“Are you sure we should let them know now?” Nayeon asked. She was still flying the Breakthrough. She didn't trust autopilot as far as she could throw it, but they’d be turning that on pretty soon. If Nayeon didn’t do it, Jihyo or Jeong would. Maybe Dahyun, because she trusted the ship almost as much as she did her crew. That was one of the only reasons Nayeon agreed to do it. She trusted Dahyun's judgement. 

“Her parents have no idea where she is and if she is even still alive. As do the people,” Mina replied. “They must know soon.” 

“Do they like her?” Or was it just an intense fear or glorification of these people?

An immediate nod. “The news went on and on about going to war with Coruscant. The emperor and empress received several pledges to bring her back, not just from greater families, but those working on the moon and the other planets.” 

“Well,” Nayeon said. “A lot of that is because they want the reward.” 

There was a silence. She looked back, wondering if Mina didn’t believe that or she’d just struck a nerve.

No sign on the spy’s face. She was scarily good at that. All she did was look at the monitor with something akin to interest. 

“Wouldn’t you want to be certain that a disappeared loved one was safe?”

That struck a nerve. 

She bit her lip and put the ship on auto. Then she got up, turned her back on hopefully empty space, and went over to Mina. 

“I would,” Nayeon said. “But I also know that people can wait.” 

Mina looked away from the monitor and at her. There was curiosity, but it was stemmed by something else. She didn’t say anything, but stayed silent. Waiting. 

That was the strange thing about her. Mina had made it a career of finding out everything someone wanted to keep hidden and no doubt using it against them, but here she wasn’t in that position. Yet. Nayeon wondered if she had to hold herself back from sneaking into all their rooms and trying to find information that way. 

Not wanting someone like her to go to those lengths, Nayeon decided it probably wasn’t terrible to say something honest. 

“I’m just saying,” Nayeon shrugged, “if her parents are anything like mine, they’ll trust that she’s safe.” You got to her, didn’t you? She didn’t say that other part. A part of her figured that even complimenting Mina wasn’t the thing you usually did, not if you wanted to give her the impression that you trusted her. Which Nayeon didn’t. “I contacted my parents five years after I left. They knew I was fine.”

She tilted her head then. "How old are you?" 

Nayeon almost smiled. "Isn't it bad manners to ask a lady's age?" 

Mina gave her a look of disbelief. 

"Thirty," Nayeon nearly cringed, "but that's not the discussion here." Then she caught on to her own line of thought. “I'm not exactly a stellar comparison, but the parents argument isn't great. We're also not being gone months. A month tops.” If even that. Unless there were a lot of detours, the engines and fuel they were using would get them there fast. 

Mina shook her head. “You saw the border station. People are tossing all manner of caution to the wind just so they have a chance of finding Sana.” She almost looked disgusted. “That sort of stagnation within Earth, as well as the tensions the queuing will cause in Kepler," she sighed, "it is something that I cannot have happening.”

“And if it’s about keeping us safe?” Nayeon sat down on the other chair. “You saw what the ship looks like, right? We’re not fit for anything but running,” she said. “And I saw with my own eyes that Aphrodite’s got enough fuel for that chase.” 

“All the more reason to send word,” Mina said. “If they know where we are, they can send an . We'll just all be safer for the rest of this journey and you’ll still get your reward.” 

Nayeon shook her head. “This isn’t about the reward, Mina. It’s about not taking even more risks.” She was really starting to sound like Dahyun. She wondered if her co-captain really was the voice of reason and not Nayeon. “You send that message and you expose where we are to anyone tapping your MZ line.” 

She gave her a look. “That line is more than secure one.” 

“Like Sana's ship was secure?” 

Mina’s eyes narrowed. “Aphrodite are strong, yes, but they don’t have that sort of technology to tap our communications.” 

“They could,” she replied. They had, she added silently. And the same probably applied to the first attack. 

Mina turned away from the monitor completely. Her eyes were slits now. "What?"

Nayeon felt slightly intimidated, but she knew the other wouldn't do anything. 

