by Ella Young
"Did you have something else in mind?" he asked.
Weinan nodded. "With the recent loss of our base on Levala, we're short on men. We could use all the extra bodies we can get. Admiral Ferrao wants to formally extend to the Tribe an invitation to join the Remnant."
Nero was taken aback. He glanced back at the rest of the humans. They shifted from foot to foot as well, murmurs rising. They were less than a hundred, most of them scrappy farmers who had given up one hard life for another. Most of them were young, under thirty, and had little connection to their farming roots. He knew, after the events on Arryna, that they would follow him just about anywhere. If he accepted this offer, they would join the Remnant gladly. But Nero couldn't make that decision for them.
"I know where I stand, ma'am, but I can't speak for all of them," he began.
"Oh, sod off Nero!" Keith burst, a smile on his lips. "If you think for one second that we'd rather go back to playing in the dirt instead of fighting then you're not fit to lead us anymore." A chorus of agreement rose from the rest. Among them, Nero could see no dissenters.
Nero smirked.
"I guess you have your answer, then," he said.
Weinan clapped him on the shoulder, grinning. "Welcome to the Remnant. It's good to have you aboard."
-~-~-~-
Knight and Taz found Toshi still in bed hours later, tapping intently on a pad. Knight sat on Toshi's bedside while Taz stood beside them.
"How are you feeling?" Knight asked.
Toshi looked up and smiled at them. "Never better!" she crowed. "I wish they'd let me out of this stupid place. I'm not sick anymore. I shouldn't need to be here."
"You almost died. They just want to make sure all of you are back to normal first," Knight said. "What are you typing?"
"Code," Toshi said simply, and returned her attention to the pad. "The admiral told me we lost the worm. Thankfully, I built the worm, so I know how to keep it from getting into our systems. I can block it at every turn. It won't be a threat to us."
"That's good to hear," Knight said, smiling.
"The admiral says I'm leaving soon but he didn't tell me where. He wanted me to get this done before I left. Do you know where I'm going?"
"Probably Hruna." Toshi was, after all, the second person ever to survive starless sickness. The researchers on Hruna would want to see what particular antibody Ji’s healing had stimulated that had allowed her to fight off the virus. Knight wasn't sure she liked the idea of Toshi going to another lab. Toshi had been through so much already. The girl deserved a break.
Toshi seemed unfazed by this news. In fact, she seemed pleased. "I'm probably the most well-traveled aquarin out there," she crowed. "Levala, Arryna, and Hruna?"
"Technically Hlean, too," Knight said. They had come into orbit around the planet only hours ago. They needed a chance to regroup, and taking a large frigate to a secret research facility was a great way to announce their presence to the Hegemony. In the time Knight had been gone, the Remnant had gone to great lengths to make Hlean their new base of operations. It was risky, setting up shop where the Hegemony knew where to find them, but with the spy it seemed nowhere was safe. Levala had been a secret base and still the Hegemony had found them there.
Toshi grinned. "Yeah! Most of my people never leave the planet. I've seen more of the Cradle than any of them. Wouldn't it be cool if I made it to Valiant next? Visiting all three primary worlds?"
Taz smiled. "You just might get there. The Remnant has to take Valiant eventually."
"It's going to be so awesome," Toshi bounced in bed with excitement. "But Hruna first. What's on Hruna, anyway?"
Knight shifted uncomfortably. She had no right to be mad at the admiral, but she couldn't hide her frustration. He hadn't even told Toshi why she was going to Hruna.
"It's a…research facility," Knight said cautiously. "For starless sickness."
A look of horror flashed across Toshi's face. She looked utterly terrified. Then, as suddenly as the look had come, it passed. Toshi perked up. "It won't be anything like the Rock. The Remnant is different."
Knight smirked. Toshi's optimism was never-ending.
"Is that why Ji hasn't visited me? She's busy getting ready to go to Hruna too?"
"I'd imagine so."
