By Teddi Deppner
The moment Alicia heard news of Phabber’s death, she knew how to find Pete Johnson. He would come to Hawthxx IX—and he’d be there in time for the shineberry harvest. So Alicia took jobs on ships heading that direction, and finalized her preparations. She couldn’t miss this last chance to make things right.
Alicia dashed toward the Astral Rally. The familiar streaks of bright color along the ship’s hull glowed in the port’s floodlights, reminding her of the day she’d painted them.
With Pete.
Her chest ached with lack of oxygen and homesickness. She had a small window of time while Pete and KT registered their arrival with port authorities. If Pete saw her now, he’d probably hate her forever. Or she’d have to explain everything.
Alicia wasn’t sure which was worse.
Gasping, she finally reached the crew hatch and pulled out the electronic lockpick she’d customized especially for the Rally. Lifting it toward the keypad, she hesitated. Surely Pete had changed the entry codes since her disappearance. She tapped in the number and passphrase anyway, each push precise. Taking deep, calming breaths, she waited what seemed an eternity for the ship to process the codes.
The door slid open, and Alicia huffed something between a laugh and a sob.
Oh, Pete.
She slipped inside and closed the door, pocketing the lockpick and pulling out a handful of thumb-sized vidcasters equipped with mid-range transmitters. She hid one near the entry hatch, nestling it within the piping and cables that were strung high along the walls. Another on the bridge. The galley. The cargo bay. After a brief argument with herself, the last one went in Pete’s cabin.
Back at the port motel, Alicia accessed the encrypted vidfeed broadcasts from the ship. As her datapad projected each view on the wall, another wave of longing hit. She leaned against the table and stared at the images.
The fugitive lifestyle of the past eleven months hadn’t left her any energy to think about all she’d left behind. Seeing the Rally again, the hunger for what she’d lost rose up so strong she was dizzy with it. The engine room had been her home for two years. Would her cot still be—
Movement in the cargo bay vidfeed caught her eye.
It was KT-XD, the multipurpose droid she and Pete had fixed up together. KT was maneuvering a hovercart piled high with crates. The shineberry cargo. Alicia zoomed the view. Was Pete oiling KT’s joints? Balancing her rotors and clearing the dust that always accumulated under her sensor housing?
KT rushed another delivery of crates into the hold. Alicia’s worries were drowned in a competing flood of fears. What if they lifted off before she had a chance to access KT alone and install the sleeper program?
A figure appeared in the crew hatch feed, carrying a single crate in his arms. Alicia leaned closer, her eyes absorbing every pixel of the man’s image. Leaner than before, wearing his favorite charcoal jumpsuit. Shaggy black hair in need of a trim. Pete passed out of frame and then reappeared a few moments later on the galley screen. He began transferring the crate’s contents to the cool storage cabinets.
Then he opened the last container, revealing the shineberry pouffes inside. One after another, he devoured all four of the pastries.
Oh, Pete. This is what got you in trouble with Phabber.
Shineberries were as sweet a fruit as you could imagine, but the real prize was the euphoric, relaxing high they induced and how refreshed you felt—once you finally woke up. An irresistible combination. Since the fruit’s narcotic properties only lasted about ten days after harvesting, Pete could make millions of credits shipping them to local buyers before the “shine” was gone. As long as he didn’t eat all his cargo.
Pete licked his fingers with obvious pleasure as he sauntered out of the frame. If he kept this up, Alicia suspected sneaking aboard to reprogram KT would be easy as pie. Or as shineberry pouffe.
It was just after midnight. Alicia peeked at the vidfeeds to verify the status of the ship’s occupants, then slipped inside the Rally. But she had seriously misjudged the difficulty of her mission.
It was hard to walk down the corridor knowing that Pete was just meters away, passed out on his bunk. It was agonizing to pluck each vidcaster off the wall and put it in her pocket. The yearning in her chest increased with each step toward the engine room where KT was docked. Couldn’t she stay? Couldn’t she and Pete face her demons together?
She pulled the vidcaster from the vent housing near the galley door and caught sight of the pinky finger of her right hand, half its proper length. Snipped off by the terrifying henchman that Rex Mackinaw had sent to remind Alicia of her debt to him. “You’ll get by without this. Next time, it’s a thumb.”
No. No matter how hard it was.
She could not stay.
Alicia stood over Pete, tucking the last vidcaster into her pocket. The program she’d installed in KT’s core would explain everything if she didn’t return within six months.
Pete would have closure now, no matter what happened next with Mackinaw. Alicia smiled sadly. For once, Pete’s weakness for shineberries had done him some good.
She watched him breathe, memorizing every line of him. Those thick, black lashes. The slightly parted lips, almost snoring, but not quite. She ached to brush those unruly bangs out of his face. The desire to kiss him was so strong she could taste it. But the risk was too great.
Goodbye, my love.
Alicia whirled and ran out of the ship. If her plan worked, and she broke free of Mackinaw once and for all, she could use KT’s new program to find the Rally again. Then she would come for that kiss. And another, and another.
Until both their hearts were full again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I love bittersweet stories like this! Alicia is kinder than I suspected at first. Great story!
OH. Oh I love this. I love them. The world feels so expansive and interesting, the vast kind of scifi that I adore. Star Wars-flavored, or Zahn’s Quadrail series. And so much happens in such a short span of time!
I hope KT doesn’t have to explain anything; I hope Alicia gets back fine and can explain for herself. Love this story!
Aww hope she’s able to have that future meeting. Great story!
Interesting concept! Very believable.
All right now I need a sequel!!
This was a great story!
While you don’t have *all* the information, you’ve got all you need to really be invested in these two.
How sweet and sad. It helps reading this right after the last one in the series. But now I want more!