Starchildren Options

[Kane]

Two stories at once is a lot for me, so these updates may not be as frequent. I also did not plan on this but a certain young woman in my head refused to be quiet.

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Prologue (May 7th, 2330)
Ebbside, Neon City, Volii Alpha


Andromeda awoke with a start. Somebody was pounding frantically on the door to her sleep crate and had ruined a perfectly deep slumber after a long day of work and even longer night of partying to celebrate her birthday. There was no way in hell it was daylight already which meant she probably left her slate at Euphorika. Again.

The bleary-eyed young woman fumbled in the dark for her glasses while the pounding on her door continued. If whomever it was out there kept it up much longer, she felt like her head would start pounding, too. Having finally fished her glasses off of the cold floor Andromeda slid them on and then clicked her bedside lamp to life. Most of her clothes were strewn about the floor of her metal box, which also explained why she was now so cold.

Two minutes or so later, she was half-dressed, and her nearly decrepit Solstice was clutched tightly in her left hand. Please don’t fizzle out on me now old girl, she thought. Looking down at the worn laser pistol in her hand, she sighed and silently chided herself for never spending any credits on a decent gun. The little pistol had been thrown out for good reason, yet Andromeda had fished out of the garbage anyway and fixed it up in the most half-assed way possible. Each time she squeezed the trigger was just another gamble on whether or not the damned thing would even fire.

This time she prayed to gods she didn’t give a [censored] about that it wouldn’t let her down. And then she finally opened the door.

Andre burst into her sleep crate and slammed the door shut behind him.

“It’s about goddamn time you answered! What the hell took you so long, Dro?”

Andromeda blinked in surprise at the urgency in his voice. She’d known Andre for over six months now, and the man was usually as cool as a cucumber. Even when he drunkenly tried to flirt with her. Andre had taken a courier job for HopeTech on Valo and was reassigned here to Neon City, much to his initial dismay, but they had grown close in the time since. The man was of average height with dark skin and kind brown eyes that sometimes hid behind a mop of unkempt blue hair.

“Slow down, Andre,” she said. “What’s the big deal?”

“No time to slow down. The ‘big deal’ is that your [censored], Dro. Absolutely [censored].”

“Wha -”

“Gather up what you care about the most and stuff it in your bag. Security thugs are closing in already �" I set up a prox alert for when they get within twenty meters.” Andre saw her bag sitting on the floor near the door, grabbed it, and handed it to Andromeda. “Pack! Now!”

“Andre, I am not going to move another goddamn muscle until you tell me what the [censored] is going on!”

“[censored]. Fine. Start packing and I’ll explain while you go.” He waited until a few things had been shoved unceremoniously in her bag before continuing: “Those Ryujin files you hacked yesterday for your anonymous buyer? They were tagged for Bayu’s personal records. Dunno how he tracked you down so quick but if you wanna live to see your twenty-sixth birthday then we need to get you the hell out of this city.”

Her blood froze. Benjamin Bayu. The Administrator of Neon City and possibly the most corrupt man in the settled systems. His fingers crept into every business venture on the planet and the security force was at his beck and call. No one did business in Neon without giving him a cut, and his ruthlessness against would-be competitors was legendary. Everyone who lived in Neon lived comfortably by skirting his brutality.

If she was on his radar at long last, then she had definitely taken the wrong job, pile of credits notwithstanding. Being a Cyber Runner in Neon always ran the risk that Andromeda would one day cross paths with that monster, but she had always been careful about her choice of contracts in the hope of avoiding Bayu. Her luck had finally run out and yet she still was uncertain about leaving the only home she ever knew.

“I can’t just up and leave!” stammered Andromeda, freezing midway through emptying the contents of her wall safe. “My whole life is here! It’s all I’ve ever known!”

“Doesn’t matter. Bayu will have you killed just to make an example - “ Andre ceased talking abruptly at the sound of rapid beeping emanating from his slate. His face took on an unhealthy pallor and he nervously ran his hand through his hair. “Time to go. They got there sooner than I expected.” Andre pulled another slate out of his jacket pocket and gave it to Andromeda. “Here, take this and give it to Doc Manning at the clinic. He’ll give you a short makeover to fool security at the spaceport.”

