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Prologue.

Part, the First.

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The South Main Hospital on Terra Ventris was unremarkable as far as hospitals go. Established almost fifty years ago, with reasonably proficient doctors within its walls and an average record, it was a respectable establishment, well equipped to carry out its duties.

Unfortunately, it still had its fair share of problems, the most paramount being the quality of its coffee. Piper wasn't certain how, but the odor of antiseptic, a standard to hospitals everywhere, had managed to permeate through even the coffee machines, resulting in coffee that smelled, and slightly tasted, of rubbing alcohol.

But she was being distracted. There were more pressing matters at hand...

"So you're basically saying he dropped out of the sky?"

Piper nodded silently. The mug of aforementioned coffee, despite its shortcomings, exuded a warmth she was grateful for, and she took a long swig, the hot liquid spilling down her throat. After spending almost the whole evening in the hospital, the caffeine was a most welcome reward, especially now, with the clock drawing close to two in the morning.

Starling shook her head. "That's too far-fetched. Are you sure he didn't fall off a skimmer or carrier?"

Piper sighed. "I wish it was that simple..." She quickly downed the rest of her coffee. In truth, she felt trepidation; would Starling believe her? Dismiss her as mad? "If you wouldn't mind, could I start from the beginning?"

"Please do."

"Right...We were patrolling quadrant seven, sub-sector gamma, near Terra Nede, just a few miles shy of here. The usual thing, routine stuff. Uh...time was eleven-thirty, no unusual temperatures, no weather anomalies. It was late, and we were just about to wrap up patrol when we got hit by some kind of energy surge."

Starling nodded. She herself had been doing a routine fly over nearby when the surge, a shockwave of incandescent energy visible even from Terra Atmosia, had rippled across the cloud cover. Her own skimmer had not been rocked too badly, but the Condor seemed to have suffered some turbulence, as well as several other carriers and belt traders on nearby routes.

"We slowed down to a crawl right there to get our bearings...And it was a good thing we slowed right there, or he would've... Anyway, that was when the sphere manifested."

"The sphere?"

"Yeah, a sphere. It was glowing, pulsing and it sparked. Stork wanted to get the Condor out of there, but Aerrow stopped him when we noticed the sphere get smaller..." Piper pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes screwed shut. "I...I can't even begin to explain what happened next. The sphere...The sphere shrank and became him. It was incredible. I'd never seen anything like it..."

"What happened next?"

"Well, he basically fell onto our runway. We opened up the hangar and brought him in. He was...shaken up, and he seemed scared, delirious even. We had to help him into a seat. We tried to ask him some questions. Where he was from, what that light was..."

"And?"

Piper looked at Starling and shook her head. "He couldn't answer...It was...It was like he couldn't breathe right. We thought he was probably sick, asthma maybe. But then he started to look woozy, uncoordinated. Symptoms of oxygen starvation."

Starling blinked. "But-But you were practically flying at standard altitude! You were, weren't you? He should have been breathing just fine!"

"Yes, we were. And no, he wasn't, he was gasping like a fish. We hooked him up to an oxygen cylinder, the ones Stork keeps around for emergencies. We had to keep raising the pressure until we set it to more than twice the normal dosage."

Starling's eyes went wide."But...But that's too much! He would have-"

"Suffered hyperoxia and died of oxygen toxicity, I know. I've read about it, and I know the symptoms even better than Stork. But none of those symptoms manifested."

"That's insane. By all rights, he should be dead..."

"Exactly...And he was very close too..." Piper trailed off, and her shoulders shook as she shivered. Starling squeezed her shoulder.

"It's alright. You did good. You probably responded better than I would have."

Piper smiled. "Thanks...Anyway, after all that, we changed course and brought him here. It was the closest, and...well, here we are."

At this, she gestured to the bed which held the object of their discussion.

The ward they were seated in had been quickly outfitted with an oxygen cylinder more powerful than the ones on the Condor. A thin hose snaked from the valve and connected to a breathing mask firmly affixed to a young man's face. He lay still, eyes closed, and he was breathing steadily.

The first word that came to Starling's mind was 'small'; the visitor was so short, Starling reckoned he wouldn't clear past her shoulder. By their standards, he was the size of a child in his early teens, despite looking close to Starling's age. He had short black hair and was clean shaven. His clothing was somewhat faded in places; a white shirt with short sleeves and blue trousers made of what Starling assumed to be very sturdy material. A grey hooded jacket was neatly folded on a desk nearby as was a pair of spectacles. His shoes were placed on the floor nearby.

Starling sighed. "Well, at least he's not in a position to be a security issue. What about belongings? Did he have anything with him?"

"He had a backpack," said Piper. "I didn't want to look through it just yet. I'd rather wait till he's awake."

"Alright. I'll leave this in your hands; you've handled it pretty well."

"Is the Council pressing for answers?"

Starling nodded. "That surge lit up a lot of instruments around the quadrant. The Council's calming the public down, but they still want to know what happened out there..."

Piper looked at Starling sharply. "They can't know. The people, I mean. They'll freak. They're already on edge with Cyclonia hammering our borders. Throw an extraterrestrial in the picture... Well, I don't want to think about it..."

Starling almost laughed. "Extraterrestrial? That's a bit of a stretch."

"I'm being serious," said Piper. "Unless there's an uncharted Terra somewhere that can teleport people across massive distances, we have to assume he isn't from around the Atmos."

"Well, I doubt he's from another planet, but I agree with you on the public. I'll prepare a report to the Council."

"We're taking turns watching him," said Piper. "If anything comes up, we'll be ready."

"Good, you and your team keep him safe." Starling paused. "Although, I think we may have run into a problem; how will he get around? He seems to have a lot of trouble breathing, even at safe altitudes. We could have him on an indefinite oxygen supply, but..."

Piper sighed. "That's the hard part, besides the possible language barrier, I mean. We can't confine him like that; he'll probably end up stir crazy. Unless we find a way to-"

The crystal specialist stopped abruptly. Her eyes went wide and her jaw hung open as realization dawned.

"Piper? Is something wro-"

"That's it!" exclaimed Piper, as she shot up from her seat. She grabbed hold of Starling's shoulders and shook her vigorously, her eyes carrying a glint Starling was becoming familiar with. "I figured it out, it was right under my nose, I can't believe I didn't notice earlier! It. All. Makes. Sense!"

She jabbed a finger at their (still unconscious) visitor. "Don't move!"she told him. "I'll be right back!" And then she bolted out of the ward, leaving Starling behind to blink in confusion.

A second later Aerrow entered. "Sorry about that, Starling," he said. "Piper can be suddenly spontaneous like that..."

"No worries..."

"I'll take it from here. The nurse just told me he might wake up sometime later, so there's that to look forward to..."

"Good. Maybe he can give us some answers."

Aerrow nodded, a sigh escaping him. "What a night... It's a good thing I'm used to staying up so late..."

Starling smiled. "I suppose the others are catching up on some sleep, then?"

Aerrow laughed. "Well, Radarr, Junko and Finn are. Last time I checked, Stork was busy disinfecting the Condor. He thinks our friend here is a-." He paused, his smile dropping. "Actually you're better off not knowing..."

"Right...Well, I should be on my way, now. The Council is getting impatient for answers. Be careful with our guest. Keep your weapons ready at all times."

Aerrow gave her a look, which she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "We can't take any chances. We're dealing with a lot of unknowns here."

"We'll keep him safe. Good bye. And good luck with the Council."

"Stay safe."

And with that, Starling departed. Aerrow drew up a chair and sat down, careful not to let his armor make too much noise.

"Looks like it's just the two of us...," he sighed, as he settled in for the long wait.