It had been another two days since Kale had undergone the interrogation and no one had been to see him since other than the soldiers who brought him his food every day. The food was pretty close to hospital food, mass produced, dehydrated and efficient but nothing with any amount of flavor to it. He looked up at the camera in the corner of his cell wondering who was watching him on the other side. There was an unexpected knock at the door and Kale stood up to face it. He wasn't sure what to expect at this point especially after his last interrogation. The door opened, and Officer Stanfield was standing in the doorway, his door guard standing beside her.

"I'm not telling you anything else until you let me see him," he exclaimed.

"Then I guess you will be telling me more soon," she smiled as she spoke before stepping to the side. "You can come in." Kershala stepped into view and Kale wanted to run up and wrap his arms around him but hesitated, almost stunned. Kershala looked up at him and smiled clearly happy to see him but restraining himself. Kale could feel tears welling up in his eyes but tried to hold back not wanting to break down in front of the officers. "You've got an hour, don't waste it. I'll be back." Officer Stanfield backed out of the room and they shut and locked the door. Kale rushed Kershala and threw his arms around him pulling him into a tight hug. Kershala returned the embrace. The feeling of Kershala wrapped around him brought back memories of the night they slept wrapped up in each other. Kale breathed him in, even wearing the prisoner attire they both had on, Kershala had a distinct smell. After so long in such a sterile environment it was almost intoxicating.

"I was starting to think they weren't going to let me see you," he sobbed.

"I am so happy to be with you Kale." Kale could feel Kershala's hands move from the base of his back up to the back of his head and running through his hair. Kershala cupped his head and guided him to touch their foreheads together. Kale wanted to kiss him but wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop so he refrained. Kale stared into his eyes and noticed something different about them, the violet in them seemed dimmer than he remembered.

"What's wrong with your eyes? Are you okay?" he asked pulling back and touching his face while inspecting his eyes.

"I am okay, but my vision is blurred," Kershala pulled Kale back into him and whispered his next sentence, so low that only Kale could hear him. "The damage to my implant was extensive and the nanites cannot repair it fully without the AI's assistance." Kershala's voice returned to normal volume. "When the Arktora choked me it likely caused pressure damage to my eyes and vascular structure. With time it will heal." Kershala caressed Kale's face moving gentle hands over his face and thumbing under his eye. "I wish I could look into your eyes."

"I'm happy to just feel your touch again." Kale guided Kershala to the bed and they sat down. "Have they said anything to you about when they might let us go?" he asked.

"No, nothing. I only first talked to anyone other than my attending physician just two days ago," explained Kershala. "They took me to a room where you had been before. You felt so close and so far at the same time." Kale took Kershala's hand and squeezed trying to offer up some kind of reassurance while at the same time having a hard time believing it himself. They had been interrogated the same day in the same room. "I think that Officer Stanfield will help us. She was quite reactive to our conversation."

"That wasn't how my interaction with her went. She wouldn't even call you by your name," said Kale thinking back to his interrogation with Stanfield. Kale laid back on the bed and Kershala stayed where he was seated next to him. The two of them sat silent for a moment, Kale wasn't sure what to talk about but felt comforted just sitting in the presence of someone else that wasn't a guard. He looked at Kershala for a moment as they sat, any bruising and visible damage caused had seemingly dissipated other than his eyes. The bruising that had been present on his neck and face had gone. He did notice that the time they had been apart Kershala's facial hair had grown considerably thicker almost to the point it had been when they first met. He smiled faintly and leaned forward touching Kershala's chin. Kershala reacted to his touch with a smirk and looked in his direction. "Your beard has grown out quite a bit since I saw you."

"Will you help me trim it up again?" he asked.

"I doubt they will give me a razor to use while we are in here." Kale touched his own facial hair that had gone far longer than he'd usually allowed it to. "I could use a shave myself though. Maybe we can work something out."

"Maybe." Kershala put his head down and touched the spot on his leg that had been wounded.

"Is your leg okay?" he asked.

"Yes, it is healing well. A human doctor stitched it back up for me when they brought us here." Kershala outlined the wound on his leg with his finger.

"Do you remember anything about the day we got here? I just remember getting in the ambulance with you and then waking up here a little while later."

"I remember everything, their anesthetic wouldn't work on me, the stitching was… uncomfortable." Kale shuttered at the thought of getting stitches and being awake for them.

"Sounds terrible."

"The thought of seeing you again, made it easier to endure." Kale laid backed down and pulled Kershala to lay down on his chest. They didn't have much time left and he just wanted to sit with him. He sat back partially propped against the wall as Kershala laid his head on his chest and rested his hand on shoulder.

