I left the room feeling strangely happy. Despite everything that had happened earlier and the image of Peggy, bloody and beaten, that had been seared into my brain, my heart felt lighter. Buoyant, almost.

We had the beginnings of a plan and we would get her back. I knew in my heart that it would work. It had to. Harvey was too greedy, he would never pass the opportunity to get me. I could see his smug face in my mind now. He’d rub it in Cas’ face. I’d be paraded around in shackles to prove to the universe that I was not a powerful or strong person worthy of praise, just a dumb kid who got mixed up in something bigger than herself.

“Aries!” Andy called from where he was standing looking over Orion’s monitor.

Orion’s face lit up and Andy barely managed to move out of the way just as both of Orion’s arms came up to complete a swooping, elaborate salute.

“Hey! You found anything interesting?” I asked, glancing at the screen.

I wasn’t exactly sure what they were looking at. I saw numbers, times, and names but I didn’t know what they meant.

“Yes and no,” Andy said, his eyes carefully examining my face. “It appears to be some of the Guardians’ work schedules but they might be irrelevant now. I assume that they’ll be changed following our attack.”

I nodded. That made sense. The Council would probably want more Guardians to make sure another attack didn’t happen.

“It’s pretty interesting though. It’s giving us a good insight into how they work and their patterns. Once things settle down and the Council stop being so cautious again, it’ll definitely come in handy,” Orion added eagerly.

“Awesome,” I said to him with a smile which he returned.

“Are you going back to your room now?” Andy asked.

“Yeah, I was planning on it. Might swing by the stores and get some food for the crew though. I don’t think anyone’s eaten since before we left.”

Andy nodded.

“Good idea. It’s important to try and make sure your crew are eating properly. Would you like some company on the walk?” he offered.

I felt a hint of pride wash through me at his approval and suppressed a smile.

“Yes, please. If you’re not still needed here?”

“Not at all! In fact, I told Elliot I would be back,” he checked the time on his screen, “ten minutes ago.”

I chuckled slightly and watched as he glanced once more at Orion’s screen before standing.

“Alright, Orion, if you need anything else, feel free to send me a message. I should be back here in a few hours anyway,” Andy said to Orion who was watching us with rapt attention.

“Of course! I’ll send you a message straight away! Um… Not that I’ll bother you, you clearly need sleep. No! I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t look tired or anything!” Orion said quickly, panic making his voice high pitched.

Andy laughed and waved a dismissive hand at him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve looked in the mirror. Aries, shall we?”

I smiled at Orion’s worried expression and followed Andy from the room.

We set off at a leisurely pace, clearly neither one of us were in a real rush to get back to our rooms. I didn’t want to face my crew just yet. I couldn’t tell them about the plan, they’d worry too much. Especially Cas.

“I think Orion might be your biggest fan,” I said finally as we entered the elevator.

Andy laughed quietly.

“I’d wager he’s a bigger fan of you and your crew. He told me earlier that he wanted to get you to sign his screen.”

My face dropped and I felt blood rush into my cheeks.

“What did you say to that?” I asked, seeing my look of horror in the reflective metal panels on the wall.

Andy’s face was alight with mirth.

“I told him that you might not be enjoying all of the attention you’re getting and that it might be better to give you some more time before asking.”

A sigh slipped from my lips and my shoulders slumped with relief.

“Thank you. You’re right, I hate it. I feel like I don’t deserve the praise people keep piling on,” I admitted quietly, my eyes fixed on the floor number on the screen above us.

“I know how you feel,” Andy said softly. “People still sometimes congratulate me for missions I completed years ago. Before you were even born. That’s part of the problem with us.”

I finally looked at him, confused as to what he meant.

“Our reputation precedes us. We both started something we never meant to and now we must deal with the consequences of that.”

I swallowed and looked down, unable to look at him for any longer. Anxiety built in my chest but at the same time, it felt good to know that someone else felt how I did.

