Tatehan's grip tightened on the handlebars.

He was nearly there. 99.9 percent surely meant just a few steps forward.

This was it. The reason he'd left the Spaceship hours ago. When he should have installed the core in it, he'd chosen this instead.

Somewhere ahead was the Red Crest Clan—the organization that controlled Waython Hollow. Though "control" sounded forceful, like they'd seized power through violence, Tatehan suspected the reality was more complex.

Perhaps it was inherited, passed down through generations. Maybe the Red Crest's ancestors had founded this settlement, and leadership had simply remained in the family line ever since. He didn't know the history, but he'd find out soon enough.

And somewhere within their territory was Kael's daughter.

A girl who didn't know her father was dead.

A girl who didn't know a stranger had killed him.

A girl whose life depended on the bio-neural core currently stored in Tatehan's inventory.

"You okay?" Riven asked from behind him, sensing his tension.

"Yeah," Tatehan said quietly. "Just... getting close."

Come to think of it, Riven had mentioned earlier that she was heading somewhere near his destination but not exactly where he was going. So why was she still with him, here?

As if reading his thoughts, she spoke up. "The reason I haven't left yet is because I intend to show you around. Repay the favor you showed me. Plus, you're going to need money here for pretty much everything."

Tatehan quickly realized she was right. He currently had nothing to his name, no credits, no local currency, nothing.

Surprisingly, Riven who usually loved making inquiries and asking questions, hadn't asked him what business he had with the Red Crest Clan, although she had done so when they first met. Even now, as they approached the compound, she remained silent on the subject.

"Want me to come in with you? When you meet them?" she finally asked.

Tatehan considered it, then shook his head. "No. This is something I need to do alone."

This was way too complicated for her to be involved in. How could he explain that he'd killed a man and was now here to save that man's daughter?

Riven was quiet for a moment, then squeezed his shoulder once. "Alright. I'll wait for you out here."

Tatehan nodded, grateful though surprised. He couldn't exactly say why he merited this kindness and genuine affection (the squeeze too) from someone he'd just met hours ago. Maybe it was a Mars thing, survivors helping survivors, just like Kael had done to him.

He slowed the Dust Rider as the urban buildings gave way to a more structured compound ahead.

Walls of reinforced metal stretched fifteen feet high, encircling a cluster of structures inside. Watchtowers rose from each corner, guards silhouetted against the dimming sky with rifles slung over their shoulders.

The main gate was heavy steel, scarred from years of use, operated by a visible crank mechanism. As Tatehan watched, it groaned open to allow a truck to exit, then slowly cranked shut again.

A checkpoint booth stood just outside, manned by three guards wearing red armbands, the unmistakable mark of the Red Crest Clan.

This was Red Crest territory.

While the city they'd just ridden through had looked futuristic and advanced, this place was relatively normal in appearance. It didn't have nearly as much visible tech as Tatehan had expected. He was only judging from the exterior, though. Maybe there were more advanced systems inside, hidden from view.

Tatehan pulled to a stop about fifty meters from the gate, parking the Dust Rider on the side of the road.

He dismounted slowly, his legs stiff from the long ride. Riven climbed off behind him, stretching with an audible groan.

Tatehan looked at the compound ahead, at the guards who'd already noticed their arrival and were watching him carefully.

He'd come all this way. Crossed the wastelands. Fought Shadow Goblins. Rode for hours through monster-filled territories.

All to keep a promise to a man he'd killed.

He took a breath and started walking toward the Red Crest gate.

This was actually the real Waython Hollow—the original trading post that had started it all. The sprawling city they'd passed through had simply grown around it over the years.

---

The guards noticed him approaching when he was about twenty meters out. Two of them stepped forward from the checkpoint booth, their hands moving to rest on their weapons, not drawing them, but ready to do so in case.

"That's close enough," one of them called out. He was older, maybe mid-forties, with a scar running down the left side of his face. His red armband was faded from sun exposure but still clearly visible.

Tatehan stopped, keeping his hands visible at his sides. Non-threatening.

