39. Dayn

DAYN

T he Sunny?Assassin shudders as we break orbit from Drexar?Seven, the colony shrinking beneath us until it’s no more than a swirl of green and gold.

Josie’s in the captain’s chair, one leg flung over the armrest, eyes alight with that mischievous spark that never dims. The stars stream past the viewport, and I feel – strangely, beautifully – content.

She pivots in her seat, grin wide and radiant in the soft glow of navigation panels. “So tell me, pilot, where to next?”

I swivel us toward the nav chart, fingers brushing over waypoints I'll never visit alone. “Wherever we’re needed. Wherever we choose.” It isn’t bravado. It’s promise. A vow wrapped in engines and stardust.

Her laughter is low and gorgeous: “That’s some highfalutin vow.” I feel the rumble of her voice through the ship. “Highfalutin’s fine,” she says, tapping the console. “So long as we’re doing it together.”

Our next stop is Obelus, that ancient station floating like a fallen monument to forgotten powers.

There, she retrieves the prototype she helped design: an AI interface that converts emotional pulses into programming directives.

It’s revolutionary—and serendipitously perfect for the Sunny Assassin.

I watch her test it, fingers flying, voice soft as she coaxes a reluctant bot to respond.

The machine’s tone shifts from dull monotone to warm interplay, mirroring her brightness.

I wrap an arm around her from behind, nuzzling her neck.

She leans back, laughter in her shoulders, and presses a kiss to my jaw.

“You rub off on machines,” she teases. I growl, jokingly protective.

We re-supply the colony next. The commune buzzes with unfamiliar optimism: rebuilt homes, rains of flowering trees, banners scrolling “Sunny Assassin returns.” Josie strides across the landing pad, basking in smiles and gratitude.

I stand at attention beside her as we unload the gear, proud as I’ve ever been.

Dowron arrives in his usual windswept coat, one eyebrow arching as he sizes us up. “Political fallout’s brewing,” he warns, voice clipped. “You two stirring every pot in the quadrant.”

I drop a hand in my pocket, boots clicking.

“Let them come,” I say quietly. Josie steps forward, eyes blazing.

“We’re not running anymore. We are the storm now.

” She leans into Dowron’s space with that raw confidence we've honed together.

He glances at me, then nods—a concession, a warning, and maybe, approval.

When we board the ship again, engines thrumming with familiar hum, Josie flops into the captain’s chair. “Shall we?” she asks, touching the nav console like it’s a friend.

I fire the thrusters, and the ship glides into hyperspace, hyperspeed folding the stars behind us.

She drifts forward, pressing her head to my shoulder. Her hair smells of metal polish and night-blooming jasmine from the colony garden. I run my thumb along her cheek, tracing the soft curve. “Do you think we’ll ever have peace?”

I slide my arm around her, tugging her closer, so close I can almost feel every beat of her pulse. “Maybe,” I say, voice light with something deep. “But with you? I’ll take every battle.”

A shiver runs through her, a mix of warmth and promise. “Every single one?”

“Every. Single. One.” I press a kiss to her temple.

She exhales sharply, eyes half-lidded, weight leaning into mine. Around us, the hyperspace is silent, smooth—no alarms, no threats, no unknown terrors licking at the hull. Only infinite black and infinite light.

Our ship hums beneath our linked hands. Ahead, there are worlds torn by injustice, by shadowed hunger, by fear. But behind me is Josie—fierce, brilliant, untamed. Her heart races through her chest and into mine. I feel alive with her, unburdened, unshackled.

In that moment, I understand: the galaxy’s vastness doesn’t scare me anymore. I don’t just exist in it. I belong—to her and to this shared life we’ve forged in fire and love.

We vanish into the stars, storm and sunrise together. The past can howl, the future can roar—but for now, there’s only us, woven together across light-years.

And as the stars streak past in iridescent streaks, I think: this is exactly how happily ever after begins. Always.

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