"What you did was very..."
"Stupid?"
"Brave. And stupid."
Robin paced back and forth in front of the closed door that led to the comms room of the tower, chewing a fingernail, staring into the distance as he walked. His mind ran through possibilities and probabilities and contingencies like a computer, always calculating, always evaluating. The messages had been coming ever more frequently, gaining in urgency and gravity as the situation deteriorated, faster and faster as the days had gone on. It was still possible that a peaceful solution could be found, but the masked Titan didn't believe it. Action would have to be taken.
That was why he had assigned Cyborg to prep the T-ship. Why he had sent Brand to the simulator to get certified on flying the ship's components. Why he had been training everyone harder than ever in the last ten days. Robin knew, with all the certainty of his Batman-trained mind, that his team would need to put their skills to the test in a realm they had very little experience in.
Interplanetary war.
The door to the comms room slid open and Starfire walked out. Walked out. That wasn't a good sign. Neither was her downward glance, looking sad and thoughtful. All thoughts of tactics and strategy were gone in an instant. For a brief moment, Robin wasn't thinking of stopping crimes or fighting battles, he was just a teenager seeing his girlfriend in emotional distress.
"Starfire?" he asked, reaching for her hand to hold it in his. "Is it... bad news?"
The Tamaranean nodded, green eyes sorrowful. "The Citadel has declared war," she said. "Already skirmishes are breaking out across the Vega system. The Gordanians have stated their intentions to join with the Citadel, and Tamaran is in danger of being besieged."
Robin's lips turned down. "Does your planet have any allies? Anyone they could turn to to help them?"
"Perhaps," Starfire said. "But none have yet come forward to stand at our side."
The phrasing didn't escape Robin. Our side. "Your people are warriors, Starfire," he said firmly. "The Citadel would regret attacking them."
The alien girl smiled sadly. "I only wish that were true, but they have requested the assistance of their princess to negotiate a peace."
"They have a Grand Ruler, Kori," the boy wonder reminded her bitterly. It was a childish response, but he couldn't help but be reminded of the last time the red-head had been summoned back home. He had almost lost her then. Had almost lost her forever.
Starfire shook her head. "Galfore is Grand Ruler, but he is not of the royal family. The Citadel will treat with no one less."
Robin squeezed the taller girl's hand, part affectionate, part frustrated. "Last time your planet negotiated a peace with the Gordanians, you ended up a slave," he reminded her, looking down. "What else can they ask of you?"
"It is not what they ask, Dick," she said quietly, and he felt one warm hand against his face. "It is what I offer. They are my people. I cannot leave them to face this threat alone."
The masked Titan nodded against her hand. "I know," he said. He had known for days, but he still had to make an attempt to keep Starfire safe. "And we can't leave you to face it alone, either." He looked back up at her. "The Titans have your back, Star."
A genuine smile came to the girl's face. "Thank you," she said. Then she leaned down to kiss him gently. Robin kissed her back, determined not to let Starfire sacrifice all for a planet that had already rejected her once.
"So... we're going into space," Brand said. He couldn't keep the skepticism from his voice. The Weapon stared up at the massive booster rockets that Cyborg had constructed next to a temporary scaffold. Both big, cylindrical devices gleamed in the light of the setting sun, looking benign and peaceful, belying their destructive force; enough to propel a vessel into orbit. The T-ship would maneuver into place, locking with the rockets, which would then blast them out of the atmosphere and into...
Space.
Absurd.
The cybernetic Titan walked up next to him, dusting his hands off. "That's right," he said.
Brand glanced at the bigger teen. "And this is something you do... often?" he asked.
"Define 'often'," Cyborg said with a shrug of his metal shoulders. "Maybe half a dozen times?"
"And you haven't had any problems?" Brand pressed, pursing his lips.
He saw Cyborg's grin and knew he had asked one question too many. "Oh my lord, if I didn't know any better," he said. "I'd say that the trained assassin is scared."
The Weapon narrowed his eyes. "'Scared' is an over-statement," he said. "Try 'cautious'."
"Right, right," Cyborg chuckled. "I forgot, you're a cold man." He slapped Brand's shoulder reassuringly with enough force to almost knock him flat. "Well if it makes you feel any better, the T-ship is state-of-the-art, as good as anything the Justice League has."
"Like the T-car," Brand said. "That reminds me, how many times has that been completely totaled?"
The big Titan's smile faded. "Beast Boy told you that, didn't he?"
