Chosen by the Commander

The security alarm goes off before my fingers can reach the carburetor that I have spent the last six months tracking down. A loud breath leaves me while adrenaline kicks in. For a moment, my brain can’t process what in Saturn’s rings is going on.

The alarm is so loud, it makes my ears hurt.

What the hell set it off? I made sure no part of me touched the laser beams surrounding the cargo boxes. The work overalls I’m wearing are tight on my body while my long hair is braided around my head. Not even a drop of sweat is on my skin.

Months and months of planning, down the drain in seconds.

It can’t be.

So close, yet so far.

Outside, the air is booming with the approaching sirens. The Peacekeepers are already here.

So fast.

Almost as if they were waiting for this to happen.

The warehouse is on the outskirts of the city, where the long arm of the law rarely reaches. The Dark Baron, leader of the Virelians, rules this area with an iron fist. He doesn’t like the Peacekeepers anywhere near his business, but I’d not be surprised to hear that at least one of the Dark Baron’s men has infiltrated their ranks. Or he could be bribing them. The Virelians are one of the richest alien races on Earth.

Did the Dark Baron suspect that someone would want to steal from him? The carburetor is part of a shipment that will probably make its way to the black market since it’s a spaceship model used by the Space Ghosts—a special military unit.

Saul and I got our spaceship from the junkyard and slowly, we’ve been replacing its old engine with one that is similar to the ones used by the special forces.

“Damn it!” I mutter under my breath as I make a last attempt to grab the final part necessary for the engine we have been building. Without it, our spaceship won’t work. Saul—my on-again-off-again boyfriend—and I so desperately need to get our asses far away from this shithole called Earth.

“What did you do?” Saul snaps at me. “Get high on adrenaline again?”

Does he think I’d intentionally sabotage this? I might like adrenaline a little too much, but I’m not stupid enough to ruin everything when we’ve gotten so far.

“I didn’t do anything!” I hiss.

Being caught stealing is not part of my plans. I like my freedom a little too much.

“Right,” his sarcastic tone lets me know he doesn’t believe me.

The sirens sound closer now. For a split second, I panic.

“Lexi, we need that carburetor!” Saul reminds me for the thousandth time in the last hour.

He might be more desperate than me since he owes a lot of credits to some loan shark alien mobster. Despite me asking him many times who this alien was, he refused to tell me. My gut tells me it’s a very important alien, but without proof, I can’t accuse him of anything.

Getting away from Earth means ditching all our problems. We might even get to own a farm on one of the more peaceful planets. We have been dreaming about it for a long time. At least I have, since Saul has always given me half-replies.

I stretch out my hand even more until the tips of my fingers touch the cold metal.

Come to mama, baby!

“Got it!” I say as I pull the carburetor toward me, then slowly back away from the cargo.

“Let’s go! Quick!” Saul urges me.

The warehouse door is kicked open, heavy footsteps rushing in before Saul and I can disappear into the shadows, where we belong. Shit!

I can’t shake the feeling that someone told them that we’d be here tonight because the alarm didn’t go off because of me. But who?

No one else should know about the Dark Baron’s smuggled shipment with the Space Ghost carburetor, since Saul stole the cargo files so we could get our hands on it first. Saul might be an asshole, but he’s smart, I’ll give him that. He’d never do anything to put us in danger.

Lights penetrate the shadows, looking for Saul and me. A drone flies over my head. “Freeze!”

The Peacekeepers will have to chase me all over the district if they want to catch me.

More adrenaline kicks in. “We have to get out of here right now!” I hiss at Saul.

No longer caring about the laser beams, I jump to my feet. I open my shoulder pack, but before I can put the carburetor in, Saul punches me in the face, knocking me down.

The punch takes me by surprise, causing me to hit my head on a cargo box as I fall to the ground. Pain erupts throughout my skull, leaving me stunned.

“I’m sorry, Lexi. I wish things were different,” Saul says, snatching the carburetor from my grip and leaving me to fend for myself.

I try to get up, but the blinding pain has me paralyzed. This has never happened to me before.

Did I hit my head on a nail?

The Peacekeepers find me seconds after Saul disappears into the sewers below the city. A quick eye scan lets them know who I am.

“Lexi White, you are under arrest in the name of the Confederation. You will be sent to the Central Confinement Center immediately!”

Central Confinement Center, or CCC, is the biggest space prison in the Milky Way Galaxy. Those who are taken there are usually imprisoned for life. A carburetor wouldn’t send me to the CCC but I haven’t exactly been a saint. Since the day my father and brothers were declared dead, I lost everything. With no other family and no job, I had to learn to fend for myself. I learned to fight tooth and nail to survive because the only other option was dying in the gutters where I’ve escaped the Peacekeepers and managed to keep my anonymity for years. But all things must come to an end.

One of the Peacekeepers takes out a pair of handcuffs.

I would have escaped today as well, if not for Saul.

The pain in my skull intensifies. Black spots appear before my eyes. Something is not right.

One day, we will meet again, Saul.