Lyris stretched herself awake like a cat, extending her arms and legs as wide as she could be as a yawn escaped her mouth. “That's the best sleep I've had in ages. How about you, Kir?” There was silence. “Kir?” The Serenian asked, finally looking up to see that she was the only one in the crew bunk.
Lyris slunk out of bed before stepping outside to look for her. She sped around the entire ship and it seemed that no one was awake, but her. Then it hit her and a mischievous grin crept on her face. She buzzed towards the door of the Captain's Quarters. She vibrated the molecules in her head to phase it through the door to get just a peek. She looked around until she found the bed and there Kir was, cuddled up to Harrison. She couldn't contain the excitement on her face and almost got her head stuck. She focused her thoughts and looked closer to see that they were both fully clothed. She only knew that because their comforter was on the floor. They clearly didn't need it with all the heat between them. She was happy for Kir. They were taking their love one step at a time, but she wondered if they even knew that.
Lyris phased out of the door with a smile still on her face. “You go, girl.” She whispered, trying not to wake them.
Zev roused from his deep meditation by the disruptive force of Lyris speeding through the ship. Aenids didn’t sleep so much as meditate to reconnect and commune with the mycelium network that spanned all of known space. It was perfectly restful and rejuvenating for him, but Lyris’ speeding disrupted the flow. That was something he’d have to get used to, or perhaps they’d have to have an agreement: no super speed during meditation times. It seemed a simple enough accommodation; it was just basic courtesy.
Emerging from his room across from Harrison’s to find Lyris practically halfway through the solid door. He stopped, perplexed by the sight and trying to understand what exactly he was looking at. As she pulled back, he realised she must have such fine control of her body and the speed she was able to achieve to the point she could literally vibrate herself in between the atoms of solid objects. That would almost certainly prove useful to any rebellious efforts.
”Wanna tell the rest of us why you’re spying on Harrison? Or, better yet, what you saw?” Zev asked as he finished stretching himself upward to work out the kinks of staying in one position for too long.
Lyris’ fur stood and crawled at the sound of Zev's food. She turned around to see the Aenid pilot stretching. He was already tall before, but with his arm stretched he truly looked like a giant. “It's not polite to sneak up on people.” She said, finally composing herself and walking over so she wouldn't be talking outside their door. “And I'm not spying on Harrison, I was looking for Kir and found them in there cuddling. I was totally right. They're so in love!” She clasped her hands over her mouth realizing she said that last bit a little too loud. “Clothes were on though, so no naughty thoughts, Aenid.”
Zev chuckled softly at the hypocrisy of her statement, but decided to let it go without his usual snark. He did comment on her confirming they were just asleep in there together, “Well, you’re lucky they weren’t in the middle of something. Talk about a mood killer. So am I for that matter.” He grinned, “Still got a chance.”
Nodding, seeming satisfied he knew all he needed - or wanted - to know, he turned toward the kitchen to go see what he might be able to scrounge up to eat. Greens weren’t exactly a usual staple in the grease-preserved diets of freight crews like the one that had probably been on the ship before. As long as he could find something vegetable-adjacent, it didn’t actually matter if it was fresh. In fact, really the more desiccated the better. It added a nice, earthy flavour.
Lyris paused to think about what Zev just said and nope. She was not having that. She ran into the kitchen after him and said, “Stop right there. With all she's been through, that was something. She cuddled him. Those two are practically married and I can't have you ruining this rebellion before it starts with a love triangle.”
”What’s it matter to you if I have a thing for her?” Zev asked curiously as he opened the fridge to go spelunking. He pushed aside bottles and jars, sending them clanking as they shifted. “Besides,” he added, peeking his head back out for a moment, “Breakups and divorces happen every day. They met yesterday. They’re cute, but I’m not convinced yet. I mean…freely choosing to date the very force that subjugated your people and keep them scared shitless so they don’t even consider rising up against the empire? You ask me, it doesn’t seem like a stable foundation to base a relationship on. She’s too cool with it, and my money’s on her exploding at some point if she doesn’t actually face that and everything else that’s happened to her. So, you can’t blame me for being hopeful.”
