He wants to sleep. He needs to sleep.

So when his back finally curves into the softness of his mattress, Yoongi is already shutting his eyes. A delicious sense of relief, rest, and peace engulfs him. He breathes out slow, slipping into the depths of a welcomed darkness-

‘Yoongi?’

Jolting up, heart racing, Yoongi sits up, back against a tall and wide tree. The air feels red, the sky red, the sunrise just barely reaching through the leaves to shine on them.

It’s unsettling to see them like this. It’s strange to see them here, and not look at this from there.

Yoongi watches himself, unsure how to process this. Unsure how to process that there was another Yoongi there- that there was another Jimin there.

‘This is your memory- our memory,’ Jimin tells him quietly from next to him.

His hand is in Jimin’s, following him from the dark of his unconsciousness and into the red light of his memories- no, of their Dreams.

‘How are we here?’ Yoongi asks, turning about inside the forest before looking down at Jimin. The soft beanie he’s wearing is stained a dull reddish hue, the light around them washing them both in a strange filter of colour. ‘How are…how are you doing this?’

Jimin looks away from them, away from where they’re now crouching outside the broken walls and terrifying heights of the tower built into the windy mountain side.

‘Is this the first Dream you had?’ Jimin asks, the eclipse in his eyes brighter than before. Somehow the light of the red sky above doesn’t colour Jimin’s gaze and Yoongi finds himself staring, just drinking in the brightness of a light untainted and pure.

‘No,’ Yoongi replies after a long while. ‘I saw Yoongi’s sister. I saw Earth.’

‘Take me there,’ Jimin asks him, squeezing his hand.

‘I don’t know how.’ Yoongi replies honestly.

‘Then we’ll find it,’ Jimin smiles, guiding him into the door that lead into the tower.

It’s disconcerting, Yoongi supposes, seeing himself (or the original Yoongi at least) on the floor. This is what it had looked like to Jimin. The entire situation feels new to Yoongi, looking at it from a different perspective.

‘I think- I think here,’ Jimin says softly, kneeling besides his other self.

Yoongi isn’t quite sure how to process this, but he too kneels.

The other Jimin is speaking too, but somehow it’s almost as though he can’t hear him. Can’t understand.

The Yoongi on the floor is ghostly white, but he’s attempting to smile.

There’s a confusing moment where Yoongi is looking at this scene, but at the same time he’s living it; Jimin’s face is drawn, his spirit broken, and all he wants to do is hold him-

Jimin takes out a small glittery hair clip and hands it to him.

Yoongi takes the clip and puts it on to his hair with shaking hands. Jimin is quick to help him, gently setting it into his matted strands. Jimin looks terrified and heartbroken. And Yoongi is a little selfish because he wants to see him smile.

So he strikes a pose, a terrible one in fact. Jimin is crying, tears sparkling down his cheeks, nodding as he tries to smile. He says something, as though indulging Yoongi in his little fevered attempts to create a lighter atmosphere. It makes Yoongi laugh, and this in turn makes Jimin smile for real. His eyes crinkling, smile wide enough to push up his cheeks.

‘Sunshine,’ Yoongi holds his hand out towards Jimin, confident that he would take it.

Jimin is quick to take his proffered hand, and instead of just holding it, presses it to his face.

What Yoongi would do to have this for the rest of his life. To feel Jimin like this- close, intimate, and so precious.

But Yoongi would disregard all of that, if it meant Jimin could be safe. If it meant he could return home, away from this place, away from this disease, away from all of this pain.

‘Yoongi.’

Yoongi is startled to find himself looking down at the scene he was living just moments ago. He was…he was not on the floor- this was different. Jimin was not looking down at him, tears overflowing from his eyes.

Jimin is standing next to him, and in his hand is the small clip.

‘Look at me,’ he says quietly, turning and standing before Yoongi, blocking the scene behind them. There’s a rushing sound of the wind and Yoongi wants to turn, wants to watch even though he knows what’s about to happen. But Jimin lifts his free hand, palm curving to fit the side of his face and holds his gaze.

‘Take me to your first dream,’ he tells him as the room floods with the sound of red- the sound of death, of loss. He feels Jimin’s hand taking his own, a small object pressing into his palm and then-

The sun is shining.

It’s warm. Maybe a bit too warm. But there’s a gentle breeze that blows about occasionally and the sweat on his skin cools. He fights the urge to yawn, instead opting to stretch his arms over his head. He blocks the sun with his hands for a while, rings of light burst through his fingers, light splitting into spectrums of colour for a fraction of a second.

He can breathe. He was no longer on the floor, no longer collapsing as death converged upon them.

‘Earth,’ Jimin exhales quietly, looking around the memory with an awed expression.

‘Don’t look at the sun! You know that the eclipse is going to take place soon- do you want to fry your eyes?’

‘Yoongi,’ Jimin points upwards, ‘Look.’

And then he smiles at him and when Yoongi blinks, Jimin’s eyes are reflecting in the sky above.

‘Just dream-‘

He snorts, rolling his eyes and looking over to the side. He was in the process of dozing off, pretty sure he was about to start dreaming but noooooooo-

‘So hand me those glasses and stop complaining.’

‘GUYS! HEY GUYS! COME OVER HERE AND CHECK THIS OUT!’ a loud voice yells.

‘Please control your sister’s volume settings I swear to god the entire neighbourhood can hear her.’ Amic groans next to him.

‘Just because she’s AI doesn’t mean she has “settings” what the -‘ Yoongi grimaces at his best friend.

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t ask your parents for a remote control for her settings-‘ Amic asks, reminding Yoongi of his naïve assumptions as a child.

‘I was five let it go-‘ Yoongi groans.

‘I SAID COME CHECK THIS OUT YOU S-‘ she screeches from the other end of the patio, making both Yoongi and Amic nearly fall off of low reclining chairs.

‘WE’RE COMING FOR ’S SAKE CONTROL YOUR VOLUME-‘ Yoongi screeches back.

‘Siblings indeed you both swear so much-‘ Amic chortles as he makes to stand, his lanky long arms grazing the extended ceiling over the patio.

‘Shut the up-‘ Yoongi replies without any malice.

The floorboards are warmed by the sun and they’re dry under his bare feet. It’s a lazy afternoon and the urge to nap is slowly overtaking his senses. God knows he’ll need more sleep after they leave Earth, he just wants to store up on all the sleep he can possibly get now. They walk over to where Chaewon was waiting for them, a small telescope in her hand, and a screen in the other.

‘Finally- come check this out!’ she beckons them over hurriedly, nearly losing the screen in the process.

She just turned 13 last week and to celebrate turning into a teenager, she decided to chop off a majority of her hair, leaving it into a silky rather bushy bob of a cut below her ears. They had to salvage her hair, seeing as she had taken to the scissors herself. Their mother nearly had an aneurism at the sight of badly butchered hair and rushed her willful daughter to the salon to somewhat make it look better. She had a sparkly little star-shaped clip on her hair, pulling it back behind her ears that were recently pierced as well. He remembers buying the clip for her from an accessory store from the Mars Docks. It was made in Earth, but she still freaked out nonetheless.

It made going to the Mars Docks worth it.

She points enthusiastically at the floor. They had a large tree outside of their apartment unit facing one of the many parks that was grown and maintained in the Settlement Arc. Sunlight was pouring through the canopy of leaves and the floor was riddled with crescent shaped lights.

‘Isn’t this amazing?’ she asks, eyes wide and filled with awe.

‘It is,’ he admits before he adds, ‘Don’t let mum hear you swearing – she’ll blame me again.’

‘We both know she swears more than the two of us- besides, you aren’t even here long enough for me to learn your “wicked ways”.’ She rolls her eyes.

‘Yes well, I’ll be gone soon enough so you’re saved from my influence for another 7 years.’

She suddenly looks sad.

‘I’ll be 20 by the time you come back- that’s not fair.’ She frowns. ‘I’ll be old.’

‘If you think 20 is old what do you think I am?’

‘-ancient.’ She giggles.

‘You’ll be taller than your brother no doubt-ouch!’ Amic chimes in with a grin.

He takes a seat next to her on the ground, ruffling her hair.

‘You’re talking as though you won’t message me every other day and like we won’t see each other through calls.’ Yoongi’s chest constricts when he says that, knowing what will have to inevitably happen.

She sighs, leaning into Yoongi with a shrug.

‘Next time we meet I might even come to Tayi and surprise you.’ She grumbles as Amic shuffles about the grass that bordered the patio, clearly giving them a moment. He had been incessant about Yoongi spending as much time with his family as possible. But Yoongi didn’t want to raise suspicion. Not that he never spent time with his family, but going out of his way before leaving for what his mother and sister assumed to be further studies to just spend time with them would undoubtedly raise suspicions.

‘Yeah?’ Yoongi  manages to reply, sounding quite normal despite how his throat felt tight.

‘Yeap- and I’ll be better than you- just wait.’

He laughs, throwing his head back. He had no doubt about. At 12- no, 13, Chaewon was already showing signs of exceeding Yoongi in nearly every field he excelled in while growing up. And he can trust in knowing that Chaewon would never do the things he did, and would never do the things he was going to have to do either.

‘It’s a deal.’

‘We should probably get going if we want to watch the eclipse properly.’ Amic calls as he squints up at the sky.

‘Do we have to- I mean, it’s not that great of a thing-‘ Yoongi scowls, wondering what was even so special about the solar eclipse. Honestly he’s seen enough flying in and out of planets.

‘Don’t be a spoil sport and move your - am I right?’ Chaewon says with a huff, looking at Amic for support.

‘He’s right.’

Some best friend he was.

Yoongi huffs out a defeated laugh.

‘Fine- gang up on me then.’

The best place to watch the eclipse according to the local Settlement paper was at Level M3 Dock. Which is why Yoongi, Amic, and Chaewon go to Level M4 because there would be less people. Not a lot of people stare at Amic, though his height does garner a lot of attention from children who gawk, thoroughly impressed. And Amic, being the show-off he was, stands straighter, making his strides longer, more arched. He stops when Yoongi and Chaewon give him unimpressed looks.

‘You’re both uncannily similar,’ he mumbles, arms crossing and lifting his nose to the air.

Quite suddenly, Chaewon takes Yoongi’s hand.

‘Can’t you, I dunno, like take leave or something.’ She says, not even looking at him as they walk towards the Dock. They all decided to walk instead of take the tram, wanting to stretch their legs and avoid traffic.

‘I don’t think that’s possible?’ he laughs.

‘You know what I mean,’ she huffs irritably, blowing her hair out of her face.

