Cathos

In the sky, the Alien vessel began to move slightly, before it emanated two brilliant white flashes, and in an instant, the vessel was gone, bathing the ocean in blackness once more.

"Raw crystal..." Lance repeated, looking up at the city, then back at the crystal in his hand. "But why are you giving it to me? And are all raw crystals this orangey-red color? It's kind of pretty...I understand why you kept it unprogrammed for this long."

Meanwhile, the colors and skyscrapers of Trosis were visible in the odd twilight, making a surprising vibrant and beautiful scene. In the presence of other buildings, the weird lighting made more sense than when they were alone in the middle of the ocean. It seemed less ominous.

Everything was beautiful, then suddenly it was too bright, before it was too dark. It took Zeek's eyes a few moment to register exactly what had happened. The sky was once again dark with a simply aurora. The sea was returned to an onyx abyss. He blinked at the city as it began to crowd his peripherals.

They were too close to explain everything, and Zeek had no idea how to explain any of that. He was rightfully baffled on today.

"It's gone."

Lance looked around the sky, searching for the massive ship that was there literally a few seconds ago. No sign or traces of it. It had flown off and took the lavender light with them.

Zeek was indeed correct.

"Huh," Lance muttered out loud, "How about that. Maybe they were scouts?" He'd never actually seen them scout when he was on Blackrock encountering these ships. But then again...he had arrived in the meat of the action. Perhaps he'd missed that portion of the planet's invasion.

"I'd be wary about them coming back. Who knows what they'll do."

Trosis

A coastal city spanning a wide area separated by numerous inlets. The largest city on Cathos and the seat of power for the nation.

Zeek stared into the night sky. If they were as malicious as Lance made them seem, he hoped their return wouldn't come.

The two zoomed on in the pod, reaching the watery outskirts of Trosis. Far beneath them was the underwater portion of the city for the rell. Curious structures definitely not suitable for humans glowed. If one looked close enough, they'd see it was bustling with activity. As they approached the land part of the city, Zeek noticed there were a lot of people outside. So many people, and lots of rell in their land suits too.

"We're almost here," Zeek tried his best to grin at Lance through the worry that sat on his mind.

Lance kept staring at the night sky, picturing the ships...what he saw...what he heard. He almost wished he could Transicom in to the doctor and ask him for the prototype back so he could hear the potential conversations going on in the ship above. But he couldn't do that to the man, who was probably sleeping now anyway. Despite his telling Lance to call him in case he ever needed anything, not matter the time of day, he tried to make the night calls as less frequent as possible.

Looking up at the sky, he had a determined look on his face. If they came back, he wouldn't run this time. He would help defend this place.

We're almost here...

Lance turned to the smiling Zeek and smiled in return. They both knew they were fake smiles. But a genuine light of curiosity poked through Lance's eyes as he viewed the city up ahead...all of it. Lance saw the city above where they would probably be staying. But he hadn't noticed the city below the surface until now. This was where he presumed the underwater species, the Rell as they were called, lived. The buildings were intriguingly weird and he wondered why the Rell designed them in such a way, for aesthetics or functionality.

As they entered the outskirts, Lance couldn't help but worry just a bit. It wasn't about the space ships he recognized, but about the people's reaction to such a strange newcomer, carrying foreign weapons, wearing foreign clothes, and using foreign technology. To be honest, he expected them to believe he was part of the crew that was in the sky just minutes before. And he wasn't sure that was a good thing. Not everyone was Zeek.

He looked down at the orange crystal he held in his hand. It glowed softly, giving him comfort strangely enough. He usually just fought off the worries he had, hiding them behind a cool and casual facade as he battled opponents. This time...

The crystal truly made those feeling melt. He wasn't sure of it was a natural ability of it or whether it was a placebo, but he'd take it.

He gripped the crystal tighter in his hand, genuinely smiling as the two approached their destination.

Lance and Zeek sped into the the city of Trosis, unknowing what they would find there...