Story Wanderer - An Adventure *Chapter 9 is up!*

Welcome to Wanderer (Name subject to change), my first Fan Fic. My first story, actually! (It may be pretty bad lol)
I started writing this for these reasons:
a) I want to get better at writing. This is a learning experience, so bear with me!
b) Starbound is awesome!

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An HUGE thank you to @Nibolas and @Krowzi for making these fantastic character images for me! Literally, I can't thank you enough!

Characters:
Karo

Description: Escaping from Avos with the help of a guard, he grew up without parents to guide him along. He wants to help all in need.
Role: Captain / Leader

Helios "Burns" Sol

Description: Helios is only looking for a friend.
Role: Pistol wielding sharpshot.

Kaiya Lux

Description: A silent Hylotl, who is surprisingly skilled with a sword. Strikes swiftly and mercilessly.
Role: Sub Leader.

Also, a big thanks to Zebe, who let me use his Character intro/spoiler set up! if you haven't read his stories, you should! They're amazing!

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Comments, Questions, and all that stuff is greatly appreciated!
Enjoy!

Chapter 1 - A New Friend

Karo leaned back in his chair. Outside his window was a sea of stars, each shining like a diamond against the black canvas that is space. He gazed out, wishing he could beam down soon. He had already been on board the ship for three days.
Whenever he landed, he would start searching to find a few replacement parts for an FTL drive. His ship was sitting in a hanger, in need of repairs after narrowly escaping a random space penguin attack. It took a single hit from the attackers, rendering the rear thrusters inoperable. Luckily, after examining the damage on the ground, he discovered they had only damaged a few parts - the bad part: they were rather expensive parts. The repair could cost hundreds of thousands of pixels. Still, not nearly as bad as he thought. Better than having the entire FTL drive ruined.

A blast of cold air following the opening of a door brought his attention to a Novakid. He was bright red/orange with an Ω mark on his face. Dressed in a duster with two six shooters hanging from his belt, he looked like he was ready for action.
The Novakid walked down the aisle. With every step he took a clink sounded from his spurs. He sat down next to Karo.
"Howdy," he said as he tipped his hat, "My name's Helios. Helios Sol. You can call me Burns if you'd like."

"My name's Karo."

"I hope you don't mind me sittin' here. There was a rather annoying Apex up there towards the cabin. Kept talkin' about how rich he is."

"Not at all. I understand how annoying that Apex is. I sat by him for one day... After that I had enough. So I sat back here in the peace and quiet," Karo chuckled, referring to the fact the section of the ship they were in only had a few riders.

"So, Karo, What are you doing heading for Orin?" Helios questioned.

"I'm ordering some parts for an FTL drive, a Zapper 1300a model. I got into a little skirmish with penguins. Those little pests fried my FTL drive, so I'm getting some replacements."

The Novakid laughed and said, "One time I got into a fight with some. I pushed them onto their backs. They had trouble getting up! When they did, I would push 'em down again! They got so mad that they left me alone!"
They both shared a little laugh over his short story. Helios stretched in his seat. "So your getting parts for a FTL drive, eh? That's pretty funny. I'm going to get parts for one of the vertical thrusters for my ship. Maybe we could travel to the dealer together?"

"Sure. I don't have any problems with that," Karo replied.

The hours flew by since the two kept each other occupied with stories. Helios told Karo many stories of his adventures in the deserts of his home planet.
After a few hours more the FTL drive on the freighter class ship began to power down. The ship began to orbit Orin. One by one the passengers teleported down onto the planet beneath them. Each would appear in the city square. Loudspeakers played the same message in a woman voice repeatedly.
"Welcome to Orin, the largest shipping port in the vicinity of 15 light years. See what attractions our city has to offer, including fine cuisine, parks, clubs, and many others."

Karo and Helios both ignored the message and started heading for a bus stop.

"So, have you ever been here before?" asked Helios.

"Yes. I used to come here all the time when I was only a teen," said Karo.

A bus with boosters in the place of wheels pulled over beside them. It's exhaust blew dust from the street into the air, causing Karo to cough some until he was on board the bus.
"Colobus Ship Parts Co. please," he informed the driver before taking a seat.
The bus started moving again. The ride was smooth and quiet apart from a few Humans on board having a conversation about plants. Karo watched the city roll past him until the bus slowed to a stop. The two got off after paying the driver. Standing outside of the dealership they could see a new model of a Glitch ship sitting in the backlot.

"I wonder how much that costs," muttered Karo as he stepped through the double doors into the dealership.

