Night fell over Khatsey like a heavy shroud. Veera moved with practised efficiency, her armour’s servos whirring softly as she planted perimeter alarm canisters in a jagged circle around their temporary shelter.

  Katya sat on a rusted crate, her knees pulled to her chest, watching the soldier work. The frantic terror from earlier had cooled into a dull, exhausted curiosity.

  "Veera," Katya asked, her voice small against the vast, oppressive silence of the planet. "What is space like?"

  Veera didn't stop her work. She adjusted the frequency on a canister, watching the blue sync light flicker to life. "It’s okay, I guess. Why do you ask?"

  "I don’t know. I guess I always wondered what it would be like... to live among the stars."

  "You do live among the stars," Veera replied, finally standing up and looking at the girl.

  "You know what I mean."

  "To be honest," Veera said, her tone flat, "it’s not much different from living here. Different planets, different atmospheres, different night skies... but it’s the same humans everywhere."

  Katya looked down at her hands. "That makes me sad."

  "Why? You aren't missing out on much."

  "I meant... it makes me sad for you," Katya whispered. "You get to see all those different stars and worlds, and it's just 'normal' to you. If I had the opportunity to go to all those places, I’d live in a constant state of wonder."

  Veera looked away, the word 'wonder' feeling foreign. "You’re still young. Everything has magic at your age."

  "I hope I never outgrow it," Katya said. She reached into her robes and pulled out a golden locket. She clicked it open, her thumb tracing a small, faded picture inside. "Kyle and I always spoke about travelling the stars together. We were going to save enough cryptocredits to buy passage on a merchant ship. Side by side. Everything was going to be perfect."

  "Now I won't ever see him again," she added, her voice cracking.

  Veera stiffened. "Was Kyle one of the colonists that–"

  "No," Katya interrupted, her eyes brimming with tears. "He and his parents were transferred off-planet a few years ago. We were just kids. He didn't have a choice. He promised he’d come back for me. I still miss him. Every day."

  She snapped the locket shut and tucked it back into her robes. Veera felt a familiar, itchy sense of unease. The raw weight of the girl’s grief was a problem she couldn't shoot or fix with her hands.

  "I, uhm–" Veera cleared her throat, desperate to change the subject. She patted the final perimeter module. "There. That should do it. The perimeter is up, and we can get some sleep."

  They took shelter against a crumbling wall. Veera didn't dare remove her armour. She slept with her pistol gripped in her hand, the weight of the metal a comfort.

  Hours later, the sound of soft, muffled sobbing pulled Veera from a light sleep. She stared at the ceiling of the ruin, listening to Katya try to hide her tears beneath a dirty, discarded blanket. Veera didn't move. She knew there was nothing she could say that wouldn't sound hollow.

  Instead, she stood up, stamping her feet louder than necessary so Katya would know she was awake. The sobbing stopped instantly.

  Veera walked to the old comm-kit and opened a channel. "May, you awake?"

  "Yeah, I'm here," Mayvheen’s voice crackled through the receiver. "How is it going down there?"

  "The colony is in bad shape. I doubt they’ll be able to rebuild without serious help. It’s either evacuate or abandon."

  "I figured," Mayvheen sighed. "Lunar Command will have to make the call. Is it safe to head back?"

  "Should be. At first light, the girl and I are moving for the drone."

  "Be careful, Veera. Come back safe–"

  "We'll be fine," Veera cut her off and closed the channel.

  The sun was high and punishing by the time they reached the Drop-Drone. Tiny Khatsey flies swarmed around Katya, their bites persistent and stinging.

  "How do you know there aren't any more Sentinels?" Katya asked, hesitant to step into the open square.

  "I don't," Veera said. "But the drone is our only ticket out."

  "If you launch, it’ll attract them. I don't want to go."

  Veera stopped and turned, her visor reflecting the dusty horizon. "You don't have a choice. You’ll die here."

  "But it's my choice! You can't make me go!"

