The rest of the day had passed rather quickly, with Kershala's help around the house they had gotten everything done that Kale wanted. They were in his room packing up the rest of his belongings, Anubis' AI core was on the counter next to his phone. Kershala watched as Kale neatly folded up all his clothing and put it in the bag. The two of them had talked throughout the day about different aspects of human culture and what to expect from the city once they got there. Kershala understood a little more about there social interactions and cultural nuances and would hopefully have a better idea of fitting in.

"I think that's everything," said Kale looking around the room and closing his bag. Kale picked up his phone, Kershala assumed he was checking the social media video. "I can't seem to find that video my notifications aren't even there."

"After analyzing your interactions from this afternoon, I have accessed your internet, as you call it," said Anubis, "I have released a program to trace any evidence that Kershala exists, including any pictures or videos, that will target and destroy them."

"You can do that?" Kale looked up from his phone.

"Kale, it is the very purpose of my existence. I was designed to protect and preserve the Daoran royal family from it's pursuers."

"Wait, what?" Kale interrupted.

"Anyone that had these videos or pictures will simply not be able to find them on their devices," Anubis ignored Kale's reaction, "I accomplished this much like the way your devices designers implement software updates. At first I did not deem it necessary as the previous pictures were not incriminating, but I cannot allow video of our technology in action to remain." Kale sat down on the bed seemingly dropping his interest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I really wish you could have told me that earlier."

"I did not see it necessary," the AI said plainly.

"Do you still want to leave tonight?" asked Kershala. Kale seemed to think for a couple of seconds.

"Yeah let's get the hell outta here, screw it. I've kinda had my fill of home for a little while," he laughed. "I'll leave her a note and then we'll hit the road." Kale stood up taking his bag and they went down stairs Kershala picking up the AI core. Kale filled the dog's food and water dishes and pet him goodbye. Kershala watched him write down a note on a piece of paper he left on the table. They went outside Kale locked the door behind him and they got into the car. Kale started the car and put his phone in a holder on the dashboard. They pulled out onto the road and they were off.

The first twenty minutes or so passed in silence as Kale drove. He glanced at Kershala the light from the dashboard illuminating his features, Kale could see him taking in the scenery. The drive from his home town to the city was very much splattered with countryside. The view mainly consisted of seas of trees divided only by the occasional breaks that would be other towns or smaller cities or even a lake or river now and then. They had spent the afternoon discussing human society and Kale had several questions that he had been burning in him since Anubis showed him the hologram. But the one that had brought on the most curiosity was perhaps the most obvious.

"So… the Daoran Royal Family, eh?" he asked, "Are you a king?" Kale glanced from him to the road, Kershala looked at him somewhat bashfully.

"No, I am too young to ascend the throne…" he answered.

"How old are you anyway?" he asked. Kershala paused and seemed to be thinking to come up with an answer.

"I… do not know… I have never been asked before."

"Kershala is twenty-five solar years old. Kale," Anubis spoke.

"Politicians on your planet are a bunch of old men too I see," Kale laughed and Kershala smiled. "How old do you have to be?"

"It is not fully about how old you are, it is about the time it takes to educate someone to become a viable leader. Usually the eldest child birthed from the most respected Matriarchs or Patriarchs are chosen and the training starts as they ascend passed their grantara," Kershala explained, quietly.

"Fifteen solar years," Anubis filled in the blanks.

"Grantara?"

"I am sorry, some of our words are harder to translate then others. It is as we come of age essentially and finish our training as a warrior." Kale nodded as the translation started to make sense. "Because of the Shiran …" Kershala paused, "I could not be trained in the ways of my family before me, my training had to remain combat focused." They were quiet for several minutes Kale thought he may have struck a poor topic.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It is okay, Kale. I feel that because it is you… I can talk about these things and it does not hurt." Kale reached out and gave Kershala's shoulder a reassuring squeeze then put his hand back to the wheel.

"Can I ask you about your home world?" Kale figured at this point Kershala would stop him if the topic became too difficult to talk about.

