In the dim corner of a shadowy back alley, a Huridian pringle was locked in hushed negotiations with a black-market peddler.

After a protracted bout of bargaining, punctuated by sharp whispers and furtive glances, the peddler finally relented; his reluctance palpable, his greed the ultimate victor in the quiet struggle of wills. For a steep price of 100 Galactic Tokens, he handed over the access key—a small, unassuming device of immense value.

As the peddler disappeared into the darkness, Blaze deactivated his masking mechanism; the distorted figure of the Huridian pringle melted away in a cascade of shifting energy, revealing his true self.

Peddlers thrived on selling the unsellable; contraband, illicit technology, secrets.

In a world where everything illegal had a price, the information of an active bounty was worth a fortune; in Blaze’s world, trust was a commodity too scarce to trade, and caution was his greatest ally.

His disguise was just one more layer of precaution in a game where survival hinged on staying three steps ahead.

Blaze turned the access key over in his hand, his chest tightening with a strange mix of relief and apprehension; its unimpressive appearance belied the salvation it represented.

This small device was his lifeline; the only escape from the relentless hunt closing in on him.

Glancing at his communicator for the time, Blaze slipped deeper into the maze of alleys.

His path led him to an unremarkable wall, its surface marred by cracks and graffiti; the kind of inconspicuous place that hid more than it revealed.

Holding his breath, he pressed the key against the wall. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the wall shimmered, rippling like disturbed water, as the barrier transformed to reveal an entrance to an underground passage.

The faint sound of shifting mechanisms replaced silence, as if the space itself had been waiting for his arrival.

Blaze descended into the hidden corridor, the air growing colder and stiller with every step; the shadows deepened, wrapping around him like a second skin.

The narrow path ended at a fortified door. He presented the key once more; after a pause, the mechanism whirred to life, granting him access.

The room beyond was modest and dimly lit, but its contents were anything but ordinary.

At its center stood a miniature version of a spacegate terminal; the device hummed faintly, its energy a quiet promise of escape tinged with uncertainty.

Blaze’s relief was tempered by the machine’s limitations; its portals could only remain open briefly, and their destinations were frustratingly random.

Each journey was an act of faith, a gamble against the odds.

However, there was no time for hesitation. 

With a steadying breath, Blaze activated the terminal, stepping into the swirling energy of the portal; the motion blurred his surroundings, collapsing the world around him into fragments.

The sensation was instantaneous; a sharp pull, like falling through layers of reality, each one colder and sharper than the last.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone; the chaos of the hunt behind him, though not forgotten, leaving only ripples in the air as proof that he’d ever been there at all.

*****

Back in the Archive of Heliogast, a vast room lined with mirrors stood eerily empty save for a single table, a solitary chair, and Kael.

He sat shivering, his thoughts racing, consumed by a singular fear: "I can’t go back there. Anywhere but the asylum."

The mirrors reflected countless versions of his trembling frame, each one a distorted echo of his panic, amplifying his dread. The door; if it could be called that; opened soundlessly, a seamless section of the mirrored wall dissolving into nothingness.

Yet Kael wasn’t in a state to notice or marvel at it; his terror was all-encompassing, pressing against his chest like an iron weight, leaving no room for curiosity.

A middle-aged figure entered with deliberate silence, his gaze piercing as it landed on Kael.

"How much did you see?" the man asked, his voice cold and measured, like a blade drawn in darkness.

Kael scrambled to respond, his voice trembling. "I... I just entered the room. I didn’t see anything. Please, forgive me... The door was open, and I..."

His words faltered as he sought to explain, his desperation palpable; his words tumbled over one another, tangled by fear. The man regarded him with an expression void of emotion, his stillness unnerving.

"If you’re going to be so uncooperative, I’m afraid I’ll have to resort to harsher treatment."

Kael’s mind churned, even as he kept his expression fearful and subdued. As if you’d let me go otherwise... he thought bitterly, the defiance buried deep beneath his veneer of panic.

He could feel the man’s gaze stripping away layers of pretense, searching for cracks in his act, but Kael knew better than to let his sharp wit show.

"I never imagined someone would infiltrate this sacred facility," the man continued, his tone tightening, an edge of menace creeping into his words.

"How long were you planning this, boy? And which organization do you serve?"

The man was Pyraf Silvershine, chief security officer of the Archive; a man whose loyalty to its secrets bordered on fanaticism. To him, the sanctity of the Archive outweighed all else; innocence was irrelevant in the face of potential betrayal.

Conspiracies flourished in the shadows of the galaxy, and he couldn’t afford to take chances; not even on a frightened youth who had stumbled upon forbidden knowledge.

A single life was insignificant compared to the Archive’s sanctity.

Kael clung to his performance, mumbling incoherent apologies as he averted his gaze, every motion calculated to appear terrified.

Pyraf checked the time on his communicator before signaling the guards.

"Take him to the solitary cell at the state penitentiary," he ordered curtly.

"Transport him with utmost caution; his associates may attempt an extraction."

The guards saluted as Pyraf turned to leave, his piercing eyes lingering on Kael one last time. 

There was something unsettling in his gaze, a spark of unspoken intent that Kael couldn’t quite decipher.

Pyraf muttered something under his breath; inaudible to most; but Kael’s sharp eyes caught the movement of his lips. His pupils dilated, shock flickering through them as he deciphered the unspoken words.

Minutes later, the guards escorted Kael through the corridors, their steps echoing ominously against the polished floors.

The main hall bustled with activity; the Archive was now alive with its daytime rhythm, visitors filling the space as the hours passed.

As the group approached the massive gates that led to the armored vehicle waiting outside, Kael knew the stakes. Once inside that vehicle, any chance of escape would vanish; his freedom would be sealed away, buried under layers of steel and procedure.

Suddenly, an alarm blared through the facility, its shrill tones slicing through the air.

"Please evacuate immediately. There is a fire in the facility. Proceed to the nearest exit."

Panic erupted like a tidal wave. Order dissolved as fear gripped the crowd; civilians surged toward the exits, abandoning all semblance of composure.

The carefully maintained balance of the Archive crumbled in an instant, chaos consuming the once-immaculate halls. In the chaos, Kael seized his opportunity.

The guards struggled to maintain control, jostled by the frantic mass of people.

Kael wrenched free from their grasp, vanishing into the panicked throng. 

He ran, his heart hammering as he pushed his way through the crowd; each step felt like a battle against the tide, his determination the only thing keeping him moving. By the time the guards realized he was gone, it was already too late. They searched desperately, but Kael had disappeared.

Finding refuge in a shadowed alley far from the Archive, Kael doubled over, gasping for breath; the cold air stung his lungs, but the ache of survival felt almost sweet.

As his heartbeat steadied, his thoughts turned to Pyraf. The memory of those unreadable lips lingered, heavy in his mind like an unsolved riddle.

"Why would he... save me?" Kael whispered, the question hanging in the still air like a haunting echo.

Flashes of the encounter replayed in his mind; a scene from only minutes earlier. Pyraf’s final words came into focus, seared into Kael’s memory:

"Remember the drill..."

*****