Yoongi wasn’t always one to talk about his feelings as they put it. But then again, his sister was the same. It was probably a result of how their mother was. And it still hurt Yoongi that Chaewon couldn’t grow up in a house where she didn’t have to double-think her actions or words just in case they triggered a reaction from their mother. Yoongi was already used to it, but he didn’t want Chaewon to have to go through it. He tried his best but with all the meetings and conferences he had to attend in the Mars Docks recently, he was unable to shield his sister.

How could he try and prevent it when he wasn’t even there?

‘I’ll see y’all in a bit- you’re both too slow and I refuse to third-wheel emotional family stuff.’ Amic announces.

‘Then get the out of here,’ Yoongi responds without missing a beat.

‘Language!’ he wags his finger at him before shuffling backwards though not before giving Yoongi a subtle but significant look.

The Min siblings both flick him off, making him cackle at their identical reaction. He draws some attention to himself as he skips up ahead, gangly form bouncing all over the place with surprising weight for someone so slight.

‘Still not used to seeing others here,’ Yoongi comments, watching the way the crowd parted to let him through, gaping after him with some awe.

‘Well- not ones that look like him,’ she replies with a small laugh.

‘Take care of mum while I’m gone.’ He says quietly after a while, his chest tightening even more.

‘You don’t have to tell me that,’ she mumbles, still refusing to look at him.

It was definitely a family trait.

He feels bad about having to do this. But this was a rare opportunity after all- not everyone was offered the chance to join the Raksane Tayi Scientific Research Panel. And their mother had insisted- lecturing him with a bewildered tone at his hesitation to accept. But that had been during one of her better spells- when she was more herself than whatever it was she had turned into now. And even though he knew that he would be light-years away, this would create a better future, establish a better future for his sister.

But the worst part of it all was that none of it was even true.

He understands the need for secrecy, the need for complete cover-up and the lies he had to tell his family for this. This was for their safety. He regrets nothing.

The only thing he regretted from all of this was knowing that Chaewon would have to grow faster than other children her age. That she wouldn’t be allowed many of the experiences that she would normally go through for a girl her age. That she would have to give up on so much not out of necessity but out of obligation and love. That was always the worst- knowing that you would hate yourself for not doing it. And he knew that all too well, because that was what he was doing now.

And what he was going to do, was beyond himself, beyond his family- this was about all of Life.

‘Did you go see him?’ she asks quietly as they climb up some of the stairs leading to Level M.

‘No,’ he replies before lying easily. He thinks of the tiny square cement wall with their family name inscribed on it in the Settlement’s cemetery. ‘I will when I come back.’

‘That’s…that’s so far away.’ She says quietly, waiting a moment as a horde of teenagers rush past to catch a tram.

‘You’re starting school and trust me, it won’t feel too long.’ He grins as he bends down to hug her, more for his own comfort than anything else. ‘Remember? I’m ancient, I know how school will be.’

‘Try to come back as quickly as you can.’ Her voice is wobbly, like it was about to break.

Yoongi tries his best to not break down, to not fall on his knees and tell her everything.

‘I will.’

Their walk to the Dock is quiet, hands held. Yoongi, in a brief moment of panic, wonders if Chaewon knew something was off. Wonders if she could just sense that Yoongi wasn’t telling her everything. But he knows it’s his own guilt, his fears, his insecurities.

His training had more than enough taught him how to lie, how to maintain and continue fabrication- how to live a lie.

Amic is already there, holding in his hands 3 hand-made paper and plastic goggles. It was funny how despite how much progress Earth and Humans experienced, they still somehow stuck to old and outdated traditions. Amic senses their quiet mood and respectfully doesn’t say anything as he passes them the goggles. They make their way through the Dock, which is thankfully not crowded.

‘It’s starting,’ Amic says as he slides the goggles on. Yoongi is pretty sure he doesn’t strictly need to wear it, but is only doing so to not stick out.

Yoongi slides the uncomfortable goggles on and looks up.

It takes a few moments before his eyes can focus and it shows up clearly.

‘It’s beautiful.’

It is. It’s beautiful.

It’s a force of nature.

Something meant to happen despite all odds or despite what anyone would have ever imagined.

An occurrence that would defy all logic.

‘You’ve seen it at least 3 times already.’ Yoongi manages to sound wry.

‘Doesn’t stop it from being beautiful- and it’s gonna be another 56 years before the next one shows up on this side.’ His sister replies.

‘Do you know old you’ll be in 56 years?’ Yoongi chuckles.

‘Yeah- do you?’ she challenges, making Amic snort.

‘I’m too aware.’

The lights shift- a strange tint fills the air and everything turns quiet. If he listens close enough, he guesses he’d be able to hear the sound of the wind outside the Arc and the sound of the massive turbines keeping them afloat. Instead he listens to the sound of her breathing.

He’s seen the eclipse one too many times for it to be anything interesting or new. But the look of awe and fascination on her face makes him feel like it was worth coming up all the way here just to be part of her memory. After all, this did make a pretty cool event marker in his timeline.

It was almost destined- a sign that this was supposed to happen. That what he was about to do, was already preplanned, already eclipsing the decisions and choices he could have ever made.

Yoongi feels like this is where he would have been regardless of all the choices, mistakes, decisions.

‘There’s that story- about how the moon and the sun are lovers- you heard that before?’ Amic asks as he removes his goggles, looking straight up at the eclipse.

‘Yes! I read a story about that!’ Chaewon replies excitedly.

‘Back in my planet- it’s actually a part of one of our religions you know?’ Amic doesn’t even blink, looking up at the slowly forming eclipse, a strange look passing his face.

‘Oh! That’s kinda cool!’ Chaewon jumps a little.

‘Cataclysmic more like,’ Amic snorts, looking normal again. ‘Literally everyone wanted to get married during the eclipse- it was like, good luck or something. Like how no matter what, the moon and sun would always find each other- the married couple would always find each other too.’

‘But that’s cute,’ she argues, adjusting the goggles properly.

‘I mean I guess, but it’s like, such a common thing you know? My parents did the same.’ Amic rolls his eyes and gets distracted by the sight of a food stand opening to the side of the Dock. Yoongi is half sure it’s illegal to do so but it made good business for the day.

‘Finally it’s empty- be right back!’ Amic waves and lopes his way towards the hotdog stand, something that never failed to delight him for some reason. Yoongi briefly wonders if he should get Amic a keychain with a hotdog on it or something.

‘Do you think it’s possible for the eclipse to last forever?’ Chaewon asks out of nowhere, still looking up at the sky as a dark wedge starts to form in the sky.

‘I’m pretty sure the reason why people like the eclipse so much and freak out about it is because it’s temporary and doesn’t happen frequently,’ Yoongi replies wryly. ‘It’s why we’re all out here despite having seen it happen so many times.’

‘No I meant-‘ she stops for a while, still not looking away. ‘What if time froze? And all we ever saw was this- like, what would that be like?’

Yoongi doesn’t reply, his throat blocked, his chest curling in on itself. He can’t speak, and it seems as though Chaewon wasn’t really looking for an answer either. So he chooses to look up as well, watching as the dark wedge grows bigger and bigger, fully covering the sun in a matter of seconds. The sky turns a strange dim shade and there are gasps and sounds of exclamation.

A flare erupts through the sky and the brightness of it all ingrains itself into Yoongi’s mind. The ring of white fire glows and every time he blinked it beamed at him.

The world is transformed under this light- under this sky- and the entirety of time seems to pause, to allow them to witness this known cosmic beauty for just a few seconds longer- just a few heartbeats longer. Just long enough for him to feel as though he was breathing at the same pace with everyone gathered around them. To feel as though he were looking at the same sky with everyone- to feel the planet sigh at the sight of the eclipse.

‘It would be just like this.’

‘Yoongi?’

Yoongi looks down, surprised to find himself still standing by the edge of the Dock that was almost empty now.

‘Are you okay?’ Chaewon is looking down at him in worry while Amic hovers, holding a bottle of cold water in his hands.

‘What happened?’ Yoongi manages to get out.

‘You collapsed,’ Chaewon frowns, biting her lip in worry. ‘Uh- vertigo?’

Amic is carefully studying him as he hands him the bottle of water.

‘I- yeah, I guess.’ Yoongi sits up, not feeling nauseous or anything. What had happened? He glances up at the clear sky, the eclipse is over.

‘Let’s go home.’

Chaewon still looks worried when they get home. Yoongi manages to somewhat placate her by telling her it was probably fatigue and a heat . He wasn’t exaggerating; it was a warm day and he was pretty tired.

She prescribes him with a nice cold shower and announces that she was going to make a refreshing vegetable broth for dinner (precooked and bought from the store but she still considered it cooking).

Yoongi does take that shower and oddly enough feels better. He doesn’t jump when the bathroom door slides open and Amic stands there, leaning on the door.

‘Are you sure you’re okay? It’s not the treatment is it?’ Amic asks, nodding at Yoongi’s back.

Yoongi twists a little to look at his back in the mirror over his sink.

The dent on his back was just a side-effect of the mandatory treatment he was having to under go for their mission.

‘If you’re not feeling it, then it probably isn’t,’ Yoongi replies as he pulls on a shirt. Amic absentmindedly reaches for his own back, feeling at the dent there. Then he looks behind him, as though making sure Yoongi’s bedroom was empty.

‘You can still back out,’ he tells him. ‘You don’t have to do this.’

‘Pretty sure I can’t anymore,’ Yoongi snorts as he grabs his shaver. ‘Besides, can’t leave you alone.’

Amic doesn’t roll his eyes or make a snide comment about how he’s the one taking care of Yoongi instead.

‘Yoongi- you have a family- you have important Beings in your life who need you.’ He tells him carefully. ‘We’re not even sure about what we’re doing. How can you just…how can you just agree to this?’

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at Amic in the mirror as he says, ‘I could say the same to you.’

Amic just frowns at him.

‘I know what I’m doing- what I’m getting into. We both do.’ Yoongi says before he activates the shaver. ‘We both know the risks.’

Amic doesn’t look appeased by this.

‘Are you having second thoughts?’

‘I have many thoughts,’ Amic replies before asking, ‘Don’t you?’

‘Of course I do. None of this really adds up.’

Amic looks at him with a slight frown.

‘…are you actually thinking of doing this just because you want to find out more about it?’

Yoongi doesn’t reply immediately, intent on finishing his shaving job. When he finishes, setting down the shaver, he turns around and looks at his best friend.

‘After dinner, wanna take a walk?’

Chaewon is not happy that Yoongi is going for a walk. Because it was his own code for saying he was going out for a smoke and Chaewon heavily disapproved of it. But she relents though she makes it very clear that she’s not pleased, giving him side-eyes throughout the meal while Amic is distracted by a classic Disney film she put on for entertainment. Yoongi makes a mental note to buy her ice-cream as an apology.

