Star Control Episode 9: The Funeral, Pt. I

The Funeral, Pt. I

Roxanne awoke with a start as her comm pad rang loudly. She was back home on Eridanus IV, along with the rest of the crew, for a quick break between jobs. They had spent the last couple days digging up all they could regarding who their employer might be. Given that a UGN ship intercepted their last target, their suspicion was beginning to lean more towards the Earth-based UNSF, but all other evidence they could find pointed right back towards the UGN.

"What's up, cap?" She answered the phone groggily as she saw Chip's caller ID on the screen.

"Are you awake?" He asked hurriedly.

"I am now. What's going on?"

"How soon can you get to the spaceport?"

Roxanne looked over at her alarm clock, which read 5:42 AM.

"About a half hour," she responded.

"Good, meet me here in a half hour then, just you. There's something personal I need your help with. Pack a bag and load your car up into the cargo bay."

"Which one?"

"The GT, we might need its power," he replied after a brief pause.

"Yes sir," she snapped, now fully awake. The call ended and she climbed out of bed, grabbing her go-bag from underneath and filling it with a few extra clothes, her headphones, goggles, and some toiletries. She changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of denim jeans and a black V-neck. Realizing it was an early fall morning, she also donned a red flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves. She crept down her stairs and through the living room, where Kai was fast asleep on the couch, snoring lightly. She entered the kitchen and tried to make a cup of coffee as quietly as she could, but the lid for the coffee can slipped out of her fingers and clattered to the ground. She froze as Kai's snoring quickly stopped. Several heartbeats passed before the snoring picked up again, lighter than before. She filled the coffee machine with the aromatic grounds and powered it on, forgetting it wasn't in silent mode. It chimed to life and welcome notes played as the screen illuminated with a message reading good morning.

"Shit," she hissed under her breath as she fumbled with the machine.

"Rox?" Kai's groggy voice came from behind her. "What's going on?"

She turned towards him as he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm heading to the space port, Chip needs my help," she explained.

"Do you need me to come with?" He was quickly alert.

"No, it's a personal thing I guess," she explained. She then noticed that there was a pile of clothes on the floor next to the couch, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Are you naked on my couch!?"

"Should I be?" He asked, looking confused.

"No!"

"Oh," he quickly peeked under the blanket, which was up to his chest. "No, I'm wearing pants."

"Oh... well, good," she said as the coffee machine finished brewing the hot brown liquid into her thermos. She screwed the lid on, picked up her bag, and proceeded towards the door.

"I'll be off world for a few, I guess," she said, turning back towards Kai. "Mind keeping an eye on things here?"

"Of course, Rox," he said with a soothing smile.

"Thanks." She snapped her fingers as she then remembered he didn't have transportation. "The keys for the Turano are in a bowl on the counter, feel free to use it. Just be careful with it, it was my dad's."

"I know," he chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

"Okay," she continued out the door but stopped halfway and turned back. "I have the layout of my underwear drawer memorized; I will know if you go in there."