Race to the Next World

I woke up in Sirus’ bed. And like usual, he was gone already. He always goes somewhere, I’m never awake to see him leave. I thought to myself about all the things that’s been happening lately.

I want to overpower my thoughts but I don’t. I get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. I stare in the mirror, touching my lip as I see a the faded scar marking where Sirus had bit me days ago. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did when he first did it.

My fingers traced the side of my neck. There was this dark blotch on my skin where Sirus had kissed me.

I would have to find a shirt to wear that would cover this up.

After some time of looking at myself in the mirror and doing damage control for the bruises, I got dressed in clothes, being specific and choosing something that wouldn't lead to questions.

More Coordinators and Flyers were out today. The hallways and open areas were filled with people, even fighters from the African ship.

The loss Russia had to endure was brutal so I doubt they will come out again anytime soon. Africa has been siding with us and I’m sure Russia is mad about that. I thought about it and wondered what if we could all get along, and just do this together. But history has taken its toll on every nation, and right now, we're not on good standing with everyone.

I found a few of my friends sitting together in one of the open areas. The lights were bright, and there were plants along the walls and furniture. The area was white and green, a simple aesthetic that also included nature. I went over to sit with Taurus and Hags, and there were others at the table, too.

Alara had somehow found my friends and was sitting with them. Donri was waiting for me, too.

I hadn’t seen them in days.

What’s more shocking was that a few Flyers were hanging out here, too. It's not their aesthetic to be in such a bright area, but they were with their Coordinators, and they were getting along.

I just sat down at the table and put my head down, not saying anything. I’m tired, and I want a break. Donri was mentioning something we could do later, and he was hoping that we weren’t busy.

I was hoping that I wouldn’t be busy for a couple days.

I want Xalton to back off so I don’t have to keep going out in space. One day, he’ll have to calm down. Picses has been picking Coordinators to fix the engines, and for some reason, I have to keep going out there with them. I can't keep doing this.

I sighed and picked my head up, pressing my cheek on my hand, and I looked at Taurus while she talked to the rest of them. Then she stopped and took my arm, looking at me and leaning towards me.

“Aurora, did you hear?” Taurus asked me quietly as she looked around. “Xalton was stripped of his ranking.” she said.

I wasn't surprised. I know what he did. “For treason?”

“I don’t know, but he’s getting a terrible punishment. Commander Picses isn’t taking it lightly either so I’m guessing it is treason.” she said quietly. Is it really a secret? I wasn’t trying to be quiet about it.

I hope everyone knows that Xalton is a filthy traitor.

“You really do have traitors on your ship." Donri was genuinely surprised.

Not everyone likes the system, not everyone agrees with us. But for someone who has been here for their entire lifetime to just turn to a different nation they barely even know about is beyond me.

I'd be surprised, too, if I hadn't already figured it out.

Hags scoffed at the comment. It didn't seem like he was surprised that Xalton got caught either. “Xalton wasn't very nice. He had this terrible issue with being friendly, you know, a good quality for life.” he added, faking the surprise and interest.

“I heard he got into the bypass system. Is that true?” Alara asked.

“It should be a rumor.” Taurus said.

“Its not.” I cut in. They shrugged that off like I was lying but I wasn’t going to try and be that persuasive, I’ll just say what I know. “Somehow he messed with the bypass system and started messing with the engine.” I said plainly.

“So all those times-”

“He must have done it.” I said and stood by my answer.

Taurus brought her hand to her mouth, still shocked. “Flyers aren’t making him do it-”

“Flyers aren’t that bad.” Alara wanted to defend them. That was surprising.

That’s what they want her to say and believe. I can’t believe she’s one of them now. It makes me worry for her.

We looked at her, and she looked away quickly. “You just have to not make them mad, and it's fine.” she added in quietly.

“They’re always mad, always looking for a fight, and always harassing us because we can’t 'defend' ourselves." Hags was complaining, but rightfully so. "Lets not even go over the number of times we’ve actually had a de-” Taurus quickly shushed Hags before he could say anymore. I stared at her because she began to panic.

Oh. The deaths.

"I've met a few Flyers and they seemed nice." Donri said.

I shook my head. He hasn't met the right ones. I didn't want to be the person to make him realize the truth, but someone has to be.

Before I could say anything, Sirus slid in the seat next to me and he didn't say a word. But I saw the attitude on his face, he was being stuck up and snobby. He thinks that's how we all are so he wants to fit in. I covered my face, and sighed as I looked away.

I am not associated with him. I hope people believe that.

Everyone knows that we work together; I just wished he wouldn’t draw so much unwanted attention to me.

