It was the silence that I still had trouble getting used to. Silence on Earth was never really quiet - there were birds in the trees or other critters scurrying about in the bushes. But silence in space was all-encompassing. It was so quiet I could hear the blood in my veins as it pumped through my ears. Even the engines of the ship I call home couldn't permeate the quiet of my cabin.

But when I was meditating, it was perfect. The rest of the crew knew that when I lock myself in my cabin, I don't want to be disturbed.

After all, what would my shipmates think if they ever walked into my room to see my grandmother's antique tarot cards floating in the air; my lilac purple locks dancing around my head; and the lights flickering in and out.

A shrill shriek pierced the quiet. The big red alarm light above my door flashed angrily. The cards fell to the floor around me as my eyes snapped open. "Shit." What the hell was happening now? Scrambling to my feet, I slammed my hand onto the panel beside the door. I'd have to clean up later, there wasn't time. The door slid open with that all-familiar whoosh and I was running down the hall before it had even opened all the way. Red lights flashed in the hall; the alarms blaring louder outside my room. The door to the cockpit slid open before I even reached it.

"There you are! We've got a problem!"

Under any other circumstances, I would've taken a moment to appreciate the view of Kade - the pilot and captain of our little crew - trying to steer the ship and work the cloaking system. Too bad his toes were missing the keyboard by a few inches.

"TJ!"

Snapping into action, I slid into my seat and strapped in. "What the hell is going on? And who did you piss off now?"

Kade swore under his breath as he expertly steered the ship around an orbiting station. Looking out the large window at the front of the ship, I was pretty sure I recognized the iron-red clouds of the planet. Leveling out, Kade sighed as he sat straighter in his chair. "I didn't 'piss anyone off' as you put it. I've gotten us a job but we need to get through the planet's shield."

"Uh huh. And why didn't you ask me to hack into the server before the GPF were on our tails?"

Hazel eyes glanced in my direction before snapping back to the crowded space in front of us. "Alright, fine. Maybe I did piss someone off, but that's not the point! This job will feed us for months. So can you please do your thing and get us planet-side?"

My fingers froze over the digital keyboard in front of me. Smiling, I leaned back in the chair and glanced at the captain. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'please'?"

"TJ - I swear, you get us onto this planet and I'll say please every time I need something."

Yeah, right. Snorting, my fingers were already firing across the keys before I looked back at the blue screen in front of me. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I hear it."

Although it was hard to concentrate with Kade swearing in the background and the ship making hard maneuvers at random moments, I knew my way around a shield-wall. Every planet had them - it kept unwanted visitors and radiation out while protecting those within. Or, as I liked to see it, keeping people prisoner. No one got off a planet and through their shield-wall without clearance. Try to fly through without it and you'd be space dust.

My elbow hit the dash when the ship made a hard left. Grunting, I glared in Kade's direction. "Could you keep her a little more level? Some of us are trying to work over here."

A growl-like sound ripped its way from Kade's throat as he swung around a transport ship, stalling behind it to try and let the engines cool down for a moment. Spinning in his chair, his face didn't find my teasing very funny. Although I hadn't exactly been joking. "TJ..."

"Yeah yeah, relax." A few more keystrokes and my screen lit up blue, in bold ACCESS GRANTED flashed in front of me. Smiling, I leaned back and inclined my head in Kade's direction, "We're in."

Rolling his eyes, the ship's engines revved up underneath me as Kade steered us towards the planet. The GPF ship nowhere in sight. "Good job but don't let it go to your head."

Chuckling, I watched the red planet of Uzara fill up the window. The shimmer of the shield-wall glittered in the light of the system's sun. The ship slipped through without trouble, descending to the surface of one of the sleaziest planets in the Outer Rim.

With the ship safely sitting on a landing pad, I unstrapped from my seat and turned to Kade. "Alright, what's this job you haven't told any of us about?" We usually went over every job as a team before deciding to take one. The fact that Kade made this decision all on his own was concerning and annoying.

