Of Smoke and Stardust [[COMPLETE]]]

CHAPTER 31-ALYA

Alya woke up from what felt like a century long nightmare, and blinked her eyes a few times to clear her vision. Where am I? Her body hurts, her limbs felt as though they had liquidified. She tried to sit up, but a gentle hand on her shoulder made her stop. The touch felt familiar, felt like home.

"Al—" It was Nyx, her voice trembling with half-choked tears. She was with her best friend, with her family, she was in The Kerostasia. They had made it. She put a hand on her ribs. The pain was still there, but she ignored it and leaned back to the pillow.

"You're awake. Finally." Zion walked into her vision.

"So, what happened?" Alya asked, her throat perched. She reached out for water on bedside table, quickly sneaking a look behind Zion in the process—towards the entrance, towards where she had expected someone to lean again the doorframe and give her most devilish smirk.

No one.

Alya swallowed on her disappointment. She wanted to ask after Parker—where was he? —but she didn't. She was scared of the answer.

"Where's everyone else?"

A sigh escaped through Zion's nose. Ignoring the aching limbs, Alya pushed herself on her palms, in an attempt to sit. Her gaze skipped from Zion to Nyx's troubled expression. "Anyone care to explain?"

Without saying anything, Zion slid a hand behind her back and helped her on feet. Nyx started to protest, but Zion ignored her as he walked Alya out the infirmary door and to the glass lined passage.

Alya's eyes widened. Once where she used to stand and looked out into the space, to the stars and the red-blue cloud passing the glass panels, now she stood there, a hand pressed to the glass and only to gaze into a huge hanger packed with inter galactic soldiers and small fighter vessels. The wall on the other side of the hanger, an insignia of Interplanetary Confederation gleamed.

Their ship had been confiscated, inside the docking bay of the giant fed ship.

"We got called to the main base," Zion said. "For our trials and probably to be court martialed for harboring a fugitive and refusing orders." Fugitive. Trail. Court martial. Every word stuck her with piercing reality. She knew what those words mean; if their crimes for giving refuge to Parker were proved, they would face the worst case scenario—execution—death by throwing into space.

Parker.

That explained his absence. Zion had probably helped him escape, to save him and to save them. Her throat tightened. This wasn't first time she had been with someone, but this was the first time that someone had left a hole in her heart. A vast emptiness, as much as the space between the stars.

"Capt—" Alya began, but Zion cut her off.

"Don't call me by that. We are not Hawks anymore." Something hard punched Alya in the gut. What does he mean? "We have been disbanded, stripped of our titles and positions." A pause, then, "our honor."

"But we didn't didn't go through trail yet. We still stand a chance..." Alya tried to find hope in her own words, tried to convince herself none of this was true. It can't be.

A wry laugh bubbled up Zion's throat, perhaps at the irony. "It's already decided, Al, just have to be an official decree. We will go through a formal trial." Zion looked ahead, to the Federation's soldiers, to the crest of their regiments and uniforms that they wore with pride.

"Jayden—?" Alya asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps with others, locked up in the belly of the ship." At least Jayden was safe. He was just a kid, brain washed and made into a monster.

"And my father?" Alya dared ask.

Zion could only shake his head. "After the blow, the enter Arsania base was destroyed." He put an arm around Alya, and squeezed little. "I am sorry."

There was guilt...after all he was her father, after all she loved him. Childhood memories flashed before her, and in those innocent moments she had never imagined things would take such drastic turns. Alya closed her eyes and leaned onto Zion. She was tired, too tired to even cry. Instead she just swallowed the pain, and let it burn her from within.

The Hawks were her only family now. She wouldn't let them break apart. She would find a way to keep then together. And she would find Parker. Then she would punch him for leaving without even a goodbye note, and then she would kiss him.

She knew exactly the person who could help her find Parker, help the Hawks to gather proof of their innocence—the one person who could be the key that would bring down Intergalatic Genre Corp to nothing. Once and for all.

Jayden.

 ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ END PART ONE✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