Cosimia rested her head on the chilly glass, watching the emptiness with a sense of peace. The weight of her mission was heavy on her shoulder, threatening to break her bones, but looking outside and seeing that she truly had left the rings always made her feel at peace with, well, everything. All her thoughts of Mathias, Mother's hurt expression, and all the what-if scenarios she had come up with in the past four days. The days had gone by in a flurry of talking, planning, but best of all, sleeping. Cosimia loved the feeling of sinking into unconsciousness, thrown into a dream world that belonged to her, and herself only. In that world, things that might be impossible were possible.

Isadora popped her head inside slightly, watching Cosimia. After a moment, her friend came and sat in front of her, studying the universe with her deep green eyes.

"It's beautiful," she said softly, so quiet that Cosimia almost missed it.

"Yes, it is. It makes me sad to think that all this time, we missed seeing... all of this, exploring what our goddess has given to us." Cosimia shifted herself towards Isadora, twirling a piece of vibrant blue hair around her finger. She tucked her knees in close, rocking herself slightly.

"Sometimes, our mind is our greatest weapon. But it can also be our greatest enemy." Cosimia hummed her approval. The girls sat in the companionable silence, the need for words gone. Then, Isadora shot up and cleared her throat.

"Actually, I came to give you a message."

Cosimia grinned, tilting her head up. "I knew you didn't come because you enjoyed looking at floating rocks."

"Dominica has requested that we have a meeting. You know, considering we are nearing Terra." With fresh vigor, Cosimia pressed her palms flat against the shining metal and pushed herself up, smacking her hands loudly to rid them of the dust coating the metal. The ship, which they had renamed the Lady Vortex, hadn't been used for years. It had been sitting in the hangar garage, collecting dust.

"How far are we from Terra?" Cosimia asked as they made their way down the narrow corridor, the low hum of the engine now familiar.

"Oralie says about 19 hours, just less than a day." Isadora replied, taking a sharp left. Cosimia felt giddy fear crash through her, powerful and damaging. Their first stop was mere hours away. If Cosimia screwed this up, then she might as well forget it and become a homeless drifter. Zorias would not even consider the thought of forgiving her and her crew after what they did. Suddenly, the waves of excitement extinguished, making way for a deep, burning sense of shame. Her friends had risked everything, everything they had, for her. Forget her. To Zorias, they were outcasts as well, just under Cosimia on the most wanted list.

"Isadora, you know you and the patrol could've left me. I could've done this myself." Isadora stopped, her face twisting in confusion.

"Why would we do that?"

"Well, now you can never go back. Your families, oh goddess, I didn't even think about what Mother would do to your families for leaving. Dammit, I'm so stupid." Isadora grabbed her forearm, her grip tight but warm. Her depthless eyes were stern.

"I don't ever want to hear you say that again. You, Cosimia Nedias, are not stupid. Nothing you could say would convince us to leave you by yourself. We're your friends. Our parents are in a close relation with their Highnesses. Our families can take care of themselves." Isadora put her fingers under Cosimia's chin, forcing her to look up. Tears swarmed her vision and even though it was just for a moment, Cosimia got a glance at what it was like to have an older sister, who understood.

There is no time for fantasies, Cosimia.

"We're your best friends, your family, Cosi. We will help you through everything without a doubt. We know what you're doing is the right thing, and if that means risking our lives to do it, then we will. Trust us." Isadora said the last sentence more forcefully, and Cosimia let herself believe that her friends were going to be with her until the end. But would she really fault them if they left?

"Okay. Thank you, Isadora." Cosimia squared her shoulders, pushing all doubtful thoughts out of her mind. "I needed that." Jostling her shoulder lightly, Isadora continued on. Cosimia looked up, looking at the metal tin can she now called her home. Her old home, the one she was born in and grew up in, was now gone. Zorias was a two-faced place. It could shine upon you, or rain down hellfire. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Cosimia had managed to find herself on the bad side of the spectrum.

"What do we know so far?" Dominica slammed her hands on the table.

"We are almost at Terra, and need to do anything possible to get their support. They will be our provider for the fight to come." Nova pointed out.

"Right. We need to decide how to enter without seeming hostile. Strange ship, strange people, demanding to speak to the leader of the planet?" Dominica shook her head, mussing her multicolored locks. "That won't give the best impression. Without sneaking in, we need to find a way to get to Terra peacefully." Dominica said, slicing a repriminding look at Freda, who stuttered.

"We should say that we are ambassadors and have come for business," Oralie shouted over the rumbling thrum of the jet, lightly amplified in the main space.

Airlia twisted her lips, sorting the pros and cons of Oralie's suggestion. "That would be seen through immediately. None of the other planets actually try and make time to talk to other leaders, so why start now? Nobody else knows about the Unbalance. At least that's what I'm assuming. And we are most definitely not going into unfamiliar land based off of an assumption."

"Fine," Oralie grumbled. Cosimia studied her nails, mind whirling for a solution. There had to be some way in, some way to get past the Terra guard without suspicion and without the need of violence. Cosimia looked up, contemplating possible plans while studying the stars. They seemed to beam down at her, encouraging Cosimia to continue. But a strange outline in the dark caught her attention. It was clean, smooth, too symmetrical to be a piece of space trash.

