My hands gripped the arm rests like a snake strangling its prey; my knuckles went white and my biceps were bulging as we raced upwards to the atmosphere. The ship rattled about, red streaks of fire cascaded down the front of the ship, streaking across the cockpit’s window.

  I grit my teeth and gnced at Gabriel. His brow was furrowed as he gazed out the window, pressing the occasional button, cursing under his breath. I wanted to say something to him, but I figured it best to keep my thoughts to myself. The st thing I wanted to do was to distract him and watch as we dove nose first into the ground, crashing in an inferno of metal and guts.

  Gabriel smmed the dash with his fist, “Cunt!” He flipped some switches, “We’re not getting enough power.”

  A red light lit up the cockpit accompanied with an arm. “Warning, ship approaching. Weapons engaged. Evasive maneuvers advised.”

  “That’s bad, right?” I chuckled to lighten the mood. Stupid, but what else could I do?

  “If we can’t increase the thrusters, we can’t get out of the atmosphere to jump, which means the Collective will pick us up.” He stopped moving entirely, “And that’s game over for us.”

  “It’s a good thing you have a guardian angel then.” I stood and pointed my thumb at myself, “This was part of my job. Sit tight, don’t bleed out, and wait for the signal.”

  I took off deep into the ship. Most likely, it was a loose wire somewhere near the reactors, maybe a safeguard put in pce by Luca to stop anyone from leaving without him. Damn pig.

  I slid down the dder, running down the hall with a pep in my step. Even though we weren’t free yet, I still felt a fire in my heart and a sense of freedom that drove me with a new-found confidence.

  It was invigorating.

  A muffled boom. The ship rocked hard. I smmed to the floor. Another boom. The ship lurched again. The tin can speakers lit up with Gabriel’s voice.

  “They’re firing at us. Whatever you’re doing kid, now’s the time.”

  I pushed up and ran to the engine room, hanging onto whatever support there was as the ship continued to jump about with each boom outside. There was no more time left. This was it.

  The doors slid open and I stepped into the reactor room. It was hot, muggy, and cramped. Wires ran off in every direction. The ship lurched again and I fell, hitting my face on the floor. My head rang and my vision was fuzzy as I tried to shake it off.

  The ship shook violently this time, sliding my down to the end of the room. I got to my knees and rubbed my eyes. There was blood dripping from my head somewhere; my hand was covered in the crimson liquid.

  My eyes focused beyond the blood. There it was. A loose power coupling. I smmed the coupling back into the reactor and sighed as I stood, wobbling side to side, trying to stay up as I made my way to the cockpit. The Gelly’s didn’t make it easy. The ship jerked side to side as Gabriel was doing everything he could to keep it afloat.

  I climbed the dder, barely making it to the top, flopping over the edge onto the mess hall floor. I took a deep breath, pressing on the pain on my forehead.

  The tin can echoed throughout the ship, “You did it, kid, the powers back. Get your ass up here so we can take off!”

  I crawled over to the table and lifted my body. Everything was heavy and dizzy. I plopped my butt into the seat and buckled up. If I was going to pass out, at least I was strapped in.

  “Shit, what happened to you?”

  I groaned back at him. Stars were id out in front of me. Whether they were real or my imagination, I couldn’t tell.

  “It’ll have to wait. Here we go!” He smmed down a shifter and the ship bsted forward.

  The stars all blended together, streaking past as my eyes slowly closed. I went to sleep with a smile on my face. We did it. We were out of here. Finally, freedom.

  …

  Beep.

  What the hell was that sound. Oh, God, what’s this light? Why is everything so bright here?

  Beep.

  I shifted about, turning under some sheets. My eyes opened to the bright light. White sheets covered the bed I was in. Machines were plugged in around me. There was a clear line stuck into my arm leading to some fluids in a bag.

  Beep.

