"Are you okay?" Scout asked as Rook helped Albedo up. Well, more picked up than helped. The Galvan was the size of Rook's hand. There wasn't much he could do to help without jostling the bones out of him.

"Ship! Ship! Ship!"

"Yes," Albedo grumbled, annoyed, as he swatted Rook's hand away. His eyes skimmed the remains of his hover platform and the small black and green creature dancing on it. Albedo sighed before stepping forward and waving the creature away. "Shoo! Get out of here!"

"Ship! Ship, ship!" the creature yelped and jumped up into Scout's arms. It surprised him and he fumbled for a moment to prevent himself from dropping him.

"What is he?" Scout asked as the creature wiggled, nestling himself deeper into Scout's arms.

"Don't call it a he. Personifying them just makes them stick around longer," Albedo told him. He turned away for a moment to pick up a piece of his hover platform. The machine was wrecked but Albedo didn't seem to think so. "If you must know, it's a Galvanic Mechamorph Envoy. Just ignore it and it'll go away eventually."

"Envoy?" Rook repeated, glancing at the little Mechamorph. It was squirming again but Scout's hold was tight enough that he didn't think there was much risk of dropping it. "Meaning it has a message?"

"Yes. And not a particularly interesting one, it seems," Albedo snorted as he began piecing his hover platform back together.

"Ship?" Scout repeated, shifting the Envoy into his hands so he could look at it face to face. "Is that what you're trying to tell me, buddy?"

"Ship!" the Envoy nodded frantically. "Ship! Ship, ship!"

"Don't entertain it."

Scout's ears flattened and he lashed his tail. "Hey, Ship came to us to tell us something. The least we can do is listen!"

"You're probably the hundredth being it's come up to," Albedo informed him, not looking up from his work. "Galvans normally just ignore them and eventually they get bored and melt. Now that you're giving it attention, it thinks it has a real purpose. It's never going to melt now."

"Well, maybe I don't want Ship to melt," Scout responded, unable to think of something better to say. How could Albedo be so calloused? Sure, he was annoyed that Ship knocked him off his hover platform but that was no reason to disregard the value of a life. Maybe Ship wasn't a Galvan or quite like the other Galvanic Mechamorphs walking around but he had the intelligence of an animal at the very least. That made him worth something in Scout's mind.

"I am sure Albedo knows what he is talking about, Scout," Rook told him. Turning to Albedo, he asked, "Is there some kind of problem if they don't melt? Do they become dangerous?"

"Not particularly," Albedo answered with a shrug. "But they can get kind of annoying when they come in contact with technology."

"Why? What happens when they come into contact with technology?" Scout asked just as Ship started to weasel his way out of Scout's arms. "Ship!"

"Ship ship!" Ship jumped down and landed on Albedo's hover platform again, earning another exasperated yell from the Galvan. He bounced off and jumped up into the air and his body began stretching. Scout gasped and in the blink of an eye, an identical hover platform to Albedo's was floating in front of them.

"He is a shapeshifter," Rook realized aloud, just as wide-eyed as Scout. Ship responded gleefully and shook himself, expanding until the hover platform was big enough to hold an alien larger than a Galvan.

"Ship!"

"Great, now it wants you to follow it," Albedo stated as he stepped onto his own hover platform. Without explanation, he directed it in the direction the trio had come from and began heading back toward the lab. "It won't leave you alone until you find its original. I don't particularly want to spend my afternoon entertaining a dog so I'll see you back at the lab. Feel free to stop by anytime, if your offer to study the Omnitrix still stands."

"I resent the dog comment!" Scout called after him even though he really didn't. Ship was kind of like a dog, in the only way that Scout wasn't. He found it kind of endearing. But that didn't mean he didn't find Albedo's attitude towards the Galvanic Mechamorph Envoy annoying. Albedo had seemed so fun just a few minutes ago! He was hoping to make a new friend here- Luna Lobo knew he only had so many- but now he was wondering if Albedo was the right person for that. At least he had Ship though.

