Love and Blood; Regulars Space AU

Chapter One

It was a normal day.

The stars around the ship glistened in every color imaginable, and a small fuel station grew in size in the distance.

Nothing new or exciting to tell or marvel over, at least not to Henwy.

He lounged in the pilot's chair, tossing and catching a small rubber ball he had uncovered from the cargo bay.

"Cargo bay" was an over statement. A cargo bay was the marvelous and grandiose space beneath the Pyrrus, which he no longer flew.

No, his little "cargo bay" was more comparable to a closet, which made it absolutely astounding that this hunk of metal was considered anything remotely similar to a cargo ship, and was unfortunately why he only was assigned transport missions.

Not that he hated them, but he was looking for something more high-speed. Something more exciting. Something he could picture playing out in some sort of thriller action movie.

But alas, he had no crew nor partner. Not anymore. His co-pilot seat would remain forever empty, since the only person he could entrust with that role was grounded, never to travel the expanse of space.

Henwy closed his eyes and caught the ball, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface.

Jerome was the only friend he had now, but he wasn't considering space work. Well, he was, but not the kind where he went out into space. The kind where he watched it from a distance, or aboard a cruise ship. He was going to the Star Force University, where he would learn all he needed about star studies. Henwy didn't understand why people still used telescopes when space ships existed. 

Henwy sighed and dropped his hand on his chest, loosening his grip on the ball. A wet nose nuzzled his drooped wing, followed by a soft meow.

Henwy adjusted his position so he was sitting in the chair normally. He dropped the ball in his empty cup holder, then reached down to pet his cat. She let out a small trill as she walked, letting Henwy drag his hand across her back.

"Hi," He murmured, tucking his wings into the slits in the back of the chair, "You're hungry, aren't you?" She meowed loudly.

Henwy sighed and stood, making his way through the halls and to the kitchen where the bowls of food and water sat on the floor, tucked beside the refrigerator.

He fished out the cat food from one of the cabinets and scooped out a cupful and slowly poured it into the bowl. While his cat ate, he took the water dish and took it to the sink where he filled it with water, then brought it back to its place on the ground. Henwy gently scratched the top of the calico's head, then turned back to the cockpit and dropped down into the pilot's chair and slid his wings back into the holes in the seat's back and leaned back a little, staring at the window that extended to the roof that allowed visibility to the universe around him. All of the stars and planets that shimmered brightly around him.

He turned his focus back to the fuel station. He checked the Margo's fuel levels, and sure enough, he was running low on biodiesel. Henwy switched off the autopilot and took hold of the steering controls, adjusting the course of the ship so it made its way to the station. As he entered the range of the station, a popup appeared, taking up a portion of his view. It was a golden hologram with a slight transparency. He swiped it to the side as he carefully navigated the spacecraft around the station, looking for the biodiesel pumps.

He positioned the ship in one of the pump spaces that provided his needed fuel, then turned back to the popup. It listed the prices for each fuel type, and after a bit of scrolling, he found the section that allowed him to actually get the fuel.