The wind blew sheer and cold against Sango's face that night as he sped along the moonlit trackway. Whistling currents raced past his unguarded ears, and he relished the sensation of his pale hair and long, red scarf being buffeted by the slipstream. The engine of his Grav-cycle whirred an hummed beneath him, its almost ethereal coils illuminating the rough-hewn earth a pale, ghostly blue, and yet still he pushed it harder. Despite the circumstances; despite everything that was on the line, never had he felt more alive than in this single, endless moment.
He cursed, and urged the throttle further, the Speeder's whine rising to a whirring scream, and with a streak of blue light, and the clunking sound of mechanisms deploying its windshield, he and the vehicle flashed closer towards the mountain. Towards... them.
"They're beautiful, aren't they, Nii-San? All those stars up above us." The girl regarded blank, unfeeling lenses, and grinned. "We're gonna go out and see them one day, Sango. Together. Just you wait!"
Beneath its chitinous helm, the being known as Sango pondered. Had it the ability, it would have smiled.
"Cam..."
A sudden flash erupted over the horizon, blinding white, trailing electric blue behind it, and Sango's heart almost stopped. Moments later, a vicious shockwave swept across the landscape like a bulldozer, towing a cloud of dust thick enough to blot the sun, and the Grav-cycle very nearly bucked the young man from its saddle before he could pull it back under control.
"Cam... Professor... I'm nearly there! I'll save you!"
The world slowed. He felt it all; the dying vegetation, the crippled fauna, fires raging across mountain wastes. The Wind.
"I am with the wind, and it will guide me." Heedless of the speed at which he was travelling, Sango crossed his arms over his chest and breathed deeply. At his waste, a small compartment at the centre of a large belt slid open, the fan inside now allowed to spin freely and wildy in contact with the air.
Sango grimaced.
"Shift."
For a single, fleeting moment, the pain of his biomechanical body tearing itself apart overcame him.
The Professor looked over the vaguely insectoid lifeform that stood before him with a small frown and a thoughtful hum. This was the first time he'd seen Their technology up close before. Frankly, they were fortunate that little Cam had got to it first; had it been him, the thing would most certainly be dead by now. Regardless, there was work to be done. With a flourish of his augmented arm he donned his goggles, and set about his examinations...
The scene that greeted Sango as the Cyclone ground to a halt was grim. Dozens of black-suited puppets laid strewn around the entrance to the Mountain Lab, fires flickering and lapping around them and glowing a luminescent green. The metal bulkhead doors had been blown out, great shards of twisted alloy jutting from furrows metres away. Heedless of the flames, he charged into the complex, rushing to the inner sanctum, where, so many times before, he'd been greeted by the smiling faces of his... his family.
More and more lifeless puppets accumulated as he advanced, heaped in grotesque, flaccid piles. Footsoldiers and generals alike were discarded like common waste, and Sango couldn't help but pity them. Finally, he came upon another bulkhead, dented and buckled but still holding fast, and with herculean effort he pushed his hands between the doors and heaved them apart, blindly dashing into the room beyond.
The Sanctum was a mess. Its towers of intricate machinery had been ripped apart, wires and odd parts scattered across the floor in haphazard piles. The emergency lighting shone an ominous red, casting long shadows over the savaged laboratory, almost as though to shepherd him towards the room's centre. There, tinkering hurriedly with a monstrosity of technology and loose wires, was-
"Hello, Nii-san." Cam's breath caught, and she hacked briefly in an effort to expel whatever detritus she'd breathed in. She was a mess, her hair frizzy and poorly tied, her clothes scorched and ragged. Sango stood for a moment, basking in the knowledge that the girl was asafe, before his mind clicked back to the moment at hand.
"Cam, where's your father?" His tone was as flat as always, modulated slightly by his mask's vocal tract, but the concern was evident nonetheless. The girl cast her gaze back at him once again and gestured dispassionately at the Sanctum's far corner, and the pile of rubble that lay there. What looked like a rhino beetle's horn protruded from the centre of the mass, and Sango's heart dropped in his chest. "A General?" He needn't have asked. She hummed in acknowledgement nonetheless.
So they stayed, for a while, content to sit in silent respect for their fallen father. Cam's tinkering was seemingly endless, and in the warmth of the burning complex, Sango remained almost unmoving, unbidden thoughts flitting into his mind almost as quickly as he could file them away. Eventually, however the silence became uncomfortable, a strange, shifting mass of nothing that loomed over the pair.
"This machine is a transmat. One way. Papa stole it from them." Sango snapped to attention, red eyes focused squarely on the girl. His antennae quirked, betraying his attention, but he remained stoic, waiting for the inevitable continuation. "There's only enough energy in the compound for one trip." She coughed, red spattering onto the concrete floor, and he rushed to her, moving to support her should she collapse, but she brushed him off, leaning against the machine even as she began to stagger. "And only enough then for one passenger." Sango stiffened.
"No-"
"Don't, Nii-san." Another cough. More red. Yet less strength in those waifish arms. "We both know I wouldn't last. I'm doing this for you!" Her left arm fell, useless, to her side, and she clutched it painfully. Staggering, she forced herself to a table on their right, and tossed him a cylinder which he caught easily. "There's an updated Cyclone in there. Supposed to be your birthday present." She smiled a wan smile and fell to her knees, dragging herself back to the transmat. She pointed harshly at the opening, and Sango entered after only a moment's hesitation.
"This isn't the end, Big Brother." Sango's breath caught, and he found himself wishing desperately that this face could cry. "One day, somehow, I'll find you. Just you wait!" She laughed, weakly, and he found a chuckle rising, unbidden, from his chest to join her. She pulled a lever, and the world suddenly seemed... light. Through the fading haze, she grinned.
"Live, Nii-san! No matter what happens, Live!"
And as the world vanished into lurid colours, Sango yelled back into the void.
"I will, Little Sister! Always!"
Even through the thoughtless abyss of the transmat beam, he was sure he could hear her laughing.
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Carlyle
