Polaris

A few moments of silence passed. Amir's hands, clenched into fists, were slowly relaxing.

His mother said quite loudly, "Polaris, what do you think of the curry?" Her voice had become a few pitches higher.

"Um--it's wonderful." Polaris looked down at her fork, which was stained with ranch. She hastily stuck her fork into the pile of chicken, dotted with specks of curry powder. Polaris glanced up at the woman sitting across from her, who looked thoroughly unimpressed. Coupled with Wei's look of extreme discomfort, she felt like she was about to die from the awkwardness of the whole situation.

And then the sky fell in around her, and Polaris realized that dying from awkwardness wasn't her main concern at the moment.

Everything was shaking--there was so much noise everywhere, and things were falling everywhere she looked, she was falling, and she could hear the whooshes of what must've been jets of some sort, zipping past her. It was as if there'd been an explosion. A bomb. Polaris was struck with a sudden ray of clarity before something crashed into her, making her lurch into the ground.

A broken tile was cutting into her cheek; she tried to push herself upright, her mind still swirling, trying to calculate what to do--but then everything stopped, save for the sound of the jets shooting by.

Everything went still.

Polaris blinked the dust from her eyes and moved her palms to a smoother spot on the ground to push herself up. She surveyed the scene around her, squinting through the thick dust that was settling on mounds of debris. Even the jets had flown too far for her to hear them; all she could hear was her own labored breathing, the tinkling of pebbles falling to the ground, the slight scraping noise of her hand against concrete as she slid it across a chunk of what used to be the wall.

Her retinal display informed her that something was missing in her abdomen. Polaris's hand went to the skin of her stomach automatically, finding her repair panel almost immediately. It'd been a bit loose after Ali's repairs, but now it'd swung open, and wires were spilling out, loose ends sparking.

She felt no pain; whatever was wrong with her stomach had also cut off the nerve connections in that area. But that also meant that she wouldn't be able to stand.

Polaris pulled herself out of the rubble with her arms, looking around for Wei and his family. The fallen plaster didn't seem too bad from this angle, and she dragged herself forward, the grains of rock scratching against her bare legs.

"W-Wei," she called out weakly, looking around frantically, and that was when a strong hand grabbed her by the throat and flung her backwards. 

Polaris crashed into the ground behind her, head snapping against something sharp, cutting into her scalp. She saw the crazed face of Amir above her before her retinal display exploded in light--

deactivating deactivating

--and she could feel her heart, she could feel her heart, and then she could feel nothing at all.

Andromeda

Pulled into the back of the bomber plane, Andromeda composed herself quickly and fixed her gaze on the person in front of her, who was still clutching onto her wrist with a grip of steel. In light of what had happened over the past week, she honestly wasn't very surprised about this new development.

And the boy holding onto her wrist was watching her, his brows furrowed. There was a very judgmental look on his face.

"What?" Andromeda snapped, twisting her arm away.

"Are you a cyborg, or what?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know? Who even are you?" she shot back.

He sighed, and Andromeda raised her eyebrows. "That was a legitimate question. Answer it."

The boy ran his fingers through his dark, curly hair, releasing a cascade of dust. "Once you tell me what you are."

She gritted her teeth. This guy was difficult. "Cyborg. Your turn."

He smirked. "You don't act like one."

"Would you rather I parade around with a neon sign that says 'cyborg'?"

"No, I mean you act like a robot." He faked a punch in her direction, his fist stopping nearly a foot away from her face. "See, you didn't even flinch."

"No one in their right mind would flinch at that. Now stop stalling and answer me. Who are you and why am I here?" Andromeda asked.

"No gratitude?" The boy fake-pouted. "I saved you from a bomb, you know."

"Yeah, a bomb that you obviously dropped." Andromeda gestured at the interior of the plane, which was painted a dark green color, filled with buttons, levers, and control boxes. "Just get to the point."

He opened his mouth, clearly about to deliver another one of his snarky comments, but Andromeda glared at him severely and he seemed to decide against it. "Alright. You can call me Coco."

"Coco?" Andromeda scoffed.

"Yes. Coco. I'm part of what you know as the Rebel Alliance. Dropping bombs isn't usually my thing, but we were short today and I have the knowledge, so I came. And look, I got you out of it," Coco said, grinning.

Andromeda ignored him. "So why am I here?" she prodded.

Coco stared at her blankly. "We always rescue cyborgs. We've got, like, some sort of cyborg scanner thingy that detects techno-organic beings. And then we go get them, because we know what you're going through."

This sounded highly questionable, but Andromeda decided to interrogate him later. She shrugged. "I mean, he did freak out when he found out..."

"Were you applying for a job?" Coco asked incredulously. "You know, I haven't met someone so simultaneously stupid and witty at the same time."

Andromeda snorted. "I'm not witty or stupid; I just state the facts. And what else is there to do, other than getting a job? I've gotta survive, Coco. Just because I'm a cyborg doesn't mean I can produce money out of thin air."

Coco shook his head. "Okay, now I think you're just stupid. You know cyborgs are illegal, right? They were outlawed when we started utilizing their abilities a few months ago. Simple stuff--integrated shotguns, jet-packs, grenades...well, the point is, you being illegal means that you have to do illegal jobs." He raised his eyebrows. "And honestly, anime shipment isn't that hard to find a job in."

Andromeda stifled a smile at the thought of processing hundreds of illegal anime requests each day on the computer. It sounded like something Ali would enjoy.

The plane tilted downwards almost imperceptibly, beginning its descent. Andromeda looked over at Coco and asked, "So can you bring me home?"

He furrowed his brows. "What home?"

"Caltech."

"Caltech is gone. We bombed everything in a five-mile radius around it."

A wave of dizziness hit Andromeda, and she blinked, startled. "Why would you?"

"It's headquarters for the new Manhattan Project." Coco managed a tight-lipped smile. "I can promise you, we saved more lives than we took. The bombs weren't even that bad. I bet tons of people survived, but we probably destroyed a lot of equipment."

She swallowed. "Okay."

Coco fiddled with a lock of his hair. "Besides that, you've already obtained some information about us. You could be one of those cyborgs with...weird...powers."

Andromeda wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure you're certified to supposedly rescue me? You seem to be lacking in a lot of common sense."

"Oh, be quiet. I'll cut to the chase: I'm not allowed to let you go. We could use someone like you. And it's not like you'd be better off if we just dropped you off here." He looked away, avoiding her gaze. "Speaking of which, we'll be at the base soon. I have to blindfold you."

Andromeda closed her eyes. A few moments later, she felt the smooth cloth against her face. It tightened subtly, and she tilted her head back against the wall. "My cyborg powers will combat this."

***

[A/N] I'm trying to update more often from now on :) please comment, vote, and follow if you like it! <3