"Ship!"

"I believe he wants to take us somewhere," Rook stated, eyeing Ship warily. As a hover platform, he was big enough for both Scout and Rook to ride, a bit cramped but not uncomfortably so. Scout wondered how many pieces of technology Ship could turn into but he seemed pretty set on remaining in this form. He clearly wanted them to hop on.

Scout shot Rook a wordless glance before taking a chance and stepping on. Ship dipped under his weight slightly but adjusted and flashed excitedly. Scout found himself smiling and glanced back at his friend. He tipped his head invitingly. "Are you coming?"

Rook sighed and climbed on after them, trusting Scout's judgement.


Scout grew uneasy when Ship brought them off the paved roads and out of the city. No one told them exactly that they had to stick to the confines of the area they landed in but neither Scout nor Rook had been on an alien world before, let alone the untouched wilderness of one. There were trees and plants he didn't recognize everywhere. What if they were poisonous? Maybe he was allergic to them. Or maybe they housed some kind of predator that left Galvans alone but thought Revonnahganders and Loboans made the perfect snack. And what if they got lost? There were just too many possibilities for something to go wrong.

If Scout thought he was nervous, Rook was even more so. His grip on Ship's rails was so tight Scout half expected the Envoy to shake him off. And his fur, it was starting to fluff up. Scout wasn't familiar with Revonnahgander behavior, or any kind of feline for that matter, but he was pretty sure that was some kind of distress signal.

He opened his mouth to say something, to assure him in some way, but then the sharp scent of smoke hit his nose.

It took him a moment to recognize it. There weren't a lot of fires on Anur Transyl and anyone who could start a fire in the Plumber Academy generally avoided burning things. He nearly doubted himself for a moment but as they got closer and closer, it became apparent that there was definitely something smoking up ahead.

"Shiiiip," Ship droned as he broke the treeline. He let go of his form, melting back into his original state and dropping Rook and Scout into the clearing. They landed a bit awkwardly but were fine for the most part. "Ship! Ship, ship!"

Ship was hopping around, like he was trying to get their attention. Scout's eyes surveyed the clearing and immediately fell upon a smoldering hunk of metal. He slapped a paw against his forehead. "Ship! I get it now!"

"Ship, ship!" Ship began bouncing towards the damaged remains of the vessel. He paused, glancing back at his followers. Scout and Rook hurried after him in a heartbeat.

They'd done recovery drills at the Academy. They knew exactly how to work together seamlessly. With a few small, well-placed sonic blasts, Scout knocked away the larger pieces of scrap out of the way before using his powerful claws and Loboan strength to clear a path for Rook. Curling back part of the hull, Rook was able to find a big enough gap to reach into the ship to check for survivors.

There was some struggling but Scout could tell Rook found someone inside and it wasn't a Galvan. Unconscious, judging by how much effort it took for Rook to even get a grip solid enough to start dragging them out. Scout had to hold up a good portion of the ship's weight to keep it from falling on Rook and trapping the pilot inside so he couldn't see much but if Ship's excited yelps were anything to go off of, Rook was making good progress.

His wrists were starting to hurt and his claws were sore by the time Rook gave him the clear and he was able to get a look at Ship's friend for the first time. It was a Galvanic Mechamorph, unsurprisingly, but something seemed wrong. Scout wasn't able to tell until Rook flipped him over and exposed the red, crossword pattern etched over the left side of his body. Scout winced at the side of it. It was… Well, he wouldn't say it was gross. Galvanic Mechamorphs were tech-based lifeforms so Scout wasn't quite familiar enough to be unnerved by the unusual. But the web-like lines spreading across his body were unnatural and that made Scout's tail tip curl with worry.

"What's wrong with him?" Scout asked, leaning his snout down to sniff. Nothing smelled off but he didn't expect it to.

"An infection, perhaps?" Rook suggested. His hand went to his chin in thought. "Or maybe this is just what Galvanic Mechamorphs look like when they're hurt."