"I just wanna hold on as long as I can. It's been awful knowing that your somewhere in the building and I can't see you or speak to you," he whispered. "Spending all that time with you really got me attached, and since I'd found you that night we haven't been apart." Kale felt tears run down his face, Kershala looked up at him and wiped them away. He could see tears in Kershala's eyes as well.

"Be strong, I will get us out of this soon I promise." Kale didn't know what Kershala was planning but just hearing the reassurance made him feel better. Kershala put his head back down and closed his eyes, they sat out the rest of their hour in quiet happiness.

Another three days had passed since Kershala had gotten to sit with Kale. It was early morning and he had been taken to a lab by the doctor who had been attending him, and Officer Stanfield. The doctor had never introduced himself by name and they only spoke to discuss his symptoms. Kershala was sitting on a cold metal surface upon entering they had stripped him of his clothing with only the exception of the undergarments. His vision hadn't gotten any better, he still couldn't control the nanites and his implant had not improved.

"So, your vision has not gotten any better?" asked the doctor shining a small pen light in each of his eyes.

"No, as I have said, it will not improve further without intervention from the AI," said Kershala.

"And you still haven't told me how an AI is going to repair your vision; how do I know you're not plotting something." Throughout the course of their interactions, for the most part the doctor had been respectful and cordial but Kershala could tell there was no trust in him. The readings the implant had been able to give him showed that the man was often anxious around him.

"Doctor, my evaluations have shown no signs of hostility or dishonesty," said Officer Stanfield, "Kershala could you maybe explain to us the connection you have with this machine, so we can better understand it?" As Kershala sat the doctor ran a device over his body, he could feel his skin reacting to the pulses from the small radioactive imaging scanner they used.

"Doctor please, I have told you before, your imaging scanner will not work on my body, and it is rather uncomfortable being bombarded with radioactive particles," said Kershala seemingly ignoring the Officers question.

"Is it painful?" she asked.

"No, but it is uncomfortable as I said."

"Doctor, have you gotten any images from the scanner yet?" she asked.

"N, no." The doctor stuttered over his words.

"Then what is the point, if this makes him uncomfortable and we do not benefit, then why keep going?" The doctor stopped what he was doing and frustratingly dropped the scanner on the table folding his arms.

"Do I listen in on your interrogations and ask why you asked that question?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but that would never happen, as I'm your supervisor is my understanding," said Stanfield. The doctor sighed and picked up an instrument and put it in Kershala's ear to try and get his body temperature. "Now back to my original inquiry, can you tell us how the AI is connected to you?"

"It is not connected to me directly," said Kershala, "but because it has access to the entire Daoran medical library, it has extensive knowledge of my physiology. It is also equipped to do microsurgery using several instruments that are well beyond the scope of human medicine. I'd be happy to have it share anything that cannot be weaponized with your superiors." There was silence as the room seemed to ponder what Kershala had suggested.

"I have spoken to my superiors on that," said Stanfield, "Quite frankly they're nervous to have the machine active. It's technologically beyond anything we've ever been exposed to before. They're scared of what it could do and they're happier now that it seems to be dormant." Kershala thought to himself for a moment, he couldn't remember an instance of the AI going dormant before.

"When was it last active?" he asked.

"When we arrived at the base and it realized we were separating the three of you, it attempted to escape but gave up once it realized you were too weak to leave," explained the doctor.

"It has never gone inactive before; does it know I am alive?"

"Yes."

"It is waiting to be reunited with me, it may remain inactive until it is," Kershala pondered for a moment just how much he should really tell the humans about the AI, "It is… its name is Anubis. It carries a full archive of the history of my people. It is supposed to guide my family and keep us safe," Kershala paused, "That is just me now." Kershala took a deep breath as he thought about how long it had been since his family was taken from him. "I miss them dearly. I lost them shortly before I arrived here." Kershala spoke quietly. Kershala lowered his head and he felt a single tear fall from his eyes, landing on his bare leg.

"Would you like to talk about it?" asked Stanfield. Kershala wiped at his face and quickly pulled himself together.

"No." The doctor sat Kershala's clothing next to him on the table and left the room.

"Kershala could I speak with the AI?" asked Stanfield.

"Yes, but I would need access to it, I imagine it will stay dormant until we are reunited. And to be truthful I would like for it to check on my body to make sure I am well. I have never lost my vision before." Kershala stood and began to dress himself.

"I will speak to my superiors." Officer Stanfield stood and turned to the door.

"Thank you, officer," said Kershala sliding the pants on, then the shirt.

