REMINISCE
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The transport drifted silently though space. The passengers, far from the usual din of conversation, were eerily silent. No one was in the mood for talking since the announcement early that morning from Admiral Band of the UPP. It became publicly known that the strange occurrences of the past few months were all caused by one group, from the almost split with the Spung empire to the recent invasion of Starcademy. The Admiral had let the universe know that the Kaesar had returned, and that once again the UPP was going to war.
Suni stared out the window of the transport, lost in thought. The school was closed for repairs, and the UPP had decided that it would be unsafe and unwise to have the cadets return once Starcademy was up and running again. It was a target, they said, and they didn't want to risk the lives of the students and staff. Normally, having school cancelled would be a time of celebration for Suni, but the circumstances only made her more depressed. The passenger next to her elbowed her sharply in the ribs, and she turned to face him. Atreus was grinning at her, wearing earmuffs to protect his still-healing ears from further damage. In front of them, Tethys and Xen had turned around to face them, kneeling on their seats and peering over the high backs of the chairs. All three of her friends were looking at her expectantly.
"What?" Suni asked.
Tethys gave a short laugh. "Where were you just now? You didn't hear a word we said."
Suni grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I was thinking about … an old friend."
Atreus nodded sympathetically. "Ah yes, the old friend who mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of term."
"The old friend who is Kaesar, right?" Xen spoke up.
Tethys shoved him with her shoulder, causing him to teeter precariously on his seat. As he regained his balance, Suni turned to the window again. She had befriended Spek, the Kaesar who said he hated war, during the last Kaesar invasion. She had trusted him, convinced the UPP to let him stay when his people left, and had even wished him well when he mysteriously vanished to rejoin his kind. Now the Kaesar were back and she felt betrayed by him, thinking that the confidence she had put in him had somehow caused this new invasion.
"I owe him my life," Suni whispered to the window.
"Xen!" Tethys hissed.
The Vyrillian blinked in confusion. "It was obvious that was who she was talking about, wasn't it?"
"But you're not supposed to blurt it out!"
"Why not?"
"It's okay," Suni spoke up, ending their argument. "Can we just not talk about it?"
The four friends fell silent again. Atreus cleared his throat, trying to figure out a way to end the awkward silence. Xen's wings fluttered, slapping Tethys in the arm, although the Neptunian pretended not to notice. Suni's gaze returned to the window.
"It was nice of your parents to let us all come to Starbase 7 with you," Atreus said.
Suni smiled. "You guys are family."
"Family?" Xen repeated, frowning. "You are all related somehow?"
"Not that kind of family," Tethys said. "We've been friends forever, and our parents are friends, so it's almost like we're related by blood."
Xen shook his head. "I don't understand this dimension. If you're not blood related, then you're not family."
Tethys sighed in frustration. "Never mind. Maybe you'll understand someday."
"I don't think I will."
Suni and Atreus laughed. Xen blushed in embarrassment, and turned around to sit properly in his seat again. Tethys rolled her eyes comically and did the same. An attendant came down the aisle of the transport, notifying passengers that they were approaching Starbase 7 and should prepare to disembark.
Security was extra tight as the travelers entered the Starbase loading dock. There were guards everywhere, most of them heavily armed, and everyone who got off the transport had their bags searched and their intentions questioned. As the cadets stood in line, Suni grew more and more impatient at the delay. She could see her mother waiting patiently just outside the security gate.
"Why are they searching our bags?" Suni demanded under her breath. "We just saved the school two days ago!"
"Maybe they thought that was just a ruse and we're really going to attack now," Atreus joked.
"Right. We'll blow up the Starbase we're staying on. Good plan."
Suni dutifully surrendered her bag, stated her name and student ID, and was permitted to leave the docking bay. She flew into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly even though they had only parted company days earlier. Atreus followed soon after, and Tethys a moment behind him. Xen, however, was detained at the gate.
"State your home planet," the guard repeated impatiently.
"The dimension of Vyrill," Xen replied, his wings fluttering nervously.
The guard fingered his weapon. "There's no such place. Where are you from?"
Xen hovered an inch above the ground in his anxiety and glanced over to his friends for help. Rosie marched over to the guard and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned angrily, but his expression quickly changed as he realized who was demanding his attention.
"Dr. Ianni," the guard stammered.
"Let the boy through," Rosie said sternly.
