“Dangerous,” Kai remarked, his attention focused on the pinpoint of light hanging in the starless void beyond the ship.
“Well, that was vague,” huffed the young woman behind Commander Kai, her hands gripping the backrest as her body floated above the deck.
Kai chuckled softly, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his lips. “Sorry, Parri, but that’s the best way I can describe the galaxy,” he replied, his eyes darting to the controls.
A soft groan escaped Parri’s lips as she dropped the topic, feeling disappointed once again by her commander’s curt quips and murky explanations to serious questions. Glancing over his shoulder, she watched him expertly handle the flight stick, his movements smooth and deliberate, radiating calm confidence. Her fingers drummed the back of the flight chair, eager to test her piloting skills and dreaming of the day she would own a ship of her own. “Will I get more flight time during this mission?” she asked.
Kai shrugged, the movement casual but dismissive. “We’ll see.”
Her lips twisted in irritation. Again, with the terse response. “We’ll see?” she echoed, prodding for more details like squeezing the last bit of toothpaste from an empty tube.
“Mm-hum,” he replied, his focus unwavering.
Parri frowned, resting her chin on the back of his seat just over his shoulder. It was her experience that he only engaged with what was directly in front of him, relegating everything else—herself included—to the fringes of his attention. “I’ve already completed twenty hours in the flight simulator,” she whispered into his ear, “but I still need another ten hours behind the stick. So… um… when will be a good time to fly, if not right now?”
Kai’s nose wrinkled at the sweet, fruity scent of honeysuckle that always trailed in her wake, the familiar herald of her invasion of his personal space. With an exaggerated eye roll, he reached overhead for the lever marked LAT drive, determined to ignore her pestering demeanor. As he prepared to disengage the Lentz Alcubierre Tunnel Drive, he shot Parri a sideways glance and rudely asked, “Why are you hovering?”
Parri scoffed, appalled by the blatant avoidance. “Because I asked you a question. Weren’t you listening?” she shot back.
“Not really,” he admitted with an easy grin.
Her eyelids drooped, frustrated with repeating herself. “I need time in the flight chair,” she insisted.
“Oh right, your Pilots Union license,” he recalled, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. With a firm shove of the lever, the ship burst free from black-space, the hull vibrating with a soft, rhythmic tapping as they transitioned back to the star-filled galaxy. The engines hummed a mesmerizing Shepard’s tone, gradually quieting as the ship coasted towards the brilliant blue twin stars of the Menkalinan System.
Kai instinctively leaned away from her, casting an apprehensive side glance, as her amber eyes sparkled with eagerness. The way her cheeks puffed out was a telltale sign that she was holding her breath in anticipation, waiting for his response. “Can I help you with something?” he asked, deliberately testing her patience for his amusement.
She exhaled sharply, her head flopping against the back of the chair like a marionette with cut strings. “Oh my god, seriously?”
Kai chuckled, dropping the facade of jovial ignorance. “Okay, okay, fine… maybe,” he relented.
Kai steered the ship away from the blinding light of the star, moving the vessel across the vastness of space at faster-than-light speed. The bright glow of the star faded behind him as he sped past Aunkalinan, a small, unremarkable rocky planet with a rough, pockmarked surface painted in dull browns. With a quick adjustment of his instruments, he re-calibrated the ship’s course, confidently heading toward the second orbital body named Menkan.
As Kai eased off the throttle, the ship broke free from the warp field, plunging back into normal space with a dazzling explosion of light. The brilliance flooded the cockpit briefly before fading, leaving the hum of the engines as they settled into a steady rhythm. Outside the view port, a stunning blue-green planet appeared, shimmering with an argon-rich atmosphere.
Parri wrapped her arms around the cushioned headrest, her legs trailing gently behind her like delicate ribbons. Just beyond the curve of his shoulder, past the square outline of the canopy, a remote outpost hovered in the darkness of space. The station looked like a chaotic mix of metallic tubes and spheres, clustered around rectangular hangars. Long, gleaming solar panels stretched outward, while asymmetrical antenna towers jutted into the void.
