“Yvael Trondus, at your service.” The blue-skinned beauty held out her hand which I readily shook.

“Chet Rosenfield. The pleasure is all mine.”

“You look a little familiar…” Yvael looked closely at me, as if trying to remember where she had seen my face before.

“You have no idea how many times I hear that.” I sighed, “if you want I can sign an autograph but I’m nobody that important.”

“No worries Captain, its just a feeling.” She smiled.

“Captain, shes a Demon!” Princess Egyle shouted from off to the side near the cable winch. Yvael’s body visibly tensed at the Princess’ words.

I rolled my eyes and regarded the Princess with a flat stare. “Wow, really? Darn, I hadn’t noticed. Thanks for the heads up.” With a grin, I returned my attention to our guest. “Please forgive my crew member, shes a bit of a spoiled princess.” Yvael laughed,

“Understood Captain, no hard feelings.”

“We’ll be on our way to the Jochtek IV station for some much needed renovations. Feel free to wander about or relax in the meanwhile. Just mind the smell if you go near the engineering bay. We haven’t been able to fully get it out yet.”

“Mind if I tag along? Its been awhile since I’ve been on another Captain’s vessel.”

“Not at all.”

So began the grand tour of my lovely hunk of junk. After leaving the expansive cargo bay, it was a straight shot up to the bridge with various personal quarters off to one side of the hallway and the galley and engineering bay off to the other. In total, this guppy could house seven people comfortably. If it weren’t for the smell, the dirt, and scorch marks at least. Yvael looked unimpressed as we walked to the bridge, as if we had been neglectful in our duties of ship maintenance.

“As you can plainly see,” I spoke as we entered the bridge. “Its a hunk of junk.”

“Well…at least it runs?” She attempted to be polite, bless her soul.

“You should have been on our first jump to hyperspace. Barely made it out of that in one piece. Didn’t help that our engineer was stuck in the bathroom.”

“I get hyper-space sickness! Its a physiological issue!” Hortur huffed indignantly.

“At least you have the lemons now.”

“I hate them!” He hissed, “They’re far too sour! How can any species enjoy them?”

“They’re good when mixed in with water. But hey, it beats spending every trip with your head in a toilet.” I noted, which made Hortur grumble his agreement.

“You and your crew seem pretty close.” Yvael noted with a smile as she sat in the open gunnery station seat.

“Yeah, we’ve been through some fun times these past few days. Hardship breeds camaraderie as the saying goes.”

“It must be nice."

I snorted, “If I had my way, I’d be flying solo. These two just had to come along for the ride.” Loud grumbling came from Princess Egyle who stood up from the tactical station’s chair and left the bridge. Yvael looked towards me with curiosity, but otherwise said nothing.

The blue gem of Jochtek IV stood brightly against the dark backdrop of space. A massive space station drifted over the planet’s atmosphere as it orbited the ocean planet. Already, we had received permission to dock in one of the hangars nearest to the station’s security headquarters. Apparently they wanted Yvael and I to make a report on the pirates we had encountered.

“Alright team, repeat your orders to me.” I spoke to the assembled crew of two. Perks of being the boss meant you got to act like the boss.

“I am to find four replacement Viiren Plasma Cannons-”

“Why Viiren specifically?” I goaded with a smile.

“Because nothing melts metal like Viiren plasma.” Hortur reluctantly stated in a sing-song-y voice. The ad was catchy, and Egyle agreed that their cannons were top of the line.

“Good, and what else?”

“Ahem,” Hortur cleared his throat, “A ‘shit-ton’ of high quality wiring, a set of cutters and welders, and anything else I can think of.”

“Very good.” I nodded to the snake-man. It had taken awhile, but I had finally gotten him to curse. “And you Egyle?”

“…additional bed sheets, pillow covers, extra sets of clothes, and cleaning supplies.”

“Namely?”

She sighed, “Lemon scented cleaners, and a ‘butt-load’ of bleach.”

“Good enough.” I transferred money to their accounts. Aya had been able to connect into the Princess’ bank implant, disconnect the locked account, and create a temporary new one with which she could acquire items during our docking jaunts. Needless to say, Aya had been a godsend.

‘Thank you Captain.’ She voiced proudly as she read my thoughts.

‘Credit where its due, Aya. If it weren’t for you, we’d be dead a million times over.’

‘May I request a raise in my funding?’

‘Aya, my money is your money. We’re practically married with you stuck in my head.’

‘I want a divorce.’

‘Don’t be like that honey, we can work things out.’ Robots were so high maintenance.

“Alright team, lets do this.” I finished as the ship clunked down in the hangar.

