Minmin

I wondered if Bars had seen the transmission. I wondered if he had seen me. What was his schedule for the day? It was morning Gathering time, but on the Starwatcher homeworld it was mid afternoon. I used my okulus to click on his official fan page.

"Do you really have to do that now?" Shel asked. "We're on our way to find the Corruption."

"It's not like I can do much while in the elevator anyway," I said. El and Lieutenant Tanpo exchanged a glance, but didn't say anything. It only occured to me then that I was the only one in that elevator who wasn't a Bundu-Jo.

Bars schedule said he was free at the moment. He had a filming schedule in a couple of hours, but it was possible he had just seen me. My heart began to beat too rapidly at the thought.

Shel put a hand on my shoulder as if he knew. Right. We needed to find those with the Corruption. I put the schedule away. I knew it was a little silly to be so enamoured by Bars, but it helped keep my thoughts away from my parents. It gave me some happiness in my time of loneliness and despair. My mom was dead. My dad had the Corruption.

Actually, after what I had just seen Vai do, it was okay to have a little hope now wasn't it? It was possible that my dad wouldn't have to die. It was possible to be able to heal him from the Corruption. Since the Armstar had disappeared, I hadn't dared thought of being reunited with my family as I knew they would have the Corruption. But now - now I could hope. That thought brought be some peace and terrified me all at once.

The elevator doors opened and we stepped into the corridor. People stopped to stare at us. That never happened before. They must have seen the broadcast. One of them pointed towards the docking bay. Then more pointed that way.

El immediately called the captain and Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa. "I think they might be in the docking bay," she said.

"They can't pass through the Aether field without the Corruption dying," Vai's father said. "They won't leave."

"They might," the captain said. "The miasmids know their hosts can be free from their effects now with Vai around. I think they'd rather kill some of themselves off and get their hosts away to have more miasmids put in them later than risk not having influence over them at all. I'll call you back. The captain of the Remembrance is calling me." The call with the captain and Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa ended.

"Mom," Shel said, "if we wait too long, those with the Corruption will get away."

"They need a pilot to use a shuttle. Even if the first officer knows how to pilot a shuttle - which he does - the shuttles will only start with the pilot's handprint for security reasons," El said. "And if they have managed to get a willing pilot, where are they planning on going? We are not currently near any civilization. Not near enough for a shuttle to make it. And the captain can fire on them and destroy them."

"She won't though," Lieutenant Tanpo said. "She won't waste resources - not the shuttle nor a captive pilot. Nor her first officer and whoever else has the Corruption. Not now that we know Vai can heal them."

El's lips pinched tight at the last part. "He can't save everyone. It's impossible. We can't ask him to."

"What about my dad?" I blurted out before I could think about it.

El's face softened slightly. She placed her motherly hand on the top of my head. "We'll do everything we can to save your dad." She looked at Shel and paused for a long time before she said quietly, "And your dad."

Shel swallowed hard, but other than that his expression didn't change. I had forgot he also lost his dad to the Corruption.

"We can talk about this later," El said. "We have to stop those with the Corruption from escaping if that is what they are trying to do. Go in ready with your light shields up."

Mine automatically went up at her words. So did the others. El nodded. "Good. We'll try to avoid a fight, but be ready for one if we need to."

She led the way to the docking bay. No one tried to stop us and several more people pointed in the direction we should go. "They might not know we are coming yet," El said when we arrived. "Be stealthy until we know what is happening."

The doors slid open and we crept inside. We sneaked behind the nearest shuttle.

"Are you all ignoring a direct order?" the first officer's voice filled the large bay. His voice was loud, but everything else was quiet. Usually the pilots would talk to each other as they waited on duty. There would be mechanical sounds as the mechanics worked on the ships. Now there was nothing. The mechanics and pilots lined up in front of the first officer and the other twenty people behind him - some in uniform, some in civilian clothes. I wasn't sure if that was because they weren't on duty or if they actually were civilians.

"None of you have left the ship - even refused to leave the ship," a human male in a pilot uniform said, "and now you all want to leave at once?"

"Lieutenant Marco," Lieutenant Tanpo whispered next to me.

"It's a direct order." The first officer's voice was deadly. Pink shimmered in his brown eyes.

Lieutenant Marco swallowed hard, but didn't back down. "I'd like to hear that order come directly from the captain," he said.

"They must have seen our broadcast," I whispered.

"Or the captain was already able to relay orders to them," El whispered back. "Either way, we can't let those with the Corruption leave."

"There's over twenty of them," Lieutenant Tanpo said. "How do you want to handle it?"

"Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa and the others are on their way," El said as she looked down at her okulus. She must have received a message from him. "We'll wait for them to arrive and if for whatever reason, we can't wait, we'll attack. Lieutenant Tanpo can shield the pilots and mechanics. Shel, do you have to touch to use your power?"

"I haven't figured out how to do it without touch," Shel said.

El nodded. "I have to touch too. Which means, Minmin, you might have to do most of the attacking with your lightning. Try to get as many as possible if it comes to it."

I nodded.

The first officer took a step towards Lieutenant Marco. "Lieutenant, you will be our pilot. Let's go."

"Let me just confirm with the captain first," Lieutenant Marco said.

Faster than should be possible for a human, the first officer closed the distance between him and the Lieutenant and picked him up off his feet.

