Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

JAMES

Aelius' brown eyes twinkled in amusement when Meryn scrambled to his feet. "It's good to see you, Meryn."

Ava laughed and rushed to his side to steady him, and James smiled at his sister's wide smile. Her rare happiness, but exhaustion made it hard for him to echo her.

"Come on, Meryn," Ava teased. "You didn't honestly think your own brother would miss your starday."

Meryn stood there in a daze, and James hung on the edges of warmth while he trembled. He longed to battle his legs into moving to support his friend, but whether they had the strength to not crumble underneath him was a different story.

Aelius tapped himself on the chest with a smile, and Meryn moved in one fluid moment. He hugged Aelius, who returned the gesture without hesitation. "Happy Starday, Meryn, I wouldn't miss it for anything."

James gave Ava a thumbs up from behind his back, using Rayan as a shield so Meryn missed it. Ava smiled at him with a nod. "Come on," she said. "Meryn needs to spend some time with his brother." Rayan took the lead, and James drifted further behind them, overtaken by Ava. "I'm glad that went well," she remarked ahead of him. "Let's see if there's anything else to do."

James debated on his chances of retreating from the pair to find a quiet place, but with the amount of Sanctum Elites on the perimeter of temporary fencing, it proved difficult to find an opportunity. His heart crunched at the sight of soldiers with whirring weapons. Dad's not right. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and stopped when Ava eyed him.

"You can't say the whole of the Strike Forces is in on the joke," Ava pointed out.

"I didn't say anything."

"Actually," Rayan's voice rang throughout his ears, and James resisted the urge to slam his hands against them to block out the windswept sound. "My mom was mentioning the same thing — it's why she's barely home these days." Rayan faced him, strong and unwavering. "I will admit that she wasn't nearly as ominous as your dad."

The rest of their walk kept up its silence, and he dared to bridge the rest of the gap between him, Rayan, and Ava of his own creation. Unsettled heat rested on his cheeks and bit at the cold, but he fought for what little enjoyment he found in their trip. "What did your mom say?"

"Same thing your dad did," Rayan replied. "Pirates. Possible First Insurgency movements. I just don't see what Eastpoint has to do with it. We're kind of out in the middle of nowhere, I'd be surprised if this was a potential target." Starlight streamers reflected off the golds as he grinned at him, and James pushed the warmth out of his ears. "I like it... in Odaport, there was always that underlying fear that just maybe, the First Insurgency would attack and start a war on the streets."

James chose a dangly row of streamers to focus on. "Eastpoint must be quaint compared to what you're used to."

Rayan smiled, and the streamers danced with the snowy wind. "Like I said... I like this place better, for, uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck and switched his attention to the trodden path of slush. "Lots of reasons."

"Oh, good. My country bumpkin self is all warm and fuzzy now." James scoffed, then pushed Rayan and closer to Ava, out of his reach, his chance disappearing. "Come on. Let's go find a free ice rink." He went to take the lead, but stopped at Ava's slumped shoulders. "Why are you slouching?"

Ava straightened herself out. "Who said I was?"

James poked her spine. "Your posture."

Instincts kicked into overdrive when she danced her hand straight for the vulnerable spot underneath his ribcage. He leaped before she used her instrument of torture. "No, not letting you do that."

Her grin turned sly and devious. "Why not?"

James led them to a skating pond. One all to themselves. Skates hung off the station of many adjustable sizes. Rayan sat down at the bank without another noise, stretching his legs out.

"Do you not know how to skate?" James questioned.

"Do you?"

James hesitated, then sat down beside Rayan while Ava grabbed a pair. Swift as a bird, she skated onto the ice, and he hugged himself with a huff. He jumped when Rayan bumped his shoulder into his.

"You should've warned me about Jon. He's been bothering me about plans for the varsity championship."

"I did warn you. I told you he takes Starcross seriously." James forced out a laugh. "I thought you'd have learned that by now. You hang out with us, Mr. Nasty Frontliner."

"Does he nickname everyone on the team?"