"I do not remember much of it. I was only a young child when we were forced from it. But I can remember from Karu speaking about it, that it was a beautiful planet, home in a binary star system with six moons. Because of the two stars it was very warm and humid, covered in jungles and vast oceans. I can vaguely remember watching the two suns set they were called Zarai and Tenaris…" Kershala seemed to light up as he spoke about the planet, clearly reliving fond memories of the planet or his mother, or both. "The cities were vast, the tallest buildings stretched miles into the air I can still remember my room that overlooked the capital of my country…" Kershala's expression changed looking almost troubled. "I can't remember its name, though."

"It was called Shiral," said Anubis.

"It has been so long since I have even thought of these things, Kale," Kershala smiled at him. "Thank you."

"It sounds like a beautiful place." Kershala laughed quietly at the comment catching Kale off guard. "I've never heard you laugh before."

"I have not been able to for a while."

"How far is you're planet from Earth?" Kale asked.

"The star system Yaria is found in, is several hundred light years away, answered Anubis.

"That's crazy how fast are your ships able to go?" Kale thought it would be far but once it starts becoming light years it was unfathomable.

"The fastest Daoran vessels could make the trip inside one of your weeks. But normally it would take several. We have not been back there in years as it is well inside of occupied space," explained Anubis in a rather monotone.

"I can't even imagine, I'd love to see your planet someday."

"I will take you one day," said Kershala being optimistic.

"That is unlikely." The conversation seemed to come to a quiet lull for several moments again. There was a question Kale wanted to ask but didn't want to appear too forward with it. He opened his mouth to speak and took a breath but then stopped before trying again.

"So, is there a lucky would be queen of your people?" he asked.

"I do not understand what you are asking." Kale could feel the blood rushing to his face and was sure he was blushing, he was suddenly thankful it was dark. "Are you okay, your heart is suddenly racing?" asked Kershala.

"Damn implant," Kale laughed to himself, "Um, a mate? Do you have a mate?" Kale exhaled as he waited for the answer.

"I…" Kershala took a breath, "In our royal tradition, we are often paired with the eldest of another family that we are believed to be most compatible with. Though the family that my mate was to be chosen from is believed to have perished a long time ago…"

"We have cultures around the world that practice that," Kale couldn't help but feel a bit of disgust at the notion of marrying someone his parents picked for him, "They call it arranged marriage. What happens if you don't like the person they pick for you? Can you say no?"

"If I may explain," Anubis spoke, "I do not believe your comparison to be equal."

"How so?"

"I have processed a great deal of information on human culture after connecting to your internet. Though it has not always been as such, our more recent history, has often used scientific analysis and algorithms to pair one Daora with another. This is based on scans of their psychology and physiology to determine the pairing. It goes far beyond a benefit of wealth or power for the families that are to be joined." Kale was surprised at the depth but still not quite happy with the explanation.

"Still there's so much that seems to take out of the experience. Falling in love, your first kiss… the first time you feel your heart flutter when you find someone your sure is more than just another person."

"Because the Daoran emotional range runs so deeply, it can sometimes be hard for them to sort their feelings as they come before them. Youth cannot always be trusted to make the right decisions." Kale didn't seem to be making any leeway with Anubis on the topic.

"Kershala have you ever been in love?" he asked.

"I have never had the opportunity to. I have only ever really been around my family until I met you. Outside of my family Kale, you are the closest I have ever been to another being." Kale felt his heart in his throat as Kershala finished his sentence, he wasn't sure how to continue the conversation.

"How do the Daora…" Kale trailed off not really wanting to finish for the fear of being disappointed in the answer. He looked out the side window then back to the road without finishing his sentence.

"How do we what, Kale?" asked Kershala leaning forward in his seat and looking at him.

"How does your culture view a pairing of two patriarchs? Or two men?" he asked. Kershala looked at Kale with surprise in his face.

"Is such a thing strange to you?" he asked. "Two generations ago, my family's Patriarch shared his throne with his mate. A patriarch brought in from another family. They ruled together for many years. They loved each other dearly and they shared their love with their many children."

"It's certainly not strange to me, but some humans not only find it strange but detest it," Kale didn't really know how to process the relief he was feeling so he just kept talking, "Some people would even kill someone for it…"

"That is very sad. I cannot imagine hating someone for something so trivial as who they love."

