Home

Here it is! The season finale. I hope it was worth the wait. I really want to thank all of you for reading and offering your feedback. Now all that's left is to go back, do some editing, and finish adapting it for the podcast. Soon the wait shall be over!

Invicta's first mate spoke through the mic in her helmet, "Captain, get out. The enemy vessel is boarding as we speak. We have a shuttle on the way."
"No," she replied. Her rifle was aimed down the long corridor, her back to the airlock. The station was filled with green gas by now, wisping and swirling in the air. "They keep showing up. We've been running for too long. With all the sacrifices we've made, it's time to see some results. I'm not leaving till I kill one."
She heard an echo, a metallic bang that shot through the entire station. She tried to control her breathing. Gibraltar exited her suit, a black mass of tendrils rolling down her arm and perching itself on one of the canisters she used for cover.
The lights of the station dimmed, and flickered. Within moments, she saw it. It was faint, something barely noticeable, even to her trained eyes. She saw movement in the gas. What once flowed with perfect unpredictable motion, now gently danced to a different tune.
The fog drifted to the side, seemingly without reason. It was the only warning she'd get. On impulse, she aimed and fired. She heard the round connect, heard something drop to the floor, and then watched for the next sign of motion.
Another came, then another. She fired, but there were too many to shoot in such a short amount of time. She heard a whisper, a hiss in her ear that spoke, yet said nothing.
Gibraltar leaped from the canister, wrapped its tendrils firmly around the target's head, and tightened its grip as the sound of bent metal and cracking glass filled the corridor. Whatever Gibraltar attacked fell to the ground as Invicta continued to fire.
Invicta heard the whispers again, this time on both sides. She jumped up, Gibraltar returning to the breach in her suit. When she turned to run away, she stopped mid stride. The hole in her suit was open for too long. It gave them a way in.
"No." She said. She wasn't on the station anymore. She was standing on a street of solid gold paved in a field of dense white clouds. The metal hull was gone, replaced with a light blue sky.
Invicta spun around, her bare skin bathed in golden light. She felt the warmth and looked down to find the verdant hue of her skin was gone. She wore a white dress that flowed in the gentle breeze. She saw the source of the light, a pearly gate not far from where she stood.
"Not here," she whispered. She felt the urge to run, to escape this place and seek shelter. She shouted, slamming her eyes shut, "Get out of my head."
When she opened her eyes she saw them, a multitude of humanoid shapes standing in a circle around her. They had no faces, but she could tell they were smiling. Their thin, sleek bodies were colored black as night. The vision neared its end as one of them stepped forward. The streets of gold and white clouds faded back to the metal hull of the station.
She heard an alarm in the distance, growing louder as she drifted back to reality. She heard large metal doors opening behind her. The figure in front of her kicked her in the chest. She felt herself floating, the blue sky fading into an endless field of stars.
She didn't panic when she realized her fate. They kicked her out of the airlock. She watched the station get smaller and smaller as she tumbled through space. She couldn't tell which way was up.
Gibraltar maintained the seal on her suit as it forced more of its body out into the void. It released the slightest puff of the chlorine gas from within, an attempt to stop the spinning.

When she stopped moving, she could see the station clearly. A massive black ship hovered over it. The ship was angled, jagged, as if it were a knife ready to cleave through anything that stood in its way.
Tethers slithered from its frame and anchored the vessel to the station. It was their idea of boarding. Invicta smiled at the sight. The bodies on the station were tainted now, just like hers. She stunted their growth, their time now wasted.
She told her crew "No." Such a demand is the perfect test for one's crew. Loyalty is hard to come by. When the shuttle appeared to pick her up, she laughed.
She'll yell, of course, chastise them for disobeying her orders. They'll know she doesn't mean a word of it, for she'll be doing it with the biggest smile she can muster.