"We need to get help," Scout stated and moved to pick up the Mechamorph but Ship was barking again and a realization hit him. Ship already tried getting help. And everyone ignored him. A population that probably knew what an envoy's presence meant and ignored his cries for help anyway.

Scout's blood boiled as the pieces clicked together in his mind. His hackles began to rise and he felt a throaty growl forming in his throat but he bit his tongue, not wanting to alarm his companions or risk a sonic howl damaging the forest. But he let himself dig his claws into the greyish sand that covered the forest floor. It wasn't much help but the slight satisfaction he got was enough to ground him.

Rook didn't seem to share his thoughts. Oblivious to Scout's rage, he rose to his feet and gathered up the Galvanic Mechamorph in his arms the best he could. "The markings look a bit like that Malware creature in the First Thinker's laboratory. Maybe Azmuth will be able to tell us what is wrong with him."

"Maybe," Scout conceded, stepped forward to take some of the burden of the Galvanic Mechamorph's weight off Rook's hands. He had little faith in the First Thinker's willingness to help but he had to try. At least they'd get some answers. Right?


Bahrvad was dragging something outside the museum when Scout, Rook, and Ship returned with the Galvanic Mechamorph in tow. He dropped his load in surprise upon the sight of them. "By the queen's axes! Is that Baz-I?"

"Who?" Scout and Rook asked in unison. They should've checked the ship for identification, Scout realized, but they were lucky to get the pilot out at all. Looking for anything else in such a damaged ship might have been pushing it.

"Baz-I. We're friends. Sort of. He's a Galvanic Mechamorph." That much was obvious but Scout was patient. Bahrvad would get there eventually. "He works here. Or, uh, at least I thought he did. He was always here whenever I came by but it's been a long time. I'd imagine he'd have gotten a promotion or switched to another facility by now."

"We found him in a crashed ship outside the city," Rook informed him, voice taking the usual droll of a report to mask his worry. "He sent out an Envoy to get help. It appears he has some kind of infection."

Bahrvad, with his greater strength, gently took Baz-I from Rook and Scout. Both were in pretty good shape after months at the Plumber Academy but Galvanic Mechamorphs were almost entirely metal. Liquid, malleable metal but still metal. They were heavy. Scout was relieved to get the weight off his body and grateful that Bahrvad was more than willing to carry Baz-I inside on his own. Plus, now that his hands were free, that left room for Ship to wiggle his way into his arms. The little Mechamorph liked to be held, it seemed.

"I'm sure Xylene will know what to do," Bahrvad told them as he brought Baz-I inside. The guards looked up upon their entrance and seemed to buzz among themselves with worry. Whatever happened to Baz-I, it wasn't normal. They were worried.

"Not Azmuth?" Rook questioned.

"Azmuth's busy."

Scout's tail lashed behind him. "I don't know a lot about techno-based life forms but even I can tell something's really wrong with Baz-I. I'm sure Baz-I is far more important than whatever the First Thinker is working on."

Scout saw Bahrvad's hesitance to answer. "It's complicated."

"Doesn't look that complicated to me."

Rook frowned. "I am afraid I do not understand."

"Let me lay it out for you, Rook," Scout responded, unable to keep the snarl out of his voice. He was angry but it wasn't directed at Rook. He hoped his friend knew that. "Albedo knew what Ship was and he actively ignored it. We were pretty far from the crash site. Ship had plenty of opportunities to get help before running into us but everyone ignored him. And this is the species that created Galvanic Mechamorphs are. They're geniuses, they definitely knew what Ship was. Anyone of them would have been able to help Baz-I and they choose not to."

Rook looked vaguely unsettled. "What are you suggesting? That Galvans are an unbenevolent parent species?"

"Worse," Scout told him as they walked deeper into the museum, nearing the halls that held the labs. There was a pretty good chance of someone overhearing him here but he didn't care. "I'm saying that Galvanic Mechamorphs are second-class citizens."

