A/N: If you were confused about the ending last chapter, have no fear! It will all be explained in its due time! Also, to make it more 'realistic', I made the world wider, so don't flame at me saying that 'it's not like that in the game'!

"A Blade ship," Faycune said grimly.

"What? A Blade ship? What's a Blade ship?" Toomin wondered aloud.

Faycune closed his eyes. When he opened them, there was a strange, eerie glint in his eyes. "A Blade ship is a very, very powerful Yeerk vessel; it has beam weapons powerful enough to annihilate a city in a matter of minutes. They are only owned by Vissers, which are powerful Yeerk generals. The Vissers are numbered according to status; with Visser One being the highest down through Visser Forty or so. As to the number on the Visser on board; well, we'll just have to see." Faycune explained, slowly.

"But if a Visser is here with his Blade ship, then wouldn't other ships be here as well? You know, to support him?" blurted Doffnall.

"Not necessarily. There have been no other sightings, and since a Pool ship is twice the size of a Blade ship, it would have been seen. Aside from a few Bug fighters, and a number a small two-person transports, the Blade ship is probably alone."

Tarchas looked up at the sky. "Well, you guys had best be getting on your little ways now, seeing as it'll be dawn in a few minutes," Tarchas said with a curt tone. "I'll be smacked out of my wits by Gunthay if I'm a nanosecond late with the horn-blowing." He gestured toward a large, whimsical-looking horn that sat on the edge of the dock. Without another word, Gyp, Faycune, Doffnall, and Toomin climbed back into their small boat.

When they reached shore, they walked (and flew) down the road back to the lift. As they were almost in sight of it, they first light rays of the day shone upon the world, and a great baying, trumpeting sound was heard across the land. After reaching the café, and saying farewell to Gyp, Faycune led the way back to his small apartment.

Once inside, Toomin asked, "Gyp's and Tarchas' face and ears are different from the Norns' at Incubatorium. Why?"

Faycune forced a laugh and said, "Well, a long time ago, there were only six breeds: Banana, Horse, Fox, Forest, Ron, and Purple Mountain. After the Rebuilding of Albion after the Great War, three races were found that had been mutated from the originals: Hebe, Malay, and Alba; at least that's what they called themselves. The originals regarded them as…well, as freaks. That's the source of all the animosity between Incubatorium and the rest of Albion: the originals, which live here, think of themselves as pure, while the Outsiders think they are more highly evolved. Tarchas is a Malay/Alba mix, and Gyp is pure Golden Desert, which is a breed descending from a desert-going band of the original Malays."

Toomin didn't reply. He was thinking more about the Blade ship than Faycune's explanation. He had already lost one way of life. He didn't want to lose another.

*                           *                           *

An hour later, Faycune called Toomin into the common room. Toomin, who had been sleeping fitfully, rolled out of his hammock. He noted that Doffnall's hammock was empty. He wondered why. 'Why do you care, Toomin?' he thought to himself as he shuffled into the room.

Toomin's eyes widened. Faycune was packing a large, dark green backpack full of supplies, food, and an assortment of tools. He saw Faycune slip a bulky blue gun into a hidden compartment in the pack. Faycune looked up. Toomin's lazy manner quickly shaped up after seeing the grim, troubled look on Faycune's face. "About time you responded to me. No one is being sent after those transports the Blade ship launched," Faycune said with quiet fury. "Amadeus seems to think that it 'was all a figment of some idiot Outsider's imagination'…" Faycune's words lowered to inaudible whispers. Toomin asked, "Well, could it have been?"

"No. Although Tarchas may not be the nicest fellow around, he's one of the smartest, and one of the most sharp-eyed. If anyone could spot a Blade ship, it'd be him. Besides, Amadeus wouldn't know if a dozen Hawjabran freighters flew overhead. All he does is skulk around his precious Incubator cavern all day, never bothering to look at the sky."

Doffnall came out from the bathroom with a small bottle of a purple liquid. "You wanted the Gelsemium potion, right?" she asked. Faycune answered, "Yes. Put it in the small pouch on front." He struggled to fold a thick blanket as Toomin asked, "Um, I hate to sound like an idiot, but, where are we going?"

"Well, if no one is going after that Blade ship, then I am. I was one of their best during the first war. Don't worry, I'm not going alone; several of my closest friends are coming with me. You are coming, too, of course."

Toomin rocked back. "What? But…how are we supposed to help? We aren't even mature yet!"

