Athena stood against a bulkhead, looking over the passengers, hands on her hips. Jx and Amity approached.

"How are they?" Jx asked.

"Well," Athena nodded. "I believe at this point most of the wounds are healed, so once they regain their strength we can begin moving them into the colony."

"Glad to hear it," Jx replied, looking over the group. He glanced at Amity, then back at Athena. "Amity's requested to visit Okohdako."

Athena looked at Amity with her eyeless stare. "Interesting."

"I want to know more about the Ammehkuc," Amity explained.

Athena nodded, then gestured with her fingers. "Come, we must discuss."

Jx glanced at Amity and she grimaced, then nodded, following Athena.

xXxXx

Sealing the cockpit door behind them, Athena turned to Amity. "What do you know of the Ammehkuc?"

"Very little," Amity replied. "That's why I want to know more."

"Have you ever spoken with an immortal before?" Athena crossed her arms.

Amity shook her head.

"I thought as much." She lowered her arms. "It is a great honor that they would let you even this far."

Amity shrugged. "They seem nice enough, when they're not being confusing…"

"But what I don't understand," Athena continued, "is why. Why should you suddenly become so important to them? What is it about you that has so taken their interest?"

Amity snorted. "I honestly don't know."

Athena's brow tightened. "I'm serious. I need to know what about you might concern them, and whether that makes you a threat to the rest of us."

"A threat…?" Amity stepped back. "Hey, they GAVE me a sword."

Athena tilted her head. "Perhaps something repressed in your past? Some dark history? This would not be the first time they've tried to redeem someone." She paused in thought. "As you might've guessed, the last time did not turn out so well."

Amity held up her hands. "I'm sure it's nothing like that. I remember my childhood, growing up on Cerinia, and I wasn't some repressed psycho."

"The memory of your kind is strange to say the least," Athena replied. "Altered and manipulated so easily."

"That's all I have," Amity shrugged. "I'm sorry. You'll just have to trust me."

Athena watched her silently, then spoke, "The Ammehkuc brought you to us. I trust them."

Amity let out a breath. "Thanks."

"Jxulxlox will take you to Okohdako," Athena agreed. "I will stay here to monitor the situation."

Amity glanced at her, then nodded once. "That would be for the best."

Athena stared at her, then spoke again, "If I might make an observation?"

Amity looked up. "Yes?"

"When you and Jxulxlox are in close proximity, I sense both of your skin temperatures rise slightly. In my experience, this is an indicator of what your species calls 'love.'"

"What?" Amity's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No no no, it's nothing like that. I mean, he's a nice guy, and I like him, but…"

Athena tilted her head.

"What?" Amity returned blankly.

"Curious." Athena stroked her chin. "How often your species lies to itself."

"I-," Amity began, then shook her head. "You certainly see a lot. How do you do that without eyes?"

"Sound," Athena explained. "Air pressure. Heat waves. I have full perception of three dimensional space without the need of the orbs you use to perceive the narrow spectrum you call 'light.'"

Amity nodded and glanced at the door uncomfortably. "Cool."

"Do you have any other questions?" Athena inquired.

"Nega: what is he?"

"Death," Athena replied simply.

Amity stared at her. "I don't understand. Is he the Grim Reaper?"

"A narrow description, but yes, that is how he perceives himself."

"So he's a serial killer?"

Athena shook her head. "Nothing so simple. Our species is not driven by passion. He regards himself as the embodiment of death. Therefore, he is death."

Amity frowned. "Jx didn't tell me any of this."

"Jxulxlox disagrees, but has no better answer."

"Wait…" Amity raised a hand. "So you're guessing?"

Athena crossed her arms. "I am an Ethereal as well. I understand him."

"Okay," Amity breathed out. "Another thing I need cleared up: Nega's male?"

"The concept does not exist in our physiology, but in his identity, yes."

"And you're female?"

Athena nodded. "By choice."

"Jx said it was to make people comfortable."

She nodded again. "Consider: if I were male, how would you react to me?"

