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CHAPTER 4

By her side

Leaning against the countertop in the small, white bedroom, a large cup of herbal infusion in hand, Oma replayed the last few hours in her mind over and over again, occasionally glancing at Aidan, who lay asleep in the nearby bed.

The human was the reason she was still alive. While her friends at the estate might have tried their best to save her, it was Aidan's determination and quick action, from extracting the bullet to giving a dangerously large amount of her own blood, that kept her alive.

The thought of it all made her chest tighten. She and her squad had nearly killed Aidan after slaughtering the people she hunted with a little more than a month ago, yet here she was, recovering from the very act of saving Oma's life, almost losing her own in the process.

The sliding door to the bedroom opened, revealing Albus standing in the corridor.

"May I?" he asked.

"Of course."

The tall Hargen stepped inside.

"How is she?" he asked calmly.

"Good, I hope. Her breathing and pulse seem normal."

Albus remained silent, his arms folded behind his back as he gazed at Aidan.

"Did Ayra say when we'd arrive?" the younger Hargen asked.

"Yes. She said we should be landing in about two hours if everything goes smoothly. The Alliance is registered as a personal vessel under Madam's name and is well-known to the Imperial forces, nothing suspicious here. We're monitoring their comms, and every checkpoint we've passed has cleared us without issue. Hopefully, the border will be just as easy."

“I hope so."

“Again, nothing suspicious, nothing to worry about."

Oma shifted in place a little, taking a big sip of her beverage.

“I would hate to be executed alongside you guys for helping a wanted fugitive. I caused enough harm for a lifetime."

“There are things in life we do because we believe they are the right thing to do. Turning our backs on you when you need us the most after all that you've done for me and lady Ayra falls squarely into that category."

Oma rested her cup on the counter she was leaning against before slowly walking towards Aidan, grabbing one of the small stools from under the central table before sitting on it right by the bed.

“I'll stay with her until we're there. Come get me when we start the descent."

Albus acquiesced before silently leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

“Why?" mouthed Oma, looking at Aidan. “Why are you still here? You could have left, you should have…"

She gently placed a head on Aidan's head.

“But you didn't."

She remained lost in thought for a while before getting up and rummaging through the room's cupboards, searching for something more fitting for the situation than an herbal infusion. After a quick search, she pulled out a heavily decorated glass bottle filled with golden liquor from above the sink, along with another cup. She poured herself a generous amount and, in one swift motion, downed it without so much as a grimace before pouring another and making that disappear just as fast.

“What the fuck am I gonna do now?" she muttered to herself.

"Don't get too drunk. Too much alcohol thins your blood, and you don't need that right now."

Oma's head snapped toward the bed.

"Aidan!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. Just a minute ago, the human had been sound asleep. "Thank God you're awake!" She hastily set the cup down and rushed to Aidan's side. "How do you feel? You drew so much blood you fainted before we could even get onboard. You pulse was so low we all thought you were dead."

“Not dying so easily. Not after all this bullshit." She answered, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“I say this with the utmost gratitude for what you did, but I'm never letting you put yourself in that kind of danger for me again."

“Well, we're square now." Aidan chuckled.

“Square? Not even close. You survived falling in the deepest ravine on the continent, the shouting at the hospital and now, giving me so much blood your body almost shut down."

“You saved me, I saved you. Sounds about equal to me."

The wolf started shaking her head gently.

“So… Where are we going?"

“Zero Point, an exchange station outside of Imperial territory. Ayra needed to pick up a shipment. We decided that would be a good excuse for the trip and get me…" She paused. “Us… far enough so that the Empire wouldn't find us right away and we'd have a chance to disappear aboard a transit ship before they realized we left the city."

Aidan stared into Oma's blue eyes.

“Us, huh? So you agree? We're in this together?"

Oma let out a short sigh before answering, “I'm gonna need you. If you change your mind before we find a ride, I wouldn't blame you. But I do need you. And to be completely honest… I like having you around."

