Diah ran her hands along the pristine white walls of the Aurora Nova. A small icy chill graced her fingertips. The ship purred lightly around her.
It was clear that the Nova had been well-loved. As Kirrik showed them around the entry hatch and dining quarters, she had noticed there wasn't a single speck of dirt to be found. It was also more spacious than it looked from the outside. The dining quarters could comfortably hold up to eight and Kirrik had mentioned multiple bunking spaces aboard. She wondered why two people would need so much space or, rather, what they were hiding within it.
As soon as they had walked aboard the ship, Imi had retreated to the Nova's cockpit to pilot it off of Tovarro. There was a sense of ease that settled into Diah's mind as they shot out of the Arrival Docks and into space. It was nice to finally get off of Tovarro and be on the way home. It was even nicer to not have to deal with Imi. Diah didn't trust her at all. There was something off about Imi that she couldn't quite place.
Diah yawned, the first that she could recall since the Kunar had kidnapped her. Exhaustion perforated her bones. Her normally perfect posture had relaxed a little.
Kirrik continued his tour, blatering excitedly about the Nova, but Diah had already checked out of the conversation. She turned her head to the left and saw Sky listening intently to every word. She was fascinated and asking questions about mechanical processes and electronic pathways and so much more Diah didn't comprehend.
She blinked and sluggishly turned her head toward the right. Zaius had fallen asleep sitting on one of the couches in the corner. His head was tilted back, mouth agape as he snored.
'I figured he would be exhausted too,' Diah thought. 'We never really had a chance to rest.'
Diah yawned again. Sleep sounded like the best thing ever at the moment. She crossed over to Zaius and gently turned his head into a more comfortable position. His face was warm and smooth in her hands. She felt eyes staring into her.
"You going to answer my question?" Diah heard Kirrik ask behind her. She turned to face him and Sky.
"Sorry, what did you ask?" She questioned.
"He was asking if we're okay sharing a room," Sky answered in his place.
Diah nodded in response. Anything was fine as long as she got rest, plus it would give her a chance to learn more about her new Uvari friend. She looked back toward Zaius.
"Is he going to be okay out here?" She asked Kirrik, pointing her thumb back at Zaius. She didn't know if it was better to move him to his own space or just let him rest where he could.
"Let him rest," Kirrik responded. "I'll be up in the cockpit with Imi, so he'll be on his own out here."
Sky placed her hand on Diah's shoulder.
"He'll be alright, Diah," She reassured. The whites of the walls helped highlight the cybernetic optics in her eyes. Diah wondered how much they improved her vision, or if they gave her the ability to see in different wavelengths. She wrote it down on her mental list of questions to ask.
"You two come on. I'll tell Imi to set a course for Vensha, but let's get you settled in," Kirrik said, gesturing for them to follow.
_____________________________________
The quarters Kirrik led them to was tucked in the back corner of the Nova, close to the engines. Vibrations rumbled through the walls, but Diah was surprised at how much the paneling of the Nova managed to muffle them. It added an ambience to the room instead of a distraction. A metal bunk bed was tucked on the left side, gray and orange crates on the right.
Sky had settled in by a large porthole nestled near the crates. She was looking solemnly at the stars outside, hands resting in her lap.
Diah watched her from the top bunk, feet hanging over the side. She wanted to say something but didn't know how to start the conversation. Did she start with her list of questions or let the conversation flow naturally? Her feet swung back and forth nervously.
"It looks so small from here," Sky said wistfully, breaking the silence.
"What does?" Diah inquired, caught off-guard by Sky's comment.
Sky pointed out the porthole at a patch of far away stars.
"Tovarro," She answered. "It's hard to believe that something so big could become such a tiny dot amongst a trillion more."
Diah understood the sentiment well. Only Kirrik and Imi could tell her exactly how far they were from Vensha. She missed staring up at its crimson moon. Maybe, somewhere deep in her mind, she missed her mother too.
"I just never imagined being off of it," Sky continued. She made circular motions with her hands around her head. "I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea. My life was there. Now I may never go back."
"I get it," Diah said. "You've always lived there, right? So I can understand the fear you probably have of leaving home."
"Actually," Sky corrected, "I was born on Millik."
Diah was familiar with the Uvari homeworld, but had never been herself. The planet was a technological marvel known across Atania. A quarter of the entire world had been carved away by the Uvari, replaced by an endless array of panels and wiring. The exposed section of the planet's core was covered by a specialized shield designed to withhold its astronomical heat level. Her mother never felt comfortable traveling there, nor did she ever want her daughter to step foot on it. Something about the core just screamed ticking time bomb. That, or it was the three cracked-apart moons that floated in the space above it.
'Wait a moment,' Diah thought. 'If she was born on Millik, then-'
"Does that mean you're a searcher?" Diah blurted out without a second thought.
Sky's demeanor turned frigid. She scooted closer toward the porthole and turned her back in Diah's direction. Diah heard the sound of grinding teeth.
"I despise that term," Sky bristled. "Searcher implies I'm still looking for something. I found what I was looking for. It just wasn't what I was expecting."
Diah quickly realized she had thrown Sky into a foul mood. She knew the term "searcher" was normally used for Uvari that were exiled from Millik after their coming-of-age pilgrimage for any number of reasons. It was a word with a very negative connotation. She wondered if Sky could go back home, or if anyone would even want her to.
"What did you find?" Diah asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Sky was already mad and it was too late to turn back now. Diah hoped talking through it would bring Sky back to a better mental space.
The Uvari grumbled and shifted again to face Diah, head placed against the porthole. Her hair flowed together into a long silver ribbon that ran down the length of the glass.
