“You’re sure she’s the one?” Schoss asked.

  “Yes, the DNA scan proved it without doubt.”

  Schoss looked at the eighteen year old girl while his subordinate stepped back. The girl had dark hair, an average face, and empty eyes that barely registered Schoss as he sat down across from her.

  “So you’re the real Rey Seyn,” he said, stroking his chin. “Hmm. Not exactly top-quality material. Probably would’ve been culled at six with most of the others… but unfortunately we’re a bit short on Royal blood at the moment, so you’ll have to do.

  “There’s a lot that has to be expined to you, but I’m in the middle of another important matter, so I have to go. I’ll leave you in the care of the royal family’s attendants. Understand?”

  She nodded.

  “One st thing. You’ve given birth twice already, correct?”

  She nodded.

  “Track down her offspring and dispose of them,” he said, standing and addressing his subordinate. “We can’t have royal blood getting loose. Now it’s time for me to find the false Rey Seyn.”

  ***

  The almost inaudible buzz of the ceiling light was the only sound in the room. Landen, Zan, and Rey sat at a table in silence. The mood was unbearably dark and depressing, but none of them knew what to say.

  It’d been at least a couple days since they’d left Temure, but no one was keeping track of the time. The tragedy was affecting them all differently

  Yande and Deru, who were currently in the control room, had appeared the least affected. Rey hadn’t interacted with them much, but she found it strange how little they seemed to care.

  For her part, Rey was filled with guilt. She didn’t know why, but she was sure they’d destroyed the town because of her.

  “It’s strange though. I feel guilt, but no sadness. Is something wrong with me? Am I missing something? Something important…?”

  Zan felt nothing but hatred- more hatred than ever before. Only this time, it was almost all directed at himself. All his guilt, sadness, and anger had been drowned in the rolling bck hatred that enveloped his heart.

  If he hadn’t abandoned his parents to search for his aunt in the first pce, none of this would’ve happened.

  Even so, Zan refused to believe that his father was right. He refused to believe that his aunt couldn’t have been saved. Whatever the cost, Zan wouldn’t become like his father.

  But now that the cost was piling up before his eyes, he didn’t know how much more he could take. Was it worth it to save one person who he’d never met?

  There was no way he could stop now though, not after sacrificing so much, and getting so many people killed.

  Landen leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. His chest felt heavy with grief, but he had to put on a brave face and act like a solid leader since no one else could at the moment. At 24, he was also the oldest person on board.

  The person who’d been affected the worst however, was Chisay. She’d holed up in her room ever since they’d left and refused to come out or eat anything. Landen was worried for her, especially since she was the only one who didn’t really know any of the others.

  The problem was that no one really knew what to do.

  “Someone should probably talk to Chisay,” Landen said, leaning back again.

  “The problem is who. Rey’s in no state for that, and as for Zan…yeah, no. Yande would get jealous if Deru talked with her, and Yande wouldn’t be able to empathize with her, so that just leaves…”

  “I guess I’ll go,” he said. “Get some sleep. We’re still about six days away from Ezerse, and you both look really tired.”

  Landen got up and left Rey and Zan brooding at the table. Neither felt like saying anything, and after a few minutes Rey got up and left for her room.

  “Why’d things turn out this way,” Zan said under his breath, clenching his fist. “It’s all my fault. Dammit!”

  He gred at his hand.

  Rey curled up in her bed.

  “Does my wish really cost this much? How can I feel happy about finding something special to me now? Will I ever be able to feel truly happy about anything? Will anything mean enough to me that I’ll feel sad if I lose it?”

  Yande looked over at Deru, who sat beside her at the controls. His dark hair that was almost bck, but wasn’t. His brown eyes, long eyeshes, and ruffled shirt that almost hid the small scar on the right side of his neck.

  “You think Landen’s gonna be alright?” she asked.

  He looked over at her pretty face, her pink eyes, her bck and pink striped hair tied back in two braids that hung halfway down her slender back.

  “He’s a strong person, so I think he’ll be fine,” Deru reassured her.

  “You’re right. But most of all, I’m just gd that you aren’t sad about what happened…”

  “Of course. Everything’s fine as long as I have you, so don’t worry.”

  “I’m happy I don’t have to worry about you. Although, if you ever feel even a little sad, just come to me and I’ll console you, like you did for me when my mom died.”

  “I’ll do it again, anytime you want me to,” he said happily.

  Landen paused for a moment outside Chisay’s door before knocking.

  “It’s me, Landen.”

  No response.

  “I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through. I lost both my parents at a young age, so I don’t remember them very well, but I also lost some good friends when… that happened. They’re all gone, and we can’t do anything about it.”

  He closed his eyes and let his forehead rest against her door.

  “We can’t do anything except…move forward.”

  “I can’t just do that,” Chisay said quietly from within. “I’m weak.”

  She sat huddled on her bed in complete darkness, wrapped in a bnket that only exposed her tear-stained face.

  “That you were the most affected doesn’t mean you’re weak, just that you have the biggest heart. I’m not asking you to forget your pain, or the people you lost, but don’t let it overwhelm you. I’ll be here if you want to talk, and when you’re ready, come out and join us.

  Things will get better, I promise.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Well, it can’t get much worse than it is right now, right?”

  Deru’s voice came on over the ship’s intercom.

  “They found us! Landen, come to the control room immediately!”

  “Huh?”

  Landen stood for a moment, then turned and started running. He burst into the control room to see Yande and Deru panicking, fear in both their eyes as they frantically raced to open wormhole after wormhole.

  “They’re right behind us!” Deru said as soon as Landen entered. A moment ter Zan came in behind him.

