Chapter 24: You and I (Act II Finale)

Diah felt the air in her lungs dissipate and fear grip her heart. Her pulse pounded in her eardrums like the sound of a booming drum. The room around her started to tilt and shrink as panic chipped away at her composure.

'There's no way,' She thought. 'The Kunar couldn't possibly stage an attack like that, right?'

'The largest and most powerful military race in the galaxy?' Her mental Wyrna sneered. 'Surely, you must be joking. Has my own daughter, too caught up in her girlish distractions, forgotten her teachings? My death will be on your hands.'

Diah's skin tingled. She needed to get to Vensha, and it needed to be that very moment. Any more time passed was considered time wasted in her mind. Her brain screamed at her to take a breath, Instead, she pointed at Nox.

"Is the Nova ready?" She asked.

Nox nodded. "Yeah, for the most part. There's still some small details that need to be looked over but -"

"Is the Nova ready or not?" Diah asked pointedly. "Can it fly?"

"Yes. It's better than ever, " Nox bristled at the sudden change in Diah's tone. 

Diah turned and went out the door without a second thought. The arid air of Elontra splashed her face as she took off toward the Aurora Nova. The sound of hectic calls and footsteps followed her.

"Diah, we need to plan things out," Zaius said from behind her. "Imi is still being repaired and we just fought for our lives. We need a moment to regroup."

"We don't have a moment!" Diah shouted as she twirled to face him. The others started to spill out of the house and join them. "We need to get to Vensha, now! We need to warn the Alis. Don't make me find another way home." 

'That's it. Leave them all behind. Come back to your mother,'

"Stop!" Diah yelled and grabbed her head. She just wanted the voice to be silenced, to leave her alone to her own thoughts. Zaius stepped back in surprise.

'I will not! You are the one that left me behind. You are the one that never listened. If you had stayed, they would never have targeted us. Iva died because of your own actions. Now so will I, so will Gallard, and so will all of these people that you have dragged into your own mess.'

"Please!" Diah screamed. She fell to her knees in the dirt of Bugu's junkyard. Her vision flickered and she saw an endless stream of images flash through her mind. The city of Liotik burned bright orange as the flames swallowed it whole. The Aurora Nova blasted apart into chunks of Zanathum and fiberglass as it was bombarded by large cannon blasts. Zaius laid crumpled in her arms, cold and still as a warship exploded on the horizon. A door rose from the ground in a tower of pink particles and endless reflections. She felt a presence pull her toward the door, one that was familiar, yet somehow still unknown in the inner recesses of her mind. She reached to push the door open.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Kirrik checked on Imi again before he left out of the door with everyone else. As he stepped outside, Diah fell face first into the dust. Zaius yelled her name, but there was no response. He shook her shoulders lightly. Sky ran down the steps toward them while Nox and Balakus looked on in concern from the side. Kirrik walked up next to Bugu, unsure of how to proceed.

"I think you need to be heading out," Bugu said, eyes focused on the scene ahead of them.

"We have two of our group down and out, a potential double-invasion afoot and we still don't fully know what the Kunar are up to beyond that," Kirrik listed out. "How does going anywhere in our current state make sense? I'd rather cut ties here, take Imi and get back to what we were doing."

"You're still looking? After all this time?"

"I never stopped, Bugu."

Bugu looked up at him with big glowing yellow eyes. "Kirrik, I know your father taught you to always help others, no matter the cost. I tried to pick up on his teachings after what happened, and I would hope that I've made him proud in the afterlife, but you know that's what you need to do. How many times have others come in and helped you through your stumbles and your roughest moments?"

Kirrik rubbed his head in frustration. "I never asked for any of this."

"Neither did I when you showed up at my door," Bugu responded. There was something in the way he said it that stung a little. "I brought you in and helped make you into the man you are. You made mistakes, then you ran. Now you're back, and you want to run again. Are you going to tell me that you've learned nothing after all of this time?"

Kirrik gave Bugu an intense look, then moved past him to the others. Balakus had picked Diah up in his arms and was walking toward the Nova's ramp with Zaius right behind him. Nox and Sky chattered about the situation. 

"Those people out there are your friends," Bugu said. "I can see it clear as day. You've learned to care about them. And Imi, well, she seems like she's someone very special to you. When you left my home, I never thought I would see you again, much less with this many people by your side. You were given a second chance. Do you remember what that cost?"

Kirrik reflected solemnly on the past. He had tried to avoid the darker side of things ever since they first arrived in Elontra, yet it still seemed to hound him. His mouth suddenly felt dry. 