  That annoying machine was beeping, keeping track of my vitals. This was a hospital? Where? The st thing I remembered was the Arc Star jumping away with Gabriel driving…

  “Gabriel?” I looked around. The room was empty, save for me. There were some chairs, machines, the room was a soft, beige. It smelt nice, like the flowers back on Earth did.

  I touched my head. It was bandaged up, but it felt much better than I thought it would.

  “I guess things could be worse…” I sighed. This was great. This was freedom. No more Arc Star. No more Luca, Maelstro, or Brutus. I was free to do what I wanted.

  The door creaked open. Gabriel stepped inside. His eyes went wide as he saw me awake. “Nurse! Doctor! Whoever! She’s awake!” He rushed inside and hugged me tight. “I knew you’d come through. You’re too strong to die.”

  “Great!” I watched a rge Anthro-Walrus, wearing a white b coat, enter the room. His face was covered partially with a mask. “Let her be.” He pushed Gabriel aside and began to read some of the charts.

  We sat in silence for a moment. Making faces at each other while the doctor finished up.

  “Everything looks good. We’ll keep her for another night to make sure she’s in good shape, then we can release her. I’ll send the nurse in ter. You two catch up.” The Doctor nodded and left us alone in the room.

  “So, what happened?” I croaked out. My throat was dry. Swallowing was like eating a handful of sand.

  “You took a smack to the head. We jumped out of the Gellical Collective’s reach. I checked you into the hospital here at Omega Station. And don’t worry, I already covered the bill. The equipment is a bit dated, but You should be good as new.” Gabriel smiled at me.

  “With what money?” I sat up and rubbed my head. Everything was sore.

  “I found some expensive stuff stashed about in the Arc Star, before I sold it.”

  “You sold it!? How are we supposed to get around now?”

  “We don’t want that ship. The Gellys have it logged in now. It’s best to leave it behind, look for something better. Oh, here.” He tossed a crypto card at me, “Here’s your share. Enough to get you started wherever you end up.”

  I grabbed the card and looked it over. “Wait, what does that mean? You’re not going with me?” I didn’t want Gabriel to leave. He was supposed to show me the gaxy. Lead me on another adventure, or we could have settled down somewhere together…

  “No. I can’t. This is the st time we get to see each other.” He stood. The smile faded from his face. “If you leave here with me, you will forever be hunted by the Gellical Collective. That’s not the freedom you want, or deserve. You’ll constantly be looking over your shoulder, forever. You need to find your own freedom, take your own path. That’s your job now.”

  “And what are you going to do?” I was sad that he was leaving. He was my first friend in a long time. I didn’t want him to leave like this. I understood what he was saying and what he was wanting for me, but it didn’t hurt any less.

  “I’m going to do what you said. Help people. Travel across the gaxy, helping whomever needs a helping hand. Redeeming myself one good deed at a time. It might not be enough to make up for what I did in the past, but it’s a start.” He grabbed a bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder. “Maybe we will see each other again sometime. Who knows?”

  He came over and hugged me again, “Thank you for everything.”

  “You too.” I grabbed him tight and pulled him closer, not wanting to let go. My eyes started to tear up. I was crying now as he gave me one st squeeze, and he left the room with a smile.

  I wiped my tears away. Maybe I would see him again. It was bittersweet, but he was right, I needed to take my own path. I was free now.

  …

  The space station was buzzing with life. All sorts of Anthros and humans were wandering around, buying things, eating, ughing, doing business. It was great. My head was healed, and I was released from the hospital.

  A woman walked by in a purple dress and fancy hat. She held bags filled with clothes as she talked with someone on her holo.

  I gnced down at my own, baggy drab clothes from my Arc Star times. They were disgusting. I gnced to the right, seeing myself in the reflection of the station’s walls. I was a drab urchin child. Baggy clothes clung to my boney body. My hair was scruffy. I looked like shit.

  My hand caressed the crypto card in my pocket. I think it was time for some new clothes, maybe a new outlook on my life. I needed to take my own path now. I needed to find myself, and I always liked purple.

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