“Pass me the welder?” Sana glanced up. 

“It’s closer to you," Dahyun replied.

“You need the exercise,” she grinned, “weren’t those the doctor’s orders?” 

There was a sigh. Then the sound of footsteps. The welder was brought from one bench to hers. Dahyun turned to leave. 

“Wait.” Sana tapped Dahyun with her foot. 

“Hm?” The mechanic looked back. Her bun was coming loose. 

She got to her feet and tapped the loose bun. “You need to redo that.” She pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, then her cheek. 

Dahyun smiled. “So you got the energy to do this, but not to get your welder?”

“I’m being efficient,” Sana winked at her, “and are you complaining?” She moved to her lips. 

Her eyes were closed when Sana pulled away. “No?”

Sana kissed her again. 

“Nope,” Dahyun said. “Not complaining.”

Sana couldn’t stop smiling. Dahyun was endearingly goofy. 

“Get back to work,” she patted Sana’s head, “you’re about to weld. Unless that was also just to get me here.”

“I’m welding,” Sana replied. “I thought it was the perfect time for a break.”

Dahyun looked over at her bench. “But you’re almost done.” 

“Fine,” she whined. “But we’re taking a break when I’m done.”

“I’ll wait ’til I’m finished,” Dahyun sang as she went back. 

Sana didn’t know how much time had passed in the workshop, only that she’d spent most of it in here. Ever since she’d told Dahyun about not making her own prototypes last week, the mechanic had been almost giddy in making that a reality. She’d gotten parts somehow, telling Sana to reform them however she wanted in their makeshift quasi-forge. It also had a name: Ari. 

Sana’s leading theory for the parts was that Dahyun’d dismantled one of the guns in the storage room. There had been some pieces she recognised. She hadn’t asked about it, but kept a small catalogue of what might’ve gone from Dahyun’s guns to Sana’s prototypes. 

Dahyun had also gotten into a designing fever. She’d made five new ones already, all were rooms of a ship. Now she was working on a turret. She tended to hastily draft out a plan before moving on to the next. The rough outlines were usually littered with notes on materials and costs. It wasn’t hard to put together. She had a new ship in her mind. 

Nevertheless, little could distract Dahyun from work. It was a good thing, something Sana had come to admire. That was until Sana got distracted, intent on luring Dahyun away or gleaning small tidbits about her work or life (sometimes the lines between them blurred together).  

She’d learned that Dahyun had a brother, that she was a lot better at designing weapons than ships (even though she loved doing both), that she'd played piano, and that she’d been hired as entertainment from time to time on Artemis because of it. 

Wearing a little suit, tie, and all that jazz. 

“Do you think you’ll land on Earth before going back?” Talking about that day felt right for Sana, even though she didn’t like to. She had to remind herself that her own journey on the Breakthrough was temporary. 

“I want to,” Dahyun replied. “I’ve never actually been on a planet. Or at least put a foot on it.” 

“Not even on Kepler?” Sana had been there, as well as on Aphrodite. Both fleeting, yet fascinating. Kepler had fewer oceans, while Aphrodite had even more water than Earth did, both fresh and seawater. 

“Nope.” A pause. “Only exclusive folk get to the planets, at least when it comes to the station-born ones.”

Sana wanted to show Dahyun what Earth was like, see what her reaction would be when she saw the sun and moon rise and fall in the sky. 

“And moon born.” Momo had been born on theirs. 

“That too.” 

Sana sighed loudly. She was almost finished. A few hours and then she’d have a working prototype. 

She stood and went to Dahyun’s bench. “How’s it coming along?” She sat down, gently wrapping an arm around the mechanic’s waist. 

“Good,” she said. “Wanted to convert some Aphroditan details onto its functions. You know, from the gun. It’s a little harder than I thought. I’ll probably ask Jeong later.” She pursed her lips. 

“There’s a station by Jupiter that makes the setups for that.” Sana pointed at the base. It needed to be specific to the energy output. While there was most likely (hopefully) not going to be any kickback, the heat alone had the potential to be an issue. 

“Ooh,” Dahyun’s eyes lit up, “what’s it called?” Her pen was at the ready. She looked like Sana had just told her about a miracle. 

“I’ll tell you if we take a break.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Tell me first. You’re gonna forget otherwise.”

“I’ve got a good memory,” Sana muttered. 

“I’ll forget.” Dahyun’s eyes were scanning her paper. 

“Please,” she wrapped both her arms around her, “I’m so hungry.” She really was. 

“Promise you’ll tell me?” Dahyun peered at her. She still hadn’t worked on her bun. It was practically undone now, only held together at one small end by a hair-tie. 

“Promise.” Sana stood, half heaving her up with her. Then she reached past her, grabbed the pen, and wrote: Juno 2. 

“So you know the good suppliers here and in Kepler.” Dahyun grinned. “I know some good, maybe shady, ones in Kepler and Coruscant.” She winked. “I think a good trade of recommendations could be possible?”

“I’m not completely ignorant of Coruscant,” she countered. 

“Odin,” she nodded, “but there’re a couple more cool ones. Some have an amazing stock of ship turrets—they’re always improving. Best of the best.” She reached for the pen. “Just outside one of the gas giants Hermes. Moon’s Loki.”

Sana stopped her. “Very much in line with the Greek and Norse theme.”

