Late at night, Deimos trekked through the nearly empty streets. His red eyes, which glowed in the darkness, glanced around for a moment before he turned down an alleyway. He walked towards the middle, stopping in front of a small hole-in-the-wall bar.
The place had curtains instead of doors, and a gentle blue light was shining from the openings in the curtains. The human held his bag close to his chest as he pushed aside the fabric blocking the interior, and walked inside.
Deimos weaved his way around the small space, dodging drunk and slumped over aliens until he found his way to an empty spot at the front of the bar. He knocked his knuckles against the wood, gaining the attention of the bartender.
The Iscarmilian's ears perked as she turned to face him and set down the cup she was polishing. "Dee! There you are!" She moved towards him, and glanced around them suspiciously before focusing on him fully. "So, do you have it?"
The human couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I have it." He opened his bag, and pulled out a small, dented metal box. "This is it, right?"
Her yellow eyes lit up as she let out an excited gasp, and snatched the box. "The vintage metal-boxed Grogling the Destructor action figure! It's almost in perfect condition! You really weren't kidding when you said you found it!"
Deimos chuckled. "Yeah the good thing about working at a junkyard is that there's plenty of interesting things to find." He lazily motioned towards the box. "Sometimes we get cool stuff like that Grogling thing."
The woman looked at him in shock. "Wait a minute… Have you ever seen the show that Grogling is from?"
"It's from a show?" The human queried.
She let out a gasp, looking genuinely offended. "You've never seen The Song of the Space Warriors, The Story of True Love and the Eternal Flame?! How can you not have seen that!? It's a classic!"
Deimos raised his eyebrow. "What kind of a title is that?!"
"The best title." She stubbornly responded. "The only one that can properly fit the masterpiece that is The Song of the Space Warriors, the-"
"You don't have to say it again!" The human quickly interrupted.
She leaned forward and slammed her fist on the table. "It's a masterpiece! One of the first widely televised shows in the Galactic System, and you've never seen it before?! I know you're from a no-contact planet but this won't stand!" She got up and stormed towards the back. "Hang on a second!"
"Wait!" Deimos reached out to try and stop her, but it was too late. He slumped forward with a sigh. "I just wanted to trade it for some Sky Flower tea…" He whined in a petulant tone.
With the bartender gone, and the item he was intending to get from the trade with her, Deimos was forced to sit and wait. He impatiently shook his leg and tapped his fingers against the wooden table.
As the minutes passed by, he eventually got bored of counting the bottles behind the bar and turned to glance around the interior. At first, nothing stood out to him, just tired people drinking. However, when his red eyes landed on one of the Iscarmilian patrons, he realized that he recognized the slumped over figure. Wait a minute… That's Pezel!
Deimos couldn't help himself as he got up and headed towards the man. In the week since his unfair arrest, the human had not seen Pezel at all. Usually that wouldn't worry him, but the sudden radio silence combined with Desler's cruel threats made it so Deimos couldn't help but worry.
Seeing him was a relief, but part of him had a feeling something was wrong. One he was beside the man, he was unable to hold himself back as he awkwardly whispered,"Pezel?"
At the sound of the name, the Iscarmilian groaned and lifted his head. The usually composed man looked like a complete mess. His hair was a disaster, his clothes wrinkled, and there were very noticeable bags under his dull eyes.
The human gasped, shocked at the state of his friend. "Are you okay?!"
Pezel groaned, rubbing at his eyes before turning to face him. "Oh, Deimos… It's good to see you." He rested his head on his hand. "Sorry… I was going to come see you and the others when I… Wasn't like this."
Deimos's eyebrows knitted together in concern as he moved to sit across from the man. He glanced at the several bottles, the stretch of strong alcohol burning his nose. "What happened, Pezel?"
The Iscarmilian sighed, the simple question somehow making the man even more exhausted. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and slumped forward. "I'm afraid I underestimated the hold Desler had on our superiors." He weakly admitted. "Just hours after I returned to the station, I was taken to their office and they fired me."
