“We’ve arrived at Sol Narena, Imperator Tam.” The voice buzzed from the intercom as Rixie sat on the edge of her bed, lacing up her boots. “Your shuttle to the planet’s surface is primed in Hangar Six.” 

“Acknowledged.” Rixie muttered and stood, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, Alex seated on the other.

“I suppose you’re going to leave me with Izzy and Lauryna again aren’t you?” Alex sighed. 

“It wasn’t really that bad was it?” Rixie asked with an amused smirk on her face. 

“Well, no… I mean who wouldn’t want to hang with two beautiful women? And the movie we watched was pretty good, even if it was nine hours long.” 

“Well, I’m glad you had fun… But it looks like you’re going to have to come with this time.” Rixie sighed as she stepped into the corridor. 

Alex gaped at her for a moment. “…I am?” 

Rixie nodded. “Yeah. I don’t like it, but I was informed that the Gyfjon is being called away to assist with a green-level emergency on Navyenev. Since they don’t know exactly how long dealing with that will take they can’t be sure if the Gyfjon or one of her sister ships will be the ones to help us complete this mission. So… I have to take you to the surface. Unless you’d rather live with Crewmate Gwenn and Izzy?” 

“Definitely not.” Alex shook his head and laughed. “I mean Lauryna was okay but Izzy was… A Lion’s fan!” The human shuddered dramatically. 

Rixie chuckled and quickly traversed through the corridors of the ship until she reached the hangars. The doors opened to reveal the massive landing bays, which was the biggest room Alex had seen since 
leaving Titan Station. Of course, he was far more concerned with the sleek silver and gold shuttle craft lined in neat rows. 

“Wow…” he muttered to himself. 

“Are we all set Decanus?” Rixie asked of the young pilot who was going down the preflight checklist with practiced efficiency. 

“Aye aye, Imperator.” The young brunette woman stood straight and saluted, which Rixie returned casually. “Decanus Tazha Secmesel, at your service.” 

Rixie nodded. “How soon can we be underway?” 

“Within a few minutes.” The young woman replied with a grin. “I was just performing the final run-through inspection now.” 

Rixie smiled, impressed. “Excellent. Is Imperator Nix around?” 

“Right here Rixie.” Vanser appeared in the doorframe leading in to the shuttle. “I’ve contacted the local law enforcement, they’ll have a few officers waiting to act as our backup, and they’ve sent me the data they’ve collected on recent disturbances that match our target’s PCMs.” 

Rixie smiled and nodded. “Good. Glad to see they’re on top of this, I was worried they’d give us the brush off. Wouldn’t be the first time, after all.” 

“No, the officer I spoke to seemed to be a good man. He said they’d been keeping tabs on our boys since they were caught on surveillance casing some warehouse. They’re just waiting to see if they make a move now.” 

Rixie nodded and smiled. “Well, if we hurry maybe we can lend them a hand.” 

“We’re all set to fly, Imperators.” Decanus Secmesel informed them, leaning out of the hatch that led into the shuttle. 

“Good. Let’s be off then.” Rixie said, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder and carrying it up the boarding ramp. 

“Yes ma’am.” Tazha responded brightly, ducking back into the shuttle and bounding into the pilot chair. In the seat next to her was a handsome young man with dirty blonde hair and green eyes that looked to be still fresh from the academy. 

“Imperators, my co-pilot and navigator- Junior Crewmate Oed Belfsec.” 

“Welcome aboard.” The young man intoned, rising to attention and giving them a crisp salute.

“At ease, soldier.” Vanser said casually as he plopped into one of the passenger chairs. “Let’s just be on our way, shall we?” 

Rixie nodded a greeting to the crewmate and sat down in the other passenger seat, careful not to dislodge Alex from his perch on her shoulder.

“Yes sir.” The Crewmate sat down again and spun his chair to face the workstation. 

