Fighting the Stars

by Jessica Killabrew

  “Seriously, a lot of hard work,” she answered. “I studied for years and saved up for years, got my galactic pilot license, bought this ship and here we are. It’s what I have wanted to do for a really long time. How did you get into modeling?” She changed the subject.

  “I was dating the CEO of a modeling agency, and she continuously bothered me about going into the business. I didn’t want to at first, but after I caught her in bed with another person I signed on with a different modeling company just to get back at her. Once I started though, I kind of fell in love with the job, so when I had to stop, it bugged me. I ended up being one of the most used models on Terra for a while. At least it was long enough for my ex’s company to go out of business,” he answered.

  “Well, judging by your looks, it was for good reason.” Rena was not sure if she was flirting because she was actually having fun or if it was because Turk had just taken a seat at the bar and was watching them as the waitress dropped off their food.

  Rena grabbed a slice of the pizza and continued talking to him, getting to know more and more about his modeling job as they sat and ate their food. She didn’t even notice when the waitress walked back over to them until she spoke. “Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked as she poured the of the wine into their glasses.

  “No, just the check, please.” Rena answered, feeling the several glasses of wine the two of them had consumed. It had been a while since she had indulged like this. Normally she didn’t drink unless she took time off. Maybe that had to do with Turk’s drinking problems.

  “Do you want it split between the two of you or as just one check?” the waitress asked kindly.

  “It’s on me,” Jesse answered before Rena could say anything.

  She smiled and leaned forward. “You agreed this wasn’t a date.”

  He chuckled again. “I want to. It doesn’t mean it’s a date. It’s just to thank you for keeping me company,” Jesse answered.

  She didn’t argue anymore. “Thank you.” she said as he handed the money to the waitress.

  She watched the waitress walk away and noticed out of the corner of her eye that a woman had sat down next to Turk. She tried to ignore them, but as they sat there back flirting back and forth, she felt like she was about ready to lose control. She knew her anger was going to take control of her. She had such a horrible temper and a short fuse. She quickly excused herself, and made sure to give Turk the a loathing look on her way out of the restaurant.

  Chapter 4

  Turk had been consumed by his thoughts of Rena, but he had been trying to keep up with his work, knowing that she was extremely pissed that he was on board her ship. He was excited just to see her again, no matter how angry she was he was there. Just being close to her somehow made him feel like there was a chance to fix everything. He wasn’t sure how or when he could do that, but for now all he knew was that the feelings he still had for her ran deep. When he had first heard there were problems with Rena’s ship, he was ready to go into it swinging, just to protect her, but Drako refused to let him go into it before he first promised not to lose his temper once he found the perpetrator.

  When he had heard Jaken and Nade speaking so poorly of Rena, if it wouldn’t have blown his cover, he would have beaten the crap out of those two. Instead, he had to follow protocol. If he lost his tempoer and ended up under arrest, Rena would be in even more danger. He absolutely refused to put her in an even worse situation than the one she was already in. He had been trying to contact Drako since he had heard Jaken and Nade speaking so harshly about Rena. He was on his way to dinner when Drako finally called him back.

  “Good for you to finally call back,” Turk said as the hologram of Drako appeared on his communication device.

  “Sorry, Turk, just been a little bit busy. Did you have something to report?” Drako asked.

  “Yes, I know for a fact that there are people on this spaceship trying to get Rena in trouble,” he answered. “I overheard them talking, and they seemed pretty pissed that I was going to be second in command…” He paused when he noticed that Rena was walking by. He couldn’t have her overhearing his conversation. He also couldn’t help but feel love-struck and hurt every time she walked by him. He watched her until he was sure she was out of earshot.

  “Are you still there, Turk?” Drako asked.

  “Yes, umm…” He paused until he knew for sure she couldn’t hear him anymore. “Their names are Jaken and Nade. The two were training me to be second in command and they spoke freely to each other as if I wasn’t even there.” Turk found himself fighting the urge to run after Rena and talk to her. “The two of them mentioned getting Rena into trouble.”

  “I will run a background check on them and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible about it, Turk.” Drako answered. “Also, everything here is going great.”

  “That’s not a good enough report, Drako, I left you in control of my ship. I want to know everything that is happening,” Turk returned.

  “There’s really nothing to tell, we are sticking to the area we discussed, staying close — but not too close — to Rena’s ship.” He answered. “We had to restock all the stores, since you seem to have a lot of tourists coming through here right now. That went quickly and smoothly. You’re making quite a bit of money from those stores. What else do you want me to tell you? The engines are running smoothly — there’s nothing out of sorts here.”

  “Well, I guess if there’s nothing to tell me, then there’s nothing to tell me.” Turk was almost disappointed that nothing required his attention. “Make sure to get back to me as soon as you run that background check. I don’t trust those two and I know that they are trying to hurt Rena.”

  “How is it working out between the two of you?” Drako questioned, going from business to friendship. He heard the heartache in Turk’s voice as he spoke about Rena.