That instigated a lot of movement from every direction. The pilots and mechanics moved forward to try and grab Lieutenant Marco away from the first officer, but some of those behind the first officer raised plasma pistols at the rushing pilots.

Lieutenant Tanpo ran from behind the shuttle to the pilots and mechanics while at the same time stretching her orange shield all around them. The plasma from the pistols hit her shield in several places and dispersed harmlessly. "Stay back," Lieutenant Tanpo commanded the pilots and mechanics. Most obeyed her on instinct, a few still tried to go after the retreating first officer who held a struggling Lieutenant Marco over his shoulder.

El and Shel sprang out from behind the shuttle and ran with enhanced speed towards the group with the Corruption. El's hands were red with her light. Shel's hands were purple with his light. Those with the plasma pistols changed their targets to the two rushing at them.

I came out from behind the shuttle and threw out my hands towards the group with the Corruption. White lightening snaked from my fingertips. I aimed it to hit the pistols. The white lightening wrapped around each pistol and then up the holder's hands and arms.

"Forget about them," the first officer ordered loudly. He was already boarding the nearest shuttle with the pilot. "Get on board."

The twenty plus with the Corruption immediately turned and started to run towards the shuttle. I threw out my lightening a second time aiming at the feet of those trailing behind the others. Five of them tripped over my lightening and fell. Before they could get back up Shel and El were on them.

Shel's purple hands came down on the back of two of their necks. He hesitated. El did not. She sliced the back of the neck on one. Red blood oozed out.

She was about to kill the other two - Shel still hesitated - when Lieutenant Tanpo called out, "The shuttle."

The shuttle lifted up and towards the Aether field - towards space.

"Minmin," El said, "hit it with your lightening."

"No!" Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa's voice boomed across the bay. "We don't know if her lightening will have adverse effects with the Aether field."

Vai moved towards El and Shel and the 5 people they held. Well, I was pretty certain the one with the slice on the back of his neck was dead. "I can heal them," he said.

The purple began to die away in Shel's hands. His body visibly relaxed. But El - she cut two of them just as she had the first.

Vai stopped where he stood stunned at what she had just done. And honestly, I was pretty stunned too. I knew she was tougher than most - she was a former Jo-Dinun, but to just kill them when Vai was right there.

Warpaint barreled passed Vai, grabbed El by the back of her neck and tossed her to the side. It wasn't hard and she wasn't hurt, but it was the first time I had seen El looked shocked.

"Why would you do that?" Warpaint asked her. "Why would you interfere with Vai's most powerful power? Are you jealous of him? He is pretty incredible, but that is no reason to be jealous. Well, maybe it is reason to be jealous, but still just let him heal. He is amazing when he does it."

Vai closed the remaining distance between him and the 5 with the Corruption. I didn't think 3 of them were alive - although the Corruption hadn't come out of them yet, so maybe they were still alive.

Vai sat down between the 5 of them - next to Shel.

"You can't save them all," El said to Vai. "You're going to have to start choosing who you can save with the Corruption and who you can't."

Vai didn't answer her, but I had never seen such defiance in his eyes before - not even against his dad. It was fiery red. Vai closed his eyes and his green light stretched out - not in tendrils but like a fog. It wrapped around the 3 unmoving people. The two that Shel held began to struggle. They hadn't really fought with him before. They were afraid of the purple circle that pulsed in the palm of his hand. They wouldn't be able to see his light, but they could see what the light manifested into - my lightening, Owen's fire, and Shel's purple circle black hole thing. I actually wasn't sure exactly what Shel's power was other than it seemed to crush or fold into itself.

"Can I get some help?" Shel asked with his teeth clenched tight together. Lieutenant Tanpo dropped her orange shield and rushed to Shel's side. Together they were able to hold down the two who were struggling.

Vai's eyes had closed at some point. I had missed when while I watched Shel struggle. When his green fog settled over the two Shel and Tanpo held, they stopped struggling.

Pink came out of the ears and nose of those who El had cut. The wounds on the back of their necks were already healed. The two that Shel and Tanpo held began to scream much like the captain had on the bridge. It only lasted as long as it took for the pink Corruption to come out of them. A large, shimmering, pink cloud formed over their heads. It rushed towards the pilots and mechanics.

Lieutenant Tanpo dropped the man she had been holding - he had stopped struggling anyway - and threw her shield around the pilots and mechanics. They couldn't see her shield as it was just her light so they didn't know they were safe. They huddled together and some screamed. How could they fight a pink cloud? They couldn't, but I could.

My white lightening arched through the distance and hit the cloud just as Owen's fire did the same. The pink shimmer changed to a yellow fire with white lightening darting all through it until there was nothing left of the pink shimmer. I let my lightening die away and Owen let his fire die.

Vai's eyes were open, but it was clear he was tired.

"Are you all right?" Shel asked next to him. He placed his hand on Vai's forehead like mothers do to see if their child has a fever.

Vai nodded. "Just tired," he said. Shel's hand dropped back to his side.

The 5 lying at their feet woke up at the same time. Like the captain had on the bridge - they instinctively knew who saved them. All of them crawled to Vai's side - pushed Shel slightly to the side - and hugged Vai in a large group hug.

I heard thank yous being muttered from across the distance.

"Looks like I'm going to have to reprogram Warpaint," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa said next to me.

"For what?" I asked.

"For protection against group hugs," he said. The corner of his mouth twitched up into an almost smile.