What we saw was a large space, some kind of hangar, filled with dozen of those aircraft, and hundreds of soldiers. Some were standing on guard, others walking with intent, but all of them were armed.

I quickly noticed another type of alien walking towards our ship. The creature was much smaller than the tall soldiers. It was wearing a white greek-style robe with many decorations made of gold on the long, pale-green arms. The face of the creature was really small, and head very bulbous, with big dark-blue eyes. The cheekbones were also very prominent, and high.

- It's time for you to live the ship - said Shork Tazzar.

He clearly didn't want us to stay on his vessel more than we absolutely had to. We got outside, just as the other alien managed to reach us.

- Welcome humans - they said with perfect English, and a nice melodic voice, which actually surprised me.. - I'm Katri Xel Avakadaisu, Atri. I'm in charge of human affairs, and I will guide you from now.

- Hi Katri - said Will, smiling awkwardly.

- In Dispurian Katri means slave. You should call me Avakadaisu - the alien smiled gently.

- Then what does Xel mean? - asked Boris. - Is it your surname?

- Xel means that I'm the royal slave. Please follow me.

We exchanged awkward looks and followed our new guide, who just turned around, and started walking.

- We are going to the warp something... Aren't we? - asked Will after a few steps.

- Yes. You will go to Dispur, and fight for your place in the Ixan empire in front of the imperial official. If you fail, your species will forever be slaves, just like mine.

- That quickly turned dark - muttered Nil.

- I hope you will win, though - added Avakadaisu.

- So your people, were in a similar situation to us? - Will continued his interrogation.

- Yes. We went with the same path as you did but failed. My species are not strong physically. We thrive in different aspects, so we were defeated quite quickly. Then we tried to fight with the invaders, despite the previous agreement, and we were destroyed, and our people enslaved. It's quite a sad story.historical

- When did it happen? - asked Boris.

- Around seventy cycles ago.

- What's a cycle? - asked Will.

- It's when your planet does a full circle around its star. The time varies depending on the distance of the orbit, but going through the differences in how we count time, compared to you, would take us too long, so let's just go with this.

- Ok - he agreed.

- What happens if we win? -asked Boris.

- If you win, you will become a part of the empire. You will get an imperial advisor, to help you understand the imperial law, and change according to it. You will have to pay the tribute to High Queen Ixa, and will get access to technology, and resources from outside of your world. It's actually very beneficial, but almost impossible to achieve. The emperor Zor'xal has hundreds of planets under his rule, so there is a very slim chance you will be able to win with the forces he gathered.

- We are quite strong ourselves - said Martin.

The alien didn't say anything to that. They clearly had a different opinion and didn't want to argue.

- I'm quite confused - said Boris. - She is a queen, and he is an emperor, but from what you said, she is above him. Could you explain?

- Zor'xal is an emperor, but High Queen Ixa rules over many empires. She just prefers the title of high queen. The Dispurian empire is just a small part of the High Ixan Empire, which is an official title, but we don't really use it in common speech, but if you prefer I could use the formal speech.

- There is no need - he said.

We were passing by the ships, and soldiers looking at our every move and heading towards a corridor, that would clearly lead us outside the hangar.

- The soldiers look like they would want to fight us on the spot - Nobuo suddenly pointed out.

- They are Furuli. Race enslaved by Zor'xal a very long time ago. He turned them into fanatics and breads them as his soldiers. They are made to fight, and that is all they can think of. They hate the imperial law that allows the show of strength to join.

- I noticed that you don't call this whole Zor'xal and emperor quite often - I pointed out.

- It's my little rebellion. Sadly, I can't do much more than that. That's why I also hope you will win. I always hope for the invaded civilization to do so, but throughout my whole life, I never saw anybody achieve that. It's quite sad and depressing actually. But please don't lose your resolve. As long as you believe you can win, you have a chance.

- Yeah... Thanks for that - sadi Brois.

The sourness in his voice was too obvious. Will hit him with his elbow, and they bickered whispering for a moment, as we finally reached the corridor. It was way brighter there, as the lamps installed in the ceiling were just blasting us with light.

It quickly became uncomfortable for me, but we kept walking. It was actually quite empty compared to how many aliens were in the hangar. We walked for several minutes, and maybe two people passed by us.

The pathway had many crossings, and T sections, but Katri Xel Avakadaisu led us with confidence, and without any hesitation.

- How far is it? - I asked at some point.

- The ship is very big. It's an hour of walk to the warp hall.

- Don't you have a quicker way to get there if it's so damn far? - asked Will.

- We do, but it was the commander's decision to make you walk all the way from hangar number 27. They actually want to humiliate you, but please don't let them get in your heads. There will be more of it after you reach Dispur, but don't worry. I'll be with you, and I'll support you with a kind word.

- Yeah... That sounds very, and I mean very, reassuring... - said Boris, not hiding his sarcasm at all.

Will hit him again with his elbow, and the bickering restarted.