It's a month before Hestia wakes up. I've barely left her side in that time, only leaving when Lena forces me to rest, to eat. I've become a fixture in the infirmary, a constant presence next to her cot. The others have come and gone, checking on her, on me. But it's been mostly just me and her, the two of us in the quiet, dimly lit room.
She wakes up slowly, her eyes fluttering open, her brow furrowing in confusion. I'm there, my hand in hers, my eyes fixed on her face. I can't help but lean in close, my heart pounding, my breath catching.
"Hey." I whisper, my voice trembling.
She looks at me, her eyes unfocused, dazed. She tries to speak, but the only sound that comes out is a hoarse croak. I quickly grab the glass of water from the table, holding it to her lips. She drinks greedily, her throat working, her eyes never leaving mine. She's still weak, still fragile, but she's alive. She's awake.
I set the glass aside, my hand finding hers again. "Welcome back." I say, my voice thick with emotion. I don't know if she can understand me, if she can even process what's happening. But I have to say it, have to let her know how relieved I am, how grateful.
Her lips move, forming a single, silent word. Sarah. I can see it in the shape of her mouth, in the way her eyes soften. She remembers me. She knows me. That's all that matters.
I let out a rush of air, the tears finally spilling over, running down my cheeks. "You gave us all a real scare, you know." I whisper, trying to laugh, trying to smile. "I was worried you were trying to get out of doing chores."
Her eyes narrow slightly, her lips twitching in what might be a smile. She squeezes my hand, her grip weak but determined. She's trying to tell me something, trying to communicate. But she can't, not yet. She's just too weak to gesture properly.
"Hey, take it easy." I huff, trying my best to seem authoritative. "That's an order."
It's a joke that hurts me, more than anything. But Hestia smiles a little and closes her eyes.
And so, we wait. And I don't let go of her hand.
***
I've been counting down the days, in a way. Keeping track of the time that's passed since we raided the supply depot, since Hestia woke up. She's not ready to get up for another two weeks, but Lena's word holds true. That alien medicine is more than our Earth stuff - she is healing faster than any of us would have. In two weeks she's at least able to move about the base. Slowly, with help. But she's up and walking.
It's a miracle, a blessing. I thank the stars, thank whoever or whatever might be listening. I don't take it for granted, not for a second.
But with Hestia on the mend, my focus shifts. There are other things to worry about, other things to plan for. We have supplies, thanks to the raid. We have weapons, thanks to the factory. But that's not all.
Maren smiles at me when I shuffle into the meeting room. "Hestia's looking good. I think she's going to be fine." She tells me, as she leans on the table covered with parts. The older woman has been working non-stop since we got back, trying to get the machinery up and running, as well as breaking the encryption on the tablets she wanted.
"How's Ben?" I know that he woke up after only a few days, but had a pretty nasty limp. I've... been bad about keeping up on him. I should make a point to see how he's doing.
She grimaces. "Unfortunately he's fully recovered."
"Unfortunately...?"
Her lips twist into a crooked grin. "That means I can't get any peace and quiet. The man has decided he also would like to 'be a mechanic' and will not give me a moment's peace. When he was limping I could outrun him." She rolls her eyes. "Lena says he'll make a full recovery, but there was significant damage to his knee. He'll never run a marathon, if that was ever his dream. But he can get back to fighting if he wants to."
I guess that's... good. I'm glad he's okay, even if he's apparently harassing her. "And the vehicles?" I ask, my gaze drifting to the door. I can see one of the cycles parked out there, gleaming in the violet sunlight.
Maren shrugs. "Functional. Nothing incredible. Great for scouting, much better for long distance than that cursed floating carpet. Especially the truck. Nothing military grade." She sighs. "But it's a start."
I nod. It is a start. A good one, at that. We have more options now, more resources. We can do more, be more. We just need to figure out what.
"I was going to ask..." I start, my eyes flicking to the tablet on the table. It's the one we found in the factory main floor, it's been locked this whole time, like the others, but it's the one she's seemed most interested in. And given it's on the table, I can't help but wonder if she's made some kind of progress. "Is there... anything you've been able to find out?" I ask, my voice hesitant.
