He was in the darkness, standing alone as strange voices spoke around him. He tried to call out to them."Who are you? What's happening? What are you saying?" They never answered his pleading questions.
Then, a figure would appear. They were nothing more than a foggy white shape, as if someone had cut them out of the picture. It was never the same, sometimes the form he saw was a different shape or size. But they all had one thing in common: They felt painfully familiar. He felt like he should know them, but he just couldn't see past the fog.
They would stand there for a moment, staring at him with eyes he couldn't see, saying nothing amongst dozens of whispers, and then suddenly turn and walk around.
"Wait! Don't go!" Deimos would cry out, as he tried to run to reach them. He tried to run faster, but they kept getting farther and farther away. "No! Who are you?! Please tell me who you are! I want to remember!"
But they never looked back. They went further and further, and the whispers went with them. Off in a direction he couldn't follow, to a place he couldn't remember. "No! NO! PLEASE COME BACK!"
He fell to his knees.
"I-I'm scared..."
The silence was deafening.
"Please..."
The darkness came closer…
"Don't leave me alone..."
...And mercilessly devoured him.
With a strangled gasp, Deimos's eyes snapped open and he jolted upwards. He stared forward, panting and gasping for air. His hands shook where they clutched the blankets, and his body drenched in a cold sweat.
After finally managing to catch his breath, the human slumped forward with a sigh, and placed his head in his hands. His whole body was shaking now, as tears began to fall down his cheeks and onto the white sheet below.
It was that dream again… He recalled. That strange dream was one that he seemed to have every night, which always left him with a weight in his chest. He always awoke feeling a painful longing for things he couldn't remember, memories that he couldn't seem to reach.
Deimos threw the blanket aside and stood up, stumbling on unsteady as he made his way out of his room. He couldn't bear to be in the small space for a moment longer, he felt like he would suffocate if he tried.
He went to the restroom instead, turning on the faucet, and using the cold water to splash his face. It didn't help as much as he had hoped, but at least it shook off the last of his grogginess. He turned off the water with a sigh, and glanced at himself in the mirror.
His skin looked deathly pale, still trying to regain its coloring after the awful dream, his inky black hair falling in his face, and his glowing red eyes were bright in the darkness of the room. He reached his hand up, running his hand across the bags under his eyes.
"Stupid nightmares…" He muttered, rubbing his hands along his cheeks and the edges of his eyes, wiping away the tears that remained there. He then ran them through his hair, and forced himself to take a deep breath. "Calm down, Dee. It's okay. It's over, it wasn't real…"
But it still felt so familiar… The human wrapped his arms around himself as he shuffled out of the room. Who are they? Why do I keep seeing them? Why do they always walk away? He huffed in frustration. He couldn't stop thinking about it, it was like an itch that he couldn't seem to scratch.
In an attempt to shake away the haunting feeling, he decided to distract himself by making some tea. It was easy, they always had the kettle ready on the counter. He poured the water into a cub, added the Sky Flower tea bag, and settled down on the floor by the window.
He took a sip of the violet coloured tea, willing the warm liquid to help soothe his nerves. It was a sweet and fruity flavor, not too overpowering, with a bittersweet aftertaste. He wasn't sure if it helped with memories like Analyzer had said, but it did help him feel better.
Deimos sighed, and held the warm cup close to his chest. It had been months since he first awoke on Iscarmilas, and his memories still hadn't returned. In the beginning, he had been heartbroken by the loss; Now, after months of nothing, he found himself beginning to accept that they may not come back.
That painful acceptance made him feel even worse, if that were possible. He was left with gut-wrenching guilt. How can I be okay with never remembering my past? A whole life that I once had, why am I fine with forgetting it? What if there's someone out there who cares for me, who's waiting for me, and because I was too selfish to try harder, they never get closure?
But there was another option: The idea that nobody was looking for him, that nobody cared. He wasn't sure which one he preferred, and he wasn't sure which would be the real option if he ever got to Earth.
Earth… The planet had apparently been his home, but he didn't think of it that way. The planet was an enigma, something he couldn't recall the slightest detail about beyond what he read in the library. All his memories had been about space, living in the Galactic System, living on Iscarmilas. Space was the only home he knew, and the only one he had.
