JESSIE

I had wanted to kiss Ola on the lips when Luc and I got back in the next couple of days, but that would have upset Luc, her... and me. So, I decided it was fine that I hadn't, seeing as I would have had to explain Luc had proposed to me and married me on the spot — well, the Avian equivalent of doing that.

Luc and I did start showing more special interest in Ola's project with Josephine. I wanted to help her get as much information as she wanted to speed up the process. The translator they'd devised wasn't very advanced yet, but it had enough vocabulary in its arsenal for Luc to communicate in more full sentences. Ola did mention that over time, it might be possible to have the translation archive developed into a proper on-the-spot translator like the ones that had been popular on Earth when we'd left. Translator implants had slowly started to roll out to the general population and were making learning languages an obsolete practice. It was one of the most common reasons that linguists and anthropologists who were in the Gallic-3 mission had given for leaving home. There had been nothing exciting left to learn on earth, and their expertise was becoming irrelevant.

Sometimes I wondered what Earth was like now — hundreds of years after we departed from the Milky Way.

"Jessie, it looks like they found it."

Petrova's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked, turning to face her. Her mechanical arm was resting on her hip, and her organic one loosely felt the gun strapped to the hostler on her thigh. Petrova and the rest of the crew, including me were dressed in tactical gear — we were helmets and face masks that covered our noses and mouths, and the bulletproof vest I was wearing made me a little uncomfortable. I hadn't worn one since the Gallic-3 program training. Petrova had insisted I carry a weapon like everyone else — I didn't fight it, not wanting to expose my aversions to violence. I knew, however, if it came down to it, I wouldn't be able to shoot.

"Do you think that you can convince him to help us get in there?" Petrova asked, turning to face the starship. Bits of her blond hair poked out from under her helmet as her blue eyes scanned the situation. "I don't think there's any way we're getting there ourselves. It doesn't have to be all of us. The head technician and his gear, a couple of scouts to scavenge for valuables, and maybe me."

I nodded, remembering she'd informed me that their previous attempt had gone nowhere because they couldn't climb into the entrance. "I'll get his attention."

We were standing a distance away from the crash site of the Gallic-3. I had convinced Luc to lead the Terra scouting team here — they were currently taking orders from John and Darin, walking about the parameter, and completing scans under the drizzle. The sun was almost non-existent under the clouds and the ring that banded over the planet's sky. He was currently hovering above the massive structure of the starship — showing the humans the section of the ceiling with the hole we'd gone in through. His eyes roamed about, finding mine in the crowd of people. I smiled under my mask, raising my hand and waving.

Luc made his way towards me, flying down and landing in front of me and Petrova. She stepped back a bit — I noticed she was still unnerved by the Avians in general, not just Luc.

"Hi," I said, pulling out the tablet I used to talk with him from the side of my pants. He chirped a bit, leaning forward as she watched me type. Three dots moved on the screen as the tablet tried to process what I'd written into Luc's language. A sentence in the Avian script soon showed up, and I turned the tablet around so that Luc could get a better look at the words. He stared at it for a bit before looking over at Petrova, who took another step back.

"You know, he has to actually touch you to get you in there," I said, making her blue eyes turn to me. She sighed, nodding her head before stepping forward until she was right in front of Luc. Luc picked her up by the waist, and I heard her make an audible gasp as he hoisted them into the air and toward the starship.

I took that as my cue to go inform the rest of what was happening, because if Luc understood what I'd told him he was going to attempt to rip a few of them off the floor once he'd dropped Petrova off — it was better if they were knowing volunteers.

Luc did return, picking up the first human to walk forward towards him. He came down to pick me up last, flying overhead the starship before curling his wing back and jumping down the hole in the ceiling. Once he handed on the floor, he let go, letting the soles of my boots hit the smooth metal floor as my eyes darted about the ship.