“Andre, I...” Andromeda was at a loss for words. The sudden shock of what was happening and the thought of fleeing her life �" Neon, Andre, the friends and people she’d grown up around �" was too much. Hot tears fell down her pale cheeks and splashed on the floor of her crate. She raised a hand to brush them away, and then shoulder her bag. “This isn’t over,” she finally said with a firmer resolve than what she felt inside. “Bayu isn’t chasing me out of my [censored] home forever. I’ll come back for all of you, I promise.” Andromeda stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Andre’s cheek. “I promise.”

“We’ll do what we can to clear your name. You need to go. Now. They’ll be here any second. I can keep them occupied for a few minutes but they’ll tell me to get lost before long. Go!”

Andromeda pulled her hood up to hide her vibrant fuchsia hair and fled into the night without another word. The garbled chatter of Neon Security radios echoed up from the alleyway to her right, so she moved silently away from them and ducked into a dark alcove that was still within view of her crate. It was hard to much of anything, but she recognized the dim form of Andre now standing back outside of her door and soon heard him pounding on it once again.

“Yo! Open up, Jen!” Andre’s voice rang out. “Open up!”

Flashlights illuminated and three security goons stood at the ready, their guns trained on her friend. Andre’s hands flew skyward while the nearest guard began to pat him down.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” demanded another guard.

“Damn, take it easy, bud,” said Andre. “My friend lives here and she’s gonna be late for her shift at Generdyne again. Just trying to get her ass on the move!”

“Jen, huh? Yeah, sure pal.” The guard shoved him aside and addressed one of his partners. “What do you got, Reg?”

“Andre Mitarn, known associate of one Andromeda Renault. Courier for HopeTech.”

“Did ya hear that you lying piece of [censored]?” laughed the first guard. “Jen my ass. Where’s the girl?”

“If I knew where Jen was I wouldn’t be here, officer.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, punk. Reg, you know the drill �" get him out of here.”

Andre lowered his hands to leave while Andromeda released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Her friend turned to walk away but Andre only made it a few paces before two sharp cracks rang out through Ebbside. He fell to the ground in a pool of blood while Andromeda watched in silent horror. She shoved her hand in her mouth in a desperate bid to stop herself from crying out.

“Dump that sack of [censored] over the side. The chasmbass will get rid of the evidence for us.”

Two of the security goons forced open the door to her sleep crate and disappeared inside while the third dragged off Andre’s lifeless body and heaved it over the railing and into the churning waters far below. Andromeda slipped away unseen and headed silently for the Neon Core, wiping away the tears as she went. The nearest door to Bayu Plaza wasn’t far, and within five minutes she had stepped through it and darkened her glasses against the garish light that gave Neon City its name.

Every type of store and service imaginable spanned the length of the Core, brilliant neon signs and lights shining down upon everyone who walked the expansive length from Ryujin Tower to the Trade Tower. Even late at night (or early in the morning, as it was now), the walkways were teeming with citizens, tourists, guards, scumbags, and dregs.

Andromeda’s destination was Reliant Medical and thankfully it was only a short distance away. Doc Manning seemed to never sleep and with her life crumbling around her, Andromeda was grateful to see him sitting at his counter.

“Ah, there you are, Dro! Andre warned me you were coming �" c’mon around back and we’ll get you fixed up.” He paused at the signs of grief that had stricken her normally carefree face. “What’s happened? Wait… where is Andre?”

It took everything Andromeda had to not scream in frustration and anger. She settled for kicking helplessly at the front of his counter which only resulted in a stab of pan shooting through her foot. “They [censored] killed him, Joe! Bayu’s security goons iced him without a second thought and threw him over the rails of Ebbside!”

“Bastards,” sighed the Doc. “I keep hoping this city will change some day but I don’t think I’ll ever live to see it. Despite younguns like you fighting back, Bayu’s grip never seems to relent. All the more reason to get you out of here, I guess.” Doc Manning waved her towards the back again and dismounted from his stool. “Go on, I just have to lock up real quick.”

The back room had a small biological modification chair that the doc had somehow procured from one of the Enhance! stores that were peppered throughout the local galaxy. It must have cost a small fortune, but she once again found herself thanking gods she didn’t care about for its existence in the back of the clinic. Doc Manning followed her in a few seconds later and instructed her to take a seat in the chair.