"If Earth were to contact the Galactic System right now… What would I do?" He asked as he looked out towards the stars. "Would I go back? Or… Stay here?"
He didn't have an answer to his own question. He wasn't sure if he had the bravery to answer it either way. He was afraid of his own past, of the planet that had once been his home, and what might be waiting there.
Stop it. The human squeezed the cup tighter, and bit the inside of his cheeks. Stop thinking about this. It's not helping, you came out here to feel better, so do that!
With a sigh, Deimos leaned against the window, his eyes still on the skies above. The sight of the stars, along with the warmth of his tea, helped him to set aside the worries that plagued his mind for so long. Still, as those bright lights glimmered in the sky, he found his curiosity was still brimming within.
I wonder… Are the stars this beautiful on Earth too?
"Unbelievable!"
The peaceful aura of the room was shattered suddenly at the angry yell, causing the many people in it to search for the source. Deimos and Franklin, who were sitting in front of a holographic board, looked towards the front door just in time to see it slam open.
Out of the doorway stormed an angry purple alien with sharp hair that seemed to be raised in a threatening manner. It was one of their roommates, Mifyd. The alien stomped towards the gathered group in a threatening manner, his brown eyes blazing.
"You'll never guess that the library just did!" He motioned to the door. "I was just there, and I tried to pay the fee, they raised it! Those fuckers made it cost two hundred Nova for off-worlders! That's more money than I make in a month!"
"What?!" The yellow alien, Belos, croaked.
The bird-like alien, Rimaf, seemed to bristle. "That's ridiculous! None of us make that much!"
Franklin turned his nose up in disgust. "They're doing it on purpose. It's disgusting."
Deimos watched the exchange silently, and then turned back down to look at the holographic screen below him. The game he and the other human had been playing was no longer fun, not with the guilt that suddenly started eating away at him.
How could he not feel that way? All the price raises, the library fee, and the regulations created by crooked officials only started recently… After he stood up to Desler. He couldn't help but feel at fault. But I can't stop now, if I give up then those assholes will win. He reminded himself, even though that thought only made the guilt worse.
"It's only going to keep happening, you know." Belos raised his lips with a sneer, showing off sharp teeth. "They know what it's doing, and nobody will stop them, so they'll just keep going."
"W-what about that one guy? Deimos's buddy, Pezel?" Another asked.
They glanced towards the mentioned human, and he let out a sigh. "Guys, believe me, he wants to help. He's already done a lot, but… His superiors are like Desler. They hate 'our kind'" He spat out the last two words in disgust. "If he tries anything too daring, they'll fire him. Then, nobody will be on our side…"
The group of outsiders fell into an awkward, unhappy silence. It hurt to admit that they had so few people on their side. Sure, there were other people who wanted things to change, but few of them were brave enough to withstand the pressure from the corrupt officers.
Rimaf was the one to break through the tension. They ran a hand through their feathers and huffed in frustration. "Fuck… I hate those bastards. I wish there was some way we could get past their stupid rules. Even if we have to keep it a secret, at least we'd know that they aren't winning!"
Franklin snorted in amusement. "I'd love to do that, just to see their stupid smirks and know it means nothing."
Belos let out a wistful noise. "Yeah… If only there was a way…"
The silence returned, sadder than the last. It lasted so long, that Deimos wondered if the conversation had finished. He moved his hand, about to press something on the panel in front of him, when he heard a gasp behind him.
"I've got it!" Mifyd loudly declared as he clapped his clawed hands together. "We should hack the library! If we get in the system that way, and download things every now and then, they can't stop us!"
"That's crazy!" Rimaf squawked.
Franklin sent the spiky alien a confused frown. "And how exactly do you expect us to pull something like that off?"
The purple alien grinned, showing off sharp teeth, as he hurried further into the room motioned towards the red eyed human. "Deimos can do it!"
Deimos quickly whipped around, his red eyes wide with panic. "Eh?! Are you crazy?! I don't know how to hack!"