‘Why won’t you tell them?’ Amic asks as they exit the Min household unit. This was one of the older Settlement Arcs and the housing units were aligned and put together much like apartment units though in this case formed whole houses with their own small gardens. The newer Settlement Arcs were designed better and provided you with more space and privacy while still maintaining the same measurements. But according to Yoongi’s mum, the Min’s having been living here for 8 generations already. Moving was out of the question.

Yoongi is also sure that there are no wonky paths that were once maintenance/construction paths entirely forgotten that lead out into odd heights across the Arc, most of which he discovered as a teen.

Yoongi finds himself shrugging.

‘It doesn’t feel right.’

‘None of it does,’ Amic nods in agreement.

They walk in continued silence, looking about casually, appearing for most of the part, like two Beings enjoying an evening stroll. The sun had already set but the sky was still alight.

Amic follows Yoongi through some questionable paths and up a few maintenance ladders until they physically leave the core Atmoshield surrounding the Arc. The air is thinner but still breathable, and the wind is a lot harsher here. Yoongi has always liked high places like this, secluded and lifted higher than most of the living spaces in the Arc. The narrow gap between two walls widens slightly before giving way to a shelf that overlooked the domes of the Settlement Arc, providing natural light within the structure below.

‘Nice,’ Amic comments as Yoongi takes a seat close to edge, his feet dangling over the open space, resting his arms on the bannisters. Amic takes a seat as well, leaning back a little on his arms and appreciating the view.

‘So what’s up?’

Yoongi pulls out a packet from his jacket, pulling out a cigarette and then lighting it up.

‘Have you told your parents?’ Yoongi asks as he huffs out a long stream of smoke.

Amic shakes his head, ‘Of course not.’

‘Maybe you should,’ Yoongi shrugs, exhaling as he sheds the pretense he’d been keeping up.

He feels old- stretched out almost. His skin is thin, his sight edged with white. But he refused to give in. Not now.

‘What are you saying?’

‘I’m saying we might not come back from this.’

Amic turns to look at him sharply.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘The corps,’ Yoongi shakes his head, knowing he has to be careful. ‘There’s something else.’

‘Of course there’s something else. We joined this knowing there was something more, it’s why you’re lying to your mother and sister.’

‘It’s not just what Yisheng Ndica said,’ Yoongi mumbles over his cigarette. ‘I looked into it.’

‘You don’t trust the Yishengs?’ Amic frowns.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust Yishengs,’ Yoongi replies, exhaling smoke again. ‘I don’t trust anyone with that much power. You see…’ he pauses, looking over the huge clear domes. Deep within the Settlement lights start to appear, and the cities within the Arc start to light up.

‘Humans we’re…we’re not the most durable or intelligent of species in the Universe.’ Yoongi comments dryly. ‘We’re also not exactly the most daring type.’

‘Is that an off-hand way of saying you’re really brave.’

Yoongi knocks Amic’s leg with his foot.

‘But if there’s one thing, we’re excessively paranoid- call it our past and what we’ve learnt from it. But it’s safe to say a lot of us learnt from history. And we still have loads to learn.’ Yoongi pauses, tapping the cigarette to flick off the ash. ‘But if there’s one thing- we don’t trust power, and we don’t trust politics.’

‘The Yishengs are not political,’ Amic frowns.

Yoongi snorts, ‘Sure. But they’re powerful. It’s almost religious, the way they’re revered in the Universe.’

‘What are you saying?’ Amic frowns. ‘If you don’t…I mean that’s an odd thing to say considering you know, you are Human, and your sister is AI.’

‘Again- I’m not saying I hate Yishengs or that I distrust them. It’s just there are…things I don’t trust.’

‘You can’t say things like this so casually,’ Amic says after a few seconds. ‘It’ll get you into trouble.’

‘I already got into trouble.’ Yoongi says carefully.

Amic freezes at that.

‘Are you going to finally tell me why you didn’t come back that night in Mars last week?’

Yoongi crushes his cigarette, tucking the remaining stick back into the packet.

‘The corps isn’t real. Not just in a “Roswell” kinda way either.’

‘Roswell?’

‘Back in history, there was a military air-force base called Roswell- people thought it was a headquarter for alien investigation and where the government of that time stored alien technology,’ Yoongi explains.

‘Was it?’

Yoongi snorts, ‘No- just a normal air-force base. Rumors floated all over the world about that place, making people want to investigate it. In the end nothing came of it, and when we were busy looking at places we thought were suspicious, we never saw the real threat that was growing.’

‘And that’s what you think this whole thing? A threat growing while we’re bothered about the realness or meaning of the “corps”?’ Amic asks.

Yoongi shakes his head before he says, ‘I’m pretty sure that what we’re doing at the corps is somewhat legitimate in regards with the Alliance- I’m just not sure how much of it is what they say it is, and how much of what we do is actually meant for the purpose we’re told, or what we’re going to do is actually for the mission statement.’

‘So we’re not actually working…against the Alliance…but for the Alliance?’ Amic words his question carefully.

‘I don’t know it’s just-‘

Amic waits for him to continue, not saying anything.

‘I think we’re part of the threat,’ Yoongi says slowly. ‘Right now, the main narrative of concern is in the form of the Alliance, and also the non-GLA Systems and planets- the potential threat they have against the GLA, the technology they don’t want to share, the resources they don’t want to share. And like the Raksane Tayi Scientific Panel, the GLA is creating commotion in one area to sidetrack from the main threat.’

‘So you’re saying that the GLA is doing this? What could the Scientific Panel actually even do? It’s all just old and baseless rumors,’ Amic counters though he’s not arguing, ‘Things like digital-souls can’t even be real.’

‘Logically of course we know that- so why would there be so much coverage and rumors flying about?’ Yoongi shoots back, looking over at the high clouds but not really seeing them. ‘It’s being used as a distraction while the real threat grows.’

‘Which is?’

Yoongi looks over the skies, not seeing but knowing that all of Earth lay below and before him.

‘Before Earth went through the Age of Revelations, it was already collapsing in on itself,’ Yoongi tells Amic. ‘The warning signs were there of course, but most people were distracted by other things hyped up news  networks and old databases. The things they were distracted by appeared important only because it was made to appear important. All of Earth was dying and despite it having reached a complex level of communications most people were not aware of what was happening. All of this was a distraction from the real problem at hand of course. And that distraction worked well, because it drove Earth into the Second Age of Darkness and effectively killed themselves in the process.’ He exhales, feeling his pulse heighten at a frightening pace. He’s never said this out loud to anyone before. ‘The same way the Yishengs will effectively kill all of the Universe.’

Amic’s expression doesn’t change. He only closes his eyes.

Yoongi continues on.

‘Last week, well- for almost a year now, I’ve been doing research- been looking into what we’ve been doing and- and nothing makes sense.’ Yoongi’s hands start to shake but he can’t control it. He doesn’t try to hide them either. ‘All I know is that similar to the way the Venture Unit takes up criminals and trains them as part of their agency, the Yishengs do a similar thing where they take individuals they believe are particularly loyal to them- or more accurately, to their power. Which is quite…quite extreme if you think of how everyone across the Universe treat the Yishengs- they are easily the most respected, and most revered of Beings, without question. Even Systems that refuse to take part in the GLA are still open to visits from the Yishengs.’

He almost feels breathless the more he speaks.

‘There are many powerful Beings who are like this, pawns of the Yishengs- working for them, under them-‘

‘-but for what?’ Amic interrupts. ‘You’re talking about this but I still don’t know what the purpose of any of this is-‘

‘Earth didn’t need to be rescued,’ Yoongi says abruptly. ‘Earth could have survived, could have started on her own if the people in power just stopped.’

‘Stopped what?’

‘Stopped wanting more- they wanted everything. Power is addictive and blinding and they were-‘

‘-are you saying the Yishengs are going power crazy?’ Amic looks incredulous.

‘It’s more then that-‘

‘Where’s your proof?’

Yoongi closes his eyes.

‘I- I don’t have proof but-‘

Amic stands up abruptly.

‘You need to clear you mind,’ Amic tells him, turning and clearly making to walk away. ‘You need to-‘

‘I met Yisheng Amme last week in Mars. That’s why I was late.’ Yoongi states bluntly. ‘She caught me snooping around the facility after the ships had left. She got me to tell her everything.’

‘What- she’s not supposed to be here- she’s not part of this-‘

‘I told her everything I couldn’t stop myself- my suspicions, what the Yishengs were doing, what we were supposed to do-‘ Yoongi hasn’t moved. But neither has Amic. ‘I thought she would kill me- I don’t know, or have me sent to Teronko’ng but-‘

Amic takes a step closer.

‘She told me that what I felt was right. That what I thought was correct. She said that there was something wrong- something incredibly wrong with what was happening with what we were doing.’ Yoongi vividly remembers the tall Yisheng, cornering him in the dark of the lab where Yoongi, Amic, and approximately 50 others had just finished the final part of their medical treatment to ready them for their “corps” mission.

He had felt compelled to tell her everything, and it was probably due to her abilities.  

‘You’re not wrong. But you’re not all right- after all, what can be right, when everything is wrong?’ she had said.

‘Why are you here?’ Yoongi had asked breathlessly.

‘Earth is special,’ she had replied. ‘There are special souls born there- strong, ancient, and more powerful than what any of us can see.’

‘What are you looking for?’

‘I’m looking for answers, Yoongi. And maybe you can find them for me.’

‘So you’re telling me, that Yisheng Amme has now more or less, given you a secret mission within our own secret mission, to report back to her, about this secret mission?’ Amic summarizes.

Yoongi nods.

Amic sits down again.

The night sky creeps up on them, the pale yellow light from the the domes below colouring the misty clouds above. Yoongi can just about make out a few stars overhead.

‘She looked at my back,’ Yoongi says quietly. ‘She didn’t recognize it. She doesn’t know why we have it.’

Amic’s hand twitches, almost as though trying to reach back for it.

‘You still went through with it. The final phase was after that night. You still sat through it.’

‘Because I need to know,’ Yoongi replies firmly. ‘I need to know what they’re doing.’

‘And what if you find out? What will you do then? What does it do for you?’ Amic asks.

‘The problem with Earth,’ Yoongi says slowly, ‘Was not that those in power were out of control- it was that the population who lived at that time wouldn’t do anything.’ He glances at Amic as he says, ‘And I don’t want to be that- I don’t want to do nothing when I can see so clearly as to what is happening. Not when I’m actually a part of that problem.’

The sit in silence darkness now completely taking over.

