My eyes stayed shut as the lights came on. I didn’t want to open them and deal with the Guardians today. I waited, still squeezing my eyes shut, for the sound of the lift or boots but it didn’t come. They should be bringing breakfast and a beating around now, maybe they were just running late?

My stomach rebelled at the thought of trying to force more mush down my throat. My hands clenched at the duvet, preparing to have to get up and into position against the wall. A wave of confusion and realisation hit me as I slowly remembered where I was and realised someone’s arm was resting on my stomach.

I wrenched my eyes open, blinking in the brightness, suddenly excited to be awake rather than dreading it and breathed in a sigh of relief. It wasn’t all just a dream. We really were home. I turned my head to make sure my crew were there, feeling able to breathe properly for the first time in a long time. We’d pushed all the beds back together in the centre of the room like we used to so Peggy was curled up against my back whilst Gem and Cory were lying opposite us. I turned my head back to look at Cas who was already awake and watching me.

“Checking to make sure we’re all still here?” He asked with a gentle smile.

“How did you know?”

“I woke up about ten times in the night just to make sure.”

I smiled slightly at him. He awkwardly withdrew his arm but I grabbed his hand and held it, not willing to let go just yet.

“I can’t believe we’re back,” I whispered, my throat feeling thick with tears.

“I know. It feels so strange.”

“I almost expect Gem to start telling us off for waking her up.”

She sat up suddenly, startling me.

“It feels just like old times. I’m trying to have a lie-in but y’all insist on talking and waking me up early.”

She tried to glare but it wasn’t very convincing with the smile on her face. Cory pulled her back down, wrapping his arms around her and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It felt so… normal.

“Do you think we’re still locked in or can we go for a run?” Peggy asked, sitting up as well, her hair messy.

Gem groaned loudly.

“It’s probably not a good idea for any of us to go for a run yet,” Cory answered for us.

I almost sighed in relief. It felt so good to be back but my ribs still burned with every movement. The pain no longer took my breath away though so, at least that was an improvement?

“Maybe a brisk walk?”

Gem groaned even louder.

“Fine! Aa slow, gentle walk!” Peggy corrected herself.

Gem grumbled more quietly this time.

“If we’re not still locked in,” Cas added.

“Open the doors,” Peggy ordered tentatively.

Nothing happened.

“I mean… I could probably hack it. Or we could sneak out the hatch?” Cas suggested.

“We shouldn’t…”

“Why not?”

Peggy paused, obviously struggling to come up with an excuse.

“Andy is in charge of the base, not the Council. If we’re stuck in here, it’s because he wants us in here.”

I frowned. She had a good point. The Council didn't have much control over what happened here so it must have been Andy’s doing.

“Fine. We stay here for now. I can hear a servBot coming anyway.”

The noise of the Bot moved closer and I fought the urge to stand against the wall like we had to back at the jail. There were no footsteps with it so it was alone just like the servBot delivered us our dinner last night. I sat up as the door opened, trying not to wince at the pain, and had to pause for a minute so that my head stopped spinning.

“I wonder what we have for breakfast today,” Cas said, slowly swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

His swelling and bruising had gone down, thanks to Cory’s work, but his chest was still smattered with dark shadows.

“Nuhuh. Shower and get dressed before breakfast.” Peggy demanded as the servBot stopped just inside the doors.

“What? That’s no fair!” Cas protested, his nostrils twitching as he tried to work out what food the bot had brought.

My mouth watered slightly at the unidentified smells and I found myself wanting to overrule Peggy and just eat immediately.

“We’re back on the base now! Just because we can’t leave our room for now, doesn’t mean we can’t leave ever! We need to get back into as normal a routine as possible.” She pointed out, staring Cas down.

I smiled as Cas narrowed his eyes at her and walked into the bathroom. Leaning back against my headboard, I watched Peggy start to pull out the platters of food before realising I should probably help her. I stood slowly, stretching lightly and only wincing slightly at the pain before helping her lay out the food on one of the beds we didn’t use. A smile formed on my face. They’d sent us bagels. I love bagels.

“Is that everything?” I asked Peggy who was still standing in front of the Bot.

“I think so, it’s still beeping at me though?”

She leant around the Bot, trying to work out what the issue was before ducking down behind it. When she emerged, she was clutching an armful of screens which she dropped onto the bed next to the food.

“What have you got there, Peg?” Cory asked, unable to see from where he was lying.

“I think Andy’s sent us some stuff, in case we’re in here for longer.” She leant down again and came up clutching some books which she sniffed happily.

“How long will we be trapped here?” Gem said, finally sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Andy says he isn’t sure… He’s trying to get it sorted out with the Council so that we can attend class again and continue with life as normal.” Peggy said, reading a note on one of the screens I hadn’t noticed before

“He sent a note?”

Peggy handed it to me silently. I skimmed through it. It didn’t say much, mostly just what Peggy had said and that he would try and come see us as soon as possible.