"I do not think-"

"Look around Rook. The Galvanic Mechamorphs are guards. The Galvans are scientists and athletes and Plumbers and engineers and- and... And the Galvanic Mechamorphs aren't. They're an amazing species but they're never even given the chance to use their powers or- or branch off the explore new opportunities. They're stuck being Galvan's servants in these unskilled jobs."

"A bit of a, uh, radical take," Bahrvad interrupted, "but you're not exactly wrong. I'm surprised you picked up on it so quickly, Scout. You've got a sharp mind."

"Don't dodge the subject."

"Sorry. Galvan politics are… complicated. Maybe let's focus on getting Baz-I some help for now, alright? I promise I'll answer any questions you may have later."

Scout was annoyed but he supposed that was a fair compromise. Shutting his muzzle, he and Rook followed Bahrvad into Azmuth's lab. That red Galvanic Mechamorph had been transported to another holding field, this one a bit less prison-like, but Azmuth was largely ignoring him. He was on the other side of the lab, tinkering with something or another, while Xylene and Albedo focused on Malware.

"You brought that thing back with you?" Albedo questioned when he saw Ship in Scout's arms.

"He's not a thing."

"It's an incomplete extension of an artificial lifeform. All the programming that makes it an individual is missing. It's not even an animal."

"Shiiip." Ship's eye drooped, like he was sad. Scout put him gently, scratching his neck, and pointedly ignored Albedo. He'd been fun at first but Scout was starting to get annoyed with him. No, he was well past starting. He was definitely annoyed with him, bordering on something worse.

"Ship was sent out because his, uh, parent's ship crashed," Scout announced, drawing Xylene and Azmuth's attention. "When we found him, he had some kind of infection on his body."

Xylene looked worried and took a step closer to get a better look but Azmuth was already dismissing Scout's concerns. "That one was just exposed to Malware for too long. I fired him days ago. Just stick him somewhere safe and he'll wake up sooner or later. They always do."

This time, a growl really did escape Scout's lips. "You mean this happened before? Galvanic Mechamorph's are getting sick because of your project and you're doing nothing?"

"Hey, I'm not a project," Malware grumbled, sounding a lot more docile than before. "I'm here to get help too. Or at least I would be if someone was doing their job!"

Albedo huffed and put his hands on his hips. "And what do you think I'm doing? Do you think I'm synthesizing a nanite antivirus with reversed electro-magnetism that perfectly polarizes your unique mutation for fun?"

"Sorry, Albedo."

"I'm the smartest being in five galaxies," Azmuth responded with a shrug. "I can't worry about every guard that works here."

Scout would feel the tentacles of his muzzle itching to spread. "They're still your responsibility! The least you could do was- I dunno, quarantine them and find someone smart enough to identify the problem for you."

Azmuth looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, who is this? And why is he in my lab telling me how to do my job?"

Scout saw red but a hand clapped his shoulder before he had the chance to snarl. He whipped around and met Rook's sharp orange eyes. His earlier confusion had faded, now replaced by calculated understanding. "Maybe we should step away for a moment."

"Good idea," Bahrvad responded. He gently put Baz-I down and knelt down to get a better look at his friend. Baz-I was still as ever. If he were any other species, Scout would've thought he was dead. "Scout, you're getting kind of worked up. Xylene and I will take care of Baz-I and meet up with you later. You two try to relax."

Relax? How in the name of Luna Lobo was he supposed to relax when he'd just learned the dominant species in the galaxy had such an unjust society? Sure, he knew that he didn't understand anything and coming from a planet like Anur Transyl, he probably didn't have the experience to ever really understand all the intricacies but he knew something was wrong when he saw it. And they just expected him to walk away? He was training to be a Plumber for crying out loud! Plumbers were supposed to help the oppressed and vulnerable. Right?

A sudden surge of doubts hit Scout like cold water, momentarily distracting him from his rage. Clamping his mouth shut, he turned and stalked out of the lab without another word. Azmuth didn't wasn't worth it.


"You seem calmer."

