Pearl
Karnvas City

"Stars, girl. They wield the power of stars." Mowgli said softly.

My heart froze.

"...what does that mean? Mowgli?" I asked. But he didn't get the chance to respond as the mountain suddenly rocked.

People out on the streets screamed, running for cover as rocks fell. Mowgli growled, sounding exactly like a tiger, before grabbing me and pulling me away.

A rock crashed right where we were sitting, crushing the fire and throwing sparks up.

"Hunters..." he growled. My own eyes narrowed.

He grabbed a radio from his belt, keying it: "Karnvas Branch, come in. This is Mowgli. Karnvas City is under attack by Hunters, I repeat, Karnvas City is under attack. I require immediate backup to transport Miss Moon to Haven Three." He barked, drawing his scimitar with his other hand.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm not going to Haven Three or whatever, I'm going back to Strongwinter Village! My crew is back there!" I yelled. He opened his mouth to say something, then winced at something behind me.

"Your crew is here." He said, pointing behind me. I turned.

The entire Unbroken crew, led by Ivan and Zara, were charging up the road at us. Ivan's eyes were zoned in on Mowgli.

"Ivan might kill you." I warned. Mowgli snorted.

"I'd like to see the old hairball try." He said, folding his arms.

Zara charged Mowgli with a scream, but I grabbed her and held her back.

"Whoa! That's Mowgli! Friend. I think." I barked. She looked at me like I was insane.

Ivan stopped in front of Mowgli, face unreadable. Mowgli stared back up at him, completely stoney faced, which looked ridiculous considering Ivan was almost five feet taller then him.

Then they both broke out into massive grins and hugged violently.

"Mowgli! It's been too long, brother, how are you holding up!" Ivan laughed.

"I have been good, brother. I've been looking out for those children in the Karnvas Department. How about you, old friend? You've been eating well, I can see."

They laughed like that was an old joke between them.

Zara looked just as confused as me.

"Ohkaaaaaaaaaay... you know Mowgli?" I asked. The two let go of each other, and Ivan punched Mowgli in the shoulder.

"Of course! He's been my best friend ever since I joined Xisuma's band of rebels!" Ivan laughed.

The entire cavern shook again, snapping us all back the the current, sobering reality: Karnvas City was under attack.

"Go back to Strongwinter Village, get back to the Unbroken. It should be fixed enough when you get back, enough for Nafia to finish while you're in flight. Mowgli, go with them." Ivan ordered.

I frowned.

"What about you?" I asked.

Ivan laid a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"I must stay here and defend the city. I'll meet back up with you as soon as I can." He said.

"I am coming with you." Mowgli said stubbornly. Ivan shook his head.

"The Hunters hate Severnyy, but they hate Shereians more. Go. Protect the crew. I'll be fine. Go!" Ivan said, turning and running.. Mowgli sighed, then nodded solemnly.

"Let us go, quickly!" Mowgli barked.

We got out of there as fast as possible, the cavern rocking from the massive Hunter assault above.

. . .

The entire ride back to Strongwinter Village was a battlefield. Hundreds of carriers and battleships hung in the sky, with more and more arriving. Fighters blasted down Severnyy lines, which seemed completely unfair to me. The Severnyy had no access to any kind of air defense or support.

A long Severnyy Phalanx waited at the edge of Strongwinter Village, bristling with spears, axes, and hammers.

"Hold! It's the crew of the Unbroken!" Masha's voice came. The shields, which were about the size of large doors, parted and let her through.

"Come, my friends. Let's get you off this planet and on your way." She said, leading us into the village. An adolescent Severnyy who looked a lot like Ivan took Masha's place in the Phalanx.

"Can she fly?" BigB asked.

"It'll have to do. Come!" Masha said, rushing us into the loading area.

"Are you sure you do not need us to stay for a while?" Mowgli persisted. Masha shook her head.

"No, my friend, you must leave. I don't want to see your pelt on the wall like your uncle." Masha assured him. She stepped out of the ship, waving.

"Good luck, Unbroken! Your Shield Family will always be ready to answer your call to battle!May the wind be at your back!" She cried, hefting her shield in a Severnyy salute.

A lump formed in my throat at the gesture. I had never heard of the Severnyy saluting to any other species. In doing so, combined with her words, she had essentially made the crew officially part of the Strongwinter Family, like Ivan had always wanted.

"Proshchay, Mat'-Shchit." I muttered in Severnyy as we lifted off and the door closed.

"What did you say?" BigB said softly.

I closed my eyes, a lone tear threatening to break free.

"I said, 'Farewell, Shield Mother'..." I whispered, standing to face my crew.

B had a look of understanding on his face, with small Nafia practically hooked to his arm (almost smiled at that). Karn was leaning against the wall, hands in his white medical trench coat. Zara stood next to him, arms crossed and looking skeptically at me. Mowgli had his hands on the hilt of his scimitar, resting the tip of it against the ground.

I sighed.

"I'm sorry I disappeared last night. I had some... things to take care of. I understand if I broke your trust, so I have no right to ask you to do this, but... the Galaxy is at war. Gigacorp is fighting NEWUN in the Sol System, and they're gonna attack Therllyria, too. But we can stop them. I know where their reserve fleet, the Andromeda Fleet, is. And it just so happens to be exactly where we need to go." I said. Boy, I had their attention now. Zara was glaring daggers at me from the back.

I sucked in a deep breath, and pushed on; "We need to go back to Hermitcraft."

Silence.

Then Zara stepped forwards, right up to me.

"I don't like you. You know that, and I'm pretty sure the feeling's mutual." She started. I opened my mouth to protest the inevitable chewing-out I was about to get, but she shushed me.

"We have our differences, Moon, but damn it all if you don't lead us."

I was stunned into silence.

"If you hadn't shown up, BigB would be scrounging on Therllyria, Ivan would be miserable running that crappy, failing bar of his, Nafia would be cooped up and going crazy in the palace, and Karn and I would be rotting in some hidden, forgotten prison. But you brought us together. The Unbroken, a band of idiots with nothing in common. We fight half the time and are running for our lives the other half. But that's what's changed us from a messed-up crew of crazy people to a messed-up FAMILY of crazy people. I hate all of you, but I would take a bullet for every single one of you. Even you, Moon. You've lead us right so far. So pull your head out of your ass and lead us." she said, rushing it all out like she had been holding it back for a long time.

The room was stunned into silence.

Then she shocked everyone even more: she pulled me into a tight, rib-crushing embrace.

"Don't think this means I like you. I can just tolerate you." She growled in my ear.

The entire crew stepped forwards, embracing me too.
I laughed a little, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. Despite the weirdness of it all, I felt... relieved. For the first time since Hermitcraft collapsed, I felt calm and collected. Confident. Like a massive weight I hadn't even realized was there had been lifted off my chest.

I backed up.

"Alright, then. Cheesy bullshit is over with," they chuckled at that, "BigB, get this bird in the air. Zara, man the aft guns. Nafia, get down in the engine room and make sure we don't blow up. Karn, get on sonar and get your medical shit together. Mowgli, I need you on frontal guns." I ordered. They all nodded, rushing off to their posts. Even Mowgli.

I marched up to the cockpit behind them, plopping into my co-pilot chair.

"Alright. Time to make some noise."