Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

AVA

Newfound energy filled her bones at the weeks leading up to Meryn's starday — with their tests leading into winter break, her best friend readjusted from the torment he endured.

And today is when he's going to see his brother again. I hope it helps. He deserves it.

"We should go look for James and Rayan." Meryn hopped off the gym floor of Rayan's manor. "We have to go back to your house and wait for your dad to take us to the festival."

"I think they're in the backyard," Ava muttered and led him out of the training area and to the patio, and she stopped at the sight in front of her.

Mrs. Falae observed Rayan and James practising some Starcross plays. Ava opened the door to join them, and Rayan pushed past her brother with ease. Meryn peeked around her shoulder. "Either of them out of breath yet?"

"They're certainly tenacious." A warm laugh escaped Mrs. Falae, and she held out a plate of sweets, and Ava indulged in her longing for cloudy chocolate. "I wish some of our B.T recruits had as much fortitude as they do."

Meryn pressed his finger against his cheek, but Ava grinned when James swiped at Rayan, and tripped him with matched ease. Mrs. Falae came closer to Meryn with a smile, and Ava tipped her head back to look up at the icy blues. "I want to say happy birthday, Mr. Matthey."

Meryn glowed in the winter light. "Thanks, Mrs. Falae."

"Rayan!" Mrs. Falae called, her voice sharp and authoritative, and at her voice, he leaped straight into James' next attack. "It's almost time to go," she said with a giggle as Rayan rubbed his chest from where James struck it. "You don't want to be late to your first festival."

As the two joined them on the patio, Mrs. Falae set her hand on Meryn's shoulder. "You're not having any further trouble at the school?"

"No, Ma'am," Meryn said. "I think I'm doing better now, and thank you for letting Ava and I use the gym!" All of them journeyed into the main foyer, where Mrs. Falae saw them off the manor property which glittered with fairy lights donning the hedges for the Deccan celebrations.

"Have fun," she said.

Rayan waved his arms. "We will!"

Ava leaned closer to Meryn while they trekked through the snow mounds. "Are you excited?"

Meryn nodded, but pain filled the greys as he tucked his gloved hands between his arms. His smile, hollow.

James tipped his head. "Is something up?"

"No, not really," Meryn replied. "It's just..." He slumped into his shoulders with a misty huff. "It's going to be my first starday without Aelius. He's always so busy with the Sanctum Research Branch, I never get the chance to talk to him — he doesn't even live in the house anymore. He lives on the site."

Heavy secret locked in her heart, she gripped his shoulder. "We'll try and make this fun for you. You deserve a break, and we're here for you."

Meryn gave her a shy smile and they shuffled through the heart of Eastpoint. Lights dotted along the smaller buildings and shops to sprinkle the streets with a myriad of colourful hues. Classmates waved from across the street or through windows with Deccan sales at the front windows. Yvonne stood in front of the bakery on the corner of main street, a thoughtful expression twisting her pink lips.

"Yiv!" Ava said. "What are you up to?"

"I'm trying to see if they stocked Katie's favourite chocolate," she mumbled. "Twenty exal per pack." She raised her manicured fingers. "I might have enough to get myself something as well..."

Ava left her friend to do her sweet shopping and they left the boundary of Eastpoint to reach their little house off the beaten track, but Rayan faltered behind and the path became harder to drag themselves through.

"Ray?" James asked. "Are you nervous?"

Ava spotted the issue through the living room door, whose head shoved itself into an antique grandfather clock — the last thing Dad had of Grandpa. Ava latched her hand around Rayan's, where James' expression filled with hazel steel while they stomped up to home. James rushed forward to unlock the door.

"Dad!" she called. "We're here!"

A thump and a sharp curse from the living room replied. Ava peeked around the arch while Dad brushed his hand through his short hair. "Damn thing." He slapped the side of the clock.

Mom hurried around the kitchen counter. "Are you alright, Garrett?"

"Fine." Dad turned around to examine their group. "You're earlier than I thought you'd be." He put his hands on his hips as he glared at the clock straight at its repetitive ticking hands. "I should have this thing dismantled."

