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The following days blurred together, only the brilliant sun and glittering stars marking any change in the hours. Kir spent much of their time up in that dull gray chamber, trying to sort through the Minddrop file. They’d gotten more accustomed to the rush of new information every time the file was unlocked, but were still only able to focus on a couple of memories at a time before becoming sick and returning to their new chambers in the Tallest Tower. Fib had taken over the floor below them, and sometimes, when Kir lay in bed in the dark, staring up at the silken canopy above them, they could hear faint music from down below, the lonesome notes of an Irken gusteue, and occasionally, quiet singing. From Miyuki, whose rooms were above them, silence. Miyuki was rarely even there, spending most of her days and nights up at the top of the tower, talking with the Control Brains and monitoring her subjects.
They were over halfway into the new cycle when Kir was called down to the indoor courtyard. Merin arrived to pick them up, accompanied by two of Miyuki’s trusted Elites, the same two that had come when Kir had been attacked. Kir wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without extra protection now, but the circle of individuals Miyuki and Fib trusted was very small. Merin had made zheir way into it, however, and Kir was glad to see a friendly face. What time they didn’t spend diving through Torr’s memories was mostly spent up on the roof, out of earshot of the Minds, talking with Merin. Merin had helped them feel more in control of their anxiety, and their breakdowns had become less frequent. Over the past half a cycle, they’d grown to trust Merin more than anyone else they knew.
Still, they were incredibly uneasy when Merin told them why zhey were there. “They’re taking me where?” They asked incredulously, their voice squeaking up an octave.
“Off-planet, to the Massive.” Merin repeated, smiling comfortingly, but zhey were having a hard time masking their wariness. “Miyuki has something she wants of you there, but I think it’s best if we discuss this once we’re on the ship.” Zheir eyes darted around, unsure if they were being observed. Kir could tell that they didn’t quite trust the Elites either.
“I- Of course.”
They took a transfer car down to the indoor courtyard, where Miyuki and Fib were waiting. Both of them were dressed for warm weather; the Vortians were accustomed to a much hotter climate than was found on Irk, and their living and work places all reflected that, including within the unfinished Massive.
Pleasantries were exchanged, and all six of them made for the grand archway leading east, Miyuki in the front, Fib and Kir three paces behind, and Merin walking behind them with the Elites. The heavily guarded gatehouse of the East Gate was darker inside than the sun-speckled courtyard, with two sharp guard towers on either side that were crowned with automatic turrets, which turned to track them but didn’t fire. Since they were exiting rather than entering the palace, only a quick search was done by the guards manning the gatehouse, made even quicker by the presence of the Tallest.
Once they had passed through the gatehouse, they were picked up by one of Miyuki’s ships, automated like the transfer cars within the palace. It was unfit for space travel, and instead was used for purely terrestrial transportation. The six Irkens settled into the cushioned benches, which were arranged around the inside edges of the ship, facing each other.
Fib’s gaze roamed around the ship, searching for any hidden dangers. When he was satisfied, he caught Miyuki’s eye and gave her a small nod.
Miyuki cleared her throat politely. “Kiki, I have something I need of you.”
Kir looked up, concern evident on their face.
“Ederin has requested your presence at the Massive to help speed up the process and get it finished by the end of the coronational anniversary festival, and it would be rude of me to refuse him, as he’s giving us this great gift.” She paused. “I want you to help him in whatever ways you can, but only using the knowledge you’ve received from your Irken education. You should still have extensive experience they can make use of up there, but you mustn’t use anything you’ve learned from Torr.”
Kir nodded eagerly. They could handle that.
Miyuki smiled. “Thank you, Kiki.”
