In which Kolyat's classes are cancelled, Thane packs a suitcase, and the family leaves the house. It's not a good day.

Chapter 9 – Frontline

Thane had been home almost three weeks when distant booms began in the west. Kolyat came home early that day. "Classes are cancelled."

"I'm not surprised," Thane said. "The frontline is getting dangerously close."

"The turians won't reach here, will they?"

"Of course not, Kolyat." Irikah smiled. "The army can push them back."

"Not necessarily," Thane said quietly. He felt their eyes on him as he continued. "My assessment: we're making it look like we're putting up a fight, but we're letting them gain ground. We're choosing the battlefield. We're drawing them right into the middle of the harshest desert in the world. Hajna happens to be in the way."

"They can't destroy it! Hajna's our home! That can't happen…"

"It can, Kolyat. This is war. The enemy doesn't care if they destroy a few homes. They don't care if they destroy a few lives."

"Why are we getting sacrificed just to lure the turians into the desert? It's not right."

"That can be argued. They'll likely issue an evacuation order soon enough. Sacrifice the town, but not its people. The tactical advantage here can't be ignored."

"That's cold…"

"I don't understand," Irikah said. "Why did the turians invade at all?"

"Politics," Thane said with a sigh. "That's all there is to it."

"It can't be that simple."

"It's simple and complicated all at once. I won't even try to go into detail."

"Why tell us all this stuff when you won't talk about work?" Kolyat frowned at him.

"My work is classified."

"And our battle plans aren't?"

"Not to the same degree, no. That's all just my theory, anyway. I don't know what our true plans could be." He paused to listen to more artificial thunder. "We should pack."

"Pack?" Irikah put a hand over his.

"Pack. Everything we can fit. A few changes of clothes, sentimental items, whatever you want after that. Pack it all and put it in Irikah's car. It has the most space. We need to be ready to go at a moment's notice."

Kolyat stared at him before silently going up to his room. Irikah hugged Thane. "Are you going to help me, dear?"

"Of course. Let's go." He got up and went to the master bedroom, Irikah following.

They both grabbed suitcases and started packing away their clothes. Irikah laughed, but it was hollow. "I won't be able to fit all my favorite outfits."

"Be picky," Thane replied, already finished packing his clothes away.

"Easy for you to say."

"I have plenty of room left in my suitcase for other things, so don't worry about filling yours up."

She smiled, again hollow. "Alright. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Thane waited until she was done. "Choose a few books from the library, if you want. I'll go downstairs and see what else we need to save."

She looked at him helplessly as he passed. "What happens if we lose everything?"

"We rebuild and move on. We're not poor, Irikah, and all physical things can be replaced."

"It won't be easy. The shock and loss will still be there."

"It won't be easy, but it's not impossible." He gave her a quick hug.

She finally nodded. "Kolyat will have the hardest time, I think."

"Probably, yes." He left to go downstairs. Irikah didn't stop him. He halfway wished that she would. That she'd talk about… something. Anything. He didn't want to think about losing their dream home and everything in it any more than she did.

The only thing he found worth saving was a photo of the three of them, taken shortly after his return from Palaven. He returned to the bedroom and slipped it into his suitcase. "You have everything?"

Irikah nodded. "I'll check on Kolyat. You can carry these out to the car." She went across the hall to Kolyat's room.

Thane took both suitcases, found Irikah's keys, and went outside. He was placing the second suitcase in the trunk when Kolyat came out the door. "Put it in the back seat," Thane said, closing the trunk without looking up.

"It's heavy."

"You're a drell. We're stronger than the other species. Get it over here."

"I'm a graphic design major. You're a soldier. Who's the stronger one?"

Thane shook his head. "You're a sad case." He took the suitcase and placed it in the back seat, anyway.

"Thanks, Dad." Kolyat looked to the west, the direction of the sounds of battle. "Where's that evacuation order?"

Thane followed his gaze. "I don't know. We'll wait a bit."

"How long?"

"…Go inside, Kolyat."

"Dad, I'm not a kid."

"Go inside, Kolyat. Now."

Reluctantly, Kolyat went back inside. Thane continued to watch the western sky. If those houses down the street hadn't been there, he knew what he would be able to see: an all-out battle, slowly coming closer. How quickly, he didn't know. They had an hour, at least… Probably. Where was that order?

He shook his head and went back into the house. His family was waiting for him. "How long do we stay? Everyone else is starting to leave," Irikah said.

"We stay as long as we can. The rush to leave will cause traffic jams. We can avoid that, for the most part, if we wait."

"They're leaving because it's dangerous to be here. We need to go, Thane."

"No, Irikah. We're staying here. We're not in any danger yet."

"Getting stuck in the jams would keep us back just as long as waiting."

"Where would you like to spend that time, then: here at home, or stuck in your car?"

She walked into the den and sat on the couch, silent as a ghost. Kolyat followed and took a seat in a chair. Thane remained where he was for a while, staring down. "…I'll be right there."

"Mm," was Irikah's reply.

Thane went upstairs and into their bedroom, opening the drawer of the nightstand on his side of the bed. He picked up the gun and held it for a moment, thinking. Was staying here really the right thing to do? Was he putting his family in danger? Did he really need this gun? It would make him feel safer, but it would likely frighten Irikah and Kolyat, and the chances of him having to use it were slim. Indecision held him still, until he set the gun back down and closed the drawer. They would be safe without it. There was no sense in causing his family to panic.

He went back downstairs and settled on the couch, next to Irikah, putting his hand over hers. The three of them simply listened to the sounds of the fighting for a few minutes.

"…Dad?" Kolyat looked up from staring at the rug. "Where will we go when we leave here?"

Thane didn't need to think about it. "Ikhan. The capital is the safest place to be right now. We'll stay at a hotel there until this has all blown over."

"How long will that take?" Irikah quietly asked.

"Likely months. Maybe longer. There's nothing we can do about it, though. We have no choice but to wait."

"And you'll be back out there before this is over, won't you?" Kolyat wasn't really asking. They all knew the answer.

Thane said it, anyway. "Yes."

More long minutes of silence. When a boom made the windows rattle, Thane rose. "Time to go."

None of them spoke as they left home behind.

They chose one of the finer hotels in the city and paid for two rooms; one for Irikah and Thane, the other for Kolyat. The younger man decided to join his parents in their room for a while. "So now what do we do?"

"Not much. I have a feeling that sightseeing will get old in a week or two. Until then, though, we can experience everything the city has to offer." Thane stood at the window, staring down on the busy street below.

"It's been a long time since we've lived in the city, Thane. I don't think Kolyat even remembers it." Irikah looked at her son. "You were only five when we moved, after all."

"Yeah, I don't really remember much." Kolyat shrugged.

"…City life is stressful. Hectic." Thane now stared at his own reflection. "That's why we moved. It was calming at the edge of the desert. Dunes out the window, dark, silent nights, no huge crowds…"

Irikah watched him. "It helped calm you down when you came home."

"We'll go back. This is temporary. We just have to make the best of it." He turned to them. "Tomorrow, let's go for a walk. Just to see where we end up."

Short, I know. But it was an event that had to happen and I couldn't really think of much else to put in here. Originally, it was supposed to be action-y, but then I realized that it wouldn't make sense like that, so it came out how it is. Ferret out.