From the medium-sized landing pad, a Dredger-class ship left the outpost, appearing upside-down from Parri’s perspective. The longer she stared at the inverted outpost, the more her head tilted, trying to right the station. “So, this is a refinery station?” she asked with a hint of skepticism. “Are we absolutely sure this is the right one?”
Kai reached for the keyboard on his left, entering commands that prompted a crisp beep from the onboard computer. Moments later, the details of their contract appeared on the screen. “There are only two refineries in the Menkalinan system,” he explained. “Gorey refinery and Griffinon orbital. You should always read the description of any mission you accept.”
Parri gracefully swung her hips around the flight chair and posted herself in front of the computer, her eyes scanning the glowing information on the display.
‘Commander, I have some boys in the Coalition of Fengssxi faction here at the Beta Hydri system who are looking for someone who can nick a bit of data and capture a recording, preferably without raising any alarms. We’ve heard rumors that the Ursae Dynasty is developing a prototype Lentz Alcubierre Tunnel Drive at Gorey refinery in the Menkalinan system. Our intel indicates that a snobby Prefect has personally rented out two bays on that station and imposed strict security restrictions on them. My contacts want to know the details of this prototype. Could you obtain a copy of the schematics and record the machine in operation? If you pull it off, a hefty 1,364,240 Credits is waiting for you.’
After reading the mission briefing, Parri shifted her attention to Kai, who met her gaze with a playful wink and a roguish smirk. The same confident, infuriating expression that captivated her when they first crossed paths at the Pilots Union recruitment center. In hindsight, if she had understood the implications of that grin back then, she would have avoided getting entangled with a scoundrel like him. But here she was, too deeply involved in their partnership to consider any alternatives.
As she reminisced about her arrival at the asteroid base Roksat Terminal in the Epsilon Eridani system, vivid memories flooded her mind. The concourse pulsed with life and energy, teeming with a diverse mix of people. Rookie pilots, much like herself, mingled with experienced traders, adventurous explorers, and weathered combat veterans. Above her, an array of neon lights flickered, casting a mesmerizing spectrum of vibrant colors across the busy station. Every corner was adorned with eye-catching advertisements vying for her attention. Parri expected Roksat Terminal to be a clean, high-tech hub filled with the hum of advanced machinery, yet the reality was far more visceral. The air was thick with the gritty smell of rock and the unmistakable tang of recycled sweat.
As she navigated through the crowd of aspiring pilots seeking mentorship, Parri stood on her toes, stretching to see over the sea of heads bobbing around her. A few from her shuttle hurried toward battle-hardened soldiers, eager for adventure, while others surrounded affluent traders, their eyes glinting with hope for a profitable opportunity. Away from the chaos, her attention was drawn to a lone figure lurking at the far corner of the concourse. He seemed focused on an electronic tablet and suspiciously undisturbed by the crowd of hopeful apprentices. Driven by curiosity, she broke away from the crowd and moved closer to introduce herself.
The man bore a square jaw framed by a week-old stubble, and his black square-framed glasses gave him an air of intelligence and refinement. In stark contrast to the boisterous pilots around him, he exuded a quiet, unassuming confidence that seemed harmless and trustworthy. Taking a deep breath and biting her lip to calm her nerves, Parri slid up beside him, her heart pounding with anticipation. She gently tapped his elbow and gathered her courage to ask, “Excuse me, are you a pilot?”
The man turned, his gaze landing on a young woman cradling a tablet close to her chest that bore the marks of an apprenticeship document. Without missing a beat, he responded with a curt, “Nope.”
Parri’s lips curled in a snarl, surprised by his blunt tone. Her eyes narrowed as she suspiciously examined the sleek black nanosuit peeking out from beneath the old flight jacket he wore. The patch on his shoulder, decorated with a pair of wings and the emblem of the Colonial Navy, confirmed he was an experienced pilot. With a snort, Parri shot back, “Yes, you are.”