"What about that thing you did with the computer a few weeks ago?" Mifyd challenged. "The restrictions that blocked off-worlders from certain sites, you got past it!"
The human frantically shook his head. "That was different! I-It wasn't a program, it was hardwired in the computer. All I had to do was take it out a-and then that got rid of the restrictions!"
"That's true, but you're still the one who figured it out!" The human across from him pointed out.
Deimos sent him a betrayed look. "Franklin, not you too!"
The old man raised his hands in surrender. "All I'm saying is that you are pretty good with computers already." He reached across the panel and ruffled the younger man's hair. "Maybe somewhere in that empty head of yours is some hacking know-how!"
The red eyed human growled as he slapped away the hand with a childish pout. "Yeah, okay, sure." He glared towards the others. "And what if we get caught? Those officers will try to kill me for sure."
"Aren't they already trying to do that?" Belos questioned aloud, and was quickly elbowed by Rimaf. "What?! It's the truth!"
Deimos's pout grew more prominent. "Annoying…" He grumbled, turning his focus back to the game panel.
Mifyd moved again, kneeling down on one of the open spaces by the game panel, and clasping his clawed hands together. "Please?" His brown eyes glimmering hopefully. "At least give it a try? We can do our best to help!"
Deimos scrunched up his nose in thought. Should he do this? If the officers found out, they'd likely make their lives even more difficult. But then again, if we do nothing, then they'll just get worse regardless. It seems like a no-win scenario... And if that's the case, then what do we have to lose?
"Fine." He begrudgingly declared. "I'll try."
"Yes!" Mifyd threw his hands up in glee, then brought one back down to ruffle the human's hair, leaving the black locks a mess. "I knew I could count on you, kid!"
The red eyed human turned his face away to hide his blush, his pale hand trying to fix the disaster that was his hair. "Annoying…" He mumbled with a smile.
"Yeah, but you love us!"
Deimos started trying to work on his new mission right away, mainly because he knew Mifyd would pester him until he did. He sat himself down in front of one of the few computers they had whenever he had time, and tried to figure out exactly how to infiltrate the library.
Though he felt it was a bad idea, he couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of succeeding. If they managed to hack in, then all those bastard's petty fees couldn't bother them, and then they'd have constant access. It'd be a nice
After a few days, Deimos was starting to wonder if Franklin was right about his 'empty head'. Whenever he used a computer, he felt as though he'd found his home. His hands flying across the keys, his eyes scanning the screen for information, it felt natural and he loved it.
He knew he had to be careful. The Star System was used across every planet that was part of the Galactic System, which meant it was also monitored by them and, likely, some officials on Iscarmilas.
So, he danced around the networks. He carefully poked and prodded, waiting until he felt secure enough to delve even further. A few times, he backed out completely and started over from a different place.
A full week passed. He and the others had been sitting in the common area again, idly chattering. Deimos had settled by the window, his fingers flying across the glowing keys as he nudged even further, the farthest he had ever gone.
Then, with a gasp, he looked up towards the others with a sly grin. "I got in!"
The chatter stopped nearly instantly, as everyone scrambled over to Deimos to see if he was telling the truth. On the screen were hundreds and thousands of titles of novels, textbooks, and other items the library held along with ways to download them.
"Whoa! You got into the hard drives?!" Belos exclaimed.
Rimaf shook their head. "The hard drives aren't connected to the Star System, so he couldn't access them even if he wanted to. That's just how they hold everything in the library so people can easily access it."
Franklin made a noise of understanding. "I see… It would be kind of dangerous to keep all that information in the Library wouldn't it? So that means…"
"They had the information stored somewhere else!" Mifyd finished eagerly.
Deimos smirked even wider. "Exactly! I found their database in the Star System sites, it took some time but I found a way in. Now we have access to all of this, without paying those stupid fees!"
The purple alien let out a joyous laugh as he leaned forward. "Holy shit, this is amazing! I knew you could do it, Dee!"
"Looks like you did have some know-how, just like I told 'ya!" Franklin declared, ruffling the younger's hair once again.
