Chapter 1

Xalina began wiping down the tables of the bar she worked at, The Blackhole. It was a dive bar connected to the Arcadis station. A station meant for passing travelers that contained small shops and a motel. However, this bar was different from the other locations. It was frequented by unsavory characters and many Xalina had to kick out herself. She looked down at the reflective metal table at herself. She was a Zaphorian, an alien race that had Maya blue-scaly skin, stark white hair, and sharp serrated teeth. She started daydreaming of what her life could be like if she could just quit her job. She could travel the vastness of space or visit planets she'd only ever seen on postcards. "If only." She thought. "Xalina!" The owner Jax yelled interrupting her thoughts. "Uh yeah. What's up?"

"I asked if you're okay to close tonight. You okay kid?"

Xalina sighed. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about what could've been."

Jax shook his head. "I know what you mean but sometimes it's just the cards we're dealt in life. What matters is if you're happy in the life you're living. That's what you gotta ask yourself. Chin-up kid. It gets better, I promise."

Xalina smiled. "Thanks. See you tomorrow." Jax nodded and walked out the door.

She finished closing up and got into her small transport ship taking it where she now called home. Solaris. It was a planet that was mostly covered in water with multiple islands dotted across it. Her ship landed with a heavy thud in the gold city of Treasuria. It was composed of large skyscrapers that were painted gold with glowing blue accents throughout. The entire planet and its subsequent cities were mostly filled with people of the upper class. Ironically, the city of Treasuria had mostly lower class and criminal types. Xalina exited her ship and approached Stardust Apartments. The neon sign flickered as if it would shut off at any moment. She slipped in her key card and the door to her apartment slid open. She plopped down on her couch feeling exhausted and looked at the clock in her kitchen. 3:00 AM. "I guess I should go to bed." She thought. "Gotta be ready for tomorrow." She trudged over to her room and undressed from her uniform before collapsing in bed and without any hesitation passed out.

Xalina awoke to the sound of her alarm and began to get ready for work. She took a shower, put on her uniform which consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, with a black bow and suspenders. Along with matching pants and heels. She parked her ship outside The Blackhole and opened the doors. As she served drinks and brought people their food she saw mostly regulars sitting at the tables, but one new patron had caught her eye. She was human, which wasn't out of the ordinary, but that's not what intrigued Xalina. The woman was dressed in the traditional garb of the pirates of Earth that Xalina had read about. She wore a long, crimson coat, black tri-corner hat, a puffy, white shirt, black pants, and boots. She had red hair underneath her hat that was braided and kept out of her emerald eyes. The woman seemed to notice Xalina's staring and gestured for her to come over. Blushing, Xalina walked over to the woman's table and sat down.

"Like what you see love?" She asked with a smile. Xalina gave her a nervous glance.

"Sorry I didn't mean to stare. I just uh haven't seen you around here before is all. I've memorized most of the faces around here." The woman chuckled.

"I'm just joking. I don't mind. Besides, I won't be here long just thought I'd stop here to relax and have a drink. Speaking of do you mind mixing me a drink? Then maybe we could talk a little more." Xalina was so lost in the woman's eyes that she didn't notice how long she was sitting there in complete silence. She quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry um no not at all. What would you like?"

"Surprise me." Xalina nodded as she quickly ran to the bar to make a Solar Flare. A drink composed of a spicy liqueur, tequila, and various fruit juices. She brought the drink to the woman's table and set it down.

"I call it a Solar Flare. It's a drink I came up with myself." The woman grabbed the glass and took a sip from it.

"Wow, this is delicious! You came up with this?"

"Yeah. not many people order it though. It took a lot of convincing to even put it on the menu."

"Well, I think you should put more of your ideas on the menu if this is any indication. By the way, I never got your name."

Xalina blushed. "I'm Xalina. You?"

"I'm Claire. A pleasure to meet you." Xalina and Claire talked for a while longer before she could hear Jax yell for her in the back. "I'm sorry I gotta go, Claire. My boss needs me back at the bar." Claire stood up and finished her drink. "Don't be sorry. I should probably be going myself. It was great talking to you. Hopefully, we can see each other again soon." She smiled. That damn smile. It was beautiful. Xalina hadn't even noticed Claire slip a piece of paper into her hand. She unfolded it. It was her number.  When she got home she realized something. She never asked why Claire was dressed the way she was. Xalina shrugged. "Probably just a costume or something. I'll have to ask her about it next time we talk." She thought.