The man chuckled, shaking his head, a sparkle of amusement dancing in his eyes. In a spirited gesture, he offered her a playful wink and a roguish smirk that hinted at mischief, and leaned in to share a secret. “Well, don’t tell anyone.”
Parri felt her irritation wane, replaced by a smile as she extended the tablet toward him. “I won’t tell anyone. So, um… can I be your apprentice?”
The memory faded like mist as she blinked, her focus shifting back to Kai’s roguish smirk. With an exasperated scoff and a dramatic roll of her eyes, she turned her attention to the space station, its massive structure growing larger in the window. In a surprising move, Kai steered the ship two kilometers away rather than following the standard protocol of requesting docking clearance. He reduced their velocity to a complete stop, then leaned forward, his gaze locked on the station looming above.
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Unable to contain her curiosity, Parri positioned herself next to the flight chair to get a better view. The sprawling station showcased a medium-sized landing pad at its center, flanked by two smaller pads, each marked with unique identifiers. As Kai made a soft humming sound while scratching his chin in contemplation, she couldn’t resist mocking his gesture. Her eyes narrowed as she lightly plucked her bottom lip with her fingers, humming along with him. She followed his gaze to the small landing pad labeled 02, where a vivid red holographic prohibition sign flickered, warning off any approaching traffic. When Kai finally noticed her antics, his cheeks flushed with self-consciousness. He cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.
Kai pressed a circular button embedded in the chest of his nanosuit, and the magnetic locking system responded with a series of satisfying clicks, releasing its grip from the chair. Now weightless, he effortlessly floated upward, grabbing the handhold at the corner of the glass canopy.
“Alright, let’s run two kay,” he instructed. “Turn off everything except the fusion reactor, life support, and the recon ferry drone.” Kai glanced over his shoulder at Parri. With a quick nod, she gently pushed against the flight chair, drifting toward the engineering console. Like many aspiring pilots, her enthusiasm overshadowed her grace as she awkwardly dog-paddled through the zero-gravity environment, her movements a mix of determination and clumsiness.
Kai watched with an amused chuckle as Parri grabbed the handhold beside the keypad. Misjudging her momentum, she flopped against the bulkhead with a clatter, resembling a rickety shutter caught in a gust of wind, before finally coming to a halt. Her cheeks flushed a deep crimson, and she shot him a lively thumbs-up before navigating through the intricate web of subsystems.
As she methodically turned off each device in precise order, Kai took the opportunity to observe her skills, viewing it as a valuable hands-on lesson. He was well aware of stories about pilots who faced disaster from relying too heavily on automation, and he was determined to make sure Parri wouldn’t become one of them. At just 19 years his junior, Parri’s heart-shaped face was framed by a cascade of shoulder-length violet hair, held in place by a headband that made the back of her head look like a porcupine. Her amber eyes sparkled with the thrill of adventure, and while Kai found himself captivated by her small buttoned nose, it was her lively spirit that truly made him smile.
The familiar hum of the ship gradually faded into a profound silence, replaced by an unsettling stillness. Without the warmth from the deactivated systems, the Shizukana Kage began to cool down, and a thin layer of ice slowly spread along the edges of the glass canopy with a soft cracking sound. Kai shifted his attention to the heat indicator, watching the numbers dance downwards. Once the ship’s external temperature dropped below 3 kelvin, he closed the radiators, masking the ship’s heat signature from prying eyes. With a flick of his fingers, he toggled the interior and exterior lights, plunging the cockpit into eerie shadows before switching on night mode, casting a dim crimson glow across the bridge.
Parri’s eyes flicked across the dark cockpit, her voice barely above a whisper, “Now what?”
“Now…” Kai paused for dramatic effect. “We get to work.”
Parri sputtered her lips with an exaggerated eye roll. “Ugh, I know that.”
“Then why did you ask?” Kai scoffed, raising an eyebrow.
“I meant,” she hesitated, gathering her thoughts, “how are we going to steal the data?”
Kai shrugged, turning his attention back to the station looming in the dark. “First, we need to eavesdrop on the restricted hangar bay. Hopefully, we’ll discover the location of the prototype.”
