The ship stopped. The group's chat was interrupted. And Kaika passed through the group, silent.

"Hey, what happened?" Slantse asked, clueless. Kaika ignored him as he left the room.

"Don't worry. I am sure he's just in a hurry." Disedinel looked down.

Meanwhile, Zene assumed something different.

"When do you think we'll make it?" Slantse went back on topic. Disedinel shrugged.

"It'd take a while unless we pace it up."

"Do you think we'd have to fight?" Zene stood up. He stretched.

"I think... It's going to be an option throughout the whole way there." Disedinel stood up, too. Perhaps feeling uneasy by the lack of movement.

"There are two main fleets. Both are currently nearby Toree, so... well, we might have to force our way there. But once we enter Toree, we should be fine." Slantse hummed. "Wait, why doesn't he just capture Toree?" And he asked a good question.

Kaika entered the room.

"It's because he lacks the men to occupy the planet." He gave the answer.

"Aha."

"Kaika, when do you think we'll reach Toree?" Disedinel asked for Slantse.

"Say, why doesn't your nation just destroy this guy?" As Zene asked, he crossed his arms, disappointed.

Everybody looked at Zene. Disedinel was unsure of what to say. Slantse was curious, and Vaneila watched.

Then, everybody's gaze shifted to Kaika.

"Why are you all looking at me? ... Whatever, well, it's because his fleet isn't weak. So the price for a decisive battle would be costly." He shrugged as he walked back to the control room.

"Then I'll slay him for you. Then, you won't be mad at me, right?" Zene stunned Kaika right as he just left. ... He turned around and approached Zene. "Sure. You kill him as we all go inside Toree, unbothered." Kaika smiled. Slantse thought he was sarcastic, but Disedinel thought not. He rushed between Kaika and Zene.

"We won't have Zene sacrifice himself. Besides, Factor has fleets, if anything, those fleets will all be coming our way, and... Honestly, to spare you my rant, I won't let it happen."

However, Zene didn't see himself as a sacrifice. "Is he that much of a threat? It's fine. I'll only..." Disedinel interrupted Zene, and he turned around to face him.

"Look, Zene, I understand you, but..."

Kaika interrupted Disedinel. "No, Factor will be a threat now or later, we'll just have to..."

The group interrupted each other until Vaneila stopped it all.

"You guys shut up! All of you sit down, and I'll navigate the ship." She stood up, but before she could continue walking to the control room, Kaika stopped her.

"Fine, but as long as I am there. After all, I am the expert here."

Zene chuckled at Kaika after that last part.

Kaika glared at him.

"Yeah, that's what I was gonna do anyway." The two headed to the control room.

"Are you guys like this all the time?" Slantse looked at Zene.

But he was silent.

"I'd like to say no, but I guess this is how it is." Disedinel shrugged.

"Disedinel, I don't know what's going on between you, but we can't fight each other." Disedinel nodded.

They all sat down.

Except Zene.

"Zene, mind if you sit down?" Disedinel looked at Zene. Zene looked back at Disedinel, making eye contact.

"Might not get the chance to." Disedinel was left confused.

"What do you mean?" Slantse shared the confusion.

Kaika showed up suddenly. "Guys, we've spotted a ship." Disedinel jumped. "What?"

"It's not of an enemy. Maybe." "Maybe? It's not a ship of Factor?" Disedinel sighed. Only to gasp a moment later. "A ship of the Empire?"

Kaika shook his head. "Not that either. It's not somebody we know at all."

"So, what will you do?" Zene turned towards Kaika.

"Well, we thought of going past it. And I am here to check on you guys." Kaika shrugged after looking away.

Slantse thought he should think of something.

"I'll go check out that ship." Everybody looked at Zene, all three with an expression obviously saying, "Seriously?".

"Oh, of course! I'll show you where to leave through. Come." Kaika began walking upstairs as he made a gesture for Zene to follow him.

"No! Zene, what are you thinking?" Disedinel complained, but was ignored.

He knew he would become mad, so he calmed down.

Disedinel followed the two upstairs.

As you're upstairs, you'll be in a tight room. To the right was a long countertop.

The basic kitchen furniture, to put it short.

"After you go through this door, carefully close the same door, then open the other door, and you can go outside." Kaika explained to Zene how to go outside.

When you enter the... kitchen room, a few metres ahead of you will be the door Kaika was talking about. It had a little window, perhaps allowing you to take a peek at who is outside.

"Zene, if you're gonna go, you can't go like that!" After he caught up, Disedinel immediately stopped them.

"My body is not bothered by space. So there's nothing to fear." Disedinel couldn't believe it.

"Are you telling me you're a robot, or something? You won't even last 10 minutes without protection!"

Zene was left silent.

"Well... My body isn't precisely of a robot. But that does not matter if I can survive in space." Zene crossed his arms. Kaika chuckled. Disedinel sighed. Sighed... together with Slantse.

"Huh? You're here?" Disedinel jumped slightly. "Yup."

