There will be halcyon days

Chapter 1: Departure Link copied

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Vicar Max could see it coming. Why the Captain ever bothered with an aggressive troublemaker such as Felix Millstone, Max had wondered since they picked him up from Groundbreaker.

Yet, he wasn’t particularly pleased at the inevitable outcome. To the contrary, really—a small part of him almost wanted to intervene. But he knew it wasn’t his place to do so. Why he even felt sorry for the hopeless young man, a rebel without a cause, who was absolutely to blame for his own mistakes, was beyond Max’s comprehension.

The kitchen doors opened. The Captain walked out, barely acknowledging Max. Surprisingly enough, it hadn’t been a long discussion. Max half expected Felix to run after the Captain, pleading and begging them to take him back, to reconsider. Or perhaps to attack them in furor and get completely beaten up. Either way, the Captain would not change their mind. They never did.

Felix Millstone was out of the crew, and that was the end of it.

Max waited a moment before casually stepping into the kitchen. Paying no attention to Felix, who had his head buried in his arms, Max took a seat by the table and opened a book. None of this was any of his business. But as long as Felix was still aboard the ship, crew or not, it was Max’s job to lend him an ear.

“Came here to mock me, Vicar? Can’t you save your told-you-sos to the boss?” Felix said bitterly, raising his head. His eyes looked redder than usual. Max closed the book he had only pretended to read.

“I’m not here to mock you, Mr. Millstone,” Max replied in a carefully rehearsed tone.

“Oh great, you want me to confide in you, then? Don’t you think it’s a bit too late to act all caring at this point?” Felix let out a dry, cynical laugh and looked away. “You always hated me. Right from the get-go. I know you’re happy to get rid of me.”

Max shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t hate you. I’m sorry we didn’t always get along because of our views,” he said. It wasn’t untrue, but Max knew he hadn’t always been the kindest to Felix. And he had opposed to letting Felix join them in the first place.

“Please. Just drop the act and go play vicar with someone else. I’m out of here as soon as we get to Groundbreaker so leave me alone,” Felix said and turned his back to Max.

Max had done what was morally required of him, and that should have been it. He had promised to offer counseling, but it wasn’t his place to force anyone to accept his help. There was no point in doing that, anyway. And yet, he couldn’t ignore the stinging sensation inside him, a nagging feeling telling him to push harder, not allowing him to leave the kitchen and move on.

“What will you do now?” Max asked.

“Well, you see,” Felix said, not bothering to face Max. “I didn’t have much plans before and I sure as hell don’t have any now. Do I look like I’ve got a lot going on for myself?” He was pissed, but at least he talked.

“I’m sure the Captain won’t leave you empty-handed.”

“You think this is about money?” Felix raised his voice and turned his head around to look Max in the eye. “Wait, for a pretentious corporate prick like you, it probably is. Sure, I suppose boss will spare me enough bits to get drunk a couple of times. That’ll help.”

There was no saving the situation now, so Max opted to open his book again and pretend his hardest to read. Felix slammed the table with his hand, stood up, and stomped away, knocking down some dishes as he left. Max couldn’t help but get slightly irritated at Felix’s juvenile display after him genuinely offering help.

Time moved unnaturally slow after the incident. Max tried to read, tried to think, tried to do anything he normally did to pass the time, but couldn’t focus. It was unusual for him to have such a hard time controlling his own thoughts, and frankly, it frustrated him even further. Unnecessary and futile guilt surrounded his head like an impenetrable skin, keeping him from thinking clearly, although he knew perfectly well that this matter was between Felix and the Captain and them alone.
Yet, he couldn’t but wonder if him being more supportive of Felix would have made a difference in his behavior. And if his harsh judgment on the kid had affected the Captain’s opinion on him, after all.

When they eventually arrived at Groundbreaker, Max’s conscience wasn’t any clearer. He stood back as Ellie and Parvati were making their farewells with Felix. Unsurprisingly, Parvati was visibly upset, hugging Felix awkwardly and making a fuss. Ellie gave Felix some encouraging words, likely doing a better job at it than Max had earlier. Even after such a short time, the two looked like a couple of caring elder sisters to Felix. The thought made Max even more uncomfortable, as if he was an outsider witnessing an intimate family moment.

Felix was trying his hardest to keep up his appearances, but Max had seen enough troubled people to tell he would break down the second he was alone. He turned away from Felix and stepped away without saying a word.

“Time to go, then. We’ve all got places to be,” he heard Felix say with a falsely cheerful voice. What a miserable lie, he thought before disappearing upstairs.

The hatch opened, and Felix picked up his things. A big, worn-out bag on his shoulder and a tossball stick on his back, he took a deep breath and a last good look on his crewmates. Then hesitantly stepped out. Walked down the ramp, away from the landing pad, never glancing back. He stopped and stood still for minutes.

“Let me carry some of those for you.”

Max didn’t know what kind of response to expect. Felix didn’t move and kept his back turned to Max.

“What’s your problem?” Felix finally said faintly.

“I’m off the crew. Call it solidarity,” Max answered.

“So screw off then. I don’t need a babysitter. And you sure as hell don’t need to babysit me anymore,” Felix said angrily and started walking away.

“I was hoping we could travel together despite our past disagreements.”

Felix stopped again, this time facing Max, clenching his fists. “Seriously, why? I can’t figure you out. What do you get out of bugging me, a clearer conscience?”

Max wasn’t sure himself, but Felix had struck uncomfortably close. What Max truly wanted right now was to get to Monarch, where the Captain had agreed to take him eventually. Now his prospects were bleak at best, and Felix wasn’t particularly delighted for his stunt, either.

“I do wonder,” Max muttered through gritted teeth.

“You talking about solidarity makes me sick. Sure didn’t stop you from badmouthing me at every turn,” Felix said. “So when did you decide that we’re suddenly some sort of comrades? Or is this just some ego trip for you?”

The accusation provoked Max to the point he started to regret his decision to throw away his best shot at getting fulfillment, for apparently nothing at all.

“Can’t you be grateful someone’s willing to look after you?” He snapped at Felix, who looked more hurt in return than Max cared to see him.

“So that’s it. You pity me. Fuck off, hypocrite,” Felix mumbled and disappeared into the crowd.

The next few days Max spent looking for another means of transport to Monarch. Plenty of crews were willing to talk to him, but all faded once Max so much as mentioned Monarch. At this rate he had no choice but to try get a hold of their old Captain and beg them to take him back.

Although, he thought, maybe this was for the better. The Captain had never completely earned Max’s trust. They were an unpredictable person, and Max wasn’t at all certain that the crew would ever be done with the countless jobs the Captain picked up as they went. And yet, despite all the odd jobs, there never seemed to be enough money to pay for the Stellar Bay navkey. Journeying with them was an endless detour, and Max intuited the Captain was growing bored with playing the responsible good guy. Max even surmised it had already been a matter of time before it was his turn to be dismissed from the crew.

On top of being impatient to find Reginald Chaney, Max wasn’t particularly fond of Groundbreaker’s general atmosphere. Edgewater was by no means a quiet town, but its inhabitants were mostly mild and too busy with their work to cause uproar. Groundbreaker was a different story.

To make matters worse, people weren’t exactly thrilled to have an OSI priest around. Being thrown scornful looks by the same people he despised was infuriating, but he was mature enough to keep his calm and be the bigger person.

After another day of unsuccessful interviews, Max was sitting on the counter of Lost Hope with a glass of whiskey. He didn’t fancy being there, but it was a decent place for spotting promising passersby.

“A reputable-looking man of the cloth sitting alone in a bar, looking like he wanted to be somewhere else altogether. Looks like you’ve got some transport issues.”

Max looked around to see who the hoarse voice belonged to. An old man was standing behind him. He was noticeably short, especially with his slouch, and he limped as he took a seat next to Max. Countless creases ran deep on his face, but his eyes glinted sharply.

“Lawrence Kelly. Nice to meet you,” the stranger introduced himself.

“Maximillian DeSoto, but Max is fine,” Max said. “And unfortunately, you’re right.”

“Unfortunately? Maybe, maybe not,” Lawrence smiled. “I admit you caught my attention earlier today when you ran around looking for a ride to Monarch. It just so happens that I’ve got a ship who can take you there. Free of charge, too.”

Max raised his eyebrow, cautiously optimistic. Lawrence continued before Max had the chance to open his mouth.

“And yes, there’s a catch. I have a ship, but she’s old. I also have no crew. And as you can probably see, I’m nowhere near capable of running a spaceship on my own. Still interested?” Lawrence started coughing, as if to emphasize his point.

Max wasn’t willing to trust the man just yet, but there were no signs of foul play so far. The man clearly suffered from illness and didn’t have much time left.

“Very much so. If you don’t mind me asking, what would your takeaway be?”

Lawrence sighed with some difficulty, producing a severe wheezing sound.

“I need a ride to Monarch myself. I don’t trust the Board, but even if they’re telling the truth and it’s a monster-ridden hellhole, I frankly don’t care.” Lawrence stared into space and spoke tenderly. “I grew up there. It’s still my home. I’m dying, and that’s where I want to spend my last weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” Max said softly.

“Don’t be,” Lawrence said, snapping back from his thoughts. “I’ve been through enough for more than one lifetime.” Lawrence flashed a sly smile at him. “Comes with the work.”

“Your work?” Max asked, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

Lawrence straightened his back slightly and nodded. “Maybe I’ll tell you some stories if we make it to Monarch. Until then… Let’s just say I was a smuggler. Pretty good one, too, though I don’t have a bit left to prove it.”

Lawrence seemed honest enough to Max. And even if he turned out to be less than trustworthy, it was either this or weeks, even months of looking for another ride. Lawrence was ready to leave as soon as Max was, and there was nothing holding him back now that Felix had rejected his company.

They agreed to meet on Lawrence’s ship in an hour. Max drank down the last of his whiskey and left the bar.

People came and went on Groundbreaker. The dim lighting remained static all the fictional day long, and keeping a track of any kind of day-night-cycle was up to the people themselves. For Max, it was nearing midnight, but to some the day had just begun. And then there were more than enough those who simply had no perception of time at all in space.

Max had spent most of his money on getting the journal, but he did have some trinkets they’d found with his old crew. Selling them fetched him a decent sum of bits; Max speculated it would be enough for a couple of months' worth of food and supplies.

A sudden glimpse of a familiar figure brought him to a halt. Felix stood across the hall, talking to a man Max couldn’t recognize. Against his better judgment, Max rushed after him before losing the sight of him. Keeping a safe distance, Max watched the suspicious man lead Felix to a desolate storage area.

Max already had his suspicions, but he wasn’t prepared to see the strange man push Felix to the wall and start kissing him roughly. Max’s whole body tensed as a jolt of blind rage shot through him. Without the slightest hesitation Max strode to them and shoved the stranger away from surprised Felix, positioning himself between them.

“Get the fuck away from him,” Max snarled at him, eyes burning with rage.

“Whoa there… preacher? You must be mistaken. So, maybe fuck off before you’ll be sorry.” The man waved his hand casually.

“What the—Max?” Felix tried to grab him, but Max shook him off and ignored his words.

“Hey Felix, this some old customer of yours? Not a boyfriend, I hope,” the man sneered and glanced behind Max. “Okay, Max, get the hell out of here. I’m not into being watched,” he said and was about to push Max aside, when Max hurled his fist straight into his face with all his adrenaline-laced anger. The impact threw the man into the ground and blood dripped from the corner of his eye.

“Ow, are you some lunatic? Forget it, Felix, give me my money back. And that includes all the bits I spent in your food and drinks,” the man whined, stumbling up and wiping off the blood with the back of his hand. He shot a nasty glare at Max. “I hope your priest friend here is willing to cover for you.”

Max stepped closer. “I suggest you beat it, so I need not break every bone in your worthless body.” The man narrowed his eyes and raised his chin in response, showing no signs of backing down.

Felix grabbed Max’s arm forcefully. “This isn’t a good idea.” Urgency in his voice made Max step back in hesitation.

But it was too late. Half a dozen brawny outlaws surrounded them.

“There, I told you,” Felix sighed as the group of outlaws all charged at them.

“You still alive?”

Max opened his eyes. Or one of them, at least. The other, Max remembered, took a nasty hit and was swollen shut. He sat in a puddle of hopefully not his own blood, leaning on the wall. Next to him he saw Felix, equally beaten up. Max responded with a mere grunt, as the pain crept up on him.

“Good. I want to kill you myself.” Felix burst. “Are you trying to make me as miserable as possible? Because I didn’t think I could get any more miserable until you showed up again.”

Max said nothing. He stared straight ahead and clenched his teeth. Each breath intensified the pain all over his body. His memory was fuzzy, but he still had his money, so he concluded they had won.

“My life’s over. They’ll kill me. In my sleep if I’m lucky.” Felix hugged his knees and lowered his head.

Max was silent. Maybe, just maybe, he’d made a mistake this time. Maybe he should have talked to the Captain. Maybe he should have known Felix would get in trouble on his own and kept his eye on him. Maybe he shouldn’t have lost his calm and instead paid the outlaw.

“A ship leaving for Monarch is waiting for me. You could come along. The ship could use your help.” Max paused. “I could use your help.”

Felix raised his head. “Picking up strays, huh. I thought that goes against your principles.”

“Call it a lapse of judgment.”

“Sure.” Felix brushed off his hair with one hand. “Fine. I’ll come. Don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

They sat down in silence for another minute before Felix stood up and helped Max get on his feet. Max refused to believe his age had anything to do with his trouble recovering from the beating compared to Felix.

Back at the ship, Lawrence was already waiting. He gave them a funny look but spared Max the questioning. Max introduced Felix to him, and in a few hours they lifted off and finally headed towards Monarch.

Chapter 2: Farewell Link copied

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On the morning of their third day en route to Monarch, Max was finally feeling better after the utter beating they’d received back on Groundbreaker. His body was still bruised, a sickly green wreath decorating the skin around his left eye, but at least the aching was gone.

Meanwhile, Felix had been following Lawrence’s instructions and learning about basic ship maintenance work. What Felix lacked in understanding the finer details of mechanics and engineering he made up in enthusiasm. They would still need a proper mechanic if something broke down, but at least Felix knew how to keep the engine running until the nearest establishment.

“Keep your eye on this valve right here. Sometimes it gets stuck and bakes the engine. And recovering from that takes at least a few hours,” Lawrence had taught, among numerous other details. Max didn’t mention it, but he was fairly impressed that Felix could keep up with the old man.

The ship itself was much smaller than The Unreliable. The engine room was so cramped even Felix had trouble fitting in. There were no individual cabins, only a small common area with a modest kitchen and two sets of bunk beds with shutters for privacy. Shared living space was nothing new to Max, but, admittedly, he could have done without all the noise his roommates made. Lawrence was a loud snorer, and Felix, despite waking up brisk and full of energy each morning, had a habit of tossing and turning in his sleep every ten minutes or so.

To Max, Felix seemed to be mostly back to his usual self. Felix and Lawrence got along well, and Lawrence seemed to enjoy teaching Felix about the ship and telling him unbelievable stories from his younger days. Despite being an orphan, or maybe because he was one, Felix had an incredible ability of finding family seemingly anywhere.

And yet, not even once in the past days had Felix harassed him, insulted his religion—not so much as looked in his direction. Max wasn’t arrogant enough to imagine they’d suddenly get along after all the bad blood between them, but he wasn’t prepared for the silent treatment either. It made him restless.

Max sat down to the small kitchen table where Felix had buried Max’s book under among other things a dirty undershirt, an empty box of Purpleberry Crunch, and a still damp towel. Never mind, he should have left Felix on Groundbreaker.

Putting away Felix’s things, Max found another book under the heap. Max had only taken a few books with him, and this one didn’t look familiar. He ran his fingers over the cover and flipped the cover. The words “Journal of Felix Millstone” greeted him in a handwriting simple and banal, yet effortless, almost elegantly so. It took Max a couple of moments to parse together what he had stumbled upon. Neither the desire to record thoughts into words nor the appreciation for something as antiquated as a paper notebook, and a rather nice one at that, were something Max had expected Felix to possess.

Max’s eyes hovered over the open title page. He should have closed the book and gone on with his own business. But this was his business now, he reasoned. If Felix refused to talk to Max, it wasn’t unjust for him to take the opportunity to glimpse into Felix’s mind.

Max casually picked up the book and thumbed through it. Most entries were short and mundane. Max let his eyes hover through one page after another until he came across a page with what looked like a poem.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder and sat down to read the page. The metaphors were heavy-handed and the language simple and graceless, but the raw emotion carried over. It was about loneliness, desperation, and yearning for a meaningful connection. Things Felix no doubt had been looking for all his life, clinging to any passing stranger for the one-in-a-million chance they would be the one who’d take him away.

Footsteps from the stairs snapped Max back from his thoughts. He quickly closed the journal and swapped it with his own book just as Felix emerged from the stairway. Max cursed getting too absorbed in the poem to keep an ear out for Felix, but fortunately Felix, cheerfully chatting with Lawrence, didn’t seem to have noticed a thing.

“I’ll go put away the tools,” Felix said and accidentally looked Max in the eye. Both immediately looked the other way.

Lawrence followed Felix up. The steep stairs posed some challenge to him, but Felix and Max knew by now not to offer help. “Son, this much I need to be able to do myself,” he had told Max earlier. Being called a son at Max’s age was unexpected, but then again, Lawrence was at least a couple decades older than him.

“We’re approaching Monarch now. I’m sorry it took so long. She never was that quick of a ship and the engine…” Lawrence sat down and slid his hand along the surface of the table, feeling the countless scratches and dents. His expression grew gentle, like each marking invoked a particular fond memory within him. “Suppose you could still crank it all the way up a time or two, but even with all the maintenance she’s seen, that would probably be it,” Lawrence spoke as if addressing a dear old friend.

“I couldn’t have made it this far without your help,” Max said with sincerity.

“Look, Max… I’ve got a favor to ask.” Lawrence said and looked Max in the eye.

“Please, go ahead.”

“My old home is a short way from Stellar Bay. I honestly don’t know what expects us there in the first place, but I can’t make the trip there and back alone.” Lawrence hesitated. “I’m handing the ship keys over to you two anyway, and whether or not you take me there won’t change that.”

The offer surprised Max.

“I would be grateful, but are you…”

“Max, you don’t have to be so formal with me. I know you want to ask me how come I want to give away the only thing worth a bit I have left on me, if I’ve lost my mind,” Lawrence smirked.

“Well, yes.” Max smiled slightly.

“Now, I love her. She’s been my home, my livelihood, and my family all these years.” Lawrence’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “I swear, she’s got a soul buried somewhere under all that metal and wires.”

“But…” Again, Lawrence brushed his hand across the worn table and smiled. “Unlike me, she’s still got a good few years on her. She’d be happier adventuring with you than sitting here. Already got plenty of that back on Groundbreaker.”

Max nodded in silence.

“You mentioned your work earlier,” Max finally asked.

“I did. Let’s see… Yes, I was a smuggler. Among other things. Worked mainly for rich Byzantine kids. Sometimes they wanted drugs. Sometimes they wanted to play outlaws.” Lawrence’s expression grew serious. “I helped them do things I’m not proud of. These entitled idiots didn’t do crime out of necessity, they found it fun to torment the less fortunate. I should have let them die out in the wilderness, but I was after their money.”

Lawrence crossed his arms. “I had a life of luxury, but in the end I got what I deserved. I’ve got no friends besides this ship, no family, and I drank and gambled every last bit I had after I quit. So that’s basically it,” he concluded and smiled bittersweetly.

“I’m sorry,” Max said. Citing teachings of Scientism seemed inappropriate, and he didn’t have much else to offer.

“Don’t be. I decided on this before I even met you. You two seem like good folks. She’ll be happy with you. And I’ll be happy here under a familiar sky.” Lawrence paused and added: “Or having a sky at all, how people live their entire lives breathing canned air baffles me.”

“I don’t think you ever mentioned the name of the ship,” Max changed the subject before starting to feel sorry for Felix.

“Nor do I plan to,” Lawrence smirked. “It’s between me and her. You and Felix are free to come up with your own name. Talking of Felix—”

Loud bleeping from a speaker interrupted their discussion.

“Looks like we’re ready to land. Come with me and I’ll show you the ropes,” Lawrence said and left his seat, followed by Max.

Lawrence’s ship computer was a far cry from ADA, but still manageable even for a computer-savvy layman like Max. After landing on Stellar Bay, Lawrence packed the few things he had left lying around and said his goodbyes to the ship.

They stepped out, Felix gasping at the sight of the gigantic sky above them.

“She’s yours now. Take good care of her, will you,” Lawrence said. “Oh, and I’m leaving you with my collection of navkeys from the old days. Wherever you want to go next, chances are there’s a key waiting for you.”

“Thanks for everything. You taught me a lot,” Felix said, still astonished by his surroundings.

“Ha! Half those things you wouldn’t need to know if you had a newer ship. I’m telling you, you’re doing me a favor here,” Lawrence laughed.

“Where are you going to stay?” Felix asked.

“I’ll come up with something, I always do. Physical labor is out of question, but I’ve still got a sharp mind. Don’t worry about me, son,” Lawrence assured and looked up to the sky.

“If we leave now, we should be able to get back well before darkness falls. Are you two ready?”

Max and Felix exchanged an approving look, momentarily forgetting all the awkwardness between them. Outdoors and a promise of adventure had invigorated Felix. The fact put Max slightly at ease.

“Let’s go,” Max said.

It was easy to tell Felix had been confined to a ship as long as he could remember. His eyes had sparkled with awe ever since they stepped out on the landing pad. Every corner they turned, every landmark they passed was a discovery for him. Even Max could not but find his genuine wonder endearing. For the briefest moment he almost wanted to say something encouraging—promise him to show all the places he had been to. Places he himself found so vapid and meaningless, he wanted to see through Felix’s eyes.

But the feeling was short-lived. Max scolded himself for getting carried away by such a foolish fantasy and marched ahead. He kept his distance to Lawrence and Felix, but could still hear them talking.

Lawrence, meanwhile, had also noticed Felix’s enthusiasm and was visibly delighted by the young man’s company.

“Never been to Monarch before?” Lawrence smiled.

“Never been nowhere. Grew up on Groundbreaker,” Felix said. He sounded cheerful, but Max picked up a melancholic undertone that reminded him of the desperate plea he had made to their old captain.

“Is that so. Tell me, how did the two of you meet?” Lawrence asked.

Felix fell silent. “Same employer,” he mumbled.

For the next hour they hiked in silence, Lawrence leading the way, until he came to a halt.

“Oh, this is bad,” he said in a low voice. Felix looked confused, but Max already predicted what would happen next.

“Felix, watch out!” Max yelled and made a dive to pull Felix to the ground as a huge claw swooshed right where he had stood a split second ago.

“Shit,” Felix groaned as he quickly got back on his feet. Max did the same, pulling out his shotgun, and turned to take a look at what attacked them. A mantisaur as tall as a house stared down at him, ready to take another swing. Max tried to pull the trigger, but was too slow—the claw hit him with an incredible force.

“Max!” he heard Felix yell just before falling on the ground and losing his consciousness.

Max had no idea how long he had been out before coming back to. When he opened his eyes, he saw Felix’s face, covered in mantisaur blood, hovering above his.

“He’s awake,” Felix sighed with relief.

“Sorry, this is my fault. How are you feeling?” Lawrence asked worriedly while Max sat up slowly and took a look at his wound. Not as bad as it could have been, but nothing to sneeze at, either.

“I should have been more careful. It’s all right,” Max said and tried to get up. Sharp pain brought him back on his knees. He grunted.

“Hey, slow down,” Felix said and crouched next to him. He wrapped his arm tightly around Max’s waist and pulled him on his feet. Max hadn’t had any reason to think about it before, but Felix had some serious physical strength. Undoubtedly a consequence of years of labor.

Max held onto Felix for support. Max could feel his body heat even through his overalls and even covered by mantisaur blood he gave off a strong but not at all unpleasant body odor. Why he was registering this now, Max attributed to his dizziness. Nevertheless, Max was impressed with Felix. He had always dismissed Felix as loyal but ultimately reckless and completely thoughtless. He would have never guessed him to have such a reliable side to him as well.

“Thank you, Felix,” Max panted.

“Can you walk?” Felix asked.

“I think so. Yes,” Max replied and took a slow step. It was painful, but he’d gone through worse. But he did remind himself not to get another beating for at least a couple of weeks.

“You should stay away from any fights for a while. It’s only been few days since you had your ass kicked pretty bad.” There was no malice in Felix’s comment, but it irritated Max all the same.

“Let’s just keep going,” Max retorted and flinched as he took another step. He expected Felix to talk back, but instead he just lowered his head slightly and averted his eyes. Max was almost ashamed, but couldn’t speak an apology.

By the time they finally reached Lawrence’s old house, the dark was falling. Inside, Lawrence threw a clean sheet over the dusty bed, and Felix helped Max lie down.

“We better stay for the night. This place has been abandoned for ages, but I can probably get the old backup generator working, and I’ve got a few decades old saltuna in the cupboard. Help yourselves,” Lawrence said as he collected a first aid kit among other supplies from the closet.

“Do you know any first aid, Felix?” Lawrence asked.

“Uh, I’ve applied a band-aid,” Felix replied.

“Better than nothing. Here, let me show you. It’s not that different from patching a broken engine.”

Their exchange didn’t particularly inspire confidence in Max. Lawrence gave him a shot of Adreno, which took the worst edge off the pain. He then proceeded to guide Felix through the basics of wound treatment.

If Felix was nervous, he didn’t show it. He worked slowly and calmly, following Lawrence’s instructions to a t.

“There, you both get some sleep now. Or some of that vintage saltuna,” Lawrence said and walked to the door. “I’ll enjoy the wilderness for one more moment.”

Max passed out almost immediately, but woke up a few hours later when Adreno began wearing off. The ache was already a lot more manageable, but far from gone. He wanted to spare their limited medical supplies so, for better or worse, he decided to have drink to get through.

Carefully Max stood up and opened the bedroom door, trying not to wake up soundly sleeping Felix in the above bunk. To his surprise, the small living room was dimly lit and Lawrence was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Reminiscing still?” Max said softly and poured himself a couple fingers of whiskey.

“Mm, you could say that,” Lawrence said absent-mindedly, not sounding too eager on elaborating, so Max didn’t pry.

“I remember being a wide-eyed young man back in the day. Watching Felix sure takes me back,” Lawrence changed the subject. It was Max’s turn to deflect.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I know I’m in no position to give you any advice, me being a bitter loner,” Lawrence began. “But whatever issues you two got, you’d be better off figuring them out sooner than later.”

Max raised his eyebrow and leaned back.

“You both avoid the subject, that’s telling,” Lawrence noted. Max let out a small sigh.

“There’s less there than you seem to think,” Max cleared. “We both briefly served in the same crew. Felix was fired, and I,” Max paused to think. “I decided joining the crew was a mistake on my part, and took the opportunity to leave.”

Lawrence tilted his head and raised his brow.

“Look, I won’t meddle with your personal affairs any further. But give some thought to what I said,” Lawrence said, and it was silent again. Max took a sip from his drink.

“The captain picked up Felix from Groundbreaker soon after I had joined the crew. We… Our views differ greatly.” Max tapped his finger on the glass. “But I might have been too harsh on him.”

Max lifted the hem of his bloodstained undershirt to check his injury. The bandage was a messy job, but held surprisingly well.

“He does deserve more credit than I give him,” Max mumbled and turned back only to find Lawrence sleeping in his chair. Max pulled a coat over Lawrence and went back to bed.

Taking extra caution, the group managed their way back to Stellar Bay with no hostile encounters. As promised, Lawrence handed the keys to Max and Felix once there.

“Take good care of her, Felix. And him. It’s a lonely life traveling all alone,” he said lightly as he waved his goodbyes and disappeared into the crowd.

An awkward silence fell upon them.

Max noticed Felix browsing the city with eagerness. Stellar Bay was a shabby settlement, even by the ever-dropping standards around Halcyon. Max couldn’t possibly imagine what someone coming from a much livelier, busier community like Groundbreaker could see in it.

“We should hurry,” he said and turned to enter the ship.

“Hurrying ain’t what you should be doing right now, Vic,” Felix said and looked at Max. “Fallbrook could be tough.”

Felix went back to admiring the view.

“I am moved by your concern,” Max replied sarcastically. “I expect this has nothing to do with your desire to hit the booze.”

“Hell yeah I’m getting boiled, I’ve deserved that much. What’s that got to do with anything?”

Max sighed heavily.

“Do you even have any bits on you?”

“I’ll figure out something,” Felix murmured and avoided Max’s eye. Max knew very well what Felix was about to “figure out”.

“No, you absolutely won’t.”

“The hell is it to you, anyway? Ain’t your problem what I do with myself,” Felix complained.

Max couldn’t argue. Felix was right—it was none of Max’s business to govern the actions of a grown man who had been doing this for extra bits since longer than Max cared to imagine. But he couldn’t shut out the image of the strange man shoving his lips on Felix’s, grabbing his clothes, and putting his rough palms on his body back on Groundbreaker.

“I’ll find enough money to buy a couple of drinks. Wait here,” Max said and disappeared into the ship.

Maybe this wasn’t such an awful idea, Max thought as they sat down and ordered drinks at the bar. The Yacht Club had a pleasant enough atmosphere, and Max couldn’t remember when he had last kicked back and enjoyed an evening.

They listened to a tossball game and somewhat surprisingly had a decent discussion. The alcohol no doubt made it easier, but even knowing that, Max still entertained the idea they could someday become proper friends despite their differences. In views. In values. In everything except the appreciation for tossball.

What an idea, Max thought and finished his drink.

It was getting late when they finally called it a night. Max was getting sleepy, and Felix had come off the pleasant drunken haze, now wearing a dejected expression. They walked back to the ship in silence through the empty streets.

It was painfully obvious the ship wasn’t the same with only the two of them aboard. Without Lawrence keeping up the discussion, the space felt cold, threatening, even. Maybe there was no connection between the two of them outside that brief moment in time after all, Max deemed.

“Just the two of us from now on,” Felix said. Not in anticipation, not in excitement; not even with curiosity, but in the flattest, most apathetic manner.

“Felix,” Max started before knowing what to say next or why. Felix raised his brow. “I understand you must feel lonely. I want you to know I’m… available.” Max immediately felt embarrassed over such a detached statement.

“Lonely, huh. Did you figure that out before or after you read my journal?” Felix asked.

Max was silent as Felix passed him, expressionless, and climbed into his bunk.

Chapter 3: Partner Link copied

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Max was sitting in the cockpit, lazily skimming the ship computer logs as the morning sun hit the small room, exposing years worth of dust. He had got up early, and by now they were already about to arrive in Fallbrook. Max hadn’t bothered to wake up Felix—he could handle the short trip by himself; they never even left the planet atmosphere. Besides, it was nice to have some non-awkward silence for a change.

Soon enough Max heard the toilet flush, then someone climbing down the stairs. Felix walked in and leaned on the back of Max’s seat to try make sense of the messages scrolling on the screen.

“Interested in learning about navigation?” Max asked.

“I reckon it’s best to leave the computer side of things to you. Are we there yet?” Felix had a faint smell of alcohol in his breath and his voice sounded a tad rough, but otherwise he seemed to have recovered well from last night.

“As a matter of fact, yes. If you could pull that lever behind you,” Max instructed and inputted a series of commands on an old keyboard. A loud rumble and a clack signaled them that the landing gear was ready, and Max brought the ship down.

The old ship rattled more and more as their altitude decreased until the landing gear hit the ground with a loud clank that echoed through the ship. Max checked the terminal one last time before killing the engines. When the ship finally became silent, his ears were still ringing from the noise.

“We’re done,” Max said. He stood up and was about to grab his things and leave when the big gaping hole in his vestments caught his eye.

The blood had been easy to wash off, but even if they had any yarn, Max figured the garment was way beyond salvage. Max furrowed his brow. He had no clean clothes besides shirts and underwear with him.

“Lawrence said there’s still some of his old clothes lying around. Stuff that no longer fits him so he just left them behind. I’ll take a look,” Felix offered and disappeared into the cargo hold before Max could open his mouth.

A moment later Felix returned with a pile of clean clothes. Max thanked Felix and got out of the crammed cockpit to change.

The clothes certainly showed some age but were in otherwise good condition, Max noticed as he pulled on dark gray pants made of thick denim and a simple linen shirt. Neat, easy to move in, and inconspicuous. The size was almost perfect, too. Clearly Felix had put some thought into choosing them. Then he unfolded the jacket.

The cut was practical enough. The jacket was waist-length and, judging by the smell, made of genuine vintage leather that predated the colony. Earth-era; would have fetched a good price if the once black leather wasn’t so faded out and scratched from years of heavy use. Gilded details on the seams and the collar were similarly faded and unnoticeable enough.

But on the back of the jacket there was a big star chart embroidered in a deep, vibrant scarlet yarn. After staring at the embroidery blankly for a few seconds, Max sighed and opened the jacket. To make matters even worse, the jacket had a shiny, gold-colored quilted lining, equally bright as the red yarn.

“Is this the only jacket you found?” Max asked as he returned to the cockpit, holding the jacket in his hand.

Felix looked disappointed, and Max felt a sting. Felix had just tried to help him, he was in no position to be ungrateful.

“I thought it looked right smart,” Felix said quietly.

“No, the outfit is fine, just different from what I’m used to wearing. Thank you, Felix,” Max assured and pulled on the jacket. The leather was sturdy, and as gaudy as the metallic yellow lining looked, it felt smooth and luxurious.

Still not convinced it fit his style, however, Max asked Felix: “How is it?”

Felix was silent, which Max didn’t take as a good sign.

“It’s fine,” Felix mumbled, staring the other way.

Max sighed, but didn’t want to argue. There was no way he didn’t look ridiculous if even Felix had second thoughts about the jacket looking good. But it would have to do.

As they walked around the town of Fallbrook looking for any sign of Reginald Chaney, some older SubLight employees raised an eyebrow on Max. No doubt they recognized the jacket. Luckily Lawrence didn’t seem to have too bad a reputation among them, since no one gave them any trouble.

“So who is this guy we’re looking for, anyway?” Felix asked. “I know this has got something to do with that book of yours.”

Max grumbled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Uh, you seem mad, Max. I guess Boss…” Felix paused and looked hurt for a second before continuing. “…didn’t know the full story either, huh?”

“No, and I doubt they would have agreed with me if they did. Although I don’t think they were planning on honoring our promise in any case,” Max said. Seeing how badly Felix was still hung on getting fired only made his contempt worse.

“Reginald Chaney—the man we’re about to go find—told me about that book you’ve seen back in prison. Only he didn’t mention it was written in French. Completely incomprehensible,” Max explained. “All my life I’ve been chasing the truth, and it’s another dead end.”

“So this is basically a revenge,” Felix said.

“Yes… I suppose that’s the gist of it,” Max sighed.

Both were silent.

“You don’t seem to mind helping me, even knowing there’s a chance I’m about to do something… disreputable,” Max said.

“Reckon it’s none of my business,” Felix shrugged.

Max didn’t bother mentioning there was a very obvious possibility it would become Felix’s business too if he followed.

They eventually tracked Chaney down to the river. Max was already in a bad mood and seeing Chaney in the distance made him seethe with anger.

“Oh… hey. Vicar Max?” The man’s face became pale when he saw Max. Served him right, Max thought.

“What, uh, are you doing on Monarch? I thought—” Before Chaney had the chance to finish, Max had grabbed him by the lapels.

“I don’t want to hear another fucking word from you,” Max roared and raised his fist to hit Chaney.

“Hey, hey wait, is your—uh, boyfriend?—okay with this?” Chaney cried.

Max tightened his grip, his face now scorching hot with rage.

“Oh Law, I swear I didn’t mean to—It’s just, he looked like your type and—” Chaney whimpered hopelessly. “I know who can translate the book, I swear I’m not lying, please don’t kill me,” he pleaded.

Max was about ready to smash Chaney’s head into the rocky riverbed when Felix suddenly spoke.

“Hey, Max? I don’t mind you beating him up and all but what if he’s telling the truth?”

Max clenched his free fist, fighting the urge, then took a deep breath to gather up all his willpower and loosened his grip.

“Fine. Talk, Reggie,” Max ordered, gritting his teeth.

“There’s this weird hermit lady on Scylla. An expert on Philosophism, they say. My father used to deliver supplies to the mining outpost there. He saw a book and thought it looked valuable, so he took it. Couldn’t find any buyers when it turned out to not only be French but banned as well,” Chaney told them in a shaky voice.

Max wasn’t convinced. Beating Chaney up wouldn’t fix anything, but at least it’d make him feel better. He was about to raise his hand when Felix interrupted him again.

“We could break his legs before we check this hermit lady on Scylla, then come back and beat him up if he lied,” Felix suggested.

Max wasn’t sure if Felix was deliberately trying to diffuse the situation or just genuinely that stupid—most likely the latter—but it was enough of a distraction for Max to snap out of his frenzy. Murder wasn’t the right way to go. He had nothing to lose by checking Scylla. And nothing to gain from hurting Chaney.

“It’s all right, Felix. Let’s just go,” Max said and turned his back to Chaney.

“Thanks, both of you, I swear I’m not lying,” he heard Chaney shout after them.

Max was relieved Felix was there to be the unexpected voice of reason, but they were now facing another problem: their supplies were running low, and they were all out of money.

“We should get back to Stellar Bay first,” Max said as they reached their ship. “Maybe we can find some errands to run.”

Felix nodded.

“Felix… Thank you for coming along. And… I’m sorry about the journal. I realize I shouldn’t have read it,” Max said softly. Felix looked surprised.

“It’s okay. Must have been a boring read, though,” Felix replied. “I should start it over. Turn over a new leaf.”

“I might have taken an empty notebook with me. If you want it,” Max offered.

“Sure, thanks,” Felix smiled. Max then realized something.

“I never asked if you wanted to come to Scylla with me. You can wait here, or I can drop you off somewhere if you want,” he said.

“Are you kidding? I ain’t passing on an adventure. I’m coming along,” Felix said. His entire face gleamed with excitement.

It had been a long day, so both Max and Felix went straight to bed once they reached the ship. Early next morning, they arrived at Stellar Bay.

Fortunately, there were numerous small tasks waiting to be done. By the evening, they had earned a free meal at The Yacht Club and just enough bits to buy supplies for the next week or two.

“I’ve never been this full,” Felix hummed as they walked back to the ship.

“And I’m afraid you won’t be for a while. We have to ration our foodstuffs,” Max said.

“Sure. Who would want seconds of that nasty dry saltuna we’ve got anyway.”

 Max entered the cockpit to take off and have the autopilot fly them to Scylla while they would be getting some well-deserved sleep. But as soon as he started the engine, the lights flickered and an unfamiliar, high-pitched hum filled the ship.

