The Koiyokan continued its plunge into the depths of the open dead Wild Space. Hours ground on uneventfully as the crew remained hard at work. The laser cannons had been checked and were all operational; most engine and propulsion systems had been inspected and were good to go.

  Now, So-mi led the crew as they checked sensor arrays, the ship's shield generators, and the onboard wiring, running down a checklist of every single thing she felt would be needed for a fight. It was the first time she could remember that Garrett had actually gotten Jerec, Gazrael, and Leonia to all help work on the ship at the same time. Even though it’s exasperating teaching them some of the most basic fundamentals of how the ship runs, she thought, I need to take advantage of their help while it’s available. She was also pleasantly surprised that Garrett was as handy as he’d promised, though that was undercut by annoyance that he’d never bothered to help her with ship maintenance before today.

  Blender and Blitzer remained on the bridge, taking turns piloting and checking sensors. For hours, none of the sensors picked up anything. It was almost enough to lull them into a false sense of security. If the memory of the wreck didn’t burn fresh at the back of our minds, Blender thought, this would be exactly what we expected the job to be like: boring, uneventful, and slow. This is the galaxy’s most expensive babysitting gig… possibly the most dangerous

  Blender checked the monitor again—nothing. Then the radar—nothing. Then the radiation signatures—still nothing. I can’t believe I’m thinking this, she admitted to herself, but I’m getting tired of waiting. Can we just find it already? Whatever it is.

  Her boredom was relieved as the door to the bridge hissed open, revealing So-mi. Her pink cultural buns were disheveled, and she was covered in grease and grime, but Blender didn’t even notice. To her, So-mi shined like a blue star. Before Blender could address her, Blitzer had already flown up from his pilot’s seat, seemingly oblivious to So-mi’s unkempt appearance.

  “So-mi, good to see you,” he said, holding his arms out awkwardly as if expecting a hug. All he received in return was a confused look and an awkward giggle.

  “Good to see you too,” So-mi replied.

  The giggle flustered him, and he quickly shifted his arms, pretending he’d been reaching for a protein pack hanging from a cubby in the ceiling. Nice save, Blender thought sarcastically, though she could see the humiliation on his face as he backed down.

  So-mi shook her head, as if erasing the last seven seconds from her memory, and said, “I actually came to talk to Blender.”

  A small glimmer shot across Blender’s green eyes. She’s here to talk to me? Instinctively, she shot her hands up to straighten and fix her hair, as if So-mi wasn’t already watching her. Here I was, bored out of my mind, and now she’s here. It’s like the Force arranged this. Blender’s relief, however, was Blitzer’s further embarrassment. He sank back into his piloting seat, his back turned to them, offering the illusion of privacy—even if it was clear he’d hear everything.

  Once So-mi saw Blitzer had turned away, she reached to her side for a wrench she’d holstered like a blaster. She held it up, presenting it to Blender. This is so silly, she thought, a pang of self-doubt shooting through her. Why did I even think this was a good idea? The doubt restrained her voice to barely above a whisper. “I brought you this.”

  Blender reached out and took it, though she wasn’t sure what it was for. Why is she handing me a wrench? she wondered, but she tried her best to feign gratitude. “Oh, thank you. I always wanted one of these… I think.”

  “It’s yours, so you can… ya know,” So-mi mimed a playful whack toward Blitzer’s seat, her cheeks flushing as she whispered, “For… emergencies.”

  “OHHHHH,” Blender exclaimed, finally remembering their idle chit-chat from hours earlier. It had completely slipped my mind. “Yeah, gonna be honest, a couple times today I could’ve used it.”

  “Used what?” Blitzer asked, turning in his chair.

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Blender shot back, lowering the wrench to hide it.

  He huffed audibly, faced forward again, and muttered, “Fine, everyone just keep secrets from me today. I don’t mind.”

  Blender returned her gaze to So-mi. “Seriously, thank you… it means a lot.”

