(The next day...)

"I don't wanna talk about it..." I murmured, only to huff as I felt my wife squeeze my sides.

"Aw, come on! Admit it: you enjoyed pole dancing," Alannah prodded me as we lazed about in bed.

I groaned and hid my face in shame. "Please keep in mind I've only gotten about five hours of sleep, mijn sintel."

"Correction: three hours," she replied, the eyebrow wiggle apparent in her voice, "I did have to make sure my strong bounty hunter wasn't harmed at all."

"Well, you certainly made sure my endurance was up to snuff," I murmured, still hiding my face, "Six bouts, Ali–six!"

Her giggle held nothing but childish deviance in it. "Hey, could you blame me? Just imagining you spinning around that pole...mmph, perfection."

"I would comment, but I doubt that would be necessary," Vik chimed in, "Be glad I can heal your injuries, Cylus. Your pelvis was bruised more than once last night."

Don't remind me...

Considering the fact we were both laying on our sides and Alannah had her arms around my waist, it was only a matter of time before she pinched my backside.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Gotta make sure the buns are fresh!"

I rolled over to look my wife in the eye and kissed her. "Trust me, they're fresh. Now, we need to get up. Jackson apparently has important news for us."

Alannah pouted and offered up her best puppy-dog eyes. "Ten more minutes?"

I was about to say no, but that'd make me a monster, wouldn't it? Stifling a sigh, I allowed myself to get comfortable and humored my wife. Even though we've been married for four months, this revelation still floored me every time I looked at the bright ring on her hand.

Ten minutes later, we finally got out of bed and got dressed. Since I wasn't charging into a battle zone, I threw on what I had worn yesterday.

Alannah scrunched her nose up when she noticed what I was wearing. "That reeks. Please don't tell me that's the clothing you wore while pole dancing."

I had to bite my tongue in an attempt to keep myself from laughing as I put my boots on. "No, it's not."

She cocked an eyebrow in response while we made our way out of our room, but she didn't say anything else. We made our way down the white halls of the Sovereign-Breaker until we reached a lift. Six minutes later, we were walking into the mess hall.

"Hey! The happy couple is awake!" Boreas chirped as he rose from his seat and approached us, "Hope you didn't break your man's pelvis, Ali."

She tittered with laughter. "He's become more resilient. He'll live." 

"Uh huh...Just don't break him," he replied, only to look away and beam up at Janet as she planted a kiss on his brow, "Hey honeybuns."

Alannah snorted and leaned back in her seat while Alexander snorted. "Honeybuns? Janet, how do you live with this clown?"

Boreas' wife shrugged and chuckled. "It's cute. Doesn't Cylus have cute names for you?"

"Well, yeah, but I'd sucker punch him if he called me something like 'honey-boo' or 'baby,'" Alannah replied, shuddering to herself, "I mean you no offence, Janet, but that rubs me the wrong way."

"Why?" she inquired, sitting beside her husband at our table and cocking her head to the side in question.

To my surprise, her face drained of color for the briefest of moments. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she looked afraid...

However, this moment passed by in the blink of an eye and Alannah flashed Janet a bright smile. "Those nicknames seem a bit tacky to me. Mostly, Cylus uses 'mijn sintel' as a 'cute name,' and I'm perfectly okay with it."

"What exactly does that mean?" Boreas' wife inquired, a curious smile on her face, "I've heard you say that several times, Cylus, but I've never understood what it meant."

"It's Dutch for 'my cinder,'" I explained, smiling as Alannah grabbed my hand, "I gave her that nickname several months ago, and it's stuck around since then."

"It's a fitting nickname," Janet mused, only to fall silent when Jackson settled down at our table. Considering the fact he was clean-shaven, I couldn't help but think we were about to discuss something rather serious.

"Morning ladies and gents," my guildmaster greeted us all, plastering a tight-lipped grin on his face, "Boreas, Cylus, congrats on your mission last night."

"Thanks Jack. Is, um, is something wrong?" my partner prompted him, only to be echoed by Alex.

"You look constipated," he stated, "Or you ate something really foul."

Jackson sighed and shook his head in disbelief, "Geez kid, there's no shutting up the sarcastic prick in you, is there?"

"Nope. I'm on 24/7, baby!"

He groaned, only to clear his throat. "To answer your question, Boreas, it's not a matter of if anything's wrong. Rather, it's a question of what could go wrong."

"I'm listening," the white-haired hacker replied, leaning forward.

"So...As you all know, we've spent a lot of time traversing the cosmos," Jackson began, "While I know this is the safest way to avoid the Federation, I know none of you enjoy staying up here."

