“Please, you have to rest.”

“Yes. I’ll do just that. Once I’ve gotten back out there and avenge my team!”

“Captain, you’re resting now, and that’s an order.”

Minho huffed, unable to draw enough strength to fight the gentle hand that pushed him back down on the bed. “I’m not made for resting.”

His doctor chuckled, nodding as he checked the holo tablet, the instrument transparent and yet with all of the text backwards to his eyes Minho couldn’t read a word of it. “Oh yes, I’m more than aware of that.”

“Jinki. I’m being serious.” Minho insisted, huffing again as he desperately looking into the doctor’s eyes in the hopes of persuading him. “I can’t just lie around here waiting.”

Jinki let out a soft sigh, the holo tablet vanishing as he turned off the display so now he only held a device in the shape and size of a pen. “I know, Minho. I’m sorry.” He said, pocketing the pen like device. “And you know I would never want to stop you from doing what’s right. You’ve protected all of human civilisation all these years and you’ve never once failed. But right now you are just too weak, even in your armour, to protect anyone, much less yourself.”

“And now you’re using your authority as a doctor to keep me confined.” Minho concluded.

Jinki’s smile was almost blinding as he nodded. “Exactly.” The smile faded in a matter of moments, however, as the doctor broke the line of professionalism and slid in hand into Minho’s. “And I hope that with that authority and my personal request, you will obey the order?”

In an automatic reaction, Minho gripped Jinki’s fingers, albeit a little weaker than usual. “I don’t know if I can…” He admitted, wanting nothing more to be able to do as his love asked, wanting to keep his nerves at an ease. But there was nothing to ease the bubbling of rage and utter fear in his chest. “Jinki… you don’t know what I’ve seen. What killed my team, what almost killed me…” His sentence broke off, the image of the intergalactic army that had been advancing, that he’d narrowly escaped. How easily they’d slaughtered his five member team. How the voice still echoed in his mind with the warning that shook him to his very core. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen and if someone – if I don’t stop it… there won’t be any human civilisation to protect anymore.”

Jinki bowed his head, unable to keep the straight face he’d so desperately tried to keep.

Unfortunately for him, Minho was adept at noticing even the slightest change in a person’s expression. “Jinki? What is it? What happened?” He demanded, trying to look into his eyes.

“Minho… you were asleep for a very long time. In fact… it took us a very long time to find you. You were floating in space for at least two weeks.” Jinki informed him. “Even now, you took well over a month to wake up…” With his head still lowered, he squeezed Minho’s hand, sniffling as he fought to keep his tears at bay. “I’m sorry, Minho… you’re already too late…”

Minho’s eyes shot open wide. “W-what?”