Alpha Centauri

Forty - Nizami

I don't hesitate.

I dive for my spacesuit, stripping down and suiting up. I slam the airlock button and am ejected into space, only a tether keeping me from floating off.

The asteroids are all long gone, having been repelled by Julian's sudden, powerful force field. But I stay wary of any other threats.

When I finally make it to Julian, the length of her tether is already used up; he's already floated out too far. I barely manage to grab his boot and tug him in. He's unconscious, his head lolling around inside his helmet. His cracked helmet. I'm not sure what caused it, but it doesn't matter, because he's losing air. There's no telling how much he's already lost.

I don't take any chances. I leave the toolkit floating in space and kick my way back to the airlock. I punch the button and swim inside.

The inner door opens, and air floods the space around us. I rip Julian's helmet free. I drag him farther into the ship, praying for him to come back to me.

Finally, his blue eyes flutter open, and he gulps in oxygen.

"What happened?" his voice asks through my headset.

I remove own helmet and headset and peel out of my suit. Julian does the same, his torso just visible from under his fitted undershirt. He's handsome as hell, and I hate that I think so.

"I saved your telekinetic ass," I say, which is probably the most human thing I've ever said.

For just a moment, I hesitate. Then I throw my arms around him and yank him into a hug. I press my face into his broad shoulder and close my eyes, happy tears stinging her eyes.

Julian seems startled that I'm the one who initiated this, but he wraps his arms around me and falls into my embrace. He lets out a sigh. His chin is resting between my shoulders and neck. The warmth of his skin is pleasantly prickly against mine.

I wipe my tears, almost surprised when a relieved, breathy laugh escapes my mouth. I'm sniffling, but she's laughing. And for once, my surprising emotions don't shake me.

Julian's hand rubs up and down the small of my back. "You alright?"

I let out a shaky laugh. "Yes. Of course."

It's been too long since I have been.

-----

I set a course to Crenala and try to repair the artificial gravity. I'm partially aware of Julian lingering in the air beside me. I clench my jaw and avert my gaze, unsuccessfully trying to focus on the controls.

I thought my mission would be simple. But it's not. And it's not just because we're constantly on the run from the Scriosians, or that we've become fugitives on Earth. It's because Julian has become more than just my assignment. At first, I protected him for the sake of my position on Crenala. But now I protect him because he's uncovered something inside of me that I never thought would be there. I care about him.

And I pray I won't lose him too.

Frustrated, I decide to try something else. I pry one of the panels off of the side of the console and reach inside, feeling around for the right wires.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Julian asks from outside. I see his bare feet floating not far from my own.

"Not exactly," I grunt, grabbing hold of a wire and trying to join it with another one.

"Need some help?"

"No, thank you."

I finally manage to bring the wires together. They hiss and spark, and something inside of the ship's infra-structure starts to hum with energy again. I barely to pull myself out of the console before the gravity returns all at once, and both of us crash to the floor.