He rubbed at his temples with the heel of his hands. Today had been a long and exhausting day. Looking down at his implant he could see that it wasn't even five yet, and he blew out a big gust of air, which morphed itself into a long, drawn-out sigh.

He wasn't tired because he was working harder.

Arguably he was actually doing less work now that he had delegated most of his old duties back to the crew, where they belonged.

No, today had been exhausting as he tried to control himself.

Finally, learning to let go and trust others to manage things was turning out to be harder for him than he had thought. He had never seen himself as someone who had a control problem; he liked doing dangerous out of control things too much for that, but it seemed as if he had found a way to be both types of person.

He trailed his fingers down the side of the hallway as he headed down towards engineering.

He needed a break.

He needed a friend, someone he could talk to.

Fewer duties had also meant that he had more time to think, and more time to think meant more time to brood on this last year and all the insanity that had come with it. It was almost hard to believe it had been a year and not an entire lifetime.

He reached out a hand grabbing onto the rungs of the ladder, sliding down in a way he thought pretty badass before turning into the dim interior. It had taken him weeks to memorize the engineering deck because, despite being engineers, these guys apparently had no sense of organization.

He cut past rooms and shelves and crates full of spare parts and took one last set of narrow stairs down into an auxiliary set of rooms.

From here, he could hear the clattering of metal and the sharp huff of a welding torch.

He stepped down the last set of steps and leaned against the entryway arms crossed over his chest.

He stayed quiet not wanting to disturb her while she was working.

Sunny sat at her work bench surrounded by tools and racks of weaponry.

Her face and eyes were covered by a large welding mask which cast the reflection of sparks back across the room and towards where he stood.

He smiled a little as he watched. Her hands moved with the quick lithe movements of a professional as she worked to bring her next piece of weaponry to life. Her feet were steady on the deck floor and every arm was held perfectly still as she worked. He couldn't see her face, but from the lines of her body told the story of someone in deep focused concentration.

He continued to smile.

Jupiter, how he admired that in her.

He wasn't good with building things, in fact he could barely put his mechanical pencil back together without an instruction manual.

Looking around at the walls and ceiling he was, once again, impressed at her talent. There was so much cool stuff here he wouldn't know where to begin asking about it. Large blueprints and concept drawings lined the wall from top to bottom on one side glowing a dull blue under the dim overhead lights.

He turned his head back to watch her, the deft way in which she used the tools, the slow shift of her weight as she moved about the object, the cold calculated pauses in between.

Like watching someone blow glass or preform a dance.

He was so focused on watching that he barely noticed when the mask came off.

"How long have you been standing there?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin coming face to face with those sharp golden eyes.

Smiling, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Only a few minutes. I didn't want to interrupt anything."

She sat down at her bench turning the piece over and over in her hands as she decided what to do next, "Haven't I told you that you have a free pass to interrupt me any time you like."

"Just because you said I could doesn't mean it's polite."

"I think we are past niceties."

He snorted and stepped down into her little shop turning in a wide circle to stare up at the walls and the racks of weapons, "This is awesome! Don't see why I don't come down here more."

"Generally you're too busy micromanaging people."

They both laughed.

"Fair enough." He turned to look at her, "No music?"

She turned and motioned to the green headphones sitting behind her on the work bench, "Can't wear them when I'm welding."

"Oh, right."

He stepped down the line of racked weapons delicately choosing a spear from the wall. It was one of Sunny's shorter models, likely meant for herself, and almost too big for him to handle at all, still he spun it absently between his fingers. Feeling the weight as he snapped it up palm down, the shaft of the weapon running the length of his arm.

She watched him, "You like?"

"Good balance, a bit big on me though." He set it back against the rack.

"Try this one." She said, and he turned catching the spear from midair as she tossed it to him. The weight was familiar, the length was good, "Wanted to get you something better than that stick you were using back on Anin."

"Hey that stick saved my life." He pointed out stroking the pad of his thumb up the weapon, "You made this? For me?"

"Of course. Can't have you using inferior weaponry."

