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He
recognised at once that it was the entity.

It had
already told him that despite the damage this ship had received, it
would get the Farsight to Remus 12.

He
stood there and stared at that blue light dancing and wriggling and
jumping around the engine cores.

It was
strangely relaxing. It helped him forget what he'd just
done.

He
couldn't tell how long he stood there staring at them, waiting for
the warmth and emotion to return to him.

Then
he heard a soft voice behind him. “Carson? Are you
okay?”

He
turned to see Nida standing in the doorway.

His
immediate reaction was to shout at her to get back to the bridge.
He hadn't wanted her to see any of the destruction her entity had
caused. But he'd already dealt with the bodies, and frankly, there
was no way he could repair the ship on his own.

He was
aware that she was staring at him, and as he briefly glanced her
way, he noted just how sorrowful her expression was. “I'm sorry you
had to do that on your own,” she said in a raspy voice.

He
shook his head, trying to appear strong, but it was a poor,
pathetic effort. He closed his eyes instead, actually fearful he
might shed a tear.

Then
he felt a soft, small hand on his arm.

It was
Nida.

“We're
almost there,” she said in a quiet voice. “It's almost over,
right?”

Though
he wanted to keep his eyes still firmly closed, he opened them. She
was right there in front of him, and he could see that incredible
light playing across her skin like the reflected glow of a bright
burning fire.

Just
as the light of the engine cores had calmed him, the blue glow
encasing her comforted him also. Or maybe it wasn't the glow; maybe
it was Nida herself.

“You
should go back to the bridge,” she tried, “otherwise you'll be
breaking Academy regulations.”

Despite how cold he still felt, he raised an eyebrow. “You're
the one breaking regulations. I ordered you to stay
there.”

“When
you didn't return, I got kind of worried,” she admitted in a quiet
voice, “plus, I'm pretty sure there is a counter regulation that
states when a crew member has been out of contact for an extended
amount of time, you are permitted to leave the bridge to look for
them.”

Somehow, he managed a smile. And somehow, that smile made
everything feel just a little bit better. It did not wash away what
he had just dealt with, but it made it seem a tiny bit easier to
bear. “I guess you're right, Cadet. But I'm pretty sure you
shouldn't be telling me what to do,” he managed, forcing a half
smile again.

“Are
you sure? I do possess an entity of unfathomable power,” she
tried.

He
wanted to laugh at her joke, but it fell flat. It touched far too
close to the bone. Instead, he patted her shoulder and stepped
away.

Yep,
he patted her shoulder, as if he was some kind of overbearing
father figure.

He
wanted to cringe at his own behaviour, but he didn't have the time.
“I will return to the bridge, and you should be okay to have your
shower now,” he announced.

“Okay.
But maybe you should . . . ,” she
began.

“Yes?”

“I
don't know, but maybe you should put your armour back on,” she
suggested.

This
made him frown. “You don't like my uniform?”

She
didn't laugh. “I don't know what we're going to find down on Remus
12,” she stated, her voice becoming croaky, almost to the point
that he could no longer understand it.

He
frowned deeply now, and the move reminded him of just how cold he
felt. “What are you saying?”

“I
don't really know. I just get this
sense . . . that things might not be over yet.
I think you should return to the bridge and put your armour on. I
think we should be prepared before we go down to the
planet.”

He
considered her quietly, then nodded. She was right. “I'll do one
better; I'll manufacture a proper set of armour for myself. If you
give me your specifications, I'll make one for you too,” he
began.

She
shook her head. “We will not be constrained,” the entity
interrupted.

Carson
opened his mouth to protest, but stopped.

He
wasn't dumb enough to argue with the entity. Instead, he nodded.
“Okay, no armour. You can have your shower now,” he suggested,
watching carefully to see whether the entity would be
placated.

With a
confused blink, the real Nida appeared to return. Giving an awkward
wave, she walked out, mumbling that she would be quick.

He
watched her go.

Then
he sprang into action.

And it
felt good.

Action
was the one thing that could stop him from thinking about the
horrors he'd just witnessed.

He
would build himself the perfect set of armour, and he would be
prepared. For what, he didn't know, but he would be as prepared as
he could be.

That
strengthened his resolve, and immediately Carson set to
work.

Cadet
Nida Harper

It
felt unbelievably good to have a shower. It felt like she was
washing the past away.

Once
she'd dried herself and dressed in a clean but overly large Academy
uniform, she felt ready to face Carson again.

Before
she did, she reminded herself firmly to stop acting like a complete
freaking idiot around him.

She
was being a total goose, and she didn't know why.

Okay,
that was a lie; she knew exactly why.

Carson
was turning out to be different from the man she'd assumed him to
be.

And
that was throwing her off guard.

He was
kinder and funnier and subtler and gentler than his reputation
allowed for.

As she
walked onto the bridge, he turned to face her. He was standing in
the centre, with his hands clasped firmly behind his
back.

He was
also wearing a particularly incredible set of armour.

It was
black with gold and red trimming, and the insignia of the Academy
on his left breast, with the insignia of the United Galactic
Coalition on his right upper shoulder.

