The thing about starships was that if they didn't want to be detected even God himself couldn't find them. Sure they could go a decent click if needed but they weren't built to outmaneuver another vessel, they were built to be durable and carry massive amounts of shit. Much like a Ford. So when an unusual light began to glimmer several yards away from where I stood and the faint call of a duck caught the breeze I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

I felt hostility toward my uncle but I adored his partner Nix. Mostly because she gave him the hell he, quite frankly, deserved.

With a casual shove, I moved away from the thick aspen I'd disguised myself beneath and promptly made my way to the agreed-upon rendezvous point. In the low light, a silhouette of a woman in stirrups and a wrangler hat gradually took form in the soft glint.

"I dare say you've risen a foot since I last laid eyes on you," Nix boomed from within the confines of their ship.

The smile that stretched my lips couldn't be contained. Nix, by far, was the only enjoyable aspect of being aboard my uncle's ship and made any duration of time spent there tolerable.

"I think you're referring to that hat of yours," I chortled in an attempt to rid my delight on the off chance Isaac had chosen to welcome me as well.

Before my soles were able to get within a yard of Nix though, another shadow emerged from within, only this one was considerably lower to the ground and possessed four legs. There's my boy.

"Come here, boy!"

Without another warning, Xazix, my uncle's dog, bound off the loading bay at top speed toward me. He wasn't so much of a dog and more of a creature Isaac picked up along his star travels. With no hair and barbs along his backbone, he had always reminded me of a worse for wear chupacabra, not that they were remotely cute to begin with.

I held back a gag as his slick tongue ran up the side of my cheek. The smell of rotting flesh never gets old, did it? "Awe I missed you too boy." I cooed to the beast as he stepped back and nudged me with his bare skull. If anyone had grown a few inches it was Xazix, who's crown now came up to my chest cavity. No one, not even my uncle, knew how large Xazix would get. He was a species that technically didn't exist. One of a kind.

"Best be getting in before old rubber duck gets his panties in a twist," Nix reckoned with a slight sidestep to make space for our entrance and motioned me toward her.

"I heard that!" The muffled words of Isaac drifted to us from deeper within the vessel. Nix and I both rolled our orbs simultaneously at the sound and then chuckled amongst ourselves.

"Oh, it's good to have you back." A smile now plastered across her face as she slapped my back with affection.

The interior of the ship hadn't changed, even after the two years I'd spent away. I fought against the urge to reach out and run my fingers along the cool gray metal as Nix led me deeper. The guidance was more of a gesture than help. I knew this ship almost as well as I knew the backside of my hand. Whether I wished to admit it or not I had multiple memories on the craft that I treasured.

For almost half my life I had searched for evidence, any trace, big or small, to prove my mother was alive and taken by what I called back then the men in suits. Even though it was only six months I spent here, the Lawless had taken me to the places I had always dreamed of going. I had an attachment to the vessel just not it's 'captain'.

Nix ducked into the small entrance that gave way to the command center and I froze, rooted at the threshold. It was one thing to plot a meeting with someone you didn't want to, it was another to finally be in their presence.

If my uncle's partner felt the tension she played it off well as she planted her leather-covered haunches in the chair adjacent to Isaac. Hesitation was a weakness, something I refuse to reveal in front of Isaac. With an abrupt shove, I crammed my emotions into a mental prison and promised them I'd address them at a later date.

"Where are we headed?" I asked from the doorway, my shoulder firmly pressed into the frame in a makeshift way to keep my attention divided.

Isaac flipped several switches and pressed a few buttons before the landscape of Buffalo Harbor State Park began to shrink beneath us. Even after countless landings and departures my mind still swooned over how elegant starships truly were.

"Nice to see you too." He remarked over his shoulder at me, the only greeting I would receive. "And that depends. Is they who I think they are?"

Who else could it fucking be? My tongue throbbed as I caught it between my teeth. I no doubt would make it bleed by the end of our time together. Air inflated my lungs gradually and trickled out through my lips in an identical fashion. "If by they you're referring to the Yaemerani than yes, the Yaemerani have successfully located me."

Isaac's body stiffened though no words left his mouth. In the faint reflection on the front deck pane, I could see the look of unrest and disappointment on his face, even if he scrubbed it away the following moment with one of his unbiased expressions.

Nix let out a low whistle in a successful attempt to not bust her gut in laughter. "Been a while since I've seen rubber ducky so worked up. Should make for some livelier travels." 

The jest was good-natured and the way their dynamic seemed to be but Isaac didn't seem to be in a playful mood. "I need to make a few calls," He muttered as the Lawless broke through the atmosphere of Terra and turned towards its moon, where our stargate was located. "Take the reins."

Without another word thrown in my direction Isaac stood and brushed past me as he exited the room. 

"He'll get over himself," Nix assured, her fingers mindlessly manipulating the navigation controls. "Truth be told, he brags about how smart you are more than he complains about my hat."

I offer a courtesy nod as I take my uncle's seat, my eyes aimed at the shadowy vastness before us, sprinkled with tiny white dots. He'd probably gone to touch base with his MIB colleagues, come up with a game plan for my latest 'screw-up'. Brag about me? There was no way in hell he would do anything remotely close to that. It was thoughtful that Nix tried to help but somehow that didn't sound like the Isaac I'd grown to know. Besides, he hated her bright red cowboy hat.

"Whatever you say Nix."

words - 1170
total words - 2577
written - 02/05/2020
last edited - 05/04/2020