Pixie Hazard by Archibald Bradford (top young adult novels .txt) 📕

“I don’t need the messy details. He’s sweet, you like his dick. I get it.” She sighed and leaned against the gurney; “I guess you’re allowed to melt a little if you find a cute boy worth melting over.”

Despite her words, Eva still didn’t sound happy about it.

Maria reached out and poked the redhead’s forearm playfully.

“You could stand to melt some yourself, ginger bitch.”

“No, I can’t. If I do then nobody on this ship will be hard enough to get the job done.”

“Heh, pretty sure both Bryan and Kyle could get hard for you if Bunny and me let ‘em.”

“Asshole. Keep being gross and see what happens.” Eva chuckled as she leaned in and surprised Maria with a kiss on the forehead; “I got no problem kicking you in the box again. Now go back to sleep, you’re better company that way.”

Maria shook her head, squirming in place in a bid to adjust her position.

“I’m done sleeping I think, how long was I out anyways?”

When Maria’s weakened limbs failed to be up to the task of shifting herself, Eva leaned in again and helped her, tucking a pillow down her back to allow her to sit up a bit.

“Ten hours. The doc worked fast, said you won’t even have any scars where you were hit. Couldn’t do anything about the rest though, said there was no cure for ugly.”

“Of course there isn’t, or she would have treated you already.” Maria shot back immediately.

Their affectionate ribbing continued for a few more minutes until they were interrupted when Donnie came into the infirmary.

The captain was quick to tell Eva to piss off so she could give Maria the news about Bryan’s imminent departure.

She took it about as well as expected.

“He told you about his plan for growing veggies for Bunny, we could still-”

“Nothing has changed.” The captain interrupted her bluntly.

The expression of bitter disappointment on Maria’s face was impossible to miss, but Donnie had to stick to her guns.

With a sympathetic look she told her the same thing she had told Billy.

“It’s time to cut him loose Maria. He hangs around with us much longer someone is going to end up dead. Most likely him. You know that.”

The recovering woman swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, hot tears seeping down her cheeks.

But in the end she was unable to refute her captain’s logic.

Her current condition was evidence enough of that.

“Can you send Billy in?” She said hoarsely as she covered her face with her uninjured arm; “I could use some more pain meds and it is past time to get this catheter out.”

Donnie measured her response for several seconds before nodding.

“I’ll go get her. Get some rest Sledge.”

“Don’t fucking call me that right now.” Maria snapped without moving her arm.

Donnie felt a deep sting at the harsh words, but she accepted it with a simple nod before leaving.

__________

The jump to Lewanna’s system left them with a few days in normal space as they flew towards the colony planet. It was enough time for Maria to get back on her feet, though not enough for her to stop being pissed at Donnie.

Lewanna was exactly the type of place that explorers dreamed of finding as they plunged the depths of the Milky Way.

The planet was terran-sized and located in the sweet spot of the habitable zone in orbit around its star, which meant it had near-standard gravity, liquid water, and a thriving ecosystem that made xenobiologists drool.

It also boasted a fairly breathable atmosphere without the need for extensive and costly terraforming, which made the galactic mega-corporations equally hard.

The original colonists of Lewanna were bankrolled by three different companies, each intent on reaping as much profit from the lush place as they could.

But when working conditions became too unfavourable, the colonists rebelled and declared independence.

This of course led to armed conflict, but their insurrection had the backing of The Union of Free Colonies, a loose organisation of systems that had gone down the same path once upon a time and shared in a mutual defense agreement.

They also had some help from a number of corporations whose interest in the planet was outweighed by their interest in seeing their rivals kicked off of it.

In the end the colonists gained their freedom, and were now more or less universally recognized as a free colony that existed on the same level as any other planetary government, thus capable of dictating its own future.

Political aspirations aside, if the atmosphere wasn’t green, Lewanna would be indistinguishable from Old Earth in terms of habitability.

But Donnie and her crew cared little for the planet’s history or its future.

They found a berth dirtside much faster than they had at Mung Station, leaving the transport in orbit while landing the Pixie on an open-air tarmac.

The pale greenish hue of the sky was accented by the vista of the planet’s two moons plainly visible within it, while a crisp wind reminding them that the spaceport was firmly located within the planet’s northern hemisphere.

As good a backdrop for a farewell as any.

To avoid dealing with customs they opted to say their goodbyes to Bryan outside the ship in the secured area of the landing pads, intent on taking off immediately afterwards.

Donnie and Kyle both simply said ‘goodbye’, while Eva’s farewell was almost as succinct.

“Punch your mom in the box for me, eh kid?”

The redhead slapped him on the back hard before heading back to the ship, uncomfortable with the emotional atmosphere, but trying to play nice for Maria’s sake.

Bunny hugged him tight, squeezing him against her breasts and wetly kissing him on the ear a couple times.

“It really is too bad you never got to play with me.” She said with a