Bright red flames dance around Branton’s fingers, sticking to his skin like a glove. The fire illuminates above him and his oversized bed. He shouldn’t be wasting too much energy on his fire trigger, but he has nothing else to do.

Thirteen dials have passed on Auroris. The Knyghts Voyage officially begins the next dial. They will be the lucky few to see Novennéa for the first time.

The fire starts to die out. Branton diminishes it and puts his energy into his fracture ability. He inhales deeply and breathes out a column of fire. The ceiling catches the flames and uses it to make a charred mural. Once he stops breathing fire, the mural changes back to metal. He hates to admit it, but the engineers behind this vessel are crafty.

He has been laying in his bed all dial, not getting up to eat in the Dining Pavilion or workout in the Integration Cube. He didn’t really leave his unit for anything important. The only interactions he has made for the Knyghts Voyage are the abrimaries, Lynette, Samire, Trevet, and the Ra-Dimar neytive. All he knows about the sand weilder is that he’s mute. He didn’t bother him by asking for his name. The look he gave Branton in the cube felt like a warning. It’s not his business to be involved with others’ problems, but that’s not true.

He’s involved with the candidates now.

When he’s about ready to shut his eyes and drift to sleep, a loud knock forces him to sit up.

Branton rises to his feet with a blank expression, but there’s hidden irritation behind it.

On the other side of the door, he finds the abrimaries waiting eagerly.

“Hey Branton,” Trevet says with a shout. “We need to start planning, remember?”

The Sub Terric walks past him and enters his room without permission. The others do the same.

“Hi,” Samire greets him and pulls her sets of wings close to her body.

“I am sorry for the intrusion. We will make this quick,” Lynette apologizes, yet makes her way into his room.

Branton pokes his head out the door, wanting to make sure there’s no other neytive who wants to invade his space. With no sign of the other candidates or Psyke neytives, he closes the door shut and locks it.

The others make themselves comfortable. Samire takes a seat near the window and looks out at the stars. Her bright tangled orange hair is pulled over her shoulders and her loose light green clothes fall to the floor. Trevet sits at the edge of his bed, planting his four hands on the blanket and looking at the ceiling. Lynette doesn’t take a seat anywhere. She chooses to stand in the corner of the room with a holocard in hand. She looks exhausted. Her eyes droop with dark circles and her hair hasn't been brushed for dials.

Branton wants to tell them he’s uncomfortable with so many neytives in his room, but Trevet starts talking.

“Alright, let us begin our very first abrimary meeting. The first one since the Trybal War and for the Knyghts Voyage. This is incredible,” Trevet looks around the room and sees mixed emotions. “Sorry, sorry. Lynette, would you like to share first?”

Lynette nods. She taps the holocard and an image fills Branton’s room. “Since the Psyke neytives gave me access to the Medical Wing, working on my medicine has been easier. The samples they collected from the drones helped to. It looks like the air should be breathable when we land, but there may have been changes to the planet’s atmosphere. These drones were sent out revolutions ago. But that is one of the reasons for the Knyghts Voyage, to make sure these conditions are stable.

“Some of the flora collected is completely foreign to ours on Myalón. There are several toxic flowers and minerals, but I believe I have found the right remedies based on my research. If you feel sick or if you injure yourself, come find me.”

They all agree to Lynette monitoring their health.

“I would like to discuss the planet’s shift in gravity, but that can wait. This one feels most important. The Psyke neytives gave me the task of mapping Novennéa. I gave this task to Samire,” Lynette changes the image to show multicolored zones. “Samire?”

“Yes,” Samire keeps looking out the window. “Yes. The regions of Novennéa have not changed much, but there are areas they have not discovered yet. I marked five areas for settlement zones, the ones in green. Two are close to one another, but the other three are scattered within this hemisphere. We should focus on the two close to each other, so we can work faster.

“Lynette warned me to avoid the orange and red zones as much as we can. They have toxic landscapes and other possible dangers. I am not really sure what they are, but as long as we know we will be okay.”