“I mean, with a little inside help, even Kepler could break through a couple Terran walls. Aphrodite's got a decent reach.” 

“How do you know the reach of that planet?” Mina asked. “Courtesy of your old job?” 

Nayeon fought a sigh. She shouldn’t have said that. 

“Let’s get back to the point. You send a message from all the way out here, other people'll know. And I don’t care what you think of us, but if you take all the people in any system, you’re gonna have some opportunist pricks in and out of your kingdom.” She tried to reign in her tone. If she went further, all her words would fall on deaf ears. “I just need us to be careful. Send the message. Keep it scattered.” A pause. "And we’re going dark." 

Mina didn’t even hide her irritation. “No. We must receive their response. They won't search the space between here and Earth, hoping to somehow find this ship." She glared at her. "If we get caught, we're lost." 

“If they know where we are,” Nayeon started, “then everyone's gonna know that. And I repeat, we’re not set for another battle. Not even a chase.” 

Mina’s frown deepened. 

Nayeon wished she could be more of a patient person. “Don't kid yourself,” she said. “I don’t care if Sana’s my future overlord and you’re her right hand, but out here, I know that you don’t know about how Kepler or Coruscant work. That means that me and the rest know what we have to do, so we decide. We’re sending a message and then going dark, or not at all.” 

Mina didn’t say anything. She barely even looked mad now. It really was scary how she did that. 

Then she began to tap things in, still silent. It was almost a temper tantrum, but she didn’t even look cold. Just mildly disinterested. The spy was basically sulking, but she was still a spy. From Earth. Nayeon tried not to look worried as she watched. 

But Mina just wrote the message. It said that Sana was safe, with one survivor of the attack, and coming home. No code, just the facts. Everyone would know what that meant. 

There was no sly secret message, at least not from what Nayeon could tell. It was just about impossible to do that subtly, so unless she’d done anything while Nayeon was flying the ship, which she doubted, Mina hadn't done anything else. 

Then the message was sent. The comms were turned off.

Nayeon took note of that. Mina not only knew how to work the programs, but she recognised the workings of the systems. Was that another part of her job? Nayeon wondered what wasn’t a part of it. 

“There." Mina stood and walked right past Nayeon towards the pilot's seat. She put in some commands. 

"What are you doing?" Nayeon followed. 

"Changing course," she replied. "If they're as good as you know they are, they will be able to find our relative position." When she straightened, her eyes were cold. "Now I made it more difficult for them. Just as you wanted it," she walked past Nayeon again, just brushing past her shoulder, "captain." The last word was spat. 

The door closed with a hiss, leaving Nayeon alone and feeling both intimidated and slightly smug. 

____

“So do you guys wear crowns?” Jeongyeon raised a brow.

“We do at public events,” Sana said. She didn’t say that her crown was more a tiara sort of thing. 

“Crowns, lords,” Chaeyoung smiled, “is there anything your family didn’t take from old royals?”

Sana shook her head. “Not quite.” She laughed slightly. “We have courts, guards, and events like balls.” 

“Wow,” Jihyo shook her head, “no wonder they call you Your Royal Highness.” 

Sana felt a small blush form. “You think it’s completely superfluous.”

A shrug. "Not exactly that word, but yep," she said as Jeongyeon chuckled. 

Mina walked in then. Nayeon close behind. 

“I sent word you’re safe,” Mina said. “And the course's changed to have a three day’s delay.” became set in a line. 

“And we’ll be dark on the comms for a few days,” Nayeon added. “It’ll be enough to avoid your people’s traces and Aphrodite’s.” She glanced at Mina then. 

Clearly, there’d been a disagreement. Sana couldn’t tell where exactly that had been, but Mina wasn’t even looking the other’s way. That meant Mina was the one who had led the disagreement. 

Nayeon sat down. “Auto’s on too.” 

“Nice,” Jihyo stood, going to one of the cupboards, “anyone in the mood?” She pulled out a bottle of gin. 

