Chapter Nineteen
Sharing the Path
The S.S. Cosmic Clover cruised gently away from Little Bright, her lights steady, her hum low and warm. The twins didn’t speak at first. They didn’t need to. The message from Jorin had settled into the silence like a soft blanket — comforting, heavy, familiar.
Kael kept one hand loosely on the control column, guiding the ship into a slow drift toward a minor trade route. Kessa sat curled in her chair, rocking slightly with the ship’s movement, humming the three soft notes Jorin had played in the message, letting the tune sink into the Clover’s core again.
The robot bee sat between them, wings occasionally fluttering like a tiny heartbeat.
Finally, Kessa broke the quiet.
“So… are we actually going to do it?”
Kael glanced at her. “Do what?”
She nudged his forearm. “Jorin said it. Small step. Share a map. Help someone. Twice if necessary.”
Kael blew out a long breath, then nodded slowly. “Yeah. I think we should.”
Kessa grinned. “Good. Because I already know who we’re helping first.”
The Clover pinged softly — a comms request lighting up across the console.
Kael blinked. “Did you…?”
Kessa winked. “I might have told Jessica we’d swing by the nearby rest node.”
Kael groaned. “Kessa…”
“She needs coolant mesh and a fresh lane overlay. And you know if we give her one of Jorin’s soft-lane charts, she’ll treasure it.”
Kael massaged his forehead. “So we’re giving away one of the galaxy’s rarest navigation pathways because Jessica’s reactor baffles are picky?”
“Kael,” Kessa said, raising a finger. “Jessica is picky. Her baffles are innocent.”
The robot bee chirped agreement.
Kael sighed. “Fine. Message her. Tell her we’re ten minutes out.”
Kessa bounced in her seat. “On it.”
The Rest Node
The rest node wasn’t much — just a floating utility sphere with a docking ring and a single long window glowing amber from inside. Jessica’s ship, the Starlifter Joy, was latched onto the far side, her neon accent lights dimmed to maintenance mode.
As the Clover docked, the Joy’s comms channel opened.
Jessica’s voice crackled with warmth and relief. “Well, if it isn’t the Clover crew! Did you bring something sweet, or should I pretend to faint dramatically?”
Kessa cackled. “We brought something better.”
Jessica gasped. “Muffins?”
Kessa shook her head. “Maps.”
Jessica went silent. Not disappointed — stunned.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
When the airlock opened, Jessica stepped through wearing her neon jacket and an expression halfway between awe and disbelief.
“You’re serious,” she said softly. “Soft lanes? From Jorin’s private set?”
Kael lifted the datapad. “He entrusted them to us. And he told us to share the ones that help people.”
Jessica swallowed, something flickering in her eyes. Respect. Gratitude. Maybe a little grief.
“Alright,” she said, composing herself. “Show me.”
They sat together at the Clover’s galley table — Kael, Kessa, Jessica, and the robot bee, which insisted on sitting atop Jessica’s datapad like an overprotective paperweight.
Jessica traced her finger along the map overlay Kael projected onto the table.
“This… this lane here,” she said, voice low. “This is the one Jorin used when he had me hauling emergency supplies to the Arbor Nodes. Quietest drift I ever felt. He told me it was a ‘small kindness.’”
Kael nodded. “He wrote that in the margin.”
Jessica laughed shakily. “Of course he did.”
Kessa sat back, watching the two of them with quiet fondness.
“You okay?” she asked Jessica.
“Yeah,” Jessica said softly. “Just… remembering. He always had a way of making the galaxy feel smaller and kinder.”
Kessa grinned. “Like us.”
Jessica snorted. “Slightly less chaotic than you two, but sure.”
Kael smirked. “You started this chaos.”
“Oh I absolutely did,” Jessica agreed proudly.
Kessa nudged the datapad forward. “Here. Save this overlay. Consider it… a friendship path.”
Jessica’s eyes shimmered. “Thank you. Truly.”
She loaded the overlay into the Joy’s navigation chip. The moment it linked, the Clover’s lights brightened just a fraction — as if approving the exchange.
Jessica laughed. “Your ship is so dramatic.”
“She learned it from Kessa,” Kael said.
Kessa gasped. “Kael! The Clover is refined and elegant.”
“Kes, she literally stole a robot bee.”
The bee buzzed indignantly.
Jessica covered her mouth to hide a giggle. “Oh stars, you three. You’re a constellation of mischief.”
Kessa wiggled her eyebrows. “Speaking of stars, that reminds me…”
Jessica braced herself. “Oh no.”
Kessa grinned wickedly.
“Kael told me earlier that space is full of really attractive people… Because it has so many ‘hot bodies.’”
Jessica froze.
Kael dropped his head into his hands. “Kessa.”
Jessica let out a strangled laugh. “Oh VOID, Kael Hartley, I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Kessa practically preened. “He’s growing.”
Kael muttered, “I want to eject myself into the nearest nebula.”
Jessica leaned over and kissed his head. “No, sweetheart. Not when you make astronomy sexy.”
Kessa snorted tea through her nose.
Saying Goodbye — For Now
After Jessica loaded the last of the coolant mesh into her ship, she paused at the Clover’s airlock.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For the map. For the company. For… letting me be part of this.”
Kael nodded. “You always were.”
Kessa hugged her fiercely. “Come visit when we open another message.”
Jessica smiled. “Count on it.”
The robot bee landed on her shoulder, chirped, then returned to Kael’s.
Jessica winked. “See? Even he likes me.”
Kael softened. “We all do.”
Jessica stepped into the Joy’s airlock. The door closed.
The Clover hummed low and warm again — proud, satisfied.
Kessa sank into her chair. “Small step, Kael.”
Kael eased back into his. “Yeah.”
“It felt good.”
“It did.”
They exchanged a long look — one filled with beginnings and bravery and a little fear.
Kessa smiled. “So. Next small step?”
Kael looked toward the stars — toward the direction of Little Bright, toward whatever Jorin left next.
“We open Message Two,” he said softly. “When we’re ready.”
Kessa tapped the console.
The Clover hummed approval.
And together, they turned back toward the long road of small lights.
