The dining hall remained silent as everyone sat stiffly at their tables, eating their slop. Five men sat together, one of them, whose family was seated in a corner, trying not to show their familiar bond in case one or more of the other guards who were present were still under the influence of the serum.

Being on the Kreq disk was becoming more difficult; One wrong move. One show of emotion other than fear, and someone would die.

If anyone who was still under the influence found out who was no longer under the control of the serum, it meant an immediate death.

The door to the dining hall slid smoothly open, and Commander Grev strolled in. The five men covertly looked around the room. There were a handful that immediately went stiff, their face going slack. The small group quickly did the same in an attempt to hide the fact that they were no longer under the influence of the serum.

Commander Grev scanned the room, his eyes falling on one of the five sitting at the table together, then walked up to him.

"I have a mission for you," Commander Grev growled. The disgust was evident in his tone.

The guard stayed quiet; his eyes fixed as he waited for his orders. Over the last few days, he had mastered the posture of those still under the influence, just as all the others who had been at the execution that day, as well as in the dining hall afterward.

"Follow me," he demanded.

The guard stood up stiffly and followed Commander Grev out of the dining hall. The man was a shuttle pilot. He was originally trained as a fighter pilot. He wanted to be a scout but was never sent to that training. His older brother was a scout leader, one who was currently missing.

"I know you as a pilot of shuttles and fighters," Commander Grev stated. "You are also an expert in information retrieval. You are going to fly a fighter on a mission to the surface to retrieve the information box from the first scout ship. The second scout ship has been destroyed. You are the only one on this disk who has trained in information retrieval. I have no choice but to send you."

The man never said anything. He merely stood at attention, doing his best to keep his face slack. He didn't want Commander Grev to realize that he was no longer under the influence of the serum.

"You will bring the information box directly to me once you return to this disk," Commander Grev barked out. "Go now!" he ordered.

"Yes, sir," The man stated, then turned on his heels and swiftly headed to the hangar bay to retrieve a fighter to take to the surface.

When he entered the hangar, he located the closest fighter to the bay door and climbed in. He noticed a small listening device had been pressed into the console. He couldn't speak or do anything other than his duty while he was in the fighter.

After starting his flight sequence, he smoothly glided the fighter out of the hangar and headed for the surface. He typed in the code to pinpoint the location of the scout ship. He knew of this particular scout ship. The best scout in the fleet flew it. The man guessed that was the reason for the box to be retrieved.

Landing next to the scout shuttle, he got out of his fighter and headed for the still-open door of the shuttle. He had to follow his orders exactly, or Commander Grev would know that he was no longer under the influence of the serum.

Entering the shuttle, he scanned the small craft, locating the main control panel. The man bent down to pull the cover off when the sound of a blaster's safety was released. He turned around slowly, finding three Ramesians and a golden blond female with a bladed staff in one hand.

"I have to retrieve this, or Commander Grev will know I am no longer under the serum," he stated quietly. "There is a listening device on my fighter's front console, so I can't speak too loudly. I am not the only one no longer under the serum's influence." He continued, hoping that the Ramesians wouldn't kill him.

The golden-haired female spoke. "He's telling the truth." Then she looked directly at him. "You look like the scout leader from this ship."

The man had auburn hair with unusually vivid hazel eyes. He stiffened, not wanting whoever might be listening to the conversation to realize that Scout Leader Krem was his older brother. He couldn't help it when his face paled.

He spoke in a whisper. "If they find out who he is to me, Grev will kill me. There is a listening device on the center console of my fighter. I don't want them to hear." He repeated.

"What is your mission at the moment?" It was the female who spoke. She spoke quietly, not to be overheard by the listening device.

"I have to retrieve the information box of this shuttle and take it to Commander Grev. If I don't follow those orders, he will know I am no longer under the influence of the serum."

"Do you know there is a spy for your leader among the scouts that we detained?" One of the Ramesians stated, watching him closely.

"I'm not privy to such information. If there is a spy, then whatever you say will go directly to Commander Grev. Tread softly with what you speak around him," the man continued. He didn't want to give his name; he was afraid of being overheard by the wrong person.

"Say your name?" the girl stated quietly.

"I can't. If Commander Grev finds out he's my brother, then I am dead." The man protested. His voice remained quiet, barely audible. He didn't want anyone on the listening device to hear.

"We know who the spy is. We know not to speak around him. His name is Dreg, and he's the commander's nephew," the girl continued. She remained quiet, trying to speak without being overheard by Grev or his men.

The man swallowed. He knew if he said something, he would die. He wanted to trust them. "I am Servin," he stated quietly.

"Well, Servin. You have a niece by the name of Mia. She and your brother are the ones who started dissipating the serum from the other scouts. Mia's father is Jevin. I believe that's your youngest brother?" she asked, still in a whisper.

Servin nodded slowly. Pain in his eyes when she mentioned his brother Jevin.

"I'm Jada. I should tell you that your little brother saved your mother's life, escaped your planet, and came here. From what I'm told, they lived a happy life. Jevin found his mate, and your mother seemed to have loved Mia's grandfather. I also know that your mother was treated kindly here. She was well-loved without having to hide that love," Jada continued in a whisper. She wanted to give him some peace.

A single tear fell down Servin's face. "Thank you for telling me that," he whispered. "I have to get this box back. If I don't, Commander Grev will kill someone. He always does."

Jada backed away, allowing him to take the box. He walked past them. Before getting into the fighter craft, he turned and faced them. "I am not the only one on the disk no longer controlled by the serum. We are trying to find a way to take over the disk and kill Grev." His voice was barely heard.

The small group allowed Servin to climb back into his fighter. He quickly composed himself and flew back to the ship.

Commander Grev was waiting for him in the hangar when he arrived.

Pulling the information box from the seat beside him, he climbed out of the shuttle and walked stiffly up to Commander Grev. "Your information box, sir," he stated, keeping his tone without emotion. He didn't want to be found out.

Commander Grev took the box roughly and walked off, ignoring him. Once Grev was gone, he relaxed, but only a little. He didn't want others to notice he had changed.

Servin walked back to the dining hall to finish his dinner. He hadn't had time to eat before Commander Grev walked in to give him a mission. He wanted to smile. His little brother had lived a happy life. He had a daughter, giving him a niece. His older brother found her among the Ramesian and the people of the blue planet and is responsible for starting the domino effect of dissipating the serum. His brother was the seed that would save them all. He was proud of his family.

Thinking back to the group that allowed him to walk away. His gut told him he had allies. This was good information for those no longer under the influence of the serum. If they could find a way to communicate with the surface, they could find a way to end this.

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