‘I’m not…asking you to join me. Or anything. But you’re my best friend. And this…what we’re about to do…is not something I want you to see-‘

‘-you’re an idiot,’ Amic supplies unhelpfully, ‘An idiot in thinking that I would back out. Now that I know- I know that I should stick with you so you don’t get caught by unsuspecting creepy Yishengs.’

There’s an incredible rush that takes over Yoongi. The tightness in his chest lessens and the air around him feels lighter.

‘Amme isn’t that bad.’

‘Are you into multiple arms or something-ow-!’

Yoongi smacks him across his arm.

‘So…what do we do now?’

‘I reported to Amme about every procedure we underwent while we were at the Scientific Panel, the Yisheng Headquarters, as well as on Mars,’ Yoongi replies at once. ‘I told her about the mission we’re following to Axudar.’

‘What was she even doing at the Mars Docks?’

‘She said she was looking for answers,’ Yoongi says slowly. ‘I’ve seen her in the meeting rooms with Yisheng Ndica and the head of Planetary Relationships, for those weekly meetings they held in the Yisheng Headquarters earlier this year.’

‘Isn’t that the meeting where the GIU are also included? With K’mara?’ Amic asks with a shudder, ‘The Khol’isa are creepy.’

Yoongi nods in agreement.

‘So…what, do we wait for Amme to say something, or do we just…do we just continue?’

‘I don’t want to trust anyone,’ Yoongi replies immediately. ‘And I don’t trust anyone either.’

Amic nods to that.

‘I was looking into Axudar as well and honestly this whole Bhumi mission sounds really vague to me.’

‘You and everyone else,’ Amic mumbles. ‘Shouldn’t this be handled by the Venture Unit? Or even by the Yisheng motherships?’

‘There’s some sort of treaty involved,’ Yoongi thinks back to the mission briefing. Everyone had looked confused at their mission statement. His captain even more so, eyeing Yisheng Ndica with question.

‘Do you think we’re being sent in there as…as a distraction? Or as bait?’ Amic asks carefully.

‘A distraction or bait for what?’ Yoongi emphasizes. ‘There’s nothing in Bhumi. There’s nothing happening in that area. Apparently there’s a pulsar, but that would mean calling for the evac-plans. And that’s by the Yishengs.’

‘I guess we’ll really have to just go and figure it out.’

They still in silence for a while longer before they both turn away from the edge and head back downwards.

It’s quite late and Amic waves goodnight as he creeps into the guestroom. Yoongi wants to refrigerate the ice-cream he got for Chaewon and redirects himself to the kitchen. To his surprise, the lights are on.

‘Hey ma,’ Yoongi smiles at his mother who had just finished making some tea it would seem.

‘Honey, what have I told you about smoking?’ she reprimands at once. Yoongi’s not sure how she knew. He wasn’t close enough for her to smell him. Maybe Chaewon complained while he was out.

‘Nervous I guess,’ Yoongi replies rather truthfully.

She was having a good day. A series of good days in fact.

Although her depressive state hasn’t been as bad as they once were. Yoongi is still careful though.

‘Do you want some tea?’

‘Amic is always telling me to drink more tea,’ Yoongi laughs under his breath as he nods.

‘And rightfully so,’ his mother gives him reprimanding look that’s more fond than anything else. ‘Is everything all right though?’

Yoongi wishes he wasn’t caught off-guard. Wishes he could have stopped the look of guilt spreading so evidently across his face. But he can’t. And his mum is watching him with a careful expression.

‘I’m just worried about the inner-politics stuff,’ Yoongi manages to get out. ‘Everything is always somewhat-‘ he waves his hand about. ‘-somewhat all related.’

His mother nods in understanding, though she doesn’t look like she truly believes Yoongi’s reason.

‘Your father used to complain about the same thing,’ she smiles before saying in a more somber tone. ‘But then…he said he would have no right to complain if he didn’t do something about it.’

‘Sounds like dad,’ Yoongi smiles over his cup.

‘And I’m afraid it sounds like you too.’

The lamp overhead is a circular glowing orb reflecting off off the steaming surface in his cup. His own reflection eclipses the light in a thin band.

The curvature of the Earth is pale blue only for a fraction of a second before it turns bright gold. He feels himself jolt in his seat, gravity returning to the ship. If he concentrated enough, he would be able to see the Settlement Arc from here. But he doesn’t.

It was difficult saying goodbye. Knowing that it would be a long while before he returned. And despite everything, Yoongi has to return. Even though in his core he knows he may never return. He has to.

Because he needs to see.

How much would it change. How much would still remain the way he remembered?

Would he still be able to get his favorite coffee from the small café across the school compound?

Would he still be able to run up the stairs of their house, knowing, out of sheer habit and reinforced behavior, to skip the 6^th step because no matter how many times they fixed it, creaked ominously every time you stepped it.

Would the lily ponds around the Arc Square still look fake, and would he always go and pinch their leaves just to make sure they were real?

Would the air outside his favorite spot to relax and smoke on the wind-turbines still smell a lot like cat-piss, laundry detergent, and engine fuel?

Would Chaewon still scold him for smoking? Would she still remain the same?

Would their mother still remember him? Or would she forget him too, lost in her sorrow and pain.

He looks away from the view to his right, and instead to his left.

Amic is already flat out asleep, mouth slightly open, snoring lightly. He wants to roll his eyes and maybe put a small piece of candy or something inside his mouth so that he would sort of choke. Not in the sense of wanting to kill him or cause him harm- of course not. Just for the sake of revenge because that’s what he did to him once.

Needless to say now would be the perfect time for revenge. But he doesn’t.

Instead he rearranges his neck so that he won’t get cramps.

He looks back out again and his breath gets caught in his throat. To his horror, he finds himself choked up- eyes starting to burn. Unsure why, but he just knows that this would be the last time he would see this view again.

He knows he’s being irrational- that his emotions are getting the best of him. But at the same time he allows himself this small moment and repeats his sister’s words in his mind, taking the warmth of her voice, the joy in her eyes, and the beauty of the sorrow of the moment into his memory. To remember it forever. It’s all he can do to keep Yisheng Amme’s voice out of his mind, quietly asking him for answers.

‘You’ll see it again.’ Amic says from the left quietly, as though he’d been awake the entire time. ‘You’ll come back before you know it.’

He doesn’t reply, just nods once.

Would he still be able to count the flowers in their garden?

‘We have to.’

Their mission is not until a few months. And during this time Yoongi keeps to date with family, always making sure to send some small trinket from the markets at Tayi. She had a growing collection of hair accessories from a large variety of cultures and planets. She’s decided not to study to apply for the Tayi School of Science and Technology like Yoongi did, but rather study something to do with anthropology. It makes Yoongi feel better, knowing that there would be no chance of her ever being taken up into this field he found himself in.

When the time comes for them to depart for their mission, flying first to Axudar for a few hours, and then to Bhumi, Yoongi and his team decide to wash off any nerves they have at an eatery not too far from their living facilities.

Amic is already snoring despite only having a single glass. Yoongi, by some drunken miracle, finds a gravity-lift and hauls his best-friend onto it and pushes them back to their rooms.

The thing about Raksane Tayi was that it never really slept. And so somehow it feels like days never come to an end- but somehow go on continuously. It’s strangely tiring to Yoongi. He just wants to be able to see the coming and going of day. To see obvious and clear indications of day and night. He wants to be able to see the sunrise.

Yoongi is really drunk. But it’s not enough to erase his thoughts.

If anything he’s freaking out even more, the alcohol doing nothing to minimize or lessen the panic building in him.

‘You have walked past your street, Min Yoongi.’

Yoongi’s reaction is a second delayed and so is his scream.

Yisheng Amme stands directly ahead of him, towering over him in a vision of simple robes that were supposed to come off as approachable and humble. But Yoongi only experiences acute fear. He stumbles backwards but he’s caught by Amme (one of her many arms) and set to stand up right.

‘You need to be more careful,’ she scolds lightly.

If Yoongi wasn’t drunk and scared of out his mind (as a result of being drunk) he would have found Amme’s behavior comically normal.

‘Most Humans are allergic to alcohol- it’s why you turn red so quickly, your body is working against it,’ she sighs the same way an older sibling would at their younger sibling for being annoying. ‘Amic here on the other hand…he’s just a light-weight.’

Yoongi breaks out into hysterical chortles.

‘Let me help you back,’ she says, waving one of her many (Yoongi’s pretty sure she doesn’t have 8 arms but he can’t be sure he can really count right now, considering he lost count of how many shots he had an hour ago) arms and helps Yoongi push the gravity-lift with Amic on it.

‘What are you doing here?’ Yoongi manages to ask, proud of himself for wording himself right and for not screaming again.

Amme was honestly just a little creepy and being drunk was not helping him.

‘There’s a lot that’s happening,’ she tells him in her oddly melodic voice. ‘A lot that has come to my attention thanks to your information. I wish I could repay you for what you told me. But Time is not always on our side.’

‘Time is a social construct,’ Yoongi hiccups. ‘ time.’

‘Indeed,’ Amme sounds a little amused. Or was that sad?

‘I spoke to your Captain. I hoped to alert her. But it seems to me there is already someone who has noticed.’ She tells him conversationally. ‘I am sorry.’

‘What for?’ Yoongi finally looks up when Amme pauses. They were outside the entrance to their living quarters. Amme stands right outside the vicinity of the surveillance camera at the gateway, Yoongi realizes.

‘I am sorry I cannot save all of you.’ Amme tells him. ‘I will do what I can from now to save others.’

Yoongi really doesn’t know what Amme is on about. But he sort of shrugs and replies, ‘You can’t save everyone- you’re not god or something.’

Amme’s eyes (too many in Yoongi’s drunken state) gleam at him from the dark.

‘No we’re not,’ she replies, taking a step back her voice echoes oddly as she says, ‘Hold to your memories, Min Yoongi. Let them save you.’

Yoongi doesn’t remember any of this when he wakes up the following morning. Instead he hastily rushes into the shower, his mind strangely empty and his body moving as though on muscle memory.

Amic looks terrible as per usual after a night out drinking. Thankfully they had the forethought to pack before hand and all they had to do was wear their uniform, grab their bags, and pray they didn’t forget anything.

Amic groans next to him inside the Transporter that is slowly lifting in the air to dock inside the Yisheng mothership, leading them out of Tayi and into warp.

Yoongi sleeps for half of the journey and when he’s awake, manages to make one more call.

‘Something is strange.’

Yoongi startles out of the bed he’s sitting on, waiting for Chaewon to pick up the call, nearly falling over when he-

‘J-Jimin-?’