“Sirus...you’re here...with us...wh-” Taurus elbowed Hags before he could make Sirus snap.

Alara was the only one star strucked about something like this. She looks up to Sirus more than I would like for her to, and I don’t have a clue why.

He’s not so great.

“You have a problem with it?” Sirus asked, a little too abrupt for me to be okay with it. I kept quiet though.

Hags stammered for a response. “No no, I mean, you can sit wherever you want. It was just shocking that-” Taurus did it again because Hags keeps messing up.

“You never show up here. That’s what he means.” Taurus covered for Hags.

“Yeah, well, I tend to tag along with Aurora a lot, cause you know, we're partners and we're supposed to work together."

“Aurora-”

“I’m not here.” I murmured when Hags tried to ask me a question. This is enough embarrassment.

“Why do you not get along?” Donri asked. It was such an ignorant question, but he's an outsider. He doesn't know what goes on here. He couldn't believe that Coordinators and Flyers shouldn't be together. "If you're partners, you shouldn't fight."

“We sort of have different views.” Alara answered because she knew.

“Its kind of complicated.” Hags added. I would second that out loud but I still kept my face hidden because Sirus was still here.

“There's nothing complicated about how we see things." Sirus said bleakly.

“We just don’t see eye to eye on anything.” I corrected for him.

“Is that why there’s a traitor here?” Donri asked.

“Well, I don't want to say that Xalton sided with Russia solely because of the Flyers." I said.

“What?" Hags asked quickly. "He was working with Russia?"

I thought I said that. I guess I didn't mention that.

"We didn't know that." Taurus said.

“You’re probably not supposed to because it would make people anxious.” I said to them quietly, needing them to keep it down. If they didn't know, that means the rumors aren't detailed.

Coordinators would go into a panic if they all found out that one of them was the reason why there's been so many issues.

“Weren’t you partnered with him, Sirus?” Taurus looked at him. She's the only one that isn't afraid to talk to him. He's actually nice to her. Well, he'll talk to her and not mock her.

“I was but at that time, he wasn’t doing anything suspicious.” he said plainly. “Honestly, he was just so focused on being “the best” or whatever.” Sirus rolled his eyes and looked right at me.

“Hacking into the Computer is pretty suspicious to me.” I murmured.

“What?!” Taurus freaked out. She wasn’t the only one. The others were staring at me with wide eyes. “You said bypass system.” she said shook me.

“Main bypass system.” I corrected myself.

They looked shocked, Donri was the only one confused by this since he didn’t know how our systems worked. There’s a ton of bypass systems that Coordinators work with. Then there’s the main bypass system for the Computer and we can’t have access to that.

They looked at Sirus. I looked at him too, I need answers. He’s the one that was with Xalton for some time. He should know the most about Xalton being a filthy traitor and causing us problems. Sirus wasn’t too happy that we were all just looking at him.

“He wasn’t trying to kill us all then, he just wanted to find a way to outshine Aurora or whatever. After a while though he just stopped, so I didn’t think he was doing anything.” he shrugged, blowing everything off and he looked away somewhere else.

“You didn’t think to report him?” Taurus asked quickly, bringing his attention back to us.

“He’s taken care of now so what’s the big deal?” he asked.

Sirus isn't telling us everything, and he doesn't have to. I could tell by how defensive he got that there was more that he was holding on to. I would advise everyone not to pry further because that upsets him.

He won’t even tell me everything.

There’s more about the situation I’m not even telling.

Sirus and I both know there’s a woman around here that helped Xalton, but we don’t know who it is. We weren’t going to say anything about it, well I hope that’s what Sirus is planning because I don’t intend to say anything about that. I know that woman will remain hidden for now since Xalton got taken in. I would be able to recognize her voice if I heard her talk, but it will take a while to figure out who she is. That’s not my job, its the Commander’s job.

Then again...

“I have to go.” I got up quickly. I’ve been thinking too much in the last three seconds, so I need to cool off. Its just that I had the greatest idea, and I’ll cool off when I’m done.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Aurora. You always over think everything.” Alara said to me as I began to walk away. I turned back when I heard what she said, but she smiled and waved at me.

Sirus was coming, too.

He wanted to know what I was doing.

“What are you going to do?” he asked me. He already knew I had a plan.

“I want to find someone.” I said as I headed for a computer room.

“Don’t you want to-”

“No.” I said before he could finish. I can’t get caught in the main computer room or in the Captain’s room.

That will get me in much more trouble. I don’t need that much access right now.

