Chapter 1
Goodbye
She stood in the bay waiting for Glint to appear. Pyre and Ladonna stood nearby keeping her company. Her palms were sweaty and itched terribly. This was something new she had to deal with. Getting this close to Glint was already bringing on symptoms she didn’t care for. When she looked up, she saw him headed her way and her heart began to beat wildly.
Ladonna and Pyre had knowing looks on their faces but thankfully said nothing. Pyre and Glint greeted each other with a handclasp before Glint gave Ladonna a half hug that brought out a growl from Pyre. She fought down the grin that threatened to break loose.
“George, will you be alright?” Ladonna asked concern on her face. “Here, this is a com to reach me should anything come up you’re not prepared to deal with.”
She took the small communicator that was set up to reach Ladonna. It was a sweet gesture, but hopefully unnecessary. Nevertheless, she felt better with it in her pocket. Glint turned and led the way to the ship. It was a small scout ship, made for no more than two people. It would be a challenge to spend several days on it alone with him. The small station they would visit would not give her much breathing space either.
Glint opened the door and motioned for her to enter. As familiar as she was with all the ships the Mazlans had, it still seemed smaller than the last one she’d been on. That was magnified once Glint was inside with her. She slipped into the copilot seat. Unlike many of the other crew, she was trained in piloting too.
Her career was important and she’d taken training in every position she’d been allowed. She might be able to give Glint a break during the mission. It would allow them to take turns piloting and sleeping and she would avoid being in the small sleeping area with him. Making plans that would put them on opposite ends of the ship most of the time relieved some of her worry.
He immediately started the engines and ran through his preflight plan. Speaking with bridge, he had them opening the bay doors in no time so they could lift off the ship. Once free, they headed out into deep space. Looking around, she saw no nearby planets, stars, or even meteors.
“You alright?” Glint asked.
“Just fine. Why?”
“You’re quiet. You’ve not even checked on the equipment and I was told you have pilot training.”
“Sorry. You seemed to be handling everything so well. What do you need me to do?”
“I have it all done. No need to worry. It’ll be hours before we have our first call in. There’s nothing to do unless you have something to talk about or know a game to play?”
“Not really. Why don’t you tell me about the planets you’ve been sent to? Those things that aren’t top secret.”
They next few hours as they distanced themselves from the battleship were spent with Glint talking until his voice was husky. “Why don’t you tell me something now?” Glint asked.
Thinking hard, she came up with something that wasn’t personal. “The area I’m from is in the desert.” She began to describe it and how it had changed as she grew up.
“I think I know the area. The rebels have a base in that area.” Glint observed. She said nothing, she was done talking. “In a day and a half from now, we’ll be at the station. It’s nothing special, but it’s larger than this ship and has several rooms for crew and a kitchen. There are also male and female bathrooms and a common area to watch movies. Ladonna fixed a few things up for us. I’ve no idea what she did but we’ll see when we get there. Now that we’re past the battleship’s range, we need to listen for communications in this area.”
“What are we looking for?”
“That’s top secret.” Glint replied.
“It helps to know what I’m listening for.”
“Not my decision. If you hear it, you’ll know.”
George huffed. This was stupid. She pulled out the ear phones and slapped them on. The silence was complete. An hour later she was sleeping. She was unaware of it until she woke. Glint didn’t say a word. He took a turn listening and he fell asleep as well. This was crazy. It would be wiser to have the ship’s computer monitor space until noises were discovered.
Time passed slowly, but it did pass and now they were approaching the station. It was empty, but it had protection to prevent just anyone from entering it. That meant it would be pretty much as it had been left behind by the last inhabitants. They pulled up to a dock on the side of the station. The ship connected its door to the door of the station with an airtight seal. Even after all this time she’d spent in space, these things still made her nervous.
“Here we are. Home sweet home for a week or more.” Glint said. “Bring your bag in and pick a room. I’ll check on the food supply. Maybe they’ll have something good.”
She did as he suggested. Her bag thrown over her shoulder, she picked a room close to entrance. The beds were singles and there was a small dresser. She dropped her bag on the floor, she was tired from sleeping in the passenger seat most of the trip. Her plan was to lie down, but she smelled something that made her mouth water. Heading out to the kitchen, she saw Glint had some food fixed.
“Ladonna sent some good stuff for us. Are you hungry? Grab a plate and I’ll fill it up for you.”
“What is it?” She asked.
“There’s spaghetti and meatballs, stew, and chicken fried steak with the usual sides. I’ll give you a bit of everything.”
She set her plate down next to the food and he dished it on. This was one time she felt bad about looking so mousey. It had been her goal not to be noticed and it was working. This was just not a good time to be a woman on Earth. The shortage of males had given them power and they could do no wrong.
They had so much power that even when it was obvious their ways were killing the planet, no one did a thing. Those who spoke up, were put down. Females were being sold in large numbers and not just to the Mazlans who at least treated them well giving them more rights than they’d had on their own planet. She’d heard the Phoenix treated females well too.
Only pirates, slavers, and a few aliens from outside the galaxy treated females worse than the males of their own race. Now the lousy politicians and rich men that had gained their fortunes at the cost of the planet and it woman, were fleeing with whatever riches they could carry to the furthest reaches of the universe leaving their poisoned planet behind. Curses on the lot of them.
Glint sat at the table with her as they ate quietly at first. “I don’t know much about you.” Glint said.
“I know little about you.”
He chuckled. “I suppose we are even. But I told you things on the flight here.”
“Nothing personal. You told me more about others you worked with than yourself.” She was sure that was on purpose too. Every Phoenix she’d worked around kept information to themselves. Their people didn’t say much and no one knew much about them.
Glint didn’t answer and neither of them spoke until they were done eating. “I’m going to unpack and get my room set up and you can take a shower if you’d like. I’ll grab mine after I’ve settled in.”
She just nodded. There wasn’t much to say so she headed to her room. It took a few minutes digging around to find her personal grooming things and her sleep T-shirt. When she got to the showers, no towels were put out and she ran to the laundry and grabbed a handful. The towels she brought back went on the racks and now she was finally ready to take a hot shower.
There were several kinds of showers in space because not all people could afford water or the space it took up. The Mazlans could and she loved a hot shower to relax and destress in. With all her spa supplies this would be fun. There was a packet of things Ladonna had given her and she didn’t even know what was in it.
Opening the bag, she found a shower brush so she could reach everywhere. A loofah, a pumice stone, exotic scented shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion. Things for a mani and pedi, something she rarely indulged in, were also in there.
She turned the water on and it was hot immediately. Stepping in, she hummed happily as the water rolled over her. Wetting her hair, and every other part of her, she was ready to get good and clean. The shampoo and other items all had the same sweet scent that she really liked.
As she soaped up and cleaned, she paid no attention to the time that passed. It was a rare luxury to have time to clean up and the things needed to do so. While the ship had separate showers for males and females, the woman’s showers seemed to be always in use. The other women, those she didn’t care much for, hung around in there talking and playing around with makeup and nail polish.