Together, Yvael and I walked through the security section of the station. Multitudes of buildings comprised of a type of plastic that was more durable than steel and far lighter lined the magnetic streets. Many buildings were clearly marked such as ‘Fire Response’ or ‘Electrical Emergencies’ that had their own personal elevators to the other floors of the space station. Rapid response teams, eat your heart out. As we traveled the streets, I saw almost no aliens. In fact, it was filled to the brim with humans in various uniforms who openly gave hostile stares at the blue beauty beside me. The majority in police-like attire rode tiny hover scooters like the adorable little mall cops that they were. I’d gladly have given them a good ribbing, but alas, the objective was to get our story straight. Not thrown into a holding cell. I had already done that enough on Earth for one lifetime.

Yvael kept her head straight and her eyes forward as we made our way to the main building. If she noticed the stares being sent her way, and there was no way she didn’t, she was doing a good job of showing it didn’t bother her. We didn’t have to travel far until we reached a large building that resembled a police precinct. I was getting flashbacks of the time I was arrested for throwing eggs at a police car during mischief night. Good times.

‘Alright Aya, remember the plan.’ Earlier, Aya and I conspired to hack into the station’s security systems. Just in case King Lavian and his crew showed up early. This way, we’d be able to stop them from locking us into the station itself.

‘No worries Captain. I’ll be in and out in a nanosecond.’

‘Thats my girl.’

“Ladies first.” I spoke and motioned for Yvael to enter first. A brief flash of a smile was quickly hidden beneath a stoic exterior. Wordlessly, she entered the building with me tagging close behind. Inside the building, the atmosphere was very relaxed. Aliens of all kinds had been handcuffed to their seats as they spat mucus and insults towards their human captors. One by one, they were led away either into the back to be thrown into what I assumed to be holding cells, or taken outside to be sent to more permanent facilities. I took a deep breath and sighed, gotta love the disgusting scent of justice.

“May I help you?” A female officer spoke as she approached from the side.

“I’m a wanted criminal that immediately needs to be placed under house arrest. Your house to be exact.” I held out my hands. “Take me away.” The officer rolled her eyes.

“We’re here to see Warden Urien.” Yvael spoke while giving me ‘that look’.

“Ah, the outer system incident from earlier. Right this way.” She turned and began to walk towards the back rooms. Any attempt I made to bring up the rear was stopped by Yvael who forced me to match her pace. And any attempt to take a gander at the precinct’s assets earned me an elbow I the ribs. So I liked a woman in uniform, sue me.

“Warden, the two Captains involved in the incident from earlier are here.” The female officer spoke as she cracked open the door.

“Let them in.” A gruff voice replied. The woman nodded and motioned us forward, sending a wink my way before heading off.

“Forgive me Avon my love.” I mumbled as I watched the officer leave.

“Get your head outta your ass.” Yvael elbowed me again.

“Its not my ass thats the problem.” She scoffed and walked into the room. A second later I followed.

The room was full of file cabinets that ran along the walls. A desk sat directly in the middle of the room with a pair of chairs in front of it. Atop the desk were various pictures of young kids, older women, and a holo-computer. Behind the desk sat an old man in his security uniform. I say old, because his skin was as wrinkly as…well…you know. But the man still had a full head of silver hair, so I had to give him credit there. You don’t see old people with their hair still there too often. Thats some good genes. I hoped I still had a full head of hair when I was his age.

“Please, have a seat.” He spoke in a fatherly tone while motioning towards the two chairs.

“Thank you.” Yvael bowed her head and took the chair to the right.

“Don’t mind if I do.” I took the other one.

“Now then,” The warden began as we sat. “give me the run down of events.”

“I was nearly to the edge of the system in my freighter when three craft appeared from hyperspace and began to open fire…” Yvael began her story from the beginning of the attack against her. How the ships targeted her ships’ turrets foremost so that she wouldn’t be able to mount a counter attack. By that time, I had arrived and begun to head in for support. And the rest is, as they say, is history.

“Ripped Scar vessels you say?” The Warden asked aloud.

“Yes. They demanded that I surrender my cargo to them when they first emerged. When I refused, they began to attack.”

“I see. And what exactly was your cargo, miss Yvael? A ship like yours doesn’t erupt from a single torpedo.”

“Warheads sir.” She answered quickly. “I was transporting warheads to the Araxium Vos system for delivery for their shipyards.”

“Araxium Vos…hmmm. Normally cargo like that demands an escort.”

“Unfortunately Warden, life isn’t so simple as that.” She sighed, “All the crews I had asked turned me down instantly. Many laughed at the thought of working with a ‘Demon’. I couldn’t even hire a crew for my own ship.”