Toshi nodded. "We'll spend lots of time together there, I'm sure."
Knight looked at Toshi. "I'm going to miss you, you know. Don't forget about me while you're gone."
Toshi laughed and punched Knight's arm. "'Course not. You never forget meeting someone famous." Her joking tone belied the love in her expression.
A feeling wormed its way into Knight's stomach. It was a good feeling. Everything was going their way, it seemed. They were going to be all right.
-~-~-~-
Ji had a choice to make.
Now that Arryna was but a memory, there was technically nothing stopping her from going home. From bringing Feng and the Fangzhou into the Cradle. But with the war, and starless sickness? Was that really the world she wanted to bring her people into? She could leave, yes. But was it wise?
In the end, Ji decided, it was not. If the Cradle was to be the Fangzhou's home, she wanted it to welcome them with open arms. Not with prejudice and sickness and war. So, she thought, she would stay and make the Cradle what her people deserved. Starting with starless sickness.
The Remnant research facility on Hruna was her next destination. Hruna was an arid, rocky world without a breathable atmosphere, and as such was sparsely populated. This was important, as the Remnant didn't want to spread starless sickness to places where it would wreak havoc. The entire facility was pressurized and contained. From what Ji understood, it would be very similar to the Pan Ku outpost. There were three other Luminants there. Ji was excited to meet more with her gift.
Ferrao wanted them to leave as soon as possible. It was understandable. Starless sickness took more lives every day. The sooner they cured it, the better. He had commanded one of the smaller Remnant ships to take Ji, Toshi, and the other two starless sickness patients to Hruna. It just so happened to be the ship Taz was assigned to. Weinan, also, was going along. As the senior officer aboard, she would report directly back to the admiral.
"We won't be gone long," Ji assured Ayla as they embraced. Ayla squeezed her girlfriend tighter.
"I know. I just wish I could come with you," she lamented.
"Me, too," Ji said earnestly. Ayla had been her constant companion for over a year. She wasn't sure what being without her girlfriend would feel like. "But it's better to err on the side of caution."
Ayla nodded. "I know," she repeated.
"Are you ready?" Taz appeared at their side, a bag slung across xer back. Knight trailed behind her companion. "We've prepped the ship. We just have to board."
Ji rested a hand on Ayla's cheek and pulled her in for a kiss, but they parted far too soon. Ayla rested her own hand over Ji's, holding her hand to her face for a moment longer. "We won't be apart for long. I'll see you soon, love."
"I love you," Ji said. Since her night in the sanctuary, she hadn't been able to stop saying it. It felt so good, to admit what she'd suppressed for so long. Ayla smiled.
"I love you, too. Now go," she dropped her hand and shooed Ji away. "Go save the Cradle."
Ji nodded and turned to Knight. They embraced, though the height difference made it somewhat awkward. Ji still couldn't get over how tall the avians were.
"Comm us when you get there," Knight said, crossing her arms. She looked uncomfortable with the goodbyes. She was going to miss Knight, Ji realized. They'd only known each other a short time but Knight was beginning to grow on her. She was fearless, loyal. And she cared about Toshi.
"I will." She smiled warmly at Knight, and Knight returned it. And without another word, she turned and followed Taz into the waiting ship.
-~-~-~-
Toshi had not been on many ships in her life. There was the one that had taken her from Nakut to Levala, and from Levala to A
rryna, and from Arryna to Hlean. But in all three of these cases, she'd been unable to properly explore the craft that carried her. She wanted to take advantage of the freedom she had on this flight. She wanted to know everything about the craft that carried her through the stars. That, and she desperately wanted to move around again. The rooms in the starship reminded her too much of the pods in the Rock, and she’d spent so much time in bed that the thought of laying down ever again sent her heart racing. She needed some room to stretch.
