To understand this chapter, read till the end. To understand it even better, read the next chapter (once I have written it).


As Ulgar opened his eyes, he stared at the unfamiliar ceiling of their Nemesian chamber. Luca naked in his arms. A dream, already fading away. But his words stayed. I like you. A lot. Where they words of a drunk tease or of a serious romantic? Ulgar did not know. He assumed the former but somehow hoped for the latter.

"Aries and Luca are gone", Kanata abruptly ended his thoughts, his worry obvious. They had returned late from the party and as there were only two bedrooms with one bed each, Ulgar and the Astra's captain had slept in the lounge, leaving the beds for Aries and Luca. Beds that were now empty with no trace of the two students.

Alarmed, Ulgar immediately jumped up and checked both rooms as well as the adjacent bathroom. Vanished. As had his already faint trust in the Nemesians. "These bastards.", he cursed picking up the gun. The black-haired teen had known all along that they had been watched, that the Nemesian's actions had made little sense and yet ignored it all because Luca was an intoxicating reverie capable of incapacitating the rational part of his brain.

"We don't know what happened", Kanata tried to calm him down. "It's true that those two wouldn't leave without telling us but we should talk to the Nemesians first."

"Got it." It was only because Kanata was his captain that Ulgar tried to contain his anger. Unlocking the door with a shot of his gun, he hurried into the corridor. "I'll give them one chance."

With no guards to question outside and the corridors deserted, all the two could do was retracing their steps back to the great hall. The gate ajar, Kanata and Ulgar were surprised to find the place crowded. It seemed like the whole Nemesian population was present, perhaps a thousand people, focused on the happenings on a stage at the far end of the hall. It was brighter than the day before, almost as if they were outside, with most light coming from the ceiling.

Luca. Ulgar spotted his friend immediately, despite all the people, despite Luca's strange attire. Even Aries standing next to him on the stage paled in comparison to Luca. A wedding dress. So pure and white, like a mythical creature from a different planet entirely. A princess amongst savages awaiting rescue. Beautiful and graceful, yet wearing clothes that were not meant for him. Despite his captivating presence, Ulgar knew Luca would not be comfortable, adding to his urge to rescue him.

Kanata was talking to him, but Ulgar could not hear his voice. Like a radiating star, he was drawn to Luca. Although failing to understand the situation, he knew the purple-haired teen was in danger. The gun in his hands, he was ready to take down the perverted criminals who thought they could marry off his friend like cattle. The life of savages hardly mattered in comparison to Luca.

It was Kanata, stronger than him, who forcefully took the gun from Ulgar's hands. "Killing them isn't going to help, we don't even know what's going on. Let's go to the stage and talk to the Nemesians."

Normally, Ulgar would follow his captain without questioning. However, this was Luca's life that was at stake and he had failed to protect him too many times. With the gun or without, the black-haired teen would save his friend. Leaving Kanata behind at the entrance, he started to fight his way through the crowd, elbowing and pushing aside all obstacles.

"Luca!", Ulgar shouted, desperate to reach his friend. The crowd did not part for him, being too absorbed into the ceremony taking place on the stage. He pushed further and further; even as the guards realised his intention and closed in. Suddenly the hall was extending endlessly, the stage moving away from him the closer he got. His only option was to fight harder, battling against the masses inch by inch.

"Luca!", Ulgar shouted again and this time, their eyes met. Ulgar reached out his hand even though he was still half a world away. Luca's lack of reaction took him by surprise, it was as if the other had voluntarily agreed to be part of the Nemesian's scheme. In whatever manner they had threatened his friend, Ulgar would make them pay. There was no forgiveness for traitors that had made Luca a pawn in their game.

xxx

It was a strange dream. His dress was beautiful, pure white like made of clouds. Reborn as a girl, nothing prevented him from marrying Ulgar. The pressure lifted from his shoulders, there was no reason anymore for secret jealousy and fear about not having the right gender. Ulgar and he could be together.

Even as he was entrapped in his dream, he found it odd that Aries was standing next to him wearing an equally beautiful dress. And the man in front of him, now addressing the crowd, spoke in a language that was too complex to be a fabrication of his mind.

Instead of being by his side, Ulgar was part of the crowd. Briefly, Luca remembered a scene from his past life where the other had wanted to see him in a dress. As a girl, surely he would do Ulgar's expectations justice. However, in his friend's eyes, he found nothing but despair. Something was wrong.

Ulgar was calling out his name but the crowd threatened to consume him. Luca wanted to reply, to reach out, but his body failed to obey. In his weakness, he could do nothing but watch Ulgar struggle until a group clad in white led him and Aries away from the crowd. The dream of a perfect wedding had turned into a nightmare from which there was no waking.

xxx

As Ulgar finally managed to reach the stage, Luca was gone. Too late. Whatever ceremony the Nemesians had been holding, it was over. Perhaps Luca was now married to one of them, the wedding night awaiting him.

