Red ran ahead of Eckelt and Dobbs to catch the elevator before it closed. They stood in front of the door while the two older men piled in and then pressed the button for the docking area. Eckelt contacted the three other monks who worked on Central Station and instructed them to meet at the Furious Monkey as soon as possible.

Red had stopped thinking with the arrival of the Acrux warship. Further research suggested it was one of their dreadnoughts, the Valstos, which was nearly three times the size of the Furious Monkey. Red knew just enough about the Acrux military to know that they came for a fight if they brought out the Valstos. It was captained by the infamous General Commixifir, a brutal warlord who had been inducted into the Acrux military after years of piracy in their outer rim.

Eckelt showed clear signs of distress. Red wondered the last time that he had seen action. They hoped that he wouldn't suddenly keel over from stress. They didn't want to carry him. Dobbs, on the other hand, calmly checked over his service weapon as the elevator glided towards the docking area. He put the gun back into the holster on his hip as the elevator doors opened.

The docks had filled with people piling onto ships. Most of the vessels docked at Central Station were traders and as such wanted to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of any possible military conflict. So they cut their vacations short and climbed back into their vessel. They didn't lose out on anything but an extra game or two of cards by leaving, and if they stayed they risked being stuck on the wrong side of a blockade.

There was no way to tell how military action centered at Central Station would go. There hadn't ever been a conflict there, and it was purposefully written into treaties as the absolute DMZ. Military ships could visit for R&R, but the only group that had anything resembling jurisdiction was the Jhikae Order. And even the monks had to answer to station security.

With no clear answer or understanding of whose job it was to protect Central Station from threats, this event could quickly boil over into galactic war. The Jhikae Order, being no friend to the Acrux Empire, had no choice but to get as far away as possible before they could regroup.

Within a few minutes, the docking area had turned into a marketplace of escape routes. Signs and criers posted outside every other ship advertising spots for evacuation. As word spread across the station, the conflict seemed to become inevitable. Nobody knew for sure why the Valstos had arrived, and they didn't want to be around to find out, either.

As drunk Jhikae Order personnel stumbled towards the ship, Captain Dobbs and Red stood guard outside the entrance to keep order around them. A human in his thirties carrying a large bag across his back and another in a free hand approached Dobbs. "You got room aboard?"

"Why would you want to come to us?" Dobbs asked.

"You're the Jhikae Order! Your job is to protect us from these scumbags, right? I figure, this ship's the safest ship in the whole dock," he explained. "So, you taking on refugees or not?"

Dobbs shook his head. "Rest assured, citizen. If you get on board my ship, you might not ever get off again. We're with the military, not some parade of compassionate monks. If anyone's a target, it's be us."

The man scratched his chin. "All right then, suit yourself. Losing out on a great investment, I think."

Dobbs rolled his eyes as the man walked away. He looked to Red and asked, "What the hell was that about?"

"Fear gets in the way of rationality. Maybe he thinks getting into the eye of the storm is the best way to avoid it," Red reasoned.

"Frankly, I'd like to avoid getting caught in this storm at all. After all, it's not our problem. Once we've evacuated the temple and gathered all of our people, we're out of here."

"I hope it's that easy."

Master Eckelt appeared walking against the flow of traffic into the Furious Monkey. "We have a problem. Master Gesmaine isn't responding. I sent her to the temple to enact our security protocols. She should have arrived by now."

"Let's go find her," Red immediately suggested.

"Are you sure?" Dobbs checked.

"Absolutely. We don't have a choice. And it's like you said, our duty is to our own people. We can't let Jhikae Order information leak to the Acrux Empire. They'll certainly use it against us. Are you good to go, Master Eckelt?" Red felt their heartbeat intensify and took a deep breath.

"Yes, lead the way, wanderer."

Red cut through the crowd back to the elevators. As people piled out of one, Red and Master Eckelt stepped in and Red pressed the button for the temple's floor. Nobody else joined them. "Seems like this is turning into a mass exodus," Red observed.

"This situation is unprecedented. We're likely all overreacting. However, the Valstos is equipped with cannons nicknamed space-renders, so it's reasonable to not want to be torn to shreds in a volley of artillery fire," Eckelt shared.

Red couldn't help but laugh at the thought. It seemed wrong to joke about or take lightly, but when faced with the possibility of sheer, massive obliteration, no other reaction made sense either.

The elevator clicked and the doors opened. The floor of the station was totally empty. Apparently station personnel were evacuating as well. Perhaps station security ordered it? Were things really that bad?

Red and Eckelt arrived at the temple and saw Master Gesmaine seated at a desk in the front room. Thankful that she was okay, Master Eckelt rushed to meet her. Red quickly followed.

"So, you took the bait."

Eristia emerged from the shrouded corner of the room. She snapped her fingers and Gesmaine fell face first into the table, limp and lifeless. Eckelt gasped and ran over to her. Red wished that they had their spear.

"Why'd you play nice in the first place, Eristia?" Red asked, putting their fists in front of their face and taking a martial stance.

"Because I had already won. You didn't realize that, but I did. And now, here we are. Do you know what the Valstos is doing here?" she asked.

"Taking over Central Station, I'd guess."

"Yes, that does seem to be the case. But that's just the first step."

"Gesmaine's dead, Red." Eckelt informed them, interrupting the tension of the moment.

"So, what now? You kill us and that's it?" Red pressed.

"If it has to be that way, then I suppose so. But, I actually wanted to extend a dove to you. You're a powerful magician, Red. You have potential. And you could be so much more than what you are. With my help, with my guidance, you could become someone truly extraordinary."

"I'm not Acrux, I have no interest in selling out my people to defect to them!"

Eristia shook her head, stifling laughter. "You're silly. The Acrux Empire doesn't understand what it has either! No, my sights are much bigger than that. And it all starts here, with Central Station. The center of the galaxy, and the new seat of my empire!"

Red couldn't hide their disgust nor their disinterest. They didn't think of themselves as a soldier, and they wanted even less to become a politician. They weren't even sure how to respond, they just wanted to fight.

So they did.

Red lunged at Eristia, a bit awkwardly but not without tactical advantage. Caught off-guard, Eristia was smashed in the gut by Red's charge. They both tumbled to the floor and Red transitioned their attack into a beat-down. Their punches landed one after another.

But Eristia seemed un-phased by the assault. She let Red hit her. The pace of blows slowed, stalled, and silence filled the temple. Eristia started to smirk, then chuckle, then laugh.

Red felt something in their gut shift and they were flung upwards until they hit the ceiling of the room, smashing the tiles and falling back to the floor in a waterfall of artificial debris. Eristia had moved out of the way, or rather appeared at the other end of the room.

Five spheres of light floated around her head. They mutated into uniform shafts of light which each ended in infinitely small tips. The spears flew towards Red, who guarded with their arms and closed their eyes, braced for impact.

A second. Nothing. They opened their eyes. Eckelt stood with hands raised, shielding Red from the blast. A sigil carved into his neck glowed bright red and blue. Old magic? A forbidden Jhikae Order technique?

"Get out of here, Red!" Master Eckelt instructed.

Red ran for their life.

As they escaped the temple, a blast of energy tore through the front facade, leaving smoke and dust and rubble. Red got on the elevator and lost track of their breathing, letting their emotions bubble up to the surface.

The elevator arrived at the dock without any issues.