“This ain’t good”, Felix said from the doorway and vanished into the engine room. He soon came back with bad news.

“It’s what Lawrence warned about. Can’t remember what it does, but this small cylinder thing has given in. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Felix said.

“Are you saying we’re stuck on Monarch?” Max growled.

“Calm down. We can still fly without one cylinder, but we should get it fixed as soon as possible. And…” Felix paused.

“What?” Max demanded.

“Ain’t gonna be cheap. Max, jeez. It’s not my fault,” Felix replied.

Max rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“So, what do you suggest? That we stay here and do odd jobs for Law knows how long?”

“Lawrence said he used to take the ship to a remote mining town on Terra 2. He once did some big gig for them and in exchange their mechanic would do basic repairs for free.”

Max tapped his finger on the console impatiently.

“I suppose we don’t have a choice,” he mumbled. “What’s the town called?”

“Uh, Cotton… Cotton-something?” Felix guessed. Max hastily browsed the navkeys.

“Cottoncliff? It’s on the southern hemisphere of Terra 2,” Max suggested.

“Sounds about right,” Felix said and Max pushed in the navkey.

“The trip will take another three to four days. Are you positive you remember the story right?” Max pressed.

“There was a lot to remember,” Felix deflected. His carefree demeanor irked Max, but he saw little point in pushing further.

“I’ll go make preparations for the liftoff,” Felix said and left while Max stayed behind to finish the route calculations.

Minutes passed, but Felix was nowhere to be seen. Max was growing restless, afraid Felix had found even more problems with the ship. Another couple of minutes later he exhaled sharply and left his seat to check on Felix.

To his surprise, Max saw another ship on the landing pad.

Wasn’t that… The Unreliable?

Max walked slowly down the ramp. There was no mistake of the other ship being The Unreliable. Max heard voices and followed them to behind their own ship.

And there they were—their old captain, and behind them Parvati, Ellie, and a pink-haired woman Max vaguely remembered seeing at the bar a few nights ago. None looked like they wanted to be there. Parvati was swirling her hair nervously, and Ellie had her arms crossed and tapped her foot. The woman from the bar didn’t even seem to know or care what was going on.

Felix stood still and listened. He had his back to Max, but the captain had a suave smile plastered over their face. This had to be bad.

Max marched up to them.

“Nice to see you, Captain. You finally made it to Monarch, then?” Max said in his coldest voice, head tilted up.

“Good timing. I just asked Felix about these past weeks. Sounds like you’ve had it rough,” said the captain with self-satisfaction lazily disguised as concern. Max had seen them lie before, and it was obvious to him they didn’t bother to even try to come across as sincere.

“Some minor obstacles, yes. Nothing we haven’t been able to overcome so far,” Max replied, managing to keep up his cool exterior despite being just about ready to attack his old captain.

“Minor? Ha! Vicar, there’s no need for modesty here. I want to help you.” The captain turned to Felix, as if Max didn’t really even matter.

Felix was standing expressionless next to Max.
“Listen, how about you both abandon that old piece of scrap and come back to The Unreliable. Nyoka here is guiding us through the Monarch wilderness. Felix, doesn’t fresh air and beating monsters sound good to you? Look, I was unfair. I’m giving you another chance.”

It was obvious the captain had found themself in need of some reckless, unquestioning muscle in the crew. Frustration grew within Max. He knew that if Felix did decide to go back, Max had no say in it.

Max swallowed. Suddenly, Felix spoke.

“No way I’m coming back.”

Max couldn’t believe his ears. Felix spun around to look Max into his eyes.

“Don’t need a boss no more, I’ve found a partner,” he said, piercing Max’s eyes with the kind of intimacy Max could never have prepared for.

Out of nowhere came a deluge of emotion, fiercer than anything he had felt during his most ecstatic violent moment. His pulse was racing. Racing so hard Max could no longer deny that nagging realization he’d been brushing off for a while now.

Chapter 4: Detour Link copied

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Creak, creak.

Max shuffled in his bed. He wanted to sleep, but the wound he had got back on Monarch was itching, and the bandage kept Max from reaching the spot.

He turned around and tried to ignore the itch, but with no luck.

“Max? You okay?” Felix had appeared next to him, standing beside his bed and looking worried. “Uh oh, I’m no medic but that can’t be good,” he said and pointed at Max’s side. Max looked down to realize his wound had opened and was bleeding right through the bandage.

“Hold on, I can fix it,” Felix said before Max had time to react.

Creak, creak.

Felix climbed into the bed with a roll of clean bandage.

Creak, creak.

“Shouldn’t you turn on the lights?” Max mumbled.

“Don’t worry about that,” Felix said in the dark and positioned himself over Max’s body. His fingers touched Max’s numb skin, then curled under the bloody bandage and calmly wrapped it off.

Curiously enough, the wound didn’t hurt. In fact, all Max could feel was the faintest tingling where Felix’s hands touched him, sliding along his skin—

Creak, creak.

Max’s eyelids shot open. He was lying in his bunk bed, alone, staring defeatedly at the wall.

It was the morning of their third day en route to Terra 2, and also the third morning Max had woken up from the same dream. Felix’s sleeping habits were as irritating as ever, and these recurring dreams only made Max even more tired. He hadn’t had trouble getting out of bed since he was a teenager, but now it took pains to lift his heavy head from the pillow.

Reluctantly Max pulled up the shutters in front of his bunk and let the artificial morning light in. He missed natural day and night cycle. Hell, he missed his books and a separate bedroom, but the thought of being stuck in Edgewater for the rest of his life gave him shivers. He didn’t want to latch onto any hope of finding the hermit Chaney had blathered about, let alone getting closure. Even so much as getting to Scylla could prove difficult, given he wasn’t at all convinced a friend of a friend in a strange town would be inclined to fix their ship for free. But at least he had something to occupy his mind with instead of just sitting and reciting the same old lines over and over for a townful of simpleminded factory workers.

Max scanned the living area. He couldn’t see Felix, but by the sound of it he was already doing his exercise routine in the cargo hold. Max quickly got up and sneaked across the room into the bathroom, relieved he wouldn’t have to run into Felix before getting a cold shower and some clothes on.

The cool water cleared his thoughts, or at least brought their intensity down to a bearable level. Max slipped into his clothes and walked down the stairs. Successfully avoiding Felix, he sat down in the cockpit to check the computer.

The good news: they were slightly ahead of the schedule and would arrive late that night—midday local time. Still, it meant Max would have to spend another day alone on a small ship with Felix. Max leaned back in his chair and contemplated just sitting there until they would arrive, while idly fiddling with a loose cord. His torment was getting more unbearable with every passing day, and the dream he kept having was truly a nightmare in disguise.

If Felix was feeling awkward, he didn’t show it. On the contrary—he perpetually looked like he was having the time of his life: clearing out a small workout space for his morning exercise, checking on the engine, and just generally fixing and organizing places, humming as he went. Well, organizing anything but the growing pile of dirty clothes and empty soda bottles in the living area.

Seeing Felix more or less back to his old self, or whatever self it was Max had grown used to during their brief time aboard The Unreliable, was of course a relief. Unexpectedly, their chance encounter with their old captain had been just the thing to pull Felix out of desperation and give him a badly needed dose of self-confidence.

After spending a notably long fifteen minutes in the cockpit twiddling his thumbs, hunger and boredom finally got the better of Max. He climbed back up to get some breakfast. The shower was running in the bathroom. Max knew he couldn’t keep avoiding Felix forever, but if he could have only another minute of relative peace, he sure would take what he got.

While fixing his rather unappetizing budget breakfast, Max hadn’t paid attention to the shower being turned off. He almost choked on his coffee when Felix strode out of the bathroom dripping wet, covering himself with nothing but a small hand towel.

Max couldn’t fight the coughing fit from the coffee traveling down his windpipe. To his horror, Felix walked right up to him.

“You okay, Max?”

“I’m—fine, thank you,” Max spat amid his frantic coughing, wishing nothing more than for Felix to leave him alone. But, alas, he did the exact opposite and tapped Max on the back as if that wouldn’t only make Max choke even worse.

“I said I’m fine,” Max said when he finally stopped coughing. “And why are you not wearing anything? You’re wetting the floor,” he complained.

“Yeah, and you’re coughing all over the place. I ain’t keen on getting the Scientism germs. Anyway, I couldn’t find my towel,” Felix replied.

“I wonder why that could be,” Max scoffed and pointed at the various piles of clothing and trash around them.

“Hey, ain’t my fault someone keeps moving my stuff around. I never forget where I leave anything,” Felix said and tilted his head up.

Max buried his face in his hands. Back at The Unreliable, Felix’s mess was mostly contained to his own cabin, and SAM had taken care of the rest. But he didn’t want to risk making Felix miserable again, so he kept the thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Felix had found his towel and was now pulling a clean undershirt over his head. Max caught a glimpse of his back and felt his face flushing uncontrollably. Droplets of water from his still-wet hair fell on his back and dampened the dry shirt as Felix pulled the hem down.

Max shook his head and checked the time. The minutes were crawling by. Felix had sat down with his tossball gear and was cleaning them meticulously, so Max saw it best to hole up in the cockpit with a book.

Once he could finally concentrate, passing the time became more enjoyable. Hours rolled by until—

“Hey Max, what are you doing down here?”

Great.

Felix climbed into the seat next to him and leaned in to see what he was reading. What an inconvenient timing for Felix to get interested in spiritual literature.

Max ignored Felix and flipped the page without really finishing the last one.

He recognized the cheap Spacer’s Choice aftershave—a pervasive smell in any impoverished working class town. He swallowed while his heartbeat thumped uncomfortably against his neck. Since when had it become such an alluring scent to him?

“I just checked the engine levels. Looks like adjusting the coils was the right call after all. The converter should work fine now.”

Max had no idea what he was talking about.

“Good,” he acknowledged, eyes glued to the book.

“Can’t wait to arrive. That’s one big flat platoon.”

“You must mean plateau. Yes.” Max said while reading the same row over and over again.

“You look tense. Take off your clothes and come upstairs, I’ll give you a massage.”

Max flushed bright red. Does this man not think, ever? Never mind that. Max slammed his book closed and turned away from Felix to hammer the keyboard viciously, scrolling up and down the unchanged log screen.

“Guess not. You know what? You’ve been acting real strange lately.” Felix studied him for a minute. “I hope being stuck on a small ship doesn’t bring up some painful memories of your prison time,” he then said. Max closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“It doesn’t,” Max said. Felix shrugged and left the cockpit.

His genuine bewilderment annoyed Max. But at least it meant he hadn’t caught on yet, even though Max was painfully aware what a terrible job he was doing in covering up his ridiculous attraction.

Max opened up his book again and tried to focus.

Fine, so Chaney wasn’t entirely wrong about Max having a history with younger men who were more about brawn than brain. That meant nothing. This would pass. Surely it would.

Max couldn’t refocus for the rest of the trip.

It was only midday in Cottoncliff when they landed, but Max and Felix had already been up for a whole day and they were both getting tired. Max yawned. He bemoaned not taking a nap earlier to be better equipped to handle the time difference. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have had any better success in sleeping than in anything he had tried to do.

Hesitantly, Max put on his new jacket and closed it all the way up. They were quite far down south, and it would be much colder than what he was used to. Felix offered him some warm clothing he had found while going through the Lawrence’s old things, but Max rejected both the pair of colorful tassel boots and the bright purple satin scarf with a gold and turquoise paisley pattern.

Felix shrugged in his hot pink woolen poncho. It looked surprisingly good on him, but Max couldn’t help but think the clothes “not fitting” their previous owner anymore had more likely referred to their style, not the size.

They stepped outside, Felix once again marveling at their new surroundings. Only this time Max was also undeniably engrossed. Cottoncliff was a small town in the middle of nowhere, far away from other settlements. The place was a complete opposite to the lush, hilly Emerald Vale. The terrain was flat and covered in small rocks. There were no hills to be seen, only tall mountain ranges rising like giant walls far away in the horizon, surrounding them in every direction.

There were no plants or trees either, no signs of any kind of life in fact, except for some fungi-looking organisms about one to two meters high. Their stem comprised several intertwined strands, each around the width of an adult’s wrist. The cap was some kind of fluffy, soft looking material.

“We should get moving,” Max suggested. He was getting cold, and he noticed even Felix was looking chilly in his poncho. Felix agreed.

The town gate was a brief walk from the landing pad. A guard was already waiting for them. No surprise, as theirs was the only ship to be seen.

“Welcome to Cottoncliff. I need to ask what your business here is,” the guard asked friendly enough while eying them from head to toe.

“We need to get our ship repaired,” Felix replied.

“A friend… recommended your mechanic,” Max swiftly added.

“Joann? Wow, I knew she was good but never realized she was that famous,” the guard said absently. He seemed to have noticed the embroidery in Max’s jacket and was now examining their ship from afar. Looking growingly wary, he knocked on the door to a small barrack next to the gates. A young woman in a similar uniform appeared from the door.

“I’ll need to escort these visitors to Joann’s place, will you watch the gate?” The first guard asked and motioned Max and Felix to come with him. “This way, please.”

Max and Felix exchanged a suspicious look and followed.

The town was like any corporate town Max had seen in his life. Cottoncliff was a mining town, built around a bottomless pit he had seen from above as they landed.

Soon after entering the town he noticed something was off. There were several open stores on the main street, but a lot of the buildings looked long-abandoned. Products on display had faded packages and a layer of black dust on them. Sounds of mining echoed from the distance, but otherwise it was eerily quiet. No children playing, no customers, no workers besides the shopkeepers sitting behind their counters and staring Max and Felix through the windows.

Felix gave Max another meaningful look. For a Back Bays orphan whose only connection to the rest of the system were romanticized serials and drunken stories from cocky spacers, Felix had a surprisingly keen insight. Then again, the situation was bizarre even on those standards.

The guard took them to a small workshop. He opened the door and said something before letting them in. He stayed outside as Felix and Max entered the workshop.

Inside, an old lady was working on some contraption, barely glancing at her guests.

“So I’m famous now, hmm? What can I do for you,” she said flatly and reached for a screwdriver.

Max introduced them briefly. “You must be Joann. I believe we have a mutual friend,” he probed.

“Mm-hmm,” was all Joann replied, still fixed on the machine in front of her.

“You know Lawrence, right?” Felix asked. Max glared at him, but Joann raised her gaze and examined them carefully.

“Frankly, you don’t look much like murderers or thieves. And more importantly, I doubt Lawrence would have mentioned me on his dying breath. Okay, I’ll hear you out.”

Felix explained the situation to Joann.

“Also, we’ve got no money,” he admitted. Joann nodded and leaned back.

“The thing is,” she said after a pause, “I used to do free repairs for Lawrence back in the day. But this isn’t a small fix, and as you probably noticed, we’re not exactly a thriving community down here. The Board’s been cutting corners everywhere lately.” Her voice was empathetic but firm.

“The way I see it, Lawrence’s officially retired now. We can’t really just extend our debt to whoever flies his old ship.”

Felix’s shoulders sank, and so did Max’s heart. Maybe they could manage a final trip to Emerald Vale or somewhere else on Terra 2, but was this really it?

Maybe they should have gone back to The Unreliable when they had the chance.

“Maybe there are some jobs we could do to pay for the repairs? Max is finally getting closer to some big spiritual revelation he’s been chasing all his life and—” Felix swallowed. “I ain’t really got a place to go to.”

Max winced. Felix didn’t need to share every detail with a stranger. But to his surprise, Joann looked thoughtful again. She examined Felix, looking him in the eye for a good while.

“You heard them,” she then said and nodded. Another mechanic appeared from the shadows.

“This is Theresa. She’s my assistant,” Joann introduced and went back to work.

“Hi, nice to meet you. I hope you don’t mind me listening. So, uh, I’ve got a proposition for you. If you’d like to hear it, hmm?”

Theresa looked around Felix’s age. She had round eyes and a soft smile. Her voice was bright and cheerful. She didn’t strike Max as someone very trustworthy, but at least she didn’t seem malicious.

“Hell yeah we would,” Felix rejoiced. Theresa smiled at him, and Felix blushed. Max grunted and looked away.

“This is great, Max. I knew this would work.” Max hadn’t noticed Felix step closer to him. He flinched and got a weird look from Felix.

They followed Theresa to a small break room where she served them a warm beverage. It was mildly sweet, almost creamy in taste. Max had no idea what it was. He took another sip, while Felix was already asking for seconds.

“I’m happy you like it. It’s our local specialty,” Theresa said cheerily and got up to pour another cup. On her way back to the table, she tripped on her shoelace. Felix got up just in time to catch her. He blushed again with Theresa batting her eyelashes at his arms. Max rolled his eyes.

“Whoops! Th-thank you,” Theresa said and got up.

“So, what’s your story? I mean, I already know you folks know Lawrence, but beyond that,” Theresa asked innocently as she poured Felix another cup and sat down.

“I ain’t got much of a story, just tagging along for an adventure. But Max—”

Max interrupted Felix.

“I’m a simple priest, my story really isn’t as interesting as mister Millstone here seems to think. We wouldn’t want to bore you, would we, Felix?” He gave Felix an angry look. Felix scowled back.

“Aww, I’m sure you both have some exciting tales to share. I haven’t left this town, well, ever,” Theresa said in a longing tone and looked at Felix. So much about that keen insight. Apparently, it only took a pair of dreamy eyes and a cheesy line or two to have him sold.

“Can we get to the proposal you had in mind?” Max was growing tired of this game. For a second, Theresa had a sharp look in her eyes.

“We’ll get there. Sorry, I got carried away. We don’t get a lot of visitors, and they’re mostly Board folks.” She lowered her voice slightly. “To be honest… I don’t much care for them.”

Felix’s eyes widened. Max could see where this was going.

“Same here! I mean Max is a die-hard OSI sucker, but—”

Max wasn’t about to let Theresa derail the discussion again.

“We’re not with the Board, if that’s what you’re concerned about. And I am traveling for personal reasons, none of which should be relevant to you. Is there anything else you need to know before telling us the details of the job?” Max said.

Suddenly, Theresa looked different. She leaned back and crossed her legs.

“Impatient, huh? I suppose you passed the test,” she said calmly and smiled. “Sorry for that. This job is… delicate. I realize Lawrence trusted you, but we can’t trust his guts alone.”

Max nodded, while Felix looked like a lost puppy.

“Here’s the deal. Joann will fix your ship by tomorrow. The only condition is you won’t tell a soul about anything I’m about to show you.”

Felix was getting psyched again. Max figured this was exactly the sort of adventure he’d been fantasizing about.

“That’s all? What if we reject the job, you still let us have the repairs for free?” Max asked.

“That’s right. Even sharing the details is an enormous risk for us. So, it’s a fair price. However,” Theresa said and leaned closer. “It would be a great favor to the people of Cottoncliff if you took the job. And there are bits to be earned, too.”

Max tried to ignore Felix’s sparkling eyes.

“Then you have our silence, and we promise to consider the job,” he said. He still didn’t trust Theresa, but at least they were getting somewhere. And anywhere was better than returning to Edgewater.

“Good. It will be easier to show you, so if you would follow me,” Theresa said and put away their empty cups, then led them through a back door to a small alleyway.

“For years, we had a good little mining community down here. We’re pretty secluded, so the corporate types basically left us minding our own business for the longest time,” she explained as they navigated through the empty streets.

“Only we were super dependent on them providing food and other supplies to us. We’re rich in ore and minerals, but as you can see, not much life around these parts. Can’t farm, can’t gather, can’t hunt.”

They entered the foyer of a large dormitory. The lights were on, and the interiors didn’t look abandoned. An elderly man was sitting on an old sofa. He turned to see them.

“It’s okay, I’m showing them the downstairs,” Theresa told him. The man nodded and turned back.

“So, uh, people live here?” Felix asked.

“Some folks stay up here, yes, most of them though…” Theresa paused to lift an electric panel next to a pair of elevator doors with a sign saying “out of order”. She fumbled something for a while, then closed the panel. The elevator lit up and started moving. After a minute, the doors opened.

“Most live down here,” Theresa said and motioned them to enter the elevator.

“This will take a while.” Theresa slid a key in a hidden keyhole under a lever. The elevator started moving down quicker than Max had anticipated. Felix looked equally surprised.

“Where was I? Right. So things start looking bad. There’s famine. Disease. We’re getting less and less supplies but are expected to work twice as hard. Well, one day a bunch of people decide they’ve had enough. You saw those things growing everywhere around the town? Cottontops. They’re the only thing that grows around here, also, as far as we know, they only grow around here. The stem is poisonous and the top part is too brittle to use for anything.”

“But these folks worked night and day and finally came up with a way to handle the poison. They had to work in secret, though. Long story short, bureaucratic monopoly bullshit would’ve shut them down real fast otherwise. But now people had means beside the corporations to survive and left the city to live a better life in hiding. You see where this is going?” Theresa asked.

The elevator came to a halt. Theresa pulled the door open, and Max’s jaw dropped. He had expected to see a dim underground cavern; instead he faced a spacious plaza bathing in light. The ceiling was high above them, shining down almost convincingly natural-looking light from what must have been countless lamps hidden behind frosted glass panes to simulate the Terra 2 sky, complete with the rings and all. Theresa stepped out with a satisfied grin.

“Welcome to New Cottoncliff. We’d call ourselves the oasis of Terra 2, but tourism really isn’t very big here yet,” she said proudly.

Max and Felix followed Theresa out of the elevator and turned their heads. They were at a crossroads between two wide streets. The glimmering, at places opalescent natural stone walls were lined with storefronts and doorways. People walked the streets talking cheerfully to each other. A group of miners passed them, laughing as they made their way to a nearby cafeteria.

“You turned the mine into a hidden city and keep the old one running as a front to outsiders,” Max concluded.

“Exactly,” Theresa said. “Cottontops thrive even without light. Over the years, we’ve done modifications and our version isn’t only completely safe to eat, it’s also nutritious and a good material for textiles. Between the mine and our crops, the only thing we need from the outside are occasional luxury items and some meat.”

Felix looked puzzled. “So what do you need us for?” His expression grew worried. “Wait, don’t say—ouch!” Felix squealed as Max elbowed him. Whatever stupid conclusion he had arrived to, Max wasn’t letting him make a fool of himself.

Theresa sighed and looked apologetic.

“We know this colony is on the brink of destruction. That’s what got us into this whole situation. And until recently, there honestly wasn’t much we could do to help. So better just isolate ourselves, we figured. The thing with cottontop is, it requires particular minerals in the soil, and a very specific climate. You can’t grow them anywhere else, basically, and our output could never be enough to feed the entire colony.”

“But… Some time ago one of our research teams came up with a new mutation that might solve all our problems,” Theresa continued. “So now we need someone inconspicuous to take the samples to a secret neutral lab with no board interference. It’s game over if they find the samples and track them back to us.”

It was all a lot to take in. Max glimpsed at Felix. As expected, his eyes were wide with excitement. Max crossed his arms and said nothing. There was no way Felix would let Max turn Theresa down.

“Anyway. Joann is repairing your ship as we speak. She’ll be done by the morning.”

Theresa handed them a keycard with an address written on it, along with some tickets.

“That’s an empty apartment you can use until then. Fully furnished. The coupons are good for one meal each at any of our restaurants. If you decide to help us, I’ll be at the lab. Ask anyone, they’ll know. And if you don’t,” Theresa paused. “Well, ask the guard at the elevator to take you back to Joann’s shop. No hard feelings.”

She disappeared into the crowd, leaving thoroughly dumbfounded Max and Felix standing on the streetcorner.

A rumble from Felix’s stomach broke the silence.

“Show me those coupons,” Felix said and snatched the papers from Max’s hand.

“There’s a bunch of these! Come on, let’s go there,” Felix enthused and pulled still overwhelmed Max’s arm.

They went into a nearby store and got big, steaming hot bowls of cottontop soup. Max took a sip. The soup was creamy and thick, with a hint of the same sweetness as their earlier mystery beverages.

“All these people look so happy,” Felix said after a couple of spoonfuls.

“Hmm,” Max acknowledged and examined the people passing them. Max hadn’t seen a crowd like this before. They didn’t look rich by any means—their clothes were cleaner and newer than what he was used to seeing on working class, yet they were as very simple and practical as any Halcyon worker. But the people had a carefree air to them, a mood Max had only ever sensed from wealthy youngsters who were too rich ever to go hungry and young enough not to spend the majority of their day complaining about the lower-class people.

Max was only halfway through his bowl and already starting to feel full. Maybe there was some truth to cottontop being some miracle food.

His thoughts wandered to the scene at the Stellar Bay landing pad.

“Felix, about what you said back on Stellar Bay…” Max said.

“Huh?” Felix cocked his head and looked up like he had to dig deep into his memory. “Oh, you mean at the landing pad?”

“Yes,” Max said and evaluated his next words carefully. “I’m glad you don’t see us as… enemies anymore.” He paused to think. He wanted, no, needed to sound casual. “Unless you only said it to get rid of the captain, of course.”

“You know scheming ain’t my thing. I meant it,” Felix said and finished his soup without answering the question Max didn’t ask.

“What kind of partners do you see us?,” Max blurted out before thinking. He rushed to add: “Crewmates? Friends, even?”

Max was suddenly very self-conscious. He tried to hold back a swallow, which only made him more uncomfortable. Felix rubbed his neck and averted his eyes.

“What’s up with you today? You act strange. Stranger,” he said. Max didn’t know if he had only made Felix uncomfortable or if there was something else going on.

Felix finally gave up and exhaled heavily when Max said nothing. And Max did indeed almost lost his nerve and turn it into a joke. A mean one, knowing himself. His only saving grace was that he was growing far too nervous to dare open his mouth.

“You’re serious, huh? You’re kind of making this awkward for me, you know?” Felix leaned back and looked down at the table. “Yeah, okay. I don’t dislike you or anything. I’ve started liking you, honestly. And not just as a crewmate,” he said. Max didn’t move a muscle. He was stiff—with excitement or terror, he couldn’t tell.

“I never had a family, but something like that maybe? The same kind of thing I felt with Parvati and Ellie. Like they had my back, and I had theirs.”

Max’s body turned to stone. A shock traveled through his every last nerve and left his insides cold. He tried to force a smile onto his face.

“That’s nice of you to say,” he said.

“What? Did I mess up?” Felix asked.

“It’s fine.” Max blurted. He wanted to get out of the situation, but Felix missed the cue.

“Why are you pissed? You’re the one who brought this up.” Felix was starting to look annoyed.

“Yes, I did,” Max muttered, unable to hide his frustration.

“I’m not used to sharing, why do you have to be such an asshole about it?” Felix complained.

He sounded hurt. Max wanted to kick himself. Felix had called him family, and he should have been incredibly grateful. Instead, he had made Felix feel bad for opening up to him.

“It’s been a long day,” Max muttered, knowing it was a poor excuse, but at least Felix finally let the subject go and went back to what was left of his drink.

They ended up exploring the city before getting rest. They quickly forgot any awkwardness from their dinner conversation as they walked down the brightly illuminated underground streets full of life and happy, healthy people.

Ironic, Max thought, how people in beautiful green Emerald Vale were drained of their life, figuratively but also quite literally considering the plague, while these people had a thriving community under what looked like a barren wasteland. Max saw similarities in the people of Cottoncliff and Adelaide’s deserters they had forced to return to Edgewater. Had it really been the right thing to do?

Eventually Max and Felix found their way to their temporary apartment. It was tiny—Max figured living space was the one luxury Cottoncliff didn’t have—but at least had two separate bedrooms. Max let out a quiet, relieved sigh.

They retired to their rooms. Max fell asleep the instant he hit the bed. Maybe he could at last sleep sound without Felix’s squeaky bunk bed waking him up. And more importantly, without any… disconcerting dreams.

That night he didn’t dream of a gaping wound. He dreamed of being back at Edgewater, alone in his church. Of Felix walking through the doors and up to him. Of reckless kisses and pushing his naked body on the ornate floor and having him right there.

By the time Max woke up, he no longer had any recollection of the dream.

They had no food, so Max and Felix left the apartment soon after waking up. It was still early, but the restaurants on the plaza were already open and filled with workers eating breakfast and socializing.

They picked the nearest shop and exchanged coupons for two hefty meals.

“So, are we going to do this?” Felix asked after a few bites. He tried to sound unconcerned, but Max could tell how badly Felix wanted to accept this job.

“Come on, Max. This could be huge,” he pleaded, unable to contain his excitement any longer. Max thought about it. He still felt bad for how he had acted last night and didn’t want to sound too harsh.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Felix,” he started in a gentle voice. “I admire your willingness to help, but many people around the system claim they have the cure-all solution for all our problems. It will be a never-ending chase if we blindly follow every one of them,” Max said. Felix frowned.

“Look around, theirs is working!” Felix exclaimed and spread his arms. Max pressed his lips together. Even though Felix was right, part of Max wanted to just flat-out refuse to help and leave the bothersome task to someone else. But Felix had accommodated him and his admittedly selfish pursuit this far. There was no way he could call them equals if he denied this from Felix.

“Will the ship even be able to handle this?” Max asked in a last futile effort to change his mind.

“I’ll make sure she can,” Felix said and looked at Max with the same intense look he had back on the Stellar Bay landing pad. Max wondered if Felix had realized that look worked on Max even better than his signature puppy eyes, but more likely Felix wasn’t thinking about it that hard. Just going by his instinct, as he always did. And absolutely nailing it.

Max turned away to hide his fluster.

“Just let me finish my breakfast,” Max mumbled.

“Knew you’d make the right call. You’re not so bad, Max,” Felix said cheerfully.

“When did you stop caring about me being a man of the cloth, exactly?” Max asked.

“I reckon that mantisaur pretty much ruined your clothes.”

Max couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

“Anyway, I already told you last night. We’re past that kind of shallow stuff,” Felix smiled. It was contagious.

“But I still hate OSI,” Felix added urgently. Max couldn’t help but laugh. He knew he’d be cursing his fate as soon as they were back on the road, but moments like these made him grateful to the Plan or coincidence or whatever unknown force of nature it was that had brought them together on this journey.

Chapter 5: Jealousy Link copied

& on AO3

“Max, wanna walk these streets from end to end?” Felix suggested.

They stood in the center square of New Cottoncliff. Simulated sunrise bathed the underground city in gentle light.

A team was preparing their cargo with Theresa at the moment, but it would be another while until their ship was ready to leave. Max and Felix had decided to spend their last hours in New Cottoncliff exploring the city.

“I think you’re underestimating the size of this city. Or overestimating the time we have left until departure,” Max said, admittedly curious to see where each of the four streets branching from the main square led.

“Let’s find out which one it is,” Felix laughed and picked a direction.

“That doesn’t even make any—Felix!”

Felix softly tugged Max’s hand and pulled him along.

The high fake-skylight roof gradually lowered as they walked further along the street lined with displays, doorways and alleys carved into the light smooth stone. People clearly took great care in making the city beautiful. Fastidiously constructed store displays and ornately painted bright street doors to apartment complexes were ubiquitous. What New Cottoncliff lacked in true sense of outdoors it made up in its lively and thriving atmosphere.

Max caught himself wondering how different it would from his past assignments to be guiding these happy, fulfilled people in their lives. Meanwhile, Felix had slowed down, staring at kindergarten playground.

“Funny,” Felix laughed absent mindedly. “These places really exist beyond serials.”

Max felt sorry for him but couldn’t find the words to comfort him.

They eventually reached the end of the street. The roof panels had changed into yellow industrial lights, and in front of them was a massive steel door and a sign saying “mining area”.

“Time to turn back,” Felix noted. “Which way we go next?”

But as Max had predicted, they had no more time to wander around. Theresa was ready with the samples at the landing pad, and the only thing left was to load them into their ship.

It wouldn’t have taken them long to carry the boxes in, but fitting everything in the limited cargo space proved more time-consuming than either had anticipated. To make things more complicated, Joann insisted everything needed to be neatly stacked on the cargo shelves.

“Have you seen what freely moving cargo does to you in an accident? Because I have.”

No one wanted to hear the grisly details, so they quietly complied.

“Let’s go through the details,” Theresa said once they were done with the boxes. The ship was full of not only the samples, but there were crates upon crates of supplies and cottontop products masked as saltuna cans. They wouldn’t have to worry about food for a long time.

“This right here is our first stop, right?” Felix said and waved a navkey.

“Right. We don’t have the necessary information to send you straight to the laboratory, so you need to find this contact on Monarch first. Follow the navkey and manually scout for a suitable landing spot. No landing pads in the desert. The problem is, it’s a dangerous area and you must make at least some of the trip on foot. Be sure you’re up to the task. Don’t rush in, the samples will stay viable for a long time,” Theresa warned.

“You want to find a house with a red door. Frankly, I don’t know what happens next. He may have the lab navkey or not. Or he may make you jump through hoops to get it.”

“Good thing I’ve been keeping up my exercise routine,” Felix said and stretched his legs. Theresa raised an eyebrow. Max wanted to bury his face.

“Once you get to the laboratory,” Theresa returned to the topic, “unload the samples and follow the scientists’ instructions to return here, and we’ll get you your reward. Just remember: if anyone asks about the cargo, you didn’t get it here. We forged documents that state you got it all from Groundbreaker way back for personal use.”

“Before you go,” Joann stepped in.

“I took a look at your skip drive. Busted beyond repair, but I can get you brand new custom parts by the time you’re back. I’ll do the repairs for free if you promise to keep an ear out for Doc Moore. Give her this if you see her,” Joann said and handed them an envelope.

“Who’s Doc Moore?” Felix asked.

Joann smiled warmly. “My daughter. Don’t worry about Monarch too much, she’ll sew you back together even if one of you gets chopped into pieces.”

Max and Felix looked at each other, neither too fond of the mental image. They took the envelope and decided it was better not to pry too much.

“Oh, before we go, are there any other places like this?” Felix asked.

Joann didn’t say a thing, only slowly turned to look at Theresa and tilted her head ever so slightly. Theresa crossed her arms and looked pensive for a moment.

“This is top secret information. But yes. One is a group of young pacifists living on the surface of a certain moon. The last I heard they were living comfortably enough as is, and they’re on the brink of finding a sustainable way of feeding and concealing a growing population.”

“The other,” Theresa continued in a deeper voice as her brow furrowed. “Is a rebel organization. Their way of thinking doesn’t… strictly align with ours, but we scratch their backs and they do ours. We’re all on the same side, after all.”

Max knew what Theresa meant. Most rebel factions were bound to fantasize about a revolution, more than likely bloody to at least some degree, not something Halcyon needed. No surprise to him, any nuance was lost on Felix. It was clear from the way his eyes gleamed and back straightened.

Theresa paused to consider.

“Tell you what, Felix. I can tell you’re interested. Get this job done, and I’ll consider introducing you to a contact. A word of warning, though. They’re meticulous about who they let in, and I mean it. They dig up any past connections and don’t like taking chances. People with friends in too high places, small bosses…”

Theresa looked at Max as if he had any reason to care. “…and clergy, too.”

She turned back to Felix.

“It’s what sets them apart from all those board-infiltrated bunches. These folks are serious about what they do.”

Max raised an eyebrow at the mention of compromised groups, but Felix could hardly contain his excitement and cut Max off before he could get a word out.

“You can count on us, we’ll handle this,” he proclaimed.

They finished the remaining preparations and bid farewell to Theresa and Joann. To their great relief, their ship ran as usual—if anything, better than usual.

Just realizing he could no longer work out in his old exercise corner, now filled with neatly stacked crates, Felix plodded upstairs. Max decided to use the spare time taking inventory so they wouldn’t accidentally run out of food in the middle of a week-long space trip.

After painstakingly cataloging all their foodstuffs, old and new, among other things, he had expected to find Felix doing pushups upstairs. Instead, Felix was sitting in the table, quietly writing. Max recognized the notebook to be the journal Felix had already caught him snooping once. He quickly turned away his head and passed Felix without a word. Felix didn’t seem to mind him.

Max walked to the kitchen corner and started digging around the messy cupboard for a pot. From the corner of his eye, he saw Felix put away his journal and disappear down the stairs. Max finally found the old dented pot they’d been using, but to his dismay, someone hadn’t made a very good job of cleaning it. Time for another cupboard dive, he sighed and started looking for a dishcloth.

As Max wiped the last stubborn remains from the pot, Felix returned with some noodles and saltuna fillets. He silently passed Max the noodles and opened the saltuna can. The mild stench was a disappointing reminder of their standard fare after the abundant delicacies on New Cottoncliff.

“Hold on, I want to try something,” Felix said, and skipped downstairs. He came back up with a bottle of algae lager. He checked the boiling noodles and drained them, leaving some of the cooking water in, tossed in the fillets and topped it off with a dash of lager and salt.

“I saw them do this in a serial once,” Felix gleamed. “Always wanted to try, but I didn’t have a kitchen and The Lost Hope didn’t let me borrow theirs.”

Max had had better meals in his life, but for a ship meal it was definitely in the top category. Not bad for someone who had never had a kitchen before.

“You set course to Groundbreaker, right? Got a list of things I need. Or Joann says I need,” Felix said.

“Yes, we’ll be there next morning according to the computer. Which has been known to have been wrong sometimes,” Max muttered, remembering one particular night of wildly fluctuating estimates and false alarms.

“Never would’ve thought you of all people would get me roped into something this big. I wonder what kind of person the secret contact is. Or where the secret lab is. I bet it’s on a secret planet that the corporations never discovered.” Felix’s mouth curved into a smile as he got more lost in his imagination.

“I’m afraid that’s not very likely, Felix,” Max countered and sighed.

“I hope there won’t be many obstacles along the way.”

“I don’t mind,” Felix said cheerily.

“Not to spoil your fun, but this is a serious mission,” Max said. “Also, I’d rather return to our original plan as fast as possible.”

“Yeah, right, the Scylla business. Slipped my mind.” Max frowned as Felix so casually dismissed his whole reason for this arduous journey as something completely unremarkable while looking more interested in catching the last slippery noodle from his plate.

Yes, the Scylla business. Max let his mind wander for a second.

“What are your plans once we get the payment?” Max asked. It came out more forcefully as he’d meant, but Felix was too busy thinking about all his forthcoming space adventures to pay any attention.

“You mean after Scylla? Cause I already said I was coming with you there,” Felix smiled. He tilted his head up.
“After that, though? Guess I should try to catch a ride to that rebel base Theresa mentioned. If they let me meet them.”

Max involuntarily creased his brow and looked away.

“Hey, don’t worry, Max. I ain’t asking you to give me a ride,” Felix rushed to say.

“That’s not—” Max raised his voice. He cleared his throat and gathered his composure again. “I’d happily take you there after I’m done with my own affairs, but I’m sure you remember how Theresa mentioned them not being very trusting with the church.”

“Thanks. Reckoned you weren’t interested, anyway.” He wasn’t wrong, Max thought.

“Still, I owe it to you,” Max dismissed.

“How about you? Returning to your Edgewater job after all this?” Felix asked in turn.