"What?!" Deimos jumped up, shaking the bottles on the table. "You were fired?! For what?!"
"I told you Desler would do something, that I might not be able to protect you like I could before, and I was right… But I didn't expect him to go this far…" Pezel picked up the nearby bottle, swaying it to check for any remaining alcohol. At the sound of sloshing liquid, he lifted it to his lips.
Before he could drink whatever was left of the large bottle, a shimmering red aura surrounded the drink and it floated out of his grasp and into Deimos's waiting hand. The human sent the ex-officer a stern glare. "I think you've had enough, Pezel."
The older man huffed. "Perhaps, but what else am I supposed to do?" He despondently asked,"How am I supposed to help the citizens if I've been reduced to this?"
"You can still help us, Pezel!" Deimos insisted,"Even if you aren't an officer, people still look up to you. People will listen. Respect and kindness works better than fear."
Pezel scoffed. "I would have agreed with you a week ago, but things like respect and kindness didn't stop Desler and the Grand Minister from instilling fear in others."
Deimos balked. "So you're just giving up?"
"What else can I do?" Pezel asked him with a shrug. "Even if I try to help, nobody will listen because they fear them. Or, I'll get arrested just like you did, and nobody would dare bail me out after they saw what happened when I did that for you. It's pointless…"
The human cringed as he listened to the ex-officer. The fire in his eyes was gone, he looked completely defeated. The flame of determination within the Iscarmilian seemed to be extinguished. Deimos hated seeing him like that, it was like he was looking at a different person.
Pezel moved to grab one of the other bottles, which Deimos swiftly snatched and moved out of sight. "Nope. I'm cutting you off, and taking you home." He sternly declared as he stood up, moved to the man, and helped him up. "Your husband is probably worried sick, and you will get sick if you keep this up."
The man stumbled on unsteady feet, and likely would have fallen if it wasn't for the human's help. "Why do you even care?" The drunk Iscarmilian mumbled under his breath.
Deimos tried to force down a sigh of frustration as he adjusted his grip. "After everything you did for me, Pezel? This is the least I could do."
"But did any of it matter?" Pezel asked him in a forlorn tone.
The human suddenly felt something stir within him. The feeling of Pezel's sadness was suddenly overpowered by Deimos's own determination. He knew what he had to do. He had been planning for a while, but he knew he couldn't wait any longer. It was time for Deimos to act.
"I will make sure it does, Pezel."
A while later, Deimos was sitting in the interior of his ship, typing on a small computer with papers surrounding him. He scanned his plans, carefully gathered over the course of several weeks.
The human was preparing for something that would be very difficult to pull off. He had info from the hospital that Analyzer had slipped him, but he needed more. He was going to break into the police department, and gather as much information as he could. Then, he would use a relay satellite nearby to send it straight to the Galactic System.
His plan wasn't exactly a legal one, but he didn't care. I'm tired of Desler, I'm tired of everyone like him. If we can't get through to them like Pezel tried to, then I'm doing this my way.
Deimos shut off the computer and unplugged it, putting it inside his bag. He took his green goggles, setting them around his neck, and then grabbed some sunglasses. He slipped them over his eyes, blocking the red glow from his eyes and matching the rest of his outfit. After he picked up a few pieces of paper and stuffing them into his bag, he knew he was ready.
"It's time…" He whispered as he stood up, and made his way towards the stairs. He opened the heavy door that led to the outside, and then let out a yelp of surprise and quickly stumbled backwards.
Standing outside the door were his friends. Hifuld, Belos, Rimaf, Mifyd, and even Franklin. They looked at him with a mixture of amusement and determination, wearing similar dark clothing to him.
"What are you guys doing here?!" Deimos whispered in a hushed voice.
Mifyd sent him a smirk. "What does it look like we're doing, kid? We're going to help you!"
Deimos's eyes widened behind his glasses. "What? No, you can't!"
"And why not?" Rimaf asked with a tilt of their head.
