She smiled, got up and mock saluted me. Who was she?
“Isn’t it a little dangerous for you to be out on your own?” I asked quite bluntly, ignoring the hypocrisy of the question – she didn’t.
She raised an eyebrow and said, “I would ask you the same thing, Captain.”
“You’re a woman.” I knew it was sexist. I expected her to throw a fit and then maybe not talk to me again until I could drop her off somewhere.
Instead, to my great surprise, she winked and said, “You noticed.”
Involuntarily, I smiled. She smiled back.
“I’m taking you to the nearest planet.”
“You don’t have to go out of your way. I’m sure I can fix my cruiser here.”
“How long do you expect that to take?”
She shrugged. “A few days, maybe a week. Two, at most.”
“I’m taking you to the nearest planet.”
Well that didn’t make her happy. She rolled her eyes and left, presumably in the direction of the bay, muttering something about a space hermit. I was left very confused. Being sexist = good. Trying to help = bad. I never was very good at figuring out women. And I wasn’t going to try to learn now.
She didn’t look a day over 20. And I still didn’t know anything about her. I didn’t even know her name.
She was back in a couple minutes holding a backpack. “Captain? Is there a place I can rest for a while?”
I was a terrible host. She knew it. She knew more about me than I knew about her. Just by being on my ship. The thought was scary.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, sorry.” That captain thing was really getting to me. “This way… And don’t call me Captain. My name is Larson.”
“Tawni,” she smiled.
I showed her to one of the crew quarters. I had kept them as-is, not that I ever used them. I guess it was a good thing in this circumstance. I left her there and went back to the bridge.
I began searching for nearby planets, finding that the nearest one was still another week and half to two weeks away with just sublight engines. I guess I was stuck with Tawni. Maybe if I helped her fix her “ship,” it wouldn’t take so long. I decided to offer once she was up again. I would have to feed her too. She was a stranger, yet I was planning on helping and feeding her. Not to mention I was just sitting there thinking about her. She really shouldn’t have been out on her own without a proper ship. Didn’t she have a crew or family to go home to?
6550113
Great. Perfect. Stuck on a lonely ship with Mr. Space Hermit of the year. Tawni, what have you gotten yourself into? Tawni Bar, only daughter of Raiden and Patricia Bar from the planet Onepus. Class 5 idiot.
I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. The crew… I can’t believe it! Mother would smugly say “I told you so” if she found out. But I have nowhere else to go. I’ll just go home and tell them I’m ready to fulfill my duty. They’ll take me back.
But I hate thinking about the implications of such a decision. I don’t want to go back, but I have no choice, really. I can’t stay on Larson’s ship forever.
Larson. I shouldn’t push his buttons like I had. He’s been kind enough to take me on his ship, even give me a room to stay in. He’s handsome, too, I’ll give him that. But he probably doesn’t care. I don’t even know why I mentioned it.
I think I hear footsteps in the hall. The Captain. Ha, and the crew too. Lovely.
Tawni out
Read Part 1 here
Read Part 3 here
There is a definite romantic potential developing… Both characters are likable. It needs an editor’s polish but that need does not detract from the story at all… Onward!
I think it’s time for some action in this story. The characters are interesting and convincing, and I definitely would turn the page and keep reading.
I like hearing Tawni’s side of this story as well as Larson’s. I would consider italicizing her log, just to make more of a distinction. I can also see in this post that Tawni is becoming Larson’s weakness. If he’s not careful, he may soon be putty in her hands.