by E. A. James
He followed her out of the dining hall and down the passageway leading to the flight deck. She looked back at him and smiled, slowing to wait for him. He extended his hand as he moved toward her. She eyed it for a second, looking over his shoulder before intertwining her fingers with his.
“I don’t know why you insist on keeping our relationship a secret,” he said, pulling her toward him.
The feeling of being nestled in his strong hold always relaxed her. He was tall, for a Terran man, and she was short, for a Terran woman. Still, they seemed to fit together perfectly. His strong, muscular arms enveloped her, and her head came just to the center of his chest, where she could listen to the steady beating of his heart.
She turned her face up to his. His shaggy, dark brown hair hung down over his face, just barely covering his dark brown eyes. The typical Terran traits—dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin—fit him wonderfully. He embodied them so well. The rugged nature of humanity was written into the rigid lines of his face, the deep, penetrating nature of his stare, and the mischievous smile that always seemed to cross his lips when he looked at her the way he was in that moment.
Kira shared almost all of the intrinsic Terran qualities with him—dark hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were light, though. She had always hated their blue hue and the unwanted attention they got her. The rarity of Terran women with light-colored eyes made her somewhat of a novelty. That, combined with her petite size had somehow made men view her as appealing in ways she never thought herself to be and never wanted to be, for that matter. She wanted to be viewed the way she viewed Thor—rugged and strong, steady and able. He saw her that way, the way she saw herself, from the very beginning. He never underestimated her; he never sold her short.
“I’m the Captain,” she explained as she reached up and brushed the hair out of his face, “I can’t have my crew thinking that I would give preference to anyone.”
“Because you wouldn’t,” he said, smiling down at her.
“Exactly.”
“So, what does it matter?”
She pushed herself up on her tiptoes as he lowered his face to hers. “I like things the way they are,” she replied. “My history with relationships isn’t the best. I always find some way to mess them up. I don’t want to do that this time. Just give me a little more time to figure out how to navigate all of this.”
He rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t fade from his lips. “You’re a pilot, shouldn’t navigation be your strong point?”
She elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “Somehow, navigating through open space is easier for me than navigating my way through something as complex as a relationship.”
“Have you ever considered that relationships are only complex for you because you make them that way?”
She took a step back and once again intertwined her fingers with his, leading him to the flight deck with her. “You may have a point,” she conceded. “One we can discuss further once we’re safely on Earth, with the bounties off our heads, and on that official first date you’ve been promising me pretty much since the day we met.”
Thor laughed to himself as they made their way into the flight deck. He didn’t slump down in his normal spot in the co-pilot’s seat next to her. Instead, he remained on his feet behind her, watching as she settled into the Captain’s chair.
“Fine,” he agreed. “I’m going to hold you to that, though.”
“I never doubted that you would,” she replied, turning her attention forward and grabbing hold of the controls.
CHAPTER TWO
“This is it,” Kira said as she dropped the ship out of warp, bringing them to the edge of earth’s orbit, “we’re home.”
She looked over her shoulder at Thor. He rested his hand on her shoulder as they waited to see their home planet again. It was the moment they had been waiting for, with cautious anticipation.
As much as both of them wanted to be back on Earth, the fact that their return was not happening the way either of them had expected only made the event bittersweet. The events of the last month replayed in Kira’s mind. So much had changed since she last saw the green and blue expanse of her home planet. Not just for her, but for the entire galaxy.
Thor’s grip on her shoulder tightened as he leaned forward. His eyes were fixed on the viewscreen.
“No,” he whispered sharply.
Kira turned to see what had caused his rigid demeanor to find herself becoming stiff with fear. The expanse of space in front of them was littered with the wreckage of Grimm’s uprising. Space stations were damaged and ship debris spotted the horizon. Everything was in a state of silent chaos.
“Everyone, to the flight deck, immediately,” Kira ordered, sending her message through the ship-wide intercom system.
She turned back to face Thor, his eyes still fixed on the images surrounding them. “We knew it would be bad,” he said. “But, still. Seeing it makes it real.”
Kira nodded her agreement as she turned back to the controls, switching off the ship’s auto-pilot and gingerly weaving the vessel through the clumps of metal and debris.
“Holy shit,” Vinnie said as he led the rest of the group into the flight deck.
“That’s putting it lightly,” Bron added as he pushed past the group and stood behind Kira.
“Oh, my,” Alaria said softly as she followed closely behind Bron.
“We knew things would be bad,” Thor said again.
“Do you think the High Command is still functioning?” Dario asked, hanging back from the group.
“I assume they are,” Kira said. “Or else Grimm wouldn’t have fled to a different planet.”
“That’s something, at least,” Alaria said.