Max hadn’t really given it much thought. As his mind traveled back to his old church, last night’s dream of Felix’s back pushing against the ornate church floor came vividly back to him. He shuffled around in his seat as his cheeks started burning.

“Whoa, did something happen back in Edgewater? Wish I’d been there to see that,” Felix said.

“Something, yes. I’d rather not talk about it,” Max lied.

“I bet they’re mad at you,” Felix snickered. Whatever he imagined, Max figured it was better than him knowing the truth.

Early next day they landed on Groundbreaker. Having the spare bits was a very welcome change, although they would still need to keep track of their expenses.

Max was wearing Lawrence’s old leather jacket; he still found the decorations tacky, but was slowly growing on it. Nevertheless, the first things he bought were a new pair of pants and a vest, just in case.

Joann’s shopping list was longer than Max had anticipated and they ended up hunting for all the items for a couple of hours, but in the end nothing was very expensive or truly hard to find. For half the items Felix had no idea what they were used for, but he didn’t seem too worried.

“Felix, look at this,” Max said and handed him a beaten datapad he’d found on a small market stall.

“`Crash course into fixing your own engine´? Hey, nice find. And it’s cheap, too,” Felix said and rotated the datapad in his hands. He looked excited about all the new tools and the datapad especially.

“Never thought I’d be improving myself like this. Never got that far with any of my bosses,” he explained when he saw Max smile.

They spent another while buying personal supplies. Max even found an old uncommon book he had tried to obtain for some time, but opted to save their bits.

“Guess that’s all.” Felix stretched his arms while holding a bag full of tools, the datapad, and a bunch of snacks Max had reluctantly agreed to buy for the trip. Felix didn’t seem like the most responsible person with his bits, but at least he had started the buying spree from the necessities.

“Hey Max, wanna grab something at The Lost Hope while we’re here?”

Max counted bits in his head.

“Come on, Max, it’s gonna be me and you and canned cottontop and algae lager saltuna for the next who knows how long. Let’s get a meal and start some fights,” Felix persuaded.

“The sprats they serve live and die on this one big tin can, I don’t think they’re any less canned than the cottontop. Only less nutritious,” Max muttered.

“Hey, I also lived my entire life up until pretty much recently on this tin can,” Felix protested.

“I apologize,” Max said, sincerely. “I think I’d rather rest for a while, but if you insist on going alone—”

A group of people around Felix’s age interrupted him.

“Hey, Felix! Where have you been?” A young woman exclaimed. She was tall, a head taller than Felix, and visibly pleased to see him. Her tough outfit and muscular body were in stark contrast with her soft, childlike face. One of her friends elbowed her, and she noticed Max and blushed.

“Oh, shit, a customer? Sorry, catch you later,” she whispered to Felix, as if Max couldn’t hear her, and started pushing the rest of the gang away from the two.

“B, wait—”

Max cut off Felix in the iciest, most fake polite tone he could conjure.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding, I am a… business partner of Mr. Millstone’s, miss…?”

“Oh shit, almost embarrassed myself there,” the woman only known to Max as “B” whistled. “Ha, guess I already did, though! Sorry, sir, and always nice to meet a friend of Felix’s.” She beamed, as if she noticed no ire in Max’s voice. Her voice grew suddenly deeper.

“Say, Felix, if you’ve got some time why not get a drink with me? My treat,” she said and touched his arm. Her friends dissolved quietly from the scene.

Felix took a step to follow her, but Max interrupted them.

“I’m afraid Mr. Millstone has other issues to attend to right now. If you’ll excuse us…” Max still didn’t know her name. “…Miss.”

He grabbed Felix, but Felix yanked his arm back.

“Calm down, Max. What the hell’s with you,” Felix hissed. “A minute ago you said it’s fine. You don’t need to come along, okay? B owes me a beer. Here, I’ll leave you all the bits. Are we good now?” Felix carelessly pushed the bit cartridge to Max and stepped away.

Max took a deep breath to regain his composure.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. But between us, miss, we’re on a highly important mission and cannot afford the ship mechanic having a hangover.” Max stopped to contemplate how much he should reveal of their job just for the sake of getting rid of an annoying kid.

“Oh law,” B whispered, her eyes growing wide. “Felix, you finally made it? You’re,” B lowered her voice even more. “You’re running some secret operation to save the colony, right?”

Felix blushed and scratched his neck, hardly containing his smile.

“I shouldn’t talk about it much but, something like that, maybe,” he admitted.

“Felix, you’ve got to take me with you! This is it. You know how we dreamed of doing this one day!” B pleaded.

Felix’s face lit up.

“Hey, actually—” he glanced Max with enthusiasm. “We could really use your help, B. And we’ve got a spare bed, too. And enough supplies to—”

“Absolutely fucking no,” Max roared. “I think we’re done here, Miss. I’m not picking up any more Groundbreaker hellions. This one’s enough trouble as is.”

Max snatched Felix’s bags and turned around.

“I’m starting the engines in twenty minutes, Felix. If you want to be part of this mission, you’d better make sure you’re aboard by then.”

“Fuck you, Max,” he heard Felix shout after him.

The new tools and parts scattered all over as Max tossed the bags on the floor. He climbed upstairs and plunged into one of the old dining chairs. It gave out a worrisome creak as he did, but Max wasn’t in the mood to much mind the furniture.

He had a couple minutes to explore various scenarios that could be playing out between Felix and B right at this moment before he heard the hatch open and close and an angry stomping sound approach him.

“What the hell was that, Max? Have you lost your mind? Or were you just always this insane,” Felix shouted.

Max bit his lip. It wasn’t working.

“B’s one the only people back on Groundbreaker I could call a friend. Most people just wanted favors, she was never like that.”

“Funny, I distinctly remember you saying she owed you,” Max retorted.

“What? Yeah, a beer, Max. You never had any friends, did you?” Felix threw his arms in the air.

“By your definition, probably not.” Max was now shouting. He had jumped up from his seat without realizing, sending his chair clattering across the floor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Where do I begin? Oh, I don’t sleep with all my friends, for instance.”

Felix looked like Max had slapped him in the face, then took a step to try to intimidate Max. His face was red with anger.

“Too good for a vicar, huh? Oh wait, didn’t that Chaney guy say something—you know the one who played you for a fool—didn’t he say something about you having a type you particularly liked back in prison? Because that sure sounds like—”

Max snapped. He shoved Felix to the wall. Felix grunted as his back hit the hard metal surface. A mistake, Max realized immediately. He still wanted to beat up the brat, but being so close to him, feeling his frantic heartbeat and hot face, also aroused something quite different in Max.

“What the fuck is your problem with sex, anyway?” Felix breathed. “Does it really hurt your morals so badly if someone you work with has and maybe even likes casual sex every now and then? Or maybe it’s because you’re not getting any?”
Max was furious.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it’s specifically you trying to fuck every passer-by you see right under my nose that I don’t like?” Max blurted out before he could think.

Then immediately after realized what he had said and regretted it.

A silence fell over them.

At least he hadn’t said “except me”.

“Can you just let me go now,” Felix said quietly. Max didn’t protest and took his arm off Felix’s chest and stood back. Felix disappeared into his bunk.

Chapter 6: Ride Link copied

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It had never been an easy trip.

But this time Max had really gone too far.

Considering they were trapped together in a small living space, unable to leave for even a second, Max had become fairly skilled in avoiding Felix. Of course, some of the credit belonged to Felix, who Max was quite sure was just as eager to keep his distance. Unfortunately, the said distance wasn’t much when you occupied neighboring bunks, but Law, he did his best.

That wasn’t to say Max wanted to stay in hostile terms. But he considered the situation beyond salvage. Really, saying it was beyond salvage implied there was ever something working and good, but Max wasn’t so sure of that anymore, either. All they had to do now was to get the samples delivered and get the ship skip drive fixed and they could go their separate ways as they had probably both intended from the start. Max would continue to Scylla and some rebel punk would pick up Felix from Terra 2.

The idea made him want to punch the nearest wall. Unwillingly he pictured B grabbing Felix by the arm and the two disappearing into some secret base where a league of idiots fantasized day and night about assassinations and anarchy, imagining they could ever make the smallest difference, only to cause some ruckus and die right there shot by an army of guards or later in a miserable prison cell.

An alert signaling they had reached the orbit of Monarch snapped Max out of his resentment, only to remind him he had no choice but to talk to Felix again. He weighed which one was less uncomfortable, calling him over on intercom or walking upstairs and ended up spending a good five minutes torturing himself over the choice until pushing the intercom talk button.

“Felix, could you come down and help me with the landing?”
Silence, then an awkward “okay.”
They spotted the cabin with a red door as they looked for a landing spot. The surrounding landscape was much too rocky for even their small ship to land on, so they had to settle for a small valley nearby.

Even then, the landing wasn’t easy. Ship computer wasn’t as helpful as Max had hoped for, and he ended up having to take multiple shots on getting the angle just right.

“Looks like we’ve already got a welcoming committee,” Felix said and pointed to a mean-looking herd of raptidons as Max walked out of the cockpit. The raptidons had gathered to watch their clumsy landing and blocked the only footpath from the small valley. Max quietly cursed his severely lacking pilot skills and counted the raptidons.

“I reckon if we can get out of the ship quietly and climb up that hill on the right we could get back on the footpath a bit further,” Felix suggested. Max nodded and grabbed his shotgun.

“I’ll lead,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Felix asked.

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

Max opened the hatch and hopped down before it touched the ground. A couple raptidons turned their head his way but lost their interest as he disappeared behind the rocks. Felix followed him.

“Shit, the rocks look a lot less stable now that we’re closer,” Felix said as he examined the pile of rocks they would need to climb to get behind the raptidon pack. “Maybe we should think of something else?”

This was your idea from the very beginning, Max wanted to say. “I’d rather get this done,” he said and placed one foot on a loose-looking rock. It didn’t budge.

“It’s steady. Come.”

Felix followed him, and they started ascending the hill.

Suddenly Max heard a rumble and a grunt behind him.

“Help, Max!”

Loose rocks rolled down the slope. Felix was swaying on top of a big loose rock about to fall down any moment now. In a blink of an eye, Max grabbed a solid-looking ledge and was about to reach out his shotgun for Felix to hold on to, when he saw something move behind Felix.

“Great,” he muttered and turned around his gun to aim at the unidentifiable thing.

“Oh shit, that’s probably not a great—”

Boom

Max blasted the creature as soon as he saw it bare a row of needle-sharp teeth.

“What the hell?” Felix whispered as Max pulled him up. And indeed, the pack of raptidons now all had their eyes on the two of them.

“I liked this idea better anyway,” Max grumbled and ran the remaining way up, disregarding any loose rocks falling behind him.

“Let’s stay together!” Felix yelled after Max, but he was too busy taking an aim at the nearest raptidon to listen. He pulled the trigger and kicked the body down the slope, deterring a couple more attackers for just enough time to reload.

He slid down from the hill and made his way to the footpath, shooting and shoving the smaller individuals with his gun while trying to keep distance to the bigger ones.

Meanwhile, Felix had found an old abandoned ship hidden in a cave.

“Max! I found us shelter!”

“Fuck,” Max muttered and hit a small nearby creature with the butt of his shotgun, then spun around to fire at a bigger beast rushing at him. A spray of lead into the face only seemed to make it angrier. Max hurried to reload his gun and managed to blast the raptidon giant’s head into pieces from point blank range just as it was about to leap on him, leaving Max covered in hot blood.

“Max! Come on!” Felix shouted from afar.

Max scanned his surroundings. Some smaller raptidons were now fleeing, but two more big ones had their eyes on him and were roaring threateningly.

He glimpsed at the cave. He could make it if he ran now that the raptidons were still at a distance. Instead, he stood there and aimed at the raptidons. He ignored the faint protests from Felix’s direction, adrenaline shooting through his veins and the heat of the battle making him see and hear nothing but the enemy. He shouted at the monsters now running head-on his way.

“I’ve had quite enough of you!”

Splatter.

The first attacker exploded on impact. Max loaded his gun and repeated the process. The second raptidon fell lifeless on the ground on Max’s feet.

Max panted and straightened his back. Just as he wiped his bloodied face on his sleeve, he heard Felix shout much closer now:

“Max, behind you! Shit!”

Max turned just in time to see one of the smaller raptidons pounce. He barely avoided the attack but lost his balance and fell over a rock, dropping his shotgun. He was now lying on the ground, fully exposed and without a gun. Max reached for his empty shotgun, knowing he couldn’t make it, when the creature pounced again.

“No way!” Felix yelled and threw himself just in time to tackle the small raptidon. He toppled it and started beating it with his bare fists until there was no mistake the thing was dead.

“What’s wrong with you? You could’ve died!” Felix’s voice broke as he yelled at him.

Max finally came back from his frenzy. He was moved by the concern and urgency Felix showed him, but also annoyed at his own shortcomings.

Felix slumped. “Are you okay?” Felix panted once he had calmed down a bit and stood up to give Max a hand. Max hesitated but grabbed it.

“Ahh, fucking Law,” Max grunted as Felix pulled him up. Nothing seemed to be broken, and he wasn’t bleeding much, but the fall had been rougher than his battle-crazed mind had registered at the time.

“Come on, there’s gonna be more if we ain’t keep on moving,” Felix hurried him. Max kept quiet and complied.

The footpath was now empty, but they had to hurry in case more raptidons came to investigate the commotion—or something even bigger and badder smelled the carcasses. It didn’t take them more than some ten minutes to reach the end of the path and the cabin with a red door. The paint was scraping off the metal door, but the color was strikingly vivid. The cabin itself was a standard Spacer’s Choice style prefab home, but fortified with all kinds of scrap and junk. Behind the house they saw a small yard, similarly fenced with sheet metal and other junk. On the roof, there was a massive makeshift antenna.

Max squinted—he could swear the base of the antenna was the base of of the long-lost original tossball championship cup.

“So that’s where it was all these years.” Felix eyed the antenna base as well. “I bet that’s not how the writers of The Case of Mystery Cup imagined it.”

“I think this will ruin the ending for me,” Max muttered.

“Hey, you watch it too?” Felix sounded excited.

“No, well, yes,” Max admitted and quickly added: “There isn’t much literature about the case, save for the news articles.”

“Sure,” Felix smirked. Max looked away.

They walked to the door. An assortment of signs hanged on the wall next to it. “47 E Moore” said a rusty doorplate. Next to it were plates with “keep out” and “solicitors will be shot” written in angry red capitals, and below them a flowery sign saying “welcome, please knock”. Felix looked at Max with one raised brow and a slightly worried frown.

“We’ll try knocking,” Max offered and raised his hand when the door slammed open. A man in tattered overalls stepped out.

“What bally crowbaits do I have piddling on my doorstep? Get off, coots!”

“Huh?” The sudden outburst dumbfounded Felix.

“A-are you affiliated by the Cottonfield mining community? We were told to, ahem, get your signature on documents to extend your saltuna examination equipment lease,” Max recited the secret pass phrase despite being highly suspicious of the supposed contact they had reached.

The man scowled at Max, and for a minute he feared the man would fulfill the warning above the welcome sign.

“I ain’t signing them papers before you two tell what went down before you tramped to my diggings.”

“A bunch of raptidons attacked us while we walked from our ship,” Felix explained.

“You spratshits! You ain’t getting that signature. Buzz off,” he shouted and tried to pull the door shut, but Felix was quicker and got his foot in.

“Ow, shit,” he whimpered as the man kept pulling for a few seconds before giving up.

“We really need your help, the future of all Halcyon is on the line here,” Felix begged. The man gave Felix a stern look, then huffed.

“If it’s that important, fine. But you help me with them rapts first. Then you get the signature,” the man said and disappeared inside the cabin.

“He… does know we’re not really here about a lease, right?” Felix whispered to Max. Max didn’t know how to answer, as he wasn’t entirely sure either.

“Stop wasting time, come get your horsies ready,” the man barked.

“What’s a horsie?” Felix asked nervously.

“I don’t know,” Max said. Things were getting more confusing by the minute.

They walked into the dim house. Piles of junk and puzzling contraptions wobbled around them as they navigated through the mess to a back door which led to the walled back yard they’d noticed earlier. On one side there was a small greenhouse which didn’t seem to be exactly thriving. On the other stood the strange man with three tall animals.

The animals were entirely foreign to Max. They had a long torso with three pairs of hoofed legs, one of which was much smaller than the rest and couldn’t reach the ground. Their necks were long and curved, and leathery ribbons hung from their heads. Their skin was covered with something resembling a mixture of fur and feathers. The disgusting beasts, Max concluded, must have been what the man referred to as “horsies”.

“Jo, Jo… Good girl,” the man said as he affectionately patted one of the animals on the neck. He turned to them. “Shorty takes Bruce here, and the old fart gets Wendy,” he said and waved at the two other animals.

“Mr. Moore, was it? I’m sorry, what exactly should we do with these, uh, animals?” Max inquired, unable to even get offended from being called an “old fart” by a man clearly older and less refined than him.

“You ride them, of course, mush-head,” the man said. He dragged open a heavy gate and walked his ride out of the yard. Max and Felix followed his example.

“Hop on, ain’t got all day for this snapper.”

As they made their way back to the scene of the fight, Moore explained the task to Max and Felix.

“We get the rapts. Two big ones or three small per horse. Except Bruce, he can take one more. Hope you didn’t kill more than however many that makes or you gotta make the second trip without me. Cut off their tails and give them to me, then hoist the bodies up. We gotta ride up to the canyon, then toss them.”

“Why you take them to a canyon?” Felix asked.

“You’re as short as you’re dumb, you half-grown shad. Carcasses lure scavengers. Scavengers lure beasts of prey.”

“Oh,” Felix said, sounding both hurt and intrigued at the same time.

They did as told and managed to load all carcasses on their horses.

The longer they rode, the more comfortable Max was on his steed. The breeze felt nice on his face, and the going was much smoother than he could ever expect. He looked at Felix, who was smiling widely and clearly also enjoying his time. For just a few seconds, he let himself think of how good this old hermit had it. How good he himself had it, traveling with Felix like this.

Then the images from their fight on Groundbreaker filled his head. The way Felix had looked at him when he had challenged the possibly one good friendship Felix had managed to forge in all his years on the vessel. The displeasure he had shown to Max baring too much of his feelings.

Max shook his head and tried to enjoy the rest of the ride.

“What are these animals?” Felix asked cautiously once they returned to the cabin.

“You like them?” Moore asked, surprisingly enough slinging no insults.

“Yeah, they’re great,” Felix replied with enthusiasm. Moore’s eyes lit up.

“Horses, that’s what. Only live around these parts of this tarnal rock,” Moore explained and patted Bruce on the neck. “More reliable than any tin can them bootlickers and big bugs prefer riding. There’s a town nearby. Ask Armas at the bit house if you’re buying. He’ll get rid of that rust bucket ruining my view, too.” Moore pointed at the direction of their ship.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Felix said. Max couldn’t tell if he was actually considering buying a horse with his reward from this job.

“Let’s look at that lease then,” suddenly very mellow Moore said and pulled a navkey from the breast pocket of his overalls. He gave the key to Felix.

“The real data is encoded. Punch in this passcode before you confirm your destination or else it’ll fly you into a sun,” Moore said and gave Max a piece of paper.

“Don’t look so pale you lily livers, I’m kidding. But it will take you on a long road to nowhere so don’t forget it,” Moore said and let out a howling laughter.

“Tell you what, saddle back up. I’ll take you to your sorry ship. Raptidons don’t like horses. But you need to share Bruce. Too much hassle leading two horses back home at the same time.”

Max almost wanted to refuse and risk another encounter with bloodthirsty beasts than essentially sit on each other’s lap with Felix. But since Felix seemed excited for another riding opportunity more than anything, he had no choice but to climb back on followed by Felix who was just then noticing the awkwardness of the situation. Timidly, Felix put his hands on his waist while keeping his distance.

“Oh, by hooky, you’ll only fall that way. Hold on proper or you’ll walk,” Moore threatened.

Felix crept closer and wrapped his arms around Max, closing the gap between them.

“Good now?” Felix spoke in a voice so muted he wasn’t sure who he was talking to, or what about. Max swallowed.

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, then hurried to add: “We’re safe to go.”

The ride only took minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Max. The minute they got safely back on the ship, he dashed to the bathroom to get away from Felix finally.

“Hey asshole, at least let me wash my face.” Felix thumped at the door, but Max turned on the shower and tossed his bloody clothes in a corner.

“Guess I’ll go wipe the blood on your books or something,” Felix said and stomped away.

After the unnecessarily long shower, Max took the navkey Felix had left on the table and inserted it to the navigation computer. He remembered to enter the passcode before turning on autopilot, thinking he would probably rather fly into a star than spend an eternity on this small ship alone with Felix. The ship made its usual creaky and rumbly sounds before rocking slowly up from the ground and shooting into the skies.

Chapter 7: Leap Link copied

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It was another uneventful day out in space. Where, exactly, no one could tell. Even “when” was becoming fuzzy, a number on the computer screen and not much more.

Max opened the Knock You Out Bar he had won from Felix last night when they were betting on a tossball match. Felix watched him in despair as he broke the bar into smaller pieces and ate them one by one. No doubt Felix wanted to complain not only the because it had been his until yesterday but also how the only correct way to consume a candy bar was to bite into it directly like a savage, leaving chocolate crumbs to smear everywhere.

Ignoring Felix’s death glare, Max threw another piece in his mouth and started counting the days since leaving Monarch.

The ship was en route to the mystery location for the eighth day and he was growing anxious about whether Moore had given him the right code or if they were slowly drifting into some other system countless light years away. The decoy route was supposed to take a long time to travel even with a properly equipped ship, and theirs most definitely was not properly equipped. Max dreaded traveling the same distance on their sluggish speed.

Max had expected the secret location to be a remote moon or an asteroid. Or Typhon, maybe. The outermost planet in Halcyon, no corporate activity.

But they were long past even Typhon now. Max finished his chocolate bar and walked downstairs to check their location again. The navigation terminal still didn’t give him any estimate on their arrival, or any other remotely useful information for that matter. He fell deeper into his chair and gazed over the window, not expecting to see anything but distant stars floating in an endless void.

A bright spot straight ahead caught his eye. It wasn’t a star; it was something much smaller and closer by. As he puzzled over the unidentifiable celestial body, the navigation computer beeped. Max read the newest log line. “Destination confirmed”.

Max checked the navigation logs. They had passed Typhon orbit two days ago and still well within Halcyon heliosphere.

“Felix, would you come down here for a minute?” Max called.

“What is it?” Felix looked out the window to see what Max was staring at.

“Is that the lab?” He asked.

“It’s our destination, yes, but that’s not the point. It’s a planet.” Max said.

“So?”

Max rubbed his temples. He didn’t want to admit it.

“There shouldn’t be a planet out here.”

“Are you saying it’s a secret planet?” Felix exhilarated.

Max hesitated for a second.

“Yes, that’s how it seems.”

They watched the planet as it grew closer. It was a beautiful, glowing turquoise sphere. Still closer, they noticed the planet did in fact emit soft light from countless layers of brightly colored, small round lakes that covered the entire planet like plates piled and scattered all over.

“Where are we supposed to land?” Felix asked as they approached the vast blueness. Max said nothing. There had to be a piece of land somewhere, but the mesh of lakes was spotless.

He was ready to pull the brakes when they finally reached the surface level of a lake. It was much like a shallow plate on top of a narrow pillar, and between the bottom and the lake underneath it was a small gap. The ship stopped to make a sharp turn.

“Exciting enough?” Max asked Felix in an attempt to hide his own nerves. Felix was too engrossed to pick it up.

“I hope you remembered to put in that code,” Felix said. Max couldn’t tell if he was joking or legitimately worried or both. His voice was unusually monotone and his face looked tense, so Max dropped the jokes.

The ship moved ahead slowly to navigate through the endless labyrinth. Sunlight didn’t reach under the couple topmost levels, so the only visible light in the caves was the turquoise glow the lakes gave off. They had lost the count of how many layers of plates they had already passed. Whenever the ship reached the edge of another plate, there was another one below it.

“It’s getting darker,” Felix mentioned. Their ship hovered above another gap between two plates—and indeed, there wasn’t the usual blue glow waiting, only darkness.

“Is this normal?” Felix asked, his voice trembling slightly. “I ain’t traveled much, but they never did this sorta stuff in serials.”

Max tried to come up with something when he noticed a small yellow light blink far below them.

“There’s something down there,” he called out and pointed at the light. The ship was now moving directly down. As it did, an entire field below them suddenly lit up.

“That’s got to be our landing spot,” Felix said in relief.

They landed on the stony landing area and stepped out of the ship, still wary. In front of them a path lit up and revealed a flat, bunker-like structure. The building didn’t look too old. They walked closer, one step at a time, when the door opened. A blinding light flooded out of the doorway and they saw a dozen figures come out and disappear in the surrounding darkness.

Click

Max felt a cold barrel of a gun press against the back of his head. Keeping his head still, he turned his eyes to Felix.

“Max?” Felix whispered. He looked back at him, a soldier aiming at him, too. Max’s muscles froze.

“You’ve got one minute to tell me who you’re working and say goodbyes before I signal to blast your heads off,” the shadowy figure shouted. It was a female voice, younger than Max if he had to guess, but he couldn’t see her clearly.

“We’re bringing samples from a secret location,” Max tried to explain without giving out too many details.

“Thanks, we’ll take them when we tear apart your piece of shit rust bucket over there,” the figure responded coldly.

Max bit his lip. To hell with secrecy, this wasn’t what he’d signed up for.

“It’s engineered cottontop samples from Cottoncliff, Terra 2,” he revealed.

“We weren’t informed of your arrival.” The figure didn’t sound interested in his explanation.

“How do you think we found you? We flew to Monarch to get the navkey and the secret passcode to reach this laboratory!” Max tried to get through to her in vain.

“Oh yeah? And you probably killed him to get the code!” Her voice was suddenly furious.

“No—wait—”

“At least take this letter to Doc Moore before you kill us, it’s from her mom,” Felix shouted.

The figure was silent, then said something to someone standing in the shadow beside her. A guard walked up to Felix.

“Give me the letter,” the guard said in a coarse voice.

“I-it’s in my pocket,” Felix said and pointed, too scared to make any big movements. The guard slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope. He disappeared again to hand it to the woman on the door. She opened the envelope and quickly eyed through the paper letter.

“Did that old geezer really forget to report this? We’ve got to get someone else up there!” They heard her go off at the guard. “Hey! Let them go! There’s been a mistake.”

The guards backed down immediately, and Max and Felix sighed in unison. The presumed Doc Moore said something to the guards who rushed inside and walked up to them.

The lights turned up, revealing their surroundings. They stood in a massive cave. The ground was perfectly flat stone, and every here and there rose a narrow stone pillar. Above, the pillars and the stone plates on top of them formed a natural arched roof. The view was bare but humbling.

“I’m Doctor Jess Moore, but everyone calls Doc Moore. Thank you for coming this far. I’m sorry we messed up this bad. We’d make it up somehow, but unfortunately we’re barely getting by ourselves,” she introduced.

“Where are we?” Felix asked before Max could say a thing.

“Maximillian DeSoto, and he’s Felix Millstone. Nice to meet you,” Max said and glared at Felix. Maybe he shouldn’t, given how he was the only reason they didn’t have holes in their heads right now.

“Felix and Max, got it. Nice to meet you. And yes, it’s a secret planet. It was never spotted when this system was first scouted, and after things started going south, the corporation no longer wanted to invest in exploring the edges of the system. Long story short, a group of independent scientists and explorers found this place and decided it was the perfect place for a secret lab and a base,” Doc Moore explained. “Well, we’re remote and unknown and self-sufficient in water and electricity, but completely reliant on import food, so not perfect, per se.”

She led them to the building as a group of scientists rushed to unpack the samples with the guards. The mostly one-story building had a concrete wall, same color as the ground and stone pillars outside. The building was a maze, as if it had expanded freely into whichever direction seemed most convenient at the time when they needed more space.

“I live here, but most people just stay for a year or two at a time,” Doc Moore explained. “In earth years,” she added, as if it was unclear.

She led them into a small office. It had the same cold concrete walls and plain furniture as the rest of the facility, but a couple of photos and a small plastic plant made the room look more lively.

“This is my office. Please.” Doc Moore sat down and waved them to take a seat.

“The thing is,” she started. Max already had an idea where this was going.

“We’re losing people. I’ve had to send people home because we can’t guarantee there’s enough food until next shipment. And seeing how remote we are, the bit donations we get and the medical supplies we produce as a side business aren’t enough to cover the costs to keep up the constant flow of smuggled goods,” she told them.

“I assume you’re going to offer us a job,” Max said. He could hear Felix’s interest pique as he leaned forward in the creaky chair.

“Correct! I see you’ve been down this road before. There’s a certain notorious bastard on Byzantium, you see. Calls himself Chopper, and has enough money and power to make everyone else do so, too. Now, a certain smuggler somehow got a significant amount of bits stolen from him before he got shot and stranded here. So, for our hospitality, he promised to share the bits with us. It would be enough to secure food and supply deliveries for the next year or two, even. The problem is the cartridge is encrypted. Chopper keeps the key on a special bracelet he never takes off.” She stopped.

“Presumably you already have a plan to obtain this key,” Max prompted her to continue.

“We don’t officially condone criminal activities,” she emphasized. Max sighed while Felix looked confused.

“Fine. If one was to steal the key to this cartridge you just so conveniently happen to have lying around, what would be their best bet?” Max asked. Doc Moore smiled approvingly.

“Well, it would be extremely difficult to steal the bracelet itself, even for a skilled pickpocket. But if one was to have a scanner like this,” Doc Moore explained and pulled a button-sized device from her desk drawer, “they could bump into him in one of his famous parties and copy all data from his bracelet in, hmm, ten seconds should do.”

Max was getting suspicious now.

“Why are you so sure it’s going to be that easy? Wouldn’t a man who already encrypts his bit cartridge know better than to keep the key out in the open like that?” he asked.

“Fair enough. Yes, but the man also happens to own a business dealing with fully mechanical data safety. So, him boasting about the bracelet not being encrypted is actually part of marketing, too. The thing is…” Doc Moore shifted around and looked uncomfortable.

“This device is not a regular scanner, but something that will take care of the problem at hand?” Max helped her out.

“Oh, this old thing is just a proof of concept one of our, uh, security researcher came up with one night. We wouldn’t use it for something like that,” Doc Moore said flatly. Max could tell she was as tired with the act as he was.

“Yes, I think we get it. Unrelated, is there any possibility of you getting us into one of these parties? I don’t think there’s anything illegal in that,” Max said.

“Ugh, sounds boring. Can’t we just break into his house or something?” Felix sighed.

“Felix, it’s an infiltration mission,” Max said, and Felix immediately recovered his enthusiasm.

“Chopper tends to invite anyone he deems interesting. We crafted a persona that caught his eye, and now we get an invitation to all his events. The next one is a week from now. In Byzantium, obviously. You’ll need to go as a couple, though. Our fictitious gentleman just recently got married, or so the fake news stories say,” Doc Moore said.

Max’s insides quivered and he looked at Felix uneasily, but Felix didn’t seem bothered in the least.

“We’ll get the job done,” Felix assured.

“Great! Oh, we have to get the two of you finefied before you leave. Val—I mean, our smuggler friend has a range of disguises he’s more than happy to share with you. He can also give you a description of Chopper. Oh, and I’ll ask Ingrid from biology to trim your hair.” Max tuned out as Doc Moore started making calls around the building. He almost didn’t care about the never-ending detours anymore.

Two haircuts later, Max and Felix left the beautiful turquoise planet. Max had been busy churning the numbers and route optimizations for a while, but there was no way around it.

“We won’t make it to Terra 2 in one week without a fully functioning skip drive.”

Felix dropped his jaw, and a couple of Purpleberry Crunch nuggets fell back in his bowl.

“We don’t have a working skip drive,” he replied as if it wasn’t exactly the reason Max brought it up.

“Yes, that’s my point. We have to refuse this job, after all.” Max paused. He couldn’t believe he was about to say it.

“Or make the jump and risk destroying the engine,” he heard himself conclude.

“Did the barber stab you in the head?” Felix asked in disbelief. Max ignored the remark.

“I’m serious, Felix. If you want to do this, we have to do it and we have to do it now.”

“It’s a pretty long way to Terra 2. The engine could die mid-jump and leave us floating in space for… I don’t know how long before anyone would find us,” Felix said. He had completely forgotten about his now soggy cereal.

Impatient pounding intensified in Max’s body. He wasn’t supposed to be the one being the persuasive one here. He had counted on Felix being the one who would sway his mind and convince him to do the reckless, adventurous thing like always.

“Aren’t we far too deep in this mess to give up now?” Max snapped at him.

“Yeah, and I’m saying that sounds pretty dangerous to me! Ain’t much help if mess this up and die!” Felix retorted.

Max knew he was right, but he wasn’t ready to let the argument go yet.

“Call it what you want. But it’s cowardice. I’ll go contact the doctor and tell we’re passing the offer,” Max said and turned away. He counted down his steps. Three, two, one—

“Wait!”

Felix had abandoned his seat and grabbed Max’s arm forcefully.

“Fine. We’ll do this. But if we fail, you’re out of the airlock immediately,” Felix hissed.

“Deal,” Max said. He tried to fight a smirk, but Felix noticed it.

“You’ve gone from unbearable to a fucking psycho,” Felix said without a hint of humor in his voice.

Max returned to the cockpit as Felix grabbed something from his tool bag and disappeared in the engine room. Ten minutes later he gave Max a nervous thumbs up. Max wrapped his fingers around the skip drive lever. He pulled the lever gently, but it didn’t budge.

Unsurprising, given how it hadn’t been used in years.

He relaxed his grip and took a deep breath. Then, tightened his grip again and cranked the lever all the way.

Chapter 8: Tale Link copied

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Whirr

Clank

Rumble

Clank

Whirr

Clank

Rumble

Clank

The ship made a worrisome series of noises each time Max pulled the skip drive lever. Once again, he returned the lever to its starting position and took a breath.

“Are you that desperate to get spaced?” Felix was standing behind Max. He tried to keep his cool, but Max could feel him squeeze the back of the pilot’s seat.

“Perhaps you could go check the engine one more time,” Max muttered while still keeping his hand on the lever and stretching his fingers. Felix didn’t look too happy, but complied nevertheless. Max heard him open a panel after another, then return to him.

“I’ve done all I can,” he said.

Max closed his eyes and tightened his grip once more. If this was how it was, then let it be so. It was a perfect excuse to wrap things up finally and pass up another errand. To collect their payment from New Cottoncliff and finally set their course to Scylla. Why wasn’t he happy for this turn of events? He wouldn’t have to fight Felix about it, either.

Not that it mattered in any case, seeing how they would part ways soon.

Max yanked the lever with all his strength.

Whirr-rr-rr—

Clank

Rumble

Please stay on, he thought. Felix hummed nervously behind him.

Rumble

The engine hadn’t died with another clank just yet, so maybe—

Vrrrrrr

A loud vroom rose alongside the low rumble. The sound grew louder and higher until it reached a certain point. The ship jerked and began to accelerate. The movement made Max sick in his stomach. He checked Felix, who was leaning hard onto his backrest. His face was white as a sheet.

“I need to hurl,” Felix whimpered and tried to find something to take hold of. Max watched Felix make his way out of the cockpit, worried he might hurt himself on the way upstairs. Max wasn’t feeling very well himself, but at least the numbers on the terminal looked promising. They could really make it to Terra 2 in time.

Lucky for them, the nauseating trip was equally short. Once they orbited Terra 2, things looked promising again. Now, they would only need to wait for the day of the party, steal the password, and travel back to Cottoncliff where Joann would hopefully have the replacement parts ready for their ship. Then, they would have an unlimited number of stomach-twisting but carefree skip jumps to make.

But there was still one critical problem to solve.

“I have to admit something.” Max interrupted Felix in the middle of his workout.

“Let me guess. You’re actually a nice person and the whole asshole thing is just an act?” Felix suggested and wiped off sweat from his forehead. Some of it dripped on his already drenched tank top. Max became distracted for a moment and swallowed loudly.

“Uh, no.” he shook his head and tried to ignore Felix’s glistening and rather muscular arms.

“These kinds of events usually involve dancing. Always, actually. It being a ball. Not only are we expected to dance as a married couple, I think it is our best bet at getting in close contact with our target,” Max explained. His eyes darted around the room.

“Yeah, sounds good. What’s the problem?” Felix asked.

“I can’t dance.”

“Huh.”

Both were silent.

“That’s a problem,” Felix said.

“Yes,” Max replied.

The silence returned.

“Maybe I could teach you some things, then.” Felix was looking away and scratching his neck, speaking in a low voice. Max hadn’t expected neither his sudden vulnerability nor the fact Felix knew how to dance.

“Hey, I watch a lot of serials where they do that,” Felix defended when he noticed Max’s surprise. “So maybe I get bored sometimes and try mimicking them. Big deal.”

“No, that’s good to hear. It’s… unexpected, that’s all. I assumed you would view such things as frivolous,” Max said.

“Dancing is kinda fun. Never had a partner, though,” Felix said, making Max’s heart throw in a couple extra beats.

At least one of them knowing the basics should have been a relief, but it only made Max more anxious. He sighed and swallowed his pride.

“I’m sure you will do fine. But could you teach me?”

“Now?” Felix turned his head left and right uncertainly.

Max had his eyes nailed on the floor.

“Whenever you have time.” He swallowed and tried to look Felix in the eye, but instead fixed his eyes on the ceiling lamp behind him. “Although, the sooner would be better.”

“Okay. Uh… You mind me taking a shower first? Wouldn’t, you know, want to get my sweat all over you,” Felix excused himself and strode towards the bathroom, grabbing a towel and dry clothes on his way.

A blush rose on Max’s face. He covered his lower face and turned back to the floor as Felix passed him. Would it kill you to think before you speak?

Max sat down to wait for Felix. He could swear it was the longest shower he had witnessed anyone take, and even after turning off the water Felix took his time. Max couldn’t blame him for wanting to postpone the inevitable misery, but he himself was more of a “get it over with” type of person.

The door finally opened.

“Can you make the computer play some music?” Felix asked, hiding his face while wiping his hair with a towel. He was wearing a pair of baggy linen pants and a loose sleeveless undershirt. Max wished he hadn’t noticed how see-through the thin fabric on the top was.

“Yes, sure,” Max said with a dry throat and coughed. Did they even have anything to play, let alone something danceable? Max checked the small upstairs terminal and found a surprisingly wide range of music saved on the entertainment system. Made sense when he thought about it; Lawrence’s business had involved entertaining young and party-minded rich individuals, after all.

He hurried and picked the first promising-sounding collection in the library. Max only had cursory knowledge in music and prayed he wouldn’t make the situation even more awkward than it already was.