The rest of the ride to the Primary Spaceport was spent in comfortable silence. Miyuki sat peacefully with her hands folded in her lap, looking out the window across from her. Fib slouched beside her, feet up on the opposite bench in the gap between Kir and their guards, scrolling through posts on a holographic screen. Merin hummed quietly to zhemself. The Elites sat in perfect silence, their spears temporarily deactivated and held in their laps, posture straight and eerily still. Despite the situation and the presence of the armed guards sitting beside them at the end of the ship, Kir felt oddly calm, the familiar presence of the other three comforting.
Within a couple of minutes, they were crossing the thin stretch of ocean between the Capital and the Primary Spaceport, skipping the bridge and instead skimming close over the waves, ruffling the currents into new, swirling patterns and leaving sparkling foam trailing in their wake. The ship slowed to a halt, parking itself outside the spaceport, and the six exited the vessel, which locked itself down, the lights going dark. Kir fell into step with Fib once more, following close in Miyuki’s graceful wake.
They passed through security without any major issues, and were escorted to a much larger craft, the insignia of the Tallest printed on the hull in white. When they boarded, Kir noted warily that this ship, unlike the transfer they’d just taken to get here, wasn’t automated; there were two navigation pits on the bridge, the Navigators inside already preparing the ship for launch. Kir’s guards drew closer to them, wary, one turning on her shock spear, which whirred into life, crackling with menace. Kir flinched at the sound.
They recognized many of the holographic menus the Navigators were flicking through, and it seemed like everything they were doing was correct, but that wasn’t enough to ease Kir’s underlying suspicions. Just because they knew how to do their jobs didn’t mean they hadn’t been hired or blackmailed by the Pure Irk Extremists. The organization had tossed away their last tool so casually that Kir wouldn’t put it past them to simply crash the entire ship, killing all of them in the process. They nervously took their seat.
The startup process went quickly, and the takeoff was much smoother than Kir had expected. Irken technological advancement had accelerated rapidly in recent years, partially due to experimentation under Miyuki’s direction, but mostly due to the incredible influence of the Vortians. Considering just space travel, they had helped Irken ships become faster, more efficient, and, in the case of military vessels, equipped with stronger firepower. However, the most important thing they’d been improving, the whole thought process behind the construction of the Massive, was the range of the ships. Irken ships were sleek and much cleaner to use terrestrially than Vortian ones, but they couldn’t go very far; their reserves were small, and they just couldn’t cross large distances as effortlessly as the Vortians could.
Yet.
The ride was over quickly, and Kir felt the craft begin to slow, a shadow falling over the bridge. Kir watched as the hull of the Massive loomed into view, the red metal reflecting in their blue eyes as they stood pressed to the window, starstruck. The thing was enormous, a behemoth of towering engines and dark portholes, six thousand kilometers long from bow to stern, the insignia of the Irken Empire staring down the void of space. A shiver ran down their spine. It was armed to the teeth with Vortian weaponry, an untouchable nightmare, a hound of hell just waiting to be released upon the unsuspecting universe.
There was one boarding station open, and it was heavily guarded. Kir’s antennae twitched nervously as the Navigators communicated briskly with the control tower on the Massive and the ship maneuvered into a lineup of several other vessels waiting to board. Ahead of them, the spacecraft at the front of the line was landing inside, armed Vortian security officers filing on board to search it. After several long minutes, they exited, the crew of the ship walking between the two lines of guards, kept under close watch. Kir looked back at their companions; Merin looked nervous, and Fib was unusually on edge, a glazed look in his eye.
“Like a prison.” He murmured, a strained smile on his face. Miyuki’s shot a glance up at him, but she said nothing, and he didn’t elaborate.
Kir stayed by the window, watching the bustle of tiny bodies about the massive ship, miniscule ants playing with toys built for gods. The closer they drew, the more they could feel the weight of the Massive’s looming shadow all around them.
The ship passed through the Vortian oxygen field, landing smoothly as the engines hummed back into slumber. Kir took a deep breath as the door unsealed; Merin stepped closer to them, and the Elites stood between the two of them and the oncoming security crew. With a bang, the door was swung open and the security team marched in. They split off, five scattering about the ship to look for anything suspicious or dangerous while the other five escorted the passengers and crew off the craft and through a security station. The Elites’ shock spears were confiscated, much to their complaint, as were a number of hidden weapons and metal objects from the others.
