Gem and Andrea headed to the contact who would help with the fake ID and uniform while Timothy and Victor made their way in the direction of the military base with the hopes of running into a sergeant. 

  Gem deliberately avoided the main streets and had Andrea following her closely as she pulled the wagon with Stella and some other baggage. 

  It was still morning, and although there were fewer people on the streets than usual, many were going to their jobs since they were in need of the little income they could get. 

  Gem stopped at a small, evergreen colored door. On the door was a wooden sign saying ‘Elapsing Maps’ and another smaller sign made out of cardboard with the word ‘Closed’ handwritten on it. She proceeded to open the door without any hesitation despite what the latter sign said. Ding ding, a small bell rang as the door opened. 

  “We’re closed,” a voice said, although the room they had entered was seemingly empty.

  The boutique space was small and dark, lit with only a few flimmering light bulbs on low intensity. The shelves, walls, windows, roof and even floor were all covered in maps of different shapes and forms that spanned from scrolls, books, globes to models.

  “It’s me, Gem.”

  “Gem from Shirus I suppose?” The voice that sounded like it came from behind the curtains by the counter asked.

  “Yep,” Gem replied as she fidgeted with some of the items closest to her. 

  “Okay, I’ll be there in a sec,” the voice said.

  Andrea left the wagon at the entrance to look around in the shop. Interestingly enough, she couldn’t find one single map of Earth and wondered to herself how long this shop could have existed. Earth had been contacted by the UFG ten years prior to date and the humans still had a lot to learn about the vast universe. She couldn’t think of many who would be in need of maps like these. 

  A tall, pale, mantis-looking man walked out of the back room and up to the counter. Andrea had seen a few persons who looked similar to him but they all had been looking a bit more polished all in the same gray uniforms. The man in front of her was dressed in jeans and a knitted sweater. 

  “Nice to see you, Gem! And good that you came today. I was just talking to my cousin trying to convince him to help family out from this guarg of a planet.”

  “How did it go?”

  “He eventually gave in and will pick me up tomorrow,” the man said with a sigh. 

  “Ahh, good. Although your cousin would be kind of a jerk if he left you here. Anyways, we also need to leave asap.”

  The man looked over at Andrea at the word ‘we’.

  “Oh, you haven’t introduced your friend.”

  “Yeah, there has been a change of plans. She will be the one needing the ID and uniform.”

  “Oh, okay. So what’s your name?” The man asked Andrea. 

  “Andrea Andersson,” she replied. 

  “Nice to meet you, Andrea. I’ll go get the uniform so that you can change before we take the picture.”