This entire chapter is only what happened to Aubr and Chorrol.
Keith, Chorrol, and Aubr were all sitting together in Aubr's housing unit. She was lucky enough to get a room facing the closest star, giving the room a wonderful soft blue light and a beautiful view of space.
They had begun to hang out more frequently here, it was quiet and calming. There was also no worry of disturbing other family members (Keith's unit) or quick to anger neighbors (Chorrol's unit) so they had decided that this would be the place they would relax before their next mission, which was tomorrow.
"Aubr!" Chorrol yelled from the kitchen area to the living room where Aubr and Keith were playing a strategy game together.
"What?" She called back, not taking her eyes from the game. Keith was two plays away from destroying her base.
"Ugg! You know what!" Chorrol complained. Aubr smiled, she did know what. Aubr was taller than both Keith and Chorrol by quite a bit. She had the advantage of being able to reach the top shelf of the cabinet, which was where she liked to keep her cups. Despite the amount of times that the two of them complained she still wouldn't lower them.
"Get the poor man a cup." Keith laughed as he took her base with his last move, winning the game.
"Fine!" Aubr said in a fake exasperated voice. She smiled and walked into the kitchen with Keith following. Chorrol was standing with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her.
"Why do you do this to me?" Chorrol asked her dramatically. "To us?!" He threw an arm around Keith's shoulder when Keith got close enough. "Us poor, poor, vertically challenged beings."
This made Aubr chuckle.
"You could just get a chair you know." She said as she opened the cabinet.
"A chair!" Chorrol exclaimed.
Keith couldn't help but to laugh loudly at them. They knew what had happened the last time Chorrol had tried to use a chair to get a cup.
"Oh wait, that's right! You can't even balance on a stable chair long enough to get a cup!" Aubr teased him as she reached up and grabbed a cup.
"Oh yeah?" Chorrol lunged at her, tickling her vulnerable sides.
Aubr screeched. The cup she had grabbed fell to the floor as she laughed and tried to bat him away. Keith sighed, smiling to himself at their antics, before grabbing the cup from the floor and getting himself a drink.
He let the two of them fight it out for a while when suddenly it was quiet. Keith glanced up from his drink, mildly concerned about what he would see.
They were staring at each other silently, Chorrol's arms around Aubr's waist and Aubr's arms over his shoulders.
Do it. He thought to himself. Quit putting it off and do it. Keith was tired of watching them dance around each other like they were walking on eggshells. And even though he had feelings for Chorrol, he knew that nothing would ever come of it. He and Aubr were good for each other and he would be happy for them no matter what.
If they would just fraking do it already.
The longer the two of them stared at each other the more aggravated Keith got. He gripped his cup and didn't move an inch.
He waited.
And waited.
Then, finally, Chorrol pushed himself up on his toes and Aubr lowered herself until their lips met in the middle.
"Thank the fates!" Keith exclaimed as he threw himself back against the couch. Aubr and Chorrol both startled away from each other.
"I didn't mean too-"
"Sorry!"
"Oh, don't be shy now. I'm just happy I don't have to hear you two whispering to me about the other like you had some big secret. Everyone but you two could see it." Keith remarked, tipping his cup to his lips.
"No!" Aubr said in disbelief.
Keith took a drink. "Yep. Kolivan and Thace had a bet on who would ask to court first."
Chorrol's mouth fell but he said nothing.
"I guess they both lose." Keith thought aloud. Kolivan had his money on Aubr, ever the traditionalist. And Thace… well, he just loved a good gamble.
"Alright Chorrol," Keith drew the other man's attention. "You owe me a game." He gestured to the game that he had beat Aubr in.
Aubr had been too cautious and didn't move her soldiers to position in time, leading Keith to a quick victory. But Keith knew he would have a much harder time against Chorrol; he may not be the quickest or the strongest strategist, but he was clever. He would set up traps that would destroy Keith's army even after he thought he had won.
"Ready to lose again?!" Chorrol taunted, making his way to seat himself beside Keith.
"Not this time." Keith mumbled. Aubr went to the kitchen and fixed two drinks, one for herself and one for Chorrol, who was already deep in game mode. She sat on the other side of Keith and watched the game unfold attentively.
It wasn't long until his impatience got the best of him and he quickly lost his lead.
In the end Chorrol won just like he always did, but Keith didn't mind.
…
The mission had begun.
The first thing they did was get forged papers. As far as the Galra would know, they were transfers there to help unload the ships to the trading dock.
Their real mission was to get into the trading dock's records and steal all of the routes that the ships would be using. All of the ships records, not just trading ships but prisoner ships and battle ships too, were kept in the central trading dock they were infiltrating.
They would not have clearance past the unloading bay, that was when things would get difficult. But they had trained for this situation. Keith was confident that they would get the required information.
When the three of them arrived in their (stolen) Galra flyer they quickly made their way to the nearest command station. They showed the soldier who was in charge the forged papers and were sent to a nearby ship to begin unloading.