With a frown, Parri drifted across the small bridge, posting herself behind him, head slipping over his shoulder. “Okay, but how do we do that?” she asked, lowering her voice again.
Kai leaned away from her invasive presence, a look of mild irritation crossing his features. “Why are you still whispering? You realize we’re in space and no one can hear us, right?”
“What? I… I wasn’t whispering. That would be stupid,” she stammered, glancing away and hiding her embarrassment with a defiant scoff. “I know how space works, Mr. Obvious.”
Kai smirked, clearly not convinced. “Uh-huh.”
He gracefully maneuvered between Parri and the flight chair to glide across the small bridge to the back wall. Halting his momentum with practice ease, he slid open a metal panel, revealing a compact radio station complete with an array of buttons and glimmering lights. “Prep a recon ferry,” he instructed, grabbing a pair of well-worn headphones and looping them around his neck. “We’ll utilize the microphone feature.”
Parri glanced at the flight controls. “Should I use automatic or manual controls to pilot the drone?” she asked, her voice ringing with hesitation.
Ignoring her question, he pivoted to the nearby sensor station. He tapped a tiny keyboard to summon a diagram of the refinery, its lines and shapes morphing into a comprehensive layout. With a wave of his fingers across the display, he rotated the image to gain a better perspective on their target.
Parri’s lips drew tight as impatience bubbled in her chest. “Hey!” she yelled, vying for his attention.
“What?” he snapped back, his eyes flicking in her direction.
“Automatic or manual?”
Kai shrugged his shoulders, replying without much thought. “Manual.”
Parri stared at the pilot’s chair, her fingers dancing over the armrest. “Are you sure? I’ve never flown a drone manually before,” she admitted, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, like a child on Christmas Eve, ogling the gifts.
Kai let out a weary sigh, sending her a sidelong glare. “You’re right. Maybe I should fly the drone,” he suggested dryly.
“No, no! Forget I asked!” Parri squeaked, rushing into the pilot’s seat as if winning a game of musical chairs. She pressed the button on her chest, causing three glowing blue rings along her spine to flicker and lock her to the backrest with a metallic clank. “You’re really busy. I… I can fly it manually. Trust me.”
Kai arched an eyebrow in bemusement, his gaze fixed on Parri as she wiggled her hips into the plush cushion of the pilot’s seat, her excitement palpable. When she began to caress the rubberized grip of the flight stick, savoring the textured surface with a sense of reverence, Kai’s expression shifted to one of uncomfortable bewilderment. He coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat before asking, “Are you going to launch a recon drone or just play with my flight stick?”
Caught in the act, Parri’s body tensed, and she yanked her hand back to her lap, her cheeks flushing a darker shade. She let out a guttural snort, swiftly deflecting with an indignant, “You’re gross.”
A deep chuckle rumbled from Kai’s chest, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a mischievous grin. “Do you need some alone time?” he teased.
With a heavy, resigned sigh, she slumped in the seat, her enthusiasm dimmed. Turning her attention to the inventory of drones in the cargo bay, she scanned through the options and selected a recon model for deployment. “Launching recon drone,” she announced, her voice noticeably subdued.
The drone shot from the open cargo bay, its movements unexpectedly erratic and uncontrolled. In a surge of panic, Parri seized the yoke with her right hand, while her other hand darted over the switches in a desperate effort to regain control. Trying to hide her mistake with a nervous, jittery laugh, she shouted, “Oh, right, right, I forgot it was on manual. Okay, okay, I’ve got this. Nothing to worry about. Everything is under control.”
Gripped by a sudden wave of concern, Kai turned his attention to the helm. “Do you need assistance?”
“No, no, I’m fine, we’re fine, everything’s fine,” she insisted, reigning in her nerves. Her wide eyes flicked back and forth, focused on the white streak of bright fumes trailing the drone as it zipped through space like a frenzied insect. The drone veered left, then right, and suddenly performed a nerve-wracking loop back toward her. Heart racing, she instinctively pitched forward, forcing the drone to dive just in time to avoid a collision with the ship.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his tone dripping with undeniable amusement. “Because from back here, it doesn’t look like everything’s fine. I’m seeing a lot of frantic button mashing and wild jerks of the flight stick.”