The next day was Xalina's day off and she decided to use that time to clean up her ship a bit. Her ship was small with an upside-down y shape to it. It had two fins that pointed diagonally downward and one at the top. The cockpit had a glass dome-like windshield and the ship itself was painted blue with yellow stripes across it. As she examined her ship she noticed that one of the landing gear in her ship was damaged. She let out a sigh. "I guess I'll have to get a new one." She thought before leaving her apartment and walked to the city center. It contained an assortment of restaurants and shops from ones that sold produce and even cybernetic implants. The one Xalina was after, however, was a store called Axten's Hardware. It sold ship parts, tools, and anything else you could possibly need. As she entered the owner, Axten, smiled at her. "What can I get for you today Xalina?"

"Oh, just some landing gear for my ship. One of them is broken."

Axten's brow furrowed. "I see. I just got some new landing gear in stock. It should be exactly what you need." He turned around and surveyed the shelves behind him. After a moment or two, he finally grabbed what he needed. "Aha, here it is." He handed the box containing the landing gear parts to Xalina. "That'll be 50 credits." Xalina was taken aback slightly at the price.

"Really? Isn't it usually 100?" Axten smiled.

"Yeah, but for a regular customer like you, I thought I'd drop the price. Consider it a thank you."

Xalina couldn't believe it. "Thank you so much Axten." She held out her wrist and paid him the credits and excitedly exited the store. However, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and found herself in the slums of Treasuria. As she walked down a crowded street she felt something push against her back and her the familiar charge of a plasma pistol. "Give me everything you've got snake." Xalina winced at the insult and turned around slowly. "I-I don't have much really I just spent 50 credits." She stammered. "I don't care! Hand over the credits before I blow your brains out."

"Okay okay. Just please don't hurt me." Xalina pleaded. She held out her wrist to transfer the last of her credits but before she could Xalina watched as a hole was blasted into the woman's head. Xalina jaw dropped as she watched Claire approach her. "Are you okay, love?" She asked softly. Xalina was shaking. "I-I'm fine. What are you doing here Claire?"

"When I left I knew I wanted to see you again. So I convinced my crew to stay in the area for a little longer. I watched you fly to Solaris so we decided to stay here for a few days. I'm sorry we had to meet again like this." Xalina gave her a weak smile.

"It's alright. I'm just glad you showed up when you did. If you hadn't I might have-" Xalina felt a lump form in her throat.

"I know," Claire said squeezing Xalina's hand gently. "But you're safe now."

Xalina took a deep breath. "Thank you. What did you mean by your crew?"

Claire sighed. "About that. I think it's better if I show you. Come on." Claire took her hand and walked her over to her ship. Xalina looked at it awe. It would have looked like a typical pirate ship if not for its huge engine and rockets attached to the back. It was also comprised of a strong metal known as duranium that was painted black and its sails appeared to be solar-powered. "This is my ship," Claire said proudly. "And as you could probably guess my crew and I are pirates."

Xalina smirked. "So that's why you have that outfit."

"Hey. it's not an outfit. It's my uniform. This is how I show that I'm a captain." With that, they both headed onboard the ship and Xalina finally saw Claire's crew. There were about around five crew members all the varied in species. Some human. Some not. As they worked lifting the sails up and moving various barrels one of them started singing and the others followed.

"Now we are ready to sail for the horn. Weigh hey, roll and go! Our boots and our clothes boys are all in the pawn. To be rollicking Randy Dandy-O." Xalina couldn't help but tap her foot to the music as they sang. Claire noticed this and smiled.

"You like the song huh? They do this pretty often to keep entertained on long travels. It's entertaining to me too." Almost immediately Xalina noticed a change in Claire's demeanor. She seemed nervous. "Xalina I'd like to talk to you about something." Xalina gave her a nervous glance. "Yeah... What's up?"

"I was wondering if you would like to join me and my crew." Xalina couldn't believe what she heard. This was what she wanted all her life. A chance to try something new. A chance to do something with her life. But one thing was holding her back. Claire said they were pirates. "What if they hurt people." She thought remembering how quick Claire was to shoot someone. "You don't kill anyone do you," Xalina asked hesitantly.

"Only if we have to Xalina. I promise you that no one will hurt you and you won't have to do anything you don't want to. You're safe with me and my crew." Xalina took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll come with you. I trust you." Claire grinned barely able to contain herself. "You're the best. You don't know how much this means to me." She turned to her crew. "Boys we got a new addition to the crew. I'd like you to meet Xalina." They all turned around and cheered stopping their work to walk over to them except for one. He was a red skinned alien with almost a t shaped head but more rounded. His eyes were lime green and far apart from one another. He wore a black jacket that showed off his midsection and matching pants that revealed his two toed feet. The man stood there with his arms crossed glaring at her. "I'll keep my eye on him." She thought. Then Xalina could hear the rumble of the engine as it started up and soon they left Solaris into the inky blackness of space.