HAWK

CHAPTER FOUR: SELVA (5/7)

Kas wasn't entirely sure yet what her plan was, but experience of pressurised situations like this told her to follow her instincts, so follow them she did.

Inside the cockpit, Astell began to search every little nook and cranny he could find, looking for any trace of Worm. Kas, meanwhile, casually took her seat in front of the command panel and tried to strike up a conversation - anything to slow him down.

'So, do you live on Chantos, flight lieutenant?'

'Lysan.'

'Whereabouts?'

'Sevine.'

'Really? The City of Gold. Good for you.'

'What about you?'

'What about me?'

'Where do you live?'

Kas shrugged. 'Lately, I just stay on my ship. I've got a place in Sadoka, but I haven't been there in awhile.'

Astell smirked. 'Why would you? Sadoka's a dump.' Kas crossed her arms. Despite her attempts to lure him away from his search, Astell showed no sign of slowing - in fact, he was being annoyingly thorough. After the cockpit, Kas knew the next logical place would be the sleeping quarters, and that would be too close for comfort; she needed to wrap this up. A thought occurred to her and she straightened up in her seat.

'How many caps are there on Chantos?' she asked.

'I don't know. Ten thousand.'

'I'd say that was a conservative estimate, wouldn't you? But even so, ten thousand caps and the Federation just happens to send the very one I met during my stay...'

Astell turned to her then, the distraction working for at least a moment. 'What are you getting at?'

'What are you really doing here, Astell?'

'I already told you.'

'I know what you told me, but I don't buy it was just a coincidence. I think you requested this trip.'

Astell's voice quietened. 'And why would I do that?'

Kas thought she saw a faint blush spread through Astell's cheeks and realised she might've found something.

'Why, lieutenant...' she smiled. 'Did you come all the way out here just to ask me out?'

The redness in Astell's cheeks retreated into his neck. 'You can't be serious.'

'Well either you're out here by some fantastic coincidence, or you're just some romantic who left the moon to chase a girl he sold a sleeping pod to. Which is it, blondie?' She reverted to his nickname, hoping to restore his mindset to that of when they met, back when she realised he might possibly have been flirting with her. It seemed to work because that charming grin of his came back in force and attempted to disarm her.

'Sounds to me like you're flattering yourself, mohawk.'

'Oh really?'

'Yuh-huh. I prefer older women.'

'You saying I'm too young for you?'

'Well...' he said, stepping closer to her. 'That depends.'

'On what?' Kas said, realising she might have a very different problem on her hands in a second.

'On how mature you are.'

'I catch super-villains for a living. How mature do I have to be?'

Astell started to laugh, but he was drowned out by a blaring alarm that had suddenly taken over the ship. He looked at Kas who looked at the control panel, a mask of genuine concern on her face.

'What's that?' Astell shouted over the noise, trying not to sound too worried.

'Uh... it looks like your ship might be mis-docked.'

'What are you talking about? I docked perfectly!'

'Not what it says here.' Kas pointed to the Holo-HUD that had appeared in the viewport. It showed the Calista in the centre of a gyro-globe with Astell's ship attached to the back - except the latter was now glowing red where the docking gears held them together. Astell saw it and his eyes bulged. He swore as he raced out of the cockpit and into the cargo hold, flying by Hik's statue and to the rear door that led to his ship. Kas arrived behind him and nodded to the atmospheric pressure display beside the exit.

'Ship's still safe but I wouldn't leave it too long, else you can blow it a kiss goodbye.'

Astell swore and bounded through the doorway onto his ship. Kas grabbed the big red lever to her side and pushed it up, sealing the rear doors behind him and ensuring her own ship's safety. Just a few seconds later, the alarm ceased as the flight lieutenant's ship pulled away from her own. Kas was overcome by the temptation to return to the cockpit and get her ship the hell out of there, but instead, she went to the comms-relay built into the near wall and flicked the switch to open.

'You there, Astell?'

There was a short pause before Astell's voice replied over the tannoy. 'Uh... yeah, I'm here.'

'What's the problem?'

'Not sure... my docking gears have jammed. In fact... everything has... Why is nothing responding?!'

'Sound like our little chat's over, huh?'

'Wait, Calista... as a C.A.P. officer, I am ordering you to follow me back to Chantos.'

'To follow you or tow you? I've already got my orders from the Federation, and it sounds like your ship's not going anywhere for a while.'

'You can't leave me here!'

'Sorry, flight lieutenant. Federal orders.'

'Calista--' Astell started, but Kas flicked the relay switch off before he could finish. Not wanting to waste another second, Kas ran back to the cockpit and threw herself into the chair. She grabbed the throttle and pushed it forwards as fast as she dared, feeling the weight of the ship push back as the Calista accelerated into the freedom of deep space.