Airo blacked out.

He came back to his senses almost instantly.

The FTL shuttle was whole. Everyone seemed fine according to the AR feedback. The commlink was live with chatter.

"Ow, my head," Zuckeroff groaned.

"Yeah, that reality skip was nasty," Kiana replied. She was back in her body. "We had to endure those bloody hundred twenty gees of acceleration for a whole nanosecond before proper synchronization kicked in and left us only with conserved momentum."

"Structural damage is minimal," Lylana reported. The giant Knight sounded as if nothing extraordinary had happened. "There are possible microfractures along the hull, but the starship lacks necessary sensors to confirm this speculation."

"I concur with Elder Darkovitz," Yeoman Cloud said heartily. "All systems are nominal. Is anyone from the crew experiencing any pain or distress?"

"I think I am fine," Veralla said. "Oh, I feel so... floaty!"

"Feeling skippy!"

"It's 'zippy', gamebrain. Yeah, I'm ok too."

"I have no sustained injuries either."

"Hey, what about you, Boss? Do you hear us? Say something!"

"Cloud, update our location on the star map," Airo said quietly.

"Yes, Commander. Please stand by... Calculations complete. Parsing data."

Coordinates appeared on Airo's screen, which then translated into a three-dimensional map of the star system.

"According to this data, we're very close to the coordinates Master Dei provided," Lylana said. She marked a location on the map. "This is the approximate location where Ouroboros is located."

"Right," Kiana nodded. "Looks like we arrived right on top of it. And our MEM-cells are nearly depleted. Talk about convenience, eh? Good thing this is a one-way trip, otherwise we'd be in major trouble."

"Sooo, is being without weight what it feels to be in microgravity?"

"Just about it, whippersnapper. Though I've all but forgotten the sensation by now. There ain't no starship these days without an artificial gravity field."

"Oh, I see. Should I tingle all over then, too?"

"What?" The shuttle systems beeped warningly. "Where did this astroload of radiation come from?? We'd be dead now if it wasn't for the souped-up PPGs!"

"The source of the radiation is located in the front starward quadrant," Lylana noted. "It's... the local neutron star."

Kiana gasped. "What!?"

"A neutron star!" Zuckeroff said in wonder. "Ah, I see it on the screen now!"

"Where? Where is it?" Veralla asked eagerly.

"Hang on," Kiana said. "Let me turn the shuttle about and get a visual on the stuff."

The shuttle began to veer and tumble in controlled manner. Soon the bridge viewpanels filled with weak light as the black void of the cosmos gave way to something much closer, and much more spectacular.

"Woaaaah!" Veralla said.

"Oh... woah indeed," Zuckeroff added.

"Voiddamn," Kiana muttered. "I never thought I'd see one of these halt-staters for real."

The neutron star was a tiny, distant dot on the viewpanels. It glowed with a wan bluish-white color. Even from this great distance the star seemed to simmer and pulsate, as if its surface was moving. Sensors indicated it spun around its axis incredibly fast, releasing high amounts of radiation in a constant staccato stream.

"Wait, are those clouds?" Kiana zoomed the long-range optics. The neutron star wasn't floating alone amidst the vast emptiness. Formless, languid shapes, dark and shadowy, soared around the hyperdense star in vague orbits. They stretched around for millions of kilometers, throwing off any sense of perspective, their vast expanses barely outlined by the soft, muted light of their parent object.

"Nebula?" Zuckeroff asked uncertainty.

"No way," Kiana snapped. "The composition and density are all wrong. There's also no signs of disk accretion. It's like... it's like a friggin sky. With normal clouds. Only, those clouds aren't normal at all."

"Yes, they aren't," Lylana said in a brooding tone. "They mainly consist of ammonia, yet there are lots of other elements in lesser concentrations – ice, hydrogen, silica, even exotic substances such as liquid water and helium-3." The giant Scorchlander paused, realizing she had everyone's attention. "The neutron star also somehow keeps stable, even though it should've set well on escape velocity from the gravity well of the main binary, or gone on a collision course against them by now." She shrugged. "It's not natural by any stretch, yet this is how the Order found it when the star system was discovered centuries ago. One of the many mysteries surrounding Terra Para and its paraworld nature."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Oh, maybe it is because the region is filled with Æther," Veralla said. "I can see it clearly!"

"Enough tour guides," Airo cut in. He was just as impressed as the others were, yet he hadn't come this far for sightseeing. "The dreadnought is there, in that dense cloud region. Let us focus on the mission. Set course."

"Give me time for some corrective burns, and we'll be flying en route spot on," Kiana said.

"Did someone call me? I heard something about clouds."

"Not funny, bone-code. But keep trying. Zuckeroff's jokes grew old an eternity ago."

"Hey!"

Kiana guided the FTL shuttle toward the massive stellar anomaly. The small starship cruised slowly, relying on the gathered momentum before entering SUHN-space and conserving the energy left in its tiny power plant. The vaporous clouds ahead were thick, obscuring everything like a cosmic fog. According to the starmap, the dreadnought should be just one hundred thousand klicks away, and onboard sensors picked up some faint reading ahead even through the interference.

