"Everyone inside!" An Imperial soldier called.
Leyna would have followed the crowd if Atun hadn't stopped her. "Something wrong?"
"Large groups make good targets, as does the ship."
"Being alone isn't safe either. My mother left me a message saying the people out in the countryside were being picked off by Vagaari and those remaining had to be taken to a secret bunker."
Atun studied her for a moment, then began to walking with her through the crowd. "Sounds like someone is leaking information."
"She mentioned the Imperials suspected that and were investigating the matter. I don't know if she got away or captured."
"That explains your distress. I am sorry."
She sighed as they hid inside a building with no windows that the Imperials were guiding everyone to. "That's not even the worst part. My dad was taken and now they might both be gone and we didn't part on the best of terms."
He placed a hand over hers as she teared up. "Feeling guilty isn't going to help you. You need to accept the past and whatever she said in the message, which I'm certain contained messages of love."
"How do you always stay so positive?" She sighed.
"Comes with the job. I'm going to go see if I can help, will you be okay?"
She managed a nod and watched him leave. She sat by herself amidst the crowd, wondering if Tynan was still with his father or if they were at another raid shelter somewhere. What if they couldn't get to safety? What if she never saw Tynan or her mother again?
"Leyna? Is everything alright?"
She looked up at Gaur and swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure how much time had passed. "I'm just really worried. Have you seen Tynan?"
"Not since we left the ship, sorry. Have you seen my cousin?"
"He said he was going to see if he could help."
Gaur chuckled. "I should have guessed he would do that."
"You're not worried?"
"I am, but I have faith in Atun. He is the best in the entire fleet on Pantora."
"I still don't understand how he's single."
"Join the club." Gaur smiled wryly. "I have been pestering him for years to go on dates and yet somehow you're the only female he has spent any time with and you are dating Tynan."
"Maybe he's not ready for a relationship." She replied, hoping she wasn't blushing even though her face felt warm.
"Ironically, he has often said something along those lines. Perhaps I am too anxious to see him have everything I do."
"All good things take time, or at least that's what my dad used to say."
"Used to say?"
She nodded slowly. "He was taken by the Vagaari, or at least that's what my mother said in the message she left me."
"I am sorry to hear you have had such dark tidings."
She sighed. "I don't know how to feel yet honestly."
"It's to be expected. I remember when my mother became deathly ill and there was nothing Pantoran doctors or medicine could do, I felt shocked and numb for quite some time after she passed away."
"How did you overcome it?"
"I realized she would have told me to stop moping around and find happiness because that was all she ever wished for me." He called Atun over when he came into the shelter. "What's the word?"
"The Vagaari vanished as quickly as they appeared before an entire Imperial Fleet could show up. Only a few people have been reported missing and the Fleet said they will be acting as an escort for the star cruiser just as a precaution. We're boarding now."
"I need to try to call Tynan now that the raid's over." She pulled out her comm and dialed his number. "Tynan? Do you copy? Hello? Are you okay?" She bit her lip when there was no reply. "Tynan, please respond."
"Do you know where he was going to be?" Gaur asked.
She felt tears pricking at her eyes as she nodded.
Atun waved down a soldier. "Excuse me Captain, but we're missing one of the pilots for our star cruiser and cannot get in touch with him via comm. Is there any way we could go look for him?"
"That is not advisable at this time. Give me his name and last known location and we'll have a platoon look into the matter."
"His name is Tynan Mendax and he was visiting his father Corin Mendax at 1237 Hakia Way."
"Thank you. Board your star cruiser and we will be in contact."
"Wait, Captain."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any information on my mother Hana Edymn?"
He checked on his data pad. "Sorry, nothing pulls up under that name, however we do have a backlog of paperwork on people we have put under our protection lately from the areas most raided. I will have someone check our physical records for you."
"Thank you." She returned to the ship with her two friends and waited anxiously in the dinning room with them for news.
"You should eat something." Gaur encouraged as she picked at her food.
"I know. I just don't feel very hungry. Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"
Atun got a fresh pot of tea for them. "I wouldn't worry just yet. They have a lot of panicked people to help and are trying to make certain they have lists of those present and currently unaccounted for. Crisis situations such as these must be handled with great care."
She nodded. "You've probably had your fair share."
"Mostly natural disasters, though the concept is the same. Unless the right steps are taken, there are too many losses and errors that can result in far more damage."
"I can see the reasoning in that." She ate a little and sipped her tea. " I definitely wouldn't want them to make any mistakes."