He looked down at the shaft of the spear, and the lovingly carved edges, the sharp point forged from Drev obsidian. The sharpest material in the known galaxy. The smile that caught his face could have broken it. You knew a Drev cared about you when they started giving you weapons. Hijan had taught him that.

She watched him as he tested the spear spinning it, jabbing with it, and all around being a jackass.

Once done, he set it base down on the ground, "Your best work yet."

She lifted her head in that way Drev have when they are pleased before turning back to her work. He watched her for a while rolling the spear shaft between his thumb and pointer finger.

He turned towards the wall and sighed.

Sunny looked up, "Everything alright?"

He stood shoulders hunched, and she waited, "You ever think about the passage of time. About getting older?"

"Not really, why?"

He shrugged, "Guess I've just been thinking a lot lately."

"Don't strain yourself."

"A ha funny." She snorted, but he kept going, "Guess I sort of just saw my life having gone a bit further by now?"

"What do you mean?"

He picked up another spear examining the tip, "Well, for one, I had sort of hoped I'd be better at dating by now."

"You're looking for someone: a battle partner?"

"At least thinking about looking."

He turned to look at her, and she had set aside her project. Two of her elbows were resting against the table, and she leaned her chin against her hands. Her head was lightly cocked, "And what are you looking for in a battle partner?"

He shrugged and turned his head back to the wall where all of Sunny's engineering projects hug. Guns and spears and tons of things he would never have been able to create in a million years, "Well for one I would like her to be smarter than me, preferably. I've always admired smart people." Sunny nodded having moved from where she was sitting by the wall and instead standing by her work bench spinning a spear between her fingers, "Someone athletic who could totally kick my ass." He rubbed the back of his head, "Someone who is going to put up with how much I suck sometimes, preferably pretty nerdy if she can manage, or might at least pretend. Someone Funny maybe. Someone cool with traveling the universe."

Sunny watched him from the side of the room where she was now leaning back against her work bench.

"Someone who will have my back in either in an argument or a fight. I would like someone to watch movies with and who listens to similar music. Someone who isn't afraid to tell me when I'm being a moron and call me out on my shit. Someone who understand, and won't judge my past or have a problem with it. Someone where we can both work on each other's problems together."

He turned in a short circle staring up at the ceiling. "I want .... I don't know."

Sunny tapped her fingers against the work bench her head lowered. The brow was raised over one of her golden eyes, "So you want what we have."

The room went dead quiet as he stared at her, and she calmly stared back.

He stammered for a second, "I mean yes, but.... no"

Sunny had her head tilted at him still staring. His heart hammered against his rib cage. Blood rushed to his face. What the fuck was he saying?

"Come on, Adam-"

"Well I..." He paused and quickly glanced down at his implant, "Aw shit, I have to get back to work, my break is over." He turned on his heel.

"Adam."

He waled up the stairs.

"Adam!"

A thin line of sweat trickled down his back as he made it into the hallway and jogged down the length of the engineering bay climbing the ladder to the next light.

He wiped sweat from his forehead as he walked down the hallway and towards the docking bay.

His crew greeted him as he passed, and he gave them all weak smiles as he made his way into the next room. He could see scientists preparing to send a camera down towards the black hole. It would break soon enough, but it couldn't hurt to see how close they could actually get.

He walked past them and towards the hanger where a line of jets were docked. He headed towards the end where the F-90 darkfire sat waiting. He shooed off the crew.

This is something he could handle by himself.

He walked up to the jet placing a hand on the side. His jet.

He glanced over his shoulder and quickly walked back behind the landing gear.

He rested his head against the cold mental

Just a few seconds and something else to think about, and he would be ok. He looked the jet over from top to bottom trying to occupy his mind with a menial task, so he wouldn't have to think but the thinking just got worse.

Thoughts that he had kept shoved into the back of his mind for a long time came bubbling to the surface.

And he realized.

He HAD been describing their relationship.

He had described Sunny to her face.

Internally he was groaning.

But how could he argue, she was the perfect girl, everything about her was perfect aside from.