The human frowned and looked away. "Pezel got fired because he tried to help me. If this goes bad, I don't want you guys to suffer with me. It's better if I just do this alone so-"
"I get what you're trying to do, kid, but whether or not we help is our choice to make." Franklin gently told him. "And we've decided we want to help."
"He's right!" Hifuld added on. "Those assholes have been enjoying their positions for long enough."
Rimaf smirked. "It's about time we all get some payback."
Deimos glanced at all of them and sighed dramatically, but the smile on his face showed off his true feelings. "I'm not gonna talk you out of this, am I?"
"Absolutely not!" Mifyd said with a sharp grin.
He couldn't help the feeling of happiness at this, despite the danger they'd be in. He should have expected they would want to help. After all, they were all brave, kind, and very determined. Deimos was honored to be their friend.
"Alright then, all of you listen up. Here's what we're going to do…"
Soon after the discussion had ended, Deimos sat crouched on the edge of one of the buildings near the police station. Rimaf and Belos were with him, watching as the lights on the higher floors of the large office began to turn off one by one.
They needed to wait until the least amount of officers would be in the building, that would be their best bet to sneak in and out without being caught. If they were even so much as spotted, it would likely mean the end of their plans and some jail time.
After several minutes of silence, Rimaf's feathers rose at the sight of another light turning off. "Is it time yet?"
"Not yet." Deimos muttered back. "I watched for a few days, the one on the far left and the one in the middle should turn off too, that's the most that are usually off."
Rimaf nodded and settled back down. "This is a good spot to watch, I can glide us down easily from up here."
"How did you manage to convince that bartender to let us on the roof?" Belos quietly asked next to him, eyes shining curiously.
Deimos let out a sigh, and slumped his shoulders. "I promised her that I'd let her show me the first season of that show… What was it? The Song of the Space Fighters?"
Belos suddenly gasped. "You've never seen The Song of the Space Warriors, The Story of True Love and the Eternal Flame?!" He furiously interrogated.
Rimaf looked shocked. "But it's a classic! I can't believe none of us thought to show you it! One of the best shows out there, I'm in shock that you haven't even heard of-"
The human quickly waved his hands. "Can we please stop talking about that show?! We have more important things to focus on right now!"
"Right, right! My bad, let's focus!" Belos whispered, and quickly turned to face the building again.
It was a few minutes later that the last light, the one on the far left, turned off. Soon after, several officers exited out of the front of the station. Once they were a good distance away, Deimos looked at his two companions and gave a firm nod.
Rimaf allowed Belos to grab at their waist as they spread their colorful wings and jumped, quickly gliding and landing on the lower roof of the building. Once they were both across, Deimos took a running start and jumped, falling several feet before he reached out and grabbed one of the pillars on the outside of the building.
Once he was sure he wouldn't fall, he looked up to the other two and motioned for them to wait. He slid down the pillar a bit and glanced at one of the darkened windows. With a little pull, he managed to force the window open.
Jumping inside, he ducked down and crept closer. The room was small, with several machines and several computer screens. He scooted closer, and grinned in relief. The surveillance room, perfect!
He poked his head out the window and waved at Belos, who quickly scaled his way down the same way that the human had. He glanced around the room, and his eyes sparkled excitedly.
"You get the footage, anything you can find. Just connect the hard drive and transfer whatever you can get over. Don't worry about looking, just get what you can." Deimos whispered as he handed over the small block. "While you do that, I'll search Desler's office, if anyone is going to have anything, it's him."
Belos took the hard drive from him and nodded. "Just be careful, Dee."
Deimos made a noise to show he'd heard him, and carefully moved towards the door. He opened it and glanced outside, the hallway was dark and empty. He could hear chatter coming from down the nearby stairs, but everything was silent upstairs.
He slipped out the door and carefully shut it, keeping close to the wall as he hurried further down the hallway. He ducked under offices with lights, and held his bag as carefully as he could to avoid being heard.
