Lyoko Squad

[Shizune]

Aelita tossed and turned in her bed; she was sweating heavily. She look nightmarish, panicked and scared; she kept making scared sounds as well. She screamed awake, panting heavily looking around her darkened room. She turned the light on and stumbled to the bathroom, turning the water on and splashing her face with cold water which fully woke her up. She sat back on her bed, only wearing her underclothing. She looked at this and blushed, went to her closet and grabbed a robe; she tied it tight onto her body and sighed deeply. For the last few months for Aelita the nightmares that plagued her only got worse. She kept remembering back to the days when everything was bad for her. She heard talking in the other room; A few crew members had been awoken by the fearful cries of Aelita. She put her ear to the wall and listened to the saddened remarks from the two in the next room and them trying to think of a way to help her. Aelita knew there was no help for her mind, it was in ruins and the likeliness of it ever going back to what it used to be were low.

She sighed upsetly and laid on the bed, she closed her eyes for five minutes before opening them tiredly. She looked over at the recorder and grabbed it; she turned it on and it stared at her silently. She held her breath as it turned on, even with her willpower left she didn’t find any to speak. She was unable to say anything in the least. The question in her mind was what was there to say; she didn’t know the answer but she felt like she did. She put the recorder on the nightstand close by as it watched her. She looked out the window close by her ship; she looked at the sleeping ships and their people and drones. They all believed in her but she didn’t believe in herself was the problem. The crew knew this and tried to help her whenever they could. But even with the help things only got worse for her. She stood and went into the hall, she walked quietly down the hall holding the recorder close to her chest looking up at her face.

She made it to the cargo bay and held her keycard; she looked at it for two minutes before sliding it into the slot. The door slid open and she stepped into the crate. She walked up to her Hessian fighter, the ship was still in flying condition. She opened the hatch and looked around the cockpit; she turned the fighter on and smiled holding the controls. She flew the fighter to the cargo bay hatch and the large airlock. She let the room depressurize before she flew into space; with the lights from the main ships she stared out at the stars and nebulas. The stars shined in response to her watch, she turned the lights on her ship off and quieted the comm’s. She watched the stars before her, millions of clicks out from her but yet, she didn’t feel like they were. The nebulas danced with the stars before her; she watched some of the stars moving; her first time truly seeing a real shooting star in space. She laid back on her chair watching the space around her, not noticing her waking crew.

She felt like she was in a trans. The stars and beyond were opening their quiet and bright arms to her even though she could not reach back. The recording was playing still; in her hands she held a cloth frame. On the frame was her Hessian, Kusari Naval Force, Bretoina Armed Forces, Liberty Navy, Order and many other badges on it. She left it slip from her hands; it landed upright on her lap. Aelita’s eyes were partly open; behind her sat two fighter ships, Jackson and Kelly. Behind them the capital ships were turned on their sides, the crews of the ships seeing the same thing as Aelita. There was only silent around them all as they stared out into the vast spanning arch of space. The stars shined back at them all; the nebulas reached for them in return like the humans did. The large reaching nebula was out stretched for more than just one starry sky, it reached for many on large arms and held them close.

Aelita was watching one star before piecing them together slowly into shapes of things she saw. It was brought to her that more than just her people were watching this as well. People hundreds of clicks away were watching the stars, maybe not just humans she felt. Her eyes were only a quarter of the way open anymore. She didn’t feel alone anymore; she felt wanted by a few but that was enough for her. She knew many others had seen what she had and more than enough seeing this felt possibly the same as her. Her eyes slid closed; but even while closed she felt everything around her more then she used to. She gripped the badges in her lap lightly, her mind drifted like the stars around her were. Aelita opened her eyes just a crack; she saw a group of stars shooting across the sky, one was slower than the rest of them. However as slow as it was it was there with the others; it was not as bright or as fast as the other but none the less it remained with its family.

Aelita smiled and her eyes closed, her mind drifted to darkness as she fell asleep there watching the stars. Kelly smiled to Jackson, the linked her ship and brought her back to the Juneau. Jackson picked Aelita’s light frame up and carried her back to her room, laying her on the bed. For the first time in months, or what could have been a year sense her awaking from cryo sleep, Aelita had smiled while sleeping, she didn’t scream, she didn’t panic; for the first time in years the young captain and commander was silently and peacefully asleep. The frame of the badges here placed on the night stand next to the recorder which Kelly had been holding. They looked at her one last time before turning the room lights off and closing the door, the recorder by now auto shut off and had begun to upload the data into the logs.

Time had passed for the young sleeping captain; she woke up the next night soundlessly. She stood from the bed and stretched her back, she heard the pop before she felt the pain, flinching soon after making a pained sigh before looking around for some clothing. Stepping to the closet she grabbed out a pair of pants and a shirt. She put them on still a bit tiredly before moving to the kitchen area. Slowly she made something to eat and drink before sitting in the living area. She ate her food slowly as well as drank what she had slowly soon after. She stood and went to the kitchen and cleaned her plate off and washing the cup as well before stretching a third time and walking to the window and sitting, watching the stars from far away.

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Lyoko Project Files
Project's Leader Aelita X. Stone.