Author's Note:

Hmm… now to introduce some more characters!

The institution, in which the mercenaries lived and were hired, was a tightly packed building. Aliens of every shape and size wandered about the building.

The residents could be easily discerned from the aliens hiring them, as they had an air of calm about the institution. On the other hand, those hiring mercenaries were nervous about being in a building full of potentially dangerous aliens.

Some of the mercenaries were relaxing, others wrestling and challenging each other, and others writing reports in tiny, black notebooks.

Martin led the way through corridors, friendlily greeting some acquaintances as they passed by a variety of rooms. He left Rebecca and John at the hiring desk while he went to prepare his effects for voyaging.

A young feline jovially spun around on the stool at the hiring desk, looking to be no older than five years of age. She had black fur and resembled a panther, with wide yellow-green eyes, and she wore a pink dress. The feline looked up at the new arrivals and smiled widely, showing off her pointed teeth.

"Mommy!" The young girl called towards a room behind the hiring desk. "Customers!"

A lean female feline, wearing a thick ivory robe that covered all of her body except for her paws and head, walked beside her daughter. She had the same panther-like appearance and eyes like her daughter, and she smiled softly.

"How can I help you?" The feline enquired kindly.

Rebecca stepped forwards. "I'm looking for a few mercenaries that will be available as members of an escort."

"You mean those who won't have any prior missions or any in the immediate future to interfere with travelling plans?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "How many are you looking for?"

"The escort's going to total four," Rebecca explained, "but I've already unofficially hired Martin Kovacs."

The grown feline nodded and hurried into the back room. In the mean time, while her mother was gone, the young feline looked curiously at John and Rebecca. It seemed that the young girl wasn't too familiar with humans.

"Here we are…" The grown feline entered the main room with a clipboard clasped in her paws. "I'm afraid that we only have three free mercenaries at the moment, besides Mister Kovacs, so you won't have a variety of choices."

"It's alright…" Rebecca nodded. "Who are they?"

"Mister Jarred O'Riley, Miss Juanita Jones, and Mister Henry Jemseg…" The feline read the notes from her clipboard.

Rebecca continued to discuss business with the grown feline while the young feline was staring at John. The young man raised an eyebrow at the young girl and then ignored her.

Martin shortly arrived afterwards, with his effects, and the trio waited for the three other aliens to be summoned to the hiring desk.

An athletic blue-skinned man, a broad-shouldered eagle-humanoid, and a fit blue-skinned woman arrived shortly after they had been summoned.

The blue-skinned man timidly introduced himself as Jarred O'Riley. The young man was skilled in mechanics, specializing in mechanics on ships. He had short navy-blue hair that was spiked up along the bangs, his eyes were a bright green, and he wore a loose olive-green shirt and tawny trousers over black boots.

The eagle humanoid curtly introduced himself as Henry Jemseg. He specialized in navigation, was a sharp shooter, and an adequate hand-to-hand combatant, evident from his stocky appearance. His attire was similar to that of a spacer but was a deep green in colour with gold edging and he wore black trousers and knee-high boots. He had yellow-brown eyes and pale tawny feathers.

The blue-skinned woman cheerfully introduced herself as Juanita Jones. She specialized in scouting and stealth, making her an adequate lookout. Her navy-blue hair was braided along her scalp in thick cornbraids that looked almost like chords. She had bright green eyes and wore a loose cream-coloured blouse under a crimson oriental-styled vest with light brown trousers over her dark brown boots.

The four mercenaries had their effects prepared and they all left the institution.

"Smithy!" Juanita greeted the locksmith with a friendly hug as they entered the tent.

"It's good to see you, Isaac…" Henry nodded curtly.

"You as well, Henry." The locksmith smiled warmly.

"Thank you for the accommodations, Mister Smith." Jarred stated respectfully.

Rebecca smiled, surprised that each member of her escort knew the old man on a friendly-basis, as she entered the tent. "Mister Smith…" She looked to the locksmith.

"Yes, Lady Rebecca?" Isaac turned to the young woman.

"How is he doing?" She was referring to the young slave boy.

Isaac's face brightened a little. "He's getting better, milady… don't you fret."

"Has his fever broken?" Rebecca enquired.

Isaac nodded. "He's still sleeping, I brought him into the back room where it's quieter."

Rebecca nodded, smiling weakly. "Thank you," she added, "for all you've done."

"I'm not done yet, milady, but you are welcome…" Isaac smiled warmly.

The evening began to grow darker as the night fell. One by one, small lanterns within Isaac Smith's tent began to come alive in the light's absence, giving the tent a warm atmosphere.

A pale mist covered the land, giving it a mysterious atmosphere. The landscape was unfamiliar; parts of it were blurred out, like a smudged painting. A bright full moon shone in the night sky, its rays descending on a woman sitting upon a large boulder.

