-BLAZE-

  Blaze rested his feet on the StarHawk's dashboard. The Freighter's crew had offered him and Kaja rooms to rest in but they declined, choosing to stay on the StarHawk instead. Kaja sat next to Blaze in the main pilot’s seat. She had settled into it with such ease, you would have thought she was the owner of the StarHawk.

  Blaze knew why he was still up: he was waiting to make sure Ben returned on time. He had decided to give his partner two hours. Any longer than that and Blaze would be going after him.

  Blaze hadn’t liked the look on Ben’s face when he went off with Naxisteranda. History had taught him that leaving Ben alone when he was angry was not a good thing, and that was what he had seen on Ben’s face: anger.

  Having said that, history had also taught Blaze to not try to change Ben’s mind when it was made up. That was an impossible task. It was best to let Ben start on whatever task he had set his mind to do, then come in later and suggest an alternative.

  Blaze glanced at Kaja, She was a different matter. Blaze wasn’t sure why she hadn’t retreated to the bedroom yet. He studied her.

  The young girl stared through the StarHawk's windshield, her gaze forlorn as if dreaming of some long ago time, likely when she was free, and she was not hell-bent on revenge.

  Blaze did not do well with silence. He drummed the armrest on his seat for a bit. Then he started to hum. In the corner of his eye, he saw Kaja Khan slowly turn to look at him, then she turned away again.

  Blaze sighed. He reached over to a monitor on his right and fiddled with it. Shortly after, cool music filled the cockpit. It was a playlist he had put together. He was rather proud of it, and he showed it to anyone who gave him the opportunity. Ben hadn’t liked the music, but maybe Kaja would.

  "This is music from my home," he said to her. "Do you like it?"

  Kaja tried to be subtle, but he caught her rolling her eyes.

  Okay then, Blaze thought. She has bad taste in music.

  He decided to try something else. Asking questions had helped before. Kaja had opened up about her magic during their first conversation, but Blaze hadn’t asked her about the tattoo on her face then. He had assumed it was something personal, and he had been right. He remembered Kaja’s response to the Priestess. Blaze couldn’t imagine losing his father. Kaja Khan might need someone to talk to.

  He began. "So about the mark on your face-"

  "Okaaaay," Kaja said. She rose to her feet. "I'm going to bed."

  "Sorry sorry sorry," Blaze said quickly. "Come back. Let's just sit quietly, watching the err… the workers do their work. I won't ask you questions."

  Kaja glared at him, and Blaze gave her his most winning smile.

  "I promise," he added.

  Kaja settled back into her seat and resumed her former posture. The music continued to play as they sat together, without speaking.

  "I like the music," Kaja said softly.

  Blaze beamed. He had to restrain himself from punching the air in jubilation. He took a few breaths, calming himself, and focused on the most important thing. She was talking. This was progress.

  "Just give me your contact details," he said. "I’ll send you the playlist."

  Kaja nodded. She didn't say anything for a long time, then she spoke again.

  "I didn't kill anyone, you know."

  "Mmm." Blaze sensed it was best not to respond with words.

  Kaja continued. "I did all the research, got this stupid tattoo on my face, stole a lot of money, and a lot of ships. I hurt a lot of people...And in the end I didn't even kill any of the people who took my father away from me. Ben Wilson was the one who killed them. I just lay there, scared and hiding."

  She raised her hand to wipe away a solitary tear that slid down her face.

  "So I'm not done," she said fiercely. "I still have to have my revenge. I'm going after the collective."

  She glared at him, as if daring him to try to stop her.

  "Mmm," Blaze said once more. He knew about the Dreha collective and it was honestly impossible for Kaja to take them down alone. However, he had a feeling that telling her that wouldn’t help. He tried a different approach. "And what would your dad want you to do?" he asked.

  The anger melted from Kaja's face. Blaze could practically see the thoughts swimming behind her eyes. She hadn’t considered that angle.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Blaze pressed on. "Would your dad have wanted you to become a criminal for his sake?"

  "No," Kaja said softly. She turned away. "He would have wanted me to keep talking to machines, and exploring my power. But that's the point isn't it? He's not here to let me know."

  She fell silent.

  Blaze decided to try a change of subject. He would circle back later.

  "So," he said. "Are you able to talk to our ship now?"

  "I've always been able to talk to it," she replied. "It just doesn't want to talk back to me." She placed her hand on the dashboard and closed her eyes.

  Blaze waited patiently. She opened her eyes then shrugged. "Still doesn't want to talk to me."

  "That's a pity," Blaze said. "I was interested in what it had to say."

  "Oh it likes you," Kaja said. "Likes you and Ben Wilson a lot. That's part of the problem. Remember what I said? I sort of terrorised Ben Wilson when he first rescued me. The ship didn't like that."

