After my business at the military hospital concluded, I drive back home. It is about a two hour drive from the middle of the desert where the New Republic Southern Military Hospital is to the city of Jealousy, where I live. It is not a journey I make lightly, yet still I have nothing to show for my troubles.

  I return to Jealousy some time in the afternoon. Bumper-to-bumper traffic impedes my progress even further; everyone tries to get back into the city at this hour.

  Jealousy is the major population center on this planet, Frontier, but that isn't saying much. The planet Frontier was founded by a coalition of humans and rakkar during the First War some few thousand years ago. The location of the planet Frontier, in deep space, far away from the conflicts of other species, allows it to enjoy relative peace. The planet itself is mostly barren though. Beyond the limits of the few scattered municipalities there is naught but unexplored wilderness inhabited by monsters. They are all mostly harmless creatures, but creatures driven by primal instinct nevertheless. Frontier is really nothing special. In recent years people seem to have figured that out and have been leaving in droves. If I had my way I would have already been long gone as well. There is only one reason preventing me from doing so.

  I pull into my apartment's parking lot, park, and get out of my truck. Nobody is around to greet me. Not that I expect such, but it would have been a welcome change. It took longer to get home than I expected; it is already early in the evening. My apartment complex has only two floors, a handful of residents, and a small dirt lot to park in. Most people prefer to live nearer to downtown, if they can afford it, but not me. Atop the outdoor stairs to the second floor, the first door at my left, is my unit - my home.

  Inside, clean and dirty clothes intermingle together in a very familiar mess. The same mess has been festering for who knows how long, but none of it belongs to me. I have long abandoned control and upkeep of the living room, or lack thereof, to my roommate, Sera Finn.

  "I'm home." I say as I shut the door behind me.

  My roommate, Sera, sits on the couch in front of a retro-style box television which sits on the ground. Her plush throne is decorated with all manner of unwashed clothes and snack food wrappers. Her appearance is as disheveled as her surroundings with a tangled mess of curly bramble of hair. Her skin glows a ghastly pale from staying inside all day. Her skeletal figure remains hunched in front of the object of her obsession, the screen. She plays some kind of video game as I enter - she always is. "Welcome back." Sera says. "How'd the visit to the hospital go?" She can't even be bothered to pause or even avert her attention from her game alongside her greeting.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Could've gone better." I walk past her to my bedroom, shut the door behind me, and bury myself face first into my bed.

  After a few minutes and a loud "GAME OVER" rings out from the television, Sera opens my door a little and peeks inside. "Hello? Can I come in?" I don't bother to answer. Sera and I get along well enough, we are cordial, but I would much rather be alone at this moment. If I have learned anything of her in her short tenure as my roommate thus far, it is that empathy is not one of her closely held virtues.

  Sera enters inside anyway and sits at the foot of my bed. "So, how is he? That... guy. Is he going to be okay?"

  "Iskir. His name is Iskir."

  "R-right. Iskir." From the corner of my eye I see Sera whip out her phone, mash away at the keyboard, and conceal it once more. "What exactly happened?"

  "The doctor said his body is deteriorating but he isn't in imminent danger." I reply. "He said there isn't much they can do if they don't even know what caused the wounds. I don't really understand the situation all too well, but basically they can't investigate any further because the Ministry of Defense is holding onto the attacker's weapon. Without the weapon, the hospital staff can't even begin to theorize what could be causing the deterioration."

  Sera nods along. "So, did you ask the Ministry of Defense about the weapon?"

  "It took me several months just to get permission to visit the military hospital. I had been trying even before you moved in. The doctor who works for the Ministry of Health and Welfare hasn't even been able to get them to cooperate. If they aren't going to share details with another ministry about the investigation, they aren't going to fill me in on anything I don't already know."

  Sera crosses her arms. "Not with an attitude like that! In times like this, you just gotta be persistent and bold. Just go down to the Ministry of Defense office and bother them in person. If you need to know about the weapon to help your friend, then your next course of action seems clear."

  I know what I need to do. I am just tired. Tired of dealing with these government entities who don't even have the sympathy in their hearts to respond to my grief. They are nameless, faceless, goons who see me as an obstacle to an easy paycheck. I can only be told not to worry, and the matter is being looked into so many times before it becomes disheartening. Sera leans forward with an intent look and stares at me. I can't meet her gaze.

  Sera continues, "Look, I know how bad you want to help... Iskir. You badgered the Ministry of Health and Welfare's people for months until they finally let you visit. I saw you on the phone all day, almost everyday, sometimes on hold for an hour. You just gotta keep doin what you've been doin."

  "This is different."

  Sera places her hand against my cheek. She turns my face towards hers and our eyes meet, an intimate gesture of familiarity foreign to me. I have never experienced Sera so bold nor consoling before. Her forwardness is uncharacteristic of what I know of her, to say the least. We really don't know each other that well. She says to me, "Let's go to the Ministry of Defense's office and see if we can find some clues. I'll go with you, okay?"

  I think for a bit, but capitulate to her encouragement. "Okay. We'll go tomorrow."