I sighed. I'd rather take the excitement of being the CDF's test pilot any day over this drudgery-even if it meant the possibility of the fighter I tested blowing up with me in it on the launch deck.

I mean, wasn't this the life I chose to avoid in the first place?

Whether I liked it or not, though, I was my father's daughter, though, and born into a very influential family, so I had to do my duty. And he wasn't in the best of health, lately.

Stubborn as he is, though, he still insisted on having the final say with the company. I was his only child, and he wanted to leave it in the family. So here I was-Chief Operating Officer of Phoenix Transportation, Cargo, and Shipbuilding Enterprises.

Well, everyone just called us Phoenix Enterprises, but still...I hated being a stuffed suit. I hated wearing a suit period-unless it was a flight suit. I didn't even like dresses, except for certain occasions.

Basically, if I couldn't wear jeans or shorts and a tank top or loose shirt to it, it didn't feel at home to me.

I wasn't in the best of moods as I walked into the door of the company headquarters this morning. First, the ID scanner at the front door picked precisely the moment I got there to go on the fritz, so I spent ten minutes trying to scan my ID badge before I gave up and called security. The guy I reached must have been new, because he wasn't sure of my identity-temper, temper Fara-so I calmly verified my identity for him...and he insisted on physically seeing my badge and drivers' license. So I had to wait for him to come down from the tenth floor to verify all that...and then the coffee was cold.

Oh, and it was that time of month, and all the problems that came with it. Seriously, it was days like this I wish I wasn't female. I was retaining more water than the new hydroelectric dam, and looked like the dictionary definition of bloated.

All in all, I just wanted this day to go by. Quickly. Preferrably with me in bed. But, the business world waits for no man. Or fennec fox, but whatever.

As I strode into my personal office, Himiko...well, I just call her Miko...walked up to me...boy, is she ever the hyperactive little raccoon of a secretary. But she's good at her job, and so I keep her around. She started reciting the list of things I had either put off from yesterday-or the day before, or sometime last week-or had planned for me to do today.

"Morning, Fara...Iheardaboutthatlittleproblemwithsecurity... "

"Miko," I said, placing my paws on her shoulders. Apparently she'd had too much espresso. Again. I wondered how she made it through the day with so much energy. "...deep breath...pause a moment. Now, start from the beginning..."

The raccoon took a breath before continuing-this time without running her words together. "so, you have the four o'clock meeting with the shareholders, oh..and don't forget that conference call at noon...plus you have to finish up the statements to regulators by noon on the end of the week..."

I nodded, groaning. "Got anything for menstrual cramps?" I asked. I was too tomboyish to even carry around a purse. Everything I needed was in my wallet. But, tomboy or not, I couldn't control the sex chromosomes with which I was born, so...

"Yeah, right here." she chirped, handing me a couple of small pills.

"Thanks." I replied. "You know how it is...and it's hitting me really hard this month..."

Miko nodded. "Well, something does take care of that...for a time..." she said, with a wink.

I blinked. Anyone else, especially in the mood I was in, would have gotten a rather scathing "Excuse me, what?"-and likely a quick trip to the unemployment line if they were any one of my other subordinates-but then again, Miko had been my secretary for quite a while now. I knew her well enough to know she meant no sarcasm or disrespect by her words. Sure, she got on my nerves sometimes...but she was also one of my lesser-known confidantes, and being in the position it was, it felt good to have someone I could trust with my troubles without everyone knowing I trusted her with them. She was...like the sister I never had.

I just needed a moment for the source of the statement to register, that was all. It really was that kind of a morning.

She continued, then closed the door behind her so that no one could overhear our conversation. "I know you're the biggest tomboy on Corneria, Fara...but haven't you thought about a family one of these days? Someone is going to have to carry on the business, for one, and for two...well, your clock is ticking..."

"What about you?" I replied, wanting her to at least have to share some of the heat for her inquiry.

"Me? Oh...me and the husband have been discussing it...although I think I'm late. Not really sure, though, so I'm going to pick up a test on the way home today..."

I nodded, happy for her, but yeah, I did wonder when I'd find someone and settle down to make a family. "When I find the right guy, I guess..."

"What about that pilot who I've seen around with you...what was his name?"

"Fox?" I chuckled. "He's an okay guy...but he's a mercenary. He goes where the cash goes."

"Oh, really? I thought he was military. Still...you two looked great together. Maybe one day he'll want to settle down too..." she replied. "Well, I guess it's time to get to business then, shall we?"

"Yeah, another day, another dollar. Keep the water from getting too high, eh, Miko?"

"I'll try, Fara." she said, and walked over to her desk while I sat down at mine.

Fox...why couldn't you stay here on Corneria? I wondered. I know you felt like you had to go and do your thing, and I stayed to do mine, but...I feel lonely here. I don't have anyone if I fall apart...I've never thought I needed anyone in my life before, but...I need you.

Whether that was the hormones raging in my system causing me to think that, or that I really did need him, I wasn't sure of at that point.

I was twenty-four years old by now and wasn't getting any younger. Miko, damn you, you're the closest thing I have to a best friend...why'd you have to go and bring up romance and having a baby and all that...?

I barely have time for me to be me, let alone a husband and a child.

I sighed, poring over the copy of my to-do list that Miko had so graciously left on my desk-when suddenly I was assaulted by an intense headache.

I mean, I'd had headaches before. But nothing like this. Imagine, if you will, having a spike driven straight through your forehead all the way to the back of your skull-red-hot.

That was what I felt. I let out a scream, involuntarily.

I didn't really get an idea that what I'd experienced was a lot more than a headache until I became aware of Miko nudging my shoulder-rather forcefully, a worried look in her eyes, "Fara? Are you okay? Come on, say something..."

My eyes slowly opened to their normal state-which meant I'd been unconscious. "What happened?"

"Fara...you were out for ten minutes...we had to call the paramedics..."

"I got this headache, and..." I started to say, before I heard an insistent beeping on my desk. It was my company comm-and on a private channel.

A channel I had established for one purpose-to inform me about my father. I forced myself to my feet, after waving the paramedics off to ensure privacy. I didn't give a damn that Miko was in the office-pretty much anything I knew, she knew, short of the deepest corporate secrets. This was need-to-know only-and since I needed my friends in this hour, she needed to know. "Go ahead."

"It's your father...his condition has drastically worsened. You might want to get over here ASAP...I don't think he'll last the night."

I swallowed hard, then nodded. "Understood. I'll be there shortly." Then, I turned to Miko. She was the chatterbox from hell when she wanted to be...but...she only nodded as she saw the look in my eyes. She understood without words-not only what I felt, but what I would ask her to do, because if I lost my father, I'd probably not be quite myself for a while. Not a long while, but a while. I wasn't made of glass, after all-I was a tough cookie, just not a stone cookie. "I'll keep everything running for you," she finally spoke, all business.

That was what no one knew about Miko. She was the backup if everything went to hell in a handbasket for me. She was my right paw, so to speak.

And I had to find out what caused this headache. Headaches don't just knock you on your ass like that, normally. In fact, I only remember one other instance that had even come close...and that was when I was a kit.