From

From the fact she wasn't human?

That was when another part of his brain joined the horrible conversation, the one that was making his chest tighten and his throat constrict, and his hands shake.

What was wrong with her not being human?

Why did that matter?

Because

Because why?

Around him the docking bay had mostly emptied, leaving him alone with the jet and his own horrific thoughts. He slammed his head against the side of the jet with a dull thud. Stop thinking, stop thinking, stop thinking.

Give one good reason?

Shut up

Shut up

HE stepped back from the jet finding he had nothing else to do.

Stop thinking.

He turned towards the cargo bay door, and stepped back in shock.

Sunny glowered at him marching up the length of the docking bay two spears held at her sides.

He stepped back as she marched forward her golden eyes boring into him like an automated targeting system. She walked like the terminator had taken her over and was intent on ripping him in half.

He stepped back bumping into the jet, stuck in place.

She stopped before him, "I call bullshit."

"You."

"No shut up, I call bullshit, and I can prove why." She lifted her hand and tossed the spear onto the floor where it rolled and bumped into the toes of his boots. He looked down.

She stepped back whipping her spear around legs bent holding the point down and back behind her, "Pick up the spear Adam."

"Sunny I."

"Shut up and pick up the spear."

He reached down fingers wrapping around the cold metal standing and holding the spear loose in one hand like he had been taught.

She crouched lower, "Now fight me."

"What."

"You heard me."

His heart pounded eyes widening, "Sunny, you arent-"

"No dumbass that's Unarmed combat."

He felt heat rise to his face, "Oh, right." He spun the spear and began to circle. What other choice did he have?

"She charged forward, and he ducked spinning past the leaf blade of her spear. She spun back and he dodged out of the way spinning sideways into anther low crouch, "I'm sick and tired of dancing around, Adam. I have to know."

"Have to know what?"

"Stop playing dumb I know you're not an idiot." He dodged back swaying out of reach of her next attack before darting in. She cut out of the way., "You have what you want, you have me, so what's the problem?"

He ducked under a blow and caught her second on the shaft of his spear grunting with the force as he slid back across the metal floor. The steel of spear on spear rang through the cargo bay, "I...."

"Is it because I'm not human?"

He backed up.

Panting he skipped to the side, "You know I support the LFIL, but I'm not attracted to aliens."

He yelped in shock and pain as the spear came in contact with his shins knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. He rolled to the side as the spear slammed into the ground, and he went rolling to the side leaping to his feet not so far off.

"Name the last HUMAN." You were attracted to

He opened his mouth to speak but found nothing.... He racked his brain, but no. he stammered.

"Exactly,"

He stepped back spear clattering in sharp ringing sounds as they danced back and forth over the ground. A sort of rhythm formed, and neither of them seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

"We've been going like this for months now Adam, and I'm sick and tired of trying to figure it out."

He gritted his teeth batting away her spear once and then twice.

"I don't know! I..."

He felt the frustration spilling out of him, an emotion he had been holding onto for a while now.

"Just tell me! So I don't have to spend so much time worrying!"

"I can't!" He spat in frustration their blows growing harder and harder and louder and louder. He spun the spear and cracked her across one hip. She staggered sideways but immediately caught him after that

"Why not!"

"Because I don't know!"

"Well what do you feel."

His heart was hammering with both nerves and the fight. He lept backwards taking the higher ground as he stood on a group of crates jumping over her spear as she swiped at his feet.

His face was red, "I wish you would stop being so goddamn perfect!"

He was surprised, she was surprised, but she held him off, "Why."

"Because it makes my life so damn complicated I...." he snarled and leaped from the boxes. She had to cut to the side as he sailed past her landing on the floor and skidding backwards, "I care about you." He growled

"Than how is that complicated."

"Because..." His heart was hammering, his throat had constricted. They shared lightning fast attacks neither able to get anywhere until the point where they were standing in the middle of the room both unable to move locked together by the shaft of their spears

"Look at us." She said, her voice soft, "I know you moves better than you know them, and you know mine. We are perfectly matched, so please before I get any further, you have to tell me."

