Miya remained focused on the ship's control interfaces on both sides, scanning them intently. She leaned forward in her seat to enlarge the 3D model of the back thrusters, and with a circular motion of her fingers, she requested a relay of their capacity threshold. She then swiped her hands in front of her to lower the ship's outward ping-back, followed by tapping a small blue-holographic square to scan her immediate surroundings.

Miya took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, dismissing all the displays on the control interfaces. She allowed herself to immerse in the vast expanse of the deep black abyss outside the curved window screen. Bright, white stars blinked in the distance, accompanied by a twirling connection of planets in shades of purple, blue, and red of varying sizes hovering above the ship.

Sector-25, also known as the Super Ketvas Cluster, was a popular tourist attraction and a prospector site in the Qunova Quadrant. However, it was also notoriously dangerous, with crickers lying in wait above the cluster's airspace, ready to shoot down any prospector ships that tried to leave with their haul.

The ship rumbled slightly as the whir of the thrusters began to turn upward. Miya stood up from her seat and stretched. Orimi glanced over but turned her head before interlocking her arms.

“We’re approaching the vessel in about five mekts. As your captain, I’m obliged to tell you my end goal for this endeavor.”

Orimi rolled her eyes.

“But you don’t have to listen.” Miya then sat back down, crossing one leg over the other. “A Kilese female by the name of Adalae transmitted her location via badge beacon while we were on base. My main goal is to find her and gain relevant information about why she ventured there. Any questions?”

“Is she… Is she your friend?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

Orimi sighed. “Well, what am I supposed to do? Just sit here?”

“That is correct.”

Miya’s eyes widened. She then clawed her hands down on the red-holographic throttle making the ship come to a complete stop with a jolt.

Beside Miya's head, a screen with the words "Incoming Call" appeared. She pressed the button, and the image of an individual wearing a full-black suit sitting in a ship's cockpit blinked onto the screen.

“Uh, Miya… There’s something in front of us…” Orimi whispered.

Miya tapped the scan array button again, causing the front panel to ripple with blue lines. A huge blue blip appeared, then traced out a long-narrow ship that began to lose its camouflage.

A shadow began to spread across the floor in front of Miya as the outer window was gradually covered by a flat, black surface. The sunlight that once illuminated the cockpit began to dim as well, leaving only the faint glow from the control interface to illuminate Miya's and Orimi's widening gazes.

“Can you hear me, whoever you are?” The individual in the call window asked.

Miya scrunched her nose and then clicked her teeth. She then reached a hand for the throttle interface.

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“If you’re thinking of moving, I suggest you not. You’re in my line of fire, and it’s apparent that you’re not flying a fighter.”

Miya rested her hand back on her chair’s armrest with a smirk. “I’m assuming that’s your mothership we’re sitting in front of.”

“Your assumption is correct. I’m one of Arnova 13’s defensive vessels. The name’s Vyok’um. We were recently ambushed by crickers that shot an electromagnetic string that struck our mothership and outside returning vessels.”

Miya nodded. “Okay, Vyok’um. How do I know you aren’t one of those supposed crickers who got hit with the blast before taking over the ship?”

The call window twitched with static.

“If I can see you, you can see me. Just look closely.” Vyok’um urged.

Behind the mountainous black-glinting ship’s side was a small white fighter vessel tilted on its side. The four winged thrusters on the fighter sat askew, pointing in different directions, and a long, jagged crack marked the cockpit's window. The lower side of the fighter had been blown off, and large bubbles of oil and engine liquid leaked out, leaving a trail behind the damaged craft.

“Yes, I see you. But what does that have to do with your believability?” Miya contested.

Vyok'um removed his black-opaque helmet, revealing his face, which was adorned with ruffled black feathers. His two eyes sparkled like stars against the darkness, while his short, narrow beak jutted out from the center of his face. A few white feathers curled above each eye, resembling bushy eyebrows.

“I can tell from that Patroller badge on your jacket that you belong to the Federation. But the other passenger doesn’t seem to have any federal insignia. Who are they?”

Miya slowly turned her head down to the glinting pink Patroller badge sitting on her left breast pocket. The small fighter vessel, still twirling on its axis, was a speck in the distance as Vyok’um brushed back the tip of feathered hair.

“I didn’t turn on my cam. How are you seeing me from here?” Miya inquired while raising her hand to the shield control interface.

“Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m Vyok. Our race has excellent eyesight. But that’s beside the matter.” Vyok’um leaned back in his chair. “I propose you pick me up, and we’ll fly to the Arnova 13 drop deck together. The ship’s air-lock system is down, and you’ll need someone with internal access aboard.”

Miya swiped all of the shield blocks to the front of the ship, causing a set of white and blue glimmers to build up in front of the cockpit window.

“What are you doing? I’ve already made it clear I can see you from my current position.” Vyok’um said.

“Yes, speaking of position. Do you know where you are right now?”

Miya began rolling her finger up the holographic throttle, causing the ship to lean forward.

“Hey! I said don’t move!” Vyok’um exclaimed. “You really want to die, don’t you?”

“Defense vessels for a super-carrier of that size must maintain a distance of at least 40 starward from its least defensive spot, being its underside holding its vehicle hangar and cargo bay. There would be no reason for a vessel like yours to be on its rear side, holding a position already defended by shields and autonomously dispatched drones.”

Vyok’um’s eyes widened. “Well, yes, of course. I was chasing out the cricker infiltrators as they-“

“Your third thruster on your maneuver wing. It’s pointing in a different direction from all the others, meaning you were trying to turn around. From where you are now, and the crack on your cockpit and underbelly, you probably got hit by a defense drone, lost motion control, and tried to turn around last minute before the EMP shocked in your vicinity.”

“You’ve been releasing your ship’s fuel in large portions to maneuver on your side, hoping to crash into the mothership in a desperate attempt from your failure as a pilot.” Miya finished with an added insult.

“Even if you are right, I still have you in my line of fire. If you don’t pick me up, I will-“

“You may still have function of your weapon systems, but you’re unable to switch to a different variant. If I were to guess, you’d still be on your laser repeater, not your rockets or main cannon.”

A crimson gleam shone in Miya's eyes, and her lips curled into a smile as the ship accelerated. The top wings of the vessel then tilted downwards, forming a shield around the sides of the cockpit window, resembling a pair of black pincers. With swift movements of her fingers on the circular interface to her left, Miya triggered a sequence of buttons that caused glossy spikes to emerge from the ship's exterior. The spikes seemed to twitch as if imbued with a life of their own.