  “It was the least I could do,” So-mi replied, trying to deliver a flirtatious smile. Am I doing this right?, she thought. I’ve always been too preoccupied with my mechanics work to do this. “After all, without you and your mag boots, I probably would’ve never managed to get out of there.”

  Neither of them was quite sure how to continue the conversation, but both waited expectantly for the other to speak, leading to an awkward silence as they shifted their weight back and forth. The longer they kept eye contact, the more they felt a subtle tension building—a tension that needed to be released. It was Blender who finally broke it.

  “I, uh, have something for you too,” she said, rummaging for any random doodad near her pilot seat that So-mi might appreciate. Her eyes fell on a comb, and she hurriedly grabbed it. There’s no sentimental value to it, she thought, but I can’t let her out-gift me. She extended the comb as an offering, trying to resist the urge to hold her breath.

  So-mi reached out, their skin making the briefest contact as she took the comb. Their fingertips brushed, and Blender’s breath hitched—like static from a jumpdrive, sudden and alive, burning through every receptor in both of their bodies and energizing them instantly.

  The abruptness of it caused a lump to form in So-mi’s throat as she struggled to contain the surge of emotions. I need to get out of here, she thought, quickly pocketing the comb and turning to exit the room in one swift motion. The door hissed closed behind her, leaving Blender standing alone, staring longingly at the door. What did I do wrong? Blender wondered, confusion and hurt shooting through her. Why did she leave so suddenly?

  So-mi, meanwhile, slammed her head against the wall outside the bridge and clenched her fist. Smooth play, she condescendingly remarked to herself. Real smooth. Why did I bolt? She probably thinks I’m a malfunctioning droid. Romance protocols: nonexistent.

  It was then that she realized she wasn’t alone. Two sets of eyes were on her—her loud outburst had drawn their attention like blood in the water draws sharks. Gazrael stood on a table, checking the wiring in the ceiling, his mouth agape as he looked down at her. Leonia, on the other side of the room, was pretending to work on an open panel, though her makeup bag was on the counter, and she was holding up her cracked mirror, drawing little violet hearts around her eyes with eyeshadow. Why are they suddenly inseparable? So-mi wondered. Hours ago, they were screaming at each other.

  She felt the tension as she held Leonia’s gaze, aware of Gazrael still watching her from behind. I’ve walked into an ambush, she thought, feeling flanked. Trying to keep her movements swift and fluid, she ducked for the door across the room, hoping to escape unquestioned. But just before she crossed the threshold, Leonia’s voice cooed, “What were you doing on the bridge? Trying to talk to Blitzer?” There was an underlying implication in her tone.

  “Can you shut up?” So-mi countered, her voice full of venom. “Just mind your own business for once.”

  Leonia lifted her hand to feign offense, but her eyes gleamed, and she smirked. “Oh, you wanted to see Blender.”

  So-mi froze in place. How did she figure that out? Or was she just spitballing, and I just confirmed it by freezing up? She took her last step through the doorway and hooked a right, quickening her pace and hoping neither of them would follow. I don’t need Leonia prying into my love life.

  Luckily, neither Gazrael nor Leonia followed her. She breathed a sigh of relief but continued twisting and turning through the hallways of the corvette as she made her way to the cargo bay—just in case. I don’t want them sneaking up on me, she thought, frequently glancing over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t trailing her.

  Finally, she entered the cargo bay, where Jerec was checking the wiring and Garrett was inspecting the cargo bay door’s security. So-mi crossed her arms, her grease-streaked face hardening. “Jerec—status. And don’t say ‘fine.’”

  Jerec didn’t turn. “Wiring’s loose. Easy fix.”

  Garrett glared up from the cargo door. “This'll hold,” he snapped. “Unless you’re planning to ram a star destroyer, Chief.”

  So-mi’s jaw tightened. “Just get it done. We move in one hour.”

  As she turned away, Garrett muttered, “Real cozy with the boss act.”

  “You’re right, captain,” She shot back. “I am.”