Deimos felt his cheeks heat up again at the praise, quickly swatting the hand away as he scooted back, allowing the others to look over his hard work. He settled with his legs crossed, satisfied with what he had done.
He wondered about Franklin's words, and his own feeling of familiarity that had appeared while he worked. It felt like he had done similar things before, but that only served to confuse him more. Fighting, knife throwing, and now hacking? What kind of human was I?
"Uhh… Dee?!"
There was no time to wonder, as he found the other staring at him panicked. He looked past them, towards the screen, and felt his heart seize. The screen had now turned into static, with a buzzing noise behind it.
"Oh, stars above!" He cursed, quickly hurrying over and yanking the computer out of the plug in the wall. "We got cut off, they figured out we were there!"
The feather's on Rimaf's body puffed out. "Then… They know we did it?!" They glanced towards the human frantically. "Can they track us?! Are we caught?!"
"Possibly?" Deimos cringed. "We… Might want to ditch that computer somewhere where they can't trace it back to us."
"On it!" Mifyd jumped to his feet, grabbing the computer, and taking off out of the room.
As they listened to the footsteps fade, Deimos slumped forward and sighed. "I-I'm sorry, guys. We only have a few computers here in the first place, and now because I wasn't careful enough, we lost one…"
Rimaf sent him a comforting smile. "How could we blame you, Dee? We're the ones that pushed you to try."
"Exactly!" Belos agreed. "Plus, you didn't even know you could do that! Now that you do, you can learn how to get better at it!"
Franklin moved beside the other human. "It's like riding a bike. The more you practice, the better you'll get!" He reached out and ruffled his hair again, this time with a playful grin. "You're a smart kid, Dee. You got this!"
Deimos didn't even try to swat the hand away this time, too moved by their kindness to care. They were right, it had been his first time trying, and he'd still gotten pretty far. He just needed to take his time and practice. The sooner he improved, the sooner they could all stick it to the Iscarmilian officials.
There are other reasons too. The Galactic System is filled with technologically advanced planets and machines. Deimos pointed out to himself. It's a good skill to keep sharp… Just in case I need it.
Considering how eventful his life had been so far, there was no doubt in his mind that he would.
Several Weeks Later
It was early in the morning when Deimos made his way to Hifuld's scrapyard. He wandered through the broken down town, his eyes wide and scanning carefully for any sign of officers who may try to attack him.
Sadly, such an event wasn't unusual. Ever since his first encounter with them, when he had first met Hifuld, they had been chasing after him every chance they got. Deimos wasn't sure if they were planning to arrest him or just beat the shit out of him, but he wasn't going to take the chance to find out.
Luckily, what they had in terms of power, Deimos easily made up for with his quick wit. He managed to avoid them almost every time by leading them on wild goose chases, jumping up where they could reach, or using his powers and switchblades to block their lead to him.
He didn't mind the chases, they were good exercise, but hated when they tried to attack him when he was on his way to a shift. Hifuld was a fair boss, but they wouldn't tolerate the human being late too many times.
It seemed luck was on this time this time, as he made it all the way to the scrapyard without any egotistical officers jumping him.
As he rounded the corner, Deimos couldn't help but make a curious noise. The scrapyard wasn't clean by any means, but he was pretty sure that there hadn't been a long, large spaceship in the middle of it yesterday.
He put his hands in the pocket of his coat, and gently descended into the pit. As he got closer, he realized he could see Hifuld near an opening on the ship. They were picking up large, metal crates and stacking them inside.
When the human was close, Hifuld's large ear twitched, and they turned to face their employee. "There you are!" They said with a grin as they pushed the crate in, and motioned to the others. "Hurry, use your weird floaty thing on the crates and stack them."
Deimos rolled his eyes, but did as he was ordered. His hands moved and were enveloped by a red glow, as he slowly began to move the heavy crates into the large ship. He didn't mind when Hifuld asked him to use his powers, it was good practice after all.
He remembered when he had first started using them. The same metal crate had exhausted him for a whole day after just lifting one. Now, he could lift several one by one with ease. He still hadn't tried his powers on people, except for that one officer that had tried to grab him, Nail.