The light coming into the cockpit made Kade's handsome dark skin look more green than brown. They caused strange shadows to move across his face when he turned to face me. "I got a tip late last night and decided we couldn't pass it up. I didn't feel like waking everybody."

Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms in front of me. "A tip? Was this from a reliable source?" I glanced out the window behind Kade, at the dirty and dangerous planet we were now on. I doubted it had come from a good source.

Groaning, Kade stood up and headed for the door to the hall. "Look, it's a good job, okay? It'll pay very well and I decided it was worth the risk." The door slid open, he paused briefly to look back at me, "I'm the captain, right? I'm not going to put us in danger for nothing. Now let's go." He was out the door before I could say anything.

Shaking my head, I looked out the window one more time. In a far corner of the landing pad, I could just make out two figures. They were stooped low together before one-handed something over to the other. Curling my lip, I headed for the door. It sure as hell better be worth it.

Leaning against one of the storage bins the crew had just procured, I listened in on Kade's conversation with the seller. I usually never eavesdropped on conversations, it went against my number one rule, but sometimes curiosity got the better of me. Like now, when Kade wanted to have the conversation alone.

"I promise. Your half of the cargo will get to the intended destination and no one will suspect a thing."

"Good. You can keep your half - when the rest of it has been safely delivered."

"Of course."

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Lenna's voice was like ice picks stabbing into my eardrums. Wincing, I withdrew from Kade's conversation and turned to the other member of our crew.

"Not really, I'm sure it's the same old same old." I kept my face passive, but I doubted Lenna would be able to catch my fib.

Lenna hummed in understanding, crossing her arms as she leaned on the bin beside TJ. "It's weird that he didn't tell us about this beforehand. He doesn't do that."

I couldn't help but agree. I had thought the same thing. "I know. I called him out on it but he didn't give me any answers to go on. All he said was it would be worth it." The look Lenna cast in my direction told me just how she felt about that. Chuckling, I nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Looking around the dark and dingy cargo bay, Lenna's brows pulled tight on her forehead. "Have you seen Axon since we landed?"

Shaking my head, I kept my eyes on Kade as he shook the hand of their latest business partner. "No, he said he had something to do and ran off."

Axon was Lenna's younger brother and the last member of Phoenix's crew. He was a good kid and could be sweet when he wanted to be - he was the little brother I never had. But he also pushed Lenna's buttons on a daily basis. I couldn't really blame him; it must have sucked to always have his big sister around, acting like his mother. Did he make mistakes sometimes? Sure, just like every other fifteen-year-old in the galaxy. But he was a good kid. "I'm sure he's fine. Probably just has some cabin fever."

Lenna made a grunting sound in her throat, her eyes still shifting around the cargo bay in search of her wayward little brother.

From the other side of the cargo bay, Kade walked over to them with a grin lighting up his face. Rubbing his hands together, he gestured to the bin behind them. "See? I told you it would be a lucrative job."

"Uh-huh, and yet he didn't open the bins for us. How do you know he wasn't lying to you? Better yet - do you even know what we're smuggling?"

Rolling his eyes, he moved around us and activated the hover feature on the cargo bin. A low hum filled the air as the bin floated six inches off the ground. "Come on, we still have to get this cargo to Koshi before the next cycle."

Lenna stood up straight beside me, her brows pulled even tighter. If that was possible. "We're going to Koshi? Kade, we never go to Koshi."

Not since Lenna and Axon had become a part of the crew, anyway.

Grunting, Kade began to push the bin out of the cargo bay and towards their own dock where The Phoenix was docked. "We'll be in and out before you even know it. It's a quick drop off, don't worry."

I shared a glance with Lenna, before putting my arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. "It'll be okay. I'll make it quick, I promise."

And then I would find out why the hell Kade took a job to Koshi in the first place.

A/N

Hello and welcome to TIDAL FORCE!

I gave into my deep need to start this story a couple weeks ago when I was feeling some serious writer's block and uncertainty. Since it is officially ONE WEEK until NaNo begins, I thought I'd spoil you all with a quick peek into my new world.

You'll have to wait until NaNo to get more updates, though ;)

Only 7 days ;)

xx