  Jerec nodded, acknowledging her orders, before turning back to his work, Garrett though glared at her, not a fan of taking orders on his own ship, or at least that’s what So-mi assumed. The ship’s in much better condition than I thought, So-mi mused, though I deserve most of the credit for that. The dim lighting must have made the ship look less maintained than it actually was. She moved to the opposite side of the cargo bay, opening a panel to check the wiring. Like Jerec said, it’s looser than it should be. The rest of the ship is fine, so this bay must’ve been rewired when the turbolaser battery was removed to make extra space.

  Every time she remembered that turbolaser emplacement, her face formed a gaunt scowl. I can’t believe Garrett got rid of it to haul imaginary treasure he thought he’d find in dead space. It was a stupid, immature, and ignorant decision. The frustration reminded her that she was the one calling the shots now—not Garrett. I’m the one acting like a captain. So what do we even need him for anymore?

  ***********

  Blitzer and Blender had switched places again. She was now piloting the ship on a straight line forward while he ran every possible scan he could think of—without finding anything. Both positions were boring, and both could have likely been handled by a single pilot paying only half attention. About half an hour had passed since So-mi left the bridge, but both Blender and Blitzer still had her brief visit on their minds.

  Blender struggled to stay awake. Almost on the dot every two minutes, her head dipped, and everything went dark before she shook herself back awake. “We couldn’t have just fired up the hyperdrive? Not like we were gonna hit any shadows,” she said irritably.

  Blitzer turned away from the scans to face her. “So-mi needed time to get the ship fixed up. Besides, we can’t actually rule out the possibility of there being something on our trajectory yet… even if the odds are pretty much stacked in our favor.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s got me crashing at the wheel here,” she replied, shaking her head to keep herself awake.

  He looked at her empathetically and shrugged. “I was fighting to stay awake too. That’s why I wanted to switch.”

  She glanced at him before standing up. “Whatever. We’re flying in a straight line. I’m going to stretch my legs. Might help me wake up.”

  He shot her a short, disappointed glance but said, “Fine. But hurry. I might as well get a walk in too.” He returned to checking his scans, occasionally looking through the viewing panels of the bridge.

  Blender opened the door with a hiss and stepped into the recreation room. She immediately realized her mistake as she found herself flanked on both sides. To her right stood Leonia, her posture straight, an excited, a playful smirk crossing her lips. For whatever reason, Leonia had decided to draw violet hearts around her eyes. It looked gaudy to Blender, but it was appropriately dramatic to match Leonia’s personality—like some kind of iconography for temper tantrums. They hadn’t seemed to notice her yet.

  Leonia was dabbing blue eye shadow across Gazrael’s arm like a layer of paint. “There. Now you match the ship.”

  Gazrael grumbled sarcastically. “Oh yay, now I match this piece of fucking junk like I always wanted.” Blender slowly lifted her foot backwards to go back the way she came but the door hissed shut behind her.

  “Oh, but darling, you’re art now. You should be honored.”

  Gazrael rolled his eyes and grumbled again. “Oh my bad, I’m honored to match this fucking piece of junk.” Blender reached to the side trying to hit the button to activate the door again without them noticing.

  Leonia mockingly pretended to gasp. “You’re right, my brilliance requires an experienced eye for finer aspects of art. This color’s called ‘Eriadu Twilight’.” Just as Blender found the button Leonia’s gaze snapped straight to her, her playful smirk turning into a manic smile, her posture and Gazrael’s both shifting towards her. “Isn’t his arm so much prettier like this?”

  It was clear from their postures and the way they now watched her that they had been waiting for her here. Might as well rip off the bandage myself, she thought. “What do you want? Having issues reaching the top shelf again?”

  Gazrael smirked and chuckled a little, but Leonia glared daggers at him, instantly silencing him. Then she spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Wow, a joke about me being short. You’re such a visionary, Blender. This must be why you have a successful stand-up career.”

  Blender crouched dramatically, mockingly getting to Leonia’s eye level. Doing so made her realize she was even taller than she’d thought. I utterly tower over her, she thought with a smirk. “Wow, sarcasm. That’s original. Did you invent that yourself?”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Leonia’s eyes narrowed into slits, but then she smirked. “Now, how’s your brother gonna take that broken heart you’re gonna dish up to him?”

