Minmin

Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa made a signal to Warpaint. Warpaint immediately began to pull the people off Vai.

"I know you are all grateful," Warpaint said, "and you should be. My master Vai is pretty amazing, but give him some space now."

Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa started to make his way over to Vai. Shel was still sitting on the floor close to Vai. He scooted over to him and tried to help him up, but Vai's eyes drooped heavily and his head fell onto Shel's shoulder. Shel let out a long sigh and looked to me as if to ask what he should do. I shrugged my shoulders. Vai was exhausted. He needed to rest after all that healing. El had been too extreme, but she was correct that Vai couldn't heal everyone. Healing six people had made him this exhausted.

El stood from the spot where Warpaint had thrown her earlier. She didn't seem hurt or even bothered. She gathered around Vai, Shel and Warpaint just as Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa also reached them.

"Sir," Warpaint said, "you shouldn't sleep on your friend. If you are that tired, I will carry you." He lifted Vai up as if he weighed nothing and tossed him over his shoulder. Shel quickly stood now that he was free.

Vai struggled against Warpaint's grip and said, "Put me down, Warpaint. I'm awake now." Warpaint put Vai back on his feet, but despite Vai's words, his eyes were still heavy. He needed sleep.

The rest of us gathered around them as El said to Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa, "I can't get through to the captain. She needs to destroy that shuttle."

Lieutenant Tanpo frowned at this, but didn't say anything.

Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa placed a call to the captain, but it wasn't answered.

"They are getting away," El said impatiently.

"Computer," Vai's dad said.

"Yes," the computer answered immediately. Not a lot of people spoke directly with the computer, but he was the chief science officer and I heard he had worked on the programming for the computer.

"I need a direct connection with Captain Axa. Now."

And there were even less people who could demand a direct connection with the captain.

"Yes," the computer said.

There was a momentary wait, but it wasn't long before the captain's voice said, "I'm busy, Lieutenant Commander. Didn't you understand that the first time I didn't answer your call?"

"You need to destroy that shuttle," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa said. "They are getting away."

"No," the captain said.

All of us tensed except Vai. His eyes drooped again and he partially leaned against Warpaint's white, metal frame.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Vai's dad demanded.

"Bring the light specialists to the bridge and I will tell you all what is happening," the captain said.

The computer ended the connection. All of us looked back and forth between each other before Owen finally said, "Light specialists?"

Vai's eyes flashed open and he stood up straight. "That's us," he said. "She wants us to graduate early like Shel and be specialists in the light as we are the first to have it. We are the only ones to have met the Awakened One."

"Let's go to the bridge," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa said.

He led the way. Vai stumbled over his own feet. He was too tired to walk straight. His mechatronic swept him off his feet and carried him princess style.

Vai frowned at this, but didn't try to wiggle away. He did say, "I can walk, Warpaint."

"Just sleep for now, sir," Warpaint said. "You can wake when we reach the bridge.

Vai's head dropped awkwardly on Warpaint. He was already asleep. I hoped that awkward position didn't give him neck pain. Vai was tall which meant in Warpaint's arms he was also long. None of us stood next to Warpaint as he and Vai took up too much space.

When we stepped out of the shuttle bay into the corridor, the corridor was filled with people.

"Did you get them?" someone asked.

"No," El said. "They got away."

"What's the light?" Someone else asked.

"Does everyone have it?" a third person asked before we could answer the other question.

"Open mine," someone demanded.

Soon we were surrounded by people demanding us to open their light.

"Later," El said as she and Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa pushed their way through and made a path for the rest of us.

"Please," someone said with so much emotion it made me stop. I wasn't the only one. Lieutenant Tanpo and Warpaint dutifully followed behind El and Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa, but the four of us teenagers stopped.

Esther was the first to move again, but it wasn't to follow El and Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa. She went to the person who said please. She placed one hand on their forehead and the other swung around to the back of their head. Owen moved slightly before Shel and I did to do the same with the people around us.

I placed my hands on a fellow Starwatcher. His eyes looked on me with such hope that something strange stirred within me. I didn't contemplate what the feeling was. I closed my eyes and focused on pulling. I couldn't see his light - none of us could until it came out. None of us as far as I knew anyway. I had a strange suspicion of Vai. He wasn't like the rest of us in many ways, but I didn't think he knew how special he was. The fact that he stayed when he died was proof he was different. I didn't think it had anything to do with his dad's Laumalie preserver. When he pulled the light from someone, it seemed to open much quicker than when any of the rest of us did it.

I felt the Starwatcher's light, but still couldn't see it. I pulled it - stretched it. It tugged back momentarily until it finally burst free into a beautiful lilac.

"Thank you," the Starwatcher said. I heard similar thank yous from those around Esther, Owen and Shel.

"What are you doing?!" El's voice boomed in the crowded corridor. People shrinked back from her as she stormed towards the four of us. "We don't have time for this and neither I nor Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa gave you permission to open their light."

Esther opened her mouth to retort, but Shel beat her to it.

