It was a normal day.

The stars around the ship glistened in every color imaginable, and a small fuel station grew in size in the distance.

Nothing new or exciting to tell or marvel over, at least not to Henwy.

He lounged in the pilot's chair, tossing and catching a small rubber ball he had uncovered from the cargo bay.

"Cargo bay" was an over statement. A cargo bay was the marvelous and grandiose space beneath the Pyrrus, which he no longer flew.

No, his little "cargo bay" was more comparable to a closet, which made it absolutely astounding that this hunk of metal was considered anything remotely similar to a cargo ship, and was unfortunately why he only was assigned transport missions.

Not that he hated them, but he was looking for something more high-speed. Something more exciting. Something he could picture playing out in some sort of thriller action movie.

But alas, he had no crew nor partner. Not anymore. His co-pilot seat would remain forever empty, since the only person he could entrust with that role was grounded, never to travel the expanse of space.

Henwy closed his eyes and caught the ball, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface.

Jerome was the only friend he had now, but he wasn't considering space work. Well, he was, but not the kind where he went out into space. The kind where he watched it from a distance, or aboard a cruise ship. He was going to the Star Force University, where he would learn all he needed about star studies. Henwy didn't understand why people still used telescopes when space ships existed. 

Henwy sighed and dropped his hand on his chest, loosening his grip on the ball. A wet nose nuzzled his drooped wing, followed by a soft meow.

Henwy adjusted his position so he was sitting in the chair normally. He dropped the ball in his empty cup holder, then reached down to pet his cat. She let out a small trill as she walked, letting Henwy drag his hand across her back.

"Hi," He murmured, tucking his wings into the slits in the back of the chair, "You're hungry, aren't you?" She meowed loudly.

Henwy sighed and stood, making his way through the halls and to the kitchen where the bowls of food and water sat on the floor, tucked beside the refrigerator.

He fished out the cat food from one of the cabinets and scooped out a cupful and slowly poured it into the bowl. While his cat ate, he took the water dish and took it to the sink where he filled it with water, then brought it back to its place on the ground. Henwy gently scratched the top of the calico's head, then turned back to the cockpit and dropped down into the pilot's chair and slid his wings back into the holes in the seat's back and leaned back a little, staring at the window that extended to the roof that allowed visibility to the universe around him. All of the stars and planets that shimmered brightly around him.

He turned his focus back to the fuel station. He checked the Margo's fuel levels, and sure enough, he was running low on biodiesel. Henwy switched off the autopilot and took hold of the steering controls, adjusting the course of the ship so it made its way to the station. As he entered the range of the station, a popup appeared, taking up a portion of his view. It was a golden hologram with a slight transparency. He swiped it to the side as he carefully navigated the spacecraft around the station, looking for the biodiesel pumps.

He positioned the ship in one of the pump spaces that provided his needed fuel, then turned back to the popup. It listed the prices for each fuel type, and after a bit of scrolling, he found the section that allowed him to actually get the fuel.

He went through the list and filled out the information about his ship model, tank size, and pump number, then paid and sat back as the automated system scanned the ship and connected the fuel pipe to the tank and transferred the biodiesel.

Henwy broke from his thoughts as another popup appeared on his screen. Henwy grunted as he leaned forward and across the control panel to drag the tab closer to him.

The hologram showed a message from his boss, which was never a good sign when he was out on a mission. Thankfully, he was wrapping up the mission, transporting a load of weapons from the Artican Base to his home base, the Myran Base. Unlike the other bases united in the Infinity Empire alliance, the Myran was built to orbit a small dwarf star named Mira that served as an energy source for both itself and the other bases in the galaxy.

Henwy opened the message and started to read it.

Addressed to: Henwy; Pilot #183207
Sent from: SSundee; Insane Division

Hello, Henwy. I am aware of your return to Mira with your shipment from the Ratchets, and I know you must be eager to get back and rest.

Henwy scoffed. He had done nothing but sleep most of the mission. All he had to do was ship out solar panels in exchange for Artican photon blasters.

However, I have a new mission offer that I think you might be interested in. It is a series of heists at different locations across the galaxy. You will be grouped with three others, if you agree to take on this mission. This is a Class A mission, so the payment for completing this two-week-long mission is 16,000,000 Credits split between the four of you.

Henwy raised his eyebrows and gaped at the amount and the class. Class A? And Four million credits for himself? He would have fun and earn enough to purchase a spacecraft he would actually enjoy flying. Sure, this hunk of metal had become his home, but he never saw himself living here permanently. Plus, he wanted some sort of nuclear reactor and guns system...

...like the Pyrrus.

You have three imperial day cycles to return to Mira and determine your choice for taking the opportunity. If you are interested and would prefer more details, respond with your time as to when you will arrive, and I will gladly meet you in my office.

-SSundee, Mafia Insane Division Boss

Henwy let out a breath and leaned back, processing the message. Quickly, he pulled up the ship's system and searched for the GPS. It loaded for a moment before stating that the last stretch of his trip was three hours.