“You bet.” Dahyun swung her legs over the bench. They walked towards the door. 

It opened in that moment.

Sana was torn between pulling away and staying where she was. She let go. They weren’t exactly hiding, but they hadn’t said anything either. Sana had held back on PDA as well. A difficult fear. 

“Heading for lunch, lovebirds?” Chaeyoung asked. 

Dahyun looked away immediately. Sana fought the urge to poke her cheeks. 

“Ya can’t be subtle with me, Dubs.” She walked past them. “Bon appetit.” The dimple on her cheek showed as she smirked at them. 

The door closed. 

“She’s right,” Dahyun mumbled. She started walking to the kitchens. “Chewie and her tried to have a secret relationship, but we figured it out after day one.” She smiled up at Sana. “Here I think they were just being polite to you.” 

“Oh?” Sana raised an eyebrow. “So I was holding back this whole time when I didn’t have to?” She slipped an arm around Dahyun’s waist, pulling her closer. 

“Maybe?” Dahyun was blushing. “Come on, break time’s being eaten up.” She kept walking. 

In the kitchen sat Nayeon and Jihyo. 

Nayeon snickered. “G’day, Your Imperial Highnesses.” 

“Hey, captain.” Jihyo grinned. “We’re ready to turn the comms on in a bit. Jeong’s getting a couple follow-up messages ready to send out first thing. Then we pick up speed.” 

“Great,” Dahyun nodded, “and I checked if the engines are in good shape. Chaeng agrees they’re not leaking.” 

When had she done that? Sana was almost certain she hadn’t left the workshop that often. Unless—of course. She was going during the night. Sana wondered if that would change when she had company. 

Dahyun walked over to the kitchen counter, Sana in tow. 

Jihyo nodded. “I checked too.” She glanced at her wrist. “Should be ready to go in twenty minutes, maybe a half hour.” She sipped from her mug, sighing. “Are we still flying by Ceres, or is that just our cover?” 

Dahyun looked at Sana then. “The ship’ll manage the trip. Do you guys have something where I can fix her up once we land?” 

Her chest swelled at the words ‘once we land’. Maybe she would be able to show Dahyun a part of the planet. 

Sana nodded. “Definitely. You’ll get the parts you need too.” 

A small smile, then a nod. “Then we skip Ceres.” 

Nayeon stretched. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She stood, walking to the sink. She filled her glass. “I’m worried about what’ll come next.” Her eyes went to Sana’s. “I can’t stop thinking about who’s behind it all. We know it’s Aphrodite, but they skipped system for ya.” She drank it in one go. “And Earth's getting money too."

“Do you think Ceres would be tied to them?” Sana asked. She let go of Dahyun to get some of their syn-bread and jam. 

A shrug. “Not exactly, but they're probably hoping we got trashed. If I had the people, I’d station a spy or two at each place.” Nayeon sighed. “And they’ll have the money to rope a couple in.” 

There it was again. While it all sounded so straightforward, the scarred captain seemed very experienced as she spoke. Sana wasn’t sure if it was because she'd made those decisions, or if she had devoted much of her time trying to find that information out. Either she’d been in Aphrodite’s system, or working against it. Or both. 

She knew that Mina didn’t trust her. There might've been reason considering what sort of person Nayeon might have been. That applied to all of them. One thing Sana couldn’t forget was how different their lifestyles were. Still, Kepler made a lot of things almost inevitable. Either that or it easily enabled otherwise illegal acts. Based on what she’d seen in Kepler itself, Sana could excuse the crew. But within Earth itself, those things, even something as ‘simple’ as wearing a mask, were banned for a reason. 

“You okay?” Dahyun asked. “You’re staring at jam.” 

Sana smiled. “Just thinking.” 

They sat down. Nayeon was leaning by the sink, also in deep thought. 

“Did we see where in Earth the signals were being sent?” Dahyun asked. “Or did Jeong figure it out after?”

“Not exactly.” Jihyo shook her head. “Beamed ‘em to a ship by Neptune, but they’re probably outta there now.” 

“It was in packs of three hundred,” Nayeon murmured. “Not sure how long, but that kinda thing means it can't be tracked easy.” A crooked smile. “Illegal . Shocker” 

Dahyun ate a spoonful of cereal, a small smile on her face. Her mind was also clearly working as she chewed. “Anyone you think'd get something outta saving you?” Then she frowned. “Dumb question. Everyone wins.” Another bite. She chewed a few times, then swallowed. "But if they already had way more than what you’re offering, and could ask for more. Could they?”

Nayeon straightened. “Like territory or some kind of alliance. Maybe a takeover of a business branch?” Her eyes were ablaze. “And ‘cause everyone gets involved, they get chaos. Then just about no one’ll think the rescue's convenient.” 

There was room to accuse the crew of that exact thing. Except for the fact that Sana had found them. There would’ve been a series of coincidences needed for that to be 'convenient'. And Sana just didn’t believe it. Not just because of Dahyun, but because of how the rest of them were. They were good people. Honest minds with dishonest actions. 

So many times had she been proven right about people who approached her. She knew what their intentions were very soon, even if she humoured them for some time. Mina usually found that long before she did, but she rarely voiced it. Sana was expected to figure that out for herself. 

“Anyway,” Jihyo got to her feet, “I need a top up.” She held out her mug. 