Mom laughed and pressed her hand against her cheek. "You're too sentimental for that, love."

James echoed Dad's expression with the focus of Dad himself. Fight glittered in the space between, so she slapped her hand across James' mouth and kept a firm grip on Rayan. "Festival of Stars is soon, Dad," Ava reminded him. "You know — for Meryn's birthday we're going early."

Dad left the clock, and he loomed over them. "Happy birthday, Matthey. Just so you four know I have to leave once I drop you off. Something's come up at work again."

"Again?" Meryn frowned. "Are they overworking you?"

Dad gazed at her with a frozen frown. "No, Maryse," he said, but Ava listened to the added whisper as he came closer to her. "We're still at war — not much else I can say because Keaton thinks every little shadow is an Insurgent, but... it is what it is."

Heaviness tensed through the atmosphere, broken by her little sister on the staircase. "Mom!" Janie called and stumbled down the steps. "I'm ready to go!"

Mom grinned. "Good. We'll leave once Dad takes these four."

Janie threw her hands up into the air and ran back upstairs. Dad closed the antique clock. "I'll figure this damned thing out," he grunted. "Stupid antiques, I'll never understand why he kept it..."

Ava pushed Meryn and Rayan to give Dad space to enter the front foyer. It was a silent trip to the outer shipyard on the edge of Eastpoint. Dad tugged out his set of keypods and approached a marked Sanctum ship. Its side doors lifted down with a hiss, and he motioned for them to enter before hopping into the pilot's seat.

On Ava's other side, James scoffed. "Great."

Ava boarded the family transport and took the seat behind Dad, while Meryn and James climbed into the back. Rayan sat beside her and rubbed his arm while the panels slid behind them and kept them safe from the wind outside.

"Try not to get into too much trouble at the festival," Dad warned. "There's added security."

"Why?" James asked, immediately on the defensive. "What do you mean?"

Dad glanced at them for a moment while he lifted the ship into the air. Ava frowned at the frozen moment of worry and thinly veiled longing for something normal. "Your mom doesn't want me telling you this, but I think it fair that you're warned. You'll hear it later anyway," he said, deadly serious. "Lately, around Eteran's sector pirates have been striking some out of the way moons. People believe this is a front for the First Insurgency to cause dissent among the Sanctum controlled planets, but we don't know all the details. Better to be safe than sorry."

Meryn frowned and lowered his gaze to his knees.

"Way to go, Dad." James clapped with a venomous snarl. "You couldn't have waited to say this until we're back home? You had to drop it here?"

Dad said nothing to James' backtalk. Evening approached across the barren sky of stars as they entered a bubbled area of the festival. Ava hopped out of the transport when Dad opened the doors for them, who gave them a single wave before launching off without a goodbye.

James patted Meryn's back as he fiddled with his fingers. "Meryn, relax," he said. "That's our dad's way of adding tension to things that don't need it."

I don't know... I think he was being serious. Unable to ignore the worry on Dad's face, when he rarely showed any sort of worry for anything.

It flew over James' head.

Sanctum soldiers milled about the entrances which confirmed Dad's warning. Something stewed under the surface of the snow. An older officer raised his hand when they approached the barrier gate. His mouth opened, but Rayan handed him an infopod. He examined its contents with his datapad while a Sanctum Elite hovered closeby, masked eyes blazing red with observation while they kept an eye on every festival goer.

"Ah, you're General Falae's son," he said. "She mentioned you'd arrive with some friends."

Rayan's face screamed 'ugh' as the Elite ushered them into the area at the officer's silent indication.

Meryn gave Rayan a forced grin. "Everyone knows who you are, Ray."

"It's not me they recognize," Rayan corrected under his breath while they passed game stalls.

James waved down Jon, who stood at a ball toss to win prizes.

"I'm sorry," Meryn mumbled.

"Don't be." Rayan sighed. "It's okay."

