“How very peculiar,” Snikers said with pretentious flair. “One would assume someone of your distinguished reputation and high rank would be entitled to the necessary respect.” Snikers was really milking his moment and sounded even more full of himself than before. "But then, when one looks beyond the superficial, you are nothing more than a mere child wearing clothing of higher rank. In retrospect, I should have anticipated this level of ineptitude from an intellectually inferior race like the Mevik. I will adjust my expectations of your future work performance accordingly.”

Agozi's whiskers twitched whilst her body stiffened in anger.

Scratch that. He's even more unbearable than that!

Kaz also had his doubts.

“How does the Council justify such a deviation from protocol?” he said. “It isn’t customary to assign two lieutenants to a single ship."

Snikers's expression contorted into something that might’ve passed for a smile, though with the Pretenti, it was often hard to distinguish between genuine emotion and arrogant self-satisfaction.

“The Council agrees the task at hand is important enough to warrant an emissary,” he said. “I have been assigned to act as the Council's voice, eyes, and ears at all times.” Pride filled his tone. “But make no mistake, my dear Captain. I assure you that my loyalty and reliability are beyond reproach.” He adopted a hint of arrogance in his voice. “Unlike your other sentient assets.”

Agozi's whiskers bristled even more.

Assets? Utilized? The use of such detached language left a sour note in her mouth.

“Feel free to use me as you would any other until or unless stated otherwise,” Snikers then said.

Until or unless stated otherwise? Agozi was now convinced that Snikers showing up spelled trouble.

“What’s so important about this next mission?” Kaz asked.

“What he said,” Agozi echoed.

Snikers kept quiet. He clasped his hands behind his back, pivoted, and strode toward the viewport. Arriving there, he stood with his back to Agozi and Kaz.

A moment stood.

“What if I were to inform you that the galaxy is but mere inches away from a new golden age?” His voice grew serious, and his words came out with measured slowness. “What if I told you that our very way of life, travel, and communication…” He paused for dramatic effect. “May soon be altered forever?” With purposeful deliberation, he turned to face them again. The smug expression from earlier had vanished, replaced by a more serious gaze.

Their whiskers quivered with intrigue.

“How about you give us some more details?” Agozi requested impatiently.

Kaz echoed her sentiment.

The smug look returned to Snikers's face.

How refreshing it was to have the briefest glimpse of the non-pretentious Snikers for all of ten seconds, Agozi thought, whiskers fluttering with disappointment for a brief time.

“Surely, the two of you must have taken notice of the additional complement of specialists assigned to your ship, and the fact that resupplying has taken longer than usual?”

They'd noticed all that, sure, but Agozi couldn't see how it tied into his grandstanding.

“Just crew members coming and going, nothing new or noteworthy.” A hint of snark had slipped into her voice, though she'd tried to play it cool.

“Indeed, but one must note that your usual crew are not esteemed professionals, handpicked from the Union's most prestigious Institute of Science.”

The statement rendered Agozi silent.

The UIS, the Union's brainiac central, housed some of the galaxy's sharpest minds. You'd rarely find them on a Union ship, let alone signing up for something as risky as the Exploration Division. They didn't need to. Government and corporate bigwigs practically tripped over themselves, waving fat paychecks to get their attention.

But considering the presence of Doctor Zelana on the ship, maybe she was wrong in feeling that way.

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“We've got the UIS involved with us?” Agozi asked.

“Indeed, such is the case.”

“But why?” Agozi switched gears when she caught how snippy she'd come off. “I mean, not that I don’t want them.” Truth be told, Agozi was geeking out on the inside; having UIS brainiacs on board was like a dream come true.

Snikers overlooked her unprofessional conduct.

“Their area of expertise is in slipspace research, and their accomplishments within their field are most commendable,” he replied. “It is of utmost importance that they accompany you to ensure the proper maintenance of the new warp drive we have installed.”

Agozi needed a beat to let those words really sink in.

“New warp drive, huh?” she drawled. “Well, that explains why we've been waiting forever for resupply.”

Agozi hadn't connected the dots then, but it all clicked now. Restocking the ship shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but without any major hiccups, they didn't question it. More so since the delay meant more leisure time.

“You guys were secretly playing mechanic with the ship?” Agozi asked.

“Indeed, my dear, that is correct.”

“But for what?” Agozi then asked, her voice once again unintentionally passive-aggressive. “Was the old drive just not dope enough for those UIS know-it-alls?”