  "You realise there’s no food? No water?" Veera’s voice rose. "Look around. Everyone you cared for is dead. It's time to make a new home."

  "I can't."

  "What about the stars? What about Kyle?" Veera countered. "Don't you want to see him again?"

  Katya went silent, her gaze dropping to the dirt. After a long moment, she started walking toward the drone again. "But... I have responsibilities here. I owe it to Cleo. He saved my life."

  "You're willing to die for a cat? He isn't keeping score, Katya. He’ll be fine on his own."

  "He won't."

  Veera sighed, the heat beginning to grate on her nerves. "Fine. We can spare an hour to look for–"

  Thrum-PEW!

  A beam of pulsing light deflected off Veera’s thigh armour, sending a jolt through her leg.

  "RUN! Get inside the drone!" Veera shoved Katya toward the hatch and spun around, returning fire blindly toward the buildings. "Strap yourself down! I’ll be there in a second!"

  "But Cleo–"

  "Shut up about the cat! We aren't dying here!"

  Veera backed toward the drone, her rifle barking as she spotted at least four metallic shapes closing in. She fired her last shot and slipped inside, slamming the emergency lock.

  "They're coming fast," she panted, punching the launch sequence into the console. "We're leaving."

  She turned to check on Katya, but the passenger strapdown was empty.

  "Katya?!"

  Veera unbuckled and scrambled to the back of the pod, checking behind the supply crates. The computer began its rhythmic countdown.

  "Katya, if you're hiding, come out right now! I'm not kidding!"

  Her eyes snagged on something. Hanging from the latch of the opposite door panel was the small golden locket.

  "Dammit! Foolish girl..."

  The computer screamed for her to strap in. The launch was imminent and irreversible. Veera stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring at the locket, before she was forced back into her seat. As the G-force pinned her down, she closed her eyes.

  "I'll come back for you," she whispered to the roar of the engines. "I'll come back."

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  Once the drone reached the safety of orbit and docked with the shuttle, Mayvheen was there to meet her. Her face fell the moment she saw Veera’s lone silhouette.

  "Veera! Where is the girl?"

  "She stayed behind," Veera said, her voice like lead. "She’s an idiot. She went back for the fa’rahking cat."

  "We have to go back!"

  "I know. I'll prep for re-entry, but we have to be fast. The blockade scouts are closing in."

  A soft rustling sound came from a crate near the back of the drone.

  "Veera," Mayvheen whispered. "There's something in there."

  Veera raised her rifle, her heart hammering. "Katya? You in there?"

  No answer. Only a low, rhythmic thumping. Veera shoved Mayvheen out of the drone and hit the lock.

  "Stay there. It might be a Sentinel."

  She approached the crate cautiously and kicked it. A ball of angry claws and black-and-white fur exploded from the box, hissing and scrambling for cover.

  "Cleo?!" Veera’s jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?!"

  The cat arched its back, hissing at her from the top of a supply crate.

  "You have no idea how much trouble you've caused," Veera growled, the irony of the situation tasting bitter in her mouth. "Katya stayed behind because of you... and you were in here the whole time."

  The cat just hissed again.

  When Mayvheen eventually overrode the door and saw the cat, she immediately scooped him up. "Oh, you poor thing! You're safe now."

  "Good, you caught it," Veera said, turning away. "Give it to me, I'll dispose of it."

  "Veera! You can't just dispose of a living creature!"

  "It’s a wild animal, May. It’s going to pee everywhere."

  "It’s not wild, and that girl is going to be devastated if you get rid of him. We keep him until we reunite them."

  "Fine," Veera snapped. "Whatever."

  As Mayvheen walked away cooing to the cat, Veera stood alone in the dark of the docking bay. She leaned against the cold metal wall, her armour feeling heavier than it ever had.

  Why couldn't you have just listened? she thought. Now you're down there in the dirt... and the very thing you risked your life for is up here with me.

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