Chapter 8

Waking to the sound of her alarm and not the comm was a welcome change from most nights on her ship, where she was usually awoken by some sort of problem and had to rush to put out a fire, sometimes literally. Sloan dragged herself out of bed and found her mind wandering to the status of her newest—maybe—addition to the crew. The warmth and happiness that filled her when she thought to the visions he was projecting made her want to go back for more.

After taking care of her morning routine and finding out which quarters were available, Sloan asked for an update on Xan and let Doc know she was on her way. When she arrived at the med bay, it was a very different scene from the previous night. Xan was up, sitting at the small table in the med bay having his nourish pack with Erl and Masya.

“Glad to see everything is still intact as I left it last night,” Sloan said.

Xan flushed at her cheery tone before speaking. “Captain Sloan, I would again like to apologize for my outburst and destruction to your ship. I will do everything in my power to repair the damage and repay you.”

“Xan, like I said last night, it’s okay. I was just joking. I understand where you’re coming from, and I don’t hold it against you.” She eyed him kindly. Sloan drew another chair to the table.

“How is our patient doing, Doc?” Sloan asked.

“He’s doing well. He’s recovering remarkably quickly, especially by using the solar lights to help replenish some of his strength. There should be no complications with the healing process or replenishment regimen I’ve developed for him.”

“That’s great, Xan. You’ll be up and ready to move cargo in no time.” A grin tugged at her lips.

“If that is what you require, Captain Sloan, I would be more than happy to move cargo for as long as you need me to.” Xan nodded and kept his eyes averted.

“We’ll have to see if that’s what suits you best. Don’t worry, we’ll find something you enjoy. I won’t stick you with the crap duty—literally.” Sloan stood and flipped the chair back to face the desk.

“I’m heading to the mess to grab a bite before I’m due on the bridge. I’m glad to see you’re doing better, Xan, and hopefully you’ll be able to go to the mess soon for a hot meal of real food, not these packs.”

“The packs are essential to replenish all the nutrients in which Xan is deficient,” Masya said before she walked away huffing and mumbling at the same time.

“No need to get so defensive, Masya. It’s not like you cooked these things.” Sloan gestured to the nourish packs on the table. “But you know that a hot meal always tastes better than the packs.”

“These packs provide all the nourishment that a being could need, and they require minimal preparation.” Masya’s typical robotic manner cooled the jovial mood in the room. Panians weren’t known for their fun-loving nature. Organization, following rules, and efficiency were the practices they valued most. It made them ideal for many tasks, including the medical kind, but they did not have a warm bedside manner.

“I am sorry I insulted the nourish packs, Masya. Won’t happen again.” Sloan backed away from the table and gave Erl and Xan a wink while Masya’s back was turned. The both cracked a smile.

“Xan, I’ll be back later to give you a tour of the ship.”

“I can do it, Captain,” Erl said as she got closer to the door.

“It’s okay. There are some things I want to discuss with Xan. As long as he’s cleared for a short walk, I don’t mind,” she said, pausing at the med bay doors.

“That should be fine, Captain.” Erl raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Xan, nodding.

“Yes, I would enjoy that very much,” Xan croaked. His voice was getting stronger along with the rest of him.

“Perfect. I’ll be back in one hour to pick you up. We can discuss where you would best fit in on the ship.” Sloan left the med bay and headed toward the mess. She didn’t know why she had suggested the tour of the ship. It was true that Xan needed to find his place, but Erl or Dev could have easily done the tour. For some reason, Sloan felt as if she needed to be the one to do it. She told herself it was because she wanted to ensure that he was feeling safe and perhaps let him know he could talk to her about his time enslaved, and not because she wanted that warm and comforting feeling she got whenever she was around him.

Yes, it was to ensure he knew that they shared a common background and not because she wanted anything from him. He had been through enough, had been used enough; it wasn’t her place to use his gratitude to get those warm fuzzy feelings she hadn’t felt in years. Knowing there was a lot to do to prepare for their arrival at Halkon Station and Seru Prime, Sloan quickly grabbed her meal from the mess and ate it on a jog as she headed to the bridge. The overnight crew was leaving duty to get their first meal when she arrived.

Eaon handed her the overnight nav charts on the tablet as he waited to be relieved. “Captain, I’ve charted a course that should shave a couple of days off our trip to Halkon. It will also take us near the Gru Asteroid Belt, if you want to make a pit stop. It wouldn’t set us back any more than twelve hours,” he said, standing proudly.

“Only twelve hours? How did you manage that?” Sloan’s jaw dropped. Eaon was the newest addition to the crew, and she could tell he was eager to prove himself. If he kept coming up with solutions like this, he would earn a delivery bonus once they got to Seru.

“No sweat, Captain. I simply reset some of the coordinate calculations and made them more efficient.”

“Simply, huh? Great job anyway! How long until we are within comm distance with Gru?” she asked as she choked down the last bite of breakfast.

“Comm distance within seven days, and we could be there in nine days, Halkon in eleven.”

“Excellent. Set the course, and let’s be on our way.” She slid into the captain’s chair and went over the overnight reports and new nav settings.