"That's the voice she uses when I've done something wrong," Suni whispered to Tethys.
The Neptunian grinned. "I know it well!"
"But Dr. Ianni, I have to clear everyone from the transport, and he won't tell me his home planet," the guard protested.
"He is from Vyrill," Rosie said. "If you don't believe him, let me sign the form for you. If he does anything, your superior can blame me."
The guard nodded as Rosie took the compupad from his hands and made a few notes. Smiling warmly to Xen, she motioned for him to follow her. The Vyrillian did so, still floating above the ground, without a backwards glance at the guard.
"Sorry about that, Xen," Rosie apologized. "Welcome to Starbase 7."
"It's very … metallic," Xen remarked, looking up at the heavy girders and silver walls.
Rosie giggled and patted him on the shoulder. "It's not that bad. You get used to it, and we do have a garden on the 15th level, similar to the biosphere at school."
"But it's smaller and full of old people," Atreus called back. "We keep trying to play catch there and they keep throwing us out."
Xen's feet touched the ground and he tucked his wings close to his body. He did not like the press of so many people around him, or the thick buzzing of their emotions in his mind. He wondered how Atreus could stand it, with his sensitive hearing.
"Come on, dear," Rosie said, guiding him gently. "It's only until they have the school up and running again."
Alyna hid in an asteroid belt near the Kaesar mother ship. She continued to monitor transmissions, and send the translations to the UPP patrol ships that flew along the border. It was the Admiral's hope that no one knew she was there, and she could act like a fly on the wall to decipher the Master's plan.
She listened carefully as the latest orders were sent from the Kaesar ship, to the waiting silver ships that buzzed around it like bees. After receiving their orders, the ships vanished into space, some deeper into UPP territory while others flew into the darkness. Still, Alyna waited.
Suddenly, a familiar name passed through the decoder. Starbase 7. Alyna put her hand to her mouth in surprise, another habit she had picked up while at Starcademy. The Kaesar were discussing the very station where her friends were seeking refuge from the war. Puzzled, Alyna listened to the remainder of the transmission, and tucked the translation into a pocket of her cloak. This vital news would have to be delivered to the Admiral personally, protected at all costs. Leaving her transmission device to carry on her work, the last Guardian of the UPP abandoned her post for the last known whereabouts of the starship Goddard.
"I can't believe it," Suni exclaimed again as she paced around the room. "I just can't believe the Kaesar are back."
"Please, sit down," Tethys said. "You're making me dizzy."
"And where is Alyna? Why wasn't she relocated with the rest of the students? She should be here, with us!" Suni continued, ignoring her friend's plea.
Rosie came into the room with a pot of tea, five mugs, and some snacks. She placed it on the table around which Suni's friends sat, and stood looking at her daughter with her hands on her hips.
"Suni, dear, I know you're worried, but Alyna's perfectly capable of taking care of herself in space," Rosie said. "After all, she was probably flying around the galaxy centuries before you were born!"
Suni pouted and fell into a sitting position on the cushion next to Atreus. The Andromedan already had his mouth full of cookies and his hands wrapped around a steaming mug.
"We'll be back at school before you know it," he said, his voice muffled by the cookies.
Tethys wrinkled her nose in disgust as he sprayed cookie crumbs from his mouth onto his lap. Xen sat with his hands politely in his lap, regarding the plate of food warily. Rosie picked up a piece of sliced fruit and handed it to him.
"I've done my research, Xen. Don't be shy."
The Vyrillian smiled at her and took the fruit. Tethys was peeling another fruit with a silver knife and trying her best not to watch Atreus and Suni eat.
"Why must everything be a competition between you two?" she sighed.
Suni grinned, letting some of the cookies fall from her mouth. Atreus was still jamming snacks into his mouth, trying to outdo his friend.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Suni said as primly as she could.
Tethys rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Would you like an itemized list? Let's start with cake-eating contests on birthdays, then there was that soup drinking contest that left you both reeking of Venusian cattle, the spicy Mercurian beans that nearly incinerated Atreus' tongue, the Andromedan –"
"Okay, okay," Suni held up her hands in surrender, then she winked. "But how many did I win?"
As the argument continued, Rosie chuckled and turned to Xen, who was watching with his confusion evident on his face.
"Ever since Suni and Atreus were babies, they've been trying to out-do each other," Rosie explained. "It was the cutest thing when they were children."
