Untold Stories of a Galaxy - Kysaek: The Beginning
Ohm II

At the beginning, Kysaek could do nothing, as could Thais and Re’Lis. The three had stayed in the Bolt Dropper because they still wore the Disciples’ colours and wanted to attract as little attention as possible on Ohm II. That was why they had sent Dios and Kuren off to buy clothes, as their few strips of cloth had nothing to do with the disciples.

As soon as the new clothes were in, Kysaek and Thais were going to go out and organise fake identification numbers and seats on the next ship towards Central.

“Do you think they’ll find clothes here?” asked Kysaek.

“Most definitely,” replied Thais. Her knowledge of Ohm II was good. “Some people who come here literally sell their shirts if it will only get them somewhere. Others ...”

“Others what?”

It was not something Thais liked to address, but she did not conceal it. “I think I mentioned something about slaves, too. Not only do slave ships stop at Ohm II - slavers and hunters pick off the most desperate and defenceless travellers from the station. In the process, worthless clothes except for those people wear are often left behind and resold by third parties.”

Honestly, Kysaek had never given much thought to such things, but she condemned it and now that she heard it, it struck her even more ill. “Doesn’t anyone here do anything about it?”

“Do something about it?” retorted Thais. She reminded Kysaek of what part of the galaxy they were in, the so-called lush expanses. There, laws were mainly focused on trade and corporations. “We’re on a lousy smuggling station here. Nobody cares about illegal slavery,” Thais opined, spreading her arms for emphasis. “When people arrive here, penniless and with no chance of getting out of here, do you think those who have any say here want to feed such permanent residents through?”

“They’re more likely to call their slave-owning friends. Then there’s a little reward for the call and they let their friends bag people.”

“Unfortunately, but some things can’t be helped.”

“We could already ...”

“Cut the nonsense,” Thais said. Her priorities were quite clear, and dispensing justice was not part of them. “This kind of thing can get us into trouble real quick, and we don’t need any right now.”

“Just a thought,” Kysaek replied honestly. She had said that more out of guilty conscience than really wanting to, and she didn’t like herself for that, because catching the poorest of the poor wasn’t right and that didn’t let Kysaek’s conscience rest. However, she bowed to circumstances. “Where are those two?”

Re’Lis spoke up. “Knowing Dios and Kuren, they are having an ongoing conversation somewhere,” the Galig opined. Her task, after the change of clothes, was to get medical supplies and a bio-mask for Kysaek.

Such a mask - or as it was also simply called, a mirror face - was made of lifelike skin and gave its wearer a different appearance. Re’Lis wore a glass mask anyway, Thais could culturally cover her head, and Dios and Kuren were not really known. But that still left Kysaek, and merely hiding her behind a hood was not something anyone wanted to risk in the long run.

It took a while, but eventually Dios and Kuren returned to the transport with handy boxes in tow. “It’s hard to believe what they charge for old clothes,” Kuren grumbled. Her sister was at the back and added, “Besides, Thais’ measurements weren’t so easy to come by. Apparently not many stout figures come through this station.”

Everyone was changing in the van and privacy was a foreign word, but that didn’t bother any of the women. Only Kuren, who like her sister was wrapping herself in new layers of cloth, covering her neck area as well, was curiously and jokingly comparing the anatomy of Re’Lis, Kysaek and Thais. “After all, I’ve often wondered how these foreign bodies don’t bother you.”

Kysaek was slipping on a pair of trousers and was still completely naked on top. “What foreign bodies?” she asked irritably, looking down at herself. Had she picked up something from the fight and not noticed it yet?

Kuren demonstrated on her own torso, drawing circles in the air above it. “You and Thais, what’s attached to you. Re’Lis doesn’t have that. What do you mammals call it? Breasts?”

So that’s what the Sororanian meant. As a member of an amphibian species, Re’Lis had neither the beginnings of a bosom nor nipples - simply a smooth, slightly scaly surface, as men were known to have. “Yes, breasts, and why should they bother?” asked Kysaek. To her, it was incomprehensible.

