BEEP BEEP BEEP
Aradia woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring on her datapad. As she rolled over to hit snooze, she squinted at the bright light that was being emitted from the screen.
0600.
Groaning, she shut it off and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She watched as sunlight drifted into her room through the blinds, illuminating stripes onto the ceiling. Raising her toned arm, she traced them with her finger before letting it fall to her side. It bounced off the cot with an embarrassing amount of force, but it made her smile a little at its ridiculousness.
For such a pristine establishment, you would think the Mission could afford better living arrangements for its employees, she thought.
Aradia has worked for Base 450 for about a year now, but Mondays never seem to get any easier. They were the worst day of the week for her. Not because of the early hours — but because she had to spend another day being told what to do by people she could out-fly in her sleep. She rolled over and checked her datapad again for any messages. Sure enough, she had one message blinking at the top, begging to be read.
MESSAGE 0436
SENDER: OCTAVIAN PIERCE
TIME: 0545
MESSAGE: Rise and shine, Star! Another fun-filled day of patrolling the planet of Advilla to report back with the agricultural status of their crops and livestock. See you soon.
Star. Her callsign. It was simple, but being one of two women in the fleet, she was happy to be called her callsign at all. It gave her a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging. Like she was just as important as anyone else there. Aradia reread Octavian's name a few times, her heart skipping a beat. A small smile crept onto her face as she thought about his piercing green eyes and the way he slicked back his strawberry blonde hair, but she could still tell it was fluffy when it was freshly washed.
The other woman, Zahara, is her best friend. Zahara was around her age and was recruited to the Mission in the same group as Aradia. The two of them were always underestimated during training camp as women, but Aradia proved them wrong with her impeccable performances and maturity. She always admired Zahara's deep complexion and how she kept her skin clear of blemishes, as well as her flawless appearance without any makeup. Her eyelashes were naturally long enough to fly away, and her braided hair was always sleek with no flyaways, and she kept her baby hairs glued to her forehead in perfect little waves.
Sighing, she stretched and rolled out of bed, not bothering to hit the light switch as she walked straight towards the coffee machine.
Priorities.
The pot of coffee finished brewing, and she grabbed a mug out of the cabinet to pour herself a cup. She left a little room on top to stir in her milk and sugar so that it wouldn't spill over, and sat back down on her cot. Suddenly, her datapad started blowing up with messages.
GROUP MESSAGE 0437
SENDER: DIMITRI VANOPOLOUS
TIME: 0605
MESSAGE: Fucking Advilla?? AGAIN???
GROUP MESSAGE 0438
SENDER: MORDECAI HOPKINS
TIME: 0605
MESSAGE: They can't get enough of me, what can I say?
GROUP MESSAGE 0439
SENDER: DIMITRI VANOPOLOUS
TIME: 0606
MESSAGE: You're right, Phoenix, the livestock is just dying to see your face again.
GROUP MESSAGE 0440
SENDER: ROMAN WEATHERMAY
TIME: 0607
MESSAGE: How dare you nitwits blow up my inbox this early in the morning? You lot exhaust me.
Giggling at her friends' messages, Aradia heard a knock at her door. She sighed and looked down at her mug, un-sipped and still steaming hot. Sitting in silence, she debated whether or not she wanted to talk to anyone yet as she stirred the liquid mindlessly.
She placed the mug on the counter, wiping her face aggressively with her hands to wake herself up a little more before reaching for the handle. Before she could open it all the way, Zahara burst in.
"OMG, Star! You'll never guess the night I had," she exclaimed, her peppy voice shocking her a little. Zahara was never really in a good mood, per se, so she smiled a little at her demeanor.
"Tell me about it then," Aradia said, leaning against the counter as she closed the door behind her and turned on the light switch. She winced at the sudden intrusion of light as her eyes adjusted.
"So, I was at the pub, right? And guess who was there," she started. Aradia shrugged. "Guess!"
"I don't know. General Fanza?" she joked. There's no way Fanza would be caught dead in a dive bar like Captain's Quarters. She giggled and gave Aradia's arm a playful slap.
"No, silly! Emmit was there! And guess what he told me," she went on when she didn't
respond. "So he told me, and you're not going to believe this, that Advilla is where Commander Vexlar grew up. And we're going there!"
"I wouldn't believe everything you hear, Ace. I don't even think Vexlar is human," deadpanned Aradia, only half-joking. "And besides. How would Emmit know anyway? He's just an electrician."
"A sexy electrician, put good on his name," she stated. Aradia rolled her eyes and gave her a genuine smile, reaching behind herself for her coffee mug and blowing on the steam.
"Okay, so your sexy electrician boyfriend said that Commander Vexlar was a baby on the same planet that we frequent missions to. Why is this groundbreaking?" she inquired, taking a sip of her drink. It was cooled off to the perfect temperature, and she sighed into it, feeling the caffeine course through her.
"Why are you being so mean? I'm just telling you a rumor I heard. You're the one always complaining how you don't know anything about the guy," she said, her mood instantly shifting to one that was more like her usual self. Aradia shrugged.
"I don't actually care to learn his lore, Ace. I just work here."
"Well, whatever. We're going to be late. I'll meet you in the hangar," she said sharply, leaving the room before she could respond.
Aradia checked her datapad again. She had a few more messages.
GROUP MESSAGE 0441
SENDER: MORDECAI HOPKINS
TIME: 0607
MESSAGE: Oh, come on, Valentine. It's not that early. Didn't you get enough beauty sleep?
GROUP MESSAGE 0442
SENDER: ROMAN WEATHERMAY
TIME: 0608
MESSAGE: I will strangle you with my bare hands.
GROUP MESSAGE 0443
SENDER: MORDECAI HOPKINS
TIME: 0608
MESSAGE: Kinky. See you soon ;)
She checked the current time. 0615. Work started in fifteen minutes. After chugging the rest of her coffee, she quickly changed into her flight suit and checked her appearance in the mirror. She braided her hair into two braids and looked at her makeup bag.
No time, she thought. She didn't need makeup today anyway. She wasn't trying to look pretty. She was trying to survive the day. Aradia grabbed her badge and flight bag and headed out the door.
(AN: Thanks for taking the time to check out Burn Streak! 💫 This book is my baby and I've been writing and rewriting it for literal years. If you're enjoying so far let me know—comments and votes help so much! Thanks for the love and strap in for the ride 🚀)
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Burn Streak
साइंस फिक्शन****STAR WARS/KYLO REN INSPIRED SCIFI SLOWBURN DARK ROMANCE**** "She wanted fire. He lit the match." Aradia Cashmere doesn't want safety. She wants power. After years of being underestimated and controlled as a female pilot, she's determined to brea...
