(Note #1: All comments and constructive criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Note #2: All artwork in this chapter is by Faith Desky, except the third illustration, which is by the Imagineart AI Art Generator .

Note #3: And finally, thanks to volunteer Literotica editor TheNyxianLily for her help with editing and a story beat that slipped into this chapter.)

Calley was awakened by the same chime she’d heard every morning after she’d spent the night at Daznee’s. She stretched while the Vottonian jumped off the couch and made her way to the coffee table by the room’s entrance. She poured herself a glass of water left over from last night. She announced, “Five minutes to sunrise. Anybody who wants to see it better get up.”

There was a chorus of grunts and moans from the people all lying on the couch. Calley disentangled herself from Pyerick’s arms and looked around. Yutag rolled off the couch and stood up. She turned to Mix who seemed reluctant to rise. “C’mon Mix,” she told her friend. “The Four Furies stick together.”

The brunette groaned but rose. None of the men seemed to want to join them. Calley looked over the scene and suddenly, she was certain of what she was seeing. This would be the last morning she’d spend here. The upcoming sunrise she was about to witness wouldn’t be followed by others. Not for her, anyway. By the end of the day, the Ravenfang would be on its way out of the system and she’d be aboard her. The time to decide her future had come and gone, and it was clear to her what her choice was. As much as she cared for all her friends, she wouldn’t be staying here.

She turned to face Daznee and found the Vottonian staring at her. Somehow, in that instant, the teal-skinned woman read Calley’s expression and knew what her lover had decided. Her expression hardened into one the spacer didn’t recognize. Calley wasn’t sure if what she was seeing was anger, hurt, dissapointment or something else. But whatever it was, it was clear the social secretary was upset. She put down her glass of water on the table with a little too much force, making the action louder than it should be. She then turned her back on everyone and walked out into the house’s hallway. Yutag and Mix followed, seemingly unaware of their friend’s mood. For an instant, Calley hesitated to follow them, unsure of if she should. She feared upsetting Daznee more than she already had, but finally took off after her three naked friends anyway.

She followed them outside to the pool area and then past it to the raised area by the beach she’d seen on her first morning here. It was there that Daznee sat down to watch the horizon. Mix and Yutag, a little behind her, shared a look that made it clear they realized something was wrong. They turned to look at the approaching Calley and the medic could see understanding wash over both their faces. Mix went over to sit next to Daznee while the Kutalan stayed back a moment to take Calley’s hand and squeeze it. The Gynapsi understood that her friend was trying to make this difficult moment a little easier. The shorter woman led her to sit between her and Mix to the right of the brooding Daznee.

None of them said a word as they waited for the sun to appear. Nor did they even turn to look at one another. There was no need, as they all knew what was going on. Daznee’s sour mood was emanating from her like a cloud of bad feelings. Calley, for her part, felt terrible that she was hurting a woman she’d come to love so much, but didn’t know what to do or say. She felt guilt-ridden and knew Mix and Yutag could feel her emotional state as well as their host’s.  Anyone watching them from afar would have seen four beautiful women sitting at an overlook. But had they approached a little closer, they would have felt the tension in the air.

Soon, the sun rose from over the horizon but as beautiful as the sight was, it utterly failed to raise Calley’s spirits. She was feeling too down to truly appreciate it. She could feel Daznee’s morose mood and knew she wasn’t appreciating the moment either. Nice going, girl, she silently berated herself. You’ve managed to completely ruin a sunrise. Might as well set fire to the house on your way out while you’re at it.

The four women continued to stare at the sun as it rose over the ocean. Eventually, Mix declared, “The boys missed a great sunrise. Pity they used up so much energy last night, but it was for a good cause.”

Daznee sourly responded with, “Mix, you wanna shut the fuck up? I’m in no mood for your bullshit today.”

Calley was surprised at the vitriol the Vottonian had just uttered, turning to look at her for the first time since they’d left the house. But she was even more surprised by Mix’s reaction. The Rangxuan stiffened up and her expression hardened. She raised her arm and twisted her body to slap Daznee square across the face. The sound was a loud, harsh disruption to the loaded atmosphere. Daznee cried out in pain and surprise as she leaned to her left to keep her face away from the brunette’s reach.

Mix usually spoke in a cadence that made her voice sound like a song, but she sounded much different now. “You don’t speak to me that way, Daznee Madzen!” she angerly declared. “I know you’re hurting right now, and I feel bad for you. But that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like that! And if you don’t feel like dealing with my bullshit, well bitch, I’m in no Godsdamn mood for yours either!”

Calley had never seen her friend in anything like this angry state and, judging by the wide-eyed surprise evident in Daznee’s expression, neither had the socialite. Mix glared at the green-haired woman and took a quick breath. When she continued, her tone was still hard but not quite as harsh. “Calley’s gonna leave and that’s killing you inside. I get it. But if it’s making you feel bad, you should go back inside, find the nearest mirror and get angry at that girl, not me. ‘Cause that‘s the stupid bitch who fucked up your heart. Not me and not Calley, Daznee. You did! You fell in love with a spacer. One who stuck around longer than they normally do, but a spacer nonetheless. Spacers leave, Daznee. Give one your heart and they just throw it in their cargo bay when they move on.”