  “What the hell are you talking about, runt?” Blender snapped.

  Leonia started singing, her voice trying to sound innocent. “Sara and So-mi sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Then her brother came and started…” She stopped, unsure how to improvise an end to the song, but she had made her point.

  “DON’T CALL ME SARA, YOU LITTLE BRAT!” Blender raised her hand like she was about to slap Leonia, saw Gazrael’s posture shift to intervene, but she froze as the full lyrics sank in. “So-mi and I doing what?”

  Leonia beamed mischievously, unflinching at Blender’s violent threatening motions. “Oh, she’s so madly in love with you. She was just ranting to Gazrael and me about how she wants to marry you and take you to travel the stars together, hand in hand, to infinity, so that you might become immortalized together as a new star in the night sky.”

  Blender blushed. “Di—did she really?” She turned to measure Gazrael’s face, knowing Leonia was too good at lying to pick up deception from her features. Her heart sank as she saw Gazrael look up, smirking as Leonia told her story. When he saw Blender measuring his expression, he turned away, but she already had all she needed to call Leonia on her bluff. “So-mi didn’t tell you any of that. Stop lying.”

  Leonia nonchalantly stuck out her hand, examining her nails. “Okay, so she didn’t say it with her words, but she likes you. She does want to travel the stars with you for infinity and become immortalized with you. I found her diary tucked under a hydrospanner tray in the engineering bay. Guess even our resident mechanic needs to vent to something that isn’t a circuit board.” She lowered her hand, reaching behind her and producing a small book, verifying her claims. She opened it and flipped through the pages. “Ahhh, yes, here it is. ‘I look out into the stars and I see a million little lights. Each finds its way within me, not like far-off places, but like untapped possibilities. I wish to explore each of them and to understand each possibility that, so far in my life, I have missed. I know that in at least one of those stars, I’d find the possibility of her and I together, holding each other, her blonde hair shining brighter than any of the other stars could, immortalizing our moment forever as the glint of it shoots across space like any other light, our love being viewed across the universe like the solitary star it is.’”

  Leonia snapped the book closed, holding it to her chest and letting out an exaggerated sigh. “Ah, what a poet she is. I’m not even sure she understands what she’s talking about in some of these entries.”

  Gazrael cut in, disrupting Leonia’s flow as he called back to her explanation of where they’d gotten the small book. “By ‘earlier,’ she means we just got back from the engineering bay like five minutes ago.”

  Leonia glanced daggers at him, speaking venomously. “Yes, thank you for the clarification, darling, but how about you let me talk to her?” He smirked, finding humor in derailing her scheme, even if only briefly.

  Darling? Blender thought to herself. Are these two asswipes an actual couple now? She pushed the thought out of her head, refocusing on the conversation. “You shouldn’t be snooping through people’s private belongings,” she said, reaching out and taking the diary from Leonia. She tried not to comment on the passage Leonia had read aloud, worried she’d spark her own interest in the book if she allowed herself to linger on the words.

  Leonia didn’t struggle. In fact, excitement flashed across her eyes as Blender took the small book. The flash of excitement was enough to clue Blender in that she was playing right into Leonia’s scheming by taking the book. But she couldn’t permit letting the psychotic little brat have all of So-mi’s most private thoughts at her fingertips. Leonia smiled, sliding the book open as Blender took it from her, gesturing down to the page she’d opened. “It’s all right there. So-mi really likes you.”

  Blender ignored the urge to look for herself, suppressing it, killing it violently, refusing to entertain the idea of invading So-mi’s privacy. She slapped the book closed. A look of disappointment flashed over Leonia’s face. She hadn’t expected Blender’s resolve to do the right thing to be so strong. But then she repeated her question from the start of their confrontation. “So, how’s your brother gonna take that broken heart you’re gonna dish up to him?”

  “Excuse me?” Blender shot back.