“Okay Oeddy,” Tazha said as her hands flew across the controls. “I’ve just received disembarkation orders from Control. Get us in position.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

There was a small lurch as the magnetic couplings disengaged from the shuttle and it slowly rose. For a moment the passengers felt a bit of weightlessness until the gravity simulators reengaged. Alex watched in fascination as the shuttle bay was cleared of all crew. 

For the next few minutes, Oed and Tazha carefully maneuvered their shuttle into the launch strip, while massive metal walls closed around them, isolating them from the rest of the bay to minimize the amount of air lost during launch. Soon the only thing they could see were the massive bay doors ahead. 

There was a whooshing sound as the air around the ship was pumped out of the launch tube and back into the ship. 

Next, a new warning alarm sounded and- before their very eyes- the massive shuttle bay doors slowly yawned open, ripping away what little atmosphere remained outside in an instant. 

“Hold on…” Tazha muttered, as she slowly dialed up the throttle on the ship. There was another lurch as the craft began moving, but then a second later they were clear of the shuttle, and the ship, and floating out in the vast emptiness of space. 

Alex looked out the porthole window with a look of pure excitement on his face. Even after all this time he could hardly believe it. He was out in space. 

Amazing. 

Rixie plucked him from her shoulder and set him on the ledge of the window, where he immediately pressed his hands against the glass- or whatever it was- in an effort to see as much as he could. 

She smiled softly at the pure joy he was exhibiting. Rixie had grown a little jaded by space travel over the years, but it was rather easy to see the wonder of it through Alex’s eyes. 

The view suddenly tilted as the ship turned and the light blue and green globe that was Narena Colony appeared in their view. 

“Hang on sirs,” Tazha called over her shoulder excitedly. “We’ll have you down on the colony before you know it.” 

The view outside tilted wildly as the nose of the ship was angled towards the planet. Of course, those inside the ship felt nothing due to inertial dampers. 

“Entering atmosphere in 3…2…1…” Belfsec intoned as his hands flew across the control panel. 

“Sending tones to ground control, requesting landing permission.” Tazha responded automatically. “Response received, inputting coordinates… now.” 

There was a shudder as the ship entered the atmosphere. After a few minutes of turbulence, they broke through into the blue skies of the planet. 

“Coming in for a landing.” 

There was a slight swooping sensation in the pit of Rixie’s stomach, followed by a thud that jostled the ship as the shuttle came in for a landing on the pad. 

“There we are.” Tazha said happily as the doors to the craft slowly opened with a hiss. 

“Thank you Ms. Secmesel, Mr. Belfsec.” Rixie said as she stood and stretched before scooping Alex back onto her shoulder. 

“Not a problem Ma’am.” 

Rixie and Vanser stepped onto the metal deck plate of the landing pad. After a moment for their vision to clear from the harsh daylight, they looked around at the people milling about. 

“Our contact with the local law enforcement should be here.” Vanser muttered. 

“There.” Rixie indicated with a nod of her head. Approaching them was a group of three Titans in law enforcement uniforms who were quickly converging on their position. 

“Officer Maltak?” Vanser asked gripping wrists with the wiry young man who led the group. 

“Quayden Maltak Reporting in, Imperator Nix, sir.” The young officer said with a grin, his perfectly white smile all the more striking due to his dark skin. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his close-cropped blonde hair before during to introduce his squad mates who were waiting patiently at parade-rest. 

“I’d like to introduce Szalin Dyarnis” Maltalk indicated the other young man, a barrel chested man with very little neck and a shaved head, who Alex thought would look more than at-home on a scrimmage line.

“And Paxa Jani.” The final member of the squad was a short but athletically built young woman with chin length blonde hair and pink colored eyes. “We’re your local support.” 

“Glad to have you.” Rixie spoke up, clasping wrists with Quayden. “I’m Legatus-Imperator Rixie Tam, and you have already met Imperator Vanser Nix.” 