"Have your people always been accepting of it?"

"It has always just been part of our society, there was nothing to accept," said Kershala. Kale went silent for a few seconds thinking about Kershala's grandfathers having children.

"Wait, you said they had many children? How do your people reproduce? Who carries your children?" Kershala looked at Kale with a questioning look and then looked to Anubis.

"I feel strange discussing this, this is usually something that young children ask …" Kale laughed at the fact that he was having the birds and the bees' conversation with an alien.

"Not gonna lie, I feel strange asking it, but I'm curious. Your society is so different than ours. It sounds awesome."

"In the Daora, both the males and females of our species are capable of carrying children as you understand it, but it is incredible taxing on their bodies," explained Anubis. Kale was starting to have a hard time processing the information he was getting; the idea was so foreign to him. "Because of this Daoran children had a large rate of death in the first year. Some often survived but with severe defects from either being expelled too soon from the parental unit or the parental unit not being able to provide proper nutrition during gestation. This led our scientists to develop technology to render carrying children no longer necessary."

"Why would they not be able to get proper nutrition? Poverty doesn't really seem like a problem for your society. At least not an old one," asked Kale.

"A Daoran with child cannot often eat for the duration of the gestation period, eighteen of your months. Synthetic nutrients were used in the later part of our history before the technology was developed. This is caused by severe acids forming in the stomach and throat it is produced as a by-product of the tissue that slowly dissolves to create the womb and make room for the child which forms on the spinal cord."

"That's crazy, eighteen months? Humans could barely make a few days without food. A pregnant woman would have to eat every day, or her baby would die." Kale couldn't fathom not being physically able to eat, the closest he could come to relating would have been the jaw surgery he had as a child being forced to drink protein shakes for several weeks.

"A lot of Daora didn't make it, the child feeds off nutrients present in the muscle tissue of the parent. This is part of the reason why Daoran musculature is so dense, but if the body is not properly prepped then the child will feed from nutrients present in vital organs this could force the body to shut down. We were going extinct until we were able to develop technology to help. We take genetic tissue and fertilize the healthiest eggs with both and the child is then placed in an artificial womb. Through the genetic engineering the womb also contains tissue from both parents to make the environment as compatible as possible. They are then monitored throughout gestation to ensure they are healthy."

"I'm glad you came up with something. Is that how your siblings were all born Kershala, they were quite a bit younger than you I thought? Was the technology available to you on the run?" Kershala sighed and Kale rethought his words thinking it may not have been a good idea to follow up on.

"My siblings were all born on a Daoran city ship that had been destroyed shortly after the youngest, Lessana was born. We took the technology with us." Kale let the conversation die at that he didn't want to push for too much information about Kershala's family. He turned on the radio and they drove listening to music for about twenty minutes.

"How're the nanites for your suit doing?" asked Kale breaking the silence.

"They have reached a standstill in the repair process, I will have to actively deploy them to make any real progress," Kershala answered, "There is only so much they can do contained in my implant."

"Those nanites are something else. Humans have only really dreamed of such technology."

"Consider yourself lucky that they haven't needed to develop such a weapon." Kale thought this the perfect Segway, he was dying to know more about the suit since he watched the hologram.

"Lucky maybe but I saw what you did in that suit, what was that energy blast you used to throw all those soldiers off you? I couldn't tell if that was the suit or your body."

"That was an electromagnetic burst. The nanites use energy from the planet itself drawn in from the ground. That particular planet had a very strong EM field to draw from making such a thing possible. I do not think I would get such a burst from this planet. At least not as quickly."

"It's pretty friggen cool. You sent them flying. And what about that weapon you threw at the one who shot you? What the hell was that?"

"A radeeko. It is basically a kinetic bomb. Once it hits its target it releases the force contained within it into them and basically blows them apart," Kershala explained nonchalant. Kale couldn't help but notice how easily Kershala discussed his weaponry. He could tell that he was used to talking about this stuff as every day topics. Another sign indicative of his upbringing.

"You really know your stuff."

