Akiko slid into the bunk, exhaling softly as she stretched out.

  The mattress was thin. Firm. Built more for function than comfort. But it was leagues better than some of the inns she’d slept in. No straw. No bugs. No half-rotted wood frame creaking under every breath.

  And it was hers.

  She propped her head on one arm, letting herself settle as Anna’s voice floated in from the next alcove—chipper, unrelenting.

  “So, it’s about two weeks to Stygian orbit,” Anna was saying. “Constant burn the whole way. When we get close, they’ll spin down the ring and move us to combat stations—pretty standard for anything sketchy. You’ll get used to it.”

  Two weeks, Akiko thought.

  She knew what a planet was. Kaede had explained the concept once—distant stars, vast spheres of land and sky. But the scale still slipped through her fingers.

  Haven. Stygia. Planets. And this ship was moving between them.

  Two weeks of constant speed, just to cross the distance.

  It was like walking to a neighboring town back home—only instead of dirt paths and forest trails, it was void. Darkness. A black sky that didn’t end.

  Anna didn’t notice her silence. She pressed on, words rolling like a river.

  “The briefing said the station went dark last week—just stopped transmitting. Stygian Security couldn’t figure it out, so they kicked it up to us. Probably a power failure or something boring, but who knows?”

  Akiko pulled the blanket over her legs, staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts spun.

  She was on a ship. In space. Moving between stars. A kitsune from a world of stone towers and enchanted forests, now surrounded by steel corridors and glowing panels.

  And she was going to another planet.

  Her chest tightened.

  “You okay in there, Kim?”

  Anna’s voice pulled her back.

  “Yeah,” Akiko replied, steady despite the swirl in her mind. “Just… wrapping my head around all of this. Two weeks to reach another world. It’s hard to imagine.”

  Anna laughed softly. “Yeah. It’s a lot at first. But you get used to it. It’s just… how things work out here.”

  Right, Akiko thought. Just how things work.

  She wasn’t just far from home. She was beyond it.

  Anna’s voice continued—bright, effortless.

  “You’ve got a datapad in your locker, by the way. It’ll show your assignment every morning. Updates automatically.”

  Akiko hummed in response, half-listening now, letting the words blur.

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were on the same job again?” Anna said. “But no, I heard you’re in ops. Weird that they had you in hydroponics yesterday, right? You’d think ops would stick to ops.”

  Akiko didn’t react. Anna’s casual observations were a goldmine of information, even if Akiko was too tired to process it all now. She’d appreciate the details tomorrow—Anna’s chatter was bound to make navigating this new world easier.

  Anna’s chatter was better than any datapad. Loose threads. Overheard truth. She’d pay attention to that tomorrow.

  For now, the weight of the day pressed down like gravity.

  “I’m going to bed, Anna,” she murmured.

  Anna paused mid-thought, then laughed lightly. “Got it, Kim. Goodnight! Sleep well!”

  Akiko smiled faintly, then reached for the curtain and pulled it shut.

  Privacy settled around her like a breath.

  She unzipped the uniform carefully, shifting in the narrow space. As soon as the fabric loosened, her magic slipped—ears flicking up, tail unfurling with a soft, relieved twitch.

  She wrapped herself in the blanket, the coarse fabric brushing gently over fur.

  The hum of the engines faded into the background.

  Her tail curled around her legs. Her ears flicked once, then stilled.

  For the first time since she’d arrived, she let herself rest.

  And in the stillness before sleep, she allowed one quiet thought to rise—

  Maybe tomorrow will be easier.

  Akiko stirred, her tail idly shifting under the blanket. Her ears twitched with the background hum of the ship.

  The mattress was thin, the blanket scratchy—but it had been the best night’s sleep she’d had since arriving. No alarms. No scanners. No masks.

  Just… quiet.

  Familiar now. Almost comforting.

  Until the curtain slid open.

  She blinked into the sudden light, groggy, her mind still fogged with sleep.

  “Good morning, Kim—!”

  Anna’s voice stopped. A sharp inhale. Then—

  “What the—?!”

  The sound jolted Akiko upright.

  The curtain!

  Her hands shot up, dragging the blanket higher—brain scrambled as Anna stared, wide-eyed, frozen in the doorway.

