When Meeka burst past the wall to the Capital she stopped dead, giving Nova a chance to catch up. Nova came to a stop at Meeka's side.
"I never knew," Meeka whispered.
"If we're going to do this, we have to go now," Nova said.
She glanced around, they were like sitting ducks standing in the open. She grabbed hold of Meeka's arm and dragged her to the road where a four-wheeled quad bike was parked up on the curb.
Nova threw her leg over the bike and pulled Meeka on behind. "Hold on," she said.
Meeka's arms wrapped around Nova's waist and Nova threw the bike's ignition. The engine roared to life beneath them and they shot off down the street. Nova had grown up riding abandoned bikes across Tabryn's desert; riding on a street was child's play in comparison.
The bike screamed across the pavement and weaved between abandoned cars and ships. Bodies lined the sidewalk, some of them civilians and some of them soldiers. Nova tried not to look too closely at their faces, afraid that she might recognise someone. She pushed the bike as hard as it would go.
Meeka's arms were so tight around her waist that Nova could barely breathe but that could also have been the panic rising inside. As they raced through the streets towards the main building, the sound of gunfire and screaming got louder. People ran past them in the opposite direction, shouting.
A soldier on the side of the road saw them coming and knelt, resting the butt of his gun against his shoulder and his finger on the trigger.
Nova kept one hand on the steering wheel and with the other she held out her gun. She pointed it at the kneeling man and fired. A volley of plasma blasts shot out of the gun, creating a line of black marks along the building they were passing and slamming into the soldier. He crumpled into a heap.
Nova put her hand back on the steering wheel and kept on driving. There were more soldiers as they got closer to the Capital. She managed to kill some of them, but others ducked out of the way and fired at them as they shot past. One blast caught the side of the bike and sent the back end skidding off course. Nova tapped the brake, bringing the bike back under control, and then pushed the throttle harder, desperate to get out of range.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she wound through the streets. Pieces of collapsed buildings spread out over the street and she was forced to drive up on the footpath to get past.
They shot around a sharp corner onto a straight road, at the end of which was the central building, still gleaming white. A crowd of people gathered around the base of the stairs, watching something. Nova didn't have time to think; she cranked the bike and held her gun firmer.
As they got closer she could make out people in white coats kneeling on the stairs. Some of them were crumpled lumps while others had rolled down a few levels, to lie tangled across the steps. Someone was standing behind the scientists with a gun. Nova recognised him from Toro's lab; Buta.
The crowd watched with wide eyes as he stood behind the left-most scientist and pushed his gun against the man's head. He looked out at the crowd and fired. The boom of the shot echoed around the crumbled buildings and the scientist toppled forward, falling down three steps before coming to rest, blood spattered across his face.
Buta moved to the next scientist.
The crowd turned to stare as the roar of the bike rolled over them. Nova didn't stop. She aimed the bike straight at the steps and kept her thumb on the accelerator. The soldiers and onlookers dived out of the way to avoid being hit as she careened for the crowd. Nova slammed down on the brakes and the bike skidded to a stop in front of the stairs.
Buta glanced up, his gun still pressed against the back of the scientist's head.
"Bastard!" Meeka roared.
She threw her leg over the bike and ran to the base of the stairs. She ripped up her gun and fired.
The blast hit Buta in the chest and threw him off his feet. His gun flew out of his hand and clattered down the stairs. The scientist who'd been seconds away from being shot fainted into a heap.
Nova's mouth hung open as she watched the scene unfold.
Meeka's arm fell loosely by her side. She panted hard, her chest heaving up and down as she stared at Buta.
Confusion erupted amongst the crowd. Some of the onlookers drew their guns and aimed at Meeka and Nova, others shook their heads as if suddenly waking from a dream. The prisoners on the stairs got shakily to their feet and gazed down at the crowd.
Voices rose in a cacophony of panic as people yelled at one another, trying to make sense of the madness. The soldiers looked from Buta's corpse to Meeka, their guns wavering.
"There's no point fighting anymore!" Nova bellowed. She cut the bike's engine and climbed up on the seat so that she stood above the crowd. "Both Buta and Toro are dead. The battle's over."
"You blue-eyed devils killed him!" a soldier roared, his gun moving between Nova and Meeka.
"Do you really think life would have been any better under Buta?" Meeka said, breathless. "He was a cruel man. Look what he did to those innocents." She pointed at the corpses in white coats.
