Sky: Tales from The Light

Their Eternal Gratitude

Characters featured in this story:
Astro
Cackling Cannoneer
Wise Grandparent

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It was yet another quiet morning in the Vault Archives, though it's hard to tell if it was actually morning, the Vault in a perpetual state of artifical night.

Astro tended to the memory cubes, as she usually did.
It's just another one of those days, she thought to herself. Manage the memory cubes, replace the candles, update her Expedition Journal, repeat for another day.
Then there's the odd rescue mission in some other realm every now and then, which was usually a minor case; but that happened very rarely now. It seems the Guardians had little to no use in the Kingdom anymore, not like the old days...

Realising she was still holding onto a memory cube, she quickly placed it back on its shelf. She was still pretty much exhausted from her latest mission, her arms still aching from all that swimming, whilst holding onto a Spirit. Seriously though, why did they have to carry that harpoon on them? She thought Spirits were weightless.

She thought about how they're doing now, ascended, reunited with the stars along with their merry crew... Well, at least they have quite the tale to brag about to the other Spirits. Another story to join the legends of the Great Guardian Astro of the Sky Kingdom.

"You look tired, Child. Yesterday's mission was really that exhausting, huh?" A voice broke the morning silence. The Wise Grandparent came forth from the darkened halls, holding a lantern, his other arm folded behind his back. "I'll take care of the memory cubes for you."

"No, no. I'll do this. No need, Sir." Astro insisted, dusting off another memory cube. "And that mission was more than tiring, I'm sure the other Spirits can tell you that." She shrugged. "Word does spread quickly among you folk."
She quickly finished cleaning off the memory cube, carefully placed it back on the shelf, turned on her heel and moved onto the next.

Three hours of sorting and cleaning memory cubes passed fairly quickly. Time seemed to move faster in the Vault of Knowledge, mostly because you were indoors with no way of telling what time it was according to the sun's light.
Astro finally left the Archives, her arms aching even more from all the lifting and such. She moved on towards the platform at the far end of the halls, the power diamond floating above. She was just about to step onto the little stairway to the platform when-

"Hey there!"

Strange, she didn't hear anyone coming..
There, standing behind her, was the Cackling Cannoneer.
"I.. I was wondering where you were."

"Do you need anything?" Astro stepped off the platform, facing the Cannoneer directly.

"Uh. Yes! Wait, no." They stuttered, fiddling with their hands, tugging at the collar of their cape.  "I-I mean yeah. I never had the chance to thank you properly, the ascension and all..."
The Cannoneer reached into their back pocket, pulling something hastily wrapped in a scrap of beige cloth. They handed it to Astro.

"The, uh. The Commodore wanted me to give this to you."

"How thoughtful."
Astro took the package, unfolding the cloth. A diving mask, dark brown in colour with a blue-green diamond at its centre.
The Cannoneer scratched the back of their head.
"I noticed how you almost drowned back there. Trying to save me.. You risked your light for me... So I- The Commodore, they wanted you to have it. A 'thank you' gift."

Astro folded the cloth up again, tucking the package under her cape.
"You really didn't have to, but thank you nonetheless." She finally spoke with a smile. "I'll be sure to use it next time I visit the reef."

Excitement lit up in the Cannoneer's eyes.
"You'll visit? Really?" They asked, giddy like a puppy. "We can have a swimming competition. Or we can explore the manta chambers, or the dragon cages! I'll see ya there!"
The Cannoneer gave a quick wave goodbye, disappearing in a flash of blue light, presumably off to make plans for the day.

This made Astro chuckle to herself as she turned back to the halls of the Vault. For a moment, she forgot the ache in her arms from earlier.
Maybe, just maybe, the pain was worth it.
She stepped forward, ready to get on with the rest of the day.

She had things to look forward to.