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1. Warning in the Silence
"If you ever get tired, you can just stay on my lap forever."
Shutia said it lightly ? like a joke.
Ledea didn't laugh.
Because Shutia never joked about things like that.
The asteroid field stretched endlessly outside the cockpit, silent and cold ? a graveyard of drifting rock at the far edge of the galaxy.
Their salvage vessel hung among the debris, engines idling, systems steady.
It should have been just another routine job.
"Shutia, this is the last one. Begin detaching Block Four."
Ledea Mace kept her voice calm as she adjusted the ship's position. At fifteen, she was already used to this ? the work, the silence, the responsibility.
Behind her, Shutia moved at the gunnery console.
Efficient. Precise.
And never quite looking away from her.
"I know, sis." A soft pause. "But seriously… don't push yourself too hard."
Another pause.
"I don't like it when you get hurt."
Ledea didn't turn around.
She didn't need to.
She could feel it ? that gaze.
Heavy. Careful. Possessive.
The alert cut through the silence before she could respond.
"Three contacts. No IFF signal."
Raiders.
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2. Ambush
"Three contacts. No IFF signal. Raiders."
Ledea's eyes sharpened ? work mode, clean and cold.
Static crackled on the comm line, and then a voice pushed through.
*"Hey, kids. Drop the ore and clear out. Do it fast and maybe we let you walk away."*
"We'll have to decline. This claim is legally registered to us. Please leave."
Ledea's voice didn't waver.
*"Ha! Polite little brat. Fine ? learn your lesson the hard way."*
The ship lurched. A plasma burst clipped the edge of their shielding, and the impact threw Ledea sideways in her seat. The cabin tilted in her vision ? floor rushing up ?
? and then arms caught her. Firm and immediate.
"Are you okay?! Ledea!"
Shutia was already there, pressing Ledea against her own body to cushion the fall, holding her tighter than the situation strictly required.
"...Shutia. Get back to your station. I'm fine."
"You're not fine. Those people just tried to hurt you." A pause. Her voice dropped half a register. "They tried to hurt *my* sister. I won't forgive that."
Something settled in Shutia's eyes ? not rage exactly. Quieter than that. More patient. Like a predator that had already decided.
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3. Mass as Munition
"Stay calm. The mining laser won't penetrate their armor." Ledea was already pulling up the debris map, finger tracing the field around them. "Get back to your station and prep the tow anchor. I'll swing the ship around. You can match my timing?"
Shutia's expression shifted ? still sharp, but with a flicker of something almost playful.
"Sis, you are *always* the most interesting person in the room." She was already moving. "Leave it to me."
She dropped back into her seat, one hand on the anchor trigger.
"Here we go," Ledea said. "Hold on."
She threw the controls hard over. The ship screamed as it accelerated, swinging wide around a massive ore cluster ? a long, building arc, tighter with every pass.
"Now!"
"On it!"
The anchor fired and bit into the rock ? several tons of it ? and the momentum of the ship's revolution transferred in an instant. The ore cluster became a flail. Ancient. Massive. Unguided.
"Get lost."
Shutia's voice was barely above a murmur. She cut the anchor loose.
The rock crossed the distance in silence.
There was no explosion, exactly ? just a flash, and then debris where a ship had been.
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4. What She'd Like to Keep
Back at the station. The living quarters, a worn-in couch, two cups of tea.
"Good work out there, Shutia. The anchor timing was perfect."
Ledea held out a cup ? neat, careful, the same way she did everything. Her sister took one look at the offered tea and ignored it entirely, pulling Ledea sideways into a hug and settling her onto her lap in one smooth motion.
"...Shutia. You're smothering me. Let me up."
"No. Recharging." A beat. "...Hey. Can I say something?"
"You're going to regardless."
"I want you to quit." Shutia pressed her face into Ledea's hair and breathed in slowly. "I hate this. I hate watching you almost get hurt. I hate that there are people out there who even *get* to be in the same space as you." Her arms tightened. "I want to keep you somewhere safe. Somewhere beautiful. Like ? under glass, you know? Just for me to look at. Then nothing like today would ever happen, and nobody could get near you, and?"
Ledea took a sip of her tea.
"You always say things like that." She kept her voice light. "I'm not a display piece, Shutia. And I'd be bored out of my mind."
"Then I'll keep you entertained. Forever. Easy."
"...That's enough. Early shift tomorrow. Go to bed."
She made to stand. Shutia's hand caught the hem of her jacket and didn't let go.
She was smiling. She looked perfectly, completely normal.
Shutia tightened her arms slightly ? not like a younger sister would.
Not like someone who was supposed to be below her.
…She was twenty-four.