“Okay, so Andre...” Joe trailed off and made a gesture that Andromeda had never seen before. His hand moved across his face in the shape of a ‘T’.

“What was that for?” she asked him.

“The cross? It’s from an old-Earth religion that most have forgotten about. I’ll explain some other time. Anyway… so Andre most have been tipped off pretty early and with a good bit of info. Bayu has your name, financial history, work records, and physiological profile; but not your DNA records. We lucked out there. A few cosmetic changes will get you past the spaceport sniffers.”

“Joe, I can’t pay for any of this,” said Andromeda. “All my accounts are probably seized and I have less than two-hundred credits in my bag.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Dro. You’ve already done so much for the hard working people of this city that your friends are lining up behind me to get you safely out of this place.”

Andromeda sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue from the box Doc Manning held up to her. She knew it would be a long time until she saw those friends again, and the thought of that hurt more than anything else. Then she laid back in the chair and closed her eyes while the doctor powered up the alteration arms. She knew it would take thirty seconds to a minute for the machine to fully boot, so Andromeda pressed her friend on what would happen next.

“I have another slate from Andre,” he said. “It will transfer enough credits to get you on an outbound freighter, and provide a new identity. But the tricky part will be getting you to the port with perfect timing. We need to have you at the gates just as the ship’s thrusters begin to burn, so that the guards will hopefully rush you through without looking to closely at your records.”

There was lot that could go wrong with that. However, she trusted her friends implicitly and so she closed her eyes again and let the doctor go to work. The procedure was relatively painless, but she did flinch from the occasional needle or sharp prod. Some calibrations to the machine were in order when she returned. If I can return, she thought. Benjamin Bayu had a long memory, and she doubted he would forget about her anytime soon.

Ten minutes elapsed before Doc Manning leaned back on his stool and powered down the alteration arms. He grabbed a mirror from a side table and handed it to Andromeda. The same brown eyes stared back at her, but Joe had completely changed her hairstyle and its color: the long ponytail she had entered the clinic with was gone, and only a small knot was tied up in the back. Instead of fuchsia, her locks were now dyed an incredible opalescent prism of stunning colors, and the strands on the right side of her face fell down past her cheeks while being tucked back tightly on the left side.

She noticed the bare skin of her neck and left cheek and inhaled sharply. “Did you get rid of my tattoos?! Those were really personal to me, Doc!”
“Relax, I just covered them up with some foundation. Keep your hood up a the spaceport or the rain will wash it away and give up the goose. They’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Oh, and leave your piercings here. Those are easily replaceable.”

Andromeda frowned but did as advised. She popped the studs out of her ears and nose, removed the loop from her septum, and slid the barbell out from her nose bridge. Doc Manning collected them all in a small steel pan and then dropped them into a medical waste bin. Andromeda slid out of the modification chair and gave him a hug.

“Thanks for everything, Doc. I’ll be back to repay you some day.”

“I already told you your credit is good, Dro. Just promise me you’ll be careful out there.”

“I’ll try. But you should know better than most that the trouble usually finds me first.”

“That I do!” laughed Doc Manning. “Damn, almost forgot �" lose the glasses, too. I have some lenses for you instead.”

She removed her glasses and chucked them in the bin with her piercings. The good doctor handed her a set of icy blue colored contact lenses and after a couple minutes of struggling, she managed to pop them in to obscure her natural eye color. Another hug for the Doc Manning. Then he tapped a slate to hers and ushered Andromeda out the back door of Reliant Medical. Syndal, her best friend from university and one-time lover waited somberly in the trash ridden alley running behind the shops.

“Time to go, doll,” said her diminutive cohort. “Ship leaves in six minutes.” Syndal was tiny even compared to the slight 1.6 meters Andromeda rose to. The top of her head just barely made it to Andromeda’s nose. She put a hand on the back of Andromeda’s head and pulled her down to a reasonable level, kissing her very briefly on the lips. “For luck,” she explained to Andromeda’s quizzical stare. “Don’t think we’re ever getting back together or anything.”

“Fair enough,” said Andromeda. “Are we taking the main elevator down?”

“Have to. It’s all you have time for. “Let’s go, and try to keep up. Security is swarming the Core for you.”