"Don't think you can fool me. You two know far more than you're letting on, I can sense it. Anyway, both of you can fly, which would be a great asset to this mission."

Toomin was speechless. He was about to tell Faycune that he wouldn't go, when Faycune said, "If you don't want to go, that's fine. Doffnall's coming with me; she told me so herself." Doffnall smiled meekly from behind Faycune.

"I'm in," Toomin said without a second thought. There was no way he was going to make himself look like a coward in front of Doffnall.

"Good. The more people we have, the better chances we have of taking down whatever forces they have down there." Faycune said as he stuffed the barely-folded blanket into the backpack. He threw a smaller pack to Toomin and Doffnall each, and said, "Here, use these. Take as many useful items as you can carry."

Doffnall and Toomin packed in silence. Not for the first time, Toomin wondered what sort of Norns they would meet out beyond Incubatorium. His chain of thoughts was broken when Faycune announced, "Alright, we're ready. We don't have much food, but there will be food along the way, I'm sure of it."

Toomin picked up his backpack as Faycune turned off the various machines and gadgets in the room. He shifted uncomfortably, then said to Doffnall, "Well, if we have to go on this crazy little adventure, at least we're going into it together, right?"

"Yeah," Doffnall responded. "Somehow, having friends around makes it a little less terrifying."

"Not by much."

They both laughed. Faycune then beckoned to them, turned off the lamp and led the way out into the hall.

The hall had sort of a misty, early-morning feel to it. They passed only a drowsy Purple Mountain Norn who was sipping a blue liquid. The Norn barely acknowledged them as they whisked past him. Toomin and Doffnall had to flutter to keep up with Faycune's brisk pace. Eventually, Faycune led them to the lift they had used earlier. They went upward into the same café they had visited the previous night. Faycune pushed the up button once more. They emerged into the golden-yellow morning sun. A large, ornate building loomed up before them. Toomin thought to himself, 'It must have been dark out last night for me not to notice such a big building.' He shrugged off the thought, and followed the others.

Faycune led them down the same path as they took last night, but took a fork in the road on the right side of the temple that led to a nearby cluster of barely visible buildings in the sand. Toomin took flight, and got there ahead of Faycune. Doffnall soared up next to him. When they got to the village, they circled overhead until Faycune caught up. They saw Faycune enter a low, domed building. Toomin swooped down, and landed neatly on the doorstep. He entered, with Doffnall right behind him.

He appeared to be in a kind of bar. Music blared out of speakers on the walls, and Norns of all shapes lurked around in the semidarkness, lit only by a few torches and glowing neon signs. He looked around, and he saw a few creatures that definitely were aliens. One of them, a fat, large-eared alien with a clown-like face shot Toomin a mean look. He quickly looked away, searching for Faycune. He spotted Faycune, who had just taken a seat next to a bright turquoise Hebe Norn, and started toward him. Suddenly, a big, bright green male Norn with vicious claws and a long, sting-tipped tail got up from his seat abruptly, and plowed into Toomin. The Norn fell over on top of him, snarling. The Norn thrashed around, then, with amazing agility, sprang up. Toomin had about a millisecond to say, 'whew', when the Norn clasped one of his large pincers over his throat, and lifted him up.

"Yohon tinkiyohon yohon dodah dobegho?"

"I…gak…" Toomin responded. He looked helplessly down at Doffnall.

"Mahohee mahnso!" someone said. Toomin looked around wildly for the source of the voice. He saw Faycune, standing next to the Norn that was choking him. Faycune pulled out the blue gun that Toomin had seen him pack.

"Way mahrnsoh, mahohee mahnso!" Faycune said firmly.

The green Norn dropped him, shot Faycune an ugly look, and returned to his seat. Faycune went back to the table with the Turquoise Hebe. Doffnall scuttled after Faycune, and after he'd given his neck a good massage, Toomin followed. When he got there, the Hebe pulled out a chair for him. Toomin sat, and thanked him.

"No need," the Hebe said. He realized that the Norn was female.

Faycune finally spoke up and said, "I see you got into a bit of a tangle with that Scorpio Norn, Toomin."

Toomin protested, "It wasn't my fault! That Norn attacked me after I bumped into him! It was an accident!"

Faycune smiled. "Ah, yes. Well, Scorpios are notorious for two things: not being able to tell the difference between an attack and an accident, and dishing out ten times more than they received."

"Who's she?" Doffnall asked, pointing to the Hebe Norn.

"She? Well, that's what we came here for. Meet the first new member of our little adventure group."