Evan

  I’m sure everyone knows that feeling—the one where you screw up, and it’s time to face the music. It’s never pleasant. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a pit of dread gnawing in my stomach at that moment.

  Currently, I was easing into the hangar of the Gamma Ray, towing Harriet and her battered Argo behind my Alis. As we crossed the threshold, I sent her a signal to deploy her landing gear. No verbal response came back, but a moment later, I saw the struts extend. Only then did I follow suit.

  Within moments both of our fighters were parked side by side, the sharp metallic screech of cooling hulls filling the air. I popped the canopy on the Alis and hopped out just as Harriet emerged from hers, nervous and twitchy. Without giving her more than a passing glance, I made my way toward the workbench. There weren’t many places to sit besides the fighters themselves, but I didn’t trust myself not to break something in my current mood.

  Strangest thing was, I wasn’t even sure who I was angry at—her, myself, or the entire situation. With a sigh, I tilted my head back and stared up at the ceiling of the hangar, as if the ribbed steel plates could give me clarity.

  Footsteps broke my brooding. I turned and found Harriet standing there, her gaze locked on the black visor of my power suit. Once again, I was struck by how hard some of these aliens’ expressions were to read. The Gerralians weren’t so bad—their canine features were familiar to me. Maybe that was just because I’d grown up with dogs.

  The stray thought of Max, my childhood mutt, softened my mouth into a fleeting smile before I forced myself back to focus. Harriet was still there, fidgeting, her mouth opening and closing like a malfunctioning hatch before she finally muttered, “Thank you.”

  Her ears drooped as soon as the words left her muzzle. She spun on a heel and all but bolted back to her fighter, retreating with twice the speed she’d approached.

  She’s even more socially stunted than me.

  I let her go and dropped onto the workbench seat, but my mind refused to settle.

  We’ll talk about this back on the ship.

  The memory of Emerald’s words gnawed at me. Was I about to get booted off the team? Probably not… right? I tried to convince myself, but the reassurance was flimsy at best. One by one, worse scenarios started spiraling through my head.

  I imagined being kicked out of the Gamma Hounds, my human identity exposed, my face plastered across the Nova Net. Already I was a pariah of sorts. God only knew how the wider anthro populace would react to a human walking among them. Would my own team react the same way, once the truth was out?

  I didn’t let myself finish the thought. As brief as my time with the Hounds had been, I didn’t think my frie— the realization that I’d made such a connection in my brief time with the squad stunned me— I didn’t think my friends would do that to me.

  The roar of incoming thrusters cut off my spiral. My anxiety flared as two Argonauts slipped into the hangar. I immediately recognized Emerald’s Neutron Star—unique enough to spot even before her customizations. A second later, both fighters hissed open, depressurizing as their cockpits lifted.

  Emerald and Nia hopped down, landing with the grace of seasoned pilots. Neither approached me at first. Nia’s sharp golden eyes flicked to me and then narrowed with startling focus. She concentrated so intently her fur seemed to bristle, every strand rising like static.

  Alright, that’s odd. She’s gonna pop a blood vessel if she keeps that up. What is she, constipated?

  The instant I thought it, her fur practically sparked. She stiffened, then leaned in close to whisper something to Emerald. The white fox guffawed, covering her muzzle, and said something back while pointing toward Harriet’s Argo. For once, Nia didn’t move with her usual lazy grace. She all but rushed past me, tail lashing.

  Confused, I turned back to Emerald—and froze. She was already standing just a few feet away, silent, unreadable. Then she jerked her muzzle toward the stairwell and started walking.

  With reluctance, and no small amount of shame, I followed.

  Emerald

  The vixen fought to keep her expression stern as she stared Evan down from across her desk.

  “Evan, take off your helmet and look at me.”

  He nodded without protest, the seals of his helm releasing with a hiss before he set it gently on her desk. Their eyes met, silent and steady, until Emerald finally spoke.

  “You disobeyed an order,” she said plainly.

  “He was getting away. And I can tell you from experience—Reavers hold grudges.” Evan’s tone was measured but firm.

  Emerald’s scowl deepened. But Evan matched it. With a smooth motion, he whipped out a comm pad. Emerald immediately noticed it wasn’t the same older model he typically carried. This one was newer, sleeker.

