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bridge, joining Isha as they began the walk down towards the ship’s shuttle bay. Their shuttle was all prepped and ready for them to board as they arrived. As soon as they had taken their seats and strapped themselves in, James gave the signal to his pilot that they were ready to move.
    “You have no idea how much of a relief it is to get off this ship,” Isha said as the hangar doors opened before them to reveal the tropical world of Churo, just a short shuttle ride away.
    “Oh trust me, I do,” said James, “this trip honestly couldn’t have come any sooner for either of us.”
    The last time James had been on the surface of Churo, he had suffered a tragic loss, losing his friend and mentor, Malaya Karsev, the woman who had set him on his path to becoming the man he was today and who’s many lessons still influenced the captain that he had become. With all the chaos of the battle in the streets of the city, he had not had the chance to appreciate just how beautiful a world Churo was, especially the city of Maranaya. This time, however, he would be sure to enjoy every wonder that this world held for him. If the city of Lahara was anything like Maranaya in terms of beauty, it would be a very special trip.
    With the ship in position, the pilot took off, taking the shuttle out into orbit around Churo and towards the surface of the planet. The holiday started here… James cracked a smile for the first time in what seemed like weeks, he was going to enjoy this.

Chapter Two

    Th e Gran d Farewell
    Despite feeling like a home to him, James had to admit that he was glad to be seeing the back of the Centaur for a while. There were times when the ship could feel like a prison, he felt unable to escape because the admirals would simply not allow him a break from the endless line of missions and assignments that just kept coming his way. Both he and Isha had been patiently waiting for this day for a while now and it was finally here, they were finally free of the fleet, at least for the rest of the week.
    “Well this certainly beats helping Davidson talk to the Myazins,” said Isha, eagerly looking at the fast approaching tropical planet with glee, “you can bet that if it wasn’t for Ravenn, we’d be spending the next week on Myazar attending one diplomatic meeting after another.”
    “I just hope they don’t fail,” said James, “you can bet that if they do, Jamerson will have us patrolling the Murian sector for the next three months.”
    Conveniently, it had actually been down to the troubles with the Myazins that James and Isha had first met. Had James not been within signal range of a group of Andurian cruisers under a Myazin attack, he would never have been able to race in and save them and the two of them would never have met. Before the war, the Myazins had actually been a part of the old Tolian alliance, choosing to leave and side with the Vulian empire for reasons still unknown to any among the freedom alliance. Had they not done so, the odds at the battle of Tanchanis may have been a little more even.
    The shuttle began it’s descent into the atmosphere of Churo. Within a few minutes the city of Lahara became visible through the shuttle’s front window. James recognised the same ornate, orange-gold construction that was symbolic of a Churian city… beautifully constructed buildings, roads lined with exotic trees and colourful market districts, and that was just the city centre. The coastal holiday resort at the edge of the city was on the border of one of the planet’s great tropical paradises, on a par, if not even more impressive than the Juyoan holiday city of Morakarre. If there was a more impressive holiday destination anywhere in the galaxy then James would have loved to have seen it.
    “Not a bad place for a retirement party huh?” James noted as he observed the magnificent city before him, “I think I might have to come here when I retire, live out my days on the tropical