Nayeon poured her a new mug of coffee. Jihyo just took it black. 

“Jeong too.”

The captain nodded. Another cup was poured, this time with syn-milk. 

“Before you head to work again,” Jihyo turned to them, “I want you both to survey what we’ve got. You know way more than either of us do about where we gotta go and stuff.” She looked at Sana. “I gotta be able to plan the best route. Jeongyeon’s got a good idea for it, but it’s dated, which we’re not gonna risk.” Then she was gone. 

“We’re bringing Mina too,” Nayeon said. “No offence,” she told Sana. 

“None taken,” she replied. “She was coming along if you wanted her there or not.” Even so, Sana was intrigued by Nayeon’s words. There wasn’t a lot of trust between them, but at least the Nayeon put some faith in Mina’s judgement. 

The toothy captain sat down again. 

“Anything I say now would be considered an invitation for unrest,” Sana said. She was just about finished with her food. “At home, these words are said when we know all is absolutely secure.” 

Nayeon nodded. “Then don’t go into the ugly details. We just gotta know the general thing.”

As in, did she suspect that someone would work with Aphrodite? Someone who had vast connections within Earth, might want to cause unrest in Kepler, and get Sana kidnapped. Only so that they could ‘rescue’ her and get an advantage that was not monetary. Marriage sprung to mind at that. Rescue the princess, become her prince, and eventually her emperor. Wasn’t that how it always went? 

“They might be from Earth,” Sana said. “But I'd suspect Mars more.” The words were difficult to say. “Though both cannot be underestimated in strength.” She didn’t name any names. It was broad enough. 

“Knowing it’s possible is enough for me,” Nayeon said. “How sure are you about your inner circle? Advisors, allies, relatives?” Her gaze was piercing. No one but Sana’s parents were allowed to look at her like that. A look like this would've meant a threat, but she knew it was only worry. 

“I know who to trust with my life,” Sana said.

 “Okay.” Dahyun nodded, but she still looked bothered.

Then there was a shout. “All of you get up here!” Jihyo’s voice. Why hadn’t this come over the comms?

They scrambled to their feet. Nayeon opened the doors of the rest, relaying the message in a tight mutter.

Dahyun was going up the ladder, faltering slightly as she went. Her leg still wasn’t fully healed.

They got to the top. Jihyo’s eyes were wide. She was pacing.  

“Jeong’s trying to figure it out. She’s got controls to get us away if we have to,” she told them. Each word had a high stress to it. 

The rest of the crew arrived very quickly. 

“Earthers want us to stop,” Jihyo said, her eyes narrowed. “'Cept for good looks, is there some protocol we broke?” 

Mina shook her head. “It might be because we’re one of the only ships to come in from Kepler.” 

Nayeon frowned. "You three stay away from the windows.” 

“And masks are illegal, so we can’t even bother with that,” Dahyun said. “Me and Nayeon'll go to the cockpit, greet them. Call you from there.” 

“Might be better if you three go to the engine room,” said Nayeon. “They’ll search the rooms if they think you're here.” 

“And what’ll you say when they ask about the extra room?” Momo asked. 

“Again, we have a couple on board,” she replied. “Chaeng, check it’s a mess made by one person and not three. The rest of you stay in the rooms.” 

The crew of the Breakthrough sprung into action, yet Dahyun lingered. 

“If it’s someone where you feel safe going back with ‘em,” the mechanic bit her lip, “then say it. They’ll recognise your voice too. If you don’t say anything, nothing‘ll happen.” 

Sana reached for her hand. “Even if it’s someone I trust, you’d get your money.” They'd already done so much for this trip. She owed them this. 

Dahyun didn’t meet her eyes. Her lips pursed, the response forming on them. 

“Get your over here,” Nayeon called. “We need a united front of two.” A twisted smile appeared, as if in the panic, she’d found something funny. Another panic situation. For the both of them. 

Dahyun squeezed Sana’s hand then. “See you.” She turned around, let go, and headed into the cockpit. 

“Come on,” Jihyo said. “I’ll be there with you. If they come, we're putting ya in storage.” She went to the ladder. “And they won’t know my voice.” 

Sana realised then what this meant. They didn’t let the rest reveal their faces. Dahyun didn’t want anyone to know who else were bringing them home. Yet here she and Nayeon were, showing their faces to whoever was out there. All because of Sana. 

_____

“,” Nayeon muttered. “We’re not getting away from that.” 

“At least not if we wanna survive the trip outta here,” Dahyun said. “I want my helmet.”

“Same here.” If someone had your face, the chance of disappearing went down by 70%. If someone knew who you were, what you’d done and they knew your face, it was a solid 90%. Nayeon and Dahyun had done it once before.

The ship was massive. Not sleek black, thank whatever higher force existed, but dark silver. It was designed for speed, both in an atmosphere and out of it, but clearly not from Coruscant. A relief, but also something that vindicated their theories. 

“Jeong,” Dahyun said. “Get outta here before they see your face.” Her eyes were strained, almost teary. Nayeon wanted to tell her to leave the cockpit, but Dahyun would never do it. And if any decisions were gonna be made, they needed to make them together. Especially if they disagreed. 

“Not gonna happen.” 

