“So, Solaris or Gusiun today?” Cas asked, smiling at me as he poured over the map on Frida’s screen.

“Mmm… maybe Gusiun? I think I’m feeling the beach there.” I said, reclining back in my chair and bringing my eyes up from the screen to stare at the stars through the window.

Cas nodded as he scrolled on the screen.

“That could be nice. Wanna ask the others what they’re feeling?”

I rolled my shoulders, stiff after being hunched over the controls for so long, and walked back into Frida’s main bay.

“Who’s winning?” I asked Peggy and Gem who were sitting on the floor, their screens held up in front of them as Peggy desperately tried to destroy Gem’s fleet.

Gem looked up and smirked before her eyes returned to the screen.

“Gem is, seven to three,” Cory said, barely looking up from the medical textbook he was reading on his screen.

“Oof.” I winced, looking at Peggy’s screen over her shoulder.

She groaned loudly and threw her head back.

“This isn’t fair! How did you know I was going to pull off a Myso-loft manoeuvre? I set it up perfectly.”

Gem laughed and dropped her screen on the bench behind her.

“That’s why I knew what you were doing. You do everything too well! Your set up was textbook. That’s the problem! You gotta throw some flair in there, fake out and convince me you’re doing something else!”

Peggy groaned again and looked up at me pleadingly.

“Tell her to play sudaoc with me instead. At least I stand a better chance of winning with that!”

“Urgh no, sudaoc is too hard! There are too many rules! How about if you win the next match, we can play?”

Peggy grinned and picked up her tablet again.

“Did you need something by the way?”

I jolted, realising that there was a reason I went into the bay that wasn’t just to stop Gem from completely destroying Peggy.

“Oh nik, yeah! Did y’all want to go to Solaris or Gusiun today? I was kinda feeling spending a day on the beaches.”

Peg typed quickly on her screen pulling up the weather forecasts.

“Mmm, the weather on Gusiun is pretty good today. Sunny but not too hot. It could be fun.”

Gem stretched out and leant back against Cory’s leg, mulling it over.

“I’m good with whichever.” He said, his hand automatically finding Gem’s.

“I think Gusiun! I mean, normally I’d say Solaris for that stuffed bread thing they do and laser rackets but I went too hard at the gym yesterday. Maybe a day napping on the beach and eating sushi would help. Do we have suncream?” She asked.

I bit my lip and tried to remember if I had any in my bag or if we’d used it all when we went to Ya’kha’therd.

“We might have to buy some there. It’ll probably be about two hours from here. Just enough time for a game of sudaoc…”

I nudged Peggy’s shoulder with my knee and winked at her.

“Yes! See! Captain’s orders! You have to play it now.” She grinned, placing her screen in between them and bouncing excitedly.

Gem glared at us in mock annoyance and sighed loudly.

“Well. Seeing as it’s an order…” She dramatically sat back up and dropped her screen next to Peggy’s.

I watched them for a minute, a smile playing on my face before returning to the cockpit.

My hand lazily brushed over the back of Cas’ chair as I climbed back into my own.

“So, they decided on Gusiun?”

“Yeah, Gem wants a day on the beach and sushi.”

Cas’ face lit up.

“Oh, yeah! I forgot how good the sushi is there! Okay, done! I’ve amended our flight plan! Lead the way, Captain.”

I smile and took control of Frida, pointing her in the direction of Gusiun with a smile. She responded beautifully, sweeping gently to the left. The sun shone through the window and I glance across just in time to see it hit Cas’ face. His dark skin gleamed in the light and his eyes turned a beautiful umber. My heart squeezed as they met mine and he smiled. Love washed through me and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out for his hand. It felt so warm and familiar in mine.

I love you. I thought.

His lips twitched upwards. I love you.

I grinned and reluctantly let go so that I could take the controls again.

The flight felt lazy, easy and perfect. It blurred by far too quickly and before long we were hovering and waiting our turn to land on Gusiun.

“Yes! I knew it! Your Captain is mine! Ha!” Peggy crowed from behind me as she finally seized Gem’s Captain and won the game.

“Urgh, see! This is why I hate the sudoac! I almost had you like six different times but you still won! It’s not fair!”

I smiled as the radio crackled into life.

“Crew 761, you are good to land. Please pull into parking bay seventy-three, you have the space for eight hours.”

I lowered Frida gently, searching out our space and parked her in the bay.

“Yes! We’re here! I am so excited to feel the sun on my skin again! We gotta get changed!” Gem called from behind us.