Daznee began sobbing loudly and the sound tore into Calley’s soul. She hated herself for having caused the woman so much pain. She, too, began to weep and Yutag noticed. She pulled Calley to her as the spacer cried.

Mix turned to look at the pair and then turned her attention back to Daznee. When she spoke again, her cadence had returned to its normal musical nature. “Okay,” she said. “If you wanna cry, that’s fine. We’re all sad today. Sad is fine. Well, maybe not fine, but we can live with sad. It’s when you turn something beautiful like the love you have for Calley into anger and hate that I have to stop you. Because hate isn’t good. Hate never leads to anything constructive. If you love someone and it turns bad and you grow to hate them instead, that’s a tragedy.”

She moved towards the crying Daznee, who half-heartedly tried to fend her off but collapsed into her arms. The Vottonian blubbered out something unintelligible and then composed herself a little. She was still in tears, but managed to choke out, “I wanted her to stay with us.”

“You mean you wanted her to stay with *you*, dear,” Mix told her as she held the distraught woman to give her comfort. “Don’t pretend like you were thinking of us. You’re not fooling anybody. But it was never gonna happen. You might as well ask those cetaceans you swim with to come live in your house. They can’t. They’re creatures of the ocean, not land. Calley’s a creature of space, Daznee. She doesn’t know how to go back to the same domicile day after day, cycle after cycle. She knows how to stop someplace and then move on to someplace else. That’s her life. How many spacer stories did she tell us? Lots. How many were about the same place over and over? None.”

Daznee seemed to calm herself a little as she told her friend “But she could have learned. She could have a life here. A career. I’d have helped her. I offered her everything she needed.”

“When?”

The question surprised Daznee. “What?” she asked Mix.

“When did you make this offer to her?”

“After the Sapphire House. The day after.”

“And she only made her decision this morning,” Mix stated. “If she’d told you before, you’d have been a bitch before. So you asked her to throw away her entire life and everything she knew to come be with you, and for over a week, she thought about doing it. She almost left everything behind to have a life she didn’t know how to have, just because she loves you that much. Dammit Daznee, can’t you see how amazing that is? Nobody’s ever loved me that much. I can only wish somebody loved me like that. And now you’re making her feel bad because you asked for the impossible and she only almost gave it to you? Girl, you’re greedy and you’re immature and you’re way too demanding. You need to grow up and start realizing that the universe doesn’t exist just to be in your orbit. It doesn’t work that way. Not for you, not for anybody.”

Daznee had stopped crying, but Calley was still trying to fight back her tears as she clung to Yutag. Mix looked over at the two again and turned her body so that Daznee could see them too. “Look at what you did to Calley. You asked for too much from her and when she couldn’t give it to you, you made her feel like shit. Are you gonna let her cry like that?”

Daznee let go of Mix and stumbled her way to Calley, who disengaged herself from Yutag and embraced the social planner. “I’m sorry,” Daznee said as she began to cry again. “I was selfish and a bitch. Mix hit me and I deserved it. I don’t want you to feel bad. It’s all my fault. I screwed everything up.”

“We both did,” Calley assured her as she, too, cried along with her friend and lover. Mix stepped up and held both close to her as Yutag got in on the group hug as well. The four stayed that way as both Calley and Daznee cried until they could cry no more. Once she was done with her tears, Daznee said, “I’m sorry Mix. I was a total bitch to you, wasn’t I?”

“You’re right to apologize,” the Rangxuan told her. “Insulting me is no big deal, but ruining a sunrise? The nerve!”

Yutag chimed in with “I’m sorry too, Mix. From now on, I’ll believe in space dragons.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I don’t want my face slapped, thank you very much.”

The four laughed and the sadness they all felt was dispelled for the moment. They disengaged from each other and stood up. Yutag pointed out, “Gods! After last night and all this crying to boot, we all look terrible. Let’s get inside and grab a shower before the guys see us like this.”

They all returned to the house where Calley was surprized to find they could split up to head to four different showers in four different bathrooms. Calley cleaned herself up and returned to the pool area to slip her formal dress back on. She then returned to the sitting room to find Mix and Yutag were likewise dressed again and the boys stirring. She drank some water as Yutag loudly told the men, “Get up you lazy jerks! Calley’s gonna leave today and I don’t want you sleeping through her goodbyes.”

“Calley’s leaving? Awww man…” Pyerick said disapprovingly.

“Sorry everyone, but space is calling,” Calley told the group.

“So take a message,” said Vijjah, which got some chuckles and smiles.

“Vijjah’s right. Stay here with us instead,” Deltai added in. “At least for a little while. Space will still be there when you get bored with us.”

“C’mon you guys, don’t pester the poor lady,” Spiroo said as he moved over to give Calley a hug. “You’re a great girl, and your crew’s lucky to have you. I’m glad I met you, and I hope you can swing by this part of the galaxy again someday.”