James deigned not to answer while Ava skated circles around the pond. Rayan followed her with his gaze, but his attention returned to him. "What is this accident I keep hearing about last Quad's varsity championship?"

Ava drifted closer to them. "He nearly got his head cracked open last season from a foul."

James leaned underneath the awning. "It was a worthy sacrifice."

"And you sound like Jon."

"I know, that was the joke, Avie."

Ava swivelled in a circular pattern and came to a stop. "Either of you going to join me?"

I know what Rayan is going to say... James mouthed it on his lips of rejection, but he froze when Rayan shook his head.

"I'll just observe for now, but I'll join you soon."

Ava nodded and drifted out into the middle of the pond. James used his forearms to sit back up, but curled to preserve warmth. "Go join her," he mumbled. "You're just going to freeze like a popsicle if you sit still for too long, city boy."

Rayan ignored him and tugged out a sketchpad, pushing it into his hands. "How does this look to you?"

Snowbound mirrors danced along the rims of the pad, a reflection of the most recent picture he took of a flurried Eastpoint. Apprehension filled Rayan's shoulders when he drew them up, but James pushed it back into his hands. "It's great, Ray. Do you really need me to tell you that?"

"I... I just value your opinion."

Awkward tension choked his throat as he tucked closer against the awning, out of the brittle warmth. Dad's words pounded on his head, but he refused to acknowledge them as Rayan frowned in despair, and turned his back on him.

"Ranier!" Meryn's voice broke the bubble, and James smiled when Aelius and Meryn headed for them. "Hey!"

"Meryn! Aelius!" Ava called from her spot on the ice and sped for them.

James lunged into readiness when a chink in the ice caught her clamp and she slipped and stumbled. He put his hands out in front of him, and grunted when she bowled into him.

"Very nice." Meryn cackled.

"Tell that to my back," James groaned while his bones rocked and nausea swam from his temples. He sent a light punch into her shoulder while her face flushed from cold and embarrassment. "Have we found something Miss Perfect isn't good at?" He gasped when she latched onto him, trapping him in a pseudo headlock. "Hey!"

"Aw, Jamesy," Ava teased. "Thank you for saving my life from the dreaded ice, twinsy."

James struggled against her grip. "You're not going to let go of me, are you?"

"Nope." Ava beamed. "By the way, Aelius! How is your placement going with the Sanctum?"

So, that's how it's going to be. James tried to crawl out of the crook of her arm, but she steeled herself. Fruitless, stuck in Ava's embrace, he sighed and sat still.

"I'm enjoying it, and I've still got a lot to learn," Aelius replied. "I actually got asked to participate in a small experiment. I can't say much else other than that."

James made for another dash when her grip slacked, but he met the wall of her arm. "We're not done yet, James," Ava hissed. "We never spend time together anymore."

"I wonder why..." he mumbled while a different soreness gathered over his heart. He sighed, then slumped into her. "We're going to play this game, are we?"

"Read my mind, twinsy."

Using Jon's tease, too? What have I done?

Meryn glided out onto the ice with his own pair of skates. "Come on, Avie!"

Ava released him, and he slumped back into the layer of snow while Rayan stood to join them, leaving him on the bank. He adjusted his jacket hood to rest it against the snow and tugged out his datacam while the three skated together in joy and fun.

He couldn't hear the conversation from so far away. Meryn kept a distance from Rayan and Ava both, where a glow settled itself on Rayan's face from something Ava said, and the two chuckled in tandem. James frowned deeper when Ava held her hand out to Rayan, to which he placed his in hers to lace their fingers together.

James sighed and tore himself from the snow of distraction and pain while Aelius took shelter underneath a tree. He readied his datacam, but found himself unable to see through the lens of a frozen moment. Too cold. Alone. He shivered, and hunched himself closer to his knees and found a steady grip on his datacam to snap a photo of the glittering trees. His focus dwindled in and out through the lens and his own thoughts while Ava and Rayan skated together in harmony. Happy, free, and warm.

It came time to view the starfire show, where the three came back to him. Cold choked his entire body. Any other time, he would've set his tripod to slow down the sparks of celestial starfire which burst into colourful particles and created a little nebula in the air.

