It was always silent in the engine room of the Destiny's Bounty. Eerily silent. Nya had to constantly look up at the monitors to ensure the engines were still running. It was counterintuitive to what she was used to on her own ship, or the countless others she would ferry a ride on to get around the galaxy. This ship was different though, the hyperdrive and warp capacitors were like nothing she had ever seen. It was if the ship ran on magic. She wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, considering how she got on the Destiny's Bounty in the first place and the adventures that followed.
Speaking of which, the captain, Jay, had been unusually quiet since they returned from their mission on Antares 4. She didn't have to guess why, the mission had been a colossal failure. Nya decided to avoid the rest of the team and decompress in the engine room, but now the silence was deafening. She had grown accustomed to Jay's endless chatter. Perhaps a stroll around the ship would ease her mind.
As she walked through the corridors, her faithful robotic companion, Samurai X, trotted up beside her.
"Mistress Nya," the pixie voice of the doll-sized robot started, "Have you finished your repairs to the hyperdrive consoles?"
"Nnnnn," Nya hummed, absentmindedly staring at the elevator at the end of the corridor.
"Thinking of the Captain?"
Nya snapped her head towards her robotic friend, heat rushing up the sides of her face.
"N- No. I was thinking about what happened on Antares 4. Don't you have things to repair in the hanger bay?"
"Repairs and modifications to our Opheunus ship are complete. P.I.X.A.L. provided much assistance."
"Even the inertial dampeners?"
"Yes."
"Can you cross reference the Destiny's Bounty logs with the logs we recovered from the Chalara ship on Anteres 4? There might be a lead in there."
"As you wish, mistress." The robot bounded away, the beaded charms dangling from her samurai swords clinking with each step.
Nya found herself at the elevator, unsure where she wanted to go next. Up would take her to the bridge, but there was nothing for her to do there unless she wanted to help P.I.X.A.L. and get lambasted in the process. P.I.X.A.L. was an amazing AI with a sassy attitude to match, created by Better Organism Robust Galactic (BORG) Industries. She was only 4 years old, three more until rampancy - a chaotic, unfortunate death for most AI. Down would take her to the lower levels and hanger bay. She finally picked a random level and continued on her stroll.
The walk did nothing to ease her mind. After a half-an-hour mindlessly pacing the ship, Nya found Jay on the observation deck. Every time she stepped foot on the deck, she couldn't help but have her breath taken away. Most of the room was floor to ceiling windows, providing a spectacular view of the stars. Jay was lounging in one of the smaller observation bay windows located on the port side. The window was a full circle with a padded alcove, allowing one to two people to sit comfortably.
The Destiny's Bounty was in high orbit around Antares 4. The planet was a wraith-cyan disk hanging against the backdrop of a starry night sky, casting a warm, blue glow of light over Jay. He was absentmindedly sparking lightning in the palm of his hand. The corners of his lips were turned down, eyelids at half mast, hooding his cerulean eyes that were normally bright and full of mirth. He looked depressed. Nya felt a pang of uncertainty sink into the pit of her stomach.
She stifled those feelings and approached him, placing her hand on the bulkhead, looking out the window. She glared at the planet that held bitter memories of a failed mission. A mission that left them with more questions than answers about Jay's dad and the previous elemental masters. She let out a long sigh, announcing her presence.
Jay stopped conjuring lightning in his hand and looked up at Nya. The sight of her seemed to melt away his bitterness over getting their butts handed to them planet-side. Her lithe form stretched across the window like a delicate flower, also bathed in blue light from the planet. She looked like a goddess. Gorgeous was an understatement.
"Hey," he said, after finally remembering how to think.
"Hey."
"Wanna sit?"
She turned towards him and considered his offer, searching his face to see if he was no longer in a sour mood.
"Sure." She sat down opposite of him, near his boots, but the curve of the alcove forced her to the low point in the center. Jay shifted to make room for her, but she was awfully close to his upper body. Her feet dangled over the edge of her seat, so she decided to stare at them and hoped Jay couldn't see the slight blush that was forming on her cheeks.
"I can't wait to leave this star system and never return," he said to the planet below.
"I think everyone can agree on that. Repairs to the dampeners are almost done, then P.I.X.A.L. will calculate the hyperspace jumps."
"Where are Cole and Zane?"
"I think they went to the holodeck for training," Nya figured they went there to smash training droids as a way to work out their frustration.
