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“Altis?” That doesn’t seem like him.

“No. Never. He and Raiz were always so encouraging growing up.” She stops us in the hall and raises her leg, unbuckling her left boot and pulling it off. “I was born missing half my leg and foot.”

I grab my chest. “I’m so sorry.”

She reattaches everything with practiced ease. “Don’t be. My lack of a leg probably saved my life or Altis’s.” She stops in front of my quarters. “Plus, what I lacked in physicality I made up for in tenacity. It’s how I climbed the ranks in flight school as quickly as my brother and the commander.”

“Did you all grow up together?”

“Raiz is as close as family to us. Our mother served his mother’s household. We were raised under his family’s roof.”

I want to continue asking questions, to soak up all this new knowledge of lives and culture outside of my lived experience, but a lance of pain shoots from the base of my skull to the front. I know I only have minutes to get in bed before it becomes a full-fledged migraine.

“You’re lucky to have each other.”

“We are.” She looks down at me, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” I feign another smile. “Just feel a headache coming on.”

“Do you need anything? I can go get Hyva.”

“No, I’m sure I just need sleep. Thank you.”

“If you change your mind, just hit the button by the door and tell the computer you need him or even me.”

“Thank you.” That’s good to know.

“Goodnight.” She waits until the doors close behind me to walk away.

“Lights dimmed, please,” I call out to the computer. As soon as everything around me darkens, I drag a deep breath in through my nose and out my mouth. I just need to make it to bed. My pulse throbs against my temples, and I nearly whimper as soon as my head hits the pillow. My eyes close, and I fall into a deep sleep before I can even kick off my remaining boot.

* * *

Everything around me is white. A yawning, endless expanse of nothing as the whispers grow steadily louder. I try to run from them as their volume increases, but there’s nowhere for me to go. No direction to run.

Tears streak down my cheeks as my chest tightens. I can’t breathe. Even as I feel the beating of my heart so fast and powerful inside my chest, my lungs won’t inflate and draw oxygen. I drop to my knees, pain shooting through my joints upon impact.

Maybe if I just lay down and close my eyes, I’ll awaken back in my bed on Oculus Nine. Everything is a dream. I can breathe. I’m just sleeping.

I’ll awaken.

Pressing my forehead to my knees, I curl into a ball and wish for quiet.

For peace.

CHAPTER6

RAIZ

* * *

The quiet of the bridge normally puts me at ease, but as I take over for the night, I can’t help but feel as though something is off. There’s nothing near us, no ships within our range of detection, but I feel an overwhelming sense of dread. I pull all the ship systems to check for any issues, but all looks good. Sensors still show we’re blissfully alone; we should make it to the outpost ahead of schedule.

“Captain?” Hyva’s voice comes through my communicator. “I need you down in med bay.”

“On my way. Lieutenant, the bridge is yours,” I tell the young pilot who works alongside Vynia.

It’s not unheard of for our crew to get carried away in the sparring ring, so I assume that’s what I'm walking into downstairs. I’ll just have to broker some sort of peace and dole out a punishment that makes sense.