"We do what we must," I answered.

"Yes, but I'm sure your cicadian rhythms are out of whack due to there being no day-night cycle. In addition, the on-board artificial gravity field is more advanced than most ships, but it's not...perfect."

"Ain't that the truth..." Alexander grumbled, "Imagine taking a dump, only to start floating up when the gravity decides 'hey, I'm tired of functioning. Here's some anti-gravity for you bitches.' Imagine the mess I had to clean up."

I lightly hit Alex upside the head and glowered at him. "Don't give Jackson shit, son."

"Oh, I can give him more than shit, dad."

I shared a harried look with Alannah. "I think we made a mistake."

"Eh, won't be the last," she mused, a scheming light in her flawless eyes.

Upon hearing our guildmaster loudly clear his throat, all conversations ceased.

"That all being said," he stated, glaring daggers at the smug fifteen-year old bounty hunter, "I think it's time we establish a permanent base."

I could've sworn I heard Jackson wrong. "Wait, a permanent base? I could've sworn I asked you about this two months ago, and you told me a permanent base was, and I quote, 'an idea so stupid I may just have to drink myself to sleep tonight.' Your words, not mine."

"Yes, I know what I fucking said," he hissed, only to pause and grimace when he saw Danny pop up beside his mother, "Sorry Janet. Anyway, I know what I said. Call me a hypocrite, but we need to have somewhere we can consolidate resources. Yes, we can use the Sovereign-Breaker, but please keep in mind this old widow has seen a fair bit of action. We may not be able to land her, but repairs need to be made and fuel needs to be topped up."

"Okay...those are good points," Boreas mused, "I can't argue with anything you're saying, but what about the risk of being found? What would we be able to do if the Federation catches us with our pants down?"

"That's part of the reason why I want to actually establish a base. If we do that, we can bring in Damascaras and Ashkera forces and keep them close. If the UTF tries to screw with us, we can call in those reinforcements and wipe them out. If we keep running around in the Sovereign-Breaker, we'll only tire ourselves out."

"Fair point..." Boreas breathed, only to frown in thought, "Hey, where's my brother?"

"I have a feeling he's sleeping in," I chimed in, sharing a grin with my wife, "I think Ralph is happy to spend more time with Damien."

"Eh, I suppose that's a good point," Boreas mused, "Raphael deserves to spend all the time in the world with Damien since he barely spent any time with him a few months ago..."

I nodded in response and huffed. Back when we were dealing with Djarek and his morbid fascination with the Darka'ash, my crew and I would be lucky to spend a day on the Sovereign-Breaker before leaving again to take care of another bounty. While the thrill of the hunt has kept me running for years on end, I can't help but enjoy taking a short break between each bounty.

"Anyway," Jackson continued, "We're getting close to the Carrus system, so we're going to pay a visit to Sylkiir V to see if it can support a base."

"Fair enough," I replied, "I take it you've already sent probes out in advance?"

"You know me too well," he began, smirking to himself, "Yes, I sent out two probes to get a feel of the Carrus system. It doesn't seem to be too large. While it does seem to be part of several trade routes, Sylkiir V isn't a hub of constant activity. For our intents and purposes, that's perfect."

"No kidding," Alexander chipped in, "Is this system UTF-free? I'd rather not have to worry about Peacekeepers trying to knock our doors down."

"From what the probes showed me, there doesn't appear to be any Federation activity in the Carrus system. However, I'm still skeptical."

The look on Alex's face was priceless. "If you're skeptical, why are we going to this system in the first place?"

I could tell Jack was getting to his wit's end. "If we don't investigate, we'll never figure that sort of information out. Don't worry, kid: I plan this shit out for a reason."

"He's the kid," Alexander replied, pointing toward Danny, "That, in turn, means you shouldn't swear."

"Cylus?" my guildmaster growled, "Shut your son up before I eject him into space through a trash chute."

"Alex, you heard the man: please stay quiet."

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, but thankfully said nothing else.

"We'll enter the Carrus system in about five hours' time," Jackson said, rising to his feet," I'm going to head back up to the bridge and make sure our course is mapped out. You and your crew can chill out for now, but I ask that no...funny business happens."

Alexander started chuckling to himself when Jack glared at him.

"Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen," I assured him.

"Good. I'll see you all later then."

After Jackson left the mess hall, Alannah and I stood up and got something to eat. 

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about sporadic sleep schedules on Sylkiir V," my wife pointed out.

"True. I'm just afraid to see what's hiding in the Carrus system," I murmured.

"Always look on the bright side of life, my love," she cooed, pecking me on the check.

Sometimes, that's easier said than done...