Aidan's eyes widened slightly, a faint blush creeping onto her face.

“Oh."

“Well, yeah. You're a good person, Aidan. I don't know what you see in me, but I sure as hell know what I see in you. And I'd be lying if I said I'd rather leave you behind, especially with the Empire hunting you across the entire planet. I wouldn't sleep another night for the rest of my life."

“Well then." Aidan blinked a couple of times, the initial surprise on her face shifting into something softer. Relief, satisfaction. “I don't even know what to say. I don't know if I'm a good person, but I'm glad you think so. And I'm glad you'd let me come with you."

“Of course. I think it would be a shame to…"

Oma's words trailed off the moment Aidan moved her hand, placing it gently atop hers where it lay on her knee. The Hargen fell silent instantly. Her blue eyes flicked down to their hands, then back up to Aidan's face. Then down again. Then back up.

“Aidan?"

“Shit. I'm sorry." Aidan's voice was tight with panic as she pulled her hand back, pressing it against her chest. She shut her eyes. “I'm an idiot."

Oma hesitated for only a moment.

“No, wait. That's not what I meant. I just… Aidan?"

The human sighed. “It's fine. Forget about it."

“Aidan, no. Listen to me. It's not what you think. I didn't know you…"

“Don't, please. I should have known better. I'm human, you're Hargen, I…"

“I didn't know you liked women." Oma blurted out.

Aidan fell silent, instantly.

“I do." Oma continued, her voice steady. “I've known for as long as I can remember."

Aidan remained still, listening intently.

“The Empire is very clear about this," Oma went on. “love that doesn't lead to procreation is punishable by death. That includes people like me, those who stay celibate past a century and any woman who bears a child before marriage among other things. Anything that defies the God Emperor's word and vision for what relationships should be like is a defect, an abomination. And that means death." She swallowed hard. “It terrified me my whole life."

“I don't care, Oma. The God Emperor can go fuck himself. I don't let something as trivial as gender stop me from loving who I want to."

Oma shook her head. “No, you don't get it. The day I realized I looked at women the way my friends looked at men, that all their promises and warnings about finding a husband before I reached a hundred made me sick instead of scared, I knew I had to hide it. I knew I had to relent. Find a man. Bear children. Or die." She exhaled, her voice now wavering. “It traumatized me for so many years…"

Aidan said nothing, her chest aching at the raw pain in Oma's voice. All she wanted was to reach out, to hold her, but she stayed still, letting the Hargen speak.

“It was always there." Oma continued. “One of the many things that made me hate them. Hate the hold they had on me. Not only did I become a mass murderer for the Empire, not only did I sacrifice most of my life for them, they took love from me before I ever had the chance to experience it."

Her voice cracked.

“All the awful things I've done… Someone like that doesn't deserve to be loved anyway."

“Don't you dare." Aidan's voice was sharp. Almost angry.

“The Empire broke you. Just like they've broken so many others. Everything you did in their name, everything, they forced you into it. I've seen the real you. The one who saved my life, twice." Her hands clenched. “The one who just threw her entire life away because she couldn't take another day of being their pawn. Of being manipulated into committing atrocities for a cause she never chose."

Oma stared at her, stunned, tears running freely down her face now.

“And now here you are. Here we are. About to leave Earth behind because you finally decided to listen to yourself. And yeah, I realized a while ago that you don't leave me indifferent, and I'm sorry if I startled you, but I won't let you say these things about yourself." Her breath hitched. “Don't tell me no one should care about you, because that's a lie. That's the Empire still poisoning your mind." She swallowed. “Because you deserve so much better than all of this."

“No, Aidan." Oma's voice was firm, but there was something brittle underneath. “I was raised as an Imperial. I was raised as a soldier, as the daughter of a soldier. But they didn't force anything onto me. I made my choices. I'm responsible for every single life I've taken. Every single one. I can't just make the guilt go away. I can't escape the blame."