Nayeon went over. “It is. As far as I know, your sister’s here, so're your parents.” She levelled her best ‘do as I say’ look at her. “They see what you look like, you‘re not gonna be able to touch a station or that planet again.” Unless there was some kind of face construction or constant voice modulation, neither Dahyun nor Nayeon could ever go back to Coruscant. Not really. 

“Go to the engines,” Dahyun said. “I need you there in case they board.” 

Jeongyeon left. 

Then the ship was moving by itself. It was eerie, because there was no lurch. There were only the strained sounds of the engines. Then there was an alert. 

Dahyun lunged for the controls. 

The groaning of the ship stopped. 

“What was that?” 

Nayeon put on the comms to the engine room. “How're we doing?” 

A small pause. 

Then Jihyo’s voice came on. “Sounded like my worst nightmare came true, but we’re okay.” Another pause. “This’s how they catch stragglers?” 

Their passengers knew what that was. Nayeon would’ve liked a fair warning about something that could’ve literally broken their engines. Maybe tear the ship apart. 

“Okay,” Dahyun tugged her hands together, “just go with it?” Her eyes flitted about. She pointed to the pilot’s seat. 

The Earthers or Martians had probably tapped into the comms. 

Nayeon made a finger gun and nodded. 

Dahyun smiled. She walked past her to the comms array. 

Her smile widened and her voice became filled with energy. “This’s the Breakthrough 21:29. What‘ve we done this time?” 

Nayeon cringed internally at how she sounded, but they had to go with the image: a run down, very battered, partially shot at hunk of junk. 

The voice that came was smooth and calm, but still slightly static. “We asked you to stop and you did not.” 

Nayeon thought it was a shame that they didn’t use contractions. “Is it legal here to do this kinda thing here?” She didn’t make herself sound drunk, but left a little room for it. 

“In this system, you are not permitted to go dark for as long as you have.” 

“We had a couple’a problems,” she replied. “Were sending and getting a bunch of stuff that didn’t make sense. Had to fix it, but if you’re not a true techie that'll take some time.” Jeongyeon would hate that she said that. 

“What is your reason for being here?”

“Got a couple deliveries,” Dahyun said. “And I dunno if you noticed or not, but we got a problem that needs fixing.”

“In this system.” 

“Yep,” she chuckled, “Ceres’s got the stuff we need. Or at least I gotta hope it does. Engines are like ten years old.” A pause. “So before things get critical, I wanna get us there pretty soon. Our guys wait for no one.” 

“There still needs to be a debriefing,” the voice said. “And a routine search.” 

Bull. “But we got that at the border,” Nayeon said. 

Dahyun looked as bewildered as Nayeon felt. And there hadn’t been a cry for help or a message that it was okay from Sana. The other three either didn’t know who it was or they didn’t trust them. Was it a decoy and the Aphroditan ship was coming along? That option terrified her. 

“That was before you went dark,” they replied. 

That didn’t warrant a search. Keplans were the degenerates who didn’t know Earther laws. They were a run-down ship, one they would’ve normally been left with some kind of fine, or just left alone. They were only on the outskirts of the system. Hadn’t even passed Neptune. 

But these people thought they had a valuable cargo. They were right, but Nayeon needed to figure out how to prove them wrong. 

They were very close to the ship now. Boarding would happen soon. For a system so ‘civilised’, this was very illegal. But their word had no weight here. Sana’s did. If she recognised them, some semblance of justice might be served. Right now that didn't matter. 

“You wanna tell me where you’re from?” Nayeon asked. “So that back home I can tell everyone that blank really treats us like ?” She tried to make her voice border on desperation. It wasn’t hard. 

“Calm down,” they said. “We’re just gonna search your ship and if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ll be on your way to Ceres.” 

“Nothing to hide?” Dahyun repeated. “You talking drugs? Bio foods? Animals?” Her eyes were wide, despite not being seen by anyone but Nayeon. “We ain’t got any of that, ma’am.” 

With any luck, that would make them focus on the storage room. They’d find guns, ship. parts, and maybe a couple of other stuff too. Maybe they'd take some of it, which Dahyun would despise. They were better off if these people took the food and booze.

“Never said you did,” the voice replied. “Which is why you should just cooperate. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to be afraid of.” 

“Yeah yeah,” Nayeon sighed, “just get this over with.“ 

There was a low hum, then a bang. They were getting ready to dock. 

Nayeon closed her eyes. She hoped desperately that Jeongyeon and Jihyo has found a place for the girls. She hoped this wouldn’t bust out all their identities. They’d demand to know exactly who'd been here. There’d be questions about the comms. Nayeon would be able to answer them fine, but what was next? What would happen if these people really had ties to Aphrodite? They’d know Nayeon was alive. That she was here. For whatever reason, it probably wouldn’t matter, they’d just want her gone. And now she was going to show her face to them. 

“Stay in the cockpit,” Dahyun said. “I’ll be the welcome party.” 

It was a good move. Depending on how desperate they were, maybe the cockpit would be spared a glance. But Dahyun wasn't fully healed. She could hold her own, but she wasn’t a fighter. 

Nayeon shook her head, getting to her feet. “They’ll be wondering about the second gal with the foul mouth.” She walked over to the door. 

Dahyun grabbed her arm. “At least let me see where they’re from first. If I get them away first, then you’re not busted.” Her gaze was insistent. “What if it’s someone you know?” 

And someone who knew her. 

