A long wait later, she arrived at the top of the building, and after stepping through a high-tech automatic doorway, she arrived in a large office with reinforced glass walls that overlooked the city and the surrounding deserts, commanding a great view over the planet of Beshun.

And, at his desk, in his usual sitting position, was Igol Threlgan. Chief executive officer of Threlgan Shipping Enterprises.

He was a Nalyr, the marks of old age running rampant across his body. His turquoise skin was wrinkled and blotched with patches of dark green that seemed to sit under his dermis like tumours. The membranes of his ears were ragged and wilted, the lower edges marked by blisters and scars. The tubes of a breathing apparatus were plugged into his neck, the control monitor and tanks sitting in his lap.

"Sir." Kate simply said as she arrived. "You asked to see me?"

Igol looked right at her as she said that, then paused a moment before grinning widely.

"Sir?" he looked around the vast and empty office in an exaggerated and masterfully comedic manner. "Is there someone called 'Sir' here?" he asked sarcastically. "Anyone? Any 'Sirs'? There's a beautiful woman here who wants to talk to you!"

Kate couldn't help but smile and shake her head. "I'm not beautiful, Igol. You known that," she said with a roll of her eyes as she approached.

Igol looked up at her from his seat, still smiling. "You've forgotten yourself, my dear," he said in a voice as warm as hot chocolate. "Last I checked, I've never asked you to call me sir."

Kate stood beside him, still grinning stupidly – something most people didn't do when in the presence of their boss.

But Igol was so much more than that to her.

"Sit down, my dear." He said softly, gesturing to a nearby chair. "I want to discuss something with you."

Kate nodded, grabbed the chair he has gestured to, and moved it so she could sit down beside him. As she sat, Igol turned himself to face her, the machinery resting on his thin thigh clunking slightly as he did so.

Before she could say anything, Igol had already spoken.

"You and your mother have done a lot for this company, Kate." The Nalyr's wrinkled fingers moved, reaching out and gently caressing her hand in his. "It's been years since then, but I still remember the day that I met her and gave her my business card."

Kate smiled, her eyes gleaming with reminiscence. "So did she... before she passed." The young woman replied. "It was a chance meeting she never forgot." After a pause, she then said. "And it was only thanks to you that she got out of that dead-end job, and I had a chance at getting here."

Igol nodded. "It was the least I could do. And I saw the same diligence in you that I saw in her when I went into that convenience store." He said, recounting the event where he, one of the wealthiest Nalyr businessman in the Federation, had met a grocery store clerk who lived in a refugee camp. Igol was a good judge of character – something he prided himself upon, and so, thanks to him, Kate's mother got a better-paid career, allowing Kate to have a chance at a better future.

A future that brought her here, and both her and her mother close with the Threlgan family.

"I'm just sad that I wasn't able to convince you to go to the Beshun Academic Institute..." Igol continued.

Kate shook her head firmly. "My place was here, Igol. With you."

Igol's smile was as bright as a star. "Stubborn as ever. You know, you and my daughter Hrafi would get along so we-"

The old alien's words suddenly devolved into a hacking cough, his right hand flying up to cover his mouth while his left hand frantically fumbled at the apparatus in his lap. Kate lifted her hands, panic rising inside her chest, but she quickly calmed when she heard the gentle hissing of air, and saw her boss' agony-wracked face return to its normal, gentle expression.

"Forgive me, my dear."

Kate placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to forgive, Igol."

The old Nalyr looked the young human in the eyes. As he spoke, a new sense of urgency arising in his voice. "The Healthcare Department finally diagnosed me this morning." He said as his purple eyes gleamed dully in their sockets, lively and yet weary of the world. "Obstructive pulmonary disease."

He gulped before continuing, swallowing the fluids that were building up inside his throat. "I'm not long for this world, my dear. Soon, Dua will come and take me to his realm beyond. So I wanted to tell you this as soon as I could."

Kate's vision blurred slightly, and she blinked to clear them. "What is it, Igol?" she asked, her voice trembling a little.

Igol's hand moved to her cheek, his smile returning. "I'm promoting you, Katie. With my passing, Valra will be given a place on the board, and I want to replace her in kind."

Kate gasped, her lungs seizing up inside her. "You want me to be the Head of Sentient Resources?" she blurted out, flustered by her disbelief.

The old Nalyr nodded. "Indeed." He glanced out the window. "With the war over and the refugees still flocking in, I need to put someone of proven excellence in charge of my workforce." He then turned his gaze back to her. "Besides, my daughter will need an advisor like you if she's going to keep this company afloat."

Kate nodded as she heard this. Threlgan Shipping Enterprises was a family business, after all. Run by the descendants of founder Egona Threlgan for six generations.

