The silence of space was defining at the same time it was familiar.. Accelerating down towards the curvature of the strange moon, Adam found that he had too much on his mind to really appreciate the view. On his shoulder, Lord Celex lounged like they weren't falling at ever increasing speed towards the planet surface. It had been Adam's idea to do an orbital insertion with a low opening down to the planet's surface. They didn't know for sure what kind of technology these people had, so it was best to operate assuming the worst.

From the omen, they had used orbital cameras to zoom in on the plant's surface. The cameras on the Empyrean were so powerful that they could pick up the resolution of a single dust moat. Needless to say there wasn't any evidence of weapons stations or gun batteries,, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.

From what they HAD seen, the entire planet was a geological hotbed for volcanic hot springs, though there were no noticeable volcanoes. It seemed that the abundance of geothermal activity was enough to vent pressure from under the moon's surface. Much of the planet was covered in a thick layer of minerals shed by the boiling water, and this included vast deserts of shallow, brittle crust covered in lightly simmering water.

Barring that there were shallow mountain ranges made primarily of piled crystal, and strange formations including arches and natural monoliths. Adam would have loved to explore the palace had they not been currently dealing with a potential void crisis.

The zealot compound was easy to map on their cameras, a large sprawling complex of tunnels, pools and open air amphitheaters that the zealots used for their strange rites and rituals. Guessing where the theocrat might be had not been difficult. One of their mapping specialists had been quick to point out the massive temple just off from the main compound. It was tall and thin stretching many stories into the sky, It was seated on a small island surrounded by a lake of boiling water and curtained at all times by a thick layer of steam.

That was their target.

However the zealots and their acolytes weren't the only thing to worry about. Their orbital scans had indicated and abundance of life that seemed native to the planet. Strange long winged bat like creatures, three meter tall snail things. Foot wide crabs that lived almost exclusively in the hot springs, herds of long legged animals, all of which seemed impervious to the boiling water.

But there was also evidence of some larger predator. They hadn't gotten a good look at it because most of its body had still been inside a spring, but the group of them had watched as a massive worm like creature lunched out of one of the hosprings and took one of the deer in its mouth hole before vanishing back into the boiling water.

Adam had no desire to meet one of them, but he was prepared in any case.

The suit around his body began to rattle as they entered the upper atmosphere. The cooling coils hidden within the armor began to pull power as heat and flame licked up against the edges of his visor. That was alright, now that he had better access to his anima, he was basically a power source for the suit, a convenience that fealty greatly appreciated.

Outside, Celex clung to his his suit with his strange celex feet, his fur whipped straight back behind him. Fire licked at his fur though it did not catch.

How strange they must have looked.

A gage inside his helmet clicked away at their altitude.

"So, have you come up with a name?"

The casual conversation was done telepathically, so the roaring of the fire did not interfere with the volume. Adam sighed, "No, not yet.... I guess I still haven't grasped that this is really happening. HE had other thoughts about it too, and so did Sunny. They had chosen not to tell anyone barring Celex and Conn who would have known anyway. Sunny was still very early in the pregnancy and both of them weren't willing to say anything for another month or so. Sunny's own mother had a history of difficult births miscarriages, and genetic defomities in her children. Out of all the kids she had given birth too (the total was still unknown as they couldn't be sure Dzara was the only abandoned child) Kanan was the only one who had come out hole. A part of Sunny expected to follow the same path as her mother, and didn't want to get her hopes up too early.

Adam couldn't help but feel her sentiment as he was basically inside her head.

Celex understood all this, but dutifully chose to ignore it in favor of what Adam had actually said, "She didn't go for Jabba huh?"

Adam found himself smiling, "She didn't but whoever said our kid can't have a nickname."

"You would nickname a little girl jabba? I feel like that falls under cruel and unusual punishment."

"Like its any different from calling your kid bubba. Besides when she is born, I am going to make sure she has the best self esteem of any little girl that has ever existed." He already had plans. Adam had been excited to have a son, immensely and he was just as excited to have a daughter. Of course if he had another son he certainly wouldn't complain about it, but he really did hope it was a girl.

"Have you mayhaps met your niece Kimber>"

Adam couldn't help but grin as the memory of Celex's first encounter with her entered his mind.

She had heard about him well beforehand, and unfortunately knew good and well exactly what he had done as emperor. Adam could see her face in Celex's head as she looked up at him resting her small hands on her hips, "You're not as scary as you think you are." Celex had been nonplussed, "I looked you up on the internet, and it told me you blew up a planet."

"I did."

She had stared at him for a long moment, "Can you teach me how to do that?!"

He had liked her almost immediately.

Even a few seconds later when she said, "Can you really shapeshift?"

Celex had not anticipated her ulterior motive, when he turned back into himself and was neatly scooped up off the ground and hugged like a plushy stuffed animal she might have won from a prize booth.

To date Kimber was only the second person to have hugged a Celzex and lived to tell about it.

Adam pinned his hands and legs together oriented down like an arrow. Together they passed through the upper layer of clouds. They had chosen to come down during the evening, and the sky had already dimmed to a deep purple. Stars were beginning to wink into existence through the atmosphere behind them.

They were low enough now that hsi front visor was suddenly fogged by a waft of steam from a few hundred feet below. His indicator peeped sharply and adam flipped over firing his jetpack once to slow his fal . He wanted to do this as low as possible here behind these spires so, hopefully no one at the distant compound would notice them.