  Blaze chuckled.

  "What about the Freighter?" he asked.

  Kaja perked up.

  "Oh yeah, that's a different story. The Freighter's really welcoming. Talks really slow though. So it can be hard to have a conversation."

  "What's it saying right now?"

  Kaja closed her eyes. "It's-"

  She frowned and sat up in her chair, eyes still closed, clenching the armrest.

  Blaze sat up with her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

  "It's trying to warn us," Kaja said.

  "The Freighter?"

  "Yeah," Kaja replied.

  Blaze let himself slip into his analytical and combat mode.

  "Warn us of what?" he asked coolly.

  They were in jumpspace, hurtling towards their destination. What could threaten them? Blaze had never heard of jump space accidents. That was basically impossible. Was there something wrong with the ship itself?

  "Something's coming," Kaja said. She stood up, her eyes still squeezed close, like she was trying to concentrate on something. "It’s like something is wrenching open jumpspace," she said. Blaze could hear the disbelief in her voice. She knew that what she was saying wasn’t supposed to be possible.

  Then she gasped. "It's here." Kaja opened her eyes and stared straight ahead through the windscreen. Blaze followed her gaze.

  On the deck, several feet in front of them, the air rippled and began to twist on itself. Sparks of blue light burst around the twisted air like a thunderstorm brewing. Blaze could feel a dangerous mana start to emerge. It felt almost black, like curse energy. The blue light show culminated in a large blue flash.

  The explosion caused the StarHawk to rock in place, and Blaze shielded his eyes from the glare. When he lowered his arm, he also gasped.

  The blue burst had left black explosion marks on the deck floor. In the centre of the pattern created from those marks stood a menacing creature in black armour with an eerie gray cape which billowed although there was no wind about.

  The creature looked like something out of an ancient story about knights and monsters. It had two swords hanging at its side, and it held a third one, a black longsword, in its right hand.

  As Blaze watched, the black sword disintegrated. The last of it dissipated into black mist in the creature’s hand.

  The creature watched quietly as this happened, then it pressed its palms together and bowed. The impression Blaze got was that the creature had just experienced some great loss.

  Blaze heard Kaja whisper, "What the heck is that thing?"

  Some of the crew workers on the deck had been blown back by the explosion. They were now beginning to get to their feet. Blaze saw one of them, a blonde man with fair skin, walk up the creature.

  The crew member lifted up an inquiring hand and started to say something.

  The creature blurred.

  It ripped one of its swords from its sheathe and decapitated the crew member. Then it slashed at the dead man’s torso, bisecting it. It completed the massacre by kicking away the carcass as it fell.

  The deck descended into a stunned silence.

  Blaze was the first person to recover. He launched for the StarHawk’s controls and activated the weapons systems. He aimed at the creature and fired.

  Blue bolts shot at the creature. The bolts hit, launching the creature backwards. Its sword fell out of its hand and clattered to the ground.

  Blaze didn't relent.

  He continued firing, sending bolt after bolt towards the creature. But it was unnervingly fast. As soon as its back hit the floor, it twisted and righted itself, then blurred, sprinting across the deck towards the StarHawk.

  Blaze selected the rockets. An alert popped on the screen.

  IT IS UNADVISABLE TO FIRE ROCKETS IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE

  Crud, Blaze thought.

  He increased the bolt fire to rapid stream mode. The bolts flew out at the creature with increased ferocity.

  It skipped away. And then threw something into the air.

  "Bomb! bomb!" Kaja exclaimed.

  The thing flew up, then stalled, allowing Blaze to get a closer look at it. It didn't look like any bomb he had ever seen. In fact, it looked like it was alive and its surface was made of flesh contorted with screaming faces.

  The device exploded in another flash of blue. The power was significant, but not enough to reach the StarHawk. This bomb had a different objective.

  The lights of the StarHawk’s panel blinked and went out.

  "It's a Geiger Pulse," Kaja hissed. "I can't hear the ship's voice anymore. Most systems will be knocked out."

  The creature was standing still. Blaze could see through its hideous helm that it had blazing red eyes, and they were fixed on the StarHawk. It lifted its hand to the side and the sword that had fallen to the ground flew up and into its grasp.

  "I'm going to engage." Blaze said, rising from his seat.

  Kaja looked at him like he was crazy. "You'll die," she said.

  "I'm stronger than you think," Blaze replied. "Get the ship up and running. And get ready to leave."

  "We're in jumpspace," Kaja replied. "Where the heck are we going to go?"

  "You’ll figure it out," Blaze said. He turned and ran for the exit. He heard Kaja swearing profusely behind him.

  He quickly reached the door and touched the button next to it. The door had mechanical systems in place for situations such as this. It swung open.

  Blaze leapt out and ran straight at the creature.