You look down, fall to your knees and weep. You realize Alyssa is right. This was a fool’s quest. There probably isn’t a Xont ruin here, and if there is, you aren’t anywhere near it. The Elojin might’ve even given you wrong directions on purpose. You’ve gotten everyone killed for no good reason. You weren’t any better than the Empire.
“I’m sorry.”

Alyssa holds you for awhile, and takes the coins from you and throws them into the river.

“Its okay Captain, it wasn’t your fault.” She says. As you welcome her cold body next to yours, you collapse from exhaustion.

You drift in an out of consciousness, you know you’re moving, but it’s like you’re being dragged, eventually you fully wake up with all your capabilities. You see Alyssa.

“What’s going on? What happened?”
“You probably shouldn’t be up and around yet.” Alyssa tells you.
“But what’s happened?”
“Well after you passed out, me and few of the remaining team members that were still alive, took the raft apart and used some of it to make a stretcher instead, which we put you on. Unfortunately, we got attacked again by some more Lizards. I was the only one who survived, so I had to drag you the rest of the way and abandon the rest of the equipment. I would’ve gone back for some of it, but I didn’t want to leave you alone.”
“Well I’m up now, so we should go back for it, we’re going to need what little supplies we have left, because the Empire ships still aren’t going to be here for awhile.”
“So we are going back to the Empire?”
“Well, I can’t think of anything else. I mean what’s the alternative? Hide and live on this planet?”
“It’s up to you Captain.”
“No, I want to be off this planet as soon as possible. I hate this place and what happened to me. Even facing an Empire tribunal and execution sounds better than spending one more day here.”
“Why would that happen?”
“Well come on, I was speaking treason before. I shot an Empire Indoctrinator. I’d say I’m in pretty big trouble.”
“Who saw it? Who heard it? I didn’t see or hear any of those things. When I told you my loyalty was to you and not the Empire, I meant that Captain.”

You realize you nearly lost everything in trying to gain nothing. Alyssa’s willingness to say nothing and her loyalty is more than payment for whatever she thinks her debt is to you for saving her life. If anything, you’re indebted to her. And even though Alyssa thinks you were under some sort of mind control, you still vow that you’ll never act that reckless ever again.

When the Empire ships come, you both back each other up about a story of Elojin ambushes, and hostile Lizard natives everywhere. You suggest there’s nothing of any worth on the planet except death. Your superiors nod and decide to bombard the place with mass drivers so nobody else can use it as a secret base of some sort, and you’re sent on your next mission where you’ll find your new replacements.

You and Alyssa always keep what happened on Paradise a secret, and not just the Xont incident, but the OTHER thing that occurred a few days after the incident.

Well okay maybe the other thing occurred more than a few times, and still occurs from time to time…