Skyla's leg healed relatively quickly thanks to Xavier's speedy treatment, and no trace was left of the gaping wound. It throbbed occasionally for a while after, but Skyla ignored the pain, as per usual.

Though she'd never say it out loud, living as a slave in a remote facility with the devil in charge had given her skills she would not have otherwise developed. In her early years at the facility, when she was young and inexperienced, her actions bordered on feral as she lashed out at most creatures that came near her. The problems she caused then were erratic and uncalculated and most of the time, she was caught before she could do any real damage. But she'd learned and adapted to remedy this and fast picked up skills on how to evade capture, as well as how to move silently and quickly and how to hide in the tiniest places. The punishments Baen had inflicted on her had only increased her determination to cause trouble, as well as toughened her up. She learned to stand the physical pain and most forms of mental pain, and also became skilled at masking her agony so that only those who knew her well could tell when she was in torment. She never liked creatures to see her in pain, it was too obvious a sign of weakness to her, and she abhorred displaying weaknesses.

When she hit her teenage years her body slimmed out and she found she was more flexible than she'd previously thought, and she also discovered (to her pleasant surprise) muscles she hadn't possessed before. Quickly putting this to use, she taught herself how to swiftly carry heavy objects over difficult terrain and even climb with them until she could haul 8 kilos of dirt over a 100 metre stretch of spiky Pinkle Plants or a 6 kilo load up to the top of the Giant Bezebo Bamboo. Besides this, she also took many a lesson in how to beat up a Reaper or Snivelakian to produce the most visible injuries, though that part was more of a hobby.

Maia sometimes watched her (at least, with the safe exercises) and often asked why she bothered. Skyla would always reply that she was bored and wanted something productive to do, but they both knew it was more than that. The training was designed to ensure Skyla was ready for anything, so that one day, if the impossible happened...if they escaped, she'd be ready to face the universe.

"How's your leg?" Skyla looked up from her work to see a concerned green face looking down at her. It had been several days since the 'larva incident' (which had officially been ranked number 4 in most unpleasant punishments) and her leg only twinged every now again, especially when she thought of Baen. So she didn't.

"It's fine, Jaymz," she assured him. The Rilgarian shook his head in disgust,

"The things he does to you...it makes my blood boil." Skyla suppressed a smile, if Maia was her motherly older sister, then Jaymz was the protective older brother. He was always looking out for her and she knew that secretly, he was proud of her and wanted to cause trouble too. So she sometimes did a little extra damage on his behalf.

"How's the newbie?" Skyla asked, changing the subject before he had a chance to go on with another rant against Baen. The Rilgarian glanced over at the new slave who was pruning an Aridian Spotted Tarinka. His face was expressionless as he worked and Skyla wondered what he was thinking.

"He's alright, I guess, a bit indifferent at times. Settling in well enough," Jaymz replied with a small shrug.

"Has he said where he's from?" He shook his head in reply,

"No, the only thing I've been able to get out of him was his name."

"And that is...?" Skyla left the question hanging for him.

"I'll introduce you. Marco!" Jaymz called and the slave looked up. He came over at Jaymz's gesture, though Skyla noticed he walked with a somewhat rigid back and a stiff gait.

"Marco, this is Skyla. Skyla, meet Marco," Jaymz indicated to both of them as he spoke. The other Rilgarian scrutinised Skyla for a moment.

"How are you finding it here?" Skyla ventured, ignoring his gaze.

"You're a Lombax," he said bluntly. Skyla gave him a look. She could see what Jaymz meant when he said Marco was indifferent. Some would call it rude.

"How observant of you," she muttered sarcastically in response. Marco shrugged,

"Don't see many of you any more." Skyla's ear twitched in annoyance but she let the comment pass.

"How are you finding it here?" she repeated politely.

"Never really liked plants," Marco replied simply with a casual glance around the chamber, "weren't that many where I came from."

"And where was that?" Skyla asked innocently, trying to wheedle out information.

"More at home with technology, anyway," the Rilgarian went on as if she hadn't spoken. Skyla and Jaymz exchanged glances, but dropped the matter.

"Same here," Jaymz added, "always felt better with a gizmo rather than a plant in my hand." Marco looked at him,

"You're a Rilgarian, aren't you? That's the way we are." Skyla didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His blunt attitude was positively repulsive to any creature and she wondered how he'd survived a week already. Then again, he clearly had no reservations about speaking his mind. Not to mention he had guts, and guts were always lacking around the facility, probably because they didn't last long.

He was right about the Rilgarians, though. From what Jaymz had told her, Skyla knew that Rilgarians had an affinity for technology, especially new gizmos. He'd explained that Rilgarians were always after the next new thing, and were prone to leaving the old things lying about. Apparently, this would never have happened with Lombaxes, he'd told her, as Lombaxes had been renowned for never leaving anything unmodified, and never abandoned any of their creations unless they sold them on. According to Jaymz, the average teenage Rilgarian spent over 2,000 bolts on new gizmos every year.

Skyla hadn't asked how he knew this at first, but then she'd found out how he'd grown up on Rilgar before he was captured by Slavers around the age of 8. He'd lived as a slave ever since, but still retained a strong memory of life on Rilgar. Sometimes, when Skyla was down, he'd tell her stories he remembered from his childhood of when he was a free creature. Far from depressing her further, the stories never failed to brighten Skyla's outlook as she thoroughly enjoyed hearing of other planets and lifestyles. No matter that she may never visit them in person; she could visit them in her mind and in the words of others.

"Oi, you lot! Get back to work," called a loud voice, a guard. The two Rilgarians and the Lombax exchanged glances before parting ways returning to their work without another word.

