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It was said that any view from a window of the Amestris East Space Station was one of the most splendid in the galaxy. Situated in the middle of the Golden Nebula, which in turn was housed in a solar neighborhood that boasted two suns to its name, pictures of the station’s various sights could have been used on promotional posters, and in fact sometimes were. A thousand wonders just waiting to be discovered, the advertisements boasted. Roy said it was romantic. Riza said it was a cheap recruitment tool.
Looking out the porthole in her cabin, though, she couldn’t deny the truth of the outside world’s claims. She could see more stars in that one tiny circle of space than she had even imagined existed growing up. Stuck on some backwater moon with only her father and his research for company, she’d never thought she would make it to an inhabited planet, much less have the opportunity to explore the rest of this corner of the universe. Whatever else the military had done, it had given her that.
Lost in the memory, she didn’t hear her communicator go off until the second beep.
“Hawkeye. You alright?”
“Of course, sir. My apologies for the delay. What is it you need?”
“Meet me in hangar bay. We have a mission.”
“Right away, sir.”
She pulled on her boots and grabbed her rifle case from where it lay by the door. Her regulation pistol was already clipped to her belt. She walked briskly through the corridors, arriving at her destination in precisely 106 seconds. Roy’s eyes lit up like they always did when she appeared; he could never quite manage to hide it, at least not from her.
“Good,” he said, “now we can begin.”
She saluted. “Ready for my briefing.”
He passed her a holoscreen. It bore the image of three people standing in the wreckage of an exploding planet. “Do you remember the Liore incident?”
She nodded. “The planet was destroyed three months ago. Relocation efforts have been made for its citizens since then, but the conflict has continued.”
“We suspect these three are the ones who masterminded the whole ordeal.”
“The eruption of a volcano dormant for thousands of years triggers a seismic catastrophe with globally devastating consequences.” The Lieutenant frowned. “It’s not the most straightforward path of destruction to take.”
“But still too suspicious to fly under the radar,” Roy said. “I don’t know what to make of it. The Elric brothers have given us a possible lead on the location of the suspects. Our job today is to follow that lead and obtain whatever information we can.”
Riza shouldered her gun. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
----
Roy flew, while Riza sat in the co-pilot’s chair and manned the shuttle’s (rather meager) weapons systems. From back on the base, Hughes navigated.
“There’s an asteroid coming up on your left.”
“I can see that, Hughes.”
“No need to get testy.”
“I’m not—
“Anyway, did I tell you that Elicia said her first word last week?”
“Only about fifty times.”
“She has just the cutest little voice—
“Hughes. Mind on the job.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” said Riza, who was not sorry at all, “but we’re coming up on the coordinates the Elric brothers sent us.”
“Then I’m signing off,” said Hughes. “Best of luck, you two. Call me if you need anything.”
“We will,” said Roy. “Thank you, Hughes.”
He turned his attention back to the starry expanse ahead of him.
“The fifth moon of the largest planet…” he murmured. “Except there’s only supposed to be four.”
Riza pointed at a blip on the screen. “Apparently not.”
The Fifth Moon was the smallest, and the one furthest from the reaches of sunlight. Coupled with its absence from any maps known to the Amestrian government, this made it the perfect location for an illicit hideout. Roy docked the ship in a small crater while she began a scan for life forms.
“The place is cold, sir. No sign of any recent inhabitants.”
“Check again. There has to be something.”
“Still nothing. Still nothing…wait.” She zoomed in. “There. Three heat signatures, a hundred kilometers out.”
Roy powered up the ship and they sped across the moon’s rocky surface.
“Targets moving rapidly in a southwestern direction,” Riza announced, and Roy gunned the ignition.
A spacecraft was growing into focus on the viewscreen, sleek and black and racing away from them. She fired a torpedo, but they were too late. They watched as the vessel accelerated into the ether, powerless to stop it.
“Damn.” Roy hit the controls in frustration. “So we have nothing to show for this.”
“Not quite.” Riza blew up an image on the panel. “I captured several pictures during the chase. Take a look at this one.”
He gave a low whistle. “What would I do without you, Lieutenant?”
The screen showed the window of the enemy ship, where the pilot, a dark-haired woman matching the one on Roy’s holoscreen of the Liore incident, sat beside two shadowy companions. The insignia on the hull bore an ouroborus design.
“This ties them directly to the anonymous clan that’s been terrorizing the galaxy for the past three decades,” said Riza.
“Then we have enough for now.” Roy traced the outline of the ouroboros with a gloved hand. “This complicates matters.”
----
Later, back at the base, after hours of writing reports and sitting through interrogations, Riza made herself a mug of insta-tea and settled into a couch on the observation deck to think. Less than five minutes later the door swished open.
“I thought I’d find you up here.”
She didn’t need to look to see who it was, or even register his voice. She knew him by instinct.
Roy Mustang took a seat next to her. “A little late for stargazing.”
“I wanted to clear my head.”
“And is it working?”
“It was, but then some idiot decided to show up and interrupt my solitude.”
He chuckled faintly. “Alright, I’ll leave you to it.”
He didn’t speak, but stayed where he was, his thigh pressed ever-so-slightly against hers. She gazed out the window in silence a few moments.
“Do you think this means we’ll be able to capture the Ouroboros Clan for good now?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe. But we’re still missing too many pieces of the puzzle.”
She nodded, returning to her contemplation of the nebula around them. He cast her a curious sideways glance, and she looked at him. “What?”
“Nothing.” He turned away quickly. “It’s been a while since we talked.”
She frowned at him. “We talk every day, Colonel.”
“I mean outside of the job.” He shifted so that his shoulder too was touching hers. She closed her eyes.
“Outside of the job,” she mused. “I’m not entirely sure that’s something that exists anymore.”
“Come on.” He nudged her. “You can’t be all work and no play, Lieutenant.”
“I definitely can be, otherwise there would be no one to keep you in line.”
He wilted, then looked at her again.
“I am thankful, though. For it. For you.”
She opened her eyes, leaned almost imperceptibly into him. “I know.”
He reached out a hand to her, then seemed to think better of it, letting it drop to his side.
“I want you here,” he said quietly.
“I am here.”
“Not just now. For more than now. For whatever more than now we have. Do you—
He stopped, a question he wasn’t quite sure how to ask on his face.
“I’ll be here,” she said. “I meant it, you know. When I said I’d follow you into hell.”
“I know. And I’ll follow you. But I just—I wish it could be more. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too.”
Their lives would continue to be composed of waiting. But this was what they had chosen, what they chose again now. She rested her head on his shoulder and stared out at the stars.