Blood roared in his ears his chest was tight, his throat constricted. The tips of his fingers tingled. Adrenaline was laying siege to his insides making his vision go black around the edges. He could barely breathe.

His arms trembled against the weight. Their eyes were locked.

"I."

She waited.

"I...." His ears echoed, "I feel the same way."

And then he couldn't anymore he pulled away from her and threw the spear to the ground. With a clatter it went rolling across the deck as he turned away clutching his head in frustration and.... Fear?"

"Are you ok?"

He was definitely not ok.

"So what now. What are we going to do?"

We

"I don't know."

"What can we do?"

"I don't know."

"I don't understand, why won't you do anything."

"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW!"

He turned body slicked with sweat and began climbing the ladder towards the cockpit of the darkfire.

"Adam where are you going!"

"To clear my head!"

He slammed his fist against the side canopy release and clambered inside.

"Adam wait!"

He didn't, pulling on the helmet and locking the oxygen mask over his face. He flipped up his eyepatch and locked the visor down over his face as the canopy closed. He ordered a detachment from the deck and the plane lurched as red lights began to blink in the docking bay. The jet was routed through a system of rails on the floor and out towards the airlock.

The door shut behind him and the bay was depressurized.

Everything went silent except for the cacophony in his head, and as the doors opened he burst from the airlock slammed back against his seat as he went roaring into space. He turned the plane left as, outside his right window, he could see the roiling mass of the black hole and its glowing white event accretion disk. The side of the ship was lit with its bright white light, and he turned traveling away from the supermassive black hole.

Inside the mask his breathing was heavy.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he screamed silent inside the cockpit.

He was an idiot!

He couldn't go a single fucking week without doing something stupid. Getting in the cockpit of n F-90 without a flight suit, without a space suit, and all while upset. Mother fucker why was he so dumb! Why was he such a raging child.

He slowed the jet a bit coasting through the darkness to feel the distant vibration of the engines.

They had crested the side of a large gaseous nebula, and he leaned back in his seat. He needed to calm down and the jet was helping some. He just had to go slow, and yes were his actions poorly thought out, definitely, but they hadn't put anyone in danger but himself.

He was still human and prone to freaking out, and it's not like he wasn't entitled to that.

He took a deep breath.

It was how he was going to deal with it from this point on that would prove whether he learned anything over the past month.

He took another deep breath and slowly turned the jet in a wide circle.

First thing was first.

He needed to admit to himself what had just happened....

And what was that exactly?

Easy.

....

He was.... In love with his best friend, and he didn't know how to face it, or deal with it, and he could barely acknowledge it.

Things were going to change and that scared him.

Breathe, nice and easy.

He didn't want to go back and face her, or anyone, and maybe once upon a time he wouldn't have, but he was, at the end of the day, the commander, and he needed to command, if not the ship than at least himself.

He wasn't going to keep dong this, and that meant returning to the ship right now.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye.

He slowed the jet. Turning his head to look out the canopy. The nebulae to the side of him shifted and billowed.

That was... very strange. This was space, things didn't move unless something.... Moved them, and since there were no wind currents.

He was about prepared to go in after it when he stopped himself. No, not this time. This time he would do it the right way.

He engaged his comm, "Harbinger this is Alpha 1 do you copy."

"Copy Alpha 1, are you alright, over"

"Harbinger, I am fine, but I am seeing something really weird." he gave his coordinates, "Can you get any radar reading off of that."

There Was a pause in conversation as he continued to watch the cloud billow. He thought he saw something hard and sharp protrude from the mist before fading back.

"Alpha 1 standby, we are picking up.... Something in that area,"

He squinted out at the darkness and thought he saw the dust cloud before him light up and then fade as if illuminated from within.

He fired the wing thrusters and pulled the jet to a standstill, or the point where he was only getting a couple of inches of drift.

"Harbinger send out a scouting squad on my six see if we can't get a closer look."

"Copy, preparing Bravo flight team over, out."