Immediately after takeoff she'd tagged along with Taz, shadowing the equina as xe went about xer duties, but soon got bored. The equina's job was not as exciting as she'd anticipated—xe ran diagnostics, xe tapped keys, xe sat in a chair and monitored the engines. Boring. Toshi wanted to see the ship, what ran it and what kept it spaceworthy. She wanted to know the guts, not the polished exterior. So she left Taz in lieu of sliding down the maintenance tubes, crawling through the wires, examining this and looking at that.
This took her all over the ship. She crawled, with some degree of difficulty, through the ventilation system, peering through the vents. She found the mess hall, and the hangar bay that housed the ship's sole shuttle, and realized that she could even access private quarters through the system. She could have real fun with that, she thought.
Toshi found Ji's room easily enough and dropped inside, startling the human. Ji jumped and yelped, then glared.
"Toshi! What were you doing up there?"
Toshi grinned and bounced on her feet. "Exploring."
Ji made a face. "You're going to get in trouble doing that," she warned.
Toshi shrugged. "It's not like anyone here has anything to hide."
"Don't be so sure."
"Well you're no fun." Toshi said. Ji smirked. "Could you at least give me a boost?"
Ji looked up at the vent that Toshi had tumbled out of, five meters above their heads. "The door's not broken, you know."
Toshi pouted. "Please Ji?"
The human sighed and got up off her bed. She laced her fingers together to form a foothold which Toshi readily stepped into. The human hoisted the surprisingly light aquarin up into the ducts.
"Just be careful," she said.
Toshi saluted. "Yes, ma'am."
With a small smile, Ji went back to her bed and Toshi scurried off. She did take Ji's advice to heart and avoided the private quarters. There was much more fun to be had elsewhere in the ship, anyway.
Toshi descended through the ship's levels, pausing on each floor to see if there was anything of interest. Nothing caught her eye…but something did catch her ear.
“…headed to a research facility on Hruna," a voice was saying. Toshi frowned. That sounded suspicious. She turned down that vent, working hard to keep her hoof-like feet from making any noise in the duct. She peered down through the vent and saw someone that she knew…doing something she knew they shouldn't be doing.
The one she knew was on a comm, one that Toshi knew was using an encrypted channel just by looking at it. Another voice crackled over the speaker.
"Excellent. Lhiyrra will dispatch two frigates to meet them."
Toshi clasped a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. They were contacting the Hegemony! Was this the spy Ferrao had been concerned about? Toshi had to let someone know. Very carefully, she began to back down the duct, but it was at this moment the metal decided to betray her. A loud creak echoed through the ventilation duct. Toshi froze, her blood turning to ice.
The one that she knew drew a weapon with lightning speed and fired a set of rounds into the duct. They all missed Toshi, but they also weakened the ventilation shaft. Now structurally compromised, the metal could no longer hold her weight. It collapsed.
Toshi tumbled out of the ventilation system, all six limbs flailing on the ground. They were inside a supply closet, and the quarters were cramped.
The one she knew reached for her. Toshi tried to scramble away, but her long legs in the small space prevented any fast movement. Hands wrapped around her neck, hauled her out of the collapsed vent, and held her up. Toshi scrabbled at the hands; she tried to scream but found she couldn't. The hand at her throat kept her silent. Then suddenly there was pain, excruciating pain, pain that was impossible to think around. Her entire body was alight with it, felt it eating away at her flesh like a hungry n'kodish. She gasped for breath, clawed at the grip that held her fast, until she couldn’t. The aquarin’s world went suddenly, abruptly, black.
-~-~-~-
After Toshi left, Ji settled back onto her bed. Though she'd rested only hours before, starless sickness and healing the starless sickness patients had left her exhausted. The engines thrummed comfortingly beneath her, and easily lulled her to sleep.
She was jerked awake an unknowable amount of time later, but by what she didn't know. She swung her feet off the bed and rested them on the floor, fingers drumming against the edge of her bed. A look at the chrono by her bedside told her they'd only been in flight for less than an hour. It would still be some time before they arrived at Hruna. So why, then, was she awake?
