.
Part 2
The space ship was huge.
That was the thought that came to Luz's mind as they passed through the clouds near the Titan's elbow and the image of the visitor's hovering mechanical behemoth came into full view.
At this point, everyone expected it to dwarf Bonesborough in size, but seeing it from this close made it a whole different experience. In fact, Luz thought that multiple Bonesborough-sized towns would've been needed to cover the entire shape of the crescent-moon-shaped ship, from top to bottom. And that while leaving the length and depth of the ship out of the equation.
From her current position, Luz could even take a look at the two enormous engine reactors on the ship's back, both an undisclosed amount of hundreds of metres long and lit with bright white light. Harder to catch but still visible was the edge of a blue-coloured hangar hatch on the side of the thing. The details on the surface of the ship were too far to be caught, but she could still tell that it was covered with smaller lights of varying colours, some fixed while others flickered.
The amount of technology at display was incredible, to be sure. But more importantly, as Luz moved closer along with the group of witches, she started to recognize some smaller objects around the larger space ship. She didn't need confirmation to realize they were the smaller spacecraft that Terra Snapdragon had reported.
However, she wasn't prepared to see dozens of them.
They moved around the larger, moon-shaped ship. Some were moving back and forth between it and the Titan's hand, followed by escorts of even smaller ships, acting more or less like fighter planes.
The sight of so many spaceships combined with the appearance of the main vessel of the mysterious fleet was overwhelming to say the least.
However, a distraction came very soon to shake Luz off her stupor, in the form of a cough from nearby.
Which was following by herself coughing, too.
Right... breathing was becoming very hard, at this altitude.
"Collector!" she heard Raine's voice call out from the front of the witch envoy party.
"On it!"
A purple field suddenly appeared above Luz, quickly increasing in size and area covered. It eventually took the form of a compressed sphere, or pill, large enough to envelop the entire group of witches. The group itself, albeit technically sent as an envoy, really was a two-hundred strong strike force where people either flew on their palisman staffs or via one of the airships they'd taken with them—a courtesy of the Blights and in particular Amity's dad, who had spent some time working on the machines that survived the fall of the Emperor's Coven.
As soon as the pill-shaped field was complete, Luz gasped as fresh oxygen replaced the poor high altitude air around her. She needed a few seconds of coughed out breaths to recover, though.
"You alright, kid?"
"Y-Yeah, I just... didn't anticipate the air to get so heavy that fast. You... you don't seem to be affected that much, Eda."
Eda hummed. "I guess that's one of the disadvantages of not having a bile sack that does a bit of heavy duty when needed. Still, we still need to breathe and there isn't much of it this high from the ground, so we have the moon kid to thank for the free air just as you do."
While the witch envoy group was composed of almost entirely witches, save for a handful of demons, Luz could only be glad that the Collector was accompanying them. Sitting on one of the picturesque glistening stars he sometimes used when flying around, they flew above most of the envoy group. They had their arms stretched out and their brows were furrowed. Purple streaks ran from his arms and into the bubble that enveloped the witches.
As some witches had already learned, this was merely an air-generating bubble that didn't actually stop anything that wasn't air from passing through. The witches at the edges of the group made sure to stay close and not divert too much from the path, lest they found themselves into what was closer and closer to being empty space.
As Eda turned her attention back to the flight, something occurred to Luz.
"Hey Eda, I was thinking... why did you help me out, earlier? When you thought I wanted to join? You really went out of your way to convince Raine to let in..."
Eda didn't immediately turn to face her again, though she still replied to her. "Simple, kid, what I told Raine is the truth. Might as well let you tag along but on our terms, ya' know?"
"But... I thought..." Luz started, but Eda turned her head to glance at her.
"I know what you're thinking. You want me to be honest? I don't like idea of you or the other kids being here with us that much more than Raine themselves. However, I've learned to trust you as well. You and your judgement... well, mostly, that is."
"Eda!"
The witch merely snorted. "Really though, don't think too much about it. All in all, you made a good point with them, and perhaps you are exactly the person we need right now."
Luz felt her cheeks flaring up a little at the implied compliment. "Uhh... okay. T-Thank you."
"Just speaking my mind out, Luz," Eda turned her attention back to the flight.
It certainly was something else. Some of the grievances between Luz and Eda in the past were born out of the worry of the latter for the safety of the former. But here she was, telling her outright that she trusted her enough to let her come, no questions asked.
It also helped to see her agree with her view on the matter. While the witch group was prepared for a hard fight if need be, Luz still firmly believed that a peaceful solution could be achieved.
The visitors were not Belos.
At least... she hoped they were not like him.
The only way to be sure was to check.
"Halt!" Darius' shout came without notice.
The flying witches came to a halt as the staffs rose up upright. The airships needed a little more time to slow down, but eventually the entire squadron stopped to move, hovering in stationary flight.
"What's going on?" Luz questioned.
"I don't know. Huh... go join your friends, Luz, see if they're all right. I'll go check out the front. King's probably regretting joining Raine and the others out of boredom anyway, so I need to fetch him as well." Eda did not wait for an answer. Instead, she led her staff above, flying over the heads of the witches around them while beelining for the side of the squadron facing the visitor's flagship.
"H-Hey, wait a second, Eda, I want to go with—!"
"Luz?"
That was Willow's voice. As she whirled around, she found the girl right behind her. Hunter sat alongside her on the same staff, while Gus and Amity flanked her with their own staffs.
They had evidently beat her on time and moved away from the rear to join her.
"I was just able to catch Eda's words," Willow continued. "I guess that means we have to wait for her to find out why we stopped moving?"
"...yeah, that's about it."
"Maybe... maybe we're taking a moment to see if they'll react with a hostile response?" Gus wondered. Unsurprisingly, the boy was beaming, and Luz was sure he saw literal sparkles in his eyes. "Titan, I still can't believe we're gonna meet an actual space alien civilization!"
"Wonder how close the real stuff will be to Cosmic Frontier..." Hunter wondered out loud.
"That's half the reason why we're here!" Gus exclaimed. Upon realizing Amity and Willow were both giving him an unamused look, he immediately added, "of course that comes second to supporting Luz and help make sure no one gets hurt, yeah, that was implied!"
"Ri-iiight..." Willow's eye-roll showed them how much she took that correction for granted. "Getting back on the topic... anything we can do beyond waiting?"
"I... I don't think so. That giant ship is not that far from us, so it's better to let them come if they wish to do so. Besides, I don't want Eda to think I'm seeking out trouble."
"That's... very cautious of you," Amity noted. "I thought you were considering to go try to meet them on our own."
