“So, Robin Tulward it is. We have heard of you and while I’m displeased you used Ang’Tue’s name to get this meeting, I understand that gratitude is appropriate. You not only ensured the freedom of one of ours, you are the one that made it possible to obtain the data we just received.”

“You are well informed, especially since I thought I made sure that Ang’Tue had no chance to report before we could meet.” Robin answered the nameless Eltaran who had joined this comm in expectation to meet with Ang’Tue.

“We do have our sources.”

“I think I should have figured as much.”

“So, why are we having this talk, Mr. Tulward?”

“If you are as well informed as you make it seem, you know that someone died. Killed in cold blood during the attack on the Discovery. I heard Ang’Tue’s version of the story and just need you to confirm a few of his explanations.” Robin said.

“Oh? What has he told you?” The Eltaran asked intrigued.

“Yeah, that won’t work, will it?” Robin chuckled, “Why don’t you explain to me what the side effects of your mutations are and how severe they can get.”

There was a long silence on the line before he heard the alien grunt in annoyance.

“That is not something we discuss with outsiders.”

“Yeah, but much damage is already done - your existence was made public once again and there was an attack on a UAS ship. I’m trying my hardest to salvage the situation as much as possible. So, why don’t you start to share some little information with me and in turn, I can make sure Ang’Tue has a safe place to stay until everything has cooled down a bit.”

There was another long silence before the Eltaran came to a decision.

“You rendered a great service to our people and that we even have this talk must mean Ang’Tue trust you. I’ll comply with your demand and while I understand that I cannot request absolute secrecy, the Eltaran would greatly appreciate it if this knowledge is handled discreetly.”

What followed was a shortened version of what Ang’Tue had also described and Robin felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. While ‘I went crazy for a moment’ did in no way excuse the killing, there was at least a foundation of trust rebuild that they could work upon.

“Thank you, Elder of the Eltaran. I hope we meet again in the future, preferable under better circumstances.” Robin said after he got all the information he needed.

“We will see, Mr. Tulward. We will agree to meet with the people from the UAS, so maybe there might be another opportunity at a later time. Please stay true to your word and take care of Ang’Tue.”

“I have yet to hear what his plans for the future are, but if our goals align, I’ll try my hardest to shield him from the upcoming storm.” Robin said before closed the comm and walked out of the backroom from the little cafe in Acosea to meet with Landom.

After they had stayed for one more week in Dreamer’s Hope to cooperate with the UAS for the investigation of Trevil’s death and the uncovering of the laboratory, they left for Seavis’ capital to restock, send Ang’Tue’s data and meet with the Eltaran.

Right now the others had some free time to spare and could relax a bit before they would continue to CBXX-5, the asteroid where Keran’s team was waiting, in two days.

“How did it go?” Landom asked, visibly nervous. Robin once more realized how much the others, too, wished for Ang’Tue’s story to be true. They really wanted this to work out somehow.

“All good, they confirmed his story. Let’s go back to the ship, I wanna check on our guest so we can finally start a new chapter with him.” Robin said and led Landom out of the little shop.

When they returned to the Hubble, Ang’Tue was sitting in the kitchen together with Happy. They were drinking some kind of cocktail that Happy found somewhere in the city yesterday.

“I really fear for your health, Niu. You know that regular drinking can lead to addiction?” Robin laughed when he saw the stupid but satisfied smile on her slightly blushed face.

“Yeah, I brought some stims if it comes to that!” She cheered, happy as always.

“Burn in plasma! That was a joke. You brought a frinkin’ stim for that case? How much are you planning to drink? You are our pilot!”

“Today is my free day!” Happy complained.

“Yeah, I already regret having given you all a few days off.” Robin shook his head, even so the smile never left his face. He really liked her happy side and had great respect for her, always keeping a good mood even with all the shit that life had thrown at her.

“So, did you meet the representative from the council?” Ang’Tue asked, changing the topic to what weighed on his mind.

