Miya puts a finger up to her chin while looking at the ceiling. “She seemed to have known me somehow, I don’t really know from where or why. She was some sort of project that one of the Stravos scientists was working on. They also had an incubation chamber in her same holding that was destroyed during an incident.”

“Incubation chamber? Does that mean… That she was merged with Ya’valt genes like… You were…?”

“I’m not certain. That’s something only her creator would know.” Miya answers.

Loliel sits back down and crosses her arms and legs. “Where would we find this, ‘creator’?”

“Unfortunately, both of which who were connected to Stravos are dead.”

“Ah, I see… That’s a shame. Wasn’t he the sole reason for you to search for Stravos? ”

Miya nods her head. “Yes, but I’ve learned a lot that would make his death seem trivial. I’m sure my superiors will feel the same.”

The entire room jitters, causing Miya to look around with concern and jump from her bed. Loliel sighs and bends her head to the floor.

“Right, um… A few hours after I got you out of there, the water began to condense into the air. Our atmosphere then became extremely cold, and everything iced over. We had to escape in our crusader, or we’d surely freeze to death.”

Miya raises an eyebrow. “Escape…? Crusader…? Wait, so you’re saying that this is a ship?”

Loliel nods her head. “You’re correct.”

Miya strides to the door and waits for it to slide open. Adalae, Vivi, Koko, and Maxim, waiting outside, give her looks of surprise.

“Thank you for taking care of me.” Miya bows slightly in front of Vivi. “And I’m sorry for latching onto you like that. It was my instinct. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Y-yeah… That’s totally fine, hun. I didn’t think anything of it.” Vivi answers.

Momoko then walks past the rest of the ground and hurries down the bridge stairs to the spacious crew area. Her brown-pupils sparkle as she looks up to the open window above her, displaying the dark cosmos that had its vastness filled with small distant planets and stars.

Loliel walks down and stops a few feet beside her, gazing up at the open sky room. “I’d never been to space before, so I had to take it all in too, I guess.”

“Oh, I’ve seen to deep space before, it’s nothing new to me. But every time I see the dark matter surrounding the universe’s stars and planets, it’s a simple principle that comes to mind that we’re quite minuscule in our own backyard… Don’t you think?”

“Y-yeah… I guess, so…” Loliel rubs the back of her neck.

“And I’m also sorry for the loss of your home planet.” Miya offers her an apologetic gaze. “But the inhabitable planets in the Qunova Quadrant is quite vast, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a new place to call home.”

“Hey Miya, are you alright? Did they do anything to you down there?” Koko asks while walking down the stairs, Vivi, Maxim, and Adalae close behind.

Miya intertwines her fingers behind her back with a deep breath. “I found out… Who created me. Some weird old scientist that was supposedly a genius but to mentally unstable for his own good. When he told me that he was my maker, a thought came to mind that I don’t… I don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“… Pretend?” Adalae asks in elaboration.

“Mmm, it’s sort of like… I knew that I was half Ya’valtian, so I thought I had to be as tough as them, as ruthless… But I guess telling myself stuff, and finally knowing were two totally different mental altitudes I wasn’t ready for.”

Vivi bends down beside Miya and brushes a lock of hair behind her ear. “Life is all about the small outcomes, through choices and demeanor, that lead to the bigger events such as… Who we are, and what we are destined to do. As long as you’re truthful to yourself, there will be greater meaning in all of your actions.”

Maxim swipes a finger under his nose with a grin. “We’re just glad your safe and that both you and the captain got out before the planet went into an ice age.”

“Yes, about that…” Miya turns to Loliel. “What exactly happened when you rescued me?”

“Well, that Eidolon couple helped send us back to the surface in their ground lift and a few moments after the water started to dissipate.” Loliel explains. “Afterwards, while we were lifting off, we saw a huge white veil release from where the water was below.”

“They had a massive city just sitting under use, and we didn’t even know!” Koko exclaims.

“I thought it was going to be some sort of ground base or somethin’, but that was totally unexpected.” Maxim concurs.

“Yes, as I thought… That ‘veil,’ as you put it, was an artificial bedding of liquid hydrogen that encapsulated the native star’s radiation and gamma output through a base-webbed atmosphere.” Miya determines with a hand up to her chin.

Maxim and Koko tilt their head to the side.

“The earth was already dying, so they created a temporary shield to hold themselves underground.” Vivi surmises.

“Ah, okay. I guess that makes sense… Wait, Earth was already dying?” Adalae repeats in disbelief.

“As, erm… Ashihei said it before, your planet’s day cycle was dwindling as your planet was losing it’s orbit around your home star. It’s not as close some of the other planets are, and it was pretty much frigid in most points, except for this one. But, the reason for this is quite obvious as of now.” Miya continues further.

Miya feels another brief rumble and walks up the stairs leading to the double-hatch doors. “Did you get those two women that were sent to the suite a few moments after I left?”

Loliel nods her head. “Yeah… I didn’t really understand them, but they’re currently resting in one of the quarter rooms. The Eidolon family came as well. I thought it was fair since they helped you and me escape.”

Miya smiles while clasping her hands together. “Excellent! For now, I need to talk to Ashihei and the robot girl. Thanks for all your help thus far!”

She then disappears behind the closing hatch doors.

Maxim and Koko yawn and make their way to the quarter's area, with Vivi patting the top of her head with a sigh.

“Oh yes, you should hand this back to her.” Vivi takes Miya’s patroller badge from her pocket and hands it to Loliel. “It started glowing, so I thought it was a transmission device, but I guess I was mistaken.”

Loliel looks down at the silver badge shimmering between her fingers. “I will, thanks.”

Vivi gives her a wave and walks to the quarters, leaving Adalae to clench her fists to her sides.

“I can’t believe you guys are buying her whole cutesy act!” Adalae chides while throwing her hand to the side. “Did you not remember the first time we met? Or how she talked bad about you then ran off?”

“But she also came back, and helped us in… Her own way. Not only that, but if it weren’t for her, we would’ve never known about the underground city, or it’s occupants. I didn’t want to frighten the group, but… There were humans, alive… Being treated like pets… It was like something straight out of an alien dystopian film….”

“I’m… I’m sorry you had to witness that... Interplanetary wars seen firsthand can be confusing and frightening, especially for those who don’t know how inter-customs work.” Adalae sighs, her galaxy hair floating down and resting on her shoulders. “I just… I really like our family, how close we are. You guys have been there for me when I thought I lost everything. I think she can help me too, find my parents, I mean…”

“Then why don’t you ask her to help-“

“Because it’s all scary!” Adalae blurts. “The unknowns of space is scary, the Galactic Federation is scary, and everything in between! I can’t risk relying on someone I can’t fully trust, is all….”

Loliel nods her head and stretches out her arms. Adalae sniffs and runs into her embrace, her galaxy locks’ stars becoming blue as they tighten their hold on one another.

“I want us to all be safe, first and foremost… I can’t lose anyone close to me again… I’m not strong enough for something like that…”

Loliel closes her eyes, caressing the back of Adalae’s hair and nuzzling into her forehead.

“Me neither, Adalae… Me neither…”