Calley caught herself thinking that, before Rangxu, she’d have been mortified to be hugging a naked man. But by now, it barely fazed her. “I will,” she promised Spiroo. “I have to. Sal, Alezanna and I all have starcred invested in the system. We’ll come back to look into it every now and again.”

“Perfect,” he said as he turned to the group. “So this isn’t ‘goodbye’. It’s just ‘see ya later’.”

He turned back to Calley and gave her a kiss. It wasn’t in the same league as the ones the two had shared the night before, but she was happy to get it nonetheless. When it was done, she moved away from him and stepped into the arms of Mitchewl. He hugged her tightly and told her “I’m glad we had last night together. I’ll always remember it.”

“Me too,” she assured him. “Take care of yourself, flyboy. Don’t let Vijjah give you too much shit.”

She kissed him and then turned to find Vijjah pulling her into a hug of their own. “Hey, no playing favourites,” he admonished her. “Ground personnel need affection too.” He leaned down to kiss Calley and then told her, “Maybe I’ll become a spacer too. If they have girls like you in the skies, I might wanna spend some time up there.”

“Don’t waste your time,” Pyerick said as he stepped up and gently extracted Calley from the larger man into his own embrace with her. “You won’t find another Calley. She’s one of a kind.” With that, he gave Calley a kiss of his own.

When it was done, Deltai stepped up to her and kissed her as well. It was only after it was over that he spoke to her. “I’ll send you the footage of the gala when I get to work tonight. Won’t be hard to find you. I’ll just tell the techs to send me the vids of the most beautiful girl there.”

“Flatterer,” Calley said with a smile.

“It’s the truth,” he assured her.

“I never said it wasn’t,” she playfully told him, and the group laughed at that.

Mix then stepped forward and embraced Calley tightly, “I miss you already,” the brunette told her. “You became such a good friend in such a short time. I never met anybody like you, and I wish you could stay.”

“I wish I could too, but I gotta get back to my crew before they leave without me. Every time I see a new star I haven’t seen before, it’ll remind me of you.”

Mix let her go and Yutag almost tackled her in her zeal to hug the spacer. “I’ll miss ya too! You’re the best Godsdamn dancer I ever saw! Better than I am, and it kills me to admit it. But you’re one of the Four Furies, so you better come back and visit. Being one of the Three Furies just ain’t as much fun.”

“I promise you’ll see me again. The Four Furies stick together, right?”

“Right!”

As if on cue, Daznee walked in and the mood in the room grew more sombre. She looked over the group before her eyes settled on Calley. She told her, “Mom’s taking off for the station in a few minutes and she’s offered you a ride. I’d go with you but apparently I have to take charge of a group of naked guys running around the house.”

It wasn’t a great joke, but it lightened the mood among the nine friends. Calley went over to Daznee who asked her, “Did you say goodbye to everybody?” After the medic nodded, the social planner took her by the hand and led her to the house’s corridor, but not before Calley gave her friends one last wave goodbye.

The two headed outside to the outdoor hanger where Daznee’s shuttle was docked alongside some others. No one else was visible, and the two women stood facing each other. “Oh Gods,” Daznee said, “Mom better get here soon or I’m gonna start crying again.”

“Please don’t. If you do that, you’ll get me going too and where will that leave us?”

“Miserable, I guess,” Daznee said and then paused. Before she could get too sad, she grabbed Calley and held her in a tight embrace. “Promise me you’ll come back!” she insisted. “When I was a kid, Sal used to come around a bunch of times. If he could do it, you can too!”

“I will. You’ll see me again, I swear you will. And you’ll hear from me all the time. Spacers have a tradition. Before we go anywhere, we tell someone where we’re going. And when we get there, we tell ‘em we made it. That way, we never get lost. I always told my mother what was happening with me. But now I’m gonna tell you too.”

“Yes! Whenever you take off or land, you gotta call me.“

“Every time I make a move, you’ll know. The ship’s communication system is the best in the galaxy, I could be fifty sectors away and still be able to talk to you on a direct signal. When I get back to the Ravenfang, the first thing I’m telling Sal is that we’re not allowed to go anywhere where I can’t reach you instantaneously anymore.”

“I love you, Calley Vanmussen.”

“I love you too, Daznee Madzen.”

A trio of people approached them and the two women let go of one another. Daznee turned and ran back to the house as Calley was left with Margraite Madzen and two of her husbands. They all exchanged morning greetings but Calley had to be careful what she said. She’d been introduced to the men the night before but had forgotten their names.

The four entered a shuttle that appeared the same as Daznee’s on the outside. However, where the socialite had converted hers into a flying fashion warehouse, the interior of the Governor’s craft still looked very much like an assault shuttle’s. It stood empty of troops, but all sorts of weapon racks, armour suits and basic military fatigues were visible in storage lockers. And whereas Daznee’s shuttle had a gravmobile parked inside it, this one contained a jugger-tank.

