Neirdith was worried. Seth had not checked into his apartment after she left, she had checked because she wanted to call him but to her surprise the attendant had told her he had not shown up last night. Deciding to investigate further she then messaged the bar they had been at and was surprised when they said security had carted her two unconscious friends off a little before ten at night, local time. Next she called the precinct who redirected her to Briyn with no explanation, as Briyn’s voice finally exited from her assistant she blurted somewhat louder than she was trying to “Where is Seth, is he with you?”

“Ssseth, no. He wasss here but he left a while ago.” The large male groaned over the voice link.

Slightly frustrated that Seth was still nowhere to be found she pressed “What was he doing there anyways?”

With a slight delay Briyn answered “I had a note ssent to sssecurity to drag me to my room if the bar called them. I guesss they decided to take Sseth there asss well, which iss a pity becaussse my guys put him on my couch and just dropped me on the floor. My entire left ssside is sso ssstiff, I'm not sssure I can even walk.” the vinarfel said stiffly.

Taking a moment to speculate on where Seth might have gone she decided to call the hotel he was staying at again, a drunken night spent on a hard couch was bound to leave him tired and achy. He was probably at the hotel, relaxing in a tub or something and not in his room. “Ok I understand, thank you Briyn for taking care of him for me.” she said without thinking, blushing as she realised what she had said.

“Oh Seth can take care of himself.” Briyn replied with a laugh before continuing in a knowing tone “But I’m sssure he wouldn't mind you, taking good care of him.” With a noise that she assumed was laughter followed by the thump of him falling off of something she heard him swear before he said “Uh, I have to go. It ssseemss asss though I have fallen and am unable to get back up. Good luck finding your mate, er, I mean friend.” without a sound the link cut and she was left staring at the little screen.

“Does everyone see it, is it that obvious?” She asked no one in particular.

Shaking her head she linked to the hotel again and asked if Seth was perhaps in the swimming area, she was surprised when the person on the other end of the line gave a chuckle and said “Oh I'm so sorry hun. That young man was just here a few minutes ago, he just left. Do you want me to leave him a message sugar?” with a small growl she said no and cut the link, where was Seth going and why couldn't she get ahold of his assistant? She decided that there was nothing she could do but wait. She turned to exit her quarters only to run face first into Skorr.

“Ooof, hey what the hel Skorr! That kind of hurt.” she said indignantly rubbing her forehead, her anger faded as she saw that Skorr’s eyes dimmed and looked down. Apologizing, she placed her hand on their flat front and said “I’m sorry Skorr, it was my fault, I'm just so worried about Seth. I wonder what he is up to.” Skorr rumbled appreciatively. Seeming to feel her genuine concern, they stepped out of her doorway and took up position behind her as she walked the passage to the bridge. The dull reverberations of their footfalls quieted her mind as she let her thoughts wander back to the present.

She was a captain of a starship! ‘Like my stuck up brother would ever be able to say the same.’ She thought briefly, thinking about calling him to gloat. She decided that it would not be as fun as she probably imagined it would be and refrained.

But with the realization of her new status came a whole host of new problems. She was a captain with no crew. Sure Skorr was all the security she was sure that the ship would ever need but she was just an engineer, not a comms officer and definitely not a navigator. She wished Seth was here, and with a sudden flash of determination decided that she would ask Seth to join her crew. If he felt the way that she did he would have to say yes, then she could tell him how she felt without the fear of him leaving her.

Nodding to herself as she entered the bridge, she sat in the captain's seat. The newly repainted walls were a pale pink instead of the deep red they had been before. She liked the color, it was close to her own skin tone and reminded her of her mother when she looked at it.

Her dear sweet mother, sure they had not always gotten along but with a pang of regret Neirdith realized she had not called her mother for a long time. Vowing to go by the hypercom station and call her mother she soon fell into a trance as she looked through the ships engineering history and logs, losing herself in the work of cataloging maintenance and system reports.

Some time later, she wasn't sure exactly how long, her wrist assistant pinged at her to grab her attention. She tore her eyes away from a full blowup of the thrusters layout and models before looking down to her wrist. She jumped up in delight as she saw that Seth was calling her.

