and nannying every decision Alex makes, like you’re all some sort of babysitters’ club making sure Alex doesn’t fumble his way into trouble!” Sophia huffed and shook her head. “It’s absurd.”

Taron was quiet for a moment, but spoke up before Brinn, “Well, we had to know if it was safe….”

Sophia cut Taron off, “Did it ever occur to either of you that Alex is more than capable of discerning that for himself? He knows how to use a data terminal, you know. You’re both treating him like a child. Alex arranged his own preparations for this trip, corresponded back and forth with Tannhauser on his own, and preformed his own background check weeks ago before he even agreed to speak with Loona Armac. He never had any intention of allowing either of you to babysit him…honestly I wish he knew about this asinine argument, because it’d be ironic considering he is speaking to Loona Armac about his experience living with titans as an equal!” Sophia took a moment to compose herself, before continuing. “This is exactly why Alex didn’t want to tell you anything, because he knew you would all do this. Sometimes you guys…sometimes I just don’t know…”

Taron and Brinn both eyed one another; there was an uncomfortable silence in the room that was broken when Zara cleared her throat from the adjacent door arc. “I made tea…if anybody wants some?” Zara smiled weakly, hoping to break the tension that had reached its crescendo.

“Yea, I could go for a cup actually.” Sophia said, over the still silence, and waited patiently for Zara to collect her and carry her into the crew lounge.

Zara made her exit quietly, with Sophia in hand, leaving Brinn and Taron alone with one another.

“We kinda blew that one, didn’t we?” Taron bit first.

Brinn nodded. “Old habits die hard, I guess,”the good doctor said with a sigh.

“Precious Cargo’s got a good head on his shoulders…he’d be the last one to put himself in a situation he didn’t think he could get out of, right?” Taron smiled weakly.

“Yeah…yeah you’re right. Maybe we did overreact, hells, we’re acting worse than Rixie trying to delay departure, aren’t we?” Brinn grimaced.

“Let’s go get some tea and relax.” Taron motioned for Brinn to go before him.

“That sounds like a good idea!” Brinn nodded.

Meanwhile across the ship, Sophia was already enjoying the first few sips of her cup, while Zara sat, legs crossed drinking hers.

“You alright?” Asked Zara, puckering her lips at the tartness of the tea.

Sophia nodded. “Yup.”

Zara set her cup down and uncrossed her legs, leaning in a little. “They’ll be fine, don’t worry. They’re thick-skinned.” Zara took another drink from her mug.

Sophia shook her head and hid a smile. “You all are, Besides, if you think that was bad, wait until Alex calls and tells them he won’t be returning with us. Then there’ll be a show!”

Zara’s eyes went wide and she nearly spat her tea across the table. “Say what?!”

Sophia smiled coyly, and took another drink from her mug. “Alex has a ride home all set up. He’s decided to take the long way around.” Sophia ran her finger along the rim of her mug. “Which is to say, I don’t know that he wants to spend three days with the lot of you on a trip to Grelau and has found a faster ride home with a friend.” Sophia shrugged. “But don’t worry, he’d never abandon me to be the messenger, he’ll call,” Sophia sipped her tea,”he’d better…”

Zara caught the dribble of tea running down her chin and ran her sleeve over her mouth and the table where she had rained her tea down upon. Her eyes never left the calm, collected human on the table. “Gorram…this isn’t going to go over well with the others…” Zara slumped back in her chair. Brinn was likely to have a fit. But then, that would be nothing next to Rixie’s reaction.

Sophia smiled and continued drinking her tea

***

“Alex, I want to go back to your first impression, what it was like adjusting to such a different way of life.” Loona asked, crossing her hands over her lap.

“Sure, no problem.” Alex shrugged. He had just recanted everything he could remember about his experience thus far, from his last few memories on earth that fateful day, to just a few months before Loona contacted him, and his experience starting a business on an alien world. Alex wasn’t one to toot his own horn, but there was a lot to say, and the more questions Loona asked, the more buried memories he found to dig out and talk about.