The four made their way to the cockpit where the men took the controls and the shuttle rose into the sky. Calley sat in the rear of the cockpit with Governor Madzen sitting beside her. Reading her passenger’s glum expression, Madzen told her, “Gotta say, girl, I ain’t never seen a spacer so sad over leavin’ someplace. I always thought you guys never got attached ta places and folks.”

“First time for everything, I guess,” Calley morosely said.

“Yeah, Daznee was talkin’ like maybe you were gonna stay behind with us. But, judgin’ from the way she ran off almost cryin’ just now, I guess that ain’t happening. Break my daughter’s heart, did ya?”

The spacer’s throat tightened up so all she could do was nod. Despite herself, her first few minutes away from her friends were hitting her hard and she was fighting not to start crying again.

“Look honey,” the Governor said in a surprisingly soothing tone, “you’re young. Ya got a lot of your life ahead ‘a ya. From what Daz and Sal told me about ya, ya moved around a lot. Ya gotta watch out for Rangxu. This place tends to pull people into its orbit and not let ‘em go. It sure did with me. When I first came here, I sure as fuck didn’t expect to stick around so long, or end up runnin’ the place. Now I can’t imagine ever goin’ anywhere or doin’ anything else. Rangxu showed ya what ya could do if ya stayed still a while, didn’t she?”

“Yes. And it was really nice. But I’m… Sal and Alezanna…”

“Ya ain’t ready to settle down quite yet. I get that. And you’re with your crewmates. Ya can’t be with ‘em and my Daznee too, so ya had’ta choose. Kid, I been there. I have four husbands. Used’ta have five, but one of ‘em up and died on me. Do I sound like a woman who doesn’t understand lovin’ a lotta people at the same time?”

Calley snickered at Madzen’s rhetorical question.

The politician continued with, “Sometimes, that means ya get pulled in two different directions. Ya choose the one that works best for ya, but people still end up hurt. It happens. Happened ta me, happened ta you. My advice ta ya is this: Get yourself fixed up inside. Make your peace with leavin’ Daznee and focus on what’s ahead ‘a ya. Don’t worry ‘bout my daughter. She’ll bounce back from this, you’ll see. When ya come back here, and that’s gonna happen sooner rather than later, I’m pretty sure, you’ll see my girl will be back ta her crazy, naked crap.”

“You think I’ll be back soon?” the Gynapsi asked her. The thought did cheer her up somewhat.

“I’ll bet ya will, yeah. Rangxu’s got its hooks in ya now. Same with Sal. That Alezanna of yours, I’m not so sure. She’s a cool customer, that one, but I like her. Anyway, you and Sal spent too long here for the place not ta get in your heads. You with the social life and Sal with the starcred. I threw some ideas at him last night, and I got a feeling he’s thinkin’ about ‘em.”

“What ideas?” Calley asked as she wiped her eyes. Her tears had stopped.

“Sorry kid. That’s for him to tell ya about. I dunno if he’s gonna go for ‘em or not. Might be he ain’t in the right headspace ta take ‘em seriously. He seems okay, but getting shot ain’t no picnic. Might have scared him off my brand of negotiations. Fuck, if I’d known Hoddard would pull that shit, I’d never‘ve told Sal not to go heeled when negotiatin’ with him. Diplomacy be damned! I wish I’d killed that asshole myself!”

“Coslove was afraid you might. I think that’s why he was careful when he told you about what happened at first.”

“He was right. I’d have crushed that motherfucker’s skull if I knew he was a slaver, never mind one that shot my friend. Still kinda disappointed that somebody else got ta him before I got the chance. But, in the long run, I guess it’s best things turned out the way they did. By the way, Coslove told me you were as cool and competent a medtech as any he’s ever seen. And that’s coming from a guy who’s no stranger ta seeing people get patched up on a battlefield. You ever get tired of the spacer life, come see me. I’ll always have a job for ya.

‘Thanks, but I think keeping Sal out of trouble is gonna have me busy for a while.”

The Vottonian laughed aloud at that. One of her husbands then spoke to the Command One station to get clearance to land in the executive hanger. A few minutes later, the shuttle had docked and everyone aboard was disembarking. When they were off the ship, Coslove approached the foursome and presented a datapad to the Governor. As she looked it over, her Chief of Staff nodded a greeting to her husbands and another to Calley. The two husbands nodded back and left the hanger, but Calley stayed where she was.

“Well, we’re gonna be busy today, aren’t we?” Madzen grumbled as she handed the datapad back to Coslove. “Okay, I’ll meet ya in the office. Take a couple of minutes ta say goodbye to Calley before we get started. She’s takin’ off today. Try not ta cry too much.” She gave the younger woman a kiss on the cheek and then left her alone with the bureaucrat.

“The Governor’s jokes aside, I am sorry to see you go, Calley,” he told her. “It was a pleasure getting to know you a little.”

Calley smiled as she told him, “I feel the same. I’m glad I got to dance with you though.”

“Likewise,” he agreed, and she was amazed to see a slight smile break across his face.

“Coslove, can I ask you a favour?”

“I doubt there’d be any harm in asking,” he said as his face returned to its regular emotionless state.

“I said goodbye to Daznee today. She took it hard. I’m kinda worried about her. Could I ask you to keep an eye on her for me?”

