I follow Amancia to the elevators, through the winding halls of the lower level, and to Bay 66. Amancia waves her hand over a panel in the wall, and the door slides to the left. Inside I see a small, sleek, silver ship. It's long with a pointed tip that looks like it could tear into another ship. No windows, anywhere, as far as I can tell. The ship can't possibly hold more than four Copaie males. Counting us, it would probably hold three males, but it would be a tight squeeze.

            "So, what's the plan?" I ask once we are onboard the ship. "How will we catch up to them? I would estimate that they have about a two-hour head start." We are sitting in a small room with four small, beds, that fold up, into the walls. There is a small closet to hang clothes, and an even smaller bathroom, with a sink, shower, and toilet. There is only one other room onboard, and it appeared to be a storage space. Not quite sure how they would cook food, here. Hopefully this ship is just for short journeys.

             "Have a little faith, Astra, dear." Amancia says, unfolding a bed, and laying down.

            "Vos. Call me Vos. And what's that supposed to mean? 'Have a little faith' Have faith in what?" I ask, unfolding a bunk next to her's. Even though they are technically built into opposite walls, our beds are nearly touching. If I were to roll over, I could stretch my arm out and touch the edge of her mattress.

            "This ship, Vos. It's called a Cremin. Technically, it's not even a ship. It's actually a type of space Ra-Cis."

           "Wait a minute. You don't mean? It's alive?!" I shout, sitting up.

            "Yes. That's exactly what I mean. This particular Cremin was caught and tamed by yours truly. I've spent a little over three years, taming her. She's a real beauty, able to go three times faster than the average ship. I plan on breeding her to an equally fast male, one day. And keep breeding her, until I am able to supply the entire Copaie army with these deadly fast ships. Then they will see Copaie aren't as dumb as they thought."

            "Wow. That is amazing! But who thinks we are dumb?"

            "The Talfarians. You above all else should know this. You were raised on their planet. You know they think we are barely even capable of speech, let alone, intelligence." She says, sitting up.

             "Yes, I guess they do." I say thinking of my own prejudice against my own people. But then I remember something important. "Amancia. I have a confession. I actually have spent the last twenty years and a few months on Saltu. I have seen both sides of the fence. I know we aren't as stupid as everyone thinks. Our ways are just different than theirs. If we could make them see, make them understand. Then, maybe, just maybe, we could all get along."

             "Why did you time travel back?" she asks.

            "What?"

             "Why. Did. You. Time. Travel. Back?" she asks, this time putting emphasis on each word. "Why didn't you just stay in the future and live out your life there?"

             "Because I failed to stop Malum's plan. He still released the poison. He still tried to eradicate our entire race. A few were saved, thanks to the antidote we come up with. But we didn't get it distributed in time. Most of the Copaie's still died."

            "He still thought we were beneath him, didn't he?"

            "Yes, I suppose he did. But Malum is just one Talfarian. He doesn't speak for all of them. I was raised by one, remember?"

            "And she was killed for it." Amancia says, laying down again.

             I'm silent for a moment, just going over everything in my head. "I do have one more question. Won't it be easy to destroy a live ship?"

               Amancia sighs before answering. "No. Not really. You have to stop its heart, which can only be done from inside the ship, itself. And you won't have an easy time doing that, it has its own type of immune system, that will kill you if you get too close. I accidentally stumbled into the heart of the ship; the ship's defense killed the male that was with me. I barely escaped with my life. It took me two months before I was brave enough to enter her, again. But I've found that as long as I stay away from her heart, I have nothing to fear."

             "How does she know where to go? How does she know where you want her to go?" I ask.

               "So much for one question." Amancia says, sighing again.

                "Sorry. I just have so many questions. The minute you answer, I think of something new." I lay back down in my bunk.

              "It's okay. I do love talking about Sesily. That's what I named the ship. She knows where to go because we formed a psychic link. It took a while to figure out that part, but I eventually did. Cremin enjoy helping others out. I guess it gets pretty lonely out there in the great expanse of space. Not many of their species exist. That's why I need to hunt down a male. I could make a fortune, breeding them and selling them to high-ranking soldiers. Copaie, only, of course."

              "How are there beds built in and a bathroom?" I ask. Instead of answers, I receive snoring. Oh, well. It has been a long day, and time traveling is tiresome. I close my eyes and soon find myself in a dream world.

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

            "You forgot me, again. Didn't you?" Amlican sits beside me on my bed. Even though his words accuse me, he isn't angry.

            "No, I..." I start, feeling a little guilty.

              "You did. You started to come check on me, and then you got sidetracked by the General and your mother."

              "Amlican, you have to understand. It's been twenty years since I last saw you. Since that time, I fell in love, had children, and got married. My heart belongs to my husband, even though in this timeline we haven't met."

           "Our love never had a chance." He says, sadly.

             "I tried, many times, but every time I tried, it would end the same. With you being dead. Eventually I just had to accept that reality. I don't like it, but I can't seem to change it."

                "I know. Vos said there would be a price to pay."

                "I know that too. You already told me that, in a dream."

              "This is a dream too. So, wake up. Wake up, Vos!" he shouts.