She accepted the call and smiled as Seth spoke over the link “Why hello there sunshine, I was planning to call you earlier but my assistant was dead. Good news though, I got a new one instead.” He said, flashing a bright smile.

Beaming back at his tiny picture she said “I'm glad you are okay, Briyn told me what happened and I was trying to get ahold of you.”

His eyes got wide as he said “Briyn told you everything? Look, I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it over the link. I'm on my way to you right now. I uh, I got you a little ship warming gift.” he finished a bit awkwardly, making her smile.

‘What was he talking about? Maybe I should have asked Briyn what had happened in more detail.’ she thought to herself while saying aloud to Seth, “Oh that's wonderful. I'll meet you down in the hangar, and I look forward to hearing your explanation.” She said in a cheerful tone, laughing when he suddenly looked very nervous.

Waving with her other hand she cut the link and skipped off the bridge, looking forwards to her surprise gift and even bigger surprise explanation. She continued to the cargo bay and opened the door. She started down the ramp only to stop short in surprise at the person standing at the bottom waiting for her.

“--Amusement-- It is good to again see you, captain Neirdith. I am pleased that you were able to purchase the Bloody Doom. If I may ask, how is your search for work going? --Anxiety--” said the large figure of Gloom. The smokey colored jeseo was standing a respectful distance from the ramp. With the sound of tinkling crystal they turned towards her as she stepped to the hanger floor followed as always by the impassive figure of Skorr.

“I am pleased to meet you again too, I'm sorry, I don't know if I ever got your name.” Neirdith said to the jeseo.

“--Embarrassment-- Ah, that would help things I do believe, you may refer to me as Gloom. That is what the security personnel call me, it seems that they have a sense of humor, after all. --puzzlement--” the smokey black crystal stated.

Sensing the discomfort that the poor guy was feeling she made a motion to her side and said “Well, I am actually on my way to pick up a crew member, walk with me if you will.” without a word Gloom fell in beside her, the tinkling of their chest tendrils clashing with the dull thuds of their walking legs. Meanwhile the muted crash of Skorr’s footfalls behind them reminded her of their presence, she turned to Gloom and said “Oh, forgive me Gloom, but this is Skorr. I'm guessing from your lack of reaction that you have heard of them already?”

Rolling one of their crystal eyes in her direction Gloom affirmed “--Flustered-- Yes indeed, I watched the video feeds from the security team on my free time, they are a most fascinating being. Tell me if you will, are they entirely machine? --Wonder--”

Skorr rumbled as she looked at them and she replied to Gloom “Well no actually, Skorr is some manner of cyborg, his base species is unknown and they don't seem to remember either. Though they don't remember their origin they do seem to remember that they have been around for a long time.”

Slowing slightly, the crystalline being seemed to think for a few seconds before their translator crackled “--Agitated-- They do not know of their ancestors, how horrid. It must be a lonely way to live. How old are they, do you know? --Puzzled--”

Surprising both of them, Skorr replied to this undirected question personally saying “Though I was lonely, I am no longer so. I have friends that care for me and Neirdith is my new purpose. As to my age that is less certain, I can however tell you that I have existed for longer than my memory serves.” Ignoring the shocked look on Neirdith’s face and the agitated sparks flickering over Gloom’s back spines they continued “Though my memory is darkened by the inexorable passage of time, I can safely assume from the projected age of the material I was extracted from, that I was enveloped in its form nearly a billion years prior to my freedom.”

Neirdith was near blind with shock, she didn't even hear the confused buzzing of Glooms translator as they tried to settle their thoughts into a coherent form, looking at Skorr she nearly wailed “You were trapped, alone in the dark for that long. Why didn't you tell me Skorr? I would have done something, there must be something we could do, how did that not drive you insane?” looking at Skorr she saw their eyes glow almost painfully bright for a few moments before they dimmed to their normal muted smoldering light.

Skorr leaned forwards slightly and simply said “And what leads you to believe that it did not?” before straightening and resuming their silence, eyes roaming around the room for threats.

Shocked at their flat tone she recoiled slightly before reaching out to them, but she stopped herself short. If Skorr didn't want to talk about it now she would not force them to. She turned to talk to Gloom but her eyes were drawn to the slightly shaggy figure of Seth entering the hanger carrying a large box. Gloom's eyes rolled to follow hers before they turned towards this new interloper.