“That’s not a risk you should be taking,” Dahyun made her sit back down. “The rest are gonna be hidden for as long as they can.” A small smile. “I may be wanted, but not,” she trailed off. 

Not as much as I am, Nayeon finished in her head. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “We’re gonna say hi.” She pushed past her co-captain and opened the door. 

“This's too dangerous,” Dahyun muttered. “And what'll it bring you?"

Another round of paranoia. Maybe a world of hell, but she'd be damned if she let Dahyun go alone. 

Nayeon clasped her shoulder. “I'm going. Got it?” 

Chaeyoung poked her head from the ladder. “We’re sealed?” 

She could’ve been talking about the airlock between them, or their cargo, or their passengers. Those three were hidden in the door. These people would expect a safe room of some kind. They'd give them one, but they'd have to suggest having some other cargo. Something that’d get them a fine, but not arrested. Did they have that?

Dahyun nodded. “Sealed.” 

Chaeyoung gave a thumbs up before she disappeared. 

There was a hiss. Then the sounds of metal and some other kind of churning. 

Nayeon patted her waist. Her gun was there.

The doors opened. First there’d been some kind of magnet or tether kind of thing. Now they could open doors without being let in. Earth or Mars really were on a whole other level. 

In walked six armed people. Surprisingly, they wore masks. They weren’t wearing any body armour she recognised. A good sign. 

“Ain’t that illegal here?” Nayeon waved a hand at her face. As if boarding a ship like this was even legal. 

“Where’s the cargo hold?” One strode forward, rifle raised. 

“Down here, sirs,” Dahyun said. “Or ma’ams?” She smiled slightly, going to the ladder. “Dunno how you Earthers do that stuff.” 

The one in the middle grabbed her by the shoulder, wrenching her away from it. 

Dahyun fell hard, her face screwing up in pain as she grabbed her leg. 

Nayeon wanted to react, maybe throw one of them down the hole, but that was probably the dumbest thing she could do. Instead she committed all of it to memory: the uniforms, the interior of the ship she could see, their accents—hell, even their heights and movements. 

As she did so, she got Dahyun to her feet. They let her do that.

“Think they’ve got more on that ship?” the mechanic asked softly. 

“Defs got you there,” Nayeon replied, patting her on the shoulder. She bet there were twice as many on the other ship. Maybe armed, already masked, and ready to board a ship that came along. These people were either tied to Sana’s kidnappin or just really opportunistic. 

After the first two went down the ladder, Nayeon and Dahyun were forced to go down next. Naturally, they took Nayeon’s gun. She still had her knife. Archaic, but on a ship skirmish it could save your life. Especially if no one expected you to carry one. 

A hand grabbed her before she even reached the bottom.

Nayeon was thrown to the floor, her head smacking into it first. She groaned. They really knew the best way to make her want to kill them. She might've been able to. Probably with a lot of injuries and a terrible conscience, but she could have. She wouldn’t. 

It was Dahyun’s turn to help her up. She’d directed them to the storage room already. There were the sounds of their stuff being rummaged through. She knew that Dahyun would hate every second of it. 

Nayeon walked to the edge of it. If something went wrong, she had the advantage of cornering them. They had the advantage of their guns.

“Open this,” one aimed a gun at Dahyun, “now.” She was pointing at the largest box. Did they think they’d hide a person in that? 

Dahyun went over, set in a line. Nayeon hated the sight. Guns pointed at anyone close to her. She wanted to shoot each and every one of them. 

Her eyes scanned the boxes, looking for a Z-marked crate. It wasn’t there. Chaeyoung had hid the Minatozaki-esque guns. Good. 

“Where’s the rest of your crew?” 

Nayeon shrugged. “Two might be making out, one’s hungover out, and the rest, well,” she trailed off, “aren’t big fans of unauthorised searches.” 

It earned her a blow to her shoulder. 

She hissed. “What’re you here for anyway? Run out of food so you wanna prey on us poor Keplans?” 

Another box was dropped in front of Dahyun. Way too small for a person. What did they think that would achieve?

“Open this too.” 

Dahyun frowned at it. “Where’d you people come from again?”

A blow across her face. 

“Open it.” 

She did. It revealed glass lenses. For scopes. Nayeon silently cursed. Those were perfect to send a message. And Dahyun would freak. 

One of them slammed the of his gun into the box. 

Dahyun closed her eyes. 

“So you’re pirates?” Nayeon asked. She dodged the blow this time, but that just got her arms pulled behind her back. 

One of them recoiled. “What the—”

Her sleeve was pushed up, revealing her metal arm. Damn. 

“I guess I’m the pirate,” Nayeon smirked, “wanted to get a hook for that one.” 

It earned her a punch in the face. They had a good swing. 

“What do you want?” Dahyun asked. “You saw the cargo, know where we wanna go, what the hell else you want?” 

No blow. 

“Tell us where they are.” 

Nayeon raised her eyebrows. “The crew? You’ll find a couple in their rooms, bathrooms, all that jazz.” 

A hit this time. She was going to be sore tomorrow. If they were already showing their cards about the princess, maybe they were desperate. That messed with your head. 

“Get them out here then. All of ‘em,” one hissed. “Your comms has way more than two people on it.” 

Got that right. It was the one good thing there. The RV crew were on that, as well as people they’d picked up now and then. 