I know my powers can be used for offense too… He shuddered as he remembered the burst of red, and how the man had been singed afterwards. But I don't want to use that on people, not if I can't control it…
Deimos shuddered and shook his head, he didn't want to think about that awful encounter right now. "S-so, Hifuld…" He glanced towards them and smiled. "What's all this for?"
Hifuld moved to sit on the edge of the ship's opening and crossed their arms. "I'm going off-planet for a few weeks. This ship-building company on a planet requested a shipment of metal that they could melt down to rebuild ships. It's a long distance, especially without a warp drive, but the payout will be worth it."
The human moved to lift another crate, and sent them a curious look. "Warp drive?"
"A warp drive is an engine piece you can use to travel long distances quickly, by warping through the space-time continuum. Basically, you get from one point to another by skipping the distance in-between." Hifuld explained. "But, warp drives are super expensive. So, if you don't have one, you'd better be prepared for long trips."
"I see…" Deimos set down the last crate, and let the red glow fade away. "So, you want me to watch the scrapyard while you're gone?"
Hifuld hopped off the large ship. "Nope." They grabbed the human's arm, dragging them around to the other side of the ship. Sitting behind the large ship was a smaller, fighter ship. "You're not gonna watch this place, because you're coming with me!"
"Huh?!" Deimos glanced at Hifuld, then back at the ship. "What are you talking about?!"
"Another downside to having no warp drive, kid, you're easy pickings for ship pirates. They look for vulnerable ships, and take all the valuables they can. Sometimes, they'll kill the pilot and take the ship just because they can!" They nudged the human. "But, it's a lot harder for pirates to attack a ship with protection! You're my protection."
The human tensed up even further. "Are you kidding?! I've never even flown a ship before! I don't even have a pilot license!"
Hifuld easily waved those questions away. "Meh, who cares? Those are expensive anyways. If you are a shitty pilot, then it's a waste of money! Consider this a test run. If you're a good flyer, I'll pay for your license myself!"
Deimos sighed. "I don't think that's how it's supposed to work, Hifuld…"
"It's how I work." They responded confidently with their hands on their hips.
The human quickly shook his head. "I know that! But I just cant! Hifuld, I've never been off planet before, let alone flown a ship!"
Hifuld waved their hand. "It's not that hard, you'll get the hang of it quickly, I know you will!"
At the sight of Deimos's still-unsure expression, the alien sighed and placed a hand on his shoulders. "Listen, kid. You've shown me plenty of times that you're smart, and are pretty good at handling yourself in sticky situations. That's why I want you with me. I'd feel a lot safer having you there. But, if you really don't want to go, then I won't force you."
Deimos was about to deny once again for several different reasons, but a sudden feeling made him hesitate. He turned his focus away from Hifuld, towards the skies above him. How many late nights had he spent staring at the stars, admiring their beauty from below. He wondered… What would they look like up there?
An overwhelming curiosity coursed through him. He'd never been off-planet. He had no ship, and couldn't afford the cost of the trips to other planets. This would be his chance to see what lies beyond Iscarmilias, at least for a little while. Who knew if he'd get that chance again.
It was his drive for knowledge that won, as he realized that the opportunity Hifuld was giving him was too tantalizing to ignore.
"Alright, I'll go."
Hifuld raised their eyebrows in surprise. "Really? You changed your tune just like that?"
Deimos smiled and shrugged in an innocent manner. "You need your shipment protected, and I get to learn to fly a ship. Plus, you said you'll pay for my license if I'm a good flyer. It's a pretty good opportunity if I do say so myself."
Hifuld snorted in amusement, and their smile was one of appreciation. "Well, I'll feel a lot better having you with me, Deimos." They clapped his shoulder as they walked by. "Now, come help me pack the food before I let you get your stuff, we leave tonight."
The red eyed human felt a thrum of happiness run through him as he followed after his boss. I'm really doing it! I'm going off-planet! He glanced up towards the sky, and felt his curiosity return once again.
He didn't know if their journey would be safe, if he would be a good pilot, or what the planet they went to would be like, but there was one thing he knew for sure:
This was the most excited he had felt in a long time.