His lens refused to focus.

Still haven't figured out this datacam.

Music shifted into white noise in his heart as he glanced at Meryn and Aelius, who spoke through a haze.

Why am I so miserable? He scowled and held his heart while the nausea intensified.

Someone's gloved hand squeezed his.

"James?" Ava asked, her voice near inaudible. "What's wrong?"

James breathed in the chill to stifle the bile. "It's nothing, Avie."

Meryn broke the haze of confusion. "It's almost time to go!"

"Are you coming with us?" Ava questioned, and James let go of her hand.

"No, Mom wants to see Aelius," Meryn replied then hopped around his brother. "Let's go!" The two brothers left with a waved goodbye.

James forced himself to follow Ava and Rayan back to the entrance of the festival area. He sighed out a plume of mist through his teeth, but jumped when Ava grabbed his hand again at the amount of soldiers at the entrance. Each one stood tall, strong, proud, where the swirled star of the Sanctum rested on their breast pockets. Dad and Mrs Falae scanned the dispersing crowd, and his heart hit the bottom of the abyss at their winter uniforms.

"Dad?" Ava asked and dragged him along. "What's going on?"

"We need to have a talk." He motioned for the three of them to follow. Back to the passenger ship, two soldiers took the front.

"Mom?" Rayan rasped. "What's wrong?"

Mrs. Falae nodded at Dad, and silence followed the entire way home. James curled in his seat to smother the bubble in his stomach. Atmospheric suffocation pressed him deeper into his seat as they landed in the shipyard.

"Dad?" Ava insisted.

There's no point, Avie. We both know what's coming.

Out of the ship, Mrs. Falae escorted them back home with the steady step and authoritative pressure of a general, instead of the warm, welcoming mother he grew used to.

Mom and Janie sat inside the living room when they entered home. Janie tucked herself against Mom while Ava sank on the couch. James followed her, but Rayan hovered behind Mrs. Falae.

"Eastpoint is officially under heavy security measures," Mrs. Falae said and took out a datapad. "Over the next few months we'll be employing a new warning system. Sirens will ring through the town. Houses are attached in a safety network for outliers. If any of you feel unsafe in this area, you will find protection at the Falae estate." A weary mother replaced the hardened general in a fraction of a frozen moment.

"Illiya?" Mom questioned. "Why?"

"I'm sure Garrett mentioned the recent pirate raids in this sector... and how some people believe it's a front for the First Insurgency?"

Mom paled. "Are... Are the Strike Forces going to draft again?"

James jolted when Ava hugged him with a fearful expression tugging on the corners of her cheeks.

"Not if I have any say about it, and it certainly isn't the same as several quadrums ago," Mrs. Falae assured. "I can't tell you much due to security reasons, but with this cold front between the Sanctum and the First Insurgency..." Mrs. Falae glanced outside their living room window. "Eastpoint is far enough out of the way to avoid the worst if it comes. I have agreed that it's best not to take chances, though, what with the Insurgency's bold tactics in guerrilla warfare." Her sharp, ice-laced eyes swept over them. "If you have any questions, I'll try to answer."

Ava raised her hand. "About this house network, how does it work?"

"We have an early warning system. If you hear the first set of chimes, do not stay in this house," Dad said. "You'll run for the Falae estate using a route we've both mapped out as the safest if things go wrong. I will give it to all of you and take a walk with each to remember the path. Don't stick around to salvage anything from this house. You run, and you don't come back here until we've confirmed it's safe."

"I've deemed several outlying points around the town to set up safety barriers," Mrs Falae interjected.

"Your school is having its SAI updated, so don't be alarmed if they test it," Dad explained. "Be on your guard for anything. We're going into an uncertain period of this war... and we want you to be safe."

Mrs. Falae sighed. "I wish I had better news, but safety is of utmost importance."

James allowed Ava to hold onto him while Mrs. Falae took Rayan out of their house, and left them with the heavy features of Dad, frozen with old sorrow.