A soft guitar filled the ship and resonated in its metal structures. It was a bittersweet melody accompanied by fragile vocals. The light and cheery words didn’t fit the song, but no doubt any slightly provocative lyrics would not get past Board scrutiny. And even so, it felt like there was something buried under the cotton candy disguise of the words.

“When you’re ready.” Felix’s words brought Max back to present.

“Yes, sorry,” Max replied and took one final deep breath before walking up to Felix.

They were already embarrassingly close, but Felix took another hesitating step towards Max. Max tried to ignore how palpable his proximity was. The smells, the heat, and the sight of smallest detail on his skin.

“The older one usually leads.” Max nodded—this much he knew. Felix’s voice quavered and was higher than normal. His glaring nervousness made Max even more self-conscious.

“You should, uh, let me just, um, show you,” Felix stuttered and reached for Max’s hand. Max felt ridiculous with his sweaty palms, like a teenager paired with their crush at the annual end-of-semester ceremony. Not that Max would have known, for he always skipped those in his school days.

Felix took his hand and slowly guided him to hold his back. Max wanted to complain that even he knew where he was supposed to put his hands, but held his tongue. The situation was just as frustrating to Felix, he reminded himself. Max tried to find a good position for his hand, while Felix had already lowered one hand on Max’s upper arm and fitting his palm on Max’s.

Felix took a small step to narrow the awkward gap between their bodies.

“Your hand should be lower,” Felix said, almost whispering.

Max thought his position was fairly good, holding his hand near Felix’s shoulder blade. But he wasn’t the teacher here. Slowly, he hovered his hand down Felix’s back, waiting for Felix to gesture when it was low enough. But when Felix said nothing, Max stopped and rested his hand at his waist level.

“It should be lower,” Felix murmured. Max suspended his growing disbelief and slid his hand even lower.

“Ah—” A moan escaped Felix’s lips as Max reached the small of his back, causing Max to swing both his hands up and step back.

“Would you please not make noises like that,” Max pleaded.

“Sorry.”

“Are you sure this is the right position?” Max asked as he returned to form.

“Hey, I just repeat what I’ve seen other people do, alright?” Felix defended. Max wanted to ask exactly what kind of shows had Felix learned to dance from, but this was not the time. Max tried to calm his nerves and lowered his hand to where Felix apparently thought was the right place.

Felix took another step closer, now almost completely closing the gap between them. Thank the Architect they were attending as newlyweds. Maybe their ridiculous dry-humping wouldn’t seem too out of place.

“Put your feet like this.” Max did as told. An upbeat song started, and Felix started moving.

“The steps go something like this. You try it,” he said and let Max take over.

After some initial fumbling, Max got a hold of the steps quite fast and even forgot the awkwardness. Moving to the music was surprisingly soothing. Fun, even. They danced through another song until both felt confident enough.

“Doesn’t need to be perfect, we just need to pass as high-class people,” Felix said. “So, uh, maybe let’s do a couple more rehearsals before the party and we’ll be good.”

“Let’s do that,” Max nodded. They stood still for a moment before dissipating from the living area each their own ways.

The day of the event finally dawned. Figuratively speaking, at least. Max and Felix had had plenty of time to adjust to Byzantium time and perfect their dance routine. The hardest part was still ahead, but Max was confident after clearing so many hurdles already.

After beating Felix in an old board game for the third time in a row, Max grabbed a plate of leftover mockapple and cottontop stew from the fridge. Felix’s cooking was steadily improving, or perhaps cottontop simply was the miracle ingredient that would save the colony not only from malnutrition but bad cuisine, too. Max then took a quick shower before Felix could hog the bathroom.

Next, Max opened the box of fine clothing they had got for the job. He pulled out a blue jacket which, despite being tightly folded, had no creases on it as he spread it out. Under it he found a pair of black pants, a thin black dress shirt, and even a complete set of underwear. The other outfit looked smaller in size, so he deducted it was meant for Felix. He grabbed a pair of shiny boots from another box.

Max took his clothes and hid behind a packed shelf for privacy. Not that he was embarrassed, but it felt weirdly wrong exposing himself in the middle of a room. He dressed, and felt right at home. Max had forgotten how nice soft, quality clothing felt. He acknowledged the outfits were at the lower end on Byzantium standards, but they reminded him of his old church vestments. Max wasn’t shallow enough to turn his nose up at the cheap linen he had come used to as of late, but he did find the thought of returning to his regular job and a less frugal lifestyle comforting.

The high collar of the jacket fit his neck perfectly, as did the rest of the outfit. He checked his reflection from a window. Presentable enough, he thought and climbed upstairs to check on Felix, who, judging by the sounds, had picked up his outfit while Max was still changing.

There he was, standing back to the staircase, wearing a pair of pants similar to Max’s and a silky undershirt.

He watched Felix pull on a thin, deep blue collarless dress shirt. The smooth, almost velvety fabric matched his own outfit. Felix buttoned the shirt up with great care, slowly slipping each golden button through its hole. Anyone could tell Felix wasn’t used to wearing such clothes, but that didn’t mean he looked out of place or uncomfortable. Not in the slightest.

Felix tucked the shirt into the pair of perfectly tailored straight pants that made Felix look significantly taller than he was. It was a world of difference to his usual overalls or cargo pants. How the scientists just happened to have a pair of pants hugging every shape and curve of Felix’s lower body so perfectly, Max couldn’t even begin to guess.

Finally, Felix grabbed a fire red jacket adorned with golden trimmings matching his shirt buttons. The fabric looked soft but had a barely visible sheen to it.

He hadn’t done anything special with his hair, but it was recently washed and combed. Combined with his striking outfit, he looked absolutely dashing, his stubble adding a pinch of playfulness and youthful flair.

Max realized he had been staring at Felix the entire time. His face flushed and he spun quickly the other way, hoping Felix didn’t notice any of it.

“Hey. How does it look?” Felix asked and turned around, only just noticing Max.

Max tried to look away casually and sound nonchalant.

“Very fine. I wouldn’t be able to tell you apart from an actual socialite,” Max said.

“Thanks, though that sounds like a bit of an insult, too,” Felix replied.

“I found these under the clothes. Each has a scanner on it,” Max suddenly remembered to say and showed Felix a pair or simple rings. “You should put it in your ring finger. For authenticity.”

Max was waiting for Felix to take one of the rings, but instead he opened his mouth.

“Where’s the romance? Shouldn’t you get on one knee and place the ring on my finger?” Felix asked and offered his hand.

The gesture caught Max completely off guard. Dumbfounded, he almost went along with it, but Felix interrupted him again.

“Geez, I was just joking,” he said, acting annoyed, but the corner of his mouth tugging stubbornly upwards betrayed him. For whatever unrelated reason, Max’s throat felt dry all of a sudden. Felix grabbed the ring from Max and slipped it on.

“How did they know all our measurements, anyway?”

Thinking about exact measurements made Max’s eyes instinctively seek out the backside of Felix’s perfectly fitted pants. He quickly turned away and tried to come up with something, anything to say.

“Yes, it’s, uh, strange,” he babbled.

Felix looked at him with extreme suspicion.

“Did you just—”

“We need to get going, if you’re finally ready,” Max interrupted, trying too hard to sound irritated.

Lawrence’s navkey collection had a number of keys labeled Byzantium, including one to Chopper’s private landing pad. Knowing they could have the ship pick them up nearby if something went wrong, Max picked one in the most detached area.

“Remember, I’m Wilhelm Fredriksson, and you’re Alexis,” Max said at the door. Felix nodded.

The landing pad at the border of the city looked long forgotten. Most lights were out, and the rest flickered lazily. Dim streetlights couldn’t banish the dusky atmosphere all around them, and although the houses were in much better shape than the ones at other settlements Max had visited in his life, missing tiles and peeling paint were a common sight. Not the view one would expect from the heart of the colony.

Not many blocks down the road, the scene started improving dramatically. Battered walls received a layer of paint, lights grew more intense, and flowerbeds appeared alongside houses.

Felix looked around keenly as they walked towards Chopper’s residence. His face was tense, and he gave mean looks to the people passing them by. But every now and then, Max could have sworn, Felix’s eyes locked on a handsome passerby or a particularly impressive house and flashed in wonder. Max touched Felix’s back and leaned to whisper.

“Don’t draw any attention.”

“Right. Time to taste some boots,” Felix sneered and went back to examining the city with the most sardonic smile painted on his face.

“For Law’s sake…” Max muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes. Counting on Felix’s common sense not to make a scene, Max threw his arm around his pretend-husband to mess with him. To Max’s disappointment, Felix remained uninvolved and doubled down by snuggling up to him.

“What’s the problem, darling, can’t this wait until we’re back in the privacy of our ridiculously oversized apartment? With gold statues and shit.” Felix could barely keep a straight face, and Max almost pulled his arm back on instinct, but reminded himself not to blow their cover and just smiled at Felix bitterly. Fine, he had lost this one.

A large iron gate welcomed them to the Chopper estate. The doorman checked their invitation and looked excited.

“Oh, the Fredrikssons! His Great Lordship will be most delighted you could finally attend!” he gushed.

“Great Lordship?” Felix whispered in disbelief once they were inside. Max let out a small chuckle. But now wasn’t the time to be mocking their host.

Gold, from floor to ceiling. Gold-colored inclusions ran across the dark green stone floor tiles, and the glossy black wall tiling and numerous golden ornaments reflected the golden lamps scattered around the foyer.

At the end of the room was a large doorway where a server handed them glasses of sparkling wine. The color of the wine changed with the viewing angle. If only these people gave real-world problems a fraction of the attention they gave to their amusing party tricks, Max thought and sipped the sweet wine. Felix had already half-emptied his glass.

“Take it easy with the liquor,” Max muttered.

“Don’t be a killjoy,” Felix said, but his expression was serious. Max realized Felix was most likely drinking up to calm his nerves. Max took another sip and put both their glasses away.

“It’s all right,” he whispered softly.

Max offered his arm for Felix to hold and they walked through the doorway to a hall. The room was two stories high—and one story in this house must have been two or three times as tall as their humble ship living area to begin with. The walls were adorned with ornate golden moldings and detailed mosaics depicting vistas around the planet. Everything basked in golden light from a colossal chandelier in the middle of the room. Smaller colored lights carved from big chunks of precious stones painted beautiful shapes on nearby surfaces.

Heads turned as they walked past the other guests. It was obvious that Wilhelm Fredriksson had amassed a significant amount of prestige for his accomplishments in—

“—designer terraforming. I draw inspiration from old Earth photographs and engineer species that are more aesthetically pleasing and exotic to humans. Pleasure to meet you. Oh, and here’s my husband, Alexis,” Max introduced as another guest came up to them. Apparently everyone at these parties knew each other, and a couple of brand new faces made everyone put one and one together that they were the elusive guests Chopper had had no luck meeting until now. Had Doc Moore’s team really had to make their character this over the top interesting to catch Chopper’s eye?

Felix stayed mostly quiet as they navigated through the minefield of social encounters. Thankfully. Max could keep up their appearances fairly easily like this, but covering for Felix on his normal behavior would have been a hassle.

A table full of appetizers like expensive jewelry and delicate glasses filled with beverages of otherworldly colors waited for them at the end of the hall. Max gave Felix a cautioning look as he reached for a plate. Felix gave him a lazy nod and loaded his plate with only a handful of snacks. Max did the same.

Byzantium elite lifestyle had never been something Max had particularly craved for—but the opportunity to crash such an elegant party would’ve been an interesting experience if so much didn’t depend on their success in stealing something. Max looked at Felix, meaning to ask him if he’d seen anything, but Felix was completely mesmerized by his surroundings.

Surprising, considering this was the exact thing he had so many a time sworn to destroy.

Max bit into one of the appetizers. It tasted celestial, but before he could swallow, the entire bite crumbled into fine powder and melted away in his mouth. Utterly confused Felix had apparently just had the same disappointment. Good thing he had already eaten, Max thought, and abandoned his plate of imitation food.

He checked the crowd for one last time before bothering Felix, who had already got over the appetizers’ lack of substance—and there he was, no mistake about it. A large man with a massive beard with golden highlights and an eyepatch decorated with precious stones. Just then the lights changed their color and the background music faded. Max knew what it meant.

Without a warning, he yanked Felix closer. Felix shuffled his feet for a second. First mistake, and they hadn’t even started dancing yet. Max bit his lip. He could not afford to mess this up.

“Let’s see how I’ll do,” he said in a hushed voice to Felix, but also to himself for reassurance.

Max led his partner to the floor. He kept his movements as determined as possible, trying to fool not only the entire cream of the upmost upper class imaginable, but himself as well. It worked. Step by step he gained more confidence. Felix was following him remarkably well, especially for someone who had only practiced alone until recently.

Once they had warmed up enough, Max took another good look around the hall and located Chopper, busy spinning his dance partner, a petite woman sporting a style equally gaudy to Chopper’s.

Max gave Felix a nod, and they started sailing Chopper’s way. The floor was crowded. Even though reaching their fast-moving target proved somewhat difficult, it was probably for the best. It was all the excuse they needed to get close enough to get that ten seconds’ worth of contact to scan Chopper’s bracelet.

They were almost there, now. Max threw a quick glance at Felix. Maybe it was the wine, or maybe not, but Felix looked relaxed, even joyful as he spun across the floor in his fine suit.

Max positioned them between Chopper and a particularly animated couple. Now they would only need to wait for—

Thump

The couple crashed right into Max and Felix. Felix saw his chance and pretended to stagger from the impact. The couple, clearly drunk, let out a weird mix of giggles and gasps, getting Chopper’s attention just in time for him to catch Felix.

“Thanks,” Felix said, and grabbed Chopper’s wrist to pull himself up, bringing his finger in contact with his bracelet. “Hey, what a coincidence! Been wanting to meet the big man,” Felix improvised and took Chopper’s palm in his free hand as an excuse to keep touching his wrist. For someone watching so many serials, Felix certainly wasn’t a very good actor. But it was working. Chopper broke into a booming laughter and put his other hand on Felix’s shoulder.

“You two must be the Fredrikssons. Oh, what a nice fiancé you’ve got yourself,” Chopper laughed and looked at Max.

Eight, nine, ten.

Max relaxed once he hit ten seconds and gave Chopper a polite smile.

“Yes, certainly. Good to meet you finally. It’s a fine party. We would love to have a chat later, after all the dancing,” Max said.

“Oh, we absolutely will! But that reminds me, I’m afraid we’re blocking the dance floor here,” Chopper said and looked around slightly worried.

“You make sure you won’t disappear, hmm?”

Max smiled again.

“We wouldn’t do anything of the sort. We will catch you later,” he said and resumed dancing with Felix.

They hurried to take some distance to Chopper.

“Did you get it?” Max whispered.

“Yeah, think so,” Felix responded.

The song ended, and it was the time to make their leave. The lights turned low, and a soft, much slower tune filled the hall. Felix had already let go of Max, but Max pulled him back.

“Maybe one more,” Max said, and lead surprised Felix to the dance.

It was a romantic song. The floor was still crowded, but less so than a moment ago. Many guests had sat back on a table and were chatting drowsily with a drink in their hand. The ones still dancing were getting increasingly licentious with their displays of affection.

Max pulled Felix gently closer and brushed his cheek against Felix’s dark, wavy hair. He wanted to bury his entire face in his warm neck. Felix smelled nice. He always did, even when covered in blood and sweat, but the fresh smell of soap and cheap cologne mixed with his natural odor were a nice change from the usual. Exciting, even, although Max would never admit that to himself.

“Hey Max, getting into it, huh?” Felix asked quietly.

“Just acting my part,” Max rasped, not very concerned about keeping up any appearances right now. He felt Felix’s back through the soft fabric with his palm. It was a cheap imitation of the most luxurious garments the other guests were wearing, but the finest craftsmanship couldn’t come close to the feel of Felix’s lean body underneath.

“Right,” Felix whispered and leaned into the embrace. Max knew his heart was racing against Felix’s chest, but it was all right. Tonight was just an act, after all.

They danced quietly, absorbed in each other. At least no one had grounds to suspect them of being impostors.

How far should he go? How far would Felix let him?

“Lots of finer folks seem to be making their exit into the garden,” Felix answered the unspoken question. Max’s heart leaped. He pulled Felix almost forcefully across the dance floor towards the garden door.

The fragrant garden was dimly lit by countless small lamps disguised as glowing rocks and softly burning oil lamps. Various golden details on furniture and lampposts glimmered in the darkness.

Felix held Max’s arm, and the two strolled along the path of black and white, smooth, and incredibly round pebbles.

“I don’t think anyone sees us anymore,” Felix said. Max had trouble deciding if Felix was done playing husbands, or if he wanted to keep going. So, he pushed him further.

“Still,” he said and gently pinned Felix between his body and a hedge. “We wouldn’t want to raise any suspicions, do we?”

Trying to convince himself it was all in good fun, Max stroked Felix’s back with the palm of his hand.

“You’re a lousy actor, Max,” Felix said. Max still wasn’t sure if Felix was baiting him or not, but he decided to swallow it whole.

“Then why don’t we take it up a notch, then.” Max pulled Felix close, wrapping his free arm around him, and pushed his face much too close to Felix’s. Byzantium winter nights were chilly enough that Felix’s hot breath turned into light mist before vanishing almost immediately.

Felix laid his hands firmly on Max’s hips. The warm palms made his body burn even hotter than it did before, and Max was about to lose his mind.

“That’s not what I meant, but sure.” Felix raised his chin slowly in wavy, floundering movements.

Never had Max expected this to happen, let alone in a pompous Byzantium party. It all felt like a dream he was bound to wake up from before their hovering lips would touch. He always did.

Felix’s cool, trembling lower lip brushed Max’s mouth and Max was ready to indulge himself.

Thump

The lively couple from earlier appeared from nowhere and bumped into unprepared Max, who fell right through the finely trimmed hedge. They both exploded in the familiar giggling noise and wobbled past them drunkenly without even stopping to see what had happened.

“You all right?” Felix asked and pulled Max up from the crushed bush.

“I am, thank you,” Max muttered and shook a couple leaves from his sleeve.

“Hey Max? There’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since we came here.” Felix smiled warmly. Max already knew he would do whatever Felix would ask, he only hoped it wouldn’t be anything too bad.

Felix intertwined their fingers and pulled him along. They walked through the courtyard, hand in hand, until they reached a private area enclosed with a tall hedge around it. In the middle towered a tall glass sculpture glimmering in the spotlights. Felix picked up a carefully placed decorative rock.

“Reckon that thing’s gonna look even better when it shatters,” he said and tossed the rock to Max. Max raised his brow.

“Really? You want me to have the honor?”

Felix smirked.

“That would make the night unforgettable.”

“Agreed,” Max hummed. He turned the rock in his hand to gather his thoughts. He wanted to make Felix happy. But he had the strangest feeling—that maybe it would make himself a tiniest bit happier, too.

Max pulled his arm back and twisted his torso, then threw the rock as hard as he could. The sculpture immediately shattered into millions of tiny glimmering shards upon impact. The moment was over in mere seconds, but it felt much longer to them.

“We better get out of here,” Felix said, and they dashed away.

Their work here was done, and they were heading out of the grounds entirely. But just as they were about to make a sharp turn around another hedge, Felix bumped into someone.

Max ran up to him, ready to fight their way out if he needed to.

But the person wasn’t a guard, or anyone threatening for that matter. A young man around Felix’s age looked at them, then at the absent glass sculpture, and grinned widely.

“I’ve been to Chopper’s parties before and wanted to do that. You two seem like an interesting pair of characters,” he said.

“Tell you what. There’s a better party not far from here, and we would love to have fresh faces for a change,” the young man suggested.

Max was going to politely decline, but Felix opened his mouth first.

“Sure, show us the way,” he said. The stranger’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Follow me. And be quick about it, Chopper’s dogs will be here any second now.”

If staying for another dance, cuddling in the courtyard, or engaging in pointless vandalism weren’t bad enough ideas already, leaving for a strange party with a complete stranger and witness to their earlier crime definitely hit the bill. But having Felix on his arm, looking happier than a smiling face on any advertisement, Max would not say no.

So they all disappeared in the night.

It was not quite morning yet, but not really night anymore, either, as Max walked barely conscious Felix through the empty streets of Byzantium. Max head was light from drinking, too. An icy hand slid up his back. Max couldn’t tell if Felix was awake or not. Likely not.

The low ceiling and metal walls of their ship, illuminated by cold fluorescent lights, felt cold and harsh but also strangely calming after the extravagance of Byzantium. Max helped Felix up the steep, industrial stairs and undressed him down to his boxers. Max was grateful for the nauseated grunts and painful faces Felix made. Otherwise, he could have succumbed to… inappropriate thoughts.

After making him drink a big glass of water and waiting for him outside the bathroom—helping him at the toilet was where he drew the line—Max walked him to the bunk beds. Sleeping at the top bunk in his state didn’t seem very smart, so Max helped him into the unused bottom bunk next to his own.

“Thanks, Max,” Felix mumbled. Max still wasn’t sure if he was fully awake.

“Good night,” he replied quietly.

A perk of living in a spaceship was that the concept of day and night was very flexible. Surely constantly adjusting their circadian rhythm wasn’t a good idea, but that’s how just how it was if you had to engage in interplanetary travel. Might as well ensure yourself a good night’s rest, Max thought as he woke up from his nine hours of disjointed sleep to the modest sunrise simulation.

Sobered up, he wasn’t thrilled to face Felix, but Max knew he had to come clean if he wanted to avoid another week upon week of awkward moments in much too small a space. He pulled on a pair of pants and left his bed to find Felix already sitting at the table, drinking soda.

“Felix,” Max said dully. Felix turned around in his seat, his face lighting up as their eyes met. Max wanted to disappear.

“About yesterday,” he started.

“Smart party. Good non-food and vandalism,” Felix commented. Max noticed he had been going through Lawrence’s old wardrobe again and found himself an oversized turtleneck sweater with faux double-breasted buttons. He had dark circles around his eyes, but otherwise looked surprisingly normal considering the amount of drinking last night.

“Yes, yes. Not… that part,” Max kept mincing his words. He kept shifting his balance, but nothing felt natural.

“Yeah, there’s that too,” Felix said. His casual voice didn’t match the gravity Max felt the situation had. Max had expected—no, hoped—for Felix to jump to excuses, to say the atmosphere overwhelmed him, maybe ask if they could forget the night ever happened. Instead, there he sat, calm and unconcerned, looking at Max… lovingly, almost.

Max tried swallowing, but the words were sticky in his throat.

“I got caught up in the act and went too far. I’m sorry,” Max creaked and cleared his throat. It didn’t help.

“You’re still going on about that? Relax, Max. It’s okay.” A hint of concern flashed in Felix’s otherwise confident eyes. After getting no response from Max, his carefree expression waned and became blank.

“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page,” Max pushed, the words finally flowing freely. “I went too far. I didn’t mean to give you the wrong impression. I’m sure you didn’t, either.”

“That’s how you want to play it?” Felix straightened his neck and looked at Max piercingly enough to make him want to flee. He looked away and apologized in his mind to Felix he couldn’t even look him in the eye. He took a moment and a deep breath to choose his next words.

“I recognize I have developed an affection toward you,” Max began, speaking slowly.

“Yeah, kinda hard not to notice that,” Felix said. He sounded annoyed now.

“And maybe it’s mutual,” Max continued. Felix rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t mean we need to act on it,” Max concluded.

“Is that what the Plan says?”

“That’s not—Felix, this is not a good idea.”

Felix stood up and approached Max.

“Is it a bad idea, either?”

Felix brushed Max’s arm with his finger, sending shivers down his spine. Max tried his hardest not to show any sign of weakness, but it was hard keeping his quickening breath at bay. He gave up any pretense and let out a sigh.

“It is. Felix, please,” he breathed.

Felix stared at him quietly for a solid minute. “Yeah, maybe if you say so,” he finally said and his face fell.

“I want to see this through with you,” Max said, realizing this didn’t have much left to do besides returning to Cottoncliff for their reward and Felix’s ticket to rebel base. At best, Felix would agree to swing by Scylla like he had said earlier, before he’d be off to new exciting adventures.

A weak smile appeared on Felix’s face.

“Hey, that’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I’ll take it. Thanks,” Felix said faintly. He extended his hand and Max didn’t hesitate to clasp it.

Max took Felix’s ring from the table and took it to the cockpit for reading the data. He opened the minuscule slot inside the ring and connected it to the ship's computer.

A message appeared on the screen, and Max’s stomach turned.

“Data corrupted, recovery failed.”

Chapter 9: Chase Link copied

& on AO3

“Data corrupted, recovery failed.”

The ugly red words on the monochrome computer screen were burned in Max’s retinas and lingered even after dismissing the error. He ejected the storage device and connected it again, sure that this was just a mistake. A message appeared almost as soon as he had input the command.

“Data volume not found.”

Frustrated, Max yanked the ring out of the data slot, threw it back in, and hit the command again only to reach the same result.

“Something wrong with the computer?” Felix had sneaked behind Max while he was preoccupied. Max let a string of whispered swear words escape his lips before addressing Felix.

“We lost the data,” he said, realizing he wasn’t sure if they ever even had the data to begin with.

Felix’s mouth dropped open. He stood still for a minute and stared at the blank screen.

“Maybe try one more time?”

“Felix, I already tried a dozen times and tried all the tricks in the book. The ring is dead. The data is lost.” Max spoke in a patronizing tone. Of course Felix had done nothing wrong, but Max couldn’t help taking his bitterness out on him.

Outside, it was getting darker as the gray clouds kept growing denser. Cottoncliff landing pad was empty as usual, but the lack of light made it look even more dead and depressing than before.

Max grit his teeth and tried to keep from smashing the terminal.

“Actually, maybe you should take a break. I’ll go find Theresa,” Felix offered. Max slumped into his seat. He was supposed to be the mature one, but there he was, throwing a tantrum and being pitied by Felix.

“Uh, so, I’ll be off,” Felix said. He zipped up his overalls and disappeared from the cockpit.

Thoughts circled in Max’s head. He had seen Felix do everything right, counted the seconds himself. Was the device faulty? It had correctly connected to the computer the first time he tried, only the computer reported the data as corrupted. But after that, the scanner didn’t even turn on when Max tried to reset the connection.

“Felix,” Max called after Felix, who was just about to step out of the hatch.

“I… I think I do need a break. If you could take care of the paperwork and repairs with Joann,” Max admitted. Felix gave him a thumbs up and left the ship.

A caffenoid and a glass of juice helped Max clear his head to some extent. He almost took one of Felix’s candy bars, but hesitated at the last minute and grabbed a piece of bread instead for a late breakfast. There was no way it was their fault and not just an unfortunate hardware failure, but it was only natural that failing the job—the job they had risked getting stranded deep in space for—would upset him. Not to mention their efforts with the first job would also be in vain if the lab would not be able to finish the research.

Max wanted to punch something again, but the sound of the hatch opening dragged him out of it.

“I have got your skip engine parts right here, and a bunch of other things too. I remember noticing your transmitter was acting up, so I’ll take another look at it, too. This will take a day or two,” he heard Joann say.

“I'll go explore the old town for am hour or two, if you don't need me here,” Max said, excusing himself.

The cool temperatures around these parts of Terra 2 still in his mind, Max considered borrowing Felix’s hot pink poncho, but decided to leave the garment alone. He grabbed his now go-to leather jacket, zipped it up, and tried lifting up the collar to protect his neck from the cold. The soft leather felt nice against his skin. Max wasn’t the one to yearn after some imaginary, nostalgia-fueled historic Earth, but he couldn’t help wondering what kind of world this antique jacket came from.

On his way down the ramp, he saw Felix, carrying in a big box full of unidentifiable ship parts.

“I can handle this, no need to hurry back,” he said as he passed Max. Was that supposed to make him feel better?

“I’m fine. Go help Joann, maybe you’ll learn something,” Max said. He didn’t mean to come off as rude, but his tone was more bitter than he had wanted. Felix just shrugged and walked away.

The guard nodded lazily at Max as he approached the gate. At the first crossroads, Max turned away from the direction of Joann’s workshop.

Unsurprisingly, Old Cottoncliff felt the same as the first time they had visited. A carefully placed worker here, an open shop there, but otherwise desolate. Max wasn’t very far from the gate yet, and already the buildings started looking like no one had lived there for decades. Considering that couldn’t possibly be the case, Max figured the weather conditions in the valley had to be harsh.

After some half an hour of walking without seeing a soul, Max saw movement in the corner of his eye. It made sense they would have someone check the perimeter. Max kept walking until he reached an old elevator.

There weren’t many buildings left around him now, only some long-abandoned mining equipment and remains of old tool shacks and workers’ barracks. In all honesty, Max wanted to keep walking and maybe take a break at one of the tower-like structures, but the sky was darkening still, and the wind was getting strong. Besides, the others would probably get worried if he didn’t get back in a few hours. So, he turned around and planned on getting back the same way as he came.

Instead, something hit him hard in the head, causing him to lose consciousness before he hit the ground.

“Got him back here. Take a look.”

Max woke up tied to a table. His head ached like hell, and he was still disoriented from the blow.

Or was he? Max tried to focus his gaze, but it was hard. His head hurt from the ceiling light, and the footsteps around him felt like someone was banging his ears with pot lids. Either he had a serious concussion, or he had been drugged.

“Have the needle ready if we need to put him under again.”

Drugged, apparently. A relief, albeit a minor one.

A person in a helmet and baggy clothing appeared before him. Whoever it was, they were neither a marauder nor a corporate soldier.

“How do you know he’s a priest?” They asked.

“Look, they can check his DNA against their records if they’re not sure. But I’ve seen this asshole before. Used to live in Edgewater,” another voice said behind Max. Max tried to turn his head enough to see them, but he had no strength in his muscles.

“Still, would help if you had a name. Now we just have to ship him as ‘some priest from Edgewater’ and hope someone gives a shit,” the first voice said.

Max’s head was dizzy, but he tried his best to parse together some kind of idea where he was and why. The room was small, clearly a makeshift shelter built from scrap gathered around Old Cottoncliff, most likely. The floor was littered with dirty cans reeking of mold, and candy wrappers. Whoever his capturers were, they had been staying here for a while. Behind a guard in a beaten, mismatched armor was a door. Max had a feeling there was another room behind it.

“Just cut him up and stop whining,” the second voice said. It was dawning on Max he might not have a lot of time left. Since violence wasn’t an option in his current state, Max tried speaking.

“Who—who are you?” Max whimpered. He could barely produce words with his half-paralyzed mouth, but he had no choice.

“Shut up, asshole,” the person before him said and punched him in the gut with the butt of a gun. Max barely felt the hit. Must have been the drug, he thought before losing his clarity for a few seconds. He reasoned it also meant that they weren’t trying to torture information out of him. At least he could hope for a swift death, and Felix and everyone they had met were safe.

But what a crummy way to go.

 “Look, Jacques, just do your job, okay?”

“Hey, don’t use real names,” the person behind Max said.

“Who gives a shit? The priest will be dead in a couple weeks or so.” A couple weeks? Fighting to stay conscious, Max couldn’t but wonder if these people could keep him alive for that long even if they wanted. He was starting to get a feeling his captors weren’t very patient.

“Jacques, can you show me your face?” Knowing the name of one of his captors was the only weapon he had right now, and he had no choice but to try to take advantage of it.

“I told you to shut up!”

Another hit, targeting his side this time. Max still didn’t feel pain, but he could tell it was hard enough to break a rib or two had he been unlucky.

“Stop beating him up, we need him alive,” Jacques hissed. “Let’s leave him here for the night. Frank will bring us the cauterizer tomorrow and we can start working.”

All three, including the guard at the door, left the room.

Whatever they planned to do with the cauterizer, Max did not want to be there to witness. He tried to rock himself loose, but his body barely moved. All he could do was to stare at the door, waiting for someone to rescue him.

Max didn’t remember falling asleep when someone slammed the door open. Max caught a glimpse of the room behind the door just in time when the three armored figures marched in and slammed the door back shut. The other room was just as filthy as the room he was confined in, only it looked slightly bigger and there were sleeping bags on the floor.

“What do you mean Frank can’t bring it today?” The person from yesterday yelled.

“Niki, calm down! It’s one more day. It doesn’t matter,” Jacques said.

Niki shoved Jacques and yelled at his face. “It does. Give me that knife. You always need to do things the hard way.” Niki grabbed a knife from Jacques and stomped to Max. She looked at Max like she was measuring him.

“We’ll start with an arm” she said and without hesitation slashed open Max’s jacket and the shirt underneath. “I’ll saw it off with this shitty knife if I have to.”

Max panicked and glanced at the door. Now would be an excellent moment for Felix to kick it down and save him. The drug was slowly wearing off. He still had time to dodge the knife if someone just cut his ties.

The door didn’t budge. Max closed his eyes.

“Why did I have to get assigned here with a fucking psychopath,” Max heard Jacques roar. He grabbed Niki by the wrist and threw the knife on the floor.

“We don’t have any medical supplies here. He’ll die and then what?”

He shoved Niki away from Max.

“Frank will be here tomorrow. Relax,” he said and pushed reluctant Niki away from the room. Then he walked up to Max holding a needle.

“Time to sleep,” he said, and stuck the needle to his arm.

“Who are you,” Max managed to get out before his mouth numbed completely.

“That’s not really any of your business,” Jacques said. “Really, I would rather do this some other way, but the majority voted in favor of this plan.”

“Whh—what p… p…”

“Shh, you stay quiet now and I’ll make sure you won’t feel a thing when that idiot Niki chops another piece off of you,” Jacques said. It should have frightened Max way more than it did. The sedative finally took him out.

Seconds later, Max woke up in terror, fully aware of his surroundings, crushing pain soon appearing all over his body. Once again, Niki was standing before him, this time without her helmet, grinning wide and holding a needle in one hand, a plasma cutter in another.

“Sorry, did I wake you up? Too much sleep isn’t good for you, and you’ve been out for almost twelve hours now. See, Frank finally delivered this,” Niki said and pointed at the plasma cutter.

“Niki?” Jacques came in. “For fuck’s sake, Niki. Can’t we at least keep him sedated?”

“Shut up and hold his arm,” Niki ordered. Jacques sighed and stepped around the table.

“Sorry, gotta do as she says,” he muttered and took a hold of Max’s arm.

Max took a final hopeless look at the door. For a second, he let his imagination run wild, picturing Felix bash Niki’s head open with a tossball stick and then take down Jacques and the silent guard. Then run to him and help him up and run back to their ship together and have a drink and laugh about it.

Niki fired up the cutter.

Then the door flew open.

But it wasn’t Felix.

A bullet pierced Niki’s hand, sending the plasma cutter across the floor. While she screamed in agony, another bullet whizzed by and hit Jacques straight in the head.

Max turned his head just in time to see Theresa drive a knife into the third person’s neck through a weak spot in the armor. They all fell on the floor.

Felix entered the small room and ran straight to Max to untie him while Theresa walked up to Niki with a fierce look on her face and grabbed the whimpering woman by the hair.

“Are you going to talk or do I just shoot you,” Theresa spoke in a deep, low voice. Niki said nothing. Theresa threw her on the floor and shot her.

“You useless trash,” she muttered. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath and brushed her hair aside. In the blink of an eye, she seemed to have regained her composure.

“Are you all right?”

“I—” Max tried to speak and move his body. His limbs were still heavy, but at least he could sit up with Felix’s help.

“I’m fine, mostly. I think,” Max said uncertainly.

“What happened? Who were they?” Felix asked while checking Max’s injuries.

“Had to be radicals. A bunch of terrorists. An improvised group of extremists who don’t have a name or an agenda beyond trying to wreak enough havoc to overthrow the Board. Only they don’t have the guts to at least attack those in power, just whatever easy target they can somehow justify on their twisted world view,” Theresa explained while searching the bodies. She looked at Max. “Just one of the reasons some underground groups are picky with who they work with.”

Max remembered the rebel group Theresa had mentioned earlier. It all made him realize just how big of a risk getting him involved in this was for Theresa and all of New Cottoncliff.

“But we’re against the Board! Aren’t we on the same side?” Felix asked. Theresa gave out a sad sigh.

“I wish it was that simple. These people have their way and anyone who isn’t with them is just another bad guy,” she said.

Max would have said something to console Felix, who looked like a heartbroken canid puppy, but another wave of pain paralyzed him as soon as he straightened his back. He grunted, barely able to move anymore.

“Max, you all right?” Felix asked and hurried to support his back.

“I’m… Fine. It will pass. Just give me a minute.” Max tried moving his legs off the table. It hurt, but he could bear it.

“This is bad,” Theresa said from the other room. She came back to the back room with a cracked datapad and a stack of notes. Her face was pale.

“You remember the pacifist settlement I was talking to you about?” Max and Felix both nodded. “This is the poorest plan I’ve ever seen, but…”

Theresa shuffled through the papers nervously, as if making sure she wasn’t mistaken.

“They’ve got a bunch of coordinates. Travel routes. Important dates and secret shipment routes no one but us and the pacifists were supposed to know about.” She paused. “I think they’re planning to attack in next month.”

“We can’t let that happen! Right, Max?” Felix gasped.

“Right,” Max said, despite his state. “We’ll think of something back on ship.”

“We should hurry. Unlikely, but they could have backup nearby,” Theresa said and assessed Max’s condition quickly. “Better carry him. Felix, can you take his feet?”

Felix nodded and hurried to help Theresa pick Max up. Under any other circumstances Max would have found it demeaning, but he wasn’t going to put Felix and Theresa in danger only to have his pride unscathed.

They carried Max like it was nothing. Not that Max was exactly heavyweight, but he considered himself to be in above-average shape, while Felix and Theresa were both much shorter than him.

The ship was waiting for them right outside the shack. The bright sunlight felt like a stab on Max’s already aching head, but seeing the outside of the shack made him too happy to mind the pain.

Just as they were about to step on the ship ramp, a large shadow covered them along with the entire ship. Floating above them was an enormous ship. If the pristine condition of the vessel wasn’t enough of a tell, the garish gold plating and ornate decorations made it crystal clear who the ship belonged to.

“Shit,” Felix said, and they rushed in.

“Joann, get us out of here now!” Theresa yelled. They were in air before the hatch could fully close.

“Can you stand up?” She asked Max.

“Yes, I think so,” he replied and tried his legs.

“Good. Felix, get in the engine room,” Theresa ordered. Felix didn’t hesitate for a second.

Theresa helped Max limp to the cockpit where Joann operated the equipment.

“Shit’s old, but not too old for me,” she muttered. “We’re getting hailed.”

Chopper’s smiling face appeared on a small screen next to the logs.

“Ah, if it isn’t Wilhelm Fredriksson. How’s Alexis? I must say, I’m hurt you didn’t keep our promise and disappeared before we could have a proper talk. Then again, I must have said something to make you angry enough to damage my property.” Chopper frowned.

Max tried to stand straight and look tough, but winced and fell back on Theresa’s arms.

