Angel arrived in her usual quiet way. No flair. No shouting. Just calm steps crunching over ash and scattered bullet shells outside the wrecked ship. Her eyes took in the bodies—rcs half-buried in dirt, bots shattered like toys, and the sll of gunpowder still clinging to the air.
She exhaled slowly. "Shit."
Then she entered.
Inside, she ran into Lyra first, who looked like she belonged in the hallway more than the ship itself—scarred arms folded, a calm, casual look on her face. She nodded toward the corridor without a word and turned around, leading Angel deeper in.
But Angel wasn't alone.
Lilia walked behind her, wide-eyed, gripping her bag like it was a shield. When they reached the central room, Xavier looked up, clearly caught off guard.
"…Lilia?"
She waved awkwardly, gave a tiny smile. "Hey."
Xavier stepped closer. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I asked Angel if I could co… and she said yes," Lilia said, almost sheepish.
He turned toward Angel. "You brought her into this ss?"
Angel didn't flinch. "Reva told everyone was already dead. No threat left. The base is clean."
"She ca in the new ride you bought, by the way," Angel added, almost like a side note.
Xavier clicked his tongue. "Still. Don't bring civilians to murder playgrounds."
"Noted," Angel said, moving past him and pulling out her gear. "Now let do what I ca here for."
While Angel got to work, the rest of them scattered to their tasks.
Lyra was back in her elent. Moving through the ship like she owned it. Fingers dancing across buttons and screens with muscle mory she didn't even know she still had. She hadn't stepped into a ship since before prison. Since before chains and cells and days that never ended. This felt... good.
Reva was just as deep into it. Slicing into sub-systems, tapping through lines of code, her eyes lit up in that nerdy, focused way. Ships like these were rare. She'd only ever seen broken systems or scavenged husks before. Getting full access like this? It was like letting a starving girl into a cake shop.
anwhile, Lilia just sat there. Eyes darting around. Hands in her lap. Watching cables and wires and floating displays like they were alien magic. She had no idea what to do. No idea why she was even here. But she stayed quiet.
And Xavier was still digging through his pile of junk like a damn raccoon. Pulling up weapons, broken tech, tossing them into categories he barely understood. Every now and then, he'd show sothing to Lyra or Reva, who would just roll their eyes and na it.
An hour later, Angel ca back to them with her pad in hand. Calm, serious, glasses pushed up as she scrolled through data like she was reading bedti stories.
"I decrypted the logs," she said.
Everyone stopped.
She tapped a few tis, and suddenly, the room filled with voices—audio logs, call recordings, digital mos. One after another. Dozens. Orders. Reports. Invoices. Bribes.
And then… a voice.
It was a call to the commander. A short one.
"This is Alexander Sterling," the voice said. "Wipe the site clean. Leave nothing. We need that land secured for the Terrastation Project. I don't need any ss ups this ti. Understood?"
The line clicked off.
Xavier's face darkened. His jaw clenched.
Ethan's dad.
"Of fucking course."
Once they had confird everything, they left the ship. But they didn't just leave the ship behind.
Angel had already made so calls before Xavier even brought it up. It was too much of a waste to abandon sothing that valuable. Parts alone would sell for enough to buy a fortress. Through Jason, she'd reached out to a few black market contacts. Silent deals. No nas. In a few hours, soone was going to pick it clean.
No trackers. No evidence. No proof it ever belonged to rcs or that a battle ever happened here.
By the ti everything was cleaned up, and all the corpses were dumped into a fire pit outside the base, the five of them loaded up into Xavier's ride and drove back ho.
The sun was already past the ridge.
When they reached the village, it was morning—but not the peaceful kind. There was tension in the air. A quiet rush of relief and guilt wrapped together when the villagers saw Xavier step out of the vehicle, covered in cuts and bruises, his jacket stained with dried blood and oil.
People ca out of their hos. So clapped. So just stared. A few of the kids ran up, but stopped when they saw his arm hanging weird and a fresh gash on his forehead.
"Welco back, Xavier."
"You okay?"
"We're so sorry… we didn't know…"
He raised a hand, brushing them off with a small smile. "It's fine. You're all safe. That's what matters."
They didn't argue. They just watched, quietly, as their protector limped past them toward his ho.
No one talked much after that.
They showered. Bandaged up. Fell into their beds like corpses.
And the sun was already slipping down again by the ti Xavier opened his eyes.
Faint orange leaking through the window. The bed beside him was occupied—Lilia on one side, half-curled up, breathing slow. On the couch, Reva lay wrapped in a blanket, her back turned toward him. Lyra was slumped on the floor, head leaning against the wall, a half-eaten snack bar still in her hand.
Xavier stood up quietly and walked outside.
He found his father standing by the edge of the cliff behind their house. Sa spot he always went to when he wanted to think. The sky was burnt orange. The wind was quiet.
His old man didn't turn around when he heard the footsteps. He just lifted his hand slightly.
"Co walk with ."
Xavier didn't say anything. He just joined him.
They walked slow, the wind brushing past, both of them looking out at the landscape. Scars of battle were still visible in the distance—faint smoke trails, and the torn paths left behind by rushing bots and vehicles.
"I saw the ship," his father said after a while. "Even from here. That… was sothing."
Xavier chuckled dryly. "You should've seen the inside."
Then his eyes drifted to the small tal object, the silver locket he had given to Xavier before he left for his mission.
"Tell about the locket now, father."
He nodded toward it. "That… used to belong to your mother."
His father didn't continue imdiately.
Instead, he started at the setting sun. The wind tugged at his coat. His expression softened, turned distant. Like his thoughts weren't here anymore.
"She told to give it to you when you were ready," he finally said. "When you started walking your own path. One worthy of greatness."
Xavier looked at the sun dipping behind the mountains, and sothing in his chest ached a little.
He turned back. "What was she like?"
His father smiled faintly.
"She was wild. Too smart for her own good. Brave. Way stronger than … She didn't want to live in a quiet place like this. She wanted the stars. She left when you were still small—barely old enough to rember her."
"…So she's out there?" Xavier asked. "In space?"
"Most likely," his father said. "And if your journey keeps going the way it is… you might run into her soday."
Xavier stared at the horizon, eyes steady, quiet.
"Yeah… maybe I will."
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