Interlude — Kael Talks With the Joy

  A quiet conversation between a worried hauler and a shyly affectionate ship

  The Starlifter Joy rested in her dock like a ship exhaling after a long cry — lights soft, hum quiet, resonance calm. Her earlier rumbles and snickers had faded, leaving behind a faint, comforting vibration that felt almost like contentment.

  The Hartleys and Jessica were still inside the cantina at Hearthpoint, loudly arguing about whether lantern-shaped cookies were “structurally sound.” Kael had excused himself with the sort of weary smile that meant he needed a minute.

  Just one minute.

  Now he stood in the Joy’s cockpit, hands lightly resting on the back of the pilot’s chair. The ambient lights glowed a faint rose-gold, shifting to soft blue when he stepped forward.

  “Hey,” Kael said quietly, feeling ridiculous at first. “It’s just me.”

  The overhead speaker clicked, then warbled, then produced a tiny, bashful chime.

  Kael chuckled. “Yeah. I thought so.”

  The Joy blinked her console lights twice in an almost shy rhythm.

  “I’m not here to scold you,” Kael said softly. “I don’t think you did anything wrong.”

  A soft, shimmering hum rolled through the deckplate — gentle and uncertain.

  Kael eased into the pilot’s seat facing the console.

  “Jessica cares about you,” he said. “You know that, right?”

  A squeaky little beep answered — wavering, like someone nodding while unsure if it was allowed to.

  Kael smiled. “She didn’t mean to overload your system. She just… wanted you to be able to say nice things.”

  The Joy chimed once — a thoughtful sound.

  Kael rubbed the back of his neck. “I get it. Really. Kessa does the same thing to the Clover. She puts stickers on her panels. Talks to her like she’s an old friend. And then the Clover talks back.”

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  The ship pulsed her interior lights once in recognition, as if saying: yes, we know.

  Kael inhaled. The next words were harder.

  “And I understand what it feels like when someone tries to make you express more than you’re ready for.”

  The Joy went very still. Lights dimmed. Hum low and steady.

  Kael rested his palm against the console.

  “You don’t have to overflow yourself,” he whispered. “Not for Jessica. Not for us. Not for anyone.”

  A soft tone came from the speaker. Warm. Grateful. Quiet.

  He nodded. “Just… be who you are. Talk when you want to. Laugh when something’s funny. Don’t force it because someone installed a glitter-covered emotional amplifier.”

  The Joy buzzed in a tiny, embarrassed hiccup.

  Kael snorted. “Yeah, I don’t know why she bedazzled it either.”

  A light blinked. Twice.

  A question.

  Kael tilted his head. “You want to know something?”

  The Joy hummed affirmatively.

  He exhaled.

  “I think you’re a good ship,” he said simply. “A good heart. You’ve got Jessica’s spark in you—loud and bright and full of surprises—but you also have your own rhythm, your own quiet.”

  Lights warmed.

  “And for what it’s worth?” Kael leaned back, looking up at the curved ceiling. “I’m flattered you complimented my cheekbones.”

  The Joy emitted something Kael had never heard before: a soft, musical ping followed by a tiny, shy giggle.

  Kael covered his face. “Oh stars. Please don’t tell my siblings you’ve restarted that.”

  The Joy flickered a small heart-shaped holo in the air.

  Kael groaned. “…great.”

  But he was smiling.

  A comfortable silence settled — the kind he shared with the Clover late at night, the kind that wasn’t empty but reassuring.

  Finally, Kael stood.

  “Get some rest,” he murmured. “Jessica will take good care of you. And if you ever actually need help… or a friend…”

  He laid a hand gently on the console.

  “…I’m right across the dock.”

  The Joy’s lights warmed to a deep gold, the same color lanterns used to say thank you on soft-lane routes.

  Kael smiled, stepping toward the exit.

  “Goodnight, Joy.”

  The ship whispered, very softly:

  “Goodnight… Kael.”

  And for a moment, it felt like the universe had grown one more small, bright star in a place where only the Hartleys would have ever thought to look.