  “We’re opening wormholes as fast as we can, but they have superior navigation instruments. They’ll have caught up to us in less than two minutes,” Yande said, her voice filled with fear.

  “How many?” Landen asked, trying to appear calm.

  “Twelve warships and a command ship,” Deru answered.

  Hope drained from Landen’s eyes.

  Zan fell to his knees and put his hand over his face.

  “Heh. We were so close too. I thought we’d actually made it out of the Empire by now…”

  “Don’t lose hope, we can still find a way out, and even if we’re caught we can try and negotiate,” Landen said desperately.

  “They blew up an entire town just because they didn’t want us to escape…I don’t think there’s any way they’ll spare our lives,” Zan said sullenly.

  “Hold on, I’m detecting more ships in front of us,” Deru said, looking at the screen in front of him.

  “They cut off our escape?!”

  “No, these aren’t Seynian ships…”

  They exited another wormhole and instantly appeared in front of five small warships floating in space before them.

  “They’re Alliance ships!” Zan said, looking up at them through the window.

  “Huh? The Seynian ships are still approaching,” Deru said.

  A panel towards the center of the controls showed videofeed from the ship’s rear, and on the screen they all saw thirteen ships appear behind them within a fraction of a second. One towards the middle was noticeably rger than the rest.

  The Seynian and Alliance ships faced each other, Rey’s ship sitting right between them. All the ships hung perfectly still in the empty void.

  “They’re trying to contact us,” Deru said, flipping a switch. The speaker came on, and a voice filled the room.

  “This is outer patrol squadron 128 of the Ezersan Military. Your ship hasn’t received authorization to enter the Alliance. We ask you to state your name and situation. If you refuse to comply, we’ll be forced to treat you as a hostile threat and eliminate you.”

  Landen grabbed Zan’s arm and pulled him to his feet.

  “Your turn.”

  Zan looked at him, then at the two teenagers at the controls, then out the window at the squadron looming in front of them, and finally at the small speaker embedded in the control desk.

  “Why are you counting on me? I’m the one who caused this mess.”

  “I believe it’s more complicated than that, but if you truly feel that way, start by fixing it. You’re the only one among us who’s from the Alliance.”

  A moment of hesitation.

  Then Zan approached the speaker and took a breath.

  “I am Zan Aban, a citizen of Ezerse. I'm traveling with five other people who are seeking refuge in the Alliance. We are unarmed.”

  “Why are you being pursued?”

  “One of the people on board has valuable intel that could benefit the Alliance.”

  A pause.

  “I’m about to transmit a data pack, and I want you to use it to prepare a wormhole. Wait for my signal before entering it.”

  Yande and Deru began the process to create a wormhole using the data they’d just received. After several long moments Deru turned to Landen.

  “It’s ready.”

  Landen acknowledged this while staring out the window. Three of the Alliance ships had turned and disappeared from sight through wormholes of their own.

  “You may enter the wormhole now.”

  Deru reached out to the controls with a trembling hand, Yande, Landen and Zan watching with bated breath.

  “Now we hope for the best,” Landen said.

  ***

  High in the control room of the Seynian Command ship, Lieutenant General Schoss appeared on the balcony beside General Marshall, who was looking out over the rows of monitors that y in the massive control bay below them.

  He listened to the sound of people speaking quietly to each other, flipping switches and pushing buttons, and moving around in their seats as they sved away at their posts. The far wall was covered nearly from floor to ceiling in huge screens that dispyed the scene outside.

  Schoss looked with cold eyes at the five Alliance ships that were facing them. His eyes briefly shifted to the small ship trapped between the two groups.

  He sighed, then spoke to the general.

  “We’re technically in neutral space, so we can’t attack without risking war. They’re demanding that we withdraw. It’s unfortunate, but it looks like we’ll have to-”

  “We can’t just let them go, dammit!” the general said furiously. “If we fail I’ll be the one held responsible! I’ll be facing demotion at best, maybe even worse penalties!”

  “I used money and influence to get to where I am now, and I won’t lose it all over this!”

  “That’s unfortunate, but we can’t risk provoking the Alliance. If war were to break out it would be-”

  “War wouldn’t break out over a little incident like this. We’re in neutral space, and besides, we’re targeting one of our own ships!”

  “It’s still too much of a risk-”

  “I’m the general here!! I’m in charge, dammit! I’ll make the decisions!”

  Three of the Alliance ships turned and disappeared on the screen.

  “Ha! See, they’re running! This won’t be a problem.”

  Schoss narrowed his eyes.

  “Prepare to fire,” Marshall said into his comm.

  Suddenly the ship they were pursuing vanished through a wormhole.

  “Don’t pursue them,” Schoss said, a hint of warning in his voice.

  “Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll do what I want! I’m going after them!”

  “Seynian Military Code, cuse 133 - Any member of the Seynian military that prioritizes their own interests over those of the Seynian military is to be treated as an enemy of the state and is liable to be executed on the spot. You’ve become detrimental to the Empire.”

  “What are you-”

  Schoss lifted his gun and shot Marshall through the head.

  His body crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from the hole in his forehead. Schoss looked down at him with eyes devoid of emotion.

  “I, unlike you, have the Empire’s best interests in mind with every action I take.”

  He looked at the massive screen in the room beyond, now showing only empty space.

  “If I were to chase after them now I could at least take care of the false princess, but it’s probably best to let them go and hope the government can smooth this over.”

  He turned to the two members of the White Guard who stood to either side of the entrance to the balcony. They hadn’t moved a muscle the entire time, nor had their expressions changed behind their opaque visors.

  “Have someone clean this up immediately,” he said. The one on the right saluted and reyed the command through its helmet.