She had a way of testing people when they didn't even know they were being tested. I saw it a thousand times. When she first met people she had a way of sizing them up with one eye, a way of appraising them without letting them know she even cared, without letting on that everything they did or said was important.

I'm not sure if I passed purely out of luck, or if there really was a reason behind why she chose me that day.

"Worker 1823, board XF003#70077. Perform basic scan."

My orders came through, though they were a little fuzzy, and it was back to work. My head was still filled with thoughts of her, my mind still trying to picture her face. Otherwise I like to think I would have noticed sooner. Instead I drifted onto the transport and keyed the code into my wrist pad to close the door behind me. Because the transport was docked at our station it was hooked up to our system, giving us control over basic commands such as power levels, doors and flight. It helped me do my job of checking out and taking care of the ship, plus it was a basic safety precaution. That way the owner couldn't use their thrusters in the loading bay, thus damaging the station, or fly off with anything they didn't own. Not that there was much worth stealing at the station. Fuel and parts mostly. Whatever was coming from or going into deep space.

I let my wrist pad scan slowly over the walls of the transport, checking for leaks or any instabilities in the wiring. It felt odd to hear the click of my boots against the floor, I wasn't used to being in 'gravity'. I could feel every extra exertion it took to lift my body, even in the low-'gravity' of a transport. It was nothing like you'd get on a planet. It was what reminded me, though. I shouldn't be hearing my boots clicking, I shouldn't be checking the inside of the ship. I hadn't done the outside scan yet. It was protocol to scan the outside first. I worked with computers, we always followed protocol. Had I misheard my orders?

"Computer, repeat orders."

My helmet filled with a faint fuzz, then a voice came through.

"Worker 1823, prepare for takeoff."

I whipped around as fast as I could just as the engine hummed to life. I could feel the thrusters vibrating through the transport. What was going on? The system had to be malfunctioning, starting the ship like this. But that voice... takeoff? That wasn't the computer, it was... my train of thought cut off and I could feel my eyes widen as the transport's door eased casually open in front of me. Standing there, one hand on her hip, a smile across her face and a cape falling loosely behind her, was the owner of that voice.

"Prepared for takeoff?" She asked, then stepping into the ship, tossed something at me. No, tossed it to me. I fumbled for it, my gloved hands barely closing around it before it hit the floor. "What...?" I began, then stopped as I heard the hiss of the door. It was closing this time, closing with me inside.

See, the reason we had our systems take over any transport docked at the station was so that no one drove off with something they didn't own. I never thought someone would drive off with me.

I whipped around to face my kidnapper, who was now casually slipping into the control seat.

I had no clue what to say. I wasn't even good at talking to people in normal situations, let alone in hostage crises. I looked down at the object in my hands. It was just a smooth black case, no doubt nothing more than a distraction. She glanced over at her shoulder at me, smiling once again.

"Don't look so surprised, 1823," she told me, turning back to the controls.

"How else am I supposed to look?" I demanded, surprised at the force of my own voice.

"Happy?"

"Why...?"

She turned her chair around to face me completely. I waited for her answer, eyebrows raised and heart beating in my chest faster than the hum of the thrusters, as she regarded me. After a moment, she reached up and took her helmet off, setting it in her lap. For the first time I could see her face unobstructed. Her features were petite, with wisps of blonde hair escaping a braid in the back to fall around her face and stick to her cheeks.

"Well?" I asked, somewhat subdued at the sight of her. Only somewhat. I was being kidnapped after all. She waited another half a minute before speaking.

"Because I just rescued you," she answered as the ship launched smoothly out of my station, my job, my home and my life.