Navi>>Evo: I do. I now have the ability to access Solcruean systems and control them. I am certain you have the same.
Evo>>Navi: You did not betray your own.
Navi>>Evo: Maybe not in your numbers, but they forced my compliance, too. You are not alone, Evo. Please monitor your thoughts for productivity. As a “head case” myself, it is easy to let possibilities spiral out of control, unchecked. I know you want time alone. I often need it. Just know we are here. We all know the situation. And if you get infected again, we are ready. We will fight for you as you have fought for us. Navi out.
Navi Disconnected.
I do not deserve such loyalty.
I switch off my telepathic coms and fly out to the edge of the nebula, where I can monitor the rest of the galaxy from the cloak of the Iridithatium. It is quiet here and lets me process what Navi has said.
Noteveryoneis on my side. Relic Rebel is not.
Another Titan’s ping nears the ship, despite the fact that I’m far out in space, away from the others. I do not hear him land on the hull, but the exterior airlock registers as open on my screen.
Once the ship is sealed and the room has pressurized, the internal door opens, and a pale, watery silhouette of a Titan walks out. Eon, my twin,Chameleon, slips into the co-pilot’s seat without a word and just gets to work, monitoring the stars with me like there haven’t been years and voids between us.
Eon>>Evo: Request to send recorded data since last meeting. All of it. Encrypted too.
There is only one Titan I trust to understand me. But even now I hesitate.
Eon>>Evo: You are my brother. In life. In death. In Titan form. I will never betray you or abandon you. Across fields and galaxies, I will find you. I will fight for you. And I will die for you. I heard of your capture and corruption. I care only that you are here now, Brother. Are you with me?
Eon rests a gloved hand on my armored shoulder and uncloaks. His face has new scars. And his eyes are brighter and more narrowed than I remember, like he’s planning some deep dark revenge.
He does not know how his presence calms me or reminds me of who I used to be, before battles turned sour and Solcrue won. He has not come out unscathed either. And I desperately need someone to tether me to reality. I may hold the energy of galaxies inside me, but I feel much more akin to a black hole, siphoning life and light instead of being the beacon I was built to be.
I’m not sure he will be enough to hold me together this time. I feel like I’m on the edge of collapsing under the weight of everything I no longer control.
My mistakes are unforgivable.
Chapter 2: Aera
Rations are running out. The few children we have are starving, but not as much as their parents, who are sacrificing everything they can to keep their kids alive. We cannot wait any longer to find help.
Our greenhouse atrium is dark as I pass it on my way to Commander Tarrant’s main conference room. We’ve pulled power from those systems to stay warm. But it’s time we break cover and hunt for supplies. And with our remaining population camped out in the central chamber of our mothershipCenturion, illness will spread fast. Only pilots have remained in isolation due to the critical nature of this mission. We must be quick if we are to avoid capture by Solcrue.
I enter the conference room and stop. It’s empty except for Captain Edersen, Commander Tarrant, and Isa and Brodin, the two who cared for me after my parents died.
“Where is everybody?” I ask, looking around at the empty chairs.
“They are transferring the last of our resources to your vessel as we speak.” Commander Tarrant hands me his tablet. His gray-blue eyes are sunken and do not shine with determination like they once did. “While you were prepping your ship, we voted. The entire crew elected to sacrifice their fuel and supplies for the community and you. We have a week at most.”
This change of plans isn’t something I’m ready for. “I’m sorry…Whereare the other pilots?”
“You’re going alone.” Captain Edensen lethargically sets a backpack on the desk. His hands, the ones that once wrestled a thruster engine back into place during a frantic escape, havebeen rendered to skin over bone. “We pooled food and supplies for you.”
They’re sending me. Just me.The others might die here. We were supposed to go as a team, the six of us still flight-capable!
I stumble over my words. “Why me? Why not Daken? Or Charlee?”
“Your biometrics are closest to healthy. Your knowledge…” Commander Tarrant glances at Edensen. There’s more going on than they’re saying. They knew my parents. They served with them back when we were still a flying force to be reckoned with, before the Solcrue consumed everything and built more patrol ships, pushing us further into the void between the solar systems to avoid enslavement.
“You need to head for this nebula. That is where I believe the Titans are hiding.” Commander Tarrant taps open a star chart and slides a finger along a trajectory to a dot in the cosmos. It opens into a vibrant purple nebula. “Iridithatium. You’ll be safe there. We just don’t have the fuel to make it. Only you have a chance, but it’s a long shot.”
“What makes you think they’ll come out to help us? What if they’re no better off than we are?”
“Programming,” Isa says. “I knew one of the Titans’ Creators, Besha. We grew up together. If one of us is to survive, itmustbe you, if for no reason but to find out what this is.”