We walked in silence and slipped inside one of the rooms with multiple computer systems. This one is just for everyone to have access to.

The amount of access we have depends on our ranking.

The room was empty. I didn't have to snoop around or be quiet. I didn’t turn on the lights just in case someone comes in though. We can find things out about other Coordinators and Flyers if we ask the right questions. The computers hold that information, and more of it is unlocked based on our rankings.

I turned on one of the computers and it flashed a blue screen. “Computer, access cadet files.” I said.

“Ranking?” it waited for a password input.. I put in my own password but it wouldn’t accept that. “Must be ranked Lieutenant or higher to access cadet files.” it said.

“Computer, access cadet files.” Sirus repeated behind me.

“Ranking?” it waited again. He put in a password and I knew that it wasn't his.

“What are you doing, Aurora?” Sirus asked me, almost wanting to warn me not to do something I'm not supposed to.

“Something dangerous.” I answered.

“Cadet files accessed.” the computer said.

“Narrow down to Flyers.” I said. The numbers went down about half of what it was before. “Narrow down to females.” I added. The numbers went down even lower than before but its still a large number.

“You won’t be able to find her.” Sirus said.

“Computer, load history for yesterday.” I said.

Nothing showed. “No history for yesterday.” it said. I don’t believe that one bit. I stared at it with confusion as I was about to try again.

“Query.”

“Question?”

“Why is there no history for yesterday’s date?” I asked.

“Data has not been entered for twenty four hours.” it said.

There's no way a full day goes by and people don’t come in here. I was expecting maybe just one input.

“Someone cleared it.” Sirus said beside me.

“Has anyone accessed the computer before?” I asked the computer.

“No.” it said. I don’t believe that either. Computers don’t lie, but I don’t trust it. It can only show what it has stored, and there's nothing there because someone deleted it.

“There has to be a problem.” I said.

“Question form.” The computer said, taking my input as if I was talking to it. I had a hard time believing there was no data for yesterday.

“Where is Cadet Xalton’s files?” I asked. Another screen showed up, giving me a number of people named Xalton. But the one I wanted wasn’t there.

“That girl cleared everything." Sirus said.

“She knows someone’s looking.”

“She might know we’re looking.” he said.

Fear struck me. She thought ahead, very far ahead. The computer has no data for yesterday because its been erased. I can’t go into the main computer now because it will link what I'm looking for with my questions here

This girl already knows someone is tagging behind her, and she’s taking precautions already.

But there’s a chance that its not her who erased the files.

It could have been the Commander. He probably deleted it because Xalton has no title anymore. But he wouldn’t have deleted all the history.

I took Sirus’ hand and walked out quickly; I was slowly suffocating in that room. I kept thinking and thinking of anything but I had no clue what to say about this.

“There has to be a way to find out who she is.” I said quickly.

Sirus doesn't like getting in other people's business. “Maybe we should just leave that to-”

“What if she does something? Who’s going to stop her? No one will find her, Sirus. She knows what she’s doing.”

“You’re over reacting.” he said.

“You just want to be killed, don’t you?” I asked. He didn’t like that I said that, but I don’t care. He will never understand how serious this actually is. We will be killed for something like this. “She's with Russia too, and they are serious about destroying us to get to that new planet first. Don’t you understand?” I asked.

“You’re still over reacting." He didn't care. As far as he's concerned, the situation is out of our hands. "Someone will handle it.” he said as he looked somewhere else.

Someone was coming this way and we had to make it look like we weren’t being suspicious about what we’re talking about. There were two Flyers that passed by.

One was a woman. She was tall, with dark long hair, and she was wearing a black suit. There was a bright blue streak in her hair, and she had a bright blue tattoo on her neck that I could see.

When she talked, my eyes widened. Its her! I recognized her voice.

She’s the one with Xalton.

I would have said something if Sirus didn’t cover my mouth and pull me back; he made me shut up, his hand tightly covering over my mouth as they passed. She wasn’t discussing her plan to kill us all, its was just her talking to another Flyer. The second they had passed, and the doors had closed to the training facility, Sirus let go of my mouth.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked me, and he wasn't nice about it. “You weren’t thinking of talking to her, were you? Because that would have been the dumbest thing you’ve ever done in your life.” he said.

“I-”

“Do not confront her, Aurora, or she will throttle you.” he said seriously.

He even had that dangerous look in his eyes as if he would kill me first. I wanted to say something but I closed my mouth and looked away.

Sirus left me without another word. What else am I supposed to do, I can’t sit here and let anything happen.

I don’t know her name or number so what’s the use? I can't look her up.