"So you're telling me you can survive in space?" Zene nodded, responding to Disedinel's question.

Disedinel looked down, unsure what to say.

"What if we need to contact you?" "You won't need to." With a straight face, Zene replied instantly.

"What if you need to contact us?" "I won't need to." ...

"So, gonna let him go?" Kaika looked at Disedinel, tired of this conversation.

Disedinel remained silent.

"Believe in me." Zene's words surprised Disedinel. His words, although a request for trust, sounded a lot more like a command.

"I, alright. I will, but... I'll have you pay if something happens." Kaika shrugged. "What could happen?" Disedinel glared at Kaika.

"Go downstairs, Kaika. Just go." Disedinel looked at Kaika, urging him to go downstairs.

"Fine." So he went there, leaving Disedinel and Zene alone.

"Anyway, how would you even move in space without any equipment?"

Disedinel opened the door they were standing next to all this time. It led to a small white room, likely unfit for more than four people.

"Enter inside, and the other door will open." The door Disedinel referred to was a door, on which was a little window, through which you could take a peek at the space.

Zene did as he was told.

And a few moments later, the second door opened.

He felt space pulling him outside, so he let go of his resistance.

The door closed behind him.

Zene immediately saw the other ship.

Although it is a spaceship, it looks more like a motorcycle, but for space.

From the ship's wall, he propelled himself towards the other ship.

For a good while, he was barely moving, but at last, he made it there.

Zene grabbed onto the ship. The little ship had a window that kept two seats, one for a driver and one for a passenger, in a closed place. And that window opened on its own, stretching upward.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

On the other side...

"Huh, so he can survive in space." Kaika looked at the display that showed a video of the other ship.

"Wait, how did that open itself? Did Zene open it?" Slantse moved closer to the display.

"Oh, well, what do we do?" Kaika shrugged as he still watched the ship.

Is he even trying?

"Well... We'll trust Zene. Alright?" Disedinel continued to watch along with the others.

The video showed how Zene sat in the driver seat.

And moments later, the window dropped back down, leaving Zene inside.

"What is he doing?" Slantse muttered.

Right before their eyes, the ship suddenly blasted off. The only thing they could really do is watch.

"Huh, who'd think that old model would still function properly?" Kaika chuckled. By force.

"Quick, follow the ship!" Disedinel shouted, his sentence barely comprehensible.

Slantse backed away, while the others got to work.

Vaneila launched the ship, the engines roared as the pursuit began.

"Could we figure out where he's headed to?" Slantse asked in the middle of the chaos.

"We could, but that thing's moving too fast." Disedinel replied, his calmness clearly absent.

"Did he launch it on his own?" Kaika looked at Disedinel.

...

"How would he know how to pilot it?" Disedinel finally answered, guessing that the question was directed towards him.

Kaika couldn't respond.

The chase went on to go for the worse.

"So he's seriously faster than us? He's actually going to outspeed us?" Kaika's realisation of the situation was evident in his voice.

Zene's ship made an unexpectedmanoeuvre, diving into a dense cluster of cosmic debris. The crew gasped, fearing what seemed inevitable.

However, the ship somehow navigated through the debris with ease.

"If Zene's the one who is piloting that ship, then he's either incredibly skilled or incredibly lucky." Slantse mused.

"That cluster is too huge... We'll have to slow down for this one, our ship's too big to go through that so fast." Vaneila made it clear what she was about to do.

And Disedinel had to accept it.

"So we can't go around it?" Slantse asked innocently.

"Do you see any way to do that?" Kaika's words forced silence between the group.

After a long minute of struggle, they went through the cluster, revealing the clear view of the stars together with the dark.

"No sign of him..." Disedinel sighed.

"Is that a sign of an island? Look." Kaika pointed at a monitor.

"That is... so. We'll stop there." Disedinel looked at it.

They approached the island.

Kaika pulled out the visuals.

"That looks like a fort from some fictional book."

The island had a fort with four towers connected by walls.

It was all made of some kind of debris.

The island was just barely big enough to hold that fortress. In front of the fort was enough space for our ship to land on. So fortunate.

"This island has an atmosphere? Wait, there's somebody there, too?" Kaika looked closer to the display, and he reported.

"Is that so? Let's land."

And the ship landed.

After leaving the ship, they looked at the fortress. From their view, they could see a huge opening, perhaps once the gate of the fort.

"This looks like a fort from the ancient times in my home." A few eerie thoughts entered Slantse's head as he muttered those words. He shook it off.

"Let's find out who is inside." Disedinel took the lead and went inside.

Well, it's not so inside, as there was no roof. Judging by the walls, Disedinel figured out that's how it was designed.

The ground was made of debris, too. Everything was of the same material.

In each corner was a wooden door, clearly a quick entrance to the towers.

There was another door. Which stood right in front of Disedinel. Along with the door, there was a man who was lying down in front of it.

The man wore a grey hood and a black outfit.

"Uh, Disedinel? Is that guy, you know... alive?" Kaika asked, hiding behind Disedinel.

