The city was like the ones Eyuy had read about as a child, filled with secrecy and intrigue. Those stories had been his favorite. He had loved hearing about the dashing heroes and the grand adventures they went on. But what he loved the most was the time he spent with his mother. The busy yeolbaun didn’t spend many hours with her children, and the bedtime stories were the only time she carved out for them. He remembered the soothing sound of her voice and how she acted out what was read. Eyuy wanted to be those heroes and have those adventures. He fantasized about it, proudly telling anyone who would listen that Eyuy Aeum-yinh would be a hero.

How wrong he was. Anmlonh had no place for heroes. There was no place for him and his dreams. He learned that he had to follow the rules, that his only worth was the accomplishments he made in the name of his clan. And so, Eyuy became dreamless and worthless. That was all he was for a long time.

But now, staring at the city that laid before him, Eyuy heard a voice in the back of his head. It told him that he would finally become worthy. He would be worthy of his mother's love, of his clan's love, and of his planet's love. Eyuy Aeum-yinh wouldn’t be a hero, but he would be enough.

What happened? Ppnlak asked. One of his tentacles held a bone up to his face.

Eyuy crouched down, inspecting one of the many skeletons that were sprawled out on the ground. "I don't know, but we should be careful. Whatever did this might still be a problem."

Is it safe?

"No, but it would take forever to clear it," Eyuy replied, "We don't that kind of time."

Amusement laced Ppnlak's words, Oh, we don't have enough time for one of your little procedures? Color me surprised. Ppnlak's glow shifted to lavender, mimicking his words.

Section 10; article 3: The minimum safety requirements for all sectors are outlined in the ICC code of conduct, but the Exploration and Military Sectors may be allowed to ignore those requirements when needed. If minimum safety requirements need to be ignored, the officer must detail the reasons in their report. If the division clears the reasoning, the officer suffers no consequence. If the division does not clear the reasoning, the officer will suffer legal consequences. A fine of up to 30,000 credits will be issued.

"I'll have you know that the rules allow for that procedure to be ignored."

Of course, Explorer Eyuy Aeum-yinh can't go around not following the rules.

"That is correct."

Your rules will be the end of you.

"Rules are meant to be followed. If we don't, society will crumble."

Did the ICC teach you that?

"My mother taught me that."

 Ppnlak shook his head, and his tentacle let go of the bone it was holding. The sound the bone made when it hit the ground echoed down the hallway. Ppnlak said, What do we do next?

"We explore. It would be in our best interest to not split up. Who knows what could happen to us when we're all alone," Eyuy responded. He tapped on his holowatch and said, "LOIUY?"

[YES, EXPLORER AEUM-YINH?]

"Can you make a map of this place?"

[IF YOU CAN SCAN YOUR JOUNREY, I WILL BE ABLE TO COMPILE A MAP FROM THE SCANS.]

"That's perfect. Thank you, LOIUY." Eyuy turned to Ppnlak, "What direction do you want to go first? East or west?"

I vote for west.

"West it is." Eyuy walked to the left with Ppnlak following behind them. He had his scanner out and was scanning everything they passed. For the first part of the walk, there wasn’t anything of interest to be found. No doors, no writing, and no rooms. Eyuy was beginning to think that west wasn’t the correct choice. 

However, they soon discovered a door. It looked like an early version of those found at the ICC, sleek and non-obtrusive. There were two windows on the door, but they were made of frosted glass, so Eyuy couldn’t see through them. The door wouldn’t budge when Ppnlak tried to open it. 

Can we not open them because there isn't any power? Ppnlak asked.

"No, most electric doors unlock when there isn't any power." Eyuy inspected the door more closely. A sigh escaped him when he saw the keyhole on the door. "We need a key to open it."

Couldn't you make one?

"I don't have the supplies on me. Besides, it could be a passive electronic lock. Even with a replica of the key, we won't know the correct ID number that unlocks the door."

Ppnlak said, Then, I guess we have to keep walking. Maybe, we'll find a key further into the city. One of these skeletons must have had one.

"You're right." Eyuy and Ppnlak continued down the corridor, passing more and more doors that they couldn’t open. It frustrated Eyuy to no end. He was so close to finding out what happened to the species. He needed to know what was behind all those doors. 

Eyuy's luck looked up when he and Ppnlak stumbled across an open door. They walked inside, discovering a lab. Test tubes, beakers, microscopes, and other instruments were strewn across long tables. Some of the containers still had liquid inside of them. Eyuy glanced at Ppnlak's exposed body with concern. "I don't know if you should be in here. Without a suit on, your body could be exposed to the chemicals."

It's fine.

Eyuy frowned, "I don't want you to die because you refused to protect yourself. You need to wait outside."

Ppnlak shrugged, Whatever makes you feel better. Ppnlak exited the room, standing to the right of the door.

Eyuy turned back to the contents of the room. He walked to the first table of the row, looking around the surface. There wasn’t anything to be found, and the same could be said for the second table he examined. However, at the third table, Eyuy spotted a piece of paper. Eyuy cheered in his head, which prompted a response from Ppnlak, I can hear your cheers. What did you find?

"A piece of paper," Eyuy replied.

That's it?

"We can make some progress on the translations with this."

How much is there?

"There's a whole..." Eyuy trailed off. His eyes were trained on the bottom of the paper. 

Explorer, are you alright? Ppnlak asked. Eyuy saw him poke his head into the room. Explorer? Ppnlak repeated when Eyuy didn’t give a response.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Eyuy swallowed, trying to wet his dry mouth. "It's just that the ICC's logo is on the bottom of this paper."

