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CHAPTER 8 — BETWEEN STARS AND SHADOWS
The hum of the ship filled the silence.
The void outside shimmered with distant galaxies—blues, violets, golds—each one a sun-wrapped secret. For the first time in their lives, the crew of misfit orphans saw space not as a distant dream, but as home.
Vexa pressed her face to the viewport, eyes wide.
"I can't believe it," she whispered. "We actually made it off Virel-9."
Sen stood beside her, his usual calm cracking into a grin. "After seventeen years staring at the same rusted skyline… yeah. It's something."
Juno spun in her seat, legs dangling. "We're actually in orbit! Like—real orbit! Do we even breathe the same up here?"
Astrin half-smiled from the pilot's chair. "The air's recycled, same as on your planet—just cleaner. Try not to hyperventilate."
Kario sat silent at the co-pilot console, eyes locked on the drifting stars. They looked endless. Beautiful. Terrifying.
This is what we worked for, he thought. What we dreamed about.
Yet underneath the wonder, a hollow ache stirred.
When they'd touched the core, he'd felt nothing. No warmth. No spark. Just emptiness.
He clenched his fists.
The Drift
Astrin switched the ship to stealth glide. "We'll keep low-profile until we're clear of the system. PWSP scanners will be thick out here."
Sen frowned. "You mean we're not safe yet?"
Astrin's tone stayed flat. "We're never safe. Not when you steal from the Primordial Water Space Police."
The name still chilled Kario.
The PWSP—the force that claimed fifteen galaxies, that "protected" worlds just enough to keep them alive and obedient.
The force that now wanted them dead or captured.
"Can't we just warp out?" Vexa asked. "Like—now?"
"Not yet." Astrin's eyes flicked to the nav display. "We're running dark. Warp drives leave an energy trail. They'd track it in minutes."
"So… we're just drifting?" Juno asked.
Astrin nodded. "Between stars and shadows."
The Quiet Before
For a moment, silence returned.
Vexa leaned against the wall, half smiling. "Still beats that tin hut we called home."
Sen chuckled. "Yeah. The air doesn't smell like burning scrap here."
Juno laughed softly. "We're actually doing it, huh? Seeing the galaxy."
Kario finally spoke, voice low. "Yeah… we are."
Astrin glanced at him, noticing the way Kario's shoulders were tense. "Something bothering you, kid?"
Kario hesitated. "When we touched the core… everyone reacted. Except me. What if I don't have anything? What if I'm just—"
Astrin cut him off gently. "There's no 'just' in surviving Virel-9, Kario. You're alive. That already makes you rare."
Vexa grinned, nudging him. "Yeah, genius. You built a fugitive's ship out of scrap and cosmic glue. Powers or not—you're the reason we're here."
Kario smiled faintly, but his gaze drifted back to the stars. Somewhere out there, answers waited.
The Warning
The ship's console beeped. Once. Twice.
Then a long, low tone.
Astrin's expression darkened. "No…"
Sen looked up. "What is it?"
"Scanner pulse," Astrin said. "PWSP patrol sweep."
Juno's smile faded. "They found us?"
"Not yet. But they're close."
He started flicking switches. "Everyone strap in."
Outside, the void trembled as the ship dipped into a nearby debris field—a graveyard of shattered vessels and frozen asteroids.
"We'll hide in the wrecks until the sweep passes."
The hull groaned as they entered the field. Massive hull fragments drifted by like ancient ghosts. Jagged metal glinted under distant starlight.
Vexa peered through the viewport. "What is this place?"
"Old battle zone," Astrin said. "One of the first ROPS uprisings. PWSP won, obviously."
Sen whispered, "Doesn't look like much of a victory…"
The Hunt
The sensor blip grew sharper—multiple signals, closing fast.
Astrin's tone turned cold. "They're not sweeping anymore. They're tracking."
"How?" Kario asked. "We're cloaked."
"They must've tagged the ship during the crash," Astrin said. "Cloak won't hide a direct trace."
"Can't we shake it?" Juno asked, voice high.
Astrin grinned—sharp and dangerous. "That's the plan."
He jerked the controls, and the ship dove into the wreck field, twisting through debris with impossible precision.
Chunks of metal spun past, scraping the hull as plasma bolts streaked by.
"Hold on!" Astrin barked.
Vexa shouted, "This is insane!"
"Welcome to space," Astrin snapped back.
The ship banked hard. Kario's hands flew over the co-pilot panel, rerouting power. "Shields at thirty! We can't take a direct hit!"
"Then we don't get hit."
A burst of plasma clipped a broken engine above them, sending shards spinning. Kario flinched—but as he reached for the stabilizer controls, something flickered beneath his skin. A faint glow, like starlight under his veins.
He didn't notice.
Astrin did.
Between Stars
The ship burst free from the debris, engines flaring.
Behind them, three PWSP interceptors closed in—sleek, silver, predatory.
Astrin shouted, "Kario! Overload the rear thrusters on my mark!"
"What? That'll fry the output!"
"Exactly."
Kario gritted his teeth, fingers flying across the console.
"Three… two… one—MARK!"
The ship jolted forward. A shockwave of energy erupted behind them, slamming the interceptors with raw propulsion heat. Two spun out, colliding with wreckage in blinding fire. The third veered off, damaged.
"Nice work, kid," Astrin said.
Kario blinked at the smoking controls. "Remind me never to argue with you again."
Astrin smirked. "You'll learn."
The Escape
They broke through the last ring of debris. The scanners cleared. The stars opened before them again—wide, unending.
"Cloak reengaged," Kario said, voice shaky but proud.
Astrin leaned back in his chair. "We're clear. For now."
The others exhaled, the adrenaline slowly fading.
Vexa laughed softly. "So this is it. We're fugitives now."
Sen chuckled. "Guess we've upgraded from orphans to outlaws."
Juno grinned. "Has a nice ring to it."
Astrin looked over the crew—these kids who had risked everything for a dream—and for a rare moment, he smiled.
"Get some rest," he said. "Tomorrow, we start your training. You'll need to understand those powers before they understand you."
He turned his gaze back to the stars, voice quiet.
"And before the PWSP realizes what you really are."
Kario frowned. "What do you mean—?"
Astrin didn't answer. Outside, the starlight reflected in his eyes—like someone who had already seen too much of both wonder and war.