Episode VI: A Dark Day on Rynex

Like Crone, Rynex had a green sky and was nothing more than a giant city. Though it lacked the upscale districts of Crone, it was just as technologically advanced and populated. While the rich flocked to Crone, the scientists flocked to Rynex, where all kinds of discoveries were made and all kinds of ships were developed and built. Aliens from all three systems traveled here.

Ron, Harry, and Lark exited the ship. Harry's and Lark's eyes widened, soaking in the busy scenery.

"This place looks just like Crone." Ron commented.

"This place is even busier than Pewter VI!" Harry cried.

"Of course it is, Harry. The entire planet is like this."

"Why didn't we let Harper come with us?" Lark asked, turning to Ron. "He sounded really excited about coming here…"

"That's because he wants to escape." Ron snickered. "So, now all we have to do is find a planetary directory and find that lab… What is called, Lark? Do you remember?"

"Starfish. Starfish Lab." Lark said quietly. His eyes fell, as if they were searching for something.

"Starfish… Okay, Starfish…" Ron mumbled to himself as he approached a directory he discovered feet away. There were no results to the search. "Huh."

"Maybe the lab got destroyed with the pirate attack…" Harry trailed off.

"No, it wasn't destroyed… Maybe something else happened to it?" Lark said, looking over at Harry.

"Well, I guess I should just search for 'laboratory' then." Ron said as he typed it in. Suddenly, the directory froze. The three of them waited in silence, but Ron grew impatient and yelled. "What the hell just happened?!"

"I think it's frozen…" Lark approached it, looking at the screen intently. Suddenly, the search unfroze and the three of them let out a sigh of relief. "It's suggesting by districts…"

"Well, I guess that slims it down a little…" Harry laughed. Ron turned to him, looking annoyed.

"Thanks for the support, bonehead." Ron said, putting his hands on his hips. Harry mimicked him.

"'Bonehead?'"

"Forget about it." Ron said, dropping his arms. Lark was swiping his finger across the directory.

"The Benthic District… Maybe we should start there. It's not too far from here…" Lark suggested. Ron turned to him and sighed.

"I can't believe we'll have to search the entire damn planet for a lab that doesn't even exist anymore!"

"Ron… The reason why this district stood out to me is not because it's nearby, but because there is an unmarked building on the map."

"Well now, doesn't that sound suspicious?" Ron leaned in to look at the unmarked building on the map. "Well, there's a hotel nearby. How about we settle down a bit before we investigate?"

"Yeah. Navigating a whole ship isn't easy, but it's nowhere near as exhausting as piloting a ship, of course." Harry teased. Ron quirked a brow.

"I see sarcasm is coming back to you, Harry."

"It's archived." Harry said back, smiling. Ron then raised his hand up in the air and in seconds, a hovering yellow taxi lowered itself down in front of them.

"Now that's service!" Ron laughed. The three of them got inside and Ron informed the driver that they wanted to go to "The Ocean Hotel" near the Benthic District…

Ron opened the door to step inside the room and stopped right in the threshold. Lark peeked around him to look into the room.

"Move, Ron!" Harry said.

"There are only two beds…" Lark stated. Ron looked back at them.

"I love ya, Harry, but I'm not sleeping in a bed with another man." Ron said. Harry sighed…

Soon, Ron was asleep, and Harry and Lark were in one bed together, backs to each other.

"He really does snore loud…" Harry whispered. "No woman is ever going to want to sleep with him." Suddenly, a hard silence fell between them. Lark was staring into the wall, mind ticking away. Harry closed his eyes, beginning to get tired when suddenly, Lark spoke up.

"Harry… What does the Aurum have to do with me?"

"I'm not sure…" Harry replied, his eyes snapping open. "Maybe it's because you're both so compatible?"

"That is true, but I think you are too." Lark paused. "I think there are some things Ron isn't telling me…"

"Ron would never keep secrets from me."

"But what about me?" Lark said. Harry paused a bit before replying.

"What if I ask for you?" Harry suggested.