The white-haired teen spun to face Cyborg, raising an accusatory finger. "Even if he lied and told me double the actual amount, the answer would still be 'way too many'."
Cyborg raised his hands. "The T-ship has only gotten wrecked once... maybe twice," he protested.
"Encouraging," Brand said sarcastically. He shook his head. "T-ship, T-car, T-sword... you really gotta' add a creative subroutine in that metal skull of yours."
"Hey, don't knock it," the cybernetic Titan warned. "Besides, you have a 'T' name, too."
The Weapon grimaced, sensing a trap. "Oh?" he asked suspiciously.
"T-pain," Cyborg clarified with a grin.
"Nice one, dude!" Beast Boy cried as he came up, followed by the other Titans. He raised one hand and Cyborg high-fived him firmly.
Robin joined Brand in staring up at the launchpad. "How are we doing, Cyborg?" he asked his second-in-command.
"I still have to add another seat in one of the modules for T-pain," the big Titan explained, jerking a thumb back towards Brand, who rolled his eyes heavenward. "Other than that, we're good to go."
Starfire stepped up, hands clasped together. "Must we wait?" she asked, glancing between Cyborg and Robin. "The most recent messages from Tamaran have been somewhat... panicked."
"Not unless one of use wants to ride on the outside of the ship," Cyborg said with a shrug. "I suggest you bring a sweater, though, because it'll get down to absolute zero."
This time it was Raven who stepped forward. "Uh, Cyborg," she said, pointing at the red-headed Tamaranean as a reminder. "Starfire travels through space unprotected all the time."
The big Titan smacked his forehead with the palm of one hand. "I knew that," he said quickly. "I was just testing y'all." He turned towards Robin again. "We're good to go."
Robin quirked a smile.
In other circumstances, space travel would have been the perfect time to meditate. The quiet, the solitude of the module, the star-pricked darkness, even the cold... all perfect ambiance to center one's mind and focus one's thoughts. But with Cyborg and Beast Boy in the ship and comms open, it was just another road trip in a cramped vehicle. Raven had been forced to listen to her teammates' endless banter for hours now, and it didn't seem like it was going to let up anytime soon.
She supposed it wasn't as bad as it could have been, however. With Starfire flying outside - a green streak above and in front of the T-ship - and unable to communicate, Robin quiet but obviously worrying about her, and Brand silent and pretending not to be nervous about his first spaceflight, the remaining two Titans had been left to carry on the conversation pretty much by themselves.
At long last, though, the chatter reached a lull and Raven breathed a sigh of relief. Then the radio clicked again and Robin's distorted voice came through. "Five minutes until we reach Tamaranean space," he said. The sorceress rolled her eyes. Of course, she thought. There would be no rest for the wicked.
"Hey, uh... Robin?" Beast Boy asked, sounding nervous even through the radio distortion. "Why are we going to Tamaran again?"
Raven turned in her seat to glare at the changeling, who sat in the middle module of the ship. "Have you seriously not been paying any attention?" she asked.
She saw Brand turn in his seat on the opposite wing of the ship from her, that annoying smirk on his face. "Do you really need to ask?" he said. His eyes met hers across the gap, and she looked away, not wanting to encourage him.
"Give me a break, guys," Beast Boy said, "I don't even keep up with politics back on Earth. You think I know what's going on in space?"
"Dude's got a point," Cyborg said from the rear module.
Robin sighed over the intercom. "Okay, here's the deal," he began. "Tamaran is one of over twenty planets in the Vega system. All of these planets have different species on them. Some of them are peaceful. Some aren't. The worst of the bunch are the Citadel. The Citadelians have dreams of ruling a Vega-wide empire, but they're basically dumb brutes. Apparently, someone more intelligent has emerged to lead the Citadel, and they've started expanding across the system, picking fights with all the other races and building a coalition."
"'Someone'?" Cyborg asked. "This sounds like Blackfire's work to me. She's done it before with... Glerd-whatever."
"There's no indication of whether that's the case or not," Robin said, but he sounded hesitant. "Still... whoever is leading the Citadel has set their eyes on Tamaran, and they've joined up with the Gordanians."
Beast Boy piped up. "Gordanians?!" he exclaimed. "Aren't those the guys that Starfire escaped from back when we all met?"
"That's them," Raven confirmed heavily. "At any rate," she continued, picking up the story where Robin had left off. "Starfire was asked by Grand Ruler Galfore to help negotiate a peace since she's the only member of the royal family whose whereabouts are known."