"You told me that I could go, but if I ever came back, I owed you," Kirrik answered. 

"And now I'm cashing in," Bugu stated. "I want two things from you, Kirrik. First, you do what's right. That shouldn't be hard. If you can make a difference in what's to come, then you get out there and you do it. For me and for your family."

"And second?"

"I want you to take the girl. She is, for all intents and purposes, your sister. You take her in like I took you in. Teach her what you've learned, and honestly, just let her live a life outside of these rocky walls."

Bugu pointed to Nox and Sky with his rod and continued. "Think about where you would be if you hadn't brought Imi into your life. Nox deserves to find that second chance of her own."

Kirrik started to blurt out an excuse when Bugu whacked his knee with the rod. The old Terric wasn't going to let Kirrik talk his way out of anything. He was still in parent mode. Kirrik's nostrils flared and he walked down the steps. Bugu's rod thumped into the ground as he walked with him. Nox looked past Sky at the man and Terric as they approached. Kirrik stopped in front of her.

"Get your stuff and get on. We leave in ten."

Nox shot him and Bugu a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned. 

"You're coming along" Kirrik answered succinctly.

Nox looked at Sky, then Bugu. "Wait, what about you? Who's going to fix up everything while I'm gone? Are you even going to be able to take care of yourself?"

Bugu's eyes flashed white twice. "Of course I will! I can still get around and I don't need to work, Nox. I never did. I saved up more than enough to live out my days in peace. The jobs that we took were only for you to gain experience and to learn. Now it's time for you to learn elsewhere."

Nox still looked unsure. 

"We talked about this, remember?" Sky said to her. "It's up to you to decide if you want to come with us, but at the end of the day, I think it would do you wonders."

"Take the little miss's words to heart, Nox," Bugu added.

Kirrik looked at Sky and tilted his head toward the Nova. He hoped she would understand what he was saying and, thankfully, she did. She ran up the ramp and disappeared into the ship. It was time for him to leave as well.

"I'm going to go grab Imi and move her onboard," He told them. He didn't wait for a response and instead made his way back toward the house. A deep unease settled in him. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be a teacher or caretaker for anyone. He wasn't a good role model, and neither was Imi. Not only that, but he wondered how long it would be before he couldn't deal with Nox's scathing attitude anymore. It all seemed so sudden, yet, if his life so far had taught him anything, it was that he could never really prepare. He owed Bugu for turning his life around, and this was a chance to make things right. Besides, there was never a "good time" for anything. Life never stopped. It was a constantly turning carousel that didn't care if you fell off or wanted a break. 

'Maybe I should write that down somewhere,' He mused. 'That would make a pretty solid lesson one day.'

________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Bugu looked up at Nox's face for what he figured would be the last time. There was never a way to know what tomorrow would bring, and if Kirrik was anything to go by, Nox probably wouldn't return for a while, if ever. Saying goodbye was hard. Saying goodbye a second time, to a second child, was even harder.

"Bugu, are you sure you're going to be alright on your own?" Nox pressed.

Bugu laughed a slow, vibrating chitter. "I already told you, everything will be fine. I want you to go. Promise me that you'll go. Get on that ship and don't turn around. Look ahead to the stars and know that I want to hear stories about every single one when you get back. And even if you don't ever return, believe me when I say that I would endure a lifetime of loneliness if it meant that you were happy."

Nox started to tear, then fully lost control. Her face and lips squished into a sob that tugged at Bugu's heart. He put a furry paw against her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

"You need to go, Noxiella. Please. They need to stop what's coming, and they'll need a great mechanic to keep them afloat."

Nox broke down into heavy sobs and gripped him tightly. He ran his paw across her back and tried to calm her. Kirrik walked up to them, Imi in his arms, and waited for Nox to let everything out. Bugu knew that she would be in good hands. Kirrik was harder on himself than he needed to be. He always was. Sometimes, Bugu still saw the same timid blonde-haired little boy that showed up at his door years ago. His antennae tapped. 

"Come on, kid," Kirrik said softly. "This isn't going to be the last goodbye."

Nox broke off the hug and took two steps back. She wiped her puffy eyes with the back of her hands. "You'll still be here, right?" She asked in between stuttering breaths. "You've always been here for me. What if I go and come back, and you're not here anymore? What if you need me, and I'm not here for you?"