“Did you hunt us down because of a statue?” He asked, frankly not giving a damn about being revealed as the vandal.

Chopper wiped the fake frown off his face and narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, no, I hunted you down because I have reason to believe you are the assholes who stole a significant amount of bits a while back,” he said sharply. A wave of nausea washed over Max, and this time it wasn’t the drug.

“Now, I see you’re not alone. I’m not an unfair man. I have no proof against you two ladies. I only want this man and his accomplice. Let me board your ship peacefully and there will be no repercussions for the rest of you. As for you, Wilhelm, or whoever you are, hand over the bit cartridge you stole and I’ll settle handing you to the authorities. If not, well, there are worse places to be than Tartarus.”

“Oh, one more thing,” he said just as Joann was reaching for the terminal. “I really wish you wouldn’t think of making a skip jump. My weapons are aimed at you and set up to fire at any signal of a jump start sequence.”

Chopper’s face suddenly lit up. “How rude of me to stay on for so long. I’ll end the transmission and be waiting for your boarding signal. Just don’t take too long, our weapons system has been known to be a tad too… enthusiastic at picking up possible jump sequences,” he said, and the screen turned black. All three stood quietly in the cockpit.

“Oh, to hell with this,” Joann said and started hitting buttons on the console. “Felix! Keep the engine running at maximum power or we’ll all be dead in seconds.”

Max stared with his mouth open at Joann setting up something he could not begin to comprehend. He glanced at Theresa. She smiled. Were they both insane?

“Are you sure about this?” Max asked incredulously.

“Never let down a good contractor. An old Cottoncliff proverb,” Joann said, still working on the console.

“But won’t this cause trouble for Cottoncliff?” Max pushed. Theresa grinned even wider than before.

“Oh, we’ve got a paper trail that would make a bureaucrat blush. They won’t get us in a hundred years,” she said. “I don’t know what you did to Chopper, but he’s got not friends around these parts. We’re happy to help.”

Joann lifted her fingers from the keyboard.

“Time to go,” she said, showing no emotion.

“What are you going to do?” Max asked.

“Something that should fuck up this asshole’s sensors for just enough time to get into skip space before getting blasted,” Joann said. Cold sweat appeared on Max’s forehead. This wasn’t the first time he had been face to face with death, but usually he was the one throwing the dice. Or pulling the trigger, adrenaline shooting through his veins. Usually, it wasn’t mostly innocent bystanders putting their lives on the line for his sake.

Still weak from his earlier imprisonment by the radicals, Max felt sick to his stomach. He tried his hardest to keep himself from throwing up or fainting. He heard a distant key press and the sound of the engines pushing to the limit. Seconds later, the ship shot into the space in an instant. It wasn’t like the Max couldn’t fight the nausea anymore and collapsed on the floor in his own pool of vomit.

“Hey, are you okay?” Theresa’s voice echoed in Max’s ears and a pair of strong arms helped Max sit up. Pitiful, Max thought of himself as the young woman cleaned after him and walked him into the shower.

“Felix should be done with the engine. I’ll ask him to take care of you,” Theresa said through the bathroom door. Max wanted to argue and say he could manage himself, but he wasn’t sure he could. No, he was sure he couldn’t. He threw his shredded clothes into the corner and turned on the shower. The warm water comforted him as it ran down his beaten body. He sat down just in case and went through his injuries. Nothing too bad, it seemed. He sighed in relief, washed himself and let the water run for a while longer.

Felix was waiting for him outside the door.

“Hey,” he said, looking Max in the eye. Max heard concern in his soft voice.

“I’m all right, I think,” Max said and let Felix help him to a seat beside the dining table.

“We’re still on skip speed. Where are we going?” he asked.

“Don’t know the technical details, but Joann says they’re liable to track us somehow. And until we can figure out how, we need to stay in skip space so they can’t get a signal fast enough to lock their weapons on us,” Felix explained.

“That’s about right.” Joann appeared from the staircase with Theresa. “So if you’ve got any ideas how they knew to follow you, please.”

Max stared out of the small window, thinking.

“Chopper didn’t seem to expect it was us,” he said after a while. “He probably didn’t know who he was following, not exactly.”

“He thought we had the bit cartridge,” Felix added.

“Yes, he did… Which must mean we triggered some kind of security mechanism when we tried to read the data off the scanner,” Max realized.

“What the hell have you been up to,” Joann asked.

“With all due respect, it was your daughter’s idea. Right after she tried to execute us,” Max grumbled. Joann raised her eyebrows, then broke into laughter.

“For fuck’s sake, this isn’t funny, Joann,” Theresa erupted. Her sudden outburst took Max and Felix by surprise.

“Oh, forget about her already. I don’t want to walk on eggshells every time the kid comes up,” Joann hushed her. Max saw it best not to ask about it, but of course Felix didn’t have the sense.

“What about—ow, never mind.” Felix was interrupted by Max hitting him with an elbow.

“Kids and their drama…” Joann said and tapered off before Theresa could say anything.

“Anyway, you tried to steal some data, right? When do you think he noticed?” Theresa asked.

Max and Felix looked at each other.

“Couldn’t have been right away. We spent hours at a pa—” Felix started, but Max threw a sharp glance at him. “—a-a-arcel service, trying to, uh, do, you know—”

“What Felix tries to say we had other business to take care of at Byzantium, and Chopper could have had his guards apprehend us at any point if he wanted to without having to leave the city. The only thing that makes sense is that he only got our signal after we returned to the orbit and then waited for us to land somewhere,” Max deduced.

“So it couldn’t have been a tracker he planted on you, huh,” Joann said.

Realization emerged on Felix’s face.

“Hey, Max? Didn’t you try to first read the scanner data after we’d got on the orbit?” He asked.

The error message. Max’s eyes widened.

“That’s it, Felix. It’s the scanner. When I tried to read it the first time, it said that the data had been corrupted. But after that, I couldn’t connect it at all,” Max explained. “Somehow, connecting the scanner to the computer completed a program that turned the scanner hardware into a tracker.”

“Or more likely, the other way around,” Joann muttered.

“No, I don’t think so,” Max said.

“Come on, Max, you know a data scanner acting as a tracking device makes no sense. It hasn’t got any of the necessary hardware!” She protested.

“I tried to read the data in a sandboxed system. Lawrence had the computer set up in a way where getting the main system infected is impossible unless the attacker knows exactly what kind of configuration they’re up against. Which we already concluded, Chopper didn’t.”

Joann didn’t look convinced. Max continued.

“I have to assume the hacker who created our scanner had to improvise and modify existing hardware that had tracking capabilities. We had bad luck, and Chopper’s program we downloaded to the scanner was able to find and use those features once it had been activated by the ship computer.”

Max looked at Joann. She still looked doubtful, but sighed.

“One way to find out,” she said finally. “Somebody get me my hammer.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Theresa said.

“Why the hell is it not?” Joann grumbled.

Theresa shifted her balance and rubbed her temple.

“Was the casing this reddish metal?” She asked. Max and Felix both nodded, eyebrows raised.

“That idiot always forgets to mention important things like this,” Theresa snorted. “That device has an anti-tampering mechanism. Try break it open, melt it, crack it, anything like that and you’ll have a big hole in your hull.”

Felix’s jaw dropped open, and Max couldn’t hide his shock either.

“She didn’t do it out of malice, obviously. She’s just a scatterbrain. A scatterbrain who could get someone killed. Probably has already,” Theresa ranted. It was such a break of her usual calm character that there clearly was something going on Max didn’t know, but he was in no position to ask about it. Especially mid-pursuit.

“No choice than to throw it out. I hate littering, though,” Joann said calmly.

“But Chopper’s probably right behind us. He’ll blast us to pieces if we stop for even a second. Can’t open the hatch mid-jump, either.” Theresa said. Joann held her hand on her chin, but then her eyes widened. Then she cussed under her breath.

“The transmitter,” she said. “I noticed the ship's transmitter was broken and constantly transmitted something. I installed a frequency dampener to get rid of it a few hours before Chopper appeared. That’s got to be why they couldn’t track you two earlier. It buried the tracker signal.”

“So you unfix our ship, space the tracker, and we’re clear?” Felix said hopefully. Joann smiled at him.

“Actually, I’ve got something else in my mind.” She crossed her arms. “If we only had a minute… No, less than a minute, we could dump the tracker. Yes… That could work.”

“But how can you do that?” Theresa asked. Joann tried to evade the question by humming and mumbling.

“Joann! What are you planning?” Theresa demanded.

“Felix, be kind and pour some of that stuff in the red canister into the delta subsystem coolant tank, will you,” Joann said.

“Uh, okay, but…” Felix tried to turn around, but Theresa blocked his way.

“Joann, you—At least tell them what you’re about to do here.”

“Fine,” Joann said and pouted like a child being scolded. “If we let Chopper get real close by lowering our speed just perfectly, then do some magic and cause a small firework show, Chopper will sail right into the smokescreen and we’ll have time to stop for thirty seconds or so. Enough to dump the tracker and disappear for good,” she explained.

“Fireworks?” Max stepped in.

“Sounds good to me,” Felix said.

“It’s not that simple. Those ‘fireworks’ are liable to stall us for much longer than the thirty seconds of protection they give us,” Theresa warned.

“The ship’s got brand new parts, Theresa. The chance of stalling is as low as it gets,” Joann said.

“That low still isn’t very low. You know what happened to Inspiration, and that ship was less than a month old,” Theresa argued.

Max stroked his chin and weighted the risks.

“We don’t have a choice, do we,” he finally said and looked at Felix. He nodded. “Yeah, I say go ahead.”

Joann looked at Theresa. She sighed. “Guess you’re right. We’ll run out of fuel before he does. Be careful, Joann.”

While Joann and Felix prepared the escape trick, Theresa found a small escape pod.

“I didn’t even know this ship had an escape pod,” Max said.

“The entrance was sealed. Probably expired years ago, and Lawrence just couldn’t bother to renew the air supply. And I don’t think any of us could fit here even alone,” Theresa said.

“Useless, then,” Max said.

“I wouldn’t say that. For escaping, sure.” Theresa flipped a switch and the pod lit up. “I say we’ll put the tracker in here, launch it, and crash it into a nice big asteroid together with Chopper. That thirty seconds should be just enough to stop our ship, launch this thing, and have it reach skip speed.”

Max blinked.

“I don’t think killing Chopper ever was a part of the plan, but I swear it will be a favor to the rest of the system.” Theresa sighed.

Felix appeared behind them. “We’re good to go. Hey, is that an escape pod?”

“Good timing,” Max said and explained the plan while Theresa input commands on the escape pod.

“And Chopper will follow the pod?” Felix asked.

“It’s a chunky pod. He’ll have no idea it can’t fit more than one person even if he manages to identify it as an escape pod. If I had to bet, he thinks we haven’t figured out the ring trick and think he’s tracking the ship itself, and he will chase the pod instead,” Theresa explained.

“I know that’s a lot to assume,” she continued after a brief silence.

“It’s a risky plan, but the only one we have,” Max said. “Felix, do you have the ring?”

“It’s here,” Felix said, and fished the ring out of his pocket.

“Good, toss it in the pod.” Theresa said.

“Um, okay. Sure.” Felix stepped to the pod entrance and hesitated before gently placing the piece of jewelry on the seat. Slowly, he stepped back and looked solemn. Max turned his head and ignored him. Theresa closed the door. “There.”

“I’ll go tell Joann we’re ready. Have your finger on the button for our sign,” Max said and walked back to the cockpit. Felix soon followed him.

“Shouldn’t you stay with Theresa?” Max asked. Felix looked uncomfortable.

“She said she can handle it herself. That we should be here in case something goes wrong with maneuvering the ship,” he replied. Max noticed his face was pale.

“Are you nervous about this?”

“I asked Theresa about the odds. I’m no good with numbers but… Never mind,” Felix said and shook his head. “Let’s go.”

Joann slowly decelerated the ship to a speed where Chopper supposedly still couldn’t target them but would be able to get close enough to fly straight into their smokescreen.

“Get seated, now. It will get bumpy. Theresa! Showtime!” Joann shouted and flipped a number of dials behind a maintenance door under the dashboard. “I said now!”

Max looked around in a hurry. He grabbed Felix and pulled him down to the floor in a sheltered corner of the cockpit. Since Joann’s lecture on cargo hold safety, a lot of loose tools and other things had found their ways on top of containers and shelves, and Max didn’t want to deal with a concussion—his or anyone else’s.

A loud bang echoed through the ship and a smell of burning chemicals filled the room. The ship rumbled and jumped, and Max had to use all his strength not to fly across the cockpit. He felt Felix’s arms pull hard around his waist.

The ship eventually fell silent. Light smoke floated around the hold, but Joann didn’t look concerned. They heard the sound of an airlock, then a loud clank.

“It’s off! Get going!” Theresa yelled from the other side of the hold.

“And not a moment too soon,” Joann mumbled as she cranked the engine to full steam ahead. The ship started accelerating once again. Max held his breath until they finally reached skip speed. Only then he noticed both him and Felix still clutching the walls and each other.

“I think we can get up now,” Max said.

“Oh right, sorry.” Felix was still disoriented and wobbled as he got up from the floor.

“Did it work?” He asked. Max turned to Joann.

“We didn’t explode to pieces, Chopper didn’t shoot us full of holes, and the engine is running. You’ll have to check the news to see what happened to Chopper, but knowing Theresa’s skills he shouldn’t be a problem anymore,” Joann summarized.

Being a much better pilot, Joann had no trouble landing their ship a lot closer to Moore’s red doored shack than Max had previously managed. The old man was waiting for them outside with one of his horses as they walked out of the ship to escort Joann.

“How long has it been?” Moore smiled heartily and helped Joann on the horse. A complete opposite from the welcome Max and Felix had received the last time.

“We could have dropped you off home to Terra 2, you know. Ain’t that long a distance with a working skip drive,” Felix said.

Joann shook her head. “Thank you, but I happened to have long overdue business here in Monarch. Theresa, would you stay here until I get a ride to Cottoncliff? I could use your help.”

“Actually,” Theresa said and turned to Max and Felix. “I want to help you if you really are going after the radicals. I know someone who could maybe tip us off to the right direction. If that’s what you want.”

Both nodded in unison.

“How could we just ignore this,” Felix said.

“Your help would be invaluable, welcome aboard,” Max said.

“Good. This person lives in Fallbrook, so not too far from here,” Theresa said and smiled.

Max didn’t know what to think of another person joining their tiny crew now that things had finally settled down between him and Felix, but Felix seemed excited, so Max decided it was all for the good.

Max set the course to Fallbrook, and the three embarked on yet another detour.

Chapter 10: Status quo Link copied

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Being back in Fallbrook was unpleasant. On one hand, it reminded Max of his unfinished business. On the other, it made him feel selfish for still thinking about the journal while in the middle of a far more critical situation.

Besides, it was a much warmer day than he had anticipated and he could have done without the extra layer of clothing. Max rotated his shoulders. The vest he had picked up on their last trip to Groundbreaker wasn’t nearly as nice as the old leather jacket he had already grown used to. Alas, the said jacket was barely in one piece after his capture.

Felix, his sleeves already folded up as usual, was rolling his overalls down to his hips. He wasn’t wearing his usual vest over his overalls, but still clearly struggling from the heat. Max got distracted watching the muscles in his forearms move as he adjusted his clothes, the skin getting increasingly shiny from humidity and sweat.

He noticed Theresa staring at him suspiciously and raised his brow.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked.

“No, just surprised,” Theresa replied and turned her head back.

Max didn’t have a chance to ask what she meant by that. Felix had just spotted the building Theresa had described to them before they had left the ship.

“That’s gotta be the place,” Felix said. Theresa nodded.

“Looks the same as before. I haven’t been here in ages, so I wasn’t sure if it still existed. Or if I could remember the route.”

It was supposedly an inn, but to Max it looked more like a particularly shady apartment complex. They stepped through the unlocked door into a small, dark lobby. Something rustled under Max’s feet on every step, and the air was stale and smelled of soil. Max tried not to mind, since Theresa seemed unconcerned.

Theresa opened another door, and a soft, warm light filled the murky lobby. Beyond the door was a cozy, living room-esque bar with a handful of patrons and a bartender reading a magazine behind the counter. Max watched in disbelief the bartender barely acknowledging a visibly tipsy man walking up to the counter and filling his glass on his own. When, despite doing his best to keep his hand steady, the man spilled some of his drink on the counter, the bartender simply tossed him a rag to wipe the glossy, newly varnished surface of the deep dark walnut counter. No one was smoking, yet a shroud of smoke hung above them, creating a soft copper-colored halo around the several bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

“Wow,” Felix breathed. Max could almost read his mind. That the place looked like a hidden meeting place for all kinds of shady characters and adventurers, something you would only hear about in stories. Only it didn’t just look like it, it really was just that.

“This way,” Theresa said and walked across the room to a small round table by the corner. Alone there sat a person in a heavy armor covered with colorful stickers, their face hidden by a shadow.

“Hey,” Theresa said casually and sat down to the table. Max hesitated for a second but followed the suit with Felix. Like everything else in the bar, the chairs were old and well-used, but also well-cared for. The soft leatherette on the seat looked recently renewed, the bright orange of the surface popping like few colors around the colony did. It wasn’t just the chairs—wherever Max looked he was greeted by a strange yet oddly harmonious mixture of old and new; cheap and luxurious. What a peculiar establishment, he thought as he pulled his seat closer to the table.

“Ain’t this a surprise,” the shadowy figure said and leaned ahead, revealing their face and a friendly smile. They had a long, golden hair and an otherworldly face like a caricatured sculpture. The bar was as warm and humid as the outdoors, yet the mysterious character looked fine in their bulky armor.

“It’s been too long,” Theresa said. “This is Logan. An old friend.”

“Been from kindergarten. And these two are?” Logan’s gaze was kind but piercing.

“Maximillian DeSoto. We—,” Max paused for a second. He would guess Logan to be from New Cottoncliff, but he didn’t want to accidentally say too much. “—worked for Theresa briefly and discovered something.”

Expecting Felix to introduce himself, Max turned to see Felix captivated by the undeniably beautiful person in front of them. Max kicked him gently under the table.

“Right.” Felix jumped. “I’m Felix. Millstone.”

“We recently got a small ship and have been traveling together since,” Max explained.

“Well, nice to meet you two. Like Theresa said, I’m Logan. Grew up in Cottoncliff but left right after school. Wanted to see world.” They tapped at their armor. The countless stickers included obscure company logos and places Max had never even heard of. Many looked to be much older than their owner. Logan noticed Max’s puzzlement.

“You noticed my rare Earth stickers, I presume. Real hard to find. Had to spend a fortune on some of those on black market. Here’s the crown jewel,” Logan said and pointed at a royal blue, circular sticker with a drawing in shimmering gold. Max leaned in to see the details. It looked like a star chart. The constellations were foreign to Max, but the diagram looked oddly familiar.

“Is that an actual star chart?” Max asked, fully absorbed.

“Let me tell you about it, actually. The legend—” Logan began.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to save this topic for later,” Theresa interrupted.

“Right, excuse me,” Max apologized.

“Ha, no problem. I’ll tell you some other time. So, Theresa, what is it?” Logan said. Theresa furrowed her brow.

“I’ve got bad news. The radicals are planning something bad,” she said.

“Fuck. Go ahead,” Logan said, their joyful expression quickly turning serious.

“They’ve got plans to attack the pacifist settlement of… You know the one. It’s not just one thing either, they seemed to have gathered a lot of data and planned something big. Not only that. Max has church connections, and they captured him in Old Cottoncliff ruins. I think they’re expanding, fast.”

“Hully Law, that’s bad. I’m sorry, I haven’t got much intel to share. Although, now that I think about it…” Logan scratched their chin. “I had one gig with this one fella who was big into conspiracy theories. I paid little attention to his blabbering, but one story did pique my interest. See, the fella likes to decipher badly concealed transmissions. One day, he was floating above Terra 2 near the southeastern region. Followed a series of transmissions, something about weapons trade. Mentioned how unprofessional they seemed. Fits the profile.”

“Hard to imagine they could have a base on Terra 2 of all places,” Felix said. “That’s just under the Board’s noses.”

“They could be counting on that. No one thinks they’d be that close. There’s also the fact that they’re not the sharpest bunch of thugs,” Logan said.

“It’s a lead. If they really do have their base in southeastern Terra 2, we should be able to find them sooner rather than later,” Max said and added: “Unless they have fixed their substandard encryption techniques.”

“More likely not. Yeah, go sit on the orbit around those parts and you might get something more solid. There are a lot of towns and other settlements around those parts, so it’s impossible to go through them one by one, but at least you should be able to pinpoint the right town with any decent signal tracker,” Logan encouraged them.

“So, we’ve got a plan.” Felix beamed with relief and excitement. Max wasn’t quite as optimistic as him, but nodded in agreement.

“Are you in a hurry? I’ve got the biggest room in this place paid for another night, but I just got a message about a new gig and I need to leave tonight. You could have it,” Logan said. Everyone agreed to the offer. The ship bunk beds were spacious enough, but the mattresses had reached the end of their lifespan years ago.

They ordered meals for everyone and chatted until Logan had to leave.

“I’ll stay in touch. Felix, I’ve got so many stories for you and I think in time you will have your own stories to share with me, too. And Max, I’ll tell you about the sticker. It’s a good story,” Logan said and waved goodbye.

The temperature became much more bearable once the night fell. Not knowing how long they would have to spend inside the ship hunting for a signal to track, they ended walking around Fallbrook until they were ready to hit the bed. Felix was especially happy to admire the sky and natural formations of the rock walls surrounding the town.

“Missed a lot of things last time when we were busy with finding and beating that friend of yours,” Felix said to Max. Max shot a dirty look back at him. Theresa looked about to ask something, so Max had to shoot her down by abruptly changing the subject. It worked, and neither Theresa nor Felix brought up his “friend” again.

The room really was big, as Logan had said—bigger than their living area back on the ship. On one wall there was a small cooking area, and on the other two large beds with curtains around them. It made sense Logan would want a kitchen and a sizeable room for when they weren’t out on a job, but Max had to wonder why he needed all this bed space.

“The couch looks spacey enough, if we all want separate beds,” Theresa said. No, it doesn’t, Max thought. Also, while the room was otherwise pleasantly clean, the couch had a big green stain right in the middle, and Max could swear it was glowing.

“The beds are big enough to share. I’ll take that one with Felix, and you can have the slightly smaller, if it’s all right with you,” Max suggested.

When no one argued, they proceeded to take turns showering and went to bed.

Max was glad any awkward feelings between him and Felix were a thing of the past. But it mattered little when the more acute problem was Felix’s tossing and turning. Max had grown used enough to Felix’s restless nights in his top bunk, but him pulling on Max’s blanket and kicking him in his sleep was a different story.

“Felix,” Max hissed and shook him awake finally. He felt bad, but Felix had driven Max to the edge of his half and was just about to make another revolution pushing Max off the bed.

“Huh?” Felix jumped up. “What is it, Max?” Impressive, just like that he was fully awake. He looked around for a second before realizing the situation.

“Oh,” he said and backed down sheepishly.

“It’s okay,” Max reassured him and they went back to sleep. For the rest of the night, Max slept tight with no interruptions.

The morning came, and they all sat down for a big breakfast before leaving for Terra 2 once again. Felix yawned as he stuffed his third sandwich into his mouth, making a weird muffled sound.

The trip from Monarch to Terra 2 was no longer the endless voyage it had been before their engine upgrade. Before long they reached their destination and set the autopilot to keep them positioned somewhere above the region Logan had mentioned.

“Now then, we wait for the signal,” Theresa said after setting everything up.

The three stood in a ring while an awkward silence surrounded them.

“So, just wait?” Felix verbalized what all of them must have been thinking. When neither Max nor Theresa said anything, Felix suggested: “So, you guys wanna bet on tonight’s tossball match?”

After all that had happened within the last 24 hours, sitting in the small living area of their ship, following a tossball match with Felix sandwiched between him and Theresa on the tiny couch was the last thing Max had expected to be doing. But then again, there wasn’t really anything else they could do for the time being, so a little recreational time couldn’t hurt. Together with Theresa, Max had set up an alarm if the ship picked up any unidentifiable signals, so all they could do now was to wait.

“You like tossball?” Felix asked Theresa.

“I don’t pay much attention usually. But I, um, used to live with someone who did. I know the basics,” she replied with some hesitation.

Meanwhile, Max was struggling to fit his end of the seat. Felix was constantly shifting in the middle and taking up more space, specifically from Max’s side. He tried to leave and sit by the table instead, but Felix insisted on him staying with them. Max took a deep sigh and wondered if this was how the next days, possibly weeks, would be.

“Lend me some of your toothpaste.”

Max was just about to brush his teeth when Felix popped in from the unlocked bathroom.

“Go get your own tube from the downstairs,” Max said.

“Can’t, just gave the last one to Theresa,” Felix replied and opened the bathroom cabinet.

“The last one? Felix, how much toothpaste do you use?”

“Come on, Max, it’s no big deal. You already have all my mouth germs, anyway.” Felix waved his dry toothbrush in front of Max. Grumpily, Max passed over his tube to Felix and watched him squeeze a massive blob of toothpaste on his brush, then leaving the tube open on the edge of the sink.

Breakfast was already served as he returned from the bathroom. Theresa had offered to show them some simple yet delicious cottontop dishes, and neither Max nor Felix wanted to pass the opportunity.

“I feel bad for having you cook for us,” Felix said in the midst of wolfing down his portion.

“No need to. I’m not much of a cook, this is just something quick I often make back at home if I’m in a hurry,” Theresa said.

“I’ll cook a dinner for us today, then,” Felix said with enthusiasm.

After the breakfast, Max and Felix reorganized the cargo to make room for a new exercise area. Days upon days stuck on a cramped ship was catching up to Max, so he joined Felix for his morning routine.

There wasn’t much daily maintenance left for Felix to do after Joann’s job on the engine. Max helped him go through his usual checklist, then double check everything for any signs of damage from their earlier escape maneuver.

“I’m telling you, magnephants do not exist. It was an aetherwave event that got out of hand.”

“I swear I saw one of my bosses smuggle one in a huge cage. They’re real, Max.”

Felix slammed shut the maintenance door and wiped sweat and oil from his forehead. He had showered earlier, but one couldn’t tell anymore.

“You’ve improved. This all looks more effortless to you than before,” Max said.

“Thanks. I think I’ve got the basics down.” Felix took off his thick gloves and cleaned up his tools. “It’s nice to work for yourself and see the results like this.”

“Have you considered becoming a mechanic?” Max asked.

“Nah. It’s nice to tinker around like this, but I’ll leave the more complicated stuff to professionals. But I like this adventuring and running errands things. Even without all the secret missions.”

“Lots of work available if you two stick together,” said Theresa. She had just walked to the engine room door. “I checked the alert. Someone’s trying to fix tossball results. Unless the radicals have an illegal gambling ring, it’s none of our business.”

“Wait, what did the message say?” Felix sounded worried.

In the end, he never found out the contents of the message. Theresa had other things to do while Max refused to help Felix use the computer.

“You’re probably working with them. That’s how you won last night’s bet,” Felix said and left to make them something to eat.

“Do you need help with that?” Max asked.

“Thanks but no. I’ll use my secret recipe,” Felix said while rummaging about the cupboards. Max hid a smile. Given their pantry situation, there wasn’t much mystery in what each meal contained, but it was nice seeing Felix so excited.

Another alert sounded.

“I’ll go take a look,” Theresa said and climbed down from her bunk where she was reading an old magazine. She soon returned.

“Someone is giving out boxes of free beer in an abandoned quarry. Felix, it’s a hoax,” Theresa added when Felix’s head suddenly popped out of the cupboard.

“It’s surprising this is only our second alert. I expected there to be more noise,” Max noted.

“Well, people are mostly too busy and hungry to think about anything besides work,” Theresa said.

Felix was taking his offer to make them dinner very seriously. Max had lost hours studying and even taken a nap, but when he woke up, Felix was still buzzing around the oven.

“Good timing, dinner’s almost ready,” Felix smiled enthusiastically and pulled something out of the hatch. A roast of some kind filled the room with a delicious smell. Max had no idea what kind of meat it was, but Felix had had to perform a miracle in order to make anything in their pantry smell this good.

Turned out the meal tasted as good as it smelled. By the end of the feast, everyone was wiping the last juices off their plates with a tasteless slice of bread.

“That was great, Felix,” Theresa said.

“I’ve still got desserts,” Felix said and took away their plates. He returned with three big glasses of vodka and coffee.

“Hope you like these, didn’t have much ingredients to work with,” Felix said and served the drinks.

“Thank you, but is it a good idea to have all three of us drunk while we’re trying to get a lead on the radicals?” Max questioned.

“We can’t just storm in right away, anyway. I say it’s okay to take a glass or two,” Theresa said and took a sip. “Whoa, bitter.”

“I never asked, but what did you do to get Chopper so mad, anyway? Something about a bit cartridge, right?” Theresa asked after a pause.

“It’s a long story…” Max began, but Felix cut him short.

“Doc Moore told us to save the secret lab by stealing a passcode from Chopper, so we went in one of his parties under fake identities and tried to do just that.”

Theresa’s eyes widened.

“She made told you to what? Never mind, it’s just like her, I suppose.” Theresa looked annoyed.

“Too bad Chopper was one step ahead from the start,” Felix sighed. “But hey, Max wasn’t such a bad dancer.”

Max flushed.

“Oh?” Theresa smiled impishly. “Now I’m intrigued.”

“Felix, why don’t you make another round of drinks,” Max hurried to say and pushed their empty glasses in Felix’s lap. “Yes, a shame what happened to the plan. We never recovered the passcode.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Theresa said.

“You ever danced, Theresa?” Felix said while filling up their glasses with a different cocktail this time. It was Theresa’s turn to blush.

“Tried once. My partner wasn’t very into it, and I wasn’t very good,” she mumbled.

“I could teach you, I taught Max, too.” Felix passed the glasses to her and Max. Max immediately took a big sip from his glass. He wasn’t too fond of where this was going.

“Oh no, one time was plenty enough for me. Figured out watching is more fun than doing it myself.” Felix didn’t care to argue with her. Instead, he turned to Max.

“How about you dance with me, then?”

Max’s first instinct was to flat out refuse him. But seeing how much fun Theresa was having, and how excited Felix was to show off their very flawed dance performance, he caved. “Fine,” he said and downed the rest of his drink in one swig. The strong cocktails hadn’t quite kicked in just yet, but he was suddenly starting to feel a tad heady. When Felix crashed recklessly into him, he realized his glass was empty, too.

“For Law’s sake,” Max muttered and helped him into the right starting position. “Theresa, could you play something from the ship library?”

Theresa frisked up surprisingly nimbly considering the amount of liquor they had had. She tapped around the entertainment terminal until her face lit up. “I know this one, used to be my favorite,” she said and pushed play.

An energetic, albeit slow beat opened the track. An unexpectedly solemn melody started playing, and after a short intro, a singer joined the song. The brooding vocalist sang in a language Max couldn’t recognize and barely matched the rhythm, almost as if fighting against a tide. Still, it all sounded deliberate and beautiful, delicate and touching.

Max tried moving to the music, but he and Felix were in terrible sync. Such a free-flowing composition left them with a lot to interpret. Max imagined a skilled dancer would enjoy the freedom. To him and Felix, however, too much leeway only meant confusion.

Figuring he wasn’t leading Felix clearly enough, Max tried to gently pull him to follow his movements closer. But the soft pull came out as a sharp yank, and both of them lost their balance and fell.

Theresa was laughing with tears in her eyes at the table as the two of them sat on the floor. She joined them, and Max’s embarrassment soon faded away.

Felix fetched another round, not bothering with mixology anymore, instead pulling out a full bottle of purpleberry liqueur. He dropped into Max’s lap and filled their glasses again.

Theresa drank and asked:

“So, what are you two going to do after this? Keep running odd jobs and occasional philanthropy?”

Max spoke before Felix had a chance to open his mouth.

“We have some unfinished business at Scylla. After that, I believe Felix was interested in contacting the rebel group you mentioned earlier.”

Theresa raised her eyebrow.

“I thought I clearly said they don’t want any priests even near their base.”

“Oh, no. I still have my position in the church. I think they will overlook my, um, sabbatical and let me return to Edgewater or relocate somewhere else,” Max said, although the idea of returning to his old work strangely enough gave him shudders.

“And this is what you want?” She looked at Felix.

“Yeah, sure,” Felix said, sounding more detached than a moment ago.

Max was increasingly uncomfortable with the discussion, so he changed the topic.

“The song you played earlier was interesting. How do you know it?”

“Oh, it’s something my grandma used to play before she passed. I don’t know what the words mean, or even the language.” Theresa hesitated. “Too late to ask her now.”

“I’m sorry,” Max said.

“No, don’t. That’s how life is. She lived longer than most,” Theresa said. A sly smile flashed on her face. She whispered.

“It’s old Earth music.”

“Wow, you heard that Max? We’ve got illegal cargo,” Felix enthused.

“Knowing Lawrence’s past occupation, I’m not surprised to find that out,” Max said.

“Lawrence probably got this song from my grandma. She refused to move underground and had a small pirate record shop. She was a real troublemaker,” Theresa said. She reached up to the terminal and tapped through the music library. She selected another song. “This one’s nice, too.”

“Never knew something like this existed. It’s so different from jingles and serial soundtracks,” Felix said in awe.

“A lot of it has been buried or outright banned. Rich people have good access, and people living off the grid like us in New Cottoncliff.”

Felix changed the subject.

“By the way, you said you’ve never left Cottoncliff when we met. But you have, right?”

“Yeah, that was part of the cover. Sorry for lying. But it’s not like I’ve been to a whole lot of places. I often visited Monarch with the Moores,” she explained.

“Joann and Doc and… the horse man? You close?”

Theresa hung her head and took another drink before answering.

“Yeah… I’ve been working for Joann ever since I was working age. Hung around with her kid a lot—Doc, that is—and we ended up going out for a few years.”

“What happened?” Max asked, blaming his lowered inhibition for being too personal with this woman he barely knew. Theresa sighed sadly.

“Her parents had been in a long-distance relationship ever since she could remember. So, when she was offered a post in that lab, she took it without hesitation. Or ever asking me if I was okay with it. Turns out I wasn’t.”

Suddenly, Theresa broke into laughter.

“Why am I even telling you all this? I feel like it’s been longer, but we’ve only been together on this ship for a day.”

Felix stretched from Max’s lap to put his arm around Theresa.

“Hey, that doesn’t matter, we’re family now, basically.”

Max noticed he slurred, and quietly put away the liqueur bottle. He looked away from them and thought about saying something.

“That’s how Felix is. You either love or hate him from the moment you meet,” Max finally said, eyes fixed on the staircase across the room.

“Ha, which one are you?” Felix asked playfully.

“Neither,” Max replied vacantly, letting his eyes follow the round railing of the staircase.

“I hope you’ll be fine even if you get separated.” Theresa’s brow had creased, and she sounded worried. “Interplanetary relationships are hard. I guess Moores pulled it off somehow, but I couldn’t have.”

All three went silent.

“Did I, uh, sorry, I’m sure it’ll be just—” Theresa panicked. Felix had frozen in Max’s lap.

“I think there has been a misunderstanding,” Max said calmly. He was embarrassed, but mostly for having to correct Theresa. “We only work together, and once Felix can join the rebellion, we will part our ways.”

“Oh. Oh?” Theresa calmed down, only to have her eyes widen and all color escape her face. “Oh. Shit,” she said. “I could’ve sworn you two were—I mean, I’m so sorry,” she blubbered on. She didn’t look too well, and the alcohol was no doubt part of it. Felix was silent while Max tried to calm her down.

Another alert interrupted the chaotic scene. Theresa, still pale, immediately shot up and took the excuse to leave. She walked across the room and down the stairs with incredible discipline. Felix also stood up and slinked into the bathroom. Max was left alone and dumbfounded on the floor.

“It’s the signal,” Theresa soon returned to say. “Comes from a Spacer’s Choice town of Arcadia. A real dump.”

“What do we do now?” Max asked. Felix opened the bathroom door with a toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

“It’s nighttime there soon. I say we go to bed early, sober up, and land there first thing in the morning to ask for any tips from the locals. It’s been a long day, anyway,” Theresa said. The two agreed.

Rain greeted them as they landed to Arcadia landing pad next day. The raindrops hit the metal shell of the ship, and the sound carried to the living area.

“What’s that sound?” Felix asked. The uniform noise filtered through the structures mesmerized him.

“It’s rain. Come to think of it, we have had good weather for most of this journey,” Max said. Felix sat quietly and listened to the sound.

“It’s nice,” he said and closed his eyes.

Chapter 11: Arcadia Link copied

& on AO3

Arcadia. A shore town located in the northern hemisphere of Terra 2. Contrary to its name, the town was even worse a hellhole than the pretend-city of Old Cottoncliff. Large factories looked like they were about to crumble to dust at any second. The ground was sticky under their feet as they walked down the main street.

“What the hell is this stench?” Felix said. “I thought nothing could smell worse than Groundbreaker sewers.”

“Do you have a story to share?” Max asked jokingly.

“A heroic tale of love, betrayal, and tossball cards.”

Max smiled, then returned to Felix’s question.

“Arcadia is Halcyon’s biggest producer of fertilizer, if I recall correctly,” he said. They passed a pile of barrels, one of which had a crack. Thick, gray liquid was bubbling out to the street.

“Good pick for a criminal headquarters. Reckon no one comes here just to dig around without a clue,” Felix said.

“That looks like a cantina. Let’s go ask if the locals know about any weird activity around here,” Theresa said and pointed at a door across the road. She sounded impatient, and Max couldn’t blame her. They hurried inside.

To everyone’s disappointment, the smell wasn’t any better inside. No one felt like eating, so Max ordered everyone a coffee. The barely warm beverage had a dubious green tint to it, but when the man behind the counter kept staring at them, they had no choice but to take a sip each and nod approvingly.

“Sir, if you don’t mind,” Theresa said to the man with her charm mode suddenly on. “We’re here because we heard a rumor there might be some folks causing trouble for Arcadia. Happen to know anyone who could have work available?”

The man let out a gruff noise and turned his head, but Theresa wasn’t ready to give up. She downed the rest of the disgusting coffee and spoke again.

“It’s too bad there’s no work for us here, but at least the town is safe. Sir, how about you give us another round of coffee to keep us awake on the road?”

Felix flinched but bravely drank the rest of his almost untouched coffee.

“Can’t get coffee this good while traveling,” he said with a rather convincing fake smile.

Max admired their effort. The least he could do was to take another sip and nod along.

The wary server filled their cups. He said nothing when he spilled some coffee on the counter. Felix gave Theresa a look asking now what. Max struggled to swallow another drop of the sewage passed off as coffee. He wasn’t convinced Theresa’s strategy was working very well.

