Kir smiled, puffing up a bit at the affectionate praise for the clothes she picked. Compared to Zevrath’s disingenuous-but-playful flirtations, Harrison’s did seem far more heartfelt and meaningful. 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” she nodded. “I hope you like them. I might have taken a bit of inspiration from the adventure movie franchises I remember you like,” she added, referring to his love for Indiana Jones and Star Wars. 

Left alone with Lyris, she was relieved to see their sisterhood hadn’t been lost to time or crushed under the oppressive bootheel of the empire. Her posture softened as their greetings passed. Lyris was a special name, but without the rest of her epithet it lacked the whole meaning. If she wasn’t giving it, Kir assumed there was a reason. All of them probably had their own secrets, things they kept to themselves for safety or whatever other reasons they might have. If they stayed together long, perhaps the trust built would lead to revelations, but for now she decided to leave it be. It wouldn’t benefit either of them if she were to pressure Lyris to reveal more than she was ready to. 

“May Ka’illit’s eye watch over you,” she finished their formalities when Lyris introduced herself. 

They had so much to talk about. Kir still hadn’t had a chance to catch up on what had changed in the past five decades. How much had the empire spread? How was X’hondria? And the X’hondrians - how did they fare? And Serenfolia, for that matter? She had so many questions, and she hated feeling so deeply uninformed about the whole galaxy, not to mention her own home, her own people, and the people of her sister tribe. Of course, Lyris didn’t start there. Then again, Lyris had no idea how out of the loop she really was.

“Oh- Oh, no, you have it all wrong!” Kir spluttered. “We’re not- It’s nothing like- I mean, he just helped me escape imprisonment on Earth!”

[i] Smooth. Real smooth, Kir,[/i] she thought to herself. 

“It’s just that after he rescued me, he would have been a fugitive no matter where on Earth he went,” she clarified, as if further explanation made it any less obvious she was flustered by the very mention of them sharing any romantic feelings. Blue tinged her cheeks deeper as she spoke, “And I promised him I’d help him find a way to disengage the enforcer bracelet. It’s broken, but it’s still fused to him. The galaxy is a big place; surely someone has figured out how to remove them without killing the host by now?”

Around them, the ship whirred to life. The cargo ramp lifted and closed, sealing them in as the ship lifted off. Zev’s voice came over the speakers throughout the ship, “We’ve got clearance for take-off. I think we’ve dodged suspicion, but I’m gonna punch it as soon as we’re clear of the station. Hang tight. Next stop Villo.”

Another relief. Still, their luck had been too good up to that point. Something had to go wrong somewhere, and although Kir didn’t want to borrow trouble, she worried about being too complacent. She frowned but turned her attention back to Lyris and opted to change the subject away from her affections toward Harrison.

“Tell me about Serenfolia. How does she fare? And your people?” Kir asked, her tone heavy with concern.