I extended my hand to shake his own, introducing myself and Eshami.

“What is going on here?” I started vaguely, hoping this Olear would prove trustworthy.

“I’m just a man,” he answered shortly. “My government hired me to pilot this Prison Ark into the singularity. My family will be taken care of after I’m gone… I guess I just didn’t put much more thought into it.”

His face slowly darkened. “I certainly didn’t expect to face berserk servitors — or other universes! Trust me, this wasn’t in the mission briefing!”

“So why send these Arks into the singularity at all?” I asked him.

Olear looked pensive for a moment. “Nobody wanted to be responsible for containing all these evil people and creatures, you know, in case there was an accident and they escaped…”

“Like now?”

Olear guffawed embarrassingly. “Touché. What can I say? This universe of yours was not supposed to be here. I don’t think anyone knew where we were throwing out our trash, so to speak.”

Eshami offered forth the next line of questioning. “Are you alone here? Surely a ship of this size has a crew.”

“Oh heavens, no!” Olear chuckles. “There are about 150 crewmembers — mostly human — assigned to each Ark. Oh, and there’s Ketal, too. Hello? Ketal? Come on out here and meet our new guests!”

The ghostly apparition from when we first appeared onboard — Ketal — spun up instantly from the metal floor. He was wearing a similar uniform to Olear, I quickly noted. “Yes, Attendant?” Ketal turned to me and Eshami. “Ah, I see you’ve made it to the Control Room.”

So far, it seemed like Olear treated our situation as if it were business as usual, I thought. Though the berserking servitors nearly killed him, his training seemed to give him some sense of confidence in this crisis. I looked at Eshami; she sensed my intentions and nodded approvingly.

“On our way here,” I began cautiously, “we encountered a man trapped by some sort of… blood beast. We managed to free him, but his wounds were fatal.”

Olear frowned, pointing at the sealed doorway. “A man?”

“Yes, and he warned us not to trust you. Any ideas as to why he might have said that?”

“None,” he responded, unblinking. I looked at Eshami, and she nodded slowly. Perhaps he was telling the truth. Maybe the man had been delirious with blood loss…

“As I see it, you and I will need to work together to regain control of the ship,” Olear continued.

He reached for a gnomon-shaped object similar to Eshami’s hand crossbow, presenting it to me. “Take my laser pistol. It can fire a few shots if you’re desperate…”

I gingerly accepted the gift, hopeful to get a chance to try it out, but also frightened of what creature I might need to use it upon. “Thank you,” I answered as I fastened its holster to my belt.

“I think the best way to move forward is to fly the ship into the closest star,” Olear continued thoughtfully. “To do that, we’ll need to inspect the Ballast Tanks, investigate the System Core in the Engine Room, and ensure that the Hold is secure.”

“After we rest.”

All present — including a disinterested Ketal — turned their heads to stare curiously at Eshami, standing with her arms on her hips.

“I need to pray to recover my magic. We shall eat, pray, and rest. Then we can decide what demons we face!”

I smiled at the healer who had become my trusted adventuring companion. “Of course,” I answered her in Elven, and her ears perked up momentarily. I tipped my imaginary cap to the priestess.

After a few hours to pray and eat — Olear was generous enough to give me an extra pack of dry rations just in case —I settled down in my bedroll for some rest.

And while I, unlike Eshami who needed to recover her spells each day, welcomed sleep usually, this cycle of rest was far from easy.

My thoughts kept drifting from Eshami to that blood beast, to Olear, and back to Eshami…

I usually adventured alone. It was always easier not to create emotional attachments. This time shouldn’t have been any different, but…

My emotional unease led to some unpleasant dreams, and I was relieved to wake up to Eshami’s smiling face.

“Good morning, Devon,” she said somewhat playfully in Elven. I never learned to speak it fluently but I picked up smatterings over my career.

“Good morning, Eshami,” I answered back, still a bit too groggy to try for any elegance.

“I’m glad you’re both up!” Olear pulled himself out of a crawlspace where he had been enacting repairs to the devices in the room — devices that Eshami and I destroyed.

He patted down his overalls, and offered a salute of sorts. “I’ve repaired the Vortex Controls, so I can teleport you throughout the ship any time you’re ready to go. Oh, and Ketal’s systems have been mended some, too.”

Ketal spun up out of the flooring at the mention of his name. “I will be able to monitor you, and can guide you should you require assistance,” he answered.

“We should investigate the Hold first,” I said after some thought. “Make sure it is secure before moving ahead.” Olear only nodded and went back to his repairs.