Andromeda nodded and followed along in Syndal’s speedy wake. It was easy to unobtrusively hang a few steps back and still keep tabs on the impressive length of platinum hair falling past her friend’s hips. It swayed to and fro in the constant gentle breeze flowing through Neon City. The draft was one of many effects of living on massive platform built high above the roiling seas of a water world. A world that Andromeda had never left. Or had ever planned to leave. Those idle thoughts helped keep her features neutral when they stepped back onto the main thoroughfare and snaked their way towards the spaceport elevator.

Neon Security had fallen for the gambit. None of them paid her any mind, despite having her former appearance projected on the inside of their helmet visors. Syndal led her right past squad after squad of the corrupt officers until they reached their destination.

“You’re on your own from here,” said Syndal. “Take the lift down to the port and make a show of rushing, but don’t outright sprint. Play the part of the late departee who is trying to make their flight. The guards down there are a different detachment than the Core goons and generally skew towards being less of an asshole than the ones chasing you up here.”

“Okay, I’ll try. Never was much of an actor but I can do this. I have to do this.”

Syndal slapped her on the ass. “Quit stalling. You’ve got less than two minutes.”

“Right. Bye, Syn. And thank you.”

The elevator doors opened and Andromeda rode the lift down to the docking port. Two guards flanked the it at the bottom but the alterations Doc Manning made to her appearance seemed to have fooled their scanners. She showed them her slate and they told her to get moving else she miss the freighter. Settling for a speedy trot, Andromeda sighed gratefully and flitted down the long catwalk spanning over the ocean below, squeezing her hood tightly to her face. The warm, wind-driven rain splattered against her while she half ran to the ship waiting for its final passenger.

It was an ancient Deimos model that took up most of the landing pad. Bright lights illuminated faded letters above the ramp: The Gryphon. A crew member ushered Andromeda inside with little patience and directed her to a jump seat in the main cabin. Unsure of how the seat worked, her fingers trembled while she tried to strap herself in.

“First time in space, dearie?” A middle-aged woman next to her smiled gently at Andromeda.

“Yeah. I’m scared shitless if I’m being honest.”

“There’s nothing to it.” The kind woman reached over and showed her which buckles went where, and pointed out the safety pouch under the cushion. “Mouth guards in there if you’re worried about biting your tongue off. Once we take off, just keep your mouth closed and you won’t need them.”

Andromeda thanked her, and the woman went back to humming an off-tune key. Voices rang out over the loudspeaker and warning signs began to light up all around them. The entire ship rattled and shook, and the message on the flight console on the wall across from her changed from ‘docked’ to ‘achieving thrust’. Seconds later the engines roared into life and the sudden g’s from massive acceleration pressed Andromeda back into her seat. Unable to move so much as a finger, she closed her eyes and whimpered slightly as the ship gained altitude.

And then the pressure was gone. She opened her eyes and the porthole in the ceiling above revealed the deep black of space, dotted with innumerable points of light blinking back at her from incomprehensible distances. For the second time in as many minutes, her breath had been taken away for very different reasons.

She had done it. She had escaped Neon City and the closing grasp of Benjaim Bayu.

The tears came again anyway. Her life as she knew it was over and she had no idea where things went from here. She didn’t even know where this ship was bound. She was alone among the stars. And then the engines powered down while the grav drive engaged, folded space around the ship, and leapt from the Volii System in a blazing show of cosmic light and energy, carrying Andromeda far way from danger with a dumbfounded expression on her face..

This post has been edited by Kane: Jun 20 2025, 12:59 PM

[Kane]

Eridani II is one of many gorgeous planets to discover! Hyla II, Cassiopeia I, and Schrodinger III are other stunning locations!

Her empathic skills allowing her to be friends with fauna is an addition for storytelling, but I sort of wish it was in the base game. I do like it for the dialogue choices though.

I'm fan of moving romances along, as evidenced by my other works. I can't stand the "will they/won't they" trope in books and media.

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Nineteen - Unraveled

Tropical Forest, Eridani II, Eridani System

Andromeda’s mind raced in the moment. She’d wanted this for so long but could never decipher the signals Andreja sent, vocally or otherwise. Her stalwart companion was every bit the mysterious enigma she seemed to embody as her persona, despite being a kind and compassionate person beneath it all. The fact that they’d finally gotten to this point kept her heart pounding against her ribs. And then Andromeda made the mistake of lifting a hand to caress Andreja’s face, lost her balance on the narrow stone apex, and nearly tumbled over the side. With quick reflexes born of harsh experience, Andreja pulled back and gripped Andromeda’s sides tightly to keep her sitting in place.