Luz smiled a little. "I may have considered that once, but no, Amity... there's a difference between doing something dangerous because you want to do the right thing, and being reckless. This is one of those cases."
As she looked back to the form of the alien ship, she thought about the overall situation.
Amity knew her well. Despite the possible danger that this situation represented, and the logic she herself had stated, a little bit of curiosity was left in her, enough to wonder about these people and how it would be to meet and talk with them. Her curiosity wasn't comparable to the nerd-ish enthusiasm of Gus and Hunter, born out of their relatively recent passion for sci-fi media, but it was there.
And she still caught herself imagining how this new civilization actually was like. Who were they, and where did they come from? Why were they taking parts of the Titan's hand anyway? Many questions that would be left unanswered as long as they were just looking at it from a distance.
It wasn't like the giant ship had given any sign of seeing them. As for the smaller ships...
Wait. Did her eyes betray her or were some of the smaller spacecraft coming towards them?
"T-They're coming!" Luz let out in alarm.
Multiple witches around her reiterated her exclamation in some form or another. Most of them raised an alarm, lifting their arm and drawing a circle with a finger to charge up their magic. Even the airships swayed, turning to expose the sides that were filled with magical weaponry or other witches and demons ready to rain magic spells on the approaching flying vehicles.
"Hold it! Keep your nerves down!"
Darius' message did little to quell the on-going panic. The witches were really preparing for the worst.
And Luz could not blame them.
What looked like a far away swarm of small ships turned into a collection of full-blown spaceships that surrounded the witch squadron. What were ant-sized from a distance turned out to be large fighter ships that were either as big or bigger than the witch airships, and there were other somewhat bigger craft moving into formation as well that looked as sturdy as they looked menacing.
What mattered was that both tiers of spacecraft were filled with weapons. Lasers, turrets, other contraptions Luz couldn't recognize, but very much looking like proper vehicle weaponry, and allaimed to fire at the witch group.
No one liked that among the people who hovered around her.
"They... they are everywhere!"
"How are we even supposed to beat them? Even the smallest one is bigger than ours!"
"You don't have to, just don't let them believe you want to fight in the first place!"
The voices died down eventually as the ships of the visitors' stopped. Not unlike the witches, they hovered in space without attacking, but there were enough to block any way of escape as well.
In the distance, Luz caught the silhouette of even larger ships coming close, at a slower pace. However, also held their fire.
"...they are not shooting. That's... that's good news, right?" Gus's voice had lost his earlier excitement all of a sudden.
"Yes, it is, but... let's remain vigilant," Amity replied.
Luz nodded. Her curiosity winning over her worry, she decided to fly a couple of metres upwards, to check out what was going on right in front of the group.
She recognized Eda and Lilith speaking with each other, well out of hearing range. The Clawthorne sisters hovered on their own staffs dozens of metres away from what she thought was Raine's and Darius' command airship. She couldn't see King on it from the distance, but she knew he had to be there as well.
Her curiosity was rising by the second. She really wanted to know what the others were planning to do... maybe she and the others could go meet Eda?
The thought remained unsolved as there was another shout. The voice of the witch who spoke cracked as she shouted.
"T-There's one of those ships that's coming closer!"
"Wait, wait, wait... are they trying to get into the bubble?"
"Somebody tell them to slow down, to stop! Do something!"
"What are we supposed to do?!"
There was a loud cry. Luz immediately realized that this was not a roar from Eberwolf, but rather the raspy shout of a harpy.
Eda hovered in above most of the witches. She no longer had her staff with her, and large wings spread out from her back. She had fully turned into her harpy form. "Hold your warrior spirits, folks. We ain't fighting if we can help it!"
"We'll give them the chance to make their way through!" Darius voice boomed through the bubble. The magic the witches were using to enhance the reach of their voice was doing wonders. "Move out of formation; we need that ship to have the manoeuvre space it needs to enter the Collector's bubble if they wish to do so. After that, stay ready for anything, but otherwise stay put! Clawthorne, you help direct the witch around!"
Eda nodded and moved her left arm, pointing at areas to direct the witches out of formation. Lilith, flying on her own staff and now carrying Eda's—by now turned back into her palisman, Owlbert—joined her soon after.
Luz, Amity, Willow, Hunter and Gus followed their instructions as well. They were pushed a bit backwards, but they managed to find an opening at the very edge of the group to check out what was going on a bit better.
The ship was almost on them. On a first look, it looked similar to the other small spacecraft, but unlike them it lacked the slicker design of the fighters or the visible weaponry of the corvettes. It was much closer to a generic transport ship of some sort and limited size.
Limited size was relative to the rest of the alien fleet, of course. That thing was still big enough to rival a seaship from the Boiling Isles.
Luz could now see Raine in the distance, leaning over the command airship. They gestured towards the Collector and shouted something she didn't catch, though whatever it was it didn't make the moon kid stop to hold to the streaks that connected him with the bubble itself.
The ship was now close enough that she could listen to the noise of its engines, even if muffled by the almost complete lack of air outside the bubble.
Even if she was expecting it, Luz couldn't help gulping as the ship finally touched the edge of the bubble. It kept moving, and stopped only when the ship was halfway through.
Then, there was a loud, strong transmission. A voice, crackling and slightly disturbed, but clear enough to catch the words, spoke to the witches. Unfortunately, the language was not English. In fact, it didn't sound like any language Luz recalled from her own planet.
"Y-You hear them talking too, don't you?" Gus said.
"Yes, but that language... I can't understand anything," Willow replied. "Oh... I didn't think about the language barrier, but that's... somewhat obvious."
"I c-can do something about that!" Luz heard the voice of the Collector from afar. The young kid was still busy holding on the streaks, but they simply gathered them into a hand and opened the other. Some shiny particles came out of their fingers and shot in all directions.
Whatever they did, it worked quickly, as the words coming from the ship suddenly became understandable.
"—communication with the native population does not appear to be possible. We have yet to receive a reply. Aborting and leaving."
"Hey, hey!" Eda took the initiative. Still in her harpy form, she flew up to the ship's front, placing herself right in the middle of the view of the ship's bridge. She also ignored Lilith, Raine and Darius trying to call her name and telling her to stop. Somewhere from another airship, Luz heard a voice that sounded like Mason's shouting an expletive.
Eda ignored them and simply continued to focus on whoever was inside the ship. "We can understand you now! Don't flee before we even exchanged a word!" she shouted.
Whoever was talking clearly took its time to reply. The witches remained in pregnant, tense silence for a few seconds.
"...youdospeak the common language?" the voice came out slightly hesitant.
