After the attack on Asteroid Base, things began moving much faster. If there was one thing Humanity liked, it was a fight, and never before had the entire galaxy had someone to fight besides themselves.

Andra did her best to stay out of the way, and nursed the broken heart that came from losing her home and everything she had ever known in a single devastating blow. Fortunately, Cygnus was a hard man to ignore, and while her performance on the bridge didn’t go without comment, it went without half of the attention it really deserved.

Maybe that was why she was planetside, helping the last few families onto the evacuation ships, when the invaders showed up.

“Go!” she yelled, and shoved the last few people on the ship. The hatch closed far too slowly, and she threw a glance over her shoulder. “GO!”

She could see Dus in the cockpit, waving at her to get aboard, but there was no way his already-overloaded ship could hold one more.

Besides, she hadn’t spent all that time fixing her own beloved junker just to leave it behind now.

(What are you doing?)

Cyg’s voice echoed in her head. He was aboard the command ship, high above, stretching his telepathy to its’ limits in the service of the human leaders. Unlike communications, telepathy couldn’t be blocked as long as the two ‘Paths could reach each other.

(The last ship is off the ground) Andra reported back without slowing her run for her ship. Any hesitation now could be the death of her. So far the invaders, who still hadn’t named themselves or indeed showed so much as a face to anyone still alive. (Is the fleet ready to pull back?)

There were more ships, huge, unstoppable destroyers, on their way in. While Humanity had won a few small battles, those destroyers were impossible to fight head to head. They had nothing that could take on even a single one, and they tended to travel in packs.

(We’re ready, but why are you still on the planet?)

He sounded worried. To be fair, Andra was worried too.

(Can’t expect me to leave my special lady, can you?) she tried to joke, and felt when he realized what she was doing, specifically; running across the far-too-large empty spaceport towards her ship. (Not after we sepnt so long fixing her.)

(Andra, you have four minutes before those destroyers reach us, and we cannot wait for you.)

With his words came images of massive, spine-covered ships cruising through space, bristling with weapons that were already far more than their pathetic, cobbled-together fleet could handle.

It was only the slight advantage of precognition and telepathy that were keeping them ever-so-slightly ahead.

(Andra?)

Orange alarm flashed across their link, vivid, neon green around the edges with what could only be fear.

(What?) Andra asked nervously. It had to be bad, to make Cygnus Volans cram his fear into a box and shove it to the back of his mind where it could be safely ignored. (Cyg?)

(You have less than four minutes,) he replied shortly, with more of that sickly green creeping across his thoughts despite his best efforts. (Get off the planet. They’re here.)

The sky lit up orange like the sun was rising somewhere far above the empty compound.

Except, the sun was setting, far to the west. Long shadows doubled as the light from above grew so bright that it cast shadows so dark they blotted out the ground on which they fell.

Wind buffeted her out of nowhere, howling so loud that she had to cover her ears, and so strong that it blew her off her feet. She struggled back up, knees and palms bleeding as she resumed her scramble for the scant shelter of her ship.

When she stole a glance upwards, the sky was bowing in, like a massive finger was pressing down on the thick clouds.

And then the bubble burst, and clouds sprayed in every direction, pushed aside by the belly of a ship that was too big to even imagine.

It would have looked like water, if not for the flickers of lightning, darting through the clouds where they crashed apart.

(I’m not gonna make it to the ship,) Andra told Cygnus as she ducked flying debris. (I’m not even off the ground.)

Alarm shot between them, and Andra could feel as Cygnus looked thought her eyes and saw the ship that was slowly sinking into the atmosphere, low enough to deploy the planet-cracking missiles that had already claimed half a dozen worlds.

There was no way she could clear the blast. The top speed of her little ship wasn’t fast enough.

(Goodbye, Cyg,) she whispered across their bond.

A ball of blue-orange light dropped out of the belly of the beast and hurtled towards the ground, miles away but so bright she could see it even against the glare of the atmosphere above.

Purple-white determination blazed across her mind, and suddenly it was like Cygnus was standing right beside her.

(Andra, reach for me,) he told her, completely immovable in his determination. (Now.)

(What?) she said as that world-ending little ball of light fell farther and farther towards the ground until it dipped behind the distant mountains and vanished. (Why?)

(Do it!)

The ground shuddered violently under her feet, and Andra threw questions to the wind.

What did she have to lose?

She reached for him. For the other end of their syzygy, and the link that was becoming as familiar as her own heartbeat. When she found him, standing on in the grand meeting room, surrounded by shouting generals.

Generals he was ignoring, all his focus completely on her.

(Focus on me,) he instructed fiercely. (Focus on me, and where I am. Focus hard, and hold on.)

The horizon lit with a third sun, and the shaking under her boots turned into a rumble that grew nearer with every panicked heartbeat.

Andra focused on Cygnus, and held on with every ounce of willpower, forged over a lifetime of fighting for any scraps that were left behind after everyone else took their cut.

And then the air around her snapped tight, like razor-wire wrapped around her throat and tangled in the very fabric of reality.

And then she closed her eyes, every core of her being boiled down into hold on.

When she opened her eyes, it was to Cyg’s face, and the meeting room full of generals.

It was quiet now, and she could almost taste the awe in th air, even as he breathed out a shaky, trembling breath, and swept her into his arms.

“How?” she whispered as she clung to him, the heat of a world-killing missile burning on her face. “Cyg how did I get here? Teleportation- it’s impossible. No one has ever-“

“Everything is theoretically impossible until it is done,” he whispered into her hair. “I couldn’t lose you like this. Not to them. Not like Asteroid Base.”

“You’re impossible,” Andra didn’t know if she was laughing or crying even as the planet below them exploded, taking with it one more bastion of humanity.

But while they were alive, there was hope.

The fight wasn’t over.

Not yet.

+++

(“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” – Robert A. Heinlein)