Ppnlak said, They were here? Or, at least, they had contact with the people who lived here.

"That doesn't make sense. If they were here, it would've been recorded. The species would be in the codex."

Section 12; subsection b: It is mandatory for any and all divisions to record any and all interactions with a species on a planet, regardless of their status within the codex. This is to ensure the rules of the ICC are being upheld by the presiding officers, and to record evidence should there be a legal dispute. There are no exceptions, and recoded interactions my never be removed or destroyed from the ICC database.

So, they covered it up. They were here, but they didn't want anyone to know.

"That's against the rules. The interaction had to be recorded, and it's unlawful to destroy the record."

And yet, there are no records even though you are holding proof that they were here. 

Eyuy couldn’t stop himself from crushing the paper in his hand. "If they didn't want me to be here, why did they give me this mission?"

I don't know.

Eyuy looked at the crumpled paper in his hand before he tore through the room, searching for more papers. When he finished his rampage, he had five more sheets clutched in his hand. He turned wide eyes onto Ppnlak. "I-I-I have to get back to my ship."

Eyuy ran past Ppnlak, but he could hear the heavy thumping of the alien following behind him. Eyuy had never gone up the stairs faster in his life, and he could feel a tightness in his chest. His legs were protesting the speed he was going. But he ignored it all, making it to his ship in record time. 

Eyuy knew Ppnlak was behind him, but he didn’t have time for the alien. He entered his ship, immediately calling for LOIUY. He went to the main dashboard and scanned the papers in. LOIUY asked, [WHAT IS IT THAT YOU NEED?]

"How much more can you translate with these?"

[IT IS HARD TO TELL. A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE IS 60%.]

"Of course." Eyuy collapsed into his seat. The stress of what he discovered caused a headache to form behind his eyes.

[A FIRST PASS HAS GENERATED A 30% TRANSLATION.]

Eyuy straightened his back. "Can I see the first passage with the new translation?"

The translation appeared on Eyuy's dashboard. A lot more of the message had been revealed, but there was still not enough to understand the meaning.

============================================================

[Translation Percentage: 30%]

[Translation: =e {o= {e_ore t?e s-nis ra*ian(e, )-ri_+in! -s o_ o-r ○is*ee*s an* ○ista^est :et not t?is {east {e t?e (a-se o_ o-r *e○iset :et not t?is {e t?e en* o_ -s a::t :et t?is {e a =arnin! _or a:: =?o (o○e: {e=are t?e ○e(?ani(a: {east t?at =a:^s t?e *e"astate* (it+t]

[Estimated Time of Completion: 8 months]

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"8 months, that's still too long. We need more," Eyuy muttered to himself. He let his head fall to the table with a thump. The reality of the situation weighing down on him. The headache behind his eyes worsened.

[ONE OF THE DOCUMENTS UPLOADED WAS WRITTEN IN COMMON. WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ IT?]

"What?" Eyuy's head snapped up to one of LOIUY's intercoms. "Yes, pull it up!"

The page appeared on his dashboard. Eyuy rolled closer, so he wouldn’t miss a single word. As he read, his face grew ashen, losing the iridescent shine. A pit of dread opened in his stomach. From the little that was legible, Eyuy could tell the ICC had a lot to answer for. What had they sanctioned?

"LOIUY?" Eyuy asked, "Can you please connect me to Angelika?"

[CONNECTING…]

Angelika's face flashed onto the screen. Her hair was wet, perhaps because she had just taken a shower. "Eyuy-yinh, why have you called?"

“Are they listening?" 

Angelika's eyes narrowed, and she discreetly looked around. "No, I'm the only one here. What do you mean by they?"

"The ICC can't know about this." Eyuy sighed, forcing the next words out of his throat. "It has to be off the record."

Angelika arched a brow. "LOIUY, remove this communication from the database once we've finished."

[BASE PARTNER MÜLLER, YOU ARE AWARE THIS IS AGAINST ICC POLICY.]

“Do it.”

[AFFIRMATIVE.]

Eyuy began, “Today, I went to the city.”

"I am aware. Eyuy-yinh, what did you find?"

"The ICC has been here."

"What? If they were there, there would have been recorded interactions. They wouldn't have marked the planet as newly discovered."

Eyuy shook his head, "I found papers with their logos on them, and one of the papers was written in Common. The species have never written in Common."

Angelika frowned, "Do you have proof?"

"Of course, I would never accuse them without proof. LOIUY, send her the paper."

Angelika asked, "If what you say is true, what can I do?"

"I need you to search for information. I don't have access to the servers from here," Eyuy replied.

"That could be dangerous."

"You're the only one I trust."

Angelika bit her lip, "You know just what to say, don't you, Eyuy-yinh."

"Call me Eyuy."

Angelika smiled so wide her eyes crinkled. "Eyuy, I'll let you know what I find."

"I want to say thank you, but I feel that isn't enough. I don't have words to express the depth of my gratitude," Eyuy said. "Read what I send you. You'll understand why we're doing this."

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[[illegible],

The ICC thanks...[illegible]...on the Metamorphosis project. [illegible]... be the basis of many achievements...[illegible]...updates on the status of the project. [illegible]... is of...[illegible]...of any use. I don't know...[illegible]...declared war...[illegible]. We wanted to ensure...[illegible]...Sijex...[illegible]. That is all on...[illegible]...you soon. 

[illegible],

Supervisor [illegible]]

[ATTENTION: THIS COPY WILL EXPIRE IN 5 MINUTES]

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