Jen Knight’s footsteps echoed down the long hallway, her pace slow and questioning. The last time she had been down an Army wing was when her uncle, Colonel Ruizox Knight, gave her a tour before her entrance into the Academy. He had highly recommended the Army, telling of all its valor and greatness, as was expected, but her dreams were always of the skies. Flying away. . .her heart called for the Navy division. She would not have been happy otherwise. Her TIE Interceptor was her best friend and was always comforting despite the huge risk it posed. Uncle Ruizox tried desperately to talk her out of flying, advising to“Keep her feet on the ground, where it was safe”. Of course he warned her of the limited or no shielding TIE fighters had and the very short life span many pilots seemed to posses. This made no difference to Jen and her uncle could have tried all he liked, but he did not change her mind.
   
She stepped up to large, heavy metal doors, only fit for an Army General and stood motionless. Her hands were shaking and her heart was thumping out of her chest. The last time she had seen the General was when he invited her to a ball last spring on a whim. She had never spoken to him before, and had not seen him for many months afterwards. He had been kind, but his social skills had been lacking. He barely talked to her and they never did dance. Not once the entire night. Why he had asked her to come was a complete mystery and still boggled her mind. She placed her right hand over her face and closed her eyes. Thinking about it was a waste of time. She shook out both hands and paced with light feet outside the doors. Why had he called her now? Why did he keep bothering her? Was it some sort of game or did he have actual intentions for the lowly naval pilot. Jen took a deep breath, ran her hands through her hair and straightened her clothes before knocking on his door once, as instructed. The doors flew ajar and she walked in, holding her hands behind her so he could not watch them shake in anxiety.

He was turned away from her, sitting at his desk and staring out his window, ignoring her entrance.

Jen cleared her throat and spoke, “General Cosmic, I am here as ordered, sir.” The silence rang loudly in her ears and she inwardly cursed herself. Her voice shook with obvious fear, “What honor do I owe this occasion, sir?” After minutes had gone by, she stood feeling like a total idiot and almost ran from his office. Fear ran through her veins almost as thick as blood. Jen had a huge urge to scream at the man, “Is this how you treat all your guests?!” , but clenched her fists to release her rage instead. Was he doing this because she was from the Navy division? Because she was a woman?  She had only heard of him a few times before their actual meeting and once seen his picture in the VE Today. Jen wasn’t going to lie to herself, she had thought him quite attractive. He had a certain air about him that was almost regal and his eyes were entirely strange. No one on her planet had red eyes. She had never seen such a thing. Never imagined a human sentient could bear such an unusual trait.

When she came back from her quiet inward rant, he was facing her, a look of utter annoyance was plastered across his chiseled features. Her cheeks grew crimson and she bowed her head in a muted apology. He rose a brow and sat back in his black leather chair. His voice slashed the silence like a TIE whizzing through a forgotten forest, “I have called you here for a specific purpose.” He had felt her presence long before she arrived in front of his desk. She had lingered outside his door, but he did not open it until she knocked once, as he had instructed.

Her sight was immediately drawn to the heavy, dark robes he adorned and fought to keep her attention to his words. He looked weary and his eyes had the deafening look of great sadness.

“-diplomatic mission. You’ll need to take time off using your vacation.” He wasn’t exactly sure what to tell her. . .There was something about her. The same ‘thing’ that had fool heartly allowed himself to invite her to that awful ball. Nothing was wrong with the girl, he just hadn’t known what to say. .

Were those Dark Jedi robes? This was all coming in a rush. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “But Shaz-“

“-Shazam will not and does not know anything about this. You will accompany me.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I will call upon you when the time is right. You may take your leave.” The door slid open and revealed great and utter freedom.

“Did you say a diplomatic mission? I’m sure there is someone else, highly qualified to join you. I’m…flattered…but I don’t think I’m the right person for the job. I’m sorry.” She started toward the hallway, when his voice called to her.

“Jen,” He stopped and looked slightly pained at the sound of her name leaving his lips, “You will accompany me.”

She instantly dropped all her anger. Was that desperation or command seeping through his words? She sighed and saluted. What choice did she have? This was obviously out of her hands. She nodded and left his office as fast as her feet could take her without running. She hadn’t given him time to react.

*Three days later*

Jen had received a notice from General Cosmic stating they were departing that night. She was to be ready at 1800 hours. She bit her lip and began pacing, it was something she found herself doing lately. . .especially when it came to the General. She wanted to pack, but he had given her so little information that she didn’t know how much to bring. What if they were going to be gone a week, or a month even?? She didn’t know!! It was frustrating. How was she going to take time off?  TAKE TIME OFF!?

