Warumon 5, where Merthon and Jamis were being held, was once called Montag, by the Vellosians. The smaller Vellosian moon was considered insignificant by most, but for one small fact: it held one of the largest Vellosian synthetic life form production facilities in the known galaxy. When the BG attacked the Vellos, their goal was extermination. And they nearly succeeded. There remained a few pockets of Vellosian life, but their rich traditions and heritage and their lush green home world of Vellos was destroyed.
And the synthetic life forms that they created, used by Federation planets mainly for menial labor tasks were destroyed by their owners per a new Federation law enacted after the synthetic life forms had begun to revolt. A revolt the Vellosians say never happened.
Montag was conspicuous because it was kept nearly intact. To the Vellos, Montag was just a small moon in Velosi space but didn't attract much attention. They called it the dirty rock because it was devoid of the lush green landscape and water the Vellosians needed for survival. But the BG prized it because its one redeeming quality, the synthetic humanoid production facility.
There was one small green jewel on the dirty rock, and that was the Emerald pool which is the only thing that was keeping the two Vellosians currently living on Montag alive.
Every morning Merthon and Jamis were allowed to soak in the emerald waters. It wasn't just time to relax. The waters held properties they needed for survival. Their skin absorbed the nutrients from the water much like a human would drink or a BG worm gained sustenance from the soil.
And even though the BG had allowed Merthon and Jamis to make special tanks to sleep in at night, they had convinced the BG overlords that full immersion in the pool was necessary for survival, which was a lie. But it was useful for something else entirely: communication. In the Emerald pool the Velosians could send thoughts to each other. They only had five minutes, but it was useful to trade secrets.
One morning in the pool, Jamis was particularly upbeat. Merthon had grown gradually despondent with each passing day, as the glorious hero he had put all of his skill into, the one with special gifts that no synth had ever been blessed with, had not come.
"Do not ask about him," said Merthon to Jamis under the water in the Emerald pool, the BG warriors standing above them totally oblivious to their thought waves.
"I have begun something,” said Jamis. "Something that may get me killed. But I believe that's a foregone conclusion anyway."
"What have you gone and done, you fool," said Merthon. Relieved to be talking about anything other than a hero that had failed to arrive. His hope that he would had now dwindled to nothing. "You didn't try and throw hydroxy tabs into the mix again did you? That nearly got us both executed. Very hasty on your part, I might add."
"Yes, that was a bold move, and stupid. But this time it's not what is added, it's what I've begun to leave out."
"You can't leave anything out, you old fool. Even the BG are smart enough to monitor the water content."
"Of course. I'm not a fool. The thing that is left out must be left out gradually and with great care. Their water analyzers tend to read a little high on one particular nutrient that I have been slowly reducing."
"Well, are you gonna tell me?"
“Yes, but you’ll also need to know how to—” and then his words were cut off as a metal arm had reached into the water snatching them both up.
The Vellosians stared at each other, held in the metal clutches of a BG warrior, the only sound was the drip, drip of water onto the surface of the pool.
“The Emperor has commanded that you two shall no longer be in contact,” the warrior said.
There was no time to argue. Merthon looked at Jamis, the water still covering both of them. “Tell me!” he thought.
But it was too late, his thoughts were cut off once more.
And Merthon and Jamis never spoke to each other again, each of them toiling away in separate sections of the synthetic life form production facility on the moon formerly known as Montag.
Alacyte
Duval
Bakahne Grana Alacyte Production Facility #1
Jolo stared at the big screen on the bridge into the darkness. It felt good to be on the ship again. There were too many things in his head: Jaylen, the BG and Federation wanting to kill him, and the fact that he didn't quite know who, or exactly what, he was. It all swirled in his mind and clouded his thinking. A few hours earlier he found out where Jaylen was. And that still pulled hard in his heart, but for the moment there was something more pressing to attend to: the burning anger inside of him.
He plotted a course for the other side of the planet. Koba had fixed the voice command issue so finally he had full charge of the Jessica. That was all he needed. If the bastards wanted him dead for being a synth, which he clearly wasn't, then he was going to give them all a much better reason to kill him. It's one thing to kill a man for being a synth when he