At the end of the hall, he finally found it. Desler's office wasn't that hard to spot, when the man insisted on having a shining nameplate on his door. So garish… The human thought with a scrunched nose. He really loves himself, perhaps a little too much.
Deimos reached a gloved hand out to try and turn the handle, but it resisted his attempts. Ugh, of course he would lock it. He reached into his pocket, pulling out one of his many switchblades and moving to the electronic lock on the side. Using the knife as a screwdriver, he undid the covering to reach the inner mechanisms.
He knew he could just damage the lock enough to activate the safety mechanism that most electronic doors had, which would automatically open the door to not trap people inside, but he was worried that someone would notice the damaged lock before he could escape.
Instead, he fumbled around until he found the electronic controls inside. He could directly control the motor now, and easily manipulated it to open the door. Once the door slid open, he set the panel back on, and rescrewed the screws in. There, like I was never there.
Inside the office, he noticed three windows, the one in the middle unlocked. With an escape route planned, he let himself step inside, and pressed the keys on the inside to shut and lock the door once more.
Locked inside, he pulled off his sunglasses and let the glow of his eyes illuminate the immediate area around him. The office was messy, with several alcohol bottles or discarded cups around the place. The files were stacked, some covered in dust, on top of cabinets and the only thing that looked recently used was the television attached to the wall and the computer on the desk.
Deimos carefully crept around the desk, avoiding knocking into any of the messy piles on the floor. Once he reached the keyboard, he ghosted his hand over the top, allowing the screen to light up. It was in Iscarmilian text, asking for a password.
"Heh, like that's going to stop me~" The human sang under his breath.
He took the green goggles around his neck, plugging the end of a wire into them, and the other into the computer. The interior screen of the goggles lit up, and he grinned. The goggles, which Hifuld had lent him, were originally intended to access the electronic parts of his ship easier, but Deimos found that they were also helpful with net diving.
After breaking past the password, he let his eyes scan over the several messages that were exchanged between the corrupt officer and others. There were some from his cronies, some with business owners, and even some with the Grand Minister.
The ones with the elected leader made Deimos extremely angry. They spoke about how Desler was free to do what he wanted, as long as he kept the refugees in line and kept them from speaking up to the Galactic System, as the money was on the line. A few times, the Minister warned Desler to act nicer when an ambassador was on planet or people were threatening to talk, but he let him know as soon as they had left.
Disgusted, Deimos slipped out the small computer from his bag. He disconnected his goggles, which instantly went dark, and connected the wire to the small computer. As quick as he could, he copied all the files he found over to the small computer.
As he watched the download bar move up percent by percent, he couldn't help but smirk. "This will be enough. This is too much evidence to just ignore, especially now that we know the Grand Minister was in on it."
Finally, everything was downloaded. He unhooked the wires, turned off the main computer, and stuffed the small computer back in his bag, and replaced his green goggles with the dark sunglasses. Just as he turned to leave, he heard the sound of the beeping lock. His red eyes widened, and he quickly ducked behind the desk, scooting underneath it.
He heard the sound of the door sliding open, and went very still at the sound of Desler's obnoxious voice.
"No, I don't care if you busted a new lab. We already have too many refugees, send them somewhere else!" The man was snapping at the person on the other side of his communicator.
A frantic voice replied. "But, sir, it is the closest place, and some of those we rescued need immediate medical care we cannot provide on this ship-"
"Our planet cannot take on any more refugees, not when we are already working so hard to take care of the ones here." Desler's voice turned dramatically gentle. "It is a lot of effort to help them integrate into the Galactic System, and we take personal time with everyone. We simply do not have the time when we are already working with so many others."
Bullshit! Deimos wanted to yell at the fake, kind words.
Desler stomped in front of the desk. "But if you could convince the Galactic System officials to raise the amount of Nova that they provide us for housing them, perhaps we could use that to find more offworlders homes here. Until then, do not contact me again!"
The desperate voice on the communicator barely got in one more syllable before the call was cut off. Deimos tried to stay quiet, even though he was shivering with anger. So that's what the messages meant about money… They're taking the money meant for refugees and using it for themselves! I need to get this sent out as soon as I can!