“I’ve just always wondered how to get along with them,” Kuren replied ignorantly. She continued to do the twists in the air as if she had a bosom of her own. “This jiggling, sagging, standing tight or weight ... I mean it’s kind of different depending on the shape and size, isn’t it?” Quite obviously she was alluding to the clear differences between Kysaek’s taut but smaller bosom and Thais’ magnificent curves.

“How long have you been working with Thais?”

“About five years.”

“And there’s never been an opportunity to ask her?”

“It didn’t seem appropriate,” Kuren talked herself out of it, exchanging glances with Thais, who only remained silent and smirked. There was a shake of the head from the Talin for good measure, but Kuren thought it was just fine. “But now? I don’t think there could be a more appropriate moment.”

“And looking into the Virtual system, that didn’t occur to you?” asked Kysaek, and was at her tops. “And as for jiggling - that’s what bras are for,” she winked, popping back the straps of her cups.

“Just going into the Virtual system would have been boring, after all, and I only just remembered, looking at you, that I wanted to know,” Kuren asserted, finally stopping the airy imitations.

Prudently, Re’Lis ended the subject. “Are you guys going to be done soon? We have some work to do and I’d hate to stay in this dump any longer than necessary.”

“I’m good to go, Doctor,” Kysaek said, ready to leave.

Thais joined in. “Yes, let’s get to work. And Dios and Kuren - you make as much foreign currency as you can from the sale of the Bolt Dropper.”

“If we have to sacrifice him,” Dios sighed at the back, turning his head decisively, “Let’s do it at extortionate prices.”

The tasks had been distributed and everyone was about to go their separate ways, but as they left the Bolt Dropper Re’Lis remarked something to the twins with a little fun in her voice. “Oh and as for foreign bodies or peculiarities, I bet Kysaek finds a lot more unusual about you than you do about her. After all, you are of an arthropod species.”

Instead of them responding, Dios and Kuren immediately looked at Kysaek and she raised her hands innocently - she didn’t even know what arthropods were. Before any new conversation could take place, however, Thais pulled her young partner along with her. “Come on now!”

Ohm II may have been a popular smuggling station and stopover, but no one had ever heard of cleanliness or order here, it seemed. Some of the corridors were littered with junk and rubbish, and the lights were completely missing in some areas, replaced only by a meagre emergency lighting. Not to mention, there was a strange haze below the ceilings, a fine mist of white, suggesting questionable and unreliable ventilation systems. On top of that, it was unusually warm in places, and in that heat lingered figures, creatures that simply sat there radiating misery or danger.

“That’s not like Cipi, eh?” murmured Thais when she noticed Kysaek’s tension. She was spot on with the question. Ohm II was a gloomier version of the starry corner and the Talin went further. “But this is nothing. It’s far worse in the heart of the maw.”

Carefully, Kysaek brushed aside the face-covering hood of her poncho. “And here I thought I knew what was going on after the Disciples’ business, and now I feel really stupid.”

“You’re young, very young, and yet amazingly studious and self-critical,” Thais said, pulling the ugly green mouth scarf to fit in front of her lips. With the matching new head bandana, the Talin was well camouflaged. “However, I sometimes get the impression this self-criticism is self-underestimation. It doesn’t quite fit with your otherwise energetic nature.”

“Are you getting at something in particular?”

Thais remained composed, but there was foreboding in her tone. “I think you can do a lot.”

“... A lot of what?” inquired Kysaek. She couldn’t follow Talin’s thoughts and why she was suddenly talking about such things. Was this an attempt to build up after the bitter defeat? Or did it have another meaning? Kysaek didn’t realise.

“Let’s just say I have a thought like that, but it’s secondary now,” Thais replied and left it at that. She had possibly just said that to herself, for no reason, and suddenly she was talking about the subject that had come up while she was changing. “Was Re’Lis right? Have you been wondering more about Dios and Kuren than they have been about you?”

“You mean more like they were curious about us and our foreign bodies.”

“If you want to be so specific. My question remains, though.”

