Nura ran as soon as she heard. The rumor swept through the Tovre, swift as a comet. The students and faculty were numbed by shock over what happened the previous day, but news such as this still spread like a cascade failure in the capacitors.

Breathing was like pulling air through a wet cloth. Nura choked back her tears as she ran through the Tovre's corridors for the hangar bay, refusing to believe.

She fled. Away from the other students, her instructors, and from her uncle who wanted to keep her close to his side. She had to get as far from them as she could. Nura knew they were looking for her even then.

Keep her safe. She has seen terrible things a girl her age should not have to endure. The poor thing is in shock. She needs time to cope.

All true, but it didn't matter.

Kalko and the four other students who were killed in Velos' rampage had been sent to their rest mere hours before. Their caskets drifted from the Fleet to be claimed by this system's star. Nura had attended the funeral, her heart and mind numb throughout.

She should've been able to save him. If she was faster, or knew a better way, then Kalko might still be alive.

Vanta had informed Nura that the Moiran lieutenant was going to pull through because of her aid. Nura wished she could take more solace from that than she did. If she returned to Kalko sooner, it might've been enough time for the biosol injection to help. But, if she left to see to him, then the lieutenant might not have lived.

Could she have done that? Sacrifice the life of a woman she didn't know for the life of her classmate? Nothing was right, and anything she could've done wouldn't have been enough.

Not as she was— as was planned for her.

And none of it mattered.

Nura keyed the lift to take her to the bay floor. She could hear a ship's engines spooling. It might've already been too late.

She jumped off the lift before it settled fully on the deck. As fast as her feet could carry her, Nura ran towards the vessel preparing to rise to the launch deck.

"Meras!" she called out. She had to jump to reach, but she pounded her fists against the Blind Dragon's hull. The floor began to rise, taking the transport towards the unpressurized launch deck.

There was a crackle of static before a loudspeaker on the Dragon's hull blared to life. "Are you insane?" Meras' voice demanded. "You're right beneath my core exhaust port. You're about to get vacced!"

Nura's hands were getting bruised from beating against the metal. "Stop," she shouted. "Come back!"

"Clear the lift, Nura," Meras ordered.

"Not until you talk to me!"

The lift ground to a halt before lowering back to the hangar floor. Nura sprinted towards the bow of the transport. She waited in front of the Dragon's cargo bay doors until they finally opened.

Light from the interior of the transport fell on Nura, and Meras appeared as a silhouette. She came down the extending cargo ramp. Her eyes were downcast, and her features were haggard from grief and lack of sleep. Meras' freckled white fur was ragged and unwashed, as if she had spent every hour since yesterday in the maintenance access of a reactor core.

No matter what Nura's feelings of him might've been, Velos was still Meras' twin. Now, he was dead or as good as. No one was telling whether the Psy-Agency had carried out his... passing... yet, and it was doubtful there would ever be confirmation of it being done.

Meras looked so sad and alone. She wouldn't even look up when Nura came towards her. "What do you want, Daj?" she asked.

"It's true?" Nura whispered. "You're leaving?"

She nodded. "I have to. After what Velos did... He murdered so many people. Students, Confeds, the grandson of the Korrdeema patriarch. He doomed us. The High Admiralty dissolved the Zhartomi this morning. I don't have a family anymore."

Nura rushed to her and took both her hands. "You do, Meras. I'm your family. Me... and Canas, too."

Meras gave a token effort to free her hands from Nura's grip. "You don't understand, Nura."

"And you're taking a ship? Why isn't anyone stopping you except for me?"

Meras grimaced. "Because they want me to go. Jhot'Rin practically handed me the security codes." She laughed ruefully. "Grekkin-humping bastard finally got what he wanted."

"I can speak with my uncle," Nura said breathlessly. Her words came rapid and all but incoherent. Desperate. "He knows how much we care for you. We told him how good of an astrogator you are. He'll help. I know he will."

Meras shook her head. "Not after what Velos did, what he was going to do. Your uncle will make you stay away from me, and he should." She tugged her hands free. "They cleared me, you know. The Agents tested me for hours because I'm his twin. They had to be sure I... wasn't a monster."

Nura's breath caught in her throat. A monster. Velos wasn't the only monster the Agents found that day.

