Great to be in 2021, and happy to see you all. If you're liking seeing Ben's alien life let me know. Or, if you want me to hurry up and get on with the Earth plot let me know that too. I don't have much planned after choosing the Supreme so I'll probably start on Earth after that. Thank you all again for your patience!

Ben-Ben was shocked by the lower quarter of the city. He'd thought that the path Curant had taken him through yesterday had been unusually desolate. But now, he was starting to think the entire lower quarter was like that. Curant had said no one really lived here, it was mostly a place of business. Even so, shouldn't there be more people here doing business? Other than a few DNAliens here and there they had only seen one other Highbreed who had passed them as quickly as possible without a single glance. She had been carrying a small package close to her chest.

The place was mostly clean by human standards. Compared to Highbreed standards this was a cesspool of filth with a layer of dust or grime on most things no matter how thin.

"It's so dark here…" Ben-Ben stated as they passed under the artificial lighting. There was nearly no natural light at all. The forest floor also lacked much natural light, but was still far brighter due to all of the snow maximising what light was there. Here, most everything was black, making it all look even darker. However, it was nearly impossible to sneak around due to everyone being either white or mustard colored.

"We are beneath six layers of city. It is surprising that there is even any light at all."

"Hmm." Ben hummed in agreement as they came to a stop in front of an inconspicuous door. The only thing that designated it as their destination was the address number on it. Ben-Ben double checked their info.

"So this is it?"

"Seems like it. Do we knock or-" Curant stepped forward and the door automatically opened. Ben-Ben followed him through into a sterile space. The room was empty, lit from a glowing floor and lights trimming the dark ceiling. Sitting opposite them was a singular Highbreed. He was large, with startling yellow shells on his shoulders and wrists. He was bulkier too and Ben instantly recognised him as half Arburian Pelarota.

He was sitting behind a desk, working on two holo screens. He glanced up, but didn't stop what he was doing.

"Are you Jeb?" Curant asked.

"Who is inquiring?" The older highbreed responded. His voice was gruff and rocky.

"I am Curant, my aunt, Dureae, sent us to you. She is not currently on good terms with Neimos and was hoping you could help us with something."

"Something regarding Neimos?" Jeb finally stopped and looked up at Ben.

"I am Ben-Ben Tennison. Can you give us the records of what Neimos purchased from your shop?"

"Tennison… Yes, I have heard of you." Jeb closed his screens. "The human turned pureblood. I do not suppose such a thing could be replicated."

"I… do not really know how it happened myself." Ben-Ben confessed.

"Pity," Jeb said. He sat in silence for a brief moment before opening a single holo-screen over his desk. "Did Dureae say anything else?"

"Ah," Curant crossed his arms nervously, "No, not really. At least, nothing regarding you."

"Hm… pity." He almost whispered before seemingly finishing up. He rotated the screen so Ben and Curant could see. "This is Nemilos's history at my shop."

"This is it?" Ben-Ben exclaimed in shock as he stepped forward to see better. "But, there's only one thing on it! He should've had at least several ship parts!"

"You are certain this is the only thing he has ever purchased. The receipt Dureae gave us was quite expensive."

"Well it is an expensive item. It's called a Ken-XI. Made of Petropius-II, also known as the heart crystal of a Crystalsapien. A very rare item indeed. They have many uses; untappable communication over incredible distance. Ability to track other users. When used with computers they can produce encrypted code that thus far can only be read using other Kens."

"Encrypted code? Like this?" Curant pulled out a small pad and opened the file with the encrypted messages his aunt gave him. He stepped closer to show them to Jeb.

"Yes, that does look quite similar. The code is very unique."

"Then it is possible that someone else purchased the parts for him. We must know what was written here!" Curant looked hopefully at Jeb. "Is there any way we can borrow one of these devices?"

"Apologies, I do not have anymore. They are not only expensive, but rare. I am lucky to find even one a year." Curant visibly deflated. Stepping back.

"Is there anyway that we could check your files for someone who purchased the items we thought he did?"

"Even if I did, there could have been multiple buyers who helped him, or they could have bought the parts for different reasons. Besides, I would rather not out my clients, It is hard enough to get business here in the capital. There's a good portion of my customers who would rather no one know they buy from a half breed bastard."

"Of course, my apologies," Curant sighed. He looked at Ben-Ben defeated. They had hit a wall. Just when they were doing well.

"Is there anyone else you know of who might sell Ken-XIs?" Ben-Ben piped up. Jeb shook his head.

"No. A pity really. No one has asked for anything but the recent models. Of course, they are so much better built. Unlike the old Ken-V I have. All it can do is encrypt, unencrypt, and track other Ken users. I never sold it because the tracking feature is broken though. Why I might just finally throw it away." Jeb grinned, winking at them as a DNAlien appeared out of a door behind him Ben and Curant hadn't noticed in the dim lighting. "Blink," he addressed The DNAlien, "Dispose of that for me."

"Yes Master," she hurriedly brought an indescrypt box to Ben-Ben. He took it graciously and Blink scurried off. Ben-Ben peeked inside to see a device made of dark metal and reddish crystal.

"You- you are letting us have it?"