Thoughtfully, Kysaek curled her lips. “True,” she confessed, “I never really used to be interested in other species. I mean, as a kid everything was wondrous and I spent most of the day with my mouth open, and later in school I learned names and some facts, but by then the interest had dwindled.”

“Regardless of background, however, it is the children who devour everything like a hungry negdrog.”

Kysaek liked the comparison, as the fat and peaceful Negdrog were truly omnivores among animals, in the truest sense of the word. However, she had an explanation why she had not been so inquisitive at the time. “You’d really think it was, wouldn’t you? But I think it was habit or mass. The galaxy holds more than a child could handle, after all.”

“That’s an understatement, even. Still, it doesn’t suit you. I see a fresh mind just waiting to be unleashed, open to new things now. I see even more.”

There it was again, and Kysaek pondered why Thais spoke of “being able to do a lot” or “seeing more”. However, since the Talin had strayed from the topic earlier, Kysaek remained relaxed. “I thought you were a whole different breed of Talin, but now that I hear you talking like this - do all of your species have that mystical thing about them?”

“I’d say more philosophical, but I guess it runs in my family,” Thais mentioned, weighing carefully. “Well, my biological family. It’s very traditional. However, not all Talin are like that. Some take things more seriously than others and a whole bunch have developed their own lifestyle, but when you live around two thousand years, you might not get past some traits.”

With the Eporanians, Kysaek already couldn’t imagine what a five thousand year life must be like, and the same was true for two thousand, which is why she saw the merits of a short time span. “When you live that long, don’t you run more of a risk of becoming a smartass?”

Thais delighted in the choice of words. “Yes, arrogance is such a trait. What sounds wise is not necessarily intelligent. Long-lived species tend to think they know a lot of things better,” she admitted, speaking of the next person as if everything was fine. “It just makes me think of what Dilén told me about your first meeting and how you ...”

“Dilén!” startled Kysaek aloud. She had forgotten all about Thais’ younger sister. “We have to get back to Cipi!”

Hastily and gruffly, Thais pushed her companion into a corner. “Shh!” she murmured warningly, looking around - luckily no one had noticed. Restless, Kysaek wriggled under her holding grip until Talin put an end to it. “It’s all right!” she said quietly, and managed to loosen up. “Dilén is not on Cipi. She already flew to our home planet four days ago and is taking care of family matters. On my way to the base I sent her a warning. With my mother, I guarantee nothing will happen to her.”

At first Kysaek had to catch her breath, as Thais had not exactly been gentle, before she sighed. “I’m sorry. The shock ... I had completely forgotten about Dilén until just now.”

“She is not your family, nor is she a true member of the Disciples,” Thais opined. Her expression was a contradiction, as she appreciated the concern for Dilén while radiating that this was a private matter.

“If you say she’s safe, that’s good enough for me,” Kysaek nodded, but she was now electrified. “Where is this bar now?”

“We’ll be right there,” Thais agreed.

The destination was a nasty dive where ID traders ID traders and ticket sellers for the refugee ships could be found. How rough it could be in there was already suggested by the Hishek guard at the doorless entrance. While bass-heavy music boomed from the bar, the imposing lizard in heavy full gear stood almost motionless in front of it. Hardly a fibre of the lizard’s body was unarmoured and two cannons were strapped around both arms, the appearance of which already announced a massacre. However, it did not give more than a cursory glance and bare fangs as Thais and Kysaek walked into the dive.

There was nothing here that Kysaek didn’t expect - an atmosphere dominated by shadows. The lights above the bar, the tables and the seating areas fluctuated between red, blue and normal white. There were not many guests, however, and those who were there sat by themselves or as a couple and rarely more. They were not refugees, however, of that Kysaek was aware. “Do we search or wait?” she asked quietly, even as the music itself drowned out the normal conversations of the guests.

Thais gave a surprising instruction. “I’ll search and you wait.”

“I thought we were doing this together,” she said, driven by her eagerness. She didn’t want to sit around again while Talin did the work and took responsibility, just like with the disciples.

