Of Smoke and Stardust [[COMPLETE]]]

CHAPTER 19- ALYA

Finally, the Kerostasia was on course, leaving behind the fire and chaos. Alya hadn't moved an inch since the mayhem took place, and now she leaned back in her chair, gazing into the navigational map in disdain, watching the green dot of the ship blinking away from her planet. Beside her, Kizer emitted a breath he had been holding, his hands still on the control panel. They had escaped by the skin of their teeth, and were still breathing. Barely. But barely was enough.

She still couldn't believe it was her father who allowed...No, he ordered his guards to shoot down the ship his daughter was on. For a fleeting moment Alya allowed herself to believe that the Arsanianan military must have been acting on their own.

How stupid and illogical. She shook that thought off. She had realized the truth all too well to even entertain such childish hopes.

"Where to now?" Kizer asked over his shoulder, his voice clipped with his Ethrakian accent. "Shall we go back to HQ, and report everything that transpired?"

"Finally someone who makes some sense," Rowan quipped in, but closed his mouth shut when Zion shot him a glare. The moment they decided to flee the planet, the Hawks had wound up in trouble. And shooting back at the Arsanian stealth ships just added more to their plight.

"No." Zion shook his head firmly. "Do not inform HQ. Not now. Jorrit, run the decryption program first. We need to see what's in those files he is so desperate for." Zion jerked his chin toward Parker,

Alya head whipped toward Parker, who also seemed to have been observing her as well. His suit was torn and hair mussed up, and even with those cuts and bruises, he somehow managed not to look shaken. Their eyes met, and held for a moment before Alya broke their stare as a red light on the communicator beeped with an incoming call.

"Uh-huh, Captain," Jorrit called from his seat. "We're receiving an incoming transmission from Arsania."

Alya shot to her feet, her instincts jumping at attention. A transmission from her planet? Could it be...her father?

Zion stole a furtive glance at her face, then shifted to address Jorrit. "Accept."

Alya's knees started shaking-from anticipation or anxiety, she couldn't tell. She simply sidled closer to Zion-a support, a pillar. A rock solid presence pressed against her back. Alya angled her head, only slightly, to find Parker standing behind her.

The hologram projected an image of her father in the center of the bridge, still wearing the grey suit Alya had last seen him in.

"Mr. President," Zion offered with polite preamble.

"Captain," Vikram Nayer begun. "I assume you already know the reason of my transmission." Zion didn't deign to nod. "The Hawks committed a punishable crime the moment they decided to flee Arsania instead of cooperating with us, for they had chosen to defend a fugitive and a rebel over their own moral ethics.." He looked past his daughter, and his gaze hardened on Parker. "As the leader of Arsanian military, I demand you hand over the criminal responsible for breaking into the mainframe system, Parker Terrell, to the Arsanian military, and Arsanian government will drop all the charges against The Hawks."

Alya heard Parker suck in a breath.

Zion stepped forward, his face drawn hard. "With all due respect, sir, I refuse to hand over Parker Terrel."

A threatening lull descended, as if every single soul living on the ship had stopped breathing. Alya blinked up at Zion, her heart beating in her throat. It was a treasonous act, and...unexpected coming from him. He had already bent the rules once for Parker. Zion wasn't the type of person to put others in danger-even for Ela. He must have a reason-something that was much bigger than the information on his late wife.