They were given ID checks and a basic sanitization, then searched once more. Finally, they were faced with one last security measure, an empty metal archway. Kir nervously watched Miyuki and Fib go through, and then scrambled to follow at the sharp shout of one of the security officers. At first, it didn’t feel like anything was happening, but then a slight buzzing could be felt between their shoulder blades. It faded, but Kir’s PAK felt heavier than before. They tried to unfold their PAK legs, and nothing happened. Tried to pull up an operational menu: same result. Kir began to feel oddly claustrophobic; they couldn’t see their life-clock anywhere in their vision, so it didn’t seem that their PAK was actually damaged, but they couldn’t move or interact with it in any way, and instead of their usual blue, the lights were a dull, throbbing green color. Their PAK controls had been restricted. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
“Those Vortians aren’t taking any chances up here.” Fib muttered as they finally continued past the security checkpoint. “No wonder there aren’t very many Irkens working on the Massive…”
He was right; as they paused to wait for Merin and the Elites, Kir watched the streams of workers passing by, and could only spot the occasional spot of green among a massive sea of Vortians. Despite the Vortian technology everywhere they turned, it was impressive how much the Massive nevertheless resembled a traditional Irken ship with hardly any Irkens involved in the process.
A Vortian broke out of the crowd, his bright yellow vest instantly catching their attention as he scrambled towards them. His horns clicked and twitched as he slid to a stop before them, catching his breath. Miyuki looked coolly down at him as he struggled to regain his composure.
“Almighty Tallest Miyuki!” he chirped, his head shooting up suddenly only to drop back down into a deep bow. “President Ederin extends his sincerest greetings, and asks that I guide you to the bridge!”
“I’ve been to the bridge plenty of times,” Miyuki said, amused. “Who are you?”
“I-” The young Vortian seemed surprised. “T-Terarce! Ma’am!” He flapped his hands, seeming incredibly excited but unbelievably terrified of the towering Miyuki. “I’m very sorry, ma’am, but after the last attack, we’ve implemented a new policy! All of our guests are to be escorted at all times, to make sure they aren’t in any danger!”
Fib caught Miyuki’s eye, a slightly strained smile on both their faces. Sure, with their PAKs locked down and all their weapons confiscated, it would definitely be safer for them to be protected, but this tiny, shivering Vortian didn’t seem like he’d offer much defense. They both knew why Ederin had instituted the new regulation. The Vortian president didn’t trust the Irkens while the Pure Irk Extremists remained free; even those he had met before had to be watched at all times when they were onboard the Massive. There was too much at stake to risk losing it all.
“Alright, then.” Miyuki said at last as she turned back to Terarce, covering up her exasperation. “Lead the way.”
Terarce beamed, his yellow eyes sparkling through his goggles. “Sure! Follow me!” He darted off into the crowd, and the group hastened to follow. Kir was relieved to be able to keep track of his neon vest among all of the Vortians. The unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells were overwhelming them, but they kept their gaze fixed on that flash of yellow.
They emerged into an emptier corridor, and just barely caught a glimpse of Terarce zipping around the corner ahead of them.
Fib chuckled as they quickened their pace to keep up. “Honestly, I don’t know how he’s supposed to keep a proper eye on us when he’s that far ahead.” he murmured.
“What do you mean, mister?”
Kir jumped. Terarce was standing right next to them, looking up in puzzlement at Fib, who had turned back, startled. The young Vortian trotted back to the front of the group, beaming and humming a little tune. After a moment’s hesitation, they followed him, uneasy. Kir took a couple of deep breaths, trying to hide how shaken they were.
