“We’re getting close,” Kira informed the crew as she entered the dining hall. “We should be to Earth within the hour.”

Her crew had gathered here to discuss their final plans for when they reached the Terran home planet. Over the last two weeks, they had pored over each and every news report coming from the Terran High Command. It seemed that Grimm’s rebellion had been quelled to some extent, although danger still loomed large over the entire galaxy.

“Good,” Bron replied, letting his voice trail off slightly.

Kira made her way up to the table where everyone was seated. No one spoke, waiting for their Bandurian companion to continue. The deep ridges etched into his dark black skin gave him a permanent appearance of being in a state of stern disgust. His facial features weren’t the only thing intimidating about him. His large size and muscular build made him someone anyone stuck in a tight spot would want to have on their side. Being stuck in a tight spot seemed to be something that was happening to Kira with regularity.

Alaria, sitting at Bron’s side, looked at him as well as she waited for him to finish his thought. When it became clear that he had no intention of doing so, she let out a soft giggle and turned to face the rest of the crew.

“Good for the ship,” she explained. Her light blue eyes sparkled as she tossed her platinum blond hair, typical of all Telani, over her shoulder. “We’ve done all we can to repair the vessel, but there are still some serious problems that will need to be looked at.”

“We will need to find a shipyard near Earth to refit,” Bron added.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m surprised the ship made it this far” Kira replied, taking her seat at Thor’s side.

Over the last two weeks, the tension between them had increased. Still, they had attempted to keep their relationship a secret, something Thor wasn’t overly happy about and didn’t really seem to understand. In reality, Kira herself wasn’t completely sure why she felt the burning desire to keep her private life obsessively private.

The truth was, they had barely discussed what was going on between them. With the coup and impending dangers lurking, the question of a relationship didn’t seem to hold much importance. The only time they really talked about their dynamic was the night they had left Vandor—the night Kira had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want him to worry about her, that she was capable of taking care of herself, and that no matter what, their mission should take precedence over anything going on between them.

“Despite the fact that Grimm’s rebellion has been temporarily quelled,” Thor spoke, shifting his weight around to face her, “we will still need to keep a low profile.”

“True,” Kira agreed. “At least until we figure out a way to lift the bounties he had placed on our heads.”

“Dario, that goes for you, too,” Thor reminded their resident doctor and scientist.

The older man nodded in agreement, his graying hair bobbed up and down as he did. Still, Kira found herself surprised at Dr. Marner’s physical condition. Even though he was the oldest of the group, he was as spry and able-bodied as any of them. His dark eyes still held a youthful sparkle, and his typically tan Terran skin was nearly void of any wrinkles.

“Damned piece of shit!” Vinnie called out across the room, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

The small, Terran teenager was hunched over a maintenance robot he had acquired and stored on the ship before their departure from Vandor. He had never found time to work on it, though, and had hoped to have it up and running by the end of their journey back to Earth.

The device wasn’t much smaller than Vinnie, with a cylindrical body and an odd assortment of attachments dangling off of it. Vinnie claimed that the device would make their lives easier on the ship, taking care of routine maintenance tasks and running regular systems checks.

Kira had her doubts.

“Are you still wasting your time with that thing?” Bron asked, pushing himself up and walking to the other side of the room where his young side-kick remained huddled over the lump of metal with parts strewn around him.

“I know I can get it working if I could find the parts,” Vinnie said, not taking his eyes off his project. “You have to admit, having a functioning maintenance bot would save us a lot of time running around repairing your flying garbage pile.”

“Garbage pile?” Bron asked, standing over the boy, crossing his arms over his chest. “It wasn’t two weeks ago you were insisting that the ship was as much yours as mine.”

“That was before I realized what a mess you made of it,” Vinnie quipped in reply, finally turning to address the rest of the group. “If I can find what I need, I know I can get this bot working.”

“I think our first priority is to find parts for the ship, Vinnie,” Alaria explained in the sweet way she always spoke.

“The ship certainly is a curio,” Dario muttered, his eyes darting about as he quietly inspected the ship around him.

“A what?” Kira asked.

She and everyone else turned to the older man. His eyes shot up as he felt the stares of his companions on him.

“A curio,” he said again, matter-of-factly.

“Dario,” Kira said with a grin, “you know we rarely understand anything you say when you’re speaking English. How are we supposed to know what a ‘curio’ is?”

“It is English, old English. It means ‘unusual object,’” Dario explained.

The room filled with a small, weak round of laughter. Laughter had been hard to come by for them in recent days. The nearer they got to Earth, the more the dread of what they would find consumed their every thought.

“It certainly is a ‘curio’,” Kira agreed. “And I believe that’s what we should call her. ‘ The Curio.’”

“Call her?” Alaria asked.

“Every ship needs a name,” Kira replied. “’Piece of shit’ just doesn’t have the same ring as ‘Curio,’ although they both describe her pretty well.”

Bron let out an annoyed grunt as the rest of the crew shared another much-needed laugh. “Come on, Bron,” Thor said, shooting the Bandurian man a sympathetic look. “You know we appreciate you lending us your ship.”

Again, Bron grunted and furrowed his brow, and again, the small group laughed.

“Zola!” Alaria exclaimed, interrupting the moment with her own excitement at seeing her newest, and possibly favorite, travel companion enter the room. The cat padded its way to the center of the dining hall.

“I’m surprised she’s left the engine room,” Vinnie said, walking up to the table to join the others. “She has really taken a liking to it down there—the heat from the engine components and such, I assume.”

“It’s because I’m out here,” Alaria said, lifting the cat up and nestling her face down into her fur. “She wanted to be with me.”

Just then Zola’s implant began to chirp. The sound surprised the crew, everyone freezing in place as they stared at the bundle of fur in Alaria’s arms.