“Nothing could be simpler, Calley. it’s hardly a favour at all, seeing as I work with her.”

“Yeah, but I’m talking about outside work. Taking her out on dates for a while. To make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble until she gets over her funk.”

Coslove looked uncomfortable as he told her “I don’t know if I’d be too good at that. She has her circle of friends. They’ll be better at cheering her up than I could ever be.”

“That’s the problem,” Calley went on. “I love her friends, but I dunno if they’ll stop her should she wanna do something stupid. They’re all good people, but she’s the leader of that pack and they do what she says. I’d feel better if I knew somebody a little older and wiser was keeping an eye on her.”

“Well, I doubt she’d even accept an invitation from me.”

“The least you could do is try. I’m not asking you to kidnap her or keep her under surveillance. Just ask her out to dinner and see what she says. If she turns you down, okay, but if she accepts, just let her have a good time. And if she ends up telling you things she can’t tell her friends ‘cause she trusts you more than them, so much the better.”

Coslove sighed and finally acquiesced. “If you think it might help Daznee, I suppose I could try. I still have my doubts it’ll lead anywhere, but I see no harm in making the effort.”

“Great!” Calley declared and gave the man a hug. “You’re a really good friend, Coslove. Don’t let anybody tell ya different.”

She let him go and the two walked out of the hanger to the station’s lifts. There, they parted company as Coslove went up to the executive offices and Calley descended to the main hangar bay level. On the way down, she was very pleased with herself. I kept my word, she thought. I told Daznee that I wouldn’t tell anybody how she felt about Coslove, and I didn’t. She said she couldn’t ask him out, but never told me not to encourage him to do the asking. It might go nowhere, like he said, but I doubt it. I just wish I could see her face when he asks her out. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to see how they look when I come back.

She stepped back aboard the Ravenfang and made her way to the bedroom. As it was still early in the day, she wasn’t surprised to find her two shipmates still in bed. She tried to move quietly so as to not wake them, but her high-heeled shoes did her no favours there. She took them off and made her way to the armoire, into which she placed them. She then went quietly over to the laundry hamper and removed her dress. Before she could put it inside, she heard Sal say, “Now there’s a sight I’ll never get tired of.”

She looked over at him and smiled as she dropped the dress in the hamper and quickly added her underwear.

“And it keeps getting better,” Alezanna added as she watched the naked woman make her way to the armoire again.

Calley stood in front of the open storage unit and addressed them both with, “Before I get dressed, it might help me to pick my outfit if I knew what our next destination is.”

Both the spacers in bed had heard her use the word “our” and realized what It meant. Sal jumped out of bed and rushed over to hug Calley. “We,” he said, placing emphasis on the word, “are taking a quick trip to the zanzonite mines of Ulgawl. Then it’s off to Jarzani. Too far away for most other small traders to get to easily, and too small for the big mining convoys to bother with. But for us, that makes the trip all the more profitable.”

“I wish we weren’t going so far,” Alezanna said as she left the bed as well. “A closer destination would be a better idea to see how well we fixed up our ship. But I guess if the further destination’s the one that’ll fill our coffers quicker, it has to be risked.”

“That’s my girl,” Sal said as he released Calley so that Alezanna could give her a hug as well.

“You smell like you got lucky last night,” the Gynapsi told her friend.

“And you smell like you didn’t,” the Bellixan replied. “I saw you leave with five young men last night. Did none of them strike your fancy?”

“They all did. I just took a shower this morning, that’s all.”

“All of them? Not all at once, I hope,” the mechtech said with a little concern.

“No, the girls and I all swapped partners throughout the night,” Calley said as she let go of her friend and turned to the armoire to pick out her clothes for the day. “At one point, I took on two guys at once, but otherwise it was one-on-one. Oh, Sal, I hope you’re not into too much anal sex, ‘cause I tried it last night and it didn’t do a lot for me.”

“Gods, girl!” Collondo exclaimed. “We wanted you to have a fling, but not five at once!”

“Well, I was in a hurry to get ‘em all out of my system, I guess.”

Sal chuckled and then said, “Well, since you’ve showered and we haven’t, how about you get started on breakfast while me and Alez clean ourselves up? I wanna have a talk with you both about our future plans before we get underway.”

Calley got dressed as her shipmates went off to the showers. Once she was done, she made her way to the galley where she started assembling the morning meal for everyone. She wasn’t as good a cook as Sal, but she knew how everyone liked their eggs (sunny-side up for Sal, poached for Alezanna and scrambled for herself) and got to work making them. She also fried up some potato slices and beef nuggets. As she did so, she couldn’t help but think about how good it felt to settle back into the spacer routine she was more used to. Go somewhere, pick up cargo, go somewhere else to sell it. Take turns on watch, make love when you can. This was her life, and she was glad to have it.

Their shower finished, Sal and Alezanna passed by on their way to the bedroom to get dressed. They returned as Calley finished cooking and the three sat down to eat. Sal looked like he was getting ready to say something but before he could, Calley spoke up.