The crowd murmured agreement.
"She's right," said a scientist, making his way down the stairs. "The fighting has to stop. We are all Chindo."
More voices rose in agreement, drowning out the soldier's protests. Those that refused to lower their weapons were overrun by the crowd and their guns ripped out of their hands and then tossed to the ground.
"Looks like we missed the party," Gus said.
Nova glanced behind, in all the confusion she hadn't noticed Crusader touching down. Her companions emerged one-by-one with guns in hand. Blade was nowhere to be seen.
Gin was last out of the ship. She used Aart's arm for support as she climbed the short distance to the ground. She stood with her head held high despite her bent knees and wrinkled face, she smiled and winked at Nova.
"Keep sharp," Orion said. "I'm sure one of these bastards is thinking about taking over right now."
"No," Meeka said. "You don't understand our ways. It takes decades for a leader to build up enough respect to have an army. None of these people could lead."
"Their general dies and they just give up?" Orion said.
Meeka shrugged and nodded. "Without anyone to follow they're like leaves in the wind."
"A thing called second in command?" Orion said.
"It's not the same," Meeka said.
"So what the hell happens now?" Gus said.
Meeka bit her lip and looked out at the crowd. Some of them were crying and holding one another. Others held bleeding wounds together with their bare hands.
"We rebuild," she said.
"Look," Orion said. "We've already stayed here five times longer than I think we should have. I appreciate you looking out for Nova but I'm not sticking around to rebuild this damned planet. I'll take my ship away alone if I have to."
"No," Meeka said. "You should go. You're a reminder of what was; Chindo needs to look forward."
"Who will lead?" Aart said. "Now that the ruling idiots are dead."
"She will," Gin said, smiling at Meeka.
"What? I—" Meeka said, her eyes flying wide and her mouth dropping.
"You're the only one," Gin said. "You killed Buta and we'll say you killed Toro too. You're the only one they'll follow."
"I don't think I can—" Meeka said in a whisper.
"You have to. If you don't take control now, Chindo will sink back into war."
Meeka bit her lip, face pale. "I'll do what I have to."
Gin nodded and then turned to Nova. "You should go. It's going to be hard enough to keep law and order with a blue-eyed female emperor, let alone a handful of off-worlders."
Nova laid a hand on Gin's shoulder. "Thank you."
Gin smiled and winked.
"Now that that's sorted, I'm getting my guns," Gus said, marching up the broad steps.
"And my equipment!" Tyra said, jogging after him.
The other Hunters disappeared inside, leaving Nova staring at Meeka. She didn't know how to express all of the emotions that welled inside her. There was so much she wanted to say but not enough time or words to say it.
"Good luck," she said softly.
Meeka nodded, still biting her lip. "Thank you for saving us all."
Nova shrugged. "It was payback."
"Do you think I'll see you again?"
Nova glanced up at the sky and then at Crusader, avoiding Meeka's eyes. "Maybe. Once things have settled down here I'll try to send you a message."
"Good," Meeka said. "Please do. You promised me I'd see the stars."
Nova smiled and allowed her guard to drop. She stepped forward and engulfed Meeka in a hug, holding her tight for three full seconds before letting her go and stepping back.
"Be careful," Nova said. "Both of you."
"We will," Meeka replied.
Nova nodded and turned. She marched back to Crusader without glancing back. She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked the tears away from her eyes. She'd said lots of goodbyes before; she didn't see why this one had to be so emotional. But deep down she knew the reason; Meeka reminded her a lot of Caila. At least here on Chindo, Meeka couldn't get addicted to Zine and die in a puddle of her own vomit.
Nova stomped through Crusader to the pilot's pod and gazed out at the city spread before her. Smoke billowed out from some of the buildings but already the chaos was settling. It would take them a long time to rebuild but at least this time they were off to a better start.
"It'll be good to go," Blade said from behind Nova's shoulder.
Nova jumped a little in her seat and glanced at the dark woman. "Yeah. Do you know the coordinates of your home planet?"
"Bardo," Blade said. "And yes."
"Hey Blade," Aart said from Crusader's door. "Tanguin and I are having a feast on Sylar if you want to join us."
Gus stood behind him with an armful of guns and weapons, grinning.
Blade glanced down at Nova and then walked towards Aart. "Sounds good to me. As long as it doesn't involve tentacles."