In the distance grew the size of a large ball, and Lena was the first to spot it.

"What is that?"

Finn, moody from his defeat, gathered up with scuffle and impassive effort to see a body and dropped his dejection at once.

"That's our last hope," he answered, thrilled and nervous, then bent forward, tapped the screen to wake UNA, and said: "Una, can you take us to Demeter?"

"Positive." The system turned on the engines and gave the spacecraft a thrust in the right direction.

"You might have just saved both our lives," said Finn in gratitude for her perception.

"You didn't answer—what is it?"

"It's a planet. Well, actually, it's a dwarf planet, but it has an atmosphere! If luck has found its way to us, we might be able to land there and I'll try to find a way to fix the satellite to reach out to my father. But I'm getting ahead of myself. One step at a time."

"Do you believe we can make it before we're out of air?"

"Una does, and I put my trust in her."

Thus they made their way to Demeter, unaware that they were being tailed by Arrakis.

An image of Finn's face existed on the glass as it would on a mirror, but he looked right past it. What he was seeing was not much different from what he saw on his first flight into space; black with dots of light.

What he remembered more than the view was the feeling his heart bled. He suffered from heartbreak and on his first flight, he felt lonely despite the company he had.

Joining his reflection now was Lena's, and Finn tried but could not look past her. She had not noticed his eyes on her, and Finn, mesmerized by the way she smiled so unbroken, found himself feeling faintly less lonely.

"Look at this," said Lena when they approached the dwarf planet. "Are those trees?"

Finn smiled. "Yes."

"Is it inhabited?"

"No. It's a really tiny planet and humans had no interest in colonizing it. But I read that a large variety of animals have made it their home."

"Animals? Like those we have on Pluviam?"

"Not quite. These are wild."

"Are they dangerous?"

"No," lied Finn.

They had come close enough to see its green nature, their oxygen at five percent, and the rest of the ship doing just as bad.

"We'll be attracted by the gravitational force any moment now, so hold on tight."

Lena leaned over and grabbed his arm, causing his cheeks to embrace the colors of roses.

"I—" his stomach twisted, "I meant—to the seat—or ship."

"I know, I'm teasing." Lena laughed and returned to her original position.

The fault for his feelings of guilt he could not blame on her, yet he sensed it wrong to let her come this close. What he deemed worse was the fact that her soft touch had been the first reminder of Nitha since the day before. 

He shook his head and reproached himself for losing focus. Shame was what was left when, with her retreating, the happiness Finn had felt for a brief moment had gone, too. 

"Ready?" he asked, steadily leading the ship down towards Demeter's surface.

"Ready."

For a while, the vehicle was let down gently, however, trees covered the ground entirely, leaving no space to land, and eventually it had to collide with the treetops. A webbing of branches prevented the ship from a fatal crash and confined it vertically twelve feet off the earth.

Finn looked at Lena, and Lena looked at Finn, both sharing the same thought.

"We're alive." Finn laid his grip around the handle of the door, but hesitated to open it.

"Is everything alright?" asked Lena, concerned.

Ironically, by avoiding risks, Finn would risk never finding happiness, and so he refused to fear the unknown.

"Of course. Let's do this."

His hand pulled the doorknob and without pushing it, the door broke off, fell for two seconds, and hit the dirt. The ship's white paintwork was scratched from the branches, and the metal of its front, where black smoke was released, had many dents. It was broken beyond repair.

"What are you doing?" asked Lena, when Finn bent over the edge of his seat.

"I'm going to jump," said Finn and let his legs dangle. "Wow, you have to breathe this air! It's fantastic!"

Lena moved closer and classified what he said as true. Never had her lungs had the pleasure of holding air as pure as this, and in her pleasurable distraction, she had not noticed Finn leaving.

Having realized that he was gone, she moved her body to his seat in hopes of finding him in one piece when looking beyond the edge.

"Your turn," said Finn, standing in mud.

