In a heap of mess lay a frail body. Hair in hopeless disarray, her hands crunching on her garments. Around her, things lay scattered- from books to fabrics to devices- everything that was in her room was mostly on the floor, lying by her side in an answer to her actions rather than placed in their designated places.

She had refrained from hearing any news from the outside. She feared the worst. It tore her apart just by imagining it. Markus had cautioned her not to go down on the planet the very first time they had visited it. But now, her closest friend was down there, probably fighting unthinkable oppositions.

She was choking on her breath, and rivers flowed through the landscape of her mien. Her eyes had caved in to canyons. Her lips quivered.

She knew the IMG had safely got back into the ship. But how could they? How could they leave him down there on his own.

She hated to ask this but she was helpless. Why did it seem so improbable. Why was she having these thoughts?!

Would he make it back?

These were exactly the kind of thoughts she shouldn't be having.

She continued sobbing. There was nothing she could do. Nothing.

__________

"GET OFF ME!" Jayden screamed. He struggled to get a hold of the body of the creature that was upon him. It drooled all over his helmet. Bulbous and ugly, it was like an abomination from an experiment gone wrong. The conical anterior part of the creature somewhat resembled a worm. But it had a nasty hole in the front and it was oozing some liquid. The 'mouth' was multi-layered.

Jayden couldn't bear to look at it anymore. He punched the creature hard in the mid-section. He expected it to rip off of him. Instead, it's delicate body exploded in a mess of goo.
He raised his hand to see strings of goo stretch and fall off.

"Yuck. Need to wash this off somehow before I get back."

Even if his body was still safe from the stench and was clean, he couldn't bear to drag all the mess with him everywhere. This gave his crew all the more reason not to rescue him.

He stopped in his tracks, and his chest felt heavy. His breath, laboured.

Even though the thought crossed his mind humorously, he still couldn't believe they had no plans yet for his rescue. Get rid of the negativity. They must be planning something. Just keep your cool. Focus.

__________

Sharlotte had her palm covering her mouth. Her eyebrows were set in distress. "Markus, he won't survive there. The elements are fatal on that planet!"

Markus knew it all too well. He had all the data before him.

Time was running out.

Juvo's ship had not attacked them yet. Maybe, they had received orders to hold back till Juvo returned? But they were not making any move for his rescue. It was indeterminable what they were thinking. What action could the IMG take against them? What if it backfired?

For the time being, they decided to stay put. Their only goal now, was to rescue Jayden. And... well, they had to hand over Juvo to the Galactic Patrol but it seemed unlikely that he would make it out alive. His followers had to be taken into custody. But they didn't see how it could be done without getting themselves blown up by Juvo's ship.

The compartment doors hissed open. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" S.O.H sirened, suddenly proclaiming his presence and stunning the others. The hovering robot came rushing in a dynamic vector, his screen aglow with flashes.

"What in the world?" Sanduo frowned.

S.O.H showed them a feed from one of the hallways. A group was seen slowly advancing. Armed.

"How did they get in?!" Drio jumped out of his seat.

"They appeared out of nowhere," S.O.H explained.

"Oh, that is very helpful," Drio said sarcastically, staring at S.O.H.

Juvo's followers were scurrying through the hallways, their feet methodical on the ground, their eyes observant and their stance as delicate as ants.

S.O.H swept the current feed away. Another hologram was generated. It showed them appearing suddenly out of thin air.

Lily sucked in a breath loudly. "Oh God." She had a startling realisation. "They have access to a teleportation device. How else can you rationalise that?!"

"That bastard must have stolen it!" Markus slammed his fist on his other palm.

"We can monitor their movements, right?" Sharlotte said, hope lacing her words. "We need to ambush on them. They won't even know."

"Don't," Lily warned. Sharlotte faced her, unable to see why. "You don't know what they have planned. What if you try to attack them, and they use that device again? What if their plan is to take us on their ship and execute us?"

Voice of reason. They couldn't dismiss that.

"So what do we do?" Sanduo said, clearly being irritated by the situation.

"Oh, it's simple enough." Lily grinned.

"It is?" Gaping balls of wonder aimed at her.

"Why, Droop shall be the perfect choice! Just send him in."

