“There’s no way I’ll allow you to go on this mission, Drim,” Nathym stared his dearest friend dead in the eyes. “I’d sooner cancel it and go with one of our backup plans, suffering for decades to find another solution.”
“While we’ve minimized the risk to the best of our ability, the chance is still far too high for my comfort. Hell, if it were my choice, we wouldn’t even let you go on the most dangerous missions on this planet. We can’t let you die, Drim. Project Fiendless couldn’t exist without you.”
“Well then I could say the same about you,” the king retorted. “You’re just as integral to it as I am. By that logic, shouldn’t I prevent you from going as well?!”
“No, I’m practically irrelevant at this point,” The Engineer insisted. “Even if I were to die, the project would continue. All the blueprints have already been drafted, and the machines to complete the project are built. I’m confident many here would be able to see it through to its completion. And if a complication arose, you would figure something out, Drim, you always do.”
“Don’t forget this project is your idea, not mine. I’ve just helped with the technical support. There’s no way I could have come up with this on my own. It needs you, because you’ll ensure its success in a way no one else can. And it doesn’t stop with just the launch of Fiendless. Everything beyond, I’m counting on you to make our dreams happen. You saved me at the darkest point in my life, so I have complete trust that you’re the one who can save us all.”
Drim leaned back in his chair, his arguments leaving him. “Fine, I won’t fight you on it. But you and the others will all come back safely.”
“That’s the hope,” Nathym agreed. “But for reasons along those lines, I also can’t allow Feyjrusa to come either. While death is certainly something we’ll avoid at all costs, for most of us, the void of space would be one of the better ways to go, quick and simple. But not for them.”
“If a catastrophe does happen, and we’re stranded out in open space, they’d be forced into an eternity of death and rebirth. No one deserves that torment, and my conscience couldn’t take it, even though I’d be dead myself.”
“That’s fine, I’d get bored very quickly in space anyways,” Rusa didn’t even try to put up a fight. “There’s no internet where you’re going.”
“Yes, and we’ll be completely unable to communicate back here,” Nathym raised. “Just in case that’s something you all weren’t aware of. Also Mallea, as useful as she would certainly be, is also not a considerable choice, along with any other humans or Lessers.”
“While I’m confident that the suits I’ve made would protect them once we’ve made it to the planet, I’m less assured about the warp itself—particularly the radiation we’ll sustain. The rocket will of course be shielded against such things, but it’s still an uncertainty. We’ll also be taking measurements during the jump, so we’d have a better understanding of the safeties and effects on humans for any future ventures.”
“No complaints from me,” the butler spoke up for the first and only time.
“Mallea would probably spend the time on P2 trying to clean it up anyways,” Kada jested.
“You, Kada, I’m also afraid I must suggest against, though I can see your enthusiasm,” Nathym moved to the next non-candidate. “Your power doesn’t mix well with space-travel. While I’m sure you’d never do it on purpose, a lot of our Curse usage is reactionary. Your body might not take well to the warp and try to melt something out of instinct and self-preservation. And that’s not something we can allow. Even if it’s a small component, anything that’d affect the shuttle’s pressurization could kill us all.”
“Boo, but I get it,” The Mermaid shrugged. “I’ll just go plenty if you set up those gates. What about Phon, though? Would she be able to just teleport you all back here?”
Phon sighed and spoke up. “Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and say no. I’ve been trying to locate this planet since the start of this meeting in my mind, but space is just too big. If I can’t find P2 from here, I doubt I could find Rathe from there. However, though I’ve never tried it before, it does look like I could teleport you into the sun, Kada, if that sounds like fun.” The woman in question shriveled up at the thought.
“Well, I’m sure Phon’s teleportation around the planet itself could prove useful, and we’d be happy to have you,” Nathym assured her anyways. “But I’ll admit you’re a bit lower on my ideal list. Tize was originally at the top, to sync with either Xard or Ahvra and assist with the energy transfer. But after our tests, I’m comfortable without it. Though he is still certainly a good pick to come if he wants.”
“Jaid, here, is also welcome to join. She would certainly prove useful if we did experience an unfriendly reception. As for those outside this room, I would recommend against Itsy, as strong as she may be, just because of her stature. While I’ve designed the shuttle and the living space to be as roomy as possible, she’d still find it uncomfortable and cramped.”
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“Rishaki, Roque, and Chorus could all be helpful in bringing additional supplies, but we should be fine with everything we need. And I’ll be honest, I’d doubt their authenticity as to why they’d want to come on such a trip, and would all surely find some way to profit off of it in some form or another.”
“From there, it’s a bit of a mixed bag of how useful everyone would be. Of course, any Fiend would be a bonus, but we want to maximize the available spot. As for who I think would be best, well… it’s hard to say, and I don’t exactly want to force anyone.”