She looks at me, her expression serious. "I think... it's time for a meeting. I've broken into the first layers of the security, but I'm still not sure what all I can access." She rubs her chin. "But I think you're going to want to see this. Gather everyone. Tell them to meet here in an hour."
I blink, taken aback by the sudden change in tone. But I nod, my curiosity piqued. "Alright. I'll let them know." I pause, then add, "Even Ben?" Even though he's been pestering her?
Her lips quirk into a small smile. "Even Ben."
I leave the room, my mind racing. What could she have found? What could be so important that she wants to call a meeting? I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. I make my way through the base, tracking down the others, letting them know about the meeting. They all seem as curious as I am, their expressions ranging from confused to intrigued.
I find Alistair outside, sitting on the edge of the cliffs, his legs dangling over the side. The wind ruffles his hair, the sun casting shadows across his face. He looks... thoughtful, contemplative. It's a rare sight, one I'm not used to seeing.
"Hey." I say, sitting down next to him, my shoulder brushing against his. "Maren called a meeting. Wants us all there in an hour."
He nods, but doesn't say anything, his gaze fixed on the horizon. I follow his line of sight, but I don't see anything remarkable, just the endless expanse of the desert, the distant mountains. I wonder what he's looking at, what he's thinking about.
"What's on your mind?" I ask, after a moment of silence.
He glances over at me, then back to the horizon. "Hestia's... she's doing better lately." He says, his voice quiet.
"Yeah." I agree, smiling a little. "She's getting stronger every day."
He nods, his expression unreadable. "That's good." He pauses, then adds, "You've been with her a lot, haven't you? Barely left her side."
I look down at my hands, my fingers twisting in my lap. "Yeah. I just... I wanted to be there for her. You know?"
"Yeah." He says, his voice soft. "I get it."
We sit in silence for a while, the wind whipping around us, the sun sinking lower in the sky. I can feel the tension between us, the unspoken words hanging in the air. But I don't know what to say, how to break the silence. I don't even know what's wrong, exactly. Just that something feels... off.
Finally, he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I keep thinking about it. About what happened. The moment when that... thing was holding her."
I stiffen, my breath catching in my throat. I've tried not to think about it, tried to push it to the back of my mind. But it's always there, lurking, haunting me. "I know." I whisper.
He turns to look at me, his eyes intense, searching. Then he shakes his head. I don't know what he expects to see. I don't know if he finds it. But his gaze turns back to the horizon in silence anyway.
"You're going to say that I should have let you take the shot." I say, and my voice is softer than I intend.
He doesn't respond.
"You're... right." I admit. "I should have. I... I just..."
"I know, Sarah." He says, his voice gentle. "I know. When... when it's someone that you love, someone personal and they've got their hands on them? It's hard. You don't want to risk it. I get it." He sighs.
"You were able to do it..."
"That's because." His expression darkens, as he stares out at something I can't see. "It's not. My first time." He says, his voice low, rough.
I turn to look at him, my brow furrowing. "What... what do you mean?"
He shakes his head, his jaw tightening. "Nothing." He stands up, brushing the dust from his pants. "We should get to the meeting."
I want to press, to ask him what he meant, but I can see the way his shoulders are tensed, the way his hands are clenched into fists.
If I push him, I already know it won't work. So instead, I just nod and stand up, following him back to the base. We walk in silence, the weight of his words hanging between us. I don't know what he was talking about, but I can tell it's something personal, something painful. And I hate that.
The meeting room is already starting to fill up when we arrive. The others are there - Arden, Lena, Mikhail, Jess, Kael, Rhea. Even Ben, his leg propped up on a chair, his expression curious. Hestia is there too, sitting next to me when I take my place. She's still pale, still weak, but she's determined to be a part of this, to know what's going on. I can't blame her. I feel the same way.
Maren stands at the front of the room, the tablet in her hands. She waits for everyone to settle, for the last of the stragglers to arrive, before she begins.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this meeting." She says, her voice clear, confident. "The truth is, I've made some progress with the tablets. I've been able to break through some of the security measures, access some of the data stored within."