"You're welcome. The officer outside will take you back to your room." The women nodded at him and turned to leave. Kershala put his footwear on and as Stanfield left the other officer stepped into the room. It was a different officer than he had seen before, there hadn't been many people in this facility the entire time they had been here. Other than the officers that guarded him and Kale, he had only seen the doctor and Officer Stanfield. He never saw anyone in the hallways between rooms, and even now the lab was only run by the doctor. As they walked Kershala speculated that this was on purpose to limit exposure. The less people that were present meant less lose ends to tie up should anything go wrong. The implant told him that the officer was not stressed or nervous around him but Kershala was curious as they stepped into the elevator.

"Are you under orders not to speak with me?" he asked. The officer looked at him the implant telling Kershala that his heart rate had picked up.

"No," he said, "at least not directly." The elevator came to a stop and Kershala stepped out into the hall, the officer followed behind him as they walked back to his cell. The officer didn't offer up anymore conversation pieces so Kershala stayed quiet he walked into his cell and sat on the bed.

Early the following morning Kershala sat on his bed having just woken up when the door began to open. Kershala could see that it was Officer Stanfield as the door slid open. She looked at him and smiled with a greeting.

"My superiors have decided to allow you to see the AI," she said. Kershala felt a sudden bolt of relief shoot through him, hoping that the AI would be able to realign his implant and give him back his vision.

"That is great news," said Kershala standing to greet her.

"There are conditions though. It is necessary that my superiors be present as they would like to ask you both some questions," she explained.

"Of course, but you must let me communicate with it first. May you allow Kale to be present?" he asked. "He… comforts me."

"Another officer will be bringing him down as well. Come, they are waiting for us." Stanfield stepped back and Kershala stood to accompany her. The two of them walked out into the hall and proceeded to the elevator followed by the door guard. Usually when they got into the elevator they would head to the lower floors, Kershala watched as Stanfield entered a code and the up-indicator arrow lit up. It wasn't long after the lift started that it stopped they stepped into a hallway. This hall was different than what Kershala was used to seeing. It was better lit and less sterile, the floors were carpeted and Kershala could see windows down the hall. He had not seen the sun since the morning of the battle and now he could tell it was peering through the windows. Kershala rushed ahead to the windows.

"Freeze don't move!" said the accompanying officer raising his weapon. Kershala stopped at the window.

"I am sorry, I have not seen or felt the sunlight since I've been here."

"Stand down officer," said Stanfield putting a hand on the guard's gun. Kershala sat and stared out the window even though he couldn't see the full scale of what he was looking at the effect was the same. He could feel tears come to his eyes as the warmth from the sun touched his face. Stanfield stepped up beside him and rested a hand on his forearm. "Kershala they are waiting for us." Kershala looked at her and nodded in acknowledgment. They continued down the hall turning a corner. Kershala caught a glimpse of a shadow entering a room a few feet down the hall on the right and knew where he was going.

They entered the room to see Kale sitting at a table across the room from the doorway and two men in uniform sitting at another table to the left. The two had been speaking amongst themselves and stopped when they entered the room to stare at him. Kershala recognized one of them by his voice as the Commander of the forces that were in the battlefield that day, though he couldn't recall his name. The other was not familiar to him. Kershala quickly looked around the room to see if his implant could pick up the AI. It was sitting on the table top on the right side of the door, but it was in some sort of casing. He looked in the direction of the casing and could see that there were two armed guards posted by it. He wanted to go to it quickly but refrained afraid he may provoke a reaction. Kale hadn't spoken to him yet, so he could only assume that he had been told not to.

"Hello, Kershala," said the familiar voice, "I'm General Johnson and I was present the day you fought that creature on Citadel Hill. Very impressive." Kershala nodded in acknowledgement graciously.

"Thank you, General," Kershala spoke softly not wanting to seem too eager. The implant told him that these men were anxious, and he needed them to cooperate.

"I understand you aren't able to see clearly?" said Johnson, "Our doctor's not been able to help you?"

"No, the tools he uses are not able to give him accurate information on my physiology. The damage has been caused by the creatures choke hold. I am healed on the surface…"

"Yes, we understand that," the other General interrupted him. "Now you've managed to convince Officer Stanfield that your intentions aren't hostile, before we allow any interaction with your device. I need you to understand that if you or it take any hostile actions your friends' life is in danger." Kershala felt a rush of anger fall over him and looked down trying not to let them see it in him. He took a deep breath as did Kale.

"If any harm comes to him I will give you nothing," he said plainly.

"I don't want to harm anyone, I just need you to know that we are serious and though you are clearly physically stronger than any human that we are a resourceful people. Now have we reached an understanding?"