The soldier in charge there assigned them some cargo and told them to take it to the third transport ship on the left. Each of them dragged a cart behind them with their cargo.
They started out in the direction they were supposed to be going, but changed course as soon as they were out of the soldier's line of sight.
The central command station was… well… central to everything else in the base. They would have to pass under the watchful eyes of many soldiers and sentries alike, which was why they checked in and grabbed some cargo. Hopefully it would lower any suspicions.
Aubr led the way, passing through check points and keeping her head down. They were one more gate away from their destination before they were stopped by a guard.
"What are you all doing here? There are no ships in this docking bay." The guard scrutinized each of them in turn.
"We are just going where we were told." Aubr answered him.
"And were would that be?"
This time Chorrol spoke up. "Yeah, they said the guy up in central command called for this stuff specifically."
"Fraking Letlo, never telling any of us what he's up to." The guard growled. "Well go on then! Quit wasting my time!"
They hurried along, not saying a word in response.
The maintenance tunnels were in sight so they ditched the cargo in an out-of-the-way hallway and hurried to them.
Aubr got out the auto-hacker tool that would open the tunnel and shut down the cameras while Chorrol and Keith kept watch. When she was done they filed into the tunnel. Keith went first, then Chorrol, then Aubr.
They were systematically charting their way through the tunnel, marking the walls on either side with a white paint so they could come back without getting lost down any of the hundreds of side passages.
Getting to the central room was easy though. There were lights only in the biggest tunnels that led to central command, so all they had to do was get to one of the three biggest tunnels and follow it.
Keith was able to walk perfectly upright, but Aubr and Chorrol had to duck down at an awkward angle to fit. Luckily, they didn't have to walk like that for long. They reached the end of the tunnel. Aubr passed Keith the device and he set it against the raised metal of the wall before him. In seconds the wall was moving, retracting to the side to open and reveal a command room with no one inside.
Keith silently walked into the room with his blade drawn, looking for the Galra who should have been running things.
There was no one in here.
There was no reason for there not to be at least one, if not two, people in here at any given time. Something was terribly wrong.
He looked to his two best friends and saw that they had come to the same conclusion.
This had to be a trap.
"We have to hurry," Chorrol murmured. Keith and Aubr nodded their agreement. Keith pulled the storage device with the pre-installed virus from his pocket and approached the control panel.
Chorrol stood by the door with his Blade drawn, ready to kill anyone who walked in, while Aubr positioned herself on the other end of the control panel to disable any and all alarms she could find.
Once Keith inserted the device it didn't take long for the download to begin. It would take thirty ticks for everything to be transferred, but every tick felt drawn out and slowed down by the anxiety creeping through his veins.
If this was a trap it wasn't a very good one because they were still getting the information they came for and not a single person had come to stop them yet.
Keith picked at the hilt of his sword anxiously, loud enough for Aubr to hear.
"Keith." She placed her hand over his and looked him in the eye. "We got this." She smiled and Keith let himself believe her. They could do this. Even if it was some kind of trap.
The download completed and Keith removed the flash drive, holding it tightly in his right hand and pulling his sword into his left.
"It's done. Guys-" Before Keith could finish a harsh hissing sound filled the air. All of their attention was turned to the maintenance tunnel, which was filling with a pale gas.
Looked like they wouldn't be going back that way.
They didn't waste their time trying to figure out how to stop it, they just grouped up by the real door and prepared for a battle.
The door wasn't even halfway open before shots were being fired into the room, sending them to the sides to avoid fire.
"Aubr!" Keith shouted over the sound.
"I got it!" She yelled back. She held her double throwing knives in a light grip, taking a small breath before darting low across the door way. She threw the blades with deadly precision and when she summoned them back to herself with her Luxite magnet gloves the blades passed through three more sentries.
The attack ceased for a moment, just long enough for Keith and Chorrol to get out of their cover and begin slashing through what was left of their assailants. They made a path, Aubr right behind them, until they were out of central command and back on the main floor.
Not a moment later all of the alarms went off. The group of three ran faster, fighting off waves and waves of soldiers and sentries alike. They seemed to be never ending, the closer they got to the flyer the more enemies they had to fight.
Keith was beginning to think they wouldn't be getting out.
Flashes of purple light were all he could see by. Sirens wailed and screamed and pierced at his eardrums. His breath was ragged and his legs burned from running so hard.
There were friendly footsteps beside him, hard metallic steps behind.
The flash drive dug into his right palm, his sword hilt was gripped tightly in his left. Various cuts and bruises throbbed with every beat of his heart.
They were so close.
But they were too far.
Aubr cried out. Keith cut down the last soldier to get to her. Chorrol was already by her side, trying to pull her up from the ground. She just kept telling him to go without her.
She had been shot in her right knee and foot and couldn't walk. All of the breath left Keith's lungs.
No.
More shots were being fired as another group of sentries found them. They didn't have time for this.
"We are too far from the flyer, leave me, I'll buy you some time." Aubr insisted through grit teeth as she clutched her leg in pain.