  No time—

  Magic surged, instinctive. Ears flattened. Fur vanished. Tail retracted. Her human guise snapped into place just as she swung her legs over the edge of the bunk.

  She stood between Anna and the open curtain, body tense.

  “Anna,” she said, voice low. “Calm down.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Anna blinked, hands flailing. “Y-you were—! I saw—! Are you an alien? Oh my god, you’re a shapeshifter! Like one of those body-snatching things from the old holo-dramas!”

  “Anna,” Akiko hissed. Sharper. “Keep your voice down.”

  That landed.

  Anna’s panic hiccupped into silence. She took a step back, breathing shallow, eyes flicking toward the corridor as though expecting someone else to burst into the room at any moment.

  Akiko exhaled slowly. Her own heartbeat hadn’t slowed.

  “I’m not a body-snatcher,” she said, steady now. “I’m not dangerous. I’m still me.”

  Anna’s brow furrowed. Her breathing slowed as the words sank in “You’re still… Kim?”

  Akiko softened her tone. “Akiko,” she said. “That’s my real name.”

  The name hung there for a beat.

  “Akiko,” Anna repeated, slower this time. “Right. Okay. But…”

  She leaned in, eyes narrowing. “That wasn’t… human.”

  Akiko hesitated.

  She glanced toward the corridor—silent. No footsteps. No witnesses.

  “I’ll explain,” she said quietly. “But not here. And only if you promise me—seriously promise—you won’t tell anyone.”

  Anna’s hand flew to her chest. “I promise. Cross my heart.”

  Akiko studied her. She was wide-eyed. Still buzzing with nerves, but not running.

  She nodded. “All right. But for now, nothing happened. If anyone asks about the noise…”

  Anna winced. “I stubbed my toe. Got it.”

  Akiko let out a slow breath. The worst had passed—barely.

  “You’re really not an alien invader?”

  Akiko gave her a dry smile. “No, Anna. I’m not an alien invader.”

  “Good.” Anna grinned, still jittery. “Because I really like having you as a neighbor. But seriously—you have to tell me everything. Deal?”

  Akiko shook her head, chuckling softly as she pulled the curtain shut behind her.

  “Deal. But later.”

  Akiko pulled the data pad from the locker beside her bunk, turning it over in her hands.

  She’d seen other crewmembers tap through the menus like second nature. For her, it still felt alien—too smooth, too thin, humming faintly in a way that made her ears twitch beneath the illusion.

  How hard can it be?

  She pressed the power button.

  The screen lit up in a flash of charts, icons, and menus. Her confidence dimmed almost immediately. Data cascaded across the display—logs, graphs, alerts. All of it relevant to her role, probably.

  None of it made sense.

  For a long minute, she just stared at the screen. The blanket she’d wrapped around herself now felt constricting—not a barrier, but a reminder of how little she understood.

  The weight of her inexperience pressed down on her, and she felt the urge to power the device off before she accidentally did something she couldn’t fix.

  But just as her thumb hovered over the button, a yellow smiley face popped up on the screen, floating beside one of the menu options. It wasn’t part of the system interface—she was sure of that. The simple, cheerful icon stood out against the sterile background, as if it were offering her a lifeline.

  Akiko blinked. Then tapped it.

  The display shifted. A map of the Sovereign spread out in crisp lines. Section labels glowed. Another smiley floated above a segment of the operations deck.

  Am I supposed to go there?

  It wasn’t much, but it was more than she’d had a moment ago.

  Thank you, she thought, not sure who—or what—she was thanking.

  Anna had made it sound so easy. Just check your pad and go. But Anna hadn’t grown up dodging fire wards and barter-debt mercenaries. She hadn’t landed here by accident, holding her breath in a borrowed name.

  Akiko sat up, clutching the data pad to her chest.

  Let’s see where this leads.

  She adjusted her collar as she moved through the habitation ring. The fabric still pressed too tight against her neck. Her steps were even. Human.

  After the scare with Anna, she wasn’t taking any chances.

  The corridor bustled with activity—crew on rotation, fatigue painted across their faces. It was oddly reassuring. Everyone here was tired. Everyone was trying to keep up.

  She joined the flow climbing the central ladder. The low gravity helped. Her movements felt cleaner now—half-practice, half instinct.