"State your business," the guard said, his tone professional but wary. His eyes swept over Tatehan, taking in the dust-covered clothes, the visible exhaustion, the bike parked behind him.

"I need to speak with someone in the Red Crest Clan," Tatehan said, keeping his voice steady. "It's urgent."

The second guard, younger, maybe late twenties, stepped forward. "The Clan doesn't take appointments with random travelers. Move along."

"I'm not random," Tatehan said. "I have information. About someone who worked with you."

The older guard's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

Tatehan hesitated for just a moment.

"Kael."

Both guards went still. The older one's expression shifted slightly at first then more noticable – recognition, followed quickly by something darker. Suspicion, maybe. Or grief.

"Kael's been missing for months," the older guard said slowly. "A search mission. Never told us where's going to and now he has not come back. What do you know about it?"

Tatehan met his gaze directly. "I know what happened to him. I know where he went. And I know what he was looking for."

The younger guard's hand moved closer to his rifle. "Then start talking."

"Not out here," Tatehan said. "What I have to say... it needs to be said to the right people. People who knew Kael. People who care about what he was trying to do."

The older guard studied him for a long moment, eyes searching Tatehan's face for signs of deception.

"Entry to Red Crest territory costs fifty credits," he said finally. "Or equivalent trade."

Tatehan had expected this. "I don't have credits."

"Then you don't get in." The younger guard moved to block the gate more fully.

Tatehan took a breath. This was the gamble.

"I'm not here for myself," he said quietly. "I'm here for Kael's daughter."

Both guards froze.

The older one's expression changed completely, shock flashing across his features. It seemed like he had just watched a horror movie.

"What did you just say?"

"Kael's daughter," Tatehan repeated, his voice stronger now. "She's sick and dying, I know. Kael spent months in the wastelands trying to find something to save her. He died trying to get it."

The younger guard's hand dropped away from his weapon, his face pale. "Lyra?..."

'Uh...'

Tatehan hadn't heard the name before so it was a surprise to be doing. Kael hadn't told him the name of his daughter before he died.

"I have what Kael was looking for," Tatehan continued. "I came here to deliver it. To finish what he started."

The older guard stared at him, emotions warring across his face— disbelief, hope, suspicion, grief all mixed together.

"You're saying Kael's dead," he said, his voice rough.

Tatehan nodded once. "Yes."

"And you have something that can help Lyra."

"I have what Kael died for. Whether it can help her... I don't know. But I promised him I'd try."

Thier was a long silence between. The only sounds were the distant noises of the city behind them and the wind whistling through the compound's towers.

Finally, the older guard made a decision.

He turned to the younger one. "Get the Commander. Now."

' Commander?' Tatehan thought. 'What is this place... the military?

The younger guard hesitated for just a second, then nodded and sprinted toward the gate, shouting for it to be opened.

The older guard turned back to Tatehan, his expression unreadable.

"If you're lying," he said quietly, "if this is some kind of trick, you won't leave this compound alive. Understood?"

Tatehan met his gaze. "Understood."

"And if you're telling the truth..." The guard's voice cracked slightly. "If you really have something that can save that girl..."

He didn't finish the sentence.

Tatehan wondered why his voice cracked as he spoke, seemed Kael must have been a well loved man here.

The gate began to crank open with a metallic groan.

"Wait here," the older guard said. "The Commander will decide what happens next."

Tatehan stood there, his heart pounding, as the gate opened wider.

Beyond it, he could see the compound's interior, buildings arranged in orderly rows, people moving about their business, guard patrols making their rounds.

'So people lives here? What about the city i just passed.'

The younger guard reappeared at the gate, breathing hard. "Commander's coming. She wants to see him immediately."

The older guard nodded, then gestured to Tatehan. "Come on. And keep your hands where I can see them."

Tatehan walked forward, passing through the gate into Red Crest territory.

Behind him, Riven watched from beside the Dust Rider, her expression unreadable.

The gate began to close.

And Tatehan knew, with absolute certainty, that nothing would be the same after this conversation.

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