But Theresa kept sipping her coffee with a smile on her face, and Felix did the same. When they thanked for the coffee and were about to leave, the man cleared his throat and said:

“The barber says some neighborhood kids have been stealing his sister-in-law’s jewelry. I reckon that’s not the rumor you’ve been hearing, but I bet there’s a finder’s fee if you return the family heirlooms.”

Asking the barber for any hints of strange activity was a decent idea in any case, so Max, Felix, and Theresa decided to go and ask if the barber needed any help with the lost jewelry.

Either the smell was slowly dispersing, or Max’s nose was growing numb to the ever-present stench. Still, all three wanted to be done with Arcadia as fast as possible for more reasons than one, so walked straight to the location the cantina worker had told them to go.

They found the barbershop and stepped in. To much surprise, the nasty smell outside was replaced by a cacophony of sweet aromas. Max looked around. The shop was as peculiar as the scent floating around it. The room, while not big, was brightly lit and had its walls painted pure white, which all made it look spacier than it was. A mosaic of mismatching broken mirror pieces covered the ceiling, and the floor was similarly a collection of various stone tiles, some of them cracked. Upon a closer look, all the furniture looked like discarded and repaired luxury items, things that had once belonged to the wealthy.

“Welcome, how can I help you?” A tall man with a deep voice and dark bags under his eyes greeted them. Max felt the man’s eyes on his hair, measuring and analyzing it. The situation was making him uncomfortable, so he went straight to business.

“We heard a family member of yours is having trouble with the local youths,” Max started.

“Ah. Yes,” the man interrupted him, speaking slowly and making long pauses. “Yes. The children. My wife has a sister. Her jewelry started disappearing one day. Priceless treasures. Been in the family for generations.”

The man turned away and picked a small decorative vial. He took two slow but determinate steps to a machine by the wall and dribbled some of the crystalline liquid through a small tube. The machine let out a puff of sweet-smelling steam that soon mixed with the rest of the scents.

“I’m happy to tell you it’s no longer a problem.” The man returned the vial and grabbed a broom. “The children tried to trade the jewelry for alcohol and tobacco. But the seller wouldn’t accept their offerings, and one child lost his nerve. Turned in the entire group.” The man paused again and started sweeping the already plenty clean floor.

“Of course,” the man started again just as Felix was about to say something. “No one in the town would sell them these items.”

Everyone was silent, unsure if the man was about to speak again. But he didn’t.

“So,” Max started cautiously, half-expecting the man to cut him off. “Who did they take the jewelry to?”

“Yes.” The man walked back to put away the broom. “The burnt down half of the town, across the river.” Max’s ears perked up. The man’s eyes hovered across the floor. Then, he picked up the broom again and walked up to an apparently still unclean spot. “The children say someone lives there. They shouldn’t play around those parts.”

Max felt they had got all the information they needed. He glanced at Theresa and Felix, who looked back at him. Theresa nodded.

“Well, thank you very much. I’m sorry we couldn’t be of any help,” Max said and hurried out. A mistake, he remembered as the familiar stink outside hit his nose. Felix, on the other hand, took a deep breath. Max looked at him like he had lost his mind.

“What? At least this smell ain’t giving me a headache,” Felix defended.

“Let’s go check the ruins that man mentioned,” Theresa said.

If Arcadia was a dying town, what lied across the river was a decomposing corpse. The river itself had dried up. Makeshift barricades surrounded the burned part of the town, including the road leading to the only bridge across the steep riverbed. Inside, black ruins and heaps of rubble were scattered all over. What the fire hadn’t destroyed, the weather and time had.

“Hey, look.” Felix pointed in the distance. Max squinted his eyes. He couldn’t see anything out of ordinary.

“You didn’t see it? Something flashed,” Felix said. Max had no reason to doubt him and followed him with Theresa to the ruins of another factory.

“It’s somewhere in… All right, got it!” Felix hopped over the crumbled wall. And indeed, there they found a brand new terminal.

“That’s not all. Look,” Theresa whispered and pointed down. A concealed air duct.

“This has got to be it,” she continued, still whispering. “I bet there’s an old undamaged storage basement they’re using as their base.”

Max looked around him, suddenly nervous. “We need to get out of here before someone spots us.”

Felix and Theresa nodded

“We should get some rest and come back early next morning before they wake up,” Theresa said.

“I’ll look at the terminal. I might be able to break in,” Max said.

They returned to their ship for a shower, a quick meal, and a couple hours of rest. It was still dark when they sneaked back to the base.

The dim streetlights of sleeping Arcadia didn’t reach all the way to the abandoned old side of the town. It was pouring down, and the bridge over the dried-up river was slippery with water. All three were thoroughly soaked by the time they reached the ruins under which the radicals stayed. Not the ideal state, but at least the rain was warm and made them even more invisible to any possible witnesses.

Max checked the terminal they had found earlier.

“As I suspected. I’ll get in in no time,” Max said. He tapped the keyboard for a while, and soon enough he got past the initial protections.

“Let’s see… We’re in luck. This terminal is connected to all safety systems. From door controls to fire extinguishing system. However, the final override will expose us, so we need to act fast once I break in. We should have a couple of minutes of total freedom before a lockout.”

“Good job, Max. Um, now what?” Felix asked and looked at both of them askingly. It was only now Max realized they had no plan whatsoever.

“Can we cheat them into surrendering to officials somehow?” Max suggested. “This is a company-owned facility even still. It should be easy to get them arrested and put into prison for squatting.”

“Come on, Max, like anyone would want to come all the way here to arrest squatters in a burnt factory,” Felix argued.

“He’s right. We need to take care of this now,” Theresa said soberly.

“What do you mean?” Felix asked.

“Max, you said all safety systems, right? Including fire and doors?” Theresa asked.

Max swallowed. “Yes.”

“Lock the doors. Then remove the oxygen from the whole building,” Theresa said calmly, as if it was the most natural course of action.

Felix stared at her.

“You mean we just… kill them all like that?”

“You don’t think they deserve it?” Theresa kept firm.

“I guess, but…”

“They’ll serve a sentence and go right back to their own ways. Is that better?”

“No, I… I don’t…”

“We have nothing to show their true intentions without exposing the pacifists.”

“But—”

“We kill twenty people here and now and save hundreds.”

“I—”

“Let’s think this over. We don’t know who exactly are living there,” Max interrupted the two of them. Felix’s face was pale, his complicated expression exposing the conflict tearing him apart from the inside. Despite all his ideals, it wasn’t a choice this naïve and in some ways so innocent boy was ready to make. Not something Max wanted him to make. Not something Max himself really wanted to make.

“I don’t know if there’s anything to think over,” Felix said and looked down. Theresa sighed. Her vacant expression changed into a sad one.

“I’m sorry, Felix. I really am,” she said quietly and put her hand on his shoulder. She shook her head.

“Okay. I just thought of something else. Max, do the override,” Theresa said. Her voice quivered.

“What are you going—” Felix said, but Theresa interrupted her.

“There’s no time to explain. Max, do the override now or it will be too late,” Theresa urged, this time with her voice clear and commanding.

Reluctantly, Max raised his fingers on the keyboard and performed the override.

“I trust you truly have a plan,” he said, not believing it even for a second, and then pushed away the ominous feeling banging in the back of his head. She had a plan, and this was the right thing to do. He entered the last command and turned around, only to see Theresa’s somber eyes and a bright flash.

Cold raindrops on his face made Max come back to his senses. He felt disoriented in a familiar way, then remembered the flash and Theresa and what had happened before he had lost his consciousness. He shot up and looked around for Felix.

Felix was lying next to him, groaning and about to wake up. Both were still wet from the earlier downpour, but wrapped in a thermal blanket.

“What… happened? Where are we?” Felix asked and opened his eyes.

Max looked at their surroundings.

“We’re still in Arcadia. Just a short distance from the radicals’ hideout.” He paused for a second. “Theresa stunned us and probably dragged us to a safe distance.”

Max noticed a message in his pocket. It was from Theresa. Max read the note.

“What’s it say?” Felix asked and slowly sat up.

“She’s gone. Come,” Max said and handed the note to Felix. He stood up and turned his back to Felix.

“Oh,” Felix uttered after a brief moment. Max didn’t have the heart to look at him.

“Let’s go,” he said and started walking back to the landing pad. He heard Felix follow him in a distance as the cold, piercing rain grew harder.

Max appreciated Theresa’s sacrifice to keep Felix’s hands clean. Max’s, too, to some degree, although there was some degree of self-deceiving involved in convincing himself he had no way of knowing Theresa would lie about the plan. Still, he wondered if shattering Felix’s already broken heart once again really was a lesser price to pay.

“She didn’t want you to carry the burden,” Max said gently back on the ship.

“Yeah, I know. It’s okay,” Felix said quietly. He paused. “Hey, Max? I actually have some business at Scylla.”

Chapter 12: Treason Link copied

& on AO3

Clyde Harlow aggravated Max. No, Harlow fucking pissed him off.

Since Max wasn’t about to ruin another friendship of Felix’s like he potentially had with B, he opted to keep from saying anything and just listening how the conversation between the old friends played out. Something about Harlow felt off, but Max couldn’t focus on what it was, for his mind was fully occupied trying to parse exactly what kind of prior relationship they had. Felix had been wary of Harlow at first, but his charisma was slowly working its way past Felix’s defenses.

Max tried to keep his face neutral, but he had a feeling he was doing a poor job. Harlow furrowed his brows slightly every time he happened to look Max’s way.

Right now, Harlow was trying to convince Felix to go run some errands for him. Kill a man to show his loyalty. Max scoffed. Harlow wrinkled his nose.

“Would that be a problem, mister…? I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”

He hadn’t.

“Maximillian,” Max responded coldly. “And yes, actually, it would. We have business to run. Frankly, I am insulted you would try to rope us into doing your dirty work for free with such a cheap excuse.”

Felix shot him an angry glare. Max looked back at him, refusing to show any remorse. But he did keep quiet for the rest of the conversation.

“Fine, I see your associate is a busy man. Let’s do this instead. There’s a shipwreck some ways from here with valuable weapons inside. You go fetch them for me and I’ll count you as an ally,” Harlow said. “The catch is, a group of primals surround the wreck. You’ll need to sneak past them. Or shoot them, just as long as you don’t harm the cargo.”

Max watched with great displeasure Felix accept the task. He noticed Felix wouldn’t look Max in the eye the whole way out.

“He’s using you,” Max muttered when they were a safe distance away.

“No one’s making you come along. Go read your books or something,” Felix said, still not looking his way. Max cut his way and forced Felix to look him in the eye.

“The hell’s your problem? You’ve been an ass ever since you stepped through that door and I don’t even know why,” Felix complained. Max said nothing.

“Yeah, yeah,” Felix said and passed him. Max had no choice but to follow.

They had no trouble finding the shipwreck. And, just as Harlow had said, it was surrounded by primals from every direction.

“This will be tough,” Felix mumbled.

“Why are you so intent on appeasing Harlow?” Max couldn’t help himself.

“Clyde’s an old friend. You don’t get it because you ain’t got any.” It hurt, but not in the way Felix had intended. Max couldn’t stand Felix address Harlow as “Clyde” one more time.

“Harlow doesn’t strike me as the most trustworthy person.”

“Who asked you?”

They stayed silent.

“Have you got any ideas, or are you gonna get yourself almost killed again?” Felix said. Max ignored the insult and quickly scanned the area.

“There’s a big one right there,” he said and pointed. “We have the high ground. If we do a surprise attack, we can take it down quickly and it will be easier to handle the rest.”

“Take down the behemoth first, got it. See the turret on that ship? If it still works, I can take down the rest if you hold them off until that.” Felix looked Max in the eye out of the blue. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Max swallowed and shook his head. “This will be over in a minute.” Suddenly, Max was in a mood for a good fight.

“Thanks. I know I can show you Clyde’s one of the good guys,” Felix smiled and hopped down the cliff. Max’s insides turned, but he had no choice but to follow Felix.

The plan worked like a charm. The behemoth fell down before it had the chance to see what hit it; Max had no problem to keep the smaller primals at bay while Felix climbed up to the turret and took care of the rest.

All the discomfort from earlier seemed to wash right off when Felix ran back to him from the turret tower, jumping at him.

“All right, we did it,” he enthused with his arm around Max’s neck. “Come on, let’s check the hidden treasure.”

And indeed, there it was—sealed crates full of ammo and top-grade weapons. To their luck, some of the ship’s systems were still in working order, and Max could summon their own ship and load their haul aboard.

“That was the last crate. Let’s get going,” Felix popped in to say after they had cleared the wreck of anything valuable. Max was busy exploring the ship's systems.

“Just a second. I’ll check if there’s anything more we can do while we’re here,” he said and tapped at the terminal.

“Anything interesting?” Felix said. His face fell.

“Hey, Max.”

“Hmm?”

“Uh, that,” Felix said. His face was pale.

Max scrolled back up. The titles looked like correspondence between the Board and…

“Clyde Harlow,” Max finished his thought out loud. He glanced at Felix. His face was blank.

“There must be some explanation to this,” Max calmed him down. He opened one of the messages. Then another. Then another. There wasn’t.

“Let’s get out,” Felix muttered.

“Felix—”

“No, let’s get out. Please.” Felix’s voice was wavering. Max didn’t protest. They left the wreck and got back on their own ship. They took off and Max set the autopilot to take them to a nearby abandoned landing pad.

He left the cockpit to check on Felix. Unsurprisingly, Max found him slouched on one of the living area chairs, leaning to the table, his head on his hands.

“Felix, I—” Max started.

“Yeah, you told me so. I’ll listen to you next time around. If there’ll be one,” Felix said.

“That’s not what I wanted to say. I just—”

“It’s okay, just leave me alone.”

“Felix, if there’s anything I can—”

“You don’t need to. I’m used to it already. You’re the smart one, you see the pattern here. Happens every time,” Felix said and crossed his arms to close Max off. Max grabbed his arm on instinct and forced Felix to look him in the eye.

“I’m still here. I’m not them.” Max spoke with haste. He hurried to add softly: “Plenty of people aren’t.”

“I said you don’t need to do this. You don’t need to play the part. I’ll get over it on my own, always do,” Felix’s voice was flat and unnaturally calm. Max heard no conviction behind his words. It frustrated him to be shut out like this.

“I followed you when the Captain laid you off. I’ve been here through all this and I will until we finish what we started and you get to join the rebellion.” There had to be something to get through to him, but none of his arguments landed. In a last-ditch effort, he tried to give up on reasoning with Felix and speak from his heart. “I won’t betray you.”

Felix rolled his head in what Max could only interpret as disbelief.

“No offense, but I reckon you wouldn’t tout it ahead of time. The others sure didn’t.” Felix was getting borderline annoyed with Max, but he sank back into his seat as if he couldn’t even bother getting angry on a second thought.

It was the worst feeling. Max knew there was nothing he could argue. Especially when he was just another passerby in his life. Not someone Felix craved to make a connection with, not like the Captain, like Theresa, like Harlow. And it drove him mad and made his heart hammer and chilled his insides to think he would never be that. Nothing made any sense to him, not his inner storm of murky feelings, not why he ached so badly to reach something he couldn’t even identify in his own head.

Max took a minute to calm down. Max had his own goals. Felix had his. Sharing this much time and space with another person was bound to cause some ugly collisions. It would blow over.

He let his eyes wander up and look Felix in his distant eyes. Felix wouldn’t acknowledge him, just stared away without even blinking. Sunlight hit the living area through a narrow tinted window and illuminated Felix’s face, making his amber eyes glow. Something about him was irresistible to Max. But above all, he wanted to console him.

Tearing his eyes off of Felix’s, Max pulled a chair and sat next to him, accidentally brushing Felix’s knee with his own. He meant to pull his leg back, but there was something almost intimate in the feather-light stroke through the rough fabric covering their skin. So he left it there, hoping Felix wouldn’t notice or at least read too much into it. The simultaneous deliberation and inadvertence made this most innocent situation more titillating than what made any sense.

Still not a reaction from Felix. The brief moment of sunlight had passed, and the room was once again flooded by dull artificial light. Felix’s leg remained motionless against his own. Any fear he had had before was dissipating. He made the smallest intentional movement with his leg, and when Felix still didn’t pull back, he started speaking slowly.

“I know I can’t convince you,” Max half-whispered, throwing words together as he went. “But I’d like to.”

The suggestiveness of his own tone took him by surprise. His face tingled. He was simultaneously getting excited and feeling incredibly guilty for doing so when Felix was in such a vulnerable state.

Max reminded himself that Felix was a friend—family, even, to some extent—and pushed aside any less than chaste thoughts. He leaned forward on his seat and put his hand on Felix’s shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort him. Felix responded only with the slightest shudder, barely perceptible through his thick cardigan. But the gesture didn’t seem to help Felix’s mood in any way. It certainly didn’t help Max’s quickening heartbeat and looming desire. Keeping his thoughts in check was proving to be easier said than done.

Felix sighed voicelessly and relaxed his posture slightly, putting light pressure on Max’s leg against which Felix’s knee still rested. Max, juggling to keep his body relaxed and still while focusing on his thoughts, couldn’t fight the shivers running up his body.

Momentarily overwhelmed, Max inched closer to Felix, now close enough to feel his breath. Felix still didn’t push or pull back, but his breathing felt more rapid than before, his chest rising just a hair higher, a split second faster with every inhale. Max opened his mouth without knowing what to say, only wanting to keep the moment alive.

Tension built up in Felix’s body and slowly Max slid his trembling fingers up his thigh, drawing a soft sigh from Felix. Surprised, Max gently tightened his grip on Felix’s thigh. Felix made another sound, this time louder, and raised his chin slightly. Invitingly. He was breathing heavily now and pushed himself closer, his leg chafing against the inner pant seam on Max’s thigh.

Max pushed his hand up Felix’s thigh and traced the bone on his hip, going past it, and arriving at the small of his back. He didn’t pull Felix, but held him steady and allowed him to mount his lap in response.

The situation was quickly getting out of hand. Max’s eyes darted aimlessly up Felix’s body, crisscrossing from his muscular forearms to his bare neck where his dark wavy hair fell and to his trembling mouth. Felix wrapped his arms around Max’s waist for support and finally looked him in the eye. The small window once again aligned with the Halcyon star and drew a narrow highlight across Felix’s face, giving his already piercing stare a fatal edge.

Max couldn’t bear to keep the eye contact a second longer and yanked his head to face the staircase. His heart was racing and what little composure he had left was shattered. He knew he was trembling and his face was hot, because why wouldn’t it be. Felix was young and attractive and touching him in all the right places, and Max wasn’t about to pretend Felix didn’t know all of those things himself.

Meanwhile, Felix wasn’t in the mood to let Max get away. He straightened his back and pushed his hips up along Max’s body, rising above Max while pushing him down and trapping him. The chair creaked under their shifting weight. Felix looked down at Max with half-closed eyes now, while blocking him from looking anywhere else with his arms. His face was in the shadow now, the bright star shining behind his head, making it impossible to read his expression.

Their lips hovered so close Max could almost taste Felix. And Law, he wanted to taste him. Nibble at him, savor him, and swallow him whole. He remembered the night on Byzantium, how the kiss they almost shared left him craving so bad he didn’t think he could watch Felix ever move those lips again without getting any ideas.

Felix pushed his face down on Max’s neck, brushing his skin with the tip of his nose. The tough, unruly hair tickled Max. It was unbearable, for more than one reason. Holding back was right about getting too much for him when he felt a pair of warm hands lower onto his lap. Felix started unbuttoning his pants. If the thought of embracing him and kissing his lips until they were red and swollen wasn’t enough already, Felix’s hungry palms working to undress him made him visibly tremble in anticipation, his lips forming unspoken obscenities and pledges.

Felix was drawing the moment out, slowly popping open the button before grasping the zipper.

“Felix…” Max rasped. His breathing was shallow, his body hot, and part of him—most parts of him, really—hoped Felix would just push him down on the floor and do whatever he was going for. Maybe it would be for the best. Maybe it was what Felix needed right now. Maybe Max should let Felix do it just this once, to find some solace, to get over essentially losing two friends in a row. Something to make Felix feel better and, most of all, wanted. Max wouldn’t exactly hate it, either. It would be a one-time thing, something they would never have to talk about.

Felix pulled the zipper down, one tooth at a time. Click, Click, Click.

Resolve filled Max’s head. He leaned back, giving Felix more space to maneuver in his lap. Felix took the hint and pulled the zipper all the way down in one swift pull.

“So you want me to go straight down, or you prefer some sort of foreplay?”

The words pulled Max right out of his daze in a blink of an eye like a slap on the face. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Felix’s voice was cold and unfamiliar. Max grabbed Felix with great hesitation and pushed him away sharply, making him trip and almost fall on the floor. Almost immediately, images of Felix down on his knees in front of him poured in and filled his mind. Max tried to push the idea away and quickly zipped back up. Felix looked him straight in the eye, confused and hurt like never before. His entire body had frozen up and his open mouth twitched. Like Max had just took back every word of comfort and promise from a moment ago. Not an expression Max enjoyed receiving, but he managed to clear his head enough not to pull him right back in and beg him to keep going. At least sad Felix was someone he recognized.

“Not the thing, huh?” Felix said in a painful voice. It was like a knife to Max’s chest, but he stayed firm.

“This isn’t what you need right now, Felix. You need rest,” Max said, avoiding the question and trying his damnedest to remind himself their relationship was strictly platonic at this point. His voice was shaky and his rapid breathing ripped right through it. Felix pinched his lips shut and looked down at Max with a tense stare.

“Reckon I know myself what I need right now,” Felix said. He acted tough, but his fists trembling and lips quivering made his hurt clear as day. In his mind, Max begged Felix not to follow up because he couldn’t take any explicit I-need-yous in his current state of mind.

“You’re hurt. It will get better,” Max said.

“Not if you can help it,” Felix snapped.

“Felix. We talked about this.” Max tried to latch onto their discussion after the night in Byzantium.

“That’s funny, I remember you doing all the talking.” Felix was almost shouting by now, his voice breaking and creaking uncontrollably. His eyes flared. “Must be hard being so bent over by the man you can’t even admit to wanting to fuck a Back Bays tramp.”

Cold sweat was gathering up on Max’s forehead. Felix was shaking in front of him, and Max didn’t know how to even begin to diffuse the situation. Guilt hammered his head. He had let Felix gone too far before Max’s head had caught up with the situation. This had all been avoidable.

“That’s not what I—” Max stammered.

“It’s exactly what’s your problem. Guess I made a mistake thinking you were anything else than another self-important asshole,” Felix said and barged downstairs. Max leaped from his chair to chase him.

“Felix, wait!”

He dashed after Felix and grabbed his arm in the narrow staircase. Surprised, Felix turned to face him, looking annoyed more than anything after the initial shock.

“You’re—” Not wrong, he wanted to conclude, but his stupid pride got in the way.

“You can’t keep doing this, Max.” Felix’s temper was back to normal, but his voice had bitterness to it. He sounded like he meant it.

It doesn’t matter, Max looped in his head. They had little time left, anyway.

“We agreed this wasn’t a good idea,” Max echoed from earlier. His voice came out hollow and uncertain.

Felix’s expression softened. There was regret in his voice now.

“You agreed. All by yourself.”

It cut Max deep. Felix exhaled deep as Max’s grip around his arm loosened.

“That’s what I don’t get about you, Max. You make these decisions based on some etiquette you learned from the church puppets or whatever and trample all over the people who are actually close to you.”

“I’m your friend,” Max uttered.

“Yeah, sure,” Felix said flatly and turned to leave. Max reached his arms around Felix before he could step away and pulled him into a gentle hug from behind. Felix didn’t fight it. Already at a height disadvantage, Felix felt tiny standing one step below Max’s, his head only reaching Max’s chest. Finally able to calm himself, Max took a deep breath. Felix’s dark hair smelled familiar and safe.

“I’m sorry about what happened today,” Max said softly and rested his chin on his head. Yet the back of his head pounded. You wouldn’t be involved soon enough, Max thought. Felix would follow his dreams to a place where Max could never reach, even if he wanted to. And he didn’t, either.

Max thought it best to leave their visit to the hermit’s place for tomorrow. He knew what happened would gnaw on Felix for a long time, but perhaps sleep would get him over the worst of it.

The ship was eerily quiet for the rest of the evening. Felix was out, sitting on the edge of the landing pad until he hit the bed. Max stayed up long after him, all kinds of unpleasant thoughts keeping him up.

In the end, Max had never made it to his bunk. When Felix woke him up, he was still in the pilot’s seat.

“Did you spend the whole night here?” Felix sounded confused, but otherwise cheerful enough.

“I was in the middle of something and… Ow!” Max could barely move his neck.

“Yeah, that’s what you get from sleeping in a place like that. Are we gonna get moving anytime soon?”

Max piloted the ship the short trip to the hermit’s place. By the time they arrived, he was happy to finally leave the crummy pilot’s seat. Now, all they had left was to meet the hermit and hope he didn’t have to find Chaney again to give him the beating he had promised. Max opened and closed his fists without really noticing. He tried to keep his feelings in check, but he was full of anticipation, expectation, and fear.

It was all too weird.

Felix stood and half-listened to the conversation between Max and the hermit. He hadn’t been able to keep up in the beginning, not with the foreign smells and strange items all around Hermit’s small domicile, and didn’t bother trying to hop back in now.

They seemed to reach some kind of common ground, and suddenly Hermit was guiding Max to leave the room. From what Felix could tell, drugs were involved. That wasn’t what he had expected, but sure, why not.

Felix followed them to an even stranger room with a dim lighting and odd decor. While he was still trying to figure out whether the place was cozy or made him feel nervous, Max was already inhaling light smoke rising from a round vessel.

“I’ll be here when you come back to, I guess,” Felix muttered as Max took a seat without saying him a word. Hermit helped him into a comfortable and safe position and gave him some last-minute instructions and warnings.

“And you?” Hermit asked Felix, who hadn’t noticed her appear behind him.

“Huh? Uh, no, I mean, I’m just here as a,” Felix paused to wonder once again what the hell was he here for. “Company, or something like that.”

Hermit wasn’t interested in the details. Good.

“You can stay here if you don’t mind the fumes. Or you can wait in the other room, or your ship.”

Felix wasn’t crazy about missing whatever was about to go down with Max.

“Uh, shouldn’t I watch him in case, dunno, something bad happens?”

Hermit nodded.

“I’ll be watching over him, but better if someone he knows and trusts is here as well. The smoke can make you a tad squiffy, but it will pass.”

“It’s all right,” Felix said without lifting his eyes from restful Max. “What’s happening now?”

“Think of him as being asleep. He’s not present with us. This will take a while,” Hermit responded.

The creases on Max’s expressionless face seemed to run less deep than when he was awake. Felix swallowed when he realized he hadn’t really paid attention to Max’s sleeping face before. Maybe you shouldn’t be so grumpy all the time. Felix imagined Max smiling like he sometimes did with him. Their earlier fight hadn’t soured those memories. At least not yet.

An unrecognizable expression flashed on Max’s face and his body jolted.

“Nothing to worry,” Hermit said before Felix could ask.

“Can I, um…” Felix waved his arms at Max’s direction. Hermit nodded. Felix walked cautiously up to Max and crouched next to him. It was hard to imagine something bigger than life was going on inside his head. To Felix, he just seemed to be having the nap of his life.

Careful not to disturb him, Felix slid himself between Max and his seat. He held Max’s head steady in his lap. It was nice. To have Max not push him away. Too bad he had to be sedated for that.

Felix wanted to chuckle at the thought, but he couldn’t. He just stared down at Max’s resting face and lightly caressed his temple with his thumb.

“Are you prepared for this?”

“Huh?” Hermit’s question snapped Felix back to reality.

“Are you ready to face whoever comes out of that slumber,” Hermit clarified.

“Uh, guess so?” Felix hadn’t thought about anything like that.

“It can be dangerous to the mind.”

Felix remembered her mention something like that earlier. “Yeah, I’m sure Max will be fine. He’s smart and all.”

“It’s a life-altering experience. Even if everything goes as planned, he could be a different person entirely,” Hermit said.

“Huh.” Felix looked back at Max and felt a sting.

“I hope that new guy wouldn’t be such an asshole,” Felix said without thinking. Hermit smiled at him. Felix could tell she felt sorry for him. He responded with a forced smile. Way to close him off, even now.

The fumes from the incense were getting to Felix. He was getting drowsy and his head ached. He leaned back and tried to make himself more comfortable.

“He’s so hell-bent on getting rid of me. Always talking about how we part ways after he’s done with his business. This business right here, I mean,” Felix said, not sure why. Hermit was a strange lady, but felt weirdly reliable and wise. At least more so than Max. Which didn’t mean all that much, honestly. She didn’t respond, but the approving silence invited Felix to keep going.

“He’s a dumbass. And mean. A total ass.” Felix stared at the ceiling. “He gets jealous and possessive. He acts like he’s into me and makes me fall for him like I’ve never fallen for anyone, ever.” Felix felt his face burn just thinking about it. From anger, too, but mostly from something else. “Then he acts like he’s above it all and says shit like ‘we’re friends’ and it makes me sick.”

His headache was getting worse. Felix wanted to get out. Max had started squirming and making sounds like stifled speech. Felix ignored him. It pissed the hell out of him that Max was on some spiritual journey while Felix was left there alone, struggling with something that was completely Max’s fault.

Hermit kept quiet, giving Felix the time he needed. Or maybe she was sick of Felix babbling. Whatever. Felix wasn’t into drugs. He didn’t know how whatever Hermit here was selling was supposed to make you feel. But he was sure his outburst had at least something to do with the strange incense and the lighting and all the plants around the house. The whole thing.

“Hey, I need to get out.” Felix tried to stand up. He felt sick and was pretty sure he was about to lose his vision.

Hermit escorted him to the door.

“I need to stay with Max. Lay down and you’ll be fine.”

“Is it the drugs?” Felix asked. Hermit hesitated.

“I reckon it’s something else.” She disappeared before Felix could ask what she meant by that. He found himself a spot, curled up, and closed his eyes.

Chapter 13: Viewpoint Link copied

& on AO3

It wasn’t the lack of attention.

Since a young age, Felix had noticed his looks were something of an asset. He hadn’t got a perfect face of a romantic serial lead actor, but he hit a sweet spot where a lot of people found him attractive enough in at least one or two ways. Older men, especially. Something to do with his height, if Felix had to guess. Also, not being too intimidating, at least as long as he didn’t let his stubbornness show.

Sleeping around wasn’t a problem for him. Neither was having sex for money. Even at its worst it wasn’t worse than any other job he had done. At least you knew it wasn’t getting you anywhere. Even if he had got a rescue offer a couple times before. Not nearly as often as some others in the same line of work. The ones with prettier faces and more delicate bodies, although folks like that weren’t commonplace on Groundbreaker.

Being adored was the biggest perk. Felix loved it; he craved it. Belonging somewhere, with someone. Even for a night. Sometimes his partner would get emotional and it was the like the sweetest wine imaginable for his parched heart. Though sometimes, more often, really, they would make Felix shut up use him like a lifeless toy. It was fine, he didn’t care—really—just be disappointed and go grab a beer and talk shit with his friends.

Having an actual lover would have been good. Any kind of romance. But people around the Back Bays weren’t really that type. Neither the rest of the types he associated with.

It had been a terrible day up until then when Felix met the captain of The Unreliable and thought his luck had turned. He had just gotten fired from the one job that could have been his ticket out some day, and just hours earlier B had rejected him. Turned out she only saw Felix as a friends-with-benefits sort of deal and had no interest in any romantic relationships, ever. At least with a guy.

Felix had later realized that maybe The Unreliable was just another unlucky turn of events for him.

And when the shitty vicar came after him after getting the boot, he absolutely knew it was an unlucky turn. From the moment they’d met, Felix had known nothing but contempt for him, and he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. The vicar reeked of stuffy habits and comfortable lifestyle and everything Felix had learned to connect with his most stuck-up snobs of customers. The ones who would treat him like a nasty rag they had to settle for instead of their fancy higher grade whores back on wherever they came from. And this man sure didn’t prove any of his preconceptions wrong.

At least that’s what Felix thought as they laid on a Groundbreaker alley, bloody and bruised. In some twisted sense, Felix was almost touched by to what lengths Vicar was ready to go just to fuck up his life even further. That’s some dedication, he thought. And maybe that’s particularly what he was doing. Vicar would have no problem hopping aboard the next ship to Terra 2. Felix was pretty sure he had mentioned living in some depressing company town in Emerald Vale.

Guys like him tended to be delusional. Maybe he seriously had thought he could walk from the fight without a bruise. Or maybe he was self-destructive, whatever, Felix couldn’t have cared less. Even if he had, right now he had his own future to worry about.

He had had one, one ace up his sleeve. So much for that. Word traveled. No one wanted to take chances with a dime a dozen tramp with a violent guard dog. And none of that mattered, anyway.

“They’ll kill me. In my sleep, if I’m lucky,” Felix muttered and lowered his head. He wasn’t sure if Max’s silence was for the better or if made Felix want to punch him even harder.

“A ship leaving for Monarch is waiting for me,” Max started.

So you came here to deliver the fatal blow and leave?

Felix curled his fingers into a fist. It hurt and he gave up.

“I could use your help.”

Is this a joke? Is this blackmail? Another stunt to prove your importance? What’s your problem, anyway?

“Picking up strays, huh. I thought that goes against your principles,” Felix managed to reply. He wanted to throw up. The offer didn’t feel honest. Nothing felt honest coming from Vicar.

“Call it a lapse of judgment.”

Felix wanted to beat this entitled asshole back into unconsciousness and then go drink himself to death.

For the next few days, Lawrence training him on basic ship maintenance was undoubtedly the only thing keeping Felix sane. Nothing made sense. He missed Parvati and Ellie. He missed B. He thought about her soft skin and strong arms. The way he felt when he sank into her and felt one and safe, that feeling being mutual or not. He knew he’d miss Lawrence eventually if they had more time together. Good thing they didn’t.

“Quick to make friends—and enemies,” people often said about Felix. Some mockingly, some meaning no ill. What no one ever cared to mention was that he was not at all quick to forget about them. It wasn’t the amazing skill everyone painted it as. Desperately clinging to any potential life partner, platonic or not, was what it was. And then weeping when they inevitably exited his life, and he had no way of following them.

Meanwhile, Max hadn’t even tried to talk to him the entire time. Somehow, they had managed to become even more distant than they’d been back on The Unreliable.

Would he ever miss Max?

He wished he would. The sooner the better. At least then he’d be out of his life.

After all, they were bound to go separate ways, eventually. Felix didn’t know what it was that Max wanted from Monarch, and he didn’t mind tagging along. No, even with things being how they were, this was his one chance to get out on an adventure, and that was at least something. But a grumpy old vicar wasn’t liable to travel around the space just for the heck of it, much less to humor some uneducated nobody.

Felix still hadn’t come up with any explanation why Max followed him in the first place. He hadn’t expected anyone to do so, but he at least liked to think he had some sort of friendship going on with Parvati and Ellie. Max had always looked him down his nose. Like a charity case, a mistreated mutt the captain had picked up as a personal pet. The last person on the ship who would ever show any solidarity or empathy towards him.

Felix stopped and closed his eyes for a second and refocused on the task at hand.

“Good job, Felix,” Lawrence smiled and helped Felix from under the engine. “Couldn’t have done better myself on my younger days.”

“I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Felix admitted and smiled back. Getting recognition from Lawrence and learning something useful kept Felix’s spirits up. At least for the most of his waking hours.

When they ascended the narrow staircase to the living area, Felix caught a glimpse of Max making a fuss at the table. The journal, Felix immediately realized and felt a heavy weight land on his shoulders. He ignored Max, internally panicking about what to do. Had he read it? How much? Nausea filled every corner of his insides.

It had all been one hellish rollercoaster. Time spent with Lawrence was good. Time spent keeping out of Max’s way was bad. One moment he was taking his first step on the one and only Monarch, the next he had to be saving Max’s ungrateful ass. For Felix, none of the high points on this ride involved Max, and it seemed Max couldn’t care less.

Max had pillaged his one private place on the ship, that was his journal. Felix was pissed, but also lost on what to do about the storm raging on inside his head without those pages to confide in.

Then Lawrence was gone. The nauseating ride came to a lackluster stop.

And even then, Max wouldn’t let him have one night to get away from it all.

“Do you even have any bits on you?”

Felix wanted to groan. Actually, Felix wanted to go back in time and leave Max bleeding dry and getting eaten by all kinds of deadly creatures in the middle of nowhere.

“I’ll figure out something.”

“No, you absolutely won’t.”

There it was again, the self-important, holier-than-thou attitude. Nothing like it to make Felix want to kick things.

“The hell is it to you, anyway? Ain’t your problem what I do with myself,” he shouted at Max, trying not to punch this prick. Was there nothing he wasn’t willing to take away from him? To his surprise, Max went silent and scraped together a few beers’ worth of bits.

Not that Felix was happy with the outcome—Max still treated him as some sort of project. A brittle thing that needed saving from itself. A disaster about to happen, a confused child waiting for the first opportunity to hurl itself into a black hole.

Still, that night was a surprise high point on his rollercoaster ride, and this time it involved Max. And as the train started declining, Felix decided to drop the bomb and make sure there wouldn’t be another one of those ever again because hell no, he wasn’t letting Max get away with being a total jerk just by buying him a couple drinks.

“Did you figure that out before or after you read my journal?”

There, Felix thought. The table was clean, and it was up to Max to start behaving like a normal fucking human being for a change.

And to Felix’s great surprise, that’s what he did. Aside from having weird interests, of course.

In fact, the next morning Max was actually nice to Felix for a change. That being said, they were still little more than two strangers united under unusual circumstances.

Still.

Going through Lawrence’s old things and finding an old leather jacket, Felix’s mind immediately conjured up an image of Max wearing it. Felix hated himself for it, but it filled his stomach with butterflies.

The reality was even better.

“How is it?”

What was he supposed to say? Felix hadn’t thought about it before, but Max was plenty good-looking. Not in a model kind of way, but still a face and body type Felix often did try to keep an eye out for when looking for some extra bits. Hell, for company, even. Felix tried to hide his unease. Max was still waiting for his reply.

“It’s fine,” he finally mumbled, unable to look his way.

What the hell was wrong with him? Whatever, it will pass, he thought. By the time we’ll get back from Fallbrook, I can’t remember this ever happened.

And, true enough, by the time they returned to the ship, Felix was already giddy about having another destination to look forward to. And then, the next day, another; their engine was busted, and they would have to make a detour to a place called Cottoncliff.

“I’ll go make preparations for the liftoff,” Felix said. Of course he wasn’t happy about what had happened to their ship, but he wouldn’t let it sour his mood completely. It would be okay.