After leaving the lab, Scout and Rook wandered back to the sports arena they saw on their tour earlier. Scout had to admit, he was in a bit of a bad mood when he arrived and sort of bullied the team off the field so he and Rook could play but he didn't really care. Logically, he knew they didn't deserve his wrath but after what he saw today, he felt it was somewhat justified.

This game was distracting and that's what he needed right now. It was complicated, appropriately so for a Galvan. There were two sides to the field, a net put up for players who were too heavy to use the provided jetpacks, and a number of hovering hoops scattered around. The goal was to hit the floating sphere around the court and score as many points as possible by using certain tricks and techniques to get the ball through the hoops.

It was meant to be a competitive game but Scout didn't really want to take his anger out on his friend so they decided to collaborate. And at some point Ship came into contact with the ball and turned into one so now they had two balls, including a sentient one who thought it was fun to scurry around the racket at random points in the game.

"It's fun," Scout answered, avoiding the real inquiry behind Rook's words.

"You were pretty upset earlier."

"I know," Scout sighed, ears going back slightly. "You think I overstepped?"

Rook was silent for a moment. "I am unsure. On one hand, you are a visitor. You do not know the extent of the situation. But on the other…"

"It's kind of obvious what's happening and it's messed up, right?"

"...Right."

They were quiet for a moment, batting Ship and the ball back and forth a few rounds as the silence stretched. Neither performed any particularly acrobatic feats, too deep in thought to truly focus on the game.

"You know, I never quite understood your tendency to favor the softer side of academics," Rook stated, trying to restart the conversation. "The study of history, culture, language, and interplanetary relations is important but it is not…"

"Science?" Scout ventured. He hit the ball with his racket a bit harder than he intended, causing it to entirely miss the hover hoop he was aiming for. "Not everyone's mind's geared towards the same thing, Rook."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to imply that those things were… inferior." Rook paused, waiting for Scout to say something. He didn't really want to but he knew the answers to the questions Rook wasn't asking.

"You know Anur Transyl is pretty peaceful, right? Four species living in harmony. But Anur Transyl's just one planet. The others in the Anur System are still pretty divided by species and a lot of the guys in charge are more, um, traditional. We don't really fight with other planets, per se, not like how other systems do, but there's still a lot of tension between species," Scout explained, so quiet that he wasn't sure if Rook could even hear him. "The Ectonurites took over the Vladat throne when they died out, the Transylians think they're smarter than everyone, everyone walks all over Thep Kufans, a lot of people can't even tell the difference between Lunan Loboans and Planetarian Loboans…"

Scout trailed off, knowing Rook didn't understand what he was saying. That was okay though. It was nice to get it all off his chest.

"Anur Transyl is great. I love it there. And it hurts when I see that not everywhere else is quite so, um, accepting. It's- it's horrible that the Galvans treat Galvanic Mechamorphs this way. That they just see them as something less. Like their lives aren't even worth their time." Scout could feel his anger rising again but he tried not to let it consume him again. "My parents always told me that if I don't like something, I should say something. People might not listen but the least I can do is try. If I see something wrong, I need to try to change it because no one else will."

"Shiiip."

Ship unfurled from his ball form, dropping down onto the ground. The point counter was still running but Scout had long since stopped playing attention to it. He wasn't even hitting the ball anymore. The game was over.

Ship bounced over to Scout and rubbed against his leg. Scout smiled and ran a paw over his back. Ship, as animal-like as he may seem, understood.

"I must say there is not anything like that on Revonnah," Rook began. Scout wanted to argue, there was inequality everywhere, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to tell Rook things about his own species, not when he'd never even met another Revonnahgander. "But I must agree that what we witnessed today was outrageous. I just do not know if it is our place to do anything about it."

Scout frowned and whisked his tail. "You think we should just sit back and do nothing?"

"I did not say that. I do not know what the right course of action is but I trust you will make the right decision, Scout," Rook told him, offering a smile. Scout found himself returning it. "Whatever you decide to do, you can trust that I will be at your side."