“Almost there!” Terarce chirped, his voice an excited singsong. They boarded a spacious elevator, and Terarce punched in a combination on the keypad, his fingers doing a flighty dance across the buttons. The elevator began to rise. The Elites were creeping between Kir and the Vortian child, clearly just as unnerved as they were. Terarce didn’t seem to notice, too wrapped up in the Vortian folk song he was singing under his breath.
After an uncomfortable silence broken only by the ever-excited Terarce, the elevator slowed to a halt, the doors sliding open with a hiss. Kir fell into step with Fib once more as Terarce led them all out onto the bridge of the Massive. It was a vast room, the floor narrowing into a metal walkway that was a few meters across, and then widening into a raised circular platform that paled before the enormity of the pressure pane, a colossal window out into the ocean of stars beyond, like gleaming pearls amongst the silt of the sea. Through the glass, they could see crews of suited Vortians working on the external weaponry, drifting about out there in the vacuum.
The bridge itself was nearly empty, the navigation pits abandoned and every station lifeless, the screens blank. Up on the large circular dais, Ederin waited, his back to the elevator as he looked out at the void beyond the glass. As they approached, he turned to face them, a polite smile on his face. Miyuki stopped a few yards away, and the two watched each other. Kir’s spine prickled, and they wanted to back away, to get back to where Merin was standing with the Elites, but Ederin cleared his throat, commanding their attention.
“Welcome.” Ederin murmured to the group, his voice carrying in the large, echoing hall. “I apologize for the precautions that had to be taken upon your arrival; your Extremists have been targeting the construction of the Massive for a while now, and we’ve had to tighten our security around here with some… new undertakings, of sorts.” Ederin beckoned to Terarce, who scampered up the stairs and stood at his side, his hands fluttering as he looked back down on the Irkens.
Fib was watching the young Vortian intently, noting the way he moved, the way he blinked and the movement of his hands and his face. He chuckled, and Ederin turned towards him, raising his eyebrows.
Fib let out a low whistle. “Security droids.” He mused. “Impressive.”
“So you’ve been experimenting with artificial intelligence, Ederin?” Miyuki asked. “I have to say, it’s well crafted; it looks quite lifelike.”
Ederin wasn’t fazed by their praise. “Yes.” A curt smile played across his lips. “We’ve been searching for a better way to ensure the safety of our people, much like the spying eyes of your Control Brains. Terarce, if you could fetch the Illusionist.” He waved his hand and Terarce gave a sharp bow and a jaunty waved before disappearing back into the elevator. Kir watched him go, a shiver running up their spine. That boy was an android? They had known that Vortian technology far surpassed that of Irkens in many departments, but the idea that a machine could look and act so much like a real living being was terrifying.
“Kir,” Ederin called, and Kir’s attention snapped back, “Your Tallest has agreed for you to temporarily aid in the completion of the bridge, if you may.”
Kir nodded hastily. “Sure, I can- I- Yes, sir.”
Ederin smiled at them. “Thank you. We’ve been short a good mind since Torr’s disappearance, and I’m sure Ephaerel would appreciate the assistance.” There was a faint humming, and Ederin glanced up. “Ah. There ey are.”
The elevator doors slid open, and Kir was surprised to see that the scientist tramping after Terarce was not Vortian, but Irken. Ey were dressed in an Irken scientist uniform, cinched tight around eir waist with a thin black belt, with a large, heavy-looking satchel slung over one shoulder. Ey wore a visor that flickered with a multitude of different colorful images, such that Kir got dizzy just looking at it for too long; it obscured eir eyes from view entirely. Eir antennae were twisted, and twitched as ey walked with quick, purposeful steps. As ey drew closer, Kir noted with some surprise that eir PAK’s lights weren’t throbbing that low green light, but rather flashing with different images like eir visor.
Without saying a word, Ephaerel marched right up to Kir and stuck out a gloved hand. Hesitantly, Kir reached out and shook it. Ephaerel turned to Ederin and gave a curt nod.