Lena shook her head and pinched the seat cushion.

"It's more than twice my height!"

"Come on. You owe me a jump!"

Finn saw her looking up and mumbling something inaudible, but what had looked like fear turned into bravery. She moved her knee above the rim of the door to depart backward, and at long last, when she hung off the vehicle with both of her arms, she let go.

Lena screeched when her body hit the detached door. She couldn't have fallen more unfortunate, and Finn rushed to help her up.

"Are you okay?"

"It hurts!"

"What hurts?"

"My leg—my ankle! I can't—I can't move it!"

Finn looked down at her foot while she used him to support her balance.

"It'll be fine," said Finn with more confidence than he really had. "Let's sit down for a moment."

They were surrounded by a thick forest and plants which Finn had never seen before. Everything was overgrown, leaving no path to walk and no trails to follow, vines connected the tall trees as if it all belonged to one unity, and massive moss-covered rocks, hidden by dense undergrowth and lush foliage, created an uneven ground, impractical to wander over.

While Lena sat on the metal door, Finn strolled until, not far from her, a wall of shrubs blocked his footpath. His eyes roamed the labyrinth of flora. He had expected a planet of solitary to be as quiet as death itself, but on the contrary, he heard the music that nature composed.

Dusk stained the glistening foliage with shadow and murk. As nightfall descended, the sounds of the jungle began to ebb. Uncertainty hung in the warm, wet air as the creatures began to prepare for the stretch of darkness. 

Soon, new sounds emerged; footfalls and the rumbling growls of predators walking their hunting ground.

"Can you walk?" asked Finn, after a break too short for her to recover.

She looked concerned and Finn understood without her vocalizing her disbelief.

"That's okay. I'll go to collect some firewood. Stay here."

He had only turned away from her, not even walked one step when she called out his name.

"Finn—"

He waited for her to finish, but only when he turned to look at her shrinking did she continue what she meant to say.

"I'm——" she had arranged to tell him that she was scared, but identical to Finn's pride keeping him from loving happiness (unless found in Nitha's arms), Lena's pride would hatch her fear only in the unshakeable presence of danger. Therefore, all she braced to say was: "Stay."

"What?"

She was forced to say it again. It had been cruel to ask the first time, but a second was unthinkable.

"It's getting dark at quite a pace, we should make a fire."

"We don't need a fire," or in words impossible for her to voice: Please don't leave me.

"We need a fire," he debated, "without light, I can't fix the satellite, and additionally, fire will keep us warm at night, and the flames might just keep wild animals away from us."

"You said the animals are not dangerous."

He stuttered until he confessed to his lie.

"First of all—" Lena leaped up, "don't lie to me. And secondly, wild animals are even more of a reason not to go; you don't want to be eaten by a neconox, do you?"

She balanced on one leg but gave it all her best to look persuasive.

"We need a fire," persisted Finn, unamused by her act.

"Don't go," muffled Lena faintly, with her head tilted to veil that she was blushing.

"What?" again, he did not understand her.

"Do I have to say it out loud?" Her voice now tough and vigorous. At last, she gave in to what she had been dreading: "I do not want you to go!"

Finn watched her explode.

"Every sound I hear, everything I smell and see is new! And scary! Please do not leave me here all alone! Stay—or take me, only do not leave me with this incubus, against whom I am defenseless and weak! Please, Finn, I don't want to be left here by myself!"

When she had finished spitting out her emotions, Finn, having watched her drop her pride in order to admit to her fear, attempted to do the same by sharing his love with someone other than Nitha. 

Not to say it did not hurt him to take her hand, but he knew he had to calm her with more than just looks, and just as anticipated, when her hand was shyly held by his, she found peace. He thought of it as an innocent deed; a gesture of kindness and support.

"It's going to be okay." Finn nodded at her and, in an enduring daze, she nodded too. "Come on, we'll go together, okay?" She nodded again.