At the sound of Desler walking around the desk, the human felt his heart pound against his chest. But to do that… I need to get out of here without being skinned alive!
Every footstep seemed to last an eternity as Deimos tried to hold himself still. No, no, no… He held his breath as a scuffed boot appeared around the edge of his vision. That's it, I'm dead!
"Desler!"
The sound of a familiar voice and loud knocking made both Deimos and Desler stop, with the corrupt officer's foot disappearing as he walked back towards the door. After a few beeps, he heard the door slide open, and Desler let out a growl.
"You, you're that scrap yard worker, aren't you?" Desler sneered. "What do you want, primitive?"
The description sent a pulse of relief through the human hidden under the desk. Hifuld! They're here! But what are they doing…?
He got his answer moments later as he heard Hifuld make a disgusted noise. "Ah, so it's you that arrested my only worker, and injured him?! Do you know how much Nova I lost that day because of you?! I had to spend the whole time he was recovering scrounging in the scrap when he should have been doing that! It was a waste of time!"
Oh… Deimos realized. They're distracting him for me!
The corrupt Iscarmilian made an annoyed sound. "Excuse me? I did nothing of the sort! If that primitive human had known his place, he wouldn't have been arrested. And you seem to have forgotten your place too, scrapper! Leave me alone now, or else!"
"No!" Hifuld challenged, and there was the sound of sudden movement. "You're letting me into your office, and you're going to pay me for time lost!"
If there was one thing Desler hated, it was being ordered around by a 'primitive'. So it didn't surprise the hidden human in the slightest when he heard the sound of Hifuld getting shoved, and the angry Iscarmilian's voice. "You think you can come in here? No, we're having this conversation on my terms, where you can't get your filthy paws on my things. Get in the hallway, primitive!"
"What?!" Hifuld dramatically exclaimed before they were cut off as Desler shoved them out and the metal door slammed shut again, the sound of arguing voices now muffled.
Now's my chance! Deimos quickly crawled out, holding his bag tightly as he scrambled for the middle window. He shoved it open and practically threw himself out, hanging onto the ledge as he forced the window back down. Once it was shut, he slid across the outside and began to shimmy up the pillar once more.
After a tense climb, he finally made his way to the top where an eager Rimaf and Belos were waiting. As they saw him, they both let out a sigh of relief. He held out the beg for them to grab, and waited until they took it to keep climbing.
"You were gone for a long time, we thought you got caught!" Belos whispered.
RImraf reached out, pulling the human up on top of the roof. "Are you alright?"
Deimos jerked his head in a nod. "Yes, Hifuld covered for me. But I don't know how long that will last. We need to get to the relay satellite and send out the information before they notice that anything is amiss."
The feathered glanced down at the hard drive in Belos's hand. "Mifyd and Franklin said they found one we might be able to use. The one on the capitol building would be too heavily guarded."
"Well, where is it?" Belos questioned.
"In the older part of town, near Hifuld's scrapyard. It used to be the main communication building before the city was built. The satellite is rather old, but it will still work." Rimaf explained to them.
Deimos quickly nodded, and headed towards their escape route down the rooftops. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
They didn't descend from the rooftops until they were far from the station. Once they landed, the group of three hurried towards the older part of town. It was extremely late, so there were no officers in sight (they tended to only patrol this area when they were looking for someone specific).
The satellite was on one of the taller buildings that had once been a shiny, light grey color. Now, it was a rusted yellow with crumbling foundation. The entrance was gone, their only way up was by climbing the rusty ladder of a nearby building, and carefully walking across a makeshift wooden bridge on one of the higher floors.
Once inside, they found themselves climbing up creaky, holey staircases for the last few floors, until they found themselves at the roof entrance. The rusted door was already on the ground, with Franklin and Mifyd sitting patiently by the rusted satellite.
"Dee! You made it!" Mifyd exclaimed as he motioned toward the satellite. There was a gentle glow at the bottom. "See, it does work!"
