Please be in the field. Please be in the field, Relda's mind chanted as the tavern receded behind her.
Her brain told her to freeze. She stopped a yard away from the tavern and let her eyes dart the field and the path.
Grass that spread over the ground, reminding her of the rug that covered Scy's secret room. Dirt that had been packed down from years of foot travel.
She focused on regulating her breathing; the only shiny thing in sight range was the moons' light.
A black hexagon with a metallic luster disrupted the landscape. The roof unsealed, and a creature swung over the side.
Relda took a minute to study the creature. Its head was partly concealed in a white helmet, and it wore a garment the color of Relda's skin. When it looked in her direction, she scurried to where the moons' lights were weakest. The creature had a patch of hair on its chin. Its skin had a peachish tone to it. His hair was shoulder length.
Relda's heart skipped a beat. Peach skin. Face hair. White helmet. It was male, except with oddly long hair. She'd never seen a male with shoulder-length hair before. Judging by his size, he couldn't be fully grown. No doubt about it. It was his peach skin that coaxed Relda into concealment.
"Quadrant 3," she said at zero decibels.
The creature raised his hand over the transport.
"Raylay!" A soft voice said from the other side.
"Ozla, did you find it?" Raylay questioned; his voice was strong and baritone.
"To be honest, brother. I think you're crazy."
Raylay extended his hand to her, and he helped her into the ship.
"I saw the medallion of Qor on the tracking unit," he swore. "Dad is going to kill me if we don't bring it back."
"Dad's not who we need to worry about," Raylay said. "It's that other guy."
He nodded toward the field. An object shone from the grass. Relda stood on her toes. That was hers. That object glittering from the grass, and she was separated from it--from the future of her race--by a worthless crew of Quadrant 3 criminals.
"Ty," Raylay spoke into the passenger cabin. "Go and get it."
"Wait!" Relda cried, stepping into the light.
Ozla and Raylay eyeballed her from head to toe.
"What's this?" Ozla, a sandy brown-haired girl with high cheekbones and eyes the color of sapphire, demanded. "A native?"
Relda gripped her blaster. One wrong move, and Quadrant 3 was two criminals down.
She revealed the blaster, but a blast of terrifying magnitude dwarfed anything she could manage. The ground beneath her nearly knocked her off her feet. She steadied herself and squinted into the sky as the blast extinguished.