"I'm sure you know about Uvari pilgrimage if you know that word," Sky said. She pulled her legs closer to her body. "The Elder Council sent me to go investigate an unexplored region near Ataca. They never really appreciated that I was..."
Sky stopped for a moment. Her gaze angled to the right and she tapped her knee in thought.
"Different," She continued. There was another brief pause.
"I always figured they were hoping I wouldn't make it back. The Elder Council only cares about money and pushing tech boundaries. If you don't present findings that align with those goals, you're never really welcomed back. I always dreamed about going on wild adventures and finding things no one else could, but with the intent of studying over selling. The Council wouldn't understand that, and I didn't want to bother explaining. Why would I want to be trapped on a planet that hated me and who I was? So, I ran."
"To Tovarro," Diah said, following along.
"The Council gave me an VL-class scout ship. Real junk by Uvari standards," Sky vented. "If I had gone, it probably would've given out halfway to my destination. So I sold it. Took what little I got from it and got on the first transport I could."
"How did you end up in the Underside then?" Diah probed. She wanted to be careful about how she progressed the conversation. If Sky wanted to mention Gen, it was entirely up to her.
Sky relaxed a bit and her gaze moved back toward Diah. She shrugged.
"I feel like you want me to tell you about this grand adventure," She replied. "Honestly, it's not that exciting. I got robbed coming off the transport. Good old Tovarran laws say if you can't pay your way, there's only two places to go: The Embankments or the Underside."
Sky pointed at her glitter-caked face.
"Do I look like I'd survive in The Embankments?"
Diah bit her lip, unsure of whether she could laugh. A small snicker broke out of her. Sky joined from across the room and the mood felt a little lighter.
"So yeah," Sky went on. "I made the choice and wandered for a bit. Shuffled from alley to shelter to alley and then he-"
Sky stopped. Diah looked at her feet and kicked them back and forth some more. She didn't need to hear the rest to know what happened next.
Sky broke down into sobs again. She pulled her legs close to her and pressed her face against them. Her cries grew heavier.
"He didn't deserve it!" She bawled. "He loved us so much!"
Diah's heart dropped from Sky's tangible pain. She swung her legs out and dropped to the floor, moving briskly to her friend's curled up body. Diah wrapped her hands around Sky and pulled her close.
"It's okay to cry. To feel," Diah whispered. She rested her head on Sky's and rocked back and forth gently. "I had to learn that too."
Sky's body shuddered from her wails. Chilled tears dripped down Diah's left arm like small pricks of frost. She held Sky a bit tighter.
'Keep weak company and you yourself remain weak,' Wyrna's voice wormed into her mind.
Diah shook it off. Her mother never understood the concept of comfort. To need it was a form of weakness and weakness was always unbecoming of a Nollak.
'That's right,' The voice hissed. 'Strength is molded and tempered. Imperfections are removed. Do you need to be tempered again?'
A shiver ran down Diah's spine at the thought.
"Stop," Diah mumbled to herself.
Sky looked up at her in confusion. Her eyes were bright red and puffy. Diah quickly realized that Sky thought she was talking to her. Diah's brain scrambled to find a response.
"Stop holding back your emotions, okay?" She managed to work out. "You're allowed to be sad and angry and take time to process things. If you keep holding them in, you're going to explode."
Sky tucked her head back into Diah's chest.
"I don't even know how to begin processing what I'm feeling," Sky sniffled. "I don't know who I am anymore. The Uvari don't want me. Gen is gone. Zaius has been absent. Sky isn't even my real name!"
Diah's ears perked up.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Sky traced her fingers around Gen's ring. She took a trembling breath.
"My given name is Sumana," She answered. "Sumana Pannah. When Gen found me, he said I needed something that sounded more like a celebrity."
Sky wiped the tears that formed at the edges of her eyes and let out what sounded like a laugh.
"He said Sky should be my name," She continued, making a grand gesture with her right hand. "That it matched the limitless possibilities of my future. But I know it was really just because I'm blue."
Sky allowed a smile to form then fall as she ran her fingers along the ring again. Diah watched her raise her hand and study it.
"I feel if I keep the ring and the name, he'll always be a part of me. Is that stupid to think?" She questioned sincerely. Her eyes met Diah's.
"Gen will always be a part of you because of the memories you have," Diah assured. "Whether you decide to keep the name or ring or both is up to you. You do need to take some time, though, and decide who you want to be moving forward. Everyone wants to find where they belong. But are you Sky, or are you Sumana? What does that mean for you and what do you want in life? All of that will help you figure out who you really want to be."
Diah stood and offered a hand to pull Sky up. The latter accepted and used her sleeve to wipe the last of the tears from her face.
"I'm Sky Pannah," She declared. "And I want to be a great explorer. I think that's a solid place to start, anyway."
Diah shook Sky's hand.
"Nice to meet you again, Sky," Diah said. "I hope we can be great friends. Gen was right, by the way."
"About what?" Sky inquired.
"You really do have limitless possibilities now," Diah responded.
Sky took in the answer and looked back out the porthole. Diah noted the look of quiet reflection on her face. A silence covered the room, filled only by the continued hum of the Nova's engines.
Diah let out another yawn as her eyes grew heavy. She was glad they were able to talk but the toll of her Tovarran trip had completely set in. Her neck popped quietly as she rolled it around. Diah moved back to the bunk and leapt onto the top. The hard mattress felt like a cloud in her current state as she laid flat on her back. She stared at the ceiling for a second before letting her eyes slowly close.
"You can't go to sleep yet," Sky's voice popped in her ear.
Diah's eyes shot back open. They stung a bit from dryness. She looked up and saw Sky perched on the side of the bed above her, head held up in her hands. Sky seemed to have a renewed sense of energy.
"This therapy session goes both ways, Bubblegum," Sky announced. "So what's your story?"