Brand snorted, the sound a burst of static over the intercom.
Raven looked across at the Weapon, whose brow was furrowed. "You have something to add?" she asked.
"If Starfire is just being asked to negotiate with the Citadel, why are we here?" the swordsman said. There was silence for a long moment over the intercom. "Tell us the truth, Robin. We're flying into a war zone."
Several seconds passed. Finally Robin answered. "I'm hoping that won't be the case, but I want you all to be prepared for anything."
"Aye aye, Captain," Beast Boy said confidently. "You can count on me. My eyes are peeled, my ears are perked, and I am ready for whatever happens."
With startling speed, the T-ship decelerated as it reached the region of space around Tamaran's orbit. The planet looked like someone had dripped cherry sauce over a ball of ivory partially obscured by one of the planet's four moons. Starfire had told Raven once – before the previous war with the Gordanians that had ended in her enslavement – her home world had been a lush jungle planet. Now it was blasted and barren, though it still supported life. Even the closest of the moons was habitable, like many other planetoids in the Vega system.
The apparent tranquility of the scene was shattered as lances of light began streaking towards the T-ship. The board in front of Raven lit up as sensors detected the ships that lay between them and their destination. Dozens of ships. Hundreds of ships.
"Oh man!" Beast Boy cried. "I wasn't ready for this!"
Raven grimaced. "We're too late," she said. "The war's already started."
Everyone in the ship seemed to jump, startled, as Starfire appeared suddenly right in front of Robin's module. She looked worried but intense, and gestured with one arm, motioning them to follow. Without waiting, she streaked off towards her home world.
"Okay, Titans," Robin said, sounding as determined as Starfire had looked. "We're going to run the blockade. Separate, but stay close. Leave enough room to maneuver, though. Don't fly straight, make yourself hard to hit. Got it?" There was a chorus of acknowledgments, some enthusiastic, some less so. "Titans, separate!"
There was a grinding from below Raven as the modules disengaged, and the five parts of the T-ship flew free of each other. The sorceress's component, what had formerly been the "wing" of the vessel, rotated underneath her, smaller wings folding out from the main fin beneath her. Brand's, on the opposite end, did the same. The others sprouted thrusters and wings, becoming self-contained vessels of their own.
In loose formation, the five ships followed their alien comrade, blasting towards the blockade at full speed. More enemy vessels began moving towards them, noticing the intruders for the first time, and more and more plasma blasts, laser beams, and solid projectiles homed in on the Titans.
"Holy -!" Brand exclaimed as the sky seemed to light up all around them.
The T-ship components wove an evasive course through the sea of stars, dodging missiles and energy waves, breaking through the siege that surrounded Tamaran. Raven grit her teeth as something pinged off her hull, watching a diminished blast rock Robin's ship. No one had been seriously hit yet, but there were so many. So many!
They were past the terminus between night and day of the nearest moon when it happened. Something struck Raven's ship with explosive force, and her ship leapt, the controls bucking in her hands. "I'm hit," she said, her voice emotionless as ever, despite the surge of adrenaline she felt. Red lights blinked on all over her cockpit, and she heard her engine struggling. The struggle was brief. The thrusters coughed once more and died.
Her ship keeled forward towards the surface of the alien moon, caught in its gravity. "I'm going down," Raven reported.
"I'm going down," Raven said, sounding no more concerned than if she had said "We're out of waffles."
Brand turned in his seat, first one way, then the other, scanning the busy skies for the Titan's ship. No, don't let this be happening, he thought desperately, feeling as if he were the one who had been hit. He spotted her finally, her "t"-shaped vessel an orange blur trailing smoke and fire as it spun in towards the surface of the Tamaranean moon.
"Are you all right?" Robin asked over the radio. He sounded worried, too. His ship was far ahead, the closest behind the viridian streak of Starfire, who, unable to tap into their communications, had no idea anything was wrong. Robin's vessel slowed fractionally.
Raven's reply was garbled by static. "I'll be fine," she said. "You keep going. Follow Starfire."
"You can't be serious," Brand heard himself say.
There was a pause. "Titans," Robin said, his voice strained. "Form up."
"We can't leave her behind!" Beast Boy cried.
Brand distantly heard the changeling's protest, but he had checked out of the conversation, his eyes fixed on the shrinking form of Raven's damaged ship. His hands tightened on the controls. "I didn't need you to save me, Brand!" He heard her say in his memory. And she didn't. She never did.
