Owen

We had moved to Esther's, Minmin's and Shel's quarters hours earlier. There was still no update from the captain. The G.E.F. had jumped several times to reach a different area of space - I wasn't sure exactly where - but we hadn't jumped in awhile.

Vai slept on the couch. Warpaint stood over him. Shel sat in one of the chairs. Minmin sat in the other chair. Esther and I sat on the floor with our backs up against the couch. She looked at me strangely for a moment before she turned her attention to Minmin.

"Do you think we'll move on Brist soon?" Minmin asked.

"I don't know," Shel replied.

"What do you think all that about a presence was about?" I asked. The Awakened One had sat in his usual spot in the shuttle bay and closed his eyes as soon as we got back. He hadn't spoken with us since and because Vai was tired we retired to let him sleep.

"I don't want to hope it is more Awakened Ones," Esther said. "I don't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed."

I had thought it might be more Awakened Ones, but they had been so stubborn about joining us before it was difficult to believe they would come now.

The door opened. I had expected it to be Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa or my mom or dad, but it wasn't. It was El. Shel immediately stood, but hesitated when he saw her. A small smile touched her blue lips and that was all Shel needed. He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her. The rest of us stood and watched the mother and son reunited. Vai shifted behind us. One brief look told me he had awaken. He swung his long legs over the side of the couch and stood beside Esther.

"You all did well out there," El said as she and Shel broke their hug. She came forward and sat in the seat Shel had just occupied.

I had been busy out there and hadn't given it much thought, but I didn't remember seeing her out in the fighting. She must have been though. El wouldn't have sat on the sidelines for that.

"You saw us?" Esther asked.

El shook her head. "No, but people were telling me that you destroyed an entire ship by yourselves."

"Are you here to stay?" Esther asked.

"No," El said. Shel tried to hide it, but the disappointment was barely there on his face. "I must return to the SingingStar," she said. "I just wanted to stop in and see you all in person." Her hand reached up and enclosed with Shel's. "Accompany me back down," she said.

"You're leaving now?" Minmin asked. "But you just got here."

"I believe the captains's meeting with the Gathering council is almost over. We should be ready to move." El stood. Shel walked by her side while the rest of us walked behind her. We moved through the almost empty corridors to the elevator and down to the shuttle bay.

When we reached the shuttle bay, the Awakened One's large eyes fluttered open and he stared at us. El led us to his side.

"I've only come to give my greetings," El said. "I must go back to the other ship now."

The Awakened One merely cocked his head in her direction.

El turned to go to one of the shuttles, but Vai said to the Awakened One, "What about that presence? Are you ready to explain it yet?"

"What presence?" El asked. I was glad I wasn't the only one who hadn't noticed it. In fact, Vai seemed to be the only one who had noticed it.

The Awakened One stood and towered over us. "You shall see," he rumbled.

"When?" Esther asked/demanded. "When will we see? Is it someone to help? Or will they only get in our way. Can I hope it is your people? One of your people? Many of your people? Have they finally Awakened to help us?"

The Awakened One turned away from all of us and faced the shuttle bay opening.

"Are you really going to ignore me now?" Esther asked. "I don't know how it works with your people, but with my people you answer when you are spoken to."

"You speak too much," the Awakened One said.

I grabbed Esther's hand as she took a step towards the Awakened One's back. The anger roiled off her. And then there was a large shadow at the shuttle bay opening. I didn't pay it much attention. I assumed it was a shuttle, but Esther's breath suddenly caught in the back of her throat. Coming in through the Aether field was not a shuttle, but two Awakened Ones. They were both taller than the Awakened One in front of us. One - the one with brown fur - was larger than the other who had black fur. The one with brown fur had bright green eyes. The one with black fur had red eyes.

I immediately looked behind them to see if any more Awakened Ones would be joining us, but these were the only two I saw.

"This is the presence I felt," Vai whispered behind me.

"Brother," the two new Awakened Ones said to the old Awakened One.

"Sister, brother," he replied. I couldn't tell which one was the sister. There was nothing to differentiate their gender as far as I could tell. Not even the voice.

"Jo-Dinun," a Starwatcher came up to our group then - keeping a wide distance from the Awakened Ones - and addressed El. "We must go back to the SingingStar now if we are to make it before the next jump."

As far as I was aware, the announcement for the next jump hadn't been made yet, but the Starwatcher pilot seemed to know. El nodded and the Starwatcher bounced to the nearest shuttle and clambered on board. El looked at each of us and smiled warmly.

"Stay safe," she said to us before she finally turned to Shel. She leaned forward and touched her forehead to his. "Stay safe, my son," she whispered. "Remember, whatever happens, your father and I love you." Shel's eyes flashed at hers with this. It seemed strange to me that she included Shel's father in her statement as if she knew something we didn't. But of course, he was Shel's father and would still love him no matter if the Corruption took over him. El withdrew her forehead and began to walk away.