  “Oh, like we haven’t all seen the way he looks at So-mi—that longing little puppy-dog stare.” She glanced at Gazrael to back up her observation, and he quickly complied. He bluntly stated, “He fucks her with his eyes when he thinks no one is watching.”

  Leonia looked at him approvingly. “Yes, dear, why Blitzer does look at So-mi with a certain lust in his eyes, doesn’t he?” She then returned her attention to Blender. “I was just being helpful and letting you know your brother might not approve of your romantic interest. Sibling rivalry can be such a hurtful thing, after all, don’t you think?” With that, she abruptly turned, leaving the recreation room, marching with a sense of purpose. Gazrael didn’t follow her, instead leaving for his own destination, leaving Blender alone with So-mi’s diary.

  Blender wondered what Leonia could possibly understand about sibling rivalry, given she seemed to be an only child. But she had no more time or energy to waste on Leonia’s stupid game.

  She still wanted to take a walk, but the impromptu conversation had eaten up too much time. She knew it was Blitzer’s turn to stretch his own legs, so instead, she turned, opening the door to the bridge and setting So-mi’s diary down by her piloting seat. “Okay, Blitzer, take a walk. I’ll hold down the fort.”

  ***********

  There was some relief in Gazrael’s steps as he finally separated from Leonia for the first time since he’d been ordered to lock her in her quarters. Finally, some peace, he thought. He was free to pursue his own devices instead of being her wingman as she made this journey as painful for everyone else as possible. Unlike the girls, who each had their own quarters, Jerec, Blitzer, Gazrael, and even Garrett—despite being the captain—had to share a cramped barracks space. The ship was big enough for everyone to have personal quarters; the standard layout for a Sphyrna-class vessel could accommodate sixteen separate quarters, each large enough for two beds. It was only Garrett’s strange “modifications” and restructuring of the ship’s interior that made quarters space feel so scarce. Probably hoped giving the girls their own rooms would increase his chances of sleeping with one of them, Gazrael thought bitterly. Too bad it takes more than claustrophobic quarters to woo anyone.

  Gazrael lifted the mattress to reveal the small cubby where he stored his private belongings. After rummaging through the space, he found his blaster pistol—a DC-17 relic from the Clone Wars, its Republic insignia barely visible under scratches and carbon scoring. Next, he pulled out a faded holograph: a younger Dionisia Anata, her posture rigid in a crisp Republic Navy uniform, a rare smile softening her stern features, tucked between 4 identical men in Navy uniforms. The picture was older than Gazrael himself, she'd retired when he was born to give her more time to raise him

  He holstered the blaster, its weight familiar. This weapon had fought for a democracy—one his mother still believed in. Leonia’s mocking voice echoed in his head as if she was the narrator of his thoughts: “Your mommy couldn't handle real order with the Empire? How quaint.” He put the picture down feeling a pang of regret. Ironic, mom wouldn't approve of me dating Leonia. He took a deep breath. Gonna have to think about how to rip that bandage off and tell her next time Garrett lets me send a transmission.

  He put the pic down and closed the door, picking up the guitar, he began to pluck at the strings, trying to find the notes for the melody Leonia had been humming earlier. Maybe if I can figure out the song, I can understand why she won’t sing the lyrics loud enough to hear, he thought. The melody was familiar, but Leonia’s version had twists and turns that made it feel original—or maybe she was just humming it wrong. He continued to play with the tune, trying to reverse-engineer whatever changes she’d made to personalize it. He'd always been in to harder music, Anaxes was famous for its war college, but most didn't value its underground music scene; hard, energetic and intense, not too different from Leonia, fitting that mom never approved of his music taste and involvement in the scene growing up either.

  “What are you doing in here?” So-mi’s voice made him jump, interrupting his playing. “You’re supposed to be working.”

  He set the guitar down and stood, putting his hands on his hips to mimic her posture. “I don’t take orders from you.”

  She noticed the blaster now holstered at his side and narrowed her eyes. “You expecting some trouble, Gazrael?”