"...no, not really... whatever that is. Kid's up there had conjured up some sort of spell, that's why we can talk," Eda jerked a thumb towards the Collector in the distance. "Anyway that's beside the point. We can understand you now, so would you please tell us who are you and what is your business in the Boiling Isles?"
The person regained their composure relatively quickly. "That... that is clear enough. Uh, communications has been established with the natives, Fleet Command. Ambassador proceeding with the introductory speech."
A pause. "This is the crew of the Ambassador vessel for the Kushan fleet. We come from several hyperspace jumps away from this part of the galaxy, and are currently performing a resourcing operation. We mean you no harm."
There was a collective sigh of relief that run through every single person in the witch squadron. Even Luz herself couldn't help letting out a gasp that she didn't know she'd been holding for more than an hour.
'They mean no harm. They are not him.'
"Concerning our business, we are only searching and extracting the resources required to restore the strength of our fleet. We do not intend to spend more time here than required, and will depart in the next few hours once we have obtained enough reserves from your planet's rock formation."
"...did they just call the Titan a rock formation?" Gus was as impressed as he was flabbergasted.
"Well, it kinda looks rocky," Willow admitted. "From a distance."
"They probably have no idea of how important it is, at least in terms of how significant it still is for some of us," Amity noted.
"It also means they didn't do it because they didn't care, but because they didn't know about it being important," Luz added. "At least... I hope that was the case."
Eda did not speak up again. She flew back as the command airship that carried the ex-Coven Heads moved up to the front of the Ambassador.
"We understand you," Luz heard Raine speaking loudly. "However, you need to know that you're not just gathering random resources. You're picking apart parts of our home, of something that is very important for a lot of people to this day. For that reason, we would like to speak with you to clear things out, but... face-to-face, if possible."
Another pause came, this time of several seconds. "That can be arranged. We have sent a carrier ship away to approach your... air sphere. We'll let you in and converse further once safely inside and answer any questions you may have left. As a sign of good will, we will immediately stop harvesting operations."
The Ambassador immediately started to slowly hover away. The witches didn't follow after it.
"...okay, t-that went better than I expected," Hunter commented. "But... ah, I was ready to f-freak out there!"
"I was kinda scared too, but Hunter, we're gonna actually enter one of those ships, you heard that?" Gus gushed. "Oh my, oh my!"
"Keep your excitement under check, boys. We're still not out of it, and..." Willow glanced at the ambassador ship as it flew away. "They haven't explained exactly what's going on yet, either."
Luz agreed with her sentiment. For now, they could only hope that these alien, the Kushan, did not have any ill intentions.
They were off to a good start at least. It couldn't be that bad, could it?
Luz did her best to keep her nerves in check. Yet, she couldn't help feeling a little bit worried.
How could she not, when she was being stared at from every direction?
There were hundreds—if not thousands—of people lined up around walkways, platforms and at the ground level all around the hangar of the Kushan carrier. They were all observing the witch envoy group, as if the were a parade float, but with little to no voices or comments coming from them that Luz could hear.
Once the large carrier ship had arrived, the witch squadron had followed the ambassador into the carrier's hangar. They had offered assistance, but due to the Collector's air bubble and the skill of the witches in flying, they had managed to easily come in and land on their own, passing through the area where the air bubble was no longer needed.
Their willingness to help should've been a good omen, but Luz did not fail to realize the ominous weaponry that a lot of the Kushan carried, some of which were drew out.
She was not familiar with their technology, but guns were guns. Those things didn't help her quelling her worries for sure.
"Kids, you probably don't need to be reminded this, but stay wary," Eda said. She had decided to join back with Luz and her friends later on. King was there too, as he'd decided to leave the airship to stay closer to Luz and Eda. She was also still in her harpy form.
"I'm not sure yet about these chums, but they sure don't look as welcoming as they sound. Keep your eyes peeled."
Luz guessed that the Owl Lady, due to her escapades on Earth in the past, at least knew about earth firearms and therefore could put two and two together just like Luz did.
"Good for me. I'm not... an expert, but I don't like those guardmen, either," Amity said. Her eyes looked left and right, taking note of the position of the Kushan who were armed.
"By the way... they look pretty human to me. Normal ears and the such... Luz, are you sure they're not related to your planet?" Gus asked.
"I'm positive no one has achieved anything comparable to the spaceships we've seen, Gus. There people come from somewhere else... and as such, I can't tell anything about what they want, either." Luz bit her lip. "That irks me a little, actually."
"Well, they are still 'aliens', technically, so that does not surprise me... personally, I still can't help thinking about how these people are organized. This ship... even if we're a bit on the edge, it's still amazing that we're inside it!"
"I thought it'd be way less terrifying that it actually is," Hunter mumbled out.
"We'll be fine. Let's just keep out of trouble as long as we can," Willow said. The friends nodded to each other in agreement.
They only walked for a few more seconds before the group started to slow down and stop.
Luz and her friends were to the left of the front of the crowd. Therefore, she only needed to lean over to actually check out what was going to the right, at the centre of the witch formation.
Eda did the same. "Looks like Raine, Lily and the others are walking out of the group to meet some of these 'alien humans'. It got to be the key meeting."
"I... I don't think we can hear them from here," King noted.
"Let's get closer," Eda noted. She turned around, "Goes for you kids, too, if you wanna hear what's going on."
"Are you sure that's a good idea... I mean, I would like to know more, but these guys seem a bit on the edge, and you, uh..." Hunter vaguely gestured towards Eda.
"Oh." Eda retreated her wings and in a couple of seconds she shifted back into her normal form. Luz could swear she heard some gasps coming from far away, from the Kushan. "Better?"
"Y-Yeah. No offense."
"Actually, looking terrifying is a compliment to me," Eda gave the poor kid a grin of encouragement. "Let's move."
She led King and the four teenagers closer to the centre, passing in front of many of the witches who waited on the first line. Some showed disgruntled faces at the sight of the group of kids making their way towards Raine, but no one protested, as not just Luz but Eda and King were very well known by now by most of them.
Authority was still a bit of a dynamic entity in the Boiling Isles at this time, but they were at least respected enough to be left alone.
As they got closer, the scene became clearer. Darius, Eberwolf, Raine and Lilith were talking with a tall Kushan man, wearing a formal attire and—weirdly enough—something that looked like an oxygen mask. The Collector floated nearby too, close enough to listen to the conversation themselves. The translation spell they had used earlier was still in effect.
Soon, Luz began to catch on the discussion going on.
"—we don't have a name for our, uh... planet," Raine said. "The thought never occurred to us, to be honest, but our home is called the Boiling Isles. Hopefully that is enough for you."
