Rixon was chilling in the cockpit with his feet kicked up, looking over material he'd saved last night before they left Delisus.

  Just to see any possible additions he could make to the ship.

  Oyric walked in and dropped into the co-pilot seat.

  "Man, how much longer we got? It feels like we've been traveling for weeks." She rolled her head back, looking for attention.

  "Go watch social media on your glasses. We'll be there literally tomorrow. You can see it from here." Rixon swiped through a holographic tablet of different modifications.

  "We've been seeing the festival for five days now. Like, of course I can see it. I wasn't born yesterday or the day before." Oyric adjusted her neck and rolled her eyes at him.

  Rixon didn't give her the satisfaction of looking up. "Look, how about this? I will send you the itinerary for what we got planned, and you tell me what you think. Sounds like a deal?"

  "Now you're talking, my wonderful brother." She pulled it up on her glasses and noticed that the network from back home seemed to be down. "That's weird. The feed from this week should be loading in, but I'm still only seeing things from two weeks after we left"

  "It's probably just a bad network connection. Maybe on the way back you'll get a better connection and you can see the feed better. But for now, tell me how you feel about Gravity Space Dodgeball?" Rixon showed her his pad, holographic clips of people getting pelted and dodging balls in slow motion.

  "Now you know I'm always down for a game where I can be acrobatic and whimsical at the same time. Like, for crying out loud, I'm the most elegant lady you could meet on the galaxy market." Oyric announced this to the cockpit of two as she posed like there was a camera around.

  Rixon chuckled and went back to his tablet.

  "Anyways, so Rixxy, my dear brother, how come I don't see you with girls? Like, are they boring to you or something? Do you like to play on your side of the fence instead?" Oyric probed, trying to get a rise out of Rixon.

  Instead of giving her an answer, he gave her a face of pure confusion, annoyance, and an unspoken Are you serious?

  Oyric continued the banter, testing how far she could go. "Now look, in today's society two masculines can have babies, they got technology for it. So if you like that, I swear, check it. There should be no shame in your game."

  Rixon laughed and finally acknowledged her. "Listen, Oyricy, because obviously you want your dearest older brother to give you attention, and attention I will give you. Look, when it comes to older women, they are not easy to crack. They're like combination locks with no combination on the outside. Even once you finally find out where it is, the combination is twenty-five characters long."

  "I'm listening, but as a woman who will soon be entering that older woman echelon, I don't know how I feel about that." Oyricy squinted at him as she sat back down and kicked her legs up on the inner chair of the co-pilot seat.

  "Well, you're at that age now, so check it out, wo—"

  Rixon was cut off by an incoming message.

  Bleep. Bleep.

  Bleep. Bleep.

  Bleep. Bleep.

  "This seems to be coming from the festival, which is quite weird when we haven't gotten close enough for them to start receiving us."

  Rixon clicked the transmission. It answered in front of them on the glass of the cockpit window.

  "My wonderful little cousins, how have y'all been?"

  Rixon ground his teeth, anger rising in him. "What the fuck are you doing here? Shouldn't you be running for your life as a pirate?"

  "Ah, good to see you too, little cuz. And how is it for my other little cuz? Still pissed at me as well?"

  Oyric answered with a nonchalant look. "I could care less, but why are you here, especially while we're arriving at this festival?"

  Their cousin's face twitched in confusion. "Wait, y'all are coming here as well? And what do you mean, y'all called me! I'm just answering the transmission."

  Oyric and Rixon exchanged looks of confusion.

  "Boy, you a lie. We did not try to get in touch with you. Stop playing and get off our line. We got things to do this week, man." Oyric looked for the end transmission button.

  "Oh, don't worry. I'ma beat you to it, you little ugly bastards." He tried to end the transmission.

  "—ugly bastards..."

  Their cousin failed to leave. Seemingly again and again.

  They could see him pressing it, but he couldn't end it.

  "Man, what in the world is going on? Like, this ship's about to get sold over some ish like this." Their cousin's frustration was showing.

