2

It's a pleasure to meet you at last," said the boy, extending his arm forward. "You are?"

"Kelwarin," he replied curtly, shaking hands with the younger soldier.

The boy raised his eyebrows in shock. "That's certainly an unusual name. But I suppose I shouldn't expect much less from one of the most famous members of the Xhaxhu Empire's elite force."

This statement caused Kelwarin to tense slightly, but he continued to stay composed, despite having expected the comment. "I have my own reasons for keeping quiet about my past, young sir." He tried not to show too much emotion on the surface, though internally, he was seething. As a result, he kept his tone level and his eyes fixed firmly ahead, refusing to break eye contact.

"Of course, of course," said the young soldier, lowering his head as though embarrassed. "Forgive me."

Silence once again hung over the two as they began walking around the courtyard aimlessly. Kelwarin had no idea where he should go or what else he should talk about, but he forced himself to focus instead on the sound of the wind blowing through the trees surrounding them. At least it gave him something to focus on other than the conversation that was about to take place.

After a minute, the young soldier broke the silence once more. "So, what brings you up to this part of the galaxy? Surely you must have a good reason for being here. We aren't exactly known for our friendly dispositions."

Kelwarin couldn't help but laugh humorlessly. He knew he wasn't exactly known for his diplomatic qualities. That was usually one of the things that got him into trouble. "Perhaps I came to this planet because the universe just plain refused to let me die. And the chances that I would find anyone willing to help a complete stranger, especially considering everything I've done recently, were almost zero. So it's a miracle that I ended up here."

The boy laughed lightly. "Now you tell me! But what does a person like yourself end up doing down here all alone? I hope that doesn't mean you're planning on going back home after we return to the fleet. I wouldn't want you to do that just because you happened to meet me."

"Oh trust me," said Kelwarin bitterly, "I'd really rather be anywhere but here. Unfortunately, I can' risk letting anyone know where I was headed. The last thing I want to do is send someone searching for me. So I thought it would be best to hide myself and stay in the background."

The young man smiled, his teeth bared. "Well, then it's good news you finally found a place to stay! We wouldn't want our little hero of a commander being caught up in all of this!"

Despite himself, Kelwarin felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Is it that obvious?"

"Oh, no, not at all. You're pretty stealthy, even for someone who's been hiding for so long."

"Well, thank you."

A moment passed between them. Neither of them seemed eager to say anything further, and Kelwarin found himself wondering why he was still standing outside talking to this random boy in the middle of nowhere. Why was he not running for his life as fast as possible?

Then he heard footsteps behind him.

Turning swiftly to see whoever dared sneak up on him, he was met with two sets of eyes that stared directly back at him, wide with alarm.

"Shit."