Chapter Text
The smell of the sea drifted up to the ship deck, mingling with the smell of metal. The shadows of the night mingled with the bright twinkling of stars. A fifteen-year-old female sat up high, letting the sea breeze wash over her features, letting the smell permeated her nostrils. The wind tossed her brown locks of hair about just above her shoulders, the two braids hanging down tickling her neck.
The sound of footsteps upon the rusted metal drew the girls attention from the wind which flushed her cheeks and lips, towards an older female dressed in a marine uniform. The woman pushed up her glasses, watching the younger girl carefully, her dark hair and eyes blending into the night sky. The fifteen-year-old let her mouth form into a circle, wondering why the woman was there. "Fleet Commander Ridget?"
"I need you to deliver a letter, Amy."
The young female tilted her head, letting her lips push together into a deep frown. Everyone knew deliveries were done during the light of the day when it was safer to use the gliders unless there was an emergency or a practice run was ordered during a lull in travel. "Is something wrong?"
Ridget's dark eyes widened, her own mouth opened slightly, before resulting to pushing up her glasses in an attempt to seem stern. "I actually don't know if it's something to be concerned with. I need Ledo to determine that. He's at the bow of the fleet."
Amy's head tilted slightly, her hand reaching out to take the letter from the commander, and place it in her bag. Her mouth opened to say something, but quickly the fifteen-year-old let her lips snap shut. The aquamarine eyes of the young teen snapped shut, taking a deep breath as her thin, delicate fingers touched the cords of the glider she used for delivering messages.
The fifteen-year-old took a deep breath, letting her mind way whether to take the quicker route by glider, or the longer route by foot. The fact the message was from the Fleet Commander, and the wind blowing in the direction of the bow allowed caution to be thrown to the wind. "Here I go!"
The fifteen-year-old let her feet push against the ship structure, jumping out and pulling the ripcord at the right moment, allowing her to take to the air, soaring above the dark ships down below where the entire population of Gargantia lived, going about their nightly routines. Across the ships different structural aspects were lit up to help people find their way around; the lights also helped guide Amy through the wind, to the front of the ship.
A soft lilting sound echoed eerily out from the bow of the ship, creating a calming sensation as well as a sense of belonging, setting the stage for what was now home for the one playing the instrument. The young fifteen-year-old dropped down near the sixteen-year-old, allowing her feet to touch softly, barely letting out a sound upon the metal structure. The lightness of the sound didn't stop her silver-haired companion from hearing her, stopping his music part way through. Ledo turned his head to look at her, his mouth twisted in a frown, and his violet eyes taking in the situation.
Amy stepped forward, leaning over slightly so her thin frame towered over the boy, her lips pushing together in a delicate smile. "How long have you been at it, this time, Ledo? Playing your music?"
Ledo's attention turned back to the sky, the sea mist shooting up from the bow to soak the young teen. "I don't know. It helps me lose track of the time."
A frown flittered across the face of the fifteen-year-old, panic setting in. "Hey, you aren't thinking about, you know, where you came from, and wanting to come back. You've been with us for some time now Ledo, yet you look up at the sky a lot. I couldn't..."
Her mouth snapped shut, remembering the day Ledo took off. Amy's head shook, her voice letting out a sigh, knowing Ledo came back. The sixteen-year-old confirmed her thoughts. "I'm not looking up wanting to go home. That's not my home anymore. Gargantia is. That doesn't mean, though, I don't remember some things. It's... sometimes it's just best to put it to music, rather than saying it out loud. I'm still learning the language."
"Or maybe you don't feel like talking about it." Amy rocked back on her heels, letting her arms cross behind her back. "That was a rather sad song, so what you were thinking of, maybe it was sad?"
"Maybe." Ledo placed the musical instrument into his vest pocket, his lips twisted tightly together, indicating something bothered him. "I used to not understand that all life is important before, that everything has an actual purpose. I learned that here."
"Ehh..." The young female teen leaned over slightly, tilting her head in hopes she could look into Ledo's violet eyes, but the sixteen-year-old looked away. Quickly though his head turned, catching sight of something out ahead. His violet eyes widened, his mouth opening, the usual indicator that something interested him.
Amy turned in time to see a shooting star in the sky. Her delicate fingers clapped over her mouth, and she kicked up one leg in excitement. Eventually, she allowed herself to speak. "You saw, right Ledo?"
"Yes. It's a..." A frown crossed the silver-haired teen's face, the vocabulary needed suddenly escaping him.
"Shooting star."
Ledo looked up, muttering the word in his own language, letting the word mull over in his mind, his eyes dulling over as if there was some kind of meaning to the incident, as well as the word in his own language. The little color in his face quickly drained.
Amy, however, noticed not his distraction, and instead looked up. "Did you know, Ledo? You're supposed to make a wish when you see it. I hope Bevel saw it."
The silver-haired teen let out a choking sound, his facial features twisting up, a tear escaping from his eye unexpectedly. The young man raised a hand to his eye to wipe the tear away, frowning as he did. Ledo turned to look at Amy, his mouth opening.
Amy let a finger reach out to lightly touch his mouth, to stop him from speaking. "No. You're not supposed to let people know what your wish is. It doesn't come true."
"What if you know your wish won't ever come true?"
The fifteen-year-old caught sight of the pain in Ledo's violet eyes as he looked her in the eye. Her aquamarine eyes looked away. "Is something the matter?"
"Shooting stars. They're debris..." The silver-haired teen's voice slowed as the word came from his mouth. "... from space." Ledo looked away again. "It's nothing important."
A deep sigh escaped Amy's face, her delicate fingers fishing out the letter from her bag. "Speaking of something which is important, I got this letter from the Fleet Commander for you. She wants you for something."
Ledo took the letter from Amy, his eyes squinting as he read the paper. He stopped short, holding the letter out so she could see the writing. "This word means?"
"That's the written word for encryption." Amy pressed her letters back, having caught sight of the words on the paper. "Do you think there's another one?"
"I don't know. The Fleet Commander wants to know if I can translate the communication, so maybe. I honestly don't want to think what could happen should another pilot support system fall to Earth, or any other technology from the Galactic Alliance. It could be very bad."