The lounge was excessive. Soft lighting, overpolished brass fixtures, an actual live jazz trio playing something smooth and pointless in the corner. Crystal glasses tinkled, waitstaff moved like ghosts, and the floral arrangements looked expensive enough to feed a mining colony for a week.

  Aurania sat straight-backed across from Admiral Marrow at a table clearly meant for fine dining, her drink untouched. She wore her traditional robes, but hadn’t done anything excessive for the meeting. She wasn’t sure what bothered her more, the forced elegance, or the fact that she hadn’t been able to say no this time.

  She had been dodging him for weeks, but after having to explain why three of her team members had trashed a pavilion the other day in a two-on-one brawl, she’d run out of polite excuses. So here she was, performing diplomacy, half-suffocated by the atmosphere, nodding at a man who still thought this was a date.

  “I’m just saying,” Marrow drawled on, “there’s a certain charm to unpredictability. Keeps the blood moving. Your crew’s got energy.”

  Aurania sipped her water, slow enough to hide the eye roll. Then she gave him a faint smile. “You sure you don’t mean chaos?”

  He chuckled, unbothered. “I mean, there is that too. But you get results.” He tried to segue into something flirty. She could feel it in the shift of his tone, the way his gaze lingered half a second too long.

  She cut him off before it could land. “The data from Piria proved there is a chance to save Nox. Now we just need to find schematics for the damn thing.”

  Marrow sipped his drink, watching her. “Yes, the Graviton Anchor.”

  “We need actual plans,” she said flatly. “Soon. Every mission you send us on that isn’t related to that is a waste of time.”

  They had been granted some reprieve after what happened to Elias, but The Resolute Wind was currently en route to another location where they were expected to deploy and assist the LU once more in finding someone’s lost truck keys or some shit.

  He blinked, then leaned back, schooling his expression into something more neutral. “Don’t forget that the support missions your team is sent on are payment for us assisting. Nox is still an independent planet.”

  She could feel her temper flare and tried to keep it in check. “Don’t give me that. We agreed to assist on your missions while we searched for a way to save our home. Now that we’ve found it, we cannot afford to waste time.” She finally took a sip of the alcohol, then added, “Don’t you forget what almost everyone on this damn boat owes to Riza. And she’s paid enough.”

  Marrow took a small breath and let out a sigh. “We’re pursuing multiple leads to get you what you need, but you have to understand, the Liberty Union isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of sending a unit deep into Conservatory territory. It’s dangerous. And a political nightmare.” He tried to maintain his tone, one she was sure he thought was suave and charismatic.

  It wasn’t.

  “Please, Matron Aurania,” he continued. “You have to believe me when I say I am trying my best to get approval, it’s just a hard sell for my superiors.”

  Aurania shoved her chair back and stood. “I don’t give a damn how hard of a sell it is, sir. I have about a year until the surface of my planet is on fire. And not long after that, it will fall into the sun.”

  She threw her napkin down and turned to leave. As she was stalking out, she yelled back, “And I’m not a fucking Matron.”

  She didn’t care about impressing anyone. She didn’t care about protocol. She just wanted to save her home.

  And she was tired of asking nicely.

  The corridors felt too quiet as she left the lounge behind. Or maybe she was just too loud in her own head. She kept her stride sharp, but her thoughts blurred. She was used to pressure, used to carrying command on her shoulders, but lately, everything felt… unbalanced. Like her center of gravity had shifted, and no matter how straight she stood, she still felt tilted inside.

  She had purposely pulled back from Soren.

  At first, she told herself it was strategy. She needed space to process what happened on Piria. But somewhere between the aftermath and the silence that followed, she had made herself scarce. Ducking rooms when he entered. Keeping things professional. Leaving messages instead of talking face to face.

  It wasn’t strategy.

  It was fear.

  She had watched him unravel on that battlefield, seen the raw power pour out of him, wild and untrained. He shook the very planet with his grief, and nearly destroyed himself too. She had been able to pull him back, but she didn’t know what to do with that.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. He had proven he had good intentions, was a decent person. But she didn’t trust what he was. If he could control it.

  And she didn’t trust herself. Every time she looked at him, it stirred something in her chest she didn’t have words for. And if she let that something grow, what then? What if it clouded her decisions? What if they couldn’t save Nox because she chose to go down that rabbit hole?