"Have what? Hm? Who are you? I have not had any visitors today." Jeb said as he re-opened the two screens he'd had up when they arrived. Ben-Ben was about to say something when Curant motioned for him to leave.

"Uh, thank you!" Ben-Ben said as he was ushered out the door. Jeb didn't look up, but Ben-Ben could see his eyes crease into a smile.

….

They went back to Curant's office, wanting privacy. Curant started working on some things for the hatchery while Ben-Ben started to figure out the Ken-V. He was a little uncomfortable using it due to what it was made out of. There were also no instructions for it or any information about it anywhere online.

It took three hours of trying and fiddling with the device before Ben-Ben got it. He watched as the code on the screen he was using slowly re-wrote itself out into a series of correspondences.

The conversation unfolded before him. Whoever Nemilos was working with had reached out to him first offering to help him become Supreme. However, Nemilos was the one to push for murder. Ben's blood boiled over all the things Nemilos said about Reiny. He called him every version of weak, cowardly, even Lowbreed. Ben didn't want to think what a man who used Lowbreed as a slur for someone not totally Augstakien would do if he knew there were still real Lowbreeds out there.

He'd never met this guy before, but there were implications that he'd done things to knock other candidates out of his way before. He hadn't gone as far as murder, but he'd never managed to get Reiny out of the way and he was running out of time. He planned everything, paid for the other person to buy the parts, had them pressure some of the palace DNAliens into doing the swap.

"I don't understand…" Curant said, reading over Ben-Ben's shoulder.

"What? It's all here. We can take this to the Supreme and get justice for Reiny!"

"But, pressuring one of the palace DNAliens? They would have to be a person of tremendous power to do such a thing."

"Do you think it was the Cortalis member of the council? They mostly live in the palace and that is the only person who really has any reason to help him."

"You do not know that. There is much that goes on behind palace walls we are not privy to. However, to accuse a council member is no small thing." Ben sighed, not liking where this was going.

"Do not tell me, we need to find out who this other person is."

"I am afraid so. We can not leave such a hole in our case. He could still claim this person convinced him to do this against his will."

"What? But they clearly did not!"

"You have never seen how convincing some Highbreed can be in court. Besides, you are the disadvantaged party here. You are an outsider overturning a previous ruling by authority and accusing some of the highest ranking members of society of attempted murder. Not to mention, if you win, your case may end up deciding who takes the throne." Ben-Ben turned off the screen.

"I didn't want to go this far, I just want to give Reinrassic justice, not…"

"There can not be justice until this other person is brought to light." Curant put his hand on the back of Ben-Ben's chair as the younger Highbreed stood.

"You are right," He turned around, "Where do we start? There were not any clues to their identity in those messages. It was clear even Nemilos did not know who they were."

"True, however, we know that there were DNAliens involved. DNAliens are a partial hivemind. They were once all directly linked, but that caused… well, several problems. Since then their hive mind was dampened through breeding practices. However, some still possess stronger mind abilities than others," As he spoke he walked over to one of his tanks and took out a very calm Xenocite. It looked around with an eye that seemed to understand what was going on around it. "If we get Atolla close enough she'll be able to essentially read other DNAliens minds. We find the DNAliens involved and work our way through the palace until we have proof of the culprit."

"Okay," Ben-Ben nodded along, "But how? We can not just walk into the palace. And even then, the palace DNAliens are very specific."

"Yes, they are all Uxorites, however! All we have to do is get Atolla in." He went over and pulled a small metal ring out of a box. It was just big enough to fit around her exposed brain. "This will allow us to see everything she sees and direct her through the palace." It fit perfectly, with a notch above her eye so it did not cover any part of it. The little camera made it look like a tiara.

"Curant?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you have this?" Ben-Ben looked up with as close to a brow raised expression as his Highbreed body could do. Curant squealed, stuttering something about wanting to make a video series for the XAC from his Xenocites' perspective. "Alright, alright," Ben laughed, "So, how do we get her in?"

…

Curant's cousin's friend wasn't happy about helping them, but did mention that the Supreme had a habit of leaving windows around the palace open to let in fresh air. She also told them when the kitchen shipments arrived. Their DNAlien transport fit in perfectly among the others. There were so many that no one noticed their ship didn't actually deliver anything. They parked outside the city limits but still as close to the palace as possible. Curant brought up Atolla's feed.

Getting her inside was the hardest part as she scrambled around crates and boxes in an attempt to go unnoticed. The little thing held still as DNAliens walked past. They moved the heavy crates with hover carts, riding contraptions that were stood on and driven a lot like roadhogs. They used magnets to pick up the metal boxes and fly them inside.

Curant had Atolla suction onto the bottom of a metal crate as it was lifted. Ben held his breath as she narrowly slipped out from under it as the crate was set down. Atolla huddled between the products until they were stacked so high that no one could see her. They only waited a few moments with how fast the DNAliens were moving. Curant was nervous about the security cameras. They weren't really an issue until they got to the exit of the store room.

Boxes on boxes stacked stories high on metal shelves in the dim lighting served for excellent cover. The room was freezing, a heavy layer of frost over everything on the ground level echoing up to the distant, icicle covered ceiling. The cover was perfect.