“Oh sweet, potato hash!” Cas said, walking out of the bathroom still not wearing a top and towelling his hair dry.

“Note from Andy too,” I said, handing it to him.

He read it with a frown.

“The Council shouldn’t be able to control whether or not we go to class… I thought this base was under Andy’s control, not the Council… Right?.”

I turned to Peggy, hoping she would be able to offer clarification but she frowned unhappily.

“It is… however, we’re criminals which means that they have more control over us… until we graduate, they’ll be able to decide whether we’re allowed to go to classes.”

“Wait… they control whether we go to class right?” Cas said slowly, realisation dawning on him.

“Yeah.”

“And we can’t graduate without going to class, can we?”

My heart sunk, I knew where this was going.

“Well, potentially we can. It’s unlikely but there’s an old ruling from way before our time that I think still stands. I need to do some more research to make sure but I think it says in times of war, trainees can graduate without passing necessary testing if they complete acts of outstanding bravery or service to society.” She quoted, her face screwed up in concentration.

“We aren’t at war though? And what would even count as acts of outstanding bravery?” I asked her.

A small smile grew on her face.

“I don’t know but what does Commander Orion always say?”

“As long as there are those who oppose the Council, they will always be at war.” Cory provided.

“Yeah but that’s not like war, war though, right?” I asked. “It doesn’t count.”

“To the Council it does,” Peggy smirked slightly.

Cas shook his head defeated.

“They’ll find a way around that.”

“They’ll do what they’ll do. I’m going to shower.” Gem said, ending the conversation and walking into the bathroom.

Cas sat down on my bed, staring at his full plate, his expression dark.

“You okay?” I nudged him with my foot.

He sighed and looked at me sadly.

“I came here to get away from his control and he’s managed to follow me. I’ll never be free from him, will I?”

I sat next to him and leant against him, understanding his worry.

“Don’t say that Cas, we’ll find a way.”

He smiled but his eyes were sad. He didn’t believe me. I understand why he didn’t. Back then I didn’t, I had hope. I had faith in people. Now I don’t.

Andy didn’t come see us for another two days. But, at least in that time we got food three times a day. More actually because it turned out that the Council or whoever it was hadn’t searched our dorm that well so most of the food that Gem and Cas had hidden in the vents was still there. One of the vents was empty though. We avoided asking them why they hid food in the vents though, no one wanted to know the answer to that.

Even though we couldn’t leave the room, I didn’t feel as trapped as I had at the jail. We could open the window which was kind of strange. It had been a while since I’d been able to do that. We had it open all the time from the moment we realised. Every time I walked past it, I had the urge to jump out or climb. I wasn’t sure where we’d go. We didn’t have our impact boots so if we fell, it was possible we wouldn’t recover but at times I felt I was willing to take that risk.

It was wonderful being able to feel a breeze on our skin again though. And every time a ship took off or landed the room filled with the smell of fuel that made me long for the days we spent in the garage working on Frida and the other ships.

Peggy made us start studying again too and working out. She made schedules for us each day so that we were taking it in turns to teach our areas of expertise. I struggled at first. It was hard to stay focused when you were trying to ignore the faces Cas and Gem were pulling but Peggy scolded them every time she caught them. It didn’t stop them for long but it helped.

It was mostly her teaching, she enjoyed it more than the rest of us and was easily the best, she could keep our attention for longer. She was different now though. Her view had changed on a lot of things. Before, she would tell us about what the Council had said or done in certain situations but after what happened… She was more critical, she had even less trust in the Council. Once she stopped halfway through telling us about the riots of Irision years before this and just stared at her screen for a little bit. When we asked her what was wrong she just said that the Council wrote the books and censored everything online so we’d never actually know the truth. That really got to me. I’d never really thought about where the information we learn came from, I just assumed it was true but after being given our screens back I started to read some of the things they’d written about us and that changed things. They made us seem like dumb kids who didn’t know what we were doing but that’s not true. We knew exactly what we were doing and what the consequences would be. We knew the chances of us coming out of this alive were basically non-existent but we still did it anyway.

Sorry. I was trying to write about when Andy came to see us the first time after we got back but it’s hard.

He seemed heartbroken. He blamed himself, I think.

We heard footsteps coming down the hall quickly and immediately assumed something bad was happening. Almost as one, we rose from our beds in case we needed to fight. We would not go down easily this time. My eyes scanned the room and I knew the others were doing the same, looking for anything we could use as a weapon. I inched closer to the big metal serving platter our food had been brought it. It was heavy, it could probably do some damage if I swung it hard enough.

I think it’s Andy? Peggy thought hesitantly.

A knock came from the door and I glanced around at everyone to make sure they were ready before gesturing for it to open.

“I am so sorry I couldn’t come here sooner!” Andy cried as soon as the doors opened.

