Phoenix Wings

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say…

I, however, knew differently.

Cosmic Year 436, Planet Ienv

"Do you really have to go, Fifi?" A white-haired boy, no older than fourteen, asked the young, red-headed woman beside him.

She chuckled softly, tousling his wispy platinum locks, "Missing me already, Raven?"

He made a show of rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, "No."

Her eyebrow quirked at his antics, her dark knowing eyes meeting his ice-blue ones before his gaze darted toward the ground. Silence stretched between them for a long moment as he toed the floor, scuffing his boot.

"I'm just concerned for you, sis," his confession came as a half-whisper, "with the state of Vfdyi right now, it's not safe—"

She released a soft sigh of understanding as her palm caught his pale cheek in her hand and tilted his face up, "Oh my little Raven, I'll be alright. It's just a few weeks—"

"You don't know that," Raven interrupted, his eyes flashing with frustration and a hint of anger, "They're on the brink of Elemental Warfare with their neighbors. Not to mention, they're on the outer ring of an accelerating supernova that could blow at any moment."

She stared down into her brother's face, tenderness squeezing her heart. She knew he was scared, she heard it in his voice... the desperation and fear... along with the unspoken plea that she'd stay here with him.

Closing her eyes, she swallowed and pulled him into a hug. Her arms enveloped him as he first tensed, and then soon reciprocated, his own smaller arms twining firmly around her waist.

"I don't want to lose you, Fifi," the admission was muffled, but she could tell he was crying, "I can't. Not like—"

He trailed off on a quiet sob.

And he didn't have to say anymore. She knew. She knew exactly what he'd meant. Not like how they'd lost their parents five years ago.

A tear escaped from her own eye at the thought. Raven was now the exact age she'd been when they'd lost their parents back then...

Releasing a shuddering breath, she wiped the tear before pulling back to look at her little brother, "It's only a cargo-run, Raven. The people there are in desperate need of supplies, with the shifting climate from the increased gravitational pull from the nova, their ecosystems are dying."

"Sounds like they need an evacuation more than supplies," he muttered, rubbing away the wetness from under his eyes.

She smiled wryly, "Maybe so; but that's not within my dictation."

The night sky shown bright through the large windows of the observation deck where they stood. The transport facility was lit up like a candle, softly glowing and alive with activity, even though it was late into the night. The high, bending beams of the rafters made one feel like they were outside, even though they were indoors. The space of the room was ginormous, running hundreds of feet both high and wide. The observation deck itself ran one whole mile at least, parallel to the observation windows where people could observe ships arriving and departing into the glowing sea of stars.

"Come on," she nudged Raven with her elbow, "let's walk."

Together, they trailed along the observation deck for awhile. Chatting and making sure they each had everything they'd need in their time apart. It was crazy to think that this would be the first time they'd be separated for more than just a few days.

Twenty minutes passed before they finally reached the entrance of the loading bay and stopped. Only those with clearance could enter beyond the massive open doors.

There was a long pause, both wishing to prolong their last few moments together before departure.

Raven spoke first, swallowing, "I understand your decision to help those people, Fifi." His lightning blue eyes peered into her onyx ones, "You know, sometimes I think you're truly fearless," a reluctant smile traced his lips, "though somewhat reckless. You don't flinch at danger at all, rather you focus on helping anyone you can... I admire that."

His words, laced with so much sincerity, brought a mist of tears to her eyes.

"So, yeah..." his gazed shifted as he fidgeted, "get going before they leave you..." He glanced around awkwardly before re-meeting her gaze with a mischievous look, "Or before I decide to stowaway in the cargo."

She laughed at his threat, pulling him into her arms for a last embrace, "I love you, my little Raven. Take care of yourself while I'm gone."

"Same to you, sis," his arms held her tightly, before reluctantly letting go and stepping away. "May the stars guide your way," he says solemnly.

"May the stars guide your way," she returns, the familiar farewell of their parents echoing between them, before she turned and disappeared into the cargo hanger, her long copper braid swaying with each step she took farther and farther away from him.

Raven lingered by the doors, staring blankly into the hanger, long after his sister had vanished amongst the towering boxes, crates, and other littering debris.

Several minutes must've passed before he finally released a sigh and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his light grey cargo pants, thinking he may as well make his way back to the observation deck to watch her departure.

However, just as he began to turn, a glimmer of movement caught his eye within the hanger. His head jerked back, eyes narrowing on a figure darting behind crates and random machines, seemingly making their way deeper into the storage area.

"What the..." he mumbled, incredulous at the person's audacity to sneak around in the holding.

Feeling a bit unsettled at what this could mean, he made the rash decision to follow the lurker and see what they were up to. If he was caught... well, he'd cross that bridge if he came to it, but for right now, the pressing matter was that there was an oddly suspicious person in there and he wanted to know what they were doing.