"Nox, we can't be afraid of what could or couldn't happen. I raised you better than that, did I not? I'll be here for as long as I can. Every day, I'll look out at the junkyard and check to see if you've returned. One day, I know I'll see you again. But Nox, I'm old. Older than I ever thought I would end up being. If, for whatever reason, I never get to see you come home, I just hope I've been a good father figure for you."

Nox's lip quivered as she fought back more tears.

"You've been more than that, Bugu. You'll always be my dad."

Bugu tilted his head down. In all of his years, he never thought he'd hear anything akin to what Nox had just told him. His antennae rustled against one another. He heard Kirrik move closer to them.

"We need to go, Nox."

Bugu looked back up and saw Nox wipe her face once more. She nodded and started to walk with Kirrik up the Nova's ramp. Bugu waved and flickered his eyes to express his goodbye.

"I hope you enjoy the upgrades I installed," Nox sniffled.

"The what? What did you do to my baby?" Kirrik yelled as the ramp clicked closed.

Bugu waited for the afterburners of the Nova to kick on, and the heated air blasted across his fur. Dust rose around the ship as it clanged and clattered up, then settled into a purr. The Nova sounded and looked better than it ever did before.

"I figured that girl was special," Bugu thought aloud. His hands rested atop his metal rod as it dug deep into the dirt. The Nova rotated and made its way toward the edge of Elontra.

Bugu turned and walked back to his home. Time had seemed to pass even faster the older he got. He remembered the day Kirrik arrived and changed his life forever. Up until that point, he had been a simple mechanic working on ships for every type of gangster, bounty hunter and space pirate possible. That was the day he became a father. He had given up so much and crafted a whole new life around the boy. Yet, despite all that he tried, he never felt he had done enough for Kirrik. There were ups and downs aplenty, and Kirrik had taken everything that had happened to his family hard. It led to some bad choices, but Bugu did what he could. When Kirrik left, it felt like a part of him had been ripped away and was never destined to come back. Then, Nox arrived. Though she was personally dropped off, and at a younger age, Bugu saw it as a way to atone for all of his mistakes from the first time around. He taught her everything he knew and gave her every ounce of love that he had. 

Now, his son had returned, a much more mature man than when he had originally left, and with a family of his own in tow. Even if he didn't see it yet, Bugu did. They would keep him grounded and help him grow. They would give him something to live for. And with his fateful visit, Kirrik's family would add another member. Sure, she was a bit hot-headed and brazen, but she was also brilliant and had a heart for helping others. The son returned, yes, but left with the daughter in tow. In their place, they gave him memories - memories of their childlike wonder, of being tucked into bed and told "good night", of scrapes and bumps and bruises, of smiles and laughs, of running around the junkyard and being excited by the smallest things. 

Bugu had done everything a parent could do. It was up to his children to learn, do and be better. He walked up the steps, entered his home, and closed the door.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Regal knocked Rhug to the ground with a thunderous clap in one smooth punch. The floor shook under Ravig's boots. Outside, the ash storm of another volcanic eruption whipped across the window of Regal's chambers. The leader of the Regime followed up his punch with a kick that punted Rhug to the door. Though Regal was young and impudent, there was no doubt that his strength was unmatched. Decades of genetic experimentation and cultivation through his bloodline had accomplished that. Ravig felt sickened at the thought. That the Kunar were led by a lab creation bred for perfection and leadership instead of someone who clawed their way from the very bottom showed weakness.

Ravig watched Rhug take his punishment in whole. There was no fight. The members of the Regime knew better. Still, while Ravig kept his hands behind him and observed patiently, he could see the slight disdain across Rickus and Rana's faces. Rana gave him a side glance and a barely noticeable smirk. They had done well to hide their forbidden romance from the likes of Regal and the rest of the Regime. The only one who had discovered them had his flame snuffed out by the interlopers, and no one ever really believed a thing that Rhessian said anyway. His penchant for trickery and lies ultimately caught up with him. They were safe, at least for now.

Safe, however, didn't mean they could get sloppy in how they acted. There would be even more watchful eyes across the group now that Rhessian had fallen. What Rhug was enduring was more than just a punishment. It was a clear warning to the rest.

Regal finally stopped his beatdown and the jewels of his robe clinked together. Rhug laid across the floor by his feet, battered and bloody. Regal motioned upward with his hand. "Stand, Rhug. Take your place with the others."

Rhug clambered to his feet and moved to Rickus's side. Regal tilted his head back and exhaled, then turned to look at the assembly before him. He paced slowly. 