“Isn’t this your morning?” Mina asked. 

“Oh, honey,” Nayeon winked, “time’s relative, remember?” 

Sana almost cringed. The tone was wrong, the 'honey' made it even worse. 

Mina's tone rose to a snap. “Doesn’t mean you should drink that time away." 

Jihyo, very pointedly, opened the bottle. “None of us drank and drove. I think we’re off the hook.” She poured a glass for Jeongyeon. They exchanged a look. One that traded unspoken remarks and jokes. 

Sana looked away. 

Mina pursed her lips. Then she went to the other cupboards and got out syn-bread and toppings. She sat down beside Sana and began to eat. She didn’t say a word. 

“So,” Jeongyeon began, “you recognise anyone except the Earl of Clothes?”

“Lord of Textiles.” Nayeon smirked as she tapped her glass to Jihyo’s and Jeongyeon's. She took a sip. 

Dahyun came in then. Her hair was down. She yawned. “Hiya.”

They all responded. 

The mechanic sat down beside Sana, propping her crutches and leg on the other side. “Was there anyone at the border station you knew?” She peered up at Sana with dreary eyes. 

“One of note,” Sana replied. She looked away. “Ramon. He’s a duke on Mars.” 

“But not of the whole planet, right?” Chaeyoung raised a brow. 

She shook her head. “His family leads most of the mining operations there.” 

“So a big supplier,” Dahyun said. A frown appeared. “Why'd he need a reward? If he’s ahead on Mars, that’d make him richer than anyone in Kepler.” 

Mina spoke then. “He thinks it will make him a better candidate.” 

“To rule Mars?” Jihyo asked. “Seems a big step above the money, if I’m honest.” 

She shrugged. “It would be included.” A glance at Sana then.

“She means that he wants to marry me,” Sana said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. 

“You're forced to marry?” Dahyun asked.

Sana met her gaze. “It’s better for how the people see me. The same applies to men."

"Weird," Nayeon chuckled, "but why'd they need you to marry? Is it so you don't become a dictator?" Her brow rose, as though thinking it over. Then she shook her head. 

Sana smiled. "The people would rather know you have the ability to love than to have you ruling completely on your own.” She didn't agree with it. Not when she had to find a partner. One she had to tolerate for years. 

Dahyun's brow rose, but then she shrugged. “How long has it been since you woke up?” She squinted at Jihyo, then at the glass. 

The pilot grinned. “Woke up early. Spent my morning well.”

Dahyun leant over to Sana. “That means she got really into some drawn-up story.”

“They’re called comics,” Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, "at least get it right!" She winked at Jihyo who whacked her arm. 

There was a low chuckle. The mechanic’s eyes were warm. Then she glanced up at Sana. She was still just next to her. The others were discussing the ‘drawn-up’ stories and how Jihyo was stuck in the past. Mina had proceeded to eat in silence. 

Sana felt her cheeks warm more. “Sleep well?” she asked. 

“Yep,” Dahyun replied. “Do you mind?” Her hand reached out to point at the jam beside Sana’s plate.

The scars on it were definitely from fuel. Accidental or related to the reason why Nayeon had lost her arm? Sana couldn't tell. 

“No,” Sana said. She looked from the uncovered hand and back to Dahyun. 

The other girl began to prepare her bread. Fatigue was still present in her eyes. Sana found herself watching how Dahyun’s concentration went from small to large. There were small twitches on as the conversation continued with jibes and remarks, but she wasn’t speaking up as often as she usually did during the crew meals. 

Then Dahyun glanced her way. Sana felt caught and looked away. Again. She’d finished her breakfast. That was her cue to go. She didn’t really want to. 

But she had to. She had no idea about what the others were talking about now. Mina was almost done and was definitely not going to stay for further conversation, while Momo was now more than absorbed in her food. 

Sana stood. Dahyun looked up again, a question forming in her eyes. 

She brushed a hand across the mechanic’s shoulder. “See you in the workshop.” It was an absent-minded motion, but she realised what she did immediately. 

