Free Remember the Starfighter by Michael Kan

A sharp and awful pain. That was it. The report says you carried me to the escape pod, got us out of there.”
    Nalia wiped her eyes.
    “Hey,” Julian said. “It’s okay. We made it.”             
    “Thanks to you Julian,” she replied. “I… well, you saved my ass.”
    “Hey, you saved my ass first. So we’re even.”
    Nalia laughed. She unfolded her arms, and put them squarely on the bench.
    “Well, I’m glad we were both there for each other. Actually, I probably should call you Captain Nverson now, shouldn’t I?”
    “You know already?”
    “I was the one who recommended your promotion. It was on the fly. But we’ve been desperately searching for able pilots. You were actually the first order I made. ”
    “So you’re the one I should be cursing then,” he quipped.
    “Listen, I’ve seen your record Julian,” she said in a solemn tone. “I know it must be tough. But it’ll be okay. I promise.”
    “No, no. I’m just kidding. I want to serve.”
    “You’re a good pilot. You got us out of there,” she said. “I’ll be one of your liaisons. All right?”
    She then put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
    He could hear the kindness in her voice. Julian could tell she had wanted to save him from the worry. They had only just met, but she didn’t feel like a stranger anymore. In fact, Julian couldn’t remember being this close to anyone, not in years.
    “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll be fine with the Core. It’s just… I wish I could go back to Haven.”
    Julian placed his hands on his legs, squeezing the cloth at his kneecaps.
    “I want to save them. But I know the military protocol,” he lamented. “I know it too damn well. I feel stupid to even think otherwise.”
    His voice trailed off. Julian realized it was pointless, just leftover emotions, looking for purpose.
    “No, no,” Nalia replied. “I completely understand. I feel the same way. It just doesn’t feel right to abandon them.”
    “It’s surreal,” she added. “But then you think about it. You can never go back. I’m not going to lie…”
    She put her face in her hands as her body clenched. The charm in Nalia seemed to disappear. 
    “It’s the end of the world,” she said, each word as hopeless as the next.  “Everything is gone. I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow, or another week, or a month. We may all be dead by then.”
    “I’m a veteran,” she went on. “But when I think of it. Actually think about it…”
    Nalia pressed the bottom of her eyes, holding back the tears.
    “Fuck,” she said. “I can’t pretend like it doesn’t matter. Haven is gone. The enemy is still out there.”
    Seeing her anguish, Julian put his arm around her and brought her in close. He could feel her shake, her posture wavering back and forth.
    “It will be okay,” he said. 
    Nalia couldn’t look at him.
    “Don’t give me that. I’m no rookie,” she complained. “We lost. We lost bad. Friends and family, I’ll never see them again.”
    Nalia was right. They were gone. To comfort her, felt like a lie.
    “But you’re not alone,” Julian replied, taking her other hand in his palm. “You’re not.”
    Nalia listened, and laid her head against his shoulder.
    “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said, trying to reach for something. “But we didn’t lose everything.”
    Julian felt the words come from nothing, and wondered if it was another lie. For a moment, even he struggled to believe it.
    He simply squeezed her hand, wanting to make it true. In return, Nalia squeezed back. 
    “You’re right,” she said.
    He was about to say more, but he could feel Nalia’s emotions ease. She let go of the anguish, and almost every other thought in her mind.
    “Thanks to each other, we’re alive,” Nalia said.
    She wanted to vent, and so was happy to find someone to talk to. But Nalia wasn’t done. Taking one of Julian’s arms, she pulled back