“Careful, Annie! You almost fell!”

“Woo [censored]!” laughed Andromeda. “That would’ve set me back a while, huh? Glad I have you to catch me, gorgeous.” She leaned back in for another kiss that didn’t last nearly as long as the first one due to her stomach grumbling. “Ugh, I’m starving. Grab something to eat with me?”

“Food?” Andreja offered a teasing pout. “There are far more enticing things to devour tonight than rations...”

The hand not pressed against Andromeda’s back to keep her steady began familiarizing itself with the areas of her body she’d been flaunting since the first time Andreja had visited her home on Nesoi. They were kissing again, hunger all but forgotten, and without uttering a single word they separated, slid down the rope in a lightning fast descent to the ground, dashed back to the campsite hand-in-hand, and dove inside the tent designed for one.

* * *

It was sometime later that evening when they emerged from the tent and sat alongside one another by a roaring fire that could be spotted for many kilometers in every direction. Eridani II lacked any satellites, be it a moon or large asteroid, which led to extremely dark nights on the surface. Andromeda twisted a skewer of synthameat veal over the flames while trying not to char the outside of it.

“You are getting it too close, Annie. It will not be cooked through.”

“It’s your fault,” mused Andromeda. “My hands are still shaking from what you did to me in there.”

“Consider us even for all the times you strutted about your home half-naked while I could only watch helplessly.”

“… Yeah, that was kind of a dick move on my part, huh? Got the point across that I was interested though, right?”

Andreja laughed sweetly and took the skewer from her hands. She raised it a little higher above the flames and slowly rotated it for even roasting. Andromeda took the opportunity to pour another capful of gin from the canteen she’d sneaked into her bag, and took a swig to celebrate the new steps taken tonight in their budding relationship.

“Want a nip?”

“No, thank you. I thought we could celebrate back on our ship, or when we are relaxing on the beach tomorrow. I have a 2250 vintage of Mal’siir that I have been saving for sometime. I cannot think of a more fulfilling occasion to share it on. Nor anyone else to share it with.”

Andromeda whistled. “Eighty years old? That must have cost a small fortune. Uh, what is Mal’siir anyway?”

“It is a spirit brewed from a plant native to Va’ruun’kai,” said Andreja. “I have found nothing like it in the Settled Systems. You will simply have to try it to understand the taste. I do no think words will do it justice.”

That was the first time Andreja had spoken of her home world. She kept a lot about her past close to the vest, and had Andromeda not been in a fugue state from their romp in the tent she might have thought it prudent not to inquire about the aforementioned planet, but between the gin and the multiple successive orgasms, her inhibition had somewhat flown the coop.

“Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“Your home, Dre. I’ve never heard you mention it before.”

Andreja retreated into herself and Andromeda instantly regretted pursuing it. She chided herself mentally and was just about to apologize for even mentioning it when the awkward silence vanished with a stammered deflection.

“I… um… I-I do not wish to speak of it. Please, we must talk about something else. P-please.”

Resting a comforting hand on her leg, Andromeda kissed her again. “Hey. We never have to talk about anything you don’t want to. If you ever feel ready, I’ll be here.”

“Thank you, Annie. I am sorry for not being more forthcoming, but I cannot.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Andromeda. “Focus on my dinner before you burn it,” she added.

“Damn it!” Andreja pulled the sizzling meat away from the flames and prodded it with her fingers. “Oh, good. I did not overcook it. It should be a perfect medium rare.”

She passed the expertly roasted skewer of not-veal to Andromeda who blew on it a few times before taking a bite. Impeccably seasoned, the sizzling meat practically melted in her mouth and her eyes rolled back in delicious pleasure. The main course of their campfire dinner disappeared in short order until only the tin of Can-uck Bacon! remained alongside some stewed tomatoes.

“That was excellent, Dre. How’d you know it was done?”

“You have not cooked for yourself often, have you?” A shake from Andromeda’s headed allowed her to continue: “The firmness of meat changes at different temperatures. Even this soy-based slop prevalent in the Settled Systems manages to closely approximate the texture of real food.”