  “Yeah,” he shot back. “I’ve been hearing you and Garrett talk about how we’re likely walking into a fight for the last several hours. Sorry for acting like it.”

  “Are you planning on pointing it out a window and firing it that way?” She hoped the absurdity of the idea would shut him down, but Gazrael was nothing if not petty.

  “Maybe I am,” he said, folding his arms. “What do you need now? More rewiring?”

  A quick sigh of relief escaped her lips as she thought she might not have to argue with him about the new orders. “No. I need you to familiarize yourself with the laser cannons. You and Jerec would make the most sense as gunners.”

  “You’re aware Leonia is a trained gunner, right? She went to the Imperial Academy, after all.” She knows this, he thought. Leonia doesn’t exactly hide that.

  “Sure, your girlfriend has a bunch of amazing skills from school.” So-mi replied, folding her arms sternly. “But neither you nor Jerec know how to help with most repairs besides rewiring, and she does… kind of. We’ll need her to help with that.” The brief relief she’d felt at his initial compliance was quickly ripped away. Why does he always have to make things difficult? “Do you have a problem with those orders?”

  “Yeah, I do. Like I already said, I don’t take orders from you.”

  “Oh, sure,” she snapped. “I’ll just tell Garrett, and then he’ll tell you personally. Nice to know you want us to run this ship like a bureaucracy all of a sudden.” She paused, deciding to push a verbal knife into him as punishment for his defiance. “Do you know what the problem with you is, Gazrael?”

  She didn’t let him respond before continuing, her tone blunt and cutting. “You’re so empty. You’re like the cockpit of a ship drifting through space with no pilot—directionless, purposeless. So empty that another person just has to sit down in your cockpit, and they can change everything about where you’re going without even the mildest resistance. Don’t let that person be Leonia. You already know she’s not good for you.”

  He crossed his arms, his expression hardening. “That’s none of your fucking business.”

  “Oh, is it? Is it not my business? Then don’t parade all up and down the ship together like you’re conjoined at the hip.”

  “Just because you’re too scared to be more forward with Sara doesn’t mean you get to be a bitch about how Leonia and I act,” he shot back. She’s always judging, he thought. “We’re not fucking in front of you, we’re not keeping you awake with moans, we haven’t even kissed in front of any of you, and you treat us like we’ve been scandalous. You can actually fuck all the way off.” He stretched out his arm in a circular motion to emphasize ‘all the way’.

  Her eyes darkened. She hadn’t expected him to defend his relationship with Leonia so passionately. Since when did he care this much? she wondered. If someone had told her this morning that Gazrael actually liked Leonia, she would’ve called them a liar. Yet here he was, showing a conviction she’d never seen in him before. What changed?

  Not getting a response, he added one final remark. “Just let me have something that makes me happy.”

  “I see,” she said coldly. “Perhaps you’re not directionless. You’ve just always been going the wrong direction. I know you think you found a guiding light for your life or something, but I assure you that girl is going to lead you so far into the darkness that the void will look bright in comparison” With that, she turned and walked away. “Get familiar with the laser cannons.”

  He watched as she stepped into the elevator, her eyes locking with his until the doors closed, blocking her from view. Fine, he thought, securing his blaster in its holster. He didn’t like her telling him what to do, but her orders made sense. Better to know how to use the weapons before we reach our destination, besides, knowing how they work will help keep my Starlight safe like I promised

  The walk to the firing station was quick. Despite the winding corridors, the ship wasn’t that big. They were never more than a hallway or two away from someone else. The main cargo bay lay just beneath the engineering bay, the girls’ quarters were below the recreation room, and the men’s barracks were just above it. The ship had seven floors in total. He took the elevator down a floor, entered the recreation room, and opened the door to the bridge with a hiss. Ignoring Blender* who was now running the bridge alone, he turned left. The door to the firing deck slid open with another hiss, and he stepped inside, feeling Blender’s attention shift back to her work. She’s not interested in what I’m doing, and I’m not interested in what she’s doing.