"Oh yeah, Miss Princess?" Suni cried. "Who had to show off at the Starcademy swim meet?"
"I can't help it if none of you can swim," Tethys replied.
"I sink!" Atreus objected.
"All right, you three," Rosie said, picking up the tray, "time for bed. Tethys, you can sleep with Suni in her room. Atreus, you and Xen get the living area."
"Awwww," Suni, Atreus, and Tethys all whined at once.
"Come on, tomorrow we have to figure out what to do with you while you're here. Harlan didn't say how long the school would be closed, so we have a few hundred cadets with lots of time on their hands," Rosie headed into the kitchen. "You four will show them a good example."
As Rosie turned out the lights and headed for her own room, Atreus got to his feet and started organizing the pillows so he could sleep comfortably on the floor.
"Sometimes it's no fun being the kid of the station commander," Suni said sulkily.
Tethys straightened herself gracefully and wiped the back of her hand across her brow, although she was barely sweating. She had a mop in one hand and wore loose fitting cover-alls with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She had tied her long, thick hair back with a lilac kerchief and stared at the grimy floor in distaste.
"Hey, slacker! Back to work," Atreus called as he walked by her carrying a large, heavy piece of machinery.
Tethys sighed prettily and glanced at her fingers. "This is completely ruining my nails. Why are we on clean-up duty, anyway?"
"We chose the stick of the wrong length," Xen replied, flying down from where he was washing the high ceilings of the cargo bay.
"Drawing straws for duty," Tethys huffed, dragging the mop across the floor. "Who thought of that?"
"Look on the bright side," Atreus commented, moving to stand next to his friends. "We could be crawling through reactor shafts, chipping years of solidified waste off the walls with nothing beneath us but open space."
The Neptunian princess sighed dramatically, moving her mop ineffectively across the floor. Xen flew back to the ceiling and continued scrubbing, while Atreus hefted another large box onto his shoulder.
"Of course," he continued, "I thought Suni's parents would at least – "
"Wait a moment," Tethys interrupted.
Atreus froze in mid-sentence, his mouth still open as he waited for permission to resume his speech. Tethys ignored him, glancing down the length of the bay towards the doors where Suni was supposed to be counting inventory. Instead of her friend, she found a few open boxes with their contents scattered, and a hastily discarded compupad.
"She didn't!" Tethys gasped.
Xen floated down again, following Tethys' gaze. "Who?"
"She did," Atreus replied with an amused smile, "but I bet I know where she went."
"Where?" Xen asked.
"Do you think it's still there?" Tethys gasped.
"What?" Xen nearly shouted, his wings fluttering in annoyance.
Dropping her mop with a laugh, Tethys smiled at Xen and ran towards the cargo bay doors, Atreus only a few steps behind her. Xen followed curiously, unable to figure out what his friends were talking about. In the corridor, Tethys stopped in front of an exhaust grate, checked to make sure no one was watching her, and kicked it sharply with her booted heel. Atreus caught it as if fell and held it open, gesturing for Xen to get inside. The Vyrillian hesitated as Tethys crawled through on her hands and knees. A stern look from the Andromedan made Xen follow, with Atreus not far behind as he fitted the grate back in place.
Xen kept Tethys in sight as much as possible as they crawled through the duct in complete darkness. His wings fluttered nervously against his back, but he swallowed his fear and placed his trust in his friends. When it seemed as if they would be crawling forever, Tethys stopped and opened a small door to her right, barely noticeable to anyone who didn't know it was there. As it swung open, a bright light illuminated the shaft, causing Xen to blink rapidly as he watched Tethys slide through the door. As Xen followed, he saw Suni seated on the floor of a very small room. The walls were decorated with childish drawings done directly onto the steel, and the floor was littered with prepackaged cakes and compupads. Suni was eating one of the cakes when she looked up and noticed the others entering. She smiled broadly.
"There you guys are," she greeted them. "I thought maybe you'd forgotten about our little clubhouse."
"Clubhouse?" Xen repeated, settling himself on the floor next to Suni.
With all four cadets crammed in the small space, they sat cross-legged with their knees touching. Suni winked at Xen and tossed Atreus a cake package as Tethys picked up a compupad and began flipping through it.
"When we were little, we would always hide from our parents here," Atreus explained.