"Permission?" he asked quietly. He sighed out and placed his hand on the back of his mother's neck as he guided her forward towards the elevators. "Mom," he said gently, "we're going to have to talk about this."

El didn't seem comfortable with this. The rest of us filed in line with them.

"Wait," someone in the crowd called out to us. "What about the rest of us?"

"These four can open your light," Esther said.

"How?" the Starwatcher with the lilac light asked.

"You just place your hands like we did," Ether said, "and pull with your light. You won't see their light, but you will feel it pull and stretch like taffy before their light opens."

We reached the elevators. The people no longer surrounded us, but now went to the four people who just had their lights opened. They were already placing their hands on people as the elevator door slid closed in front of us blocking our view to see if they succeeded or not. I was sure they would succeed though. It hadn't failed yet.

I watched the sleeping Vai as we continued passed the various decks up to the bridge. I pictured him spreading his green light to surround my dad, the pink Corruption leaving my dad, and my dad throwing his arms around me once again.

He saves. A savior. And that thought startled me and frightened me. Vai wouldn't want me thinking of him as anything other than a friend. I looked around at my other friends afraid they could read my thoughts. Esther and Owen weren't paying attention to me, but Shel studied me closely. Of course he did. The ridge above his right eye raised in question. I swallowed and looked away. I couldn't let my thoughts towards Vai go down that direction.

I thought back on how those 5 with the Corruption back in the docking bay had hugged him when he saved them - even the captain had hugged him. He did save people, but he was a person - my friend - he wouldn't want to be idolized. Especially not by me.

The elevator door slid open and we stepped into the corridor that would lead us to the bridge. We weren't stopped or questioned this time, but ushered through. There were more people on duty on the bridge now than there was before.

Vai's dad placed a hand on the top of Vai's head and said quietly, "Wake up, son."

Vai's dark brown eyes flashed open. He looked around the bridge - saw all the people looking at him in Warpaint's arms - and he squirmed until Warpaint put him on his feet.

"Why didn't you shoot that shuttle?" El demanded of the captain.

The captain's cold eyes settled on El before dismissing her. When the captain spoke, she spoke to us five teenagers. The adults were completely left out of the equation. Which answered who she thought the light specialists were and it didn't include El or Lieutenant Tanpo.

"Those with the Corruption on the other exploration vessels - including some captains - decided to hold their ships hostage if we did not let the shuttle pass safely. Everyone in the G.E.F. with the Corruption will board the Remembrance - "

"But if they leave their ships the Corruption inside them will die," Vai interrupted.

"Yes," the captain said, "but without your healing light, Vai, they will still do anything the Corruption wants of them. They know more Corruption await them on the Remembrance to fill that empty void and they will do anything to get it back."

Vai looked down at his feet and sighed.

"So what do you want from us?" Shel asked the captain.

"We will let the Corruption and the Remembrance go. In exchange, they will let all those on the Remembrance who do not have the Corruption leave the Remembrance unfettered and they will be dispersed to the remaining G.E. vessels."

"That is a terrible idea," El said. "You are just going to let the enemy go? With a Gathering Exploration Vessel at that?"

"To save the entire Gathering Exploration Fleet - yes," the captain said. "They will fire on the other ships in the fleet if we don't do this. They will murder those without the Corruption if we don't do this."

Captain Axa stared down El before she turned to the five of us again.

"Lieutenant Tanpo will take you five to the other ships to start opening their lights."

"My son is too tired," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amalo said just as El said, "Others can do it."

The captain looked at the two parents with a hard expression on her face. "I'm establishing these 5 as the light specialists. They may be young, but they are the only experts right now in the entire Gathering. We need them to be established as such. They've proven themselves."

"I want to do this," Vai volunteered.

"Me too," Esther and Owen quickly said.

"We're with them," I said to indicate Shel and I stood beside our friends. I wasn't sure how I felt about being a specialist. I had been thinking of graduating early anyway. The only reason I hadn't yet was because Esther liked being in school again and I wanted to support her. I didn't think I was against being known as an expert. In fact, I kind of liked the idea.

"You only have to open the light in the command staff of each vessel," Captain Axa said. "They can then take care of the rest of their ships."

"Let's get going," Vai said. He was willing, but his eyes still seemed heavy.

"You can have an hour to rest and recoup," Captain Axa said. "Then meet Lieutenant Tanpo in the docking bay."

"I'm going with them," El said.

"I am as well," Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa said.

"No, you're not," Captain Axa said.

That didn't sit well with either parent.

"Do you want to know why I am not including you as an expert, El?" Captain Axa asked.

I was curious.

El didn't say anything.

"You will try to order and impose your will on these younger ones," Captain Axa said.

And it was true. It was already happening.

"They should not be stifled," Captain Axa said. "They've survived and proven their worth without us. I want them to be as they are. They are new and that might be what we need to win this war." Captain Axa looked to Lieutenant Tanpo. "You, Lieutenant already have a job you are good at. I need you as a pilot."

"Understood," Lieutenant Tanpo said. Her voice actually sounded relieved.

"You are all dismissed then," Captain Axa said. "Meet at the docking bay in an hour."