Beyond by Maureen A. Miller

on."
    She might as well have been speaking Greek, but her point was conveyed. There was a glint in Zak's eyes, but it was a sad glint.
    “I call her Zari.”
    A her . Men’s cars were always female.
    “Zari.” Aimee cocked her head, thinking the vibrant, pistol-shaped craft didn’t meet the pretty expectations of the name. “Named after a girlfriend?”
    Someone like Zak had to have girls lined up by the dozens.
    His expression was quizzical again, as if he didn’t understand the term.
    “No,” he denied quietly. “Not a girlfriend.”
    He climbed up the small set of stairs that led up to the cockpit and traced his fingertip just beneath the rim of the glass. With a soft hiss, a doorway slipped open and Aimee was allowed a glimpse into the interior.
    A dashboard of black and gold housed an intricate circuitry panel. The driver's seat looked like a narrow soup ladle meant to hug its passenger in tight. The design of the cockpit was to afford complete control to the occupant of that seat. There was no room to stand or move about except for a small cargo area directly behind the chair. That area was stacked with what she could only guess were weapons. The sight of them jarred her.
    As much as she understood Zak's role as a warrior, the impact of it had not struck until she saw the guns that he could wield in an effort to destroy his enemies.
    She retreated. The motion did not register with Zak as he picked up the first sleek weapon.
    She took another step backwards and this time he glanced over his shoulder with an arched eyebrow. His stare halted her retreat.
    "Are you afraid of me?" he asked in that husky voice.
    She barely heard him amidst the din of activity in the bay. Rooted to the ground, she lost her voice until finally Zak nodded and uttered, " maybe you should be."
    Before she could respond he continued. "Can you find your way back to the deck?"
    She swallowed and bobbed her head.
    "Good. And you remember that if you get lost you can always ask JOH?"
    Again she nodded. This time she detected a grin on Zak's lips.
    "I think you will master the halls of the Horus now, Aimee."
    His encouragement made her stomach tumble. Space sickness. Had to be.
    "I have to get ready to head out," he reminded.
    Aimee cleared her throat and croaked, "Thank you for showing me the atrium, and for teaching me—"
    "I didn't teach." This time a full grin appeared. God, he was handsome. "I just told you to relax.”
    Zak turned his shoulder back towards the cockpit and reached for another mysterious weapon.
    That you did , she thought.
    Aimee's feet woke from their daydream and started to cooperate. She waved a farewell, but Zak was focused on the task at hand. Her whisper of goodbye went unheard.
    ***
    It amazed Aimee how easy it was to find her away around the ship now. Granted, she could not read the symbols which probably referenced locations and directions, but she could see into the compartments and identify whether it was a place she wanted to be. A JOH startled her by hovering in the middle of the corridor and blocking her path. She stepped to the right and it shifted to the right with her. She stepped to the left and it mimicked her motion. Finally she tapped its screen and the big blue face smiled up at her.
    "What?" she scowled, not as happy as this technologically advanced box of hovering circuitry.
    "Chara is looking for you. May I tell her I found you?"
    JOH might be the source of all knowledge, but at least he respected privacy. Zak told her he would do that.
    Zak. An image of him gazing up at the stars in the atrium clashed with the portrait of the warrior possessing a deadly weapon. He had warned her to be afraid of him. He had also taught her how to orient herself in these halls.
    He beguiled her.
    "Aimee?"
    "Oh, umm, yes, please tell her I'm on my way."
    JOH's eyes flattened into slits.
    "What?" she asked.
    "I'm telling her. I am also telling her that you have learned to navigate your way around. She will be