"It is fine," the person in front of him said. The voice was only slightly distorted by the mask he was wearing. As the person in the Ambassador ship that spoke with them earlier, the tone was very formal, almost professional. "We only wished to know how to best refer to you and your home, witches and demons of the Boiling Isles."
"Very well then... we did our introductions. I think it's fair you do yours next," Darius said. Eberwolf stood beside him in silence, though he nodded at Darius's words. "We know you are the Kushan, but who exactly are you? Where exactly do you come from and why are you here?"
The man took his time to reply. He also raised his hand to his ear—clearly looking like he was waiting for some message. He was likely wearing some sort of earbud.
"I will go through everything, one step at a time. First off, my name is Jirel Soban, and I'm the captain in charge of the capital ship you currently stand within. For this conversation, I speak on behalf of the entire fleet."
He paused before resuming. "Our people come from a desert planet, Kharak, many light-years away from your world. Since we departed, we have been travelling through many systems in our journey, and we intend to continue on as soon as possible. Our presence here is only temporary, as was already told you by the ambassador."
"Why have you been travelling around this... galaxy, then?" Lilith pressed. Eda's sister—save for the new haircut—sounded like she was back to her old, Emperor's Coven self in coldness. "Do not try to circumvent the subject, Captain. We would like to know what we're dealing with here."
This time, Jirel did not wait for instructions from whoever could contact him. "We will be honest with you. Starting a short overview of our story form the beginning should help clear our motivations out for you."
"Years ago, on Kharak, we discovered the means that would let our people leave the planet—hyperspace technology. We built a fleet to take on the journey, spearheaded by the Mothership—the largest ship you surely have noticed in this fleet."
"That's the one that looks like a half-moon?" Darius asked.
"Precisely. After finishing the preparations, we tested the Mothership's hyperspace capabilities, and all things looked well. We were ready to launch an expedition into the far reaches of spaces, to look for a new home. Kharak... was dying, as the deserts had been taking away liveable space from our cities and settlements for centuries, and they were close to enveloping the entire planet. We had no choice but to look to the stars, and most Kiithid on Kharak were, sooner or later, wise enough to understand that. We all worked towards the common goal."
Jiriel stopped. He seemed to be disturbed, as he took a breath and didn't continue for several seconds. Raine was about to open their mouth when the Kushan captain resumed the story.
"This proved to have consequences no one could've predicted. While we knew that we were not alone and there were likely people beyond our planet, we didn't know whether these were enemies or not, not unlike you. At first, the Mothership was attacked during the test run, but we fend off the raiders who tried to strike at us. When we turned back to Kharak, though... the planet was no more. Kharak was burning."
Silence befell on them. The few witches who were close enough to hear also stopped murmuring with each other.
"D-Do you mean... that your entire home planet was...?" Raine said, fighting through his own shock.
Jiriel simply nodded. "By the time we were back, no one was left alive. We were able to repel the remains of the enemy fleet—which we later understood was a strike force from the Taiidan Empire—before they could also take away the Cryo Trays, which contained those from Kharak who had accepted to take on the expedition. We were still living... but we were the last of our kind.
He let his words sink in for a few more seconds. "Now we at war, chased by the same Taiidani who sought to destroy us... to finish the 'job', if you will. We seek not just to fight back and stop the Empire... we also look for a new place to settle. A planet safe from our enemies, a planet that belongs to us. Our homeworld."
It almost felt like the speech was being recited from memory. That may have been it, but Luz could clearly see that some emotion was visible in Captain Soban's eyes and in the way his brows furrowed at certain points of the brief retelling. And how could he not? Luz herself could barely believe what she heard.
The sheer scale of the idea that, even if it had already happened and far, far away, was hardly fathomable. An entire planet had been destroyed, and the millions of people on it were gone along with it?
It was too much to fully understand.
And most notably, it felt exceptionally familiar. This was what the Boiling Isles had risked.
However, Luz had managed to save them.
The inhabitants of Kharak were not as lucky.
"I... I didn't know," Lilith spoke up. "I... I have to apologize for my rude behaviour. I felt we needed to make sure, but I had no idea about the gravity of your situation."
"Carefulness has been a key part of our journey, too, and we expect nothing less from those we meet. We take no offense," Jiriel replied.
"That's good to hear," Darius agreed. "Now, would you kindly let us know if these enemies are chasing you right now?"
"Darius!"
Luz would've echoed Raine's voice if she were taking part in the conversation herself.
"Don't give me that look! I'm sorry for what happened to these people, too, but what do you think would happen if their enemies saw us conversing with them in a friendly manner?"
"...Darius is right," Lilith agreed. Raine shifted their glare over to her, but Lilith didn't falter. "As much as I understand why you feel that way, Raine, this is not something we can just gloss over. We barely understand the visitors, and I'd rather know now rather tha later if more, possibly less unfriendly, visitors are coming afterwards."
She moved her gaze to the Kushan captain. "So, Captain Soban... what about it?"
"We believe a Taiidan striking fleet is currently hunting us down," he replied. "This means that yes, we are on the run from our enemy, but we have reason to believe that the Taiidan Empire will not seek us out in this sector. This area is widely considered to be dead space, and due to many incidents in the past, most travellers do not dare to cross into the region."
"But you did," Lilith countered.
"The circumstances did not leave us with many options."
"Uh-huh," Raine noted. "I think I understand. Everything you said is certainly coherent with the Collector's account."
"There is one last topic you haven't touched on yet. You are at war with this Empire, we understand that. So, what is your business here?" Darius said. He made a broad gesture towards the people... and the ships that were parked in the hangar. "Or rather, what have you been doing here?"
"Our last encounter with our enemies was a dire one. We saved some of the few who resonated with our cause, and we paid a price for it. We knew the Taiidan would counter attack soon, and we needed resources to restore our combat fleet to full power before meeting them. We hoped to find sources of Resource Units for the task in this region, but were unlucky until we found your planet and the rich deposits it stores. We started from this hand-shaped rock formation, as we initially believed it to be the least likely to cause you further shock."
"...I don't follow?" Raine furrowed his brows. "Why not just... coming down to meet us first?"
Jiriel hesitated. He once again brought a finger to his ear and listened.
"Please, do not take offence in this, but... we knew that this planet was inhabited from the beginning. Our sensors picked up your presence long before we started our harvesting operation. However... there is no good way to report this, so I'll be blunt. We worked on the assumption that you were primitive in nature. Our main goal was to take the bare minimum we needed to rebuild, and then leave again to resume our attack on our enemies and the journey to the homeworld without involving you."