“On it,” Nayeon muttered. “Wanna let me go first?” She sent a grin at the one who’d hit her the most. They were a little shorter than her, walked and stood with their feet pointed inwards, and they were left-handed. She was pretty sure they were a woman, but they hadn’t spoken yet. 

A painful squeeze on her sore shoulder was her response. Then they let go. 

She hated it. She had to choose who to get out. Jeongyeon was the last on that list, but what if the others wanted to go to Earth? Or maybe even Coruscant, living something close to a normal life? Jihyo was a no in that case too. 

She went to Chaeyoung’s room. It opened, revealing the girl lingering at her desk, staring at some new drawing of hers. 

“Heya.” She grinned, hardly looking fazed by the face reveal. “We done already?” Her concern showed through.

“Not yet,” Nayeon sighed, “clearly.” 

“Could you shut up?” the main grunt hissed. A woman, probably mid-thirties. Her accent was a mix of British and American. Nayeon could work with that. 

“Until someone asks me a great question,” she replied. "Sure."

The woman raised her gun a fraction. She wasn’t properly trained, at least not for a search like this. Temper was too short.

But their weapons were high quality. Either rich, or employed by a real rich piece of work. 

There were footsteps, then sounds of alarm, and a scuffle. 

Nayeon easily ducked away from the angry soldier to see into the hall. What she saw left her open to the very next set of hits. 

Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Tzuyu were all there, weapons very clearly at their waists. Each wore masks. 

You idiots, Nayeon wanted to scream. She wanted to demand they get back. At least they covered something, but that was still not enough. 

And then she was in a headlock, one she could break out of, but someone had a gun aimed at Dahyun’s head. If Nayeon broke away now, a trigger would be pulled. 

“Here’s the rest of the crew,” Dahyun said, her voice trembling. “So you done?” 

A second gun was pressed to her stomach. “What’re you hiding? Why’d the comms go dark? Who’re you running from?” 

“Right now, not running from anything,” she replied smoothly. “Comms went dark 'cause we had to fix something, like we already told ya. And I guess we’re hiding the booze, 'cause we’re all gonna need some once ya leave.” Her eyes flicked to the kitchen. “When’s that again?” 

The one aiming for her abdomen pulled the gun away. Right-handed. A man. Maybe in his twenties. 

The gun came down across Dahyun’s face. 

Jihyo’s hand went for her gun, but the movement earned a cool metal kissing Nayeon’s temple. She could’ve gotten out of this, but what would come of that?

“You will remove those masks,” the first one who’d spoken said. Also a man. Seemed to have a better control over his temper. “And then tell us the truth about what you’re hiding.” Same speech pattern as the one on the comms. The transmission had been altered. 

They weren’t saying it explicitly. Did they want them to slip up? Say ‘we’re not hiding anyone’?

“Not only will we leave you own,” he said. “But you’ll also get something in return.” 

Dahyun was hauled up, blood running down the side of her face. She was half awake. The gun was pressed to her temple once again. 

“So?”

The girls reached to take off their helmets. 

“Don’t,” Nayeon said. 

The grip on her tightened, almost strangling her.

“If you have nothing to hide, then you won’t wear those masks.” 

“Not exactly how that works,” Chaeyoung snorted, “just because you’re innocent doesn’t mean you’re gonna walk around everywhere.” 

Nayeon almost smiled. She knew what she should’ve done: damn the risk and just take control of the situation. Let the girls grab their weapons, shoot these five, and then move on to the rest. But an itchy trigger finger had the potential to cause more harm than was even intended. She couldn’t risk that. Especially if they weren’t all trained. 

The faces of the rest were revealed. 

“Drop your weapons.”

Dahyun cursed. From where she was being held, Nayeon knew they were digging the barrel in. 

The girls did. 

Nayeon let her eyes wander to the kitchen. 

“Where are you hiding them?” 

Them. Not hiding their intentions anymore. 

Nayeon frowned. “You think we’re traffickers?” She glanced at the kitchen again, then Dahyun. 

The pressure on faded, only to be replaced by several hits to her sides and one time across her face. Nothing she couldn’t handle, but she blinked, as though letting tears fall. 

“Please,” she whimpered. “We’re not hiding anything.” 

“What the Minatozakis are offering,” he knelt down in front of her, “we can give you more.” The man pulled out a glowing pack. It was almost blinding. “There’s five more in the ship. You give them over, they’re yours.”

A heap of signals. Up front. 

Nayeon scoffed. “As if you’re gonna let us live?” 

“Surprisingly,” he started, “I think we will. You are expected somewhere, we know what you look like, and where your ship’ll be. It’s better to leave you there.” 

So they’d follow them? Or just have something concrete on them if they wanted to track them down again? 

“So?” The man raised a hand. “This is no offer the princess can match. She hardly has the authority nor the right to dig so deeply into her family’s fortune. It’s an impossible task to keep six people happy.” A pause. “But not for us.”

So no affinity to Earth, at least not a genuine one. Maybe they were Martian. 

But to be able to so confidently say that they could outmatch the Minatozaki empire, at least in funds. She almost believed them when they said that they wouldn’t kill them. That meant there was a pretty high chance of these people sparing them. The money was another thing. That was unless the princess was ‘actually’ here. Then they would probably have to keep to their word. Or just find them another way, killing them on their journey back. 