  Aurania slowed as she finally reached the common room, standing just outside the door. Laughter trickled out through it, soft and genuine. The kind of sound that didn’t feel rehearsed or weighted by politics.

  She needed that.

  She exhaled through her nose, smoothed the lines from her face, and opened the door. Warm light spilled across the floor, the hum of conversation and movement washing over her like a welcome current. The scent of spiced food lingered in the air from whatever Brolgar had prepped, and the air felt lived in in a way the rest of the ship never quite did.

  Commander Garrin stood at the kitchenette counter with Inelius, both leaning over a tablet, half in discussion, half in mock argument. He glanced up at her and nodded, “Ma’am.”

  Aurania shifted her weight to one leg. “Hey Garrin, good to see you. Listen, sorry if you catch any blowback or anything. I might have just blown up on your boss.”

  Garrin grimaced and looked back at Inelius. “Did you hear anything? I didn’t hear anything.”

  Inelius grinned back and forth between them. “I can’t hear shit. I’m basically deaf. In fact, three of my eyes are blind, and the fourth has a cataract. I don’t even know who I’m talking to right now.”

  Aurania let out a loud laugh, the tension in her chest loosening. “You’re an idiot.”

  “SAY AGAIN?!” he yelled.

  The rest of the team was spread out across the soft furniture and scattered floor cushions. Soren was seated cross-legged by the window, speaking softly with Tamiyo. She had a diagnostic scanner open and was casually poking at something in his wrist.

  Violet and Amalia were sharing a bowl of something and arguing over who got the last bite. Veolo stood behind them, absentmindedly braiding Violet’s hair and watching the news screen.

  Raine was in the middle of the room, attempting to retrieve the remote from Riza with only one arm. The remote was in Raine’s hand, but it was the hand of her detached arm, which Riza was holding out of reach.

  Brana was slouched comfortably in a lounge chair, sipping tea and muttering commentary about the antics in front of her. Brolgar sat beside her, arms crossed but clearly amused.

  It was chaotic, loud, and perfect.

  With a smile on her face, she chose her commander's tone and loudly barked, “Hey!”

  Everyone froze and looked at her.

  “Push everything up against the walls, give me a big open space in the middle of the room.” She had been thinking about something for a while that felt past due.

  Everyone exchanged confused glances.

  Soren slowly stood and stretched.

  “Everything alright, Boss?” Riza asked, handing Raine her arm back.

  Aurania said, “Yeah,” in a hurried tone, but didn’t elaborate. Then she snapped her fingers a couple times and said, “Come on, hurry up.”

  Everyone scrambled to follow orders, moving with an energy somewhere between excited and anxious. The couch was pushed back, floor cushions stacked, and bowls hastily collected. Within a minute, the center of the room stood clear.

  “You five,” Aurania pointed. “Fall in at attention.”

  Soren, Violet, Veolo, Amalia, and Riza all stared back, then rushed into place, standing side by side in the center of the room. Once they were in position, Aurania stepped up and faced them.

  Hmm, need a little more space.

  “Take a couple steps back please,” she said calmly. They complied, their faces growing more confused by the second.

  Then Aurania said, “Inelius, get up here.”

  He hesitated, then walked up and stood directly in front of her. There was a light tension in the air as everyone waited to see what came next.

  “Before we even departed Nox,” she began, her voice taking on the firm clarity of a commander addressing her unit, “I knew you were a soldier I could count on. You have since then gone above and beyond, demonstrating your leadership, your combat skill, and the grounding presence this team needed when it mattered most.”

  Inelius shifted uncomfortably, caught somewhere between gratitude and disbelief.

  “Lieutenant Inelius Drozek,” she stated. “I do hereby promote you to the rank of Major.”

  The room was quiet for a beat.

  Then Inelius blinked and shook his head. He stammered a bit as he said, “Thank you… You uh… you do know we’re not actually part of the LU military, right? And I technically left the Owangara militia.”

  Garrin called out from the sidelines, “Also, you skipped a rank.”

  Aurania shrugged at him. “It’s mostly ceremonial, don’t think too hard about it. Plus, I’m lacravida royalty. I could name him duke, or prince, or high marshal of snack distribution if I wanted to.”

  Everyone chuckled.

  Raine was standing by Tamiyo near the window, and stuck her hand up like she was sitting in a classroom. “If you’re handing out titles, can I be a princess?”

  Everyone laughed harder.