  “She is avoiding me as much as possible, and when we have to talk, she acts like nothing ever happened between us, like I’m a total stranger,” Turk answered. He didn’t want to talk anymore after that. “I’ve got to go. I’m starving.” He ended the call. Just the mere mention of Rena had his heart breaking all over again. He still couldn’t believe what he had done to her.

  He walked to the restaurant, thinking about that dreadful day. After he had woken up and saw Tena there, the hurt in Rena’s eyes, and the clothes all over the floor, he couldn’t believe what he had done, so he got sober. He hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since then, even though he knew it wouldn’t change what he had done to Rena.

  He walked into the restaurant, and immediately Rena caught his eye. She was there with someone. He wanted to go over there and intimidate the male, maybe even pull him away from her, but it wasn’t his place anymore. He walked over to the bar.

  “I just want water,” he said to the bartender, glancing over his shoulder to watch Rena and the other humanoid with her.

  He could hear them flirting back and forth. He knew that Rena had seen him walk in; she kept glancing over to the bar where he was sitting. He sipped from his water, hoping it would make his uncontrollable urge to drink go away. The only thing that kept him from ordering a scotch on the rocks right then was that fact that it was his drinking that had put him in this situation. If he wouldn’t have gotten drunk that night, she would still be his.

  He listened as they laughed and talked, getting to know each other. He was getting awfully pissed. All he wanted to do was yank her away from that male, but he didn’t have the right to. Just before he lost his temper, a beautiful humanoid woman sat next to him.

  “You look like you have something on your mind. Can I buy you a drink?” she asked, smiling.

  “I don’t drink anymore,” he answered bluntly at first, before even looking at her.

  “Doesn’t mean you’re not thirsty. It doesn’t have to be alcohol,” she responded. Her voice was soft, and so were her facial features. She was very pretty. “You look like you can use a distraction.”
<
br />   “I’m Turk.” He turned to look at her. “And I’ll just stick to water.” He put his hand out to shake hers.

  “I’m Tracy,” she answered, smiling widely.

  “So what are you doing here, Tracy?” Turk asked. Maybe she had some information that could help his investigation.

  “Escaping Terra. I’ve been here since we got picked up. I haven’t found a place yet and none of the planets feel like home,” she answered. “What about you?”

  “I’m training to be second in command,” he bragged, even though he knew it was a lie. Regardless of how angry he was with Rena right now, he couldn’t blow his cover.

  “Really? You’ve got to be the best-looking person that works on this spaceship then, cause the only other relatively attractive male I’ve seen is an escort. You should take me on a tour of the control room one day then.”

  It was easy for him to tell that the woman was flirting with him. She wasn’t trying to hide it at all. “Maybe,” he responded. “What would you want to do in the control room?” he asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know, I’ve just always been fascinated with space travel. It would be exhilarating just to be in a control room,” she answered.

  He noticed Rena was looking over at them, so he smiled. “Sure, why not,” he lied. He knew he wasn’t going to take her into the control room considering the threat to Rena, but he knew it would make her smile, which would make Rena think they were flirting. He wanted to make her feel the way he had felt when he walked into this place.

  He signaled the bartender to refill his glass, even though it was just water. “You seem pretty intelligent for being a humanoid.”

  Her cheeks flared red on her fair skin. It had been a long time since he had left a woman speechless like that. “So, any loved ones back on Terra? Brothers? Sisters? Parents? Boyfriend?” He asked, trying to be loud enough for Rena to hear without being too obvious.

  “No, I was an only child and my parents died in a car accident when I was twelve. My boyfriend split after we got off of Terra, so it’s just me. What about you?” she asked.

  “There was someone, a while ago, but it didn’t work out, so it’s just me.” He said, glancing over his shoulder at Rena again. He would give anything to be with her right now instead of struggling through this conversation.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “I drank, a lot. Let’s just leave it at that.” His answer was blunt.

  “Oh, you poor thing. You’re still hung up on that woman, aren’t you?” Tracy ran her hand up his thigh.

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe I could help you get over her.”

  He grabbed her hand just to keep her from going any further. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Rena was watching them. He smiled at Tracy, hoping to get a rise out of Rena. “You sure are persuasive.” He could see that Rena was getting pissed.

  “I’m not persuading anyone,” Tracy returned, not realizing that she was just a pawn in his plan to get Rena’s attention. Her smile widened.

  Turk leaned in as though he was going to whisper in her ear. Before he could even come up with something to say, Rena stormed past him. He half-expected her to smack him, but she just stormed right past, giving him a look of anger as she walked by. He could feel his stomach drop. He had wanted to get a reaction out of her, but he didn’t think she would get that mad.

  Turk had honestly hoped it would give her a reason to come talk to him. Even though he knew it would have just been a snide remark, he just wanted to hear her voice again. Now all he had done was hurt her even more. How could he be so stupid?

  “Want to go back to my suite?” Tracy asked him, circling her pointer finger on his thigh, through his jeans.

  “I’m sorry, I must go.” He stood up and quickly left the bar. What had he done?

  He hoped to see Rena as he walked to his quarters, but she was long gone. He sighed. Those antics weren’t going to help him win her back, and because he had no clue where she went, he couldn’t apologize. He’d just have to wait until the next time he saw her. She needed time to cool down.