"I would like you, my precious Overeers, to know that I do not mourn the loss of our dear Rhessian," Regal started. "He was, and will always be remembered, as a pain. A thorn in my side that I tolerated for his sheer usefulness. Would you all believe that even in death, Rhessian still served his purpose?"

Regal stopped in the middle of the group and extended out his draped golden arms. "That madman left his communicator on when he died. It fell into the hands of the very people I ordered you all to take care of, and one of them somehow managed to break through layers of our encryption. Now normally, I would be furious. This time, though, I got something far more important in exchange. Something we've been waiting for years to resurface. Rickus, please share your visuals."

Rickus straightened his normally hunched posture and tapped his wrist. A hologram of a Kunar fighter projected from his violet visor. The fighter broke apart into multiple pieces, each with strings of data.

"This is a standard Kunar fighter, the very one you use in every operation," Regal explained. "What was not made aware to any of you, aside from Rickus, is that this fighter was developed with the fractured data of a project we recovered many years ago. One our beloved General Ravig happened to stumble upon."

Ravig saw the others glance in his direction, but he didn't understand what Regal was talking about. He had overseen so many operations over the years, they all blurred together. He remained stoic.

"Ravig, you don't remember the search for the Humans' warp project?" Regal asked.

It clicked into place. "That station was razed and the data was destroyed," Ravig answered. "There's nothing, and no one, that survived."

"That's where you're wrong on both counts, General," Regal responded with a tinge of ire. "Rickus extracted a small portion from the corrupted remains, as I said. But, there was also a sole survivor. One that Rhessian happened to capture and whose thoughts he was able to replicate. She gave us the rest of what we needed: the ability to fully utilize the aether to warp across vast distances in nearly no time at all. The mag jump of your fighter is based on this same principle, but imagine being able to take the fight to any species and any planet in the blink of an eye. Hundreds of warships that can seemingly appear out of nowhere for our enemies. We can do this, and we can do it right now."

"Even the Requiem?" Ravig clarified.

"Yes, General. Your flagship can crack planets before the enemy even knows you're there. We're accelerating our plans of attack. As soon as Rickus has made the necessary adjustments, we take Atania."

Regal pointed at each of the Overseers. "Ravig, you and Rana will now split Rhessian's duties and forces. Prepare to execute phase one and two of our plan. Rhug, you will accompany Rickus to Millik and make sure the Uvari give him a warm welcome with all of the equipment he needs for phase three. Rickus, you'll be stationed at Millik permanently with a cadre of Reclaiments until phase three is complete."

"Lord Regal, by my estimates that would mean five months, even after reallocation of supplies," Rickus chuckled anxiously.

"Then I suggest if you want to come back sooner, you work that much harder," Regal intoned. He clapped his hands and Ravig swiveled toward the door with the others. Regal stopped them all before they could leave out the chamber doors. "Oh, and one more thing. Rhessian was smart enough to die instead of returning here in failure. I advise you all to take note and do the same." 

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Aurora Nova glimmered through the star-dotted black once more, a sense of urgency behind its movement. Deep within, Diah stirred into consciousness. A familiar voice called to her, a faint echo at first, then progressively louder. 

"Diah! Diah, please come back," She heard Zaius tell her. Her vision adjusted to the lights of the Nova and the worried face of Zaius above her. His concerned eyes burned into hers. "Diah! I'm so happy you're back. Are you alright?"

"I feel like there's a cloud in my head and my heart is full of broken glass," Diah said, a bit woozy. She beckoned him closer. "If you put your head against me, you might be able to hear it."

Zaius didn't need another invitation and dropped down onto her, his head placed against her body as he pulled her close. "I was worried about you," He told her. "You walked out and fell to the ground. It's been a few hours since then and you've been trembling off and on."

Diah hadn't noticed the tremors attacking her muscles until Zaius called attention to it. It felt like her body was entirely out of her control. She tried to calm her twitches when what he said had processed in her mind.

"Wait, what do you mean hours?" She exclaimed and forced herself up. The rest of the group, sans Imi, was spread across the dining quarters and watched her with concern. "I need to get to Vensha! We've already lost so much time."

"We've tried to hail Vensha and Flightline," Kirrik told her from the bench. "There hasn't been an answer from either one. I'm not sure if it's their comms or ours, since someone decided they wanted to try some upgrades on my ship without permission."

He directed a cold glare toward Nox.

"Nice try, jackwagon," She spat back. "I know my work is top tier. The Nova's comms aren't just fixed, they're boosted. Whatever is blocking our messages is on a completely different frequency."