  Rixon smirked, enjoying every part of this awkward encounter, his cousin just failing to leave, not knowing that they couldn't leave the transmission either.

  Oyric was slightly panicking. "Yo, Rix, this is the way you end it, right?" She clicked the button. "And nothing's happening."

  "Watch out. Let me see what I can do here. If I just—"

  The transmission went to a split screen with Rixon and Oyric on the left and their cousin on the right. A blank screen appeared above them.

  "Man, we didn't ask for you to share your screen. I said ‘end transmission’." Oyric told her brother as she tried taking over.

  Rixon was panicking. "Nah, I promise that wasn't me. I don't know what's going on."

  The transmission started coming in with heavy static and scattered frames.

  Then it popped straight on with Rixon and Oyric's mom.

  They saw her sitting in her office. They could hear the sirens going off in the distance of the transmission.

  "My beautiful children, I hope this gets to you after you've enjoyed the festival, but this will be the last time you hear this voice of your mother—"

  Rixon jumped out of his seat, pissed, and got in the aisle of the cockpit. "What sick joke is this, Zay?"

  "Rixon, I feel as though right now you are wearing your emotions on your sleeve, so I'm going to ask you personally to please calm down. Because I bet you haven't looked at your baby sister to see how she's taking this—"

  Rixon felt the shock as he realized this was recorded, but that she'd still called him out. And that's when he looked at himself—he was the only one who seemed to be losing his cool.

  Then, to make it worse, as he peered over to his sister, he saw nothing but tears streaming down her face in a quiet fashion.

  They both could tell this was not a joke set up by their cousin.

  "Now, I don't have much time, but I need you to know this. I sent you both away on purpose. You two were part of the Survivors Program, the kids of our planet that got sent out to make sure that we as a species do not die off. But after I sent you out and I had a meeting with the other generals, we learned that the Yornkata Empire had destroyed the other ships. Their coordinates were leaked due to their ships' AI being hacked and the ships being controlled. This is about to sound ridiculous, but you two and your cousin are the last known survivors of our kind."

  Zay threw his drink at a wall. The sound of women's voices sounded scared of his reaction. "Man, this is bullshit. It was already hard enough for me, but now this crap."

  The transmission continued. "Look, we first got word of this when we heard the empire was killing all people in the galaxy who were from the planet or even half-bloods of this Delisus. We knew that they were going for extermination. As you know, we are the only known species in the galaxy that can adapt to almost any planet's conditions or living style. With that said, right at this moment—"

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  An explosion erupted in the background.

  " We've been hit with ten nukes and are under constant fire. And as for your father, he's fighting outside of the door, buying me time to get this transmission off to you. I just want you three to know I love you. Nephew, I need that favor finally. I hate that my kids have to go this route, but Keso-likakba. Get it done and make up that debt, my first child."

  Zay was annoyed, being consoled by women's hands that seemed to be at his side. "She's still on that first child ish? You gotta be kidding me."

  The transmission continued. "And last but not least, all of you know this, but DON'T YOU DARE FALL FIRST. WE ARE HERE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES, SO RETURN THE DAMN FAVOR AND GIVE WHOEVER CHOOSES WAR WITH YOU PAYMENT IN THEIR OWN BLOOD."

  Tears rolled down her face.

  "TI-UDA AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU"

  The transmission ended.

  Oyric got up and walked to her room, tears just rolling down her face.

  Rixon and Zay were left on the transmission, both with nothing but anger and resentment toward the predicament they were in.

  Zay took a deep breath, breathing through his nostrils with a pissed look. "Look, come to the festival. We'll discuss what needs to be done. Your mother had something set up a long time ago if something horrific ever happened, though I don't believe she ever thought this would happen. I sent you the coordinates. Bring your ass. Don't go anywhere else. You can't control this one, Rix. You are truly about to know what it's like to be in my world."

  Zay ended the transmission. The coordinates were received by Rixon before he left.

