[Can you pick me up?] Nikki was already attempting to remember where she left her car keys, smiling as she typed a response to her girlfriend.

[Your wish is my command :) Where are you?] Keys in hand she cast about for socks and shoes, pulling them on as her omni-tool buzzed.

[Home. Don't get out the car, be ready to hit the gas.] She frowned as she left the house, ever since her birthday they'd been splitting driving duties but something didn't feel right.

[I'm on my way. What's happened?] There was no reply. Not for the first time Nikki found herself cursing the distance between their houses as her imagination span out of control. Stopped at a junction she tried again. [Trish? You OK?]

...

Nikki's heart was in her mouth as she cruised down the drive, nerves tense and senses straining, not knowing what to expect but ready for anything. Her eyes searched the shadows for danger, or for Trish she wasn't sure which, but there was no sign of either.

The house seemed silent, a single light on downstairs as she pulled up outside. She reached for her omni-tool to send a message that she was here but her girlfriend burst through the front door before she'd even started typing.

Moments later a tall silhouette was visible in the hallway, an utterly bewildered Nikki shouting a warning. Trish didn't even break her stride, omni-tool glowing orange as her fingers slid over the interface, the door behind her shutting with a hiss seconds before the figure reached it.

"Go!" Trish practically threw herself inside the car, Shepard obeying automatically despite having no idea what was going on. A small amount of relief filled her when the person locked inside the house started shouting, while not easing her confusion it put paid to some of the more nightmarish scenarios concocted by her brain on the way over when she was finally able to identify Mrs Stewart's frustrated tones:

"Trish get back here! Patricia Stewart! Nikki!"

...

"Thanks for the rescue." Nikki had been casting occasional side glances at her partner the entire way but it wasn't until she pulled into an empty car park on the top of a hill that Trish broke her silence.

"Anytime... What was all that about?" Nikki jerked her head back the way they'd come but Trish shook her head with a sigh, reaching out to trace Nikki's face.

"Nothing... Please? I don't want to have to think about it just yet." The lie was as obvious as the fact that she saw right through it but Nikki merely nodded after a brief hesitation.

"Ok..." She struggled to think of another topic to discuss. "What was that thing you did with your omni-tool? All the doors flashed red."

"Mid range burst to override all the doors on a specified frequency, can be set to open or lock."

"Really? You managed that from your omni-tool? How's it work?" Nicola knew if she could get her girlfriend talking about tech she'd speak and think about nothing else. It was the perfect distraction. Unfortunately the older girl misread her intentions.

"Oh no! Your dad will kill me if I teach you that!"

"What you're allowed it but I'm not?"

"Hey neither of us is exactly allowed it." Trish admitted. "But I got bored and wanted to see if I could make the software from scratch. There's hundreds of downloadable lock hacking programs on the dark net so I knew it could be done, I just had to work out the necessary coding. You see each lock manufacturer has about twenty different..."

...

"My mum's got a new job..." They'd been out for hours now, one distraction leading to another until they descended back into silence, led on the grass watching the stars. Apparently Trish was finally ready to face facts. "It's... it's on Earth." The hand that had been tracing circles on her shoulder paused a moment as Nikki processed the information, Trish rolling over to face her. "I don't want to go."

"Then don't. Stay here with me."

"I can't Nikki. I want to, but I can't."

"You're seventeen, you can do what you want!"

"Not according to the law. Systems Alliance parliament dictates the age of human majority is eighteen-"

"Screw the Alliance, this is Mindoir. Look if you need a guardian then ask my parents, you can stay with us. They'll agree to it, I know they will."

"It's not that simple Nick."

"Then I'll come with you!"

"And do what? There's no farms left on Earth Nikki and even if there were, you're even younger than me."

"We'll figure something out. Don't worry, there's still time to come up with a plan... I'll think of something..."