"Hey, Max..." Starling greeted him casually. The Onyxian slowly turned to look at her, a shy smile on his lips.

"H-hey, Starling..." He replied nervously. He shuffled his feet a little, trying not to say something stupid. Suddenly, without any pretext, the Interceptor planted her lips over his. He moaned in surprise, prying her loose with relative ease.

"St-Starling, what are y-you doing!?" He backed up slowly, trying to keep his distance. The older woman came closer, smiling devilishly. Again, she embraced the warrior, hanging on to him as well as she could. This time, he didn't pull away. As the pair kissed, Max slid his long tongue into Starling's mouth, making her moan in surprise. She closed her eyes in content as he licked inside her mouth, moaning as his tongue made its way toward her throat. She ran her hands up and down his back as he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her to keep her near. After a few minutes of this, they broke the kiss, both panting lightly. Surprisingly, no one had noticed the lovebirds making out in public. Max ran his hand through the woman's purple hair, admiring its silky sheen.

"Starling, I... I-I..." She placed a finger over his lips, softly shushing him as she pulled him into another passionate kiss.

"I know, Max... you don't have to say it..."

"What? S-Say what?" He asked nervously.

"Nothing... don't worry about it..."

"O-okay..." He was suddenly nervous again. The Interceptor set out to correct that.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

"S-sure, Starling... of course I do..." He answered without hesitation. They both thought back to their first moment alone together.

Flashback... 6 years ago...

"Thanks for the assistance, human... now, my I ask why you're here?"

"My name is Starling... and I'm here because your commander called for help..."

"Wait... do I know you?" Max looked Starling up and down, swearing under his breath that he'd seen her before.

"It... it's you!" His eyes widened in recognition; she was the woman who saved him from certain death when he was a child.

"What're you talking about!? I've never seen you before in my life!" The Interceptor shouted back, annoyed that he couldn't stay on topic. Suddenly, she saw the look in his eyes, and smiled nervously.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" The young Onyxian blushed heavily, trying to shield his face from her. He made his way over to the edge of the flight deck, preparing to jump for safety.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't jump!!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a hug to get him away from the edge. He sobbed into her shoulder, clutching her tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you!!" He said over and over. She was still puzzled, but held him tighter, fearing he'd let go of her and jump off into the battle below.

"C'mon, let's get you inside... we need to clean out these wounds."

...

Max cried out in agony as an alcohol-antibiotic mixture burned fiercely in his cuts and gashes, tightly clutching the sides of the tub as tears streamed down his face.

"I know this hurts, but please try to remain still... it'll help keep everything from getting worse..." Starling softly reassured him. She saw the look of calm on his face when she told him this, but she paid it no mind.

"What's your name?" She queried. He said nothing, obviously too lost in his own world to reply. She went back to her work, fearing she'd upset him.

"Max." He suddenly replied, his voice quiet but clear.

"What?"

"My name... it's Max..."

"Max... good to know you're still in there..." She joked, trying to lighten the mood. Once again, he said nothing. For the next few minutes, the pair silently did what they could to bandage and clean his wounds. By nightfall, he was resting in a spare bedroom aboard the Interceptors' carrier, asleep for the first time in nearly a week. The young woman watched over him, changing his bandages every few hours and keeping him calm as they made their way out of hostile skies to rendezvous with the Scimitar. As both ships sat side-by-side in an open clearing, Krala made her way over to Starling's ship, and the Interceptors' Sky Knight went out to greet her.

"Thank you for rescuing Max. It is definitely reassuring to know that we have allies in this conflict." Krala stated proudly. Starling helped Max over to his group, one hand around his back as she steadied his gait. When Krala saw just how bad Max was, she ran over and took over for the Interceptor. She quietly thanked the young woman, rushing to get Max back aboard the Scimitar. Suddenly, he turned around to look back at her. Slowly, he smiled for the first time since they'd met.

Present day...

"I'll never forget what you said to me that night..."

"What?" Max asked absently, lost in her eyes.

"You... you told me you loved me..."

"I-I... I did not..." He protested nervously. Starling giggled a bit.

"Who were you talking about?"
"What do you mean?"

"You said 'It's you!' before we went inside... who was it you were talking about?"

"Well, S-Starling... it's a bit of a story..."