Her question was answered moments later when she felt the ship shudder. The engines beneath her whined angrily, and then they cut out altogether. Ji stilled, holding her breath. This wasn't right.
She sat frozen in the silence, breathing shallowly. Why had they stopped? Was something wrong with the ship? The engines stuttered and came back to life, and Ji let out the breath she’d been holding. It must have just been a fluke. But her relief was short-lived.
No sooner had the engines started back up than the ship lurched violently sideways. The sudden movement sent Ji tumbling off her bed and onto the floor of her quarters. She slammed her head into the wall, gasping in pain. Her world went blurry. The ship shuddered a second time. Confused and disoriented, Ji hauled herself to her feet and reached for the door to her room. She staggered out into the hall and touched one hand to her head. Her fingers came away bloody. Wincing, she called her Luminance and sighed as the pain subsided to nothing.
Another blast rocked the small ship, knocking Ji off her feet. She caught herself against the wall, breath hitching. Outside the porthole nearest her, she could just make out the hulking black forms of two Hegemonist ships, firing at the small Remnant transport. Her mind jumped back to what Knight had told her, about the spy inside of the Remnant. And it was then she realized what was happening: they'd been sold out.
Fear gripped her. What was going to happen to them? Surely the Hegemony already knew of her abilities. If the Hegemony knew where to find them, they also had to know how she'd cured starless sickness. The memory of the research facility on Arryna brought bile to her throat. Would they send her somewhere like that? More blaster bolts pounded the Remnant ship. Ji watched as the energy from the bolts crackled over the ship's failing shields.
It looked like they were surrounded on all sides. There was no way out. Beneath the closest frigate was another one, a mirror image of the ship above it.
No, wait. A mirror.
Ji knew, then, exactly where they were. And she had a way out. Ji took off in the direction of the cockpit, fighting against the artificial gravity. Along the way she nearly tripped over Taz, who was crouched by a maintenance chute, helping the rest of the ship's crew repair what little they could. Xe turned to look up at Ji.
"You shouldn't be here!" Taz shouted over the wailing of the red alert. "It's not safe."
"Nowhere on the ship is safe, Taz!" Ji said back, matching xer volume. "We need to get the ship out of here."
"The pilots are on it—"
Another shuddering blast almost knocked Taz down the chute. Ji gripped xer midsection at the last moment, hauling the equina back to safety.
"We're taking a beating. It's only a matter of time before the Hegemony boards," Ji said. Taz frowned, but knew she was right.
"I take it you know a way out of this."
Ji nodded. "I need to get to the cockpit."
"Alright," Taz said, noddin
g. Xe hesitated at the lip of the tube, weighing xer options. "I'll guide you there." With a shouted word down the tube at the other crewmen, the equina and the human charged down the halls. Taz took corners almost too sharp for Ji to follow, somehow maintaining xer footing despite the constant rocking of the ship. They arrived at the cockpit, sealed by a thick blast door. It must have come down with the red alert. Ji slammed her fist against it.
"I need to get inside."
"Already on it," Taz said, yanking a panel off the wall. Xer head and shoulders disappeared inside the vast opening, and a moment later the blast door slid open. The scene in the cockpit was a mess; the equina copilot lay on the floor, blood pouring from a wound on xer head.
The avian pilot of the ship turned to look back at them.
"You need to leave!"
Ji ignored him, opting instead to kneel by the copilot. She pressed her hand to xer head. The flesh beneath her fingers started to knit back together, then abruptly stopped and crumbled to dust. She sucked in a breath. Dead. Just like the withered plants in the botany lab on Pan Ku.
Ji stood, finally acknowledging the pilot. "We're not going to make it out of this unless we get out of range of the Hegemonist ships," she said, sliding into the unoccupied copilot's seat. The controls before her were alien, but how different could the design be from a zip? The pilot glared but said nothing, preoccupied with dodging the gunfire from the nearest Hegemony frigate.