“Of course.” Maltak nodded. “If you’ll come with me, we can brief you on what we think we’ve found out about your fugitives…” 

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Izzy sat on the spacious pillow cushion atop the sofa as she lazily watched the broadcast on the screen before her. Lauryna was idly mulling about her quarters and chatted with her cabin-mate distractedly. 

“You glad to be one human ward less now, Laur?” Izzy supported her head on her hand while laying on her stomach. 

“One down one to go right?” Jr Crewmate Gwenn teased. “Izzy you just watched a nine hour movie; how can you still sit there with your eyes glued to that screen?” 

“I have the stamina of a bull!” Izzy joked as she rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling, far above her. 

“Those two really were a cute little couple though eh? Did you see the way Imperator Tam looked at him? And the look in his eyes when she came to pick him up? Emperor’s teeth they are so adorable!” Lauryna swooned as she flopped down on the couch next to Izzy. The weight from her impact drawing Izzy in and causing her to roll off her pillow and land wedged between the sofa and Lauryna’s thigh. 

“They’re not a couple.” Izzy muttered as she wiggled to free herself. 

“Oh they so are!” Lauryna gently gripped her friend by the waist and set Izzy on her thigh. “And a cute one too!”

“I lived with one of you gigantoids for a long time, and she never thought of people like that. Why would a bombshell like Imperator Tam fall in love with a goofy cheesehead like Alex?” Izzy asked, only half serious. 

“Well whether you believe it or not Iz, we are not all the same. Some Titans happen to find humans attractive…just like some Titans fall in love with Dunnermac…or Ler. Gender, race- it makes no difference. Love is love” Lauryna gushed with an adoring expression as she sunk back into the couch. 

Izzy stumbled and rolled off Lauryna’s lap landing between her thighs. “It’s strange… that’s what it is!” Izzy groaned as she crawled back onto Lauryna’s lap. 

“Why is it strange?” Lauryna peeked down with interest. “If you found a Titan and you fell in love with them, wouldn’t you just be happy you found somebody to love? Does anything else really matter?”

“Yes…. no… well I don’t know I just never… but I mean how does it even work…I mean the sixty-nine just don’t match….”

“The what?” Lauryna looked down perplexed. 

“The parts, Laur.” Izzy explained, demonstrating her meaning with hand gestures. “How does that work? …And I mean, how can you really be in a relationship with someone so different? How could there be an equal distribution of power?” Izzy asked as she finally pulled herself out from between her roommate’s thighs.

“I don’t know…and I suppose you just have to be…creative.” Lauryna spoke, suddenly feeling more sure of herself. 

“Creative?” Izzy repeated as she sat down. 

“Exactly. Creative. Besides, love conquers all…at least that is what they say right?” Lauryna peeked down at Izzy questioningly 


“No… That’s just silly. I still say it wouldn’t work. Alex can’t really be free to get angry with her…how do you argue with your girlfriend when you’re smaller than her finger?” Izzy grinned. 

“You argue with me all the time.” Lauryna returned Izzy’s grin. 

“Ok we don’t count. We’re not lovers. But also, how can Alex make any decisions, can’t Rixie just do what she wants regardless of what Alex wants? How is that an equal partnership?” Izzy snapped with confidence. 

“I don’t know…we make most decisions regarding room decor together…and when you wanted the couch on this side of the room to be closer to the window I went along…even though It looks tacky and it doesn’t fit right next to the….”

“Whatever! We don’t count! We are not lovers!” Izzy sighed. “Look… Ok what if Rixie meets someone else her own size then what, hmm?”

“Well that happens to same size couples too. What if ALEX finds someone else?”

“Ok, well still… she could hurt him… she’s big and he isn’t and it would be very hard to be careful all the time!”

“Like your friend Eyrn was for most of her life?”

Izzy opened her mouth to reply, and then closed it with a snap, her brow knit in confusion. “Well, that’s… I mean…how can you properly argue with a gigantoid?! You’d be afraid to speak your mind!”