"...well, so you came to fetch pieces of our planet away and just assumed we'd be okay with it because you thought you were some sort of superior race?" Darius prodded. His expression clearly showed he did not like what he heard. Even Raine and Lilith looked somewhat riled.
Jiriel shook his head. He replied neutrally, with no visible reaction to Darius' hostility. "We chose to try and avoid contact. We now understand this was not the best of decisions."
"Well..." Raine spoke cautiously, his narrowed eyes having grown more suspicious after Jiriel's latest words. "At least you realize that was a bit disrespectful. I'm glad about that."
Jiriel nodded. "We never meant to harm you in any way. We only plan to stay for the time strictly necessary to prepare for the upcoming battles."
That was good news! Luz was starting to get worried, but Captain Soban sounded cooperative and willing to understand the witch's point of view, at least for now.
"Wait, where's Eda?"
Amity's voice took Luz out of her thoughts. Her eyes shifted to her left—and indeed, Eda was nowhere to be seen. She looked down to find King in her place, with the demon simply pointing towards Jiriel Soban and the other witch representatives.
"She's right there!"
Luz saw her just in time to hear her voice.
"Forgive me, Jiriel, but it sounds like you haven't stated anything about you stopping your 'harvesting' thing. Is that the case?"
"Eda, wait—" Lilit begun.
Captain Soban replied without hesitation. "Correct. We have stopped to show you we have no ill intentions, but will resume as soon as you have flown back to the Boiling Isles."
"...I don't think you understand. We would like you to stop, altogether," Darius said.
"That is... not an option, unfortunately," Captain Soban replied. "This planet is the only source of viable RUs we found."
"Do you think using some classy sci-fi acronyms will take attention away from the issue?"
"Eda, slow down! There's no use in being aggressive, we already know they misunderstood us to begin with!" Raine interjected.
"Yeah, right, the fact they misunderstood us for savages?" Eda did not look away from the Kushan man. "I know it felt like you were hiding something. I do not blame you for what happened to your kin, Jiriel, but there are boundaries that you should know should not be crossed. We did not give you permission to take pieces of our home away yet."
Jiriel did not look intimidated by Eda at all, which was saying something given he had to know Eda could turn into a harpy with sharp claws at a moment's notice. "The issue is that time is too much important of a factor. Our enemies may not be following us, but every minute spent here is a minute left to the Taiidani to reinforce the rim of their empire and the defences we'll have to face to reach the Galactic Core. We do not do this because we lack solidarity towards you and your planet. We do so because our survival is on the line."
"So what, if we were to just say 'no', you'd just continue? Make us leave?"
Jiriel Soban bore the Owl Lady's gaze.
"...if need be."
The message got across fast among the witch envoy group. Some of those present let out exclamations of shock, and a lot gripped on their staffs. A few witches also drew magic circles again.
Eda, Lilith, Raine, Darius and Eberwolf shared that apprehension for sure. Luz noticed that Eda in particular had diverted her eyes away from Jiriel to look at the Kushan who were waiting around the hangar.
She followed her gaze.
Wait, did the amount of people carrying weapons increase?
As fast as it had come down, the tension was back to sky-high. But before something worse could happen, Luz saw Raine place a hand on Eda's shoulder. Eberwolf also pulled on Darius' cape, taking his attention away.
"We thank you for your honesty, Captain Soban. Would you mind to give us a moment to discuss on our own? I know time is important, but since you stopped your mining operations already, I guess that a few more minutes will not make that much of a difference."
Jiriel nodded. "Feel free to discuss this matter. We will wait."
The five didn't waste more time and walked away from him, far enough from King, Luz and her friends that she could no longer hear them.
Luz thought over how things had turned out. They had managed to avert a conflict for now... but for how long?
"I don't like this..." Willow confessed. "It does not look like we're as welcome as we thought we were."
"I agree," Amity said. "These Kushan... they talk clearly and sound friendly and willing to see our side, but..."
"They are fighting to escape total annihilation."
"Gus, why does it sound like you're on their side?" Amity deadpanned.
Gus raised his hands in defence. "Hey, hey, that's not what I meant! I'm just trying to see their point of view. We were in danger ourselves, not that long ago."
"It doesn't matter." They all looked at Hunter. The boy had completely changed demeanour, face scrunched up into a nervous scowl as his eyes looked left and right. The initial excitement that he shared with Gus over the idea of meeting the strangers from the stars was gone, too. "These people are not our friends. I can feel it just looking at how they speak, how they refer to us. It all feels... familiar, very familiar."
"Are you telling me that the Kushan are like the Emperor's Coven?" Willow's voice had come down to the whisper. "That's... bad. I-I thought that they would be more like us. They talked about an Empire as their enemy, right?"
Hunter nodded. "I'm not saying that they are comparable to what the Emperor's Coven was, or even... what he was," he specified. "I... I'm talking about their determination. How willing they are to pursue the goal, no matter what, no matter the consequences."
"That's... worrying. I... I hope you're not entirely right, Hunter," Amity said. "For now, I think we should just follow Eda's advice and stay wary until the situation changes for the better."
She then turned to Luz. "Luz, you okay? You haven't said a word."
"U-Uh? Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay... I was just... thinking..." Luz replied without conviction.
"...you are not thinking of doing something about this, are you?"
"...maybe?"
"Luz... I like and trust you, but maybe we should leave this one to Eda and the others?" King intervened. "I'm not saying we can't help, but... it all feels a bit out of our control, right now!"
"I agree. W-We really should think over anything we decided to do here," Hunter added. Luz realized that one of his hands had been trembling. It took him a moment to grab his own wrist to stop it from getting worse.
"I don't want things to get out of control, either..." Gus added.
"No, no, wait a second, guys. I don't want to cause some inter-galactic diplomatic incident here as well. I-I know that things aren't looking good right now, and I do not intend to make a scene—not like earlier at the meeting in the hall of the Collector's archives. That was different—it was a meeting among the people I've learned to know. I won't do something like that again here. It's just that... uh..."
She looked at Jiriel Soban. Two additional people had appeared beside him that were not there while he was discussing with the leaders of the witch envoy group. They were close enough that Luz could tell the details on the rifles they had in their hands.
No, she couldn't let things happen without at least trying to fix it herself.
"I... I need to go there and try and talk with him."
"Luz..." Amity started.
"Listen to me. I'm not just going to waltz in there and say something like 'hi, Captain, I'm Luz the Human! Could you, like, pack it and leave while leaving the Titan alone, pretty please?'. I now that's stupid! I-I have something in mind that should get them to reason with us. I gotta try!"
