Incus leaned against the wall and took a breath. What was wrong with him? Getting that close to Ve- the prisoner?! That was insane! He could've been hurt.

But something in him had wanted to get even closer.

Vee had told him to take his helmet off, to talk to him normally. And he almost had. But he'd stopped just in time.

That was the important thing. He'd stopped.

"Hey, Incus!" Mallious called, rounding the corner. Incus stood up straighter. Don't show any signs of weakness. "How's the thin' with the engineer goin'?"

Incus cracked his knuckles. "We're getting somewhere." He said shortly. "I expect he'll make his decision soon enough."

"What? To join us or jump it?" Mallious asked. He laughed. "Ain't much of a choice, is it?"

"Do you have a problem with my methods?" Incus asked sharply. "A problem with the way I conduct investments?" He wasn't angry at Mallious if truth be told but anger was so much easier to fall into than... whatever else he was feeling.

Mallious took a minute step back. "No." He said defensively. "I'm just sayin'that callin' it a choice ain't truthful much."

"It is a choice." Incus snapped. "Join us or die. Those are two pretty clear options to choose from." He flexed his fingers under his gloves. "And they always get results."

"So... ya know where I'm from bu' how'bout ya, hot stuff?" Ax asked, tapping xir hands on the floor. Roman had discovered pretty quickly just how restless xe was. "Where're ya from?"

Roman swallowed and kept his eyes focused on what was through the wind-shield. Could it even be called that out in the vacuum of space? It didn't really matter either way.

"E-75." He said, swiping the hologram towards himself. They were on the right track. Good.

"Damn," Ax breathed slowly, "they all like ya there? Cause if they are, Imma have ta make a short detour."

"No, they're not all like me." Roman said. "Everyone looks different."

"But they still all got the two-all combo?" Ax asked. "Like, the thin' Virgil has?"

"Virge isn't from E-75." Roman said.

"Yeah, I know." Ax said. "But ya both got the two-all combo so I was givin' a' example."

"I mean... mostly?" Roman said. "Some people have amputated limbs or were born without but the majority of us do, yeah. I think."

"Nice." Ax said.

"But anyway, you can't go to E-75 cause it's uninhabitable." Roman said. "We made sure of that."

"Eh, that sucks." Ax said. "Guess I'll just have ta make do with what I got..."

Roman swallowed again. "Anyway, we should be with Virgil in about a half. Then you can get back to your stall."

"Oh. Yeah." Ax said like xe'd forgotten all about it. "What're ya and Virgil plannin' ta do, anyway? Ya got enough shields ta last ya ta the end o' the universe an' back so... where're ya goin'?"

"We're going to find someone." Roman said simply. "Well, two people. We both lost them and agreed to get them back together."

"Aw, sweet." Ax said. Roman glanced over at xem. Xe was sitting on xir knees, grinning up at him. "An' ya sure it's just platonic?"

"Uh- yeah." Roman said. "No offense to Virge but he isn't exactly my type."

"What is ya type?" Ax asked.

"Weird question."

"I'm just curious, okay?!"

"And I'm not saying." Roman said. "Just... not Virge."

"Huh, sucks ta be him." Ax said. Roman cleared his throat.

"Anyway, we got a while to fly. How did you meet Virge?" He asked.

"Nu-uh, nah. All I've been doin' this entire trip is talk 'bout myself." Ax said. "Ya know all 'bout me but I don't know nothin' 'bout ya. So go on, pretty boy. What's yar back-story?"

"Um..." Roman trailed off. "It's complicated."

There was a small thump as Ax shifted into a more comfortable position. "I got time."

No, I don't know what's going on. What makes you think I do?
Bye,
Blaize