Dahyun’s brow rose. 

Sana pulled her hand away, her face starting to burn. She tried not to, but she just about rushed out of the room. Her feet acted on their own accord. She passed Tzuyu along the way who nodded—a silent good morning. 

Sana went straight to the workshop and relaxed when the door closed. This room was an incredible escape from the outside world. Even if that world just included a ship.

She walked in further, spotting a collection of wires and spheres on Dahyun’s bench. She got to her own bench. She was getting close to finishing up the design. Maybe she’d make more designs to start production on at home. Or she’d actually finish making a prototype before they arrived. She loved to conceptualise her ideas, but the crafting aspect was always taken out of her hands. Here she could actually make something, see through how it came together, and choose what materials she’d use. It was the perfect place for it. No wonder Dahyun spent so much time in here. 

Dahyun. Sana closed her eyes. Why was she at the forefront of her mind in a situation like this? That there were many eyes on them wasn’t anything new. What was new was how close everyone was to each other and there were no political games being placed. It was a change Sana loved, but it also came with its own confusions. 

____

Mina tried to find a comfortable position on the bed that didn’t include lying down. She failed. 

She was on her stomach now, trying to read though some Kepler archives. Her arms had grown heavy from hanging down so long. 

She sighed. She didn’t want to go outside. It was childish thinking at best, but she couldn’t stand being in the commons area. It would be too loud and likely full of tipsy women. Unbearable. 

There was one place she could go. It would be empty now. 

Mina got up. She stretched. Her joints popped. 

She climbed the ladder. When she could peer over the hatch, she looked towards the front and back of the level. To her dismay, she saw Nayeon lounging on one of the benches beside a cupboard—the one for air tanks. 

The other captain had something in her ears. She’d tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, as if to signal to anyone passing that she wasn’t interested in conversation. Something Mina was more in favour of. 

Now she just had to hope that Nayeon hadn’t seen her. 

Mina made it to the cockpit without hearing some witty greeting or cocky remark.

She went straight to the monitors and sat down. She looked once at the main window and into the passing darkness. There came a point where a starry sky became intolerable. Mina wondered what it was like for the station-born. What would they think of a star that rose and fell in a sky that could be so many colours? What would they think of weather? 

It was nothing she wanted to think much about. 

Mina went back to reading about the rise and fall of Kepler companies and/or governments (sometimes the lines blurred). It was nothing like what they discussed in the Earth system—at least nothing that the general public knew. It was more stable than most gave them credit for. Mina knew that they stretched the truth, as did those she worked with and the Emperor and Empress.

Even Sana had yet to learn the full picture of their galaxy. It wasn’t her fault. Establishing a more than exceptional understanding of Earth’s inner workings and the different MZ branches took precedent. The rest could come after her rule began. Or so it should have been. 

After recent events, Mina would have to call for greater ties to Coruscant. They needed more stations there. They needed more authority. They needed more ears. Sana also needed to make more appearances there—as long as they knew that she and all future generations would be well defended. 

Mina still didn’t know how Aphrodite’s people—or a splinter faction of theirs (she couldn’t know which of the two it was. Yet)—had been able to overpower their craft without destroying the ship. A part of her wondered if it had been an inside job, as Nayeon seemed to believe. They had yet to fully dissect what they’d gotten from the Aphroditan ship. They would need to know all they could before the next steps were taken. 

Now was certainly not the time to bring it up, but Dahyun and Nayeon had the potential to be vital to taking those next steps. Mina was unsure if either would be willing to volunteer that information. The mechanic/captain had already taken a liking to Sana—perhaps that would come into play when they arrived. She would say nothing of that to the princess, as her refusal would be immediate. Probably for good reason. 

On the other hand, Mina was sure Nayeon would say nothing of value to her. If neither said anything, then Mina would have to find other ways into Coruscant. If they cooperated, this would be a superb starting point. 

As if Mina’s thoughts had been transferred over, the doors opened. In strode Nayeon. She wore an easy smile. Mina felt her mood sour. 

