Serena felt her eyes filling with tears once again. She switched off the communication device and turned to her other side, feeling the faint scent of Hunter’s skin still embedded in the sheets where he used to lay.

She cursed herself for not being able to push him aside. It was supposed to be her, not him being torn apart. She, at least, could have grown back the lost limbs. Hunter, even if the chimera would have left his body, would not be able to survive. Not after the massive blood loss he suffered after losing his leg and arm in such a brutal way.

And facing Wolfin and Lindon every day after all that was making everything worse. Especially after she fell prey to the maddening rage that took over, forcing her to destroy a whole planet, which used to be Falana’s refuge.

Two Veluthian men weren’t supposed to see her so broken – they’ve already seen her broken enough. Others too – Laneth and Kayla, Cipher and Pher – all of them had her snapping back at them during the first few days. This wasn’t how a Captain should be acting – and Serena knew that.

So every time she walked out of her quarters she always had a couple of shots of the strongest sedative she ever made – the same one she used when they dined at the Palace with Empress Alathea after Serena was released from prison.

Having the sedative helped her to remain cold and distant and not lash out at the attempts the crew made towards her to comfort and console her. Most of the time she didn’t even talk to them or even look at them, and she knew that it made them feel helpless.

But some days it was harder for her to get out of bed at all – just like this one. At times like these usually either Wolfin or Lindon – or both – would come to plead her to go out at all.

And she wasn’t even feeling strong enough to get up.

All she needed was some time to grieve and some peace and quiet.

Lyssa kept sending her updates on the investigation and what Lindon was doing as active in command, but Serena almost never checked those logs, wishing to be just left alone.

«Serena, please…» Lindon forced the AI to pass his message through the doors communication system. «We need to talk…»

The woman forced herself up and out of bed, stumbling into the bathroom. Before washing her face she gave herself a shot of sedative.

It took her a few very long minutes to give her pale face some semblance of being fine. Pulling up her trousers, she almost forgot about boots. After getting dressed, she clasped her belt on – littered with ready to use syringes of sedative and gave herself another shot before unwillingly walking out.

Though she wasn’t looking up, she knew – Wolfin and Lindon didn’t go far and waited her to walk up.

«Serena…» Lindon reached out to her, but the woman silently walked past, indifferent to everything that surrounded her.

She knew very well that if she were to stop eating or even getting out of her quarters, these two could actually force Lyssa to open the door and would easily drag her out of bed. Both Wolfin and Lindon cared for her too much to allow her to stay all alone.

Serena felt someone stopping her with an embrace, and froze, allowing the man to hold her tightly. She was grateful that the double dose of the sedative was strong enough not to let her eyes fill with tears again.

«We’re here for you.» Wolfin’s voice sounded by her side, quiet and worried.

«I know.» Serena pushed an answer out of herself for the first time in all these days.

She hated the sound of her voice – low and raspy – but knew that it was a result of her crying for so long every day. That was one of the reasons she didn’t want to speak to anyone at all.

Lindon slowly freed her from his arms and stepped back, trying to catch her gaze, but failed, as she was looking at the floor. The woman felt his warm palm on her cheek, but couldn’t force herself to raise her eyes.

With a faint sigh, Lindon stepped aside and Serena continued her way towards the dining area, even though she felt no hunger at all. Over the days that passed all she could make herself eat would be enough to feed a puppy, not a full-grown woman, so it wasn’t surprising how worried Wolfin and Lindon were, watching her peck at the tiny portions and water them down with a glass of alcohol each time.

«We have updates on Falana.» Wolfin said when they all sat down behind the table.

Serena kept silent, looking at her plate and seemingly indifferent to everything they had to say.

«She was seen on one of the trading stations in Sector 459-B.» Lindon glanced at the woman in an attempt to see any sort of reaction.

Though she heard the name of the woman who was the reason for Hunters demise, Serena didn’t feel anything inside. She wasn’t sure if it was the result of her sedative shots or the absolute burnt out soul after losing her beloved, but for some reason she really had nothing to say to the news.

«We’ll arrive tomorrow.» Wolfin exchanged glances with Lindon.

They didn’t get a reply, and fell silent, understanding that Serena didn’t want to speak.

Over the days she was like this they got used to this uncomfortable, heavy silence between them. The only thing that made them a bit calmer was the fact she wasn’t pushing them away and sat there, eating, though she could have as well been locked up at her quarters like she was for the first week after Hunter’s death.