“You mean like you’re doing, right now?” Lauryna giggled. 

“…still strange…parts don’t match up!” Izzy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest sulkily. 

“Somehow I don’t think that bothers Alex Iz!” Lauryna laughed and stuck her tongue out. 

“…I suppose it wouldn’t, would it?

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rixie cut a path through the crowd around them.

Alex was fascinated as Titans moved around her on either side. This was the first time he’d ever been in an actual Titan city and the sheer amount of giant bodies threatened to overwhelm him. 

Fortunately, Rixie’s familiar gait and the solid flesh of her shoulder underneath him served as an anchor. 

She’d decided to step outside, into the city proper to do a little reconnaissance of the area. And to stretch her legs. The briefing they’d been given had been interesting, and informative. Local surveillance cameras had caught a pair of figures matching the descriptions of their two male fugitives. The two men had appeared to be “casing” a local supply warehouse. 

So Rixie felt the need to check out the area herself.

It was at this point that Alex noticed that something was off about his titan companion. Her posture was stiff and she seemed unusually wary. It wasn’t the type of wary that he would have expected from her, being on a mission… this was different; he just couldn’t put his finger on why. 

“Rix… Are you okay?” 

“They’re staring at me.” She muttered out of the corner of her mouth. 

“Who?” 

“Everybody.” 

At first, Alex figured she was just being paranoid…. But then he watched people as they passed her. And… she was right. As they walked down the street a number of people glanced at her and then quickly looked away, as if they were embarrassed by looking. 

One kid openly stared at her, his gaze following her as she walked in front of him. 

“You are really tall… maybe that’s it?” 

The braids hanging next to him rustled as she shook her head. “That’s not it.” 

“Maybe they’ve never seen an Imperator before?” 

“No.” The Titaness sighed. “I’m out of uniform.” 

“Oh. Right.” Alex paused and ran his fingers through his hair in thought. “Maybe they think you’re sexy.” 

That got a small laugh out of her, but she shook her head again. “No, that’s not the issue either.” 

“Then what’s the problem Rix?” 

“My hair Alex.” Rixie’s fingers gripped one of her braids and tugged on it gently. 

“I… I don’t get it. What’s wrong with having braids?” 

Rixie sighed again. “This isn’t a good place to talk about it. Hold on.” Rixie’s eyes swept the area and she spotted a secluded outdoor table that was just off the sidewalk. She quickly made her way across the street, her long legs carrying her there in mere moments. 

She sat on the table’s bench and gathered Alex into her hand, depositing him on the table in front of her. 

“Okay, so what’s the deal with your braids?” Alex asked, sitting down on the tabletop and leaning back so he could see her face better. 

Rixie fingered one of the braids self-consciously. “Well, by wearing my hair this way, it’s a pretty clear indicator to people that I’m Jotunn.” 

“A what?” 

“A member of the Jotnar race of Titans.”

“I thought you were a Hoplite?”

Rixie chuckled and rolled her eyes. “I am. Jotunn is the culture of my birth. My parents were Jotnar, but as an orphan I was raised by the Hoplites.” 

“I thought you didn’t know who your parents were?” 

“I don’t.” Rixie shrugged. “But I was found on Jutuneim, which is the home world… for lack of a better term… of the Jotunn.” 

Alex rubbed his forehead. “Okay, every answer is just bringing up two more questions, so let’s back up a second. Who are the Jotunn and why are people giving you the fish eye for being one?” 

Despite herself Rixie chuckled sympathetically at Alex’s frustration. “Sorry, sometimes I forget that being from outside the Empire, there are things that aren’t as obvious to you as they are to me. This is going to require a little history, but here’s the short version.” 

She sat back and took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. 

“Jotun are a culture of Titans that, until fairly recently, resisted integration with the rest of Archavia and the Empire.” 

“So they were Separatist?” 