“Yes, we had a great talk and he confirmed what you told us. I’m glad about that, but will not apologize that I deemed this meeting necessary in the first place.”

“I do understand that. No problem. So what now?” The old man asked.

“Now you have to decide on how you want to proceed. I already told you that the crew will welcome you aboard the Hubble as our newest member, if that is what you want. You can also leave and return to your family, just tell me where we should drop you off.”

“I would very well want to return to my people, but you also know that that isn’t an option for now. I already endangered the secrecy of the Eltaran once, I’ll not act in a hurry again.” Ang’Tue said and stood up to give Robin a deep bow, “I would like to kindly request permission to join your crew, Captain Tulward.”

Robin was slightly surprised by the formality the Eltaran put up, ‘He is the same as the others, he really wants this to work.’ He couldn’t explain why, but he also felt that Ang’Tue would fit perfectly into this small team.

“Well then, welcome aboard, Ang’Tue of the Eltaran.” He said with a smile and heard Niu cheering once again.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Great! Now we have enough time so you can explain how this game of yours works.” She exclaimed eagerly.

“You mean Delin’Tu? The one that requires a lot of patience and a calm mind?” He chuckled.

“Yes! Let’s go! We have to go shopping for the needed parts. Uh, and more of these - they are really good!” Happy said, bobbing her head up and down in excitement, and pointed at the empty glass in front of her.

“You can leave soon, but I need the rookie in the hangar for a moment first.” Robin said with a laugh and left with Landom.

“So?” Landom asked while they waited for the elevator to take them up to the middle deck.

“It feels right. I can’t explain it, it just feels like this is how things should be.” Robin answered hesitantly.

“While I’m not a born security officer, I dare to claim that I’m quite capable as an investigator.” The man said, “Not every choice can be made only by hard facts. Sometimes you have to follow your instincts. The crux is knowing when to listen to what.”

“And how do I know that?” Robin asked.

“Well, that is for you to find out - but listening to your crew, to your friends, when you are indecisive is always a good starting point.”

“Thanks Landom, I’m glad to have you here!” Robin said and gave the man a slight bow.

“You’re welcome. I’ll go and inform Keran, so he’s not the last to get some news again.” Walzor laughed and turned to leave.

***

“Are you really sure that this is necessary?” Robin asked for the umpteenth time while he changed the bracelets on Ang’Tue’s arms. They were the improved version of the Suppression-Shackles and while they were still not for shackling and only used as a security measure in case of Ang’Tue losing it once again, they were at least double as thick as the first version.

Absentminded, the Eltaran touched the cold metal of the two silver bracelets on his arms.

“You can activate and deactivate them too, right?” He asked, ignoring Robin’s question.

“Yes, I have the same remote as you. When you need to use your mutation, you can deactivate them and reactivate them afterwards and I can do the same. It is not possible to directly activate the electrifying feature though. I don’t wanna have that kind of control over anyone. As long as you don’t use your mutation, even if the bracelets are active, nothing will happen.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you very much.”

“Ang’Tue, I’m afraid that those things will kill you if you ever activate them… They are nearly four times as strong as before!”

“I have to be sure that they will knock me out if I lose control. Believe me, if my mutation goes rogue in earnest, you too will gladly accept the risk of killing me in exchange for the safety of your crew.” The Eltaran said with a grimace.

“It’s ‘our crew’, you are one of us now!” Robin corrected him, “Is it that fearsome?”

“Pray that you’ll never have to find out…”

***

After a much longer intermission on Seavis than expected, it was time for the Hubble to pick up Keran’s people and head for Terulos in the Goya System. While the ship raced through the endless void towards CBXX-5, Robin sat in his cabin and finally had some time to process everything that happened in the last days.

“Finally it is complete. It took me close to a year to fill all the blank spots…” He muttered while staring at the little legend he started all this time ago.