"I had to, it was life or death, I had to know exactly what to use against my enemy before they knew what to use against me. Combat needs to flow seamlessly and relentlessly when dealing with an enemy such as they Shiron. A second of hesitation could always mean the death of a loved one and that was never an option. My grand Patriarch taught me that in training."

"How long did you train for?" Kale kept his eyes on the road except for to glance at Kershala now and then. He could see a slightly troubled expression on his face.

"I have trained in combat since well before my grantara. Once we started running there was nothing but combat training that was important. I had to be able to protect my family."

"A child shouldn't have to live that way," Kale shook his head at the thought of being a pre-teen and having to fight in a war, luckily something most people in western society didn't have to worry about it.

"I agree. I hoped for that I would live to see the day that my siblings would no longer need their combat training."

"Did you train Tenaris?" asked Kale. He felt bad for constantly bringing the conversation back around to Kershala's family.

"My Patriarch and I both took part in training Tenaris, he was so eager that when my Patriarch wanted to retire for the day, he would ask me to continue with him," Kershala let out a sigh, "He so wanted to help us kill …" Kershala trailed off and was quiet for a moment, Kale began to think he was done when he continued. "His bloodthirst was so strong for someone so young. He was different than I am, he had never known peace. I always feared he fought with the wrong motivations."

"What do you mean?" asked Kale not sure if Kershala wanted to go into detail.

"I fight because I must, to prevent the extinction of my people and their legacy. Tenaris only ever wanted to kill the Shiron, vengeance. People who fight for vengeance are clouded misguided."

"He seemed pretty guided with that blade he was using. How did he get that?"

"I didn't say he wasn't talented, and the blade was given to him by our Karu. It was his first weapon," explained Kershala.

"Isn't it irresponsible to give a kid a weapon like that? What if he had hurt someone he wasn't supposed to?"

"A Daora, would never turn a weapon on another Daora. It is one of our most prevalent laws," said Anubis breaking its silence.

The rest of the trip passed mostly in silence, Kershala could tell that Kale was tired from the trip by the look on his face. They pulled into a large building structure and into an underground space with several cars parked in it. As they got out of the car Kale begrudgingly grabbed his stuff from the trunk and they walked into the lobby. Kershala place the AI core in the pocket of the shorts he was wearing. At one point during their house cleaning Kale had discussed the apartment building that he lived in. Kershala did not know really what to expect, the floor was made of some kind of stone and there was a couple of elaborate paintings on the wall along with a decorative fixture in the corner. There were several doors one leading outside, one that the window was closed over one that Kershala could see led up stairs and two that seemed like a crudely fashioned lift. Kale walked over and hit a button on the wall that lit up to his touch, there was movement from above somewhere.

"It's an elevator, it's safe don't worry," said Kale. Kershala must have had a worried look on his face without realizing it. The machine seemed noisy beeping on the way down as the digital display above the door read what Kershala assumed were floor numbers.

"Are you sure?" he smiled at Kale and a smile was his response as the movement stopped and the door opened to them. Kale stepped in and Kershala followed hesitantly still not fully sure of the lift they were using. As he stepped in beside him, Kale hit a button on the wall one of many, and the doors closed.

"If you ever need to know we are on the fourth floor." The lift started to move again and it wasn't long before the doors opened up. They stepped out into a hallway with many doors that smelled of something cooking. The floor here was different covered with synthetic fibers that were colored brown. There was a small table with a small sitting area just outside of the elevator, there was another elaborate painting of something hanging above it. Kershala's implant could detect life behind all the doors they passed as he and Kale walked through the hallway.

"There are so many people living here."

"I know, generally you barely see any of them though, and the place is pretty well insulated, so you don't really hear them either." They came to a door and Kale stopped taking out his keys. "This is us. 406." Kale stuck his key in the door and turned it they walked into the apartment. It was fairly large and very open. There was a small room to left just as they walked in that Kershala could see some sort of work station set up in. The large open room had two large pieces of furniture and one smaller piece with a couple of large screens on the right wall. A small table sat before them. Immediately right Kershala could see the makings of a small kitchen the black counter tops were clean and reflective. Kale took his sneakers off so Kershala removed his footwear as well his bare feet touching the cold floor. He walked into the main room and look around there was a large glass door that led outside to an overlook and three other rooms. "Man, I'm so glad to be home and to sleep in my own bed tonight. Did you wanna stay up a bit or go right to bed? I have tomorrow off but the day after I'm back to work so let's make it interesting okay," Kale laughed. Kale had told her Kershala all about his job as a security guard at a hotel down town, but he didn't realize that he would be back to work so soon.

