3 weeks later

Sitting next to Lucia’s bed side, Gunner’s arms are bandaged due to severe third degree burns he holds her hand, the strange light now gone from it, however her lips still that strange purple a permanent reminder of what happened as she wakes up she looks at him, shame in her eyes back to their normal crimson colour, she asks him “Gunner? Are you ok?” He replies “I’m fine.”

Her emotions playing around with her, she sombrely asks “Please forgive me. I should have been better.”

Gunner hugs her and says “All is forgiven.”

They begin talking, she explains everything from her past, talking through. Hours pass and afterwards she feels better and then asks “How’s Evelyn?”

Gunner replies “Doing better, whatever that crap was, it nearly killed her, she’s taking it easy with Angel at her dad’s place.”

Lucia says “And the warehouse?”

Gunner says “Let’s just say that no one will be looking at that area the same way again, now you get some sleep and we’ll check with Doc Adams if you can be released tomorrow, then we’ll go see them.”

Lucia smiles. After she falls asleep she dreams again the same dream, dreaming of falling but different this time no fire around her, she enters the same clearing again aiming, firing, missing, the her fears and doubts attacking her again, only this time her family with her, beating it back.

The next morning after she is discharged, she get’s into the shower, opening up the hot water taps, briefly she looks back at the mirror, her tattoo still having a faint glimmer of aether to it, but now she smiles, looking at them as mark of a new beginning, finally free from a past that has haunted her dreams and fears for the last 150 years, as she gets in she’s startled as Gunner joins her, Lucia giggling as they struggle to almost not fit in the tiny shower, they start kissing.

After they finish she says to him “Thank you.”

He looks at her and smiles

Silently they walk to the launch bay and get on the drop ship. On the flight back down to Fort Vanguard a message comes through from Captain McInnes “Commander, while I didn’t like your methods, the results can’t be denied, based on recovered evidence the Skulls leadership was indeed down there and with them gone you’ve also managed to help us curb the rise in use of Rune Dust, while we don’t have much in terms of budget left I have been authorized to transfer some funds to you.”

Gunner replies “No thanks captain, this one was on the house.”

He cuts the call and sits down again. Looking over he sees Lucia reading a book, he settles in and takes a nap. Dreaming of the first time he met her, meeting her on a desolate moon in the Borealis system, remembering her sad smile she had on that day.

Entering the house after they landed Lucia approaches Malcolm and apologizes “Mr. Shade, I’m sorry for everything.”

Malcolm just shrugs and says “Atleast you made it right in the end. They’re sitting outside. And thank you.”

Feeling better after that they go outside and join Angel and Evelyn.

Lucia asks Evelyn “How are you doing?”

Evelyn replies “Better, and please don’t beat yourself up, we both had a hard time in there. Besides, we’re family.”

They sit and chat until Malcolm tells them that dinner is ready.

Later that night Gunner receives a call “Commander, this is General Flynn, we need to speak to you tomorrow, sending you the clearance codes now.”

Gunner stands there and wonders what this is about, the general didn’t sound stressed so he shrugs it off.

As he stands there looking at the moon Lucia joins him and says “Thank you again for not giving up on me.”

Gunner then says to her “Not in this lifetime.”

Together they stare into the night sky, for the first time in so many years at peace with what’s to come.