"Brand, Beast Boy, you heard me," Robin said, more firmly. "Follow us through."
The radio crackled again, even more distorted than before. "Listen to Robin. Do not come after me," Raven commanded.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! Brand thought. What am I supposed to do? He knew what Raven would want him to do, what he had promised he would do. Follow orders. But could he do that? Could he make himself leave the girl behind? Even though only a scant two months had passed since he had attempted to kill the sorceress, the thought of her dying now took his breath away.
"I'm ordering you to follow me," Robin shouted through the comms.
Brand's hands moved of their own accord on the controls, his module veering off to follow Raven's stricken ship. "Screw that!" he shouted. He noticed Beast Boy's ship had also peeled away, both of them going after the sorceress's damaged vessel. A half-dozen enemy fighters spiraled in after them, going after the seemingly helpless Raven. There was a blast of static from the radio, probably Raven telling them one last time not to be stupid, but he ignored it.
The Weapon grit his teeth. Cyborg had trained him how to fly this ship in the simulators, but he was far from an expert. The only advantage he had was that the big Titan had automated many of the processes of flying. That didn't make him a good pilot, though. It doesn't matter, he thought. I'm not going to just fly away and leave her alone. He flipped the switch to activate his weapons and pointed his ship towards one of the enemies speeding towards the damaged module.
Twin sets of shots lanced out at the same time, Beast Boy having picked the same target, which vanished in a satisfying explosion. Fire licked the edges of Brand's cockpit as the three Titans slipped into the atmosphere, and he felt the controls go stiff in his hands, the automated systems kicking in to keep him from frying himself on re-entry.
Still, Brand struggled with the yoke, finding another opportunistic enemy going after Raven and blowing it from the sky. His ship rocked from the increasing air pressure and heat, then rocked more heavily as something else struck him. He was under attack. Swearing mentally, the Weapon dodged as best as he could with the unforgiving controls.
Beast Boy's vessel spun past him, leaking flames and sparks, black scars marking the hull where he too had been hit by enemy fire. Brand couldn't worry about that now, he still had Raven's ship in his sights, watching with held breath as it tumbled through the sky, far below him now. Her damaged ship hadn't been able to correct its course, and it had streaked in like a meteorite, bits and pieces falling off and burning away.
He was still watching, unable to look away, when it hit the ground and exploded. Brand's heart went cold. He didn't feel the shots that continued to hammer at his ship, didn't pay attention to the red lights blinking on all over his displays, barely noticed the starring in his cockpit window and the high-pitched hiss of escaping air.
He felt nothing as he saw the ground rushing up towards him, spinning slowly as his damaged ship listed to the right. All he could see was Raven's ship crashing far below. Brand's lip twitched, and his hands went limp on the controls.
"NO!" Robin shouted, watching on his scopes as the blips representing Beast Boy and Brand moved closer to the alien moon. Only Cyborg had stayed with him, following Starfire as she arrowed towards Tamaran, a shrinking dot of green. He couldn't let her go on alone, but he couldn't leave the others behind.
You have a mission, he thought. The words weren't in his voice. They were in a lower, gravelly tone, a voice that Robin trusted. A voice that had taught him much. The boy wonder's eyes squeezed shut under his mask.
"What are we gonna' do, Robin?" Cyborg asked, sounding angry, though whether he was angry at Robin, the others, or the universe itself was hard to tell.
Robin hesitated for an endless moment. "We keep going," he said at last, his voice sounding hoarse and far away in his own ears. Each syllable cut him like a knife, but he didn't waver. He roared through the blockade at high speed, one eye ahead of him, one eye on his sensors.
He was the leader. It was his choice and his responsibility. So he forced himself to watch as, one by one, the blips representing the Titans he had left behind blinked out. Raven. Beast Boy. Brand.
Gone.
A/N: Fun Facts - So yeah, here we are... the Starfire arc. Like so many others, I wanted to throw the girl a bone since she's the only character who didn't have her own season with the original show. Thing is, while I knew I wanted to do this, I had no idea what form it would take for the longest time. I had this on my outline as "Tamaran Arc", with no details, working on everything else. It came together at the last minute and ended up being one of my favorite arcs of The Edge Between.
This is the singe time (so far) I've used anything remotely resembling a real-world reference in this story, with the obscure "T-pain". I had to use the joke.
Again, for those that enjoy such things, note that Beast Boy also went after Raven.