The Stardust Drifter was silent, save for the rhythmic hum of the engines. Elara lay on a medical berth, her breathing shallow, her usually vibrant aura a faint, flickering ember. Kaito sat beside her, his gaze fixed on her pale face, the guilt a heavy weight in his chest.
"It was my fault," he murmured, clutching the Astro-Blade. "No, Kaito. You acted to protect. The Lumina's recklessness is to blame."
Lyra, her usual sarcasm absent, was hunched over a console, running diagnostics. "Her life energy is critically low. The temporal feedback from the Nexus… it's like it leeched her connection to the Life Weave."
Jax, his face etched with a rare vulnerability, stood by the viewport, staring out at the starfield. "She… she saved my life on Gorok. Took a blast meant for me."
Zephyr, usually the most boisterous, sat quietly in a corner, his illusionary tendencies subdued. He fiddled with a small, intricately carved wooden bird. "She always knew when I was hiding treats. And she never told. She was… good."
Kaito finally looked up, his eyes blazing with a renewed intensity. "Then we're not leaving until we find a way to fix this. The Lumina Federation will pay for what they did. They will understand the price of tampering with forces they don't comprehend."
Lyra met his gaze, a flicker of something akin to admiration in her cybernetic eye. "You're still intent on this 'peace through overwhelming force' plan, aren't you?"
Kaito managed a wry smile. "Someone has to be. Besides, I need Elara back. She's the only one who can keep Jax from eating all the rations."
A faint smile touched Lyra's lips. "He does have a bottomless stomach for those awful space-biscuits." She then turned back to her console, the hum of the ship a somber lullaby. "I'll analyze the temporal readings from the Nexus. There has to be a counter-frequency, a way to… rebalance her energy."
The quest for peace had just become intensely personal.