After a long day of decorating and getting the Teripine organized the way we wanted, I hadn’t been able to spend the time I wanted with Stesa besides a few quick conversations. With a tired mind in control, I’d invited her for a tour of the Agropod where I was getting my produce the following morning. Despite my concern that I was misreading the situation, she agreed that being around nature again would be a good inspiration for this project.

  Stepping up into the ship with Stesa on my arm, I gave her the tour, starting with introducing her to Dream. It only took two steps into the cargo bay before the holographic form of the ship’s artificial intelligence appeared.

  “Good morning Master Everrune. All systems are reporting green, and my pilots are already in their places. When you are ready to go, please let them know so that we get underway and make our scheduled pickup. Do we have a guest for this trip?”

  Stesa glanced between me and the AI as she stepped away from me. Her judgemental gaze was enough to tell me that she at least partially believed that I might have been responsible for Dream’s appearance. A groan escaped my lips as I realized that I should’ve prepared Stesa for before we boarded the ship. I tried to think of a response that wouldn’t make me look like a creep as I took a deep breath. It took a moment to fight down my annoyance at the childish actions of a past programmer, I did my best to respond.

  “Thank you for the update, Dream. Please let our pilots know that I’ll give Stesa a quick tour of the ship. Once we’re done, we’ll join them in the cockpit.”

  Not indicating whether she understood, Dream gave a slight bow before disappearing and allowing me to begin the tour.

  “Please forgive Dream, she has only worked for me for a day, and I’m not the one that configured her. I’m sure that after a while, she’ll be instrumental and will be a great addition to my team. Right now though, she doesn’t know how to best work with us.”

  I reached out and took Stesa’s hand as I stepped into the ship, trying to distract from the situation Dream had just created and explain it simultaneously.

  “Now, my goal is to not get us lost because I haven’t had a chance to get very comfortable with the ship's layout yet.”

  Stesa let me lead her to the lift that led up to the main crew deck after a half smile at my bad joke. I pulled her into the small open-air elevator that sat at the end of the cargo bay, not realizing that it had only been designed for one person. My mistake became instantly apparent when I turned to press the button to take us up to the main passenger deck. We found ourselves standing less than an inch apart.

  Deciding to let life take control for a moment, I held her gaze. For several moments I allowed the heat between us to grow as I silently dared her to do something. With every second, she matched my gaze. Slowly I leaned in until I was forced to pull away as Zoxjia’s voice came from above us.

  “Wow, this looks like an amazing tour of the ship! I’m sure our passenger now has an intricate understanding of the lift and how it works. Unfortunately, we’re already running late. We need to get underway thirty minutes ago. I may be a goddess, but I’m not able to teleport us to the farm and back.”

  I fought back a blush as I glared up at her and pressed the button to take us up to the main level. With every ounce of spite I could muster, I kept my angry gaze on my friend as the lift pushed us up to her level. I tried to let Stesa hide her face in my back as we stepped out, keeping her from seeing the teasing looks that Zoxjia was giving us. When I felt her face pull away from where it had been buried in my back, I kept my voice apologetic as I introduced Zoxia.

  “Stesa, this is Zoxjia, Goddess of Love and Passion. She has developed a bad habit of interrupting people during powerful moments instead of letting them happen. You now know why she’s working as my pilot instead of doing her work as a goddess of a tribe.”

  That comment drew a shocked inhale from Stesa as she pushed away from my back and was echoed by a heavy pout from Zoxjia. To ensure that Stesa understood I was joking with the goddess, I turned to meet her gaze as she stepped around beside me and winked before continuing.

  “So, I’m guessing you decided to dump your checklist off on Uraura again? Do I need to get her a restraining belt for you to keep you in your seat during the flight?”

  Not sure if I was being serious, Zoxjia huffed and stormed back down the corridor to the bridge. Turning back to Stesa, I pulled her into an apologetic hug.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I’m sorry about that, she and I have been friends for a long time and she’s like a sister to me. That’s the only reason I joke with them. I hope that wasn’t too awkward.”

  Breaking apart, I led her towards the bridge but stopped in front of the door that revealed the small armory I had built from one of the small crew cabins.

  “There is one thing I need you to know before we leave the city. For most people in the Over Cities, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I want it in the open. I want you to know that I’m not keeping this big part of my life from you.”