They landed softly leaving only a small scuff in the mineral behind one of the pillars, and waited.

There was no sound other than the distant night chattering of strange alien animals.

A few hundred yard saway one of those strange crabs scuttled from one pool of water to another.

Adam peered out from behind the crystal monolith switching on his night vision which lit the world around him like it was daytime, the ambient light cast down from the nearby gas giant reflecting light off the crystal, was more than enough for his equipment to work with.

The ground was relatively open in front of him, shallow pools of water, marked by colorful heat basking algae in many different colors. He would have to avoid that to keep from leaving tracks and so maped his way forward carefully. From here he could see the temple was guarded, or not necessarily guarded, but there were acolytes spaced evenly across the compound hidden away in alcoves. However years of peace had made them lazy and most of them used this time to simply meditate and chant, caught up in their devotion to shanshara.

Others, probably the younger and more inexperienced of them, had fallen asleep.

This would be too easy.

Celex closed his eyes and ranged his thoughts out in all directions acting as Adam's watch as he hurried over the crystal in the darkness. There wasn't much he could do to keep his feet from crunching against the ground, but the roaring of the hot springs was more than enough to drown him out. He encountered a few more crabs on his way as he followed the perimeter of the compound, passing below a meditating acolyte and then crossing over a shallow crystal bridge.

At one point he passed no more than a few meters behind a sleeping acolyte, but still no one stirred.

The closer he grew to the compound amphitheater, the more clearly he could what the distant chanting. The Zelots were back at their worship, confirming that there would be no better time than now.

"Stop!"

Adam froze as Celex's words invaded his mind, and he quickly hurried to the side crouching out of sight behind a crystal pillar.

It was a few more moments before he could pick up the thoughts in his own head, and even longer before he managed to hear them with his own ears.

"This does not bode well, sister."

The two blue robed acolytes came into view around the side of the building, both of them the strange bird like species of the Zelots, "Yes, outsiders in Shanshara's court, the prophecies are clear ."

The two muttered darkly.

"And to think there were members of the council that were willing to believe him."

One shot the other a scathing look, "Are you suggesting that members of the council could be corrupted."

The original speaker stumbled a sort of apology, "No no, thtas not what I.... meant not at all its just. How can they simultaneously be right at the same time."

"Shanshara knows the reason. Trust in her and all will be revealed."

There was silence for a moment as the two turned down Adam's path forcing him to scramble around his pillar at the same rate at which they walked to keep himself invisible, "What does the council plan to do about the problem.

"What they always do, put the heretic on trial."

"But we saw what he did, how do you put something on trial that is that powerful."

Thee two paused, and one cast a scathing look at the other, "Your lack of faith in Shanshara is disappointing. She will provide a way. The two kept walking

Celex snorted.

"Shanshara is welcome to come down and stop us at any time."

Adam grimaced, "Don't say it like that, it makes it sound like you want to seduce her."

"You said it, not me."

Adam sighed, "Why are all my friends annoyingly thirty all the time."

He began to move forward over the ground checking behind him to make sure no one was watching.

Celex snorted, "Thats the pot calling the kettle black."

"I find your use of human idioms to be both wildly amusing and somewhat disturbing."

Celex rolled his eyes to the sky, "You are the only one of your friends that has children, so there is nothing that you can say here.."

"Compared to you I am the virgin Mary. How many children do you have."

Celex paused, "Who keeps count?"

That almost made Adam laugh out loud, which he had to stifle.

"Besides, only one of my kids is all that important, so why would I care about the others."

It never failed to stun him the sheer lack of parental instinct that Celzex as a species possessed, a fact he finished contemplating as they finally made their way to the edge of the boiling lake. Steam rose in a haze before them rising up towards the dark sky. It was so thick it was almost impossible to see through. Adam could only imagine the smell as the filters in his helmet kept it out.

He almost felt bad for Celex.

He could only imagine what having a Maker nose would do to the experience.

"I think the bridge was over that way." Celex said motioning with one hand/foot.

Adam followed the gesture quickly and silently around the boiling edge and towards the natural bridge, and he was almost there when Celex cursed.

An image flashed through his mind, of many red robed figures heading their way. It seemed that they hadn't arrived at the perfect time, and the only thing standing between them and getting caught was a curtain of steam.

There was nowhere to run.

Nowhere to hide

Except.

THe boiling lake just to his side.

If this had not been a dire situation Adam knew he would never have been able to do it, human instinct simply would not have permitted jumping intentionally into boiling water, but as the zealots were about ready to pass through the fog, he launched himself to the side despite every atom in his body screaming no.

He doubted there were many humans in the history of humanity that would intentionally jump towards boiling water, but he did. He closed his eyes half expecting agony as he plunged through the churning surface, but to his surprise almost nothing happened. As he sunk downwards through the churning bubbles he found fielty humming softly completely content with the situation at hand . If it could manage the extreme temperatures of space, than a dip in a boiling lake was no big deal.

"Warn me next time will you."

That was celex who, Adam was surprised to find, was still with him.

And

Talking.

Apparently Makers could withstand boiling point temperatures which was good to know.

He continued to sink for some time before his feet hit the bottom. The water around his wasn't pitch black but it was still difficult to see.

Now what?