“What else can you cook?”

“Plenty, as you shall soon see.”

The fire blazed merrily under the moonless Eridani II sky while they finished eating a late supper. Warm air with just a hint of brine from the nearby ocean wafted through the palm trees causing them to dance in the shadows. Having drank more than a little gin, Andromeda vacated her makeshift stone seat and laid on her back, staring up at the star-filled sky. It was a sight she’d never seen anything like in her twenty-five years of life.

“Lay with me, Dre. It’s beautiful.”

Andreja laid down next to her in the sandy soil and wiggled in close. “Have you not seen the stars before?”

“Not like this. I grew up in Neon City �" it’s all bright lights and storm clouds. The sun barely even penetrates the skyscrapers on a clear day. Hence why my skin is so pale.”

“I would hate to live somewhere like that,” admitted Andreja. “Too much activity. Too much noise.”

“It was all I knew,” shrugged Andromeda with a yawn. “And I never imagined I could have more. Being poor in that place means you never leave. I’d have died there without the help of my friends.”

“Do you wish to return someday?”

“Never.”

Andromeda had nothing more to say on the matter, and so, she didn’t. They instead both stared up at the stars in peaceful contentment. Gentle snores eventually punctuated the silent wonder causing Andreja to rouse her companion and help her into the tent for a good night’s sleep.

* * *

Tropical Forest (Coast), Eridani II, Eridani System

On the following day they completed their scans of the lush tropical forest and looped back towards the Verity of Fate in a wide arc that brought the ship into view by late afternoon. They might have finished up sooner had Andromeda not taking a liking to the species of large beetles scuttling about chewing on fallen leaves and the powerfully tart fruits that fell from the umber-toned palm trees. At one point she found half a dozen of the creatures grouped in a small clearing, and she couldn’t help but sit among them in quiet observation with the silliest smile on her face.

She was still sitting there after nearly half an hour later when Andreja approached the break in the trees and watched in amusement. The skittish arthropods usually fled from her while picking through the forest so it pleased her to see them clustered abut Andromeda, letting the former Cyber Runner scan them in great detail. And pet them, apparently, for that’s what she was doing at that exact moment.

Not wanting to spook them, Andreja slid a text message from her slate to Andromeda’s indicating she would be back at the ship. The second she read the text, Andromeda looked up and waved her over.

“Come check it out, hon!”

Andreja didn’t want to spook them, but she tried to ease in anyway. The beetles scurried into the undergrowth the moment her feet hit the clearing.

“Ah well,” said Andromeda. “I thought maybe they’d stay docile with me sitting here.” She got to her feet and dusted off the seat of her pants. “So, back to the ship? You scanned all the noteworthy plants?”

“I did. We can relax for the rest of the day before moving onto the next biome.”

“Sounds great. Fair warning; don’t expect me to wear any clothing beach side. Not that that’s really a problem anymore. You’re also greatly encouraged to join me in my choice of wardrobe. Or lack thereof.”

“Imagine that,” said Andreja while rolling her eyes. “Do you realize, Annie, that not everyone possesses the confidence in oneself that you do. Some of us are little more, hm, self-conscious about how we appear to others.”

“Confidence,” laughed Andromeda dryly. “Now, there’s a novel idea.”

The idea of that notion started dredging something up she’d been working very hard to bury, and she hoped beyond hope that Andreja would not make her expound on it. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed in short order.

“You do not agree?”

“Are you kidding me? [censored] no, Dre! I still get scared when I hear gunshots, and I’m useless in the ensuing fights and usually just end up hurt or bleeding. Everywhere we go I’m paranoid that Bayu and his goons will catch up with me, or a bounty hunter will attack us. And don’t even get me start on whatever the [censored] happened to me in that temple on Tau Ceti III �" it has me so freaked out I can barely think straight most of the time. This version of me you see right now? The one making friends with bugs and exploring worlds? She’s barely holding it the [censored] together! If I didn’t have you I don’t know where I’d be right now. Floating face down in my pool maybe. Those few minutes when I thought you left with Sarah and Noel were up there with some of the worst in my life. Confidence? What a [censored] joke. I know I’m cute, and that I can come across as charming, but it’s all false bravado and the buck stops there, Andreja. So, congratulations �" you’ve fallen for a neurotic facsimile of a human being who wears confidence thinner than tacky veneer.”