“Not snooping around?” Nayeon asked. 

“I know what I need to,” Mina replied. For now, she added in her head. Depending on the rest, they could also provide valuable insight into the Kepler system. Or at least something for a better understanding. That was also something Earth sorely lacked. It would be a difficult discussion to have at home, but they needed to have it. 

“For now.” Nayeon went over to the pilot’s seat. She peered down into space. 

Mina wondered again what the 'old job' had been. Nayeon seemed to have skills that weren’t just leading a team and piloting a ship. Mina couldn’t figure out what those were, but she had her suspicions. 

A small silence came over them. Though it might have been the better strategic action, Mina didn’t want to address earlier. 

“Do you trust autopilot?”

Mina felt more than slightly taken aback. “Yes.” 

Nayeon looked up. “Really? You trust something without guarantee that it works?” 

“I’ve had to,” Mina said. She had made the journey to Kepler alone. She’d tried to be in control most of the time, but she’d needed to eat, sleep, and find a way to busy herself during the period of isolation. 

Nayeon tilted her head to the side. “But do you really think it'll do everything right? Avoid asteroids, keep on course anyway, and report on bogeys?” There was no sign she’d drunk anything. Her eyes were bright and her words clear. 

“You usually have to,” she replied. “Unless you’d like to spend every waking moment looking at that.” She pointed at the window. “I couldn’t.” There was still a great amount of discomfort in the air. 

The other girl proceeded to clear it for her. “Listen, I get why you want an open comms, but I’m not gonna take that risk.” She walked over, her arms loosely crossed. “Maybe the Minatozaki ships’ll move faster, and maybe their crew's trustworthy, but what if they’re not? On top of that, what if we get tracked down by Earthers, Kepler crews, Aphrodite ones, and even Artemis’s too?” Nayeon sighed. “That’s too many maybes and I hate a 'what if' when I need something clear.” 

“And what is clear is simply nothing,” Mina finished. “Blind faith rather than doubt.” 

A small smile. “Exactly.” She patted the monitor. “Jeong’d say it’s not blind and that we have a little control over it." Another sigh. "And we have no choice but to trust it." Then she left. 

____

Dahyun sat down at her workbench. She glanced up to see that Sana was just about immersed in drawing up her plans. She smiled at the sight. 

It might have been the fact that Dahyun didn’t know how Sana looked in elaborate gowns or even in a crown sort of thing. The fact that she was a princess was real enough. They were on this journey because of it. Then again, looking at her now, the fact hadn’t seem to sunk in yet. 

Her hair was up in a ponytail and she wore a loose shirt and pants. Even without any dresses, she looked damn good. Dahyun was quite sure that she would be floored if she ever saw Sana in her royal glory. 

Dahyun shook her head and went back to her own work. Not only was her thinking going to the impossible, but they wouldn’t be staying that long. And she could look up those pictures. She wouldn’t, because that’d be weird, but she could if she was that curious. She wasn’t. Not really. 

They worked in silence then. Dahyun was reminded of how Sana had gone about repairs in the engine room. She had also been silent then, not feeling obligated to start a conversation. It was unexpected. What Dahyun had seen of politicians and industrialists, they always needed to send their opinions into any silence they came across. This was not the same. 

She stopped her thoughts. These next steps were crucial. If she got the placement wrong, then it wouldn't work at all.

She pinched the coil of Mercury and carefully slid the planet on. Not many people went to Mercury because of how hot it was, but there’d been many mining expeditions made to it. Probably from that Ramon guy too, or at least his family. 

She repeated the motions for all the planets. She got to Jupiter when her concentration started to slip. That was her cue to stop. 

Dahyun stretched only to find that Sana was looking over. Her eyes were on the model and her head was tilted to the side. 

“You’re making another system model?” The princess nodded at the Coruscant one. Because they needed to go dark on the comms, there wouldn’t be much on the news function either. Just the respective orbits of it all. 