It took only a moment of pondering before they all smiled.

The massive robot was sent in. The intruders fell on their knees, pleading for mercy. Obviously, their weapons didn't stand a chance before Droop.

They were sealed in separate holds, awaiting only fate in the incarnation of the Galactic Patrol.

"Alright then," Markus grinned. "His ship won't shoot at us. We have his people. Juvo is better than executing his enemies at the cost of his followers. Now, we call the Galactic Patrol. This is the only time. We don't have long. Jayden is fighting with more than he can manage." He looked at Sanduo with anger. "If we can't get down there, the people of the patrol would. Because it is there duty." He stomped away.

Sanduo kept shut. He knew his decision was harsh. He prayed for Jayden's wellbeing. He had trust on the kid. He just had to survive long enough for the Patrol to come in.

"Jayden, you there? How are you holding up, buddy?" Markus buzzed in.

When Jayden's line opened, he said nothing for a few moments. Then he said in a very neutral tone, "I think I have a plan. I can get off this godforsaken world on my own."

A bit of surprise could be discerned when Markus replied, "Really?"

"Yeah. I just need to find a place devoid of all this... compost. I need the exposed membrane of this planet to do it. Not to mention a high ground nearby as well. I just want to say, when I get up there, send a pod to intercept me. I need to be quarantined, no?"

That hurt Markus, but he knew that it was protocol. He cleared his throat and replied in a hoarse voice, "Yeah. I will tell sir."

Jayden cut the line.

Markus pushed back in his chair and blew an invisible cloud of exhaled air, trying to accept what kind of a situation they had got themselves into.

He had turned the emergency beacon on before making the call. He should have done it once he had got back on the ship, should have known Sanduo wouldn't budge.

The emergency beacon drained much energy off the ship, and created a microscopic wormhole. Every ship and the pods alike had the feature. It sent a distress signal through the wormhole directly to the Galactic Patrol headquarters.

Help was on the way in galactic hours.

__________

The air was still around the crouched figure, but the aura inside of it wasn't. It was tensed. It was manic. It was all flavours of fury condensed into a ball of rage that was somehow being contained. Control had been regained, but the purpose and determination was the same.

He had to destroy the IMG. His mission had failed. It was not he who had failed. No, he had been worthy. He had been capable. He was just in reach. But this external force was unexpected. He had been lured. He had been tricked. Was I not good enough? What more could I have possibly offered? I was so very methodical... then why must I fall!

He pushed his feet and got up. His feet sunk underneath in the layered soil for a moment, then bounced back up.

He started walking in an ambiguous direction. This was a strange world. It wasn't the kind he was well acquainted with. Something about it was different; felt different.

He brought his attention back to what needed to be done. I must find the boy. The rest of the IMG must have been eliminated by now.

He stopped. Is it worth it to go hunting for the boy now? He won't survive alone in this place.

He turned on his gear and tried to establish a connection with his ship.

Static.

Is something interfering with the connection?

No. That was not it. He could hear. Distant blasts. Explosions.

What is happening?

"Your ship is unmanned, Juvo. And your robots are gone too. Surrender now, if you don't want to die on that planet. We can at least award you an instant death penalty at the headquarters," Markus' snickering voice came in.

"WHY YOU-"

"It's over. I know you are one not to give up, but there's nothing left to be done. You. Have. Lost. There's no chance left at redemption," Jarka said, word by word, clear to the mike and bold to a whisper.

As soon as Juvo heard those words, the ground beneath him started shaking.

A fissure. He could see it form afar. He could hardly believe his eyes. The membrane of the planet was tearing and it was ripping itself apart. It has a mind of it's own. The realisation hit him.

A large rift broke the world in two.

Juvo ran, but to his horror, the rift followed.

_________

Jayden heard a rustling sound. It gradually increased in intensity and he could see the rift engulf the vegetation to his north. The world curved towards the rift.

"Oh no, what is happening?!"

He panicked. He looked upwards. The rescue pod was in vicinity.

He jumped.

He fell momentarily.

Then he bounced back up and was in the air again.

He shot upwards to grasp at survival. Behind him, a gigantic cleavage folded the world to its centre.