She didn’t know exactly when the tears began to fall during her diatribe but they streaked through the dirt and grime coating her face from hiking through the humid tropical forest like rivulets in the earth. All Andromeda knew next was that getting it all out and letting the dam break free quickly turned from falling tears to racking sobs in the arms of a stunned Andreja who’d been caught completely off guard by the sudden breakdown. She never would have guessed an innocent question might lead to this, but thinking back… the signs were there. Andromeda even warned her how fragile her mental state was back on Vega II-a.

“Annie, I want you to listen to me,” breathed Andreja. She laced her fingers through Andromeda’s opalescent hair and tried her damnedest to be comforting. “I have met many people in my travels who claim to be brave �" to be confident �" and so few ever live up to their boasting. Confidence comes in many forms, and rarely does it equate strength, or bravery. Not all of us possess those traits, and neither does that make us weak. You are strong in ways that others cannot even comprehend; you must be, or your mind would have crumbled like chalk when you were pulled into the center of that object in the temple. But you came out the other side alone, with no help from myself, nor anyone else. And you came out stronger. It is true that we understand so little about what has happened, but that does not refute the truth. You are confident in your friends and how much we can help you. And you are confident in ways that you do not yet even recognize. That confidence earned you my trust, and it earned you my affection. It gives you even more strength. Together we can see what else it will earn you, and I will be by your side to help you every step of the way. When you stumble, I will catch you. And when you rise higher than any of us, I will do everything in my power to keep you aloft.”

Andromeda listened to her soothing voice with rapt attention, her eyes completely dry by the time Andreja finished speaking. She wiped away the remaining dampness on her cheeks and gathered her composure with deep breaths, but it was several long minutes before she worked up the courage to speak again. She felt safe in Andreja's arms, so that was where she stayed.

“Andreja, I…” She placed a hand on Andreja’s cheek. “I’m sorry. For falling apart like that. I’ve been trying to be strong, but… like you said…”

“I do not need you to be what you think you should be, Annie. I need you to be you. That is the person who has become closer to me than anyone I have ever met. Just be yourself �" be the Andromeda Renault who turned every head in Constellation. And be the woman who has won my devotion.”

* * *

The sun shone bright and hot upon the coastal waters of equatorial Eridani II, warming the waves gently lapping onto the sandy beach. Crustacean-like creatures scuttled sideways through the shifting sand and foaming surf in search of any food morsel unlucky enough to wash ashore. Further up on the beach, where the sand was hot and dry, two figures were sprawled out on a large canvas tarp Andromeda found in the Verity’s cargo hold. Surprisingly, they both wore bikini’s in clashing shades rather than exposing their fair skin to the UV rays of the star.

“Annie?” asked Andreja, breaking nearly an hour of relative silence.

“Hm?”

“How long must we do this for? I am beginning to appreciate the benefits of relaxation, or fun, but lying here inert while the hot sun kisses our bodies strikes me as especially imprudent when we have three more biomes to scan on this world, and another planet to survey elsewhere.”

Andromeda sighed dramatically. “Life on this planet isn’t going anywhere, Andreja. It can wait a few more hours. I always dreamed of seeing a beach like this one day.”

Andreja gave in for the time being and allowed herself to be content simply listening to the rhythm of the waves grow closer and closer with the rising tide. Truth be told, she felt glad to be resting after the trying morning they had, and she was also glad that Andromeda seemed to be at peace again. But Andreja liked to be on the move, striving for the next goal, and her patience began to wear thin after another hour baking on the beach.

She looked over at Andromeda basking in the sunlight. Andreja knew she wasn’t asleep, but her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell in even breaths. Nearly a full minute came and went before Andreja realized she was still staring at Andromeda’s chest. And for the first time she wished her lover had forgone clothing.

Then it dawned on Andreja that that was exactly how she could move things along. She sat up, and with a slight tug on the strap of her own bikini it fell away, revealing her breasts at the same time she politely cleared her throat.

Andromeda glanced over and bit her lip. “Okay… you win. We can do something else now.”

This post has been edited by Kane: Nov 2 2025, 02:56 PM