"So I guess we are under a truce," the captain said, holding out his hand for Tobi to shake. "Let us stay here a few days so that I may try to help Saffron, and in exchange, we'll behave ourselves."

"You guys tried to kill us!" Rito exclaimed. "How do we know you'll keep your word!"

"Look, I know it looks bad, but you've got to trust us. I would never do anything to hurt Saffron, not again. I swear it on my wife's grave that we won't cause you any trouble. I just want to make it up to her."

Tobi stared into his eyes, filled with great sorrow and guilt. "I believe you, so I guess this is a truce," he said, shaking his hand. "But if you hurt Rayla, you can expect this crew to fight for her."

"I trust you will. You're a good kid," the captain said gently before looking at him in confusion. "You and Saffron aren't together, are you?"

Tobi reddened in embarrassment. "N-no, no, we are just co-workers, crew-mates. No one's dating here. I'm trying to keep a professional work environment."

"I see. It's nice to see Saffron has found people who care about her regardless."

"Well, if we're not going to do our jobs, then I'm going to my room. Wake me when we have a mission or when we arrest them. Either's fine," Oros said, retreating to his room.

"Is he always moody?" Scarlet asked slyly.

"Like you wouldn't believe. At least he didn't punch a wall this time," Rito stretched. "I'm going to go cook dinner."

"By the way, no hard feelings about your arm, are there, lad?" the captain said cheekily.

"It's fine," Tobi said, gritting his teeth. Truthfully, it still hurt like hell.

Oros punched the practice bag, his fists violently cracking against the wood. His movements were quick but not graceful, lacking rhythm as he pummeled the figure in a silent rage.

"Letting out some steam, I see," he quickly turned to the voice. The orange bastard was looking right at him, relaxing against his open door.

"What are you doing here? How'd you open my door? It's code-protected?" Oros asked aggressively.

"You seriously think someone of my experience doesn't know how to hack into a lock."

"Okay, so I know how. Now are you going to tell me why?" Oros hissed.

"I'm bored and wanted to chat," the lizard said nonchalantly.

"You picked the wrong person to chat with. Isn't it obvious I hate your guts?" Oros said with a scoff.

"That just makes the chat more fun."

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Nope, you'll have to amuse me for a few hours."

"Fine, but I never said I'd listen to you," he said, uppercutting the training bag extra hard. It swung wildly in return to its harsh punishment.

"You should lighten up more. Life is so short."

"Your one to talk. Your race can live over three centuries."

"You're right. I am pretty old. I think I'm 256 now? I don't know; I never kept track of that stuff. But having a long life span doesn't guarantee you'll have a long life."

"Yeah, people die. You, of all people, should know that. You're a murderer; you said so yourself."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" he continued, staring up at the ceiling. "You know, I became a soldier on a whim. It was after I lost—" he stopped briefly, eyes going unfocused, just staring unblinkingly at the ceiling for a few seconds. Noticing his absent-mindedness, he cleared his throat. "So I just started doing odd jobs to fill my time and distract me from the loneliness."

"Glad to know you helped murder my people on a whim."

"I joined on a whim. The army did have goals; we were suffering from a food shortage and overpopulation, so we needed the extra space, and yours was the closest planet that fit our species requirement."

"Lucky us."

"I left the military because I grew bored of it; the thrill left. I took on many odd jobs. I was even a peacekeeper for a few years before I got sick of that. Then I found the pirates. It's been quite entertaining. Who knows how long I'll stay with them."

"So that's all you do, just keep bouncing from place to place, never caring who you hurt?"

"Yeah, life's too short. I want to try everything before I go. I want to experience it all, both the good and the bad."

"Seems pointless."

"What about you? What's your driving force? What makes you tick? I recall you mentioning a brother."

"Yeah, my brother was a peacekeeper. He devoted his life to saving people

and putting his own life in danger for others. I hated him for being so selfless. Every day, I feared he'd lose his life, and then one day he did. I was kidnapped by the black market, and my brother had been sent to raid the place, along with many other peacekeepers, including this crew. I saw him die at the hands of those monsters, right in front of me, while he tried to save me.

I finally understood what being a peacekeeper meant. He was a hero, always putting others above himself. I wanted to honor him, so I took over for him, donning his badge and trying to carry out his legacy."

"Do you truly believe in the ideals that you fight for? Do you agree with his decision to throw away your life for total strangers?" the lizard asked.

"All I know is that I know what grief feels like, and I never want anyone to feel that way," Oros replied.