“Basically. They have their own language, writing system, and culture, and for a while considered themselves a separate nation from the rest of the Empire. There’s a long and somewhat rocky history between Jutuneim and Archavia, and despite the fact that the Jotunn Queen is now Empress Consort, there continues to be a lot of… mistrust of Jotunn by your average Archavian. 

“Are they afraid you’re going to take their jobs?” 

“What?” 

“Nevermind. Bad joke. So your braids… They’re a cultural thing?” 

“Yes. Jotunn often wear their hair in braids like mine. Admittedly, not quite as many as I do, but when I was younger it was a way to assert my Jotun identity. I figured if people were going to look down on me for being Jotunn…” 

“Then you might as well be really Jotunn?” 

“Yeah. I grew out of it for the most part as I got older. At least I don’t wear the blue face paint …anymore.” 

“Blue face pai-? Okay filing that away for later discussion…” Alex muttered distractedly. “Have you been back to this… this yoda-home place?”

“Jutuneim.” Rixie corrected with a laugh. “And no, I haven’t. I’m… kind of afraid to.” 

“I think you should, Rix.” Alex said softly. “I think you need to see the place you came from, at least once.” 

“Well… maybe. We’ll see what happens.” Rixie muttered evasively. 

“Uh huh.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Don’t think I won’t bring this up again. I will.” 

“I don’t doubt it.” Rixie chuckled, and shook her head. “Come on, I need to meet back up with Vanser.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

Taron was sweating profusely. 

It had been a few hours since Dr. Selil had injected Zara and himself with her experimental vaccine. The hope was that it would prove effective at neutralizing the disease in Titans so that they might be able to freely move about Atlantis and Avalon without fear of spreading the plague beyond the city. 

At first, everything had been fine… then their temperatures began to rise as their bodies reacted to the presence of the serum. 

Now it felt like they were on fire. 

Dr. Selil, however, considered this a good sign. Their bodies were reacting as if they were sick, therefore they would hopefully begin producing antibodies soon. 

“It’s not an ideal situation.” She told Pryvani as the two of them and Brinn observed the test subject’s reaction. “A side effect like this would be terrible for mass consumption. Normally this would only be a phase in the progress… but we don’t have months in which to conduct proper research and testing.” 

“No, we definitely do not.” Pryvani sighed. “Tell me doctor, could this possibly lead to a cure?” 

The young researcher chewed her lip pensively. “It’s possible. But I don’t want to get your hopes up, Miss Tarsuss.” 

Zara watched through bleary eyes as Brinn stepped over to their beds and began mopping their brows with a cool, wet washcloth. 

“You’re doing wonderfully.” The young veterinarian whispered to them soothingly. “Dr. Selil says that this should pass soon. Just hang in there.” She gently reached a hand out to each of them and pressed it against the sides of their faces. Her skin felt cool and dry. 

“Is this how you treat all of your patients, Doctor?” Zara muttered distractedly. 

“Only the ones that haven’t tried to bite me.” Brinn retorted with a grin. 

“Yeah well, don’t you dare offer me a cookie after this.” Zara said with a strained smile. “Or I might bite you after all.” 

“How much longer is this supposed to last?” Taron asked, breathing heavily. 

“I can’t say for sure. Kharee is hoping for no more than another hour or so. Hopefully by then your fevers will have broken.” 

“Okay.” Taron nodded. “I can handle that. …I think….”

Brinn nodded and stepped over to the small enclosure where Sophia’s bed was kept. 

“And how is my favorite little lady doing?” Brinn whispered brightly, bending down to peer through the glass at Sophia. 

“Brinn?” The little woman asked. “Is… is that you?” 

“Of course. Who else would it be?” 

“Why are the lights down so low?” Sophia muttered. “I can barely see anything. Turn on a lamp or something…” 

Brinn’s eyes widened and she glanced up at the ceiling light above them, which was definitely on. 

“Oh no…”