Mother of Stars

New Home - Connor

A nervous air pervaded the bridge as the Drakes filed in whispering to themselves. The starscape spun lazily around us.

Neila jumped off my back and strolled up to Kyrom in the center. He spoke to her as the stars came to a halt. "We have aligned to the escape vector. I transfer control to you, so you can do what you do best."

He patted her back with a clawed hand and stepped away. Neila ran her hands along her uniform to smooth it out, then used a sleeve to wipe her eyes. She sniffled as she looked out to the remaining Drakes. "T-Time to go home."

"Three. Two. One." The entire domed viewscreen began to ripple just before she ended her countdown. She spread her arms wide, palms up, as if she had just gained an incredible superpower. "Fuck you, light."

Stars blurred into streaks, all radiating outward from the direction of travel. After only ten seconds of bedazzlement, Saturn rushed up in front of us, stopping just in time. The great gas giant was just as I'd remembered it, basking lazily in the dim starlight without a care in the world.

"Wait," Neila said, her eyes searching the viewscreen. "We're not next to Titan yet."

Saturn blinked off to the side and was replaced by a fuzzy brown-orange sphere.

Neila folded her arms. "There we go."

"Please refrain from doing that again," grumbled Kyrom, who was now petrified. "Reckrin are not meant to have heart attacks at this age."

She angled her head sassily at him. "Believe what you want, old one."

Giggles rippled through the group of Drakes behind me. Kyrom frowned and nudged her softly away from the middle. "You have had your fun now, so let the adult take over."

As she walked back to me, she rolled her eyes and growled under her breath, which I found absolutely adorable. A ghost of a smirk played at the corner of her mouth. She put her hand into my palm, and my hand curled instinctively around it.

Kyrom cleared his throat before speaking to nobody in particular. "This is Captain Kyrom Rognos of the Triumvirate Pioneers. I can hardly believe I am saying this, but we have succeeded in protecting our new home. I invite all of you, even your passengers, to join us as we return the remaining humans back to the home we now share with them."

A static noise played from the other end, emanating from everywhere within the bridge, then a concerned feminine voice spoke in their common alien language. "Kyrom? You have returned?"

He smiled. "Hello, Lenfa."

The voice on the other end stuttered multiple times before exclaiming, "Yes, of course! By the stars! Yes, we will come!"

"Hangar twelve will be waiting. Also, do not be frightened by the ship's new appearance. It has been through a lot."

Fifteen minutes later, the first lander arrived in hangar twelve. We had all taken off our armor to appear as welcoming as we could to them. A swarm of aliens poured out as soon as the airlock finished its job. They all ran alongside each other, skin, scale, and fur, and met us with excited shouts and open arms.

Several Grephens sprinted on all fours, tails high in the air, straight for Neila. She yanked her hand out of mine and backed away, frightened by the oncoming mob. "Guys, slow down. Slow down! AHH!"

Four of them tackled her at once. The ball of fur rolled a few feet before it broke open on the floor.

"OW! My leg!" Neila shouted.

I couldn't help but smile as Neila desperately tried to shake off her four attackers, who were fighting amongst each other in order to hug her. They backed off of her when they realized she wasn't the same happy-go-lucky Grephen as before.

"It's Connor, correct?" Someone's voice tore my attention away from the skirmish. I recognized it as the voice Kyrom had talked to before.

The Niiblan woman gazed up at me in adoration. Her lush black hair complemented her red skin nicely, beginning with a sharp widow's peak at her forehead and flowing down past her shoulders. She wore the same black uniform with the orange, star-shaped emblem on the chest.

"That's me," I said flatly.

"I must thank you deeply for what you have done for us. We will forever be in your debt." She glanced away to scan the line of Drakes. Her gaze returned to mine with a heavy worry. "Where is Neval?"

My shoulders and wings slumped, my ears dropped, and my head bowed down. I tried to think of how to deliver the news to her, but I didn't need to. My external response to her question had been more than enough to send her into tears. She slumped forward, and I let her hug my waist for several minutes as I tried to console her. Nothing worked, of course, but something within me told me I'd be a jerk for not trying.

Several more Asturnians approached me and expressed their gratitude to which I politely acknowledged. I tried to feel happy for them, but I only felt numb, like my mind had run out of its daily allotment of emotion-juice. All I could do was put on my ever-trusty fake smile.

As Kyrom prepared the ship to warp to Earth, we all swarmed to the lounge area to get a good view. Somewhere along the way, Neila climbed onto my back and sat at the base of my neck like before. I held her ankles gently in my hands as I got one of the last front-row spots at the lounge's external window.

I felt no excitement this time around as Kyrom counted down over the ship's loudspeakers. When he hit zero, Saturn blinked out of existence, and half a second later Earth took its place. It was daytime in the United States. The sunlight brilliantly illuminated a hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean. The crowd of aliens unleashed a roar of glee at the blue marble before us.

Kyrom contacted the Marine base and had their conversation broadcasted in the entire ship. The officer on the other end was skeptical at first, so he gave the line to General Bradson, whom Kyrom had first negotiated with. The General requested one of the Marines to confirm our accomplishments. It turned out that Page was the highest-ranking officer still alive, so she answered all his questions.

When it became clear that the General was convinced of our success, the aliens cheered again, and the three different species embraced each other. Many Drakes joined in the celebration.

My gaze had remained fixed on Earth the entire time. Neila hadn't moved one bit. That was, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I moved only my eyes.

Griff stood beside me, the black-scaled Drake still quite menacing. I relaxed when I saw his soft smile.

"I know we probably won't be seeing each other much anymore, since y'know, you're still technically not even qualified to be a Marine." He shook his head as if casting the thought away. "So I just gotta get this out now."

He averted his gaze downward before continuing. "Thank you."

I turned my head toward him slightly. "For what?"

He looked back up at me, his eyes a bit shinier than they were a second ago. "For being my first real friend."

I blinked. I hadn't expected something like that from him in a million years.

I gave a small nod, smiling back at him. "You're welcome."

His hand slid off my shoulder as he was absorbed back into the celebration again. I looked back to Earth and found I was still smiling.

It was a real smile this time.