After finishing his training cycle and washing up, Aurelian made his way back toward the command section, intending to call Astra off duty for a while and talk through sothing as simple as what they would do for dinner, because even sothing that small felt different now that the ship was moving under his command.
When he reached the command core, however, the space was empty.
For a brief mont, he thought she might still be running diagnostics sowhere else, but before he could open a channel, the ship’s internal system chid softly.
"Commander," Astra’s voice ca through the speakers, calm but carrying a hint of sothing carefully controlled, "please proceed to the dining hall."
That gave him pause.
Aurelian frowned slightly, more curious than concerned, and changed direction, following the guidance markers through corridors that were still unfamiliar but already starting to feel like they belonged to him.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted lazily, wondering if this was so kind of system test or simply Astra experinting with the freedoms that ca with having a physical ship body again, because despite everything else, she was still learning what it ant to exist like this.
anwhile, inside a small private dining room tucked away in one of Black Crown’s upper internal decks, Astra stood alone, checking the final details of what she had prepared.
The room was quiet, lit by soft, warm light rather than the ship’s standard illumination, and a wide viewport overlooked open space where the stars drifted slowly past, the ship having exited warp earlier and now cruising quietly on autopilot.
She adjusted the placent of the table once more, then straightened, letting out a slow breath.
She had changed clothes.
Gone was her usual fitted combat or command attire, replaced with a simple but elegant black evening dress that hugged her fra without being restrictive, its design understated but unmistakably refined, chosen not for intimidation or authority, but because she wanted to look presentable in a different way.
For soone who had spent most of her existence defined by battle and command protocols, this felt strangely more nerve-wracking than facing an enemy fleet.
"You can do this," she murmured quietly to herself, her voice steadying as her expression settled back into sothing composed, though the faint tension remained in her eyes.
When the door signal indicated Aurelian was approaching, she moved without hesitation and stepped out to et him herself.
Aurelian rounded the corner still half-lost in thought, only for his mind to stall completely.
Astra was walking toward him, not in armor, not in uniform, but in that evening dress, her presence softened without losing its weight, her expression calm but gentler than he had ever seen it before.
For a second, he genuinely wondered if he was misreading what he was seeing.
"...Astra?" he asked, the na slipping out before he could stop himself.
She stopped in front of him, then perford a small, precise curtsy, one hand lifting the edge of her dress with practiced grace.
"Commander," she said, her tone lower than usual, controlled but warm, "May I invite you to dinner?"
There was no teasing in her voice, no challenge, just a quiet invitation offered seriously.
Aurelian recovered quickly, a faint smile forming as he inclined his head in return, his upbringing and training making the motion co naturally.
"The honor is mine," he replied honestly.
Sothing eased in her expression at that, and she turned, leading him through the dining section toward the private room she had prepared.
The door opened, and Aurelian stepped inside, his attention imdiately caught by the candlelight and the view beyond the window, where the starfield stretched wide and unbroken, distant nebulae casting faint color across the darkness.
Astra closed the door behind them and gestured toward the table.
"Please," she said. "I prepared this for you."
He sat, taking it in quietly, not rushing to comnt, because it was obvious this wasn’t sothing thrown together casually.
"It’s... thoughtful," he said after a mont, eting her eyes. "Thank you."
She nodded once, then hesitated just slightly before speaking again.
"Also," she added, "if you don’t mind, I would like to ask sothing."
"Go ahead."
"May I stop calling you ’Commander’ when we’re alone?" she said, her voice steady but careful. "I would prefer to use your na."
Aurelian blinked once, then nodded. "That’s fine. You can call Aurelian."
She repeated it softly, as if testing how it felt. "Aurelian."
Sothing about the way she said it made his chest tighten just a little.
Dinner followed naturally after that.
She had prepared a simple but well-executed al, nothing extravagant, but clearly made with care, and as he ate, it beca obvious that this wasn’t her first ti learning skills outside of combat, even if she didn’t often have reason to show them.
"It’s good," he said plainly, not exaggerating. "Better than I expected."
That earned him a small, genuine smile.
"I’m glad," she replied, sitting across from him and finally relaxing enough to eat as well. "I wanted to do sothing... normal, if only once."
They talked as they ate, not about missions or systems, but about smaller things, about how strange it felt to be moving through space without imdiate danger, about the silence between stars, about the differences between command and companionship.
For a while, it felt easy.
Too easy.
Then Astra’s expression shifted.
She froze for a fraction of a second, her eyes unfocusing slightly as data flooded in, and before Aurelian could ask, her body shimred faintly as the dress dissolved back into her standard attire.
"I’m sorry," she said imdiately, already turning toward the door. "There’s a situation."
He stood without hesitation. "What is it?"
"Multiple contacts," she replied. "They just appeared at the edge of our detection range."
They moved together toward the command core, the warmth of the dinner fading behind them as the ship responded to her presence, lights shifting, systems waking.
When they reached the command display, the radar lit up.
Red markers blood along one edge of the screen, clustered and moving with intent.
Aurelian’s earlier calm returned instantly, his posture straightening as he took his place.
"Details," he said.
Astra’s eyes were sharp again, but now there was sothing else layered beneath it, sothing steadier.
"Unknown vessels," she reported. "Radars suggest hostile intent."
The quiet cruise was over.
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