PROTA ARC PART III: …Beyond the Stars.

Pandemonium befell Vitu like the days of new. Pilots raced to the ships in the bay chasing the Meteor above that seemed unmoving, a pattern in the tapestry of the stars. And in the hallways away from the chaos, the boy with his hands at his side and the girl stood side on with pistol staring him down.

“You saw what they did, Astra.”

“Don’t. We aren’t friends, let’s drop the act. All I saw was a Vagrant with a gun to my head and his boss telling him to pull the trigger, just because you got cold feet doesn’t mean I can trust you.”

“This is ridiculous…”

“No, Ryūsei, it makes more sense than you want to admit. Ghrian told you to do it and you failed, now you have your chance to get back in his good books. Become a captain and be just like them. Stealing, beating, killing… taking from everyone until someday, someone else takes from you.”

The walls shakes again, another strike from the Meteor drilled down, smashing the walls to pieces.

“You talked about dreams last night.” She said quietly. “A kid looking at the stars and wondering how far you could reach. That boy, Hoshi and the Vagrant Ryūsei. Two parts a person…”

“So who are you now?”

Another volley crashed just behind Astra, obliterating the door at the end of the hallway. She was rocked, and the shockwave gave him just enough time to recover, kicking his gun into the air and catching in a single motion.

Now they were truly equal, both held life and death in their hands.

“Who am I? I’m the same person I’ve always been. I’m tired, Astra, tired of everyone standing in my way. Dreams? They’re still the same as the day my dad put me on the ship from Earth, and I don’t care who tries to stop me anymore. Sao, Ghrian, Liu… you.”

“I really don’t want to do this, but I told you in the wastes, I’ll do what I have to do. So one last time… get out of my way, or make me a murderer.”

Trading the sands for stone and wastes for capital, once more they stood facing. Through the tension a knife could cut, the shape and colour of a rifle bolt flew past both and grabbed their attention away. Down the corridor stood an entourage of soldiers coming back to discover the damage of the last explosion, not quite what they expected. One took a knee and fired, aiming for their former ally with deadly precision, but he was quick to move away behind the wall. Astra followed suit but the cover on her side was small and she saw shots fly past too close to comfort. So she fired back, hitting one in the shoulder and another one in the abdomen. It gave her a window to jump out and head for Ryūsei, just about making it.

“Let’s settle to score later!” Astra shouted, unable to hear much as the shots beamed past.

“You think?!”

*-*-*

“This is Commander Ghrian of the Vagrants. To the Meteor firing above, state your name and your purpose.” Ghrian called out with the radio from the communications centre of Vitu, hunched over the radio tech shaking with fear. “Oh, and…” he paused. “Could you kindly stop destroying my fucking building?!”

The response was cold and dead, only the feedback of a receiver… “not… yours…” the audio was choppy, and the voice was low and lifeless.

“Not yours either. And believe me, my boys are going to board shortly. When I get there I will personally rip off your fucking head and shit down your neck!”

Again no response.

Then the line cut. Ghrian noticed and repeated called out, trying to antagonise as the tech worked his hardest to reconnect the line, much like sewing split rope back together…

“C’mon.” Ghrian spoke to the tech now. “Get it working.” Faster he worked and yet still the disturbed sound of silence. “Sir… it’s, it’s gone…” nervously he whispered. Ghrian launched his receiver against the wall the way a teen throws a controller.

“Get it working.” He commanded his shaking grunt as he stormed out, two others stood guard at the door. “Call in Liu, it’s time we dealt with that garden weed.”

They nodded and joined the communicator, Ghrian continued forth. A demon on a march in a sea dyed red.

*-*-*

Too many. Through hallways and more crowd of angered grunts, taking potshots and cover where they could.

“Take a left!” Hoshi called as he reloaded his gun and stopped behind one of the pillars, Astra followed the instruction, just about avoiding a shot to the head.

“This isn’t the way to the hangar!” She responded through the fire

“No, its the Captain’s hangar” He could see the confusion as they took cover behind the thick marbled walls. “The other one is general use. With that thing flying overhead firing at Vitu, the rest of them will be there getting in ships”

“And the Captains?”

“All 5 are away. There’ll only be the sixth division’s Comet in there, Ghrian wanted me to take it, if we get there we can escape while they’re still fighting the other ship.”

A hint of hope flashed on her face, maybe there was a chance, but she remembered earlier and her face hardened. “How can I trust this isn’t some elaborate trick? Like I’ll rush through to the hangar and Ghrian will be waiting there.”

“Is this really the time?!”

Her response was the same glare, the same resolute stance. He knew she wouldn't move without an answer and a good one. So, he grabbed a hold of her collar and pulled her in, face to face. “Trust me, don’t trust me. Doesn’t matter to me anymore. Stay here for all I care, it just means we’re both dead… I can’t get to that ship alone, so if you want to give in go ahead, I’m going to reach for my way out even if it kills me.”

