Arwin looked wholly and completely like she wasn’t expecting me to actually open the door.

I had to give her something, I guess. I was dressed like a slutty lesbian disaster, but for all Arwin Emer knew, that’s exactly who I was. Ever since we met, Arwin and I had shared a rivalry. As far as I knew, she still hated my nonexistent guts for making a jab at how dumb the castvernon war was. And yet she was here, standing outside my door, trying extremely hard to not look at me.

“What do you want?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

Arwin stiffened. “We’re going on a mission. You’re my backup.” She said, maintaining eye contact with me for a moment, then once again glancing down the hall.

I straightened my posture a bit and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. “You want me to come with you?” I asked sarcastically.

“No one else would agree to it,” Arwin explained monotonously. “I figured since you tend to take risks, you’d be up for a mission like this one.”

“And what’s that?” I was starting to get interested.

Arwin pivoted around on her heel and started to walk down the hallway. She beckoned me to follow, and like an idiot I did.

“We’re flying through the Xelbern nebula and getting rid of some cosmic space bugs that have been terrorizing the local star systems.” Arwin described. She seemed unaffected by the gravity of the situation. I couldn’t say the same for myself.

“The Xelbern nebula?” I exclaimed, my usually gravelly voice growing in pitch. “That’s insane! That’s deep space! People don’t just casually go into the Xelbern nebula!”

Arwin spun around to face me, a sly smile on her face. “It’s not like it’s never been done before. And besides,” She spun around and continues walking. “You and I are hardly people.”

I scoffed at her remark and begrudgingly followed. “Why do you even need me on this mission? Aren’t you supposed to be an ace pilot?”

“I am an ace pilot.” Arwin corrected me sternly. “I need you as a gunner to actually take care of the space bugs. I’ll do all the actual flying.”

“Me. A gunner. On a ship. Really utilizing individual skills there, captain.” I quipped.

“Again, no one else agreed,” Arwin replied. I could almost hear the smile in her voice. “So, you in?”

I shrugged, even though Arwin couldn’t see me. “Guess so. Nothing better to do.”

The hangar was bustling with life when we entered it. I’d never seen anything like it, so many people fixing ships, prepping for missions, or just chilling with friends.

“Whoa,” I whispered, trying to take it all in.

Arwin immediately took off into the hangar, leaving me to catch up with her. “Come on. We need to prep the Jade Eye.”

“Wait- we’re taking your starfighter? The one you don’t allow anyone to touch?” I said in astonishment as I followed Arwin through the maze of ships.

“What- did you think we were going to take a freighter?” Arwin turned to face me, smiling.

“I have no idea what that means,” I responded bluntly.

Arwin turned around again and continued walking. “The Jade Eye is the fastest ship in our fleet. It’s optimized for navigating small spaces and flying at incredibly fast speeds. It’s small, lightweight, and the best pick for this mission.” Her voice was full of pride as she talked about her ship. I knew it meant a lot to her, but I didn’t know she was this annoying about it.

Eventually, we stopped in front of a small, lightweight spacecraft. It was definitely one of the smallest ships in the hangar, only seeming to seat two people- a pilot and a gunner. It was also situated closest to the airlock- the light of the gates reflected on the ship’s green plating.

Arwin smiled. “Here we are!” She proclaimed before climbing a ladder up to the open cockpit, obviously insinuating I follow. I did.

“I thought your ship only sat one person.” I asked as I climbed in behing Arwin.

“Usually, it does,” Arwin explained, helping me into the gunner’s seat. “But the nice thing about castvernon fighter craft is that they’re easily modified, we simply attached a module with the extra firepower, controls, and seat. That space is normally cargo storage.”

“Huh.” I responded as I climbed into the seat. The ship was tiny, with barely enough room for my legs. In front of me was standard ray blast controls, I recognized them from Jita’s ship. Arwin’s back was to mine, which technically meant I was facing backward. Above me was a dome of glass, although it was currently open. I noticed a safety strap near the seat and buckled it across my chest. I knew Arwin was a good pilot, but I don’t trust anyone’s flight skills with my life

“You all good?” Arwin called from the front of the ship.

“Yeah.” I nodded

“Fantastic.” Arwin said. The dome above me closed, completely encasing me in the ship. “By the way, your seat swivels with the guns. Makes it easier to aim.” Arwin informed me.

“Cool” I said, testing it by moving my seat left and right. Sure enough, the oversized barrels outside the ship moved with me.

“Handlebars are to help you aim even more, trigger’s are on the sides. Don’t shoot anything unless I tell you. My last gunner was Zy, he was a bit to trigger-happy and destroyed a few loads of healing supplies.”

“Damn.” I said. I put my hands beneath my legs so I couldn’t accidentally fire anything.

“I think we’re about ready for takeoff.” Arwin said to me, and then into s radio (in her Radio Voice), “Command, this is Jade Eye, requesting clearance for takeoff.”

I could barely hear Helio’s voice through the other side of the comlink. “Jade Eye, you are clear for takeoff. Have a safe trip.”