As Seth neared them he shouted "You didn't tell me you had a visitor Neirdith. Hello there, you look like the jeseo from the station that told us about the ship, Gloom right?" Seth finished with a grunt as he set down the box he was carrying and stuck out his hand towards the Jeseo. Gloom raised several of their tendrils and touched Seth's hand in greeting. Seth smiled and withdrew their hand before turning towards Neirdith with a questioningly raised eyebrow.

"Don't look at me for explanation, Gloom showed up to ask me something and I haven't heard it yet." She shook her head.

Seth turned towards Gloom. She saw them shuffle in seeming discomfort before their translator buzzed "--Unease-- I am not sure where to start really. I have been tasked with asking you if you would be willing to mount a rescue operation? The pirate Medrigil's base is thought to be in the vicinity of the Flom System, but we lack any ships capable of undertaking such a task. If you are willing to help you would be compensated of course, but we can't offer any additional personnel to assist save myself. --Embarrassment-- I understand the risks involved and volunteered to accompany you should you accept. If you are unable to assist there will be no ill will, we understand the danger we are asking you to face and you are under no obligation to accept. --Trepidation--" they finished their explanation and Seth began to speak but was cut off by Neirdith.

"Of course we will help, if there are innocent people trapped there then there is no way I would leave them to their fate. Plus, I really want to see what that bastard Medrigil thinks when I raid his home like he did mine." She finished with a hiss.

"Well if you are going then I am going as well." Seth chimed in without hesitation looking directly into her eyes. She could see the determination there and was pleased that he was coming too.

Smiling, she stuck out her hand to Seth and said "Well then, welcome to the crew first mate. I'm glad to have you aboard." Seth took her hand in his strong grip and shook it with a cute look of surprise on his face. She released him and turned to Gloom before saying "Alrighty then, it's settled. The four of us will depart to the Flom system to see what we can do. Is there anything you need to grab? Or can we get prepared to depart immediately?"

“--Hesitation-- As I'm sure you may have noticed, the Shining Knight’s weapons were disabled after it was taken into security custody, this was done as routine precaution as I'm sure you understand. --Hopeful--” Gloom buzzed.

Pretending to know what they were talking about she just nodded in affirmation.

Continuing, Gloom said “--Relife-- Ah yes, that is well. As I am sure you also know, it would be impractical of you to assault a pirate den unarmed in such a manner, and so the commander is authorized to deputize your vessel and enable your weapon systems again. If you would allow me, I can do that for you before we depart. --Pride--”

“Yes please, if I may inquire though, what were, are, the weapons equipped to him?” She asked, referring to the ship brooding behind her.

Adjusting themselves slightly, causing their chest tendrils to chime musically, Gloom remarked “--Impressed-- Five fifty megawatt beam cannons, ten void cooled rotary cannons, two torpedo tubes and missile racks, as well as six self contained laser point defense systems. --Mirth-- It's definitely not standard armament for a ship of its class and compensates with a dual linked magbottle fusion reactor setup instead of the conventional singular tokamak reactor. This allows for much higher energy density and faster capacitor recharging. The torpedoes that are equipped are small yield nuclear and the missiles are conventional explosives. I took the pleasure of checking them before they were diffused and they are all in satisfactory working order, just awaiting the rearming code. --Content--”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

As they rattled off the ships stats Neirdith's eyes got progressively wider and wider and when they had finished talking she blurted “By the five Hels, This isn't a corvette, it's a tiny destroyer, no wonder Medrigil was able to overpower any escort ships he may have come across, he outgunned them by an order of magnitude!” she finished in disbelief, looking at Seth’s similarly shocked expression she asked Gloom “Are you sure you are allowed to rearm all those, that's enough firepower to destroy New Dundas if it were to fall into the wrong hands.”

“--Indignation-- Of course I am permitted to perform this task, I would not lie about it, as for your last comment, they way Briyn sees it the ship was already in the wrong hands and now that it has new owners he will ensure that they have the highest possible chance of success. --Impassive--” Gloom retorted somewhat animatedly, their tendrils flicking and tinkling together in their consternation.