I sulked a bit, upset that I can’t do anything. Sirus always warns me about who to talk to and who to leave alone. When I don't listen, I learn why he wanted me to avoid speaking to certain people.

What's wrong with that woman? What did she do? Well besides the whole helping Xalton be a traitor

While I walked, I saw Donri coming towards me.

“Aurora-" it looked like he was going to ask me something, but he stopped abruptly when he saw my face. "Why do you look upset?” he asked instead.

“I’m not. I’m just a little tired,” I lied.

“You and your partner are different from those I’ve talked to.” he said to me, and I knew where he was headed with that. I told him that he has to find the right people. “Yet you seem to hate each other.” he added.

I don’t think its hate anymore. Well, I know I don’t hate Sirus. It's just...he makes me tired.

“Its just difficult to get along,” I said, edging around the obvious truth. We can’t agree on some things, we don't see everything the same, it's easier to not be around each other sometimes.

“Do you trust each other?" He asked.

I don't know if I would trust Sirus with my life, but he definitely has to trust me with his.

Sirus honestly has no choice but to trust me, I hold his life in my hands. It's my job. And I would hope that he does trust me to do my job right. I haven't killed him yet.

I didn't know how to answer Donri's question but he had something else on his mind.

“I know what will cheer you up.” he said and pulled me on with him.

Nothing could distract me. I know someone who sides with Russia, but I don't know who she is. And with how quickly Sirus stopped me from calling her out, I take it he knows of her. Maybe he knows her name or her number. That would make things easier, but he won't tell me.

I almost didn't believe that she might throttle me. Sometimes I want to believe that Sirus is over reacting.

I was only distracted for an hour. After that, I decided to take things into my own hands.

I know Sirus told me not to go near her but I had to do something, I was compelled to do anything. After I put my suit on, I decided to do a little snooping. There are areas of the ship that I can’t access because its made for Flyers only, but I know Sirus and that means I know codes that’s been assigned to him.

I was definitely out of place here. It was darker and colder. The areas were much bigger though.

It was quiet, too. I expected to see Flyers around, but there wasn't anyone nearby.

Now where do I go from here?

There was only one other door. I won't be able to go in. If I really wanted to, I could try to manually over ride the code, but I don't think it was that serious...was it?

I looked around.

There was no one else here.

I looked over the railing. It was a long drop from here. There were other doors down there but I would have to find my way around to get there. I never went on expedition when I came to the Flyers areas. I never had to come here. I should've been more prepared.

I got close to the door but it opened without me trying to do anything. I was quick to find somewhere to hide. There was a cramped spot to the side where the platform was, and I had to crouch down to get in it.

I had to peek around to see who was coming.

Sirus was walking with that other woman!

He has to be kidding me.

He yelled at me to not go near her but he can talk to her all he wants. Sirus had his tracker in his hand, and when he looked at it, I knew he would be able to tell my location.

I forgot to turn mine off. I didn’t move to turn it off now, it was too late. His expression changed when he found out, but he kept talking to her and didn't address the issue.

They walked through the door I just came from.

I have no idea where they're going, but I wanted to follow.

I got out of the cramped space and looked around for a second. Sirus must know what he's doing. Well, I’m going to hope that he does. I was about to leave when the doors opened again, and this time, I had no time to hide from whoever it was.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” One of them asked me quickly when he saw me.

Oops.

“He was probably looking for someone, go easy on him.” Serberous said.

Thank God he was here because if it had been someone else, I might've been roughed up a bit.

Serberous was my partner before Sirus. In fact, he's the reason I got partnered with Sirus, but right now isn't the time for that conversation.

He got his friend to go easy on me for now, but Serberous can't always be around to help me all the time. So I better leave.

“You shouldn’t be here.” the other one said as he came up to me. It doesn’t seem like he might leave me alone but Serberous pushed him along.

“You really shouldn’t be here Aurora, you’re lucky that it wasn’t a group of Flyers here.” Serberous said quietly as he walked by me.

Right, they might do anything. I didn’t turn back to see them leave. I just heard them talking as they went the other way.

I shouldn’t be here.

I got out before anyone else could find me. I decided to calm down, and go to my room to make sure the modifications on my suit are functional for long term use. I know Sirus will be busy for a while so I might as well entertain myself for a bit.

He’s going to be furious when he finds me. He told me to not go snooping around but I did anyway. Yelling at me won’t be the only way he’ll get through to me. He's yelled at me before for doing something I shouldn't, so I know how to handle it. This time I'm expecting it.

But I remembered the look in his eyes when he told me not to go near her.

He knows her.