Frozen
An inner wind of fear froze her piece by piece. Tears pushed their way out of her cold blue eyes as she sat there unable to move as the fear of losing the ones she loved began to come true.
Beka Valentine wasn't the one to make friends easily, nor trust anyone with her life. People had come and gone too many times, so the fear of losing was an all too familiar feeling.
She sat in the cockpit of her only friend, the Eureka Maru. Beka knew that no matter what, her ship would never fail her, or leave her stranded just to prove something to someone. No, the Maru was trustworthy, and it got her where she needed to go.
Beka blinked back a tear as she remembered all that she was going to leave behind. She heard echoes in the back of her head, voices that accepted her, loved her when no one else would.
Harper's nasal voice rang in her mind, "Hey, uh, boss? Wanna pop open a can of Sparky with me?"
"Harper, you know I hate the stuff, why even bother?"
Beka let a tear fall as her mind raced through its library of memories, pulling out the ones that were dear to her.
"You're my good luck charm, Trance."
The purple girl giggled, "I like that,"
She closed her eyes and blocked out the sound of explosions that were going on.
"I admire your instinctive insight into smuggling, Beka."
"That'd be experience, Rhade - Not all of us are goody-goody academy pinheads."
She smiled amidst her tears, thinking of how much the crew really had to put up with.
Her own stubbornness kicked in, she shook her head and took another swig of the ancient bottle of liquor she had found while rummaging through her belongings.
Again her mind raced, pulling out old, battered memories.
"And then we go 50/50, right?"
"You and I together, yes."
"And Dylan? "
"He dies."
Through the good and the bad, they loved her. Though she plotted mutiny, they loved her. Why couldn't she return the favor?
"Because, I'm a good- for- nothing," She had answered her own question.
Beka regained her tense position, with her brows furrowed she thought. Thought of who she was leaving behind, thought of what her motive was, thought about the lives being lost at that very moment, maybe even her own soon enough.
No, she had made up her mind; she was leaving. They had made their choices and now she would make hers. She fired up the Maru.
Her eyes froze when she saw the Slip point opening. Her body froze as she transited the Maru into Slipstream. And above all, her heart froze, leaving its icy chill to run up her spine.