They could see through the camera, however, that past the exit was bright and open.

"Craw!" Ben-Ben cursed in the chittery, squawking Augstakien language.

"Remain calm," Curant said.

"I was in the palace," Ben hissed, "There are cameras everywhere! I thought they would at least take us farther in with the shipments."

"Our insider said that they will not distribute tile tomorrow once everything is checked over. However, you forget what makes my little girl so special," Curant purred. He waited until a stray DNAlien, one of the official palace ones, walked past. All of the sudden it stopped, shivered, and walked over to the storage room entrance. Atolla slid forward and latched onto the DNAlien's leg. She merged with the preexisting DNAlien, doing her best to blend in and keeping her eye closed as her slimy body branched up its new temporary host. Ben caught their reflection as they started walking again. Unless you bent down and looked up under the DNAlien's head tentacles you wouldn't notice that Atolla was there.

"I didn't know we could do that," Paul mumbled. Curant chuckled at that.

"Atolla is an old breed. And, like most in my collection, illegal for a reason. I do not suppose we got someone with any information, Dear?"

"No father," Atola made the DNAlien whisper back, "This one is low ranking. She is currently heading to assist in the library." Ben-Ben didn't comment on how Curant and Atolla addressed each other. But it would be remembered.

"Where can we find a higher ranking DNAlien?"

"We should be meeting one once we arrive." Ben watched as they walked through a very visually different part of the palace than what he'd seen. There were little to no amber creatures here. Rather, every wall was filled with very old looking murals. They were beautifully painted with billions of tiny crystals. He recognised several famous Highbreed on the walls reenacting their incredible feats.

"I've never seen art like this before," Ben said.

"These walls are part of the original palace. I saw pictures of some of these images in my college history course."

"Wow, how old are they?"

"This palace was originally built as a small homestead. Many historians believe it is the origin point of Highbreed civilization; where we went from hunter gatherer to building permanent structures."

"So…" Ben felt his chest tighten as Tsari flashed through his mind. "This palace, some parts could… predate recorded history?"

"Some do, yes, but they are well protected to prevent damage. Some say deep in the catacombs beneath the lowest part of the library there are the ruins of the first people. Though that is only a rumor, much like how they say the first city still lies under the capital."

"Why does no one go and see?"

"They have, and found nothing."

"Then why are there still rumors?" Curant didn't look at Ben-Ben when Ben-Ben looked at him.

"Surely there are conspiracies on Earth."

"... Yes, there are." Ben turned back to look at the murals again, noting how as they got deeper in the figures became older and the murals more stylized.

"Do they never clean these walls? The figures look so much duller this far in," Curant remarked. Ben-Ben "bit his tongue" and tightened his chest flaps. Looking closely, they weren't getting duller, they were using a darker crystal. It seemed some of the murals were so old that they had yet to breed snow white skin. He hated the feeling that his friend might take learning about Tsari's people badly. Which brought back a dark thought that had been living in Ben-Ben's mind for a long time now.

Were his friends bad people? He knew they were specists, and probably racists too. But, Reiny changed. Deep down, it seemed like most Highbreed acted out of pain or fear. He knew Curant acted cold and unfeeling to people outside of XAC, even his own family. He'd overheard a call Curant had gotten from his parents once. It was hard to hear them talk to him. It was obvious why Curant preferred being on his own. He was sympathetic to "lower lifeforms." Even still, he struggled to see others as equal. The programming ran deep. Even Reiny wasn't fully understanding yet. Ben still struggled sometimes between wanting to fit in and wanting to hold onto his ideals. He knew what it felt like. He should be better. Everyday it seemed he reminded himself. Sometimes he still didn't do as good as he thought he should.

It was one of the reasons he was so patient with others' cruelty.

"Huh…"

"What?" Ben snapped back to reality.

"There's a gap."

"A gap?"

"In the wall," Paul pointed to where a part of the wall had clearly been cut out and replaced with sterile metal that stood out like a sore thumb. First there was just one, then two. As they got closer and closer to the library more parts of the murals were missing than there.

"I do not understand," Curant said in shock, "This is our ancient history. Why is so much missing? What happened?"

"Perhaps it was damaged, your grace?" Paul offered.

"In the heart of the palace?" Curant sounded worried. We got to the doors of the library, heavy wooden panels held open to show what could've been its own city. Every surface was covered in data pads of writing and information spiraling up to the domed ceiling like sky scrappers to the clouds. The data pads glowed blue green as they charged. They were the only light source in the room.

Palace DNAliens were everywhere. The one Atolla was attached to continued on her tasks, going to pick up pads from the returned section. These were much bigger than the ones Reiny had. They were clearly sixed for older Highbreeds.

"Now what?"

"We find someone higher ranked, latch on, and work our way up till we find someone who knows something." Curant said.

"Right, there's tons of cover in here," Ben nodded, "this will be a breeze!"

Several hours later it was getting dark. Despite how many DNAliens there were, the size of the library made getting around next to impossible. Only Atolla's strong sticky tentacles protected her from falling hundreds of feet down. Ben felt bad about putting her in so much danger.

Twenty seven DNAliens in, they got their disappointing answer.