"No, he'll know it's because of me. I don't want to get you into trouble… I guess I'll know someday… But I wonder why I've been… Well, thrown back and forth between so many groups of people… You won't throw me away, will you, Harry?"

"I don't think Ron would do that…" Harry immediately answered.

"Are you sure?"

"I just don't think Ron would do that…"

"I mean… First, I was brought to some lab from wherever I was… I was with all of these scientists until some pirates kidnapped me… Then, I was their navigational system for two years… And then, they dumped me on Sentinel III, saying I was defective… And now, I'm with you… And the very same pirates want to kidnap me again. What is my value?" Lark asked, his throat tightening. Harry took everything in before responding.

"I don't think value can be determined by others…"

"How else is value determined then?" Lark sat up now. "Remember when you bought the flower for me?"

"The flower? Oh, that red thing! Yeah, I do. What about it?"

"It was expensive because it was something rare. That means it isn't found often by others. Therefore, it is highly valued."

"I guess that's how it works…" Harry said, brows furrowing. Harry wondered what he was trying to get at.

"So, what is my value then?"

"I don't know, okay?! I don't even know mine!" Harry said in a sharp tone. "I just 'woke up,' Lark! Why are you asking me this, like I know something you don't?!" Lark's eyes fogged up with tears. He quietly sunk down under the covers.

"Good night, Harry…" Lark said before drifting off into slumber…

"Wake up, Harry. Lark." Ron said loudly. It was quite far into the night and Rynex was alive with neon lights. Harry and Lark both woke up.

"You snore too loud." Harry whined.

"Thanks, Harry. Anyway, we're going to break into that unlisted building." Ron said.

"We could get into a lot of trouble…" Lark replied. Ron smirked.

"Trouble, huh? Been friends since." He replied. The two of them rolled out of bed…

Harry and Lark both had their uplink cables plugged into the card key slot of one of the doors in the back of the unlisted building.

"I can't unlock it." Lark said.

"Me either. It's just too simple... Like a yes or no, or true or false, and it's just not working."

"Step back." Ron ordered. The two of them withdrew their cables and stepped back. Ron took out his gun, pointed it, and shot the card key slot; Lark covered his ears. Without a single alarm, the door had been unlocked. Harry turned to him.

"How did you know that would work?!" Harry asked.

"I didn't." Ron replied, smiling.

"What if there was an alarm…" Lark said quietly as they entered the lab.

"There wasn't one, so I would like to consider this a small victory." Ron said, chuckling. "Besides, if there was an alarm, that would mean that if they ever had a situation, they would want to get the attention of the authorities, and I think making a request to be unlisted in the directory is enough to tell you that they don't want to be on the radar at all." Ron continued. Lark nodded. He then saw a logo on one of the walls in the room they had entered, saying "Starfish Labs."

"We're here." Lark replied.

"Lucky!" Ron shouted.

"It looks exactly the same as it did then… and I clearly remember that the main computer was in the basement. That's where I was…" Lark continued.

"Good! Then that's where we'll go!" Ron said, walking past quads of cubicles. Among piles and piles of documents on the desks, there were computers with blank screens, lighting up the aisles.

They headed for the stairs, Ron guessing that the elevator was most likely not operational on minimal power. They climbed down at least three flights of stairs before they reached the bottom of the building.

"Are you sure this is the floor?" Harry asked, looking over at Lark.

"I'm not sure…" Lark said, staring at another card key slot. Ron aimed his gun and shot it without saying a word. Lark jumped a bit.

"Sorry. I thought if it worked the first time, it would work the second time." Ron teased.

They walked inside to see that the lights were on, unlike the rest of the building.

"Looks like they forgot to turn off the lights." Ron commented. "Well, Harry, I think it's time to get to work."

"Why me?" Harry asked, pouting. Ron shrugged. "Fine." Harry bent down, looking at the panel for any kind of slot to plug into. When he found one, he shot his uplink cable into it and immediately logged himself in. A moment of silence passed before Harry spoke up. "I just see a pattern of… letters…"

"Letters? What does that even mean?" Suddenly, metal shutters covering up the glass window in front of them began to rise up. All of them froze in place, wondering if they were going to be caught when they saw something that stunned them far beyond what they could ever imagine. Beyond the glass was a line of ten bodies that looked identical to Lark, floating in some kind of fluid. "What the hell is this?..." Ron said, stepping back. Lark looked at them, his bottom lip quivering. He then bent down next to Harry to plug his uplink cable into the main computer.