Wolfin understood her most of all – he lost his wife and son, and remembered the way he was for the first two months after that. First weeks were a blur as he tried his best to grieve, when every person seemed like they were eager to get punched just for talking to him.

The man reached out and carefully took Serena’s palm in his, squeezing it gently.

«We’ll get through this, Scorpi.» he said to her. «I promise you.»

Serena flinched a bit, throwing a quick glance to his hand on hers, but remained silent. Wolfin sighed and let her go, not wishing to push her patience further.

The woman felt herself so lost, even though she was supposed to be wishing to kill Falana. But all she could think about is how she saw Hunter being torn limb from limb in front of her eyes.

She had lost people before, but never had she felt so hollow and incapable of doing anything. Maybe, if she was given enough time to grieve on her own, she could have forced back her rage and the wish to kill Falana for what she had done. But she couldn’t. Wolfin and Lindon kept bugging her – time and time again asking, begging her to come out of her quarters.

Serena couldn’t sleep that night, wondering if she would be able to find any solace even if they track down Falana. She was obviously of no help – her mind turning blank every time she tried to even see what updates her crew has come up with. And she definitely couldn’t trust herself if they encounter Falana. Serena could equally fall prey to rage or freeze, remembering the smirk on the woman’s face when Hunter died in the chimera’s maw.

By the time morning came she already made up her mind. She had to do something. But she wasn’t sure if she will be able to. Serena walked up to the window, seeing her ship approaching the station. The space station was vast – much bigger than most – capable of holding a few hundreds of ships from all over. It had twenty levels, each separated by gravitational engines that allowed the people inside to walk and operate without having to bother about the zero gravity of space.

One of the most promising traits this station had was the number of people to get lost among, and the variety of paths Serena could take. She would definitely have options.

The woman looked aside to the small backpack of things she gathered up, and took a moment to think if what she was about to do was the right thing. It took her the whole of last night to think over, and she already activated the short protocol she wrote for Lyssa to follow after she would go, but something still scratched at the back of her mind.

Finally, the ship docked and Serena thought that she wasn’t even useful on board anymore. She needed time to grieve and a little solitude to get her head back together. But she wouldn’t be able to find it on Lyssa – that she knew for sure.

Activating her armour, she picked up the backpack and clasped it to the plates, uniting the systems. Before she left her quarters, she switched on her cloaking device, slipping away unnoticed.

The bustling station had so many traders and people that it was easy to get lost in the crowd and deactivate her invisibility and armour safely. Not wasting any time, Serena found a ship heading out and bought herself a ticket among other passengers seeking passage elsewhere.

Within an hour she was off the station.

The tiny cabin provided in this ship was shared with five other passengers – three women, a man and a child. None of them really engaged in conversations, knowing very well that sometimes it is best to keep silent and not ask many questions from strangers.

However, children are always curious, and so was the little boy that watched the strange white-haired woman for a bit before approaching her cot and smiling to her when she looked up.

The boy was barely thirteen old, and had a ruffled mane of dirty blond hair that fell to his eyes.

«Hi! I’m Norren.» he said. «What’s your name?»

«I have no name.» the woman replied, her face as cold and expression-less as it was back on her ship for the past days.

«So… what do people call you when you cross paths?»

Serena took a moment to think and exhaled:

«Ghost.»

«Cool!» his eyes flared up with excitement. «Such a cool name!»

«Norren, honey, don’t bother the passengers!» one of the women pleaded.

Serena glanced at her and shook her head, trying hard to remain calm and collected. To her the boy was a distraction from the heavy thoughts that filled her head as soon as she sat down.

«What do you do for a living, Ghost?» the boy sat down next to her.

«I’m… a fighter.» Serena sighed. «I fight for money.»

«Funny… I always thought fighters have lots of tattoos…» Norren glanced at her arms.

«I still hadn’t decided what tattoos I want, so… maybe I’ll get them when I get to my destination.»

«How many fights have you had?»

«One on one? A lot.»

«And how many did you win?»

Serena looked at the child and wondered if her reply sounded like a lie:

«All of them.»

«No way!»

«Aw, come on!» the man chuckled. «There’s no way you won every single fight!»

«I’m strong.» Serena forced a smirk to her face. «And fast.»

The man cackled and sat at the tiny table they had in the corner, offering her his hand.

«How about we arm wrestle? I’m a strong man, so don’t think I’ll be easy to defeat.» he said.

