Kaidan stared out the window of the shuttle that was taking him somewhere far away from Earth and his parents. Okay, so it wasn’t like they were taking him through a relay, but it was the furthest he had ever been away from his home planet.
He had been more than a little nervous when they broke atmo. His dad had told stories before…well…the mess that he was currently in…about the ease of entering and exiting atmo. He said that, the better the pilot, the less noticeable it would be.
The shuttle must have had a horrible pilot because he swore he felt every single bump.
Kaidan had always dreamed of going to space- not like he was doing at the time, but still going to space. He had read the books and watched the vids.
What he would have given to have the opportunity of saving the galaxy from some unknown that threatened their very existence. Recently, he had even started thinking that he’d like to save the girl. Not just any girl- but the girl. Someone who could give him something that compared to his mom and dad.
Kaidan could all but imagine himself at the head of some ship- the commanding officer. He would be dressed in those fancy dress blues (that he now kind of hated) standing beside the pilot and telling them where to go.
It was up to them to save her- his her.
He didn’t have a particular her in mind…per se. In the last few days, though, he kept imagining a little blonde with sad, green eyes.
She needed to be saved more than anyone else he had ever known.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” a small voice asked.
He turned his head quickly and was surprised to see a pretty, brunette sitting beside of him. “It’s something,” he shrugged. “’s a lot different than back on Earth looking at the stars through the atmosphere.”
The girl nodded, leaning forward to get a better look. “This is my first time away from Earth.”
Kaidan noted the accent, but said nothing. It wasn’t excessive, but it was definitely not anything he had heard before. “Mine too,” he admitted, looking away from her.
“I’m Rahna, by the way,” she introduced, a smile evident in her voice.
“Kaidan.”
There was a slight rustling sound and Kaidan was sure that she had left, but then she asked, “So, where’re you from, Kaidan?”
He turned back to her and gave a small smile. “Vancouver. You?”
“Turkey. My mother and father weren’t pleased when the Alliance showed up and demanded that I be taken to the Gagarin station.”
Kaidan said nothing on how his parents reacted. That still touched too much of a nerve. “So you’re a biotic, too?”
She nodded happily. “Yes. I didn’t start glowing until a few months ago. Momma and Poppa wanted to keep it as hush, hush as possible. Unfortunately, I kind of lit up in the middle of my World History class when a boy started kicking me.”
“Yeah, my started four years ago when I was five. My parents didn’t find out until a few days ago.”
Her mouth formed a little ‘o’. “Wow. It must have been horrible keeping a secret from your parents like that!” She waited for a moment before she realized he wasn’t going to answer her. “I’m eight, by the way.”
There was something about Rahna that made Kaidan like her. He wanted to just sit and be miserable, but he couldn’t. She was everything he imagined that imaginary her to be. She was pretty, kind, soft-spoken, and there was some kind of vulnerability in her that he couldn’t quite place.
And she was just like him.
“We are approaching the Gagarin Station, so please be seated and fasten your buckles. Thank you for flying with us,” a kind, chipper voice said over the shuttle’s comm.
Kaidan looked over to see Rahna fastening her seatbelt with a nervous expression on her face. “Even though it’s pretty, I don’t like flying in space. I just keep imagining all the bad stuff- like getting sucked out into space and stuff,” she shuttered.
After fastening his seatbelt, Kaidan slowly reached over and took her hand in his. When she looked at him in surprise, he simply said, “I’ll hold on so you don’t go anywhere alone.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, a small smile evident through her fear.
Yeah, Kaidan was pretty sure that Rahna was the perfect her.