Time was funny that way, the longer he lived, the more experiences he had to cram into one small human body, the easier it was to forget.

“Initially, what do you recall being the largest hurdle to overcome? Alien world, vastly larger species, technological leap, language barrier?” Loona maintained eye contact, religiously so.

Which was kind of creepy, even if just a little.

“Oh without a doubt it was the size difference, I mean, giant aliens…that takes some getting used to.” Alex shrugged, all things considered, he had been fortunate enough to end up in the possession of a certain Imperator.

“Do you think the status of humanity within the Empire was made more or less difficult to swallow because of the difference in size that exists between Titans and Humans?” Loona narrowed her brow and leaned in a little, her arms crossed over the table, she made eye contact with Alex, then returned her glance to the Data pad in front of her.

Alex thought for a moment, it wasn’t something he put a whole lot of thought into. “Well, it left very little room to argue, I mean when you wake up in the hands of a beautiful woman the size of an apartment complex, I guess your gut reaction is to do whatever she says?” Alex chuckled. “But what are you asking exactly? Does it justify it? No. Does it make it easier to accept? Not at all, would it be any less of an outrage if our species were the same size? I don’t know…I suppose on some primal Darwinian level it makes more sense, survival of the largest…but on a moral level, I don’t think it should matter.”

Loona was silent, contemplative, thoughtful, she took a moment to scribble something onto her pad, then looked to Alex with a long gaze. “Alex, would you consider yourself a free man?”

“Yes, as free as can be.”

“So, you don’t feel at all trapped in your relationship with Magister-Imperator Tam?” Loona asked pensively.

Alex shook his head. “No, definitely not.”

“So, if you wanted to leave, at any time, you could?” Loona’s voice took on a slightly antagonistic tone.

“Of course, though for the record, I’d be a fool…I mean, you’ve met Rixie…right?” Alex grinned, Rixie was hot, and he was definitely not afraid to boast about that.

Loona chuckled, though it was a polite, cordial one. “Alex, I struggle with something, help me to understand as best you can, how exactly the power dynamic in your relationship works? Clearly Magister-Imperator Tam….”

“Gah, I can practically feel her cringing from Avalon, just call her Rixie…please…” Alex winced.

“Clearly Rixie holds the balance of power in your relationship. How are the two of you able to function as a healthy couple given the incredible hurdle you both face?”

“Hurdle? Could you be more specific?” Alex was quite aware of the direction Loona was headed, but decided he wanted her to outright ask, as bluntly as possible.

Loona took a breath. “How do the two of you carry on a proper relationship give the incredible differences, both anatomically and physiological, that exist between titans and humans? How do you reconcile these difference, when clearly one partner holds the balance of power?”

“So, are you asking how we fuck?” Alex raised a brow.

“No.” Loona replied dryly. “I’m aware…in detail…how that particular dance works.” Loona rubbed her temples with her thumb and index finger. Naskia Bass had loose lips when inebriated and had explained it in length. “I’ll be blunt, how do the two of you carry on a normal relationship given how different you both are. Humans age much quicker, are incredibly small, have a different circadian rhythm…to start the list off…”

Alex shrugged. “That’s simple…we don’t.”

“Beg pardon?” Loona tilted her head.

“You asked how we carry on a normal relationship…we don’t. Rixie and I are hardly normal, we stopped trying a long time ago.” Alex smiled despite of himself. “We fight, just like everybody else, we laugh, we cry, there are good times, and bad. This hasn’t just been a learning experience for me you know, Rixie has had to adapt to a total paradigm shift. Her whole life she thought one way, then I came along and shook her world.”

“Did you have a hard time convincing Rixie you were an intelligent individual? ” Loona asked, her eyes searching Alex, hunting for the sub text to what he was saying.

