"Astra, help me!" Amlican shouts.

            "Where are you?!" I shout back. I'm running through a thick jungle, pushing aside vines and flowers as I go. All around me echoes bird calls, grunts, growls, and roars of various creatures. Amlican calls out to me, again but this time it echoes and appears to surround me. Where is he? I stop momentarily, and whip my head from side to side, trying to figure out which way to go. Amlican's next call is buried by the call of a large black winged bird, that lands on a branch, just overhead. "Amlican?!" I yell again. But it's no use, I hear nothing but the bird. I take off running, again, pushing more vines and flowers out of my way, as I go. Ugh! I hate this stupid jungle! I'll never find him, here! As soon as I think that, the jungle vanishes and I find myself back on Natatilis.

            People are everywhere, and I find myself having to push through them to get by. It's as if the people have no faces, as if they are just there to prevent me from getting to my destination. From somewhere up ahead, I hear Amlican calling my name. I finally make it through the crowd and find myself standing all alone outside of a bay door with the number forty-two above it. This time, Amlican's voice is weak, barely above a whisper. I race inside and find him lying on the ground, in a pool of blood.

           "No!!! What happened? How do I fix this?" I shout, trying to stop the flow of blood with my bare hands. The blood keeps flowing and with a desperate attempt, I quickly pull my shirt over my head and hold it to the gaping wound in his chest. I'm left wearing only a tight sleeveless undershirt.

         "It's too late." He whispers. "Do you remember what I said? Keep going. She's safe. Don't try to save me." He struggles to take one last breath, and then goes silent.

           "Amlican? Amlican? No!" I shout, pushing on his arm to try and wake him. Tears stream down my face as I give him one last kiss. I look down at my arm for my time travel jacket, but it seems to have vanished. "Nnnnnooooo!!"

                                   **************************************************

           I sit up in bed, screaming no, tears streaming down my face. Once I realize it was just a dream, I cut my scream off and wipe the tears from my eyes. I look around the room, momentarily confused. Where am I? The walls are made from a light blue stone. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. Yellow grass carpets the floor beneath my feet. Several small orange and red flowers bring a pop of color to the room. Green vines grow up the walls and reach across the ceiling. A small artificial ball of light hangs a few feet below the ceiling, defying gravity, there are no visible wires or chains. It's as if the light were tossed into the air, and gravity was turned off. I must have been so tired that I fell asleep with the light turned on. But the question remains, where am I? That dream really did a number on me and I can't seem to shake it. Across the room and to my right sits a brown dresser, with a mirror. A loud banging on the door, to my left, draws my attention.

          "Astra! Astra! Are you allright?" comes a female voice from behind the door. I can't place my finger on it, but it sounds familiar. The knob turns and the door bursts open to reveal Amancia.

           Everything suddenly comes flooding back and I remember the events of the past two days. Finding mother, bringing her here to the Copaie home world. Laying eyes on the place of my birth. Meeting my father. Seeing the Copaie palace. All of it. "Yes. I'm fine."

           "I heard screaming. I was worried." Amancia says, from the doorway.

           "Sorry about that. I was having one of those dreams, and it took awhile to wake up. But I do have a question. In all of the excitement, I just realized that I don't remember seeing Amlican since Natatilis. Did he even board the ship with us?"

              Amancia is quiet a moment. "No. I don't remember seeing him since the elevator."

              "Well, where would he have gone?" I ask aloud.

              "I don't know but I'll find out for you." Amancia says. "Do you remember where the dining room is?"

              "Yeah, I think so." I say.

              "Okay. Meet me there. I have to feed the baby, and then I'll search for answers." She says turning to leave.

             "Thank you." I say as she closes the door. I turn and walk over to the dresser, picking out a matching orange shirt and pants. On the dresser top lays, a golden hairbrush with red shiny stones embedded in the handle. A handful of black hair ties lay in a silver dish beside it. Also in the dish lays two matching silver hair combs, encrusted with dark green stones. I pick up the brush and brush my long hair. I reach for a black hair tie and pull my hair out of my face. My stomach starts to churn, and I take deep breaths, attempting to calm it. When that fails, I run to the bathroom that connects my room to Amancia's and throw up, barely making it to the toilet in time. Nothing but stomach acid comes up, but I flush the toilet anyways. I stand up, walk to the sink, and rinse my mouth with water. I stand up, place my hand on the sink, and my head on the mirror over the sink. I hear a beep and I pull my head off the mirror, in surprise.

           "Analyzing health." A voice says, from the mirror. Three dots appear in the middle of the glass. "Health check done. Status ready. Species: Copaie. Sex: Female. Age: 21. Health: Good. Pregnant: Yes. Status: Twelve weeks. Please touch the screen again for another scan."