Suddenly, the man stood up.

"As alive as ever." Disedinel and Kaika jumped, while the others tried to take a peek at what was happening.

He took his hood off. Everybody analysed him. Short black hair, brown eyes... Looks masculine.

"A ghost around here or?" He looked around, acting like he didn't know the obvious.

"Hello... there. I am Disedinel. These are my friends. And you?" Disedinel tried to compose himself, while the others stared.

"Mircea. So, what are you doing here? You know how it goes around these parts, right?" Disedinel looked down.

"We're going to Toree. Wanna join us?" Slantse stepped forward.

The man looked at the group carefully. "You guys? You guys got some guts." Kaika looked back intently.

Over forty thousand cel count...

"Say, did you notice a small ship passing by at most ten minutes ago?" Kaika pushed Disedinel to the side slightly.

"Yeah. What do you want to know?" "A friend of ours was inside that ship. We lost him." Disedinel quickly spilled the deal.

...

"Yeah, alright, I'll tell you what's up if you let me ride on your ship on your way to Toree." That was straightforward. "How much can you even say?" "Enough." The conversation between Mircea and Disedinel progressed quickly.

"Alright, I think we can agree to that."

"Hold on. Disedinel, this guy is a stranger." Kaika moved in front of Disedinel.

"Yeah, but we're five, and he's one." "Four." "Right." Disedinel looked at the group. Yes, they were indeed four without Zene.

"Well, alright, captain." Kaika walked away.

"Okay, so, Mircea, what do you know?" Instead of replying, he walked past the group. "I'll tell you inside the ship." Disedinel nodded to himself and whispered, "Yeah, right.".

And the group went inside the ship.

After sitting down, they began the discussion.

"First, I didn't sense anybody in that ship." ...

"Ah, yeah. Our friend is special. He basically takes no effect from compulsion." Disedinel chuckled to himself.

"Okay. So he ran away from you?" Mircea's assumption was solid.

But...

"That's not it. He's, well, kidnapped, I think. I don't think he can pilot ships." Disedinel explained, his tone obviously reflecting concern. Mircea, leaning against the wall, listened attentively.

Disedinel continued, "We tried to chase him, but the ship was too fast."

Mircea spoke up. "Interesting fellow. To have an absolute resistance to compulsion is unthinkable. I might know where he was dragged to after being nabbed."

Everyone looked at Mircea, desperate to know.

He finished, "Factor's main ship." ...

Slantse shrugged, still trying to make sense of the situation. "So what's the plan? Factor's main ship sounds much more risky to infiltrate than some little headquarter in the middle of nowhere in Chia." Absolutely right.

Kaika, until now listening in silently, finally spoke. "We continue to Toree. To me, that's the reasonable choice."

Disedinel frowned. "But Zene..."

Mircea moved towards the control room. "Captain, I'll assist in navigating. I am familiar with around here." His offer was definitely helpful.

"Oh, sure. Don't make any sudden moves, though. You should know why."

And Mircea let himself analyse the situation, moving the ship accordingly.

Thus, the ship continued its journey to Toree.

Meanwhile, the discussion in the group was focused on its topic.

So Slantse decided to make an attempt at lightening up the mood. "Anybody got stories to pass the time?"

Disedinel forced a smile. "Now's not the time, Slantse."

Slantse was reminded of the gravity of the situation.

Meanwhile, Vaneila scratched her head, feeling off.

Kaika, sitting in the corner, sighed.

And Mircea joined back in. "I've been through a few scrapes around these parts. Trick is to look and keep yourself one step ahead."

Slantse, curious, asked, "Do you mean, like, pirates?"

Mircea chuckled. "Pirates? Sure. Bounty hunters? You name it. The parts close to here are a mess."

Then Mircea returned to navigating the ship.

Suddenly, the ship surged forward with great speed, catching everyone off their guard.

The sudden change in speed sent the group struggling for balance.

"H-Hey, we aren't supposed to be going fast, right?" Slantse exclaimed, just barely keeping his footing stable.

"Mircea, what did you do?" Disedinel shouted as he stood up from the floor.

Mircea grinned as he leaned on the control panels. "Testing the ship. It's not too bad."

"We'll get caught from this speed! Mircea, we all know what you're doing!" Kaika rushed towards Mircea, hurrying to slow down the ship.

Mircea raised his hand. And suddenly, Kaika lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Mircea clapped twice. "There's no fun in being slow. Besides, this way I'll get to boss faster."

Disedinel took a step back. "It's true we'll get there faster like this, but we'll get caught!"

Mircea frowned. "Alright, captain. I see that you need it to be put clearly." He took a deep breath.

"I am your enemy, Disedinel. Got it?"

The reveal hung in the air. The words of Mircea took a while to fully sink in.

The atmosphere shifted to a tense one.

Each member exchanged glances, worried for the outcome of this.

Disedinel thought it through. His face looked puzzled.

He knew things weren't going well.

And he was ready for it.