Operation: Sunshine was pretty straightforward on the surface, but Isa’s claim that it would begin the next day was overly optimistic. It actually took three days to get set up.

  First, Isa… creatively requisitioned some cameras and hid them throughout the ship. Meanwhile, we worked together to write a series of clues leading to each of the different locations, then Isa made a little app that would shuffle the different clues so that each person had a unique order to them. When someone found the camera they were looking for, it took a picture and they got the next clue.

  It was a scavenger hunt. We each supplied a prize that the top placers could get—Isa had some little wind-up toys she had made, and I offered to do a sketch. The prizes weren’t really the point, though—it was about giving them something to take their minds off our situation and maybe get some bragging rights.

  Since the system was automated, albeit a bit crudely given the time spent on it, we decided to let each shift compete separately. They would get their clues one hour after their shift ended, then it was a race to finish the scavenger hunt as quickly as they could. Even though the clues were in a random order, each person had to solve each one, so it was reasonably fair.

  Isa was optimistic that the hunt would go over well, but I was nervous that people would think it was silly. Fortunately, boredom and competitiveness won out. We started with our own shift so we could deal with any issues that cropped up, and Isa and I spent the time relaxing in the lounge. Every so often, someone would dart by just short of running, encouraging us.

  First place ended up going to Ess, followed by Ani and then Tiroteo. With the two of us not participating, that only left Jara and Commander Estradari who surprised us by participating. That was a good sign that we weren’t going to get in trouble for unauthorized use of resources.

  “We probably should have asked permission first,” I mused to Isa at one point when we saw the lieutenant commander pass by.

  “Yeah, probably. Oh well!”

  The next two shifts also participated, though we didn’t watch it happen. Specialist Tala Heragoda, the other engineering tech besides Isa, ended up winning for the third shift, and the marine leader, Lieutenant Ariana Toreada, won for the first shift. The worst performer overall was our cook, Specialist Yogatori Demarioti. The only people who didn’t participate were the captain and the bosun, which made sense.

  No one seemed to care about the prizes other than as a trophy. Lieutenant Toreada actually asked for me to sketch a picture of a first-place trophy, a request which I gladly obliged.

  Our plan seemed to work—the mood after the event was much more upbeat than before. I just hoped that we’d find our way home before it got too low again because I wasn’t sure something like that would work a second time.

  Shortly after the scavenger hunt, we entered the next system. Unfortunately, it did not link up in the direction we hoped, so we were left consulting with central command to decide on another path to attempt. Neither did the one after that, but when we reached the fourth system after the storm, hope bloomed.

  “Crew,” announced the captain a few hours after our arrival. “We cannot say for certain until we arrive, but we believe this system connects to Abos. We will be entering the likely current home in seven hours.”

  Everyone was excited by the chance that we found our way home. I tried to temper my hope, but it was difficult, especially when the others were so openly ecstatic.

  Fortunately, it didn’t matter—four days after that announcement, we arrived in a system. Within an hour, we had confirmed it was Abos. We were home.

  We arrived at the main station around Abos and docked. We were given a short one-day’s leave on the station, which most of the crew spend drinking in one of the station’s bars. We had been informed that they would be checking over the ship to verify it was safe, then heading to the demon capital of Kelbor for proper repairs, since Abos did not have a shipyard. Fortunately, the repairs were only expected to take a few days, so we didn’t have to worry about reassignment.

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  After the ship was checked over, we set out from Abos toward Kelbor. The trip passed through Anval but overall only took eight days. During that time, the captain mentioned that the navy was going to be looking into a suspected route from Midding to a system near the end of our route—if that panned out, it would be a huge deal. As it stood, the trip from Eryth to Kelbor took at least two months, while the suspected route would reduce that to just a few weeks.

  When we finally arrived at the military station around Kelbor, it was like all the stress the crew had finally released. Despite having arrived at Abos a week and a half earlier, there was this sense of unreality to the experience. We had a day, sure, but it was on a station and we went right back onto the ship after.

  The knowledge that we would be going down to a planet, though, made our survival more real. Plus, everyone was eager to get a full week’s leave.