She slapped a hand over her face and burst aloud, “I forgot to tell him!!!” Her hand slid down as she lay down on her bed, “Wait…..”

She had been on extended leave for a long time. Technically, Shazam might not even be her commanding officer anymore. He had been quickly climbing the ladder when she left. . .He might not want to talk to her in the first place. She shook her head and dismissed the thought. He wasn’t one to hold a grudge, but since she hadn’t gone back to headquarters and declared herself back. . .she was still free to do what she wanted. She grabbed her pillow and held it to her chest. Did she want to go? Is this what she wanted? He had never shown real interest. . . always going after the prettier girls. . .Jen pushed her face into the fluffy comfort and shook her head. She wasn’t going to torture herself over that again.

I am going.

She slowly dragged herself off the edge of the bed and began to make a list of things she was going to need. Clothes. Lots of clothes. After stuffing a bag almost to the brim, she layed back down and watched the time tick by. . .feeling herself drift in and out of sleep. Jen’s eyes snapped open and launched herself off the bed, almost falling to the floor. It was 5:45 and he was coming, well. . .someone was coming to get her in 15 minutes.

It was 6:00pm, and Jen Knight heard a small horn of sorts from outside her apartment. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly ran over to a nearby mirror, fluffing her hair and checking to be sure that everything looked perfect - nothing fancy, but not casual either. She slung her purse over her shoulder and walked out the door.

Waiting outside was a V-35 Courier Landspeeder. Jen saw Cosmic sitting behind the pilot's seat in his everyday military attire. The large viewport retracted, and Cosmic motioned to the seat beside him.

"Evening," he said, slightly smiling as she settle into the passenger's seat.

Jen grinned back and placed her purse beside her, "Good afternoon, General."

The V-35 quickly sped off as soon as the viewport clamped back down.

"Where are we going exactly?" queried Jen a few minutes into the trip.

Cosmic handed her a datapad with the details, "Atrisia. It's in the Atrivis sector, outer rim. We're going over there to discuss a trade route proposal we have. With luck, they'll accept, and the Vast Empire will have another route to ease up the traffic on our current trade lanes."

"Prince Alzier?" Jen asked, reading over the mission briefing.

Cosmic nodded, "It's a very regal government, and it's important that we give them a decent first-impression. They're a very stubborn people, but diplomacy will go much smoother if we're on their good side right from the beginning."

Jen flipped through the datapad, trying to obtain more information, but there wasn't much material to go over... it was quite vague, in fact. "Is there any more information?" she asked, hoping to retrieve more details so she could better prepare herself for this foreign government.

Cosmic shook his head, "No, unfortunately. What's on that datapad is all they'd give me. They're a very secretive people – that's for certain. You know what I know at this point."

Jen nodded and put away the datapad, having already read through it twice.

"Here we are."

They had arrived at the landing pad, and Jen's jaw nearly dropped open – she kept it closed. Sitting on the landing pad, getting prepped for takeoff, was an incredible yacht. The viewport retracted once again, and Cosmic climbed and began a quick chat with one of the service crew that had walked over. Once he had concluded his business, he walked over to Jen's side to guide her out. Her eyes were still fixated on the yacht.

"Nice, isn't it?" he said as Jen climbed out of the Courier.

"It's amazing. That's a Luxury 2000..." she said, nearly breathless.

Cosmic nodded, "Mhmm. You know your ships... well," he cleared his throat, "Of course you'd know them - you're in the Navy."

Jen smiled and nodded, "But this is incredible. I've only seen them on the commute routes, never docked like this. Two-member crew count, twenty-eight passengers, a hundred meters in length, x2-to-x12 hyperdrive, and sixty-five MGLT sublight drives... it's a masterpiece."

Cosmic scratched his chin, "I just thought it'd match my uniform..."

"You bought this?" asked Jen, her mouth slightly open.

"Atrisian politicians surround themselves only in the highest of circles. This was a necessary purchase, and I thought we'd impress them."

Jen breathed in slowly, taking all of this in. She couldn't peel her eyes away from the 710,000 credit yacht.

Cosmic motioned with his hand toward the yacht, "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Jen nodded and began walking towards the ship straight away. Cosmic stayed behind a few moments, gazing up at the yacht - he was slightly nervous, even after the few years' experience under his belt. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the mission. He took a deep breath, and then made his way to the ship.