A/n: Just wanted to see what a difference all these years of writing practice could do for me. As for now I'm just writing whatever story catches my fancy so there may be more of this there may not. If I continue the rewrites to the point of catching up to the story I'll go back and delete the old chapters and just have the new ones posted, but we'll see.

Chapter 1: Flight

"Sir! The Irkens are getting closer!" Lard Nar ran behind his superior officer, Commander Nye. The sounds of explosions and screams filled the air around them. Everything was in ruins now. The military was no more and their only hope was to escape now while they could. Maybe they could find help on another planet. It was their only chance.

The Irkens used to be their allies, but no longer. Over the past year, unbeknownst to the vortians, the many scandals and several assassinations which slowly picked away at their governmental order had all been orchestrated by a single irken spy. An invader, as that bastard called himself with pride. Then, a few hours ago, the main fleet of the Irken Armada arrived at Planet Vort and demanded their immediate surrender. Of course, what remained of their leadership refused, and the world was now a battlefield.

"This way," Nye yelled. He led them down several more streets, ducking behind corners to avoid irken drones, and somehow evading capture. The space hanger was just ahead. "Almost there, keep moving!"

Gunfire echoed off the walls of the hanger as they approached, but it wasn't the only sound that rang in their ears. "Wait, do you hear that?" Lard Nar asked.

Nye stopped and listened, then cursed, "We don't have time, Nar. We have to go!" He mad a grab for Lard Nar's arm but missed as the younger man took off at a full sprint in the direction of the crying. "NAR!"

"If I'm not back in 10 minutes, leave without me! I can't abandon a child!"

The buildings surrounding the hangar were largely rubble by now, with a few walls and ceiling still remaining. Finding a door was unnecessary, as he was able to scramble through a hole where the crying was loudest. Inside, the sounds of the battle were muffled, but still reverberated off of every surface. It wasn't hard to find the child. She sat, wailing loudly, pushing and pulling desperately on a large chunk of wall.

She was small, and incredibly light as Lard Nar picked her up trying to carry her to safety. The girl kicked and screamed.

"Hey, knock it off! I'm sorry, little one we've got to go!" He wrapped his arm around her head to hold her still and force her to look at him. Her struggles stopped when he did this. "I'm taking you to safety, I need you to stop crying. Can you do that?" His voice was stern. "What's your name?"

She squirmed again to try and get back to the rubble pile, "Mommy! Save mommy!" Looking back at the rubble, Lard Nar could now see the slender arm sticking out from under the pile. Even if she were still alive, there wasn't time to get her out. Lard Nar shook his head.

"Your mom wants you to be safe right?" He asked her. "If so, I'm taking you to a safe place. Will you come with me, for your mom?" The girl stopped crying and looked at him. She seemed to be putting far more thought into his words than such a small child should. Finally she nodded and turned around to hold onto him tightly around the neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. He held her tight and turned and jogged back to the hangar.

"Let go of me you traitorous scum! Irken pigs! Bastards of a broken test tube!" Echos of Commander Nye's curses reached them long before they could see the soldiers. Lard Nar ducked into a small gap in the walls and they hid there until the sounds faded. At one point the girl tapped his arm because he was squeezing her too tightly.

"Sorry…" he said sheepishly. He was furious and terrified for his friend, but he couldn't let them be caught now. Someone had to get off the planet to warn everyone. All the other worlds that had ever, or could ever deal with the irkens and anyone who could be on the chopping block of the invasion plot. He couldn't afford to break down now. If for nothing else than for this child who was being far more brave than could ever be expected of one so young.

After a time, Lard Nar put his fingers to his lips. "Stay here," he told her, "I'm going to find us a ship." The girl furiously shook her head and gripped his shirt. "I'll only be gone for a minute."
"I promise I won't cry. Please don't leave me."

Lard Nar sighed. "It's not about crying, Little One. You're being so brave. I just need you to be a little more brave and stay here. I promise I'll be back for you." He tried to put every bit of confidence he could into his voice. For a moment, she gripped his shirt tighter, then she nodded and let go. Lard Nar pat her on the head, stuck his head cautiously out of their hiding spot, then slipped out and into the hangar.

Two soldiers were left in the hangar. They were too busy talking to notice him slip around the back. Of the 40 or so privately owned cruisers that were docked in this particular space port, only the ones in the back looked like they'd gone untouched by the bombardment. Why the irkens hadn't thought of blowing them up to prevent any escapees, he would never know. He slipped onto two ships before he found one that was already stocked with supplies. Evidently it's owner wouldn't be getting their vacation they had prepped for.

Once he had confirmed everything would be enough to get them out of range of the irken armada, he slipped out the back and returned for the girl. She wiped her tears quickly when she saw him and swore that she wasn't crying. "I know. You're doing great. Just hang on a little more."

Getting back into the hanger was harder now with her in his arms, but he couldn't risk putting her down and having any child-like clumsiness causing any noise. Luckily those soldiers were idiots. Their laughter echoed to the back and into the ship, even as he started up the engines. The moment they heard the roar of the thrusters though, they panicked and ran at the ship, firing as many shots as they could.

"Hold on, Little One." Normally you would slowly rise out of the front door of the hangar, but since the irkens had so kindly removed the ceiling they were able to blast straight up into the air. The ship shook as it was battered by the atmosphere. Then it stopped. Flicking a switch and adjusting the engine outputs took only a moment, then they blasted off at full speed, past the armada's blockade. Several smaller ships broke formation to chase them, but they were ordered back into line. What difference could one tiny cruiser, with only two life forms on it, possibly make?

Lard Nar kept the ship at full speed for many hours until the little girl crawled out of her seat to grab his hand. He hadn't even realized how much time had passed. His arms suddenly felt like jelly as the tension finally drained out of him. He swallowed hard and forced a smile, "I'm sorry, that must have been scary."

The girl nodded and held his hand tightly. Lard Nar took a deep breath to further force himself to relax. "It's going to be okay." Again she nodded. "Good. Now, my name is Lard Nar. What's yours?"

She was quiet for a moment, staring at his hand. "Kark."

"Kark, that's a pretty name." She buried her face into his sleeve. "Are you tired, Kark? I think it's safe for us to rest now. Should we go to sleep for a bit?" She shook her head but yawned a moment later. Lard Nar couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I'm tired too," he said, gathering her up in his arms. "Computer. Set Auto-Pilot. Planet Coneheadia." The computer beeped in response. "Alright," he said, "Now let's go get some shut eye. We've got a long journey ahead of us." Kark's eyes were drooping, but she nodded. The two went to the main cabin, saying nothing else, until both quickly fell asleep, dreaming of a home they would never see again.