Months have passed since Valion's training began, as he hones his skills in combat and mental fortitude with strategic skills. Naturally, this also improves his grading in the same fields, placing him within the top students of his class, next to his brother Osiris. The colors of the leaves and flowers have begun to change color as a new season is ushered in. The holographic signs are all displaying notices for the upcoming short break for the Academy with a paragraph underneath that describes it as a way to keep their students in contact with their parents. Multiple screens hum in unison as Osiris leans against the wall outside of his brothers dorm room, his weight pressed against it and his eye lids closed in thought and fatigue.

  Suddenly the door whooshes open with a quick mechanical whir as Valion steps through with a large and tightly packed duffle bag clasped in one hand. His chest presses out a sigh as his shoulders lower themselves, to which Osiris peeks out his eye and slightly shakes his head in response. "oh come on, its just for a couple weeks. i know you hate dad, but you seriously can't put up with him for two weeks? Hell, he's coming back from a big mission with mom when we get back, he'll probably be too exhausted to antagonize you anyway." He loosely throws his arms into a shrug before leaning down to grab his own pack.

  "I guess you're right... i just... well this feels like home for me now. Nobodies trying to like, ACTIVELY disown me here" He rolls his eyes to carry the same sarcasm dripping from his voice. before striding by his brothers side toward the Academy gates. "look, it only happens a few times a year. After that? You're BOTH out of each others hair! At least for a little while. I mean, don't you want to see mum too?" His eyebrow raises inquisitively as Valion snaps back instinctively. "Of course i do! I love her with all my heart!" Osiris's head tilts away from his brother slyly "but not dad?" he quips with a smile at the same time.

  Valion curls a finger across his lips as he weighs his response before rocking his hand from side to side in a joking manner "ehhh, maybe half a hearts worth? or a quarter? but ALL my heart? that's a stretch!" He shrugs his shoulders to compliment his sarcasm as Osiris nudges his elbow into him before they both share a jovial laugh with each other as he wraps his unoccupied arm around his brothers shoulder.

  They arrive at an airport as engines roar overhead. Flying ships with sleek elegant designs zip by before slowing to a halt at the many docks awaiting their arrival. The halls erupt in chatter as several passengers spill out onto the airports walkways. Holographic adverts begin to narrate their informative scripts while the two brothers make their way through the bustling crowd with lanyard passes around their necks.

  A lush looking ship slows its speed as it descends onto the platform they are standing on. They stand side by side, shifting their weight almost in sync as they patiently observe the other passengers disembarking. The faces pass by in a blur as Valion's mind begins to wander, reflecting on the last few months of tightly packed training and his uncertain future, unable to predict where it might take him, and how he will tell his brother. His gaze naturally turns toward Osiris, whose nose is pointed at the small glass screen held in his palm, scrolling through news articles of recent events.

  They board the ship as its attendants give the standard safety procedure talk before finally lifting off. The ships engines whir loudly before settling in a low hum as the ship is lifted off of the ground and into the air. Valion observes the dark blue jets of flame spilling from the engine as it carries the ship toward their destination. The trip feels like only a moment, and the following taxi ride even shorter as they both find themselves at the steps leading to the door of their home. The afternoon sun showers the front of the house in a dark orange hue as they both exhaustedly lift their legs onto each step.

  The door clunks as Osiris scans his paw print into the biological reader and the locks undo themselves before the door swishes open automatically. They carefully lay their bags at their bedsides as the hum of a ship approaches and dissipates overhead, with a slight rocking of the house signifying a ships arrival. Valion rushes to his window, barely able to keep himself from falling straight through to see their parent's sterile white ship splattered with blood along the bottom panels. The ships engines roar louder as it controls its decent before purring down to a silence as the door slowly lowers with a hiss.

  The two brothers leap out the backdoor across the grass with smiles on their faces eager to meet their parents before their sprint slows to a jog, then a walk, and finally they are at a standstill. Galvion exits the ship alone. His armor is blackened with powder marks, and several pieces are only hanging on by a thread. Several patches of his fur have been singed down to the skin, and wounds opening to the fibers of his muscles are scattered across his leg. He clutches a wound on his arm as crimson rushes down to his paws and a cut above his eye causes it to flow blood onto a clutched shut eyelid.

