The roaring of the place screamed in Cosimia's ears, drowning out every thought, every word. During the ring patrol the jet was small, manageable. But this vessel was huge, with so much power.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS THE WHOLE WAY!" Freda screamed, red and black hair whipping around her head.

"IT WILL BE QUIETER ONCE WE GET INTO SPACE!" Oralie yelled back, adjusting her headset. Cosimia pressed her palms to the cool glass and watched as her home faded behind her, looking like nothing but specks as they neared the rings. There was still a long way to go but they were steadily making progress.

"ORALIE, WHY AREN'T WE GOING AT FULL THRUST?" Nova yelled, clutching the seatbelt.

"I DON'T WANT TO ALERT THE MINERVA! THERE WILL BE TOO MUCH FORCE AND EVERYONE WILL KNOW!"

"I think it's too late for that." Isadora said, knitting her brows together.

"WHAT?" Airlia said, bouncing in her seat.

"I SAID, I THINK IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!" Cosimia managed to stumble towards the back windows and saw the fighter jets zipping up to meet them. Oralie saw it on the radar and pursed her lips.
"CAN YOU HANDLE THIS?" Cosimia yelled at Oralie. Her friend turned around and gave her a nod.

"I GOT THIS." She jerked the plane to the right as they began to fire. Each hit made Cosimia's head spin but she held onto a piece of metal, pressing her other hand to her head to stop the ache. Oralie growled in frustration but yelled back at them: "MAKE SURE YOU'RE HOLDING ON!"

"WHY?" They screamed as the plane shot up with full thrust, spinning around the evade the attacks. Cosimia looked back and saw the jets farther behind, but not completely gone. Dominica clutched her stomach, her skin taking on a greenish tinge.

"Somebody give me a bag." She groaned, keeling over. Airlia hastily tossed her a waste back as Dominica retched.

"Well, there goes my breakfast." Dominica sighed, but tied the bag and tossed it into some basket.

"WE'RE APPROACHING THE RINGS!" Cosimia looked down but the jets were gone. There were no lavender clouds in the sky so Cosimia peered as far as she could see but the fighter jets were gone.

"Did we lose them?" Freda sighed in relief, slumping in her seat. Cosimia narrowed her eyes at the clear sky. It didn't add up. The sky was the perfect blend of lavender, indigo, and violet, swirled together beautifully. On a normal day, Cosimia would take time to admire the view but she didn't have that luxury anymore. Would she ever anymore?

"No. Be on alert. They couldn't have retreated without evidence and we all know the Commandant. She'll follow all the way to the rings." Nova said firmly, nodding sharply at Freda. Oralie squinted at the radar, lips twisting to the right.

"Nova, come here." Nova pushed off the wall with her foot and leaned down to observe the radar. Her eyes widened.

"They're coming in on both sides! How did we miss them?" Nova growled, slamming her hand on the console.

"Hey, buddy, go vent somewhere else." Oralie rubbed her hand over the dent. "Great. You've dented it." Nova looked at her as if she had just admitted to having a tail.

"You're crazy, right? There are two fighter jets about to fire on us from both sides and you're worried about a dent." She slapped a hand to her face and clutched the guns. "Move. I got this." She bumped Oralie slightly with her hips.

"No. You're going to kill us." Oralie bumped Nova back. Cosimia rolled her eyes and pulled Nova back.

"We don't have time for this." Cosimia nodded at Oralie. "See if you can out maneuver them. The rest of us need to sit still and not bother her." Oralie tossed her a grateful smile before yanking the wheel out in front of her. The plane lurched sharply up, tossing things around randomly. Cosimia felt her body lift from the ground before slamming back down against the wall. She saw the stars twinkle in her vision as she blinked in and out of consciousness.

"Do that again, Oralie, I swear..." Freda trailed off but in her mesmerizing blue eyes Cosima could see bubbling, icy anger.

"What, do you want us to explode? You should be thanking me!"

Dominica shot a glare at Freda. "Oralie, just focus on not getting us killed." Cosimia pressed her hand to her aching skull and felt a wet ooze, warm and fresh. When she pulled her hand away, she saw ruby red coating her fingers, shiny under the light. Airlia grabbed the first aid and snapped it open.
"We need first aid!" She yelled, hands roving over the compact box of supplies.

"Don't, Airi. I can wait till we're in the clear." Cosimia said faintly, hating how weak her voice sounded. Oralie exhaled sharply and jerked the wheel backwards. With a painful lightness, they fell just as the two jets began to fire. They exploded, the sound echoing across the sky. Cosimia could see two figures falling, flailing as they cut through the air. Oralie's eyes fluttered as the plan ascended slowly. Everybody collectively released their pent up breaths and despite her bleeding head Cosimia cracked a smile before she collapsed to the floor. Airlia rushed forward and pressed a gelled gauze to her friend and Cosimia's head fell forward as icy relief spread through her. When Airlia removed the gauze her head was numb in the cold but the pain was suspended. Airlia smiled and helped Cosimia to her head after wrapping the wound.