“It sounds like you have someone in mind,” Drim clued in. “Go on then.”
“Err, it might sound like a weird choice,” Nathym was already hesitant. “But her power would round us out nicely, and possibly provide insights that we’d never be able to figure out otherwise in such an alien place. So I’d like to take Senli. Her Curse should be able to communicate with P2 just as it does with Rathe and provide us guidance if all else fails.”
There were some confused murmurs around the table, but mostly silence at his suggestion. Finally, Phon of all people spoke up. “Well there’s no point in us discussing it without hearing her opinion. So let’s just ask her.”
The girl in question suddenly appeared in the center of the table. Phon had been kind enough to bring the chair she’d been sitting in along with her, so that she didn’t fall and embarrass herself in front of everyone. At first Senli didn’t notice anything had changed right away, staring intently at the flash-cards in her hands, studiously studying for her upcoming final exams before graduation.
“Wuh-Wah-What’s going on?!” the flashcards jumped out of her hands and fluttered down everywhere once The Eavesdropper noticed all the eyes staring at her, and that she’d been teleported out of her room.
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” Drim was quick to assure her. “We just need your opinion on something.” He and Nathym then went through the trouble of catching her up on all the details of the mission and what it would entail. And finally, Drim ended up mentioning, “Take your time, we don’t need an answer right away.”
“No, I want to go!” Senli was clear in her conviction. “It’s an opportunity that never even occurred to me, but it sounds amazing! There’s no way I could pass it up. And if you think I’d be useful, I definitely can’t turn it down!”
“Especially since… I’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to make any real progress on the assignment you’ve given me. Don’t think I’m any closer to finding her. Oh, umm, there was one thing recently, though, but I’m not sure it’s important. Lately, everything’s been saying something along the lines that even the planet itself bends to her will. I guess it’s afraid of her too.”
Drim suddenly keeled forward, clenching his heart in pain. “Well, given my mother’s reaction,” he sputtered, gritting through the anguish. “It does seem to be an important clue. So thank you, Senli!”
“Well, it’s still not enough!” the girl was disappointed in herself but shifted it to motivation. “So I’ll do everything I can on this mission! But, umm, I do have one request. My, uhh, final exams are in two days. If I go to space before then, I think I’d forget everything I’ve studied. So would it be possible to wait until after they’re done?”
“Yes absolutely,” Nathym gave a firm answer. “It will be a bit before we can depart anyways. Xard still has to get down to the exact number of Kinets that we need. Even with Ahvra’s help, with no suitable container like the drive-core to contain all that energy, it will take a while, at least a week. And I still have some preparations I need to make before the launch.”
“Additionally, we’ll need to give you a crash course on being an astronaut. As Fiends, we have an inherent advantage going up against the forces we’ll feel and the harsh experience. But you still need to understand some fundamentals and undergo a few trial runs to get your body used to what to expect when we warp. The three of us have already gone through the basics ourselves but we’re nowhere near where I want to be. We still need to run some drills too, and we’ll include you in those as well.”
“For now, though, focus on your exams,” The Engineer instructed. “That should be your top priority. When that’s done, then we’ll tackle the mission to come.”
“I guess that’s everything then,” Drim brought the meeting to a close. “You have our approval. The Fiends For Hire are going to space.”
“Hold on just a second, I think we’re forgetting something important,” Kada brought up an issue before everyone was dismissed. “The power source, it needs a name! In some movies along these lines, the mineral they need always has some weird or stupid sounding name—something like rarerockium. It’s corny, but I kind of like it, so my vote is for Hopium, since all of our hopes rest on obtaining it!”
Nathym could only chuckle at the idea. “Personally, I don’t really care what it’s called, but it’s a valid point. Calling it the ‘power source’ repeatedly could get confusing. And since it's essentially a new element, it makes sense to follow the naming scheme. Hopium would be fine, I suppose, but yes, it does sound stupid and corny, and I’d prefer something else.”
Jaid lifted her hand. “Well, aren’t new discoveries often named after the person who discovered it? In this case, that’d be something like Ciperium or Nathium.”
“Oh, let’s go with Nathium!” Kada loved the idea. “It’s so much better than Hopium. Let’s spell it with a Y, though, so we just need to add an extra letter to Nathym’s name.”
“Now I really don’t like that!” The Engineer insisted. “And wouldn’t that get far more confusing? That goes entirely against the point!”
“All in favor of Nathyum?” Phon suddenly brought it to a vote, a fiendish grin on her face. Every hand in the room except for the man himself shot to the air, and the matter was decided. “Nathyum it is.”
The Engineer slumped in his chair, not getting up like everyone else to leave the room. Though not a religious man, he couldn’t help but utter, “Cosmos, please help us get through this. It sounds like we’ll need it.”