The two guards escorted Krem and his roommate to the tavern. He was happy that he was able to find a stiff drink. He figured all worlds had some version of the beverage, but wasn't sure.

When he entered the Tavern, he looked around the small establishment. All eyes went to him and his roommate. He had to remember that this was a Ramesian tavern with several humans, the species of this planet, in attendance. He had to be careful. To all of them, he and Tran were the enemies.

The guards directed them to a table tucked near a wall, yet close to the front door of the tavern. The server came up looking at the two Kreq. She paled, then swallowed hard before asking to take their order. Her voice shook in fear, but only a little.

The guards ordered drinks for the two Kreq, requesting four strong drinks. She nodded and rushed off to get their order. It was clear she was desperate to get away from the table. She didn't like the fact that she was being forced to serve the enemy.

Just as the server brought them their drinks, Renn walked in with Mia; her hand gripped tightly to his. She wasn't used to being out in public. Renn had talked her into it when they saw her uncle walk by their home. They had originally gone down into the tunnel city, but she couldn't handle it, begging to go back to Renn's home. He reluctantly complied. Jada walked in behind them. She was with Orik. She had her bladed, short staff in one hand. She wanted to protect Mia if the Kreq decided to try to harm her.

Renn purposefully led Mia to Krem's table. "Can we join you?" he asked. He wanted Krem and Mia to have a little more bonding time. They were family, and family was important. Especially if it helped cure the Kreq from the serum that controlled them.

Krem looked at Mia, a longing in his eyes. He nodded without saying anything. Renn sat down, pulling Mia in his lap. She didn't want to be anywhere else. She felt safe with him even though he wasn't her mate. Orik sat down beside Renn, pulling Jada in his lap, nuzzling her neck, and making her giggle. She smiled up at him, letting him kiss her gently before looking at the approaching server and then at Krem and his friend.

She narrowed her eyes and spoke to both of them at once. "Harm her; I cut your balls off," she warned, looking at first Krem, then Tran.

Jada didn't know if they knew that particular slur, but used it anyway. It was usually effective when speaking to males.

Krem eyed the weapon, taking in the slender silver rod with sharp blades at the ends in Jada's hand, then back to her. "I have no intention of harming anyone."

His friend had paled. "I don't want to hurt anyone either," he assured her. Clearly, he understood the slur. That hard gulp was a tell, tell sign that he knew what it meant.

Jada could smell the stench of lies if she found one. It was one of her 'superpowers' from being a half-zombie. She sniffed the air discreetly. She didn't detect lies from the two Kreq. She smiled. "I believe you," she told them, collapsing her weapon and stuffing it into her boot.

Krem turned his gaze to Mia. "Hello, Mia," he told her quietly. He hadn't really talked to her before. She only hugged him and let him sob out his despair on her shoulder. She mingled their souls, pressing their foreheads together, which saved the others of his crew.

Mia smiled. "Hello, Uncle," she told him softly. Then she turned to the other Kreq. "Hello."

The man smiled and bowed his head slightly. "Hello," he said softly. He wasn't sure what to do. "I am Tran."

Mia smiled, nodding. "Hello, Tran."

All he could do was smile. He wasn't comfortable at the moment. People surrounded him who he had always thought were the enemy. He was quickly finding out that it was his own leader who was the enemy. He understood that because of his leader, the people here thought of him as an enemy. He hadn't done anything willfully. It was all because of the serum. Understanding what he had done because of it sickened him. He wanted the rest of his people to be unbound from Grev's serum, too. His people were all chemically shackled. He just didn't realize it until it no longer affected him.

Krem and Mia stayed silent. They kept watching each other but saying nothing. The server left their drinks and quickly left their table, not wanting to be too close to the Kreq. It made Jada roll her eyes.

Jada shook her head. "You know you all can speak, right? I can practically hear crickets at this table."

Tran looked up at her. "What is a cricket?"

Mia giggled. It was the first time in a long time that she felt joy. Jada looked over at her and then back at Tran. "You guys don't have crickets on Krogen?" Jada asked Tran. Everyone stayed silent at the table, watching Jada speak about bugs to the confused Kreq. The soft sound of Mia's giggles was the only other sound. Mia found it funny that he didn't know what a cricket was. She was born on Earth, so it was common.

As Jada spoke, Krem watched his niece in awe. She was giggling softly because the Kreq didn't know what a night cricket was.

Jada sighed, then attempted to describe a night cricket. "A cricket is this bug that chirps at night. If there's noise, then they stay silent, but if it's silent out, they start chirping," she tried to explain. "You don't have anything like that?"

Tran shook his head slowly. "We don't have night bugs that make noise," he said quietly, as if worried he was going to be overheard. "We don't even have a planet anymore."

His face suddenly paled as if he had said too much. Krem looked at him. "We aren't on the ship. You can speak freely," he told his roommate. He knew how Tran felt. It was hard talking when you were used to keeping quiet, so you didn't accidentally say something that would get you or your family killed.

Tran looked at Krem. He paused for a long time before he spoke. "And what happens when Commander Grev finds us and forces us to go back to the ship? He will kill us all for speaking against him or showing affection," he said, referring to Krem and Mia showing affection for each other.

Krem spoke softly, not wanting to be overheard by other patrons in the tavern. Everyone at the table heard, however. "I will not go back. He will have to kill me. I would rather die than go back to being a doll for the leader. I want to know my family. I didn't find someone to have children with because Grev would have killed her. Away from Grev, I may find happiness. I would rather try here than go back and never find it at all."

Tran stared at Krem for a moment, his thoughts close to the same as Krem's. "I want the same thing. I want to know happiness and have a family. The only way to do that is to kill Grev."

"You can't," Jada interrupted. "You would have to go back to attempt it. You would be back in Grev's hands. You don't want that. There needs to be another way."

Orik pulled her close. He had a feeling about what she was suggesting, but didn't say anything.

The guards looked at the two Kreq. "It's not possible to kill him unless he comes here himself," one of the guards stated.

Tran shook his head. "Grev will not leave the disk."

Mia spoke softly, causing Renn to pull her closer. "What if you give him bait?" she asked.

All eyes went to Mia. "What do you mean, Mia?" Renn asked softly. She didn't usually speak out of the blue like that. It showed that she was getting back to normal, pre-Travis, ever since she bonded with her uncle.

"Like a rat and cheese. You put out the cheese, and the rat comes for it. When it takes the cheese, you can catch it or kill it," she explained quietly. "If you find the right bait that will bring him down to Earth, you can catch him or kill him, just like the rat."

Jada rang with laughter. "That is so simple; it's funny. Why didn't any of us think of that?" Then she turned to Krem and Tran. "So, what would bring him down here?"

Orik leaned forward, whispering in Jada's ear. "You're not getting involved."

Jada giggled but said nothing. Orik sighed. He knew she would get involved, and he could do nothing to stop her.

"Nothing will bring him down here," Tran told them quietly, trying not to be overheard. "He only cares about controlling his people. Nothing else matters."

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