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"Oh, I'm not travelling home." Heather ran a hand through her long hair, tussling the tresses "Huh, I hadn't realised I didn't consider Earth my home anymore, but it's not. I don't have anything there, anyone there. I'm just picking up supplies and then back to... somewhere that's not quite home either."
I touched her shoulder, hoping that would translate as a reassuring gesture and not a weird flirtation or something creepy. This was not the right time for that.
Jiji screamed bloody murder and hissed at me.
"Hey, that's rude. Heather is not a toy to hoard," I told it in my sternest voice, plucking the qoark off of her and putting it on my bed despite its loud protest. "Hey, don't be like that. No, you don't make the rules. I make the rules. I make the— you're not listening to me. I know you don't have ears but I know you can hear me."
Next to me, Heather released a chuckle. "Jiji reminds me of Timo. He can be a little possessive as well."
I racked my brain. "That's your caca, right?"
She snorted. "Cat, and yes. He hisses at me as well if I move him from his sun spot or if I don't give him enough treats. He's quite a peculiar creature but I love him."
My controlband chimed and a little holograph of Captain Ellabee popped up. "Atina, come to the bridge, stat."
I knew that tone, it meant if she had to ask me twice, it would come with an official warning and a deduction in my pay cheque.
"I have to go. My shift is starting." I grimaced at Heather. "Sorry."
She smiled. "No worries, I should probably stop hogging all your time."
"Hogging..."
"Taking up your time," she clarified with that same adorable smile she always had whenever I didn't understand something.
I tried to tickle Jiji. "I'll be back soon."
The qoark turned its backside to me. No cuddles for me tonight then.
Heather chuckled. "Jiji would get on with Timothy. We should go, your captain sounded urgent."
"Yeah, Captain Ellabee is no joke." I held the door of my cabin open for her. "After you."
"Oh, that's a thing for Kyvens as well." Heather's eyes shimmered. "That's nice, I like that. Can I see you after your shift?"
A warmth grew in my chest. "Yes. I'll come find you."
We parted ways and I was still humming and buzzing as I made my way to the bridge where Captain Ellabee was standing over the control panel. "Let's prepare for take-off."
I frowned. "Take-off? I thought we were going to be stuck for a while."
"We got lucky, another ship landed and one of their technician's took a look. Turns out it's not the ship, it's Lini and Inil. They're sick and causing electrical malfunctions and sending scrambled data into the system. I've unplugged them from the mainframe so we'll have to fly the rest of the way manually until I can hire new support. It's going to cost me a rakking fortune but hey, it's worth it not being stuck here. There's nothing here and the food here gives me the..." she shuddered visibly. "Anyway, find Katak and check the ship. We're not staying here any longer than we need to. Oh, and I'm turning stasis on so I don't have to deal with the hungry rashipis. I'm putting the passengers under as well, I don't want any more problems until we arrive at our destination."
Katak joined us, breathing hard. He must have ran to get here. "What's the emergency?"
Captain Ellabee frowned at him. "There is no emergency."
"Does that mean I ran here for nothing?"
I suppressed a laugh at his indignant expression.
Ellabee stayed cool and professional as always. "I was just telling Atina that we're about to take off. I want you to inform the passengers that the ship is going into stasis mode for the rest of the journey. We're behind schedule already and we'll be able to catch up that way."
"I'll inform the passengers," I said quickly. "Katak can do the launch preparations."
The captain's lips quivered into a wry smile. She'd seen Heather and me at the restaurant, so she had to be aware that there was something building between us. I wasn't quite sure yet what it was or even what it could grow into, but I was glad she didn't tell me not to get involved with a passenger.
"Alright. But get back here as soon as possible. If we have another mishap with the ship, I want my two best pilots ready to deal with it."
