Somewhere deep in space, a large armada composed of more than a hundred spaceships was flying in a certain formation as they sailed through the Sea of Stars.

The largest ship of the armada had an interesting form, different from the rest of the spaceships. It had the appearance of a true ship, the one that would sail on the seemingly never-ending seas of certain planets, a form that helped one tread through treacherous waters instead of desolate space.

The floating holographic black and white themed flag, with the insignia of a bone skull and two interwoven swords, left nothing to one’s imagination regarding which group this ship and the armada as a whole belonged to.

Inside the ship, a woman with fair skin covered in engraved red markings like flowing rivers and long jet-black hair was walking with a hesitant and worried expression on her pale face. Along her way, the pirates would salute her with clear respect in their eyes, even though they disdained most women. It was because they knew that despite her unassuming appearance, she was a being that no one could underestimate. Certainly not low-level mobs like them and neither ordinary captains of their bandit group.

The closer she got to her destination, the slower she seemed to be walking, her hesitation growing further and further. She hated being the bearer of bad news and the information she was now holding onto was definitely the worst kind of news one could deliver.

When she finally reached the last door, she stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and went silent for a while. She was starting to wonder if she should just wait at this door for all eternity but in the end—

“Cassim. I need to talk to you.”

“... Enter.”

The door opened and she was able to enter Cassim’s training room. Her knees immediately buckled and she growled under her breath as a wave of endless pressure pushed down on her, “Gravity…” Her voice was strained as she spoke out the name of the anomaly that hindered her approach and only then did the young men react, finally made aware of the woman’s misery.

“Oh… Sorry for that.” He immediately turned off the increased gravity settings of the room, bringing the pressure to a more normal, bearable level, “I was so focused on training that I forgot I still had this thing on.”

He seemed genuinely sorry so Esther could do nothing but sigh out loud in response. In moments like these, she was reminded of the old and clumsy Cassim that she knew so intimately. This reminiscence helped her understanding, making her only shake her head with another sigh. Soon, however, her expression turned utterly serious.

“So, what’s the matter? You know I don’t like being disturbed during my training.”

Cassim was a tall man with a somewhat young and naive face that looked completely out of place, considering the ship and the armada were composed of. No matter how one looked at him, it was hard to imagine that he was the leader of the fierce and notorious Forty Thieves. No one could tell that this naive looking young man was an Overlord and considered somewhat of a powerhouse in this small corner of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Even among the most notorious pirates of this galaxy, only a few such as Sinbad, the Prince of the Seven Seas, Captain Nemo, or Captain Hook could be said to be his equal in both infamy and accomplishments or even power and influence.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Esther knew that for many, Cassim was just an upstart, a lucky man who shot to his current position thanks to opening and clearing a high-ranked ruin. However, she found those words to be highly hypocritical, considerably laughable even, as even the current Empire was founded thanks to the Emperor entering a high-ranked gate.

“You are daydreaming. You always daydream when you don’t know what to say. Is the situation that bad?”

Esther was startled out of her thoughts fast when she felt Cassim’s hand on her forehead. Seeing him so close, she was once again reminded of one of the reasons she fell in love with this naive and insufferable young man. His body was definitely a work of art and those abs were to utterly die for.

Snap out of it.

She indeed knew that it was a bad habit of hers. Adjusting her bookish glasses, she let out a long sigh for the third time. In such a situation it was better to come clean in one go than to stall for time and make things worse for her.

“We received a signal. Omid’s Armada was destroyed. Most of his pirates were reported to be dead, destroyed by Dorothy’s army. Omid’s current situation or whereabouts are unknown but he is also most likely to be dead too.”

She rattled everything in one go without even taking the time to breathe in between words and only stopped once she finished everything she had to say in one go.

Silence settled between the duo and Esther could feel a chill slowly creeping up from all over,

“I thought I made it clear our troops had to stop Dorothy from ambushing Omid. What happened to that?” She could feel a tone as frigid as the coldest planet in existence in his voice, and the room was slowly covered by endless frost. Cassim was angry and while she knew that he would never hurt her, this didn’t mean she wanted to make him more distraught.

“The Lion Pride attacked.”

The endless frost stopped progressing, coming to a halt. “What? Why did she involve one of her three special Legions for just Omid?”

Even for Cassim, it was impossible to blame anyone in such a situation. The reputation of the Lion Pride was clear for everyone in the Sea of Stars to see. It would have been completely impossible for them to stop such a force of power.

“We do not know.”

“Then find out. Dorothy may be friendly with Alibaba, but she is first and foremost a ruler and she will never move such an important troupe of hers unless she judges that she definitely needs to. Find what happened, no matter what the cost.”

“Our spies are already moving.”

“Excellent…”

Another silence fell, and this time Esther raised her head to look at Cassim. She could see that his eyes were closed, and his fists were enclosed in a tight grip.

“You can cry, you know?” She spoke hesitantly, approaching him and hugging him with her small body. The height difference was quite substantial, but she did not care. “Omid was one of the original members. There is nothing wrong with being sad, you know?”

She buried her face in his chest. At this moment, she wasn’t his vice-captain. She was just Esther. A worried wife wishing that her husband, the love of her life, would never have to suffer.

At first, Cassim did not respond but soon, his arm went around her lithe form as he hugged her tightly.

“Thank you.”

He spoke quietly, but no tears fell from his eyes. “I already swore I would never cry again, no matter what. Not since his betrayal.”

Esther knew that he was not talking about Omid at this moment, but she did not push for more. The betrayal was a raw and festering wound in her husband's heart, and she knew that it might never heal for his entire life. There was nothing that she could do about it, another thorn in her heart.

“Anyway, you know Omid. He would sneer and mock me if I did something as stupid as wallowing in sadness.”

He patted her back and pushed her away from him, “Call the others. Tell them that we will mourn Omid with the blood of our enemy.”

“You mean…” She was startled. Was this really about to happen?

“Yes. I will soon complete the inheritance ceremony and then… Not even someone from the White Flame will be my match.”

A sad smile formed on his young face, almost making one not believe that such an expression could exist on someone with such a sweet face, “Freedom, Fairness and Equality. It’s time for this galaxy to remember that we are not pirates — We are revolutionaries and will take back our home… No matter what.”

END OF BOOK 1

See you in BOOK 2: Neverland.