Dahyun almost felt caught. She’d technically wanted it to be a surprise. Guess not. 

“Yep,” she nodded. “For Earth.” She let the Sun spin once. “I thought it would be a good thing for the three of you to have while we’re on the way.” 

Sana stood then, coming over. Her eyebrows rose. “The three of us?” 

“You’ll know what’s all happening in the system, while we’re on the way.” Dahyun shrugged. “Won’t need it long, but,” she trailed off. She was about to offer it as a gift, but what use would this girl have for a scrappy news source? Nayeon had told her what Mina’s actual job was and that was way better than just about any news device. 

The princess sat down beside her, at least on the side where Dahyun’s leg wasn’t propped up. 

“How does it work?” She peered at the planets. “I saw with the others that you use holograms?” She pointed at the mixture of lenses, mirrors, and light sources. 

Dahyun nodded again. “The really technical stuff I get from Jeongyeon. I’m not savvy with that kind of thing.” She checked to see if Mercury and Venus spun. They did. “But I do get the orbits right. More or less.” 

“You even have Mercury’s wobble,” Sana smiled, “we usually ignore that. Unless you need something really technical for it.” She glanced over at her. “You didn’t have to make this. Unless you’re really interested in what’s happening here.” 

“Honestly,” Dahyun said, “not much, but it won’t hurt to know which stations can be flown by and which can’t, right?” 

“Right,” she repeated. She sounded distant. 

When Dahyun peeked over, she saw that Sana was looking at her. The silence then lasted a few moments too long. Dahyun knew she was staring. She was vaguely aware that there probably weren’t many people who ever saw Sana up this close. There were no doubt a huge amount of guards around her and then the usual reverence that probably surrounded her that forced a person to keep their distance. But that wasn’t the case here. Dahyun found it pretty weird that she didn’t have to hold to that. She didn’t even have to use the royal titles. Hell, she’d eaten a few meals cooked by this princess. 

“You okay?” Sana asked. 

Dahyun blinked. Several times. “Yep,” she said. “Was just giving my eyes a break.” A terrible way to phrase that. 

“Well deserved,” she replied. “Needs a lot of concentration, right?” 

“Yeah.” Dahyun averted her gaze then. She reached out for Saturn, making sure to balance its rings as well. She shouldn’t have made them loose. They began to dangle. 

Then a hand reached out and steadied them. 

“I think you were a bit too accurate here,” Sana said, the teasing edge in her voice obvious. 

Dahyun chuckled. “I could have added all the relevant moons and stations too.” She got Saturn on with ease. She secured it. 

“What if I wanted to know everything about the Titan station?” She leant on her elbow, her face squarely in Dahyun’s view. She pouted. 

“Did you?” 

“Nope,” she smiled, “it’s under construction anyway, so whatever version you’d take now would be out of date.”

“Under construction,” Dahyun muttered. “T16 has been the same for about fifty years.” 

“In its defence, or rather, not, it has been under siege a few times in that same time.”

“Good point.” She repeated the process with Uranus, while Sana steadied the rings, then Neptune with its thin ones, and finally Pluto. 

“That’s technically part of the Kuiper Belt,” Sana said. 

“And hasn’t been a part of the planets, gotcha,” Dahyun replied. “But,” she paused for effect, “it’s my model so we count it as one.” 

“Some would consider that blasphemy.” 

“But you have a water station based there, right?” Definitely not a nice job environment. The (dwarf)planet was, for lack of a better word, freezing. “It’s not on the other ones, last I checked.” Which had been a while ago. 

“That is a long-standing debate,” Sana said. “One that even my parents can’t solve.” Another smile. “We’d have to consult the scientific community first, suggest our ruling, and then they would debate.” 

“You're saying there's more important things than classifying planets?” 

“It would seem so,” the princess winked, “but they also debated the classification of plants and animals for centuries.” 

“Do they still have animals on Earth?” Dahyun asked. “I only every saw them in the movies and stuff.” 

Her gaze softened. “We do have animals,” she said. “When we get there, I can introduce you to our dogs.” 