Helios took a seat in the lounge while Karo went to speak with the Apex ship parts dealer, Lucien Colobus.

"How can I help you today?"

"I need parts for a Zapper 1300a FTL drive."

Lucien pulled up a list of parts from a small hologram on his desk.

"I have a few parts here. What is it you need?"

"I need a flux drive box, 60 feet of high voltage electrical wire, and the FTL ignition system," Karo specified.

"That's going to cost about 200k pixels. The drive box and ignition system are very expensive... I don't have them, but I know where you can get them."

"Where?"

"The dealer on Adon has plenty of FTL drive parts, but their prices are going to be even more expensive. You could probably work it off though. Also, I'd arm yourself before going there. Adon isn't a nice planet," said Lucien.

Karo payed for the wire and started on his way out of the store. Helios stopped him before he could get to the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I need to go to Adon. The parts I need are there," Karo explained.

Helios shook his head from side to side. "I wouldn't advise that, pal," He remarked, still shaking his head, "At least let me go with you. I was going there after my ship gets repaired anyway."

Chapter 2 - Small Repairs

Helios stood to the side while Karo and another mechanic repaired the booster on the bottom of his ship.
His ship looked like an old steam engine, with a whistle and a pilot (The cow pusher grate thing). It looked like a proper steam engine. But the technology was not old what-so-ever. The FTL system was one of the newest on the public market. It could probably fly faster than almost any civilian craft around. The bottom side of the ship had ten inch steel armor, which made it hard for Karo and the mechanic to access the area that needed repair. When they did, they discovered a mass of wire had melted and ruined the booster closest to the cabin. Luckily, Helios had purchased the right parts to properly repair the booster.
Karo scooted out from beneath the ship on his back. Reaching for a rag to wipe oil from his feathers, Karo glanced at Helios. He was pacing back and forth, looking at a hologram. It was a box of some sort. Helios turned and saw Karo looking at him and he powered the device down quickly as if to hide it.

"How's my ship coming along?" Helios asked trying to avoid any questions.

"Good. We're about halfway done," Karo replied.

He returned back to work on the ship. The fact that Helios' ship had armor, an extremely expensive FTL drive, the hologram, and that Helios could pay for the booster right there in Colobus ship parts perplexed the Avian greatly.
Helios had to have a good paying job. But why the armor? Karo thought.
A few hours later the ship's repairs were finished. The armor plate had to be welded back into place, which Helios didn't seem to like. It put a weak spot into the hull's armor, but it was necessary. All the wiring had been redone as well. It had been done correctly this time. If the original ship builder had wired it correctly the wires wouldn't have shorted out and melted together.

"How about you get some weapons and we'll take off for Adon tomorrow," Helios said, "This way you won't have to
pay for a ticket there."

Karo didn't have much of a choice. He hardly had enough money for the repair, much less a ticket to another planet. He agreed, even though he hadn't known Helios for more than a few days. He seemed trustworthy enough that Karo could at least ride with him to Adon.

"Helios, what makes Adon so bad?" Karo questioned after they left the hanger.

"It lacks any law enforcement in most of the cities. The Miniknog are in the better areas, but they often cause trouble themselves," Helios answered.

"I see... So this dealer is in the city of Adon, on Adon. His name is Aaron Thear. Supposedly he is a retired USCM soldier."

"You know more about him than I."

The two walked in silence for a while until it came for them to part ways temporarily.

"I guess I'll meet you in the hanger tomorrow morning after breakfast?"

"Sure thing, partner. Bring any weapons you have with you," Helios reminded him.

Karo headed off towards his hotel. He stopped to get food from a street vendor. He handed over his pixels in exchange for some curried beakseed, one of his favorites. He ate as he continued walking under the evening sky. Overhead flew various ships. On the sidewalks, members of the various races went about their business. A typical Orinian eve.
Karo continued to think about the hologram Helios had. What could it be? He made his way to his hotel room. He pulled his handgun from inside his belt. He kept it concealed while he fixed Helios's ship. He then opened his only bag of belongings. From it he produced a traditional Avian dagger. He removed it from it's sheath and took a minute to look at it. The guard that helped him escape Avos gave it to him as a form of protection.
It seemed like yesterday that he escaped his home planet...
The Stargazers picked him as their next sacrifice. One of the guards who liked Karo so much had heard the night before the Stargazers were to sacrifice Karo, so he set out the save him. The guard, Icewing, immediately went to Karo's parents. He informed them of the plan. His parents were among the few that loved their child enough to defy the law of the Stargazers. Later that night, his parents woke him up. They explained to him he would be leaving Avos, and was not to come back.
Karo could remember saying goodbye and giving his parents one last hug. He would never see them again. Surely his parents and Icewing had all been killed for helping him escape.
The guard smuggled him into a cargo ship by hiding him in a crate...
Thinking about that last goodbye was always hard for him. Nothing could be done now, though. And he wasn't alone.
Plenty of others share the same experience with him.
How he longed to find another like him, too.
Karo laid down and drifted to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, after all.

