Chapter 13

“Etoile!”

I felt Mirage’s hand in mine.

“It’s okay, we’re safe. We made it," I heard Athena.

I dared to open my eyes, and only then did I realise we were sitting on the seat with her.

“Not bad for Astra Class. You have some kick, Athena."

Ragnar turned in his seat, and I gasped. A deep wound cut across his forehead, and his face was covered in blood.

He grinned.

“Are you two okay?”

I glanced at Mirage, and she tried to smile, so I did the same. At least it didn’t seem we’d broken anything, and I’d only scratched my hand.

“What was that all about, Rag?”

Val flew up to him, flapping her wings in his face.

“Did you try to bash some sense into your head? There are easier ways to do it than this."

“There was an incoming carrier. The maggots had already started flooding the dock, waiting for it to take them home. Who knows how long it would have hung around by the border just to keep us grounded?"

“It did spot us as we reached 13k. I didn’t have time to veer," Athena explained.

Rag frowned.

“So that’s why it got so bumpy. Damage?”

“Cargo bay. We’ve lost some fuel."

“Fuck”

Val scowled.

“I should patch up this idiot before he makes any more mess."

Athena turned to us.

“I should give you a proper check, too."

“I think I’m fine,” I whispered.

“Me too…” Mirage murmured.

"Ecrou…?" I called, and he clambered up on my shoulder and started licking his tail.

“Are you okay?” Mirage asked.

“I am, I am, but can we please not do it again?”

I smiled. He always tried to cheer us up, no matter what sort of trouble we were in. A strange blue light enveloped us, and after a few moments, Athena declared that we were fine. Our suits really seemed to have protected us, just as she’d said they would. If only we’d had something like that when Mirage tried her flying spell…

Rag groaned from his seat.

“Be more careful, Val!”

"I may consider it if you start picking your hair from the shower drain."

I chuckled, watching how she patched his wound with her medkit. He leaned back in his seat and turned to the screen.

“I have a bad feeling about that carrier, Athena. Can you pulse jump?”

“I can, but what about the fuel?”

"Yeah, how are we doing?”

“Tanks are at 70%. We may have an extra 10% in the cargo bay."

Rag glanced at Val, and she nodded.

“Let’s do it. We will need to refuel after this, in any case. I’m sure they’ll send someone after us."

I shivered.

“Send someone?”

“We drew a lot of attention to ourselves with our escape. We’ll try to pulse jump and hide our tracks,” Val explained.

Rag got up and looked at his suit.

“What a mess. I need a shower. Well done, Athena."

He grinned and left.

“Try to get some rest, too,” Athena said. “Val and I will recalculate our route after the jump."

I hugged her and wriggled out of her grip.

“Are you coming?” I asked Mirage.

She glanced at me and then hesitantly let go of Athena.

“Are you okay?” I asked as we entered our room.

She shrugged, sitting down on the bed.

"Yeah..."

I frowned.

“What’s happened?”

“I said I’m fine," she murmured.

I sighed. What was going on with her? But I knew that it was pointless to ask. She would just hiss and run away.

“Mirage…” I tried instead. “Let’s have a shower. You can help me wash my hair."

She stared down at the floor.

“Come, it will be fun," I tried.

I took her limp hand, and she followed without a word. She didn’t say a word the whole time, and when we were finished, she walked back to the room and crawled into bed. I lay down next to her and pulled a blanket over us.

She frowned and pulled it off.

“Stupid..."

“Mirage…?”

I reached out to her, but she hissed and sat up.

“Mirage…”

“Leave me alone! I don't want everyone to die again…”

She sobbed and bolted from the room, grabbing her suit as she exited.

“Mirage!”

I got up to run after her but realised it would be pointless. She would just hide. Ecrou leapt up on my shoulder and licked my face. Mirage… It wasn’t supposed to be like this... If only Grandpa were with us. I sobbed. No, we had to look for her, even if she didn’t want to be found…

I walked to the storage and then to the canteen, but she wasn’t in any of them. I glanced around the corner just to be sure and then halted. Grandpa’s books were lying on the floor with torn pages thrown around. They must have scattered when we took off. I picked up a couple of them, flipping through the pages, but my mind couldn’t focus on the words. In the end, I put them in the cupboard, hoping they would be safe there.

I tried the cargo bay next, but to my dismay, the door was sealed, and no matter what I did, it wouldn’t budge. In the end, I gave up and went back to the canteen. Mirage…

Rag was preparing a ration pack as I entered. He frowned when he saw me, and I ran to him, throwing my arms around him.

“What happened, Etoile? Are you okay?”

He picked me up and sat on the sofa.

“We are safe now. What happened? Did you have a bad dream…?”

“M-Mirage… She…” I sobbed.

“She is on the bridge with everyone. She’s fine."

I stared at him. She hadn’t hid?

“Do you want to go there?" he asked.

I wasn’t sure. She might hiss at us if we came. But she was with the others… I glanced at Rag. He seemed like someone who always knew what to do…

“Okay…” I murmured.