As he darted down behind a wall of boxes, keeping an eye out for the figure while he tried to rationalize the person's actions. Maybe they were playing a joke on a friend... Perhaps they urgently needed to speak to someone before they left... But the doubts were still there; because what if they were trying to steal something? Or possibly sneak aboard a ship?

He bit his lip at the thought, that'd be super bad.

Hearing a scuffle, he was pulled from his internal ponderings as he saw the figure run to another large object and squat low. They were about a hundred feet from each other, so it was hard to make out any distinguishing features from the person.

When they moved again, Raven flew behind a tower of crates. It was best to advance at the same time, as the other person would be focused on managing their own noise level.

It repeated like that for a few minutes, both of them quietly moving farther and farther into the hanger. The other individual seemingly unaware of being followed, and that Raven had lessened their distance to about thirty feet. He could make out the person was a man, medium build with disheveled black hair sticking out straight on his head from his recent exertions.

Suddenly, voices approached, and Raven squeezed closer into a dark alcove between miscellaneous cargo as his sister materialized accompanied by two other people. They seemed to be going over a list, before the two other people departed and she was standing there all alone... but not for long.

Once the others had gone, the black-haired guy stood and made his way to her.

Raven's mind went blank as confusion filled him. Did this guy know his sister? Who was he? Surely she didn't have a boyfriend she hadn't told him about...

He observed from the shadows as the strange man began speaking to his sister. Raven was still too far away to make out their words, but she'd seemed startled to see the guy, and then their conversation got a little louder, like they were arguing over something.

Straining to make out the context of the situation, Raven leaned forward, debating if he should attempt to get closer. But right before deciding, Fifi walked away from the man and proceeded out onto the loading dock where her ship The Skylark awaited her.

She must be getting ready to leave soon, Raven thought.

Glancing back to the unfamiliar man still standing where his sister left him. He looked upset and frustrated, possibly angry, as his hands reached up to pull through his dark hair. But Raven didn't have too much time to ponder it all as a few moments later the guy stormed off to a side exit of loading bay, clearly not caring who saw him as he left.

Raven blinked at how strange the whole ordeal was, this random guy snuck in to see his sister and waltzed blatantly out after they'd argued. The most perplexing part of it all was that he'd never seen the man before in his life and he had no idea what connections he had to his sister.

He gave a small shake of his head, just as an announcement crackled over the speakers. His sister's ship would be departing in five minutes and he didn't want to miss seeing her off, so he hurriedly darted back out the way he came and made his way over to the observation platform.

Once there, Raven breathed a sigh of relief at seeing The Skylark still in port. He hadn't missed her leaving.

He watched quietly from the window as the ship eventually made its way into the sky. She was large and hefty, containing three stories of cargo on her. Hopefully, Vfdyi's people would be greatly benefited by what was his sister was bringing them.

The Skylark continued its ascent into the atmosphere, passing the outer barrier right before lurching mid-air. Raven stomach dropped at the sight, immediately knowing something was wrong.

The ship eerily slowed, turning over 90 degrees before stilling completely, just hanging there before a backdrop of stars. He warily viewed the ship, feeling a little sick at the strange occurrence before him. Had there been an error with the loading? Was there a minor repair that needed to be done?

Boom!

The sound was deafening as the night sky was lit up with a horrible, abnormal light. The observation windows rattled with the proximity of the explosion. Fire bursting into every direction, creating a hazy crimson glow.

Raven peeled open his eyes and slowly removed his hands from over his ears. When had he covered them?

Unaware of the movings inside the facility, voices swirled around him, people running around, screaming orders, announcements being played through the intercom... It was just garble, white noise... completely unimportant and unheard.

For a long moment he stood there, staring through the glass, frozen in shock, barely breathing. His eyes had to be deceiving him, right? It had to be a dream... a strange illusion manifesting before him... That wasn't an explosion just now... That wasn't his sister's ship...

"Hey!" Came an abrupt voice, pulling his arm, "We have to leave! The explosion halted the inner barrier mechanisms, and if these windows fully break, we could get sucked right into space."

Raven jerked away, finally noticing the state of the glass in front of him. Lines streaked up and down the once clear surface, and they seemed to be growing.

"C'mon, it's dangerous!" Came the voice again, just as a loud roar filled the room, like an ocean had just been set free.

"Holy—" The sound was sucked away as windows began shattering one-by-one along the observation deck, the noise getting closer and closer to where they stood.

Raven's eyes flashed back to the fiery wreckage in the sky, tears sticking to his eyes, it'd all happened so fast... and right before the embers could fade, he saw it, taunting him, the shape of a—

"Phoenix!" The gut-wrenching cry tore from his lungs as he stared into the night, right before there was total darkness.

Cosmic Year 441, Somewhere in the Rivera Nebulae

Yeah, I knew a lot about screaming in space... the sound has never left me... not even after all these years.