Page 46 of Solar Bound
"I know," Solar agreed. "But it is necessary."
"I don't think I can do this," she whispered, looking up to the sky. "I mean, this is a spaceship. They crashed the last one you were in."
"That was Harris," Gary yelled. "Come on then."
Solar urged her into the pod, finding the interior even more cramped than its external appearance suggested. Gary took the pilot's seat, while Bob squeezed in beside him at what passed for a control panel. Solar and Dani were left with a space barely large enough for one adult human, let alone an alien warrior and his injured companion. Their estimate of being able to fit Lunar and Eclipse in here with Solar at the same time only worked if they were willing to comingle their essences for the duration of the flight.
Gross. He didn't want his essence floating inside the other two.
"Um, you might want to hold onto something," Gary advised as he initiated the launch sequence. "The stabilizers are a bit theoretical at this point."
“Where are the straps?” Solar demanded.
“Also theoretical,” Gary said.
Solar positioned himself to brace Dani against the inevitable turbulence, his arm encircling her protectively as the pod's engines whined to life. She trembled, and he felt the shift in her energy as it flowed into him. In return, he tried to give her his calm. It worked. Her shaking subsided.
Through the small viewport, he watched as the jeep sped away, vanishing into the darkness of the canyon. The helicopters were visible now, their searchlights sweeping the terrain as they approached.
The pod lurched upward, then sideways, then into a spin that caused warning lights to flash across the control panel. Gary and Bob shouted technical jargon at each other that Solar strongly suspected they didn't actually understand.
"Compensating for rotational torque," Gary called out.
"That's not what rotational torque means," Bob shouted back.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm compensating for it!"
Dani closed her eyes tightly and gripped him. Her breathing became labored. The frantic beat of her heart drummed in his ears.
The pod stabilized momentarily before dipping toward the ground, then shooting upward so rapidly that Solar had to brace himself and Dani against the ceiling.
"Sorry," Gary called cheerfully. "Still getting used to the Earth’s atmosphere. Very thick."
"Is it too late to go back to the Milano agents?" Dani muttered against Solar's chest. She pressed her hand against her mouth and closed her eyes tightly.
Despite the dangerous absurdity of their situation, Solar felt his energy responding to her proximity. Her nearness made him feel braver. She remained pressed against him during their chaotic ascent. Something had changed between them in the short time they'd known each other. It was profound and unexpected.
When the time came, he didn’t think he’d be able to let her go.
The pod finally achieved a somewhat stable flight path, climbing above the canyon walls and accelerating eastward. Below them, the helicopter searchlights converged on their launch point, finding nothing but disturbed dust and tire tracks leading in the opposite direction.
"See? Flawless escape!" Gary declared, as a panel beside him sparked and fell off entirely. "Now, who's hungry? I've packed Earth snacks. Very authentic. We have cheese dust cylinders and sugar discs."
Dani looked up at Solar, her expression caught between disbelief and reluctant amusement. "Are we sure this is better than the cave full of Milano agents?"
"That remains to be determined," Solar replied honestly. "But I find I prefer facing either threat with you by my side."
Her smile in response was like a sunrise after the darkness of the cave. Whatever dangers awaited them, whatever absurdities they would endure with Bob and Gary as their pilots, Solar knew with a certainty that transcended strategic analysis that he was precisely where he needed to be.
Dani's eyes turned to the viewing screen as they watched the ground disappearing below. He felt her soft breath against his skin as she whispered, "Fuck me. I'm in outer space."
Chapter
Thirteen
Dani had never considered what outer space would smell like. If someone had asked, she might have guessed nothing. Space was a vacuum, an emptiness, and she would assume had an absence of scent. But as Galaxy Brides' battered transport pod broke through Earth's atmosphere, she discovered space smelled exactly like burning electrical components and Gary's pungent cologne.
"Is it supposed to be making that noise?" she asked, gripping Solar's arm as the entire vessel shuddered violently. She felt him radiating a consistent calm, and it helped her from completely losing her shit.
