Planatae

Evac

Lukas' exit off the bridge had been an inelegant one. The ship's alarms had disoriented him far worse than they should have, and it was only with Ricardia's firm presence did he have the decency of mind to avoid dropping down into a protective crouch right on the spot.

"Follow me," he heard her say, and so he did, letting her lead them through the Andromeda's now-panicked corridors and halls. The calls of the crew cut through the noise; those they saw pass by were flustered, and glistened with the shine of nervous sweat.

Ricardia did not think it would be wise to bring Lukas anywhere where there was a view of the outside. She was not one to shy away from the danger; if something terrible happened, she'd prefer witnessing it with her own eyes. But the boy was sinking deeper into his panic, and since she didn't know where his quarters were, they returned to her small, compact room.

There was a silver lining. The room, which had reminded Ricardia so painfully of her imprisonment, was the perfect capsule of peace for the boy to take shelter in. As the door slid shut, the chaos beyond faded to bearable levels.

Ricardia brought Lukas to the bed, to which he promptly sank down upon. Like a nervous bird, he perched along the edge of its frame, figure taut with tension. Below his thick thatch of hair, the boy's eyes were bright and feverish.

Ricardia found herself drifting over to the kitchen. Checking the cabinets, she found that someone had been thoughtful enough to stock her room with the typical travel essentials.

She selected a small bag of pebble-rice from the supplies, then busied herself with the task of boiling water, using a small pot she found. It was an act that was surprisingly reassuring; pebble-rice was a staple on Caedem, and Ricardia had spent many evenings side by side with her mother as they washed and cooked the large, lumpy grains together. They were often at odds with each other as Ricardia grew into adulthood, but cooking was something that connected them, even during the worst of their fighting.

After a while, she left the pot simmering on the electric stove and settled herself next to Lukas. For a while, they sat in silence. The nostalgia brought on by cooking was tenuous, and she found her thoughts lingering on her mother. Ricardia was an adult, long-past her years of adolescence. It had been a long time since she lived under the same roof as her mother and her late father. In fact, the news of her Candidacy had been the first serious conflict she'd had with her mother in years.

Ricardia felt shame about leaving her behind, even though she told herself she shouldn't. Mishana Yigera had always been an ambitious, greedy woman - had been the one to push her daughter into being a temple dancer in the first place. She believed that the Yigera family had faded with time, lost much of their influence since they'd first founded the settlement, named in their likeness. But it was never destined to last. Once Caedem had become stable enough, their political autonomy had been whittled away in exchange for their new planet. Ricardia never understood the way her mother romanticized a distant past she had never been a part of, yearning for a time when they were still an Independent people. For Ricardia, safety, and prosperity for everyone was more important than anything else. Her father felt the same, and did everything he could to support the Representatives and the Rete.

She stared at Lukas, and wondered if the nagging voice in her head telling her to face the responsibility of her Candidacy was simply Mishana's.

"You don't want to let her down," she said, startling them both. The words just seemed to slip out.

"Who?" Lukas mumbled, the words coming out of him slow and muddied.

"Your mother," Ricardia said. When he didn't answer, she continued. "I spent years of my life training, both my body and my Factor. My mother wanted me to be a temple dancer - she liked the prestige it brought her, made her feel like the family was important again."