Chapter Text
Alarms were blaring. Alaea knew she needed to get out of here, to get Blue somewhere safe, but right now she was more focused on finding her son, her small, wonderful, missing son. Coran, she knew, was probably already safe if Alfor had any say in it. Her brother had always loved her husband as if they were blood, and Alaea was never more grateful. But Aluran was missing.
“Alaea!” came her brother’s familiar cry. “Alaea!”
“Alfor,” she gasped. “I can’t- I can’t find Aluran.”
He seemed to hesitate a moment. “You need to get to Blue, go somewhere, anywhere safe.”
“Aluran,” she insisted.
“He’s safe, he’s with Coran,” said Alfor.
She nearly deflated with relief. “You’re taking Red, right?”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “The others have already left. Black is locked up- she won’t be happy, but she’s safe.”
“Stay safe, brother,” she whispered. “I cannot bear to lose you.”
“You be safe as well, sister,” he said. “If all goes well, we will meet again soon.”
“We will,” she said.
Content that her son was safe, she raced to Blue’s hangar and climbed in. “Alright, darling, let’s get somewhere safe.”
Then off they went. Alaea loved the feeling of flying. She saw Red fly out of her hangar as well and nodded. Then she breathed and focused. “Let’s open a wormhole, love. Anywhere, anywhere.”
It took a lot of energy, but they managed it. She saw the flash of an ion cannon, but she was fairly sure as they ricocheted forward that it had missed them. They sped through and ended up in an unrecognisable patch of stars. Alaea breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s find a place to camp, then. Find the nearest habitable planet, please, love.”
“What’s ‘abiteaba mean?” chirped a small voice.
Alaea jumped. “’Luran?”
“Yeah, mama, what’s happenin’?” he asked, tilting his head.
“Alfor said you were with your father,” she said faintly.
“I was wid Bwue,” he said.
She swallowed. “Damn him. He lied to me.”
Suddenly, Blue’s alarms started blaring too. Aluran yelped and fell off of where he was clinging to the back of her seat.
“Blue, love, what’s wrong?” Alaea asked worriedly. “Blue? Blue, darling?”
Blue was panicking, which didn’t bode well with Alaea. Had something hit her? Had-
Oh.
Oh no.
Before they left. The ion cannon. She’d been wrong, and- damn. They’d been hit and now something was wrong.
“Okay, ‘Luran, it’s okay,” she murmured, gathering up her small son and walking carefully towards where she knew the emergency stasis pods were. “You’re going to take a nap for me, okay? Okay?”
“But m’not sleepy,” he said in confusion.
“But I need you to take a nap,” she said. “Please, sweetheart. Just for a little while.”
“Mama,” he whined.
She hushed him and gently put him in the pod. He yawned despite himself as she closed the pod off. The sedatives would kick in. He would be perfectly safe unless some complete and utter disaster happened. If Blue was intact, he would be fine.
Something crashed into Blue, and Alaea stumbled and fell into a panel.
“Quiznak!” she cursed loudly. “Blue, what’s happening? Talk to me, love!”
Something else hit them. Alaea gasped, and again flew across the cockpit. She was beginning to regret leaving her suit at the castle- Alfor’s terrible suggestion, as usual. This flight suit was a good one, but not nearly as protective as her paladin suit.
“Blue, give me something,” she practically begged.
Blue had no idea, just a whole lot of panic, which was not helping Alaea’s state of mind.
They seemed to be in some sort of asteroid belt, but they were nearly out of it. Despite this, Alaea had lost all control of her lion. They’re spiralling out of control towards a little blue and green planet in a solar system she doesn’t recognise.
Aluran was safe.
And she was going to die, wasn’t she?
“Oh, Aluran, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Coran, my love, oh, I’m sorry.”
They crashed into the surface and Alaea’s world went black.