em·pa·thy

The  thing  about  space  was  that  people  kept  acting  like  it  was  supposed  to  be  impressive.

And  sure.  Objectively,  Nadia  could  admit  it  was.  Stars.  Endless  black.  The  crushing  reminder  that  humanity  was  basically  a  speck  of  dust  with  anxiety  and  a  weapons  budget.

Very  poetic.

Personally,  she  preferred  solid  ground.  Reliable  gravity.  Ships  that  weren’t  held  together  by  bad  decisions  and  what  looked  suspiciously  like  tape.

Her  gaze  flicked  over  the  diagnostic  panel  in  her  hand  as  it  gave  another  irritated  little  beep.  Half  the  systems  were  failing.  The  other  half  were  lying  about  it.  Brilliant.

“Intergalactic  travel  sponsored  by  denial,”  she  muttered  under  her  breath,  thumb  dragging  across  the  display.

Somewhere  across  the  ship,  the  Guardians  were  arguing.  Again.  About  what  exactly,  Nadia  had  stopped  trying  to  work  out  ten  minutes  ago.  Something  about  navigation.  Or  theft.  Or  possibly  feelings.  With  this  lot,  the  distinction  seemed  alarmingly  thin.

Fury  would  have  hated  them.  Which  meant  Fury  would  have  absolutely  tried  to  recruit  them.

A  presence  shifted  nearby.  Nadia’s  shoulders  tightened  before  she  could  stop  them,  gaze  lifting  from  the  panel  to  find  Mantis  standing  a  few  feet  away.  Watching  her  with  those  wide,  painfully  open  eyes.

Not  threatening.  Not  exactly  subtle  either.  Just…  there.  Nadia  stared  at  her  for  a  beat.  Then  another.

“Can  I  help  you?”  It  came  out  flatter  than  she  meant  it  to.  Defensive,  probably.  Habit,  definitely.  The  panel  beeped  again.  Nadia  looked  down  at  it,  then  back  at  Mantis,  jaw  working  slightly.  “If  this  is  the  part  where  you  tell  me  my  aura  is  angry  or  my  grief  tastes  like  burnt  coffee,  I’m  going  to  need  at  least  three  minutes’  warning.”

The Benatar did that sometimes. Not because the structure was inefficient, but because the Guardians lived there. And the Guardians were chaotic. Each one of them offered a different course of action, different ways to move through the space. Different ways to pilot, to program, to plan, to prepare. But they worked — despite everything, they worked.

Still, at the end of the day, the Benatar housed a ragtag group of misfits, cosmic outcasts and former criminals, so naturally the ship would be a little disorganized. Nadia had made no comments, but it didn't take an empath to know she didn't want to be there.

Unfortunately for Nadia, her actions had consequences, and she was wanted by the law for something she had done five years ago, stealing parts of aircraft to hopefully save Tony who had been in space.

She'd lost Tony regardless. And in the middle of legal action being taken against her, while everything was being settled, just before she could be arrested, Nadia had been taken to the one place where the law could not touch her.

The Guardians' ship.

Mantis watched the woman with serene curiosity, deafening silence meeting the snarky remark.

After a moment, the empath simply held up the empty bag of zarg-nuts, the thing the Guardians were arguing about just moments ago. Nadia was the culprit. And the fact that she was theorizing about what her own grief tasted like felt as though she were telling on herself.

"No. This is the part where I tell you to be more mindful when you grab snacks. You can eat snacks if you wish — if there are enough of them left for the rest of us. You ate the last bag of zarg-nuts." Her voice was not harsh, not cold, not at all accusatory. There were worse things, even though zarg-nuts were delicious.

The empath threw the empty bag in the trash and spun to face the woman, a playful smile on her lips.

Now I just need to make sure Danielle never hears about the 'Ty-Ty-Toots' nickname, Tyson thought.

She didn't mean to embarrass Tyson with her nicknames, but it was impossible to hide things from Danielle, as she was a telepath. In any case it was clear that Mantis loved showing affection through playful words and sweet little moments, and she hoped Tyson would not mind her habits.