The name is almost foreign on his tongue and he doesn’t recognize this Being before him- but he’s reaching for him, hand stretching forward, eclipses in his eyes-

Eclipses are dangerous don’t look into them-

He looks away immediately but that’s a mistake. Everything around him flickers violently- the Transporter warps in and out of space, the patio from Earth resurfaces, the red air of Megibīya swirls around him forming into the robes that hung off of Amme’s tall and thin structure and everything bursts into purple glitter and-

‘Yoongi?’

With a small cough, Yoongi finds himself inside red-lit forest of Megibīya. His fingers feel at the texture of the hair clip he kept safe in the cigarette pack in his inner pocket.

Chaewon had done something like this before.

Sneaking in objects into his bag as though making sure that by some brotherly duty, Yoongi would always return home to give it back to her. She started doing that ever since he moved out of their home to study at a university in the neighbouring Settlement Arc. And Yoongi always came back home to return it to her.

Jimin too was far from home. He had illustrated via hologram what his planet looked like. What brought him all the way here?

Jimin looks down at him expectantly, worry in his eyes. Yoongi’s been coughing more than usual too.

The past few days were tough. What with the tension between each Being, the fear, the confusion.

‘Hey sunshine,’ Yoongi’s smile isn’t forced and this unknown Being’s presence is soothing to the pain in his chest. ‘What’s up?’

Jimin points towards the back, gnawing at his lower lip in worry.

And this was something else added to all of the strain in the team.

A strange illness seemed to be slowly taking over a few of them. Fatigue, temporary loss of senses, fever, chills, racking coughs, and labored breathing. But it went past these symptoms.

There was something else about this illness.

And Amic was one of the victims.

‘There’s something more- I think there’s something more.’ Amic had whispered to him just a few hours ago. ‘All the ships that came before us. We should have seen them. And the ones that were supposed to come after us. They’re not here.’

‘I know,’ Yoongi wiped at his face, his hand felt heavy.

‘Do- do you think they’re getting rid of us?’

‘What?’

‘The corps- all of us. Do you think they’re getting rid of us?’ Amic asks, his eyes glazed with fever and pain. ‘I think- I think they’re…they’re replacing us-‘

‘Hey, it’s okay,’ Yoongi tried to placate his best friend.

His eyes look past Yoongi, a strange glassy clear quality to them.

‘Just remember, Yoongi. Remember-‘

The fever was a strange bout of deliriousness that came and went. Everyone reacted differently but it seemed to have the same strange effect on all of them. But what was extremely disturbing was the source of their pain.

It wasn’t headaches or general body pain.

Amic twitched and writhed like his entire back was on fire.

The same thing happened to Yoongi too. His back would crawl, his skin feeling as though it were peeling. But it never was too extreme for him.

This was effecting all of them. Except for Jimin.

Jimin was definitely not part of any of the other groups. He hadn’t been wearing their uniform, and he couldn’t speak Standard either. Jimin gestures, placing his palms together and under his head to mime sleep.

‘Sleep,’ Yoongi nods. ‘I’ll stay up- it’s my turn to watch.’

Jimin looks back to where the team were huddled around, eyes sharp but weary. He seems to make up his mind and sits next to Yoongi instead. A few moments later, Jimin’s head makes its way to Yoongi’s shoulder.

‘Sleep,’ Yoongi whispers quietly, peering out into the forest and ignoring the way his back burns. ‘Jimin sleep.’

Jimin nods into his shoulder wordlessly, a hand creeping around his forearm slowly, as though hoping Yoongi wouldn’t notice.

To reassure Jimin, and also to experience what it felt like, Yoongi gently brushes through Jimin’s silver-gold hair. Jimin leans in even closer at the contact, his hand now fully holding onto his arm.

‘I’ll be here when you wake up.’

*

Namjoon recognizes the Being easily.

Hoseok would have recognized him too.

If you were immortalized for stabilizing the technology for harnessing and converting energy from black-holes, anyone with a standard GLA education would know exactly who you were. Of course images of the Being only known previously as Chen was included in the massive memorial wall within the Venture Unit Headquarters. It was indescribably strange to see him alive- not just alive but also involved in all of this.

‘You recognize him?’ Kai asks as they step back, watching the two approach each other.

‘Of course,’ Namjoon replies, watching as Jimin approaches Chen, or JD as Kai had introduced him. ‘Who doesn’t?’

‘Thought I saw a ghost the first time I saw him,’ Kai laughs quietly.

They don’t seem to be talking. Just simply looking at each other. But for some reason Namjoon knows that he needs to keep quiet- not disturb them. Kai doesn’t seem bothered or fazed as they maintain a respectful distance. Then quite suddenly, Jimin falls to his knees. Namjoon can’t see his face but can tell that Jimin wasn’t feeling good.

‘Don’t,’ Kai tells him quietly. ‘The reason why JD wanted to talk was because of Bhumi- I’m guessing your friend is related to all of that?’

Namjoon nods slowly in reply, unsure what to think or do when Jimin raises his hand and JD takes it.

Rather abruptly both of them sort of tilt and with the strangest of motions, that appeared both extraordinarily fast but entirely slow, they both lift up off of the ground and settle on the ground on their backs.

‘What the -‘ Namjoon frowns, attempting to approach the dimly lit area.

‘Wait-‘

‘Pa- it’s okay,’ Taeh’yung chimes in, ‘Let them sleep.’

Namjoon slows down, still moving towards the two who were apparently “asleep”.

‘Is this normal?’ he asks, gesturing down at JD and Jimin.

‘I mean- I guess?’ Kai shrugs, giving him a winning smile.

‘Of course it’s not,’ a familiar voice snaps at them from a close distance. Moving in the shadows, Ems appears, shifting along the wire strewn floor and not sparing them a glance before settling into a lowered circular dais, surrounded in a wall like fashion with screens all around.

‘Everything that takes place here is not normal,’ she barks before saying, ‘And you don’t even have a gift on you. How nice.’

Kai gives him a shifty smile which Namjoon returns with a shrug of his own.

‘I don’t expect it from Namjoon but Kai,’ she exhales as though disappointed.

Namjoon’s not sure if he should be offended or not.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Kai sighs heavily, vanishing before his sigh could end.

‘What happened to you anyways,’ she asks, still not sparing him a look, the slender fingers of her hands spreading and crawling along the wires, joining her to the entirety of the GLA database. She literally had every single information and data under her finger tips.

‘Got into trouble,’ Namjoon replies as he glances down at his arm.

‘Will that be a problem?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Namjoon answers as he walks over. ‘Where can I start?’

‘The floors yours.’

‘How generous,’ Namjoon mumbles, lowering himself on the floor.

‘I already have things you can look into,’ she informs him, ‘Here use this.’

A large folding screen slides over towards him and Namjoon picks it up, propping it up on a few of the many coiled wires.

The first thing Namjoon sees are complete tabs on every single individual of his team.

‘You did research on all of them?’

‘What do you think? Of course I did,’ Ems retorts as though offended. ‘Pretty sure you did too but I thought I’d put my spin on it.’

‘Thanks,’ Namjoon makes sure to save it for later.

‘You have interesting Beings in your team,’ Ems comments before Namjoon can even begin to start checking the other connections on the screen.

‘I’m aware,’ Namjoon sighs.

‘I don’t know what you’re doing but I think I have a pretty clear picture. Seems convenient doesn’t it?’

‘Tell me about it. There’s no way this is gonna end nice.’

‘Is that why you’re here? To try and make it end nice?’

‘Define nice,’ Namjoon looks over at where Jimin and JD are. ‘Everything is just really weird.’

‘Well, your Khol’isa isn’t nice.’ Ems remarks, drawing Namjoon’s attention.

‘What do you know about the Khol’isa?’

Ems sighs heavily before asking, ‘You mean what do I know that you don’t know?’

‘I guess.’

‘Nothing more than what you know if I’m being honest,’ she shrugs. ‘The Khol’isa with you is unique to top it all of. He ain’t like the others.’

‘What- more like K’mara?’

Ems snorts, waving a few long fingers as though flicking him off.

‘K’mara is prime example of what the Khol’isa are like. Your incomplete Khol’isa is a mess.’ Ems pauses before she says, ‘Read up on him when you have time.’

‘Thanks, I will.’

‘Also, just my opinion but I’ve never trusted the Ngfy’widan.’

Namjoon frowns, ‘What? Like, their whole species?’

‘Sure. Added with the Venture Unit.’

‘Pretty sure you said that about me and my whole species,’ Kai declares, reappearing to the side with an armful of neatly packed food items. ‘I come with gifts and sustenance.’

‘You and your species are a menace,’ Ems mutters.

‘She says that about everyone,’ Kai rolls his eyes as he sits next to Namjoon, a screen sliding over to him. ‘What can I do?’

It’s not that Namjoon doesn’t…trust Kai. He just doesn’t want to widen the group of Beings involved in this situation. Granted, Kai and his ship were probably in the whole situation before Namjoon was made aware of the whole ordeal.

‘You can go through this,’ Ems replies instead, saving Namjoon from having to come up with an answer.

They sit in silence together, the only sound comes from Namjoon and Kai who occasionally shift in their seats to adjust themselves. Ems is completely stationary as usual, combing through data as she literally becomes a part of the archives.

There’s a lot of information- broken data and corroded files that need time to rewrite and reprogram. It feels beyond right to be back here. Namjoon has missed this. Even though he’s short-handed for now, he’s still in his element and for once, the strain building in his mind lessens enough for him to feel as though this was just part of his normal life pre-mission with the Užkulisai.

‘Well,’ Ems suddenly says, breaking the silence. ‘Ynqaba, or the Reformist Union as they now call themselves, has a very colourful past. Not just your standard politics-gone-wrong kinda way but more in a played-middle-man-for-the-Alliance ­kinda way.’

‘The Alliance was involved?’ Namjoon raises an eyebrow as Kai looks up from his screen with interest. He remembers the way Khonen had told them that the Alliance was dying. This directly links back to the Omhlophe and Namjoon isn’t sure how.

‘Yeah…’ Ems pauses before sighing and saying, ‘Here- you guys look, Kai- you might find it interesting too.’

Kai immediately springs into action, opening the file on his screen and frowning immediately.

‘The Alliance? But why are these Yisheng ships?’ Kai asks before he pauses, expression turning stony. Namjoon checks the files too. They’re heavily encrypted data, somehow obtained from planets around and from Ynqaba, of news outlets reporting the incidents in the System there not even 20 sols ago.

‘This is all pretty recent,’ Kai mutters under his breath.

“ALLIANCE TO HEAL PLANETS: CORE-MEDICATION DELIVERED FROM TODAY” the headlines read. Namjoon pushes the encryption and reads the article as it recovers.

