Of Smoke and Stardust [[COMPLETE]]]

CHAPTER 13- ALYA

Alya curled her fingers into a fist and hit the punching bag dangling from a hook in the ceiling. Again. And again.

Zion had given her six hours off, and frankly, Alya had thought she needed it. After all the fights and tension, being on continuous duty for exactly fifty-two hours, her body demanded rest. She could've used some sleep, until sleep decided to abandon her with unwanted thoughts flooding her mind.

More irritating, her thoughts were locked on a single person: Parker.

Alya scowled and kicked the punching bag once again, harder this time, sending it swinging to the other side.

She didn't want to-shouldn't-think about that fugitive. But she couldn't help it. When she went to give him the food, she had seen more than just a manipulative bastard. She had seen someone who had been through hell and back. Those faded scars of once gruesome mutilations Parker now had on his abdomen were enough to tell the sort of torture he had endured. As if they had chained him to a rack and carved him open.

Disgust churned in her stomach. That was how Mellowmont treated prisoners, torturing them inhumanly, putting one against another in deadly fights just for sadistic enjoyment and dirty money.

Worst of all, the wretched warden tried to blow up the prison, with the prisoners and the Hawks in its belly. Was it just because the Hawks were trying to get into the depths of the matter, or was there something else? A brewing rebellion, maybe. And nothing could've been more opportune for him than to take down his adversaries with any evidence.

Alya wished she could talk some sense into Zion. Making a deal with a convict, agreeing to break some mysterious Jayden person out-who was probably also a convict. All to get revenge for Ela's murder.

Love really does make people do stupid things. Reckless things. Alya didn't like it...She didn't like how she couldn't do anything about it even more.

Jayden, Alya repeated the name in her mind. Hopefully Jorritt could scrape up some information on whoever he was. There must be more places like Mellowmont-prisons, mines-where criminals and innocents alike ended up being victims just like Parker. Maybe this Jayden person was in a place like that too-or was in Mellowmont. But they'd be long dead...

The galaxy was the expanse of infinite corners, and infinite more possibilities. With the rumors of illegal slavery and child labor on the radar, who knew where he had ended up?

She wiped the stale sweat from her brows with a flick of a finger. Now that sleep was no longer an option, she decided to make use of her time and do some research. Alya quickly rinsed off and slipped into a fresh uniform before creeping into the corridor, letting the door slide shut after her.

Zion had given the hours off to Nyx and Rowan as well, which meant it was probably Kaz and the caption himself in the bridge now, and Jorrit still working his ass off in Nav Station, as usual. That kid never took a break.

Nav Station it is then. Alya rolled her sleeves past her elbows and changed her course. As she rounded a corner and came by the large sight panel, she saw someone several feet in front her, leaning on the railing and staring out into the space beyond, as if searching for answers.

At the sound of her steps, the figure stretched to his full height and slowly turned.

Parker.

The neon lights embedded in the ceiling outlined his lean features, reflecting off the muscles seen under the charcoal T-shirt he wore. Alya noticed he was also sporting uniform pants that Zion must have lent. Against her better judgment, Alya couldn't help but admire how good he looked in the uniform.