Chapter 3 - Cards

Helios sat on the edge of a metal crate awaiting the arrival of his new Avian friend, Karo. He seemed nice enough to help repair his ship and was friendly towards him. Helios had been looking for a friend, and he had hopefully found one.
Ever since Helios made one life changing decision as a young man, he hasn't had any friends. Friends that lived long enough to get to know him, that is.

Helios "Burns" Sol was a bounty hunter. He started killing for money in order to save his family's farm, which he did, but with bloodstained hands he couldn't return home and risk anyone discovering the truth, so he continued bounty hunting. He soon became famous enough that he was the first choice among anyone looking for a bounty hunter. He even killed other bounty hunters covertly to insure good business. Money practically grew on trees for him. He had his own ship and advanced tech to go in it, weapons, armor, anything he wanted. Anything but a close friend. He could make friends, but they always found a way of getting themselves captured or killed. He needed a friend that wasn't part of any criminal business.

But how to tell Karo that he was a bounty hunter? That was Helios' main problem.

I'll just wait 'till the time is right. Maybe after I help him on Adon, Helios thought.

Karo appeared through the open hanger door. "Morning," He said sleepily.

"Howdy," Helios replied, jumping from the crate, "I think we should get going."

The two entered his ship. Helios flipped a few switches in the cabin. The ship turned on with a humming sound. Karo's eye's widened when he saw the inside of the ship in the light. It was set up like a house. An extremely luxurious modern house.

"This is nice," Karo muttered.

"Thanks. It took me a while to set it up this way," Helios said while taking a seat in the cabin.

Karo sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Helios. He looked over at Helios as he flipped more switches on the dash.
"You took a flight class... Right?" Karo asked nervously.

"Nah. Didn't see any reas'n to. I can pilot this ship, and I've got autopilot, so why bother?"

"Well... It's just..." Karo sighed, "Never mind..."

Helios backed from the hanger, forcing a few workers to jump out of the way. One of them, an Apex, waved his wrench at the ship and yelled, "WATCH IT! WE'RE WORKING HERE!" Karo rubbed his forehead in embarrassment.
Helios pressed in on the throttle. Their ship lifted off, a little too fast for the Avian co-pilot, but still within safe limits.

"I'm not too good at landin'. Just a little warnin'," Helios said as they rose above the Orin's surface.

"Yea... Maybe I'll teach you when we're ready to land, I am a pilot, after all," Karo said proudly.

"Really? That's neat!" Helios exclaimed.

The sky continued to darken as they left the atmosphere for the vacuum of space. Before them orbited Orin's two moons, Ardium and Ignis, both were nearly full. There are mining facilities and Echirus wells on both moons. The fuel was transported the the ports on Orin for refinement and sale. Apart from the fuel being dangerous to transport it was considered "safe". Apart from a few large tanker explosions there have been very few incidents regarding Echrius fuel.
Helios started the Auto-pilot and set the correct course for the ship. Karo estimated it would be about a two hour flight. He started to relax in his seat when Helios stood.

"Let's play cards or something while the ship does the work," Helios said.

I really don't want to leave this cockpit unattended, Karo thought, but he ultimately agreed.

The two seated themselves at a card table. Helios produced a deck of cards from his pocket and began to shuffle them.

"Ya know how to play Rummy?"

"Yes."

"Good! We'll play a game to two hundred. That's two hands for me."

Helios distributed the cards and set the deck between them. "You start."

Karo played a good hand, ending up with 120 points, leaving Helios in the dust at 20 points. Helios scratched his head.
The next round, Karo laid down all four Aces and all four queens. He glanced up at Helios who followed through with a facepalm. Game over.
The AI announced in the empty cockpit their arrival time. Only an hour or so till they would arrive at Adon. Karo stretched in the most comfortable chair he had ever sat in after their game and waited for Adon to appear in his window while Helios read through a book off Karo's Codex on piloting a star ship.

Chapter 4 - A Good Landing

Karo stepped from the ship after Helios.

"Good job! You landed."

Helios nodded as he admired his perfect landing. Right on the pad! Much better than he first attempt. He didn't even touch the ground before shutting sown the engines, which led to a rough landing and broken landing gear. Karo followed Helios on foot past several armed guards.