"Good!" Deimos knelt down in front of it, pulling out the small computer, several wires, the hard drive, and his goggles. "We get this done fast, and then we'll be out of here before anyone figures out it was us."
"Work your magic, hacker man!" Franklin whispered under his breath.
The others fell into a silence as the red eyed human began to work. He connected the hard drive to the small computer, and that to the satellite. He plugged the goggles into the satellite and the computer, allowing himself to see the data from both.
He could see all the points that the satellite could reach, and what those points were referenced to. News stations, television stations, the Galactic System- There it is!
With quick typing, the human began to send all the data they had gathered, both from the station, the hospital, and everything else he had managed to find to the Galactic System's servers and open message lines.
That should be enough… Deimos thought, and was about to shut down when his eyes scanned over the screen. But… It doesn't hurt to broaden our horizons, does it?
With a few extra minutes, the files and videos were all anonymously sent straight to as many news stations as he could reach. As soon as he saw they were all sent, he felt himself fully satisfied. There, now even if the Galactic System tries to ignore it, they won't be able to for long.
Pulling his goggles up, he glanced at the others in the darkness. "It's finished!" He excitedly whispered,"All sent over."
The group let out quiet cheers and whispers, glancing proudly at each other. Once their small celebration was done, they turned their gazes back to Deimos as if asking 'what do we do now?'
Packing up his stuff, he decided to answer the unasked question. "Now we wait, and see what happens. If the news stations have their way, they'll probably report as soon as they can, but we have to wait and see. For now, we need to get off this old building and back to safety."
With nods of agreement, they all quickly hurried back down the staircases until they were on the crumbling twentieth floor. One by one, the refugees carefully crossed the unstable bridge, being careful to make sure that only one person had their full weight on at once.
However, when Mifyd and Deimos were the last ones left, it seemed their weak bridge had lost its strength. The purple alien had just stepped on the middle of the board when the whole thing began to crack. He gasped in fear, and tried to step forward, but the cracking grew louder.
"Mifyd!" Belos frantically cried out. "Go back, go back!"
Eyes wide with panic, Mifyd turned towards Deimos and hurried over. He was steps away before the board completely shattered into pieces, and he fell.
"No!" Deimos cried out as he leaned out and grabbed for the alien.
He managed to grab his arm in an iron grip, but the sudden weight was too much for the human to handle. He was ripped off his feet, and the sound of howling wind attacked his ears as they both began to fall down twenty stories.
Deimos let out a horrified cry as the ground rapidly approached, and felt panic threatening to overwhelm him. No! No! It can't end like this! I can't let this happen, not after everything we did! Not like this!
He had never used his powers on other people, he'd been too scared of what would happen if he couldn't control it, but now there wasn't a choice. He held out his hands, and gathered all the power he could. I can do it! I have to do it! I have to save us! Focus! FOCUS!
There was a burst of red in his vision, and he felt a powerful sensation surrounding him. He heard a shocked gasp next to him, and there was no whistling wind any more… It was then that Deimos realized they were no longer falling. Wait a minute…
Deimos slowly opened his eyes, and let out a gasp of his own. His whole body was surrounded by a red aura, and he was floating in midair. He glanced to his side, and found an upside down Mifyd held by a similar red aura. They hadn't hit the pavement and died… He'd saved them!
"Oh my stars…" Deimos squeaked out in awe. "I can fly… I can fly!"
Mifyd sent him a panicked glance. "This is amazing and everything, Deimos, but you told me before that your powers depend on you focusing! So how about less freaking out and more getting us the fuck down?!"
"Oh! Yes, yes, I can do that!" Deimos stuttered out, his cheeks hot with embarrassment as he forced himself to focus on what was happening in the present.
Moving Mifyd was easier, it was just like when he moved objects. He gently lowered the purple alien to the ground, and then focused on lowering himself. It seemed his flying was a little different, since he was the power source. It was more sensitive to his movements and thoughts, so his landing was more unsteady.