“Something,” Thor replied. “Something that means the bounties on our heads are still active.”
“Always looking on the bright side, aren’t you?” Kira quipped.
The crew huddled together, all holding their breath as they observed the scene of destruction around them. The silence was heavy, and the nervous tension hanging in the air was palpable.
The soft ping let out by the intercom, indicating that their ship was being hailed, rippled through the room, violently bringing the entire crew back to the present moment.
“This is Terran station command, your vessel is not logged, identify yourself immediately,” a gruff voice came through the speaker.
“Shit,” Kira muttered, eyeing the blinking light to her right. “They know we’re here.”
“They know a ship is here; they don’t know it’s us,” Dario said, stepping forward. “This could be good. We could use their ignorance to gain access to a station where we can repair the ship.”
“Alaria,” Kira said, looking quickly over her shoulder. “You have to answer.”
“Me?” Alaria asked, her already large blue eyes growing even wider.
“You’re the only one without a bounty on your head. You can get us access,” Kira explained.
Everyone voiced their agreement as Bron nudged Alaria forward toward the intercom. She reached out and pressed down on the call button.
“This is Captain Starfire,” Alaria started. Her voice seemed to be a full octave lower than usual, and even her overall demeanor and posture seemed to change slightly.
Kira pulled back slightly, unable to keep the surprised smile from her lips. Someone as cheerful and upbeat as Alaria rarely sounded so authoritative and aloof.
“My ship is the Curio, a merchant vessel in need of supplies and repair,” Alaria continued.
The time between Alaria’s request and the man’s response felt like an eternity. Finally, it came. “Access granted, your vessel has been logged,” the man replied as gruffly as before. “You have been given clearance to dock at the TFS Arbiter.”
“Copy command, thank you,” Alaria said, shooting Kira a proud smile as she tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
The connection cut as suddenly as it had been established and an audible sigh of reli
ef filled the flight deck. Kira programmed in the coordinates to the TFS Arbiter and settled back, slightly, in her seat. The closer they got to the commercial space station, the less dense the debris became. It was clear that some clean-up had taken place, closer to Earth, at least.
“Impressive,” Bron said, praising Alaria both verbally and with a soft nudge of his elbow. Alaria’s cheeks flushed as she thanked him and turned to face the others, all equally as impressed by her performance.
“It was,” Kira said over her shoulder. “And, this is good for us,” she added, eyeing the station as it came into view. “The Arbiter is a busy station—a lot of activity and trade going on. We’ll be able to blend in, hopefully not draw too much attention to ourselves there.”
Docking at the TFS Arbiter was easy, although it didn’t do much to ease the nervous tension that refused to leave the small group. With each accomplishment, a fresh wave of challenges always came.
Their greatest, at the moment, was figuring out how to fund their time on the massive commercial station.
“All of my assets are frozen,” Dario said, bringing the realization that their collective funds may be insufficient for their needs.
“Mine, too,” Thor added.
“I’m in the same position as you both are,” Kira said. Given the bounties on their heads, none of the Terran members of their crew had any access to their Galactic Credits.
“We left everything back on Vandor,” Bron replied with a grunt.
“I have Galactic Credits,” Alaria chimed. Everyone turned to look at her. “Yeah,” she continued, “I have some saved from my time working as an engineer.”
“To the rescue again,” Kira said with a smile.
“Good,” Dario said with a nod. “Then we should get started on the ship so we can focus on the next step of our journey. Time is not on our side.”
“Agreed,” Kira said. “Dario, Vinnie, you go with Alaria. Find a hangar where we can make upgrades and repairs to the Curio.”
The crew agreed with Kira's plan and readied themselves to disembark. Kira, as well as Thor and Bron, made sure they were carrying their side-arms. The chance they would need them had become a constant companion.
As hard as they planned to try to keep a low profile, the group was hard to miss. They were an odd looking collection of individuals—an elderly Terran man, a Terran woman, an Arcanum soldier, a Bandurian man followed closely by a Terran child, and a Telani woman – not exactly low profile.
It was obvious that they would draw a few stray glances as they made their way off their less-than-high-end ship. No one was surprised by that. It was somewhat surprising, though, when it turned out to be Alaria that received most of the unwanted attention.
“Hey!” a young Terran man called out to the group as he ran up behind them.
They all glanced back at him quickly. The collective tensing of the group was noticeable. “He’s not military,” Kira quietly informed them, noting his civilian clothes.
He looked to be in his early twenties. His dark brown eyes darted over the group quickly, landing on Alaria.
“Can I help you with anything?” he asked, assuming an air of cocky confidence as he swaggered up to them.
“We’re fine,” Thor said firmly.