The woman was looking to the sky, her hair the colour of ebony and her skin as pale as marble. In her arms was a small bundle of clothing. She looked down affectionately at the bundle with a pair of pale eyes the colour of jade.

The woman gently pulled back some clothing and revealed the face of a young baby. The little girl had a similar appearance as the woman, pale skin and dark hair.

The baby slowly opened her eyes, revealing them to be the warmest copper-brown ever imaginable. The baby's eyes looked up into the woman's and then out into the mind's eyes of the young slave boy -who was having this dream- forcing him to wake up.

The young arachnid opened his golden eyes and looked around. He was in a dark room, looking to be an additional section of a tent. He loosened his grip on the cushion that he had been sleeping on, and pulled himself to his feet.

He slowly clicked towards a flap of the tent, and cautiously peered out of it into another room. This was the main room of the tent, one that the young arachnid remembered in which the kind locksmith had been picking the locks of his shackles.

The young arachnid looked around, the room was empty, but the entrance of the tent was flapping slightly in the wind from the outside. He silently crept towards the entrance of the tent and slipped outside.

The stars in the night sky twinkled against their deep indigo background, descending an eerie darkness upon the city. The young arachnid looked around the exterior of the tent and nearly jumped out of his exoskeleton when he spotted a woman.

Normally he would have ignored her and continued with his escape, but this woman had a striking resemblance to the woman from his dream; pale skin, dark hair, and pale green eyes. The woman turned and looked at him.

"You're up…" She smiled warmly. "A strange time to be waking, but nonetheless I'm glad that you're alright."

The young arachnid was taken aback by the woman's friendliness.

"Do you understand me?" The woman asked.

The young arachnid simply nodded and allowed himself to get closer to the woman.

"Good…" The woman cleared her throat. "My name's Rebecca… could you tell me your name?" She enquired politely.

The young arachnid gulped and nodded. Rebecca waited patiently for him to answer.

"It's… Scroop." The arachnid stated in a voice much gruffer than one would expect from an alien his size and age.

Rebecca smiled warmly. "Scroop." She nodded.

"Why are you out here, Rebecca?" Scroop asked timidly.

"Couldn't sleep." Rebecca stated simply, she glanced at the young arachnid. "Why are you out here, Scroop?"

The young arachnid looked at the ground in shame. "I was… trying to escape."

Rebecca shrugged. "There's no need to escape from anything, Scroop, you're a free being now…" She smiled warmly. "You have been one since your shackles were removed, and you're free to go wherever you wish."

Scroop looked up at the young woman strangely. "You mean… I'm free?" He asked.

Rebecca nodded. "I would never keep a slave, especially one as young as you, it's just not right." She shrugged. "Servants, certainly, but never someone forced against their will to do labour…"

Scroop blinked, absorbing the information. He was finally free… after all of the hard years from being borne into slavery. He shook his head.

"Of course." Rebecca added. "You are certainly welcome to join us on our voyaging…"

"Us?"

"Yes," Rebecca smiled, "Martin, Juanita, Henry, Jarred, myself and John."

"Where are you going?" Scroop asked.

"Well." Rebecca pushed some loose bangs back from her face. "We're going to take a ferry to Romano, as John's willing to let us use his family's heirloom ship in order to reduce the travelling costs… then we're going to go to the Giga Metropolis on the populated planet of Emery."

Scroop paused to think over Rebecca's offer. He sighed. "I'll come along." He stated.

"You will?"

Scroop nodded. "I don't have any family, they died when I was… younger."

Rebecca looked over the youth with concern.

The golden-eyed arachnid looked back at Rebecca. "I won't be welcomed like anything more than a slave elsewhere… I'm a freak of nature, you know."

Rebecca's eyes softened. "Is that what they called you?" She asked gently.

Scroop looked away. "I'm an unnatural hybrid of a scorpion and a spider," he looked down at his pincers and furrowed his brow, "…a monster…"

Rebecca was silent for a moment. "I don't think that." She stated.

Scroop looked up at her with his wide golden eyes.

"You may be a hybrid," she paused and looked over the young arachnid, "but that doesn't make you a freak, or a monster…" she smiled warmly, "you're simply unique, Scroop."

Scroop paused for a moment. Rebecca's words reminded him of his mother's when he was younger. He looked up at Rebecca.

Rebecca's warm smile remained. "Well, I'm glad of your decision to come with us, Scroop." She cleared her throat. "Now, you'd better get some sleep… we're going to leave early tomorrow morning to catch the ferry to Romano."

Scroop nodded and turned around, heading towards the tent, and paused at the entrance to glance back at the young woman. She had resumed watching the stars. He shook his head, smiling weakly to himself, and he entered the tent.

Author's Note:

Thank you to Whisperwings, for betaing, and to my awesome readers, for your reviews!

MG#6