“I'm sorry Gloom.” She quickly said “I didn't mean to imply that you were less than truthful, rather that these decisions were not fully thought out. But I see the reasoning behind them, I would be honored to allow you to rearm The Shining Knight.” Gloom said nothing, just waved a multitude of their tendrils and turned towards the ship. As they lumbered away Neirdith turned back to Seth and asked “So you said you got me something? Is it in that box?” seeing the look of nervousness on Seth’s face she asked “Are you alright, you look like something is bothering you.”

Seth fidgeted for a moment before responding “Well, not really bothering me, I'm just not sure how to say it. I don't want to mess anything up by saying it.”

Stepping closer Neirdith asked softer “Is this about what happened last night? Because if it is, I need to tell you something as well.” Seth looked towards her with an unreadable expression before looking anywhere else other than her face. She prompted “If I am being honest, Briyn didn't actually tell me anything other than you and him were taken to his home after you passed out drunk. Speaking of which, I thought you were going to call it early. What made you end up staying?”

Looking up in shock Seth asked tentatively “Briyn didn't tell you anything?” before looking somewhat relieved and afraid in equal parts.

Neirdith knew that he was struggling to find the right words so she decided to try first “Seth, the truth is…” her voice caught in her throat as Seth's vivid blue eyes met hers, her brain seemed to lose any semblance of focus and the train of thought she had been following derailed spectacularly into the deep blue pools of his eyes. Seemingly on its own one of her arms reached out towards him and to her surprise she felt it met halfway by one of his, she inhaled sharply as he stepped close to her, their bodies almost touching, he had to tilt his head back slightly to look up into her face.

“The truth is..” she muttered in a dreamy tone as they gazed at one another before she lowered her head to his in a slow kiss, he did not pull away from her but instead wrapped his other arm around her back and pressed himself into her. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the moment focused on the slow beat of his heart in his chest and the feeling of his hand in hers.

Eventually they had to break apart, gasping, as they looked at one another she smiled shyly as Seth said “Well I guess I know what you wanted to tell me now right.” He gave her a boyish grin before saying “Now there was something I wanted to tell you as well.” Before he pulled her into another, somehow even more passionate, kiss, her shocked expression quickly faded to one of pure happiness as her brain floated on a writhing sea of emotions too complex to be fully understood. As they once again broke apart she smiled so wide her cheeks felt like they would tear. She noticed that Seth was smiling just as much if not more though.

Before either of them could say anything more they heard the unmistakable rumble of Skorr chuckling. They turned their heads to look at the colossus as Skorr spoke “This is good, I am glad that the two of you are finally seeing the other clearly.”

Neirdith laughed and so did Seth as they once more looked at one another, grabbing his other hand in her own she touched her forehead to Seth’s and said “We need to talk about this in more depth later, but for now we need to help Gloom get the ship ready.”

Nodding in agreement Seth said “Yes we do, and I look forward to that discussion, but first let me show you what I brought, you are going to love this I know it.” He stepped back and picked up the box before motioning for her to follow as he started towards the ship.

Neirdith smiled to herself at this turn of events as she followed him, running to walk at his side. He glanced over at her with a smile but said nothing, the large box grasped firmly in his hands. They walked in contemplative silence into the ship and through the cargo bay into the large communal dining area, the mess hall as it were. As Seth placed the large box on one of the counters she fairly bounced in anticipation. The nerivith were known to love surprises and Neirdith was no different. She almost shouted in frustration when he didn't immediately open the package but she held her disappointment down and tried to settle herself, only succeeding in limiting her fidgets to a subtle bouncing.

Finally settled Seth turned his back towards her blocking her view momentarily before exclaiming “Violà! I give you your own personal me, it's not quite as good looking I know but the things it can do…” Seeing her slightly confused look Seth continued “Well here, perhaps a demonstration is in order.” She leaned forwards to get a closer look as two very familiar objects were pulled out of the box and placed on the countertop. One was a large brown mushroom, while she could not remember the name she knew it was native to Earth. It was the other item that caught her attention, a stick of butter. Looking wide eyed at Seth's smiling face she watched in rapt fascination as he opened the front of the device and placed the mushroom inside with a piece of the butter on top and closed the door. With a few button presses on its small display she heard the noise of the machine starting up.

“Wait, is it supposed to do that?” She asked him pointing at the flashing screen.

