When Lira’s father died from Wexen Pox, a great sweeping disease that took out many on Adhira, her mother had shut down. Then she’d drowned herself in bottles of Griss, refusing help when the need for the drink became too strong. Eventually, she left in the night without a word, leaving Lira and her twin brother, Lon, behind. The last Lira had heard, her mother was still living on Adhira, near the Endless Sea, shacking it up with a gilled man who drank more than the sea creatures he made his living catching.
Without their mother’s sister, Lira and Lon would have been alone as children. But their aunt had swept into their lives, welcoming them into her home. They were well cared for, well loved. But each year they grew. And with growth came responsibility.
The family career. Their aunt had no children to take up the job when she died, and so the offer had gone to Lira. She’d refused it, time and time again.
She’d spent her days training and studying how to pilot a ship instead of attending lessons with her aunt.
Lon had encouraged her all along, knowing it gave her joy, but hoping it would not be what determined her future.
And so when Lira had packed her bags and left... She’d never forget the look on her twin’s face. As if she’d just betrayed him. As if she’d reopened the wound their mother gave them both years before. It was the very same look Lira thought she saw in Andi’s eyes when Lira left her in chains, surrounded by guards in Dark Matter.
It was just her mind playing tricks. Pulling at her weakness. Andi had planned for that capture to happen, step by step. But seeing it play out was an entirely different thing.
Again, Lira’s scales heated.
Again, she forced them to cool.
It was why she slept on metal, and with no sheets. Because the dreams became too real, and by the time she’d awoken, any bedclothes would have burned to cinders anyway.
A knock on the door pulled Lira from her thoughts.
It swung open, revealing Breck and Gilly again.
“I’m just resting,” Lira blurted out. A stupid, unbelievable lie.
Breck frowned, her hands on her hips. She had to duck to keep her head from hitting the doorway as she entered. “You’re sulking, Lira. And Marauders don’t sulk alone.”
Gilly tossed a deck of cards onto Lira’s lap. An expensive edition of Fleet, a game widely played across Mirabel.
“I just beat Breck,” she said, twirling one of her red braids around her finger. “And I think I would also like to beat you.”
Lira sighed. She couldn’t be beaten. Gilly knew it.
But she also knew how to make Lira feel better when it felt as if the galaxy was pressing in around her.
“Come on, then,” Lira said, waving the girls inside. Gilly giggled and settled cross-legged on Lira’s metal cot, smiling as she dealt out the glowing cards.
Lira looked down at her hand. A good set of armor, a solid few soldiers, but her weapon? Of course—a Godstars-damned sword. It was as if fate was laughing at Lira, reminding her constantly of Andi’s absence on the ship.
“What if they don’t make it out?” Gilly asked, laying down her first card.
An Explorer ship, quickly followed up by a fully trained pilot.
Plenty of attack power.
Lira cleared her throat, staring out the window at the floating pieces of twisted metal as she laid down a card to cancel Gilly’s attack ability for the turn. “They’ll make it out,” Lira said, even though she herself didn’t quite believe it. “Trust me. And if you can’t trust me, then trust Andi.”
“We trust you,” Breck said. She frowned as Lira dug into her pocket and popped a chunk of Moon Chew into her mouth. “If you keep chewing that stuff, you’re going to make me vomit.”
Moon Chew was her stress reliever. The sickly sweet substance wasn’t to everybody’s liking, but to Lira, it was one of her favorite things.
Lira spat a wad of it into the cup she kept by her cot. “Your turn, Gil.”
“I’ll draw a card instead.”
Lira nodded her permission.
“Andi is only mortal,” Breck said to both girls. “We don’t know who the Xen Pterrans are anymore, or what they’re capable of. If they’ve really got the capability to kidnap Valen Cortas and cart him across the galaxy without being seen or heard...it makes me wonder what they’ve been up to all these years.” She was staring out Lira’s window, ignoring the game of Fleet, as if she were able to see Andi from this distance. “It makes me wonder what else they could do, or have done, without the rest of Mirabel knowing.”
“We just have to hope,” Lira said, “that Andi and Dex have thought of that. And that Soyina can truly be trusted. Because right now...” She sighed as she remembered her aunt saying these very words, years ago, when the Wexen Pox swept across Adhira. “Hope is all we have.”
“Hope is a raging asshole,” Gilly said.
“Explain to me, Gilly,” Breck said with a sigh, “how exactly can an asshole rage?”
Lira choked on a sudden, unexpected laugh. “I swear, the two of you. You were both born with my brother’s sarcastic soul.”
“You’re dead,” Gilly said suddenly, slamming down three rare red-glowing cards.
Lira absentmindedly set down three more, the stats already having formed in her mind, the win instantaneous. “Apologies, Gil.”
Gilly howled a round of fresh curses, and Breck silently shook her head, finally giving up on censoring the young gunner’s language.
They played three more rounds, and soon Lira lost herself in the laughter of her friends, the swift dealing of cards from her fingertips, the revel in each and every win.
It wasn’t until she heard the knock on the door and turned to see Alfie walk in that the terrified ache returned to her chest. And a sudden smell came along with it, pungent and horrid enough to make her eyes water.
Gilly jumped up off the cot, her cards scattering to the floor, their light winking out. “How did you escape?”
Breck’s head whipped to her. “What are you talking about, Gil?”
Alfie glided over silently, his head tilted to the side. The smell arrived in full force with him. “With help from the Marauder’s Artificial Intelligence system, I was able to unscrew the bolts on the waste bay’s door to remove myself from the room. It would be most appreciated if you would remove further attacks on me from your in-flight agenda. It is in the best interest of your mission.”
Lira sat there, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Then a large bark sounded from across the room as Breck doubled over laughing. “Gilly, you beautiful little demon. You actually did it! You locked him in the waste bay!”
Gilly smiled smugly and crossed her arms.
Then a thought came to Lira. “Alfie, did you rebolt the door to the waste bay?”
Alfie cocked his oval head. Lira could see the gears moving in his body, as if he was deeply pondering her question.
“No, I did not reassemble the door. The mechanic bots should be reassembling it now.”
The three girls let out an exasperated moan.
“Alfie, you idiot,” Gilly groaned. “We don’t have mechanic bots on this ship.”
Lira bent over and nearly gagged from the smell.
Before they could let all hell loose on Alfie, the ship’s cool female voice spoke over their heads.
“Incoming message for Lira Mette.” After a moment, Memory added, “Hello, Alfie.”
Alfie glanced up. “Memory’s voice is very enticing to my inner programming. I should like to converse with her when you are done, Lira Mette.”