Meras covered her eyes. "The Admiralty tried to force me to take on the rev, Nura." She leaned her back against the Blind Dragon's bay doors and lowered herself to sit on the deck. "A rev, like I never had a twin. They want to erase him, like he never existed. His name has been taken from all the Fleet records. Velos was never born."

Nura crouched next to her. She didn't know what to say.

"I hate him," Meras hissed. She bared her fangs. "How could he hide something like that? From me? Everyone thinks I must've known, but I didn't. I swear I didn't."

Nura reached for her, but held back. Was she any better? She had her own secrets now. If I tell Meras the truth of what I am, will she hate me as well?

"I'm sorry, Nura. For what he was going to do. I should've seen it. I should've... I'm so sorry. I hate him for it, but..." She finally looked at Nura. Tears flowed openly from her eyes. "But he was still my brother."

Meras threw herself into Nura's arms. She clutched Nura's tunic in her fists, and her shoulders shook as she cried. "I couldn't do it," she said. "Every time I heard my name, it would remind me that a part of me is missing. Gods, I wish I wanted to forget him, but I don't. I want to remember him as he was. He existed, and I never want to forget him. I'm sorry."

She apologized. Meras apologized for loving her brother. The complete wrongness that she felt she needed to was overwhelming.

A spherical transport breaking apart and in flames. A sister and brother trying to ignore the voices on the other side of their door.

When faced with the same pain, Nura took the other path. She made herself forget. Until now, she hardly thought of herself as an orphan. Mother and Father were only distant memories, more an ideal she couldn't match than people she once loved.

Keeper of secrets. Latent psychic. Failure to the family. She was wretched, and yet she was celebrated while the finest young woman she could imagine— strong, beautiful, and brave— was shunned and made an outcast.

Nura stroked Meras' hair. "It's not your fault," she said soothingly. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"Nura," Meras whispered. "When I refused the rev, the Admiralty..." Her voice broke, and the rest came out in a horrified wail. "They gave me the var!"

The var. It meant outcast. It meant traitor.

Forsaken.

Nura's blood became as ice. "No," she said in abject denial. "They... can't."

It had been seven years since Nura experienced pain like this. Heartbreak. Utter desolation.

"I don't want to go," Meras said, "but the Fleet isn't my home anymore. They're making me leave."

Nura held her tight, as if it could keep Meras at her side where she belonged. Nura cast her eyes around the hangar, hoping an answer would appear. Lost and afraid, she couldn't even think for the pain.

The sound of boots against metal rang in her ears. "Nura?" Canas' voice called out. "Meras!"

How had he found them? Of course, Nura thought in disgust of herself. Dhorl said this might happen.

Canas sprinted onto the launch lift. He knelt beside them and put a hand on each of theirs. "Meras, I just found out. Don't go. We can fight this."

Nura could feel the lie in his words. Her brother wished it to be true, but when had that ever been enough?

Meras pulled away from Nura. She looked at Canas for a long moment, then got to her feet. "I don't want to fight it," she said. "I'm tired, Canas. I can't fight it anymore. I'm tired of being afraid."

Canas scrambled up. He seemed on the verge of trying to sling Meras over his shoulder and drag her away from the transport. It wouldn't end well for him if he did. Meras could snap him like a twig if she felt she needed to.

"Then I'll fight it for you," he pleaded. "You know I would."

Meras closed her eyes and turned away. "I know, but I won't let you."

Was she really so set on leaving? Nura remembered a girl who came to view her placements even when she expected to find the worst. She hadn't been afraid then.

Did they finally break her? Nura wondered. Even the strongest of hulls became weathered over time. Entropy ruined all. The Void always wins in the end.

She's lying.

For the first time, Nura actively concentrated on what another was feeling. What Meras felt, what drove her, was not fear.

"You're not afraid at all," Nura murmured as she got to her feet. "You're never afraid. This is something else."

Canas looked at her, then back to Meras. His eyes were filled with such sorrow that Nura felt her heart break for a second time. He understood now, the same way Nura did. It was the clear opposite of fear.

Meras went to him and took his hands. "Canas, I love you with all my heart. That's why I have to go. Being near me will only hurt you and your family."

