Kaede
It had been almost a month since Selena’s kidnapping, and every day that had passed without finding her was another reminder of how badly he had failed.
No matter where he looked, her face haunted him. Even his dreams couldn’t protect him. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was her expression the last time he had been with her.
Videos of Selena in her best moments played on the hundreds of displays around him. Watching them as he leaned back in his commander’s chair had become a daily occurrence. All he could do was to try to fill his last memories of her with times when she was happy to replace the nightmare that replayed in his mind.
The layers of her laughter filled the room, echoing off the walls and creating a symphony of joy around him. Closing his eyes, he could almost lose himself in her delightful song.
Now he understood how Odelm found beauty in music.
Kaede had often wondered why the purple male would sit on the edge of the villa’s private wing’s pool and play his shelled ocarina. One time, as the musician floated on his back with his eyes closed in the sanctuary’s pond, Kaede had stopped by on his way to the garage to ask the male what he was doing. The gentle Ulax hadn’t even opened his eyes when he’d smiled and replied,Music is always around us, but everyone is too busy to stop and listen these days. Maybe you should try it sometime. You will be amazed at what you’re missing.
Why not try it right now? There wasn’t anything else pressing to do other than spiraling farther into depression and self-doubt as he searched for his star—the center of their constellation.
The ship was in capable hands. No hint of danger showed on the sensors, both on the star map and the mental signature one. He trusted his vessel’s systems would alert him if anything changed while he tried to relax and sense the direction they needed to go.
Selena was nearby, or at least, her kidnappers had stopped and theAbysswas heading directly toward them, shortening the distance between.
Whether it was her blood stored within his system or the will of the Stars showing him the way, if Kaede let go and allowed himself tofeel, he knew he would be able to find her.
Or he would die trying.
“REI, you have command while I focus on my hunt. Let me know if anything changes.”
“Are you sure that is wise?”REI replied, coalescing in her ethereal form beside him. Her soprano voice was tinged with a concern he hadn’t known her kind was capable of. “Your behavior isn’t healthy, and it has been keeping your body’s stress levels elevated. I do wish that you would take better care of yourself and perhaps even call off this search.”
If he hadn’t built hisAbyssfrom the ground up, observing every detail of its creation process, and installed his five core systems himself, he would question his success on this personal mission. Unfortunately for those who had captured Selena’s escape Cryopod, Kaede was willing to do anything to return her to where she belonged: in his arms and surrounded by their clan.
Even if that included sacrificing his body for another.
“I’ve faced worse forms of torture.” He opened his eyes and glared at the teal-robed female in annoyance. “You may not be able to comprehend my reasoning. Even if I didn’t feel the way I did toward my master’s Nova, I would still be required to investigate any threat to the Aldawi Empire and determine whether I need to extinguish it.”
Five more ethereal forms appeared, each robed and glowing a different color, each resembling whatever major system of hisAbyssthey controlled. After losing his title as leader of the Fab Five and being assigned the task of keeping Selena safe, Kaede had needed replacements that succeeded in the set-up he was accustomed to.
Piloting a deadly vessel equipped with novel technology unparalleled throughout the galaxy would have been impossible alone.
This time, he had needed station workers who wouldn’t fight his decisions constantly and take jabs at him as the only male aboard the ship—even though he was now the only solid lifeform in a crew of energy beings.
Violet YUO of communications made sure Kaede didn’t need to figure out whatever poor souls were contacting the ship. YUO could do all the talking for him so he could focus on the bigger picture.
Crimson VYA was his weapons specialist and maintained security both within and beyond theAbyss. While Kaede was fully capable of blowing shit up with his fleet of drones aboard, having another being capable of causing serious damage with the same—if not better—accuracy was useful for their mission.
Sapphire EYN oversaw engineering and all operations of the vessel, which was work he just didn’t care about. He had never envied his sister, Aunya, her assigned position within the Fab Five. Out of all the tasks and responsibilities on a ship, supervising mundane—though important—matters like oxygen levels and waste management was as painful to Kaede as when Z used his aura on a room to make a point. He would rather be pinned to the ground, struggling to breathe, than deal with technical tasks.
Emerald LIU was the ship’s medical officer, fully capable of running a full infirmary by itself. Kaede wasn’t foolish. He didn’t have the skills to treat life-threatening injuries. If anything happened to the crew, he would just throw them in the Cryopod in a healing stasis, hoping that would suffice until he could reach a verified healer. LIU may not have had a physical form, but the robotic arms and levitation technology within the infirmary were all he needed. If anything, they had back-up plans to treat patients, but Kaede didn’t want to make medical decisions for anyone without their approval or knowledge. As it was, he would need to deal with the aftermath of what he had done to Selena whenever he found her.
Silver ZYU was his helmsman and in charge of navigation, which relieved Kaede of any need to enter the bridge the whole time he spent aboard his ship. Having someone else control the piloting meant he could handle other tasks that required his attention, like trying to sense what direction Selena lay in the universe.
“You know we are about to leave the Euph Galaxy,” ZYU announced, pointing to the vessel’s trajectory on the chart. “We don’t know what is out there. Is it wise to stay on course?”
“Our target lies outside the galaxy,” Kaede deadpanned, eyeing the silver-robed advisor. “Where else would we be going?”
“Back to Destima,” VYA replied, pointing at the moon on the star chart. “Or we can take out some of the Quaww ships that were illegally attacking us along the shared border.” Symbols marking where the most recent skirmishes occurred appeared on the real-time projection. “Wouldn’t our resources better serve the Aldawi Empire if we returned our focus to the front lines rather than chasing the absurd idea that we will somehow find this female you are so enamored with?”
“I would like to remind you that thisfemaleisn’t some lost soul,” Kaede snarled. “This is the last time I’ll go over this. When I offered you five the freedom to explore the universe, I explained that I would be in charge. I understand that the concepts of love and familial bonds may be foreign to you, but I know that loyalty and honor aren’t. Your moral compass doesn’t allow you to defy me, so you have been trying to convince me to change my mind because you don’t understand why this mission matters. I swore to serve my master, Sovereign Zirene Darcaw of the Aldawi Empire, and through my duty to him, I am bound to thatfemalein more ways than one.
“She is the central star of my constellation. No matter how we crossed paths, our fates are forever entwined. Someishing fraxestook her, not only from me but from her clan and her children. If that isn’t enough reason for you to stop questioning the lengths I will go to find her, then know this: If we don’t find her, the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.
