“Who the hell was that?” I asked as we pulled away from the ship.

“I have no clue. She said her name’s Aquila though, is she one of us?” Cas replied, referring to the Space Corps.

“I don’t know. Maybe. She had mods though. They looked old.”

Things are getting bad down here. Peggy thought at us, her words rushed.

Shit. How bad?

We need to get everyone on board as soon as you land. Stay on the ship, just keep the engines going.

I pushed the engines to go faster and looked across at Cas whose eyes were wide with fear. My hands gripped the controls as tightly as I could, trying to cling on harder, as if this would help.

“No retreat,” I said grimly as I brought Frida down onto the planet which was now shaking wildly.

“No surrende,.” Cas replied, his throat bobbing determinedly.

I opened the doors and switched the camera to show us the doorway. There were too many people there, there wasn’t enough space in Frida but we had to try. Gem and Peggy were waving people forwards, shouting in Irisian but Cory wasn’t there.

Cory, where the nik are you? I thought frantically, my eyes scanning the screens.

Just getting people loaded onto the new ships. I’m coming over now.

Run. Gem warned him.

I flicked the camera back to inside the ship. It wasn’t as full as I thought it would be just yet but there were still people boarding. The extra people would put a strain on the engine, I’d need to take that into account.

How are we looking out there? I thought, my hand tapping restlessly on the controls as I turned the camera back to the outside and surveyed the situation.

Almost got everyone. Peggy replied, the panic evident in her voice.

I could see Cory running over from one of the sleek looking ships, stumbling as the ground shook again. I leant forwards subconsciously, watching him closely and scanning the environment for any dangers.

Come on, Cory! Gem urged.

Get in Frida, I’m almost there.

She was the only one left outside. Peggy was on the ramp, staring around at the destruction of Irision in horror but everyone else was packed into the bay. A few more people were huddled around ships, waiting to board but apart from that, the planet was empty. Thick, heavy smoke was slowly creeping out of the mine entrance.

I’m not getting on without you. Gem thought desperately.

I heard Cory groan and saw him start to move faster, his legs pumping furiously. Inside the ship, Peggy has started organising everyone to make them fit better, calling out orders and suggestions in Irisian but there wasn’t much she could do with the limited space. Cory reached Gem, grabbing her hand and dragging her onto the ship. I smacked the door button, not waiting for them to tell me they were seated, we didn’t have time, and pulled on the thrusters.

Frida beeped quietly, telling me that there were other ships in the vicinity but I knew they weren’t too close. They hadn’t even taken off yet so I didn’t need to worry about hitting them.

I need a screen, I need to check the data. Peggy thought, her words running together in anxiety.

There’s one in here if you can make it through. Cas replied, unclipping a screen from the side of his chair.

I heard Peggy walking through the throng of people, muttering in Irisian to get them to move out of her way. She took the screen from Cas and dropped down into the space behind my seat, typing furiously.

What’s going on, Peg? I asked, not wanting to take my eyes off the controls for even a second.

I’m trying to check the seismic data— ah, got it. Oh no. If those ships don’t take off soon then they won’t be clear of the planet when it goes! She jumped up and gripped the back of my chair.

Fuck. Okay, I’ll radio down to them. How long have we got? Cas, can you take the controls for a second?

Yeah, no problem. He flicked a switch above us, transferring main controls over to him whilst I typed on my screen.

Three minutes, I’d say? Maybe less. Peggy thought, leaning over the chair to peer at my screens.

I needed to get through to the ships still on the planet and let them know. I typed quickly, trying to contact their radios.

Send me the data to this screen so I can keep an eye on it whilst I talk to them. I commanded as I finally got through.

“Hello, this is crew 761. Am I speaking to one of the ships still on Irision?” I waited for them to reply, my fingers drumming the screen.

“Try in Irisian?” Peggy suggested, tapping my shoulder frantically.

I couldn’t speak Irisian so I held the screen up to her just as they answered again.

“Affirmative. This is Exploration Crew 72.”

I sighed in relief and hit the button to speak again.

“The seismic data is saying that you have approximately three minutes to take off so that you’ll be out of danger when the planet explodes.”

The radio crackled whilst I waited for a response.

“Noted. We’ll be wings up in less than two minutes. We’ve told the other ships down here. Your work is over, get to safety.”

The ache in my chest released slightly at the other pilot’s words. We’d done what we could and they knew how long they had left.

“Okay. Okay. This is good. We’ve done good.” Peggy muttered, staring at her screen again and chewing on her nails.

“Peg, it’s okay. We’ve warned them. They’ll be out in time.” Cas reassured her.

I flicked the controls back to me and grabbed them again, my eyes darting between the ships in front of me and the scan of Irision that Peggy had put on my screen. I couldn’t bring myself to move the ship any further away from the planet, just in case something went wrong down here and they needed us to come down.

One ship had taken off but the other two were still there. Any minute now they’d take off. They had to.

I waited, barely able to breathe, my eyes darting between the timer and the scanner showing the two ships still on Irision.