"Well…" Amity rubbed her chin.

"It is my observation that your species is more apt to be frightened or intimidated by males."

Amity shrugged uncertainly. "I suppose…?"

"Simple observation," Athena replied curtly.

"But," Amity squirmed slightly. "Does anyone ever… how do I put this… mistreat you?"

Athena extended an arm across herself and her hand glowed bright red. "No."

Amity laughed, then sighed and looked at her. "So are Jx and I really that obvious?"

Athena blinked her brow. "Though I would add that these instances of feeling often subside."

Amity smirked. "You're good at that, imitating facial expressions without a face."

"Observation," she repeated.

Amity glanced at the door and gestured with her hand. "Should we take care of the passengers now?"

Athena nodded.

xXxXx

Jx glanced as they returned from the cockpit. "So?"

Amity nodded. "We have to find shelter for these people, then we can go."

Jx crossed his arms and nodded. "Have to see if we can find more of those tents."

"Is there anything here on the ship we could use?"

Jx shook his head. "Some makeshift stuff, but nothing stable."

She frowned. "Alright. Back to the distribution center…"

Jx snorted, "Hopefully that secretary's changed shifts."

"Yeah…" Amity grinned nervously. She glanced at the datapad sticking from Jx's pocket and scratched the back of her head. "Anywhere else we could find them?"

"Short of stealing them from other refugees?" he shook his head. "No."

Amity sighed. "Well, off we go."

xXxXx

Gently pushing the metal door open, Amity peeked her head inside and her expression drooped, seeing Sandra still at her desk. She rapped at the wall with her knuckles and Sandra looked up.

"Oh, you again."

"Yeah," Amity grimaced. "Sorry if I was pushy before. I need your help again."

Sandra crossed her arms. "Used up those supplies already?"

Amity shook her head. "This isn't about me. We need tents."

Sandra shrugged and pointed to the storeroom with her pen. "See what you can find. Take only what you need."

"Thanks," Amity grinned, stepping inside with Jx behind her. Entering the storeroom, they looked around at the aisles of packing shelves, crates stacked everywhere. "Where do you suppose they are?"

Jx rubbed his beak. "Just have to check them all."

Amity's shoulders slumped as she pulled the nearest crate forward, lifting the lid and peeking in. Bandages. She shoved it back and reached for the next one.

Jx slid past her and moved to the end of the aisle, beginning his search. Crossing his arms, he stood back and perused the labels, then spun around and checked the other wall. "Is this it?" He pulled a crate and set it on the ground, removing the lid.

Amity peeked over and nodded, then pushed the box she was checking back into place. "Okay," she set her hands on her hips. "How many do we need?"

Jx dug in the box for an inventory sheet and read the description, then turned to her. "Looks like they hold quite a few, so I think a dozen."

Amity glanced at the stacks of folded cloth. "Think between the two of us we can handle that… but how can they be so small?"

"Umm…" Jx checked the sheet again, then slapped his head, lifting the lid from another crate. "Rods are separate."

"Figures." Amity shook her head with a smirk. Reaching into the crate, she took an armful of pre-packaged canvas and gestured to the box of rods with her shoulder. "Can you handle those?"

"I hope." Jx grinned uncertainly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Unless you'd like to trade…" Amity joked, wobbling slightly as she tried to find her grip on the dozen wrapped canvases.

"No, I'll be fine," Jx laughed, loading a stack of rods under his arm.

xXxXx

Panting, Amity set her stack down outside the ship and hunched over, catching her breath. Jx dropped his rods with a clang and patted her on the back, breathing heavily himself. "Thanks again."

She glanced at him and grinned tiredly. "Really, it's no problem."

"Amity?" a high pitch voice came from the ramp way.

Amity looked up. "Oh, hey Kate."

Kate scurried forward and hugged her. Amity smiled, returning the embrace. "How're you?"

"Good," Kate squeaked. "Dad's good too."

Amity nodded. "Glad to hear it."

Kate pointed at the stack of canvases. "What's that?"