In the digital world, Lark appeared next to Harry, surrounded by a pattern of letters spiraling around them: "A," "T," "C," and "G" over and over again. Suddenly, an axe materialized in Larks hands. Screaming, he began to smash the letters, which fell down onto the invisible plain they were standing on. Harry watched him, too afraid to stop him, even with words. Lark hacked at the letters until they were bleeding into the floor like ink.

Lark and Harry both disconnected and Lark stood up, approaching the control panel.

"Lark, what are you doing?" Ron asked, looking concerned. He then typed in a fury and when he was finished, he pressed a large button, saying "abort" under it. There was the sound of a fan whirring and in seconds, the bodies in the glass began to disintegrate before their eyes. Ron and Harry looked horrified. Lark then turned his back to the scene and began to walk out of the room.

"Let's go. There's nothing of value here." Lark said coldly. Ron looked over at Harry, who was watching Lark leave. He felt his stomach turning. What did he just see? Harry then looked over at Ron, looking very uncomfortable, when Ron nodded his head. Ron followed Lark, Harry soon joining him. They exited the lab, silent, to return to the hotel. As soon as they got there, Lark got under the covers and turned himself to face the wall…

The next day, everyone was entering the ship, getting ready to disembark. When they got inside, they discovered that Harper was sitting in the pilot's seat, lounging. Ron quirked a brow.

"How did you get free?" Ron asked.

"With a lot of diligence." Harper replied, cocking his head to the side. "I even went out to stock up on supplies."

"So, why didn't you run away? Don't tell me that you've become attached to your captor; that's just demented."

"I did—to the ship, I mean." Harper admitted. Ron chuckled.

"So, are you considering the position of mechanic?"

"Oh, yes! I mean—I don't think my opinion matters at this point." Harper rose to his feet.

"Perfect! So, now that we've gotten what we needed here, I think it's time to go to Crone." Ron said, sitting down in the pilot's seat.

"Why Crone?" Harry asked.

"I think I need to talk to Russell Periwinkle. I think he'll know more about the Aurum. Should have gone to him first…" Ron sighed, feeling guilty about bringing them here. Lark silently walked past him and jumped down into the navigational tube. Harry frowned and walked over to Ron.

"Ron… What happened last night?" Harry asked quietly.

"Well… From what I could tell, that lab made clones of Lark." Ron answered. Harper sat down further back, listening to their conversation.

"What are clones?"

"Copies."

"But why would anyone make a copy of Lark?" Harry said, looking perplexed.

"I'm not sure, Harry. I'm thinking Russell Periwinkle might know more about it."

"So, why did Lark have the clone's bodies destroyed? Are they going to live in that computer in that lab now?"

"Not exactly, Harry…"

"What do you mean?"

"They died."

"'Died?' What does that mean?" Harry asked, sounding quite naïve. Ron let out a big sigh.

"I'm no philosopher, Harry, but I was taught about what death is a long time ago… Basically, it's when you don't see someone anymore. No body. No mind. Nothing."

"So since my body was destroyed, did I die?" Harry asked. Ron froze.

"Yes, Harry… but you made a copy of your mind in the Shangri La…"

"A copy? Like a clone?"

"Not exactly…"

"Then what is it, Ron?!" Harry began to shout. "This body… What am I?! What kind of value do I have?!" Harry was reminded of his conversation with Lark. Harper left the room silently. Ron then brought Harry into a hug. Harry, who had become tense, began to relax.

"You're my brother, Harry… and if I had to, I'd die for you. You're all I've got in this damn universe. In other words… you're worth another whole life." Harry's eyes widened.

"Sorry, Ron… I didn't mean to shout… Let's go to Crone now. I'm ready." Harry said softly. Ron released him.

"Yeah…"