There was a weird feeling in my chest — familiarity mixed with dread. When I had come here with Luc, it had only been me and him in the dusty corridors, but now there were at least ten people ahead of us. There was talking, and some of the lights I didn't remember working were active now, courtesy of Petrova's team that was getting systems back online with portable batteries.

"Here," I said to Luc, touching his chest as I smiled. He looked down at my hand, nodding. He didn't follow me when I weaved my way through the crowd of humans. Some of them were working to tear down doors and locks to get to any stored resources. Darin was supervising them. Petrova and John had migrated toward the conference hall with a small group of technicians, and I assumed another group had gone to the navigation bay where I had found the black box. I made my way towards the conference hall, weaving past people and through corridor doors.

"Be careful," I heard John say when I walked past a door that had sparks bursting from a couple of open wires. I nodded my head, stepping next to him. He had a peculiar look on his face as he scrolled through the screen of the device in his hand.

"Anything out of the ordinary?" I asked, trying to look at the screen.

"Everything's out of the ordinary," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "We have a few people combing through backup meeting logs here. Most things look normal, but it seems like the coop was something planned for years," he said, frowning a bit. "These fuckers woke up in rotation from cryosleep for over a hundred years, and all they could think about was how to seize control of the colony when it touched the ground. Can't say I'm surprised, but it cost so many lives, and for what?"

The U.S.A. government had funded the mission, and since they'd been insistent on having military combatants on board, NASA had gone along with it for funding. It wasn't like they could refuse. I looked ahead of us, not saying anything. Petrova's robotic arm and blond hair were visible in the distance as she talked to someone bent over the circular table screens.

"Did you guys find anything useful yet?" I asked John, who nodded.

"The scouts with Darin have found medical supply caches that are technically expired but will still work. They're still looking for seed stores. There are also useful schematics," he said, and I nodded, pushing my hands into the pockets of my pants. All the naked wires sending bursts of sparks made the ship feel hotter than it was. Certain parts of the starship were humming and buzzing with activity ignited by the portable batteries.

"John, come look at this," Petrova called from across the room. He raised a dark brown, looking at Petrova up ahead and then at me.

"I'll come along," I announced, following behind him when he made his way up to her.

"We have a mission statement — multiple documents detailing what was supposed to happen after the coup," Petrova said when John stopped beside her.

"We somewhat had an idea of that before," he said, "what's different."

"We have names. It's one thing to say there was a coup planned before crashing — the military can simply lie that everyone involved died with the crash or were exiled at some point, but we have names now. Some of these people are actively serving now," Petrova said. "One of them is Admiral Shaw."

I swallowed, realizing how much of a big deal this was. "He's in charge right now..." I trailed. "Fuck."

Petrova nodded. "He wasn't that high up before the crash. Many of the instigators died in this conference room, and Shaw jumped into command when the smoke settled. He might not have been the initial leader, but he was an active participant in planning and organizing the coup."

"What are you going to do with this information?" I asked. "Same old same old? Bargaining for recourses? Are you going to maybe break the information?" I was interested to see if she thought this was valuable for other humans to know.

Petrova shocked. "Maybe. Regardless of what it might seem like, I don't like problems. My focus is on Terra as a settlement, and getting my people fed and clothed. All the revolution stuff Josephine talks to me about... Deep down I agree with her, but a part of me doesn't want to upset the calm. She was excited about the black box recording, and I let her have it. It's already caused unrest in Prime-1. There have been lots of arrests. Every sector of the colony is under martial law. No one can go in or out except scouts, and thankfully some of them help us. The wanted list includes people outside the colony... like you..." she trailed off as her blue eyes looked down at the screen in front of her. "I don't want people to die just because Josephine and the others think they can run the place better. Prime-1 is the best colony by every ranking — food, infrastructure, education, and medicine. I don't want to cause an uprising just because they don't like the rules."

I opened my mouth to say something, but John butt in.

