The next two weeks weren't exactly boring, but I was eager to move on, and I missed @sundial. I still had a copy of her memories, but @awesomedog was blocking the Alliance Starmada from releasing a reanimated clone of her. I thought maybe he was doing it just to piss me off, but she was his Worm, so I couldn't do anything about it.

  Maybe he hoped she was still alive and wanted to avoid a @clonedog situation like the one he had experienced. I had never met my clone before, let alone killed it. I wasn't sure what that would do to my mental well-being. From what I could tell, it didn't bother @awesomedog, but we weren't exactly best friends.

  On the plus side, @astrowave had been reanimated. The only problem was that since I had refused to concede Oblivion, the Alliance Starmada authorities weren't sure yet what to do with me. I expected some kind of punishment, even though I knew Oblivion would be too valuable for them to try deleting me. I could go along with it and play nice, or set out on my own. The latter was very tempting, but I had never been on my own. The Alliance Starmada was safe and familiar. I surprised myself by not leaping right away at the chance to escape.

  In the meantime, they refused to send @astrowave to meet up with us. He was going to stay on Sovereign Starbase. There was still an infinitesimal possibility that the Alliance Starmada would declare me rogue and demand that @foxcutter and @bitchfrog return to base for reassignment. Even if they didn't declare me rogue or kick me out of the Alliance Starmada, which I didn't think they would do, I might still lose my crew.

  I spent my time wandering the Pit, which was already small, and becoming smaller every day. We were staying at the modest hotel at the outpost, a place called Peaches (because it was on the "Pit," right, so Peach Pit), while the ships underwent repairs and renovations.

  @zerogstar spent most of her time with @dragonlotus, @stardvark, and Steve, tinkering with the ships and "special projects." @auroraloon was determined to finish whatever they were working on. I knew it had something to do with Rufus and Doofus, or at least that was a pretty good guess since @bitchfrog had mentioned the flamingos being in the workshop back when we were navigating the terrordactyl storm.

  @auroraloon was almost always close to @dustcaller, and if she wasn't, then someone else was. We hadn't mentioned him to the Alliance Starmada at all. I was in enough trouble already.

  @awesomedog, @foxcutter, and Kibble had also stayed mostly a trio during our time at the Pit. We ran into each other a lot since it was such a small area, but they had become friends during their brief time on The Pharaoh together. I also figured it was natural world order, three canines forming a pack. If we ever met @goofwolf or @barkspark, I was sure they'd join the pack as well.

  For his own safety, Sango spent his time in my hotel room. We figured the noise of the repairs would scare him. I wasn't worried so much about the ships blowing up, but it would be loud and chaotic. Poor little guy would have an anxiety attack.

  So, yeah, I felt a little lonely. Everyone seemed to have something to do except @bitchfrog and I.

  My day consisted of waking up at Peaches, meeting up with @bitchfrog for a bad breakfast that they tried hard to make a not-so-bad breakfast, complimenting the workers and making small talk, checking in with Steve and @stardvark on the state of repairs for The Pharaoh and Oblivion while @bitchfrog did daily medical rounds, avoiding the convenience store (it reminded me too much of Racers on Dactyl), getting a burger for lunch at Planet Delicious, and then drinking heavily with @bitchfrog and the pirates at the lounge at Peaches.

  Note to self: bitchfrog and the pirates would be a good band name.

  Fun, right?

  Nope. Rather boring.

  And you don't even drink, you remind me.

  That is correct. It makes me sick. But you try staying on a tiny space station with nothing to do for two weeks. Eventually, the price to pay is worth it, just for a different experience.

  Wait, did you say pirates? you ask.

  Yes, pirates. @crazysnake, @switchgear, and the rest of the pirate crew made it to Steve's Ship & Shop in their broken and beaten Graviton ship. Since we were all stranded on the Pit for repairs with nothing to do, we reconciled quickly to ease our boredom. I was glad they let @bitchfrog and I hang out with them.

  It was the day before the outbreak. We had finished our afternoon of drinks, and we had eaten dinner to recover from our afternoon drinks. Now we were starting into our evening of drinking. I was fully intending to blow my mission budget out of the water, pirate style, so all the drinks were on me, courtesy of the Alliance Starmada.

  "I still don't get it," I said, asking about how they met @auroraloon. "You're raiding Flipper, and you suck this woman over as part of the haul of pillows and mattresses, and you're just like, wanna be our leader?"

  "Ha! She didn't give us a choice," chuckled @motorbutt.