King, Willow, Hunter and Gus all looked at her with doubt, but it was Amity who voiced their thoughts. "Are you sure?"
Luz nodded, and this time she made sure to show she believed in her own plan fully. "I promise I'm not doing something reckless. I can make this work."
"...well, you always managed to do things most witches would've deemed impossible," Amity shrugged. "I'm in."
"...you're in?" Luz said in surprised.
"She's in?!" Hunter and Gus squeaked together.
"We're in!?" King let out.
Willow simply looked with surprise at Amity.
She nodded. "I think we all have known Luz for long enough to understand when she means business and when she doesn't. To me she sounds like she knows pretty well what's at stake right now. If she thinks she has a way to get these strangers to reason with us while avoiding a fight, then I see no reason to not agree with her."
Luz was of course overjoyed to hear that Amity was on board immediately, but hearing her say those words—of almost complete honesty and belief that Luz was indeed trying to do the right thing—struck her beyond mere satisfaction.
She immediately dived to her and wrapped her arms around Amity. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Y-Yeah, I like you too, but let's leave this for after we're sure we won't be blasted to smithereens, okay?"
"U-Uh, uh-huh, right," Luz immediately separated herself from her, a hint of red colouring her cheeks.
"I... I concur," Gus added. "I... I imagine I can't change your mind, but I do agree that it sounds like a good idea all things considered."
"I... I guess it makes sense for me, too," Hunter said, though his tone sounded far less convinced.
Willow seemed to notice, as she came beside him and grabbed his hand. "I agree too, Luz. I still would like to tell you to be careful... very careful. These people, these... Kushan, they have gone through a lot, but we don't know that much about them yet. They are not the Emperor's Coven, but after what Hunter said... I still worry about what they may decide to do if we were to deny them their request. Just... keep that in mind, okay?"
Luz found all of their doubts logical. She also worried about what the people from Kharak would be willing to do, especially given the grave situation they were in.
But she knew that the witches from the Boiling Isles had also gone through their own plight. She didn't want them to be forced into letting go of one of the few things that had survived Belos' actions.
She'd find a way to make it work.
"I will."
"Uuh... hello? Captain Soban?"
Jiriel Soban took a second to register the fact he'd been addressed, as he faced in another direction. However, Luz still got an immediate reaction from the two Kushan soldiers he was talking with. Both glared at her, with one of them making a few steps to put himself in-between the carrier captain and her.
He also was aiming the muzzle of the sci-fi-looking rifle at her head. Which wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
But she was pretty stubborn, so she didn't back away.
"E-Excuse me for interrupting... may I share a word with your Captain, right behind you?"
"Keep your distance!" the Kushan soldier replied drily, ignoring her question.
Luz didn't let that get to her. "Hey, I'm just asking for a quick chat, not a full blown discussion. I think that's reasonable, don't you think?"
There was a click. She couldn't know how that gun worked, but still, it was clear enough what the soldier had done.
"Keep. Your. Distance," the soldier threatened. "This is your last warning."
Luz gulped. At this point, she could very well go back and call it a day, and no one would've been able to criticize her for not trying.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to just leave it be. She needed to talk with Jiriel, to one of them who could pay attention to her words and perhaps make a difference.
It was her best bet to make them understand.
"I... please, I don't mean any harm, I just want to—"
She let the sentence unfinished as Jiriel put a hand on the soldier's shoulder. "Stand down."
The guard did not protest, simply lowering his weapon and making space. There was no trace of annoyance in his face, his features undecipherable.
Jiriel reached out to his invisible earpiece once again. "Yes, she is not a witch. Fleet Intelligence's data appears to be coherent with her description."
He then finally addressed her. "May I know your name, lady?"
"U-uh, right, my name is Luz," Luz introduced herself. "Luz Noceda."
The man nodded. "Forgive me for starting this conversation by questioning you, but we would like to have a confirmation regarding you. I guess you are not a witch... the lack of pointy hears give it away pretty clearly. But are you from the Boiling Isles, or... somewhere else?"
"Well, that's... kinda the main reason why I wanted to talk with you," Luz answered, her confidence increasing. "I'm from Earth, which is... well, it is a planet from far, far away. I'm not sure if it's from the same galaxy as the Boling Isles, but I don't think they're the same. Space-travel isn't really a thing back where I live."
"Uh-huh. If that's the case, how are you even on this world?" Jiriel asked. He sounded genuinely curious.
"Portals," Luz replied. "Specifically, magical portals. It's... it's a long story, I'm not sure if you want to know more about them."
"I think we can leave that to another time." Not unlike his peers, there was little emotion on Jiriel's face, but Luz could tell from his tone that there were a lot of questions floating in his mind that he decided not to voice. How many were his and how many were from whoever was in contact with him via the earpiece was up to anyone's guess.
That was unlike Luz, who widened her eyes at Jiriel's next words.
"Well, if that's it, then I think we're done here."
"...wait. Wait!" Luz protested immediately, making a step towards him as Captain Soban turned around. "You didn't even—please, wait! There's something I need to tell you!"
Jiriel whirled slightly around just to shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luz Noceda. Our interest in you arise from the possibility of you knowing something about our enemies, the Taiidan, than we did not. It certainly is... remarkable, to learn about the existence of worlds even beyond this galaxy and easily reachable for you, but I imagine that flying an entire space-faring fleet through one of those portals is not feasible. Is it?"
"It... it isn't, but—"
"And then, it would just delay the inevitable. The Taiidan would follow us here, and may bring the same anguish to you that befell us while also chasing us to your own galaxy. Besides, our goal is in this galaxy, not elsewhere. " Jiriel frowned. "Even beside those points, this is something me and many of my compatriots, within and outside my Kiith, would avoid at all costs. I'm sure you can agree with that."
The thought of Earth enduring something comparable to what happened to the Boiling Isles, but on a planet-wide scale and with no way to stop it, shot through her mind.
"Y-Yes, I do..."
Jiriel nodded. "We'll just wait for news from your leaders. For now, this is enough, Luz Noceda."
...no.
"No. Please, let me talk!" Luz continued. "It may sound like I cannot give you any help, but I want to help!"
Jiriel's demeanour shifted. "How?"
Even if he'd spoken in the usual tone, Luz could tell that the captain was not willing to hear her for long.
She had to make her words count.
"I-I want you guys to understand who these people are, and why they do not want to just let you do as you please," Luz started. "I... I understand the feeling of meeting people who are very different from you. I was a stranger in the Boiling Isles in the past, too, and I did not necessarily get a warm welcome by everyone from the get go. The witches and demons who live on this planet have gone through some hardships in the past too, and it's... hard for them to accept further sacrifices. And the rock-formation you're consuming is still significant for many of them, too."
