Hi, NorthernMage here with chapter 2 of Silence of Division. This chapter is important and from here on everything changes. Anyway, I'm not going to keep you waiting any longer.

Rynhart: NorthernMage doesn't own Pokemon or FTL.

Chapter 2: Kirau Olumi

Renina's POV

As we arrived in the next sector, a steady stream of SOS signals were transmitted at our ship. My commlink lit up, picking up the SOS signals. Then Rynhart's voice broke through.

'Everyone to the bridge. Now.' Then it returned to blinking like there was no tomorrow. We all hurried to the bridge. I saw Nir and Markus hurry out of their areas and into the bridge. I was the last one there. Rynhart turned around to see us.

'What's wrong?' Markus asked.

'A nearby planet, Tactarus V, has an epidemic raging and has asked for us to come help keep everyone calm. I have agreed.'

"What kind of illness is it?" Nir asked in standard Galactical.

'A mutated form of Kirau Olumi.' Rynhart said, mentioning the highly contagious disease. 'An airborne variant that can also be passed on through sneezes and coughs.' she said in response to our questioning looks. 'Nir, you know the most about sickness and disease here.' Nir frowned.

"As an Engi, I should be immune to it. However, you three aren't. And because the disease is mutated, I don't have a hope of curing it without a sample. Rynhart, are there quarantine suits on board?" Rynhart nodded.

'One for each of us.'

"Then, we must suit up and control the crowds. While we're there, I can get a sample of the disease and make a cure."

'Ok then. Everyone, go suit up. We'll be landing in a few minutes.' She turned to the controls of the ship. We all hurried off to the medical bay to get inside the quarantine suits. The quarantine suits were filtered with air from a tank on the back to keep out the toxic gas, sickness, or whatever was dangerous that required the suits.

I tugged the arm of the suit onto mine, picked up my helmet and went to wait in the airlock with the others. By now, Rynhart had also put on her suit. Nir gave us all stern looks.

"Whatever you do, don't take off any part of your suit. It's the only thing protecting you." We all put on our helmets. There was a gentle bump as the ship touched down, then Rynhart keyed in a code into the airlock controls and the doors opened.

Immediately the authorities came up to us. I saw they too were in quarantine suits, but they were marked, as if they had been pulled at and scratched.

'Thank goodness you're here.' the only human said. 'My name is Asaria Nimbil, the leader of this planet.'

'I am Rynhart Catagor, captain of the Fallen Angel.' Rynhart said. 'This is my crew, Markus, Nir, and Renina.'

'Hello all.' Asaria said, glancing at us briefly.

'So, you want us to control the crowds?' asked Markus.

'Yes. They've been getting out of control and raiding the food stores. We can't keep going like this much longer.'

"Don't worry, we'll keep the peace. Also, I am a Federation Engi Medic. If I can get a sample of the disease, I might be able to cure your people." Asaria's face was filled with joy and hope, something that looked like it hadn't touched her face in weeks.

'Are you serious? You could be able to save us?'

"Possibly." the Engi said. "It is by no means an exact science, since I do not know if there are any climate conditions or genes that will prevent me, or whether it will work. However, I can try."

'That's good enough for me.' Asaria said simply. 'Our lab is through here...' she said as she led Nir away to the lab. Rynhart turned to us.

'Don't take off your suit for anything and don't let anyone take it from you. Remember, that's the only thing protecting you. We'll meet back here in case of an emergency and the end of the day.' We both nodded and walked off, into the crowds.

I cringed. All around me where the people who, if a cure wasn't found soon, would die. The signs of the disease were all over them. I had already seen one of the raids Asaria had been talking about, and with a single glance stopped it.

Mothers had come up to me with their babies and thrust them at me, saying something in a language I didn't know. I had tried to explain to them I couldn't do what they were asking, but they hadn't listened. I had had to turn away.

Off to one side I saw a group of boys fitting a mismatched suit to a boy, probably to try it.

'Come on, this has to work.' said one. 'Its just like the quarantine suits the Federation has. Helmet, suit...'

'You need an oxygen tank.' I said. They turned to me.

'Huh?' I came forward.

'You need an oxygen tank with clean air in it. In fact, the entire suit has to be sealed and clean before you're exposed to the disease.'

'It does?'

'Yeah.' I sighed. 'That suit isn't going to work.'

'But...my sister is really sick! This has to help her!' I went down and held the boy's hands.

'Listen, they'll find a cure.'

'You really think so?' I stood up, pulling the boy up with me and let go.

'I hope so, for all your sakes.' I said, walking away.

As I walked away, someone jumped on me and I was thrown to the ground. I heard fingers scrabbling at my helmet lock.

'No, don't touch that!' I yelled. 'Let go of me!' When my attacker kept fighting to get my helmet off, I yelled again 'Help!' I reached out my hands and tried to push my attacker off, but they bent my arm across my back, making me yell even louder. Then, I felt a pull and they were pulled off of me, but not before I heard the dreaded hiss of my helmet releasing.

Hands pulled me up and I looked into the faces of Asaria and a few others in quarantine suits.

"Don't breathe in." one ordered as he resealed my helmet and flushed all the dirty air from my helmet. "You can breathe again now." he said as I let go of my breath. I shakily turned to see my attacker, who was a teenage boy.