I smiled and turned off the thrusters. Standing stiffly, I pulled my bag out of the lockers and returned to the others.

“I didn’t bring suncream! Do you have any?” Gem asked, having emptied her flight bag onto the bench.

I rooted around in mine, coming up empty and shrugged.

“Urgh, that’s fine. We’ll go through some of the machines instead, I guess. They’re way easier anyway, even if they’re overpriced You just stand there with your arms and legs out and they spray you down! So much better than having to rub it in.”

I laughed. “Is rubbing it in really that much more effort?”

She scrunched her face up at me.

“Yes! It’s wasted time! I could have spent that extra five minutes finding the perfect spot for my nap!”

I laughed at her and pulled my shorts and top out of my bag. We turned away from the boys and changed.

“How do I look? This dress is new. It’s perfect, right?” Gem asked, looking down at the stunning short flared red dress she was wearing.

“That is stunning. I feel underdressed now!” I said, looking down too.

“Me too.”

I glanced across at Peggy who was wearing denim shorts and a vest top like me.

“Don’t be silly! You both look perfect! Plus, we’re only going to be wearing these until we get to the beach and then I’m going to strip down to my bikini!”

I smiled, she always had a way of making us feel better.

“Ready, boys?”

“Yeah!” Cas answered and we turned.

My eyes roamed his body. He was wearing light-coloured shorts and a tank top that fitted him perfectly and showed off his well toned arms.

“Shall we?” I said, cocking my head towards the door.

“Hells, yes!”

Gem raced out the door with Cas following close behind. I stepped out onto Frida’s ramp after them and took a deep breath. Fresh salty sea air filled my lungs, tainted by the acrid yet delicious smell of hot metal and fuel. I took another deep breath in and stared around the planet. It was beautiful. We were in the compound ship parking lot so we were surrounded on all sides by other small cruisers but in the distance, the deep orange sand dunes could be seen. The calling whisper of the sea could be heard under the roar of engines above us. I longed to stand on the beach and feel the gentle burn of the hot sand in between my toes. The sunlight warmed my skin, easing my muscles and beckoning me towards the beach.

Sand blew across the tarmac and stung my face as an OB-Aye-12 pleasure cruiser pulled into the other lot. The hulking ship had the words ‘fun’ and ‘pleasure’ scrawled across it in hundreds of languages and was speckled with windows. The doors finally opened and a swarm ofsemi-naked people emerged, whooping loudly and holding their cups high in the air as they rushed towards the beaches. I smiled, enjoying their happiness and began walking slowly down Frida’s ramp.

The smile died on my face as I realised something was gravely wrong. The screams of happiness had changed. They were sharp with fear now as the floor began to shake. I whipped around, trying to see beyond Frida to the sea. Surely, there wouldn’t be a tsunami. They wouldn’t have let us land if there was, right?

I span around, trying to work out what the problem was. The sea was clear, there were no obvious signs of danger but the shaking floor and shrieks of terror and pain told me I was wrong.

Why was the floor shaking? We were on Gusiun. Gusiun was safe.

The quakes intensified and I stared at my crew. Peggy’s face was frozen behind me in a mask of horror.

“It’s just like Irision. It’s happening again. Aries, we need to get out!

My eyes snapped open and I sucked in a shuddering breath as my heart pounded. We weren’t on Gusiun. We hadn’t been there in over a year. We were still on Nova in the Council storeroom. I thought we were safer there but honestly, I’d rather have taken my chances on Gusiun.

Those dreams were some of the hardest things to deal with. I’d have a taste of happiness and freedom, feeling lighter than I had in ages and then it would all be forced back down and I’d be reminded of the horrors again. I’d have wondrous dreams where we were in Frida and flying towards some glorious faraway planet without any worries or concerns and then I’d wake up on the lumpy mattress in a dusty storeroom. Pain would wrack my body again and leave me struggling for air. But, at least I had my crew with me. That really helped. I could look around and see Peggy reading by the door, Gem and Cory curled up across from us and Cas lying next to me always. Sometimes, I would be plagued by the worry that they’d somehow been killed whilst I slept leaving me as the only one still alive. I’d hold my breath and listen to their breathing, watch Cas’ chest move or see Peggy turn the page. That was generally enough to convince but not always. I’d convince myself it was a trick of the light and that they hadn’t actually moved, I must have imagined it. I found myself blinking hard to activate my mods and make sure they were still warm enough to be alive. Sometimes, the others would wake too. I think they must have struggled just as much as I did.