“Isbahaysiga Alliance Committee Members have finally come to an agreement with the Planetary Society in Ynqaba regarding the Core-Implants. The Core-Implants have been designed to heal and sustain our planets from within. “Air filtration devices are on their way to the atmosphere and the citizens of Ynqaba will soon be breathing clean air once more,” Supreme Committee Leader declared from the motherships. He has continued to encourage Ynqaban citizens to join the academic and medical program to educate themselves on the steps being taken to heal our planet. “By learning, we can enable a secure future with our children,” he emphasizes. “You can soon be a self-sustaining and flourishing planet- let the future generation guide you to a better place”.

As many as 45% of the population of youths have joined the academy aboard the motherships and have shown great improvement according to relatives and friends. They are to participate in the research to heal our planets, and will learn how to guide us back to light, and into purity.”

For a moment, Namjoon doesn’t understand what he’s seeing.

The image that clears up after the article is clearly depicting a Yisheng mothership. In fact, it’s identical to the one that crashed and had been made into a dwelling place by many surviving Ynqabans. But why was this called the Alliance mothership?   

‘Pa!’

Namjoon jolts in his seat.

‘Sk’jin’s UV bed has arrived!’ Taeh’yung informs him cheerfully. ‘We can pick it up when we arrive at Pit 18.’

‘Okay thanks Tae,’ Namjoon replies, catching his breath. He almost forgot that he was on line with the ship. ‘Is uh, is everyone okay?’

‘We’re all good!’ Taeh’yung happily reports. ‘How’s Chim?’

Glancing over to the side Namjoon finds Jimin still on the ground, lost in sleep.

‘Good- still…sleeping?’

‘Okay!’

Mind going blank for a moment, Namjoon thinks back to Ynqaba. It’s not the most pleasant of memories, but he carefully combs through his memories.

‘I think it’s safe to say that the Yishengs, possible Ndica or Tlun’hla were involved with Ynqaba and were using the Alliance as cover-up.’ Kai says slowly. ‘None of these articles mention the term Yisheng- but there are a few smaller articles here regarding religions and temples being set up in honour of the Alliance Committee members. Some of them are negative though. There’s an article here about protests regarding something called “Core-Medication”.’

‘The merchants took their lives, they said they were thieves trying to deceive. They took away Yoongi’s helmet and clothes; to put with the others. I am sorry.’

‘Others? They said there was more?’

‘In store.’

Did the Yishengs use Ynqaba and her neighbouring planets to grow and keep the GI? While under the pretense of “healing” the planet. The System was not a part of the GLA and it was far away from credible GLA Systems- the closest being Ymir but considering Nuqtai, a pirate stop, was right there- any chances of discovery by actual GLA organizations was pretty low.

Namjoon cannot find any more information past these bits and pieces of articles and reports. There are a few other things left to check, but their dates all abruptly end some 25 sols ago.

‘Is there anything else from Ynqaba?’ Namjoon asks.

‘Did you go through everything?’ Ems asks.

‘Yeah?’

‘Then no.’

The people of Ynqaba seemed to recognize and were familiar with the GI uniform. So much so that they had them in store with them. Yoongi had mentioned how he would travel undetected and unchecked using Yisheng Transporters and passes- was this infiltration that bad.

Then of course there was Jungkook.

This was a clear indicator of the presence of “eggs”. Was Jungkook supposed to be part of the GI? What caused the Yisheng ships to crash? Namjoon wishes he had been able to get closer, to better study and analyze the crashed ship- better understand how Jungkook had gotten there. Wish he could have had a more direct contact with the Ynqaban-

With a jolt of electricity rushing through his body, Namjoon realizes that there was someone who was definitely exposed to the Ynqabans in a completely different way than they did.

Sk’jin.

Something had clearly happened. He had clearly found something- or heard something. But he can’t…he can’t get Sk’jin to talk. He was clearly not eager to do so and trying to get Sk’jin to do anything just meant never getting anything done with a lot of anger, sarcasm, and snide comments.

He was going to have to be careful.

‘Pretty interesting stuff,’ Namjoon comments over the line. ‘We’re getting good information.’

‘What’s up?’ Hoseok asks immediately.

‘Well, for starters, Ynqaba’s history is pretty standard,’ Namjoon comments, going through everything else he had read. ‘They started off like most growing planets- spending more resources than they had, capitalist governments taking over until there was no return. Stuck between two evils they chose war.’

‘What’s the other evil?’ Hoseok asks.

‘Starvation,’ Sk’jin supplies easily. ‘Somehow they think dying and fighting in a war, to suffer something palpable and feel like there’s an enemy is a meaningful choice. Of course it’s not. There was no need for war, but it was better than starvation. They would rather run out to a field and get shot down than watch each other starve- then they can blame everything on the war- blame everything on the enemy.’

It’s silent for a long minute.

‘Also an easy way to get rid of the population,’ Namjoon continues carefully as he clears his throat. ‘Ynqaba’s neighbouring planets actually purged many of their countries to survive.’

‘Sounds great,’ Sk’jin intones in an almost bored voice. ‘Bet the Yishengs wept.’

‘Cry they did,’ Namjoon comments dryly as he glances over at some of the smaller headlines regarding the coverage. He was going to have to be very careful with how he approached this. So he whistles low as he murmurs out a report sent back to the GLA by the Yisheng Directory.

‘Cry they did…and they sent a Yisheng ship. In fact they sent a few.’

Namjoon pauses a while as he reads the report properly, waiting for any form of reaction. Mainly from Sk’jin. But he gets a little distracted as he actually pays attention to the decrypting file.

‘According…’ he pauses, glancing at the source and title of the file. ‘-according to the official mission report by the Yisheng Directory and mission leader Ndica, they went with six ships. And those ships…’

He hears Hoseok make a bemused expression as though scoffing.

Quickly entering the ship codes into the GLA database, Namjoon waits all but 5 seconds to locate them all.

‘-2 are still in use, the other 4 are no longer in service.’ Namjoon reads through their locations- the 4 that were no longer in use were docked in Tayi, waiting to be upcycled into new models.

‘We know where one of those is, where’s the other one?’ Hoseok asks.

‘The System of Axudar,’ Namjoon closes in on the location before sending it to Ems to check. He hears her curse him out.

Kai huffs in amusement.

‘What?’

‘That’s where Ndica is from.’

‘Well well,’ Sk’jin comments wryly. ‘How interesting.’

‘So the Yishengs did send ships to Ynqaba and the other planets. But how did they even crash? Were they attacked? Seems unlikely,’ Hoseok asks.

Namjoon waits an appropriate amount of time before saying, ‘I think it’s fair to say the reason why Ynqaba is the way it is- is because of the Yishengs.’

There’s a very heavy silence over the line.

‘If it was headed by Ndica, then it’s clear that he was there not as part of the Yisheng mission. But to further his own plan for domination.’ Yoongi says quietly. ‘Ynqaba was probably used as a cover. To distract from what they were really doing there.’

‘And what would that be?’ Hoseok asks.

‘Considering we found Jungkook there- and how Jimin said that they had GI uniforms with them, something that could also be related to the GI possibly.’ Namjoon tries in an off-handed manner.

‘What’s in Axudar?’ Sk’jin asks instead.

‘Checking,’ Namjoon looks over at Ems who really does flip him off this time.

‘You’re not being subtle.’ Sk’jin suddenly says, ‘And despite being an agent, Hoseok really lacks subtlety too.’

Namjoon grimaces- he doesn’t want to push Sk’jin.

‘Hey, Sk’jin.’

‘What?’ Sk’jin snaps.

‘Would you have told us?’

It’s quiet over the line. Namjoon doesn’t clarify what he means, but it could mean anything at this point. Whatever Sk’jin decided to answer with, Namjoon would take.

‘I should punch that idiot Long Huon for having such a big mouth- kid could never shut up,’ Sk’jin mutters. ‘And I’m fine- I at least have all my limbs.’

‘I want to know what he meant,’ Namjoon tries not to scowl at the memory of Zitao, the tall Long Huon who gave him the most disregarding look Namjoon has ever received in his entire life.

‘There’s not much to say. I’m not supposed to be alive you know? I guess in that sense all of us fit that category- but me more than you all.’ Sk’jin pauses before snorting, ‘Not saying I’m special.’

‘Oh you definitely are,’ Namjoon chuckles.

‘If you’ll stop flirting got some information on Axudar here,’ Ems cuts in, her voice unimpressed and monotone.

Kai hastily disguises his giggle into a cough.

‘How much time do you have?’ Namjoon asks, almost conversationally as he opens the files on Axudar.

Sk’jin couldn’t stand being serious- it was as though he abhorred any form of formal discussion, feeling the urge to disrupt protocol. It made him testy, and difficult to converse with. If Namjoon needed answers, or better yet, any form of truth from Sk’jin, he would have to meet him where he was most comfortable.

Not face-to-face, and incredibly off-hand.

Sk’jin doesn’t immediately answer. He was probably caught off-guard or contemplating what sort of answer to give.

‘Enough time to see this of a mission through.’

‘Is there-‘

‘No, Namjoon. There isn’t. I don’t need you looking into anything either. I don’t want you to.’ Sk’jin interrupts firmly.

‘All right.’ Namjoon acquiesces.

‘I’m going off line. I need food.’ He declares, excusing himself out of the communication line. Sighing, Namjoon guesses he might as well check up on what’s going on in Axudar other than the fact that Ndica came from there. 

He’s not expecting, however, to be familiar with the coordinates.

‘Yoongi- could counter-check these coordinates with the ones we set up for our trajectory?’

‘Which trajectory?’ Yoongi asks immediately.

‘All of them. You good?’

Yoongi’s answer comes a little late, ‘Yes.’

‘Yoongi was nodding,’ Taeh’yung explains randomly.

‘We have these coordinates in 4 of our trajectories mapped out to enter Megibīya,’ Yoongi reports. ‘The System of Axudar.’

‘Thanks Yoongi,’ Namjoon frowns as he looks at the information on the System.

It was very close to where Megibīya was. And it was also where Ndica was from.

‘You guys know anything about Axudar off the top of your heads?’ he asks out loud.

‘Isn’t it affiliated with the Raksane Tayi Scientific Panel?’ Kai remarks, not looking away from the screen. ‘Pretty sure there’s like, some sort of branch there.’

‘Scientific Panel- more like private funders for the Alliance,’ Ems snorts from where she was. ‘Axudar is a pile of ty scientists ting together.’

Both Kai and Namjoon turn to eye her.