“Before we start, I have something I need to say. You made me a partner a while back and I’ll always be grateful too you both for that. So far, I’ve been happy to just do my part of keeping the ship going and keeping you two healthy. As far as making the deals and deciding where we went next, I was happy to let you take care of that, Sal. But now, I gotta ask you something about that. I’ve made friends here in Rangxu. They’re sad to see me go and I’m sad to leave ’em. I promised ‘em I’d come back someday. I know so far we haven’t really ever gone back to places a lot. Most of where we’ve been, I don’t care about or I’d rather avoid. But Rangxu, I wanna come back to. I dunno how hard that’s gonna be for us, but—”

“Not at all,” Sal cut in. “When we were on our way here, I said Rangxu was a major centre of trade in this sector, but I had no idea Margie had the place running so well. There’s plenty of starcred coming in and out. This run to Jarzani’s one we could do over and over until we get bored of it. As for us making runs into Rangxu, there’s so many stations that need so many things, we’d make ourselves rich doing runs here even without our cut of the tariffs from Palsidia. You wanna keep this place close and come back often? Honey, I have zero problems with that. Not in making it happen and not in wanting it to happen either. I got friends here I’ll wanna see too. I hadn’t realized how much I missed Margie and even Coslove until I saw ‘em again.”

“Agreed,” Alezanna added. “I always thought powerful people were too uptight. That’s certainly the way it is on Bellixa. But Margraite is a real breath of fresh air. If you two want to keep Rangxu the point we orbit around in our travels, I have no objections either.”

“Perfect!” Sal enthusiastically exclaimed. “We all like it here, we all wanna come back, so it’s decided. And I didn’t even hafta mention your dresses.”

“What about my dresses?” the Bellixan asked him.

“Come on, pet,” he scolded her. “Don’t act like you didn’t see the sensation they made last night. People were talkin’ about ‘em all night. What Margie was wearing, what Daznee was, Calley, little Yutag. While you were busy dancing the night away, I was dodging rich women who were trying to tell me their dress sizes to give to you. If you wanna make clothes for people, the demand is gonna be insane.”

“Interesting,” Alezanna conceded. “I don’t know how much time I want to devote to fashion. But I can’t deny if felt good to dress other people lately.” She turned to address Calley. “And I did feel a pang watching you, Yutag and Daznee with your friends yesterday. Poor Mix looked so out of place with that                                                                                                                rag she was wearing. It didn’t look so bad on its own, but when with you three, she really looked like the poor cousin. I’d love to create something for her. Her skin tone is so nice, it invites so many possibilities.”

“She’d love you forever if you did that,” Calley promised her. “I don’t think she could afford what the other women would pay you, but I’d sure be grateful too.”

“Then she’ll have it. The next time we’re here, I’ll prioritize making something for her. Whether I take on one client or thirty, and I’ll only work on the people I invite into my orbit, she’ll be the first. Cost be damned. Well, so long as we keep my generosity quiet. A Verrazo design can’t be seen to just be given away.”

“About your other clients,” Sal chimed in, “I got a request about that. Margraite’s made me an offer I gotta discuss with you two, and a part of it is having you make some dresses for her again.”

“One for her and another for her daughter?” Alezanna asked.

“No, I got the impression she’s wanting ‘em all for herself. I think you brought out the girly side of her with that peach number last night. But here’s the thing. We gotta make sure we all agree with what she’s offering.”

The mood in the room turned serious. Both the women felt that there was something coming up in the discussion that they might not like.

“Like I said before,” Sal continued, “Rangxu’s economy is doing great. So much so, that Margraite and her people are looking to expand. And I don’t mean by building more stations. I’m talking into the system next to this one. They’ve already built a military base to keep the pirates away. But the planet there, Yazamere, is in the final stages of being terraformed. It’ll be ready to be settled in a cycle or two. The projections are that it’ll be loaded with natural resources. A good place to live. It won’t be an independent world, but a satellite of the Rangxu government. Margie introduced me to the people who’ll be running it for her. They’ve asked me to be the trade minister.”

Both Calley and Alezanna stiffened up their bodies at that last sentence. Sal saw their reaction and acknowledged it by saying, “I know what you’re thinking. I’ve already been shot once making political trade deals. And Alez, I know how you feel about politics. But what you’re thinking of is Bellixan politics. You just said yourself that Margie’s different. I can’t vouch yet for the others I’ll work with, but I don’t mind giving them the benefit of the doubt. Now, I do know how they feel about one particular thing. I told them I’d never negotiate with anybody without my gun on me. Not that I plan on using it, but if it ain’t there, I ain’t there.”

Calley said, “The Governor told me today she wishes she’d never told you not to bring your gun when you dealt with Hoddard.”

“Yeah, she told me the same thing last night too,“ Sal told the two women. “The other ministers aren’t happy about how it’ll look, but they’re willing to go along with it. I was kinda hoping I could rope you into this, pet. Could you design me a rig that’ll help me conceal my gun? So that I can reach it if I need it but otherwise, it’ll stay concealed?”