"Yes," Kershala kept his voice low and managed to contain the burst of anger he felt, "I warn you now that the AI's initial response once it reactivates may be hostile, I can guarantee it will not harm anyone, but it may be erratic at first."

"You may proceed. It is in the case," said Johnson. Kershala stepped over to the case and as he placed his hand on it he could feel the AI inside come back online. Its proximity made the nanites in his head begin to stir, he had hoped that they would transmit his conversation to it, so it would not be hostile. Kershala took a breath and opened the casing the AI immediately came to life and hovered in front of him. The two men guarding the case quickly raised their weapons.

"You may relax, I am in full understanding of the current situation. Please lower your weapons," said Anubis, with little inflection. The guards both took a step back as Anubis hovered around Kershala's body slowly before making its way back around to his face. "Your body shows signs of severe scar tissue from the damage sustained from your last confrontation, did they not heal your wounds?"

"They did what they could, but their anesthetics did not work me, it was … difficult." Kershala spoke calmly recalling the stitching process, with the implant's functionality limited he wasn't sure how much the AI could get from it.

"I am also detecting severe damage to your vascular tissue in your neck and eyes." Kershala could see that the AI was aware that he hadn't let the humans know about his implant yet and wouldn't mention it. He could already feel the AI synching up with it, there was a great pressure in Kershala's head that he had just gotten used to in the last weeks that was suddenly lifting. The release of the pressure was intense, he grunted straining himself and going to his knee.

"Kershala," Kale stood quickly and went to his side resting a hand on his back, "Are you okay?"

"He is fine Kale, there has been a release of the vascular pressure that was interfering with visual function," Anubis reassured. Kershala's vision was slowly getting better but could feel blood leaking from his eyes. It was oddly colored from its usual bright violet. Officer Stanfield approached from the side. "There is fluidic build up behind the eyes, what you are seeing is the result of that. There is no cause for concern. Kershala you must stand." Kershala let out a whimper as he attempted to stand. "Kale I need him standing." The rest of the room stayed quiet as Kale helped Kershala to his feet, there was pain that Kershala had never experienced before somewhere in his head. "The nanites, they no longer respond to your command input?"

"No, it hurts when I try to activate them," answered Kershala.

"They must be reintegrated." Kershala could feel the AI's interaction with the nanites in his head, they had begun to stir, and it wasn't long before they extracted from him. They seemed to be exiting through his implant and had begun to swarm around the AI.

"What is going on?" asked the unfamiliar General standing from his desk. The AI floated over to the generals table with the nanites still hovering around it.

"These nanites make up the armor Kershala wore during the combat with the Shirona Arktora, they protect him but also work with his body to keep him in top condition. I will use them to repair the tissue damage caused by your antiquated healing techniques." The General looked perturbed by the AI's statement as it hovered back over to Kershala and he retook his seat. "First they must be reset as they had sustained severe damage during combat. This will not take long."

"Kershala, how do you feel?" asked Kale touching his face.

"Relief," Kershala breathed. Kershala no longer needed Kale to help him stand as the pressure build up from the implant was dispersed. He lost connection with the implant temporarily as the AI recalibrated it and restarted it, but his vision was fully restored. He looked over at Kale and felt joy rush over him as he could finally see his face again. "I can see you," he whispered and pulled Kale's forehead into his and just stared into his eyes.

"Kershala, please remain focused on the situation at hand," said Anubis.

"Yes, please," said Johnson with a degree of disgust. Kershala turned his attention back to the AI and the nanites that had swarmed around it moved to his neck and retreated to his implant.

"You must test them, then I will use them to begin work on the scar tissue present." Kershala recalled the nanites and they quickly formed the helmet and receded. He could then feel the AI take control and send them throughout his body. "The test is complete, they will complete their repairs in a couple of hours." Anubis hovered to the center of the room. "Now, it is my understanding that you have questions for me." The room went quiet for several long seconds and Kershala sat beside Kale who took his hand inconspicuously under the table. "Well?" General Johnson sat back in his seat and put a device on the table very similar to the recording device that Officer Stanfield had at one time used.

"All right, I'll bite. What the hell was that thing that attacked us?" he asked.

