Chapter 4

The window in front of us flickered, revealing the night sky, and Athena’s calm voice announced that we had arrived. I got up from my seat and looked at the empty space outside. It looked no different from the place we’d left, and I couldn’t see signs of anyone living here.

“Where is everyone?” Mirage asked, seemingly as confused as I was.

“There is no one here”, Athena informed us calmly.

She had materialised between our seats, and Ecrou leapt up on my lap and covered his head with his paws.

“Oh no, oh no, we got lost, we got lost."

“What…do you mean?” I asked.

Mirage leapt from her seat, her tail flicking in the air.

“There is nothing here! We were supposed to get help, but we are in the same place as where we started!”

“Incorrect. We are four parsecs away from our original position. It should be beyond the range most ships in the Alliance’s invasion fleet would have at its disposal under normal circumstances."

Mirage hissed at her.

“Why did you take us here? We were supposed to get help!”

She took a step towards Athena.

“Wait!”

I grabbed her hand, and she turned and hissed at me too.

“You asked me to help you escape,” Athena explained calmly. “This was the most optimal place considering our circumstances. I still have enough fuel to reach a habitable world if you wish so."

I sighed. It was my fault. It was me who had told her that we should escape.

“I am sorry..." I whispered.

Mirage pulled her hand free and ran off down the corridor.

“Wait!”

I turned to run after her, but Ecrou leapt onto my shoulder and chirped,

“You saved us, Etoile, you saved us! We were in big trouble, and you saved us!”

He hopped down and began dancing on the box.

“How could I have saved us? We aren’t any closer to getting help."

“Yes, you did!"

“But…”

“You did the best you could!”

“But we still need to find help," I murmured.

I glanced at Athena. She seemed unbothered by the whole situation. It was true I hadn’t told her to go to a habitable place, but still… Didn’t she care what would happen to Grandpa and the others? I glanced at her. She was strange, but she didn’t seem mean… I paused as a sudden realisation popped into my mind. We hadn’t told her about it. Maybe she didn’t know about Grandpa and the demons and that our town was on fire. And even then… She’d still done as we asked her, even if she didn’t have to.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “You helped us. Thank you."

She looked at me with the same expression she’d had since she told us we had arrived.

“How else can I help you?”

I sighed. She was so strange…

“Could you…take us where you come from? Where we come from…” I whispered, avoiding looking at her.

“I don’t have access to that information."

She tried to smile as she added,

"I…I’m sorry."

“What do you mean? You come from there. You must know.”

“I suspect the data was erased for security reasons when I embarked on my journey."

“Why?"

I slumped down in my seat, pulling my knees to my chin.

“They don’t want me to come back, right…?"

“No, with 91% accuracy, someone must have erased it to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Alliance in case I were captured."

“Alliance?”

I was sure I’d heard that name before.

“The ones invading your world."

“But why are they doing that?”

“I don’t know, Etoile. Long-range courier ships don’t carry any detailed information in their databanks, but I do know we were at war with them when I left our world with you."

“So…”

I sniffled and wrapped my arms around my knees.

“Does it mean we cannot find help?”

Grandpa and everyone were counting on us… It wasn’t fair. Tears filled my eyes. Ecrou leapt on my lap trying to comfort me, but I ignored him.

“I could try to bring you into Federation territory. It should be sufficient for what you need."

I looked up. I didn’t know what that was, but if she thought they could help us, it was all that mattered.

“Really?”

“Affirmative”

I leapt from the seat and tried to hug her, but my arms just passed through her body. I forgot…

“Thank you."

I turned to Ecrou.

“Let’s find Mirage!”

Ecrou leapt up on my shoulder as I set out down the corridor. Where could she be? I knew she wouldn’t be in the room. She always liked to find herself some horrible place to hide when she got upset like this.

I walked down the corridor, opening any doors I found. There was a room that looked just like ours and another one that looked like a kitchen, with a table and a small sofa in the corner. Then there was a bigger room that seemed to be a storage, full of strange-looking things, but… They were not dirty enough for her to hide in. She must have gone somewhere else.

A low hum began to fill the air as we continued down the corridor, and the floor vibrated under my feet as we reached a heavy-looking door at the end. I glanced at Ecrou.

“Open it! Open it!”

I pushed down the handle and peeked in to see a room full of flashing lights and strange objects hanging from the walls and sticking up from the floor. It looked almost like the room where Athena lived, with the strange window, but it was more crowded and noisy.

“Mirage!” I called, but of course she didn’t respond.

At least I’d warned her I was looking for her so she could crawl into some hole that was too small for me to follow her. I glanced around, but this place was too clean and well-lit to serve her purpose. I was almost about to turn back when I spotted a hatch on the floor. I stepped over and opened it.

“Mirage!”

There was a ladder descending into a dimly lit room.

“Mirage! I’m coming down."

I shivered as my feet found the ground.

“Mirage?”

I glanced around, and then I saw her. She was sitting in the corner. Her ears drooped as she saw me, and she looked away.

“Come, I know where we can find help..."

She ignored me, and only her tail flicked from side to side.

“Mirage… I’m sorry. Come…”

She glanced at me, and I saw tears staining her cheeks.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly and sat next to her, trying to ignore how dirty the floor was.

She sniffled and leaned into me, and I put my arm around her.

“I am sorry…” she whispered. “Grandpa asked us to look after each other, and I..."

She leaned her head on my shoulder.

“You are cold," she said.

“I’m fine."

Or at least, I was used to it, so it didn’t bother me that much. Not having fur wasn’t reason enough to wear any extra clothes. No one else wore them to keep warm, so I didn’t either.

“I am hungry," she announced suddenly.

She got up and gave me a hand.

“I want to eat."