But in fact Thais had an important task for Kysaek and made that clear to her. “We’ll do it together and you’ll be my insurance.”

“Insurance?”

“Yes. The characters here are not to be trusted and I need you to cover my back,” Thais explained, gesturing unobtrusively to the counter. “Sit down, calm down and have a drink. I think you need it badly.”

The task sounded important and it was, but Kysaek couldn’t quite bring herself to see it as patronising. Calm down? Drink? As she thought of it, she pondered further. Why just me? Are you, Re’Lis and the twins made of stone, or what? She definitely had to ask the others those questions, Kysaek resolved to do that later, but for now it was a matter of working as a team. “I hope they have something decent here. After everything, that would be really good.”

“Just don’t overdo it,” Thais said, choosing one of the empty, shadier seating areas.

Don’t overdo it - I hardly have any foreign currency anyway. This was not a new insight for Kysaek, but it did not need to be said aloud either. As she sat down at the modest counter, she checked her pistol again under her poncho. It was the only weapon she had left from the fighting, with only one magazine, and when Kysaek realised there was nothing wrong with it, she took her hand away from there.

“I hope you won’t do anything stupid,” said a dismissive voice from the side.

Despite her tension, Kysaek looked around leisurely. “What makes you think that?” she asked, looking into the black eyeballs of a Sororanian. At least, Kysaek suspected it was a man, as the tone of voice was more virile, so compared to Dios and Kuren. On the body, in fact, she found no difference.

“You wouldn’t be the first to think you could pull off a little heist,” said the Sororanian who was facing Kysaek.

The Sororanian in the back gave a similar, and unkind, remark. “But this is our shop and we’ve seen it all before and it makes us nervous when someone hides their hands.”

“Exactly,” rejoined the Sororanian in front. “And when we’re nervous, it’s not good for our fingers and our plasma shotguns at all.”

“I just want a drink,” Kysaek replied tersely. She refused to be intimidated, thinking she would otherwise become the target of some hoodlums who preyed on the weak. “If you have anything decent.”

“More than that,” the Sororan in front asserted. “I’m going behind the counter.”

What followed was a cracking sound that gave goosebumps and with which Kysaek had been familiar since earlier. She found it unpleasant, but for Sororanians it was perfectly natural. The two beings detached from each other piecemeal and their backs were like a zip being pulled open. Previously intertwined, gristly cramps pushed outwards and a sticky secretion clung to them. But with the separation came more, in the form of growth, and that took place on the rear underside of the Sororanians. Perfectly timed, as their detaching process reached its end, each grew two extra insect legs, for without these and deprived of the support provided by the other’s back, neither Sororanian could have stood alone and would have fallen backwards.

Kysaek had seen exactly the same thing with Dios and Kuren after arriving on Ohm II, except that they had already been detached from each other and had instead joined back together. It was also the solution to her question of how Dios and Kuren had fitted into the seats of the Bolt Dropper - namely, separately from each other. However, simply separating was not enough. Dios and Kuren had even shrunk a little for the seats before growing back to their original size before reuniting.

“Before I ask what you want,” the Sororanian barman murmured, rubbing his fingers together. “Can you even pay, or have I gone to all this trouble for nothing and you’re one of the freeloading refugees hoping for a glass on the house?”

“I’m not here to beg for anything.”

“Your mouth said one thing and your rag clothes said another, but let’s call your bluff. What’ll it be?”

Kysaek didn’t want to be picky and ordered a drink that was widely available. “Give me a Gamma,” she ordered and was presented with a pint glass into which the barman poured a bright green, frothy liquid.

After being paid, the barman showed himself more talkative all at once. “So you’re not a fugitive or a small-time anovin foolishly trying to rob our bar. What brings you here then? Someone walking around like that strikes me as a courier with hot merchandise.”

“Not more like an assassin?” retorted Kysaek. The taste of gamma flooded her mouth, a spicy and strong aroma.

The barman was unmoved. “If that were the case, do you think that would impress anyone here?”