Skyla saw little of either Rilgarian over the next few days as she was sent to work in the complex and then the artefact's room. The latter she enjoyed more than any of her other jobs as was mostly alone when working there. It gave her time to think, and occasionally plot/scheme her next escape attempt.

For reasons not entirely unknown, she found a certain peace among the artefacts that she never felt anywhere else. Something about the objects within appealed to her. They were unique, like her, and most of them were not found anywhere else, like her. Yet they didn't make any fuss about it, they simply sat there, quietly accepting the fact that they were alone. Of course, they were inanimate objects, there was nothing they could do about their situation, they couldn't move or talk. Still, Skyla enjoyed looking after them and always drew out her duties in the room so that she spent as much time as possible in the quiet place that was her sanctuary from the traumatic life of a slave. Here, she was safest.

Skyla was in the artefact's room, dusting a trophy (from the first intergalactic Olympics) when the doors opened and Marco walked in. Skyla glanced up at him in surprise; she hadn't thought anyone else was on artefacts duty today. He came straight over,

"They said you're the one to talk to about escaping," the directness of his words made Skyla's eyebrows rise in mild shock. Then she took a quick look to where she knew there were hidden cameras, watching the room 24/7. They were the only thing that disturbed her peace, so she ignored them most of the time. But still...was Marco out of his mind...?

"Don't worry about them," the Rilgarian said dismissively, "I've set them on a loop. If anyone's watching it'll just look like you're dusting this area very slowly. We have 5 minutes before me staying here becomes too risky." Skyla's brow knotted in confusion,

"How did you...?"

"No matter," he cut across, "I want to talk about your escape attempts." The Lombax's eyes narrowed with suspicion,

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to know where you went wrong so I don't make the same mistakes." Skyla did a double take,

"I'm sorry...what?" Marco gave her a look,

"I'm going to escape this place and if I'm going to do that effectively, I need to know what mistakes have been made before hand." Skyla looked at him incredulously,

"You have got to be kidding me. No-one who has attempted to escape this place has ever been successful, they've all tried, failed and been eaten alive."

"And yet here you are," the Rilgarian looked at her with glinting eyes. The Lombax's eyes narrowed further,

"I'm a 'special' case. Who told you about my attempts anyway?"

"That doesn't matter. I just want to know what you did wrong...and we haven't much time."

"What makes you think I'll help you?" she countered.

"Because you'll be coming with me." Skyla blinked,

"What?"

"I need someone with experience of this place," Marco explained, "someone who knows this place well and has the guts to help. Have you got the guts?" Skyla overlooked the blatant jibe at her pride,

"Why me? There are others who've been here longer than I have, who know this place better than I ever could and who have twice the guts as me...if they could ever safely display them."

"Would you rather I asked someone else?" he murmured softly. That stumped her. What he was suggesting...what she thought he was suggesting, was something she'd only ever dreamed of...still...

"I don't trust you," she told him bluntly.

"I'm not asking you to trust me, I'm asking you to help me," he answered. Skyla scrutinised him for a moment,

"What makes you think you can do what countless others haven't been able to do with years of knowledge of this place?"

"I have a plan...and I think I've already displayed my talent with technology. We haven't much time," he repeated, "will you help me?"

"Let me get this straight. You want me to help you risk your life to escape this god-forsaken facility?"

"Is that really so hard to comprehend?" he retorted with cold sarcasm. Skyla suppressed the urge to let out a bark of laughter, though her mouth twitched. This guy had guts. She mulled his offer over in her mind. If the worst came to the worst, they'd fail, Marco would die and she would suffer horribly for a month or two. At best...her heart fluttered...freedom! Even the word tasted sweet on her tongue and made her feel giddy just thinking about it. It was a long shot, a very long shot...but what if it actually worked?

"Fine. I'll help. But if this is a trap..."

"It's not, you're no use to me injured," he informed her and she rolled her eyes, "I need to know how many times you've tried to escape and why they failed. We have 85 seconds."

"The first 7 times were when I was young and foolish so they don't count," Skyla explained quickly, pushing aside suspicious thoughts for the time being, "but the past 9 have been more calculated. I tried decoys, distractions, sneaking around at night, I even fried the security system of a part of the facility once with a stolen spanner. But there's a separate system for each area, and no main frame computer. Baen doesn't trust having just one universal system, he thinks they're too easy to sabotage. My most successful attempt was when I set the animals in the complex free and slipped out during the chaos...I made it as far as the front door before I was stunned by a taser," she winced slightly as she spoke, remembering the neurotoxin incident. Marco nodded,

"And you've been here how long?"

"Just over a decade..." her voice trailed off. Had it really been that long since she stood on the stage at the slave auction? She didn't know how long it had felt, either too long...or too short for such a time to have passed.

"Do you really think you can do it?" she blurted suddenly, then clamped her mouth shut. She didn't want to sound too desperate.

"I know I can, I just need time and a little help," the Rilgarian replied.

"What's the plan?"

"No time now. I'll contact you another way with instructions." With that, Marco swiftly turned on his heel and left the room.

Skyla was left standing, dusting cloth in one hand and trophy in the other, staring after the Rilgarian. She replaced the trophy. Had that really just happened? She was prone to imagining things in this room...what if it had just been a fantasy? She shook her head slightly. It had been real. Marco was going to escape and he'd asked for her help, or assistance at least. There was every chance he was lying and this was, in fact, a trap. But at this stage in her life...she didn't care. Yet however slim, there was a chance he was telling the truth and genuinely did believe he had the power to break them out of this hell hole. It was a total shot in the dark, but for the first time in a long time, hope stirred in the Lombax's heart.