"But what about Mrs Valra? Will she be cut out for being an executive?" she asked.

Igol chuckled, his voice wheezing breathlessly. "Valra's always been ambitious. Always been more concerned with advancing her own pay than helping the company's foundations. Putting her on the board should finally satisfy her ambitions and ensure her continuing support for my daughter when she replaces me." The elder looked at her. "Why do you think people always came to you about Sentient Resources instead of her?"

At heart, Kate admitted that Igol was right. Valra, another Nalyr and the current head of the company's Sentient Resources, had attained her position two years ago by essentially being the least terrible of all the potential candidates. From there, she'd allocated most of her work to her subordinates, using her power over the company's workforce to try and curry favour with the board of directors.

Looking at Igol, Kate sniffed slightly. Seeing how broken down he now was compared to when she met him years ago made the fact all the more real. He was going to die...

"Alright..." she said with a nod, accepting her promotion. "I'll do my best."

Igol smiled and touched her cheek again. "I know you will, my dear. You always do."

Overcome, Kate leant in and wrapped her arms around Igol, hugging him and pulling him close to her. She was gentle, taking care not to hurt him, but she couldn't help herself.

She felt two long, familiar arms hug her in kind, one around her body while the other closed around her shoulders, his hand holding the back of her head in a tender way.

"I don't want to lose you..." she sobbed in a half-whispered voice, tears falling from her green eyes like specks of crystal.

"You won't, my dear..." Igol replied. "As long as you remember me, I'll always be with you. Never forget that."

They held each other close, the warmth of Kate's embrace surrounding the two of them, a blanket which sheltered them from all the concerns of the surrounding world. Rivers of clear liquid ran down Kate's face, the fear of the inevitable tearing at her heart like the fangs of a savage animal, threatening to break her spirit there and then.

Days went by, that feeling still clawing at her. And no matter what, there was only so much the doctors could do.

And so it was that Igol Threlgan passed away...

***

A wormhole opened at the edge of the Sirtha system, and a military transport ship powered straight through it at full speed, its sub-light engines burning like supernovas. Aboard, human crews worked tirelessly to ensure the ship was running at maximum efficiency.

Its commander was in a hurry.

"Wormhole exit successful. Charting course to Sirtha Prime starbase, Major." a crew member on the bridge announced.

The commanding officer nodded and replied. "Steady as she goes, Ensign," he said in a low, calm voice.

The ensign nodded. "Of course... Major Gideon."

James Gideon stood on the bridge, his leg bones aching as they took the great strain of the ship powering through space at full speed. But he endured and kept his posture tall and proud, the pain barely registering as his brain focused on analysing his current situation.

Two weeks ago, the Hand of Reclamation had ambushed and attacked the opening of the Human Union of Worlds' first embassy in the Xan-Klar Empire. Dozens had died, and the entire Xan-Klar Empire was on high-alert as a result.

Not only that, but Major Marcus Winter had given the leader of the ambush, a Sirthon agent named Haraq, over to the Xan-Klar.

Even war heroes did stupid things sometimes, Gideon supposed...

But that Sirthon was now the best chance the Human Union of Worlds had at weakening the Hand of Reclamation. And so they had pulled Gideon off of Bellona, taking him away from his tasks against the Cartel, and sent him here.

His mission? To clear things up and do what no-one else would to preserve the human race.

For a moment, Gideon's eyes glazed over. And in that moment, he saw his orders before him. Fresh from the encrypted file, printed clear as cut glass:

[NEW ASSIGNMENT]

[EMBASSY ON SIRTHA PRIME ATTACKED. SIRTHON RESPONSIBLE IDENTIFIED, BUT CAPTURED BY XAN-KLAR]

[NAME: HARAQ. CLASSIFICATION: V.I.P]

[RANK OF MAJOR WILL BE GIVEN FOR THIS MISSION. APPEAR UNASSUMING TO MAJ. WINTER. ONLY EXERT AUTHORITY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. TRUE PURPOSE CANNOT BE KNOWN]

[OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE V.I.P. SUBJECT MUST BE TAKEN ALIVE. INFORMATION HE MAY POSSESS COULD BE CRITICAL TO CONTINUED ACTIONS IN RED FRONTIER]

[CANNOT FALL INTO XAN-KLAR HANDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. ALL OTHER ASSETS ARE EXPENDABLE. PURSUE MISSION OBJECTIVE AT ALL COSTS]

Gideon tugged at the collar of his space suit, his hand running past his newly-decorated epaulet. It had been a while since he was last a Major, and he intended to put this new rank to good use.

The Hand of Reclamation would be stopped. That he would ensure...