"Atreus would listen until he could hear our parents really worrying, then we'd pop out as if nothing was wrong," Suni laughed. "I still don't think Mom knows about it."
"You were often here together, as children?" Xen asked, eyeing the drawings on the walls.
"Atreus visited more than Tethys," Suni said.
"I am a princess," Tethys reminded them. "I have official duties to perform."
"And since you almost crashed your father's shuttle, he wouldn't let you leave the planet alone," Suni added.
"Not all of us can have your talent for flying," Tethys snapped.
"My mom was always meeting with the UPP," Atreus continued, ignoring the bickering girls. "Mom would drop me off here and go to her meetings. Uncle Bova and Aunt Rosie were always happy to watch me."
"More like poor Aunt Rosie would have to deal with both of you," Tethys said.
"We weren't that bad," Atreus objected.
"Really? Who set the lab on fire?"
"How was I to know those vials were flammable?" Suni muttered.
"And who released all the escape pods?"
'They should have put that button higher," Suni protested. "We kid wouldn't press a big red button?"
"I think you had to stand on my shoulders for that one," Atreus spoke up.
"Hey, I'm arguing our innocence here," Suni told Atreus. "Whose side are you on?"
Xen laughed, enjoying the stories of his friends' youth. He had never had a close companion on Vyrill, not like the bond these three shared. He began to wonder if this was the family that Suni had referred to on the transport.
They sat in the small room for some time, chatting and reliving the adventures of their youth. Atreus was in the middle of telling Xen how Suni had lost the sacred gem of the visiting Plutonian ambassador, when he suddenly stopped.
"Uh oh," he remarked looking at Suni. "I think your mother's coming to check up on us."
Suni, Atreus, Tethys, and Xen stood shamefaced in the messy cargo bay. Rosie stood in front of them, her lips pursed in displeasure as her eyes surveyed the bay the cadets were supposed to clean up. Half of the heavy boxes had been moved, while the remaining ones were still pushed to one side. The floor had been mopped in a very small area, and the inventory that was supposed to have been counted was scattered all over the place.
"I gave you four several hours to complete this job," Rosie said with an uncharacteristic frown on her face. "It looks like you haven't even started! What have you been doing all this time?"
"Sorry, Mom," Suni mumbled.
"Yeah, we're sorry," Atreus added. "We tried to get it done."
"But it's so boring!" Suni finished.
"I'm sorry that not everything can be as exciting as your usual adventures," Rosie told them. "There are other jobs that need to be done as well. Perhaps I was wrong thinking that the four of you could work together."
"No!" Suni exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Suni," Rosie gave her daughter an apologetic smile. "I'm going to reassign you four to different parts of the Starbase. You can see each other at meals and after hours. I want you to set a good example, Suni. If the other cadets see the commander's daughter goofing off, they'll think it's okay for them to do nothing too."
"Yes, Ma'am," the four cadets said together in a sad tone.
Alyna flew as fast as she could, teleporting short distances as she tried to find the Goddard. The ship had changed locations and communication frequencies, since the UPP was at war, and Alyna was having trouble locating it. She slowed down and closed her eyes, willing herself to relax. Guardians were not prone to panicking, but after being captured by the space pirate and abandoned by her kind, Alyna was feeling more anxious. The entire UPP space was in her hands, her responsibility. She was alone in protecting these foolish, endearing planet-dwellers.
Feeling more like herself again, Alyna set out. She had to find the Admiral, had to warn him about what she had overheard, before it was too late.
Suni sat in her father's office, surrounded by stacks of paper and compupads. Beside her stood an empty filing cabinet, waiting to be filled with well organized requests and reports. With a groan, Suni picked up the first paper and read it over. A requisition from the kitchen for more pickles. Rolling her eyes, she placed it on the pile of food-related requests and returned to her task. Next, a duplicate copy of a report filed by one of the minor engineers about a leaky toilet on the fourteenth deck. Suni's head fell forward and landed on the desk with a thud. She almost wished she was back in the cargo bay sorting through things with her friends.
Suddenly, the computer on her father's desk began to beep. A schematic of the base was on the screen, a small portion of it outlined in red. Suni raised her head and leaned closer to the screen, trying to figure out what the warning was for. It looked like one of the landing bays, where most of the deliveries were made to the base. Suni wondered what had happened when the entire Starbase shuddered, throwing Suni to the ground. She nearly smiled as the familiar excitement grew within her and she raced out of the office to the command deck.