“Yes, that's true, I'm not denying that." Aidan said, her voice steady. “You are to blame as well. Your actions are what they are. There's no escaping that." She took a breath. “But refusing to see the root of the problem won't change anything. It won't put you on the path to redemption."

Oma's ears twitched.

“You have to understand this, Oma. You can't carry the entire burden alone. People are shaped by their environment, their upbringing, what's forced onto them." Aidan held her gaze. “And that's true for you, too."

Oma sat up abruptly, turning her back to Aidan. She grabbed her head with both hands, as if trying to hold back the thoughts threatening to overwhelm her, as if those thoughts were physically painful.

“I know you're right," she said, her voice strained. “But I'll never be able to come to terms with it. I don't think anyone should ever feel that way about someone like me. I can't, Aidan. It's… it's more than I can handle."

Aidan closed her eyes, searching for a response but finding none. In the end, she simply let it go.

Before Oma could say anything else, the door slid open again, Albus entering the room without asking this time.

“Oma, lady Ayra needs you on deck immediately. We have a problem."

They both rushed out of the room toward the ship's cockpit, Aidan throwing off the covers and hurriedly slipping her shoes on before following, trying to keep up.

Inside the Alliance's spacious cockpit, Ayra sat at the captain's command post, eyes locked on a large holographic display filled with flight paths, comms traffic, and various other critical data.

“Oma. Sorry to bother you, but we have a problem and not a small one." Ayra said, her focus never leaving the display. “We just crossed the border, no issues so far, but that might not last."

Albus picked up where she left off, his usually steady, low voice carrying an unmistakable edge of tension.

“Zero Point Station is swarming with Imperials. We've never seen anything like this before. They normally stay away from civilian orbital transit hubs, but whatever you did, it was like kicking a hornet's nest. And it's not just Zero Point, they're all over every station on the continent. Comms are lighting up like wildfire. This is bad."

“Land as soon as possible," Oma ordered, her gaze fixed on the central display. “I can't afford to put you in any more danger. I'll find a way, but I won't let anyone pay for my actions."

“O-Oma, no." the Karys stammered.

“Do it, Ayra." Oma's voice was sharp, unyielding. “This isn't a game. We're all in danger. If they find us on this ship, you and Albus will pay with your lives. They won't even drag you out of the Alliance before they behead you. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Now do what I say. Now."

“Oma." The deep, steady voice of the tall, muscular Hargen beside her broke through her resolve. Albus met her gaze with calm certainty. “Why do you think we agreed to take you to Zero Point? Why do you think we left your hovercraft behind in the mansion's garage when thousands of Imperials are searching for it?"

“We're not going back." Ayra added, her voice firmer now that she had collected herself. “I activated the estate's self-destruct protocol. By now, it's nothing but rubble. We told you we needed to pick up a shipment because we're going to space."

“What?!" Oma's ears flicked back in disbelief. “Why on Earth would you do that?"

“They knew, Oma." Ayra's expression was grim. “Your hovercraft had a tracking chip, but it must have been damaged by a bullet back at the hospital. From what we can tell, it stopped transmitting sometime during your flight to the mansion. They haven't figured out exactly where you were headed, but the moment Ondo gets wind of it, they will. We were already doomed before you even arrived. It's a miracle we're still in the clear. We have to go. We're all compromised."

“There's no way…" Oma muttered, shaken.

Ayra took a slow breath, then spoke again. “Oma. The day your father died, I was the first to arrive at his bedside. I swore to him that if he left you in my care, I'd raise you like my own. I owed him a debt, one I could never fully repay. He refused, and your uncle ended up adopting you instead…"

Oma's eyes widened, her entire body tensing. Ayra continued.

“I accepted it. But the night Olus left us, I swore to myself that if your uncle ever failed you, I would be there."

Albus shifted uncomfortably, lost in thought. Aidan stepped closer, gently resting a hand on Oma's arm in quiet support.