  They both then rush to each of his sides as Osiris offers his shoulder to pull his weight of his feet which he accepts in haste. "What the hell happened to you? do you have any grave wounds to attend to straight away?" Osiris asks while examining each one of his wounds, quickly assessing the damage while tearing off a piece of his shirt to hold against his open arm wound, which quickly turns a deep dark red as his blood stains it.

  Galvion stutters out an explanation between grunts of pain a rapid breathing. "argh! our mission... it went well. Too well. i should've noticed, but they set up an ambush at our ship waiting for us to return. It was organized. A crossfire. There hadn't been any resistance activity in years. We let our guard down and it was a massacre. I... I didn't know where to go... I'm not thinking straight i-" Valion's eyes raise inquisitively while looking toward the open ramp of the ship, noticing no other occupants other than the pilot and copilot, both limping on each others shoulders with their own wounds covered before slowly turning his head back to Galvion with a furrowed brow and his teeth showing accompanied with a low toned snarl.

  "Where the hell is mum?!" Valion stands at his fathers side, offering no welcoming gaze let alone a shoulder to lean on as he repeats himself while leaning toward him.

  "Where. Is. Teresa?"

  Galvion's own gaze breaks from Osiris's and aims toward the grass, unable to turn completely toward Valion. His eyes dart around the space in front of him unable to focus on any one spot for more than a second as his brow furrows and a low toned response is squeezed out.

  "She stayed behind." His mouth opens to continue but unable to find any more words he shuts it again, taking a step towards the house as Osiris matches his pace in sync.

  Valion's body was unable to move, his eyes stayed as if his father was still there in front of him like a slowly malfunctioning machine his breaths became inconsistent as his paws were clenched, almost drawing blood from his own claws digging into himself before finally taking a slow step forward, then another, and another before reaching the house.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Everyone sat around the dining table, Galvion's body is covered in bandages with dark splotches of red as he merely stares into the table cloth, while Valion sits across from him at the other head of the table, his eyes burning into his father while Osiris shifts uncomfortably while examining both of them, his legs tense ready to intervene as the tension in the air tightens around all three of them like a vice ready to break at the slightest turn.

  Valion's low toned voice spills into the room like poison. "How did it happen?"

  Galvion shakes his head, his eyes closed unwilling to recall the memories. "Not right now, i need rest, tomorrow we can-"

  "You don't get to put a pin in this. You don't GET to rest, we deserve to know-"

  Galvion's chair squeals as his sudden rise knocks it off balance onto the floor while his voice bombards the room "YOU DON'T DESERVE ANYTHING!" his arms swing out wide in exaggeration before silence replaces the conversation. His eyes wide and wild, darting around his son's face while Valion's eyes are calm, and concentrated solely on his gaze, his hands clasped together in front of his mouth.

  Osiris's hairs stand on edge before he verbally intervenes softly. "Dad... I'd like to know to."

  His other son's interjection calms him down as he lowers his arms back to his side. He bends over to pick the chair up before seating himself once more with a hand on his brow. "We were returning from our mission. We were told to return to the Kahacec Planet to investigate rumors of the remnants of the resistance rising once more."

  Both sons stayed silent but shared a look across the table at each other as Galvion lowers his hand to stare at Valion. "Don't recognize it? i suppose we don't have a habit of teaching you about planets we've conquered. How about Unekeh Village?"

  Valion's eyes widen as memories of his home village flash in his mind, the screams of his mother reverberate in his skull like a ringing bell as Galvion smirks and continues. "Thaaaat's right. that scummy little town of yours is on that same planet. We didn't find any shred of evidence after DAYS of searching that cesspool and on our way back to the ship to leave, we got caught in the crossfire. By the time my shields were up id already suffered these wounds, the other men didn't even have a chance to turn theirs on."

  Valion's frown grows and his teeth begin to bare once more as he continues to listen, but with a more impatient sense. "Teresa suffered her own wounds but they damaged the guns on our ship, and the engines were next. an explosion sent her further from the ship and if we stayed any longer, we all would have shared the same grave. She knew that too, so she told me to go while fending them off. It was a tough decision to make and if our roles were reversed i would've said the same, but... i wish there was something i could do."

  Valion stands from his seat before taking a second to respond, processing all the information while looking at his father covered eyes. "You didn't try everything. If you did, you wouldn't be here." Osiris sensing the potentially explosive outcomes stands up with his arms raised toward both parties. "Woah Valion that's enou-" Galvion's loud interception cuts off his diplomatic approach. "Is that so? It was YOUR disgusting kind that killed her you know. What are YOU going to do? Avenge her?! A traitor to your own kind?"