The old man nodded, “We are at war, and people are quick to judge others. Though it is curious you were unable to secure even a single extra crew member.”

“I…may have set my standards a bit high…” Yvael admitted.

“And you?” the warden stared my way, “What’s your version of events?”

“Just a hero coming to the damsel in distress’ rescue.” I leaned back in the chair. “No more, no less.”

“Oh so you’re a hero now?” Yvael stared at me with a smirk. “I guess you are in a way.” Oh lady, you have no idea.

“I see.” The warden began typing on his keyboard. “Well, you two are free to go. Thank you for your time and understanding. I’ll have some people look into this Ripped Scar group.”

We both thanked him for his hospitality and left the precinct.

‘We all good Aya?’

‘Affirmative. Mission accomplished.’ We were officially Gucci.

“Well, that was a complete waste of time.” I sighed.

“Mmmm.” Yvael replied as she followed alongside me.

“At least the weather’s nice.”

“Mmmm.”

“I once pissed myself in the third grade lunch line because I didn’t want to miss out on pizza day.”

“Mmmm.”

“Yo.” I punched her on the shoulder lightly. “You still there?”

“Huh? What? I’m sorry, I was thinking. I lose myself sometimes when I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“I hear ya there. Lemme guess, you’re wondering about what to do now that your ship’s gone.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, “Well, thats just one part. I promised my friend and employer I’d be able to bring a load of warheads to the Araxium Vos shipyards.” A sad smile crossed her face, “But that’s not possible anymore. And without my ship I won’t be able to make any money on my own.” She sighed, “I’ll have to hire onto another ship I guess.” Her golden eyes bore into my own, “Think you could give a poor, shipwrecked gal a job on your old clunker?”

“Hah, I’d offer you one, but circumstances being what they are…well…lets just say you’d be better off finding another ship.”

“Hmmm…” Yvael studied me closely. “What kind of circumstances?”

“The kind where we’re going to have to leave in a few hours in a hurry.”

“Being followed eh?” She smiled, “How exciting. Are you secretly a pirate yourself on the run from the law?”

I didn’t reply as we walked back towards the hangar. It would be better for her if she didn’t get involved any more than she already had. She may be a Demon like Avon, but at least she wasn’t being actively hunted like we were.

“Not talking hmm? A bit close to the mark there?” She grinned impishly. “Well, I think I may have an idea that may help you out.”

“Oh? And just what can you offer me?” I decided to humor her. Chances are, she was just looking for a free ride.

“My friend may be able to help you out. If you join up with her, then those following you won’t ever mess with you again. I can promise you that. You’ll just have to bring me to the Araxium Vos system so I can speak with her on your behalf.” I knew it.

“Oh? You’re not just saying that just to get a free ride are you?”

“If you want, I could help clean up the ship while we’re on the way. Come on, what have you got to lose?”

“Nothing but time honestly.”

“So will you accept?”

“No.” I stated as the hangar door opened.

Without looking back, I strode forth towards my ship to get some cleaning done. Dust was starting to congregate on the ship’s control panels, and I didn’t like that one bit. The sound of footsteps followed me up the ramp into my ship’s cargo hold. I turned to tell Yvael to find another ride, only to be stunned by the look on her face. She was glaring at me, but said nothing. She merely motioned for us to continue into the ship and to keep quiet. Once safely within the cargo hold, she drew close and whispered into my ear.

“If you are running from the Kingdom, we can help. We need brave Captains of all races, like yourself, to help those in need. To stand against the injustices in this galaxy brought about by the Salyzan royal family. If you come to Araxium Vos, I can introduce you to the head of our organization. With my word, you’ll be safe, but even more…” She stared into my eyes, her own glowing with zeal in the dim light of the hold. “You’ll be able to fight back.”

“Not interested.”

“Huh? But-” confusion was clear across her face as she tried to process my words.

“But nothing Yvael. Fighting for an ideal is all well and good, but your ideals are not mine. I’ve got my own battles to fight.”

“And just what are your battles, Chet?” She asked angrily.

“Right now? Dust and scorch marks. A few hours from now? Trying to keep my ship intact as we make a getaway. Further than that? Keeping my crew safe until they can go back home and I can go back to pursuing my goal. You can stay if you want Yvael, we can make a quick trip to wherever you want to go. We’ll even drop you off free of charge. But once that’s done we’ll be taking our leave.”

She sighed sadly, “Very well Captain. I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Very good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a ship to clean.”

The sound of Yvael cursing to herself stayed with me all the way to the bridge. She knew some good ones.