"We made it."

"We can't celebrate yet. Getting through the rings will be a different story. When I'm safely floating in space without jets chasing me is when I'll relax." Nova said, clasping her hands together. Freda rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Goddess, way to ruin the mood, N. I was actually glad that I was in one piece before you had to come and remind me." Freda stomped off and sank into the copilot's seat, crossing her arms and muttering under her breath.

Nova dragged a hand slowly over her face, dragging her skin down in folds.

"We really have to deal with her for the rest of this trip. Can't we just leave her at one of the ports? That would be so much easier." Isadora nodded her approval and Freda twisted in her seat, spilling dark red hair over the black seat.

"Hey, I heard that!"

Cosimia inserted herself in front of Freda to stop the budding argument.

"Guys, focus. Nova's right. We're almost there! We can't stop now." Cosimia urged. Normally she enjoyed the playful banter but she had no tolerance for it right now. Freda begrudgingly peeled herself off the seat and joined their circle.

"Okay, we need to disable the communication to Saturnus. I know, we won't be able to contact Mathias but that means the Minerva can't reach us either. Also we need to change the color and the name of the ship."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Freda and Oralie both yelled, voices overlapping.

Freda turned to Oralie. "You get to control the ship, dammit. Let me do this." Oralie snorted.
"You said it yourself. I'm controlling the ship so I should get to choose." Freda threw her hands up, stomping over to Oralie.

"I'll fight you for it."
"Oh yeah? Bring it on."

Dominica cleared her throat. "Anyways, who's best at engineering? We need to disable comms now." Everybody looked around until Cosimia shrugged.

"All I need to do is just pull out a few wires, right? I can do it." Airlia looked at her patronizingly.

"Yeah, do you want the plane to stop working?" She turned to Nova. "Your father engineered many buildings in Zorias, right? You're probably our best hope." Nova nodded once, determined, but hesitantly. Then, right in the middle, a flat blue screen flickered to life. Everybody jumped back.

Cosimia stuck her hand through the screen. It was a holograph. Which meant it was coming from Mother's office.

"It's the Commandant." Isadora pursed her lips and straightened her back, defiance shining brightly in her dark green eyes. Airlia flicked her glance at Cosimia briefly before tilting her chin up. Cosimia squeezed herself in the middle so her mother would know that she meant this, and it wasn't a silly joke. Anger surged through Cosimia, blinding and powerful. The fact that she didn't even consider outside threats showed Cosimia that she was small-minded, only committed to preserving Zorias. In a blink Mother's harsh face popped up on the holograph, her features tinged blue from the screen.

"Daughter." Her voice pierced like a knife.

"Mother."

"No need for formalities. You are to report to me, now. This ends now, Cosimia." Cosimia clenched her fists, forcing herself to look cold, calculating.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Naturally Cosimia's face hardened. "This was your doing. If you had only listened to me then none of this would've happened."
"You have brought shame on our name. I will never forgive you for that." The knife twisted in her gut.

Cosimia leaned forward. "What about you? You're the one who let me and my crew escape successfully. What does that tell the people about you, Commandant?" Cosimia bit out. Mother retreated like she had been slapped.

"This will not work, Cosimia. When you come back begging for me to take you back remember this."

"I won't do that. But remember this question, Mother," Cosimia sneered. "What would Father think of this? Would he have stopped me?" Mother stilled then dissolved, her grip on her composure gone.

"The next time I see you I will kill you where you stand!" Mother roared, eyes flaming gold.

"I'd like to see you try." Cosimia snorted. She hardened her heart, refusing to pity her mother. The Commandant changed tactics, turning her furious gaze on her friends.

"What would your families think, Isadora? Dominica? Airlia? Nova? They would disgrace you."

Cosimia stood up, feeling on fire. "Don't you dare talk to my friends like that."

Mother chuckled, enjoying the change of temper. "No, I want to hear from your friends. What do they think, hmm?"

Nova narrowed her eyes at the screen, jaw twitching angrily. Cosimia gulped. Her friends could quit and cave, give away everything. She could only pray and hope that they wouldn't.

"We think you're a pompous, selfish bitch who should shut her damn mouth." Mother's eyes widened in shock at Nova's outburst. Then she began to tremble with rage, raw fury.

"To think I respected you." She spit at her feet.

"Just wanted to say, Mom, we never respected you." Freda called from the copilot's seat and Airlia snorted, trying to cover up her laughter.

"You all think this is a joke. You are fools, all of you. This is life and death. People are going to die because of you." Mother raged, eyes blazing.

"I know. I know life and death. But it's your ignorance that will be Saturnus's downfall." Cosimia frowned sympathetically. "You'll understand in time."

"No, I never will. We will find you. You cannot hide forever. And when we do, you'll pay."