The pirate ship's engines hummed a steady pulse, carrying Syn, Vera, Pako, and Aster through the void toward the Interstellar Station Governance Alliance (ISGA), now less than two days away.
The stars beyond the viewports gleamed with hope, but the true warmth of the past few days lay in the shared spaces of the ship—Vera's bedroom, the mess hall, the training deck, the observation bay—where the group wove their rekindled bond tighter.
Alone or together, their moments of laughter, reflection, and quiet resolve fortified them towards the upcoming challenges.
_____
The morning after their tearful reconciliation, Vera's room was a haven of crimson sheets and starlight.
Syn woke to Vera's purple hair tickling his chest, her arm draped across him, her sleek, purple-trimmed nightgown bunched at her thighs.
Her purple eyes, half-open, met his hazel gaze, a soft smile curving her lips. "Still here," she murmured, voice husky, fingers tracing the scars on his arm.