He let the line idle as he squinted towards the dust cloud. He would have liked to get closer but knew he shouldn't. He had been more than reckless enough for one day. The cloud continued to billow, and he was sure he could see an inner illumination brightening and then darkening over again.

It was about fifteen minutes before, "Alpha 1 this is bravo team incoming on your position, over."

"Copy bravo."

"The other three jets pulled up around him idling on either side. Looking out one window he thought he could see the dim green illumination of someone's dials.

"You seeing this, straight ahead."

"Copy that commander, something in the clouds."

"Yeah.... What is that."

He adjusted his hand on the stick, "Move in slowly and spread out."

He took down the middle while the other two rolled to the side. The interior of the jet was getting rather cold, so he allowed the fusion engine to idle as he coasted forward on the wing thrusters.

The light inside the dust cloud was becoming more apparent white but tinted blue.

They were right up to the edge of the dust field now and the occasional puff of dust would erupt from the cloud and dissipate into space. It was strange, this cloud seemed thicker than normal. Most nebula only looked the way they did because it was from a distance, but once inside them it was almost hard to tell, but this one.... Well this one was thick. Thick enough that the particles were being displaced by something.

"Anything."

"No, the cloud is too thick."

He rotated the engine downwards and tried floating himself upwards to see if he couldn't get a better look inching a little more towards the cloud. And that is when it began: a massive mushroom of dust bulged out from the cloud and then erupted outwards, raising his eyes skyward towards the blackness, he watched as a massive shape roast upwards bringing with it a glowing white illumination.

He gasped nearly choking on his own air supply.

The comms were dead silent

The creature continued to rise from the fog its massive head and long neck arching down from the billowing cloud to stare directly into his soul.

There was nothing around him but dead silence, and his face illuminated by the head of the creature staring down at him blue scales glittered in the light above as white light filtered about between the cracks. Its face was regal and predatory crowned with two pointed horns, its eyes glowing softly in the darkness, and it was massive, its head alone was many times larger than his jet.

As he watched the creature arched slowly upwards and then down into the cloud.

A rolling wave of dust passed over his aircraft pushing him back slightly into a slow drift.

He could see a dim shape in the dust, a white illumination. As the dust cleared the creature appeared again.

The scale was unfathomable as it could have wrapped it's body around the harbinger if it wanted.

Staring in disbelief he watched as it snaked up into the darkness and arched it's back where two twin tarps of white billowed.

As he watched the strange folds stiffened from graceful billowing tarps and flared out into massive white wing-like structures at its sides. As it did this it began to move forward approaching him and the three idling jets at his back. Around its neck thousands of glittering ribbons undulated and curled, but as he watched the ribbons moved, and he could finally see the other small creature curling around it's neck its scales shimmering with a soft silver light ribbons trailing from it's back like a starborn.

The huge creature paused its body slowly curling and uncurling in tight loops as it floated. The blue of its scales undulated and warped like the waves of a great ocean, the light that filtered through the cracks in its scales dimmed and then adjusted as it's body rolled

Its body stretched high above them and plunged thousands of feet below.

Again it turned it's head glowing eyes resting back upon the group of three small jets.

Slowly it extended its neck.

The head was bigger even than he had thought before.

Colossal, cosmic.

He felt as if it was staring straight at him.

A god of the stars.

And then with a sound like echoing thunder, his head vibrated with a sound no others could hear, "Deus."

***

Commander Vir and the three pilots stumbled from the cockpits of their jets and onto the deck. It seemed as if the entire crew had gathered there. All three men were breathing hard white and shell shocked at what they had just seen.

Adam lifted his head stumbling on the last run of the ladder.

His eyes scanned the crowd, falling on where Sunny waited concerned on the edge of the crowd.

He stumbled towards her and to where a good portion of his officers stood.

She caught him by the shoulders.

"Adam what happened?"

"Space dragon." He muttered

The crew recoiled in surprised confusion.

"What?" Sunny asked confused and concerned.

The other two men behind him nodded, "Space dragon."