Amity looked over at it. "Tents. We're setting up a camp for you."

"Will we be tentmates?" Kate hopped eagerly.

Amity shook her head. "No, Jx and I have to go somewhere."

"Oh…" Kate frowned. "But you'll be back, right?"

"Yeah," Amity smiled and patted her on the head. "Just as soon as I can."

"Great!" Kate ran back toward the ship, then turned and waved. "See you later!"

"See you!"

Once Kate was back onboard, Jx smiled and shook his head, reaching for a pair of rods and sticking them in the ground. "Cute kid."

"Yeah," Amity grinned. She picked up a canvas and began to unravel it. "It's funny, the day I met her on the train, all I wanted was to be left alone."

Jx snorted. "Don't blame you."

Amity smiled. "Handful or not, she's grown on me."

"Yeah," Jx laughed, linking the rods together. "Ready with that canvas?"

Amity tossed it to him and began unwrapping the next. "So, the Ammehkuc homeworld…"

"Okohdako," Jx finished, spreading the canvas over the structure.

"Yeah, that." Amity unfolded the cloth. "What's it like?"

"Grey," Jx replied. "Overcast, but pleasantly so. It's hard to explain."

"Try," Amity grinned.

"Well," Jx shook his head with a smirk, pulling the canvas tight. "It's overcast, and it's warm, but there's also a breeze, and glowing plants illuminating the ground and sky. It's like everything balances."

"Interesting…" Amity rubbed her chin. "And the Ammehkuc? What of them?"

"What about them?"

"Well," Amity snorted. "Your description of them before was pretty vague. How about where they live?"

"They had these giant domes," he explained, turning his head toward her. "Not sure if they were metal or stone, but they were flawless. They looked…" he gestured with his hands as he recalled, "like the tops of mushrooms, with light on the bottom. All silver, but dark because of the sky."

"And the inside?"

Jx smiled. "Perfectly concentric. An auditorium in the center with hallways leading out, and rooms circling around. Yet…" he shook his head. "I swear they never use any of them. It's all for show. Just to impress us."

Amity snorted. "They care that much about appearances?"

Jx shrugged. "It's how they relate to us. I don't think there's any pride involved."

"Still," Amity grinned. "Not much for humility."

Jx shook his head with amusement. "Just wait 'til you see it."

Amity tossed the next canvas to him. "Looking forward to it. So…" she smiled, reaching for the next one. "It'll be just us on this trip?"

"Huh?" He glanced up and blushed slightly, then went back to work. "Oh, yeah. Plenty of time to get to know each other."

She grinned. "You know, Athena thinks there's something between us."

"Really?" Jx pulled the canvas tight and reached for another set of rods. "Funny."

"Yeah," Amity shook her head. "We hardly know each other. Just friends."

"Yep." Jx nodded, then stretched and wiped his brow. "Time to take a break?" He took a seat at the base of the ramp.

"Yeah," Amity set the canvas down and joined him. "Good idea." She brushed off her jacket, pulling the edges straight. "Tell me more about Halcyon. What's it like?"

Jx shrugged his shoulders. "It's quiet. A bit stale. Very formal and traditional."

"I take it you don't like that?" she nudged.

He made a face. "Eh, I do. I wouldn't be who I am if not for my upbringing. Just not that eager to go back."

"I see." She glanced behind into the ship. "Look, Athena's coming."

Jx turned and raised a hand to her. "Hey."

Athena stepped down the ramp and nodded to the partial campsite. "Coming along?"

Amity nodded. "Just catching our breath."

Athena stared at the late afternoon sun, then at the tents. "Not much time for that."

Amity laughed. "Sorry, we just don't have the energy."

"Very well." Athena walked briskly to the piles of material, single-handedly setting up a tent in a matter of minutes.

Amity snorted and sighed. "Show-off."

Athena glanced back. "Lazy."

Amity smirked to Jx and he stood up, scratching the back of his neck. "Think I'll go plot that course for Okohdako."