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A flicker of light caught her eye, and she turned just in time to see a holoscreen flicker to life on the wall. The face of the Marauder scientist appeared, his sharp, angular features twisted into a grimace. She realized with a sense of shock that he looked somewhat like an Intergalactic Warrior, though with gray hair and yellow eyes. Were they related?

“Impressive,” the doctor drawled, his voice dripping with condescension. “I didn’t think the bracelets would respond to such primitive minds.”

Elara bristled at his tone, her hands balling into fists. “Who are you?” she demanded, stepping forward despite the warning look Zar’Ryn shother.

The doctor’s smile widened, his teeth glinting in the pale light. “Who I am is irrelevant. What matters is what you’ve done. Do you even understand the power you’re wielding? Those bracelets are not toys, girl. They were created by a civilization far beyond your comprehension.”

Elara’s heart pounded as his words sank in. “What are you talking about?”

The man’s gaze shifted to Zar’Ryn, his expression calculating. “Tell me, warrior. Do you know the history of those artifacts? Or are you just as ignorant as your little companion?”

Zar’Ryn’s voice was cold and unyielding. “We know enough.”

The scientist laughed, the sound echoing hollowly. “Oh, Idoubt that. Those bracelets were forged by a race that reshaped entire galaxies. And destroyed themselves in the process. Whatever power you think you’ve tapped into, it will consume you. It always does.”

Elara’s stomach churned. She glanced at Zar’Ryn, searching his face for reassurance, but his expression remained unreadable.

“Return to the lab,” the scientist continued, his tone turning coaxing. “I can protect you from their effects. Ican ensure they don’t destroy you.”

“No,” Zar’Ryn said, his voice like steel. “We are done here.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and gathered Elara close, leading her down the corridor. The holoscreen fizzled out behind them, the scientist’s parting words lingering like a shadow. “You don’t understand what you’re wearing. But you will. Of course, by then it will be too late.”

They seemed to travel forever before finding a small maintenance alcove and slipping inside. Zar’Ryn leaned heavily against the wall, his breathing uneven. Elara’s gaze fell to his injured arm, the raw burns stark against his bronzeskin.

“Sit,” she said, her voice firmer than she felt. When he hesitated, she narrowed her eyes. “That wasn’t a suggestion.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips before he sank onto a metal crate. Elara retrieved the healing disc from her shirt pocket, her hands trembling slightly as she activatedit.

“This might sting,” she warned, holding the disc over hisarm.

“I have experienced worse,” he said, his voice low. But when the pale green light swept over his burns, his jaw tightened, and a muscle in his cheek twitched.

Elara worked in silence, her focus split between the task at hand, the pain communicated through the bracelet, and the lingering tension in the air. The bond pulsated faintly, aconstant undercurrent she couldn’t ignore. When the worst of his burns had healed, she stepped back, her gaze drifting to the bracelet on her wrist.

“This symbol,” she said, gesturing to a glowing glyph that had just appeared. “It wasn’t there before. What do you think it means?”

Zar’Ryn studied the glyph, his expression grave. “It is a mark tied to an ancient civilization. One that vanished long before my kind walked the Nine Galaxies.”

Elara frowned. “Vanished? How?”

“No one knows for certain. Some say they destroyed themselves with the very technology they created.”

“That’s what the scientist guy said. The doctor.”

“Affirmative.” He met her gaze, his eyes shadowed. “What we have awakened… It is dangerous. We need to be careful.”

A chill ran down her spine, but she forced herself to nod. “Then we’ll figure it out. Together.” She glanced around the alcove. “Where now?”

“My ship.”

She brightened at that. “You know where it is?”

“I have a general idea.”

“Oh. I’d hoped for something more specific, like three corridors that way, then we turn and go four corridors, then up a level and voila! My ship.”

He nodded, his expression serious. “Three corridors, turn, six corridors, down a level. Iknow not what direction voila is. But my ship will be there.”

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