  The firing deck was more spacious than he’d expected but far from comfortable. The firing deck reeked of ionized metal and stale coolant. Gazrael’s boots stuck to the floor with every step, as if the ship itself resisted his presence. Three monitors lined the wall: one for the port-side heavy laser emplacement at the fore of the ship and two for the port-side laser cannons near the aft. The starboard side probably has the same setup, he thought. He assumed the ship’s targeting computers could handle the lighter laser cannons, so he took the monitor for the heavy laser cannon. The controls were intuitive enough, and he quickly figured out how to swivel and fire the weapon. As Gazrael adjusted the cannon’s scope, Leonia’s voice echoed in his head: ‘Aim true, darling. The best shots are the ones no one sees coming.’ She’d never said that to him but he could vividly hear it in his head anyways, responding in his thoughts as if he was actually talking to her, that's right Starlight, always shoot first before your enemy even knows your fighting. He fired a short volley, the lack of recoil and sound making the experience unsatisfying. No thrill, no impact. Just watching blaster beams on a monitor.

  He fired a few more volleys, more out of obligation than anything else. How am I supposed to familiarize myself with this thing when there’s nothing to shoot at? he wondered. Moving to the next monitor, he tested the controls for one of the aft laser cannons. The smaller cannons were quicker and easier to maneuver, designed to strafe and screen against fast-moving fighters. But they’d struggle against larger targets, he thought. That’s what the turbo laser would’ve been for—if we still had one.

  The thought of the missing turbo laser—sacrificed for more hangar space—filled him with the same frustration So-mi felt toward Garrett. Maybe we could bond over it later, he thought. But he knew they wouldn’t. His sudden closeness to Leonia had degraded his credibility in the eyes of the crew—at least among those who’d picked up on the relationship.

  +++++++++

  Blender sat on the hard floor next to her piloting seat, a small marble before her that she knocked back and forth with her fingers, desperately hoping the dull little game would numb the boredom eating at the back of her mind. Small pieces of exercise equipment lay scattered around her; she had already finished as much of her daily routine as she could from the confines of the bridge. This is torture, she thought, staring at the marble as it rolled lazily across the floor. Stuck here, doing nothing, while the galaxy stretches out around us. What’s the point of being a pilot if I’m just babysitting sensors?

  Occasionally, she saw blaster fire pass through her peripheral vision as Gazrael fired one of the ship’s weapons. He’s probably as bored as I am, she mused. But neither of us is going to leave our post just to keep the other company. Her only companions were the whirring, beeping, and hums of the various sensors and instruments at the back of the bridge, still on loops, repeating the same readings over and over: Nothing out there. Nothing out there. Nothing out there.

  That was, until finally, one of the machines started making a sharp, loud beep—and then repeated it. For a second, Blender felt a flicker of relief. Finally, something to do. But that thought was quickly extinguished as she remembered the reality of their mission. Whatever we’re about to find, we don’t want it to find us first. She scrambled to her feet and hurried over to the machine that was making the noise. The display showed a radiation signature—strong, and still a good distance away, but unmistakably at the end of their plotted trajectory. This is it. This is what we’ve been searching for.

  She checked the other instruments, but nothing else came up. No physical objects, no short-range or distant energy signatures, no transmissions—just the eerie radiation signature, devoid of any other readings. It’s like a ghost, she thought, her unease growing. A formless, invisible thing that doesn’t belong here.

  Blender looked forward out the windows of the bridge, squinting to see if she could spot anything. Directly in their course, she saw a tiny yellow speck, easily dismissed as a distant star at first. But it was growing larger and larger as the ship thrusted ever forward to meet it. What is that? she wondered, her heart rate picking up. And why does it feel… wrong?

  She reached for the PA system, her fingers fumbling slightly as she turned it on. “Bridge to all crew,” she announced, her voice tinged with nervous energy. “Our destination is sighted.”

  The object in the distance continued to grow steadily larger, its yellow glow intensifying as the Koiyokan drew closer. Blender stared at it, her mind racing. What are we walking into? And are we ready for it?