by J. M. Page
Torak was barely holding it together now. The prognosis seemed to be getting worse by the moment. “And what?” What could possibly increase his suffering any more?
“And, as you know by her father’s troubles, the medication is not cheap, sir. Even the Affliction’s considerable coffers may be insufficient.”
Torak squeezed Mara’s hand. A silent promise that he wasn’t going to give up on her. No matter what.
“Call the hospital. We need a medic here with as much medicine as it will take. I’ll pay the price. I’ll sell everything if I have to.”
Sande gaped for a moment. “But sir, without any funds the Affliction will not be able to continue operations.”
“Then I’ll sell the damn ship too!” Torak roared. How did Sande not see the importance of this? How could he think the ship was more important than Mara?
Sande took a step back and gave a quick nod. “Very well. As you wish.”
Ten days later, the Faros color festival was long over, but Torak, Mara, and company were still on the planet Brahmin. The medics had worked tirelessly, experimenting with different dosages and medications until they found just the right cocktail to kick the plague for good.
She was scheduled to be released from the hospital some time today, and Torak was busy making everything ready for her. He hadn’t yet told her about selling the Affliction, or his new line of work, but he thought she’d approve regardless. Still, he wanted to make the ship feel a little bit… homier. They were going to be spending a lot of time on it after all, and this one was significantly smaller than the Queen’s Affliction.
Torak practically bounced with excitement. He’d seen her for a few minutes here and there over the last week and a half, but there were always visitors, nurses, or medics around. He never got a moment alone with her and he was looking forward to that most of all.
The pneumatic hiss of the ship’s door alerted Torak to someone boarding. “Sande, is that you?”
“Nope,” Mara said, coming up the steps to the main area where he was.
Her being there surprised him, yes, but he wasted no time in getting to her and wrapping her up in his arms.
“You’re not supposed to be here for hours, yet,” he said, crushing her to his chest, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair, reveling in the feeling of her body pressed against his.
“I could leave again, if you want,” she said, teasing him.
“No, no, that’s okay,” Torak said with a laugh. He pulled back from her enough to give her a kiss, both of them forgetting about anything else existing for a moment.
When they broke apart, Mara’s lips were reddened, her eyes a little glazed over. She rested her palm against his chest and smiled. “I’m happy to see you, too,” she said.
She pulled away from his arms, leaving him feeling empty and cold, and walked a circuit around the open area of the ship where they’d spend most of their time.
“This is really nice,” she said. “What prompted the new ship?”
Torak shrugged. He didn’t want to make her feel guilty about selling the ship for her medicine. He’d tell her about that one day, but right now, he wanted to focus on the future. Their future.
“It was time for a change. The Centurian Commission agreed to let me have this one if I agreed to deliver supplies and aid to all the scary dangerous places their captains are too cowardly to go.”
Mara rolled her eyes playfully. “And you agreed to this? All that do-gooding?” she teased.
Torak couldn’t help himself, he moved closer to her, settling his hands on her hips. “Of course. I’m a new man now, didn’t you know that?”
She smiled. “Oh really? Why’s that?” she asked, tracing circles on his arms with her fingertips.
“Because I met this incredible woman who convinced me I could do better things with my life and my skills.”
“She sounds pretty incredible,” Mara said.
Torak laughed, nodding before he dipped in for another kiss. “Yes, she is.”
He paused, basking in that moment before he grew more serious. “I want to help you find your home, Mara. We’ll search every rock in the galaxy if we must. I know how much you want to know where you belong.”
Mara stiffened a little in his arms and Torak wondered if he’d said something wrong. Then she shook her head, smiling. “There’s no need,” she said. “I know where I belong: it’s here, with you,” she said, flattening her palm over his heart.
It swelled under her touch and Torak didn’t think he could possibly be any happier. Soon, the crew members he considered to be friends would join them. They’d all agreed to following him to their new mission. He didn’t even regret selling the ship. No thing could ever make him feel as whole as Mara did. Not even a magnificent ship like the Affliction. No amount of fear or power could ever make him feel complete like being with her did.
He’d found where he belonged, too.
“I love you, Mara,” he said, brushing his lips over hers.
“I love you too, even when you were still a ruthless pirate.”
He laughed. “Those days are long behind me now. I hope you’ll still like me when I’m boring.”
Mara smirked, quirking an eyebrow at him. “I’m pretty sure you’re never going to be boring.”
“As long as you’ll be by my side no matter what,” he said.
“No matter what.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Mara
“No no no, that’s not the way you do that at all,” Mara’s father said, fussing over a repair on the ship.
Delta huffed, her face going crimson with annoyance, and sent a flummoxed look up at Mara. A look that clearly said either ‘Help!’ or ‘If you don’t stop him I’m going to kill him.’ Mara couldn’t really be sure which.
“Dad,” Mara said, as gently as possible. “You’ve been on the ship for a day and a half, maybe don’t tell the engineer how to repair the ship we’ve been on for six months?”
He turned to look at her, embarrassed. “Sorry, Pixel, I can’t help myself sometimes.”
Mara smiled, her hand hovering over her belly, only just starting to swell the tiniest amount. She wondered if she’d be this protective of her own child.
She and Dad were still on somewhat precarious ground. She understood why he’d kept so many secrets from her, but she still didn’t agree with the choice. They’d finally agreed to disagree for the sake of their relationship.
“You’re supposed to be on vacation, you know,” she said. “Why don’t you come up to the bridge and stay out of Delta’s way?”
Delta mouthed a ‘thank you!’ in her direction and Mara stifled a giggle.
Dad trudged his way up the stairs and sat in one of the seats, fidgeting with his fingers. He never could manage to sit still. He didn’t even know how to behave on a ship that ran as smoothly as this one.
The door to the bridge opened and Torak walked in, tablet in hand. “We’ve got a new mission. Sande, ready for coordinates?”
Sande nodded. “Ready.”
Torak rattled off the headings before he came over to give Mara a kiss. “How are you today, beautiful?”
He still never failed to set her heart aflutter. His new Centurian Commission uniform looked so much nicer than the old swashbuckling clothes he used to wear, not that he could make any outfit look bad with the way he filled it out.
“Just trying to keep the peace,” she said, smiling.
Her father jumped to his feet and cleared his throat loudly, forcing them to break apart so he could address Torak.
“I want to apologize for my behavior during… Well, everything,” he said. “I don’t hold any of it against you, mind. If my daughter’s happy, I’m happy.”
“I am,” Mara said, beaming. It took her a long time to learn it, but she’d finally realized that home wasn’t a place. It wasn’t a dot on a map or a coordinate in the sky. Home was a feeling. The feeling she got when she was with Torak, and De
lta and Sande. The feeling she had when Torak wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head. The feeling she had when they were all sharing a meal, laughing and teasing one another.
That was home, and she’d finally found hers.
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