“Princess?” Dahyun murmured. “You think we got r...royalty on here?” Her speech was slurred. Either because of the hit, or she was putting it on. A good performance either way. “Nah.” 

The masked man leant forward. Had he been any closer, she would’ve felt his breath. She could’ve used the hilt of her knife to crack that helmet. Maybe, but the arms on her made that hard. Or she could knee him. 

“My visor knows your face,” he said, loud enough for the rest to hear. Maybe even the passengers. "And why you don't have an arm." 

Nayeon’s blood went cold.

“Apparently you’re dead.”

This wasn’t a lucky guess. They had connections to Aphrodite’s files. 

Her nose was burning. She couldn’t cry, but she was close to breaking down. It was all ruined. 

“Things might be much better for you if you told us the truth,” he said. “Maybe you could even stay dead. Metaphorically, of course.”

That was a lie, but the thought of it sounded so tempting. She almost wanted to take that risk. 

Once again, Nayeon glanced at the rest, then towards the kitchen.

Finally, he picked up on it. “Where’s your safe room? All your kind of ships have one.” 

“Even if they’re pieces of junk,” another muttered. 

“Good junk,” Dahyun murmured. Thankfully, they didn’t hit her again. 

“Make the smart decision here,” the main one said. “There’ll be more like me. And you’ll be lucky if the Minatozakis even let you go with a single signal.” 

Did he think they were complete idiots? That they had no idea at all about the state of Earth? About the pretty stable rule of the Minatozakis? Maybe. Yet they knew her face. They knew who she was. Did they also know what she was capable of? She’d have to see. 

“Let me go, and I’ll show you the room.” Nayeon let her head sink in defeat. Some of the blood on her head dripped onto the floor. 

“Do it,” he said. 

A surprising admission. They didn’t know what she had done. Or at least how good she was at it. 

“Not a good idea,” the one with anger management problems said. 

Was he the boss? Or just some kind of lower superior? If anything, the rest weren’t completely obedient. 

“Let her go.” There was bite in his voice. Maybe these were mercenaries? 

Nayeon was. She made her legs give out, catching herself before she really landed on her face. 

The others were watching her, almost all with some degree of confusion. It was a risk. a big one. She'd take it. 

“Right this way,” Nayeon muttered, getting to her feet. 

_______

Mina reached for her gun. If not to shoot the newcomers, maybe someone else. If they would hand them over to Aphrodite just because they were offering more, Mina wouldn’t mind pulling the trigger. Not to kill, but certainly maim. 

And once the first shot was fired, the rest of the crew would have to help them overpower the newcomers. Or the other way round. She didn’t care. Just as long as Sana got out of this safe. 

A hand gripped her arm. 

Mina looked up to see Sana shaking her head. 

Was she really blinded by her feelings for Dahyun? She was being ridiculous if that was the case. Mina couldn’t allow it. 

She pushed Sana’s hand away. 

“Right this way,” Nayeon said. Her tone of voice was weak, as if she’d given in. All a show. She handled herself well. Too well. And now she’d lead them right to the princess. 

Mina raised her weapon. She listened for the footsteps. 

If she had to, she could hijack one of the ships. It didn’t matter what happened. She could do it. 

Then why was her mind filling with images of Tzuyu hiding Chaeyoung behind her? Of Jeongyeon diving in front of Jihyo? Of Nayeon pushing Dahyun out of the way? 

No, if they betrayed them, she’d do what was necessary. 

She aimed for the part of the wall that would reveal a face. 

The footsteps never came their way. 

“Where the hell’re you leading us?” 

“The safe room,” Nayeon said. Her voice was much quieter now. 

Moments passed. Indescribably long. 

Mina couldn’t relax. She’d been ready to shoot her way out of this. She’d been prepared to throw all of the past weeks away. 

“That’s all there is!” Chaeyoung shouted. “Check the escape pod, release it for all I care.” 

There was a cry of pain then. From Dahyun.

Sana tensed again. 

Mina didn’t put down her gun. If things went bad, was it worth the risk to go out and help the crew against the others? Would they be able to handle themselves? 

Sana was trembling, her head in her hands. Momo had wrapped her arms around her. 

Mina strained her ears, trying to glean something from the little bits of sound she did get. 

Then more footsteps, but they belonged to fewer people. Maybe three. Or two, but one person was stumbling. 

“Open that,” a woman spat. 

Mina felt her chest constrict. Had they just forced the answer from them? 

“Those are sensitive,” Nayeon said, voice thick. “You can’t smash them or we all die.” Then she hissed. 

“Don’t test me.” 

Sana was shaking now. Mina was torn between guarding the opening and going to her. 

“Explosives, what’d I tell ya?” Nayeon’s voice was still slightly playful, but there was an unsteadiness to it. Too good of a performance. 

“Why so many weapons?” The man’s voice was back. 

“It’s the product.” 

A rummaging noise. 

“You can’t take those,” Nayeon said. “They’re not tested.”

“We’ll be able to test them,” he replied. “We’re letting you live. This is your thanks.” 

Test them. Weapon affiliations, or they owned a factory for it. That narrowed down the list from billions to millions. 

“It’s stealing,” she muttered. 

“As if you haven’t done worse,” the other woman spat. 

Another groan.

“Stop,” the man said. “They’re clear.” 

Footsteps. Nayeon's breathing was laboured. 