Lyris couldn't believe her ears. She'd understand Zev's point if Harrison was an enforcer who was somehow freed of his programming, but he wasn't even an enforcer at all. Just some lucky or unlucky guy who ended up with one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy on his wrist. “Harrison's not even an enforcer. He's a human and it's not like he wears his armor to bed.” She didn't answer his first question immediately. She watched him rummage through the fridge to look for something. “And she seems happy and I don't want anything ruining that. X'hondrians have been through a lot this past century. Plus, like I said. The rebellion's what's important. I assume you've decided you're joining? If so, I'm gonna suggest that no one dates anyone within the crew until it's over. We don't need to be distracted with the lives of everyone in the galaxy on our shoulders.”
Lyris absolutely hated being serious, but this was too important not to be. She much preferred to be carefree and having no rules at all. Rules reminded her too much of her time on Serenfolia. She had to know and memorize every rule, every law, every sacred text, every prophecy. It was all so mind-blowingly boring. She appreciated and loved her people and their rich history but she didn't want to be tied down to them. The Empire's presence only created prison walls around the place she already considered her cell.
Zev frowned at Lyris’ statement about Harrison. He may not have been an enforcer in the formal sense, but he still carried that armour and as far as he knew, it couldn’t be removed just the same as any other enforcer. While he was willing to see where this whole rebellion thing led him, he also stayed because he didn’t trust that Harrison’s armour was really offline for good. He didn’t get the sense Harrison was a double agent, but at the very least he liked Kir, and since Lyris seemed to be a package deal with her now, he stuck around to make sure they both got away if Harrison did end up turning on them wilfully or not.
“Hang on, hang on. You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said anything about dating her. You’re jumping way ahead of me here. Look, you may be ready to put all your eggs in one basket, and that’s fine, but I’m not there yet. Harrison may have good intentions, but I don’t trust that bracelet of his. I like Kir; she made me laugh right from the start, and yeah, she’s also just my type. So, maybe I’m sticking around to make sure the only known free X’hondrian doesn’t end up back in the empire’s clutches, and maybe a part of me is also hoping I’ve got a chance with her, but I’m not too stubborn to put her own happiness above my interest. I think you’ve judged me a little too quickly, Lyris.”
He ducked back into the fridge having felt something near the back of a drawer, making a pleased hum as he emerged with a very brown head of lettuce in his hand, “Perfect.”
Lyris was puzzled. Both of Zev's words then and now sounded like he wanted to date or at least do a horizontal dance with her. But he also seemed to genuinely care for her deeper than that. She didn't know if his mistrust was rooted in jealousy or truly just his thoughts on the empire. She didn't blame him either way, especially for the latter. She was going to offer an apology but when he pulled out the inedible lettuce she jokingly responded, “I don't think I have.” She lifted her hand to cover her nose and gave him the kitchen to enjoy his breakfast.
She made her way back into the crew cabin and tried to find something for her to wear. It didn't seem like anyone on the crew was a woman. The only female clothes they had were the ones Kir bought herself. She sighed before sitting on her bed. She would've taken an outfit for herself, but she already creeped in on Kir's private time with Harrison. She'd just wait to ask.
Zev watched her go with a shrug as he started pulling the wilted leaves apart to munch on his way back up to the cockpit to check the status of the navigation. Dropping into the chair, he reviewed the computer’s logs of course corrections and engine adjustments made. With the autopilot still on, he wasn’t paying too much attention to what it was doing while he ran through the morning checks until a warning popped up on his screen: landing protocols initiated.
At the same time, the computer alerted everyone else, announcing automatically from speakers that ran throughout the ship, “Landing protocols initiated.”
Kir appeared first, standing in the doorway, “Zev…? Why are we landing?!”
Lyris joined soon after speeding back out of her room. She didn't have time to concern herself with the fact that Kir was finally awake. As if Kir needed an echo she asked, “We're in the middle of nowhere. Where are we landing?
Zev was already mashing buttons frantically on the console as he tried to regain control of the ship, “I would also like to know this.”
“Aren’t you the one flying the ship?” She asked sarcastically, but her voice was dripping with concern.
“Something is overriding the controls and forcing us to land, but to the best of my knowledge there’s not even a planet in this sector.”
“Well, run a scan. There must be something out there.”
“I’m completely locked out, Kir,” he said in a serious monotone, finally turning to look at her. “We should prepare for the worst.”
Turning slightly, she called out to Lyris and Harrison, “Strap in! We’ve got trouble!”
Harrison finally stepped out of the Captain's Quarters and joined the others. “What's going on? The Empire found us already?”
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