None of the DNAliens who had been there that day were here now. All of this, for nothing. Paul deflated, Curant cursed and nearly threw the pad with Atolla's feed on it. Ben just sat there, in the cramped little ship. A dead end. Again.

"You can get her out, right?" Ben asked Curant.

"Yes, I can." He finally looked over at Ben. "Are you-?"

"I'm going to get a bit of fresh air." Ben cut him off as he opened the hatch and stepped outside. The snow crunched under his feet as the refreshingly cold air whipped by. He was hungry, thirsty, and defeated. They were still just outside the city limits, hidden in the shadow of the woods. The sun was only a sliver of light on the horizon. The longer he stayed here, the more he thought it looked like Earth; familiar.

What now? Should he return to the Devalah house with what he found and hope for forgiveness and help? Did he take what they had to the Supreme and hope it was enough for an investigation? Who in the palace would want to get rid of Reiny?

Ben-Ben watched the sun disappear.

What was Gwen doing right now? Did his family hold a funeral for him, or was he just declared missing all this time? Ben wondered what kind of funeral it would've been. His parents were pretty basic. They probably would've held a small service at a funeral home. They were never very religious, especially his father, so it wouldn't have been in a church. Had Uncle Max said anything? Did great aunt Vera and great uncle Gordon come? Gordon's son Joel? He was certain Gwen and her parents and Ken came. Maybe uncle Manny would come. No one had really seen him since his wife died giving birth to Clyde. Man, Clyde had been a toddler last time he saw him. With his mop of blond hair and pinkish skin the only thing that made him resemble his big hairy father were his little black eyes and long arms.

… Ben's… still not positive his uncle Manny wasn't at least half sasquatch. Out of the corner of his eye Ben caught movement. He whipped around to see a dark, familiar figure staring out of the trees. Her white speckled chest looked like extra eyes in the dim. She motioned for him to come to her. Ben didn't really think as he started to step towards her.

"Ben-Ben?" Ben spun to see Curant poking his head out of the hatch. "We're going to get Atolla. She just slid down and is waiting near the garbage disposal units so it should be an easy retrieval."

"Oh, man, there's really a lot less security in the palace than I thought there would be…"

"We've been at peace for thousands of years, why waste resources?"

"Yeah, I guess, I-" Ben-Ben did his best not to glance back at Tsari, "Listen, is there any chance you can come back for me once you got her? I just need a moment alone." Ben thought he might start sweating when Curant paused, despite not being able to as a Augstakien. He almost let out a sigh of relief when Curant's expression softened.

"Take you time. I… Ben, I am sure Reinrassic will be fine."

"... Thanks." Curant nodded before taking off with Paul. Ben waited until they were out of sight before jogging towards Tsari. "How did you know I was here?"

"... I have been sticking close to the city limits."

"Looking for me?"

"Perhaps," she confessed, "I did not want you to get eaten."

"Sure," Ben-Ben smiled. Tsari rolled her eyes, shifting her weapon to rest on her shoulder.

"Who was your friend?"

"Hm? Oh, that was Curant. He's a Xenocite breeder for one of the hatcheries in the city."

"I see." She looked off in the direction the ship left. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Ben-Ben felt his "smile" fade.

"No, we- we hit a dead end." He put his hands on his hips in disappointment. "We have some evidence that our suspect did it, but there's still someone else involved that we have not been able to find yet."

"So, what will you do now?" Tsari asked. Ben-Ben shrugged, looking at the ground glittering up at him in the rising moonlight. "Will you return to your estate?"

"Well it's not mine, but I guess we'll go back to Curant's place tonight. I have been missing for two days now so I can not say how happy the Devalahs will be to see me." Tsari shifted her weight nervously, clicking apprehensively.

"You could… I do not mean anything inappropriate or rude or presumptuous, but…" Ben-Ben looked up at her, "You could come spend the night at my home. My family was begging to meet you after I told them about you yesterday. It is safe- and of course you can refuse!"

"Tsari I-" Ben really didn't know what he was about to say. Luckily, he didn't have to. His empty stomach cut him off with a ravenous growl. Tsari froze, then chuckled as a dark flush came over Ben-Ben's neck. He really hadn't eaten anything since last night at Currant's place.

"We have food."

"I- Curant is coming back for me-"

"He can come too!" Tsari said a little too quickly, choking once she realised how excited she sounded and blushing a little herself. It was harder to see under her dark skin, but her white freckles revealed the truth.

"I will ask him. So, where is your home?"

"It is a small village that way." She pointed off into the woods. "There are only a few hundred of us there. I can not guarantee they will all be friendly to you, but they are not all friendly to me either," She shrugged.

"They aren- are not?"

"No," She explained, not acknowledging Ben-Ben's slip up and gestured to her white marks.

"Because you have a little bit of white?"

"My markings are unusual, but just as not all Highbreed are stark white, not all Lowbreed are pitch black. I am also tall for my age. Tall for a Lowbreed my age. My great grandmother mated with a Highbreed. My family lives only on the edge of the village in our ancestral home now. We are not shunned, but it is hard sometimes."

"I am sorry to hear that," Ben-Ben said earnestly. Tsai shook her head.

