AFTER THE TRANSMISSION was sent to everyone, those who were not in league with the pirates had assembled to man The Phoenix.  The only ones who had not been able to arrive was the previous Fleet Admiral Julian with his aide Eric Nunez. From the last transmission Olivia received, the two had escaped and were bound for Liliec where the Academy resided. There they promised to keep the grounds open for their use if they ever needed a place to hide. In the meantime, the crew on The Phoenix ranged from 46 abled men and women and 23 mechanical robots working continuously on the ship.

Tyler Marklin ran to the edge of the ship’s starboard side to see everyone arriving in shambles. “I couldn’t see or hear anything after Zaine had grabbed Charie! What happened?”

Olivia gave Xavier over to Radium and Dean who immediately took him to the medical wing. Leo and Jakob helped bring Anna and Belle on board who were shaking from all of the troubles they suffered. Apparently the pirates had somehow managed to guess every single move they made and bested them. The only thing they didn’t seem to know was that four of them were Relic users.

Damien and Aden arrived last holding a very bloody and oily Charie. They brought her on top of the deck and laid her out, not even bothering to take her to the medical center. They knew the wound was a fatal one, even though she was a droid.

“Can’t you do something Cheric?” Damien asked desperately gripping the girl’s hand. She felt cold underneath his warm touch. Olivia merely watched in shock before shaking her head. She could tell just by looking at her that there was no way to restore Charie back to normal.

It was then that Aden slammed his hand on the rail of the ship. He was angry that everything was falling apart. He was supposed to be their Captain. He was supposed to be the one protecting and saving everyone and yet, she was the one who saved him.

“Mas—ter Olivia…” Charie started weakly and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her. Olivia walked over to her creation and knelt down beside Damien who was still holding the droid’s hand.

“I’m here Charie. You did a brilliant job.”

Charie just shook her head before a clicking sound was heard. Everyone pondered what she was doing but she returned to normal a couple seconds later. “I have—a letter for you. Missus Char—lotte sent it three weeks after her last let—ter. Let me fulfill my duties by reading her sent—iments.”

Hello Everyone!

This may not be a perfect time to send a letter but I want you to know that I will do everything I can from my side to assist and aid you in your endeavors. I just wish that whatever you wind up doing, you all are safe and sound. I am sorry for all the trouble I’ve given you, but I hope one day we meet together. Whether it is two weeks, three months, or twenty years I know we will find each other again. I know I do not know a majority of the crew on The Division but I feel through our previous correspondence that I know you fairly decently enough to say I love you very much. You all are in my thoughts. Until we meet again.

Charie whirred once again when she finished the letter.  Everyone except for Aden had shed some tears throughout the reading but what made it worse was Charie turning to Aden in the end and smiling.

Olivia gasped out as she witnessed for the first time her invention smiling as bright as her best friend would have in any given situation.

“Mas—ter Aden, please do not be hard on yourself for what hap—pened to me. Being similar to the Mis—sus, I knew deep down she would have done the same. Be hap—py. Mas—ter Oliv—ia thank you for aw—aken—ing me from my slum—ber. I am hap—py to have felt what it was like to live. Thank you.”

Aden stared at the dying droid never letting her hazel eyes leave his sight. It was only until she whirred a third time before crashing entirely, leaving nothing but a dead droid in their midst. Olivia breathed a shaky but deep breath in before pulling herself up.

“Leo and Jakob, prepare the masts. Anna head down into the Caboose and prepare an easy-to-eat meal. Tyler, I want you to take the RLC and go to the helm. Damien, take Charie down to the medical bay. I will clean her up and prep her for a funeral pyre. Aden, man the reigns as Captain. Move out.”

Everyone could only say in unison, “Yes Ma’am.”

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