text: [Themes: sci-fi, war]
  
  "That's all I need to know for now."
  "Okay then, I have a question, what are you planning to do?"
  "What do you mean?" you ask.
  "Well specifically I mean what do you plan to do with me?"
  "I haven't decided yet...can you leave this facility?"
  "Not on my own, I can't stray too far from my power source, if I tried to leave, I'd probably disappear and given the deterioration over time, I probably can't even leave this room now. I don't want to die, but I don't really relish the idea of being a prisoner here all by myself. As narrow-minded as the Xont were at least I had someone to talk to."
  "Isn't there someway to transport your program?"
  "I doubt you have the means, you wouldn't be able to just download me into whatever computers you may have. I was designed by Xont technology and I'll only work in their systems, you'd have to use something similar to put the storage device on or find a working Xont holo-emitter."
  "Is there one of those here?"
  "There was, but I don't know where it might be, let alone if it still works. There could be one in the underground level"
  "There's an underground level?"
  "Of course, you didn't think this place was just one level did you? The Xont always liked building underground rather than up. I'd be careful if you decide to go down there, it could be completely safe, but they were doing some secret experiments that even I wasn't allowed to know about, so who knows what's still lingering down there. You may be putting yourself at great risk, you sure your Empire is worth it?"
  "What do you mean?"
  "I'm not an idiot, the only possible reason why you're entertaining the idea of transporting me out of here, is so you can gain whatever information I can give you and your Empire, or whatever you call your system of government. No doubt to gain an advantage over your enemies and rule the galaxy. Time may have passed, but I know some things never change."
  "If you think that, why help us?"
  "A sense of being useful? Purpose? Perhaps I've grown too cynical to care, but it's better than being stuck here. I had to put up with the Xont for centuries. Your race cannot possibly be worse. It is ultimately up to you, what you want to do."
  
  > Don't risk it
  You think about it and decide not to risk it; in fact you feel you've put yourself at risk above and beyond the call of duty. You've been sent to a deadly jungle planet with hostile natives you've had to fight, along with the heat and diseases. You and your team got temporarily infected by some virus weapon by a race long since dead, not to mention fighting their "pets" and you're still possibly in danger being in this contaminated facility. The Empire hardly appreciates your efforts as it is; you've done more than enough, let someone else do more.
  
  "I don't think we'll be going down there. I think I've done more than my bit to go putting myself or a member of own my team in more danger." You say. The hologram looks a bit surprised, it even smiles.
  "Then I was right, your race isn't worse than the Xont. At least some of your people don't live and die for their government so readily. Or you're able to think for yourself to a degree that you're unwilling to risk your life out of self-preservation. Either way it shows a lot more intelligence than the average Xont."
  "There will be an Empire ship coming to pick us up in a few months, they'll be better equipped to handle whatever may be down there, plus along with all the information I can report. We can still get you out of here so you won't be stuck."
  "No, I'll give you something better; I'm going to destroy myself and this place."
  "What?! Why? I thought you didn't want to die."
  "Maybe its time. Oddly your simple choice has made me see that perhaps some things can change. If I was transported out of here to give my knowledge to your people, what then? I live the remainder of my existence in yet another galaxy spanning power, having to put up with the arrogance and witness the cruelty until that it eventually collapses and I'm found in another facility like this one, centuries later by some different explorers and repeat the cycle again? No, once was enough. I'm an ancient relic that should've been destroyed when the Xont fell. I'll be activating the self-destruct sequence soon; I'd suggest you and your companion leave quickly."
  "You sure about this?"
  "Yes I'm sure, but I enjoyed our little talk human, goodbye...I wonder if there will be an afterlife for me?"
  
  You and Alyssa rush out of the facility as quickly as possible, on your way out you notice some dead Elojin, looks like they tried to ambush your team and lost. You aren't too far away when a large explosion occurs. You and Alyssa immediately take cover. Shortly your team comes running towards your direction to see what happened.
  
  "Sir, you're all right! What the hell happened?"
  "Nothing happened. We didn't find anything here. The whole Xont thing is a myth. Understand?"
  The rest of your team looks a bit confused at first, but then agree. You spend the rest of your time on Paradise at the Lizard village without incident. One day you go back and check where the Xont structure stood, but there's nothing there except a large crater. You wonder about the underground part of the facility, if it's still intact and what secrets that it may still hold, but you realize the hologram was right. Some things are better left in the past and buried.
  
  When the Empire ship comes, you report how you suffered casualties with Elojin forces and that there was nothing of importance on Paradise. They nod and write it off as a low priority, and send you on your next mission. Hopefully this one won't have any "mythical civilizations" on it.