Several years since the return of Vertan Zviedal.

  It has been a year since Gahn had last visited his favorite bar and cafe he had so often used to meet with friends, or his hometown at all for that matter. Quietly, he finds himself grateful for the rare reprieve; time away from the formalities and prestige.

  Walking down the streets of his hometown, Gahn marveled at all the changes that have been made in the years since. Businesses were booming, real estate was flourishing, and even the buildings themselves seemed to stand taller and prouder.

  And there it was, the bar cafe; small and old, sandwiched in between two buildings that have been rebuilt and refurbished to be bigger and more modern, the original businesses having long been driven out. With a sigh from the old sense of nostalgia, Gahn steps into the time capsule, finding that things have stayed mostly the same as ever.

  Looking around the room, he finds that Tilko and Mohya were sitting there waiting for him, taking their usual corner like they always do.

  “Well, punctual as ever, it seems!” jabs Mohya. “How did they let you get up to be Admiral, anyhow?”

  “Man, I am going to splash your motherboard with this drink here and fry you,” says Gahn, deadpan.

  “Woah there, Gahn!” exclaims Tilko, his leaves and branches rustling, untrimmed and thicker than usual. “Being racist here now, aren’t we? His kind evolved out of that hundreds of years ago!”

  “You calling me racist knowing the way we talk to each other, bushling?” retorts Gahn.

  “I am, fleshling,” retorts Tilko.

  A moment of suppressed silence, and the three let out a burst of laughter. It has been a moment since they could talk to each other like this.

  “What?” exclaims Gahn. “No ‘Hello’? ‘How are you’, ‘Where’ve you been’? Come on, guys! I thought you missed me!”

  “Miss you?” jabs Mohya. “Now why would we do that?”

  “Shut up, man,” says Gahn.

  “You gonna order your drink?” asks Tilko.

  “Oh, right, I was going to,” says Gahn, looking around. “Where’s the waiters? Are they on break?”

  “They got rid of them a while back,” says Tilko, pointing to the table’s holomenu. “You order off of that, now.”

  Looking over, a holomenu flickers from a tiny projector embedded within the table. On it, displayed the bar cafe’s menu. Confirming his selections, Gahn’s identity and payment is immediately identified and processed. Almost straight away, a small, hovering cup holder brings the drink over to him, politely stating “enjoy your drink, sir” in a robotic voice.

  “Woah!” exclaims Gahn with a bit of excitement. “So many things have developed back home here, I didn’t know that even this place has it now.”

  “Yeah, they sure have,” Tilko quietly gripes.

  “So what’s going on, man?” asks Mohya. “How are the wife and kids?”

  “Oh, we’re all doing fantastic!” says Gahn after taking a sip of his mocktail. “We’ve gotten so much over the past several years. My wife is doing much happier. My kids are going to university, all of them got into Gamici’a Institute of Research and Technology!”

  “Wow, congratulations! You got a lot going for you.”

  “Thank you! I’ve been feeling very happy and proud of them.”

  “What’s going on with you though?” asks Tilko. “Aside from your family?”

  “Oh, me personally?” replies Gahn.

  “Yeah.”

  “Moved up the ranks, took opportunities, built connections. Reaping the benefits! All things considered, I’m very happy with how things have been going recently for Ulminh, and Sonta as a whole, really! We moved to a bigger district and the properties there are so nice.”

  “Really?” says Mohya. “So I heard! How’s the real estate there?”

  “Very modern and upscale,” replies Gahn. “Fantastic views. I got my family a new construction at the time we moved. It’s unbelievable compared to what we grew up with, here!”

  “I’ll say,” mutters Tilko.

  “What about you fellas?” asks Gahn. “What’s going on with you all?”

  “I’m doing pretty alright myself!” says Mohya. “Got myself running my own business running insurance and finances. I make pretty decent even if I have to stay on top of it quite a bit. Not a big deal for machine-people like me. Some things could be better, but I like how things have gone, too.”

