They searched every room they had access to and procured rations. They decided to look for the kitchen to see if there was anything they could take with them. The kitchen was at a far distance from the control room. They rummaged through the refrigerator and found a few consumables they could eat without the need to prepare. Every consumable item they found was stored in Arcturus’s bangle for it had a storage compartment.
“That bangle’s pretty handy,” Nova remarked. “It can even store food! Terrenter sure has advanced.”
Arcturus, while eating three sticks of string cheese at once, looked down at the bangle. “This is the norm for us, but I guess the same thoughts don’t apply to an immortal like you.”
“Souhait and I are old fogeys. We can’t keep up with youngsters these days.”
The way Nova had used the word ‘fogeys’ caught Arcturus off-guard; he had expected anyone to use such an old-fashioned and outdated word. Nova had used it as if it was everyday vocabulary for him. He had found it hilarious that he had almost choked on the cheese. Nova handed him a bottle of water.
“Did I say something weird?” Nova asked.
“No…not at all.”
“If you say so…”
Arcturus finished the string cheese. He then proceeded to open a can of corn when the door to the kitchen closed on its own, shocking both of them.
“How did that close on its own?” Nova asked, worried.
While eating the canned corn, Arcturus thought about possible theories. After eating the last bit of corn, he came to the conclusion that they did not beat all of the people aboard the airship; he told this to Nova.
“So, we have one more enemy left?”
“Maybe a few. If the doors can be controlled, it means that someone is in the Control Room. It’s probably the captain of the airship.” Arcturus opened a bag of chips. He offered a piece to Nova, who rejected it.
“The captain?”
“It’s odd, though. Usually, the captain would be sailing the airship back to base. Why is it not moving? Why did they control this door?” An idea came to him once he scarfed down the last chip. “What if the captain is expecting us?”
“Are they luring us into a trap?”
“I won’t rule out that possibility, but we won’t know until we go there ourselves.” He opened a jug of milk and sniffed it to see if it hadn’t gone bad. “How about you, Nova? Do you want to go to the Control Room?” The milk was in fine condition, so he took a big gulp.
Nova nodded. “If seizing the airship is our only way to reach Sirius, we’re going to have to talk with the captain. Either we take them hostage or kill them.”
“I’m alright with either choice.” Arcturus finished the last of the milk. “Shall we go, then?”
“You’re full?”
Arcturus nodded as he got up; Nova did the same. They headed towards the door; Nova kicked the closed door with his draconic foot, causing the steel door to break down. Arcturus whistled at the sight.
“Where is this Control Room?”
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“There should be a map nearby; let’s go check it out.”
They found a map at a short distance from the kitchen. This airship was a lot bigger than Arcturus had expected. There were three floors that had elevators installed in them, helping him realize how the reinforcements were able to show up quickly; it was a much fancier airship suited for military use. He saw that the Control Room was in the centermost room on the third floor; they were currently on the first floor. They took the nearby elevator and went inside. As it went up, Arcturus noticed the silence between them.
“This is such a lavish airship,” Nova scanned the elevator. “The airship from your memory looks like a child’s toy compared to this.”
“I’m surprised Henryships made such a ship. It looks like a commission or a model used for military forces.”
“Henryships?”
“The biggest and only airship corporation in Terrenter. My friend Daffodil is the heiress of the grand company.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It is.” Arcturus liked it when people praised his friends.
The elevator reached its destination and the doors opened. When they entered the third floor, uneasiness came to Arcturus. He was wondering why the captain of the ship did not retreat or why they did not come to attack them the moment the last soldier fell. This whole scenario felt very unusual to him.
Are we heading straight for a trap? Do they want to talk to us? Just what could the captain want from us?
They reached the centermost room. Arcturus took a deep breath. His heart was pounding despite many attempts to calm himself down. He then felt Nova holding his hand.
“Is this helping you relax? I don’t want you feeling tense.”
He remembered how Nova held his hand when they were in his Realm of Desires. The way Nova held and never let go unless it was necessary had made Arcturus assured that everything would be alright. His hand was smaller and colder than his, but it was warming him and giving him the confidence he needed.
If Nova were able to read his thoughts while holding his hand, he thanked him. He then intertwined his fingers with Nova’s and tightened his grip. Everything would be alright. Nova and Souhait were by his side.
They both took a step forward, allowing the automated door to open. They entered the room hand in hand until they reached a safe distance between them and a chair facing its back towards them. He saw that the captain was staring at multiple monitors that were showing various rooms in the airship; one screen had an empty kitchen with junk scattered around.
“Are you the captain of this airship?” Arcturus asked.
A woman’s voice replied, “That I am.”
“You were calling out to us when we were in the kitchen, correct?”
“That I did.”
“Why did you call out to us? Rather, why didn’t you reveal your presence to us? You’re the captain of this ship. The captain always goes down with the ship. All of the soldiers and Shifties that were stationed in this airship were killed by our hands, yet you didn’t bring yourself out to attack us.”
“I understand those phrases, yet they don’t matter to me. Soldiers don’t matter to me. However, all the Shifties you were commanding were under my control, but you managed to defeat them–the ones on this airship and the ones from Castle Lavender. The fact that you defeated all of them does anger me a bit.”
“So, they were following your orders?”
“Yes. I was ordered to capture the man known as the Charlatan and my master let me have a group of wolf Shifties to control. The fact that you destroyed them all irks me, but I cannot even comprehend what it means to feel ‘irksome’.”
Analyzing her choice of words, Arcturus theorized her identity. “Are you a Shiftie by any chance?”
“Yes, but I am no ordinary Shiftie. I am the highest quality. The strongest of them all.” The captain turned her chair to reveal herself. She was a woman with a stoic demeanor and a visage that matched; Arcturus particularly found her purple eyeshadow and lips flattering. She had long black hair with short blunt bangs brushed to the side. She was sitting with her legs crossed; her outfit consisted of a tight black bodysuit styled with laced stiletto boots, leather gloves embroidered with sharp studs on the knuckles. Her jet black eyes looked as if she was staring at his soul.
“Arcturus, look at her ears.” Nova whispered to him.
He looked up at her ears. They were wolf ears, but unlike the wolves he had seen in Castle Lavender and on the airship that all had red earrings, the earring latched onto her right ear was not the same. It was purple–a color that no Shifties possessed. Shock surged Arcturus; he wondered if he was witnessing an illusion of some kind. There were only red, blue and yellow earrings for Shifties. Purple didn’t exist; it shouldn’t exist.
His own ears caught onto the soft sound of Nova who gasped before placing a hand over his mouth to contain his shock. He had never seen him this shocked before.
“What’s the matter?” Arcturus asked.
Nova removed his hand from his mouth. “Why does this Shiftie look like Sayaka?”