Page 65 of Nova Academy

A knock sounded at the door as I worked on matching my breaths to my heartbeat, my meditative state broken abruptly by the noise. Grumbling, I opened the door to find a friendly face I hadn’t seen in what felt like far too long, especially since he was spending his nights right next door these days thanks to his budding relationship with my first lieutenant.

‘Markus,’ I greeted, stepping back to let him in.

He lifted a clear glass bottle as he stepped inside, the amber liquid inside glowing bright under the artificial lights. ‘Heard about the attack. And the brewing drama with the cadets. Figured you might need this.’

I immediately retrieved two glasses and watched as he filled them. The first sip was bitter and strong, but the second was smoky and smooth. I groaned appreciatively as it slid down my throat, warming me from the inside. ‘Stars, that’s good stuff.’

Markus chuckled and took his own sip, savouring it before swallowing. ‘Nicked it from Jorna. Figured she wouldn’t mind. Don’t think she ever intended on drinking it herself, anyway.’

I almost spat it out when it clicked. ‘Shit, this is the stuff from…?’ I couldn’t finish the sentence. Jorna’s team had saved up to buy her the bottle, gifting it to her for a birthday only a few short weeks before they’d been killed. She had lost her team during a raid on the illegal genetic engineering program I’d been benched for looking into. Her team had been…obliteratedwas the only accuratedescription. There wasn’t even a single body part left to retrieve.

It was one of the reasons why I was so desperate to shut them down. They were still out there, and they were beyond dangerous. They had the means to destroy everything the Intergalactic Union stood for, and our government was letting them get away with it.

Objectively, I knew that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, due to the now personal stake we had in the mission, we’d been sidelined to allow for a more unbiased company to take over. But I’d promised Jorna her pound of flesh, and I intended to follow through.

Reaching over to take the bottle from the side table Markus had placed it on, I pointedly replaced the glass stopper. ‘I don’t think that was the point, Markus. You need to put this back.’

He sighed as if he was put-out, then pouted at the stoppered bottle. ‘Fine. Fine. I’m finishing this glass, though.’ And then he tossed it back like those few ounces of liquid weren’t worth almost as much as this ship.

It was too late to put what was in my glass back into the bottle, so I reluctantly took more sips. I savoured mine to appreciate it while it lasted. It was the least I could do now that I knew exactly what it meant.

The door opened again without my consent and Addy walked in, catching us red-handed. She scowled at Markus sitting beside me, then at the alcohol in our glasses. When she recognised the bottle we were drinking from her lips pinched and her face turned an alarming shade of magenta, so dark she was almost red.

‘What thefuck, Xander? Markus, does Jorna know you’re drinking that?’ she started in on us. I let her, knowing full well I deserved the bashing, but Markus had never stood for letting anyone chastise him for anything. While he owned his actions the majority of the time, he never responded well when someone called him out.

‘Whatever, Adara. Mind your own business. This doesn’tconcern you.’

‘Now wait a minute,’ I piped in, not liking the way he spoke to my woman. ‘Don’t talk to her like that, man.’

He scoffed. ‘But it’s okay for her to just waltz right in and say whatever she wants, right? You used to be more of a man’s man, Xan. Now you’re just her little bitch.’

He swiped the bottle and stomped out of my quarters. I heard the door further down the corridor whirl as it opened before mine closed the rest of the way behind him.

I turned to Addy, displeased at the way that went. They were as bad as each other. Markus had been a close friend of mine just as long as I had known Addy, though whereas our friendship was strong from the beginning, my relationship with Addy had started out a little rockier. I understood where he was coming from to a degree, but I had hoped that his relationship with Jorna would have given him some insight about how a partner was supposed to be treated. I wouldn’t let anyone disrespect Addy and would back her even if she were in the wrong (then talk to her about it privately so she knew I didn’t agree). I was a little disappointed to discover he hadn’t figured that out yet.

And where Addy was concerned, she’d never had a good relationship with him. They clashed like waves in a storm, and I never did find out why she disliked him so much. To this day she remained silent on the subject.

‘Sorry,’ she said, but she didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.

I stood and wrapped my arms around her, burying my nose in her hair to inhale her familiar sweet, briny scent. ‘Nothing to be sorry about, my love. He really was just trying to help, though.’

I felt her face twist into a frown from where she rested against my chest. ‘What happened?’

I forced my body to remain relaxed, though my muscles tried their stars damned hardest to tense back up again. ‘There was another assault. Ari. She’s in the med bay in an induced coma.’

‘What?’ she screeched, pulling away from me to look me in the eyes.

‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ I said, and I felt like a petulant child when I did, but it was true. I had come up here to unwind and destress before I had to go back into solve-it mode.

She must have realised as much because she let the subject drop, albeit reluctantly.

Just in time for a connection requestion to come through on my holo-tab from Corporal Stanson. I pulled away from Addy completely to accept the call, my break over whether I wanted it or not.

'Corporal,’ I greeted.

‘Captain, there was another situation this morning,’ came his scratchy voice through the holo-tab’s speakers.

I sighed. ‘Let me guess, Arthur Mercer was involved?’

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