  Evan tapped through several screens before pulling up a political map of the Nova System. “This is where we are,” he said, pointing at the Orvon Solar System—their current location. He swiped to another section of the galaxy and enabled an option.

  “This is the Gamma Ray’s navigation route over the last two years.”

  On the display, a bright green circle appeared near the central portion of Federation space. Specifically, it hovered close to the Geral Solar System.

  “Ever since your team split, you’ve spent a large amount of time deep in Federation space,” Evan explained.

  Emerald shot him an impatient look. “Get to the point, Evan.”

  He met her eyes with a sharp look. “My point is that you haven’t dealt with the main fleet of the Reavers. I’ve been on the Federation’s rim and in contested space for nearly two years. The pirates there operate in large squads. Tell me—have you dealt with Rusted Reaver groups this size before?”

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  Emerald shook her head, but she raised a hand to stop him. “No. But we’ve dealt with Pollux outcasts and Maroon Marauders in these numbers before. So don’t talk to me like I’m inexperienced. In case you forgot—I’ve been doing this longer than you.”

  Her words snapped like a whip.

  That was the breaking point. Evan’s composure cracked, and his voice rose in frustration. “God damn it, I’m not trying to mock you! The outcasts are military dropouts the Empire didn’t even bother to deal with. The Marauders? They’re closer to a mob—rarely killing, more interested in extorting a tithe. The Rusted Reavers have razed cities, Emerald. They’ve detonated entire space stations.”

  He ranted, breath heavy in the confined room.

  Emerald realized she was being unfair. Most of the sternness melted from her face, but her voice remained sharp. “I need a teammate who can follow orders. If that had still been a firefight, any one of us could have died.”

  Evan winced but pressed on. “It wasn’t a firefight. I was pursuing retreating pirates—pirates who will be a problem in the future.”

  Emerald’s ears twitched back, irritation flaring again. “Evan, drop it. Stop pressing the point. You dropped the ball.”

  A flicker of defiance crossed his face. “Only in that I didn’t take them out. Them getting away paints a large target on us. And besides—I was the only one in danger at that point in the mission.”

  Her paws slammed against the table, rattling every item on it. “It’s not up to you to decide when to follow orders! You’re not a solo hunter anymore. We don’t need a fucking maverick. Get with the program—or leave.”

  The words burned the air between them. She regretted them instantly.

  Evan’s expression hardened like steel. Without a word, he grabbed his helmet, stood, and stormed out,

  The weight of guilt pressed down on Emerald’s chest as she sank into her chair. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she whispered.

  The festering guilt grew with every passing minute. Had she just thrown away all the progress they’d made with Evan—progress hard-won after weeks of coaxing him out of his shell?

  Before the doubt could drown her, she forced herself to act. Cooling off first, she opened a comm link to Governor Jenner.

  The tortoise’s face appeared, weathered and serious. “You have good news, I hope?”

  “We found several of your miners,” Emerald reported. “And took care of all but three of the pirates. Though two bounties are owed to the Harriers.”

  Jenner exhaled in relief, shoulders sagging. “That is very good news indeed. What of the harvesters?”

  Emerald shook her head. “No trace. Likely the Reavers were buying time to extract them while we fought.”

  “A shame,” Jenner muttered, “but harvesters are easier to replace than experienced miners.”

  That reminder jogged her memory. She sent him a data packet. “We weren’t equipped for a direct rescue, but here are the coordinates for the stranded miners.”

  Jenner scanned the data, then barked orders off-screen. Within seconds, station security was mobilizing. “That should see them home within the next hour or two. Thank you. If you’ll return to the station, we can finalize your payout.”

  Emerald couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips. The Gamma Ray could use the upgrades that payout would cover. She even had a few additions in mind for her own fighter. And maybe, just maybe, she could ask Evan’s opinion on new mods when he’d cooled down.

  “Miss Strauss?” Jenner’s voice drew her back.

  Emerald considered. Station 13 wasn’t the largest port, but it was a full colony vessel with a bustling trade center. “We’ll at least resupply and take a look at your markets,” she said.

  Jenner smiled. “Very good. Many of the residents will be ecstatic to see you here.”

  “Then I’ll see you when we dock.”

  The call ended. A notification pinged—two more vessels had landed in the hangar. Ratchet and Harriot, no doubt. Emerald sighed. She’d wanted to speak to Evan immediately, but the rabbits demanded attention. They hadn’t made a good impression so far and she needed to lay the ground rules. She would confine them to the hangar to help protect Evan’s privacy.