  I personally was looking forward to seeing not only the demon homeworld but its capital. While the base we would be landing at wasn’t in the capital city, it was only a short two-hour train ride from there, so we were planning on staying there most of the time.

  As on Leval, Jara handled most of the planning for our little group. At one point, Ani made a joke about how it was unexpected that the “grunt marine” was the one to actually plan things but quickly shut up when Jara threatened to stop taking care of it.

  Being on Kelbor was quite different from Eryth or Leval. For one, it was dry and hot since much of the planet was covered in deserts—a bit different from Leval’s cold climate or the tropical and subtropical regions I spent most of my time in on Eryth. In addition, the architecture styles on display were quite different, though I lacked the experience to describe exactly how. The best I could come up with was that the buildings were “less round” than what I was used to, but that felt like a gross oversimplification and fairly deceptive.

  Still, I found some time during our trip to try sketching some of the buildings, both ones that seemed unique and others that just seemed representative of the style.

  We did get to visit a couple gardens, but they were also drastically different from what I was used to, thanks to the climate. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and got a couple sketches out of it.

  Of course, Isa insisted that we go dancing. Ani was against it that time on account of demons being slightly taller on average than elves, but she eventually gave in—we just made sure to keep her protected on the dance floor.

  Culturally, the demons tended to act a bit aggrieved when they learned we didn’t speak Hoaric. They’d speak in Draconic for our sakes, but clearly didn’t like having to use it.

  Overall, though, it was a fun trip that really helped after the stressful time we spent in the deep black.

  I returned to the Bluejay on my fake birthday as Dax. When I arrived, I was told to go see the captain immediately. Well, the summons said “at your earliest convenience” which everyone knows is just code for “get over here now.”

  I knocked on the captain’s door.

  “Enter.”

  I stepped in and gave her a salute.

  “At ease, ensign. I spoke to the admiralty about the role you played in eliminating the Kaksholi scout vessel. They were suitably impressed. The whole situation will be considered enemy combat, so you and everyone else lacking one will receive the appropriate commendation for a successful combat engagement. More to the point, while it is a bit early, your conduct on this ship and during these events has demonstrated your competency and capability, so I am glad to formally promote you to the rank of senior ensign.”

  She pulled out a small box and opened it towards me. Inside were the two strips of white cloth with the double black stripes of a senior ensign. I kept calm as I picked up the epaulets and replaced my current ones with the higher rank ones.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, ensign, for coming up with the outrageous plan that likely saved all our lives.”

  She saluted me, which I returned. “You’re dismissed, ensign.”

  I gave her a firm nod and left the room. When I made it to the lounge, my friends were there and immediately locked in on the change to my uniform.

  “Senior ensign already?” exclaimed Ani. “No way!”

  “Is that for saving all our lives and taking out an enemy vessel?” asked Ess drily.

  I nodded. “Yeah, apparently it ‘demonstrated my competency’ so the admiralty agreed on the promotion.”

  Isa laughed. “Told you—genius.”

  “You’d think the admiralty would want to discourage wild and reckless plans, but what do I know?” Jara said, clearly teasing.

  “It’s not like I did it unilaterally—I went to the XO and suggested it, and she and the captain approved.”

  “Pretty sure the way some of the others told it in the bars at Abos Station, you single-handedly took control of the ship, flew us directly into an aether storm, shot down the enemy while navigating the shearing winds, then successfully made it out of the storm with nothing but a tiny scratch despite failing shields.”

  Ani chuckled. “We’re sailors—what’s the point of telling a story if you aren’t going to make it epic?”

  Jara gave a conceding nod to that. “Valid point.”

  “Anyway, does anyone know what our next mission is?”

  “I heard we’re surveying some of the systems along the Zamir-Harald route,” replied Ess.

  “Oof,” Isa said. “Doesn’t that route take weeks to traverse?”

  Ess nodded. “Yeah, it’s not a fun one.”

  Isa sighed. “Oh, well. What else could go wrong at this point?”

  Everyone groaned.