Third person POV
Caspian bites his lips as he thinks about (Y/N).
"We've no need for your servants, but we are interested in seeing Earth. I'll land my ship in 24 hours. I expect there are no surprise attacks on ground?"
"And if there are?"
"Then let's just say your ancient weapons will stand no chance against my wrath."
She sounded young. Her late teens, probably. Her words, however, held the weight of a thousand suns.
A blush falls across his face as a feverish look overcomes his eyes.
"Finally..." He says, in an excited voice.
Maybe a bit too excited.
He knows it's wrong to feel like this after getting humbled by someone probably younger than him. It may not be by a lot, but the gap certainly was there.
He sends a message to his brothers and sister and when he looks up, his eyes are not their usual green but a bright red.
====
(Y/N)
Half an hour later, everyone's silent with nervousness as they stand in MedBay.
People individually stood up after their number was called to get their Modification shot. All the modification syringes are large and contain a thick black liquid. No one's shown a sign of fear towards it yet, though.
Not when they wanted this so desperately.
To us, genetic modifications are like freedom-- they signify that we no longer are children but working, capable adults. In short, it is our first big decision.
"(Y/N)?" The medical supervisor calls.
I stand and pull back my sleeves.
To confirm but not to announce, the medical supervisor says, "You changed your modification from Enhanced Intelligence to Resistance, am I right?"
I nod. Resistance allows me to withstand forms of mental punishment, like the Lollets' mind control on Dorothy and even the physical ones to an extent. I changed it after hearing what Dorothy has been through.
"You're a peculiar one, Captain." His voice barely a whisper before he gets the machine to plunge the syringe straight into my forearm.
I hiss in pain and squirm a bit until the machine pulls the syringe out and into the bin.
"You've gotten a larger shot because of your chosen modification. Don't use that arm unless absolutely necessary for the next two days." He advises.
I nod and leave the room.
====
"Are we ready to land?" I ask Iman.
He nods. "At your command, Captain."
I speak over the intercom. "Defence, we are beginning landing sequence. Be on standby with weapons loaded and ready to fire."
"Copy." comes the response.
"Initiate landing sequence Iman. Use the coordinates sent by Captain Caspian." I say and take a seat on a nearby chair. Almost immediately, the seatbelt fastens itself around my waist.
We slowly enter Earth's orbit. A collective gasps sounds across the room.
Earth has the most gorgeous shade of blue-green I have ever seen. They look like little blue swirls with green sparkles resting on the Earth, much like Columbis, but more vibrant. However, there are little red dots spread around the globe, almost like someone splattered paint over the beautiful portrait that is Earth.
"What is that...?" I mumble.
"I don't know what is, Captain, but my scanner says it could contain toxins which may be air-borne. I'd suggest you take some breathing pills before heading down there." Kim says.
I nod. Breathing pills help the lungs and nostrils cleanse the air more thoroughly before making use of it. It will indeed be helpful if I pop one or two.
As we descend through the sky, I cannot help but marvel at this wonder that is Earth. Columbis was similar, yes, but there are a few key differences. The colours there are more dull, like all of its vibrance was sent to Earth instead. We did not have those white things in the blue sky; only black clouds when it rained heavily. We did not have these red dots scattering our land. Now that we are closer to the ground, I realize that the red dots we saw were craters, created by the unknown.
We finally stop a couple hundred feet off of the ground. The seatbelt falls and I stand. I make my way to one of our Pawn Ships and see that Amit and Zuri are standing there already with Zuri holding a pill bottle. I look at them. "You're my escort crew and you didn't tell me? And here I thought we were friends." I grin.
They smile in return. "We only just managed to switch out." Zuri says as she hands me a pill before downing one herself.
"You think we're gonna let you have fun without us, friend?" Amit laughs as he downs a pill.
I pop mine in my mouth and get into the Pawn Ship. Amit slips into the pilot's seat and Zuri sits next to me.
"Earth, here we come." Amit says as he begins navigating the Pawn Ship out of the Main Ship.
===
Turns out, Amit and Zuri chose Quick Reaction.
Suitable choices for their departments. You don't have time to think in a dire situation. This will definitely benefit them later on.
I wonder though. Should I have chosen that as well? My reflexes surely are up to standard, but is that enough?
Suddenly, Amit makes a sharp turn and yanks the wheel roughly.
Our sudden descent snaps me out of my thoughts.
"Amit, why are you descending so hard?!" Zuri cries out.
Hearing no response from Amit, I grab the wheel from him and soften our descent. As soon as we land, I turn to see Amit's eyes are pitch white.
"Um...Zuri? You might want to take a look at this.
Zuri stands up and pulls Amit's face to her.
"Hypnosis..." she mumbles before slapping him hard.
Almost immediately, his head jerks to the side and shakes violently before his eyes return to their original shade.
"What happened...?" He asks.
I sigh. The Lollets are definitely messing with him.
"I'll take the wheel when we go back up." I say.
We open the Pawn Ship's door and step outside. I look around to see a boy my age with black hair and bright green eyes. He has freckles dusting his nose, and broad shoulders supporting his tall frame.
"Captain (Y/N)?" he asks.
I nod. "Captain Caspian, I presume?" I ask in turn.
He nods. He walks up to me and takes my hand.
He kisses the back of it.
"The others are waiting back at the castle. Let's go." He says and turns around. We walk to another ship and step inside. It looks similar to my Pawn Ship, but older.
Caspian seats me next to the Pilot's seat before sitting there himself. He gestures for Zuri and Amit to sit behind us. He fastens our seatbelts and flies the ship. I stare at him, trying to gauge what exactly he wanted from our awkward interaction.
I can't help noticing the strange red hue that soon overcomes his irises.