  “And you, Tilko?” queries Gahn.

  “I mean, I’m doing alright,” responds Tilko. “Just trying to do the same as ever, but I’m not very happy with the changes.”

  “What?” exclaims Gahn. “Really? How come?”

  “Huh?” says Mohya. “But our economy has been steadily growing across every sector! What makes you say that—?”

  “—Yeah, if you could just let me talk for a second,” says Tilko. “I could be called nostalgic, who knows. But certain things were easier and more convenient to do back in the day! Sure, aligning ourselves closer to the Coalition does have its benefits, but it’s like, we’re trying to follow someone else’s way of doing things, and that doesn’t always work out the best for us, you know? Makes quite a few things harder for seemingly no reason, in my opinion.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “I can sort of get that,” says Gahn. “But as with any change and transition, there’s going to be adjustments we need to take for new ways of doing things. No gain without pain, anyhow. Besides, it’s nothing dramatic; we’re still under our own governance and letting in foreign investors has only helped to stimulate our economy.”

  “I know, that’s what everyone’s trying to say,” groans Tilko. “Like I said, I don’t personally prefer it. I’m not saying there’s anything particularly wrong about letting foreigners in, I just don’t like the way they’re changing things. Prices have gone up, jobs have been getting taken, and they prioritize themselves, not us. I don’t particularly like that they’ve built military bases on our territory, either.”

  “It’s for our security, Tilko,” replies Gahn. “Who’s to say one of our neighbors wouldn’t invade us for all the goodies when we’re developing? It’s good to have strong friends standing up for you. Even better that it’s people as strong and competent as the Coalition, they have a good track record and even better logistics!”

  “Personally, I don’t care,” quips Mohya. “They keep the lights on and the ships flying around these parts. They know how to make things work, they have a system and way of doing things, and it’s high time that we started learning.”

  “Develop this, civilize that,” continues Tilko. “I’ve been around over two hundred years and I know when people, especially the youth, try to voice that things aren’t workin’ for ‘em. Yes, the economy's growing, but for who? I remember when people may technically have had less but weren’t worrying about these things so much.”

  “But how does that affect you, though?” asks Mohya.

  “It doesn’t, but are you kidding me?” says Tilko.

  “No, I’m genuinely asking! If it doesn’t affect you, why worry?”

  “Do I have to have it directly affect me personally to start being concerned for others’ wellbeing?”

  “Alright, alright, let’s chill,” says Gahn. “We can worry as much as we want, we can also choose what to get worried about. I choose to worry about the people in my life, me personally. All fair?”

  “Anyone else heard from Vertan, then?” asks Tilko. “None of you have brought him up, given how close to us he used to be.”

  A moment’s hesitation.

  “You know,” starts Mohya. “I think I only really hear of him if I reach out first. I kind of stopped trying after a while.”

  “He’s still around these parts, isn’t he?” asks Gahn. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen and heard from him too, but I also haven’t heard any news of him going elsewhere.”

  “No, yeah,” says Tilko. “He should still be here, same as ever.”

  “I don’t really get him anymore, honestly,” says Mohya. “Remember what that was all about, all those years ago? He was always that ambitious lad trying to make more of something all the time. Doesn’t even spend two weeks away before he comes back from the Expeditions. Now when things actually do pick up at home, he’s nowhere to be seen. If I remember, still goes out fishing, just like he used to back then.”

  “Well that certainly doesn’t sound like much,” says Tilko. “I was wondering if you guys managed to have tried anything substantial. I’ve tried reaching out to him through the years, he either keeps disappearing on me or leaving my messages unreplied to. He can keep his secrets, I guess.”

  Gahn frowns at this as he takes another sip.

  “That sounds uncharacteristic of him, knowing how he was as a kid,” he says. “I think we’re past the point of calling him off as crazy, so continuing to do that would have to be a deliberate choice.”

  “But why would he choose to do that, though?” asks Mohya.

