Chapter 14: The Team
"That's as far as I go, dear Yome. I really hope we get to see you again at some point," Ophilia said with an earnest smile as she stood just beyond the doors of the Hold. Behind her were the two blue Mornan guards on duty, Urn and Ace. Their heads were lowered deeply in respect to Ophilia.
When they had tried to straighten earlier, she had placed her hands against their necks and pressed them back down. She then told them to remain that way for the next ten hours. That was nothing to the stamina of a commander, but it was obvious they were being punished. Yome could only guess that Ophilia was doing this because she had somehow found out what the two commanders did to her when she arrived.
She couldn't help but feel a bit of gratitude when she realized that.
She finally stopped sneaking glances at the two of them as her eyes shifted to the smiling Ophilia. "Yes, I really hope so too, Commander Ophilia. It was truly an honor to meet you and the Sentinel."
Ophilia waved dismissively. "Think nothing of it. Just like Bastian, I believe you have the talent to come back to the Hold without even a summon very soon," she said as she strode towards the Hold's doors—casually pushing them apart like they weighed as much as air. "I look forward to that day," she mused over her shoulder as she headed inside.
Bridge shouted words of gratitude to Ophilia's retreating form after pulling his attention away from the bowing guards.
Yome didn't dawdle to enjoy the two commanders' humiliation as she quickly headed towards her ship, Bridge following closely behind her. She knew it wasn't a bright idea to make an enemy of the strong, no matter the situation. In a universe like this, it would only come back to haunt them.
She spared a glance at Hold City as they walked back, unable to stop herself from wondering how her life would have turned out if she had been born somewhere as secure as this. Where death wouldn't be seen as just another casualty of war, instead of something major.
Yome glanced back, noticing Bridge was doing the same, but with less bewilderment than he had before. There was a melancholic emotion in his eyes that she couldn't quite understand. 'Well, he's always like that, I suppose,' she thought, remembering how quiet her second-newest member of the team always got at the most random times.
Her mind flashed back to when she'd been hesitant to pick him for her team after finding out about his royal Mornan lineage. She was happy she reconsidered now. Despite his annoyingly upbeat attitude, she often thought of him as the heart of her team that kept them from being overwhelmed by the things they had to do and witness. It was the same reason she brought him along, since he seemed to have a similar effect on Arbus.
They finally reached the ship as the large door descended on Yome's command, allowing them to climb up.
"How did it go?" Caster asked the second Yome and Bridge reached the airlock lounge.
"It was fine. We dropped off the half-human and had a meeting with the Sentinel," Yome replied curtly, her eyes scanning the rest of her team that had patiently waited for their return. "How were things here?"
"Boring! Obviously!" Arya scoffed through a scowl. "We missed out on everything we could have seen while we were here because of you!"
She ignored Yome's annoyed look as she turned to Bridge excitedly. "So! How was it inside? Was it like the rumors? Dark walls? Red lights? Sketchy secret experiments and all that? C'mon, spill!" she said, running over to him.
Yome let out a breath as she left her be, striding out of the room and heading towards the girls' dorm. "Caster, get us out of here," she ordered over her shoulder.
Caster nodded before moving towards the cockpit of the ship. Slight winces escaped his lips as he held on to his bandages.
Bridge scratched his chin nervously. "Well, uh, not exactly. It did have dark walls, but that's not surprising considering the exterior. Everything else seemed pretty normal. There was even a diner serving all kinds of foods inside. Unfortunately, we didn't really get to eat anything," he said, resisting the urge to glance toward their Vanguard's retreating form. "Oh, but there were secret floors. Although I doubt they're doing anything sketchy."
"They definitely are!" Arya argued. "Who knows, it could have to do with the prisoners being held there. Anything else?"
Bridge thought for a moment, remembering the contents of the meeting itself. "Well, the Sentinel praised Yome a lot, even going as far as to say she reminded him of himself."
"Oh! That's amazing! Even the Sentinel thinks our captain is awesome. Although, her grumpy attitude could use some work," Arya sighed.
"Actually, that's another thing. After he praised all her effort so far, she actually... smiled," Bridge added excitedly.
Arya gasped in shock as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "She did! No way! And I missed tha—"
"Don't you two think that's enough playing around!"
The room went quiet as everyone present turned to the source of the sudden interruption. The dark-blue haired Mornan, Kai. The anger in his breathing was palpable as he rose to his feet. His eyes narrowed as they landed on Bridge and Arya. "We just came from seeing a planet-wide genocide. Do you think you can act a bit more like it? Or do you insist on acting like clueless children?"
Arya's scowl returned as she glared at her ever-gloomy teammate. "Listen here, you—"
"That's enough, you two," grunted the large Mornan, Damian, with a loud sigh. "Butting heads won't help solve anything."
Arya scoffed as she decided to ignore Kai, not wanting to upset Damian. She stomped out of the room, heading to the girls dorm to disturb Yome some more.
Kai did the same as he turned his attention back to Bridge. "So, what happened with the half-human? Was he arrested?"
Bridge's brow raised in confusion. "Arrested? What would he be arrested for?"
"For what happened, obviously," Kai answered matter-of-factly. "That's definitely the reason the council asked for him to be brought here. They probably know something we don't. I guess we'll have to wait and see what that is when they announce the news to the star system."
Bridge's brows creased together in a frown. "Stop that, Kai. Arbus had nothing to do with what happened. He's a hero that managed to stop Ronin, the actual monster behind this tragedy."
Kai's gaze darkened as he walked up to Bridge and grabbed him by the collar. "Don't play dumb. I know all of you are smart enough to realize how strange the situation is. Don't let petty emotions like sympathy and guilt stop you from seeing the truth."
Damian sighed again before getting up to separate the two of them.
Something flashed in Kai's gaze as he stared at Bridge. "Humans don't deserve our sympathy. Half-human or otherwise," he snickered, letting go of Bridge before Damian could break them up himself. "So don't go buddying around with them again, 'Mr. Prince'."
Kai turned away and walked toward the door leading to the rooms.
"Would you cut it out already, Kai?"
He stopped, shooting a glance at Trix, the youngest member of their team. Trix's eyes met his from beneath his long dark hair cascading over his face. "Whether the half-human is guilty or not is for the council and the Sentinel to decide. Not you. So can you spare us your standoffish attitude for one day? Like you said, a genocide just happened."
Kai glared at him for several moments before scowling and walking off.
***
Yome grumbled as she changed into her casual wear for what she considered the evening, the mental fatigue from the day catching up to her. She could sense her team bickering among themselves through her essence spread across the ship. She could even sense Arya on her way to disturb her peace in a minute.
Yome decided to ignore all that for now and head to bed. Her head rested against her pillow as she stared up at the ceiling, contemplating everything that had occurred recently. She couldn't help but wonder how the star system would change as a result of the massacre. How different will things become to make sure it never happens again? And what role would the half-human have to play in that change. After all, there had to be a reason for the Sentinel's interest in him.
For now, though, she had no clue.