Lana stretched her legs out and downed a shot glass of bitter Italian coffee perfect for a bitter Italian teen. She slipped out of the cafe without paying, but she left a fairly generous tip for the poor waiter who had to deal with Evan all day. May the stars, aces, and spades curse his wormlike soul she thought to herself as she walked briskly through what was known as Rome in the second era, but was now little more than crumbling buildings and once-wealthy citizens now scouring for any Univs they could get their hands on, some making dilapitated booths and selling anything and everything. Lana tried to ignore them. She always tried to ignore them, but this time one caught her eye. A woman not much older than herself, with dark hair and a baby cradled in her arms.
"Please, bella," she begged, "Does anything catch your eye?" Lana looked at the table, her eyes slipping over all of the mismatched trinkets. One drew her gaze back, a small black ring.
"Do you want the ring?" The girl asked, and Lana nodded briskly. No use wasting time or words, not when they still had Nick captive. She needed to get off of Earth, and fast. She dropped the Univs on the table, and slipped the ring onto her middle finger, figuring that then she'd get to show it off to more people. It was made of a smooth, black stone. Regolith, it dawned on her, and then, Lunar. She turned back to the woman. Their wide eyes met, and the girl shook her head slowly, her eyes pleading.
"Please," the girl whispered.
Lana smirked and walked off to hijack a shuttle.