"What do you think is this about?" Helios asked Karo quietly.

"I don't know for sure," he replied.

"Maybe the Miniknog are attacking the rebels?"

"I guess."

They hurried into the parts shop. A few heads were turned when they entered the store, but they returned to their magazines after looking the two from top to bottom. Helios started to make his way towards the front desk where a small Apex receptionist sat, staring blankly at the computer screen. She glanced from side to side before acknowledging his existence.

"What can I help you with today, Sir?" she asked nervously.

"My friend and I need to go n' see Thear," Helios said.

"Right through that door," she answered pointing towards a door behind her.

The two entered Thear's office and were greeted with an abnormally large smile. They sat before his desk. Karo said what he needed, but the dealer seemed to have something else on his mind.

"You need what now?" asked the human in a fine suit as he snapped back to attention.

"You heard me. A flux drive box and an FTL ignition system for a Zapper 1300a."

"And you think you have the funds for these?"

"I do," intervened Helios, crossing his arms over his chest. Karo looked at him, surprised that Helios offered to pay for the repairs. He barely knew the Novakid aside from what he had been told by Helios himself. Helios replied to Karo with a nod. Aaron Thear, who wasn't a small person, stood from his chair.

"I could make more money if I sold these parts to the rebel forces. Why should I help two strangers?"

Helios whipped a gun from it's holster. Pointing it towards Arron he growled, "Because. We'll pay you whatever. Give us the parts."

"Helios, stand down," Karo instructed. Although he was aggravated, he kept a calm tone of voice.
Helios reluctantly holstered his weapon.

"Now gentlemen, let's go get the parts from the warehouse. Then we can discuss the price. Follow me."

Karo and Helios both followed Aaron back through his store past several corridors. They stopped to inspect a crate. Aaron turned and clapped his hands.

"I think we have a part here for you!"

He watched as two men crept up behind Karo and Helios, who were both looking over the crate for a label. His clap was a signal to his henchmen. The men wrapped their arms around the necks of Karo and Helios. Karo struggled for air. He thrashed some as he was pulled backwards away from Helios. Everything became increasingly dark until he passed out. Helios passed out too, but he put up more of a fight than his Avian companion. Aaron stood over the two. He had a smirk on his face.
Suckers, he thought.

"What shall we do with them?" one of his henchmen asked.

"Take their weapons. Dump them in the forest, away from each other. Maybe put that bird close to the Florans?" Aaron instructed as he left for his office.

Chapter 5 - Captain?

Karo's eyes flickered open. He was lying on his back in the middle of a forest. Above him the sky was turning a dark shade of purple; stars were beginning to show themselves despite Adon's only moon nearly being full. He sat up, then stood. He knew instantly what had happened. He let out a few curses in anger. A nearby bush rustled as if something was stalking him. He reached for his handgun, but nothing was there. His gun was gone. Luckily, the creature in the bush was just a harmless native Adonian bird.
Karo dropped down and felt his boot. His knife was still there. He let out a sigh of relief and attached it to his belt.
He still felt light headed from laying unconscious for hours, but he felt that he would be fine. Karo started walking eastwards, unsure of what to do next.
He stopped after what felt like 20 minutes of wandering and sat on a log. The stars above him had become brighter, and a few bright galaxies were visible to his unaided eyes. In this he found comfort. He always had a passion for astronomy. He knew the stars and constellations very well. Often he would visit observatories and work alongside professional astronomers just for fun.
Karo's eye's grew heavy despite the fact he had been unconscious for hours. He laid down next to the log and drifted to sleep after gazing towards the stars for awhile.

The next morning he awoke. Sitting up he noticed a column of smoke rising in the distance. It wasn't large enough to be anything other than a campfire. He yawned and put his uniform top back on. With another yawn he decided to start towards the source of the smoke. Passing by several pools of water he realized how hungry and thirsty he was. his only hope was that with this smoke would be food and water. He had to refrain from drinking the water next to him though. It was stagnant. The sun beat down on the canopy of leaves above. Without the leaves to shield him it would be a rather uncomfortable day. The only sound was of the native birds and a spring in the far distance.

Karo could help but think of where Helios was. Was he okay?

Another question that wouldn't leave his mind was: Why did this happen?

What if Helios is the source of the smoke? No. Helios surely would have stayed with me, Karo thought.

Karo entered a small clearing. From it he saw he was only a quarter mile from the smoke. He picked up the pace. A few minutes later he arrived. No one was in sight. Then, in an instant, he was forced to his knees with a sword against his back. Everything was silent for a minute. For a second, Karo thought he was dead.