  On the operations deck, she paused and checked her pad again.

  The smiley face was still waiting for her.

  At least someone was happy about this.

  Her amusement died as she rounded the corner and locked eyes with Cassandra Holt.

  The officer’s arms were crossed, her expression razor-sharp. “So. The suspicious transfer returns,” she said, voice low and cold. “They haven’t spaced you yet?”

  Akiko stiffened. “Not yet.”

  She kept her tone flat, but the edge was there.

  Don’t give her an excuse.

  Cassandra sneered. “No matter. We’ll see if you’re actually qualified soon enough.” She turned on her heel. “This way.”

  Akiko followed.

  The operations center was alive with quiet urgency—terminals blinking, holo-screens scrolling, crewmembers leaning over data feeds. The hum of conversation mixed with alert tones and the soft whir of active systems.

  Cassandra stopped at a terminal and gestured sharply. “This is yours. You’ll monitor reports, flag anomalies, and keep logs clean. If you screw it up, we’ll know.”

  Akiko nodded. Blank face. Tense spine.

  The screen in front of her looked like another language.

  She sat slowly, fingers brushing the edge of the console.

  Cassandra leaned down, her voice barely above a whisper. “And one more thing.”

  Akiko didn’t flinch.

  “I’m watching you.”

  Cassandra straightened and walked away.

  Akiko let out a quiet breath. Her hands hovered over the keys.

  Alright, she thought, eyeing the screen. Whoever’s been helping me… now would be a great time.

  She began sorting through the feed.

  At first, it wasn’t so bad. Reports scrolled in, many already flagged. Most were noise—false alerts, minor glitches. Some took longer. Small inconsistencies. Patterns that hadn’t tripped the system yet.

  The work was dense. Quiet. Slow.

  But manageable.

  And for the first time since she arrived, Akiko felt like she might be able to do this.

  Despite her earlier nerves, the rhythm of the work started to settle into place.

  She still didn’t understand half the systems, but with the occasional nudge from that quiet smiley face—hovering like a ghostly guide—she found herself making progress. Sorting, flagging, learning. Slowly.

  It wasn’t exactly her idea of an adventure, but it wasn’t stressful either.

  Then she heard it—soft. Cutting. Just under the hum of machinery.

  Whispering.

  Her ears twitched beneath the illusion, straining toward the sound. She looked up.

  Cassandra stood across the room, head bowed toward another officer. Her voice was low. Her posture relaxed—but every few seconds, her gaze flicked in Akiko’s direction.

  Akiko’s stomach turned.

  She looked back down at her screen, forcing stillness into her hands. But the whispers scraped at her composure.

  Ugh. Politics.

  She thought she’d left that behind.

  But no—every world had its share of schemers and smug opportunists. Even ones in orbit.

  She clenched her jaw.

  Her fingers twitched. For a moment, she could feel her daggers—phantom weight at her hips, the smooth leather of their hilts, the quick flick of a draw.

  One challenge, she thought. One clean fight, and she’d never look at me like that again.

  But this wasn’t that kind of world.

  Here, fights happened behind closed doors and inside data logs. With protocol instead of blades. With suspicion instead of steel.

  She slumped slightly, eyes scanning the console again.

  Not how it works here, she reminded herself bitterly.

  Still.

  If Cassandra wanted a game—she could play.

  And I’ve played worse.

  Her shoulders straightened. Her fingers steadied.

  A notification blinked at the corner of her screen.

  She tapped it.

  The console flooded with diagrams, formulas, and trajectory data. A flight plan—alternate. Unreviewed. The system flagged it as a potential improvement in fuel efficiency, but the math was dense and well above her ability.

  Her brow furrowed as she skimmed the graphs. Orbital dynamics, fuel load estimates, thrust curves.

  What even is this?

  Her heart climbed into her throat. If she approved it and something went wrong…

  She didn’t know how much fuel they had left. Didn’t know the margin for error. She wasn’t a pilot. She barely understood half the variables.

  Her fingers hovered over the controls, paralyzed.

  Then she glanced up.

  Cassandra stood nearby, arms folded. Watching.

  A smirk played on her lips. Her eyes dipped to Akiko’s screen, then met her gaze—measured. Waiting.

  Let’s see how you handle this.

