《Arcadia Station》 Chapter 1: Clearance ¡°Are we cleared to dock?¡± Zelle asked. ¡°Confirming, Captain,¡± Nina replied, then mumbled a message, presumably to the traffic controller. Zelle was still getting used to the sub-vocalization mics she¡¯d upgraded everyone to recently. Their clients were so happy their cargo made it intact through the unexpected asteroid storm that they¡¯d tacked on a very healthy bonus to their payment. The windfall covered repairing the debris damage the hull received, as well as a few choice upgrades that Nina had been begging for. ¡°Clearance granted,¡± Nina said after a pause. Zelle let go of the steering yoke once she felt the dock mechanisms take control of the ship. A countdown flashed in the corner of her lens. She flipped on the ship-wide communication channel and said, ¡°Dock procedures starting in five. Strap in.¡± It was a mere formality, but she said it each time, partly because of superstition. She felt rather than saw the man behind her as he reached over her shoulder and tapped on the fuzzy bobblehead of a long-forgotten movie character glued to the top of steering console. Another superstitious action of their docking ceremony. ¡°Strap in, Doc.¡± Zelle reminded him. The crew doctor took his usual seat next to Nina and buckled his straps with practiced ease. When everything was fastened, he at her, as if he wanted her to toss him a treat for following directions. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Zelle rolled her eyes at him and made a face. He barked out half a laugh, the voice low and teasing. It made her body respond in ways she¡¯d rather not think about right now. The way Liam¡¯s eyes lingered on her made her skin flush, like he was reading exactly what she was thinking. She looked away, fiddling with some numbers on her console. The crew doctor could have easily strapped in at the med bay. There were jump seats built for exactly that, but he always made his way to the control room for docking. The tight space didn¡¯t seem to deter him. The same couldn¡¯t be said of Tycho, their weapons specialist turned engineer. The jobs they were pulling these days were thankfully short on weapons and people shooting at them. She¡¯d worried that Tycho would be bored when she brought him on, but he¡¯d assured her he was ready for boring. He preferred not to be crammed in with the other sardines and usually went to the cargo deck for docking. He claimed it was so he could monitor the stuff they stored back there. ¡°All good?¡± She asked over the general comm after realizing she hadn¡¯t heard from Tycho. Silence. She and Nina exchanged worried looks. ¡°Ty, you good?¡± She tried again. No answer. She switched over to a private channel with him. ¡°Tycho, we¡¯re docking. Are you secured? Confirm!¡± A sound halfway between a snore and a cough. ¡°Yeah. Strapped in. Fell asleep waiting.¡± Zelle nodded to Nina. All crew accounted for. There was a clunk as the mechanical arm that took hold of her ship retracted and brought them closer to the docking bay. As the ship passed through the bay doors, there was a stomach-roiling sensation of the artificial gravity generator on the ship turning off and then the gravity of the station taking hold of them. Dog fights, rough landings, blood-vessel popping acceleration, she didn¡¯t blink an eye at any of those. But that half second of transition between gravities made her queasy. Chapter 2: Rest and Relaxation Once the docking sequence was completed, and all the external checks were validated, Zelle let out a sigh of relief. No matter how many times she docked, she couldn¡¯t breathe normally again until those three long beeps from her console told her that yes, the air outside was safe to breathe. It was ironic that she felt safer out there, in the great big black expanse of nothingness in space, no air, no gravity, than she did tethered to actual land, or in this case, Rubin station. ¡°Finally!¡± Nina said, throwing off the straps of her seat and standing up to stretch her arms straight up. At 5¡¯1¡± the navigator had the luxury of not hitting anything with her outstretched hands. Zelle, taller, had to be more careful with her body in the confined space of the control room. She freed herself from the confines of her own straps and rolled her neck to one side while extending her hand across her body, grabbing the elbow for a deeper stretch. Her fingers brushed something warm moving past, and she flinched, moving her arm back so quickly she hit her elbow on the sharp corner of her console. ¡°Ow,¡± she howled, shaking the shockwave of pain out of her now limp arm. Liam halted in his path to the primary display in the control room and looked back at her. ¡°You okay?¡± He was clueless at what the proximity to his body did to her. Zelle clenched her hand in a fist, willing the nerves to settle. ¡°Yeah, just bumped my funny bone.¡± She rolled her head from side to side until her neck cracked with a satisfying pop. ¡°You want me to take a look at that?¡± Liam turned to her, concern in his eyes. His hands on her. That was the last thing she needed. Wanted, yes. Needed, no. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Old injury.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I can¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Doc.¡± She said in her stern captain¡¯s voice. Liam¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line, and his brows furrowed. Even a frown didn¡¯t diminish how good looking he was. Zelle turned back to her console to avoid his eyes. She tapped away, sending a detailed diagram to the primary display. That was what he was getting up to do, she was sure of it. Liam saw the flash of the display out of the corner of his eyes and turned toward it. ¡°Thanks for the map, Cap,¡± he said in a clipped tone. Nina watched the exchange and then shot a questioning look to Zelle. Zelle kept her eyes on her own console, double-checking the supplies list before sending it to Tycho. Almost immediately, she got a ping from him in acknowledgment. Nina finished her stretching routine and moved toward the primary display, fitting herself right next to Liam. The height difference between the two of them was even more startling when they were standing right next to each other. Liam was so tall that he had to slouch around the edges of the control room, where the ceiling curved down to meet the wall. The two of them quietly discussed the map of the station and where they would head off to. The typical bittersweet feeling of a mission well done crept into Zelle. She tried to keep that feeling back until the rest of the crew left the ship, but this time, it came early. Watching the Nina¡¯s animated hands as she plotted out a path to something on the map brought on a lonely feeling. She wished she could be like the rest of her crew and relax when they parked at a station. She ventured out with them a few times, but her doubts about leaving her ship unattended made her poor company. Once, Liam offered her an anti-anxiety shot, but she declined. It wasn¡¯t anxiety that plagued her when she was off her ship. It was homesickness. While the map and Nina distracted him, Zelle surreptitiously watched Liam. The doctor¡¯s broad shoulders filled out the coveralls deliciously. His sleeves were pushed up on his forearms and she enjoyed watching the muscle under them flex and move as he gestured to something on the screen. Nina said something and Liam laughed. That low rumble caused butterflies in her stomach. Zelle stood, the creak of her chair loud enough to make the two of them turn. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go help Ty unload. You two are free to go. See you in a week.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna stay with the ship again?¡± Liam asked. ¡°Yep. Enjoy your R&R,¡± she said behind her as she left the control room.