[Avia]
The Freebird's arrival caused another mini-crisis until we explained it was our ship. Sirone directed me to land it at the spaceport on a flat bluff that overlooked the sea. Little used, low green weeds poked up through tarmac cracks. Only an old boxy shuttle rested on the pad, used on rare occasions when they ventured to the outside worlds, such as to obtain needed items they could not fabricate themselves.
When the Freebird oval docking hatch opened, swinging inward within the airlock chamber with a whir of servo-motors, Bubba was there to greet us. Then, leaping down the one-meter gap to the tarmac, he sauntered over and rubbed across my legs. Zach's mouth gaped in surprise, who had before noted the star-cat rarely left the ship. Bubba soon perked up, his tail standing straight up and fur bristling, presumably noticing Josephine's scent on me.
"Come on, buddy," Zach said. "There's someone we'd like you to meet."
Sirone and Maya led us and Bubba to a greenhouse, which was Josephine's usual hangout. Along the way, Bubba gathered a small following of people curious about a new star-cat, and soon he gained an entourage worthy of a top celebrity.
Warm floral-scented air washed over me as we entered the greenhouse, and we made our way along a fish pond toward thick greenery. Bubba's fur bristled, then he sniffed the air and let out a high-pitched growl.
Within a minute, Josephine strutted out, tail twirling high. For a few moments, the cats circled each other, sniffing and rubbing. The timing was right — Josephine was in heat.
Josephine let out a low rumble and signaled her readiness by lowering her chest and raising her back end. Bubba needed no further invitation. Black fur on orange, he mounted her and thrusted to the cheers of onlookers.
I couldn't pull my eyes away from the raw sexual show.
Josephine let out a roar when Bubba pulled out, then swatted at him while arching her back. Bubba wisely retreated.
As I turned to Zach, I caught him smirking at me. Heat filled my cheeks as his sparkling, mirthful eyes pierced me, and I muttered to him, "Don't get any ideas, Zach." Although, I had to admit to myself, a primal part of me wished he would. But who was I kidding? The idea had long-ago occurred to him. Sometimes in unguarded moments, his eyes revealed unspoken lustful desires.
Turning away, I didn't dare gaze into Zach's deep moss-green orbs lest the fire flared up and consumed me. Being so long on the run, I had suppressed my sexual desires into smoldering coals and locked them safely away. There were a few hookups with strangers along the way to quench a flareup, but afterward, the experiences always left me feeling superficial and detached, ultimately emotionally unsatisfied. But I still struggled with a key question — how could I curse a good man with someone like myself?
And now... Zach, my partner in crime. Bubba's and Josephine's brazen display stoked my desires. Although aggravating at times, Zach had been nothing but a gentleman, supportive and caring, saving my life at risk of his own. By the stars, I even slept with him, and our make-out session by the glacier added fuel to the fire.
I needed to resolve my inner conflicts, as much for Zach as for me, but I didn't have the courage. Would he eventually discard me, another in a long list of flings? Heartbreak was a probable consequence.
Bubba strutted back to us, breaking me away from swirling thoughts. Zach kneeled down and scratched behind the star-cat's ears, whispering, "Bubba, you stud."
We stayed three more days, allowing repeat mating performances to ensure breeding success. Zach and I spent our awake time exploring Arcadia and blissful sleep time within each other's arms. Yet, I could not bring myself to express my feelings.
When it came time to leave, Bubba would not budge from Josephine's proximity, much to Zach's disappointment and the colonist's delight. But as the saying went: you don't choose a star-cat, the star-cat chooses you.
"Are you sure you want to stay, buddy?" Zach asked with a forlorn expression, while stroking soft, black fur. Bubba chose, settling down next to Josephine.
"Don't worry," Sirone counseled. "We will take good care of him, and you are both welcome to come back."
"We just might do that," I answered.
*****
"What sort of mischief have you been up to?" Zach asked me as I strolled onto the Freebird bridge.
He reclined in the pilot chair with feet propped up on a transparent control panel. I hoped his crossed feet didn't inadvertently do something like shutdown a fusion reactor, but he had wisely locked out the controls on that panel. I had spent the last several hours with eyes closed in deep concentration, sitting cross-legged on his bed — no, our bed. That simple pronoun shift sent my mind into a temporary, pleasant euphoria.
"What do you mean, mischief?" I answered once my brain reengaged.