Δ - Mountain

✮ - Wuranger Site

✲ - Vanguard Facility

✳ - Eltaran

✸ - Drel Outpost

❂ - Keeper Info-Station

❉ - Bih’ar Ruins

“I’ve visited so many alien relic sites already, beginning with little trips with the Melody II and now traveling around in a damn spaceship from the UAS on the way into another star system.”

Flashbacks from all the things that happened so far flickered in front of his eyes. He saw the smugglers he met with Patience on his first trip, remembered the adrenaline that rushed through his body while he raced on Ruca II, laughed when he thought back at Guard, the funny AI he met, and had to hold back his tears when his mind wandered to Jim.

“I always thought that the map would guide me through the stars, but just when my journey begins for real, it has outlived its usefulness already.” He mumbled, still inspecting the legend, “Well, it was the key that got things rolling. Without it, I would have never been able to change my life as much as I did. Fuck, I’m the captain of a freaking spaceship now!”

Thinking back to the Melody, his mood dampened a bit. His ship could be repaired with time, he got everything he needed in Seavis and had more than a few long days ahead of him, but not everything was fixed so easily.

“People’s problems…” He sighed. While everyone acted normal, it was obvious that there still were some trust-issues around Ang’Tue. Especially for the siblings, since they stayed back at Dreamer’s Hope and didn’t have much time before to get to know the old man. Niu and Landom were doing a bit better; Niu because she just was like that and Landom - well he said he will listen to his guts in this case. Still, it will take a lot of time and work for Ang’Tue to truly become ‘one of them’. Robin however didn’t doubt he would manage in the end.

With Keran things were completely different though. Right now everything was still holding somewhat, but it was a relationship that would fall apart with time. On the one hand Keran had sold them out to Ramones and even if his intentions weren’t as bad as things turned out, the others couldn’t just swallow it. On the other hand, Keran could easily guess that they were the ones who attacked the Discovery and freed Ang’Tue, but no one was explaining anything about it and just stuck to the version they told the UAS. His talk with Eston did help to reorder his priorities and he somewhat understood why the UAS allowed Ang’Tue to travel with them, but he couldn’t forget that someone was killed and everyone just glossed over it as if it really was an accident.

While there was quite a bit of tension between Keran and the rest of the crew, everyone knew that this cooperation only had to last until the monolith was reached. They were all old enough to pull themselves together for this, since at the end of the day the mission was still their foremost and common goal.

All this reminiscing put Robin’s mind at peace and while he watched the darkness fly by through the little window of his room, his thoughts wandered back to his father. After his mother died, Robin and his father tried to fight against any odds to live a joyful life. His old man always supported him, even when he decided to join the UAS to have a shot at a position on an interplanetary ship. Robin was young, not even beginning to earn his own money and his father’s job in one of the bigger companies was just enough to keep them floating. Still, he always supported Robin’s dream and told him ‘We will manage somehow. The universe is endless and there are ways and opportunities for everyone. We just have to look for them!’. In the end, his old man died of a nasty, fast-working sickness. Before he could even change his plans and adapt, Robin was suddenly alone.

“See? I always told you the job at the workshop is just temporary. Now I’m here, earlier than I’ve ever dared to dream, flying through the universe and exploring alien sites and dying planets.” Robin said out loud and with a stupid grin he added, “I even met pirates once! Damn, you must be pissed that you’ve missed that. That’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime event for most, but I just started my journey… who knows what will happen next?”

As if to answer that question, a shudder went through the ship and Robin felt the energy level of the ship drop rapidly. Shortly afterwards, Happy opened a comm channel.

“Niu, what has happened? We are dropping out of superluminal travel but the asteroid should still be a few hours away, right?” He asked while he put on his shoes to hurry to the bridge.

“Uhm… captain?” He heard her hesitant but definitely happy voice, “I think we have hit an anti-matter field.”

“...are you fucking kidding me?”

“No! Rob, I think we are getting raided by pirates! Woohoo!”