Robin and Starfire - The War Beyond Tamaran

What was Left Behind

"How was your time on earth?" Rigel asked between his serious study.

They were sitting together in the weapons room after Robin left; Rigel on the head of the table, studying the map as if it could unravel the secrets of the war, while she sat on his right side and Vega across from her. The ticking clock only made its noise, but the time did not turn, it was broken. She often gazed on that just to be reminded that there was no telling how long Robin had gone.

"It was full of adventure." She replied. A half-hearted reply that made Rigel lift his head, giving a small smile that made his face soft with gentle care. "Don't think about it too much," He said, "It will overwhelm you if you try to see the end of the tunnel. Just look down and make sure you don't trip on a rock."

"Thank you. But how can I not think about this war? My friends are all here to help me, but I fear that this will take them, all of you away from me." She stood, suddenly feeling so restless. The need to let out the burning energy inside her was almost too much to bear. "If anything happened, than I... I wouldn't... I couldn't..." Were there words enough to describe her feelings?

A creaking noise came from behind her as Vega stood, moving to stand beside her. Rigel looked years older than he should, tired, and scared of what may lay ahead. She could feel Vega's warm hand around her shoulder as he spoke, "That's why Rigel suggested that you shouldn't look so far ahead, or imagine things you shouldn't." He turned her, his eyes were a deep set of purple sadness. "And who said you would lose any of us. The Titans are warriors, and so are us. We know what we are doing. Okay?" With a thin smile, she nodded. Remembering how she had lived her life here in Tamaran, back when Vega had often come in the name of Blackfire. But she had found that she loved playing with Vega, finding the boy she dreamed she could marry, the boy that always made her feel she had an older brother, Vega who would always be there to catch her, and here he was again. She had to admit now, she really did feel she had lost someone very important to her when he stopped coming. Perhaps, deep down, it was also her reason for choosing not to come back to Tamaran even though she could.

"My queen." A rough voice came from the door. Vega quickly and calmly moved away from her, while Rigel had somehow moved to the edge of the room. Rymrma came in holding something in his hand; a large metal box, a lock keeping it closed.

"This is the weapon we had to manage to keep from the last attack." He said as he placed it on the table; not with care. It made a rattling noise as he did so, the lock giving way as he snapped the object down. The heavy metal fell down, shaking the ground, revealing what looked like a weapon she had seen on earth. That night, when Vega had come to rescue her; the weapon had harmed her though it did not touch her.

"Rymrma, this weapon," She moved back along with the rest of them. "We encountered this on earth. How is it here?" Rymrma stared down at it with hard eyes, "The material does not come from Tamaran. We suspect it has something to do with earth, someone there is supplying these weapons." He said Starfire didn't realize she was holding her breath until she had started to run out of the air. "Death stroke," She said not to anyone.

The sky this morning was a blurry gray mixture of clouds and pollution. It hung heavily above her, pressing the air, making the heat rise as she walked down the street from the bus station. Three books sat neatly from both her hands, while her hair was tied in a neat ponytail, skirt waving around her knees. Terra reached the front door of a tall blue painted building, struggling to find the keys in her bag. She knew she should have bought a bigger one, which can hold dictionaries and more than five notebooks. But her friends insisted that it would look too big on her small frame, and the one she has now was not just cute but cheap too.