"Cap... Captain?" a familiar voice then said behind him.

Karo turned his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the figure behind him. It was a white Avian dressed in armor. (Owl set!) It was his old friend, Nibolas. He returned to his feet instantly with a great burst of happiness.
It had been a few years since Nibolas and Karo had seen each other. They used to explore together aboard Karo's ship. Hence Nibolas calling Karo "Captain." It wasn't just the two of them either. A few different crew members had been with them each for short while.

"Can I offer you anything, Sir?" Nibolas questioned.

"Absolutely! I could use a nice breakfast," Karo replied.

Faster than one could say "Pop Top", a meal was prepared for Karo. He sat on the ground across the Nibolas with the dying fire between them. He ate quickly, eager to see how his old friend had been since they had last met.

"Why are you out here?" Karo asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Nibolas continued, "I heard there's a small town around here. I was curious who lived there. What about you? Why are you here?"

"It's a complicated story... Where do I start? I went to buy a few parts for my ship. I couldn't get them on Orin, so I came here to Adon, to buy from Aaron Thear. He had some thugs knock me out... So here I am. Lost in the woods."

"I've never heard of an Aaron Thear. Is he an Apex?"

"No, he's a human," Karo answered while standing.

Nibolas stood as well. "Let's start towards that village, unless you have other plans," he said.

Karo shrugged his shoulders. "Sure."

The two started heading northwards towards the area where the village was supposed to be. The sun had moved across the sky and now sat in the west since they had started walking. Neither had eaten lunch or dinner. Dusk would soon be upon them, in a matter of two hours or so. The two were exhausted. Together they set up a camp site. Karo started the fire while Nibolas went off to gather water from a nearby stream. Karo had everything set up before Nibolas' return, only he had one problem. There was only one tent. Someone was going to have to sleep outside. Dinner was a small creature Nibolas had caught on his way back. The two sat around the fire once more and caught up on past events while clouds rolled in, covering the stars. Neither of them had gotten rich unfortunately.

"What did you do after we stopped exploring, Sir?"

"I started working as a transport pilot. Made a little bit of money, not enough to buy a new ship though," Karo answered, "What about you?"

"I still explore some. I really want to find a nice Grounded village and work as a guard," Nibolas said.

"You've always had that helpful mindset, haven't you?"

"I guess... I really want to protect innocent lives."

Karo nodded.

"Today sure did go by fast," he yawned.

"Sir, why don't you sleep in my tent. You'll get better rest that way. I'll keep watch," Nibolas said.

"Are you sure?"

Nibolas nodded.
Karo knew there was no changing Nibolas' mind. He crawled into the tent and fell fast asleep.

Chapter 6 - Blubury

Karo leaned against a tree and sighed.

"Nib, we've been walking all day. Where is this village?"

Nibolas scratched his head and said, "It should be close," he paused to brush dirt from his cape, "I kinda want to continue. How about you?"

"Let's rest for a moment. I'm a little sore from sleeping on the ground for two nights," Karo replied.
The two were silent for a minute.

"Captain, Can I ask you something?" Nibolas said breaking the silence.

"Absolutely! You can ask me anything," Karo said.

"Why did we stop exploring?" Nibolas asked.

"I had no money. Couldn't afford to pay for the fuel. And after Aero was killed... I didn't want to go on. It still bothers me today." Karo said, remembering the day Aero was shot down. "He and I were best friends. I just lost all will to move forward."

"Oh... Let's get moving," Nib said.

"Yea, let's move."

The two resumed their journey towards the town. Karo pulled his knife from the sheath and handed it to Nibolas.
"You remember that?" Karo asked.

"Your knife! I remember this!"

"Yea? I-" Karo stopped. "Is that the village?" he asked, pointing at a clearing with a few small houses in it's center.

"I think!" Nibolas took off running towards it. Karo started behind him.

They came to a bridge. On it sat an Apex guard with a rifle. He looked them from head to toe, then asked, "What is your business here?"

"Resupply. We just need food, water and maybe a place to sleep tonight," Karo said.

"Very well. You can find the inn, Blubury Inn, right over there. It's the tallest building," said the guard, motioning towards the building.

Karo and Nibolas hurried towards the inn with hunger and thirst being their main concern. The Blubury inn was a nice building. Painted blue with white trim around the doors and windows, it had a fitting name. Around it were several shade trees and a picnic table to eat outside on. It looked like it was straight from a painting. Nibolas sat down on the table while Karo went inside to see about getting a room and dinner. He walked up to the counter and leaned against it. A yellow Avian appeared from behind a set of doors.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She said rushing over to him, "I was in the back there starting dinner."