Diah moved into the center of the quarters. "I know that we have to take the impending attack on Flightline into account, but we need to head to Vensha first. The Chyl are in the middle of a civil war. That means they won't be unified on any front and an assault could decimate the entire planet. The High Prime have the entire Collective to protect them."

"She's right," Balakus agreed. "The turmoil on Vensha is known across Atania. You can bet that Regal is counting on that. There's a large number of civilian casualties that could be reduced."

"Plus, if this war escalates, the Chyl are the only ones that can properly go fleet for fleet with the Kunar," Sky added.

Nox shook her head in disagreement and projected a number of holographic charts from the MenXhip in her wrist. "I've been running data and the projections show that if Flightline falls, the chances of a united front are almost zero. Everyone would go their separate way. A galaxy without its government is exactly what the Kunar Regime needs to swoop in and claim a decisive victory. Who's left to fight them at that point?"

"You just joined us, Nox," Diah replied. "I don't expect you to know or understand what we've been through at this point, but getting home has been the priority for me. We helped you out in Elontra. Help me now. Please."

Nox looked down at the Nova's floor and Diah felt a swell of disappointment. She shifted to Kirrik. He shrugged.

"We weren't even supposed to be involved in all this mess," He said bluntly. "My partner is out of commision, but I know she would say to head toward Flightline. The potential for collapse is just too great. Plus, I have my own reasons to go there. If we can hail a comm, Diah, we can warn the Alis."

"But you said that hasn't worked yet and you've been trying for hours,' She argued. The twitches increased. "If we go to Vensha, my mother can even try to send something out to Flightline instead. Zaius, back me up here!"

Zaius scratched the back of his head and refused to meet her eyes. Diah froze. She could handle the hesitation from any of the others, but not him. She begged for it to just be in her mind. 

"How do we know that she would actually help?" He finally replied. "From everything you've said, she's only been out for herself. The galaxy needs its government, Diah. None of us can handle the Kunar alone."

Diah felt her heart begin to break. It was a pain she had only faced once before and that she told herself would never happen again. Unease, anxiety and a sharp stab in her stomach took over. She felt her eyes sting. "You promised. You told me that as soon as we got things fixed, we would get there. You promised!"

Zaius went to comfort her but she stepped back and held her hand up. Hot tears rolled down her face and she took a shuddering breath. Every part of her body burned from the inside. "No! I don't know if my mother would help, but she's still my mother. I can't let her and all of the people I know die. I have to at least try. I trusted you that you would understand that."

"Diah, I don't want to hurt you. I know it's a lot but let's try and talk it through," Zaius pleaded.

'I told you,' Wyrna's voice said smugly. 'Love is a lie. They don't care about you. They never did. No one ever has. I'm the only one who's given you anything and you left me to die!'

"Shut up!" Diah screeched. A sharp pain sent her to the ground with her eyes closed. She couldn't bear the voice's taunting anymore. "Just get out of my head! I hate you!"

She glanced up and saw the pain in Zaius' eyes through her own teary vision. Her heart raced and sweat started to cling to her arms and neck. Everything was going wrong all at once. "Not you," She tried to explain. "Wait. Please. I wasn't talking to you."

Zaius took a few steps back and silently pressed against the wall. The damage was done. A palpable unease filled the air. Kirrik stood and put his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Look, we can stay here and argue, but that doesn't help anyone. The Chyl need you, but Flightline needs help too," He said. "I really don't want to do this, but there's a way that we can try to get to both. It's going to put us in a really bad position, though."

Kirrik motioned for the rest to follow him, but Zaius remained behind. Diah felt horrible. She knew she needed to try and talk things through with him, but wasn't sure how. She was heartbroken at his choice, sure, but she couldn't hate him for it. Kirrik led them into the Nova's cockpit.

"Back when my father owned this ship, he would get into plenty of trouble. He never wanted us to be caught in any kind of crossfire, so he developed this failsafe," Kirrik explained and directed their attention toward a small latch on the side. "If I lift this latch up and hit the button underneath, this ship cuts right down the middle and makes two: The Aurora and the Nova. Now, the Nova is the ship's main system. It's the steering, the weapons, what have you. The Aurora is essentially a giant lifeboat. I put the destination in and there's nothing you can do except ride it to safety. If we go through with this, whoever gets on the Aurora is going straight to Vensha and that's it. The Nova group, meanwhile, can head to Flightline and hope we don't end up in another dogfight with half our firepower."

"I was wondering why the mainframe was placed in such an odd location," Nox chimed in. 