"Like frell you will!" Chorrol shouted and Keith couldn't help but to agree.
"The mission is the most important thing!" She cried, tears running down her face.
"New plan!" Keith shouted, grabbing at Aubr, trying to lift her up like Chorrol had a moment ago. "We get to the emergency pods one gate over." He pointed to where they should have been located. If they could get there they had a chance.
Aubr had no choice but to let the two of them lift her up, supporting her on either side. The sentries were closing in, they were only a few hundred meters away.
The group turned a corner and the escape pods were in sight.
The gas from the maintenance tunnels was beginning to spill through the cracks in the floor setting an eerie fog like cloud all over the ground.
A stray laser meant for one of them missed and was sent directly into a large cloud of the gas.
Where it then ignited.
The resulting explosion sent the small group flying forwards and the walls around them to begin to collapse.
Keith forced his body up from the floor, sheathing his blade and searching momentarily for the flash drive that had been sent out of his grasp by his fall. He saw it a few paces ahead and ran to grab it. It was only when he had picked it up did he hear Chorrol and Aubr both cry out.
He turned around and saw that they had both been trapped under a huge piece of debris.
"Chorrol! Aubr!" He ran back to them, pocketing the flash drive and trying to lift the large piece of metal off of his best friends.
His family.
Chorrol was trapped lying face down, but he did his best to help Keith push it up. Aubr was on her side, the metal edges cutting into her flesh. She was very quiet. Keith could see her gaze lazily meeting his but she wasn't really seeing him.
She was in bad shape.
Keith pushed as hard as he could and Chorrol managed to wriggle his way out from underneath.
"Come on Aubr!" Chorrol grit out trying to help Keith lift it high enough to allow her room to move.
She didn't respond to him.
Keith pushed and pushed but he just couldn't get it to go any further. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an approaching army, coming to end them.
"Stop," Aubr whispered. Keith turned to her immediately, Chorrol crouched down by her and held her hand.
"I can't leave you here to die." He said. If a broken heart had a sound it was Chorrol's voice in that moment.
"You… can and you w-will." Aubr's words may have been brave but her eyes were terrified. Keith couldn't look any longer.
He pushed on the debris again, screaming to the fates and anyone else that could hear. "Move!"
The army was nearer, laser shots blazing past Keith's head, but still he would not stop trying to push the debris off of his dying best friend.
"Please!" He cried. He could feel the strain of his muscles about to give out and he was terrified that they would stop working all together.
"Keith get out of here!" Chorrol screamed in his ear.
"What? No way! I'm not leaving you two!" Keith cried out. The army was only meters away.
Suddenly there were strong hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him away from the debris, tossing him in the direction of the escape pod that was only a few paces away.
Keith stumbled to a stop and turned around. Chorrol was standing in the way.
"Go!" Chorrol shouted.
"I can't!" The tears burned his eyes.
Chorrol got in his face. "You have to." Keith was frozen. "I'm sorry." Chorrol pulled Keith into his arms and embraced him. "You know we love you, Keith." With that he shoved Keith.
Hard.
Keith's back hit the inside of the escape pod and the door shut before he could even stand. Through the large glass window, he saw Chorrol run back to Aubr, sword drawn, ready to face an entire army.
He made eye contact with Aubr and saw her mouth the words, "Goodbye. We love you," before the pod was sent soaring into space.
He screamed and cried and cursed the fates as the pod got further and further from his only friends. The pod must have been miles away when the trading docks finally exploded, the gas blowing up near an exterior wall and sending the whole place crashing.
Keith didn't know what to do.
He punched the walls of the pod angrily until his fists were reduced to a bloody pulp. Then he screamed until his voice was raw and painful.
And then he cried.
It was a silent kind of crying, the only exception being the occasional hiccupping breath.
How he supposed to react when overcome by grief?
He cried himself to sleep.
When he woke up he didn't know how long it had been or where he was, but he did know that something had gone wrong.
He checked the escape pod and realized that it was on power conservation mode. He had about six vargas worth of air and energy left.
He cursed himself for not setting course to a blade base sooner and quickly adjusted the coordinates.
It would take about five and a half vargas to get there, he was pushing it, but he honestly didn't care.
He felt like he was dead anyways. A piece of him died with his best friends.
He sat in the silent pod with nothing to do. Usually long trips didn't bother him, but suddenly he realized he had always had something to do. Someone he could talk to, or play a game with, or share stories together.
Now there was no one.
The silence suddenly became deafening and he flattened his ears to his head and smashed his hands against them.
Make it stop.
He saw the debris Chorrol and Aubr were trapped under.
Stop.
He felt the fear rolling off of Aubr in waves.
Please…
He saw the last explosion…
"Stop!" He shouted and pushed himself out of the chair. He curled up on the ground, trying to make himself as small as possible to try to hide from the memories. The nightmares.
The silence persisted.
He laid, crying on the floor of the pod, for the five and a half vargas it took to get to the nearest Blade base.
Haha... oops...