"I agree with Petrova," John said. "More people die if we feed them information to fan their distrust of the military. They don't know how good they have it—"

"You don't know what you're talking about," I butted in, making Petrova and John look at me. Even the technician who had been pretending not to listen looked at me. "Terra doesn't have the fanciest infrastructure or the best medical equipment, sure, but the last few months I've been with you guys have been freeing. You're happier... more relaxed. You get to study and do what you want. You get to say no... When I was in Prime-1 I was overworked. I had to overlook medical projects and medicine administration I deeply disagreed with. People could turn you in for just about anything. I'd take whatever you guys have going on than whatever's going on back in Prime-1. I'm sure that's why Josephine is insistent. She's seeing a chance, and she wants to take it. Share the information with her. That's why I brought the black box to you guys in the first place."

Petrova's lips opened slightly before she closed them. "Can we have a meeting about this when we get back to Terra? We're almost done here," she said. I nodded.

John frowned a bit, bringing a hand to the earpiece he had under his helmet. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what—" Petrova was saying then stopped, narrowing her eyes as she brought her hands up to her ears under her head covering. "Fuck."

I didn't have time to ask what was going on before there was a loud bang that made the starship rock. I lost my footing, tripping on the floor and sliding down until my side and head slammed against the wall.

"Holy shit!"

There was another bang, and this time something in the ceiling dislodged and dropped to the ground.

Someone screamed, and I swallowed — realizing what had just happened. There was smoke and beeping — screams and shooting. I could faintly hear the sound of an aircraft — a helicopter?

"They're dropping rockets on us. Move. Move. Move." John said, scrambling off the floor as I heaved on the floor, trying to gain control of my mind as my ears rang. Petrova was on her feet, using her mechanical arm to rip metal pieces off of people and holding corners open for people to crawl past and exit.

"We're trapped, we can't get out of the starship," she announced to John who was pressing buttons on a radio device he was carrying. "Can you contact the others outside? The helicopter has to come down."

"I'm trying," he said, groaning, before tucking the device back into his pocket. "No luck."

"Shit."

Petrova closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "We just have to hope they handle things outside and then come get us."

I managed to hold up my weight by my arms before forcing myself to crouch. There was another hit, this time the glass casing of some lights broke, falling to the ground in clumps. I closed my eyes, feeling something graze my cheek as warmth pulled at the location. I was bleeding.

Fuck.

My hand grazed the gun strapped to my thigh, and my chest hurt with every heartbeat.

Where's Luc? The thought of him crossed my mind. Where the fuck was Luc?

I scrambled to my feet, confusing John, who attempted to pull me back down.

"Luc," I said as if it was enough explanation. "I'd left him behind in the corridors. He was probably afraid — confused.

"I'm sure he can handle himself. He might have left already—"

"He won't do that if I'm still here," I said, letting my eyes dart around the conference room that was a mix of debris, sparking circuits, and broken glass. The path Petrova was holding open with the sheer willpower of her mechanical strength lagged a bit but was enough for people to walk past one person at a time. "I have to find him."

John looked at Petrova, and Petrova looked at me, thinking a bit before nodding her head. "Stick to the walls, stay away from circuits, keep your helmet on, and your goggles over your eyes."

I nodded at her advice, pulling down my goggles before squeezing past her. I did as I was told, sticking to the walls and walking slowly through the corridors. Some parts were on fire — I could hear the screaming of the scouts and technicians posted at the navigation bay up ahead. I ignored the human figures crawling and walking through the smoke, looking for the tall, lean Avian figure. I spotted spread wings in the distance only after being assaulted by blood-curdling screams.

"Jessie!"

I heard my name over and over again as the inhuman screeching noise continued.

