In the early morning after the unit had rescued Irisa, they set out for the E-Rep refugee camp ten miles away. It was a cold, cloudy morning, the sun barely shining through. After breakfast, Eddie, Cooper, Nolan, and the girl piled into a small military roller, Coop driving. Eddie had long since forgiven Irisa for biting his finger, and was trying to get her to talk to him from his seat in the front. She and Nolan were squeezed in the back, in what was more meant to be extra storage space than a seat.

Irisa rubbed her sleepy eyes with her hand, signifying that it was far too early for her to be awake. Nolan suspected it had something to do with being the first night she'd been able to sleep peacefully in a long while.

"Have you ever been to an Earth Republic camp before, Irisa?" Eddie asked her.

The alien girl looked slightly confused and shook her head. "Is that where we're going?" she asked, glancing anxiously at Nolan.

"Yep," Eddie replied cheerfully. "We're going to find some good people to take care of you."

Irisa fell silent. She began to pick at the white bandages on her wrists. Eddie kept talking, but Nolan sensed the change in her demeanor. He threw a comforting arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She, in turn, leaned into him, still playing with the bandages.

"Hey," he chided softly, pulling her hand away from her wrist. "You have to keep those clean, or they won't heal."

She stayed quiet for the rest of the short trip. When the group arrived at the E-Rep camp, they were greeted by several EMC soldiers. The men were large, and carried huge guns strapped to their backs. Behind them, Nolan could see the military post crawling with more soldiers, and in the distance, tall fencing. He guessed that was the camp, for he could see movement and campfires and makeshift tents. The men were certainly an intimidating sight to a young, traumatized girl, and that was why Nolan was not surprised when Irisa backed away, wary of them. Their gazes fell on her, picking out her small frame even while she hid behind Cooper and Eddie.

"Refugee?" One of the soldiers, the one of the highest rank out of these few, a lieutenant, asked in a gruff voice. Cooper nodded. "We found her in Denver yesterday. Poor thing's been through quite the ordeal."

"We'll take her from here," the man replied, motioning for Irisa to follow him. The girl looked up at Nolan for an explanation, then back to the man with wide eyes. She didn't move.

"Now, girl!" The soldier said loudly. Irisa jumped back.

"Lieutenant," Cooper said, holding up his hands. "Like I said, this girl has been through some pretty terrifying events. She's attached herself to Nolan here. Surely, you understand if we want to take her to camp ourselves?"

The man grunted. "If you want," he shrugged. "Just don't stay too long."

Cooper nodded. "Thank you." The group kept moving, past the military post and over a slight hill to the fence. There, they ran into more soldiers, who demanded that they stopped there.

"No further," one stated authoritatively.

Nolan looked past him into the camp while Cooper explained the situation to the man. What he saw turned his stomach. Gaunt, downtrodden Votan faces averted their gazes. There was little food to be seen, what was on the campfires seemed to be meager pickings. The beings moved slowly, without real purpose. There were children, but they didn't play. They sat quietly with their parents, tracing figures in the dust. The tents were shabby, built with ratty old blankets and sticks. Nolan caught the eye of an older Casti woman, who shook her head sadly when she saw Irisa. And then Nolan noticed the tarp, at the same time Eddie did. They shared a look—they knew what was beneath the plastic. Bodies.

These weren't refugees, Nolan realized. They were prisoners, for however long the E-Rep decided they were dangerous to the cause. And Irisa was too small and too weak to compete with older, bigger, more experienced Votans for necessities. She wouldn't survive a week in this place.

"She'll die here," Eddie whispered, saying out loud what Nolan was thinking. Irisa was taking in the frightening living conditions as well. She began picking at the bandages again, absentmindedly, staring into the camp. Nolan clasped her hand.

"Nevermind," He said firmly, cutting off Cooper and the soldier's conversation. "We're not leaving her here."

Cooper looked at him sharply in warning. It was only then that Nolan realized that Cooper recognized the dire situation, and was trying to talk their way out of leaving the little girl. The EMC soldier's eyes narrowed at the group. "All Votan refugees in the area must be surrendered to the Earth Republic," he stated sternly.

"Of course," Cooper said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation. "We'll be leaving shortly." He turned and motioned for the rest to follow. Nolan still had Irisa in tow, and he could feel the soldier's eyes burning a hole into his back.

"We have to leave and come back for her," Cooper told them once they were out of earshot.

"We can't," Eddie protested.

"Do you have another idea?" Cooper snapped, exasperated. "If we try to up and leave now, they'll come straight after us."

Eddie glanced around him, taking in the whole camp with new eyes. "What we need is a diversion," he said. Grinning at Nolan and ruffling Irisa's hair, he jumped away from the group and sprinted toward a stalled roller. Starting the military vehicle up again, he yelled and screamed and made a scene as he drove through the camp, hauling the expensive weapons in the cage in the back along with him.

The soldiers reacted as he expected. They called out to each other, jumping in other rollers and began to chase after him. Nolan took the hint and snatched Irisa in his arms and fled as fast as he could. The edge of the camp was in sight, where the clearing transformed into a deep jungle of unearthly trees. Irisa clung to him desperately, watching the commotion back at camp from behind his shoulder.

Nolan didn't stop once they were in the jungle. He kept going, surefooted, leaping over fallen logs and loose stone until his legs finally refused to move any longer. It was then that he dropped to the forest floor, setting the alien girl down gently, and the gravity of the situation sank in. There was no way Eddie could have gotten away. He wasn't even sure if Cooper had. He had nothing on him but a few scrip bills and a small gun. In just a few brief seconds, his life had changed as he knew it.

But there was this little girl looking at him with open wonder. She hadn't said a word since they got to the camp, but she moved a little closer to him and took his hand in her tiny, orange one. In that moment, he knew what his new mission in life was. He had to protect her.