"My only regret is that my great grandmother's mind slipped without telling anyone who my grandfather's sire was. I do not know what I would have done with the information, but it is something I have always wanted to know. Grandfather said that his parents were in love. Truly, since Augstakiens mate for life, they must've been. But, then why leave? Did my other great grandparent fear losing face more than they loved my great grandmother? I apologise. You need not listen to me think out loud."

"No, it is fine. We are friends after all." Tsari blinked at him. She looked him up and down like she was seeing him for the first time.

"Perhaps, speaking to a Highbreed, even an unusual one such as yourself, has brought these thoughts back to the surface."

"Apologies."

"I did not say it was a bad thing." She pulled out a communicator and started typing something.

"Who are you texting?"

"My uncles and their sons. I will have them bring out the tow for your ship."

"Oh, thank you. You really do not mind Curant and Paul?"

"Paul?"

"He's a DNAlien."

"I have never met one before. We will not mind."

"Do you not keep Xenocytes?" Ben-Ben asked.

"No, though we sometimes must deal with the nests of their wild cousins." Ben had heard about those. They were the wolves to Xenocytes, like Squishy's, dog. They still had their hive mind abilities and aggressive nature. They often parasite each other, forming massive RNAnimals. Ben really didn't want to see any of those.

…

It wasn't like Reinrassic could just waltz into the Cortalis residence and demand information. Instead, he was doing the rational thing- reporting Ben-Ben as missing, updating where he was heading last, and convincing his father to let him go to the council and petition for answers.

"Son, we can not say for certain that he went there-"

"No one knows where he is!" Reinrassic snapped. Some of his brothers and sisters were in the room, watching from a safe distance. His arm was still regenerating, almost down to the elbow now. "None of you could find him in three days! Do you know what can happen in that amount of time?!"

"Reinrassic III!" Reinrassic II barked, "You are in a precarious situation! The date the Supreme announces her successor has been announced for tomorrow! Your crash has given Nemilos an in to make you look like a reckless fool! But you still have popularity among the people. Accusing, even implying something towards your rival right now will make it look like you are attacking him! You will doom any hope of winning! Just wait until after-"

WHAM! Reinrassic III slammed his good arm so hard into the pillar so hard it spider web cracked a good few feet up and down.

"I do not care!" he roared, "Ben-Ben means more to me than being the Supreme ever will!" The room was silent for so long Frustra nearly stepped in to help her brother when Reinrassic II let out a great, defeated sigh.

"Very well. We will meet with the council. As long as you are certain. I trust you with this house. I just want you to be positive that this is the decision you want to make." Reinrassic III calmed down, even looking a little ashamed.

"It is. This family will be fine, with or without the throne."

"Heh, I am aware," his father nodded, "We were fine when my brothers and sisters left after I married your mother and lost my ability to reproduce in the accident." He touched where the massive scar across his body ran over his chest, "And we will be fine after this. You," He turned and gestured to Reinrassic III's sisters and brothers, "are all proof that our people are ready for change. Even if things become difficult we will persevere. So, let us be off."

…..

"How are you doing, Curant?" Ben asked. The three of them, Ben, Curant, and Paul were sitting on top of the DNAlien transport ship which was sitting on top of a massive tank like rover that Tsari's family had brought along with several more hover speeders. Curant was impossibly tense, holding onto the ship and glaring into the air in front of him. He had shut down when Ben-Ben introduced him to Tsari. When her family showed up the guy had gone stiff as a bored, just doing whatever Ben-Ben directed him to do. Ben figured that Curant was having some sort of existential crisis that wasn't improved by Ben giving him a brief runthrough of who these people were.

Paul, on the other hand, was in awe of these new, exciting people. He was nervous, sure, but he seemed to enjoy riding through the snow and breeze. He even laughed at some of the things Tsari's family yelled over the wind.

"I think Greywings is scared of us!" One of Tsari's cousin's laughed.

"We should call him Stonespine instead! He's been ramrod stiff this whole time!"

"Maybe he's mute!" They laughed and Tsari shook her head in disappointment. Ben-Ben was a little surprised to see that most of Tsari's cousins were younger than her, but she did say that they weren't her bio-family. In the village, everyone was called by familial titles. The men had been called to help them because the infirms were busy being rangers. Impares were larger, so they stayed behind to raise the grubs. Grubs! Children! Tsari laughed when Ben-Ben's face lit up. He was finally going to see some baby Augstakiens!

"Hey, hey!" One of the cousins tried to get their attention.

"Alright, that is enough," An uncle shut them down. The youngster sighed, pulling away on his ride so he was back in the flanking formation they had made around the tow. Now that it was after dark they had to make noise and look big if they wanted to ward off the dangerous hunters. And no, Tsari said, the araneolus that attacked him the other day was not considered highly dangerous.

"We are coming up on the village!" Tsari yelled over, braking rank to pull closer so they could hear her better.

"I can't see anything!" Ben yelled back. All there was was the same powdery snow they had been driving over for miles.

"That's the idea!" She answered. The cousins and uncles broke out onto chirps and caws of laughter as everyone started speeding up.

