"Ready, Fi?" Zing asks me.

"Zing, I've been asking you that for a lifetime now!!"

Zing snorts in response.

"Okay, maybe not that much, but still a lot!!"

"Yes, and let's leave."

I just smack my head at my stupidity for even trying to argue with him. Donning my oxy tank, I walk outside, Zing following me.

While we walk to the DSR cabin, I try to calm down. On the way there, we encounter Petry, who's also heading to the DSR cabin to report for work, her teammate by her side.

"Good luck, guys, to- What, why are you shaking your head, Zing?" Petry says.

I look over to Zing who reacts surprisedly. I just shake it off and storm ahead.

"What in Zorg just happened??" Petry's teammate asks.

"She has a thing about 'luck' and things like that. Just don't bring it up again..." Zing says.

I try to shake off that feeling of revulsion and hatred threatening to overwhelm me now.

"Fi, it- don't-"

"Don't give me that nonsense, Zing. Besides, just drop it."

And drop it he does. Like it's meteor stream debris. He must be thinking this (gif below)...

He doesn't say a thing, just trails behind as I walk ahead. Now I can't block the reminder of what happened as it fills out my mind and I stop dead in my tracks.

I remember now how she left for a 'safe' mission, I wished her 'Good luck', and I watched wide- eyed, unable to do anything and helpless, as she got blown into pieces.

I know it's irrational, but I hold myself responsible for what happened. And I hate myself for not even lifting a finger to do a thing. I know I couldn't do anything. Yet if only I hadn't wished her luck...

My body convulses involuntarily for a second, but Zing manages to steady me. It's partially the memory and the effect it has on me, and partially something else I can't describe.

"Fi, are you okay? Fi?" Zing asks me, his face filled with concern.

I hold up a finger, compose myself and nod.

"Let's proceed." I say in a gritty voice, trying to hold back my tears, but my voice shakes a bit at the end.

"Fi." Zing says and embraces me, whispering in my ear, "You can tell me."

I pull back and nod, saying, "Later."

I turn back to Petry and her teammate (whose name I still don't know) who're standing still, their faces shocked.

"Sorry." I say.

"No, that's okay..." Petry says, her teammate nodding.

"I'm sorry, I still don't-"

I'm cut off by Petry's teammate, "Know my name?"

"Yeah, sorry." I say with a weird grimace-like grin on my face.

"Ulso Mishut." he says.

"Ulso, hey." I say awkwardly.

We all laugh and proceed to the DSR cabin, where nearly everybody else is gathered. Just a little while after we enter, Anti bursts in, his differently coloured eyes flashing.

Lina, Anti, Zing and I are escorted to another cabin where we're asked to sit and await Zippin.

Lina tells Zing and I, "Look, kiddos, we're getting the detail, you ain't getting nothing except maybe a small job here at DSR out of pity..."

"We didn't come this far out of pity." Zing says.

"A bit of talent, I guess..." Anti says.

"A bit of talent and loads of pity don't make a pair the best performers of the day." I say.

"Oh, shut up for Zorg's sake!! Just because you made it in with that stupid girl that day doesn't make you great!!" Lina bursts.

Zing tells me, "Ignore, Fi, just don't hear it..."

Lina opens her mouth to say something but Zippin enters, so she just scowls at me and turns to face him.

"I have some news, you might want to sit- oh, you are. Sorry. Okay, I'll sit." Zippin stutters.

Is he trying to seem a bit more normal to us?? What's the purpose of that, unless, huh. Unless something bad is what the news is...

"So, like we earlier told you, we're sending you on space detail outside Zorg. Well, we actually have two details now. We're sending all four of you..."

So why- oh, I guess the detail(s) is (are) dangerous..

Everyone's now shocked.

"One detail is admittedly the safer and the easier one- scoping out the other planets orbiting our star for all the materials we need. The second is," he hesitates before continuing, "much more dangerous, now..."

He beckons us all to look up at the sky through the barrier.

"See that star there?" he pauses as we follow his gaze to the star he's pointing to, "We have possible evidence to believe that one or two planets orbiting that star might be capable of supporting life or at least getting us some possible resources. So the second detail is travelling there and scoping out those planets. That is nowhere near as easy as it sounds, plus it's highly dangerous as we have absolutely no idea what else lies there."

I turn to look at Zing as Zippin continues, "But it's necessary for Zorg, a trial, as we may not have anything to survive upon soon if nothing else turns up among the planets orbiting our star..."

He trails off, knowing what a huge commitment he's asking of us.

I'm the first to speak up, "So it could be life-threatening??"

"Very much possibly so." he says, disheartened.

"I'm not going on that." Lina says, a sense of firm finality in her words, "No, no and no."

Zing looks at me, carefully hiding his emotions. But I know he's scared, so I hug him. When we break apart, I take one look at him before telling, "We'll go on that. Wait, I'm going on that. I'm not asking you to do that, Zing. It's your choice..."

Everyone looks at me with disbelief writ large on their faces. At my last three words, they turn to Zing who's watching me intensely. 

Then he says, "Might as well have your mutilated back."

I scoff at his wording but smile.

Because even though this could well be our last time on Zorg, this is all we've dreamt of.

To be given a chance to go out of Zorg, not that we don't like the place, but to explore.

It's not a chore, it's a pleasure.

It's like we were born to do this.

- - - - - - -

Born to be wiiiiild, eeeeeeeh!! Jk tho!!

Fila is a genuinely selfless person at heart, while Zing is anything but.

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