Jiriel narrowed his eyes. "I'm afraid that is not a strong enough argument. We have our own reasons, Luz Noceda, and while we never aimed at causing conflict, you are essentially asking us to take an additional risk—on top of what we had to go through already. Do you realize that?"
Luz bore the hit. "I know... I, I'm sorry, about what happened. And I would never ask you to go through that again. What I'm saying though is that there is another way. You don't have to take risks... you just have to actually talk with us, to exchange ideas until we come up with a compromise or another way to help you out without destroying part of the Boiling Isles themselves."
"And how would that be possible? Most of the planets in this region are gas giants and the rest of the celestial bodies are poor in resources. We could search for more, but that would require time. You know already why we will avoid that."
Jiriel took in a breath. "I'm afraid this conversation will not lead anywhere, Luz Noceda. You will hear along with the rest of your companions our resolution once we talk with your leaders again."
"B-But...!"
Luz found herself at loss of words. What could she add? They were basically ignoring her input—if they weren't willing to listen, then there was nothing left to do.
And she couldn't even blame them. Their entire race had risked total annihilation.
But no. No! She couldn't let this discourage her. There was another option, a way to resolve this issue without causing more fighting, without risking more death.
She couldn't stop trying. Not yet.
"Y-You don't understand! We have actual ways to help you. The witches in this world can use magic. T-They may be still in recovering, but I'm sure they can do things even the best of your technology cannot imitate. We can come up with something!"
Jiriel glared at her. Now the scorn was only thinly veiled behind his eyes.
Luz persisted. "It's not just about that. I don't want things to get out of control, and I believe with all of my heart that you can achieve what you want without resorting to threats. All I ask is for you to just give us a proper chance. I-If... if it helps I can act as a representative, or ambassador, or whatever you want for these people, as someone with less stake in this than those who live here, if that matters to you!"
That was very close to a lie, and Luz knew that. She was attached to the Boiling Isles, but that mattered only to an extent. In reality, what she was really attached to was the people in it. Her friends. Her found family. Her girlfriend.
They all deserved better than being pulled into a war and potentially being involved in a galaxy-wide conflict afterwards.
"I can do anything you want, as long as you don't—"
Luz couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.
She didn't want them to hurt the people she loved her. That was clear.
But the Kushan had suffered too. They had lost their loved ones. They had lost thousands of loved ones. For all she knew, Jiriel Soban may have been the only living member left of his close family.
What could she really offer to the Exile Fleet?
"Luz?!"
Her time was up. Eda had materialized beside her, rushing like a hawk. She'd asked Amity and the others to keep her distracted in case she decided to look for Luz, but she knew it'd only last for so long.
Unlike the Kushan, Eda made no mystery to hide her hostility. "What is going on here?"
"I-It's fine, Eda!" Luz tugged at her until Eda's glare shifted away from Jiriel and his bodyguards and back to her. "This was all my own idea!"
"...maybe, but I don't like the way they were looking at you, either," Eda growled, throwing another glare at the Kushan. The soldiers didn't budge.
Jiriel, though, looked distracted. He gazed away, focused on something else.
Luz couldn't dwell on that, as Eda turned to say something else. "Let's leave them aside for a moment... what the heck, Luz?! You got to know this was borderline foolish, and that's coming from me!"
"I... I know," Luz convened. She couldn't really argue it was getting results, given the latter half of her exchange with Captain Soban. "But, Eda... I couldn't just watch. I didn't like how things were going, and... I had something. I thought I had something I could say to them, to make them understand and think over their plans again."
"And you wanted to help out no matter the odds... as you always do, huh?"
Luz nodded meekly.
Eda sighed. "Kid, I respect you wanted to help, and I won't lie, I'm actually kinda proud of that a little. But, here... for once, I don't think acting on a whim was going to help. I don't like these people, the way they act, and most importantly, I don't like the fact they have enough weaponry to—" her voice lowered down to a whisper, "—level the entirety of the freaking Isles. You understand?"
Luz bit her lip.
"...I, I do, but—"
There was a sound of a throat being cleared.
Eda and Luz turned away from each other. Captain Soban had approached them.
"Luz?"
"...yes?" she confirmed.
He hesitated for a moment. "It appears that your words have struck a chord. You are now formally invited and summoned to have an audience with Fleet Command."
"...f-fleet what?" Luz sputtered.
"Fleet Command. The very heart of the Mothership, and the highest authority within our fleet. She wants to speak with you."
He gestured to the guards. "Please, come with us. We have some procedures that will take a while before you can be granted entry to her chambers. Time is still of the essence."
"Hey, hey, hey! Who told you we'd let you take the girl away just like that?!" Eda shouted. "Hold your hands off! She ain't going anywhere on her own!"
"Fleet Command has specifically requested her presence, and only her," Jiriel stated. He was about to continue further, when a shout came to interrupt him.
"What's going on?"
That was King's voice. He was soon followed by multiple voices, which Luz soon recognized as her friends first, and the rest of the makeshift leaders of the witch envoy later.
Lilith and Raine immediately went side by side with Eda, starting to animately voice their worries and dislike for what was going on with the Kushan captain and Eda herself. Darius and Eberwolf remained a little behind, eyes open and scanning the surroundings as if ready for everything.
However, Gus, Willow and Hunter joined King and Luz instead. "They are taking you away?" Willow asked.
"N-No, it's not like that. I am going on my own accord."
"They said they summoned you. That sounds like an order."
"You heard how they like to speak, Willow... Still, it is kinda what I want, too. This is my chance, guys! If I can make this person, uh... if I can make Fleet Command reconsider, then the entire fleet will respect her wishes."
"Oh... converting the very leader at the top. Smart move."
"It's all I got, King," Luz said. "But you don't have to worry about what will happen to me there. Something must have got through to them, or else they wouldn't have given me this chance. I have to go all the way in."
"A-Are you sure about this?"
Luz looked at Amity. She'd realized that the girl hadn't come as close as the rest of her friends.
Amity was staring at her with a look that Luz did not expect. She actually looked scared.
"...yes, I am," Luz said, moving over to her. "But, uh, Amity... are you all right?"
Amity bit her lip, averting her eyes. Luz reached out and held her hands into her own. Only after a few seconds of physical contact did Amity look up again.
"I... I'm just worried, like everyone else..." she said.
"...you also sound a bit more worried than the others," Luz countered. She glanced at her friends. "No offence."
Willow and Gus made a thumbs up, while Hunter and King simply smiled awkwardly. She mentally thanked them for understanding without further clarification.
