The next day arrived, and the Rust Burn was still stationed at the landing pad. The crew had waited for the arrival of another ship to drop off cargo to transfer to them for an extended route. The job was paid in advance for transfer, delivery, and confidentiality, now they continued waiting.
Since their embrace from the previous night, it didn’t take long for the shift to be made or noticed between them, mainly from Lucian. In moments of proximity, he would find an excuse to be near her. He checked on her while she helped Rosha perform maintenance on a power conduit, meditated out on the landing platform, or waited for her to return when volunteering for odd jobs on another boat.
Each time, Kazia found his gaze fixed on her. Not the usual clinical precision, but in a way that prompted him to redirect his gaze every time she looked at him. She wondered what might have been going through his mind since last night, especially after his outburst.
Kazia never thought to see him distressed, even though he was often calm and collected. But to think he had such profound experiences to convince him that he was unworthy of a partner, made her feel sympathy for him. To recall, Kazia placed a gentle hand on her side, where an incision was still fading. Lucian had spent medical supplies meant for an outpost to fix her up, to keep her from slipping away into the Void.
She had seen Lucian treating various people, of all races, with kindness and respect; not a hint of contempt or seeking to belittle anyone. Kazia even felt his attraction towards her, giving her a chance to flourish on her own life. Lucian didn’t abandon her to chance, nor did he demand compensation for her life. To her, the Terran was a strong man and she wanted to see where that led with her newfound freedom.
While lying back on top of the Rust Burn, soaking up the long morning light of the Sun, she continued to contemplate before the roaring of a set of engines grew louder. They weren’t the spluttering rumbles of an underwater engine, but of a starship arriving overhead.
Kazia sat up, scanning the sky for the vessel after a flock of red-feathered birds flew over, no doubt fleeing from the unnatural mechanical roaring. The ship, a forward T-shaped craft with external afterburners and light armor, from her trained eye, flew low, kicking up a gust of wind and Kazia’s hair before it came lower, landing on the pad strip of the carrier ship, ushered by flight control until it landed.
“Hey, girl!” Gosha’s rustic voice called out from below.
Kazia crawled to the edge of the hull, peering at the small man from above. “Yes sir!” She responded, still voicing herself as a soldier out of an old habit.
Gosha’s head shot up, his green eyes spotting her head from over the ship. “First, get off of my ship!” He stomped, hurling his fists in agitated circles. “Secondly, that craft just now, our cargo is on it. Get it and bring it back here without a scratch! Rosli is helping with ship maintenance.” He barked. “And find your Terran, too. We leave in an hour.”
“My Terran?”
Gosha scoffed, amused at the question. “Don’t offend me. You two might not be sharing a bunk, but your eyes are eager.”
There was a long silence as Kazia simply lay across the hull, staring down at Gosha. He looked back up from the data pad he carried to stare back, waiting for a response. He found her looking away, her face turning color.
Gosha waved her down. She jumped from the top of the ship, using the side of the vessel’s hull to slow her descent with surprising dexterity. Kazia dropped to her feet before him. The old captain studied her face for a moment, determining something.
“After you told me of our visitor, I hoped the kid wasn’t making a rash choice.” Gosha became moderate in his tone, something Kazia couldn’t place. “Go easy on him, is all I ask.”
Kazia made the distinction of a father expressing concern of a son. She found this heartening and accepted this as a blessing. Not a familial one, but one that still held significant weight. A reminder that ships, such as the Rust Burn, often held supportive clans; even those that butt heads. Kazia took note of this.
“Don’t worry. I need to last a long time.” She winked in agreement, before heading off, but stopped for a moment. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Whether she meant to say that to herself or in open admittance, it didn’t much matter. She simply continued one.
It took a moment, but Kazia carried herself with a confident stride, her positive emotions guiding her steps. She passed by several ships, both spacefaring and ocean-capable vessels brought out of the sea from maintenance. While doing so, she brought up the messages on her Net-link, typing to Lucian on the coming departure preparations, before reaching the delivery pilot’s ship.
The girl was an Oraxian, a race of gem-like beings who were geometrically ornate. This particular individual possessed a slight feminine build, despite her symmetrical and sharp exterior. Her body held green shades of color with wave-like patterns, making her appear even more striking in the dingy dark pilot jacket, leather top, pants, and boots.
She held a data pad close to her body, her crystalline head that looked to be in a swept-back helmet, turning to and fro, her yellow eyes on the lookout while having not left the cover of her ship. Spotting Kazia's approach, the Oraxian woman stepped back a bit before registering the positive energy in her body language.
“A-a-are here for the shipment?” The Oraxian woman’s voice was surprisingly high-pitched, making her sound younger and smaller than she appeared.
“That would be me.” Kazia sounded off, her hand going from a mid-salute from across her chest to an odd handshake as a casual greeting.
“Um, yes, here.” The girl shoved the pad to Kazia, her eyes still shifting, looking for something.
Kazia took the data pad, noticing the girl’s frightened stance, as if she was near to crumbling out of fear. She knew something was wrong, but had sensed nothing out of the ordinary. She pressed a confirmation button to transfer ownership and handed it back. Without a word, the girl quickly rushed back up the loading ramp and disappeared. A moment had passed with several bouts of commotion happening out of view, before she emerged again with a remote control that led a cylindrical machine out of the ship’s cargo bay. Once again, the woman didn’t step off the ramp, but tossed Kazia the device.
“Please, take the damn thing!” She yelled.
Kazia caught the remote, allowing the machine to follow thanks to the repulsor lifts underneath it.
“What’s the rush?” Kazia asked, confused from the interaction.
“Just be careful.” The girl squeaked, inching back up the ramp. “I don’t know what’s in that cyro pod, but-.”
Before the conversation finished, Kazia heard it before she felt the impact. The high searing shriek of a high-velocity energy bolt came from her right. Instinctively, she focused on her entire right side before the bolt struck her shoulder. The impact of the projectile struck with force enough to knock her over, throwing her upper body over to hit the ground first, but Kazia was quick to tuck her legs under the roll with the momentum, recovering up on one knee.
Around her body, was a shimmering light that rippled from the shot that would have taken her entire arm clean off. The light faded nearly centimeters from the surface of her body, disappearing completely. Another shot gave off its incoming telegraph, yet now disoriented, Kazia couldn’t guess, but focused her energies to her head before second shot landed, suggesting a headshot was the target. This time the direct hit to her chest knocked the wind out of her before she fell to the ground behind the cyro pod.
Kazia’s vision blurred, her body grew heavy, and pain flared in her chest as a scream was heard nearby. Her mind raced to Lucian, wanting to see him again, wishing he were here to touch him again.