He nodded and looked defiantly into her eyes. "I'll go with you."

Nura winced as Meras slapped him.

Meras took his face in her hands. "Don't you dare, Canas," she snarled. "Don't you dare leave her alone."

She pulled him closer and kissed him, passionately and unrestrained. Meras was free to do as she wished now, unbound by what Fleet and family planned for her. Nura averted her gaze.

"Nura," Canas said when they separated, though he didn't take his eyes from Meras. "Will you bear witness?"

Meras' jaw dropped, and she shook her head. "No, don't do this. Your family..."

"Can't change my mind," he interrupted. "It's not their place to." He couldn't take the var from her, but he could give her something else.

Their uncle was going to be furious.

"I will bear witness," Nura said softly.

Canas took Meras' hands and placed them against his forehead. As the welcomer, it was his place to speak first. "I accept everything you are. I give you everything I am. No matter the gulf of stars between us, I shall ever be yours, and you shall ever be mine until the Void comes."

Meras touched her forehead to their clasped hands and repeated the vow as the petitioner. The words had been spoken by both parties in the presence of a witness from the welcomer's family.

Nura's part came. Her voice had grown small, and the words hurt as they left her. "There is no will in the Nomadic Fleet or in Alsavon that can deny that your name is now Meras var'Lera."

Newly wed, Nura's brother held his bride, knowing he wasn't going to be allowed to be with her again.

Meras stepped away from him and let her hands fall from his. She reached out for her new wed-sister.

Nura ran to her and cried as Meras returned her embrace. "I don't know what I'll do without you," she whimpered.

"From the moment we met," Meras said, "you were exactly what I needed when I needed you. I feel warmer when I think of you. I miss you when you're gone. When you stand next to me and say my name, I feel stronger. I love you." Meras held her at arm's length and looked into her eyes. "You're going to soar, Nura, and it won't be because of your daj or your family. You've always focused on the least important parts of your name. I saw that from the beginning. You're Nura, and she can do anything."

Nura sobbed when Meras turned back towards the Blind Dragon. It was over, the brief time in which she had a sister.

"Where will you go?" Canas asked her.

"Haven't decided." Meras answered nonchalantly as she ascended the cargo ramp. She gestured vaguely spinward. "Somewhere that way, husband."

"I like the sound of that word, wife. Make sure I hear you say it again before too long."

"Be safe out there," Nura called out.

"These Madisons are good boats," Meras replied. "She'll look after me until I can find a crew."

"No wilders," Nura warned. "Or Fey'lin, for that matter. Remember, you're a married woman now."

"Just no men at all," Canas added. "I get jealous."

Meras clucked her tongue as she touched the control panel for the doors. "So long as you keep your distance from that mechanist girl. Mark my words, I won't be an aumeter away before she comes calling."

"Stick to the orbital plane," Nura shouted. "Don't stray from the space lanes, and keep your fuel tees above half capacity."

"Yes, Mother," Meras said as the doors closed behind her.

"That's my girl," Nura whispered.

Canas led Nura away while the Blind Dragon rose towards the launch deck. They boarded the lift, and Canas pressed the key to take them to the flight control room.

"Will she be okay?" Nura asked.

Canas took a deep breath then nodded. "She's a fair pilot and a better astrogator. Meras will find her way."

Nura kept her gaze on the lift's door, and she could hear the despondency in her own voice. "She's alone, and there's more to being captain of a ship than knowing how to fly."

"If nothing else, she can sell the Dragon and sign on with a tramp crew. Remember, she's a Lera now." Canas took Nura's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Believe in her, like she does in us."

The lift settled, and the doors opened into the control room. Nura let go of her brother's hand and strode towards the viewport.

Four students manned the consoles, and Instructor jhot'Rin was bent over one of the comm boards.

The instructor looked over his shoulder. "Ah, daj'Gan and daj'Lera. You shouldn't be here. The headmaster wants all students not taking part in essential operations to stay in their cabins today. You in particular, daj'Lera."

"I'll go where I will," Nura said coldly. She reached the viewport. Below, the Blind Dragon still waited on the launch deck. Nura frowned when she saw securing clamps from the deck locked onto the Dragon's landing struts.