"Ben-Ben…" Curant spoke nervously. They were all driving straight towards an even larger clearing on which Ben could see a reflection of the moon.

It was a medium sized lake, completely frozen over.

"Scared, Highbreed?" A cousin said, making more of them laugh.

"Relax," Ben-Ben tried his best to sound calm as they came up on it. "It's probably just a-" The first hover speeders burst through the ice, shattering it open to reveal a massive- "SECRET TUNNEL!" The whole rig shook as it rumbled down into the passage, plunging them all into darkness. The hoots and laughter echoed as engine sounds surrounded them. Ben couldn't even see his own legs when he glanced down. He held on for dear life while it felt as through the Lowbreeds were all around them.

Several times the tunnel became so steep it felt like they were falling until Ben-Ben's eyes adjusted enough for him to barely make out shapes. That only left him blinded when they rounded a corner into a brightly lit cavern and skidded to a stop. Ben-Ben, Curant, and Paul blinked in the light as Tsari's family parked their rides. Ben-Ben was about to jump down himself when a large hand was held out in front of him. Ben-Ben looked over to see one of the uncles offering to help him down. He was about to politely refuse when he had a memory of his dad helping him out of the car when he was little. He took the hand and jumped down, being lowered gently to the ground.

"Thanks," Ben-Ben said up to him. Hen nodded and smiled.

"You are welcome, my name is Pax, but you will be hearing a lot of names soon, and most everyone you age refers to me as uncle save for my direct family. So, just call me that."

"Sure… uncle." It felt weird to say to a stranger. His discomfort must've been clear because Pax and a few others laughed, one of the cousins even patted Ben hard on the back.

"I can not believe we are actually meeting THE Ben-Ben Tennyson!" He exclaimed, "Oh," The cousin moved to face Ben-Ben, he was a little younger than him and pitch black. Two of his eyes were blue, one on his "head" and one on his chest. When he flared his wings with excitement Ben-Ben could see little patches of bright blue in the orange underside of his wings. "I'm Iacus! You can call me cousin, though!" Ben-Ben laughed and nodded.

"Thank you, you can call me-"

"Cousin Ben-Ben!" Someone shouted.

"I- what?"

"Cousin Ben-Ben!" a cacophony of little voices shouted, getting closer before a herd of tiny Lowbreeds burst through the crowd and attached themselves all over Ben-Ben's legs and arms. They were smaller than any Highbreed he'd ever seen with short bodies and long, gangly limbs. Their big eyes seemed to take up their whole bodies and their ting stubs of wings buzzed from how fast they moved.

"Are you really from Earth?"

"What is your favorite food?"

"Are you and Reinrassic dating?"

"You smell nice!"

"Can we go in your ship?"

"What's your favorite-" Ben-Ben was struggling to just stand, much less understand all of the words he was being bombarded with. Some were in Augstakien, some in standard, some in other languages all jumbled together in a constant stream of sound until-

"Augkh!" One of the uncles squawked and the little ones deflated. They dropped off of him and scurried back to the Uncle who called them. There was a heavy thud as Curant dropped down behind him. He was staring at the little ones with a mix of horror and awe. Paul was kindly lowered to the ground by another Uncle.

"What," he stepped closer to Ben-Ben, "are those?"

"Hm?" Ben-Ben looked at his friend. He already explained that these were the supposedly extinct Lowbreeds and- Ah! "The little ones?"

"Those are children," Tsari said as she weaved out of the crowd into the Highbreeds' little bubble of space. Curant tried to step away from her, but he was already three feet from Ben-Ben and didn't want to get closer to him either. "Lowbreed's grub cocoon after around three months, so they come out much smaller. We also do not use learning pods so they must gain their education organically."

"Three months?!" Curant shrank into himself when Tsari kept getting closer.

"It takes Highbreed at least three years to cocoon," Ben-Ben supplied.

"A pity, being a child is such fun!" Tsari smiled. "Do not be surprised if you are called cousins or outsiders. Our community is more accepting than most, and it is the aunties who will be more weary of you. However, I assure you, you are very much welcome to be here." Curant looked at her with suspicion, going as far as getting into Ben-Ben's personal space to get a bit further away.

"You make it sound like we could just walk out of here," he hissed.

"Well, the artificial pond is likely already frozen over again thanks to the water jets we put up there, but I feel you would have a harder time navigating back to the city than breaking through that.

"Why did you bring us here?" Curant demanded. Tsari hummed, thinking.

"I suppose we just really wanted to meet you three."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Yes." Ben grinned and started looking up at the top of the cavern. Lights were positioned to reflect off massive crystals grown into the ceiling. The moist, pale rock glimmered in the artificial light. The cave smelled like an Earth cave, wet, musty, and muddy with a pinch of stinky mixed in. Tsari and the villagers took them deeper, away from their ship. Curant was on edge while Paul tried to answer every question that the children threw at him. Ben-Ben started to notice as they got deeper that there were a lot of paths leading into dark caverns. Then, there were a few buildings. They seemed to be made of a mix of raw materials like wood combined with bits and pieces likely found in the dump. Ship parts, old cables that had been obviously repaired were decorated with designs that reminded Ben-Ben of the hall in the palace leading to the library. Augstakia was broken down into its base colors and shapes in compact designs and patterns all over every decorated surface. It felt… alien to him, like when he first met Reiny and was introduced to his world.