“What, oh that's normal, it's just adjusting its parameters to meet the conditions I set it to. Give it another minute, this is gonna be sweet.” She continued to watch as the flashing stopped and the machine quieted briefly, after a minute the faint sounds of sizzling and popping could be heard followed very shortly after by a ding and the flashing of the display once again. Seth smiled and beckoned her to approach “Open the door if you would be so kind.” he said with a flourish.

Curious beyond words and not knowing what to expect she opened the front only to be hit with the most glorious smell she had ever smelled. Inhaling deeply and reaching inside she pulled out a small tray that held the most beautifully fried mushroom she had ever seen, looking at Seth she couldn't contain the look of bliss that covered her face. He smiled and silently handed her an eating utensil from somewhere and she took no further thought before chowing down on the delectable feast in her hands, smacking her lips appreciatively and making small noises of pleasure the whole while.

She finished off the morsel in very short order. Her face dropped in annoyance when her brain processed that the tasty treat had been fully depleted. With a sigh of contentment, she placed the tray on the counter next to the miraculous device and turned to Seth.

Seth managed to say “And that is how you… OOF!” before Neirdith wrapped him in a fierce hug and planted a mighty kiss onto his surprised face. Grunting in surprise he said “I take it that you like your new gift?”

In response she kissed him again and he melted in her grip slightly before she pulled back and said “I don't like it, I love it, this is amazing. Where did you even find this… Wait, how much did you spend on this?” she unwrapped her arms and looked at him with an appraising look.

He waved a hand and said “Cost? Pfft. Don't worry about it, in my opinion it was worth every credit just for that kiss.”

She pushed him away and said playfully, slapping his shoulder, “Well then, I guess I'm going to have to repay you even more in the future for agreeing to join my crew. But we really should get to helping Gloom get the ship ready.”

Looking slightly down he agreed “Yeah, you’re right. And we will have plenty of time to discuss this when we get back. I'll go over to Comms and help Gloom get the ship's systems set up.”

Nodding her head she replied “That's a good idea, me and Skorr are going to do some checks in the engineering station to make sure nothing is going to break on us when we try to warp.”

Seth turned to leave but as he walked towards the door she reflexively curled her tail around his waist, he leaned into her taller shoulder and put his hand on her tail before turning with a wave to help Gloom.

Neirdith spent the next few minutes trying and failing to focus on checking the ship's systems on her tablet but her mind kept wandering back to the feeling of Seth’s strong hands and his deep blue eyes. It was Skorr who broke her out of this spiral by touching her shoulder with his right hand and sending a wave of sturdy supporting clarity through her mind. Realizing that Skorr was just trying to help her relax she allowed the feeling to flow through her for a few moments before brushing his hand off. Now there was no way that she could have moved his hand on her own, but in response to her slight touch he removed his hand and rumbled “I understand the need for haste, I have helped you to focus your feelings better.”

The feelings and emotions were still there, but she was finding it easier to mute them. Realizing that she was indeed finding it easier to focus, she thanked Skorr, saying “Thank you Skorr, I appreciate the fact that you always seem to know what I need. Why is that? Does it have something to do with that blend thing you keep mentioning?”

“You mean the blending? I am not sure, this is my first experience with it that I can recall, it’s strange, I know these things but can not recall where the knowledge came from, it is as if I have always know these things…” Skorr trailed off in seeming consternation and now it was Neirdith’s turn to reach out and comfort her friend.

“Skorr, I understand that you have holes in your past, and I know that it’s uncomfortable. You are here now, and I know that you are a good person. There is no need to be afraid of the unknown, we will figure it out together or not at all, now that doesn't sound so bad to me.” She said while trying her best to send serene thoughts.

Skorr’s eyes dimmed slightly and they seemed to calm, straightening. They once more took up silent vigil but Neirdith could feel the calm appreciation from them and knew that no words needed to be spoken. The next few hours were spent in companionable silence punctuated by intermittent funny quips and jokes.

They were both in good spirits when Seth’s voice spoke through the ship's intercom “Hey guys, it looks like everything is set with the ship. She's good to go. Gloom is going to stay in the comms room but I'll head to the bridge if you want to meet me there.” The intercom clicked as Seth terminated communication and Neirdith looked to Skoor who made an affirmative motion.

