The small boy grasped Jack’s hand with surprising strength as they fled through the darkness from the killing machines - everything and everyone he’d ever known were gone. His mother and father had fought the monsters with balls of bright energy that leapt from their hands, but in the end they had each fallen to the overwhelming forces that had come down from the night sky. He had run through the night, trying to escape, trying to understand; he made it as far as the ocean until he could run no more. The monsters gathered around him, and he knew he was going to die, but then a boy several years older had walked calmly from between the death machines and took his hand. “They’re still following us,” shouted Tan. “Stay calm, don’t do anything they’ll see as a threat,” replied Jack, holding the small boy’s hand and leading them across the sand. “What are they, and why are they hesitating to attack?” asked Tan. “Those are Eroden Battle Drones,” explained Jack. “They’re programmed to kill everyone from this planet, but we’re not from this planet, so they’re confused and trying to figure out what to do; it’s a fault in their programming.” Tan tore his eyes from the machine following them and looked at Jack. “The kid isn’t from this planet?” Jack shook his head. “He’s the Gatekeeper’s son. The Gatekeeper should have sent a warning through the gate back to Gate Command when the Erodens invaded, but he wasn’t supposed to fight, I don’t know what he was thinking.” Tan glanced over his shoulder at the alien death machine. “You said the Gatekeepers live their whole lives on the planet with the gate they guard. I understand what he was doing. He was defending all the friends he’s made here; he was defending his home.” “My dad said an army is coming,” the boy’s small voice offered. Jack nodded and let go of the boy’s hand. “Okay, that means the Gatekeeper got the distress call out before he was killed. The Sherata and Aeden army will pour through the gate at any moment now. We have to go.” Tan reached down and took the boy’s other hand. “You can’t leave him here, Jack. If the kind of power I’ve seen out of you is about to happen on the scale of clashing armies, this place is going to turn into molten slag. His father would want us to take him to safety.” Jack frowned. “Weren’t you just complaining about a space alien kidnapping you, and now you want to kidnap someone.” Tan shook his head. “He’s one of your own people, Jack. Prove you’re not the criminal people think you are, save the boy.” Tan scooped the boy up and held him in his arms. “Do the right thing, Jack.” “I am doing the right thing,” protested Jack, his eyes glancing in several directions looking for escape routes. “I got him away from the Battle Drones, didn’t I?” Tan pressed his lips together for a moment. Jack might be an alien from a world so advanced he could harness the power of the sun, but he was still just a boy and needed guidance. “Jack, you let go of his hand when you heard the Aeden army is coming. You don’t want caught by the Sherata and got scared. I know when someone is about to bolt off at a dead run.” Jack took a deep breath and lowered his head. “You’re right, I was about to run. I’m ashamed. We’ll take him with us until I can find someone to leave him with.”