The Outer Moon (A Sapphic Sci Fi Adventure)

Chapter 10

After the flight back to base, and the frustrating debrief where nobody could tell her why they were weapons free, Emma and Viv finally arrived back at home, glad that their self-driving car could handle the wheel while they rested their eyes. Out of habit, Emma walked the few steps over to their neighbor's car and was hardly surprised to find Bree asleep in the back seat yet again. With a sigh, she opened the door and unbuckled the little girl, lifting her carefully as she brought her into the house. She had just placed Bree in the guest bed when her phone rang, and then she let out an audible groan. The only good thing was that it wasn't the base with another alert, though thankfully they were no longer on call.

Looking at the caller ID, she had a burst of excitement when she realized it was Jason. "Hello?"

"Hey Emma, how would you like to come live in space?" Jason didn't waste time, he got right to it. "We have an urgent dilemma, and think you can handle it, but it would mean you couldn't stay on Earth."

Emma hesitated for a beat. Viv had already said she'd go with her, so that wasn't a problem. But now Bree was at the house too, and she couldn't just leave her here alone. Could she take her? Fuck it, she couldn't leave her here with those people that were supposed to be raising her. They could hardly come arrest her on kidnapping charges in space. Bree liked it better with them anyway! "Tell me the problem, and I'll take care of it."

"Two of our crew had relocated to Earth a while back, and the military has seized their ship. Now, I know Lena sent a video with flight instructions, so I was hoping that you'd be able to retrieve it and fly out of there."

It seemed pretty crazy, but assuming that there were no Space Force members there yet, then it might work. She just needed to get onto the ship, and then nothing would stop her. "Where is it?"

"A ranch just south of Amarillo, Texas. I'll send the exact location to you."

"Can I take my family?" she asked, earning a strange look from Viv. She held a finger up to hold her off, and then continued. "I have a couple of people I'd be bringing."

"Family? Of course. You wouldn't be much good up here if you were worried about them back on Earth."

"Perfect. We can be there in five hours."

"I won't keep you then, Call if you need anything." Jason ended the call, and Emma turned to Viv.

"We need to pack. Essentials only, we're moving to space!" The look in Viv's face was pure confusion that quickly turned to excitement, and they started throwing all of their comfortable clothes into a pair of duffel bags. They didn't pack any dresses, not that they had many, and then as soon as they were done, Emma grabbed the spare clothes they had kept there for Bree, as well as several books they read her on nights she spent there and put them into a small overnight bag since there wasn't much. Emma quickly threw on the flight suit she had at home, while Viv grabbed some comfortable sweatpants and a tee shirt. They were ready.

"We're bringing her, right?" Viv asked. "We could be her new moms?"

"Yep." Emma was glad she didn't need to explain that to Viv, since they both loved the little girl, and knew they could care for her much better than her parents. No, it wasn't legal, but honestly the parents probably wouldn't even realize she was gone for a few days. "We'll have the car drive while we sleep, then I need to have you and Bree wait near a store with a big parking lot, or a field like that other ship was at. If there is a store, maybe buy her more clothes and some food while I go get a ship that is being held by the government at the moment. As soon as I have it, I'll come get you, and we'll be off planet."

"That sounds much simpler than I expect it will be," Viv said with a little worry in her voice.

"If I can talk my way onto the ship, then it will be done. I doubt anyone else can fly it unless they got instructions like I did."