Finally, they came to a cavern of epic proportions. The cave was larger than Reiny's estate and filled with buildings up the walls, piled on top of each other, some even hanging from the ceiling, and all funneling down to a city center full of strung lights and resting on top of a huge mosaic floor. Shards of stone and shell were pressed into dark plaster. It was old, worn, and obviously repaired several times. A huge elder Infirm, she had a white "face" black skin, speckled with white and baring blue eyes and wings, sat cross legged with a child on each leg. One was white with blue eyes, the another black with orange eyes.

"That's the mother of eternity, and her sons, time and space. Most no longer worship gods, but the stories are good moral lessons and entertainment."

"She looks like you." Curant half mumbled. Tsari snapped straight, a blush barely visible on her freckles.

"That's- I- plenty of Lowbreed are born with white patches or blue scales and eyes!"

"Yes, there seem to be a great deal of variation between you all." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as his wings twitched uncomfortably.

"Is there not among Highbreed?" Iacus asked, bouncing with excitement on the other side of Ben-Ben.

"There is not supposed to be."

"You and your aunt are both variations," Ben-Ben supplied. Curant sighed deeper.

"That is why I will never be anything more than a hatchery manager." He looked over at Ben-Ben, "My family is still paying off the debts we went into to put Dureae into house Cortalis. She was the least defective in our family."

"Defective?!" Tsari spat, looking like she wanted to hit Curant with her rifle. "Tsk! You Highbreed and your beauty standards! Aughk!"

"Grey wings are said to be good luck among Lowbreeds," And uncle supplied, walking on into town, "You will have to tell him the story, Tsari!"

"Dinner will be ready soon!" Another called as he and some cousins ushered the children along. "Do not be late!" Tsari rolled her eyes.

"Come, I will show you where you will be staying." She led them back the way they came, then into the furthest dark offshoot. It was the first one they passed on their way in and the tunnel was long. Part of it had water all over the floor that they had to slosh through. Then there was a steep uplift in the path that they practically had to climb up till they reached a dimm opening. There were only two lights in here and no crystals to magnify them. One flickered in and out of life over the singular bunch of buildings. The biggest building was a very old hut mostly made of wood and hides. There were two smaller huts built even more into the walls. Then, off to the side, was a couple of ships welded together into a smallish building by a trickle of a stream. Water droplets dripped from the stalactites on the ceiling every now and then. "This is my family estate. It is not much, but feel free to make yourselves comfortable."

Curant and Paul looked around without really moving while Ben-Ben stuck next to Tsari.

"Who lives there?" He asked, pointing to the smallest building off to the side.

"My mother and I do. She and the other infirms will be back shortly."

"You all just… live like this?" Curant asked, looking wearily at the damp floor as he walked on it.

"We have plumbing," she assured. "Things have improved greatly under the rule of the current Supreme. Come here," she beckoned the three of them over into the dark space between the big homes and her own. They followed her down the stone stairs until she stopped. She pressed something on her rifle and it became like a glow stick, lighting up the small tunnel. There were handprints all over; they were all different sizes, but most seemed too large to have fit fully inside the space. Sure enough, as they got deeper, the prints became smaller and fewer in number. At the end was a small crystal statue of a blue Augstakien with orange wings and eyes. It stood tall among several small marks on the wall, most looking very old. "This is my ancestral tomb. When a member of our family passes their print is added. The ones on the far wall are made with the foreheads of grubs since they have no hands."

"Wow…" Ben-Ben whispered, "Tsari this is…"

"What is written here?" Curant asked, pointing to the crystal statue.

"That is our family name, Aurortiem Caus. We trace our roots back to the dawn of civilization. Of course, there are other Caus's, but this is my family's ancestral home. The others who bear our name have left for other tribes many years ago."

"That sounds very similar to the Auracauses, one of the main houses," Ben-Ben mused.

"Yes, we are the family theirs originated from." Curant whipped around in shock.

"Impossible! That- you are of the same family as the Supreme!"

"Ah, that," Tsari waved him off, "Our lines have been separated so long you can not really even say we are related anymore. Besides, most of us here can trace our lines better than you Highbreeds." Curant scoffed at that, shaking his head in disbelief. "Do you want to hear the story of Greywings?"

"Your myth? Please, save your breath."

"It is not a myth," Tsari hissed, "He was the hero of the Augitian planes of Mior! They have a statue of him!"

"Come on, Curant," Ben-Ben snickered, "Do you not wish to learn about your nick-name?"

"... Fine."

"Very well," she said, motioning for them to follow her out as she began to speak of a war between tribes. Ben-Ben watched Curant become enraptured. They sat on Tsari's porch as some of her direct family came out of the big house. They sat and listened from across the cavern.

"It sounds like his success was built more on good fortune and over blown fame than any actual skill." Curant said once Tsari was done.

"True," Tsari nodded, "But he was also a good, trustworthy person. If he had been a terrible person with such blessings then he could have hurt a lot of people. That is why fully grey wings are good luck, though."