  Akiko’s jaw tightened.

  You set this up, she thought. You want me to flinch.

  She could feel the trap—designed to show her incompetence. To make her fail loud and public.

  But that wasn’t going to happen. Not today.

  She exhaled, cool air brushing her lips, and returned her gaze to the screen.

  Alright, Cassandra, she thought. You want to play dirty?

  Her fingers settled on the keys.

  Let’s play.

  She glanced back at her terminal, frustration hardening into resolve.

  There was no way she could handle this task alone—but she wasn’t alone, was she?

  Her mysterious helper—the one behind the smiley faces—hadn’t failed her yet.

  If it could steer her through routine tasks, maybe it could help her bluff through this one too.

  She tapped the screen and began poking at the data, pretending to work. Quietly, she thought:

  Come on, little helper. Now would be a really good time to show up.

  The terminal flickered.

  The stream of diagrams and formulas shifted. Reoriented. Organized itself with a precision far beyond what a casual user—or even a junior analyst—could manage.

  So, Akiko thought, you’re not being subtle today.

  The data streamed past at blistering speed—graphs recalibrating, equations reforming, corrections sliding into place like clockwork.

  Cassandra was going to notice.

  Akiko leaned closer and whispered, barely audible above the hum of the deck.

  “I need to know what you’re doing,” she murmured. “They’re going to ask questions I can’t fake.”

  The scrolling data froze, and for a long moment, nothing happened.

  Akiko’s stomach tightened. She could almost feel Cassandra’s eyes from across the room.

  Then the display split in two.

  On the left: a cascading scroll of technical explanations—orbital mechanics, fuel curves, trajectory optimization. But simplified. Not in the dense shorthand used by engineers, but in step-by-step language. Beginner’s terms.

  On the right: the data kept flowing. Adjustments continued as if nothing had changed.

  Akiko blinked at the knowledge base.

  Dense—but readable. Challenging—but not impenetrable.

  They’re teaching me, she realized.

  Her eyes flicked up. Cassandra was still talking with another officer, though her gaze kept drifting toward Akiko’s terminal.

  She exhaled and turned back to the screen.

  “Alright,” she muttered. “Let’s do this.”

  She scanned the text, skimming for anything useful—something she could use if challenged. Something that made her sound like she belonged.

  The smiley face reappeared in the corner of the screen.

  This time, it winked.

  Akiko snorted. “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “Back to work.”

  The day passed in a blur.

  She read. She bluffed. She memorized just enough to sound confident if anyone asked.

  Her helper carried most of the load—quietly, invisibly, efficiently. When the report was done, it folded itself into the system as if it had always been there.

  Cassandra reviewed the data. Her eyes narrowed. She said nothing.

  Just turned and stalked away, her lips pressed into a thin, sour line.

  Akiko didn’t gloat. Much. But the triumph didn’t last.

  By the time her shift ended, she was hollowed out. Her brain buzzed with symbols and diagrams—fragile, slippery, already half-forgotten.

  The walk back to the habitation ring felt twice as long.

  She rubbed her temples as she moved. “How does anyone keep this stuff in their head?”

  Then came a memory.

  Kaede—cross-legged on their bedroom floor, sketching sigils in the air, lecturing her on rune flow and magical resonance. Akiko had called them scribbles. Kaede had rolled her eyes and said, Everything has structure—even chaos, if you know how to see it.

  Akiko smiled faintly.

  This is just another kind of spell, she thought. Kaede would’ve loved this.

  She paused in the corridor, leaning against the wall.

  There was magic in it, in a way—the symmetry, the elegance of the orbital paths, the precision of the calculations. It wasn’t the kind of magic she knew, but it felt like spellwork. Like something sacred.

  I wonder if there’s a spell for this, she mused. A way to guide a ship like tracing a glyph through the stars.

  The thought lingered, bittersweet.

  Even if there was, she couldn’t cast it. Not here. Not like this.

  And Kaede… Kaede wasn’t here to discover it with her.

  Her smile dimmed. Her eyes dropped to the deck.

  “You’d have thrived here,” she whispered. “I just hope you’re okay.”

  The words hung in the air like a wish.

  Then she pushed off the wall and kept walking.

  One foot in front of the other.

  One day at a time.