Ederin returned eir nod and smiled at the rest of the group. “Why don’t you come with me; Terarce and I will give you the tour.” Terarce’s head snapped up, and he beamed as he trotted back to the Vortian president. Miyuki, Fib, and Merin trailed after him, but the Elites stayed where they were. “Don’t worry, it’s quite safe here.” Ederin chuckled. “Terarce’s siblings will step in if anything is to go wrong, but Ephaerel will make sure nothing does. Your ward is in good hands.”
The Elites exchanged a glance. It was true, the security in this place was top notch, and with their weapons confiscated and standard PAK functions disabled, there wasn’t exactly much they could do anyway. Reluctantly, they let Terarce push them along with the rest of the group.
As the elevator door closed behind them, Ephaerel let out eir breath. “I don’t like those droids.” Ey grumbled. “Always listening, and they creep me out. Don’t want them to know my voice; hell if I know what they’d do with that.” Ey suddenly smiled at Kir. “Not used to seeing other Irkens around here. You’re from the palace, aren’t you?”
“I- Yeah?”
Ephaerel grinned, whirling around and loping over to one of the navigation pits. “Keep up, cricket!” ey called over their shoulder, and Kir scrambled to join them.
“What am I supposed to be doing?” they asked, nervous. Ephaerel’s change in attitude was a bit bewildering, but they didn’t want to let down Miyuki.
Ephaerel banged a fist on the blank control panels of the navigation pit, making Kir jump. “Ah, I just need you to get some shit hooked up down there and get the on-screen displays working.” Ey patted a satchel slung over eir shoulder. “I’ll get all the holographic tech in order.” Ey grinned. “Holograms gotta be one of the only things we’re better at than Vortians.” Ephaerel cackled. “No Vortian robots coming for my job, that’s for sure!”
Ah. So that’s why Ederin had called Ephaerel the Illusionist. Kir had always been impressed by the holograms of their home world; despite seeing them used in daily activity, they’d still never quite gotten used to it. If Ephaerel was working up on the Massive, ey must be very good at eir craft.
“Let’s make this quick,” Ephaerel barked, tossing Kir a pair of goggles, “Ederin doesn’t pay us to sit around!”
Over the next couple of hours, Kir worked with Ephaerel on the bridge, setting up the navigation and primary targeting systems while Ephaerel darted around to work on the displays, occasionally testing them by firing up maps of bright scatters of star systems, with notes written in both Irken and Vortian.
Kir paused what they were doing to study the map. “You seem know a lot more about what’s past Esrel than most Irkens.” they noted.
Ephaerel launched off the balcony, their whip-like PAK legs, slithering out to break their fall. “Eh. You hang around Vortians enough, you learn a thing or two about what they’ve seen out there. Good thing that PAK lock didn’t mess with my translator, or it would’ve been a rough run when I first got here.”
Kir gazed up at those hovering stars, awestruck. There was so much more out there than just Irk and Esrel and even Vort, and this ship that they were sitting in would be the key to seeing it all. They reluctantly turned back to their work as Ephaerel shut off the hologram, but that feeling of forever stayed with them, a hopeful promise for the future; someday, in some distant lifetime, they would go farther.
Hours later, when the two had finished setting up all of the navigation pits, they sat on the steps up to the dais, and Kir listened to Ephaerel ramble about the goings-on of the Massive’s construction crew. Ey made them smile, a colorful, opinionated new friend. Ey seemed to be able to talk forever, but Kir just enjoyed hearing someone for once, and so they listened.
Ephaerel was excitedly recounting an affair story ey’d heard from a Vortian scientist when ey were interrupted by a chirping alarm from eir PAK. Grumbling, ey pulled up a display, read through it, and flicked it away, clambering to eir feet.
Kir got up as well. “What’s going on?” they asked, concerned.
