Alex was dreaming about back home like he always did when he fell asleep. It was a comforting dream until he was awake of course. While he was under, his mind showed him images of his life back home. He saw himself at his old job, being a stagehand at a production company- it barely paid anything at all, but it was better than nothing. As the actors did their lines and said their parts, he would watch as the crowd smiled and cheered. From backstage, he would think that maybe one day they would smile at him like that too. But then the pain would come when he woke up because then he would realize that dream would likely never come true.

Right now, he was coming out of the dream and was surprised to find himself in the Med room. Looking around he was even more shocked to see Sophia standing next to him, her hands rolling up a stack of bandages. She side-eyed him when she noticed that he was awake but didn’t say a word.

Looking down at himself, Alex noticed that a bandage had been placed across his chest. He felt it, it was warm to the touch, and he reckoned that meant his body was still healing. “Thanks.” He said softly, almost under his breath. The girl didn’t say a word, instead, she just placed the medical supplies back where she had found them in a cabinet. “How’s your side? I saw that you got hit pretty bad there.”

Sophia responded by raising her shirt slightly, she had already cleaned and bandaged it. The boy nodded. Silently, the girl made her way to the door, having nothing to say.

“Wait!” Alex swung his feet off the bench and stood up. He was a bit wobbly at the knees, but he kept his balance. “Look, I know we said a lot of things to each other back there, but we’re fine- right?”

The girl stopped and heaved in a breath. “No, no we’re not.”

Alex shook his head. “But you know I was right, don’t you? If Timothy didn’t put on that helmet, we would’ve been toast!”

Turning around, Sophia glared at him like a hawk does a mouse. “That’s not the point!”

The mouse in question huffed, confused. “What are you even talking about?”

“I’ll admit it, you were right, Alex.” Sophia confessed, arms crossing. “But you were so quick to just toss away Tim if it meant we’d be fine! It’s like you didn’t even care!”

“So, you’re upset with me because I was willing to save our lives? Newsflash Sophia, unlike you- I’m not a god! What did you want me to do, just sit back and say ‘oh, poor Timothy, we can’t dare to risk his life! We all shall die together, in solidarity for someone we met a few hours ago!’”

“Just because we met the guy a couple hours ago doesn’t mean that he isn’t one of us! There ain’t a waiting period, Alex!” Her face went flush red. “And don’t call me a God, cause I ain’t, alright!”

The boy shook his head, “well, apparently you are! The Prophecy came true, didn’t it?”

“Don’t give me that! You of all people should know that whatever happened back there had to be a coincidence! I’m not that stupid.”

Alex began pacing up and down, trying to process what he was hearing. “I don’t understand, what are you so upset about?”

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“I’m upset that we could’ve killed our friend!” She shouted. “That poor kid just got here, and we tossed him into a deathtrap! Do you realize how many times he could’ve died yesterday?”

The boy shrugged, “he seems fine to me, I think he actually enjoyed being on an alien planet.”

“Don’t you feel any responsibility?”

Alex stopped in his tracks. “No, I don’t, and I’ll tell you why! I’m not the one who brought him here, neither are you! I’m not the one that programed this ship to zap his brains out! And I’m certainly not the one who threw a Triangle and bumped him on the head!”

There was a brief pause.

“So, it did hit him on the head?” Sophia, just for a moment, smiled. “Heh, figures.”

This wasn’t the first time Alex and Sophia had argued, when the boy had first shown up they didn’t really get along. They had different ways of doing things, different ideas and different goals. However, eventually, they learned to get along- which then spiraled into an actual friendship. Now it felt like all that work was coming undone, like a ball of string when it encounters a cat.

“Sophia, I-“ He stammered, trying to find the right words to say. “I think sometimes you think to much with your heart instead of your head.”

“Funny, I was going to say the opposite for you.”

The awkward silence was broken when Neil poked his head around the door. “So... everything’s going well?”

The silence was his answer.

Timothy in response popped his own head around the corner as well. “I didn’t want to be nosey, but we could hear you both from down the hall.”

Alex looked a bit embarrassed, Sophia did too. So to deflect, she changed the subject. “How’s you guys cuts? Neck healed alright, Neil?”

Neil felt the side of his neck with his fingers, the honey-colored bandage still there. “Maybe, don’t know. I worry that if I take it off it might reverse the process or something, you never know with this alien stuff!”

The room fell awkwardly silent, no one knew what to say. In the creeping cold of the Lavender, the group felt lost on what to do. What could they even do?

“Well, at least we’re all alive and well!” Timothy declared, piercing through the silence.

“No, don’t say that!” Neil protested.

“Oh, sorry, why?”

“Don’t say things that may jinx us, it’s karma waiting to happen!”

“You’re being paranoid again, Neil.” Sophia chimed in.

He signed, “I’m just saying, better safe than...”

It was at this moment that something rocketed to the side of the ship, exploding outside the hull with an enormous bang. The shocked group were flung off balance as the Lavender shifted in space.

“I told you!”

Quickly, everyone made their way to the dome to see what was going on. Outside they could see nothing but space, as tends to be the case when you are in space. However, in the corner of the dome just out of sight, they could barely make out a large red light.

“Is the ship on fire?” Alex questioned. “Did something explode?”

“Maybe the repairs weren’t done yet?” Sophia added, trying to angle herself for a better view.

“Maybe it’s just fireworks?” Timothy reasoned.

Everyone gave him a confused stare.

“Wait, do you see that?” Neil pointed a finger to something just within their sight. In the distance they could see that they weren’t alone in the vast emptiness of space, no, they had company. “Guys, I think we’re being attacked!”

…

In a battered and worn-out ship, a woman stood at the helm. A long-brimmed hat hid her features as a metal arm pointed out the target. “There!” She declared.

A wiry man nodded his head and pulled a giant lever. A second later a giant ball of red energy shot out from beneath the ship and flew through space. It took a second for it to hit its target, but when it did an explosion of red light rocked the hit vessel back and forth. The woman raised her head, getting a better look at the damage. “Shielded.” She stated, matter-of-factly.

With a confident stride in her step, she left her post at the helm and came down to where her men had already gathered waiting for her. “Well boys,” she said, smile on her lips. “Looks like we’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”

A skinny green man chuckled and raised a giant, rusted Plasma-Slicer in the air and stuck out his oily tongue. “Really, boss? Ya really means it this time?”

The woman nodded. “Come on boys, get you’re guns ready! It's time we board them!”