"Humf." Curant propped his head up with his arm against his knee.

"It seems you're settling in well." All heads turned to a tall, older Lowbreed.

"Mother," Tsari greeted. Tsari's mother was all black save for one arm which was white. She had one blue eye as well.

"So, these are your Highbreed friends," She stalked forward, glaring down at them.

"Termia!" An older Inpare called from the porch of the main house. She was sat next to several other older Lowbreeds, including an Impare who looked old enough to be one the council, though she appeared to be in much better health.

"Yes, mother?" Tsari's mother replied.

"Be nice to those boys! They are guests!"

"Yes, mother," Termina sighed. She didn't glare when she looked back at them. "Dinner is ready, help me bring some back for your great grandmother." The rest of the elders got up but her and moved with them. The water in the cave was barely puddles to them. There was something about seeing the main cityspace full of Augstakiens that filled Ben with joy. They acted so much more like humans than the Highbreed did, taking care if the children and elders, bumping shoulders, sharing food, laughing, playing- just being happy and open in ways Ben-Ben hadn't seen in so long.

Curant was guided stiffly by the wrist by Tsari when he wouldn't go by himself. He was doing his best not to freak out by everyone being so close. They were all trying to talk to him at once while Tsari shoved a bowl in his hands and started going around filling it with food. He could only imagine how it felt for someone who'd never had such friendly contact before getting it all at once. Paul was having a rough time too. Most of the people here had never met a DNAlien before. However, they were not as eager to touch him like with Ben-Ben and Curant.

A majority of the questions at first were about life in high society. Eventually, though, they started asking about Earth. Ben-Ben tried to deflect by asking about the food (which was freaking amazing by the way, way more seasoning and flavor than what the Highbreed ate) but that didn't work.

"What about your family?"

"Well, it's a big family as far as humans go, but usually it's just me, my parents, Grandpa Max, my cousins, and their parents. So just eight people most of the time."

"Such a small family!" One of the aunties remarked.

"Ah, but you must miss them!" A cousin piped up.

"I…" Ben-Ben set his fork down, "I do. All of the time. There isn't- is not a day that goes by without me thinking about them. Especially my cousin, Gwen. She was like a sister to me, my best friend. They all probably think I am dead now. I want to contact them, but Earth is in Plumber space. So there is no way to send a message to them." The coos of apology were more comforting than he expected as the Augstakiens around him lamented over how they didn't think they could go on like that, without their family. They put their hands on his shoulders, even some of the impares who were hesitant about him were comforting him.

He supposed they had preconceptions about him. Even though he had been human, he was a Higbreed now, and that didn't set up a great precedence. But they warmed up quickly once they realised he was more human than Higbreed. One of the aunties even called him refreshing.

Leaving the bright, delicious smelling, warm main city to return to Tsari's family estate was hard for Ben-Ben and Paul, who both enjoyed their time. Curant couldn't seem happier. He walked with his arms around his chest, Tsari's arm around his shoulders, wings twitching between defensively half splayed and glued to his back. They looked like a couple that just walked out of a haunted house, but Curant was still complimenting how friendly they were and how good the food was. He just didn't like the touching and couldn't handle the attention.

Tsari laughed and apologised. She didn't move her arm, though, and Curant said nothing about it. Ben-Ben helped Tsari's mother carry her great grandmother's food.

"That went well," one of Tsari's two female cousins said.

"Better than I thought it would, at least," Tsari confessed. "The people who did not like the idea stood back and remained respectful." She glanced over her shoulder at her grandmother and mother. "I do not suppose someone had something to do with that?" Her mother scoffed.

"I may be your great grandmother's granddaughter, but I am still commanding ranger, and the rights I have earned outweigh the rights I was born with." Curant almost stopped in his tracks.

"You were able to earn your way past your family name?" Tsari's mother "smiled" at Curant with pity and a little pride.

"Names and bloodlines come in and out of favor, rise up, die out, but the acts of the individual matter more down here than blood."

"A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds." Ben-Ben said absently. Everyone looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Sorry, human saying. It means that the things you do reflect more on you than where you came from. Trees are not known on Earth by the tree that they came from, but the products of the tree themselves. Humans as well are known for the things they do. People who are remembered after they die are the ones who's actions changed history."

"Interesting," Termina said. "I would like to meet an ordinary human, I think. What a fascinating planet you must come from."

"Or perhaps," Curant huffed, "Ben-Ben is simply a fascinating person."

…..

"You are requesting an audience with the Council?" The Highbreed who met the two Reinrassics asked.

"We are demanding it." Reirassic II stated.

"Forgive me sir, but I must-" A beep came from her data padd drew her attention and she paled. "Forgive me again! The Supreme will meet you now!"

"The Supreme?!" Reiny squawked. "We- I-" He shook himself focused again. "Very well, we-"

"I NEED TO SPEAK WITH THE SUPREME!" The Reinrassics, the Highbreeds receiving requests, the palace DNAliens, and everyone else in the entrance to the palace turned to see the now infamous Highbreed standing at the edge of the public landing strip like he'd climbed up the wall to the platform himself. If Reiny had a jaw it would have fallen to the floor.

"Ben-Ben!"