Fracture - Book One of the Glass Galaxy Trilogy

Chapter 17: Dream

"You made a deal with a pirate? That's not very like you."

I leaned into her, feeling her comforting warmth on my back, "I know, but I was desperate to find you and she was able to help. All we had to do was help overthrow her mother for control of the local pirate station."

She kissed the back of my head, again, "That's a big task for three people."

"We got more help, first. I met Abaddon and, get this, Viliana on a big pirate station hidden in an asteroid."

"Viliana? What was she doing in a place like that?"

I shrugged, "I never asked. I was just happy to see a familiar face."

She squeezed me gently, "That's understandable. What were Reaper and Abaddon like?"

"Reaper was resilient. She'd gone through a lot in her life, and it hardened her. I think she was a bit sadistic, but she seemed trustworthy enough to work with."

"And Abaddon?" she asked.

I sighed, "We didn't really see eye to eye. He was smart -really smart- but he was idealistic. He thought that it would have been better to negotiate with the people shooting at us."

She shifted again, adjusting how she was holding me, "Maybe he was right. It doesn't hurt to resolve conflicts peacefully, does it?"

I shrugged, "It doesn't. But it would've been a lot harder than what we did."

"And what did you do?"

I paused, remembering the gruesome image of the hallway covered in blood, "Fragmentation grenade in a hallway. It was bad."

She squeezed me reassuringly, "You didn't leave them to suffer, did you?"

I shook my head, wiping away a few more tears, "Nobody deserves to die like that..."

"I like to think that nobody deserves to die at all..."

"I would prefer that too, but we don't live in that galaxy. They were trying to kill us, and I wasn't about to just let them."

I felt her nodding, "There were consequences for their actions, and they should've been prepared for them when they attacked you."

I nodded, tripping over my next words, "One of them though- one of them wasn't hurt too badly by the grenade. We were in the middle of trying to save them when I woke up."

She took a deep breath that lifted me gently, "That is good to hear. It's important to create and heal, rather than destroy and damage. Did it seem like they were going to make it?"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure, I don't know how to tell. They seemed pretty grim about their chances, though."

She hummed for a moment, one hand idly running through my hair in a profoundly comforting motion. "They aren't grim because of their injuries," she finally said. "They've already given up on their life long ago."

I frowned. Her psychic abilities didn't include seeing dreams. "You're saying they just didn't care about living anymore?"

She nodded slowly, "They're an outcast. They lost their home, their family, and their place in the galaxy. They've been looking for a new place for a long time, but they're too tired to continue searching. You can help them, Kalani."

I slid lower in her warm embrace, "I don't see how. I am not good with people."

She gave me a little squeeze, "Most people aren't, but that doesn't mean that you can't help them, love. You can give them somewhere to belong."