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They didn’t falter. They sat together and waited for the inevitable.

An hour passed or maybe several, and the soldiers were growing more and more irritated, starting to threaten that they would fire on them. But still they refused to move.

A voice eventually rang out. “Docking in effect. Please stand by.” The ship slowed then trembled as it came to a halt. A moment later, the voice returned. “Docking complete, doors now open.”

Dani stood up first, then Kryxis, and the others followed.

“Now you let us pass,” Dani ordered.

Saul waved at the soldiers. “Let them,” he told them. “They’ll have more armed men waiting for them.”

Dani turned to Kryxis. “Carry me?”

He did so without hesitation, picking her up like the many times he had before and cradling her to him. Her crew came around to guard his back as they made for the exit.

The soldiers followed as she knew they would. But still, they wouldn’t fire. She braced herself for a battle as they approached the exit to the ship and entered the massive docking station of a city-sized ship port.

As she feared, there were armed men waiting. Only they looked different. They wore sleek black and gray uniforms with a silver emblem on their shoulders that she didn’t recognize. In front of them stood a tall woman with onyx eyes and tightly braided hair. And next to her was—

Dani gasped and Kryxis froze.

It was another vrisha. Female by what she could tell, with slender horns and violet-red scales, wearing stunning leather-like armor.

“Do not fear,” said the woman with onyx eyes, smiling. “We are from the alliance.

The alliance soldiers and Nexacor’s were at a standstill, Saul screaming at an alliance officer who didn’t budge. No one made a move, knowing they would be banned from the port forever if they started a fight.

The onyx-eyed woman looked unfazed by Saul’s threats and approached them, along with the violet-red vrisha female at her heel.

“My name is Morgana. I am an official of the alliance, as is my companion, Crux.” She gestured to the vrisha beside her. “You must be Dani.”

Dani had Kryxis put her down so she could face her. “That’s right.”

“And this is your crew?”

“It is.”

Morgana’s eyes drifted up to Kryxis and looked at his extra limbs with wonder. She spoke to her vrisha companion in vrishan, and Dani caught some of their words. The alliance member was astounded and had seen nothing like him. The vrisha female agreed.

“Fascinating,” Morgana said. “We almost thought the message was a hoax. But we had to see for ourselves to be sure.”

“I didn’t think you’d gotten my message,” Tom said, stepping forward.

“We did. We tried to send out a response, but it had been blocked, I assume because of your company. So, we found your location and made our way here. We’ve heard rumors of vrisha fledglings being taken then found stranded many years later, so we took the message very seriously.” She waved over to her soldiers.

Just as Saul came around to try to intimidate the alliance soldiers again, another group of security exited Nexacor’s ship. Dani caught Nadine and the heads among them.

“We are Nexacor’s representatives,” said Leland as they approached. “And this crew has violated our laws therefore is under our jurisdiction, so you cannot take them.”

“On the contrary,” Morgana said. “A corp like yourself doesn’t stand above the law of the alliance. You and the owners of Nexacor will have to make your case in court under the governing systems. Vrisha are protected under us. Any foul play under Nexacor or any company will be held accountable and punished by our laws.”

“Oh, there’s lot of foul play, trust me,” Lex stated.

Leland scoffed. “You have no evidence. This vrisha came aboard our ship and attacked our people.”

“That’s not true,” Dani snapped. “Something else got onboard, and Kryxis took it down. Its corpse is inside.”

Morgana nodded to one of her officers. “Make sure nothing gets taken or thrown off the ship.”