Sam was Kita's only family before he met Helen. They lost their parents when they were child. And since had grown up with the help of the Arcorn Children welfare. While Kita grew up to be a researcher and then later on get picked up by Dr. Kbom, Sam turned out to be a potentate, or someone who could pilot mechs. That opened up big opportunities for him. As he was picked up by the Arcorn Mech academy and sent to training. There he graduated as a mech pilot and was quickly assigned to the Arcorn military.
As Potentates were quite rare and only a small percentage of people had the capacity to pilot mechs, Each potentate was really valuable. In the Arcorn empire, every potentate needed at least 10 years of mandatory service in the military before they were allowed to transition into the private sector. But few rarely did as the private mech sector wasn't quite developed in the Empire. As mech were really expensive both to buy and maintain, only the wealthy could afford them and maintaining a private mech army was really expensive. So only a couple existed in the Empire. So most potentate continued to serve in the Arcorn Army after their mandatory service is done.
Sam as also one of them, When he finished his mandatory service, He was already promoted to a lieutenant commander. He was in-charge of a couple of mech companies. He boasted great track record and excellent performance in Mech piloting.
Although the Brothers hadn't met each other in quite a while as Both of them were busy with their own work. They still kept in touch and often talked with each other. Last time they talked, He and his company were transferred to the GHT Moonshiner. This was before Kita set out on this expedition.
Now Suddenly, there was news that the GHT Moonshiner was ambushed and the ship along with her whole crew got decimated. When he heard the news, This devastated Kita. He lost his younger brother just like that. As soon as he got the news, he broke down in tears.
"How could this happen? How could he die just like that.", Kita was devastated from the news. Sam was his only Kin, and he loved him very much. Although as a big brother, he didn't play much of a part in Sam's life all these years, it still didn't meant he was completely off-hands. Although he was really busy with his life, he still tried to be there when Sam needed him. And Sam did the same. As they only had each other to depend on. Now That Kita lost his only brother, he was at a loss of words.
When Helen heard the news, she didn't know how to comfort him. She knew how close Kita and Sam were. When they were dating, She met Sam and knew that Kita and Sam were quite close. After the death of their parents, the brothers grew up together. It was really devastating for Kita to lose Sam.
"Oh, Honey". Helen didn't know how to console her husband. She wished she was aboard the shore right now. She couldn't do anything for him right now.
"Don't worry about me. Focus on the mission. We're still on the clock. Life and death is part of the cycle.", Kita said with a heavy voice as he cleared his eyes of the tears. He was sad at the loss of his brother. But he could mourn later. Right now, there was work to do.
"Don't worry about the mission. I'll handle everything here. Just take a break right now. You need it.", She said to Kita with a gentle look. She didn't want Kita to be too hard on himself and push too hard. Losing his brother was a big blow to him. And he needed time to get his thoughts together.
"Thanks honey. Good luck with the mission.", Kita said with a low tone. He didn't have the energy to focus on the mission right now. Helen was right. He needed to take a break.
After he ended his call with Helen, he went straight back to his room. He laid down on his bed and with a blank look, kept staring at the white celling. Every memory about Sam was floating in front of his eyes as he was remembering them.
"How could you just leave me like that? You broke the promise.", Kita murmured while his unwavering eyes stayed wide open.
He finally broke down as he couldn't control his tears anymore. In the comfort of this own room, he didn't hold himself back and let all the tears pour out until his eyes went dry.
What bothered him the most was that, His brother had died, and he couldn't do anything for him. He couldn't even see his body for the last time. Everything on-board the GHT Moonshiner along with it's hull disappeared into the fabric of space and time. There was nothing to bury.
Kita was so exhausted from this experience that he fell asleep. There wasn't anything he could do. There was nothing he could do to help his brother. And thinking of this was killing him.
Back on the planet, Dr. Helen was also quite sad. Although She and Sam weren't that close. But he was still her in-Law and she knew how devastating the news was for Kita.
"And to think the news would come when I'm not around.", Dr. Helen bit her lips with frustration. She wanted to be there with Kita. She wanted to comfort him to her utmost capability. But she was here stuck on this planet. Although she could just hop on a shuttle and go back to orbit anytime she wanted. But the mission didn't allow for it. Only when the investigation was fully done were they allowed to go back. It was more efficient this way.
"I wish I could be there for you honey. Don't worry I'll be back as soon as possible.", She murmured under her breath. She was determined to finish the investigation as soon as possible so that she could go back to the Shore.