  Rixon sat back in his seat. His eyes were watering, and he was just trying to keep the tears in. So he blinked and held his eyes, holding in anything that in this moment would represent weakness.

  He had one goal: get to his cousin and find out what they should do next.

  The trip that was supposed to be fun had now turned into a tragic journey into the unknown. The day of fun suspense now turned into the longest day of their lives.

  They both spent the night restless as they approached the festival, hearing and seeing party yachts as they floated by.

  Rixon sat in the cockpit, staring at the controls. His hands shook. He clenched them into fists.

  Mom's dead. Pops is dead. His squad is dead. The entire planet is dead.

  The words echoed in his mind, but they didn't feel real. How could they be real?

  He tried to cry. Wanted to cry. But nothing came. Just emptiness.

  In the co-polit room, Oyric curled into a ball on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. She'd cried until there were no tears left, and now she just lay there, numb.

  She kept replaying the transmission in her head. Her mother's voice. The sirens. The explosion.

  Don't fall first.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and repeatedly whispered to herself.

  "Ti-uda."

  "Ti-uda."

  "Ti-uda."

  When the morning finally came on the day of their arrival, Rixon was eating some of the bread that their mom had bought right before they left to go on the trip. He stared at the controls, clicking switches and buttons as he prepared to dock at the station for the festival.

  Oyric walked in and hopped into the co-pilot seat, helping him dock.

  "Look, Rix, I don't know what we're going to do or what our dumb cousin is about to tell us, but one thing I do know is that me and you can't split. Not even for a second. You're my big brother who protects me and keeps me on the right path, so keep it going. And this time, do it for our livelihood." Oyric avoided looking him in the eyes and made sure everything was in order as they docked.

  The ship docked. Rixon got up.

  For the first time in a long time, Oyric really saw him.

  She saw his brown skin. His short locs that had yet to even hang off his head completely. The young man who weighed no more than 185 pounds. Who had muscles but wasn't ripped, almost just looked like a regular being. But as she peered at his face, it was almost like he'd changed and locked into something she'd never seen before.

  "Oyricy, you didn't even have to tell me that. I will protect you with all I got and make sure that you live the longest out of the two of us. You never have to worry about me walking away from my duty of taking care of my little sister. Now let's go see this dipstick and try to enjoy a part of the festival." Rixon looked down at his sister and gave her a reassuring smirk.

  Oyric got up and walked behind him as they left the cockpit of the ship. "Perfect. Because nothing settles world destruction better than festival desserts from planets that are perfectly okay. Now let's do it. Your girl still wants to do Space Dodgeball."

  Rixon and Oyric exited the ship and went through ship check, where their ship was inspected by security and the Foreign Galaxy Festival Minister to make sure they weren't carrying contraband or anything that would put the station at risk .

  After their ship was checked, Rixon and Oyric went straight to their cousin, who was roomed in a suite on floor 32, near the top of the station.

  When they arrived, all they heard was him and women having fun on the other side of the door.

  Rixon dragged his hand over his face and knocked on the door.

  The door opened immediately, and they walked in on his cousin having a fictional gunfight with five women in his room. They were shooting each other with gel-like beads that broke on impact.

  Zay felt the pressure of the three women on the flanks as he crouched behind the couch. "I need backup! Where are you, Jenasa? I'm getting pushed on all flanks!"

  Then, from a room on the side of the couch, a woman came literally rolling on the ground. She popped up and started shooting the women, who all re-enacted getting killed by reacting to each shot they got hit with.

  The woman had fake-slain all of the enemy women, and Zay jumped up in excitement, so much that he jumped into the woman's arms as she held him up. Like he'd won a trophy at a sports competition in front of a crowd of one hundred thousand people.

  Then, as he got spun, he noticed Rixon and Oyric, jaws open in shock, and immediately got down.