“I don’t think anyone who’s anyone would mouth off. That would be unserious. Wouldn’t it?”

“Serious criminals,” the Sororanian doubted. He stretched his long neck higher and showed a smirk. “Either you have a sense of humour or no idea.” The barman just pretended that there was no such thing as serious and unserious when it came to criminals. Maybe the term was just wrong and “reputation to lose” would have been more accurate.

“I tend to do both,” Kysaek replied. She wanted too much to look at Thais, but since the barman was talking to her, she avoided it. Apparently the Sororanian hadn’t seen the two of them come in together and so Kysaek wanted to keep it that way. It even gave her an idea. “But Ohm II is just a stopover for me. I have some things to do there in the maw.”

The barman believed the false statement. “You and half the people here. There’s really nothing I haven’t heard here,” the Sororanian asserted with conviction. On a station like this and with such clientele, however, it was no wonder and he tried to guess. “What’s in the maw? Someone who hasn’t paid his gambling debts? A crime boss who will soon be dead? Maybe an important package that needs to be delivered after all?”

“If you’ve already heard everything, it wouldn’t do any good for me to answer your question anyway. Therefore, I leave my intentions entirely to your imagination.”

The Sororanian recognised enough of Kysaek’s face to name her species. “Quite clever, human,” he said, making a second glassful. “This one’s indeed on the house, but don’t get cocky.”

“I’ll be careful,” Kysaek nodded and the barman left her alone. Still, she felt like she was being watched and she avoided looking any further in Thais’ direction in any way, but there was one way she could.

Instead of just looking out for her companion, Kysaek gave the whole establishment a glance. Indeed, some figures looked to her, wary or grim. It didn’t last long, however, and everyone looked after themselves, and in between Kysaek swivelled to Thais, who at one point was no longer sitting alone and had company in the form of a calaner. While his mechanical legs and hips allowed him to sit upright, his tentacles hung loosely down or moved daintily along the seat and table leg. What he discussed with Thais, however, eluded Kysaek’s hearing and the conversation went on for a very long time. Nothing like an ID or the like was exchanged, however, and after a while the Calanian relaxed and disappeared while Thais remained seated. Kysaek pondered whether that meant success or failure, but as her companion lingered in the seating area, she turned away and enjoyed the second gamma. This was also the most exciting thing for Kysaek, as soon Thais patted her on the shoulder and nodded silently towards the exit.

Away from the bar, however, Thais said nothing, which was why Kysaek started. “Have you had any success?”

“Let’s just say it’s all sorted,” Thais replied with reluctance, and although her face was well covered, you could see from her eyes and tightened skin around it that she wasn’t in the mood for conversation right now.

Kysaek therefore felt her way cautiously. “That’s good,” she said. Possibly the price was enormous or the Calanian had upset Thais, but Kysaek didn’t let that get her down. “I’ve never been in a bar this bad before. Somehow I expected something to happen there any second, like a scuffle or a shooting.”

“Haven’t we had enough bad luck today?” retorted Thais really unkindly. She had never been like this to Kysaek until now. “You of all people, after the last few months - are you looking for trouble that badly?”

“Ehm, no, no,” Kysaek shook her head. What is wrong with her all of a sudden? She worried about that and wondered if it was because of her. Had Kysaek made a mistake in the bar? Looked too Thai too often and screwed up the deal? Or had she been too conspicuous in general? Whatever it was, Kysaek didn’t want to irritate Thais further. “I’m sorry, it was just a comment.” She didn’t hear another word from Thais and Talin noticeably picked up her pace, so that she was always a few steps in the lead, or as if she was even trying to outrun Kysaek. But she kept up and at the same time racked her brains. Is she in a hurry? Do we have to be quick? Why doesn’t she say anything to me? Or could it be that ... Perhaps Thais’ nerves were simply on edge and despite all her experience, her strength was failing her, for Kysaek was not so naïve as to believe that her companion was made of stone. No one was.