‘What? Like you didn’t know?’ Ems snorts again. ‘All of these organizations are ultimately funded by the GLA or the Venture Unit in one way or another. Idiots from Axudar are the ones who created us. Think about it- it’s so much easier for the Scientific Panel to get away with things if they just did what they wanted to do through the Alliance.’

All of this hits a little too close with what Namjoon has seen from the very start of this mission. And the further Namjoon digs in, the closer everything ties in.

From the Yishengs in Ynqaba, to the Alliance, all the way to the GI in Tayi- and now the Scientific Panel in Axudar- everything that seemed unconnected somehow was all tying in on each other.

And in the center of it all- was not just Jimin. Not just Yoongi.

It was all of them.

Digging into Axudar was complicated and time consuming. But when he actually gets to the core of it, Namjoon feels as though he’s hit the jackpot- Axudar was steeped in the whole debacle about Digital Souls as well as on leading research regarding cloning before it was completely outlawed and banned. No wonder Ems felt so passionately about the System. But Namjoon has now gathered enough information to see through their next step in their mission.

Kai wakes up with a jolt, looking extremely dazed. Namjoon hadn’t even realized the Dakaṣayaii was still there.

He’s not sure how long he’s been sitting here now- considering there’s no way to check up on time. He just knows that Taeh’yung has randomly in through the Comm to just talk nonsense and ask about Jimin who was still asleep. Stretching a little, though he didn’t really need to, Namjoon saves some of the more important files onto his own NaviLet from Ems’s screens.

He pauses a little as he saves the tabs on all of his crew members. Ems had even found information on Taeh’yung. Even on Yoongi though he’s pretty sure it’s information from Earth that he already found. Still, it was good to keep in case Yoongi wanted to know more.

Yoongi had said that he wasn’t Yoongi- that he didn’t know who he was.

Yoongi- or actual Human Yoongi, had a sister, that much they all knew at this point. But what happened there? What had she been told?

Namjoon does a quick scan within the tab, searching for reports or articles or recordings that had anything to do with Humans dying on a mission for the GLA. Humans as a whole didn’t participate in a lot of GLA activities such as excursions or “dangerous” missions. If they worked for the GLA it was normally as part of the diplomatic and or research department between Earth and Tayi. Before Earth was destroyed, they had been working on a very important and for some strange loophole in the system, illegal development that would benefit Earth’s environment. It had been called “Pollen”, if Namjoon remembers it correctly, and they were in the process of having it legalized in the Yisheng Directory.

Finding nothing, Yoongi goes back to Yoongi’s family. Finding them was easy; there weren’t a lot of Humans, and there weren’t a lot of Humans with the family name Min living in that settlement.

Her name is Chaewon and according to the legacy archive, was an AI. She was a member of the “Historical Archive Committee for the Milky Way”. According to the report she had 3 children: and one of them was named Yoongi. The family tree indicates that the eldest son, Min Yoongi, had been LIS. Or Lost in Space, as they termed all GLA officers who lost their lives in their duty for the GLA. It’s all that’s been mentioned in the legacy archive.

To Namjoon’s surprise, the family tree was still alive. They had survived Earth’s destruction.

He saves this information to give to Yoongi when he gets back.

He purposefully saves Sk’jin’s for last.

He wasn’t sure when Jimin would be waking up (a weird thought that would worry him but Taeh’yung, despite his constant questions, had assured him that Jimin was all right) and he knew he wouldn’t be coming back here for a long while. Making himself comfortable, Namjoon opens the tab on Sk’jin.

He thinks about what Sk’jin had said in his Cabin, looking incredibly old in the warped starlight.

‘You’re just like him.’

He says and it’s almost accusatory. ‘What curse is this? This has to be a curse or some other bull.’

Sk’jin turns forward again, fuming under his breath.

‘Who was he?’

‘My best-friend,’ Sk’jin answers quietly. ‘My best-friend, my right-hand, my moral-compass, my laughter, my promise. Spaces I ing hate him.’

‘Ems.’

‘Hm?’

‘When you dug up info on my team, were you able to dig up known associates?’

‘You didn’t find them yourself?’ Ems asks, not looking away from the many screens before her.

‘Of course I have,’ Namjoon rolls his eyes.

‘But?’

‘But you’re better?’ Namjoon grins.

‘ up.’ she scoffs before saying, ‘Everything you could possibly need is in there.’

Namjoon is about to turn back to his screen, ignoring the way Kai yawns widely, stretching out as though to nap when Ems calls him again.

‘I found something interesting about your Khol’isa.’ She says.

‘Not my Khol’isa,’ Namjoon grumbles.

‘Semantics. I’m highlighting that interesting bit.’

Namjoon grumbles in reply again as Kai starts to snore.

‘He had one of the largest networks in the Underverse,’ Ems says. ‘Pretty impressive I gotta say. Your Khol’isa was doing well for himself.’

Namjoon doesn’t bother correcting her anymore.

‘He was famous, but…respected. There aren’t a lot of images of him outside of the GLA criminal records archive. He was extremely careful with how he managed his network.’ Ems sounds like she’s praising Sk’jin. ‘Found a few captured images still not entirely corrupted. Here.’

Namjoon checks the newly highlighted files on his screen.

‘Seems like the GLA and the Venture Unit attempted to contact him several times. To use their information and data to tackle the Alliance.’ Ems hums a bit before saying, ‘Here- this might be of interest.’

‘You think he might be involved?’ Kai asks in a sleepy tone.

‘We’re all involved,’ Namjoon frowns as he runs the files through his own reader. The files are images, short moving clips, and what appeared to be recorded logs suspected to come from Sk’jin’s pass-cards. The first file to read is an image and Namjoon leans in closer. It takes some time, cleaning up, but it’s quite obvious.

It’s clearly Sk’jin. And Namjoon wouldn’t say he looked young per se. But somehow…just…-

Sk’jin was undeniably a beautiful Being. There was a delicate beauty to him that in many Systems would be considered almost unnatural. But that same beauty held such power and something ancient. And in this single short recording seemed to encompass all of it better than what Namjoon remembers seeing Sk’jin now.

He’s turning back, eyebrow raised as though in amusement, hair sweeping past his forehead and delicate crystal horns.

It was true, Sk’jin now seemed entirely incomplete and it was even more obvious after seeing this footage.

He’s laughing at something someone says, reaching over to hook his arm around his. The unknown Being doesn’t turn, instead hunching a little as though laughing as well as he leans into Sk’jin. The other Being in front of them seems to be giving a snide remark of sorts.

Namjoon goes through the list of known associates, narrowing it down to the most updated list, just a sol apart from Sk’jin’s disappearance from any record across the Known Universe. He cross-references the list of known associates and their criminal record images with the records Ems had managed to retrieve from the Venture Unit Core when she’d been looking up information on Hoseok. There’s a lot in there and Namjoon isn’t exactly expecting anything to pop up. Which is why he’s surprised to find a match with facial recognition.

A Venture Unit agent, not unlike Hoseok or Kai in fact.

His name is Ahadi, and he was a native of the planet Mwenzi. The information on him is limited, as all Venture Unit agents tend to be so in the archives. There is an added information that he was a defected agent, and was on a wanted list for collaborating with pirates.

‘Hey- looks like you,’ Kai suddenly comments through a yawn.

Namjoon frowns at the comment, looking over Ahadi carefully. He doesn’t see the resemblance.

‘It’s not just like- facial. You two…just feel the same,’ Kai shrugs before standing up and stretching loudly.

‘You’re just like him.’

Namjoon saves all of the files.

By the time they’re back on the Užkulisai, Namjoon feels a lot more confident. While what he believes to be true aren’t 100% backed up, he firmly believes that they were headed in the right direction.  

‘We won’t do it even if a single Being on this table doesn’t agree.’ Namjoon repeats himself. ‘We will only continue if everyone agrees.’

‘What do you think?’ Yoongi asks Jimin who had kept quiet throughout the discussion.

‘Oh right- was there anything interesting you had with your meeting?’ Hoseok asks. ‘With the person who had information about Megibīya.’

‘He just…’ Jimin pauses, his gaze fixed on his hand.

‘He just showed me his past,’ Jimin replies slowly, his words coming out carefully, ‘What happened to him, how he met my people. How he died.’

There was a lot to explain surely, but Jimin looked like he didn’t know how to explain what he saw. And that was understandable. The very idea that someone, outside of this immediate group, outside of Jimin’s System, had been a first-hand witness to what happened to the people of Megibīya.

‘I saw a lot- I…felt a lot.’ Jimin says in a quiet manner. ‘I am still trying to understand what I saw. I need more.’

‘More what?’ Jungkook asks quietly.

Jimin looks around at all of them. His expression is a strange combination of determination, sorrow, and resolve.

‘More Dreams.’

It’s evident that no one knows what Jimin means by this exactly.

‘So we’re headed for Axudar then, I guess?’ Hoseok asks, breaking the silence over the table.

Namjoon looks around at everyone in the table as they all nod in agreement.

‘Okay great,’ Sk’jin declares. ‘Who’s gonna do the dishes because it sure ain’t gonna be me.’

Namjoon and Hoseok volunteer in the end. Yoongi, Namjoon realizes, has never washed the dishes and always manages to vanish when its time to clean up.

‘Did you find a place that can deliver for your parts?’ Hoseok asks as he stacks the plates into the UV cleaner while Namjoon waits to rinse them.

‘I did, should arrive around the same time as Sk’jin’s UV bed,’ Namjoon nods and adds, ‘Made sure it would be discreet but not in a way to attract attention. Due to the fact that this is a mining zone, replacement parts for androids and even certain types of cyborgs are kinda frequent. So it won’t stand out too much if I order in bulk under one of the Pits shipments.’

Hoseok nods his approval.

‘What do you think Jimin meant? By dreams?’ Hoseok asks.

‘Honestly I don’t know,’ Namjoon replies honestly. ‘It’s like there’s a different meaning for him. For them- Jimin, Yoongi, Sk’jin, Taeh’yung. It’s like there’s several meanings to it and I’m never sure which one they’re referring to.’

‘Oh to have some clarity,’ Hoseok exhales dramatically before snorting and adding, ‘Never seen Yoongi so agitated. He even cracked a few jokes you know? It was weird as .’

‘Worried?’

‘Panicked more like,’ Hoseok sighs. ‘I don’t think he quite knows how to grasp…emotions.’

‘Do any of us really know how to though,’ Namjoon asks back.

‘Good point- I guess he just doesn’t know how to express it.’ Hoseok corrects himself.

‘He’ll learn. He’s already learning. He’s better than when we started.’

‘He’s…I don’t know if the word is improved but yeah I guess. More so when Jimin woke up.’ Hoseok points out as he unloads the slightly warm dishes into the soapy sink.