That's plenty of time. Henwy thought gleefully. Henwy drafted a message, and was interrupted by a cheerful ding! as the fueling system pulled away from his ship and released the spacecraft.

Henwy took over the controls and carefully nudged the ship away from the station and back into the empty expanse of space. He grabbed the throttle and slowly pushed the handle forward, making the ship gain speed. Henwy turned and switched on the autopilot, allowing him to focus on the message again.

Addressed to: SSundee, Mafia Insane Division Boss
Sent from: Henwy, Pilot #183207

Thank you for offering me the mission. I will arrive at the headquarters in roughly three hours, where I will import the Artican photon blasters at the Cargo Terminal, then I can visit you. I predict that I will be available in four hours, which would be by 5:00 MTZ. I will see you there.

With a satisfactory nod to himself, Henwy sent the message and sat back, gazing at the stars that sped past him in streaks of light.

Henwy was torn away from stargazing due to a cheerful notification bell from the messages tab. Henwy turned his attention to it, expecting a response from SSundee, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw that it was a call request from Jerome.

Without much hesitation, Henwy accepted the invitation.

Jerome's camera switched on, showing a very enthusiastic bearic, who smiled and showed off his tusks. When Jerome smiled, it made his slight underbite more obvious, and his tusks gleam. His amber eyes glittered, "Hi Hen!"

Henwy leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Hey Jerome. Watcha calling me for?"

"Well, I had the gut feeling that you were excited, so I wanted to see what it was!" Jerome replied cheerfully.

"Your 'powers' still work, despite us being on complete opposite ends of the universe?" Henwy asked with a scoff, making air quotes with his hands at 'powers'.

"Hey! My Best Friend Mood Detector (TM) is very accurate," Jerome shot back with mock offense, "I have yet to be wrong, right?"

"I don't think it's actual magic, Jerome," Henwy replied exasperatedly, yet his smile remained.

"Ah ha! You didn't deny it! So you are excited!" Jerome beamed, "I knew it."

Henwy sighed as his smile grew, "Okay, maybe I am a little excited."

"No, you're very excited. You're beaming! And don't think I don't see your feathers fluffing." Jerome observed.

Henwy ruffled his wings and sighed, flicking his tail and curling it around his leg, "Okay, okay, yes, I'm really excited. I was offered a Class A mission. Class A, Jerome! How could I not be excited?"

"Class A?" Jerome asked, whispering his shared joy, "Hen, that's amazing! But...you don't have a team, right?"

Henwy waved a hand dismissively, "I'm going to be grouped with three others. I usually can tolerate working with unfamiliar colleagues, and it's only two weeks long. The only downside I can think of would be if they are hot-winged or annoying."

"Mhm," Jerome hummed his agreement, "Let's hope they're as awesome as you. It would suck if they were jerks."

Henwy ignored the heat in his cheeks and his feathers fluffing. He lowered his wings out of Jerome's line of sight and laughed it off, "It's going to be a very boring trip, then."

"That's not true and you know it," Jerome shot back, "You're super awesome. The awesomest person that I know."

"You must know some very boring people, then," Henwy replied jokingly, "You're working in star studies after all. With your stupid telescopes."

"Yeah, yeah, I know what it sounds like, but you're still amazing, okay? Plus, when I'm done with this semester, I'll be able to actually fly with you! We can go look at stars together! Asteroids, uncharted planets, new civilizations, anything! Wouldn't that be nice?"

Henwy blinked a few times, "You're- you're going hands-on?"

Jerome nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! I chose this course specifically so we could be together again!"

Henwy couldn't wipe the goofy smile that was starting to creep onto his face, "Really? Well, when is the end of your semester?"

"About a month," Jerome replied, his smile toothy.

"That's absolutely perfect," Henwy beamed, "Will your organization be okay with a Mafian working for them?"

"The Mafian-Star Force alliance is weak, but it's an alliance nonetheless, right?" Jerome replied, "I'm sure it can work out."

"Well, while you are finishing up your work, I could be transferring departments," Henwy started to plan as he spoke, "That way, we can start right as soon as possible."

"That sounds great!" Jerome beamed, "You might want to get some rest after your mission, though. Right? It sounds like it's going to be quite a ride."

Henwy shrugged, "We'll see."

Jerome's head snapped to face the left side of the screen, having been called by a voice. He turned back to Henwy, "Sorry, I should go. Have fun on your mission! Love ya!"

Before Henwy could respond, Jerome disconnected from the call. Henwy closed the tab, then ruffled his wings and fanned out the feathers on the end of his tail while simultaneously tightening it around his leg. He pressed is hands to his face and laughed. He flung out his wings and arms while leaning back, clicking a button on the chair that allowed the back to bend and flatten, allowing Henwy to lay down and look up at the star roof. Every nerve seemed to light, making him want to move. He fought back the urge to do something stupid and calmed himself by watching the stars fly past.

Henwy took in a deep breath and exhaled.

This was going to be the best month of his life.