evergreen: the necklace.

2

The rocket engines roared as they began firing at high speed, accelerating the entire ship into its fastest possible velocity. The two pilots were not used to this kind of travel so it was easy for them to feel a bit out of control. But it would be fine once they reached space. Desiree turned on autopilot once they were out of the planet's gravitational pull and looked over at Aurelius who's lips twitched as he tried to muffle what appeared to be an attempt to whistle. "You're such a dork."

"You make me one," Aurelius retorted, a teasing smile on his face. She gave him a look that said 'you are so full of yourself' but before she could reply the ship jerked as their trajectory changed abruptly from lightspeed to sublight flight. Her eyes widened and she stared ahead, fear bubbling in her gut. "Did you do something wrong?" Aurelius just laughed and leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling while trying to control his amusement. "Of course not! I've recieved a message that the ship is going too fast for them." Desiree swallowed hard and let out a small sigh of relief before returning her attention to her surroundings. They were flying towards Mars, where most likely there would be no more obstacles to keep them from reaching their destination.

"I'm hungry..." The words slipped out before she could stop herself. The hunger that had plagued her for almost six hours now finally caught up to her and the desire to eat seemed almost overwhelming. "Same..." The ravenette couldn't help but smile slightly when she heard Aurelius mutter those words with an annoyed tone under his breath. The man's temper grew short and he pressed the communications button, "Vallen! Get us some food!" He shouted into the speaker without waiting for an answer and Desiree couldn't help but laugh as she watched the usually calm pilot fume through gritted teeth.

Vallen was their Attorney General, and their navigator, who had proven himself time and time again, and she had found him quite intriguing to work with. He always spoke carefully to avoid angering or embarrassing his superior, making him much easier to work with. It also helped that his face was covered by his helmet, making him appear intimidating yet charming all at once. His only weakness was that he loved to gossip, but even then he rarely told anyone anything damaging. "S-sir?" Vallen stuttered nervously, causing Aurelius to roll his eyes as she felt pity for the poor boy. "Get us some food!" The older man snapped and the navigator gulped audibly. "O...okay sir. Just give me a moment."

She could hear him typing away frantically and wondered if that meant anything about what exactly they wanted for dinner. A few seconds later, a holographic menu popped up on the main screen and she glanced at the contents. The sight of what had to be three different types of meat made her stomach growl and she couldn't help but smile slightly in response. She didn't have much experience eating alien cuisine and she hoped that she wouldn't end up looking like a pig. Aurelius cleared his throat, interrupting the thought process. "So...what should we get?" He asked, glancing around the room. "Hmmm..." Desiree paused as she considered their options. Their destination was so far away that there was nothing in particular to pick from and besides that, there was little chance of seeing the local delicacies since their destination wasn't a populated area. As her gaze moved around the large screen, her eyes landed on a certain type of pastry. She'd never tasted anything as soft and delicious and her mouth watered as she imagined a warm, sweet, sugary treat coating her tongue, melting into her mouth... Desiree jumped when she realized she was staring dreamily at the pastry display. There was no way she'd be able to order that, even if she was willing to pay a pretty penny for it.

Vallen spoke through his microphone again, "It's free for you, ma'am." The navigator sounded apologetic and she couldn't blame him. They'd been traveling for hours and they still hadn't eaten much except for their usual snacks or drink. Aurelius huffed. "Just get us some sweets, Val." He ordered irritably and her eyebrows raised as she heard another series of keys being hit on the computer. After a moment she heard Vallen's voice through his speakers again. "Sir, would you like a drink?"