Whatever it was, it lasted until they reunited with the rest of the fugitive group. They met in an insignificant, empty side hall of Ohm II, something like a worse transit and business zone. Re’Lis was fully loaded, with two handy suitcases in each hand and a seal unit, a better and bulkier backpack, on his back. Dios and Kuren were less loaded, but Dios still clutched a new code-secured cassette in her hands.

“I guess you got what you needed,” Thais said in reference to Re’Li’s belongings. She was still unkind and turned her attention to the twins. “And you?”

Kuren spoke softly as she named a large amount. “Four hundred thousand foreign currency, which is not even close to half the actual value, before even a quarter ... But considering our situation, it’s a lot.”

“Just about,” Thais agreed, since most of the foreign exchange had to go to one thing. “Sixty thousand per ID card. I found a Seeker who doesn’t ask questions and who I told I’d rip his guts out if he did any research.” Three hundred thousand for all the ID cards was a lot and Kysaek enquired about the rest. “And the places on the ship?”

“Ten thousand per head,” Thais replied. “What’s left we’ll need for the bribe and our launch on Central, which means we’ll be left with nothing, but alive and safe.” Her mood tilted all at once, for the Talin had more to say and her gruff manner suddenly turned into a quiet and discreet one. “However, everything that happens from now on will not be my responsibility.”

Everyone was confused, but Re’Lis was the first to show verbal suspicion. “What do you mean? Do you want to leave us?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then please express yourself more clearly.”

“What I meant was this,” Thais began, but she looked at the row of women first and stepped through. A narrow viewport allowed her to see part of the asteroid belt between which Ohm II lay hidden, and the blackness of space in between. “On our way here I was thinking, thinking a lot, and it was hardly about the further plans or the places where we could hide. It was only a tiny part of my thoughts, and the important thoughts didn’t end until I was sitting alone in the bar after I’d finished the business with the ID cards.” She was far from finished, and what was coming soon neither Kysaek nor the others could have guessed. However, Thais looked everyone in the eye, torn between firm conviction and depressed self-doubt, but no tears flowed from her. “I will and will continue to be by your side, but after what happened on Cipi, after those grave mistakes that caused so much death, I will not and cannot lead you anymore,” Thais said, reminding Re’Lis of something past. “You know I never really could.” There was no retort from the Galig, however, and so the Talin continued, “But I believe there is more to the horror and brutality of PGI. I have to believe it. It’s my only consolation that so many have lost their lives, that there’s more to it than a corrupt corporation and questionable experiments.”

No, it definitely didn’t faze Thais what had happened, Kysaek realised clearly now. It only worried her that Thais wanted to give special meaning to PGI’s actions and that her sisters should have died for a greater cause than the profit of this shady corporation and that she now wanted to make a decision out of the wrong motives. Before Kysaek wanted to doubt those, however, she needed to know what exactly the Talin was thinking, and she inched her way towards honouring the dead. “All our sisters have stood up to a powerful enemy, a hostile enemy, and as long as we live on, their sacrifice will not have been in vain. That is precisely why I wonder why you are doing this now, and how exactly you imagine it will continue when there is no one left to lead us.”

Thais’s answer was curt and yet weighty in its implications. “We have you,” she opined, leaving more than just Kysaek speechless. “You are not no one, are you? You belong to us.”

More than a “Me?” was all Kysaek could manage.

“Yes, you!”

Re’Lis objected diplomatically. “Kysaek is far too young and inexperienced,” she opined, but she gave Thais a chance to explain herself. “Could you please tell me what makes you think she would be suitable for this?”

Thais steered against the question. “I’m more wondering what makes you think she couldn’t,” she countered. Now it became apparent what had been behind the Talin’s comical comments to Kysaek. It was her belief in potential, fed by observations and hopes. “For her, this situation is not new. This is the second time she has escaped PGI’s death trap and proved herself. You said yourself that Kysaek was a great help in defending our base.”

This did not convince Re’Lis. “She really was, but that was just one fight. If it wasn’t for us, she’d be dead by now. Have you forgotten what happened to her at the warehouses?”

