"All right, Lor Starcutter. Let's see what the rest of this planet looks like!" As Magolor guided the Lor through the surprisingly spacious tunnels, he actually felt like he could have a real life. It was calm. Peaceful. He knew those adjectives, but was never able to attach a feeling to them until now. As she emerged from the tunnels beneath what looked to be a volcano, Magolor saw on the various monitors that the place seemed pretty desolate. That might be better than what he was used to, but maybe it meant there was no one to steal from. There was a bit of food on board, but most of it was definitely inedible by now and he didn't feel particularly inclined to take a chance on the rest. Somehow, he knew that the Lor was capable of responding, but at the moment, she wasn't. Where this knowledge came from, he wasn't sure. He was, however, sure that it was accurate.

There was a moderately sized plot of land that seemed to be covered in machines. If Susie made it through, she'd probably be somewhere in there. He flew the Lor over, somewhat clumsily, but he got close enough to it. Upon entering the machinery area, he saw no one that looked like Susie, but rather, a bunch of strange creatures milling about. Eyes with armour, sentient droplets of water, black and white things that bounced everywhere. The air wasn't very clean, but it wasn't worse than where he'd come from. He couldn't really tell what they were doing, but many of them seemed to be in a hurry. Can all of you just get out of the way? I'm trying to find something helpful here.

As he made his way through the congested conveyor belts and spiked ceilings, he came across someone who was different. Namely, a blue hunk of metal. It was moving around, directing some of the various creatures to where it wanted them to go, or at least, that's what it looked like. He couldn't hear what they were saying. Magolor approached the robot-y thing, and tried to speak. "Ah, hello. I was looking for some supplies, just, to get by, you know, and I, uh…" It stared at him intently. Okay, Magolor, come on! Just ask the question! Maybe he won't be like the doomers! "Do you know where I could get any of that?"

The robot made a few sounds, then signaled to what looked like some kind of drone behind it. They emerged later, with some water and a package of… what was this? Instant noodles? Never heard of those before. Sensing his confusion, the robot snatched the package away from him and Magolor watched as it cooked them into something that looked-and smelled delicious. It handed the noodles back and Magolor ravenously devoured them. After he drank the rest of the water, he noticed the robot trying to get his attention. It was indicating something flying down the volcano.

Magolor had never seen anything like it before. It was huge, orange, and had four heads. Something about that thing on one of its heads seemed familiar, and Magolor caught himself looking at it for a little too long. The robot was looking at him funny. Whatever. I'll worry about that hat thing later. For now, I want to find some more food. As if it read his thoughts, the robot handed him some more water and packages of noodles. Well, I suppose this is enough for now. I should probably go back to the ship. If she's really alive, she'll probably be worried about me.

-. - - / .- .-.. .-.. / ... . .-. - . ... / .- . .- .-. / -.-. .- .-. . ... -..- / ... - - . / .- . .- .-. / -... .-. .. -. ... - / .-. . -.. / .-. .-.. .- ... - .. -.-. / .-. .- -.-. -.- .- -. .. -. -.

Magolor awoke in his bed, which made sense because that was where he fell asleep. What didn't make sense was the time. It was three in the morning, which he should have no reason to be awoken during. Today was, of course, different. There were sounds coming from the study. Might as well check up on Taranza, he usually isn't awake at this hour. The door to the study was open, and Taranza was lying on the couch. With the exception of Taranza himself, everything was normal. He, however, was writhing uncomfortably. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he was moving stiffly. Looks like it's just a nightmare. He was about to close the door on his way out, but then he heard Taranza whisper from behind him. "Don't go."

Magolor turned around and looked at him, now that he had woken up. "Do you need something?"

"Could you just sit next to me?" There was no reason not to oblige. He did as he was asked, saying nothing. In the darkness of the room, the only light came from Magolor's eyes. Looking into them made Taranza feel like he was home. "Have you ever… lost someone important to you?"

Magolor nearly considered explaining the caretaker from the facility, but that definitely wasn't a bombshell to be dropping now. "No. I haven't."

"Ever since she passed, I have felt like a shell of myself. Everything seemed so bright before it started going downhill, and now there's a Sectonia-shaped hole in my heart that I know is never going away. And it's even worse that it's all my fault, too!" His voice was nearly out of a whisper. That made it all the more clear what bad shape he was in physically. "I could have stopped her! If I had just left the mirror alone, none of it would have happened! All that would have gotten me KILLED if it wasn't for you, too. And despite all that, I-"

"Taranza." Magolor placed one hand on Taranza's chest, and attempted to steady him with a stare.