“Or, maybe she just knew that Dario had received a message,” Alaria observed, somewhat defeated.

She handed the cat over to her adoptive father. Dario quickly pushed the tuft of fur on the cat’s neck to the side as he removed the communication implant he had hidden there. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the report.

They had been waiting to hear from Grimm’s assistant Thane for weeks. They hoped that whatever news he sent would be good—good for them, at least.

Dario glanced at the crew nervously as he set the transmitter down in the center of the table. The tension in the room increased as they waited for him to initiate the message. The expression on Dario’s face was one of mixed emotions. He was excited to hear from Thane again, but there was fear there too. Every message brought with it the potential for danger—danger for Thane, or danger for them.

“Would you like to listen to it alone first?” Alaria asked, pushing herself up and walking to Dario’s side.

As her unofficial adoptive father, he had given her the reassurances that she needed for years when she was young, sickly, and orphaned. Now, though, it was her that was stepping up to support him.

"No," Dario replied, smiling down at her. "Whatever the message is, it's sure to affect all of us."

The relationship between Thane and Dario was the one thing that had always kept their crew going. With the reports Thane was able to transmit secretly to Dario, they were able to stay one step ahead of Grimm. Or, at least, stay out of Grimm’s path as best they could.

Alaria gave Dario's arm a reassuring squeeze as he reached out and initiated the communicator. Kira and the others leaned in, holding their breath simultaneously as the holographic image of Grimm's personal assistant pored out of the small cube. The young, attractive Terran man looked nervous like he always did in his transmissions. He wrung his hands in front of him a few times before finally beginning to speak.

"Dario," Thane began softly, "my dear Dario. I hope this message finds you well. I apologize for my extended absence. Things here have been…" his voice cracked as he looked over his shoulder nervously. "Things have been tense," he continued. "We've recently arrived at Grimm's new base of operations. It's a planet and a base that appears to have been under construction for some time. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more. I don't know where we are. I don't even know which sector of the galaxy we're in. Grimm has been adamant that the coordinates of our location remain a secret. The only person who knows is the Captain—a man very loyal to Grimm and his cause." Again, the man in the hologram looked back over his shoulder. Lowering his voice, he directed his attention forward again. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help at this time. I will message again soon, I promise. Be safe, Dario. Please, be safe."

With that, the image sucked back into the cube. The silence that fell among the group hung heavily in the air.

“Only the Captain can know,” Kira spoke finally. “That sounds like Grimm.”

Everyone turned to face her. She shrugged and pushed herself up. "He's always been a cautious man," she continued. "But, he has made mistakes before and he will make them again. And, as soon as he does, we'll be ready for him. Our first priority right now is getting the Curio repaired. We're approaching Earth. I'll need to return to the flight deck for our approach."

Everyone nodded their agreement as she turned to walk out of the room. The sound of their voices wafted after her, mixed in with Thor’s heavy footsteps.

He followed her out of the dining hall and down the passageway leading to the flight deck. She looked back at him and smiled, slowing to wait for him. He extended his hand as he moved toward her. She eyed it for a second, looking over his shoulder before intertwining her fingers with his.

“I don’t know why you insist on keeping our relationship a secret,” he said, pulling her toward him.

The feeling of being nestled in his strong hold always relaxed her. He was tall, for a Terran man, and she was short, for a Terran woman. Still, they seemed to fit together perfectly. His strong, muscular arms enveloped her, and her head came just to the center of his chest, where she could listen to the steady beating of his heart.

She turned her face up to his. His shaggy, dark brown hair hung down over his face, just barely covering his dark brown eyes. The typical Terran traits—dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin—fit him wonderfully. He embodied them so well. The rugged nature of humanity was written into the rigid lines of his face, the deep, penetrating nature of his stare, and the mischievous smile that always seemed to cross his lips when he looked at her the way he was in that moment.

Kira shared almost all of the intrinsic Terran qualities with him—dark hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were light, though. She had always hated their blue hue and the unwanted attention they got her. The rarity of Terran women with light-colored eyes made her somewhat of a novelty. That, combined with her petite size had somehow made men view her as appealing in ways she never thought herself to be and never wanted to be, for that matter. She wanted to be viewed the way she viewed Thor—rugged and strong, steady and able. He saw her that way, the way she saw herself, from the very beginning. He never underestimated her; he never sold her short.

“I’m the Captain,” she explained as she reached up and brushed the hair out of his face, “I can’t have my crew thinking that I would give preference to anyone.”

“Because you wouldn’t,” he said, smiling down at her.

“Exactly.”

“So, what does it matter?”

She pushed herself up on her tiptoes as he lowered his face to hers. “I like things the way they are,” she replied. “My history with relationships isn’t the best. I always find some way to mess them up. I don’t want to do that this time. Just give me a little more time to figure out how to navigate all of this.”

He rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t fade from his lips. “You’re a pilot, shouldn’t navigation be your strong point?”

She elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “Somehow, navigating through open space is easier for me than navigating my way through something as complex as a relationship.”

“Have you ever considered that relationships are only complex for you because you make them that way?”

She took a step back and once again intertwined her fingers with his, leading him to the flight deck with her. “You may have a point,” she conceded. “One we can discuss further once we’re safely on Earth, with the bounties off our heads, and on that official first date you’ve been promising me pretty much since the day we met.”

Thor laughed to himself as they made their way into the flight deck. He didn’t slump down in his normal spot in the co-pilot’s seat next to her. Instead, he remained on his feet behind her, watching as she settled into the Captain’s chair.

“Fine,” he agreed. “I’m going to hold you to that, though.”

“I never doubted that you would,” she replied, turning her attention forward and grabbing hold of the controls.