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“At any rate, I’m sorry for all the trouble it caused. I understand it’s all been sorted now though?”
“For me, yes, sir.” I nod again in confirmation. “Less so for others, but we’re working on fixing that.”
“Good, good. Well, since I’m here, soldier, I might as well lend a helping hand. You got an extra chair for me, or what?”
“Absolutely, sir.” I grab a spare chair for the commander, and we spend the afternoon working to reunite fractured families.
27
SOPHIA
“Is that everything?” Isa asks as we survey our home. When Drex first announced that we were evacuating off this planet, we immediately began sifting through our things, separating what could be left behind from what we could not live without.
How do you pack your whole life away in a suitcase? How do you balance what you need to survive with physical reminders of why life is worth living?
Drex is kind enough to fill his bags with our essential toiletries, clothes, and supplies for the kids, giving us room to fill ours with reminders of home. I take souvenirs from family trips and the knickknacks that Mama loved before nestling her ashes safely in the center of everything I’m carrying with me.
I know Drex is waiting outside with the twins in a double stroller. We have to leave soon, but I can’t tear my eyes from the home I grew up in, rough as it is after all it has seen.
This was where Mama and I brought Isa to recover after her family was killed in a bombing, and this was where I brought Drex for our first night together, and this was where Mama died.
“Is it crazy to say I’m gonna miss this place?” I ask, wiping a stray tear from my eyes.
Isa places a hand on my shoulder. “Yes,” she says bluntly. “But I’m a little crazy, too, I think.”
“Drex is waiting. We should go,” I say.
She links her arm with mine, and we shut the front door for the last time. So many memories… some good, many bad. But it’s all over now.
“All good?” Drex asks once we reach the bottom of the steps. Our heaviest bag is slung across his shoulder, but the weight doesn’t seem to bother him.
I nod, not quite ready to speak. Drex puts an arm around me, and we begin our trek to the last of the evacuation ships.
The shipyard is in chaos, with people screaming and trying to push their way aboard the last ship out of here. I know that I shouldn’t feel guilty. I’m just as deserving of escape as anyone else but seeing all these desperate people ignites a helpless sort of horror in me.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Isa says, probably as much for herself as she says it for me. Technically, she’s not supposed to be on this ship, but Drex bent the rules and Kyltic is looking the other way.
“Anton!” a voice barks out, and I spot an armed Odex near the entrance to the ship. Although everyone here is ostensibly allying with the Coalition to escape the planet as refugees, they still give both him and Drex a wide berth. With exceptions, human citizens don’t trust either side much here in Sintaca.
Isa takes my hand so that we don’t lose each other as we push our way to Drex’s soon-to-be former commanding officer.
“I’m glad you made it,” Kyltic says gruffly, his eyes only barely meeting ours.
Drex smiles and clasps his CO’s shoulder. “Thank you for this. You have no idea what it means to me.” He gestures to me, Isa, and the twins. “This is my wife, Sophia, her… sister Isa, and these are the twins, Bianca and Azel.” We decided in advance that if anyone asks, Isa is my sister. After all, she is in just about every way but by blood.
When Kyltic’s eyes land on Isa, she gazes up defiantly at him, daring him to challenge her right to escape with us. When it comes to her family, Isa can hold grudges like no one else in the galaxy.
He looks away first. The Odex’s gaze softens at the babies as they babble to one another. “You’ve got a beautiful family. I’m happy for you.” He steps aside to let us pass. “We’re leaving soon. Best of luck to you all.”
The evacuation ship is overcrowded, forcing us to stand elbow to elbow with strangers. The ride to the military base on Syfer will be about two hours, and then Drex will get us commercial tickets to Kalei.
As soon as the thrusters engage, the twins begin crying, and it only gets worse as we ascend to space. My ears are hurting, too, so it has to be absolutely miserable for them.
Their wails grate on us and the already stressed-out passengers. Thankfully, they’re not the only upset babies on board, so the other refugees’ ire is not just directed at them.
Once we reach space, the altitude no longer matters, so Azel stops crying, but Bianca keeps screaming. Now, the passengers are getting really annoyed.
“Come here,” Drex says, scooping Bianca out of her seat and rocking her.
