Held by Luna Voss
16
Melyta
“We’re here!” Jenyta’s voice comes over the ship’s intercom. “Pulling out of hyperspace now.”
Barion and I rush to dress ourselves, then come out of the cabin and head to the bridge. He gives me a look as we walk down the hall together, and I see approval on his face. I meet his eyes, the connection between us comfortable and mutually understood. My heart skips happily. It feels like we’re a team again. So much more than it did yesterday.
We come out on the bridge just as Jenyta pulls the ship out of hyperspace. The lines racing past us on the viewscreen separate out into individual stars, gleaming peacefully in the inky blackness.
And then before us, a planet emerges, its surface cracked and pockmarked with craters.
“Is that it?” I breathe. Next to me, Barion just stares, seemingly without words.
If this planet is what we understand to be, it’s indescribably valuable to us.
“Planet 88224,” Jenyta announces, beaming. “Complete with heavy ditrykium deposits, according to the Rangasta database. And thanks to me, we’re the only ones in the galaxy who know that it’s here.”
“Thank you, Jenyta,” says Barion, still staring at the planet. “We’re going to be able to breathe the atmosphere?”
She nods. “That’s what the database said, but I’ll do a manual scan just in case.” She inputs a command into the computer console and studies the readout on the screen carefully. “Yup, ship’s sensors confirm. Little more oxygen than we’re used to, but it’s safe to breathe. Shall I land?”
“Hell yes, you should land! Let’s check out the planet we just stole.” Korva appears on the bridge, looking groggy but elated, pulling a shirt over his head. Jenyta glances at him, and I see her face twitch at the sight of his uncovered torso before it disappears.
“You made it,” she says to him coolly. “I thought you’d be drunk or something.”
“Yup, I’m here!” he grins, ignoring her frosty demeanor. “So, are we going to check this thing out or what?”
I glance at Barion, who is already nodding his head. “What you think, Mel?” he says to me. “You want to see the planet up close?”
“Definitely,” I tell him. “We didn’t come all this way just to turn back around without seeing the sights.”
Jenyta pilots us down to the planet’s surface, and I watch like a movie as we break through the atmosphere.
“This place doesn’t look very hospitable,” I say to Barion, squeezing his hand.
“Good thing it doesn’t need to be,” he agrees, nodding. “As long as it has ditrykium and the atmosphere doesn’t kill us, it doesn’t exactly need to be prime real estate.”
Prime real estate it isn’t. The planet looks just as barren as we get closer as it does from space, with deep canyons, tall mountains, and thick ridgelines everywhere. As our ship descends, I see that the ground is scattered with sparse shrubbery with dark purple leaves, the only visible sign of life.
“Think anything lives here?” Barion asks. “Other than those purple bushes, I mean.”
“Sensors aren’t showing anything that looks like sentient life,” says Jenyta, “but they told me when I was training that these readings aren’t always accurate. Does anybody care where I land?”
“Just try not to crash the ship,” says Korva.
“Somehow, I think I can manage,” she replies, not seeming to appreciate the joke.
She slows the ship to a hover over a large, empty clearing, and we touch down.
“So, just to clarify,” I say, “we can just walk right out of the ship? We don’t need spacesuits or oxygen tanks or anything?”
“That’s right,” Jenyta confirms. “Gravity is a little bit less than we’re used to, so that will be interesting. We should be careful about spending too much time outside of artificial gravity. Muscles atrophy faster than you might expect.”
“We’ll only stay a few hours, maybe a day,” says Barion. “And we’ll limit time outside the ship.”
“Am I remembering correctly that there were two planetary transport vehicles in our cargo?” Korva asks, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Because I’m pretty sure that means dune buggies.”
Barion raises his eyebrows at him. “You’re not serious.”
Korva grins broadly. “Oh, I’m deadly serious. Dune buggy racing is very serious business.”
Barion laughs, shaking his head. “Can’t take you anywhere.”
“Not if you’re going to bring dune buggies, you can’t. Or planetary transport vehicles,” he chuckles, throwing a glance at Jenyta. “Are you really telling me you’re going to turn down the opportunity to race dune buggies in low gravity?”
My mate exhales, looking deeply tempted.
Korva grins, as though he knows he already has him. “That’s the spirit! Unless you’re too worried I’m going to kick your ass…”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Barion growls, his face spreading into a broad grin. “Mel, you want to be my copilot?”
“Oh fuckkkkkk!” I scream as Barion slams his foot on the accelerator.
I can see the excitement on his face as our buggy peels off, kicking up an incredible amount of dirt behind us. To our left, Korva keeps pace.
“Get ready, we’re going to catch some air!” Barion yells.
I grab his wrist and squeeze it as we speed up a sand dune like a ramp and then fly off.
“Holy shit!” he yells. “Holy fucking shit!”
I’m screaming too, although I’m not forming words. My stomach is in my throat. We spend what feels like ten entire seconds in the air before finally landing and continuing to race forward to the giant rock we’ve decided to call the finish line.