  @motorbutt was the squat bald pirate. And yes, every time I thought about his name, it made me giggle inside. He had seemed sour to me when I took over Graviton, but it turned out he had a good sense of humor and enjoyed ice fishing when he could get away from pirating.

  "But there were five of you," I said, lifting a glass of 80-year everscotch to my lips. It was bitter and lovely, and I had drank enough of it over the past few days to figure out it was one of the few drinks that didn't immediately give me diarrhea.

  "Nine," @crazysnake corrected. "She killed our captain and some of the crew?"

  "Oh yeah," I said. I forgot about that. Sounded like they didn't care, but you never know. "Sorry about that?"

  @crazysnake and his crew, since he was essentially the new captain, shared a chuckle.

  "Did any of us here die when you captured our ship?" @crazysnake asked me with a serious look, and then he answered his own question. "Of course not. We're the smart ones. We took on a good job, lots of qcoins riding on it, but that meant bringing in another crew to join us."

  "Assholes," @motorbutt spat. "Only cared about the money. Bunch of dumbasses."

  "They were," @crazysnake said emphatically.

  "Not doing that again," @motorbutt warned.

  "I know. I know. Just us from now on," @crazysnake replied.

  "But you'd add a permanent crew member, right?" @bitchfrog asked, sipping her drink. I wondered if she was just being curious or if she wanted to give piracy a try now that the Alliance Starmada had sold her off. I wouldn't blame her.

  @crazysnake eyed the others before giving a hesitant response. "Maybe, if it's the right person."

  "Permission denied," I interrupted, laughing and smiling widely at @bitchfrog. She glowered back at me. "But we can discuss it."

  I still didn't understand how @auroraloon had managed to take control of Graviton. I knew she was tough. Infiltrators have to be tough. But I'd like to think that if she popped up on The Pharaoh, our small but mighty crew could handle her.

  I raised my hand. "I still don't get it. You were nine skilled pirates. If the other assholes were attacking, why didn't you join in? She was alone. Didn't you want your ship?"

  "Have you seen her fight?" interrupted one of the pirate ladies. "Because maybe if there were 50 of us, we could have had a chance. That bitch is fierce." She pointed at herself. "I'm fierce, too. I'll shoot you like tequila, swallow you down, and let my throat burn while I spit fire at your ass. But that bitch is FIERCE."

  Meet @hissyfit. She was dynamic, talked fast, like whatever she thought in her head was worth sharing immediately to the rest of the world, and let's be honest, it usually was because I had no idea what would come out of her mouth. She had blue eyes that popped out of her face and a roughly shaved head of black hair.

  The other pirate was @lovebuzz. He was a bigger guy, not huge like @astrowave, but bigger than me, with short bleach blond hair and a dark stubble beard. He didn't say much, and I could tell he was an introverted pirate. He wasn't unpleasant, just more observant and didn't show a ton of emotion. When I meet people like that, I usually try to get them to laugh. You learn a lot from watching someone laugh for the first time. I still hadn't seen him laugh.

  "You should sip tequila," I said, "not shoot it down."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "No," @hissyfit said. "You should sip it. I'll do whatever I want."

  At which point she grabbed one of the three shot glasses on the table and fired it down her throat, then stared at me with her big eyes and audibly gulped with satisfaction, while drips of tequila dropped off her chin onto her gray tank top.

  I flagged down our waiter, @sunderfund, who would usually join us after their shift ended, and asked for a reposado tequila, which was a bit more smoky, aged in extremely expensive oak barrels. That's the one thing I will say that the bar in Peaches had going for it. A decent collection of alcohol.

  I normally didn't drink, and I will admit that some nights it felt like more fluids came out of my body than went in, but I was starting to figure out my limit and which drinks were safe. I could finish the everscotch, and I could sip a glass of reposado, but after that, I would need to stop it with the alcohol.

  "So, @auroraloon floated over," I probed, imagining it in my head. "Then she popped out of the mattresses. Then she killed - "

  "No, no, no." I was surprised that it was @lovebuzz who cut me off. "She didn't pop out. She walked in like she owned the place, like we were on her ship," he said, lounging in his chair. "That junker crew took her on. Got their asses handed to them. Should have seen it."

  I almost saw a smile.

  "If she wanted to, she would have killed us all before we even realized she was there," @crazysnake said, scratching his beard and sipping a wheat beer. "But she had a plan. Big contract on Eros. We had our job planned, and I prefer pirating, but a contract here or there is nice. Helps us round out our reputation. Besides, hers was bigger."

  "Her what was bigger?" I joked, eying @lovebuzz. Come on! Laugh, damnit! I swear he wanted to laugh.

  "Her contract," @crazysnake laughed, "was bigger."