"This way!" Kanata pointed towards another exit, hidden behind the stage. There was no door, just a dark hole, perhaps to ensure adequate ventilation of the enormous hall.

"What happened?", Ulgar asked, desperate for information as they hurried into what turned out to be another unassuming corridor, the guards still somewhere behind them.

"I don't know", Kanata replied, running through the corridor, he had no time to figure out what was going on. Every second they wasted meant greater danger for Aries and Luca.

Footsteps behind them. Still no sign of Luca and Aries. Ulgar cursed. Kanata was a fast runner and if it was not for Luca's uncertain future urging him forward, he would have fallen behind long ago. "How can they catch up to us so quickly?"

"Beats me", Kanata gasped. He stopped; the corridor was splitting in front of them. There were doors to the right and left, making it impossible to guess Aries' and Luca's whereabouts. "We need more information."

"Then give me the gun."

Kanata complied, trusting that Ulgar had calmed down enough to not cause a massacre.

"Where are Luca and Aries?", the black-haired teen asked, his gun ready to shoot, as soon as the guards were in hearing distance. Five of them, he noted unsurprised.

Failing to recognise as the gun as a weapon, the Nemesians were cautious but not scared. Clad in horfant skin, shooting them would be useless unless he targeted their faces. Yet killing them meant betraying Kanata's trust. Suppressing the impulse, Ulgar pointed his gun towards a nearby vase with glowing flowers and shot. Immediately, it burst, the water it contained spilling over the carpet.

"Where are Lucas and Aries?", Ulgar repeated, his voice cold and sharp.

The Nemesians were evidently intimidated by the gunshot, looking back and forward between the gun and the broken vase. Completely frozen, no one dared to point their weapon at them. But no one spoke either. "Let me torture them, captain. Just one will do."

"These are just guards. They probably have nothing to do with this", Kanata replied. He then continued to speak, a dopey smile on his face and gesturing around randomly. "We. Friends. Where?"

Ulgar sighed. This was not how Intimidation worked. He readied the gun, pointing onto one of the Nemesians. "You heard him." In contrast to Kanata, there was no friendliness in his voice.

Finally, one of the guards pointed towards one of the doors not too far ahead and gestured upwards.

Behind the door, the two space travellers found a ladder that indeed led to the outside world. Climbing through a hole in a hollow tree, they were suddenly back on the network of branches and bridges in the canopy. The air cold and refreshing, the sounds of the woodland peaceful and unchanged, Aries' and Luca's abduction felt surreal. Apart from the hole in the tree behind them leading back down, nothing hinted at the vast tunnel network that laid underneath the trees.

As the two emerged from the sheltered underground, dark black clouds covered the sky and it rained hard. With their view limited, there was no sign of their friends.

"Captain, what should we do now?", Ulgar asked, knowing how hopeless it was to search the vast woodland. Nemesis was a planet unfamiliar to them, who knew how many other secret worlds like the tunnel system and the canopy network it hid.

"Let's head back to the Astra."

"And abandon Luca and Aries?!"

Kanata reached into his pocket. Under the cover of his raincape, he showed Ulgar the device in his hands. Aries' recorder. "Our best bet is to have Zack analyse this and translate", he explained his decision.

Ulgar hated to give up the search but knew that his captain was right. Even though they did not know their current location, the two were far more likely to find a giant stationary spaceship than their friends. All the black-haired teen could do was hope that the rain would delay the Nemesian's plan. Carefully balancing over the wet trees, he followed Kanata, heading into the direction they suspected the Astra to be in.

"Say Ulgar, did you drink any of the wine?", Kanata asked suddenly, his voice hard to hear over the rain.

"I didn't", the black-haired teen replied. It was an odd question. However, thinking back, it made sense. Luca had acted weirdly during the evening, perhaps not solely due to the influence of alcohol. Even on stage, his reaction had been strangely apathetic. "You don't mean – "

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions", Kanata said. "But I can't imagine Aries and Luca leaving us without saying and participating in Nemesian ceremonies like that."

Ulgar did not reply, just silently marched on. Luca and Aries both were innocent and naïve, abducing them would be child's play for anyone. There had been no need to fool them with an elaborate banquet. Plus, there was no guarantee that they would have drunk the wine. No, the inconsistencies had started far before that. Attacking with killing intend, then saving them. All the similarities between them and the aliens. Was it really possible for two species evolving on different planets to be that similar?

Trying to understand the Nemesians and their behaviour was like solving a puzzle while blindfolded with half the pieces missing. They did need more information.


Do you know how hard it is to write a chapter like this WITHOUT any reference to religion? There are so many words I wanted to use but couldn't because the characters wouldn't know them like angel, ritual, priest, prayer, etc. I could have done this a hundred times better if I wasn't so constricted in my choice of words.