Once both of them were safely on the ground, Deimos let the red aura disappear with a wave of his hand. As gravity became a thing once more, so did the exhaustion that appeared when he used a lot of power. He stumbled and then fell onto the floor on his back with a groan.
There were panicked voices as their friends finally got to ground level. He heard an eruption of voices all at once as they reached the two who had fallen.
"Deimos! Mifyd!"
"Are you guys alright?!"
"Are you hurt?!"
"What the hell happened?!"
Mifyd had scooted to a sitting position and let out a shaky wheeze. "I- I thought we were dead for sure. I thought we both were fucking dead!" He whipped towards Deimos and pointed at him. "You can fly! How the hell can you fly?! Where did that come from?!"
"I have no idea…" Deimos blinked blearily as he stared up at the sky. "I- I think I just wanna lie here for a while…"
Franklin's strong grip lifted the other human onto his unsteady feet. "We can answer questions and lay on the ground back at home. Let's get out of here before anyone shows up!"
Nobody, not even the exhausted Mifyd or Deimos, dared to argue. After all the stunts they had just pulled, their home was the safest place. Now they just needed to hide there, and wait to see the fallout of their actions.
They didn't have to wait very long. By the next morning, the news of Iscarmilas's treatment of the refugees they had promised to take care of was galaxy-wide news.
The videos of prisoners or even simple visitors to the station being abused or attacked were spread like wildfire, the disrcimination of patients in the hospital were shared, and the messages between the corrupt officials were plastered on screens all over. There was complete outrage on dozens of planets.
Even the Galactic System got involved. It seemed Deimos's fears were unfounded, because the central power had immediately condemned the actions of the officials and were already threatening sanctions or, even worse, complete removal from the beneficial programs one got for being in the system.
What made Deimos the most gleeful was when it was announced that the officers who attacked or directly contributed to breaking the rules involved in housing refugees on Iscarmilas would be arrested. Though they couldn't control the laws directly, the Galactic System were the ones in charge of setting up refugee safe houses and setting the laws for those.
So, if you broke those rules, you weren't breaking just your planet's rules, but the entire galaxy's. It was extremely satisfying to watch Desler and his cronies board the prison ship and disappear into the sky. Well, how about that! Deimos had thought at that moment. What goes around comes around after all!
Within a few days, the sight of such outrage was enough to encourage those who had been forced into silence on Iscarmilas to stand up and protest. There were marches in the streets, businessmen threatening to move off-planet, and citizens threatening to boycott all they could.
Eventually, the Grand Minister attempted to damage control, with actions like removing the unfair restrictions on the refugees or firing all his corrupt officers that hadn't been arrested. But none of these worked, people were still rightfully enraged. Nobody was quite sure what pushed him over the edge, but one day the man gave in and resigned from his position.
"Wow…" Deimos whispered from his seat on the couch, squished between his friends as they watched the live broadcast. "I can't believe he actually resigned."
Hifuld moved to sit next to him, handing the human a steaming cup of Sky Flower tea. "You really can't? It was your plan, Dee. If it weren't for you, I don't think any of us would have had the guts to pull off something like that."
Deimos blushed, holding the cup close to his chest. "Yeah, well, if it weren't for having you all as my friends, I wouldn't have had a reason to do that. Knowing who I was fighting for helped me more than you know."
"Aww… You're such a sweet talker!" Belos teased, but his smile showed his true appreciation for the human's words.
"Well, it's true! We all helped each other in different ways!" Mifyd exclaimed from his seat.
Rimaf smirked at their own cup. "Well, you would be the expert at that, wouldn't you, Mifyd? You helped Deimos figure out he could fly, after all."
The purple alien slumped in his seat and groaned. "Oh my stars, stop bringing that up! Next time we learn something, I want it to not be a near-death experience!"
"Here here!" Franklin exclaimed, raising his alcohol bottle high.
They all burst into laughter at their jokes and memories, and likely would have descended into further discussion if it weren't for the knock on the door. The group glanced up, and found themselves face to face with a much more put-together Pezel.