Commander Bova was hunched over a terminal, his eyes rapidly scanning the words that appeared on the screen. People in uniform were rushing around, and red lights were flashing. Bova looked up and saw Suni standing by his office door.
"Go find your mother," Bova shouted. "She'll need your help."
"Dad, what happened?" Suni cried, suddenly worried.
Bova shook his head. "An explosion in Landing Bay D. The cause is still unconfirmed, but we've already got reports of casualties. Go to the medlab and find your mother."
Suni's eyes widened in shock. Atreus was in Landing Bay D, helping the chief engineer repair some old transports. Without acknowledging her father's order, she ran from the command deck. She had to find Atreus, and Tethys and Xen. She had to know that they were safe before she did anything else.
Suni pushed her way through the crowds of people to the edge of the platform. She looked down the thirteen levels to the centre market, where the citizens of the Starbase met and shopped. People were milling about in groups, their buzzing conversation reaching Suni's ears, but she paid them no mind. She glanced at the doorway leading to the rearmost three landing bays and her heart nearly stopped. Already she could see some of her mother's medical team leading injured workers away. Suni squinted but could not tell if Atreus was in the crowd.
"Atreus!" she called.
Her voice was lost in the cacophony of the second explosion. As Suni leaned over the rail, the market place erupted in flames. Suni was thrown backwards as a pillar of fire shot through the centre of the Starbase, carrying with it the screams of the dying. Panic spread almost as quickly as the fire, as the thousands of inhabitants of Starbase 7 fled for their lives. Suni sat on the floor in shock, unnoticed by the masses. Her home was being destroyed, the place she grew up and knew better than anywhere, the only place she had ever felt safe.
A pair of strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. Spinning around, she was engulfed in a tight hung before being held at arms length. She found herself being scrutinized by her father's dark, worried eyes.
"Thank goodness you're not hurt," Bova said. "I need you to listen to me. Go straight to our quarters and wait for me in the escape pod. Understand?"
"Our home," Suni whispered, tears in her eyes. "Dad, our home."
"I know, I know," Bova said soothingly, squeezing his daughter in a hug. "Please, do what I ask, Suni."
"Okay," Suni sniffed.
Bova touched her cheek and let go of her hand. Suddenly, Suni felt very cold. Before her father could disappear, she turned to him.
"Dad! I love you!"
Bova smiled, one of his rare smiles. "I love you too. Now hurry!"
Suni nodded as Commander Bova vanished in the crowd. As she moved, she heard an announcement ordering everyone to their designated escape pods. Suni's stomach twisted in a painful knot as she descended the stairs to her parents' quarters. She could remember playing a fighter pilot in the escape pod, shooting at space pirates until her mother caught her and told her the pod was not a toy. Angrily, she wiped a tear from her cheek.
Suddenly, she remembered Atreus, possibly lying injured somewhere. Torn between her father's request and the safety of her dearest friend, Suni disappeared down a maintenance alley and slipped down the back way to the landing bays.
Tethys had no time to listen to the announcement to abandon ship. She was in the medlab labeling jars, when the first explosion sounded. Seconds later, the medlab was full of injured people, and Rosie's staff needed all the hands they could get. She did what she could to make people comfortable, finding bandages and beds until a doctor could see them. Rosie had left with a small team to treat those too injured to leave the landing bay.
And then, the second explosion had rocked the Starbase, and the evacuation began.
Tethys found herself helping the injured to their escape pods, launching them into the depths of space. She thought of Xen, Atreus, and Suni, wondering where they could be and if they were safe. She knew she could not leave the Starbase until she was certain they were all right. She would not be able to live with herself otherwise.
Pushing through the press of people, Tethys fought her way down the corridors and into the slowly emptying Starbase. She was passing a storage locker when the third explosion detonated from within. This blast shoved Tethys into the air, carrying her down the hall until the wall of fire caught up with her. She felt the flames on her back, smelled the burning scent as her hair ignited, and lost consciousness.
The third explosion was close, so close that Suni was nearly caught in it. She pressed herself against the wall of the maintenance alley, squeezing her eyes closed as she listened to the flames roar past. The sound filled her ears and when it died down, Suni waited a full minute before poking her head into the hallway.