Our two buggies pass the rock at exactly the same time, or as close as I can tell. Barion brings the buggy to a stop and we get out, our hearts pumping quickly and our mouths filled with laughter.
“Any idea who crossed the line first?” Korva laughs, climbing out of his vehicle.
“Not a clue,” says Barion. “That was fun as hell, though.”
“Seriously,” I grin, having just as much fun as either of them. “Can I drive the buggy on the way back?”
“Hell yeah,” my husband agrees, picking me up by the waist and lifting me into the front seat. “That was only the first race. We’ll beat him this time!”
Maybe it’s only due to my determined refusal to take my foot off the acceleration pedal, but we do beat Korva back to the mining ship.
“How’d our dust taste?” I ask him as he pulls up behind us. To my surprise, I’m having the time of my life. I wish Jenyta would join us.
“Damn, you don’t fuck around,” he says, shaking his head in amazement. “You were flying over that dune.” He turns to Jenyta, waiting in the shade by the ship in a light summer dress, looking somewhat wistful. “Hey! Want to come ride with me? I’m going to need a copilot if I’m going to beat Barion and Mel!”
Jenyta seems like she kind of wants to, but shakes her head. “No thanks, I’m good.”
“Come on!” I encourage her, waving. “We’ll ride together. Us against the guys. You drive.”
She hesitates, then her stony demeanor cracks and she runs over to me. “Okay! let’s go.”
Barion turns to his friend. “Looks like it’s you and me, old buddy. Think we can give these ladies a run for their money?”
Korva narrows his eyes playfully. “Oh, I know we can.”
Evidently, Jenyta’s time in the Rangasta pilot program was well spent. By the time we’ve done a couple more races, it’s very clear that she and Korva are the best drivers, and it’s basically become a competition between the two of them, with Barion and I in the passenger seats. I’m more than content to let her drive, enjoying every part of this experience. It feels good to laugh and play games with everyone. It feels good to see them all getting along, and Jenyta letting her guard down.
“Okay, it’s two and two!” I call out, playing the role of the announcer. “Next race decides the official Planet 88224 Dune Buggy Champion!”
I start the countdown on my communicator, synced with Barion’s in the other buggy. And then the race begins.
This time, we’ve decided to go around the rock and have the finish line be a clump of bushes by the ship. Our two buggies stay neck and neck, and Jenyta manages to take the lead as we whip around the rock.
“Ha! They get to eat our dust now,” Jenyta exclaims over the roar of the engine.
I grin. This race is bringing out a playful, competitive side in my friend that I’m not sure I’ve seen since we were on the playground together as kids. She really seems to have come into her own during her year spent training as a pilot.
She’s a damn good dune buggy driver, too. Who would have thought those skills would transfer?
“Fuck yeah!” she yells as we breeze past the finish line, at least two car lengths in front of Korva and Barion. “Dune buggy champions right here!”
“Good race,” says Korva, looking impressed as he skids to a stop behind us and climbs out of the driver’s seat. “Holy shit, you know how to drive.”
I’m familiar enough with Jenyta to pick up on how much she enjoys the compliment, even though she tries to hide it.
“It’s nothing,” she says, shrugging modestly. “There were lots of better pilots in the Rangasta program.”
He grins at her. “My ass, there were. How about one more race. Just you and me.”
Barion looks hesitant. “Just one more. We really should be leaving soon.”
“One more race,” Korva agrees. “What do you say, Jenyta?”
“You’re on,” she says, dripping with confidence. “I want to do a different track, though. All the way to the end of the ridge.”
Korva frowns, looking into the distance. “All the way out there? Looks a little dangerous by that cliff.”
She shrugs casually. “Unless you’re too scared.”
He sighs. “Yeah, yeah. Get ready to lose.”
“In your dreams,” she shoots back, cracking her knuckles.
Barion and I stand together in the shade next to the ship. This time, I’m going to signal them manually to start the race.
“This is fun,” I sigh, leaning against him.
“Really fun,” he agrees. “It’s nice to see Jenyta relaxing a bit.”
“Definitely.” I speak next into my communicator. “I’m going to count you guys down. Jenyta, Korva, you both ready?”
“Ready,” Jenyta confirms.
“Let’s go,” says Korva.
“Okay! Three… two… one… Go!” I wave my arms above my head to accentuate the beginning of the race, but they’re already off, engines screaming.
The two buggies stay side-by-side as they speed up the ridge. Then Jenyta starts to accelerate, hugging the narrow edge right next to the cliff.
“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” says Barion, biting his lip.
“She’ll be fine,” I assure him.
But as she keeps hugging the cliff’s edge, I start to share his worry. She’s pulling out all the stops to beat Korva, and although she’s comfortably taken the lead, I don’t like the needle she’s threading. Especially not as she approaches a gap in the cliff big enough for her to fall through, with a drop below that looks to be at least a thousand feet.
“She’s not going to…” whispers Barion.
I grab his hand, suddenly aghast. If she screws up this jump, she’s literally going to fall to her death. What the fuck is she thinking?