“At least she held out long enough for us to save her, and of course, you did your part to help her recover, but survival is also related to a strong will - you saw it often enough in the war.”

“A strong will does not make a good leader.”

“But it’s a start, and what makes a good leader then? They don’t just appear, they are formed. And how are they formed if not through experience and leadership? And neither of those things can Kysaek gain if she doesn’t lead.”

“We could argue at length,” Re’Lis sighed. Her contradiction wavered, but it was not broken. “But why Kysaek? Why not someone else...” The Galig did not utter the rest, apparently realising that there was no one else left.

Thais made that clear as well. “She’s the only one who can,” she said warmly and honestly. “You’re a good doctor, Re’Lis, but I know you don’t want to be a leader, and Dios and Kuren are the best pilots I know, but they’re not fighters nor do they like to make hard decisions, but that’s what will be needed.”

Kuren came to terms with the remarks. “And we have no interest in that, that’s the main point. We don’t want to lead anyone.”

“And maybe we need a new face, that is, now that the disciples thing is over,” Dios said, underlining that she was behind Kysaek. “Someone with different ideas and a different way of looking at things.”

“And how would it be if in fact no one leads? If we decided everything together?” asked Re’Lis.

“Diversity of opinion only creates disunity and not capable leadership,” Thais interjected firmly. However, she did not mean suppression of opinions. “There are rankings for a reason, and when everyone speaks or commands, only chaos results. We are not a nation, a planet or a whole species. We are not backed by a safe society that allows us eternal discourse, and that is why there must be a leader, and I put my trust in Kysaek.”

Dios and Kuren echoed the sentiment unconditionally, as if they had only been waiting for that to occur. “So do we.”

“I’m not sure where you get that confidence,” Re’Lis admitted, still opposed. The fact that Kysaek had saved her life had not been forgotten by the Galig, however, and she found a way to live with the decision. “But without Kysaek, I’m sure I would be as dead as the rest of our poor sisters. She saved me, and since I owe her my life, I put it in her hands, and if she ever gets stuck, she can ask us for advice.”

Everyone chatted about it, but Kysaek was silent until now, not understanding how everyone - or rather Thais - came up with the idea. You want me to take the lead? What have I missed, please, for it to come to this? These were two of several questions that just flashed through Kysaek’s mind. Just because she was alive, should she be special? Have the strength and clue to lead? To be able to do more? And now everyone was still looking at her as if they were waiting for Kysaek’s yes, and that didn’t make it any better. “Are you guys crazy? You can’t be serious!”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Thais replied. “But I believe in you.”

“I certainly don’t lack confidence. However, there is no question of you being a leader!”

“But you acted like one when it mattered,” Thais argued, seeing the defence of the base as evidence. “Everyone relied on you and needed you, and you did your best.”

Re’Lis added her acknowledgement. “That is true. It may have been just a fight, but I simply carried on what you said. I was completely overwhelmed with the situation.”

“And look where we are now!” retorted Kysaek, stunned. “If I’m supposed to be so good as a leader, why didn’t we win?”

“A leader is not characterised by winning every battle,” Thais opined. She wanted from Kysaek what she herself could no longer do. “A leader lives with the decisions he makes and holds everything together. He takes care of his people, keeps going and inspires others, and even if he doesn’t always win, in the end he leads everyone to victory.”

That Kysaek cared about everyone was true and she wanted to help and support everyone as much as she could. However, what was in the room now was beyond her scope and almost crushed her. On the other hand, she thought of Thais’ statement that she was still alive and had a strong will. But whichever side Kysaek looked at, good or bad, she would not and could not give a final answer now. “We have a long flight ahead of us, right?”

Kuren nodded. “Yes, a long and boring flight.”

“I ... Give me time,” Kysaek asked thoughtfully. “I’ll think about it on the flight to Central and give you an answer before we land.”

“I like that,” Dios said teasingly. “A good first decision.”

Kysaek gave the Sororan a look that was meant to show that she didn’t like this slight side-blow at all, and yet she rang the trip resolutely. “Then let’s get out of here. Off to Central!”

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