Deimos instantly brightened. "Pezel!" He set his cup down and got to his feet. "You look much better than the last time I saw you, no offense."
Pezel gave a small smile. "None taken, I was quite a mess that week. But that is not what I came here to speak about, as I'm afraid I don't particularly remember most of that day…" He gave a sheepish chuckle. "Actually, I came here to say thank you, to all of you."
At their surprised expressions, Pezel couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Oh, come on. You were all very careful, but I know Deimos's handiwork, and I saw Hifuld in front of the station. I know you leaked the information."
Rimaf raised their eyebrows. "Oh really? And what do you plan to do with that information?"
The Iscarmilian smirked and shrugged their shoulders. "Nothing. After all, I was fired, remember? I am a simple civilian, who got fired for trying to run the station right. You all broke the law, but I cannot argue with the results. Your secret is safe with me."
It was subtle, but Deimos caught on to the subtext in his words. "Wait… You're not taking your old job back?"
Several people glanced at Deimos, and then looked at Pezel in shock. The idea of the man refusing to return to his job was even more shocking than him getting fired. For many of them, Pezel had been the kind officer who helped them for as long as they had been on Iscarmilas. The sudden refusal seemed to come out of nowhere.
"You are as perceptive as always, Deimos." Pezel gently said with a sigh. "They did offer my job back, even added on a promotion. But I cannot be a part of that system anymore. Even if it will change, too much has happened for me to be comfortable there…"
Deimos and his companions nodded, understanding of the ex-officer's dilemma.
"So what will you do now?" Hifuld queried.
Pezel placed a hand on his chin and hummed thoughtfully. "I thought about going into politics. It sounds bizarre, but with the several resignations, I figure this would be the best time to try. Maybe then I could make Iscarmilas a better place without being fired for doing the right thing."
Mifyd smiled. "I can see you as a politician, Pezel! I mean, nobody could be as bad as this Grand Minister, right?"
"You can say that again!" Franklin exclaimed with a bark of a laugh.
The chatter began again, this time more focused on making fun of the Grand Minister. Pezel watched them fondly, and turned to walk away. But before he could get far, Deimos quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Stay?" He gently asked, his red eyes hopeful. "We were planning to celebrate, and I think we'd all very much like you to join the festivities."
Pezel looked surprised by his request, and glanced at the others for confirmation. At the sight of all the happy faces, the Iscarmilian let a smile appear on his own. "How could I say no?" He questioned aloud as he moved to a free spot, and joined the group. "What kind of festivities are we talking about?"
Suddenly, Belos and Rimaf grew similar excited smiles, while Deimos slumped forward and buried his face in his hands with a groan.
"Well…" Belos motioned to the platter of food in front of them. "We were thinking of a beautiful feast, and…"
Rimaf reached under their wing, and held up a case of videos in the air. "The Song of the Space Warriors, The Story of True Love and the Eternal Flame marathon!"
"That old show?" Pezel tilted his head curiously.
Belos chuckled and motioned to the depressed Deimos. "Mister hacker over here hasn't seen a single episode!"
Pezel made a surprised noise. "Wait. You've never seen The Song of the Space Warriors-"
"I SWEAR!" Deimos interrupted loudly. "If you finish that damn title I am flying out of this window and not coming back!"
Their marathon lasted late into the night, with the episodes playing on even after many of them had become too tired or drunk to really focus on it. They chatted together, sang the theme song, and enjoyed each other's company.
As the festivities began to die down, Deimos was one of the last to awake. He watched the screen for a while, rolling his eyes at a particularly cheesy scene, but the smile never left his face.
He looked at his slumbering friends, and then turned his gaze towards the beautiful, starry sky outside the window. He had stared out at the sky so many times before, but this time it felt different. At first, he couldn't pin down the feeling, but one last look at the peaceful faces of his friends helped him figure out what he felt.
For the first time since his arrival on Iscarmilas, they were all truly free.