My heart stops for a moment as Jenyta’s buggy leaves solid ground. And then it’s like time slows down, and I watch in horror as she sails through the air, tires spinning with nothing underneath them.
And then with a big puff of dust, she lands back down, zips around the turnaround point, and starts rocketing back to us, leaving Korva behind.
“I can’t believe she just did that,” Barion breathes, his face suddenly pale. “She almost just fucking killed herself.”
“Yeah, she did,” I say back, my heart still pounding.
Jenyta slows down as she reaches us, pulling up lazily next to the mining ship. “Barely even a contest,” she says triumphantly, clapping her hands together. Barion and I just stare at her, speechless, glad to see her alive.
Ten seconds later, Korva pulls his buggy up next to hers. He jumps out the second it stops moving and stalks over to her, his face set.
“What the fuck was that?” he barks with an intensity even I hadn’t expected. “Are you trying to die at the bottom of a cliff?”
“Nope,” Jenyta says dismissively. “I was trying to beat you, though. And I sure as hell did that.”
“You do not take risks like that,” Korva growls, his beacon flashing red. “That is completely fucking unacceptable.”
Jenyta rolls her eyes at him. “You’re just mad because you lost.”
“I’m mad because you almost just got all four of us killed,” he snarls, towering over her.
“I didn’t risk any of you guys,” she protests. “Just myself.”
“Just yourself?” Korva repeats in disbelief, echoing an interaction I’ve had with Barion before. “And what do you think would have happened to us if you’d fallen? Do any of us know how to fly the ship? How do you think we would have gotten home? How do you think we would have even gotten off this stupid rock?”
Jenyta’s face reddens, and she starts to look a little bit cowed. “Yeah well, it turned out fine. But I won’t do it again, if it makes you happy.”
He steps even closer to her, and even though her face twitches, she doesn’t back up.
“No, it doesn’t make me happy. We’re trusting you with our lives, and you just showed me you don’t deserve that trust.”
“You’re the one who wanted to race!” Jenyta argues. “And smoke hashplant in the airlock, for fuck’s sake.”
Korva exhales angrily. “Yeah, well, you notice a trend? Smoking in the airlock doesn’t put our mission or our lives in jeopardy. Neither does racing dune buggies, as long as you don’t turn it into a game of let’s do the most dangerous jump possible and win at all costs.”
I step forward, intending to intercede, but Barion puts out his hand. “Let Korva handle this,” he whispers. “It’s the proper way of doing things.”
And so I obey my mate, biting my tongue as their interaction continues:
“Look, are you done?” says Jenyta, looking somewhere between guilty and frustrated. “I said I won’t do it again.”
Korva shakes his head in disbelief. “No, Jenyta, we aren’t done. You need to understand that actions have consequences.”
For the first time she takes a step backward, color creeping rapidly into her face. “And what the hell does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to put you over my knee,” he growls, “and make sure you learn your lesson about this.”
I start to step forward again, instinctively wanting to defend my friend, but Barion stops me with a look. I hang back, feeling helpless, even though I know it isn’t my place to get in the middle of this.
“Fuck that,” says Jenyta flatly, and I can see despite her show of confidence that she is now extremely nervous. “Nobody gets to spank me. I didn’t agree to that.”
“You agreed to be a part of the Vostra,” Barion speaks up, adding his voice to the conversation for the first time. “You knew what that meant.”
Her mouth hangs open and she stares at him, horrified. “You’re not serious!” Then she turns to me, clearly not getting what she wants from Barion. “Melyta! Say something!”
I don’t meet her eyes. “Sorry, Jen. Not really my call.”
She glares at me, then reacts in revulsion as Korva grabs her upper arm, the gesture dripping with authority. “You’re coming with me, missy. To the ship.”
She wrests her arm angrily out of his grasp . “I said fuck that!”
He narrows his eyes, grabbing her arm once again. “Jenyta. Listen to me very carefully. This is your last chance to do this the easy way.”
She yanks her arm back a second time. “Go fuck yourself, dick!”
“Okay,” says Korva, shaking his head. “Okay.”
In a swift, surprisingly sudden movement, he scoops Jenyta off the ground by her waist, hoists her over his shoulder, and flips up her dress to reveal her pink-panty-covered backside.
“Let me go!” she protests, struggling desperately.
“I told you we could do this the easy way,” Korva growls. “You chose the hard way. This is the fucking hard way.” He spanks her several times, causing her to squeal.
“Jenyta and I are going to go on board the ship and get a couple of things straight,” he tells Barion and I in a low voice as she kicks and squirms. “You mind waiting a spell before we take off?”
“Take all the time you need,” says Barion approvingly, a little smirk playing at his mouth.
I watch as Korva carries my furious, struggling friend onto the mining ship.
“You know it needed to happen,” Barion says to me after they disappear. “She needs to understand the way things work.”
“I know,” I answer him, suddenly struck by a feeling of creeping guilt.
Jenyta isn’t the only one who’s done things lately she shouldn’t have. Except in my case, my disciplinarian has no idea.
There’s something I need to admit to my mate.