  "Nothing big on that girl but her ego," grunted @lovebuzz.

  "I'd take that contract of hers any day," @motorbutt snorted with a shrug.

  "You don't stand a chance with her," @hissyfit teased. "That girl would kill you."

  "Some things are worth reanimation," @motorbutt replied.

  I immediately regretted referencing @auroraloon, and I hated that we were talking about her like this. Even worse, it was my fault. But @bitchfrog came to the rescue. She always had a good emotional awareness, whether she changed the subject on purpose or not.

  "Do you call yourselves something?" @bitchfrog asked.

  She was sitting up on the edge of a cushy blue lounge chair. She always sat like that early in the evening, but as the night wore on, she'd lie back in the chair like everyone else. It made me think of an excited child who gets tired but wants to stay awake. She was fascinated by their stories of pirating. I could see that, while I was bored at the Pit, she was having a wonderful time learning about the life of a space pirate.

  The waiter brought me my reposado. I waited for @crazysnake to respond to @bitchfrog before speaking, but I held the glass out to @hissyfit and raised an eyebrow at her. She took the glass, and I mimicked with my hands to sip the drink, pretending to sip with my empty hand. She made a grimace-face at me, but surprised me by actually sipping the reposado.

  @crazysnake, meanwhile, was looking over his group of pirates with a little smile on his face. @hissyfit took another sip of my drink, then handed it back to me.

  But she decided to spit her second sip of reposado in my face.

  "You can shoot it, sip it, or spit it," @hissyfit laughed. "How does that taste? It's got just a hint of hissy in it."

  The way she said hissy sent a zip of electricity through my body. I watched her scrunchy blue eyes staring at me, the big smile on her face, the drips of tequila on her mouth. The image of her skinny body filled my mind, wild and glorious. I knew she was flirting. I usually sucked at reading the signs, but all the alcohol made it hard to be subtle. The six of us had been hanging out every evening. You keep a group like that together, and something is bound to happen.

  Stupid body. Stupid hormones.

  I thought about what would be happening if @sundial was here. I'd be getting to know her, instead of drinking with pirates and fighting my organic urges. I know what you're thinking, though. You and @sundial kissed. Big whoop. You're not linked. Ask @hissyfit what she has in mind. Go for it. Have a little fun. See what kind of hissy fit she can muster. Every time I heard her name, it set me off.

  "We call ourselves the Starhawks," said @crazysnake, pulling me back to reality. @hissyfit was still giggling, leaning back in her chair, downing another shot.

  "The Starhawks," a tipsy @bitchfrog repeated aloud, motioning with her hands like she was announcing them to the room.

  "That doesn't sound like a name for a bunch of space pirates," I responded. I was feeling the alcohol and less able to filter my thoughts, not that I was great at thinking before speaking anyway. "I don't mean to be insulting. It's a cool name. It's a very cool name. Just more like a name for a group of superheroes than a group of pirates."

  "That was the idea," @crazysnake acknowledged with a raise of his beer. "We may have pirated, but I don't want to think of us just as pirates. The Starhawks have stuck together for 14 years now. That's not much in the grand scheme of things, but for pirates, that's unbelievable."

  "It is." I raised my everscotch back at him, finishing it off so I could move on to the reposado. "You've got a special group here. What are you gonna do now? Finish that other job?"

  "Eh," @crazysnake sighed. He paused to see if any of the others would jump in with opinions. "We'll figure something out. We got a good cut from this last job, even though you destroyed our ship. Did enough, so said @auroraloon, to receive payment. We've earned some downtime together."

  "Haven't we had enough downtime?" @hissyfit groaned. "I love you guys, but if I don't get off this station soon, I'm going to snap." She looked at me, downing another tequila. "When I snap, it's loud and messy."

  "I'm jealous," @bitchfrog said, hopping back into the conversation. "Not of you, @hissyfit. If you're going to snap, I can show you some meditation techniques." She nudged @crazysnake in the elbow. "Fourteen years together. That's a lot. How did you all meet?" she asked eagerly.

  "Meditation techniques?" @hissyfit mumbled. "I'll self-medicate, thank you very much."

  @crazysnake looked over at @bitchfrog, then set his drink down and repositioned himself with his feet planted squarely on the floor. "How we met. Now that's a good story. Team, jump in here if you want to elaborate."

  "You mean when you tell it wrong," chimed @motorbutt.

  "I always tell it right, from my perspective," said @crazysnake, looking from @motorbutt back to @bitchfrog. He clapped his hands. "Okay, so I was flying to Uranus."

