The walk there wasn’t too bad. Cas pushed my chair even though it was electric whilst Andy pushed Peggy’s. Elliot went in front of us, lightly glaring at anyone who tried to approach us. That was enough to put most people off. A couple of people still managed to get through but luckily Andy answered for us so that we didn’t have to speak.

I honestly don’t think I could have spoken if I tried. The whispered ‘we’re sorry for your loss’ and the somehow worse ‘she’s with the stars now’ grated at my mind. I knew she was with the stars and that it was what she would have wanted but I wanted to scream.

She should have still been with us.

Andy didn’t try to speak to us at all during the journey. He allowed us to sit in silence, staring blankly ahead. My eyes were open but I might as well have been asleep for the amount of thinking I was doing. My head was empty. Even that small flicker of interest that had appeared at Andy’s request had been quickly snuffed out.

I did want to know what he wanted but… it was better not to think. Then at least I didn’t have to think about anything I didn’t want to.

The heavy metal doors opened in front of me and, as usual, noise assaulted me. But it was a little less busy today. There were fewer people milling around and the noise only came from screens, the people watching them were silent.

My eyes landed on Orion who raised his arm slowly in a halfhearted wave. I smiled back at him but it was a feeble attempt that slipped from my face quickly. To my surprise, Andy directed us over to him.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral,” the words poured out of his mouth as soon as we were within earshot. “I got stuck here trying to find the source of this message that we found on one of the back channels that seemed to be from the Council to someone on Furua. I was worried that they were organising an attack and we had to send a scout out to the location but it seems to just be a booty call and then another message came in from one of our other scouts about increased Council patrols and a potential warship that’s being built and it all had to be dealt with now—”

“It’s okay, Orion. Gem and Tuc would have understood,” Andy said in a soothing tone which made tears well up in Orion’s eyes.

He nodded and looked down.

Then, for the first time since we’d entered the room, did I have the opportunity to look at him properly. His eyes were bloodshot, red and puffy from tears and his skin was waxy. His usually pristine jumpsuit was wrinkled and there were multiple cans of stimulant drinks on his desk. Even more were lined up next to his full trashcan.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my eyes meeting his and then flicking pointedly towards the cans.

I didn’t want to call him out in front of everyone but I wanted to make sure that he was okay. I wasn’t sure how long the cans had been there but it was a concerning amount.

He glanced at the cans before a flush slowly crept up his neck and a tear slipped from his eyes.

“I’m fine,” he muttered in an uncharacteristic tone.

It was clear that he wasn’t but it felt wrong to pry in front of my crew and the other people who were listening in.

Andy seemed to come to the same conclusion.

“I wanted to introduce you to Peggy and I wondered if you’d be willing to show her around the system a little? She’s a fantastic data analyst and diplomat,” he said with a smile at Peggy who flushed.

“I wouldn’t say fantastic,” she said, shuffling uncomfortably in her chair. “I’ve not been able to even look at data in ages.”

“Your reports are legendary though! The one you wrote on the structural instability of mining planets as a whole before the Irision mission was exceptional!” Orion gushed.

“How did you read that?” Cas asked, glancing down at Peggy who looked equally confused.

Orion looked between us.

“You didn’t know?” he asked.

“Know what?” Peggy replied, looking worried now.

“You sent all the reports to Suloa, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, she survived the explosion, obviously, and now she’s working on N-kani and helping rally their miners to stop working for the Council so she shared a bunch of your reports as a warning to other mining planets!”

A whirlwind of emotions crossed Peggy’s face starting with confusion, then relief, fear before settling back on confusion.

“Really? She survived?”

“Wait, who’s Suloa?” Cas asked.

Peggy shook her head as if she were having a hard time coming to terms with what was being said but a smile appeared on her lips.

“She was my contact on Irision. She met us when we landed, remember?”

A face swam into my memories.

“I think so. Blue hair, right?” I clarified.

“Yes!” Orion said with a smile. “See, you’ll remember how to do everything in no time. Do you want me to show you how to use all this? It’s not too different from the base.”

“Sure,” Peg said with a wince as a blast of sound came from a screen somewhere behind us.

“Are you okay? Do you struggle with sensory overload too?” Orion asked, his eyes wide.

“Normally, it isn’t too bad,” Peggy lied.

I knew that it was a struggle for her. Loud places had always made her jumpy, they did for me too.

