Chapter 7: Kelta
Thruster lifts off and guides us down the slope to the access point in the ground near my ship. It’s a strange sensation to fly in so many directional planes with such ease. Maneuvering a starship is much slower and stiffer than Thruster’s moves. He is cautious, head on a swivel, as he hovers us, feet first over the tunnel.
“Deep breath.” His voice rumbles like his engines, warped by the heat rippling up from his body.
I inhale and tighten my grip around him, then look down at the dark hole in the desert floor. His boots roar and glow with the thrust of his engines—the world around us a mirage. His body is hot, smooth, and stacked with hard muscle as it presses against me. Engines in his arms and palms blaze as he fine-tunes our position.
“I trust you.” It’s a promise and a prayer.
He shuts off his engines. They seal up inside his body, and we drop.
My stomach greets my throat, strangling my cry of disorientation. I’m still not used to gravity. Sand rushes past us, coating my sweaty skin. Darkness replaces the light as I wrench my eyes shut.
Thruster’s body slows and bobs like he’s taking large steps. The sand pours away from our bodies, and he stops. “Okay. Hurry.”
I open my eyes to a narrow tunnel and the sound of my rap-trance music blasting from the ship.
Well, something is still working.
Unfolding myself from Thruster's body, I turn to see my ship, half-buried in the sand and rock, a few glimmers of sunlight peeking in from the desert's surface. Sand has encased my ship. There's no salvaging the vessel itself, as much as I had hoped there would be. The front is completely caved in. If I hadn't freed my seat manually, I would've been a meat sandwich.
Thruster shakes his whole body, freeing it of sand, then opens his engine hatches, venting so much heat that it looks like he's swimming in that beautiful creek.
The rear docking hatch of VAL is accessible, and I stumble through the soft, loose piles of sand to the door. The latch is heavy and groans when I try to open it. Main power is down. The speakers are working, which tells me at least one of my power stacks isn't damaged. Unfortunately, it doesn't help the rear access. I fight the pressure-sensitive mechanical backup, trying to pull it open.
Thruster cautiously reaches an arm around me and turns the lever with ease.
“Show off.”
His nose grazes my ear. “Just ask for help next time.”
I look up at him, at the sincerity on his face, and for a moment, I want to kiss him. But I know that this life, in this universe, isn't kind to love if my parents and my fleet are any indication. I'm unsure if I want to feel too connected to anyone again. I've lost enough people that I'm tired of it.
But that hot body of his…I’d be lying if I said I never wanted to be close to him again.
“We should get going.” Thruster nods into my ship.
I step inside and slide down the sloped platform toward my cockpit. Breaking free my communication and data drives covered with scorch marks, I pack them away in my bag.We can at least try to get something off of them.
Thruster surveys the interior. “You built this?”
“Yep. That’s why it’s so small. I like quality, not size.”
“Is this your music?”
“Old tunes downloaded from the Sol system.” I climb back to my weapons storage and armor compartments. “They had so much back then. Sometimes, I wonder if they could’ve seen the future, this future, if maybe they would’ve been better to each other.”
“The only thing we can do now is try not to repeat the same mistakes,” he replies, running a finger over VAL’s name badge. It glows in the walkway near her core. “VAL?”
“Vengeance Assault Lightjet. I wish she had AI, but I couldn’t seem to get the programming right. She’s got some Solcrue parts. I don’t think they got along well with the others.”
I direct him to a nearby cabinet. "Dig through that. Grab anything you want or that we can use. I'm going to pack up what I can of my things."
I slip past Thruster into my old bedroom, wishing I could take everything. But I must carry what I take. So I can only take what I can carry.
Thruster peeks into my sleeping quarters on his way to the weapons cabinet as I pull out my armored spacesuit and body harness for everything from guns to tools and tethers. I pass the blankets, pillows, and fancy red high heels I found two salvages ago. I leave the sentimental gifts from my siblings for the useful handguns from my younger brother, the special thermal shirt and pants my older brother gave me, and the tablet from my father, the one with pictures of our family, our privateconversations, and records from the fleet among other useful tidbits of information I think Thruster and the Titan rebels will want to look at.
"Grab the power stack while you're at it?" I call out to him.