“Aw, it’s nothing.” Ephaerel stretched. “Just got assigned another task is all. They want me working on some of the Ring Cutters down in the docking area.” Ey hefted eir bag and trotted back towards the elevator. “You’re welcome to come too, cricket, if you like.”
“I- Okay?” Kir slid their goggles up higher on their forehead and ran to catch up with Ephaerel as ey were boarding the elevator. They stayed close behind em as the two moved through the groups of workers on breaks or moving between jobs. Despite the fact that the Massive was near completion, there were still lots of Vortians around finding small jobs to do. According to Ephaerel, many of them weren’t actually needed and were just moving about the Massive trying to appear useful so that they wouldn’t have to go back to the increasingly crowded city-ships. After the Massive was done, ey said, Ederin could finally begin focusing his resources on building new city-ships for his people, but for now, all of his focus was on this peace offering to the Irkens.
When they reached the garage, Kir was once again starstruck by the sheer scale of everything within the Massive. There were rows upon rows of Irken ships in here, from Spittle Runners to Shuvvers, crafts of all shapes and sizes and functions. A couple of workers darted among them, installing new parts or testing out the current ones. The harder they looked, the more Kir began to notice the influence of Vortian technology in the build of these ships. They craned their neck, still unable to take in all of what they were seeing.
Ephaerel snorted at their awed expression. “Cricket, this isn’t even the half of it.” Ey flung eir arms wide. “The Irken Armada is a constant work in progress, and a couple hundred ships won’t even scratch the surface of our future might!” As ey spoke, the images in eir visor and PAK lights were of the glittering cosmos, faraway lands, and magnificent palaces just like the one in the Capital. “We’re making history today, cricket!”
They found the rows of Ring Cutters, and Ephaerel popped open the hatch and used eir tentacular PAK legs to launch emself up into the ship. Kir waited awkwardly on the ground, watching the other workers go about their tasks and feeling like they should be doing something more. They fidgeted, picking at their claws through their gloves. There was a weird smell in the air, and Kir felt slightly light-headed. They frowned.
Kir was distracted as Ephaerel dropped back out of the Ring Cutter, slamming the hatch shut again and dusting off eir hands as ey grinned at Kir. Kir returned the smile.
Ephaerel started to say something but cut emself off, eir brow crinkling. “The hell is that smell?” ey asked. “Good Irk, this whole place smells like-”
Kir didn’t hear the rest of that sentence. No one did. Before anyone could do anything, the engine of the Ring Cutter Ephaerel had just been working on exploded in a raging fire, white-hot and full of murderous rage. Kir was launched backwards, and they faintly felt glass shattering against their back as they smashed through the pressure pane of the ship behind them, crashing into the seats amidst a shower of shimmering glass shards. Time had slowed down; they couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. The world was blinding, and the deafening roar of the explosion still rang in their mind, over and over and over again. Numbly, Kir staggered out of the ship, unaware of their broken bones, their burns, or the sharp glass knives tearing bloody cuts in their face and neck. As their vision cleared, they could only stumble dumbly about, too in shock to react.
The Ring Cutter’s explosion had set off a chain reaction and detonated several other nearby ships, all of which were blackened with flame and crumpled from the force of the initial attack. Out of the corner of their eye, Kir saw that Ephaerel, who had been closest to the ship when it had detonated, had been flung several rows away. They limped over as fast as they could, the sounds of shouts and alarms still muted around them as they knelt by the Illusionist. Ey were badly burned and it looked like several of eir bones were broken. The visor screen had deactivated, and eir eyes beneath were shut as ey lay crumpled at the base of a Spittle Runner. Kir gently shook eir shoulder, to no response. Some part of them, buried deep under their current numbness, chimed up in panic, and they shook Ephaerel again. A bit of sense returned along with that shock of panic, and they leaned em forward. They let out a breath that they didn’t even realize had been stuck in their tight throat; Ephaerel’s PAK lights were still on, and the PAK itself appeared mostly undamaged, just some minor scorching and a couple of dents. Whatever happened to eir body, if eir PAK was intact, Ephaerel would live. Ey had to.
