*five years later*

They sat in bright light, servants all around delivering glasses and plates, unneeded substance the elementals bothered with to feel normal. He stood there in silence, watching as fire and water spoke of treaties and policies, red wine stained lips a luxury of appearance. Liquor did nothing for their senses.

His eyes darted to the blended being of air, watching as she glanced up at the guard who leaned down to whisper in her ear. As the words trickled into her mind her eyes found him, staring darkly into him as the guard retraced his steps and headed back towards the door.

"What do you mean she's not here?" Aereon rose from her seat, flitting across the room towards Bryan urgently. He stood his ground before the four graces, a look of apology in his features. They all watched him, eyes set on the mans demeanor, his unkempt appearance having changed in the last years. More scars, more exhaustion in each detailed feature about him. He stuck out like a sore thumb in their bright and pristine society setting.

"She's gone." He shifted his weight, looking towards the ground for a moment, shoulders hunched over. "By the time the guards got word to the shuttle outtake she had already taken off."

"I thought there was a ban on her leaving?"

"There was."

"Find me the man that let her go." Aereon, ever composed and prepared, had a glimpse of worry to her features. Her eyes darted around the room, hands wringing together in stress. Her sisters did not share in her worry; rather, they seemed happily composed, genuine smiles overtaking their features. It was a blind happiness. "You know she's not stable."

Bryan said nothing to that; he only nodded and took two steps back before turning abruptly and escorting himself out of the room. The difference in opinion between the two, the choices that had been made over the last five years, a weight on both of their shoulders; it wasn't the same anymore. It didn't go the way it had been planned. He had known this would happen from the beginning. Tying her up and strapping her to that machine, purifying her brain away, he knew then that this wasn't the right choice. Elementals weren't forced, they agreed.

She'll agree in the end.

His anger at Aereon's words fueled him to move faster. She had been right about only one thing so far, that much he was certain. Fiona was not ready for the world, not entirely ready for the changes that had happened in the last five years.

The Necro's had destroyed the majority of the galaxy, that of which was still standing had taken on all walks of life. The cleanest and best of places harbored darkness's now. When the new lord marshal had taken his place the ruthless killings had stopped, their title dropping out of existence so quickly. But time only had to wait, only had to tick on by before changes happened. The rumors were rising once again, a new commander amongst the ranks of the Necro's. There was no clear statement from the ever changing and growing society, but there was a fear across the known galaxy of what might happen with this change.

Bryan quickened his step, pushing past guard and subject without a second glance. The truth stuck to him boldly, and it was only a matter of time before the air elemental realized how foolish it was that she had let him go. Fiona was gone, following a path he had marked out for her, a path he had been planning for months. It brought a small smile to his lips, knowing that maybe, just maybe, she'd have some peace.

BREAK -

She sat down the ship in bay C, dropping the hatch and grabbing her only bag from the passenger seat. The star jumper had gotten her far enough but the trace would lead the guard who would ignore Bryan's orders to her eventually. She took a moment to look out at her surroundings, dropping down onto the platform and watching the bodies busily get to work.

With a rush of air pushing past her she was jolted from her mind. Fiona pushed on, not looking back as she headed towards the check in. She dropped creds for the refill, pushing her glasses up on her face, giving the receptionist a tight lip smile. The woman thanked her, asked for name, and then pushed her through processing. She snatched up the check out ticket and headed out through the waiting room. She kept her eyes down as she made her way through the masses, exiting out into the busy streets of Helion Prime.

Bryan had given her strict direction to where she needed to go, his words leading her through the busy streets as she mapped out the roads in her head. She shuffled through the masses, going unnoticed as the sun sank just on the other side of the buildings. Each turn she took twisted further into the city, deeper into the narrow alleys and back roads that went less traveled. The sun, a bartering tooling for this great planet, said its final farewell before sinking in for the night. Her glasses gave an extra dark tint to the world and she was gracious to find the place just up ahead.

When she reached the local dive bar in the depths of the inner structure of old Helion Prime she stepped into the darkness the inside offered, moving towards a table off to the side. She took a seat and leaned back against the wall, ordering a Jack and coke when the waitress made her way over.

Look for a merc, someone who will sell off the ship you got and let you hop along for a few rides as they collect. They'll take one look at you and let you on. Don't trust them.