It took Alezanna a few moments to answer as she was giving the matter some serious thought. “I could. It would help if I designed your outfits around keeping the holster out of sight. But it’s possible, I guess.”

She paused to look at Calley to gauge her reaction to the proposal. Calley shrugged. “I’m worried Sal,” the medtech confessed. “I don’t know a lot about politics, but what little I know scares me sometimes. You told me it can make you dirty. I once saw a shirt full of holes and bloodstains that agreed with you. But I’ve listened to enough stories of deals gone bad and you shooting people to know that being a spacer ain’t no safer life. Can you make me one promise though? Promise me that, if you ever feel like you’re in a dicey situation, like you maybe can’t trust the people around you. Promise me you’ll walk away. You won’t try to fix things, you won’t try to beat whoever you’re talking to at whatever game’s being played. You’ll walk away and not look back.”

Sal nodded as he took in what she said. “Yes, I swear it,” he agreed. “I almost lost you two last week and I never wanna come close to doing that again. Whatever happens, I won’t put myself in any danger I can avoid. Nothing in life’s worth that.”

“All right,” Alezanna added. “But I have a few conditions of my own. First of all, you wear the holster I design for you at all times. And the outfits that go with it. Unless you’re at some function where it’s all right to carry weapons openly, in which case your standard gunbelt will do. Second, I want to keep an eye on you when you’re in those government chambers. My office will be next to yours and have a door leading straight between them. I’ll have my own office because I’ll be the planet’s Minister of Fashion.”

Sal seemed amused by the idea as he told her, “Well, I don’t think I’m the one who can appoint you like that. But once I tell Margie we’re a package deal, I can’t imagine she’ll have any objections. Or anybody else who saw your designs last night. If Bellixa has a fashion ministry, I don’t see why Yazamere can’t have one too.”

“Good. Now one more thing. On the day we’re sworn in as ministers, your wardrobe belongs to me. And when I burn each and every one of those garish shirts you favour, and when I cackle hysterically while I do it, you won’t lift a finger to stop me.”

Calley had smiled at Alezanna’s second condition, but this third one made her burst out laughing.

Sal, for his part could only sigh and nod in agreement. He too had a smile on his face but he turned serious again after a few seconds. Calley stopped laughing as she wondered if he had anything else he wanted to discuss. He stood up and went to the kitchen area, where he opened one of the lower cupboards and took out a small box. He then returned to the table where the women were sitting. Now that it was close to her, Calley could see the box was made of dark wood and measured maybe thirty centimeters wide by fifteen long and ten high. It had a gold clasp holding it shut.

“Sal, what’s that?” Alezanna asked him with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“It’s a jewelry box, pet. I’m surprised you don’t recognize one. I went out and got it last week. See, political figures tend to be family men and women. People believe in and respect you more when they think you’re a stable, responsible person. Not some bachelor spacer who might run off at a moment’s notice. And after I got shot, it got me thinking. Thinking about how I almost lost both of you. I spent the last few years taking you for granted, pet. Figuring you’d be there every day when I woke up no matter what. Calley, it was the same with you, though for not as long. But I know how I feel about you and how scared I was that you were gonna leave the ship until you decided not to. Which brings me to this box.”

He patted the object in question and went on. “Now, I dunno how you Bellixans or Gynapsis do it, but where I come from, when you wanna ask someone to marry you, you go out and buy four rings.” With that, he opened the box and revealed it contained a dozen bands of gold.

Both Calley and Alezanna gasped aloud as their eyes went wide. The latter put her hands in front of her mouth. Sal allowed them an instant to take in the box’s contents before he continued his explanation.

“You offer your partner the first pick, and if they accept your proposal, they put a ring on their left hand. Then you pick one of the rings and you do the same. The other two you don’t put on until the wedding ceremony. Those go on your right hands. Now, because I wanna marry both of you, I had to get more rings, obviously. And I don’t want you both to be married only to me. I figured, if we’re gonna get married, the two of you will wanna be married to each other as well. So, twelve rings in total. Bit of a drain on our finances, but I decided it was worth it.”

Calley was so overcome with emotion, she didn’t know what to say. However, before she could try to figure out her next sentence, her attention was drawn to Alezanna. The older woman was shaking her head and keeping her hands on her mouth while emitting a sound that resembled a long, high-pitched squeal. Sal couldn’t help but notice her reaction too.

“Honey,” he told her in a calming tone, “I think you need to calm down a little bit. I dunno if—”

“FUCK YOU!” Alezanna shouted at him before he could finish. She then returned to a normal tone but she began to speak very rapidly. “I’m not ready for this right now! I’m not dressed for it! You can’t surprise me with something like this out of the blue! I need time to prepare for it! To get myself ready! I’m freaking out Sal! Look at what you did to me!” She stood up and started waving her hands around while hyper-ventilating. “I can’t do this. I can’t get married. I never thought I would. Not to a man I love so much. Marriage was something I was afraid of for so long. I never thought of it as a good thing. I was… I don’t know Sal! I don’t know! Tell me what to say! One of you, tell me what to say!”

