Hi, NorthernMage here with chapter 3, Shattered! I'm hoping everyone is enjoying this story. However, I can't tell, and if you want to tell me in the reviews, I'm not going to hold you back!

Rynhart: NorthernMage doesn't own Pokemon or FTL.

Shattered: Rynhart was fourteen when her homeworld was destroyed. It was by far the worst day of her life.

Age:
N: 7
Renina: 6
Rynhart: 14

Rynhart's POV

Carinil tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up from my laptop, where I was writing up an essay on space phenomena. Specifically, supernova. It was third period, and I only had a few days before this assignment was due.

'Hey Rynhart?'

'Yeah?'

'Serena, Altini and I are going to the city tonight. Want to come?'

'I don't know if I can. I'll holoplate you if I can come.' I cared for my grades, so I would probably stay out of it if I needed to. Carinil nodded and turned back to her work. The teacher clapped and our attention turned to her.

'Pack up, you'll need to head to your next period soon.' Just as we began to pick up our books and laptop, the bell rang. Thankfully it was a quick process and we were off to our next class moments after the bell stopped ringing.

We walked through the highschool grounds, and as we walked along the path, a loud sound was blasted out from the PA system. Duh-duh-doo-duh-duh! Five beeps. It repeated. Duh-duh-doo-duh-duh! Five beeps meant only one thing. Someone, or something, was attacking the entire planet. All of Helios was under attack. I instantly dropped my books and laptop and started running, as the other girls in my class ran for their homes.

No! Please no! I had arrived at my street, and all the houses were burning. On Helios it wasn't unusual to have small fires. After all, we did live on a planet that had a thin crust, meaning that if someone dug too deep, it was possible for a burst of lava to come spurting out. However, there was a group of about five people going from house to house, and they weren't Astral rescue officers. They wore blue and yellow clothes, while this group wore black suits, and all held guns. My hand slipped into my pocket where my holoplate was, and I dialled the Astral security code. It was basic knowledge to know the code.

"8945 2457: Astral Security." 'The number you requested is not available at this time. The number you requested is not-' I cut off the message, trying to stay calm. Come on, Rynhart, think. Head home and make sure everyone's okay. Taking deep breaths, I headed home.

Everything told me to run. Instinct, logic, the state of the planet. I forced myself to walk. Rynhart Ulamin Catagor, everyone will be okay. Quentin, Taran, and Kalita will be home, and probably laughing at you worrying. Aluni will be worrying as well, waiting for you. Mum and Dad will be calming them down, and checking there are no major outages of anything. I slowly continued building the image. Two Astral officers will be there, doing a door knock and making sure no one is hurt. The attackers will be caught, and life can continue on as...

I had arrived at my house, and I had just heard a gunshot. I abandoned the little self control I possessed and ran like hell.

...normal.

Even as I entered the doorway, I saw Aluni, the only one who still looked up to me instead of pranking me, slump to the ground. My hands started shaking, and as the man who had just killed my little sister turned to me, I screamed. As he started shooting at me, I dodged to the side and, when I got up and ran at him, he simply pointed a small device at me, and I fell to the ground, and my vision went dark.

'Do you think she'll wake up?'

'She doesn't have any permanent physical damage. She was one of the affected families though.'

'Aren't we all? We're a refugee race now.'

'She's the only surviving member of her family, though. That must be pretty tough, coming home and seeing your family dead on the floor.'

'Dying.' I whispered. 'Not dead. Dying.' My eyes were closed, but deep inside myself I knew that the nightmare that was that man killing Aluni would never leave me.

The man looked at me. 'Do you have an appointment?' I nodded quickly. After I had been released by the Federation ships which had picked up any survivors, I had gone to the one place I knew someone.

'Yes, I made one two days ago.' He looked at the computer for a few moments, searching for it. Eventually he found it, and pressed a small button.

'Go on in. The general is waiting for you.' I nodded and walked into the room.

Inside there was a spacious room, and a large window. A dark-haired woman worked at the desk placed in the middle of the room, typing into the computer. There was a chair in front of the desk. I took a deep breath, and walked up to the side of the desk. 'Ariyta?' She looked at me and gasped.

'Rynhart? What happened to you? Sit down!' I did, and worked my hands together. 'How did you get here? Why did you come?' I guess it's obvious from how I'm looking something big happened. I slowly raised my head, and began to tell the sorry story of the last week to the girl I grew up with.

When I had finished, Ariyta was staring at me in dull shock. 'Helios...is gone?' I nodded. Hearing her say it like that made me burst into tears. 'Oh Rynhart.' Suddenly, two arms were around me. I didn't need to look to know she was crying her heart out. 'It'll be okay, I promise.'

'How the hell is this going to be okay?!' I screamed at her, misery transmuted into rage. 'I saw my family killed right in front of me, everyone I know is dead, I don't have anywhere to go, and all you can say is that it's going to be okay?!'

'You do have someone.' Ariyta whispered, looking at her hands in her lap.

'Who?' I asked softly, drained.

Her eyes rose up to mine. 'Me.' That single word was like a slap to the face, stunning me into reality. I may not have living biological family any longer, but now I had a larger one. We had all been through the same horror, the quenching of the brightest light. There was no one who could replace my family, but I had something inside me that hadn't been destroyed when I saw my family die.

'You didn't die the day your family did, Rynhart.' Ariyta said quietly. She picked up my hand and placed it over my chest. 'Feel that?' I could feel a soft thump-thump-thump. 'You do, don't you?' I nodded. 'That's your heart. You're still living. While you are, so does your family. They live on through you.'