The walls were scorched black and hot to touch. Charcoal remains of people littered the ground, with melted plastic remnants of compupads around them. The door of a locker had been peeled open like a fruit, and Suni suspected the bomb had been planted inside. She looked the other way and saw a large canister taking up half the passage. It appeared undamaged, and Suni walked up to it, wondering why it had been spared. On the other side of the canister was a body, but this one had been hardly touched by the flames that had incinerated the others.
"Tethys?" Suni whispered, falling to her knees next to her friend.
The Neptunian's long green hair had been burned, as had the back of her arms. She still wore the cover-alls she had been given earlier, and they seemed to have taken most of the damage. Gently, Suni shook her friend, hoping for a response. Tethys moaned and opened her eyes, staring blearily at Suni's face.
"Suni?" she mumbled, sitting up and coughing. One hand went to her head and her eyes widened in shock. "What happened to my hair?"
"Don't worry," Suni replied with a smile. "It looks good short."
She helped Tethys to her feet and they retreated back to the alley. Suni was relieved that Tethys was all right, and she held the Neptunian's hand tightly in her own.
Alyna picked up the distress beacons as she continued to look for the Goddard. She stopped moving and worked to pinpoint their locations. There were dozens of them, all orbiting a central station with the same coordinates as Starbase 7, where her friends were seeking refuge. Alyna magnified the beacons, sending them out on every UPP channel, and teleported away.
It took her three jumps to arrive within sight of the Starbase. From the calmness of space, it appeared as if nothing were amiss, except for the escape pods making their way slowly towards the closest UPP planet. Alyna scanned the Starbase's internal frequency and soon picked up the reports of explosions and the order to abandon ship.
The Guardian frowned sadly. She had hoped to avoid this, but clearly her warnings were too late. If this base was already damaged, it would only be minutes before the assault on the others would begin. Alyna stared at the mildly spinning base and thought of her friends, knowing she could do nothing to help them if they were trapped inside. If she teleported onto the Starbase, she could arrive in the centre of an explosion. Besides, there were others in space now who could use her guidance.
She turned away from the doomed Starbase and counted the drifting escape pods. More would soon be launched, but she could at least keep these ones safe until a UPP ship arrived. As she neared the first pod, she felt a subtle shift in space, like she did when she was teleporting. Suddenly there was a sleek, black ship before her, one she recognized immediately at Kaesar. The ship wasted no time before firing on one of the pods. Alyna deflected the laser fire and pulled the pod closer to herself, but her actions did not go unnoticed. The ship began firing multiple blasts, aiming at several pods at once. Alyna did the best she could, but one of the pods was struck and exploded before her eyes. The Guardian quickly gathered the remaining ones together so she could more easily defend them, but lost two more in the process.
Fueled by grief and rage, two very planet-based emotions, Alyna met the Kaesar ship head on.
The smoke was growing thicker as Suni and Tethys made their way toward the landing bay. Tethys leaned heavily against her friend, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Suni was coughing against the acidic smoke, as she dragged her friend forward. The Neptunian's skin was getting very dry as the liquid that kept her alive evaporated in the heat.
"Come on," Suni said encouragingly. "This isn't nearly as bad as when you spent the summer with me and my grandparents on Mercury."
Tethys managed to glare up at her friend, but didn't waste her precious breath on speech.
"That was a particularly hot summer too," Suni continued. "Grandpa practically turned your room into a greenhouse, the humidity was so high, but you loved it. Next time we visit, we're going outside more often."
Tethys made a sound that was almost a laugh, and Suni adjusted her weight. They were nearly at the site of the first explosion, but Tethys couldn't last much longer without moisture. Suni kept talking, her eyes scanning the pipes along the walls and her mind wishing that Atreus was here. He was always better at spotting engineering-type things than she was.
"A few more steps," Suni promised, finally seeing what she had been looking for. "Just a few more steps and you'll get a much deserved shower."
Tethys made no reply, and Suni looked down at her friend. She was no longer moving on her own, her body hanging limply from Suni's shoulder. The Mercurian-Uranusian picked up the pace, setting Tethys down against the wall opposite from her goal.
"I wish I had heat powers," Suni muttered as she shot a few electrical sparks at the metal tube.