"Then you are fighting a losing battle."

"I know, but at the same time, I can't sit around and do nothing."

"Oi, Rayla, you're right to have a visitor," Scarlet knocked gently on the door, and a soft "Come in" was heard.

"You look like crap, hun," she said slyly, taking a seat next to her bed.

"I feel like crap," Rayla said groggily.

"It's unreal how much you've grown."

"You too."

"I'm sorry for how life's been treating you. We honestly had no idea."

"I had a feeling you didn't."

"I heard you're giving your dad a second chance. This might sound strange, but thank you."

"What for?"

"You don't know how much this will mean to your old man. He really changed after you weren't there. I know what it's like to not have good parental figures. I was neglected and then they married me off to a total stranger. I feel kind of guilty because I feel like I stole your dad. He took me in and gave me the guidance I felt like I was missing in my life, but you never got to be with him that long."

"If my life has taught me anything, it's that shit happens. I had a few rough years, but it honestly felt like it was turning around until I ran into you guys. I have this aching feeling in my heart, and my brain can't make up its mind on what I'm supposed to be feeling."

"I can get that. If it helps, I think your dad is a swell guy, and you will have fun getting to know him again. Sometimes you have to keep moving forward till you see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't imagine how he's coping with all this; he grew so distant, like an aura of sadness followed him."

"It's so unreal how things can change in a heartbeat, but at the same time, I don't regret anything. I met an amazing grandfather and am generally trying to work towards my goal of peace. I want to do everything I can to make things better. Why do you stay, Scarlet? Why devote your life to crime?"

"Because people are selfish, the world is cruel. Why should I let people walk all over me when I can simply take what I need, live by my own rules? We have different views of the world. Where you see hope, I see cruelty. Everyone is out to get each other one way or the other, so I'm just trying to get the things I want without anyone else stepping in the way."

"A sad view of the world, but not entirely inaccurate. If my travels have taught me anything, it's that greed and pride will always cause people to lash out. Peace seems like nothing more than a child's dream, an impossible goal, but if I can make the universe just a little better, even a smidge, I'd do it in a heartbeat, for the poor children and wayward souls that hold out hope for better days."

"It's so cute that you've learned to hold out hope. I hope reality doesn't break you, like it did us."

Rito stood in the kitchen, slaving over the pots and pans and cutting up food when suddenly he heard the door open behind him. He looked towards it, and a tall butterfly-looking alien came through it.

"So you must be one of Saffron's friends."

"Yes? What brings you here?"

"The captain said you would need help cooking dinner for everyone."

"What do you mean, everyone? Are we all eating together?" he asked, confused.

"The captain really wanted to try and prove his seriousness for his daughter. He'd do anything for her, you know."

"I'd say Rayla is a lucky girl, but clearly she has a different view of this," he shook his head, cutting the vegetables in front of him. "So who are you anyway?"

"I'm Mauve, the ship's cook," she began to perfectly dice her vegetables with a fast and steady pace, clearly a master of her skill.

"Your really good around a knife. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or intimidated."

"I'd be intimidated if I were you, but that's only because I know all the things I've done."

"I'll take your word for it," he cleared his throat in nervousness. "So besides doing unspeakable things with knives, what else do you like?"

"You sure like to talk. Why do you want to know?"

"Just trying to spark conversation, get on the right foot since we may be seeing a lot of one another. I don't really want to be stabbed in my sleep." She laughed at him.

"You have quite the sense of humor."

"Thanks, I like to think so too. You need one to deal with all the crap life throws at you."

"You know, you remind me of my late husband," she smiled softly. "He had the same attitude."

"You must have a good sense of humor to marry a guy like that."

"Yeah, I did."

"How'd you lose him?"

"He died in the war, when Emperor Drakil was trying to take over Planet Glowpell. Slate, who was a soldier, came over one day and told me that he was dead, blown up by the enemy. Next thing I knew, Slate and I ran away. His planet was blown up. He felt so angry that he ran away from Emperor Drakil's army, and I tagged along because I had no one left, and I felt like he needed me the most."

"Sorry to hear, but I think you did the right thing. Man, the more I hear about this stinkin' Emperor Drakil, the more I want to punch him in his big dumb face."

"Join the club. I've heard murmurings of a revolution coming soon. An army is only useful if they are in your control."

"Well, I hope for the sake of all the people he's hurt that it all comes back to blow up in his face," he looked down at the sizzling food. "Man, that does smell good."