Neirdith picked herself up and set the datapad down on the table she had been sitting on. A short walk to the bridge and she saw Seth sitting comfortably in the weapons console station. She moved to take the captain's chair. Seating herself, she heard Skorr take up position outside the bridge door and leaned over searching for the intercom button to the Navigation and communications room where Gloom was.

Finding the button she pressed it and said “Are we all set to depart Gloom?”

To her surprise Gloom's voice did not issue back to her, instead writing scrolled up on the captains console seemingly directly from Gloom as it was devoid of the telltale subconscious feed that preceded most jeseo speech. The scrolling text said “Neirdith, this ship appears to be equipped with military grade electronics, this allows me to interface with the ship directly and act far more efficiently than if I was having to input my commands manually. As such I am reading full readiness levels on all quarters of the Shining Knight, it is ready to embark at your command.”

Neirdith looked over towards where Seth was sitting, he seemed content and so she opened the all ship comms and said "Everyone is in position and all checks read green. Take us out Gloom, then off to the Flom System." Feeling the slight vibration of the ship as it lifted off the pad and rose out of its bay she could barely repress her excitement. As a juvenile she had dreamed of being a starship captain, who hadn't, but she had never expected to actually become one for real.

The viewscreen quickly changed from the muted grays of the hanger to the silver of the outer dome. As the ship rose higher and towards one of the exits she thought about something to say to commemorate this moment and pressed the all ship intercom again as the Shining Knight slipped out into the great dark void of the infinite beyond.

Gathering her thoughts she announced "Crew of the IS Shining Knight. I am proud to call you my friends, as we undertake this solemn task we should never forget the vast wonder of the universe. There is so much left for us to find and explore, I can't promise you fame and fortune, but I can promise you adventure. If that is enough for you then all will be well with us. To the glory of the Shining Knight."

Feeling slightly goofy she saw Gloom reply "Well spoken captain, I will be engaging warp drive in about eighteen minutes, the Flom system is not far from us so it will take us approximately sixty one hours to reach our destination. I recommend that you get settled in as it is likely to be an uneventful trip."

Turning towards Seth she saw him looking at her and he quickly gave her a thumbs up which she repeated. The transition to warp was uneventful bar the normal strange twisting feeling. Getting up and stretching, Neirdith walked over to Seth and sat down in the console next to him.

Seth turned in his seat to look at her as he asked “What can I do for you Captain?”

Raising her eyebrows she asked “Oh, so formal, commander Seth.”

Raising his eyebrows in turn he asked “Is that a promotion, cause if it is it feels like a promotion gift is in order.” he said with a wink.

Blushing slightly she asked “Oh, and what kind of gift did you have in mind?”

Leaning towards her he murmured “Oh, one that is going to cost you dearly, are you sure you are willing to pay that price?”

Leaning towards him as well, she stopped just short of his face and said “A high price you say, well it just so happens that I have acquired a large amount of money.”

“Money won't help you here.” He said softly.

“Then what will? Perhaps I can convince you to lower your price?” Neirdith asked seductively.

“Maybe, you, could…” Seth cut off as Neirdith went in for the kill, silencing him with a kiss full of passion and fire, after a moment she pulled back and smiled as his face still bore a shocked expression.

Smiling and laughing he shook his head saying “I keep forgetting that your race’s women can be just as assertive as our men.” looking at her with an even wider smile he continued “Not that I'm complaining” before swooping into an ambush of his own, now it was Neirdith's turn to be surprised as he wrapped his arms around her back and held her close, she didn't feel like surrendering today and so she put her arms around his neck and held him just as tight, after a while spent locked like this she eventually had to loosen her grip and as she did Seth let go and she glared at him.

“You human brutes and your high gravity muscles, just you wait until I can really get a grip on you.” she said with a little heat.

Seth just smiled and replied “I look forward to it.” before turning back to his station and tapping away merrily at the screen. She stood with a small smile before walking back to her seat. Sitting, she thought about her new situation, she was the captain of a starship. She had an invincible protector and friend, and now she had a budding relationship with her long time friend. Things were going well, and they would continue to go well, the odds were in her favor and the universe was smiling on them. She leaned back into her seat happy and closed her eyes, dreaming of the future to come.