“Do you want some earplugs? I wear them too because it gets so loud in here that it makes me want to rip my skin off or start screaming,” he said with a bit of a laugh as he plucked a strange-looking device from his ear. “See? It filters the sound through this bit and then basically gets rid of all the background noise. I can still hear it if I concentrate on it but it means that people’s voices are way clearer and I don’t get so overwhelmed.”

I leant forwards slightly, staring at the earplug in his hand. It looked strange. There was a bit that went in his ear canal slightly which was attached to a circular ring that tucked just inside his ear so I’d never even noticed it before.

“But you can still hear everything if you want to?” Peggy asked, staring at the device in fascination.

“Yeah! I mean, I’ve had mine modded so that I can control the level of noise suppression without having to use a screen so if I’m struggling more than normal, I can block out more noise but normally I can still hear people’s voices and everything but the rest just goes away. It’s so good!” Orion explained.

Peggy glanced at me and I knew that if she had her mods back, she’d ask me what I thought of her using them. I fully supported it, obviously, and I honestly wanted to try them too. It scared me, the thought of not being able to hear everything all the time, just in case I needed to, but if he was telling the truth and they actually worked… they’d be wonderful.

“I think I’d like a pair too. Do we have to order them specially or anything?” I asked.

I could always take them out if I got worried.

“Not at all! They always have spares here because so many people struggle with noise levels especially on a ship this big! I can go grab you both a pair! Do you want some too?” Orion asked Cas as he began getting up.

“Umm… I think I’m alright actually but they sound awesome,” he said with a smile as he wheeled Peg out the way a little to make space for Orion to get through.

“They are! Okay, I go grab two pairs now and then I’ll show you how to use everything!” He grinned widely before squeezing past us and running through the door.

Andy watched him go before shaking his head with a smile.

“That boy,” he said with a chuckle before looking down at me and cocking his head towards the reinforced doors of the inner room. “Shall we go in? You can grab the earplugs on your way back to the medBay.”

I nodded, my heart suddenly squeezing with anxiety.

“What’s in there?” Peggy asked, worry creeping back into her voice.

“It’s the private meeting room for the War Council,” Andy explained. “Most of the confidential meetings take place in there.”

“Can we come too?” she asked.

Andy smiled regretfully.

“Unfortunately, Captain Aquila has asked that just Aries attends this meeting.”

Peggy’s eyes found me and I knew that she didn’t want to be separated from me any of us again.

“It’s alright, Peg. It shouldn’t take too long and Cas is going to stay with you. I’ll meet you out here or back in the medBay, okay?” I said with a supportive smile.

She nodded hesitantly but I knew that she wouldn’t worry too much as long as I had Andy with me. Plus, Orion would be back soon and then she’d be so distracted that it wouldn’t even matter if I were there.

Andy led me towards the door, waiting patiently as we were scanned. It took a little longer than usual but I assumed that it was because of my chair. Eventually, the door opened.

It was strangely empty inside. Elliot and Aquila were already inside, both staring at individual screens. It was a little unnerving to see them both looking so… normal. Usually, they were locked in intense conversations but now, they were silent and they both looked exhausted.

Aquila looked up, smiling slightly as we approached, and up close I could see how difficult the last few weeks had been for her. Her hair was slightly less perfectly styled than usual, the lines under her eyes more pronounced. The loss of so many fighters clearly weighed heavily on her.

“Thank you for coming here today and I’m sorry that I asked you to come directly after the funeral,” she said, her voice not quite filled with the usual strength.

“That’s already,” I replied, not sure what else to say.

“It’s isn’t. Not really. But unfortunately, in times of war, we have to keep pushing forwards.”

It felt a little like her words weren’t just for me but also for everyone else in the room, including herself.

Now, I appreciate that she acknowledge that it wasn’t okay to expect us to move on and keep working so quickly but at the time, it made grief clench my heart even tighter.

“What did you want from me?” I asked a little too bluntly.

“Do you remember when you first came to Freo you posted on one of the back channels and on some non-monitored sites in an attempt to reach out to the person on the base?”

Yes! Sammy. I’d promised that I’d make sure he was okay and I felt like I’d abandoned him.

I nodded, the lump in my throat too large to let me speak.

“Well, we got a reply.”

I swallowed hastily.

“What did it say?” I croaked.

“‘Green. Sneaking in there was even easier than getting into my mom’s office but climbing the ladders was worse.’” Aquila read as she pulled the message up on the screen before us.

My tongue darted out to wet my lips as I searched my memories desperately.

“That’s him, I think,” I said.