The strange little dog had a gray face, protruding fangs, bright blue eyes, and an unusually tall body. It trotted over and licked Sam's shin until it was soaking wet. Then it opened its mouth, revealing another fang jutting from its jaw. The creature stared innocently at him, tongue hanging out as it panted loudly.
"Hey! Shoo! Ge'lost, you stupid mutt!"
Sam shoved the small dog with his foot, sending it tumbling down the stairs leading to the cockpit.
"Yipeee! Eeeek! Eeeek!"
The creature scampered away through a hatch and disappeared into another compartment.
"Why'd you do that to him? you monster!" Rolina asked, lying on the floor with her arms folded over her chest in annoyance.
"He was suckin' my feet! Just standing there going slurp slurp slurpee."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward her chest.
"Go put some clothes on properly. You're turnin' me on right now ya know? Ass up!"
Smack!
Sam slapped her long leg. "Hey! What the hell was that?"
She got up and left the room to finish dressing before returning to the cockpit.
"You seriously give me a headache sometimes. Always talking to women like that."
Rolina stood with one hand on her hip.
"What kind of woman hits as hard as an elephant? Heh." Sam muttered under his breath.
"What was that?!" Apparently she'd heard every word despite standing several meters away.
"Shit! Nothing, ma'am. Just talking to myself." Sam jumped. Meanwhile, Rolina's ears twitched unnaturally, almost like a cat flicking its ears.
"Good. Don't say it again, or you'll get a heel to the face."
"With your toes?" Sam replied instantly.
Rolina curled her lips into a villainous grin. "My heel..... in your mouth."
"Whoa, whoa. I'm three years older than you, Rolina. How can you talk to me like that~~?"
Sam deliberately raised his voice into an annoying falsetto. Rolina marched over and stood directly in front of him while he sat in the pilot's chair. "Have I never told you about the time I kicked a second-year senior in college?"
"Ooh, very impressive, Rolina. Amazing. Pfft."
Rolina stomped her foot after hearing him mock her.
"You're the one who needs to stay away from my feet, Sam!"
She showed no intention of backing down.
Sam pointed right back at her.
"No U!"
"NO YOU!"
"NO U!"
"NO YOU!"
"NO U!"
"NO YOU!"
"NO U!"
"Fuck! I'm tired." Sam finally turned back toward the controls. Both hands grabbed the throttle levers. The blue spacecraft slowly accelerated as reactor exhaust pushed it forward. The advanced engines hummed rhythmically throughout the vessel.
"Empty-handed again~ huh!" Sam shook his hair around like a madman.
Rolina walked over and dropped into the co-pilot's seat.
He shot her an irritated glance. "You're so damn stubborn. I told you there'd be nothing out here, but nooo, you wouldn't listen. We dragged ourselves all the way here and still didn't get jack shit. Ohhh, what a sick joke."
Rolina folded her arms and looked away. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever dumbass."
"Use your brain! Your braaaain! Ever listen to anybody? Stop acting like a princess all the time. Fuel isn't cheap, you know. Prices keep going up! Seriously! Miss Genius~~!" Sam continued lecturing her until she turned her head completely away from him.
"Listen. You're a grown-ass man acting like a faggot, so shut your fucking hole and can you just apologize me for once?! Try being me and see how it feels!" Rolina finally raised her voice.
Sam brought up a holographic display on the windshield. A map of the Inner Solar System appeared, showing four planets: Mars. Earth. Venus. Mercury.
"Heard you ordered a new jumpsuit."
Sam changed the subject.
"Yeah. The one from Sobel should've arrived already. I just need to pick it up." Rolina answered with a shrug.
"How much was it?" Sam asked.
"Two hundred eighty-seven Skatches. About a hundred sixty-seven dollars."
"Heh, no shit!" Sam didn't believe her. He switched the hologram into a calculator and converted the currency himself. "Hmmm... wow. For once you're not bullshitting. Alright then."
The ship drifted away from the asteroid field.
A navigation marker appeared, pointing toward Lanna Space Station—an abandoned station left behind for independent merchants, scavengers, and drifters looking for a place to trade goods.
"So, let's head— huh?"
Sam frowned.
"Wait a second. I swear I just saw another sun..."
Before he could finish speaking, a brilliant golden light flashed beside the real sun and flooded the cockpit windows.
Rolina shielded her eyes with one arm.
Sam quickly grabbed a pair of filter goggles and pulled them over his face.
"Holy mother! The hell was that?!"
Floating ahead was a gem no larger than a handful, radiating its own blinding light.
"Looks like we found....."
Rolina rubbed her eyelids and adjusted far faster than any normal human could. Her enhanced vision pierced straight through the glare.
"Hey! What's that?!"
She stared at a glowing jewel embedded in an asteroid drifting ahead. Sam immediately began smacking her leg repeatedly.
"Go get it! Get ya ass up girl! Come on now!" His voice echoed throughout the ship.