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I tilt my head back and peer up into the cloudy sky. Earth is out there somewhere, and soon I will be on my way there.
Navik's deep baritone draws my attention. I look back over my shoulder to watch him carry a boxy piece of equipment inside the hold of his ship.
He risked his life to save mine. How can I ask him to do it again?
His head turns as he walks up the ramp. His icy gaze locks with mine. My insides flutter and I'm afraid it's more than just gratitude that turns my knees to jelly. For a brief, fanciful moment, I wonder what it would be like to be his mate.
Qhix had said I was truly a Kaul’s mate by refusing to leave Navik’s side. Despite our rocky beginnings, it just felt wrong to be away from him, especially while he was hurt. What if he had woken up and needed me?
Navik's eyes hold a certain intensity that sends my heart racing, but I know it's foolish to entertain such thoughts. We come from different worlds. Though I haven’t had the chance to reaffirm our bargain, we will soon part ways. Call me a fool, but I don’t believe Navik will renege on his end.
Navik disappears into the hold, and I'm left standing alone, wondering why I'm so drawn to him. Is it the danger he exudes or the way he saved me from certain death? I shake my head, attempting to clear the thoughts from my mind.
Soon enough, they've transferred the contents of the hauler into Navik's ship and it's time to say goodbye to Qhix.
"Until again, brother," Qhix slaps a fist over his heart.
"Until again, Qhix." Navik mimics Qhix's farewell.
"Thanks for everything, Qhix." I pat my pocket where I've stashed the beacon he gave me and jut out my hand. When Qhix simply eyes it, perplexed, I explain, "It's called a handshake."
Qhix glances at Navik first before clasping my hand in his much larger, blue one.
"Until again, Cora of Earth." Qhix releases me and steps back. "Safe travels to you both."
With a final wave, Qhix boards the hauler and returns to his ship. Navik turns and places his palm on the hull where a light sweeps across it.
Navik leads me up the ramp, through the ship, and to the cockpit, guiding me with a warm palm pressed to the small of my back, his familiar touch sending tingles over my skin.
I can't help the feel of excitement thrumming through me when I see the cockpit for the first time. This is a side of Navik I've never seen before, his ship a representation of the life he leads as a Star Maverick. The notorious space pirate, Navik T'Jarik, I heard the warden talk so much about, and here I am aboard his vessel that's, no doubt, stolen.
He guides me to a seat at the console that spans the entire front of the ship. It’s filled with buttons, switches, and screens, all displaying information I can't begin to comprehend. The walls are lined with a variety of controls and monitors, like something from a science fiction movie.
Just like the Moktian vessel, there are seats bolted to the floor. Only this craft has two instead of three.
The front window I saw tinted from the outside offers a panoramic view of Neptus. There's not much to see except for Qhix's boxy ship parked off in the distance. The ground is covered in a thick layer of powdery dirt, the sky is more gray than blue that's almost oppressive. There's no sign of life or vegetation, just an eerie stillness that hangs in the air like a thick fog.
We take our seats and watch Qhix drive the hauler into his vessel before he leaves the ground. His engines roar as the boxy craft rises from Neptus's surface. The ship is quickly swallowed up by a cloud of dust and debris, obscuring it from view. A few moments later, the engines fire again and Qhix's vessel shoots off into space.
Navik's fingers move over the controls with deft expertise. "Ready to visit your first space port?"
"Yes." I settle back into the seat beside him, feeling a rush of excitement at the prospect of exploring a new world with him there to protect me.
The ship hums as we rise slowly into the air. We hover for a moment, then the ship accelerates. The force of the takeoff pushes me back into my seat as we leave Neptus. The planets in the solar system glimmer in the light from the two suns, some with rings of dust and debris surrounding them. Once we travel farther out into the galaxy, the stars seem so bright and close, it’s like I could reach out and touch them.
Navik brings up a holographic map filled with hundreds of galaxies. The shifting colors cast an otherworldly glow across his glossy, blue face.
"This is us." Navik traces a line from our current location to a spiraling blue and white galaxy. "We should reach the space port on Etto in a few hours."
It's hard for me to comprehend how it's possible to travel from one galaxy to another in a matter of hours. What's ordinary for Navik is nothing short of miraculous to me.
I lean forward, studying all the swirling galaxies. "Where's Earth in all this?"
Navik touches his fingers to the map, sweeping through the expanse of the Universe until he reaches the Milky Way.
"Here." He points to a galaxy with a spiral of stars resembling a pinwheel. It looks just like the depictions I've seen before.
"That's a long way from where we are," I gulp.