"I'll probably join them later," Jay mused.
"Me too," Nya smiled at him. Jay tried to hide a grimace at her words. Nya was a force to be reckoned with when it came to smashing training droids. Half their budget would go to buying new ones if it were not for her and Samurai X constantly repairing them.
"I'm having Samurai X cross reference the logs, maybe we will get lucky with some information."
Jay frowned and Nya instantly regretted bringing up the failed mission.
"Uh," she backtracked, "I finished my upgrades to the consoles in the engine room." Jay had stopped listening and turned back to scowl at the planet.
"Ugh, Antares 4 was such a waste of time and resources! Not only did we get our butts handed to us, but the lead on your brother's whereabouts was a bust." He covered his face with his hands and let out a long breath. Nya turned her attention back to him.
"It wasn't a total loss. We found out my brother had no dealings with Boss Hamaka."
Jay looked at her through his fingers and raised his eyebrows. "If you are trying to make me feel better, you are really bad at it," he teased.
Nya puffed up her cheeks in a pout and turned away from him again. She could tell her blush was getting deeper and the tips of her ears were growing hot. She swung out her legs, letting her heels fall against the panel below the window. The sound reverberated through the empty observation deck, amplifying the tension between them.
Jay crossed his arms and turned back towards the planet. They had found Zane and Cole, masters of ice and earth respectfully. Last one to find was Nya's brother Kai, master of fire, but they had no clue where to start. Kai had disappeared two years ago.
"At this point, everything we are searching for feels like a wild goose chase."
Nya returned her attention towards him as he continued. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was some grand practical joke from the old man."
The old man - Wu, or Master Wu as he wanted to be referred to, certainly knew more than he was letting on, sending the rest of them on impossible voyages across the stars.
"I am grateful to Wu for returning my Dad's ship to me, but he has been frustratingly cryptic in his instructions to assemble our team. It would be nice if all the past logs on the Destiny's Bounty were not wiped, then we would have way more info at our disposal, maybe some clues about my father."
Nya bit her lip. Jay was starting to open up about his past and she didn't want to detour him.
"I don't remember my mother. I was raised by the Walker's on the backwater desert planet of Zelnars. Then Starfairer showed up one day when I was ten years old and said 'hey I'm your dad, come on adventures with me'. Can you even imagine? What kid would say no? For five years he showed me the ropes of being a space pirate, commanding a ship, cutting deals and busting heads."
Nya shifted on her perch and Jay turned his attention to her. "Then one day he took me back to the Walkers on Zelnars. He said 'wait for me here, I have something to deal with'." Jay shook his head at the memory. "He wasn't acting himself, I should not have listened to him, I should have gone with him." Jay sighed and let his head fall back on the curved alcove cushion, starting absently at the top of the window bay.
"And that was it," he shrugged. "Gone. Just like that." Nya cast him a sympathetic glance, but he kept staring at the night sky twinkling through the top of the alcove.
"After a few days, I realized he wasn't coming back. So I left. I spent the last ten years putting together my own crew and taking jobs, occasionally searching for him." He lifted his arms up, stretching and trembling his body, then rested his hands behind his head, elbows jutting out to each side. His eyes slid over her slim form sitting delicately beside him and Nya tried not to shiver from his sweeping glance.
"Then Wu shows up out of nowhere and gives me my father's ship. Tells me I have elemental powers, and to find the other elements of creation."
Nya chuckled at his words, imagining a serious Wu and a clueless Jay.
"I went back to Zelnars for clues and that is when I found you poking around my old home-world."
"I was not poking around," Nya defended herself. "I was following a lead on my brother's whereabouts, and collecting footage for my U-Cube channel."
Jay almost snorted as he stifled a laugh. "I think the universe has more in store for you than being a famous U-Cuber."
Nya turned away in embarrassment, glaring at the magnificent view on the opposite side of the room. "If I wasn't there, we would have never met," she countered. In her irritated state she missed the warm smile that was blooming across his face.
"I'm glad I met you there," he continued, this time not missing the flush on her cheeks. "And that you decided to join my side as we had to shoot our way out."
Nya huffed. "Not like I had a choice. It was join you or die."
"I'm not the one who was followed by the Borg Imperial Army."
Nya paled, shivering at the memory.
"You still have yet to explain that one." Jay eyed her suspiciously, but Nya kept her gaze on the grand windows of the observation deck.