An hour passed. Everybody on the bridge was oddly quiet as the tension of discovery mounted. The FTL shuttle dived into a million kilometer-wide yet thin cloud, plunging into murky darkness. Detectors beeped, indicating sudden changes in the environment.

They passed the cloud, emerging on the other side, and Ouroboros revealed before them.

The dreadnought had an elongated, blade-like profile, similar to that of Vorzii, but it possessed a far grander shape and more elegant design. The majestic starship was marred by numerous scars, though its golden hull remained a glimmering jewel against the dark background of space. Ouroboros drifted in a continuous, remote orbit like a valiant defender, now broken and defeated, lying in a tomb of clouds and stars.

"Void damn, that thing is epic," Kiana said in a low voice.

"Wait until you see it up close," Lylana replied with soft reverence.

The FTL shuttle approached the abandoned dreadnought steadily. Ouroboros seemingly kept growing in size, as if inflated by some exotic source which made it larger and larger. And larger. And larger. The dreadnought was still far away, yet already completely dominated the bridge's view.

"Übercool, dude!" Zuckeroff exclaimed. "I've never been so close to a dreadnought before."

"Yeah, me too!" Veralla added, her voice full of excitement.

"Ok, I'll have to do a retrograde burn now," Kiana announced. "The view's gonna be boring again for a spell."

The FTL shuttle turned, firing its fusion drive at moderate power. Kiana kept deceleration at comfortable levels, taking nearly half an hour to kill the forward momentum. When the shuttle slowed down to docking speed, the Conduit re-oriented it, drifting only a few kilometers from Ouroboros.

The view had changed completely.

It was if they were soaring above a miniature planet or a large asteroid. Immediately before them, the golden surface of the dreadnought shone, numerous bulwarks lining the length of the hull where hangars, weapon batteries, and other external systems were hidden away by a variform shell. Glancing sideways, the hull sprawled endlessly along the longitudinal axis, and its boundaries were barely perceivable across the vertical. Here, up close, the damage was clearly visible: terrible gashes torn into the hull, whole sections warped and blasted into blackened remains, and impact sites so deep they had punched through to the innermost decks. Everything pointed at a titanic clash, from which Ouroboros had escaped just barely.

Truly, this was a behemoth from a bygone era.

Airo spoke before anyone could comment on the prodigious sight. "Everyone, focus on the mission at hand. The hard part is done, yet the dreadnought itself still poses an unknown risk. Cloud, transmit the necessary access codes to Ouroboros. Kiana, dock into that hangar over there. Zuckeroff, once we are on the ground, you will take point. Keep your weapons hot just in case. Elder Darkovitz, your task is to activate the psi-gate.

"Simple plan, people: we dock, we restore basic functionality to the starship, we find the gate, activate it, and return to base. Keep sharp, and stay alert."

"And what should I do?" Veralla asked.

"You keep close to me. You lack zero-g training, and there are some basics you must understand first to navigate such an environment successfully."

***

The two of them were standing on the same terrace again, watching the splendor of Ilsorin's gardens below. The large psi-gate at the huge central square was active, its crystal arch glowing softly, keeping an open portal to Ouroboros' abandoned decks beyond. The first wave of refugees in vacsuits were going through the gate in groups, all of them technicians, construction workers, and engineers who had volunteered to help the Radiant Knights repair the dreadnought, accompanied by a legion of automated drones.

Airo leaned on the stone parapet, idly swaying a bottle in his hand. It was an hour before dawn. Out there, peril awaited at every step. Here, however, everything was so peaceful and tranquil. It reminded him of Dragon Retreat. The place where for the first time since his re-awakening he had felt something other than rage and despair.

He glanced sideways. Veralla was sitting by the parapet, her serpentine neck stretched high, as she energetically munched on pyrolith crystals mixed with fresh fruits. He watched her eat, her wings relaxed, her tail swishing freely, her whole body language communicating ease and enjoyment.

For the first time, he too felt unburdened contentment in her company.

He returned his gaze to the proceedings around the psi-gate below. "That was good work today," he muttered to himself.

Veralla paused in her busy feeding. "Oh! Thanks! Though I did not do much during the mission. Kiana and Lylana deserve the most praise."

Airo smiled. Of course, dragon hearing. He turned to look at her again. "You did well, too," he said. "Sometimes, simply being part of a mission and keeping your composure is all that is needed from a warrior. You did well today." For one long second he hesitated, then reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

She hrrr–ed happily, saying nothing, her bright purple eyes conveying her feelings as clearly as an augmented reality screen. She seemed like she wanted to do something, but instead she simply smiled in her fierce draconic way, and returned to her meal.

They stood there by the parapet, watching the departing refugees and the magical splendor of the glowing grasses in the pre-dawn gloom. At some point, Airo stopped swaying the bottle he held and gazed at it. Drinking had been part of him for a very long time. At first to numb the pain. Then merely to give some excuse to do something at all. Now, however... Had he reached another crossroads in his life?

"Do you want to play some computer games?" Veralla suddenly asked. "I do not feel like sleeping right now."

He reached a decision. In a single motion, he tilted the open bottle and spilled its once-palliating contents on the stone terrace. "Okay, let us go play some games. You can choose which we shall play."

"Yay!"