“You sure?” the young man asked. “You’re new here. I’ve never seen you before. I know I wouldn’t forget a face like yours,” he said, his eyes still fixed on Alaria. “Maybe I can show you around?”
“We’re fine,” Alaria replied, noting as well as everyone else, that his request was clearly directed solely at her. It was painfully obvious that he was hoping to pick her up.
“Come on,” the young man continued, “I’m sure you’ve been bored cooped up in that ship for a while. You could probably use some entertainment.”
“No, thank you,” Alaria replied.
“Just one drink,” the young man continued to press her. “It looks like you’re in need of more…” he scanned the rest of the group quickly before returning his pointed gaze back to Alaria, “attractive company.”
“She said no,” Bron said, stepping forward, cutting off the man’s view of Alaria. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Either you’re hard of hearing or far too confident for a man of your size.”
The young man eyed the large Bandurian man in front of him with wide eyes. Bron towered over the Terran man, his size seeming to double his.
“She can speak for herself,” the young man continued, swallowing hard, but not willing to let his fear come through completely.
“I believe she did,” Bron said, taking a step toward him.
“Whatever,” the man muttered as he turned to walk away.
Bron turned back to face the group, a smile spread across his face. “I almost wish he didn’t give up so easily. He’s right. We’ve been cooped up in that damned ship for too long. I was looking for a little entertainment of my own.”
“Thank you, Bron,” Alaria said, her voice high and bouncy. “Really, thank you so much.”
“You could have handled him yourself, I know,” Bron said with a shrug, “but, I figured I’d lend a hand.”
Alaria smiled and her cheeks flushed.
Kira looked over her shoulder at Thor, who also seemed to notice the subtle sweetness in Bron and Alaria’s interaction. Thor smiled down at her and shrugged.
"We should get going," Thor spoke up. "Alaria, Dario, and Vinnie, you need to find that hangar. Bron, Kira, and I will begin figuring out our next move."
"Let's go!" Vinnie said, marching off confidently in no direction in particular.
“He doesn’t like doing nothing,” Bron said as he watched his young companion walk away. “You’d better hurry if you’re going to keep up with him. Once he has his mind set on something, he doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
“Wonder who he gets that from,” Alaria said, rolling her eyes and spinning on her heel. “Come on, Dario.”
The pair took off after their enthusiastic self-proclaimed leader, leaving Kira, Thor, and Bron to contemplate their own next move.
“I could use a drink,” Bron said. “Let’s find a bar or something. I do my best scheming when my inhibitions are lowered.”
“Whatever inhibitions you have,” Kira replied.
The trio began their search for a bar, which didn’t last very long. It was easy to find a bar on most stations.
After finding a place and ordering their drinks, Kira, Thor, and Bron moved to the back of the bar, where they could speak without too many distractions. The place was packed, and there were no available tables to be found. They opted, instead, for a somewhat quiet corner in the back of the bar.
“What’s our next step, then?” Bron asked, after throwing back a long sip of the Bandurian whiskey in his hand.
“We need to find Admiral Artanis,” Kira said. “Hopefully, he can get the bounties taken off our heads.”
“And how do we go about finding this Admiral when we have bounties on our heads?” Thor asked, eyeing her over the rim of his beer. “We obviously can’t go broadcasting through the TAF Comm system that we’re back on Earth, searching for an old friend.”
“Not us, but maybe Alaria,” Kira offered.
“And why would a Telani woman need to speak to a Terran Forces Admiral?” Thor countered.
“You’re just full of helpful input today, aren’t you?” Kira replied.
“What else would you be keeping me around for?” Thor replied, smiling as he lifted his drink to his lips.
Bron grunted, drawing Kira’s attention to him. At first, she figured that he had picked up on the flirtatious tension between her and Thor the way they had noted something between him and Alaria earlier. But quickly, she realized that someone behind them had bumped into him, sending his precious whiskey slopping to the floor.
“Watch it,” Bron said before Kira could remind him to not draw attention to them.
He turned around and pressed his large dark, leather-like hands into the T
erran man’s back, throwing him forward, knocking his own drink to the ground.
The man spun around quickly, his hand balled into a fist. Kira recognized the man instantly—he was the man that was trying to pick up Alaria.
His eyes went wide, then narrowed quickly. A confident smile crossed is lips as he said, “I was hoping I’d see you again.”
Kira was shocked at his sudden bravery. Earlier, all it took was an angry glance from Bron for him to back down.
The man let his fist fly. Before the blow made contact, though, Bron grabbed onto his fist and twisted it around, causing the Terran man to let out a cry for help. Bron began to laugh, amused at his foe’s pathetic display.