“Captain, I’ve set the coordinates, and we are on the modified course.”

“Okay, Eaon, now go and grab some food and get some sleep. You deserve it!”

“Thanks, Captain.” Eaon departed the bridge as his relief arrived for the next shift. The next few hours were uneventful until it was time for midday meal. Sloan decided she could have it with Xan while giving him the tour. She sent a comm to Erl and let him know she would be arriving at the med bay to give Xan a tour. Sloan grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the mess hall and made her way to the med bay.

Xan was waiting at the far end of the corridor to the med bay.

“You didn’t have to wait out here. I could have come inside.” Sloan handed Xan one of the sandwiches.

“I know. I didn’t want to inconvenience you by making you walk all the way there.”

“No problem. Since you’re here, let’s start the tour.”

Sloan walked Xan through the ship. She showed him the mess hall, which was empty between meals as expected. They visited engineering and the bridge and wandered to some of the more fun areas, including the pool and the small garden. Xan was shocked that all this existed on the Arrow.

“I won her in a game of chance.” A broad grin spread across Sloan’s face as she remembered how amazing it had felt to step aboard the Arrow for the first time.

“You won this ship?” Xan asked incredulously. “Who would ever put up a ship like this in a game?”

“He was a wealthy miner of some sort. I’m not entirely sure, but it was an hours-long game of Xurian five way. At that point, I don’t think he liked the idea of losing to a woman, but he didn’t have anywhere near enough credits at the table to be able to call my bluff. So, he put up his ship. He swore he had the winning hand, and he would have, too, but I had my secret weapon.”

“Secret weapon?”

“Yes, a friend of mine. Excellent at analytics and data. He knew the hand I had was unbeatable, so I kept going. The miner even threw in a year’s worth of fuel rods,” she said, remembering the scene as though it was yesterday. “That sure came in handy when we were in dry docked while I learned to pilot.

“It was time to show the cards we had, and he was celebrating before I even flipped mine over. In any other game, it would have been his pool of credits for sure, but as I laid mine out one by one, I saw the color drain from his face. Only one hand could have beat his, and I had it. It was probably one of the greatest moments of my life, and that was how I got free.”

At that revelation, Xan’s eyes laser-focused on Sloan’s.

“What do you mean free?”

“When I said, I knew what you were going through, I wasn’t just making it up. I was enslaved for over ten years after my planet was attacked.” Sloan kicked a rock as they walked in the garden.

“Winning the ship was the last piece I needed to be able to get myself—and Neven—out.”

“You were enslaved for ten years?”

“Yes, taken from my planet as a child, put in chains, the whole lot. It was a terrible existence for a long time, but it’s been ten years since then, and look at how things are for me now.” Sloan held her arms out wide, showcasing everything around them. “You can build a new life for yourself, Xan. You can put what happened behind you and move forward with your life. All the pain, the nightmares, the fear will eventually fade. I know they will, and I can help you if you allow me to.” She hesitated before taking his hand.

“I would like that very much.” Xan laced his fingers through hers, the warmth from his hand warming her cool one.

Sloan stared down at their intertwined fingers and a jolt shot through her. Not a vision like before, but a spark of something she didn’t think she’d ever considered before, a longing to belong to someone. To belong to Xan.

“Tell me about yourself. About where you came from.”

“I’m D’Arian. I was out on a weekend bonding trip with my brother when something went horribly wrong. We were meant to have protection while we were on the surface, but we didn’t. We were climbing. I fell, and when I awoke I was alone and bloodied, and the Kirill were there to capture me.”

“What do you mean protection?” Sloan asked.

Xan ducked his head and attempted to separate their hands. Sloan tried to catch his eyes.

“What do you mean by protection, Xan?” she repeated.

“I was the heir to the imperial throne of D’Arian,” he said, peering over at her with despair in his eyes.

“You mean you’re a prince?”

“I was. In another life, but that isn’t who I am now.”

“What do you mean, it isn’t who you are now? How were you taken? What about your imperial brand? I heard that all royals have a brand to designate their position.” Sloan reached for his sleeve, and Xan placed a gentle hand over hers to stop her from pushing it up.

“Xan, please let me see.” She gently ran her hands over Xan’s arm, peering up at him, wanting him to open up to her. Xan finally relented and glanced away holding out his arm for her to inspect. She wrenched her hand from his and pushed the sleeve back, revealing a horrible, jagged, badly healed scar that took up most of his forearm. Sloan brought a hand to her mouth and let out a gasp, her eyes jumping from the scar to Xan’s eyes. He stared back at her solemnly.

“As you can see, my position didn’t save me. And I was shown evidence of my family’s death through a video comm. So, like I said, in another life, I may have been His Royal Highness Xandru Alerix D’Arian of the Imperial House of D’Arian, but now I’m Xan, crew member to the most courageous and generous captain this sector has ever seen.” He tugged his sleeve down and toyed with the edge of the cuff.

“Xan, there could still be family members alive,” Sloan said. “You’re still the rightful ruler of D’Arian, right? Why wouldn’t you want to go back?”

“Sloan, I do not wish to speak of this further. It is in the past, and I can’t go back,” he said, his eyebrows furrowed.