  Chapter 5

  Two Days Later

  Rena had kept busy and left Turk to handle the investigation without her interference for two whole days. She knew it wouldn’t last, as she needed to see what he was learning from his investigation. She hated to admit it, but something was seriously wrong. She had two more leaks, a power outage, and a security breach in a holding cell where several people were being detained for fighting. Someone had let them loose. They turned up at the ship’s bar, causing another fight.

  She had several customers complain to her. she received an anonymous message calling her all kinds of names and telling her that she needed to leave her ship. If she had known she would have this much trouble, she never would have signed up to relocate the Triad residents.

  To top it all off, today was the day that she would be picking up her sister and nephew. She looked at her watch. She was scheduled to dock in ten minutes. She wasn’t looking forward to it at all. She was tempted to send one of her crew members to help load her sister, but she knew her mother would be furious if she sent a stranger for family.

  In truth, her sister was a stranger to her. After what she and Turk had done, she hadn’t spoken or even seen her sister. She always made sure to visit her mother at times she knew her sister would not be there. The one thing she was ashamed about was not going to see her nephew. He was an innocent in all that his mother had done and he deserved better. Her mom was always quick to point that out to her. Maybe having them on the ship would give her the chance to get to know him. Her communicator beeped.

  “”This is Captain Rena.”

  “Captain, we have a problem in the medical station in section B.”

  She sighed. “What happened?”

  “The lead nurse claims that supplies are missing, including narcotics.”

  Fuck! Missing narcotics would have the GPP all over her ass. “I’m going to send captain-in-training Turk there to question the nurse. I will have him report back to me.” She figured she might as well have Turk look into it, since that was his purpose here. She dialed his number.

  “Turk here.”

  “This is Rena. I need you to go to section B’s medical station. Supplies, including narcotics, are missing.”

  “I’m on my way. Do me a favor and don’t tell Jaken and Nade where I’m going.”

  “You suspect them?”

  “Don’t you?”

  She didn’t answer that. She did. They had started out at first by kissing up to her, but lately, they undermined every decision she made. “I’ll handle them.” She ended communications and received another.

  “Captain, you wanted me to notify you when we have docked at the spaceport.”

  Shit, her sister. “Yes, thank you, Lieutenant.” She hung up and made her way to the docking bay.

  A small ship was landing. The small spacecraft usually took people from the spaceports to the ships they would be traveling on. They were also used to move supplies back and forth. She waited until the bay doors were closed, then entered the large area. The first few people off the small ship were males. They checked Rena out before moving past her. Next was her sister. She almost didn’t recognize her.

  Tena had always dyed her ash brown hair blonde, resenting that Rena was naturally blonde. She was a cheerleader and had always kept herself fit, which was something that Rena had admired about her. The woman getting off the ship looked only vaguely like her sister. She had shoulder-length brown hair that hadn’t been trimmed in a while. She was a little bit larger in size than Rena remembered, and the oversized sweatshirt and jeans she wore didn’t help her figure at all. She was trying to hold a little toddler with light brown hair and big brown eyes while juggling her suitcase.

  For just a moment, her mind flashed back to catching Tena and Turk in bed and wondered if the child was his. The reasonable part of her knew it couldn’t be, as her mother had
updated her when Tena was pregnant and the timing of the pregnancy didn’t fit. Still, her mind flickered to a possibility that it could have ended up being Turk’s child. She was driving herself back to that insecure and hurt person she worked hard to overcome.

  “Rena, thanks for coming to get us,” Tena said. There was a wariness in her eyes, like she was afraid Rena would attack her at any moment. Rena felt that protective feeling come over her. As the older sister, she had always tried to protect her baby sister.

  Rena nodded at her sister. “Let’s get you guys settled. Where are your things?”

  Tena lifted up a large suitcase. “This is it, all we have.”

  Rena felt horrified at the state her sister and nephew were in. “Whatever you don’t have, I’ll help you get.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Tena protested.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Momma, who’s that?” the little boy asked, pointing at Rena.

  Tena looked down at her son and smiled. “JJ, this is your Aunt Rena. You remember seeing pictures of me and your Aunt Rena when you visited grandma’s house last time. She’s my sister.”

  Rena knelt down in front of the little boy. “JJ? What does that stand for?”

  “Jonathan Jacob.”

  “Jacob was granddad.”

  “Yeah, I named him after granddad and Jonathan is JJ’s father.”

  Rena planned to ask Tena more about this loser husband of hers, but not in front of JJ. “It’s nice to finally meet you, JJ. I’ve heard such good things about you.”

  JJ moved forward and reached out his hand to her. She smiled as she shook his hand. He smiled back. “Nice to meet you, Aunt Rena.”

  Rena’s heart melted on the spot. There was no way she could continue to keep her distance from this child. He was just too sweet.

  “JJ, did you know that this is my ship?”

  His eyes got even bigger. “Really?”

  “Yes, I’m captain of this ship and as such, I need a good man to be my second in command. Do you think you’re up for the task?”