“Come on,” Peggy begged from behind me.

I wanted to offer her reassurance but it wasn’t looking good for the two ships that were still on the ground.

I flicked the radio back on.

“Everything alright down there? Do you need assistance?” I asked, watching as one of the ships lifted off and checking the reading again.

The last ship was cutting it close but we should just about have enough time to get in and out if they needed it.

“Negative, wings up in under a minute. Just loading up the last of the sick and injured.”

My eyes darted towards the screen as I waited. They were finally in the air.

“Is that enough time for them to get clear?”

Peggy was silent whilst she tried to work it out.

“I don’t know. I think so. It’s going to go soon though, we need to move.” She replied in a hushed tone.

I pushed the thrusters to burn hot and angled us away from the planet, my eyes being drawn back towards the scanner and the data too often. We needed to get into the safe zone, we were close. We barely had enough fuel to get home but as long as we got there it didn’t matter. We could always stop at a refuelling centre along the way if we needed to.

“Oh no.” Came the whispered gasp from behind me.

My eyes immediately shot to the screen. It was happening. Irisian was exploding.

“Brace yourself!” I screamed, gripping the controls as tightly as I could, so aware of the people crammed into the space behind me with no harnesses.

On Frida’s camera, I could see the flare as one of the volcanoes erupted for the last time before brightness overwhelmed the planet, seeming to shoot outwards.

“Frida, shields!”

My hands turned white as I squeezed the controls, desperate to protect my crew and the Irisians. I watched helplessly as rubble hit against Frida’s shields, buffeting us around. Peggy clutched at my seat, trying not to get thrown against the wall behind us. A child started crying desolately as my hands flew over the controls, trying to keep us moving away from the now destroyed planet.

“Did they make it out?” Peggy cried urgently.

I checked the scanner. With the debris still flying away from Irision it was impossible to tell but with the amount of damage we’d taken from the blow it didn’t seem likely. I had to try though, we might still be able to help.

I turned the radio on again.

“Come in Exploration Crew 72, do you read?” My voice sounded desperate even to my own ears.

There was no reply. My heart sunk as I tried again.

“Crew 72, do you read?”

Silence seemed to echo through the cockpit in answer to my question.

“Captain Aries, there is an untraced signal requesting radio contact,” Frida told us.

Hope leapt in my chest.

“Yes! Let them through!”

“Crew 761, this is Captain Aquila. Exploration Crew 72 did not survive the explosion.”

Tears gathered in my eyes for the crew we’d only spoken to once and the Irisians but I wouldn’t let them fall. The crew needed me to be strong.

“Can we do anything?” I asked feeling heartbreak overtake me.

“Unfortunately, it is too late for them. Focus on getting your ship to safety.”

The cockpit was silent except for Peggy’s quiet sniffles.

“What now?” She asked desolately.

“I don’t know. We go home, I guess.”

“If the Irisians want to go to Nova, that is?” Cas added, his voice empty.

“That’s a good point. Shall we ask them?”

“I can do it,” Peggy said, wiping her face and squaring her shoulders.

I nodded, not wanting to take my eyes off the space in front of me where debris was still streaming past us and occasionally hitting Frida’s shields. As long as I kept looking ahead, I wouldn’t cry. We’d trained for this kind of thing but no training prepared you for what it was really like. The silence in the main bay, occasionally broken by sobs and cries, was the hardest part. The Irisians were so distraught about losing their planet because of the Council that they didn’t even talk. Distress and heartbreak settled in the ship and threatened to overwhelm us all.

“Frida, how’s the ship?” I asked, my voice rough.

“No major concerns, Captain.”

I heard Peggy go back into the main bay of the ship and ask the people what they wanted to do. I didn’t understand much Irisian but I could tell by the tone of their voices, some weren’t very happy with the idea of going to Nova. It made sense, they hadn’t had good experiences with the Council. I didn’t want to force them to go. I didn’t quite get it then, I still hoped that they would be treated fairly. I didn’t know then. I should have insisted that no one went to Nova.

What are they saying, Peg?

Some don’t want to come to Nova. Do we have enough fuel to get to S’ture?

I checked, trying to calculate it in my head.

“No, right?” I confirmed with Cas.

No, we’d have to stop and refuel. I’m worried the Council will be coming after us if we have to stop anywhere else. Cas replied.

Me too.

We’d turned off the Council broadcast when we landed on Irision and hadn’t thought to turn it back on again yet. Maybe if we had, we would have made a different decision.

We could drop them off at Captain Aquila’s ship if they wanted? I offered, staring at the ship on the screen.

We’d already flown past it when we were trying to escape from the blast but we could go back.

Mmm, I’ll offer it. What do we know about the ship?

Nothing really. Unregistered, unmarked. She has a constellation name but also mods. She seemed suspicious of the Council too though. Chal seems to trust her.

I waited again whilst she spoke.

Yeah, a few families want to go there, the rest are okay with Nova.

We’ll radio them now.