«Papa’s the best in arm wrestling where we come from!» Norren said proudly.

Serena got up and walked over, sitting down on the opposite of the man, clasping her hand with his palm.

«Ready?» the man asked her.

Serena nodded and felt him immediately pushing. But to her it was barely worth effort to tense up. A moment passed, then two, and the man’s bravado faded, his face turning surprised. He tensed up, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, but still couldn’t budge her arm from upward position.

The woman tilted her head:

«You are strong. But not as strong as I am.» effortlessly she moved her arm and forced his down.

«Holy shit! What did they feed you when you were little, Ghost?» the man looked at her shocked when she freed his palm.

Serena decided not to answer.

Chapter 2. Shock

«Serena!» Lindon pounded on the door, growing angry at the woman for being locked up for so long. «Damn it, open the door! It’s been five days!»

The door silently slid open to his surprise and Lindon glanced in, noting how dark it was inside.

«Serena?» he called out.

Silence seemed so heavy and so still that he walked in, searching for any sign of the woman.

However, her bed was empty and the bathroom stood open, with Serena nowhere in sight.

«Lyssa, where is she?» Lindon barked.

«Serena Dal Thara-Lyss is not on board, Active Captain Lindon.» the AI replied.

A wave of shock came over the Veluthian and he darted away.

«Everyone to the bridge, NOW!» Lindon ordered through his earpiece.

«What the hell, Lindon?» Wolfin’s voice returned in irritation.

«Don’t ask, just come to the bridge now!»

Running into the bridge, Lindon jumped onto one of the seats, immediately opening the ships logs to see when Serena left to find out if they would be able to find her.

«Explain yourself!» Kayla said, as she was approaching together with Laneth and Wolfin.

«Serena’s gone!» Lindon hissed. «And since we’ve been on four stops in the last five days, I have no idea when she slipped away!»

«What do you mean she’s gone?» Laneth was shocked to hear their Captain leaving.

Even though the mechanic rarely saw Serena lately, mostly trying to bury herself in work in the engineering bay on more and more stuff she could present to the Captain later, she still tried to at least ask about her well-being every time she saw the Veluthians. For the past few days she heard that Serena wasn’t answering, but none of them thought she could have left at all.

Wolfin hurried over, seeing what Lindon was doing.

«Lyssa, how long had she been gone?» Wolfin asked the AI.

«I am not allowed to say.» the ship replied.

«Laneth, see if you can deactivate the protocol Serena must have put in to help her escape.»

Laneth exchanged glances with Kayla and sat down at one of the working stations, with the girl looking over her shoulder to learn what she was doing. A few moments passed, but the talented mechanic that knew quite a bit couldn’t break through the intricate code Serena had in the protocol to protect herself.

The woman leaned back, frowning, and decided to try a different approach:

«Lyssa… is Serena not on board for more than four days?»

«Yes.»

The Veluthians glanced at Laneth and saw her frowning.

«So if she slipped away back at the Dahaarn trading station, she could be anywhere by this moment.» the mechanic sighed. «Right, Lyssa?»

«According to my calculations, any of the ships that were docked there and left the station while we were investigating could be anywhere in the known Human Universe at the moment.» the AI replied. «Considering she could have changed ships every day, or every other day, there are thousands of possibilities to her destination.»

Wolfin gritted his teeth:

«Right now I regret letting Cipher go to chase another lead…»

«And what could he have done?» Lindon barked. «None of us noticed and he what, would have?»

«What are we going to do?» Laneth closed her eyes with her palm.

Kayla put her little hand on the woman’s shoulder. The girl already told them all that they shouldn’t have touched Serena, forcing her out of her quarters all the time. Unlike all of them, Kayla felt like their Captain needed some time to be left alone. But no one ever listened to her, doing what they thought was best.

The girl sighed, realising that if only she were a bit older, then, maybe, her words would have more weight among the crew. She hoped Serena was okay.

Even though the woman barked at her that day when they lost Falana’s trace, Kayla never felt offended – she was scared a bit, but only until she learned that Hunter got killed in the scuffle they experienced on the planet. Knowing how greatly the woman loved the man, Kayla knew that it wasn’t at all easy for her to lose someone who meant so much.

«Lyssa!» Wolfin barked so loud that it made Kayla flinch.

«Yes?» the AI replied.