Agozi's words caused Snikers to slightly twitch his snout, indicating that her jab had irritated the pretentious creature, though the reaction had been barely noticeable.

The Mevik were known for their hotheadedness, and other races often criticized them for it. But Agozi sometimes took it to a whole new level, much to Kaz’s chagrin.

“Why, my dear, the old warp drive served its intended purpose splendidly throughout its course of service,” Snikers replied.

“If it wasn't broken, why the need to replace it?”

Snikers gloated.

“Because this one, my dear, is not like your antiquated and outdated piece of machinery.”

Snikers's pompous chatter was only getting under her skin more. Every new sentence added another layer to his show-offy persona.

The Pretenti might’ve been the only race in the galaxy where character growth meant going downhill personality wise.

Or at least that's how the Mevik saw it.

“Could you be just a bit more specific?” Agozi asked, whiskers jerking in annoyance.

Snikers overlooked the impolite tone.

Or maybe he just thought it was beneath him to give a damn. Agozi honestly couldn't tell.

“Behold, my dear, for this masterpiece has been handcrafted by the most brilliant minds in the galaxy, a project of true passion, nurtured to adulthood through tireless effort and investments that only a true connoisseur can comprehend!” Snikers sounded smug if not borderline prideful. “But it shall all be worth it in the end, for the design is not only unorthodox but equally effective, a true testament to its undeniable brilliance.”

Agozi's whiskers twitched in annoyance.

“Just cut to the chase.”

Snikers gloated again.

“Please forgive my excess of enthusiasm,” he said. “It is all too common to become caught up in the sheer magnitude of such a significant event.”

“What significant event?” Agozi asked, whiskers jerking momentarily.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of the galaxy's brightest minds, we are no longer held back by the tedious limitations that have so annoyingly hindered the ambitions of our galaxy for far too long. It is important to understand that these advancements transcend the natural progression of technology. We are talking about a quantum leap in the way in which—"

Agozi had reached her limit with the endless rambling.

“Can you just get to the point already or are you just going to keep spouting vague nonsense at us?!”

Kaz gave Agozi a look of disapproval in response to her rude words, prompting her to quickly backtrack and soften her tone.

If sarcasm counted as ‘softening’ your tone.

“Uh, I mean, yay us!” Agozi said mockingly.

Coming from a high-profile family didn't give Agozi a free pass to shoot her mouth off without any blowback, something Kaz had to remind her of now and then.

But Snikers seemed more than happy to play the reminder.

“Your Lieutenant would benefit from your disciplinary measures in response to such an impertinent interruption,” he said whilst giving Kaz a stern look.

“I’ll take your suggestion into consideration.”

No he won’t, Agozi mused to herself, amused by how she’d clearly annoyed the pretentious skunk.

Agozi much doubted Kaz would do a single damn thing this obnoxious creature requested of him unless absolutely unavoidable.

After all of Snikers's grandstanding, they finally cut to the chase.

“With the advancements we've made, dimensional jumps are no longer necessary for performing scans.”

Surprise was written all over Agozi's face, and even Kaz looked a bit thrown.

But their awe quickly shifted to skepticism.

“You can't scan objects within real-space while remaining inside slipspace,” Agozi said.

“Such is the authority of contemporary machinery, my dear child,” Snikers replied smugly.

Agozi seriously doubted that someone from Snikers’s social background possessed any knowledge of technology whatsoever.

“Uh, sorry to break it to you, but that's just not how scanners work,” she said sneeringly. “They can only pick up objects in the same physical dimension as themselves. Trying to scan for something outside of slipspace while you're in slipspace would be like trying to locate a single drop of water in a rainstorm.” Her tone took on a mocking edge. “And the rainstorm ain’t even on the same planet.”

Snikers's large tail jerked slightly, a hint of pride.

“Hence why this revolutionary technology will alter the very course of history itself.”

“You seem quite confident in your invention,” Kaz said.

“And indeed, I can be nothing else.”

“Speaking of which, why haven't I heard about any of this before?” Agozi asked. “If this tech is as big a deal as you're making it out to be, the media would have covered it at some point.”

Snikers shot her a judgmental look, as if her question was not only out of line but also dumb as rocks.

“Your lack of awareness regarding these advancements is not surprising, my dear,” he replied. “It is a predictable and forgivable state of affairs, as all knowledge relating to these matters has been withheld from the general public.”

Agozi’s whiskers jerked.

“Why would they withhold it?”