  "We," interrupted @motorbutt. "We were flying to Uranus."

  @crazysnake laughed. "@motorbutt and I were flying to Uranus. We had heard there was a lucrative contract that needed to be fulfilled. On the way, we figured we could do some petty thieving on some of the space stations and fueling outposts. What we didn't plan for, though, was that another pirate had the same idea."

  He looked over at @hissyfit. He clearly meant she was the other pirate, but for whatever reason, she didn't want to hear this part of the story.

  "Ugh!" @hissyfit yelled. "This is so boring." She picked up another shot from the table and started walking away. "Snap," she whispered back at us, with a quick snap of her fingers as she left.

  I think she looked at me. I was not exactly sober, but I was pretty sure she did. I definitely watched her walk away, in her white leather pants and gray tank top. I swear she was swaying just a bit extra for my benefit.

  I excused myself to let the rest of the Starhawks finish their evening together. As much as I wanted to hear their story, @hissyfit had caught more of my attention. Tonight, I might just have a different experience for once, instead of the regular banter in the bar. I hopped up from my seat, taking my drink with me. A round of snickers rose from behind me, but I tried not to think about it. They were either chuckling because @hissyfit was teasing me or because I was clearly running after her to find out.

  And I was. At least, that was the plan, right up until I spotted @auroraloon at the bar, sitting by herself, nursing a glass of red wine. I wondered how long she had been there.

  @switchgear had arrived as well and was walking toward the group. They must have wrapped up their work for the day. I waved at her as we crossed paths, but she mistook my wave for a high five. @switchgear slapped my hand, and @auroraloon turned to look to see what the fuss was all about. That one slap of the hand probably cost me a night with @hissyfit.

  I shrugged at @auroraloon and made an I dunno face. Then I waved to her and headed to the bar where she was sitting.

  Behind me, I heard the laughter from the pirates turn into exclamations and animated, slurred speech. They were clearly upset about something, something to do with Graviton. We had damaged it pretty good, but I was still a little surprised that the pirates (I mean, the Starhawks) were all still stuck here at the Pit without a working ship.

  I'd ask them about it tomorrow.

  For now, it was time to see what @auroraloon had been up to and where @dustcaller was. I was about to ask if I could join her, but she decided instead to put me on the spot by pulling out the barstool next to her as an invitation. Me or @hissyfit? Choose.

  "You going to chase after that?" @auroraloon asked, watching @hissyfit strut out of the bar, into the wider lounge area, and out of view.

  "You think?" I pointed at myself, then in the direction @hissyfit went.

  "It was obvious from all the way over here," @auroraloon said in a flat tone. She seemed tired, like she had a long day.

  "I mean," I started, but I wasn't sure what to say.

  Yes, I absolutely wanted to chase down @hissyfit. If @auroraloon hadn't been sitting by herself at the bar, I would have. I would have rationalized it to myself by noting that I had spent only a brief amount of time with @sundial, that we were in no way official, just interested. I had spent more time with @hissyfit. Picture two weeks on a little space station with nothing to do and no commitments. Now, into the picture, enter @hissyfit and mutual attraction. Why wouldn't I chase after her?

  But, for whatever reason, I felt like I would be hurting @sundial. This would have been a different two weeks if she had been here. I hoped the zombies didn't rip her to pieces. Not only that, as I observed @auroraloon's dour mood and the way she was absently staring at the wall, I felt like I had a friend in need.

  Life's full of missed opportunities, especially when you live forever. But sometimes those missed opportunities lead to experiences that are better than you could have ever imagined.

  I wouldn't take it back for anything.

  "No," I said. I was looking in the direction of @hissyfit when I said it. "No, I figured you could use some company. We haven't had a chance to catch up."

  "If by catch up, you mean whatever you were planning to do with @hissyfit, then I'll stop you right there," she teased, but it was a sad face joke. She needed to cheer up a bit.

  "I was going to see what she was going to do to me, by the way," I teased back. "Not the other way around. I was hoping it involved cartwheels."

  That got her to laugh unexpectedly, right when she was about to drink her wine. She pulled it away from her face just in time, but some sploshed over the edge onto the bar. "Cartwheels?" she repeated back to me.

  "You wanna do some cartwheels with me?" I asked with a big smile. "I mean literally. Cartwheels. I think they'd be fun."

  @auroraloon downed her remaining wine and slid off her barstool to stand in front of me.

  "No. I have a different idea of fun," she said, a smile finally touching her lips. "I'm gonna go shoot my pistol at the stars."

  I'm gonna go shoot my pistol at the stars.

  That sounded fun. I wanted to join her. She grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her.