Sana moved, leaning away from Momo. The guard tightened her grip. 

“No,” she said in the smallest whisper. “Not yet.” 

They heard the steps, one set of raised voices, before they fell again. More sounds of faint movement. Then the sound of machinery churning or whirring, as well as hissing. 

Nayeon had left the room. 

Sana pushed past her. Mina stopped her. 

“Wait until it’s safe,” she muttered. “And not a second before.” The crew would search the ship first.

It took some time until they were finished. 

It might have been ten minutes or thirty. Then the panel slid open, letting more light into the once again stuffy safe room. Dahyun was there. 

Mina had Sana climb out first, then Momo. 

“Put it away,” Momo murmured. 

Mina was still holding the gun. Her fingers ached. They were bone white. 

She put it back in its holster before climbing out herself. 

Dahyun was bleeding, but it was nothing severe. Nayeon was beside her, her face coated in blood as well. Where the rest were, Mina didn't know. 

Sana was hugging her body, looking very small. Mina knew what it was now. It hadn't happened before. If Dahyun turned away or blamed her for this happening, Mina wasn't sure how Sana would react. It would hurt her beyond measure. 

"I'm," Sana stammered. Her voice was bordering on hysterical. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think—I didn't want—I—"

She was cut off when Dahyun wrapped her arms around her. The captain murmured words Mina couldn't understand. Sana's shoulders shook as she said ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again. Dahyun her hair, her eyes closed. They clung to one another. Safe havens to one another in this moment. They were well past flirtation. 

Then Nayeon spoke. “They know who I am,” she said. “Wasn’t enough that they saw my face, but their computers have my files.” She got to her feet. “You know what that means?”

“No,” Mina replied. “Because I don’t know what they know.” 

In Coruscant, Nayeon was officially dead. Why? What could she be running from?

“All that matters is that we’ll get you to Earth, changing ship, and then getting the hell out of here,” she said. 

“I think you need to tell us a bit more than that.” Mina was pushing her. She knew that. 

Nayeon narrowed her eyes. “I don’t have to tell you anything.” Her fists were clenched.

“Then tell Sana,” Mina shot back. “One of us should know who we’re dealing with.” 

“You do,” she hissed. “A group of Keplan smugglers whose lives could be ruined!” Her eyes were wild. “We don’t know who we’re dealing with. And you can’t tell us if they’re from Earth, Mars, or ing Pluto.” She threw her hands up. “And even if you could, knowing who the hell’s doing this is not gonna help us.” Her eyes closed. “They can drag a ship, break in, and track you down no matter where you go.” 

“You don’t know that,” Momo said softly. 

“They were wearing helmets,” Dahyun replied. “Bet they had cameras. Our ones have the setting.” She nodded at one. “This one was recording?” She looked to her crew. Her arms were still around Sana, whose face was still streaked with tears. 

Jeongyeon nodded. “When you’re home, you can run a voice recognition or something like that.” 

Mina shook her head. “Our best lead will be their uniforms.” 

“And their weapons?” Dahyun asked. 

“They were from Jupiter. Ganymede,” Sana said softly.

“And?” Nayeon rounded on her. A move that would’ve had Mina stepping in. Yet she knew nothing would happen. “How does that help?” 

“They can be bribed,” she replied. “And the weapons can’t be tracked.” 

The captain scoffed. “See what I mean? Nothing.” She glared at Mina. “So why the hell does it make a difference to you if you know anything about me?” 

“So that I know what moves you’ll make if this ever happens again,” Mina shot back. “I thought you were going to sell us out. How are we supposed to trust you not to do it if someone offers you a deal you can’t ever refuse?” she asked. “I have to know what you’ve done in the past and what you’re even capable of, because I know you can kill someone without thinking twice, you can lie to someone’s face and make everyone else think it’s the truth.” She had to know what Nayeon's limits were. She had the feeling they were reaching them. Or had they already crossed them?

“Which is exactly what you’re capable of, but I’m not the one asking for your life story,” Nayeon spat. 

“I wasn’t born on Aphrodite,” Mina said quietly. “And those are the very people who’re after us.” 

“ off,” the other woman strode forward, stopping inches before her, “they're being paid by your people.” The desperation was still in her eyes, joined by anger. Tears clung to her lashes. “And don’t you dare accuse me of being on their side.” She raised a metal hand. “It might've not been them who did it, but it sure as hell was an Aphroditan who made sure it was my hand that was cut off.” She stepped back, her anger and fear being suppressed by disdain. A cover. “I guess that was your teaser,” she scowled at her, “for all the things you have no right knowing about me.” 

_____

Author's Note

First thing's first, a chapter this long is not going to be the norm! I tried to reduce it, but there just wasn't a good cut-off point for me, plus I didn't want to leave things off with a full-on cliffhanger. I wanted to start things out light, because that's where we left off. However, they're still more or less on the run. Can't forget that. 

Regardless, here was a bigger test of the trust between the two groups on the ship. The tension is a lot more between Mina and Nayeon than anyone else. Mina didn't trust Nayeon when she should have, partly because she couldn't, while Nayeon's past is steadily catching up with her (or has it already?).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Would love to know what you thought of this chapter. I'm sorry for it being so long! 

Thank you for reading! I'm overjoyed at the support this story has been getting. 

See you in the next one!