She was never clear exactly why, perhaps the metal had been weakened by the explosion, but the sudden rush of water caused Suni to yelp in surprise and jump out of the way before she short-circuited herself. Tethys was right in the way, and the wave crashed into her, knocking her lifeless body over. Suni waited impatiently as the corridor filled with water up to her ankles. The water helped clear some of the smoke from the air, the moisture breaking up the dense air particles, and Suni found herself breathing a little better. Coughing, she scooped some water in her hands to drink, enjoying the cool sensation on the back of her throat for once in her life. It felt like an eternity before Tethys sat up, her eyes once again sparkling, although not as brightly as usual. Smiling, she stood and embraced Suni.
"You saved me," she said gratefully.
"You're welcome," Suni replied. "Now we have to extend the favour to Atreus and Xen, if they're still onboard."
"Grozit!" Suni swore, punching the thick metal doors.
As she rubbed her now sore knuckles, Tethys pushed some debris away from the console and tapped a few buttons. She frowned and hit the console in anger, mimicking what Suni had done only second earlier. As the two girls stood nursing their throbbing hands, they grinned sheepishly at each other.
"The doors are sealed," Tethys said. "That means there's a rupture inside, doesn't it? A hole in the hull?"
Suni shrugged. "Come on, we can take a look through the observation lounge."
The hallway was more badly damaged than the others, littered with fallen pieces of the Starbase itself. Thankfully, they saw no more dead bodies as they climbed to the door leading to the glassed-in lounge. In happier times, Suni had often come here with her mother to watch the workers unload supplies. Rosie had explained that without these transports, no one on the Starbase could live, but the young Suni had still found the fighters more interesting.
"Look," Tethys said, pointing through the glass.
The lounge was the only room they had found so far that looked as it had. The few benches were upright, the lights brightly illuminated, and the thick glass in one piece. Suni joined her friend, her eyes scanning the landing bay, which looked nothing like it should.
The bay itself could only be described as demolished. The transports were in pieces, the walls and ceiling crumbling, and the ground stained with black. The majority of the bay was empty, the smaller pieces of wreckage having been sucked into space through the small hole on the landing bay doors. Suni felt tears welling in her eyes as she thought of Atreus floating lifelessly in space, until her eyes rested on where Tethys was pointing.
Huddled to one side were a group of people, four by Suni's quick count. They were pressed tightly together and shielded by a yellow glow that reminded the girls of a dimensional portal. Suni couldn't see the features of the people, but she did see someone with transparent dragonfly-type wings and silvery white skin.
"Xen!" Suni exclaimed, hitting Tethys on the arm. "It's Xen!"
Tethys rubbed her arm and shot an angry look at her friend, but moved to the small control panel in the lounge. She paused for a moment, her eyes passing over the buttons as she tried to remember what to push first.
"I know this will set up a shield to seal the breach," Tethys muttered, "but I don't know how to do it."
Suni peered at the controls over Tethys' shoulder, standing on her tiptoes to see. Reaching out with one finger, she sent a spark of electricity into the panel, causing all the buttons to light up at once. Tethys stared at her with a horrified expression on her face, but Suni only pointed to the landing bay again.
"Dad told me once that in case of an emergency, the base will automatically repair any holes in the hull," Suni explained as a shimmering shield materialized over the breach.
"You nearly stopped my heart," Tethys scolded her.
"Don't worry," Suni winked. "Electricity is good for starting that again too."
In a moment, the group inside the landing bay materialized in the lounge. Xen collapsed on the ground as the other three rose nervously to their feet, looking around in amazement. Tethys hurried to Xen, as Suni engulfed one of the rescued people in a tight hug.
"Worried about me?" Atreus asked.
He didn't appear to be injured, other than some dried blood on the side of his head. Of course, Suni knew how difficult it was to break an Andromedan. She had tried often enough when they were children. The other two workers were both human, and one cradled a broken arm.
"What happened?" Suni demanded.
"There was a bomb," Atreus said. He shook his head. "I don't know how it got on the bay floor, but no one saw it until it went off. I don't remember much else. In the confusion, I was trying to help people who were trapped under things, and a few medics rushed in and scooped some people up, but when the hull breached the doors sealed themselves and we were trapped."
"Then he appeared," one of the workers spoke up, gesturing to Xen. "Out of nowhere, he grabbed me and Connor and Atreus and told us to stay close together. He did something, and we were fine. We could breath, we weren't being pulled out to space or anything."