‘Don’t chip the plates!’ Sk’jin yells from the Lobby where he’s reclining majestically, feet up on one of the cushions. Taeh’yung and Jungkook are engaged in some sort of weird game of chase.

‘You look better,’ Hoseok comments randomly.

Namjoon’s not sure what Hoseok means by that. After showering he had glanced at himself and didn’t notice anything changed.

‘Thanks?’

Hoseok just laughs in response.

‘How’s Sk’jin been?’

A small furrow forms between Hoseok’s eyebrows. He takes his time to answer, washing his hands thoroughly first.

‘He’s being careful,’ Hoseok explains. He sounds uncertain. ‘Not just…-not just action-wise. The way he’s speaking, the things he’s saying.’

‘Careful with us?’

‘Hm- careful with himself. Jungkook being here has changed a lot of things. I think like all of us, he’s processing the meaning of what we’re really getting ourselves into.’ Hoseok states thoughtfully. He gives Namjoon a searching look before asking as he wipes his hands, ‘You dove in on us didn’t you?’

Namjoon doesn’t bother denying it.

‘Honestly there’s not much to find. Found stuff that Yoongi might be interested in,’ he adds.

Hoseok smiles wryly at that.

‘Guess you know all there’s to know about us then.’

In truth there wasn’t much Namjoon could find about Hoseok. Or at least the issues that mattered. For instance the history with his father. Because Namjoon was so closely involved with the case he knew that Hoseok’s father had been one of the many Beings across the Universe who were in league with the “rogue” Yishengs and their attempt to, more or less, take over the Universe. Hoseok obviously had no clue as to how his father had been roped in- had no idea of how it happened, when it happened.

While the Gaia Trials revealed thousands upon thousands of Beings like Hoseok’s father, not much could be done as they were not directly involved in anything particularly illegal. Trying them had been difficult. But from what Namjoon knew from the trials, they were all recruited by someone just like them, believing in the supposed “higher calling” or Yisheng morality and undisputed belief in their supposed divine supremacy.

These Beings were as diverse as it could possibly be. From GLA officers from every department to pirates to tradesmen to normal citizens- this massive collection of Beings all keeping an almost public secret together had nearly managed to entirely upheave the entire Universe.  

Namjoon’s not sure how he ends up with Sk’jin in the Bridge as the others decide to sleep. Jungkook is there too, head on Sk’jin’s lap but he’s asleep so it feels like it’s just the two of them. They don’t speak. But it’s not uncomfortable or anything. There was just no need for conversation, and Namjoon was just going through all the files and reports he had saved for his later perusal.  

‘So tell me,’ Sk’jin suddenly calls from where he was sitting for the past few hours in complete silence. ‘Do you have any questions for me?’

‘You knew that the Venture Unit sent an agent to infiltrate your network right?’ Namjoon asks, not even pretending. It was better to be direct with Sk’jin anyways.

‘They sent a lot.’

‘But one stayed.’

‘One stayed,’ Sk’jin nods in confirmation.

‘The Venture Unit wanted information, access, your network- so that they could get to the Alliance?’

Sk’jin rolls his eyes, neon red flashing.

‘That’s what they say. They just say that to use agents for their will- most of them didn’t know they were being used for other purposes.’ Sk’jin says with a distasteful expression, screwing up his face.

‘Do you think they would have ever tried to recruit you for what the Yishengs were planning?’

Sk’jin doesn’t look at him, but stares out straight into the light display before them.

‘I suppose so. Never worked out of course.’

Clearly it didn’t.

‘Well I suppose there are aspects to that-‘ Sk’jin starts but he pauses, turning his head around to look at the entrance of the Bridge. But Namjoon hears it too. Hurried footsteps up the stairs.

Jungkook starts awake too, probably catching on to the change in the air rather than the sound, eyes wide as he hunches in on himself instinctively.

Jimin appears at the doorway, breathless, face blotched with colour. He looks incredibly disturbed, his eyes wide, and his normally calm demeanor shaken.

‘What’s wrong?’ Sk’jin asks at once as Jungkook sits up, eyeing the Bridge as though looking for things that might jump out at him.

‘I- I saw-‘ Jimin breathes harshly. ‘I saw into his Dreams- I saw into his mind and-‘

‘Saw into whose dreams?’ Sk’jin asks as they quickly rush to Jimin’s side.

‘Yoongi-‘ Jimin looks confused and he says slowly, ‘I think- I think everything was done on purpose.’

Namjoon finds himself a little bit stunned, his reaction a bit slow.

‘His- his back was-‘ Jimin reaches for his own back.

Sk’jin makes a frustrated sound but before anyone can ask any question, Lisai’s smooth voice interrupts them.

‘Accelerated heart rate and brain wave function detected in Weapons Specialist Yoongi,’ the AI tells them. ‘He is experiencing a panic attack.’

Jimin immediately turns about, rushing out of the Bridge, closely followed by Jungkook.

‘What the -?’ Sk’jin asks no one in particular.

‘Lisai prepare the Medical Bay-‘ Namjoon calls out.

‘Immediately, Captain.’

‘Namjoon what’s going on?’ Hoseok says on line but he’s already appearing out of his Cabin door, looking confused as he glances at them, rushing down the stairs and turning towards Jimin’s Cabin. But the door is already sliding open and for some reason they all halt to a stop.

Yoongi shuffles out, nearly tripping on his feet. He looks completely dazed, covered in sweat, gasping and clearly hyperventilating.

‘Yoongi-‘ Jimin takes a step towards him, entering his line of vision.

Yoongi’s reaction is violent.

He literally falls, his legs giving out, but his entire body seems to lurch forward towards Jimin, gaping but no sound escaping him other than his harsh breathing.

‘Hey are you-‘ Hoseok asks worriedly, stepping forward as well.

This seems to trigger Yoongi who seems to finally realize that they’re all there.

Then he really seems to lose it because he suddenly seems to gain a wild strength and he skids across the floor towards Jimin, grappling almost violently and holding the latter down, shielding him down on the floor, his eyes still completely wild.

‘What the -‘ Sk’jin breathes out worriedly, looking back at Namjoon in shock.

Taeh’yung appears, eyes wide and somehow pant-less.

‘What’s going on?’ he asks, palms already glowing as though instinctively ready to attack (?!?!).

‘Yoongi-?’ Jimin is trying to calm the Human down but it’s almost as though he didn’t seem to know where he was-

‘Oh ing Spaces,’ Sk’jin breathes out, eyes wide as he takes a step back.

Sk’jin takes a step back but Jungkook takes a step forward, snarling viciously as he crouches down.

And Yoongi’s reaction is to press back even more, shielding Jimin. His face is turning a strange colour and Namjoon can tell he’s about to pass out- he was hyperventilating too much and-

‘-stop-‘ Yoongi manages to wheeze out- ‘-go away-! NO!’

He screams, his veins painfully clear at his throat and around his temples. Jungkook snarls, ready to pounce and Sk’jin is trying to reach for him before he can leap.

But Yoongi falls backwards, a pair of arms wrapping around him that immediately goes up to his head, palms flat on either side of his temple.

Jimin says something, the air around them rippling almost.

Yoongi immediately calms down, his breathing normalizing and his face turning less purple and more normal.

‘No- no-!’ Yoongi is still gasping out, scrambling for a moment before he sits up bit straighter. ‘Stay- stay away-!’

No one moves. Hoseok gives him a worried look, clearing asking what the he had just woken up to. But Namjoon has no explanation. Taeh’yung for no known reason, has a brilliant smile on his face. Sk’jin looks incredibly worried, a frown on his face as he clutches onto Jungkook’s shirt to keep him close.

‘Yoongi?’ Jimin’s voice is sweeter than usual; softer.

Namjoon guesses he’s using some part of his ability.

But Yoongi does stop mumbling weird string of words and nonsense that compromised of “no”, “stay away”, and “stop”. It’s extremely worrying and Namjoon doesn’t know what to make of it.

But then Yoongi is scrambling again, turning around and crouching before Jimin as though shocked to his very core.

‘How-‘ he chokes out.

Jimin has a very very controlled expression, but Namjoon can tell easily that this control could break any time.

‘How are-‘ Yoongi raises his hand and then lowers and then raises it again. He shuffle stiffly towards Jimin on his knees before he’s touching his face. Jimin takes his hand in his own, eyes never leaving Yoongi’s.

‘Are you real?’ Yoongi whispers.

He was clearly in shock.

Sk’jin makes to move forward but Hoseok raises his hand and so does Taeh’yung who is watching the whole scene unfold like it was some form of movie.

‘Real-‘ Jimin whispers back. ‘I’m real-‘

‘Sunshine?’

Yoongi’s shaking and careful touch changes to something desperate as he falls into Jimin, his entire body shaking.

‘He’s going into shock he might- he might collapse,’ Sk’jin says worriedly, still holding Jungkook back who is equal parts confused, angry, and shocked.

‘I’ve seen this-‘ Hoseok says suddenly. ‘Yoongi has done this before- in Ynqaba- he wasn’t- he wasn’t himself-‘

‘I think he’s finally woken up,’ Taeh’yung comments from where he’s sitting luxuriously on the couch.

‘What do you mean?’ Namjoon manages to finally speak, looking back at where a shaking Yoongi is still clutching onto Jimin, tucking him into his own form as though afraid of losing him.

‘Yoongi,’ Taeh’yung grins with a nod towards the Human. ‘He’s Awake.’

*

(Author’s Note)

I forgot to mention this last author’s note but

Can we all scream and cry

About

Mono

Tell me your favorite song

Mine is Moonchild

There is a way this song moves me- if I listen to it unprepared I can cry any time

I’ve always felt better, at night

When I was younger and living in my home country I used to go to the rooftop and just sit outside because I felt, idk, a lot more hopeful because the night to me was that moment of rest, that moment you know regardless of whatever happened that day or will happen tomorrow, its where you can just breathe. And moonchild really touched me at an emotional level. Also I don’t think there’s any need to mention how much I love the night sky and how much I love space, and all things cosmic, so this song feels indescribably hopeful to me. Namjoon to me feels like someone who is beyond artistry, its like he’s able to create something beyond what would be described as art. You know? It’s like he creates something almost spiritual

Also Namjoon is my moonchild end of story he is moonson

Im gonna cry

Brb

Also when he collabed with Nell I wanted to cry because I’ve listened to Nell for like, a long time, the first song I heard from them was “recede” and it’s still my favorite Nell song

Check it out if you haven’t!

And yes. Yoongi’s sister in this is Gowon from Loona. I heard that they’re cousins (or at least from the same family tree) so I thought, you know what, yes. I love Loona, and I love Gowon, so yes. I’ll do it.