A sly half-grin rose on his face. "Come on, Avia..."
"Well, a good kind of mischief," my cheeks warmed like a kid caught stealing cookies. "I hacked into the Federation Celestial Database and erased any reference to Eden or Arcadia. Thought that would be something we could do for them."
Zach plopped his feet back down on the deck and wrinkled his forehead. "You could do that? I thought the cyber security was impenetrable."
"Not from me," I said, grinning. "When I was a girl, I stole an administrative access code on a dare and created a fake planet with pink unicorns and such — got in big trouble for that. But I still have the code." Accessing the database remotely via the bandwidth restricted long-range coms was tedious and time-consuming, though.
"You are dangerous, Avia."
"Yes, I am."
My grin quickly faded. Unintentionally, Zach had summarized why I, and those like me, were labeled Aberrants. We were dangerous like wolves, judged by the capacity to do harm. Sure, some did harm, but many, like me, had just wanted to live out our remaining lives in peace. But essentially, they hunted us down because of what we might do.
Shaking those thoughts away, since that won't ever change, I sat in the seat beside Zach and mentally accessed the ship's navigational array. "Why are we going to Sanctus Station?"
Presumably named after a holy hymn of praise, the Sanctus Station orbited a terraformed world named Angelus, originally settled long ago by exiled religious groups. There was nothing angelic about it now, but most importantly, there was little Omni-Corp or Federation presence.
"That's where Spade is," Zach answered. "He hosts a popular blog and is definitely no fan of Omni-Corp. He jumped at the chance to broadcast the damning documents in your head across the Federation."
"Good."
The back of my neck tingled as my gaze lingered on Zach. I wanted ask about us, but the words would not emerge. I froze instead.
Zach noticed my hesitation and tilted his head. "Is there something else, Avia?"
"No. Maybe. Yes..." I hemmed and hawed. Stars, this was a difficult subject to bring up, but I've avoided it too long already. "Well, I'd like to talk about us..." I finally said, my hesitant voice trailing off.
"Okayyy..." Zach's eyes went full open and his face went blank, as men were prone to do when women wanted to talk relationships. But to be fair, I sprang this on him without warning.
"I like you a lot, Zach, and being close to you, and sleeping with you is wonderful..." My voice trailed off again. Frack, why can't I just say what I want?
"But?"
"I mean..." I plopped my head down into my hands, covering my inelegance. "God, I'm so awkward."
A grin, but with no hint of mockery, brightened Zach's face. "You're adorable, Avia. But go ahead. I'll listen."
"Umm." I took a deep breath for courage and let it out. "Do we have a future, Zach? I mean, the reality is that I'm Aberrant, a wanted fugitive. If you stay with me, we will always be on the run, always looking over our shoulders..." I dipped my head as a shadow crossed my heart. Saying that out loud made it seem so much worse than keeping it hidden. "Zach, I would understand if you wanted me to leave--"
Interrupting my self-scorn, Zach placed two fingers under my lowered chin and lifted my moist eyes to meet his. "Let me stop you there, Avia. To me, there is nothing aberrant about you. I am already fully invested, and like it or not, we are in this together. I don't know what our future might hold, but I know happiness can be a fleeting thing in this universe, and I believe we should grab on when we can. So, Avia, let me ask you this: do you want to be my girlfriend?"
A ray of warm sunshine burst through my dark clouded doubts. "Yeah."
"Okay, then."
Almost by will of their own, my eyes drifted down Zach's body and back up again. By the stars, he was good-looking in a thin gray t-shirt and black pants that hugged a tight, muscular body. And that tousled carefree hair, deep moss-green eyes, and warm, dimpled smile with a hint of bad-boy...
Without thinking, I blurted out, "Want to have sex?" As Zach's jaw dropped and he sucked in a surprised breath, I buried my face in hands again. My cheeks burned.
Peeking through my fingers, I witnessed Zach's shocked face morph into a wide grin. Then two chuckles passed his lips, growing into full-on laughter as he threw his head back. Yet again, there was no mockery to his laugh, only genuine, cheerful mirth.
Unable to stop myself, embarrassment transformed into strings of giggles, and I said, "Am I smooth, or what?"
"Refreshingly direct," he answered, once the laughter died down. His green eyes sparkled. "But in answer to your question, yes, I would like to have sex with you. When?"
The fire flared, and I bit my lip. "Umm, now?"