He punched the switch to open the airlock door and hopped down the ramp. Everything should have been fine outside, but he wanted to make extra sure nothing else broke when they already had to fly with a busted engine.

What he found he had not expected.

“Felix, Felix! How good to see you!”

Felix’s insides twisted into a painful knot when he recognized the voice. Should he bolt?

He froze and forced himself to turn to face his old captain.

“Hey, good to see you too,” Felix said and tried to fake confidence. Behind the captain, he noticed Parvati and Ellie together with a third person he hadn’t seen before, but he was too anxious to be happy for their unexpected reunion. Parvati and Ellie didn’t seem too relaxed, either.

“How’s it been, Felix? You made it to Monarch, I see.” His old captain acted like they were some old friends, completely ignoring how they threw him out of his crew out of the blue after never even letting him do any actual work outside Groundbreaker.

“Y-yeah. We’ve got all kinds of work lined up already,” Felix said. It wasn’t that big of a lie. Wasn’t he kind of working for Max?

“The ship looks old, hope she won’t break down before you get to your next destination.” Felix saw right through their false concern, but his mouth was quicker than his wit, so he ended up admitting more than he maybe should have.

“She needs some repairs, but we know someone who can handle it.”

Felix noticed the captain’s eyebrows rise. The corner of their mouth was tugging up, as well. Felix felt cornered.

“In that case, why not—Oh!”

Felix heard familiar footsteps behind him just in time. He felt like running to Max, but he didn’t want to show any more signs of weakness to the sleazebag in front of him. Or really Max, either.

“Nice to see you, Captain. You finally made it to Monarch, then?”

Max’s ice cold voice surprised Felix. What reason had Max to be angry at their old boss?

Max let the captain have no opening. Felix knew it could have been just him being weirdly territorial, but… It almost felt like Max was protecting him.

If Felix had to pinpoint the moment he knew there was no returning from his hopeless attraction to this ill-tempered man some twenty years older than him, it was then.

“Look, I was unfair. I’m giving you another chance.” The captain was now speaking to Felix again. His mouth was dry. Max was standing next to him by now. Felix stole the quickest glance at him. It was enough to give him the confidence he needed.

“No way I’m coming back,” he said. His voice didn’t waver. He meant it, with all his heart. Overrun by his feelings of liberation and hammering heart, he turned to meet Max’s eyes.

“Don’t need a boss no more, I’ve found a partner.”

He wouldn’t feel awkward about his sudden opening up until later that night, when he laid in his bunk hot and bothered, much too aware Max was sleeping right under him.

Felix spent the entire trip to Cottoncliff in a pleasant daze. He didn’t mind Max’s presence anymore—he enjoyed it. He still wasn’t sure what to do with his feelings, but whatever. Sometimes you crush. Nothing had to happen, and it would pass once they’d say goodbye for good.

What happened next, Felix couldn’t have imagined in his wilder dreams. Hidden cities? Secret research to save the colony? An actual rebellion—one he could join if he played his cards right? It was like a dream.

And Max was willing to go along with all of it, except of course the part about joining a rebellion.

Everything was perfect. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better than this—

“Hey, Felix! Where have you been?”

Felix’s heart leaped. It was B.

She looked as pretty as the day Felix had first left Groundbreaker. Max had a problem with her, but Felix wasn’t surprised. Felix couldn’t imagine Max liking any cool and fun people, and on top of that he was probably pissed about B thinking he was Felix’s customer.

“Say, Felix, if you’ve got some time why not get a drink with me? My treat.”

Felix knew what she meant. He wasn’t sure if he could sleep with B again after his heartbreak, and she would understand that. But he wasn’t about to pass the opportunity to share some stories and a moment with a dear friend.

He took a step to follow her, only to have Max interrupt him.

“I’m afraid Mr. Millstone has other issues to attend to right now. If you’ll excuse us… Miss.”

Back to being “Mr. Millstone”, huh? Whatever, Felix thought.

Max grabbed Felix’s arm. Felix yanked away on instinct.

“Calm down, Max. What the hell’s with you. A minute ago you said it’s fine. You don’t need to come along, okay? B owes me a beer. Here, I’ll leave you all the bits. Are we good now?”

Felix gave the bit cartridge in his pocket to Max, expecting it to be the end of it. Max had the full right to dislike his friends, and yeah, maybe it was a good idea he would take care of their money, but Felix knew they weren’t about to leave for a while yet. He was free to spend that time in any company he chose.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. But between us, miss, we’re on a highly important mission and cannot afford the ship mechanic having a hangover,” Max called out after them. Absolutely, clear as day, not sorry for any of it.

Felix was about to lose his shit, but then B got excited about their mission. She wanted in.

His perfect adventure just got even better.

“Hey, actually—we could really use your help, B. And we’ve got a spare bed, too. And enough supplies to—” Felix enthused. He already saw B adventuring together with them, beating asses left and right.

“Absolutely fucking no.”

Max fumed. Felix was stunned.

“I think we’re done here, Miss. I’m not picking up any more Groundbreaker hellions. This one’s enough trouble as is.” Max snatched the bags Felix was still holding and stormed off, threatening to leave without him. Felix remembered shouting something after him, then being completely lost for a moment before he caved in and followed him. Why, he wasn’t sure.

“Felix, take care.”

B sounded worried. Felix couldn’t even turn to say goodbye to her. He just waved at her and kept walking. His feet dragged. He did and did not want to get back to the ship.

When he did, he hoped he wouldn’t have. Both him and Max were still furious, and they quickly found themselves in a shouting match.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe it’s specifically you trying to fuck every passer-by you see right under my nose that I don’t like?”

Felix was pinned against the wall when Max blurted out something he probably hadn’t meant to.

He didn’t know what to think. Being treated this way wasn’t exactly making Felix want to throw his arms around Max and reveal his own feelings. But then again, it did help Felix understand some of Max’s puzzling behavior.

It didn’t make things easier, though. After the incident, Max was back to avoiding Felix. He was acting irresponsibly, too. Felix wouldn’t let it ruin his adventure, but it made things complicated.

“Aren’t we far too deep in this mess to give up now?”

Felix couldn’t believe he had to be the responsible one here. Wasn’t he the one who wanted this, not Max? Max should have been happy to have an excuse to pull the plug and go to Scylla to finish what he couldn’t wait to finish.

“Call it what you want. But it’s cowardice.”

This manipulating asshole. It was working, though.

“Fine. We’ll do this. But if we fail, you’re out of the airlock immediately.”

“Deal.”

Felix saw how Max’s eyes gleamed, how he fought against a sick smile.

“You’ve gone from unbearable to a fucking psycho.”

Felix felt weird. He felt sick to his stomach thinking about what they were about to do. It frustrated him, too. To feel that way. To admit he wasn’t the badass adventurer happily gambling his life for the good of others.

In the end, they made it to Byzantium in time. Plenty ahead of time, in fact.

“I can’t dance.”

Felix’s head went blank when Max interrupted his workout that day. He knew they were going to a ball. He knew they were going as a couple, and that there would be dancing. The way Max had treated him earlier was definitely a turnoff, but then again it was just a dance or two with an attractive man. He’d seen worse.

What he hadn’t expected was having to teach Max to dance. Felix enjoyed dancing; the fine ballroom sort, specifically. But he also despised the people, the culture associated with it, and could never bring himself to admit his casual hobby to anyone. He had hoped Max would have been the one to offer teaching Felix, or even better, ignore the topic altogether and expect anyone, including Felix, could follow him at least passingly.

“Maybe I could teach you some things, then.”

Felix had no choice. He dreaded Max’s reaction and glanced at him cautiously. Max looked surprised, but at least he didn’t seem one bit mocking. Maybe he was even the tiniest bit impressed, but then again Felix was probably reading too much into it.

Felix immediately erupted into a flurry of justifications. But when Max still didn’t say anything mean, Felix relaxed enough to admit:

“Dancing is kinda fun. Never had a partner, though.”

Max avoided his eye and kept quiet. Could it be he was embarrassed? Realizing this wasn’t any easier to Max was some relief until he sighed and spoke again.

“I’m sure you will do fine.” Was it a… compliment? Felix didn’t have much time to think before Max continued. “But could you teach me?”

“Now?” Felix panicked and couldn’t even hide it.

“Whenever you have time. Although, the sooner would be better.” Max looked equally awkward when Felix could finally look his way.

“Okay,” Felix accepted, then realized his clothes were wet with sweat. “Uh… You mind me taking a shower first? Wouldn’t, you know, want to get my sweat all over you.”

It was only at the bathroom door that Felix realized not only how gladly he would have his sweat drip all over Max, but also that the same image was probably now in Max’s head, too.

“Shit, fuck,” he muttered, letting the shower drown his voice. He set the shower temperature to as cold as he could stand and tried to ward off the images pouring into his head.

Felix put on comfortable, loose clothes—not that Max wouldn’t notice any involuntary body reactions while being so close to him, but at least he could pretend he didn’t.

Teaching Max would have been a lot more bearable if he didn’t constantly try to put distance between the two of them. Of all the times, did he have to start acting coy now? Each time he had to step closer, to guide his hand, to give him orders, Felix became more self-conscious and nervous.

“It should be lower,” Felix said, his voice barely obeying him. “Ah—”

“Would you please not make noises like that,” Max said.

Yeah, excuse me, maybe if you just put your hand where it’s supposed to be instead of slowly caressing my lower back like that, I wouldn’t.

Felix could barely restrain himself.

“Sorry.”

Fortunately, it got better. It got a lot better. By the end of their lesson, Felix didn’t mind suggesting they could keep practicing later, and Max didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Felix’s gaze lingered on Max for another second. His heart fluttered.

Felix had just pulled up the pants when he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. Max, obviously, but why was he standing still and all quiet in the doorway? He felt Max’s eyes burn on his naked back and suddenly felt very self-conscious. Felix took the blue dress shirt from the pile of clean, luxurious clothes and slid his arm into the sleeve, carefully, as if the soft fabric would rip into shreds from the touch of his rough skin. His body tingled as he buttoned up the shirt, very much aware of having an audience.

He pulled on his red jacket and left it open. Etiquette breach or not, he wanted at least this much comfort in the alien situation he was about to throw himself into.

Felix turned around and pretended to just now notice Max.

“Hey, how does it look?” Felix asked. Max was trying so hard to hide his fluster it was almost cute.

He had to admit that Max looked incredibly handsome in his blue coat reaching just below his hip. It fit him snuggly, leaving just enough room to move naturally but still emphasizing his slim abdomen and hips, making his already muscular shoulders look wide in comparison. Even in Lawrence’s old leather jacket and covered in blood, Max managed to look refined; polished to perfection like this, embellished with royal blue fabric, he could have been a king of this damned colony.

And Felix felt like an aristocrat on his arm.

Under any other circumstances it would have stood against everything Felix valued, but maybe he could surrender to the fantasy just once in his life. He had to act his part, anyway. Might as well make it real.

Heads turned as they walked past. Probably not for the best of their mission, but Felix enjoyed it nevertheless. He wasn’t used to being noticed, not when he wasn’t making a ruckus, anyway. It was like a drug.

Overcome with an urge to show off their imaginary relationship, he sidled closer to Max, who was too busy looking for their target to even notice Felix’s advances. Felix didn’t mind, he was enjoying himself all the same.

Max had spotted the target just in time when the dancing began. Felix’s heart pounded when Max swept him toe to toe in one resolute movement.

“Let’s see how I’ll do.”

Felix found Max’s stiff movements endearing, but his leader quickly gained confidence. The night was straight out of a serial drama where they played the lead roles.

Until the song ended.

Felix knew it was time to vanish from the scene of the crime.

But Max didn’t let go—and instead pulled him closer. Felix felt a warm breath on his ear and a rapid heartbeat echoed in his chest. Felix wasn’t sure if it was his or Max’s.

It was all becoming too much for Felix. His body grew more and more tense, his thoughts increasingly wanton. He needed to get out. With Max, in a private place, if he had any say. He spotted a couple slipping out of the garden side doors.

Here goes.

Max didn’t think twice when Felix made his proposal. Felix’s head spun.

Are we going to do this? Oh shit, we’re doing this.

Max led him deep into the garden. Felix was growing impatient with all the beating around the bushes. Max wasn’t thick-skulled enough not to recognize when someone wanted to get it on, but the slow pace was about to drive Felix insane. Each step they took was another loop in the endless cycle of thought Felix was trapped in. Was he imagining it all? Had Max only got caught up in the moment? Did Max really want Felix the way he wanted Max? What would happen tomorrow? Was Felix himself ready for everything that would come after?

Felix wanted to slap himself on the face. It wasn’t like him to get all bashful thinking about sex.

His worries washed away when Max finally touched his lips. Gently and timidly, navigating the right angle before fully committing.

Who knows what would have happened if the couple of drunks hadn’t crashed into them just then. Felix sure didn’t. But he was way too cheerful to be sorry. He helped Max up from the ruined hedge and realized now was his chance to ask about an idea he had been toying with throughout the night.

“Hey Max? There’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since we came here.”

The look Max responded with was all Felix needed. His eyes were wide with adoration, and maybe it would have been too much for Felix under any other circumstances, but it all felt like a scene out of a story, so he went with it. He took Max by the hand, and Max followed him without hesitation.

Felix led Max to a glass statue he had been eying earlier and handed Max a rock. It wasn’t so much about wreaking havoc, although that was part of it. It felt meaningful, having Max do this for him—no, with him.

And when the stranger in the night asked them to follow, Felix didn’t even care that much about the secret party, as interesting as it sounded. It was more about him throwing himself into this thing and watching Max follow him against everything Felix had come to expect of him.

The group led them through the cool midnight city to secluded basement stairs. Low, melodic pattern thumped through the door. The stranger opened the door and exposed a sea of sound and color.

Countless people all dressed in the fanciest, most flamboyant outfits Felix had ever seen filled a large room. The music was loud and new. Behind a bar there was a cabinet full of bottles, most of the labels unfamiliar to Felix. Some lacked label altogether. No way any of this was legal. Not that the rich kids would get into trouble for it.

Next to the bar, a crowd surrounded a pianola playing a fast melody to the rhythm of the deeper sounds. It definitely wasn’t a jingle or an official corporate tune. Felix stretched his neck, trying to see over the heads. Someone sat in front of the instrument and ran his fingers along the keys.

“What’s he doing?” Felix asked, but their escort was busy showing off him and Max to the curious crowd gathering around them. Most of them were drunk. All of them were handsome.

Young, too, making Max stand out. Not like a sore thumb, more like an exotic animal. Max didn’t seem to mind the attention he was getting as the only older man present. Felix didn’t, either. It was silly, but in a charming way, and Felix was the one who got to sit next to him on a crowded couch as someone insisted them to take a seat.

The man whose name Felix still hadn’t caught was telling his friends what had happened in Chopper’s garden. Others wanted more stories. The young Byzantines hadn’t yet realized they weren’t who they said they were, but on some level they were aware Felix and Max didn’t belong and were thrilled to have them.

Someone handed Felix a bottle and he knew he shouldn’t. Then again, he had Max looking over him, and Max didn’t seem to mind. So down it went. Whatever it was, it was strong and sweet and lousy, but he had much too fun to care. Felix jumped a bit when Max reached over his shoulder to grab the bottle, but to his surprise Max lifted the bottle on his lips and took a swig. He noticed Felix’s bemusement mid-swallow and smiled boyishly like Felix had never expected he could. Hell, Felix had never seen Max in such high spirits as he had been this entire night.

Another person came to sit on the already crowded sofa. She was a petite woman, who despite her size couldn’t fit and instead opted to sit on the armrest, resting one leg on Max’s. Felix didn’t see any problem, but was flattered when he noticed Max pulling him tighter in his armpit.

The small lady snatched the mystery bottle from Max.

“Oh no, Tom has got to stop passing this swill around the bar. Neil! Get my new friends the good stuff. It’s on me,” she shouted to the man behind the bar. She turned to smile at the two of them. “I’m Christina. Welcome to our humble saloon,” she smiled with perfect, pearly white teeth.

The patrons showered Felix and Max with attention long into the night. They drank and talked and flirted. Felix didn’t want to admit warming up to these people of extreme wealth and privilege, but in this moment, in this room, they were like any twenty-and-thirty-somethings. If only they extended that same warmth outside their own social circuit.

The revolving color lights and the alcohol made Felix dizzy and the long day started to take its toll on him. He dug deeper into Max’s warmth and closed his eyes.

Cool air brought Felix back to his senses. He was on his feet, walking slowly towards the landing area with Max’s arm firmly around his waist, holding him steady. Felix looked around, up at the sky. A subtle glow illuminated it. He didn’t know how much later it was, but the day couldn’t have been far from breaking. The city was empty and quiet. Felix gathered the party was probably over by now.

He was still drunk—well past the peak, but not yet at the point where the positive feelings started to fade. A chilly breeze gave him the shivers and made him stick closer to Max. Felix slid his arm behind Max’s back, under his open jacket. It was warm inside. And when Max didn’t pull away, Felix rested his head on his shoulder.

If this was how it would be from now on, Felix wouldn’t mind. He could—no, wanted to get used to it.

But he didn’t get the chance to.

“This is not a good idea.”

“We talked about this.”

No matter what he did, Felix couldn’t get through to Max again. Even when he was sitting on his lap, begging, Max kept pushing him away.

A soft kiss on his collarbone pulled Felix back to present.

“What are you thinking?”

Felix turned around and smiled.

“Doesn’t matter anymore.”

Chapter 14: Truth Link copied

& on AO3

“Felix? Are you all right?”

The voice was Max’s, but not the tone. It was much too sincere and warm.

Felix opened his eyes. He was curled up on Hermit’s kitchen floor, Max kneeling in front of him. He had felt sick and fallen asleep in the corner after breathing in too much magic smoke floating around the other room. Or so he had thought. Hermit had said something about it not being the drugs. But whatever, he was fine now.

“I should have said you were welcome to use my bed,” Hermit chuckled. Felix ignored her, not out of malice but because he was too busy staring at Max with his mouth open.

“Max, you’re back,” Felix said. Max looked like himself and didn’t act any less sane than before. Yet, something was different. Not off, necessarily, just different. His eyes were warmer, maybe. Could have been the lighting in Hermit’s house, though.

Max smiled. Still Max. But that gentle, unreserved smile was a rare sight, and right now it seemed to come so naturally to him.

“You’re… back, right?” Felix asked.

“You didn’t expect me back?”

Felix shook his head.

“Just, never mind,” he said and let Max help him get up from the floor. Once they’d stood up, Max didn’t let go of his hand right away but held it for just a second longer. Barely enough for Felix to notice, not enough to say if it was intentional or not. Enough to dry his throat and force him to swallow.

“So, you feel all right?” Felix asked.

“I feel… good. Somewhat disoriented, too. I still need to adjust to this—this new mindset. It will take time,” Max said. Gradually, Felix started feeling more at ease. It was Max. Max, in a fantastic mood, which wasn’t all that usual for him, but still Max. Felix made a mental note he should ask about the whole experience later. Hopefully, he still had time for it.

Hermit warned against operating the ship just yet, not as long as Max still had the drug in his system. Not too keen on hanging around Hermit’s house or spending another evening confined to their small ship, they chose to explore Scylla some more. Not that there was much to see, but Felix didn’t mind having an excuse to be by Max’s side.

Other than a camp of outlaws and some primals here and there, Scylla was empty. It was easy to avoid the dangerous spots. They walked around the abandoned asteroid, casually looking for interesting things left behind by the miners who used to live there. Felix even found a deck of tossball cards and a bottle of expensive wine in a hidden container.

“I think I’m ready to go back to the ship,” Max said and stopped after a good while of exploration.

“What about all the rocks we’ll miss,” Felix said and grinned. In his head, he was struggling to come up with some excuse to stay. Scylla was dull, but he didn’t want to go back. Being near Max made him happy, and more painfully than ever before, he was aware that Max was about to boot him off the ship and return to Edgewater as soon as they’d get a chance. It twisted his insides, so he tried not to think about it when they inevitably turned back.

Light was escaping the surface of the asteroid as their star disappeared behind the horizon.

“Hey Max.”

“Yes?”

“I thought about things back at that hermit’s place.”

“Hmm?”

“Yeah, well.”

Felix swallowed. His mouth felt like sandpaper, and this time he knew it wasn’t the drug.

“I don’t get you.”

The soft lights around Hermit’s home made sense, Max thought as his eyes finally constricted enough to match the surrounding brightness.

“So, you feel all right?”

It was sweet of Felix to be so worried about Max. He appreciated it, he really did, but also couldn’t help smiling at how concerned Felix was while Max himself was in many ways feeling better than… Maybe ever in his life. Calm. Anew.

“I feel… good. Somewhat disoriented, too. I still need to adjust to this—this new mindset. It will take time.”

Max wasn’t still sure what that mindset was. Something had shifted. For the better, without doubt. The particulars about his vivid experience were already eluding him, but the message was loud and clear in his mind, like nothing had ever been before. A new paradigm for his life, for his beliefs. For how he should treat others, and himself, too.

“Do you need to rest a while longer?” Max asked. Felix looked surprised by his question.

“Don’t be so formal with me, Max. Yeah, no, I’m good. Let’s get going. We still have to… Right, I guess we’re done.”

Max hadn’t had the time to think about it until now. But Felix was right. There were no more adventures left for them as a team. They had botched up the Chopper job, but there was nothing they could do about it now.

Unfiltered, unrestricted melancholy filled Max for the first time during their entire journey. It took all this time and a good dose of hallucinogenics for him to allow himself to feel this way. To admit he didn’t want Felix to be gone. And yet, he now knew, better than ever before, that this wasn’t his decision to make.

“Don’t fly away just yet. Neither of you should be driving until your heads are cleared,” Hermit warned before they left. So they decided to stroll around Scylla for a while.

The light outside still hurt Max’s eyes. He wondered how long it would take for the side effects to pass. The sensitivity to light. To some extent, his euphoric mood, too. How close back to his usual repressed self he would return to was still a mystery. Hopefully part of the change was lasting.

No, he knew it was.

As they walked across the bare asteroid, exploring for hours, probably, Max felt the last remnants of the drug steadily exit his body.

They turned back just as it was getting dark. Max had enjoyed his own peace of mind, but also Felix’s apparent contentment. But as the automatic lights flickered on and illuminated the now otherwise pitch black area, Max noticed Felix’s expression had changed.

“Hey Max.”

He couldn’t decipher the sudden shift in mood. He spoke back gently.

“Yes?”

“I thought about things back at that hermit’s place.”

“Hmm?”

Max didn’t want to interrupt him, or throw him off his course, just gently nudge him to continue.

“Yeah, well.”

Max gave Felix time to find his words.

“I don’t get you.”

Max examined Felix’s face. His lips were pressed together, and a subtle crease ran between his eyebrows. Max couldn’t read his expression. He still had no idea where Felix was going with this, so he kept listening patiently.

“Yeah, so, hey, I’ve got nothing to lose and you’re still in a good mood.” Felix turned to look at him. His tense expression lightened up into a sunny, relaxed almost-smile.

Max still hadn’t forgotten the way his eyes shone in the bright sunlight back at the ship after the incident with Harlow, when Max had tried and failed to comfort him. Ever since, there had been a glimmer, a light Max couldn’t miss. He let his gaze rest on Felix’s eyes, hoping Felix experienced even a fraction of the peace Max did when they locked their eyes like this.

“Gonna give this one last try.” Felix’s voice had a mild tremble to it, and his fingers fidgeted slightly. He broke off their eye contact for a second to summon up courage, then looked back with a smile, nervous and fragile, but kind and warm, too.

“So I guess we ain’t got much time left,” Felix started. Hearing those words from Felix pained Max more than he had anticipated; he was used to hearing them in his own voice by now, but not spoken by Felix. It was an unwelcome confirmation that this was real and happening.

“So, I thought maybe we could, you know.” He took a second to get to the point. “Make it memorable.” When Max still showed no reaction, busy taking it all in, Felix furrowed his brow slightly and said: “I’m saying I want to sleep with you, been wanting for a while now and I know you know I do, it’s driving me up the walls to be honest. Max, I, um, I think I’ve fallen for you a bit.”

The arid surface of the cold asteroid basked in pale and harsh artificial light, but their bleak surroundings couldn’t change how beautiful Felix looked in that moment. Vulnerable and earnest, he stood there before Max, saying out loud something that should have been said ages ago.

Something that Max couldn’t have made sense of before, anyway. But it was like his head was wired anew, and it all fell into place.

Felix’s bluntness stunned Max for a second before he broke into unexpected laughter.

“Hey,” Felix said and sounded simultaneously humiliated and annoyed. Max stepped closer and embraced him. Felix didn’t expect it and twitched as Max’s arms surrounded him.

“I’m sorry. I’m not ridiculing you.” Max breathed in Felix. “I would love to,” he whispered playfully. For a second, he felt bad for making Felix spell it out for him instead of taking the cue earlier. But then again, he really enjoyed hearing it. Who knew if he would ever again experience something like what he was experiencing right now with Felix. Just in light of the odds, maybe, but not very likely at his age. Based on his own biased expectations forged by his past experiences and the dopamine rushing through his body, though—never in a thousand years.

As he held Felix, his mind rapidly filled up with all kinds of repressed fantasies, making him increasingly aroused. He touched Felix’s ear with his lips. Felix’s body became even more tense and subtly pushed closer to him. Max fought the urge to bite his warm earlobe. He needed to keep his pants on for just a while longer.

“I’m sorry I made you wait,” Max whispered, almost inaudibly. He wanted to apologize for every way he had mistreated Felix, but that would come later. Felix didn’t seem in the mood for any prolonged serious talks right now.

Chapter 15: Stay Link copied

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Having your entire world crumble into dust would be enough to rattle anyone, even vicar Maximillian DeSoto. He was under no illusions that this wasn’t an end to his journey, merely a waypoint.

Which would surely be a source of some frustration, even after all he’d been through. But he knew the years he had spent believing the OSI way was the only truth were a part of this journey, not a detour, not a waste of time, not something he could have avoided. They weren’t something he should have—could have skipped if he ever wanted to arrive at this point. And yet, he knew he would have to remind himself of it, even from now on. And that there would be hardships and growing pains on the road ahead.

But right now, Max was preoccupied with the hands running on his naked upper body, studying it like a sacred text.

He leaned over Felix, who was sitting on top of the ship's living area table. His vest and linen shirt were in a messy pile somewhere downstairs after Felix had fought them off before they could even reach the staircase. Between the kisses, the hands, the moans, the profanities, it had been nothing short of a miracle they could even climb all the way up without hurting themselves.

With some regret, Max grabbed Felix’s wrists and pulled his hands aside to make room for another kiss. Felix didn’t seem too regretful from the disturbance, returning the kiss with an incredible appetite.

“Fuck, Max…” Felix moaned through his bright red lips when Max pulled away, keeping his face only centimeters from Felix’s. Kissing was nice, but Max wasn’t about to get bashful now.

“Get undressed,” he rumbled. Felix didn’t waste time reaching for the hem of his shirt, but Max was quicker.

“Whoa, that impatient?” Felix jabbed at him. Max didn’t reply. He wanted to keep stripping Felix, but the naked, glistening torso of this magnificent man under him mesmerized him. No, this wasn’t the first time he had seen him naked. But this time he didn’t need to look away. To pretend he wasn’t watching, stealing glances, not only secret from Felix, but secret from himself. Without warning, he pressed his mouth on Felix’s upper abdomen, evoking a sharp inhale from him.

It was Max’s turn to explore Felix’s body. He tasted the salty sweat. Smelled the cheap cologne which at this point was like an aphrodisiac to him. He wasn’t sure how long he had spent devouring him when he felt Felix’s hands searching for his fly. He gasped as Felix perhaps-accidentally brushed against his very much full erection.

“You get distracted too easily,” Felix panted in his ear and unzipped him. Max didn’t mind getting lectured and let Felix work his pants down.

Felix seemed to expect Max to return the favor, but Max just smiled smugly, much more interested in watching Felix do the honors himself. Felix gave him a slight frown, then sighed and muttered “fine” before slowly opening his pants and maneuvering them down while still pinned between Max and the tabletop.

“Your turn to do as I say,” Felix said once both were fully naked. Max’s mouth curled into an excited smile. Usually he preferred to set the pace, and he intended to stay behind the wheel this time too, if Felix allowed him. But this is the Felix he wanted in this moment. The contrast to the meek Felix offering himself to Max as some misguided way to cope just yesterday was stark. Max leaned in to kiss his shoulder.

“Anything.” He meant it. It was clearly something Felix wasn’t used to. He didn’t seem surprised per se—and Max was grateful Felix felt comfortable enough with him to communicate his wishes—but his face became serious, as if asking “really?”, for a second. “Tell me,” Max said in a gentle voice and softened his gaze.

Felix slid his fingers up Max’s spine until they reached his neck, sending several shivers along the way. He pulled Max into another kiss, closing the gap between their bodies, then slowly pushed Max’s head down to his neck, then lower—

It wasn’t a mystery where Felix was going with this. To Felix’s disappointment, Max pulled back, but only to grab his thighs and push him along the table into a better position. He didn’t bother journeying all the way down, instead sinking his lips straight on Felix’s cock.

The mix of surprise and pleasure made a loud whine escape Felix’s lips. Sure, Max would comply with whatever Felix could imagine asking of him, but that didn’t mean he had to give up control.

“That’s fucking unfair,” Felix panted as Max’s mouth worked on his shaft. Max stopped to lift his face while grabbing Felix’s cock in his hand as if he didn’t want to let it go while his mouth was busy elsewhere.

“Unfair? You forgot to say this was a fucking competition.” Max wasn’t angry, quite the opposite. But he wanted to provoke Felix. To his disappointment, Felix saw right through it and ignored his effort.

“Who said you could stop?” Felix retorted. No one, Max admitted silently and resumed his business. His palms wandered up Felix’s thighs, then pressed against his hips for a moment before their next destination.

“Shit. Max. You should probably, uh, fuck—” Hearing Felix have such trouble containing himself made Max instinctively grab his own cock with one hand. Right at that moment, he only wanted to taste Felix at the height of his pleasure, and it took Max all his self-control and his newfound spiritual restraint not to just jack himself off while they finished together.

“Oh, Law, Max,” Felix begged him and jerked his hips back, but wasn’t able to commit fully to it, leaving it up to Max to be the more disciplined one here.

Tearing his mouth off Felix’s cock felt like a crime, so he consoled himself by immediately pushing Felix’s back against the table and kissing him hard on the lips. He rubbed his hips against Felix, trying hard to think up a smooth enough way to suggest they’d change locations and get into his bunk. Luckily, Felix was one step ahead of him.

“My ass hurts.”

“Good enough. Get in my bunk,” Max ordered.

“I can’t, you’re on top of me,” Felix complained. Max wasn’t sure if he was honestly stuck under him, or if it was another request in disguise. Either way, Max saw no problem playing along.

“Do I need to carry you?” Max purred and stroked Felix’s thighs.

“Yeah, that would help.”

At least Felix was as short as he was. Otherwise, it could have proved difficult to grab a grown, rather muscular, not to mention sweaty man and carry him across the room while being constantly kissed.

He pushed Felix down onto his bed. Gently, Max placed his palms on his sides and slowly slid them up, past his armpits, guiding him to raise his arms above his head and holding them there while leaning closer to kiss his lips.

“Any further wishes?” Max asked. With every passing minute, he was less sure he really wanted to be in charge. Felix using his power over him was new and, frankly, titillating.

“I need you to find something to use as a lube, for starters,” Felix said. Max wasn’t ready for any of it. Not the demanding tone, not the implication. Which he knew was silly, given the circumstances, but he hadn’t really had the time to visualize all this happening.

“I’ll, uh.” It was Max’s turn to be speechless. He really hadn’t thought of buying, ahem, supplies when they last stocked up. He realized a condom wouldn’t have been a bad idea, either, since he had no idea how responsible Felix had been able to be before him, but it was already much too late for worrying about that now.

Felix seemed to read his mind. “There’s some in my knapsack,” he said and muttered: “Haven’t had any use for it lately, though.”

Max was getting restless all of the sudden. He fetched the bottle. More than half of it was used. Max became even more acutely aware just how active Felix had been before being recruited aboard The Unreliable. It didn’t make him jealous, but it did make him myriad other things. Curious. Intimidated. Eager. Nervous.

“Are you all right?” Hearing Felix’s voice brought Max back to the current moment like a comforting, warm touch.

“I really love you,” Max said, realizing it only halfway through the sentence. Felix turned bright red.

“You’re supposed to leave that sorta stuff until after,” he said and covered his mouth. “But… thanks.”

Seeing Felix blush so profoundly made Max relax again.

“I take it you want me to use this on you,” he teased.

“Yeah, that was the idea,” Felix said and spread his legs, still embarrassed. Max couldn’t imagine he was this bashful with everyone. It was endearing. It made him feel special.

Max opened the bottle and poured the liquid on his fingers, then carefully slid them in.

Judging by the state of his erection, Felix wasn’t as dangerously close to the edge as a while ago, but Max moving inside him slowly in was quickly changing the situation. Max didn’t want to make too many assumptions, but he figured Felix wasn’t much used to being prepared this gently despite so clearly craving for it.

Much like Max wasn’t used to treating someone with such care and adoration as he did Felix. He let his mind linger there for another second, thoroughly enjoying the calm feeling. This was good, incredibly good.

Max didn’t bother keeping his emotions from showing plainly on his face, and Felix immediately picked them up.

“Get closer.”

It wasn’t really a demand, more an invitation. Still, Max did as told. He pulled out his fingers and wiped the excess lube on the corner of his bedsheet, then lightly pushed the head of his cock on Felix’s entrance and leaned over.

“I’ll move,” he said and slowly pushed himself all the way in. Felix moaned softly and made a face that almost melted Max. He dropped his burning hot forehead on Felix’s shoulder.

“Did anyone ever tell you how fucking beautiful you look,” Max wept in his ear.

“Don’t know how many ever looked as carefully as you do,” Felix said.

“They were idiots.” Max caressed the side of Felix’s neck. Felix’s reaction had overwhelmed Max. He ran his hand down to his sides. Felix’s skin was hot and slippery from sweat. He responded to Max’s touch by clutching his upper back.

Max started moving, carefully at first, but quickly picking up the pace to keep up with Felix’s quickening hip movements until they reached a happy common ground.

“Can I—go deeper?” Max panted.

“Y-yeah… Ahh—fuck,” Felix yelped as Max pushed deeper the second he was permitted. Max hated to stop, but the last thing he wanted was to hurt Felix.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, that’s just a… good angle,” Felix said. He was winded, and Max wasn’t about to let him catch his breath any time soon. So, he resumed with an even harsher pace, sinking his cock as deep as he could reach. Judging by the sounds Felix made, it was plenty deep.

The way Felix’s body swayed as a response to Max’s thrusts, the way his sweat-drenched hair stuck to his face, the way his mouth gasped for air in between the whispers and moans of pleasure…

“Fuck,” Max uttered. He wanted to kiss Felix again, badly so, but couldn’t reach over his raised hips. So, he wanted to say something awfully sweet again. Something that would make Felix squirm under him. Something that would convey how much Max cared and adored.

The words burst up his throat, rolled off his tongue, and escaped right through his lips as if someone else was speaking through him. The trite expressions of passion and longing he could have never imagined reciting floated up from somewhere deep within him. Every word, no matter how clichéd, he meant with all his heart.

The result was exactly the opposite from what he had intended. Max realized his voice was raw and close to breaking; Felix didn’t even flinch.

“Keep—keep going. Ahh, fuck—”

Max couldn’t take it anymore.

“You’re—I’m—I’m coming.”

“Y-yeah, please—”

Max erupted inside Felix at the “please”. He still had no idea if Felix knew it or not, but he was brutal with his words. Max quivered from pleasure and wanted nothing more than to drop his weight on Felix’s body and lie there for the rest of his life. Well, except for one thing.

“Let me finish you,” he panted and let Felix take control. Hastily, Felix grabbed Max’s wrist. Still inside, Max took the hint and started stroking Felix while kissing his rapidly rising and falling chest. In what couldn’t have been more than seconds, Felix had climaxed all over his stomach.

Max collapsed over him. He didn’t mind the sweat or the ruined sheets, he just wanted to stay there and fall asleep and either wake up in Felix’s arms or never wake up at all.

“Hey, Max,” Felix said just as Max was drifting off. “I love you too.”

Max was pleasantly surprised to find Felix curled up in his arms when the timed lights gently woke him up. He remembered waking up briefly to the sound of the toilet flushing, but falling back to sleep before Felix returned. He had thought maybe Felix would prefer to sleep in his own bunk. Max didn’t mind it, but although they were relatively spacious, the bunks weren’t designed to house two sleepers.

Being stuck between the back wall and sleeping Felix, Max couldn’t have gotten up without waking Felix up. He had no intention to do so anytime soon, anyway. The uncertainty of what would happen now still lingered over them, trying to hang him down. But Max didn’t let it ruin the moment.

After all, Felix had been honest last night. Max had to have the courtesy to do the same while he still could.

He closed his eyes again. Soon enough, he felt Felix shift around under his arm. From the change in his breathing, Max could tell he was now awake. They both stayed quiet, taking in the serene morning which, for all either of them knew, could be their only one. Something like that was worth savoring for a while.

Felix’s naked chest inflated, and he let out a sigh. Max broke the silence. He reached over to gently kiss Felix’s collarbone.

“What are you thinking?” Max asked in a calm voice.

Felix turned around to face him fully. His smile radiated warmth.

“Doesn’t matter anymore.”

Max smiled back at him, then paused and spoke in a deep voice.

“I want to stay with you.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Such a simple exchange was all they needed to put them on the same page. Finally.

Felix’s enthusiastic response wasn’t a complete surprise to Max, but he wanted to make sure.

“I won’t be returning to Edgewater if you stay with me, but I can’t promise it will ever be more than simple work. I can’t give you a life of a revolutionary. And I can’t follow you to the rebel faction.”

“Nothing they can give me I ain’t already got here,” Felix said. Understanding the weight of Felix’s sentiment made Max feel heady and almost had him blurt out most embarrassing platitudes. There was no Plan, so what was this something keeping Felix by his side through all these hardships until he could finally see how simple it all was?

Max pulled Felix closer and closed his eyes. He whispered.

“I’m sorry for everything I said. Didn’t say. Didn’t do.”

“Mmm,” Felix hummed. He opened his mouth like he was looking for words.

“You knew I didn’t really want to leave, right? Like sure, it sounded fun when I first heard about it and,” Felix paused. “Yeah, no, I guess I wanted to go. But I liked being with you, too. Seeing places. Going out on adventures. Like I imagined I would when I joined The Unreliable crew. And the more I spent time with you, the less I wanted to leave you.”

Max couldn’t say for certain. Maybe it was his old self shielding himself against a heartbreak in case Felix did want to leave him. Just as likely, it could have been him shielding himself from admitting he was falling in love. Maybe it was both.

