T-75:00

  “How did things go with the Hornet?”

  “Nothing major. He just put me in charge of the mission,” she said.

  “Don’t you always get special treatment?”

  I scooped up a spoonful of blueberry yogurt — I’d piled up way too much at our last stop at Minerva Station**.

  I knew Agile hated this. But it was so fun to tease her.

  “I don’t get any special treatment. It’s just…”

  “You have a close bond with Hornet or something.”

  I licked the wooden spoon clean, grinning as Agile glared at me.

  “No. I am better at leading a recon mission hence why he chose me.”

  “Aww, you hurt my feelings.”

  I put down the empty cup of frozen yogurt in the cupholder of my chair.

  “You can’t blame me. You have been a member for almost a decade, while poor old me is new.”

  “I am not blaming you. I am just stating the facts.”

  “And am I declining those facts?”

  “No, you are not, but… nevermind.”

  I gently nudged my chair against hers.

  “You know I hate it when you leave your words in half. Finish what you are thinking.”

  She turned her chair towards me, gazing at me with her brown eyes. She stood up from her chair and walked away abruptly.

  I sat, baffled.

  Did she already have enough of me for the day?

  “Hey! Don’t leave me.”

  I got up, leaving my chair as well to follow after Agile.

  I walked past Coope, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Yo, get on my seat.”

  I ran after Agile as she walked out of the room.

  I caught up, walking beside her.

  “Don’t follow behind me. You should be looking after the craft making its way over to Nok-17 smoothly.”

  “I placed Coope over my station. Your seat remains empty.”

  I poked.

  “Because I thought the co-pilot would remain in his seat and not follow behind me like a dog.”

  “Dang, Agile. Who broke your heart? I think Doxie gets her heartlessness from you.”

  We walked through the halls of the craft, heading to the kitchen. I stopped by the counter while Agile walked over to the fridge.

  I leaned back, noticing the basket of Javanese**. A fruit found on Buclite**. They gifted us after helping eradicate the Rainus**.

  I picked it up, rubbing it against the fabric of my suit to clean it. Agile spotted it and immediately called me out.

  “Hey! Wash it.”

  “Okay, Mama.”

  I rolled my eyes, walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. I gave a quick rinse under the sink before taking a bite.

  I looked over my shoulder, watching as Agile turned on the kettle.

  “What are you making?”

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  I walked over to her, looking past her shoulder.

  “Cinnamon tea.”

  “How do you drink that?”

  “Same way you eat that sugar crime you call yogurt.”

  I placed my chin on her shoulder as she stirred with a spoon. She picked up her cup, nudging me away.

  I took another bite of the Javanese and followed Agile back to the command room.

  My gaze remained fixed on Agile as she took a sip of her disgusting tasting cinnamon tea.

  “How do you even drink it?”

  “Like how you eat your frozen yogurt.”

  “Attacking my choices again. Not fair.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  She took another sip of her cinnamon tea, looking over at the solar system we were heading towards.

  I leaned closer to see her expression. She nudged my shoulder to push me away, but I ignored it, inching into her space anyway.

  “You can look at the hologram of Nok-17 without coming into my personal space.”

  “But there would be no fun in that.”

  She dropped the topic, letting me lean against her as much as I want.

  The 3D image of Nok-17 showed the red star called A-17. It only had six planets rotating around it. None of them had the conditions to hold a proper number of organisms. So where was this planet we were heading towards?

  Agile zoomed further into the belt after the second planet. A belt of rock and among them was a dark gray planet called Valconalla -317.

  “Is that where we are heading?”

  She nodded her head. She checked the status of the planet. T-75:00 time left until it will explode.

  My eyes narrowed, and pulled up my hologram, checking out more about the planet. Not a lot was known about it. It was a dwarf planet with less than 1,200 people. Because they lacked technological advancement, they were no threat. And people rarely considered planets like these.

  But unlike the other section of GOU and other small time independent relief units, we were obligated to help everyone. No matter the status.

  Guardians of the Unirex was a recognized group, respected throughout the universe. Unlike some galaxy mercenary groups out there, we had rules to obligate.

  I pressed my gloved fingertips, checking the status of the dwarf planet.

  State: Unstable.

  I pressed further into unstable to look up further information about 317.

  “The core is unstable.”

  Agile looked over at me, looking at the information on my hologram. She leaned in, looking over the information.

  She then closed my hologram, which made my expression twist. Before I could ask her, she spoke up.

  “No need for that. Our goal is to rescue the population, not to stabilize the planet. And the planet is far too unstable for anyone to stabilize it. Even if we use AVA’s technology, that place will collapse at its core.”

  I nodded my head, grabbing the helm and focussing on heading towards Nok-17.

  317UXG - Valconalla.

  Here we come.

  ???

  Notes:

  Minerva Station: A space station located at the beginning of the Heartser Orbital, serving as a common supply and trade hub for travelers.

  Javanese: A sweet fruit native to Buclite, roughly the size and shape of a green melon. Often eaten fresh and prized for its unique flavor.

  Rainus: An invasive species from Buclite. Red, spiked, and rubbery in appearance, it spreads aggressively by covering moss with its red liquid to claim territory.

  Buclite: A yellow-moss-covered planet roughly the size of Mercury. It is home to three known species, including the invasive Rainus.