  The two brothers gasp as Osiris comes to his brothers defense "DAD! That's too far! Both of you need to stop!" Finally his voice seems to have caught both of their attentions as they slink back into their seats while he places both hand at his hips. "Can't we just have peace? just for tonight? We all need time to grieve, so lets just... have some peace." His face softens as grief begins to settle in his face. He covers it up while silently letting tears roll down his face. They both turn to Osiris as they nod at each other in agreement before Galvion finally stands up. "I'll be in my study. I'll see you both tomorrow" His low tone and staunch demeanor disappears into the shadows as the sound of a mechanical door opens and closes, leaving the two brothers alone.

  Osiris walks toward the kitchen as he asks Valion between sniffles. "I'm... going to grab a drink. You want one?" His saddened gaze brushes over Valion as he waits for his response. "N-no, i think... i think I'm just going to turn in for tonight." Osiris silently nods as he continues onward. Valion opens his mouth to say something, anything to his brother but the sight of his deflated and sorrow stricken silhouette stops him from finding a meaningful sentence so he simply shuts his mouth once more before rising out of his chair and proceeding to his room.

  The sky darkens as hours pass by into the late night while Valion lays in his bed, silently staring into the ceiling. His mind casts itself into memories of Teresa, her soft caring eyes staring into his as she laughs an plays with a much smaller and younger Valion. The yard seemed bigger to his younger self, but he enjoys playing with Teresa all the same. His memory begins to become cloudy as a strange whirring noise stirs above his bedroom.

  The noise grows and grows as the house rumbles slightly. Curiously, Valion saunters toward his window as he carefully peeks his eyes over the sill to see the backyard where another U.S.N ship has started to descend. The subtle flames of the engine casts a slight light on the side of the ship where Valion observes several bullet holes and blood splattering on the sides as the landing gears deploy from the bottom of the ship to soften its landing.

  The rear of the ship opens in the darkness and several shadowed figures exit the ship. The house rumbles slightly as a portion of the yard rises to reveal a metallic doorway where lights illuminate the figures. Valion studies who he sees but can only recognize several U.S.N uniforms and an unclothed prisoner with a bag over his head. They enter the doorway before it closes as quickly as it opened.

  Valion's senses begin to stir, not a feeling of death but of dread. Something was terribly wrong. His footsteps make no sound as he sneaks his way downstairs to the doorway of the kitchen only to see a few empty bottles of spirits and Osiris with his own head in his arms while his snores fill the room. Valion cracks a slight smirk before turning his attention to his father's study where a low rumbling has just emanated from it. His eyes are drawn to the bottom of the doorway where a series of flashing lights escape the crevice before quickly going dark.

  Valion very slowly approaches the door with a new found caution and curiosity as he slowly releases the manual lock on the the door, allowing it to be opened physically. His paws grasp the small opening made on the side of the door as he peeks around it as he slowly pulls it to one side after noticing the rooms vacancy. His light steps creak the floorboards slightly as he examines his surroundings noticing nothing out of the ordinary. As he rounds the table to the back, he notices a small button on the underside after his careful examination. His claw pushes it in proceeding to a mechanical whir of moving gears and parts.

  The room shifts as the table draws forward and a platform takes its place. Valion carefully steps onto the new platform and observes a control panel showing floors all the way to thirty below basement level. his claw hovers above each one, but indecisively lowers his hand to his side. He leans towards the controls as his eyes close, honing in on his nose alone, taking in the scent of the control panel as he slowly moves from one side to the other and noticing the strong smell of his father and alcohol on the seventeenth one.

  Nodding in acknowledgement, he presses in the button and the platform responds in earnest, whirring and shifting its position quickly and lowering rapidly as the buttons faintly light up and dim before finally landing on seventeen and slowing to a standstill. The large metallic door opens to reveal a long sterile corridor where screams echo off of the walls emanating from the darkness before lights on the floor and roof energize, illuminating the long hallways that seem to stretch endlessly.

  Valion's takes his first steps, still just as silent, into the corridor that carry him towards the screams as a mechanical door closes behind him with a low hiss, sealing him with his uncertain fate.