"It's okay, really. Dinner sounds pretty good after today!" Karo chuckled.

"Okay," she said arriving at the counter, "How can I help you?"

"I'd like two rooms, if you have them."

She opened up a small book from below the counter.
"We don't have two rooms, but we do have one open."

"I'll take it," Karo said without giving it a thought. One of the two could always sleep on the floor. It would be cheaper that way, anyways.

She handed him a key and said, "Room 4. Upstairs, to the right. I'll come get you when dinner is ready, okay?"

"Absolutely, thank you!" Karo said, very happy to be back in civilization. "Hey, Nib! C'mon!" He called while leaning partly out of the door.

They went up to their room. It was basic; it had the necessities. A table, two chairs, a bed, a window, lamp, a couch, and a bathroom. Karo flopped onto the bed. He would have fallen asleep if Nibolas hadn't started talking.
"Sir, what's our next move?"

"Nib, I think we should find a route to the spaceport. There's a Novakid there I need to see before we depart."

"We? You're exploring with me?"

"Yea! You're okay with that, right?" Karo replied.

"Yes! I am!"

He laid there in silence for a moment before something struck him. How was he going to pay for this?
"Hey... Uhh Nibolas. I.. I hope you have money. Mine was stolen."

"Captain. I always carry spare money. Right here... Oh no! My money! Where is it?"

"Damn. I guess we'll work this off, if we can," Karo sighed.

The yellow Avian knocked on the door and called them to dinner.
"I hope you don't mind meatloaf and mashed potatoes," she said, "Oh my, I never introduced myself! I'm Cass. It's a human name, but I like it."

"I'm Karo, and this is Nibolas," Karo said, reaching his hand out to her. They shook hands and went down for dinner.

"Captain, What is meatloaf?" Nibolas asked in a whisper when they were seated.

"It's literally a loaf of meat... It's a human thing. I've had some before, it's pretty good," Karo replied.

Cass appeared from the kitchen and set the meal in the center of the table. The beginning of the meal was silent apart from the sound of silverware on the plates and the occasional glass being set down on the wooden dining table.
The silence was broken when a Hylotl started talking about the rebels getting attacked by the Miniknog.

"I heard the actual attack from my home. I decided to leave. The explosions were getting closer, and I heard gunfire one night," the Hylotl said.

"Gee, I guess the rebels really got squashed, didn't they?" asked the Apex across from Karo.

The Hylotl shook his head - yes.
Nothing more was said.

Karo and Nibolas retired to their room early while the other guests stayed up to play a card game.

"Captain, do you want the bed?"

"Nah, you can have it," Karo yawned as he removed his uniform top. Under it he wore a plain white shirt without sleeves. Then he took of his boots and undid his belt. He tossed the belt and knife into one of his boots.
He stole a pillow from the bed as well as a blanket and laid down on the couch. Nibolas climbed into bed, still in his armor.

"Goodnight Nibolas," Karo muttered as he turned off the lamp.

"G'night Karo," Nibolas replied.

The room fell silent. Downstairs they could hear laughter, but it wasn't loud enough to bother them.
For about an hour they were quiet. Then Nibolas spoke up.
"Captain, you awake?"

"Hmm..? Yea... What do you need?"

"I can't sleep."

"What's on your mind?" Karo asked.

"The future. What's going to become of us?"

"I wish I could answer that question, but I can't... Sometimes I wonder the same thing."

"I think about the past too. That time when we were back on Avos and you stole my apple. That was the worst day of my life," Nibolas said, sitting up in bed.

"Let's save that argument for another time buddy," Karo yawned.

"Or that time you broke your arm jumping from a tree," Nibolas muttered.

"I thought I could fly!" Karo responded, "Goodnight buddy."

"Goodnight."

Once again the room fell silent.

Chapter 7 - Switching Gears

Helios sat before his fire, poking at the dirt with a stick. He'd lost count of the number of days he had been wandering alone in the woods looking for Karo. He estimated about four, but frankly, he didn't care. All he wanted was a nice place to sleep without bugs crawling on him. He couldn't help but think that it was his fault, getting them both dumped in the woods. And it bothered him that Karo wasn't anywhere to be found.
Helios figured he would just try and return to his ship, given that it hadn't been impounded, and wait for Karo. Luckily, He returned to the same spot where he woke up at first every night. He would just follow the footprints left by his captors back to a road or some sort of civilization.