  Inelius somehow stood at attention even harder. “Major Inelius Drozek formally seconds that motion. I need to get her a tiara.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Aurania dragged a hand down her face. “This became unserious so fast.”

  Brana loudly sipped her tea. Aurania cocked an eyebrow at Raine, who was grinning like a gremlin. She couldn’t help but smile back. Then she sighed, “Fine, get up here.”

  They lingered for a while in the common room, talking, joking, letting the high from the mock ceremony stretch into something quieter. Someone pulled out a deck of cards and Raine kept issuing royal decrees for more snacks. Garrin even stuck around for a bit and helped everyone build a throne out of various cushions and furniture. Aurania stayed near the edge of it all, just listening. She let herself breathe among them, recovering from the stress of everything.

  Eventually, Riza stood to leave.

  She was livelier these days, playing more but still often spending time quietly in her own space. Now, as she headed toward the door, everyone noticed her going. Out of respect, no one highlighted her exit.

  She paused on the threshold and looked over her shoulder. In an unusually small voice, she said, “Everyone?”

  They all fell quiet, looking at her.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Then she was gone.

  The room was so silent it felt like the ship’s engines had shut off.

  Raine made a choked sound. “Did she—?”

  “She did,” Veolo said, voice perfectly pitched in shock.

  Aurania stared at the door, mouth hanging open. The words hadn’t fully processed yet, like her brain had tripped over them mid-step. Around the room, faces ranged from confused to slack-jawed.

  Tamiyo’s synthetic brain was visibly buffering. Amalia’s hands finally flew to her mouth, eyes huge and glittering. Then she screamed, a full, delighted squeal that broke the stunned silence and launched her across the room in a blur. She leapt onto Soren’s back to make herself taller, shrieking, “Did you hear what she said?!” She grabbed his shoulders and violently shook him. “Did. You. Hear. What. She. SAID?!”

  “I did,” Soren managed, his voice strangled under her grip. He gave a small, helpless grin.

  “You’re not freaking out enough!” Amalia hollered. “I’m gonna be an auntie!!!”

  “I’m processing,” he said dryly, steadying her with one hand as she continued to bounce. Veolo snorted and looked away, pressing her lips together hard to hide the smile trying to break through. Aurania stood there quietly, watching the others swarm with emotion. She felt anchored to the moment when Riza had spoken, like something seismic had shifted under them all.

  Laughter bubbled up again, brighter this time. After a few minutes, Aurania stepped away, saying, “I’m gonna go get some air.” Who knew if anyone heard her over Amalia trying to convince Brolgar to start prepping baby food already.

  As she walked back to her room, she thought about Elias, and how so much had been broken. She found herself smiling, knowing something had survived. Aurania stood outside her quarters, hand hovering just over the panel. The lights were dim in the corridor, quieter now that most of the LU crew had tucked in for the night.

  She was just about to press the unlock panel when another door down the hall hissed open. Riza stepped out and stretched. Her hair was slightly mussed from laying down, and her eyes were softer than usual. For a second, all Aurania could do was stare.

  Deja vu hit her like a punch to the gut.

  That night, Elias, slipping out of Riza’s quarters with a soft smile, trying to not draw attention to himself. That flicker of intimacy Aurania hadn’t meant to witness. And now, same hallway, same hush, different weight entirely.

  She blinked.

  When her vision cleared, Riza was looking at her, brows slightly drawn. “You alright?”

  Aurania inhaled sharply through her nose. “Yeah,” she said quietly, but her voice was shaky.

  “Do you want to talk?”

  Aurania felt bad saying no after Riza had been so vulnerable with everyone.

  She nodded, “Yeah.”

  They entered Aurania’s quarters in silence. She kept the lights low, letting the soft glow from the cityscape holo-wall cast its amber wash across the floor. It felt less like a briefing room that way. More like a place where secrets could be spoken aloud without echoing too far.

  Aurania sat on the edge of the bed. Riza took the couch.

  “You had that thousand yard stare,” Riza said eventually. “Like someone recalling a hard memory.”

  Aurania smiled sadly. “There was a night. Maybe… A week or so after Orryx Station. I was returning to my room, and I saw Elias sneaking out of yours.” She grinned, looking up.

  Riza grinned back warmly. “That was a good night…”

  “He didn’t see me,” Aurania said quickly. “I wasn’t sure how under wraps you guys were still trying to keep things.”

  Riza tipped her head to one side. “He left pretty late, what were you on your way back from?”