"Luc..." I mumbled under my mask, even though he couldn't hear me. I stumbled forward when another rocket hit the starship, making it rock. Luc turned just in time to see me, and before I knew it, I was wrapped in strong arms and hoisted through the corridor. He was running fast, darting from side to side as he kept his eyes up on the ceiling. When he found what he was looking for, he jetted us out, and I coughed under my mask, smelling the cool air that wasn't tinted in smoke. The gunshots were louder outside, but I couldn't observe, since Luc had my face pressed up against his chest. He flew down, dropping me with other humans barricaded behind their equipment before hoisting himself into the air. I watched as he made his way directly for the helicopter flying above, dodging the gunshots from the shooters on the ground as he flew towards his target.

"Holy shit," someone said when Luc made contact with the aircraft, tearing into the sides with the claw of his feet, punching through the glass windows before wrangling a human by the neck. The helicopter started to fall—

Fast.

"Tell team B to clear out," a man screamed into his communication device as the helicopter started hurling down faster in a cloud of black smoke. Luc was still latched on to it, punching and bending metal, reaching into the windows, and wrangling passengers as they struggled to shoot and hit him with the side of their rifles.

He didn't budge.

It looked like the bullets didn't bother him at all.

It was reminiscent of the first time I had seen him lose his mind like this. I had told others about this — tried to explain the extent of Avian strength, but now everyone was watching it happen in real-time. I don't quite remember what happened when the helicopter hit the ground, but I remembered Luc rushing towards me, wrapping me in his hands as the humans finished off the hostiles that were on foot. I took deep breaths with my face pressed up against his neck, angling the weapon I'd taken out of my strap with my shaky hand as I peered over him.

I wasn't a killer or fighter, but I'd be damned if I let him sustain more bullet wounds. I wouldn't allow it. I cradled the gun in my hand like it would self-implode. I tried to calm my breathing — tried to focus on the fact that I had learned how to do this — that I could do this if I didn't overthink it.

And then it happened.

The first human being I'd shot in my life dropped to the ground like a rock, tripping a soldier just beside him. I blinked a few times, dwelling on the heat of the gun before I kept pulling the trigger as the military soldiers in brown tactical gear came into view. Person after person dropped to the ground until they blurred in my mind. All I could see were the moving targets in combat training. My grip on the gun steadied and my aim improved and by the time there was no one left standing in hostile gear, I could hear myself breathing and my eyes stinging with tears as I convulsed in Luc's grip. I'd hurt people — I'd killed people.

I'd always had a mental block about protecting myself — fighting back, but I was happy I hadn't curled into that mental hole here. Luc had suffered enough, and there was no way I would have let him play human shield for my benefit.

The realization was still dawning on me when I felt Luc's warm tongue on the small, exposed part of my face. He purred, the vibrations coursing through my body as he squeezed me tighter. I blinked, pulling back a bit to look at him as the Terra crew mumbled and counted the dead in the background.

"Thank you..." I trailed, letting my eyes stare at his face. He didn't have any significant injuries, but I could smell the blood on his claws and hands. He purred, closing his eyes a bit before pulling me back into his chest. He stayed like that for a while, and only left me when someone came up to me to request that I ask him to help the others out of the starship.

I'd stood in the cool of the evening, watching him hurl person after person, and then equipment and cargo. Lots of people were injured, but if they didn't have debris fall on them, it was mostly minor cuts. I walked over to Petrova and John. Both were standing just beside the starship as Luc continued to help with the evacuation.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked, and they both nodded. "That was the military, wasn't it?"

Petrova nodded, licking her busted lip. "How did they know we were here?" Petrova asked, massaging her brows before dropping her hands. "I don't understand."

"Someone told them," I offered, still shaking in Luc's hand. "Like someone told them about Luc, told them about me..."

My eyes darted to John, who was standing beside me.

He squared his shoulders, nodding his head. "I agreed." I frowned at him, narrowing my eyes. He had to be the one... didn't he? He was the most combative when it came to anything I said.

"We... let's get home first, then we can figure this out," Petrova said, still shaken by the situation. I nodded my head, deciding this wasn't the best time to point fingers.