"What's the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"There's something of a security issue," jhot'Rin said. He was wrinkling his nose over the tone Nura used to address him.

Canas narrowed his eyes at the instructor. "You gave Meras the security codes for the Dragon. Why aren't you letting her leave?"

Jhot'Rin scoffed. "I never thought she'd be stupid enough to actually try to take her. I was about to comm the Fleet CAG to handle this." He looked through the viewport, a pleased sneer on his lips. "A var apprehended while shipjacking is the perfect cap to the Zhartomi legacy."

Nura didn't have to look at her brother to know what he intended to do. She held up a palm in his direction to forestall him, keeping her eyes impassive as she stared at jhot'Rin. She had enough concerns on her mind and didn't need to add Canas thrashing a member of the faculty to them.

"You will contact no one," she said. "You are mistaken over what is happening here, Instructor."

Jhot'Rin cocked an eyebrow at her. "What's that you say?"

"The Blind Dragon is being taken into the possession of the Ganlera family. You need not worry. Ganlera will compensate the Tovre accordingly."

The instructor stared at her, confusion readily apparent in his expression. "What are you on about? Meras var'Tomi is aboard that ship. She's an outcast and a thief, as well as the twin of a psychic abomination."

"Instructor, you have my word as a daj that no Tomi, holding the var or otherwise, is aboard that ship. The pilot is a Lera."

Jhot'Rin looked from Nura to Canas. His scowl had more than a little fang in it. "You foolish, impulsive whelps, what did you do?"

Nura turned away from him and looked down on the Blind Dragon. She kept her hands folded in front of her to keep them from trembling. When she spoke, her voice was hard and controlled. It was the tone Vanta reserved for command. "Have a care with how you address the daj of Admiral saj'Gan, Jhot. Release the securing clamps, then give us the room."

The students at the consoles stared open-mouthed. Nura could feel their eyes on her, and she sensed them hovering somewhere between anxiety and awe. For his part, jhot'Rin was sputtering like a leaking coolant valve.

Nura speared him with a sea-green glare that bore all of her fury behind it. "Immediately."

There was a flurry of activity as the students at the consoles gathered their things and made their way wordlessly towards the lift. Instructor jhot'Rin took a step away from Nura, spared her and Canas both a final scowl, then stepped onto the lift as well.

As the doors closed and the lift bore jhot'Rin away, Nura reached to her side and keyed a control on a nearby console. Below, the clamps lifted away from the Blind Dragon's struts.

Canas took the vacated seat at jhot'Rin's comm board. "Tovre flight control to NFSS Blind Dragon, you are cleared for launch."

Meras's voice came back over the comm. "Acknowledged, Tovre control. Might I say, you sound much like a pilot I used to know."

"A handsome pilot, no doubt."

"Meh, he was alright. A bit lanky for my taste, but he had pretty eyes."

Nura snorted. Dangerous. It almost started her crying again.

"Things were starting to look dicey," Meras said. "Was my favorite jhot looking after me again?"

"Only because he cares," Canas replied wryly. "Your sister took care of it. She was something to see."

The Dragon's engine pods roared to life, and she lifted above the deck on her grav-engines.

"Look after her, Tovre control. She's dear to me."

"And to me. Fly true, Blind Dragon. Tovre control closing." Canas logged Meras' departure and trajectory, then uploaded it to Fleet Master Control. He rose from his seat and came to stand at Nura's back.

The Blind Dragon's grav-engines pushed the transport down the launch bay and into the black. Meras oriented with thrusters, then a moment later, she went to full burn and was out of sight.

"What do we do now?" Canas asked with a sigh.

Nura leaned against him. She was exhausted and would find no rest aboard this ship. It was time to leave it behind. "Take me home, Canas. Vanta will understand if we want to go back to the Fanthara for a little while."

Her brother put his arm around her and led her away. As they walked, he bent to kiss the top of her head. "Maybe you should let me be the one to speak with Uncle first," he said. "I suppose I have news to give him he won't be pleased to hear."

Nura set her jaw and kept her eyes ahead. She was prepared for what came next. There were a few comms to send, then all would be in place. "We will see him together. I have news to give our saj as well."

Canas chuckled. "I always knew I'd die standing next to you. Let's go home and get it over with."