“So, am I going alone?”

She pondered, looked into his eyes seeking the deceit that she wanted to find. It’d be easy to turn on him now, hand him over and make a run for it, or use him as a shield… and yet she was the good one and he was the evil Vagrant. He was the one she thought of as a horrible thief, murderer… but then, why didn’t he shoot her in the wastes? Why did he speak to her aid against Ghrian? Why did he choose to risk everything, his past and future because he couldn’t end the life of someone he met the other day?

Time had passed in his mind and he took her silence as the answer, nodding half-heartedly and readying himself for a battle against the odds, for what would likely be his death…

And then he felt her hand touch his, saw for the first time a look of trust, even just a little. “Take me home, Hoshi.”

*-*-*

Plasma flew past quicker than the eye could follow, to the left and right just millimetres away from them. “Run!” He shouted. “Take the Comet!” The only ship in the bay, chrome in finish with royal blue accents. Hoshi fired his own pistol, aiming more for the ground ahead of their pursuers hoping they’d take cover and buy the duo some time. Instead they continued forward, swiftly shifting past the holes in the floor and firing back with ruthless force. One shot took the vice captain’s sleeve, ripped it to shreds off his jacket. The next grazed exposed skin and burned, another hit Astra in the leg, just enough to sting and stumble. She had reached the ship and hid under the wing, a control panel to her left and the door just slightly higher up. “What now?!” She shouted covering her head with her hands.

Hoshi took a shot at a canister on the floor, taking its nozzle off and ejecting the air inside, firing it like a rocket to the enemies behind. It took two off their feet, one landed head to floor and saw only stars. The other managed to find his feet again and took fire once more, his shots bouncing off the wing as Hoshi took cover.

“They’ll destroy the ship at this rate! Press the yellow button!” He told her through the plasma blasts and fire above their heads. She had the courage to lift up out of cover for a moment, enough to slam her hand onto the panel. The ship came to life, and the plasma that once burned through the metal bounced off, firing off in random directions and some firing back from whence they came. The roaring of the engine was strong, stronger than Hoshi had even hoped for. “She’ll fly” knowing now they were one step closer now, it was happening, everything he had lived for existed in this ship. He felt relief, but it wasn’t over yet. Another volley fired against the ship, one found its way between the duo, ricocheting against the hull and flying just between the two.

“Time to go” he shouted, his eyes glued to the bolt that almost took those dreams away. “Cover me.” Another button pressed, and the door slid open. The two took the leap and made it in, quickly closing it before anymore shots could be fired.

Ghrian stormed down the steps just to catch a glimpse of one of his ships taking off, just enough time to see the pilot staring back at him, a silent moment before the rockets fired and the ship disappeared into the unknown. Fury was too nice a word for him now, his blood was molten, his breath a blazing fire. He rushed back up the steps as he called out, “Ready my Comet! We’re going hunting.” Each step, like thunder.

The tension didn’t disappear, not even as the ship lifted into the stratosphere. “Are they following us?!” Astra asked while still bracing for impact. Piloting took priority, but Hoshi quickly flicked on the radar which didn’t immediately flash any nearby vessels. For now, they were a boat in the high seas, alone and far from civilization. “We’re good.” He replied, relaxing slightly but still keeping his eyes glued to the radar.

“We made it, right? They won’t catch us?”

He could hear her waiver. The Vagrants were not the type to give up quickly, he knew that personally. “No.” He denied. “Far too long we’ve been held prisoner in these stars.”

Once more he saw those red sands and his father reaching for him. “I’m not stopping, Astra. I’m going past the warp gate, past the Empire and into the unknown. Do you trust me to get you home?”

“I don’t really have a choice anymore!”

“No, guess not!” He laughed.

Looking out into the ocean of infinity dotted with distant lands and burning stars calling his name. Once more he saw that planet as a child from the ship called the Iris. His father knelt behind him and held him close, whispering in his ear. “Are you sad?”

The young boy shook his head

“Everything we’ve ever known dies with that planet, everything except what’s in here” he placed his hand over his son’s chest. “Its okay to be scared.”

“No.” The boy answered, still watching the burning history. “I’m not scared. I want to see the whole thing.”

His father laughed quietly “It’s a big place, I don’t think even you can see it all, son.”

Still the boy was resolute. “What is at the end? What brought us here, and is there anyone else out there… I want to know it all”

He looked forth into the abyss again as Ryūsei…

“No. We have no choice anymore, the dye is cast. But I won’t give in, no matter how difficult. I’ll find my freedom.”

“I’ll find My Eternity.”