  A small chuckle escaped Aurania. “Soren said that Veolo invited him to something. We ended up stalking them through the corridors until we stumbled upon Amalia guarding the door to her sister running a train on Veolo with half a platoon of Liberty Union guys.”

  Riza snorted a laugh, “Wait, really?”

  “Eh, something like that.”

  Riza pressed a tongue into her cheek and raised her eyebrows. “Did Soren join in?”

  Aurania looked away, trying to hide her emotion with a small laugh. It came out like more of a scoff. “No, he got really nervous when they asked.” She was quiet for a moment. “I do remember wondering if his answer would have been different had I not been there.”

  For a moment, the silence between them was thick. Riza stared into the holo-wall’s light. Then she said softly, “I know this isn’t usually my territory, but even I’ve noticed how physically closed off you’ve made yourself lately. What’s going on with you?”

  Aurania crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you mean. As a matter of fact, I just spent time with Admiral Marrow.”

  Riza’s face twisted. “Really? He does not seem like your type.”

  Aurania arched a brow. “Why? Because he’s human?”

  “No, because he’s kind of an idiot. You even called him one. He doesn’t know anything about lacravida culture, and it doesn’t look like he’s trying to learn. It has nothing to do with him being human.”

  “Yeah,” Aurania admitted. “We just had an insufferable talk over drinks and then I stormed out.”

  Riza looked at her sidelong and added slyly, “I know you don’t mind humans.”

  Aurania felt herself turn red and looked away. “That’s different.”

  “Is it?”

  Riza let it hang for a moment before gently asking, “Why’ve you been keeping him at a distance?”

  Aurania narrowed her eyes. “What, are you my new Kizara?”

  “Please don’t compare me to her.”

  Aurania snorted. “Keep it up, I’ll set you two up on a playdate when we get home.”

  Riza rolled her eyes.

  A moment passed.

  “He has messed with my head from the moment I met him,” she said eventually. “What happened with Klix and the others. Then when I attacked him in the research lab. And how he has acted this entire time.”

  Riza waited.

  “I admit I’ve felt… somewhat drawn to him. But lately…” her voice dropped. “What I saw him do on Piria scared the hell out of me. He massacred those soldiers. Unleashed power no mortal should be capable of. I could feel it, whatever was inside him. I don’t know what sets that off, or what happens if one day I can’t stop him.”

  Riza tilted her head to the other side. “If his anger was going to make him lose control and kill one of us, I never would’ve left Altina.”

  That left Aurania speechless.

  “You don’t act like yourself around him,” Riza went on. “You mellowed out for the most part after Violet called you out, but then that shit in the battle circle with Veolo? You got him dancing around confused. He learns about our culture, sees how we connect with each other, but you make it feel off limits. Except,” she held up a single finger, “for the undeniable attraction between the two of you. Then you fuckin’ go and give him the cold shoulder.”

  Aurania looked down, jaw tightening.

  Riza didn’t let up. “The man is literally bonded to you, and he’s still trying to figure out where he stands. I might’ve taken too long with Elias, but I was never cruel to him. He was always my friend.”

  Aurania didn’t answer. There was nothing to say.

  Riza took a deep breath and let it out, resolve solidifying in her voice. “His power isn’t something you need to be afraid of. I intend to use it. To keep pushing him in the field until he is sharp as a blade.”

  Aurania didn’t need to ask why.

  Sable.

  Riza’s eyes met hers. “Maybe you should start pushing him off the field. Might do you both some good.”

  Aurania blinked twice. “Since when do you advocate for Soren?”

  Riza gave a small, warm smile. “He’s the one who figured it out.”

  “Figured out what?”

  Riza gently touched her stomach. “He sensed it.”

  Aurania’s breath caught, her eyes going wide.

  There was a knock at the door.

  Aurania glanced up, startled out of her own spiraling thoughts. Riza casually moved to answer it. When the door slid open, Soren stood there, his expression uncertain.

  “Hey, Soren!” Riza said brightly, glancing back over her shoulder. “We were just talking about you.”

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said. “I just wanted to check on Aurania, if she has a minute to talk.”

  Aurania shot up, waving her arms in desperate gestures just out of his sight. No. No, tell him to leave. Please, Riza.

  Riza saw her flailing, then turned back to Soren with a grin. “Nope. She’s all yours. We just finished talking.”

