All We Are

Chapter 1

Welcome to the first chapter of my new three-shot, All We Are! It's going to be a long one.

I advice you to brush up on your Galaxy knowledge, or keep a wiki page open while reading this, because this is heavily Galaxy based and can get very detailed. There's a World Building guide at the bottom of this chapter to help you understand more things in this spin-off!

It's set six years after Galaxy, just so you know.

There's some AMAZING fanart I requested, made by the incredibly talented RAIN__XKOU and 50_ShadesOfKenneth. Thank you so much, guys, the art is absolutely mind-blowing!

I think that's all for now, check out the author's note at the end for more! Now, please enjoy, All We Are!

~'0'~

The train is nearly empty, turning a warm orange in the glow of the setting sun. It'll be reaching the station in only fifteen minutes.

Only one seat is occupied, by a young man typing away at a laptop with one hand while the other presses a sleek phone to his ear. He hums quietly as he scans the words he just wrote down, fingers tapping out a quiet rhythm on the side of the keyboard.

''Okay, so, we'll have to arrange with the university to get another week off.'' The teen hums underneath his breath as he listens to the person on the other end of the phone. ''Wait, wait, hold up- what do you mean, the Xui are arriving before scheduled? Never mind that the Sazanaari will be early, Powai's chill enough not to cause an interstellar conflict, but we both know Belanna won't be that easy.''

He falls silent as he listens to the response, casting a glance outside of the window. He has to squint against the bright light of sunset, but beyond that he recognizes a few of the buildings that pass by. Almost home now.

''Belanna is a bitch and you know it.'' The young brunet scowls, turning his focus back to the conversation. Whatever is said on the other side causes him to lift his hand from his laptop to massage the bridge of his nose, even though it doesn't do much for his growing headache. ''Alright, alright, I get it, no insulting the aliens. Seriously, Takuto-san, I've been dealing with them since I was thirteen.''

He snorts at the retort he gets and leans back in his chair, sighing. He stabilizes his laptop smoothly when it wobbles on his lap. ''Sorry for being so snappish, I just got off the plane from Washington.'' A light chuckle leaves him at whatever's said next, his features softening. ''I'm alright, you worrywart. Just tired. Anyway, about the Xui, what's the current idea?''

The other launches into a spiel and he lets it wash over him, not interrupting his friend although a frown pulls at his features. He switches between typing along with Takuto's words and watching as the amount of skyscrapers outside his window increases when the train moves into the heart of the city.

When his friend finishes, the brunet is grimacing in discontent. ''If they want to be here early, I'm not going to be responsible for them. Powai's an Astral too. So are you. So's Kyousuke and the rest of Earth Eleven, why should I be dealing with this?'' instead of waiting for a response, he sighs again and calms himself. ''I'm nearing the station though, so we'll talk later, okay?''

After they exchange greetings, he stuffs his phone in his bag and looks out of the window for the last bit of the ride. Soon enough, the train starts to slow, and only a few minutes later he's getting off and making his way through the crowded station, dragging his suitcase behind him.