The next morning he started on his way. He followed the tracks for hours until he came up on a road. He plopped down on a rock beside the road and pondered his choices. Either turn right or left. Both ways would hopefully take him to a town. He pulled a coin from his shirt pocket.

"Heads is left, tails is right," he said to himself.

He tossed the coin up in the air. It tumbled on it's way down and hit the pavement (Yes, it's a paved road...) with a ping. Tails. He turned to the right; eastwards. He kicked a pebble along the road as he continued down his path. Shortly after, a rumble became audible in the distance behind him. It grew louder and louder. Soon it was evident it was coming from a vehicle. No. Vehicles. A convoy! He ducked off to the side of the road. It was to late. The drivers had already spotted him. The trucks rolled up along the side of the road and slowed to a halt. Helios let out some silent curse words. A driver hollered over the engine of his truck, "Hey! It's safe to come out!" Helios remained hesitant for a moment, but decided to emerge from the brush. He was weaponless, besides, if they wanted to kill him, they would have already done it. He stepped out. The driver, a human with a great white beard,
motioned for him to come closer. Helios walked to the side of the truck.

"What'r ya doing out here? There's major fighting goin' on nearby!" the Human asked.

Helios was honest, "I'm trying to get to the spaceport," he yelled over the engine.

The human shook his head and replied, "That's not to far from where we're going. We can get you close! Hop in!"

Helios felt okay with doing this. He could see children in one of the open backed trucks, and these people were refugees from the "war." He swung himself into the back of the truck. Taking a seat on the truck's bed, he felt the truck begin moving forwards again. Across from him sat a female Hylotl. She was hidden beneath armor, but Helios still could tell her gender and race. She remained silent for a few minutes, seldom looking at Helios, but in the direction they were traveling. She finally did remove her mask, revealing her three eyes and blue skin. She closed her eyes as she tipped her head back, drinking water from a canteen she produced from her pack. She glanced at Helios, who was staring off towards the sky.

"Can I offer you anything?" She asked politely.

"Erm, sure thing Miss..."

"Kaiya."

"Miss Kaiya, some water'd be fine," He said.

She handed over an unopened canteen to him.

"Thanks you ma'am," pausing to sip the water, "I'm Helios by the way."

Kaiya blushed. No one has ever bothered to call her "miss" or "ma'am", and Helios really meant it.

"I don't mean to pry, but why are you out here Helios?" Kaiya asked politely as she could.

"We were... attacked... by a human merchant."

"We? Is there someone else we should try and find before they are caught in a battle?"

"I don't think he's around this area. I've looked for him... And I fear the worst."

"Ahh, don't jump to any conclusions quite yet. I think your friend may have been simply separated from you... Perhaps he is searching for you," Kaiya remarked, "Tell me about them..."

Chapter 8 - Forwards!

Helios woke up as the sun began casting rays on his body, warming his clothes. He had slept in the bed of the truck, leaning against a sack of clothes. He quietly hopped out of the truck and quickly noticed Kaiya sitting on the ground next to a small fire. She had a cup of tea in her hands. She sipped it and went back to watching a nearby stream.
"Good morning," she said without turning her head to see who it was.
Helios squatted down beside her. "G'mornin'."
"Tea?"
"No thank ya, I'm not a big fan of it," he said.
"Ahh, we used to have it with our dinner as children. I was raised on it," She responded after a sip of her drink.
They both sat in silence for a few minutes. Kaiya set her cup down on a cloth and carefully rolled it in the fabric to protect it. She placed it inside her small pack.
"I'm going to be honest with you, Helios. I don't like these people... The drivers, the refugees, the guards... They all have little respect for any cultures. They are dirty, untrustworthy, and crude. I want to leave this convoy, which I don't know where it is headed... The destination changes so often now that it's impossible to tell," she said as she packed the rest of her gear.
Helios was quick to notice she wasn't unarmed, but he didn't feel threatened.
Kaiya continued, "So I wanted to suggest that you and I leave. We can find your friend, get you to a spaceport, and I'll go my own way afterwards."
He kept quiet for a minute. He'd only known her for less than a day, so going into the woods with her was risky. But then again...
"I'll go with ya," He answered.
"Let's go then," she said after retrieving her sword from the back of the truck.

Chapter 9 - Carl!