  I pressed the button to open the door and activate the lights while getting a confused look from her. The explanation continued as I stepped into the room filled with weapons and one of my three kits of armor in the center.

  “After arriving in the Over Cities, I joined the Nameless and quickly rose through their ranks. My team was tasked with rescuing two exiled goddesses being hunted by another god. After a little searching we found them cornered on a small agripod. I took a team of twenty warriors because we were told to expect ten bounty hunters at most. But after my team killed nearly three hundred Abandoned Warriors, our intel was proved wrong. Ezotz, the God of Fame and Greed, attacked directly, and I was forced to face him.”

  I turned back to look at her, meeting her concerned and frustrated eyes as she tried to understand what I was saying.

  “I managed to kill him and escape with my life, but I lost all but three of my soldiers and the two goddesses in the battle. Now the two goddesses stay close to me and work as my pilots. The three soldiers and I were all released from the Nameless ranks due to physical and mental injuries.”

  The first part of the story hit home as I talked, causing her to look over at the closed cockpit door. Glancing back at me, she gave a slight nod of understanding.

  “Two of them married and bought the farm and orchard that had been the site of our final battle. They now supply my restaurant with the produce they grow. We sell the extra to our other partner and last survivor of the battle of the Crimson Orchard, who runs a hospital in the Nameless City of Skystrand. I know this is a lot to dump on you, but I’m hoping you will at least have some time to process this before we get there, and you get to see it first hand.”

  Stesa stepped into the room and ran her hand along the side of the helmet before turning back to face me.

  “Thank you for telling me this. It filled in many gaps and helped me understand the man you’ve become. When we get back, I promise to return the honesty.”

  She crossed the short distance back to me and wrapped her arms around me. When she finally released me and relaxed, I took her hand and walked towards the bridge. Crossing the short distance, I showed her to her seat as I made introductions.

  “You’ve already met Zoxjia, but you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Uraura, Goddess of Justice. As I mentioned, they are two survivors of the Crimson Orchard and are my close friends. They tend to act like protective sisters, so please don’t let them scare you. They’ve already told me they want you to design their apartment.”

  I sat back in my chair as I gave Stesa another quick wink. We waiting for one of the two superior beings to say something. They didn’t respond for several seconds as they spooled up the thrusters and lifted our small light freighter off the rooftop landing pad. When the ship was up and moving, Uraura flipped a switch on her console and turned in her seat to face Stesa, pulling off her helmet to let her shimmering silver hair fall free.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t properly greet you. Someone here decided to screw around instead of helping me. It is a pleasure to meet you, and you have the aura of a just and kind woman. You’re welcome here as long as you don’t do anything that will hurt our priest and protector.”

  Hearing the last sentence, my stomach flipped, hoping she hadn’t pushed Stesa away by insinuating a relationship. The ship banked hard to port as I tried to relax.

  For several minutes we flew in silence until we entered the airspace that had led to one of my worst memories. I took Stesa’s hand and met her gaze as I spoke softly so that only she could hear.

  “I’ll explain all that later, I promise. It’s complicated. As I just told you, I will gladly tell you everything I can. There are a few secrets about me that are dangerous for you to know for now. But anything else is something that I’m happy to share.”

  After giving me a quick smile, she turned back to watch the view out the front window as the layered platforms used to protect the planet and provide the Over Cities with everything it needed to be passed by. With the nearly brand new ship, it only took us fifteen minutes to fly almost five thousand miles to the small agripod. The ship banked to make the same approach I had taken with my soldiers when we’d been sent to save these same goddesses.

  Reality collided with memory as I flashed back to that morning three years prior. Voices of my fallen comrades echoed behind me as I turned in my chair to look back into the short corridor that had morphed into the soldier-filled bay of our combat drop ship. Despite the time that had passed and the almost perfectly identical armor, I could put a name to each of the fifty soldiers under my command. Pain swelled in my soul as they appeared in my mind’s eye, all acting like they had that morning. Some were joking or praying as they prepared for battle, never knowing that only four of us would walk away from that fight with the goddesses that we’d been sent to protect.

  As the ship descended, I broke from my trance and glanced around the cabin to ensure no one had spotted my lack of focus. When I relaxed a little, a soft squeeze of my hand caused me to turn and look at Stesa, who was studying me closely. Returning the squeeze, I let the pain release as I accepted the warmth she was giving me.