"So we need to make a choice, essentially," Sky clarified.

Kirrik crossed his arms. "That's all we can do."

Diah felt a cold sadness within her. There was a chance to get home and to save the planet, but at the cost of her friends and their own safety. She wiped the tears from her eyes. Sky was right - she needed to make a choice.

"If you're sure, Kirrik, then let's do it," She spoke up. "I'll take good care of my half."

"I wouldn't even consider the thought if I had my doubts about that, Diah," Kirrik said. "You have a fighting spirit, kid. I know you can handle things."

"What about you? Can you take care of Flightline on your own?" Balakus asked.

"Hell yeah," Kirrik replied. He lifted the latch and pressed the square orange button underneath. A timer of five minutes popped onto the window and all the terminals. "It's done."

Zaius observed the group as they made their way back into the dining quarters. "What happened?"

"We're splitting up, Z. Some of us will go to Flightline and the rest will head to Vensha. There should be about three minutes left to choose," Kirrik told him. "Flightline on the right side, Vensha on the left."

Diah watched as Balakus and Sky moved to the left side of the quarters first. Nox followed suit, but Kirrik clamped down on her shoulder. "Woah there," He said and pulled her to his side. "We just got to meet and you're already running away from your big brother?"

"I hope you're joking right now," Nox grumbled. "Please tell me you're joking."

"It's okay," Sky reassured her. "If something happens, you're going to be the best person to take care of Imi and the Nova."

"Plus we can bond," Kirrik teased. Nox punched him in the shoulder.

Zaius looked at both ends, then stepped to the left. Surprised, Diah grabbed Zaius' hands and pulled him against her. She swallowed and met his gaze.

"You don't have to go to Vensha," She expressed. "I know it seemed like I said something very harmful, but please believe me when I say it wasn't to or about you."

"No, you're well within your right to be mad," Zaius replied. "I made a promise and I broke it. You trusted me, and I broke that too. I want to show you that you can count on me to help you, especially when you need me most."

Diah placed her hand against his cheek and stroked it with her thumb. Her emotions were a hard-to-parse-through mess. There was sadness, pain, anger, fear, regret. So many things that wanted to take over her mind, yet one stood above the rest. "Kirrik needs you. So does Flightline. If there's anyone I know that can make sure the job gets done, it's you. If you want to make things up to me, then show me that I'm right to believe that."

"What if something happens, Diah? What if I'm not there to protect you?"

"Balakus and Sky are with me. I'm not alone. You've done enough for now, Zaius. Other people need you."

"I understand that, but Diah… I lo-"

Diah pressed her finger against Zaius' soft lips. "Zaius Veer, save that for when we meet again. Let's focus on what we need to do and let our emotions take a back seat until we're through this. It gives us something to look forward to and a reason to live, okay? Please, live for me."

Zaius took his hand and wrapped it around hers. He kissed her finger, then the back of her hand. As much as Diah wanted to embrace him and feel the touch of his tender lips to hers, she knew that doing so would break any chance of them going their separate ways. There wasn't a timer on their relationship like the ship or the impending attacks. They could reunite, take their time, and grow together. There was a future with one another, but they needed to save the present first.

Diah gave Zaius the biggest hug she could, their souls connected for the briefest of moments, then stepped back to the left side of the ship. Sirens buzzed intermittently to signal the end of the countdown.

"Best of luck, you three," Kirrik said. "We'll catch back up with you on Vensha when everything is said and done."

"And to you, hunter," Balakus responded. "May the fight be yours to win."

Sky gave a wave and a wink to Nox, then turned to Zaius and motioned at Diah. "You'd better come back to her or I'm going to drag you across Atania myself, dead or alive."

The ship started to shake as shutters rolled down across the portholes. A thick white shield lowered from the center of the quarters perfectly down the middle with a hum. Clunks reverberated through the walls as the metal of the ship began to split. Zaius ran toward the shield and put his hand against it. Diah reached out and did the same. Despite being on the other side, she could feel his energy. She already yearned for his touch.

The ship split in half successfully and drifted apart. Each part rotated and rebalanced as their thrusters worked twice as hard. Diah felt the shift in artificial gravity to accommodate. Finally, another round of Zanathum shutters folded over the shield to completely seal the ships and complete their transformation into two. Diah gazed wistfully out the porthole at the Nova and pictured Zaius doing the same. The thrusters blazed into overdrive and launched the Aurora into the vast black sea filled with the twinkling stardust of hopes and dreams.