Luna:Right? I freaking love my job. You can ask me anything you want.
Gemma:Giving me carte blanche, eh? How thrilling.
Luna:I can thrill you all night long, gorgeous.
Gemma:Dammit! How long until we get to meet? I might explode from all this built-up sexual frustration.
Luna:I have a Christmas calendar and I’m marking off the days.
—Sent via FLIRTT (Frequency Link for Interstellar Real-Time Transmission)
Luna
“Ifigured out what I want to do going forward,” Gemma announces.
I’m pressed right up against her side, lending my support.
Right now, we’re eating breakfast with the rest of the crew, aka our quirky little interspecies family.
All eyes focus on Gemma, the food forgotten.
“Already?” Felix asks incredulously.
Gemma tosses her hair over her shoulder and gives her brother a smug look. “Not everyone needs a lot of time to figure their shit out, bro.”
I cough to conceal my laughter. Not very effectively, mind you.
Kheph squirms excitedly in his seat, his pink tentacles waving in the air. “Don’t leave us in suspense. Tell us your amazing plan.”
So Gemma does. When she gets to the end of it all, I’m relieved to see everyone smiling.
Najar crosses his arms and nods with clear approval. “This is a strong proposal, and one I’m prepared to endorse. As you mentioned, we’ve already done some informal emergency response work in the past, and our crew possess a valuable range of skills that can help in almost any kind of similar scenario.” His lips twitch. “I also suspect that this will appeal greatly to our captain’s do-gooder personality.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Khephren shoots up out of his seat and begins twirling around, his tentacles flailing excitedly. “Exactly right, Najar! When I created the Sleigh Belle, I envisioned it as a future home for me to travel the universe in, ideally with friends and a lover. My dreams on that front have already come true. It’s as if the universe heard my prayers and answered them. Now I want to give back and repay those blessings, and this could be the perfect way to do that.” He beams. “Besides, like you said, we are a group of ultra-talented individuals and the perfect cohort to provide emergency assistance to those we encounter in our travels who are stranded, injured, or in any other type of distress.”
Sasha gently but firmly pulls his husband back into his seat, reining him in with ease. “Wonderfully said, babe. I also support Gemma’s proposal.” His eyes glitter. “In fact, I could get to work today on creating a promotional video advertising our services as an emergency response ship and then transmit it far and wide.”
“Ooh!” Kheph says.
Najar holds up a hand. “Slow down, everyone. I think our first step is to submit Gemma’s proposal to the Intergalactic Alliance.” He looks around the table and then sighs. “In other words, I will reach out to the Intergalactic Alliance and pitch this in a manner I’m confident they won’t be able to resist.”
Kheph and Sasha both start clapping.
“That’s our reliable Najar,” Kheph says.
Felix leans into his boyfriend’s side with a smile full of admiration. “You’re the man, my love.”
“Someone has to be a responsible adult on this ship,” Najar grumbles, but favors Gemma’s brother with a soft smile.
Gemma clears her throat again. “The one little hiccup in my plan is acquiring the medical know-how to be able to treat a wide range of extraterrestrial species.”
Now’s my moment to shine. “If we can get Gemma admitted to the Intergalactic Alliance’s medical school, that would solve our problem.”
Gemma’s brow furrows. “My concern is, even if I get in, it will mean being separated from all of you for quite possibly several years while I complete my training.”
I drape my arm over her shoulders and wrap a tentacle around her waist. “That won’t be an issue, love. To my understanding, their programs are offered both on site and remotely, meaning you could take classes while we’re traveling the universe, no problem.”
Gemma’s stunning blue eyes sparkle like gems as she studies me. “That would be perfect.”