"We were the lucky ones," the worker named Connor said quietly. "I saw lots of good men being sucked outside. They didn't deserve to die that way."
"Get to an escape pod," Suni told them. "There's one just down the hallway that isn't launched yet."
The two workers nodded and left the lounge. Atreus watched them go and sighed, glancing down at Xen. The Vyrillian was breathing deeply, exhausted after holding the shield for so long. Tethys cradled him in her arms and looked up at her friends.
"Now what?" she asked. "We should get going too."
Suni shook her head. "Not until I find my parents. Atreus, did you see my mother? Tethys said she lead a team here after the first explosion."
Atreus shook his head. "If she was here, she must have left before the doors sealed. I'm sure she got out."
"Then we have to head back to the command post and find my Dad," Suni said.
Atreus met her gaze with worried filled eyes. He bit his lip and put a hand on her shoulder. "Shouldn't we escape? Isn't that what your dad would want us to do?"
Suni felt tears welling in her eyes as her father's last wishes sprang up in her head.
Please, do what I ask, Suni.
Stubbornly, she shook her head. "We have to find him. He could be hurt! I'm not leaving until I know both my parents are safe."
Atreus reached down and picked up Xen, holding his small body in his arms. Tethys rose to her feet, one hand absently going to her shortened hair. Suni watched both her friends, guilt stabbing her in the stomach like a knife. There could be other bombs on the Starbase, the whole place could go at any moment.
"There's an escape pod in my parents' quarters," Suni said at last. "We can pass the command post on the way and check if my Dad is there, and then we can go, okay?"
Tethys put her arm around Suni's shoulder. "I can't imagine how you must feel, but your parents would want you safe, no matter what happens to them."
Suni nodded, not trusting herself to speak as the tears flowed freely from her eyes. She allowed Tethys to lead her back into the hallway, Atreus a step behind.
Alyna swept away another blaster bolt, trying not to think of the few that made it by. She was still loosing escape pods, a single Guardian unable to keep up with the barrage of fire from the large Kaesar ship. She could hear the frightened minds of those huddled in the pods, silent prayers for their safe keeping that she was doing her best to fulfill. The Kaesar were toying with her. They would fire a few single shots, easily deflected, and then open rapid fire with so many lasers that Alyna had to defend herself more than the others. It was a battle she could not hope to win.
She glanced over at Starbase 7. A few more escape pods had flown clear, only to be picked off by the Kaesar before she could reach them. Alyna did not dare abandon the group of pods she had gathered, but it was nearly unbearable to watch the pods explode and the silent prayers vanish.
The Kaesar fired again, this time ignoring the pods completely. Alyna was consumed in laser fire, unable to escape as she hastily raised her cloak for protection. It did very little, the laser burning her skin and causing blue blood to float free into space. Her heart pounded and she lacked the strength to do much more.
Suddenly, another volley of laser fire appeared, this time directed at the Kaesar ship. Slowly, the massive black vessel turned away from Alyna and her charges to face a new threat. Alyna grinned as she recognized the Goddard, the Admiral of the UPP's flagship. As the two massive ships exchanged fire, Alyna herded the escape pods a safe distance and closed her eyes for a moment. They were safe for now.
The Kaesar ship turned and vanished in the blink of an eye, as a final explosion ripped through Starbase 7. Alyna watched, horrified as the base her friends had called home was torn apart. She shielded herself with her cloak as jagged pieces of metal were catapulted into space, until nothing remained.
"No!" Suni screamed, pressing her face against the glass of the escape pod.
Her home, her family, her childhood exploded before her eyes. She had not found her father in the command post, had not found her mother in the medlab as she and her friends ran to escape the doomed Starbase. Now it was gone, completely gone, and Suni's life would never be the same.
Tethys pulled her friend away from the window and hugged her tightly. Suni's hot tears moistened the cover-alls the Neptunian still wore, but neither of them paid any attention to it. Xen and Atreus sat on the other side of the pod, regarding Suni silently with sad expressions on their faces. The Vyrillian's wings dropped in mourning, and Atreus lowered his gaze to his feet.
"Mom, Dad," Suni sobbed. "They're gone. I never… I didn't…"
"Shhhh," Tethys soothed, rubbing Suni's back. "There's still hope."
Suni wiped her eyes and said nothing. There was nothing left to say. The Kaesar had tried to take everything from her, and they had succeeded at last.