"I don't know what to do… I really just want to see her again. Even if it's just to say goodbye." Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"I know. I saw how much you cared for her. It wasn't your fault. You had no way of knowing until it was too late, and I know for a fact that if you did find out sooner, she would have been fine. Some things are just… out of your control." Saying those words out loud struck a nerve for Magolor, but he knew it was true.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Magolor picked up Taranza's blanket and wrapped it around him. "Hey, Magolor, you can just go back to whatever you were doing, all right? I think I need to get some more sleep."

"Yeah. I'll do that." Magolor got up and left the room. He returned a minute later. When he came back, his eyes portrayed a sense of confusion. "What did you mean?"

Taranza snapped out of the sleep he was about to fall into. "Mean by what?"

"You said 'even if it's just to say goodbye'. What did you mean by that?"

"..."

"I know you weren't able to tell her properly when she was still alive, but why would it just be that? There must be more you want to say to her, right?"

Taranza froze. He didn't know how to respond. Obviously there was a reason, but he didn't want to say it. "Umm…"

He was saved by a voice from the Lor Starcutter. "Captain! This is urgent. I have a message for you from Daroach!"

Magolor stared into Taranza's eyes for a moment, and then left. "I'll be right there!"

As he was going to the main room, he heard Taranza whispering as loudly as he could. "Who is that?"

The Lor was displaying a message from Magolor's former accomplice. As he read it, he felt the blood in his veins run cold.

I saw Haltmann land on Planet Popstar and decided to go back in to steal more. I found some more valuable things, and a file. I think you'll want to see it. ( Image )

The image on it was the front page of a file that Daroach had pilfered from the Haltmann Works Company. In bold letters in the center of the cover, read the words " PROJECT RESTORATION ". Underneath those words, was a smaller block of text that read "An observation log by Max Profitt Haltmann". Around the words, several printed images were pasted on the cover. One image showed a telegraph key, like what you would use to send messages in morse code. Another showed a portal that appeared to be sustained by some kind of technology. A third image showed a very familiar-looking glass case, and the final one showed Magolor solving a jigsaw puzzle.

Magolor's hands were shaking, but more important was figuring it out. "What? Haltmann knew about the facility?"

"Captain, that isn't what's important now. Consider the person who sent you that image."

"You're right, Lor. I need to get that file." He typed up a response.

—

Magolor: Are you still on Popstar?

Daroach: In the general area yeah

Magolor: Do you see the forest that's covered in mist?

Daroach: yeah

Magolor: That's where I am. If you land in the middle, you should find the Lor pretty easily. Bring that file.

Daroach: How do I know you aren't going to kill me and steal it?

Magolor: You don't. But I can assure you that you will be in much more danger if you don't bring the file over.

Daroach: are you just threatening me as a way to get me to come over without admitting that you trust me

Magolor: I decline to comment

—

... - .- .-. - / .- .. - ... / - ... . / . -.. -. . ...

"Sorry for being late, I fell in a hole and then a jester started yelling at me for making too much noise." The thief's trademark red cape was looking a bit worse than usual, but with that explanation, it made sense.

"Thanks for coming. Now, can I have that file?"

"Oh, no no no no. I'm not going to just hand it over unless I can be here for when you read it."

Magolor raised an eyebrow. "You haven't read it yet?"

"Nope. It'd just be rude to read something this important without you."

Going over the information in his head, Magolor decided that the benefits of going along with what Daroach wanted outweighed the costs. "Fine. Let's, uh…" He ducked into the study and then came back out, carrying the entire table with two chairs stacked on top of it. After setting them down in the main room, he closed the study door. "Here." He put the chairs on the floor, pulled out one, and sat in the other.

Before he sat in the empty chair, Daroach looked pointedly at the closed door. "Any reason in particular why we can't go over it in there?"

"I have a guest over. He's asleep in there."

"Fine then." He pulled the file out of his cape and slapped it on the table. "Let's kick some ass."