  “Wait, Riza,” Aurania croaked in a panic. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m gonna... I don’t know. Go teach Amalia to shoot NMW or something.” Riza winked at Aurania on her way out. The door hissed shut behind her, sealing the two of them alone in the quiet.

  An awkward silence hung in the room like fog.

  Soren rocked from heel to toe a couple times. “She was lying, right?”

  Aurania crossed her arms. “Pretty sure. She never lets anyone use her cannon.”

  “Huh.”

  Another pause. She stared at him, brow tight, nearly glaring. “So you wanted to check on me. Here I am.”

  His shoulders dropped a little. He looked sad, but also like he was trying to hold something in. Or maybe hold something together.

  She narrowed her eyes. “What.”

  He didn’t flinch. “We’ve barely talked since Piria. I don’t think you’re avoiding me… but it feels that way.”

  She opened her mouth to deflect, or maybe to deny, but then stopped. “I… maybe I have been.”

  He nodded, not accusing. “I’m worried about you.”

  She shook her head in surprise. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t know how you hold all of this together. The mental load, keeping the team going… You act like it doesn’t affect you. But I know it does. You’re under more pressure than anyone here.”

  She hadn’t expected the genuine concern in his voice, and it hit her off-balance. She bristled instead of softening. “And that’s why you think I’ve been distant?”

  “No!” he said a little too quickly. It cracked something open. He sounded like the scared little boy Kizara had mentioned. “I mean, I don’t like that you’ve been distant. But it’s more than that. Our mental link has gone quiet. I keep reaching out when I meditate, and it’s like… nothing’s there. I find myself missing it. I just… I don’t want you to feel alone, I guess.”

  She looked away. There was heat behind her eyes she didn’t want to explain. Finally, all she could manage to get out was, “Thank you.”

  He hesitated, then took a breath, like he was done tiptoeing around what they had been avoiding. “Elias told me something shortly before he died. He waited years for Riza. Hoping quietly. And I get it now. But…” He swallowed. “Maybe if he’d said something sooner, he could’ve met his child.”

  The words slapped her in the face. Her spine stiffened. “Why are you telling me this?”

  He didn’t flinch from the edge in her tone, but he looked nervous for a second before locking eyes with her. “I’ve never been good at this. But… you’ve seen how I think about you.”

  She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, trying to keep herself composed. “I’ve ignored them,” she lied. “You said you wanted your private thoughts. So I act like they’re not there. Pretend I haven’t heard anything you don’t actually say.”

  The silence between them stretched. She could feel the weight of his gaze, like a pressure on her skin.

  “I think you’re breathtakingly beautiful,” Soren said, his voice trembling.

  She inhaled sharply.

  “Everyone I knew died thousands of years ago,” he went on. “Everyone I ever… everything I had, it’s gone. And I’m still trying to make sense of what’s left. But I know this: I want to know you. Not just the person in charge. You. Personally.” His voice was steadier now, he was powering through his nerves. “I think about you all the time. But I need to know if I'm just torturing myself or if you feel the same way.”

  She tried to answer and her breath caught, voice locked inside her chest.

  His jaw flexed. “If you don’t… that’s okay. I’ll still help save your home. You don’t have to worry about me getting close to Veolo or any of the others. You’ve made it clear you don’t want that. And when we're done, I'll go my own way. Find a home somewhere else.”

  He wasn’t guilting her.

  He was offering her an out.

  “No,” she finally managed to push out. Her voice cracked. “I don’t want that.”

  He stared at her with a gentle fire. “What do you want?”

  “I… I want you to stay.” She looked up at him, eyes wide and unguarded. “I don’t know what the future holds—I feel like my life has been completely flipped upside down. I’ve lost people before, but Elias and the others—they hit different for some reason. Harder.”

  She felt tears welling in her eyes, but pushed through anyway. “My planet is dying and I don’t know how to save it. I’m forced to rely on this damn military to find answers, just hope they find some miracle for us. But y’know what confuses me the most? And what strangely makes sense at the same damn time?”

  The empathetic look on his face nearly tore her apart.

  Her jaw quivered as she failed to keep the tears from falling. “The thing I keep finding myself thinking about, the thing I find myself holding onto in the midst of all this chaos, is how fucking grateful I am that you came into my life.”

  She had fought countless battles, bested scores of adversaries. She was the tallest and strongest lacravida alive, yet she spoke to him like she was a lost, scared little girl.

  “Please don’t leave me alone, Soren—please. I want to know you, too.”