  "Oh. Wow. Hey, Rixy and Oyricy, glad to see y'all make it. You just caught us going through a little bit of training and fun on our vacation. Nothing too serious, but yeah... you know, we just like... have fun in a serious way... But enough about me. Come in and follow me to our upper room suite where everyone else is." Zay stood uncomfortably, smirking like someone caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

  Rixon was confused and thrown off by what he'd witnessed. "Man, honestly, when you hear women having fun and one man, you just think of something totally different. To the point I thought I almost needed to cover Oyricy's eyes."

  Oyric laughed. "Oh, come on. I've seen a chest before. But I am glad I didn't have to see anyone in their birthday suit."

  "Man, come on, you two." Zay walked away, waving for them to follow him.

  Rixon and Oyric followed him to the right of the room, where there was a door with a pin to it. Once Zay put it in, it opened to an elevator that had three floors. He took them to the top floor.

  When they reached it, they walked into a command center of women working in professional unison. Screens everywhere, like they were monitoring transports and routes, along with stocks and betting boards.

  And what caught Rixon and Oyric off guard was everyone congratulated Zay on his victory as if they saw the fictional battle.

  Zay walked them over to the conference room, which had see-through glass where they could look out into the command center.

  "Alright, look. I'm going to talk to you both now, but Oyricy, there will be a point where I need to talk to your brother only, as it is too sensitive for a fourteen-year-old girl. Well, in galaxy time, a three-year-old. So please respect that I'm doing what's best for the both of you." Zay gestured for them to sit at the conference table.

  Rixon prepared to tell Zay she could stay for it all. "She can sta—"

  "That's fine. I just have one question: can these women actually fight? Because I want to experience as much of the festival as I can. So can they escort me and do some of the activities with me?" Oyric crossed her legs, trying to negotiate.

  Zay turned and looked out into the command center. "Oyricy, you are looking at the only fighting pirate crew in the galaxy that has only feminine species on its crew, other than their captain. They can do more than fight, they can single-handedly take over this entire station if they wanted to. But that's not our game, so yeah, you'll be more than safe."

  Her eyes lit up. "Well, call it a deal, my guy. Now let's get to it."

  Rixon tilted his head up to the ceiling and took a deep breath, trying to understand this.

  "Well, to start, you two will become pirates and now partake in illegal activities. So get used to breaking the law and running for your life most of the time. You will be joining the Blackhole Pirate Family, and I will be taking you two to meet the boss in a week." Zay turned back to Rixon and Oyric.

  "I knew this was going to piss me off, but this is something I can't stand by and start. I don't even have it in me." Rixon shook his head in rebellion.

  And without saying a word, Zay played a holographic video of what was circling in the galaxy social network. Different galactic news stations all covering their home planet of Delisus.

  "You know, when we received that transmission, I went out of my way to find every detail, and there it was in plain sight—everyone was covering it, but somehow it was not getting out to all the different spaces of the galaxy. Because then I saw the super dark side of this extermination, and..."

  The video flipped to Delisusians being hunted by different crime families and gangs in the galaxy. It showed them destroying and making fun of them, hunting the ships that were sent to ensure the survival of the race.

  And then it flipped to the last video that showed them treating Delisusians as trophies in the Blackhole society.

  "Now that is our reality, and why you must become pirates. Because there are no rules for you to safely believe in any sort of law or justice. They are even taking money under the table to get us. Luckily, though, your big cousin has been a pirate for the past decade, and I want to say I started when I was your age, Rix. So prepare yourselves." Zay sat down at the conference table with them.

  "Yeah, bro, I can't take this right now. I'm going to try and enjoy this festival because, honestly, I don't know when we'll get a chance to enjoy anything again." Oyric got up and walked out of the conference room, covering her mouth as if she was about to throw up from seeing the videos she'd seen.

  "Jenasa, you and four others go and take my lil cuz to every stall and try to make sure she has the best of fun. And don't let even the tiniest scratch even touch her." Zay spoke into his wrist comm.

  Rixon looked his cousin dead in the eye. "What do we have to do to join this Blackhole Pirate Family?"

  Zay smirked. "See, I knew you'd be fast on the uptake." He waved his finger, preparing to pull up some information to present to Rixon.