—

OVERVIEW

Project Restoration is a side project set up by the researchers at Lab Discovera. The goal is to return the ruined planet of Halcandra to its former glory. They plan to accomplish this by creating two subjects to fulfill a certain goal. One to clean up the toxic emissions from the machinery, the other to awaken the Lor Starcutter, the ship that was revered as a god in ancient times. After being raised in the facility for what is projected to be fifteen years each, they'll be sent to Halcandra to perform their duties, with assistance from their caretakers. With any luck, the population of Halcandra will begin to thrive again.

—

"Halcandra… doesn't ring any bells." Daroach held the front of his hat. "I take it you've been there, from the fact that you ended up finding the Lor Starcutter."

"Yes. I've been there."

"So, you were the second subject, and the project succeeded?"

"Umm, I don't remember if it really succeeded. But if that's what it all points to, then probably." This is what I get for lying about everything! Nothing I'm going to say about this is gonna make sense.

"You can relax, I already know that most of what you told me when we first met isn't true." Well, that makes things easier.

—

Subjects

The two subjects have official names, but for the sake of what I imagine to be writing convenience, the researchers all refer to them as R1-G and R2-M. I spoke with R1-G's caretaker, but she denied my request to see the subject himself. Apparently he had "behavioral problems" that caused the researchers and caretaker to bar him from ever interacting with a visitor such as myself, or R2-M. The kinks are being worked on, but for the time being he is too hostile to be near someone not directly involved in the project. Other information on R1-G is very limited, other than that there is some extreme difference between him and R2-M from a conceptual standpoint. I met R2-M in person, and despite being three years old, he was about as mature as your average child three times that age. His caretaker seemed to be very proud of him.

—

"Did you ever end up meeting R1-G?"

"I don't remember."

—

Other information

Upon entering the facility, I noticed a few researchers running around, planting telegraph keys every few yards, as well as next to anything important. They were talking about it being a "last resort", although I cannot hazard a guess as to what they meant by it. One of them was the caretaker for R1-G, who said "The important thing to remember is the name of the project."

Additionally, there is a room with a machine set up to artificially sustain a portal created by ID-F86. I have heard that the calibration has not been reliably tested, and that absolutely no one should go in there. On a subsequent visit a year later, I learned that the calibration was currently honing in on Halcandra. It will take at least a year to reliably transport researchers and subjects alike to the destination, but the mere fact that they seem to have the thing under control is very impressive.

—

"Is that everything?" Magolor continued looking at the open page after he was finished reading.

"As far as I can tell, yeah." Daroach flipped the paper. Nothing on the other side. "So. Now that all that's literally out on the table, how about you tell me the truth? What really happened to you?"

Magolor stared off into space, then turned to Daroach. "Fine. I'll keep it concise. The project was sabotaged, and a bomb was planted in the facility. With no way to defuse it, everyone there evacuated to an escape ship, but they left me behind. The caretaker came back for me, and he did everything it took to get me out of there. During the escape, I passed out. When I woke up, I had forgotten everything about it." His response was calm and measured, and you'd never be able to tell from his voice how much it affected him.

"What happened after you woke up?"

"... I really don't want to get into that. Just know that it was really bad. It got better when I found the Lor, but I was awful. I was selfish, I went around stealing food and resources from other planets, but right when I actually started feeling happy, I threw it all away because I couldn't find it in me to let go of the past."

Daroach managed a chuckle. "You're really gonna tell me about how stealing is bad? You must have me confused for somebody else."

"Heheh. Maybe I do. Though, I could say the same to you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know you've only known me for about a month, but you really should be aware by now that I don't miss much. You definitely had something more genuine to say, because I'm on your list."

The thief leaned back in his chair. "List? I don't know what you're talking about."

"So you mean to tell me you haven't been trying to learn more about me just to fill out those adoption papers?"

Daroach tipped his hat far forward enough that it covered his eyes. "Hah. Not bad. Maybe you really are fit to be the guardian of a god."

A few minutes later, Daroach left. Magolor put back the table and chairs, stashed the file in the Captain's Quarters, and prepared to go to sleep. Wait. Aren't I forgetting something? He went back to the study. Inside, Taranza was still out like a light. How long am I allowed to look before it just gets creepy? I don't really want to find out. He slid the buckle on his scarf to the other side, and felt his cape fall to the floor behind him. He picked it up, unfolded it, and draped it over Taranza. At that moment, it almost looked like a bit of the tension in his sleeping face went away. Before going back to the Captain's Quarters, he floated close to Taranza's head and whispered as softly as he could manage.

"Sweet dreams."