"I... I am," Amity confessed. "I, I don't know. I trust you, and it felt easy to follow you all the way into this ship, and help you when you decided to go talk with that captain character. But... now, I'm here, and we're surrounded by hundreds of people who are not our enemies, but not our friends either, people that we don't know. And... and now I'm hearing you should go have a meeting with their leader... into that ship... on your own?"
"...if you say it like that, it does sound worrying. And..." Luz thought over how she could word her thoughts in a way that couldn't be misunderstood. "Amity, I-I know it sounds a little dangerous. But I know these people will not hurt us if they can't help it. You heard what they said about their past, about what they are doing. They are... maybe they aren't our friends, but they are not evil."
She smiled. "All I am about to do is go have a short talk with the big boss behind the scenes. Worst case scenario, they send me back."
"What if they don't want to listen still?" Amity replied. "What if... what if they take you hostage after that?"
...Amity really was making it harder for even Luz to feel confident about her plan.
"...there are... some risks," she forced herself to say. But she didn't stop smiling. "But for you, I am willing to take my chances."
Amity's lips quivered. Luz decided to come closer, running her arms around hers and eventually embracing her. Amity immediately dived her nose into her hair.
"...I... I trust you," she managed to say, her voice muffled by Luz's shoulder. "But please... stay wary of them. And get back to us."
"I will be back before you know it."
It took them several seconds before one of them had the strength to let go of each other. Surprisingly that was Amity, who gently pushed Luz away. She sniffed, brushing an arm across her face and eyes.
"I'm... I'm okay, now." Amity said. "I-I guess I didn't take it as well as I hoped."
"That's fine for me," Luz said.
"That goes for us, too, Luz," Hunter chimed up. "Try to not get yourself killed."
"Hunter!" Willow protested.
"What? He's got a point," King noted.
"...seriously though, Luz... be careful," Gus added.
"It'll be fine."
She really would've liked to stick with them for a little while longer, but Luz knew that she couldn't spend more time here. People like Captain Soban didn't sound particularly impatient, but they were very disciplined and unwilling to forget about their mission. A mission where every minute counted, according to them.
She may have wanted them to reconsider, but she respected them enough to pay attention to that.
Luz walked over to the older Witches. Eda was currently busy shouting at her own sister, while Raine stood nearby awkwardly.
Jiriel wasn't looking at them. His attention was on her.
"Are you ready?"
That got Eda and Lilith's attention away from their heated debate, and they looked at her just in time to see her say, "Yeah, I'm ready."
"...she's already made up her mind, didn't she?" Lilith said, matter-of-factly.
"Yes," Eda grunted. "Listen, kid... I don't suppose I can make you change ideas on a whim. I just hope you've thought this through."
"I did, Eda. I know this is for the best."
"I... I agree this is a chance we can't drop and let go to waste," Lilith added. Eda sent a glare towards her, which the other Clawthorne sister promptly ignored. "But there are other ways we can do this. We can at least discuss with them and make them accept you taking a companion with you."
"No." Luz's deny came immediately. "It's already great that they're letting me go meet Fleet Command—I can feel that is the case. I don't want to press them further, not when things are already on the edge."
"Luz, your determination is... commendable, but I hope you know that you should not feel you have the duty to take this mantle," Raine said. They observed Luz as if to show that he could read her a bit better than the Clawthorne sisters could.
"I chose to do this, Raine," Luz replied. "I know how you feel about it... but this is something too important to let go. I know I gotta at least try."
The three witches observed her for a few moments, then Eda loudly groaned.
"...you always have a way with people, huh?" she said. "Hopefully that works out even with the alien boss up there."
Lilith nodded, while Raine offered a small smile. "I can certainly respect your determination, Luz," they said. "Okay, that is good for me."
He also gestured towards Darius and Eberwolf, who stopped scanning the surroundings to join them. Luz was ready to try and answer their own questions, but instead Darius simply shook his head slightly.
"Don't bother, kid. I know you got a point, and Raine talked about you enough that I can guess it's worth a shot anyway," he replied. "Get Fleet Command to reason."
Luz saluted. Perhaps that was a bit excessive, but she was starting to be influenced by the atmosphere, after all. Darius and Eberwolf right beside him hummed in approval.
Everyone among the present was now okay with it. There was the matter of Mason, the only other ex-coven head who had joined the envoy group, but he had stayed behind the entire time. That was perhaps for the better, considering he was pushing for a fight.
With nothing was left to stop her, so Luz finally found herself walking up to the Kushan captain.
"I'm ready to go, Captain Soban." Luz let out a small chuckle. "For real, this time."
As expected at this point, Jiriel did not share her mirth. "Very well, Lady Noceda," he replied neutrally. "Follow me and my men. We'll accompany you to a corvette that will carry you to the Mothership. There you'll be guided about what to do before you can meet Fleet Command."
"Got it... though, please just call me Luz... or Luz Noceda, if you prefer."
"As you wish, Luz."
He started to walk, and Luz followed, though she still turned away to wave at her friends. She noticed that Darius, Eberwolf and Raine had already started sharing the news with the rest of the witches, so only Gus, Willow, Hunter, King and Eda were there.
She waved at them, and they waved back.
She then took note of Amity, who didn't answer to her gesture immediately. Luz lied her eyes on her, and decided that she was not a Kushan girl and therefore formalities could go down the drain.
"I'll be okay!" she shouted. "I promise!"
That caught Amity's attention, and Luz made sure that the girl saw her best smile yet.
Yet, soon she was far, too far to catch the details of her face. Luz reluctantly turned back to focus on where she was going.
She'd made her choice by now and there was no turning back.
All that remained, was to follow the Kushan, and meet her.
AN: Captain Jiriel Soban is an OC character made for this chapter. He is referred for shorts as 'Captain Soban' a few of times, which is not to be confused with the 'Captain Soban' canon character that makes an appearance in Homeworld 2 (for clarity, this story takes place during Homeworld 1, while Homeworld 2 happens more than ahundred years later in the games' timeline). Though I do admit the name of the OC is a bit of an homage to that HW2 character.
For TOH fans who are fandom blind for HW: 'Kiith' (plular 'kiithid') is a word that identifies families in the society of the inhabitants of Kharak that also acted as factions and at least partially independent powers, sometimes with some sort of specialization identifying them. For the scope of this fic you don't need the specifics and full story, as each kiith has their own history and the kiithid changed a lot throughout time in the history of the Homeworld universe; here, just be aware that by the time of this story, kiithid have limited importance in the overarching story, but they are still held close by a lot of the Kushan, which is why you saw them mentioned in this chapter.