  “I don’t know, wouldn’t tell us,” shrugs Tilko. “I find it all suspicious, to be honest, but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it wasn’t his choice to be doing all that.”

  “You find everything suspicious—”

  “Yeah, I know, you guys should know this about me by now.”

  “Well, what parts of it do you find suspicious, then?” Gahn asks earnestly. “I figure maybe it’s for the best that he’s taken the years to be with himself and reflect. Maybe it’s been peaceful for him.”

  “Well, you guys remember that night?” says Tilko. “He comes back freaking out, breaks your nose, and then we couldn’t get a single explanation out of him after that.”

  “I remember, that was incredibly frustrating—” interjects Mohya.

  “—Right, yeah, hold on a second,” says Tilko. “To me, it was less of him holding out on us and more of something else holding things from us. Besides, I don’t know what happened to Hilgo, and we’ve accepted that he’s gone, but I figure there has to be more to why he’s gone. Vertan leaves for this journey, Hilgo joins at the last minute, and suddenly only one of them comes back two weeks later? What’s he not telling us? What’s so personal that he can’t even tell us about what happened?”

  “I thought we talked about this already,” says Gahn. “The Expeditions are dangerous. It’s a security operation meant to contain demons. I know that it’s tragic, but we need to accept that Hilgo probably got into some kind of accident out there. It’s the only logical explanation we have at this point!”

  “But why’s that up for us to guess?” says Tilko. “Why can’t the Coalition, as big and powerful as they are, at least provide somewhat decent closure and information as to what happened—?”

  “Sorry I’m interrupting for a second, but I’m confused,” interjects Mohya. “I thought Vertan is like, considered a hero and legend over there, too. Why’s he living the way he is now back here?”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” says Tilko. “None of that shit makes sense to me. We all thought he was some homeless guy on the street when we found him that day.”

  “So, nobody has any straight answers, then?” asks Gahn.

  “It’s not that there’s no dots to connect,” says Tilko. “There’s so many different dots and they don’t connect anywhere.”

  “Well, alright then,” says Gahn. “That said, I get that things happen, and things get screwed up. I’ve worked with them and seen the system for myself. These are good people! There’s not enough valid evidence here for me to make these kinds of assumptions. Why don’t you bring that up again once you have that?”

  “Doesn’t the lack of evidence make any of this suspect to you at all—?”

  “Yeah, look man, it’s fine,” says Mohya. “Vertan can do what he wants with his own life, just like the rest of us do. At the end of the day, we look out for ourselves, right? My processor’s getting heated thinking about all this, let’s cool down and talk about something else.”

  Tilko’s leaves and branches rustled in frustration at how hard it is to articulate his thoughts. But he knew the suspicions that he felt.

  Looking out for ourselves? he thought as Mohya and Gahn continued to jabber. I miss the days when we looked out for each other, too.

  *****

  In the warm night air on the surface, artificial structures could be seen in orbit around Ulminh’s three moons. The construction of another gateway was under way, a glistening ring in the sky alongside the original.

  Gahn, Mohya, and Tilko had eventually parted ways, each of them having plans for the next day. It was Gahn’s final day of his pre-approved travel to his hometown after having work in the region; he was expected back at base soon. Mohya has the usual work the next day. Tilko would be partaking in a protest at the main square.

  These thoughts bounced back and forth in Gahn’s mind as he drove back to his hotel. The protests to him seemed to be a foolish endeavor, stirring trouble and controversy for no real good reason. He nonetheless supports their ability to protest, as long as it was peaceful in nature and didn’t interfere with daily functions. All said, there is the risk that radicals and extremists might pose at these events, and security had to be bulked up lately to counter it.

  Coming up to an intersection, Gahn waits for some pedestrians to pass. Down the street corner, a few individuals hold their signs, protesting in front of a building that, just a few years ago, wasn’t there before. Taller and more upstanding than its surroundings, it was a hallmark of Coalition architecture.

  Gahn wondered if that corner was the same one they all had encountered Vertan at, all those years ago.