“I pushed you away,” Max said as he realized, tightening his embrace as if to make sure Felix knew he didn’t want him anywhere else than by his side.

“Guess I should’ve been clearer, too,” Felix sighed. They stayed in bed for another moment.

“Wanna grab breakfast? My turn to cook,” Felix finally said. Max’s heart ached from the overwhelming happiness when he realized this was how it would be every day from now on. And he just knew Felix felt the exact same way.

Chapter 16: Resolve Link copied

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“Found anything?”

A pair of arms appeared over Max’s seat and lowered to rest on his chest.

“So far, nothing. Broad sweep came back with nothing, so I’ve had to check any promising locations manually. In the end, only Theresa would know where to look.” Max sighed and leaned backwards in his seat. Felix’s hands played with his collar and Max tilted his head to lean onto Felix’s upper arm.

“The wreckage has to be somewhere, right? All the sources say Chopper’s disappeared,” Felix said.

It had been days since Scylla, and Max and Felix had spent all their time trying to locate any signs of Chopper’s ship. The chances were slim, but maybe, just maybe, they could find his bracelet and decrypt the stolen bit cartridge, saving Doc Moore’s lab. It wasn’t looking very promising, though, as none of the most likely places where Theresa could have crashed Chopper showed any signs of collision.

“Have you been able to contact Theresa?” Max asked gently. He knew it was a sore spot for Felix, but they had no choice.

“No. Joann says she returned to Cottoncliff but left for another job right away. Says it’s not like her,” Felix said. He sounded casual, but Max knew there was still hurt left deep down.

“I looked at her logs on the computer and found some calculations, but none of those locations were matches. Could very well be some of the calculations have already been overwritten,” Max said.

“Yeah. Actually, there was something else Joann said.” Felix lifted his arms and Max turned to look at him.

“Seems like the pacifists heard about the radicals’ planned attack and how we folded it. They want to meet us. At their place, too,” Felix said.

“Really?” Max hadn’t expected an invitation, at least not so suddenly.

“Yeah, surprised me too. Maybe they’ve got a job for us.” Felix’s eyes glinted the way Max had come to love. As long as Felix was enthusiastic, Max was guaranteed to enjoy himself as well.

Max opened the navigation data sent to them and set the course to a small moon over Typhon, then followed Felix upstairs.

Max absent-mindedly watched Felix go through his exercise routine. How nice it was, being able to look at him like this without either of them feeling awkward.

To be honest, Max wasn’t entirely sure where they stood quite yet. He knew he wanted to be with Felix, and that Felix wanted to be with him, but between searching for Chopper’s shipwreck and spending sleepless nights in Felix’s arms, there had been little time to discuss the more practical side of their new relationship.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that they reached their destination. The moon was small, so small in fact that it didn’t even have a name. Max hadn’t expected a moon this remote to be much more than a cold, bare rock. How wrong he was. The entire moon was covered in green. Even their landing site was a lush, mossy field.

“There’s not even a landing pad there. I wonder if they sent the wrong location,” Felix wondered as they landed on the field in the middle of nowhere.

“Perhaps the pacifists think a landing pad, even somewhere as remote as this, would attract attention,” Max reasoned.

“Yeah, maybe,” Felix said and slammed the airlock door switch.

“Huh?”

Felix pushed the button again when the doors didn’t open the first time.

“The doors don’t open,” he said and turned to Max. Max checked the status screen.

“It says the air is not breathable. Strange,” Max said. “We had suits, right?”

“Yeah. Let me get them,” Felix said, and got a couple of space suits from a cabinet. They checked the condition of the suits, then put them on and stepped into the airlock.

“This is exciting. Never wore a space suit before,” Felix said as the inner door closed behind them and the hatch opened.

The view that greeted them left Max breathless. It was unlike anything he had seen before. The sky was like a giant pearl. A gradient of glowing light blue, turquoise and yellow was covered by a constantly shifting layer of brightly colored spots. The flat fields and low vegetation around them made the glorious sky above them look enormous.

Thick, deep green moss silenced their steps. Tall forests surrounded them in the distance, and low shrubbery grew all around the field in small clusters. They carried something colorful. Berries? Max knelt next to one bush. On a closer look, the fruit-like orbs hanging from the branches were translucent, like they were drops of some thick liquid ranging from light pink to deep magenta. He wanted to try squeezing one and see what happened.

“This place is amazing,” Felix breathed through the radio. “Look at the sky.”

“Truly,” Max said. They wandered through the field, half-forgetting why they were there.

“Is this the right place? Shouldn’t someone be here to receive us?” Felix asked.

Max swung his head around. He could only see endless nature in every direction.

“Maybe we should get back to the ship and wait for them to contact us,” he said. Only, when they turned around, their ship was nowhere to be found.

“Uhh, Max?” Felix asked like Max was pulling some sort of prank. Max looked around. Granted, he had lost the track of time, but they were still nowhere near the edge of the forest. There was nothing high enough growing on the field to conceal the ship.

“Let’s return the same way we came,” Max said, but it was easier said than done. There were no tracks left in the soft moss. Max tried to find the bushes he had inspected earlier, but they all looked identical to him.

“We should be able to find the landing site if we search the area. There’s no way the ship left no tracks in the ground,” Max said and hurried aimlessly back through the mossy field.

“Max, wait—we’ll just get more lost that way,” Felix said, but followed him all the same. They zigzagged the area, desperately trying to find any sign of their vessel, but in vain.

“It’s… it’s useless… we—we should… get out of the field… and find… someone,” Felix panted. It alarmed Max.

“Felix, how much air do you have left?” Max said and hurried to him. He checked Felix’s tank. It was running out any minute now. Max looked at his own meter. It was only half-empty.

“Sit down. Try not to speak. There’s something wrong with your equipment,” he said and tried to find a leak. By some miracle, he managed to find a small hole in one of the tubes.

“Hold this spot tightly,” Max said and pressed the tube in Felix’s hand. He held Felix’s fist in his own for a second before letting go.

“I’ll just—stay here… You go—go find someone,” Felix said with great effort.

“Don’t be a fool. You won’t have enough oxygen to have me even reach the forest,” Max said. He examined their equipment. The suit was old and cheap and missed a lot of modern features that could have saved them. Max did find a vent for mid-travel refilling, but his joy was short-lived. The lock mechanism was rusted completely shut. Sharing Max’s tank between them was no option. In addition, the lousy suits didn’t have the ability to swap tanks on the fly. He couldn’t even give his remaining oxygen to Felix.

Panic was creeping up to Max.

“No,” he cried.

“Max.” Felix’s voice crackled through the radio. He crawled into Max’s arms. Max wrapped his arms around Felix and held him tight.

“I want to take off my helmet. If I’m done for anyway,” Felix whispered. Max teared up. With trembling hands, he helped Felix open the lock.

“To hell with this,” Max wept. He inhaled, unlocked his helmet, and pulled it off. The rest of the air in the tank escaped from his helmet with a loud hiss.

“What are you doing?” Felix cried. Max pulled off Felix’s unlocked helmet and plunged into one last desperate kiss.

At the very least, it was the most pleasant way to die Max could imagine. Surrounded by brilliant nature lit by rusty pink light of the setting Halcyon star, melting into the person you most adored in the entire universe. Had he yet believed, he would have no doubt cursed the Architect and died in fury. But now, he just wanted to surrender to the moment and go in peace.

“Max.”

Max was almost out of air. Should he spare them the painful suffocation? He reached for a gun. It would be over in a second.

“Max, hey.” Felix’s voice finally registered. “It’s air. We can breathe.”

Max opened his eyes. They laid on the soft, cool moss floor, bathing in the sunset light. Not ready to believe it, he tried breathing in. Air flowed into his lungs. He looked at Felix. He smiled at Max. Max took another breath, this time deeper, filling his lungs to their fullest.

“But the ship sensors showed the air wasn’t breathable,” Max wondered.

“Yeah. Let’s get back to the ship and wonder about it later,” Felix said. Max then realized they were back on square one.

“Ah, there you are.” A voice behind them derailed Max’s train of thought. They stood up quickly to see who was speaking.

“I apologize for the terrible welcome we gave you. We fully expected you to still be aboard the ship when we lowered the elevator. We did not want to disturb you—after all, you could have been asleep while your autopilot landed—and only started wondering several hours later.” The speaker was a balding man wearing a green, shimmering cloak. “I am Gale, and I’m in charge of the outside relations here. This way, please.”

“The… elevator?” Felix uttered.

“Yes, it’s right here,” Gale said and waved them to stand next to him. They followed him, and the man pressed a button on a small device.

Almost silently, the ground beneath them started to move. A large rectangle platform covered by moss started lowering slowly. The man pressed another button, and another platform slowly slid above them to conceal the opening in the ground. Their platform traveled down in complete darkness for a good while until they arrived at a big underground hall. They immediately spotted their ship waiting neatly on a platform. There were a couple more small ships next to it, and another empty spot.

“Our settlement is a brief ride from here,” Gale said and pointed at a worn out old cargo cart. The thing creaked as they stepped in, and the door let out a nasty screech as Gale pulled it shut with great effort.

“Normally, we wouldn’t take guests all the way here,” Gale spoke as the cart jerked and slowly started speeding up. “—but, ah, you’ll understand as we get there.”

The cart was now moving at a gut-twisting speed through a pitch-black tunnel.

“So, why did our ship sensors say the air was unbreathable?” Felix asked.

“Ah, so that is why you were wearing suits. Our atmosphere is mostly unsuitable for humans, but the flora makes the breathable near the ground in low areas where there’s plenty of vegetation around,” Gale explained.

As the ride went on and on, Max picked up a flowery scent that kept becoming stronger until the cart came to a sudden halt. Gale opened the gate and lights flickered on, illuminating a small elevator in front of them.

“Please,” Gale said, and all three stepped into the elevator.

The elevator took them aboveground to a humble settlement. Aside from a couple large yet low buildings, there were no houses, only tents and shacks scattered here and there under the tightly weaved roof of intertwined tree branches and vines. The ground was covered in the same soft moss as the field where they had landed. The flowery scent was almost overbearing.

Barefooted people in modest robes passed them and looked at them knowingly.

“Our people aren’t used to visitors from outside. Mind you, that doesn’t mean we keep them in the dark. They know the reason for your presence, as well as the current state of the colony,” Gale explained as they walked to one of the few buildings.

“If you would,” Gale said and pointed at the open door.

Past the small foyer, there was an office room where a tall woman sat behind an unorganized desk.

“This is Lucille. She’s in charge of, ah, I’ll just let her explain the picture,” Gale said.

“Oh,” Lucille said as if she just noticed her guests and raised her head from complicated-looking handwritten calculations. “You must be Felix and Max, although I’m not sure which one is which.”

Gale introduced them, after which Lucille went straight to the point.

“We are leaving the system. Tonight, if you are kind enough to accept our request,” she said.

Felix immediately responded with a “huh?”, and Max didn’t have any better response to offer.

“An understandable reaction. But we have the long-range ship ready for the trip, and she’s packed with everything we need to start a new life in a faraway system the legends tell about,” Lucille explained.

“Um, legends…?” Max uttered.

“I take it you haven’t heard of LUX.”

Max and Felix shook their heads in unison.

“No surprise. The Board made such good job erasing any trace of them they probably don’t know they ever existed themselves.” Lucille leaned over her desk. “They were a non-corporate organization aiming to start a colony of their own in another promising system. On a planet requiring far less terraforming than any of the Halcyon planets. A planet rich in nutrients but poor in ore. They had everything ready, but something happened—a PR scandal. They had to pull the plug. But we—we have the coordinates. The routes. The scans. Everything.”

It was a lot to take.

“So, what do you need us for?” Max finally said. Lucille leaned back.

“You probably already know we aren’t doing poorly around here. It’s not the reason we’re leaving. We need you to make sure our legacy, that is, our research, our science, will be preserved and spread around the colony. The wisdom our shamans have gathered, the technology our scientists have developed to survive with what we have.”

“Why are you leaving if things are so good?” Felix asked.

“Things are good now,” Lucille said and sighed. “But for how long? One wrong move and the Board will find us and force us to work with them. And the attack you saved us from? We can’t save the colony, and we can’t save our people from the colony and its myriad problems.”

“So you run away and leave others to suffer?” Felix was angry now. Max hoped to come up with something to defuse the situation, but Lucille was quicker.

“Your anger is justified. But no, that’s not our intent. It’s why you two are here. To make sure everyone in Halcyon gets access to the knowledge we leave behind. We merely want to follow our ancestors and fulfill their dream. Felix, it’s people like you and Max who can fix this colony. We just don’t belong here,” Lucille explained.

“Guess so,” Felix muttered, not sounding entirely convinced.

“I hope you have time to spend the rest of your day here observing and partaking in our daily routine. Meanwhile, Gale will have a copy of all the research data and some samples delivered to your ship. I want you to take these back to Cottoncliff in case something goes wrong. Then, we leave. In three days, an automatic signal should activate, broadcasting all our research data across the system. To everyone. The Board. Independent factions. Rebels. Hell, terrorists. You will need to make sure the signal is on, and return here to these coordinates to turn the transmission on manually if something goes wrong,” Lucille said and offered them a navkey. “It’s the navigational instructions to the exact location of the transmission tower.”

“Do you want to do this?” Lucille asked, the navkey still in her extended hand.

Max looked at Felix. He nodded back. Max took the key from Lucille.

“We’ll do it,” he said.

Gale as their guide, Max and Felix left the building to attend a communal meal. Felix was unusually quiet, but Max didn’t have the chance to ask as Gale was accompanying them everywhere.

Max finally got his moment alone with Felix when Gale had to leave to help with preparations. They sat on a thick rug spread over the moss floor, watching the locals do their chores as if nothing was going to change. They had to know, though. Gale had said this was something they all had agreed to do from the beginning and looked forward to.

Like he could read Max’s mind, Felix spoke before Max could ask.

“I don’t know how to feel about these folks leaving. Running away, leaving others to clean up this mess.” He stretched his arms. “What do you think?”

Max nodded and thought before replying.

“What these people are going to do is a massive risk. They’re devoted to finishing something started generations ago, putting their lives on the line to achieve an ideal. Don’t you think it’s a worthy cause?”

Felix went quiet.

“Don’t try to sound all smart on me. But I guess—I guess you’ve got a point,” Felix admitted and fell silent again.

They watched a group of teenagers try to teach tricks to a small canid-like animal. The animal stayed for the treats until the kids ran out, at which point it ran off to the woods.

“Hey Max, uh,” Felix blinked and his eyes darted downward. He scratched his neck and continued: “Thanks for not leaving me behind on that field. Even if it turned out to be a false alert.”

“I don’t want you to die, though.”

Max saw where Felix came from. He spoke in a calm, low voice.

“We both would have died on that field. I wanted to be there for you, but I also wanted you to be there for me. It was a selfish choice, I admit.” Max leaned in ever so slightly. He didn’t know how comfortable Felix was with public signs of affection.

Felix responded by leaning into him, and Max put his arm around him softly. They stayed there, watching the light spots filtered by the branches and leaves dance on the vivid green moss. Max lost all track of time, and when Gale came back to tell them it was time for them to leave, it was with great hesitation that they stood up.

“We’ll come back. Admire the scenery. Once we… have more privacy,” Max whispered. He couldn’t see Felix’s face, but his ear turned red. Felix took Max’s hand.

“Yeah,” he said quietly.

Gale eventually returned to take them back to their ship.

“I can’t really say I hope to meet you soon, can I,” Gale said and smiled. “Farewell. And thank you.”

Max and Felix waited until they saw a large transport ship rise from behind the horizon, then disappear into light speed.

“Where next?” Felix asked.

“We could spend the night here. Or in the orbit,” Max suggested. “Think about our next destination in the morning.”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good,” Felix said. “You want to hit the shower first? I’m not much of a pilot, but I think I can take the ship up to the orbit.”

“Thank you, Felix. I will do that,” Max said and climbed upstairs.

Being in no hurry was a luxury Max had learned to appreciate in the past few days. After all they had been through, not having to think constantly about pushing forward was pleasant. Not that it was anyone’s fault than his own that he had spent his life this far chasing imaginary goals.

“Hey, there was a message for you. From that Logan,” Felix said as Max exited the bathroom.

“I’ll read it later, thank you.”

Max took his time to prepare a light meal for him and Felix. When Felix went to bed, Max wasn’t still quite sleepy enough and decided to go take a look at Logan’s message.

He opened the long message.

“Hi Max. I just realized I never told you the story behind the sticker. I don’t know if you still care, but it’s an interesting legend, I reckon!”

What a perfect thing to read before bed, Max thought and leaned back in his seat.

“So back before the extraterrestrial colonies, there was this group called LUX. They were something known as a ‘human rights movement’. Their principles were so different from corporate coalitions they decided not only to start their own colony in a faraway system but also to keep their plans hush-hush.”

The very same organization whose work the pacifists were about to complete. Good timing, Max thought.

“All went well enough, they had a good location scouted and terraforming was underway. Slow, we’re talking about decades passing here, but progress nevertheless. Then something happened. A ship carrying about fifty workers returned to Earth, but all of them were dead. Corporations saw an opportunity and pressured LUX to cancel their plans.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. Lucille had mentioned a PR scandal, but this seemed far more serious.

“The Board did phenomenal work in erasing LUX from the face of Earth before the first shipment of colonists ever left for Halcyon. For decades, no one knew they even existed, let alone the reason for the accident. But some group apparently found an almost complete copy of their research and went off-the-grid. Hiding in some secret location to complete the research and LUX’s work.”

That had to be the pacifists.

“Not too long ago, a friend of mine found one of the missing documents. It was a report of the investigation they did after the accident. The cause of death was driving straight through some pretty intense radiation. Turns out they very likely had someone sabotage the navigational calculations from the start. Simple stuff to fix, if they had someone double-check the final route plan.”

Max stared at the screen. The message went on, but he didn’t have time to finish reading it.

“Felix! We need to—” Max stood up and was interrupted by Felix, who stood right behind him.

“Max, we’ve got a problem!” Felix was pointing out the cockpit window. Max turned and his heart stopped. A gaudy ship with golden decorations had appeared in front of them.

“We’re dead,” Felix said.

Chopper hailed them. Max opened the connection, if only to buy time.

“Funny how easy it is to find someone the old-fashioned way by asking the right people and reading landing logs.” An alert blared to signal a tractor beam had locked them in place. “I was about to blast you to pieces, but I think unleashing a pack of genetically engineered canids into your ship will be far more interesting.”

The transmission cut.

“He’s gone mad,” Felix gasped.

Max thought feverishly before remembering their weapons stash.

“Felix, was there anything in the weapons crate that won’t leave us with a hole in our hull?” Max said as he dashed to tear the crate off the shelf.

“I—I got a couple tossball sticks—” Felix offered, but Max cut him off.

“It’s not enough,” Max said calmly and dug up a pristine blade.

“Have you ever used one of these?” He asked and handed the weapon to Felix.

“An Officer’s Spine? If being at the pointy end counts, sure,” Felix said and pulled the blade out of its sheath to make a couple practice swings.

“Careful, it’s corrosive,” Max warned and pulled out a plasma cutter.

“This will do,” he said, although his last encounter with this particular kind of tool hadn’t been the most pleasant one.

“They’re about to board the ship,” Felix said. Max dug out one last thing from another crate.

“We need to get this aboard Chopper’s ship or he’ll just blast us in case the canids won’t take care of us. Felix, can you hold the canids’ attention while I set up a timer?” Max asked and showed him the ominously glowing package in his hand. A pack of explosives, enough to blow a ship three times the size of Chopper’s.

“Wait, that’s been in our cargo hold since Scylla?” Felix said and cowered.

“Next time we pick up mystery cargo, yes, we should be more careful,” Max said lightheartedly and got a small chuckle from Felix as a response.

“I can handle the canids,” Felix said and tried to sound carefree, but Max could tell by the way his voice almost undetectably trembled that he was worried. For himself or for Max, Max couldn’t tell. He gave Felix a reassuring smile.

“I know you can,” he said, then added after a brief pause: “Please don’t hurt yourself. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

The tender moment was interrupted by the airlock shooting open and a couple dozen especially large and mean-looking canids surrounding the two. The animals snarled at them, their mouths foaming with something Max hoped was a mere eyesore and not corrosive.

“Here I go then!” Felix exclaimed and pushed Max towards the airlock while making exaggerated swings at the canids’ direction. As badly as he wanted to help Felix, Max knew he didn’t have the time. He sneaked into the other ship’s airlock, trying to stay out of the security camera’s view, then pried open a loose panel with his still switched-off blade and placed the explosives carefully down. He connected the timer. What should he set it to? Too long, and Chopper would find the bomb. Five minutes would have to do. Max slammed the panel back on, then dashed back to his own side and took a couple canids on the way.

“Felix! Are you all right?” Max shouted and tried to look for Felix.

“Yeah! Watch out!”

Max turned around just in time to slash a small canid charging towards him in two with the searing edge of his weapon. The halves fell neatly on the floor.

“We’re almost done here. What’s next?” Felix asked and dodged a lunge from one of the few remaining beasts.

“Is the engine ready for a skip?” Max asked

“Yeah, should be.”

“I need you to go pull the lever for me. A short jump will do, pick any spot in the orbit.”

“What about Chopper? He’s latched onto us,” Felix asked.

It was the riskiest step of the plan.

“There’s a chance this won’t work,” Max warned.

“Don’t have time for that. At least it’s got to be better than anything I can come up with,” Felix said. The last canid fell to the floor and Felix wiped its blood off his hands.

“I’ll force their airlock door to close. You’ll make the jump the second that timer is down to one.” Max tossed a timer to Felix. Felix looked at him with a grim look on his face.

“You better not blow up,” he said. Max forced a smile.

“I won’t.”

Felix jumped into the pilot’s chair.

“Close the door,” Max said after him.

With some hesitation, Felix did as told.

The truth was, he wasn’t very hopeful about this plan. Felix had a fair chance of surviving the blast, but the odds were about even for Max. The longer he waited until short-circuiting the airlock door, the better the chances for their escape, but the higher the risk for Max to get blown out of their own airlock or dying of the explosion.

“Time?” Max shouted.

“Forty seconds,” Felix replied behind the heavy cockpit door.

Max took a final deep breath, then switched on his blade and dashed to Chopper’s ship airlock. As he did, he saw the light above the inner door turn on.

“Good,” he muttered to himself. With all his strength, he jammed his plasma cutter into the airlock control panel, then rolled under the closing blast door just in time. He heard shouts from the other side before the gap closed completely, but didn’t have time to register them. He reached the inside of their own ship and slammed the switch to close the inner doors, then ran as fast as he could behind the nearest crate.

The second he hit the floor, a loud noise carried from the airlock. But just as suddenly, the voice disappeared, replaced by a familiar hum of the engine.

Felix had timed the jump perfectly. Max lay on the floor. Through the transparent airlock door, he saw Chopper’s ship explode into nothing. He stayed there, still, until the last glimmering piece of scrap had disappeared.

“Guess we don’t need to look for that bracelet anymore.” It was Felix. He sat down next to Max on the floor littered with canid corpses and blood.

“Kinda pretty, in a way,” Felix said.

“We’re still not done. We need to warn the pacifists. Their route has been sabotaged and they’re dead unless we can reach them in time,” Max said and sat up.

“Sabotaged?” Felix repeated.

“I’ll explain later. Right now we need to stay on course and get to a hailing distance of the pacifists’ ship in…” Max walked to the cockpit and ran some calculations on the computer. “…thirty minutes or less. Can you make the engine run faster?”

“Shit, they’ve got a good head start. I’ll need to call Joann if she’s got some tricks,” Felix said. “Try to get a hold of her and put her on the engine room speaker.”

Max did as told while Felix dashed off to gather tools.

Connecting…

Connecting…

Connection error.

Max remained calm and retried. This time, the call went through.

“Yeah, I know one thing. It will fry a couple parts here, a couple there, but I’ll fix them for you later,” Joann said to Max’s relief. He put the call on engine room speaker while staying in the cockpit, trying his hardest to optimize the route to win some time.

Luckily, the data was old, and the safety margins were vast. Not to mention their nimble ship could take shortcuts a large transport ship would never fit through.

Max looked at the graph he had put on another screen. They should be able to make it. Max had known they would. He—

Bang

The lights flickered and the ship swayed.

“That’s to be expected. Don’t worry about it.” Joann’s face appeared on the screen.

Another bang, this time much louder, sent Max flying from his seat, face-first into the dashboard. Lights went off for a few seconds.

“Not sure about that, though,” Joann said. “Felix?”

Max wiped off a drop of blood from his forehead. A sharp edge on one of the buttons had left a shallow cut on his face. He heard Felix shout from the engine room.

“I think something hit us! Check the route, Max!”

Max checked their location. They had just passed one of the riskier shortcuts he had decided to take.

“We can’t lose another minute if we want to make it! Tell me if you want me to stop the ship,” Max yelled back.

“No way! We’ll make it, I believe in you,” Felix responded. Max smiled to himself.

Another risky turn was coming up. This time, Max braced himself and warned Felix ahead of time, too.

A light rattle traveled through the hull. Max checked their location. They had passed the second rough turn. The ship would need a fresh coat of paint, but they were still in one piece. Their call to Joann had cut off at some point. It was expected; they were already almost out of range for system-wide real-time communications, and the route they had taken was full of obstacles, limiting their own transmission capabilities.

“Five minutes until the next tight spot,” Max said as he passed the engine room to go wash his bloodied forehead. When he heard no response, he got worried and checked the engine room.

“Are you all right, Felix?” Max asked and saw Felix sitting next to the engine with a pained expression, holding his shoulder.

“Oww, fuck,” he grunted in response. Max knelt next to him.

“Think I broke something,” Felix said and swallowed a cry. Max opened his shirt and checked the injury.

“Likely a fractured collarbone. Can you hold on?”

“Yeah,” Felix said. Max checked the time. There was nothing more to do than wait and hope they’d make it in time.

“Less than two minutes. I’ll stay here with you,” Max said. He held tight onto Felix’s uninjured arm and pushed him against the wall, then grabbed the door frame with his free hand.

“Does it hurt?” Max knew it did.

“Yeah, it…” Felix gave up putting up a brave front. “Fuck, Max, it hurts like hell,” he burst.

“We’ll be in the clear soon,” Max consoled him. The ship started rumbling again. Something small hit them, then something bigger. Nothing too bad. Then the rumbling stopped.

“Was that it?” Felix asked finally. Max noticed his knuckles were still white and quickly relaxed his grip on Felix and the door frame.

“It should be. Wait here. I’ll go get you something for the pain,” Max said and hurried to their medicine stash.

In the end, they reached hailing distance of the pacifists’ ship in time.

“We’ll be forever in your debt. I’m truly sorry we can never repay, but know that your story will live on in our stories,” Gale thanked them after they had corrected the calculations and set the new course. The ship once again disappeared into the void of space.

“You heard that, Max? You think we’re gonna be deities or something?” Felix joked.

“I would hope not,” Max said and laughed.

“You think the lab’s gonna be all right?” Felix asked, suddenly serious.

“We still have the weapons we scavenged from Scylla,” Max realized.

“You say we sell those?” Felix tilted his head doubtingly.

“Not to the highest bidder, although they would fetch a good price,” Max hurried to add. “I’m sure people of Cottoncliff could distribute the weapons to peaceful independents who need protection from the wildlife and break down the rest for parts. Then use the profits for supplying the laboratory.”

Felix’s expression relaxed.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Felix admitted. “But is that really enough bits?”

Max looked at Felix. His warm, glimmering eyes. Wanting to treasure that gaze forever.

“I have another plan. But it requires a lot of time,” Max said and smiled.

“Sure,” Felix said nonchalantly. Max took his hand.

“It could be a lifelong commitment,” Max said. Slowly, Felix’s face lit up and his eyes widened.

“Does that mean we can keep doing this? Traveling together and taking jobs and making the colony a better place?”

“I doubt it will always be as exciting as our latest adventures. Less secret bases and life-threatening chases, more hauling boxes and planning optimal routes,” Max said. He didn’t want Felix to have unrealistic expectations, but he had a feeling Felix wouldn’t say no.

“Also, given we would be doing full-time charity work, we would have to live on this ship, relying on Cottoncliff and other friendly settlements for supplies and repairs,” Max added.

“I’ve already got more than I ever hoped for. Quit being so modest.” Felix yanked Max’s hand suddenly enough to make him trip against Felix. Felix laughed and put his free hand behind Max’s neck to pull him into a kiss.

“Shit—I mean, fucking hell… Ah, I’m so sorry.”

Max waited patiently while the young receptionist rebooted the sleek, brand new datapad. She clearly wasn’t a born Byzantine.

“Sorry, it’s still a prototype,” she mumbled. “Ahem. Let’s try this again. Could I have your names, please?”

“Maximillian and Felix DeSoto,” Max said. The receptionist gave them directions through the maze of marble corridors and tall hallways. Max thanked, then offered his arm to Felix.

“Hope this won’t take too long,” Felix muttered.

“Are you nervous?” Max looked at Felix. His dark hair was neatly combed back, and his long, deep pine green—almost black—velvet frock coat was buttoned all the way up. Felix wasn’t used to buttoned-up high collars, and Max had noticed him fixing the stiff collar around his neck several times now.

“It’s okay. Just, I look like a jerk in this outfit,” Felix said and raised his hand instinctively to mess his hair, then stopped just in time and lowered it back awkwardly.

It couldn’t have been further away from the truth. The coat was tailor made for Felix as a return favor for smuggling medicine to yet another Board-neglected company town. The wide hem came down to his knees, leaving a small gap between the coat and the simple black leather boots with striking emerald green tips.

“You look finer than anyone in this city,” Max said.

“You really mean that?” Felix’s ears turned red. He sounded uncertain, but pleased all the same. “I still think you look smarter, though.”

Max straightened his own suddenly tight collar. He was wearing a short, fitted jacket with a satin front and a long tail. Max hoped the mauve fabric combined with golden seams and cream-colored front wasn’t too flashy for the occasion. Then again, Felix’s seemingly simple and modest outfit was far more stunning than any of the more decorative guises they had passed that day. Maybe Felix hadn’t realized it yet, but years had rid him of any remaining awkward facial features. Max admitted he was partial, but Felix was becoming more handsome by the day, and Max couldn’t help being just a little smug whenever he got to introduce his spouse.

A lot had changed in the five years they had devoted to building a better colony. Slowly but steadily, the underground communities and independent settlements had been able to step forward. The betterments, the ideas, the technologies developed in secret started catching on. Halcyon was still broken, but not beyond repair, its people not without hope.

Lately, the pressure had forced The Board to either give the working class some leeway or self-destruct. Perhaps surprisingly, they chose the former.

Which was what had led Max and Felix back to Byzantium after all these years.

“Aren’t we criminals? You think this is a trap?” Felix whispered. Max wondered if he was more excited or worried.

“They can’t afford to do it right now. We’re much too high-profile actors these days,” Max reassured.

Their heels clicked on the flawless stone floor as they made their way along the corridor to a grandiose hall. Max gave Felix one last encouraging look before they stepped in.

Thud

Felix’s back slammed against the cargo hold wall with a tad more force than Max had meant. Neither of them let it slow them down as they frantically exchanged steaming kisses. Max pushed his hand on Felix’s bare neck under the already loosened collar; popping open the top button was the first thing Felix had done once they finally got out of the pompous office building.

“Max, wait, let me take this thing off—” Max cut off Felix’s sentence by pushing their lips back together.

“I’d rather you not,” Max panted.

“You’ll ruin it,” Felix protested.

“It’s worth the risk.”

Felix agreed by resuming kissing.

“You thought about this back at that boring meeting?” Felix asked when Max moved to his neck.

“What else was there to think about? It was all lip service,” Max said. He fumbled open enough buttons to slide one hand under the coat, stroking Felix’s back through his thin silk dress shirt. Felix pulled himself closer to Max in response and grabbed his face for another kiss.

“This is the only good part in these stuffy meetings,” Felix said as Max pushed his knee between Felix’s legs.

“I need to motivate you somehow,” Max said. Felix snickered and lowered his hands to Max’s hips.

“Right. That’s all there is to it,” Felix said, but let Max off the hook. “Fuck, Max, get to it already.”

The commanding tone gave Max a jolt. He shoved Felix back against the wall, knowing Felix was still well within his comfort zone with this amount of force. He wedged his thigh deeper, making Felix moan.

“Tell me if I’m being too rough,” Max whispered and kissed Felix on his ear.

“Yeah.”

Gently, Max put his hands under the soft velvet hem of Felix’s coat. He caressed Felix’s thighs for another second before grabbing his belt buckle and snapping it open in great furor. Max heard the sound of a seam ripping as he yanked Felix’s pants down. He immediately hesitated.

“Didn’t you say a minute ago it was worth the risk?” Felix taunted him.

“We’ll ask the tailor to fix it,” Max murmured.

“That’s not very romantic,” Felix said.

“The idyllic portrayals of romance in entertainment isn’t a healthy standard to strive for.”

Felix chortled.

“Yeah, right. Max, stop pretending you’re not the more sentimental one.”

Max hummed.

“I suppose I am.” He slid his hands up Felix’s bare hips, under his silky dress shirt underneath the coat, and kissed the corner of his mouth. He had changed his mind. He didn’t want to be rough today, after all.

“I got a message this morning. From Cottoncliff,” Felix said as he dried his hair. He picked up his coat. “Are you sure it’s okay to toss this in the washer?”

“Oh?” It was unusual for Felix not to share the news immediately with Max, so it had to be something serious.

“It’s, um, it’s about Theresa,” Felix said and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “She’s back from some big underground mission she’s been on since, you know.”

After a sudden disappearance and five years of no contact, it was only natural for Felix to be wary.

“Did Joann tell you this?” Max asked.

“Yeah. Just mentioned that she’s back to Cottoncliff but probably won’t be staying for long.” Felix paused. “Says she wants to meet us, and since the engine should be checked soon anyway, we could drop by while she’s still visiting.”

Max invited Felix on the couch. Felix sat down heavily and leaned forward.

“What would you want to do?” Max asked.

“I mean, it can’t really be Scylla all over again. The message is from Joann. We can trust Theresa, right?” Felix said and sank into the couch.

“I don’t think we need to worry about it, no. But what would you want to do?” Max repeated his question, and Felix sighed.

“Yeah, I don’t know. We’ve got time and we need to go there, anyway. Guess a reunion wouldn’t hurt,” Felix said. Max nodded and gave Felix a chance to change his mind before climbing down and setting the course to Old Cottoncliff landing pad.

One of the more dramatic changes in the last five years was the Old Cottoncliff’s return, if not to its former glory, at least to life. Most people still preferred New Cottoncliff, but others had returned aboveground after corporate powers had started showing cracks while at the same time food production had increased.

“Let’s do this,” Felix said and pulled a warm hat over his head before braving the cold climate of Cottoncliff.

They walked down the familiar road to Joann’s shop. Theresa’s replacement, a tall young man named Lee, welcomed them.

“I have everything ready. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave you four here and go take a look at the engine,” Lee said.

Max noticed Felix blinking restlessly at “you four”.

“Sure, just make sure you call me if there’s anything wrong. Before you make the fixes on your own,” Joann called after him.

“I will.” Lee smiled and disappeared with a bag of tools.

“So… Right. Theresa! Guests!” Joann shouted before going back to the mystery device sitting in front of her.

Max could hear Felix’s swallows and his fingers fidgeting. He could feel his discomfort. Max wanted to help him, but knew this wasn’t something he could help Felix with.

A familiar face appeared around a corner.

“Felix! Max!” Theresa beamed as she saw them. Her face hadn’t changed much, but her entire demeanor was different. She was relaxed. Unreserved.

“Uh, hey,” Felix uttered and looked at Max.

“Ah, sorry. It’s been years,” she said and became serious. “No, I think apologies are at place. That one day five years ago…”

Theresa shook his head. Felix finally got his mouth open.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m just… surprised. Didn’t know what to expect.”

“It’s nice to see you’re doing fine, Theresa,” Max added.

“I’m surprised you feel that way. I don’t know if what I chose was wrong, but it was wrong not to listen to you. Not to talk it through. And then to disappear and never contact you,” Theresa said and looked at Felix.

“I need to get going. I was really just waiting to see you two in person. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to start over. Like I guess I started my life over after I joined this crew.”

“Start over? What do you mean?” Felix asked.

Theresa looked embarrassed all of a sudden.

“I… like to write letters,” she confessed.

“Are you asking if we can be pen pals?” Felix asked excitedly.

“I’d love to catch up,” Max said.

“Enough of this. Theresa, you’re not too busy to stay for another dinner. We’ll discuss this and all that you’ve been through in the table,” Joann stepped in.

Despite the snow around them, the absence of wind and the bright sunlight made the weather unusually warm for these parts of Terra 2. For once, Max wasn’t feeling cold in Old Cottoncliff as they walked back to their ship from Joann’s shop.

“She’s changed,” Felix said.

“We have all changed,” Max noted.

“Yeah, well, you have. I don’t think I have.” Felix loosened his scarf.

“Can’t remember the weather ever being this nice in Cottoncliff. That’s changed, too.”

Max said nothing. They walked slowly, admiring the clear view of the Terra 2 rings. Back in Edgewater, Max had thought he had seen enough of this sky. But how beautiful it looked from a different perspective.

A moment’s silence gave Max the opportunity to ask what he had been thinking increasingly often for the last weeks, no, months.

“Cottontop research project is almost finished. The next phase of the plan will mean a steady revenue for the laboratory.” Max paused to think about how to not be too blunt. “There is plenty of work with less travel that needs to be done.”

When Felix didn’t reply, Max worried he had misunderstood.

“I’m happy as long as I’m with you. It doesn’t matter where we are,” he cleared. Felix shook his head and sat down on a crate. Max followed him.

“I’m happy you feel that way. I want to be with you, too.” He raised his eyes to the bright Terra 2 sky.

“Settling down, huh,” Felix said.

“It would be a pleasant change of pace,” Max said.

“Do we have that kind of money?”

“Old Cottoncliff restoration project would gladly help us build a home in the old town.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Felix fell silent.

“You really mean it? You don’t care where we are,” Felix asked after a pause.

Max looked him in the eye.

“I do.”

Felix looked away and opened his mouth. He hesitated for a second before speaking.

“I want to move to Monarch. That town near Moore’s place we visited last year? They’ve got a lot of kids whose parents are either dead or not around much.” Felix turned his face back to Max.

“The townfolk help. I want to build them an orphanage. A proper hospital. Get them better supply lines. You could teach the kids so they don’t need to leave their families to do dangerous salvage jobs and crime,” Felix said. Clearly, this was something Felix had been thinking, planning for a long time.

“Felix—”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Felix hurried to add. Max grabbed his hand and leaned closer.

“It sounds perfect,” Max whispered and kissed Felix under the clear sky.