"Anyway," Jay moved on, realizing he wasn't going to get an explanation out of her anytime soon, "finding the master of earth, Cole, was easy."
"Rescuing him off a slave planet mining world and toppling the Byran-Q5 gang running the place is considered easy in your book?" Nya's voice was laced with sarcasm as she snapped her attention back to him.
"Yeah," Jay shrugged nonchalantly. Nya stared at him blankly before rolling her eyes.
"But getting Zane," Jay had to physically stop himself from shuddering. "I really thought we were going to die." Nya's body went rigid at the memory.
"What was the prior elemental master of ice thinking? Hiding his element with a cyborg space marine within the Borg Imperial Army?"
"It raises too many unanswered questions," Nya murmured, "Like who exactly was after the prior elemental masters and why is Wu bringing them back together now?"
They shared a pensive sigh and a few moments of silence.
"Somehow we survived, and brought Zane and P.I.X.A.L to our side."
"I still believe we died and our brains quantum shifted to an alternate reality," Nya joked and Jay chuckled.
"Last one to find is Kai, master of fire." Jay watched as Nya's shoulders slumped. She scooted backwards on her seat, ignoring the shiver that radiated from her spine as her back brushed against his thighs, then pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She let out a long breath as she wrapped her arms around her legs, making herself small.
Nya would never admit to it, but she missed her brother dearly. She was mostly annoyed that he disappeared without a trace. She knew he was out there, somewhere, refusing to think otherwise.
"Once we have all four elemental masters of creation on the ship, then what? We stand in a circle like a bunch of dorks and wait for some super cool golden power to appear?" Jay sassed, trying to pull a reaction out of Nya. His smile grew brighter as her body shook with giggles and she returned her attention to him.
"Then we will finally know if it is a practical joke or something real." she said between giggles.
"My money is on practical joke."
"Then why are you bending over backwards to find everyone?"
Jay paused and considered her words. "I guess a part of me wants to believe there is a good reason why all of our parents disappeared."
"There is a good reason!" she said, maybe a little too forcefully. She placed her hand on his chest for impact, but almost instantly regretted it. His chest was warm, the muscles under her hand instinctively flexed, and she could feel a spark of electricity that surged through her hand to her spine, sending a tingle all the way down to her toes. She wasn't sure if it was Jay's elemental power, her attraction to him, or both.
His heartbeat was steady and strong. She could feel the vibrations of each beat that seemed to sync up with her own.
"Um," she breathed out. She ought to move her hand away, but there was an invisible glue bonding her hand to his chest, and she wasn't sure she wanted to move her hand even if she tried.
Nya looked up at him through her lashes. His eyes danced with excitement and there was a smug smile blooming across his face. He could probably see the blush that was dusting her cheeks, but at this point she didn't care anymore.
The tension between them was getting too big to ignore.
Us.
They had been tip-toeing around that subject since the day they met on that backwater desert planet.
Jay wrapped his hand around hers and Nya immediately snapped her attention to his face. His eyes locked onto her with a steady gaze. She wanted to squirm, she wanted to run, hide from the embarrassment invading her nerves, but her body was frozen solid. He moved his fingers, slowly entwining them with hers.
"I-" she tried, but was at a loss for words. Her hand was buzzing with excitement, matching butterflies she felt flapping in her stomach.
She was drawing closer to him, slowly, steadily, until their noses were almost touching and she could feel his hot breath on her lips. An unavoidable force pulling her in, that was futile to fight against. Nya dropped her gaze and Jay closed the gap between them. His mouth was warm, soft, and tasted faintly of the Shintarian whiskey he liked to drink. Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned forward, eager to explore him more.
His other hand came up to the nap of her neck then lazily traveled down the length of her spine, coming to a rest at the small of her back. Nya found herself straddling him, pulling both hands up to cup his jaw as his other hand roamed down her side.
"Bridge to Captain," came P.I.X.A.L.'s voice over the comms, startling the pair as they jumped apart. "Hyperspace calculations are complete, your presence is required on the bridge."
Nya tried to stifle her heavy breathing, knowing that her cheeks were now burning red. Jay offered her a sly grin as he brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. She leaned into his touch.
"Duty calls," he murmured and Nya nodded, disappointed that their moment was interrupted. "Dinner tonight. My quarters."
Her smile was as bright as the planet they were orbiting. "Aye Captain."