Ava spotted more of their classmates at the line up to the starfire bubbles which swelled on the perimeter. Hues of green and blue lit up the atmosphere and echoed off the growing joy on Meryn's face.

"Where do you want to start first, Meryn?" James asked. "You're the starday kid. First move is all yours."

"Hm..." Meryn hummed then pointed at a small, dedicated clearing, where people shot pellets at distant targets set in the trees. "Let's do that one! Let's make a competition out of it!"

James moved to the game stall. "What are the stakes?"

Meryn grinned at him, but Ava tipped her head when he sent it to Rayan, who studied him. "I'll leave that as a surprise."

Now what's Meryn up to? Ava hung back as James chuckled.

Jon joined them while James and Meryn entered the area with a popsicle shoved in his mouth. "Hey."

"Jon, isn't it too cold for that?" Rayan mused as Jon licked it.

"It is never too cold for a good popsicle." Although, at his words, Jon winced from what she assumed was predictable brain freeze.

Ava poked his shoulder. "What did Lorie say?"

"Yes." Jon puffed out his chest. "This quad's winter dance should be popping. I am the party, after all."

Ava turned to observe James and Meryn as the timer ticked down. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tick.

James leaped into precise action at the small tone of the bell. Meryn struggled to keep up with her brother's climbing score and tactful shots made with the pellet blaster. It struck each target, hidden halfway in cover, or swinging from left to right. Rayan gazed at the two, but Ava jumped when her compearl chirped.

'Almost there. Take Meryn to the startree.'

The timer dinged for the end.

"And this is why I have James as my anchor backliner," Jon joked as James and Meryn left the pitch to gather their total scores, with James achieving a perfect accuracy rate while Rayan gaped at James in particular. "He's not the biggest backliner on the Starcross field, but if you give him an opportunity, he's going to take it and thread it like a needle. I've seen him make some wild shots from the backlining area."

"Meryn," she said as Jon drifted to join up with some of the Starcross team. "We have one last gift for you. We have to hurry to the startree though!"

"Okay!" Starlight brushed over his features and danced with the snow collecting on their shoulders, and Ava took the lead to the final gift, with Rayan acting as their distraction while they headed to the largest, decorated startree acting as the centerpiece for the festival.

"Did he say how far he was?" James whispered to her.

"He said he was almost here," Ava replied with a point at the message. "Meryn is going to flip."

"Is he going to flip metaphorically or literally?"

"I'm hoping he does both." Ava hesitated. "I am worried about one thing though..."

"Hm?"

"Does Aelius know..." Ava faltered, but with her twin brother around, she never had a need to finish her sentences.

"I don't think so," James replied. "I think that's something Meryn has to talk to him about. Besides—" He raised a finger and poked her brow. "This is supposed to be fun, Avie. Don't be Dad."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

James scoffed when they entered the looming shadow of the startree where lights projected into snow and planets. Decorations hung in little streams of paper and twine. People sat together underneath its protection, and James shook his head at a couple who walked past them and held hands with soft whispers of warmth and belonging.

Meryn and Rayan caught up with them. "So!" Meryn slid in front of her. "Where's this present?"

"Sit down. Close your eyes. Face the tree," James ordered.

Meryn followed the instruction with a puzzled purse of his lips. "Weird present."

"It's going to make sense," James teased.

"Ominous." Meryn hugged himself. "What are you three planning? Is this a prank? Am I about to have snow dumped on my head?"

Rayan sat down beside him. "We're not planning anything, trust me."

Meryn pouted but obeyed James' instructions. Ava waved down a familiar shape while Meryn grumbled, "Is the present supposed to be sitting here in quiet contemplation?" He drummed the ground with a bop to his head to echo the music running through the grounds. "This is something my brother would think is a good present."

Ava stepped aside for the bundled figure, who loomed behind Meryn.

He knelt down right behind while Meryn continued to play music on the planet. "Guys?" he questioned while Ava snickered. "What's so funny?"

"I take offense to that, Meryn," Aelius said while the stars filled the browns. "This was my idea, did you expect anything else from me?"