---

Caydie opened her eyes and promptly panicked the moment she realized she didn't know where she was. She shot up from the metal floor, whimpering.
Mute sat on the opposite side of the ship, and stood up when he heard her. "Caydie? It's okay."
Caydie took in her surroundings as her heart rate slowed. "A ship?"
"Yeah, an earth ship too."
"How?" She asked. She stared with wide eyes as Mute filled her in. Questions formed quicker than he could answer them. Why would an exile save her? Why stay behind? She chose to ask the most important question of all, "Where are we going?"
Mute smiled. "Home. I've heard stories, but never thought I'd actually go there. The ship is just flying itself. I've never seen an autopilot work like this."
"Earth tech is special," she said, crossing her legs and fidgeting with her fingers. "Thanks for carrying me. Sorry I got sick."
Mute shook his head, "Sorry? It wasn't your fault."
She nodded but didn't reply. It took several moments of silence for Mute to speak, "So how long does this take?"
"No idea. How long have we been traveling?"
"I… well I don't really know. A couple days at least." He said.
Their conversation ended when an electronic voice rang out from the on board computer, "prepare for warp drive activation."
"This thing has a warp drive?" Caydie said, standing and rushing to the cockpit.
Mute followed behind as he spoke, "It hasn't gone to warp at all since we left."
Caydie smiled and nodded. "Distance matters in a ship this small. It'd be a waste of power. We probably couldn't sustain warp for more than a few minutes before running out of air."
"What does that mean?" He asked.
Caydie jumped into the pilot's chair, scanning the screens as she strapped herself in. "It means we're minutes away from Safeharbor. Buckle up."
Mute sat in the chair beside her and strapped in as well. "I've never done this before."
"Don't worry. We'll be fine."
The ship's lights flashed, and darkness followed, the last thing they could see was the hull of the vessel warping. They heard the sound of metal bending as the hull fought against the strain.
After a few minutes, the ship stopped. The lights flickered back on and the cockpit display activated, revealing the view from outside the ship. Caydie could already feel the tears welling in her eyes.
Mute simply stared as the red planet grew with every passing second. His attention was drawn to a blinking yellow light on the comms panel. "Are we being hailed?"

Caydie caught the sight of a massive vessel hovering over where the three colonies should. A dreadnought. "That's new."
She pressed a button and a voice spoke on the intercom, "Unidentified vessel, this is admiral Thrace of The SVN Tudor. You're in occupied space. State your business or I'm gonna test out that really big gun over there."
Caydie beamed, her voice soft and shuddering as she gave a reply. "Miranda?"
Silence followed, only broken by Caydie's labored breathing. Finally, the voice answered in disbelief, "Caydie?"
"I didn't know you were made admiral. Congratulations."
Miranda's voice broke as she tried to form the words, "You died. How can you be here?"
"It's a long story. Can we land? I'll tell you all about it."
"Of course, we'll take over from here and guide you in. I'll make sure you get a warm welcome."

"You know her?" Mute asked.
Caydie wiped away tears as she replied, "She's the one who taught me how to fly."

They touched down and Caydie's eyes went wide when she saw the crowd gathered around the landing pad. Mute hugged the outside of the ship as she waved. She stepped out of the shuttle and into the blue sunlight. Autumn looked so different, but it was somehow still the same.
She caught the sight of her father and sobbed. "Daddy?" He stared in awe, unable to speak through tears of his own. Caydie held out her hand. "I'm home."
He wrapped his arms around her. He took in a sharp breath, the skin to skin contact hurting just as much as it brought him joy.
Caydie scanned the crowed as they cheered. She locked eyes with old friends and feared the worst when she realized some were missing.
Her smile faded when all fell silent. Everyone's attention shifted from Caydie as The Archivist emerged from the crowd. It was a long walk from the archive. He must have been running. She beamed at him as he approached. His hands shook and flailed, unsure of what to do, or where to be.
Caydie nodded and stepped forward, embracing his metal frame and squeezing him tight. "I missed you, Lorne." She whispered.
"Miss Caydie," he began, pulling away, so he could see her face. He gave her a soft pat on her shoulders. "Welcome home."