He
wasn't wearing a helmet, but she knew he could force the armour to
produce one with nothing more than the press of a button or a
single thought.

“You
ready?” he asked with a flash of a smile as she entered. “And where
did you . . . find those clothes? They are
about three sizes too big for you.”

She
looked down. Yes, okay, so the sleeves hung over her hands, and the
pants trailed a little bit past her boots, but she just shrugged.
“This was the smallest size I could find in one of the
lockers.”

“You're going to trip over your pants,” he announced with a
snigger.

“Then
I'll tuck them into my boots,” she retorted as she got down on her
knees and tucked the hems firmly into her socks.

This
elicited a chuckle from Carson. “Fashionable,” he
teased.

She
finished tucking her pants into her boots and stood. She stared at
him and crossed her arms. “I really don't think it matters whether
I'm fashionable, do you?”

He
shrugged, clearly conceding her point.

Then
it happened again.

The
awkwardness set in.

It was
coming fast and thick every time they spent more than a couple of
seconds in each other's presence.

He
went from looking sure of himself to looking like a lost puppy. He
brushed his fingers through his hair whilst rapping his other hand
on his armoured thigh, then promptly distracted himself with a
panel several meters to his side.

She
didn't know what to say, so she simply stood there, twiddling her
thumbs.

Yes,
she was actually twiddling her thumbs.

She
was about to return the entity to Remus 12 before it became
corrupted, and here she was playing with her fingers.

She
felt remarkably like a child, and not at all like a cadet of the
Galactic Coalition Academy.

“We'll
be entering orbit soon,” he announced, his voice dipping
low.

She
stiffened.

Every
single muscle in her body tensed.

And
then she heard it—the presence in her mind, the entity—it
practically sang to her.

It
chanted an indefinable tune, yet it was the most pleasant sound she
had ever heard.

It
occupied her attention, and after a long pause, she glanced over to
see Carson staring at her curiously.

“Are
you okay?” he asked quietly.

It
took a lot of effort to nod, but she managed it. “I'm
just . . . ,” she trailed off. There was
nothing more to say.

She
was almost home.

No,
the entity was almost home, but sometimes it was hard to
distinguish where she stopped and the creature began.

“We're
going to enter the planet's atmosphere in approximately five
minutes,” he announced.

She
turned sharply on her foot and regarded him as surprise shot
through her flickering gaze.

They
were that close already?

“Is
there anything else . . . you need to do?”
Carson asked. There was a different note to his voice, a far more
diplomatic one, and she quickly realised he wasn't talking to
her.

“I
don't think so,” she answered, realising that if the entity really
did want to do something, it would do it without asking.

Again,
silence descended, but this time it was less awkward and far more
expectant.

The
past several weeks had been leading up to this point, and now it
was almost here.

It
would all be over soon.

“I've
been careful to scan and rescan this system to ensure there aren't
any surprises,” Carson typed something on a panel then pointed at
the screen. “Though I doubt the Barbarians have too many more of
those ships, we can't be too careful.”

She
nodded, feeling a little ill as she did. She placed a hand on her
stomach, pushing her fingers hard against the loose fabric of her
uniform.

She
stared fixedly at the view screen.

It
showed space, flecks of stars, swathes of colourful constellations,
and then, in a flash, a planet.

Remus
12.

Home.

She
started to shake.

Her
whole body convulsed.

She
couldn't stop it.

“Nida?” Carson pushed away from the console he was working on
and ran to her side. “Are you okay?”

It
took her a long time to answer yes. “I think the entity is just
excited,” she tried.

“Right,” he answered slowly. “Right. Well hold on. I just
engaged the landing sequence, and the computer should take
everything from here. I'll set us down in the same compound we were
investigating two weeks ago.”

She
nodded.

Then
she waited.

And it
was, categorically, one of the hardest things she'd ever
done.

The
closer they neared the planet, the more frantic the energy within
her became.

She
could feel the entity's desire to return home. And it was
unfathomable.

She
kept on shaking until finally Carson reached up and actually
wrapped an arm around her shoulders, standing by her side as he
did. Together they stared at the view screen.

She
could feel the bulk of his arm pressing into her back, and it was
strangely reassuring. Though she still shook, it no longer bothered
her.

“Nearly there,” Carson said needlessly.

He
kept saying the same statements, as if simply repeating them would
make the situation more manageable.

She
didn't point this out to him. Instead, she let him stand there and
hold her in place.

As the
ship plunged into the atmosphere, her eyes drew wide.

The
scant clouds on the skyline rushed around the Farsight as it
plunged towards the surface of the planet, and they reminded her
exactly of her dreams. Standing on Remus 12, all of that rubble and
dust swirling around her in a powerful vortex of
destruction.

. . . .

She
forced her eyes closed.

As if
on fast forward, she saw a replay of every single vision the entity
had ever given her.

Soon
it would be over, she told herself.

Then
she would see them no more.

With
that reassuring thought, the ship gave a shudder, and she snapped
her eyes open to see that they had landed.

“Come
on,” Carson said from her side, giving her arm a
squeeze.