Shel stayed still a moment before he followed her. He touched his forehead and said something to her that I couldn't hear. El nodded, patted his cheek and then got on the shuttle with the Starwatcher. None of us said anything as her shuttle lifted up and out of the shuttle bay.

"I don't think these little ones can defeat the Corruption," the brown Awakened One said. "We should have stayed asleep."

"They are stronger than they appear," our Awakened One said.

The brown one reached down and picked me up with one hand. I didn't realize I was in its reach. And I didn't realize I still held Esther's hand until it was torn away from me.

"I will eat this one," the brown Awakened One said. Sheer terror washed through me as I looked at its many rows and rows of teeth and its oversized canines.

"No!" all of my friends screamed at once. I prepared to call on my flames - my shield was already up as it always was - if it ate me, I would fill this one with fire.

"No, sister," our Awakened One grabbed the brown one's arm. Sister? This one was the girl? Really, I couldn't tell how they knew. "We do not eat the ones with the light."

The brown one put me back down beside Esther. Her head swiveled all around the shuttle bay. "Then I will eat that one," she pointed to one of the 3 Brists that Vai had healed that day the Corruption tried to steal his father away.

She took a step forward, but Vai was suddenly in her path. "No," he said.

She looked at our Awakened One, "Tell these little ones they do not give us orders."

Our Awakened One was clearly uncomfortable with this and didn't immediately answer her. The black one moved to stand beside the brown one as they towered over Vai. Warpaint moved to put himself in front of Vai. The red lines on his body covered the white so he was now mostly red. The rest of us moved to stand behind Vai. The mechanics and pilots now stopped to look at us. Some of them even moved the little Brist behind them.

"I did not heal them and free them of the Corruption just so you could eat them," Vai said.

The brown one tilted her head to the side. "Heal? That is a weak power." She looked to our Awakened One. "You should have killed him." She took a step forward. We all tensed except for Vai. Our Awakened One looked from his people to us and back again clearly unsure of what to do.

The brown and black Awakened Ones suddenly grabbed at their ears and took a step back. I didn't hear my dad's power - his power was usually the reason people grabbed their heads like that. I even turned around to see if he was there with us, but he wasn't.

"I can heal," Vai said in a low voice, "but I can also destroy."

"Yes," the brown Awakened One said as Vai released her and her companion. "I see."

"We don't need to eat to survive," our Awakened One said.

"That isn't the purpose of our eating one of them," the brown Awakened One said.

"I know," our Awakened One said quietly.

Esther took a step forward. My hand shot out to stop her, but I retracted it before she could see. She wouldn't want me to stop her.

"The first Awakened One already ate some of us," Esther said. "Despite my words of retribution to him. You don't need to prove that you are stronger than us anymore. The more I am around your people the more I believe we are stronger. That is why you failed against the Corruption and why we will succeed."

I tensed as I expected the brown Awakened One to pick up Esther and try to eat her, but she didn't move.

"Your words are bold for a race so young," the brown Awakened One said. "Our people fought them for much longer."

"And you failed because you killed those you thought weaker than yourselves instead of seeing what unique strengths they offered," Esther said.

"I have been among them," our Awakened One said. "I have seen the benefits of healing on the battlefield. This little one is right."

The brown one scowled at our Awakened One. "What do you know? You are the youngest and weakest."

"He is not the weakest," Esther said. "He and the first Awakened One brought the light to all of us while you hid away afraid. He has courage."

Before the brown Awakened One could argue further, our Awakened One said, "These little ones came up with a way to fight the Corruption before they ever had the light - before they even knew of the Corruption." He pointed to the Aether field. "That field can kill the Corruption. They have evolved to fight them in their own way before we gave them the light. They already pushed the Corruption back once, they just didn't realize it. Now they do."

The black Awakened One moved slightly towards our Awakened One as if to show he believed his words. The brown one thought for a long time before she said, "Fine. We won't eat these little ones and we will aid them as we can."

"Your entire people?" I asked hopefully.

"Us," the brown one indicated to the three of them.

I couldn't hide my disappointment. "Well," I said, "then you are our friends now too." Quieter I mumbled, "Even though you were going to eat me." Louder I said, "We can't keep addressing all of you as the Awakened One, though, it will get confusing. Do you have names?"

"Brother," our Awakened One said.

"Brother," the black one said.

"Sister," the brown one said.

"That won't do at all, friends," I said. "From now on, you are Brownie, Blackie and Gray."

They didn't argue with that so I assumed it was okay to call them that from now on.

Captain's Axa voice echoed through the bay as she made a ship wide announcement. "From this moment, all contact with anyone not in the G.E.F. will be prohibited. Secrecy is now of the utmost importance. Be prepared to jump in 10 minutes and be prepared to fight in 30 minutes. We will switch the fighting in 2 hour shifts so you can rest and be prepared to fight again. This is most likely going to be a long, continuous fight. And Vai, you are not the only healer in the G.E.F. You are required to switch every 2 hours as well. Don't tire yourself out. Let some of the other healers have the glory too." And with that the ship wide announcement ended.