«Send message to SS Growler to meet with us ASAP! Set up a meeting point at…» the Veluthian checked with their list of places they were checking in search for any news about Falana. «The Parati. Tell them we’ll be waiting for them.»

«Sending message…»

«And you expect us to what? Sit around and wait?» Lindon growled.

«And what are we supposed to do, huh, Lindon? What do you propose we do? Do you have any idea where Serena might have gone?»

«Stop it, please!» Kayla pleaded.

The men turned to the girl and saw her eyes filled with tears. Wolfin took a very deep breath and stepped up to her, lowering to his knee and meeting her gaze:

«I’m sorry, little bug…» he sighed.

«Please, don’t fight!» the girl sobbed, feeling her soul aching for the family she found among these men and women on the ship she started to call home.

«We’re just worried for our Captain, Kayla.» Laneth pat the girl on her shoulder. «That’s all.»

«I understand! But this is not the way to do things!» Kayla raised her voice, crying. «Serena would never want this! Not like this!»

Lindon watched the girl, realising that even though she usually wasn’t really seen or heard, always silently following someone – mostly Laneth – for the first time she drew attention of them all. And, most importantly, it was the first time the man saw her crying.

In a sudden realisation he understood that Serena might have run because they didn’t give her enough time to cry and grieve over Hunter’s demise. After all, they didn’t even have anything left of the man for her to be able to say goodbye and have a funeral.

Perhaps, he thought, Serena ran, because she needed closure that she wasn’t able to get among them.

Turning back to the working station, Lindon couldn’t shake off the feeling that they’ve failed Serena when she needed them the most.

Arriving at Parati they’ve parked their ship in the massive space port and began waiting for the arrival of SS Growler. Their partners came a day later – a bit dishevelled and tense, they debriefed the crew of SS Lyssandra on the facts they’ve managed to uncover in their investigation.

Cipher wasn’t really surprised to see Serena not amongst them, but when he heard that she ran off, his demeanour changed in a split second.

«She what?!?» he screamed, jumping from his seat from behind the table.

«She left, Cipher.» Wolfin sighed, seeing how pale Cipher became.

He knew the two men from SS Growler were friends with Hunter for a long time and have been dealing with losing him as well – only, they did it by drinking and remembering all the fights they’ve gotten into together ever since they came to know him.

«When? Why?!» Cipher exhaled, realising that their investigation was the only thing that actually kept him going and since they lost Hunter it was his straw to stay sane.

That and the fact he knew Serena wanted to find the bitch that killed her lover and their friend.

«Any idea where she might be?» Pher asked, grunting with disapproval. «Any of those places we’ve been to where she ran off to fight?»

«I don’t think she’ll be there, Pher.» Lindon said, feeling hollow. «She ran to be alone. She’ll find a new place to get the solace she needs.»

«Fuck!» Cipher gritted his teeth.

«The reason I called you for a meeting is because we have to decide if we need to find Serena as much as we do – Falana.» Wolfin shook his head. «We can’t do both. But if we go after Serena, we might give Falana a chance to find new hideouts and new resources to utilise.»

«You’re wrong, Wolfin…» Laneth took a sip of wine, which she preferred to drink whenever they discussed business.

«In what way?» the Veluthian shot a heavy gaze at the woman.

Laneth sighed, leaning back on her seat and raised her eyes:

«I might not be as good a programmer as Serena, but I had some time to see how her protocols are made.» she said. «I can write a protocol to utilise the ship’s scanning systems to intersect messages and info from passing ships. If any of those have any mention of Serena or a woman similar, we’ll know. This won’t make us searching for her directly, but will allow us to keep an eye out for her, wherever she went.»

«So you’re proposing we continue chasing Falana and leave the search for our Captain to your ship?» Cipher growled.

«Both our ships, Cipher.» Laneth shrugged. «We’ve split up to cover more space in search for the bitch… if we do so again, we’ll have advantage, because every ship that passes yours and ours will be scanned for messages, articles, news of any kind that mention Serena or someone who looks like her.»

«And you’re sure you can write a protocol this sophisticated?» Pher asked.

«I’ll help her.» Lindon nodded. «I have some experience in searching for people in outer space, I know a bit how to make a protocol like that. Though, usually, it wasn’t my job to write them.»

«Any help will be appreciated. Because I have no idea how long it might take me.» Laneth shook her head.

«I suggest we start right now, because the more time we waste, the further away both Serena and Falana might go…» Wolfin sighed.

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