Starhold Vesta

Chapter 2

The starboard side of the HMS Valediction captures our view. We are unable to see any of the surrounding stars as the berth of my home ship blocks it all. Her enormous name spans the side of her sleek hull. HMS VALEDICTION.

"When we're gone so long, I forget how big the Val is," I say.

"No matter how big the cage, the rat will always feel trapped," Moon says.

"What fortune cookie gave you that gem?"

"Five hundred years of miserable life experiences."

I used to flinch every time Moon used his brutal past on the Olympi to manipulate me into feeling bad for him. Doesn't work anymore. "Can the rats be a little less mopey, please? I'm actually excited to be home."

"You asked."

"I regret it."

As we enter HMS Valediction air space, we are welcomed warmly from the tower. It took a while to get used to new protocols that were infinitely more lax than the militia training I received, but it still felt good to have a procedure.

"Welcome home, Lorn."

"Thank you, Dock. We're thrilled to be back," I say. "Entering hangar seven."

My landing is so light, we barely tap the deck as my ship touches down. Even in the clunky nature of Xani machinery, my flights are like cream. I quickly unharness myself and rush to the exit, John tik tik tik tik tik-ing at my heels. Behind him is the ever-present muffled whirr of Moon's mechanical bones. I close my eyes waiting for the click—that perfect docking noise of fitting into place and being stuck there for as long as I allow it. My hangar door shuts out the field of stars. I don't feel the woosh of the hangar pressurizing outside my ship, but I watch the pile of limbs LEDI had once used for a surrogate body jostle as the air knocks against it. When his movement stops and the green light above the hangar door ignites, I slap my hand against my port and strut down the gangway. The smell of my hangar is the same as when I left it—ignited with pungent fuels. I inhale a lungful and exhale away my stress.

We stride through the hangar and receive our customary homecoming welcome. Smiles and waves greet us around every corner and hang from every high rafter of the HMS Valediction docks. Stories above our heads, people peer from around the metal they're scrubbing, or the drop ship they're fixing.

I nod in response to their honest joy. I don't sweat under the attention like I used to. Moon walks like the perpetual rod up his ass has wedged itself an inch higher. He practically runs past the halls when HMS residents peer from their cabins to welcome us back.

"Good to see you again, Captain!" they say.

"The place hasn't been the same without you, Lorn. We're glad to have you back in one piece," others say.

As we leave the long narrow halls from the hangars, we squeeze into the elevator. John crawls up to the ceiling and perches there as we ride up. In the quiet ascension, I fiddle with the zipper on my jacket.

"You're nervous," Moon says.

I can tell he's staring at me, but I don't look his way. "No."

"You two haven't gone this long without reconciling. Could this be the end of your doomed romance?"

I bury the flinch down as far as it will go. "We're fine."

Moon places his finger on the emergency stop button hidden in the elevator console. We jolt to a stop.

"What the hell!"

Ledi's tinny elevator voice picks up over the speaker. "Captain Moon—do you need assistance."