There's a murmur of surprise, of interest, but she holds up a hand, silencing us. "It's not everything. Not yet. But it's enough. More than we've ever had access to before." She taps the screen, bringing up an image. It's a map, of the surrounding area. Our base is marked with a blue dot, the factory and supply depot we raided with red X's.
"This." She gestures to the map. "Is the immediate area. And here." She points to another location, marked with a green circle. "Is the processing camp they take new arrivals to."
Arden leans forward. "You've got... a map?"
"Not just a map." Maren says, smirking a little. "I have locations. Of every facility on this side of the planet. Not just camps. Factories. Mining operations. Bases. Prisons."
"What...?" I breathe, barely believing what she's saying. That's...that's huge. That's game-changing. We've been stumbling around in the dark, trying to find our way, to understand our surroundings. But this... this gives us a clear picture, a roadmap. It's... it's incredible.
"And that's not all." Maren continues, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "I have data on their operations, their movements, their schedules. I know when they're expecting shipments, when they're rotating personnel, when they're... doing sweeps." Her voice hardens on the last word, her jaw tightening. "We've always been caught off guard before, always reacting. But with this..." She trails off, letting the implications hang in the air.
We can be proactive. We can plan, prepare. We can hit them where it hurts, when they least expect it. We can... we can really fight back.
"How...?" Jess asks, her voice awed. "How did you...?"
Maren shakes her head. "I don't know. It's... a lot of information Guessing this thing is jacked into some kind of database. It's the core control interface for the factory."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Alistair asks, arms crossed. "If you're poking around in their systems, can't they...?"
"I don't think so." She shakes her head. "It's not... I don't have to do a formal log-in. And I've already deactivated all the tracking stuff in this long before I poked around." Maren's mouth twists into a small frown. "I'm not saying it's impossible for them to track. But it's unlikely. I've been very careful." She looks around the room, meeting each of our eyes. "This is our chance. Our opportunity. We've never had so many tools before, and now we have information."
"Our chance to do what?" Arden asks.
"To take the fight to them." It's me who says that and... and it. Shocks me, a little. It's not like I don't believe in it, that I don't want it, it's just...
After last time...
But the words are already out there, and I can't take them back. Not that I want to. I look around the room, at the faces of my friends, my comrades. I can see the determination there, the resolve. They're ready. They're willing. And so am I.
"We've been on the defensive for too long." I continue, my voice gaining strength. "Always running, always hiding. We tried to escape, to get off this damn rock. But that's not enough. That's never going to be enough. So... if they won't let us leave, let's make them miserable enough to beg us to go."
It's not exactly the most coherent of speeches. I have no idea what to say. I can't make some flowery thing about justice or human nature or freedom. All I know is... right now, we've got a chance. And I want to take it.
I'm tired of being afraid. Tired of being hunted, of being prey.
I don't want to live twenty years on this planet like Lena, even if she says she's happy with it. I don't want to just... accept it. I want to go home. I want to spit in their alien faces and tell them that they failed, that they couldn't break me.
And...
I'm. Terrified. I think I must be visibly shaking, despite everything I just said. Especially when the room is quiet afterward.
Finally, Mikhail speaks. "I like this little baby cub." He smirks. "She has fire. Let's burn this place to ground!"
Arden crosses his arms, and then shakes his head, giving a laugh I can barely hear. "She got to you too, huh..." He leans back in his chair, looking at me. "You think that's wise, Sarah?"
I'm not sure. I don't know if it is. It's reckless, dangerous. But... I think it's the only thing that will let us sleep at night. It's the only thing that's going to keep us moving forward, keep us fighting.
"I think..." I bite my lip, and then continue. "That we won't survive if we don't take this chance." I look at Arden. "They killed Ivan, and Peter, and... everyone. After what we've done, they'll come for us, too. They will. So we have to make them pay first."
Arden holds my gaze for a long moment, then nods. "Alright, then. Let's plan a war."