Alex shook his head. “No. She tried to go into ‘owner’ mode early on, but her heart was never in it. Honestly, Rixie was fairly liberal to begin with. It doesn’t take much to convince a sharp mind. But you’d know that, wouldn’t you?”

Loona seemed taken aback. “Well, I’m ashamed to admit, I needed a little more convincing than it rightfully should have taken. But I understand your point. The sand castle falls easily with a strong westward breeze.”

“I think the biggest struggle wasn’t convincing Rixie I was intelligent, but convincing her I didn’t need protecting…even though sometimes I did.” Alex smiled, wistfully.

“That’s the problem with co-existence, it’s not an easy issue to tackle. Alex, do you think equality is realistic? True equality?”

Alex was silent, that was not an easy question. “Had you asked me a year back, I may have told you isolation and non-interference was the best solution. Avalon only began to thrive once Titans gave way to human control. But…I don’t know…Loona it’s a big universe.”

Loona tilted her head.

“The individual Titan I think, is quite a reasonable animal. If you present them with facts, hard evidence and make your case, your average titan will strive to do what is best, will want take the moral high road. Where we have issue I think, is with the Empire as an entity. The creature that is the Titan Empire is a corrupt, slow moving mass that is very reluctant to change. There is so much muck and grime clogging the gears…humanity is patient Loona, but not eternally.” Alex took a breath and searched for Loona’s eyes. “I’m afraid of what will happen Loona, when humanity spreads its wings, when the two meet, if the Empire is not ready…well…my boss has said before…the Empire’s enemies are forming a line…and Humanity on its own….”

Alex paused, something was off. Loona was silently listening, as if enthralled with his every word. They were alone, yet Alex could hear something, faint but growing louder and more persistent. It took a moment, but his eyes scoured the area, until they landed in the direction of the table’s edge, a long plummet leading to Loona’s lap.

“Excuse me…but am I losing my mind, or do you hear that too?”

Loona was initially dismissive, but once Alex had brought it to her attention, it became all that much harder to remain ignorant. She focused, and soon she could hear what Alex did, something that sounded desperate, almost panicked.

“Come to think of it, I do.” Loona looked around, following the source of the panicked screaming until it lead her to her small briefcase resting carefully on her lap. It was a quarter of the size of what would traditionally be used to carry business supplies, but then again with such technology, there was a lot less to carry around. Loona’s briefcase consisted of a small leather purse like bag, with three compartments and a zipper in the middle.

“I think it’s coming from there?” Alex stated the obvious, as Loona set the bag on the table top between them both. Alex pointed to a side compartment, the sound was now clearly a voice and was made louder as the bag was lifted closer.

“Yea, I definitely hear that.” Loona said, carefully turning the bag round to see the compartment in question, and opening it carefully, with out hesitation.

“Air…I can’t breath!” A slightly relieved, worked up little human voice cried form the depth of the compartment upon its opening.

“Nonah?” Loona said, not quite as surprised as Alex looked.

“I had no idea how hard it was to breath in there, god its all muggy and stale like the inside of a sock or something…don’t ask me how I know what that’s like ok…” A little blond human clawed her way out of the bag, with no assistance from a very irate looking Loona, until it appeared that she was struggling, then a helpful, yet grumpy hand was offered in assistance. “Hi!” In a voice that was immediately confident with equal parts determination the little blond waved down to Alex, ignoring the sour glare from the titan above.

“Arn’t you supposed to be with Naskia?” Loona asked, attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice.

“I’m Nonah, its nice to finally meet you!” The excited blond made her way down off her accomplice’s hand and approached the confused earthling on the counter top, once she had reached him, she extended her hand, earth style, to shake his. She took only a half second mid hand shake to adjust her hair a little, but otherwise she looked stunning, as always.

“I…um…yea…same…Alex…” Alex smiled at last. He was no stranger, no stranger at all to stowaway hand-bag travel, Alex took her hand and shook it firmly. “How was your trip?”

(Special thanks to D.X for the edit)