Kir’s hearing was beginning to return, and they could faintly head the shouting growing closer. They looked up, and were surprised to see Terarce, his eyes wide, followed by Miyuki and the rest of the group. Merin gave a relieved cry and ran to them, saying something that Kir couldn’t quite hear, and Kir let go of Ephaerel’s unresponsive form, wrapping their arms around Merin’s neck as zhey hugged them. Kir felt a hand on their shoulder and looked up to see Fib, trying urgently to ask them something. They shook their head, their face blank with shock and confusion. Miyuki stood behind Fib, her features a picture of reserved concern.
“Mmsorry…” Kir murmured, their words slurring together as they slowly sank away, the watery depths of their mind pulling them down.
Fib released his grip on Kir’s shoulder as they slumped against Merin, muttering something unintelligible under their breath before slipping in unconsciousness. His mind was reeling. What exactly had happened down here? The alert had said that there had been an accident, but he could smell the faint scent of motor oil in the air and knew that the explosion had been no accident. Irken ships didn’t run off of any sort of oil; someone had planted a bomb in one of the Ring Cutters.
“They’re here.” Miyuki murmured.
“But how?” Merin demanded, zheir voice trembling. “After all that security, the Extremists still managed to get in?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Fib snapped. “We need to get the hell out of here, in case it happens again. It doesn’t seem likely that it was targeted but…” he gazed down at Kir and Ephaerel. “We need to get these two to the Tallest Tower and go into lockdown for a bit.”
“I’ll help you!” Terarce chirped. “I can carry the Illusionist, and-”
“No way in hell.” Fib said with a dry chuckle. “Sorry, but I don’t trust you anywhere near these two right now. Go tell Ederin that we’re leaving.”
“Fib.” Miyuki said sharply.
“I don’t care, Miyuki.” Fib growled, his voice bitter. “Apologies if I’m speaking out of turn, but I’m not fucking dying for the sake of politeness!”
Miyuki hesitated, her eyes drifting down to Kir, unconscious in Merin’s arms. “Someone needs to speak to Ederin.” She murmured. “Call for some stretchers, and take everyone back to the ship. I’ll go find the president.”
Fib looked for a moment like he was going to argue, but instead he nodded sharply and stalked off to meet the medic that was running their way.
Miyuki laid a gentle hand on the back of Kir’s neck for a moment before drawing away and disappearing among the smoke and panic.
Merin was left alone with Kir and Ephaerel, tears in zheir eyes and zhey sat on the hot metal, trying to ignore the shattered glass on the floor that was digging into zheir leg. After a long few minutes, Fib returned and zhey helped him get Kir and Ephaerel back to the ship. The Navigators were waiting, and though they sent alarmed glances at the party, much smaller than it had been before, they followed Fib’s orders and started up the ship.
Kneeling by Kir’s side, Merin suddenly asked, “Wait, where did the Elites go?”
“They’ll find their way back, I’m sure.” Fib said grimly. “It doesn’t concern me.”
Merin winced and stood up, securing the two stretchers before taking zheir own seat. Zheir hands were shaking slightly as the ship took off from the Massive. All of the security officers had gone to control the current situation, and it was a good thing they had; the Navigators never would’ve been able to take off otherwise.
Merin shivered, looking out through the pressure pane of the ship as the ship turned and Irk filled their view once more, the Massive growing further behind them. Next to Merin, Fib sat rigidly in his seat, his claws digging into his thighs as he stared out at nothing, his eye glazed. He was fighting to keep his face blank, but his concern was showing through; Merin couldn’t tell if he was worried for Kir, for Miyuki, or just for what was to come.
His were the same thoughts that plagued zhem as well as the ship touched down, the cold air rushing in and the danger growing somehow even closer.