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A woman - a human woman - walked straight out of a cluster of houses, to stand right before Kira, hands resting on her hips. Her hair was a fiery, blazing red, and although she was wearing only chain mail under armor at the moment, its gold luster seemed to enhance her vitality a great many times.

That said, Devvri was a dirty woman. In the literal sense - her face and skin was almost glowing, but a ring of skin around her eyes was a few shades lighter, hinting at the large amount of layers of dust, dirt or grime covering her body. The armor, on closer look, seemed to be dingy and unpolished as well. Hanging at the woman's side was an almost ultraviolet-colored, crystallized sword. Its hilt was silver and had a blue gem on its pommel.

The woman sounded tough, weary, and tired all at once when she spoke.

"Who are you? How did you descend from space?"

Although she might not realize it, Kira was in intermediate danger from arrows pointed at her from hidden locations. No one in the village would know anything of her 'Nova powers,' however, and knew not the extent of how that would protect Kira.

Devvri was still standing there, sword not drawn, waiting for an answer.

Except for the mainly human cities of light, the planet was basically a world plunged into medieval darkness.

Marth followed Jad--unwilling to not know the instant there was any trouble.

Devvri raised a critical eye for a moment, but then - her features lighting up like the moon - she gave a soft laugh. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice losing some of its bluntness, "but we had to be sure. I have a talisman here--that glows, and emits heat, whenever anyone lies to the wielder. You are welcome here, Kira of Axion."

Another knight - this one dressed clearly for battle in full armor, the silver metal surrounded by a billowing blue cape - stepped out of hidden shadows, from the eve of one building. He walked up to stand beside Devvri.

She grinned. "I told you, Keth. Not an enemy. But," she said, turning back to Kira, "who are you looking for? Keth and I are the only humans here--and anyone would have told us if they saw another. Like you, now."

Devvri couldn't have clamped her hand over Kira's mouth any quicker than if she'd actually been aware of her reflexes doing it for her. (Yeah... weird sentence.)

Anyway, Devvri's eyes were wide, and a bit fearful. "Shhh," she whispered, "not here. The natives aren't exactly... friendly, for our kind. Don't talk about futuristic things when they can hear. Yes, there are human cities. But the natives are desperately against-- one Eseptian?"

The former half of Kira's reply had been momentarily forgotten as Devvri became fearful of the natives' angry reproach to Kira's words. Keth stepped in.

"Who?" he asked, his voice echoing from his helm, stepping between the two women as Devvri was close to choking Kira. "There have been no new visitors here."

Devvri hesitated, but followed Kira after some time. "Wait," she called out softly. "That's not--you don't understand. They won't hurt you--or at least, not while I'm here, they won't attempt to. But - this Maggie - she's an Eseptian? What did she look like? ...Why was she not here, on her home planet?"

Keth turned and walked away, seemingly to meld into the shadows again. His armor, too, was rather dingy and unpolished, and so he didn't reflect light except when very close, such as the ethereal projections that seemed to emanate from Kira, almost seeming to have a life of its own.

There was something else. A few - very dirty - natives began peering more curiously out of their holes, in examination of Kira. Most lived in thatched, mud-houses (adobe), and some featured small enclosures into the ground, underneath, an open basement of sorts, while others lived in stone tepees of a sort. Most Eseptians here were children. The only few adults were women--no male Eseptians were to be seen, besides the few Kira could somehow sense in the trees.

Eseptos - in this area - was mostly plains, but the village was built in the center of a lush stand of trees. It was tropical - at one point - but the trees were dead now. The entire planet... it was darkening. It was dying.

Devvri had been reaching out a hand as she drew nearer, but stopped short and lowered it. "I see," she said, which would have sounded slightly bitter or disappointed, except that her tone was almost impossible to be perceived as anything but lighthearted and joyous, in any situation.

"Well, if you come to my... er, hut, I'll show you a map to the nearest human populace."

This stranger didn't need to be burdened with troubles. Kevvri felt adamant about not driving her away, but letting her go unhindered if she so chose to. It was, admittedly, very difficult not to pour out years' worth of hope and the heart's imagination on the first stranger who popped up. Strangers didn't pop up often... at all, really.

But this person wasn't interested. End of story. The... Eseptian, was admittedly strange, but that didn't matter.

"I'm Devvri, by the way. I'm sorry that I forgot to mention it earlier."

The door to Vexis' chamber slid open silently. light pouring in and the silhouette of a drone standing in the doorway.

"Enough games. You will go to the bridge immediately." It said plainly and simply, "We are updated of your position instantaneously by the ship. you cannot hide in here... And If you went through the wall, you were no doubt met with the resistance of the Bierium's bondings. The Bieruim shelding for interior walls is two inches. the exterior is three feet. Our rifles have been adjusted to cryo mode to freeze you, should you attempt to become gaseous again."

Devvri knelt down--she was unfamiliar with magic of any sort. "Are you... well, Kira? Kira?"

It just so happened that the direction Kira was facing--it was in the opposite direction, behind them, that the nearest great city was.

Suddenly, there was much shouting from the other side of the small village. Soon, the dark sky lit up like a Christmas tree. From the trees sprang several young, lithe Eseptian males armed with toxic arrows and strange, curved swords that hugged their back, were dashing through the clearings, towards the other side of the village.

Keth was at Devvri's side immediately. "We need to go," he stated gruffly. "We're under attack, and we can't win. They've surrounded us. We need to move south, towards the next village. Closer... to the great city."

Devvri nodded solemnly. "But," she said, turning to the fallen Kira, "we can't leave her. She's... human."

Marth was waiting with Jad, wherever he was. Determined not to be left behind.