Dahyun nodded. If she was perfectly honest, she hoped that didn’t mean having to properly interact with them. What if the animals could sense that she was literally an alien to them? Would that make them want to bite her? She had no idea. 

“Kuiper Belt next?” Sana asked. When Dahyun nodded again, her voice turned slightly quiet. “May I?” She pointed at the last coil. 

Dahyun couldn’t help but smile. “Sure thing.” 

She gently lifted the string of planets Dahyun had made in miniature. Then she placed them onto the coil, her brow furrowing as she did. Absolute concentration. 

“Done!” A bright smile broke out on Sana’s face. “That’s done, right?” She switched between proper and not casual speech a few times. Maybe it was court speech and normal talking battling it out. 

“All we need to do for now.” Dahyun made the last few planets spin. All worked. Even the ones with rings. “Unfortunately that’ll take a little while now.” 

“That’s okay,” she replied. “Thank you.” Her voice took on some seriousness. “I know it’s hard for all of you. Taking risks like you have, having three people where you know barely anything, avoiding people where you know more.” Pause. “I’m sorry for that.” 

Dahyun turned to look at her fully. She was staring at the planets, a combination of homesickness and something that looked awfully like regret. 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Dahyun said. “You’re the one being chased, remember? Some hot commodity all the systems want.” She nudged the princess lightly with an elbow. “And you and the other two’ve been helping out where you can. Something you don’t need to do, because you’re going to be doing a lot more for us than a journey across the stars.”

She didn’t say it, maybe she could later, but the money they’d get from this would solve so many problems and open so many more opportunities. The Breakthrough could get a lot of upgrades, their software and hardware could be brought forward a couple decades, and all of her plans could be realised. The risk they faced along the way would be worth it. And they were doing a good deed on top of it. A full on win-win situation. 

“I just want to make sure that you—all of you get what you deserve,” Sana whispered. She met Dahyun’s eyes then. There was a warmth to them that made Dahyun feel like she was seeing something a girl like her was never supposed to see. She still held Sana’s gaze, wondering how long it’d last.

Her eyes wanted to wander, linger somewhere else, but she resisted. That was nothing that should have been on her mind now. 

At that moment, Sana’s eyes flickered elsewhere and then back. Dahyun must’ve imagined it.

Dahyun looked away. “Well, um, you don’t need to say sorry. We let you on and you’re staying on.” She tried for a smile as she kept her eyes on Venus. “You and I, well, uh,” she nearly slapped herself, “we’re good.” Now she was stuttering. She had no idea how she’d managed the past week. Had it been a week? 

“I would hope so.” There was a small laugh, almost a giggle. “But thank you, Dahyun. I mean it.” She stood, but not before she did that thing again. A brush across Dahyun’s shoulders. One that made her blush like mad. 

____

Author’s Note

A little later than normal, I know. Life has certainly gotten busier. I hope to update regularly still, but that may be extended to every other week. 

Some different dynamics happening on the Breakthrough. Mina and Nayeon are a mixed bag. Both are quite used to knowing best and although Nayeon will listen to others, that isn’t quite the case with Mina (though she doesn’t always make it easy on that front).

On the other hand, we have Saida getting closer. Their interactions are really lovely to write, because the bonding over mechanics and the like is something I adore. Another thing is the disconnect between Sana’s actual status and her one on the ship. Not only does she very much enjoy it, but it makes everyone else on the ship just a little bit more at ease. They don’t have to hold to putting her on a pedestal. At least for now. 

Hopefully you’re still along for the ride! The time that’ll be taken between the edge of the Earth system and Earth itself won’t be too long, so I hope you’ll forgive me if there are small time-skips. I’m still finalising that. Also, I aged them up a few years, as there's more history to this crew than 20–24 years of age allows for.

This story will also continue after the journey’s finished, hope you're up to see what Earth's like then. That'll be where status actually becomes a factor. I’m already looking forward to that.

Would love to know your thoughts. See you next chapter!