“How did you deal with it? I mean, you were on Nova for all those years, working with the Council whilst this was all going. How did you not fall apart?” I asked, tears threatening my eyes.

He considered his answer as we stepped out of the lift and begun walking towards the storeroom.

“It was hard,” he admitted finally. “At first, I spent every single day wanting to be on Freo with Elliot. Of course, I didn’t know where he was. Chal refused to tell me, just in case the Council decided to interrogate me. But it did get easier. I realised why I had to stay behind and how I could help the fight from Nova. I was able to change things on the base, make it a better environment for you kids and rebel against the Council in my own small ways.”

A smile came over Andy’s face at that.

“Was it hard being away from Elliot for that long?” I asked, my traitorous mind reminding me that I might be in the same position.

I knew there was a risk that I might be captured and kept from Cas for as long as Harvey could manage.

“Of course it was. I didn’t know if he’d survived or not and, despite Chal’s reassurances, I needed to see him with my own eyes to make sure. I wasn’t able to for far too long. It took a good few years before the Council trusted me enough to stop tailing me every time I left the planet but then we could finally see each other again. Not often, of course. The Council would get suspicious if I suddenly started going on long trips away from the base but the small moments we snatched together made it easier. Well, that and the comms device I had in my office so that we could speak.”

That surprised me. I didn’t think it would be possible to have a comms device on the base that transmitted to Nova. Surely, it was too much of a risk. It gave me hope though. Maybe if I was captured, I could find a way to speak to Cas and the rest of my crew.

“You had a comms device in your office?” I asked, trying to think back.

A smirk came over his face.

“I did. I fitted it into the panel from Mersa. No one ever questioned it, they just thought I wanted to relive my glory days.”

I felt my eyebrows rise as he spoke. It was clever to fit the device into the panel from his old ship. The Council were big on keeping souvenirs and showing off their accomplishments, I bet they wouldn’t have even batted an eyelid at it.

“That was smart,” I replied.

“I certainly thought so. It seemed to work at least.”

I smiled and pushed the storeroom door open, greeting the person at the front desk and grabbing a bioplastic bag from the table.

“How was the meeting with Aquila?” he asked, following me down an aisle.

I scanned the shelves of snacks, trying to work out what to say. I didn’t want to lie to him but at the same time, I knew Aquila wouldn’t want me to tell him the truth.

“It was… okay,” I said hesitantly, grabbing a couple of bags of crisps.

I could feel his eyes on my face.

“Is everything alright?”

The concern was evident in his voice and I felt guilt stab my heart. I wanted to tell him what Aquila had said but at the same time, I didn’t want him to stop the plan and I knew he wouldn’t be happy with it.

“Yeah. She just wanted to talk about Peggy,” I answered, still not meeting his gaze.

“Ah.”

I could tell he didn’t fully believe me but he didn’t push it any further.

“How are you feeling about the whole situation?” he asked.

My throat felt tight and I had to swallow before I could answer.

“I mean, obviously not great. She looked so small and fragile. I just… We need to get her back,” I said, looking up into his equally anguished eyes.

“I know. We will.”

His words helped to soothe some of the residual heartbreak in me. Maybe he would understand if I explained it to him. I could tell him about the plan and he’d see things from our side and wouldn’t stand in the way, I was almost sure of it.

“Ah, don’t forget this. I believe Cas is still partial to it,” Andy said, plucking a bottle of n’hitel from the cooler and handing it to me.

I let out a confused laugh.

“Wait, how do you know about that?” I asked.

He cocked his head to one side and gave me a broad smile.

“Aries, did you really think I didn’t know who the anonymous petitions were coming from?”

“What? What anonymous petitions?”

I truly had no clue what he was talking about.

“Cas sent me one every new term asking for n’hitel to be added to the taps in the canteen. I believe his argument was that it has medicinal qualities and mood enhancement effects.”

A laugh spilt out of my mouth. Of course Cas had campaigned for that.