KISMET ─ vento aureo.

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★˚⋆ A LOW BREEZE STIRRED THE ends of Trish's scarf as the two of you waited for the Galactic Authorities to show up. Your crew had been to its fair share of resort colonies and satellites, but Laius really took the cake. If you'd had the time, you wouldn't have been opposed to spending a few nights here. This place was excess and gambling and entertainment bundled into one colony, and you wondered how it could hold itself up from the sheer amount of partying going on here. During your crew's prime, it was exactly the kind of place you would have loved.

Fugo locking the ship's route to Bend Gate IX turned out to be brilliant. Even as the ship's systems had powered off, the mechanics hadn't been able to turn off the main engine and boosters propelling the ship towards the Bend Gate. The ship had passed through the gate at precisely the right moment, and the momentum and force of it had pried off the second ship Zucchero had pulled over the Passione like a glove.

Luckily, all of your crew had ended up on the second, newer ship while Sale and Zucchero were stranded on the old Passione, something you wouldn't have known if Coco Jumbo hadn't come back to its senses to tell you. Once he'd shaken himself off, Narancia had flown over in a spare pod to haul the two back, where they were further incapacitated and shut up in the ship's hold.

After a healthy amount of yelling, finger-pointing and denial, your crew had settled down enough to touch down on Laius, where Pericolo supposedly was. Seeing as you didn't want to become wanted murderers as well as thieves, you and Trish contacted the GA's under the guise of a very traumatized widow and her companion to take Sale and Zucchero off of the crew's hands. The GA's could've seen through the bullshit story immediately, but evidently, the mechanics had more than a few felonies under their belts, because not too many questions were asked.

Nonetheless, Trish had hidden her hair under a large white scarf and a pair of ridiculously huge sunglasses. You were wearing the maintenance uniform from the Hub and Mista's rustly hat from Zero's party. Sale and Zucchero were sitting a ways off, sacks over their heads, and still passed out from everyone using them as punching bags.

From the corner of your eye, you caught Trish trying to hide a wince as she shifted her weight. A needle of guilt went through you. Trish and Narancia hadn't been as badly banged up as Fugo and Mista, but everyone had taken a beating going through the Bend Gate. You were grateful the injuries weren't worse, but it never should have happened to begin with.

"I shouldn't have been so stupid," you murmured, more to yourself than Trish. She looked at you quickly, her mouth downturned.

"How many times do we have to tell you not to blame yourself? It's not your fault Sale and Zucchero came onto the ship. You couldn't have been expected to know."

"But I'm the Captain. And the Passione is my ship. It should have been obvious." Even now, you felt gutted, knowing the ship you'd loved and treated like a crew member was beyond repair. You'd been forced to abandon her in deep space and it felt terrible, leaving her behind after all she'd done for your crew. "I'm the one who wanted us to go on this mission for Zero and look how terribly it's turning out. At this rate, we'll be dead before we ever find the Stand Arrow."

"We've been through worse," Trish huffed. "It's honestly a little insulting that you think so little of us, Captain. Everyone is fine. It takes more than two slimy mechanics to bring us down."

"We lost the Passione," you said quietly. "Isn't that close enough?"

Trish took your hand and squeezed it. Even after all this time aboard a ship, her hands were still soft.