She always had a reason to smile. It seemed to be one of her talents. In fact, one of Orthoceras' last memories of Amber was of her cheeky grin, a promise that It'll be fine.
It never was. It never would be.
Every night for the next couple millennia the memory of themself being rushed into the escape pod, the crushing sound of their own heavy breathing mixed in with the faded shouts of Ammonite's orders would be fresh in their mind. The memory of Amber and Petri fading from their vision haunted them, and the last thing they could hold onto was that damned smile.
"Turn around." their voice remained steady, unwavering, just like they had always been when a situation turned dire.
"We have to go back for her." voice cracking, they could see Ammonite's hands clench around the the pod's controls, her lips forming a thin line. "No." she said.
"We can't just leave them!" They didn't know what they were thinking. There was barely enough room for the both of them, how could they have possibly expected summoning their weapon would help any. The handle of their lance had barely gotten the chance to form before the pod came to a halt, Ammonite's hands wrenching themselves around their neck. "Sorry" was the last thing Orthoceras heard before they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
They stayed in their gem for 3 months.
A loud rapping at their door jolted them out of their daze.
"Ortho? Are you busy?"
She took a deep breath, and exhaled. "You can come in." her fists clenching when the sound of her door sliding aside echoed through her quarters.
Onyx gingerly stepped through the frame. They were staring out their window again, Orthoceras seemed to be doing that lately.
"It's Aqua..she wants you on the bridge."
Orthoceras nodded, sluggishly getting up from her seat, gaze lingering on the starry expanse that lay outside the ship.
"What is it this time? Another cargo ship to pilfer?"
Hesitant, Onyx smiled. "No, no, an abandoned colony on some moon. Boss says the planet's gravity pull's too strong and the moon is on a collision course with a gas giant. Might as well see what we can find while we can, right?"
They hummed "Business as usual." Orthoceras trudged past the gem, exiting their quarters.
Onyx sighed.