Karo wiped the last portion of the table clean with a wet rag and carried off the dishes. Cass was sitting at the front desk writing something down in a notebook.
"Probably figuring out how much I've worked off," Karo thought as he passed by. He pushed open the door, letting the fresh air and scent of apples wash over him before he takes off for the picnic tables under the shade tree. Nibolas set against the base of the tree lost in thought. Karo took a seat, but never said anything. He was just glad to be finished with the day's work at the inn. In the distance he could hear a villager chopping wood and grunting. Karo could tell from the deep sound of the grunt it was probably an Apex. He was yet to see any Florans in this town.
Across the stream Karo spied out an tiny elderly woman - a human, struggling with brown paper sacks. He took off jogging across the footbridge to her.
"Ma'am? Would you like some help?" He asked.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, please," she said after examining him. She handed him the sacks full of fruits and vegetables from a garden. He followed her. The old lady shuffled her feet to move as she probably couldn't lift them.
"I haven't seen you around here before, young man. What's your name?" she asked still moving along.
"Karo."
"Carl?"
"K-a-r-o," He sounded out.
"Ah, okay! I got it, Carl!" she said.
Karo gave a slight sigh. He wasn't gonna try any harder.
"Yup," he replied.
"So, Carl, I greatly appreciate your help. You birdmen are very nice!" she said as they neared her home.
It was well taken care of, with a colorful bed of flowers surrounding most of the house, a neatly trimmed lawn, and a few trees with bird feeders/houses hanging from the branches.
"Not a problem Ma'am."
"My name is Margaret Norah, by the way."
"Ah, well it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Norah."
She opened her door after searching for the key. "Come in Carl, just set those on the table."
Karo dad as he was told. The house smelled overwhelmingly of mothballs, but it was tidy. An old man sat in a chair by the table with a bundle of small sticks before him. He was gluing them together, building something.
"Jim! We have a guest!" Margaret yelled so the old man could hear her. Jim looked up from his project.
"Are you building another silly airplane?! You have a basement full already!" She hollered.
"Yup!" Jim responded with a smile cracking out across his face.
"This is Carl! He helped me with these bags today!" She continued (Still yelling).
Karo stood there, feeling very young compared to the elderly couple, but he was very intrigued by the "airplane" being built. He snapped back to attention from staring at the tiny model aircraft's skeleton when Margaret held a glass of iced tea his direction.
"Oh, thank you," he said, accepting the beverage.
"Take a seat Carl, I see you looking at my plane," Jim stated.
Karo sat down gingerly.
"Do you know anything about airplanes?" Jim continued.
"Yes sir, I was a military pilot for three years. Flew everything from planes to space ships," Karo bragged.
Jim looked at him then back at his plane. "Okay, that answers that question!" Jim smiled real big. "These are rubber powered. twist the propeller and it winds up a little rubber band. Toss it and it'll fly off the stored energy." Karo nodded. "Let's go fly then!" Jim added as Karo finished his tea.
A few hours later Karo retired to his room back in the inn, happy that he met such a nice old couple and got to fly such neat little planes on a beautiful evening.

 

I like it so far. Keep up the good work, can't wait to read more!

 

Currently working on Chapter 2. I couldn't write today, but tomorrow I should have some time to make progress.

@LC98 Thank you! ^^

 

Chapter two is up! Feedback greatly appreciated.

 

No updates in a week, whats wrong with me?

But seriously, I've been very busy lately. Expect chapter 3 by this weekend. Hopefully someone's reading this story...

 

Great my feather brother! is nice to see that you managed to escape the stargazers!
Also good work, it was really fun to read, keep going

 

If I wasn't currently making "Captain's Log" I'd love to team up with you to make a starbound cinematic series out of this one.

 

Could be like, chronicles or shorts!

 

That would be awesome!

 

Love how you craft a story, would suggest, though, instead of saying things like "back thruster," and "bottom thruster," say "rear thruster," and "vertical thruster." It sounds far more professional and believable. Good work though.

 

I'll change that. Thank you!

 

Chapter 3 - Cards Is up! The chapters are getting shorter by about 60 words per update, but that will change. Enjoy!

 

It still good! sad that it is short
keep going, it got my attention

 

I'll start on Chapter 4 tonight. And don't worry, we're getting close to [Redacted] and then [Redacted]. Lol

 

Hahahaha okay then, i can wait

 

Loving it! Your rwriting reminds me a bit of Jonesy's Desulti Chronicles, and his stuff is great. Excited for the next chapter!

 

Thank you!

I won't have chp. 4 ready today, but maybe Sunday. No promises though.

 

Chapter 4 is up!
And I have to say, It's getting exciting!

 

Magnificent! And oh boy, bad thing they did to Karo, i wonder if someone heroic enough will save him from the florans...... .......

 

LOL How on earth did you read that in 2 minutes?
Someone has to be there to save him!