A ship, Cosimia gasped to herself. She could see the ship firing lasers into the darkness. Were they fighting something? Cosimia tugged on Nova's sleeve, gesturing to the ship swerving in the distance. A distant shriek, sounding like metal against metal, made Cosimia's ears ache. Nova darted to the window, pressing herself against the glass to get a better look.

"We should go help them," she breathed against the glass, the clear surface clouding slightly before smoothing once again. She whirled around to face the pilot's pit. "Does this ship have guns?"

Oralie smiled, mischief gleaming in her blue-green eyes.

"This will be fun." Slamming her foot on the thrusters, the Lady Vortex shot forward, cutting through the silent space. The fighter jet came clearer into view, the lasers flashing painfully in Cosimia's eyes. Oralie pushed a large blue button and a large thump made Cosimia stumble. Oralie fired with speedy precision, each shot hitting every mark.

The Creatura. The aliens screeched with rage as their numbers exploded into blue blood and smoked flesh, turning their attention on the Lady Vortex. The smaller ship spun circles around them, firing haphazardly.

"They're corralling the Creatura. Pushing them into the black hole," Airlia realized.

"So I need to push them, not kill them," Oralie confirmed slowly, face twisting with a grimace. Unlike some of the other planets, the Creatura was a roach, an infestation. They had been taught to kill them whenever the animals showed up. But Cosimia had begun to learn that what she had been taught had been seen through small, narrowed eyes; eyes that only show part of the whole truth. The black hole was ahead, swirling and shifting softly. Even though many larger, more destructive things were happening surrounding them, the Black Hole tugged her with an invisible string. She had never really studied the Black Hole but knew there was virtually nothing about it. It was dangerous, unescapable, and an early death. That was it.

No time to ponder, Cosimia. You can explore after you're done. Assuming you'll still be alive. Cosimia shook her head to rid her head of the nasty voice tainting her thoughts. She would make it out- she had to, for the sake of Saturnus. Oralie herded the Creatura easily, assisting the other jet in a silent dance. The aliens screamed, warbling to each other in their nonsense language. After a moment's more of fighting, they retreated back into the Black Hole, which swallowed their banshee-like sounds immediately. The Creatura originated from the Black Hole, then spread to the outer reaches of each of the planets. The Creatura were savages, emotionless beings who killed with reckless abandon. That was a well-known fact. But maybe such traits and skills were needed to survive in an environment like the Black Hole.

"Permission to dock from unknown vessel," the monotone voice droned over the ship. Oralie murmured into the receiver and the panel doors slid open with a cool hiss. The clumsy, heavy steps told Cosimia that the fighter was a man, a large one at that. The man was indeed large, but plainly boring compared to Cosimia and her crew. He was different shade of brown, from a weathered chestnut hue of skin to his deep chocolate brown hair. His eyes, however, were a brown-golden, sparkling with unseen colors.

"I wanted to thank you for assisting me in putting the Creatura back in their place," he boomed with a charming smile.

"We thought you needed the assistance." Freda smirked slightly. The man laughed the insult off easily.

"I sure did, young lady," he studied Freda, with nothing but open curiosity. "Say, I haven't seen gals like you before. Which planet are you all coming from?"

"Saturnus."

He whistled. "Well, I haven't met a Saturnus native for so long! Pleasure to meet you. I'm Benjamin Alderidge, at your service. You might know me as Senator Alderidge." He Bowes shallowly, making elaborate hand gestures as he did. Dominica's eyes sparked with recognition.

"You're a Terran," she said, more to herself than anyone else. Cosimia gasped to herself at the irony of all this. An actual Terran, who happens to be one of the main senators, on their ship. Dominica met her gaze, with a look that said everything. This was their chance.

"That I am, miss. Where are you lovelies headed?"

Airline smiled at the man, unable to resist his happy-go-lucky personality.

"Terra, actually. Would you mind taking us there? We haven't been out that much before." The senator nodded, marveling at the Lady Vortex.

"Course I will. What kind of man would I be if I didn't? I'll keep my jet docked and help out your pilot, who, I might add, has some wonderful skills." He winked at Oralie, who flushed and looked away quickly. He plopped down on the co-pilot's seat and began to talk to Oralie, chattering absolute nonsense things that had no relevance.

Dominica sidled up next to Cosimia, following her gaze to the now chuckling man.

"Do you trust him?"

"Not one bit," Cosimia replied swiftly.

"We will have to keep an eye on him, then." Dominica nodded briefly to Nova. "Keep a chart of our route. We'll track where he's taking us."

Senator Alderidge turned back to the two, leather seat groaning as he did.

"Don't worry, ladies. If I led you astray, Mrs. Alderidge would have my head. And besides, I love good company." Then he turned back around to ask Oralie about the portable microwave built into the console. Dominica looked at her with a furrow of her brow. They really did have to keep an eye on Senator Alderidge after all.