Sneaking out of the starsystem we had hidden in was a pulse-pounding affair of sheer excitement and incredible piloting. At least that was what I would tell anyone who’d ask, in reality, I set a ballistic course that would carry us far enough out of the gravity well to jump into hyperspace while trying to mimic the natural course of an asteroid as much as possible and let the Tyton follow that course without any interference while the computer kept analysing the passively collected data. That meant we had exchanged the boredom of sitting on a rock for eight days with the boredom of flying a ballistic course for five.

The only positive thing about the extended period of boredom was that it gave me a lot of time to think. There was nothing else to do but think, exercise, read, run simulations on the computer and talk to Airah.

After the second day of running myself ragged with every pre-programmed scenario in the Tyton’s database, interspersed with contemplating the future, I made a decision and discarded the first option Airah had presented to me. Flying a large freighter was better than being planet-bound but only just. I wanted to pilot something that could move, not a ponderous whale that could be flown by a three-year old with a pocket calculator.

That left joining the Void Guard directly or working for ourselves, even if I had a feeling that we’d work closely with the Void Guard, simply because that would be where Airah’s contact were. I might be able to create a contact with some food suppliers on Cornucopia, namely my family, but that would be something I’d have to approach with a great deal of caution and care. Not just to make sure that my side of the equation was fine but also to make sure no backlash would hit my family if things went bad.

If I was honest with myself, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to join the Void Guard or not. On one hand, it was supposed to be an organisation just like Starfleet, dedicated to the protection of humanity. Only that there was the fact that they had to sell themselves as mercenary and even worked as pirates from time to time. Did the grand purpose justify the means needed to accomplish it? Would they even be able to fulfill their purpose if needed? There was a reason why the Federation spent a good chunk of its budget on the Starfleet, not just to keep the currently active fleet maintained and the personnel trained but also to keep developing technology and build new ships.

The more I considered it, the less I wanted to join the Void Guard, which left me with exactly one option. Work with Airah to develop our own business. It was the least secure option, with no guarantees whatsoever but at the same time, it would give me the most freedom. Nobody telling us what jobs to take but also nobody giving us jobs if we fell on hard times.

Yes, that was what felt right to me, not just because it would mean that I’d spend a great deal of time with Airah. Which was, at the same time, what made me question it a little, what would happen if, or rather when, Airah realised that I was having quite a few naughty thoughts about things I wanted to do and with her body? There had been no romance in her life at the Academy, not for lack of suitors, although I now realised that it might have been because of her heritage. If she knew that her time might be limited, I could understand that she wanted to avoid romantic entanglements that might make her hesitate in the wrong moment.

“What’s happening out there?” Airah asked, stepping into the cockpit.

“There’s a party out there, you wouldn’t believe it. Two freighters jumped into the system and are slowly drifting through the gravity-well, following the regular routes. Other than that, no sign of anything other than rocks, stellar dust and a whole lot of empty space. Oh, wait, I saw an iceball a little earlier, that was about the most exciting event since you went to bed.” I reported, albeit with a whole lot more snark than I would dare on a normal ship.

“Incredible, so much traffic? How do you keep up with all that action, you must be exhausted, you poor dear.” Airah returned my snark, with an extra dose of mocking condescension.

“Why, I’ll head back into the galley and make you a mug of tea, so you can rest your tired head, there must have been two thoughts going on in there at times, I hope you didn’t strain anything!” she added, while gently ruffling my hair.

“Just imagine how bad it would have been if you had a normal Starfleet-pilot, good that you’ve got a trained professional Starfighter-pilot, we are made from sterner stuff than the standard, wimpy bridge-officer. We can have three thoughts in our head at once.” I retorted, barely managing to keep my voice deadpan but Airah’s laughter, as she walked back to the galley to prepare food was more than enough reward.

I checked the various reading, making sure that we didn’t hit the astronomical lottery by running into a meteor and followed her, setting an alarm that would alert us, if something required attention.

Airah must have set the water before coming to the cockpit, otherwise, there was no way the tea would already be in the state it was in, gently steaming and letting out its delicious aroma. I grabbed the mug and took a deep breath, causing Airah to shake her head.

“I really don’t get why you love that tea so much. But then, my mother is the same, she’s the one who foisted the tin on me, no idea why. I much prefer my coffee.” she muttered, demonstratively taking a sip from her coffee.

“And I have no idea how you can drink the stuff I’d use if we ever run out of fuel.” I replied, in a repeat of an argument we had almost every day. Only that she had mentioned her family for the first time, making me want to push a little, out of curiosity.

“So, your mother gave you the tea?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

“Mhm, she loves the stuff, drinks it every day. Woe to the universe, if her supply ever runs dry, she’d set worlds on fire to get more of it.” Airah said, grinning, making me wonder just how much of an exaggeration her words were.

“And no, I can’t tell you more. It’s complicated.” she added, her voice quite serious, even a little pained. I had a feeling that she had made a promise not to speak about her parents or maybe not to divulge details regarding the command-structure of the Void Guard, promises she wanted to keep, which I could respect.

“I won’t ask, just tell me what I need to know.” I said, before switching the topic, “That being said, you laid out three paths I could take in the future and I contemplated them a great deal. I want to take the offer to get into business with you, working as data-couriers, maybe with a little unofficial, high-value transporting on the side.”

Once the words were out of my mouth a radiant smile appeared on Airah’s face.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me, really, thank you.” she said, her voice filled with emotion. The amount of emotion surprised me, she was doing me a favour after all.

“And how does that work? I mean, you have the Tyton, which means we can ferry data but why would someone use two unknown pilots instead of, say, the Federation Express to transport valuable data from one point to the other?” I asked, hoping that her plans had more substance than that. To make the business-model work, we needed contacts, something I simply didn’t have.

“Well, using the Federation Express would mean they have to start at a legitimate port of call and send the data to another. Not like you can send data from ‘shady smuggler outpost number forty-seven’ to ‘shady contact at unofficial colony number seventeen’ with the Federation Express. But I know what you mean and I have an idea where to start. Luckily, we are already on our way there, it’s the same place we’ll go for your false identity.” she explained, still quit enthused with my choice.

“If you know the people we have to talk to, great. I’m afraid I’m a little out of my depth here.” I admitted, only to be suddenly embraced.

“You had your life all planned out, I know that much. But your plans went up in smoke when you saved my butt and I’m grateful that you did. Don’t worry about it, we’ll manage.” Airah softly said, giving me a gentle, reassuring squeeze, which I returned.

Maybe that was why she was so happy with my choice. It made it obvious that I’d forgiven her for our situation and was willing to stick with her, despite the mess she had landed me in.

“I’m sure we will. How about we manage to make food first?” I asked, making light of the situation.

“Mhm, sounds good.” she replied, before giving me a last squeeze and letting go.