My foot bounced under the table as I waited impatiently for Aquila, Andy or Eliot to start talking. They were taking far too long. Since we’d gotten there, they had just chatted to us. It had been infuriating. Painfully so.

I wanted to shout. To beg them to just hurry up and get to the point.

I knew it was good news. Chal had said that much and they all looked happy so that made it more obvious. Exhausted but happy.

They’d looked so happy when Cory had walked into the room, still talking to Chal to try and get more information from him. He’d blushed and stopped speaking as soon as he noticed their gaze on him but that hadn’t stopped Andy from hugging him tightly as soon as he came within range.

He hadn’t said anything else and I knew that if we weren’t the first people in the room, he wouldn’t have even acknowledged the change in Cory but he did. Cory looked happy too, although he tried to hide it.

The door beeped once more and swung open and every single person around the table turned to look as Fornax and Trolis rushed into the room.

“So sorry,” she apologised a little breathlessly as the door swung shut behind her. “We ran into some difficulties on the way back!”

Everyone turned to look at Aquila and Andy at that, hoping for more information but it was Eliot who spoke.

“Nothing too bad?” he asked pleasantly.

“More fleeing ships but they didn’t seem to be following us, just getting as far away as possible,” she answered, dropping heavily into the nearest chair.

“Here,” Andy said, standing and walking towards the coffee pots. “I assume you’ll both be in need of some rather large cups?”

“Yes,” Fornax said, sagging back in her chair, exhaustion radiating from her despite the smile on her face.

“Please,” was Trolis’ reply.

The room was silent, tension radiating throughout, as Andy filled up their cups and placed them in front of the fighters. Fornax immediately reached out and downed her still steaming coffee before placing the cup back on the table and letting her head fall back.

“I’ll start with the explanation, if you’d like?” Elliot offered after what felt like an eternity.

“Yes, please,” Fornax replied, pushing away from her seat and striding towards the coffee table.

I watched her carefully from the corner of my eye as she filled her cup and drank the content quickly. Twice.

I wasn’t sure what was going on but it was clear that she hasn’t been sleeping and something big had happened. She looked exhausted. Bags stained the skin under her eyes and her pupils were huge, a side effect of too many stimulants. It worried me but she looked happy. She wouldn’t have put herself through that if it wasn’t something good.

“So,” Elliot started. “The last few weeks have been busy. We’ve been searching for the Council’s warship for a while and we’ve finally found it, but that’s not all.”

A cheer had started up around the room but it died quickly.

Elliot’s tone was too… flat. He was happy but also worried. There was something else going on there.

“It’s in a pretty safe part of the galaxy. One that has always been firmly controlled by the Council and that they still have a lot of supporters in but… things are getting worse for them. People are abandoning their posts all over the galaxy. Guardians and members of the IA have been caught fleeing. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the previous situation with that?” Elliot paused and looked around the room.

I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t aware. I’d spent too much time focusing on Cory and what was going on with him. I’d barely been able to sleep, my mind had wandered in meetings.

I’d tried. I’d tried to pay attention, to be present, but it was hard when I was worried about what Cory would do if he was left alone again.

“No?” Elliot asked, glancing around the room. His shoulders sagged and I could tell he didn’t want to say whatever he was about to say. “Well, at first, the Council tried to maintain control of the situation. Even though they’d left Nova a complete mess, they expected people to stay in their postings. It was semi-successful but they still had some people fleeing. They dealt with it swiftly and without mercy.”

“What did they do?” Peggy asked.

I glanced at her worriedly.

I knew what they did. I wasn’t sure how I knew but I knew they’d killed them.

For once, I saw Elliot hesitate as he looked at Peggy and the rest of my crew. I think that sometimes, when people looked at us, they were able to see through everything that had happened and they realised that we were just kids.

I mean, I wasn’t even seventeen at that point.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to show the video but… they killed them. There was a mass execution of everyone who tried to flee or who they thought had links to us or any other rebel groups,” Elliot said, his tone sombre.

“Multiple mass executions,” Aquila added darkly. “They happened across Nova, in the Council districts and on Council ships. All broadcasted for the galaxy to see what happens to those who try to escape the tyranny.”

Tense silence filled the room and I felt my hatred for the Council growing.

The four hundred and seventy-six people they killed that day might not sound like that much when you consider how many millions of people are in this galaxy but that’s another four hundred and seventy-six people who died because of my actions.

I know.

Not directly my fault but what happened started because of the action of me and my crew therefore it’s my fault.

“I know. I wish we could have done more but now we’re prepared. It will never be enough to bring back the lives that were lost but we are doing everything we can to stop it from happening again,” Elliot said before nodding at Fornax.

She sat up a little straighter.

“I hope you don’t mind if I give this briefing whilst sitting down? I’m going on five days no sleep and honestly, I couldn’t nap in this chair right now,” she said with a smile which prompted both Chal and Cory to start rummaging in their pockets.

Chal located the stimulant tablet first and slid the pack across the table to her.

Her eyes lit up as she sat forwards slightly and picked it up.

“Oh, Chal. I think I love you. That’s it, I’m leaving Trolis for you,” she said, tearing it open and placing it into her mouth.

“Wow, if I knew it was that easy, I’d be concerned,” Trolis rumbled as he took a pill from Fornax and smiled at Chal gratefully.

“Unfortunately, my heart belongs to another,” Chal said dramatically, raising one hand to touch his chest.

I stared at him in confusion. He’d never mentioned a partner before as far as I could remember and I felt bad that I didn’t know. Should I have? I should ask him.

“Okay, now that I want sleep a tiny bit less, we can do this,” Fornax said with a grin. “So, despite the original threats and fury and whatnot from the Council, people are still abandoning their posts. It seems that the threat of death is not strong enough to keep them under the Council’s thumb. People are starting to see how wrong what they are doing is and they’re running. They’re losing power rapidly and they aren’t doing enough to keep it. They have to be getting desperate, you know how much they must hate this situation.”

Fornax’s gaze met Aquila who smiled gently at her.

“Agreed. If there is one thing the council hates more than anything, it’s knowing that they’re losing and we’re winning,” she said with a slight nod.

“Definitely! And that’s why our mission ran over so much. Trolis and I were sent to scout the potential location of their warship but we found something so much better,” Fornax said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

I leant forwards, hanging on her every word. Based on the grin on her face, she knew we were and she was loving it.

“We found some Guardians. They were in a Council-marked ship, flying away from the warship. It might have been a risky move but we identified ourselves and welcomed them aboard. It was…” Fornax’s eyes flicked to Trolis who stared at his coffee cup blankly. “It was quite the sight.”

“How so?” Cas asked.

“They didn’t look good. They were thin, clearly malnourished and struggling. They’d been overworked and mistreated. They were suspected of being supporters of us so they’d been imprisoned on the ship. I’m not sure why they weren’t killed but I believe they were tortured for information,” Fornax said softly.

“Where are they now?” Peggy asked.

Fornax’s eyes flickered to Aquila again.

“We’ve placed them on a planet. It’s not safe to bring them here in case they were working for the Council but they’re somewhere where they have food and medical assistance,” she said.

“What happens if the Council goes looking for them?” Cas asked.

“They won’t,” came Aquila’s reply.

“How can you be so sure?” Peggy asked.

Aquila gestured to Fornax who grinned at us.

“They barely have enough people on the ship to keep it going. They wouldn’t risk hunting down five random Guardians just for that.”