Ayra pressed on. “As you grew older, it became clear you wouldn't follow in your father's footsteps for long. I started to prepare. I knew something would happen, something that would change your life. Call it a premonition. I never imagined it would be this, but I started making sure we'd be ready for any eventuality. I saw how the Empire was suffocating you. I knew, sooner or later, I'd need to help you break free. So I made sure everything was in place… for today."

“We built self-destruct systems into lady Ayra's properties across the continent. We secured ways to transfer all our Earth-bound funds off-world to a DSSS on Venus. We invested in a ship like the Alliance, built for long-term space travel. And we did it all in secret." Albus' voice was low, steady. “The Empire, for all its power and reach, never saw it coming."

Ayra turned back to Oma, her eyes resolute. “This is it. This is everything we prepared for. And you need to accept it."

Oma let out a sharp breath, her hands clenching at her sides. Her vision blurred for a moment as her eyes watered.

“This is insane." Her voice trembled. “For a second, I thought I'd ruined your lives. But it's even worse, you were always prepared for me to ruin everything. I can't believe this…"

“Stop!" Ayra's voice cut through the air like a knife. “You're a soldier, Oma. One of the toughest people I know. Get your shit together, we don't have time for this. I get that this is a lot to take in, but we need a plan, and we need it now."

Albus stepped forward, resting a firm hand on Oma's shoulder. “Lady Ayra's right. You need to calm down and focus. If the thought of us all dying at the Empire's hands upsets you this much, then we need you to be clear-headed and ready to make sure it doesn't happen."

Oma groaned.

“Right. If we're headed for space then we need the shipment waiting for us at the station. We have no choice. There must be a way to pull this off right under the Imperials' noses. We also can't embark on such a journey with only the four of us onboard. We need a crew with a precise set of skills and I have no idea where to find that kind of person."

Aidan, who remained completely silent up to this point, took a few steps forward before speaking up.

"I know people who could help. Two of them are on Aeiros Station, orbiting Earth. Jok, the best mechanic I've ever met, and Joyneen, an exceptional engineer who worked on some of the largest ships and stations built on Earth. The third, Tymi, is at Zero Point. He used to be a space navigator but now works as a docker. Still, if there's anyone who can get us anywhere in the galaxy, it's him. I was planning to contact him to figure out which transit ship to board before I decided against leaving alone." she said, casting a glance at Oma.

“Look at the human having the answer to part of the problem before any of us." Said Ayra, jokingly. “If you think these people would be down to travel with us, then it's worth a try. You can tell them I'll pay any salary if that can help convince any of them."

“We still have to figure out how to go through Zero Point without getting discovered."

"I also have a plan for this," the young woman clarified. "You said the Empire still hasn't figured out the whole situation yet, which means the Alliance isn't under suspicion. We get to Zero Point, and you two make sure we retrieve that shipment. I'll find Tymi and convince him to join us… or at least I'll try. Oma, you stay hidden onboard and don't move a muscle until we're set for orbit."

"No way. I won't sit back while everyone risks their lives for me."

"Please. Ayra and Albus aren't wanted, yet, and I was a secret. At best, they have a vague description of me, if they even know who to look for. But the wanted order is in your name. There are probably pictures of you, maybe even a genetic profile. We can't risk it. I trusted you every step of the way, Oma. Now it's time for you to do the same."

The group of four fell into silence for a moment before Oma sighed, reluctantly realizing Aidan was right about everything.

"Fine. It's a solid plan. I'll stay hidden and make sure no one sees me. Just don't go getting yourself cut off from us while looking for that navigator. If anything goes even slightly off the rails, you come back immediately."

“Promised. We do this as fast and as smoothly as possible." answered Aidan.

“Alright, so we've all on board. Me and Albus will take care of the shipment as slowly as possible to leave as much time as possible for Aidan to find her guy. If we stay too long after everything's loaded it might raise suspicions. If everything goes well, we'll be gone and they'll never even realize we were there."

The other three acquiesced.