I sagged in relief and sat back on the edge of my bed. He looked different. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced and his forehead was now lined. His hair had grown out from its usual short style and was now flecked with grey.

“Andy!” Peggy said excitedly.

“Welcome home! I’m sorry, I’ve been in meetings with the Council ever since you got back.” Despite how tired he looked, he still seemed genuinely happy to see us.

“Why?” Cas asked as he sat down again next to me, his voice sounded suspicious but I could see fear written on his face.

Andy’s eyes scanned the room before he spoke.

“Just trying to iron out some… issues… about you returning to the base.”

I felt my eyebrows furrow.

Why is he speaking so weirdly? I asked.

“How’s that going?” Gem asked carefully.

Andy made purposeful eye contact with me before looking at the vent on the ceiling above our beds and back at me again. The one that had been suspiciously empty.

“It’s getting there. Hopefully, you'll be able to go to class again soon.”

“That would be great! I miss classes so much!” I said with as much faked enthusiasm as I could as I narrowed my eyes at him, tilting my head in question.

He nodded slightly.

“Ah, I’m sure you do!”

I think he’s saying there’s something in the ceiling. A camera or microphone or something. I thought quickly.

Cory turned and looked intently at the ceiling, blinking a couple of times.

Fuck. I’m so sorry, I should have checked before.

Microphone or camera? I asked, picking up my screen.

“Do you know when we can go back?” Peggy asked, her eyes watching Cory.

I think just a microphone.

Cory’s eye roamed the room, fixing on the bathroom.

“Excuse me.” He said as he stood abruptly, stalking towards the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

There’s a camera in here. Above the shower. He told us, anger making his voice shake.

What the hell.

He washed his hands before walking out and shutting the door behind him, his jaw clenched before walking into the other bathroom.

“I’m not too sure just yet! That’s what the meetings have been about.” Andy watched Cory with a sad look on his face.

There’s another one in here.

I looked down at my screen and typed They’re listening to us, no camera in here though before turning it around to face Andy.

“It feels like we’ve missed so much.” I tried to keep my voice light but anger bubbled below the surface.

He nodded, picking a screen off the bed and typing for a minute whilst talking. “You have! You’re going to have to work hard to catch up!”

I suspected as much. I’m sorry. He wrote on the screen.

“How long were we away for?” Peggy asked, turning around her screen which said Can we remove it?

Andy shook his head.

“Five months.”

Fuck. Gem said.

She turned her screen around. There are cameras in both bathrooms.

Andy’s head whipped towards the door, anger on his face.

“That’s a long time. It didn’t feel that long but I guess that’s what being in a coma does to you.” Gem said, her voice forcibly positively as Andy typed furiously.

I’ll have the doors overridden so you can use the changing rooms and bathrooms down the hall. I need to ask you to only use them when others will not be. That’s during class times and after hours if possible. I’m trying to find a way around the Council.

I nodded.

“Do you know when we’ll be able to leave our dorm?” I asked.

“I don’t, I’m sorry but I am working on that.” He said whilst typing.

They don’t want you going to class but I will find a way around it. I’m so proud of everything you have done and I will make this right. You deserve better. He had written.

A lump formed in my throat. I nodded, unable to do more. He turned the screen so everyone could read what he’d written, meeting our eyes one by one. Tears formed in Peggy’s eyes as she read it.

“I have another meeting in a couple minutes. If you need anything else, send me a message on your wrist monitors, alright?”

I nodded, still not trusting myself to be able to speak steadily.

I’ll keep you updated as to when the Council will let you go back to class. He wrote before leaving.

The door closed behind him, leaving us in silence.

So… now what?

Should we speak out loud or only like this? Gem asked.

If we don’t all of a sudden after Andy came to see us they might get suspicious. Peggy replied.

“I wonder when dinner will be delivered. Or do you reckon we’ll be able to go to the canteen?” Cas said quickly.

“Nah, it sounded like we’re going to be here for a while. Plus, it’s only just been lunch!” Gem replied lightly.

“Yeah, like an hour ago.”

“Exactly. Are you hungry already?”

“No, but I could eat.”

I forced myself to laugh. It came out a harsh bark, I was still furious.

“No, you can’t. It’s almost time for us to start working out. We need to get our stamina back for when we can go on missions again.” Peggy said, consulting the schedule she had created for us.

“If,” Gem muttered darkly.

“Well, yes. Either way, we need to back in peak physical condition. We’ve got the weights and other equipment the servBot delivered this morning so we should probably do circuit training. Cory, do you think Gem has recovered enough to be doing light weights again?”

He walked over to the spare bed that had been serving as his medical station and flicked through the medBot’s reports from the last few days.

“You should be able to. What do you think?” He asked Gem, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.

A flicker of happiness crossed her face.

“Yeah! I’m ready to do this!”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

“Start light and if you feel any pain you need to stop.”

She grinned at him.

“Sure.”