'Arak.' Asaria said. 'You know it's not allowed to steal quarantine suits or break the seal on them. Once they're open to the air, they're useless.'

'Asaria, it's not fair that only some of us get suits. They should be shared around.' Asaria looked saddened.

'That's what we're trying to do, Arak. But this is a crew member of the ship that came to help. Their suits aren't to be shared, and definitely not attacked! Renina, come with me to the main hospital building. We need to check if you've caught Kirau Olumi.' I nodded and followed Asaria as we walked away, Arak staring at me in shock as we passed.

'Ok Renina,' Asaria said as she gently slipped a diagnostic needle into my skin, 'just sit still for a moment and this'll be over quick.' I nodded. I didn't like needles, but sometimes it had to happen. As it slipped in, the needle started sending back vital signs. Asaria scanned the screen.

Suddenly, my throat started to tighten and everything started to blur. I threw out a hand into the bed I was sitting on, leaning over a little to try and overcome the dizziness. Faintly I heard Asaria's voice.

'Renina? Renina, are you ok? What's wrong?' There was a pause as I fell onto the bed and others came into the room.

'Definitely infected...'

'She was fine a moment ago...'

'I'll call the rest of her crew...' Everything faded to black as I fell unconscious.

When I opened my eyes, there was a bright, blinding white light in my eyes. I weakly raised a hand to block it, and was about to pass out again when I heard a clear voice.

'Renina, can you hear me?' It was Rynhart.

'...Rynhart?' I mumbled, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes.

'Don't fall asleep on us. Listen, well, you have Kirau Olumi, and Nir hasn't been able to make a cure. If we don't leave soon, we jeopardise the information we're carrying to the remnant of the Federation.' Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could tell something about that wasn't good.

There was a murmur from Asaria to Rynhart, done close enough that I heard it.

'Kirau Olumi breaks down clear thinking. You'll have to actually tell her.' Rynhart sighed.

'Don't think I like this, Renina, but we're going to have to leave you.' Lack of clear thinking was no barrier to understanding this.

'What? But-'

'Renina, if we bring you with us, we might all catch Kirau Olumi. And then, what'll happen if we're attacked? It's just too big a risk to take.' Rynhart turned away, leaving me lying on the bed, feeling defeated. Asaria came up to me.

'We'll take care of you. Don't worry.'

Rynhart's POV

As we left the rundown hospital where Renina was, I heard the sound of a ship landing. I turned and saw the infamous markings of a rebel ship. Plasma rebels started spilling out of the ship.

'Rynhart...' Markus said softly. I swallowed. I saw an ion cannon on the landed ship, and a Class 2 warship coming into sight.

'Markus, Nir...' I said slowly. 'We have to get to the ship. Now.' We ran like there were a platoon of Plasma rebels chasing us, which there was. As we raced to the ship and I hurried to the bridge, Markus yelled to me.

'They're aiming the ion weapons at the engines and the rebels are almost at the door!' Heart racing, I initialised the takeoff and we shot out into space. A few shots were fired at the Fallen Angel, but we managed to get out of the atmosphere. I keyed in the co-ordinates for a nearby beacon and we jumped away, to an empty beacon.

I fell back onto my chair, utterly drained of all energy. Face in my hands, I thought for the first time since leaving Tactarus V, the disease-stricken planet, of Renina.

She would be helpless against the rebels. They'd kill her or worse, torture her for the information entrusted to I alone by General Ariyta of the Federation Fleet. I looked with anger upon the starry expanse of space.

Who controlled this, who created these hard choices for captains? I remembered part of a lecture, a few years before I became the captain of the Fallen Angel.

'Being a captain is a hard job. You must make the decisions that will save the crew, not yourself. You must put them ahead of your own wants and desires. They trust your judgement unquestionably. They do exactly as you say. If your orders are flawed, you may lose everything, your crew members, your ship, your life!'I lived by that rule. I fought hard to make sure everyone under my captaincy wasn't hurt or injured needlessly and then forgotten, or used as a tool.

"Rynhart." I turned to see Nir enter the bridge. "Losing Renina was not your fault."

'But I let her on, knowing she had no experience!' I protested, almost wanting to find fault with myself.

"None of us knew she was going to catch the disease. If anyone is at fault, it's me. I should have been able to discover a cure."

'Nir...' I said. 'We have to continue on though, to make sure the information that will save the Federation gets there.'

"Yes. I will head back to the medbay." As Nir walked out, I took a deep breath, got up and walked over to the control panel, my brief lull in attentiveness now over. Markus' face appeared on the screen.

'Rynhart, we were down on Tactarus V for a bit, and given we went through the asteroid field, some of the rebel fleet may have circled around us.'

'I hope not.' I said, gazing out the front window.

'Well, anyway, we should be in the next sector soon.'

'Good.' I said. 'We've spent too much time here.' The stars whipped past as we shot through space.

Ok, ok. So, Renina's fate is uncertain, and the crew of the Fallen Angel are taking it pretty hard. I was thinking of putting what happens to Renina in this chapter, but decided not to. Instead, that'll be in the next chapter, chapter 3. Most of the major change I talked about will be next chapter, but still, Renina getting a lethal disease is a pretty big loss. So, you'll have to wait a bit to see what happens next. See you next chapter!