"Can I come with you?" he asked.

"No, sorry man, not aloud to bring people along like that. You'll be okay here though. I can show you around tomorrow, get you an extra key to get in, that kinda thing." Kershala nodded not sure how else to respond. "Oh hey, let me show you around the place. Kitchen, living room and bathroom one." Kale pointed to the kitchen and area they were standing in with a smile on his face he also pointed to the small door behind them on the far wall. "That's the second bedroom." Kale walked over and opened the door, it opened to a room with a small two-person bed in it slightly bigger than the one Kershala had been sleeping in. The room was a fair bit bigger as well there were two large windows side by side on the far wall and another door that Kershala assumed would likely be storage. "Then over here is the office." Kale walked back into the living room and to the room that Kershala had noted the work station in. Kershala followed and once inside noted that the room was very small with no windows. There was a small couch on the wall and some pictures hanging that seemed to be paintings of space. "That's my gaming computer, cost me a small fortune but it does everything I want it to."

"Are those paintings of any particular part of space?" asked Kershala not recognizing them from any of the star maps he knew.

"Um, no. A friend of mine painted those for me. She just made them up."

"They're very pretty. Not very accurate though," Kershala admired.

"Yeah that's what we were going for," said Kale enthusiastically. "Just my bedroom left, come see." Kale walked back out into the open room and walked to the last door. Kershala followed him and they walked in. The bedroom was larger than the other with a very large bed centered on the wall there was a couple of the space paintings here as well hung over the bed. There was a bathroom just to the right as he walked in and a large walk in closet on the far wall. A sort of display case sat in the corner where small figurines of all different configurations were displayed, Kershala recalled his oldest patriot had a collection similar when he was a child. Kershala thought briefly about how big this dwelling was.

"This is a lot of space for one person," he said.

"I know, there used to be two people, but she decided that wasn't what was best for her." Kershala could hear a change in Kale as he spoke, something he hadn't displayed before, hurt. "I pay for it all pretty easily for the most part so…" Kale tried to walk passed him and Kershala pulled him into an embrace. "Oh, okay. You wanna hug?" Kale reluctantly put his arms around Kershala and they sat in silence for a moment.

"It just felt like you needed it," Kershala spoke quietly and in a comforting tone.

"Thanks buddy." Kershala felt Kale rub a hand into his hair before giving a final squeeze and pulling back. His heart was racing again Kershala could briefly feel it in his chest during their embrace. "Sweet prince," Kale smiled and ran his hand from his hair across his cheek before letting it fall to his side and turning away. Kershala started to open his mouth to call attention to it but decided to let it pass, he could tell the topic seemed to embarrass him. "Did you wanna stay in my room with me or take the spare?" Kershala thought the answer to the question would be obvious, he rather enjoyed sleeping in someone's arms as it brought him a sense of security he had never felt before.

"I would like to stay with you, if that is okay?" The warmth of another body wrapped around him brought him great comfort.

"Part of me was kind of hoping for it," Kale paused, "but if you don't want to that's okay too, spare room's not going anywhere."

"Kale may I have access to your work station?" The AI's voice was muffled as it spoke from Kershala's pocket. "I wish to use it to study your internet in further detail."

"Sure." Kershala reached into his pocket and removed the core. They walked back to the work space and Kale sat at the desk. He pushed a button on the white and blue box next to him and it whirred to life. They sat the AI core next to it on the desk and the AI scanned the machine. "Once your in there, there's a network of blue tooth speaks around the house you can use to talk to us in any room."

"The hardware is limited but it will provide a clearer window then my current connection."

"What exactly are you looking at on there?" asked Kale.

"I am comparing the data that Daoran scientists collected to your current history and filling in the blanks. If the Daora ever become a scientific society again, it will be useful," explained Anubis.

"Just don't judge me for anything you find out that you don't like about us okay?"