Parri emitted a sharp, high-pitched buzz to drown out his voice and waved a dismissive hand. “Stop distracting me!”
“Okay, fine,” he said, absolving himself of the disaster by surrendering his hands. “Just don’t hit my ship.”
Parri sputtered her lips, eyes rolling into the back of her head. “I’m not going to hit your ugly ship. Not that you would notice. It’s already got more pockmarks than an asteroid.”
“Those are called beauty marks,” he retorted with a grin.
She snorted dismissively, “Yeah, right.”
Kai made his way back to the radio station and placed the headphones over his ears, muffling the high-pitched squeals and sporadic curses coming from Parri as she engaged in a tense struggle with the drone. Moments later, Parri managed to secure the four claw-shaped legs of the drone to the outer bulkhead of the docking bay.
Parri let out a long sigh of relief, her muscles relaxing as the drone began transmitting audio back to the Shizukana Kage. With a triumphant smile plastered across her face, she announced, “Touchdown.” Folding her arms behind her head, her eyes sparkled with pride as she teased, “Did you see that? I landed the fairy on my first try… Pretty good, if I say so myself.”
Kai pulled the headphones away from his ear, his expression showing mild confusion as he asked, “Can you say ferry drone?”
“Fairy drone.”
“Are you calling it a fairy? Like a little winged creature?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s what you said it was called.”
“No, I called it a ferry drone. Something that shuttles objects through space,” Kai corrected.
Parri smacked her lips in defiance. “Whatever, tomayto tomahto, but did you see what I did?”
Kai let the headphones pop back against his ear and returned his attention to the radio, choosing to ignore her as he adjusted the knobs and switched frequencies.
“Have you ever flown a fairy manually?” Parri pressed. Lifting her chin toward the ceiling, she increased the volume of her voice, “Hey… Hey Kai…. Commander…” Without hearing a response, she shifted restlessly in her seat, leaning around the back of the chair. When she spotted Kai pressing the headphones against his ears, eyes closed in concentration, she drew a deep breath and screamed, “Are you listening to me?” His frowning response solidified her irritation. Parri squinted, fed up with being ignored, and lowered her voice to a whisper, threatening, “I’m going to steal your ship.”
“Over my dead body,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Ah-ha, I knew it! You can hear me!” she exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
Kai glanced over, his expression deliberately blank as he raised an eyebrow and feigned ignorance. He pointed at the headphones, mouthing, ‘What?’
With a dismissive huff, Parri flopped back into her seat, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. “You’re an ass.”
Kai shut his eyes again, immersing himself in the sounds coming from inside the station. As he adjusted the gain, the oppressive noise began to fade, revealing the rhythmic clinking of mag-boots tapping against a steel floor and the sharp whirring of power tools in the distance. Satisfied with the clarity, he pulled the headphones from his ears and shifted his gaze back to Parri. “Are you pouting?”
“No,” she snapped defensively.
“Yes, you are.”
“How would you know? You’re not even paying attention,” she grumbled.
“Well, I was going to say you did a good job landing the drone, but,” he let the pause linger, “since you’re in a grumpy mood, I guess you don’t want to eavesdrop with me.”
Parri flipped around in her seat, her frustration boiling over. “If you didn’t ignore me, I wouldn’t be in a bad mood.”
With a cheeky grin, he yanked the headphone jack from the radio, flooding the cockpit with buzzing and clattering sounds coming from the hangar. Kai shouted over the racket, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Question for the Comments: Kai claims the dings on the Shizukana Kage are "beauty marks," but Parri thinks it just looks like a beat-up asteroid. When you're on a high-stakes heist, do you prefer a ship that looks pristine and professional, or one with a bit of "character" and a pilot who isn't afraid to get a few more dents?
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If you were the one funding this heist, whose "mission style" would you trust more?
