Space Criminal and Chillboi

Despite the comfortable snuggliness of her bed, Nova didn’t have the greatest night of sleep. She was used to having other people around and the isolation she felt in the fancy cabin was a little claustrophobic, despite it being spacious. There was also the fact that a ruthless crime lord would be hunting for her and she’d abandoned her family. They weren’t exactly close in the proper sense; they had been turning her into a criminal literally since she was a baby. But they were the only family she had, and she’d been instilled with a sense of family loyalty all her life. Of course some guilt and homesickness were going to plague her now. But she couldn’t do it anymore. She didn’t want to lie and cheat and steal forever. She was damn good at it, but that only made her feel worse.

Nova sighed and rolled out of bed, rifling through the dresses she had been procuring for a while now since she knew she wanted to run away. She had figured smuggling herself onto one of the fancy ships always coming and going from the spaceport would be her best option, and so she had occasionally bought a nice dress or, when she was able, stashed a few from when she’d infiltrated cocktail parties or galas. She selected a dark purple dress this time, with some flatter shoes so her feet wouldn’t start griping at her after an hour. She just braided her hair because she couldn’t be bothered to try anything more elaborate today.

She left the cabin and went in search of something to occupy herself. If she stayed cooped up in her room she was going to lose her mind. Nova wasn’t used to holding still for very long. Besides, she was likely never going to get another chance to ride a space liner. The assorted decks were busier during the day, so she weaved through the throngs of shoppers and pool hoppers. The Utopia was scheduled to make several stops before it reached its final destination and turned around, but it occurred to her she hadn’t even checked the itinerary before securing herself a room. But a chipper AI face hadn’t appeared on the screen in her room this morning to say they were stopping, so she assumed today was a float through space day.

Nova prowled around the ship, pausing and breaking into a grin when she found a huge candy store that she had somehow missed during her exploration the night before. She had to be sparing with spending the money she’d carefully saved, but a splurge on candy seemed like something that belonged on the “essentials” list. She emerged half an hour later with a bag stuffed full of chocolates and candy, and a big bag of cotton candy she’d bought mostly because it matched her hair. She snacked on it as she walked, ignoring the occasional disapproving frown she received. These people may have found her uncouth but they weren’t going to recognize her so she didn’t really care about them as long as they left her be and only engaged in giving her frowny faces.

Nova perched on a bench in the corner of a shopping plaza to munch her cotton candy and people watch. She was tucked into a pleasant little nook when she noticed Jay across the way. He was with another guy; not the one he’d been hiding from the night before but he didn’t seem any more interested in talking to this one. They parted ways and Jay went purposefully in the opposite direction of the guy he’d been with. Nova remained in her nook, but he ended up passing right by her.

“Hi, Road Block,” she said casually. He glanced over and seemed slightly surprised to see her. She was surprised too; she had expected not to see him again. The ship wasn’t exactly small and she assumed that even if he skipped out on some parties he’d have other rich people things to occupy him.

“Fairy girl,” Jay said, nodding slightly. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a serious sugar high,” she replied, popping another bite of cotton candy into her mouth. “Hiding from your handlers again?” she asked, then laughed as he grimaced. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. “You want some candy to take your mind off it?”

She offered him the bag of cotton candy. He looked amused as he took some.

“I think I heard once that you shouldn’t accept candy from strangers,” he remarked.

“We’re not strangers. We have nicknames and a whole backstory now,” she pointed out. “Plus buying candy is technically accepting candy from a stranger.”

He laughed. “I guess you have a point.”

“I was taking a brief exploring break to recharge, but you can tag along if you want,” Nova said, standing. “Otherwise I probably will eat this whole thing by myself.”

He glanced around as he fell into step next to her. “So you’re out wandering alone again?” he asked.

Nova laughed around her mouthful of candy. “I came here alone,” she said. “This is a solo adventure.”

“Really?” His eyebrows raised. “Your parents were okay just letting you go on a space cruise by yourself?”

“I wouldn’t really know. I didn’t exactly ask them before I left,” Nova said dryly. She could guess that no, they weren’t thrilled; but it would be for different reasons than Jay would assume. “I needed to…get away, so away I went.”

“Bold move,” he said. He had no idea. Nova added to her mental map of the Utopia, though she doubted she’d even see the whole thing during her time here. She chatted a little with Jay as they walked, not delving into any particularly deep subjects. They walked past a cluster of people and Nova was amused to see them daring each other to step out into a small, enclosed observation deck that was clear all the way around. No one seemed to be able to stomach it for too long, shrieking or grimacing and quickly stepping out of the big clear box. A few of them refused to try it at all, even though their friends teased them.

Nova stepped forward when no one else seemed willing, striding into the clear deck and making it all the way to the opposite end. She peered out with interest. She supposed it was scary, but the view was impressive. She even dared to look straight down, where it looked like her feet were simply suspended above open space. The walls and floor of the deck were shockingly clear; they seemed invisible except of course she could feel the floor under her feet. She laughed slightly before walking back.

“Well, I guess someone around here has nerves of steel,” one girl remarked. She was giving Nova’s hair a disdainful look. “But then I suppose you must be, to do your hair like that.”

Her friends snickered, barely trying to hide it. Nova was unfazed.

“Don’t sell your own bravery short. You’re out in public with that nose,” she said calmly. The girl’s haughty smirk slipped as her cheeks turned red.

“Besides, it doesn’t take all that much bravery to walk onto a perfectly sturdy deck,” she added. “And even in the event that the walls shattered and you were sucked out into the void of space, you’d be dead and therefore have nothing to worry about. So may as well enjoy the view, don’t you think?”

She flashed her most innocent smile and sauntered back to where Jay was standing, holding her bag of cotton candy. To her surprise, he looked amused again as he handed it to her.

“That’s quite a philosophy,” he remarked.

“Death is our only guarantee in life,” she said breezily, shrugging. “Might as well take a chance or two.”

“Is that why you got the biggest bag of cotton candy you could find instead of one that doesn’t weigh as much as you?”

Nova laughed. “Exactly.”