"It is an elite Shironian soldier known as the Shirona Arktora," The AI began to project an image of the creature that attacked them, the image began slowly building from the ground until a life-size projection of the creature was standing beside it. With good reason the room looked uneasy and Kershala, even though he knew it was fake, had a sudden fear build in him, he looked away as the AI continued. "To elaborate on the subject. This is the one that you witnessed Kershala fight. They were created from a program that ran three hundred of your years ago. The program involved each Shironian sect putting forth it's best most fierce warriors. The most recent Daoran intelligence states that there are ten distinguishable sects, telling us that there should only have been a total of ten of these creatures. Through a series of very forceful genetic experimentation and technological augmentation, they were enhanced and mutated into the creature you saw. Due to the nature of the genetic manipulation no two of them are the same, after further analysis of Kershala's encounter with this one I believe it to be of the Kratosia sect. I have determined this through analysis of the glyphs on its armor which the nanites were able to get a detailed scan of as it was broken down. As you witnessed these creatures possess incredible physical strength even beyond that of the best Daoran warriors. The technology they possess has often been stolen from the victims of their hunts and modified to meet their needs. The weapons they use aren't typical of the Shironian empire."

"How did this thing find you, and how long before his buddies come looking for him?" asked the other General.

"This is what I find most interesting about the Shirona Arktora, they are without a doubt the Shiron's greatest weapon. However shortly after the experiment that created them was finished, they destroyed the facility they were created in and killed everyone in it. The Shiron do not have full control of them but manage to maintain a working relationship by employing them as bounty hunters and supplying them with upgrades. They work alone and hunt alone, there is good chance that our pursuers don't even know where he tracked us too. This is also why Kershala attacked it so quickly. If we had left it there was a chance it could have reported back," Anubis paused briefly, "If the Shiron discover this planet they will likely eradicate all human life. Through accessing your internet, I have discovered that you have tapped a great deal of your planets resources but there is still several you don't even realize you sit on. This would be a driving force for the Shironian Empire."

"So, you're telling us that even if these Shiron, get a hold of you two there's no guarantee they won't attack anyway?" asked Johnson. Kershala could tell that this was their plan, to give him and the AI, to the Shiron if they showed up again.

"Correct." Anubis stopped projecting the image of the creature. "If I may Generals, what have you done with the remains?"

"It is currently being held in the depths of this facility. Our scientists have not had much luck picking it apart," said Johnson.

"I would like to perform a scan of the remains. I suspect that it contains something of great interest to Kershala and myself." General Johnson's posture changed to seemingly sterner demeanor.

"A few more questions first," he said standing. "There were undoubtedly hundreds of cameras at the event that day, yet there's been nothing pop up on any social media or even any news stations. There have been news stories and interviews, but no one has any video footage. Now why is that?" General Johnson took a step forward.

"We are used to hiding General, we have tools that prevent such things from happening, so we are both protected and so that the societies in which we hide are not affected by our presence. Shortly after we arrived on this planet Kershala was involved in an incident, in which there were several pictures taken of him and placed on your… Facebook. At which point I released a program to stop any evidence of Kershala's existence from being discovered."

"Seems to have saved us the trouble, easier to deny when there is no video or picture evidence."

"The only way to prevent it from working is to maintain a closed-circuit network away from the rest of the web. From what I can tell your society does not seem to use such a thing. You will find that any digital records you maintain of us will soon disappear. Now may I see the remains?" The AI hovered over to the general and stayed at eye level with him. "I suspect the means to summon it's vessel will be somewhere on the body. I believe I will be able to repurpose it so that we may leave this planet." Kershala felt Kale squeeze his hand and he could see that he had become visibly distressed.

"You can't expect us to just hand over a massive scientific discovery like this with no hesitation," said Officer Stanfield. The AI hovered over to her as she stepped forward.

"I can, and I do." Kershala could tell that the AI was starting to become defensive as the very purpose of its programming took it over. "I don't think that you understand what is truly happening here." The unfamiliar officer stood quickly.

"I don't think you understand the position you're in right now!" he threatened, "We are in control here and you don't get to make demands." The AI hovered over to him quickly.

"I am aware of the conversation you had with Kershala about taking Kale's life. My purpose is to protect Kershala, Kale is not my concern. I have viewed your history, I know full well what you are capable of. A race that would do to its own people what yours has done is not likely to exist beyond its own planet. Destroying natural resources for the sake of simply increasing your wealth, slavery, decimating entire populaces of your own people simply because you are a different color than they are. The Daora are far above you, not only do you lack the unity to defend yourselves against what really lies beyond your own solar system, but should we choose to leave you don't have the capacity to stop us." The tension in the room was high, Kershala's implant was telling him that the humans were scared, and Kale's breathing alone told him he was hurt. The younger officers that had guarded the case were holding their weapons in such a way that while they weren't readied, Kershala could see they were trained on him. He could see anger burning in the Generals face his features crunched into a scowl.