Bryan's lecture was fresh in her head. He had relayed everything to her just minutes before he hit the autopilot button on the craft and darted off the hanger exit. She would remember for days the exact words he had relayed, down to the pauses and tonal differences.

You can never come back.

She didn't want to.

The bar was filling up with working stiffs, mill men, diggers, and harvesters of light. The light air of the place took on a new warmth and smell of hard work; dirt, sweat, and liquor. It was only a matter of time before the place was packed with noise and banter, Fiona sank back into her seat, eyes steady on the front door. She sipped at her drink; letting the liquid she hadn't had in years burn a trail down her throat.

When he walked in she knew he was the one. He wasn't grand in size, an average older man with dark brown hair, and a beard that was in need of trimming. He moved through the space among men without struggle, kept his eyes on the bar as he took a remaining seat just there and ordered.

He looked back at the crowd, watching, as did she, as a tall blonde and another man sank into the crowd, moving towards him but heading past to a booth just on the outskirts. Fiona watched as the commander sat at the bar alone and drank. When he ordered his second she picked herself up. Shuffling through the bodies, Fiona made sure to watch his crew, who were now watching her. She played as no threat to them, her lanky figure a shadow among these men, but they watched nonetheless.

"Can I help you?" He turned around when she approached, drink to his lips, eyes watching her. The man to his right turned too, and with good notion rose from his seat and excused himself from the bar. Fiona took his seat, not minding the people around her as she watched the merc through her glasses.

"I need transport and a little help with a jumper."

"That's exciting. The depot is down the street."

"I'm not looking to sell; trade more or less."

He chuckled, turning himself around and placing his elbows on the bar. He shrugged his shoulders with laughter, his crew watching just off to the left, eyes bouncing from him to each other. They didn't know if they should move forward or stay back. No alarm; Fiona didn't look to be a threat.

"What's a kid like you got to trade that ain't money?" He looked her up and down, taking in her attire, her stature. If she didn't know better she would say he was jesting towards prostitution, but he seemed past that stage in his career. No; he was trying to size up the trouble that was sitting beside him.

"Knowledge."

"I'm older and wiser, child. I don't think there's much you can give to me."

"I know the coordinates of a bounty you'd be interested in."

"Yeah?" He turned to her slightly, finishing off his drink before ordering two more. He slid one in her direction, peering at her through the glasses that shrouded her face. "What do you know about bounties?"

"Enough to know that a man presumed dead, now kicking and screaming, is worth quite a bit when he was once worth half a mil."

"Does this bounty have a name?"

"I would presume so, but all I know is coordinates. That was all that was given to me." She tipped back the Jack and coke he had offered, finishing off the drink hastily, turning to him completely, her knee bumping his hip. "Passage, and I'll make you a rich man."

"Who you runnin' from?"

"No one special."

"It's always the runner's that have something to prove. Who says you ain't lying?" He met her gaze and she shrugged, reaching down to snatch up her bag she had deposited by her feet. When she went to rise he reached out and cautiously stopped her. "Let me see whats behind those glasses and I'll consider."

Fiona struggled with the idea, her hand wrapped around the weight of her world tucked inside her bag. Letting it slip back to the floor she put her weight back onto the seat and shrugged off his hand. Reaching up quickly she tipped her lenses down, staring him down deeply, watching as astonishment flickered over his features. Black pearls, that was all that sat in her sockets anymore. She wouldn't call them eyes, and she didn't care to look into them. She couldn't exactly remember a time in which she had seen a normal reflect, as the majority of her memories were stories from Bryan's mouth, but she could feel that she had once been normal.

"How do I get eyes like that?"

She quickly slipped her glasses back on, clearing her throat and leaning into the bar. His crew had risen, dropping creds on the bar. They could sense the end of this trip, their bodies moving past their captain, eyeing her up as well, before heading out the door.

"You have to die."

He nodded, as if he understood, and maybe he did. She didn't question it, watching as he finished off his last drink and dropped creds to pay for hers as well.

"Whats your name?"

"Fiona, you?"

"People call me Johns." He shrugged his coat back into place; Fiona nodded her head, the name feeling familiar. She couldn't place it, but she never could. Her life was a cloud of people and things and moments that sat just on the other side of a giant milky film that she couldn't get close to. "Now come on, we ain't got all night and we still have to pawn your jumper off of some unsuspecting victim."

His grin was impish and Fiona chuckled, picking up her bag. She stepped in behind him and followed the man out of the bar.