Sal was too stunned to respond so it was Calley who got up and managed to avoid her lover’s wildly waving arms. She pulled the taller woman into a tight embrace and told her “Say ‘yes’, Alezanna. Tell Sal you’ll marry him. Pick one of the rings and put it on your left hand. Then you pick a second one and you put it on a different finger, ‘cause I’m asking you to marry me too. We’ll both be married to Sal and to each other too. We’ll be happy, we’ll love each other and you’ll burn all his shirts and make him a new wardrobe ‘cause he’ll need to look good if he’s gonna be your husband.”

The Bellixan calmed down somewhat and began to weep, but it was obvious they were tears of joy. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you both. I’ll be the best wife to you two. I’ll be respectful and calm and obedient.”

Sal got up and joined the hug his two fiancées were sharing. “Gee, I dunno about that,” he said. “That doesn’t sound like the Alezanna I wanna marry. The Alezanna I want is the one who curses like a spacer when the reactor breaks down. The one who threatens to murder me in my sleep when I take on passengers at too low a rate.”

Calley added in, “The one who wouldn’t let me dress like a prostitute. Or leave the ship when I wanted to match an orange neckerchief to a purple blouse.”

Alezanna let out a laugh through her tears and said, “You’re both so hopeless! But I’ll fix you up. I’ll marry you both, if only so I can be in charge of how you dress. People will look at you both and they’ll say ‘Now there goes the spouse of a Verrazo!’“

“Our children too,” Sal added. “Don’t forget you’ll have to dress them too.”

His statement made both women turn serious but this time, it was Calley who responded with, “Children?”

“Yes, my love. I wanna make you a mother. But not yet. I love this ship, but its no place to raise children. We’ll wait until we’re on Yazamere. I was thinking of having Margraite hook us up with that biotech firm that helped her make Daznee. So our kids will be a third Bellixan, a third Gynapsi and a third human.”

“Yes!” Alezanna enthusiastically agreed before she turned to Calley. “We’ll be both the mothers and the nannies when our children are born. And this way, they’ll all age at the same speed.”

The younger woman warmed to the idea and smiled as she asked, “How many will we have?”

“Let’s start with a couple and we’ll go from there,” Sal suggested. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Neither of you ladies have accepted any of the rings yet.”

They broke up the hug they were sharing and Alezanna bent over to pick out a ring from the box on the table. Once she placed it on the middle finger of her left hand, Calley did the same, followed by Sal. He then directed Calley to choose the next ring, which she placed on her left hand’s ring finger. Alezanna followed suit and Sal did the same before closing the box. “The rest will have to wait ‘til our wedding day,” he announced. “I was thinking of asking Margie to officiate, but beyond that, I think we’ll have to hammer out the details. But not now. Unless either of you have any other pressing business to bring up, I think it’s high time we got this ship underway again. So finish your breakfast, make your calls and then prep the Ravenfang for takeoff.”

He left the two women to finish their meals while he made his way to the cockpit. Once Alezanna had finished eating, she adjourned to the reactor room while Calley used the communications station to contact Daznee and let her know how she had gotten engaged. She worried about how her friend would react, but Daznee was overjoyed for her friend and very impressed with her rings. Calley promised to contact her again when she reached Jarzani and the two ended their conversation. The spacer then left a lengthy message for her mother in her holo-mail account before she cleaned up the galley and went to the cockpit to help prepare the ship for its upcoming departure.

It took another hour before Alezanna joined her crewmates in the cockpit. She explained that she’d had to inform her family of her betrothal and that she’d be using the family name again while designing clothes. Her elder sister Annastayzia had apparently approved of both developments.

The mechanic then advised Sal that the ship was ready to go and took a seat at her station to contact Command One’s flight centre to get clearance to depart. Once they received it, Sal had the ship lift off and fly through the hanger’s magnetic ring to once again find itself in space.

“How’s she handling, Captain?” Calley asked him.

“Smooth as Verosian silk” he happily said. “You can both consider yourselves in your captain’s good files for the fine job you did fixing her up.”

“Master,” Alezanna said, “when we go into government service, we’re still gonna keep the ship, right? I’ve worked too hard on her over the cycles to see her sold off.”

“You’re Godsdamn right we’re keeping her,” he assured her. “Finding this beat-up Starchaser is the best thing that ever happened to me. Without it, I’d never had met you two. No, she’s served me well for too long. One day, we’ll hand her over to our kids and they can take her out to find their own adventures. But until that day, she stays with us. And from now on, I’d rather you stop calling me ‘Master’. The only title from you I’ll accept is ‘fiancée”. And, of course, that’ll be changed to ‘husband’ in due time.”

Calley smiled at what he said. She, too, had no desire to see the ship in anyone else’s hands. She followed her memory back to the first time she’d thought of it as her home, that night on Ravona over a cycle ago. She’d gone through so many changes since then. Her time on the Ravenfang had transformed her into an entirely different person than the one that had first come aboard it. Now, she had love, starcred and a future to look forward to. Whatever awaited her in the cycles to come, she knew she would face it with her home and her family around her.

THE END