When Samire finishes explaining what each color represents, her wings flutter on instinct and expand wide enough to cover the window.

Trevet leans over the side of the bed, one set of arms crossed above his knees. The other set is placed on top, with one fist against his chin and a hand scratching his head. “I want tell you all what I have learned from the other candidates. I will start with the Morphyle neytive. Her name is Chimay…”

While Trevet talks about the candidates; names, trybes, triggers, personalities, strengths and weaknesses, Branton leans against the door. He listens to everything that the abrimaries are saying to one another. The interactions between them are completely different from the first dial. They are talking to each other like the Trybal War and the Separation Act never affected them.

It feels warm and inviting.

He admits he’s impressed with what they are doing so far. Each of them is giving their contributions to the Knyghts Voyage. They aren’t letting past grudges get in the way of their progress.

Branton, however, hasn’t offered anything for the Knyghts Voyage. He hasn’t done anything special to better his or their chances. His routine on Auroris is the same every dial. Get his meals, read specific holocards, workout to keep his health in check and sleep through his troublesome dreams.

He never had that part of the dream come up again. The one with the light and distorted sounds. Nothing in his memories involves a bright light. It’s something Branton has never seen or felt before. He was intrigued by the way it shined and pulled at him, but at this moment, it terrifies him.

Trevet’s words sneak into his thoughts. “I think his trigger is nothing compared to Branton’s, right?”

“What?”

“Helico,” Trevet continues his analysis. “You two have similar triggers, fire and solar abilities. I think you stand more of a chance against him. You have control and he is… chaotic.”

“Oh.”

Lynette catches on to his rigid composure. “Are you okay?”

Branton didn’t want them to feel the need to comfort him, but he needs to say what’s on his mind. “You three are doing so much for the Knyghts Voyage. I know you can not tell, but I am impressed. You all are more committed to the Knyghts Voyage than the Psyke neytives.”

Trevet laughs at Branton’s blunt comment of the personnel on Auroris.

“I am serious,” he waits for Trevet to calm down. “I have not done anything worth our future.”

Samire looks away from the vastness of space and locks eyes with Branton. He hasn’t paid much attention to her features, but now he sees clearly. Her eyes are formed into slits, from the bridge of her nose to the hairline. They’re a hazel color and wide open. The light from the ceiling reflects off thousands of lenses.

“I was in the Holo-Atrium on the sixth dial and found a holocard on Inphernos neytives,” Samire stands up to stretch her body. “I read how the Inphernos neytives claimed the warrior status on Myalón. I know we will have trouble once we get to Novennéa, but I feel much safer having you there with me.”

“You do not know me.”

“We know that,” Trevet tells him. “We just feel comfortable if we are around you. You may be a blank, but you have an ability that can incinerate everything to ash.”

Lynette steps in. “What they are trying to say is we trust you to protect us.”

Branton takes a moment to grasp their responses.

He only agreed to the Knyghts Voyage, so his brothers can be protected until he returns. There’s no other goal or drive inside him for accepting Chancellor Prime’s offer. He doesn’t want them to put their trust in him so easily.

“I can not guarantee I will be there for each of you.”

“That is okay,” Lynette adds. “We still want you on our team.”

Branton can’t believe these are the few candidates chosen for the Knyghts Voyage.

Lynette is resourceful in her medicinal work and determined to make something of herself.

Samire may be absent minded at times, but she can give words of clarity when they need to be said.

Trevet is anything but normal. He pays attention to every small detail around him and plans extra steps ahead of him.

As for him, the one with an absence of emotions and expressions. The others want him to protect them like he would do for his brothers.

They all dealt with the repercussions of Myalón. Forced to live their lives on a devastated planet. Face discrimination by the neytives of their own trybes.

One fact is clear to Branton Inphernos. Him, Lynette Hydradon, Trevet Sub Terric, Samire Aither. The abrimaries. They deserve the chance to colonize a new planet.

Branton shows a smile on the inside.