  Before she could rise, the door opened without knocking. Nia slipped inside and took the chair opposite her, unbothered by Emerald’s sharp glare.

  “So. Evan seemed upset,” Nia said.

  “Just upset?” Emerald’s tone was edged.

  “I think? He kept calling himself an idiot. Wondering why he pressed the point,” Nia replied, her gaze skittering everywhere but at her captain.

  Emerald narrowed her eyes. “Oh, he said all that, did he?”

  “Yes?” Nia admitted, ears flicking.

  Emerald’s claw tapped the desk, irritation brimming. “You should probably lay off if you want it to remain a secret. He already thought you were acting oddly when we landed.”

  Nia waved her off with a paw. “Please. He thought I was constipated . Besides, I just want to know what his life was like before the bounty hunter gig. Weeks we’ve spent with him, and he hasn’t even thought about it—let alone talked about it.”

  Emerald’s voice dropped into a growl. “Do not use your gift to pry into his past. Or I’ll air out yours. He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”

  Nia clicked her tongue but finally nodded.

  Emerald rose, brushing past her toward the door. “Anyway. Come on. We have rabbits to deal with.”

  Evan

  The conversation with Emerald honestly could have gone worse. I was still on the team—that was something. Still, I couldn’t shake the gnawing sense I should’ve dropped it earlier, or at least brought it up as a concern instead of a defense.

  The door to the lounge opened, and Ratchet strolled in from the hangar.

  “Sup, buddy.” I nodded at him.

  “Nothing much. Emerald and Nia are talking to the bunnies, and I really didn’t feel like being 3rd party to one of her lectures. Speaking of—did she lay into you too hard?” Ratchet asked, one brow arched.

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But it was partly my fault. I think she just wanted to set me straight but thought I was making excuses.”

  Ratchet winced. “Oof. Yeah, she doesn’t tolerate excuses. Old team history, I think.”

  He grabbed a remote, lowering a TV from the far wall.

  “They haven’t really mentioned them around me,” I said. “Is it a sore subject?”

  “Eh. Kinda. Their old leader, Ace, has history with Emerald. They grew up together—both from prominent Gerallian families, high expectations, you now the type. He was older, started the team while she was still in the military.”

  That made me blink. “Wasn’t aware Em was ever military.”

  Ratchet gave me a confused look before realization dawned. “Geral and its colonies have two years of mandatory service for every citizen at eighteen.”

  Okay. That was familiar enough. “Back on Ea—back home—we had places that did similar. Korea, for one. My dad served for a bit, long before I was born.”

  “So what did you do if you weren’t in the military?” Ratchet asked.

  I couldn’t resist. A wicked smile tugged at my mouth. “College. Four years. Specialized in accounting. Became a CPA.”

  Ratchet blinked. “What’s a CPA?”

  “Certified public accountant.”

  His jaw dropped. “Wait. Wait wait wait. You were an accountant before becoming a bounty hunter?”

  I hold up a placating hand. “Lets address that in a minute. I want to get back to Emerald’s history with the old team.” Ratchet looked at me for a moment, “Fine but we aren’t dropping that topic.” A condition I readily nod and agree to.

  “So Ace starts this team along with Nia and her sister, Gwen. Well the team quickly becomes well known around Geral. They took down several well known pirates within a year.” Ratchet states as I continue to listen. Ratchet stops to look at me. Luckily I’ve seen this dog and pony show before (Better not say that turn of phrase out loud. who was screwing who.

  “Gwen and Ace. At first it was apparently not an issue. But apparently something happened between Gwen and Ace that was the last straw for Nia and Emerald and they effectively booted the other two off the team.” Ratchet concluded. “Any idea what?” I prodded, to which he just shook his head.

  “None, you’d have to ask either Emerald or Nia. But back to you being an accountant. That means you can help with my taxes, right?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, don’t see why not.”

  "I guess that means you can help with ours too." Emerald's voice sounded from behind me.

  I turned around to see Emerald and Nia entering the lounge, the vixen's mood visibly brighter than earlier.

  Of course, the words out of her mouth immediately dampened mine.

  Well shit, guess I’m the team’s accountant now. I lamented realizing I had shot myself in the foot with that confessio