Barak swung around, surprised as a figure walked out of the darkness and stood next to him at the window. Barak leered at the door and reached for where his holster used to be before he hung it up for the night.
"Calm down, and sorry about not answering your call, I wanted to make it here in person. I can't risk more exposure in Kusari space by sending a transmission. My name is Elder Lucendez of the Corsair Brotherhood."
Juan's jaw tires as he goes through his annoyingly long name and trails off watching the ship travel through space.
"You know, I never tire of looking at the stars. They are our parents really. Strong, powerful and ever watchful. We fear their power and yet can't live without them. Our molecules were once a part of those very stars, but when those stars died, they gave birth to other stars that eventually gave birth to us. We grew around that star, cherished it's light and warmth, yet the children argued and bickered. And soon, when we grew too large, we launched ourselves into the void of space to seek out new stars that would hold, for us, a new life."
"They are like parents, slow and conservative, watching children grow up too quickly and violently." Juan turned to Barak. "Simply, if you stare into the void, the void stares back."
Juan smiled and turned to Barak, leaning on the sill of the portal.
"I'm sorry that I must say this, but I would suggest that you stay away from Gamma for awhile. Nothing personal mind you. It's just that the winds of change are blowing, and with those winds comes cross-fire, if you know what I mean. We have the potential to make a very big enemy in the next few days and that could jeopardize any diplomatic meeting. Our attention must be turned fully towards matters of state for the time being."
Juan waits for a response.
"The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river. The river was there."
